Beckman Instruments, Inc.

Cory Y Chern

Herschel E Wright

Harry A Penhasi

An assembly for transferring rotation from a centrifuge drive system to a centrifuge rotor includes a hub that is connected to the drive system for rotation about an axis. A sleeve member is attached to the hub in a position to support the centrifuge rotor. The sleeve member is formed of a material having a low coefficient of friction and is positioned to reduce the likelihood of rotor-to-hub lock. The resistance of the sleeve member to wear and to the absorption of foreign matter are also important in the selection of a material for forming the sleeve member. An acetal-based compound is preferred. By connecting the sleeve member to the hub such that the exterior surface of the sleeve member is raised relative to the surface of the hub, rotor-to-hub contact is reduced, thereby further reducing the risk that the rotor and the hub will become locked to one another.

Centrifuge drive-to-rotor assembly

A centrifuge rotor lid assembly which includes a handle which allows convenient handling of a centrifuge rotor and facilitates releasing the lid from the rotor after centrifugation. In one embodiment, the lid is provided with a lid knob and a spindle knob in a coaxial sliding arrangement. The lid knob is used to tighten the lid on the rotor body and the spindle knob is used to tighten the rotor to the centrifuge drive spindle. The upper end of the inner knob is provided with a handle which extends perpendicular to the axis of the knob. This handle is used for lifting the rotor after the spindle knob has been unscrewed from the spindle and for unscrewing the lid knob. The lower end of the spindle knob has a pin which cooperatively engages the lower end of the lid knob when the spindle knob is lifted from the rotor and is turned in a direction to unscrew the lid knob. The handle provides the necessary mechanical advantage for a person to exert sufficient torque to unscrew the lid knob without the use of external tools.

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Mountain View, CA, United States of America

Cory Y Chern