Abstract:
A storage and dispensing container for slides useful in mounting tissue samples for histological analysis, comprising a cover and a receptacle portion, wherein the receptacle portion comprises a floor and a circumscribing wall forming with the floor a receptacle cavity for holding an array of slides therein, the circumscribing wall including opposing wall portions having cut-outs therein exposing portions of faces of slides in the array of slides reposed in the receptacle cavity, wherein the receptacle portion is sized and constructed so that a user can grasp the array of slides with opposing digits contacting the portions of faces of slides in the array through the cut-outs, thereby facilitating handling of the slides.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The invention relates to a storage and dispensing container for slides, of a type such as are used in mounting tissue samples for histological analysis or other applications such as general microscopy studies, diagnostics testing, analytical chemical studies, collection of forensic evidence, etc.  
       DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART  
       [0002]     In the histological analysis of tissue, a biopsy sample or other source of the tissue to be assessed is typically sectioned using cryostatic sectioning techniques well established in the art. The sectioned sample of tissue is mounted on a substrate such as a microscope slide for staining, reagent treatment, etc. and subsequent histological characterization.  
         [0003]     A variety of automated systems has come into use in histology laboratories for labeling glass slides prior to mounting of the tissue sample thereon, e.g., for affixation of a label with information specific to the patient from whom the tissue sample is being obtained, or printing of a bar code on the slide, by which the slide may in subsequent use be scanned into database patient records by use of an optical barcode scanner.  
         [0004]     Examples of such automated slide labeling systems include the Shur/Mark® and Shur/MarkPlus® slide labeling systems commercially available from Triangle Biomedical Sciences, Inc. (Durham, N.C., USA), the IPS slide printing system commercially available from Leica Microsystems (Bannockburn, Ill., USA), and the MicroWriter slider labeler commercially available from Raymond A. Lamb Ltd. (East Sussex, England).  
         [0005]     In the use of automated glass slide labeling systems, the operator of the labeling instrument extracts a group of glass slides from the container in which the slides are originally supplied, and places the extracted group of slides into a hopper, magazine or other feed assembly for automated dispensing to the labeling mechanism, so that the slides are labeled for use.  
         [0006]     Slides as manufactured are packaged in containers in which they are typically in face-to-face array. A major problem with extracting a group of slides for loading into the slide labeling system is that the slides stick to one another, and it is difficult to manually grasp a group of slides from a box having a large number of slides therein. The sticking problem is exacerbated by packaging of the slides in the original container under high relative humidity conditions, or by subsequent exposure to such conditions, which can produce high levels of slide-to-slide cohesion.  
         [0007]     Although described above in reference to use of glass slides in automated histology slide labeling applications, similar problems are encountered in use of glass microscope slides generally, in other applications, e.g., cytology research, DNA analysis, forensic studies, etc., as well as in instances involving general handling of glass slides, such as the transfer of a group of glass slides to a manual dispensing device for subsequent dispensing and use.  
         [0008]     It would therefore be a significant advance in the art to provide a solution to the aforementioned problem of extracting a group of glass slides from the original packaging container.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     The present invention relates to a storage and dispensing container for slides of a type as described in the preceding section.  
         [0010]     The invention relates in one aspect to a storage and dispensing container for slides, comprising a cover and a receptacle portion, wherein the receptacle portion comprises a floor and a circumscribing wall forming with the floor a receptacle cavity for holding an array of slides therein, the circumscribing wall including opposing wall portions having cut-outs therein exposing portions of faces of slides in the array of slides reposed in the receptacle cavity, wherein the receptacle portion is sized and constructed so that a user can grasp the array of slides with opposing digits contacting the portions of faces of slides in the array through the cut-outs.  
         [0011]     Other aspects, features and advantages of the invention will be more fully apparent from the ensuing disclosure and appended claims. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES  
       [0012]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a slide storage and dispensing container according to one embodiment of the invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the opened container of  FIG. 1 , in which the cover of the container has been removed from the receptacle portion of the container.  
         [0014]      FIG. 3  is a top plan view of the slide storage and dispensing container of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0015]      FIG. 4  is a bottom plan view of the slide storage and dispensing container of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0016]      FIG. 5  is a front perspective view of the slide storage and dispensing container of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0017]      FIG. 6  is a front perspective view of the slide storage and dispensing container of  FIG. 1 , having a microscope slide therein.  
         [0018]      FIG. 7  is a front perspective view of the slide storage and dispensing container of  FIG. 1 , from which an array of microscope slides is being manually extracted. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0019]     The invention provides a storage and dispensing container for slides.  
         [0020]     Referring now to the drawings,  FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a slide storage and dispensing container  10  according to one embodiment of the invention. The container comprises a cover  12  and a receptacle portion  14 . The cover  12  includes a top wall  16 , front wall  18  and a side wall  20  in the view shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0021]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the opened container of  FIG. 1 , in which the cover  12  of the container has been removed from the receptacle portion  14  of the container. The cover is shown as having the top wall  16  circumscribed by the front wall  18 , back wall  24 , side wall  20  and side wall  22 .  
         [0022]     The receptacle portion  14  of the container includes a peripheral base flange  26  extending outwardly from the vertically upstanding circumscribing wall  28 . At the upper end  30  of the circumscribing wall  28  is a curvate bearing surface  48 . The circumscribing wall  28  together with the floor  32  of the receptacle portion defines an enclosed receptacle adapted for holding an array of microscope slides (not shown in  FIG. 2 ; see  FIGS. 6 and 7 , described more fully hereinafter).  
         [0023]     The circumscribing wall  28  includes a front wall  36 , a rear wall  38 , left-hand wall  40  and right-hand wall  42 . The floor  32  of the receptacle portion  14  as shown is formed with a bottom grid  34  of transversely extending (left to right) and rearwardly extending (front to back) ridge members therein.  
         [0024]     The front wall  36  of the receptacle portion of the container has a cut-out  44  therein, and the rear wall  38  of the receptacle portion likewise has a cut-out  46  therein, which is substantially aligned, and more preferably in register, with the cut-out  44 , both being in a medial portion of the front and back walls, respectively. As used in such context, the term “in register” means that the cut-outs are of a same size and shape, and that a line joining corresponding points on the respective cut-outs is parallel to the side walls  40  and  42 . As a variation from the specific embodiment shown, the cut-outs may be off-set with respect to one another and the extent of off-setting may be such as to enhance the gripp ability of the array of slides to be removed from the storage and dispensing container.  
         [0025]     More generally, in the broad practice of the present invention, the cut-outs  44  and  46  may be of any suitable shape and size and location, consistent with their function in allowing respective digits to grasp the entire array of slides in the container through the cut-outs, with the respective digits exerting compressive force against the outer faces of the outermost slides in the container, as shown and described hereinafter in connection with  FIG. 7  hereof.  
         [0026]      FIG. 3  shows a top plan view of the receptacle portion of the container of  FIG. 1 , and  FIG. 4  shows a corresponding bottom plan view of the container receptacle portion. As illustrated in these drawings, the floor  32  of the receptacle portion is formed with an array of grid elements  34  which in the interior of the receptacle cavity are protruberant from the main surface of the floor  32 , and which on the exterior of the receptacle cavity (in the bottom plan view shown in  FIG. 4 ) are recessed in relation to the main floor surface. As also shown in the bottom plan view of  FIG. 4 , the fabrication of the receptacle portion using a thin plastic material produces a backside wall cavity  50  within the circumscribing wall  28 . The thin plastic material may be fabricated into the cover and receptacle portion of the container in any suitable manner utilizing heat and/or pressure, or other suitable forming or fabrication methods, as hereinafter more fully described.  
         [0027]      FIG. 5  is a front perspective view of the receptacle portion of the slide storage and dispensing container of  FIG. 1 , wherein all elements and parts are numbered correspondingly to  FIGS. 1-4  as described hereinabove.  
         [0028]      FIG. 6  is a front perspective view of the slide storage and dispensing container of  FIG. 1 , having a microscope slide  52  therein, to show the relative scale of a single slide in relation to the receptacle cavity and to the container receptacle portion generally.  
         [0029]      FIG. 7  is a front perspective view of the receptacle portion of the slide storage and dispensing container of  FIG. 1 , from which a 72-microscope slide array  54  is being manually extracted by a user, by grasping of the array between the thumb and index finger, with the thumb of the user on the outer face of the outermost slide in the array at the front wall of the container receptacle portion, with the thumb disposed in the cut-out, and with the index finger of the same hand on the outer face of the outermost slide in the array at the back wall of the container receptacle portion, with the index finger disposed in the cut-out at the back wall.  
         [0030]     By the manual extraction of the slide array in the manner shown in  FIG. 7 , the entire contents of the container are removed at one time, eliminating the sticking problem involved with manual extraction of less than all slides in a container. The container of the invention therefore is critically dimensionally sized to provide a user with a packaged quantity of slides that can be easily manually extracted in one hand as a unitary group, for manual transfer to the hopper, magazine or other feed mechanism of an automatic labeling machine.  
         [0031]     From the perspective of accommodating removal of a group of slides from a storage and dispensing container, the container of the present invention is sized and arranged to permit a user to remove the entire contents of the container at one time, e.g., for transfer to a hopper, magazine or other feed assembly of an automatic slide labeling machine, for automated dispensing to the labeling mechanism of the machine, so that the slides are labeled for use. As an alternative to transfer to a hopper, magazine or other feed assembly, the extracted group of slides may be transferred to a manual dispensing device, or to other location or disposition. Such bulk removal of the entire contents of the container thereby avoids the face-to-face sticking problem that is characteristic of extracting slides from conventional slide containers. The container of the invention is constructed and sized so that the entire container contents of slides is able to be withdrawn from the container in a readily facilitated operation, with the withdrawn array of slides being of a size and weight that is readily manually manipulated.  
         [0032]     For such purpose, the container of the invention has a dimensional criticality, as constructed to provide a bulk body of slides (stacked in face-to-face relationship with one another in the container) that is readily manually manipulatable, within the range of sizes of hands and fingers of potential users of the container and packaged slides thereof.  
         [0033]     For a standard glass slide size of 1 inch×3 inches conventionally employed for histology, cytology, biotechnology, etc., the receptacle cavity of the container of the invention has a length in a range of from about 3.5 to about 5 inches, a width in a range of from about 2 to about 4 inches and a height in a range of from about 1.2 to about 2 inches. The length is measured in a direction that is parallel to the front and back walls of the container, the width is measured in a direction that is parallel to the side walls of the container, and the height is measured in a direction that is perpendicular to the floor and top of the container.  
         [0034]     Depending on the thickness of individual slides and the width of the container, the number of slides that can be packaged in the container of the invention can vary, but in general the number of slides is typically in a range of from about 40 to about 100 slides, and more preferably in a range of from about 50 to about 90. It will be recognized that there is significant variation in sizes of human hands, and the container may be appropriately sized to accommodate the hand size of a specific population or sub-population of individuals.  
         [0035]     The cut-out in each of the front and back walls of the container may have a length at the top of the front or back wall (measured in a direction that is parallel to the respective front or back wall) that is in a range of from about 0.5 inch to about 1.5 inches. Each cut-out may have a same or different shape, preferably the same shape. The shape may be semicircular, elliptical, obloid, square, rectangular, semihexagonal, semioctagonal, or other suitable polygonal shape. Preferably, the cut-out has a generally arcuate shape, most preferably a semicircular or semi-racetrack geometry. The cut-out may as shown most clearly in  FIG. 5  have a shape including vertical linear surfaces tangently intersecting the semicircular shape.  
         [0036]     The container of the invention can be formed of any suitable material or materials of construction, as for example, plastics, wood, ceramics, cellulosic materials such as cardboard, fiberboard, heavy stock paper, or the like, metal, composite materials, woven or non-woven web materials, etc. In general, plastics are preferred. Suitable plastics can be of any suitable type, such as for example polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinylchloride, polyvinylidenechloride, polycarbonate, polyurethane, polyamide, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyvinylacetate, or any other suitable natural or synthetic polymeric or resinous composition. Preferred materials of construction for the container of the invention include polyvinylchloride and cellulosic fibrous web materials, with polyvinylchloride being most preferred.  
         [0037]     The container may be formed in any suitable manner dependent on the specific material or materials employed to form the container. The container can for example be formed by application of heat and/or pressure, or by curing of a material that is suitably shaped to form the respective cover and receptacle portion of the container. By way of example, the cellulosic fibrous web materials can be die-formed or compression molded to yield the container top and receptacle portion. Polymeric and resinous compositions can be die-molded, extrusion molded, vacuum formed, thermoformed, solvent cast, injection molded, roto-molded, or otherwise formed in any suitable manner.  
         [0038]     The container of the invention in an illustrative embodiment as shown in  FIG. 2  is formed in two matable top and receptacle portion parts, of a polyvinylchloride material that is vacuum pressure formed at a thickness of about 6 mils.  
         [0039]     In such illustrative embodiment, the top  16  of the cover is 3.5 inches in length and 2.625 inches in width, with the height of the cover being 1.125 inches. The outwardly extending flange of the cover that mates with the outwardly extending flange  26  of the base is {fraction (3/16)} inch. The receptacle portion  14  in such embodiment includes a circumscribing wall  28  surrounding the receptacle cavity. The receptacle cavity of the container is 3.0625 inches in length and 2.1875 inches in width, with a depth of the receptacle cavity being 0.75 inch. The arcuate cut-outs in each of the front and back walls are ⅞ ths  inch diameter semicircular cut-outs up to the upper end  30  of the circumscribing wall  28  with vertically linear cut-out edges along the curvate bearing surface  48  at the upper end  30  of the circumscribing wall  28 . The circumscribing wall  28  is dimensioned on its outer surface to mate snugly with the cover  12  of the container.  
         [0040]     The container of the illustrative embodiment described in the preceding paragraph accommodates  72  slides in the receptacle cavity of the receptacle portion of the container, wherein each of such slides is 1 inch×3 inches and 0.125 inch in thickness. In alternative embodiments within the broad scope of the present invention, the container may be fabricated of a size and shape to hold between 40 and 80 slides. In instances where the container is sized to accommodate an average female hand, the container may for example contain approximately 50 slides.  
         [0041]     As indicated hereinabove, the container cut-outs may be of a size, shape and location to accommodate grasping of a contained array of slides by a human hand. Thus, the container of the invention in specific embodiments is advantageously proportioned to the size of the hand, as appropriate to extraction of the entire contents of the slides from the container.  
         [0042]     Further, although the container of the invention has been illustratively shown and described as comprising a two-piece construction, it will be recognized that the invention is not thus limited, and that the container may alternatively be embodied as a single piece container. For example, the container may be formed in a unitary operation, with the cover being removable in a tear-way fashion that forms the cut-outs.  
         [0043]     While the invention has been illustratively described herein, with respect to particular aspects, features and embodiments, it will be appreciated that the invention is not thus limited, but is susceptible of implementation with variations, modifications and in other embodiments. Accordingly, the invention is intended to be broadly construed and interpreted, with respect to all such variations, modifications and alternative embodiments as will suggest themselves to those of ordinary skill in the field of the invention, based on the disclosure herein, as being within the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.