Abstract
The present invention relates to a centrifuge vessel assembly for use in a centrifuge, comprising a centrifuge vessel for holding a sample to be centrifuged, an adapter holding the centrifuge vessel, and a holding means holding the adapter for attaching the centrifuge vessel assembly to a rotor of the centrifuge, said centrifuge vessel having a vessel body and a sealable opening through which the sample to be centrifuged can be filled into said vessel, said vessel body having a cross-sectional area and a vessel height, said vessel height being oriented at right angles to said cross-sectional area, wherein said cross-sectional area is in the form of an oval cross-sectional area.
Claims
1. A centrifuge vessel assembly for use in a centrifuge, comprising: a centrifuge vessel for holding a sample to be centrifuged; an adapter holding the centrifuge vessel, said adapter consisting of a one-piece part made from an elastic material; and a holding device holding the adapter for attaching the centrifuge vessel assembly to a rotor of the centrifuge, said centrifuge vessel having a vessel body including a side wall and a sealable opening through which the sample to be centrifuged can be filled into said vessel, said vessel body being fabricated from a plastics material as a single unit by blow molding, said vessel body having a cross-sectional area and a vessel height, said vessel height being oriented at right angles to said cross-sectional area, said adapter including an interior space having a cross-sectional area, said adapter being configured to adapt to a form of the centrifuge vessel and the holding device, wherein said cross-sectional area of said vessel body is in the form of an oval cross-sectional area, and wherein said cross-sectional area of said interior space of said adapter is in the form of an oval cross-sectional area, said interior space of said adapter being made to follow an outer contour of said centrifuge vessel so as to support an outer surface of said centrifuge vessel at least in a region of said side wall.
2. The centrifuge vessel assembly according to claim 1, wherein said cross-sectional area of said vessel body is ellipsoidal.
3. The centrifuge vessel assembly according to claim 1, wherein said cross-sectional area of said vessel body is in the form of two semicircular areas that are joined together by a rectangular area.
4. The centrifuge vessel assembly according to claim 3, wherein said vessel body possesses a bottom surface that comprises said oval cross-sectional area.
5. The centrifuge vessel assembly according to claim 1, wherein said vessel body possesses a middle region that has said oval cross-sectional area.
6. The centrifuge vessel assembly according to claim 1, wherein said vessel body comprises a side wall having a side wall height, wherein said oval cross-sectional area is constant over the entire side wall height.
7. The centrifuge vessel assembly according to claim 1, wherein said vessel body comprises a conical bottom region.
8. The centrifuge vessel assembly according to claim 7, wherein said conical bottom region merges into a side wall that delimits said oval cross-sectional area.
9. The centrifuge vessel assembly according to claim 1, wherein the centrifuge vessel has a capacity of from 750 milliliters to 1000 milliliters.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) The present invention is explained in greater detail below with reference to exemplary embodiments. However, the present invention is not restricted to these exemplary embodiments so that further combinations and applications are possible. In the schematic drawings:
(2) FIG. 1 shows a side view (FIG. 1A) of a first exemplary embodiment of a centrifuge vessel and a top view thereof (FIG. 1 B);
(3) FIG. 2 shows a side view (FIG. 2A) of a second exemplary embodiment of a centrifuge vessel and a top view thereof (FIG. 2B);
(4) FIG. 3 shows the first exemplary embodiment of the centrifuge vessel as illustrated in FIG. 1 in the mounted state; and
(5) FIG. 4 shows the exemplary embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 3 in the demounted state of the centrifuge vessel (FIG. 4A), the adapter (FIG. 4B), and a centrifuge holder (FIG. 4C).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
(6) FIG. 1 shows a first exemplary embodiment of a centrifuge vessel 30 in two views, of which FIG. 1A is a side view of the centrifuge vessel 30 and FIG. 1B is a top view of the centrifuge vessel 30. The centrifuge vessel 30 comprises a vessel body 31 comprising an opening that can be sealed by means of a closure element 32 in the form of a screw-on lid. For this purpose, the lid 32 is of a circular cross-section, as shown in FIG. 1B.
(7) FIG. 1A shows the vessel body 31 comprising a top portion 34 located in the proximity of the opening, a middle portion 35, and a bottom portion 36. The top portion 34 merges continuously into the middle portion 35 by way of a first transition zone 37, and the middle portion 35 merges continuously into the bottom portion 36 by way of a second transition zone 38. The vessel body 31 has an oval cross-sectional area 39 in the top portion 34, in the middle portion 35, and in the bottom portion 36, and the bottom portion 36 has a smaller peripheral contour than the middle portion 35. In FIG. 1A, the vessel body 31 comprises a side wall 45 having a wall height 46, and the oval cross-sectional area 39 in the middle portion 35 is constant over the entire wall height 46.
(8) The circular cross-section 33 of the lid 32, the oval cross-section 39 of the top portion 34 and the oval cross-section of the middle portion 35 can be seen in the top view as shown in FIG. 1B. The oval cross-section 39 of the bottom portion 36 that is smaller than the oval cross-section 39 of the middle portion 35 is hidden from view in the top view shown in FIG. 1B and is indicated in FIG. 1A. FIG. 1B shows a longitudinal axis 40 and a transverse axis 41 that meet at a center point 42. The oval cross-sectional areas 39 are formed mirror-symmetrically about the longitudinal axis 40 and the transverse axis 41. The oval cross-sectional areas 39 are formed geometrically by two semicircular areas that are joined together by means of a rectangular area 43.
(9) FIG. 2 shows a second exemplary embodiment of a centrifuge vessel 30, in which FIG. 2A is a side view of the centrifuge vessel 30 and FIG. 2B is a bottom view of the centrifuge vessel 30. The centrifuge vessel 30 comprises a vessel body 31 comprising an opening that can be sealed by means of a lid 32, in this case a screw-on closure element. For this purpose, the closure element 32 is of a circular cross-section 33. A top portion 34 of the centrifuge vessel merges continuously by way of a first transition zone 37 into a middle portion 35. The middle portion 35 merges continuously by way of a second transition zone 38 into the bottom portion 36. The vessel body 31 has an oval cross-sectional area 39 in its middle portion 35. This oval cross-sectional area 39 is formed in the top portion 34 starting from the circular cross-section 33 that is in the form of a circular opening of the vessel body 31. Furthermore, the bottom portion 36 of the vessel body 31 is of a conical shape that tapers downwardly from the oval cross-sectional area 39 in the middle portion 35 to form a conical bottom portion 36.
(10) FIG. 2B shows the conical bottom region 36, as viewed from the bottom end of the vessel body 31, which bottom end comprises a tip 45, the center of which is aligned with the center point 42 of the oval cross-sectional area 39 in the middle portion 35. The oval cross-sectional area 39 is delimited by an ellipsoidal perimeter, the longitudinal and transverse axes 40, 41 of which are shown in FIG. 2B.
(11) Compared with the exemplary embodiment as shown in FIG. 1, the second exemplary embodiment as shown in FIG. 2 does not have a flat bottom area 36 so that the centrifuge vessel shown in FIG. 2 is placed, for example, in a supporting storage device that comprises a supporting opening and accommodates the conical portion. The centrifuge vessel 30 is retained in the supporting opening by means of the widest oval cross-section 39 in the middle portion 35. A similar supporting means may be provided for the centrifuging process itself, which supporting means can be in the form of an adapter 50.
(12) To summarize, FIGS. 1 and 2 show exemplary embodiments of a centrifuge vessel 30 that is in the form of a bottle having an oval cross-sectional area 39 composed of semicircular areas (FIG. 1) or in the form of an ellipse (FIG. 2). Tangential transition regions adjacent to the parallel side walls 45 of the vessel body 31 are present on the bottom portion 36 in the exemplary embodiment as shown in FIG. 1. In the embodiment as shown in FIG. 2, the bottom portion 36 of the bottle 30 is conical in shape. The angle of the cone is not everywhere constant but varies with the basic shape of the bottle such that the cone terminates at the vertical surface 45 of the vessel body 31.
(13) Both of the embodiments shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 have the advantage that the bottle 30 allows for a sample to be easily removed from the bottom portion 36 of the bottle 30, since corners are avoided. In both of the exemplary embodiments, the shape allows for optimization of the capacity, and at the same time of the size, of the centrifuge vessel 30, that is to say, the bottle. The centrifuge vessel 30 does not have any corners in the bottom portion 36 and in the opening 34 or in the neck of the bottle. Thus it has now been made possible to develop rotors having maximum volume for a minimum overall diameter. The advantages of the geometry of the present invention are smaller device dimensions, less friction during rotation as compared with angled centrifuge vessels and thus reduced power consumption with an enhanced capacity of the centrifuge vessel 30.
(14) FIG. 3 shows the first exemplary embodiment of the centrifuge vessel 30 comprising the vessel body 31 and the closure element 32, as shown in FIG. 1, in the mounted state. In this case, the centrifuge vessel 30 is accommodated by an adapter 50 that is capable of being attached to a centrifuge holding means 60. The centrifuge vessel 30 is mounted by means of the adapter 50 on the centrifuge holding means 60 so as to be rotatable during the centrifuging process, while the adapter 50 can transfer additional forces on account of its resilient properties. The holding means 60 can be fixed to the rotor of a centrifuge (not shown) at the attachment means 61 located at the small sides of the holding means. When fixed to the swinging bucket rotor of a centrifuge, the small sides of the centrifuge vessel 30, of the adapter 50 and of the holding means 60 will face the direction of rotation, indicated by the arrow R, and the centrifuge vessel assembly will swing out via their long sides, in the direction of the arrow S. Principally, however, it would also be possible to turn the arrangement by 90 so that the holding means 60 is attached at its long sides, which face the direction of rotation, and the centrifuge vessel assembly swings out over its small side.
(15) In addition, FIG. 4 shows the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 in the demounted state, in which FIG. 4A shows the centrifuge vessel 30 comprising the vessel body 31 and the closure element 32, FIG. 4B shows the adapter 50, and FIG. 4C shows the centrifuge holding means 60. The adapter 50 and the holding means 60 are cup-shaped, and their inner contour corresponds to the outer contour of the parts accommodated therein. That is, the walls defining the adapter's hollow space are formed such as to support the bottom and side walls of the centrifuge vessel 30 while the walls defining the inner space of the holding means 60 surround and support the bottom and side walls of the adapter 50. Accordingly, a centrifuge vessel 30 having relatively thin walls can be supported in the centrifuge vessel assembly of the present invention.
(16) While the present invention has been illustrated by description of various embodiments and while those embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of Applicants to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such details. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. The present invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of Applicant's invention.
