JP5853550B2 - Temperature control apparatus and temperature control method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a temperature control device and a temperature control method. In particular, the present invention relates to a temperature control device and a temperature control method that repeat heating and endotherm using a Peltier element for gene amplification.

  A PCR method is known as a technique for amplifying DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) (see Patent Document 1). PCR (polymerase chain reaction) is a technique that can amplify DNA in a short time by periodically raising and lowering the temperature of a mixed solution of a reagent and a specimen (aqueous solution containing DNA).

  A temperature control device for PCR that repeats heating and endotherm is disclosed in Patent Document 2. Although there are various methods for heating and heat absorption, Peltier devices have the advantage that they can be used for both heating and heat absorption by changing the direction of current applied to the devices, so they are often installed in temperature control devices for PCR. Is done.

  As a technique for reducing the peak power of an integrated circuit, there is one disclosed in Patent Document 3. In the technique of Patent Document 3, the peak power is reduced by distributing the timing at which each circuit operates.

JP-A-62-281 US Pat. No. 5,475,610 JP 2001-59865 A

  However, power consumption is not considered in general temperature control devices for PCR, including the device described in Patent Document 2. A Peltier element requires a relatively large current. In particular, since a larger current is required in the initial stage of heating and heat absorption than in a steady state, a very large current is required when heating and heat absorption are repeated at high speed.

  When the apparatus is used in a laboratory, power consumption is generally not a problem because the power supply capacity is large, and there is an option to increase when the power supply capacity is insufficient. However, in recent years, genetic diagnosis is spreading from the laboratory to the clinical site, and it is required that the apparatus can be handled with a general room power capacity.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a temperature control device and a temperature control method capable of simultaneously operating a plurality of units while suppressing peak power.

The present invention relates to a temperature control device used for amplifying a gene by a PCR method. A temperature control device according to the present invention is connected to a Peltier element, a control microcomputer that controls a supply current to the Peltier element and repeats a heating process and an endothermic process a predetermined number of times, a control microcomputer, and a network. And a computer communicable with another temperature control device. The control microcomputer continuously supplies a drive current to the Peltier element during the execution of PCR. When the computer receives an instruction to start PCR, the computer determines whether PCR is being executed in another temperature control device. If the PCR is being executed in another temperature control device, the computer is in the heating time. Instruct the control microcomputer to start the heating process after a predetermined time from the start time of the heating process of the other temperature control device, so that the peak power time at the time does not overlap with the peak power time of the other temperature control device, When the PCR is not executed in another temperature control device, the control microcomputer is instructed to start the PCR.

Further, the present invention is used to amplify a gene by the PCR method, and is connected to a control microcomputer that controls a current supplied to the Peltier element and repeats a heating process and an endothermic process a predetermined number of times. The present invention also relates to a temperature control method performed by a temperature control device including a computer that can communicate with another temperature control device via a network. The control microcomputer continuously supplies a drive current to the Peltier element during the execution of PCR. In the temperature control method according to the present invention, when the computer receives an instruction to start PCR, the computer determines whether or not the PCR is being executed in another temperature control device, and the computer performs the other temperature control device. When the computer determines that the PCR is being performed, the computer starts the heating process of the other temperature control device so that the peak power time during the heating time does not overlap with the peak power time of the other temperature control device. If the control microcomputer is instructed to start the heating process after a predetermined time from the time, and the computer determines that the PCR is not executed in another temperature control device, the computer starts the PCR. Instructs the control microcomputer.

  According to the present invention, even when a plurality of temperature control devices are used with a common power source, the timing of peak power can be distributed among the devices, so that the total peak power can be reduced.

The figure which shows the structure of the temperature control apparatus which concerns on embodiment The figure which shows the time-dependent change of the power consumption of the temperature control apparatus which concerns on embodiment. A flowchart showing a control process performed by each temperature control device when two temperature control devices are connected to each other. A flowchart showing a control process performed by each temperature control device when three temperature control devices are connected to each other.

  Hereinafter, a temperature control device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the temperature control apparatus according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, two equivalent temperature control devices, that is, a first temperature control device and a second temperature control device are connected via a network 8 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

  The first temperature control device includes a computer 1, a control microcomputer 2, a Peltier controller 3, a Peltier element 4, a heat spreader 5, a temperature sensor 6, a switching power supply 7, and a high-precision clock 99. The personal computer 1 has a general user interface such as a keyboard and a monitor. The computer 1 and the control microcomputer 2 are connected to be able to communicate with each other via an interface such as USB 2.0. The switching power supply 7 is connected to a commercial power supply such as AC100V. The Peltier element 4 and the biochip A that is a temperature control object are thermally connected via a heat spreader 5. The heat spreader 5 is provided with a temperature sensor 6. The control microcomputer 2, the Peltier element 4, and the temperature sensor 6 constitute a feedback control loop. The high-accuracy clock 99 manages the time necessary for controlling the start time of the PCR process.

  In the first temperature control device, a biochip A to be temperature controlled is set. The biochip A is made of a material that does not inhibit the PCR reaction, such as polypropylene. The biochip A has 20 reaction vessels of 10 μL, and each reaction vessel stores a mixed solution of a reagent and a specimen.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a temporal change in power consumption of the temperature control apparatus according to the embodiment. Hereinafter, a temperature control method performed by the temperature control apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, the term “endothermic” is used, but the term “endothermic” can be restated as “cooling”.

  First, a desired protocol is input to the computer 1. For example, as heating / endothermic conditions (heating / cooling conditions) for PCR, heating 95 ° C./42 seconds and endothermic (cooling) 68 ° C./28 seconds are input. The input protocol is transferred from the computer 1 to the control microcomputer 2 of the first temperature control device. The control microcomputer 2 determines a direct current value to be passed from the Peltier controller 3 to the Peltier element 4 according to the input protocol. The Peltier controller 3 drives the Peltier element 4 based on the current value determined by the control microcomputer. The Peltier element 4 heats or absorbs (cools) the biochip A via the heat spreader 5. For the control of the Peltier element 4, general PID control can be used. The temperature measured by the temperature sensor 6 is transferred from the control microcomputer 2 to the computer 1 at intervals of 1 second, for example, and can be monitored on the computer 1 in real time.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2A, the power consumption by the temperature control device peaks in the PCR process among all the processes including pre-processing, PCR, and detection. Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, the power consumption in the initial heating period of 5 seconds and the initial endothermic temperature of 5 seconds is large in the PCR process. The peak power 1 kVA here is derived from the maximum output current 1 A of the switching power supply 5. In the example of the protocol described above, among the 28 seconds of the endothermic process (cooling process) that is relatively shorter than the heating process, the peak power is 5 seconds and the rest is 23 seconds. As can be seen from FIG. 2B, the peak power is remarkably high and is 1 kVA, but other than that, even in the heating process, it is almost within 0.44 kVA. A general commercial power supply is 100V, 15A.

  Here, consider operating two temperature control devices using a common power source in one room. When operating without taking into consideration the timing of peak power, there is a concern that the peak power may be up to 2 kVA. In the above example, the peak power time is 10 seconds out of 70 seconds of one cycle of PCR (heating + endotherm). Therefore, if two temperature controllers are operated simultaneously, the period during which peak power is consumed is The possibility of overlapping is quite high, and the total peak power in this case is 2 kVA. This is larger than the general room power capacity.

  On the other hand, when the two temperature control devices are operated while distributing the timing of peak power, the total peak power is almost within 1.44 kVA or less. If this is the case, it can be handled by a general room power capacity.

  Therefore, for example, a plurality of temperature control devices are controlled using TinyOS which is an OS for a wireless sensor network. TinyOS is a free and open source system that can execute efficient processing under limited hardware resources.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control process performed by each temperature control device when two temperature control devices are connected to each other.

  First, the computer 1 communicates with a computer included in another temperature control device via the network 8 to constantly monitor whether the other temperature control device is operating. When the PCR is not executed in another temperature control device (No in step S1), the computer 1 causes the control microcomputer 2 to start the PCR (step S2). On the other hand, when PCR is being executed in another temperature control device (Yes in step S1), the computer 1 determines that the start time of the first heating step is a predetermined time (from the start time of the heating step in the other device). For example, the heating time is adjusted so as to be delayed by 14 seconds (step S3).

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control process performed by each temperature control device when three temperature control devices are connected to each other.

  First, the computer 1 communicates with a computer included in another temperature control device via the network 8 to constantly monitor whether the other temperature control device is operating. If PCR is not being executed by another temperature control device (No in step S11), the computer 1 causes the control microcomputer 2 to start PCR (step S12). On the other hand, when the PCR is being executed by another temperature control device (Yes in step S1), the computer 1 determines whether or not the number of other temperature control devices that are executing the PCR is two. (Step S13). When there are not two other temperature control devices performing PCR (No in step S13), the start time of the first heating step is a predetermined time (for example, 9 seconds) from the start time of the heating step in the other device. The heating time is adjusted so as to be delayed (step S14). In addition, when there are two other temperature control devices that are executing PCR (Yes in step S13), the start time of the first heating step is a predetermined time (for example, from the start time of the heating step in the other device) The heating time is adjusted so as to be delayed (18 seconds) (step S15).

  As described above, the computer 1 of a certain temperature control device adjusts the PCR heating start time in accordance with the operating status of the other temperature control devices, and thus the time when power consumption peaks among the plurality of temperature control devices. Can be controlled so that they do not overlap. Therefore, according to the temperature control device according to the present embodiment, when a plurality of temperature control devices are operated with a common power source, it is possible to simultaneously operate while suppressing peak power.

  When PCR is being executed by another temperature control device, the start time of the PCR process may be acquired from the other temperature control device, and the amount of data required to control the operation of a plurality of temperature control devices Is less.

  In addition, when a plurality of temperature control devices are connected to each other, when the PCR protocol is input to the computer 1 or when the PCR protocol is updated, the latest PCR protocol is transferred to other temperature control devices connected. It is preferably configured to transmit. If comprised in this way, even when a heating cycle and an endothermic cycle differ between several temperature control apparatuses, the starting time of a heating process is determined from the starting time of a PCR process and the PCR protocol of another apparatus acquired in advance. It can be calculated.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for a temperature control device that repeats heating and endotherm using a Peltier element in order to amplify a gene by PCR.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Computer 2 ... Control microcomputer 3 ... Peltier controller 4 ... Peltier device 5 ... Heat spreader 6 ... Temperature sensor 7 ... Switching power supply 99 ... High precision clock 8 ....・ Network (between temperature control devices)
A ... Biochip (temperature control target)

Claims (2)

A temperature control device used to amplify a gene by a PCR method,
Peltier element,
A control microcomputer that controls the current supplied to the Peltier element and repeats the heating step and the endothermic step a predetermined number of times;
A computer connected to the control microcomputer and capable of communicating with other temperature control devices via a network,
The control microcomputer continuously supplies a drive current to the Peltier element during PCR.
When receiving an instruction to start PCR, the computer determines whether or not PCR is being executed in another temperature control device, and if the PCR is being executed in another temperature control device, Instructs the control microcomputer to start the heating process after a predetermined time delay from the start time of the heating process of the other temperature control device so that the peak power time in the center does not overlap with the peak power time of the other temperature control device A temperature control device that instructs the control microcomputer to start PCR when PCR is not executed in another temperature control device. Used to amplify genes by the PCR method, connected to the Peltier element, a control microcomputer for controlling the current supplied to the Peltier element and repeating the heating process and the heat absorption process a predetermined number of times, and the control microcomputer A temperature control method performed by a temperature control device including a computer capable of communicating with other temperature control devices via a network,
The control microcomputer continuously supplies a drive current to the Peltier element during PCR.
When the computer receives an instruction to start PCR, the computer determines whether PCR is being executed in another temperature control device,
If the computer determines that the PCR is being performed in another temperature control device, the computer may be configured so that the peak power time during the heating time does not overlap with the peak power time of the other temperature control device. Instructing the control microcomputer to start the heating process after a predetermined time from the start time of the heating process of the temperature control device,
A temperature control method in which the computer instructs the control microcomputer to start PCR when the computer determines that PCR is not being executed in another temperature control device.

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