Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1
Adjustable Culture Dish Rack
The present invention relates to a device for storing and handling laboratory
objects, in particular,
culture dishes. Furthermore, the invention relates to a storage device, an
incubation device, a storage
rack, as well as a laboratory device.
Background of the Invention
Culture dishes are flat circular cup-like receptacles or containers with a
spanning lid, featuring a
depending skirt that loosely fits the container. Said dishes are widely used
in biology and medicine.
Culture dishes are thereby used for the cultivation of cell cultures and
microorganisms. Commonly, a
flat gel-like layer of culture medium is placed into the bottom of the dish to
supply the growing
microorganisms with water and necessary nutrients. Notably, culture dishes are
stackable, the use of
a rack allows for higher stacking due to constraints around the culture dishes
for dish storage or
incubation.
Among specimens, a culture dish may be used for the incubation of pathogenic
microorganisms.
During the incubation period of the microorganism in the culture dish, the
growth of the culture may
be inspected several times. This requires removal from the incubator and
transporting to the working
area for observation. During transport, current culture dish racks may tilt or
fall, risking the opening
of the culture dishes on the rack, as the lid of most culture dishes are a
loose fit. Opening the dish
exposes the user and environment to the contents of the culture dish, and the
culture dish to
environmental contaminants. There is currently a need for accommodating a
plurality of culture dishes
in a secure manner to prevent accidental exposure of the inside of the culture
dish to the environment.
The current use of storage racks for culture dishes requires the loading and
unloading of culture dishes
in the working area. Commonly used culture dish racks are composed of a rigid
fixed frame and the
action of loading and unloading culture dishes is partially obstructed by the
tall fixed constraint rods.
Description of Prior Art
As seen in the prior art, the following patents have attempted to provide an
alternative to securing a
plurality of stacked culture dishes. However, none of them have accounted for
providing the user with
increased accessibility to the stacked dishes and securing the dishes in the
occurrence of the
overturning of the rack.
EP1018544A1
Nittetsu Mining Co Ltd et al.
US4143765A
L. Howard Moss, III
US20120251275
Cosmas G. MALIN
CN205313527U
itAIN et al.
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CN204490863U
5ZiiiJKl* et al.
CN206646097U
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As such, the idea of using a locking mechanism as seen in patent US4453292A by
John A. Bakker in
1982, serves the purpose of locking the free moving crossbar along the
constraint rods. Additionally,
the idea of using a T-slot bar and cavity as seen in patent US931164A by
George H Vining in 1907,
will permit the removability of constraint rods from the base, increasing
accessibility.
Summary of the Invention
With the above introduction, it is an object of the present invention to
provide a rack which is adapted
to safely contain a plurality of culture dishes in a stable and secured
manner.
It is a particular object of the invention to accommodate varying pluralities
of culture dishes in the
same stable and secured manner.
It is another object of the invention to provide a rack which is relatively
lightweight and constructed
for the visualization of the enclosed culture dishes.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide such a structure that has
an increased threshold to
being overturned.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a rack with increased
accessibility through removable
constraints.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a structure which holds
culture dishes in an orderly
manner.
It is another object of the invention to provide a rack which may accommodate
most commonly used
culture dishes in laboratorial settings.
The foregoing as well as other objects of the present invention will become
apparent to those skilled
in the art from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with
the annexed sheets of
drawings on which there are presented, for purpose of illustration only,
several embodiments of the
present invention.
Brief Description of the Drawings
FIG. 1 is a three-quarter view from the receptacle appendage showing an
assembled state of the culture
dish rack with appendages upright
FIG. 2 is a three-quarter view from the receptacle appendage showing an
assembled state of the culture
dish rack with appendages horizontal
FIG. 3 is a three-quarter view from a removable constraint rod showing an
assembled state of the
culture dish rack with plugs in and appendages upright
FIG. 4 is a three-quarter view from a removable constraint rod showing an
assembled state of the
culture dish rack with plugs in and appendages horizontal
FIG. 5 is a three-quarter view from a removable constraint rod showing the
removed constraint rod
and plugs with appendages upright on the remaining constraint rods.
FIG. 6 is a top-down view of the assembled culture dish rack showing
appendages upright
FIG. 7 is a top-down view of the assembled culture dish rack showing
appendages horizontal
FIG. 8 is a side elevation view showing a removed constraint rod with
appendage upright
FIG. 9 is a three-quarter view showing part of the base where the T-slot
cavity is located with
constraint rod removed
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FIG. 10 is a cross section view showing the base where the T-slot cavity is
located with constraint rod
removed
FIG. 11 is a three-quarter view showing the elastic plug used in the T-slot
FIG. 12 is a three-quarter view from a fixed constraint rod showing an
assembled state of the culture
dish rack with appendages down and a plurality of culture dishes loaded.
Description
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in
detail with reference to the
accompanying drawings. FIGs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 show a culture dish rack 1 of the
invention, and FIG. 12
shows a state where a plurality of culture dishes 23 are stacked in the
culture dish rack.
The adjustable culture dish rack 1 shown in the figures comprises: a weighted
base plate 14 which is
formed of stainless steel or the like into a disk-like shape; a plurality of
singular hairpin constraint
rods 2 integrally projected from the upper face of the base plate or coupled
to the base plate by a T-
slot cavity 18 in the base plate 14 and a constrain rod adapter 25 at the ends
of a singular hairpin
constraint rods; a transverse support crossbar 5 wherein the diameter of a
constraint rod may pass and
the crossbar may slide freely; a receptacle appendage 9 and a fastening
appendage 8 that swings via
hinge 7 that is attached to the transverse support crossbar 5.
The weighted base plate 14 is equally effective as a solid or unfilled
structure so long as the centre of
mass favours the lower third when the rack is loaded with culture dishes. The
weighted base plate is
equally effective as any rigid or elastic composition so long as it is heat
resistant and capable of being
decontaminated. The embodiment of the invention requires at least one pair of
T-slot cavities 18 on
the upper face of the weighted base plate to accompany the constraint rod
adapter 25 of a hairpin
constraint rod 2, providing increased accessibility for plate loading and
unloading.
In the figures, three hairpin constraint rods 2, which is the suggested
number, are shown. Although
the number is not particularly restricted, the three constraint rods can
sufficiently stack culture dishes
23. Less constraint rods reduce the security of the culture dishes. The
hairpin constraint rods are
located equidistant from the centre of the base with the wide face of the
hairpin facing the centre to
accommodate the appropriate diameter of the culture dish.
In the figures, only one of the hairpin constraint rods 2 is removable via a
constraint rod adapter 25
inserted in the T-slot cavity 18 of the weighted base plate 14, while the
other two constraint rods are
fixed to the base plate by methods dependant on the material of the base plate
and constraint rod, be
it welding or resin. Although the number of removable constraint rods and T-
slot cavities are not
particularly restricted, aside from the minimum of one set.
A hairpin constraint rod 2 with constraint rod adapter 25 once inserted in to
the T-slot cavity 18 of the
weighted base plate 14, is then slid forward down the T-slot cavity to the
resting position 22. A plug
15, consisting of a solid elastic material with matching dimensions to the
insert position of the T-slot
cavity, follows the insertion of the hairpin constraint rod and prevents the
constraint rod adapter and
constraint rod from sliding out of the T-slot cavity. A handle 16, consisting
of a fabric or rigid material,
is fixed equidistantly on the upper face of the plug.
Each hairpin constraint rod 2 has a transverse support crossbar 5 with two
perforations to accompany
both sides of the hairpin constraint rod which allows free sliding of the
crossbar. An imbedded press
button 4, flanks either side of the crossbar, containing a piston and biasing
spring that, when at rest,
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applies pressure to the constraint rod to prevent free longitudinal movement
of the crossbar. Using
two fingers to depress the press button, the piston and biasing spring release
the pressure on the
constraint rods and permit free movement of the crossbar. Each hairpin
constraint rod contains fine
groves 3 to enhance the grip of the press button mechanism 5.
Projecting towards the central axis of the baseplate 14 from the crossbar 5 is
a fixed, right angle hinge
7 with a pin 6 passing through a fastening appendage 8 or receptacle appendage
9.
Preferably, the appendages will be of cuboid shape made of a polymeric
material. Fastening
appendages 8 as seen in FIGs 1,3 and 5 will have at least one small rounded
projection 10 from its
lengthwise faces perpendicular to the face of the base plate 14. The figures
depict three small rounded
projections on each lengthwise face of the fastening appendage, which is the
preferred number. The
receptacle appendage 9 is also preferentially of cuboid structure made of a
polymeric material, though
it is branched to connect with the fastening appendages 8. The ends of each
cuboid branch are
hollowed out by one third from above, leaving the bottom face 13, two outer
faces 11 and creating an
opening by removing the front face 17. In FIGs 2, 4 and 7, the receptacle
appendage can accept the
fastening appendage in an overlapping fashion. The receptacle appendage 9 will
have at least one
small rounded recess 12, matching the small rounded projections 10 of the
fastening appendage 8, to
loosely interlock the two appendages. In the embodiment of the invention, the
interlocking projections
and recesses of the appendages will not separate from the weight of culture
dishes if the culture dish
rack 1 were to become inverted, rather, they will only disengage under
pressure applied by human
hands.
The focus of the invention is for the use of stacking a plurality of culture
dishes 23 with ease by
removing one of the constraint rods 2 via pulling of the plug 15 and sliding
out the constraint rod
adapter 25 from the T-slot cavity 18. As well as ensuring the security and
stability of the culture dishes
via the adjustable crossbars 5 with interlocking appendages to prevent the
culture dishes from opening.
Some uses for the invention include being placed in an incubator, in an
anaerobic jar, or for the general
storage of culture dishes.
While preferred embodiments of the invention are described in the present
application, it should be
noted that the invention is not restricted thereto and can also be carried out
in a different manner within
the scope of the following claims.
It is noted that the foregoing examples have been provided for the purpose of
explanation and are in
no way to be construed as limiting of the present invention.
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