Incubation system for an analyzer apparatus

An incubation system, comprising:

• a) at least one heat conductive receptacle;
• b) for each said receptacle, a heating element attached to said receptacle;
• c) for each said receptacle, a temperature sensor in contact with said receptacle which determines a temperature of said receptacle;
• d) a microcontroller including software which operates a feedback loop between each said heating element and its associated temperature sensor, causing said heating element to heat its associated receptacle to a desired temperature;
• and
• e) a printed circuit board to which said at least one receptacle and its associated heating element and temperature sensor are coupled.

A method of calibrating an incubation system, comprising:

• a) providing an incubation system including a heat conductive receptacle, a heating element attached to said receptacle, a temperature sensor attached to said receptacle, and a microcontroller coupled in circuit with said heating element and said temperature sensor,
• b) powering said microcontroller;
• c) soaking said incubation system at a predetermined temperature for a period of time;
• and
• d) at said predetermined temperature, storing a representation of a reading of said temperature sensor in a non-volatile memory of said microcontroller.

A method of heating a device to a desired temperature, said device including a heat conductive receptacle, a heating element attached to said receptacle, a temperature sensor in contact with said receptacle which determines a temperature of the receptacle, and a microcontroller including a non-volatile memory and coupled in circuit with the heating element and the temperature sensor, the temperature sensor having been previously soaked at the desired temperature for a period of time and the microcontroller having been powered to store a calibration value corresponding to a reading of the temperature sensor at the desired temperature in the non-volatile memory of the microcontroller, said method comprising:

• a) determining a sensed value corresponding to a sensed temperature;
• b) determining a difference between said sensed value and the calibration value;
• c) multiplying said difference by a proportional gain to obtain an operational value;
• d) based on said operational value, setting a duty cycle control circuit in the microcontroller to output a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal which controls power to the heating element;
• and
• e) repeating steps a) through d).