CENTRIFUGE FOR AUTOMATIC LOADING

Abstract

The invention relates to a centrifuge (10) for automatic loading, having a drive shaft (44), which is driven in a rotatable manner about a rotor axis (42), having a rotor (46), which is releasably coupled for conjoint rotation to the drive shaft (44) and has mounts for containers for media to be centrifuged, having a housing (12) with lateral outer walls (14, 16, 18, 20) delimiting the centrifuge (10) and with a ceiling (22), wherein at least one outer wall (14) has a sideways directed side opening (28) for loading the rotor (46) as required, and having a safety vessel (50) with at least one partially enclosing protective wall (34), which is adapted at least to the shape of the adjacent outer wall (14) with side opening (28) such that said protective wall closes off the side opening (28).

Claims

1-25. (canceled)

26. A centrifuge (10) for automatic loading, comprising a drive shaft (44), which is driven in a rotatable manner about a rotor axis (42), a rotor (46), which is releasably coupled for conjoint rotation to the drive shaft (44), and has mounts for containers for media to be centrifuged, a housing (12) with lateral outer walls (14, 16, 18, 20) delimiting the centrifuge (10) and with a ceiling (22), wherein at least one outer wall (14) has a side opening (28) facing sideways for loading the rotor (46) as required, a safety vessel (50) into which the drive shaft (44) projects and which encloses the rotor (46), a protective wall (34), which surrounds the safety vessel (50) at least partially, which protective wall is adapted at least to the shape of the adjacent outer wall (14) with side opening (28) such that it closes off the side opening (28), wherein the safety vessel (50) and the protective wall (34) form a firmly interconnected safety unit (68), which is in operative connection with an adjustment mechanism (104), by means of which the safety unit (68) can be moved such that the protective wall (34) opens and closes the side opening and therefore the protective wall can be moved out of a closing position into an opening position, and vice versa, characterized in that the side opening (28) extends to the ceiling (22) and is adjoined by a ceiling opening (30) in the ceiling (22), so as to create a loading and unloading opening (32) formed from the side opening (28) and ceiling opening (30), wherein a second adjustment mechanism (106) can be used to open and close the ceiling opening (30) by means of a further closing wall (36).

27. The centrifuge of claim 26, characterized in that the first and second adjustment mechanisms are mechanically coupled to one another, resulting in the opening movement and the closing movement of the protective wall (34) and of the closing wall (36) to be coordinated.

28. The centrifuge of claim 27, characterized in that the first and second adjustment mechanisms (104, 106) are mechanically coupled to one another.

29. The centrifuge of claim 28, characterized in that the first and second adjustment mechanisms (104, 106) are coupled to one another in such a way that, during the opening movement, the protective wall (34) will be the first to open, with the closing wall (36) opening with some time delay thereafter, and, during the closing movement, the closing wall (36) will be the first to close, with the protective wall (34) closing with some time delay thereafter.

30. The centrifuge of claim 1, characterized in that the closing wall (36) is mounted so that it can be displaced translationally, in particular at right angles to the rotor axis (42).

31. The centrifuge of claim 1, characterized in that the closing wall (36) is designed in such a way that it extends into the side opening (28) in the closed posi-tion, in particular thereby forming a plane with the protective wall (34) on the outside of the cen-trifuge (10).

32. The centrifuge of claim 31, characterized in that, in the closing position, the closing wall (36) and the protective wall (34) overlap in certain areas, and for this purpose the protective wall (34) has a shoulder in which part of the closing wall (36) engages.

33. The centrifuge of claim 1, characterized in that an air in-take opening (40) in the closing wall (36) and an air intake opening (38) in the ceiling (22) of the housing (12) are provided, which openings are aligned with one another in the closed position.

34. The centrifuge of claim 1, characterized in that a spring (94) is provided which acts on the closing wall (36) in the direction of the closed position, so that the closing wall (36) is opened against the force of the spring (94).

35. The centrifuge of claim 1, characterized in that the closing wall (36) is made of sheet metal.

36. The centrifuge of claim 1, characterized in that the protective wall (34) is part of a protective housing (62) that completely encloses the safety vessel (50) in the circumferential direction.

37. The centrifuge of claim 36, characterized in that the protective housing (62) is completely closed in the horizontal direction over its height.

38. The centrifuge of claim 36, characterized in that the protective housing (62) is made of sheet metal.

39. The centrifuge of claim 1, characterized in that the safety vessel (50) is made of sheet metal.

40. The centrifuge of claim 1, characterized in that the safety vessel (50) is rotationally symmetrical, in particular is of a closed design over its height in the radial direction.

41. The centrifuge of claim 1, characterized in that the closing wall (36) is dimensioned such that, in the closing position, the closing wall (36) will completely cover the safety vessel (50).

42. The centrifuge of claim 1, characterized in that the closing wall (36) is dimensioned such that, in the closed position, the closing wall (36) completely covers the protective housing (62).

43. The centrifuge of claim 1, characterized in that, in the closed position, the safety vessel (50) and/or the protective housing (62) bear(s) sealingly against the closing wall (36).

44. The centrifuge of claim 43, characterized in that the safety vessel (50) and/or the protective housing (62) has/have a seal (70) on its respective side facing the closing wall (36) in the closed position.

45. The centrifuge of claim 1, characterized in that the closing wall (36) has support walls (74) that extend laterally downwards and are coupled to the second adjustment mechanism (106).

46. The centrifuge of claim 1, characterized in that the first adjustment mechanism (104) has at least one push rod (80) which engages the side of the safe-ty unit (68) in an articulated manner and which is coupled in an articulated manner to a driven horizontally displaceable sliding carriage (82, 84) at the bottom of the centrifuge (10).

47. The centrifuge of claim 46, characterized in that the second adjustment mechanism (104) comprises at least one driver (96) in the area of the sliding carriage (82, 84), which operatively couples when the sliding carriage (82, 84) has been displaced over a predetermined distance.

48. The centrifuge of claim 47, characterized in that the predetermined distance depends on the height of the portion of the closing wall (36) which projects into the lateral opening (28) in the closing position.

49. The centrifuge of claim 1, characterized in that the safety vessel (50) has a central recess (52) which allows the opening and closing movement of the safety unit (68) relative to the drive shaft (44).

50. The centrifuge of claim 49, characterized in that a safety cover (54) is provided which surrounds the drive shaft (44) and covers the central recess (52) in the closed position and which, together with the safety vessel (50) and the closing wall (36), completely delimits a rotor chamber (72) with the rotor (46), except for the passage for the drive shaft (44).

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] In the drawings,

[0036] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a centrifuge according to the invention, as seen at an angle from above, with its loading opening nearly open;

[0037] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the centrifuge of FIG. 1, with its loading opening closed;

[0038] FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the centrifuge of FIG. 1, with its loading opening closed;

[0039] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the centrifuge of FIG. 1, with its loading opening open;

[0040] FIG. 5 is a lateral view of the centrifuge of FIG. 1 without the housing, drive and rotor, and with the safety unit and the dosing wall in the closed position;

[0041] FIG. 6 is a lateral view of FIG. 5 of a first intermediate position as the safety unit and the dosing wall move out of the closed position into the open position;

[0042] FIG. 7 is a lateral view of FIG. 6 in a second intermediate position as the safety unit and the dosing wall move out of the closed position into the open position:

[0043] FIG. 8 is a lateral view of FIG. 7 in the open position of the safety unit and the closing wall;

[0044] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a sliding carriage of the first and second adjustment mechanisms in the closed position:

[0045] FIG. 10 is a lateral view of FIG. 9 of a first intermediate position as the safety unit and the dosing wall move out of the closed position into the open position;

[0046] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of FIG. 9 of a second intermediate position as the safety unit and the closing wall move out of the closed position into the open position, and

[0047] FIG. 12 is a lateral view of FIG. 9 illustrating the safety unit and the closing wall in the open position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0048] Illustrated in the Figures is an embodiment of a centrifuge 10 according to the invention for automatic loading and unloading. The centrifuge 10 comprises a housing 12 having a front wall 14, a rear wall 16, a left side wall 18, and a right side wall 20. The top of the housing 12 is closed by a ceiling 22 and the bottom of the housing 12 is firmly connected to a base plate 24, see FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. Each corner region of the base plate 24 is provided with a foot 26, i.e. there is a total of four feet 26.

[0049] The housing 12 has contiguous rectangular recesses 28 and 30 in its central region between the end wall 14 and the ceiling 22, respectively, which together form a loading and unloading opening 32 of the centrifuge 10.

[0050] The loading and unloading opening 32 is configured such that it can be closed off. More specifically, the recess 28 in the end wall 14 is closed by a protective wall 34 and the recess 30 is closed by a dosing wall 36.

[0051] Adjacent to the recess 30 in the ceiling 22 there is an air intake opening 38, which is aligned with another air intake opening 40 in the closing wall 36 when the loading and unloading opening 32 is closed, see FIG. 2.

[0052] As can be seen in particular from FIGS. 3 and 4, the centrifuge 10 has a drive shaft 44 that is mounted so as to be rotatable about a rotor axis 42. A rotor 46 is coupled to the drive shaft 44 for co-rotation therewith, but in a releasable way. The rotor 46 is provided with hangers 47, on which there are plates 48 (e. g. microtiter plates, deep well plates) having a large number of wells filled with the liquids to be centrifuged. These filled plates are introduced int the centrifuge and removed therefrom by means of a robot.

[0053] A safety vessel 50 is rotationally symmetrical and surrounds the rotor 46 in a radial direction over its entire height and beyond its top and bottom. A circular recess 52 is provided in a bottom of the safety vessel 50, which recess is dimensioned such that tilting is possible, as will be described in more detail below. This recess 52 is closed by a rotationally symmetrical cover 54 when the safety vessel 50 is in the operating state of the centrifuge 10, see FIG. 3.

[0054] The cover 54 is coaxially connected to a drive housing 56 via screws 58. In the drive housing 56, the drive shaft 44 is rotatably mounted and driven by a drive motor 60. The drive housing 56 is firmly secured to the base plate 24, and via it, so is the cover 54. The cover 54 surrounds the drive shaft 44 without contacting it. Above the cover 54, the rotor 46 is mounted on the drive shaft 44. In operation, the drive shaft 44 with the rotor 46 mounted thereon rotates relative to the cover and the drive housing 56.

[0055] The safety vessel 50 is surrounded by a protective housing 62 which is rectangular in shape. The protective housing 62 is provided with an end face, which is formed by the protective wall 34. In addition, left and right side walls 64 are provided, as well as a rear wall 66. The protective housing 62 together with the safety vessel 50 forms a safety unit 68. On the upper edge of the safety vessel 50, a circumferential seal 70 is provided.

[0056] The seal 70 is in sealing engagement with the closing wall 36 when the safety unit 68 is in the operating position of the centrifuge 10, see FIG. 3. In this position, a closed rotor interior 72 is formed that is delimited by the dosing wall 36, the safety vessel 50 and the cover 54. The drive shaft 44 with the rotor 46 engages in the rotor interior 72.

[0057] Each side of the closing wall 36 is provided with a respective side wall 74 extending in the direction of the base plate 24. In its lower portion, the side wall 74 is each inserted into a guide rail 76 which runs parallel to the base plate 24 and in the longitudinal direction of the centrifuge 10 and is bolted to it, see FIGS. 7 to 12. The closing wall 36 and the side wall 74 thus form an additional housing unit 78 which can be displaced along the guide rail. More specifically, the dosing wall 36 is arranged directly below the top 22 of the housing 12.

[0058] FIGS. 5 to 8 show in detail how the safety unit 68 and the additional housing unit 78 with the closing wall 36 are moved so as to transfer the centrifuge 10 from an operating position thereof, see FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG. 5, to a loading and unloading position thereof, see FIG. 1. FIG. 4 and FIG. 8. In order to initiate the opening movement of the safety unit 68, on the inside of each side wall 64 of the protective housing 62, a push rod 80 is articulated at its free end in the upper region of the ide wall 64 via a joint 80a. The push rod 80 extends to the guide rail 76, where it engages in an articulated manner in a sliding carriage 82 that is displaceably mounted in the guide rail 76.

[0059] The sliding carriage 82 in turn engages in another sliding carriage 84, which is guided in another guide rail 86. The additional guide rail 86 extends in parallel to guide rail 76. The sliding carriage 82 and the additional siding carriage 84 are coupled to one another, as will be described in detail below.

[0060] The additional sliding carriage 84 is connected to a threaded spindle 88. The threaded spindle 88 is in turn connected to a drive 90. The drive 90 drives the threaded spindle 88, causing it to rotate. This results in the additional carriage 84 engaging in the threaded spindle 88 and its thread to be moved translationally along the additional guide rail 86.

[0061] On the side remote from the joint 80a on the inside of the side wall 64, in the operating position approximately at the same height, a hinge 92 is provided in each case, by means of which the safety unit 68 is mounted pivotably about a fixed axis. The hinge 92 is connected to the base plate 24 via support arms not shown here for greater clarity.

[0062] The first sliding carriage 82 is connected to a coil spring 94, which in turn engages the side wall 74 of the additional housing unit 78 on the side remote from the first sliding carriage 82. The closing wall 36 is thus held in the direction of the operating position by the cod spring 94, i.e. it is acted upon by the force of the coil spring 94.

[0063] The construction consisting of sliding carriages 82, 84 and guide rails 76, 86 and threaded spindle 88 is present on both side walls 74 of the additional housing unit 78. Only the drive 90 is present on one side only, and it is connected to the additional threaded spindle 88 via a toothed belt. As a result, both threaded spindles 88 are driven synchronously, thus moving the sliding carriages 82, 84 on both side walls 74.

[0064] As can be seen in particular from FIGS. 3 and 4 and FIGS. 6 to 8, the free end of the closing wall 36 is formed in such a way that it extends partially into the recess 28. In addition, the associated area of the protective wall 34 is provided with a shoulder, resulting in the protective wall 34 and the closing wall 36 to overlap in the operating position, see FIG. 3 and FIG. 5.

[0065] The views of FIGS. 9 to 12 show the first guide rail 76 and the second guide rail 86 in more detail. Each side wall 74 engages in the first guide rail 76. With respect to its base, the first guide rail 76 is oriented parallel to the side wall 74. In the area of the guide rail 76, the side wall 74 is provided with a driver 96. The driver 96 is arranged relative to the sliding carriages 82 and 84 in such a way that a stop 98 associated with the driver 96 and connected to the second sliding carriage 84 will not engage the driver 96 until after the sliding carriage 84 has traveled a predetermined distance.

[0066] The second guide rail 86 consists essentially of two guide rods on which the second sliding carriage 84 is arranged. The base of the second guide rail 86 is parallel to the base plate 24.

[0067] The first sliding carriage 82 engages in the first guide rail 76. The second sliding carriage 84 has an L-shaped support structure, the upper part of which is connected to one end of the coil spring 94. A joint 100 for the push rod 80 protrudes vertically from the support structure. The rear side of the stop 98 is adapted to the shape of the joint 100.

[0068] FIG. 5 and FIG. 9 show the situation of the centrifuge 10 in its operating position. The closing wall 36 closes off the recess 30 in the ceiling 22, and the protective wall 34 closes off the recess 28 in the end wall 14. The loading and unloading opening 32 is closed. The centrifuge 10 is ready for treating the introduced media in the sample containers in the rotor 46 by centrifugation.

[0069] Once the centrifuging process has been completed and the centrifuge 10 is to be unloaded and/or loaded, the loading and unloading opening 32 needs to be opened. For this purpose, the protective wall 34 and thus the safety unit 68 are first tilted downward by moving the sliding carriage 82 with the siding carriage 84 to the right, by means of the drive 90. This causes the push rod 80 to pivot and the safety unit 68 to fold around the stationary hinge 92. This is required in order to cause the overlapping parts of the closing wall 36 and the protective wall 34 to move apart first. This first intermediate position during the movement out of the operating position into a loading and unloading position is shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 10. In this case, the sliding carriage 82 is moved with the additional sliding carriage 84 until the stop 98 bears against the driver 96. The protective wall 34 and the closing wall 36 no longer overlap.

[0070] In the next step, the safety unit 68 pivots with the protective wall 34 about the hinge 92 until the safety unit 68 rests with its front lower end and the lower end of the protective wall 34 on a stationary support 102. The support 102 is firmly connected to the base plate. The pivoting of the safety unit 68 is initiated by the movement of the siding carriage 82 with the sliding carriage 84. In this process, the push rod swivels about the joint 100. At the same time, the additional housing unit 78 moves with the siding carriages 82 and 84 until the front end of the safety unit rests on the support 102. This situation is shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 7 and FIG. 11.

[0071] In the next step, the sliding carriage 84 moves further and the sliding carriage 82 stops, since further swiveling is no longer possible. The sliding carriage 82 with the push rod 80 and the safety unit 68 is held by the hinge 92. Driven by the drive 90, the slide 84 continues to move to the loading and unloading position, and so does the additional housing unit 78 consisting of the closing wall 36 and the two side walls 74. This situation is shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 8 and FIG. 12.

[0072] Sliding carriage 84, driven by the threaded spindle and the motor, drives the first sliding carriage (driver function on the left) and also drives the closing wall, with some time delay (driver function on the right).

[0073] Driver function on the left: Lower vessel from closed to open in end position

[0074] Driver function on the right: Move closing wall

[0075] Procedure:

[0076] Phase 1: Driving first bearing 82->tilting of safety unit 68, closing wall 36 stationary

[0077] Phase 2: Driving first bearing 82->tilting of safety unit 68 and driving losing wall 36

[0078] Phase 3: First bearing 82 stops, safety unit has reached and position, closing wall 36 is moved further to end position.

[0079] The movements of the protective wall 34 and the closing wall 36 are thus coordinated and are coupled with one another. During the opening movement, the protective wall 34 opens first and then does the dosing wall 36, after some time delay. During the closing movement, the dosing wall 36 closes first and then does the protective wall 34, after some time delay.

[0080] During the opening movement, the closing wall 36 moves translationally parallel to the guide rails 76 and thus at right angles to the rotor axis 42.

[0081] The protective housing 62 and the safety vessel 50 and thus the protective wall 34, but also the dosing wall 36, are made of sheet metal. More specifically, both the protective housing 62 and the safety vessel 50, over its height in the horizontal direction, are of a closed design.

[0082] In the operating/closing position, the closing wall 36 completely covers the safety vessel 50.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0083] 10 Centrifuge [0084] 12 Housing [0085] 14 End wall [0086] 16 Rear wall [0087] 18 Side wall, left [0088] 20 Side wall, right [0089] 22 Ceiling [0090] 24 Base plate [0091] 26 Foot [0092] 28 Recess, end wall [0093] 30 Recess, top [0094] 32 Loading and unloading opening of centrifuge 10 [0095] 34 Protective wall for dosing recess 28 [0096] 36 Closing wall for closing recess 30 [0097] 38 Air intake opening in top 22 [0098] 40 Additional air intake opening in dosing wall 36 [0099] 42 Rotor axis [0100] 44 Drive shaft [0101] 46 Rotor [0102] 47 Hanger of rotor 46 [0103] 48 Plates with cavities [0104] 50 Safety vessel [0105] 52 Recess in safety vessel [0106] 54 Cover of recess 52 [0107] 56 Drive housing [0108] 58 Screw [0109] 60 Drive motor [0110] 62 Protective housing [0111] 64 Side wall of protective housing 62 [0112] 66 Rear wall [0113] 68 Safety unit consisting of safety vessel 50 and protective housing 62 [0114] 70 Seal of the safety vessel 50 [0115] 72 Rotor interior [0116] 74 Side wall connected to closing wall 36 [0117] 76 Guide rails [0118] 78 Additional housing unit consisting of dosing wall 36 and two side walls 74 [0119] 80 Push rod [0120] 80a Joint of push rod 80 [0121] 82 First sliding carriage [0122] 84 Additional second sliding carriage [0123] 86 Additional guide rail [0124] 88 Threaded spindle [0125] 90 Drive [0126] 92 Hinge [0127] 94 Col spring [0128] 96 Driver [0129] 98 Stop [0130] 100 Joint on first sliding carriage 82 for push rod 80 [0131] 102 Support