Patent ID: 8733117
Filing Date: 2014-05-27
Classification: C12M

Abstract:
1. An incubator comprising: an enclosure including a culture chamber whose temperature is controlled depending on a set temperature; a heater configured to heat the culture chamber; a refrigerator including an evaporator configured to evaporate a cooling medium to allow the cooling medium to absorb heat from the culture chamber and a condenser configured to allow the cooling medium to release heat to condense the cooling medium, the refrigerator configured to cool the culture chamber; a temperature sensor configured to measure the temperature of the culture chamber; a refrigerator control unit configured to a heater control unit configured to control the heater in such a manner that the measured temperature reaches the temperature for refrigerator-operation, when operation of the refrigerator is stopped; and a drain mechanism configured to discharge dew condensation water generated through heat absorption by the evaporator out of the enclosure; and wherein the heater control unit switches between a first mode and a second mode in accordance with a selection signal, wherein the first mode is a mode where the heater is controlled in such a manner that the measured temperature matches the set temperature, and the second mode is a mode where the heater is controlled to generate heat greater in amount than heat in the first mode in such a manner that the measured temperature reaches the temperature for refrigerator-operation when operation of the refrigerator is stopped.