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Culturing micro-organisms
The invention is a method for using flexible packaging in connection with incubating a sample in a liquid culture medium. A flexible gusseted bag is pre-sterilized with irradiation. Then, the bag is pre-filled with the pre-sterilized liquid culture. The bag is self-supporting and takes on the characteristics of a rigid container when filled. Pre-filling and sterilizing enables it to be shipped to a laboratory. The bag is easy to open and reseal for introduction of a culture sample at the laboratory. After introduction, the sample is incubated in the bag.
Patent number: 6,303,363
Date granted: October 16, 2001
Inventor: N. Robert Ward,
International BioProducts Inc. (Bothell, WA)
Air filter
A material that does not release gaseous organic substances is used as a filter medium and a sealing material for tightly bonding the medium and a frame. Specifically, a synthetic paraffin not containing an aliphatic hydrocarbon having not more than 19 carbon atoms or less is used as a non-silicone-type water repellent contained in a treatment agent for forming fibers into a cloth-like filter medium. A carboxylic acid ester having 400 or more molecular weight is used as a plasticizer and a phenolic compound having 300 or more molecular weight is used as an antioxidant that is added to the treatment agent and the sealing material. This setup ensures that gaseous organic substances are not released in the cleanroom. Further, if the filter medium and the sealing material are formed of a material that doesn't release organic phosphorus compounds and boron compounds in the air, a cleanroom and a local facility particularly suitable for use in the production of semiconductors are provided.
Patent number: 6,293,982
Date granted: September 25, 2001
Inventors: Sadao Kobayashi, Masayuki Imafuku and Yoshihide Wakayama, Tasei Corp. (Japan)
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Clean-air workstation
The workbench is suitable for welding, grinding and polishing operations and features a multi-panel tabletop. The panels each have a minimum of 100 holes per square foot to allow a high rate of airflow at a relatively low noise level. An optional back wall or a booth can be mounted on the tabletop. Each of these also has perforations to collect dust from the airflow.
Patent number: 6,290,740
Date granted: September 18, 2001
Inventor: Richard F. Schaefer, Sportsman Inc. (Commerce City, CO)
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Heat recovery ventilator
The heat recovery ventilator, intended especially for healthcare applications includes four rectangular regenerative heat exchangers, two blowers and a rotating air switch all in a compact rectangular housing. The regenerative heat exchangers are made of a pleated HEPA filter material that captures at least 99.97 percent of particles having a diameter greater than 0.3 micron. The HEPA filter material is also rated at least 85 percent dust-spot efficiency percentage as measured by ASHRAE Standard 52.1-1992, dust-spot procedure. The regenerative heat exchangers are stationary with stationary seals between the outside and inside climate.One of the blowers blows a stale air stream out through the heat exchangers; the other blower blows a fresh air stream in through the heat exchangers. The rotating air switch operates in conjunction with the two blowers producing the necessary flow reversal through each regenerative heat exchanger to allow heat and moisture exchange between the stale air stream and the fresh air stream. The rotating air switch is completely on the inside climate side of the regenerative heat exchangers preventing freeze up in cold weather. The rotating air switch uses clearance seals.
Patent number: 6,289,974
Date granted: September 18, 2001
Inventors: Anthony J. DeGregoria and Thomas J. Kaminski, ElasTek Inc. (Madison, WI)
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Fiber
The ultra-efficient, multi-lobal cross-sectioned fiber filter is used for chemical contaminant filtering applications. An absorptive chemically reactive substance is disposed within longitudinal slots in each length of fiber. The substance may be used alone or in conjunction with solid adsorptive particles. Substances within the fibers remain exposed to a base-contaminated air stream passing through the filter. Base contaminants in the air stream—chemicals such as ammonium and amines as well as particles—react with the acids within the slots. As they react, the ammonium or amine becomes irreversibly absorbed (or adsorbed if the substance is a solid acid) to the liquid acid and multilobal fiber.
Patent number: 6,296,821
Date granted: October 2, 2001
Inventors: Neil H. Hendricks, Jeff Miller, Ron Paul Rohrback, Dan E. Bause, Peter Dale Unger, Adel George Tammous, Randy R. LeClaire and William E. McGeever, Allied Signal Inc. (Morristown, NJ)
Send your inventions
Information on the patents highlighted above was obtained through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Inventors who have been granted patents within the last six months for new cleanroom and contamination technology are encouraged to submit them to CleanRooms magazine for publication. Send a brief description of the invention along with a detailed drawing to Mark A. DeSorbo, associate editor, CleanRooms, 98 Spit Brook Road, Nashua, NH 03062, or e-mail at [email protected].