Holder for culture plates with de-nesting feature

摘要

A holding structure for holding a plurality of culture plates in a stacked arrangement includes a feature for de-nesting the bottom culture plate from the plate above it. The de-nesting feature is preferably a structure which urges a plate to move laterally relative to the plate above it. The de-nesting of the bottom culture plate from the adjacent culture plate facilitates withdrawal of the bottom culture plate from the base via a robotic plate transfer mechanism. The de-nesting feature can be entirely passive, such as ramps formed in the base of the holding structure.

主权项

1. An apparatus for holding a plurality of culture plates in a stacked arrangement in which the culture plates are placed vertically above each other in a stack, the stacked arrangement of culture plates including a bottom plate in the stacked arrangement, wherein the culture plates contain nesting features wherein an upper portion of one culture plate is in a nested relationship with an adjacent culture plate by virtue of the upper portion being received within a bottom portion of the adjacent culture plate in the stacked arrangement, the apparatus comprising:
a holder holding the stacked arrangement of culture plates; the holder having a base, the base defining an opening wherein the bottom culture plate may be withdrawn from the base; wherein the base further comprises a structure passively and completely de-nesting the bottom culture plate from the adjacent culture plate by moving the bottom culture plate laterally such that the upper region of the bottom culture plate is no longer received with the bottom portion of the adjacent culture plate while retaining the bottom culture plate within the holder thereby facilitating withdrawal of the bottom culture plate from the base via the opening.