JP2002372670A - Heat insulating device for microscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize the diversification of use forms and to realize highly accurate observation with high reliability. SOLUTION: An inverted microscopic body 12 mounted on a base 15 in a first heat insulating body 10 supplied with hot air is constituted by externally packaging its stage handle 12 and a handle 14 for a revolver guide in the state of freely operatively exposing both and externally packaging the base 15 inclusive of the stage handle 13 and handle 14 for the revolver guide of the inverted microscopic body 12 with a second heat insulating box 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a warming device for a microscope which enables observation of a specimen such as a culture vessel mounted on a microscope such as an inverted microscope at a desired temperature.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this kind of heat retaining device for a microscope, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos.
A heat retaining structure technology disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 21960 is known.

[0003] In such a heat retaining structure technology, in each case, a heat retaining box is formed by first and second box halves obtained by dividing a box into two, and the heat retaining box is mounted on a base body of a microscope. Attach it to the base so as to include it. A warm air fan device disposed outside is connected to the heat retaining box, and warm air is supplied from the warm air fan device, and a specimen such as a culture vessel placed on a stage housed therein is supplied. Is temperature-controlled to a desired temperature. At this time, the warm air supplied into the heat insulation box is
After circulating in the heat insulation box, the air is exhausted outside through a gap formed between the microscope main body.

[0004] The hot air fan device controls the temperature in the heat insulation box to be substantially constant by supplying predetermined hot air to the inside of the heat insulation box based on the temperature in the heat insulation box.

[0005] However, in any of the above-mentioned heat retaining devices for microscopes, it is possible to set the temperature of the specimen mounted on the stage of the microscope main body to be substantially constant, but it is thermally insulated from the surrounding area including the stage. Due to the state in which the bases to be connected are exposed to the outside air, a temperature difference occurs between them, and a temperature gradient is generated in a surrounding portion including the stage. When this temperature gradient occurs, thermal deformation occurs in the surrounding area including the stage made of a different material, and the working distance of the objective lens for imaging changes, causing a problem that a focus shift occurs.

In particular, since the microscope system employs a configuration in which observation at a high magnification is continued, when performing a long-time measurement called a so-called time-lapse measurement, the imaging objective lens is moved with the lapse of time. Defocus due to a change in working distance is one of the issues in realizing high-precision observation.

[0007]

As described above, the conventional heat retaining device for a microscope has a problem that a focus shift occurs due to thermal deformation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has a simple configuration, realizes diversification of use modes, and realizes highly reliable and accurate observation for a microscope. It is intended to provide a heat retaining device.

[0009]

According to the present invention, a microscope main body mounted on a base is included in a state where an operation section thereof is operably exposed, and a first section to which warm air is supplied is provided.
And a second heat insulation box including an exposed portion including the operation part of the microscope main body, to constitute a heat insulation device for a microscope.

According to the above configuration, the inside of the first heat insulation box is thermally controlled by the supplied hot air to set the periphery of the microscope main body to a desired temperature. At the same time, the second insulated box covers the operation part and the base of the microscope main body and cuts off the thermal coupling with the outside world, thereby minimizing the temperature gradient of the exposed portion exposed from the first insulated box of the microscope main body. To the limit. As a result, while maintaining the microscope main body at a desired temperature, thermal deformation of the operation unit and the base of the microscope main body is prevented, and a highly accurate and high-precision observation operation that prevents a focus shift due to the thermal deformation can be performed. Become.

Further, the present invention provides a second heat insulating box,
It was configured to be detachably connected to the heat insulation box.

[0012] According to the above configuration, a use form for realizing effective use of the peripheral space in which only the first heat insulation box is assembled;
It is possible to realize a use mode in which both the first heat insulation box and the first heat insulation box are assembled to prevent a focus shift, and diversify the use form.

Further, the invention further comprises a first heat insulation box provided with a closable communication window for communicating with the second heat insulation box.

According to the above configuration, by opening the communication window, the first heat insulation box and the second heat insulation box are connected to each other through the communication window, and the inside of the second heat insulation box is also the first heat insulation box. Heating is controlled in substantially the same manner as in the heat insulation box. Thereby, the environmental temperature in the first and second thermal insulation boxes can be made uniform, and the thermal deformation can be further prevented.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a heat retaining device for a microscope according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is formed by first and second heat retaining boxes 10 and 11 each formed of, for example, an acrylic resin. You.

The first heat-insulating box 10 is externally provided around the inverted microscope main body 12 with at least an operation unit, for example, a stage handle 13 and a revolver guide handle 14 exposed. And thermally shielded. On the other hand, the second heat insulation box 11 is provided around the base 15, which is an exposed part of the inverted microscope main body 12, which is not provided inside the first heat insulation box 10. Thermally shield from side.

The first heat-insulating box 10 is, for example, a bottomed cylindrical first and second cylinder-shaped two-parts section of a substantially cubic box.
Are formed by the upper box halves 101 and 102. These first
The second upper box halves 101 and 102 have a predetermined shape such that a cut surface (opening side) of the second upper box halves 101 and 102 hermetically contacts the periphery of the base 15 of the inverted microscope body 12 and the intermediate portion of the column 16. Notch is formed at The second upper box half 102 has a notch 10 for inserting the operating handle.
2a is a stage handle 13 of the inverted microscope main body 12,
It is formed corresponding to the revolver guide handle 14.

As a result, when the first and second upper box halves 101 and 102 are packaged so as to cover the inverted microscope main body 12 due to the cutout shape of the cut surface,
In a state in which the vicinity of the stage 16 on which a sample (not shown) is mounted is mounted, for example, the base 13, the lens barrel 17, and a part of the support 16 are extended to the outside, and are united and joined while maintaining a desired airtightness.

At the same time, the notch 102a of the second upper box half 102 is provided with the stage handle 13 and the revolver guide handle 1 disposed on the inverted microscope main body 12.
4 is inserted and exposed to the outside in an operable state. At this time, the optical system 18 and the condenser 19 disposed on the column 16 are exposed to the outside of the first and second upper box halves 101 and 102, and the condenser 19 is connected to the first And are accommodated inside the second upper box halves 101 and 102.

The first and second upper box halves 101, 1
02, a plurality of mounting holes 101b, 1 as shown in FIG.
02b is provided with a plurality of screw holes 151 provided in the base 15.
And a screw member (not shown) is attached to the screw hole 151 of the base 15 using the mounting holes 101b and 102b.
And assembled to the base 15.

The first and second upper box halves 101,
An engaging lever 20 and an engaging claw 21 that form a pair as an engaging mechanism are provided at a plurality of positions 102 on the front side, the rear side, and the side surface near the cut surface (opening side). The first and second upper box halves 1 are engaged with the engagement lever 20 and the engagement claw 21 by engaging and disengaging the engagement lever 20 with the engagement claw 21.
01 and 102 are combined or separated.

Further, the first and second upper box halves 1
01 and 102 have a door 22 on the front wall.
Are provided to be freely openable and closable. This opening / closing door 22
In the closed state, desired airtightness is maintained, and in the open state, various operations inside the box in a state where the first heat retaining box 10 is assembled to the inverted microscope main body 12, for example, the condenser 19, the objective lens revolver 23, and the like. Adjustment, taking in and out of a sample (not shown), and the like are realized.

Also, the second upper box half 102 includes:
For example, as shown in FIG. 3, a pipe 251 connected to an intake nozzle of the hot air fan device 25 is connected to a predetermined position located above the stage 24 of the inverted microscope main body 12. The output terminal of a temperature sensor (not shown) provided, for example, inside the second upper box half 102 is connected to a signal input terminal of the hot air fan device 25 via a connection cable 252, and the temperature sensor (FIG. Based on the detection signal (not shown), desired hot air is supplied through the pipe 251 so as to secure a desired temperature in the first heat insulation box 10.

The first and second upper box halves 101,
102 has communication windows 26, 26 on the bottom wall, and the communication windows 26, 26 have closing doors 27, 2, respectively.
7 are detachably attached using, for example, screw members 28 (see FIG. 2). As a result, the first and second
Upper box halves 101, 102
In a state in which is separated, an air passage with the second heat insulation box 11 is formed through the communication windows 26, 26, and the two are communicated with each other.

On the other hand, the second heat insulation box 11 is formed of, for example, first and second lower box halves 111 and 112 each having a shape of a bottomed cylindrical box divided vertically into two parts from the open side. You.
These first and second lower box halves 111 and 112 are formed such that the lower side of the cut surface is cut out in a predetermined shape corresponding to the lower end peripheral portion of the base 15, and the open side peripheral end is formed as described above. Mounting holes 10 in first and second upper box halves 101, 102
It is attached to the wall surface provided with 1b and 102b.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the second heat insulation box 11 comprises a revolver table 29, a revolver guide 30, a pin-on 31, a rack 32, a pin The on-revolver guide handle 14 and the stage handle 13 are covered to reduce heat radiation from the revolver table 29, the revolver guide 30, the pinion 31, the rack 32, the pin-on revolver guide handle 14 and the stage handle 13 to the outside. And at the same time, regulates the inflow of outside air from the outside.

That is, the first and second lower box halves 1
A plurality of pairs of engaging levers 33 and engaging claws 34 constituting an engaging mechanism are provided on the cut surfaces of the parts 11 and 112 so as to correspond to each other. The first and second lower box halves 111 are engaged with the engagement lever 33 and the engagement claw 34 by engaging and disengaging the engagement lever 33 to or from the engagement claw 34. , 112 are realized.

Also, the first and second lower box halves 111,
At a plurality of locations between the open side peripheral portion of 112 and the wall surface where the mounting holes 101b and 102b of the first and second upper box halves 101 and 102 are provided, a pair is formed as a locking mechanism. An attachment lever 35 and an engagement claw 36 are provided correspondingly. The engagement lever 35 and the engagement claw 36 are engaged or disengaged from the engagement claw 36 by operating the engagement lever 35 so that the first heat insulation box 10 and the second heat insulation claw 36 are engaged. Coupling and separation with the box 11 are realized.

In the above configuration, in the first use mode in which only the first heat insulation box 10 is used, the first heat insulation box 1 is used.
The first and second upper box halves 101 and 102 are separated from the engaging claws 21 by operating the engaging levers 20 and are divided into two. Next, in this divided state, the first and second
Mounting holes 101b, 102 of upper box halves 101, 102
b is opposed to the screw hole 151 of the base 15 and the screw member (not shown) is inserted into the mounting hole 101b, 10b from the inside thereof.
2b, it is fixed to the base 15 by screwing it into the screw hole 151 of the base 15 as shown in FIG.

At this time, the column 16 and the lens barrel 17 of the inverted microscope main body 12 have the first and second upper box halves 10.
Due to the notch shape on the opening side of the first and second 102, the stage handle 13 and the revolver guide handle 14 can be operated to the outside from the notch portion 102a of the second upper box half 102 while being extended outward. (See FIG. 4). In the first mode of use, observation is performed without fear of a measurement error due to, for example, a focus shift due to thermal deformation. As described above, the opening and closing doors 22 of the first and second upper box halves 101 and 102 are used. Is opened, and desired preparation is performed from the opening.

Then, a conduit 251 connected to the supply nozzle of the hot air fan device 25 is connected to the hot air supply port of the second upper box half 102, and the preparation for observation is completed. Here, the hot air fan device 25 is driven, and the first heat insulation box 10
Is supplied with warm air from the warm air fan device 25. Thereby, in the first heat insulation box 10, the warm air from the warm air fan device 25 is internally circulated, the internal temperature environment is set to a desired temperature, and desired observation is performed. In the first mode of use, observation is performed that makes full use of the space around the base 15.

Then, in this first mode of use,
The warm air supplied from the warm air fan device 25 into the first heat insulation box 10 is generated by a gap between the first heat insulation box 10 itself and a gap generated between the inverted microscope main body 12 and the base 15.
By evacuating to the outside, internal circulation in the first heat insulation box 10 is performed.

Further, in the second mode of use in which observation for a long time, such as time-price measurement, which may cause a focus shift, is performed, the first thermal insulation box 10 is assembled as described above. In the attached state, first, the first and second lower box halves 111 and 112 of the second heat insulating box 11 are first mounted.
The engaging lever 33 for unifying the engaging claw 34
To separate.

In this separated state, the first and second lower box halves 111 and 112 are assembled so as to cover the base 15 located on the lower side of the first holding box 10, and The lever 33 is engaged and engaged with the engaging claw 34 to be united and connected. Here, the second heat insulation box 11 arranged so as to surround the base 15 moves the engagement lever 35 of the first and second lower box halves 111 and 112 to the first heat insulation box 10. First and second upper box halves 101, 1
By engaging and engaging the engaging claw 35 with the engaging claw 36 of No. 02 to engage with the engaging claw 35, the first and second heat insulation boxes 10 are removably united and connected.

At this time, the closing door 27 of the first heat insulation box 10 is detached from the communication window 26 of the first and second upper box halves 101 and 102, and the communication window 26 is opened. Here, the insides of the first and second heat insulation boxes 10 and 11 are communicated with each other through the communication window 26, and the warm air fan device 25 is driven as described above to heat the heat through the pipe 251. When the wind is supplied into the first heat insulation box 10, the warm air is circulated through the communication window 26 to each other.

In the second mode of use, the warm air supplied from the warm air fan device 25 into the first heat insulation box 10 is used to remove the gap between the first and second heat insulation boxes 10 and 11 itself,
The inside of the first and second heat insulation boxes 10 and 11 is circulated by being evacuated to the outside by the gap generated between the inverted microscope body 12 and the base 15.

In the assembled state of the first and second heat insulation boxes 10 and 11, as shown in FIG.
The stage 24, the objective lens 231, the objective lens revolver 23, and the frame 37 which constitute the inverted microscope main body 12 are accommodated therein. The second heat retaining box 11 has a revolver disposed in the base 10. Revolver table 29, revolver guide 30, pinion 31, rack 3 constituting a drive system
2. The pin-on revolver guide handle 14 and the stage handle 13 are accommodated. Here, the second thermal insulation box 1
1 shields the revolver table 29, the revolver guide 30, the pinion 31, the rack 32, the revolver guide handle 14 and the stage handle 13 from outside air, suppresses the generation of the temperature gradient, and prevents thermal deformation of each part. Thereby, the focus determined by the stage 24, the frame 37, the objective lens 231 and the objective lens revolver 23 accommodated in the first heat insulation box 10 can be kept in the initial state.

As described above, the above-mentioned heat retaining device for a microscope is such that the inverted microscope main body 12 mounted on the base 15 is moved to the stage handle 1 by the first heat retaining box 10 to which hot air is supplied.
3 and the revolver guide handle 14 are exposed in an operably exposed state.
The base 15 including the stage handle 13 and the revolver guide handle 14 is externally arranged in the second heat insulation box 11.

According to this, the inside of the first insulated box 10 is thermally controlled by the supplied hot air to set the periphery of the inverted microscope main body 12 to a desired temperature, and the second insulated box 1
1 is a stage handle 13 of the inverted microscope body 12,
By covering the revolver guide handle 14 and the base 15 to cut off the thermal coupling with the outside, the inverted microscope main body 12
Stage handle 13, revolver guide handle 1
By setting the temperature environment of the base 4 and the base 15 to be substantially constant, the inverted microscope main body 12 is maintained at a desired temperature, and the stage handle 13, the revolver guide handle 14, and the base of the inverted microscope main body 12 are maintained. The temperature gradient of 15 is reduced and its thermal deformation is prevented. This prevents a focus shift due to thermal deformation at the time of observation and enables a highly reliable and accurate observation operation.

The second heat insulation box 11 is arranged so as to be detachably connected to the first heat insulation box 10. According to this, both the first usage box 10 and the first heat storage box 11 are mounted together with the first usage pattern for realizing effective use of the peripheral space where only the first heat storage box 10 is mounted. It is possible to realize the second usage mode in which the focus shift is prevented, and realize diversification of the usage mode after realizing high-precision observation.

According to this, for example, in the above-mentioned second mode of use, the second heat insulation box 11 is detached from the first heat insulation box 10 so that the first heat insulation box 10 is removed.
By keeping the inside at the desired temperature,
The culture state of the specimen during observation can be maintained, and good observation conditions can be executed without affecting the observation performance of the microscope main body.

Further, a communication window 26 for communicating with the second heat insulation box 11 is provided in the first and second upper box halves 101 and 102 of the first heat insulation box 10, And selectively closed. According to this, by removing the closing door 27 from the communication window 26, the first heat insulation box 10 and the second heat insulation box 11 are communicated with each other through the communication window 26, and the second heat insulation box 11 is also the first thermal insulation box 10
By controlling the heating in substantially the same manner as in the inside, the environmental temperatures in the first and second heat insulation boxes 10 and 11 can be made uniform, and the thermal deformation can be further prevented.

In the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which the warm air supplied to the first heat insulation box 10 is configured to circulate naturally. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. It is also possible to arrange the circulation blower fan 40 in the first heat insulation box 10 and to use the blower fan 40 to forcibly circulate hot air. However, in FIG. 6, for convenience, the same portions as those in FIGS. 1 to 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

That is, in the embodiment of FIG. 6, the first and second upper box halves 101, 1 constituting the first heat insulation box 10 are formed.
A plurality of fan mounting hooks 41 are provided at predetermined intervals in the interior 02 corresponding to the communication windows, and a blower fan 40 is mounted on these fan mounting hooks 41 using a mounting member 42. When hot air is supplied into the first heat insulation box 10 through the duct 251 of the hot air fan device 25, the blower fan 40 is driven and controlled via a controller (not shown). Thus, in the above-described first usage mode, the blower fan 40 forcibly circulates and guides the hot air supplied to the first heat insulation box 10 to set the internal environment temperature substantially uniformly.

In the second mode of use,
The blower fan 40 is connected to the first heat insulation box 1 by the warm air fan device.
The forced air circulated into the second heat insulation box 11 is forcedly circulated through the one communication window 26 to the second heat insulation box 11 as shown by an arrow in FIG. The wind is forcibly circulated through the other communication window 26 to the first heat insulation box 10 and operates to set the environmental temperature in the first and second heat insulation boxes 10 and 11 to be substantially constant.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, a case has been described in which a plurality of blower fans 40 are arranged in the first heat insulation box 10 so as to forcibly circulate hot air. The blower fan 40 is not limited to
It is also possible to arrange such that one of them is disposed in 0 for forced circulation.

Also, in the above embodiment, the first and second
The above description has been given of the case where the heat insulation boxes 10 and 11 are configured to be formed into two divisions. However, the invention is not limited to this division number, and it is also possible to form the heat insulation boxes into two or more division numbers. .

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the present invention is applied to an inverted microscope has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to an upright microscope.
Nearly the same effect is expected.

Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made in the implementation stage without departing from the scope of the invention. Furthermore, the above embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent features.

For example, even if some components are deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment, the problem described in the section of the problem to be solved by the invention can be solved, and the effects described in the effects of the invention can be solved. Is obtained, a configuration from which this configuration requirement is deleted can be extracted as an invention.

[0052]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, a microscope having a simple structure, realizing diversification of usage patterns, and realizing highly reliable and accurate observation. And a thermal insulation device for the same.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of a heat retaining device for a microscope according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view showing a configuration in which a first heat insulation box and an inverted microscope main body in FIG. 1 are disassembled.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a state where the first and second heat insulation boxes of FIG. 1 are assembled to an inverted microscope main body.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram in which a part of the first and second heat insulation boxes of FIG. 1 in an assembled state is cut away.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram shown for explaining a first usage mode of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing a main part of a heat retaining device for a microscope according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 The first thermal insulation box. 101: The first upper box half. 101b mounting hole. 102 ... second half of the upper box. 102a: Notch. 102b ... mounting holes. 11 ... second thermal insulation box. 111... The first lower box half. 112... Second lower box half. 12 Inverted microscope body. 13 ... Stage handle. 14… Handle for revolver guide. 15 ... Base. 151 ... screw hole. 16… support. 17 ... lens barrel. 18 Optical system. 19 ... Capacitor. 20 ... Engagement lever. 21 ... Engagement claws. 22… open / close door. 23 ... Objective lens revolver. 231... Objective lens. 24 ... Stage. 25 ... Hot air fan device. 251 ... pipeline. 252… Connection cable. 26 ... Communication window. 27 ... Closed door. 28 ... screw member. 29 ... Revolver stand. 30 ... Revolver guide. 31 ... Pinion. 32 ... Rack. 33, 35 ... Engagement lever. 34, 36 ... engaging nails. 37 ... Frame. 40… fan. 41 ... Fan mounting hook. 42 mounting member.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Sayoko Kobayashi 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Inside Olympus Optical Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Toru Kaneda 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 2H052 AC05 AD03 AD17 AD24 AD31 AD33

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A first heat insulation box to which a microscope main body mounted on a base is included with its operation unit being operably exposed, wherein a first heat insulation box to which hot air is supplied is provided. Second including the exposed part including the operation unit
A heat insulating device for a microscope, comprising: a heat insulating box. 2. The thermal insulation device for a microscope according to claim 1, wherein the second thermal insulation box is detachably connected to the first thermal insulation box. 3. The thermal insulation device for a microscope according to claim 1, wherein the first thermal insulation box has a communication window that can be closed to communicate with the second thermal insulation box.