| 摘要 |
1346115 Centrifugal separators TECHNICON INSTRUMENTS CORP 13 Oct 1971 [30 Oct 1970] 47599/71 Heading B2P [Also in Division F2] A centrifuge, comprising a rotatable centrifuge wheel 10 with a plurality of pivotable container holders 34, 34a arranged around its periphery for holding containers 14 for samples of liquid, e.g. blood, to be centrifuged, is dynamically balanced automatically by means of a counter-balancing mass 32 contained, and freely movable, in an annular chamber 30 within the centrifuge wheel. The centrifuge wheel 10 is attached to a shaft 18 driven by a motor 20 supported on a plate 22 and the assembly is mounted as an inverted pendulum about a fixed, spherical pivot 24 and biassed by circumferentially spaced springs 28 so that the shaft 18 assumes a vertical position and the plate 22 a horizontal one. The counterbalancing mass 32, which is at the same vertical level as the container holders 34, 34a when the centrifuge is in operation, automatically moves in an angular fashion in the annular chamber 30, at speeds above the speed corresponding to the natural vibration frequency of the pendulum system, to the counter-balancing position compensating for any unbalanced condition in the loading of the container holders. The centrifuge wheel 10 includes an upper removable tray portion 12 at the periphery of which the container holders 34, 34a are pivotally mounted as at 36. Auxiliary buffer springs 42 may be provided to prevent excessive wobbling of the centrifuge. A number of energy absorbers 38, which may be of the hydraulic fluid type, may be interspersed between adjacent springs 28 to prevent build-up of vibration as the natural resonant frequency of the system is approached. Energy absorption may also be provided by substituting rubber springs for the springs 28. The compensating mass 32 may consist of a liquid or, preferably, of at least two solid bodies (32A, 32B), Fig. 2 (not shown), which are capable of sliding or rolling within the chamber 30. The fixed pivot 24 may be dispensed with and the entire vertical support of the centrifuge may be provided through the springs 28 and the energy absorbers 38. Pivoting or rocking of the plate 22 is achieved in response to unbalanced conditions. |
