Disposable microscope slide dispenser
First Claim
1. A microscope slide dispenser comprising:
- a hollow dispenser base having a floor, a horizontally disposed slide case seating platform that defines a carrier finger opening therethrough and a slide case seat thereatop, base sides supporting said seating platform above said base floor, and at least one horizontally oriented dispenser actuator slot defined in at least one of said base sides,a slide carrier mounted in said base and having a slide engaging finger projecting upwardly through said carrier finger opening in said platform and having at least one actuator handle projecting through said at least one dispenser actuator slot, whereby said slide carrier is mounted for reciprocal movement relative to said base so that said slide engaging finger travels in a prescribed horizontal path between a slide engaging position and a slide ejection position within the limits of said carrier finger opening in said platform and said carrier is advanced by manually forcing said at least one actuator handle relative to said at least one dispenser actuator slot,a disposable slide case having first and second pairs of mutually perpendicular, upright side walls, a slide case roof, and a slide case floor all permanently fastened to each other to form a hollow slide cavity therewithin shaped as a rectangular prism, and wherein an actuator access opening is defined in said slide case floor, and wherein a slide ejection slot is defined in one of said side walls in said first pair of side walls immediately adjacent to said slide case floor, and wherein said slide case is removably seatable on said slide case seating platform such that said actuator access opening in said slide case floor overlies said carrier finger opening in said base platform and such that said carrier finger projects through said slide case floor and into said slide cavity, anda plurality of flat, microscope slides stacked within said slide storage cavity and removable therefrom only through said slide ejection slot by advancement of said carrier.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A microscope slide dispenser is formed with a base having a slide dispensing mechanism and a disposable, plastic slide case that is removably mounted atop the base. Positioning members on the base interact with corresponding members on the case to properly position the slide upon a seating platform. A slide carrier has a finger that projects upwardly from the base and engages the rear edge of the lowermost of a plurality of microscope slides vertically stacked in the case. The case is provided with carrier finger opening and a slide dispensing slot. Operation of the dispensing mechanism engages the carrier finger behind the lowermost slide and pushes it out of the slide case through the slide dispensing slot. The carrier is spring biased so that the slide engaging finger returns to a slide engaging position behind the next slide, which drops down in place of the slide ejected. Once all slides have been ejected from the case, the case is discarded.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A microscope slide dispenser comprising:
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a hollow dispenser base having a floor, a horizontally disposed slide case seating platform that defines a carrier finger opening therethrough and a slide case seat thereatop, base sides supporting said seating platform above said base floor, and at least one horizontally oriented dispenser actuator slot defined in at least one of said base sides, a slide carrier mounted in said base and having a slide engaging finger projecting upwardly through said carrier finger opening in said platform and having at least one actuator handle projecting through said at least one dispenser actuator slot, whereby said slide carrier is mounted for reciprocal movement relative to said base so that said slide engaging finger travels in a prescribed horizontal path between a slide engaging position and a slide ejection position within the limits of said carrier finger opening in said platform and said carrier is advanced by manually forcing said at least one actuator handle relative to said at least one dispenser actuator slot, a disposable slide case having first and second pairs of mutually perpendicular, upright side walls, a slide case roof, and a slide case floor all permanently fastened to each other to form a hollow slide cavity therewithin shaped as a rectangular prism, and wherein an actuator access opening is defined in said slide case floor, and wherein a slide ejection slot is defined in one of said side walls in said first pair of side walls immediately adjacent to said slide case floor, and wherein said slide case is removably seatable on said slide case seating platform such that said actuator access opening in said slide case floor overlies said carrier finger opening in said base platform and such that said carrier finger projects through said slide case floor and into said slide cavity, and a plurality of flat, microscope slides stacked within said slide storage cavity and removable therefrom only through said slide ejection slot by advancement of said carrier. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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- 13. In a microscope slide dispenser having a base with a dispensing mechanism including a slide engaging finger that projects upwardly from said base and which is movable relative thereto along a slide ejection path, a slide case located atop said base, and a plurality of smooth, flat microscope slides vertically stacked within said slide case, the improvement wherein said slide case is disposable and seats upon and is removable from said base and is formed with confining floor, roof, and side wall members that are permanently sealed together to encapsulate said slides within said slide case with the lowermost of said flat slides in contact with said slide case floor, and said slide case floor has an actuator access opening therein to receive said slide engaging finger in its movement along said slide ejection path, and a slide ejection slot is defined within one of said side wall members immediately adjacent to said floor member and lying in alignment with said slide ejection path, whereby said slide engaging finger is engageable with said lowermost of said slides to eject it from said case through said slide ejection slot as said slide engaging finger moves along said slide ejection path toward said slide ejection slot.
- 18. In a combination, a microscope slide dispenser base defining a horizontal seating platform having a carrier finger opening therein, a dispenser mechanism mounted on said slide dispenser base and including a carrier that has a slide engaging finger that projects upwardly from said base through said carrier finger opening in said seating platform and is movable in longitudinal reciprocation along a horizontal, linear slide ejection path, a plurality of smooth, flat microscope slides vertically stacked one atop another, and a disposable slide case having side walls, a roof, and a floor and defining a slide storage cavity within which said vertically stacked, flat slides are encapsulated, with the lowermost of said slides resting upon said floor of said case, and wherein said floor of said case has an actuator access opening defined therein and one of said side walls has a slide ejection slot defined therein adjacent to said floor, and said case is positionable upon said seating platform and said carrier finger engages said lowermost of said slides and said slide ejection slot is linearly aligned with said slide ejection path, and said case is removable from said base.
Specification