Safety container for storing biological tissue

Abstract

The present invention relates to a safety container for storing biological tissue and, more specifically, to a safety container for storing biological tissue, comprising: a biological tissue container (10) having a male screw portion (12) on an upper outer circumferential surface; a fixative container (20) having a female screw cap (22) on an outer peripheral surface; and an inner cap member (30) disposed between a lower container body (11) and an upper container body (21), the inner cap member (30) having a plurality of fixative transfer holes (33), wherein according to a fastening position of the male screw portion (12) with respect to the female screw cap (22), transfer of a fixative between the biological tissue container (10) and the fixative container (20) is blocked at a first position and a second position, and transfer of the fixative is enabled between the first position and the second position.

Description

Safety containers for storing biological tissues

[0001] The present invention relates to a safety container for storing living tissue, and more specifically, to a safety container for storing living tissue, comprising: a living tissue container (10) having a male screw portion (12) provided on an upper outer surface; a fixative container (20) having a female screw cap (22) provided on an outer circumference; and an inner cap member (30) disposed between the lower container (11) and the upper container (21) and having a plurality of fixative movement holes (33), wherein, depending on the fastening position of the male screw portion (12) to the female screw cap (22), the movement of the fixative between the living tissue container (10) and the fixative container (20) is blocked at a first position and a second position, and the movement of the fixative is enabled between the first position and the second position.

[0002]

[0003] Biopsy tissues isolated from a patient for clinical purposes are transported in special containers until the next procedure. These containers typically contain a fixative, specifically formalin, that safely preserves the tissue. Therefore, biopsy tissue containers must have a special structure to prevent doctors and nurses from being exposed to the toxic substance formalin during their handling.

[0004] Previously, various structures of biotissue storage containers that can achieve this purpose have been introduced in patents such as Patent No. 10-1744232 (May 31, 2017), Patent No. 10-2223879 (February 26, 2021), Patent No. 10-2380025 (March 24, 2022), and Patent No. 10-2597772 (October 31, 2023).

[0005] Attached Figure 1 cites the tissue storage container (100) of the above-mentioned Patent No. 10-1744232, and is composed of a first container (115) containing a fixative, a first stopper (110) sealing the top of the first container (115), a second container (132) coupled to the bottom of the first container (115) to contain living tissue, and a second stopper (120) sealing the bottom of the second container (132).

[0006] A circular hole is formed in the center of the bottom of the first container (115) through which the fixative passes, and the second container (132) is provided with a sealing protrusion (135) corresponding to the circular hole. Accordingly, the sealing protrusion (135) that rotates the screw valve (130) along the screw thread (138) of the second container (132) opens and closes the circular hole as it rises and falls.

[0007] [Prior Art Literature]

[0008] [Patent Document]

[0009] (Patent Document 1) Republic of Korea Patent No. 10-1744232 (May 31, 2017)

[0010] (Patent Document 2) Republic of Korea Patent No. 10-2223879 (February 26, 2021)

[0011] (Patent Document 3) Republic of Korea Patent No. 10-2380025 (March 24, 2022)

[0012] (Patent Document 4) Republic of Korea Patent No. 10-2597772 (October 31, 2023)

[0013]

[0014] As discussed above, conventional biotissue storage containers can be divided into structures having a sealing membrane to block the movement of the fixative inside the container, such as Patent No. 10-2223879, and structures without a sealing membrane, such as Patent No. 10-1744232. Among these, storage containers having a sealing membrane have the disadvantage of having a relatively difficult manufacturing process and the risk of fragments of the sealing membrane being included in the biotissue during the process of breaking the sealing membrane.

[0015] In addition, in the case of a storage container without a sealing film, as introduced in the attached drawing 1, the movement path of the fixative is opened and closed by using the rotation of the screw valve (130) coupled to the screw thread (138) of the second container (132). However, there was a criticism that it is inconvenient to use because the screw valve (130) must be rotated in one direction to open the movement path and then rotated in the opposite direction when closing the movement path.

[0016] The object of the present invention is to improve upon the shortcomings of the prior art, and to provide a new structured safety container for storing living tissue that is convenient to use, without using a sealing film to separate the fixative, and further, in which the rotation direction for opening and then closing the passage for moving the fixative is arranged in one direction.

[0017]

[0018] The safety container for storing living tissue according to the present invention is:

[0019] A biotissue container (10) having a lower container (11) with a sealed bottom, a screw portion (12) provided on the upper outer surface of the lower container (11), and an insertion stopper (13) protruding from the middle portion of the inner surface of the lower container (11);

[0020] A fixed solution container (20) having an upper container (21) that is spaced apart and inserted into the upper surface of the lower container (11) and has a sealed upper surface, a female screw cap (22) provided on the outer surface of the upper container (21) and coupled to the male screw portion (12), and a blocking sleeve (23) arranged concentrically at a predetermined interval (G1) on the lower inner surface of the upper container (21);

[0021] It is composed of an inner cap member (30) having an inner cylinder (31) that is inserted tightly between the lower container (11) and the upper container (21) up to an insertion blocking jaw (13), an inner blocking plate (32) that blocks the bottom surface of the inner cylinder (31), a plurality of fixing liquid movement holes (33) that penetrate along the outer line of the inner blocking plate (32), and an upper blocking plate (34) in the shape of a disc that is arranged at a position spaced a predetermined distance upward from the inner blocking plate (32) so as to have an outer diameter corresponding to the inner diameter of the blocking sleeve (23);

[0022] According to the fastening position of the male screw portion (12) to the female screw cap (22), in the first position, the inner surface (23a) of the blocking sleeve (23) is in close contact with the outer surface (34a) of the upper blocking plate (34) to block the movement of the fixative, and in the second position, the lower part (21a) of the upper container (21) and the lower part (23b) of the blocking sleeve (23) block the fixative movement hole (33), and between the first position and the second position, the fixative is configured to allow movement between the biological tissue container (10) and the fixative container (20).

[0023]

[0024] The safety container for storing living tissue according to the present invention is configured so that movement of the fixative is blocked at the first position and the second position, and movement of the fixative is allowed between the first position and the second position, depending on the fastening positions of the male screw portion (12) provided in the living tissue container (10) and the female screw cap (22) provided in the fixative container (20).

[0025] Therefore, when the male screw part (12) and female screw cap (22) are fastened in the first position, the movement of the fixing liquid is opened by rotating them in one direction, and when they are continuously rotated in the same direction, the movement of the fixing liquid is blocked again in the second position, which provides the effect of convenient use.

[0026]

[0027] Figure 1 is a drawing illustrating a conventional biotissue storage container.

[0028] Figure 2 is a perspective view of a safety container for storing biological tissue according to the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the safety container of Figure 2.

[0030] Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the safety container of Figure 2 in a state where the movement of the fixing liquid is blocked at the first position.

[0031] Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the safety container of Figure 2 in a state where the movement of the fixing liquid is blocked at the second position.

[0032] Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the safety container of Fig. 2 in a state where the passage for moving the fixed liquid is open between the first position and the second position.

[0033]

[0034] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail using the attached drawings. However, since the attached drawings illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention, the scope of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. Furthermore, even if it is essential for implementing the present invention, a detailed description will be omitted for elements that are introduced in prior art or can be easily implemented by those skilled in the art based on known techniques.

[0035] In addition, in the present invention, each component is described by distinguishing between the 'upper part (top)' and the 'lower part (bottom)' based on the drawing. In addition, 'including' a component means that, in addition to the specified components, other components may be included as needed.

[0036] The safety container for storing living tissue according to the present invention is composed of a living tissue container (10), a fixative container (20), and an internal cap member (30), as shown in the attached drawings 2 to 4.

[0037] First, the biotissue container (10) includes a cylindrical lower container (11) with a sealed bottom. A male screw portion (12) is provided on the upper outer diameter surface of the lower container (11), and an insertion stopper (13) protrudes from the middle portion of the inner diameter surface thereof.

[0038] Next, the fixed solution container (20) includes an upper container (21) having a cylindrical shape with a sealed upper surface, as shown in Fig. 4. The lower portion of the upper container (21) can be inserted into the upper surface of the lower container (11). At this time, the inner surface of the lower container (11) and the outer surface of the upper container (21) are spaced apart from each other so as to maintain a slight gap.

[0039] The outer circumferential surface of the upper container (21) is provided with a female screw cap (22) coupled to the male screw portion (12), and the lower inner diameter surface of the upper container (21) is provided with a blocking sleeve (23) along the circumferential direction. The blocking sleeve (23) is arranged concentrically with the upper container (21) at a predetermined distance (G1), and the upper end is supported on the inner wall of the upper container (21).

[0040] The above-mentioned fixative container (20) may be configured as a two-piece structure in which a container stopper (24) is installed on the upper surface of the inner container (21). The container stopper (24) may be coupled to the upper end of the inner container (21) in a forced insertion structure to maintain airtightness. If the above-mentioned fixative container (20) is configured as a two-piece structure including the container stopper (24), it has the advantage of being easy to injection mold.

[0041] The inner cap member (30) includes an inner cylinder (31) that is tightly inserted between the lower container (11) and the upper container (21), as shown in Fig. 4, and an inner blocking plate (32) that blocks the bottom surface of the inner cylinder (31). That is, the gap between the lower container (11) and the upper container (21) is the same as the thickness of the inner cylinder (31), and the inner cylinder (31) can be inserted into the lower container (11) until the lower end (31a) is caught by the insertion blocking jaw (13) of the biotissue container (10).

[0042] In addition, the lower part (31a) of the inner cylinder (31) may have a structure in which a catch (37) corresponding to the insertion blocking jaw (13) of the bio-tissue container (10) protrudes. Therefore, when the bio-tissue container (10) is rotated while the catch (37) of the inner cylinder (31) is engaged with the insertion blocking jaw (13) of the bio-tissue container (10), the inner cap member (30) also rotates together.

[0043] The inner blocking plate (32) has a plurality of fixative moving holes (33) extending along the outer line and adjacent to the lower end (31a) of the inner cylinder (31). In addition, a disc-shaped upper blocking plate (34) is arranged at a predetermined distance upward from the inner blocking plate (32). The upper blocking plate (34) has an outer diameter that is the same as the inner diameter of the blocking sleeve (23) provided in the fixative container (20).

[0044] The inner cap member (30) has a cylindrical upward coupling portion (35) protruding upward from the central portion of the inner blocking plate (32) and a cylindrical downward coupling portion (36) protruding downward from the central portion of the upper blocking plate (34), and may have a two-piece structure in which the upper blocking plate (34) is coupled to the upper portion of the inner blocking plate (32) by coupling the upward coupling portion (35) and the downward coupling portion (36). If the inner cap member (30) is formed with such a two-piece structure, it has the advantage of being easy to injection mold.

[0045] According to the safety container of the present invention, the movement of the fixative between the biological tissue container (10) and the fixative container (20) can be blocked or allowed depending on the fastening position of the male screw portion (12) to the female screw cap (22).

[0046] That is, as shown in Fig. 4, when the lower part (31a) of the inner cylinder (31) is in close contact with the insertion blocking jaw (13) of the biotissue container (10), and the upper part (12a) of the male screw part (12) enters the middle part of the female screw cap (22), the inner diameter surface (23a) of the blocking sleeve (23) is in close contact with the outer diameter surface (34a) of the upper blocking plate (34), thereby blocking the movement of the fixative.

[0047] And in the second position where the upper part (12a) of the male screw part (12) is fully inserted into the female screw cap (22) as shown in Fig. 5, the lower part (21a) of the upper container (21) and the lower part (23b) of the blocking sleeve (23) are in close contact with the fixing liquid movement hole (33) to block the movement of the fixing liquid.

[0048] In addition, when the fastening position of the male screw part (12) to the female screw cap (22) is between the first position and the second position, as shown in Fig. 6, the fixative movement hole (33) is opened, and the fixative can be moved between the biological tissue container (10) and the fixative container (20) as shown by the arrow.

[0049] That is, when the male screw part (12) of the bio-tissue container (10) is fastened to the female screw cap (22) of the fixative container (20) while the bio-tissue container (10) and the fixative container (20) are separated, the movement of the fixative is initially blocked (see Fig. 4). In this state, when the male screw part (12) is fastened further into the female screw cap (22), the passage for the fixative is opened (see Fig. 6), and when the male screw part (13) is fastened all the way in, the movement of the fixative is blocked again (see Fig. 5).

[0050] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, sliding projections corresponding to each other in the circumferential direction may be provided on the inner surface (23a) of the blocking sleeve (23) of the fixing solution container (20) and the outer surface (34a) of the upper blocking plate (34) of the inner cap member (30). The sliding projections refer to a structure that allows them to slide over each other when a user presses them with an appropriate amount of force.

[0051] The above sliding chin increases the contact surface between the blocking sleeve (23) and the upper blocking plate (34) at the first position (Fig. 4), thereby enhancing the sealing against the fixing liquid. In addition, the user can recognize whether the blocking sleeve (23) and the upper blocking plate (34) are connected through the sensation of the sliding chin sliding over each other.

[0052] In addition, as shown in Fig. 3, the blocking sleeve (23) of the fixative container (20) may be provided with an inclined surface (23c) whose lower thickness is thinner than its upper thickness between the inner surface (23a) and the lower portion (23b), and the inner blocking plate (32) of the inner cap member (30) may be provided with a peripheral wall (32a) and an inclined protrusion (32b) in the circumferential direction along the fixative moving hole (33).

[0053] Therefore, in the second position (Fig. 5), the lower part (21a) of the upper container (21) and the lower part (23b) of the blocking sleeve (23) are tightly inserted between the lower part (31a) of the inner cylinder (31) and the peripheral wall (32a) of the inner blocking plate (32), and at the same time, the inclined surface (23c) of the blocking sleeve (23) is tightly pressed against the inclined protrusion (32b) of the inner blocking plate (32), thereby forming a double airtight structure.

[0054] At this time, the lower part (21a) of the upper container (21) and the lower part (23b) of the blocking sleeve (23) are spaced apart from each other at a predetermined distance (G), so that they can be inserted tightly with some elasticity between the lower part (31a) of the inner cylinder (31) and the peripheral wall (32a) of the inner blocking plate (32).

[0055]

[0056] Below, one example of the use of the safety container for storing biological tissue according to the present invention is described. However, this example does not limit the scope of the present invention.

[0057] First, with the bio-tissue container (10), the fixative container (20), and the inner cap member (30) separated, the fixative container (20) is turned over so that the container stopper (24) faces downwards, and an appropriate amount of fixative is filled into the inner container (21). Then, the inner cap member (30) is turned over and combined on top of the fixative container (20), and the inside of the blocking sleeve (23) is blocked with the upper blocking plate (34).

[0058] At this time, the inner surface (23a) of the blocking sleeve (23) and the outer surface (34a) of the upper blocking plate (34) are provided with corresponding sliding grooves, so that the upper blocking plate (34) can be firmly connected to the inside of the blocking sleeve (23).

[0059] Next, the male screw part (12) of the bio-tissue container (10) is inserted into the female screw cap (22) of the fixative container (20). At this time, care is taken to ensure that the insertion blocking jaw (13) of the bio-tissue container (10) does not push up against the lower part (31a) of the internal cylinder (31) of the internal cap member (30) and maintain the first position where the movement of the fixative is blocked.

[0060] The storage container of the present invention may be provided to the user in a state in which the fixative container (20) filled with the fixative and the living tissue container (10) are separated from each other, or may be provided to the user in a state in which they are connected to each other at the first position as described above.

[0061] A user, such as a doctor or nurse, injects a living tissue extracted from a patient into a living tissue container (10), connects it to a fixative container (20), and then, with the fixative container (20) facing upward, sufficiently tightens the male screw portion (12) and the female screw cap (22) so that the fastening position of the male screw portion (12) to the female screw cap (22) passes through the first position (Fig. 4).

[0062] In this way, the upper blocking plate (34) blocking the inside of the blocking sleeve (23) of the fixative container (20) is separated, and as shown in Fig. 6, the fixative stored inside the fixative container (20) flows into the living tissue container (10) through the fixative moving hole (33). Then, the living tissue in the living tissue container (10) is immersed in the fixative.

[0063] In this state, when the male screw part (12) of the bio-tissue container (10) is fully fastened to the female screw cap (22) of the fixative container (20) so as to reach the second position, the lower part (21a) of the upper container (21) and the lower part (23b) of the blocking sleeve (23) block the fixative transfer hole (33) as shown in Fig. 5. The bio-tissue can be stored immersed in the fixative inside the bio-tissue container (10) until the next procedure is performed, or can be transferred to another location.

[0064] In this way, the safety container for storing living tissue according to the present invention has the effect of being convenient to use because when the male screw part (12) and the female screw cap (22) are fastened at a first position and rotated in one direction, the movement of the fixative is opened, and when they are continuously rotated in the same direction, the movement of the fixative is blocked again at a second position.

[0065] <Explanation of symbols>

[0066] (10) Biotissue container (11) Lower container

[0067] (12,12a) Screw (13) Insertion stop jaw

[0068] (20) Fixed solution container (21,21a) Upper container

[0069] (22) Female screw cap (23,23a,23b,23c) Blocking sleeve

[0070] (24) Container stopper (30) Inner cap member

[0071] (31,31a) Inner cylinder (32,32a,32b) Inner blocking plate

[0072] (33) Fixed liquid moving hole (34,34a) Upper blocking plate

[0073] (35) Up-coupling section (36) Down-coupling section

[0074] (37) Stumbling block

[0075] (G1) Gap between upper container (21) and blocking sleeve (23)

Claims

1. A biotissue container (10) having a lower container (11) with a sealed bottom, a screw portion (12) provided on the upper outer surface of the lower container (11), and an insertion stopper (13) protruding from the middle portion of the inner surface of the lower container (11); A fixed solution container (20) having an upper container (21) that is spaced apart and inserted into the upper surface of the lower container (11) and has a sealed upper surface, a female screw cap (22) provided on the outer surface of the upper container (21) and coupled to the male screw portion (12), and a blocking sleeve (23) arranged concentrically at a predetermined interval (G1) on the lower inner surface of the upper container (21); It is composed of an inner cap member (30) having an inner cylinder (31) that is inserted tightly between the lower container (11) and the upper container (21) up to an insertion blocking jaw (13), an inner blocking plate (32) that blocks the bottom surface of the inner cylinder (31), a plurality of fixing liquid movement holes (33) that penetrate along the outer line of the inner blocking plate (32), and an upper blocking plate (34) in the shape of a disc that is arranged at a position spaced a predetermined distance upward from the inner blocking plate (32) so as to have an outer diameter corresponding to the inner diameter of the blocking sleeve (23); A safety container for storing living tissue, characterized in that, depending on the fastening position of the male screw portion (12) to the female screw cap (22), in the first position, the inner diameter surface (23a) of the blocking sleeve (23) is in close contact with the outer diameter surface (34a) of the upper blocking plate (34) to block the movement of the fixative, and in the second position, the lower part (21a) of the upper container (21) and the lower part (23b) of the blocking sleeve (23) block the fixative movement hole (33), and the fixative is configured to allow movement between the living tissue container (10) and the fixative container (20) between the first position and the second position.

2. In the first paragraph, a safety container for storing living tissue, characterized in that the fixative container (20) is provided with a container stopper (24) that opens and closes the upper surface of the inner container (21).

3. In the first paragraph, a safety container for storing living tissue, characterized in that the inner surface (23a) of the blocking sleeve (23) and the outer surface (34a) of the upper blocking plate (34) are each provided with a sliding ring that can slide over each other by a force applied by the user in the circumferential direction.

4. In the first paragraph, the blocking sleeve (23) of the fixative container (20) is provided with an inclined surface (23c) between the inner surface (23a) and the lower end (23b), and the inner blocking plate (32) of the inner cap member (30) is provided with a peripheral wall (32a) and an inclined protrusion (32b) along the fixative moving hole (33) in the circumferential direction, so that in the second position, the lower end (21a) of the upper container (21) and the lower end (23b) of the blocking sleeve (23) are tightly inserted between the lower end (31a) of the inner cylinder (31) and the peripheral wall (32a) of the inner blocking plate (32), and at the same time, the inner surface (23a) of the blocking sleeve (23) is tightly inserted against the inclined protrusion (32b) of the inner blocking plate (32), which is characterized by a double airtight structure.

5. In the first paragraph, the inner cap member (30) has a cylindrical upward coupling portion (35) protruding upwardly from the central portion of the inner blocking plate (32) and a cylindrical downward coupling portion (36) protruding downwardly from the central portion of the upper blocking plate (34), and the upper blocking plate (34) is supported on the upper side of the inner blocking plate (32) by the coupling of the upward coupling portion (35) and the downward coupling portion (36).

6. In the first paragraph, a safety container for storing biological tissue, characterized in that a catch (37) corresponding to an insertion blocking jaw (13) of a biological tissue container (10) is protruded from the lower part (31a) of the inner cylinder (31).

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