Claims
- 1. A flexible heating cover assembly comprising:
a housing including a plurality of engageable enclosure components; a resistive heater located within the housing, the resistive heater including a plurality of heater element areas; and a force distribution system that engages the resistive heater and distributes a force over the resistive heater; wherein the flexible heating cover assembly provides substantial temperature uniformity among a plurality of sample tubes.
- 2. The flexible heating cover assembly of claim 1 further comprising a heater backing plate engaging the resistive heater.
- 3. The flexible heating cover assembly of claim 1 further comprising a support plate providing stiffness for the force distribution system.
- 4. The flexible heating cover assembly of claim 1 wherein the arrangement of the resistive heater and the force distribution system provide substantial temperature uniformity among the plurality of sample tubes for receiving samples of biological material.
- 5. The flexible heating cover assembly of claim 1 wherein the resistive heater is thin to allow rapid heating and cooling during thermal cycling of the plurality of sample tubes.
- 6. The flexible heating cover assembly of claim 1 further comprising a thermistor located on the resistive heater to provide control of the vapor and the condensation environment of the plurality of sample tubes.
- 7. A flexible heating cover assembly for an apparatus for thermal cycling of samples of biological material comprising:
a housing including a plurality of assembly skirt components; a resistive heater located within the housing, the resistive heater including at least one outer heater element area and at least one central heater element area; a heater backing plate connected to the resistive heater to protect the resistive heater; a load sharing system engaging the heater backing plate to promote uniform contact of the resistive heater with a plurality of sample tubes; and a support plate aligning the assembly skirt components, wherein the flexible heating cover assembly provides non-uniform heat distribution among the samples of biological material.
- 8. The flexible heating cover assembly of claim 7 wherein the arrangement of the resistive heater, the heater backing plate, the load sharing system and the support plate provide non-uniform heat distribution among the samples of biological material.
- 9. The flexible heating cover assembly of claim 7 wherein the load sharing system further comprises at least one spring strip and a spring retainer plate to distribute a force over the heater backing plate.
- 10. The flexible heating cover assembly of claim 7 wherein the support plate provides a reaction force for the load sharing system with minimal deflection of the support plate.
- 11. The flexible heating cover assembly of claim 7 wherein the heater backing plate is thin and composed of a thermally conductive material.
- 12. The flexible heating cover assembly of claim 9 wherein the resistive heater, the heater backing plate, the load sharing system and the support plate each comprise a plurality of aligned sample well openings.
- 13. A method for providing substantial temperature uniformity among a plurality of sample tubes comprising:
providing a flexible heating cover assembly having a housing including a plurality of engageable enclosure components; engaging the flexible heating cover assembly to the plurality of sample tubes; heating the plurality of sample tubes with a resistive heater located within the housing, the resistive heater including a plurality of heater element areas; monitoring the temperature of the resistive heater using a temperature-sensing device; and controlling the temperature of the resistive heater to provide substantial temperature uniformity among the plurality of sample tubes.
- 14. The method of claim 13 further comprising reading the temperature from the temperature-sensing device located on the resistive heater.
- 15. The method of claim 13 further comprising controlling the resistive heater at a variety of temperatures.
- 16. The method of claim 13 further comprising optimizing a heat balance between the flexible heating cover assembly and the plurality of sample tubes.
- 17. The method of claim 13 further comprising rapidly heating and cooling the resistive heater during thermal cycling of the plurality of sample tubes.
- 18. The method of claim 13 further comprising collecting optical data from the plurality of sample tubes.
- 19. A method for heating samples of biological material with substantial temperature uniformity comprising:
providing a plurality of sample tubes for receiving samples of biological material in a plurality of sample wells of a thermal system base; engaging a flexible heating cover assembly to the plurality of sample tubes, the flexible heating cover assembly having a housing including a plurality of engageable enclosure components; generating heat in a resistive heater located within the housing, the resistive heater including a plurality of heater element areas; and heating the plurality of sample tubes containing samples of biological material with substantial temperature uniformity.
- 20. The method of claim 19 further comprising applying a force onto the plurality of sample tubes through the flexible heating cover assembly.
- 21. The method of claim 19 further comprising measuring the voltage and current of a thermistor located on the resistive heater.
- 22. The method of claim 19 further comprising controlling a heater power source to heat the resistive heater.
- 23. The method of claim 19 further comprising controlling the resistive heater at a variety of temperatures.
- 24. The method of claim 19 further comprising supplying electrical power to the plurality of heater element areas to heat the resistive heater.
- 25. The method of claim 19 further comprising optimizing a heat balance between the flexible heating cover assembly and the thermal system base.
- 26. The method of claim 19 further comprising maintaining a favorable ambient environment around the plurality of sample tubes.
- 27. The method of claim 19 further comprising maintaining the temperature of the sample tubes above the dew point temperature of the plurality of sample tubes.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of Application Ser. No. 10/262,994 filed on Oct. 2, 2002, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10262994 |
Oct 2002 |
US |
Child |
10811663 |
Mar 2004 |
US |