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Abstract

An ampoule incubator and light analyzer is provided which includes a housing having at least one receptacle for an ampoule, an incubation system, a light analysis system, and a master control system. According to the invention, the incubation system includes, for each receptacle, a heating element which heats the ampoule and a temperature sensor which senses the temperature of the ampoule. Each receptacle is preferably insulated to prevent unintended heating of neighboring receptacles of the apparatus. The incubation system is adapted to quickly heat the receptacle, and consequently the ampoule provided therein, up to the desired temperature. The incubation system is calibrated by soaking the circuits of the control system in a controlled temperature environment maintained at the desired operation temperature for analysis of the ampoules. When the circuits are at the desired operation temperature, the circuits of the incubation system are powered and switches in the circuits are closed causing a microcontroller of the master control system to store digital representations of the temperature of each individual receptacle in non-volatile memory. Then, during operation of the apparatus, the incubation system is directed to the values previously set in non-volatile memory during calibration, without necessitating expensive and error-prone trim pots, ultra high precision components, or other adjustable components.

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First Claim