Apparatus for dyeing specimens automatically preparatory to microscopic examination

Claim 1

An apparatus for dyeing specimens automatically preparatory to microscopic examination, comprising: (a) a casing having an open front side; (b) a main table and an upper table provided in said casing, said upper table being disposed above a front part of the main table at a position toward the front side of the casing thereby to provide an open front space between the two tables; (c) a plurality of vessels containing various reagents and arranged regularly on the main table longitudinally and laterally thereof in such a manner that the vessels can be taken out of the casing through said open front space; (d) a plurality of other vessels arranged on the upper table longitudinally thereof; (e) a plurality of specimen cages each having means for removably accommodating at least one piece of slide glass with a specimen thereon, and hanging means provided on a head portion; (f) means for transporting said specimen cages over said vessels longitudinally and laterally of said tables from one vessel to another, said transporting means having a support head with finger means automatically operable to be engaged with or disengaged from said transporting means also having means for moving said support head vertically to cause each specimen cage held thereby to move into and out of one of the vessels; and (g) a controller for controlling said transporting means to cause the same to move longitudinally, laterally and vertically and to cause said finger means to open and close for engagement with and disengagement from said hanging means, said controller controlling the transporting means according to a dyeing program in such a manner that the specimen cages are lowered into and raised out of the various reagents from one vessel to another and that one of the specimen cages is disengaged from said finger means, after being lowered into a reagent, and left therein while the support head is transporting another specimen cage from vessel to vessel, the one specimen cage left being thereafter raised out of said reagent by the support head which had returned to the vessel containing said reagent.

Claim 2

An apparatus for dyeing specimens automatically preparatory to microscopic examination, comprising: (a) a casing having an open front side; (b) a main table and an upper table provided in said casing, said upper table being disposed above a front part of the main table at a position toward the front side of the casing thereby to provide an open front space between the two tables; (c) a plurality of vessels containing various reagents and arranged regularly on the main table longitudinally and laterally thereof in such a manner that the vessels can be taken out of the casing through said open front space; (d) a plurality of other vessels arranged on the upper table longitudinally thereof; (e) a plurality of specimen cages each having means for removably accommodating at least one piece of slide glass with a specimen thereon, and hanging means provided on a head portion; (f) means for transporting said specimen cages over said vessels longitudinally and laterally of said tables from one vessel to another, said transporting means having a support head with finger means automatically operable to be engaged with or disengaged from said transporting means also having means for moving said support head vertically to cause each specimen cage held thereby to move into and out of one of the vessels; and (g) a controller for controlling said transporting means to cause the same to move longitudinally, laterally and vertically and to cause said finger means to open and close for engagement with and disengagement from said hanging means, said controller controlling the transporting means according to a dyeing program in such a manner that the specimen cages are lowered into and raised out of the various reagents from one vessel to another and that one of the specimen cages is disengaged from said finger means, after being lowered into a reagent, and left therein while the support head is transporting another specimen cage from vessel to vessel, the one specimen cage left being thereafter raised out of said reagent by the support head which had returned to the vessel containing said reagent.