The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 19, 1991
Filed:
Nov. 15, 1988
Sidney T Smith, Lake Forest, IL (US);
Dean M Glash, McHenry, IL (US);
Baxter International Inc., Deerfield, IL (US);
Abstract
Disclosed is an improved apparatus and method for collecting, freezing and removing a liquid such as blood or blood components, and particularly blood plasma. In accordance with the present invention, a container (16) for blood plasma is defined by a pair of substantially flat, flexible opposing sidewalls (40, 42) which are substantially adjacent when the container is empty. The sidewalls are peripherally sealed together to define an interior compartment, and the side seals (44, 46) converge toward one end (48) of the container. After a selected quantity of plasma is collected in the container, the filled container is formed and frozen in a wedge-shaped configuration, with the opposed sidewalls (40,42) converging toward the end of the container. An air space (82) may be provided in the top of the container so that a knife (86) may be easily inserted into the frozen container without contacting the frozen liquid (88) therein. Slight warming of the container then permits the frozen contents to be removed efficiently as a single slug. Also disclosed is a form (60) for shaping a container as described above into a wedge-shape for freezing. The form includes a pair of rigid, perforated walls (62, 66) hinged together at one end (64) and configured to receive a container therebetween. The rigid walls of the form are disposed to shape the container walls into a converging configuration during freezing.