PORTABLE CENTRIFUGE

1,162,301. Portable centrifuge. LUCKHAM Ltd. 7 March, 1968 [10 March, 1967], No. 11341/67. Heading B2P. A motor-driven centrifuge, e.g. for treating blood samples, comprises a hollow, frustoconical rotor 11, e.g. of nylon, closed at its upper small diameter end by means of an integral platform 12 and mounted on the motor spindle 16 by means of a soft resilient bush 15, e.g. of rubber or synthetic plastics, which is press-fitted onto the spindle a number of bores 13 equally spaced around the axis of the rotor passing downwardly through its wall to accommodate test-tubes carrying samples to be centrifuged. At high speed, 3,000-7,000 r.p.m., any unbalance in the rotor is taken by the resilience of the bush 15 which also acts as a friction drive for the rotor. A rim 14 is formed around the top of the rotor to reduce wind resistance caused by the testtubes when running. An upper panel 18 of the centrifuge apparatus is fitted with a cover 20 and has an aperture 21 containing a magnifying lens which, together with a lamp located below a piece of translucent glass in an aperture in the top panel 23 of a box 24, is used for examining specimens of blood. The motor may be an electric motor operated either from a 6 V or 12 V battery, which may be that of a motor vehicle or a dry battery contained in the box 24, or from a transformer and rectifier operated from a public electricity supply. Alternatively, the motor may be a spring- driven motor which may have a variable speed and which may be fitted with a speed governor. The spring may have just sufficient power, when fully wound, to complete one desired centrifuging operation.