JPH0726896B2 - Cover piece supply mechanism for microscope sample preparation device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION a. Object of the Invention (Industrial field of application) The cover piece supply mechanism for a microscope sample preparing apparatus according to the present invention further comprises an upper surface of a slide glass on which a sliced pathological sample or the like is attached. Attach a thin cover piece to the microscope sample preparation device used when making a microscope sample, and attach the cover piece to the upper surface of the slide glass on which the stained sample is attached. Used when sending in sync with.

(Prior Art) To make a pathological specimen excised from an affected area into a microscopic specimen, the pathological specimen is embedded in paraffin, sliced thinly, attached to the surface of a slide glass, stained, and then further coated. Stick a thin piece of cover on. As a device to be used when manufacturing such a microscope specimen, a slide case containing a plurality of slide glasses, which are simply pasted with thin sliced pathological specimens but not yet with a cover piece, is attached at one end. ,
Take out the slide glasses one by one from this slide case, attach a transparent synthetic resin cover piece cut into a certain length onto the slide glass, and then attach the slide glass with the cover piece attached. 2. Description of the Related Art There is known a cover piece sticking device for preparing a microscope specimen, which is sequentially housed in another slide case provided at the end.

That is, as shown in FIG. 7, a coil 3 of a transparent strip-shaped cover piece 2 coated with an adhesive on the surface is provided above the conveyor 1 arranged in the horizontal direction. The cover piece 2 pulled out by a constant length by 4a is cut by a cutter 5, and further fed to the upper surface of a slide glass 8 placed on a conveyor 1 via rollers 6 and 7. Since the adhesive solvent (encapsulant) is previously dropped from the nozzle 9 on the upper surface of the slide glass 8, the cover piece 2 cut into a certain length by the pressing roller 10 provided immediately above the conveyor 1 is slide glass 8 When the cover piece 2 is pressed onto the upper surface of the slide glass 8, the cover piece 2 is attached to the upper surface of the slide glass 8, and the pathological sample previously attached to the upper surface of the slide glass 8 is sandwiched between the slide glass 8 and the cover piece 2. It becomes a state. From the slide case 11 located on the left side of the drawing, the slide glasses 8 to which the dyed specimens are attached and the cover pieces are not yet attached are delivered one by one to the upper surface of the conveyor 1, and pass through the pressing roller 10. Then, the slide glass 8 to which the cover piece 2 is adhered is housed in the slide case 12 located on the right side of the drawing through the sheet 13.

When attaching a cover piece to a slide glass on which a specimen that has been sliced and stained in advance is attached using a cover attachment device for making microscope specimens, multiple slide glasses are stored in the slide case 11 as described above. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the conveyor 1 is mounted so as to be vertically movable while facing one end of the conveyor 1.
After the cover piece 2 is attached to the upper surface of the slide glass 8 which is sequentially sent out one by one, it is stored in the receiving side slide case 12 at the right end in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the receiving side slide case 12 has a first slide case 12 and a second slide case 12 which face each other.
As shown by the arrow a in FIG. 7, the second guide rails 14 and 15 hold the plate so that it can move diagonally up and down, and a slide glass is fed by the action of a descent control mechanism (not shown). Each time, the slide glass storage ridge formed inside the slide case 12 is lowered by one pitch. Since this descending control mechanism has been widely known from the past, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

However, in the conventional microscope sample forming apparatus configured and functioning as described above, the following inconvenience occurs.

That is, the conveyor 1 is configured to send the slide glass to which the cover piece is not attached from the slide case 11, attach the cover piece 2 and then send the cover piece to another slide case 12 by the conveyor 1. Since the chain and the guide plate (not shown) that prevents the slide glass from coming off to the side are stretched with use or are worn by sliding contact with the side edge of the hard slide glass, Frequent repairs and replacements are required.

Further, since the slide case 12 for receiving the slide glass with the cover piece attached thereto descends in an inclined state, the sliding contact surface between the guide rails 14 and 15 for guiding the slide case 12 and the slide case 12 Sliding between them is apt to be defective due to adhesion of dirt and the like, and when it becomes defective, the slide case 12 is not smoothly lowered, and the slide glass with the cover piece attached cannot be received.

In order to solve such inconvenience, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 4, a single slide case 11 is used, and the slide glass 8 with no cover piece attached is sent out from the slide case 11 and the slide glass 8 is attached. After attaching the cover piece 2 to the glass 8, the slide glass 8 is moved in the direction opposite to the feeding direction so that the slide glass 8 with the cover piece attached is returned to the original position of the slide case 11. A microscope sample making device is considered (Japanese Utility Model Application No. 61-8898).

In this improved microscope sample making device, the slide case 11 is provided in the vicinity of the guide rail that supports the slide case 11 so that the slide case 11 can be moved up and down in the vertical direction in synchronism with the attaching work of the cover piece 2. A descending control mechanism for descending the slide glass 8 housed inside by one pitch is provided.

Further, at a position facing the opening side of the slide case 11 supported by the guide rails, the slide glass 8 sent out from the slide case 11 is sent to the enclosing base portion,
A table 16 having a horizontal upper surface is provided. This table 16
A nozzle 9 for dropping the encapsulant on the upper surface of the slide glass 8 to which the cover piece is not adhered, and the cover piece 2 is cut into a certain length to enclose the upper surface of the slide glass to which the cover piece is not adhered. A cover piece supply mechanism similar to that incorporated in a conventional device for supplying the agent dropping portion, and a pressing roller 10 for pressing the cover piece 2 supplied on the upper surface of the slide glass toward the slide glass 8. Is provided.

Further, in a position sandwiching the slide case 11 supported by the guide rail, the slide glass 8 in the slide case 11 moves horizontally in a position directly above the table 16 in synchronization with the progress of the cover piece attaching work. A pair of pressing plates 17 for carrying the operation of feeding the
A slide glass transfer mechanism having 18 is attached.
A pair of pressing plates 1 constituting this slide glass transfer mechanism
A space equal to or more than one slide glass is provided between the edges of 7, 7 facing each other so that one slide glass can be sandwiched between the pressing plates 17, 18.

When the cover piece 2 is attached to the slide glass 8 in which the cover piece is not attached, which is housed in the slide case 11, by using the improved microscope sample making apparatus configured as described above, the conventional sample making apparatus is used. In the same manner as in the above case, the slide case 8 supported by the guide rails is lowered by one pitch of the slide glass 8 in the slide case 11, and the slide glass 8 is sent out along the table 16 to the enclosed portion.
After sticking the cover piece 2 on the upper surface of the slide glass 8, the slide glass 8 is moved backward on the table, and the slide glass 8 with the cover piece attached is stored in the original position.

The improved microscope sample preparation device is constructed and operates as described above, but this device takes out the slide glasses 8 housed in the slide case 11 one by one and returns them to the same slide case 11 again. A slide glass transfer mechanism is required.

For this reason, in the above-mentioned improved cover piece supply mechanism for a microscope sample making apparatus, a slide glass transfer mechanism as shown in FIGS. 5 to 6 is used (Japanese Patent Application No. 61-22908). That is,
The first and second sliders 20 and 21 and the third slider 22 which is sandwiched between both sliders 20 and 21 and driven by a motor are provided on a guide rail 19 which is arranged in parallel to the transport direction of the slide glass. The guide rails 19 are mounted so as to be movable and spaced apart from each other.

Among the three sliders 20 to 22, two sliders 20 and 21 located at both ends are provided with first and second extension plates 23 and 24 extending in a direction perpendicular to the guide rail 19. The base ends are fixed. The side edges of the two extension plates 23 and 24 facing each other are in contact with the end edges of the slide glass 8 and are the bases of the first and second pressing plates 17 and 18 for pushing and moving the slide glass 8. Each end is fixed. As described above, a space slightly longer than the length of the slide glass 8 is provided between the end edges of the first and second pressing plates 17 and 18 that face each other.

In addition, the first and second sliders 20 and 21 have both sliders.
The base end portions of the first and second connecting plates 27 and 28 extending from 20 and 21 toward the third slider 22 are fixed, and both connecting plates 2
The tip edges of 7, 28 are butted against the third slider 22 located at the center. Tensile springs 29, 29 are provided between the first connecting plate 27 and the third slider 22, and between the second connecting plate 28 and the third slider 22, respectively, and both connecting plates 27,
The tip edge of 28 is elastically pressed against the third slider 22.

Furthermore, a cam plate 30 is fixed to the third slider 22, and the first and second switches 31, 32 fixed to the first and second connecting plates 27, 28 are fixed to the side edges of the cam plate 30. The switching part of is contacted.

By the slide glass transfer mechanism for a microscope sample preparation device configured as described above, the third slide 22 is driven when the slide glass stored in the slide case is sent to the enclosing portion and returned to the same slide case again. By rotating the motor for normal rotation or reverse rotation, the third slider 22 described above is passed through the cable 35 suspended between the pulleys 33 and 34.
Is moved along the guide rail 19.

With the movement of the third slider 22, this third slider 22
22 tension springs 29, 29 and the first and second connecting plates
First and second sliders 20, 21 connected via 27, 28
Moves along the guide rail 19 above,
The first and second pressing plates 17 and 18 connected to the 0 and 21 via the extension plates 23 and 24 move in parallel with the guide rail 19, and the leading edge of one of the pressing plates 17 and 18 slides. The slide glass 8 is transferred while coming into contact with the edge of the glass 8.

If the slide glass 8 is forcibly moved due to some reason, and the slide glass 8 is forcibly transferred, the slide glass 8 may be broken. Of the tension springs 29, 29 provided between the sliders 20 and 21,
Even if the third spring 22 moves, the tension spring 29 located at the rear of the moving direction of the second slider 22 expands and the first or second slider moves.
20 and 21 will not move.

In this way, when the movement of the third slider 22 and the movement of the first or second slider 20, 21 become out of synchronization, the first slider fixed on the first or second slider 20, 21 is fixed. , Or the first or second switch 31, 32 fixed to the second connecting plate 27, 28.
The switching part is removed from the cam plate 30 fixed to the third slider 22, and the motor driving the third slider 22 until then is stopped.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in order to perform stable operation of the microscope sample preparing apparatus configured and operated as described above by incorporating the slide glass transfer mechanism configured and operated as described above, It is necessary to surely supply the cover piece in synchronization with the transfer of the slide glass.

When the supply speed of the cover piece and the transfer speed of the slide glass deviate from each other, an excessive force may be applied to the sample attached to the upper surface of the slide glass to destroy the sample. This also applies to the conventional microscope sample preparation device shown in FIG.

The cover piece supply mechanism for a microscope sample making apparatus of the present invention eliminates the above-mentioned inconvenience.

b. Configuration of the Invention (Means for Solving the Problem) The cover piece supply mechanism for a microscope sample preparing apparatus of the present invention includes a first guide member and a second guide member in the middle of an inclined guide plate for guiding the cover piece sent out from the coil. A discontinuous portion is provided.

On the upper and lower sides of the first discontinuous portion near the coil, there is a first elastic roller that is elastically pressed by a cover piece fed on the guide plate by a spring, and on the other upper and lower sides of the first discontinuous portion. First feed rollers, which are driven to rotate by a first motor and pull out the cover pieces from the coils, are provided at positions facing the first elastic pressure roller.

Further, below the second discontinuous portion on the side far from the coil, there is provided a second elastic pressure roller which is elastically pressed against the lower surface of the cover piece fed on the guide plate by the spring.

Above the second discontinuous portion, at a position facing the second elastic roller, a second feed roller driven to rotate by a second motor fixed to the tip end of the swing arm, and a horizontal bearing. A fixed third feed roller is provided at one end of the horizontal shaft rotatably supported.

Of the second and third feed rollers, the second feed roller is opposed to the upper half of the width direction of the cover piece fed on the guide plate, and the third feed roller is the cover piece of the cover piece. It opposes the upper surface of the other half in the width direction.

The second feed roller, which is rotationally driven by the second motor fixed to the tip end of the swing arm, has its lower surface located below the lower surface of the third feed roller when it descends most,
At the time of ascending, the lower surface is positioned above the lower surface of the third feed roller.

A pulley having the same outer diameter as the outer diameter of the third feed roller is fixed to the other end of the horizontal axis having the third roller fixed to one end, and a transfer mechanism for transferring the slide glass is attached to the pulley. A part of the driving cable is wrapped around.

Further, a sensor for detecting the lower end edge position of the cover piece fed on the guide plate is provided at the lower end of the guide plate located below the second discontinuous portion.

(Operation) When the cover piece supply mechanism for a microscope specimen making apparatus of the present invention configured as described above sends out a cover piece cut into a certain length to the upper surface of the slide glass, the operation is as follows.

The first motor is rotated by an appropriate rotation angle according to the required length of the cover piece, and the cover piece sandwiched between the first elastic pressure roller and the first feed roller is pulled out.

The cover piece thus drawn out by an appropriate length is cut by a cutter provided below the first elastic pressure roller and the feed roller to form a cover piece having a required length. In this state, the lower end of the cut cover piece enters between the upper surface of the second elastic pressure roller and the lower surface of the second feed roller.

From this state, stop the first motor and rotate the second motor in the lowered state to remove the cover piece sandwiched between the upper surface of the second elastic pressure roller and the lower surface of the second feed roller. Send it further down.

When the lower edge of the cover piece is lowered to a predetermined position detected by the sensor, the second motor is stopped and the cover piece cut into a predetermined length is attached to the upper surface of the slide glass. Stop the work just before the work and finish the preparatory work for supplying the cover piece.

Next, when the slide glass with the sample attached to the upper surface is sent below the cover piece by the transfer mechanism, the swinging arm is swung upward and the second feeding roller that was in the descending state until then. Raise.

Along with the rise of the second feed roller, the cover piece that had been pushed downward by the second feed roller until then was pushed upward by the second elastic pressure roller, and the upper surface of this cover piece was covered by the slide glass. It makes elastic contact with the lower surface of the third feed roller rotating in synchronization with the feed speed.

As a result of the upper surface of the cover piece elastically contacting the lower surface of the third feed roller in this way, this cover piece is sent out to the upper surface of the slide glass at the same speed as the feed speed of the slide glass, and is provided above this slide glass. It is attached to the upper surface of the slide glass by the pressing roller.

(Example) Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the illustrated example.

1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a partial transverse plan view, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

Coil 3 (FIGS. 3 to 4) in which a long cover piece 2 is wound.
First and second discontinuous portions 37 and 38 are provided in the middle of an inclined guide plate 36 that guides the cover piece 2 sent out from.

An inner cylinder 40 is rotatably fitted externally to a horizontal shaft 39 fixed to a portion located between the discontinuous portions 37 and 38 below the guide plate 36. The base end of the support arm 41 is fixed. The support arm 41 is provided with an elastic force directed upward by a tension spring 42, and the first elastic pressure roller 43 rotatably supported at the tip of the support arm 41 has the first discontinuous portion 37.
The upper surface of the guide plate 36 is pressed against the lower surface of the cover piece 2 that is fed through.

Further, a first feed roller 45, which is rotationally driven by a first motor 44, is provided above the first discontinuous portion 37 and at a position facing the first elastic pressure roller 43. The cover piece 2 fed on the upper surface of the guide plate 36 is sandwiched between the lower surface of the first feed roller 45 and the upper surface of the first elastic roller, and is rotated by the rotation of the first feed roller 45. Coil 3
I'm trying to pull it out from.

Further, an outer cylinder 46 is fitted on the outer side of the inner cylinder 40 so as to be rotatable with respect to the inner cylinder 40. The base end of the support arm 47 is fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the outer cylinder 46. The support arm 47 is provided with an elastic force directed upward by a tension spring 48, and a second elastic pressure roller 49 rotatably supported on the tip end of the support arm 47 passes through the second discontinuous portion 38 and guide plate 36.
The upper surface of the cover is pressed against the lower surface of the cover piece 2.

As described above, above the second discontinuous portion 38 provided with the second elastic pressure roller 49 on the lower side, at the position facing the second elastic pressure roller 49, the second and third feed rollers 50, 51 is provided.

The first feed roller 50 of the two feed rollers 50, 51 is a second motor 55 fixed to the tip of a swing arm 54 fixed to one end of a horizontal shaft 53 rotatably supported by a vertical substrate 52. It is freely rotatable by.

In this way, the second feed roller 50, which is rotationally driven by the second motor 55 fixed to the tip end of the swing arm 54, has its lower surface at the third position when it descends most due to the swing of the swing arm 54. Although it is located below the lower surface of the feed roller 51, the lower surface is located slightly above the lower surface of the third feed roller 51 when rising.

Further, the second feed roller 50 is such that the upper surface of the guide plate 36 faces only the upper surface of the half-width-direction half of the cover piece 2 to be fed,
At the time of descending, between the lower surface of the second feed roller 50 and the upper surface of the second elastic pressure roller, only one half of the width direction of the cover piece 2 is sandwiched.

On the other hand, the third feed roller 51 is fixed to one end of a horizontal shaft 57 rotatably supported by a horizontal bearing 56 provided on the vertical substrate 52. The third feed roller 51 is the cover piece 2
In the width direction of the cover piece 2 between the lower surface of the third feed roller 51 and the upper surface of the second elastic roller 49 only when the second feed roller 50 is raised. Only one half is clamped.

As described above, the pulley 58 having the same outer diameter as that of the third feed roller 51 is fixed to the other end of the horizontal shaft 57 having the third roller 51 fixed to one end. A part of the cable 35 (FIGS. 5 to 6) for driving the transfer mechanism for transferring the slide glass described above is wound around the pulley 58, and as the cable 35 circulates, the third feed roller is moved. The speed of movement of the cable (equal to the speed of movement of the pressing plates 17 and 18 for pushing the slide glass) and the speed of rotation of the outer peripheral surface of the third roller 51 are equal so that 51 is driven to rotate. I am trying to become.

Further, the guide plate located below the second discontinuous portion 38.
A sensor (not shown) for detecting the lower end edge position of the cover piece 2 fed on the upper surface of the guide plate 36 is provided at the lower end portion of the guide plate 36.

The cover piece supply mechanism for a microscope sample making apparatus of the present invention is configured as described above, and when the cover piece cut into a certain length by this supply mechanism is sent to the upper surface of the slide glass, first, the cover piece is first attached to the upper surface of the slide glass. Between the upper surface of the first elastic roller 43 and the lower surface of the first feed roller 45, the first motor 44 is rotated by an appropriate rotation angle in accordance with the length of the cover piece 2 required for attachment. The cover piece 2 sandwiched between is pulled out by an appropriate length corresponding to the above rotation angle.

The cover piece 2 thus drawn out by an appropriate length is cut by a cutter 5 (FIGS. 3 to 4) provided obliquely below the first elastic pressure roller 43 and the first feed roller 45, The cover piece 2 has the required length. Further, in this state, the lower end portion of the cut cover piece 2 has the upper surface of the second elastic roller 49 and the second feed roller 50.
And the cover piece 2 can be fed further downward as the second feed roller 50 rotates.

From this state, the first motor 44 is stopped and the second motor fixed to the tip of the swing arm 54 in the downward rotating state.
By rotating 55, the cover piece 2 sandwiched between the upper surface of the second elastic pressure roller 49 and the lower surface of the second feed roller 50 is fed further downward along the upper surface of the guide plate 36.

When the lower edge of the cover piece 2 descends to a predetermined position detected by a sensor provided at the lower end of the guide plate 36 as the second feed roller 50 rotates, the first edge is detected based on a signal from this sensor. The second motor driving the second feed roller 50 is stopped. In this state, the cover piece 2 cut into a predetermined length is stopped immediately before the enclosing work for attaching the cover piece 2 to the upper surface of the slide glass, and the preparation for supplying the cover piece 2 is completed. Finish the work.

Then, when the slide glass having the specimen adhered to the upper surface is sent to the lower side of the cover piece 2 in the stopped state by the transfer mechanism (FIGS. 5 to 6), the swing arm 54 is moved by an actuator such as a solenoid (not shown). Oscillates upward, and the second feed roller 50 that was in the descending state until then is moved to the second motor 55
Raise every.

With the rise of the second feed roller 50 as described above, the cover piece 2 which has been pushed downward by the second feed roller 50 until then is given a second elastic force by the elastic force of the tension spring 48. It is pushed upward by the pressure roller 49. Therefore,
The upper surface of the cover piece 2 elastically contacts the lower surface of the third feed roller 51 rotating in synchronization with the feed rate of the slide glass, and as a result, the cover piece 2 slides at the same speed as the feed rate of the slide glass. Is attached to the upper surface of the slide glass onto which the encapsulant has been dripped in advance by a pressing roller (not shown) provided above the slide glass.

c. Effect of the Invention Since the cover piece supply mechanism for a microscope sample making apparatus of the present invention is configured and operates as described above, it is easy to make the feed rate of the cover piece and the feed rate of the slide glass exactly match. In addition, the movement speed of the cover piece and the slide glass is different during the enclosing work of attaching the cover piece to the upper surface of the slide glass, and the specimen attached to the upper surface of the slide glass is not damaged.

Even when the length of the cover piece sent out by adjusting the rotation angle of the first motor is changed, the lower edge of the cover piece after cutting always stops at the same position, so it is related to the length of the cover piece. The stable supply work of the cover piece can be performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 and 2 show an embodiment of a cover piece supply mechanism for a microscope sample making apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional plan view, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing a first example of a microscope sample preparing apparatus in which the supply mechanism is incorporated, FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing the second example, and FIG. 5 is a slide incorporated in the microscope sample preparing apparatus. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the glass transfer mechanism, FIG. 6 is a side view showing a driving portion, FIG. 7 is a schematic side view showing a conventional microscope sample preparing apparatus, and FIG.
The drawing is a view showing the slide case supporting portion, as viewed from the arrow B in FIG. 7. 1: Conveyor, 2: Cover piece, 3: Coil, 4 and 4a: Roller,
5: Cutter, 6, 7: Roller, 8: Slide glass, 9: Nozzle, 10: Pressing roller, 11, 12: Slide case, 13: Shute, 14, 15: Guide rail, 16: Table, 17, 18: Pressing plate, 19: first guide rail, 20: first slider, 21:
Second slider, 22: third slider, 23: first extension plate, 24: second extension plate, 27: first connecting plate, 28: second connecting plate, 29: tension spring , 30: cam plate, 31: first switch, 32: second switch, 33, 34: pulley, 35: cable, 36: guide plate, 37: first discontinuity, 38: second discontinuity Continuous part, 39: horizontal axis, 40: inner cylinder, 41: support arm, 42: tension spring, 43: first elastic roller, 44: first motor, 45: first feed roller, 46: outer cylinder , 47: support arm, 48: tension spring, 49: second elastic roller, 50: second feed roller, 51:
Third feed roller, 52: vertical substrate, 53: horizontal axis, 54: swing arm, 55: second motor, 56: horizontal bearing, 57: horizontal axis, 58: pulley.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A first and a second discontinuous portion are provided in the middle of an inclined guide plate that guides a cover piece sent out from a coil, and a spring is provided on one of the upper and lower sides of the first discontinuous portion near the coil. The first elastic roller, which is elastically pressed by the cover piece fed on the guide plate, is rotated and driven by the first motor to a position facing the first elastic roller on the other upper and lower sides of the first discontinuous portion. A first feed roller for pulling out the cover piece from each is provided, and a second elastic pressure roller that is elastically pressed to the lower surface of the cover piece that is sent on the guide plate by the spring below the second discontinuous portion far from the coil is provided. A second feed roller, which is rotatably driven by a second motor fixed to the tip of the swing arm, is provided at a position above the second discontinuous portion and facing the second elastic pressure roller. The bearing is rotatably supported A fixed third feed roller is provided at one end of the horizontal axis. Of the second and third feed rollers, the second feed roller is the half of the width direction of the cover piece fed on the guide plate. The second feed roller, which is rotatably driven by a second motor fixed to the tip of the swing arm, while facing the upper surface of the part and the third feed roller to the upper surface of the other half in the width direction of the cover piece. The lower surface of the third feed roller shall be located below the lower surface of the third feed roller only when it descends the most, and the third roller is fixed to the other end of the horizontal shaft which is fixed to one end. A part of the cable that drives the transfer mechanism for transferring the slide glass is wrapped around a pulley having the same outer diameter as that of the guide plate, and the lower end of the guide plate located below the second discontinuity is Detects the lower edge position of the cover piece fed on the guide plate Microscope specimen creating device cover piece supplying mechanism comprising provided that sensor.