JP2009169227A - Illumination device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem wherein a light source is overheated and the service life of the light source is shortened because dimmed light is reflected by a dimmer plate for controlling a light quantity by a slit position and turned back to the light source, when light from the light source is dimmed, due to the fact that the dimmer plate is arranged to be perpendicular to the optical axis of the light source. <P>SOLUTION: An illumination device includes a light emitting means and a light quantity control means. The light quantity control means includes a diaphragm mechanism by which reflected light reflected from the light quantity control means is not returned to the light emitting means, when illumination light emitted from the light emitting means is dimmed. The illumination device further includes an illuminance measuring means for measuring illuminance of the reflected light. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an illumination device for an optical microscope, and more particularly to a dimming mechanism of the illumination device.

Conventionally, a dimming device that controls the amount of illumination light so that the luminance level of an image becomes a predetermined value, where the center of the slit is on the axis of the lamp at the maximum slit position and the center of the slit is at the minimum slit position. In a dimming device that adjusts the amount of light that passes through the illumination with the slit using the shape of the slit opening that is the periphery of the light (the limit position of the light spread), the amount of light that passes through the slit corresponding to the movement of the slit Was changing in a logarithmic curve. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP 2007-79432 A

  In the above-described conventional technology, the light reducing plate that controls the amount of light by the slit position is arranged perpendicular to the optical axis of the light source, so when the light from the light source is reduced, the light that has been reduced is reflected by the light reducing plate. Then, since the light source is returned to the light source, the light source is overheated to reduce the life of the light source.

  The illumination device of the present invention includes a light emitting unit and a light amount control unit, and the light amount control unit does not return the reflected light reflected from the light amount control unit to the light emitting unit when dimming the illumination light emitted from the light emitting unit. A diaphragm mechanism is provided.

  Moreover, the illuminating device of the present invention further includes illuminance measuring means for measuring the illuminance of the reflected light.

  According to the present invention, when the light emitted from the light source of the illuminating device is dimmed, the light reflected from the light reduction rotating plate does not return to the light source, so that the lifetime of the light source is not reduced.

  Further, by measuring the amount of light reflected from the dimming rotating plate, it is possible to determine the optimum position of the dimming rotating plate and to determine the lifetime of the light source.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining an optical microscope system in which an illumination apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is used.

  In FIG. 1, the illumination light 1024 emitted from the illumination device 101 attached to the optical microscope 102 is reflected by the half mirror 1022 and is applied to the sample 103 by the objective lens 1021.

  The illumination light 1024 irradiated on the sample 103 is reflected by the sample 103 and becomes subject light 1025. The subject light 1025 passes through the objective lens 1021 and the half mirror 1022 and is collected by the imaging lens 1023. The collected subject light 1025 is imaged by the imaging unit 104. The imaging unit 104 photoelectrically converts the captured subject light 1025 to generate a video signal, and transmits the generated video signal to the control unit 105.

  The control unit 105 converts the video signal transmitted from the imaging unit 104 into an image signal that can be displayed on the display unit 106 and controls the recording unit 107 to record the video signal in the recording unit 107. The control unit 105 also generates a signal A that controls the amount of light of the lighting apparatus 101 from the transmitted video signal, and inputs a signal B that is an illuminance value signal transmitted from the lighting apparatus 101.

  In FIG. 1, the optical axis of the illumination light 1024 and the optical axis of the subject light 1025 with respect to the objective lens 1021 are changed in the drawing for easy understanding, but the optical axis of the illumination light 1024 with respect to the objective lens 1021. And the optical axis of the subject light 1025 are the same.

  Next, operation | movement of the illuminating device 101 which is one Example of this invention is demonstrated using FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining an illumination apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 2, the lamp house 100 includes a lamp 1 and a condenser lens 2. The lamp 1 is a lamp light source such as a halogen lamp. The illumination light 1024 emitted from the lamp 1 is collected by the condenser lens 2, is attenuated by the light reduction rotating plate 3, is imaged by the optical imaging lens 5, and is emitted from the illumination device 101.

  The signal A controls the rotation of the motor 4. Since the dimming rotary plate 3 is attached to the rotating shaft of the motor 4, by controlling the rotation of the motor 4, the dimming rotary plate 3 can be controlled, that is, the dimming can be controlled.

  Next, the structure of the light reduction rotating plate 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the light reduction rotating plate 3 which is a part of the diaphragm mechanism for controlling the light quantity according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A is a front view, and FIG. 3B is a side view.

  In FIG. 3A, the motor rotating shaft 41 is at the center of the light reduction rotating plate 3, and the illumination light 1024 emitted from the lamp 1 in FIG. 2 is attenuated by the position of the opening 31. The light blocking portion 32 of the light reduction rotating plate 3 is a portion that blocks the illumination light 1024. Since the aperture ratio differs depending on the rotational position of the dimming rotary plate 3, the amount of illumination light 1024 passing through the dimming rotary plate 3 can be controlled by the rotational position of the dimming rotary plate 3.

  In FIG. 3B, an angle C is a bending angle of the light reduction rotating plate 3 for preventing the reflected light 7 that has been reduced from returning to the lamp 1 when the illumination light 1024 is reduced. The angle C is, for example, 150 degrees. Since there is an angle C, the dimmed reflected light 7 does not return to the lamp 1. As a result, it is possible to prevent the lamp 1 from being heated by the dimmed reflected light 7, and thus it is possible to prevent the life of the lamp 1 that is a light source from being reduced.

  Further, by using aluminum having high reflectivity as the material of the dimming rotating plate 3, most of the light dimmed when dimming the illumination light 1024 is reflected, so the dimming rotating plate at dimming 3 heating can also be prevented.

  Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  The photoelectric sensor unit 6 measures the illuminance of the reflected light 7 that is dimmed when the illumination light 1024 emitted from the lamp 1 is dimmed by the dimming rotary plate 3. The optimum position of the photoelectric sensor unit 6 is the position where the illuminance of the reflected light 7 is maximized when the illumination light 1024 is completely shielded by the light reduction rotating plate 3.

  The life of the lamp 1 as the light source is determined by measuring the illuminance of the reflected light 7 when the illumination light 1024 is completely shielded by the dimming rotating plate 3 with the photoelectric sensor unit 6 when the lamp 1 is used or replaced. Then, the measured illuminance value is transmitted as the signal B to the control unit 105, and the control unit 105 stores the transmitted illuminance value. The control unit 105 measures the illuminance of the reflected light 7 when the illumination light 1024 is completely shielded by the light reduction rotating plate 3 periodically, for example, once a day, and stores it by measuring the photoelectric sensor unit 6.

  The lifetime of the lamp 1 is set in advance by a decrease rate. For example, the lifetime is set when the lamp 1 is reduced to 50% with respect to the illuminance value at the start of use or replacement.

  The control unit 105 periodically measures the illuminance of the reflected light 7 when the illumination light 1024 is completely shielded by the light reduction rotating plate 3 with the photoelectric sensor unit 6, and the illuminance value at the start of use or replacement of the lamp 1. On the other hand, when the voltage drops to 50% or less, “Lamp replacement time” or the like is displayed on the display unit 106 as characters.

  The measurement of the illuminance value of the reflected light 7 does not have to completely block the illumination light 1024 with the light reduction rotating plate 3. For example, the aperture ratio may be set as 10%.

  In the above embodiment, the illumination light 1024 emitted from the illumination device 101 is illuminated on the sample 103 via the optical microscope 102. However, the illumination light 1024 emitted from the illumination device 101 is used in a light guide or the like. The sample 103 may be directly illuminated.

  Although the present invention has been described in detail above, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the microscope system described here, and can be widely applied as illumination apparatuses other than those described above.

The block diagram for demonstrating an optical microscope system. The block diagram for demonstrating the illuminating device which is one Example of this invention. The figure for demonstrating the light reduction rotating plate which is a part of aperture_diaphragm | restriction mechanism for light quantity control of one Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  1: lamp, 2: condensing lens, 3: dimming rotating plate, 31: aperture, 32: light shielding unit, 41: motor rotating shaft, 4: motor, 5: optical imaging lens, 6: photoelectric sensor unit, 7: reflected light, 100: lamp house, 101: illumination device, 102: optical microscope, 103: sample, 104: imaging unit, 105: control unit, 106: display unit, 107: recording unit, 1021: objective lens, 1022 : Half mirror, 1023: imaging lens, 1024: illumination light, 1025: subject light.

Claims (2)

In the lighting device having the light emitting means and the light quantity control means,
The illumination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light quantity control means includes a diaphragm mechanism that does not return the reflected light reflected from the light quantity control means to the light emission means when dimming the illumination light emitted from the light emission means. The lighting device according to claim 1.
Furthermore, the illuminating device provided with the illumination intensity measurement means which measures the illumination intensity of the said reflected light.