U.S. patent number RE30,595 [Application Number 06/058,986] was granted by the patent office on 1981-04-28 for article container for dispensing reagent slides.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Eastman Kodak Company. Invention is credited to Roger G. Covington, Stephen H. Miller.
United States Patent |
RE30,595 |
Covington , et al. |
April 28, 1981 |
Article container for dispensing reagent slides
Abstract
A container for dispensing reagent slides into apparatus which
uses the slides to carry out quantitative chemical analysis of
fluid samples. The container is formed of a plurality of casing
parts which, when joined together, for a generally rectangular
housing with a chamber for receiving a stack of the slides. The
container fits into a complementary shaped nest in the analysis
apparatus and has discontinuity means for inhibiting improper
orientation of the container in the nest. A notch code on the
container cooperates with structure on the nest to inhibit placing
into the nest a container carrying reagent slides improper for the
analysis test to be conducted.
Inventors: |
Covington; Roger G. (Rochester,
NY), Miller; Stephen H. (Rochester, NY) |
Assignee: |
Eastman Kodak Company
(Rochester, NY)
|
Family
ID: |
26738236 |
Appl.
No.: |
06/058,986 |
Filed: |
July 20, 1979 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
Reissue of: |
912288 |
Jun 5, 1978 |
04142863 |
Mar 6, 1979 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
422/63; 221/198;
221/226; 221/230; 221/279; 353/116; 422/500 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B01L
9/52 (20130101); G01N 35/00029 (20130101); G01N
35/00732 (20130101); B01L 2300/0822 (20130101); G01N
2035/00762 (20130101); G01N 2035/00089 (20130101); G01N
2035/00752 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B01L
9/00 (20060101); G01N 35/00 (20060101); G01N
001/28 (); B65D 083/10 () |
Field of
Search: |
;422/63,64,57,65,61
;221/198,226,230,279 ;353/116 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Serwin; R. E.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Sales; M. S.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A .Iadd.combination comprising:
(A) a plurality of reagent slides for chemical analysis; and
(B) a .Iaddend.container for dispensing .Iadd.said .Iaddend.reagent
slides into apparatus (1) having a nest into which said containers
are insertable and (2) adapted to use .Iadd.said .Iaddend.reagent
slides to carry out quantitative chemical analysis of fluid
samples.[.;.]..Iadd., .Iaddend.said container .[.comprising.].
.Iadd.including: .Iaddend.
(a) a plurality of separate casing parts adapted to be joined
together to form a generally rectangular housing having (1) a
dispensing station for dispensing slides to the apparatus when the
container is properly oriented in the nest and (2) a chamber for
receiving a stack of the slides to be dispensed into the apparatus
through said dispensing station; and
.Iadd.(b) .Iaddend.discontinuity means, on at least one of said
casing parts, for inhibiting insertion of said container into the
nest in all orientations other than the proper orientation, whereby
said dispensing station is aligned for injecting slides into the
apparatus.
2. A .[.container.]. .Iadd.combination .Iaddend.as set forth in
claim 1 wherein said discontinuity means includes a projection on
the container positioned to interfere with surfaces of the nest in
orientations other than said proper orientation.
3. A .[.container.]. .Iadd.combination .Iaddend.as set forth in
claim 1 wherein the nest includes surfaces defining a pair of slots
of different dimensions and said discontinuity means comprises:
a first pair of ribs spaced apart by a distance substantially equal
to the dimension of one of the slots; and
a second pair of ribs spaced apart by a distance substantially
equal to the dimension of the other of the slots.
4. A .[.container.]. .Iadd.combination .Iaddend.as set forth in
claim 3 wherein said ribs of said first and second rib pairs are
parallel.
5. A .[.container.]. .Iadd.combination .Iaddend.as set forth in
claim 3 wherein:
said container is adapted to be inserted into the nest in a
predetermined direction; and
said first and second rib pairs extend along the container in a
direction parallel to the direction of insertion of said container
into the nest.
6. A .[.container.]. .Iadd.combination .Iaddend.as set forth in
claim 1 wherein the nest includes surfaces defining a pair of slots
of different dimensions and said discontinuity means comprises:
a first pair of ribs on one of said casing parts and spaced apart
by a distance substantially equal to the dimension of one of the
slots; and
a second pair of ribs on the other of said casing parts and spaced
apart by a distance substantially equal to the dimension of the
other of the slots.
7. A container for dispensing reagent slides into apparatus (1)
having a slotted nest into which said containers are insertable and
(2) adapted to use reagent slides to carry out quantitative
chemical analysis of fluid samples; said container comprising:
a plurality of separate casing parts adapted to be joined together
to form a generally rectangular housing having (1) a dispensing
station for dispensing slides to the apparatus when the container
is properly oriented in the nest and (2) a chamber for receiving a
stack of the slides to be dispensed into the apparatus through said
dispensing station;
a pair of ribs spaced apart by a distance substantially equal to
the dimension of the nest slot for inhibiting insertion of said
container into the nest in all orientations other than the proper
orientation, whereby said dispensing station is aligned for
injecting slides into the apparatus; and
a web, extending between said ribs, and adapted to receive a code
discontinuity indicative of particular chemical analysis to be
performed by the reagent slides received in said chamber.
8. A container as defined in claim 7 wherein said web has a code
discontinuity at one of a plurality of positions indicative of
particular chemical analysis to be performed by the reagent slides
received in said chamber.
9. A container for dispensing reagent slides into apparatus (1)
having a nest into which said containers are insertable and (2)
adapted to use reagent slides to carry out quantitative chemical
analysis of fluid samples; said container comprising:
a plurality of separate casing parts adapted to be joined together
to form a generally rectangular housing having (1) a dispensing
station for dispensing slides to the apparatus when the container
is properly oriented in the nest and (2) a chamber for receiving a
stack of the slides to be dispensed into the apparatus through said
dispensing station;
discontinuity means, on at least one of said casing parts, for
inhibiting insertion of said container into the nest in all
orientations other than the proper orientation, whereby said
dispensing station is aligned for injecting slides into the
apparatus; and
means .Iadd.on at least one of said casing parts .Iaddend.for
receiving a code discontinuity indicative of particular chemical
analysis to be performed by the reagent slides received in said
chamber.
10. A container for dispensing reagent slides into apparatus (1)
having a nest into which said containers are insertable and (2)
adapted to use reagent slides to carry out quantitative chemical
analysis of fluid samples; said container comprising:
a plurality of separate casing parts adapted to be joined together
to form a generally rectangular housing having (1) a dispensing
station for dispensing slides to the apparatus when the container
is properly oriented in the nest and (2) a chamber for receiving a
stack of the slides to be dispensed into the apparatus through said
dispensing station; and
means .Iadd.on at least one of said casing parts .Iaddend.for
receiving a code discontinuity indicative of particular chemical
analysis to be performed by the reagent slides received in said
chamber.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Cross-Reference to Related Applications
Reference is made to commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. Pat.
applications Ser. No. 751,912 entitled CHEMICAL ANALYZER, filed in
the names of Louis C. Nosco, Anthony P. DiFulvio and Henry S.
Adamski on Dec. 17, 1976, now abandoned; and Ser. No. 912,290
entitled ARTICLE DISPENSER APPARATUS, filed in the names of G. W.
Scherer and R. G. Covington concurrently herewith.
2. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to article containers from which
individual articles can be sequentially removed from stacks of
articles received in the containers.
3. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, a number of automated systems have been developed
for carrying out quantitative chemical analysis of fluid samples.
While many of the commercially available systems utilize liquid
reagents and require analyzer equipment having intricate solution
handling and transport capabilities, one biological fluid analyzing
apparatus in which discrete test slides containing individual dry
reagents are metered through the apparatus to receive a drop of
biological fluid to be tested is described in commonly assigned,
co-pending U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 751,912, entitled
CHEMICAL ANALYZER filed on Dec. 17, 1976.
As described in that application, the test slides are stacked in
containers, also called cartridges. A container may be received in
a nest of the analyzing apparatus with a spring biased plunger
arranged to enter the container through an opening. The plunger
engages a movable element located in the container behind the slide
stack to urge the slides forwardly toward a dispensing station at
one end of the container. An example of such containers is
disclosed in commonly assigned, copending U.S. Pat. application
Ser. No. 912,290 entitled ARTICLE DISPENSER APPARATUS, filed in the
names of G. W. Scherer and R. G. Covington concurrently
herewith.
A push blade in the analyzing apparatus enters the container at the
dispensing station to remove the leading slide from the container
and move it into the analyzing apparatus by pushing it through a
slot in the container wall. The remaining slides are sequentially
moved forwardly in the container by the plunger as each preceding
slide is removed.
The container has a substantially rectangular cross-sectional
shape. As such, there is a distinct possibility that, in a busy
hospital laboratory where numerous fluid samples are chemically
analyzed daily, a container will occasionally be placed in its nest
backwards. If unnoticed, such misorientation of the container may
cause damage to the analyzer apparatus and would surely impose an
unnecessary delay in the diagnosis process.
Each slide in a particular container has the same, appropriate
reagent for a particular test, such as for example a reagent for
testing glucose in blood serum. Other containers might house slides
adapted for different tests. Unless the utmost care is exercised
when a fresh cartridge is loaded into the analyzer nest, a
container of slides with a reagent for one test may inadvertently
be placed in the nest when slides for another test were in fact
specified.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, a container is provided
with means to assure proper orientation of the container in the
nest of an analyzer apparatus and with means to minimize the chance
of introducing the wrong reagent to a chemical sample being tested.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a container having a
multi-part housing forming a chamber for a stack of articles,
includes rib means adapted to interfere with the surfaces of the
nest in all but one orientation of the container in the nest. The
rib means inhibit improper insertion of the container into the nest
unless the dispensing portion of the container is properly aligned
in the apparatus. In order to minimize the possibility that the
wrong container, and thereby the wrong reagent, will be loaded into
the nest, a coding discontinuity may be provided at a predetermined
position or positions on the exterior surface of the container. The
number and positions of the discontinuities are determined in
accordance with the reagent type, and the nest is provided with
means to interfere with the insertion of all containers but those
properly coded for the test intended to be run.
The invention, and its objects and advantages, will become more
apparent in the detailed description of the preferred embodiment
presented below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a slide container apparatus in
accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present
invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 taken from
another angle;
FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 showing a
slide stack and a stack positioning element;
FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 and including
a schematic illustration of a nest for the apparatus; and
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5--5 in FIG. 1
including the nest shown in FIG. 4.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present
invention there is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 a container, designated
by the reference numeral 10, adapted to hold a stack of test slides
for supply to a chemical analyzer as disclosed in aforementioned
U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 751,912. Container 10 includes a
generally rectangular casing having two parts 12 and 14 shown
separated in FIG. 3.
A dispensing station is provided at the forward end of container 10
(the top of the container as shown in FIGS. 1-3) and includes a
pair of slots 16 and 18 for removing slides from the container.
Slot 16 is ramped (three ramps 20 shown) to guide a push blade 22
(FIG. 3) of the analyzer into contact with the edge of the
forward-most slide 24 of a slide stack 26. Slot 18 has a pair of
tabs 28 which normally retain the slides in the container until
pushed out by blade 22. The push blade extends through slot 16 to
push the foremost slide out of slot 18 and into automatic slide
handling means, not shown, of the analyzing apparatus.
When push blade 22 is withdrawn from slot 16, slide stack 26 is
indexed forwardly (upwardly in the drawings) by a spring-loaded
plunger 30 which extends through an opening 32 in the rear (or
bottom) wall of the container to push against a stack positioning
element 34. The stack positioning element is described in detail in
aforementioned application Ser. No. 912,290 filed concurrently
herewith. In general, the slide stack rests on a pair of rails 36
and 38 of the stack positioning element, which moves forwardly
toward the dispensing station of container 10 as slides are removed
from the container. A pair of anti-backup ratchet pawls 40 on
either side of the stack positioning element engage successive
teeth of ratchet teeth sets 42 and 44 respectively to inhibit
movement of the slides rearwardly away from the dispensing station
whenever the container is not in the analyzer nest. For example,
should the container be taken from the analyzer nest after some but
not all of the slides have been removed therefrom, plunger 30 would
withdraw from opening 32 so that only the ratchet means keeps the
slide stack from moving away from the dispensing station.
Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, means are provided to insure proper
orientation of container 10 in a nest 54 which is a part of the
analyzer apparatus and is adapted to receive the container. As
discussed hereinbefore, it is important that the container not be
placed in nest 54 improperly.
Casing part 12 has a parallel pair of vertical rails 46 and 48, and
casing part 14 has a similar pair of rails 50 and 52, the latter
rail pair being more closely spaced than the former rail pair. As
can be seen in FIG. 5, nest 54 has a chamber 56 shaped to conform
to the cross sectional shape of container 10. A pair of channels 58
and 60, best seen in FIG. 4, on opposite interior walls of chamber
56 are arranged to receive rail pairs 46 and 48 and rails 50 and
52, respectively. Channel 58 is wider than channel 60 because rails
46 and 48 are wider spaced than rails 50 and 52.
Should an attempt be made to insert a container 50 backwards into
chamber 56 of the nest, rail pair 46 and 48 would be aligned with
recess 60 and rail pair 50 and 52 would be aligned with recess 58.
Since recess 60 is not as wide as the spacing of rails 46 and 48,
the container will not fit into chamber 56. Thus, improper
orientation of containers in nest 54 is prevented.
As mentioned hereinbefore, each slide in a particular container has
the same, appropriate reagent for a particular biological fluid
analysis. Other containers might house slides adapted for different
tests. In setting up the analyzer apparatus to run one or a series
of tests of a particular kind, it is anticipated that an operator
will select a container loaded with the proper slides and place
that container in nest 54. Another feature of the present
invention, is the provision of means on the container which
cooperates with means on the nest to inhibit placement into the
analyzer apparatus of a container of improper slides for the test
to be conducted.
Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, a series of holes 62 and 64 are
provided in the walls of nest 54 in the regions of channels 58 and
60, respectively. The holes are adapted to selectively receive pins
66 and 68 which, when inserted into the holes, extend into the nest
channels. Each biological test to be performed may be assigned a
unique combination of pin arrangement in holes 62 and 64.
On the container, a web 70 extends between rails 46 and 48, and a
web 72 extends between rails 50 and 52. A portion of each web may
be removed in a selected area of the web, such as by a punching
operation, to form a notch 74. The position of the notch along the
web is predetermined in accordance with the particular chemical
reagent carried by the slides in the container.
In preparing the apparatus to perform a specific biological test,
the operator first moves pins 66 and 64 into the proper ones of
holes 62 and 64 for that particular test. The operator would
thereupon select a container 10 having slides suitable for that
test, and insert the container into nest 54.
If the operator has properly positioned pins 66 and 68 and has
selected the correct container, the pins will be aligned with the
notches in webs 70 and 72, and the container will be received in
the nest. However, should the operator error in either the
placement of the pins or in the selection of the container, the web
notches will not align with the pins, and the container will not
seat in the nest. This will immediately be noticeable by the
operator, and he will be able to correct his error. Of course, it
is possible that a double error may occur wherein the operator
places the pins in the wrong holes and then selects the wrong
container which matches the incorrect pin placement. However, the
probability of such a double error is very small.
The invention has been described in detail with particular
reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, but it will be
understood that variations and modifications can be effected within
the spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *