JP5125946B2 - Information processing apparatus and microscope - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and a microscope suitable for use in observing a specimen by mounting a rotation holding member of an optical element such as a state detection revolver.

  Conventionally, for example, a state detection revolver that detects an address (hereinafter also referred to as a physical address) indicating a position in a revolver to which an objective lens disposed on an observation optical path of a microscope is attached and outputs the physical address is known. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). In the microscope, the physical address supplied from the state detection revolver is displayed, so that the user can know which objective lens is used for observing the specimen by viewing the displayed physical address.

  A plurality of objective lens mounting holes are arranged in a circular shape on the mounting surface of the objective lens in such a state detection revolver. And the physical address of the objective lens fixed to those attachment holes, ie, an attachment hole, is defined on the basis of the viewpoint of the user of the microscope.

  In other words, when the state detection revolver is for an upright microscope, when the state detection revolver is viewed as a physical address, with the mounting surface of the objective lens in the state detection revolver as a reference, the state detection revolver is clockwise. Consecutive numbers are assigned in ascending order. For example, it is assumed that the physical address of the objective lens fixed to the predetermined reference mounting hole is “1” while the user is viewing the mounting surface of the objective lens from the front. In this case, for each objective lens arranged in a circular shape, “1”, “2”, “3”,... And objective lens (attachment) in order from the reference objective lens in the clockwise direction. Physical addresses are assigned in order by the number of holes).

  On the other hand, when the state detection revolver is for an inverted microscope, the state detection is based on the mounting surface of the object detection lens in the state detection revolver as a physical address for each mounting hole (objective lens). When the revolver is viewed, consecutive numbers in the counterclockwise direction are assigned in ascending order.

  Therefore, when the state detection revolver for an upright microscope is attached to the upright microscope and the user rotates the state detection revolver in the clockwise direction when viewed from the user and switches the objective lens, the state is displayed on the upright microscope. The physical addresses to be switched are “1”, “2”, “3”,. Then, when the state detection revolver rotates and goes around, the displayed physical address also returns to the original and becomes “1”. Similarly, when a state detection revolver for an inverted microscope is attached to the inverted microscope and the user rotates the state detection revolver in a clockwise direction as viewed from the user, the physical address displayed on the inverted microscope is , “1”, “2”, “3”,...

JP 2008-40158 A

  By the way, since the mechanical mechanism and structure of the state detection revolver such as the structure of the mounting portion with respect to the microscope main body are the same regardless of the type of state detection revolver such as for an upright microscope or an inverted microscope, for example, an upright microscope It is also possible to attach a state detection revolver for use to an inverted microscope and use it for observation of a specimen.

  However, in such a case, when the user rotates the state detection revolver for the upright microscope clockwise as viewed from the user, the physical address of the objective lens displayed on the inverted microscope is “1”, “ 5 ”,“ 4 ”,“ 3 ”,... That is, if the user rotates the state detection revolver in the clockwise direction, the display of the physical address that should have been switched in ascending order is switched in descending order, which may cause confusion.

  In this way, the user replaces one state detection revolver with the upright and inverted microscopes, and when observing, the physical address to be displayed and the arrangement of the objective lens he / she wants We had to make observations in an inconvenient situation that did not match. Further, in order to perform observation without feeling inconvenience, the user needs to prepare a dedicated state detection revolver corresponding to the type of the microscope for each microscope used for observation.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and is intended to improve the convenience of a microscope.

  The information processing apparatus according to the present invention holds and rotates a plurality of fixed optical members so that any one of the optical members is placed on the observation optical path of the microscope from the rotation holding member. Address acquisition means for acquiring a physical address indicating an arrangement position of the optical member on the rotation holding member of the arranged optical member, and as a type of the rotation holding member, for an upright microscope or an inverted microscope In accordance with the type of the rotation holding member indicated by the type information, the physical information acquired by the address acquisition unit, Address conversion means for converting to a display address.

  According to the present invention, even if one type of revolver is installed and used for different types of microscopes, the convenience can be improved.

  Embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an embodiment of a microscope observation system to which the present invention is applied. This microscope observation system includes a state detection revolver 11 and an inverted microscope 12, and the state detection revolver 11 is attached to the inverted microscope 12 to observe a specimen.

  The state detection revolver 11 is a state detection revolver for an upright microscope or an inverted microscope in which a plurality of objective lenses are fixed to its mounting surface, and has an address substrate 21. The address board 21 records a physical address indicating an arrangement position on the mounting surface of the objective lens with reference to the mounting surface of the state detection revolver 11 and type information indicating the type of the state detection revolver 11. Information is supplied to the inverted microscope 12.

  Here, the physical address of the objective lens, more specifically, the physical address of the mounting hole for fixing the objective lens provided on the mounting surface of the state detection revolver 11 is viewed from the front with respect to the mounting surface. It is the information which shows the arrangement position of the objective lens on the mounting surface. This physical address is also called an address.

  The inverted microscope 12 reads the physical address and the type information from the address board 21, performs a decoding process according to the type information, and converts the physical address into a display address based on the user's viewpoint. Here, the display address is information indicating the arrangement position of the objective lens on the mounting surface of the state detection revolver 11 as viewed from the user of the inverted microscope 12. Note that the position of the user's viewpoint that serves as a reference for the display address is in the space near the inverted microscope 12 and is opposite to the installation surface side of the inverted microscope 12 with respect to the stage provided in the inverted microscope 12. It shall be in

  The process of converting the physical address into the display address in this way is performed by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 22 that controls the operation of the entire inverted microscope 12, and the display address obtained as a result is displayed on the display unit 23.

  The CPU 22 implements the address detection unit 31, the connection detection unit 32, and the decoding processing unit 33, for example, by reading and executing a predetermined program. The address detection unit 31 acquires the physical address of the objective lens arranged on the observation optical path of the inverted microscope 12 from the address substrate 21 and supplies it to the decode processing unit 33. The observation optical path here is an optical path that guides light from the specimen to an eyepiece or an imaging device in order to observe the specimen on a stage (not shown) of the inverted microscope 12.

  The connection detection unit 32 reads out the type information from the address board 21 and supplies it to the decoding processing unit 33. This type information can be fixed to the state detection revolver 11 in addition to information indicating the type of the state detection revolver 11 such as whether the state detection revolver 11 is for an upright microscope or an inverted microscope. The number information indicating the number of objective lenses is included. That is, the number information indicates the number of mounting holes of the objective lens provided on the mounting surface of the state detection revolver 11.

  The decode processing unit 33 performs a decoding process according to the type information from the connection detection unit 32, converts the physical address from the address detection unit 31 into a display address, and supplies the display address to the display unit 23. The display unit 23 is composed of, for example, a plurality of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes), and displays the display address by turning on or off the LEDs.

  By the way, the physical address of the objective lens is in order with respect to each objective lens in the clockwise or counterclockwise direction from the reference objective lens when viewed from the front with respect to the mounting surface of the state detection revolver 11. Consecutive numbers are assigned in ascending order.

  For example, when the state detection revolver 11 is for an upright microscope and the mounting surface 61 is provided with five mounting holes 62-1 to 62-5 as shown in FIG. The physical addresses of −1 to mounting hole 62-5 are “1” to “5”, respectively.

  In FIG. 2, the attachment holes 62-1 to 62-5 are arranged at equal intervals on the same circumference, and the objective lens is attached to the attachment surface 61 in the attachment holes 62-1 to 62-5. In the figure, it is arranged and fixed on the near side. Hereinafter, the attachment holes 62-1 to 62-5 are also simply referred to as attachment holes 62 when it is not necessary to distinguish them individually.

  If the state detection revolver 11 shown in FIG. 2 is a state detection revolver for an inverted microscope, the physical address of each mounting hole 62 (objective lens) is opposite from the reference mounting hole 62-1. In the clockwise direction, consecutive numbers are assigned in ascending order. That is, the physical addresses of the attachment holes 62-1 to 62-5 are “1”, “5”, “4”, “3”, and “2”, respectively.

  On the other hand, the display addresses are “1” to “1” in order from the user's viewpoint, that is, the inverted microscope 12 viewed from the upper side in the vertical direction in the clockwise direction from the reference objective lens (mounting hole). “5”.

  Therefore, when the state detection revolver 11 for the inverted microscope is attached to the inverted microscope 12, the arrangement of the physical addresses of the objective lens seen from the user's viewpoint matches the display address. In this case, since the state detection revolver 11 is attached to the inverted microscope 12 so that its mounting surface faces the user, when the state detection revolver 11 is rotated clockwise as viewed from the user, the state detection revolver 11 is on the observation optical path. The physical addresses of the objective lenses arranged at the position change in ascending order.

  However, when the state detection revolver 11 for an upright microscope is attached to the inverted microscope 12, the physical address arrangement of the objective lens seen from the user's viewpoint does not match the display address. In this case, when the state detection revolver 11 is rotated clockwise as viewed from the user, the physical addresses of the objective lenses arranged on the observation optical path change in descending order.

  Therefore, the inverted microscope 12 performs a decoding process on the physical address read from the address board 21 when the state detection revolver 11 for the upright microscope is connected. For example, the address conversion tables shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 are used for the decoding process.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an address conversion table used when the state detection revolver 11 is for an upright microscope and five attachment holes are provided on the attachment surface. In FIG. 3, the physical address is shown in the “address input signal” column, and the display address is shown in the “decoded address signal” column.

  That is, the physical address “1” is converted into the display address “1”, and the physical address “2” is converted into the display address “5”. The physical addresses “3” to “5” are converted into display addresses “4” to “2”, respectively.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an address conversion table used when the state detection revolver 11 is for an upright microscope and six attachment holes are provided on the attachment surface. In FIG. 4, the physical address is shown in the “address input signal” column, and the display address is shown in the “decoded address signal” column.

  That is, the physical address “1” is converted into the display address “1”, and the physical address “2” is converted into the display address “6”. The physical addresses “3” to “6” are converted into display addresses “5” to “2”, respectively.

  Similarly, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an address conversion table used when the state detection revolver 11 is for an upright microscope and seven attachment holes are provided on its attachment surface. In FIG. 5, the physical address is shown in the “address input signal” column, and the display address is shown in the “decoded address signal” column.

  That is, the physical address “1” is converted into the display address “1”, and the physical address “2” is converted into the display address “7”. The physical addresses “3” to “7” are converted into display addresses “6” to “2”, respectively.

  The decode processing unit 33 of the inverted microscope 12 records, for example, the address conversion table shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 in advance for each number of objective lenses that can be attached to the state detection revolver, and uses this address conversion table. Perform the decoding process.

  Next, an address display process, which is a process in which the inverted microscope 12 detects the connection of the state detection revolver 11 and displays a display address, will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This address display process starts when the inverted microscope 12 is turned on.

  In step S <b> 11, the connection detection unit 32 determines whether or not the state detection revolver 11 is connected to the inverted microscope 12. That is, the connection detection unit 32 determines that the state detection revolver 11 is connected when the state detection revolver 11 is connected to the inverted microscope 12 and the type information is supplied from the address board 21.

  In step S11, when it is determined that the state detection revolver 11 is not connected, the connection detection unit 32 supplies information indicating that the state detection revolver 11 is not connected to the decode processing unit 33. Then, the decode processing unit 33 instructs the display unit 23 to display that the state detection revolver 11 is not connected based on the information supplied from the connection detection unit 32, and then the process proceeds to step S16.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S11 that the state detection revolver 11 is connected, the connection detection unit 32 supplies the type information read from the address board 21 to the decode processing unit 33, and the process proceeds to step S12.

  In step S <b> 12, the address detection unit 31 detects the physical address of the objective lens arranged on the observation optical path of the inverted microscope 12. That is, the address substrate 21 detects the physical address of the objective lens arranged on the observation optical path of the inverted microscope 12 and supplies the detected physical address to the address detection unit 31. The address detection unit 31 decodes the physical address from the address substrate 21. This is supplied to the processing unit 33.

  In step S <b> 13, the decode processing unit 33 determines whether the connected state detection revolver 11 is for an upright microscope based on the type information supplied from the connection detection unit 32. For example, when the type of the state detection revolver 11 indicated by the type information is for an upright microscope, it is determined that the type is for an upright microscope.

  In step S13, when it is determined that the state detection revolver 11 is not for the upright microscope, that is, the state detection revolver 11 is determined to be for the inverted microscope, the decoding process for the physical address is not necessary. The physical address thus supplied is supplied as it is to the display unit 23 as a display address. Then, the process proceeds to step S16.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S13 that it is for an upright microscope, in step S14, the decode processing unit 33 reads an address conversion table necessary for the decode process. That is, based on the number information included in the type information supplied from the connection detection unit 32, the decoding processing unit 33 selects and reads the address conversion table specified by the number indicated by the number information.

  For example, when the number of objective lenses that can be fixed indicated by the number information, that is, the number of mounting holes provided on the mounting surface is “5”, the address conversion table shown in FIG. 3 is read.

  In step S <b> 15, the decode processing unit 33 performs a decoding process using the read address conversion table and the physical address supplied from the address detection unit 31. Then, the decode processing unit 33 supplies the display address obtained by the decoding process to the display unit 23. For example, when the address conversion table of FIG. 3 is read and “2” is supplied as the physical address, the decode processing unit 33 converts the physical address “2” into the display address “5” and displays it on the display unit 23. Supply.

  If the decoding process is performed in step S15, if it is determined in step S13 that it is not for an upright microscope, or if it is determined in step S11 that the state detection revolver 11 is not connected, in step S16, the display unit 23 displays the display address.

  For example, the display unit 23 displays the display address by turning on or off each of the plurality of LEDs constituting the display unit 23 based on the display address supplied from the decode processing unit 33.

  Further, when receiving a display instruction indicating that the state detection revolver 11 is not connected from the decode processing unit 33, the display unit 23 displays that the state detection revolver 11 is not connected in accordance with the instruction. For example, the display unit 23 turns off all the LEDs constituting the display unit 23 and notifies the user that the state detection revolver 11 is not connected to the inverted microscope 12.

  In this manner, when the display address is displayed by the display unit 23, the process returns to step S11, and the above-described process is repeated. Therefore, when the state detection revolver 11 is rotated and a new objective lens is arranged on the observation optical path, the display address of the new objective lens is displayed. The address display process ends when the power of the inverted microscope 12 is turned off.

  In this way, the inverted microscope 12 reads the physical address and type information from the connected state detection revolver 11, performs decoding processing according to the type of the state detection revolver 11 indicated by the type information, and displays the display address. To do.

  Thus, by converting the physical address into a display address according to the type information and displaying it, the address indicating the arrangement position of the objective lens displayed on the inverted microscope 12 according to the type of the connected state detection revolver 11 And the arrangement (display address) of the objective lens that the user thinks can be prevented from being inconsistent. Thereby, the occurrence of confusion of the objective lens in use can be prevented, and the convenience of the inverted microscope 12 can be improved.

  In addition, since the address conversion table corresponding to the number information included in the type information is used and the decoding process is performed, the physical address can be converted into the display address easily and quickly.

  According to such an inverted microscope 12, the user can observe the specimen without particularly worrying about the type of the state detection revolver 11, so it is necessary to prepare a dedicated state detection revolver 11 for each type of microscope. This can eliminate the expense. Moreover, since it is not necessary to manufacture the dedicated state detection revolver 11 for each type of microscope on the side that provides the state detection revolver 11, the manufacturing cost of the state detection revolver 11 can be reduced.

  In the above description, the inverted microscope 12 has been described as an example. However, the present invention can also be applied to an upright microscope. That is, when the present invention is applied to an upright microscope, the upright microscope uses an address conversion table prepared in advance according to the number information when the type of the state detection revolver 11 is an inverted microscope. Perform the decoding process.

  Further, the state detection revolver 11 is not limited to a manual type in which the user rotates the state detection revolver 11 but may be an electric revolver that is driven electrically. Furthermore, some or all of the functions of the address detection unit 31 to the decoding processing unit 33 and the display unit 23 are provided not only in the inverted microscope 12 but also in other devices such as a personal computer connected to the inverted microscope 12. Also good. In such a case, the address display process of FIG. 6 is performed by an information processing apparatus including another apparatus connected to the inverted microscope 12 and the inverted microscope 12.

  Further, an address detection unit 31 to a decoding processing unit 33 are provided in the state detection revolver 11, and the state detection revolver 11 acquires type information indicating the type of the inverted microscope 12 from the inverted microscope 12 and displays a physical address. You may make it perform the process converted into an address.

  In addition, in the above, as an example of the optical member arrange | positioned on the observation optical path of the inverted microscope 12, and the rotation holding member which rotates several optical members and arranges one of them on an observation optical path Although the objective lens and the state detection revolver 11 have been described, any optical member may be used as long as it is disposed on the observation optical path.

  For example, in the inverted microscope 12, if the specimen is observed with fluorescence, the filter cube can be used as an optical member. A filter cube is an optical element such as a dichroic mirror, a barrier filter, and an excitation filter used in fluorescence observation, for example. At the time of fluorescence observation, a filter cube corresponding to the wavelength of excitation light irradiated on the specimen is arranged on the observation optical path. Is done.

  In this case, a plurality of filter cubes are fixed to the turret as the rotation holding member, the turret is rotated, and one filter cube is arranged on the observation optical path. Then, the excitation light that has passed through the excitation filter of the filter cube is irradiated to the specimen through the dichroic mirror, and the fluorescence from the specimen that is expressed thereby is reflected by the dichroic mirror, and further passes through the barrier filter to form an eyepiece lens, etc. Is incident on. In this case, the inverted microscope 12 reads the physical address of the filter cube and the type information from the turret, performs decoding processing, and displays the display address obtained as a result. Furthermore, some filter cubes used in bright-field observation contain a half mirror, and this can be applied to such a cube.

  The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of one Embodiment of the microscope observation system to which this invention is applied. It is a figure explaining arrangement | positioning of a physical address. It is a figure which shows an example of an address conversion table. It is a figure which shows an example of an address conversion table. It is a figure which shows an example of an address conversion table. It is a flowchart explaining an address display process.

Explanation of symbols

  11 state detection revolver, 12 inverted microscope, 21 address board, 23 display section, 31 address detection section, 32 connection detection section, 33 decode processing section

Claims (7)

By holding and rotating a plurality of fixed optical members, from the rotation holding member that arranges any of the optical members on the observation optical path of the microscope, of the optical member arranged on the observation optical path, Address acquisition means for acquiring a physical address indicating an arrangement position of the optical member on the rotation holding member;
As the type of the rotation holding member, type information acquisition means for acquiring, from the rotation holding member, type information indicating either an upright microscope or an inverted microscope,
An information processing apparatus comprising: an address conversion unit configured to convert the physical address acquired by the address acquisition unit into a display address according to the type of the rotation holding member indicated by the type information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying the display address obtained by the conversion. The type information includes number information indicating the number of optical members that can be fixed to the rotation holding member,
The said address conversion means performs conversion to the said display address of the said physical address based on the number shown by the said number information according to the classification shown by the said classification information. Information processing device. When the type indicated by the type information is a predetermined one of an upright microscope or an inverted microscope, the address conversion unit is configured to add the physical address for each number indicated by the number information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the acquired physical address is converted into the display address using a conversion table in which the display address and the display address are recorded in association with each other. The address conversion means, when the type indicated by the type information is the other of the upright microscope or the inverted microscope, the acquired physical address is used as the display address as it is. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the optical member is an objective lens. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1 is provided.

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