US-12616642-B2 - Curved blood cassette system

US12616642B2US 12616642 B2US12616642 B2US 12616642B2US-12616642-B2

Abstract

A cylindrical container for holding one or more articles, such as blood bags. The cylindrical container may hold multiple curved article containers comprising the one or more articles arranged in a circle. The cylindrical holding container may embody a carousel shape for easy access to the curved article containers. The ends of the multiple curved article containers may overlap each other to nest into the cylindrical holding container. The cylindrical holding containers may be stackable. The cylindrical holding container may be placed in a cryogenic shipper or dewar, to secure and stabilize the articles within during transport.

Inventors

Bret Bollinger
Ben Lee

Assignees

CRYOPORT, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20230712

Claims (15)

1 . A holding container device comprising: a holding container axis; a plurality of article containers to contain a payload article within a chamber having a phase change material each comprising a first side and a second side, the first side and the second side being concentric relative to each other and joining together at a first end and at a second end opposite the first end, wherein the first end is positioned closer to the holding container axis than the second end; and a connection element comprising a plurality of gripping members with an open face wherein the open face of the gripping members are configured to selectively retain the first end and one of the plurality of sides of each of the plurality of article containers so that each first end of each article container is nested between the open face and the second end of an adjacent article container.
2 . The holding container device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of gripping members comprises one or more flanges, wherein each of the one or more flanges is shaped to retain a corresponding article containers to the holding container device.
3 . The holding container device of claim 1 , wherein the holding container device has a post member end and a post receiver end, wherein the post member end is configured to connect with the post receiver end of a second holding container device.
4 . The holding container device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of curved article containers are configured to stably secure and protect a blood bag.
5 . The holding container device of claim 1 , wherein the connection element is semi-rigid.
6 . The holding container device of claim 3 , wherein post member end and post receiver end are removably attached to the holding container device.
7 . A stackable article holding system comprising: a plurality of holding containers, each respective holding container comprising: a respective holding container axis; and a respective plurality of article containers to contain a payload article within a chamber having a phase change material, each respective article container of the respective holding container comprising a first side and a second side, the first side and the second side being concentric relative to each other and joining together at a first end and at a second end opposite the first end, wherein the respective first end is positioned closer to the respective holding container axis than the respective second end, and a connection element comprising a plurality of gripping members with an open face wherein the open face of the gripping members are configured to selectively retain the first end and one of the plurality of sides of each of the plurality of article containers so that each first end of each article container is nested between the open face and the second end of an adjacent article container wherein the plurality of holding containers is configured to vertically stack.
8 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the respective gripping member of the plurality of holding containers further comprises one or more flanges, wherein each of the one or more flanges is shaped to retain a corresponding article container to the holding container device.
9 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the holding container device has a post member end and a post receiver end, wherein the post member end is configured to connect with the post receiver end of a second holding container device.
10 . The system of claim 7 , wherein a respective curved article container of the respective plurality of curved article containers is configured to stably secure and protect a blood bag.
11 . A method of stacking article containers comprising: inserting an article into each of a plurality of article containers, wherein the plurality of article containers each have a first side and a second side, the first side and the second side being concentric relative to each other and joining together at a first end and at a second end opposite the first end and a connection element comprising a plurality of gripping members with an open face; attaching the plurality of article containers to each of a plurality of holding containers, wherein each of the plurality of holding containers has a holding container axis, and wherein the first end of each of the plurality of curved article containers is positioned closer to the holding container axis than the second end of each of the plurality of curved article containers and each first end of each article container is nested between the open face and the second end of an adjacent article container and stacking the plurality of holding containers.
12 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising inserting the plurality of holding containers into a cryogenic storage container.
13 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising removing one or more of the plurality of curved article containers from one or more of the plurality of holding containers.
14 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the article is a blood bag.
15 . A holding container device comprising: a connection element comprising a plurality of gripping troughs with an open face along the perimeter; a plurality of article containers to contain a payload article within a chamber having a phase change material, each comprising a first side and a second side, the first side and the second side being concentric relative to each other and joining together at a first end and at a second end opposite the first end, wherein the first end is positioned closer to the holding container axis than the second end wherein the first end of article containers are configured to partially engage with the gripping troughs and the second end of the article containers are configured to partially engage with the first end of a separate article container; wherein the open face of the gripping troughs are configured to selectively retain the first end and one of the plurality of sides of each of the plurality of article containers.

Description

FIELD This specification relates to a system, device or apparatus for cryogenically storing, transporting and/or shipping a liquid, such as blood, under cryogenic temperatures. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART Medical practitioners or professions may need to transport and store blood bags or other medical related articles at cold or even cryogenic temperatures. Commonly, these articles may be shipped or stored in cryogenic storage containers, such as dewars. The blood bags or other articles are commonly housed in frames, sometimes called “cassettes,” to hold the articles in place and carry multiple articles during shipment. Often metal cases or cassettes are used which stack multiple articles in a larger frame. The cassette stacking systems for shipping and storing blood bags and other articles comes with several issues. For example, in order to transport blood bags at cryogenic temperatures, metal cassettes for housing each of the blood bags, frames for holding multiple cassettes, frame dividers, as well as other secondary containment containers can be used. These items often use a great amount of space allocated for shipping blood bags. Further each of these items must be individually cleaned inventoried, cleaned, and maintained after each shipment. Further, in cassette and other metal storage systems, stacking of blood bags closely together may cause uneven cooling and storage at cryogenic temperatures, as some articles may be further in distance to the cooling materials. Additionally, during transport the blood bag cassette or storage holders do not fully protect the blood bags from shocks and vibrations. The blood bags may move or shake in transport as the current blood bag holding systems do not provide a secure environment to the prevent blood bags from damage during storage and transportation. Further, the blood bag cassettes make it difficult to identify and access the blood bags without unloading the entire contents of the cassette. Accordingly, there is a need for a system, device or apparatus to carry a plurality of articles, such as blood bags, that is more secure, more efficiently shaped, and easier to load and access individual blood bags. SUMMARY A holding container device is disclosed herein. In various embodiments, the holding container device comprises a holding container axis. The holding container may further comprise a plurality of curved article containers each comprising a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is positioned closer to the holding container axis than the second end. The holding container device may further comprise a main body, wherein each of the plurality of curved article containers are configured to removably attach to the main body. A stackable article holding system is disclosed herein. In various embodiments, the stackable article holding system may comprise a plurality of holding containers. The plurality of holding containers may comprise a holding container axis, and a plurality of curved article containers. In various embodiments, each of the curved article containers may comprise a first end and a second end. The first end may be positioned closer to the holding container axis than the second end. The plurality of holding containers may be configured to vertically stack. A method of stacking curved article containers is disclosed herein. In various embodiments, the method may include inserting an article into each of a plurality of curved article containers. The plurality of curved article containers may each have a first end and a second end. The method may include attaching the plurality of curved article containers to each of a plurality of holding containers. Each of the plurality of holding containers may comprise a holding container axis. The first end of each of the plurality of curved article containers may be positioned closer to the holding container axis than the second end of each of the plurality of curved article containers. The method may include stacking the plurality of holding containers. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. Component parts shown in the drawings are not necessarily to scale and may be exaggerated to better illustrate the important features of the present invention. FIG. 1A illustrates a side view of a curved article container, in accordance with various embodiments; FIG. 1B illustrates a top down view of a curved article container, in accordance with various embodiments; FIG. 2A illustrates a side view of a holding container for holding one or more curved article containers, in accordance with various embodiments; FIG. 2B illustrates of a top down view of a holding container for holding one or more curved article containers, in accordance with various embodiments; FIG. 3 illustrates a stackable assembly for holding containers, in acco