Condensate Prevention Hood

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for controlling the temperature of laboratory vessels, comprising at least one vessel receptacle for receiving the laboratory vessels, at least one removably designed peripheral unit, and a base unit which has a temperature control device and a mounting for placing the at least one removable peripheral unit in a defined position, characterised in that the base unit and the at least one peripheral unit each have at least one coupling element, with said elements, when the peripheral unit is placed onto the base unit in the defined position, forming at least one releasable coupled pair by which the electrical power and/or at least one signal can be transmitted.

Claims

1. A device for controlling the temperature of laboratory vessels with at least one vessel receptacle for receiving the laboratory vessels at least one removably designed peripheral unit, and with a base unit having a temperature control device and a mount for placing the at least one removable peripheral unit in a defined position, characterised in that the base unit and the at least one peripheral unit each have at least one coupling element, which, when the peripheral unit is placed on the base unit in the defined position, form at least one releasable coupled pair, through which electric power and/or at least one signal can be transmitted.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterised in that the respective coupling elements of the at least one releasable coupled pair are separated from one another galvanically.

3. The device according to claim 2, characterised in that, through said at least one releasable coupled pair optical and/or inductive and/or capacitive electric power coupled pair and/or at least one signal can be transmitted.

4. The device according to claim 1, characterised in that at least one respective coupling element in the base unit and the peripheral unit is a coil, and that both coils together, in the defined position, form said at least one releasable coupled pair.

5. The device according to claim 4, characterised in that electric power only flows through the coil in the base unit if a sensor which exists in the base unit detects the peripheral unit.

6. The device according to claim 5, characterised in that the electric power is transmitted via the coil in the base unit to the coil in the peripheral unit by means of frequencies in the range of 250 to 500 kHz.

7. The device according to claim 2, characterised in that said at least one coupling element in the base unit is an LED, in particular an infra-red LED, and said at least one coupling element in the peripheral unit is a photoreceiver, a photodiode, a phototransistor or a light-dependent resistor (LDR) or vice versa.

8. The device according to claim 1, characterised in that the peripheral unit has at least one sensor and/or at least one integrated circuit (C), wherein, through said at least one coupled pair, a signal can be transmitted by the sensor and/or the IC to the base unit, and/or from the base unit to the peripheral unit.

9. The device according to claim 2, characterised in that the base unit and said at least one peripheral unit each have at least one galvanic contact element, which, when the peripheral unit is placed on top of the base unit in the defined position, form at least one detachable conductive bifurcated contact, through which the electric power can be transmitted from the base unit to an electric power consuming device in the peripheral unit.

10. The device according to claim 1, characterised in that said at least one vessel receptacle is to be found in said at least one peripheral unit.

11. The device according to claim 10, characterised in that the peripheral unit is an exchangeable block.

12. The device according to claim 1, characterised in that said at least one peripheral unit is a hood, which, together with the walls of the base unit and/or the vessel block, encloses a space for laboratory vessels.

13. The device according to claim 1, characterised in that the base unit has at least one drive, through which said at least one vessel receptacle can be set into a mixing motion.

14. The device according to claim 1, characterised in that the holder on the base unit and said at least one peripheral unit each have a form-fit positioning element, and that said positioning elements together establish at least one degree of freedom of said at least one peripheral unit.

15. The device according to claim 14, characterised in that magnetic connecting elements, in particular ferromagnetic ones, together hold the positioning elements in the defined position.

16. The device according to claim 1, characterised in that the peripheral unit has a sliding cover, which can be slid into a position and, by means of an elastic element, is pre-stressed into this position, in which position the sliding cover covers at least one coupling element at least partially.

17. A peripheral unit for a device according to claim 1.

18. A use of the device according to claim 1 for biological, biochemical, molecular biological and/or chemical applications in the laboratory.

19. A method for manufacturing the device according to claim 1.

Description

[0056] Further advantages and features of the device according to the invention and peripheral units according to the invention are described, by way of example, with reference to the attached figures.

[0057] FIG. 1 shows a spatial view of couplings according to the invention.

[0058] FIG. 2 shows a spatial top view onto a base unit according to the invention.

[0059] FIG. 3 shows two spatial lateral views of a base unit according to the invention, with a peripheral unit placed on it and removed, and the coupling of FIG. 2.

[0060] FIG. 4 shows a lateral view, a top view and a spatial lateral view of a coil with a core as an element of the coupling of FIG. 2.

[0061] FIG. 5 shows a partially cropped spatial lateral view of an additional plug connection according to the invention.

[0062] FIG. 1 illustrates the scope of operation of an optical-inductive interface according to the invention. It consists of a Part 2 on the base unit side (see also FIG. 2) and a Part 5 on the peripheral unit side. The assembly on the peripheral unit side is fastened with screws 6 to an inner surface 7 of the peripheral unit, for example to the inner shell of a hood for avoiding condensate (the outer shell is not shown in this figure). A printed circuit board 8 houses six optical channels. Four channels transmit data from the hood for avoiding condensate to the base unit. Accordingly, four infra-red LEDs 9 can be found on the printed circuit board. Two channels transmit data from the base unit to the hood for avoiding condensate. For this purpose, two photoreceivers 10 are to be found on the printed circuit board. The optical components are, with their complementary coupling elements in the base unit, optically connected via apertures 11, 12 in the inner shell of the hood for avoiding condensate 7 and the top of the housing 13a of the base unit. As protection against contamination and ambient light, optical filters 13b, 14 are placed in the apertures 11, 12.

[0063] The power supply for two temperature sensors contained in the hood for avoiding condensate and an EEPROM (not shown here), as well as for the six optical channels, is implemented via an inductive coupling. For this purpose, respective coils 15, 16 are positioned on hoods for avoiding condensate and on the device side. These are respectively wound onto the central cones of a half-shell core 17, 18, and laterally have bars 30 for the targeted conducting of the magnetic field lines, the course of which, section by section, largely follows the course of field lines of the magnetic field (not shown) in order to improve the inductive signal transmission, in particular also via a gap or a housingwhich can be easily discerned on the device side 18 based on a stylised illustration, and in detail in FIG. 4. Energy is transmitted in line with the principle of the loosely coupled transformer.

[0064] In addition, on the side of the hood for avoiding condensate there is a magnet 19. This is detected, on the device side, via a Hall effect sensor 20. Only once the hood for avoiding condensate is placed on top of the base unit in the defined (intended) position and the Hall effect sensor 20 recognises the magnets 19, is current applied to the coil 16. This way the power dissipation and the electromagnetic interference effect of the inductive interface are reduced.

[0065] The installation of the coupling assemblies 2 and 5 according to FIG. 1 in a base unit 1 and a peripheral unit 31 is shown schematically in FIG. 3.

[0066] FIG. 5 shows an additional magnetic electrical plug connection with a positioning mandrel or mandrel 3 (FIG. 2). An interface of identical construction is also implemented via the second positioning mandrel 4. The positioning mandrel 3 manufactured from a ferromagnetic metal is fastened to the top 13a of the base unit 1 using an electrically conductive screw 21. The screw 21 is connected to a power source (not shown here).

[0067] A metallic jack 22 is pressed into the inner shell 7 of the hood for avoiding condensate. The latter has an inner groove 23, into which an annular spring 24 is inserted. Should the hood for avoiding condensate be placed onto the base unit 1, an electrical conductive contact is produced from the positioning mandrel 3 via the annular spring 24 to the jack 22. Using a power cable (not shown here), this is then connected by means of a heating foil (not shown) into the hood for avoiding condensate. The electric circuit back to the base unit 1 is closed via the second interface through the positioning mandrel 4.

[0068] Besides the power conducting function described so far, the plug connection according to FIG. 5 has a holding function. For that purpose, a magnet 25 is pressed into the outer shell 26 of the hood for avoiding condensate. When the hood for avoiding condensate is placed on top of the base unit, the magnet exerts a magnetic force on the ferromagnetic positioning mandrel 3, and in this way in addition secures the hood on the base unit 1.