Patent ID: 6875405

Claim:
A tube rack comprising: a base having a top surface and oppositely facing side walls, said top surface being subdivided into an array of tube-receiving openings, each of said side walls having a trunnion protruding outwardly therefrom, with said trunnions being aligned coaxially; and a cover having oppositely facing side walls with notches in said side walls, said notches being defined by trunnion travel surfaces extending between ledge surfaces and tabs spaced one from the other at the entrance to said notches, said cover being configured and dimensioned to be seated on said base in a closed position enclosing said top surface, with said trunnions received in said notches and in contact with said trunnion travel surfaces, the spacing between said ledge surfaces and said tabs relative to the external dimensions of said trunnions being such as to permit unimpeded vertical movement of said cover between said closed position and a raised position removed from said base, said trunnion travel surfaces being slidable over said trunnions during rotation of said cover about said trunnions between said closed position and an inclined open position at which said ledge surfaces abut said trunnions to prevent rotation of said cover beyond said open position and said tabs underlie and are engageable with said trunnions to impede vertical removal of said cover from said base, said cover when in said open position providing access to said tube-receiving openings.