CENTRIFUGE

Abstract

The invention relates to a centrifuge (10) with a housing (12), in which a rotor (32) for receiving a sample that is to be centrifuged is arranged. The rotor (32) is driven by the drive shaft (22) during operation of the centrifuge (10) and rotates about a rotation axis (30). The rotor (32) has a first, rotor-side transceiver unit, which is excited by an electric field, thus inducing voltage in the first transceiver unit (48). The first transceiver unit (48) is associated with a second, housing-side transceiver unit (62), which is connected to a voltage source. The two transceiver units (48, 62) are connected to a transceiver antenna (52, 64) each, and the transceiver units (48, 62) and the transceiver antennas (62, 64) are in each case arranged on an annular support (46, 60) concentrically with the rotation axis (30).

Claims

1-28. (canceled)

29. Centrifuge (10), comprising: a housing (12), in which a rotor (32) is arranged for receiving a sample that is to be centrifuged, which rotor (32) sits detachably on a drive shaft, which is connected to a drive, which rotor (32) is driven by the drive shaft (22) during operation of the centrifuge (10) and rotates about a rotation axis (30), which rotor (32) has a first, rotor-side transceiver unit, which is excited by an electric field, thus inducing voltage in the first transceiver unit (48), the first transceiver unit (48) is associated with a second, housing-side transceiver unit (62), which is connected to a voltage source, the two transceiver units (48, 62) are connected to a transceiver antenna (52, 64) each, and the transceiver units (48, 62) and the transceiver antennas (52, 64) are in each case arranged on an annular support (46, 60) concentrically with the rotation axis (30), characterized m that the support (46) of one transceiver unit (48) has a smaller diameter than the support (60) of the other transceiver unit (62), and the transceiver antenna (52) of one transceiver unit (48) overlaps in part with the transceiver antenna (64) of the other transceiver unit. (62) in a direction parallel to the rotation axis (30).

30. Centrifuge as claimed in claim 29, characterized in that the bottom surface of one or both sup-ports does not rest against metal.

31. Centrifuge as claimed in claim 29, characterized in that the transceiver antennas (52, 64) overlap by 50% in the direction parallel to the axis of rotation (30), preferably by 70%, in particular by 90%, preferably by 95%, and particularly preferably by 100%.

32. Centrifuge as claimed in claim 29, characterized in that the rotor (32) comprises both a first support (46) for the first transceiver unit (48) and magnets (50) as identifiers for the rotor (32),

33. Centrifuge as claimed in claim 29, characterized in that the second support (60) for the second transceiver unit (62) comprises at least one Hall sensor (66) for determining the rotoridentification information of the first support (46) as specified by the magnets (50).

34. Centrifuge as claimed in claim 29, characterized in that the support (46, 60) is strip-shaped.

35. Centrifuge as claimed in claim 29, characterized in that each annular support (46, 60) comprises a flexible strip-shaped circuit board material on which the transceiver unit (48, 62) and the transceiver antenna (52, 64) are mounted.

36. Centrifuge as claimed in claim 35, characterized in that the flexible circuit board material comprises polyimide.

37. Centrifuge as claimed in claim 29, characterized in that the first transceiver unit (48) has a memory in which the data of the rotor (32) is stored, for example the type of rotor, the maximum rotational speed of the rotor, the maximum running time of the rotor, in particular the memory comprises both a non-volatile memory and a read-write memory.

38. Centrifuge as claimed in claim 29, characterized in that the second transceiver unit (62) is connected to an evaluation unit and/or to a display unit.

39. Centrifuge as claimed in claim 29, characterized in that the transceiver antenna (52, 64) in each case substantially comprises the annular support (46, 60) in the peripheral region

40. Centrifuge as claimed in claim 29, characterized in that the first support (46) is used to transmit further data from sensors located on the rotor (32),

41. Centrifuge as claimed in claim 29, characterized in that the first transceiver unit (48 comprises a transponder and the second transceiver unit (62) comprises an associated reader.

42. Centrifuge as claimed in claim 41, characterized in that the transceiver units (48, 62) are based on the NFC standard.

43. Centrifuge as claimed in claim 29, characterized in that the difference in radii of the first support (46) and the second support (60) is in a range of between 0.3 mm and 8 mm.

44. Centrifuge as claimed in claim 29, characterized in that the support (46) of the first transceiver unit (48) and/or the support (60) of the second transceiver unit (62) with transceiver antenna (52, 64) is surrounded by a protective housing.

45. Centrifuge as claimed in claim 44, characterized in that the protective housing (12) is formed as an annular chamber (44) which is U-shaped (44a) in section.

46. Centrifuge as claimed in claim 45. characterized in that the U-shaped opening of the protective housing (12) for the first support (46) is directed upward, in particular in a direction parallel to the rotation axis (30), towards the rotor (32), and is connected to the rotor (32) on this side.

47. Centrifuge as claimed in claim 45, characterized in that the U-shaped opening of the protective housing (12) for the second support (60) is directed downwards, in particular in a direction parallel to the rotation axis (30), towards the motor housing (36) and is connected to the motor housing (36) on this side.

48. Centrifuge as claimed in claim 44, characterized in that the support (46, 60) is bonded to the protective housing (12).

49. Centrifuge as claimed in claim 29, characterized in that a set of different rotors (32) is provided.

50. Centrifuge as claimed in claim 49, characterized in that each first transceiver antenna (52) of the rotors (32) is arranged at the same height relative to the rotation axis (30).

51. Centrifuge as claimed in claim 49, characterized in that each rotor (32) has a cylindrical projection (32a) facing downwardly onto the drive motor and arranged concentrically to the rotation axis (30) of the drive shaft (22), with the distance between a rotor seat on which the rotor (32) sits on the drive shaft (22), and the free end of the projection (32a) being the same in each case.

52. Method of operating a centrifuge (10) as claimed in claim 29, characterized in that a first set of data of the first transceiver unit (48) is read during operation by the second transceiver unit (62), a second set of data is acquired by a sensor of the second support (60) via the magnets (50) of the first support (46), the first and second sets of data are compared, if the first and second sets of data match, operation of the centrifuge (10) will continue.

53. Method as claimed in claim 52, characterized in that, if the first and second data sets do not match, the centrifuge (10) will be switched off.

54. Method as claimed in claim 52, characterized in that, if the first and second sets of data do not match, a visual and/or an acoustic alarm will be triggered.

55. Method as claimed in claim 52, characterized in that rotor: identification information is read from both the first transceiver unit (48) and the magnets (50) of the first sup-port (46) maximum speeds corresponding to the rotor identification information. read are assigned to the centrifuge (10), which speeds are not exceeded during operation.

56. Method as claimed in claim 52, characterized in that, when a predetermined threshold value is exceeded with respect to the data provided by the acceleration sensor (68), the centrifuge (10) will be switched off.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0058] In the drawings,

[0059] FIG. 1 is a perspective top view of a centrifuge according to the invention, taken at an angle from above;

[0060] FIG. 2 is a sectional ew along a longitudinal central axis of the centrifuge of FIG. 1;

[0061] FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a centrifuge detail marked X in FIG. 2;

[0062] FIG. 4 is another enlarged view of a centrifuge detail marked Y in FIG. 3;

[0063] FIG. 5 is a view of a strip-shaped support with an antenna, and a first transceiver unit;

[0064] FIG. 6 is a view illustrating the support of FIG. 5 closed to form a ring;

[0065] FIG. 7a is a perspective top view of the first transceiver unit with the protective housing, taken at an angle from above;

[0066] FIG. 7b is an exploded view of the first transceiver unit of FIG. 1a;

[0067] FIG. 8 is a view of a strip-shaped support with an antenna, a sero t nsceiver unit with a Hall sensor and an accelerometer;

[0068] FIG. 9 is a view illustrating the support of Fig losed to form a ring, and

[0069] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of the supports in section.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0070] The figures illustrate an embodiment of a centrifuge 10 according to the invention. The centrifuge 10 includes a housing 12 and a lid 14 closing the housing 12 at the top. Inside the housing 12, a drive motor 16 is firmly connected to the housing 12 via damping means 18. A protective vessel 20 is attached to the housing 12. For the sake of simplicity, the fasteners are not shown in the drawing. The protective vessel 20 is arranged concentrically relative to a drive shaft 22. The protective vessel 20 has a concentric circular recess 24 made therein for the passage of a portion of the drive motor 16 therethrough.

[0071] The housing 12 is provided with four feet 28 that are disposed in the area of a bottom 26 of the housing 12, where they are arranged in corner areas of the bottom 26 of the substantially rectangular shaped centrifuge 10.

[0072] The drive shaft 22 of the drive motor 16 is adapted to be rotated about an axis of rotation 30 and is concentric thereto.

[0073] Arranged concentric to the axis of rotation 30 and thus also to the drive shaft 22, a rotor 32 is provided which sits on the drive shaft 22. The rotor 32 can be easily exchanged for another rotor 32 via a quick-release fastener not shown in detail here. The centrifuge 10 can be operated by means of a set of rotors 32 which are designed differently for different applications for centrifuging different types of samples and sample containers.

[0074] Each rotor 32 has a plurality of receptacles far sample containers, not shown in detail here for the sake of clarity.

[0075] FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a detail marked X in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a detai marked Y in FIG. 3.

[0076] The lower portion of the rotor 32 has a peg-shaped cylindrical projection 32a that includes the drive shaft 22. After the rotor 32 has been mounted on the drive shaft 22 and firmly fixed in position, the peg-shaped projection 32a is located at a distance from a shoulder 34 on the top of the drive motor 16. The drive shaft 22 extends from a motor housing 36 of the drive motor 16 beyond the shoulder 34, which is part of the motor housing 36, through the peg-shaped projection 32a of the rotor 32 and further into the rotor 32. The shoulder 34 is part of a motor housing 36 of the drive motor 16 and thus part of the stationary portion of the drive motor 16, whereas the drive shaft 22 is part of the portion of the drive motor 16 that rotates about the axis of rotation 30.

[0077] The shoulder 34 of the motor housing 36 is provided with an annular shoulder 38 that extends upwards from the shoulder 34 and delimits the shoulder 34 laterally. The shoulder 34 is part of a cylindrical projection 40 of the motor housing 36 extending toward the rotor 32. Both the annular shoulder 38 and the shoulder 34 are part of a bearing shield associated with the drive motor 16.

[0078] The drive motor 16 is substantially of a rotationally symmetrical design, and is arranged concentrically to the axis of rotation 30. The projection 40 extends through the protective vessel 20 into a rotor chamber 42 bounded by the protective vessel 20 and the lid 14. Below the protective vessel 20, the remainder of the motor housing 36 extends nearly to the bottom 26 of the housing 12 of the centrifuge 10.

[0079] Adjoining the underside 32b of the projection 32a of the rotor 32 is a plastic annular chamber 44 of U-shaped cross-section, whose U-shaped opening 44a faces in the direction of the underside 32b of the projection 32a of the rotor 32, is arranged concentrically to the axis of rotation 30 and is connected, preferably screwed, to the underside 32b of the projection 32a of the rotor 32 via the end faces of the legs of the U-shaped opening 44a. In this way, the annular chamber 44 is firmly secured to the rotor 32 and is thus entrained in rotation during operation of the rotor 32. The cylindrical projection 32a is the same in all the different rotors 32 and thus rotor types, in particular the diameter and the distance between the underside of the projection 32a and the shoulder 34 as well as the distance between the underside of the projection 32a and the seat (not shown here) of the rotor 32 on the drive shaft 22 are the same.

[0080] The underside of the annular chamber 44 faces toward the substantially horizontally extending shoulder 22a of the projection 40 of the motor housing 36. There is sufficient clearance between the top of the shoulder 22a and the underside of the annular chamber 44 to prevent contact between the parts.

[0081] A strip-shaped support 46 is bonded to the inside of a leg of the annular chamber 44, which leg is U-shaped in cross-section. The support 46 is made of a flexible, film-like circuit board material, namely polyimide. Arranged on one side of the support 46 is a first transceiver unit 48 and several magnets 50 are arranged at a distance from it. The transceiver unit 48 is connected to a transceiver antenna 52 which surrounds the support 46 in the peripheral region on its outer side, see FIGS. 5 and 6, but also FIGS. 7a and 7b.

[0082] A receptacle 54 is associated with each magnet 50. Between the support 46 and the magnets 50 in the respective associated receptacle 54, a cavity 56 is provided which is filled with potting compound after assembly. The potting compound used can be epoxy resin, for example.

[0083] The support 46 is formed as a strip element. In FIG. 5, the support 46 is rolled out flat, and in FIG. 6, the support 46 is shown in an annular configuration, i.e. the shape it assumes when inserted into the support.

[0084] A second annular chamber 58 (dip ring) is also provided on the annular shoulder 38, which chamber is U-shaped in cross-section. Its U-shaped opening 58a faces in the direction of the top 38a of the annular shoulder 38 of the projection 40 of the motor housing 36. The annular shoulder 38 is concentric with the rotation axis 30 and is connected to the top 38a of the annular shoulder 38 of the projection 40 of the motor housing 36 via the end faces of the legs of the U-shaped opening 58a. In this way, the annular chamber 58 is firmly secured to the motor housing 36 and will thus also remain stationary during operation of the centrifuge 10.

[0085] A strip-shaped support 60 is bonded to the inside of a leg of the annular chamber 58, which leg is U-shaped in cross-section. The support 60 is made of a flexible, film-like circuit board material, namely polyimide. Arranged on one side of the support 60 is a second transceiver unit 62 and a Hall sensor 66. The second transceiver unit 62 is connected to a transceiver antenna 64 that surrounds the support 60 in the peripheral region. In this respect, the support 60 is of a similar design as the support 46.

[0086] The support 60 is likewise formed as a strip element and has an electrical connection line 70 at its free end, which line leads to the control unit.

[0087] The annular chambers 44 and 58 each form protective chambers for the supports 46, 60 accommodated therein, so as to protect them against mechanical damage, for example. in particular, the annular chamber 44 is important because it acts to protect the electrical components of the support 46 during autoclaving.

[0088] The second transceiver unit 62 is connected to a control unit (not shown in detail here) with an external unit for the centrifuge 10 and a display unit connected thereto.

[0089] The annular chamber 58 is arranged radially outwardly relative to the annular chamber 44 with respect to the axis of rotation 30. The distance between the annular chambers 44, 58 is in a range of between 0.3 mm and 8 mm. The two transceiver antennas 52, 64 are positioned at the same height with respect to the axis of rotation 30 and thus overlap by 100%. This ensures optimum data transmission between the transceiver antennas 52, 64 and thus between the transceiver units 48, 62.

[0090] The rotor identification information is also part of the data transmitted.

[0091] Moreover, the Hall sensor 66 of the second support 60 and the magnets 50 of the first support 46 are arranged at the same height with respect to the axis of rotation 30 and thus overlap by 100%. In a known manner, the rotor identification information is transmitted which is constituted by the number of magnets and the way they are arranged.

[0092] Because the rotor identification information and the related data are safety-relevant data, this embodiment provides for them to be transmitted redundantly to a control device of the centrifuge 10 from the rotor-side support 46 to the housing-side support 60, i.e. on the one hand by the magnets 50 which are detected by the Hall sensor 66, but also by the transceiver units 48 and 62.

[0093] In addition, the operating data, such as running cycles, running times, etc. is stored for rotor identification both in a memory of the control device of the centrifuge 10 as well as in a memory of the transceiver unit 48.

[0094] For this purpose, the first transceiver unit comprises a memory in which the data of the rotor is stored, for example rotor type, maximum permissible rotational speed, maximum permissible running time of the rotor and the like. This data is stored in a non-volatile memory. Moreover, a read-write memory is provided in which operating data, such as runtime cycles, operating time, driving speeds and the like, is continuously updated.

[0095] Furthermore, an accelerometer 68 is provided on the second support 60. The accelerometer 68 is used to detect potential imbalances, and the control device can react to them if necessary, for example when predefined threshold values are exceeded.

[0096] The first transceiver unit 48 may comprise a transponder and the second transceiver unit 62 may comprise an associated reader.

[0097] The transceiver units 49, 62 are designed for the NFC standard.

[0098] During operation of the centrifuge 10, before centrifugation is started, the rotor identification information is read from the first transceiver unit and, during startup at the latest, the rotor identification information is additionally detected via the magnets 50. These data sets are compared with each other in the process, If the data or the identification information match, operation of the centrifuge 10 will continue based on the operating data associated with the rotor identification information, maximum permissible speed, maximum service life, maximum load change, etc.

[0099] If there is no data match in the rotor identification information, the centrifuge will be switched off, and visual and acoustic alarms will be triggered.

[0100] If data is detected via the acceleration sensor 68 that exceeds a predetermined threshold, the centrifuge 10 will also be switched off and a visual alarm, such as an error message on a display, and an acoustic alarm will be triggered.

[0101] The invention is characterized by the fact that a minimum distance between the transceiver antennas 52, 64 can be created at which tolerances have hardly any adverse effect. The overlapping arrangement of the transceiver antennas 52, 64 makes data transmission insensitive to possible tolerances in the axial direction, i.e., the position of the rotor 32 relative to the drive motor 16. In addition, as a result of the coaxial opposite arrangement of the supports 46, 60 on the cylindrical projection 32a of the rotor 32, which projection has the smallest possible radius, or on the projection 40 of the motor housing 36, which projection has the smallest possible radius, the centripetal force acting on the transceiver unit 48 can be minimized.

[0102] The invention is furthermore characterized by the fact that there is no metal directly behind the supports that would prevent the buildup of a magnetic field.

[0103] Using the NFC standard is a cost-effective and secure way of transmitting data. The redundancy in the transmission of the motor identification information significantly increases the safety of the centrifuge 10 during operation, Maximum speeds that are too high can thus be avoided in an easy and reliable manner.

[0104] Arranging the annular support 46 at the same height as the different rotors 32 results in the same data transmission quality for all rotors 32.

[0105] The arrangement, according to the invention, of the supports 46 and 60 in the direction of the axis of rotation 30 results in optimized data transmission because the rotor 32, which is usually made of metal, and the drive motor 16, which is likewise made of metal, will not interfere with the field lines of the transceiver units 48, 62. This is schematically illustrated in FIG. 10, in which the field lines are designated by reference sign 72. In this arrangement, no metal is in the immediate vicinity of the supports 46, 60, thus allowing for the magnetic field or the electromagnetic field to build up easily and without interference.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0106] 10 centrifuge [0107] 12 housing [0108] 14 lid [0109] 16 drive motor [0110] 18 damping means [0111] 20 protective vessel [0112] 22 drive shaft [0113] 22a shoulder of projection 40 of motor housing 36 [0114] 24 concentric circular recess of protective vessel 20 [0115] 26 bottom of housing 12 [0116] 28 feet of housing 12 [0117] 30 axis of rotation [0118] 32 rotor [0119] 32a projection of the rotor 32 [0120] 32b underside of projection 32a of rotor 32 [0121] 34 shoulder of drive motor 16 [0122] 36 motor housing [0123] 38 annular shoulder [0124] 38a top of annular shoulder 38 [0125] 40 projection of motor housing 36 [0126] 42 rotor chamber [0127] 44 first annular chamber—rotor side [0128] 44a U-shaped opening of annular chamber [0129] 46 first support [0130] 48 first transceiver unit [0131] 50 magnet, [0132] 52 transceiver antenna of first transceiver unit 48 [0133] 54 receptacle for magnets 50 in the first annular chamber 44 [0134] 56 cavity in the first annular chamber 44 [0135] 58 second annular chamber—housing side [0136] 58a U-shaped opening of annular chamber 58 [0137] 60 second support [0138] 62 second transceiver unit [0139] 64 transceiver antenna of second transceiver unit 62 [0140] 66 Hall sensor [0141] 68 accelerometer [0142] 70 connection line [0143] 72 field lines