JP2023013030A - Stage device and manipulation system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a stage device and a manipulation system with which it is possible to change the attitude of a sample within a microscope field without requiring complicated control.SOLUTION: The stage device comprises: a sample stage 30 where a sample is supported on a holding plane 30a which is perpendicular to the observation direction of a microscope 22; a planar direction movement unit (horizontal movement unit 40) capable of moving the sample stage 30 in a direction parallel to the holding plane 30a; and a rotation unit 50 capable of rotating the sample stage 30 and the planar direction movement unit, relatively to the microscope 22, around the axis of rotation that matches the center of visual field (optical axis 26) of the microscope 22. A manipulation system 10 includes the stage device, a microscope unit 20 that includes the microscope 22 whose center of visual field matches the axis of rotation, and a manipulator 60 that includes a jig 64 for manipulating a sample.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a stage device and manipulation system.

Manipulation systems are used to perform micromanipulations on microscopic substances such as cells. In general, a manipulation system includes a horizontally movable XY stage and a manipulator for manipulating a microscopic substance. It is possible to control the movement of the manipulator with (for example, Patent Document 1).

Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a manipulation system having a rotation mechanism on an XY stage that can move in the horizontal direction. By providing the rotation mechanism, even if the observation direction of the fine substance is not suitable, the fine substance is almost liquid, or the manipulator is not suitable for changing the posture of the fine substance, the fine substance can be observed. It is possible to change the viewing direction.

JP 2015-205370 A Japanese Patent No. 5788719

By the way, in the manipulation system of Patent Literature 2, the rotating shaft of the rotating mechanism also moves as the XY stage moves. Therefore, in order to prevent the minute substances from moving out of the field of view of the microscope due to the rotation of the rotating mechanism, complicated control is required to move the XY stage in addition to rotating it according to the position of the XY stage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a stage device and a manipulation system that can change the posture of a sample within the microscope field without requiring complicated control.

A stage device according to an aspect of the present invention includes a sample stage on which a sample is supported on a holding surface perpendicular to the observation direction of a microscope, and a planar direction moving unit capable of moving the sample stage in a direction parallel to the holding surface. and a rotation unit capable of rotating the sample stage and the planar movement unit with respect to the microscope about a rotation axis coinciding with the center of the field of view of the microscope.

With such a stage device, the sample can be rotated around the center of the field of view. That is, after the sample is moved to the center of the field of view of the microscope by the planar movement unit, the sample is rotated around the center of the field of view by the rotation unit so that the sample is in the desired position, so that the sample remains within the field of view even after rotation. can continue to exist. In addition, it is possible to change the posture of the sample within the microscope visual field with a simple structure without requiring complicated control such as displacement in the plane direction in addition to rotation according to the position in the plane direction.

In the stage apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention, the rotation unit is supported by a base on which the microscope is fixed so as to be rotatable about the rotation axis, and the sample stage is rotated through the planar direction movement unit. and a rotation operating shaft portion for rotating the disk as it rotates about its axis.

According to such a stage device, the disc body can be rotated in a predetermined direction by a predetermined amount of rotation in accordance with the rotation direction and the amount of rotation of the rotation operating shaft portion. Therefore, with a simple structure, the sample stage and sample can be rotated around the center of the field of view by a desired amount of rotation.

In a stage apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention, the planar direction moving unit includes a first direction moving unit capable of moving the sample stage in a first direction parallel to the holding surface with respect to the disc body; a second direction movement unit capable of moving the sample stage in a second direction parallel to the holding surface and orthogonal to the first direction with respect to the disk.

According to such a stage device, the sample stage can be moved along two axes on a plane parallel to the holding surface. Therefore, the sample stage can be moved in the plane direction with a simple structure, so the sample can be easily moved to the center of the field of view.

In the stage apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention, the planar direction moving unit is attached to the upper surface side of the disc body.

According to such a stage device, after moving the sample to the center of the field of view of the microscope, the planar direction moving unit can be easily moved around the center of the field of view of the microscope in a state where the disk supports the planar direction moving unit from below. can be rotated to

A manipulation system according to an aspect of the present invention includes the stage device, a microscope unit including the microscope whose field of view center coincides with the rotation axis, and a manipulator including a jig for manipulating the sample.

According to such a manipulation system, the sample to be manipulated by the manipulator can be rotated around the center of the field of view. Therefore, when the observation direction of the sample is not suitable and the posture needs to be changed, even if the sample is almost liquid or the manipulator jig is not suitable for changing the posture of the sample, the sample can be placed in the microscope field of view. You can change your posture while continuing to exist inside.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a stage device and a manipulation system that can change the posture of a sample within the microscope field without requiring complicated control.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the physical configuration of the manipulation system according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the manipulation system shown in FIG. 3 is a plan view for explaining a method of operating the manipulation system shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main portion of FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a plan view for explaining a method of operating the manipulation system shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a main portion of FIG. 5. FIG.

A form (embodiment) for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited by the contents described in the following embodiments. In addition, the components described below include those that can be easily assumed by those skilled in the art and those that are substantially the same. Furthermore, the components described below can be combined as appropriate.

(embodiment)
[System configuration]
First, the physical configuration and system configuration of the manipulation system 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the physical configuration of a manipulation system 10 according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the manipulation system 10 shown in FIG. Note that FIG. 1 shows a part of the configuration in a cross section. The manipulation system 10 is a system for manipulating minute substances such as cells under microscope observation. The manipulation system 10 cuts, for example, a portion of a sample 100 (see FIG. 4, etc.), which is a fine substance.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the manipulation system 10 of the embodiment includes a base 12, a column 14 erected from one side of the base 12, a microscope unit 20, a sample stage 30, and a horizontal movement unit. 40 , a rotation unit 50 , a manipulator 60 and a controller 80 . The microscope unit 20 is provided fixed to the base 12 . The manipulator 60 is provided fixed to the column portion 14 . The sample stage 30, the horizontal movement unit 40, and the rotation unit 50 constitute a stage device capable of changing the position and posture of the sample 100 with respect to the microscope field. The sample stage 30 is provided on the base 12 via a horizontal movement unit 40 and a rotation unit 50 .

The microscope unit 20 includes a microscope 22 and a camera 24 including an imaging device. The microscope unit 20 is, for example, a microscope in which a microscope 22 and a camera 24 are integrated. In the embodiment, the microscope 22 and the camera 24 are arranged inside the base 12 directly below the sample holding member 32 supported by the sample stage 30, and the sample 100 (see FIG. 3 etc.) accommodated in the sample holding member 32 is arranged. ) can be viewed from below through an opening 12 a formed in the upper surface of the base 12 . The optical axis 26 of the microscope 22 and camera 24 is vertically incident on the sample 100 or the like. Optical axis 26 coincides with the center of the field of view of microscope 22 and camera 24 .

The microscope unit 20 further includes a light source (not shown) that emits light toward the sample holding member 32 and a focusing mechanism 28 (see FIG. 2). When the microscope 22 and the camera 24 are arranged directly under the sample holding member 32 as in the embodiment, the light source is arranged directly above the sample holding member 32, for example. When the light source irradiates the sample 100 (see FIG. 3 etc.) on the sample holding member 32 , the light reflected by the sample 100 on the sample holding member 32 enters the microscope 22 . An optical image of sample 100 is captured by camera 24 after being magnified by microscope 22 . The optical image is clearly projected by adjusting the positions of the lenses of the microscope 22 and the camera 24 and the distance between the lenses to focus the microscope 22 and the camera 24 by the focusing mechanism 28 . The microscope unit 20 can observe the sample 100 based on the image captured by the camera 24 . Camera 24 and focusing mechanism 28 are, in embodiments, electrically connected to controller 80, described below.

The sample stage 30 is a pedestal having a holding surface 30a capable of supporting a sample holding member 32 such as a petri dish or well plate. The holding surface 30a is a plane perpendicular to the observation direction of the microscope 22 and the camera 24, and is a horizontal plane in the embodiment. The observation direction of the microscope 22 and the camera 24 is the direction of the optical axis 26 incident on the sample 100 and the like. Specimen stage 30 is positioned above microscope 22 and camera 24 in the embodiment. The sample stage 30 is horizontally movable with respect to the base 12 via a horizontal movement unit 40 and a rotation unit 50 and is rotatable about a rotation axis coinciding with the optical axis 26 . It should be noted that the term "aligned with the optical axis 26" as used herein includes at least the position of the rotation axis parallel to the optical axis 26 and within the field of view of the microscope 22. /5 indicates that the rotation axis is located within a circle with a diameter of /5. In addition, the term "parallel" as used herein also includes cases where the two do not have a theoretical parallel relationship due to dimensional errors, design errors, and the like.

In addition, the sample stage 30 is horizontally movable with respect to the rotation unit 50 via the horizontal movement unit 40 . The sample stage 30 is movable in the first direction D1 and the second direction D2 in the embodiment. The first direction D1 is a horizontal direction and one direction with respect to the rotating unit 50 . The second direction D2 is a horizontal direction and a direction orthogonal to the first direction D1. The sample stage 30 is fixed to a moving portion 42b of a first direction moving unit 42 of a horizontal moving unit 40, which will be described later.

The horizontal movement unit 40 can move the sample stage 30 in a direction parallel to the holding surface 30a, that is, horizontally in the embodiment. The horizontal movement unit 40 moves the sample stage 30 with respect to the rotation unit 50 in the first direction D1 and the second direction D2. Horizontal movement unit 40 includes, for example, a biaxial actuator. Horizontal movement unit 40 , in an embodiment, includes a first directional movement unit 42 and a second directional movement unit 44 .

The first direction movement unit 42 moves the sample stage 30 in the first direction D1 with respect to the second direction movement unit 44 . The first direction moving unit 42 includes a fixed portion 42a and a moving portion 42b. The fixed part 42 a is fixed to the moving part 44 b of the second direction moving unit 44 . The fixed part 42a is attached to the upper surface side of the moving part 44b in the embodiment. The fixing portion 42a supports the moving portion 42b so as to be movable in the first direction D1. The moving part 42 b is fixed to the sample stage 30 . In the embodiment, the lower surface side of the sample stage 30 is fixed to the upper surface side of the moving part 44b. The first direction moving unit 42 includes, for example, a well-known ball screw 42c provided along the first direction D1 and a rotational drive source (not shown) that rotates the ball screw 42c around its axis. A ball screw 42c is inserted through the moving portion 42b, and a through hole having a female thread is formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof. The moving portion 42b is screwed with the ball screw 42c and moves in the first direction D1 as the ball screw 42c rotates about its axis. A rotation drive source (not shown) that rotates the ball screw 42c about its axis is electrically connected to a controller 80, which will be described later, in the embodiment.

The second direction movement unit 44 moves the first direction movement unit 42 with respect to the rotation unit 50 in the second direction D2. The second direction moving unit 44 includes a fixed portion 44a and a moving portion 44b. The fixed portion 44 a is fixed to the rotating unit 50 . The fixed part 44a is attached to the upper surface side of the disk body 52 in the embodiment. The fixing portion 44a supports the moving portion 44b so as to be movable in the second direction D2. The moving part 44 b is fixed to the fixed part 42 a of the first direction moving unit 42 . The second direction movement unit 44 includes, for example, a well-known ball screw 44c provided along the second direction D2 and a rotational drive source (not shown) that rotates the ball screw 44c around its axis. A ball screw 44c is inserted through the moving portion 44b, and a through hole having a female thread is formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof. The moving part 44b is screwed with the ball screw 44c and moves in the first direction D1 as the ball screw 44c rotates about its axis. A rotation drive source (not shown) that rotates the ball screw 44c about its axis is electrically connected to a controller 80, which will be described later, in the embodiment.

The rotation unit 50 can rotate the sample stage 30 and the horizontal movement unit 40 with respect to the microscope 22 and the camera 24 around the rotation axis coinciding with the field of view center of the microscope 22 and the camera 24, that is, the optical axis 26 . In the embodiment, the rotation unit 50 includes a disk body 52, a rotation operation shaft portion 54, a bearing 56, and a rotation drive source (not shown) that rotates the rotation operation shaft portion 54 around its axis.

Disc body 52 is a hollow worm wheel in the embodiment. The disk body 52 is supported on the upper surface of the base 12 via bearings 56 so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis coinciding with the optical axis 26 . The diameter of disk body 52 is larger than the diameter of opening 12 a of base 12 . The disc body 52 is ring-shaped and hollow around the rotation axis so as not to block the field of view of the microscope 22 and the camera 24 provided inside the base 12 . The disk body 52 has a toothed portion 52a that meshes with the toothed portion 54a of the rotary operation shaft portion 54 on its outer peripheral surface. A fixed portion 44 a of the second direction movement unit 44 is fixed to the disc body 52 . The disk body 52 rotates about the rotation axis coinciding with the optical axis 26 as the rotation operating shaft portion 54 rotates about the axis.

The rotary actuation shaft 54 is a worm in the embodiment. The rotary operating shaft 54 is supported by a support (not shown) of the base 12 so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis. The rotation operating shaft portion 54 has a tooth portion 54 a that meshes with the tooth portion 52 a of the disk body 52 on its outer peripheral surface. The rotary operation shaft portion 54 rotates around its axis, thereby rotating the disc body 52 around the rotation axis that coincides with the optical axis 26 . A rotation driving source (not shown) that rotates the rotation operating shaft portion 54 around its axis is electrically connected to a controller 80 described later in the embodiment.

The bearing 56 supports the disc body 52 on the upper surface of the base 12 so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis coinciding with the optical axis. The inner diameter of the bearing 56 is larger than the opening 12 a of the base 12 . The bearing 56 is ring-shaped and hollow around the rotation axis so as not to block the field of view of the microscope 22 and the camera 24 provided inside the base 12 . Bearing 56 is a thrust ball bearing in the embodiment. The bearing 56 includes a housing washer 56a, a plurality of balls 56b, a retainer (not shown), and a shaft washer 56c.

The housing raceway washer 56a has an annular shape whose lower surface is fixed around the opening 12a in the upper surface of the base 12 so that the center of the housing raceway washer 56a coincides with the optical axis 26 . An annular groove centered on the axis is provided on the upper surface of the housing raceway washer 56a. A plurality of balls 56b are arranged in grooves of the housing washer 56a. A plurality of balls 56b can roll in the groove. A retainer (not shown) holds the plurality of balls 56b so that the plurality of balls 56b are evenly arranged around the axis of the housing raceway washer 56a. The shaft washer 56c has an annular shape and is supported by the housing washer 56a via a plurality of balls 56b such that its axis coincides with the optical axis 26. As shown in FIG. The lower surface of the shaft washer 56c is provided with an annular groove centered on the shaft center in which the plurality of balls 56b can roll. The shaft washer 56c is rotatable about the axis with respect to the housing washer 56a by rolling the plurality of balls 56b on the housing washer 56a. The lower surface of the disk body 52 is fixed to the upper surface of the shaft washer 56c.

The manipulator 60 is a manipulator having a three-axis configuration of X-axis-Y-axis-Z-axis. In the embodiment, one direction in the horizontal plane is the X-axis direction, the direction that intersects the X-axis direction in the horizontal plane is the Y-axis direction, and the direction that intersects each of the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction (that is, the vertical direction) is Let it be in the Z-axis direction. The manipulator 60 includes a holding member 62, a jig 64, a three-axis movement unit 70, and a driving device (not shown).

The holding member 62 is inclined downward from one end to the other end, and has three ends on one end such that the longitudinal direction is parallel to the X-axis direction in plan view. It is connected to the moving part 70 b of the axis moving unit 70 . The holding member 62 moves in a three-dimensional space as a movement area by the three-axis movement unit 70 . A jig 64 can be attached to the other end of the holding member 62 . In the embodiment, the jig 64 is a cutter capable of cutting a part of the sample 100 (see FIG. 4, etc.), which is a fine substance. The jig 64 of the embodiment has a blade parallel to the X-axis direction so that cutting can be performed by moving downward from above while the jig 64 is attached to the holding member 62 .

The three-axis movement unit 70 has a fixed portion 70a fixed to the base 12, and a moving portion 70b movable in three axial directions of X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis with respect to the fixed portion 70a. The moving part 70b is driven by a driving device (not shown) to move relative to the base 12 in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction. The three-axis movement unit 70 is electrically connected to a controller 80 which will be described later.

The three-axis movement unit 70 includes, for example, a Z-axis movement unit 72, an X-axis movement unit 74, and a Y-axis movement unit . The Z-axis direction moving unit 72 includes a moving portion 70b, and the moving portion 70b can move in the Z-axis direction with respect to the X-axis direction moving unit 74. As shown in FIG. The X-axis direction moving unit 74 can move the Z-axis direction moving unit 72 in the X-axis direction with respect to the Y-axis direction moving unit 76 . The Y-axis direction moving unit 76 includes a fixed portion 70a, and is capable of moving the X-axis direction moving unit 74 with respect to the base 12 in the Y-axis direction.

The controller 80 is a control device that controls each part of the manipulation system 10 . The controller 80 includes an arithmetic processing unit having a microprocessor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a storage device having a memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM (Random Access Memory), and hardware such as an input/output interface device. Have resources. The functions of the controller 80 are realized by executing a predetermined program stored in the storage device by the arithmetic processing device. The controller 80 outputs a control signal for causing each component to perform various functions according to the result of calculation by the arithmetic processing unit.

The controller 80 controls the driving devices of the focusing mechanism 28 of the microscope unit 20, the horizontal movement unit 40, the rotation unit 50, and the manipulator 60, and drivers, amplifiers, etc. (not shown) provided as necessary. and output control signals to each of them. The controller 80 acquires video signals of microscope images acquired by the camera 24 of the microscope unit 20 . An operation unit 82 and an input unit 84 as information input means, and a display unit 86 as information acquisition means are connected to the controller 80 .

The operator can input commands to the controller 80 via the operation section 82 and the input section 84 . The operation unit 82 includes, for example, a joystick or a dial. The input unit 84 includes, for example, a keyboard, mouse, touch panel, or the like.

If the operation unit 82 includes, for example, a three-axis joystick or the like that operates the three-dimensional movement of the manipulator 60, the three-axis joystick is a known one that includes, for example, a base and a handle portion that stands upright from the base. can be used. The three-axis joystick can perform XY driving of the manipulator 60 by tilting the handle, for example, and can perform Z driving of the manipulator 60 by twisting the handle.

Further, when the operation unit 82 includes, for example, a biaxial joystick for manipulating the horizontal movement of the sample stage 30 and a dial for manipulating the rotation of the sample stage 30, the biaxial joystick includes, for example, a base and a base. A handle portion upstanding from a base can be used. The biaxial joystick can drive the horizontal movement unit 40 in the first direction D1 and the second direction D2 by, for example, tilting the handle. Further, by rotating the dial, it is possible to adjust the amount of rotational displacement of the disc body 52 corresponding to the direction of rotation and the amount of rotational displacement.

The display unit 86 includes, for example, a display screen such as a liquid crystal panel. The display unit 86 displays, for example, a microscope image acquired by the camera 24 and various control screens. When a touch panel is used as the input unit 84, the touch panel may be used on the display screen of the display unit 86 so that the operator can perform the input operation while checking the display image of the display unit 86.

[How to operate the system]
Next, in the manipulation system 10 according to this embodiment, an operation method for changing the position and posture of the sample 100 with respect to the field of view of the microscope 22 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6. FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view for explaining how to operate the manipulation system 10 shown in FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main portion of FIG. 3. FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view for explaining how to operate the manipulation system 10 shown in FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a main portion of FIG. 5. FIG.

In one example shown below, an operation of changing the position and posture of the sample 100 so as to be optimal for cutting the sample 100 along the planned cutting line CL shown in FIGS. 4 and 6 with the jig 64 of the manipulator 60. shall be performed. In the manipulation system 10 , the operator first supports the sample holding member 32 containing the sample 100 at the central portion of the sample stage 30 . The operator then drives horizontal movement unit 40 to move sample 100 into the field of view of microscope 22 and camera 24 .

3 and 4 show the state after the sample 100 has been moved into the field of view of the microscope 22 and camera 24. FIG. At this time, it is preferable to move the sample 100 so as to overlap the optical axis 26 that is the center of the field of view of the microscope 22 and the camera 24 . In the example shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the sample 100 is accommodated in the sample holding member 32 at a position shifted from the center 30b of the sample stage 30. Therefore, as shown in FIG. It moves to a position deviated from the optical axis 26 . Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the sample 100 after being moved into the field of view of the microscope 22 and the camera 24 has the planned cutting line CL inclined with respect to the X-axis direction, which is the direction of the blade of the jig 64. state.

The operator then drives the rotation unit 50 to rotate the sample stage 30 around the rotation axis of the rotation unit 50 . That is, the posture of the sample 100 is changed by rotating the sample 100 around the optical axis 26 . That is, the sample stage 30 is rotated so that the planned cutting line CL of the sample 100 is parallel to the X-axis direction, which is the direction of the blade of the jig 64 .

5 and 6 show the state after the state shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and after the posture of the sample 100 has been changed to the direction in which the manipulator 60 can operate it. Here, sample 100 is on optical axis 26 , which is the center of the field of view of microscope 22 and camera 24 . Therefore, when changing the posture of the sample 100 from the state shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 to the state shown in FIGS. allows the sample 100 to be rotated about the optical axis 26 within the field of view of the microscope 22 and camera 24 .

As described above, the stage device of the present embodiment includes the sample stage 30 on which the sample is supported on the holding surface 30a perpendicular to the observation direction of the microscope 22, and the sample stage 30 that can move in the direction parallel to the holding surface 30a. a horizontal movement unit (horizontal movement unit 40), a rotation unit 50 capable of rotating the sample stage 30 and the surface direction movement unit with respect to the microscope 22 around a rotation axis that coincides with the center of the field of view of the microscope 22, Prepare.

With such a stage device, the sample 100 can be rotated around the center of the field of view (optical axis 26). That is, after the sample 100 is moved to the center of the field of view of the microscope 22 by the planar movement unit (horizontal movement unit 40), the sample 100 is rotated around the center of the field of view by the rotation unit 50 so that the desired posture is obtained. The sample 100 can continue to exist within the field of view even after being rotated. In addition, complicated control such as displacement in the plane direction in addition to rotation according to the position in the plane direction (horizontal direction in the embodiment) is not required, and the position of the sample 100 can be easily changed within the field of view of the microscope 22. structure.

Further, in the stage device of this embodiment, the rotation unit 50 is rotatably supported about the rotation axis with respect to the base 12 to which the microscope 22 is fixed, and is rotated via the plane direction movement unit (horizontal movement unit 40). A disc body 52 that supports the sample stage 30 by means of the support, and a rotation operating shaft portion 54 that rotates the disc body 52 as it rotates about its axis.

According to such a stage device, the disc body 52 can be rotated in a predetermined direction by a predetermined amount of rotation in accordance with the rotation direction and the amount of rotation of the rotation operation shaft portion 54 . Therefore, with a simple structure, the sample stage 30 and sample 100 can be rotated about the center of the field of view (optical axis 26) by a desired amount of rotation.

Further, in the stage device of the present embodiment, the planar direction moving unit (horizontal moving unit 40) moves the sample stage 30 in the first direction D1 parallel to the holding surface 30a with respect to the disk body 52. A moving unit 42 and a second-direction moving unit 44 capable of moving the sample stage 30 in a second direction D2 parallel to the holding surface 30a and orthogonal to the first direction D1 with respect to the disc body 52 are included.

According to such a stage device, the sample stage 30 can be moved along two axes on a plane parallel to the holding surface 30a. Therefore, the sample stage 30 can be moved in the planar direction (horizontal direction in the embodiment) with a simple structure, so the sample 100 can be easily moved to the center of the field of view.

Further, in the stage device of the present embodiment, the surface direction moving unit (horizontal moving unit 40) is attached to the upper surface side of the disk body 52. As shown in FIG.

According to such a stage device, the disk body 52 supports the planar movement unit (horizontal movement unit 40) from below after the sample 100 has been moved to the center of the field of view of the microscope 22. , and can be easily rotated around the center of the field of view of the microscope 22 .

Further, the manipulation system 10 of this embodiment includes a stage device, a microscope unit 20 including a microscope 22 whose field center (optical axis 26) coincides with the rotation axis, and a manipulator 60 including a jig 64 for manipulating a sample. And prepare.

According to the manipulation system 10 as described above, the sample 100 to be manipulated by the manipulator 60 can be rotated around the center of the field of view (optical axis 26). Therefore, when the observation direction of the sample 100 is not suitable and the posture needs to be changed, even if the sample is almost liquid or the jig 64 of the manipulator 60 is not suitable for changing the posture of the sample 100, The posture can be changed while the sample 100 is kept within the field of view of the microscope 22 .

In addition, this embodiment is not limited to the said aspect. That is, various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present embodiment.

For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the microscope 22 and camera 24 are positioned below the sample holding member 32, but may be positioned above the sample holding member 32. FIG. Also, in the microscope unit 20 , the camera 24 may be provided separately from the microscope 22 .

Moreover, although the sample stage 30 of the embodiment has a rectangular shape in plan view, it may have a circular shape. Further, the holding surface 30a of the sample stage 30 is a horizontal surface in the embodiment, but it may be a surface perpendicular to the incident direction of the optical axis 26 of the microscope 22 and the camera 24 with respect to the sample 100 .

When the incident direction of the optical axis 26 of the microscope 22 and the camera 24 with respect to the sample 100 is tilted from the vertical axis, that is, when the holding surface 30a of the sample stage 30 is tilted with respect to the horizontal plane, the manipulation system 10 Instead of the horizontal movement unit 40, a plane direction movement unit capable of moving the sample stage 30 in the plane direction is provided.

Further, the horizontal movement unit 40 and the rotation unit 50 of the embodiment are electrically connected to the controller 80 and driven based on control signals output in response to commands input to the controller 80 from the operation unit 82. , may be driven by an operator's operation to an operation unit that is mechanically connected.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 manipulation system 12 base 20 microscope unit 22 microscope 24 camera 26 optical axis 28 focusing mechanism 30 sample stage 30a holding surface 30b center 32 sample holding member 40 horizontal movement unit (surface direction movement unit)
42 first-direction movement unit 44 second-direction movement unit 50 rotation unit 52 disk 54 rotation operation shaft 56 bearing 60 manipulator 62 holding member 64 jig 70 three-axis movement unit 80 controller 100 sample D1 first direction D2 second direction

Claims (5)

a sample stage on which the sample is supported on a holding surface perpendicular to the observation direction of the microscope;
a plane direction moving unit capable of moving the sample stage in a direction parallel to the holding surface;
a rotation unit capable of rotating the sample stage and the planar direction movement unit with respect to the microscope around a rotation axis coinciding with the center of the field of view of the microscope;
A stage device. The rotating unit is
a disk body that is rotatably supported about the rotation axis on a base to which the microscope is fixed and that supports the sample stage via the planar movement unit;
a rotation operating shaft portion that rotates the disk as it rotates about the axis;
2. The stage apparatus of claim 1, comprising: The planar movement unit is
a first direction moving unit capable of moving the sample stage in a first direction parallel to the holding surface with respect to the disk;
a second direction movement unit capable of moving the sample stage in a second direction parallel to the holding surface and orthogonal to the first direction with respect to the disk;
3. The stage apparatus according to claim 2, comprising: The planar movement unit is attached to the upper surface side of the disc body,
4. The stage device according to claim 2 or 3. a stage device according to any one of claims 1 to 4;
a microscope unit including the microscope whose field of view center coincides with the rotation axis;
a manipulator including a jig for manipulating the sample;
A manipulation system with

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