Objective Heater Controller by AutoMate Scientific Inc.

To eliminate the heat loss from the specimen, Bioptechs developed a patented Objective Heater System®, which includes a heater/sensor and an electronic controller specifically designed for this purpose. The heater/sensor is comprised of an adjustable thin-film heating band which surrounds 3/4 of the diameter of the upper region of the central retracting tube of the objective. A temperature probe positioned in the gap formed between the ends of the heating band provides accurate feedback to a closed loop controller. A metal cube shaped frame supports a thermal sensor and contains a mechanism to adjust the size of the heater-band.

The Objective Controller® is specifically designed to slowly heat the objective over a fifteen minute warm-up period, then hold the objective at the setpoint value within 0.1°C. The Controller operates from ambient to 50°C and has special safety circuitry which utilizes a 0.9°C error window to shut down the Controller and sound an alarm if the temperature of the objective deviates after it has reached setpoint.