U.S. patent number 4,615,183 [Application Number 06/748,207] was granted by the patent office on 1986-10-07 for cold plate for laboratory use.
This patent grant is currently assigned to The United States of America as represented by the Department of Health. Invention is credited to Jorge L. Juncos, Paul Smith, Edward Wellner.
United States Patent |
4,615,183 |
Juncos , et al. |
October 7, 1986 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
Cold plate for laboratory use
Abstract
A cold plate for maintaining specimen samples for dissection at
desired cooled temperatures includes a metal plate having an
aperture therethrough to receive a removable dark frosted glass
piece capable of transmitting light therethrough. The metal plate
is equipped with an integrally embedded hollow matrix of tubing to
circulate a cooling medium delivered from a remotely operated
refrigeration system. In addition, a remotely-operated lighting
system is provided to illuminate the dark frosted glass piece and
the surrounding regions.
Inventors: |
Juncos; Jorge L. (Silver
Springs, MD), Wellner; Edward (Fairfax, VA), Smith;
Paul (Annapolis, MD) |
Assignee: |
The United States of America as
represented by the Department of Health (Washington,
DC)
|
Family
ID: |
25008470 |
Appl.
No.: |
06/748,207 |
Filed: |
June 24, 1985 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
62/306;
62/458 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01N
1/42 (20130101); F25D 15/00 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F25D
15/00 (20060101); G01N 1/42 (20060101); B01F
003/04 () |
Field of
Search: |
;62/78,306,458,440 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: King; Lloyd L.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Browdy and Neimark
Claims
What is claimed:
1. A dissection cold plate for maintaining laboratory specimens at
desired cooled temperatures, and dissecting said specimens thereon,
comprising:
a metal cooling plate having a generally planar upper surface with
an aperture therethrough, said plate including an integrally
embedded hollow matrix of tubing therein, said tubing adapted to
generally surround said aperture;
semi-transparent or translucent means removably positioned in said
aperture, said semi-transparent means having a generally planar
upper surface lying in the plane of the upper surface of said
cooling plate;
remotely-operated cooling means for circulating a cooling medium
through said tubing for cooling said metal plate to a desired
temperature;
remotely-operated lighting means for illuminating said
semi-transparent means from below its upper surface; and
protective covering and insulating covering means for surrounding
and insulating said metal plate.
2. A dissection cold plate according to claim 1 further comprising
supporting means for supporting and insulating said metal plate and
said semi-transparent means, said supporting means including, as
part of said lighting means, means for transmitting light
therethrough to the underside of said semi-transparent means.
3. A dissection cold plate for maintaining laboratory specimens at
desired cooled temperatures, and dissecting said specimens thereon,
comprising:
a metal cooling plate having a generally planar upper surface with
an aperture therethrough, said plate including an integrally
embedded hollow matrix of tubing therein, said tubing adapted to
generally surround said aperture;
semi-transparent or translucent means removably positioned said
aperture, said semi-transparent means having a generally planar
upper surface lying in the plane of the upper surface of said
cooling plate;
remotely-operated cooling means for circulating a cooling medium
through said tubing for cooling said metal plate to a desired
temperature;
remotely-operated lighting means for illuminating said
semi-transparent means from below its upper surface means, wherein
said remotely-operated lighting means comprises a prism and fiber
optic bundle, said prism being positioned directly underneath said
semi-transparent means, whereby light from an illumination source
is directed by means of said fiber bundle to said prism redirecting
the light to said semi-transparent means; and
protective covering and insulating covering means for surrounding
and insulating said metal plate.
4. A cold plate in accordance with claim 2, wherein said supporting
means further includes a recessed region for supporting a prism,
and a conduit region for supporting a fiber optic bundle.
5. A cold plate in accordance with claim 1, wherein said
semi-transparent means comprises a dark frosted glass piece.
6. A cold plate in accordance with claim 1, wherein said
remotely-operated cooling means further comprises a hook-up means
for mating said cooling means to said tubing in said metal
plate.
7. A cold plate in accordance with claim 2, wherein said supporting
means is adapted to support said metal plate and said
semi-transparent means in substantially the same plane.
8. A cold plate in accordance with claim 1, wherein said protective
covering means is made of insulating foam material.
9. A cold plate in accordance with claim 1, wherein said cooling
means and said lighting means include control means.
10. A dissection cold plate for maintaining laboratory specimens at
desired cooled temperatures and for dissecting the cooled specimens
thereon, comprising:
a cooling plate formed of material having good heat conductivity
and having a generally planar upper surface with a cavity therein,
said plate including cooling means surrounding said cavity;
semi-transparent or translucent means removably positioned over
said cavity, said semi-transparent means having a generally planar
upper surface lying in the plane of the upper surface of said
cooling plate;
means for activating said cooling means for cooling said cooling
plate to a desired temperature;
lighting means for illuminating said semi-transparent means from
below its upper surface, said lighting means including a prism and
means to direct light to said prism, said prism being positioned
directly underneath said semi-transparent means, whereby light
entering said prism is redirected to said semi-transparent means;
and
protective and insulating covering means for surrounding and
insulating said cooling plate.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a cold plate for laboratory use,
particularly useful for tissue micro and macro dissection
procedures.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The usage of cold plates for laboratory dissection has been well
known for many years. Previously, cold plates generally included a
petry dish or plate supported by a receptacle holding ice or dry
ice to maintain a specimen sample at a refrigerated temperature
during dissection. However, these particular cold plates can not
maintain a sample at a frozen temperature of -20.degree. C. or even
at a refrigerated temperature somewhat above 0.degree. C. for long
periods of time which are necessary when dissecting some samples,
such as brain tissue. In addition, the plates are not uniformly
cooled, enabling portions of a sample to thaw prematurely before
the completion of a dissection experiment. Furthermore, circularly
shaped plates also present the problem of premature sample thawing
when a sample is positioned near the periphery of the plate due to
the difficulty in cooling the peripheral regions of a circular cold
plate.
In more recent years, attempts have been made to mount a plate near
or on a refrigerated rod to keep a plate at a frozen temperature.
However, these plates only cool the region of the plate in contact
with the refrigerated rod or coil preventing uniform cooling.
Consequently, these plates are provided only in a very small size,
and even so the only spot that maintains constant temperature is
directly over the rod, with samples on the periphery tending to
thaw.
Refrigerated plates, which are generally used in ice boxes and on
counter tops have been used for many years to refrigerate or cool
foods. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,640,329 to Ingvardsen and
2,759,339 to Kundert, both show cold plates including an embedded
matrix of hollow tubing to circulate a refrigerant delivered from a
remote refrigeration unit to cool the plate to a desired
temperature. However, these abovementioned patents only disclose
cold plates used for cooling food and are not constructed or
capable to be utilzed for dissection procedures.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,832,862 to Ingels, discloses a laboratory
refrigeration apparatus which includes an open well type
refrigerator unit for specimens. No provision is made for
incorporating a dissection cold plate to the refrigeration
unit.
Moreover, no prior laboratory dissection plate is known which
includes a light source below the plate's cutting surface to
illuminate the sample and the plate during dissection at cooled
temperatures. No cold plate used for dissection purposes has
previously been available which is capable of uniformly cooling the
plate to any desired sub-freezing temperatures and which includes a
light source to illuminate the working surface of the plate, nor
has there been provided a receptable to support the entire
refrigerated plate for preventing direct contact with the cold
plate by a scientist or technician when in use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to overcome
the deficiences of the prior art, such as those set forth
above.
It is another object of the present invention to provide for the
improved dissection of frozen tissues.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an
improved cold plate for tissue micro and macro dissection, such as
the dissection of brain tissue.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a
dissection cold plate which will cool uniformly.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a
cold plate incorporated with a remotely operated refrigeration unit
to cool the plate to any desired cold temperature.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a cold
plate equipped with a remotely operated light source to illuminate
the plate and a sample on the plate.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a
cold plate with a protective holding receptable.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a
cold plate which will not prematurely thaw a sample placed
thereon.
Still other objects, features and attendant advantages of the
present invention will become apparent from a reading of the
following detailed description of embodiments constructed in
accordance therewith, taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cold plate of the present
invention showing the cold plate in operational use with cooling
and illuminating systems;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the cold plate taken along line
2--2 in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a top view of the cold plate of the present invention
with a "see through" view of the underlying refrigeration
coils.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the cold plate taken along line
4--4 in FIG. 3; and
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the cold plate taken along line
5--5 in FIG. 3.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The presently preferred embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 1 of the
drawings, and comprises a cold plate 2, a cooling system 4, a fiber
optic lighting control system 6, and a protective holding
receptable 7 for supporting and insulating the entire cold plate
2.
The cold plate 2 is preferably of rectangular configuration and is
suitably made from a highly heat conductive metal such as aluminum
or copper, it being understood that other materials such as
stainless steel could also be used; copper is preferred. The cold
plate 2 includes a suitably shaped opening near its center region
to receive a removably positioned dark frosted glass piece 10. Such
piece 10 may also be formed of synthetic glass, e.g. hard plastic,
and is preferably of the same thickness of the cold plate which
acts as a cutting surface when performing dissection
procedures.
Furthermore, the cold plate 2 is provided with an integrally
embedded and tightly packed matrix of hollow tubing 13 (see FIGS. 2
and 3) which passes through most of the interior regions of the
plate 2 and entirely surrounds dark frosted glass piece 10. The
hollow tubing 13 is capable of circulating a refrigerant, such as
Freon, or a liquid (such as methanol) which has been cooled down to
-40.degree. C. or lower, into the interior of the cold plate 2
delivered from the remotely operated cooling system 4 (such as a
FTS refrigeration unit) by means of tubing 18. The cooling system 4
desirably incorporates a temperature control 26 and humidity
control 28 so that the user can select the desired temperature of
the circulating medium. It should be understood that due to the use
of the cooling system, the cold plate 2 can be maintained or cooled
to any desired temperature, suitable for dissection purposes, such
as to sub-freezing (e.g. -20.degree. to -30.degree. C.) or higher
temperatures.
To prevent direct contact with the cold plate 2 during dissection,
a protective holding receptable or tub 7 is provided to hold,
support and insulate the plate 2, including a substantially solid
rectangularly shaped support 11, which acts as a cold sink and is
preferably formal of metal, and which is partially encapsulated in
a plastomeric and elastomeric foam 8, such as foam polyurethane or
closed cell foam rubber or the like. As best shown in FIGS. 2 and
3, the foam 8 entirely surrounds the perimeter of the plate 2 and
metal support 11 to prevent direct contact with the plate 2 when a
technician or scientist is leaning over the plate to perform
dissection experiments, as well as providing good thermal
insulation to prevent adsorption of heat by the cold plate when in
use, from the surrounding environment.
The support 11 is equipped with a square shaped cavity 14 to hold a
prism 12 beneath the plane of the top surface of the support 11 for
placement of the prism 12 just below the dark frosted glass piece
10. In the illustrated embodiment the supporting surface 11 (see
FIG. 2) acts to hold the frosted glass 10 in the same support plane
as the cold plate 2. The various elements can be disassembled for
periodic cleaning of the glass plate 10 and/or cold plate 2 when
necessary. It should be understood that glass piece 10 can be
permanently positioned in the cold plate opening, in which case a
rigid rubber seal (not shown) should be provided between the glass
and the plate to prevent samples from entering into the cavity
14.
Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, the metal support 11 is provided
with a conduit 23 bored into its back side wall just below the
support's top surface and extending to the prism holding cavity 14
for receiving fiber optic tubing 22 carrying fiber optic elements
24 from a fiber optic light source. The fiber optic light source
20, shown as being positioned directly behind the cold plate 2, can
also be remotely positioned away from the plate 2 if so
desired.
An illumination control device 6, which provides light through the
dark frosted glass piece 10 to the dissecting surface and
surrounding regions, controls the light source 20 by means of
electrical cord 21 (see FIG. 1), and is itself controlled by the
operator using a remotely operated light control dimming means 30.
The illumination system provides remotely controlled light from the
light source 20 to the cold plate by projecting light to the prism
12 in the cavity 14 via fiber optic elements 24, the prism 12
redirecting the light upwardly and thereby illuminating the
dissecting surface 10 and the surrounding regions. It should be
understood that any type of semi-transparent device may be utilized
in place of the dark frosted glass, as long as the device can
transmit light therethrough. Also the glass 10 should be dark
frosted to prevent glare and provide contrast when light is
transmitted therethrough. If desired, a second light, preferably a
second fiber optic, shines over the entire upper surface to provide
top lighting.
When assembling the cooling system 4 to the cold plate by means of
tubing 18, a hook-up plug 16 is provided at one end of the tubing
18 to mate tubes 18a and 18b with inlet and outlet ports 13a and
13b of the hollow matrix tubing 13 (see FIGS. 2 and 5). Note, that
the hook-up plug 16 is assembled to the cold plate through a
passage provided in the rubberized foam 8 of the protective holding
receptable 7 (not shown).
It should be understood that tub 7 may be formed of solid plastic
such as acrylic plastic (e.g. Plexiglas) or the like, and the
support 11 may be made from other materials, such as rubber or
plastic, to keep the cold plate system lightweight and easy to
move.
It should be further understood that any type of refrigeration
system or lighting system may be employed so long as the
refrigeration system can cool and maintain that plate at any
desired temperature, and as long as the lighting system can direct
light to the underside of the dissecting surface. Also, cold plate
2 could be of any shape or size so long as the entire surface can
be uniforming cooled.
When in operational use, a scientist or technician can place a
tissue sample on the working surface 10 to be dissected. If a
particular sample is not needed at that moment for dissection, that
sample can be moved to the surface of the plate 2 to keep the
sample at a desired temperature until it is necessary for closer
examination, at which time the sample could be moved back to
working surface 10. Moreover, the user can remotely control the
desired temperature of the cold plate and the amount of light to
pass through the dissecting surface.
It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various other
changes and modifications may be made without departing from the
scope of the invention and the invention is not to be considered
limited to what is shown in the drawings and described in the
specifications.
* * * * *