Cooling apparatus used for cryonic preservation, and corresponding operating method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9752814-B2
Application number	US-201314047570-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 7, 2013
Priority date	Oct 8, 2003
Publication date	Sep 5, 2017
Grant date	Sep 5, 2017

Abstract

The invention relates to a cooling apparatus, especially for cryogenically preserving biological samples, including a duct ( 5 ) for delivering a coolant ( 3 ) to a cooling chamber ( 1 ), a heater ( 6 ) that has an adjustable first heating performance (P 2 ) for heating the coolant ( 3 ) delivered to the cooling chamber ( 1 ), a first temperature sensor ( 8 - 10 ) for measuring the temperature (T 2 -T 4 ) in the cooling chamber ( 1 ), a second temperature sensor ( 7 ) for measuring the temperature (Ti) of the coolant ( 3 ) delivered to the cooling chamber (I), and a regulator ( 11 ) for regulating the temperature. The regulator ( 11 ) is embodied as a multiple regulator which detects several temperatures (T 1 -T 4 ) as control variables and/or adjusts several heating performances (P 1 , P 2 ) as manipulated variables. The invention further relates to a corresponding operating method.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. Cooling equipment, comprising:
a) a cooling agent storage container housing a cooling agent;
b) a non-recirculating cooling chamber;
c) a cooling agent supply line connected to the cooling agent storage container for supplying the cooling agent to the non-recirculating cooling chamber;
d) an antechamber in fluid communication between the cooling agent supply line and the cooling chamber, said antechamber including a diffuser spatially diffusing the cooling agent directly from the cooling agent supply line into distinct channels for supply to the cooling chamber;
e) a heater with an adjustable first heating performance for heating the cooling agent supplied to the cooling chamber, wherein the heater is integrated in the cooling agent supply line;
f) an evaporator in the cooling agent storage container with an adjustable second heating performance for evaporating the cooling agent present in the cooling agent storage container;
g) a first temperature sensor for measuring the temperature in the cooling chamber;
h) a second temperature sensor for measuring an agent temperature of the cooling agent supplied to the cooling chamber; and
i) a controller for temperature control, the controller having an input side and an output side, the input side connected to the first temperature sensor and the second temperature sensor, the output side connected to the heater and the evaporator, wherein the controller:
(i) is adapted to detect several temperatures from said first temperature sensor and said second temperature sensor as control variables;
(ii) is a multiple controller; and
(iii) adjusts said first heating performance and said second heating performance as manipulated variables based on said temperatures detected by said first temperature sensor and said second temperature sensor;
wherein said multiple controller includes:

a first control circuit that detects temperature from the first temperature sensor in the cooling chamber as a first control variable and adjusts said adjustable second heating performance of the evaporator as a first manipulated variable based on the first control variable; and
a second control circuit that detects temperature from the second temperature sensor measuring temperature of the cooling agent before entering the cooling chamber as a second control variable and adjusts said adjustable first heating performance of the heater as a second manipulated variable based on the second control variable;
wherein the heater is between the evaporator and the first temperature sensor, and the first temperature sensor controls the evaporator; and
wherein the second temperature sensor is between the evaporator and the first temperature sensor, and the second temperature sensor controls the heater.

2. The cooling equipment according to claim 1 , wherein several temperature sensors connected to the controller are provided for measuring the chamber temperature in the cooling chamber.

3. The cooling equipment according to claim 2 , wherein the temperature sensors are arranged in a spatially distributed manner for measuring a spatial distribution of temperature.

4. The cooling equipment according to claim 2 , wherein at least one of the temperature sensors is a thermocouple and at least one of the temperature sensors is a temperature-dependent electrical resistor.

5. The cooling equipment according to claim 1 , wherein the cooling agent is nitrogen.

6. The cooling equipment according to claim 1 , wherein the first temperature sensor and the second temperature sensor are connected to storage equipment that stores temperature courses.

7. The cooling equipment according to claim 1 , wherein the cooling agent supply line is adapted to empty via the diffuser into the cooling chamber.

8. The cooling equipment according to claim 1 , wherein the cooling agent supply line is adapted to empty laterally into the cooling chamber.

9. The cooling equipment according to claim 8 , wherein the cooling agent supply line is adapted to empty into the cooling chamber only on one side of the cooling chamber.

10. The cooling equipment according to claim 1 , wherein the cooling agent supply line is adapted to empty into the cooling chamber at the top of the cooling chamber.

11. The cooling equipment according to claim 1 , wherein the cooling chamber is closed.

12. The cooling equipment according to claim 1 , wherein the cooling chamber is open on its bottom.

13. The cooling equipment according to claim 1 , wherein the cooling chamber is portable.

14. The cooling equipment according to claim 1 , wherein the first temperature sensor is arranged inside the cooling chamber and at an interval from a wall of the cooling chamber.

15. The cooling equipment according to claim 14 , wherein the first temperature sensor is fastened to the cooling chamber by holding equipment extending into the cooling chamber.

16. The cooling equipment according to claim 14 , wherein the first temperature sensor is attached to a sample or to a sample holder.

17. The cooling equipment according to claim 1 , wherein the first temperature sensor is connected to a transponder that transmits a measured temperature in a wireless manner to the controller.

18. The cooling equipment according to claim 17 , wherein the transponder is selected from the group consisting of a radio transponder, an ultrasonic transponder, an optical transponder and an infrared transponder.

19. An operating method for cooling equipment, said method comprising:
a) introducing a cooling agent from a cooling agent supply line into a non-recirculating cooling chamber for cooling cooled material, the introducing step including spatially diffusing the cooling agent directly from the cooling agent supply line into distinct channels for supply of the cooling agent to the non-recirculating cooling chamber via a diffuser of an antechamber in fluid communication between the cooling agent supply line and the non-recirculating cooling chamber;
b) heating with a heater the cooling agent prior to the introducing step with an adjustable first heating performance;
c) measuring an agent temperature of the heated cooling agent prior to being supplied to the cooling chamber;
d) measuring of a chamber temperature in the non-recirculating cooling chamber; and
e) controlling the agent temperature and the chamber temperature in that both temperatures are detected as control variables, including controlling the adjustment of a second heating performance of said cooling agent prior to heating in step b) as another manipulated variable in addition to controlling of the first heating performance based on said measured agent temperature and said measured chamber temperature;

wherein step e) includes the steps of:
detecting temperature in the cooling chamber as a first control variable and adjusting heating performance of an evaporator in a cooling agent storage container that supplies the cooling agent to the cooling chamber as a first manipulated variable based on the first control variable; and
detecting temperature of the cooling agent after leaving the cooling agent storage container and before entering the cooling chamber as a second control variable and adjusting the heating in step b) as a second manipulated variable based on the second control variable, wherein the heating is after the cooling agent storage container;
wherein the heater is between the evaporator and a first temperature sensor that detects temperature in the cooling chamber, and the first temperature sensor controls the

Assignees

• Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Zur Foerderung Der Angewandten Forschung E V
• Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Zur Forderung Der Angewandten Forschung E V

Inventors

• Schon Uwe
• Zimmermann Heiko
• Fuhr Guenter

Classifications

• F25D29/001

  for cryogenic fluid systems · CPC title

• F25D2700/12

  Sensors measuring the inside temperature · CPC title

• F25D3/10 Primary

  using liquefied gases, e.g. liquid air {(for cooling semiconductor devices H10W40/305)} · CPC title

• A01N1/02

  Human Necessities · mapped topic

• A01N1/0257

  Human Necessities · mapped topic