Beckman Instruments, Inc.

Harry A Penhasi

Lev J Leytes

Jack I Ohms

Cory Y Chern

John Francis Robbins

Majid Qadeer

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.

Release handle for centrifuge rotor and lid

An automated chemical conversion unit for use in a peptide/protein sequencing process. The improved conversion methodology decreases the time necessary for the conversion reaction chemistry of the specific derivative of the sequenced amino acid to a more stable form. The conversion reaction is designed to be performed directly in a fraction collector tube which operates in one embodiment in conjunction with a thermoelectric temperature element to allow utilization of different temperature levels for different amino acid derivatives.

Automated chemical conversion unit in a peptide/protein sequenator

The present invention provides a mechanism for bolting a rotor to a hub without introducing excessive radial stress around the bolt holes when the rotor is operating at high speed. The rotor has a slot cut through its center to eliminate radial stress perpendicular to the slot and thereby avoid the problem of stress cracking of the otherwise weak section. The mounting bolts are necked down and not threaded at the surface of the hub. The bolts are threaded into the hub at a substantial distance from the top surface of the hub so that they can flex and so that the center of the rotor can move out relative to the hub. The hub rotor interface is lubricated to facilitate radial motion of the center of the rotor.

Rotor with stress relief

The present invention provides an improved rotor for a centrifuge that operates by centrifugal elutriation. The rotor consists of a chamber assembly, a disk assembly, and a quick release mechanism. The chamber assembly is relatively light and it includes one or two separation chambers, tubing and a rotating seal. The disk assembly consists of the relatively heavy support structure. The two piece construction facilitates handling the parts of the rotor that generally need to be autoclaved. The chamber assembly has a novel structure that allows the rotor to easily be configured for operation with one or two chambers. The disk assembly has a unique strain relief that prevents structural cracking. The quick release mechanism is held in the latched position by centrifugal force during operation of the rotor.

Rotor for centrifuge

A mixing valve includes a housing having inlet ports and an outlet port that intersect at a valve chamber. A valve core within the valve chamber includes passages in fluid communication with the inlet and outlet ports. The passages intersect at a cavity within the valve core. An elastomeric seal retained within the cavity sealingly engages the valve core around the passages in the absence of fluid pressure in the inlets. Injection of a pressurized fluid in one of the inlets causes the seal to move away from both the corresponding inlet passage to permit fluid flow from the pressurized inlet port to the outlet port and compresses the seal around the other inlet port to provide a tighter seal than existed before application of pressure to the first port.

Mixing tee check valve and method

A safety latching apparatus for a cover of a machine enclosing a round rotatable member. The apparatus includes a latch member, and an elongated flexible control element for sensing the motion of the rotatable member to automatically prevent opening of the cover when the member is rotating. The control element is movable longitudinally so that one of its ends can be brought into contact with the rotatable member and the other end connected to a latching mechanism located adjacent the machine cover. When the rotatable member is stationary, the end of the control element brought into contact with it remains generally rigid to a force in the longitudinal direction allowing the latch member to move to an unlocked position. When the rotatable member is rotating, the contact end of the control element is deflected to one side presenting no rigidity to a force in the longitudinal direction permitting the other end of the control element to recede from its rigid position and thereby prevent the latch member from moving to an unlocked position. An anti-flexing guide member is positioned alongside the contact end of the elongated member to assure that it remains generally rigid when the rotatable member is stationary, and the contact end is located so that its longitudinal axis is slightly to one side of a center line intersecting the central axis of the rotatable member in order to bias the contact end toward deflection in the direction of the anti-flexing guide and opposite the direction in which the rotatable member rotates.

Motion sensing apparatus

In a table top centrifuge of the type including a rotor and a housing defining a chamber for the rotor, the housing having a removable cover therefor, there is disclosed an improvement wherein the cover has first and second passageways extending entirely therethrough, from the center and periphery, respectively, thereof to spaced locations on one of the outer surfaces thereof to define inlet and outlet ports, respectively. A refrigeration unit is provided having a cold air outlet port and a warm air inlet port at spaced locations on one of the outer surfaces thereof, the spacing between and orientation of the centrifuge and refrigeration unit inlet and outlet ports being such that positioning of the one outer surfaces of the centrifuge and refrigeration units in contact with each other aligns the outlet and inlet ports of the refrigeration unit with the inlet and outlet ports, respectively, of the centrifuge. This arrangement forms a continuous, recirculating air passageway between the refrigeration unit and the centrifuge chamber with the centifuge rotor acting as the circulating centrifugal blower.

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Cupertino, CA, United States of America

Harry A Penhasi