JP2003098440A - Method of photographing microscopic image and adapter for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a microscopic image of a wide visual field using a commercially marketed camera without changing magnification. SOLUTION: The microscopic image of a substantially wide visual field is obtained by photographing respective scenes by moving the microscope on the XY plane by fixing a preparation to the camera, and compositing and displaying the same.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to a method for taking a microscope image with a commercially available camera and an adapter for realizing the method (including a video camera). The adapter here is a device that connects the camera to the microscope.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art If a camera is pressed against a microscope, a microscope image can be taken with most commercially available cameras, but only a circular image appears on a part of the screen. There are commercially available adapters (22 in Fig. 2), but these are XY even if they can be moved in the focal length direction by the cylindrical coupling method to match the optical axis, that is, in the Z direction in three-dimensional Cartesian coordinates. You cannot move on the surface. Therefore, assuming that there is a figure preparation as shown in FIG. 10, if the objective lens of the microscope is looking at a triangular object, and if the enlargement ratio is large, the monitor screen of FIG. Similarly, a part of the figure may be cut off and displayed in a circular frame in the center of the screen. In this case, if the user wants to see the missing portion, the conventional method is to move the slide on the stage of the microscope to see the necessary portion as shown in FIG. 12, or reduce the magnification as shown in FIG. There is no choice but to put it inside the frame, and because the optical axis is aligned, the image is always displayed on the monitor screen in a circular frame only in the center part where the optical axis matches, and the other parts have display capability. You can't do it anyway, so to speak, it's the endurance of treasure. If you want to see the whole at the same magnification, you can't see it on the same screen unless you put the data of the amount of movement of the slide into the computer and do image processing. It is troublesome to record how much you move in the X direction and how much you move in the Y direction.
If you can observe the whole thing with the same magnification,
There is no reason for this to be exceeded.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a method for photographing a wide range, that is, a method for enlarging a substantial field of view, without changing the magnification and without being aware of the amount and direction of movement of a slide. It is to provide an adapter that realizes.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a preparation for mirroring is attached to the camera side so as to move integrally. In addition, the camera and the microscope can be connected to each other by surface coupling and move freely on the XY plane (either manually or automatically).
In the case of a digital camera, the required number of microscopic images that are circularly displayed on the photosensitive surface in this way are copied (stored in memory) while looking at the monitor, and they are displayed by superimposing them, or at 30 seconds per second. By advancing at frame speed and displaying on the monitor screen,
Allows viewing of a wide range of images at high magnification. In the case of a silver halide camera, a photograph taken is read by a scanner and an image is processed by a computer. In either case, since the slide was not moved and photographed, it can be superimposed on one screen and a microscope image with a substantially wide field of view can be obtained.

[0005]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION As one of the methods for implementing the method of the present invention, there is an adapter shown by hatching in FIG. 1, and this adapter basically comprises the following four parts. (A) A part 2 and 3 which is movable in the XY plane by connecting a microscope and a camera (B) A stage part 5 for mounting a preparation (sample, sample) (C) Holding the parts A and B 4 (D) Portion 1 to be attached to the camera In particular, the portion C is changed depending on the type of microscope as can be seen in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, and it may have a zero structure, that is, no structure depending on the case. In addition, item D in the above item may be a double-sided adhesive tape (when it is light), or a screw or snap for mounting or Velcro (registered trademark) for mounting on the camera side in advance, and these are also on the adapter side. The same applies to the present invention both on the camera side and on either side.

[0006]

【Example】

FIG. 1 shows a compound microscope which is generally imaged, and an adapter for realizing the present invention is attached to the compound microscope. The portions 2, 4 and 5 are rectangular iron plates of 0.5 mm thickness and are U-shaped. It is integrally processed with a press, and the part corresponding to the lens part of the camera is round and has a hole in the size of the lens. The lower part 5 is where the objective lens comes, and a slide is attached like the stage of the microscope. Reference numeral 3 in the figure is a flange-type instrument attached to the eyepiece part, and the flange part is a round magnet. Therefore, the iron plate of 2 will be strongly attracted, and the camera will be fixed to the microscope. It does not move even if it says fixing, but it moves freely on the XY plane, so move the camera or firmly fix the camera. When it is fixed, the microscope is moved. The relative position change is the same in both cases. With this structure, the slide is shown in Fig. 10 and the objective lens happens to be in the triangular position. In this case, assuming that an image with a circular frame as shown in FIG. 14 is displayed on the monitor screen of the digital camera, this is the same as FIG. 11 in the case of the conventional adapter described above, but this time the triangle is missing. Since the camera can be moved with respect to the microscope to see the existing portion, the display is shifted on the monitor screen as shown in FIG. Since there is a one-to-one mapping relationship between the slide object space and the monitor image space, the image displayed on the monitor screen is the image of the slide object when the camera and microscope are relatively moved in this way. A circle is displayed as shown in FIG. Thus, even if the display frame is the same at one time, the positional relationship is displayed in a relationship corresponding to the position of the slide, and the information is recorded in the memory. Therefore, if the same operation is performed on the entire monitor screen, FIG. It is possible to perform superimposing composite display as described above, and as a result, it is possible to obtain an image in which the field of view is substantially expanded with the same magnification.

FIG. 3 shows a microscope (usually called a loupe) 33 having two lenses as a microscope, which is movably attached to the iron plate 2 by using a plate magnet 32. Reference numeral 4 in FIG. If it is made of rubber, the focus can be adjusted with the nut 35 in the figure.

FIG. 4 shows a case where a single-type microscope (a kind of magnifying glass) 44 in which one lens is inserted into a plate-shaped magnet is used as a microscope, and focus adjustment is performed by a roll nut 41. It is the same as FIG. Also, when this adapter is attached to a camera, the double-sided adhesive tape is sufficient for part 1 because it is light, and it is easy to attach to a commercially available camera.

FIG. 5 shows a case in which a so-called inverted microscope, which is an inverted version of FIG. 4, is used. Instead of a plate-shaped magnet, a single-type microscope 44 is sandwiched between two plates 51 and a substrate 2. And X
It is designed so that it can move on the Y plane.

FIG. 6 is the same as FIG. 5 except that the lens of the microscope is brought as close as possible to the lens of the camera so that the circular frame of the photosensitive screen is displayed large.

FIG. 7 shows a plate type single microscope 77 attached to a substrate 78 of an adapter through a joint portion 1 with a camera with a thick double-sided adhesive tape of 76. The microscope 77 has a tapered tip. The XY plane is moved with the rolled screw. With a single-type microscope, the maximum magnification of 1500 times that of an optical microscope can be easily cleared, so the movement at that time is extremely small, so even if it is fixed with an adhesive tape, it will make a considerable movement with a little force when observed with a micro. An object adhered or adhered via a rubber-like elastic body is used as a movable structure in a limited minute range. Moreover, if you make this structure, if you remove the applied force,
Since the original position is restored, it becomes very easy to observe the image of the original position of the object again.

Since FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view used in the above description, it is difficult to understand the whole case of a single-type microscope. Therefore, FIG. 6 is disassembled into a kind of assembly drawing. 66 in this figure is a small square ashtray with a lens attached to the bottom as shown in FIG. 9, which is the main body of a single-type microscope,
Depending on the size of the camera lens, a camera with a diameter of 20 mm is a rectangle of 30 x 24 mm and the plate thickness is 0.4.
The lens size is a ball lens with a diameter of 0.3 mm. The plate thicknesses of 2 and 51 and 5 in this figure are 0.7 mm, the size is 60 × 25 mm, and the material is plastic.
The total weight of this adapter is about 5 grams, so
It can be fixed to the camera with double-sided adhesive tape such as. The shape of this adapter is rectangular in this figure, but it is the same if it is circular.

[0014]

The greatest effect is that a commercially available camera can obtain a micrograph with a high magnification and a wide field of view, but the present invention is also characterized in that the preparation and the camera move integrally, so that there is no effect of camera shake. . Another feature is that the camera microscope has a high magnification and is easy to carry by simply attaching an adapter incorporating the single-type microscope of the present invention to a digital camera which has a small number of pixels. The single-type microscope has the drawback that the eyelashes are unsightly and unsightly if you do not know the knack when you see it directly with the naked eye, and that the magnification is high but the field of view is narrow, but according to the method of the present invention I think that all the drawbacks can be solved and many people can enjoy the wonderfulness of the single-type microscope. Thus, the present invention maximizes the effect when combined with the single-type microscope.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the basics of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conventional explanatory diagram.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment in the case of a loupe.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an example in the case of a single microscope.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of an inverted type embodiment of the single-type microscope.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a modified example of FIG.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of an example in which the single-type microscope is fixed with double-sided tape.

FIG. 8 is an exploded explanatory view of FIG.

9A and 9B are a perspective view and a sectional view of the single-type microscope in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram of a temporary slide for explanation.

[FIG. 11],

FIG. 12

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of conventional image capturing.

FIG. 14

[FIG. 15]

FIG. 16:

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of the case of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Shows the part where the adapter is attached to the camera. 2 Shows the board with all parts of the adapter. 3 shows a flange portion made of a magnet. The space between the supports that holds and holds the spacing of 42 and 5 represents the spacer portion. 5 Shows the stage to which the slide is attached. 11 shows a camera. 12 shows a compound microscope. 22 shows a conventional adapter. 32 shows a plate magnet. 33 shows a magnifying glass with two lenses. 35 shows a nut. 41 shows a roll nut. 44 shows a single microscope in which a lens is fitted in a plate-shaped magnet. 51 shows a plastic plate with holes that sandwich a single-sided microscope. 66 It shows a concave type single microscope, which is shown in FIG. 9 (A). 76 shows a double-sided adhesive tape. 81 A circular plastic plate that substitutes for glass slides. 82 Transparent plastic film for food packaging as an alternative to cover glass

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] February 15, 2002 (2002.2.1
5)

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Correction target item name] All drawings

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Figure 1]

[Fig. 2]

[Figure 3]

[Figure 4]

[Figure 5]

[Figure 6]

[Figure 10]

FIG. 11

[Fig. 12]

[Fig. 13]

FIG. 14

FIG. 15

[Figure 7]

[Figure 8]

[Figure 9]

FIG. 16

FIG. 17

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. When photographing a microscopic image with a commercially available camera, a circular image shown on the screen of the light-sensing portion (CCD element or film) of the camera is taken at a plurality of positions by changing the positions, and thereby the field of view is substantially changed. This is a method of capturing a microscopic image, which is characterized by enlargement, and consists of the following items. (B) Fix the slide on the camera. (B) Place a microscope between the camera and slide. (C) Shift the optical axes of the camera and microscope to capture an image of each required area. (D) Match the captured images. 2. An adapter for photographing a microscope image, characterized in that a connecting portion between a camera and a microscope is surface-bonded to be movable. 3. The adapter for photographing a microscope image according to claim 2, further comprising a stage to which the slide is attached. 4. The adapter for photographing a microscope image according to claim 3, which incorporates a single-type microscope.