Apparatus for monitoring temperature dependent changes

Abstract: Apparatus for monitoring temperature dependent changes has a heating arrangement comprising two pieces (16, 17) of heat insulation material defining a cavity (21) con­ taining a heat sink member (23) and an electrical heater (26) for the heat sink member. The block is perforated to allow entry of a sample tube and to provide a viewing passage (18). The arrangement is detachable mounted on a neck portion (3) upstanding from a base (2).

Description: This invention relates to apparatus for monitoring temperature dependent changes and is especially applicable to melting point determining apparatus. A melting point apparatus with digital thermometer has been on the market with model numbers MFB-595-010M and MFB-595-030G, and manufactured by the company Gallenkamp. This apparatus is an apparatus for monitoring temperature dependent changes in a substance, the apparatus having a heating arrangement including a heater member of thermally conductive metallic material of a first volume, the heater member being perforated to provide an insertion passage for a sample tube of a substance to be heated, thermally insulating material of a second volume, greater than the first, for insulating the heater member, electrical heater means for heating the heater member, temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the heater member, and means for monitoring a change in a substance with temperature, the apparatus further comprising means for energising the heater at a first rate of temperature change, whereby a substance in the heater member may rapidly attain a temperature close to a desired range of temperatures, and also at a second rate of temperature change, slower than the first, over the desired range within which the change is to be monitored. CH-A-289095 discloses a similar monitoring apparatus. US-A-2988912 and US-A-3013428 show further similar apparatus but with no insulating material other than air for the heater member. According to the present invention, the metallic heater member has a volume less than 2000 cubic millimetres and is supported by and wholly within a cavity of a block of said insulating material, the block comprising preformed pieces of said insulating material at least one of which contains a recess and the pieces are positioned with faces of the pieces in abutting relationship so that said cavity containing and supporting the heater member is defined by and between the pieces, the block furthermore defining a passage via which the change in the substance can be monitored, said second volume being a multiplicity of times larger than the first volume to provide an amount of insulation encircling the heater member to facilitate the temperature control of the heater member during the second, slower, rate of temperature change. The invention is based in part on the realisation that a relatively low thermal mass heater member gives advantages. Thus, it can be heated more rapidly to its required temperature range. However, it has a large volume of insulation which can be used without unduly increasing the overall size because of the low volume of the member. Moreover the external temperature is reduced owing to the relatively large volume of insulation. Moreover a simplified construction results from fabricating the insulating material from preformed pieces, one of which has a recess to define in the heating arrangement a cavity to receive the heater member. The arrangement can thus be easily assembled into, say, a cubic structure in which the heater member is supported and retained by the preformed recess, such a structure being easily designed and constructed as a replaceable unit. In the case of an embodiment in which a melting or other process is to be visually observed by the user, the block and member are perforated to provide a viewing passage intersecting the insertion passage. In that case, the block preferably contains a recess communicating with said cavity for the passage of light from a light source onto a sample tube when disposed in the insertion passage. A focusable lens means is preferably provided for magnified viewing along said viewing passage. The thermal mass of the heater member is made relatively small to provide for relatively low heat supply and a low casing temperature, with a relatively rapid temperature rise. For example, the heat sink member may be made of aluminium, with a volume less than 2000 cubic millimetres, preferably less than 1500 cubic millimetres. A conventional, commercially obtainable, power resistor may supply the necessary heat in such a case. For example, a resistor of the order of 7K ohms operated by 230 volt pulses provides sufficient power for such a heat sink member. As an example, the thermal mass is sufficiently low that with a power of less than 12 watts applied, the temperature of the heat sink member rises from 20°C to 200°C in less than 8 minutes, preferably less than 6 minutes, e.g. about 4 minutes. In one embodiment of the heating arrangement, the number of parts and method of assembly are relatively simple in that the block of heat insulating material comprises fewer than four pieces, preferably only two pieces, such that with the two, or two of the, pieces placed together they define between them said cavity to contain the heater member. One of the pieces may be perforated to provide a viewing passage. The electrical heater means may be disposed in a recess in the heater member as may a temperature sensing member. The whole arrangement may thus be assembled without mechanical securing elements, for example without screws or bolts, as the parts of the member may be cemented or glued together. The whole heating arrangement can then simply be clamped into a suitable housing by means such as a bracket attached to the housing by one or two screws and retaining the block by pressure. One form of the apparatus comprises a housing having a pedestal from which a neck portion is upstanding, as considered in an operative orientation of the apparatus, and the upper end of the neck portion supporting a detachable upper housing part which incorporates the heating arrangement and which is releasable from the neck portion for readily exchange with a replacement heating arrangement. By incorporating an elongate neck portion in the housing it is possible to design the heating arrangement to be at a sensible level above the user's desk top and so avoid undue bending on the part of the user in use of the apparatus. Moreover, by making the upper housing part readily releasable, servicing becomes simpler in that the heating arrangement may simply be replaced should problems occur with the original heating arrangement. By using the simplified construction of heating arrangement already described, the cost of such a replacement part will be relatively low. Platinum resistance thermometers are conventionally used for temperature sensing, but one embodiment of the present invention uses a thermocouple. There may be provided a temperature sensing circuit comprising a thermocouple having cold junction temperature compensating means for generating a compensating voltage to compensate for fluctuations in the thermocouple voltage with changes in its cold junction temperature, the compensating means comprising a voltage divider incorporating a resistance element the resistance of which changes with the cold junction temperature, the resistance element comprising a coil of electrically conductive wire, e.g. of copper, and with a wire diameter, e.g. less than 0.1 mm diameter, and number of turns, e.g. greater than 100, such as to provide a voltage drop which changes with cold junction temperature. An operational amplifier may be used to combine the voltage from the divider with that of the thermocouple to provide a voltage substantially independent of cold junction temperature. For a better understanding of the invention and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a front view of melting point determining apparatus; Figure 2 is a cross-section of an upper casing of the housing of the melting point determining apparatus of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a plan view of the upper casing shown in Figure 2; Figure 4 shows an end and cross-sectional view of a first moulded ceramic block; Figure 5 shows an end and cross-sectional view of a second moulded ceramic block; Figure 6 is a plan and cross-sectional view of a heat sink member; Figure 7 is a circuit diagram of the power supply and temperature sensing arrangement of the apparatus of Figure 1; and Figure 8 is a diagram of the data display circuitry of the apparatus. Figure 1 is a front view of a melting point determining apparatus comprising a plastics housing generally denoted 1 which is formed from a pedestal 2, a neck portion 3 and an upper casing 4. The pedestal 2 contains power supply and temperature monitoring circuitry which is shown in Figures 7 and 8 and which is coupled to a temperature display 5, a coarse heating control knob 6, a fine heating control knob 7, a heating boost button 8, a heating-on indicator 9, and a display hold button 10 with its associated indicator 11. The pedestal 2 also incorporates one or more tube holders 12 having open ends 13 for the storage, when not in use, of a plurality of sample tubes, these being conventional, capillary, transparent glass tubes to hold small crystalline samples the melting point of which is to be determined. The neck portion 3 serves releasably to support the upper casing 4 to hold it at a sufficient height above the pedestal to enable the operator to view a heating process through a lens 14 without undue bending. The upper casing 4 incorporates a heating arrangement or oven for heating samples contained in the aforementioned capillary tubes. Attention will now be directed to Figures 2 and 3 which show a cross-section and plan view of the upper casing 4 showing in particular the design of the heating arrangement in this preferred embodiment. With reference to Figures 2 and 3, it will be seen that the casing 4 incorporates a block 15 and this block consists of two portions 16 and 17 each of formed ceramic fibre material. The block portion 16 is shown in end and cross-sectional view in Figure 4 and will be seen to incorporate a tapered viewing passage 18 and a flat face 19 which is, in the assembled product, cemented to a corresponding flat face of the other block portion 17. The block portion 17 is shown in end and cross-section view in Figure 5 and will be seen to incorporate an L-shaped channel 20 having a T-shaped portion 21 and a portion 22. The portion 21 defines with the block portion 16 a cavity in which is disposed a heater member 23 (Figure 2) of aluminium. This will be described in more detail hereinafter. Near the ends of the limbs of the recess portion 21 are two holes 24 through which pass the leads 25 of a commercially available power resistor 26 which acts as the heating element for the heating arrangement. The recess portion 21 includes a further hole 27 which extends through the block to provide a passage for electrical leads of a bimetal thermocouple (NiCr-NiAl) 28 which resides within the heater member. The recess portion 22 of the block portion 17 is intended to house a light source 29 shown in Figure 2 as being supported between limbs of two brackets 30 and 31 which are riveted together and are secured to a removable base member 32 of the upper casing 4. These brackets serve not only to support the light source 29 but also apply pressure to the block 15 to retain it firmly against the base member 32. It is to be observed that the source 29 is in an upwardly open recess 22 so that any heat produced by it dissipates rapidly. In tests, the source caused the temperature within the oven to rise only 2°C over four days. The upper casing 4 incorporates a through aperture 33 through which a bolt will pass for releasably securing this casing to the neck portion 3 of the heating apparatus. The lens 14 is mounted in an externally threaded lens holder 34 which, by rotation, can be moved inwardly and outwardly relative to the block 15 to enable focusing to be readily attained. A cylindrical sample insertion member 35 is incorporated in the upper part of the upper casing and contains a row of three apertures 36 aligned with three corresponding passages in the heater member 23 and thus acts as a guide for guiding three sample tubes during insertion into the heat sink member. In use it will be apparent that, with one or more sample tubes inserted through member 35 and into the heater member 23, the source 29 may be energised to cause illumination to pass from the sample tube or tubes through the viewing passage 18 and through the lens 14 towards the user. Figure 6 shows a plan view and cross-section of the heater member 23. The three passages 36, for sample tubes, intersect a recess 37 providing the end of the viewing passage 18 also defined by the block portion 16. The heater member 23 also incorporates a groove 38 in which the heating element is to be disposed and a passageway 39 which is to receive the bimetal thermocouple for use in sensing the temperature of the heat sink. The total volume of the heat sink member is a little under 1500 cubic millimetres and is manufactured of aluminium so as to have a relatively low thermal mass in order that it can be heated rapidly to a maximum temperature of about 400°C, using an electrical resistance heater 26 consisting of a conventional power resistor, e.g. of 6.8K ohms. Moreover, using such a heat sink member of relatively small size, it is possible to provide a sufficiently large mass of insulating material in the insulating block to ensure that the outer casing is maintained at a relatively low temperature during use. As an example of the thermal response of the oven, the following figures are given for full applied power of 8.5W, and with the oven commencing at 20°C. Thus, with an applied power of less than 10W, effective temperature response is attainable with the thermal mass provided. Figure 7 is a circuit diagram of the power supply and temperature measuring arrangement. In Figure 7, power supply is by way of a tapped transformer 40 of a separate, external, power supply denoted by dashed lines. The primary of the transformer is in two parts connected in series for 230 volt operation and which may be connected in parallel for 115 volt operation. The centre-tapped secondary winding of the transformer provides 24 volts output, i.e. two 12 volt supplies for two 5 volt voltage regulators 41 and 42 supplying regulated +5 volts and -5 volts for the circuit. The transformer also provides a supply to a zero voltage switch circuit 43 of the type 443. This is a zero voltage switch integrated circuit offering symmetrical burst control for a triac 44 for the pulsed control of the supply of power from the live connection L through two series connected resistors, 26 and 45, to the triac 44. The resistor 26 is the heating element itself and resistor 45 is an adjustable resistor coupled to knob 6 of Figure 1 to provide coarse control. Circuit 43 is coupled to a further adjustable resistor 46 which is coupled to the knob 7 for fine control. The gate of the triac is coupled to the circuit via a light emitting diode which constitutes the indicator 9. The switch 8 of Figure 1 is also shown in Figure 7 and when closed causes maximum power to be applied via the triac 44 for rapid heating of the resistor 26 and thus of the heater member 23. Light source 29 is shown in series with a switch 53 enabling the internal illumination to be switched off if required to eliminate heating which may be caused by this light source. The temperature measuring circuit comprises an operational amplifier 48 supplied with signals, in opposition, from two voltage dividers 49, 50 and 51, 52, the voltage divider 51, 52 supplying its signal via the bi-metal thermocouple 28 inserted into the heater member in its passageway 39. The other voltage divider 49, 50 supplies a voltage to the operational amplifier in opposition to that provided by the thermocouple in order to provide for cold junction temperature compensation. For this purpose, one arm of the voltage divider 49, 50 incorporates a temperature sensitive element 50 which is placed in close proximity with the cold junction of the thermocouple 28, that cold junction being on a printed circuit board with the element 50 and mounted in the pedestal 2 remote from the heating arrangement in the upper casing 4. The compensating element 50 in this case is a compensating coil of 0.056 millimetre diameter copper wire of 196 turns and about 15 ohms resistance. The current through this coil is adjusted to give 40 micro volts per degree centigrade change and a voltage drop of 13.0 millivolts. Turning to Figure 8, this shows the circuit diagram of the temperature display circuitry in which LCD display 5 is illustrated, driven by a display driving circuit 47 which is a 4 1/2-digit analogue-to-digital convertor of type 7135 for use in driving multiplexed liquid crystal displays. In Figure 8, pin numbers are indicated to show more clearly how to interconnect the elements shown therein. Circuit 47 is connected to hold switch 10, coupled between one of its pins and the +5 volt line, and also to a light emitting diode which is the indicator 11 of Figure 1. An inverter ciruit 54 of type 4069 provides inverters interconnected to produce an oscillator providing a clock signal for circuit 47. In order to convert the BCD output of circuit 47 to binary code an 8-bit priority encoder circuit 55 of type 4532 is interposed between circuit 47 and a display driver 56 of type 7231. In use of the apparatus, the external power supply is connected and energised in order to energise the circuits of Figures 7 and 8. The coarse heating control knob 6 will be set to an appropriate level to supply sufficient power to heat a sample in one or more of the passageways 36 in the heater member 23 approximately to its melting point and a boost switch 8 may also be actuated in order to apply full power for a short time to accelerate the heating process. When the approximately known melting point is approached, the boost switch 8 will be deactivated and the equipment allowed to heat up towards the melting point of the sample. Fine control knob 7 may be actuated to decelerate or accelerate this heating process, which will be observed through the lens 14. Advantageously, the heat applied will be reduced using the fine control knob 7 as the melting point is approached in order to minimize the rate of increase of temperature. When melting is first observed, the switch 10 may be actuated to hold the temperature display 5 at its then existing value. With experience the operator will be able to adjust the knobs 6 and 7 for a particular type of sample such that, as the melting point is approached, the temperature rise will be at the rate of less than 1 degree centigrade per minute, enabling the initial melting point to be ascertained with accuracy. It will be appreciated that melting does not occur instantaneously but over a small range of temperatures and it is possible with the present equipment visibly to distinguish two points, the first being the temperature at which melting begins and the second being the point at which the solid state within the molten sample can no longer be seen. In a modification (not shown) of this equipment two hold switches may be provided in order to store both of these points. Modifications and additions may be made to the apparatus as described above in order to produce embodiments with different characteristics and abilities. In one example, a connector is provided for the attachment of a printer to the apparatus in order that the hold temperature or temperatures may be printed out, possibly with the date and also with information with regard to the timing of the melting operation. In yet another form of the apparatus a printer may be built into the pedestal for automatic printing of results. In a further modification, a microprocessor is included to provide automatic control of the apparatus, in particular to provide an automatic sequence which can be preset by the user to meet the requirements for a specific set of samples. For example, if it is required to test samples, all of which melt between 100°C and 110° and vapourise between 180°C and 190°C, the user will preset four heating ranges: 1) up to 100°C rapidly 2) 100°C to 110°C at, say 1°C/5 minutes 3) 110°C to 180°C rapidly 4) 180°C to 190°C at, say 1°C/5 minutes This could be followed by another preset step of forced cooling. Cooling may be achieved by a fan coupled to blow air through a plurality of tubes inserted into apertures in the blocks 15 and 16 to direct air at the heater member. Such an apparatus also preferably includes means for automatically detecting changes of state so that the temperatures at which such changes occur can be recorded by the microprocessor. These means may be means detecting changes of refractive index, e.g. by the use of infra-red radiation and optical fibres to direct the radiation at and to receive the radiation from the samples. At changes of state, the refractive index will change and hence so will the direction of the radiation passing from the sample(s). An array of receiving fibres will indicate the change of direction as the radiation level changes in individual fibres of the array.

Claims: An apparatus for monitoring temperature dependent changes in a substance, the apparatus having a heating arrangement including a heater member (23) of thermally conductive metallic material of a first volume, the heater member (23) being perforated to provide an insertion passage (36) for a sample tube of a substance to be heated, thermally insulating material (15) of a second volume, greater than the first, for insulating the heater member (23), electrical heater means (26) for heating the heater member (23), temperature detecting means (28) for detecting the temperature of the heater member (23), and means (18) for monitoring a change in a substance with temperature, the apparatus further comprising means for energising the heater means (26) at a first rate of temperature change, whereby a substance in the heater member may rapidly attain a temperature close to a desired range of temperatures, and also at a second rate of temperature change, slower than the first, over the desired range within which the change is to be monitored, characterised in that the metallic heater member (23) has a volume less than 2000 cubic millimetres and is supported by and wholly within a cavity (21) of a block of said insulating material, the block comprising preformed pieces (16, 17) of said insulating material at least one of which contains a recess so that, the pieces being positioned with faces of the pieces in abutting relationship, said cavity (21) containing and supporting the heater member is defined by and between the pieces, the block furthermore defining a passage (18) via which the change in the substance can be monitored, said second volume being a multiplicity of times larger than the first volume to provide an amount of insulation encircling the heater member. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the block (15) and member (23) are perforated to provide a viewing passage (18) intersecting the insertion passage (20, 36) whereby the heating of the substance may be observed by the user. An apparatus according to claim 2 and comprising a focusable lens (14) for magnified viewing along said viewing passage (18). An apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the block (15) contains a further recess (22) communicating with said cavity (21) and there is a light source (29) for directing light into the recess and to said cavity and onto a sample when disposed in the insertion passage. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the heater member (23) comprises aluminum of a volume of less than 1500 cubic millimetres. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the electrical heating means (26) comprises a resistance heater. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims and having a thermal mass which is sufficiently low that, with an applied power of below 12 watts, a temperature rise of the heater member can be achieved from 20°C to 200°C in less than 8 minutes. A monitoring apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the block (15) of heat insulating material comprises fewer than four pieces of heat insulating material. An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the block comprises only two pieces (16, 17) of heat insulating material, the two pieces together defining between them the cavity containing the heater member (23). An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims and comprising a housing (1) having a pedestal (2) from which a neck portion (3) is upstanding, as considered in an operative orientation of the apparatus, and the upper end of the neck portion supporting a detachable upper housing part (4) which incorporates the member of heat insulating material and which is releasable from the neck portion for exchange with a replacement heating arrangement. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the pedestal (2) contains electrical circuitry for the supply of power to the heater means (26) and for the processing and display of temperature information. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the temperature detecting means comprises a thermocouple (28) having a cold junction temperature compensating means for generating a compensating voltage to compensate for fluctuations in the thermocouple voltage with changes in its cold junction temperature, the compensating means comprising a voltage divider (49, 50) incorporating a resistance element (50) the resistance of which changes with the cold junction temperature, the resistance element comprising a coil of electrically conductive wire. An apparatus according to claim 12 and in which the cold junction temperature compensating means comprises an operational amplifier (48) connected to combine the voltage from the divider (49, 50) with that of the thermocouple (28) to provide a voltage substantially independent of the cold junction temperature.

Inventors: BROOKS JOHN FRANCIS, FARNESE PAUL LAWRENCE, BROOKS, JOHN FRANCIS, FARNESE, PAUL LAWRENCE
Applicants: ELECTROTHERMAL ENG LTD, ELECTROTHERMAL ENGINEERING LIMITED
Application year: 1986
Main classification: G01N25
IPC codes: G01N25