Patent ID: 8796592

Claim:
A staining device for staining samples, comprising: a heating device including a first heating element and a second heating element; a switch arrangement designed to switch between a first operating mode connecting the two heating elements in series and a second operating mode connecting the two heating elements in parallel; a power connection supplying power to the heating elements; a sensor designed and located to detect an amperage of a current supplied to the heating elements; and a switching unit that is coupled to the sensor and determines based on the amperage a voltage causing the current, and switches depending on the determined voltage via the switch arrangement into the first operating mode or the second operating mode; wherein the switching unit is configured to connect the heating elements in series at 220 V and in parallel at 115 V so that the 220 V voltage is divided into two lower voltages applied to the heating elements, thereby preventing overloading of one or both of the heating elements by the 220 V high voltage and securing the available mains voltage when the heating elements are operated at the 115 V voltage and therefore switched in parallel.