Patent US3643650A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3643650A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for obtaining bacteriological information
Assignee: Individual
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Filing: 1970-05-25
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Granted: 1972-02-22
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Expires: 1990-05-25
Abstract
Abstract A kit which permits bacterial cultures to be quickly and easily obtained from urine samples and transmitted to a clinical laboratory for bacteriological examination. The main component of the kit is a specimen sampler molded from clear plastic in the form of a jointed strip. The strip has symmetrical, longitudinal half-segments integral with a central joint segment through which the half-segments are movable relative to one another. The halfsegments have two bowllike indentations with outwardly bulging walls which serve as deposit areas for beds of congealed culture medium. Melded to the bottoms of the bowllike indentations are four shallow cups with flaring rims, around which the beds of congealed culture medium are formed and which serve to anchor the beds in place, and hold them intact, during usage of the specimen sampler. The sampler is designed so that its two half-segments can be folded together until the bottoms of their bowllike indentations touch and their open fronts face outwardly in opposite directions. The sampler has a pair of finger grip indentations either side of its joint segment. The kit includes, in addition to the specimen sampler, a narrow, sealable container into which the folded sampler snugly fits. When the sampler is ready for use, it is pulled from the container by means of the finger grip indentations, then held by these indentations and dipped into a sample of urine until its culture bed areas are immersed. The sampler is then removed from the urine and sealed in the container for transmittal to a clinical laboratory for examination.
Inventors
- 👤 Harvey A Elder
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 00:15
CPC Classifications
C; C12; C12M; C12M23/00; C12M23/02; C12M23/08; C12Q; C12Q1/00; C12Q1/02; C12Q1/24
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
95 words
Sampler means having at least one bacterial culture plate suitable for dipping in a liquid to be bacteriologically examined, said sampler means comprising a body having at least one segment of generally flattened character and appearance shaped to include an open-topped depressed area of confinement for a bed of congealed culture medium which serves as said culture plate, said body having two segments of generally flattened character and appearance, each shaped to define an open-topped area of confinement for a bed of congealed culture medium, and an intermediate hinge joint segment interconnecting said two segments.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
95 words
Sampler means having at least one bacterial culture plate suitable for dipping in a liquid to be bacteriologically examined, said sampler means comprising a body having at least one segment of generally flattened character and appearance shaped to include an open-topped depressed area of confinement for a bed of congealed culture medium which serves as said culture plate, said body having two segments of generally flattened character and appearance, each shaped to define an open-topped area of confinement for a bed of congealed culture medium, and an intermediate hinge joint segment interconnecting said two segments.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
102 words
Sampler means in accordance with claim 1 in which each of said areas of confinement for beds of congealed culture medium is of shallow, bowllike configuration with a beadlike rim defining its top opening, a generally flat bottom and outwardly bulging sidewalls contiguous with said bottom and said rim, and which has at least one cup-shaped culture medium anchoring member with a flaring rim fixedly secured to said bottom, said cup-shaped anchoring member being so oriented and sized that congealed culture medium in said area of confinement surrounds and fills it when said sampler means is ready for dipping in said liquid.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
127 words
Sampler means in accordance with claim 2 of generally striplike character and molded plastic construction, in which: said two segments are longitudinally symmetrical about said joint segment; the plastic from which said sampler is formed is sheet plastic; and said joint segment comprises a lateral ridge, of arcuate cross section, between a pair of relatively sharp and generally parallel bends, by means of which said sampler means is flexibly movable between a position in which said two segments are aligned in generally coplanar relationship and a position of extreme bend, in which the bowllike areas of confinement for the beds of congealed culture medium are in bottom-to-bottom contact; whereby said sampler means can be folded to fit into a relatively narrow container for handling, and other, purposes.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
54 words
SaMpler means in accordance with claim 3 particularly adaptable for use in the bacteriological examination of urine samples in which: a pair of finger grip indentations are provided in said two segments in flanking adjacency to said lateral ridge to permit easy gripping, and manipulation, of said sampler means for handling and use thereof.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
47 words
Sampler means in accordance with claim 4 in which said plastic is a transparent plastic, each of said congealed culture medium-confining areas comprises an oval bowl-shaped indentation; and each of the bowl-shaped indentations has two of said cup-shaped anchoring members affixed to its bottom in spaced relationship.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
93 words
Specimen sampler kit means particularly adapted to permit the plating of a pair of bacterial culture plates with a freshly obtained sample of urine comprising sampler means in accordance with claim 5; and a sealable container adapted to receive the folded specimen sampler in snug-fitting relationship; whereby two beds of suitable culture medium can be congealed in the bowl-shaped indentations in said sampler means, after which the sampler means can be bent double, inserted in said container and sealed therein until ready for use through exposure of said culture medium to said urine.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
128 words
Specimen sampler kit means in accordance with claim 6 which includes a piece of sterile soft tissue for use in removing said sampler means from said container without contamination of the sampler means, and subsequent handling of said sampler means in exposing culture medium in its bowl-shaped indentations to urine; said container being sized to receive said sampler means with its bent ends down, and said finger grip indentations up; and said piece of sterile soft tissue being sized to fit over said finger grip indentations when the sampler means is in said container to permit easy grasping and handling of said sampler means with the soft tissue in place while said sampler means is removed from the container for use, and at all times during such use.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
95 words
Specimen sampler kit means in accordance with claim 7, including a piece of sterile soft tissue sized to fit in the bottom of said container for said sampler means to rest on, a specimen cup for the collection of a sample of urine sized to permit dipping of the bent sampler means in said sample for exposure of culture medium in each of its bowl-shaped indentations to the urine, and a sealable bag sized to receive said sealable container for transmittal of the dipped sampler means, in the container, to a clinical laboratory for testing.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
101 words
A method of exposing several bacterial culture plates of known surface areas to a bacteria-containing liquid to obtain quantitative bacterial determinations, comprising the steps of: (a) storing the culture plates of known surface areas out of contact, and in back-to-back relationship; (b) providing a remotely located finger grasping means for holding and supporting the plates; (c) dipping the plates in a body of said liquid while they are supported; (d) removing the plates from said liquid; (e) and inserting and maintaining the dipped plates in their relative position of support in an enclosure means until they are ready for clinical examination.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
101 words
A method of exposing several bacterial culture plates of known surface areas to a bacteria-containing liquid to obtain quantitative bacterial determinations, comprising the steps of: (a) storing the culture plates of known surface areas out of contact, and in back-to-back relationship; (b) providing a remotely located finger grasping means for holding and supporting the plates; (c) dipping the plates in a body of said liquid while they are supported; (d) removing the plates from said liquid; (e) and inserting and maintaining the dipped plates in their relative position of support in an enclosure means until they are ready for clinical examination.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
126 words
Sampler means having at least one culture plate suitable for dipping in a liquid to be bacteriologically examined, said sampler means comprising a body having at least one segment of generally flattened character and appearance shaped to include an open-topped depressed area of confinement for a bed of congealed culture medium which serves as said culture plate; said depressed area of confinement for the bed of congealed culture medium being relatively shallow and having culture medium retaining means overlying at least part of its bottom in spaced-apart relationship therewith, whereby a portion of the congealed culture medium forming said bed is sandwiched between said retaining means and said bottom to help maintain said bed positionally intact in said depressEd area during usage of said sampler means.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
126 words
Sampler means having at least one culture plate suitable for dipping in a liquid to be bacteriologically examined, said sampler means comprising a body having at least one segment of generally flattened character and appearance shaped to include an open-topped depressed area of confinement for a bed of congealed culture medium which serves as said culture plate; said depressed area of confinement for the bed of congealed culture medium being relatively shallow and having culture medium retaining means overlying at least part of its bottom in spaced-apart relationship therewith, whereby a portion of the congealed culture medium forming said bed is sandwiched between said retaining means and said bottom to help maintain said bed positionally intact in said depressEd area during usage of said sampler means.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
154 words
Sampler means having at least one bacterial culture plate suitable for dipping in a liquid to be bacteriologically examined, said sampler means comprising a body having at least one segment of generally flattened character and appearance shaped to include an open-topped depressed area of confinement for a bed of congealed culture medium which serves as said culture plate; said depressed area of confinement for the bed of congealed culture medium being of shallow, bowllike configuration with a beadlike rim defining its top opening, a generally flattened bottom and outwardly bulging sidewalls contiguous with said bottom and said rim, and which has at least one cup-shaped culture medium anchoring member, with a flaring rim, fixedly secured, open side up, to said bottom, said cup-shaped anchoring member being so oriented and sized that congealed culture medium in said area of confinement surrounds the fills it when said sampler means is ready for dipping in said liquid.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
154 words
Sampler means having at least one bacterial culture plate suitable for dipping in a liquid to be bacteriologically examined, said sampler means comprising a body having at least one segment of generally flattened character and appearance shaped to include an open-topped depressed area of confinement for a bed of congealed culture medium which serves as said culture plate; said depressed area of confinement for the bed of congealed culture medium being of shallow, bowllike configuration with a beadlike rim defining its top opening, a generally flattened bottom and outwardly bulging sidewalls contiguous with said bottom and said rim, and which has at least one cup-shaped culture medium anchoring member, with a flaring rim, fixedly secured, open side up, to said bottom, said cup-shaped anchoring member being so oriented and sized that congealed culture medium in said area of confinement surrounds the fills it when said sampler means is ready for dipping in said liquid.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
42 words
Sampler means in accordance with claim 11 in which said depressed area of confinement for a bed of congealed culture medium is of oval periphery and said at least one cup-shaped anchoring member consists of two such anchoring members in spaced-apart relationship.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
15 words
Sampler means in accordance with claim 12 of generally striplike character and molded plastic construction.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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US2710688A
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US2902146A
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US3465873A
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US3450129A
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US3513830A
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1975-02-21 | 1975-08-23 | 1976-02-22 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1979-02-21 | 1979-08-23 | 1980-02-22 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1983-02-21 | 1983-08-23 | 1984-02-22 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |