US3463301A

US3463301A - Slide shipping and storing container

Info

Publication number: US3463301A
Application number: US688105A
Authority: US
Inventors: Irving A Speelman
Original assignee: Propper Manufacturing Co Inc
Current assignee: Propper Manufacturing Co Inc
Priority date: 1967-12-05
Filing date: 1967-12-05
Publication date: 1969-08-26
Anticipated expiration: 1986-08-26
Also published as: BE724765A; DE1812968A1

Description

1969 1. A. SPEELMAN 3,463,301

SLIDE SHIPPING AND STORING CONTAINER Filed Dec. 5, 1967 2 sheets-sheet 1 7 6 25 /4 50 INVEN'I'OR.

IRVING A.SPEELMAN Aug. 26, 1969 A; SPEELMAN SLIDE SHIPPING AND STORING CONTAINER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec.

FIG. 5 54 INV! IOR IRVING A. SPEELMAN United States Patent 3,463,301 SLIDE SHIPPING AND STORING CONTAINER Irving A. Speelman, Roslyn Heights, N.Y., assignor to Propper Manufacturing Co., Inc., Long Island City, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Dec. 5, 1967, Ser. No. 688,105 Int. Cl. B65d 19/02 U.S. Cl. 206-1 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A container having a receptacle defining a slide compartment having a first and second pair of laterally spaced side walls for receiving said slides for shipping in abutting face-to-face relation parallel to said first pair of laterally spaced side walls, a cover removably engaged over said receptacle and slides enclosing said receptacle, and retaining means in said compartment for storing said slides in spaced face-to-face relation normal to said first pair of laterally spaced side walls. The spacing between each of said first and second pair of side walls substantially corresponds to the length of the slides.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to containers for shipping slides which are used as a mounting for objects to be examined under a microscope and otherwise, and containers for storage of such slides by a user thereof. Microscope slides are generally formed from thin sheets of a transparent material such as glass and therefore require careful treatment during shipping and storage. In the art, slides are generally shipped in containers receiving the slides in contiguous face-to-face relation. The user, receiving a quantity of such slides generally transfers them to a second container adapted to hold slides in spaced face-to-face relation for storage.

Slides are preferably stored with a space therebetween to permit gripping of single slides, as desired, by their edges. This arrangement makes it unnecessary for a user selecting a slide to grip the slide by its face and therefore possibly contaminate it. A further reason for this arrangement is it permits storage of slides having material mounted thereon without the danger of contamination or damage to the mounted portion, as might result if prepared slides were stored in contiguous face-to-face relation.

A container adapted to store slides in spaced face-toface relation is generally referred to as a slide box and is generally sold separate and apart from said slides. The known slide shipping containers are normally disposed of upon removal of the slides. The foregoing known arrangement is both inconvenient and inefficient in that it requires the user to make two purchases, leaving him with a generally useless shipping container after the slides are removed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Generally speaking, in accordance with the invention, a container is provided which includes a receptacle defining at least one slide compartment for receiving slides for shipment in abutting face-to-face relation parallel to a pair of laterally spaced side walls of said compartment, a cover removably engaged over said receptacle and slides enclosing said receptacle, and retaining means within said container for storing said slides in spaced face-to-face relation normal to the above-mentioned pair of laterally spaced compartment side walls and parallel to a second pair of laterally spaced walls, the spacing between each of the first and second pairs of laterally spaced walls substantially corresponding to the length of the slides. The retaining means preferably comprises a plurality of parti- 3,463,301 Patented Aug. 26, 1969 tion members disposed adjacent to each of the said two laterally spaced compartment side walls in aligned facing pairs so that at least some of said slides may be retained between adjacent aligned facing pairs of the partition members. These partition members define aligned pair of slots of a thickness substantially corresponding to the thickness of the slides.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a container in which slides can be safely shipped and which is adapted to store slides in spaced face-to-face relation after shipment.

Another object of the invention is to provide a container that permits slides retained therein in either the shipping or storage modes to be readily gripped for removal.

A further object of the invention is to provide a slide container for shipping and storage that includes two or more compartments each adapted to receive slides in both the shipping and storage modes.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a slide container for shipping and storage wherein slides are retained substantially in place in both the shipping or storage modes despite displacement of the entire container.

Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.

The invention accordingly comprises an article of manufacture possessing the features, properties, and relation of elements which will be exemplified in the article hereinafter described, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING For a fuller understanding of the invention, reference is h ad to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one type of slide container for shipping and storage constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along plane 2-2 of FIG. 1 showing the slides in the shipping mode;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are sectional views taken along the lines 3-3 and 4-4, respectively of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of the receptacle portion of the container of FLIG- 1 showing the slides in the storage mode;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the lines 6-6 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the lines 7-7 of FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the contamer '10 depicted comprises a cover 12 and a receptacle 14, each preferably formed of a single piece of molded plastic. The receptacle 14 has a generally rectangular bottom wall 16, a generally rectangular first pair of laterally spaced

side walls

17 and 18 upstanding from a pair of opposed edges of the bottom wall 16, and a generally rectangular second pair of laterally spaced

side walls

19 and 20 upstanding from the other pair of bottom wall edges.

Inside dividing

walls

22 and 23 upstanding from bottom wall 16, extend between the first pair of laterally spaced

side walls

17 and 18 in a plane substantially parallel to the second pair of laterally spaced

side walls

19 and 20. Side Wall 19, inside dividing wall 2 and the portions of

side walls

17 and 18 therebetween define compartment 24 while side wall 20, inside dividing wall 23 and the portions of

Side walls

17 and 18 therebetween define com partment 25. Within

compartments

24 and 25 and spaced along

side walls

17 and 18 respectively in aligned facing pairs are partition members 28. One of each aligned facing pair of partition members extends from side wall 17 in a plane normal thereto to inner face 30 while the other partition member of an aligned facing pair extends in the same plane from side wall 18 to inner face 31.

Inner faces

30 and 31 define planes substantially parallel to

side walls

17 and 18 respectively. Adjacent aligned facing pairs of partition members 28 define slots 32 therebetween.

Referring now more particularly to FIGS. 2-4, slides 34 are depicted in the shipping mode. In that mode, the slides are disposed within

compartments

24 and 25 in contiguous face-to-face relation between

inner faces

30 and 31 of partition members 28. The slides are disposed substantially parallel to the first pair of laterally spaced side walls 17 and '18.

In FIGS. -7, the slides 34 are shown after transfer to the storage mode wherein they are disposed in slots 32 between adjacent aligned facing pairs of partition members 28. In this mode, the slides are substantially normal to the first pair of laterally spaced

side walls

17 and 18.

Accordingly, during storage the slides 34 are aligned in a position normal to the position of slides disposed in the shipping mode.

The area 36 defined by inside

divider walls

22 and 23 is provided for storage of additional slides or such other objects as the user desires. The

side walls

17, 18, 19 and 20 preferably extend upwardly to a height below the height of the slides to be received therein to permit the edges of the slides to be gripped for removal.

The cover 12 is of generally rectangular configuration,

including a generally rectangular top wall 40 and generally rectangular side walls 42 depending from the edges of the top wall. The top edges of

rectangular side walls

17, 18, 19 and 20 are formed with an outwardly facing step 38 adapted to receive and frictionally engage a corresponding inwardly facing step formed on the bottom edges of cover side walls 42. The cover 12 is adapted to protectively enclose the slides 34 when said slides are disposed in either the storage or shipping modes. Any suitable sealing means, such as tear tape, or the like, may be provided to secure the cover 12 in closed relation on the receptacle '14 during shipment. In this condition, the assembly serves as a highly protective shipping container.

Upon reaching the user after shipment, the slides may be removed as needed. After

compartment

24 or 25 is emptied of slides in the shipping mode, the compartment can receive slides placed in slots 32 between adjacent pairs of facing partition members 28. In this position, the slides are retained in spaced face-to-face relation for storage.

One standard type of microscope slide is of substantially rectangular shape being about 3 inches long by 1 inch wide and 1 mm. (about 0.394 inch) thick. Such slides are normally sold in one-half gross lots. A slide storage and shipping container according to the invention adapted to receive such slides may be formed with compartment 24 having inside divider wall 22 spaced about 3.031 inches from side wall 19 and

side walls

17 and 18 being spaced about 3.016 inches apart. If partition members 28 extend respectively 0.075 inch from

side walls

17 and 18, the planes defined by

inner faces

30 and 31 of said partition members would be spaced about 2.866 inches apart. One-half gross of 1 mm. thick microscope slides can be securely received between

inner faces

30 and 31 of partition members 28 for shipping. A second one-half gross of such slides may be received in compartment 25 which is preferably of the same size as compartment 24.

The walls of

compartments

24 and 25 are clearly spaced so as to receive the 3 inch long slides in both the shipping and storage modes. The space between these walls is slightly larger than 3 inches to allow for slight variations in the length of slides and to facilitate the insertion of slides by the user by permitting insertion of slides held slightly out of alignment with the side walls. However, the walls of each compartment are so spaced as to prevent substantial longitudinal displacement of the slides in response to displacement of the container, the spacing substantially corresponding to the length of the slides.

In the preferred embodiment described above, each compartment would hold less than one-half gross of 1 mm. thick slides in the storage mode. The thickness of the slots 32 substantially correspond to the thickness of the slides. Accordingly, the precise number of slides that can be retained in each compartment in the storage mode depends on the space that is desired between each of the slides. This in turn is determined by the thickness of the partition members 28.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings has two

compartments

24 and 25 and an additional storage area 36 therebetween, other arrangements according to the invention are possible. Accordingly, a slide shipping and storage container could be formed with only one compartment or more than two compartments each of such compartments being substantially indentical to compartment 24 of the preferred embodiment. A single compartment could be difined entirely by the side walls of the receptacle, while further partitions between appropriately spaced side walls could define a plurality of compartments as desired. A slide shipping and storage container according to the invention can be formed with or without the additional storage area 36 as desired.

Still a further single compartment embodiment may include

side walls

19 and 20 spaced sutficiently to accommodate the full one-helf gross of 1 mm. thick slides in the spaced face-to-face relation of the storage mode. This embodiment may be provided with a removable partition engaged in one pair of facing slots 32 between adjacent aligned facing pairs of partition members and spaced from

side wall

19 or 20 to prevent longitudinal displacement of slides during the shipping mode. Accordingly, such a removable partition would define a compartment corresponding to

compartment

24 and 25 of the preferred embodiment.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, and those made apparent from the preceding description, are efiiciently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above constructions without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Iclaim:

1. A container for shipping and storing a plurality of slides comprising a receptacle portion and a mating cover portion, said receptacle portion having a first and second pair of laterally spaced side walls and at least one inside dividing wall extending from one of said first pair of side walls to the other and spaced from and parallel to said second pair of receptacle side walls and forming first and second compartments, the spacing between said inside dividing wall and one of said second pair of side walls, and said first pair of side walls substantially corresponding to the length of the slides, said first pair of side walls having retaining means extending therealong and projecting into said compartments to define aligned pairs of slots of a thickness substantially corresponding to the thickness of the slides, the slides being received in abutting face-to-face relation parallel to said first pair of side walls and between said inside dividing wall and said one of said second pair of side walls in the shipping condition thereof, and in laterally face-to-face relation in said slots and normal to said first pair of side walls and parallel to said second pair of side walls in the storage condition thereof.

2. A container for shipping and storing a plurality of slides as recited in claim 1, wherein said second pair of side walls are spaced to permit the storage of at least all of the slides accommodated in the shipping condition thereof.

3. A container for shipping and storing a plurality of slides as recited in claim 1, including at least two spaced inside dividing walls extending between said first pair of receptacle side walls and spaced from and parallel to said second pair of receptacle side walls, said retaining means extending only'along the portions of said first pair of receptacle side walls between each of said inside dividing walls and the facing second side wall, said first and second inside dividing walls defiining an additional storage area.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Mills 206-73 Sutton 206-72 Tall 206-62 Brokop 206-72 X Asnes et al. 206-62 Jenkins 206-62 US. Cl. X.R.