Douglas Machine Inc.

Douglas Scientific, LLC

Other

Lgc Genomics Limited

Richard Jerome Schoeneck

Paul Howard Wagner

Irvan Leo Pazdernik

Bruce Peterson

Daniel Leonard Floding

Adnanul Haq

Ronald Matthew Gust

Thomas Harold Peterman

Bradley Jon VanderTuin

Brent Conrad Urke

Gene Allen Corle

Chad W Hahn

Irvan Leo Pazdernick

Bruce Malcolm Peterson

A pipettor includes a wash chamber between an upper plate, a lower plate, an upper seal, and a lower seal. The upper and lower seal retain each other and are located between the upper and lower plates. The pipettor includes a gasket located below the lower plate, a pipette tip retained by the gasket, and a piston with a tapered tip that passes through the plates, seals, and gasket into the pipette tip. The upper and lower seal isolate the piston from the wash chamber. The pipettor includes a channel defined by the piston, extending into the pipette tip, and an actuator that advances and retracts the piston. When the actuator retracts the piston such that the piston loses sealing contact with the lower seal and the wash chamber is supplied with wash fluid and pressurized, wash fluid passes through the groove in the upper seal and into the channel.

Wash through pipettor

Some embodiments include a scanning module with an optical reader coupled to a moveable carriage configured to move the optical reader in a first direction. In some embodiments, the optical reader includes excitation sources, emission detectors, emission energy conditioning elements, and a tape drive configured and arranged to selectively advance a tape in a second direction which is substantially perpendicular to the first direction. Further, some embodiments include a bar code reading station positioned adjacent to the moveable carriage. Other embodiments include an objective lens.

Scanner photometer and methods

A scanning photometer and attendant methods are provided. The scanning photometer is generally characterized by first and second fluorophore excitation sources, an objective lens, and a common emission detector for the detection of first and second fluorophore emission originating from the excitation of the fluorophores via passage of excitation energy, via an optical path of the objective lens, from the excitation sources. Excitation energy and emission energy conditioning elements are likewise provided, operatively interposed before or after the objective lens as the case may be.

High throughput screening is performed by directing an array tape () provided with a plurality of wells arranged in rows and columns into a dispensing well plate device () having various row and column actuators (). With the wells containing samples to be tested, activating select ones of row and column actuators () of the dispensing well plate device (), as well causing relative shifting between the actuators () and the array tape (), enables fluid to be dispensed from one or more nozzles of the dispensing well plate device () into predetermined ones of the plurality of wells in a wide range of patterns.

High throughput screening employing combination of dispensing well plate device and array tape

A carrier tape () wound on and extending between first and second spools () rotatably mounted to a read head () is submerged with a detector () mounted on a guide mechanism () into a fluid thermal media in the form of water or air contained in tanks (-). While submerged, the carrier tape () can be wound from one spool () to another. Further, the read head () can be plunged multiple times in opposite directions in the fluid thermal media. The detector () allows readings while the carrier tape () and the contents carried thereby are submerged in the fluid thermal media and can be a multi-channel, time-resolving photometer measuring fluorescence with at least one channel per row of wells () arranged in an array.

Apparatus and methods for performing real time PCR in array tape

An apparatus () for singulating micro-well tape includes a tape drive () and a cutting assembly (). The micro-well tape is advanced into and passes between upper and lower tape retainers (), with the upper tape retainer () including a groove () into which a raised ridge () of a multiplicity of ridges () of the bottom tape retainer () extends, with the rows of wells moving between adjacent ridges () in a movement direction. When a bar code on the micro-well tape is detected by a sensora knife blade () mounted on a slide block () is moved vertically to cut the micro-well tape. The new leading edge of the micro-well tape pushes the cut micro-well tape which is deflected by the raised ridge ().

Methods and apparatus for singulating micro-well tape

A scanning photometer and attendant methods are provided. The scanning photometer is generally characterized by first and second fluorophore excitation sources, an objective lens, and a common emission detector for the detection of first and second fluorophore emission originating from the excitation of the fluorophores via passage of excitation energy, via an optical path of the objective lens, from the excitation sources. Excitation energy and emission energy conditioning elements are like-wise provided, operatively interposed before or after the objective lens as the case may be.

Scanner photometer methods

A heat tunnel for applying heated air to articles enclosed in shrink-wrap film includes at least one air supply unit; a conveyor; and a heat shroud spaced from the conveyor. The air supply unit includes a source of heated air, a fan, a heated air plenum, air ducts, and a return air plenum. Multiple air supply units can be provided along the conveyor to create a heat tunnel of desired length.

Heat tunnel for film shrinking

A cutting apparatus cuts shrink wrap film residing in a roll. The apparatus includes a first roller pair receiving the film from the roll and carrying the film away from the roll; and without the need for a second roller pair to receive the cut sheet of film. Film snap-back is prevented by cutting the film between a shear deck with teeth and a rotating blade with teeth intermeshing with the teeth of the shear deck. A method for cutting a sheet of shrink wrap film, includes: feeding the film into a first roller pair; and cutting the film between the first roller pair and the second roller pair using a rotating knife with a number of teeth intermeshing with a shear bar with teeth.

Film cutter

Apparatus selectively processes a substrate using radiant energy. The substrate can consist of any target material having a portion to be processed using the radiant energy and a larger portion to be unprocessed. The apparatus includes a source of radiant energy (preferably a quantum cascade laser) that has a customizable spectrum that can be configured to be specifically absorbed only by the portion to be processed, and a control system for targeting the radiant energy only at the portion to be processed. Specific examples of the use of the apparatus and method are in the technologies of heat-shrinking polyethylene film, fusing toner to paper in a laser printer, heating reaction vessels in DNA testing, and temperature profiling bottle pre-forms.

Apparatus and method for selective processing of materials with radiant energy

Product is conveyed as a continuous stream by a meter conveyor () unto a transfer plate () and a transfer device (). The transfer device () is movable between a retracted position and an extended position extending over a sweep conveyor (). In a preferred form, the transfer device () is in the form of a thin piece of flexible material and is moved in the conveying direction from the retracted position to the extended position by engaging with the sweep conveyor () and is moved to the retracted position by being wrapped around a rotated roller (). Product is transferred from the transfer device () to the sweep conveyor () as the transfer device () moves from the extended position to the retracted position and is engaged by a metering bar () which controls the product on the sweep conveyor () until the product group leaves the transfer device (). With nested product, the leading edge of the transfer device () is scalloped to represent the product bottom leading edge.

Retractable transfer device metering apparatus and methods

A method for enclosing articles in heat-shrink film and for perforating or slitting the heat shrink film.

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Alexandria, MN, United States of America

Richard Jerome Schoeneck