Culture Chamber Heater Segmentation for Sterilization and Temperature Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing culture apparatuses face challenges in efficiently controlling temperature and reducing electromagnetic noise while maintaining a sterile culture space, often requiring large heaters that cause rapid temperature fluctuations and noise.
Innovation Solution
The culture apparatus employs separate culture and sterilization heaters, controlled by a sophisticated control device to maintain optimal temperatures and humidity levels, with individual system control for each heater type, ensuring uniform temperature distribution and reduced noise.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a large capacity heater is used to make the culture space sterile, then sterilization effectiveness is improved, but temperature control precision deteriorates and electromagnetic noise increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heater is divided into two separate heaters: a first heater for sterilization and a second heater for temperature control during culture. This segmentation allows each heater to be optimized for its specific function, enabling effective sterilization without compromising temperature control precision during the culture phase.
2Reliability
If a large capacity heater is used to make the culture space sterile, then sterilization effectiveness is improved, but electromagnetic noise increases
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the sterilization heater and culture heater into distinct components, the system can use a large capacity first heater for sterilization without requiring the second heater (used during culture) to handle high power loads, thereby reducing electromagnetic noise during the culture phase.
3Reliability
If a large capacity heater is used for sterilization, then sterilization capability is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heating system is segmented into a first heater for sterilization and a second heater for culture maintenance. This allows the system to use high power only when necessary for sterilization, and switch to lower power operation during the culture phase, thereby reducing overall power consumption while maintaining sterilization capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs periodic heating cycles where the first heater operates at high power during sterilization phases, followed by periods where the second heater maintains temperature at lower power levels during culture phases. This periodic action pattern reduces average power consumption while ensuring effective sterilization when needed.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach allows for efficient sterilization and culture mode control, maintaining precise temperature and humidity levels, reducing electromagnetic interference, and preventing bacterial adhesion, while ensuring uniform temperature distribution.
Implementation Method 1
a heater with a large capacity generating a large amount of heat must be employed because the interior should be heated to a temperature higher than a temperature in incubating a culture
Implementation Method 2
a bottom heater for heating water in a humidification pan in its culture space
Data Source
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AI summary
A culture apparatus including: a heat-insulated casing including an inner case surrounding a culture space, and an outer case surrounding the inner case, the heat-insulated casing having an opening in its front surface; a box-shaped heat-insulated door to open and close the opening of the heat-insulated casing; one or more heaters provided to one or more inner surfaces of the inner case and an inner surface of an inner wall surface of the heat-insulated door to heat an interior of a culture space, the inner wall surface facing the culture space when the door is closed; and a control unit configured to turn on the heaters, the heaters including one or more first heaters configured to be turned on when the interior of the culture space is controlled at a first temperature to incubate a culture in the culture space and when the interior of the culture space is controlled at a second temperature to make the interior of the culture space, the second temperature being higher than the first temperature, and one or more second heaters configured to be energized when the interior of the culture space is controlled at the second temperature to sterilize the interior of the culture space.