| abstract |
Closures for fluid sample cups, preferably for blood, according to the teachings of the present invention are preferably formed in a multilayered sheet including a matrix of closures and remaining area located around and between the closures. Specifically, the multilayered sheet includes two sided adhesive tape sandwiched between a layer of adhesive covering paper and a rigidifying layer. An elastic layer is adhesively secured to the rigidifying layer. A matrix of first apertures extend through the tape, the paper layer, and the rigidifying layer, with the material located inside of the first apertures being discarded. A matrix of second apertures extend through the tape and the elastic and rigidifying layers concentric with and of greater radius than the first apertures and which define the matrix of the closures. A matrix of slits are also formed in the elastic layer within the first apertures. The slits in the closure allow pipettes of blood analyzers to forgivingly extend through the closure without piercing it and allow wiping of blood residue from the pipette as it is being removed. Due to the elastic characteristics of the elastic layer, sealing occurs between the slits themselves and with the pipette before entry, while entering, while through, and after removal of the pipette from the slits of the closure to thus greatly aid in preventing evaporation. |