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Apparatus and process for arraying beads

  • US 5,935,859 A
  • Filed: 07/29/1998
  • Issued: 08/10/1999
  • Est. Priority Date: 01/17/1997
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A process for arraying beads which comprises:

  • establishing, in a vessel, a suspension comprising a mixture of beads in a liquid, and preventing the beads from settling in said vessel;

    introducing into said suspension a hollow movable element having an internal passage with an opening at an end thereof, the opening being of a size smaller than any one of the beads, being shaped so that it can be substantially closed off by a bead, and being positioned, when the hollow movable element is introduced into the vessel, at a location within the vessel such that it can be approached and closed off by any one of the beads of said mixture;

    drawing liquid from said vessel into said internal passage through said opening and thereby inducing approaching movement of at least one bead toward the opening, until one bead closes off the opening;

    when said one bead closes off the opening, establishing a pressure differential such that the external pressure exerted on the bead closing off the opening is greater than the pressure within the passage, thereby holding the bead in engagement with the opening;

    withdrawing the movable element from the vessel with the bead in engagement with the opening; and

    depositing the bead at a location remote from the vessel by releasing the bead from the opening.

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