JP3033233B2 - Micro manipulator - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a micromanipulator, and more particularly, to a micromanipulator for processing a minute workpiece with a small instrument.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when a DNA solution is injected into a cultured cell, a micromanipulator is used. Meanwhile, there is a micromanipulator that can be arranged in a clean bench in order to perform the above-described processing under aseptic conditions. A micromanipulator of this type includes a microscope having an operation table for arranging an object to be processed, a moving device for supporting and moving a micro instrument such as a micropipette on the operation table, and remotely operating the moving device. And an operation unit. The moving device is arranged on the operation console, and can perform vertical and horizontal movements on the operation console by a stepping motor.

According to the above-mentioned micromanipulator, if a microscope is arranged in a clean bench and a micro instrument is operated by an operation unit in a visual field of the microscope, a predetermined process can be performed on an object under aseptic conditions. it can.

[0004]

In the above-mentioned conventional micromanipulator, since the minute instrument easily vibrates due to the vibration of the stepping motor, it is difficult to perform a delicate operation under the visual field of the microscope.

Further, according to the stepping motor, it is not possible to move the small instrument in a wide speed range from a low speed to a high speed, and it is necessary to set the moving speed to a low speed or a high speed in advance. In this case, if the moving speed is set to a low speed, high-speed movement cannot be performed, and the working time becomes longer. vice versa,
If the moving speed is set to a high speed, it is extremely difficult to move the small instrument in small steps, and the operability is reduced.
Therefore, it is conceivable that the moving device is composed of two types, a low-speed moving device for fine movement and a high-speed moving device for coarse movement.
In this case, the moving device becomes large and cannot be arranged on the operation console, and the micromanipulator becomes large.

An object of the present invention is to provide a small-sized micromanipulator with improved operability.

[0007]

A micromanipulator according to the present invention is an apparatus for processing a minute object to be processed, such as a cell, with a small instrument. This micromanipulator has a microscope having an operation table for arranging the object to be processed, and a moving device with a linear motor for moving the micro apparatus on the operation table, having a support for the micro apparatus, An operation unit for operating the moving device in a speed range from a low speed to a high speed, wherein the moving device is disposed on the operation table.

[0008]

In the micromanipulator of the present invention, since the moving device is constituted by a linear motor having a smooth operation, the micro instrument hardly vibrates.

Further, since the linear motor can operate in a wide speed range from a low speed to a high speed, the moving device can move the micro-tool at a high speed and quickly, and can also move the micro-tool at a low speed in small increments. .

[0010]

FIG. 1 shows a micromanipulator according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, a micromanipulator 1 mainly includes a microscope 2 and a control device 3.

The microscope 2 has a horizontal operation table 5 at its center.
As shown in FIG. 2, a container 6 such as a petri dish containing an object to be processed can be placed on the operation console 5. The operation console 5 includes a knob 7 as shown in FIG. 2, and can be moved in the horizontal direction by operating the knob 7.

A light source 8 for irradiating light to the operation console 5 is disposed above the operation console 5. Further, below the operation table 5, an objective lens storage unit 10 in which the objective lens 9 (FIG. 2) is stored is provided. A television camera 12 is connected to the objective lens housing 10 by an adapter 11. The television camera 12 is connected to the objective lens 9 in the objective lens housing 10. An insulator 13 for absorbing vibration is attached to a lower portion of the objective lens housing 10.

An eyepiece 14 is arranged in front of the operation console 5 in FIG. In the eyepiece lens 14, the operation state on the operation table 5 can be observed via a not-shown reflection system and the objective lens 9 arranged in the objective lens storage unit 10.

In the microscope 2, as shown in FIG.
5b are arranged. One micro-equipment moving device 15a
Is a supporting part 16 for supporting a micro instrument, and a supporting part 1
And a driving device 17 for moving the motor 6. The support section 16 includes a protection cylinder 19 for protecting a micropipette (an example of a micro instrument) 18a, and a protection cylinder 1
9 mainly comprises a holder 20 for holding the micropipette 18a via the support 9 and a support block 21 for supporting the holder 20. The holder 20 and the support block 21 are connected by a ball joint 22, so that the mounting angle of the holder 20 with respect to the support block 21 can be adjusted. The tip of the micropipette 18a supported by the support 16 extends to the container 6 side. Micropipette 1
One end of a tube 23a extending from a pump (not shown) is connected to the other end of 8a.

The driving device 17 includes an X-direction driving unit 24,
It mainly includes a direction drive unit 25 and a Z-direction drive unit 26. Each drive unit 24, 25, 26 is a linear DC motor. The X-direction drive unit 24 is arranged in the left-right direction (X
(In the direction), and is fixed on the operation console 5. A movable member 2 having a U-shaped cross section is provided on the stator 27.
8 is arranged so as to be movable in the direction of the arrow in FIG. A coil (not shown) is wound around the mover 28.
A DC power supply is connected to this coil (not shown). The Y-direction drive unit 25 is mounted on the X-direction drive unit 24. The Y-direction drive unit 25 has a stator 29 extending in a direction perpendicular to the stator 27 (Y direction) (FIG. 3). The central part of the stator 29 is fixed to the upper surface of the movable member 28. A movable member 3 having a U-shaped cross section is provided on the stator 29.
0 is arranged so as to be movable in the direction of the arrow in FIG. A coil (not shown) is also wound around the mover 30, and a DC power supply is connected to the coil (not shown). The Z-direction drive unit 26 is disposed on the Y-direction drive unit 25. The Z-direction drive unit 26 has a prismatic stator 31 that stands vertically on the movable element 30. Stator 3
A movable member 32 having a U-shaped cross section is attached to the inside of 1 (inside of the operation console 5) so as to be movable in the vertical direction (Z direction). A coil (not shown) is wound around the movable element 32, and a DC power supply is connected to the coil (not shown). The support block 21 of the support section 16 is fixed horizontally to the movable element 32.

The other small instrument moving device 15b has the same configuration as the above-described small instrument moving device 15a. However, a catching needle 18b is supported by the support 16 instead of the micropipette 18a. The capture needle 18b is a glass capillary having a rounded tip at the container 6 side,
One end of a tube 23b extending from a pump (not shown) is connected to the other end. The prompting needle 18b is for facilitating the processing by the micropipette 18a by sucking and holding the object to be processed at the tip.

The control unit 3 includes a control unit 33
, A CRT 34 and an operation panel 35. The control unit 33 includes a power supply, a microcomputer, and the like, and can control the driving device 17 and the like. The CRT 34 displays the operation status on the operation table 5 obtained by the objective lens 9 and also displays the operation procedure and the contents of dialogue with the operator. Operation panel 35
Is used by an operator to input a command to the micromanipulator 1. The operation panel 35 is provided with operation knobs, joysticks, and the like for instructing the drive device 17 to move.

Next, the operation and effect of the above embodiment will be described. The micromanipulator 1 has a microscope 2 portion disposed in, for example, a clean bench.

An object to be treated (for example, cultured cells S) in the container 6
When the processing by the micropipette 18a is performed on the small instrument moving devices 15a, 15
b to operate the micropipette 18a and the capture needle 18
b is moved on the operation console 5 in the X, Y, and Z directions. Here, if a movement command in the X direction is input from the operation panel 35,
Based on this command, a DC current flows from a DC power supply (not shown) to the mover 28 of the X-direction drive unit 24, and the mover 28 moves on the stator 27. Thereby, the micropipette 18a or the prompting needle 18b moves on the operation table 5 in the X direction. When a Y-direction command is input from the operation panel 35, a DC current flows from a DC power supply (not shown) to the moving element 30 of the Y-direction driving unit 25 based on the instruction, and the moving element 30 moves on the stator 29. Thereby, the micropipette 1
8a or the prompting needle 18b moves on the operation table 5 in the Y direction. When a movement command in the Z direction is input from the operation panel 35, a DC current flows from a DC power supply (not shown) to the mover 32 of the Z direction drive unit 26 based on the command, and the mover 32 moves along the stator 31. I do. Thereby, the micropipette 18a or the prompting needle 18b moves on the operation table 5 in the Z direction.

In the operation of moving the micropipette 18a or the catching needle 18b as described above, since each of the driving units 24, 25, and 26 of the driving device 17 is constituted by a linear motor, the micropipette 18 and the like are driven. Device 17
Moves smoothly without receiving vibration from Therefore,
The operator accurately determines the movement status of the micropipette 18a or the like through the eyepiece 14 or the CRT 34,
Precise processing of the object can be performed.

Further, since the driving device 17 is constituted by a linear motor as described above, each driving unit 24, 2
The moving speed of each of the moving elements 28, 30, and 32 at 5 and 26 can be set in a wide range from a very low speed to a high speed. For this reason, the operability of the micromanipulator 1 of the above embodiment is better than that of the conventional example.

[Other Embodiments] In the above embodiment, linear drive motors are used for the drive units 24, 25 and 26 of the drive unit 17, but other types of linear motors such as linear induction motors may be used instead. May be adopted.

[0023]

The micromanipulator of the present invention has a device for moving a micro instrument by a linear motor on the operation table of a microscope. Therefore, according to the present invention, a small-sized micromanipulator with improved operability can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial view of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a partial plan view of FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Micromanipulator 2 Microscope 5 Operation table 15a, 15b Micro instrument moving device 16 Support part 18a Micropipette 18b Capture needle 35 Operation panel S Culture cell

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G02B 21/32 B41J 7/00

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A micromanipulator for processing a minute object to be processed such as a cell by a micro instrument, comprising: a microscope having an operation table for arranging the object to be processed;
Having a support unit for the micro-equipment, comprising a moving device by a linear motor for moving the micro-equipment on the operation table, and an operation unit for operating the moving device in a speed range from a very low speed to a high speed, A micromanipulator, wherein a moving device is arranged on the operation console.