JP5853362B2 - Front lens fixing member, objective lens - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a front lens fixing member and an objective lens using the same.

  In recent years, an electrophysiological experiment called a patch clamp in which a micropipette is brought into contact with a specimen under a microscope has been actively performed. In this patch clamp, it is necessary to secure a space for inserting the micropipette between the tip of the objective lens and the specimen (especially the angle of the tip of the objective lens is large), and an objective lens corresponding to this is proposed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  JP 2006-30588 A

  Currently, it is desired to improve the performance of the objective lens (for example, the numerical aperture and the light collection performance) while securing the insertion space for such a micropipette.

  In order to improve the performance of the objective lens, it is necessary to increase the diameter of the lens (hereinafter referred to as the front lens) which is the optical element closest to the specimen of the objective lens. However, if the front lens diameter is increased, a micropipette can be inserted. Since the space is narrowed and the operability is deteriorated, it is desired to increase the numerical aperture as much as possible without changing the front lens diameter.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a high-performance objective lens without changing the front lens diameter.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides:
In the front lens fixing member that holds the front lens closest to the observation sample in the microscope objective lens inside the lens barrel,
The front lens fixing member has a hook-shaped portion protruding in the direction of the optical axis of the front lens and a portion in which the protruding hook-shaped portion is cut around the optical axis,
In the front lens fixing member, the protruding bowl-shaped portion is in contact with the image-side lens surface of the front lens, and the cut-out portion is on the image-side lens surface of the front lens. It is fitted to the outer periphery of the front lens without projecting, and the front lens is fixed only by the projecting bowl-shaped part and the fitting part, and on the observation specimen side of the front lens Forming the light from the observation specimen so that it can enter from the entire lens surface,
Provided is a front lens fixing member, wherein an opening diameter of the front lens defined only by the notch portion is larger than an opening diameter of the front lens defined by the bowl-shaped portion. .

The present invention also provides an objective lens comprising the front lens fixing member.

  According to the present invention, an objective lens with high performance can be provided without changing the front lens diameter.

The front lens fixing member concerning 1st Embodiment is shown, (a) is sectional drawing along the AA line of (b), (b) is the arrow view seen from B of (a), respectively. Show. The front lens fixing member which concerns on 2nd Embodiment is shown, (a) is sectional drawing along the AA line of (b), (b) is the arrow view seen from B of (a), respectively. Show. Sectional drawing of the front lens vicinity of the objective lens using the front lens fixing member of 1st Embodiment is shown.

Hereinafter, a front lens fixing member according to an embodiment of the present application and an objective lens using the same will be described with reference to the drawings. The following embodiments are only for facilitating the understanding of the invention, and excluding additions and substitutions that can be performed by those skilled in the art without departing from the technical idea of the present invention. It is not intended.

First, the numerical aperture, which is one of the objective lens performances, is not the diameter of the front lens of the objective lens itself, but the front lens fixing member (hereinafter referred to as the front lens fixing member used when fixing the front lens to the lens barrel). The diameter of the opening of the optical element fixing member). Specifically, in order to fix the front lens to the lens barrel, it is defined by the inner diameter of a bowl-shaped member formed so as to protrude in the optical axis direction over one circumference around the optical axis.

  The optical element fixing member of the present application is characterized in that a substantially larger numerical aperture than that of the conventional lens can be achieved in an objective lens having the same front lens diameter. Each embodiment will be described below.

(First embodiment)
An optical element fixing member according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 1, an optical element fixing member 10 according to the first embodiment includes a first holder 4 constituting a lens barrel of an objective lens described later, and a front lens 1 that is an optical element inside the first holder 4. It consists of a pair of eaves members 3 (3a, 3b) that protrude in the direction of the optical axis and hold the front lens 1. Needless to say, a plurality of pairs of hook-shaped members 3 may be provided. Further, the shape (circumferential width) of each of the bowl-shaped members 3a and 3b may be different.

  The pair of bowl-shaped members 3 are formed integrally with, for example, the first holder 4 at positions facing the optical axis I of the front lens 1. The front lens 1 is fitted to the inner periphery of the tip of the first holder 4 and is in contact with the pair of hook-shaped members 3 and fixed with an adhesive or the like. Here, the front lens 1 and the bowl-shaped member 3 are configured to be in line contact. Note that the contact may be configured to be in surface contact.

  Further, the circumferential width of the bowl-shaped member 3 is formed such that when the front lens 1 is bonded, the front lens 1 does not rattle against the surface orthogonal to the optical axis I. . And the area | region in which the hook-shaped member 3 is not formed is formed in the shape where the outer peripheral part of the front lens 1 fits the 1st holder 4 with almost no gap. Therefore, light from the specimen side of the front lens 1 does not leak out from this fitting portion.

  When an objective lens is configured using such an optical element fixing member 10, if the diameter of the front lens 1 is d2, and the diameter (inner diameter) of the portion where the hook-like member 3 is provided is d3, The diameter of the non-existing region (the portion where the bowl-shaped member is cut out) is d2. At this time, when viewed from the sample side (the left direction in FIG. 1A), the opening diameter of the cutout portion increases from d3 to d2, and thus the numerical aperture of this region increases. On the other hand, the numerical aperture of a certain part of the bowl-shaped member 3 becomes a value equivalent to the case of the conventional opening diameter (d3).

  As described above, the optical element fixing member 10 according to the first embodiment is a region that is substantially equal to the diameter d2 of the front lens 1 as compared with the conventional case where there is a bowl-shaped member over the entire circumference (opening diameter d3). Can be secured. As a result, it is possible to partially increase the numerical aperture.

  Therefore, the objective lens having the optical element fixing member 10 according to the first example can obtain an objective lens having high performance (numerical aperture and light condensing performance) while ensuring the same insertion space for the micropipette as in the prior art. .

  In addition, the optical element fixing member 10 according to the first embodiment reduces the area of the hook-shaped member 3 portion that contacts the front lens 1 to such an extent that the fixing performance of the front lens 1 is not impaired. The area of the aperture diameter d2 can be maximized, and the performance of the objective lens can be maximized.

(Second Embodiment)
The optical element fixing | fixed part member concerning 2nd Embodiment is demonstrated referring FIG. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and demonstrated to the structure similar to 1st Embodiment.

  In FIG. 2, an optical element fixing member 10 according to the second embodiment includes a first holder 4 constituting a lens barrel of an objective lens to be described later, and a front lens 1 that is an optical element inside the first holder 4. It is composed of an odd number of bowl-shaped members 3 (3a, 3b, 3c) that protrude in the direction of the optical axis and hold the front lens 1. Needless to say, the number of hook-like members 3 is not limited to the above three, but may be an odd number. Moreover, the shape (circumferential width) of each of the flange members 3a, 3b, and 3c may be different.

  The odd number of hook-shaped members 3 are formed so as not to have a hook-shaped member at a position facing the optical axis I of the front lens 1, and are formed integrally with the first holder 4, for example. The front lens 1 is fitted to the inner periphery of the tip of the first holder 4 and is in contact with an odd number of hook-shaped members 3 and fixed with an adhesive or the like. Here, the front lens 1 and the bowl-shaped member 3 are configured to be in line contact. Note that the contact may be configured to be in surface contact.

  Further, the circumferential width of the bowl-shaped member 3 is formed such that when the front lens 1 is bonded, the front lens 1 does not rattle against a surface orthogonal to the optical axis. And the area | region in which the hook-shaped member 3 is not formed is formed in the shape where the outer peripheral part of the front lens 1 fits the 1st holder 4 with almost no gap. Therefore, light from the specimen side of the front lens 1 does not leak out from this fitting portion.

  When an objective lens is configured using such an optical element fixing member 10, if the diameter of the front lens 1 is d2 and the diameter of the portion where the hook-like member 3 is d4 is the region where the hook-like member 3 is located. The diameter d4 can be made larger by the radial width Δd of one hook-shaped member than the conventional one (opening diameter is d3) in which the hook-shaped member exists over the entire circumference. At this time, when viewed from the sample side (the left direction in FIG. 2A), the aperture diameter increases from d3 to d4, so the numerical aperture of this region increases. Moreover, since the diameter of the part where the width of the circumferential direction of the hook-shaped member 3 is small and there is no hook-shaped member 3 is the diameter d2 of the front lens 1, the numerical aperture is the same as when the opening diameter is d2.

  As described above, the optical element fixing member 10 according to the second embodiment is a region that is substantially equal to the diameter d2 of the front lens 1 as compared with the conventional case where there is a bowl-shaped member over the entire circumference (opening diameter d3). And a region where the opening diameter is d4 (d3 <d4) between d2 and d3 (a region where the bowl-shaped member 3 is provided). As a result, when the objective lens is viewed as a whole, the aperture diameter can be increased to d2 to d4 over the entire circumference as compared with the conventional one having the aperture diameter d3, and the numerical aperture and light collecting performance of the objective lens can be improved. Can do.

  Therefore, the objective lens having the optical element fixing member 10 according to the second embodiment can obtain an objective lens having high performance (numerical aperture and light condensing performance) while ensuring the same insertion space for the micropipette as in the prior art. .

  In addition, the optical element fixing member 10 according to the second embodiment reduces the area of the hook-shaped member 3 portion that contacts the front lens 1 to such an extent that the fixing performance of the front lens 1 is not impaired. The region of the aperture diameter d2 and the region of the aperture diameter d4 can be maximized, and the performance of the objective lens can be maximized.

  Next, an objective lens using the optical element fixing member 10 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and demonstrated to the structure similar to 1st Embodiment. In the following description, the optical element fixing member 10 of the first embodiment will be described as a representative, but the same applies to the optical element fixing member of the second embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the objective lens 20 according to the embodiment is fitted to the first holder 4 that holds the front lens 1 and the first holder 4 to become a part of the lens barrel of the objective lens 20. The second holder 5 is constituted. 3 shows a sectional view of only the vicinity of the sample surface 7 of the objective lens 20, and it goes without saying that there are a plurality of lenses on the image side of the front lens 1.

  On the specimen surface 7 side of the front lens 1, a region having a diameter equal to or larger than the diameter on which the outermost ray of the front lens 1 is incident is along the optical axis position of the specimen surface 7 and the outer wall on the specimen surface side of the first holder 4. It is cut so as to coincide with the surface, and its inclination angle is approximately θ1. This angle θ1 defines a space for inserting the micropipette. The larger the angle θ1, the larger the insertion space for the micropipette and the micropipette operability is improved.

  Further, the objective lens 20 has a region having an opening diameter d2 as shown in FIG. 1, and can secure a numerical aperture higher than the opening diameter d3 by the conventional ring-shaped bowl-shaped member. Moreover, by having the area | region whose aperture diameter is d2, the light from a sample surface can be effectively condensed and a bright sample image can be obtained.

  As described above, by having the optical element fixing member 10 according to the embodiment, even if the diameter of the front lens 1 is the same, it is possible to obtain a region having a larger aperture diameter (d2, d4) than the conventional objective lens, An objective lens with high performance (numerical aperture, light condensing performance) can be obtained.

  In addition, by having the optical element fixing member 10 according to the embodiment, if the performance of the objective lens is equal to the conventional one, the diameter of the front lens 1 can be reduced, and the insertion space (θ1) of the micropipette can be reduced. The enlarged objective lens 20 can be obtained.

  In the above description, the lens that defines the numerical aperture is described as the front lens. However, the lens is not limited to the front lens, and the same is true if the optical element fixing member of the present application is used as a fixing member for the lens that defines the numerical aperture of the lens. Needless to say, the effects of

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Front lens 3 Gutter-shaped member 4 1st holder 5 2nd holder 7 Sample surface 10 Optical element fixing member 20 Objective lens I Optical axis

Claims (5)

In the front lens fixing member that holds the front lens closest to the observation sample in the microscope objective lens inside the lens barrel,
The front lens fixing member has a hook-shaped portion protruding in the direction of the optical axis of the front lens and a portion in which the protruding hook-shaped portion is cut around the optical axis,
In the front lens fixing member, the protruding bowl-shaped portion is in contact with the image-side lens surface of the front lens, and the cut-out portion is on the image-side lens surface of the front lens. It is fitted to the outer periphery of the front lens without projecting, and the front lens is fixed only by the projecting bowl-shaped part and the fitting part, and on the observation specimen side of the front lens Forming the light from the observation specimen so that it can enter from the entire lens surface,
The front lens fixing member, wherein an opening diameter of the front lens defined only by the notched portion is larger than an opening diameter of the front lens defined by the bowl-shaped portion.   2. The front lens fixing member according to claim 1, wherein an even number or an odd number of the plurality of hook-shaped portions exist around the optical axis.   The front lens fixing member according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of hook-shaped portions are formed at positions facing the optical axis.   3. The front lens fixing member according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of hook-shaped portions are formed so as to be shifted from a position facing the optical axis.   An objective lens comprising the front lens fixing member according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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