Abstract:
A single-use mixer or homogenizer is provided that includes a container provided with a lid which is provided as a compression element ( 29 ) for substances ( 45 ) in the container ( 1 ). The compression element ( 29 ) is rotatably arranged in relation to the container ( 1 ). The substances ( 45 ) are pressed and ground through the sieve ( 13 ) into the collecting chamber ( 27  ) by the rotation of the compression element ( 29 ), and can be removed by a pipette ( 43 ) which passes through both the compression element ( 29 ) and the cover on the sieve ( 13 ).

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    The invention is directed to a single-use mixer, homogenizer, extractor, fractionater, or slurry producer of substances. 
         [0002]    In laboratory operation various devices are known for mixing, homogenizing, extracting, fractionating or slurrying substances mostly to be processed in small amounts, in particular infectious, malodorous, chemically aggressive, or to be kept sterile ones. 
         [0003]    Such a device is known from EP-B1 1361917 in which the laboratory test device and the agitating element form a unit and allow that, during processing of the substance, said substance cannot exit and contaminate the environment. The known device allows therefore to process the substance in a closed container and thus by the hermetical seal to avoid any infection, uncontrolled splashing, or spilling due to an accidental tipping of the laboratory test device. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    Based on this prior art the object of the present invention is to provide a single-use mixer, homogenizer, extractor, fractionater, or slurry producer in which a complete mixing and homogenization of substances and liquids that can be mixed is allowed, hermetically sealed while maintaining a certain grain size. Another object of the invention comprises that the insertion of liquids and the removal of the mixture or the homogenate can be performed after processing without opening the vessel. 
         [0005]    This object is attained according to the invention by a single-use mixture, homogenizer, extractor, fractionater, or slurry producer according to the invention. 
         [0006]    Advantageous embodiments of the device are described below. 
         [0007]    By the design of the device according to the invention it is possible, after the insertion of the substance to be processed in the vessel, e.g., already on site where the substance is produced, to perform its processing entirely sealed and separated from the environment inside the device and subsequently to remove the product of the processing from the device without opening the device, i.e. without taking the lid off the laboratory test device. The device can be used for different tasks. Depending on the hole size and shape of the sieve serving as a cutter appropriately desired fractions can be achieved. The substance to be processed is separated from the environment during processing by a thick membrane and the membrane maintains this separation even when, after the removal of the substance, the removal tube of the pipette is pulled back out. Using an elastic compression element, the substance to the processed can be carefully pressed against the sieve and is successively guided through the bores in the sieve. Parts of the substance larger than the cross-section of the holes of the sieve are held back by the sieve so that below the sieve only the desired substance fractions to be processed can collect and be directly removed therefrom. The device is preferably made entirely from plastic and per se it can be disposed together with the still remaining, unnecessary or not useful substance portion. The rotary drive for the compression element or, in another embodiment of the invention, the vessel is not contaminated during processing of the substance and thus requires no cleaning. 
         [0008]    The single-use mixer according to the invention can be directly filled in a slaughterhouse after tissue samples of animals have been taken from animals, for example and thus the tissue samples can be brought into the laboratory under sterile conditions. Necessary buffer solutions for further processing the tissue samples can subsequently be added in the laboratory through the lid plate and the membrane mounted thereto. 
         [0009]    The single-use mixer also allows the content processed therein to be always hermetically sealed, leaving the fraction after fractioning in the mixer, allowing it to incubate (grow) and only later being removed for analysis. This also prevents that the tissue to be examined must be transferred from one vessel to another one between fractionating and the examination. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    Using an illustrated exemplary embodiment the invention is explained in greater detail. Shown are: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  an axial cross-sectional view through the vessel of the device, 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  a top view of the vessel in  FIG. 1 , 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  a side view of the sieve, 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  a top view onto the sieve in  FIG. 3 , 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  an axial cross-sectional view through the vessel with an inserted sieve, 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  an axial cross-sectional view through the compression element, 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  a bottom view of the compression element, 
           [0018]      FIG. 8  an axial cross-sectional view through the vessel with a sieve and compression element inserted, 
           [0019]      FIG. 9  a view of a drive for the compression element, 
           [0020]      FIG. 11  an exploded representation of the individual elements of the single-use mixer with the vessel above, 
           [0021]      FIG. 12  an exploded representation of the individual elements of the single-use mixer with the vessel below, 
           [0022]      FIG. 13  a view of a combined single-use mixer with a vessel above, and 
           [0023]      FIG. 14  a view of the combined single-use mixer with the vessel below. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0024]    In  FIG. 1  a cylindrical laboratory test device, in the following called vessel  1  for short, is shown with a conically extending bottom  3  and a bead-shaped brim  5  in the area of the opening  7 . At a distance from the brim  5 , holding cams  9  are arranged distributed on the casing  11 . Of course, more or less than four holding cams  9  may be provided. The cylindrical casing  11  and the bottom  3  of the vessel  1  are only shown in a single line for better visibility. The wall thickness depends on the size of the vessel and the quality of the plastic. The vessel  1  is preferably made from transparent plastic, so that the condition of the substance to the processed is visible. Instead of a conically extending bottom  3  on the vessel  1 , a semi-spherical floor may be provided, too. 
         [0025]      FIGS. 3 and 4  show a sieve  13  serving as a part of a cutter and a ring-shaped plate  15  including essentially axially extending holes  17 . All holes  17  may have the same diameter or holes  17  may be inserted with different diameters and irregular distribution over the ring-shaped surface (cf. particularly  FIG. 4 .) 
         [0026]    In the center of the ring-shaped plate  15  with the holes  17 , a cylinder  19  is arranged that protrudes upwardly, which is closed at the top with a hemi-spherical cap  21 . The cap  21  may be embodied with a concave ( FIG. 11 ) or convex ( FIG. 3 ) shape and comprises a material that can be pierced by a pipette or, as shown in the figures, provided with cross-wise aligned slots  23  such that a pipette  53  can be pierced through the cap  21  without any great force. The slots  23  are preferably provided so fine that no substance to be processed, e.g., tissue, lymph or the like can penetrate from the top to the bottom in larger amounts. 
         [0027]    The plate  15 , as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 5 , can be provided with a thickness s relatively great in reference to its diameter; however it may also be made generally thinner in contrast thereto ( FIGS. 11 and 12 ). The sieve  13  with the cylindrical dome is preferably made from plastic. The sieve  13  may also be made from metal for fractioning cartilage material. 
         [0028]      FIG. 5  shows the vessel  1  with the sieve  13  inserted above its bottom  3 . The diameter of the sieve  13  is sized such that it can be inserted into the cylindrical vessel  1  and, when it has reached the bottom, is held in a friction-tight manner. Initially, in order to ensure the holding force of the sieve in the predetermined position, cam locks  25  can be arranged at the inside of the casing  11  of the vessel  1  distributed about the circumference. Instead of cam locks  25 , encircling ribs may also be provided, which ensure the sieve  13  is held at an allocated position. In  FIG. 5  it is further discernible that below the sieve  13 , a pyramidal chamber develops, or for a hemi-spherical bottom  3 , a correspondingly shaped hemi-spherical collection chamber  27 . 
         [0029]      FIGS. 6 ,  7 , and  11 ,  12  show a compression element  29  simultaneously performing the function of a lid for the vessel  1 . At a circular lid plate  31 , in its center, for example a cone-shaped recess  33  is formed, with its tip almost reaching the bottom  35  of the lid plate  31 . Radially extending slots  37  allow the lid plate  31  to be pierced with little force by a pipette. Alternatively to the slots  37 , in the center of the lid plate  31 , an area of the lid plate  31  may be made thin in the manner of a membrane. 
         [0030]    A hollow-cylindrical casing section  39  is formed at the periphery of the lid plate  31 , with a flange  41  protruding inwardly being arranged at its free edge. The diameter D 1  of the flange  41 , at its free, conically tapering edge, is smaller than the diameter D 2  of the encircling brim  5  at the vessel  1 . The distance of the free edge of the flange  41  from the bottom  35  of the lid plate  31  is approximately equivalent to the height h of the axial extension of the brim  5  at its root. 
         [0031]    At the bottom  35  of the lid plate  31 , additional elastic elements  43  are arranged, protruding away from the lid plate  31 , which essentially extend beyond the casing section  39 . The elastic elements  43  may also comprise striped flaps or helically extending rods. The function of the elastic elements  43  are explained in the following using  FIG. 8 , with the assembled device being shown in its entirety. 
         [0032]    The opening  7  of the vessel  1  is closed by the lid plate  31  of the compression element  29 . When the compression element  29  is placed onto the opening  7  of the vessel  1 , the flange  41  glides beyond the brim  5 . The edges of the flange  41  engage below the brim  5  and hold the compression element  29  connected to the vessel  1  in a sealing manner. The elastic elements  43  protrude into the interior of the vessel and press the materials to be processed, inserted into the vessel  1  prior to the placement of the compression element  29 , to the surface of the sieve  13  past the cylinder  19  into the circular space between the casing of the cylinder  19  and the casing  11  of the vessel. 
         [0033]    The black surfaces  47  in  FIG. 8  represent unprocessed material  45 , the black spots  49  are the already processed substances  45 . 
         [0034]      FIGS. 11 through 14  show views of the single-use mixer in accordance with another embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, particularly the compression element  29  is provided with a milling plate  57  comprising a concave milling surface with milling teeth  59 . The elements  43 , named in the first exemplary embodiment with the reference character  43 , are helically arranged and axially support the milling plate  57  at the lid plate  31  in an elastically spring-like manner. The milling teeth  59  contact, when the single-use mixer is assembled, the teeth or protrusions  61  provided at the plate  15  of the sieve  13  in an elastic, spring-like manner. The protrusions  61  and the holes  17  in the plate  15  may be arranged regularly or at irregular distances from each other. Further, in the second exemplary embodiment, in particular in  FIG. 11 , a sealing lid  63  is shown, which seals the recess  33  in the compression element  29 . The sealing lid  63  is provided with a lid surface that is pierceable by the pipette  53 . 
         [0035]    In the following the operation of the device is explained in greater detail. 
         [0036]    The operator fills the substances  45  to be processed into the vessel  1  through the opening  7 . Substances  45  to be processed may be infectious, malodorous human or animal tissue. However, it may also comprise other solid matter, which for example has to be dissolved in smaller fractions or intensely mixed with other liquids, which are also added into the vessel  1 . 
         [0037]    After the insertion of the substance or substances  45  has been filled into the vessel  1 , the compression element  29  is pushed onto the opening  7  and the flange  41  snaps below the brim  5 . When the compression element  29  is placed on top the content is pressed by the elastic elements  43  via the cap  21  of the cylinder  19  into the circular space and contacts the surface of the sieve  13 . In the second exemplary embodiment the content is pressed against the sieve  13  by the friction plate  57 . Now the entire device is placed upon a suitable drive  51 , which may be embodied cup-shaped and can snap to the cams  9 . Either the lid plate  31  is held manually and the drive  51  is engaged, or from the top a holding element (not shown) is lowered to the lid plate  31  in order to hold it. Now, by the drive  51 , the vessel  1  is rotated and the substance  47  is pressed by the fixed elastic elements  43  through the holes  17  into the collection chamber  27  or the vessel  1  is rotated and the compression element  29  is held. Therefore, only such fractions of the substance can enter the collection chamber that are either smaller than the diameter of the holes  17  or such that have been separated from the larger fractions by the sharp edges of the holes  17  or by the friction teeth  59 . Now, when the small fractions  49  together with the usually added liquids enter the collection chamber  27 , said chamber is successively filled and the mixture rises upwards in the cylinder  19  due to the pressure of the elastic elements  49  on the substances  45  located inside the vessel  1 . Depending on the embodiment of the slots  37  in the cap  21  some of the fractions  49  or at least the liquid can exit again and is pressed through the sieve  13  for a second time. Chords and other unfragmented parts remain in the upper part of the vessel. Therefore in the lower part, the collection chamber  27 , there are only the expected processed products. They may now be removed from the vessel via a pipette  53  without opening it. The tip  55  of the pipette  53  is first deployed through slots  37  into the lid plate  19  and then through the slots  23  into the cap  21  of the cylinder  19  to the collection chamber  27 . Now the removal of the processed substances can occur without opening the vessel  1 . The remaining unnecessary parts are disposed together with the device. Thus, they never again enter the environment after they have once been inserted into the vessel  1 .