Patent ID: 6943509

Claim:
A system for controlling rotational speed of a rotor within a centrifuge, the system comprising: a motor operative to rotate the rotor; a modulation controller configured to modulate an amount of torque generated by the motor and thereby modulate the rotational speed of the rotor; a speed sensor configured to sense the rotational speed of at least one of the motor and the rotor, and transmit the sensed rotational speed to the controller; and wherein the controller is configured to determine an amount of kinetic energy associated with the rotor in response to the amount of torque and the sensed rotational speed, and is configured to compare the amount of kinetic energy associated with the rotor to a predetermined amount of kinetic energy, the controller being further configured to reduce the rotational speed of the motor in response to the compared amount of kinetic energy associated with the rotor being greater than the predetermined amount of kinetic energy.