FLEXIBLE HEATING COVER ASSEMBLY FOR THERMAL CYCLING OF SAMPLES OF BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL
First Claim
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;
a heater backing plate engaging the resistive heater and providing stability to the resistive heater;
a force distribution system that engages the heater backing plate and distributes a force over the heater backing plate; and
a support plate providing stiffness for the force distribution system, wherein the arrangement of the resistive heater, the heater backing plate, the force distribution system and the support plate provide substantial temperature uniformity among a plurality of sample tubes for receiving samples of biological material.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A flexible heating cover assembly for an apparatus for heating samples of biological material with substantial temperature uniformity includes a housing having a plurality of engageable enclosure components; a resistive heater having a plurality of heater element areas; a heater backing plate providing stability to the resistive heater; a force distribution system that distributes a force over the heater backing plate; and a support plate providing stiffness for the force distribution system, wherein the arrangement of the resistive heater, the heater backing plate, the force distribution system and the support plate provide substantial temperature uniformity among a plurality of sample tubes for receiving samples of biological material. The flexible heating cover assembly improves the uniformity, efficiency, quality, reliability and controllability of the thermal response during thermal cycling of the biological material.
76 Citations
82 Claims
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1. A flexible heating cover assembly comprising:
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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;
a heater backing plate engaging the resistive heater and providing stability to the resistive heater;
a force distribution system that engages the heater backing plate and distributes a force over the heater backing plate; and
a support plate providing stiffness for the force distribution system, wherein the arrangement of the resistive heater, the heater backing plate, the force distribution system and the support plate provide substantial temperature uniformity among a plurality of sample tubes for receiving samples of biological material. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A cover assembly for an apparatus for heating samples of biological material, comprising:
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a housing including a plurality of engageable enclosure 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 engaging the resistive heater to provide protection and stability to the resistive heater, wherein the heater backing plate is thin and composed of a thermally conductive material;
a force distribution system comprising at least one spring strip and a spring retainer plate, the force distribution system engaging the heater backing plate to distribute a force over the heater backing plate; and
a support plate providing sufficient stiffness to provide a reaction force for the force distribution system with minimal deflection of the support plate, wherein the arrangement of the resistive heater, the heater backing plate, the force distribution system and the support plate provide substantial temperature uniformity among a plurality of sample tubes for receiving samples of biological material. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60)
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61. A flexible heating cover assembly for an apparatus for heating samples of biological material with substantial temperature uniformity comprising:
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a housing including a plurality of end caps and a plurality of side bars all composed of a thermally insulating material;
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 to produce a non-uniform heat distribution along a surface exposed to a plurality of sample tubes;
a heater backing plate engaging the resistive heater to provide protection and stability to the resistive heater wherein the heater backing plate is thin and composed of a thermally conductive material;
at least one spring strip engaging a spring retainer plate, wherein the least one spring strip has a plurality of spring extensions to distribute a force uniformly over the heater backing plate; and
a support plate providing sufficient stiffness to provide a reaction force for the at least one spring strip engaging the spring retainer plate with minimal deflection of the support plate, wherein the resistive heater, the heater backing plate, the spring retainer plate, and the support plate each comprise a plurality of aligned sample well openings, each sample well opening corresponding to a respective sample tube of a plurality of sample tubes. - View Dependent Claims (62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82)
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Specification