JPH08194160A - Vertically illuminating phase contrast microscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To make a device coaxial and small in size in a vertically illuminating phase contrast microscope built-up in a small device for the observation of a cell culturing device, etc. CONSTITUTION: A light beam from a light source 4 is made to be a parallel light beam 13 by means of a condenser lens 8, reflected by a doughnut-shaped mirror 9, made to be a light beam 14 and incident on an objective lens 2, reflected by a reflector 7, a light beam 15 being not made incident on the sample 1 in a sample stage 11 is shielded by a light shielding plate, a light beam 16 transmitted through the sample 1 is passed through a lens barrel 6 and forms the image in a camera 5. Conventionally, a light source lamp 8, an illuminating device 3, etc. are arranged in the rear of the objective lens 2, but they are arranged in front of the objective lens 2, made coaxial by using the mirror 9 and this microscope is assembled with a small device having no large space between the device and the objective lens 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a miniaturized epi-illumination phase contrast microscope which is a phase contrast microscope suitable for observing a culture state of a cell culture device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When observing and monitoring a culture state in a cell culture device or the like, cultured cells are usually colorless and transparent and difficult to observe with a transmission microscope. Therefore, a phase difference method that converts the difference in refractive index between the culture solution and cells into a difference in brightness is applied. The illumination light source system of the conventional phase contrast microscope is a transmission type installed on the opposite side across the sample from the objective lens.
Due to space limitations, it was difficult to incorporate it into a small automatic culture device.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are schematic views of a phase contrast microscope in which such an illumination light source system is arranged so as to sandwich a sample. FIG. 3 shows an upright type and FIG. 4 shows an inverted type. The upright type in Fig. 3 is
An objective lens 2, a lens barrel 6, an eyepiece lens or a camera 5 is arranged on the upper side of the sample 1 and a light source lamp 4 is arranged on the lower side.
This is a configuration in which a lighting device 3 that emits light from is arranged.

In the inverted type shown in FIG. 4, an illuminating device 3 having a light source lamp 4 is arranged from the upper side with the sample 1 interposed therebetween, and an objective lens 2, a lens barrel 6 arranged horizontally, an eyepiece lens or a camera 5 are arranged on the lower side. It is arranged.

[0005]

As described above, in the conventional phase contrast microscope, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the illumination optical systems are arranged to face each other with the sample 1 interposed therebetween, and the illumination optical system is arranged behind the objective lens 2. When incorporating such a phase-contrast microscope into a small automatic culture device that does not take up space, it cannot be installed,
The cultured cells cannot be observed. In order to apply to such a small automatic culture device, it is necessary to minimize the volume of the illumination light source optical system on the opposite side with the sample sandwiched from the objective lens.

The present invention is applied to the observation / monitoring of the culture state of an automated cell culture apparatus, and is a mechanism suitable for performing phase contrast microscope observation, and the illumination optical system is opposed to the objective lens with the sample interposed therebetween. It is an object of the present invention to provide a coaxial epi-illumination type phase contrast microscope which is applied when there is no room for installation on the operating side.

[0007]

Therefore, the present invention provides an illumination light source and an illumination optical system of a phase contrast microscope on the objective lens side, illuminates the sample with illumination light through the objective lens, and reflects the light transmitted through the sample. A reflection device for guiding to the observation section is provided.

That is, according to the present invention, the light from the illumination light source is applied to the sample through the illumination optical system, the light transmitted through the sample is guided to the objective lens, and the eyepiece lens, camera, etc. passing through the objective lens are used. A phase-contrast microscope that guides the sample to an observation section and observes the sample, wherein the illumination light source and the illumination optical system are provided on the objective lens side, and are arranged to irradiate illumination light toward the sample through the objective lens. Further, there is provided an epi-illumination type phase contrast microscope characterized in that a reflection device for reflecting the light transmitted through the sample and guiding it to the observation part is provided.

[0009]

According to the present invention, the light from the illuminating light source is incident from the objective lens side through the illuminating optical system and is applied to the sample by such means. The light transmitted through the sample is reflected by the reflection device, guided to the observation section, and observed. Therefore, there is no need to secure a large space behind the sample because there is no illumination light source or illumination optical system on the rear side of the sample, that is, on the exit side of the light transmitted through the sample, unlike the conventional case. When guiding the illumination light to the optical axis of the microscope, for example, it is guided to the sample through the objective lens by a half mirror, etc., a reflecting mirror is placed on the side facing the objective lens with the sample in between, and the illumination light transmitted through the sample is returned to the objective lens. You can do this.

By adopting such an epi-illumination method, a large space is not required at the rear of the sample, so that the sample can be incorporated in an apparatus having a small volume.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the basic arrangement of an epi-illumination type phase contrast microscope of the present invention. In the drawings, the reference numerals used are the same as those used for the phase difference microscopes shown in FIGS. 1
Is a sample to be observed, 7 is a reflector placed under the sample,
Reference numeral 2 is an objective lens, 3 is an illuminating device, 4 is a light source lamp for supplying light to the illuminating device 3, 6 is a lens barrel for guiding the reflected light reflected by the reflecting mirror 7 through the sample, and an eyepiece or a camera 5 at the top. Is installed, and is coaxially arranged.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the operation of the coaxial epi-illumination type phase contrast microscope having such a structure. In the figure, reference numerals 1 to 7 are the same as those shown in FIG. 1, so description thereof will be omitted. Reference numeral 8 is a condenser lens which produces parallel rays. Reference numeral 9 is a doughnut-shaped mirror having a space in the central portion, 10 is a light shielding plate, 11 is a sample stage that serves as a culture container for the sample 1, and 12 is a light shielding plate for blocking light in the central portion.

In the above-mentioned epi-illumination type phase contrast microscope, the light 13 emitted from the light source lamp 4 is collimated by the condenser lens 8 and guided into the lens barrel 6. A light blocking plate 12 may be placed to block the light in the central portion and form a ring-shaped light beam. This light is bent by a ring-shaped reflecting mirror 9 or a half mirror mounted in the lens barrel 6 at an angle of 45 degrees,
It becomes the illumination light 14 and travels toward the objective lens 2.

The illumination light 14 that is incident on the objective lens 2 in the form of a ring passes through the stage 11 on which the sample 1 is mounted, is reflected by the reflecting mirror 7 provided behind it, and is incident on the central portion of the objective lens 2. . Hereinafter, as in the case of a normal phase contrast microscope, the light 15 that does not strike the sample 1 and is incident is blocked by the light shielding plate 10, but the light 16 that is refracted after passing through the sample 1 is imaged on the eyepiece lens or the camera surface 5. .

In such an embodiment, the light source 4 for illumination and the illumination device 3 serving as an optical system thereof are moved to the objective lens 2 side, and the illumination light is guided coaxially by the donut-shaped mirror 9 to obtain the sample 1 of the sample 1. The reflecting mirror 7 is arranged with the stage 11 in between,
Since the light transmitted through the sample 1 is coaxially imaged on the eyepiece lens or the camera 5, a large space is not required behind the sample 1, so that it can be incorporated into a device such as an automatic culture device that does not have enough capacity. Is something that can be done.

The feature of the present invention that does not require a large space behind the sample 1 is clear when comparing FIG. 1 with FIGS. 3 and 4. In the present invention of FIG. 1, only the reflecting mirror 7 is provided behind the sample 1, but in the upright type of FIG. 3, the light source lamp 4 and the illumination device 4 serving as an optical system are provided, and in the inverted type of FIG. , The objective lens 2, the lens barrel 6, the lens or the camera 5 are arranged, and each occupy a large space. Therefore, such a microscope cannot be incorporated as an observation device without a room for incorporating a large device behind the sample.

[0017]

As described above in detail, in the present invention, the illumination light source of the phase contrast microscope and the illumination optical system are provided on the objective lens side, and the sample is irradiated with the illumination light through the objective lens. Since it is configured with a reflection device that reflects the transmitted light and guides it to the observation part, it is possible to adopt the epi-illumination method, and it does not require a large space behind the sample, so it is installed in a device with a sufficient volume. be able to.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a basic arrangement of an epi-illumination type phase contrast microscope of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an optical path of an epi-illumination type phase contrast microscope according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a conventional general upright phase contrast microscope.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a conventional general inverted phase contrast microscope.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 sample 2 objective lens 3 illumination device 4 light source lamp 5 eyepiece or camera 6 lens barrel 7 reflecting mirror 8 condenser lens 9 donut-shaped mirror 10 light-shielding plate 11 sample stage 12 light-shielding plate

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sample is irradiated with light from an illumination light source through an illumination optical system, the light transmitted through the sample is guided to an objective lens, and is guided through the objective lens to an observation part such as an eyepiece lens and a camera. A phase contrast microscope for observing a sample,
The illumination light source and the illumination optical system are provided on the objective lens side, are arranged so as to illuminate illumination light toward the sample through the objective lens, reflect the light transmitted through the sample, and guide it to the observation section. An epi-illumination phase-contrast microscope characterized by being provided with a reflection device.