Inventor's Corner
11/01/1999
Syringe Body Handling Device
The device handles syringe bodies stored in trays, and the carrier has recesses to fit half the circumference of the syringe bodies. Rotating closing elements are arranged between recesses, and have cylindrical pins outfitted with gears and compression springs, which operate two securing catches for syringe bodies at the end of pins. A gear is secured to a pin on the opposite end of the securing catches. The pin gears mesh with one another so that when one pin turns, the others turn simultaneously. One of the pins between the two end positions is elongated beyond its gear and attached to an adjusting motor to allow rotation. The device can also be outfitted to a robot.
Patent number: 5,934,859
Date granted: August 10, 1999
Inventor: Bernd Goetzelmann, Robert Bosch GmbH (Stuttgart, Germany)
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Fume Hood Control System
The system uses software programmed into a computer network that monitors laboratory conditions that are relayed through static pressure, supply, exhaust, and face velocity sensors. Microprocessors receive information and maintain ambient conditions as well as flow rates, dampers, and face velocity measuring devices of fume hoods with faces. A Pitot tube assembly within the face of the hood calculates air pressure and controls airflow through the hood, then converts that data into a face velocity measurement.
Patent number: 5,946,221
Date granted: August 31, 1999
Inventors: Richard W. Fish, Jr. and Bruce D. Arnold, American Auto-Matrix, Inc. (Export, PA)
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Mobile Ion Contamination Cure
Material used in fabricating semiconductors can be contaminated by mobile ion impurities, namely sodium ions, that stem from moisture, water rinsing, plasma processing, and overexposure to air. According to the inventor, to prevent contamination, an insulating layer of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) is applied. A nitride layer is then formed over the TEOS layer using a rapid thermal nitridation process. A layer of glass over the nitride is the final step.
Patent number: 5,943,602
Date granted: August 24, 1999
Inventor: Randhir P.S. Thakur,
Micron Technology, Inc. (Boise, ID)
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Cleanroom Ceiling Bracket and Fastener
The invention provides a filter unit mounting system for cleanroom ceiling installations. A bracket and fastener assembly uses support rods to connect a cleanroom ceiling, comprising HEPA/ULPA filter packs, to the structure's true ceiling. Fasteners are connected to support rods and inserted through divider openings that separate filter packs. Brackets hold suspended ceiling components in place and allow adjustments.
Patent number: 5,946,975
Date granted: September 7, 1999
Inventor: Peter Jeanseau, HEPA Corp. (Anaheim, CA)
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Cleanroom Mask
This mask is made from a rectangular, ventilating fabric that is partially folded. It has fixed edges that form the main body into a three-dimensional convex shape, which contours around the mouth and nose. Between the layers of the fabric is a thin plastic plate that forms and holds the convex shape. The mask is designed so that the fabric will not slide, which is typically what complicates breathing for mask wearers who are speaking or simply breathing.
Patent number: 5,954,055
Date granted: September 21, 1999
Inventor: Kaoru Miyake, San-M Package Co., Ltd (Shizuoka, Japan)
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Disk Storage Device
The device is an accessory for a disk drive that allows two or more disks with center-holes to be slipped over a rotor of an electric motor in a drive and retained between rings, which press against disks and allow them to rotate with the rotor. Attached to the rotor and rings is an L-shaped ring that runs parallel to the plate and defines a narrow gap that makes contact with the cleanroom. The base plate of the device has space that accommodates a filter, while labyrinth seals arranged near the drive and blades prevent contaminants escaping from the motor.
Patent number: 5,946,161
Date granted: August 31, 1999
Inventor: Bernhard Schuh, Papst Licensing GmbH (Germany)
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Garment Fabric
The layered fabric can be used to make protective garments, surgical drapes, and liners to be worn under braces. It has a layer of expanded polytetrafluorhylene (ePTFE) film that resists water, but allows gases and water vapor to pass through. The ePTFE is applied to a layer of fabric with a polyurethane elastomer-based adhesive. The outer layer of that fabric faces away from the wearer, while the opposing layer, which is flecked with a dot pattern to prevent the garment from slipping, faces toward the wearer.
Patent number: 5,948,707
Date granted: September 7, 1999
Inventors: Jerald M. Crawley, Michael A. Schmieder, and Craig D. Lack, Gore Enterprise Holdings, Inc. (Newark, DE)
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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].