JP2023002240A - Microscope auxiliary device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a microscope auxiliary device that can automatically guide a tip of operating means within a range of a recognition area with fewer steps to reduce operating time.SOLUTION: A microscope auxiliary device performs a "scan start position moving step" of moving operating means in a direction including components in an optical axis direction, and a "scanning step" of moving the operating means on a locus having at least part of a locus not parallel to the direction of movement in the scan start position moving step, thereby forming an image of part of the operating means to the extent that the image can be recognized in a microscopic field.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention is intended for performing mechanical operations such as injection, sorting, cutting, and movement on objects such as minute cells and semiconductor elements (hereinafter simply referred to as objects) while observing them. It relates to a microscope auxiliary device attached to a microscope for use.

In the field of life science and microfabrication, many operations are performed using a microscope. Examples include operations such as sorting cells, measuring the potential of a minute portion with a probe, mechanically inserting a substance into cells from the outside, and picking up contaminants mixed in a semiconductor device. A typical example is microinsemination, in which sperm is mechanically injected from the outside into an egg as a means of infertility treatment.

A microscope auxiliary device including a movable portion of the operating means is attached to the microscope in order to move the operating means such as a pipette, probe, tweezers, etc. (hereinafter referred to simply as the operating means) for mechanically manipulating an object in three-dimensional directions. Installed and used. This microscope auxiliary device is generally called a "micromanipulator" or simply a "manipulator".

The operating means movable portion of the microscope auxiliary device is configured by combining actuators so that the attached operating means can be moved in three-dimensional directions. The three-dimensional direction is the so-called XYZ three-dimensional direction, which is a combination of the optical axis direction for focus adjustment and the movement in the plane direction orthogonal to the optical axis direction.

Patent Literature 1 discloses an example of controlling a micromanipulator based on image information acquired by an imaging means. Non-Patent Document 1 discloses cell manipulation using a micromanipulator.

JP 2008-233545 A

Yasuhisa Araki, "Technical Textbook for Assisted Reproductive Medicine", Ishiyaku Publishing Co., Ltd.

However, the objective lens for observing minute objects has a high magnification and a narrow field of view and a narrow depth of focus. Note that the depth of focus refers to the range in which an object appears to be in focus.

Outside the depth of focus, there is an out-of-focus range in which the subject can be recognized, and further outside the range, the subject cannot be recognized at all. In the following, we will define the range outside of the normal "depth of focus", which is the range that appears to be in focus, as the "perceived depth", which is the range that the subject can recognize even though it is out of focus. XY direction) is defined as a "recognition area". Regarding the definition of XYZ, as shown in each figure, Z is the optical axis direction of the microscope, X is the left-right direction when viewed from the front of the microscope, Y is the depth direction, and each arrow direction is the plus direction. A dot in the center of a circle means that the front side of the paper is in the positive direction, and a symbol with an X in the middle of the circle means that the back side of the paper is in the positive direction.

FIG. 16(a) is a diagram showing an image of the operation means 10 and the objective lens 400 of the microscope focused on the operation means 10 from the front direction of the microscope 100. FIG. When the object is a cell or the like, it is necessary to immerse the object in the culture solution, and it is necessary to reach the object with the tip of the operation means 10 avoiding the outer wall of the petri dish filled with the culture solution. Therefore, the operating means 10 extends in a direction forming an acute angle with respect to the optical axis direction of the microscope. In FIG. 16(a), D1 indicates the microscope visual field and D2 indicates the depth of recognition. Since the dimensions of the operating means 10, D1, and D2 are very small, they are exaggerated by ignoring the scale to make the drawing easier to see. is

FIG. 16(b) is an enlarged view of area A in FIG. 16(a), showing the operating means 10, the microscope visual field D1, and the recognition depth D2 on the same scale. To give an example of a 40× objective lens, the diameter D1 of the recognition area 16 of the microscope visual field is about 0.6 mm, and the diameter D2 is about 0.2 mm. For example, if the dimension D3 of the tip of the operation means 10 is 0.01 mm, and the distance LZ in the optical axis direction between the tip of the operation means 10 and the center of the recognition depth in the optical axis direction is 0.1 mm or more, the operation The means 10 cannot be recognized within the microscope field.

FIG. 16(c) is an enlarged view of the area A in FIG. 16(a), viewed from the optical axis direction. If the distance LXY in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis between the tip of the operating means 10 and the center of the microscope visual field D1 is 0.3 mm or more, the tip of the operating means 10 may not be recognized within the microscope visual field.

Thus, it is extremely difficult to insert the tip of the operating means 10 into the recognition area 16 which is narrow in both the viewing direction D1 and the optical axis direction D2. Therefore, usually, with a low-magnification objective lens having a wide recognition area 16, the tip of the operation means 10 is put in the center of the recognition area 16, and the magnification is increased step by step, and finally a high-magnification objective lens suitable for observation is used. The tip of the operating means 10 is guided into the recognition area 16 of . Currently, these operations are all manually performed by the operator, which takes a very long time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a microscope auxiliary device capable of shortening the operation time.

A microscope auxiliary device as one aspect of the present invention includes a movable part capable of moving an operation means for manipulating an object within a field of view of a microscope, and an image obtained from the microscope. a control means for controlling the movement of the control means, wherein the control means performs a first process of moving the operation means to a scanning start position in a direction including a component in the optical axis direction of the microscope; and a second process of moving a trajectory that has at least a part of the trajectory that is not parallel to the moving direction in the process of 1), thereby focusing a part of the operation means in the microscope field of view, and The amount of movement of the operating means in the second process is equal to or larger than the maximum width of the recognition area of the microscope in the moving direction of the operating means in the first process.

Other objects and features of the invention are illustrated in the following examples.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a microscope auxiliary device capable of shortening the operation time.

1 is an overall view of a microscope and microscope auxiliary equipment; FIG. 4A and 4B are a partial external view and a partial cross-sectional view of the operation means 10R; FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an error region of a pipette tip 11e; 4 is a schematic diagram showing how the image of the pipette 11 appears in the recognition area 16. FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram when the pipette 11 is at the initial position; It is a schematic diagram at the time of completion|finish of the scanning start position movement process of the 1st time. It is a schematic diagram of a state in which the pipette 11 has been guided to the recognition area 16 in the first scanning process. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a pipette bending portion 11d is guided to a recognition area 16; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a state in which a pipette tip 11e is guided to a recognition area 16; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram when the pipette 11 is at the initial position; It is a schematic diagram at the time of completion|finish of the scanning start position movement process of the 1st time. It is a schematic diagram at the time of completion|finish of the scanning start position movement process of the 2nd time. It is a schematic diagram of a state in which the pipette 11 has been guided to the recognition area 16 in the second scanning process. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of a scanning start position movement process and a scanning process. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example in which a scanning process and a scanning start position moving process are combined; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a problem; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a problem; It is a figure for demonstrating the scanning start position movement process. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which the mounting position is shifted in the −X direction, −Y direction, and −Z direction with respect to the center of variation; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a position where a scanning start position moving step has ended; Figure 21 shows the position where the scanning process of Figure 20 has ended; Figure 22 shows the position where the scanning process of Figure 21 has ended; Figure 23 shows the position where the scanning process of Figure 22 has ended; FIG. 10 is a view showing work for attaching the pipette 11 to the operating means 10L and 10R. It is a figure which showed the dimension relationship of the optical axis direction of the pipette 11, an objective lens, and a recognition area. It is a figure which shows the example which added the advance-and-retreat member 30 to the operating means 10L and 10R.

First, part of the work for inserting the tip of the operating means 10 into the recognition area 16, which is narrow in both the visual field direction D1 and the optical axis direction D2, described with reference to FIGS. Consider when to do so. FIG. 17 is a diagram for automatically guiding the operation means 10 to the recognition area 16 in a system in which the operation means entry prohibition area PH (a stage, an object to be observed in a microscope, an objective lens, etc.) exists on the objective lens side of the recognition area 16. It is a figure which shows the procedure of. It is assumed that the operating means 10 is controlled by control means (not shown). Considering that the shape of the operation means 10 has a predetermined error, the control means is located at a positive position in the Z direction relative to the recognition area 16 (on the opposite side of the recognition area 16 from the operation means entry prohibition area PH). , scanning is performed in the XY directions, and it is determined whether or not the operating means 10 has been guided to the recognition area 16 . A process of moving the operating means 10 in the XY directions and determining whether or not the recognition area 16 has been reached is defined as a scanning process. When it is determined that the operating means 10 has been guided to the recognition area 16 by the scanning process, the scanning process is stopped. If the scanning process fails to guide the operating means 10 to the recognition area 16, the control means determines that the operating means 10 is not within the range of the recognition depth 16 in the Z direction, and moves P in the Z-minus direction. Thus, the process of moving from the end position of the previous scanning process to the start position of the next scanning process is defined as the scanning start position moving process. After the scanning start position moving process is completed, the scanning process is performed again in the XY directions. At this time, if P is greater than the recognition depth D2, there is a possibility that the recognition depth D2 may be exceeded by the scanning start position moving process, so P is set to a value within the recognition depth D2. Then, for example, in the field of view of an inverted microscope with a 40x objective lens, the recognition depth D2 is about 0.2 mm. It is conceivable to put away. As a result, even if the apparatus is automated so that the scanning process and the scanning start position moving process can be performed, the number of processes increases, and as a result, scanning takes time, and there is a possibility that the work time increases.

Therefore, the configuration and control process of a microscope auxiliary device for shortening the work time by automatically guiding the tip of the operating means within the narrow recognition area of the high-magnification objective lens in a small number of steps will be described below.

[Example 1]
FIG. 1 is a diagram of an inverted microscope 100 in which operating means movable portions 1L and 1R, which are examples of a microscope auxiliary device of the present invention, and a controller 2, which is control means, are attached. FIG. 1(a) is a front view including the entire microscope auxiliary device, and FIG. 1(b) is a right side view of the microscope. In both cases, some dimensions are exaggerated, some parts are omitted, and some internal parts are drawn with solid lines instead of dotted lines in order to make the drawings easier to see.

A microscope 100 illuminates an object 103 placed on a transparent observation dish 102 with an illumination optical system 101 on the top, and observes it with an observation optical system 104 on the bottom. In the observation optical system 104, an optical image transmitted through an objective lens 104a is guided to an eyepiece lens 104b via other lenses and a refractive optical system (not shown), thereby enabling observation with the naked eye. The focus can be adjusted by slightly moving the objective lens 104a in the Z direction. This minute movement is performed in conjunction with rotating the knob 105 provided on the microscope 100 . Rotational operation of the knob 105 is converted into a minute amount of movement of the objective lens 104a via a deceleration transmission mechanism (not shown). Although not shown, a plurality of objective lenses are attached so as to be switchable from low magnification to high magnification. The observation optical system is provided with spectroscopy means (not shown) and can form an optical image on imaging means 106 . The imaging means 106 may be a dedicated device, or a general digital camera may be attached via a predetermined mount adapter.

The operation means movable parts 1L and 1R, which are part of the microscope auxiliary device, are generally called “micromanipulators” and attached to the left and right sides of the microscope 100 . The operating means movable portions 1L and 1R can move the operating means 10L and 10R for operating the object 103 within the field of view of the microscope 100 in the XYZ three-dimensional directions of the microscope 100 . It may also include yaw, pitch, and roll rotational axes. In some cases, a high-speed drive mechanism for coarse movement and a high-resolution drive mechanism for fine movement are separately provided.

The controller 2, which is a part of the microscope auxiliary device and is a control means for the operation means movable parts 1L and 1R, includes a CPU 2a for overall control, a memory 2f as a storage part, and other peripherals as control elements. has a circuit. Other peripheral circuits include a drive circuit L2b and a drive circuit R2c for driving the drive mechanisms of the left and right operation means movable parts 1L and 1R, and an image processing circuit 2d for processing the image acquired by the imaging means 106. . The image processing circuit 2d can also perform image processing on the image acquired by the imaging means 106 and output it to the external display device 200 as a video. Using the controller 2 having these control elements, the microscope auxiliary device can refer to the image obtained from the microscope and control the amount of movement of the operation means movable portions 1L and 1R.

The driving circuit L2b and the driving circuit R2c have a function of controlling the movement of the left and right operation means movable portions 1L and 1R in three-dimensional directions. As a result, by moving the operating means 10L and 10R in three-dimensional directions, the tips of the operating means 10L and 10R are guided to the recognition area 16, further focused, and the tips of the operating means 10L and 10R are used to move the target. The object 103 can be freely manipulated.

The input means 20L and 20R are input means for inputting a movement direction and a movement amount in order for the operator to move the operation means 10L and 10R, and are generally called "joysticks" or the like. By displacing the upper ends of the input means 20L and 20R in the front, rear, left, and right directions, it is possible to input the amount of movement in the XY direction, and by rotating the upper end, it is possible to input the amount of movement in the Z direction. In this embodiment, the lower end is supported and the upper end is operated. However, the structure may be such that the upper end is supported and the lower end is hung so that the lower end can be operated. Configurable. The controller 2 is provided with an input reading circuit 2e for reading movement amounts in each direction inputted from the input means 20L and 20R and transmitting them to the CPU 2a.

With the above configuration, the operator can move the operating means 10L and 10R as intended by operating the input means 20L and 20R while looking through the eyepiece 104b or watching the display on the display device 200. FIG. In addition, automatic operation such as automatic movement in three-dimensional directions according to a set program is also possible.

FIG. 2(a) is an external view of the vicinity of the tip of the operating means 10R, and FIG. 2(b) is a cross-sectional enlarged view of the dotted line portion of FIG. 2(a) of the operating means 10R. The operation means 10R and 10L are assumed to have the same structure, and the operation specifications will be described below with reference to 10R. The structure is not particularly limited.

A pipette 11 is detachably attached to the tip of the operating means 10R. As shown in FIG. 2(a), the pipette 11 has a pipette straight portion 11a having a straight shape for a predetermined length from the base. There is a tapered portion 11b that gradually becomes thinner toward the tip, a pipette fine straight portion 11c of a predetermined length, a pipette bending portion 11d, and a pipette tip 11e. The pipette straight portion 11a has a hollow shape as shown in FIG. 2(b), and the hollow shape continues to the pipette tip 11e. Therefore, a fluid such as gas or liquid can pass through the pipette tip 11e from the opening at the end of the pipette straight portion 11a.

12 is a pipette fixing member. 13 is the main shaft. 14 is an elastic holding member. 15 is an inner tube. The elastic holding member 14 is made of an elastic member such as silicone rubber and formed in a tubular shape, and can hold the inner tube 15 and the pipette 11 inserted from both ends. The inner diameter of the elastic holding member 14 is smaller than the outer diameter of the pipette 11 and the outer diameter of the inner tube 15, so that the fluid can pass from the inner tube 15 to the pipette tip 11e without leakage. The main shaft 13 is hollow up to the rear end (not shown) so that an inner tube can be passed therethrough. A space for holding an elastic holding member 14 is provided at the tip of the main shaft 13, and the pipette 11 and the inner tube 15 can be held in a held state. A male thread is formed on the outer side of the main shaft 13 and a female thread is formed on the inner side of the fixing member 12, so that they can be fixed with sufficient strength. The fixing member 12 has a hole through which the pipette 11 is passed, and is configured to be able to hold the pipette 11 by fixing the elastic holding member 14 . As described above, since the pipette 11 is inserted into and held by the elastic member 14, there is an installation error. Furthermore, since the axial dimension of the pipette 11 has a large manufacturing error, the axial position of the pipette tip 11e has a large mounting error.

FIG. 3(a) is a view of the operating means 10R viewed from the Z-plus direction, and FIG. 3(b) is a view of the operating means 10R viewed from the Y-minus direction. The pipette tip 11e may deviate from the ideal position due to mounting errors between the operating means 10R and the operating means movable portion 1R, mounting errors between the operating means movable portion 1R and the microscope 100, and mechanical errors of the operating means movable portion 1R itself. occur. Furthermore, due to the above-described amount of insertion of the pipette 11 into the elastic holding member 14 and the manufacturing error of the pipette 11, a large installation error occurs in the axial direction. Therefore, even if the controller 2 of the microscope auxiliary device determines that the pipette tip 11e has been moved to the desired position (x, y, z), a predetermined error occurs and the desired position (x, y, z) cannot be obtained. is likely not to exist. Here, taking account of the error that occurs, a region where the pipette tip 11e may exist is defined as an operating means tip existing region 11f. In addition, the controller 2 stores the operation tool tip existing region 11f. In this embodiment, the operating means tip existence region 11f is formed in a cylindrical shape elongated in the axial direction, considering that the error in the amount of insertion into the elastic holding member 14 is large. The operating means tip existing region 11f may have various shapes depending on the mechanical configuration of the operating means movable portion 1R and the mechanical configuration of the operating means 10R, and the shape is not limited by this embodiment. It is necessary to assume various forms by error calculation when designing the device.

The operation of automatically guiding the tips of the operating means 10L and 10R within a short period of time within the range of the narrow recognition area of the high-magnification objective lens, which is a feature of the microscope auxiliary device, will be described below.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a method of recognizing the pipette 11 in this embodiment. As described in the first paragraph of the mode for carrying out the invention, it takes time if the amount of movement in the scanning start position movement process is made finer in order to directly guide the minute shape of the pipette tip 11e to the recognition area 16. end up Therefore, in this embodiment, the final goal is to guide the pipette tip 11e into the recognition area 16, but first, the pipette fine straight portion 11c, the pipette tapered portion 11b, or the pipette straight portion 11a is brought into the recognition area 16. Aim to guide. FIG. 4A shows a position d where the pipette 11 deviates from the recognition region 16 in the Z plus direction, a position e where the pipette 11 passes through the end of the recognition region 16 in the Z plus direction, and a position e where the pipette 11 passes through the center of the recognition region 16. Position f is indicated. FIG. 4(a) also shows a position g where the pipette 11 passes through the end of the recognition region 16 in the negative Z direction. 4A shows a position h where the pipette 11 deviates from the recognition area 16 in the negative Z direction, and a position where the pipette 11 partially passes through the recognition area 16 after moving the pipette 11 from the position h in the X direction. hh is shown. (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), and (hh) of FIG. 4(b) are schematic views of the microscope field when the pipette 11 is at positions d to hh. In FIG. 4(b)(e), the pipette 11 passes through the X-minus end of the microscope field of view 16, so the image of the pipette 11 can be recognized at the left end of the microscope field of view. In FIG. 4(b)(f), since the pipette 11 passes through the center of the microscope field 16, it is possible to recognize the image of the pipette 11 extending in the X direction near the center. In addition, since the center of the microscope field of view 16 is partially focused, the edge of the pipette 11 can be clearly observed. In FIG. 4(b)(g), the pipette 11 passes through the X plus end of the microscope field of view 16, so it is possible to recognize the image of the pipette 11 at the right end of the microscope field of view. In (h) of FIG. 4(b), the pipette 11 cannot be recognized in the microscope visual field because the pipette 11 does not pass through the recognition area 16. FIG. At this time, by executing scanning in the XY directions and moving the pipette tip 11e to a position such as hh, it becomes possible to recognize the image of the pipette 11 as shown in (hh) of FIG. 4(b). . As described above, by guiding a part of the pipette 11 to the recognition area 16, for example, even if the scanning start position moving process from the position d to the position h is clearly longer than the recognition depth D2, It becomes possible to guide the pipette 11 to the recognition area 16 . Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of scanning steps. In the present embodiment, the "scanning start position moving step" may be moved to a position h such that a portion of the pipette is at the same height as the recognition area 16 in the optical axis direction. Therefore, the movement is not necessarily limited to the direction of the optical axis. The “scanning step” in this embodiment is a step of scanning in the XY directions from the scanning start position to reach the position hh. Here, since the "scanning process" must guide a part of the pipette to the recognition area 16, it is necessary to have at least a part of the trajectory that is not parallel to the direction of the "scanning start position moving process", not limited to the XY directions. is.

If, as described in the first paragraph of the mode for carrying out the invention, the scanning start position moving process and the scanning process are repeated at a distance within the recognition depth D2, the number of processes will increase, and the work time will be increased. It takes. In the present embodiment, in the scanning start position moving step, after moving a distance equal to or larger than the maximum width of the recognition area of the microscope in the direction of the scanning start position moving step (from d to h in FIG. 4), from h to hh The scanning process is such that it moves. This makes it possible to greatly reduce the number of processes and shorten the working time.

Here, the working distance in this embodiment will be explained. Generally, the distance in the optical axis direction from the objective lens to the recognition area is called working distance. Moreover, there is a stage on which an object is placed above the objective lens, and the operating means cannot enter below the upper surface of the stage because the operating means interferes with the stage. This area is defined as an operating means intrusion prohibited area. The distance in the optical axis direction from the operating means intrusion prohibited area to the recognition area changes depending on the working distance of the objective lens and the position of the objective lens in the optical axis direction. This distance is defined as the "working distance of the stage" to distinguish it from the "working distance of the objective lens". As long as the objective lens is below the stage, the working distance of the stage is smaller than the working distance of the objective lens. The method for guiding the tip of the pipette 11 into the recognition area will be described below by dividing the case into two cases, one in which the distance in the optical axis direction of the operation means tip presence area 11f is smaller than the working distance of the stage and the other in which it is larger. .

First, with reference to FIGS. 5 to 8, a description will be given of an operation method when the distance in the optical axis direction of the region 11f where the tip of the operating means exists is smaller than the working distance of the stage. In this embodiment, the scanning process is a motion on the XY plane, and the scanning start position moving process is a linear motion, but there is no particular limitation.

FIG. 5(a) is a view of the pipette 11 and the recognition area 16 viewed from the Z-plus direction when the operating means 10R is at the initial position, and FIG. 5(b) is a view of the Y-minus direction. The pipette 11 indicated by the dotted line is the position indicated by the controller 2 where the pipette 11 would be if there were no error. A pipette 11r indicated by a solid line shows an example in which the pipette 11 exists at a position shifted due to an error within the region 11f where the tip of the operating means exists. In FIG. 5(a), the Y-direction width of the operating means tip existing region 11f is larger than the diameter D of the recognition region. Further, in FIG. 5B, the width d2 in the Z direction of the operating tool tip presence area 11f is smaller than the distance d1 between the operating tool entry prohibition area PH and the recognition area 16. In FIG. FIG. 5(c) shows the microscopic field of view at this time. Since the pipette 11r is outside the recognition area in FIG. 5(c), it cannot be confirmed in the microscope field.

FIG. 6 shows a state in which the pipette 11 has moved from the initial position shown in FIG. 5 to the position where the first scanning process is started by the first scanning start position moving process. 6(a) is a view of the pipette 11 and the recognition area 16 viewed from the Z-plus direction, and FIG. 6(b) is a view of the pipette 11 and the recognition area 16 viewed from the Y-minus direction. FIG. 6(c) shows the state of the microscope field at this time. In the first scanning start position moving step, the controller 2 moves the pipette 11 to a position where the operating means tip existence region 11f is included in the working distance d1 of the stage and the pipette 11 passes through the center of the recognition region 16 when there is no error. Instruct to move 11. However, the pipette 11r indicated by the solid line exists at a position shifted from the position instructed by the controller 2 due to an error, as explained with reference to FIG. At this time, since the pipette 11r has not passed through the recognition area 16, the pipette 11 cannot be confirmed in the microscope visual field as shown in FIG. 6(c). Therefore, the controller 2 cannot recognize the pipette 11 . In this case, the controller 2 instructs the operating means movable portion 1R to perform the first scanning process of the pipette 11. FIG. Here, in the first scanning start position moving step, if there is no error in the pipette 11, the pipette 11 is moved to a position where it passes through the center of the recognition area 16, and the first scanning movement is started from there. This is a consideration for shortening the time even a little because the existence probability of the pipette 11r existing in this vicinity is high.

The operation means movable part 1R moves the operation means 10R in the X direction and the Y direction according to the instruction from the controller 2 in a predetermined motion. Scanning is completed by moving to the center of the recognition area 16 . In either case, since the operating means tip existence region 11f does not enter the operating means entry prohibition region PH, the pipette 11r remains in the operation means entry prohibition region regardless of the position of the pipette 11r in the operation means tip existence region 11f. Does not invade PH.

FIG. 7(a) is a view of the pipette 11 and the recognition region 16 after the first scanning process is completed, viewed from the Z plus direction, FIG. 7(b) is a view of the Y minus direction, and FIG. ) is a diagram showing the microscope field of view at that time. FIG. 7(c) schematically shows an image of the pipette 11r that can be confirmed in the microscope field. In the image of the pipette 11r, near the center, the upper and lower edges are imaged at the positions indicated by the solid lines, and the sharpness is high, and the image gradually blurs in the horizontal direction. When the controller 2 determines that the image of the pipette 11 has been guided to the vicinity of the center of the recognition area 16, the scanning process is terminated. Next, the controller 2 operates the operating means movable portion 1R along the shape of the operating means, and executes the "operating means tip capturing step" of guiding the pipette tip 11e to the recognition area 16. FIG. In the operating means tip catching step, as the first operation, an instruction to move the pipette 11r in the axial direction of the pipette 11r indicated by the arrow in FIG. 7B is issued to the operating means movable portion 1R.

FIG. 8(a) shows a state in which the pipette bent portion 11d is guided to the vicinity of the center of the recognition area 16. FIG. When the pipette bending portion 11d is guided to the recognition area by the first operation, the shape of the image shown in FIG. 7(c) changes as shown in FIG. 8(c). In FIG. 8C, since the bent portion 11d of the pipette is substantially horizontal, the upper and lower edges are imaged, and the region with high sharpness extends in the horizontal direction. The controller 2 can determine that the pipette bent portion 11d has been guided to the recognition area 16 by the change in the shape of the image from that shown in FIG. 7(c). When the pipette bending portion 11d is guided to the recognition area, the controller 2 issues an instruction to the operation means movable portion 1R so that the pipette tip 11e is positioned at the center of the recognition area 16 as a second operation, and moves the operation means 10R. to guide the pipette tip 11 e to the center of the recognition area 16 .

FIG. 9 shows a state in which the pipette tip 11e is guided to the center of the recognition area 16. FIG. When the pipette tip 11e is near the center of the recognition region 16, a tip shape with high edge sharpness appears as shown in FIG. 9(c). When the controller 2 judges that the pipette 11e has been guided to the vicinity of the center of the recognition area, the controller 2 ends the operating means tip catching step. When the controller 2 recognizes that there is an image of the operation means in the recognition area, the controller 2 operates the operation means moving part along the shape of the operation means, and guides the tip of the operation means to the recognition area. .

As described above, when the width d2 in the Z direction of the operating means tip existing region 11f is smaller than the working distance d1 of the stage, the pipette tip 11a is positioned in the recognition region by one scanning start position moving step and one scanning step. It becomes possible to lead to 16. With the scanning method as described in the first paragraph of the mode for carrying out the invention, the pipette tip 11e, which could not be found without scanning d2/D1 times at maximum, can be detected by one scanning process. can be guided to the recognition area 16 by .

Next, the operation method when the distance d2 in the optical axis direction of the operating tool tip existing region 11f is greater than the working distance of the stage will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 14. FIG.

FIG. 10(a) is a view of the pipette 11 and the recognition area 16 viewed from the Z-plus direction when the pipette 11 is at the initial position, and FIG. 10(b) is a view of the pipette 11 viewed from the Y-minus direction. The pipette 11 indicated by a dotted line is the position indicated by the controller 2 . The pipette 11r indicated by the solid line is present at a position where the pipette 11 is displaced due to an error within the range of the pipette presence area 11f. In FIG. 10(a), the Y-direction width of the operating means tip existing region 11f is larger than the diameter D of the recognition region. Further, in FIG. 10B, the width d2 in the Z direction of the operating means tip existing region 11f is larger than the working distance d1 of the stage. FIG. 10(c) shows the microscopic field of view at this time. In FIG. 10(c), the controller 2 cannot recognize the pipette 11r because the pipette 11r is outside the recognition area.

FIG. 11 shows a state in which the pipette 11 has moved from the initial position shown in FIG. 10 to the position where the first scanning process is started by the first scanning start position moving process. 11(a) is a view of the pipette 11 and the recognition region 16 viewed from the Z-plus direction, and FIG. 11(b) is a view of the pipette 11 and the recognition region 16 viewed from the Y-minus direction. In the first scanning position movement process, the controller 2 controls that the operating means tip presence area 11f does not enter the operating means entry prohibition area PH in the Z direction, and the pipette 11 passes through the center of the recognition area 16 when there is no error. Instruct to move pipette 11 to position. However, the pipette 11r indicated by the solid line shows an example in which it is shifted from the position instructed by the controller 2 due to an error, similar to the case described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11(c) shows the microscope visual field at this time. At this time as well, the controller 2 cannot recognize the pipette 11 because the pipette 11r has not passed through the recognition area 16 . In this case, the controller 2 instructs the operating means movable portion 1R to perform the first scanning process of the pipette 11. FIG. Here, if there is no error in the pipette 11, the pipette 11 moves to the position where it passes through the center of the recognition area 16, and the first scanning movement starts from there. The existence probability is high, and it is a consideration to shorten the time even a little.

The operation means movable part 1R moves the pipette 11 in the X direction and the Y direction in a predetermined motion according to the instruction from the controller 2, and when it is determined that part of the pipette 11r has been guided to the recognition area 16, the part of the pipette 11r is recognized. Scanning is completed by moving to the center of area 16 . However, as shown in FIG. 11(b), when the entire pipette 11 is shifted in the Z plus direction with respect to the recognition area 16, the pipette 11 cannot be guided to the recognition area 16 even by scanning in the XY directions. can't In this way, if the pipette 11 cannot be guided to the recognition area 16 in one scanning process, the pipette 11r will be moved through the recognition area 16 in the operating means tip existing area 11f by the scanning process. It can be determined that it exists in an area where there is no Here, a region where the pipette 11 cannot be said to have passed the recognition region 16 by the scanning process is called a first pipette non-scanned region 11g. Therefore, the controller 2 instructs the operating means movable portion 1R to execute the second scanning start position moving step in order to scan the first pipette unscanned region 11g.

FIG. 12 shows the state after the second scan start position movement process is executed. 12(a) is a view of the pipette 11 and the recognition area 16 viewed from the Z-plus direction, and FIG. 12(b) is a view of the pipette 11 and the recognition region 16 viewed from the Y-minus direction. FIG. 12(c) shows the microscopic field of view at this time. In the second scanning start position moving process, the controller 2 determines that the first pipette unscanned area 11g is included between the recognition area 16 and the operating means entry prohibition area PH in the Z direction, and the pipette tip 11e is not scanned. The pipette 11 is moved to a position (a chain double-dashed line in FIG. 11b) such that the pipette 11 passes through the center of the recognition area 16 when it exists at the center of gravity of the area 11g. Also, the first pipette unscanned area must not enter the operating means entry prohibition area PH. That is, the distance between the start position and the end position of the second scanning start position moving process is the width of the recognition area 16 in the direction connecting the start position and the end position of the scanning start position moving process, and It is smaller than the sum of the distances d1 of the prohibited area PH. The reason why the center of gravity of the first pipette non-scanned region 11g is used as the starting point is to increase the possibility that the pipette 11 will be guided to the recognition region 16 at the time when the second scanning start position moving process is completed. This is in order to shorten the travel distance, and it is a consideration to shorten the time as much as possible. Also at this time, the pipette 11r has not passed through the recognition area 16 in FIG. 12(b). In that case, the controller 2 issues an instruction to the operating means movable portion 1R to perform the scanning process of the pipette 11. FIG.

The operation means movable portion 1R issues an instruction to move the operation means 10R in the X direction and the Y direction in accordance with the instruction from the controller 2 by a predetermined operation. Then, when it is determined that part of the pipette 11r has been guided to the recognition area 16, the part of the pipette 11r is moved to the center of the recognition area 16, and the scanning process ends. In either case, since the operating means tip existence region 11f does not enter the operating means entry prohibition region PH, the pipette 11r does not enter the operating means regardless of the position of the pipette 11r in the pipette tip unscanned region 11g. There is no intrusion into the prohibited area PH.

FIG. 13(a) is a view of the pipette 11 and the recognition area 16 after the second scanning process is completed, viewed from the Z plus direction, FIG. 13(b) is a view of the Y minus direction, and FIG. 13(c). is a diagram showing the microscope field of view at that time. FIG. 13(c) schematically shows an image of the pipette 11r. In the image of the pipette 11r, near the center, the upper and lower edges are imaged at the positions indicated by the solid lines, and the sharpness is high, and the image gradually blurs in the horizontal direction. When it is determined that the image of the pipette 11r within the recognition area 16 has been guided to the vicinity of the center, the controller 2 issues an instruction to move the pipette 11r in the axial direction of the pipette 11r indicated by the arrow in FIG. . Thereafter, the pipette tip 11e can be guided to the recognition area 16 by the same method as the method from FIG. 8 to FIG. 9 described above. With the scanning method as described in the first paragraph of the mode for carrying out the invention, the pipette tip 11e, which could not be found without scanning d2/D1 times at maximum, can be detected by two scanning motions. can be guided to the recognition area 16 by .

FIG. 14 schematically shows the scanning process and the scanning start position moving process. FIG. 14(a) is a diagram showing an example of the scanning process viewed from the Z plus direction. <2><3><4><5> will be described later. 11f is a cross section obtained by cutting the operating means tip existing region along the XY plane. In the case where the region 11f where the tip of the operating means exists and the recognition region 16 have the relationship as shown in FIG. becomes possible. FIG. 14(b) is a diagram stereoscopically showing from the first scanning process to the second scanning process. The controller 2 moves the position of the pipette 11 when there is no error to the position indicated by the dotted line in FIG. Next, the scanning process is started within the XY plane from <1> to <5>. <2><3><4><5> correspond to <2><3><4><5> in FIG. If the pipette 11 cannot be guided to the recognition area 16 even after the operations <1> to <5> of the scanning steps are executed, the pipette 11 moves to the second scanning start position moving step <6> as described above. > to the position where the second scanning process is started. Next, in the second scanning process, operations <7> to <10> are performed, and an attempt is made to guide the pipette 11 to the recognition area 16 . In this embodiment, <2> and <7>, <3> and <8>, <4> and <9>, and <5> and <10> of the two scanning steps are shown with the same movement. However, it may be changed as appropriate depending on the shape of the pipette existence area 11f. The controller 2 executes this instruction until the pipette 11 can be guided to the recognition area 16 or until the pipette unscanned area 11g becomes 0. Even if the pipette unscanned area 11g becomes 0, the pipette 11 cannot be guided to the recognition area 16. In that case, execute the error notification process to the worker. In the error notification process, for example, after moving the pipette 11 to the initial position, it is conceivable to display that an error has occurred on the display device 200 to notify the operator.

As described above, the operation has been described separately for the case where the distance in the optical axis direction of the operating means tip existing region 11f is smaller than the working distance of the stage and the case where it is larger. As described above, the operation can be completed in a shorter time when the value is smaller than when the value is large. Therefore, the working distance of the stage should be as large as possible. This distance depends on the working distance of the objective lens and the position of the objective lens along the optical axis. The working distance of the objective lens is a value unique to the objective lens, but the position of the objective lens in the optical axis direction can be changed by the operator, and the position cannot be detected with a normal microscope. Therefore, it is necessary to prompt the operator to move the objective lens to a position as high as possible via a UI such as a monitor, and to consider increasing the working distance of the stage as much as possible. If a sensor capable of detecting the position of the objective lens in the direction of the optical axis can be provided on the microscope side, the operator can be warned via a UI such as a monitor to move the position of the objective lens to a higher position. is also possible. Further, the working distance of the stage is calculated from the detected position of the objective lens in the optical axis direction and the working distance of the objective lens, and the distance in the optical axis direction and the size of the operating means tip existing area 11f are compared to conditionally branch the operation. You can also

Next, the size of the moving distance P in the scanning start position moving step will be described with reference to FIGS. 14(c) and 14(d). Assuming that the angle formed by the direction of the scanning start position moving step and the XY plane is θ, the moving distance P of the scanning starting position moving step is set to the recognition area in the direction θ of the scanning starting position moving step in order to normally detect the pipette tip 11e. It is set to be equal to or less than the maximum value δ of the width of 16. However, in the present embodiment, a portion of the pipette 11 is detected by combining the scanning start position moving process and the scanning process, so that PM in FIG. 14(d) can be achieved at maximum. Here, the relationship between PM and δ will be described. Two equations are obtained from the geometrical calculations shown in FIGS.

ＰＭ－δを計算してまとめると以下のようになる。

PM-δ is calculated and summarized as follows.

Here, 0 ≤ sin2θ ≤ 1 from 0° ≤ θ ≤ 90°
−1≦cos2θ≦1
Therefore,

From the above, if the sum of twice the distance d1 between the recognition area 16 and the operating means entry prohibition area and the thickness D1 of the recognition distance 16 is larger than the diameter D2 of the recognition area 16, regardless of the direction θ of the scanning start position moving process PM≧δ. That is, regardless of the direction θ of the scanning start position moving process, the maximum value PM of the movement amount of the scanning start position moving process is set to be equal to or larger than the maximum value δ of the width of the recognition area 16 in the direction θ of the scanning start position moving process. It is possible.

As described above, in this embodiment, the distance of the scanning start position moving step can be set larger than in the case of detecting the pipette tip 11e by the method described in the first paragraph of the mode for carrying out the invention, so the number of steps can be reduced. It is effective in reducing work time. For example, when D1 = 0.2 mm, D2 = 0.6 mm, D1 = 3 mm, and θ = 30°, PM = 6.4 mm and δ = 0.62 mm. You can take it twice as big. That is, it is possible to greatly reduce the number of scanning steps.

Next, an operation example when the scanning position moving process and the scanning process are combined will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 15A shows a scanning start position moving step and a scanning step similar to the operation shown in FIG. 14 until the third scanning start position moving step is completed (operation <11>). FIG. 15B shows the operation when the scanning position moving process and the scanning process are combined. After the first scanning start position moving step, the operation <1> in the first scanning step is performed. Next, <2>b and <3>b that combine the movements of <2>, <3>, <4>, and <5> among the operations of the first scanning process and the scanning start position movement process of <6> , <4>b, and <5>b. Furthermore, <7>b and <8>, which combine the movements of <7>, <8>, <9>, and <10> among the operations of the second scanning process and the scanning start position moving process of <11> Exercises b, <9>b, and <10>b are executed, and the same continues thereafter. Combining the scanning process and the scanning position moving process in this way results in a periodic motion as shown in FIG. 15(b). As shown in FIG. 15B, let P1, P2, . . . In the method as described in the first paragraph of the mode for carrying out the invention, P1, P2, . . . I had to. In this embodiment, as in the case where the scanning start position moving process and the scanning process are not combined, the distances P1 and P2 moved by the scanning start position moving process are independent of the direction θ of the scanning start position moving process. . . can be equal to or greater than the maximum width .delta. In this embodiment, since the motion from <2>b to <5>b and the motion from <7>b to <10>b are parallel, the relationship between P1, P2, . P≧δ) can be established, but does not necessarily have to be achieved in all areas. Depending on the shape of the operating means entry prohibition area PH and the shape of the operating means existing area 11f, it may be partially dissatisfied. In this way, due to the combined movement of the scanning position moving step and the scanning step, the pipette moves through the point (eg <2>b) passed by the pipette again (eg <7>b). is moved by a distance (for example, P1) equal to or larger than the width δ of the recognition area 16 in the direction of the scanning start position moving step. As a result, the number of steps can be significantly reduced and the working time can be shortened as compared with the conventional method. When the scanning start position moving step and the scanning step are combined, the space travels in a shorter distance, so the total moving distance becomes shorter than when the scanning starting position moving step and the scanning step are separated.

However, when the scanning start position moving process and the scanning process are combined, the optical axis moves from the first cycle by P1 in the direction including the optical axis direction. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 15(c), the distance P1 by which the pipette 11 is moved in the first scanning start position moving process is set to be equal to or less than the distance between the operating means tip existence region 11f and the operating means entry prohibition region PH. There is a need. Therefore, it is advantageous to separate the scanning start position moving process and the scanning process in terms of bringing the operating means tip existing region 11f closer to the operating means entry prohibition region PH in the first scanning start position moving process. In particular, if the operating tool tip presence area 11f fits within the distance d1 between the recognition area 16 and the operating tool entry prohibition area PH, but if it is separated from the operation tool entry prohibition area PH by the distance P1, scanning is performed. It is advantageous to separate the starting position moving step and the scanning step. On the other hand, if the operating means tip existing region 11f is long, the scanning distance is short, so it is advantageous to combine the scanning start position moving process and the scanning process. The concept of the two scans may be changeable depending on the shape of the operating means tip existing region 11f and the shape and position of the recognition region 16. FIG. FIG. 15(d) is a diagram showing the size of the distance P2 that the pipette 11 can move in the axial direction by the scanning start position moving process of the second cycle when the scanning process has two or more cycles. When the pipette tip 11e cannot be detected by the scanning process of the first cycle, the area where the pipette tip 11e is known not to exist and the first pipette unscanned area 11g (shaded area) where the pipette tip 11e cannot be scanned. can be divided into The shape of the first pipette unscanned region 11g in FIG. 15(d) varies depending on the scanning process and the scanning start position moving process, and is not limited in this embodiment. It is clear that the pipette tip 11e does not exist in most of the area between the recognition area 16 and the operating means entry prohibition area PH by the scanning process of the first period. Therefore, the maximum value P2 of the distance of the scanning start position moving process in the second cycle is the distance in the direction of the scanning start position moving process between the first pipette unscanned area 11g and the operating means entry prohibition area PH. When the scanning process and the scanning start position moving process are combined as described above, the distance of the scanning start position moving process in the second and subsequent cycles is set larger than the distance of the scanning start position moving process in the first cycle. It is possible to reduce the number and shorten the work time. Also, when it is determined that the image of the pipette 11r in the recognition area 16 has been guided to the vicinity of the center, the instruction of the controller 2 may be the same as in the case where the scanning position moving step and the scanning step are separated.

As described above, when the width d2 in the Z direction of the operating tool tip presence area 11f is larger than the distance d1 between the operating tool entry prohibition area PH and the recognition area, a plurality of scanning start position moving steps and a plurality of scanning start position moving steps are performed. Scanning makes it possible to guide the pipette tip 11 e to the recognition area 16 . Alternatively, it is possible to guide the pipette tip 11e to the recognition area 16 by a plurality of scanning start position moving steps and a combined motion of a plurality of scannings. In addition, since the distance of the scanning start position moving process, which is a normal method, can be set larger than the width δ of the scanning start position moving process in the recognition area 16, the number of times of the scanning start position moving process and the scanning process can be reduced, and the working time can be reduced. can be shortened.

In either case, since the operating means tip existence region 11f does not enter the operating means entry prohibition region PH, the pipette 11 will not enter the operation means entry prohibition region PH regardless of any error. .

As described above, according to the microscope auxiliary device of the present embodiment, the work time can be shortened by automatically guiding the tip of the operating means within the range of the narrow recognition area of the high-magnification objective lens in a small number of steps.

[Example 2]
The operation of automatically guiding the tips of the operating means 10L and 10R within a short period of time within the narrow recognition area of the high-magnification objective lens, which is the feature of the microscope auxiliary device of the second embodiment of the present invention, will be described below. The overall configuration including the microscope auxiliary device described with reference to FIG. 1 and the inverted microscope to which it is attached, and the configuration of the operating means 10R described with reference to FIG. As described in the first paragraph of the mode for carrying out the invention, if the amount of movement in the scanning start position movement process is made finer in order to directly guide the minute shape of the pipette tip 11e to the recognition area, it takes time. put away. Therefore, the final goal is to guide the pipette tip 11e into the recognition area. as the first goal.

First, referring to FIG. 18, the scanning start position moving step, which is the first step of the operation of automatically guiding the tips of the operating means 10L and 10R into the recognition area in this embodiment, will be described.

In FIG. 18, FIG. 18(a) is a diagram viewed from the direction of the optical axis of the microscope, and FIG. 18(b) is a diagram viewed from the front perpendicular to the optical axis of the microscope. The sizes of the pipette fixing member 12 and the recognition area 16 are indicated by B1 and B2. The scale is slightly exaggerated for clarity. As described above, the position of the pipette tip 11e depends on the mounting error between the operating means 10R and the operating means movable portion 1R, the mounting error between the operating means movable portion 1R and the microscope 100, and the manufacturing dimensional error of the operating means movable portion 1R itself. Deviates from the ideal position. As described above, the pipette is thin not only at the tip 11e but also as a whole, and the high-magnification objective lens has a narrow recognition area.

In FIGS. 18(a) and 18(b), the thick solid line of A0 indicates the position of the pipette 11 and the pipette fixing member 12 when all the above-mentioned errors are at the center of the variation, and this position of A0 is the most Very likely to exist. The fine dotted lines A1 to A6 are the positions when the illustrated pipette 11 and the pipette fixing member 12 have the largest variations in the above-mentioned errors in the +X, -X, +Y, -Y, +Z, and -Z directions. is shown. B1 and B2 each indicate the size of the recognition area. As mentioned above, the pipette tip 11e is actually thinner than the other parts of the pipette 11, but it is drawn with a uniform thickness for simplification. The pipette 11 as a whole as well as the pipette tip 11e is thin with respect to the size of the recognition region B1. Therefore, as shown by the positional relationship between the pipette 11 in the recognition area B1 and A1 to A6, even if the pipette 11 is moved to the position of A0, which has the highest probability of existing, the pipette 11 will fall within the recognition area 16 considering the above-mentioned error. 11 is not always possible. However, the pipette fixing member 12 is sufficiently large with respect to the size of the recognition area B2. Therefore, first, as indicated by the positional relationship between the recognition area B2 and the pipette fixing members 12 of A0 to A6, the position of A0, which has the highest probability of existing, is moved to the center of the recognition area B2. As a result, regardless of the position of the pipette fixing member 12 within the range of A1 to A6 in consideration of the above-mentioned error, any part of the pipette fixing member 12 will always be within the recognition area B2. can be put in.

As described above, the pipette 11 and the pipette fixing member 12 are moved to a position where any part of the pipette fixing member 12 always falls within the recognition area B2, even if the aforementioned error is taken into account, for example, A0. The means 10L, 10R are moved. This step is the scanning start position moving step in this embodiment. It should be noted that the position where the movement ends in the scanning start position movement step may not completely match the position where all the above-described errors are at the center of variation, such as A0. Even if it does not completely match A0, any part of the pipette fixing member 12 can be placed within the recognition area B2 even if the aforementioned error is taken into account. At the position where the movement ends in the scanning start position movement step, although some part of the pipette fixing member 12 is in the recognition area B2, it is not necessarily in focus, and depending on the case, the illumination may be off. In some cases, the light does not reach the objective lens and nothing can be seen in the dark state.

After that, when the actual mounting position is shifted in the -X direction, -Y direction, and -Z direction from the center of variation, as shown in A7 in FIGS. 19(a) and 19(b) will be described as an example. In this case, the position of the thick solid line A7 in FIGS. 19A and 19B is the position at the time when the scanning start position moving step is completed. Next, the scanning process, which follows the scanning start position moving process of the operation of automatically guiding the tips of the operating means 10L and 10R into the range of the recognition area in this embodiment, will be described with reference to FIG. 20 and subsequent figures.

In FIGS. 20(a) and 20(b), the position where the scanning start position moving process of FIG. 18 is completed is indicated by a thick dotted line A7, and the dotted lines A3 and A4 show the greatest variation in the +Y direction and the −Y direction as in FIG. shows the position when

In this scanning step, the operating means 10L and 10R including the pipette 11 and the pipette fixing member 12 are moved in the +Y direction and -Y direction from the position A7 where the scanning start position moving step is completed along the arrowed path of S in the drawing. The amplitude As of the path S is a distance equal to or greater than the sum of the Y-direction components of the aforementioned error. Therefore, somewhere along the path S, the outer peripheral edge of the pipette fixing member 12 can be included in the recognition area B2 as indicated by A8 in FIG. 20(a). However, in this state, the part with the pipette fixing member 12 is perceived as dark and the part without it is perceived as bright, but the focus is not necessarily correct.

21(a) and 21(b), the position where the scanning process of FIG. 20 is completed is indicated by a thick dotted line A8. In this scanning step, when the operating means 10L and 10R including the pipette 11 and the pipette fixing member 12 are moved from the position A8 in the Z direction, the edge portion of the outer circumference of the pipette fixing member 12 is moved as indicated by A9 in FIG. 20(b). can be focused within the recognition area B2.

22(a) and 22(b), the position where the scanning process of FIG. 21 is completed is indicated by a thick dotted line A9. In this scanning step, the recognition area B2 is brought closer to the pipette 11 while performing feedback control from the image so as not to remove the outer peripheral edge of the pipette fixing member 12 from the recognition area 16 . As a result, the base of the pipette 11 can be placed within the recognition area B2 as indicated by A10 in FIG. 22(b).

Next, in FIGS. 23(a) and 23(b), the position where the scanning process of FIG. 22 is completed is indicated by a thick dotted line A10. In this scanning process, the recognition area 16 is brought closer to the tip 11e of the pipette while performing feedback control from the image so as not to remove the pipette 11 from the recognition area 16. FIG. As a result, the pipette tip 11e can be guided into the recognition area B2 as indicated by A11 in FIGS. 23(a) and 23(b).

As described above, the microscope auxiliary device of the present embodiment first performs the scanning start position moving step of moving the operating means 10L and 10R including the pipette 11 and the pipette fixing member 12 in the optical axis direction (Z direction). Thereafter, a scanning step is performed in which the operating means 10L and 10R including the pipette 11 and the pipette fixing member 12 are moved in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis (Y direction). As a result, the pipette fixing member 12, which is a part of the operating means 10L and 10R and is larger than the detachable tip portion, is recognized within the field of view of the microscope. Furthermore, after that, the pipette tip 11e can be focused within the recognition area 16 by performing feedback control so that the pipette fixing member 12 and the pipette 11 are not removed from the recognition area 16. FIG. Since the pipette tip 11e can be brought into focus within the recognition area 16 in such a small number of steps, compared to the conventional method of repeating scanning while moving at fine intervals, it takes less time to focus the microscope auxiliary device. Work time can be shortened.

In the scanning start position moving step of this embodiment, the operating means 10L and 10R including the pipette 11 and the pipette fixing member 12 are moved in the optical axis direction (Z direction). However, since the operation means 10L and 10R may be moved in a direction including the optical axis direction (Z direction), components in other directions may be included.

In the scanning process of this example, the operating means 10L and 10R including the pipette 11 and the pipette fixing member 12 were moved in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis (Y direction). However, since the operation means 10L and 10R may be moved in a direction including the direction perpendicular to the optical axis (the Y direction), components in other directions may be included.

In this embodiment, after moving in the Y direction in the scanning process of FIG. 19, moving in the Z direction in FIG. . However, without being limited to this, while repeatedly moving in the Y direction and moving in the Z direction finely, the pipette fixing member 12 is focused on the edge portion of the outer circumference of the pipette fixing member 12 by curved movement along the outer circumference of the pipette fixing member 12. may Moreover, even if the movement includes not only the components in the Y direction and the Z direction but also the components in the X direction, it is sufficient that the peripheral edge portion of the pipette fixing member 12 can be brought into focus as a result.

In this embodiment, after focusing on the outer peripheral edge portion of the pipette fixing member 12 in FIG. An example of inserting the pipette tip 11e into the recognition area 16 is shown. This is because it is easier to perform feedback control so as not to deviate from the recognition area 16 when the contrast is high, as in the edge portion of the outer periphery. However, if it is possible to perform feedback control so as not to deviate from the recognition area 16, it is not essential to focus on the edge portion of the outer periphery. It may be an imaging degree that can be recognized.

24A and 24B are diagrams showing the operation of attaching the pipette 11 to the operating means 10L and 10R. As described above, the tip 11e of the pipette is actually thinner than the other parts of the pipette 11, but it is drawn with a uniform thickness for simplification. The tip 11e of the pipette is so thin that it will break if touched. Therefore, the end of the pipette 11 on the opposite side of the pipette tip e needs to have a portion that is thick enough to be pinched with a finger, and if this area is too short, the pipette 11 will not fit. It is difficult to grip and the workability deteriorates.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing the dimensional relationship in the optical axis direction of the pipette 11, the objective lens, and the recognition area. shows a short example. Note that the dimensions are exaggerated. If the pipette 11 is short as shown in FIG. 25(a), even if the pipette fixing member 12 is put into the recognition area, it will not interfere with the pipette 11 and the stage ST covering the objective lens. Therefore, although it can be moved to the position shown in FIG. 24(a) in the scanning start position moving step, the pipette 11 is difficult to grip and workability is poor.

Conversely, if the pipette 11 is long as shown in FIG. 25(b), the pipette 11 is easy to pick up and workability is good. However, when the pipette fixing member 12 is put into the recognition area, the pipette 11 and the stage ST covering the objective lens interfere with each other, so that the scanning start position movement process cannot be executed and this embodiment cannot be applied.

In FIG. 26, even in the case shown in FIG. 25(b), the scanning start position moving step can be executed, and the moving member 30 is added to the operation means 10L, 10R in order to make it possible to apply this embodiment. This is an example of Since the contents other than the added advance/retreat member 30 are the same as those already explained, the explanation will be omitted. Like the fixing member 12, the advance/retreat member 30 is a part of the operating means 10L and 10R and is larger than the detachable pipette 11. As shown in FIG. Therefore, using the same method as described above, the pipette tip 11e can be focused within the recognition area 16 with fewer scanning steps. Further, the retractable member 30 moves from the position not covering the detachable pipette 11 as shown in FIG. 26(a) to the position covering the detachable pipette 11 as shown in FIG. 26(b). It is movable in the longitudinal direction (directions of arrows L1 and L2 in the figure). By moving in this way, when attaching/detaching the pipette 11, the advance/retreat member 30 is moved in the L1 direction, and the sufficiently long pipette 11 with good workability can be attached/detached. After that, it is moved in the L2 direction to a position where the advancing/retreating member 30 covers the pipette 11 . In this way, by inserting the retractable member 30 instead of the pipette fixing member 12 into the recognition area, the scanning start position moving step can be executed without causing the pipette 11 to interfere with the objective lens. It becomes possible. As a result, it is possible to shorten the working time until focusing of the microscope auxiliary device without impairing the workability of attaching and detaching the pipette 11 .

In this embodiment, prior to the pipette, the pipette fixing member 12 and the advance/retreat member 30, which are part of the operation means 10L and 10R to be recognized in the microscope visual field and are larger than the detachable tip portion, are cylindrically shaped. I showed an example of However, it does not necessarily have to be cylindrical, and any shape can be used as long as it is larger than the detachable tip.

1L/1R operating means movable part 2 controller 2a CPU
2b drive circuit L
2c drive circuit R
2d image processing circuit 2e input reading circuit 2f memory 10L/10R operation means 20L/20R input means 100 microscope 200 display means

Claims (11)

a movable part capable of moving an operating means for operating an object within the field of view of the microscope;
a control means for controlling movement of the movable part with reference to an image obtained from the microscope;
The control means performs at least one of a first process of moving the operation means to a scanning start position in a direction including an optical axis direction component of the microscope, and a trajectory not parallel to the movement direction in the first process. by performing a second process of moving a trajectory such that the part has, respectively, a part of the operation means is focused in the microscope field of view,
A microscope assisting apparatus, wherein the amount of movement of the operating means in the second process is equal to or greater than the maximum width of the recognition area of the microscope in the moving direction of the operating means in the first process. The control means defines a recognition region as a range in which the presence of the operation means can be recognized from the image obtained from the microscope,
When the control means recognizes that the image of the operation means is present in the recognition area, the control means operates the movable part along the shape of the operation means to guide the tip of the operation means to the recognition area. 2. The microscope auxiliary device according to claim 1, wherein the processing of . The control means stores a prohibited area for prohibiting entry of the operation means on the objective lens side when viewed from the recognition area,
The distance between the start position and the end position of the movement of the operation means in the first process executed after the second process for the first time is the distance in the direction connecting the start position and the end position of the movement of the operation means. 3. A microscope assisting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the width of the recognition area is smaller than the sum of the distance between the recognition area and the prohibited area. further comprising a storage unit,
The storage unit stores an operating means existence area in which the tip of the operating means may exist by incorporating the error that occurs,
If the tip of the operating tool cannot be guided to the recognition area in the second process, even though the operating tool has passed through the recognition area in the operating tool presence area by the second process, 3. The second process according to claim 1, wherein it is determined that the operating means exists in an area where there is no operating means, and after executing the first process to scan the area, the second process is executed. microscope auxiliary equipment. a movable part capable of moving an operation means for manipulating an object within the field of view of the microscope;
a control means for controlling movement of the movable part with reference to an image obtained from the microscope;
The control means performs at least one of a first process of moving the operation means to a scanning start position in a direction including an optical axis direction component of the microscope, and a trajectory not parallel to the movement direction in the first process. A part of the operation means is focused in the microscope field by performing a movement resulting from the synthesis of the second process of moving the trajectory such that the part has,
At any point on the trajectory of the second process, the distance moved by the first process while passing through the neighborhood by the motion by the second process is equal to the distance in the movement direction in the first process. A microscope auxiliary device characterized in that the width of a recognition area of a microscope is greater than or equal to the maximum value. The control means defines a recognition region as a range in which the presence of the operation means can be recognized from the image obtained from the microscope,
The control means, when recognizing that the image of the operation means is present in the recognition area, operates the movable part along the shape of the operation means to guide the tip of the operation means to the recognition area. 6. A microscope auxiliary device according to claim 5. 7. The method according to claim 5, wherein in said first process, the distance moved per cycle of said second process is greater in the second and subsequent cycles than in the first cycle of said second process. A microscope auxiliary device as described. 8. The microscope assisting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when a part of said operating means cannot be brought into focus within the field of view of the microscope, error notification processing to an operator is executed. . a movable part capable of moving an operating means for operating an object within the field of view of the microscope;
a control means for controlling movement of the movable part with reference to an image obtained from the microscope;
After the first process of moving the operating means to a scanning start position in a direction including a component in the optical axis direction of the microscope, the control means moves the operating means in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis of the microscope. A microscope assisting device characterized in that by performing a second process of moving in a direction including a component, a part of the operation means and larger in size than the detachable tip is recognized within the microscope field of view. . 10. A microscope assisting apparatus according to claim 9, wherein in said second processing, said operating means is moved in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis of said microscope and the longitudinal direction of said operating means. The portion larger than the tip portion is movable in the longitudinal direction of the operating means from a position covering the detachable tip portion to a position not covering the detachable tip portion. 10. A microscope auxiliary device according to Item 9.

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