Abstract:
An apparatus and method is disclosed for conveniently storing test tubes. A rack defines a plurality of bays that receive test tubes, or like structures. One or more elastic members secure to the rack and are selectively placed over the test tubes to retain the test tubes. Fasteners may attach the elastic members to the rack while test tubes are being loaded or unloaded from the rack. A sealable pouch having a tear-away label and an external sleeve may store two racks for storage and transportation. A tear-away label may uniquely identify the pouch and serve to track and identify its contents.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention relates to apparatus and methods for storing test tubes and more particularly to systems for storing test tubes during transportation.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     In modern medical practice it is common to extract or collect bodily fluids in order to test the fluids to detect the presence of chemicals, drugs, hormones, pathogens, or the like or otherwise analyze the fluids. Accordingly, a large number of test tubes must be collected and transported to the location where tests are to be performed. In some instances the tubes must be carried to another room, in others the tubes must be mailed to a different state.  
         [0003]     In either case, the tubes must be secured against breakage. Prior systems typically include a cardboard structure, such as a box with apertures formed therein to receive the tubes. Some even provide a flap brought over the tubes to retain them within the structure. However, cardboard is essentially inelastic. Once the tubes are inserted into the cardboard structure, it typically has little capacity to exert any elastic biasing force to retain the tubes. Furthermore, test tubes are a mass produced item used and then discarded. Accordingly, test tubes are typically made to loose tolerances and often have different lengths. Systems providing a cardboard flap to cover the tubes cannot possibly adjust to the differing sizes, leaving the shorter tubes loose and easily shaken and damaged.  
         [0004]     Accordingly, it would be an advancement in the art to provide an inexpensive structure capable of retaining test tubes of differing sizes. It would be a further advancement in the art to provide such a system that elastically retained the test tubes.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     An invention is described herein providing an apparatus and method for conveniently and inexpensively retaining multiple test tubes during transportation. The apparatus may include a rack defining a plurality of bays sized to receive test tubes. In some applications, the rack is a cardboard structure forming a box having apertures formed in an upper side thereof. In some embodiments, the rack may define an internal spacer positioned within the box to retain the lower ends of test tubes.  
         [0006]     A retaining member may be secured to the rack to retain the test tubes against movements. In some embodiments the retaining member is a sleeve sized to fit around the rack and test tubes to retain the test tubes. The elasticity of the sleeve enables the sleeve to conform to test tubes of differing lengths in order to secure the test tubes.  
         [0007]     In an alternative embodiment, a plurality of elastic sleeves may be used to facilitate insertion and securement of test tubes within the rack. In one embodiment of the rack, the bays are arranged in rows and columns. Accordingly, a single sleeve may be sized to secure tubes inserted into a single row, or multiple rows, of bays. The sleeves may be permanently secured to the rack, such as by staples, glue, or the like. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]     The operation and functionality of the invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are, therefore, not to be considered limiting of its scope, the invention will be described with additional specificity and detail through use of the accompanying drawings in which:  
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a rack and test tubes, in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0010]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a rack and test tubes having an elastic member secured thereto, in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0011]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a rack and test tubes having multiple elastic members secured thereto, in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0012]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a rack and test tubes having multiple elastic members positioned to permit insertion of test tubes, in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0013]      FIG. 5  is a bottom view of a rack having fasteners securing the multiple elastic members thereto, in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0014]      FIG. 6  is an exploded view of a rack, in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 7  is a side view of a rack and insert, in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0016]      FIG. 8  is a side view of a rack and insert during assembly or collapse of the rack, in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0017]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a pouch suitable for storing the rack, in accordance with the present invention; and  
         [0018]      FIG. 10  is a side view of a pouch storing multiple racks, in accordance with the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0019]     It will be readily understood that the components of the present invention, as generally described and illustrated in the Figures herein, may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the following more detailed description of the embodiments of the system and method of the present invention, as represented in  FIGS. 1 through 6 , is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, as claimed, but it is merely representative of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention.  
         [0020]     The presently preferred embodiments of the invention will be best understood by reference to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals throughout.  
         [0021]     Those of ordinary skill in the art will, of course, appreciate that various modifications to the details illustrated in the schematic diagrams of  FIGS. 1 through 10  may easily be made without departing from the essential characteristics of the invention. Thus, the following description is intended only as an example, and simply illustrates one presently preferred embodiment consistent with the invention as claimed herein.  
         [0022]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , in certain embodiments an apparatus  10  may include a rack  12  formed to hold test tubes, vials, pipettes, or like vessels. The rack  12  may be embodied as a box  14  made of a thin, rigid material such as cardstock, cardboard, or like material. The box  14  may have an upper side  16   a , a lower side  16   b  and four lateral sides  16   c - 16   f . Various bays  18  may be formed in the rack  12  to receive test tubes  20 , or like vessels  20 . The bays  18  may be formed as apertures  22  formed in the upper side  16   a  of the box  14 . The apertures  22  may be arranged in a variety of patterns. In the illustrated embodiments, the apertures  22  are arranged in rows  24  and columns  26  to maximize storage and facilitate identification of test tubes  20 .  
         [0023]     Referring to  FIG. 2 , a retainer  28  may be secured to the rack  12  to maintain the test tubes  20  within the bays  18 . In the illustrated embodiment the retainer  28  is an elastic member  30 , such as a sleeve  30 , secured to the rack  12  such that it covers the bays  18  and test tubes  20 . The sleeve  30  may substantially surround the rack  12 . The sleeve  30  may be made of an elastic polymer, such as latex, capable of deforming to enable placement of the sleeve  30  around the rack  12  and test tubes  20  while providing a restoring force to retain the test tubes  20  within the bays  18 . The sleeve  30  may have a width  32  sufficient to cover all rows  24  of apertures  22 .  
         [0024]     Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , in some embodiments multiple sleeves  30   a - 30   c  each corresponding to a row  24  may be used to secure test tubes  20  within the bays  18 . The sleeves  30   a - 30   c  may each have a width  34  sized to retain a single row of test tubes  20 . In some embodiments the sleeves  30   a - 30   c  may be substantially permanently secured to the rack  12 . Alternatively the sleeves  30   a - 30   c  may be secured to the rack  12  such that the sleeves are removable, and yet may remain secured while the sleeves  30   a - 30   c  are removed from retaining the test tubes  20 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the sleeves  30   a - 30   c  are positioned away from the apertures  22 , enabling test tubes  20  to be inserted therein. The sleeves  30   a - 30   c  may then be stretched and positioned over the tubes  20 , as shown in  FIG. 3 , to retain the tubes  20  within the bays  18 . Various types of fasteners  36  may be used, such as staples, glue, or retaining strips formed within the cardboard of the rack  12 . In some embodiments, an adhesive compound may be used such as sticky polymer permitting ready release of the sleeves  30   a - 30   c , or a glue permanently attaching the sleeves  30   a - 30   c  to the rack  12 . For instance the fastener  36 , or fasteners  36 , may be a low tack double sided adhesive. The fasteners  36  may secure the sleeves  30   a - 30   c  to any one of the sides  16   a - 16   f  of the box  14 . For example, in the embodiment of  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the fasteners  36  secures the sleeves  30   a - 30   c  to one lateral side  16   c . In the embodiment of  FIG. 5 , the fasteners  36  secure the sleeves  30   a - 30   c  to the lower side  16   b.    
         [0025]     Referring to  FIG. 6 , a box  14  may be embodied as traditional boxes with flaps  38   a - 38   d  serving to lock the sides  16   d , 16   f  in position. In addition, in some embodiments, an insert  40  may be disposed within the box  14  to retain the lower ends of the test tubes  20  against movement. An insert may have a registration portion  42 , spacer flaps  44   a , 44   b , and retaining flaps  46 . The registration portion  42  may serve, to define the bays  18  retaining the test tubes  20 . In the illustrated embodiment, the registration portion  42  is embodied as apertures  50  formed in a central panel  52  of the insert  40 .  
         [0026]     The central panel  52  may be maintained within the box  14  spaced apart from both the upper and lower sides  16   a , 16   b . Retaining flaps  44   a , 44   b  may secure to the sides  16   c , 16   e  as illustrated in  FIG. 7  to maintain the central panel  52  in spaced apart relation to the sides  16   a , 16   b . Support flaps  46  may likewise secure to the central panel  52  and be folded down into the position illustrated in  FIG. 7  to support the edges of the central panel  52  not coupled to the box  14  by the retaining flaps  44   a , 44   b.    
         [0027]     Referring to  FIG. 8 , when shipping and storing the rack  12  it may be beneficial to disassemble the box  14  such that it may it is flat and takes up less space. Accordingly, the retaining flaps  44   a , 44   b  may be situated with one flap  44   a  positioned above the central panel  42  and the other flap  44   b  positioned below the central panel  42  such that the box may be skewed into a flat position as shown in  FIG. 8 . The support flaps  46  may be folded out of the way in order to permit skewing. It will be noted that in practice a box  14  is typically formed as a flat object and subsequently folded into a box. However, the process of forming the box is simply the reverse of the process of collapsing the box illustrated in  FIG. 8 . The flat structure is simply skewed, folding at the junctions of the side  16   a , 16   b , 16   c , 16   f  to create a box, with the insert following the movements of the box to arrive at the configuration of  FIG. 7 . The support flaps  46  may then be folded down as shown in  FIG. 7 .  
         [0028]     Referring to  FIGS. 9 and 10 , in some embodiments a rack  12 , test tubes  20  and retainer  28  may be stored in a specialized pouch  60 . A pouch  60  may include a label  62 , a lock  64 , a sealable chamber  66 , and an exterior sleeve  68 . The label  62  may be integrally secured to the pouch and be removable by means of a perforation  63 . In some embodiments, the label  62  includes an adhesive  70  covered by backing  72 . Thus, a user may tear the label off the pouch by means of the perforation  63 , remove the backing  72 , and adhere the label  62  to a document or the like. In some embodiments, the label  62  bears information such as bar code  74  and numbers  76 . The bar code  74  may be printed in accordance with an indexing process such that during the production of a plurality of pouches  60 , each pouch  60  will have a unique barcode  74  and bar code  79 . The bar code  74  and numbers  76  of the label may be identical to a bar code  79  and numbers  80  printed on the sealable chamber  66  or exterior sleeve  68 . In this manner, the label  62  corresponding to a particular pouch  60  is readily available for filing and identification purposes.  
         [0029]     The exterior sleeve  68  may be formed as a sheet of material  82 , typically the same material as the sealable chamber  66 , secured to the sealable chamber  66  at its bottom and lateral sides, leaving the upper edge of the sheet  82  detached, thus defining an opening for the sleeve. The sleeve may serve to store documents and the like.  
         [0030]     In some embodiments, an absorbent strip  84 , or other material or structure having a like function, may be inserted into the sealable chamber  66  and absorb fluids that may leak from the test tubes  20 .  
         [0031]     Referring to  FIG. 9 , the lock  64  may be positioned at the upper edge of sheets  86  and  86  forming the sealable chamber  66 . The lock  64  may be any means used to seal bags, such as a ZIPLOC type seal. The sheets  86 ,  88  may be sized such that the pouch  60  may store two racks  12  with their corresponding test tubes  20  and retainers  28 . The sheets  86 , 88  may secure along their lateral sides to form the sealed chamber  66 . A floor  90  may secure to the lower edges of the sheets  86 , 88  to further define the sealed chamber  66  and permit the chamber  66  to accommodate the width of the racks  12 .  
         [0032]     The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative, and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims, rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.