JPH08136818A - Optical microscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an optical microscope easy for attaching/detaching work of a condenser and capable of eliminating the retreat stroke of the condenser in a specimen observation position. CONSTITUTION: In an optical microscope provided with a focusing mechanism vertically moving an objective lens 29, this microscope is provided with a supporting member 34 supporting a stage 43 and a condenser hold part 46, a movable guide part provided on the supporting member 34, fixed guide parts 32a, 32b arranged on a pedestal part 21b of a mirror base 21, to which movable guide part is fitted slidably and guiding the supporting member 34 from the specimen observation position to the end part of the pedestal part 21b, and a fixing member 38 fixing the movable guide part and the fixed guide parts 32a, 32b are provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical microscope, and more particularly, to an improvement of an objective lens up-and-down type optical microscope used in an electrophysiological experiment for manipulating a specimen on a stage.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS.
The objective lens up-down type microscope disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication is shown. In the microscope shown in FIG. 7, an epi-illumination tube 2 is fixed to the upper part of a mirror base 1, and an eyepiece 4 is attached to the fixed part via a lens barrel 3. A slide dovetail 1a is formed on the upper surface of a base portion integrally formed in the lower portion of the mirror base 1. The stage holding member 5 is fixed to the base portion by fitting a dovetail groove formed on the lower end surface of the stage holding member 5 into the slide dovetail 1a. A stage 6 is fixed to the upper end surface of the stage holding member 5 by a similar dovetail structure.

On the other hand, a mounting guide 7 is provided in front of the body of the mirror base 1.
Is mounted so that it can slide vertically. An arm 8 is attached to the front surface of the attachment guide, and a revolver 9 is fixed to the tip of the arm 8 via a dovetail structure.
The objective lens 10 attached to the revolver 9 can be arranged at the observation optical axis position. The arm 8 is connected to the handle 11 inside the mirror base via a focusing mechanism.

In the microscope constructed as above,
By rotating the handle 11 with the sample S placed on the upper surface of the stage 6 fixed to the stage support member 5, an operation converted into a direct vertical movement by a focusing mechanism inside a mirror base (not shown). The amount acts on the mounting guide 7 and moves up and down together with the revolver 9 and the objective lens 10 supported by the mounting guide 7 to realize a semi-focusing operation.

On the other hand, in the microscope shown in FIG. 8, a fixed stage receiver 5'having an L-shaped cross section is fixed to the base portion of the mirror base 1, and a stage 6'is placed on the upper surface of the fixed stage receiver 5 '. It The condenser 12 held by the fixed stage receiver 5'is provided on the lower portion facing the stage 6 '.
Is arranged.

In this microscope, the quasi-focusing operation is realized in the same manner as described above, and transmitted illumination observation can be performed by the condenser 12 arranged below the fixed stage receiver 5 '.

[0007]

However, the focusing type microscope shown in FIG. 7 has a drawback in that it cannot perform transmission illumination observation, or transmission / incident simultaneous illumination observation. Further, in the case of the focusing type microscope shown in FIG. 8, when a support table for supporting various manipulation devices used in electrophysiological experiments and the like is placed on the upper part of the stage, the condenser is seen by an observer. It will be in a recessed position, and it will be very troublesome to attach and detach the capacitor.

In addition, during actual microscopic examination, the upper surface of the capacitor is often close to the stage surface, and it is difficult to carry out replacement work as it is. Therefore, it is often the case that a mechanism for moving the condenser up and down is provided and the condenser is lowered to a detachable position before the optical element or condenser is replaced. However, if such a mechanism is added, a retracting stroke for attaching and detaching the optical element to the lower portion of the condenser is required in addition to the condenser focusing stroke. As a result, the upper surface of the stage has to be raised by the stroke for retracting the condenser, which causes a problem that the stroke of the objective lens is limited. To avoid this, the height of the mirror base itself and the mounting position of the lens barrel to the mirror base can be raised to avoid the above-mentioned problems, while maintaining an ergonomically ideal eye point position. There is a problem that can not be done. Furthermore, since the condenser retracting stroke is a stroke that is completely unnecessary at the time of microscopic examination, it becomes a loss of the illumination optical system and causes a drop in optical performance.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is, in an electrophysiological experiment or the like, a case where a support table on which various manipulation devices are mounted is arranged above a stage. However, the condenser can be easily attached and detached, and by eliminating the withdrawal stroke when attaching and detaching the condenser at the sample observation position, the objective lens vertical focusing stroke can be secured without changing the eye point, and illumination can be performed. An object of the present invention is to provide an optical microscope that is advantageous in terms of optical performance by eliminating the loss of the optical system.

[0010]

The present invention has taken the following means in order to achieve the above object. The present invention corresponding to claim 1 is a mirror base for arranging an eyepiece lens and an objective lens attached to a revolver on the same observation optical axis, a stage on which a sample is loaded, and a stage arranged below the stage. A capacitor holding unit that holds a capacitor
An optical microscope including an operation table to which an operation jig for operating a sample placed on the stage is attached, and a focusing mechanism which is built in the mirror base and moves the objective lens along an optical axis. In, a support member for supporting the stage and the capacitor holding portion, a movable guide portion provided on the support member, and a movable guide provided on the base portion of the mirror base are slidably fitted. It is configured to include a fixed guide portion that guides the support member from a sample observation position to an end of the base portion, and a fixed member that fixes the movable guide and the fixed guide.

The present invention corresponding to claim 2 further comprises locking means for contacting with the movable guide at the specimen observation position and at the capacitor attachment / detachment position where the support member is pulled out to the end of the base portion. Composed. The present invention corresponding to claim 3 is characterized in that the capacitor and the upper surface of the base portion when the capacitor is arranged at a sample observation position are brought close to each other.

[0012]

The present invention has the following effects by taking the above measures. According to the present invention corresponding to claim 1, the support member for supporting the stage and the capacitor holding portion is provided with a movable guide portion and a fixed guide portion, and a sample observation position and a capacitor attachment / detachment position at an end portion of the base portion. It can be slidably moved between and fixed by a fixing member at an arbitrary position. Therefore, the capacitor can be easily attached / detached by pulling out the support member to the capacitor attachment / detachment position.

According to the present invention corresponding to claim 2, when the support member at the specimen observation position is pulled out to the front end of the base portion via the guide portion, the capacitor attachment / detachment position is determined at another predetermined position. The movable guide portion contacts the locking means.
Further, when the support member is pushed in from the condenser attachment / detachment position toward the sample observation position, the movable guide portion comes into contact with the locking means at the sample observation position.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the condenser and the upper surface of the base are close to each other at the sample observation position, the optical path length of the illumination optical system from the inside of the base to the condenser is shortened. It Further, even if the condenser and the upper surface of the base portion are close to each other, it is possible to pull out to the end portion of the base portion together with the supporting member, so that replacement work of the condenser does not become difficult.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an optical microscope according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the optical microscope of the present embodiment, the tip portion 21a of the mirror base 21 constituting the microscope body is extended above the stage, and the lens barrel 22 is fixed at a position on the observation optical axis of the tip portion 21a. An eyepiece lens 23 is detachably attached to the lens 22.

A base portion 21b is integrally formed under the mirror base 21. A lamp house 24 for observation of transmitted illumination is attached to the back surface of the base portion 21b. A mounting guide 25 is slidably mounted in the vertical direction in the figure on the front surface of a body portion 21c forming an intermediate portion of the mirror base 1. An L-shaped arm 26 is provided on the front surface of the mounting guide 25 with a mounting screw 2
7. A dovetail groove (not shown) for detachably holding the revolver 28 is formed in the horizontal portion of the L-shaped arm 26. The revolver 28 is held by the L-shaped arm 26 by fitting an unillustrated dovetail portion formed on the upper portion of the revolver 28 into the dovetail groove of the L-shaped arm 26. By rotating the revolver 28, an arbitrary objective lens 29 can be arranged on the optical axis.

The mounting guide 25 is connected to a focusing focus handle 31 provided on the side surface of the mirror base 21 via a known focusing focus mechanism. The focusing mechanism is housed in the mirror base 21 and converts the amount of rotation given to the focusing handle 31 into a vertical linear movement of the mounting guide 25.
A pair of fixing guides 32a and 32b are fixed to both side surfaces of the base portion 21b of the mirror base 21 by several fixing screws 33 in a state where the fixing guides 32a and 32b are parallel to each other and the longitudinal directions thereof are oriented horizontally in the drawing. There is. This fixed guide 32a (32b)
On the other hand, the stage moving member 34 is attached so as to be movable in the guide direction.

Below the stage moving member 34, a pair of support legs 35a and 35b sandwiching both side surfaces of the base portion 21b are provided. The lower portions of the supporting legs 35a and 35b are bent in an L shape, and sliding grooves 36 into which the fixed guides 32a and 32b are slidably fitted are formed on the inner surfaces of the sliding portions formed of both horizontal portions thereof. ing.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1, showing a cross section of the fixed guide attachment portion on one side surface of the base portion 21b. The fixed guides 32a and 32b attached to both side surfaces of the base portion 21b are provided with the step portions 41 (adjacent two surfaces 41a and 4a) formed on the side surfaces of the base portion, respectively.
1b), and the fixed guide 3 with the stepped portion 41 positioned.
2a (32b) is fixed with the screw 33 as described above.

V-grooves 37 are formed on the respective side surfaces of the pair of fixed guides 32a and 32b attached to both side surfaces of the base portion 21b along the longitudinal direction thereof. On the other hand, a screw hole formed so that the center thereof is slightly above the groove center of the V groove 37 in each sliding portion of the pair of support legs 35a and 35b fitted to the fixed guides 32a and 32b. Several are formed. The stage moving member 34 can be fixed to the fixed guides 32a and 32b by screwing a fixing screw 38 having a conical shape at the tip into the screw hole. In addition, a projection 39 is provided at the lower end of the support leg 35a.
Is formed, and a stopper pin 40a provided on a side surface of the base portion 21b is applied to the stage to be described later,
It is set so that the center of the condenser and the optical axis L can be aligned with each other. In addition, the stage moving member 34
A stopper pin 40b is provided on the side surface of the base portion 21b so that the stopper pin 40a slides on the fixed guides 32a and 32b and comes into contact with the protrusion 39 when the capacitor attachment / detachment position shown in FIG. 3 is reached.

An upper portion of the stage moving member 34 is provided with a stage fixing portion 42 having a round dovetail 42a formed on the upper surface and projecting on the optical axis. By fitting the round dovetail groove formed in the lower portion of the stage 43 to the round dovetail 42a of the stage fixing portion 42, the stage 43 is moved to the stage moving member 34.
It is fixed to. A through hole 43a is formed in the upper portion of the dovetail groove of the stage 43.

The stage moving member 34 has a capacitor receiving attachment guide 44 attached below the stage fixing portion 42 so as to be vertically slidable. The capacitor receiving / attaching guide 44 is connected to the capacitor upper / lower handle 45 via a known focusing mechanism. This focusing mechanism is housed in the stage moving member 34,
The amount of rotation given to the condenser up / down handle 45 is converted into a vertical linear movement of the condenser receiving / attaching guide 44.

A capacitor receiver 46 is formed on the side surface of the capacitor receiver mounting guide 44 so as to project on the optical axis.
Is loaded and fixed.

A sample container 48 is placed on the upper surface of the stage 43. The mount 49 arranged on the stage 43 so as to surround the sample container 48 includes the mirror base 21 or the mirror base 2.
It is supported by a support base 50 fixed to the base portion 21b other than 1. The center of the mount 49 is the sample container 48.
Niger holes are formed. Various manipulation devices 51 are fixed to the mount 49.

Although not specifically shown in FIG. 1, when performing epi-illumination or epi-illumination / transmission simultaneous illumination observation, connect the epi-illumination projection tube 2 to a predetermined position as shown in FIG. You can do it.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment having the above-described structure will be described in the order of the condenser replacement work by the spectroscope. 1 shows a state in which the condenser 47 is at the sample observation position, and FIG. 3 shows a state in which the stage moving member 34 has moved to the condenser attachment / detachment position.

First, the microscope operator rotates the focusing handle 31 to move the mounting guide 25 upward.
As a result, the arm 26 fixed to the attachment guide 25 and the revolver 28 fixed to the arm 26 move upward as a unit. By moving the mounting guide 25 upward in this manner, the objective lens 29 fixed to the revolver 28 is retracted to such an extent that the sample container 48 can be taken out.

After the objective lens 29 is sufficiently retracted and the sample container 48 is taken out, the support leg 3 of the stage moving member 34 is provided.
The fixing screw 38 fixing 5a and 35b is loosened to release the fixing between the fixing guides 32a and 32b and the stage moving member 34. Then, the stage moving member 34 is slid on the fixed guides 32a and 32b and pulled out to the front, and the projection 39 formed on the support leg 32a is brought into contact with the stopper pin 40b.

By rotating the capacitor upper and lower handles 45 at the position where they are brought into contact with the stopper pin 40b and moving the capacitor receiver mounting guide 44 downward, the upper surface of the capacitor 47 fixed to the capacitor receiver 46 has a round dovetail 42a. Lower to a position lower than the bottom surface. This state is shown in FIG. In the state shown in FIG. 3, the capacitor 47 can be easily attached and detached.

After exchanging the condenser 47 and the optical element contained in the condenser 47, the microscopist fixes the condenser 47 to the condenser receiver 46 again. Then, the condenser vertical handle 45 is rotated to raise the lower surface of the condenser receiver 46 to such an extent as not to interfere with the base portion 21b. Then, the stage moving member 34
Slide inward until it contacts the stopper pin 40a. At the position where it abuts against the stopper pin 40a, the optical axis of the condenser 47 coincides with the optical axis L by the above setting. In this state, the fixing screw 38 is tightened.
When the fixing screw 38 is tightened, the center of the screw hole is slightly displaced from the center of the V groove as shown in FIG. 2, so that the upper surfaces of the sliding guides are pressed against the upper surfaces of the fixed guides 32a and 32b for positioning. After this, the condenser up / down handle 4
5, the condenser 47 is fixed to the specimen observation position by vertically arranging the condenser 47 at an appropriate position on the speculum.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the optical microscope of the objective lens up-and-down type, the stage support member 34 supporting the stage 43, the condenser 47 and the like can be pulled out from the sample observation position to the front. Although the vertical direction of the stage 43 is fixed, the base portion 21
b The capacitor 47 is not limited to the space above.
Can be lowered, and there is an advantage that the capacitor can be easily attached and detached.

According to this embodiment, even when the mounting base 49 for mounting the manipulator equipment 51 and the like is arranged above the stage, the support base 50 of the manipulator equipment 51 and the stage support member 34 are separated. Since it was configured to
The capacitor 47 can be pulled out from a recessed position below the manipulator device 51, and the capacitor attaching / detaching work can be easily performed.

Next, a second embodiment of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the optical microscope according to the second embodiment. The present embodiment is an example in which the support leg portion of the stage support member in the first embodiment described above is modified. Therefore, parts having the same functions as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals to avoid duplication of description.

The optical microscope of this embodiment has a pair of support legs 60a, 60 provided under the stage support member 34 '.
b is a fixed guide 32 provided on both side surfaces of the base portion 21b.
It is slidably fitted to a and 32b.

FIG. 5 shows a cross section taken along the line AA of FIG. A sliding plate 61 that extends in the horizontal direction is integrally formed under the support legs 60a and 60b. A convex portion forming an L-shaped step portion is integrally formed on the inner side surface of the sliding plate 61 at a position at a predetermined height from the lower end surface along the longitudinal direction. Further, the fixed guides 32 a, 32 are provided on the inner surface of the sliding plate 61.
The movement guides 62 are fixed along the longitudinal direction at a position slightly above the step portion and above the thickness of b. The moving guide 62 is fixed to the inner surface of the sliding plate 61 with screws 63. In addition, the fixed guides 32a and 32b
Between the moving guide 62 and the moving roller 62
4 is loaded, and these guide members form a linear guide. The sliding plate 61 (supporting leg) can be fixed to and released from the fixed guides 32a and 32b by fixing screws as in the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows the stage support member 3 which was at the sample observation position (the state shown in FIG. 4) on the base portion 21b.
It shows a state in which 4'is pulled out for a capacitor replacement work.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the condenser position at the specimen observation position is lowered, and accordingly, the stage position is also lowered. As a result, the position of the objective lens at the time of the microscope is also lowered, resulting in a large vertical movement stroke of the objective lens. Therefore, even if the objective lens stroke is increased, it is not necessary to change the mirror base shape, and the stroke can be increased without raising the eyepoint position.

Further, since the distance between the condenser and the lens of the transillumination optical system housed inside the mirror base is shortened,
The loss of the illumination optical system is eliminated, and it is advantageous in optical performance.
Further, by using a ball or a cross roller guide as the guide, the stage moving member can be moved smoothly.

The guide structures of the first and second embodiments can be interchanged. The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0040]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, since the capacitor can be horizontally moved together with the stage to a place where the capacitor can be easily attached and detached, the capacitor can be attached and detached. It is possible to improve the work efficiency of replacement work of various optical elements.

According to the present invention, the vertical stroke of the objective lens can be increased by shortening the illumination optical system without changing the eyepoint position, and the loss of the illumination optical system can be eliminated, which is advantageous in optical performance. You can set various lens configurations.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an optical microscope according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a guide attachment portion in the optical microscope of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which a stage support member is pulled out in the optical microscope according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of an optical microscope according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a guide attachment portion in the optical microscope of the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which a stage supporting member is pulled out in the optical microscope according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a conventional objective lens up-and-down type optical microscope.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a conventional optical microscope capable of simultaneous observation of transmission and incident light.

[Explanation of symbols]

21 ... Mirror base, 21b ... Base part, 25 ... Mounting guide, 2
6 ... L-shaped arm, 28 ... Revolver, 29 ... Objective lens, 31 ... Focusing handle, 32a, 32b ... Fixed guide, 34, 34 '... Stage moving member, 35a, 35b
... Support legs, 40a, 40b ... Stopper pins, 43 ... Stage, 44 ... Capacitor receiver mounting guide, 45 ... Capacitor up / down handle, 46 ... Capacitor receiver, 47 ... Capacitor, 48 ... Sample container.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A mirror base for disposing an eyepiece lens and an objective lens attached to a revolver on the same observation optical axis,
A stage on which a sample is loaded, a capacitor holding unit for holding a capacitor arranged under the stage, an operation table to which an operation jig for operating the sample placed on the stage is attached, and the mirror. In an optical microscope including a focusing mechanism for moving the objective lens along an optical axis, which is built in a base, a supporting member that supports the stage and the condenser holding unit, and a movable guide unit provided on the supporting member. A fixed guide portion disposed on a base portion of the mirror base and slidably fitted with the movable guide to guide the support member from a sample observation position to an end portion of the base portion; and the movable guide. An optical microscope comprising: a fixing member for fixing the fixing guide. 2. The locking means for contacting with the movable guide at the specimen observation position and at the condenser attachment / detachment position where the support member is pulled out to the end of the base portion. Optical microscope. 3. The optical microscope according to claim 1, wherein the condenser and the upper surface of the base portion when the condenser is placed at a sample observation position are brought close to each other.