JP2011017940A - Ring, microscope, object information detection unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ring configured for allowing a user to easily obtain information about an objective lens to be used for observation of a specimen, and to provide a microscope and an object information detection unit.SOLUTION: The ring 1 displays: a color code representing a magnification of an objective lens 3; and characters representing information about the objective lens 3, such as magnification and NA (Numerical Aperture). The ring 1 is detachable from the objective lens 3.

Description

  The present invention relates to a ring, a microscope, and an objective information detection unit.

  In conventional microscopes, the objective lens is attached to the revolver so that the spectrographer can visually confirm the color bars and characters that represent information such as magnification and NA displayed on the objective lens used to observe the sample. One in which a reflecting member for projecting an image is provided in a microscope has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-307683

  The conventional microscope has a problem that it is difficult to see the color bars and characters displayed on the objective lens used for observing the sample, and it is difficult to confirm information on the objective lens such as magnification and NA.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a ring, a microscope, and an objective information detection unit capable of easily confirming information relating to an objective lens used for observation of a sample.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the ring according to the present invention displays at least one of a color code representing the magnification of the objective lens and characters representing information on the objective lens, and is attachable to and detachable from the objective lens. Features.

  The microscope according to the present invention has at least one objective lens to which the ring is attached.

  Further, the objective information detection unit according to the present invention includes the ring having a storage unit that stores information about the objective lens, and a reading unit that is detachable from a microscope and has a reading unit for reading the information from the storage unit. It is characterized by including.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a ring, a microscope, and an objective information detection unit capable of easily confirming information relating to an objective lens used for observing a sample.

It is a front view which shows the inverted microscope which has an objective lens equipped with the ring which concerns on 1st Embodiment. (A) is a figure which shows the ring which concerns on 1st Embodiment, (b) is an enlarged view of the ring shown to (a). It is a side view which shows the other inverted microscope which has an objective lens equipped with the ring which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a side view which shows the inverted microscope which has an objective lens equipped with the ring which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion surrounded by a two-dot chain line circle in FIG. 4.

  Hereinafter, a ring, a microscope, and an objective information detection unit according to an embodiment of the present application will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
First, the overall configuration of an inverted microscope 5 having an objective lens 3 equipped with the ring 1 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The microscope having the objective lens 3 to which the ring 1 of the first embodiment is attached is not limited to the epi-illumination inverted microscope 5 described below, but an epi-illumination inverted microscope of another form, A transmission illumination type inverted microscope, an upright microscope, or the like may be used as in an inverted microscope 31 described later. The same applies to a microscope having an objective lens 59 equipped with a ring 57 according to a second embodiment to be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a stage 9 for placing a sample (sample) S is fixed to a main body 7 of an inverted microscope 5, and a revolver 11, a lens barrel 13, and the like are attached. An objective lens 3 is attached to the revolver 11, and an eyepiece lens 15 is attached to the lens barrel 13. Although a plurality of objective lenses 3 can be attached to the revolver 11, FIG. 1 shows a state in which only one objective lens 3 is attached.

  A lamp house (not shown) is attached to the back surface of the inverted microscope 5. Illumination light from the lamp house is reflected upward by the half mirror 17 through an aperture stop, a field stop (not shown), and the like, and is applied to the sample S via the objective lens 3 positioned on the optical axis L extending in the vertical direction. The Observation light from the sample S is taken in by the objective lens 3, is reflected by the mirror 19 and the mirror 21, and enters the lens barrel 13. The spectroscope can observe the image of the sample S with the eyepiece 15.

  Focusing on the sample S is performed by moving the revolver 11 up and down by operating the coarse movement handle 23 and the fine movement handles 25 and 27. The spectroscope operates the coarse movement handle 23 and the fine movement handle 25 with the left hand, and operates the fine movement handle 27 with the right hand. The rotation axes of the coarse movement handle 23 and the fine movement handles 25 and 27 are the same, and constitute a uniaxial coarse / fine movement handle. Reference numeral 29 denotes an XY handle for moving the sample S on the stage 9 in the XY direction.

  The ring 1 of 1st Embodiment is demonstrated with reference to FIG.1 and FIG.2.

  In the inverted microscope 5, the objective lens 3 is equipped with the ring 1 of the first embodiment. As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 2 (b), the ring 1 is displayed with characters representing information on the objective lens 3 such as magnification and NA (numerical aperture) on the outer peripheral surface, and can be attached to and detached from the objective lens 3. It has become. The ring 1 has a color corresponding to the magnification of the objective lens 3 to which the ring 1 is attached. This color is a so-called color code, and is determined by ISO (International Organization for Standardization) to be yellow for 10 times and white for 100 times, for example. Note that the entire ring 1 may not be colored according to the magnification, but may be underlined according to the magnification under the character information.

  FIG. 2 illustrates the ring 1 for the objective lens 3 having a magnification of 10 times and an NA of 0.3, and the color of the ring 1 is yellow. When a plurality of objective lenses 3 are attached to the revolver 11, the corresponding rings 1 are attached to the objective lenses 3, respectively. On the outer peripheral surface of the ring 1, not only the magnification and NA but also the objective lens type, working distance, focal length, and the like can be displayed.

  The ring 1 is made of, for example, plastic that does not damage the objective lens 3. The plastic O-shaped ring 1 can be externally fitted to the objective lens 3 so as not to be loose, and can be held at an arbitrary position on the outer peripheral surface of the objective lens 3. For example, when the ring 1 is attached to the objective lens 3 of the inverted microscope 5, the ring 1 can be held at the root of the objective lens 3 (revolver 11 side) as shown in FIG. As will be described below, when the ring 1 is attached to the objective lens 3 of the inverted microscope 5, it is important to hold the ring 1 at the root of the objective lens 3, and in this case, there is some backlash. Even if it exists, there is no problem because the ring 1 does not come off from the root of the objective lens 3, and the inner diameter of the ring 1 does not have to be very precise when it is desired to reduce the cost.

  In general, with an inverted microscope, the tip of the objective lens enters the stage, so if a color bar or character is displayed on the tip of the objective lens, the spectrographer visually checks the color bar or character. It is difficult to do. According to the ring 1 of the first embodiment, since the ring 1 can be held at the base of the objective lens 3 as described above, even in the inverted microscope 5, for example, the ring is held at an easy-to-see position for the spectroscope. It is possible to easily confirm the magnification from the color code 1 and the magnification and NA from the characters.

  Further, when the ring 1 is used in an upright microscope, it can be easily visually recognized by attaching the ring 1 to the distal end side of the objective lens 3.

  Characters representing information such as magnification and NA directly printed on the objective lens 3 are upside down in the inverted microscope, but if the ring 1 of the first embodiment is used, the character is inverted even in the upright microscope. Even with a microscope, characters representing information such as magnification and NA can be viewed in the correct orientation.

  Further, since the objective lens 3 is attached to the revolver 11 with a screw, when the objective lens 3 is attached to the revolver 11, a position around the optical axis of characters representing information such as magnification and NA directly printed on the objective lens 3. There is a possibility that an error occurs in each objective lens 3 and these characters may be difficult to see for the spectroscope, but if the ring 1 of the first embodiment is used, the spectrographer rotates the ring 1. Visibility is improved because the position of a character representing information such as magnification and NA can be easily adjusted.

  The ring 1 is not limited to the O shape, and may be a C shape in which a part of the circumference is notched. If the ring 1 is elastic in the shape of C, the ring (elastic body) 1 can be reliably held at an arbitrary position on the outer peripheral surface of the objective lens 3.

  The material of the ring 1 is not particularly limited to plastic, and can be a polymer compound or a metal. For example, the ring 1 may be made of rubber. When the rubber ring 1 is used, the ring (elastic body) 1 is made like a rubber band by making the inner diameter of the ring 1 smaller than the outer diameter of the objective lens 3 before being fitted to the objective lens 3. Can be reliably held at an arbitrary position on the outer peripheral surface of the objective lens 3. If the rubber ring 1 is used, the cost can be reduced.

  Further, if the ring 1 is made of a luminous material such as a luminous resin, even if the inverted microscope 5 is used in a dark room, the spectroscope can easily visually recognize objective information such as magnification and NA. Can do.

  The ring 1 may be made of metal. When the metal ring 1 is used, it is desirable to provide a screw as a clamp mechanism on the ring 1 so that no play occurs when the objective ring 3 is mounted. The screw is a clamp screw or the like in which a female screw is formed on the ring 1 and a male screw is screwed onto the female screw. By tightening the male screw, the ring 1 can be reliably fixed to an arbitrary position on the outer peripheral surface of the objective lens 3. In addition, you may make it prevent reliably that the objective lens 3 is damaged by making resin adhere to the front-end | tip of the external thread extended in the radial direction of the ring 1. FIG.

  Further, the ring 1 is not limited to the shape shown in FIG. For example, instead of displaying characters representing objective information such as magnification and NA on the outer peripheral surface of the ring 1, a flat portion is provided on the outer periphery of the ring 1, and characters representing objective information are displayed on the surface of the flat portion. Also good. For example, the flat portion may be configured by attaching a rectangular plate to the outer periphery of the ring 1 by a method such as fitting of a projection and a hole formed on the outer periphery of the plate and the ring 1 or bonding of a magic tape. it can. Of course, the ring 1 may be formed into a shape in which the flat surface portion is continuous with the outer periphery of the annular portion (the portion corresponding to the ring 1 described above). What is necessary is just to display the color code according to the magnification of the objective lens 3 as an underline of the whole color or character information on a plane part. Of course, the entire ring 1 may be colored according to the magnification. Thus, if it is set as the structure which has a plane part, compared with the structure by which the character showing objective information is displayed along the periphery, the visibility of the spectroscope will improve.

  Further, for example, for an immersion objective lens such as a water immersion objective lens or an oil immersion objective lens, the ring 1 is slightly thickened to form a groove inside the upper surface, and the groove hangs down from the tip of the immersion objective lens. A liquid receiving part that receives liquid (immersion) can also be configured. By providing the liquid receiving portion in the ring 1, it is possible to prevent the liquid dripping from the tip of the immersion objective lens from adversely affecting the inverted microscope 5, for example.

  Next, the overall configuration of another inverted microscope 31 having the objective lens 3 equipped with the ring 1 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a stage 35 for mounting a sample (not shown) is fixed to a main body 33 of a transmission illumination type inverted microscope 31, and a revolver 37, a lens barrel 39, and the like are attached. . An objective lens 3 is attached to the revolver 37, and an eyepiece 41 is attached to the lens barrel 39. Although a plurality of objective lenses 3 can be attached to the revolver 37, FIG. 3 shows a state where only one objective lens 3 is attached.

  A column 43 is provided on the main body 33 of the inverted microscope 31, and a transmission illumination device 45 is provided on the column 43. The transmitted illumination device 45 includes a lamp house 47, a field lens 49, a condenser lens 51, and the like. Observation light from the sample on the stage 35 is taken in by the objective lens 3, and the spectroscope can observe the image of the sample with the eyepiece 41.

  Focusing on the sample is performed by operating the vertical movement handle 53 to move the revolver 37 up and down. Reference numeral 55 denotes an XY handle for moving the sample on the stage 35 in the XY direction.

  Even in the inverted microscope 31 having such a configuration, if the ring 1 of the first embodiment is attached to the objective lens 3, the same effects as those of the inverted microscope 5 described above can be obtained.

  As described above, according to the ring 1 of the first embodiment, for example, in the inverted microscope 5 or the inverted microscope 31, information regarding the objective lens 3 used for observing the sample can be easily confirmed.

(Second Embodiment)
First, the overall configuration of an inverted microscope 61 having an objective lens 59 equipped with the ring 57 of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a stage 65 for placing a sample (not shown) is fixed to a main body 63 of an epi-illumination inverted microscope 61, and a revolver 67, a lens barrel 69, and the like are attached. . An objective lens 59 is attached to the revolver 67, and an eyepiece 71 is attached to the lens barrel 69. Although a plurality of objective lenses 59 can be attached to the revolver 67, FIG. 4 shows a state where only one objective lens 59 is attached.

  A lamp house 73 for illuminating the sample is attached to the back surface of the inverted microscope 61. Observation light from the sample on the stage 65 is taken in by the objective lens 59, and the spectroscope can observe the image of the sample through the eyepiece lens 71.

  Focusing on the sample is performed by operating the vertical movement handle 75 to move the revolver 67 up and down. Reference numeral 77 denotes an XY handle for moving the sample on the stage 65 in the XY direction.

  A ring 57 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

  In the inverted microscope 61, the objective lens 59 is equipped with the ring 57 of the second embodiment. The ring 57 of the second embodiment is obtained by adding a storage element (storage means) 79 for storing objective information described later to the ring 1 of the first embodiment described above. As in the ring 1 of the first embodiment, the ring 57 of the second embodiment has a color code corresponding to the magnification of the objective lens 59 to which the ring 57 is attached and characters representing information about the objective lens 59 such as the magnification and NA. Is displayed (see the enlarged view of FIG. 5). Note that the material, shape, and the like of the ring 57 of the second embodiment are not particularly limited as with the ring 1 of the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the ring 57 of the second embodiment includes a storage element 79 that stores information regarding the objective lens 59. Here, the information regarding the objective lens 59 is, for example, information on the objective lens type, magnification, NA, resolution, working distance, focal length, etc., and application information for fluorescence, phase difference, differential interference, dark field, etc. Other production numbers, production dates, etc. The memory element 79 is a non-contact magnetic element using a technique such as Felica.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the main body 63 of the inverted microscope 61 is provided with an arm 81, and an object stored from a storage element 79 provided in the ring 57 is provided at the upper front end of the arm 81. A reading element (reading means) 83 for reading information is provided. The storage element 79 of the ring 57 attached to the objective lens 59 used for observing the sample and the reading element 83 of the arm (reading unit) 81 are arranged so as to face each other.

  Here, it is desirable that the ring 57 is provided with a clamp mechanism such as the clamp screw described above because the ring 57 can be securely fixed to the objective lens 59 at a position where the storage element 79 and the reading element 83 face each other. Of course, for example, a C-shaped ring 57 having elasticity as described above may be used, and the position may be finely adjusted by hand. Further, for example, a pin protruding upward may be provided in the vicinity of the objective mounting hole of the revolver 67, a notch may be provided in the ring 57, and the ring 57 may be positioned by engaging the pin and the notch.

  The objective information read by the reading element 83 is transmitted to, for example, a control unit (not shown) provided in the main body 63, and the control unit controls the inverted microscope 61 based on the objective information to adjust the observation conditions. For example, an aperture stop, a field stop, a lamp voltage, and the like (not shown) are automatically adjusted so that illumination conditions suitable for the objective lens 59 used for observation are obtained. The objective information can be displayed together with a camera image of the sample on a display device such as a display of a personal computer (not shown).

  The arm 81 having the reading element 83 may be detachable from the main body 63. For example, a magnet may be provided at the bottom of the arm 81 and the arm 81 may be attached to the iron plate portion of the main body 63. The objective information detection unit is composed of the arm 81, the ring 57 having the storage element 79, the cable connecting the arm 81 and the display device, the AC adapter for supplying power to the arm 81, and the like. Can do.

  As described above, according to the ring 57 of the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment described above, for example, in the inverted microscope 61, information regarding the objective lens 59 used for sample observation can be easily confirmed. . Further, the ring 57 of the second embodiment having the storage element 79 can hold more objective information than the ring 1 of the first embodiment. By providing the arm 81 having the reading element 83 on the inverted microscope 61 side, it becomes possible to automatically control the inverted microscope 61 based on the objective information stored in the storage element 79 and display the objective information on the display device. . If the objective information is displayed on the display device, the spectrographer can easily confirm the objective information from the display device without visually checking the ring 57.

  Note that the above-described embodiment is merely an example, and is not limited to the above-described configuration, and can be appropriately modified and changed within the scope of the present invention. For example, the storage means of the ring 57 and the reading means of the arm 81 may be, for example, a barcode and a barcode reader instead of the storage element 79 and the reading element 83. In the case of the bar code type, the manufacturing cost of the ring 57 can be suppressed.

1,57 Ring 3,59 Objective lens 5,31,61 Inverted microscope 7,33,63 Main body 9,35,65 Stage 11,37,67 Revolver 13,39,69 Lens tube 15,41,71 Eyepiece 79 Memory Element 81 Arm 83 Reading element

Claims (10)

  A ring characterized in that at least one of a color code representing the magnification of the objective lens and a character representing information relating to the objective lens is displayed and is detachable from the objective lens.   The ring according to claim 1, wherein the ring is a C-shaped elastic body with a part of the circumference cut away.   The ring according to claim 1, wherein the ring has a screw for holding the ring at an arbitrary position on the outer peripheral surface of the objective lens.   The ring according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the ring has a plane portion on which at least one of the color code and the character is displayed.   The ring according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the ring has a liquid receiving portion for an immersion objective lens.   The ring according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a material of the ring is a phosphorescent material.   The ring according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the ring has storage means for storing information relating to the objective lens.   A microscope having at least one objective lens equipped with the ring according to claim 1.   9. The microscope according to claim 8, wherein the ring has storage means for storing information relating to the objective lens, and has reading means for reading the information from the storage means. A ring according to claim 7;
An objective information detection unit comprising: a reading unit detachably attached to a microscope and having a reading unit for reading the information from the storage unit.

Images