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US 5,704,887 AGranted
Easy load umbilicus holder for a centrifuge
AssigneeBaxter International Inc.
InventorsSteven C. Slowik, Michael J. Scola, Thomas J. Gillen
Life of this patent
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AssigneeBaxter International Inc.
InventorsSteven C. Slowik, Michael J. Scola, Thomas J. Gillen
Estimating the term…
A tube holder secures to the rotating processing chamber of a centrifuge tubing that conveys fluid to or from the chamber. The tube holder is part of a carrier that is connected by a pin to a support on the processing chamber. The support has walls defining an enclosure. The carrier swings about the pin on the support between an opened position free of the enclosure and a closed position captured within the enclosure. In the opened position, the tube holder is exposed for receiving tubing. In the closed position, the tubing is retained within the enclosure in the tube holder. The tube holder allows straightforward attachment and removal of the tubing, always in a prescribed manner and with a single hand. The tube holder securely retains the tubing during use in a closed, protected environment, safeguarding it against inadvertent dislodgement, removal, or damage.
A processing element for a centrifuge including a chamber for receiving fluids subject to a centrifugal field, a carrier on the element defining a tube holder to receive tubing that, in use, conveys fluids to or from the chamber, a support on the processing element having walls defining an enclosure, and a pin connecting the carrier to the support, the carrier swinging about the pin on the support between an opened position, in which the tube holder is swung free of the enclosure to open access to the tube holder for receiving the tubing, and a closed position, in which the tube holder is swung into the enclosure to close access to the tube holder and retain the tubing in the tube holder during processing.
A centrifuge comprising
A centrifuge comprising a yoke element rotatable about a rotational axis, a processing chamber mounted for rotation about a second axis aligned with the rotational axis, an umbilicus that conveys fluid to or from the processing chamber, the umbilicus having a proximal end, a distal end, and a middle region between the proximal and distal ends, a first support block in the proximal end, a second support block in the distal end, and a third support block in the middle region spaced from the first and second support blocks, a first holder to hold the first support block stationary during rotation of the yoke element at a location above the yoke element in alignment with the rotational axis, a second holder on the yoke element to hold the third support block for rotation about the middle umbilicus region during rotation of the yoke element, and a third holder on the processing chamber to hold the second support block for rotation about the second axis during rotation of the yoke element, the third holder comprising a carrier on the processing chamber defining a cavity to receive the second support block, a support on the processing chamber having walls defining an enclosure, and a pin connecting the carrier to the support, the carrier swinging about the pin on the support between an opened position, in which the cavity is swung free of the enclosure to open access to the cavity for receiving the second support block, and a closed position, in which the cavity is swung into the enclosure to close access to the cavity and retain the second support block in the cavity during rotation of the processing chamber.
In a centrifugal processing chamber comprising a bowl element having an interior wall peripherally defining an interior area, a spool element having an exterior surface, and a mechanism joining the spool and bowl elements for movement between a mutually cooperating position, in which the spool element is enclosed within the interior area of the bowl to define a processing chamber between the interior bowl wall and the exterior spool surface, and a mutually separated position, in which the spool element is at least partially out of the interior area of the bowl element to expose the exterior spool surface for mounting a flexible processing container having preattached tubing, the improvement comprising a carrier on the bowl element defining a tube holder to receive the tubing, a support on the bowl element having walls defining an enclosure, and a pin connecting the carrier to the support, the carrier swinging about the pin on the support between an opened position, in which the tube holder is swung free of the enclosure to open access to the tube holder for receiving the tubing, and a closed position, in which the tube holder is swung into the enclosure to close access to the tube holder and retain the tubing in the tube holder during rotation of the processing chamber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.