HK1061994B - Remotely controllable safety workbench - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a remote controlled safety work bench, in particular a safety work bench, whose device functions can be controlled by an infrared remote control.

Traditional microbiological workbenches usually have a fixed control unit, which is usually attached to the outside of the case. For example, such a control unit is described in the applicant's DE 4441784 C2. In order to use the various functions of the control unit during work, the user must remove his hands from the inner work area enclosed by a housing. Traces of microbiological cultures processed in the work area can be intentionally dragged out of the control unit on the outside of the work area and lead to contamination. Conversely, when operating the uncontrolled control unit on the outside of the work area, it is possible that contamination of the control unit may lead to contamination of the control unit.

Document DE-4 091 373 C2 describes a gendered safety workbench.

The purpose of the invention is to specify a microbiological safety workbench which minimises the risk of introduction of contaminants into the indoor space used for processing samples and the risk of removal of contaminants from that indoor space.

The solution to this problem is to use the safety workbench as described in claim 1.

The invention relates to a safety workbench with an interior enclosed by a housing and a front of the housing, which has a working opening that can be locked by a height-adjustable front window. The safety workbench has a control unit for controlling device functions that is firmly integrated into the housing and can be trained in principle like the control units in conventional safety workbenches. In addition to the firmly integrated control unit, the safety workbench according to the invention has a remote control unit for selecting control functions that is separated from the workbench and can be removed from the interior. In addition, a remote control unit is integrated into the receiver to receive the control functions of the safety workbench.

The remote control unit, which is not connected to the safety workbench housing, can be taken in and out of the safety workbench by the operator without the need to touch non-sterile areas with the hands to operate the safety workbench. This significantly reduces the risk of contamination by introducing contaminants from the outside into the inside of the workbench. To prevent contaminants from being carried outwards by removing the remote control unit from the inside of the safety workbench, the remote control unit can be decontaminated in a way that is known in advance. Spray disinfectants are suitable for this purpose, for example.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the remote control unit is enclosed by a removable protective casing, which facilitates the disinfection of the remote control unit and, if desired, can be removed and disposed of before relocation to prevent the discharge of contaminants adhering to the protective casing.

In a further development of the invention, several remote controls may also be used per safety workbench. For example, one of the remote controls may remain in the interior of the safety workbench, while another remote control is used in the exterior of the safety workbench. To avoid confusion between the remote controls, the remote controls for the interior and those for the exterior may be visually different from each other. For example, they may be marked by different colors.

For safety reasons, however, care must be taken that the signals emitted by the remote control unit do not interfere with the device functions of the safety workbench itself or those of devices which may be placed in the vicinity of the safety workbench. Conversely, the radiation emitted by the adjacent devices must not cause the safety workbench to malfunction. For this reason, it is preferable to use infrared remote control in the context of the invention. Preferred modulation frequencies are in the range 34-42 kHz, and therefore preferred at 38 kHz. For these frequencies, the functional frequency of the safety workbench is not known to be adequately specified in the safety laboratories or in other hospitals. The frequency of the reception and reception of the safety workbench is not required to be integrated into the safety workbench itself or in other areas of the receiver.

The remote control unit of the invention can, in principle, control all the device functions of a safety workbench, for example, the remote control unit of the invention controls at least one of the following device functions: turning on and off the safety workbench, turning on and off the outlets integrated into the safety workbench, turning on and off the device lighting, the procedure of opening and closing the adjustable windscreen, turning on and off a disinfection unit, releasing a contact in the safe operation of the safety workbench, setting a timer to reset the safety workbench, selecting certain device functions or display functions in a display, setting service parameters and settings.

In principle, it is possible to assign a specific key or combination of keys to a specific device function on the remote control. Alternatively, the control by means of the remote control can also be menu-controlled by calling certain menu items and confirming the selected menu function, which is displayed, for example, in a display element.

The control unit fixed in the safety work bench may be trained in principle as is known at the time of the invention. However, it is preferable according to the invention if the fixed control unit is used only to control the basic functions of the equipment. This is for example at least one of the following functions: switching the safety work bench on and off, turning on the ventilation or lighting, turning on the supply voltage for the integrated sockets, the procedure for the height-adjustable frontal power supply and the receipt of an alarm, which can be switched off in case of failure of the safety work bench. The fixed control unit is therefore used only as a signal control unit for the control unit to be set off by means of a remote control unit. In the case of remote control or remote control, the control unit is therefore not proportional to the distance between the two devices, so that the control unit is not fixed or controlled by remote control.

To avoid possible malfunctions, the remote control unit and/or the control unit integrated into the safety work bench may be designed to require a specified duration of a command, i.e. a specified duration of a key or switch press, to trigger a specific device function. Furthermore, the remote control unit and/or the permanently integrated control unit may be provided that no control signal is transmitted when several buttons or switches are pressed simultaneously or substantially simultaneously, thus preventing malfunctions caused by the unintentional pressing of adjacent buttons.

In order to inform the user of the operating state of the safety work bench and/or to indicate the operating menu or the device function controlled by the remote control unit or integrated control unit, the safety work bench according to the invention shall be fitted with a display device. This display device is preferably located in the area of the safety work bench housing and preferably in its interior, in particular in the area of the back of the housing. This display device may in principle be similar to those already used for conventional safety work benches. For example, it may be an LCD or LED display.

In order to prevent the indicator element from adversely affecting the flow conditions in the interior of the safety work bench, it is preferable to integrate it into a housing wall so that it closes with it. If this is not possible, for example, for space reasons and the indicator element is installed in the interior, it has a housing that is designed to support the flow. This can be done, for example, by attaching the side areas of the indicator element housing. The housing of the remote control unit can also be designed to support the flow.

The receiver is preferably integrated into the display element for the remote control unit of the invention, and even if the display element is located inside the safety workbench, the reception of control signals from a remote control unit outside the safety workbench is easily possible through the windscreen or the side walls of the workbench.

For the storage of the remote control, remote control storage units may be fitted on the outside of the housing and/or inside the safety work bench.

The invention is described in more detail below by means of a drawing, which shows schematically: Figure 1a safety workbench of the invention with its remote control unit in perspective,Figure 2 the remote control unit of Figure 1 in view andFigure 3 the display element with the integrated safety workbench receiver of Figure 1 in view.

In detail, Figure 1 shows a safety workbench 1 of the invention with an interior space 3 enclosed by a housing 2. A workbench 5 on the front side of the housing 4 provides access to the interior space 3 and is closed by a height-adjustable windscreen 6. The safety workbench 1 is essentially equivalent to a conventional safety workbench, as described for example in DE 4441784 C2, and has a ventilation system which is also essentially equivalent to the technical system. However, the operation of the shut-off equipment differs from that of the conventional workbench. The operation of the air workbench is performed by means of a single-dose safety unit 8 which is not connected to the safety workbench. The installation of a remote control unit, such as a remote control unit 10, or the installation of a remote control unit, or the installation of remote controls, switches, timers, controls and controls, or other functions, is not permitted in the workbench.

The remote control unit has eight buttons to trigger the individual functions of the equipment, as shown by the remote control unit shown in Figure 2. On the left side of the remote control unit 8 there are six buttons stacked one above the other to control individual functions of the equipment. The top button is for the timer, the second button is for switching on and off the lighting, etc. The two buttons on the right side of the remote control unit 8 allow the individual menu items in the safety workbench to be called up. The menu item each time is called up is called up by the user using the user's menu item 10, which is integrated into the safety workbench 11 of the device.

The housing 12 of the display element 10 is slightly forward in the interior space 3 of the safety work bench 1. To minimise the disturbance of flow conditions within the interior space 3, the housing 12 is stream-optimised. To this end, the lateral edge areas 13 of the housing 12 are slanted so that the housing gradually increases in height from the outer edges inwards.

The display element 10 is shown in Fig. 3 in more detail. It shows only the display area, while the enclosing side housing is omitted. The display element 10 has a display 13 in the upper area to display a menu text or other message, for example an error message. In addition, there are various LEDs 14 from which the user of the safety bench can see the operating state and the current menu level of the operating menu in which he is currently located. In addition, the display element 10 has the receiver 9 integrated to receive the control signal from the remote control unit 8. The receiver is only schematically represented here.

The bursts consist of six pulses each with a duration of 13 μs, so that a burst is 156 μs long. The transmit information is encoded over the distance of the bursts. There are two distances, namely long (1,792 ms, correspondingly logical 0) and short (1,280 ms, correspondingly logical 1). The times are measured from the beginning of a burst to the beginning of the next burst. A complete transmitter consists of a total of 17 bits, a start and a double eight information bits.

In addition to the remote control unit 8, the safety workbench 1 of the invention has a control unit 7 integrated into the workbench. This is only shown in a schematic, but may in principle correspond to the state-of-the-art controls. According to the invention, the integrated control unit 7 serves mainly as a safety or emergency switch, for example in the event that the remote control unit 8 has been moved or has a malfunction. Furthermore, the control unit 7 is therefore reduced to the control of the basic functions of the equipment. These are, for example, the switching off and off of the control unit, the switching on of the air or lighting or the pre-loading of the control unit for integrated safety. This control unit 7 can be operated in a pre-integrated way.

Claims (14)

1. Safety cabinet (1) with an interior (3) enclosed by a housing (2) and with a housing front side (4) comprising an aperture (5) that can be closed with a vertically adjustable front pane (6), as well as with a control unit (7) for controlling device functions that is integrated in the housing (2), characterized in that the safety cabinet (1) comprises a spatially separate remote control unit (8) for the optional control of device functions, said remote control unit (8) being insertable into/removable from the interior (3), and a receiver (9) for receiving wireless control signals emitted by the remote control unit (8) is integrated in the safety cabinet (1),
2. Safety cabinet according to claim 1, characterized in that the remote control unit (8) is an infrared remote control unit which preferably emits control signals with a modulation frequency of 34-42 kHz and in particular 38 kHz, and the receiver (9) is adapted to receive these control signals.
3. Safety cabinet according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that at least one of the following device functions can be controlled by the remote control unit (8):

   - turning the safety cabinet on and off

   - switching power outlets integrated in the safety cabinet

   - turning the device lights on and off

   - moving the adjustable front pane

   - turning a disinfection unit on

   - releasing a contact in the secure operation of the safety cabinet

   - setting a timer

   - selecting display settings

   - setting device parameters and service settings.
4. Safety cabinet according to one of claims 1-3, characterized in that the control unit (7) integrated in the housing (2) is only suitable for controlling basic device functions, in particular for

   - turning the safety cabinet on and off

   - turning the ventilation on

   - turning the lights on

   - turning on the supply voltage for the integrated power outlets

   - moving the vertically adjustable front pane

   - acknowledging an alarm signal.
5. Safety cabinet according to one of claims 1-4, characterized in that a predetermined duration of application of the remote control unit (8) or control unit (7) is required to start or terminate a device function.
6. Safety cabinet according to one of claims 1-5, characterized in that the remote control unit (8) and/or control unit (7) are adapted so that no control signal is emitted in the event that several buttons or switches are pressed simultaneously or essentially simultaneously.
7. Safety cabinet according to one of claims 1-6, characterized in that control signals emitted by the control unit (7) have a higher priority than control signals emitted by the remote control unit (8).
8. Safety cabinet according to one of claims 1-7, characterized in that a display element (10) that displays a control menu and/or the current operating status of the safety cabinet (1) is provided in the area of the housing (2).
9. Safety cabinet according to claim 8, characterized in that the display element (10) is arranged in the interior (3) of the safety cabinet (1), preferably in the housing's rear wall (11).
10. Safety cabinet according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the display element (10) fits flush with a housing wall or comprises a streamlined housing protruding into the interior (3), in particular a housing (12) with slanted side areas (13).
11. Safety cabinet according to one of claims 8 -10, characterized in that the receiver (9) is integrated in the display element (10).
12. Safety cabinet according to one of claims 1-11, characterized in that the remote control unit (8) is enclosed by a removable protective sleeve.
13. Safety cabinet according to one of claims 1-12, characterized in that a remote control unit for use in the interior (3) as well as a remote control unit for use outside of the interior (3) are provided, and the remote control units preferably differ from one another visually.
14. Safety cabinet according to one of claims 1-13, characterized in that a rest for the at least one remote control unit is provided in the interior (3) and/or on the housing's exterior.