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:
May. 27, 1997
Filed:
Aug. 07, 1995
John L Haynes, Chapel Hill, NC (US);
Other;
Abstract
A blood sample is gravimetrically separated into its heavier and lighter phases by centrifugation in a tube. The phases are separated by a disc which has a center of buoyancy and a center of mass that are spaced apart from each other along the axis of symmetry of the disc. The diameter of the disc is slightly larger than the bore diameter of the tube. The disc is initially positioned in the tube with its axis of symmetry perpendicular to the axis of the tube so that blood drawn into the tube can readily pass by the disc. Upon centrifugation, the disc will tumble through a 90.degree. angle so that the axis of symmetry of the disc will be coincidental with the axis of the tube. Once the disc has tumbled in the sample, the ongoing centrifugal forces will cause a stretching of the disc along its axis of symmetry thereby decreasing the diameter of the disc. The stretching forces exerted on the disc will temporarily decrease the effective specific gravity of the disc so that the disc will remain in the upper portion of the lighter phase of the sample during the initial portion of the centrifugation. As the centrifuge slows down, the disc sinks through the lighter phase of the sample and settles on the interface between the lighter and heavier phases of the sample, thereby separating the two phases of the sample. One of the phases can then be removed from the tube without contamination from the other phase.