Rotary microtome drive

An improved rotary microtome of the type in which a specimen table and a knife are mounted for relative reciprocable movement therebetween in a first direction for cutting a slice from the specimen, and for incremental movement in a second direction to incrementally advance the specimen mounted on said specimen table and said knife relative to each other, said microtome comprising,

• a base,
• a first link connected to said base for pivotal movement about a first hinge secured to said base for pivotal movement about a first hinge secured on said base,
• a second link parallel to said first link and connected to said base for pivotal movement about a second hinge secured on said base and spaced from the first hinge,
• a third link connected to said first link at a third hinge and pivotally connected to said second link at a fourth hinge,
• said hinges having pivot axes parallel to each other and being located respectively at corners of a parallelogram so that pivotal movement of said first link about said first hinge in a first direction causes said third link to move parallel to a line extending through said axes of said first and second hinges, to incrementally advance the specimen and knife relative to each other, and
• rotatable drive means for pivoting said first link in said first direction to cause said incremental advance.