Tube closing apparatus

Abstract

Tube closing apparatus 200 for closing one or more tubes 250 with caps attached thereto, particularly related to biological laboratory tubes for copying DNA, comprises a base 210, at least one receptacle for receiving the tube(s), the tube(s) comprising a first tube; a carriage 220 comprises an angled surface 222 and a closing element 224, the carriage linearly slides along a translation axis with respect to the base, the angled surface extends at an oblique angle with respect to the translation axis, translation of the carriage in a first direction along the translation axis brings the angled surface into contact with the attached cap to bring the attached cap closer to an open end of the first tube, continued translation of the carriage in the first direction brings the closing element into contact with the cap, thereby pressing the attached cap into the open end of the first tube to close the first tube. The closing element may be a roller, and a further locating roller (326, fig 3A) may be provided. A tube closing apparatus with two closing means, a tube closing apparatus with a moveable element are also provided.

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