Hitachi Koki Co., Ltd.

Hirachi Koki Co., Ltd.

Masaharu Aizawa

Katsunori Akatsu

Yoshinori Tobita

Jun Sato

Tomohiro Koizumi

Kenichi Nemoto

Kenichi Tetsu

Masataka Morita

Yukiyoshi Maehara

Yoshimitsu Kitazawa

Masahiro Inaniwa

Hiroshi Ono

Yoshitaka Niinai

Masahiro Miura

Tatsuya Konno

Masanori Yoshioka

Tsutomu Takamura

Yukitoshi Takakusagi

Kouiti Akatsu

Iwao Yamazaki

Yasuhiro Kawai

A rotor includes a plurality of holding cavities for holding specimen containers, respectively. A transverse cross sectional shape of the holding cavity is a substantially triangular shape having one vertex on an inner circumference side of the rotor. Two vertices of the substantially triangular shape are arranged on an outer circumference side of the rotor so as to have equidistance from a rotary shaft of the rotor. Spacing between sides of the substantially triangular shape in a circumferential direction of the rotor gradually increase over 60% or more a radial length of the holding cavity from an innermost circumferential position to the outer circumference side of the rotor when viewed in its transverse plane.

Centrifugal separator with rotor having plurality of triangular-shaped holding cavities and rotor for use in centrifugal separator

The present invention provides a zonal centrifuge which has superior workability and functionality when a sample is filled and extracted. An oil bearing fitted to an outer circumference of a lower tube of a rotor is arranged on an internal face of a bearing housing fixed over a door adapter of the centrifuge. As the oil bearing and the lower tube are lubricated, a vacuum environment in a rotor rotating chamber is maintained. A rotating seal located at an upper leading end of the lower tube of the rotor and a fixing seal facing the rotating seal are arranged and provided in a sealed space formed by a mechanical seal member and the bearing housing, and the fixing seal is so manipulated as to be able to freely join and separate from the rotating seal.

Centrifuge having a seal mechanism

Container

A centrifugal separator includes a sample line and a rotating apparatus portion including a rotor that has a rotor chamber. The centrifugal separator centrifugally separates a sample by supplying the sample from the sample line into the rotor and driving to rotate the rotor in the rotor chamber and discharges the centrifugally separated sample from the rotor via the sample line. The centrifugal separator includes a sterilizing apparatus for sterilizing at least a portion with which the sample is brought into contact by making a sterilizing fluid flow through the sample line.

Method for sterilizing a centrifugal separator

Centrifugal separator with sterilizing apparatus

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a centrifuge in which a steam sterilization of a sample flow passage is performed, the centrifuge including: a rotor configured to centrifuging a liquid sample; a drive portion that drives and rotates the rotor; a chamber that accommodates the rotor therein, the chamber having a first and a second penetration holes provided on an upper and a bottom portions thereof, respectively; and a first and a second valves disposed on the first and the second penetration holes, respectively; wherein a cooling gas is introduced through one of the first and the second penetration holes and discharged through the other to cool a periphery of the rotor before or after execution of a centrifuging operation of the liquid sample.

Centrifuge with steam sterilization

A centrifugal separator includes a rotator part that separates a liquid sample and has a rotor and a drive part. The rotor receives a liquid sample therein and rotates to separate the liquid sample. The drive part drives the rotor to rotate. A controller part controls operations of the rotator part which is mounted in a rotator casing. A controller casing which is separate from the rotator casing mounts the controller part, and the controller part is connected via a drive wire to the drive part in the rotator part. The rotor casing is disposed at a clean room, the controller casing is disposed outside the clean room, and the drive wire passes through a wall of the clean room via an air-tight sealing mechanism.

Centrifugal separator with isolated rotor part

A centrifugal separator includes: a sample line; and a rotating apparatus portion including a rotor that has a rotor chamber. The centrifugal separator centrifugally separates a sample by supplying the sample from the sample line into the rotor and driving to rotate the rotor in the rotor chamber and discharges the centrifugally separated sample from the rotor via the sample line. The centrifugal separator includes: a sterilizing apparatus for sterilizing at least a portion with which the sample is brought into contact by making a sterilizing fluid flow through the sample line.

A centrifugal separator includes a rotator part, a controller part, and a first control panel. The rotator part has a rotor for separating components in a liquid sample, and a drive shaft for driving the rotor to rotate. The controller part controls operations of the rotator part. The first control panel is provided with a first operating part for setting operating conditions of the rotator part including the desired rotating speed of the rotor and the desired operation period of time of the rotor, and a first display unit for displaying the operating conditions and status of the rotator part. A second control panel having the same functions as the first control panel is provided in a location separate from the controller part. Hence, a user can check the operating status of the centrifugal separator and set and modify operating conditions for the centrifugal separator not only by using the first control panel but also by using the second control panel.

Centrifugal separator with first and second control panels

A culture/centrifugal tube includes a tube and a cap. The cap has a disk portion and an annular portion that define an annular groove therebetween. The annular groove opens at a position level with the surface of the disk portion. The open end of the tube extends into the annular groove, with the open end of the vessel in abutment against the surface of the disk portion when the cap is fully engaged on the tube. An angle rotor that is used in a centrifuge is formed with an accommodation hole that receives the culture/centrifugal tube. The accommodation hole including a smaller-diameter tube accommodating portion that accommodates the tube and a larger-diameter cap accommodating portion that accommodates the cap. The cap accommodating portion includes a region that entirely encompasses a corresponding portion of the outer periphery of the annular portion of the cap.

Culture tube and angle rotor receiving the tube in centrifuge

A continuous flow type centrifuge to which a liquid sample is continuous supplied. The centrifuge includes a rotor rotatably supported by a main housing and drivingly rotated by a motor. The rotor includes a cylindrical rotor body, a hollow cylindrical core body, and end plates. The hollow cylindrical core body is disposed in the rotor body providing a space therebetween. The core body has an upper open end, a lower open end and an outer peripheral surface provided with a plurality of partitioning walls positioned at an equal interval in a circumferential direction of the core body for providing a plurality of cavities each defined by the core body, the rotor body and neighboring partitioning walls. The end plates include an upper end plate disposed to cover the upper open end, and a lower end plate disposed to cover the lower open end. An upper welding part is disposed at a boundary between the upper end plate and the upper open end, and a lower welding part is disposed at a boundary between the lower plate and the lower open end. The components of the rotor are made from heat resistant and corrosion resistant material, typically titanium or titanium alloy.

Continuous flow type centrifuge having rotor body and core body disposed therein

A bucket consists of a sample container holding member and a metallic member. The sample container holding member is made of a composite material consisting of a reinforcing fiber and a resin. The metallic member has portions engaged with a rotor body.

Swing rotor for a centrifugal separator including a swingably supported bucket having a sample container holding member and metallic member

A rotor for a centrifugal separator. The rotor has a rotor body with a cylindrical outer wall extending upward from a bottom portion and a boss portion provided at a center of the bottom portion. The outer wall is located radially outward with respect to the boss portion serving as a rotational center of the rotor body. The rotor also has a plurality of buckets that are swingably supported in the rotor body and each of the buckets holds a boxlike sample container. A supporting element supports a hinge shaft serving as a swing center of the bucket. Each of the buckets has a bottom surface that is brought into contact with an inside surface of an outer wall of the rotor body due to a centrifugal force when the rotor rotates, so that the buckets and the rotor body integrally rotate during centrifugal operation. The hinge shaft is offset from a line extending from a centroid of the bucket perpendicularly to the bottom surface of the bucket, and is located at a position higher than the sample container and the bucket inclines obliquely with respect to the bottom portion of the rotor body when the rotor body is stopped.

Centrifugal rotor having buckets swingably supported on a hinge shaft

A centrifugal separator comprises a driving unit, a power transmission unit including a driving shaft and a crown mounted to one end of the driving shaft, a rotor having a rotor body to which an insertion hole into which the crown is inserted is formed and including a sample holding member, the rotor being formed with a projection member so as to extend outward, a rotor casing into which the rotor is accommodated in a rotatable manner, and a receiving member disposed on the rotor casing side to receive the projection member. In a state that the crown is inserted into the insertion hole from a bottom wall side of the rotor casing, a first distance between the bottom wall of the rotor casing and a front end portion of the crown is made smaller than a second distance between a bottom portion of the projection member and a bottom portion of the insertion hole formed to the rotor body. The receiving member is formed as an annular recess having a depth larger than a difference between the second distance and the first distance.

Centrifugal separator having rotor with projection received in receiving member

A desk-top centrifuge is provided which includes a switching element disposed between a dc power supply and a motor and a controlling circuit. The controlling circuit receives a voltage of power regenerated by the motor to provide a pulse width-controlled on-off signal to the drive switching element to control speed of the motor. The controlling circuit increases an on-duration in which the on-off signal is at an on-level at a given rate to turns the motor slowly. The centrifuge has a safety guard system made up of a door switch and a door lock switch which are installed in series between the dc power supply and the motor and work to establish electric communication between the dc power supply and the motor when the door is closed and locked.

Growing community of inventors

Hitachinaka, Japan

Masaharu Aizawa