CN111151312B

CN111151312B - Sealing gasket

Info

Publication number: CN111151312B
Application number: CN201910134432.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 余伟明
Original assignee: GENE ERA BIOTECH CO Ltd
Current assignee: GENE ERA BIOTECH CO Ltd
Priority date: 2013-09-13
Filing date: 2014-09-15
Publication date: 2021-12-31
Anticipated expiration: 2034-09-15
Also published as: WO2015035953A1; CN106062169B; CN111151312A; CN111013673B; CN106062169A; CN111013673A

Abstract

An array of sealing caps, a sealing gasket, a sample tube strip, and a multi-well plate assembly are provided. The sealing cap array comprises a plurality of sealing caps (101), each sealing cap having a first end (105) and a second end (111) opposite the first end, whereby the sealing caps are detachably fixed to a support plate (103) and adapted for use with sample tubes (551) or multiwell plates.

Description

Sealing gasket

The present application is a divisional application of the patent application entitled sealing cap array, gasket, sample tube strip, and multi-well plate assembly, filed as 2014-9-15 and filed as 201480062388.6.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of laboratory sample containing devices, in particular to a sealing gasket.

Background

Gaskets are known in practice. Generally, in these known gaskets, the support plate and the sealing element are made of one material as a whole and are permanently connected to each other. Such gaskets are used in particular in conjunction with tools for storing reagents, such as sample tubes, microtiter plates and "deep well" blocks. However, since the sealing members are coupled to each other by the gasket, the sample tube sealed by the sealing members is difficult to separate.

So that the sealing element is simply removed or separated from the sealing gasket has been tried in the prior art. For example, U.S. patent No. 6,776,964 discloses a gasket having a separable sealing element. The gasket comprises a support plate with an opening and a sealing element made of different materials. The sealing element has a peripheral groove in which the edge of the opening in the support plate is received so that the sealing element can be detached from the support plate. However, the gasket needs to be further improved.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention provides an array of sealing caps, wherein the sealing caps are detachable from a support plate carrying the sealing caps. The use of the sealing cap array in sample tubes, sample tube strips, or multiwell plates enables the opening of sample tubes sealed by the sealing cap array independently of one another and effectively makes it easier to remove the sealing caps from the sample tubes.

In one aspect of the invention, a sealing cap array is provided. The sealing cap array includes a plurality of sealing caps, each of the plurality of sealing caps having (1) a first end comprising a generally cylindrical member for engaging and sealing sample tubes, and (2) a second end opposite the first end and having a plurality of protruding rods, each of the plurality of protruding rods being removably inserted into a corresponding hole in the support plate, whereby the plurality of sealing caps are detachably secured to the support plate and symmetrically arranged in an array such that axes of their generally cylindrical members are parallel. As such, any one of the plurality of sealing caps may be separated from the support plate under the tensile force. When the sealing cap array is used to seal a plurality of sample tubes, the support plate may be pulled off and separated from the plurality of sealing caps in the event that the remaining sealing caps seal the sample tubes. As a result, the sample tubes can be separately processed in a sealed state. This significantly improves the ease of use of the sample tubes and avoids cross-contamination between different sample tubes.

In another aspect of the invention, a gasket is provided. The gasket includes a support plate having a plurality of openings with a plurality of apertures arranged discretely about or against the openings; the gasket further includes a plurality of sealing caps detachably fixed to the support plate at the plurality of openings, respectively. Each sealing cap has a first end and a second end opposite the first end, the first end including a first generally cylindrical member for engaging and sealing a sample tube, the second end including a second generally cylindrical member inserted in one of the openings in the support plate, and a plurality of rivets, each rivet being removably riveted in one of the plurality of holes around or against, respectively, the opening of the support plate. In some embodiments, each rivet of the seal cap has a deformable head and a tang connecting the deformable head and the seal cap, the head deforming to separate the seal cap from the support plate through one of the holes in the support plate under sufficient force.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, a sample tube strip is provided. The sample tube strip comprises a plurality of hollow tubes arranged symmetrically in a linear array, whereby their axes are parallel, each hollow tube having a substantially cylindrical upper wall portion defining at its edge portion a nozzle of the hollow tube. The sample tube tape further comprises a linear array of a plurality of sealing caps, each of the linear array of the plurality of sealing caps having (1) a first end comprising a generally cylindrical member for engaging and sealing a nozzle of a central one of the plurality of hollow tubes, and (2) a second end opposite the first end and having a plurality of male stems, each of the plurality of male stems being removably inserted into a corresponding aperture in the support plate, whereby the plurality of sealing caps are detachably secured to the support plate and symmetrically arranged in an array such that axes of their generally cylindrical members are parallel.

In another aspect of the present invention, a multi-well plate assembly or a multi-tube assembly is provided. The multi-well plate assembly includes a plate body having a plurality of wells therein, each well having a well aperture, a closed bottom and side walls extending therebetween, wherein at least one of the plurality of wells has a generally cylindrical upper wall portion defining the well aperture at an edge portion thereof. The multi-well plate assembly further comprises a linear array of a plurality of sealing caps, each of the linear array of a plurality of sealing caps having (1) a first end comprising a generally cylindrical member for engaging and sealing the wells of the plurality of wells, and (2) a second end opposite the first end, and the second end having a plurality of protruding rods, each of the plurality of protruding rods being inserted into a corresponding hole in the support plate, whereby the plurality of sealing caps are detachably secured to the support plate, and symmetrically arranged in an array such that the axes of their generally cylindrical members are parallel.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, a method of manufacturing an array of sealing caps as described above is provided. The method comprises the following steps: providing a support plate having a plurality of holes therein; integrally molding a plurality of sealing caps over the support plate. Each of the plurality of sealing caps has a first end that includes a generally cylindrical member for engaging and sealing a sample tube. The sealing cap also has a second end opposite the first end, the second end having a plurality of protruding rods, each of the plurality of protruding rods being removably inserted into a corresponding hole in the support plate, whereby the plurality of sealing caps are detachably secured to the support plate and symmetrically arranged in an array such that the axes of their generally cylindrical members are parallel.

The foregoing and other advantages and features of the invention and embodiments thereof will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate preferred and exemplary embodiments of the invention.

Drawings

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of an array of sealing caps in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1B is another perspective view of the array of sealing caps in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1C is a side view of the array of sealing caps in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1D illustrates an embodiment of the sealing cap secured to the support plate in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1E illustrates another embodiment of a sealing cap secured to a support plate in accordance with another inventive embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates another embodiment of a support plate for supporting the array of sealing caps in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a sample tube strip for use with the array of sealing caps of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a gasket according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4B is another perspective view of the gasket in FIG. 4A;

FIG. 4C is a plan view of the gasket in FIG. 4A;

FIG. 5A is a perspective view of an array of sample tubes sealed by the gasket of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 5B is a perspective view of an array of sample tubes sealed by the gasket of FIG. 4A when the support plate is removed from the sealing cap;

fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a multi-well plate for use with the gasket of fig. 4A-4C.

Detailed Description

Referring to fig. 1-3, an example of an array of sealing caps 100 is shown. The sealing cap array 100 may be used to seal sample tubes, sample tube strips, multi-well plates, multi-tube arrays, or other tube array structures. The sealing cap array 100 includes a plurality of sealing caps 101 arranged in an array. For example, as shown in fig. 1A-1C, the plurality of sealing caps may include 8 sealing caps arranged in a linear array. In other embodiments, the plurality of sealing caps may be arranged in an array of at least two rows and one column. It will be clear to those skilled in the art that the number and arrangement of the sealing caps included in the sealing cap array may vary based on different embodiments of the present invention.

The sealing cap array 100 is placed on top of the support plate 103. Each sealing cap 101 has a first end 105 having a first generally cylindrical member 107 for engaging and sealing a sample tube (not shown). The first generally cylindrical member 107 may be a generally cylindrical outer rim or stem having a stopper body sized and shaped for sealing a nozzle, e.g., removably inserted into a nozzle of a sample tube to seal the sample tube. Alternatively, when the generally cylindrical member 107 is a cylindrical outer rim, the sealed tube may be removably inserted into the outer rim and engage the inner wall of the outer rim. The axes of the first generally cylindrical member 107 are parallel to each other such that a plurality of sealing caps 101 may be inserted into a plurality of sample tubes (not shown) arranged in parallel in an array. For example, a plurality of sample tubes may be placed on a container or rack (not shown) with the mouths of the sample tubes at the top and substantially in one plane. Each sealing cap 101 is pressed into the corresponding nozzle as a plug such that its first end 105 contacts the inner wall of the sample tube defining the nozzle to provide a closure and seal, preferably a fluid-tight seal. In some examples, each sealing cap 101 has at least one sealing ring 109 on the outer wall of its first generally cylindrical member 107, thereby further improving the sealing contact between the first end 105 and the nozzle being sealed.

Each sealing cap 101 further includes a second end 111 opposite the first end 105. The second end 111 has a plurality of protruding rods 115, and the protruding rods 115 are respectively inserted into a plurality of holes 117 on the support plate 103. In this way, the second ends 111 may be detachably fixed to the support plate 103 and symmetrically arranged in an array. In some examples, the second end 111 may have a second generally cylindrical member 119, such as a generally cylindrical outer rim, for example, that is connected to the first generally cylindrical member 107. The second substantially cylindrical member 109 may have a flange with a larger diameter than the first substantially cylindrical member 107 in at least a portion of its radial direction, such that the sealing cap 101 may not be pressed integrally into the opposing sample tube. In some embodiments, each sealing cap 101 may have a flange (not shown) at its second end 111 that serves as a pull point for removing the sealing cap 101 from a sealed sample tube.

A plurality of projecting rods 115 are spaced apart from one another and are arranged at the second end 111. For example, the male stems 115 are circumferentially arrayed on the second generally cylindrical member 119. As shown in fig. 1B, a plurality of holes 117 matched to the protruding rods 115 are arranged in a circular pattern on the support plate 103. As with the embodiment shown in fig. 1B, a second generally cylindrical member 119 may be inserted into the opening 121. Accordingly, the plurality of apertures 117 are circumferentially aligned along or adjacent to the opening 121. It should be noted that in some alternative embodiments, the second generally cylindrical member 119 may be a modified shape other than cylindrical, so long as the member can be removably inserted into the corresponding shape of the opening in the support plate. For example, the member may be conical or cubical in shape. In some embodiments, the plurality of holes 117 may be at least 4 holes, e.g., 6 or 8 holes, discretely spaced and surrounding the opening 121. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 2, in some embodiments, the support plate has no openings other than the plurality of holes 117. For example, the plurality of holes 117 may be circumferentially and discretely spaced on the support plate.

Fig. 1D and 1E show in more detail cross-sectional views of two examples of sealing caps fixed to a support plate fixed in 1A-1C.

Referring to fig. 1D, each of the protruding stems 115 of the sealing cap 101 has a diameter substantially the same as the inner diameter of each of the holes 117 on the support plate 103, such that the outer surface of the protruding stem 115 engages the inner surface of the hole 117. Thus, the engagement between the protruding rod 115 and the hole 117 forms a friction fit or interference fit, which prevents the seal cap 101 from separating from the support plate 103. Only a pulling force is applied to separate the sealing cap 101 from the support plate 103 that is sufficient to overcome the full friction or interference fit between the plurality of posts 115 and the plurality of holes 117, the sealing cap 101 can be removed or separated from the support plate 103.

Further reference is made to fig. 1E, which illustrates another example structure of the sealing cap. Each lug 115 'of the sealing cap 101' has a deformable head 131 'attached to the lug 115'. The deformable head 131 'may deform to pass through the corresponding aperture 117' when a pulling force of a magnitude sufficient to separate the sealing cap 101 'from the support plate 103' is applied. The protruding rod 115 'and the deformable head 131' may be connected together to function as a rivet, which significantly improves the connection between the sealing cap 101 'and the support plate 103'. In the embodiment shown in fig. 1E, the deformable head 131 'is a circular plate having a larger diameter than the aperture 117'. In some other examples, the deformable head 131' may be a generally hemispherical, spherical member, or have other suitable shapes. In some embodiments, deformable head 131' has a thickness of 1/4 or less that corresponds to the diameter of hole 117.

Still referring to fig. 1A-1C, the plurality of sealing caps 101 and support plate 103 have different compositions. In this way, for example, it becomes possible to use a material for the sealing cap 101 that exhibits properties suitable for sealing the inner surface of the sample tube to be sealed, and to manufacture the support plate from a material that exhibits properties suitable for removing the support plate from the sealing cap 101. Examples of the material forming the support plate 103 include, but are not limited to, polypropylene (PP), Polycarbonate (PC), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS), and Polystyrene (PS). The sealing cap 101 may be of a more resilient material such as silicone or silicone mixed with one or more polymeric materials (e.g., PC). Alternatively, the sealing layer may be made of one or more polymeric materials selected from the group consisting of Polyethylene (PE), in particular low density polyethylene or LDPE, Polyurethane (PU), Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU), thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), Thermoplastic Polyolefin (TPO), styrene thermoplastic elastomers (S-TPEs), thermoplastic rubber (TPR), hydrogenated styrene-butadiene block copolymer (SEBS), thermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV), polystyrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS), soft pvc (elpv) and the like. In a preferred embodiment, the sealing cap 101 may be constructed of silicone mixed with PC and the support plate 103 may be constructed of PC. The same PC material contained in the sealing cap 101 and the support plate 103 may improve the engagement of the sealing cap 101 and the support plate 103, but does not interfere with the removability of the sealing cap 101 from the support plate 103 when desired. In a particular embodiment, the support plate 103 may have a higher hardness than the plurality of sealing caps 101 as measured by ASTM D2240 measurement method. For example, the support plate 103 may have a hardness (ASTM D2240 measurement) that is at least 10 Shore A, such as 10-30 Shore A, higher than the plurality of sealing caps 101.

Various embodiments of the sealing cap array may be adapted to sample tube strips or multi-well plates, for example in industry standard formats, e.g., 36-, 48-, 96-, 192-, 384-well PCR plates. In essence, in a sample tube strip, a plurality (e.g. 4, 8 or 12) of hollow tubes may be symmetrically arranged in a linear array in one embodiment of the invention such that their axes are parallel. The connection of two adjacent hollow tubes may optionally be by a tie. An exemplary embodiment of a sample tube strip for the sealing cap array in fig. 1A is shown in fig. 3.

As shown in fig. 3, the sample tube strip 341 has a symmetrical linear arrangement of a plurality of hollow tube bodies 343. The axes of the plurality of hollow tubes 343 are parallel. Each hollow tube body 343 has a substantially cylindrical upper wall portion 345, and the upper wall portion 345 defines a nozzle 347 of the hollow tube body 343 at an edge portion thereof. The nozzles 347 will be respectively sealed by the sealing caps 101 of the sealing cap array 100 shown in fig. 1A. The plurality of hollow tubes may have a higher hardness than the sealing cap 101 as measured by ASTM D2240 measurement. In some embodiments, each seal cap is sized and shaped to form a friction or interference fit with the opposing nozzle 347 when the first end of the seal cap seals the respective nozzle 347. The friction or interference fit is greater than a predetermined magnitude so that the sealing cap can be separated from the support plate when the first end of the sealing cap contacts the corresponding hollow tube 343. In this manner, after the sample tube strip 341 is inserted into the hollow tube body 343, the support plate can be pulled off and separated from the plurality of sealing caps of the sealing cap array with the remaining sealing caps sealing the hollow tube body 343. As a result, the hollow tube bodies 343 of the sample tube band 341 can be separately processed in a sealed state. This significantly improves the convenience of using the sample tube strip 341 and avoids cross-contamination between different hollow tube bodies 343 of the sample tube strip 341.

Likewise, in a multi-well plate (microtiter plate), a plurality (e.g., 36, 48, 96, 192, 384) of hollow tubes may be arranged in a plurality of wells based on an industry standard format. Alternatively, for example, the array of sample tubes may be arranged in an array of at least 2 rows and at least one column of sample tubes, and may be placed on a container or rack. The sealing cap array of some embodiments may be configured in a gasket configuration to seal a multi-well plate or sample tube array. Fig. 4A-4C illustrate a gasket 400 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 5A-5B illustrate an array of sample tubes for use with the gasket of fig. 4A-4C. Fig. 6 shows a porous plate for use with the seal of fig. 4A-4C. In particular, in fig. 5A-5B, each discrete isolated hole in the support plate may be connected and merged as an opening in the middle. In some other embodiments, discrete isolation holes on the support plate may not be connected and merge with the opening in the middle, similar to the illustrated embodiment of fig. 1A and 2.

As shown in fig. 5A, each sample tube 551 of the sample tube array has a hollow tube body 553 for holding either a solid body or a liquid body. The hollow tube 553 has a closed bottom 555 and its top mouth (not shown) defined by a generally cylindrical upper wall 559. Similarly, as shown in fig. 6, the multi-well plate includes a plate body 671 having a plurality of wells 673 therein. Each well 673 has a well opening 675, a closed bottom 677 and sidewalls 679 extending therebetween. At least one of the plurality of wells 673 has a substantially cylindrical upper wall portion 681, the upper wall portion 681 defining a well opening 675 at an edge portion thereof. The plate body 671 may have a higher hardness than the seal cap shown in fig. 4A-4C, as measured by ASTM D2240 measurement. The multi-well plate in fig. 6 is a tray containing 96 identical sample wells having a width of 35/8 inches and a length of 5 inches and in a rectangular array of 8 wells by 12 wells. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that embodiments of the present invention may be used with other numbers of wells, such as 192 or 384 wells, as well as other multi-well plates in arrays, which are not described in detail herein.

Referring to fig. 4A-4C, the gasket 400 includes a support plate 403 having a plurality of openings 404, each of the plurality of openings 404 having a plurality of apertures 417 discontinuously disposed about the opening 404. In some embodiments, opening 404 may be omitted and plurality of holes 417 arranged in a similar pattern in support plate 403.

The gasket 400 further includes a plurality of sealing caps 401 detachably fixed to the support plate 403 at a plurality of openings 404, respectively. Each sealing cap 401 has a first end 405 having a first generally cylindrical member 407 for engaging and sealing a nozzle of one sample tube of the array of sample tubes shown in fig. 5A-5B or a well port of a well of the multi-well plate shown in fig. 6. The first generally cylindrical member 407 may be a generally cylindrical outer rim or rod of the obturator core shaped and sized for insertion into a nozzle or trap opening to be sealed. The axes of the first generally cylindrical member 407 are parallel to each other. Each sealing cap 401 is pressed as a plug into the opposing spout or trap opening such that its first end 405 comes into contact with the inner wall of the spout or trap opening to provide a closure and seal, preferably a fluid tight seal. In some embodiments, each sealing cap 401 has at least one sealing ring 409 at the outer wall of the first generally cylindrical member 407, thus further improving the sealing contact between the first end 405 and the orifice or well. In some examples, each sealing cap 401 may have a flange 423 at its second end that serves as a pull point for removing the sealing cap from the corresponding orifice or trap.

Each sealing cap 401 further includes a second end 411 opposite the first end 205. The second end 411 has a plurality of rivets (not shown) to be riveted or inserted into the plurality of holes 417, respectively. Each rivet has a deformable head that deforms to pass through the opposing holes upon application of a pulling force sufficient to separate sealing cap 401 from backing plate 403. The second end 411 also has a protruding stem (not shown) that connects the deformable head to the sealing cap 401.

When the first end 405 of the sealing cap 401 seals against the opposing orifice or trap, a friction or interference fit is created therebetween. In some examples, the friction or interference fit is greater than a predetermined magnitude, such that the sealing cap 401 may be separated from the support plate 403. In this manner, as shown in fig. 5, after the insertion of the sample tube array or the multi-well plate, in the case where the sealing cap 401 remains to seal the tube body, the support plate 403 can be pulled away and separated from the sealing cap 401 of the sealing cap array 400. Thus, the sample tube array or the multi-well plate can be separately processed in a sealed state. Thereby significantly improving the ease of use of the sample tube array or multiwell plate and avoiding cross-contamination between different sample tubes or wells.

The sealing cap array of the present invention can be manufactured by the following process: providing a support plate having a plurality of holes therein; and integrally molding a plurality of sealing caps over the support plate. The support plate and the sealing cap of the present invention may be manufactured separately by existing processes, such as injection molding. The support plate and the array of sealing caps may then be further manufactured and bonded to each other by, for example, mechanical pressing (e.g., by pressing the protruding stems of the sealing caps into the holes of the support plate). Alternatively, the support plate and the array of sealing caps may be integrated together by a thermoforming process, for example. In some preferred embodiments, the second ends of the plurality of sealing caps may be heated to at least the bend forming temperature of the plurality of sealing caps. Second ends of the plurality of seal caps are then pressed against the support plate such that at least a portion of each second end is able to extrude into an opposing aperture when the plurality of seal caps are at a bend forming temperature. The second ends of the plurality of sealing caps are then cooled such that the intruding portion of each of the second ends of the plurality of sealing caps is within the opposing plurality of apertures, respectively. A nose bar or an additional deformable head, respectively, may then be formed in the bore.

All publications and patent application publications in this specification are indicative of the level of skill in the art to which this specification pertains. All publications and patent application publications mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. The mere description of the present disclosure and patent application does not constitute an admission that the prior art forms part of the present application.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications may be practiced within the purview of this invention.

Claims

1. A gasket, comprising: a support plate having a plurality of openings, each opening having a plurality of apertures arranged discretely about or against the opening; a plurality of sealing caps detachably fixed to the support plate at the plurality of openings, respectively; each sealing cap having a first end including a first generally cylindrical member for engaging and sealing a sample tube, and a second end opposite the first end, wherein the second end has a second generally cylindrical member inserted through one of the plurality of openings in the support plate, and a plurality of rivets each removably riveted in one of the plurality of holes around or against the opening in the support plate, respectively;

each rivet of the sealing cap has a deformable head and a stem connecting the deformable head and the sealing cap, and under sufficient force, the deformable head of the sealing cap deforms to separate the sealing cap from the support plate through the corresponding hole in the support plate;

the deformable head is a circular plate having a larger diameter than the hole through which it passes;

each sealing cap is sized and shaped to form a friction or interference fit with a corresponding sample tube when the first end of the sealing cap seals the sample tube, such that the sealing cap is separable from the support plate when the first end of the sealing cap contacts the sealed sample tube.

2. A gasket according to claim 1, wherein each opening has at least 4 holes spaced evenly around or against the opening.

3. The gasket of claim 1, wherein each sealing cap has a flange at its second end that serves as a pull point for removing the sealing cap from a corresponding sample tube.

4. The gasket of claim 1 wherein said support plate has a higher hardness than the plurality of sealing caps as measured according to astm d2240 measurement.

5. The gasket of claim 1 wherein a plurality of sealing caps and the support plate have different compositions.

6. The gasket of claim 5 wherein the plurality of sealing caps are comprised of silicone mixed with polycarbonate and the support plate is comprised of polycarbonate.