Patent ID: 8561376

Claim:
A device for dispensing a prescribed product into at least one Petri dish, each Petri dish comprising a removable lid able to be arranged over a bottom part of smaller width than the lid, the device comprising on a base: (a) at least first and second columns adapted to vertically guide the Petri dishes, respectively capable of receiving first and second stacks of Petri dishes with the lids placed over the bottom part and capable of being positioned respectively above a first lower passageway for the Petri dishes and above a second lower passageway for the Petri dishes, the first and second passageways being provided on a fixed part relative to the base; (b) a system operably moving at least one of the Petri dishes from the first column to the second column, the system comprising: a transfer member having an upper opening supporting the lid of an associated one of the Petri dishes above a second lower opening supporting the bottom part of the associated Petri dish; a dispensor operably dispensing the product above the lower opening into the bottom part of the associated Petri dish underneath the upper opening; the mobile transfer member being capable of taking up a first stop position in which the supporting openings are located under the first passageway, and a second stop position in which the supporting openings are located under the second passageway; a first piston comprising a first tray located under the first passageway and capable of passing through the openings, to lower the lid and the bottom part of the associated Petri dish in the first column onto their respective supporting openings when the transfer member lies in the associated first stop position; a second piston comprising a second tray located under the second lower passageway and capable of passing through the openings to lift the lid and bottom part of the Petri dish from their respective supporting openings up into the second column when the transfer member lies in the associated second stop position; the transfer member being a shuttle with translational movement relative to the base in direct back and forth movement of the supporting openings between each of the first and second stop positions; and the dispensor being arranged to dispense the product above the lower opening and under the upper opening into the bottom part of the Petri dish when these openings lie in a selected one of the first and second stop positions.