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Publication Number
US-11813614-B2
Publication Date
2023-11-14
Expiration Date
Abstract
Cryogenic devices are provided in which solid carbon dioxide (dry ice) is used to maintain a temperature zone in which samples can be manipulated under conditions in which the sample is maintained at a temperature below −50° C.
Core Innovation
The invention is a cryogenic processing system that includes a container with an interior chamber having an open top, an interior floor surface, and interior side surfaces forming the chamber. A perforated retainer is positioned in the interior chamber to divide the interior chamber into a sample-holding portion and a dry ice retention space. The perforated retainer includes a first perforated portion and a second perforated portion, with at least one peripheral structure extending from the perforated portion(s) and positioned adjacent the interior floor surface in the dry ice retention space.
The first perforated portion is configured to be adjacent the first interior side surface and the second perforated portion is configured to be adjacent the second interior side surface, with the sample-holding portion between the first and second perforated portions. The dry ice retention space is positioned on a first peripheral side and a second peripheral side of the sample-holding portion, and the perforations of the first and second perforated portions are configured to exhaust gas directly into the interior chamber. The system is configured to allow access to the interior floor surface of the sample-holding portion while maintaining the sample-holding portion at an equilibrium condition at a temperature below an ambient temperature.
In the described system context, the cryogenic processing workspace creates a low-temperature zone below -50°C for sample manipulation with user or robot access, while dry ice is confined to a separate retention space. Temperature monitoring is performed with one or more temperature sensors that provide signals to a microprocessor, and an alarm system is used when the temperature in the sample-holding portion exceeds a pre-set limit. The location and boundary of the low-temperature condition are described using a measurement height above the interior floor surface and, in illustrative embodiments, an indicator boundary based on a sensor arrangement or laser projection.
Claims Coverage
The document provides one independent claim, with dependent claims that refine the independent claim through additional structural and operational limitations. The independent claim covers the core container-plus-perforated-retainer architecture that divides a chamber into a sample-holding portion and a dry ice retention space while enabling access to the floor surface at equilibrium below ambient temperature. The main inventive features are described as follows.
Perforated retainer dividing an open-top chamber into sample-holding portion and dry ice retention space
A container with an interior chamber having an open top is combined with a perforated retainer having a first perforated portion, a second perforated portion, and at least one peripheral structure extending from at least one of the perforated portions. The perforated retainer is configured to divide the interior chamber into a sample-holding portion and a dry ice retention space, with the peripheral structure adjacent the interior floor surface in the dry ice retention space and the sample-holding portion between the perforated portions.
Direct exhaust gas into the interior chamber from perforations adjacent interior side surfaces
The first perforated portion is positioned adjacent the first interior side surface and the second perforated portion is positioned adjacent the second interior side surface. Perforations of the first and second perforated portions are configured to exhaust gas directly into the interior chamber while maintaining the partitioned chamber regions.
Access to interior floor surface while maintaining equilibrium below ambient temperature
The system is configured to allow access to the interior floor surface of the sample-holding portion while maintaining the sample-holding portion at an equilibrium condition at a temperature below an ambient temperature.
Overall claim coverage centers on a cryogenic processing container with an open-top interior chamber partitioned by a perforated retainer into a sample-holding portion and a dry ice retention space, where perforations exhaust gas directly into the interior chamber, enabling access to the sample-holding floor while maintaining equilibrium below ambient temperature. Dependent claims further narrow the system with temperature monitoring, alarm triggering by microprocessor, and dry-ice distribution constraints.
Stated Advantages
Allows access to the interior floor surface of the sample-holding portion while maintaining the sample-holding portion at an equilibrium condition at a temperature below an ambient temperature.
Documented Applications
Cryogenic processing using a workstation that creates a low-temperature zone below -50°C for sample manipulation with user or robot access.
Packaging/labeling and handling temperature-sensitive biological materials including cells, proteins, nucleic acids, viruses, and vaccines.
A vial transfer and packaging station maintaining a temperature range of about -78°C to -50°C using the described cryogenic processing system configuration.
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