Coverslipping machine having an optical limit fill level measuring device for a liquid

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9157782-B2
Application number	US-201313781879-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 1, 2013
Priority date	Mar 8, 2012
Publication date	Oct 13, 2015
Grant date	Oct 13, 2015

Abstract

The present invention relates to a coverslipping machine ( 1 ) including: a hollow needle ( 2 ) for applying mounting medium onto a specimen slide ( 5 ); a transparent container ( 103 ) to be filled with a liquid; a light source ( 101 ) for radiating measurement light in a principal radiating direction (A) into the container ( 103 ); and a light sensor ( 102, 102 ′) for detecting the measurement light, the light source ( 101 ) being arranged with respect to the container ( 103 ) in such a way that the radiated measurement light is refracted by a liquid in the container whose fill level exceeds a fill level limit, the light sensor ( 102, 102 ′) being arranged with respect to the container ( 103 ) in such a way that only measurement light refracted by the liquid or only measurement light not refracted by the liquid is detected.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A coverslipping machine ( 1 ), comprising:
a hollow needle ( 2 ) for applying mounting medium onto a specimen slide ( 5 );
a transparent container ( 103 ) to be filled with a liquid;
a light source ( 101 ) for radiating measurement light in a principal radiating direction (A) into the container ( 103 ); and
a light sensor ( 102 , 102 ′) for detecting the measurement light;
wherein the light source ( 101 ) is arranged with respect to the container ( 103 ) such that the radiated measurement light is refracted by the liquid in the container whose fill level exceeds a fill level limit;
wherein the light sensor ( 102 , 102 ′) is arranged with respect to the container ( 103 ) such that measurement light refracted by the liquid or measurement light not refracted by the liquid is detected;
wherein the container ( 103 ) is configured to receive the hollow needle ( 2 );
wherein in a working position in which the mounting medium is applied onto the specimen slide ( 5 ), the hollow needle ( 2 ) is located above the container ( 103 ).

2. The coverslipping machine according to claim 1 , wherein the angle of incidence of the measurement light onto the container ( 103 ) is greater than 10° and less than 80°.

3. The coverslipping machine according to claim 1 , wherein the angle of incidence of the measurement light onto the container ( 103 ) is greater than 40° and less than 60°.

4. The coverslipping machine according to claim 1 , wherein the principal radiating direction (A) encloses with a horizontal plane an angle smaller than 45°.

5. The coverslipping machine according to claim 1 , wherein the principal radiating direction (A) encloses with a horizontal plane an angle smaller than 5°.

6. The coverslipping machine according to claim 4 , wherein the principal radiating direction (A) is substantially horizontal.

7. The coverslipping machine according to claim 1 , wherein the container ( 103 ) is a hollow cylinder or a hollow cuboid.

8. The coverslipping machine according to claim 1 , wherein the light source ( 101 ) includes a light-emitting diode or laser diode.

9. The coverslipping machine according to claim 1 , wherein the light sensor ( 102 , 102 ′) includes a photodiode.

10. The coverslipping machine according to claim 1 , further comprising a second light sensor ( 102 , 102 ′), a first ( 102 ′) of the light sensor or the second light sensor being arranged in such a way that only measurement light refracted by the liquid is detected by the first light sensor ( 102 ′); and
a second ( 102 ) of the light sensor or the second light sensor being arranged in such a way that only measurement light not refracted by the liquid is detected by the second light sensor ( 102 ).

11. The coverslipping machine ( 1 ) according to claim 1 , wherein the container ( 103 ) is a solvent container of a device for cleaning the hollow needle ( 2 ), or a container for the mounting medium.

12. The coverslipping machine ( 1 ) according to claim 1 , wherein in the working position, the hollow needle ( 2 ) is located above the container ( 103 ) in such a way that the hollow needle ( 2 ) can be introduced into the container ( 103 ) by a purely vertical motion out of the working position.

Assignees

• Leica Biosystems Nussloch Gmbh

Inventors

• Berberich Markus
• Wilke Christian
• Trump Tobias

Classifications

• G01F23/2921 Primary

  for discrete levels · CPC title

• G01F23/00 Primary

  Indicating or measuring liquid level or level of fluent solid material, e.g. indicating in terms of volume or indicating by means of an alarm · CPC title

• G01N1/36

  Embedding or analogous mounting of samples · CPC title

• G01N1/2813

  Producing thin layers of samples on a substrate, e.g. smearing, spinning-on (G01N1/30 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01N1/28

  Preparing specimens for investigation {including physical details of (bio-)chemical methods covered elsewhere, e.g. G01N33/50, C12Q}(mounting specimens on microscopic slides G02B21/34; means for supporting the objects or the materials to be analysed in electron microscopes H01J37/20 {; laboratory gas handling apparatus B01L5/00}) · CPC title