US3540335A - Ultramicrotome with means for adjusting the level of the liquid in the collecting vessel of the microtome - Google Patents
Ultramicrotome with means for adjusting the level of the liquid in the collecting vessel of the microtome Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US3540335A US3540335A US3540335DA US3540335A US 3540335 A US3540335 A US 3540335A US 3540335D A US3540335D A US 3540335DA US 3540335 A US3540335 A US 3540335A
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- liquid
- collecting vessel
- cutting knife
- level
- knife
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
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Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
- G01N1/00—Sampling; Preparing specimens for investigation
- G01N1/02—Devices for withdrawing samples
- G01N1/04—Devices for withdrawing samples in the solid state, e.g. by cutting
- G01N1/06—Devices for withdrawing samples in the solid state, e.g. by cutting providing a thin slice, e.g. microtome
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
- Y10T83/00—Cutting
- Y10T83/222—With receptacle or support for cut product
Definitions
- the present invention relates to ultramicrotomes, and more specifically to means for adjusting the level of the liquid in a collecting vessel fixed to the cutting knife of the microtome to one side of the cutting edge thereof.
- cutting knives of ultramicrotomes are provided with small collecting vessels fixed to the cutting knife of the microtome to one side of the cutting edge of the knife, and such a collecting vessel is filled with liquid having a level flush with the upper edge of the cutting knife so that thin tissue sections cut by the knife may be collected on the upper surface of the liquid in the collecting vessel.
- the level of the liquid in the collecting vessel has to be adjusted, tor reasons which will be explained later on in detail, in a very exact manner so that the liquid vessel is in one plane with the upper edge of the cutting knife. Since the volume of such a collecting vessel is necessarily very small, in the order of l emf, the exact adjustment of the liquid level in the collecting vessel is connected with considerable difficulties.
- the present invention comprises, in combination with an ultramicrotome having a cutting knife with an upper cutting edge and a collecting vessel fixed to the cutting knife to one side of the cutting edge and adapted to be filled with liquid up to the cutting edge ofthe knife for collecting sections cut by the ultramicrotome, means for changing the amount of liquid in the collecting vessel and for adjusting the level of the liquid in the vessel and including a tubular member extending from above into the vessel and having a lower open end for the passage of liquid into and out from the collecting vessel and being located at an elevation below that of the cutting edge of the knife so as to extend into the liquid in the vessel when the latter is filled with liquid up to the cutting edge of the knife.
- Support means preferably, support the tubular member adjustable in at least two directions relative to the cutting edge.
- the support means for adjustably supporting the tubular member are mounted on mounting means which adjustably mount the cutting knife on a support so that the support means and the tubular member mounted thereon will follow any adjustment of the position of the cutting knife.
- the other end of the tubular member is preferably connected by a flexible tubing to the outlet end of a resiliently compressible liquid container with which means cooperate for gradually compressing the container so as to transfer liquid from the latter through the flexible tubing and the tubular member into the collecting vessel.
- FIGS. 1 and 2 are partially sectioned side views respectively schematically illustrating the cutting knife of an ultramicrotome, the collecting vessel fixed to the cutting knife, and other elements of the ultramicrotome cooperating with the aforementioned elements;
- FIG. 3 is a side view schematically illustrating an arrangement according to the prior art for adjusting the liquid level in the collecting vessel of the microtome;
- FIG. 4 is a schematic, partially sectioned, perspective view of an arrangement according to the present invention for adjusting the liquid level of the collecting vessel of a microtome;
- FIG. 5 is a partially sectioned schematic side view and illustrating part of the arrangement shown in FIG. 4;
- FIG. 6 is a sectioned side view illustrating part of another embodiment according to the present invention.
- FIG. 7 is a partially sectioned front view of a portion of the arrangement shown in FIG. 5.
- FIGS. 1 and 2 schematic-ally illustrate the general arrangement of a microtome provided with a collecting vessel on the cutting knife of the microtome.
- the microtome may include a cutting knife I of substantially triangular cross section which may be formed from glass, and a collecting vessel the wall of which is formed by a thin strip of plastic material 2 connected at the bottom edge thereof to the cutting knife I in a sealed manner by a small mass of wax 3 or the like.
- the thus formed collecting vessel is arranged to one side of the upper cutting edge of the cutting knife 1 and the collecting vessel is filled with a suitable liquid, for instance distilled water, so that the level of the liquid in the collecting vessel is in one horizontal plane with the upper cutting edge of the knife.
- a suitable liquid for instance distilled water
- An exact adjustment of the level of the liquid in the collect- 'ing vessel is for various reasons very important. If the upper surface of the liquid in the collecting vessel is convex, as shown at 7 in FIG. 2, then microvibrations will be created in the sections 6 cutoff from the block 4, and such microvibration will hinder an electrone optical examination of the sections. On the other hand, a concave upper liquid surface. as indicated at 8 in FIG. 2, will quickly cause withdrawal of liquid from the upper edge of the cutting knife I so that the sections will not properly slide any longer on the dry cutting edge but will be pushed together and not be usable any longer. A further reason for exactly adjusting the upper surface of the liquid in the collecting vessel is that the thickness of the cuttissue sections has to be estimated according to interference colors.
- the upper surface of the liquid is in most cases due to small irregularities in the wall of the collecting vessel and on the cutting edge of the knife not perfectly plane so that only a limited area of the upper surface will satisfy the above-mentioned, reflection requirements. In other areas it is hardly possible to recognize the cut sections and in no case it is possible to judge the thickness and quality thereof. In this case it is necessary in order to properly observe the cut section to move the latter on the upper surface or to adjust the position of the upper surface of the liquid in the collecting vessel. Both manipulations may lead to a loss of some of the cut sections.
- a perfect arrangement for adjusting the level of the liquid in a collecting vessel of the aforementioned kind has therefore to satisfy the following conditions:
- the arrangement has to be'independent from the skill of the operator, i.e., it has to be operable in an extremely simple manner.
- the arrangement has also to permit adjustment of the liquid level without manipulation in the region of the cutting edge of the knife, that is by remote control.
- the arrangement has to assure an exact dosing of the liquid addition or an exact dosing of removal of liquid so that the upper level of the liquid may be located in one horizontal plane including the upper edge of the knife so as to provide a perfect reflection of the image of the cut sections into the objective pair 10.
- FIG. 3 For this purpose an arrangement as schematically illustrated in FIG. 3 has already been suggested in which a collecting vessel formed by a sheet metal member 11 cemented to the glass cutting knife 1 was provided and in which a small tube 12 extended through an opening in the sheet metal member 11 and was carried thereby. It was also suggested to fasten such a tube connection to the metal frame of diamond cutting knives.
- the tube 12 has been connected by a hose 13 to means for supplying liquid to the tube, for instance a syringe 14 the piston 15 of which was movable in axial direction by a screw arrangement 16, 17 connected thereto and turnable by a knob 18 at the outer end of the screw so as to move the piston 15 in axial direction. While the arrangement shown in FIG.
- the arrangement according to the present invention differs basically from the known arrangement shown in FIG. 3.
- the collecting vessel is formed from a plastic strip in the same manner as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, but the tube for feeding liquid in and out of the collecting vessel is not carried by the wall of the collecting vessel, but the tube extends from above into the collecting vessel so that the lower open end of the tube is below the normal level of the liquid in the collecting vessel.
- the tube is supported by support means independent from the wall of the collecting vessel and the tube support means are preferably connected to the mounting means which carry the cutting knife so as to be adjustable together with the latter.
- the support means which support the tube are constructed in such a manner so as to permit adjustment of the position of the tube with respect to the cutting knife.
- FIGS. 4-7 The arrangement according to the present invention is shown in a nonlimiting manner in FIGS. 4-7.
- the arrangement according to the present invention includes a cutting knife I of substantially triangular cross section having an upper cutting edge which is mounted on mounting means 19 ofa cross section as best shown in FIG. 5, movable on the mounting means in substantially horizontal direction in a known manner, not forming part of the present invention, by the knob 19a shown in FIG. 4, and the mounting means 19 are in turn mounted in a slot of a support or block 20 angularly adjustable about a horizontal axis in a known manner by means of the knob 20a so that the angle e (FIG. 5), which the front face of the cutting knife 1 includes with the path 5 along which the block 4 is reciprocated, may be adjusted.
- the angle e FIG. 5
- the small tubular member 21 which serves to feed liquid in and out of the collecting vessel formed by the plastic strip 2, sealingly connected at the bottom edge thereof to the rear face of the cutting knife 1, extends with a bent portion thereof over the upper edge of the plastic strip 2 into the interior of the collecting vessel so that the lower open end of the tubular member 21 is below the normal level of the liquid in the col lecting vessel.
- the tubular member 21 is carried by support means so that the position thereof with regard to the collecting vessel may be adjusted in substantially vertical and substantially horizontal direction or by turning the support means about its axis as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 5.
- the support means supporting the tubular member 21 preferably comprise a substantially upright hollow cylindrical member 23 formed in the wall thereof with a pair of opposite longitudinally extending slots 23a and a solid tubular member 22 in the hollow tubular member 23 and frictionally engaging the inner surface thereof so as to be shiftable in axial direction and to be held by friction in any shifted position.
- the member 22 is formed with a bore transverse to its axis through which the tubular member 21 extends to be shiftable in axial direction while being frictionally held in any adjusted position.
- the member 22 may for instance be formed from rubber so as to be slightly compressible.
- the support means 22, 23 supporting the tubular member 21 are preferably mounted on the mounting means 19 for the cutting knife and removably therefrom in a simple manner.
- a pair of cooperating means respectively fixed to the lower end of the member 23 and to the mounting means 19 may be provided for releasably attaching the support means, that is the member 23 thereof, to the mounting means 19.
- the pair of cooperating means may be constituted, for instance, by a permanent magnet 25 mounted in the lower end portion of the member 23 and engaging with the flat bottom face thereofa magnetizable portion of the mounting means 19 as shown in FIG. 6.
- the pair of cooperating means may comprise a female socket member 24a projecting upwardly from the mounting means 19 as shown in FIG. 5, and a male socket member 24 fixed to the lower end of the member 23 and projecting downwardly therefrom into the cavity of the female socket member 2411, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7.
- the male member 24 has preferably a cylindrical outer surface so as to be turnable in the socket member 24a.
- the tubular member 21 is connected by a hose or flexible tubing 13 to a liquid supply means which may comprise a rubber ball 26 having an outlet end to which the hose 13 is connected, and the rubber ball 26 is loosely mounted in the cavity of a cylindrical member 30 which above the cavity in which the rubber ball 26 is located is provided with an axial bore formed with an inner screw thread with which the outer screw thread of a spindle 29 extending through the axial bore of the member 30 is threadingly engaged.
- the spindle 29 is likewise formed with an axial bore in which a cylindrical rod 28 is slidably arranged extending with its upper end beyond the upper end of the spindle 29.
- the rod 28 serves for quickly filling the interior of the rubber ball 26 with liquid by detaching the support means 22, 23 from the mounting means of the cutting knife and by dipping the open end of the tubular member 21 in a liquid container after first pressing the rod 28 downwardly into the spindle and thereby compressing the rubber ball 26. After release of the rod 28, the rubber ball 26 will resiliently expand so that water will be sucked into the interior of the rubber ball.
- the support means 22, 23 are again mounted on the mounting means 19 of the cutting knife 1 and liquid from the rubber ball 26 may be transferred into the collecting vessel formed by the plastic strip 2 by turning the spindle 29 by means of its upper serrated portion 27 so that liquid is transferred from the interior of the rubberball 26 through the hose l3 and the tubular member 21 into the collecting vessel.
- the spindle By turning the spindle subsequently thereto in one or the other direction, the upper level of the liquid in the collecting vessel may be very exactly adjusted.
- the position of the end portion of the tube 21 can be adjusted so that the end portion in the collecting vessel will be below the level of the liquid therein and so that the end portion will be out of the way of the cut sections 6 floating on the liquid in the collecting vessel.
- any necessary adjustment can be made in a simple manner by shifting the tube in the bore of the member 22 or by shifting the member 22 in axial direction within the hollow cylindrical member 23.
- the support means 22, 23 for the tubular member 21 may easily be removed from the mounting means of the cutting knife to facilitate exchange of the latter.
- the arrangement according to the present invention especially the arrangement of the tubular member 21 and the support means therefore may be used in connection with cutting knives of any type and material and with collecting vessels connected thereto formed by a plastic strip or any other desired material.
- an ultramicrotome having a cutting knife with an upper cutting edge and a collecting vessel fixed to the cutting knife to one side of the cutting edge and adapted to befilled with liquid up to the cutting edge of the knife for collecting sections cut by the ultramicrotome
- said pair of cooperating means comprise a female socket member and a male member releasably inserted in said female socket member.
- said pair of cooperating means comprise a permanent magnet and a portion of magnetizable material cooperating with said magnet for releasably attaching said support means to said mounting means.
- said support means comprises a hollow substantially upright cylindrical member formed in opposite wall portions thereof with a pair of elongated slots extending substantially in the direction of the axis of said hollow cylindrical member, a solid cylindrical member in said hollow cylindrical member and frictionally engaging the inner surface thereof so as to be adjustable in axial direction, said solid cylindrical member being formed with a bore therethrough extending transverse to the axis thereof, said tubular member extending through said bore adjustable in longitudinal direction and turnable about the axis of the latter.
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- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Analytical Chemistry (AREA)
- Biochemistry (AREA)
- General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Immunology (AREA)
- Pathology (AREA)
- Sampling And Sample Adjustment (AREA)
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
AT699567A AT267217B (de) | 1967-07-27 | 1967-07-27 | Einrichtung zum Justieren des Flüssigkeitsspiegels in Schnittsammelbecken von Ultramikrotomen |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US3540335A true US3540335A (en) | 1970-11-17 |
Family
ID=3591739
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US3540335D Expired - Lifetime US3540335A (en) | 1967-07-27 | 1968-07-25 | Ultramicrotome with means for adjusting the level of the liquid in the collecting vessel of the microtome |
Country Status (3)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US3540335A (de) |
AT (1) | AT267217B (de) |
DE (1) | DE1993223U (de) |
Cited By (8)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3832923A (en) * | 1972-01-01 | 1974-09-03 | Schwarzer Co | Method for the production of microtome slices and device for the implementation of the method |
FR2402203A1 (fr) * | 1977-09-05 | 1979-03-30 | Lkb Produkter Ab | Collecteur d'echantillon pour microtome |
EP0025614A1 (de) * | 1979-07-23 | 1981-03-25 | The Boeing Company | Verfahren und Apparat zur ununterbrochenen Bestimmung einer Zeitspanne, in welcher eine Handlung ausgeführt werden soll |
EP0164824A2 (de) * | 1984-04-07 | 1985-12-18 | Leica Instruments GmbH | Klemmvorrichtung für das Messer eines Mikrotomes |
US5551326A (en) * | 1994-12-15 | 1996-09-03 | Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation | Adhesive-less microtome boat |
US5713255A (en) * | 1992-07-10 | 1998-02-03 | Microm Laborgerate Gmbh | Process and apparatus for the production of thin sections by means of a microtome |
WO2012033842A2 (en) | 2010-09-07 | 2012-03-15 | President And Fellows Of Harvard College | Methods, apparatuses and systems for collection of tissue sections |
US11060955B2 (en) | 2017-12-12 | 2021-07-13 | Karlsruher Institut Fuer Technologie | Microtome and method for producing thin sections from a sample by means of a microtome |
-
1967
- 1967-07-27 AT AT699567A patent/AT267217B/de active
-
1968
- 1968-06-26 DE DER37774U patent/DE1993223U/de not_active Expired
- 1968-07-25 US US3540335D patent/US3540335A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Cited By (13)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3832923A (en) * | 1972-01-01 | 1974-09-03 | Schwarzer Co | Method for the production of microtome slices and device for the implementation of the method |
FR2402203A1 (fr) * | 1977-09-05 | 1979-03-30 | Lkb Produkter Ab | Collecteur d'echantillon pour microtome |
EP0025614A1 (de) * | 1979-07-23 | 1981-03-25 | The Boeing Company | Verfahren und Apparat zur ununterbrochenen Bestimmung einer Zeitspanne, in welcher eine Handlung ausgeführt werden soll |
EP0164824A2 (de) * | 1984-04-07 | 1985-12-18 | Leica Instruments GmbH | Klemmvorrichtung für das Messer eines Mikrotomes |
EP0164824A3 (en) * | 1984-04-07 | 1987-01-07 | Parke, Davis & Company | Clamping mechanism for the cutter of a microtome |
US5713255A (en) * | 1992-07-10 | 1998-02-03 | Microm Laborgerate Gmbh | Process and apparatus for the production of thin sections by means of a microtome |
US5551326A (en) * | 1994-12-15 | 1996-09-03 | Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation | Adhesive-less microtome boat |
WO2012033842A2 (en) | 2010-09-07 | 2012-03-15 | President And Fellows Of Harvard College | Methods, apparatuses and systems for collection of tissue sections |
EP2614376A4 (de) * | 2010-09-07 | 2018-05-30 | President and Fellows of Harvard College | Verfahren, vorrichtungen und systeme zur sammlung von gewebeabschnitten |
US10288532B2 (en) | 2010-09-07 | 2019-05-14 | President And Fellows Of Harvard College | Methods, apparatuses and systems for collection of tissue sections |
US10704992B2 (en) | 2010-09-07 | 2020-07-07 | President And Fellows Of Harvard College | Methods, apparatuses and systems for collection of tissue sections |
US11085853B2 (en) | 2010-09-07 | 2021-08-10 | President And Fellows Of Harvard College | Methods, apparatuses and systems for collection of tissue sections |
US11060955B2 (en) | 2017-12-12 | 2021-07-13 | Karlsruher Institut Fuer Technologie | Microtome and method for producing thin sections from a sample by means of a microtome |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
AT267217B (de) | 1968-12-27 |
DE1993223U (de) | 1968-09-05 |
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