JP2002221664A - Optical device and microscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical device having an illuminator not provided with an illumination lens system capable of uniformly illuminating an object to be illuminated. SOLUTION: The surface light emitting illuminator 7 of the optical device consisting of the surface light emitting illuminator 7, an object 12 to be illuminated and an imagery optical system 13 for forming the image of the object 12 to be illuminated comprises a light emitting device 8 consisting of an assemblage of surface light emitting elements and/or light emitting elements, a support 9 for supporting the light emitting device 8, a power source device 10 for supplying electricity to the assemblage of the surface light emitting elements or the light emitting elements and a light emitting state controller 11 for controlling the light emitting state, such as emitted light intensity or emitted light intensity distribution, of the surface light emitting elements or the light emitting elements.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical device for forming an image of an illuminated object such as a microscope via an image forming optical system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an object to be illuminated such as a microscope specimen is illuminated by using a light source having a size of several millimeters even if the size of a light emitting portion is large, such as a filament light source or a short arc light source. A lens and the like are arranged between the light source and the object to secure a field of view and an aperture for illuminating the illuminated object from a light emitting source of about several mm. As described above, there are critical illumination and Koehler illumination as typical illumination methods using a lens between the light source and the illuminated object.

[0003] For example, in the case of critical illumination, as an example, a light source is placed near the focal point of an auxiliary condenser lens group provided on the light source side, and a parallel light beam from the auxiliary condenser lens is transmitted to a substation on the object side. In general, the light is sent to a condenser lens group (hereinafter referred to as a condenser lens group), and then a light source image is formed near a focal point, and an object to be illuminated is illuminated here. However, in the case of critical illumination, since the image of the light source appears in the visual field to be observed as it is, there is a disadvantage that it is difficult to eliminate the unevenness in the brightness of the visual field.

There is Koehler illumination as an illumination method which has improved such illumination unevenness.

However, both of the above-mentioned illumination methods require an auxiliary condenser lens group and a condenser lens group, and thus have a problem that the illumination optical system becomes large.

[0006]

As described above, the illumination system of a microscope requires many optical components and a relatively long illumination optical path length to uniformly illuminate an object to be illuminated.

In general, the brightness of an image forming optical system changes with the magnification and the numerical aperture. Therefore, when the imaging optical system is switched or zooming is performed, it is desirable that the illuminating device adjusts the illumination light to the illuminated object to the optimum brightness in accordance with the characteristics thereof.

Further, the brightness of the image forming optical system differs depending on the position on the image forming surface, and the brightness of the image forming surface generally decreases at the peripheral portion of the visual field as compared with on the optical axis. It is desirable to illuminate so as to make the brightness on the image plane uniform.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical device having a compact illumination device and capable of illuminating an object to be illuminated with uniform brightness and forming an image.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, an optical device according to the present invention is an optical device for forming an image of an object to be illuminated through an imaging optical system. It is characterized in that a surface-emitting lighting device is arranged.

Further, in the optical device according to the present invention, the surface emitting lighting device preferably includes a light emitting device capable of controlling light emission, and the surface emitting lighting device further includes a light emitting state control device of the light emitting device. I have.

Further, in the optical device of the present invention, the light emitting device preferably comprises a surface light emitting element.

Furthermore, in the optical device of the present invention,
The surface light emitting device may be formed of a liquid crystal panel, an EL panel, or a PDP.

Further, in the optical device according to the present invention, the light emitting device may be constituted by an aggregate of light emitting elements.

Further, in the optical device according to the present invention, the aggregate of the light emitting elements may be constituted by an LED or a semiconductor light emitting element. Here, the LED also includes a white LED.

Further, in the optical device of the present invention,
The surface emitting lighting device may include a light scattering plate for scattering light from the light emitting device.

Further, in the optical device according to the present invention, the surface emitting lighting device may include a light emitting device and a stop for the light emitting device.

Further, in the optical device according to the present invention, the stop may be constituted by a light transmittance variable element capable of controlling light transmittance characteristics.

Further, in the optical device according to the present invention, the variable light transmittance element may be composed of a liquid crystal.

Further, in the optical device according to the present invention, the liquid crystal has a light transmittance distribution which is rotationally symmetric with respect to the optical axis of the image forming optical system, and the light emission state control device includes a light emitting device. The light transmittance of the liquid crystal can be controlled according to the image characteristics.

Further, according to the present invention, a stage on which an object to be illuminated is mounted, an imaging optical system for forming an image of the object to be illuminated, and a light source for illuminating the object to be illuminated from the vicinity are provided near the stage. And a surface-emitting lighting device.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a microscope according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic explanatory view of the surface emitting lighting device of FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory view of the image forming optical system and the surface emitting illumination device of the microscope shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram in which a light scattering plate is arranged on the surface of the light emitting device of the surface emitting lighting device shown in FIG.

The microscope shown in FIG. 1 has a microscope main body 1, a lens barrel 2,
Eyepiece 3, revolver 4, objective lens 5, stage 6
And a surface-emitting lighting device 7 (a power supply and a light-emitting state control device are not shown). An object to be illuminated (not shown) which is a sample placed on the stage 6 is a surface-emitting illuminating device 7.
The illumination image is magnified and observed through the objective lens 5, the lens barrel 2, and the eyepiece 3. The magnification can be changed by changing the objective lens 5 attached to the revolver 4 and changing the magnification of the eyepiece 3, or by installing a zoom device (not shown) between the objective lens 5 and the lens barrel. This is done by changing the zoom magnification. A surface-emitting lighting device 7 for illuminating a sample that is an object to be illuminated
Are arranged in the vicinity.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic explanatory view of the surface emitting lighting device 7 shown in FIG. The surface-emitting lighting device 7 includes a light-emitting device 8 including a surface-emitting element and / or an aggregate of light-emitting elements.
A support 9 for supporting the light-emitting device 8, a power supply device 10 for supplying electricity to the surface light-emitting element or the aggregate of the light-emitting elements,
The light emitting device includes a light emitting state control device 11 for controlling a light emitting state of a surface light emitting element or a light emitting element such as light emission intensity and light emission distribution.

FIG. 3 shows an imaging optical system 1 of the microscope shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory view of the surface emitting illumination device 3 and an illumination target 12 illuminated by the surface emitting illumination device 7 forms an image on an imaging surface 14 via an imaging optical system 13. In the figure, reference numeral 15 denotes an actual field of view of the imaging optical system 13, and reference numeral 16 denotes a divergence angle of illumination light of the light emitting device 8. The illuminated object 12 is placed at a position in contact with the light emitting device 8 or at a position very close to the light emitting device 8.

Here, when the imaging optical system 13 can form an image in the range of the real field 15 on the image plane 14, the surface emitting illumination device 7 in which the size of the light emitting device 8 is larger than the real field 15 is arranged. Thus, the entire visual field of the imaging optical system 13 can be illuminated.

In the surface emitting lighting device 7, light is emitted from the entire surface of the light emitting device 8 to the illuminated object 12 at a large divergence angle 16. By arranging the surface emitting illumination device 7 in which the divergence angle 16 satisfies the opening of the imaging optical system 13, illumination that satisfies the pupil of the imaging optical system 13 can be performed. Here, the light emitting device 8 is substantially flat, and the shape and size of the light emitting region can be arbitrarily configured.

Here, even if the surface-emitting lighting device 7 is placed at a position conjugate with the illuminated object 12 or in the vicinity of the illuminated object 12, similarly to the conventional critical illumination, the illumination range of the illuminated light on the illuminated object 12 can be reduced to the actual field of view. If the divergence angle is larger than 15 and the divergence angle satisfies the aperture of the imaging optical system 13, it goes without saying that the same effect can be obtained.

The surface light emitting element of the light emitting device 8 includes, for example, a liquid crystal panel with a backlight, an EL (electroluminescence) panel, and a PDP (plasma display).
Panels), light boxes for observing photographic films, and the like, and as an aggregate of light emitting elements, for example, LEDs and semiconductor light emitting elements can be used.

An assembly of optical fibers (bundle fiber) is arranged on a plane, and light enters from the other end to emit light.
It is also possible to use In this case, a light source such as a light bulb, a fluorescent lamp, a halogen lamp, a neon lamp, or a mercury lamp can be used.

When an aggregate of light emitting elements or a bundle fiber as described above is used for the light emitting device 8, boundaries between light emitting elements (element separation boundary area, element molding area, etc.) associated with the collection of individual light emitting elements. ) Will exist,
The brightness near the boundary is lower than that of the light emitting portion. Therefore, when only a small number of light emitting elements are included in the observation visual field of the objective lens 5, the influence of the boundary between the light emitting elements cannot be ignored, and the illumination of the illuminated object 12 in the observation visual field cannot be regarded as uniform. there is a possibility. In such a case, it is effective to provide a light scattering plate 17 for making the illumination light uniform at an appropriate distance near the surface of the light emitting device 8 as shown in FIG. The light scattering plate 17 is provided near the light emitting device 8 and can be configured integrally with the light emitting device 8.
The distance from the illuminated object 12 can be reduced, and the loss of illumination light can be reduced. Further, the light scattering plate 17 may be provided separately from the light emitting device 8 if there is sufficient space.

If the light-emitting device 8 is installed at a sufficient distance from the focal depth of the objective lens 5, the influence of the boundary between the light-emitting elements on the front focal plane of the objective lens 5 will not be seen, so that the light scattering plate 17 A uniform illumination light can be obtained without any particular arrangement.

The wavelength of light emitted from the light emitting device 8 can be set arbitrarily, and may be a single color or a mixture of a plurality of wavelengths. Furthermore, the color of the light emitted from the light emitting device 8 can be adjusted by giving the wavelength distribution to the transmittance distribution on the surface of the light emitting device 8. In addition, the light emitting device 8 is configured by combining a plurality of LEDs and semiconductor light emitting elements having different emission colors as light emitting elements, and the light emission state control device 11 selects light emission of LEDs and semiconductor light emitting elements having different emission colors. The light emitting device 8 can emit various luminescent colors. In addition, the light-emission state control device 11 can instantaneously switch the light emission of LEDs or semiconductor light-emitting elements having different emission colors, so that it is possible to instantaneously switch between a single color and white and adjust the color temperature. It is possible.

The light emitting state control device 11 shown in FIG.
The imaging optical system 1 has a function of controlling the light emission state in a suitable manner according to the characteristics of the imaging optical system 13 using the surface-emitting illumination device 7 and the characteristics of the illuminated object 12 to be observed.
It is also possible to control to obtain a desired image on the image forming plane 14 via 3.

In general, the brightness of the imaging optical system 13 on the imaging surface 14 changes depending on the magnification and the numerical aperture. For this reason, when the imaging optical system 13 to be used is switched, it is desirable that the illumination device adjusts the illumination light to the optimal brightness according to the characteristics.

The surface emitting lighting device 7 of the first embodiment can adjust the brightness instantaneously according to the characteristics of the imaging optical system 13 under the control of the light emitting state control device 11. If the brightness characteristic of the imaging optical system 13 to be used on the imaging surface 14 is known in advance, the light emission state control device 11
The surface-emission illumination device 7 automatically adjusts the light emission intensity and the like when the imaging optical system 13 is switched, and is set to the optimum brightness.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the object to be illuminated 12 is illuminated uniformly and with sufficient brightness by the surface-emitting illuminating device 7, and further, by using the luminous state control device 11, 14, an image having a desired brightness can be obtained.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
It will be described based on.

FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory view of an image forming optical system and a surface emitting illumination device according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a preferred light emitting device shape of the surface emitting device.

The main difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment is that a stop 18 is provided between the surface-emitting lighting device 7 and the illuminated object 12. Constituent members equivalent to those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In the second embodiment, the surface-emitting lighting device 7
An aperture 18 is arranged in the vicinity of the illuminated object 12 between the light emitting device 8 and the illuminated object 12 placed on a slide glass or a Petri dish 19, and an image forming surface 14 is formed via an image forming optical system 13.
Image. The aperture 18 changes the illumination area on the illuminated object 12. Since the illumination area can be adjusted by the diaphragm 18, illumination light unnecessary for image formation that causes flare can be reduced, and a desired image can be formed. Here, the image forming optical system 13 can form an image in the range of the real field of view 15 on the image forming surface 14. The entire visual field of the image optical system 13 can be easily illuminated.

Next, the diaphragm 1 used in the second embodiment will be described.
8 will be described. As the diaphragm 18, it is preferable to use an element such as a liquid crystal panel that can control optical transmittance characteristics. That is, the liquid crystal panel makes the portion corresponding to the opening of the diaphragm 18 light-transmissive, and makes the other portions light-impermeable (light-shielding portion), so that the illumination light from the light-emitting device 8 of the surface-emitting lighting device 7 can be obtained. Can be controlled to a desired size. The aperture 18 can also be used for adjusting the illumination intensity or the like by adjusting the optical transmittance characteristics of the liquid crystal panel.

The diaphragm 18 using such a liquid crystal panel
By integrating the aperture 18 with the light emitting device 8 of the surface emitting lighting device 7, the surface emitting lighting device 7 can be configured to be smaller than that of the device. In this case, the illuminated object 1
2 can also be placed directly on the stop 18, so that a slide glass or a Petri dish 19 can be dispensed with.

Although the stop 18 in the second embodiment has been described using an example using a liquid crystal panel, any element having an equivalent function can be used as the stop 18 in the second embodiment. . Furthermore, a mechanical diaphragm 18 may be used.

Generally, the image forming optical system 13 includes an image forming surface 14.
Of the image forming optical system 13
The brightness decreases in the peripheral portion of the visual field as compared with on the optical axis.
In order to solve this, as shown in FIG. 6, the light emitting device 8 is provided with a rotationally symmetric transmittance distribution and a light emission distribution on the optical axis of the imaging optical system 13 so that the in-plane position of the imaging surface 14 can be adjusted. Brightness unevenness can be adjusted. For example, a liquid crystal having a transmittance distribution that is rotationally symmetrical is
In this case, the light emission state control device 11 controls the transmittance distribution of the liquid crystal according to the information on the brightness unevenness on the image forming surface 14 of the image forming optical system 13 to cancel the brightness unevenness instantaneously. 13 can obtain a desired image on the image plane 14.

When an aggregate of LEDs, semiconductor light-emitting elements, and the like is used in the light-emitting device 8 of FIG. 6, the light-emitting region is divided into a rotationally symmetrical shape around the optical axis, and the unevenness of brightness on the image plane 14 is obtained. By controlling each light emission intensity by the light emission state control device 11 based on the above information, the same effect as in the case of the above liquid crystal can be obtained.

According to the second embodiment, the object to be illuminated 12 is illuminated uniformly and with sufficient brightness by the surface-emitting illuminating device 7, and the image-forming surface 14, an image having a desired brightness can be obtained.

In both the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the surface emitting illumination device 7 is provided with a detector such as an image pickup device (for example, a CCD) on the image forming surface 14 to form an image. By electrically measuring the brightness distribution on the surface 14 and feeding it back to the light-emission state control device 11, the light emission intensity and light emission of the surface light-emission lighting device 7 according to the characteristics of the imaging optical system 13 and the illuminated object 12. The illumination light can be applied to the illuminated object 12 so as to adjust the distribution and obtain an optimal image.

The surface-emitting lighting device 7 according to the present invention
Needless to say, the present invention can be applied not only to microscopes but also to applications requiring surface illumination, such as film scanners.

[0051]

According to the present invention, by arranging a surface-emitting illumination device near an object to be illuminated, an optical system equipped with an illumination device for uniformly illuminating an object to be illuminated without using an illumination lens system in principle. Equipment can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a microscope according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic explanatory view of the surface-emitting lighting device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory view of an imaging optical system and a surface-emitting lighting device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic explanatory view of a surface emitting lighting device in which a light scattering plate is arranged on the surface of the light emitting device.

FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory view of an imaging optical system and a surface-emitting lighting device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a preferred light emitting device shape of the surface emitting lighting device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Microscope main body 2 ... Barrel 3 ... Eyepiece 4 ... Revolver 5 ... Objective lens 6 ... Stage 7 ... Surface emitting illumination device 8 ... Light emitting device 9 ... Support body 10 ... Power supply device 11 ... Light emitting state control device 12 ... Illuminated object 13 ... imaging optical system 14 ... imaging surface 15 ... real field of view 16 ... divergence angle 17 ... light scattering plate 18 ... stop 19 ... slide glass or petri dish

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An optical device for forming an image of an object to be illuminated via an image forming optical system, wherein a surface-emitting illuminating device is arranged near the object to be illuminated. 2. The light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the surface-emitting lighting device includes a light-emitting device capable of controlling light emission, and the surface-emitting lighting device further includes a light-emitting state control device of the light-emitting device. The optical device according to any one of the preceding claims. 3. The optical device according to claim 2, wherein said light-emitting device comprises a surface light-emitting element. 4. The surface light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the surface light emitting element is a liquid crystal panel or an EL.
4. A panel or a PDP.
An optical device according to claim 1. 5. The optical device according to claim 2, wherein the light emitting device comprises an aggregate of light emitting elements. 6. The optical device according to claim 5, wherein the aggregate of the light emitting elements comprises an LED or a semiconductor light emitting element. 7. The optical device according to claim 2, wherein the surface emitting lighting device includes a light scattering plate for scattering light from the light emitting device. 8. The optical device according to claim 1, wherein the surface emitting lighting device includes a light emitting device and a stop for the light emitting device. 9. The optical device according to claim 8, wherein said stop comprises a light transmittance variable element capable of controlling light transmittance characteristics. 10. The optical device according to claim 9, wherein said light transmittance variable element is made of a liquid crystal. 11. The liquid crystal has a light transmittance distribution that is rotationally symmetric with respect to the optical axis of the imaging optical system, and the light emission state control device controls the liquid crystal in accordance with the imaging characteristics of the imaging optical system. The optical device according to claim 10, wherein the optical transmittance of the optical device is controllable. 12. A stage on which an object to be illuminated is mounted, an imaging optical system for forming an image of the object to be illuminated, and a surface-emitting illumination provided near the stage and illuminating the object to be illuminated from the vicinity. A microscope comprising: a device.