KR900000287B1 - Microscope time focus control mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

The mechanism for adjusting the distance between the objective lens and the specimen table of a microscope includes a coarse and fine adjusting mechanism, which has fine adjusting knobs (32,34) mounted at the ends of an inner spindle (26) and coarse adjusting knobs (36,38) mounted on a hollow spindle (30) enclosing the first one. To change from coarse to fine adjustment, a tilting arm (104) is swung over to move a sleeve (93) behind the knobs at one end of the spindles to produce movement eccentric to the hollow spindle. Rotation of the sleeve by the arm causes relative movement between a curved slot (100) and a fixed pin (102) passing through it, as the eccentric action takes place.

Description

Fine focusing device of optics

1 is a perspective view of a microscope to which the coarse and fine focus adjustment apparatus is attached.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the microscope of FIG. 1 taken along line 2-2. FIG.

3 is a perspective view of a gear driven body and a deflection device.

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

12 base 13 support column

16: eyepiece portion 18: objective lens portion

20: objective lens 22: rich stage

26: non-coaxial 30: coaxial

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention generally relates to focusing devices for microscopes, in particular coaxial coarse and fine adjustment devices, in which an operator adjusts coarse and fine focus when illuminating or scanning a slide.

Conventionally, various microscope tuning and fine tuning methods have been used. There is a method of fixing the objective lens and moving the object stage, and another method of fixing the object lens and moving the object lens. A microscope consisting of an objective lens moving and fine adjustment device includes U.S. Patent No. 3,135,817, filed on June 2, 1964 by Wrigelsworth, and U.S. Patent No. 3,260,157. Stage-of-place mobile microscopes include US Pat. No. 4,083,256, filed on April 11, 1976 by Shio.

Since the objective lens movable microscope adjustment device manufactured by Wrigleysward is composed of a double acting cam and a link mechanism connected to the cam, the objective lens is coarse adjusted as the cam rotates. The cam then translates axially to make fine adjustments. Bougton's patent also adjusts the coarse motion by rotating the cam and adjusts fine motion by translating axially.

Another microscope focusing device is US Pat. No. 3,768,885, filed on October 30, 1973 by Bowkton. In the microscopic coarse and fine focusing device of the microscope, the objective lens connected with the link mechanism driven directly by the rotation of the cam moves. The reduction gear device rotates the cam to make fine adjustments. When adjusting the coarse motion, the cam and the gear unit rotate together. The reduction gear unit consists of a series of gears and pinions built into the gearbox. These controls require expensive precision parts to prevent backlash.

Other microscope focusing devices include US Pat. Nos. 3,683,704, 4,020,705, and 4,173,902.

The above focusing apparatus is generally complicated in structure and expensive to manufacture.

The present invention relates to a microscopic focusing apparatus of a microscope. A hub equipped with an eccentric bushing is assembled between the coarse and fine coaxial shaft and the support column, and when the hub and the eccentric bush are rotated, the coarse and fine coaxial shaft moves vertically by a predetermined amount to adjust the fine focus of the objective lens. The actuating lever is connected to the hub so that the microscope user can hold the lever and simultaneously operate the stage (N-S) and slide (E-W) adjustment knobs.

Referring to FIG. 1, the microscope 10 includes a base 12, a support column 14, an eyepiece unit 16, an objective lens unit 18, a plurality of objective lenses 20, a stage 22, and the like. It is composed. The coarse and fine adjustment device 24 is supported by the column 14 and the objective lens is formed by a suitable mechanism capable of relatively moving the objective lens unit 18 and the object stage 22 as the adjustment device 24 rotates. It is mechanically connected to the unit 18 and the stage 22.

2 shows the relationship between the microscope support column 14 and the fine and coarse adjustment device 24. The coarse motion and fine motion adjustment apparatus 24 is comprised with the fine coarse shaft 26 by which the pinion 28 was processed at one end. The coarse shaft 30 is assembled coaxially with the fine coaxial shaft 26 to serve as a coarse adjustment function for the apparatus of the present invention. The cam 23 and the link mechanism 25 are connected to the adjusting device 24 to linearly move the link mechanism as the adjusting device and the cam rotate, thereby allowing the stage and the eyepiece portion to be mutually adjusted.

The fine adjustment shaft 26 is composed of two opposing control knobs 32 and 34, which are assembled in an appropriate manner so that the fine adjustment shaft 26 can be rotated. The second handle pairs 36 and 38 are connected to the coarse adjustment shaft 30. The handle 38 is connected to the coarse adjustment shaft so that the shaft 30 can be directly rotated, and the handle 36 is assembled in the manner described below.

The bearing support color 40 is assembled to the inner diameter 42 of the support column 14. The collar 40 also consists of a boss 44 having an inner diameter 46 of a size to which the shaft 30 can slide. Since the inner diameter 45 of the handle 36 is sized to allow the boss 44 of the bearing collar 40 to be assembled, the friction surface 47 of the handle 36 has a corresponding bearing collar 40. The friction surface 49 is close. A clutch washer 48 is assembled between the two friction surfaces 47 and 49, and a coil spring 50 is positioned at the bearing boss 44. One end of the spring pushes the inner surface of the handle 36 and the other end is in close contact with the washer and retainer assembly 54 secured to the boss 44. The spring 50 thus exerts pressure on the washer and retainer assembly 54 and the handle 36 in contact with the clutch washers between the friction surfaces 47 and 49. Therefore, the handle 36 is in frictional contact with the bearing collar 40 firmly in contact with the support column 14 and does not rotate unless direct rotational force is applied to the coarse handles at both ends. Even if the fine movement knob rotates, the coarse knob does not rotate.

As can be seen in FIG. 3, the gear driven member 58, which will be described next, is firmly attached to the end 60 of the coarse shaft 30, and is composed of an inclined surface 62. As shown in FIG.

The assembly 64 of the cluster gear and the pinion is composed of the cluster gear 66, the shaft 68, and the cluster pinion 70. The assembly 64 is installed such that the shaft 68 can be in close contact with the inclined surface 62 of the driven body 58 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The cluster pinion 70 engages and rotates with the coarse handle ring gear 72 machined on the inner surface of the coarse handle 36, while the cluster gear 66 engages with the pinion 28. A pair of deflection springs for bringing the shaft 68 into close contact with the inclined surface 62, for engaging the cluster gear 66 with the pinion 28, and for bringing the cluster pinion 70 into engagement with the ring gear 72. Assemble (74, 76). Coil spring 74, which is one of the deflection springs, is tensioned between the extension 78 of the cluster gear shaft and the retaining post 80 of the gear driven body 58. The cantilever spring 76 is fixed to the driven member by screws to support the shaft 68 near the pinion gear 70.

Therefore, the cantilever spring shaft 68 is pressurized so that the shaft itself is centered on the inclined surface 62 of the gear driven body 58, and the pinion gear 70 meshes with the ring gear 72 to take a preload. To do that. The cluster gear shafts 68 are aligned appropriately by tangentially moving on the inclined surface 62. Therefore, the critical dimension adjustment necessary for almost all microscopes featuring planetary gear devices is unnecessary. The cluster gear 66 is also installed at the same position as the shaft 68 to press the pinion 28 by the spring 74.

Hub 92 located between coarse grip 38 and support column 14 is assembled with shaft 30. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, the coarse shaft 30 is towed to the inner diameter 94 of the hub 92. As shown in FIG. As will be explained fully below, the hub 92 is constituted by a tapered bushing which is 0.05 inch (0.127 cm) eccentric in the direction of the center line 98 with respect to the inner diameter 94 as shown in FIG. In addition, the groove 100 is machined on a circular arc corresponding to about 40 degrees concentric with the inner diameter 94 of the hub 92. The fixture 102 located on the support column 14 is assembled to the groove 100. The lever 104 is fixed to the hub 92 to face the front of the microscope. The fixture 102 is equipped with an assembly 106 of springs and washers, such that the hub 92 presses the friction washer 93 located between the support column 14 and the hub 92. This device functions to prevent the hub 92 from rotating simultaneously while the coarse shaft 30 rotates. However, this clutch effect can be overcome by simply turning the lever 104 by the microscope operator.

As clearly shown in FIG. 2, the tapered bushing 96 of the hub 92 supports a coarse shaft 30 with respect to the support column 14 by forming a kind of conical bearing. The tapered bushing 96 is also assembled to the conical inner diameter 108 of the support column 14. The conical bearing 110 of FIG. 2 is assembled to the conical inner diameter 112 of the bearing support collar boss portion 44.

Conical bearing 114 of FIG. 3 is assembled to inner diameter 116 to support one end of fine shaft 26. The thrust washer 117 assembled to the fine shaft 26 fixes the position of the bearing 114. The conical bearing 114 prevents tangential movement between the fine coaxial pinion 28 and the coarse shaft 30. Since the opposite end of the fine shaft 26 is not a part that rotates in connection with other devices, a very simple space bearing 118 may be inserted between the fine shaft 26 and the coarse shaft 30. Conical bearings, as well as space bearings, are made from acetal-like materials, which greatly facilitates operation.

By dividing the tapered bushing 96 and the conical bearings 110 and 114 as shown in FIG. 4, it functions as a coarse and fine coaxial support device which is automatically adjusted in principle according to the clearance gap and the amount of wear. The coil spring 122 assembled to the coarse shaft 30 exerts a pressure between the taper bushing 96 and the coarse handle 38 firmly attached to the coarse shaft 30. The coil spring 124 assembled to the fine shaft 26 exerts a pressure between the space bearing 118 and the fine handle 34. It will be appreciated that these springs press the bearing in the axial direction because they apply pressure in the axial direction. If the bearing and shaft are not properly assembled, the bearing will expand or break. Even if the diameter of coarse or fine coaxial shafts is changed, split bearings are used to automatically adapt to changes in shaft diameter and tangential wear.

In actual operation, the slide 122 is placed on the stage 22 to rotate one of the coarse adjustment knobs 36 and 38 to approximate the slide. It will be appreciated that in order to rotate the coarse adjustment knob, a force must be applied above the friction force between the handle 36 and the clutch washer 48. The coarse shaft 30 rotates simultaneously with the rotation of the rear handle 38. However, since the front handle 36 is not directly connected to the coarse shaft 30, the front handle 36 rotates through the cluster gear, the pinion assembly 64 and the gear driven member 58. That is, since the cluster pinion 70 is engaged with the ring gear 72 of the handle, when the operator directly rotates the handle 36, the handle drives the assembly 58 of the cluster gear and the pinion. The cluster gear shaft 68 rotates the gear driven body 58, and finally, the coarse shaft 30 directly connected to the gear driven body rotates.

After the coarse adjustment is completed, the operator rotates the fine adjustment knobs 32 and 34 to rotate the fine coaxial pinion 28. Accordingly, the assembly 64 of the cluster gear and pinion connected to the uncoaxial pinion 28 rotates. However, the friction force between the coarse handle 36 and the clutch washer 48 described above is sufficient to prevent rotation of the coarse handle 36 by the pinion gear 70. Accordingly, the pinion gear 70 functions as a planetary gear that rotates in engagement with the ring gear 72. The gear driven body 58 is controlled by the cluster gear shaft 68. Therefore, when the cluster gear shaft 68 rotates in engagement with the pinion gear 70, the gear driven body 58 also rotates. But the speed is only proportional. That is, when the coarse knob is rotated once, the coarse shaft is rotated by one rotation. However, when the coarse handle is rotated by one rotation, the assembly of the cluster gear and pinion which drives the gear driven body 58 is about 1/60 of the coarse gear.

This device eliminates the backlash that is likely to be caused by adjusting devices using cluster gear and pinion gear assemblies, gear driven spring deflectors, and the like. In addition, in the link mechanism 25 operated by the cam 23, the backlash is removed even when a load is applied to the adjusting device by the gravity method.

In the past, when adjusting the (NS) knob 124 and (EW) knob 126 to inject the slide 122, the thumb and forefinger rotate the desired knob while simultaneously moving the focus knob (34). The adjustment was very awkward because I had to turn). To compensate for this drawback, the hub 92 and the lever 104 described above were attached to allow the operator to work between the third, fourth and fifth fingers as shown in FIG. . In this way, the handles 124 and 126 can be rotated using the thumb and forefinger while simultaneously injecting the slide.

Thus, the operator can move the lever 104 up and down on an arc of about 40 degrees. However, since the tapered bushing 96 is 0.05 inch (0.127 cm) eccentric as described above, moving the lever at an angle of 40 ° causes the shaft 30 to move up and down about 0.02 inch (0.0508 cm) as in FIG. (Shown as 도시 X ＂and＂ Y ＂in the figure). This vertical movement of the shaft spreads to the stage as the cam moves to the center of the shaft, resulting in a vertical movement of about ± 0.01 inch (0.025 cm). Therefore, when the hub 92 rotates, the direction of the bushing 96 relative to the support column 14 should be such that the maximum vertical component force can act on the axis 30. Even with a small size, this vertical movement eliminates the need for continuous fine adjustment during the scanning of the slide.

Therefore, when the operator rotates the hub 92, the coarse shaft 30 is pivoted on the conical split bearing 110 and the cam moves up and down. When the lever 104 is moved upward, the cam is also moved upward, and when the lever is moved downward, the position of the hub 92 is adjusted to be cam or downward.

In the above, it will be appreciated that an eccentric bushing device can be used for a microscope composed of a single adjustment shaft.

In general microscopes, coarse adjustment is performed by directly rotating a single axis. Rotation of the eccentric bushing assembled between the column and the shaft results in fine adjustment. Therefore, there is no need to use correlated and complex gear reduction gears for fine tuning. Use only one eccentric bushing for sufficient operation.

The foregoing description has been presented only as an example and should not be regarded as limiting. Accordingly, appropriate changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Claims (7)

One support column and one adjustment device supported by the support column, wherein the support column is provided with an optical device assembled with at least one axis and one device for relative movement between the optical lens and the observation object. Wherein said eccentric means is positioned between said at least one axis and said support column to enable fine focus adjustment and said at least one axis is biased with respect to said support column by rotating said means. The fine focus of the optical device is characterized in that the fine focus of the device is adjusted. The fine focusing apparatus for optical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fine focusing means is attached to the eccentric bushing and the eccentric bushing so as to be held by the operator so as to rotate the eccentric bushing. . 3. The fine focusing apparatus for optical apparatus of claim 2, wherein the handle means described above comprises an actuating lever. 2. The fine focusing apparatus for optical apparatus of claim 1, wherein the fixing means for interlocking the electric support column and the electric eccentric means to prevent the electric eccentric means from rotating beyond a predetermined point. 5. The fine focusing apparatus for optical apparatus of claim 4, wherein the fixing means comprises a pin that protrudes from the supporting column and is assembled in the groove of the eccentric means. 5. An optical device according to claim 4, characterized by friction means for preventing the electrical eccentric means from rotationally interlocking when the electrical support column and the eccentric means are squeezed to rotate at least one of the shafts by using a handle connected to the shaft. Fine focusing device for instruments. An apparatus for focusing fine focusing of an optical apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said friction means is fixed to said projection pin.

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