Centrifuge tube having removable crown and swage fitting

Abstract

A centrifuge tube for use in an ultracentrifuge has a closed bottom end shaped to mate with the bottom of a rotor cavity, a body portion and an upper end that terminates in a filler stem. The filler stem may be externally threaded. A removable support crown screws on the threaded filler stem or otherwise fits over the filler stem to center and support the stem within the rotor cavity of the ultracentrifuge. A swage plug fits within the support crown to seal off the inner volume of the centrifuge tube during centrifugation. The tube is filled and access is obtained to the liquid sample by removing the swage plug; sealing is accomplished by reversing the process. In one embodiment a universal crown, of a diameter smaller than the expected diameter of the rotor, is used in conjunction with a support bushing of suitable annular thickness to firmly support the filler stem in the rotor cavity. In other embodiments the swage plug has central openings which permit the removal of sample fractions or the pumping of fluid into and removal from the centrifuge tube.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.