AU2002100046A4 - Slide container - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT Slide Container The invention is described in the following statement.

This invention relates to a container suitable for the transport and storage of microscope slides.

An object of the invention is to provide a slide container which is suitable for the distribution of slide collections, particularly but not exclusively, by post. Such a need arises, for example, in pathology Quality Assurance Programs, where test specimens are distributed to pathology laboratories for diagnosis. A slide container for this purpose should be inexpensive, while protecting the slides against damage or contamination, and allowing convenient access to individual slides for examination under the microscope.

The invention provides such a microscope slide container which includes: a pair of covers; a hinge interconnecting the covers whereby the covers are rotatable relative to each other between a closed configuration in which the covers are superposed, and an opened out configuration; and a pair of bodies of resilient material, each body being attached to a respective cover and having cavities formed therein for the reception and retention of microscope slides.

In a preferred embodiment, each cavity has a mouth opening through a face of the respective body and, when the container is in the closed configuration, the faces of the bodies abut each other and the cavity mouths of one of the bodies are out of alignment with the cavity mouths of the other body.

2 Preferably, each cover includes an outer sheet and a wall, the sheets of the two covers being interconnected by said hinge which extends along part of the perimeter of each sheet, the wall of each cover projecting substantially perpendicularly from the respective sheet and terminating at a free edge, and extending along the perimeter of the sheet except at the respective part of the perimeter, the free edges being configured to abut each other when the container is in the closed configuration. One of the walls preferably includes at least one projecting tongue and the other wall preferably includes at least one complementary socket for receiving and engaging with the at least one tongue for releasably retaining the container in the closed configuration.

By way of example only, an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig 1 is a plan view of an opened container; Fig 2 is an end view of the container; and Fig 3 is a section taken on the line 3 3 in Fig 1.

The illustrated microscope slide container 10 includes a pair of covers 11, 12 of plastics material, each of which is hinged to an integrally formed strip-shaped spine 13 by bend lines 14 of reduced thickness. It will be appreciated that the spine 13 and bend lines 14 together constitute a hinge interconnecting the covers 11 and 12.

The cover 11 includes a sheet 15 and a peripheral wall 17 which projects perpendicularly from the sheet and which extends along three edges of the sheet other than the hinged edge. The cover 12 similarly includes a sheet 16 and a wall 18 which projects perpendicularly from the sheet and which extends along three edges of the sheet other than the hinged edge. The wall 17 is externally recessed at 19, and the wall 18 internally and complementarily recessed at 20 so that upon closure of the container the peripheral portion of the wall 17 slides over, and fits within, the recessed part of the wall 18 to provide a neat closure of the container.

The wall 17 is furthermore provided with a pair of tongues 21 dimensioned to engage within a complementary pair of sockets 22 in the wall 18 upon closure of the container The tongues 21 and sockets 22 may be provided with interengaging formations (not shown) which serve as detents to provide a positive locking of the container 10 in its closed configuration. In this way the container 10 is positively closed without the need for external devices such as press studs which interfere with the packing or storage of a number of containers together.

Closure of the container 10 is completed by flanges 23 at each end of the spine 13 which, upon closure, abut the adjacent side edges 24 of the walls 17 and 18.

The components so far described are similar to those of cases used for the storage of VHS video cassettes, and indeed such cases may be employed for this purpose.

Fixed (suitably by adhesive) to the inside of each cover 11 and 12 within the walls 17 and 18 are bodies 25 and 26 of resilient material such as plastics foam, and these bodies are provided with a pattern of rectangular cavities 27 each dimensioned to receive, snugly, a standard microscope slide (not shown). The slides are pressed into the cavities 27 and held by the pressure of the side walls of the cavities. A portion 28 of the side wall of each cavity 27 is recessed to allow the slide to be levered out by the finger or thumb of a user.

It will be appreciated that each slide disposed in a cavity 27 is clearly displayed when the container 10 is opened, with any labels on the slides all clearly visible to the user.

The height of the respective foam bodies 25 and 26 is such that, upon closure of the container 10, faces 29 of the bodies contact each other to prevent escape of the slides from their cavities 27 during handling and transport, and also to seal the cavities 27 against the ingress of dust or other contamination.

It will be observed that the arrangement of the cavities 27 differs between the two bodies 25 and 26. Thus the cavities 27 of the body 26 are arranged such that there are three cavities symmetrically disposed about the centre-line of the body in its upper half, and two cavities symmetrically disposed about the centre-line of the body in the 4 lower half, while this layout is reversed in the case of the body 26. In this way, when the container 10 is closed with the bodies 25 and 26 superposing each other, the cavities 27 of the body 25 are not aligned with those of the body 26, so that, should a slide become dislodged in its cavity due to rough handling of the container, it will not enter a cavity in the opposite body.

While the invention has been described here by way of example with reference to the illustrated embodiment, it will be appreciated that the principles disclosed may be embodied in other ways without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (5)

1. A microscope slide container including: a pair of covers; a hinge interconnecting the covers whereby the covers are rotatable relative to each other between a closed configuration in which the covers are superposed, and an opened out configuration; and a pair of bodies of resilient material, each body being attached to a respective cover and having cavities formed therein for the reception and retention of microscope slides.

2. A container according to claim 2 wherein each cavity has a mouth opening through a face of the respective body and wherein, when the container is in the closed configuration, the faces of the bodies abut each other and the cavity mouths of one of the bodies are out of alignment with the cavity mouths of the other body.

3. A container according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein each cover includes an outer sheet and a wall, the sheets of the two covers being interconnected by said hinge which extends along part of the perimeter of each sheet, the wall of each cover projecting substantially perpendicularly from the respective sheet and terminating at a free edge, and extending along the perimeter of the sheet except at the respective part of the perimeter, the free edges being configured to abut each other when the container is in the closed configuration.

4. A container according to claim 3 wherein one of the walls includes at least one projecting tongue and the other wall includes at least one complementary socket for receiving and engaging with the at least one tongue for releasably retaining the container in the closed configuration.

5. A container substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.