Patent ID: 7491526

Claim:
A culture apparatus comprising: a culture vessel comprising: a main culture vessel, at least one medium vessel in which a medium is sealed, and at least one waste medium vessel capable of receiving and housing fluid from the main culture vessel, a case provided wit indentations for housing each vessel that composes the culture vessel, connecting lines being capable of restricting the flow of fluid between the vessels only in one direction, being made of a flexible material, passing through a connecting line pathway disposed in the case, and comprising: a first connecting line that provides fluid connection only in the direction from the medium vessel to the main culture vessel, and a second connecting line that provides fluid connection only in the direction from the main culture vessel to the waste medium vessel, controlling device including cheek valves and allowing a fluid within the vessels that compose the culture vessel to flow into the connecting lines provided in said vessels, and a pressing device that contracts each vessel housed in the indentations by applying external pressure, wherein said main culture vessel and said medium vessel being sealed from the outside by the connecting lines, each vessel that composes the culture vessel has a variable inner volume, and the flow of fluid within the connecting lines is restricted by clamping the lines by the valve disposed in the connecting line pathways in the radial direction.