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US 6,135,314 AGranted
Disposable microscope slide dispenser
OwnerCesar Menesinventor
Life of this patent
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OwnerCesar Menesinventor
Estimating the term…
A microscope slide dispenser is formed with a slide case dispensing attachment having a slide dispensing mechanism and a disposable, plastic slide case that is removably coupled to the dispensing attachment. Positioning members on the dispensing attachment interact with corresponding members on the case to properly position the slide relative to a seating platform or slide case seat. A slide carrier has a finger that projects outwardly from the dispensing attachment and toward the slide case to engage the rear edge of the closest of a plurality of microscope slides stacked within the case. The case is provided with a carrier finger opening and a slide dispensing slot. Operation of the dispensing mechanism engages the carrier finger behind the slide closest to the end wall at which the dispensing attachment is located. The carrier finger pushes the microscope slide closest to the end wall at which the dispensing attachment is located out of the slide case through the slide dispensing slot. The carrier may be spring-biased so that the slide-engaging finger returns to a slide-engaging position behind the next slide, which moves into place once the slide aligned with the slide ejection slot has been ejected. Once all slides have been ejected from the case, the case is discarded.
A microscope slide dispenser comprising:
In a microscope slide dispenser having a slide case dispensing attachment with a dispensing mechanism including a slide-engaging finger that projects out from said slide case dispensing attachment and which is movable relative thereto along a slide ejection path, a slide case seated in contact with said slide case dispensing attachment, and a plurality of smooth, flat microscope slides stacked within said slide case, the improvement wherein said slide case is disposable and seats against and is removable from said seating attachment and is formed with a pair of confining end wall members and side wall members oriented perpendicular to said end wall members and all of said wall members are permanently sealed together to encapsulate said slides within said slide case with one of said flat slides in contact with a first one of said slide case end wall members, and said first one of said slide case end wall members 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 first one of said slide case end wall members and lying in alignment with said slide ejection path, whereby said slide-engaging finger is engageable with said the one of said slides closest to said first one of said slide case end wall members 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.
In a combination, a microscope slide dispenser attachment defining a flat, contact seating plate having an elongated carrier finger opening therein, a dispenser mechanism mounted relative to said flat contact seating plate and including a carrier that has a slide-engaging finger that projects outwardly from said slide dispenser attachment through said carrier finger opening in said flat contact seating plate and is movable in longitudinal reciprocation along a linear slide ejection path, a plurality of smooth, flat microscope slides vertically stacked one atop another, and a disposable slide case having side walls, and a pair of end walls perpendicular to said side walls and defining a slide storage cavity within which said stacked, flat slides are encapsulated, with one of said slides residing in contact with a first of said end walls of said case, and wherein said first of said end walls 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 first of said end walls, and said case is positionable against said flat contact seating plate and said carrier finger engages said one of said slides and said slide ejection slot is linearly aligned with said slide ejection path, and said case is removable from said slide dispenser attachment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.