CN109387933B

CN109387933B - Microscope

Info

Publication number: CN109387933B
Application number: CN201810870842.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 唐泽雅善; 小林新太郎
Original assignee: Olympus Corp
Current assignee: Yijingtong Co ltd
Priority date: 2017-08-04
Filing date: 2018-08-02
Publication date: 2022-04-26
Anticipated expiration: 2038-08-02
Also published as: JP2019032380A; JP6960797B2; CN109387933A

Abstract

The microscope (1) comprises: an object stage for placing a specimen; a transmission illumination optical system (20) having a light source (24) for generating illumination light for illuminating a specimen, a condenser lens (22a) for illuminating the specimen with the illumination light, and a field stop (261) for adjusting the range of the illumination light for illuminating the specimen; and a reticle (27) in which the condenser lens (22a) is movable along the optical axis of the transmission illumination optical system (20), wherein the reticle (27) is disposed in the vicinity of the field stop (261) and is positioned so as to be able to conjugate with the specimen by the movement of the condenser lens (22 a).

Description

Microscope

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a microscope.

Background

Conventionally, a microscope is known in which a reticle (レチクル) (reticle plate) formed of a glass plate on which a reticle such as a cross is engraved is inserted into an eyepiece. By using such a reticle, a user can measure, for example, the degree of infiltration of cancer cells by a few mm from the epidermis or the degree of infiltration of cancer cells in the epidermis

In the field of view of

And counting abnormal cells in the marker line to determine the degree of disease progression.

On the other hand, the marker line of the reticle may be displayed only when the cell to be measured is indicated or the counting range is limited, and may become an obstacle in normal observation. For this reason, for example, japanese unexamined patent publication No. 57-68209 proposes a method in which a sign line of a reticle is constituted by an electro-optical element that switches between transparent and opaque according to an applied voltage. By configuring the marker line with the electro-optical element in this way, the marker line can be displayed within the field of view only when necessary, and therefore the marker line does not hinder the observation of the specimen.

However, when the reticle proposed in Japanese Kokai publication Sho-57-68209 is used, the following problems occur. First, the marker line of the marker line inserted into the eyepiece is likely to be erroneous in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis in view of loose fitting to the attachment portion and misalignment of the center of the marker line. Further, in the eyepiece and the camera, since the optical path of the observed image is different, the center of the field of view is different. Therefore, the marker line of the marker line inserted into the eyepiece does not coincide with the marker line displayed so as to overlap with the image captured by the camera. Therefore, for example, in the case where an instructor observes a specimen through an image captured by a camera and a student observes the specimen through an eyepiece in an instructor scene, it becomes difficult for the instructor to instruct the student about the correct position of a cell or the like.

Further, the marker line is engraved on a transparent glass plate, and the glass plate is inserted to a position conjugate to the image plane. Therefore, even if a little foreign matter such as dust adheres to the glass plate, the foreign matter is visible in the field of view. However, since the foreign matter cannot be confirmed by the camera, for example, a difference in recognition occurs between a user who observes the specimen through an image captured by the camera and a user who observes the specimen through the eyepiece. Further, since the reticle is formed of a glass plate, a careful work is required to insert the reticle into the eyepiece, and there is a problem that stress is applied to the user.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a microscope in which a marker line of a reticle does not interfere with observation of a specimen in normal observation and in which a sense of discomfort does not occur in observation by a camera and observation by an eyepiece.

Disclosure of Invention

The microscope of one aspect of the present invention includes: an object stage for placing a specimen; a transmission illumination optical system having a light source for generating illumination light for illuminating the specimen, a condenser lens for illuminating the specimen with the illumination light, and a field stop for adjusting a range of the illumination light for illuminating the specimen; and a marker member that is disposed in the vicinity of the field stop and is at a position that can be conjugate to the specimen by movement of the condenser lens, the condenser lens being movable along an optical axis of the transmission illumination optical system.

The above-described contents, other objects, features, advantages and technical and industrial significance of the present invention will be further understood when the following detailed description of the present invention is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a microscope according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing the configuration of a transmission illumination optical system of a microscope according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 3A is a diagram showing an example of a reticle applicable to a microscope according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 3B is a diagram showing another example of a reticle applicable to a microscope according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 3C is a diagram showing another example of a reticle applicable to a microscope according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 4A is a diagram showing a structure of an adapter of a microscope according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 4B is a diagram showing a structure of an adapter of a microscope according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing the configuration of a transmission illumination optical system of a microscope according to embodiment 2 of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing the configuration of a transmission illumination optical system of a microscope according to embodiment 3 of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing the configuration of a transmission illumination optical system of a microscope according to embodiment 4 of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of a transmission illumination optical system of a microscope according to embodiment 5 of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing the configuration of a transmission illumination optical system of a microscope according to embodiment 6 of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration of a modification of the reticle of the microscope according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the microscope according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and the components of the following embodiments include components that can be easily replaced by those skilled in the art, or substantially the same components.

Embodiment mode 1

The structure of a microscope 1 according to embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 4. As shown in fig. 1, the microscope 1 of the present embodiment mainly includes a microscope body 10, a transmission illumination optical system 20, an objective lens 31, a nosepiece 32, a barrel 33, an eyepiece 35, a camera adapter 36, and a camera 37.

The microscope body 10 includes a base portion 11a, a column portion 11b erected on the rear surface side of the base portion 11a, and an arm portion 11c supported by the column portion 11b and extending toward the front surface side. The base portion 11a is a portion directly placed on a desk or the like where the microscope 1 is installed, and the transmission illumination optical system 20 is disposed inside the base portion 11 a.

The column portion 11b is integrated with the base portion 11a at its lower end portion, and holds a stage 21 on which the specimen S is placed via a stage holding member 12. The stage holding member 12 is configured to be movable along a guide, not shown, disposed in the optical axis direction at the column portion 11 b. In addition, the "optical axis" mentioned above means an optical axis of the transmission illumination optical system 20.

The stage 21 held by the stage holding member 12 is moved in the vertical direction along the optical axis by the operation of the stage focus handle 13. Thereby, the relative distance between the specimen S on the stage 21 and the objective lens 31 is changed, and the focus is adjusted.

The stage holding member 12 has a condenser guide 14, and the condenser guide 14 can move the condenser unit 22 along the optical axis. The condenser unit 22 is moved in the up-down direction by the operation of the condenser focus handle 15.

The nosepiece 32 is attached to a lower surface of the arm 11 c. A plurality of objective lenses 31 having different magnifications are detachably attached to the lens changer 32. Then, the selected objective lens 31 is arranged on the optical axis by rotating the nosepiece 32 by operation.

The lens barrel 33 is detachably attached to the upper surface of the arm portion 11c, and two eyepieces 35, a camera adapter 36, and a camera 37 are attached thereto. Further, a switching lever 34 for switching the optical paths of the eyepiece 35 and the camera 37 is attached to the lens barrel 33.

The transmission illumination optical system 20 mainly includes a light source 24 for generating illumination light for illuminating the specimen S, a condenser unit 22 for illuminating the specimen S with the illumination light, and a field stop unit 26 for adjusting the range of the illumination light illuminated to the specimen S.

Illumination light irradiated from the light source 24 of the transmission illumination optical system 20 is irradiated to the specimen S via the condenser lens 25 and the condenser unit 22. The light transmitted through the specimen S forms an observation image by the objective lens 31 and an imaging lens, not shown, in the lens barrel 33, and the user can observe the image of the specimen S over the eyepiece 35 or via the image captured by the camera 37.

The condenser unit 22 is configured to be movable along the optical axis, and includes a condenser lens 22a therein. The field stop unit 26 is disposed on the base portion 11a, and includes, as shown in fig. 2, a field stop 261, a unit main body 262, a field stop handle 263, and a window mirror 264. In the drawing, the upper portion of the unit main body 262, the window mirror 264, the marker 27 and the adapter 28 described later are shown in cross section.

The field stop 261 is disposed between the light source 24 and the condenser lens 22 a. By rotating the field stop handle 263, the diameter of the field stop 261 changes. Further, by operating the centering knob 23 of the condenser lens 22a, the condenser lens 22a can be moved in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis. This allows the center of the field stop 261 to be aligned with the field center.

The window mirror 264 is provided above the field stop 261, that is, on the stage 21 side, and prevents foreign matter such as dust from entering the field stop 261 and prevents the user from directly touching the field stop 261. A marking (marking member) 27 made of a glass plate on which a marking is engraved is disposed on the upper surface of the window mirror 264.

The reticle 27 is disposed between the field stop 261 and the condenser lens 22a, specifically, in the vicinity of the field stop 261, and is disposed at a position conjugate to the specimen S by the movement of the condenser unit 22. The marking 27 is detachably attached to the upper surface of the window mirror 264 via the adapter 28.

As the marking 27, for example, a member on which a marking line having a scale 272 provided on a cross line 271 is marked as shown in fig. 3A can be used. Instead of the reticle 27, for example, a reticle 27A on which a reticle having a plurality of concentric circles 273 is formed on a reticle 271 may be used as shown in fig. 3B. Instead of the reticle 27, a reticle 27B provided with a reticle 271 and having a light shielding region 274 in the outer edge portion may be used. By using such a reticle 27B, it is possible to block the disturbance light by the light blocking region 274 and to cause the reticle 27B to function as a diaphragm.

The interval between the scale 272 in fig. 3A and the concentric circle 273 in fig. 3B needs to be a value obtained in consideration of the interval required on the specimen surface. For example, when the projection magnification of the marker line on the specimen plane is 0.5 times and the specimen plane is to display a line interval of 1mm, the line interval of the marker line on the marker line 27 is set to 2mm at 1 mm/0.5. The line width of the marker line is also the same as the line interval, and for example, when a line width of 0.1mm is to be displayed on the specimen surface, the line width of the marker line on the marker line 27 is set to 0.1mm/0.5 — 0.2 mm.

The adapter 28 is detachably attached to the upper surface of the window mirror 264. As shown in fig. 4A and 4B, the adapter 28 includes an adapter main body 281 formed in an annular shape and a flange portion 282 extending inward from the inner periphery of the adapter main body 281. The marking 27 is fixedly or detachably attached to the flange portion 282.

Here, when the field stop 261 and the specimen S are in an optically conjugate positional relationship, the transmission illumination optical system 20 is in an optically ideal state. Therefore, only the specimen S can be seen when observation is performed by the eyepiece 35 and the camera 37.

On the other hand, when the condenser focus handle 15 is operated and the condenser unit 22 is lowered from the position in the case where the transmission illumination optical system 20 is in the optically ideal state, the marker line of the marker line 27 and the specimen S are in the optically conjugate positional relationship. Therefore, when observation is performed by the eyepiece 35 and the camera 37, the marker line of the reticle 27 can be seen in addition to the specimen S.

In the microscope 1 having the above-described configuration, since the reticle 27 is disposed at a position conjugate with the specimen S by the movement of the condenser lens 22a, the reticle 27 does not obstruct the observation of the specimen S in the normal observation, and does not give a sense of discomfort to the user in the observation by the camera 37 and the observation by the eyepiece 35.

That is, in the microscope 1, when the condenser unit 22 is disposed so that the transmission illumination optical system 20 is in an optically ideal state, the focal point is not aligned with the index line of the index line 27, and the index line is not visible. On the other hand, when the condenser unit 22 is moved down in the optical axis direction toward the reticle 27, the reticle 27 is brought into focus and the reticle is seen when the reticle is brought into a conjugate positional relationship. Thus, the marker line of the marker line 27 is not displayed in normal observation, and the marker line of the marker line 27 can be displayed only when, for example, a cell to be measured is indicated or the count range is limited.

In the microscope 1, the marker line 27 is observed by the camera 37 and the eyepiece 35, and therefore the marker line of the marker line 27 observed by the camera 37 and the marker line of the marker line 27 observed by the eyepiece 35 are aligned in positional relationship, not by software display by the camera as in the conventional art. Therefore, for example, in the case where the instructor observes the specimen S through the image captured by the camera 37 and the student observes the specimen S through the eyepiece 35 at the instructor site, the instructor can instruct the student on the correct position of the cell and the like.

In the microscope 1, the reticle 27 is disposed on the upper surface of the window mirror 264 via the adapter 28, so that the fitting looseness to the mounting portion and the error in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis, which have been conventionally caused, do not occur. In the microscope 1, the reticle 27 is disposed on the upper surface of the window mirror 264, and therefore, even if foreign matter such as dust adheres to the reticle 27, the cleaning can be easily performed.

Embodiment mode 2

The structure of a microscope 1A according to embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 5. In the following, the same configurations as those of embodiment 1 will be omitted from description and illustration, and only the configurations different from those of embodiment 1 will be described.

As shown in fig. 5, the microscope 1A is different from embodiment 1 in the structure of the field stop unit 26A. That is, unlike embodiment 1, the field stop unit 26A is configured integrally with the window mirror as the reticle 27C. That is, the reticle 27C is fixed to the upper portion of the unit main body 262 of the field stop unit 26A, and also functions as a window mirror.

With the microscope 1A having the above-described configuration, as in embodiment 1, the marker line of the marker line 27C does not obstruct the observation of the specimen S during normal observation, and does not give a user a sense of discomfort during observation by the camera 37 or during observation by the eyepiece 35. Further, with the microscope 1A, the number of components can be reduced as compared with embodiment 1, and therefore, the cost can be reduced.

Embodiment 3

The structure of a microscope 1B according to embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 6. In the following, the same configurations as those of embodiment 1 will be omitted from description and illustration, and only the configurations different from those of embodiment 1 will be described.

As shown in fig. 6, the reticle 27 of the microscope 1B is configured to be movable along the optical axis in the vicinity of the field stop 261. That is, in the microscope 1B, the reticle 27 is held by the reticle holder 41, not by the upper surface of the window mirror 264.

The reticle holder 41 is configured to be movable along a reticle guide 42 arranged in the optical axis direction. The reticle guide 42 is attached to a reticle guide holding portion 43 provided on the column portion 11 b. The reticle 27 held by the reticle holder 41 is moved in the vertical direction along the optical axis by the operation of the reticle focusing handle 44.

With the microscope 1B having the above-described configuration, the projection magnification for projecting the reticle 27 onto the sample surface can be changed according to the position of the reticle 27 in the optical axis direction. Thus, for example, the interval between the marks 272 (see fig. 3A) of the index line of the index mark 27 can be arbitrarily changed when the observation is performed by the eyepiece 35 and the camera 37. Therefore, with the microscope 1B, the specimen S can be observed at various scales using one reticle 27.

Embodiment 4

The structure of a microscope 1C according to embodiment 4 of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 7. In the following, the same configurations as those of embodiment 3 will be omitted from description and illustration, and only the configurations different from embodiment 3 will be described.

As shown in fig. 7, the reticle 27 of the microscope 1C is configured to be movable along the optical axis in the vicinity of the field stop 261 by a method different from that of embodiment 3. That is, in the microscope 1C, the field stop unit 26 is held by the field stop unit holder 45, not by the base portion 11 a.

The field stop unit holder 45 is configured to be movable along a field stop unit guide 46 arranged in the optical axis direction. The field stop unit guide 46 is attached to a field stop unit guide holding portion 47 provided on the column portion 11 b. Further, the field stop unit 26 and the reticle 27 held by the field stop unit holder 45 are moved in the up-down direction along the optical axis by the operation of the field stop focus handle 48.

The condenser unit 22 is adjusted to be disposed at an optically desired position at the uppermost position. Further, it is preferable that the field stop unit 26 is not provided and the reticle 27 is directly disposed on the field stop unit holder 45.

With the microscope 1C having the above-described configuration, as in embodiment 3, since the projection magnification for projecting the reticle 27 onto the specimen surface can be changed in accordance with the position of the reticle 27 in the optical axis direction, the specimen S can be observed with various scales using one reticle 27.

Embodiment 5

The structure of a microscope 1D according to embodiment 5 of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 8. In the following, the same configurations as those of embodiment 1 will be omitted from description and illustration, and only the configurations different from those of embodiment 1 will be described.

As shown in fig. 8, the microscope 1D includes a display control unit that controls display of the marker line of the reticle 27D in accordance with the magnification of the objective lens 31. The reticle 27D is constituted by a liquid crystal display. The microscope 1D includes an address sensor 49, a nosepiece position detection circuit 50, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 51, and a graphic Controller (Graphics Controller)52 functioning as a display control Unit, in addition to the configuration of embodiment 1. The Graphics controller 52 is formed of an integrated circuit such as a CPU or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit).

The address sensor 49 is constituted by a hall element or the like for detecting the position of the objective lens 31 inserted on the optical axis, and is built in the nosepiece 32. Information from the address sensor 49 is input to the graphic controller 52 via the nosepiece position detection circuit 50 and the CPU 51. The graphic controller 52 receives the information and changes the display content of the reticle 27D formed of the liquid crystal display.

With the microscope 1D having the above-described configuration, the line width and line interval of the index line of the reticle 27D can be optimally changed in accordance with the magnification of the objective lens 31.

Embodiment 6

The structure of a microscope 1E according to embodiment 6 of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 9. In the following, the same configurations as those of embodiment 1 will be omitted from description and illustration, and only the configurations different from those of embodiment 1 will be described.

As shown in fig. 9, the microscope 1E includes a light amount control unit that controls the light amount of the light source 24 in accordance with the position of the condenser lens 22a in the optical axis direction. The microscope 1E includes a photointerrupter 53, a plate member 54, a sensor on/off detection circuit 55, a CPU56, a D/a converter 57, and a driver circuit 58 functioning as a light amount control means, in addition to the configuration of embodiment 1.

The photointerrupter 53 is attached to the stage holding member 12. The plate member 54 is mounted to the concentrator unit 22. When the condenser unit 22 is disposed at an optically ideal position, the plate member 54 blocks the photointerrupter 53 and turns on the sensor. On the other hand, when the condenser unit 22 is disposed at a position lowered from the optical ideal position, the plate member 54 is detached from the photointerrupter 53 and turned off as a sensor. The states of sensor on and sensor off are detected by a sensor on/off detection circuit 55 connected to the photo-interrupter 53.

A signal detected by the sensor on/off detection circuit 55 is input to the driver circuit 58 via the CPU56 and the D/a converter 57. The driver circuit 58 receives the signal to control the brightness of the illumination light from the light source 24. The light source 24 increases the luminance of the illumination light at a ratio set in advance when the sensor is off, based on the luminance when the sensor is on, based on the control of the driver circuit 58.

Here, when the condenser unit 22 is lowered from the optically ideal position while the luminance of the light source 24 is unchanged, the luminance when observed by the eyepiece 35 and the camera 37 is reduced. On the other hand, with the microscope 1E having the above-described configuration, since the illumination light can be adjusted to the optimum brightness according to the position of the condenser unit 22, the brightness when observed by the eyepiece 35 and the camera 37 can be made constant.

The microscope of the present invention has been specifically described above by way of the embodiment for carrying out the invention, but the gist of the present invention is not limited to these descriptions, and it is necessary to explain broadly based on the descriptions in the claims. It is needless to say that the embodiment in which various modifications, changes, and the like are made based on these descriptions is also included in the gist of the present invention.

For example, in embodiments 1, 3, 4, and 6 described above, the marking 27E shown in fig. 10 may be used instead of the marking 27 (or the

markings

27A and 27B). The reticle 27E has a cylindrical operation wire frame 275 and an operation wire 276 stretched in a cross shape to the operation wire frame 275.

The reticle 27E having such a structure can be used by being fixed to or detachably attached to, for example, an adapter 28 (see fig. 2, 7, and 9) or a reticle holder 41 (see fig. 6). By configuring the marker line of the marker line 27E with the operation line 276 in this way, foreign matter such as dust is less likely to accumulate, and therefore the risk of seeing the foreign matter in the visual field can be reduced. Further, the thickness of the manipulation line 276 of the reticle 27E may be changed according to the magnification when the specimen S is observed. That is, the reticle 27E with the thin manipulation wire 276 may be used when the specimen S is observed at a high magnification, and the reticle 27E with the thick manipulation wire 276 may be used when the specimen S is observed at a low magnification.

In embodiment 1 described above, the marker 27 is attached to the upper surface of the window mirror 264 via the adapter 28, but the adapter 28 may not be used and only the marker 27 may be disposed on the upper surface of the window mirror 264. In this case, it is necessary to align the center of the reticle 27 with the optical axis.

In embodiment 1, for example, a transparent spacer may be provided between the reticle 27 and the window mirror 264 to adjust the height. Accordingly, since the position of the reticle 27 in the optical axis direction can be changed, the projection magnification for projecting the reticle 27 onto the specimen surface can be changed in the same manner as in embodiments 3 and 4 described above, and therefore the specimen S can be observed at various scales using one reticle 27.

Claims

1. A microscope, characterized in that,

the microscope includes:

an object stage for placing a specimen;

a transmission illumination optical system having a light source for generating illumination light for illuminating the specimen, a condenser lens for illuminating the specimen with the illumination light, and a field stop for adjusting a range of the illumination light for illuminating the specimen; and

the marking member is provided with a marking member,

the condenser lens is movable along an optical axis of the transmission illumination optical system,

the field stop is disposed between the light source and the condenser lens,

the marker member is disposed in the vicinity of the field stop and at a position conjugate to the specimen by movement of the condenser lens, and is disposed between the field stop and the condenser lens, and is detachably attached to an upper surface of a window mirror provided on the stage side of the field stop.

2. The microscope of claim 1,

the index member is integrally formed with a window mirror provided on the stage side of the field stop.

3. The microscope of claim 1,

the index member is configured to be movable along the optical axis in the vicinity of the field stop.

4. The microscope of claim 1,

the microscope includes a display control unit for controlling display of the marker line of the marker member in accordance with the magnification of the objective lens inserted on the optical axis.

5. The microscope of claim 1,

the microscope includes a light amount control unit that controls the light amount of the light source in accordance with the position of the condenser lens in the direction of the optical axis.

6. The microscope of claim 1,

the sign member has a light shielding region at an outer edge portion thereof.