JP5102152B2 - Automatic slicer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic slicing apparatus for slicing an embedded block in which a biological sample is embedded.

  As one of the methods for inspecting and observing a biological sample taken from a human body or a laboratory animal, a thin section is prepared from an embedding block in which the biological sample is embedded with an embedding agent, and the thin section is subjected to a staining process. An observation method is known in which a biological sample is observed. Usually, when preparing a thin section from an embedded block, in order to enable observation at the cell level, it is uniformly 3 μm to 5 μm in thickness and does not damage the embedded biological sample. Need to be sliced into pieces. For this reason, generally the operation | work which produces a thin section was performed manually by the skilled worker using the sharp thin cutting blade.

  However, when a preclinical test or the like is performed, it is necessary to prepare several hundred embedded blocks per test and further prepare several thin sections per embedded block. Therefore, it is necessary to continue producing a huge number of thin sections. Therefore, it is desired that the work for producing the sliced piece is performed not by hand but by automation by a machine.

In order to meet such needs, there has been provided an apparatus capable of automatically performing an operation of slicing an embedded block to produce a thin slice (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).
According to these apparatuses, it is possible to continue producing thin sections without placing a burden on the operator.
JP 2007-212329 A JP 2007-240522 A

By the way, when slicing the embedding block, it is necessary to slice it so that the cut surface is as clean and flat as possible. Therefore, in order to always ensure a good sharpness, it is necessary to frequently replace the cutting blade.
However, in the conventional apparatus, the cutting blade cannot be replaced automatically, and the worker still has to rely on the operator. This puts a burden on the workers. In addition, the cutting blade is very sharp and requires care. In this respect as well, the burden on the worker was great.

  Moreover, although the cutting blade is clamped and fixed by a holder, there is a case where reliable clamping cannot be performed unless the cutting blade is set at a predetermined regular position. If thin cutting is performed in this state, not only accurate cutting of the cutting blade due to poor posture or rattling, but also damage to surrounding components due to dropping of the cutting blade may occur. There was also. Therefore, the operator has to confirm whether the clamp fixing is reliable. Therefore, also in this respect, the burden placed on the worker is large.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and its purpose is to carry the cutting blade to the holder and securely clamp the cutting blade, and to wrap the cutting blade while automatically replacing it. It is an object to provide an automatic slicing device capable of slicing a buried block and reducing the burden on an operator as much as possible.

The present invention provides the following means in order to solve the problems and achieve the object.
An automatic slicing device according to the present invention is an automatic slicing device for slicing an embedding block in which a biological sample is embedded, in which one end side is a cutting edge and a cutting hole in which a positioning through-hole is formed is formed. A holder having a blade, a mounting plate on which the cutting blade is mounted while the blade edge is exposed to the outside, and a pressing plate that presses the mounted cutting blade against the mounting plate and clamps it; A moving mechanism for relatively moving the embedded block and the holder and slicing the embedded block by the cutting blade clamped, a storage case for storing a plurality of the cutting blades, the storage case and the holder The cutting blade is taken out from the storage case and conveyed to the mounting plate by sliding movement, and the used cutting blade is slid after the thin cutting has been completed a predetermined number of times. Comprising a transport mechanism for exchanging extruded from the holder by moving, and a detection mechanism for detecting whether it is clamped the cutting blade at a predetermined position by the pressing plate only one of the placement plate, the detection The mechanism includes a relief hole formed at a predetermined position of the placement plate, and a projecting pin provided in the holding plate and capable of being inserted through the through hole and inserted into the relief hole. The detection is performed based on a pressing angle of the pressing plate with respect to the mounting plate .

  In the automatic slicing device according to the present invention, first, after the conveying mechanism takes out one cutting blade from the inside of the storage case, it is conveyed by sliding movement toward the mounting plate of the holder, and the cutting blade is placed on the mounting plate. Is placed. At this time, the cutting blade is in a state where the cutting edge is exposed to the outside of the mounting plate. Then, the pressing plate of the holder is operated, and the mounted cutting blade is pressed against the mounting plate and clamped. At this time, the detection mechanism detects whether or not only one cutting blade is clamped and fixed by the pressing plate at a predetermined position of the mounting plate. That is, it is detected whether or not only one cutting blade is securely fixed at a predetermined position in a predetermined posture. As a result, when the detection mechanism detects NO, it is determined that the cutting blade is not clamped properly, and subsequent thin cutting is not performed.

As described above, since the detection mechanism is provided, the thin cutting can be performed only when only one cutting blade is clamped and fixed in an optimum state with no posture failure or rattling.
When the cutting blade is fixed, the moving means relatively moves the embedding block and the holder, and slices the embedding block with the clamped and fixed cutting blade. As a result, the embedded block can be roughly cut to make a surface, or the embedded block can be subjected to main cutting to produce a thin slice. When the thin cutting is completed a predetermined number of times, the pressing plate releases the pressing of the cutting blade, and at the same time, the cutting blade used by the transport mechanism is pushed out from the holder by a sliding movement and replaced. Thereafter, the transport mechanism again takes out one new cutting blade from the storage case and transports it to the mounting plate.

In this way, the cutting blade can be automatically replaced every time the thin cutting is performed a predetermined number of times. Therefore, the cutting blade can be replaced without bothering the operator's hand, and the burden on the operator can be reduced as much as possible. Moreover, since a thin cutting can always be performed using a cutting blade having a good sharpness, a high-quality thin section can be produced.
In addition, since only one cutting blade can be clamped and fixed to the holder in an optimal state with no posture failure or rattling, it is possible to perform accurate thin cutting and prevent the cutting blade from dropping. be able to.

Further, according to the automatic slicing device according to the present invention, when only one sheet is reliably transported to the position determined in advance by the transport mechanism in the predetermined posture, the protruding pin is After being inserted through the through hole, it is inserted into the escape hole. Therefore, the cutting blade can be clamped and fixed in a state where the pressing angle of the pressing plate with respect to the mounting plate is a constant angle. However, when the cutting blade has been conveyed, if the position is poor or the posture is poor, the protruding pin contacts the blade and interferes. Therefore, the pressing angle of the pressing plate with respect to the mounting plate is different from the above angle. On the other hand, if the cutting blade has not been transported for some reason, or if two blades have been transported at the same time, no matter how much the blade has been transported to a predetermined position in a predetermined posture The pressing angle of the pressing plate with respect to the plate is still different from the above angle.

  Thus, based on the pressing angle of the pressing plate with respect to the mounting plate, it is possible to easily and reliably detect whether only one cutting blade is clamped and fixed by the pressing plate at a predetermined position of the mounting plate. it can.

  Moreover, the automatic slicing device according to the present invention is the above-described automatic slicing device according to the present invention, which holds the posture of the cutting blade by sucking the proximal end side of the cutting blade placed on the mounting plate. An adsorption member is provided.

  In the automatic slicing device according to the present invention, the proximal end side (the side opposite to the blade edge) of the cutting blade placed on the placement plate can be sucked by the suction member. Therefore, even if the holder is arranged obliquely with a rake angle with respect to the embedding block, the cutting blade does not fall off due to the influence of gravity, and the posture is maintained and stable. Become. Therefore, the embedded block can be sliced with the rake angle added, and the cutting resistance can be reduced to achieve a smoother slice.

  According to the automatic slicing device according to the present invention, it is possible to carry out the slicing of the embedding block while automatically changing the cutting blade by carrying the cutting blade to the holder and securely clamping the cutting blade. it can. Therefore, the burden on the operator can be reduced as much as possible, and the slicing operation can be performed efficiently.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an automatic slicing device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic slicing apparatus slices an embedded block B in which a biological sample S is embedded with paraffin P, which is an embedding material, with a predetermined rake angle θ (for example, 3) to 5 μm.

Therefore, it is possible to produce the thin slice M shown in FIG. 2 by this automatic slicing device. The thin slice M is then floated on a liquid such as water or hot water, and after passing through an extension process for removing distortions such as wrinkles and curls generated at the time of slicing, the thin slice M is scraped onto a substrate G such as a slide glass. As a result, the thin-section specimen H is obtained.
The embedding block B is obtained by replacing the moisture in the formalin-fixed biological sample S with paraffin and further solidifying the periphery with a paraffin P into a block shape. As a result, the biological sample S is embedded in the paraffin P. In addition, the biological sample S is, for example, a tissue such as an organ extracted from a human body, a laboratory animal, or the like, and is appropriately selected in the medical field, the pharmaceutical field, the food field, the biological field, or the like.

By the way, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the embedding block B is demonstrated as what is being fixed on the cassette K formed in the box shape.
First, the cassette K will be briefly described. The cassette K is formed of a resin having chemical resistance and serves as a fixing base for fixing the embedding block B. One side surface of the cassette K is an inclined surface K1 whose surface faces downward. Note that an identification code (not shown) including the production number of the cassette K, the date of preparation of the embedding block B, various data of the biological sample S, and the like is recorded on the inclined surface K1. Therefore, the quality control of the embedded block B can be performed by reading this identification code.

Next, the automatic slicing device of this embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the automatic slicing apparatus 1 includes a magazine 2 that stores a plurality of cassettes K, an autoloader 4 that loads and removes one cassette K from the magazine 2 and places the cassette K on the placing table 3. A cassette loader 6 that delivers the cassette K between the stage 3 and the stage 5, an imaging camera 7 that images the embedded block B fixed to the cassette K placed on the stage 5, a cutting blade 8, A storage case 9 for storing a plurality of cutting blades 8, a holder 10 for fixing the cutting blade 8, a transport mechanism 11 for taking out one cutting blade 8 from the storage case 9, transporting it to the holder 10, and setting it, A disposal bottle 12 that houses the cutting blade 8, a discharge mechanism 13 that collects the used cutting blade 8 from the holder 10 and discharges it to the disposal bottle 12, and a device case that houses these components inside 4, the control unit 15 comprehensively controls the respective components, in which is mainly composed.

The device case 14 will be described first.
The device case 14 is formed in a box shape as a whole, and the inside thereof can be sealed, and environmental conditions such as humidity and temperature can be set to desired conditions. Further, the inside of the device case 14 is divided into an upper space E1 and a lower space E2 by an intermediate panel 14a, and most of each component is arranged in the upper space E1. Disposal bottles 12 are mainly disposed in the lower space E2.

  Two entrance doors 14b and 14c that an operator opens and closes are provided on the front surface of the device case 14. One entrance / exit door 14b is a door used when the magazine 2 is mounted or taken out. When the entrance / exit door 14b is opened, the stocker 30 to which the magazine 2 is set is exposed. On the other hand, the other entrance / exit door 14c is a door that is used when the disposal bottle 12 is mounted or taken out. When the entrance / exit door 14c is opened, the disposal bottle 12 is exposed and can be accessed from the outside.

Next, the magazine 2 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the magazine 2 is a storage case formed in a vertically long rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole, and a plurality of cassettes K are arranged in the height direction while the embedding block B is fixed. It is designed to be stored in. Specifically, the magazine 2 mainly includes a box-shaped magazine main body 20 having an open front and an opening / closing door 21 fixed to the magazine main body 20.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, guide grooves 20a for guiding the cassette K are formed on the inner sides of the two side surfaces of the magazine body 20 so as to be opposed to each other from the front side to the back side. Thus, the cassette K can be inserted from the front side and stored in the magazine body 20. In addition, a plurality of the guide grooves 20a are formed at regular intervals in the height direction. Thereby, as described above, a plurality of cassettes K can be stored in a state in which they are arranged in the height direction.
The magazine main body 20 is sized so that the depth is shorter than that of the cassette K so that the cassette K and the embedding block B protrude slightly to the front side.

  A plurality of pins 22 projecting inward are formed inside the side surface of the magazine body 20. In addition, in order to make a figure legible, in each figure, the pin 22 is shown with the continuous line suitably. This pin 22 is a pin for preventing erroneous insertion for storing the cassette K in a predetermined orientation, and is formed near the back side of each guide groove 20a. Specifically, when the cassette K is inserted from the inclined surface K1 side with the embedding block B facing upward, the pin is placed so as to fit in the gap secured between the inclined surface K1 and the back surface of the magazine body 20. 22 is formed. Therefore, when the cassette K is inserted in the direction shown in FIG. 9, the pins 22 do not contact the cassette K.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, when the cassette K is inserted in the reverse direction (the inclined surface K1 faces the front side), the pin 22 comes into contact with the cassette K in the middle. Thus, the cassette K cannot be completely inserted. Therefore, the cassette K protrudes excessively to the front side of the magazine body 20. In this case, as shown in FIG. 11, the open / close door 21 interferes with the cassette K, and the open / close door 21 cannot be closed. Therefore, it is possible to easily and clearly distinguish erroneous insertion of the cassette K.

Similarly, when the cassette K is inserted with the embedding block B facing downward (upside down), the inclined surface K1 may face either the back side or the front side, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 13, the pin 22 also comes into contact with the cassette K halfway, so that the cassette K cannot be completely inserted. For this reason, the cassette K is excessively projected to the front side of the magazine body 20.
In this case, similarly, the opening / closing door 21 interferes with the cassette K, so that the opening / closing door 21 cannot be closed.

  Therefore, the magazine body 20 of the present embodiment is designed so that the open / close door 21 is not closed unless the cassette K is inserted in the direction shown in FIGS. That is, unless the plurality of cassettes K are inserted with the embedding block B facing upward and the inclined surface K1 facing the back side, the open / close door 21 cannot be closed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent human error of the operator. Further, it is possible to reliably unify all the directions of the plurality of cassettes K stored in the magazine 2.

As shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of long hole openings 20b are formed on the rear surface of the magazine body 20, and the plurality of stored cassettes K are designed to be visible from the rear side.
A rotation shaft 23 is provided on the outer side of one side surface of the magazine body 20 along the longitudinal direction as shown in FIG. The opening / closing door 21 is fixed to the rotating shaft 23 via a hinge portion 24. The opening / closing door 21 is designed to have the same length as the magazine body 20 as shown in FIG. 5, and slightly protrudes from the front side of the magazine body 20 as shown in FIGS. The cassette K is partially covered to prevent it from falling off. Thus, the stored cassette K is prevented from falling out of the magazine body 20 unless the opening / closing door 21 is opened. Therefore, the operator can carry the magazine 2 safely without paying attention to the fall of the cassette K.

  By the way, a torsion spring (not shown) is built in the hinge portion 24 that fixes the open / close door 21, and when the open / close door 21 is closed, it is urged to maintain this closed state. Yes. This restricts the opening / closing door 21 from being unexpectedly opened when the magazine 2 is being carried.

Further, on the outside of the side surface of the magazine body 20, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, a block 25 slidably contacting the lower surface of the hinge portion 24 is fixed adjacent to the rotation shaft 23. A fitting groove 25 a is formed in the upper surface of the block 25. A ball plunger 26 biased by a coil spring (not shown) is built in the hinge portion 24.
The ball plunger 26 is adapted to be fitted into the fitting groove 25a when the open / close door 21 is opened at a certain angle or more from the closed state. At this time, the urging force of the coil spring is adjusted so that the force when fitted can overcome the urging force of the torsion spring. Thereby, when storing the cassette K in the magazine 2, it is designed so that it can work in the state which opened and closed the door 21. FIG.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a door opening / closing pin 27 is provided in a substantially central portion of the opening / closing door 21 so as to protrude outward. Therefore, it is possible to open and close the open / close door 21 using this pin 27.

The magazine 2 configured in this manner can be mounted on the stocker 30 as shown in FIG. As described above, the stocker 30 is exposed to the outside by opening the door 14b of the device case 14. As a result, the operator can manually insert the magazine 2 into the stocker 30 and install it, or remove it from the stocker 30.
The stocker 30 is formed in a frame shape and is designed so that two magazines 2 can be held side by side. The stocker 30 is designed to receive only when the magazine 2 is inserted from the front side (opening / closing door 21 side). FIG. 16 shows a case where only one magazine 2 is mounted.

The stocker 30 also includes a magazine detection sensor 31 that detects whether or not the magazine 2 is mounted, an open / close mechanism 32 that opens and closes the open / close door 21 of the mounted magazine 2, and an open / close that detects the open / close state of the open / close door 21. And a detection sensor 33.
As shown in FIG. 17, the magazine detection sensor 31 is fixed to the upper part of the stocker 30, and receives the reflected light reflected from the magazine 2 by the function of irradiating the detection light L downward. It has a function. When the reflected light is received, a detection signal notifying that the magazine 2 is detected is output to the control unit 15. Thereby, the control unit 15 can grasp whether or not the magazine 2 is mounted based on the detection signal sent from the magazine detection sensor 31.

  Similarly, the open / close detection sensor 33 is also fixed to the upper portion of the stocker 30, and has a function of irradiating the detection light L toward the closed door 21 and a reflection of the detection light L reflected by the closed door 21. A function of receiving light. And when reflected light is received, the detection signal which notifies that the door 21 is a closed state is output to the control part 15. FIG. Thereby, the control part 15 can grasp | ascertain the opening / closing state of the door 21 based on the detection signal sent from the opening / closing detection sensor 33. That is, when a detection signal is sent from the open / close detection sensor 33 after the magazine 2 is mounted, it is determined that the open / close door 21 is closed, and when no detection signal is sent, the open / close door 21 is opened. It is determined that the door 21 is open.

As shown in FIG. 16, the opening / closing mechanism 32 includes a hook-shaped claw portion 32a that can be hooked on a pin 27 provided on the opening / closing door 21, and a cylinder mechanism 32b that moves the claw portion 32a to open / close the opening / closing door 21. , Mainly consists of. The cylinder mechanism 32b operates in response to an instruction from the control unit 15.
It is designed so that the magazine 2 cannot be removed from the stocker 30 when the open / close door 21 of the magazine 2 is open.

Next, the autoloader 4 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 4, the autoloader 4 is disposed at a position adjacent to the stocker 30 in the upper space E <b> 1 of the device case 14. The autoloader 4 includes a hand portion 4a capable of sandwiching a cassette K stored in a magazine 2 mounted on the stocker 30, and a hand portion 4a that is rotatably fixed around a vertical Z axis, and the stocker 30 and the mounting table 3 An X-axis slider 4b that is movable in the X-axis direction, and a Y-axis slider 4c that supports the X-axis slider 4b and is movable in the Y-axis direction orthogonal to the two axes of the X-axis and the Z-axis, It is mainly composed of.
The hand unit 4a, the X-axis slider 4b, and the Y-axis slider 4c are operated based on instructions from the control unit 15.

  The hand portion 4a can grip the cassette K by sandwiching the cassette K slightly protruding from the front side of the magazine 2 from both sides. From this state, by combining the movement operation of the X-axis slider 4b and the Y-axis slider 4c and the rotation operation of the hand portion 4a as appropriate, only one desired cassette K can be taken in and out of the magazine 2, or the mounting table 3 A cassette K can be placed on the top.

  In the present embodiment, the autoloader 4 is mainly configured by the hand portion 4a, the X-axis slider 4b, and the Y-axis slider 4c, but is not limited to this configuration. As long as one desired cassette K can be taken in and out of the magazine 2 and the cassette K can be mounted on the mounting table 3, it may be designed freely.

Next, the cassette loader 6 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 4, the cassette loader 6 is disposed in the innermost portion (the portion close to the rear surface on the opposite side of the front surface on which the open / close door 21 is formed) in the upper space E <b> 1 of the device case 14. . The cassette loader 6 is provided along a hand portion 6a capable of sandwiching the cassette K placed on the placement table 3, and a guide 6b that fixes the hand portion 6a to be rotatable about the Z axis and extends in the Z axis direction. The movable plate 6c mainly includes a movable fixed plate 6c and a Y-axis moving mechanism 6d that moves the guide 6b in the Y-axis direction.
The hand unit 6a, the fixed plate 6c, and the Y-axis moving mechanism 6d are operated based on instructions from the control unit 15.

The hand portion 6a can grip the cassette K by sandwiching both sides of the placed cassette K from directly above. From this state, the cassette K can be placed on the stage 5 in a desired direction by appropriately combining the moving operation of the fixed plate 6c and the Y-axis moving mechanism 6d and the rotating operation of the hand portion 6a. It can be returned to the mounting table 3 from above.
The Y-axis moving mechanism 6d includes an endless belt 41 that is wound around a pair of pulleys 40 and moves in the Y-axis direction, a slider 42 that is connected to the endless belt 41 and moves as the endless belt 41 moves, The connecting plate 43 connects the slider 42 and the fixed plate 6c. The endless belt 41 is moved by rotating one of the pair of pulleys 40 by the drive unit 44.

  In the present embodiment, the cassette loader 6 is mainly configured by the hand portion 6a, the fixed plate 6c, and the Y-axis moving mechanism 6d. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. As long as the cassette K can be transferred between the mounting table 3 and the stage 5 and the cassette K can be set on the stage 5 in a desired direction, it may be designed freely.

The stage 5 incorporates a piezoelectric element and the like, and is configured to appropriately move in the Z-axis direction based on an instruction from the control unit 15. Thereby, the height of the embedding block B fixed to the cassette K mounted on the stage 5 can be adjusted, and it is possible to slice into a desired thickness (for example, 5 μm).
In addition, the stage 5 is a multi-axis stage in which the rotation about the Z axis and the inclination about the X axis and the Y axis can be freely adjusted. Therefore, the orientation of the embedding block B can be set to a desired state by freely controlling the posture of the embedding block B.

Next, the imaging camera 7 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 4, the imaging camera 7 is disposed so as to be directly above the stage 5 in the upper space E <b> 1 of the apparatus case 14. At this time, the imaging camera 7 is supported by a Z-axis moving unit 7a that can move in the Z-axis direction. The Z-axis moving part 7a can be moved in the Y-axis direction by a Y-axis moving part 7b. Therefore, the imaging camera 7 can be retracted from directly above the stage 5 as necessary. Specifically, while the cassette K is transferred between the mounting table 3 and the stage 5 by the cassette loader 6, the imaging camera 7 is retracted so as not to disturb the movement of the cassette loader 6.
The Z-axis moving unit 7 a and the Y-axis moving unit 7 b are operated based on instructions from the control unit 15.

  In addition, when the cassette K is placed on the stage 5, the imaging camera 7 captures the embedding block B illuminated by illumination light from a light source (not shown). At this time, the surface state and the internal state of the embedded block B can be imaged according to the type of illumination light (for example, epi-illumination light or diffuse illumination light). The captured image is sent to the control unit 15 and recorded, and is displayed on a monitor 15a connected to the control unit 15.

Next, the cutting blade 8 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, the cutting blade 8 is a long magnetic blade whose one end side is a cutting edge 8a. The blade of the cutting blade 8 has two through holes 8b for positioning formed in an elliptical shape with a gap therebetween. In the present embodiment, the case where the blade edge 8a is a double blade is taken as an example. A single sword can be used.
As an example of the size of the cutting blade 8, the length L is about 80 mm, the width W is about 8 mm, and the thickness T is about 0.25 mm.

A plurality of cutting blades 8 configured in this way are stored in a multi-layered manner in a storage case 9 shown in FIGS.
The storage case 9 mainly includes a case main body 50 and a lever portion 51 for taking out only one cutting blade 8 from the case main body 50. The case main body 50 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a long groove 50a is formed on the upper surface along the longitudinal direction. The cutting blade 8 housed inside is always urged to the upper surface side by an urging means (not shown) provided at the bottom of the case body 50. A guide groove 50b is formed on one side surface of the case main body 50 so as to face the longitudinal direction. Further, an opening (not shown) through which the cutting blade 8 passes is formed on the side surface of the case main body 50, and the cutting blade 8 positioned at the top of the cutting blades 8 accommodated in the case main body 50 is this It is carried out to the outside through the opening.

  The lever portion 51 is formed in a substantially U-shaped cross section, and covers the upper surface of the case body 50 in a state where the claw portions 51a are fitted in the pair of guide grooves 50b. The lever portion 51 is movable in the longitudinal direction of the case body 50 in a state where the claw portion 51a is guided by the guide groove 50b. Further, the lever portion 51 is formed with a protruding portion 51 b that enters into a long groove 50 a formed on the upper surface of the case body 50. The length of the protrusion 51 b is adjusted so as to contact only the cutting blade 8 positioned at the top of the plurality of cutting blades 8 housed in the case body 50. Thus, by moving the lever portion 51, only the cutting blade 8 positioned at the top is pushed out and can be carried out of the case body 50 from the opening formed in the case body 50. Yes.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 23, the storage case 9 configured in this manner has a rake angle θ (for example, around 27 °) that is slightly inclined with respect to the horizontal plane, and the upper space E1 of the device case 14. Is placed inside.

Next, the holder 10 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 4, the holder 10 is disposed in the vicinity of the stage 5 in the upper space E <b> 1 of the apparatus case 14. At this time, the holder 10 is disposed obliquely with a rake angle θ as with the storage case 9.
Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 24 and 25, the holder 10 mounts the mounting plate 60 on which the cutting blade 8 is mounted while the blade edge 8 a is exposed to the outside, and the mounted cutting blade 8. It is mainly composed of a pressing plate 61 that presses against the mounting plate 60 and clamps it.

The mounting plate 60 is formed in a rectangular shape in plan view, and a mounting surface 60a on which the cutting blade 8 is mounted is formed on the distal end side along the longitudinal direction. Further, a sheet plate 62 is fixed to the placement plate 60 along the placement surface 60a so as to be adjacent to the placement surface 60a. A plurality of magnets (adsorption means) 63 are embedded and fixed on the end surface of the sheet plate 62 facing the placement surface 60a at intervals.
The magnet 63 holds the posture of the cutting blade 8 by attracting the base end side (the side opposite to the blade edge 8a) of the cutting blade 8 placed on the placement surface 60a with a magnetic force. Therefore, even if the holder 10 is inclined by the rake angle θ, the cutting blade 8 is placed on the placement plate 60 without falling off due to gravity.

  The pressing plate 61 is disposed so as to cover the entire mounting surface 60 a in a state of being rotatably connected to a shaft 64 supported by the mounting plate 60. The holding plate 61 is configured such that the proximal end side is pushed upward by a rod 65 a pushed out by an instruction from the control unit 15. Then, since the pressing plate 61 rotates around the shaft 64, the tip side is pushed down toward the mounting plate 60. Thereby, the cutting blade 8 can be pressed against the mounting plate 60 and clamped.

The holding plate 61 is urged toward the mounting plate 60 at the base end side by a coil spring (not shown). Therefore, when the rod 65a is retracted, the presser plate 61 is reversely rotated by the spring force, and the tip end side is lifted. Thereby, pressing of the cutting blade 8 is released.
The rod 65a is connected to a slide portion 65 that approaches and separates from the support 66 that supports the proximal end side of the mounting plate 60, and is movable as the slide portion 65 moves. .

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 26, three escape holes 68 that pass through the placement plate 60 at an interval are formed in the placement surface 60 a of the placement plate 60. In the present embodiment, the escape hole 68 is described as a through-hole, but the recess may be deep enough to allow a protruding pin 60 described later to enter and be inserted.
At this time, the distance between the centers of the adjacent escape holes 68 coincides with the distance between the centers of the through holes 8 b of the cutting blade 8. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 27, three protruding pins 69 that protrude toward the mounting plate 60 and enter the escape holes 68 are provided on the front end side of the pressing plate 61 so as to face the escape holes 68. . Therefore, the protruding pin 69 is designed so as not to interfere with the mounting plate 60. These protruding pins 69 are sized so as to be able to pass through the through holes 8b of the cutting blade 8.

As described above, since the protruding pin 69 is provided, the control unit 15 has only one cutting blade 8 at a predetermined position of the mounting plate 60 based on the pressing angle of the pressing plate 61 with respect to the mounting plate 60. Whether or not the clamp plate 61 is clamped and fixed is detected.
That is, when only one sheet of the cutting blade 8 is reliably transported to a predetermined position by the transport mechanism 11 in a predetermined posture, as shown in FIGS. 69 is inserted into the escape hole 68 after passing through the through hole 8b. Therefore, the cutting blade 8 can be clamped and fixed in a state where the pressing angle of the pressing plate 61 with respect to the mounting plate 60 is a constant angle.
However, when the cutting blade 8 is conveyed, if the position or orientation is poor, the through hole 8b is displaced from the escape hole 68, so that as shown in FIG. 69 contacts the blade of the cutting blade 8 and interferes. Therefore, the pressing angle of the pressing plate 61 with respect to the mounting plate 60 becomes an angle different from the above angle. That is, a gap is opened between the pressing plate 61 and the mounting plate 60.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 31 and 32, when the cutting blade 8 has not been conveyed for some reason or when two cutting blades have been conveyed at the same time, a predetermined position is set in advance. No matter how much the sheet is conveyed in the posture, the pressing angle of the pressing plate 61 with respect to the mounting plate 60 is still different from the above angle.
In this way, the control unit 15 determines whether only one cutting blade 8 is clamped and fixed by the pressing plate 61 at a predetermined position of the mounting plate 60 based on the pressing angle of the pressing plate 61 with respect to the mounting plate 60. This can be detected easily and reliably. The control unit 15 monitors the pressing angle of the pressing plate 61 with the stroke amount of the rod 65a.

The control unit 15, the escape hole 68, and the protruding pin 69 described above function as a detection mechanism 70 that performs the above detection. Since the detection mechanism 70 is provided in this way, it is possible to perform thin cutting only when only one cutting blade 8 is clamped and fixed in an optimal state with no posture failure or rattling. .
In this embodiment, two through holes 8b are formed, whereas three escape holes 68 and three projecting pins 69 are formed, so that the cutting blade 8 is clamped and fixed at two positions. Is possible.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the holder 10 configured in this way is designed to reciprocate on the stage 5 by a moving mechanism 71. Thereby, the embedded block B placed on the stage 5 can be sliced by the cutting blade 8 which is clamped and fixed. At this time, the holder 10 is designed to slice the embedded block B with a predetermined pulling angle.
Since the cutting blade 8 can be clamped and fixed at two positions as described above, even a single cutting blade 8 can be thinly cut using two points. Therefore, it is possible to use the cutting blade 8 widely and effectively.

In the present embodiment, the moving mechanism 71 is configured to move the holder 10 side with respect to the stage 5, but the stage 5 side may be moved conversely, and the holder 10 side and the stage 5 may be moved. You may comprise so that the side may be moved together.
In any case, the moving mechanism 71 may be designed in any way as long as the embedding block B and the holder 10 can be moved relative to each other so that the cutting blade 8 can cut a thin piece.

Next, the transport mechanism 11 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 4, the transport mechanism 11 is disposed between the storage case 9 and the holder 10 in the upper space E <b> 1 of the device case 14. The transport mechanism 11 takes out one cutting blade 8 from the storage case 9 and transports the cutting blade 8 to the mounting plate 60 of the holder 10 by sliding movement, and slides the used cutting blade 8 after thin cutting has been completed a predetermined number of times. It plays the role of pushing out and replacing the holder 10.

  Specifically, the transport mechanism 11 moves the transport path 80 for transporting the cutting blade 8 taken out from the storage case 9 to the holder 10 and the lever portion 51 of the storage case 9 as shown in FIG. A first conveying unit 81 that slides the cutting blade 8 toward the conveying path 80, a second conveying unit 82 that slides the cutting blade 8 moved to the conveying path 80 to the vicinity of the holder 10, and a holder The cutting blade 8 that has moved to the vicinity of 10 is completely slid to the holder 10 side, and the third conveying portion 83 that pushes out the used cutting blade 8 from the holder 10 after thin cutting is mainly configured. ing.

The conveyance path 80 is mainly configured by a lower plate 90 and an upper plate 91 joined to the lower plate 90 as shown in FIGS. 33 and 34. The lower plate 90 is formed in a rectangular shape in plan view, and a transport surface 90a on which the cutting blade 8 is transported is formed on the tip side along the longitudinal direction. The cutting blade 8 is configured to be transported on the transport surface 90a with the blade edge 8a and the through hole 8b exposed to the outside.
The transport surface 90a is inclined with a rake angle θ, similar to the storage case 9 and the holder 10, and is flush with the opening of the storage case 9 and the mounting surface 60a of the holder 10. The height is adjusted to be height.

A sheet plate 92 is fixed to the lower plate 90 along the conveyance surface 90a so as to be adjacent to the conveyance surface 90a. A plurality of magnets 93 are embedded and fixed on the end surface of the sheet plate 92 facing the conveyance surface 90a at intervals. The magnet 93 holds the posture of the cutting blade 8 by adsorbing the base end side (the side opposite to the blade edge 8a) of the cutting blade 8 being conveyed by a magnetic force. Therefore, even if the cutting blade 8 is inclined by the rake angle θ, the cutting blade 8 is conveyed without being displaced by gravity.
The upper plate 91 is joined to the lower plate 90 so as to cover the upper side of the conveying surface 90a with a gap larger than the thickness of the cutting blade 8 being opened.

  As shown in FIG. 33, the first transport unit 81 includes an L angle 101 fixed to the moving plate 100, a Z axis guide 102 fixed to the L angle 101 and extending in the Z axis direction, and a Z axis direction. A Z-axis plate 103 that is movably fixed to the Z-axis guide 102 and a fitting claw 104a that can be fitted to the lever portion 51 of the storage case 9 at the tip, and that is fixed to the lower part of the Z-axis plate 103 The arm 104 is mainly configured.

The moving plate 100 is movably supported on the base plate 105 and is movable in the longitudinal direction of the storage case 9 and the holder 10. The fitting claw 104a is designed to be fitted to the lever portion 51 of the storage case 9 so as to sandwich the lever portion 51 when the Z-axis plate 103 is lowered in the Z-axis direction. Therefore, by moving the moving plate 100 in this state, it is possible to move the lever portion 51 to take out one cutting blade 8 from the storage case 9 and slide it to the conveyance path 80 side.
Normally, the first transport unit 81 stands by above the storage case 9.

  The second transport unit 82 includes an L angle 110 fixed to the moving plate 100, a Z axis guide 111 fixed to the L angle 110 and extending in the Z axis direction, and a Z axis guide 111 movable in the Z axis direction. A transport block 113 having a projection 113a that can be inserted into the through hole 8b of the cutting blade 8 fixed to the lower portion of the Z-axis plate 112 and moved to the transport path 80. It is mainly composed.

The protrusion 113a is designed to enter the through hole 8b of the cutting blade 8 exposed to the outside of the conveyance path 80 as shown in FIG. 35 when the Z-axis plate 112 is lowered in the Z-axis direction. Yes. Therefore, by moving the moving plate 100 in this state, the cutting blade 8 can be slid along the transport path 80 to the vicinity of the holder 10.
Normally, the second transport unit 82 stands by above the storage case 9 and the transport path 80.

  The third transport unit 83 includes an L angle 120 fixed to the moving plate 100, a Z axis guide 121 fixed to the L angle 120 and extending in the Z axis direction, and a Z axis guide 121 movable in the Z axis direction. The Z-axis plate 122 fixed to the lower portion of the Z-axis plate 122, and the conveyance block 123 having an extruding piece 123a for extruding the cutting blade 8 fixed to the lower portion of the Z-axis plate 122 and moved to the vicinity of the holder 10. Yes.

The extruding piece 123a is a thin plate formed to have substantially the same thickness as the cutting blade 8. When the Z-axis plate 122 is lowered in the Z-axis direction, the extruding piece 123a is exposed to the outside of the conveyance path 80 as shown in FIG. It is designed to line up with the rear end of the cutting blade 8. Therefore, by moving the moving plate 100 in this state, it is possible to slide the cutting blade 8 so as to push it toward the holder 10 side. Thus, as shown in FIG. 37, the cutting blade 8 can be transferred from the conveying surface 90a of the conveying path 80 to the mounting surface 60a of the holder 10, and the cutting blade 8 can be completely transferred to the holder 10 side. At this time, the cutting blade 8 is adjusted to be delivered so that the through hole 8b of the cutting blade 8 is positioned on the escape hole 68 formed in the mounting surface 60a.
Normally, the third transport unit 83 stands by above the storage case 9 and the transport path 80.

As described above, the cutting blade 8 is removed from the storage case 9 by operating the first transport unit 81, the second transport unit 82, the third transport unit 83, and the moving plate 100 in a composite manner. One sheet can be taken out and smoothly conveyed to the holder 10. Each of these components is activated by an instruction from the control unit 15.
By the way, when the thin cutting of the embedding block B is completed a predetermined number of times, the control unit 15 operates the third conveying unit 83 and the moving plate 100 to slide the used cutting blade 8 so as to push it out of the holder 10. It is like that.

Next, the disposal bottle 12 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 4, the disposal bottle 12 is disposed in the lower space E2 of the device case 14, and is exposed to the outside by opening the door 14c of the device case 14. Thereby, the worker can access from the outside, and can manually collect the disposal bottle 12.
The disposal bottle 12 is a bottle formed of, for example, a transparent resin material, and can accommodate several hundred to thousands of cutting blades 8 therein at a time. In particular, since it is transparent, the operator can visually check the accommodation situation.

Next, the discharge mechanism 13 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 4, the discharge mechanism 13 includes a collection mechanism 130 that collects the cutting blade 8 pushed out from the holder 10, and a discharge shooter (guide mechanism) 140 that discharges the collected cutting blade 8 to the disposal bottle 12. , Mainly consists of.
In the present embodiment, a case where the guide mechanism is configured by the discharge shooter 140 that discharges the cutting blade 8 by using the drop due to gravity will be described as an example.

  The collection mechanism 130 is disposed adjacent to the holder 10 in the upper space E1 of the apparatus case 14 and plays a role of feeding the collected cutting blade 8 into the opening 140a of the discharge chute 140. That is, as shown in FIG. 38, the recovery mechanism 130 includes a guide 131 extending in the longitudinal direction of the holder 10, a moving plate 132 movable along the guide 131, and an L angle 133 fixed to the moving plate 132. A Z-axis guide 133 that is fixed to the L angle 133 and extends in the Z-axis direction, a Z-axis plate 134 that is fixed to the Z-axis guide 133 so as to be movable in the Z-axis direction, and a lower portion of the Z-axis plate 134 The transport block 135 is mainly configured.

The transport block 135 has a protrusion 135a that can be inserted into the through hole 8b of the cutting blade 8 pushed out from the holder 10, and a magnetic body 135b that attracts the blade of the cutting blade 8 by magnetic force.
The protrusion 135a is designed to enter the through hole 8b of the cutting blade 8 exposed to the outside of the holder 10 when the Z-axis plate 134 is lowered in the Z-axis direction. At the same time, the magnetic body 135b attracts the blade of the cutting blade 8 and holds the cutting blade 8. Therefore, by moving the moving plate 132 in this state, the cutting blade 8 can be completely removed from the holder 10 and recovered. Further, the collected cutting blade 8 is moved to a position just above the opening 140 a provided on one end side of the discharge shooter 140.

  By the way, the non-magnetic claw portion 136 is provided on the Z-axis plate 134 so as to be positioned between the protruding portion 135a and the magnetic body 135b. The claw portion 136 is a fixed member, unlike the protrusion 135 a and the magnetic body 135 b that move in conjunction with the Z-axis plate 134. For this reason, when the protrusion 135a and the magnetic body 135b are raised, the claw 136 is relatively lowered. Therefore, the cutting blade 8 moved to the position immediately above the opening 140a of the discharge shooter 140 can be knocked down on the discharge shooter 140 as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, the discharge shooter 140 is disposed so as to penetrate from the upper space E1 to the lower space E2 of the device case 14. Under the present circumstances, it arrange | positions in the state inclined toward the front side from the rear surface side of the apparatus case 14. FIG. One end side where the opening 140 a into which the cutting blade 8 is inserted is provided is located in the vicinity of the recovery mechanism 130, and the other end side is located directly above the disposal bottle 12. The inserted cutting blade 8 is guided to the other end side by dropping due to gravity, and then discharged to the disposal bottle 12.
Therefore, after the cutting blade 8 knocked down by the recovery mechanism 130 slides down the discharge shooter 140 from the opening 140 toward the other end side and is guided to the disposal bottle 12 as shown in FIG. , Is supposed to be discharged. As a result, the used cutting blade 8 can be collected by the disposal bottle 12.

  By the way, the opening 140a is formed in a funnel shape that gradually narrows toward the other end, and regulates the posture so that the longitudinal direction of the cutting blade 8 is directed in the direction of gravity. Therefore, the long cutting blade 8 slides down the discharge shooter 140 in a substantially vertical direction, and is guided to the other end side without being caught and clogged in the middle.

Next, the case where the embedded block B is sliced using the automatic slicing device 1 configured as described above will be described.
First, as a preliminary preparation, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, an operation of storing a plurality of cassettes K to which the embedding block B is fixed in the magazine 2 is performed. First, after preparing a plurality of cassettes K at hand, the operator opens the open / close door 21 of the magazine 2. Then, since the ball plunger 26 of the hinge part 24 fixed to the opening / closing door 21 is fitted into the fitting groove 25a of the block 25, the opening / closing door 21 can be kept open. Therefore, the operator can store the cassettes K one after another in the magazine body 20 without worrying about the open / close door 21.

  At this time, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the worker inserts and stores the cassette K from the inclined surface K1 side with the embedding block B facing upward. Even if the cassette K is inserted with the embedding block B facing downward, the pins 22 provided in the magazine body 20 are inserted into the cassette body 20 when the cassette K is inserted. K is touched. Therefore, the cassette K protrudes excessively to the front side of the magazine body 20. Therefore, the operator can recognize that the cassette K has been inserted in the wrong direction. Therefore, all cassettes K can be securely stored in the correct orientation, and human error can be prevented in advance.

  Also, even if you do not notice an error in the orientation of the cassette K when it is inserted, you can notice it when you close the open / close door 21 last. That is, when there is a cassette K inserted in the wrong direction, as shown in FIG. 11, the opening / closing door 21 interferes with the cassette K on the way, and the opening / closing door 21 cannot be closed. Therefore, at this point, the operator can recognize that the cassette K has been inserted in the wrong direction. In this respect as well, human error can be prevented in advance.

  Then, after storing the plurality of cassettes K in the magazine body 20, as shown in FIG. 5, the open / close door 21 is closed to prevent the cassette K from falling off. At this time, the open / close door 21 is maintained in the closed state by the torsion spring, so that it does not open unexpectedly unless the operator reopens it. Therefore, the magazine 2 can be safely carried without worrying about the cassette K falling.

Then, after opening the door 14b of the device case 14, the operator inserts the magazine 2 containing a plurality of cassettes K into the stocker 30 and attaches it as shown in FIG. At this time, the cassette K is inserted from the opening / closing door 21 side. Then, after loading the cassette K, the opened door 14bc is closed.
Then, it is confirmed that the disposal bottle 12 is set and the cutting blade 8 is set in the storage case 9, and the preliminary preparation is completed.

  Next, the operator starts the operation of each component in the device case 14 via the control unit 15. Then, after the transport mechanism 11 takes out one cutting blade 8 from the storage case 9, it is transported by sliding movement toward the mounting plate 60 of the holder 10, and the cutting blade 8 is mounted on the mounting plate 60. Do work.

Specifically, first, as shown in FIG. 33, the Z-axis plate 103 of the first transport unit 81 is lowered, and the fitting claw 104 a of the transport arm 104 is fitted to the lever unit 51. Subsequently, the moving plate 100 is moved to move the entire first transport unit 81 in the longitudinal direction of the storage case 9. Thereby, the lever part 51 of the storage case 9 can be moved, and the cutting blade 8 positioned at the top of the storage case 9 can be pushed out through the opening.
Then, as shown in FIG. 35, the extruded cutting blade 8 slides to the conveyance path 80 with the blade edge 8a and the through hole 8b exposed to the outside. At this time, the Z-axis plate 103 is raised and the fitting claw 104a is separated from the lever portion 51 to release the fitting. Then, the moving plate 100 is returned to the original position.

  Subsequently, the Z-axis plate 112 of the second transport unit 82 is lowered, and the protrusion 113 a is inserted into the through hole 8 b of the cutting blade 8. Subsequently, the moving plate 100 is moved to move the entire second transport unit 82 in the longitudinal direction of the transport path 80. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 36, the cutting blade 8 can be moved to the vicinity of the holder 10 while sliding. At this point, the Z-axis plate 112 is raised, the projection 113a is removed from the through hole 8b, and the engagement with the cutting blade 8 is released. Then, the moving plate 100 is returned to the original position.

  Subsequently, the Z-axis plate 122 of the third transport unit 83 is lowered, and the extruded piece 123 a is positioned so as to be aligned with the rear end of the cutting blade 8. Subsequently, the moving plate 100 is moved to move the entire third transport unit 83 in the longitudinal direction of the transport path 80. As a result, as shown in FIG. 37, the cutting blade 8 can be slid to be pushed out and transferred from the conveyance path 80 to the holder 10. In addition, since the front end side of the holding plate 61 of the holder 10 is in a floating state at this stage, the cutting blade 8 can be conveyed to the holder 10 side.

After the cutting blade 8 is conveyed to the holder 10 side, the moving plate 100 is slightly moved in the reverse direction to expose the extruded piece 123 a to the outside of the holder 10. Then, the Z-axis plate 122 is raised to return the pushing piece 123a to the original position. Thereafter, the moving plate 100 is completely returned to the original position.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 25, the cutting blade 8 conveyed to the holder 10 is placed on the placement surface 60a with the blade edge 8a exposed to the outside. At this time, since the base end side of the cutting blade 8 is attracted by the magnet 63, even if the holder 10 is inclined due to the rake angle θ, the posture is maintained without being displaced due to the influence of gravity and stable. It has become a state.

  When the cutting blade 8 is placed on the placement surface 60 a, the pressing plate 61 is operated to press the cutting blade 8 against the placement plate 60. That is, the rod 65a connected to the slide portion 65 is pushed out, and the proximal end side of the holding plate 61 is pushed upward. Thereby, since the pressing plate 61 rotates around the shaft 64, the tip side is pushed down toward the mounting plate 60. Therefore, as described above, the cutting blade 8 can be pressed against the mounting plate 60 and clamped.

At this time, the detection mechanism 70 detects whether only one cutting blade 8 is clamped and fixed at a predetermined position of the mounting plate 60 based on the pressing angle of the pressing plate 61 with respect to the mounting plate 60. As a result, when the detection mechanism 70 detects NO, that is, the conveyed cutting blade 8 is misaligned or misaligned for some reason (for example, excessive push-out or misalignment due to poor adsorption of the magnet 63). Etc., when the cutting blade 8 itself has not been transported, or when two cutting blades 8 have been transported, etc. Do not cut off.
Therefore, thin cutting can be performed only when only one cutting blade 8 is clamped and fixed in an optimal state with no posture failure or rattling.

By the way, the control part 15 is performing the operation | work which mounts the cassette K on the stage 5 simultaneously with the process mentioned above. This work will be described.
First, when the magazine 2 is mounted on the stocker 30, the magazine detection sensor 31 recognizes that the magazine 2 is mounted by reflected light reflected by the magazine 2 as shown in FIG. A detection signal is output. Then, the control unit 15 receives this detection signal and grasps that the magazine 2 is mounted. The open / close detection sensor 33 recognizes that the open / close door 21 is closed by the reflected light reflected by the closed open / close door 21, and outputs a detection signal to the control unit 15. Then, the control unit 15 receives this detection signal and grasps that the open / close door 21 of the magazine 2 is closed.

  Then, the control part 15 operates the cylinder mechanism 32b, and hooks the nail | claw part 32a on the pin 27 provided in the door 21 of the magazine 2 as shown in FIG. 16, and makes the door 21 open. Then, the open / close detection sensor 33 stops receiving the reflected light and stops outputting the detection signal. Thereby, the control part 15 can grasp | ascertain that the opening / closing door 21 of the magazine 2 opened.

  Subsequently, the control unit 15 operates the autoloader 4. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the autoloader 4 holds the cassette K slightly protruding from the front side of the magazine 2 from both sides using the hand portion 4a while appropriately operating the X-axis slider 4b and the Y-axis slider 4c. Grab it. Then, from this state, the moving operation of the X-axis slider 4b and the Y-axis slider 4c and the rotating operation of the hand portion 4a are appropriately performed, and the grasped cassette K is taken out of the magazine 2 and then placed on the placing table 3. Let

  Subsequently, the control unit 15 operates the cassette loader 6. Then, the cassette loader 6 sandwiches and holds the cassette K placed on the mounting table 3 using the hand portion 6a while appropriately operating the fixed plate 6c and the Y-axis moving mechanism 6d. From this state, the moving operation of the fixed plate 6c and the Y-axis moving mechanism 6d and the rotating operation of the hand portion 6a are appropriately performed, and the cassette K is placed on the stage 5 in a desired direction.

In this way, the operation of placing the cassette K on the stage 5 is performed in parallel with the operation of fixing the cutting blade 8. When the clamp fixing operation of the cutting blade 8 and the setting operation of the cassette K on the stage 5 are completed, the thin cutting operation of the embedding block B is started.
First, the stage 5 is adjusted in height, and the upper surface of the embedding block B is adjusted to a desired height position. The moving mechanism 71 moves the holder 10 to slice the embedded block B with the cutting blade 8 clamped and fixed. Thereby, it is possible to roughen the embedding block B and perform the surface cutting.

By the way, the imaging camera 7 images the embedding block B when slicing is performed. This captured image is displayed on the monitor 15a. Therefore, the operator can confirm the surface state and internal state of the embedding block B with the captured image displayed on the monitor 15a. Then, with reference to this captured image, the stage 5 can be appropriately tilted or rotated between slices. As a result, an optimum surface can be exposed on the surface by rough cutting of the embedding block B.
In addition, after rough cutting, the embedding block B may be subjected to main cutting to produce a thin slice M.

  When the thin cutting is completed a predetermined number of times, the control unit 15 releases the pressing of the cutting blade 8 by the pressing plate 61. That is, the rod 65a is pulled in, and the base end side of the pressing plate 61 is moved to the mounting plate 60 side by the spring force. As a result, the pressing plate 61 rotates in the reverse direction around the shaft 64, and the tip side is pushed up. Accordingly, the pressing is released.

  At the same time, the controller 15 operates the transport mechanism 11 to push the used cutting blade 8 out of the holder 10 by sliding movement. That is, after the Z-axis plate 122 of the third transport unit 83 is lowered again, the moving plate 100 is moved. As a result, as shown in FIG. 38, the cutting blade 8 can be slid to be pushed out by using the pushing piece 123 a, and a part of the cutting blade 8 can be protruded to the outside of the holder 10. Thereby, the cutting blade 8 can be replaced.

  When the cutting blade 8 is pushed out of the holder 10, the control unit 15 operates the collection mechanism 130. Then, the recovery mechanism 130 lowers the Z-axis plate 134 to insert the protrusion 135a into the through hole 8b of the cutting blade 8 protruding outside the holder 10, and at the same time, the blade of the cutting blade 8 is moved to the magnetic body 135b. And the cutting blade 8 is held. Thereafter, the moving plate 132 is moved so that the cutting blade 8 is completely removed from the holder 10 and collected, and the collected cutting blade 8 is moved directly above the opening 140 a of the discharge chute 140.

  Subsequently, at this position, the Z-axis plate 134 is raised to raise the protrusion 135a and the magnetic body 135b. As a result, the claw portion 136 is relatively lowered, so that the cutting blade 8 can be knocked into the opening 140a of the discharge shooter 140 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the struck cutting blade 8 slides down the discharge shooter 140 due to the drop of gravity and is discharged after being guided to the disposal bottle 12. As a result, the used cutting blade 8 is collected in the disposal bottle 12.

Thereafter, the transport mechanism 11 again takes out one new cutting blade 8 from the storage case 9 and transports it to the holder 10. And the holder 10 clamps the new cutting blade 8 and prepares for the next thin cutting. On the other hand, the cassette K after slicing is transferred from the stage 5 to the mounting table 3 by the cassette loader 6. Then, it is returned from the mounting table 3 into the magazine 2 by the autoloader 4 and stored again.
As described above, according to the automatic slicing device 1 of the present embodiment, the embedded block B can be automatically sliced for all the cassettes K in the magazine 2 by repeating the above-described steps.

  In particular, according to the automatic slicing device 1, the cutting blade 8 can be automatically replaced and collected every time the slicing is performed a predetermined number of times. Therefore, the cutting blade 8 can be replaced without bothering the operator's hand, and the burden on the operator can be reduced as much as possible. Further, since the cutting blade 8 having a good sharpness can always be used for thin cutting, a high-quality thin section M can be produced. Moreover, since each component is accommodated in the apparatus case 14, it is hard to receive the influence of dust etc., and can perform a slice in the optimal environment. In this respect as well, the quality of the thin slice M can be improved.

  In addition, since the cutting blade 8 can be clamped and fixed to the holder 10 in an optimal state with no posture failure or rattling, accurate thin cutting can be performed, and the cutting blade 8 can be prevented from dropping. Can do. In addition, since the embedded block B can be sliced with the rake angle θ added, the cutting resistance can be reduced and smoother slicing can be performed.

  The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the detection mechanism 70 is configured using the escape hole 68 and the protruding pin 69, but the configuration is not limited thereto. For example, a non-contact type sensor for detecting the position and posture of the cutting blade 8 and the presence or absence of the cutting blade 8 may be provided on the holding plate 61 side, and the detection mechanism may be configured using this sensor. In any case, as long as it can be detected whether or not only one cutting blade 8 is clamped and fixed by the pressing plate 61 at a predetermined position of the mounting plate 60, the detection mechanism may be designed in any way.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the case where a guide mechanism was comprised with the discharge shooter 140 which guides the cutting blade 8 using the fall by gravity was mentioned as an example, it is not limited to this case, For example, a conveyor Alternatively, the guide mechanism may be designed such that the cutting blade 8 is guided by using an air cylinder or the like and discharged to the disposal bottle 12. However, it is preferable to use the discharge shooter 140 in terms of simplifying the configuration and reducing the cost.

  In the above-described embodiment, the cutting blade 8 mounted on the mounting plate 60 is attracted using the magnetic force of the magnet 63, but is not limited to the magnet 63. For example, the suction unit may be configured by a plurality of suction nozzles, and the cutting blade 8 may be sucked by suction force. However, since the attracting means can be configured easily and inexpensively by using the magnet 63, it is preferable in terms of simplification of the configuration and cost reduction.

It is a perspective view of an embedding block and a cassette used with an automatic slicing device according to the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which the thin slice cut | disconnected from the embedding block shown in FIG. 1 was fixed on the slide glass, and became the thin slice sample. It is a simplified lineblock diagram showing one embodiment of an automatic slicing device according to the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the automatic slicer shown in FIG. It is a perspective view of the magazine which comprises the automatic slicer shown in FIG. It is the side view which looked at the magazine shown in FIG. 5 from the arrow A direction. It is the rear view which looked at the magazine shown in FIG. 5 from the arrow B direction. FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged view of the magazine shown in FIG. 5. It is the figure which looked at the magazine shown in FIG. 8 from the side. It is a side view of a magazine when a cassette is inserted in a wrong direction. It is a perspective view of the magazine shown in FIG. It is a side view of a magazine when a cassette is inserted upside down and in a direction in which an inclined surface faces the back side. It is a side view of a magazine when a cassette is inserted upside down and in a direction in which an inclined surface faces the front side. It is a figure which shows the state which opened the door of the magazine from the state of FIG. It is the perspective view which looked at the magazine shown in FIG. 14 from the back side. It is a perspective view which shows the state which mounted | wore the stocker shown in FIG. FIG. 17 is a partially enlarged view of the stocker shown in FIG. 16. It is a top view of the cutting blade used with the automatic slicer shown in FIG. It is a side view of the cutting blade shown in FIG. It is a side view of the storage case which comprises the automatic slicer shown in FIG. It is a top view of the storage case shown in FIG. It is a front view of the storage case shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the mounting state of the storage case shown in FIG. It is a perspective view of the holder which comprises the automatic slicer shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing of the holder shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the recessed part formed in the mounting plate which comprises the holder shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the protrusion pin formed in the pressing plate which comprises the holder shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the state which pressed the cutting blade with the holder shown in FIG. 24, Comprising: It is a figure which shows a state when the cutting blade is located in the predetermined position decided beforehand. It is CC sectional view taken on the line in FIG. It is a figure which shows the state which pressed the cutting blade with the holder shown in FIG. 24, Comprising: It is a figure which shows a state when the cutting blade is located in the incorrect position. It is a figure which shows the moved state which the pressing plate of the holder shown in FIG. 24 moved to the pressing position in the state without a cutting blade. It is a figure which shows the state which the holder shown in FIG. 24 pressed the cutting blade in the state with two cutting blades. It is a perspective view of the conveyance mechanism which comprises the automatic slicer shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing of the conveyance path which comprises the conveyance mechanism shown in FIG. 33, Comprising: It is a cross-sectional arrow DD figure. It is a figure which shows the state which took out the cutting blade to the conveyance path from the state shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the state which slid the cutting blade to the vicinity of the holder from the state shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the state which made the cutting blade slide and move to the holder side from the state shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the state which slid the sliding blade from the state shown in FIG. 37, and was extruded from the holder. It is a figure which shows the state which collect | recovered the cutting blade from the state shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

B ... Embedded block S ... Biological sample 1 ... Automatic slicing device 8 ... Cutting blade 8a ... Cutting blade edge 8b ... Through hole 9 ... Storage case 10 ... Holder 11 ... Transport mechanism 60 ... Holder mounting plate 61 ... Holder Pressure plate 63 ... Magnet (adsorption member)
68 ... escape hole (recess)
69 ... Projection pin 70 ... Detection mechanism 71 ... Movement mechanism

Claims (2)

An automatic slicing device for slicing an embedded block in which a biological sample is embedded,
One end side is a cutting edge, a cutting blade in which a positioning through-hole is formed in the blade,
A holder having a mounting plate on which the cutting blade is placed while the cutting edge is exposed to the outside, and a pressing plate that presses the mounted cutting blade against the mounting plate and clamps it;
A moving mechanism for relatively moving the embedding block and the holder, and slicing the embedding block with the cutting blade fixed by clamping;
A storage case for storing a plurality of the cutting blades;
The cutting blade that is disposed between the storage case and the holder, is used after the sheet cutting blade is taken out from the storage case and conveyed to the mounting plate by sliding movement, and the thin cutting is finished a predetermined number of times. A transport mechanism that pushes out the holder by a slide movement and replaces it,
A detection mechanism for detecting whether or not only one of the cutting blades is clamped and fixed by the pressing plate at a predetermined position of the mounting plate ,
The detection mechanism includes an escape hole formed at a predetermined position of the mounting plate, and a projecting pin provided in the holding plate and capable of being inserted through the through hole and inserted into the escape hole. Prepared,
An automatic slicing apparatus that performs the detection based on a pressing angle of the pressing plate with respect to the mounting plate . In the automatic slicing device according to claim 1 ,
An automatic slicing apparatus comprising an adsorption member that adsorbs a proximal end side of the cutting blade placed on the placement plate and maintains the posture of the cutting blade.

Images