Microtome
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A microtome for producing thin sections from an object, comprising:
- a housing;
a cutting blade mounted in association with the housing;
an object holder movably mounted with respect to the housing to hold the object to be sectioned; and
a drive system contained within the housing for producing relative cutting movement between the cutting blade and the object holder, the drive system including an automatic drive system having a drive motor and a control circuit for controlling operation of the drive motor and a manual drive system for manually initiating relative cutting movement between the cutting blade and the object holder, the manual drive system including a handwheel and an encoder, wherein the handwheel is connected to the encoder and the encoder is connected to the control circuit for delivering corresponding signals to the control circuit upon rotation of the handwheel, and the control circuit is configured to activate the drive motor in accordance with the signals from the encoder and to control at least one electromechanical device to prevent relative cutting movement between the cutting blade and the object holder in a standby mode defined by an absence of signals from the encoder.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A microtome for producing thin sections, in which the cutting operation is performed by way of a relative movement between a cutting knife and an object. A drive system (14) having a drive motor (17), a control circuit (15), and a handwheel (8) is provided to generate the relative movement. The handwheel (8) is connected to an encoder (16) that delivers corresponding signals to the control circuit (15) upon rotation of the handwheel (8). The drive motor (17) is then activated accordingly by way of said control circuit (15). In the absence of encoder signals, the drive system (14) is locked.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A microtome for producing thin sections from an object, comprising:
- a housing;
a cutting blade mounted in association with the housing;
an object holder movably mounted with respect to the housing to hold the object to be sectioned; and
a drive system contained within the housing for producing relative cutting movement between the cutting blade and the object holder, the drive system including an automatic drive system having a drive motor and a control circuit for controlling operation of the drive motor and a manual drive system for manually initiating relative cutting movement between the cutting blade and the object holder, the manual drive system including a handwheel and an encoder, wherein the handwheel is connected to the encoder and the encoder is connected to the control circuit for delivering corresponding signals to the control circuit upon rotation of the handwheel, and the control circuit is configured to activate the drive motor in accordance with the signals from the encoder and to control at least one electromechanical device to prevent relative cutting movement between the cutting blade and the object holder in a standby mode defined by an absence of signals from the encoder. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
- a housing;
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21. A microtome for producing thin sections from an object, comprising:
- a housing;
a cutting blade mounted in association with the housing;
an object holder movably mounted with respect to the housing to hold the object to be sectioned;
a drive system contained within the housing for producing relative cutting movement between the cutting blade and the object holder, the drive system including an automatic drive system having a drive motor and a control circuit for controlling operation of the drive motor and a manual drive system contained within the housing for manually initiating relative cutting movement between the cutting blade and the object holder, the manual drive system including a handwheel and an encoder, wherein the handwheel is connected to the encoder and the encoder is connected to the control circuit means for delivering corresponding signals to the control circuit upon rotation of the handwheel, wherein the control circuit is configured to activate the drive motor in accordance with the signals from the encoder; and
means, including the control circuit, for preventing relative cutting movement between the cutting blade and the object holder in a standby mode, wherein the standby mode is defined by an absence of signals from the encoder. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
- a housing;
Specification