Temperature-regulating device for laboratory vessels

A temperature-control process for laboratory vessels, comprising the following steps:

• providing a temperature-control device with an internal region at least partially filled with a temperature-control medium and with a housing with a receiving region which upwardly delimits a hollow internal region of the housing in an upward direction, and with depressions directed inward on an upper side of the receiving region,
• thermal conditioning the temperature-control device before use in the absence of laboratory vessels,
• insertion of the laboratory vessels,
• absorption or transfer of conditioned thermal energy from the laboratory vessels or to the laboratory vessels in a finite time period,
• wherein the temperature-control medium at least partially flows around and/or through an absorber element which extends horizontally within the internal region of the housing, and which is connected to the receiving region in a thermally conductive manner, and
• wherein the temperature-control medium is selected in a manner such that a solid phase of the temperature-control medium has a different density than a liquid phase of the temperature-control medium, so that the solid phase floats or sinks in the liquid phase of the temperature-control medium and moves forcibly toward the absorber element due to the different densities of the phases.

A temperature-control device for laboratory vessels which is configured to be thermally conditioned in the absence of laboratory vessels before use and, during use, in a finite time period, to absorb the conditioned thermal energy from the laboratory vessels and/or to transfer said thermal energy to the laboratory vessels, comprising:

• a hollow housing which has an internal region at least substantially filled with a temperature-control medium,
• wherein the housing has a base on an underside and a receiving region situated opposite to the base on an upper side, the receiving region delimiting the internal region of the housing in an upward direction and wherein the housing has inwardly directed depressions on said upper side for receiving of laboratory vessels to be temperature-controlled,
• wherein the housing has an air space,
• wherein a horizontally extending absorber element is arranged in the internal region of the housing in a manner enabling the temperature-control medium to at least partially flow around and/or through the absorber element,
• wherein the absorber element and the receiving region are connected in a thermally conductive manner, and
• wherein, at least one of:
• the internal region of the housing is filled with the temperature-control medium as far as the absorber element and a remaining part of the internal region comprises the air space,
• or
• the internal region of the housing is partitioned such that the temperature-control medium is present in a first internal region and the air space is present in a second internal region, a partition sealing the first and second internal regions from one another, the partition being flexible and made of an elastic material.