Method and apparatus for heating liquid samples, and a container for use in the apparatus
AssigneeHansens Verkstader AB
InventorOlav Petersen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In a method and an apparatus for heating large amounts of uniform milk samples (11) to about 40.degree. C. preparatory to laboratory analyses, the samples are currently introduced into a carrousel-like machine. The machine has two axially offset levels (II and III), one (III) of which being a transport level and the other (II) a heating chamber (7) in which the samples are heated by high frequency energy, preferably in the form of microwaves. The samples are introduced mechanically into the heating chamber and maintained there during heating with current measurement of their temperature. When the temperature measurement shows that the samples have reached a desired temperature, they are released and fall back to the transport level and are transported out of the machine.
Claims8
A method of individual heating of liquid samples contained in containers to a predetermined reference temperature comprising the steps of:
- continuously and separately introducing the containers containing the individual liquid samples into a single heating chamber for a plurality of containers;
- performing the heating in said heating chamber by high frequency energy;
- monitoring the temperature of each individual liquid sample contained in said containers;
- comparing the monitoring temperature with the reference temperature;
- individually removing each container containing the individual sample from the single heating chamber when the contained liquid sample has reached the reference temperature together with the steps of successively lifting the containers containing the individual samples up into the heating chamber from a transport means extending below and along the heating chamber;
- and releasing each container containing the individual sample for return to the transport means by means of gravity when its content has reached the reference temperature.
An apparatus for heating liquid samples in individual containers, comprising:
- a single heating chamber for a plurality of containers;
- means for separately introducing the individual containers containing the liquid samples into said heating chamber;
- means for heating by high frequency energy;
- means for monitoring the temperature of each liquid sample contained in said containers;
- means for comparing the monitoring temperature with a reference temperature;
- means for individually removing each container containing the individual sample from the single heating chamber when the liquid has reached the reference temperature together with a ring-shaped transport means rotatable about a vertical axis and formed with spaced, vertically movable platforms for supporting the containers containing the individual sample;
- means for lifting each platform so that the containers containing the individual sample are moved up into the heating chamber through an opening in the bottom of the heating chamber;
- and
- releasable holding means for holding each container containing the individual sample in the heating chamber until the contained individual sample has reached the reference temperature.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.