Sample tube carrier

A linkable sample tube carrier, comprising:

• a vertically oriented oblong polygonal body having a plurality of generally planar external side surfaces defined by two orthogonally disposed pairs of substantially vertically oriented generally rectangular opposed faces, a first pair of said two pairs of opposed faces including cooperating means for engaging and releasably linking said carrier with an adjacent carrier in response to horizontal relative movement of said carrier and the adjacent carrier along a horizontal line substantially parallel with said first pair of faces to an engaged and linked relative position of said carriers in which said cooperating means substantially prevents relative translational movements of said carriers in all directions except along said line, and also substantially prevents relative pivotal motion about both a vertical axis between said carriers, as well as about a horizontal axis extending through both of said carriers;
• and a second pair of said two pairs of opposed faces including sliding means for indexing said carrier with an adjacent carrier;
• a generally horizontally disposed planar rectangular bottom sliding surface;
• and
• a top surface provided with a central bore defining a vertical cavity extending along at least a portion of the longitudinal axis of said body, said cavity adapted to releasably receive and retain a sample tube.

A linkable sample tube carrier, comprising:

• a vertically oriented rectangular body having a vertically extending longitudinal axis and external side surfaces defined by two orthogonally disposed pairs of substantially vertically oriented generally rectangular opposed faces, each of said faces provided with a vertical slot extending along at least a portion of the length of said rectangular body, the first pair of said two pairs of opposed faces including cooperating means for engaging and releasably linking said carrier with an adjacent carrier in response to horizontal relative movement of said carrier and the adjacent carrier along a horizontal line substantially parallel with said first pair of faces, so that when engaged and linked said cooperating means substantially prevents relative translational movements of said carriers in all vertical directions and in all horizontal directions except along said line, and also substantially prevents relative pivotal motion about both a vertical axis between said carriers, as well as about a horizontal axis extending through both of said carriers;
• and the second pair of said two pairs of opposed faces including sliding means for indexing said carrier with an adjacent carrier;
• a horizontally disposed planar bottom sliding surface;
• a top surface having a central bore defining a vertical cavity longitudinally extending along at least a portion of said longitudinal axis of said body and provided with a funnel shaped depression at a base of said vertical cavity;
• self-adjusting positioning means for releasably receiving and retaining a sample tube in a stable, vertically aligned position within said vertical cavity;
• and
• machine readable indicia disposed upon at least one of said faces.

A linkable sample tube carrier, comprising:

• a vertically oriented rectangular body having a vertically extending longitudinal axis and external side surfaces defined by two orthogonally disposed pairs of substantially vertically oriented generally rectangular opposed faces, each of said faces provided with a vertical slot extending along at least a portion of the length of said rectangular body, the first pair of said two pairs of opposed faces including cooperating means for engaging and releasably linking said carrier with an adjacent carrier in response to horizontal relative sliding movement of one of said carrier and the adjacent carrier along a horizontal line substantially parallel with said first pair of faces so that a face of said first pair slidably engages the other face of said first pair of faces of the adjacent carrier to engage and link the carriers and said cooperating means of the linked carriers substantially prevents relative translational movements of said carriers in all directions except along said line, and also substantially prevents relative pivotal motion about both a vertical axis between said carriers, as well as about a horizontal axis extending through both of said carriers;
• and the second pair of said two pairs of opposed faces including sliding means for indexing said carrier with an adjacent carrier;
• a horizontally disposed planar bottom sliding surface;
• a top surface having a central bore defining a vertical cavity longitudinally extending along at least a portion of said longitudinal axis of said body and provided with a funnel shaped depression at a base of said vertical cavity;
• self-adjusting positioning means for releasably receiving and retaining a sample tube in a stable, vertically aligned position within said vertical cavity;
• and
• machine readable indicia disposed upon at least one of said faces;
• wherein said cooperating means comprises a horizontally aligned enlarged head or dovetail member projecting from one of said generally rectangular opposed faces of said first pair of opposed faces and a correspondingly aligned mating dovetail groove provided in the other generally rectangular opposed face of said first pair of opposed faces;
• whereby said carrier and an adjacent carrier may be releasably linked by sliding at least one of said carrier and the adjacent carrier at said bottom sliding surface so that the enlarged head or dovetail member of one carrier slides into releasably locked mating engagement with the correspondingly aligned dovetail groove of the other carrier.