Patent ID: 7703368

Claim:
A knife assembly for a microtome comprising: a vibratory mechanism ( 10 ); and a knife holder connected to the vibratory mechanism, the knife holder including a support element ( 2 ) having a support surface ( 2 a ) for a knife and a clamping element ( 4 ) movable relative to the support element ( 2 ), the clamping element ( 4 ) having a clamping surface ( 4 a ) parallel to the support surface ( 2 a ), wherein the support surface ( 2 a ) and the clamping surface ( 4 a ) are settable at a distance from one another adaptable to a thickness of a knife to be held by the knife holder and the support surface ( 2 a ) and the clamping surface remain parallel to one another as the distance between the support surface and the clamping surface ( 4 a ) is adapted; wherein the support element ( 2 ) of the knife holder is fixedly joined to the vibratory mechanism, and the clamping element is movable along the support element, wherein the knife holder further includes an eccentric ( 6 ) rotatably mounted on the support element and arranged to engage the clamping element for moving the clamping element ( 4 ) along the support element in a clamping direction to clamp a knife between the support surface and the clamping surface, and a fastener ( 5 ) extending perpendicular to the clamping direction and arranged to hold the clamping element ( 4 ) and the support element ( 2 ) together, wherein the fastener ( 5 ) and the eccentric ( 6 ) are arranged between the vibratory mechanism ( 10 ) and the support surface ( 2 a ).