# US 9,433,948 B2 · Centrifuge having rotor and cooling device for cooling rotor > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 9,433,948 B2 - Document ID: US9433948B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 13/942,097 - Filed: 2013-07-15 - Published: 2014-01-23 - Granted: 2016-09-06 - Earliest claimed: 2012-07-18 - Assignees: Hitachi Koki Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Hitachi Koki Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Shoji Kusumoto; Tatsuya Konno; Ryou Murayama; Yuki Hodotsuka; Yuki Shimizu - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9433948B2 ## CPC - B04B 15/02: for cooling, heating, or heat insulating - B04B 13/00: Control arrangements specially designed for centrifuges; Program control of centrifuges (control arrangements for feed, charge or discharge B04B11/00) - B04B: CENTRIFUGES (high-speed drum mills B02C19/11; domestic spin driers D06F; analysing, measuring or monitoring physical or chemical properties of samples during centrifuging, see the relevant subclasses for these procedures, e.g. G01N) ## Abstract A centrifuge including a temperature sensor measuring ambient temperature is provided. Centrifugation operation is available or not is determined in accordance with a type of a rotor, the ambient temperature, or operation conditions set by a user. When it is inoperable, a display device displays that it is inoperable so as to invite the user to select necessity of modification of the operation conditions. Upon the display, modified operation conditions which are candidates of operable operation conditions are displayed to let the user select a candidate. To operate under the selected setting operation conditions, the display device displays that the operation is working under modified conditions. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A centrifuge comprising: a motor; a rotor mounted on a rotating shaft of the motor; a rotor chamber accommodating the rotor; a cooling device including a variable-speed-controllable compressor set with an upper-limit rotation frequency and a lower-limit rotation frequency and cooling the rotor chamber; an inputting unit inputting operation conditions including setting temperature and setting rotation speed of the rotor; a temperature measuring unit measuring ambient temperature of the centrifuge; and a control device controlling operation of the motor and the cooling device, wherein the control device sets a switch temperature Tm for switching the upper-limit rotation frequency, the upper-limit rotation frequency is set to have a constant value when the measured ambient temperature is lower than or equal to the switch temperature Tm, and the upper-limit rotation frequency is decreased from the constant value when the measured ambient temperature exceeds the switch temperature Tm. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The centrifuge according to claim 1, the type of the rotor to be used can be inputted to the inputting unit, and the control device determines the operability based on the type of the rotor inputted to the inputting unit. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The centrifuge according to claim 1, further comprising a rotor determining unit, wherein the control device determines the operability based on the type of the rotor determined by the rotor determining unit. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The centrifuge according to claim 2, the control device determines the operability before start of operation of the motor. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The centrifuge according to claim 1, further comprising a display device, wherein, when the inputted operation conditions are inoperable, the control device causes the display device to display that the operation conditions are inoperable. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The centrifuge according to claim 1, wherein, when the control device determines that the operation conditions inputted in the inputting unit are inoperable, the control device causes the display device to display for inviting resetting of the operation conditions. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The centrifuge according to claim 6, wherein, the control device invites a user to select necessity of modification of the operation conditions. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The centrifuge according to claim 7, wherein when the user selects “necessary” regarding the modification of the operation conditions, the control device causes the display device to display modified operation conditions, which are candidates of operable operation conditions, including a combination of a setting rotation speed and a setting time, and accepts a selection from the candidates by the user. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The centrifuge according to claim 8, the modified operation conditions include a combination of the setting rotation speed and setting time of the rotor and setting temperature of the rotor chamber. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The centrifuge according to claim 8, wherein the control device displays plans of the modifies operation conditions, and performs centrifugation operation in accordance with modified operation conditions the user selects from the plans. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The centrifuge according to claim 10, wherein the modified operation conditions include: a plan with the rotation speed being reduced and the setting time elongated; and a plan with the rotation speed and the setting time being maintained and the setting temperature being raised. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The centrifuge according to claim 10, wherein, when centrifugation operation is performed using the modified operation conditions, the control device causes the display device to display information indicating that the operation is being performed under the modified operation conditions. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The centrifuge according to claim 12, wherein, during the centrifugation operation using the modified operation conditions, when operation conditions initially set by the user becomes operable, the control device changes the modified operation conditions into the initially set operation conditions to perform the centrifugation operation under the initially set operation conditions. ### Claim 14 (depends on 7) The centrifuge according to claim 7, wherein, when the user selects continuing the operation upon displaying the operation conditions being inoperable, the control device causes, during the centrifugation operation, the display device to display information indicating that the operation conditions are inoperable and also display conditions for improving an inoperable situation. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The centrifuge according to claim 1, wherein when controlling the cooling device, an upper-limit rotation frequency of the compressor is set in accordance with the measured ambient temperature. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The centrifuge according to claim 1, wherein the control device calculates the upper-limit rotation frequency with a function equation of the ambient temperature when the measured ambient temperature exceeds the switch temperature Tm. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The centrifuge according to claim 1, further comprising an identifying unit identifying a type of the rotor mounted on the rotating shaft, wherein the upper-limit rotation frequency of the compressor is set for each type of the identified rotor. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) The centrifuge according to claim 1, wherein the control device has a storage device, a setting condition of the upper-limit rotation frequency according to the ambient temperature is stored in advance in the storage device for each type of the rotor, and the control device identifies the type of the mounted motor, and reads a setting condition of the upper-limit rotation frequency of the compressor of the identified rotor from the storage device to operate the cooling device. ### Claim 19 (depends on 1) The centrifuge according to claim 1, further comprising a display device displaying information indicating an operation state, wherein the control device causes the display device to display that the compressor is being operated in a restricted state when the upper-limit rotation frequency is decreased. ### Claim 20 (depends on 1) The centrifuge according to claim 1, wherein the control device determines whether a remaining centrifugation operation time is within a predetermined time, and decreases the upper-limit rotation frequency when exceeding the predetermined time.