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US 6,547,783 B1Granted
Thermo-electric grip for holding soft tissue
AssigneeEnduraTEC Systems Corp.
InventorsKent Vilendrer, Kelly Grimes, Jagdeesh Shukla, David Strei, Christopher Eriksen, Troy Nickel
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A grip for holding soft materials is described wherein the gripping surface of the grip is cooled by a thermo-electric cooler. The grip of the present invention includes grip members having opposed gripping surfaces that contact the soft material. The grip does not require use of cryogenic materials and is suitable for use in contact with fluids at body temperature. The temperature of the grip can be easily controlled.
Claims24
A thermo-electric grip system for gripping soft materials, said gripping system comprising:
- (a) first and second adjustably spaced apart opposed gripping devices, each of said first and second gripping devices having an outer gripping surface;
- (b) a thermo-electric cooler adapted for cooling the outer gripping surface of each of said first and second gripping devices, wherein the thermo-electric cooler is isolated electrically from the outer gripping surface of each of said first and second gripping devices;
- and
- (c) mechanically adjustable actuating devices coupled to said first and second gripping devices, wherein said actuating devices actuate said first and second gripping devices to change a separation distance between said first and second gripping devices to capture an object therebetween and thereafter to adjust the gripping force on a captured object to secure said captured object in place.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.