Gl Tool & Manufacturing Company, Inc.

Dietrich Bizer

Gerhard Liepold

A re-closable valve () for use in sterile fluid transfer has a body () with open entry and exit sides () and a passageway () for fluid therebetween. The entry side is connectable to an opening of a separate vessel and the exit side is connectable to downstream processing. The entry side includes a first rupturable seal () blocking the opening of the entry side. A piston () is connected to an actuator () via a cam mechanism () which moves the piston () axially in the passageway () and to the first seal (). On movement of the piston () during a first actuation, the first seal () is torn free from the entry side to open the valve for fluid transfer. A sharp rim () surrounds the opening of the entry side and a curved surface area () encircles the piston exterior proximal the entry side. The valve () can be re-closed by moving the piston () during a subsequent actuation thus engaging the sharp rim () with the curved surface area () which plastically deform to from a second seal. Arrangements are included to enable the valve () to be multiply re-opened and re-closed, if desired.

Valve

The invention provides a valve () for sterile transfer of fluids. The valve () comprises a housing () having first and second open ends () and a passageway () extending between the ends (). The first end () has a flange () for coupling the housing () about an opening () of an external conduit () and a seal blocking an open area of the first end (). The seal is placed in register with the opening () of the external conduit (). The valve () has a piston () movably disposed within the housing () so as to interrupt the seal and to permit fluid to pass along the passageway (). A mating surface () of the flange () and the seal form a sterilizable surface. The seal is formed between a plastic plug () movable by the piston () and a sharp plastics rim () which encompasses the open area of a first end () of the housing ().

The present invention relates to a bulkhead connector assembly providing a sealing arrangement for sealingly feeding a conduit between two environments. The assembly provides a first and second coupling components having a first and second surface respectively. A gap is formed between the first and second surfaces. The first coupling component has an aperture which extends between the first surface and a first environment and the second coupling component has an aperture which extends between the second surface and a second environment. Each aperture is adapted for receiving a conduit therethrough. A resiliently deformable gasket is provided to be placed into the gap and the gasket also is provided with a bore for a conduit to pass through the gasket. Means for compressing the gasket in the gap are provided to deform the gasket on compression so as to collapse the gasket bore against itself or against any conduit occupying the bore, so as to form a leak-proof seal between the apertures of the coupling components and the gasket.

Bulkhead connector

A valve apparatus () for use in sterile fluid transfer or isolator systems has open entry () and exit () sides and a passageway () for fluid between the entry () and the exit () sides. The entry side () is connectable to an opening () of a vessel or pipe () and the exit side () is connectable to downstream processing by means such as tubing, a vessel or a pipe. The entry side () includes a rupturable seal () blocking the open entry side (). Valve () also includes an actuator () attached to a piston () which moves within the valve (), the piston being connected to the seal so that on movement of the piston, the seal is torn free from the entry side thereby allowing fluid gain entry to the valve () and to pass along the passageway () between the open entry () and exit () sides to downstream processing.

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Madison, NJ, United States of America

Dietrich Bizer