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Cooling device for biological samplesRelated Patent Categories: Refrigeration, Processes, Treating An ArticleCooling device for biological samples description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070169488, Cooling device for biological samples. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
[0001] The invention relates to a cooling equipment for biological samples, especially for the analysis, manipulation and processing of cryosamples, in accordance with the preamble of claim 1. [0002] The freezing of samples of biological material at temperatures of liquid nitrogen while preserving the vitality of the sample material is known in the area of biology, pharmacology, medicine and biotechnology. Such samples are also designated as cryosamples, the vitality-preserving storage of such cryosamples taking place in so-called cryotanks in which liquid nitrogen is present. In order to manipulate, process or investigate the cryosamples, they are removed from the cryotank and introduced into a cooling equipment that can consist, e.g., of a vat on whose bottom liquid nitrogen is present, that is also designated as a nitrogen lake, and that slowly evaporates, so that the cryosample in the vat continues to be sufficiently cooled. In order to avoid an outgassing of the liquid nitrogen into the ambient air, a transparent protective bell can be placed on the vat, whereby glove sleeves can be present in the wall of the protective bell through which an operator can manipulate the cryosample present in the vat. [0003] The known cooling equipment described above for manipulating, processing or investigating cryosamples has the disadvantages of an unsatisfactory temperature constancy and temperature distribution inside the vat. [0004] Another disadvantage of the known cooling equipment is the fact that the protective bell can mist over on account of the nitrogen outgassing from the nitrogen lake, which significantly hampers the visual monitoring. [0005] In addition, in the known cooling equipment the temperature inside the vat cannot be adjusted or can only be adjusted with difficulty by changing the amount of liquid nitrogen introduced into the vat. [0006] The invention therefore has the basic task of appropriately improving the initially described cooling equipment. [0007] Another object can be to improve the temperature constancy in the cooling equipment, to make it possible to adjust the temperature, to optimize the distribution of temperature inside the cooling equipment, to prevent a misting over of the protective bell, and to minimize the moisture in the cooling space. [0008] The above-cited task is solved by a cooling equipment in accordance with claim 1. [0009] The invention is based on the technical recognition that the unsatisfactory temperature constancy and temperature distribution inside the cooling vat is caused in the known cooling equipment by the fact that the nitrogen outgassing from the nitrogen lake spreads in an undefined manner inside the cooling equipment so that the desired operating temperature can only be achieved with difficulty and can hardly be controlled. Moreover, the uncontrolled outgassing of nitrogen from the nitrogen lake results in a misting over of the superposed protective bell. [0010] The invention therefore comprises the general technical teaching of avoiding a nitrogen lake in the cooling equipment and instead introducing gaseous nitrogen in a controlled manner into the cooling space. [0011] The cooling equipment according to the invention therefore has a cooling space for receiving cooled material, which cooling space is limited by an inner wall and an outer wall, an intermediate space being present between the inner wall and the outer wall into which a cooling agent supply line empties. The cooling agent (e.g., liquid nitrogen) is thus not introduced directly into the cooling space here but rather into the intermediate space between the inner wall and the outer wall of the cooling space, the inner wall being permeable for the cooling agent so that the cooling agent enters from the intermediate space between the outer wall and the inner wall through the inner wall into the cooling space. [0012] A buffer material is preferably arranged in the intermediate space between the inner wall and the outer wall of the cooling space, which temporarily receives the cooling agent introduced into the intermediate space and continuously transfers it through the inner wall into the cooling space. [0013] The buffer material is therefore preferably porous in order to be able to intermediately store, e.g., liquid nitrogen. [0014] The outer wall of the cooling space is preferably impermeable to the cooling agent, in contrast to the inner wall of the cooling space, in order to prevent an exiting of the cooling agent out into the environment. Furthermore, the outer wall is preferably thermally insulating in order to avoid a cooling off of the environment and/or a warming up of the cooling equipment. [0015] In contrast thereto, the inner wall of the cooling space preferably consists of a thermally conductive material such as, e.g., metal in order to improve the transfer of heat from the inner cooling space onto the cooling agent located in the intermediate space. Furthermore, it is advantageous if the material of the inner wall not only has a good thermal conductivity but also a high specific thermal capacity so that the inner wall counteracts undesired fluctuations of temperature with its thermal capacity as a thermal buffer. [0016] In a preferred embodiment of the invention the inner wall is substantially grid-shaped so that the cooling agent located in the intermediate space can outgas into the cooling space without substantial hindrance. [0017] Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment of the invention the cooling space is shaped like a vat and has a circumferential edge on its upper side, the cooling agent supply line preferably comprising a cooling agent distributor that extends along the circumferential edge of the cooling space and introduces the cooling agent, distributed over its length, into the intermediate space between the inner wall and the outer wall of the cooling space. Thus, the cooling agent is uniformly introduced into the intermediate space between the inner wall in the outer wall of the cooling space here, which advantageously results in a uniform distribution of temperature in the cooling space since the cooling space is uniformly cooled from all sides. [0018] In addition, there is the possibility within the context of the invention that a heating element is arranged in the cooling space in order to heat the cooling space or to thaw the cooled material present in the cooling space. This heating element is preferably arranged under or in a heating plate, preferably comprising several passages that allow a circulation of gas. [0019] As in the above described, known cooling equipment, the cooling equipment in accordance with the invention also has the possibility of placing a removable protective bell onto the cooling space in order to prevent the penetration of moisture into the cooling space. This protective bell is preferably at least partially transparent in order to make possible a visible monitoring of the cooled material present in the cooling space. [0020] In a preferred embodiment of the invention the protective bell has a sample lock through which the cooled material can be introduced into and removed from the cooling space, the sample lock preventing a thermal exchange with the environment to a large extent. [0021] Furthermore, a cold-gas outlet can be arranged on the lower side of the protective bell and/or on the upper side of the cooling space via which outlet cooling agent or cold gas can escape from the cooling space. This cold-gas outlet generates a large temperature gradient at the level of the cold-gas outlet, the temperature above the cold-gas outlet being substantially higher than below the cold-gas outlet. This advantageously prevents a misting over of the protective bell. [0022] Furthermore, a regulation of the temperature in the cooling space preferably takes place within the context of the invention. To this end, the cooling equipment of the invention preferably has a temperature sensor arranged in the cooling space in order to measure and/or regulate the temperature in the cooling space. A controllable cooling agent valve that adjusts the amount of the supplied cooling agent and/or the cooling agent flow is then preferably provided as a actuator for temperature adjustment. The actual temperature control then takes place by a temperature control device that is connected on the input side to the temperature sensor and controls the cooling agent valve on the output side in accordance with a given theoretical temperature value. [0023] The control of the cooling agent valve by the temperature control device can take place via a pulse generator that alternately opens and closes the temperature control device, the opening and closing times of the cooling agent valve being set by the pulse generator and adjusted by the temperature control device. The supply of cooling agent therefore takes place in a discontinuous manner in this instance in that the cooling agent valve alternately opens and closes. [0024] The temperature sensor for detecting the temperature in the cooling space is preferably arranged at the processing position of the cooling space here, in order to measure and/or control the optimal processing temperature in the cooling space. Continue reading about Cooling device for biological samples... Full patent description for Cooling device for biological samples Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Cooling device for biological samples patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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