CA1271927A - Closed container opener - Google Patents
Closed container openerInfo
- Publication number
- CA1271927A CA1271927A CA000551894A CA551894A CA1271927A CA 1271927 A CA1271927 A CA 1271927A CA 000551894 A CA000551894 A CA 000551894A CA 551894 A CA551894 A CA 551894A CA 1271927 A CA1271927 A CA 1271927A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- lip
- projection
- lid
- opener
- recess
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Abstract
ABSTRACT
CLOSED CONTAINER OPENER
A closed container opener, particularly a microcentrifuge tube opener (10) is adapted to open a closed container, particularly a microcentrifuge tube (16) comprising a container (30) with an opening (32), and a lid (36) for the container, the lid having a lip projection (38) extending past the outer perimeter of the opening and a downwardly extending annular portion (34) shaped to sealing fit insude the opening. The opener comprises a base (14), having a recess (20) shaped to accept the lip projection, comprising a lower projection (22) below and adjacent the recess; and an upper projection (24) above and adjacent the recess.
Both the lower projection and the upper projection are positioned to touch the lip and the lid, respectively.
The lid can be moved from the container by positioning the lip in the recess and causing the lower projection to apply pressure to the lip away from the container and, at the same time, causing the upper projection to apply pressure to the tube at a position distant from the lip, in a direction towards the container.
CLOSED CONTAINER OPENER
A closed container opener, particularly a microcentrifuge tube opener (10) is adapted to open a closed container, particularly a microcentrifuge tube (16) comprising a container (30) with an opening (32), and a lid (36) for the container, the lid having a lip projection (38) extending past the outer perimeter of the opening and a downwardly extending annular portion (34) shaped to sealing fit insude the opening. The opener comprises a base (14), having a recess (20) shaped to accept the lip projection, comprising a lower projection (22) below and adjacent the recess; and an upper projection (24) above and adjacent the recess.
Both the lower projection and the upper projection are positioned to touch the lip and the lid, respectively.
The lid can be moved from the container by positioning the lip in the recess and causing the lower projection to apply pressure to the lip away from the container and, at the same time, causing the upper projection to apply pressure to the tube at a position distant from the lip, in a direction towards the container.
Description
3~7 This invention rela~es to openers for closed containers such as microcentrifuge tubes, and a me~hod of opening a closed container such as a microcentrifuge tube.
Microcentrifuge tubes are small plastic tubes, generally capable of holding 0.4-1O7 cm3 liquid. They are used widely in biotechnology laboratories for handling radioactively labelled chemicals, and as vessels for storing biochemicals, or for performing biochemical reac~ions~ They have tightly fitting lids wi~h a lip.
Generally they are opened by pressing upward on the lip, using a thumb or a conventional beer bottle opener.
This invention features a microcentrifuge tube opener, and method of using the opener, adapted to open a microcentrifuge tube.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a microcentri~uge tube opener adapted to open a microcentrifuge tube comprising a container with an opening, and a lid ~or the container, the lid having a llp projection extending past the outer perimeter o~ the opening in essentially one direction, when the lid is placed above ~he opening, the lip projection extendlng along a first axis located centrally in the lid and passing from the lid to ~he lip projection, and a downwardly extending annular portion shaped to sealing ~it inside the opening, the opener comprising: a base, having a recess shaped ; to accept the lip projection, and an opening sized to allow access of the lip projection to said recess the base comprising: a lower projection below and adjacent the recess, and an upper projection '~
above and adjacent the recess, wherein the lower projection is positioned to engage the lip during use to open said microcentriEuge tube, and the upper projection is positioned to engaye the lid during said use~ wherein said recess is defined by a perimeter wall, and wherein a second axis is defined by a centrally located line passing from said wall to said opening, said wall being positioned to abut said lip projection and thereby prevent said annular portion from contacting said base when said lip projection is positioned in said recess, with a portion of said lip projection furthest from said lid abutting said wall, and with said first axis aligned parallel with said second axis;
wherein the lid can be moved from the container by positioning ~he lip in the recess and causing the lower projection to apply pressure to the lip away from the container and, at the same time causing the upper projection to apply pressure to the lid at a position dlstant from the lip in a direction towards the container; wherein the base does not touch the annular portion of the lid of said microcentrifuge tube when the lid is removed from the container, and the lip is positioned in the recess with said first and second axes aligned parallel to each other.
In preierred embodiments, the opener comprises a handle attached to ~he base.
It is preferred that ~he base cannot touch the annular portion of the lid when the lid is removed from ~he container and positioned in the recess.
Prefsrably, the upper projection extends further from ?~7 the handle than the lower projection, and, preferably, the longitudinal axis of the handle lies at an angle greater than 0 to the plane of the lower surface.
Preferably the lip projection projects from the lid a distance greater than the distance the recess extends into the base.
The opener of this invention permits the ready opening and closing of microcentrifuge tubes even when they have tightly Eitting lids. It is important when using these tubes that the inner portion of the lid not be touched by anything which i5 non-sterile since the enzymes or other chemicals which are commonly present in such tubes are sensitive to contaminating agents (e.g.
RNAases and proteases) present on either human fingers or articles touched by humans. In addition, some microcentrifuge tubes must be kept at a constant specific temperature (e.g., -20C or 0C) when they are used for certain reactions, and it is useful to be able to open them quickly without altering these conditions.
The opener preferably does not touch the inner portion of the lid and thus does not contaminate the contents of the tube.
It allows quick opening oE tubes, even when held in racks, thus permitting these tubes to be opened without disturblng the temperature of the tube. The opener can be used so that the lid does not fly open, but rather is gently removed from the ~ube.
This prevents the formation of aerosols .~ .
~ ~:7~Lq.~
. .
~, .
. . .
which occur when the pressure inside a tube ls ~apidly decreased and thus the contents become airborne. Such an occurence can be extrem~ly dange~oua whe~ there ls a ra~ioactlv~ solution in the tube; or when bacterial or viral solutions are present in the tube. Further, the opener does not distort or de~o~m the sh~pe o~ the lid duxing opening o~ the nicrocentri~uge tube.
Othe~ ~eatures and advantac3es o~ the i~vention will be apparent ~om the ~ollowing d~scription of a pre~e~ed embo~iment the~eo~ which is by way o~ example . orlly The drawinc3s will ~ixst brie~ly be desc~ibed.
Fig, 1 is a perspective vie~ o~ an opener;
Fig~ 2 is a ectional view of a series o~
microcentri~uge tubes a~d an opener;
Fig. 3 is a plan view o~ the ~op o~ tubes and opener at 3-3 in Fi'3. 2; and Fig. ~ is a ~rontal view o~ the base o~ an opener.
Re~erring to the Figuxes, op~ner 10 has a handle 12, of length ~, about S cm, and a head or base 14. Handle 12 is shaped to ~it the contours o~ the under part of an index fingex. Base 14 is shaped to Xit snugly around a microcen~ri~uge tube 16, haviny ~ seuli-oval shaped recess 18 ~o~ depth B, about 0.5 cm; len~th C, about 1 cm; and width ~, abouk 1 cm), and a lar~ely ~ectangular recess 20 ~o~ depth E, about 0.2 cm; width F, about 0.7 cm; a~d ~ength G about 0.~ cm). Base 14 consists o~ a lower sur~ace or pxojection 22 below recess 20 and an upper sur~ace or projection 24 above recesses 18 and 20.
30 Projection 24 also defines the sides of recesses 18 and 20 and is fused to lower projection 22.
opene~ 10 is manu~actured f~om a hard autoclavable plastic, such a acrylic, by standa~d pro~edu~es, Opener 10 is use~ul ~or opening microcentrifuge tubes having a lid with a lip projeckion~ such as tube ,-- " ' " .
.
. , -: , .
.. .
~7~ 7 16 having a lid 36 with lip 38 extending past the outer perimeter 39 of the tube, shown in the figures.
Microcentrifuge tube 16 consis~s of a container 30 with an opening 32 in which an inner annular or circular portion 34 of lid 36 fits snug. Lip pro~ection 38 projects about 0.2 cm from the outer perimeter 39 of lid 36.
Lid 36 is attached by a hinge 40 to container 30.
Referring to Figs. 2, 3, in order to open a closed microcentrifuge tube 16 (Fig. 2a), held in a tube rack 37, opener 10 is positioned so that lip ~8 of the tube 16 is facing toward recess 20 of the opener, and uppqr projection 24 is then pressed down as shown by arrow 41 onto lid 36. Opener 16 is then slid, as shown by arrow 42, towards lip 38 until lower projection 22 approaches the outer perimeter of container 30 (Fig.
2b). The two sides of upper projection 24 aid in making sure that lip 38 is positioned to enter recesses 18 and 20 in turn. When lip 38 is positioned inside recess 20, opener 10 is caused to turn, as shown by arrow 94, so that lower projection 22 exerts upward pressure on lip 38, and upper projection 24 exerts slight downward pressure on lid 36. In this way lid 36 is removed from opening 32 in container 30 (Fig. 2c). The microcentrifuge tube 16 may be closed by reversing this action, as shown hy arrow 46, or by pressing it s`h-ut using a finger.
Opener 10 can be readily used when tube 16 is held in an operator's hand rather than in a rack 37.
When a plurality of tubes 16 are held in a rack 37, as shown in Fig. 2, then opener 10 can be used to open each tube in turn without the other tubes interfering with the process.
The handle 12 may, for example, be short and hollow to allow insertion of a finger into the handle.
, ,
Microcentrifuge tubes are small plastic tubes, generally capable of holding 0.4-1O7 cm3 liquid. They are used widely in biotechnology laboratories for handling radioactively labelled chemicals, and as vessels for storing biochemicals, or for performing biochemical reac~ions~ They have tightly fitting lids wi~h a lip.
Generally they are opened by pressing upward on the lip, using a thumb or a conventional beer bottle opener.
This invention features a microcentrifuge tube opener, and method of using the opener, adapted to open a microcentrifuge tube.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a microcentri~uge tube opener adapted to open a microcentrifuge tube comprising a container with an opening, and a lid ~or the container, the lid having a llp projection extending past the outer perimeter o~ the opening in essentially one direction, when the lid is placed above ~he opening, the lip projection extendlng along a first axis located centrally in the lid and passing from the lid to ~he lip projection, and a downwardly extending annular portion shaped to sealing ~it inside the opening, the opener comprising: a base, having a recess shaped ; to accept the lip projection, and an opening sized to allow access of the lip projection to said recess the base comprising: a lower projection below and adjacent the recess, and an upper projection '~
above and adjacent the recess, wherein the lower projection is positioned to engage the lip during use to open said microcentriEuge tube, and the upper projection is positioned to engaye the lid during said use~ wherein said recess is defined by a perimeter wall, and wherein a second axis is defined by a centrally located line passing from said wall to said opening, said wall being positioned to abut said lip projection and thereby prevent said annular portion from contacting said base when said lip projection is positioned in said recess, with a portion of said lip projection furthest from said lid abutting said wall, and with said first axis aligned parallel with said second axis;
wherein the lid can be moved from the container by positioning ~he lip in the recess and causing the lower projection to apply pressure to the lip away from the container and, at the same time causing the upper projection to apply pressure to the lid at a position dlstant from the lip in a direction towards the container; wherein the base does not touch the annular portion of the lid of said microcentrifuge tube when the lid is removed from the container, and the lip is positioned in the recess with said first and second axes aligned parallel to each other.
In preierred embodiments, the opener comprises a handle attached to ~he base.
It is preferred that ~he base cannot touch the annular portion of the lid when the lid is removed from ~he container and positioned in the recess.
Prefsrably, the upper projection extends further from ?~7 the handle than the lower projection, and, preferably, the longitudinal axis of the handle lies at an angle greater than 0 to the plane of the lower surface.
Preferably the lip projection projects from the lid a distance greater than the distance the recess extends into the base.
The opener of this invention permits the ready opening and closing of microcentrifuge tubes even when they have tightly Eitting lids. It is important when using these tubes that the inner portion of the lid not be touched by anything which i5 non-sterile since the enzymes or other chemicals which are commonly present in such tubes are sensitive to contaminating agents (e.g.
RNAases and proteases) present on either human fingers or articles touched by humans. In addition, some microcentrifuge tubes must be kept at a constant specific temperature (e.g., -20C or 0C) when they are used for certain reactions, and it is useful to be able to open them quickly without altering these conditions.
The opener preferably does not touch the inner portion of the lid and thus does not contaminate the contents of the tube.
It allows quick opening oE tubes, even when held in racks, thus permitting these tubes to be opened without disturblng the temperature of the tube. The opener can be used so that the lid does not fly open, but rather is gently removed from the ~ube.
This prevents the formation of aerosols .~ .
~ ~:7~Lq.~
. .
~, .
. . .
which occur when the pressure inside a tube ls ~apidly decreased and thus the contents become airborne. Such an occurence can be extrem~ly dange~oua whe~ there ls a ra~ioactlv~ solution in the tube; or when bacterial or viral solutions are present in the tube. Further, the opener does not distort or de~o~m the sh~pe o~ the lid duxing opening o~ the nicrocentri~uge tube.
Othe~ ~eatures and advantac3es o~ the i~vention will be apparent ~om the ~ollowing d~scription of a pre~e~ed embo~iment the~eo~ which is by way o~ example . orlly The drawinc3s will ~ixst brie~ly be desc~ibed.
Fig, 1 is a perspective vie~ o~ an opener;
Fig~ 2 is a ectional view of a series o~
microcentri~uge tubes a~d an opener;
Fig. 3 is a plan view o~ the ~op o~ tubes and opener at 3-3 in Fi'3. 2; and Fig. ~ is a ~rontal view o~ the base o~ an opener.
Re~erring to the Figuxes, op~ner 10 has a handle 12, of length ~, about S cm, and a head or base 14. Handle 12 is shaped to ~it the contours o~ the under part of an index fingex. Base 14 is shaped to Xit snugly around a microcen~ri~uge tube 16, haviny ~ seuli-oval shaped recess 18 ~o~ depth B, about 0.5 cm; len~th C, about 1 cm; and width ~, abouk 1 cm), and a lar~ely ~ectangular recess 20 ~o~ depth E, about 0.2 cm; width F, about 0.7 cm; a~d ~ength G about 0.~ cm). Base 14 consists o~ a lower sur~ace or pxojection 22 below recess 20 and an upper sur~ace or projection 24 above recesses 18 and 20.
30 Projection 24 also defines the sides of recesses 18 and 20 and is fused to lower projection 22.
opene~ 10 is manu~actured f~om a hard autoclavable plastic, such a acrylic, by standa~d pro~edu~es, Opener 10 is use~ul ~or opening microcentrifuge tubes having a lid with a lip projeckion~ such as tube ,-- " ' " .
.
. , -: , .
.. .
~7~ 7 16 having a lid 36 with lip 38 extending past the outer perimeter 39 of the tube, shown in the figures.
Microcentrifuge tube 16 consis~s of a container 30 with an opening 32 in which an inner annular or circular portion 34 of lid 36 fits snug. Lip pro~ection 38 projects about 0.2 cm from the outer perimeter 39 of lid 36.
Lid 36 is attached by a hinge 40 to container 30.
Referring to Figs. 2, 3, in order to open a closed microcentrifuge tube 16 (Fig. 2a), held in a tube rack 37, opener 10 is positioned so that lip ~8 of the tube 16 is facing toward recess 20 of the opener, and uppqr projection 24 is then pressed down as shown by arrow 41 onto lid 36. Opener 16 is then slid, as shown by arrow 42, towards lip 38 until lower projection 22 approaches the outer perimeter of container 30 (Fig.
2b). The two sides of upper projection 24 aid in making sure that lip 38 is positioned to enter recesses 18 and 20 in turn. When lip 38 is positioned inside recess 20, opener 10 is caused to turn, as shown by arrow 94, so that lower projection 22 exerts upward pressure on lip 38, and upper projection 24 exerts slight downward pressure on lid 36. In this way lid 36 is removed from opening 32 in container 30 (Fig. 2c). The microcentrifuge tube 16 may be closed by reversing this action, as shown hy arrow 46, or by pressing it s`h-ut using a finger.
Opener 10 can be readily used when tube 16 is held in an operator's hand rather than in a rack 37.
When a plurality of tubes 16 are held in a rack 37, as shown in Fig. 2, then opener 10 can be used to open each tube in turn without the other tubes interfering with the process.
The handle 12 may, for example, be short and hollow to allow insertion of a finger into the handle.
, ,
Claims (6)
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A microcentrifuge tube opener adapted to open a microcentrifuge tube comprising a container with an opening, and a lid for the container, the lid having a lip projection extending past the outer perimeter of the opening in essentially one direction, when the lid is placed above the opening, the lip projection extending along a first axis located centrally in the lid and passing from the lid to the lip projection, and a downwardly extending annular portion shaped to sealing fit inside the opening, the opener comprising:
a base, having a recess shaped to accept the lip projection, and an opening sized to allow access of the lip projection to said recess the base comprising:
a lower projection below and adjacent the recess, and an upper projection above and adjacent the recess, wherein the lower projection is positioned to engage the lip during use to open said microcentrifuge tube, and the upper projection is positioned to engage the lid during said use, wherein said recess is defined by a perimeter wall, and wherein a second axis is defined by a centrally located line passing from said wall to said opening, said wall being positioned to abut said lip projection and thereby prevent said annular portion from contacting said base when said lip projection is positioned in said recess, with a portion of said lip projection furthest from said lid abuting said wall, and with said first axis aligned parallel with said second axis;
wherein the lid can be moved from the container by positioning the lip in the recess and causing the lower projection to apply pressure to the lip away from the container and, at the same time causing the upper projection to apply pressure to the lid at a position distant from the lip in a direction towards the container; wherein the base does not touch the annular portion of the lid of said microcentrifuge tube when the lid is removed from the container, and the lip is positioned in the recess with said first and second axes aligned parallel to each other.
a base, having a recess shaped to accept the lip projection, and an opening sized to allow access of the lip projection to said recess the base comprising:
a lower projection below and adjacent the recess, and an upper projection above and adjacent the recess, wherein the lower projection is positioned to engage the lip during use to open said microcentrifuge tube, and the upper projection is positioned to engage the lid during said use, wherein said recess is defined by a perimeter wall, and wherein a second axis is defined by a centrally located line passing from said wall to said opening, said wall being positioned to abut said lip projection and thereby prevent said annular portion from contacting said base when said lip projection is positioned in said recess, with a portion of said lip projection furthest from said lid abuting said wall, and with said first axis aligned parallel with said second axis;
wherein the lid can be moved from the container by positioning the lip in the recess and causing the lower projection to apply pressure to the lip away from the container and, at the same time causing the upper projection to apply pressure to the lid at a position distant from the lip in a direction towards the container; wherein the base does not touch the annular portion of the lid of said microcentrifuge tube when the lid is removed from the container, and the lip is positioned in the recess with said first and second axes aligned parallel to each other.
2. The opener of claim 1, said opener being adapted to open any said microcentrifuge tube.
3. The opener of claim 1, further comprising a handle attached to said base.
4. The opener of claim 3, wherein the upper projection extends further from the handle than the lower projection.
5. The opener of claim 4, wherein the longitudinal axis of the handle lies at an angle of greater than 0° to the plane of the lower surface.
6. The opener of claim 1, wherein the lip projection projects from said lid a greater distance than the distance the recess extends into the base.
Applications Claiming Priority (4)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US931,710 | 1986-11-17 | ||
| US06/931,710 US4683782A (en) | 1986-11-17 | 1986-11-17 | Microcentrifuge tube opener |
| EP87305862.2 | 1987-07-02 | ||
| EP87305862A EP0268348B1 (en) | 1986-11-17 | 1987-07-02 | Closed container opener |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1271927A true CA1271927A (en) | 1990-07-24 |
Family
ID=26110506
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000551894A Expired CA1271927A (en) | 1986-11-17 | 1987-11-16 | Closed container opener |
Country Status (6)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CN (1) | CN1012267B (en) |
| AT (1) | ATE82163T1 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1271927A (en) |
| ES (1) | ES2008768A6 (en) |
| IL (1) | IL84464A (en) |
| PT (1) | PT86140B (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US7377027B2 (en) | 2001-10-19 | 2008-05-27 | Monogen, Inc. | Container uncapping mechanism |
Families Citing this family (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN101568386B (en) * | 2006-12-04 | 2012-03-07 | 英派克埃彼有限公司 | Apparatus for removing caps from tubular containers |
| CN104962461B (en) * | 2015-07-08 | 2017-01-04 | 柳州市妇幼保健院 | PCR pipe and eight unions are uncapped pass lid arrangement |
| CN108380258B (en) * | 2018-03-20 | 2020-03-31 | 北京博奥医学检验所有限公司 | Medical science inspection laboratory is with instrument of opening tub |
-
1987
- 1987-07-02 AT AT87305862T patent/ATE82163T1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1987-11-13 IL IL84464A patent/IL84464A/en unknown
- 1987-11-16 ES ES8703264A patent/ES2008768A6/en not_active Expired
- 1987-11-16 PT PT8614087A patent/PT86140B/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1987-11-16 CA CA000551894A patent/CA1271927A/en not_active Expired
- 1987-11-17 CN CN 87107914 patent/CN1012267B/en not_active Expired
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US7377027B2 (en) | 2001-10-19 | 2008-05-27 | Monogen, Inc. | Container uncapping mechanism |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| PT86140B (en) | 1993-10-29 |
| PT86140A (en) | 1988-12-15 |
| IL84464A (en) | 1990-08-31 |
| IL84464A0 (en) | 1988-04-29 |
| ES2008768A6 (en) | 1989-08-01 |
| CN87107914A (en) | 1988-06-15 |
| CN1012267B (en) | 1991-04-03 |
| ATE82163T1 (en) | 1992-11-15 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKLA | Lapsed |