JP6951065B2 - Magnifying observation device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a magnifying observation device, and more particularly to an improvement of a magnifying observation device that irradiates an observation object placed on a stage with illumination light to image the observation object.

The magnifying observation device is a digital microscope that irradiates an observation object placed on a stage with illumination light and receives the reflected light or transmitted light to image the observation object, and monitors the captured image. It is displayed on the screen to measure the dimensions of the object to be observed and record the captured image. In addition, the magnifying observation device has a depth composition function that increases the depth of field, an image connection function that connects multiple captured images to widen the field of view, and an HDRI (High Dynamic Range Imaging) that acquires an image with a wide dynamic range. It has a range synthesis) function and the like.

When the analysis target is fine particles such as dust remaining on a membrane filter that filters liquid or gas, the shooting range is wider than the shot image taken with the fine particles as the subject, so a plurality of shot images can be spread over a wide range. Need to be analyzed. In this type of particle analysis, in order to collectively perform particle extraction using common parameters, it is necessary to match the imaging conditions such as the exposure time and the illumination method for a plurality of captured images. However, in the conventional magnifying observation device, it is necessary for the user to give an instruction to fix the shooting conditions, and if there is no instruction from the user, the shooting conditions are automatically specified for each shot image, so that the particles are extracted. There was a problem that the accuracy of the

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a magnifying observation apparatus capable of improving the accuracy of extraction of an analysis target. In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a magnifying observation apparatus capable of improving the accuracy of extracting an analysis target when analyzing a plurality of captured images over a wide range.

The magnifying observation device according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a stage for placing an observation object, an illumination means for irradiating the observation object on the stage with illumination light, and reflected light of the illumination light. An XY that receives transmitted light, detects the amount of received light, and generates a photographed image of the object to be observed, and moves the stage and the camera relatively along an XY plane that intersects the light receiving axis of the camera. The XY driving means based on the driving means, the shooting image display means for displaying the shot image on the monitor screen, the shooting range determining means for determining the shooting range to be analyzed, and the shooting range or the position designation by the user. By controlling, the stage and the camera are relatively moved to a position for setting the shooting condition, and the shooting condition is determined based on the shot image generated by the camera at the position. Based on the means, the shooting range determined by the shooting range determining means, and the viewing range of the shot image, one or more imaging positions are determined so that the shooting range is included, and the one or more imaging positions are determined. At the imaging position, the camera includes an analysis target image acquisition means for acquiring a captured image generated by the camera using the imaging conditions as an analysis target.

In this magnifying observation device, once the shooting range to be analyzed is determined, the stage and the camera are relatively moved based on the shooting range or the position specified by the user, and the shooting conditions are determined from the generated shot image. The determined image is acquired at one or a plurality of imaging positions as an analysis target. Therefore, it is not necessary for the user to give an instruction to fix the shooting conditions, and the accuracy of extracting the analysis target can be improved.

In addition to the above configuration, the magnifying observation device according to the second aspect of the present invention has a field field larger than that of the original captured image based on a plurality of captured images acquired as analysis targets by the analysis target image acquisition means and having different imaging positions. Further includes a wide-area image generation means for generating a wide-area image that is wide and includes the shooting range, the shooting condition control means controls the XY driving means, and the imaging field of the camera is included in the shooting range. The stage and the camera are relatively moved to the imaging position, and the imaging conditions for the wide area image are determined from the captured images acquired at the imaging position.

According to such a configuration, the shooting conditions are determined by moving the imaging position within the imaging range, so that the imaging conditions are determined as compared with the case where the imaging conditions are determined at the imaging position where the imaging field of view extends beyond the imaging range. Can be specified appropriately.

In addition to the above configuration, the magnifying observation device according to the third aspect of the present invention has a field field larger than that of the original captured image based on a plurality of captured images acquired as analysis targets by the analysis target image acquisition means and having different imaging positions. Further includes a wide-area image generation means for generating a wide-area image that is wide and includes the shooting range, and after the shooting range is determined, the XY driving means is controlled based on a user operation to determine shooting conditions. The imaging position designating means for designating the imaging position is further provided, and the imaging condition control means is configured to determine the imaging conditions for the wide area image from the captured image acquired at the imaging position. According to such a configuration, the user can arbitrarily specify an imaging position for determining the imaging conditions of a wide area image.

In addition to the above configuration, the magnifying observation device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention relates to the brightness unevenness removing means for removing the unevenness of brightness in the captured image and the plurality of captured images after removing the unevenness of brightness. Based on the brightness value correction means that scales the brightness value so that the brightness matches and the common extraction parameters, the captured image after scaling the brightness value is binarized, and the analysis target area is extracted. Further provided with an analysis target extraction image generation means for generating an analysis target extraction image.

According to such a configuration, the variation in the brightness value due to the removal of the unevenness of brightness is suppressed by scaling, so that the analysis target area is appropriate by the common extraction parameters while suppressing the influence of lens aberration and ambient light. It is possible to obtain the extracted image to be analyzed.

In addition to the above configuration, the magnifying observation device according to the fifth aspect of the present invention displays a plurality of captured images having different feature amounts in the analysis target region among the plurality of captured images constituting the analysis target extracted image on the monitor screen. An analysis target extracted image display means that is displayed side by side or switchably displayed, and a parameter adjustment means that displays an operator for designating the extraction parameter in association with a figure representing an adjustment range on the monitor screen. After the analysis target extraction image generation means extracts the analysis target area from the captured image using the provisional extraction parameter, the analysis target extraction image generation means specifies the value of the extraction parameter from the extraction parameter specified by the parameter adjustment means. It is configured to update the analysis target extracted image.

According to such a configuration, a plurality of captured images having different feature amounts in the analysis target area are displayed side by side on the monitor screen or are displayed in a switchable manner, so that the user can compare these captured images and extract parameters. Can be adjusted.

In the magnifying observation device according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, the analysis target extraction image display means has the maximum area, number, size, brightness or color component of the analysis target region, and the minimum captured image. It is configured to display the captured image on the monitor screen.

According to such a configuration, the extraction parameters can be adjusted while balancing the extracted analysis target areas by comparing the captured images having the largest differences in the feature amounts of the analysis target areas.

The magnifying observation device according to the seventh aspect of the present invention includes a stage for placing an observation object, an illumination means for irradiating the observation object on the stage with illumination light, and reflected light of the illumination light. An XY that receives transmitted light, detects the amount of light received, and generates a captured image of the object to be observed, and XY that moves the stage and the camera relatively along an XY plane that intersects the light receiving axis of the camera. The XY driving means based on the driving means, the captured image display means for displaying the captured image on the monitor screen, the imaging range determining means for determining the imaging range to be analyzed, and the imaging range or the position designation by the user. By controlling, the stage and the camera are relatively moved to a position for setting the shooting condition, and the shooting condition is determined based on the shot image generated by the camera at the position. Based on the means, the shooting range determined by the shooting range determining means, and the viewing range of the shot image, one or more imaging positions are determined so as to include the shooting range, and the one or more imaging positions are determined. An analysis target image acquisition means for acquiring a captured image generated by the camera using the imaging conditions as an analysis target at an imaging position, a brightness unevenness reducing means for reducing brightness unevenness in the captured image, and a brightness unevenness reducing means. When a plurality of imaging positions are determined so as to include the photographing range from the photographing range determined by the photographing range determining means and the viewing range of the captured image, the plurality of images after reducing the unevenness of brightness. Based on the brightness value correction means that scales the brightness value so that the brightness of the captured image is the same, and the common extraction parameters, the captured image after scaling the brightness value is binarized and analyzed. It is provided with an analysis target extraction image generation means for generating an analysis target extraction image extracted from the camera.

In addition to the above configuration, the magnifying observation device according to the eighth aspect of the present invention displays a plurality of captured images having different feature amounts in the analysis target region among the plurality of captured images constituting the analysis target extracted image on the monitor screen. An analysis target extracted image display means that is displayed side by side or switchably displayed, and a parameter adjustment means that displays an operator for specifying the extraction parameter in association with a figure representing an adjustment range on the monitor screen. The analysis target extraction image generation means further binarizes the captured images generated at the one or more imaging positions based on the common extraction parameters, and the analysis target region is extracted. When generating an image, after extracting the analysis target area from the captured images at the one or more imaging positions using the provisional extraction parameters, the value of the extraction parameter is calculated from the extraction parameters specified by the parameter adjusting means. The analysis target extracted image is specified and updated, and the analysis target extraction image display means monitors the captured image having the largest area, number, size, brightness or color component of the analysis target region and the captured image having the smallest color component. It is configured to be displayed on the screen.

In the magnifying observation device according to the ninth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, the analysis target extracted image display means is selected by the user from a plurality of captured images constituting the updated analysis target extracted image. If the captured image is displayed on the monitor screen and the position of the operator is changed while the analysis target extraction image generation means is displaying the captured image, the value of the extraction parameter is changed from the position of the operator after the change. Is specified, and the binarization process is individually redone for the captured image.

According to such a configuration, even after the analysis target extraction image is updated by the common extraction parameters, the extraction parameters of the captured images constituting the analysis target extraction image can be individually adjusted.

In addition to the above configuration, the magnifying observation device according to the tenth aspect of the present invention acquires and synthesizes a plurality of captured images having different illumination conditions by controlling the lighting means, and causes overexposure as compared with the original captured image. The illumination composite image generation means for generating a small number of illumination composite images is further provided, and the analysis target extraction image generation means is the wide area image obtained from a captured image taken under normal lighting conditions and the illumination composite image obtained from the illumination composite image. The wide area image of either one of the wide area image is binarized to create the analysis target extracted image, the analysis target area of the analysis target extracted image is used as a mask area, and the pixels in the mask area from the other wide area image. Is extracted and the brightness value is compared with the one of the wide area images to determine the metal of the analysis target region.

According to such a configuration, the accuracy of the metal determination can be improved as compared with the case where the metal determination is performed based on the brightness value in the analysis target region of the captured image captured under normal lighting conditions. Further, the configuration of the light receiving optical system can be simplified as compared with the case where the metal determination is performed by comparing the captured image captured through the polarizing filter with the captured image captured without the polarizing filter.

In the magnifying observation apparatus according to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, the captured image having the smallest area, number, size, brightness or color component of the analysis target region is selected from those having a feature amount larger than 0. It is configured to be.

In the magnifying observation device according to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, the captured image having the smallest area, number, size, brightness or color component of the analysis target region is the captured image among the plurality of captured images. The area of the observation object in the image is configured to be selected from those having a predetermined value or more.

According to the present invention, if the shooting range to be analyzed is determined, the shooting conditions are determined, and the shot images at one or more imaging positions are acquired as analysis targets, so that the accuracy of analysis target extraction is improved. be able to.

It is a system diagram which showed one configuration example of the magnifying observation apparatus 1 by embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which showed the structural example of the support base 6 on which the head unit 2 of FIG. 1 is mounted. It is a figure which showed the structural example of the support base 6 of FIG. It is a perspective view which showed the other structural example of a head unit 2. It is a figure which showed an example of the observation object S placed on the stage 65. It is a block diagram which showed an example of the functional structure in the controller 4 of FIG. It is a block diagram which showed the structural example of the particle analysis part 120 of FIG. It is a figure which showed an example of the operation at the time of particle analysis in the controller 4 of FIG. It is a figure which showed an example of the operation at the time of setting a shooting condition in the controller 4 of FIG. It is a figure which showed an example of the operation at the time of setting the imaging position in the controller 4 of FIG. It is a figure which showed an example of the operation at the time of batch extraction of the particle region in the controller 4 of FIG. It is a figure which showed another example of the operation at the time of batch extraction of the particle region in the controller 4 of FIG. It is a figure which showed an example of the operation at the time of individual setting of the extraction parameter in the controller 4 of FIG. It is a figure which showed an example of the photographed image 93 which imaged the metal fine particle as a subject. It is a perspective view which showed an example of the lens part 22 of the head unit 2 of FIG. It is a figure which showed an example of the operation at the time of metal determination in the controller 4 of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically an example of the operation at the time of metal determination in the controller 4 of FIG.

First, the schematic configuration of the magnifying observation device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

<Magnifying observation device 1>
FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing a configuration example of the magnifying observation device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The magnifying observation device 1 is a digital microscope capable of magnifying and observing the observation object S, and is composed of a head unit 2, a transmission cable 3, a controller 4, an operation unit 5, and a support base 6.

<Head unit 2>
The head unit 2 irradiates the observation object S with illumination light composed of visible light, receives the reflected light reflected by the observation object S, or the transmitted light transmitted through the observation object S, and receives the observation object S. It is a light emitting / receiving unit that captures an image, and is composed of a camera 21 and a lens unit 22. The head unit 2 is connected to the controller 4 via a transmission cable 3 and is mounted on the support base 6 with the camera 21 facing downward.

The camera 21 is an imaging device that captures an image of an observation object S, and is composed of an imaging element 211 that receives reflected light or transmitted light of illumination light, detects the amount of received light, and generates a captured image. For the image sensor 211, for example, an image sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Devices) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) is used.

The lens unit 22 is composed of a plurality of lenses that are optically coupled to the image sensor 211 of the camera 21, and is detachably attached to the camera 21. The lens unit 22 is provided with, for example, an objective lens 221 facing the observation object S, and the imaging magnification can be adjusted by rotating the lens barrel unit. The lens unit 22 is provided with a coaxial epi-illumination unit 71 and a ring illumination unit 72.

The camera 21 is rotatably arranged around the optical axis of the lens unit 22 with the light receiving axis aligned with the optical axis of the lens unit 22. Therefore, the imaging angle when imaging the observation object S can be adjusted without rotating the stage 65.

The coaxial epi-illumination unit 71 is a light projecting device that irradiates the observation object S with illumination light, and emits illumination light transmitted from the controller 4 via the transmission cable 3 from the lens unit 22 coaxially with the light receiving shaft of the camera 21. Exit.

The ring illumination unit 72 is a projection device that irradiates the observation object S with illumination light, and emits illumination light from an annular projection region surrounding the objective lens 221. The ring illumination unit 72 switches between surjective illumination that lights the entire projection area and single-illumination that lights only a part of the projection area in order to emphasize the unevenness of the surface of the observation object S. be able to. In one-sided lighting, the projection area is divided into 4 to 16 and the lighting portion can be selected.

<Support stand 6>
The support base 6 is a stand that supports the head unit 2 in order to observe the observation object S at a desired imaging angle, and is a base portion 60, a support portion 61, a head mounting arm portion 62, a Z drive portion 63, and a lens detection. It is composed of a unit 64, a stage 65, an XY drive unit 66, and a stage adjusting unit 67. Here, it is assumed that the vertical direction, that is, the vertical direction is the Z-axis direction, and the X-axis and the Y-axis are defined in the horizontal plane.

A support column 61, an XY drive unit 66, and a stage adjusting unit 67 are arranged on the base unit 60. The strut portion 61 extends in the vertical direction and supports the head unit 2 via the head mounting arm portion 62.

The head mounting arm portion 62 extends horizontally from the strut portion 61 and holds the head unit 2. The head unit 2 is detachably attached to the head mounting arm portion 62. The head unit 2 or the head mounting arm portion 62 is provided with a sensor (not shown) for detecting that the head unit 2 is mounted on the head mounting arm portion 62.

The Z drive unit 63 is a camera driving means for moving the camera 21 in the light receiving axis direction by moving the head mounting arm portion 62 in the vertical direction along the support column portion 61. The lens detection unit 64 detects that the lens unit 22 is attached to the camera 21 and acquires various lens information from the lens unit 22. The acquired lens information includes, for example, a shooting magnification, a focal length, and the like.

The stage 65 is a work table having a mounting surface 65a for mounting the observation object S. The stage 65 is arranged horizontally and is provided with a transmission illumination unit 73. The transmission illumination unit 73 is a light projecting device that irradiates the observation object S with illumination light.

The XY drive unit 66 is a stage drive means for moving the stage 65 in a direction parallel to the mounting surface 65a. The stage adjusting unit 67 moves the stage 65 in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction), or rotates the stage 65 and the XY drive unit 66 around a rotation axis in the vertical direction. The raising and lowering and rotation of the stage 65 are performed, for example, by operating an operator such as an adjustment knob, and the height and the imaging angle of the observation object S can be adjusted.

The stage adjusting unit 67 is provided with a position sensor (not shown) for detecting the position of the stage 65 in the Z-axis direction and a rotation angle sensor (not shown) for detecting the rotation angle of the stage 65.

<Transmission cable 3>
The transmission cable 3 includes a control cable 31 for transmitting a control signal and a captured image, and an illumination light transmission cable 32 for transmitting illumination light. The illumination optical transmission cable 32 is made of an optical fiber.

<Controller 4>
The controller 4 is an information processing terminal that controls the camera 21, the ring illumination unit 72, the transmission illumination unit 73, the Z drive unit 63, and the XY drive unit 66, and displays the captured image acquired from the camera 21 on the display unit 41. The operation unit 5 is connected. The main power of the controller 4 is switched to the on state by operating the power button 42. Further, the controller 4 is provided with a light source device that generates illumination light for coaxial epi-illumination. The display unit 41 is a display device that displays a captured image on a monitor screen.

<Operation unit 5>
The operation unit 5 is an input device that accepts user operations, and is composed of a keyboard 51, a mouse 52, and a console 53. By operating the buttons and the adjustment knob, the console 53 can instruct the capture of the captured image, the brightness of the illumination, and the focusing of the camera 21.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the support base 6 on which the head unit 2 of FIG. 1 is mounted. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the support base 6 of FIG. In the figure, (a) shows the left side surface of the support base 6, (b) shows the case where the support base 6 is viewed from above, and (c) shows the front surface of the support base 6. It is shown.

The strut portion 61 is attached to the base portion 60 via the tilt portion 68, and can be tilted in the left-right direction. The tilt portion 68 is a part of the base portion 60, and rotatably supports the support column portion 61 around a horizontal rotation axis in the front-rear direction. The rotation axis of the tilt portion 68 extends orthogonally to the light receiving axis of the head unit 2 and parallel to the mounting surface 65a of the stage 65. That is, the head unit 2 mounted on the head mounting arm portion 62 is rotatably supported around the rotation shaft, and the light receiving shaft can be tilted with respect to the mounting surface 65a of the stage 65.

The strut portion 61 can be inclined by, for example, about 90 ° from the vertical direction to the right side, or about 60 ° from the vertical direction to the left side. Therefore, the observation object S on the stage 65 can be observed not only from the upward direction but also from an oblique direction or a lateral direction. The stage 65 can be rotated by about 90 ° to the right and to the left, respectively.

The strut portion 61 or the tilt portion 68 is provided with a sensor (not shown) for detecting the inclination angle of the strut portion 61. Further, the support column 61 is provided with a lock mechanism for fixing the tilt portion 68 at a position where the inclination angle is 0 °, that is, at a position where the light receiving shaft of the head unit 2 is orthogonal to the mounting surface 65a of the stage 65. Be done.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another configuration example of the head unit 2, and shows a lens unit 22 provided with two objective lenses 221a and 221b having different shooting magnifications. The lens unit 22 includes two objective lenses 221a and 221b having different shooting magnifications, and the shooting magnification can be significantly changed by switching the objective lenses 221a and 221b. The objective lenses 221a and 221b are different objective lenses from each other, and are switchably arranged on the light receiving axis of the camera 21.

The objective lens 221a is a high-magnification lens having a high photographing magnification. On the other hand, the objective lens 221b is a low-magnification lens having a lower shooting magnification than the objective lens 221a. The objective lenses 221a and 221b are switched by rotating around a horizontal rotation axis 222 in the left-right direction, and either the objective lens 221a or 221b is arranged on the light receiving axis of the camera 21. The rotation shaft 222 is perpendicular to the light receiving shaft of the camera 21.

The lens unit 22 is designed so that neither the center of the imaging field of view nor the in-focus position of the center of the field of view changes with the switching of the objective lenses 221a and 221b. Further, the lens unit 22 is a zoom lens having a zoom mechanism, and the photographing magnification can be continuously adjusted by rotating the lens barrel unit. The lens unit 22 may be of a revolver type that switches a plurality of objective lenses by rotating the lens unit 22 around a rotation axis substantially parallel to the light receiving axis of the camera 21. For example, the lens unit 22 may switch objective lenses having three or more different magnifications to a revolver type.

Next, a more detailed configuration of the magnifying observation device 1 according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 5 to 17.

<Observation object S>
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an observation object S placed on the stage 65, and shows a case where the stage 65 is viewed from above. The stage 65 has a square shape, and a circular translucent area 651 for transmitting the illumination light of the transmitted illumination is provided in the center. The stage 65 can be arbitrarily moved along the XY plane parallel to the mounting surface 65a. The XY plane is a plane that intersects the light receiving axis of the camera 21.

The observation object S is a circular sheet-shaped filter medium, for example, a membrane filter. The membrane filter is a member for filtering a liquid or a gas, is made of a porous membrane having a uniform pore size, is formed by using a fluororesin or the like, and has a bright color such as white. The diameter of the observation object S is about 50 mm, and it is placed in the translucent area 651. The stage 65 is a dark color such as black, and may have a large difference in brightness from the filter.

The magnifying observation device 1 targets fine particles such as dust remaining on the observation object S as an analysis target, extracts the fine particles from the captured image, measures the number and size, or determines whether or not the fine particles are metal. It can be performed. Further, the magnifying observation device 1 can be used, for example, for analysis of contamination.

<Controller 4>
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration in the controller 4 of FIG. The XY drive unit 66 is a stage drive means for moving the stage 65 along the XY plane intersecting the light receiving axis of the camera 21.

The controller 4 includes a shooting condition control unit 101, a shooting parameter storage unit 102, an observation control unit 103, a shooting image storage unit 104, a shooting image display unit 105, a shooting range determination unit 106, an analysis target image acquisition unit 107, and a wide area image storage. It is composed of a unit 108, an imaging position designation unit 109, an illumination composite image generation unit 110, a composite image storage unit 111, a wide area image generation unit 112, and a particle analysis unit 120.

The shooting condition control unit 101 acquires a shot image from the camera 21 and controls the shooting conditions. Shooting conditions include exposure time, gain, white balance, lighting method, and the like. The shooting condition control unit 101 determines appropriate shooting conditions based on, for example, the brightness value of the shot image. The shooting parameter storage unit 102 stores shooting parameters that define shooting conditions.

The observation control unit 103 reads out the shooting parameters from the shooting parameter storage unit 102, acquires the shooting image captured according to the shooting conditions from the camera 21, and stores it in the shooting image storage unit 104. Further, the observation control unit 103 controls the XY drive unit 66 based on the operation signal from the operation unit 5, and adjusts the imaging position by moving the stage 65 along the XY plane. The captured image display unit 105 controls the display unit 41, reads out the captured image from the captured image storage unit 104, and displays it on the monitor screen.

The photographing range determination unit 106 determines the photographing range to be analyzed for particle analysis. The imaging range is, for example, wider than the imaging field of view of the camera 21, and when the membrane filter is the observation object S, a circular region is designated as the imaging range. Further, when the film-shaped adhesive member to which the fine particles in the atmosphere are attached is the observation object S, a rectangular region is designated as the photographing range. Such an imaging range is determined by moving the stage 65 along the XY plane and designating a plurality of imaging positions such that the center of the visual field is located on the outer edge of the observation object S.

The shooting condition control unit 101 controls the XY drive unit 66 based on the shooting range or the position designation by the user, thereby relatively moving the stage 65 and the camera 21 to a position for setting shooting conditions. , The shooting conditions are determined based on the shot image generated by the camera 21 at the position.

The analysis target image acquisition unit 107 determines one or a plurality of imaging positions so that the imaging range is included based on the imaging range determined by the imaging range determination unit 106 and the viewing range of the captured image, and one or a plurality of imaging positions are determined. At a plurality of imaging positions, captured images generated by the camera 21 using shooting conditions are acquired as analysis targets.

The wide area image generation unit 112 generates a wide area image based on a plurality of captured images acquired by the analysis target image acquisition unit 107 and has different imaging positions, and stores the wide area image in the wide area image storage unit 108. The wide-area image is a wide-field image having a wider field of view than the original captured image and includes a imaging range determined by the imaging range determining unit 106, and is composed of captured images arranged according to the imaging position. Wide-area images include connected images, images in which captured images are arranged in tiles, and the like. The concatenated image is a composite image created by concatenating a plurality of captured images.

The shooting condition control unit 101 acquires a shooting image included in the shooting range and determines the shooting conditions. For example, the analysis target image acquisition unit 107 controls the XY drive unit 66 triggered by an instruction to create a wide area image, and moves the stage 65 to an imaging position where the imaging field of view of the camera 21 is included in the imaging range. The shooting condition control unit 101 determines the shooting conditions for a wide area image from the shot image acquired at this imaging position. The imaging position at this time is, for example, a position where the center of the visual field coincides with the center or the center of the observation object S.

The shooting condition control unit 101 fixes the shooting conditions during the shooting period of the wide area image so as not to reduce the accuracy of particle extraction. This shooting period is a period required to acquire a plurality of shot images constituting a wide area image. Since the shooting conditions are automatically fixed without the user instructing to fix the shooting conditions, the accuracy of particle extraction can be improved when analyzing a plurality of shot images over a wide range. ..

After the shooting range is determined by the shooting range determination unit 106, the imaging position designation unit 109 controls the XY drive unit 66 based on the user operation in the operation unit 5, and determines one imaging position for determining the shooting conditions. Specify the above. The shooting condition control unit 101 determines the shooting conditions for a wide area image from one or more shot images acquired at the shooting position designated by the shooting position designation unit 109. When determining the shooting conditions, it can be obtained by using the average value, the maximum value, or the minimum value based on one or more shot images specified by the user. The user can arbitrarily specify an imaging position for determining the imaging conditions for a wide area image.

The illumination composite image generation unit 110 acquires and synthesizes a plurality of captured images having different lighting conditions from the camera 21 by controlling the ring illumination unit 72 in order to obtain a captured image for metal determination, and obtains the illumination composite image. It is generated and stored in the composite image storage unit 111. The illumination composite image is a composite image with less overexposure than the original captured image. For example, by acquiring a plurality of captured images in which the lighting portions of the ring illumination unit 72 are different and synthesizing the pixels without overexposure. Created.

The wide area image generation unit 112 creates a wide area image from a plurality of captured images taken under normal lighting conditions, and also creates a wide area image from a plurality of illumination composite images having different imaging positions. The normal lighting condition is, for example, surjective lighting that lights all the lighting parts of the ring lighting unit 72.

The particle analysis unit 120 is an image processing unit that reads a wide area image from the wide area image storage unit 108, displays it on the monitor screen of the display unit 41, and performs particle analysis by various image processing on the wide area image.

<Particle analysis unit 120>
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the particle analysis unit 120 of FIG. The particle analysis unit 120 includes a brightness unevenness removal unit 121, a brightness value correction unit 122, an analysis target extraction image generation unit 123, an extraction parameter storage unit 124, an extraction image storage unit 125, an analysis target extraction image display unit 126, and parameter adjustment. It is composed of parts 127.

The brightness unevenness removing unit 121 removes the brightness unevenness from a plurality of captured images constituting a wide area image in order to suppress the influence of the aberration of the lens unit 22 and the ambient light. The unevenness of brightness can be removed by a predetermined filtering process, for example, a filtering process such as shading correction.

The brightness value correction unit 122 scales the brightness values of a plurality of captured images after removing the uneven brightness so that the brightness matches. The scaling of the luminance value is an image process for suppressing the variation of the luminance value between the captured images. For example, the average luminance of each captured image is obtained and the average luminance is matched. Alternatively, the brightness values are scaled so that the maximum brightness and the minimum brightness match between the captured images.

The analysis target extraction image generation unit 123 binarizes the captured image after scaling the brightness value based on the common extraction parameters, generates the analysis target extraction image from which the analysis target area is extracted, and extracts the extraction image storage unit 125. Store in. The extraction parameter is, for example, a threshold value for comparison with the brightness value of the pixel, and is stored in the extraction parameter storage unit 124. The analysis target extracted image is a binary image. For example, a logical value = 0 is assigned to the background, and a logical value other than 0 is assigned to the analysis target area. The analysis target region is, for example, a particle region.

The analysis target extracted image display unit 126 reads the analysis target extracted image from the extracted image storage unit 125, and displays a plurality of captured images having different feature quantities in the analysis target region among the plurality of captured images constituting the analysis target extracted image. Displayed side by side on the monitor screen of unit 41. Further, the analysis target extraction image display unit 126 displays a plurality of captured images having different feature amounts of the analysis target region on the monitor screen so as to be switchable. It is also possible to switch between the captured image having the largest feature amount (area, number, size, etc.) of the extraction region and the captured image having the smallest feature amount (area, number, size, etc.).

The captured image having the smallest area, number, size, brightness or color component of the analysis target area is selected from those having a feature amount larger than 0. Further, the captured image having the smallest area, number, size, brightness or color component of the analysis target region is selected from among a plurality of captured images in which the area of the observation object S occupying the captured image is equal to or larger than a predetermined value. Will be done. Therefore, the captured image located on the outer peripheral portion of the wide area image is excluded from the candidates to be displayed as the image having the minimum feature amount.

The analysis target extraction image display unit 126 displays the captured image having the largest area, number, size, brightness, or color component of the analysis target region and the captured image having the smallest color component side by side on the monitor screen. Specifically, the captured image having the largest feature amount and the captured image having the smallest feature amount in the particle region of the entire captured image are displayed. The feature amount of the particle region of the entire captured image is the sum, average, or variance of the feature amount of each particle region. The feature amounts of each particle region include the area, number, size, diameter ratio, average brightness, integrated brightness, average value of color components, integrated value, and the like of the particle region. Color components include RGB, HSV, and the like.

The parameter adjustment unit 127 displays an operator for designating the extraction parameter in association with the figure representing the adjustment range on the monitor screen of the display unit 41. The parameter adjustment unit 127 moves the operator along a figure representing the adjustment range, for example, a line segment, based on the user operation in the operation unit 5.

The analysis target extraction image generation unit 123 extracts the analysis target area from the captured image using the provisional extraction parameters, and then specifies the extraction parameter value from the extraction parameters specified by the parameter adjustment unit 127 to extract the extraction image storage unit. The analysis target extracted image in 125 is updated.

The analysis target extraction image display unit 126 displays the captured image selected by the user from the plurality of captured images constituting the updated analysis target extracted image on the monitor screen. If the position of the operator is changed during the display of the captured image, the analysis target extraction image generation unit 123 specifies the value of the extraction parameter from the position of the operator after the change, and binarizes the captured image. Redo individually.

When the analysis target extraction image generation unit 123 determines the metal of the analysis target region, the analysis target extraction image generation unit 123 has a wide area of either a wide area image obtained from a photographed image taken under normal lighting conditions or a wide area image obtained from a lighting composite image. The image is binarized to create an analysis target extracted image, and the analysis target area of this analysis target extracted image is used as a mask area. Then, the analysis target extraction image generation unit 123 extracts the pixels in the mask region from the other wide area image and compares the brightness value with the one wide area image to determine the metal of the analysis target region.

For example, a wide area image taken under normal lighting conditions is binarized to create an extracted image to be analyzed, and the particle region is used as a mask region. The particle region in this case is a region having a high luminance level. Then, with respect to the wide area image obtained from the illumination composite image, the pixels in the mask area are extracted, the brightness value is compared with the brightness value in the extracted image to be analyzed, and the brightness value of the pixel whose brightness value has changed by a predetermined determination threshold value or more. The ratio is calculated. Whether or not each particle region in the extracted image to be analyzed is a region representing a metal is determined based on the ratio of the pixels. When determining the rate of change in pixels, the luminance value may be limited to a certain level or higher in a wide area image of normal illumination.

In addition, the order of image processing is reversed, the wide area image obtained from the illumination composite image is binarized to create an analysis target extracted image, and the particle area is used as a mask area on the wide area image of normal illumination. It may be. The particle region in this case is a region having a low luminance level. Further, the difference in brightness value or the average brightness may be used for the metal determination.

Further, a brightness unevenness reducing means for reducing brightness unevenness in the captured image is provided, and the brightness value correction unit 122 has a shooting range based on the shooting range determined by the shooting range determination unit 106 and the viewing range of the captured image. When a plurality of imaging positions are determined so as to include the above, the brightness values may be scaled so that the brightness of the plurality of captured images after reducing the unevenness of brightness match. .. At this time, the analysis target extraction image generation unit 123 binarizes the captured image after scaling the brightness value based on the common extraction parameters, and generates the analysis target extraction image from which the analysis target region is extracted.

<Monitor screen 300>
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of an operation at the time of particle analysis in the controller 4 of FIG. 6, and shows a monitor screen 300 displayed on the display unit 41. The monitor screen 300 is an observation setting screen for displaying a photographed image, measuring the dimensions of the observation object S, recording the photographed image, and the like.

The monitor screen 300 is provided with a display area 301 for displaying an image captured by the camera 21 and an operation area 302 for performing various operations. The operation area 302 is provided with a menu field 303 in which a plurality of menu tabs for selecting various functions are arranged.

The menu tab is assigned functions such as easy mode, lighting / brightness, shooting settings, measurement / scale, depth improvement, image quality improvement, multi-lighting, and image concatenation. For example, in the simple mode, various settings related to observation, recording, and measurement can be easily performed. With lighting / brightness, the type of lighting and the brightness of the light source can be adjusted.

Further, the operation area 302 is provided with an end button, a stop button, a shooting button, a magnification display field, and the like. The end button is an operation icon for switching the main power to the off state. The stop button is an operation icon for pausing image processing and the like. The shooting button is an operation icon for capturing the shot image into the memory. The current shooting magnification is displayed in the magnification display column.

On the monitor screen 300, the measurement / scale function is selected, and the navigation screen 310 for designating the shooting range is displayed in the first step “designating the target” for particle analysis.

Particle analysis consists of three steps. In the first step, a plurality of captured images constituting a wide area image are captured, or a captured image is read from a stored storage area to specify an extraction target. The second step is a batch extraction step, in which the wide area image is binarized by a common extraction parameter, so that the particle region is collectively extracted from a plurality of captured images constituting the wide area image. The third step is a result display step, in which measurement results of various features of the particle region are displayed.

The navigation screen 310 is an input screen for designating a shooting range by operating a mouse or the like, and is displayed in the operation area 302. The navigation screen 310 is provided with a shape tab 311, a circumference set button 312, a reset button 313, a shooting button 314, and a type input field 315.

The shape tab 311 is an operation object for selecting the shape of the observation object S, and a circle or a rectangle can be selected. The circumference set button 312 is an operation icon for registering three or more imaging positions as positions on the circumference. The reset button 313 is an operation icon for resetting the registered imaging position. The shooting button 314 is an operation icon for starting shooting of a wide area image. The type input field 315 is an input field for designating the type of the image, and a normal image, an HDR image, or a lighting composite image can be specified. The HDR image is a composite image obtained by synthesizing a plurality of captured images having different imaging conditions such as exposure time, and has a wider dynamic range than the original captured image.

The user can move the imaging position in the XY plane by operating the operation unit 5 to move the stage 65. When the entire observation object S is to be observed, it is necessary to specify the imaging range so as to cover the observation object S. The user can register the imaging position by checking the captured image displayed in the display area 301 and operating the circumference set button 312 in a state where the center of the visual field is located on the outer edge of the observation object S. .. If three or more imaging positions are registered, the imaging range is determined by fitting a figure to these imaging positions.

In the case of an image taken by epi-illumination, the observation object S is imaged as a bright area, whereas the background, that is, the outside of the observation object S is imaged as a dark area. If the shooting conditions are specified with, the exposure will be overexposed, and the inside of the observation object S will be overexposed.

In this magnifying observation device 1, if the shooting range is specified and then the shooting button 314 is operated to instruct the creation of a wide-area image, the shooting position is automatically moved within the shooting range and then the shooting conditions are determined. Therefore, the imaging conditions can be appropriately specified as compared with the case where the imaging conditions are determined at the imaging position where the imaging field of view extends beyond the imaging range.

<Navigation screen 320>
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the operation when the shooting conditions are set in the controller 4 of FIG. 6, showing the display area 301 of the monitor screen 300 and the navigation screens 320 and 330 displayed in the operation area 302. Has been done. In the display area 301, the captured image acquired at the imaging position where the imaging field of view of the camera 21 is included in the imaging range is displayed.

In (a) in the figure, a navigation screen 320 for adjusting the exposure time is shown. The navigation screen 320 is provided with an input field for selecting either auto exposure or manual exposure, and a slider for designating the exposure time. The slider is an operator displayed in association with a line segment representing an adjustment range, and is composed of a predetermined symbol.

The user can arbitrarily specify the exposure time when shooting a wide area image by selecting manual exposure and moving the slider while checking the shot image displayed in the display area 301. If the exposure time is changed by moving the slider, it is immediately reflected in the captured image displayed in the display area 301.

In (b) in the figure, a navigation screen 330 for adjusting HDR parameters is shown. The HDR parameter is a parameter that defines a tone mapping process when converting an HDR image into a display image, and includes parameters for brightness adjustment, texture enhancement, contrast, and color adjustment.

The navigation screen 330 is provided with a slider for designating these parameters. A display image corresponding to the HDR image is displayed in the display area 301. The user can arbitrarily specify the HDR parameter when capturing a wide area image by moving the slider while checking the display image.

<Navigation screen 340>
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the operation at the time of setting the imaging position in the controller 4 of FIG. 6, and shows the navigation screen 340 displayed in the operation area 302 of the monitor screen 300.

The navigation screen 340 is an input screen for designating an imaging position, and is provided with a display area 341, a figure 342 representing the imaging position, a registration button 343, and a direction button 344. The shooting range is displayed in the display area 341, and the current imaging position is indicated by the figure 342. The figure 342 is composed of a vertical line segment and a horizontal line segment, and the intersection of the line segments indicates the center of the field of view of the captured image being displayed in the display area 301.

If the user specifies a position in the display area 341 by operating the mouse 52 and moving the mouse pointer 8, the stage 65 moves along the XY plane, and imaging for determining the shooting conditions for a wide area image. The position can be specified arbitrarily. The direction button 344 is an operation icon for moving the imaging position in the XY plane. The registration button 343 is an operation icon for registering the imaging position.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an operation at the time of batch extraction of the particle region in the controller 4 of FIG. 6, and shows a monitor screen 300 after batch extraction of the particle region from the wide area image 351. The wide area image 351 is created from a large number of captured images acquired while changing the imaging position so as to cover the imaging range.

In the display area 301, two captured images 91 and 92 that constitute the analysis target extracted image created by binarizing the wide area image 351 are displayed. The particle regions are displayed, for example, in color. The captured images 91 and 92 are displayed side by side in the left-right direction (horizontal direction).

The captured image 91 is a captured image having the smallest extraction area of the particle region, and is arranged on the left side of the display region 301. The captured image having the smallest extraction area does not include an image having an extraction area of 0, and the image having the smallest extraction area among those having a non-zero extraction area is selected. The extracted area is the sum of the areas of the particle regions extracted from the captured image. On the other hand, the captured image 92 is a captured image having the largest extraction area of the particle region, and is arranged on the right side of the display region 301.

The operation area 302 includes a slider 304 for designating the extraction parameters, an apply button 307 for collectively applying the extraction parameters to the wide area image 351 and a preview screen 350 for confirming the imaging position on the wide area image 351. Is displayed.

The preview screen 350 is a navigation screen for allowing the user to select a captured image to be displayed in the display area 301, and the wide area image 351 is displayed and the position of the captured image being displayed in the display area 301 is shown. .. The position of the captured image is identifiablely displayed, for example, by making the display colors different or by enclosing them in frames having different colors.

For example, the captured image 91 is surrounded by a blue frame, and the captured image 92 is surrounded by a red frame. Further, the frame displayed in the display area 301 and the frame displayed in the preview screen 350 have the same display color. Either one of the photographed image 91 or the photographed image 92 may be displayed in the display area 301 so as to be switchable. Further, the entire captured image 91 may be colored in blue and displayed, and the entire captured image 92 may be colored in red and displayed.

The slider 304 is an operator displayed in association with the figure 305 representing the adjustment range, and is composed of a predetermined symbol. The figure 305 is composed of a line segment extending in the lateral direction. The increase / decrease button 306 is an operation icon for incrementing or decrementing the value of the extraction parameter.

The user can arbitrarily adjust the value of the extraction parameter by moving the slider 304 by operating the mouse or operating the increase / decrease button 306. If the apply button 307 is operated after changing the extraction parameters, the binarization process of the wide area image 351 is redone according to the changed extraction parameters, and the captured image in the display area 301 is updated.

That is, the user can simultaneously check a plurality of captured images having different feature amounts in the particle region on the monitor screen 300 and adjust the extraction parameters while comparing these captured images.

In the display area 301, there are four captured images, that is, a captured image having the largest number of extracted particle regions, the second largest captured image, a captured image having the smallest number of extracted particle regions, and the second smallest captured image. The captured images may be displayed side by side. Further, the user may be able to specify which of the feature quantities in the particle region is to be focused on for previewing the captured image.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing another example of the operation at the time of batch extraction of the particle regions in the controller 4 of FIG. 6, and shows the display region 301 and the preview screen 350 after the particle regions are collectively extracted from the wide area image 351. The above wide area image 351 is shown. In (a) in the figure, a photographed image in which the particle region is appropriately extracted is shown.

In (b) in the figure, a photographed image in which the extraction of the particle region is inappropriate is shown. In this captured image, the extraction of the particle region is not successful in the lower left region of the imaging field of view. In this way, even if the extraction parameters are adjusted for a specific captured image, there are cases where the extraction of the particle region fails. In such a case, the extraction parameters are individually adjusted for the captured images constituting the wide area image 351.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the operation when the extraction parameters are individually set in the controller 4 of FIG. 6, and the display area 301 on which the captured images constituting the analysis target extraction image are displayed and the extraction parameters are individually set. A slider to specify is shown. The slider is displayed in the operation area 302. In (a) in the figure, a photographed image in which the extraction of the particle region fails in the extraction parameter at the time of batch extraction is shown. A common extraction parameter is, for example, a value = 140.

In (b) in the figure, a photographed image after individually adjusting the extraction parameters is shown. The extraction parameter is, for example, a value = 135. The individual setting of the extraction parameters is performed by moving the slider while checking the captured image displayed in the display area 301 with respect to the captured image arbitrarily selected on the preview screen 350. This slider is an operator displayed in association with a figure representing an adjustment range, and is composed of the same operation object as the slider 304 shown in FIG.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a photographed image 93 in which fine metal particles are captured as a subject. These fine particles have fine irregularities and steps. Therefore, in the photographed image 93, the brightness changes greatly depending on the portion of the fine particles. In such a case, if it is simply determined by the brightness value of the particle region whether or not it is a metal, there is a possibility that the particle region is erroneously determined not to be a metal because there are few overexposed regions. there were.

The magnifying observation device 1 improves the determination accuracy by performing metal determination using a captured image captured under normal lighting conditions and a composite illumination image obtained by synthesizing a plurality of captured images with different lighting conditions. I'm letting you.

<Ring lighting unit 72>
FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing an example of the lens unit 22 of the head unit 2 of FIG. In the ring illumination unit 72 of the lens unit 22, the annular light projection region surrounding the objective lens 221 is divided into 16 lighting portions 721. Each lighting portion 721 is composed of, for example, an LED (light emitting diode) and can be individually lit, and the lighting portion 721 can be switched electronically.

The illumination composite image is created, for example, by synthesizing four captured images obtained by dividing the projection region of the ring illumination unit 72 into four regions and lighting each region in sequence.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of the operation at the time of metal determination in the controller 4 of FIG. It is shown. In the captured images 11 to 16, metal fine particles are imaged as a subject.

In (a) in the figure, the photographed image 11 acquired in a state where all the lighting portions 721 are lit is shown. In the captured image 11 captured under such normal lighting conditions, the brightness changes greatly depending on the portion of the fine particles, and there are few overexposed areas.

In (b) in the figure, photographed images 12 to 15 acquired in a state where only a part of the lighting portion 721 is lit are shown. The captured images 12 to 15 are acquired while sequentially lighting four regions in the light projection region of the ring illumination unit 72, and the illumination directions are different from each other.

In (c) in the figure, the illumination composite image 16 in which the captured images 12 to 15 are combined is shown. In this illumination composite image 16, there are fewer overexposed areas than in the image 11 captured by surjective illumination, and the entire fine particles are imaged as dark areas.

When the fine particles are metal, a comparison between the captured image 11 by surjective illumination and the composite illumination image 16 shows that the brightness value greatly changes in the overexposed region during surjective illumination. In the magnifying observation device 1, the metal determination of the particle region is performed using such a principle.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing an example of the operation at the time of metal determination in the controller 4 of FIG. 6, and metal determination of the particle region 171 is performed using the captured image 17 by surjective illumination and the illumination composite image 18. It is shown how to do it.

In (a) in the figure, it is shown that the particle region 171 is extracted by binarizing the captured image 17 acquired with all the lighting portions 721 lit. The particle region 171 is composed of, for example, pixels brighter than the background. In (b) in the figure, an illumination composite image 18 obtained by synthesizing a plurality of captured images acquired in a state where only a part of the lighting portion 721 is lit is shown.

In (c) in the figure, the illumination composite image 18 is masked by the particle region 171 extracted from the captured image 17, and the particle region 181 is extracted by binarizing the pixels in the masked region. It is shown. The particle region 181 is composed of pixels darker than the background.

The metal determination is performed by detecting whether or not the ratio of the particle region 181 to the particle region 171 exceeds a certain level, and if the ratio of the particle region 181 exceeds a certain level, the particle region 171 or 181 is determined. It is judged to be the area corresponding to metal.

When the fine particles are metal, the overexposed portion changes greatly by changing the direction of the light source, and the appearance changes. On the other hand, whitish fine particles other than metal reflect the illumination light diffusely, so that the brightness and appearance do not change depending on the direction of the light source. According to the metal determination method described above, white particles other than metal and metal particles can be correctly distinguished.

In the magnifying observation device 1 according to the present embodiment, if the shooting range for particle analysis is specified and then the creation of a wide area image is instructed, the shooting image included in the shooting range is acquired and the shooting conditions are determined. The shooting conditions are fixed during the shooting period of the wide area image. Therefore, it is not necessary for the user to give an instruction to fix the shooting conditions, and the accuracy of particle extraction can be improved when a plurality of shot images are analyzed over a wide range.

In addition, by instructing the creation of a wide area image, the imaging position is moved within the imaging range to determine the imaging conditions. Therefore, when the imaging conditions are determined at an imaging position where the imaging field of view extends beyond the imaging range. By comparison, the shooting conditions can be specified appropriately. In addition, the user can arbitrarily specify an imaging position for determining the imaging conditions for a wide area image.

Further, since the variation in the brightness value due to the removal of the uneven brightness is suppressed by scaling, the particle region is appropriately extracted by the common extraction parameters while suppressing the influence of the aberration of the lens unit 22 and the ambient light. The target extracted image can be obtained. Further, since a plurality of captured images having different feature amounts in the particle region are displayed side by side on the monitor screen 300 or are displayed in a switchable manner, the user can adjust the extraction parameters while comparing these captured images. ..

Further, according to the present embodiment, since the same parameter can be binarized for a plurality of captured images, the user can specify the particles (analysis target) by a simple operation.

In the present embodiment, an example in which the imaging position is adjusted by moving the stage 65 along the XY plane has been described, but in the present invention, the stage 65 and the head unit 2 are relatively moved. The method is not limited to this. For example, the imaging position may be adjusted by moving the head unit 2 along the XY plane.

1 Magnifying observation device 2 Head unit 21 Camera 211 Image sensor 22 Lens units 221,221a, 221b Objective lens 222 Rotating axis 3 Transmission cable 31 Control cable 32 Illumination light transmission cable 4 Controller 41 Display unit 42 Power button 5 Operation unit 51 Keyboard 52 Mouse 53 Console 6 Support 60 Base 61 Prop 62 Head mounting arm 63 Z Drive 64 Lens detection 65 Stage 65a Mounting surface 66 XY Drive 67 Stage adjustment 68 Tilt 71 Coaxial epi-illumination 72 Ring Illumination unit 73 Transmission illumination unit 101 Shooting condition control unit 102 Shooting parameter storage unit 103 Observation control unit 104 Shooting image storage unit 105 Shooting image display unit 106 Shooting range determination unit 107 Analysis target image acquisition unit 108 Wide area image storage unit 109 Imaging position designation Unit 110 Illumination composite image generation unit 111 Composite image storage unit 112 Wide area image generation unit 120 Particle analysis unit 121 Brightness unevenness removal unit 122 Brightness value correction unit 123 Analysis target Extracted image generation unit 124 Extraction parameter storage unit 125 Extraction image storage unit 126 Analysis target Extracted image display unit 127 Parameter adjustment unit 300 Monitor screen 301 Display area 302 Operation area 303 Menu column 304 Slider 305 Diagrams representing the adjustment range 310, 320, 330, 340 Navigation screen 350 Preview screen 351 Wide area image

Claims (11)

A stage for placing the observation object and
An illumination means for irradiating the observation object on the stage with illumination light,
A camera that receives reflected light or transmitted light of the illumination light, detects the amount of received light, and generates a photographed image of the observation object.
An XY driving means for relatively moving the stage and the camera along an XY plane intersecting the light receiving axis of the camera.
A photographed image display means for displaying the photographed image on a monitor screen, and
An imaging range determining means that determines the range to be analyzed as the imaging range, which is defined by the outer edge of the observation object based on the user's designation of the shape of the observation object and the position of the outer edge.
By controlling the XY driving means based on the shooting range, the stage and the camera are relatively moved to a shooting position where the viewing range of the camera is included in the shooting range, and the camera is moved at that position. A shooting condition control means for determining shooting conditions based on the shot image generated by
Based on the shooting range determined by the shooting range determining means and the viewing range of the shot image, one or more imaging positions are determined so as to include the shooting range, and at the one or more imaging positions. An magnifying observation device comprising an analysis target image acquisition means for acquiring a captured image generated by the camera using the photographing conditions as an analysis target. Wide-area image generation means for generating a wide-area image having a wider field of view than the original captured image and including the imaging range based on a plurality of captured images acquired as analysis targets by the analysis target image acquisition means at different imaging positions. With more
The shooting condition control means controls the XY driving means, relatively moves the stage and the camera to an imaging position in which the viewing range of the camera is included in the shooting range, and acquires the image at the imaging position. The magnifying observation device according to claim 1, wherein the imaging conditions of the wide-area image are determined from the captured image. Wide-area image generation means for generating a wide-area image having a wider field of view than the original captured image and including the imaging range based on a plurality of captured images acquired as analysis targets by the analysis target image acquisition means at different imaging positions. With more
After the shooting range is determined, the XY driving means is controlled based on the user operation, and an imaging position specifying means for designating the imaging position for determining the shooting conditions is further provided.
The magnifying observation device according to claim 1, wherein the photographing condition control means determines the photographing conditions of the wide area image from the photographed image acquired at the imaging position. Brightness unevenness removing means for removing brightness unevenness in the captured image, and
A luminance value correction means for scaling the luminance values of the plurality of captured images after removing the uneven brightness so that the brightness matches.
It is further provided with an analysis target extraction image generation means that binarizes the captured image after scaling the brightness value based on a common extraction parameter and generates an analysis target extraction image from which an analysis target region is extracted. The magnifying observation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. Of the plurality of captured images constituting the analysis target extracted image, a plurality of captured images having different feature amounts in the analysis target region are displayed side by side on the monitor screen, or are displayed in a switchable manner. When,
It is provided with a parameter adjusting means for displaying an operator for designating the extraction parameter on the monitor screen in association with a figure representing an adjustment range.
The analysis target extraction image generation means extracts the analysis target region from the captured image using a provisional extraction parameter, and then specifies the value of the extraction parameter from the extraction parameter designated by the parameter adjustment means to perform the analysis. The magnifying observation device according to claim 4, wherein the target extracted image is updated. 5. The analysis target extraction image display means is characterized in that the captured image having the largest area, number, size, brightness or color component of the analysis target region and the captured image having the smallest color component are displayed on the monitor screen. The magnifying observation device according to. Brightness unevenness reducing means for reducing brightness unevenness in the captured image, and
When a plurality of imaging positions are determined so as to include the photographing range from the photographing range determined by the photographing range determining means and the viewing range of the camera, the plurality of the plurality of images after reducing the unevenness of brightness. A brightness value correction means that scales the brightness value of the captured image so that the brightness matches, and
Based on common extraction parameters, the captured image after scaling the brightness value is binarized, and the analysis target extraction image generation means for generating the analysis target extraction image from which the analysis target region is extracted is provided. The magnifying observation device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. Of the plurality of captured images constituting the analysis target extracted image, a plurality of captured images having different feature amounts in the analysis target region are displayed side by side on the monitor screen, or are displayed in a switchable manner. When,
Further provided with a parameter adjusting means for displaying an operator for designating the extraction parameter on the monitor screen in association with a figure representing the adjustment range.
When the analysis target extraction image generation means binarizes the captured images generated at the one or more imaging positions based on the common extraction parameters and generates the analysis target extraction image from which the analysis target region is extracted. In addition, after extracting the analysis target region from the captured images at the one or more imaging positions using the provisional extraction parameters, the value of the extraction parameter is specified from the extraction parameters designated by the parameter adjusting means and the analysis is performed. Update the target extraction image and
The analysis target extraction image display means is characterized in that the captured image having the largest area, number, size, brightness or color component of the analysis target region and the captured image having the smallest color component are displayed on the monitor screen. Or the magnifying observation device according to 7. The analysis target extraction image display means displays a captured image selected by the user from among a plurality of captured images constituting the updated analysis target extracted image on the monitor screen.
If the position of the operator is changed during the display of the captured image, the analysis target extracted image generation means identifies the value of the extraction parameter from the position of the operator after the change, and binarize the captured image. The magnifying observation apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the conversion process is individually redone. Further provided with an illumination composite image generation means for acquiring and synthesizing a plurality of captured images having different lighting conditions by controlling the illumination means and generating an illumination composite image having less overexposure than the original captured image.
The analysis target extraction image generation means binarizes one of the wide area image obtained from the captured image taken under normal lighting conditions and the wide area image obtained from the illumination composite image to obtain the above. An analysis target extracted image is created, the analysis target area of the analysis target extracted image is used as a mask area, pixels in the mask area are extracted from the other wide area image, and the brightness value is compared with the one wide area image. The magnifying observation device according to any one of claims 4 to 9, wherein the metal determination of the analysis target region is performed. The magnifying observation device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the shooting range determining means determines the shooting range by receiving an input for specifying a position from the user.

Images