External-Thermal Recirculating Bath for Unobstructed Work Area
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional recirculating baths have limited utility and require frequent maintenance due to obstructive head units, restricted access, and the risk of overheating or cross-contamination from heating and cooling elements located within the reservoir.
Innovation Solution
The recirculating bath design relocates heating and cooling elements externally to the reservoir, allowing for an unobstructed work area, easier cleaning, and reduced risk of contamination, with a hinged lid providing additional workspace and improved access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If heating and cooling elements are located within the reservoir, then temperature control is achieved, but the work area is restricted and contamination risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heating element and cooling element are extracted from the reservoir interior and relocated to external positions. The heating element is positioned in a heating well external to the reservoir, and the cooling element is placed in a cooling well external to the reservoir. This extraction eliminates the space occupation of these elements within the work area while maintaining their temperature control function through thermal coupling via the reservoir walls.
2Temperature
If heating and cooling elements are located within the reservoir, then temperature control is achieved, but contamination and overheating risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heating and cooling elements are extracted from direct contact with the working liquid in the reservoir. By positioning these elements in external wells that are thermally coupled to the reservoir but fluidically isolated, the design eliminates the risk of these elements contaminating the working liquid or causing localized overheating through direct contact.
Solution Approach 2:
The reservoir wall acts as an intermediary thermal conductor between the external heating/cooling elements and the working liquid. This intermediary structure allows heat transfer to occur through conduction across the wall thickness, providing thermal coupling while maintaining physical separation and preventing direct contact between the heating/cooling elements and the working liquid.
3Device complexity
If head unit is placed on top of the base unit, then temperature control functions are integrated, but access to the reservoir is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The head unit containing the heating element, cooling element, and control mechanisms is extracted from the top of the base unit. Instead, these components are distributed with the heating element in an external heating well and the cooling element in an external cooling well, allowing unobstructed access to the reservoir from the top while maintaining integrated temperature control functionality.
4Area of stationary object
If thermal elements are located externally, then work area is increased, but thermal coupling efficiency may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The reservoir wall at the locations of the heating and cooling wells is designed with enhanced thermal conductivity or reduced thickness to optimize heat transfer. This local quality enhancement ensures that despite the external positioning of thermal elements, the thermal coupling efficiency remains high through optimized heat conduction paths at the specific interaction points between the external elements and the working liquid.
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 design enhances the utility and safety of the recirculating bath by increasing the usable work area, reducing maintenance needs, and preventing overheating or cross-contamination, while maintaining efficient temperature control at low liquid levels.
Implementation Method 1
a thermal element located externally to the first space and thermally coupled to the working liquid to transfer heat between the working liquid and the thermal element
Implementation Method 2
a recirculating pump located externally to the first space and fluidically coupled to the first space to circulate the working liquid through the first space
Data Source
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AI summary
A recirculating bath includes a reservoir for receiving a working liquid, a recirculating pump, and at least one thermal element. The recirculating pump and thermal element are located externally to the reservoir so that the reservoir has an unobstructed working space. The thermal element may be thermally coupled to the working liquid through an interior surface of the reservoir, or the working liquid may be circulated over the thermal element by the recirculating pump in a chamber external to the reservoir. The recirculating bath may also include a lid that provides access to the reservoir by pivoting on a latching hinge. When open, the lid may provide a working surface adjacent to the reservoir. The lid may also include a selector that unlatches the hinge so that the lid can be removed. The recirculating pump may be fluidically coupled to the reservoir via a manifold.