APPARATUS FOR ULTRASONIC PIPET WASHING

• US 3,638,666 A
• Filed: 10/24/1965
• Issued: 02/01/1972
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/1965
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sherman S. Fishman
• Original Assignee: Sherman S. Fishman
• Inventors: Fishman, Sherman S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wolk, Morris O.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Richman, Barry S.
• Application Number:
  US04/504,777
• Time in Patent Office: 2,291 Days
• Field of Search: 134/1,58,166R,169R,171,100,95,57D,57R,184 259/72,54,1 68/3SS
• US Class Current: 134/57.00R
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 13/02 for receptacle or instruments
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/0213 Accessories for glass pipettes; Gun-type pipettes, e.g. safety devices, pumps
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 3/12 by sonic or ultrasonic vibrations washing or rinsing machines for crockery or tableware using sonic or ultrasonic waves A47L15/13; of natural teeth, of prostheses using ultrasonic techniques similar to those used for natural teeth A61C17/20; application of ultrasonic vibrations to chemical, physical or physico-chemical processes in general B01J19/10

Abstract

An ultrasonic pipet washer for very complete decontamination of laboratory glass pipets, functioning to give an ultrasonic wash and more importantly an ultrasonic rinse; standard acoustic intensities are obtained with transducers on the bottom of the tank and high intensity is obtained by putting additional transducers on the sidewall. Transducers on the sidewall must be inactive when the solution level lowers past it during emptying and this is done with a liquid level switch. Emptying is through a siphon whose inside arm extends to about 1 inch above the bottom which assures that depth of solution remaining in the tank allowing the bottom transducers to remain active.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic cleaning apparatus composed of a tank open at the top and having a laterally extending flange around the periphery of the open top, a tank cabinet open at the top and conforming in shape to the tank, sized to receive the tank and engage the tank flange when the tank is inserted in the cabinet;

a gasket fitted to the junction of the tank flange and the top of the tank cabinet to prevent entry of liquid into the annulus between the tank and tank cabinet;

a siphon tube passing through the tank and tank cabinet at a point below the top of the tank, said siphon tube having its inlet adjacent to the bottom of the tank and its outlet outside the tank cabinet at a level below the tank bottom;

a liquid inlet tube passing through the tank cabinet at a level near the bottom of the tank, a valve assembly attached to said inlet tube outside the tank cabinet to control the introduction of liquid into the tank, ultrasonic transducers acoustically coupled to the bottom of the tank, a coaxial cable passing through the tank cabinet and attached at its terminal end to said transducers, a basket support bracket attached to the lateral interior surface of the tank near the tank bottom, and a basket assembly sized to permit its introduction into the tank and to receive support from the basket support bracket.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said tank is square in cross section.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said tank is round in cross section.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said tank is rectangular in cross section.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a timer-mixer connected to said inlet tube valve assembly comprised of a solenoid-operated, timer-activated tap water flow valve and a solenoid-operated, timer-activated distilled water flow valve, a single outlet pipe mixer, said flow valves being connected to the mixer and electrically connected so that the distilled water valve is opened when the tap water valve becomes closed.

6. An ultrasonic cleaning apparatus composed of a tank open at the top and having a laterally extending flange around the periphery of the open top, a tank cabinet open at the top and conforming in shape to the tank, sized to receive the tank and engage the tank flange when the tank is inserted in the cabinet;

a gasket filled to the junction of the tank flange and the top of the tank cabinet to prevent entry of liquid into the annulus between the tank and tank cabinet;

a siphon tube passing through the tank and tank cabinet at a point below the top of the tank, said siphon tube having its inlet adjacent to the bottom of the tank and its outlet outside the tank cabinet at a lEvel below the tank bottom;

a liquid inlet tube passing through the tank cabinet at a level near the bottom of the tank, a valve assembly attached to said inlet tube outside the tank cabinet to control the introduction of liquid into the tank, ultrasonic transducers acoustically coupled to the bottom of the tank and to the exterior lateral surface of the tank, a coaxial cable passing through the tank cabinet and attached at its terminal end to said transducers, a basket support bracket attached to the lateral interior surface of the tank near the tank bottom, a basket assembly sized to permit its introduction into the tank and to receive support from the basket support bracket, a liquid level switch attached to the interior lateral surface of the tank and so positioned that its sensor element is at approximately the same vertical level as the uppermost portion of the laterally placed transducers, and a power supply electrically connected to the coaxial cable and to the liquid level switch.