MXPA99006954A - An integral lid for recollection tube, transportation and storage of capillary blood sample - Google Patents

Abstract

A recollection tube with integral lid to collect blood, comprising a recollection elongated container to collect blood, the container having a blood recollection tubular chamber, this latter having an open annular end and a closed end. The open end of the container includes a portion of integral rim with a receptive edge to be placed adjacently to a punctured wound in order to gather the blood rapidly through the container and into the chamber, and an integral lid which extends in a coaxial way starting from the open end of the container;characterized because:the integral lid includes a sealing external annular flap;being both flaps the external and the internal ones separated one from another to define an annular space which serves to receive the upper annular edge of the container open end, said lid comprises also an annular flange disposed at the lower edge of the external annular flap which serves as support surface for opening or closing the container.

Description

INTEGRAL COVER FOR COLLECTION, TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE TUBE OF CAPILLARY BLOOD SAMPLE FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a tube or container for collection, transport and storage of improved blood sample. More particularly, the present invention relates to an integral lid for said tube or blood collection container where the lid is of the "flip-top" type.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is known in the state of the art the analytical instruments that allow carrying out several haematological diagnostic procedures in very small amounts of blood. For this reason, the finger or lobe of a patient's ear is generally punctured, samples in a very small amount for the test being quickly collected in a micro-collector container. In this way, the need to remove venous blood from patients is avoided. However, this collection arrangement has the disadvantage that the blood must be collected quickly before any coagulation thereof.

Most efforts in relation to collection devices or containers have generally focused on providing a cover arrangement configured in such a way as to fit the upper part of the mycocollection device or container, with the upper part having an integral capillary tube for coupling the puncture and transfer the blood to the container. These efforts have been disclosed in, for example, U.S. Patent Nos. 4,024,857; 4,215,700; 4,250,893; 4,411,163 and 4,132,225, all of which are cited here by reference.

Another type of representative microcollection blood tubes have been developed wherein the opening configuration of the upper portion of the collecting container is modified to receive and seal in coupling an elastomeric type cap to seal and hold the collected blood specimen before examination. Such structures are described in U.S. Patent No. 3,902,477 and U.S. Patent No. 4,227,620. However, said reference does not mention or suggest the specific type of flip-top integral lid of the present invention.

U.S. Patent No. 4,397,318 discloses another type of blood collection cap, in which the container and lid are separated and wherein the cap comprises a teaspoon for blood collection. This configuration is inadequate since it requires the steps of: separating the lid, separating the spoon, and replacing a sealing cap for transporting the blood sample.

Finally, patent 178,415 issued June 22, 1996 to Becton, Dickinson and Company, which claimed priority rights of US Patent Application No. 711, 225 dated June 6, 1991, discloses a package assembly for collecting capillary blood, wherein the container provides an integral teaspoon arrangement with the upper edge of the collection container to facilitate collection from the wound, so it does not involve any separate part. The package includes an integral skirt that encloses the rounded bottom of the container to provide a stable annular surface, to hold the container upright on a flat surface. The cover of the assembly has an annular space for receiving the upper edge of the container in sealed coupling, further being useful for receiving in sequence the lower integral skirt with the lower surface of the container in such a way that the cover can be placed on the lower part when the Technician opens the container to examine the specimen. However, this invention suffers from the disadvantages that it is not easy to handle and, in the worst case, if the specimen cap is lost or exchanged it becomes contaminated and consequently the results of the analysis will be inaccurate. All configurations and structures described in the above references lack an integral cap to the blood collection container or tube, or are difficult to handle requiring several additional steps for proper operation, regardless of possible contamination of the blood sample.

Therefore, and taking into account the defects of the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide an integral cap for the use of collection, storage and transport of capillary blood sample of simple construction but of high efficiency for the taking of capillary blood samples. Another object of the present invention is to provide a capillary blood sample collection, storage and transport tube comprising an integral cap, thereby forming a unitary and safe handling collection tube.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The above objects, as well as other objects and advantages of the present invention are achieved by providing a collection tube with integral lid for collecting blood, comprising: an elongated blood collection container, the container defining a tubular blood collection chamber , the chamber having an annular open end and a closed end; The open end of the package includes an integral edge portion with a receiving edge to be positioned adjacent a puncture wound to collect blood rapidly through the package into the chamber and an integral cap extending coaxially from the open end of the container. container wherein the integral cap includes an outer annular skirt and an internal annular seal skirt; both inner and outer skirts separated from one another to define an annular space serving to receive the upper annular edge of the open end of the container, said cover further comprises an annular flange disposed on the lower edge of the outer annular skirt that serves as the surface of Support to open or close the container. The package further comprises an outer annular ring integrally formed on the outer surface near the open end of said container to provide security of closure or opening against the lower edge of the integral lid and form the joint for the opening and closing of the integral lid; and a hinge system consisting of a fixed or integral part formed on the package and a mobile part or shaft integrally formed on the package and a mobile part or shaft integrally formed at the opposite end of the annular flange of the integral cover, which will serve as a pivot axis when the container is opened or closed with the lid.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The aspects that are considered characteristic of the present invention will be established with particularity in the appended claims. However, the invention itself, both by its organization and by its method of operation together with other objects and advantages thereof, will be better understood in the following description of certain embodiments, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side elevational view, partially in section of the blood collection assembly showing the integral cap of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view, partly in section of the blood collection assembly showing the integral cap of the present invention in its open position. Figure 3 is an enlarged partial sectional view of the integral lid closure system of the present invention. Figure 4 is an enlarged partial sectional view of the hinge system of the integral lid of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED MODALITY OF THE INVENTION Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 illustrates the blood collection set of the present invention, with the integral cap placed in its sealed place, the open end of said package of the blood collection set. In Figure 1, the assembly generally 10 and includes a container 12 and a lid 14. The package 12 further includes a compartment 20 for collecting blood having an open end 16 and a rounded closed end 18. The package 12 further includes an integral annular skirt 22 that provides a flat surface 39 which will serve to provide stability when it is placed vertically. As can be seen from Figures 1 and 2, the open end 16 of the package 12 includes an integral edge portion 24 with a receiving edge 26 to be placed adjacent a puncture wound to rapidly collect blood through the package 12 into the compartment 20 of suitable dimensions. This facilitates collection of blood to and to the bottom surface of the closed end 18 of the container 12. As will be seen in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the lid 14 generally includes an outer annular skirt 28 and an inner annular seal skirt 30 . The two are separated from one another to define an annular space 32 (Figure 3), wherein said annular space 32 serves to receive the upper edge of the open end 16 of the container 12. The package 12 further comprises an external annular ring 34 integrally formed on the outer surface near the open end 16 of said container 12, said annular ring 34 serving both to seal under pressure against the lower edge 36 of the lid 14 and to form the joint for opening and closing the lid of the present invention . Said external annular ring 34 comprises on the one hand a recess 37, which in combination with a fastening member integrally formed in the lid will form the pressure seal of the lid 14 to the container 12, while integrally formed on the opposite side of the recess 37. a fixed part of the hinge system 50, as shown in Figure 4, to allow the hinged connection of the container 12 with its lid 14, thus preventing the loss or exchange of the lid which results in contamination of the specimen .

With particular reference to the integral cap 14 of the present invention in Figures 1 to 4, the integral cap 14 is coaxial and includes an annular flange 40 disposed on the lower edge of the outer annular skirt 28, which serves as a support surface for opening or closing the container 12, while on the opposite side the movable part of the hinge system 50 is also integrally formed, that is, the part that will serve as a pivot axis when the container 12 is closed or closed with the lid 14 the present invention (indicated by the arrow in Figure 2). In this way, both the fixed or supporting part of the container 12 and the mobile part or axis of the lid 14 are complementary to each other to form the hinge system 50 of the collector assembly 10 of the present invention. The cover 14 further comprises a notch 42 formed integrally on the inner surface of the annular skirt 28. Therefore, the closing system of the blood collection assembly will be formed by the pressure coupling of the integral notch 24 of the lid 14 within the recess 37 of the external annular ring 34 of the container 12. This ensures a greater coupling and, for Consequently, a more reliable sealing system of the sealing surface for the lid 14 relative to the container 12 of the collection assembly 10. The seal 31 of the collection assembly is formed by an external notch disposed at the lower end of the inner skirt 30 of the lid 14 and an internal ring in the container 12. This type of internal seal 31 prevents any kind of spills from occurring. In addition, the external surface of the container has a series of graduations which are engraved so that they do not disappear, while the graduations of other containers of the state of the art are painted and tend to be erased. The integral lid of the collecting assembly of the present invention does not require a multiplicity of circumferentially spaced protuberances in combination with annular rings to provide a snap-lock coupling, since the present invention only requires the integral formation of

Claims (6)

a container 12 and a lid 14 comprising an annular ring in the container 12, a hinge system 50 shared by both the lid and the container, and a notch 42 and flange 40 in the lid. Although a specific embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described in detail by way of example, it should be understood that the present is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the intention is not to limit the invention to the particular form described, but instead to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives that fall within the scope of the invention as claimed by the appended claims. CLAIMS

1. A collection tube with integral lid for collecting blood, comprising an elongated blood collection container, the container defining a tubular blood collection chamber, the chamber having an annular open end and a closed end; the open end of the package includes an integral edge portion with a receiving edge to be positioned adjacent a puncture wound to collect blood rapidly through the package into the chamber, and an integral cap extending coaxially from the open end of the container; characterized in that: The integral cap includes an external annular seal skirt; both inner and outer skirts separated from one another to define an annular space serving to receive the upper annular edge of the open end of the container, said cover further comprises an annular flange disposed on the lower edge of the outer annular skirt that serves as the surface of support to open or close the container; the package further comprising an external annular ring integrally formed on the outer surface near the open end of said container to provide closing or opening security against the lower edge of the integral lid and forming the joint for opening and closing the integral lid; and a hinge system consisting of a fixed or integral part formed on the container and a mobile part or shaft integrally formed at the opposite end of the annular flange of the integral cover, which will serve as a pivot axis when opened or closed the container with the lid.

2. The collection tube with integral lid, for collecting blood, according to claim 1, further characterized in that both the fixed or supporting part of the container and the mobile part or axis of the lid are complementary to each other to form the hinge system collector set.

3. The collection tube with integral lid for collecting blood, according to claims 1 and 2, further characterized in that the lid further comprises a groove formed integrally on the inner surface of the annular skirt, wherein the closing system of the collecting assembly of blood will be formed by the pressure coupling of the integral notch of the cap within the recess of the outer annular ring of the container.

4. The collection tube with integral lid, for collecting blood, according to claim 1, further characterized in that said external annular ring comprises on the one hand a recess, which in combination with an integrally formed holding member on the cap will form a closure of security of the lid to the container, while integrally forming the opposite side of the recess a row or support part of the hinge system, to allow the hinged connection of the container with its lid, thus preventing the loss or exchange of the cap that results in contamination of the specimen.

5. The collection tube with integral lid, for collecting blood, according to claim 1, further characterized in that it has a seal of the collection assembly formed by an external notch disposed at the lower end of the inner skirt of the lid and an inner ring in the container to avoid any kind of spills.

6. The collection tube with integral lid for collecting blood, according to claim 1, further characterized in that the external surface of the container has a series of graduations that are engraved to prevent them from being erased with the handling of the container.