JP3879218B2 - Inverted microscope - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an inverted microscope.
[0002]
[Prior art]
FIG. 4 is a side view of a conventional inverted microscope.
[0003]
The inverted microscope includes a microscope body 210, a transmission illumination system 280 provided on the illumination column 220 of the microscope body 210, a filter block 250 provided below the stage 230 of the microscope body 210, and a specimen via the filter block 250. 205 is provided with a mounting portion 260 to which an illumination light projecting unit 261 for projecting illumination light can be attached and detached.
[0004]
An objective lens 240 is disposed between the stage 230 and the filter block 250.
[0005]
As the illumination projection unit 261, for example, an epi-illumination fluorescent illumination optical unit is used.
[0006]
The incident-light fluorescent illumination optical unit includes a lamp house 263 and an illumination light projector 262.
[0007]
For example, a mercury lamp is accommodated in the lamp house 263.
[0008]
The illumination light projector 262 is provided with a condenser lens 262a and a field stop (not shown).
[0009]
The filter block 250 is held by the movable portion 255 and is provided on the holder 251. The filter block 250 is provided with a dichroic mirror 252, an excitation filter 253, and an auxiliary filter 254 such as an absorption filter.
[0010]
A plurality of filter blocks 250 are mounted in parallel on a slider (not shown), and an arbitrary filter block 250 can be inserted on the optical axis of the objective lens 240 by a switching mechanism (not shown).
[0011]
In the case of epifluorescence observation, light from the lamp house 263 enters the specimen 205 stained with the fluorescent reagent through the illumination light projector 262, the filter block 250 and the objective lens 240, and the light reflected by the specimen 205 is the objective lens. The sample 205 is guided to the eyepiece 271 through the filter block 250 and the filter block 250, and a fluorescent image of the specimen 205 is observed.
[0012]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, the user of the inverted microscope does not necessarily perform only the microscope observation using the epi-illumination fluorescent illumination optical unit, but performs various observations without using the epi-illumination fluorescent illumination optical unit.
[0013]
For example, in the biotechnology field such as medicine and biology, without using the epi-illumination illumination optical unit, the operation state of eggs and micromanipulators during artificial fertilization is observed, and the culture process of culture specimens in tissue culture is checked To do.
[0014]
At this time, an inverted microscope is combined with a TV adapter for precise photometry and image analysis, and a camera and teaching head (auxiliary lens barrel) are combined for high-quality image photography and observation by multiple people. It is convenient if you can.
[0015]
However, the inverted microscope used as described above is a so-called popular type that cannot output an observation image other than an eyepiece, does not have an output port (light outlet) such as a side port or a front port, and is a TV. Adapters and cameras cannot be combined. In addition, the teaching head has only a so-called side-by-side type in which an eyepiece lens is added sideways, and requires a wide space.
[0016]
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an inverted microscope in which a TV adapter, a camera, and the like can be easily combined in a so-called popular inverted microscope.
[0017]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the invention according to claim 1 is a microscope main body, transmitted illumination means provided on an illumination column of the microscope main body, a filter block provided below a stage of the microscope main body, and the filter block The illumination light projecting unit for projecting illumination light onto the specimen via the light receiving means and the light receiving means for receiving the light from the specimen are provided with a mounting part that can be selectively attached and detached .
[0018]
When the light receiving means is mounted on the mounting portion instead of the illumination projecting unit, the light from the sample reflected by the filter block is received by the light receiving means and converted into an electrical signal.
[0021]
According to a second aspect of the invention, in the inverted microscope of claim 1, said filter block, characterized in that the half-mirror or a half prism is disposed.
[0022]
Since the filter block is provided with a half mirror or half prism, the light from the sample is divided by the half mirror or half prism in accordance with the reflectance, and guided to both the eyepiece and the light receiving means.
[0023]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the inverted microscope according to the first aspect, a dichroic mirror is disposed in the filter block.
[0024]
Since the dichroic mirror is arranged in the filter block, the light from the sample is selected according to the wavelength characteristic of the dichroic mirror and guided to both the eyepiece lens and the light receiving means.
[0027]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0028]
FIG. 1 is a side view of an inverted microscope according to the first embodiment of the present invention, which is partially cut away.
[0029]
This inverted microscope includes a microscope body (microscope main body) 10, an illumination column 20, a stage 30, an objective lens 40, a filter block 50, a mounting portion 260, and a lens barrel 70.
[0030]
The microscope body 10 is provided with an illumination column 20 formed at one end of the base 11.
[0031]
The illumination column 20 includes a vertical portion 21 and a horizontal portion 22 extending in the horizontal direction from the upper end of the vertical portion 21. A lamp house 23 is provided on the back side of the upper end of the vertical portion 21, and a condenser lens 25 is provided on the horizontal portion 22 via an attachment portion 24.
[0032]
For example, a halogen lamp is accommodated in the lamp house 23.
[0033]
The illumination column 20, the lamp house 23, the mirror 26, and the condenser lens 25 constitute a transmission illumination optical system (transmission illumination means) 80.
[0034]
In addition, a lens barrel 70 is provided at the other end of the base 11, and an eyepiece lens 71 is provided on the lens barrel 70 so that an image generated by the objective lens 40 can be observed with the naked eye.
[0035]
The base 11 is provided with an L-shaped vertical movement portion 15 that can be moved in the vertical direction by operating a focusing handle 16 provided on the side surface of the microscope body 10.
[0036]
A revolver 41 is attached to the vertical movement unit 15, and a plurality of different types of objective lenses 40 are attached to the revolver 41. As the objective lens 40, an infinity objective lens is used.
[0037]
A stage 30 on which the specimen 5 is placed is provided above the objective lens 40, and both ends of the stage 30 are fixed to the base 11 and the support portion 31.
[0038]
A filter block 50 is provided below the objective lens 40 (below the stage 30).
[0039]
The filter block 50 holds the half mirror 52. The filter block 50 is held by a movable portion 53, and the movable portion 53 is held by a holder 51 so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis of the microscope (a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1). By moving the movable portion 53, the filter block 50 can be changed to a filter block holding different types of optical elements.
[0040]
A hollow cylinder 61 that guides the light from the specimen 5 branched by the filter block 50 to the outside is attached to the mounting portion 260.
[0041]
The hollow cylinder 61 includes an imaging lens (second objective lens) 62 that condenses the light from the specimen 5, and a CCD camera 63 having a CCD imaging device 63a that converts the received light into an electrical signal. Contained.
[0042]
The CCD image pickup device 63a is disposed on the primary image plane formed by the imaging lens 62, and the CCD camera 63 is connected to a TV monitor (not shown).
[0043]
The hollow cylinder 61, the imaging lens 62, and the image sensor 63a (CCD camera 63) constitute a light receiving means. Further, the focal length of the imaging lens 62 can be set independently of the focal length of the second objective lens 12 built in the microscope body 10.
[0044]
In the case of transmitted illumination observation, the light emitted from the lamp house 23 enters the sample 5 through the mirror 26 and the condenser lens 25. The light transmitted through the sample 5 passes through the objective lens 40 and reaches the half mirror 52.
[0045]
The light reflected by the half mirror 52 passes through the mirror block 53, forms an image on the CCD image pickup device 63a by the imaging lens 62, is converted into an electric signal corresponding to the light amount, and is output to the TV monitor.
[0046]
On the other hand, the microscope image transmitted through the half mirror 52 is guided to the eyepiece lens 71 through an optical system such as the second objective lens 12 incorporated in the microscope body 10. The mounting portion 260 of this embodiment has the same configuration as the mounting portion 260 shown in FIG. Therefore, the inverted microscope of the present embodiment can be attached with the illumination projection unit 261 shown in FIG. At this time, if the filter block 250 shown in FIG. 4 is attached to the movable portion 53 as a filter block, the filter block can be easily replaced, and epi-illumination observation can be performed. That is, the observation according to the necessity can be appropriately performed with the minimum necessary configuration.
[0047]
According to the inverted microscope according to the first embodiment, the microscope image can be observed with the naked eye through the eyepiece lens 71, and the microscope image can be observed and measured by the TV monitor connected to the CCD camera 63.
[0048]
In addition, by preparing a plurality of hollow tubes 61 having imaging lenses 62 having different focal lengths, the user can easily change the observation magnification according to the purpose.
[0049]
If the imaging lens 62 is a zoom lens, the magnification of the microscope image by the CCD camera 63 can be continuously changed.
[0050]
FIG. 2 is a side view of an inverted microscope according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.
[0051]
The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a half mirror 152 and an imaging lens 162 are built in the filter block 150.
[0052]
In the hollow cylinder 61, a CCD image pickup device 63a (CCD camera 63) is disposed at the focal position of the imaging lens 162.
[0053]
According to the inverted microscope according to the second embodiment, the microscope image can be observed with the naked eye through the eyepiece lens 71 as in the first embodiment, and the microscope image can also be observed with a TV monitor connected to the CCD camera 63. Can do.
[0054]
FIG. 3 is a side view of an inverted microscope according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.
[0055]
This third embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that a teaching head (auxiliary lens barrel) (observation means) 90 is combined instead of housing the CCD camera 63 in the hollow tube 61.
[0056]
According to the third embodiment, since the teaching head 90 can be disposed on the rear side of the microscope, a large space is not required and observation by a plurality of persons is possible.
[0057]
In each of the above embodiments, 100% of the light is guided to the eyepiece 71 when the filter blocks 50 and 150 are removed from the optical axis of the objective lens 40.
[0058]
When the half mirrors 52 and 152 are total reflection mirrors, 100% light is guided to the CCD camera 63 and the teaching head 90 by inserting the filter blocks 50 and 150 including the half mirrors 52 and 152 on the optical path. be able to.
[0059]
Furthermore, by providing the filter blocks 50 and 150 with dichroic mirrors, the light from the specimen 5 is selected according to the wavelength characteristics of the dichroic mirror, and the light quantity according to the wavelength characteristics is applied to both the eyepiece lens 71 and the CCD camera 63. Can lead. In the above embodiments, the half mirrors 52 and 152 are provided in the filter blocks 50 and 150. However, for example, a half prism may be used instead of the half mirrors 52 and 152.
[0060]
Further, in the above embodiment, an infinity objective lens is used as the objective lens 40, but a finite objective lens is used and a concave lens 42 is provided in the revolver 40 as shown by a one-dot chain line (FIG. 1). And a concave lens 42 may be combined to obtain a parallel light beam. Even at this time, the same effect as when the infinite objective lens is used can be exhibited.
[0061]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the light receiving means is mounted on the mounting portion instead of the illumination light projecting unit, the light from the sample reflected by the filter block is received by the light receiving means, Convert to electrical signal. Therefore, even with an inverted microscope that cannot output an observation image other than an eyepiece, the microscope image can be observed and the amount of light can be detected simply by attaching the light receiving means to the illumination light projecting unit.
[0063]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the light from the specimen is divided by the half mirror or the half prism according to the reflectance, and the light quantity according to the division ratio is guided to both the eyepiece lens and the light receiving means.
[0064]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the light from the specimen is selected according to the wavelength characteristics of the dichroic mirror, and the amount of light according to the wavelength characteristics is guided to both the eyepiece lens and the light receiving means.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side view of an inverted microscope according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view of an inverted microscope according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a side view of an inverted microscope according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a side view of a conventional inverted microscope.
[Explanation of symbols]
5 Sample 10 Microscope body (microscope body)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 Illumination support | pillar 30 Stage 50 Filter block 52 Half mirror 61 Hollow cylinder 62 Imaging lens 63a Image pick-up element 80 Transmission illumination system (transmission illumination means)
90 teaching head (observation means)

Claims (3)

A microscope main body, transmission illumination means provided on an illumination column of the microscope main body, a filter block provided below a stage of the microscope main body, and illumination projection for projecting illumination light onto the specimen via the filter block An inverted microscope, comprising: a unit and a mounting portion on which either one of light receiving means for receiving light from the specimen can be selectively attached or detached .   The inverted microscope according to claim 1, wherein a half mirror or a half prism is arranged in the filter block.   The inverted microscope according to claim 1, wherein a dichroic mirror is disposed on the filter block.

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