JP2000005639A - Centrifugal separator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To remove efficiently an excess water while superheat in a rotary room is prevented by removing a special operation for operating a defrosting function by a method wherein a humidity in the rotary room in which a rotor is contained is detected with a sensor, and an inside of the rotary room is controlled by heating or cooling according to the detected result. SOLUTION: When a rotor 1 in which a sample is contained is rotatively driven with a driving device 2, a temperature of the rotor 1 or an inside of a rotary room 3 containing that is detected with a temperature sensor 5 to control a heating and cooling device 9 with a controller 7 according to the result, and a water content is removed by evaporation. Further temperatures of the rotor 1 and the rotary room 3 are detected with a temperature sensor 6, and the heating and cooling device 9 is controlled so as not to exceed a limit value of a temperature to be raised of the rotor 1 according to the detected result. Further, when the rotary room 3 is heated, a pressure inside the rotary room 3 is reduced with a vacuum pump 4 to accelerate evaporation and removal of the water content. Then, after returning the rotary room to atmospheric pressure, when the water content remains, the evaporation and removal of the water content (a defrosting function) is performed again.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to cooling or heating a rotating chamber in order to prevent a temperature rise due to windage of a rotating body, such as a centrifuge, and to maintain or control the rotating body at a desired temperature. And a centrifugal separator for rotating a rotating body at a high speed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ultracentrifuge has a rotational speed of about 4 per minute.
When separating a sample such as an enzyme or a protein, the centrifugal separator having a rotation speed of 000 rpm or more needs to keep the temperature of the sample at a low temperature. Is controlled. On the other hand, ultracentrifuges
The structure is such that the rotating chamber can be depressurized to a high vacuum by a vacuum pump so that the rotating body is rotated at a high speed so that the windage is reduced and the temperature of the rotating body is not increased by frictional heat with air.

In many cases, a rotating body containing a sample is pre-cooled in a refrigerator or the like and then set in a centrifuge. However, if the rotating body is rotated at a high speed before the rotating chamber is brought into a high vacuum, friction with air is generated. There is a problem that the temperature of the rotating body rises due to the heat and the activity of the sample is impaired. Therefore, normally, the temperature of the rotating body is prevented from rising by controlling or operating the rotating body at a high speed after detecting that the inside of the rotating chamber has reached a predetermined degree of vacuum. In the case of repeated operation as routine work, a sample is taken out of the rotating body after one operation, then a new sample is loaded on the rotating body and the operation is repeated, but when the rotating room temperature is lower than the ambient temperature of the centrifuge, the moisture is reduced. Condensation. If there is water such as water droplets in the rotating chamber, or if the humidity in the rotating chamber is high, it often takes more than twice as long to reach a high vacuum that can be rotated at high speed by reducing the pressure with a vacuum pump. There is a problem that the time to reach is long. Further, when the rotating chamber is evacuated, the water droplets in the rotating chamber freeze and the time required to achieve a desired vacuum becomes longer, and the frozen water drops become a heat insulating layer with respect to the cooling of the rotating body. And the rotating body is hardly cooled. As a method of removing this moisture, there is a method of heating and evaporating the rotating chamber for a certain period of time, conventionally called a defrost function, and a user selects and operates the function, or at the time of driving, at the time of deceleration. It works its function automatically.

[0004]

The conventional defrost function requires a cumbersome operation because a user visually judges a water drop or the like and activates the function. In addition, when the function is activated automatically during deceleration, the rotating room is heated for a certain period of time even under conditions where no water droplets are generated, so if the rotating room must be cooled again, it takes time to cool the heated part. There was such a problem.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a means for solving the above-mentioned problems, eliminating the operation for operating the defrost function, and removing excess moisture in the rotating chamber by preventing unnecessary heating of the rotating chamber. That is.

[0006]

The above object is achieved by detecting moisture or humidity, such as water droplets, attached to a rotating chamber or a rotating body, and heating the rotating chamber to remove moisture and moisture.

[0007]

This embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. The rotating body 1 containing the sample is rotationally driven by the driving device 2 in the rotating chamber 3. The rotating chamber 3 is provided with a vacuum pump 4 for decompressing the rotating chamber 3, a humidity sensor for detecting the humidity of the rotating chamber 3, and a temperature sensor 6 for detecting the temperature of the rotating body 1 or the rotating chamber 3. Further, a heating / cooling device 9 is attached to the wall of the rotating chamber in order to heat and cool the rotating body 1 and the rotating chamber 3 to control or maintain the temperature at a predetermined temperature. As an example of the heating / cooling device, there is a thermo module utilizing the Peltier effect.

The control device 7 controls the rotation speed, temperature,
An operation unit 8 for inputting centrifugation conditions such as centrifugation time and for starting or stopping rotation, and a humidity sensor 5 for detecting humidity of the rotating chamber 3
And a signal from a temperature sensor 6 that detects the temperature of the rotating body 1 or the rotating chamber 3, and controls the operations of the driving device 2 and the heating / cooling device 9. Further, the control device 7 controls the vacuum pump 4 that reduces the pressure in the rotating chamber 3 in order to prevent the temperature of the rotating body 1 from rising due to frictional heat with air. The vacuum pump 4 can be controlled when the rotating chamber door 10 is closed.

During operation of the centrifuge, the control device 7
Detects the moisture or moisture in the rotating body 1 or the rotating chamber 3 with the humidity sensor 5 and heats the rotating chamber with the heating / cooling device 9 to evaporate and remove the moisture. At that time, the temperature sensor 6
, The temperature of the rotating body 1 or the rotating chamber 3 is measured.
The heating / cooling device 9 is controlled so as not to exceed the temperature rise limit value. When the rotating chamber 3 is heated, the vacuum pump 4 is operated at the same time to promote the evaporation and removal of water. At the time of vacuum decompression of the rotating chamber 3, since the humidity and humidity cannot be detected by the humidity sensor 5,
After a predetermined time or the temperature of the rotating body 1 or the rotating chamber 3 measured by the temperature sensor 9, the vacuum pump 4 is turned off once to bring the rotating chamber 3 to atmospheric pressure, and then the humidity sensor 5
Then, the rotating chamber 3 is heated again if remaining, and a series of evaporation / removal of moisture is performed (defrost function). If no water remains, start centrifugation by the user. After the centrifugation, the rotating body 1 is decelerated and stopped. After the sample is recovered from the rotating body 1 after the stop, another sample is loaded on the rotating body 1 and centrifugation is performed. After detecting the moisture or humidity in the rotating chamber 3, a series of moisture evaporation / removal procedures are executed.

[0010]

According to the present invention, the procedure for evaporating and removing water from the rotating chamber can be executed without any special operation by the user, and unnecessary heating of the rotating chamber can be prevented beforehand. And the temperature of the centrifuged sample can be prevented from rising.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a centrifuge according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the centrifuge according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is a rotating body, 2 is a driving device, 3 is a rotating chamber, 4 is a vacuum pump, 5 is a humidity sensor, 6 is a temperature sensor, 7 is a control device, 8 is an operation unit, 9 is a heating / cooling device, and 10 is a rotating device. The room door.

Claims (4)

[Claims] A rotating body rotated by a driving device;
In a centrifugal separator provided with a rotating chamber for accommodating the rotating body and a device for cooling and heating the rotating chamber or the rotating body, a sensor for detecting humidity in the rotating chamber is provided. A centrifugal separator characterized in that heating or cooling of the rotating chamber is controlled accordingly. 2. A sensor for detecting a temperature of the rotating body or the rotating chamber, wherein the rotating chamber or the rotating body is heated and cooled within a temperature limit value of the rotating body or the sample in the rotating body. The centrifuge according to claim 1, wherein 3. A vacuum pump for reducing the pressure in the rotating chamber to a predetermined vacuum, and heating or cooling the rotating chamber or the rotating body according to detection of the sensor while the rotating chamber is in the atmosphere or in a vacuum. The centrifuge according to claim 1, wherein the centrifugal separation is performed. 4. A sensor for detecting a temperature of the rotating body or the rotating chamber, wherein the rotating chamber or the rotating body is heated and cooled within a temperature limit value of the rotating body or the sample in the rotating body. The centrifuge according to claim 3, wherein