US3227020A

US3227020A - Microtome blade holder and anti-roll means therefor

Info

Publication number: US3227020A
Application number: US310575A
Authority: US
Inventors: Nerses J Zeytoonian
Original assignee: International Equipment Co
Current assignee: Thermo IEC Inc
Priority date: 1963-09-23
Filing date: 1963-09-23
Publication date: 1966-01-04
Anticipated expiration: 1983-01-04

Description

Jan. 4, 1966 N. J. ZEYTOONIAN 3,

MIGROTOME BLADE HOLDER AND ANTI-ROLL MEANS THEREFOR Filed Sept. 23, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I awenfofl: News J. Zeyioozuluz, by ifiwney Jan. 1966 N. J. ZEYTOONIAN 3,227,020

MICROTOME BLADE HOLDER AND ANTI-ROLL MEANS THEREFOR United States Patent 3,227,020 MICROTOME BLADE HOLDER AND ANTLROLL MEANS THEREFOR Nerses J. Zeytoonian, Waltham, Mass., assignor to International Equipment Co., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Sept. 23, 1963, Ser. No. 310,575 8 Claims. (Cl. 83162) The present invention relates to blade holders for microtomes and to anti-roll attachments therefor.

, Microtomes are widely used in sectioning prepared tissue samples by effecting relative movement between a cutting edge and the sample holder with sections of as little as two (2) microns in thickness being sometimes desired.

The effectiveness of a microtome depends on various factors with one important factor being the quality of the cutting edge and the supporting means therefor. Special knives are commonly used and microtomes are provided with holders in which such knives are clamped.

Because commercially available razor blades combine low cost with cutting edges of uniform keenness, such are often used in microtomes and the present invention is concerned with holders for such blades that can be clamped to the holders of the microtomes and provide ease and convenient to the operator in replacing blades and ensuring their maximum effectiveness in cutting even the thinnest sections.

In accordance with the invention, these general objectives are attained by providing a blade holder that comprises a support to be clamped in place in the rnicrotome holder and includes a backing portion for a razor blade to the lower edge of which portion a blade clamp is hinged.

The support and the clamp have portions that are offset relative to the hinge axis of the clamp with one such portion underlying the other. As'crew is threaded upwardly through the underlying portion and is in engagement with the overlying portion thereby to be operable to urge the blade clamp into clamping engagement with a blade positioned on the backing portion of the support.

Embedded in the blade backing portion of the support is a permanent magnet to hold a blade securely in place until the clamp may be closed against it. In addition, where the razor blade is of a double-edged type, the backing portion is provided with holding means for entry into and to extend through the central aperture with which double-edged blades are conventionally provided. The provision of the permanent magnet holds the blades so securely in their precise position of use that they may be installed without the necessity of removing the blade holder from the holder of the microtome.

In the use of a microtome, the tendency of a section to curl or roll as it is being cut is a problem usually requiring the use of means to prevent such rolling and an important objective of this invention is to provide blade holders in accordance with the invention with such means, conveniently, but not necessarily, as an attachment therefor.

This objective is attained by pivotally connecting an anti-roll plate to the holder so that it may swing towards and away from the outer face of the clamp with its lower edge protruding below the lower edge of the clamp. A leaf is loosely carried by the clamp-actuating screw and is yieldably held, by a coil spring carried by the screw, in engagement with that edge and the clamp, and yielding to permit the anti-roll plate to be swung outwardly and downwardly from an operative position into face-to-face contact with the leaf.

In the accompanying drawings, there is shown an embodiment of the invention illustrative of these and other of the objectives, novel features, and advantages.

. the fiange and into engagement with the seat 18 and 3,227,020 Patented Jan. 4, 1966 ice In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of a blade holder clamped in the knife holder of a microtome,

FIGURE 2 is an end view thereof,

FIGURE 3 is a front elevational view of the blade holder by itself,

FIGURE 4 is a partly sectioned end view holder on an increased scale,

FIGURES 5 and6 are sections, on the scale of FIG- URE 4, taken along the indicated lines 55 and 6-43, respectively, of FIGURE 3, and z FIGURE 7. is a fragmentary section similar to FIGURE 5 but on-an increased scale.

A knife holder of a microtome is generally indicated at 10 and it includes a pair of seats. 11 against which the of the blade ends of a support 12 of a blade holderare securely held as by clamps 13.

The support 12 has a central backing portion 14rd Embedded in the backing portion 14 is a permanent magnet 16 and additional blade holding means are provided in the form of screws 17 whose heads are dimensioned to enter and extend through the blade slots 15A.

The lower edge of the backing portion 14 is above but parallel to the lower edges of the remainder of the support 12 to establish a seat 18 between and above outwardly disposed cars 19 threaded to receive pivots 20 by which a blade clamp 21 is attached with the hinge axis being lengthwise of the lower part thereof. The blade engaging face of the clamp 21 has recesses 17A to accommodate the blade supporting heads of the screws 17., The clamp 21 includes a flange 22 extending under the seat 18 and a screw 23 is threaded upwardly through operable to urge the clamp 21 into clamping engagement With the blade 15.

In order to prevent a section of a prepared specimen from rolling as it is being cut, a transparent anti-roll plate 24 is provided. The plate 24 has a shallow way 24A for the section and is shown as attached to a plate 25 by screws 26 passing through vertically extending slots 27 enabling the relationship of the upper edge of the plate 24 to the cutting edge of the blade 15 to 'be adjusted. The plate 25 has, above its lower edge 25A, inwardly disposed, marginal tabs 28 apertured to enable the plate 25 to be attached to the blade holder by means of the pivots 20. The plate 25 has a marginal tab 25B to facilitate its being swung into its operative and inoperative position relative to the blade clamp 21.

When the anti-rollplate 24 is seated against the outer face of the clamp 21, the lower edge 25A protrudes below the lower edge of the clamp and is engaged by a leaf, preferably a leaf spring 29 loosely held by the screw 23 and by the coil spring 30 confined thereby which maintains the leaf spring 29 against the edge 25A and against the clamp 21 but yielding to permit the anti-roll plate 24 and its attaching plate 25 to be swung outwardly and downwardly until the lower part of the plate 25 is in face-to-face contact with the leaf spring 29. The leaf spring is held against lateral movement by spaced tabs 25C at the bottom edge of the plate 25.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that blade holders in accordance with the invention are of a simple but rugged construction and enable the cutting edges of the blades to be precisely adjusted even without removing the blade holder from the holder of the microtome.

I claim:

1. A blade holder for microtomes, said holder comprising a support including a backing portion for a blade,

a blade clamp hinged to said support adjacent the lower edge of said portion, said support and said clamp including portions, one underlying the other and laterally offset relative to the hinge axis between said support and said clamp, and a screw threaded upwardly through the underlying portion and engageable with the overlying portion and operable to urge said clamp into clamping engagement with a blade positioned on the backing portion of said support, an anti-roll plate pivotally connected to said holder to swing towards and away from the outer face of said clamp and with its lower edge protruding below the lower edge thereof, a leaf loosely carried by said' screw and engageable with said protruding plate edge and the lower edge of said clamp, and a coil spring carried by said screw seating said leaf against said plate edge and the lower edge of said clamp and yielding to permit said pivoted plate to swing outwardly and downwardly into face-to-face contact with said leaf.

2. A blade holder for rnicrotomes, said holder comprising a support including a backing portion for a blade, a blade clamp hinged to said support adjacent the lower edge of said portion, said support and said clamp including portions, one underlying the other and laterally offset relative to the hinge axis between said support and said clamp, and a screw threaded upwardly through the underlying portion and engageable with the overlying portion and operable to urge said clamp into clamping engagement with a blade positioned on the backing portion of said support, an anti-roll plate, a plate pivotally connected to said holder to swing towards and away from the outer face of said clamp and with its lower edge protruding below the lower edge thereof, and adjustable connection between said plates enabling the position of the upper edge of said anti-roll plate to be adjusted relative to the upper edge of said clamp, a leaf loosely carried by said screw and engageable with said protruding plate edge and the lower edge of said clamp, and a coil spring carried by said screw seating said leaf against said plate edge and the lower edge of said clamp and yielding to permit said pivoted plate to swing outwardly and downwardly into face-t-o-face contact with said leaf.

3. A blade holder for rnicrotomes, said holder comprising a support including a backing portion for a blade, a blade clamp hinged to said support adjacent the lower edge of said portion, said support and said clamp including portions, one underlying the other and laterally offset relative to the hinge axis between said support and said clamp, and a screw threaded upwardly through the underlying portion and engageable with the overlying portion and operable to urge said clamp into clamping engagement with a blade positioned on the backing portion of said support, an anti-roll plate pivotally connected to said holder coaxially with said clamp and with an edge protruding below the lower edge of said clamp, a leaf loosely carried by said screw and engageable with said protruding plate edge and the lower edge of said clamp, and a coil spring carried by said screw yieldably seating said leaf against said plate edge and the bottom edge of said clamp and yielding to permit said pivoted plate to swing outwardly and downwardly into face-to-face contact with said leaf.

4. A blade holder for rnicrotomes, said holder comprising a support including a backing portion for a blade, a blade clamp hinged to said support adjacent the lower edge of said support, and a screw adjustment between said clamp and said support and operable to urge said clamp into and out of clampingv engagement with a blade positioned on the backing portion of said support, an anti-roll plate pivotally connected to said holder to swing towards and away from the outer face of said clamp and with its lower edge protruding below the lower edge thereof, a leaf loosely attached to said holder and engageable with said protruding plate edge and the lower edge of said clamp, and a coil spring attached to said holder seating said leaf against said plate edge and the lower edge of said clamp and yielding to permit said pivoted plate to swing outwardly and downwardly into face-toface contact with said leaf.

5. The blade holder of claim 4 in which the anti-roll plate has a section-receiving way extending from top-tobottom of the face thereof that is disposed toward the clamp.

6. The blade holder of claim 4 in which the anti-roll plate includes a first tissue-confining portion and a second portion which overlaps the tissue-confining portion and is connected thereto to permit the tissue-confining portion to be adjusted vertically relative to the clamp.

7. The blade holder of claim 4 in which the anti-roll plate including a first portion having a. section-receiving way extending from top-to-bottom of the face thereof that is disposed towards the clamp and a second portion which overlaps the lower portion of the first portion and is connected thereto on both sides of the way for adjustments vertically relative to the clamp.

8. The blade holder of claim 4 in which the lower edge of the anti-roll plate is U-shaped and straddles the protruding end of the leaf.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 854,814 5/1907 Durham 3074 1,865,539 7/1932 Pietzsch, 83-698 2,643,579 6/1953 Jacoby.

2,705,834 4/1955 Lundy 30-74 2,901,944 9/ 1959 Sparer.

FOREIGN PATENTS 341,494 1/ 1931 Great Britain.

WILLIAM W. DYER, JR., Primary Examiner.

ANDREW I. JUHASZ, Examiner.

Claims

1. A BLADE HOLDER FOR MICROTOMES, SAID HOLDER COMPRISING A SUPPORT INCLUDING A BACKING PORTION FOR A BLADE, A BLADE CLAMP HINGED TO SAID SUPPORT ADJACENT THE LOWER EDGE OF SAID PORTION, SAID SUPPORT AND SAID CLAMP INCLUDING PORTIONS, ONE UNDERLYING THE OTHER AND LATERALLY OFFSET RELATIVE TO THE HINGE AXIS BETWEEN SAID SUPPORT AND SAID CLAMP, AND A SCREW THREADED UPWARDLY THROUGH THE UNDERLYING PORTION AND ENGAGEABLE WITH THE OVERLYING PORTION AND OPERABLE TO URGE SAID CLAMP INTO CLAMPING ENGAGEMENT WITH A BLADE POSITIONED ON THE BACKING PORTION OF SAID SUPPORT, AN ANTI-ROLL PLATE PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID HOLDER TO SWING TOWARDS AND AWAY FROM THE OUTER FACE OF SAID CLAMP AND WITH ITS LOWER EDGE PROTRUDING BELOW THE LOWER EDGE THEREOF, A LEAF LOOSELY CARRIED BY SAID SCREW AND ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID PROTRUDING PLATE EDGE AND THE LOWER EDGE OF SAID CLAMP, AND A COIL SPRING CARRIED BY SAID SCREW SEATING SAID LEAF AGAINST SAID PLATE EDGE AND THE LOWER EDGE OF SAID CLAMP AND YIELDING TO PERMIT SAID PIVOTED PLATE TO SWING OUTWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLY INTO FACE-TO-FACE CONTACT WITH SAID LEAF.