Background
The frozen microtome is suitable for making tissue sample slices in the fields of biology, medicine and industrial research, and is also suitable for the field of in-vitro diagnosis. As shown in FIG. 1, a cryostat generally includes a cryostat chamber for providing a cryostat environment for a tissue sample section. The cryostat chamber contains a tissue sample, a sample head and a tool holder. The knife rest is fixedly arranged, the tissue sample is clamped by the sample head, and a specific mechanism (not shown in the figure) drives the tissue sample and the sample head to vertically move (in the direction of an arrow in the figure) relative to the knife rest for slicing. The transparent glass window is arranged above the low-temperature constant-temperature cavity, and the slicing condition in the low-temperature constant-temperature cavity can be observed through the glass window. The mechanism for driving the tissue sample and the sample head to vertically move not only has a supporting function on the tissue sample and the sample head, but also has a refrigerating function, and can better maintain the tissue sample in a frozen state.
A thermoelectric cooler (Thermo Electric Cooler, TEC) is a thermoelectric exchange device that basically operates as follows: the N-type semiconductor and the P-type semiconductor are combined into a couple, direct current is input into a couple loop, the couple is subjected to current flowing and energy transfer, heat is released at one node, and conversely, heat is absorbed at the other node, so that a refrigerating surface and a radiating surface are respectively formed on two sides of the TEC. The temperature of the TEC can be regulated and controlled by controlling the input direct current. Meanwhile, the thermal inertia of the TEC is very small, and a larger temperature difference can be achieved between a hot surface and a cold surface in a very short time. TEC is widely applied by virtue of excellent performance, and is not only applied to daily life, such as small refrigerators, air conditioners, water dispensers and the like, but also is applied to the military and medical fields, such as infrared detection of submarines and missiles, blood analyzers and the like. However, the TEC also has its own drawbacks, such as relatively low shear strength, and the combination with the existing mounting means (welding, bonding, bolting) cannot well support in the shear direction, and is also unfavorable for later maintenance.
If the TEC is required to support in the shear direction in some mechanisms and to be easily removed for maintenance, such as mechanisms for vertically moving the tissue sample and sample head in a cryostat, there is currently no means for satisfying this use scenario.
Disclosure of Invention
The embodiment of the invention provides a refrigerating device, which aims to solve the problems that TEC in the prior art cannot well play a supporting role in the shearing direction and is difficult to detach and maintain conveniently.
In a first aspect, there is provided a refrigeration device comprising:
a first plate (1) for dissipating cold;
a second plate (2) for heat dissipation; and
a refrigeration block (3) located between the first plate (1) and the second plate (2);
wherein, the periphery of the first plate (1) and the periphery of the second plate (2) are matched to form a groove for supporting the refrigerating block (3).
In a second aspect, there is provided a cryostat, comprising a cryostat chamber, a sample head, a tool holder and a refrigeration device as described above; the refrigerating device supports the sample head and drives the sample head to do linear reciprocating motion relative to the knife rest in the low-temperature constant-temperature cavity.
According to the embodiment of the invention, the refrigerating block is clamped between the first plate and the second plate, the refrigerating block is supported by the grooves formed by matching the periphery of the first plate with the periphery of the second plate, and the first plate, the second plate and the refrigerating block jointly support other parts in the shearing direction during refrigeration, so that the shearing strength is improved, the refrigerating block can be disassembled for maintenance after the first plate and the second plate are disassembled, and the refrigerating block is not damaged.
Detailed Description
Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like or similar reference numerals refer to like or similar modules or modules having like or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below by referring to the drawings are illustrative only and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. On the contrary, the embodiments of the invention include all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
According to the embodiment of the invention, the refrigerating block is clamped between the first plate and the second plate, the refrigerating block is supported by the grooves formed by matching the periphery of the first plate with the periphery of the second plate, and the first plate, the second plate and the refrigerating block jointly support other parts in the shearing direction during refrigeration, so that the shearing strength is improved, the refrigerating block can be disassembled for maintenance after the first plate and the second plate are disassembled, and the refrigerating block is not damaged.
Example 1
Fig. 2 is an exploded view of a refrigeration apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 2, the refrigerating device comprises a first plate 1, a second plate 2 and a refrigerating block 3. The refrigerating block 3 is positioned between the first plate 1 and the second plate 2, and one side of the refrigerating block 3 refrigerates and radiates heat. Accordingly, one of the first plate 1 and the second plate 2 cools the other to dissipate heat. In the embodiment of the invention, the refrigerating block 3 is a TEC, the first plate 1 is used for radiating cold, and the second plate 2 is used for radiating heat. In practical applications, the first plate 1 and the second plate 2 may be interchanged, or the first plate 1 and the second plate 2 perform the same function (emitting cold or dissipating heat), and the cooling block 3 may be a heating block or other heat conducting device, which is not limited herein.
The periphery of the first plate 1 and the periphery of the second plate 2 are matched to form an open groove or a closed groove for supporting the refrigerating block 3. Fig. 5 is a schematic view of the periphery of a groove according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 3, the left three are open grooves and the right-most one is a closed groove. As shown by the arrow in the figure, the main movement of the refrigerating device is up-down linear reciprocating movement, the lower side positions the refrigerating block 3, the other sides fix the refrigerating block 3, and the refrigerating block 3 is integrally supported. For easy installation and disassembly, the periphery of the first plate 1 is provided with open grooves, the periphery of the second plate 2 is provided with open grooves, and the two grooves are combined to form open grooves or closed grooves. The closed recess can best support the cooling block 3. Based on the above, the grooves on the periphery of the first plate 1 or the grooves on the periphery of the second plate 2 are U-shaped, and the grooves on the periphery of the other plate are in a straight shape, so that the closed grooves are formed by combination. As another embodiment of the present invention, the grooves around the first plate 1 and the second plate 2 are all right-angled grooves, and are combined to form a closed groove. According to the main movement direction of the refrigerating device and the actual condition of the product, the shape of the grooves around the first plate 1 and the second plate 2 and the circumference of the grooves formed by the combination of the two can be flexibly set, and the method is not limited.
During refrigeration, the first plate 1, the refrigeration block 3 and the second plate 2 are tightly attached, and the refrigeration effect can be maximized only by improving the heat conduction efficiency. Because of the machining errors in machining the first plate 1 and the second plate 2, in the embodiment of the invention, the refrigerating device further comprises a partition plate 4, and the first plate 1 and the second plate 2 are connected and fixed through the partition plate 4 with proper tolerance. The baffle 4 sets up between the side ear of first board 1 and second board 2, and tight laminating of tight screw again can make first board 1, refrigeration piece 3 and second board 2, can avoid simultaneously that the circumstances that the limit influence performance appears warping in the uneven appearance of refrigeration piece 3 atress of tightening screw in-process, refrigeration piece 3 is extrudeed broken circumstances because of the atress too big. Preferably, heat-conducting silicone grease is smeared between the refrigeration block 3 and the first plate 1, and heat-conducting silicone grease is smeared between the refrigeration block 3 and the second plate 2. The heat conductive silicone grease can further eliminate the gap between the cooling block 3 and the first plate 1, the gap between the cooling block 3 and the second plate 2, and improve the heat conduction efficiency. The processing precision requirements of the first plate 1 and the second plate 2 are lower than those of the partition plate 4, and the processing errors of the partition plate 4 can be compensated by the heat-conducting silicone grease.
In an embodiment of the invention, the refrigeration device further comprises a temperature sensor 5 arranged in the first plate 1 and a conduit 6 arranged in the second plate 2. The temperature sensor 5 monitors the temperature of the first plate 1 in real time, so that the temperature of the refrigerating block 3 can be conveniently regulated and controlled. The pipeline 6 comprises a channel arranged in the second plate 2, and a water inlet and a water outlet attached to the second plate 2, and cooling water can perform water cooling heat dissipation on the second plate 2 through the pipeline 6. Compared with natural heat radiation and air cooling heat radiation, the water cooling heat radiation has low noise and the best heat radiation effect under the condition of the same area of the second plate 2.
Fig. 4 is an installation schematic diagram of a refrigeration apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 4, the grooves around the first plate 1 are U-shaped, heat conduction silicone grease is uniformly smeared on the first plate 1 or on the refrigerating surface of the refrigerating block 3, and then the refrigerating surface of the refrigerating block 3 is put into the grooves of the first plate 1 to be attached to the first plate 1; uniformly coating heat-conducting silicone grease on the second plate 2 or on the heat-radiating surface of the refrigerating block 3, and then placing the heat-radiating surface of the refrigerating block 3 into a groove of the second plate 2 to be attached to the second plate 2; two partition boards 4 are inserted between the side ears of the first board 1 and the second board 2, and then are fastened by tightening screws, so that the installation process is convenient.
Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating disassembly of a refrigeration apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 6 is a schematic view illustrating a cooling device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 5 and 6, the screws are loosened to separate the first plate 1 and the second plate 2, and at this time, both cases occur, the refrigerating block 3 of fig. 5 is adsorbed on the second plate 2 or the refrigerating block 3 of fig. 6 is adsorbed on the first plate 1. If the situation shown in fig. 5 occurs, the grooves around the second plate 2 are in a straight shape, and are open grooves, and the refrigerating block 3 is slightly pushed along the opening direction of the grooves (the direction of the arrow in the drawing) to be removed. If the situation shown in fig. 6 occurs, the grooves around the first plate 1 are U-shaped and also open grooves, and the refrigerating block 3 is slightly pushed along the opening direction of the grooves (the direction of the arrow in the drawing) to be removed. The first plate 1, the refrigeration block 3 and the second plate 2 are not damaged in the disassembly process, so that subsequent maintenance is facilitated.
According to the embodiment of the invention, the refrigerating block is clamped between the first plate and the second plate, the refrigerating block is supported by the grooves formed by matching the periphery of the first plate with the periphery of the second plate, and the first plate, the second plate and the refrigerating block jointly support other parts in the shearing direction during refrigeration, so that the shearing strength is improved, the refrigerating block can be disassembled for maintenance after the first plate and the second plate are disassembled, and the refrigerating block is not damaged.
Example two
The embodiment of the invention provides a frozen microtome, which comprises a low-temperature constant-temperature cavity, a sample head, a tool rest and the refrigerating device described in the first embodiment. The refrigerating device supports the sample head and drives the sample head to do linear reciprocating motion relative to the knife rest in the low-temperature constant-temperature cavity.
In the embodiment of the present invention, the basic structure of the refrigeration device is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the same reference numerals are used for the same components as those of the first embodiment, including all the features described in the first embodiment, and are not repeated here.
Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a refrigeration device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a refrigeration block according to a second embodiment of the present invention in a linear reciprocating motion. As shown in fig. 1, 7 and 8, the tool holder is fixedly arranged in the cryostat chamber; when slicing, the tissue sample is clamped by the sample head, the sample head is fixed on the refrigerating device, and the refrigerating device drives the tissue sample and the sample head to do vertical reciprocating motion relative to the knife rest for slicing. The refrigerating device has both a refrigerating function and a supporting function. The direction of the vertical reciprocation is the shearing direction of the refrigerating device and is also the shearing direction of the refrigerating block 3. The refrigeration device is subjected to the forces of the tissue sample and the sample head in the shearing direction, and in the embodiment of the invention, the forces are borne by the first plate 1, the second plate 2 and the refrigeration block 3 together, so that the shearing strength is improved.
According to the embodiment of the invention, the refrigerating block is clamped between the first plate and the second plate, the refrigerating block is supported by the grooves formed by matching the periphery of the first plate with the periphery of the second plate, and the first plate, the second plate and the refrigerating block jointly support other parts in the shearing direction during refrigeration, so that the shearing strength is improved, the refrigerating block can be disassembled for maintenance after the first plate and the second plate are disassembled, and the refrigerating block is not damaged.
While embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, it will be understood that the above embodiments are illustrative and not to be construed as limiting the invention, and that variations, modifications, alternatives and variations may be made to the above embodiments by one of ordinary skill in the art within the scope of the invention.