Biocontainer assembly for bioprocessing system
AssigneePall Corporation
InventorsMichael B. Seal, Matthew J. Loveless
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A biocontainer assembly includes a biocontainer bag, a support frame, and a capacitive fill level sensor. The biocontainer bag defines a storage volume. The support frame includes a shelf having a support surface disposed at an oblique angle with respect to a horizontal axis. The capacitive fill level sensor is mounted to the support surface and is configured to generate a fill level signal indicative of the amount of material within the storage volume of the biocontainer bag.
Claims20
A biocontainer assembly comprising:
- a biocontainer bag, the biocontainer bag defining a storage volume;
- a shelf, the shelf having a support surface configured to support the biocontainer bag, the support surface disposed at an oblique angle with respect to a horizontal axis;
- a capacitive fill level sensor, the capacitive fill level sensor mounted to the support surface, the capacitive fill level sensor configured to generate a fill level signal indicative of the amount of material within the storage volume of the biocontainer bag.
A biocontainer assembly comprising:
- a frame structure, the frame structure including a plurality of uprights;
- an angled support member, the angled support member includes a planar support surface configured to support a biocontainer bag defining an interior storage volume therein, the angled support member being mounted to the uprights of the frame structure such that the support surface is disposed at an incline angle with respect to a horizontal axis so that the biocontainer bag, when resting upon the support surface, is in an inclined storage position with respect to the horizontal axis;
- and
- a capacitive fill level sensor, the capacitive fill level sensor mounted to the angled support member such that the capacitive fill level sensor is positioned to detect a volume of material disposed within the biocontainer bag when the biocontainer bag is in the inclined storage position over a range of volumes between a minimum fill volume and a maximum fill volume.
A method of using a biocontainer assembly, the method comprising:
- placing a biocontainer bag on a support surface of a shelf, the biocontainer bag defining a storage volume, and the support surface of the shelf disposed at an oblique angle with respect to a horizontal axis;
- detecting, using a capacitive fill level sensor, an amount of material within the storage volume of the biocontainer bag;
- transmitting a fill level signal from the capacitive fill level sensor to a controller, the fill level signal indicative of the amount of material detected within the storage volume of the biocontainer bag.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.