Patent Application
20240261788
The present invention relates to a specimen collection and storage container capable of more efficiently storing and transporting a specimen collected from a subject in order to identify or test for infection with various kinds of communicable diseases, and more particularly to a specimen collection and storage container capable of improving airtightness between a specimen container and a container cover, thereby preventing leakage of a medium and contamination from the outside.
Due to the recent spread of COVID 19 (Corona Virus Disease 19), testing for infection has been actively conducted, and testing is done by collecting a specimen from a subject.
In contrast, for common respiratory diseases, a swab for specimen collection is inserted into the nasal cavity or oral cavity of a subject, secretions are collected from the mucous membrane of the nasal cavity or oral cavity lining, and the secretions are examined to test for respiratory diseases.
Although recently prevalent COVID 19 is a respiratory disease, secretions are collected from both the mucous membranes of the nasal cavity and the oral cavity lining of the subject in order to improve accuracy of the test. After specimens are collected, collection sticks are placed in a specimen preservation container containing a preservation solution (medium), and the specimen preservation container is stored or transported to a testing site.
Meanwhile, a conventional specimen collection and storage container configured to collect and store a specimen includes a swab configured to collect a specimen, a specimen container configured to receive a medium and to allow the swab having the collected specimen to be inserted thereinto so as to be stored therein, and a container cover configured to seal the specimen container.
In the conventional specimen collection and storage container, however, sealing between the specimen container and the container cover is not properly achieved, whereby a specimen and a medium leak during storage and transportation of the specimen after collection of the specimen and contamination is caused by a contamination source introduced from the outside.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a specimen collection and storage container capable of improving airtightness between a specimen container and a container cover while securing the force of fastening between the specimen container and the container cover, thereby preventing leakage of a medium and contamination from the outside.
The present invention provides a specimen collection and storage container including a specimen preservation container open at one side, the specimen preservation container having a receiving space defined therein, the specimen preservation container being configured to receive one or more specimen collection swabs in the receiving space, a specimen container cover detachably coupled to the open one side of the specimen preservation container, the specimen container cover including a cup-shaped side portion coupled to an outer surface of one side of the specimen preservation container and a bottom portion coupled to one end of the side portion so as to shield the receiving space, an insertion coupling portion located inwardly from the side portion so as to be spaced apart therefrom such that an interstitial space is defined between the side portion and the insertion coupling portion, the insertion coupling portion being formed so as to protrude from the bottom portion toward the specimen preservation container, the insertion coupling portion having an inner space defined therein such that stick portions of the specimen collection swabs can be inserted and fitted into and coupled to the inner space, and an airtight portion provided at the specimen container cover and the specimen preservation container, the airtight portion being configured to bring the specimen preservation container and the specimen container cover into tight contact with each other, thereby maintaining airtightness therebetween, when the specimen preservation container and the specimen container cover are coupled to each other, wherein, when the specimen preservation container is coupled to the specimen container cover, the stick portions are fitted into and coupled to an arbitrary position in the inner space of the insertion coupling portion.
In a specimen collection and storage container according to the present invention, it is possible to improve airtightness and sealing force between a specimen preservation container and a specimen container cover through an airtight portion while securing the force of fastening between the specimen preservation container and the specimen container cover, whereby it is possible to prevent leakage of a specimen medium and contamination from the outside.
Also, in the specimen collection and storage container according to the present invention, it is possible to store one or more specimen collection swabs in a single specimen preservation container when specimens are collected, whereby it is possible to store swabs having specimens collected from two or more body parts of a subject in a single specimen collection container, and therefore it is possible to dramatically reduce tasks, such as filling in information of the subject, and therefore it is possible to improve workability, and it is possible to reduce the number of specimen collection and storage containers, and therefore it is possible to reduce a space necessary for storage and to achieve easier storage and management.
In addition, the specimen collection and storage container according to the present invention is configured such that, when a specimen container cover is removed from a transported specimen collection and storage container, the specimen collection swabs are also removed from the specimen preservation container without the need for an inspector to remove the specimen collection swabs from the specimen container using tweezers, whereby it is possible to prevent unnecessary contamination, and the need to remove the specimen collection swabs and to disinfect tools such as the tweezers is eliminated, whereby it is possible to eliminate operational inconvenience and to improve workability.
In addition, the specimen collection and storage container according to the present invention is simple in structure and has a reduced number of parts, whereby it is possible to reduce manufacturing costs, which is economical.
The present invention may be changed in various manners and may have various embodiments, wherein specific embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments, and it should be understood that the present invention includes all modifications, equivalents, or substitutions included in the idea and technical scope of the present invention.
Although terms including ordinal numbers, such as “first” and “second,” may be used herein to describe various components, these components should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one component from another component. For example, within the scope defined by the present invention, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element. The term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
It should be understood that, when a component is referred to as being “connected to” or “coupled to” another component, it may be directly connected to or coupled to another component or intervening components may be present. In contrast, it should be understood that, when a component is referred to as being “directly connected to” or “directly coupled to” another component, there are no intervening components present.
The terms used in the present application are provided only to described specific embodiments, and do not limit the present invention. Singular forms are intended to include plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In the present application, it should be understood that the terms “includes,” “has,” etc. specify the presence of stated features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms, including technical and scientific terms, used in this specification have the same meanings as those commonly understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having meanings consistent with their meanings in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure, and are not to be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. Also, in describing the present invention, identical reference numerals are used for identical components in the drawings, and duplicate descriptions of identical components will be omitted for ease of overall understanding.
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
First, referring to
First, the specimen collection swab 100 will be described. The specimen collection swab 100, which is configured to collect a specimen from a subject, may be formed in the shape of a swab, as shown.
The specimen collection swab 100 may include a head portion 110 configured to collect a specimen and a stick portion 120 coupled to the head portion 110.
The head portion 110 may have a roughly spherically rounded shape, and may be made of a material, such as a fiber. That is, the head portion may be configured to have a shape and material that facilitate collection of a specimen from a subject.
The stick portion 120 may be formed in the shape of a stick, and may be configured such that one end of the stick portion is coupled to the head portion 110 and the other end of the stick portion can be gripped by an inspector.
The stick portion 120 may be formed to have a predetermined long length to facilitate insertion into the nasal cavity or oral cavity in order to easily collect a specimen.
The stick portion 120 may be provided with an incision (not shown) configured such that a part of incision can be cut by the inspector. When a specimen is collected, therefore, the stick portion 120 may be maintained long to facilitate specimen collection, and when the stick portion is inserted into the specimen preservation container 200 after specimen collection, the stick portion is cut so as to correspond to the length of the specimen preservation container 200, whereby it is possible to easily achieve shielding of the specimen container cover 300.
The specimen preservation container 200 may be formed in the shape of a cup shielded at one side, a receiving space 210 may be formed in the specimen preservation container such that a medium 1 and the specimen collection swab 100 are received and stored in the receiving space 210, and the specimen preservation container may be provided at the other open side thereof with an insertion hole 230, through which the specimen collection swab 100 is inserted.
Referring to
The specimen preservation container 200 may be made of a transparent material to allow the inspector to view the interior or an opaque material.
The specimen preservation container 200 may be made of, but is not limited to, a synthetic resin-based material that is easy to manufacture and economical.
The specimen container cover 300 may be detachably screwed to the open insertion hole 230 side of the specimen preservation container 200 to open and close the receiving space 210 such that the specimen collection swab 100 can be stored and transported.
Referring to
Here, the insertion coupling portion 400 may be coupled to the bottom portion 320 toward a lower surface facing the specimen preservation container 200, i.e., the receiving space 210.
In the specimen container cover 300, an interstitial space 330 is defined between an inner circumferential surface of the side portion 310 and an outer circumferential surface of the insertion coupling portion 400, and one end of the specimen preservation container 200 may be inserted into and coupled to the interstitial space 330.
The interstitial space 330 may be formed such that the width of the interstitial space is gradually reduced from an inlet, through which the specimen preservation container 200 is inserted, to the bottom portion 320, whereby easy insertion of the specimen preservation container 200 may be achieved, and the insertion end of the specimen preservation container 200 and the specimen container cover 300 may come into tighter contact with each other.
The specimen container cover 300 may be detachably coupled to the specimen preservation container 200 via a detachment means 600. A screw coupling structure capable of securing fastening force and airtightness may be applied the detachment means 600, as shown.
The detachment means 600 includes a first screw thread 610 formed on an outer circumferential surface of an upper end of the specimen preservation container 200 and a second screw thread 620 formed on an inner surface of the side portion 310 of the specimen container cover 300 so as to be engaged with the first screw thread 610.
Here, although a screw coupling structure is applied to the detachment means 600 in a preferred embodiment, various other detachment structures, such as a snap structure, may be used as long as it is possible to secure fastening force and airtightness.
The insertion coupling portion 400 is formed so as to protrude from the bottom portion 320 of the cover body 350 toward the receiving space 210, an inner space 410 is formed in the insertion coupling portion, and the stick portions 120 of the one or more specimen collection swabs 100 may be inserted and fitted into the inner space 410.
The insertion coupling portion 400 may be formed so as to have an inclined surface 420 formed at an exposed end and inclined downward from the outer surface to the inner surface thereof. The inclined surface 420 serves to guide the stick portion 120 such that stick portion can be more easily inserted into the inner space 410 without being caught by the end.
Referring to
Specifically, when the specimen container cover 300 is coupled to the specimen preservation container 200 in the state in which a plurality of specimen collection swabs 100 is disposed in the specimen preservation container 200 by insertion, the stick portion 120 may be fitted into and coupled to an arbitrary position in the inner space 410 of the insertion coupling portion 400, which is formed in the shape of a cylindrical tube, without the need to separately set the coupling position of the stick portion 120.
The planar insertion area of the internal space 410 of the insertion coupling portion 400 may be variously set by considering the diameter and maximum number of the stick portions 120 to be inserted into the internal space 410.
Meanwhile, the insertion coupling portion 400 may include a separation prevention portion 700 configured to allow the stick portion 120 to be guided toward the lower surface of the specimen container cover 200 so as to be fitted into and coupled thereto when the specimen container cover 200 is coupled to the specimen preservation container 100.
Referring to
When the cover body 350 is coupled to the specimen preservation container 200, the separation prevention portion 700 is caught by the stick portion 120 in a contact state, whereby, when the specimen container cover 300 is separated from the specimen preservation container 200, separation of the stick portions 120 from the insertion coupling portion 400 may be prevented.
The separation prevention portion 700 includes a catching portion 710 formed at an inner surface of the insertion coupling portion 400 so as to protrude therefrom and formed along the inner surface thereof.
When the specimen container cover 300 is coupled to the specimen preservation container 200, the stick portion 120 is caught by the catching portion 710 in a contact state, whereby the stick portion 120 is guided toward the lower surface of the specimen container cover 300 so as to be fitted thereinto and coupled thereto.
That is, when the stick portion 120 is fitted into the insertion coupling portion 400, the catching portion 710 is caught by a protrusion 720 of the stick portion 120, which will be described later, whereby separation of the stick portion 120 from the insertion coupling portion 400 may be prevented.
Meanwhile, the catching portion 710 may be formed in the form of a recess, into which the protrusion 720 is inserted so as to be caught thereby, instead of protruding from the insertion coupling portion 400, and may also be formed in various shapes, such as forming the protrusion 720 in the shape of a recess and forming the catching portion 710 in the shape of a protrusion, as long as the above purpose can be achieved.
When the cover body 350 is screwed to the specimen preservation container 200, the stick portion 120 may be guided toward the lower surface of the cover body 350 along the catching portion 710 of the separation prevention portion 700 so as to be fitted into and coupled to the insertion coupling portion.
To this end, the catching portion 710 may be formed so as to be spirally wound a plurality of times around the inner circumferential surface of the insertion coupling portion 400.
This is based on consideration of the rotation of the specimen container cover 300 when the specimen container cover 300 and the specimen preservation container 200 are screwed to each other, wherein the catching portion 710 is formed so as to be spirally wound a plurality of times around the inner surface thereof in response to the rotation of the specimen container cover 300 by screw coupling, whereby, when the insertion coupling portion 400 is rotated, the protrusion 720 is guided along the catching portion 710 toward the bottom portion 320 so as to be fitted into and coupled to the insertion coupling portion.
Meanwhile, the stick portion 120 may include a protrusion 720 formed on an outer surface of the other end thereof so as to be caught by the catching portion 710 in a contact state.
Here, the protrusion 720 may be formed along an outer circumferential surface of the stick portion 120 so as to annularly protrude therefrom, and a plurality of protrusions may be spaced apart from each other in a longitudinal direction of the stick portion 120.
The protrusion 720 may be formed in a hemispherically convex shape in a direction in which the stick portion 120 is inserted, as shown. However, this is merely an embodiment, and the protrusion may be formed in various shapes.
Referring first to
Referring to
As a result, the stick portion 120 is inserted more deeply in the inner space 410 toward the bottom portion 320. Here, the protrusion 720 is guided toward the bottom portion 320 along the spiral catching portion 710 by rotation of the insertion coupling portion 400.
The stick portion 120 is further inserted toward the bottom portion 320 in the insertion coupling portion 400, and the protrusions 720 of the stick portion 120 are caught by the catching portion 710, whereby separation of the stick portion 120 from the insertion coupling portion 400 is prevented.
The catching portion 710 is spirally formed on the inner circumferential surface of the insertion coupling portion 400, as described above. When the specimen container cover 300 is rotated by screw coupling, therefore, the catching portion may guide the protrusions 720, whereby easier catching contact may be achieved.
When the inspector separates the specimen container cover 300 from the specimen preservation container 200 for inspection in this state, the specimen collection swab 100 is removed in a state of being coupled to the insertion coupling portion 400, and therefore it is not necessary for the inspector to separately remove the specimen collection swab 100 from the specimen preservation container 200.
Meanwhile, in the specimen collection and storage container according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is very important to secure airtightness in a process of storing and transporting a specimen collected from a subject in order to obtain effectiveness of a test by preventing leakage of a specimen and a medium as well as contamination from the outside.
In the present invention, therefore, an airtight portion 800 may be formed at each of the specimen container cover 300 and the specimen preservation container 200, which are coupled to each other, in order to further improve airtightness.
When the specimen preservation container 200 is fitted into and coupled to the interstitial space 330 between the inner circumferential surface of the cover body 350 and the outer surface of the insertion coupling portion 400, the airtight portion 800 may be formed at each of the inner circumferential surface of the side portion 310 and the outer surface of the insertion coupling portion 400, whereby, when the specimen preservation container 200 is fitted into and coupled to the interstitial space 330, the specimen preservation container 200 and the cover body 350 are brought into tight contact with each other, and therefore airtightness may be maintained.
Referring to
First, the first pressing protrusion 810 may be formed at the inner circumferential surface of the side portion 310 of the cover body 350 so as to protrude therefrom in order to press an outer circumferential surface of one end of the specimen preservation container 200 when the specimen preservation container 200 and the specimen container cover 300 are fastened to each other. Here, the first pressing protrusion 810 may be located adjacent to the bottom portion 320 to press the end of the specimen preservation container 200.
The second pressing protrusion 820 may be formed at the outer circumferential surface of the insertion coupling portion 400 so as to protrude therefrom in order to press an inner circumferential surface of one end of the specimen preservation container 200 when the specimen preservation container 200 and the specimen container cover 300 are fastened to each other. In this case, the second pressing protrusion 820 may be located adjacent to the bottom portion 320 of the specimen container cover 300 to press the end of the specimen preservation container 200.
The first pressing protrusion 810 and the second pressing protrusion 820 may be located so as to be staggered from each other, as shown; however, the positions thereof may be changed. For example, the first pressing protrusion and the second pressing protrusion may be located at the same position on a horizontal line.
Each of the first pressing protrusion 810 and the second pressing protrusion 820 may be formed such that one side thereof is inclined in an insertion direction, as shown, to guide the insertion of the specimen preservation container 200.
According to the foregoing, the airtight portion 800 may press the inside and the outside of one end of the specimen preservation container 200 through the first pressing protrusion 810 and the second pressing protrusion 820, respectively, and block any space that may occur between the specimen preservation container 200 and the specimen container cover 300, whereby it is possible to improve sealing force and airtightness.
Meanwhile, edges of the specimen preservation container 200 and the specimen container cover 300 have a small area of contact as the edges are in line contact rather than in surface contact, and it is necessary to secure airtightness of the edges as the edges may be separated from each other.
Accordingly, the airtight portion 800 may include a first inclined contact surface 831 and a second inclined contact surface 832 to secure airtightness at the edge of the specimen preservation container 200 in addition to the first pressing protrusion 810 and the second pressing protrusion 820 provided to maintain airtightness at the inner surface and the outer surface of the specimen preservation container 200.
First, the first inclined contact surface 831 may be formed such that an end edge of the specimen preservation container 200 is incised to have an inclined surface.
The second inclined contact surface 832 may be formed at a lower end of the insertion coupling portion 400 that faces the first inclined contact surface 831, and may be formed so as to have an inclination corresponding to the inclination of the first inclined contact surface 831.
When the specimen preservation container 200 is inserted into and coupled to the interstitial space 330, therefore, the first inclined contact surface 831 and the second inclined contact surface 832 come into tight surface contact with each other, whereby airtightness at the edge thereof is secured.
Although the first inclined contact surface 831 and the second inclined contact surface 832 are shown as being formed at the inner circumferential end edge of the specimen preservation container 200, the first inclined contact surface and the second inclined contact surface may be formed at the outer circumferential end edge of the specimen preservation container 200 or at each of the inner and outer circumferential end edges of the specimen preservation container.
Furthermore, the airtight portion 800 may include a protrusion 220 formed on an outer circumferential surface of one end of the specimen preservation container 200 in tight contact with the side portion 310 of the cover body 350. The protrusion 220 may be formed at an outer circumferential surface of an upper end of the specimen preservation container 200 so as to annularly protrude therefrom to press the side portion 310 for tight contact.
A plurality of protrusions 220 may be arranged from the upper end of the specimen preservation container 200 in a longitudinal direction so as to be spaced apart from each other, and the number of the protrusions and the distance between the protrusions may be variously adjusted.
Referring to the figures, the airtight portion 800 presses the inner circumference surface and the outer circumferential surface of the specimen preservation container 200 through the first pressing protrusion 810 and the second pressing protrusion 820, respectively, such that the ends of the specimen preservation container 200 and the specimen container cover 300 come into tight contact with each other.
In addition, the airtight portion 800 brings the edges of the specimen preservation container 200 and the specimen container cover 300 into tight contact with each other through the first inclined contact surface 831 and the second inclined contact surface 832, whereby overall airtightness may be improved.
The specimen container cover 300 may be made of an elastically deformable material capable of resiliently pressing the specimen storage container 200 fitted into the interstitial space 330, and various materials, including resin-based materials, may be used as the material of the container cover for specimen storage.
Alternatively, although not shown, the specimen container cover 300a may be configured such that the shape of the inner space 410 of the insertion coupling portion 400a corresponds to the number and shape of stick portions 120 to be coupled.
Referring to the figure, the protruding fitting portion 500 is formed in the specimen container cover 300b so as to protrude from the lower surface of the bottom portion 320 toward the receiving space 210, and one or more stick portions 120 may be fitted and coupled between the outer surface of the protruding fitting portion 500 and the inner surface of the insertion coupling portion 400.
The protruding fitting portion 500 may be formed in a cylindrical shape; however, the present invention is not limited thereto. Here, unmentioned reference symbol 350b indicates a cover body.
The stick portions 120 may be fitted into and coupled to an arbitrary position between the protruding fitting portion 500 and the insertion coupling portion 400, and the number of the stick portions 120 that can be fitted into and coupled to the inner space 410 may optionally be set to one to a plurality.
On the assumption that the stick portions 120 have the same diameter, the protruding fitting portion 500 may be located on the center axis of the inner space 410, i.e., in the center of the inner space 410 in plan, as shown.
Meanwhile, although not shown, the protruding fitting portion 500 may be provided at an outer circumferential surface thereof with a contact recess formed in a longitudinal direction. The contact recess may be formed in an arc sectional shape so as to correspond to the shape of a part of the outer circumferential surface of the stick portion 120 such that part of the outer circumferential surface of the stick portion 120 is seated in the contact recess in a contact state, and may guide the stick portions 120 so as to be located at the set positions.
In addition, although not shown, the protruding fitting portion 500 may be provided with a spiral protrusion formed as the result of being spirally wound a plurality of times along the outer circumferential surface thereof in a longitudinal direction. Similarly to the catching portion 710, when the specimen container cover 300b is rotated in a state of being screwed to the specimen preservation container 200, the stick portion 120 may be guided along the spiral protrusion, and the spiral protrusion may be caught by the protrusion 720 of the stick portion 120 in a contact state, whereby it is possible to prevent separation of the stick portion 120.
In addition, the protruding fitting portion 500 may have a convex catching protrusion formed along an outer circumferential surface of an exposed end thereof, whereby it is possible to prevent separation of the inserted stick portion 120.
Subsequently, the inspector couples the specimen container cover 300 to the open one side of the specimen preservation container 200 to shield the specimen preservation container 200. At this time, the stick portion 120 of the specimen collection swab 100 is fitted into the insertion coupling portion 400.
At this time, the inspector rotates the specimen container cover 300 so as to be screwed to the specimen storage container 200. In this process, the stick portion 120 is further inserted inwardly of the insertion coupling portion 400. At this time, the protrusions 720 are guided inwardly of the insertion coupling portion 400 along the catching portion 710 and are caught by the catching portion 710 in a contact state, as described above.
Subsequently, when the inspector separates the specimen container cover 300, the specimen collection swab 100 comes out in a state of being fitted in the specimen container cover 300 by the separation prevention portion 700, as shown.
The invention has been described with reference to the embodiment shown in the drawings, but this is illustrative only, and a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains will understand that various modifications and other equivalent embodiments are possible therefrom. The true scope of technical protection of the present invention will therefore be determined by the technical ideas of the appended claims.
The present invention is applicable to a specimen collection instrument.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2021-0073140 | Jun 2021 | KR | national |
| 10-2022-0054559 | May 2022 | KR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2022/006389 | 5/4/2022 | WO |
