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Publication Number
US-11787596-B2
Publication Date
2023-10-17
Expiration Date
Abstract
A gas sampler device has a top plate with a concaved outer wall. The concaved outer wall allows users easily to lift the top plate off of the bottom plate without disturbing the bottom plate because the curved surface permits more positive contact between the outer wall and users' fingers. Moreover, the weight of the top plate is reduced by approximately twenty percent compared to conventional top plates, a feature that also makes it easier for users to lift the top plate off of the bottom plate.
Core Innovation
The invention is an ergonomic sampler device for microbial air sampling in a controlled environment, having a top plate and a bottom plate that are separable so that the top plate is lifted by a user's fingers gripping an ergonomic feature. The top plate includes a top surface and a side wall with an inner surface and an outer surface, where the outer surface is substantially concaved inward. A rounded lip between the top surface and the side wall enables lifting without disturbing the bottom plate.
The sampler device includes a plurality of through bores through the top plate for fluid communication. The bottom plate includes a receiving portion for receiving a dish, and the bottom plate top surface mates with the side wall of the top plate. A channel in the bottom plate fluidly connects the plurality of through holes of the top plate with a hole in the side surface of the bottom plate, where the channel terminates at the hole in the side surface.
The documented background contrasts the prior smooth, heavy metal top plate and states that an inwardly concaved outer sidewall and a rounded or beveled top lip improve finger grip and enable lifting without disturbing the bottom plate. The concaved design is stated to reduce top-plate weight while maintaining sampling functionality using a Petri dish and a vacuum flow path through the bottom plate/center well/slots to an exit vacuum port. The document also describes sterilization methods including heat, steam, VHP, and ETO, and notes ergonomic tactile guidance for gloved users.
Claims Coverage
The independent claim covers an ergonomic sampler device with a separable top plate and bottom plate, where the top plate is lifted by a user's fingers gripping a rounded lip, and fluid communication is established from the top plate through bores into a bottom plate channel terminating at a side hole; the claim includes at least one key inventive feature related to concaved inward outer surface geometry and an ergonomic rounded lip for finger gripping.
Concaved inward outer surface with rounded lip for ergonomic lifting
A top plate having a side wall with an inner surface and an outer surface, where the outer surface is substantially concaved inward, and a rounded lip between the top surface and the side wall, enabling the top plate to be separable from the bottom plate by a user's fingers gripping the rounded lip and lifting the top plate.
Fluid connection between top plate through bores and bottom plate channel terminating at a side hole
A bottom plate including a receiving portion at the top surface for receiving a dish, with the top surface mating with the side wall of the top plate, and a bottom surface comprising a channel terminating at a hole in the side surface, the channel fluidly connecting the plurality of through holes of the top plate with the hole in the side surface of the bottom plate.
Across the independent claim and its dependent refinements, the claim coverage centers on the concaved inward outer surface geometry paired with a rounded lip used for user finger gripping to lift a separable top plate, and the structural fluid pathway linking the top plate through bores to a bottom plate channel that terminates at a side hole for sampling flow.
Stated Advantages
The concaved design improves finger grip and enables lifting of the top plate without disturbing the bottom plate.
The concaved design reduces top-plate weight while maintaining sampling functionality.
Documented Applications
Microbial air sampling in controlled environments such as clean rooms and clean hoods.
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