Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B21/00—Microscopes
  • G02B21/06—Means for illuminating specimens
  • G02B21/08—Condensers
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B21/00—Microscopes
  • G02B21/06—Means for illuminating specimens
  • G02B21/08—Condensers
  • G02B21/088—Condensers for both incident illumination and transillumination

Definitions

• the invention relates to an illumination device for a microscope, according to the preamble of patent claim 1 and patent claim 28.
• the lighting device for a microscope includes
• Illumination beam path a lamp, lighting optics and mechanical shutters.
• the size and shape of the diaphragms must be adapted to the lens used and the desired type of lighting. For this reason, it has started to automatically control the variable sizes.
• the mechanical screens and filters in the miroscope were each equipped with an electric drive or actuator and connected to a control device. Due to the large number of diaphragms and filters used in the most varied of microscopic lighting types, this type of control is associated with great mechanical and electrical complexity.
• a lighting device for a microscope is known from DE 31 08 389 A1, in which a controllable liquid crystal cell with a defined structure is used as the mechanical diaphragm.
• various types of lighting such as incident / transmitted light, oblique lighting, dark field lighting, phase contrast lighting and
• a computer is specified as the control, which is connected to the liquid crystal cell via a special control circuit and via which current can be applied to the predetermined structures of the cell.
• DE 37 34 691 A1 discloses a surface light source made up of individual LEDs arranged next to one another.
• the LEDs are individually controllable and replace the commonly used halogen lamp.
• the disadvantage of this arrangement is that only a limited amount of light is available for microscope illumination due to the relatively weakly illuminating LEDs.
• self-illuminating LEDs are relatively large, so that only a relatively coarse resolution can be achieved in the display of various diaphragms.
• an LCD which has a flat martix with individually controllable pixels, in a plane conjugated to the light field diaphragm or aperture diaphragm, either a Koehler or critical illumination is realized.
• the individually controllable pixels can be used, for example, to generate a wide variety of transparent / opaque patterns and thus a wide variety of aperture shapes and aperture sizes on a computer.
• the generated aperture can be displayed simultaneously on a monitor connected to the computer. It has also proven to be advantageous if the computer for data exchange is connected to the control device of the microscope. In this way, for example, the data can be passed on to the control program via the lens currently being used and the necessary aperture size and aperture shape can be determined with the control program loaded in the computer.
• the commercially available video projectors for example Sony CPJ-PC200E or InFocus SYSTEMS LitePro620, can be flanged to the microscope stand using simple lighting optics and replace both the usual light source and the diaphragms and filters.
• the control of the video projector can be realized in that the existing standardized Video input e.g. VGA, SVGA, PAL, SECAM, NTSC, RGB is connected to the corresponding output of a video card of a computer.
• the color of the illuminating light can be set via the video signal. It is even possible in a simple manner to simultaneously produce different colors at different locations on the LCD, or to design the brightness of the illuminating light in the microscope differently at the various locations.
• Standard devices can be used as video cards and computers.
• a PC or portable is sufficient to control the video projector
• the video card can be connected to both the video projector and another monitor to display the set transparent / opaque pattern.
• the microscopic image of the object By displaying the microscopic image of the object via a TV camera and a connected TV monitor, it is advantageously achieved that the resulting change in the microscope image becomes visible on the TV monitor when the image is changed on the LCD.
• the desired display of the object image can thus be set by changing the lighting step by step via the LCD image.
• a video signal is then generated via a TV camera, for example, in which the drop in brightness towards the edge of the image is contained.
• the drop in brightness is measured with a corresponding computer control device and the inverse image signal is generated accordingly.
• This correction can advantageously be carried out automatically whenever, for example, a change in the lighting aperture becomes necessary.
• the computer is connected to other computers via a network, as a result of which the
• Fig. 1 a view of the microscope with a connected video projector
• Fig. 2 a first image generated on the LCD
• Fig. 3 a second image generated on the LCD
• FIG. 4 a third image generated on the LCD.
• FIG. 5 a fourth image generated on the LCD
• Fig. 6 a fifth image generated on the LCD
• FIG. 1 shows a microscope 1 with an objective 9 and an object 6.
• the microscope 1 has an illumination beam path 4 with an illumination axis 10, in which an illumination optics 3 and an aperture diaphragm plane AP are provided.
• a housing 11 of a video projector is connected to the microscope 1 via a coupling device 12 with an adaptation optics 20.
• An LCD 5 is arranged in the housing 11 in a plane AP ′ conjugated to the aperture diaphragm plane AP, which plane is illuminated by a light source 2.
• the LCD 5 is connected to a control computer device 7 via an LCD control device 23 integrated in the housing 11 and a video cable 19. There is an electrical connection between the control computer device 7 and a monitor 8 via a monitor cable 18.
• An audio unit 21 is additionally integrated in the housing 11.
• the control computer device 7 is also connected to the control device of the microscope 1 for data transmission via a data line 14 and an interface 13.
• a network connection 22 is integrated in the control computer device 7, via which both the lighting device and all other microscope functions are designed to be remotely controllable.
• a TV camera 15 for transmitting the image of the object 6 to a TV monitor 16 is also arranged on the microscope 1 via a TV cable 17.
• the corresponding transparent ZOpak pattern can be generated on the LCD 5 via a control program loaded in the control computer unit 7. This pattern is simultaneously displayed on the monitor 8.
• a WINDOWS surface can be used as the surface for the loaded control program, as a result of which all parameters to be changed can be set in an ergonomically favorable manner using a mouse control.
• FIG. 2 shows the LCD 5 with the one arranged in the middle
• Illumination axis 10 A circular image containing transparent (T) and opaque (O) areas is shown on the LCD 5. This setting corresponds to the opening of an aperture or illuminated field diaphragm.
• FIG. 3 shows the LCD 5 with an image containing a transparent (T) semicircle, which is used to set the type of illumination oblique illumination in the microscope.
• FIG. 4 shows the LCD 5 with an image containing a plurality of transparent (T) circle segments, it being possible for the individual segments to be colored differently. This type can also be used for oblique illumination in the microscope.
• FIG. 5 shows the LCD 5 with an opaque circle (O) arranged in the illumination axis 10 and a transparent ring (T) arranged around this circle. This aperture is used for setting dark field illumination in the microscope.
• FIG. 6 shows the LCD 5 with a transparent circle (T) provided in the illumination axis 10 and an opaque ring (T) arranged around this circle.
• This aperture can be used, for example, for phase contrast illumination in the microscope.
• the exemplary embodiment has been described with a video projector with an integrated LCD.
• the invention is not limited to video projectors with LCD, but it is of course also possible to use video projectors of a different design. These are, for example, video projectors with DLP (digital light processing) technology that work with moving micromirrors based on reflection.
• DLP digital light processing
• LCD liquid crystal display
• materials can be polymeric plastics, e.g. Polyimides that change their optical properties when controlled.

Landscapes

• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Analytical Chemistry (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Optics & Photonics (AREA)
• Liquid Crystal (AREA)
• Microscoopes, Condenser (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=7810152

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Families Citing this family (64)

Family Cites Families (16)

• 1996
  • 1996-10-25 DE DE19644662A patent/DE19644662C2/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
• 1997
  • 1997-10-24 EP EP97946741A patent/EP0875017A1/de not_active Ceased
  • 1997-10-24 JP JP10519893A patent/JP2000502472A/ja not_active Ceased
  • 1997-10-24 CN CNB971924724A patent/CN1167967C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1997-10-24 WO PCT/DE1997/002477 patent/WO1998019198A1/de not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1997-10-24 KR KR1019980704685A patent/KR19990076596A/ko not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1997-10-24 US US09/091,424 patent/US6243197B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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