Other

Wordtech Systems, Inc.

Copypro, Inc.

Alexander V Drynkin

David B Miller

William M Hess

Nick V Solokhin

Brian J Lechman

A liquid-level sensing instrument for determining the level of a liquid in a container or vessel such as a laboratory tube in a rack or a well in a well plate with the container having an acoustically transparent top opening to direct ultrasonic signals to the liquid surface and receive reflected signals where the transceiver sensor instrument is constructed with a piezoelectric focusing sensor that has a concave focusing surface for focusing ultrasonic signals through the opening to the liquid surface in a selected container particularly a container in a group of containers and receiving reflected signals for processing.

Ultrasonic volume-sensing transducer instrument with concave transceiver element

A robotic picker with a pick head unit for a robotic tube handler that provides for automated transport and sampling of laboratory tubes, the picker having a prong picker with a multiple of depending pick prongs optimized for an orthogonal arrangement of tubes, typically in a tube rack, wherein the pick head unit has a mechanism for shifting the radial orientation of the pick head unit to accommodate both orthogonal and diagonal arrangements of laboratory tubes.

Adjustable robotic picker for laboratory containers

A laboratory tube presentation unit for removal of a selected laboratory tube in a tube rack having multiple rows of laboratory tubes by raising the row of tubes in which the selected tube is located, the rack having tube wells and a rectangular bottom with a hole in each well, the unit including a selector assembly having a displaceable actuator assembly with a row of lift pins that are alignable under a select row of holes in the tube wells that correspond to a row of tubes having the selected tube in the tube rack seated on the top deck, the actuator assembly carriage having further an actuator with a manual transport shift and a lift mechanism that raises the row of lift pins under the select row of holes in the tube wells having the particular tube to be removed.

Laboratory tube presentation apparatus for raising a row of tubes contained in a rack of tubes

A laboratory tube cap presenter for a tube, such as a test tube, a medical vial or other vessel that may be capped by an automated capper in a robotic tube handling apparatus, the tube cap presenter having a magazine of pre-oriented tube caps that cooperates with a selector mechanism and a shuttle mechanism to transport a selected tube cap to a presentation station where the tube cap is oriented for pick up by the pickup mechanism of a robotic tube handling apparatus.

Laboratory tube cap presenter for capping laboratory tubes

A laboratory tube printer and labeler for labeling laboratory tubes with printed labels, the tube printer and labeler advantageously accommodating an automated tube handling device having a robotic pickup and placement mechanism where the tube printer and labeler has a housing having an upper deck with a printing station and a tube labeling and pickup station displaced from the printing station such that the labeling and pickup station can be accessed by the robotic pickup and placement mechanism wherein a printed label is transported to the labeling and pickup station and applied to a laboratory tube placed in the labeling and pickup station.

Laboratory tube printer and labeler

A tube handling system with a semi-automatic lab tube selection apparatus for enabling a user to pick a select lab tube in a standard lab tube holding rack with open-bottom wells that contain one or more lab tubes that includes a tube selection unit having, a housing with a top deck having a tube rack support, a transport mechanism contained within the housing having a carriage assembly, with the carriage assembly having a carrier with a push-pin, a drive system that moves the carrier and the push-pin under the tube rack support, and an actuator that raises the push-pin on command for removal, and, a control system to locate the carrier and the push-pin at a select location corresponding to a selected position under an open-bottom well of a tube rack positioned on the tube rack support to raise the push-pin for removal.

Semi-automated lab tube selection apparatus for rack contained tubes

A thermal transfer printer having a print head and a media support platform in the form of a removable tray that is displaced relative to the print head, the media support platform having a rigid support surface for a media item having a non-rectangular configuration such as a compact disk, the support platform having a mask with a cutout substantially in the shape of the non-rectangular disk, the mask and media item combining to form a contact surface for the print head to uniformly distribute a constant force of the print head in a uniform pressure across the mask and media item during printing, the mask providing, in addition, a holding apparatus for the media item which is contacted by a displaceable retainer urging the media item against the edge of the mask with the print head avoiding contact with the retainer on the printing area, the printer having a mechanism to displace the retainer and sense whether a media item is properly placed in the cutout and retained by the retaining apparatus, and the printer having a print head unit that can be flipped to the side of the printer for replacement of the print ribbon or access to the print head and internal components for maintenance and servicing.

Thermal printer method of operation for compact disks and other media

A compact disk duplication system with a compact disk drive with an extendible disk tray for copying data onto a batch of compact disks, the disk duplication system having a disk transport unit with an XYZ transport mechanism, the transport unit having a deck, a frame and a housing, the transport mechanism including a carriage displaceable from side to side relative to the deck, an elevator device carried by the carriage having an elevator cage displaceable up and down relative to the deck, and a tram device having a cross beam on the elevator cage with a tram having a disk pickup mechanism displaceable fore and aft relative to the deck with the displacements of the carriage, elevator cage and tram being controlled for automatic operation by controlled drive mechanisms.

Programmable compact disk duplication system with XYZ transport mechanism

Thermal printer for compact disks and other media

A disk copying and dispensing apparatus including a disk processing module installable in a host device such as a disk vending machine, the module having a frame containing a displaceable carriage mechanism with a disk pick-up head, at least one disk recorder with an extendible tray for receiving or discharging a disk, a disk label printer and at least one disk parking tray with one embodiment having an actuatable disk dispensing chute, the disk carriage being movable from one device to another under control of a controller, in accordance with a programmed sequence of a processor.

Disk process and transport mechanism for host machines

A thermal transfer printer having a print head and a media support platform that is displaced relative to the print head, the media support platform having a rigid support surface for a media item having a non-rectangular configuration such as a compact disk, the support platform having a mask with a cutout substantially in the shape of the non-rectangular disk, the mask and media item combining to form a contact surface for the print head to uniformly distribute a constant force of the print head in a uniform pressure across the mask and media item during printing, the mask providing, in addition, a holding apparatus for the media item which is contacted by a displaceable retainer pin urging the media item against the edge of the mask with the print head avoiding contact with the retainer pins on the printing area, the printer having a mechanism to displace the retainer pin and sense whether a media item is properly placed in the cutout and retained by the retaining apparatus.

Thermal printer for compact disks

An autoload disk copier system and disk printer transport system for recordable disks, the copier system having a copier unit with a housing containing a disk drive with an extendable disk tray, a disk carrier for supporting a stack of disks over the tray, a disk separator mechanism for selectively separating a disk from the stack displacing it to a tray, a disk retrieve mechanism for retrieving a disk from the tray and depositing it in a collector for good and bad disks, and, an electronic control means for controlling the sequence of operations of loading, disk read/write, unloading and depositing disks during the automatic process of recording data on recordable disks. The disk printer transport system combines a disk retrieve mechanism and electronic control means similar to that used in the autoload disk copier system with a retractable platform, a second disk retrieve mechanism, and a disk printer, the first disk retrieve mechanism for retrieving the disk after the completion of the copy operation and depositing the disk on the retractable platform for transport to the second disk retrieve mechanism, the second disk retrieve mechanism transporting the disk from the retractable platform to the disk printer for printing.

Growing community of inventors

San Ramon, CA, United States of America

Alexander V Drynkin