Slide Glass Cooling/Heating with Heat-Pump Thermal Coupling

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing slide glass heating and cooling apparatuses using heat pumps inefficiently dissipate heat into the atmosphere, leading to increased power consumption when processing multiple slide glasses at different temperatures.

Innovation Solution

A system comprising multiple heat pumps connected by a heat conductive plate to a radiator, with a fan or water-cooling system for efficient heat dissipation, and a heat spreader to uniform temperature distribution, reducing power consumption by reusing heat between adjacent slide glasses.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Temperature

If adjacent slide glasses are thermally isolated and individually heated or cooled by heat pumps, then different temperatures can be achieved for each slide glass, but heat absorbed during cooling is dissipated into the atmosphere and power consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetemperature control flexibilityVSAvoidheat dissipation
Core Design Contradiction:
TemperatureVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

Multiple heat pumps are thermally connected through a heat conductive plate, merging their thermal fields. This allows heat exchanged between adjacent slide glasses to be shared and reused, preventing dissipation into the atmosphere and reducing overall power consumption while maintaining independent temperature control capabilities.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The invention converts the previously harmful heat dissipation into a beneficial resource. Heat that would have been wasted is now captured through the heat conductive plate and reused by adjacent heat pumps, transforming energy loss into energy recovery and reducing total power consumption.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #22Blessing in disguise (Convert harm into benefit)

2Productivity

If multiple slide glasses are processed simultaneously at different temperatures, then efficiency is improved, but thermal isolation increases device complexity

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprocessing efficiencyVSAvoidthermal isolation structure
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of using complex thermal isolation structures, the invention merges the thermal management system by connecting heat pumps through a heat conductive plate. This unified structure allows simultaneous processing of multiple slide glasses at different temperatures while simplifying the overall device architecture.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The heat conductive plate serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides thermal connection between heat pumps, enables heat recovery, and allows independent temperature control of each slide glass. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate thermal isolation components.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

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

Reduces heat pump power consumption by up to 30% while maintaining efficient temperature control across multiple slide glasses, improving heating and cooling efficiency.

Implementation Method 1

a heat conductive plate configured to connect the radiator to the plurality of heat pumps and to thermally connect the plurality of heat pumps

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectHeat conduction: Conduction (thermal)

Implementation Method 2

a radiator configured to promote heat dissipation of the heat pumps

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectHeat dissipation: Heat Sink

Data Source

PatentEP4641164A1Slide glass cooling/heating device and slide glass cooling/heating method
Publication Date: 2025.10.29 HITACHI HIGH TECH CORP
  • EP4641164A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4641164A1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP4641164A1 patent drawingFigure 4

AI summary

A slide glass cooling and heating apparatus 10 includes a plurality of heat pumps 22a and 22b configured to cool or heat a plurality of slide glasses 11 one by one, a radiator configured to promote heat dissipation of the heat pumps 22a and 22b, and a heat conductive plate 14 configured to connect the radiator to the plurality of heat pumps 22a and 22b and to thermally connect the plurality of heat pumps 22a and 22b. Accordingly, a slide glass cooling and heating apparatus and a slide glass cooling and heating method that can reduce heat pump power consumption in an apparatus for simultaneously heating and cooling a plurality of slide glasses using a heat pump are provided.