JP3316331B2 - microscope - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lens which is used in contact with or close to a minute subject to be observed, irradiates the subject with lamp light, and allows an image photographed by a CCD camera to be observed on a monitor screen. A microscope configured to be magnified through.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a microscope of this type, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 5-6984, a CCD, a control circuit board for processing image signals of the CCD and a subject are illuminated as a solid-state image pickup device. There is known a magnifying observation apparatus (microscope) in which a light source is integrated into a main body case.

In general, a microscope is desirably small and easy to handle because it is used by hand. For this reason, a small, large-intensity halogen lamp is often used as a light source for irradiating a subject, and the illuminance is varied using an illuminance variable volume or the like.

[0004]

Incidentally, the halogen lamp is deteriorated as it is used, the illuminance is reduced, and the life of the halogen lamp is reduced. However, the conventional microscope has the following causes, so that there is a problem that the life of the halogen lamp is shortened, and the replacement time of the halogen lamp is shortened.

That is, the life time of a halogen lamp becomes shorter as the driving voltage becomes higher. However, if the magnification of the lens used is different, the F number of the lens is different, the required illuminance is different, and the voltage for driving the halogen lamp is also different. A high magnification lens requires a high illuminance and drives a halogen lamp at a high voltage, while a low magnification lens requires a low illuminance and drives a halogen lamp at a low voltage. However, since the halogen lamp is normally driven at a high voltage in accordance with the required illuminance of the highest magnification lens to be used, the halogen lamp cannot be driven at the optimum voltage according to the lens to be used, and the halogen lamp cannot be driven. The life time is shortened.

[0006] As a method for preventing the illuminance from lowering with the elapse of use time, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-30105 proposes a method for making the amount of light constant. However, this method does not consider the brightness of the lens used at all, and is not a fundamental solution.

In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a microscope that can delay the life of a halogen lamp by considering the type of lens used.

[0008]

The object of the present invention is to provide a microscope body 1 having a solid-state imaging device 4a,
The control circuit 4b and the halogen lamp 9 for subject illumination
Is internally provided and a setting means 31 for setting the output of the halogen lamp 9 in accordance with the magnification of the lens 18 or the F-number in a microscope for photographing a subject enlarged through the lens 18 with the solid-state imaging device 4a.
Is provided to identify the type of the lens 18 and use the lens 1
The drive voltage value of the halogen lamp 9 is set so that the illuminance is in accordance with the magnification of 8 or the F number.

[0009]

In the above means for solving the problems, the lens 1 to be used
The drive voltage value of the halogen lamp 9 is set so that eight types are identified and the illuminance corresponding to the magnification or the F number is obtained. By driving the halogen lamp 9 with this driving voltage value, the halogen lamp 9 is driven in an optimum state according to the lens 18, so that the required illuminance is obtained and the life of the halogen lamp 9 is extended. Become slow.

[0010]

FIGS. 2 and 3 show a microscope according to this embodiment. The microscope is composed of a microscope main body 1 and a control device 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the microscope main body 1 has a solid-state imaging device (CCD) 4a and a control circuit for the solid-state imaging device (CCD) 4a. A CCD camera 4 comprising a substrate 4b, a halogen lamp unit 5 as a light source for subject illumination, and a cooling fan 6 are integrally provided. The main body case 3 has a shape that is easy to hold by hand, and is connected to the control device 2 by a flexible cable (not shown).

The CCD 4a is provided along the axis of the main body case 3, and is connected to a monitor television 8 via a video signal processing section 7 provided on a control circuit board 4b by a cable. The halogen lamp unit 5 includes a halogen lamp 9, a heat-insulating filter 10, a condenser lens 11, and an optical fiber 12, which are arranged coaxially forward from a rear end 3 b of the main body case 3 in that order. It is arranged. Also, due to such an arrangement relation, the upper surface of the halogen lamp 9 is positioned on the top surface 3a of the main body case 3.
And close proximity. The cooling fan 6 comprises a propeller fan, and is provided for cooling the printed circuit board of the control circuit 4b and for discharging heat generated from the halogen lamp 9 to the outside through the exhaust port 13.
The rear end portion 3b is disposed obliquely rearward of the halogen lamp 9. In FIG. 2, 14 is a suction port, 15 is a cover, and 16 is a current plate.

A lens mount unit 17 having a hollow shape is fixed to the front side of the main body case 3, and a lens 18 is fitted and screwed into the front end thereof. Further, the lens 18
A focus cap 19 is provided in front of the lens mount, and is externally fitted to the lens mount unit 17 and screwed. The replacement of the lens 18 is performed by removing the focus cap 19, removing the lens 18, and screwing another lens 18.

In the lens mount unit 17, an optical path through which the reflected light from the subject passes is formed at the center, the optical fiber 12 is inserted around the optical path, and the CCD 4a is provided at the rear end.
Is installed. As a result, the illumination light from the optical fiber 12 passes through the hole 19a of the focus cap 19 and reaches the subject, and the reflected light from the subject passes through the lens 18 from the hole 19a of the focus cap 19 through the lens 18.
reaches a.

As shown in FIG. 3, the control device 2 includes a microcomputer 20 as a central control unit, a video output switching unit 21 as a processing unit for processing a video signal from the microscope body 1, and a decoder. 22, A / D
It comprises a converter 23, a memory 24, a D / A converter 25, an encoder 26, a memory control unit 27, and a character control unit 28.

In the microscope main body 1, a driving signal is output from the microcomputer 20 to the halogen lamp 9 to drive the halogen lamp 9, and the light of the halogen lamp 9 is transmitted through the heat insulating filter 10 to the condenser lens 11. And irradiates the subject through the optical fiber 12. The optical signal of the subject, which is enlarged through the lens 18 and captured by the CCD camera 4, is input to the control device 2 as a video signal through the video signal processing unit 7, processed by the control device 2, and sent to the monitor television 8 as a video signal. It is output and projected on the monitor television 8. There are two types of video signals output to the monitor television 8, a moving image and a still image, and the microcomputer 20 controls switching. In the case of a moving image, the video signal from the microscope main body 1 is directly output to the monitor television 8. In the case of a still image, the video signal from the microscope main body 1 is decoded (Y / C separation, generation of a color difference signal by a chroma signal). ), Memory write / read,
After being subjected to encoding (generation of a composite video signal from a luminance signal and a color difference signal), it is output to the monitor television 8.

Here, if the magnification of the lens 18 used is different, the required illuminance changes. That is, the higher the magnification, the higher the illuminance is required, the driving voltage value to the halogen lamp 9 is increased, and the life of the halogen lamp 9 is affected. For example, as the halogen lamp 9, the rated input terminal voltage 12
V, rated life 2000H, input voltage variable range 12V ± 1
0% (10.8 to 13.0 V), life range 700 (when input voltage is fixed at 13.0 V) to 8000 H (input voltage 10.
FIG. 5 shows the life time characteristics and illuminance characteristics of the halogen lamp 9 when a lamp having a specification such as 8 V is used.

When a 600 × lens is used, the illuminance of the halogen lamp 9 (the illuminance at the tip of the focus cap 19) is required to be 28000 lx. Therefore, the drive voltage value which is the input voltage to the halogen lamp 9 is set to 12.57 V. Assuming that the halogen lamp 9 is used with a 600-fold fixed lens, the life time of the halogen lamp 9 is 1250H. When using a 50 × lens, the illuminance of the halogen lamp 9 is 200
Since 00lx is required, the driving voltage value of the halogen lamp 9 is set to 11.38V. Assuming that the lamp is used with a 50x lens fixed, the life time of the halogen lamp 9 is 4250H.

As described above, when various types of lenses 18 of 50 to 600 times are used, the life time of the halogen lamp 9 is in the range of 1250 to 4250H. Therefore, 6
By setting the drive voltage value to match the lens 18 to be used rather than fixing the drive voltage value to match the 00x lens 18, the time until the end of the life can be extended.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the control device 2 for the microscope according to the present embodiment includes a lens setting means 30 for setting the lens 18 to be used as means for identifying the magnification of the lens 18 used, As means for setting the output of the lamp 9, there is provided a halogen lamp driving voltage value setting means 31 for automatically setting a driving voltage value in accordance with the required illuminance of the halogen lamp 9 according to the type of the lens 18 to be used.

The used lens setting means 30 comprises a used lens selection switch 30a operated by the user, is connected to the microcomputer 20, and sets according to the type of the lens 18 used by the user. I have.
The microcomputer 20 and the halogen lamp 9 are used as the halogen lamp driving voltage value setting means 31.
And a halogen lamp controller 32 for controlling the driving of the lamp.
The input voltage to the halogen lamp, which is a drive voltage value corresponding to the magnification of the lens 18, is set in the microcomputer 20 in advance.
The drive voltage value of the halogen lamp 9 is read from the program code in 0, and a drive signal corresponding to the drive voltage value is output to the halogen lamp control unit 32.

In the above configuration, as shown in FIG. 4, when the user turns on the power of the microscope, the microcomputer 20 operates the selection switch 30 set by the user.
The setting state of the used lens 18 is read, and a halogen lamp driving voltage value corresponding to the used lens 18 is selected from a program code in the microcomputer 20. For example, when it is read that the 600 × lens 18 is set, a drive voltage value corresponding to the 600 × lens 18 is selected. Here, the lens 18 is replaced and the selection switch 3
Since 0a may be operated, the setting state of the selection switch 30a is checked again, and if it has been changed, the driving voltage value of the halogen lamp 9 is selected accordingly. Then, a drive signal corresponding to the selected drive voltage value is output to the halogen lamp control unit 32 and the halogen lamp control unit 3
2, the halogen lamp 9 is driven so that the illuminance according to the lens 18 to be used is obtained.

By the way, if the used lens 18 has a low magnification, it can be used sufficiently even if the illuminance of the halogen lamp 9 is lower than that of the high magnification, so that it is not necessary to drive with a high driving voltage value. In order to confirm whether or not the lens 18 has been replaced, the setting state of the selection switch 30a is periodically read, and when the selection switch 30a is replaced with the low-magnification lens 18 and the selection switch 30a is operated, the driving voltage value of the halogen lamp 9 is changed. The lowered driving signal is output, and the halogen lamp 9 is driven at a low voltage.

Therefore, the halogen lamp 9 is driven at an optimum driving voltage value according to the lens 18 to be used, and the required illumination is obtained and the life is extended as compared with the case where the driving voltage value is kept constant irrespective of the lens 18. It is possible to extend the time until the lamp comes, and it is not necessary to frequently replace the halogen lamp 9. In addition, it is not driven at a voltage higher than the optimum voltage, so that there is no useless voltage output and power is saved.

In the above embodiment, the lens 1 used is
Although the drive voltage value of the halogen lamp 9 is set in accordance with the magnification of the lens 8, if the magnification of the lens 18 is different, the F
Because the number is different and the required illuminance changes, as shown in FIG.
An F number selection switch 30b for the lens 18 used is provided as a lens setting means for identifying the F number of the lens 18, and the drive voltage value is automatically set according to the required illuminance of the halogen lamp 9 according to the F number of the lens 18 to be used. I do. That is, F
When the lens 18 having a small number is used, the driving voltage value of the halogen lamp 9 is reduced, and when the lens 18 having a large F number is used, the driving voltage value is increased. Thereby, the same operation and effect as described above can be obtained.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that many modifications and changes can be made to the above-described embodiment within the scope of the present invention. For example, as a means for identifying a lens to be used, the type of lens is set by a user by operating a selection switch, but a lens is provided with a detection object corresponding to a magnification or an F number, and a detection object is provided on the microscope body side. A detector for detecting a detection object is provided so that the type of the lens can be automatically identified when the lens is mounted on the microscope main body. This eliminates the need for the user to operate the selection switch, prevents the user from forgetting to operate the switch, ensures that the halogen lamp can be driven with a drive voltage value appropriate for the lens used, and extends the life of the halogen lamp. Effect can be enhanced.

[0026]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the lens to be used is identified by identifying the lens to be used and setting the drive voltage value of the light source in accordance with the magnification or F-number of the lens. The required illuminance can be obtained, unnecessary voltage is not output to the light source, and the time until the light source reaches the end of its life can be lengthened, and the number of times of replacing the light source can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a microscope according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a microscope main body.

FIG. 3 is a control block diagram of a microscope.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for setting a driving voltage value of a halogen lamp.

FIG. 5 is a characteristic diagram of life time and illuminance with respect to an input voltage of a halogen lamp.

FIG. 6 is a control block diagram of a microscope according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Microscope main body 2 Controller 9 Halogen lamp 18 Lens 30a Selection switch 32 Halogen lamp control part

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A solid-state imaging device, a control circuit therefor, and a light source for subject illumination are integrally provided in a microscope main body, and are enlarged through a lens to be controlled by the solid-state imaging device.
Control to process and output the video signal of the subject
Device and lens setting procedure to set the type of lens to be used
A step, wherein the control device is provided with the lens
Setting means for reading the setting state of the setting means and setting the output of the light source according to the type of lens to be used ;
The setting state of the lens setting means is read at
Means for confirming that the lens has been replaced is provided.
If it has been replaced, output according to the lens type
Microscopes and sets the. 2. A solid-state imaging device is provided on a microscope body.
And its control circuit and the object light source
Mounted through the lens and enlarged by the solid-state imaging device.
Control to process and output the video signal of the subject
Device and lens setting procedure to set the type of lens to be used
A step, wherein the control device is provided with the lens
Read the setting status of the setting means and use the type of lens
Setting means for setting the output of the light source according to
Means for checking the setting of the lens setting means again.
If the lens has been replaced,
Micro output characterized by setting the output according to the type
scope. 3. A lens setting means for adjusting the magnification of a lens to be used.
Or a selection switch for setting the F number.
Depending on the magnification or F number of the lens used from the state of the switch
The output of the light source is set so that the illuminance
The microscope according to claim 1 or 2, wherein