1. A support stand for supporting the hoof of a horse, comprising
(a) a base member adapted for seating on a horizontal support surface;
(b) a vertical support rod having upper and lower ends, said support rod lower end being adjustably connected with said base member for sliding movement between vertically spaced positions relative to said base member;
(c) a pivot assembly connected with said support rod upper end;
(d) a hoof receptacle connected with said pivot assembly, said hoof receptacle including a concave bottom wall, a flat rear wall and opposed side walls defining an open topped chamber that is open at its forward end for receiving the horse hoof; and
(e) an angle adjustment mechanism connected with said pivot assembly for adjusting the angular orientation of said hoof receptacle relative to said vertical support rod.
2. A support stand as defined in claim 1, wherein said base member includes:
(1) a lower base portion
(2) an upper pedestal portion that extends upwardly from said base portion, said base member pedestal portion containing a vertical bore for receiving said support rod lower end, said support rod lower end containing a plurality of spaced openings; and
(3) a locking bolt threadably connected within a threaded bore in said upper pedestal portion for engaging a selected opening in said rod lower end for locking said support rod in a selected one of said vertically spaced positions.
3. A support stand as defined in claim 2, wherein the upper end of said support rod contains a slot to define a pair of spaced walls of said support rod, and further wherein said pivot assembly comprises
(1) a horizontal pivot shaft connected between upper ends of the spaced walls, said pivot shaft being parallel with said receptacle rear wall; and
(2) an angle adjustment plate having:
(a) an upper portion orthogonally arranged relative to, and rigidly secured to, the rear surface of said receptacle rear wall;
(b) an intermediate portion pivotally mounted on said pivot shaft; and
(c) a lower portion that extends into said slot.
4. A support stand as defined in claim 3, wherein said angle adjustment mechanism comprises an angle adjustment pin mounted for axial sliding displacement in a bore contained in one wall of the vertical support rod from a retracted position toward an angle setting position within a selected one of a plurality of spaced angle setting openings contained in said angle adjustment plate lower end portion.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A combination of reagent set and a connection device for providing fluid paths between a plurality of fluid containers in the reagent set and a sample analyzer body for analyzing samples using reagent, comprising:
a reagent box in which the plurality of fluid containers are stored so as to maintain openings of the fluid containers generally in a predetermined geometry in a first plane, the reagent box comprising a peripheral side wall that surround all sides of the stored fluid containers so as to keep the fluid containers inside the reagent box;
a plurality of tubular members each being inserted in the respective fluid container through the opening thereof;
a generally planar holding member placed on the reagent box to cover the reagent box and comprising a pair of latching parts formed, respectively, at a pair of first sides of the holding member, the first sides of the holding member running in a first direction, the pair of latching parts being engaged with upper end portions of the reagent box to position the holding member relative to the reagent box, the holding member further comprising a pair of exposed parts formed, respectively, at the first sides of the holding member, the pair of exposed parts being arranged in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction and being shaped to configure the holding member in a form of letter \u201cH\u201d in its plan view and sized sufficiently large to make inside of the reagent box visible from outside thereof through the exposed parts; and
a plurality of cover members fixed in the predetermined geometry to the holding member and each fitted in the opening of the respective fluid container in the reagent box, wherein the plurality of cover members are each shaped to have concentric circular peripheries arranged parallel to the first plane and narrower towards an end of the cover member located inside the fluid containers, and the openings of the fluid containers are substantially immobilized with respect to the holding member solely by engagement with the circular peripheries of the cover members.
2. The combination of claim 1, wherein the openings of the fluid containers are immobilized in the predetermined geometry through contact with the concentric peripheries of the cover members when the cover members are mounted.
3. The combination of claim 1, wherein the cover members are generally conical.
4. The combination of claim 1, wherein the cover members each comprises a notch for communicating the inside of the fluid container with the outside thereof.
5. The combination of claim 4, wherein the notch runs across the concentric peripheries of the cover member.
6. The combination of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of fluid containers is a reagent container.
7. The combination of claim 6, further comprising a filter for preventing foreign material from passing through the tubular member inserted in the reagent container.
8. The combination of claim 7, wherein the filter is disposed at an end of the tubular member inserted in the reagent container.
9. The combination of claim 1, wherein the holding member comprises a handle to be grasped by a user.
10. The combination of claim 1, wherein the holding member is shaped such that at least one tubular member is visible from above the holding member.
11. The combination of claim 1, wherein the latching part is of a width wider than a width of the reagent box at locations where the latching part is engaged with the reagent box.
12. The combination of claim 1, wherein the cover member is formed of rubber.
13. The combination of claim 1, wherein
the reagent box is in a substantially rectangular shape having lateral ends and longitudinal ends in a plane view;
the plurality of fluid containers comprise a plurality of first fluid containers with openings arranged in a row in a lateral direction of the reagent box near a first longitudinal end of the reagent box, and a plurality of second fluid containers with openings arranged in a row in a longitudinal direction of the reagent box around a center of the reagent box;
the cover members comprise first cover members fitted in the openings of the first fluid containers, and second cover members fitted in the openings of the second fluid containers; and
the first and second cover members are configured such that the holding member is rotated slightly down from the first longitudinal end towards the second longitudinal end, resulting from that when the holding member is lowered towards the reagent box, the openings of the first fluid containers come into contact with the first cover members before the openings of the second fluid containers come into contact with the second cover members, and the holding member rotates down towards the second longitudinal end of the reagent box after the openings of the first fluid containers come into contact with the first cover members and before the openings of the second fluid containers come into contact with the second cover members.
14. An analyzer comprising:
the combination of claim 1; and
an analyzer body configured to analyze samples using fluids supplied from the fluid containers via the connection device.
15. The analyzer of claim 14, wherein the analyzer body is configured to analyze a sample from an animal.