Abstract:
Embodiments provide a slide assembly device having a static tooling base which is statically and solidly affixed to a base such as a table and a moveable tooling arm that is rotatable about a hinge connected to the static tooling base, so that moveable tooling arm rotates about the hinge in a manner similar to a book cover opening and closing. The embodiments further provide an upper slide chuck that is removably attachable to the moveable tooling arm and a lower slide receiver that is removably attachable to the static tooling base. The upper slide chuck is configured to hold an experimental slide via a vacuum mechanism to engagedly hold the experimental slide to the upper slide chuck while the moveable tooling arm is rotated about the hinge from an open-book position to a closed-book position.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a 35 U.S.C. §371 national phase application of PCT/US 12/51400 (WO 2013/026013), filed on Aug. 17, 2012, entitled “Device and Method to Accurately and Easily Assemble Glass Slides”, which application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/525,056, filed Aug. 18, 2011, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to laboratory devices and more specifically to systems and methods for the preparation and assembly of slide arrays for further experimentation. 
     SUMMARY OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     According to some embodiments of the present invention, a device accepts a slide array that is to be assembled. A book-like hinged device can be constructed such that two surfaces with location points are exposed to facilitate the loading of two separate slides. One leaf of the book-like device is constructed such that it is a fixed mounting surface placed upon a bench top or other such piece of furniture. The other leaf of the book-like device is moveable from a fully open configuration to a full closed configuration, approximately 180 degrees of motion. Upon closing the hinge, the action brings two slides together in an accurate, repeatable, and easily managed manner. In the preferred configuration, a vacuum chuck on the moveable leaf of the book-like device holds a moveable slide firmly in place prior to its placement on top of a fixed slide. A spring loaded catch on the upper, moveable portion of the device can also maintain a hold on a slide during operation. The vacuum is applied on command of the operator. The closing of the book-like device brings the moving slide and the fixed slide into close but not intimate contact. Once the operator releases the vacuum upon command, the two slides are brought into final, resting position with a minimum of impact. 
     According to some embodiments of the present invention, the slide array is to be assembled inside of a separate carrier to allow further processing. The fixed slide is to be assembled inside of the carrier and then placed on a tooled spot on the fixed leaf of the book-like device. Further processing can include the application of an additional carrier on the top slide and the addition of a screw-type clamp to fixate the slide array. 
     According to some embodiments of the present invention, the slides described herein are composed of a transparent glass. The invention is not limited to the size of glass slide normally encountered in normal laboratory operations. The slides can be of a large variety of sizes and shapes. The slides need not be of identical sizes, smaller slides can be placed on a larger slide or vice versa. The slides need not be composed of transparent glass, other materials such as metals or plastics can be accurately assembled using the herein described device. 
     Various modifications and additions can be made to the exemplary embodiments discussed without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, while the embodiments described above refer to particular features, the scope of this invention also included embodiments having different combination of features and embodiments that do not include all of the above described features. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an accurate slide assembly device  100 , according to the embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates an accurate slide assembly device  100 , with a Hybridization chamber base installed in the loading position, according to the embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates an accurate slide assembly device  100 , with a hybridization gasket slide loaded into the Hybridization chamber base, according to the embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates an accurate slide assembly device  100 , with an experimental slide loaded into the vacuum chuck on the moveable arm, according to the embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates an accurate slide assembly device  100 , with the vacuum producing cylinder depressed, according to the embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates an accurate slide assembly device  100 , with the vacuum producing cylinder extended after release, producing a vacuum under the experimental slide, according to the embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  illustrates an accurate slide assembly device  100 , with the moveable arm partly rotated into the slide dropping position, according to the embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  illustrates an accurate slide assembly device  100 , with the moveable arm further deployed into the slide dropping position, according to the embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  illustrates an accurate slide assembly device  100 , with the moveable arm in its final position prior to the release of the experimental slide, according to the embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  illustrates a detailed view of an accurate slide assembly device  100 , with the experimental slide still held on the vacuum chuck slightly above the hybridization gasket slide just prior to final placement, according to the embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 11  illustrates an accurate slide assembly device  100 , with the experimental slide and the hybridization gasket slide in contact after the release of the vacuum in the vacuum chuck, according to the embodiments of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities of ingredients, dimensions reaction conditions and so forth used in the specification and claims are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term “about.” 
     In this application and the claims, the use of the singular includes the plural unless specifically stated otherwise. In addition, use of “or” means “and/or” unless stated otherwise. Moreover, the use of the term “including,” as well as other forms, such as “includes” and “included,” is not limiting. Also, terms such as “element” or “component” encompass both elements and components comprising one unit and elements and components that comprise more than one unit unless specifically stated otherwise. 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , the Accurate Slide Assembly Device (ASAD)  100  consists of a base  101  whereby the static slide assembly tooling base  102  is solidly affixed in place, according to the embodiments of the present invention. Attached to the tooling base  102  is the moveable arm  103  via hinge  105  that keeps the respective tooling points, lower hybridization tooling area  108  and upper slide chuck  110 , in accurate registration or alignment with one another, according to the embodiments of the present invention. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 ,  2 , and  4 , Groove  107  (as shown in  FIG. 1 ) allows the placement of a flexible seal  111  (as shown in  FIG. 2 ), such as an o-ring, into the upper slide chuck  110  to provide a vacuum to be held in the vacuum space  106  once an experimental slide  113  (as shown in  FIG. 4 ) has been placed in the upper slide chuck  110 , according to the embodiments of the present invention. With reference to  FIG. 4 , hard tooling points  115  fix the experimental slide  113  in a tightly constrained location, according to the embodiments of the present invention. 
     With reference to  FIG. 3 , lower slide receiver  112  is the part of the Hybridization chamber base fixture that receives the hybridization gasket slide  114 . Hybridization gasket slide  114  preferably includes several of chambers thereon in which material for processing may be added. Each chamber may be surrounded by a gasket or a flexible seal (similar to the flexible seal  111  above). Once the hybridization gasket slide  114  has been prepared by adding material to the surface, the operation of the ASAD  100  can commence, according to the embodiments of the present invention. 
     With reference again to  FIG. 4 , the experimental slide  113  is held in place against the o-ring  111  (as shown in  FIG. 2 ) after a vacuum is imposed in the open volume or vacuum space  106  (as shown in  FIGS. 1 &amp; 2 ). In the present configuration, as illustrated in  FIGS. 4-6 , the vacuum is generated by manually pushing button  109  down on the spring return cylinder  104  and then releasing the button  109  to allow the spring to drive the piston inside of the cylinder  104  upwards. A flexible tube  117  connects the cylinder generated vacuum to the open volume or vacuum space  106  (as shown in  FIGS. 1 &amp; 2 ) in the moveable arm  103 , according to the embodiments of the present invention. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 7-9 , once the experimental slide  113  is firmly seated against the o-ring  111  (as shown in  FIG. 2 ) and sufficiently registered in the hard tooling points  115 , the moveable arm  103  can be articulated by rotation and the experimental slide  113  can be placed over the hybridization gasket slide  114  and inside of the lower slide receiver  112 , according to the embodiments of the present invention. The moveable slide (e.g., experimental slide  113  in this embodiment) is located in a controlled position so that as the slides (e.g., experimental slide  113  and hybridization gasket slide  114  in this embodiment) are brought into close proximity with each other, there will be no interference with the removable tooling (e.g., lower slide receiver  112  in this embodiment) or the stationary slide (e.g., hybridization gasket slide  114  in this embodiment). This location is provided in the present, preferred configuration by raised surfaces that are carefully designed to press against the periphery of the moveable slide, without interfering with the rest of the tooling or the fixed slide. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 10 &amp; 11 , the experimental slide  113  can then be released by depressing the button  109  (as shown in  FIGS. 1-9 ) and allowing the cylinder spring to drive the cylinder  104  to its neutral state. This action causes the vacuum to be released to atmospheric pressure and the experimental slide  113  falls onto the hybridization gasket slide  114  under the force of gravity, according to the embodiments of the present invention. 
     With reference again to  FIG. 10 , the small distance  118  between the experimental slide  113  and the hybridization gasket slide  114  allows the eventual placement of the experimental slide  113  and the hybridization gasket slide  114  (as illustrated in  FIG. 11 ) to be gentle and non-disruptive event, according to the embodiments of the present invention. In this embodiment, the distance  118  is preferably, but not limited to, a distance on the order of about  1  millimeter or less. 
     With reference once more to  FIG. 1 , the grooves  116  that are placed in static slide assembly tooling base  102  are present to allow a clamp (not shown) to be applied onto a stack of hybridization base, hybridization gasket slide, printed slide and the hybridization chamber top in order to fixate the two slides (as shown in  FIG. 11 ) one on top of the other and held in place by the hybridization top in order to facilitate further processing, according to the embodiments of the present invention. Once gravity has brought the upper slide (i.e., experimental slide  113 ) into contact with the lower slide (i.e., hybridization gasket slide  114 ), it is possible to clamp the slides together without disturbing the orientation thereof. The device may now be used to repeatably fixate other pairs of slides. 
     The Accurate Slide Assembly Device (ASAD)  100  is intended to take a first prepared or otherwise unused slide (including, but not limited to, experimental slide  113 ) and place it in close proximity in a parallel attitude to a second prepared or otherwise unused slide (including, but not limited to, hybridization gasket slide  114 ). Prior to positioning in either upper slide chuck  110  or the lower slide receiver  112 , either of the first and second slides may be used or unused, prepared or unprepared, already processed or not yet processed. 
     In the above-described embodiment, vacuum was provided using the assembly—comprising the manually actuated button  109  and spring return cylinder  104 —that is connected to the o-ring-lined upper slide chuck  110  via flexible tube  117 . This, however, is not the only method of supplying a vacuum to the ASAD  100 . Other sources of vacuum include, but are not limited to, an external source that can be piped to the instrument, an on-board source that can be generated with a bulb commonly found in laboratories used for operating pipettes, and an air cylinder that is manually operated to provide a sufficient vacuum to pull the slide against an o-ring. The required vacuum pressure is on the order of inches of water (or about 2.5 to 25 mbar). 
     For the above-described embodiment, releasing the vacuum to atmospheric pressure may be accomplished via use of one of numerous valving options that are known to those skilled in the art. 
     In the above-described embodiment, the device is manually operated, but the device may be configured to operate robotically in ways known to those skilled in the art. In the above-described embodiment, a single hinge  105  is used, because it is the easiest configuration, but a combination of hinges and slides may also be built into the device to accomplish the same or similar task. Either slides, hinges, or both fit the task. 
     Although the above-described embodiment utilizes a hybridization chamber base, the device need not have a hybridization chamber base, but may simply be used to assemble the slides. 
     In some embodiments, the upper slide chuck  110  may be configured to be adjustably shifted along any direction within a plane that is parallel to the surface of the moveable arm  103 , in order to allow for ease of alignment between the experimental slide  113  and hybridization gasket slide  114  when the moveable is rotated to a position above the static tooling base. 
     Various embodiments of the disclosure could also include permutations of the various elements recited in the claims as if each dependent claim was a multiple dependent claim incorporating the limitations of each of the preceding dependent claims as well as the independent claims. Such permutations are expressly within the scope of this disclosure. 
     While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a number of embodiments, it would be understood by those skilled in the art that changes in the form and details may be made to the various embodiments disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and that the various embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to act as limitations on the scope of the claims. All references cited herein are incorporated in their entirety by reference.