JPS5854199Y2 - Centrifuge tube holder assembly - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a centrifuge tube holder assembly disposed in a centrifuge rotor, and in particular, it encapsulates the centrifuge tube in a transparent aerosol storage canister and allows the user to The present invention relates to a tube holder assembly for a centrifugal separator that allows for substantially complete observation of the tube.

In order to fully understand the situation when liquids become aerosols, the causes and characteristics of aerosols, particularly with respect to centrifuge rotors, are discussed below.

Aerosols are generally stable gaseous dispersions of fine particles.

The exact meaning of particle size distribution and stability is generally not well defined, but is based on direct considerations of aerosols for applications or research.

For this purpose, particles of size 15 μM and above have associated sufficiently low sedimentation rates.

Microdroplets in low humidity environments tend to form smaller or more fully dried solid particles with lower settling rates.

The particle size that poses the most immediate danger to humans is 2μM.
to 8 μM particles, which enter and are retained in the lungs upon inhalation.

Also, this size and somewhat larger will be uniformly distributed in the laboratory within minutes or hours of aerosol release.

Inhalation and surface contamination are concerns. Liquid splashing or bubble collapse generates aerosols, even if they are iJ.

In the field of high-speed centrifugal force, liquid released from an unexpectedly broken tube within a centrifugal rotor literally impinges into said rotor.

The most familiar analogy is the splashing of water at the base of a high waterfall, which causes fog to form.

A significant amount of liquid droplets]' settles in the rotor, and if they do not escape from the rotor, all of the aerosol will be collected, given a sufficiently long operating time.

However, in many applications, the operating time is very short and the damaged tube is subjected to excessive vibration.

Without a suitable live contamination hood, the canister supporting the rotor or tube cannot be opened as aerosols may remain, making it easy for the operator to break the tube. A means to find out is desired.

A subtype means for aerosol generation is to supply the liquid to a spinning task or spray head.

Centrifuges, which leak liquid from large diameter rotors operated at high speeds, are excellent aerosol generators.

The liquid is continuously drawn out of the rotor in a thread-like manner by its centrifugal weight.

Depending on surface tension, density and velocity, the liquid flow becomes unstable at short distances from the rotor and breaks up into uniformly sized droplets.

These droplets are quite large in many centrifuges and are always accompanied by a mist of very small particles.

These latter particles are of major concern.

In clinical and research practice, one of the important concerns in laboratories is the leakage of harmful substances during experiments.

Operation of a centrifuge to separate species of viruses requires that containers of hazardous biological material containing dangerous viruses be placed in the centrifuge rotor.

For the safety of personnel in the laboratory, it is necessary to take all possible safety precautions to prevent accidental contact between laboratory personnel and dangerous viruses or other biologically active materials. .

Containment of a liquid sample is usually ensured by placing the sample in a sealed tube for centrifugation and by placing it in a rotor with a cover lid.

However, from time to time, the centrifuge tube or sample container becomes defective, which causes rupture during high-speed centrifugation and leakage of hazardous substances into the rotor.

If the rotor design does not provide proper sealing or enclosure, some of the liquid will aerosolize and escape from the rotor.

One of the major problems faced by users of centrifuge rotors when experimenting with biologically hazardous materials, for example, is that once the tubes are placed in the buckets of a rocking packet rotor for centrifugation, It is impossible to see the condition of the tube during subsequent centrifugal separation operations.

It is now known to place centrifuge tubes in sealed canisters or buckets 1 to contain the aerosol; these devices allow the user to:
It is not possible to extract the majority of the tube in order to determine whether the tube has suffered a fracture or defect.

Therefore, if the user inadvertently opens the canister, the covert aerosol forest material may escape, creating a potential hazard.

In currently used equipment, the lid of the sealed canister for holding the tubes is transparent and allows the tube to be viewed through the lid to determine if the tube has been fractured or damaged during centrifugation operation. It is not possible to be certain exactly or with certainty.

As a result, in many cases, when the user does not know whether the tube is still in good condition and retains biological material, the user is left to chance to seal the tube without any guarantee. Opening the canister.

Therefore, it is difficult for the user-operator to know whether the tube or container has been damaged during centrifugation operation, and the possibility of harmful biological material accumulating within the canister. cause.

It is essential that the sealing means between the lid or closure and the canister surrounding the tube provide a complete seal under both static and operating conditions, so that Any harmful materials can be completely contained within the canister.

One of the important requirements of the lid of the canister is that it be able to withstand the hydraulic pressure caused by leakage of liquid sample within the rotor.

The present invention provides a container or canister for receiving a number of centrifuge tubes arranged in a frame or rack.
Regarding.

The canister includes a lid that seals out the aerosol when airtightly engaged with the canister.

Therefore, any leakage arising from the tubes of the canister is contained within the canister.

Additionally, a special aerosol seal between the canister and the lid will contain any aerosol that may be generated during centrifuge operation.

The present invention provides a centrifuge comprising a transparent canister supported by a centrifuge rotor, a rack housed in the canister for supporting the tubes, and a transparent lid for sealing the canister. It is an object of the present invention to provide a tube holder assembly for a separator in which it is possible to easily observe whether or not the tube supported on the rack is damaged without opening the canister.

In order to achieve this, the rack according to the present invention has a lower part having a plurality of recesses for receiving the lower ends of the tubes, and a lower part provided at a distance from the lower part through a central column. an aligned upper member having a plurality of openings aligned with the recess of the lower member for supporting the tube about the central post in cooperation with the recess;
The rack securely supports the tube about the central column at the upper member and the lower member.

Therefore, since the tubes are self-aligned around the central column, when an observer observes the tubes from radially outward of the canister, the central column between the upper member and the lower member is Without interfering with the observation, the rack allows observation of almost the entirety of each of the tubes.

As a result, the tube can be supported reliably, and cracks in the tube inside the canister can be easily discovered.

The racks in which the tubes are arranged and supported within the canister essentially allow visibility of the entire outer shape of the container tubes.

Furthermore, the canister is transparent, so that when the holder or rack supporting the tubes is placed in the canister, substantially the entire external shape of each tube can be seen through the canister. can be seen.

This allows the operator to inspect the integrity of the reading tube to determine if the tube is broken or broken in subsequent centrifugation runs.

As a result, if inspection of the tubes through the canister determines that one of them is damaged, the operator then determines whether or not to open the lid of the canister.

If hazardous special biological materials are placed in some of the tubes, it may be desirable to install special biocontamination hoods and remove the lids.

The tube inside the canister can be seen from the L side as well as from all around.

The rack according to the invention is removable from the transparent canister.

Furthermore, the rack can be easily disassembled to facilitate cleaning of the entire rack in the event that the liquid sample within the tube leaks or leaks.

The features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description of the illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 1 shows a canister or container 10 of the present invention having a generally cylindrical shape having an open end 12 and a closed bottom 14. FIG.

The upper end of the canister 10 is provided with a shoulder 16 which provides a difference between the expanded diameter of the upper or open end 12 and the main body portion 18 of the canister.

A large number of shields 20 are provided on the outside of the opening 1, that is, the open end 12.

Canister 10 has a large inner cavity or container portion 22 for receiving centrifuge tubes as described below.
has.

Preferably, canister 10 is made from a transparent plastic material capable of withstanding the forces exerted during centrifugation.

A lid 24 is shown in FIG. 2 and is designed to engage canister 10 of FIG.

The lid 24 has a number of internal threads 26 that engage the threads 20 of the canister 10 of FIG.

A sealing element, an O-ring seal 28, is disposed adjacent to the screw 20 of the canister 10, which seal seals the connection between the canister 10 and the lid 24 when the lid is firmly engaged with the canister 10. Provides a tight seal between the

The O-ring 28 is preferably made of neoprene.

The purpose of using the O-ring with the screw is to
The objective is to contain aerosols generated in the canister during centrifugation.

The −L portion of the lid is provided with a raised dome area or dome portion 30, which increases the height of the lid;
When the lid is installed on the canister 10, the internal height of the canister increases further.

This allows for the accommodation of centrifuge tubes within canister 10, as will be discussed below.

A knurled surface 32 is provided around the periphery of the lid 24, the iron surface allowing for a stronger grip for a sealing engagement between said lid and the canister 10.

A rack 40 for centrifuge tubes is shown in FIG. 3 and is designed to be placed within the interior cavity 22 of the canister 10 of FIG.

Rack 40 includes a lower portion or support member 42 and an upper portion or support member 44 .

Each of these portions has a perimeter and shape that matches the inner diameter and shape of canister 10.

Accordingly, the diameter of the upper portion 44 of the rack 40 is approximately equal to, or slightly smaller than, the diameter of the inner cavity 22 of the canister 10.

Similarly, the diameter of the lower portion 42 of the rack 40 has the same diameter and contour as the inner cavity 22 of the canister 10 adjacent the bottom 14 of the canister.

The bottom or lower portion 42 of the rack is provided with a number of recesses 46 for receiving the lower ends of centrifuge tubes 48.

The upper portion 44 of the rack is provided with a number of openings 50 for receiving the tubes 48.

Each opening 50 in the upper portion 44 corresponds to a recess 46 in the lower portion 42.
Consistent with

The upper portion 42 and lower portion 44 are connected to a central column 52.
connected via.

The distance between the upper section 42 and the lower section 44 is set to provide adequate support for the tubes when placed in the rack 40.

Although the rack shown in FIG. 3 has four openings for receiving four tubes 48, an arrangement may utilize more or fewer tubes depending on the size of the tubes. It can be done.

The upper end of the post 52 is provided with a handle 54 which facilitates insertion and removal of the rack 40 with respect to the canister 10.

Each of the tubes 48 typically contains one type of sample to be subjected to centrifugation, which sample is inserted into the tube by using a seal, such as a sealing cap 56, attached to the tube 48. It will be sealed.

When the operator places a sample to be centrifuged into the tubes 48, the tubes are arranged in counterbalanced relation to each other within the rack 40.

Next, the rack 40 is held in the first position by gripping the flat part 54.
Inner cavity or container portion 22 of the illustrated canister 10
placed within.

The lid 24 is then threaded onto the canister 10 to enclose the rack 40 with its centrifuge tubes 48.

The lid 24 is hermetically sealed to the canister 10 to form an aerosol containment seal with the O-ring 28.
is guaranteed.

The dome portion 30 of the lid 24 is connected to the flat portion 54 of the rack 40.
Provide sufficient room to accommodate.

After the rack 40 is secured in the canister 10,
The entire canister assembly, including canister 10 and lid 24, is placed in centrifuge rotor 60 as shown in FIG.

The rotano is a swinging bucket I-type, and the rotor frame 62 has a number of arms 64 extending radially outward from a central axis of rotation 66.

The arms 64 that are close to each other and form a pair are connected to the swinging buckets 1 to 1.
A yoke region 68 is formed for receiving 70.

The packet 1 is configured such that when the rotor is at rest,
Maintain vertical orientation as shown in FIG.

However, when the rotor operates at high speed, the packets pivot approximately 90 degrees and align with the force field that occurs during centrifugation.

Basically, the longitudinal axes of each of the seven packets 70 are perpendicular to the axis of rotation 66 of the rotor.

The packet is attached to an I-runion or pin 72.

Canister 10 is shown disposed in one of the packets 70 recessed within the inner cavity 71 of the buckets 1-70.

The lid 24 is shown extending over the upper edge 74 of the bucket 70.

To provide equilibrium to the rotor 60, other canisters
10 is placed in another packet 70, after which the rotor is rotated at its operating speed in a centrifuge in order to obtain the desired separation of the samples in the canister 10.

After the centrifugation operation is completed, canister 10 is removed from packet 70.

The operator can inspect the tubes 48 placed in the rack 40 through the transparent canister 10.

Therefore, the operator can check whether the tube has been damaged during the centrifugation operation.

In this way, the user or operator knows whether to remove the lid 24 in order to retrieve the tube.

If the material in the tube 48, or the sample, contains biological material that is potentially hazardous, the operator must be very careful in deciding whether to open the lid 24, i.e., to remove the iron lid. can be done.

In addition, since it is difficult to confirm hairline cracks in some types of tubes, if it is unclear when inspecting the tube through the canister 10 whether or not the tube is damaged, The operator can inspect the transparent canister to see if fluid is leaking and collecting in the canister.
It can be inspected through.

The canister being transparent also allows inspection of substantially the entire area within the canister, as well as through the lid 24, which is made of transparent plastic material.

The use of the assembly according to the invention allows the operator to ascertain whether the tube has been damaged in a centrifugation operation, i.e. to see, before there is a possibility of coming into contact with material leaking from the tube. be able to.

Referring to Figure 5, the rack 4 can be disassembled into three parts.
0 is shown.

As previously explained, the rack 40 consists of transparent canisters.
It is designed as a separate unit I- which can be taken out from 10.

From the canister to the holder, that is, the rack 40
The feature that the centrifuge tube can be removed and separated is not only convenient for carrying the centrifuge tube, but also convenient for cleaning the interior or cavity portion 22 of the canister.

When handling fluid samples in the laboratory, it is often possible to inadvertently spill some of the liquid sample into the canister or onto the rack 40.

Furthermore, if a leak occurs in the tube during centrifugation, liquid will scatter not only on the rack but also within the canister.

To facilitate cleaning of the rack 40, it is designed to be disassembled into three parts.

One component is a base portion 80 that is separated from the lower portion 42 and central post 52.

One other part is a cylindrical upper part 44 and the remaining part is a handle part 54.

The top 82 of the central column 52 is provided with a rectangular projecting stud 84 having a smaller cross-sectional area than the central column 52 .

The two sides 86 and 88 of the stud 84 are sloped such that the area of the top of the stud is less than the area of its bottom 92.

A hole 94 is provided in the top portion 90 of the stud.

The cylindrical upper portion 44 is provided with a rectangular tapered hole 96 which receives the stud 84 on the central post 52.

Furthermore, the inner walls 98 and 100 slope in the same direction as the tapered surfaces 86 and 88 of the stud 84.

Therefore, when the mounting portion 44 is disposed on the central column 52, the taper shape of the stud 84 matches the taper shape of the hole 96, thereby facilitating assembly of the rack 40. Change the characteristics of the ring.

Furthermore, the centrifugal force acting on the upper portion 44 during centrifugation is
The bottom portion 42 is oriented so that the upper portion 44 is in close contact with the central post 52 due to the overall tapered orientation of the studs 84 and holes 96.

When the upper portion 44 is placed on the central post 52, the handle portion 54 with the protruding bolt portion 12 is threaded into the tapped hole 94 of the stud 84.

When the handle portion 54 is securely fixed to the stud 84,
” The three-sided portion 44 is hinged to the base portion 80.

Additionally, the lower surface 104 of the handle portion 54 is larger than the area of the opening 96 in the upper surface 106 of the upper portion 44 .

Thus, when it is desired to clean the rack 40, the handle section 54 above the -1 side section 44 can be loosened from the stud 84 in order to remove it.

As a result, the separated parts as shown in FIG. 5 can be easily cleaned as needed.

Although the invention has been described with reference to generally cylindrical canisters and similar racks, any shape of canister and rack may be used to accommodate the interior of the canister.

By using a canister and lid made of transparent material, along with a rack that exposes most of the centrifuge tubes, one can protect the tubes before removing them from the canister following completion of the centrifuge operation. The tube can be inspected.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the canister of the present invention with the lid removed, and Figure 2 is a canister of the invention shown in Figure 1.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a rack for inserting into the canister of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of said canister placed in a centrifugal rotor. 5 is a perspective view showing the rack disassembled into parts. 10: Canister, 24: Lid, 28: Seal element, 4
0 Nirakku, 42: Lower member, 44: Upper member, 46:
Recess, 48: Centrifuge tube, 50: Opening, 52: Central column, 54: Handle portion, 84: Stud, 96: Tapered hole.

Claims (3)

[Scope of utility model registration request] (1) A centrifuge tube holder assembly for supporting protective tubes for arranging a large number of centrifuge tubes 48 in a centrifuge rotor, the transparent canister being supported by the centrifuge rotor. 10, a rack 40 accommodated in the canister and for supporting the tube, and the canister.
The rack includes a transparent lid 24 that provides an aerosol containment seal along with twelve sealing elements 28; the rack includes a lower member 42 having a number of recesses 46 for receiving the lower end of the tube; an upper member spaced from the lower member and aligned with the lower member via the recess for cooperating with the recess to support the tube disposed about the central post; an upper member 44 having a plurality of apertures 50 aligned therein, the rack, together with the canister 10 and the lid 24, providing a substantially complete view of each of the tubes within the canister. Tube holder assembly for centrifugal separators. (2) the rack includes a handle portion 54 that is removably attached to the central post 52;
4 is a tube holder assembly according to claim 1, which is removable from the central column when the handle portion 54 is removed. (3) The central column 52 includes a tapered stud 84 that protrudes from the top thereof and is received in a tapered hole 96 provided in the upper member 44. Tube holder assembly as described.