JP2010054850A - Microscope - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a microscope that stably and easily holds specimen placing members of various shapes and enables a specimen placed on each specimen placing member to be satisfactorily observed. <P>SOLUTION: The microscope having a holding unit 30 that holds a laboratory dish 100a and a slide glass 100b separately includes: a laboratory dish holding member 32 that holds the laboratory dish 100a when this dish 100a is placed on the upper surface of an opening edge 321a so as to cover a circular opening 321; a slide glass holding member 31 that has a rectangular opening 311 and holds the slide glass 100b when the slide glass 100b is supported by a slide glass support part 313 provided so as to face the opening 311; and an engaging means that makes the laboratory dish holding member 32 be engaged with the slide glass holding member 31 so that the laboratory dish holding member 32 is relatively movable with respect to the slide glass holding member 31. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a microscope, and more particularly, to a microscope including a holding unit that individually holds a specimen mounting member such as a petri dish or a slide glass.

  For example, when observing a biological specimen such as a living cell or a cell piece, it is common to place a specimen placing member on which the biological specimen is placed on a microscope. When observing living cells while alive, the specimen (biological cells) is placed on the bottom surface of a specimen placing member having a circular bottom like a petri dish and observed after culturing. When observing a cell piece or the like, the specimen (cell piece or the like) is placed on the bottom surface of a specimen placing member having a rectangular bottom surface such as a slide glass, and observation is performed after the cover glass is adhered. As described above, the sample mounting member has various shapes and the like, and a microscope including the following holding unit that holds the sample mounting member individually is known.

  A holding unit applied to such a microscope includes a substrate, a slide glass holding unit, and a petri dish holding unit.

  The substrate is attached to the stage of the microscope, and an opening is formed. This opening is for observing the specimen placed on the specimen placing member. The slide glass holding part is provided at a location in the vicinity of the opening of the substrate, and is for holding the slide glass in a manner facing the opening. The petri dish holding part has a pair of petri dish holding members. The pair of petri dish holding members increase / decrease the distance between the two petri dish holding members by moving in a manner of approaching and separating from the other petri dish holding member. In such a petri dish holding portion, one petri dish holding member is moved and held together with the other petri dish holding member so that the petri dish is sandwiched and held with its bottom face facing the opening (for example, Patent Document 1). reference).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-202213

  However, in the microscope as proposed in Patent Document 1 as described above, since the petri dish is held and held by the petri dish holding unit constituting the holding unit, the diameter of the petri dish is different. Every time, the interval between the pair of petri dish holding members must be adjusted, which is complicated. In addition, since the petri dish is held by being sandwiched between the pair of petri dish holding members, it is difficult to stably hold the petri dish if the clamping force is not sufficient, and there is a possibility of falling over.

  In view of the above circumstances, the present invention can stably and easily hold a specimen mounting member having various shapes, and can favorably observe a specimen placed on the specimen mounting member. An object of the present invention is to provide a microscope that can be used.

  In order to achieve the above object, a microscope according to claim 1 of the present invention includes a first sample mounting member on which a sample is mounted on a circular bottom surface, and a first sample on which a sample is mounted on a rectangular bottom surface. In a microscope provided with a holding unit for holding two specimen mounting members individually and an objective lens for observing the specimen, the holding unit covers the formed circular opening in a manner to cover the upper surface of the opening edge. When the first specimen placement member is placed, the first specimen placement member is held, and the specimen placed on the first specimen placement member is observed on the optical axis of the objective lens. A first holding member to be enabled; and a rectangular opening, and when the second sample mounting member is supported by an attached support member so as to face the opening, the second sample mounting member is Holding and viewing the specimen placed on the second specimen placing member on the optical axis of the objective lens A second holding member that enables the first holding member to engage with the first holding member and the second holding member in an aspect in which the first holding member is movable relative to the second holding member. And the engaging means moves the first holding member and the second holding member to each other when observing the specimen of the first specimen mounting member held by the first holding member. When the specimen of the second specimen mounting member held by the second holding member is to be observed while the openings are overlapped with each other in an opposing manner, the outer area of the second holding member is The first holding member is retracted and moved.

  A microscope according to a second aspect of the present invention is the microscope according to the first aspect, wherein the objective lens is moved closer to or away from the first sample mounting member or the second sample mounting member held by the holding unit. And the engagement means regulates relative movement of the first holding member until the displacement mechanism displaces the objective lens by a predetermined amount of displacement. And

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the microscope according to the first aspect detects whether the first holding member is in a state of being retracted or overlapped with the second holding member. The first holding member is moved until it is overlapped with the second holding member when it is detected that the switching means is provided with the detection means and the detection means is in the retracted state. On the other hand, there is provided control means for retracting and moving the first holding member when a switching command is given and it is detected that the detection means overlaps.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the microscope according to the third aspect, the objective lens is moved closer to or away from the first sample mounting member or the second sample mounting member held by the holding unit. A displacement mechanism that displaces the first holding member until the displacement mechanism displaces the objective lens by a predetermined displacement amount even when a switching command is given. It is characterized by restricting relative movement.

  According to the microscope of the present invention, the first holding member is held when the first holding member is placed on the upper surface of the opening edge portion so as to cover the circular opening. The second holding member has a rectangular opening, and holds the second sample mounting member when the second sample mounting member is supported by the attached support member so as to face the opening. The engaging means for engaging the first holding member and the second holding member is held by the first holding member in such a manner that the first holding member is movable relative to the second holding member. When observing the specimen on the first specimen mounting member, the first holding member and the second holding member are placed in a state in which the openings face each other and are held by the second holding member. When observing the sample on the second sample mounting member, the first holding member is retracted to the outer area of the second holding member. Therefore, when observing the specimen of the first specimen placement member, it is only necessary to place the first specimen placement member on the upper surface of the opening edge so as to cover the opening of the first holding member. There is no possibility that the one-sample placement member falls. When observing the sample on the second sample mounting member, the second holding member may be held on the second holding member by retracting the first holding member. Therefore, the specimen mounting member having various shapes can be stably and easily held, and the specimen placed on the specimen mounting member can be effectively observed.

  Exemplary embodiments of a microscope according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<Embodiment 1>
1 and 2 show the configuration of the microscope according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the microscope from the front, and FIG. 2 is a connection diagram showing a control system. The microscope exemplified here is an inverted microscope, and a microscope main body 1 that forms the skeleton of the microscope has a stage 2, a revolver 3, a first lamp house 4, a mirror unit 5, a mirror 6, a lens barrel 7, and a second lamp house. 8 is provided.

  The stage 2 is provided at a middle height level of the microscope body 1. The stage 2 is mounted with a holding unit 30 that holds a specimen placing member 100 on which a specimen is placed on a bottom surface such as a petri dish or a slide glass. The stage 2 includes a plurality of (two in the illustrated example) motors 2a and 2b, one driving source for moving the stage 2 in the left-right direction (X direction), and the other one. This is a drive source for moving the stage 2 in the front-rear direction (Y direction). That is, the stage 2 is movable in the X direction and the Y direction. The motors 2a and 2b are each connected to the control device 40 by a cable C1. The control device 40 will be described later.

  The revolver 3 is rotatably fixed to the revolver holding base 9 in the lower region of the stage 2. The revolver 3 has a plurality of objective lenses 10 having different magnifications fixedly arranged, and the objective lens 10 that is alternatively selected by rotating itself is positioned immediately below the sample placement member 100 on the stage 2. Thus, the specimen placed on the specimen placing member 100 is observed.

  The revolver holding base 9 is connected to the rotary focusing unit 11 via a rack-pinion mechanism (not shown), and the revolver 3 moves close to and away from the stage 2 by the rotational movement of the rotary focusing unit 11. Is displaced along the vertical direction. The rotation focusing unit 11 includes a motor 11a. The motor 11a is connected to the control device 40 via the control board 1a provided in the microscope main body 1 with a cable C2, and is a drive source that is driven by an instruction from the control device 40 and is controlled. The position information of the stage 2 in the X and Y directions is transmitted to the apparatus 40. When the motor 11a is driven, the rotary focusing unit 11 performs rotational movement, and as a result, the revolver holding base 9 displaces the revolver 3 along the vertical direction.

  The first lamp house 4 is a housing with a built-in light source 4a, and is arranged in a manner that it can be attached to and detached from the microscope main body 1 via the light projecting tube 12. The light projecting tube 12 allows passage of light emitted from the light source 4 a of the first lamp house 4.

  The mirror unit 5 includes an excitation filter 5a, a dichroic mirror 5b, and an absorption filter 5c. The light source of the first lamp house 4 is driven by a motor (not shown) built in the mirror cassette 13 inside the mirror cassette 13. 4a is configured such that it can be inserted into and removed from the optical path of the light emitted by 4a.

  The mirror 6 is provided in the lower area of the mirror cassette 13 and reflects the light emitted from the imaging lens 14. Here, the imaging lens 14 focuses the parallel light emitted from the objective lens 10 to form an observation image of the sample.

  The lens barrel 7 is detachably provided on the microscope body 1 and has a prism 7a inside. The lens barrel 7 deflects the light reflected by the mirror 6 and passed through the relay lens 15 and transmits it to the eyepiece 16.

  The second lamp house 8 is a housing with a built-in light source 8 a and is supported by a transmission illumination column 1 b that constitutes the microscope body 1. A mirror 17 is built in the transmitted illumination column 1b, and the mirror 17 reflects light emitted from the light source 8a of the second lamp house 8.

  Reference numeral 18 in FIG. 1 is a capacitor, and reference numeral 19 is a prism. The condenser 18 is disposed on the transmitted illumination support column 1b so as to be movable in the vertical direction, and irradiates the specimen on the stage 2 with light emitted from the light source 8a of the second lamp house 8. This capacitor | condenser 18 is movable along an up-down direction by operating the handle | steering-wheel 1c provided in the transmitted illumination support | pillar 1b. The prism 19 is disposed in the optical path between the imaging lens 14 and the mirror 6. The prism 19 can be inserted into and removed from the optical path of the light emitted from the imaging lens 14 by driving a motor (not shown) connected to the control board 1a by a cable (not shown). When the light enters the optical path, the light emitted from the imaging lens 14 is deflected so as to pass through the cylindrical portion 20 extending in the front direction of the paper in FIG. The end of the cylindrical portion 20 can fix a part of a photographing device such as a camera or a CCD camera, for example, and can photograph an image formed by light deflected by the prism 19. is there.

  3 to 5 show the holding unit 30 mounted on the stage 2 in an enlarged manner, FIG. 3 is a plan view, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CD in FIG. FIG. 5 is a side view of the holding unit shown in FIG. 3. The holding unit 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 3, the right side on the paper surface is the right side, the left side on the paper surface is the left side, the upper side on the paper surface is the back side, and the lower side on the paper surface is the front side.

  The holding unit 30 exemplified here includes a slide glass holding member (second holding member) 31, a petri dish holding member (first holding member) 32, and a lock member 33.

  The slide glass holding member 31 is configured by providing an opening 311, a guide portion 312, and a slide glass support portion 313 on a base 310. The base 310 is disposed so as to cover the opening 21 formed in the stage 2, and a pin 310 a protruding downward is inserted into a pin hole (not shown) formed in the stage 2, thereby allowing the stage 2 to enter the stage 2. On the other hand, positioning in the rotational direction is performed.

  The opening 311 is formed in the central region of the base 310 and has a rectangular shape. Although details will be described later, the opening 311 has such a size that when the slide glass 100b is supported by the slide glass support portion 313, substantially the entire area of the slide glass 100b can be viewed from below through the opening 311. ing.

  The guide portion 312 is a pair of left and right formed in a manner of projecting upward at both side edge portions of the opening 311 and has a long shape whose longitudinal direction is the longitudinal direction. These guide portions 312 are formed with groove portions 312a extending in the front-rear direction. The groove 312 a has a size that allows the end of the petri dish holding member 32 to enter, and more specifically has a width that is slightly larger than the thickness of the end of the petri dish holding member 32.

  Of these guide portions 312, the left guide portion 312 is provided with a protruding piece 312b protruding leftward. A magnet 312c is disposed on the lower surface of the protruding piece 312b. That is, the protruding piece 312b is a magnet holding member. In addition, two screws 312d are arranged side by side on the upper surface of the rear end portion of the left guide portion 312 so as to be arranged in the front-rear direction. The screw 312d will be described later.

  The slide glass support portion 313 is a trapezoidal portion provided in a substantially central region of the pair of left and right guide portions 312. For example, a sample placement member (first member) on which a sample is placed on a rectangular bottom surface such as the slide glass 100b. 2 specimen mounting member). Such a slide glass support part 313 mounts and supports the both right and left end parts of the slide glass 100b exemplified by the two-dot chain line. More specifically, the slide glass support 313 irradiates the specimen placed on the slide glass 100b with the light (illumination light) emitted from the objective lens 10 or the condenser 18 that is alternatively selected, and The slide glass 100b is supported at a position where light emitted from each point of the specimen can alternatively pass through the objective lens 10 selected.

  The petri dish holding member 32 is configured, for example, by providing a plate-like petri dish holding plate member 320 with an opening 321, a knob 322, a guide hole 323, a magnet holding piece 324, and a guide portion 325. The opening 321 is formed in a substantially central region of the petri dish holding plate member 320 and has a circular shape. The opening 321 has a smaller area than the opening 311 formed in the slide glass holding member 31, but has a circular shape such as a petri dish in a region on the upper surface of the opening edge 321 a so as to cover the opening 321. When a specimen placement member (first specimen placement member) having a specimen placed on the bottom surface is placed, the petri dish 100a has a size that allows most of the bottom surface of the petri dish 100a to face from below through the opening 321. is doing.

  The knob 322 protrudes from the upper surface of the front end portion of the petri dish holding plate member 320 and has a size sufficient for the spectrographer to grasp.

  The guide hole 323 is a U-shaped hole formed at the left end portion of the petri dish holding plate member 320, and a guide hole portion 323a formed in a mode in which the front-rear direction is the longitudinal direction, and a front side of the guide hole portion 323a. A first restriction hole 323b extending from the side end in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the guide hole 323a, that is, rightward, and the guide hole 323a extending from the back end of the guide hole 323a. It has the 2nd control hole 323c (refer FIG. 6) extended toward the direction orthogonal to a present direction, ie, rightward. The extension length of the guide hole 323a defines the amount of movement of the petri dish holding member 32 described later in detail, and is determined in advance from the viewpoint of securing a necessary and sufficient amount of movement. The extension length of the first restriction hole 323b is substantially equal to the extension length of the second restriction hole 323c.

  The magnet holding piece 324 is in the form of a tongue piece that is formed so as to protrude to the left from the back end of the petri dish holding plate member 320. A magnet 324 a is disposed on the lower surface of the magnet holding piece 324. The magnet 324a disposed on the magnet holding piece 324 and the magnet 312c are disposed on the same straight line.

  The guide portion 325 is provided on the upper surface of the rear end portion of the petri dish holding plate member 320, and includes a jig 325a, a guide 325b, and a knob 325c. The jig 325a is a rod-shaped member provided in a manner protruding upward from the upper surface of the petri dish holding plate member 320, and is rotatable about its central axis. The guide 325b has a proximal end connected to the jig 325a and a distal end serving as a contact portion. The guide 325b rotates around the axis of the jig 325a according to the rotation of the jig 325a. The knob 325c is an operation part provided so as to protrude laterally from the guide 325b.

  Such a guide portion 325 is a petri dish 100a of a size generally used when the guide 325b is positioned on the near side of the jig 325a and extends in the front-rear direction as shown in FIG. Is placed on the upper surface of the opening edge 321a so as to cover the opening 321 with its side surface in contact with the contact portion, the center of the bottom surface of the petri dish 100a can be made coincident with the center of the opening 321. The size has been adjusted. That is, the guide portion 325 has a role of assisting alignment. When placing a petri dish having a diameter larger than that of a general petri dish 100a (hereinafter also referred to as an enlarged petri dish), the guide 325 is operated around the axis of the jig 325a by operating the knob 325c. By rotating the 325b, for example, by 90 °, a petri dish having an enlarged diameter can be placed on the upper surface of the opening edge 321a so as to cover the opening 321.

  The lock member 33 is configured by providing a tab 331, an engagement projection 332, and a long hole 333 on a plate-like lock plate member 330. The knob 331 is an operation portion that is provided on the upper surface of the left end portion of the lock plate member 330 so as to protrude upward. The engagement protrusion 332 is a protrusion provided in a manner that protrudes downward from the lower surface of the right end portion of the lock plate member 330, and enters the guide hole 323 constituting the petri dish holding member 32. There are a plurality (two in the illustrated example) of the long holes 333, and they are provided in the central region of the lock plate member 330 side by side in the front-rear direction so that the left-right direction is the longitudinal direction. A screw 312 d provided on the upper surface of the back end portion of the left guide portion 312 passes through each elongated hole 333.

  The lock member 33 having such a configuration is always urged rightward by an urging means such as a spring (not shown), whereby the engagement protrusion 332 is a second restriction hole portion of the guide hole 323. A screw 312 d provided on the left guide portion 312 is in contact with the left edge portion of the long hole 333.

  The lock member 33 is configured by providing a magnet 334 on the lock plate member 330. The magnet 334 is the lower surface of the lock plate member 330 and is in a state as shown in FIG. 3 when the lock member 33 is biased by a spring, that is, the engagement protrusion 332 is the second restriction hole of the guide hole 323. When the screw 312d provided in the left guide portion 312 is in contact with the right edge portion of the portion 323c and in contact with the left edge portion of the elongated hole 333, the magnet 312c disposed in the protruding piece 312b and the magnet holding member It arrange | positions on the same straight line along the front-back direction with the magnet 324a arrange | positioned at the piece 324. FIG.

  On the stage 2 on which such a holding unit 30 is mounted, the magnet 312c provided on the protruding piece 312b, the magnet 324a provided on the magnet holding piece 324, and the lock plate member 330 constituting the lock member 33 are provided. The sensor 22 is provided at a position facing the arranged magnet 334, that is, the magnets 312c, 324a, and 334 arranged on the same straight line. The sensor 22 detects the presence / absence of the opposing magnets 312c, 324a, 334, and gives a signal to that effect to the control device 40 through the cable C3.

  The control device 40 is realized by using, for example, a personal computer, and comprehensively controls the operation of the microscope according to data and programs stored in the storage unit 41. The control device 40 is connected to an input unit 42 such as a keyboard and a mouse and an output unit 43 such as a monitor. The control device 40 is connected to the motor 11a and the sensor 22 provided on the stage 2 via cables C1 and C2, and the rotation focusing unit 11 via the control board 1a provided on the microscope body 1. The mirror cassette 13 is connected to a motor (11a) that drives the prism 7a.

  In the microscope having the configuration as described above, the specimen placed on the petri dish 100a is observed as follows. Here, the holding unit 30 is in a state shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, that is, a state in which the petri dish holding member 32 and the slide glass holding member 31 overlap with each other such that the openings 311 and 321 face each other.

  The petri dish holding member 32 holds the petri dish 100a by placing the petri dish 100a on the upper surface of the opening edge 321a so as to cover the opening 321 of the petri dish holding member 32. When the input unit 42 is operated, the control device 40 drives the motor to retract the prism from the optical path. Thereafter, the light emitted from the light source 4a of the first lamp house 4 passes through the excitation filter 5a, is reflected by the dichroic mirror 5b, passes through the alternatively selected objective lens 10, and is placed on the bottom surface of the petri dish 100a. The specimen is irradiated. The light (fluorescence) emitted from each point of the specimen passes through the objective lens 10, the dichroic mirror 5b, the absorption filter 5c, and the imaging lens 14, is reflected by the mirror 6, and passes through the relay lens 15 and the prism 7a. Observed by the lens 16.

  When observing a specimen placed on the petri dish 100a, the slide glass holding member 31, the petri dish holding member 32, and the magnets 312c, 324a, and 334 of the lock member 33 are all detected by the sensor 22 of the stage 2, and that is true. Is given to the control device 40 as a signal. As a result, the control device 40 moves and rotates the stage 2 with the stroke amount stored in advance in the storage unit 41, that is, with the stroke amount regulated to the extent that does not hinder the observation of the sample placed on the petri dish 100a. The revolver holding base 9 by the part 11 can be moved.

  Next, a case where the specimen placed on the slide glass 100b is observed with a microscope will be described. The knob 331 of the lock member 33 is operated by the spectroscope, and the lock member 33 moves to the left against the urging force of the spring. As shown in FIG. 6, when the lock member 33 moves to the left by the distance k, the magnet 334 disposed on the lock member 33 deviates from the detection range (upper region) of the sensor 22. As a result, the sensor 22 detects the movement of the magnet 334 disposed on the lock member 33, and that effect is given to the control device 40. The control device 40 given to that effect drives the motor 11a of the rotary focusing unit 11 in accordance with the retracted displacement amount stored in the storage unit 41, and the rotary focusing unit 11 rotates and moves by the revolver holding base 9. The objective lens 10 is displaced downward. Here, the retraction displacement amount is an amount obtained by adding the dimensional tolerance of the holding unit 30 to the distance from the lower surface of the petri dish holding member 32 (the lower surface of the petri dish holding plate member 320) to the sample placed on the petri dish 100a. is there.

  By the way, when the lock member 33 that moves toward the left by the operation of the spectroscope moves by the distance L, the engagement protrusion 332 can enter the guide hole portion 323a. It becomes possible to retreat toward. Therefore, the objective lens 10 needs to be displaced by the retraction displacement amount while the lock member 33 moves to the left by the distance Lk. Therefore, the extension length of the second restriction hole 323c of the guide hole 323a constituting the petri dish holding member 32 is an object when the lock member 33 (engagement protrusion 332) moves to the left by the distance Lk. The lens 10 is large enough to be displaced downward by the retracted displacement amount.

  After the lock member 33 that moves toward the left moves by the distance L, the petri dish holding member 32 retreats toward the back as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 when the knob 331 is operated. . Here, the retraction movement amount of the petri dish holding member 32 is defined by the extending length of the guide hole 323a. When the engagement protrusion 332 constituting the lock member 33 reaches the front end of the guide hole 323a, the lock member 33 moves to the right as a result of entering the first restriction hole 323b by the biasing force of the spring. To do. Thereby, the petri dish holding member 32 is in a state of being retracted to the outer region of the slide glass holding member 31, that is, the back side. Further, the magnet 334 constituting the lock member 33 and the magnet 312c constituting the slide glass holding member 31 are arranged on the same straight line and detected by the sensor 22 of the stage 2.

  After the petri dish holding member 32 is retreated in this manner, the slide glass holding member 31 holds the slide glass 100b by placing and supporting both ends of the slide glass 100b on the slide glass support 313. . When the input unit 42 is operated, the control device 40 drives the motor 11a to retract the prism 19 from the optical path. Thereafter, the light emitted from the light source 4a of the first lamp house 4 passes through the excitation filter 5a, is reflected by the dichroic mirror 5b, passes through the alternatively selected objective lens 10, and is placed on the bottom surface of the slide glass 100b. The irradiated specimen is irradiated. The light (fluorescence) emitted from each point of the specimen passes through the objective lens 10, the dichroic mirror 5b, the absorption filter 5c, and the imaging lens 14, is reflected by the mirror 6, and passes through the relay lens 15 and the prism 7a. Observed by the lens 16.

  When the specimen placed on the slide glass 100b is observed, only the slide glass holding member 31 and the magnets 312c and 334 of the lock member 33 are detected by the sensor 22 of the stage 2, and this is controlled as a signal. It is given to the device 40. Thereby, the control device 40 moves the stage 2 by the stroke amount stored in advance in the storage unit 41, that is, the stroke amount regulated so as not to hinder the observation of the sample placed on the slide glass 100b. The revolver holding base 9 by the quasi part 11 can be moved.

  Here, when the sensor 22 cannot detect the magnet 334 within a predetermined time after detecting the magnet 334 of the lock member 33 deviating from the detection range, that is, the movement of the magnet 334, the control device 40 It may be determined that the operation is erroneous, and the output unit 43 may output the notification to that effect.

  In the microscope according to the first embodiment of the present invention as described above, the petri dish holding member 32 constitutes the first holding member, the slide glass holding member 31 constitutes the second holding member, the guide hole 323, the screw 312d, The lock member 33 engages the first holding member and the second holding member in such a manner that the first holding member can move relative to the second holding member, and the first holding member is held by the first holding member. When observing the specimen on the specimen mounting member, the first holding member and the second holding member are placed in a state in which the openings are overlapped with each other so as to face each other, while the second holding member is held by the second holding member. When observing the specimen on the specimen mounting member, an engaging means is provided that places the first holding member in a retracted position outside the second holding member.

  By the way, when the specimen placed on the petri dish 100a is observed again, the knob 331 of the lock member 33 is operated, and the lock member 33 moves to the left against the urging force of the spring. Here, since the extending length of the first restricting hole portion 323b is substantially equal to the extending length of the second restricting hole portion 323c, the lock member 33 (engagement protrusion 332) moves through the first restricting hole portion 323b. Sometimes the objective lens 10 can be displaced downward by the amount of retraction displacement. After the lock member 33 that moves toward the left is moved by the distance L, the petri dish holding member 32 is pushed to the near side by pressing the petri dish holding member 32 by operating the knob 331. Moving. When the engagement protrusion 332 constituting the lock member 33 reaches the back end of the guide hole 323a, the lock member 33 moves to the right as a result of entering the second restriction hole 323c by the biasing force of the spring. To do. As a result, the petri dish holding member 32 overlaps the slide glass holding member 31. Then, the specimen placed on the petri dish 100a can be observed by placing the petri dish 100a on the upper surface of the opening edge 321a so as to cover the opening 321 of the petri dish holding member 32.

  As described above, according to the microscope in the first embodiment of the present invention, the petri dish holding member 32 holds the petri dish 100a when the petri dish 100a is placed on the upper surface of the opening edge 321a so as to cover the opening 321. The slide glass holding member 31 holds the slide glass 100b when the slide glass 100b is supported by the slide glass support portion 313 attached so as to face the opening 321, and the petri dish holding member 32 holds the slide glass holding member 31. When the specimen of the petri dish 100a is to be observed in such a manner that the petri dish holding member 32 is observed in a manner that is relatively movable with respect to the petri dish 100a, the petri dish holding member 32 and the slide glass holding member 31 and the respective openings 311 321 is overlapped in an opposing manner, and the specimen of the slide glass 100b is viewed. Since the petri dish holding member 32 is retracted and moved to the inner side of the slide glass holding member 31, the opening 321 of the petri dish holding member 32 is covered when the specimen of the petri dish 100a is observed. In this aspect, it is only necessary to place the petri dish 100a on the upper surface of the opening edge 321a, and there is no possibility that the petri dish 100a will fall down. When observing the specimen of the slide glass 100b, the petri dish holding member 32 may be retracted to hold the slide glass 100b on the slide glass holding member 31, and this holding is performed by supporting both ends of the slide glass 100b with the slide glass. Since the opening 311 of the slide glass holding member 31 has a larger area than the opening 321 of the petri dish holding member 32, the entire area of the slide glass 100b is observed. Is possible. Therefore, it is possible to stably and easily hold specimen mounting members having various shapes, such as the petri dish 100a and the slide glass 100b, and to favorably observe the specimen placed on the specimen mounting member. it can.

  According to the microscope, the first restriction hole 323b and the second restriction hole 323c of the guide hole 323 constituting the petri dish holding member 32 have substantially the same extension length, and the extension length is the lock length. Since the member 33 (engagement protrusion 332) has a sufficient size to be able to displace the objective lens 10 downward by the retraction displacement amount when moving through the hole, the petri dish holding member 32. When these are moved with respect to the slide glass holding member 31, they do not collide with the objective lens 10, and there is no possibility of causing damage to the device.

  In addition, according to the microscope, the positional relationship between the petri dish holding member 32 and the slide glass holding member 31 can be recognized by the number of magnets 312c, 324a, and 334 detected by the sensor 22, so that the specimen placed on the petri dish 100a When observing the sample and observing the specimen placed on the slide glass 100b, it is only necessary to drive the driving part by a necessary and sufficient amount, and thus a safe apparatus can be provided to the spectroscope. .

  The preferred embodiment 1 of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the guide hole 326 constituting the petri dish holding member 32 ′ includes a guide hole portion 326 a formed in a mode in which the longitudinal direction is the longitudinal direction, and a front side end portion of the guide hole portion 326 a. A first restriction hole 326b that extends obliquely toward the right front side, and a second restriction hole 326c that extends obliquely from the back end of the guide hole 326a toward the right rear side. You may have. Here, the extending length of the guide hole 326a defines the amount of movement of the petri dish holding member 32 ', and is determined in advance from the viewpoint of securing a necessary and sufficient amount of movement. The extension length of the first restriction hole 326b and the extension length of the second restriction hole 326c are substantially equal. When the petri dish holding member 32 'having such a guide hole 326 is applied, the edge of the first restriction hole 326b and the edge of the second restriction hole 326c act as cams, and the lock member 33 is attached with a spring. Even if it is not moved to the left against the force, the petri dish holding member 32 can be retracted only by operating the knob 331 and pressing the petri dish holding member 32 toward the back side. On the other hand, when the petri dish holding member 32 is in the retracted state, the petri dish holding member 32 can be moved by simply operating the knob 331 and pressing the petri dish holding member 32 forward. The glass holding member 31 can be overlapped. Even with such a configuration, the same operational effects as those of the microscope of the first embodiment described above can be obtained.

  In the first embodiment described above, the position of the petri dish holding member 32 and the petri dish holding are determined based on the detection patterns of the magnets 312c, 324a, and 334 provided on the slide glass holding member 31, the petri dish holding member 32, and the lock member 33, respectively. In the present invention, the three magnets 312c, 324a, and 334 are not necessarily required, but the position of the petri dish holding member is determined by the detection pattern of the two magnets. In addition, the presence or absence of the movement start of the petri dish holding member may be detected.

<Embodiment 2>
10 and 11 are enlarged views of the holding unit constituting the microscope according to the second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 10 is a plan view, and FIG. 11 is a GG in FIG. It is line sectional drawing. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to what has the structure similar to Embodiment 1 mentioned above, and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The holding unit 50 exemplified here includes a slide glass holding member 51 and a petri dish holding member 52.

  The slide glass holding member 51 is configured by providing an opening 321, a guide portion 312, a slide glass support portion 313, a motor 514, and a sensor 515 on a base 310. That is, the slide glass holding member 31, the motor 514, and the sensor 515 in the first embodiment described above are provided. The motor 514 is a forward and reverse rotating one disposed on the upper surface on the back side of the right guide portion 312. The motor 514 is driven when a command is given from the control device 40 described later, and rotates the gear 514a to be connected in the forward direction or the reverse direction.

  The sensor 515 is disposed on the upper surface of the rear end portion of the left guide portion 312. The sensor 515 detects magnets 522, 523, and 524 that constitute a petri dish holding member 52 described later, and gives the fact to the control device 40 as a detection signal.

  The petri dish holding member 52 is configured by providing, for example, a plate-shaped petri dish holding plate member 320 with an opening 321, a guide part 312, a rack part 521, and magnets 522, 523, and 524. The rack portion 521 has a long shape and is arranged in such a manner that the longitudinal direction is the longitudinal direction at the right end portion of the petri dish holding plate member 320. The rack portion 521 meshes with a gear 514 a of a motor 514 that constitutes the slide glass holding member 51.

  A plurality (three in the illustrated example) of magnets 522, 523, and 524 are provided, and two front side magnets 522 and 523 are provided side by side on the front side in the left region of the petri dish holding plate member 320, One back side magnet 524 is provided on the back side of the left side region. These magnets 522, 523, and 524 can be opposed to the sensor 515 that constitutes the slide glass holding member 51 when the petri dish holding member 52 moves.

  FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a control system of a microscope according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and shows only characteristic components. The microscope includes an encoder 45 and a control device 40.

  The encoder 45 detects the position of the revolver holding base 9. The encoder 45 is configured so that the revolver holding base 9 has a predetermined retraction displacement amount, that is, a distance from the lower surface of the petri dish holding member 52 (the lower surface of the petri dish holding plate member 320) to the sample placed on the petri dish 100a. When the objective lens 10 is displaced by an amount corresponding to the retraction displacement amount, the control device 40 is given a signal to that effect.

  The control device 40 includes a movement control unit 46 as a characteristic feature of the second embodiment. The movement control unit 46 performs a movement control process described later, and includes an input processing unit 461, a first motor drive processing unit 462, and a second motor drive processing unit 463. The input processing unit 461 is for input processing of various signals given from the sensor 515, the encoder 45, or the input unit 42. The first motor drive processing unit 462 drives the motor 11 a built in the rotation focusing unit 11. The second motor drive processing unit 463 drives the motor 514 constituting the slide glass holding member 51 in the forward direction or the reverse direction.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the movement control process performed by the movement control unit constituting the control device. By explaining the movement control process, the operation of the holding unit 50 in which the petri dish holding member 52 is displaced relative to the slide glass holding member 51 will be described.

  When the input unit 42 is operated by the spectroscope to input a switching command for the sample placement member 100 through the input processing unit 461 (step S101: Yes), more specifically, the sample placement displayed on the monitor or the like. When a switching command is given by touching the mounting member replacement button, the movement control unit 46 drives the motor 11 a built in the rotation focusing unit 11 through the first motor drive processing unit 462 to revolver holding base. 9 is displaced downward (step S102), and then a response from the encoder 45 is awaited.

  When the signal indicating that the revolver holding base 9 is displaced by the amount of retraction displacement is input from the encoder 45 through the input processing unit 461 (step S103: Yes), the movement control unit 46 receives the sensor 515 through the input processing unit 461. It is determined whether or not the back magnet 524 is detected. And when the sensor 515 is detecting the back side magnet 524 (step S104: Yes), ie, when the petri dish holding member 52 has overlapped with the slide glass holding member 51 as shown in FIG.10 and FIG.11, The movement control unit 46 rotates the motor 514 in the forward direction through the second motor drive processing unit 463 (step S105). When the motor 514 rotates in the forward direction, the rack portion 521 engaged through the gear 514a is moved in the rear side direction, that is, the petri dish holding member 52 is retracted toward the back side.

  When the sensor 515 detects the near-side magnets 522 and 523 through the input processing unit 461 (step S106: Yes), the movement control unit 46 stops driving the motor 514 through the second motor drive processing unit 463 (step S106). Then, the procedure is returned to end the current process.

  According to this, as shown in FIG. 14, the petri dish holding member 52 can be retracted by a predetermined amount of movement.

  On the other hand, when the sensor 515 has not detected the back side magnet 524 and has detected the near side magnets 522 and 523 in step S104 (step S104: No), that is, the petri dish holding member as shown in FIG. When 52 is in a state of being retracted from the slide glass holding member 51, the movement control unit 46 rotates the motor 514 in the reverse direction through the second motor drive processing unit 463 (step S108). When the motor 514 rotates in the reverse direction, the rack portion 521 that meshes with the gear 514a is moved in the front direction, that is, the petri dish holding member 52 is retreated toward the front side.

  When the sensor 515 detects the back magnet 524 through the input processing unit 461 (step S109: Yes), the movement control unit 46 stops driving the motor 514 through the second motor drive processing unit 463 (step S107). Thereafter, the procedure is returned to end the current process.

  According to this, the petri dish holding member 52 can be made to overlap the slide glass holding member 51 as shown in FIGS.

  In the microscope according to the second embodiment as described above, the petri dish holding member 52 constitutes the first holding member, the slide glass holding member 51 constitutes the second holding member, the motor 514, the gear 514a, the rack. Part 521 engages the first holding member and the second holding member in such a manner that the first holding member can move relative to the second holding member, and the first specimen held by the first holding member When observing the sample of the mounting member, the first holding member and the second holding member are placed in a state where the openings are overlapped with each other so that the openings face each other, while the second sample held by the second holding member When observing the sample of the mounting member, an engaging means is provided to move the first holding member to the outer region of the second holding member, and the sensor 515 and the magnets 522, 523, and 524 are configured. The first holding member is opposite to the second holding member Detecting means for detecting whether or not they are in a retracted state or in an overlapping state, and when the control device 40 is given a switching command and is detected to be in a retracted state by the detecting means, While the first holding member is moved until it overlaps the second holding member, the first holding member is retracted when a switching command is given and it is detected by the detecting means that it is overlapped. The control means to make is comprised.

  According to the microscope according to the second embodiment of the present invention as described above, the following effects are obtained in addition to the effects exhibited by the microscope according to the first embodiment described above. That is, since the petri dish holding member 52 is automatically moved by the control device 40, the spectroscope may give a switching command through the input unit 42 and place the petri dish 100a or the slide glass 100b. Is not complicated.

<Embodiment 3>
15 to 17 are enlarged views of the holding unit constituting the microscope according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 15 is a plan view, and FIG. FIG. 17 is a sectional view taken along line B, and FIG. 17 is a sectional view taken along line B′-B ′ of FIG. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to what has the structure similar to Embodiment 1 mentioned above, and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The holding unit 60 exemplified here includes a slide glass holding member 61, a petri dish holding member 62, and a switching member 63.

  The slide glass holding member 61 is configured by providing an opening 311, a guide portion 612, and a slide glass support portion 313 on a base 310. The guide portion 612 is formed so as to protrude upward so as to surround the opening 311, and a hollow portion 612 a that allows the petri dish holding member 62 to enter is provided between the guide portion 612 and the base 310.

  The petri dish holding member 62 is configured, for example, by providing a plate-like petri dish holding plate member 320 with an opening 321, a knob 622, and a protrusion 623. The knob 622 protrudes from the upper surface of the front end portion of the petri dish holding plate member 320 in a pair of left and right sides, and has a size sufficient for the spectrographer to grasp. The protruding portion 623 is provided in a manner protruding downward at a portion corresponding to the protruding portion of the knob 622 on the lower surface of the petri dish holding plate member 320. The protruding height of the protrusion 623 has a size corresponding to the above-described retracted displacement amount. Further, as illustrated in FIGS. 15 to 17, when the petri dish holding member 62 is overlapped with the slide glass holding member 61, the protrusion 623 is formed on the base 310 constituting the slide glass holding member 61. It is inserted into the hole 610a.

  A plurality of switching members 63 (two in the illustrated example) are provided, and are provided on both sides of the petri dish holding member 62. The switching member 63 has a wedge shape in which an end portion 631 facing the petri dish holding member 62 has an upper surface gradually inclined downward. The switching member 63 is formed with a plurality of long holes 632 whose longitudinal direction is the longitudinal direction, and pins 610 b formed on the base 310 are inserted into the long holes 632.

  In the holding unit 60 having such a configuration, when the specimen placed on the petri dish 100a is to be observed, the opening is formed so as to cover the opening 321 of the petri dish holding member 62 that is overlapped with the slide glass holding member 61. The petri dish 100a may be placed on the upper surface of the edge 321a.

  When the specimen placed on the slide glass 100b is observed instead of the petri dish 100a, the petri dish holding member 62 that is in a state of being overlapped with the slide glass holding member 61 may be retreated as follows. . That is, when the switching member 63 is slid toward the petri dish holding member 62, the petri dish holding member 62 is moved upward by the wedge-shaped end portion 631 of the switching member 63. Here, the sliding movement of the switching member 63 is restricted only by the length of the long hole 632 in the left-right direction by inserting the pin 610 b into the long hole 632.

  Thus, when the petri dish holding member 62 moves upward, the protrusion 623 is detached from the hole 610a. When the protrusion 623 is detached from the hole 610a, the petri dish holding member 62 has moved upward by an amount corresponding to the above-described retraction displacement amount.

  Then, when the knob 622 is operated, the petri dish holding member 62 is retracted toward the back side and is in a state as shown in FIG. In the retreat movement of the petri dish holding member 62, the projection 623 is brought into sliding contact with the upper surface of the base 310, so that the height level is held. Therefore, it is possible to avoid contact between the petri dish holding member 62 and the objective lens 10 which are moved without the objective lens 10 being displaced downward by the retraction displacement amount.

  After the petri dish holding member 62 is retracted, both ends of the slide glass 100b are placed and supported on the slide glass support 313, whereby the slide glass holding member 61 holds the slide glass 100b. Then, the specimen placed on the slide glass 100b can be observed by the procedure described above.

  Thereafter, when observing the specimen placed on the petri dish 100a, the petri dish holding member 62 may be moved to the near side and the protrusion 623 may enter the hole 610a.

  As described above, according to the microscope in the third embodiment of the present invention, the petri dish holding member 62 holds the petri dish 100a when the petri dish 100a is placed on the upper surface of the opening edge 321a so as to cover the opening 321. The slide glass holding member 61 holds the slide glass 100b when the slide glass 100b is supported by the slide glass support portion 313 provided so as to face the opening 311, and the petri dish holding member 62 holds the slide glass holding member 61. When the specimen of the petri dish 100a is observed in a manner that allows the specimen to be moved relative to the slide glass holding member 61, the petri dish holding member 62 and the slide glass holding member 61 and the respective apertures 311 and 311, respectively. 321 is overlapped in an opposing manner, and the specimen of the slide glass 100b is viewed. Since the petri dish holding member 62 is retreated to the back side area of the slide glass holding member 61, the opening 321 of the petri dish holding member 62 is covered when the specimen of the petri dish 100a is observed. In this aspect, it is only necessary to place the petri dish 100a on the upper surface of the opening edge 321a, and there is no possibility that the petri dish 100a will fall down. When the specimen of the slide glass 100b is observed, the petri dish holding member 62 may be retracted to hold the slide glass 100b on the slide glass holding member 61. This holding is performed by supporting both ends of the slide glass 100b with the slide glass. Since the opening 311 of the slide glass holding member 61 has a larger area than the opening 321 of the petri dish holding member 62, the entire area of the slide glass 100b is observed. Is possible. Therefore, it is possible to stably and easily hold specimen mounting members having various shapes, such as the petri dish 100a and the slide glass 100b, and to favorably observe the specimen placed on the specimen mounting member. it can.

  As mentioned above, although Embodiment 1-3 of this invention was demonstrated, this invention is not limited to these, A various change can be performed. For example, a well plate may be placed instead of the petri dish 100a. In addition, an autofocus unit may be added to the microscope for efficient observation.

It is the schematic which showed the microscope which is Embodiment 1 of this invention from the front. It is a connection diagram which shows the control system of the microscope which is Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a top view which expands and shows the holding | maintenance unit mounted in the stage shown in FIG. FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view taken along line CD and a cross-sectional view taken along line EF in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a side view of the holding unit shown in FIG. 3. It is an enlarged plan view which expands and shows the principal part of the holding unit shown in FIG. It is a top view which expands and shows the holding | maintenance unit shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is a side view of the holding unit shown in FIG. 7. It is explanatory drawing which shows the principal part of the modification of the holding | maintenance unit shown in FIG. It is a top view which expands and shows the holding | maintenance unit which comprises the microscope in Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is the GG sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the control system of the microscope which is Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the processing content of the movement control process which the movement control part which comprises a control apparatus implements. It is a top view which expands and shows the holding | maintenance unit which comprises the microscope in Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a top view which expands and shows the holding unit which comprises the microscope which is Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is the BB sectional drawing of FIG. FIG. 16 is a sectional view taken along line B′-B ′ in FIG. 15. It is a top view which expands and shows the holding unit which comprises the microscope which is Embodiment 3 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Microscope main body 2 Stage 22 Sensor 30 Holding unit 31 Slide glass holding member 310 Base 311 Opening 312 Guide part 313 Slide glass support part 32 Petri dish holding member 320 Petri dish holding plate member 321 Opening 321a Opening edge part 322 Knob 323 Guide hole 325 Guide part 33 Locking part 330 Locking plate member 331 Knob 332 Engaging projection 333 Long hole 334 Magnet 40 Controller 41 Storage part 42 Input part 43 Output part 100a Petri dish 100b Slide glass

Claims (4)

A holding unit for individually holding a first sample placing member on which a sample is placed on a circular bottom surface and a second sample placing member on which a sample is placed on a rectangular bottom surface;
In a microscope having an objective lens for observing the specimen,
The holding unit is
When the first specimen placement member is placed on the upper surface of the opening edge in a manner covering the formed circular opening, the first specimen placement member is held on the optical axis of the objective lens A first holding member that enables observation of a specimen placed on the first specimen placing member;
An optical axis of the objective lens, which has a rectangular opening and holds the second sample mounting member when the second sample mounting member is supported by the attached support member so as to face the opening. A second holding member that enables observation of the specimen placed on the second specimen placing member above;
An engagement means for engaging the first holding member and the second holding member in a mode in which the first holding member is movable relative to the second holding member;
When the engaging means observes the specimen of the first specimen mounting member held by the first holding member, the first holding member and the second holding member are opposed to each other. On the other hand, when the specimen of the second specimen mounting member held by the second holding member is to be observed while being overlapped with each other, the first holding member is placed outside the second holding member. A microscope characterized by being in a retreated state. A displacement mechanism for displacing the objective lens in a manner of approaching and separating from the first sample mounting member or the second sample mounting member held by the holding unit;
2. The microscope according to claim 1, wherein the engaging unit restricts relative movement of the first holding member until the displacement mechanism displaces the objective lens by a predetermined amount of displacement. 3. Detecting means for detecting whether the first holding member is retracted or overlapped with respect to the second holding member;
When a switching command is given and it is detected by the detecting means that the state is retracted, the first holding member is moved until it overlaps the second holding member. 2. The microscope according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that retracts and moves the first holding member when it is detected that the first holding member is overlapped by the detection unit. A displacement mechanism for displacing the objective lens in a manner of approaching and separating from the first sample mounting member or the second sample mounting member held by the holding unit;
The control means restricts relative movement of the first holding member until the displacement mechanism displaces the objective lens by a predetermined displacement amount even when a switching command is given. The microscope according to claim 3.

Images