Cell biological section preservation device for teaching

Abstract

The invention discloses a teaching cell biological section preservation device which comprises a cabinet body, a plurality of independent preservation capsules and a bearing tray, a discharge port communicated with an inner cavity of the cabinet body is formed in the cabinet body, and a cabinet door capable of being opened is arranged on the discharge port; the plurality of independent storage capsules are used for independently packaging the biological slices; the storage capsule comprises a capsule shell, the interior of the capsule shell is divided into an upper sealed sample chamber and a lower sealed adjusting chamber through a flexible diaphragm, the sample chamber can be opened, a glass slide capable of being taken out can be arranged in the sample chamber, and a preset amount of phase change material and a preset amount of drying agent are packaged in the adjusting chamber; the bearing tray is horizontally arranged in the cabinet body, a plurality of positioning bins used for containing the capsules to be stored are formed in the bearing tray, and the capsules to be stored can be placed in the positioning bins through the discharging port.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of biological teaching experimental equipment, specifically to a cell biological slide preservation device for teaching purposes. Background Technology

[0002] In biology teaching at universities and secondary schools, a large number of pre-prepared biological slides are often used for students to observe in turn. These slides are usually mounted on glass slides, and the key to their long-term preservation is to maintain a stable environment of low temperature and dryness to inhibit sample degradation, mold growth, and reagent crystallization.

[0003] Currently, common methods for preserving slides in teaching laboratories include: First, using simple slide boxes or drawer cabinets. This method only provides physical protection and cannot control temperature and humidity, making the slides susceptible to deterioration due to environmental fluctuations. Second, placing slides in ordinary sealed boxes with built-in desiccants. While this improves humidity, it cannot control temperature, and the overall humidity inside the box quickly becomes unbalanced when frequently opened and closed. Third, using small electronic semiconductor temperature and humidity chambers. These provide a relatively good preservation environment, but suffer from high purchase and maintenance costs, reliance on a continuous power supply, and severe disturbance to the internal environment when the door is opened. For teaching scenarios requiring frequent, grouped access to large quantities of different types of slides, existing technologies either fail to provide an effective preservation environment or present an irreconcilable contradiction between ease of access and environmental stability. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a dedicated teaching slide preservation device that can ensure each slide is in a stable microenvironment, facilitate rapid access and management, and is independent of external power. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the shortcomings of the existing technology, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a cell biological slide preservation device for teaching, which can ensure that each slide is independently in a stable microenvironment and facilitates rapid storage, retrieval and management.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a cell biological slide preservation device for teaching purposes, comprising: The cabinet has a discharge port that communicates with its internal cavity, and the discharge port has an openable cabinet door. Multiple independent preservation capsules are used for individually encapsulating biological slides; each preservation capsule includes a capsule shell, the interior of which is divided by a flexible diaphragm into two sealed sample chambers and an adjustment chamber. The sample chambers can be opened and can hold removable glass slides. The adjustment chamber contains a predetermined amount of phase change material and desiccant. A support tray is horizontally arranged inside the cabinet. The support tray has multiple positioning compartments for accommodating the preservation capsules. The preservation capsules can be placed in the positioning compartments through the discharge port.

[0006] Furthermore, a temperature-sensitive color-changing indicator strip is embedded in the inner wall of the sample chamber.

[0007] Furthermore, the phase change temperature range of the phase change material is 4°C to 8°C.

[0008] Furthermore, the housing of the regulating chamber is provided with a one-way valve interface for connecting an external suction device.

[0009] Furthermore, it also includes a manual vacuum pump, which is connected to the inlet of a multi-way valve via a hose, and the multiple outlets of the multi-way valve are selectively connected to the one-way valve interfaces on multiple of the preservation capsules via branch pipelines.

[0010] Furthermore, a pressure balancing bladder is also provided at the top of the inner cavity of the cabinet, and the pressure balancing bladder is connected to the inner cavity of the cabinet through a capillary tube.

[0011] Furthermore, the sample chamber is provided with an elastic clip, which is used to fix the glass slide.

[0012] Furthermore, the elastic clip comprises a pair of opposing, V-shaped elastic arms, the distance between which is less than the thickness of a standard glass slide.

[0013] Furthermore, it also includes a door linkage mechanism. The carrying tray is vertically and flexibly disposed inside the cabinet. The door linkage mechanism is connected between the cabinet door and the carrying tray, so that when the cabinet door is opened, the carrying tray can be driven to descend to the discharge port through the door linkage mechanism.

[0014] Furthermore, the door linkage mechanism includes a screw, a gear, and an arc-shaped rack. The supporting tray is horizontally disposed inside the cabinet. Both ends of the supporting tray can slide and engage with the inner wall of the cabinet. The screw is rotatably and vertically disposed inside the cabinet, passes through the tray, and is threadedly connected to the tray. The discharge port is disposed near the bottom of the cabinet. The cabinet door is a rotating door. The end of the arc-shaped rack is fixedly connected to the cabinet door. The gear is sleeved and fixed on the screw and meshes with the arc-shaped rack.

[0015] The beneficial effects of this invention are: The aforementioned cell slide preservation device for teaching purposes has at least the following advantages: 1. This solution transforms the traditional "overall spatial environment control" model into a "unit-based passive environment maintenance" model. By setting up multiple independent preservation capsules, each capsule, through its internal regulating chamber containing phase change material and desiccant, forms a self-sustaining constant-temperature, dry microenvironment. When a teacher accesses a specific capsule through the cabinet door and outlet, only that capsule is exposed to the outside environment; all other capsules inside the cabinet remain completely sealed, and their internal microenvironments are undisturbed. This characteristic of "accessing individual capsules without affecting the whole" perfectly meets the high-frequency, selective access needs during teaching, thus improving preservation effectiveness.

[0016] 2. By setting up a support tray with multiple positioning compartments, and cooperating with the cabinet and discharge port, dozens or even hundreds of preservation capsules can be neatly arranged and fixed in place within the cabinet. Each capsule and its internal slide sample can be physically located and indexed by numbering through the positioning compartments, completely changing the chaotic state of stacked and mixed slides in the traditional method. Users can clearly and conveniently access the target capsule through the discharge port, greatly improving the efficiency and accuracy of sample management and avoiding sample damage or confusion caused by searching. Attached Figure Description

[0017] To more clearly illustrate the specific embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the specific embodiments will be briefly described below. In all the drawings, the elements or parts are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a cell biological slide preservation device for teaching purposes provided in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 for Figure 1 The diagram shows the internal structure of a teaching cell biological slide preservation device. Figure 3 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the internal structure of the teaching cell biological slide preservation device from another angle; Figure 4 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the inside of the capsule in the teaching cell biological section preservation device shown; Figure label: 1. Slice; 100. Cabinet body; 110. Cabinet door; 200. Capsule; 210. Capsule shell; 220. Diaphragm; 230. Sample chamber; 240. Adjustment chamber; 250. Glass slide; 260. Phase change material; 270. Desiccant; 280. Thermosensitive color-changing indicator strip; 290. One-way valve interface; 300. Support tray; 310. Positioning compartment; 400. Manual vacuum pump; 410. Hoses; 420. Multi-way valve; 500. Pressure balance bladder; 600. Door linkage mechanism; 610. Screw; 620. Gear; 630. Arc rack. Detailed Implementation

[0019] To make the above-mentioned objects, features, and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Many specific details are set forth in the following description to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, the present invention can be practiced in many other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar modifications without departing from the spirit of the invention; therefore, the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0020] Please see Figures 1 to 4 The present invention provides a cell biological slide preservation device for teaching purposes, including a cabinet 100, multiple independent preservation capsules 200 and a support tray 300.

[0021] Specifically, the cabinet 100 is a box with good thermal insulation performance, and a rectangular discharge port is opened on the front. The discharge port is sealed by a cabinet door 110 that can be opened and closed. The internal cavity of the cabinet 100 is used to create a relatively stable buffer environment.

[0022] Each capsule 200 is used to encapsulate a single biological slide 1. The capsule shell 210 is typically made of a transparent material to facilitate observation of the internal sample. Its interior is strictly divided into two independent sealed chambers by a flexible, airtight diaphragm 220 (e.g., a food-grade silicone membrane). The upper chamber, the sample chamber 230, is designed to be opened for inserting or removing the glass slide 250 carrying the slide 1. The lower chamber, the conditioning chamber 240, is permanently sealed at the factory and pre-filled with a specific amount of phase change material 260 (PCM) and desiccant 270.

[0023] A horizontal support tray 300 is positioned inside the cabinet 100. Multiple recesses or enclosures, machined or molded onto the tray to match the shape of the preservation capsules 200, form positioning compartments 310. Each positioning compartment 310 precisely accommodates one preservation capsule 200, keeping it upright and preventing tipping during handling or retrieval. Users can place or remove the preservation capsules 200 from the positioning compartments 310 on the tray through the discharge port by opening the cabinet door 110. The positioning compartments 310 can be arranged in a rectangular array, and each compartment can be etched or printed with a number for easy cataloging. This device distributes the responsibility for "overall environmental control" from traditional large storage boxes to each individual "storage capsule 200". Each capsule 200 is a self-contained microclimate station. The phase change material 260 inside absorbs or releases heat through solid-liquid phase change, while the desiccant 270 actively adsorbs moisture, together maintaining a low-temperature, dry microenvironment inside the capsule 200.

[0024] When retrieving samples for teaching purposes, the teacher only needs to open cabinet door 110 to directly access the target capsule 200. Other capsules 200 that are not retrieved remain closed, their internal microenvironment unaffected by external airflow, thus achieving the effect of "retrieving individual samples without affecting the overall inventory." The support tray 300 allows dozens or even hundreds of capsules 200 to be neatly arranged within the cabinet, each in its proper place, achieving systematic sample management. This basic solution fundamentally solves the problem of environmental fluctuations caused by frequent retrieval during teaching, forming the cornerstone of this invention's inventiveness.

[0025] In practical implementation, a thermosensitive color-changing indicator strip 280 can be embedded in the side wall or inside the top cover of the sample chamber 230. This indicator strip can be an irreversible thermosensitive ink printing strip, and its activation temperature can be set at a temperature threshold such as 30°C or 35°C that may cause damage to biological samples.

[0026] The thermosensitive color-changing indicator strip 280 acts as a "historical temperature black box." During teaching or storage, if capsule 200 is exposed to high temperatures due to unforeseen circumstances (such as laboratory air conditioning malfunction or negligence during transportation), the indicator strip will permanently change color (e.g., from white to black) even after the temperature returns to normal. This provides intuitive and reliable visual evidence of sample preservation quality, allowing teachers to quickly identify potentially expired samples, avoiding the use of degraded slides in teaching and ensuring the accuracy of teaching experiments.

[0027] Furthermore, the phase change temperature (i.e., melting / solidification point) of the phase change material 260 encapsulated within the regulating chamber 240 can be strictly limited to a narrow range of 4°C to 8°C. For example, a paraffin-based mixed phase change material 260 with a melting point of 6°C can be selected. In a low-temperature environment of 4-8°C, the degradation, autolysis, and microbial growth rates of biological cells and tissue sections 1 are significantly reduced. Setting the phase change point of the PCM within this range means that when the ambient temperature is higher than this range, the PCM melts and absorbs heat, preventing a rapid rise in the internal temperature of the capsule 200; when the ambient temperature is lower than this range, the PCM solidifies and releases heat, slowing down the decrease in internal temperature. This allows the internal temperature of the capsule 200 to be dynamically "anchored" near the most suitable storage temperature range without any energy consumption. This is the core of achieving "passive" constant temperature, and the precise selection of its temperature target directly determines the quality of the storage effect.

[0028] In a preferred embodiment, a miniature one-way valve port 290 is pre-embedded in the bottom or side wall of the regulating chamber 240 housing. This port is normally closed, maintaining the chamber's seal. Its external form can be a standard Luer connector or threaded interface.

[0029] Desiccant 270 gradually becomes saturated and ineffective after prolonged moisture absorption. The one-way valve port 290 allows for the regeneration of desiccant 270. By connecting an external vacuum device (such as a manual vacuum pump 400), the air pressure within the regulating chamber 240 can be reduced, causing partial desorption of the absorbed moisture under lower pressure and restoring the moisture-absorbing capacity of desiccant 270. This significantly extends the service life of the capsule 200, transforming it from a disposable consumable into a maintainable device and reducing long-term operating costs.

[0030] In practical implementation, the manual vacuum pump 400 can be a purely mechanical pump such as a hand-cranked or lever-piston type. The multi-way valve 420 is a plug valve or branch valve with a common inlet and multiple selectable outlets. The one-way valve ports 290 on each storage capsule 200 are connected to the respective outlets of the multi-way valve 420 through a set of flexible branch lines.

[0031] During operation, connect the vacuum pump to the inlet of the multi-way valve 420, rotate the knob of the multi-way valve 420 to the numbered passage corresponding to the target capsule 200, and then operate the manual pump. At this time, only the regulating chamber 240 of the target capsule 200 is evacuated to a low pressure to achieve directional regeneration, while other capsules 200 are unaffected.

[0032] As another preferred embodiment, a sealed airbag made of elastic rubber or silicone, namely an air pressure balancing bag 500, is suspended or fixed at the top of the inner cavity of the cabinet 100. The airbag is connected to the main cavity of the cabinet 100 through a capillary tube with a small inner diameter (e.g., 1-2 mm).

[0033] When the large cabinet door 110 is opened or closed rapidly, the air pressure inside the cabinet changes drastically, generating a momentary airflow. This airflow may disturb the capsule 200 and even force air exchange between the inside and outside of the not-completely-sealed sample chamber 230. The pressure equalization bladder 500, acting as a flexible "pressure buffer," slowly draws in or expels air through capillary flow restriction, smoothing out pressure peaks within the cabinet and transforming the violent airflow impact into slow bladder expansion / contraction. This effectively protects the stability of the microenvironment inside the capsule 200, which is particularly crucial for teaching scenarios involving frequent opening and closing.

[0034] To improve sample storage stability, one or more pairs of elastic clips are installed inside the sample chamber 230 to secure the slide 250. These elastic clips consist of a pair of opposing V-shaped elastic arms. The elastic arms can be made of stainless steel sheets or spring-loaded plastic, and their spacing in the free state is slightly less than the thickness of a standard slide 250 (typically about 1-1.2 mm thick), for example, set to 0.8-1.0 mm.

[0035] The V-shaped flexible arm design provides progressive clamping force. When the slide 250 is inserted, the arm guides the slide 250 in, the flexible arm is opened, and the resulting rebound force acts evenly on both sides of the slide 250, achieving a firm and slip-free fixation. This fixing method eliminates the need for screws, pressure plates, and other complex parts, making insertion and removal extremely quick ("one-insert-one-pull"), and avoiding damage to the slide label caused by friction.

[0036] As another preferred embodiment, the device also includes a door linkage mechanism 600. The carrying tray 300 is vertically and flexibly disposed inside the cabinet 100. The door linkage mechanism 600 is connected between the cabinet door 110 and the carrying tray 300, so that when the cabinet door 110 is opened, the carrying tray 300 can be driven to descend to the discharge port through the door linkage mechanism 600.

[0037] Specifically, the door linkage mechanism 600 includes a screw 610, a gear 620, and an arc-shaped rack 630. The support tray 300 is horizontally arranged inside the cabinet 100. The two ends of the support tray 300 can slide and engage with the inner wall of the cabinet 100. The screw 610 is rotatable and vertically arranged inside the cabinet 100, passes through the tray, and is threadedly connected to the tray. The discharge port is located near the bottom of the cabinet 100. The cabinet door 110 is a rotating door. The end of the arc-shaped rack 630 is fixedly connected to the cabinet door 110. The gear 620 is sleeved and fixed on the screw 610 and meshes with the arc-shaped rack 630.

[0038] When the teacher opens cabinet door 110, cabinet door 110 drives the arc-shaped rack 630 to rotate. The arc-shaped rack 630 drives the meshing gear 620 to rotate, and the gear 620 drives the screw 610 to rotate. Since the carrying tray 300 is restricted to moving up and down but not rotating by the guide device, according to the principle of screw transmission, the rotation of the screw 610 is converted into the linear motion of the nut block on the tray, thereby driving the entire carrying tray 300 to descend smoothly. When cabinet door 110 is fully opened, the tray is just lowered to the height of the discharge port, making it easy to pick up and put in all capsules 200. When cabinet door 110 is pushed back, the process is reversed, the tray automatically rises and resets, sending the capsules 200 back to the safe storage area at the top of the cabinet.

[0039] This method eliminates the need for manual lifting or searching for the tray, improving the overall ease of operation of the device.

[0040] The entire device's workflow: Initial storage: Open cabinet door 110, and the support tray 300 automatically descends to the discharge port. Place the pre-packaged biological slice 1 preservation capsule 200 into the corresponding positioning compartment 310 of the support tray 300 according to its number. Close cabinet door 110, and the tray automatically rises and resets.

[0041] For routine teaching use: Open cabinet door 110, and the target capsule 200 will descend to your location on the tray. Directly remove the capsule 200, open its top cover, and remove the slide 250 for microscope observation. After use, place the slide 250 back into the original capsule 200 and tighten the cover, return it to its fixed position on the tray, and close cabinet door 110.

[0042] Environmental Maintenance: During this process, the capsules 200 that remain inside the cabinet 100 are kept in a closed and stable state. The phase change material 260 and desiccant 270 inside all capsules 200 continue to operate, independently maintaining their respective low-temperature drying microenvironments. The pressure balancing bladder 500 silently counteracts the pressure shock from opening and closing the door.

[0043] Maintenance and Regeneration: Periodically check the status of the desiccant 270 through the observation window (which can be located on cabinet door 110 or capsule 200). When regeneration is required, use the manual vacuum pump 400 and multi-way valve 420 system to perform a vacuum regeneration operation on the designated capsule 200.

[0044] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and are not intended to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some or all of the technical features therein. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, and they should all be covered within the scope of the claims and specification of the present invention.

Claims

1. A device for preserving cell biological sections for teaching purposes, characterized in that, include: The cabinet has a discharge port that communicates with its internal cavity, and the discharge port has an openable cabinet door. Multiple independent preservation capsules are used for individually encapsulating biological slides; each preservation capsule includes a capsule shell, the interior of which is divided by a flexible diaphragm into two sealed sample chambers and an adjustment chamber. The sample chambers can be opened and can hold removable glass slides. The adjustment chamber contains a predetermined amount of phase change material and desiccant. A support tray is horizontally arranged inside the cabinet. The support tray has multiple positioning compartments for accommodating the preservation capsules. The preservation capsules can be placed in the positioning compartments through the discharge port.

2. The teaching cell biological section preservation device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The inner wall of the sample chamber is embedded with a temperature-sensitive color-changing indicator strip.

3. The teaching cell biological section preservation device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The phase change temperature range of the phase change material is 4°C to 8°C.

4. The teaching cell biological section preservation device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The housing of the regulating chamber is provided with a one-way valve interface for connecting an external suction device.

5. The teaching cell biological section preservation device according to claim 4, characterized in that, It also includes a manual vacuum pump, which is connected to the inlet of a multi-way valve via a hose, and the multiple outlets of the multi-way valve are selectively connected to the one-way valve interfaces on multiple of the preservation capsules via branch pipelines.

6. The teaching cell biological section preservation device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The cabinet's inner cavity top is also equipped with an air pressure balancing bladder, which is connected to the cabinet's inner cavity through a capillary tube.

7. The teaching cell biological section preservation device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sample chamber is equipped with an elastic clip, which is used to fix the glass slide.

8. The teaching cell biological section preservation device according to claim 7, characterized in that, The elastic clip comprises a pair of opposing, V-shaped elastic arms, the distance between which is less than the thickness of a standard glass slide.

9. The teaching cell biological section preservation device according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a door linkage mechanism. The carrying tray is vertically and can be installed in the cabinet. The door linkage mechanism is connected between the cabinet door and the carrying tray, so that when the cabinet door is opened, the carrying tray can be driven to descend to the discharge port through the door linkage mechanism.

10. The cell biological section preservation device for teaching purposes according to claim 9, characterized in that, The door linkage mechanism includes a screw, a gear, and an arc-shaped rack. The support tray is horizontally arranged inside the cabinet. Both ends of the support tray can slide and engage with the inner wall of the cabinet. The screw is rotatably and vertically arranged inside the cabinet, passes through the tray, and is threadedly connected to the tray. The discharge port is located near the bottom of the cabinet. The cabinet door is a rotating door. The end of the arc-shaped rack is fixedly connected to the cabinet door. The gear is sleeved and fixed on the screw and meshes with the arc-shaped rack.

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