JP2005227113A - Linearly driven type sample cut-face measuring method and instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a simple linearly driven type sample cut-face measuring method and instrument of a small size capable of obtaining satisfactory sample face information. <P>SOLUTION: This method/instrument is provided with a sample fixing part 2 for fixing a sample 1, a sample feeding mechanism 9 for feeding the sample 1, slide rails 3 arranged in both sides of the sample fixing part 2, a cutting blade 4, an image scanner 6, and a linearly driven type moving body 7 for integrating the cutting blade 4 and the image scanner 6, and reciprocated along the slide rails 3, and a cut face of the sample 1 cut by the cutting blade 4 is read by the image scanner 6. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a linearly driven sample cutting surface measuring method and apparatus, and more particularly to a linearly driven slicer and a cutting surface measuring apparatus thereof.

  As a conventional slicer, a rotary slicer is mainly used.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic view of such a conventional rotary slicer.

  In this figure, 101 is a stage, 102 is a rotary blade, 103 is an AC motor that drives the rotary blade 102, 104 is a sample, 105 is a cooling plate for the sample 104, 106 is a stepping motor that raises the sample 104, and 107 is an AC motor. 103, a control device for controlling the stepping motor 106, 108 a microscope for measuring a cross section of the sample 104, 109 a CCD camera, 110 a sample cross-sectional recording device connected to the CCD camera 109, and 111 connected to the sample cross-sectional recording device 110 An image processing computer.

Thus, the upper part of the sample 104 pushed up on the stage 101 is cut (sliced) by the rotational drive of the rotary blade 102 to expose the sample surface 104A, and the sample surface 104A is observed with the microscope 108. The image information is taken out and a three-dimensional image of the sample surface 104A is three-dimensionally constructed. The technology related to this is disclosed in the following Patent Documents 1 to 5 proposed by the present inventors.
Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 7-109384 JP-A-8-035921 JP-A-9-145559 JP-A-9-243561 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-118679

  However, problems with the conventional rotary slicer include the following.

  (1) The greater the width of the sample and the smaller the radius of rotation of the rotary blade, the greater the difference in cutting speed between the inside and outside of the sample surface, and a uniform cutting surface cannot be obtained.

  (2) The rotating blade has a cantilever structure with the rotating shaft as the fixed side, and the longer the radius of rotation, the greater the displacement due to the bending of the tip of the cutting edge, and a good cutting surface cannot be obtained. Therefore, in order to prevent this, the cross-sectional secondary moment of the rotary blade must be increased, and the plate thickness of the rotary blade inevitably increases.

  (3) When the plate thickness of the rotary blade is increased, the rotary blade passes between the objective lens of the microscope and the sample. Therefore, the working distance must be increased, and the magnification of the objective lens cannot be increased.

  (4) Since the rotary blade is driven via a speed reducer using a motor as a power source, mechanical loss is large, and it is difficult to achieve both the speed of the rotary blade and the cutting force unless a motor with a large output is used. It is.

  (5) Since the longest direction among the sample shapes is set to the sample feeding direction, the number of times of cutting is very large for a long sample.

  In view of the above situation, an object of the present invention is to provide a linear drive type sample cutting surface measuring method and apparatus that are simple, small, and capable of obtaining good sample surface information.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides
[1] In the linear drive type sample cutting surface measurement method, a cutting blade and an image scanner are mounted on a linear drive type moving body, the upper surface of the sample is cut with the cutting blade, and a new cutting surface is generated. The surface is read by an image scanner.

  [2] In the linearly driven sample cutting surface measuring method according to [1], the linearly driven moving body moves in a forward path and a return path, and the upper surface of the sample is cut by the cutting blade in the forward path, The new cutting surface generated by the above is read by the image scanner in the return path.

  [3] In the linearly driven sample cutting surface measuring method according to [2] above, the moving speed of the linearly driven moving body is set to be high in the forward path and slower than the moving speed in the forward path, It is characterized by acquiring a fine image with an image scanner.

  [4] In the linear drive type sample cutting surface measuring apparatus, a sample fixing portion to which a sample is fixed, a sample feeding mechanism for feeding the sample, slide rails arranged on both sides of the sample fixing portion, a cutting blade, An image scanner, and a linear drive type moving body that integrates the cutting blade and the image scanner and reciprocates along the slide rail, and includes a cutting surface of the sample cut by the cutting blade. It is characterized by being read by a scanner.

  [5] The linearly driven sample cutting surface measuring apparatus according to [4] above, wherein the moving speed of the linearly driven moving body can be controlled to be different between the forward path and the backward path.

  According to the present invention, the following effects can be achieved.

  (1) In the linear drive type sample cutting surface measuring apparatus (linear type slicer) of the present invention, since there is no difference in the cutting speed on the sample surface, a uniform sample cutting surface can be obtained.

  (2) Since the linear drive type sample cutting surface measuring apparatus (linear type slicer) of the present invention uses a rigid slider at both ends close to the sample, it has a structure of a short fixed beam at both ends, even if the plate thickness of the beam is thin. The bending of the cutting edge can be reduced, and it is easy to obtain a good cutting surface.

  (3) In the linear drive type sample cutting surface measuring apparatus (linear type slicer) of the present invention, since the plate thickness of the beam can be reduced, the working distance can be shortened and a high-magnification objective lens can be used.

  (4) In the linear drive type sample cutting surface measuring device (linear slicer) of the present invention, a linear motor with little mechanical loss can be used, so that it is easy to achieve both the cutting edge speed and the cutting force. Further, unlike the conventional rotary slicer, a speed reducer is not required, and the size of the apparatus does not depend on the rotation radius, so that the apparatus can be made compact. Further, since the linear motor is easy to accelerate and decelerate, it can be cut at a desired timing, and the exposure time does not depend on the cutting speed.

  (5) In the linear drive type sample cutting surface measuring device (linear type slicer) of the present invention, cutting is performed while linearly reciprocating. This reciprocating motion is divided into a cutting process and a return process, and the sample is cut and cut in one reciprocation by cutting the sample in the cutting process and reading the information of the cutting surface with a scanning image acquisition device in the return process. Image acquisition can be performed.

  (6) In the linear drive type sample cutting surface measuring device (linear type slicer) of the present invention, the longest direction of the sample can be the cutting direction, and the thinnest direction of the sample can be the sample feeding direction. Compared with a rotary slicer, the number of times of cutting can be greatly reduced.

  (7) In the linear drive type sample cutting surface measuring apparatus (linear slicer) of the present invention, since the cutter mark can be straightened, observation defects due to the cutter mark can be reduced.

  A sample fixing portion to which a sample is fixed, a sample feeding mechanism for feeding the sample, slide rails arranged on both sides of the sample fixing portion, a cutting blade, an image scanner, and the cutting blade and the image scanner are integrated. And a linear drive type moving body that reciprocates along the slide rail, and the cutting surface of the sample cut by the cutting blade is read by the image scanner. Therefore, it is simple, small, and good sample surface information can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of a linear slicer showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram of a measuring apparatus using the linear slicer.

  In FIG. 1, 1 is a sample, 2 is a sample fixing part, 3 is a slide rail arranged on both sides of the sample fixing part 2, 4 is a cutting blade, 5 is a holder for the cutting blade 4, and 6 is an image scanner [for example, RS-C40U manufactured by Fujitsu Ltd., expression color 16.77 million colors, resolution 600 dpi), 7 is a moving body in which the image scanner 6 and the cutting blade holder 5 are integrated, and 7A is a cover for storing a cutting piece. is there.

  The system of the measuring device using this linear slicer is configured as shown in FIG. That is, the above-described moving body 7 constitutes a part of a linear motor [for example, LT100CGS-200 / I0, resolution 1 μm, maximum speed 2 m / s, manufactured by Nippon Thomson Co., Ltd.] 8. The linear motor moving element 8A and the linear motor stator 8B are included. 9 is a sample feeding mechanism (see, for example, Patent Document 5), 10 is a stage driver connected to the sample feeding mechanism 9, 11 is a linear motor driver connected to the linear motor 8, and 12 is a computer (control / information processing apparatus) ). The computer 12 is connected to the stage driver 10, the linear motor driver 11, and the image scanner 6, and can input information from the linear motor 8 and the sample feeding mechanism 9 and control them by synchronizing each part. it can.

  Therefore, a slice operation with the cutting blade 4 and scanning with the image scanner 6 are performed in one reciprocation, and a cross-sectional image of the sample 1 can be continuously acquired by driving repeatedly.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the measuring apparatus using the linear slicer.

  (1) As shown in FIG. 3A, first, the moving body 7 is stopped at the right end (origin position).

  (2) Therefore, the moving body 7 is moved to the left side at a high speed by driving the linear motor 8 as shown in FIG. 3B, and the upper part of the sample 1 of the sample fixing portion 2 is cut by the cutting blade 4. Thereby, the cut surface of the sample 1 to be observed appears. The cutting speed of the cutting blade 4 at that time is, for example, 100 mm / s.

  (3) Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, the moving body 7 stops at the left end.

  (4) Next, as shown in FIG. 3 (d), when the moving body 7 returns to the right and reaches the position of the sample 1 of the sample fixing portion 2, the moving object 7 of the sample 1 to be observed cut in the forward path Information on the cut surface is read by an image scanner (line sensor) 6. The scanning speed on the sample 1 by the image scanner (line sensor) 6 at that time is, for example, 30 mm / s.

  (5) Finally, as shown in FIG. 3E, the moving body 7 stops at the right end (origin position).

  By repeating this process while sequentially feeding the sample 1 of the sample fixing part 2, information on the cutting surface of the sample 1 of the sample fixing part 2 can be read continuously.

  Thus, an accurate cutting surface can be provided by moving the moving body 7 at high speed in the forward path and cutting the sample 1 of the sample fixing portion 2 with the cutting blade 4, and the moving body 7 of the moving body 7 in the return path. It is possible to read the information on the cutting surface of the sample 1 of the sample fixing portion 2 accurately by moving the image at a speed suitable for the measurement of the image scanner (line sensor) 6 by reducing the speed from that of the forward path.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram comparing the linear slicer mechanism of the present invention with a conventional rotary slicer mechanism.

  In this figure, the occupation area of the linear slicer mechanism 15 of the present invention is A, and the occupation area of the conventional rotary slicer mechanism 16 is B.

  As is apparent from this figure, the occupied area A of the linear slicer mechanism 15 of the present invention is 35% or less less than the occupied area B of the conventional rotary slicer mechanism 16, and the linear slicer mechanism 15 of the present invention Can be constructed more compactly.

  Hereinafter, performance evaluation of a measuring apparatus using the linear slicer of the present invention will be described.

  Next, the image evaluation of the sample according to the present invention will be described. Here, sample images are acquired by an image scanner and a CCD camera, compared, and evaluated. The experimental conditions were as follows: the thickness of slicing the sample was 20 μm, the cutting blade speed (rake angle 50 °, relief angle 15 °, pulling angle 30 °) at the time of slicing was 150 mm / s, image scanner (16.77 million colors, 600 dpi). The scanning speed was 30 mm / s.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), a crayon 21 as a sample is embedded in paraffin 22, and the crayon 21 and paraffin 22 are cut with a cutting blade 23 as shown in FIG. 5 (b). A cut section 24 is generated. As shown in FIG. 5C, a crayon cross section 21 </ b> A appears in the cut cross section 24 when viewed from the top.

  FIG. 6A shows a cross-sectional image of the crayon cross section 21A obtained as described above by an image scanner, and FIG. 6B shows a cross-sectional image of the crayon cross section 21A obtained by a CCD camera. Here, as an experimental condition, an experiment was performed in a dark room in order to eliminate disturbance of ambient lighting.

  According to the cross-sectional image acquired by the image scanner in FIG. 6A, (1) the paraffin portion is projected black, (2) the unevenness of the cutting surface is not conspicuous, and (3) there are no illumination spots on the top, bottom, left, and right , And the characteristics are seen. That is, no non-uniform brightness or color spots in the slice cross-sectional image due to cutting spots or illumination spots were confirmed.

  On the other hand, according to the cross-sectional image acquired by the CCD camera in FIG. 6B, (1) the light is irregularly reflected in the paraffin and the whole is projected white, and (2) the unevenness of the cutting surface is shaded. The feature is that the cut-out spots are conspicuous, (3) there are radial illumination spots, and there are color spots.

  In this way, by using an image scanner instead of the CCD camera used in the conventional apparatus, the illumination illuminates the observation surface uniformly, so there are no illumination spots, and uneven brightness and color spots in the slice cross-sectional image. Reduced.

  In addition, the linear motion mechanism using two slide rails is not a cantilever beam like the rotary blade used in conventional devices, but is a support beam on both ends, so that rigidity can be increased and cutting spots are further reduced. it can.

  In addition, it has become possible to reduce the size by combining a linear motion mechanism and an image scanner.

  As described above, the linear slicer of the present invention performs cutting while repeating reciprocating motion linearly. This reciprocating motion is divided into a forward path process and a backward path process, and the sample is cut and cut in one round trip by cutting the sample in the forward path process and reading the information on the cutting surface with a scanning image acquisition device in the backward path process. Image acquisition can be performed.

  In the linear slicer of the present invention, an image scanner and a CCD camera can be used simultaneously.

  In addition, the CCD camera visualization method is easy to handle because it requires skill to perform uniform operations such as uniform illumination of the sample and keeping the angle of the sample to the CCD camera constant, and stable measurement is difficult. Focusing on image scanners that always scan objects under certain conditions, “multiband image scanners” that stably scan samples at arbitrary wavelengths have been proposed (Shiki Isobata, Shuichi Ichinose, Akihiro Ogawa) Junichi Sugiyama, Yasuyuki Sagara, “Visualization of sugar content distribution of melon with multi-band image scanner”, Abstracts of 19th Non-Destructive Measurement Symposium, pp. 160-161, 2003) is an image scanner in the present invention. It goes without saying that such a multi-band image scanner can be used. No.

  Furthermore, in the conventional rotary slicer, the longest direction of the sample is set as the sample feeding direction, and in the long sample, the number of times of cutting is very large, but in the linear slicer of the present invention, the longest direction of the sample is set. Since the cutting direction can be set and the thinnest direction of the sample can be set as the sample feeding direction, the number of times of cutting can be greatly reduced as compared with the rotary slicer.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said Example, Based on the meaning of this invention, a various deformation | transformation is possible and these are not excluded from the scope of the present invention.

  The linear drive type sample cutting surface measuring method and apparatus of the present invention can be widely used as an apparatus for obtaining a sample cutting surface capable of obtaining good sample surface information.

It is a principal part perspective view of the linear slicer which shows the Example of this invention. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a measuring apparatus using a linear slicer showing an embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing of operation | movement of the measuring device using the linear slicer which shows the Example of this invention. It is the figure which compared the linear slicer mechanism of this invention with the conventional rotary slicer mechanism. It is a figure which shows the sample for the image evaluation of the sample by this invention. It is a figure which shows the result of the image evaluation of the sample by this invention. It is a schematic diagram of the conventional rotary slicer.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sample 2 Sample fixing part 3 Slide rail 4,23 Cutting blade 5 Cutting blade holder 6 Image scanner 7 Moving body 7A Cover 8 Linear motor 8A Linear motor moving element 8B Linear motor stator 9 Sample feeding mechanism 10 Stage driver 11 Linear Motor driver 12 Computer (control / information processing equipment)
15 Linear Slicer Mechanism 21 Crayon (Sample)
21A Crayon cross section 22 Paraffin 24 Cutting cross section

Claims (5)

  A linear drive characterized by mounting a cutting blade and an image scanner on a linear drive type moving body, cutting the upper surface of the sample with the cutting blade, generating a new cutting surface, and reading the cutting surface with an image scanner -Type sample cutting surface measurement method.   The linear drive type sample cutting surface measuring method according to claim 1, wherein the linear drive type moving body moves in a forward path and a return path, and the upper surface of the sample is cut by the cutting blade in the forward path, thereby being generated. A linear-driven sample cutting surface measuring method, wherein a new cutting surface is read by the image scanner in the return path.   3. The linear driving type sample cutting surface measuring method according to claim 2, wherein the moving speed of the linear driving type moving body is set to be high speed in the forward path and slower than the moving speed of the forward path in the forward path, and is finely defined by the image scanner. A linear drive type sample cutting surface measurement method characterized by acquiring a simple image. (A) a sample fixing part to which the sample is fixed;
(B) a sample feeding mechanism for feeding the sample;
(C) slide rails arranged on both sides of the sample fixing part;
(D) a cutting blade;
(E) an image scanner;
(F) The cutting blade and the image scanner are integrated, and a linearly driven moving body that reciprocates along the slide rail is provided.
(G) The linear drive type sample cutting surface measuring apparatus, wherein the image scanner reads the cutting surface of the sample cut by the cutting blade.   5. The linear drive type sample cutting surface measuring apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a moving speed of the linear drive type moving body can be controlled to be different between an outward path and a return path. .