Centrifuge having a stopping step between centrifuging steps

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9656275-B2
Application number	US-201414573419-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 17, 2014
Priority date	Dec 19, 2013
Publication date	May 23, 2017
Grant date	May 23, 2017

Abstract

A centrifuge including a rotor, a rotor chamber accommodating therein the rotor and having an opening, a motor configured to rotate the rotor, a door configured to close the opening of the rotor chamber, an input unit configured to receive an input of an operation condition, a display unit configured to display an operating status, and a control unit configured to control rotation of the motor, wherein the control unit is configured to perform a program operation under an operation condition including a plurality of steps, and wherein the control unit is configured so that a specific step of stopping the rotation of the rotor and permitting the door to be opened or closed can be set as at least one of the plurality of steps.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A centrifuge comprising:
a rotor;
a rotor chamber accommodating therein the rotor and having an opening;
a motor configured to rotate the rotor;
a door configured to close the opening of the rotor chamber;
an input unit configured to receive an input of an operation condition;
a display unit configured to display an operating status; and
a control unit configured to control rotation of the motor,
wherein the control unit is configured to perform a single program operation under an operation condition including a plurality of steps,
wherein the plurality of steps have two or more centrifuging steps of centrifugal separation and a specific single step of stopping the rotation of the rotor and concurrently permitting the door to be opened or closed, and
wherein the specific single step is set between the centrifuging steps.

2. The centrifuge according to claim 1 , wherein operating times of centrifugal separations are set to each of the plurality of steps other than the specific single step, and
wherein a stopping time is not set to the specific single step, and the specific single step is configured to shift to a next centrifuging step when the input unit receives an operation resuming instruction from a user.

3. The centrifuge according to claim 2 , further comprising
a sensor configured to detect an opened or closed state of the door,
wherein the control unit is configured to check the opened or closed state of the door from an output of the sensor when the operation resuming instruction is received, and
wherein the control unit is configured to start executing a next centrifuging step when the door is closed.

4. The centrifuge according to claim 2 , wherein the control unit is configured to display an execution status of the step on the display unit, and
wherein the control unit is configured to display a description of an operation that should be performed by a user on the display unit during execution of the specific single step.

5. The centrifuge according to any claim 1 , further comprising
a vacuum pump configured to decompress the rotor chamber,
wherein the control unit is configured to permit a user to perform a decompression operation of the rotor chamber in the specific single step.

6. The centrifuge according to claim 5 , wherein a graph of which a horizontal axis is a time axis and a vertical axis indicates a rotation number of the rotor is configured to be displayed on the display unit, and a portion where the operation has completed is configured to be distinctively displayed in the graph.

7. The centrifuge according to claim 6 , wherein the control unit is configured to predict an ending time at which execution of all steps including the specific single step is over, and
wherein the control unit is configured to display the ending time on the display unit during the operation of the centrifuge.

8. The centrifuge according to claim 7 , wherein during the operation, the control unit is configured to update the ending time by reflecting an actual time consumed in the specific single step which has completed and to display the same on the display unit.

9. The centrifuge according to claim 8 , wherein during the operation, the control unit is configured to display a starting time of the specific single step to be executed thereafter on the display unit.

10. The centrifuge according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to request a user that will open or close the door to perform a login process when shifting to the specific single step, and is configured to record information of the user having performed the login process in a storage device.

11. A centrifuge comprising:
a rotor;
a rotor chamber accommodating therein the rotor and having an opening;
a motor configured to rotate the rotor;
a door configured to close the opening of the rotor chamber;
an input unit configured to receive an input of an operation condition;
a display unit configured to display an operating status; and
a control unit configured to control rotation of the motor,
wherein the control unit is configured to perform a program operation under an operation condition including a plurality of steps,
wherein the control unit is configured so that a specific step of stopping the rotation of the rotor and permitting the door to be opened or closed can be set as at least one of the plurality of steps,
wherein operating times of centrifugal separations are set to each of the plurality of steps other than the specific step,
wherein the operating times are not set to the specific step, and the specific step is configured to shift to a next step when the input unit receives an operation resuming instruction from a user, and
wherein the control unit is configured to display an execution status of the step on the display unit, and wherein the control unit is configured to display a description of an operation that should be performed by a user on the display unit during execution of the specific step.

12. A centrifuge comprising:
a rotor;
a rotor chamber accommodating therein the rotor and having an opening;
a motor configured to rotate the rotor;
a door configured to close the opening of the rotor chamber;
an input unit configured to receive an input of an operation condition;
a display unit configured to display an operating status;
a vacuum pump configured to decompress the rotor chamber; and
a control unit configured to control rotation of the motor,
wherein the control unit is configured to perform a program operation under an operation condition including a plurality of steps,
wherein the control unit is configured so that a specific step of stopping the rotation of the rotor and permitting the door to be opened or closed can be set as at least one of the plurality of steps, and
wherein the control unit is configured to permit a user to perform a decompression operation of the rotor chamber in the specific step.

Assignees

• Hitachi Koki Kk

Inventors

• Ooyama Hisanobu
• Takahashi Kahoru

Classifications

• B04B7/06

  Safety devices {; Regulating} · CPC title

• B04B2007/025

  Lids for laboratory centrifuge rotors · CPC title

• B04B13/00 Primary

  Control arrangements specially designed for centrifuges; Program control of centrifuges (control arrangements for feed, charge or discharge B04B11/00) · CPC title

• B04B11/00

  Feeding, charging, or discharging bowls (B04B1/00, B04B3/00, B04B7/04 take precedence) · CPC title

• B04B15/08

  for ventilating or producing a vacuum in the centrifuge · CPC title