JPH11218683A - Inverted microscope and condenser device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inverted microscope and a condenser device which enable a user to observe a minute apparatus and a sample while illuminating the sample with a simple constitution. SOLUTION: The inverted microscope is provided with a light source 40 and a condenser device 19 provided with a condenser lens 2 which receives illuminating light from the light source 40 to irradiate the sample. A light separation means 3 is arranged in an illuminating light optical path between the light source 40 and the condenser lens 2 and not only allows a part of illuminating light from the light source 40 to pass through but also separates a part of reflected light from the sample from the illuminating light optical path, and observation means 4, 5 and 6 condense the reflected light separated by the light separation means 3 to form a sample image.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inverted microscope. In particular, the present invention relates to an inverted microscope capable of confirming images of a specimen and a manipulator when manipulating the specimen with the manipulator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in order to elucidate the function of a nervous system, an electrophysiological experiment for measuring an action potential caused by an excitation phenomenon of a tissue or an organ such as a nerve is performed using a microscope. At this time, a glass microelectrode filled with an electrolytic solution is used as a probe for measuring the potential difference between the inside and outside of the cell. These minute electrodes can be spatially moved by an XYZ three-axis hydraulic drive mechanism or a minute feed mechanism. The state at this time is shown in FIGS. The specimen is placed on the stage 30 of the inverted microscope 1 and the eyepiece 3
3 observed. Microdevice 34 as microelectrode
Is attached to the attachment device 31 fixed to the stage 30, and is operated by an operation device (not shown). In order to bring the microelectrode close to the target cell accurately in advance as a preparation for the experiment,
Conventionally, observation is performed from directly above a specimen with a stereomicroscope. The micro-instrument 34 and the specimen can be observed from an eyepiece through a microscope objective lens.
Since the depth of focus of the objective lens is narrow and the depth is difficult to understand, the micro instrument is usually positioned on the sample using a stereo microscope as shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, the attachment device 31, the manipulator 32, and the micro instrument 34 are indicated by broken lines, and the manipulator 32 is not shown in FIG.

[0003]

According to the prior art,
As shown in FIG. 8, a stand 36 is arranged beside the microscope so that the stereo microscope 35 can be arranged above the specimen and the manipulator. At this time, the lighting column 23 needs to be tilted rearward of the mirror base, and when it is tilted or returned to its original state, there is a problem that vibration is generated and the set manipulator may move. In addition, it takes time to set the stereomicroscope, which is inconvenient and inconvenient.

[0004] In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an inverted microscope and a condenser device which can observe a small instrument and a sample while illuminating the sample with a simple configuration.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention according to claim 1 comprises a light source (40) and a condenser lens (2) that receives illumination light from the light source and irradiates the sample with the illumination light. And a condenser device (19) provided with a condenser device (19), which is disposed in an illumination optical path between the light source and the condenser lens, transmits a part of the illumination light from the light source, and transmits a part of the reflected light from the sample. Light separating means (3) for separating the portion from the illumination light path, and observation means (4, 5,...) For condensing the reflected light separated by the light separating means to form a sample image.
6).

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the inverted microscope according to the first aspect, the light separating means is provided so as to be freely inserted into and removed from the illumination optical path.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the inverted microscope according to the first aspect, the condenser device is provided above the condenser lens and can switch a plurality of optical elements for changing the illumination condition of the illumination light to the illumination optical path. And a light separating means is a prism or a half mirror provided on the turret, and an observation means is provided on a divided optical path provided by the prism or the half mirror of the turret. It has two objective lenses (4) and an imaging element (6a) provided in a condenser device.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the inverted microscope according to the first aspect, the light separating means has a prism or a half mirror provided above the condenser lens.
The observation means is an observation lens barrel (37) including a second objective lens (27) for condensing the light separated by the light separation means, and an eyepiece (15). .

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a condenser device having a condenser lens (2) detachable from the inverted microscope and receiving illumination light of the inverted microscope and irradiating the specimen with the illumination light. Light separating means (3) disposed on the incident side and transmitting a part of the illumination light and separating a part of the reflected light from the sample from the optical path of the illumination light
And observation means (4, 5, 6) for condensing the reflected light separated by the light separation means to form a sample image.

[0009]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a first embodiment of an inverted microscope according to the present invention. Light source 40
Is irradiated to a sample in a petri dish 20 via a transmission illumination optical system 23 provided with a collector lens, a reflecting mirror and the like, and a condenser device 19 provided with a condenser lens 2. The condenser device 19 is an illumination column 1a of an inverted microscope.
Mounted on The light from the specimen is
7 and to the eyepiece 33 via an observation optical system in the inverted microscope body. The image of the specimen is observed with this eyepiece. The stage 30 is provided with a mounting device 31, a manipulator 32, and a micro instrument 34 shown in FIG. 6, but the illustration of the manipulator 32 is omitted in FIG.

The reflection image of the tip of the micro instrument 34 and the sample illuminated by the transmission illumination optical system 23 is separated from the optical path of the microscope by a light splitting prism provided in the condenser device 19, and captured by the CCD camera 6. You. CC
The image signal from the D camera is transferred to the monitor 21 and displayed on the monitor 21. That is, when viewed from the CCD camera, the condenser lens functions as an objective lens. In the following, details of a portion up to capturing light from the sample will be described.

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view showing the structure of the capacitor device 19. The condenser device 19 includes the lighting support 1a.
, A movable portion 8 movably attached along a guide of the support portion 10, and an operation handle 11 for moving the movable portion 8. An element holding portion 14 on which an optical element for changing the polarization characteristics of illumination light is mounted is mounted on an upper portion of the arm 8a of the movable member, and a plurality of optical elements such as a filter and a ring stop are mounted on a lower portion of the arm 8a. And a turret 13 which can be selectively disposed in the optical path of the microscope. Further, the condenser lens 2 is mounted on the microscope optical path below the turret 13. Element holding part 14 and turret 1
Reference numeral 3 denotes an arm 8a, and the condenser lens 2 is detachable from a turret 13. Further, the element holding portion 14 is provided with a sled 14a for attaching a polarizer so that the polarizer can be inserted and removed from the optical path.

The turret is configured so that a plurality of cassettes of the same shape holding optical elements can be attached. The detailed configuration is disclosed in the specification of Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 4-135717, and the detailed description is omitted here. In the present embodiment, in addition to a cassette having a built-in optical element such as a filter and a ring stop, a light branching cassette having a built-in light branching prism is provided, and can be switched by a turret.

The optical branching cassette 12 is shown in FIGS.
The cassette 12 incorporates the prism 3 for splitting light and the second objective lens 4, and has an opening 15 on a side surface. The prism 3 is positioned so as to be arranged on the optical axis AX of the objective lens 17 (condenser lens 2) when the cassette 12 is arranged on the optical path. Further, openings 16a, 16b, and 16c are provided in the periphery of the prism 3 in a direction parallel to the optical axis AX. This opening is for passing illumination light and irradiating the sample. Therefore, the number of openings may be one, and the shape is not limited to a circle.

As shown in FIG. 2, the element holding unit 14
A holding cylinder 7 for holding the CCD camera 6 is attached. The holding cylinder 7 has a cylindrical shape, and the CCD camera 6 can be attached thereto. An opening 7a penetrating from the side surface of the cylinder to the bottom surface inside the cylinder is provided at a lower portion of the holding cylinder 7, and the prism 5 is provided in the middle of the opening 7a at the bottom of the cylinder.

The reflected light from the sample is transmitted to the condenser lens 2
And a part thereof is bent in the horizontal direction by the prism 3. The light bent by the prism 3 is emitted from the side surface of the cassette 12 through the second objective lens 4, enters the opening 7 a of the holding cylinder 7, is vertically bent by the prism 5, and is captured by the imaging surface 6 of the CCD camera 6.
a.

With the above configuration, the sample and the small instrument can be confirmed on the monitor 21 while illuminating the sample without falling down the illumination column 1a. In addition, since the light splitting prism is configured to be built in the cassette 12 that can be attached to and detached from the turret 13, the prism
In order to observe the specimen image in Step 3, a cassette containing an appropriate optical element may be arranged in the optical path, and if it is desired to confirm, the turret 13 is rotated to place the cassette 12 in the optical path. Therefore, the sample and the small instrument can be displayed on the monitor 21 by a simple operation without causing vibration.

In this embodiment, the prism for splitting light is arranged in the cassette 12 mounted on the turret 13. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, a light separating member having a light separating element such as a half mirror can be attached between the element holding member and the arm 8a. The configuration may be such that light from the sample separated by the separating member is captured by a CCD camera.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the inverted microscope according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the first
This is an example in which an observation lens barrel is used instead of the CCD camera used in the embodiment. 6, members having the same functions as those shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

Transmission illumination optical system 23 and condenser lens 2
And a half mirror 2 arranged on the microscope optical path.
An optical path separating member 18 provided with a mirror 5 and a total reflection mirror 26 is provided. Element holding unit 14, condenser lens 2,
The optical path separating member 18 is attached to a vertical portion of the lighting column 1 a by an attaching device 19. Light from the light source passes through the half mirror 25 via the transmission illumination optical system 23 and illuminates the tip of the micro instrument 34 and the sample by the condenser lens 2. The reflected light from the sample passes through the condenser lens 2 and is partially reflected by the half mirror 25 and separated from the optical path of the microscope. The separated light is reflected by the mirror 26, guided to the lens barrel 37, and formed into an image by the second objective lens 27. Therefore, images of the micro instrument and the sample can be observed from the eyepiece 15.

The half mirror 25 can be inserted into and removed from the optical axis AX of the condenser lens by a guide mechanism (not shown). After the setting of the manipulator, the half mirror 25 can be removed from the optical path and 100% of the transmitted illumination light can be used. With the above configuration, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

[0021]

According to the present invention, an observation object including a sample can be confirmed while illuminating the sample with a simple configuration. Further, according to the present invention, the light separating means can be removed from the illumination optical path except when necessary, so that 100% of the illumination light can be used.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the light separating means and the second objective lens are provided on the turret of the condenser device, the sample can be monitored simply by switching to the turret. Vibration at the time can be extremely reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a capacitor device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows a side view of an optical branching cassette attached to a turret.

FIG. 4 shows a top view of a light branching cassette attached to a turret.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a second embodiment of the inverted microscope of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a conventional inverted microscope.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing a conventional inverted microscope.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing how a micro instrument is set on a specimen using a stereomicroscope.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Inverted microscope 2 ... Condenser lens 3 ... Branching prism 4 ... 2nd objective lens 5 ... Prism 6 ... CCD camera 7 ... Holding cylinder 12 ... Light branching Cassette 13 ・ ・ ・ Turret 21 ・ ・ Monitor

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An inverted microscope comprising a light source and a condenser device that receives illumination light from the light source and irradiates the specimen with illumination light, wherein the condenser device is disposed in an illumination light path between the light source and the condenser lens. A light separating unit that transmits a part of the illuminating light from the light source and separates a part of the reflected light from the sample from the illuminating optical path; and collects the reflected light separated by the light separating unit. An inverted microscope comprising: an observation unit configured to form a specimen image by light. 2. The light separating means according to claim 1, wherein said light separating means is detachably provided in said illumination light path.
The inverted microscope according to 1. 3. The condenser device has a turret that is provided above the condenser lens and arranges a plurality of optical elements for changing an illumination condition of the illumination light so as to be switchable to the illumination optical path. The light separating means is a prism or a half mirror provided on the turret, and the observation means is a second objective lens provided in a split optical path split by the prism or the half mirror of the turret, and the condenser. The inverted microscope according to claim 1, further comprising an image sensor provided in the device. 4. The light separating means has a prism or a half mirror provided above the condenser lens, and the observing means is a second objective lens for condensing the light separated by the light separating means. 2. An inverted microscope according to claim 1, wherein the observation microscope comprises an eyepiece and an eyepiece. 5. A condenser device which is detachable from an inverted microscope and includes a condenser lens which receives illumination light of the inverted microscope and irradiates the specimen with the illumination light, wherein the condenser device is arranged on an incident side of the illumination light of the condenser lens, A light separating unit that transmits a part of the illumination light and separates a part of the reflected light from the sample from the optical path of the illumination light; and collects the reflected light separated by the light separating unit to collect the sample. A condenser device comprising: an observation unit that forms an image.