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:
Jun. 13, 2000
Filed:
Mar. 02, 1998
Michael A Kelly, York, PA (US);
Edward G King, New Freedom, PA (US);
Michael R Walters, Baltimore, MD (US);
Bradley S Thomas, Timonium, MD (US);
Becton, Dickinson and Company, Franklin Lakes, NJ (US);
Abstract
A carrier tube system and method for using the same includes a carrier tube that is configured to receive a capillary blood tube, and a cap which seals the carrier tube to isolate the blood in the capillary tube from the surrounding atmosphere. The carrier tube system can be placed in a centrifuge which separates the blood with its component parts and optically reads the resulting layer thicknesses. The cap of the carrier tube can include a gear portion which is adapted for engagement with an indexing mechanism of the centrifuge, so that the indexing mechanism can rotate the carrier tube system about its longitudinal axis during centrifugation, thus allowing the optical reader of the centrifuge to take layer thickness readings at various positions about the circumference of the capillary tube. The cap can also include a float holder which holds a float that is inserted automatically into the capillary tube when the cap is placed