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. 24, 2004
Filed:
Sep. 17, 2001
Charles J. Call, Albuquerque, NM (US);
Patrick T. Call, West Richland, WA (US);
Vanessa M. Kenning, Kennewick, WA (US);
Andrew Kamholz, Seattle, WA (US);
MesoSystems Technology, Inc., Kennewick, WA (US);
Abstract
The present invention employs a virtual impactor to separate a flow of fluid into a major flow and a minor flow, such that the minor flow contains a higher concentration of particulates of a desired size. The minor flow is directed toward an archival surface, causing the particulates to impact against and be deposited on the archival surface. Over time, the archival surface and the virtual impactor are moved relative to one another such that particulates collected at different times are deposited as spaced-apart spots on different portions of the archival surface. The particulates are stored on the archival surface until analysis of the particulates is required. The archival surface can be coated with a material that enhances the deposition and retention of the particulates and can further be coated with materials that sustain the life of biological organism particulates deposited on the archival surface.