US3298411A

US3298411A - Comminuting apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3298411A
Application number: US371987A
Authority: US
Inventors: Rosett Theodore
Original assignee: Duke University
Current assignee: Duke University
Priority date: 1964-06-02
Filing date: 1964-06-02
Publication date: 1967-01-17
Anticipated expiration: 1984-01-17

Description

Jan. 17, 1967 T. RosET-r COMMINUTING APPARATUS Filed June 2, 1964 INVENTOR, Theodore Roseff ATTORNE Y the subcellular components of the tissue specimens.

United States Patent() which may include aspects of breaking, cutting, grinding v and pressing. The invention is particularly directed to an apparatus for dividing human and anim-al tissues into particles.` Y,

In various medical investigations, it becomes necessary to divide tissue specimens such as a section yof vunbilical 'cord until the specimen is broken down intoits subcellular components.- The subcellular components together4 withtheliquid components `,of the specimen are ideally brought into a homogenized solution during the course of dividing the specimen. for this .purpose have included the Waring Blendor type structure and mortar and pestle glass cone type structures both of which are foundin practice to do d-amageto This Prior art 1 devices jected to an extensive abrading or Vgrinding action be- 'tween the parts of the prior art devices which disrupts the subcellular comp-onents, vproducesnon-uniform particles andfprevents the obtaining of the desired homogenous solution.

The present invention has therefore as a general object the provision of a novel apparatus .for dividing materials and which is specifically `adaptable to dividing tissue down to its subcellular components without disrupting such components. f

AnotherV objectis to provide ank apparatus for dividing 'tissue land, producing therefrom a homogenized solution.

Another object is to provide an apparatus for dividing materials which enables free oating blades to be employed thereby eliminating the need interconnecting the blades. i

Another object is to provide a laboratory :apparatus for dividing tissue materials whichcan be easily disassembled and cleaned. i

4These and Yother objects will` appear as the description proceeds, and in the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of ardrill press Iadapted to practice the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a :perspective assembly view of a spindle usedin the invention with the drill press of FIGURE l. 4 FIGURE 3 is .a perspective of a receptacle'used with the invention. l i

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged cutaway perspective of the receptacle `of FIGURE 3 land showing' the relative arrangement of the comminuting elements of the invention within the' receptacle.

FIGURE 5 is similar to FIGURE 4 showing ho-wthe comminuting` elements are pressed together during operation of the invention;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of comminuting discs used in theinvention and illustrating various forms which the disc perforations may take; Y

FIGURE 7 is a cross section elevation of comminuting disc per-forations used in the Yinvention and illustrating various cross section shapes that may be employed.

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view illustrating a comminuting disc surface adapted to performa grinding effect. v l v Referring next' to the drawings in which like numerals refer to similar parts in the variousviews, there is shown for powering and Maice in FIGURE la typical bench drill press and stand generally indicated at 10. v Drillpress 10 includes the usual operating lever llvthat moves as indicate-d bythe arrow and which in turn --causes thee-chuck 12vto move downwardly in the direction of its axis of rotation as the chuck rotates. It is this feature of being able to rotate -and `sim-ultaneously move along the axis of rotation that makes drill press 10 particularlyl of the, invention. f

Within chuck 12 there is fitted aspecial vspindle indicated at 13; Spindle 13has a reduced size end 14 adapted to t chuck 112,l a shaft body 15, an enlarged shoulder 16 and a Vflange 17. all vof which form `the integral vunit` 13. The face of lian-ge `17 is preferably roughened as indicated at 18 and includes 4a tapped hole 19. The roughened face 18 iscoveredby a"friction pad indicated at 2,0 which is'heldl tothe flange 18 by means of "a screw 2'1 which passes through hole 22 and is engaged'with vthe tapped hole 19. As will .become more apparent from the laterdescription, friction pad`20 acts as a rotating drive member for the comminuting action to be described. Pad 20 has several purposes one of which is to protect'the surface of face 18 from being subject to wear. Another pu-rpose served is that of providing a' friction'wear surface which produces relatively inert particles asit wears away. For lthelast purpose, pad 20 ,ispreferably-made of an inert material such as siliconel rubber which gives both the desired `friction eflect vanti the'y desired wear qualities.

When applied to the problem'of separatin-g tissue, it has been^found desirable to carry out the operation in a double receptacle pan such as that shown in the drawings which allows ice, cool water or other cooling medium to be held in the outer receptacle and applied to the inner receptacle in which the operation is actually `being performed.. As illustrated, the pan has a handle 25, a main receptacle'26 for holding ice or the like, and a'cylindrical inner receptacle 27 which is soldered wit-h a liquid tight' connection to the bottom of receptacle 26 by means of a' collar 28 that surrounds receptacle 27 and is soldered to" both receptacles. `The bottom of inner receptacle 27 is roughened or otherwise made into a friction surface as indicated at 29 and to protect this surface there isl provided a friction pad 30 which tits snugly within the wall of receptacle 27 and rests on the surface 29 during the comminuting operation. i Pad 30 is similar to pad 20 in that both are intended to present friction wear surfaces which protect the surfaces eachcovers from wear and which also produce only inert particles as each wears away from use. Pad 30 desirable for t purposes also serves l'the purpose of retarding movement of vany material to be divided or any disc, later described, which comes in contact with it. Accordingly, silicone rubber is preferably employed as a choice of material for pad'30.

With the pan located below the drill press 10, with spindle 13 installed and with

pads

20 and 30 properly positioned, the receptacle 27 is ready to receive both the materials to be comminuted as well as the devices which effect the comminution. For this purpose, the invention provides for use of a plurality of discs as indicated at 34, 35,36 and 37 in FIGURES 4 and 5. In the most coml monly used form the discs are `of steel metal and each is perforated with uniform circular holes that cover substantially the entire area of the disc. the discs is such as to make them t snugly against and in slidable engagement with the inside wall of the receptacle 27 while leaving them free to rotate around the axis of the receptacle. A s shown in the drawings, the discs are loosely disposed in a relatively horizontal position and the material to be comminuted is placed either on top of the pad 3l) or on top of the lowermost disc or in both The diameter of places, these positions being indicated by the umbilical cord tissue specimens at 38 and 39.

In actual practice the loading operation is performed simply by dropping in the pad 30 which gives a friction surface at the base of the receptacle 27, then dropping in a disc and if desired a piece of tissue specimen to be comminuted, then dropping in more of the specimen and another disc, then dropping in the remaining discs after which the main receptacle 26 is centrally located under the spindle 13. Just prior to the comminuting operation it will be observed then that the discs and materials are loosely disposed in the receptacle 27 with the material being placed below selected ones of the discs. It is desirable to arrange the discs by hand so that they are relatively horizontal in the event they do not fall into such position when dropped in receptacle 27.

To commence the actual comminuting operation, the drill press 10 is started which causes pad 20 to rotate and as handle 11 is moved, pad 20 comes into contact with the i uppermost disc 34 and causes this disc to rotate. As handle 11 is continued in its movement, disc 34 will be brought in relatively tight but somewhat slipping engagement with the next uppermost disc 35 which will cause this last disc to also rotate but at somewhat lesser speed.

That is, even though With the discs in rotation and the tissue materialunder pressure between the discs, the tissue is forced to find its Way through the system so that there is somewhatof a combined pressing and cutting action that takes place. While difficult to observe avery limited degreevof tearing or` grinding probably also takes place however it has been found that this does not disrupt the subcellular components. Y The tissues will produce various liquids in the *process of being divided. These liquids will keep the discs lubricated as they rotate and can be drawn otf if desired through outlet 40. It has been found desirable to stop the operation at times to observe the extent and condition of the divided tissue and the operation is stopped entirely when the required degree of division is obtained. As each type of tissue material will be found to have its own optimum requirements, the user of the invention should study the etfect of different size holes, different shape holes and the like on the particular material with which he is concerned. v

As indicative of the various forms which the discs may take, there is shown in FIGURE 6 an array of discs from which it will be seen that the perforations may take the form of small circular holes as at 45, large circular holes as at 46 or triangularholes as at 47. Each shape hole will have distinct comminuting characteristics on various materials so that the particular comminuting configuration employed will necessarily be adapted to the type of material being operated on, the degree and type -of division required and the like. In the matter of variation, it has also been observed that the cross sectional :shape of the hole willhave some effect on the efficiency :and characteristics of the invention. This is illustrated :in FIGURE 7 in which 48 represents a frusto-conical 'shaped hole, 49 a sloping cylindrical hole and 50 a cylindrical hole having its axis perpendicular to the plane of the discs. A further variation is found in the surface effectas shown in FIGURE 8 in which a modified disc appears having only a single central hole 51 through which the material is forced to rise and a plurality of radially extending, triangular shaped channels 52. This last mentioned disc when employed between the types .of discs having an array o f circular holes produces a type of grinding action on such fibrous tissues as become lodged between it and the disc immediately above.

From the description, the invention can be seen to reside from the viewpoint of apparatus in the provision of a cylindrical receptacle having a friction driving surface which engages a plurality of loosely mounted perforated discs residing within and snugly fitting in slidable engagement the wall of the receptacle, and having material placed between them, so as to cause these discs to rotate at differing speeds while pressing the discs together against a second relatively fixed friction surface, the comminuting action being effected by the materials being forced through and between the loosely mounted discs. From the viewpoint of method, the-invention will be seen as involving the steps of placing the materials in a closed end cylinder, then placing loose perforated discs lon the material, then driving the outermost disc and pressing it towards the closed end to effect comminution.

While particularly useful to medical laboratories with respect to which the invention provides a means of obtaining division of tissue without destroying the subcellular components, it is believed that the inventionwill also find application to more large scale apparatus and to dividing other materials particularly those of a fibrous nature. The words comminuting comminution and the like are therefore chosen for lack of bettertermi'- nology/to encompass dividing processes, whether by cutting, breaking, tearing, grinding or otherwise to the extent that thesemay be involved in practicing the invention.

Having described the invention, what I claim is:

.1. A comminuting apparatus comprising,n in combination, a cylindrical receptacle havingan inside friction surface closing one end; a plurality of perforated discs of a predetermined comminuting configuration loosely mounted within saidl receptacle opposite said surface and snugly fitting the inside wall thereof,l said discs beingl arranged substantially'perpendicular to and being free to rotate with respect to and around the central axis of said receptacle; and means ladapted to rotate the outermost of said discs' with respect to said surface while moving said outermost 'disc toward said surface whereby to force together and cause rotation at varying speeds in others of said discs` and to effect comminution of any material placed so as to be forced between at least a pair of said discs during said rotation.

2. A comminuting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said comminuting conguration comprises 'circular holes penetrating said discs over subsetantially the whole area thereof.

3. A comminuting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 including drain means for said receptacle.

4.' A comminuting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said means comprises a driven shaft movable along said axis and mounting a friction surface engageable with said outermost disc to effect said rotation. 5. A comminuting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in whichl said receptacle is lvertically disposed and said discs are horizontally disposed. s

6. A comminuting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said means comprises a movable electric drill mounting a shaft movable along said axis and having a friction surface engageable with said outermost disc to effect said rotation.

7. A comminuting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said comminuting configuration varies between different ones of said discs.

8. A comminuting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said friction surface comprises a material which is relatively inert with respect to the material forced through said discs.

9. A comminuting apparatus comprising, in combination, a vertically disposed relatively fixed cylindrical receptacle having a closed end and a friction padl covering said end; a plurality of perforated discs of a predetermined comminuting configuration loosely mounted within said receptacle opposite said pad and snugly fitting the inside wall thereof, said discs being arranged substantially perpendicular to and being free to rotate with respect to and around the central axis of said receptacle; a driven vertically disposed spindle mounted above said receptacle and adapted to be moved downwardly along said axis; a second friction pad fixedly mounted to and at the'lower end of said spindle and rotating therewith, movement of said spindle downwardly causing said second pad to engage and rotate the outermost of said discs whereby to force together and cause rotation at varying speeds in others of said discs and to effect comminution of any material placed so as to be forced between at least a pair of said discs during said rotation, said pads each being comprised of an inert friction material.

10. An apparatus for comminuting tissue materials and the like comprising, in combination, a vertically disposed relatively fixed cylindrical receptacle having a closed end and a friction surface covering said end; a plurality of discs each having perforations of given comminuting configuration over substantially the whole area thereof and being loosely mounted within said receptacle opposite said surface and snugly fitting the inside wall thereof, said discs being arranged substantially perpendicular to and being free to rotate around the central axis of said receptacle, said materials normally being placed between the lowermost of said discs and said surface prior to operating said apparatus; and vertically movable driven spindle means located above said receptacle and having a friction surface adapted to being engaged with the outermost of said discs while being moved toward said end surface whereby to force together and cause rotation at varying speeds in others of said discs and thereby effect comminution of said tissue materials by forcing the same between said discs during said rotation.

11. An apparatus for comminuting tissue as claimed in claim 10 wherein both said end friction surface and said spindle friction surface are comprised of a material inert to said tissue materials.

12. An apparatus for comminuting tissue as claimed in claim 11 in which said vertically movable driven spindle means comprises an electric drill spindle mounted above said receptacle.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,074,397 9/1913 Westby.

2,843,169 7/1958 Stein 146-68 3,221,788 12/1965 Hughes 146-192 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,306,039 9/1962 France..

WILLIAM W. DYER, I R., Primary Examiner.

W. GRAYDON ABERCROMBIE, Examiner.

Claims

1. A COMMINUTING APPARATUS COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A CYLINDRICAL RECEPTACLE HAVING AN INSIDE FRICTION SURFACE CLOSING ONE END; A PLURALITY OF PERFORATED DISCS OF A PREDETERMINED COMMINUTING CONFIGURATION LOOSELY MOUNTED WITHIN SAID RECEPTACLE OPPOSITE SAID SURFACE AND SNUGLY FITTING THE INSIDE WALL THEREOF, SAID DISCS BEING ARRANGED SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR TO AND BEING FREE TO ROTATE WITH RESPECT TO AND AROUND THE CENTRAL AXIS OF SAID RECEPTACLE; AND MEANS ADAPTED TO ROTATE THE OUTERMOST OF SAID DISCS WITH RESPECT TO SAID SURFACE WHILE MOVING SAID OUTERMOST DISC TOWARD SAID SURFACE WHEREBY TO FORCE TOGETHER AND CAUSE ROTATION AT VARYING SPEEDS IN OTHERS OF SAID DISCS AND TO EFFECT COMMINUTION OF ANY MATERIAL PLACED SO AS TO BE FORCED BETWEEN AT LEAST A PAIR OF SAID DISCS DURING SAID ROTATION.