Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Inc.

Hitachi Zosen Corporation

Panasonic Healthcare Holdings Co., Ltd.

Akira Higuchi

Eiji Watanabe

Kanji Yahiro

Naoki Miyazaki

Hideyoshi Kitahara

Kenichi Kuroda

Takashi Daikoku

Kenji Ishiyama

Tohru Nakamura

Akinobu Okuda

Tomoyoshi Tokumaru

Akihiro Ohta

Hiroyuki Morita

Akihiro Shin

Yuki Takenaka

Shirou Yamashita

Kouji Shimogawa

Kenta Hamada

A cask includes a cask body, an outer cylinder, a plurality of fins, and a plurality of neutron shields. The cask body has a tubular shape around a central axis and is capable of housing fuel assemblies. The outer cylinder has a tubular shape surrounding the cask body. The fins are aligned in a circumferential direction in a tubular space formed between the cask body and the outer cylinder, and connect an outer peripheral surface of the cask body and an inner peripheral surface of the outer cylinder to divide the tubular space into a plurality of divided spaces. The neutron shields contain a neutron shielding material with which the divided spaces are filled. Each neutron shield includes a void portion extending in the axial direction along the central axis. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce stress that may be exerted on the outer cylinder or other components by thermal expansion of the neutron shielding material when the fuel assemblies are housed in the cask.

Cask and method of producing neutron shield

The present invention includes a conveyor body which partitions a plurality of storage chambers, a connection opening connected to an external device, and a conveying chamber that connects the plurality of storage chambers to the connection opening, a plurality of incubators detachably stored in the plurality of incubators, a conveyor device that conveys one of the plurality of incubators from the storage chamber to the connection opening, and an environment control device that individually controls an interior environment of the plurality of incubators by supplying and discharging gas to and from each incubator.

Incubator conveying system, incubator depository and isolator system

A drug transferring needle includes a needle base portion, a first needle portion having therein an air passage, and a second needle portion longer than the first needle portion and arranged parallel to the first needle portion. In the first needle portion, a first air vent being one end of the air passage is provided on a distal end side of the second needle portion from a second air vent being the other end of the air passage. In the second needle portion, one end of a liquid passage is connected to the inside of the needle base portion, and the other end thereof is a liquid pass opening of the second needle portion. The second needle portion has a distal end having the liquid pass opening, a base portion connected to the needle base portion, and an intermediate portion connecting the distal end and the base portion.

Drug transferring needle and drug transferring method

In a micro-liquid transfer apparatus including two washing tanks (first washing tanks A and B), operations to transfer a sample are carried out using two pin tools (pin tools A and B) alternately. While one pin tool A is being mounted on a pin tool holder and is being used to transfer a liquid, the other pin tool B is waiting in a state where the lower end portions of their associated pins are immersed in the first washing tank B. While one pin tool A is being mounted on a pin tool holder and is being used to transfer a very small amount of liquid, the lower end portions of the respective pins of the other pin tool are washed, whereby the liquid transfer operations can be made in progress with no interruption and thus the generation of the operation waiting time can be prevented.

Micro-liquid transfer apparatus and micro-liquid transfer method

In a microplate processing apparatus that removes lid () of microplate () conveyed by microplate conveying mechanism (), performs a dispensing process by dispensing head (), and attaches lid () after the dispensing process is completed, lid () removed by lid removing mechanism () at second position (P), is conveyed to fourth position (P) located downstream, in advance of microplate () with this lid () having been attached, by microplate conveying mechanism (), to be retained by lid attaching mechanism (), and then is attached to microplate () having been conveyed to fourth position (P), after the dispensing process is completed.

Micro plate treating device and micro plate carrying method

In a microplate processing apparatus that removes lid () of microplate () conveyed by microplate conveying mechanism () to perform a dispensing process by dispensing head (), and that attaches lid () after the dispensing process is completed, lid () removed by lid removing mechanism () at first position (P) is conveyed to third position (P) located downstream, by microplate conveying mechanism (), to be held by lid attaching mechanism (), and then lid () is attached to microplate () having been conveyed to third position (P), after the dispensing process is completed, while microplate () with this lid () having been attached is being lifted to processing position (P) above microplate conveying mechanism (), by microplate stage ().

In the distribution apparatus and the method for detaching distribution tips of the present invention, the detaching plate provided with openings being larger in diameter than outer diameter of the nozzle and smaller in diameter than outer diameter of the distribution tip which are disposed in accordance with the arrangement of the nozzles is held to the distributing head with the nozzles set through the openings, and with the stopping portion of the detaching plate stopped by the stop portion of the stop member disposed at the tip detaching stage, the distributing head and the stop member are relatively moved in a direction of vertically moving apart, and thereby, the distribution tips are detached from the bottom ends of the nozzles. In this way, the distribution tip detaching operation can be automatically performed by a simple mechanism.

Distribution apparatus and method for detaching distribution tip in distribution apparatus

Even in a case of an incubator having a sample rack of complicated shape, the internal environmental condition in the incubator is maintained uniformly, so that the reliability of biochemical treatment can be assured. It includes a storage box, the sample rack movably disposed in the storage box, a moving device for moving the sample rack, and a controller for controlling the moving device. The controller has a function of selectively controlling the positioning operation for positioning the sample rack at specified positions, and the agitating operation for moving the sample rack, and by the agitating operation for moving the sample rack, the atmosphere in the storage box is agitated to be uniform. Preferably, the sample rack has a plurality of sample tables coupled in the longitudinal direction.

Incubator, and method for making atmosphere uniform in incubator storage box

A distribution head is provided with nozzles . A tip holder is placed on a platform which is supported on a rod of a cylinder . The tip holder holds a number of distribution tips upright. The nozzles are fitted to the top portion of the distribution tips by lowering the distribution head . As the platform is elastically supported on the rod of cylinder so that it can move slightly up and down, the distribution tips may be surely fitted to the nozzles without suffering from damage. Air pressure given to the cylinder is adjusted in accordance with the total number of tips , or other factors.

Automatic distribution apparatus for inserting nozzles into tips

In an automatic testing apparatus comprising, a specimen holder area adapted to hold thereon a specimen substrate for receiving therein a specimen, a reagent injector adapted to inject a reagent toward the specimen in the specimen substrate on the specimen holder area to mix the specimen with the reagent, a mixture reaction device adapted to hold thereon the specimen substrate including the mixture of the specimen and the reagent within a predetermined circumferential condition during a time period, and a transferring device for transferring the specimen substrate relative to the specimen holder area, the mixture reaction device has a take-in area to which the specimen substrate is transferred from the specimen holder area by the transferring device, and the take-in area is arranged adjacent to the specimen holder area.

Automatic testing apparatus

In a method for distributing liquids, in which a distribution tip attached detachably to the lower end of a distribution nozzle can be replaced at any time necessary, a tip rack having a plurality of unused distribution tips lined up thereon is placed on a fitting stage to have the distribution tips fitted with a distribution nozzles. Then, the existence, or non-existence, of a distribution tip left behind on the tip rack without being attached to a distribution nozzle after the fitting operation is finished is detected by a detection section formed of an interrupting-type light sensor, the targeted place of detection by the light sensor being the lower end of the distribution tip. Under the above-described structure, misfitting of a distribution tip can be detected with a high certainty at an early stage before an operation for sucking/discharging liquids is started.

Automatic distribution apparatus and method of distribution

An incubator includes (a) a housing, (b) a sample shelf holding at least one plate accommodating a sample, (c) a controller maintaining an environment inside of the housing at a given condition, (d) a first opening provided on the housing, (e) a first door for closing the first opening, (f) a second opening provided on the housing and smaller than the first opening and yet large enough for at least one plate being passed through, and (g) a second door for closing the second opening. This construction allows the incubator to minimize opening when the plate is taken out or restored during a test or a culture so that environment changes in the housing can be restrained. As a result, the incubator produces reliable data.

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Fukuoka, Japan

Akira Higuchi