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:
Aug. 10, 1999
Filed:
Aug. 29, 1997
Michael L Bell, Fullerton, CA (US);
Beckman Instruments, Inc., Fullerton, CA (US);
Abstract
A separator and a method for quickly separating an aliquot of plasma or serum from cells in a sample of blood is provided herein. The separator includes a housing which defines a separation container, an outlet aperture, a valve which selectively seals the outlet aperture, and a spinner. Initially, the spinner rotates the housing at a separation speed which causes the heavier cells to separate from the serum or plasma. Subsequently, the spinner rotates the housing at a faster, expellant speed which causes the valve to open and the cells to be expelled through the outlet aperture. After the cells have been expelled from the separation container, rotation of the housing is stopped and the serum or plasma is collected from the separation container. Since the separator provided herein does not use a separation gel, the separator is easy to clean and reusable.