JP7129318B2 - Observation device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an observation device.

Conventionally, when data is transferred via an interface between an external information processing device and a recording device, the transfer speed of the data input from the external information processing device is detected, enabling recording without waiting for data input. A technique for determining whether or not is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A-2000-255143

However, when power is supplied between the processing device and the recording device, even if a high transfer speed is detected as a transfer speed that allows recording without waiting for an input, the transfer is performed at the detected transfer speed. However, there is a problem that data cannot be transferred due to insufficient power supply capacity.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an observation device capable of efficiently transferring data without causing power shortage.

One aspect of the present invention includes an observation device main body, and a control unit connected to the observation device main body, supplying power to the observation device main body, and communicating with the observation device main body, The observation device main body includes an imaging unit that photographs an observation target, a power supply capability acquisition unit that acquires the power supply capability of the control unit, and a communication band acquisition that acquires a communication band from the control unit to the observation device main body. and a control unit that selects an imaging control pattern including imaging parameters that satisfy the acquired power supply capability and the communication band, and controls the imaging unit according to the selected imaging control pattern. be.

According to this aspect, prior to imaging by the imaging unit, communication is performed between the control unit and the observation device main body, the power supply capability of the control unit is acquired by the power supply capability acquisition unit, and the observation device main body is transmitted from the control unit. is obtained by the communication band obtaining unit. Then, the control unit selects an imaging control pattern including imaging parameters that satisfy the acquired power supply capability and communication band, and the imaging unit is controlled by the selected imaging control pattern.

That is, the higher the communication band from the control unit to the main body of the observation apparatus, the faster the data can be communicated, but the higher the power consumption, so a larger power supply capacity is required. Therefore, by selecting an imaging control pattern in which the imaging parameters that affect power consumption satisfy the acquired power supply capability and communication band, and controlling the imaging unit with the imaging control pattern, power shortage can be prevented. Data can be efficiently transferred without causing

In the above aspect, the control unit compares the power supply capability with a first threshold, compares the communication band with a second threshold, determines that the power supply capability is greater than the first threshold and the communication band is greater than the second threshold, the first imaging control pattern is selected as the imaging control pattern, the imaging unit is controlled by the selected first imaging control pattern, and the power supply capability is equal to the first threshold In the following cases, a second imaging control pattern that consumes less power than the first imaging control pattern may be selected as the imaging control pattern, and the imaging unit may be controlled by the selected second imaging control pattern.

With this configuration, when the power supply capability is greater than the first threshold and the communication band is greater than the second threshold, the imaging unit is controlled by the first imaging control pattern, and when the power supply capability is equal to or less than the first threshold, the By controlling the imaging unit with the second imaging control pattern that consumes less power than the first imaging control pattern, data can be efficiently transferred without causing power shortage.

In the above aspect, the observation device main body includes a drive unit that moves the imaging unit, and the control unit selects and selects a drive control pattern including a drive parameter that satisfies the acquired power supply capability. The drive unit may be controlled by the drive control pattern.
With this configuration, the imaging unit is controlled by the imaging control pattern including the imaging parameters that satisfy the acquired power supply capability and communication band, and the driving unit is controlled by the driving control pattern that includes the driving parameter that satisfies the power supply capability. be done. That is, it is possible to efficiently transfer data while capturing images in a wider range by two-dimensionally moving the imaging unit by the drive unit without causing power shortage.

Further, in the above aspect, the observation device main body includes a light source unit that illuminates the observation target, and the control unit selects an illumination control pattern including illumination parameters that satisfy the acquired power supply capability, The light source unit may be controlled by the selected lighting control pattern.
With this configuration, the imaging unit is controlled by an imaging control pattern including imaging parameters that satisfy the acquired power supply capability and communication band, and the light source unit is controlled by an illumination control pattern that includes illumination parameters that satisfy the acquired power supply capability. be done. That is, it is possible to efficiently transfer data while irradiating the observation target with illumination light from the light source unit and photographing with the imaging unit without causing power shortage.

Further, in the above aspect, the imaging parameters may include at least one of a frame rate and the number of pixels of the imaging section.
With this configuration, the higher the frame rate of the imaging unit or the larger the number of pixels, the higher the power consumption. Alternatively, even if a large number of pixels is selected and the communication band is high but the power supply capacity is low, the frame rate is lowered or the number of pixels is reduced within a range that satisfies the power supply capacity to reduce power consumption.

Further, in the above aspect, the drive parameter may include at least one of an operating speed, an operating range, and an activation time of the drive unit.
With this configuration, the operating speed, operating range, and start-up time of the drive unit affect power consumption. If the time is selected and the power supply capacity is low, a low operating speed, a narrow operating range and a long startup time are selected to meet the power supply capacity.

Further, in the above aspect, the illumination parameter may be the amount of light.
With this configuration, the amount of light from the lighting affects the power consumption. Therefore, when the power supply capacity is high, a large amount of light is selected within a range that satisfies the power supply capacity, and when the power supply capacity is low, the power supply capacity The amount of light is reduced within a range that satisfies

Further, the above aspect may further include a notification unit that notifies when the power supply capability acquired by the power supply capability acquisition unit is smaller than a predetermined threshold value.
With this configuration, when the control unit does not have the minimum power supply capacity, by notifying that effect, the observation apparatus main body can be prevented from operating unnecessarily.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it is effective in the ability to transfer data efficiently, without causing power shortage.

1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an observation device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the observation device of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an imaging control pattern stored in the memory of FIG. 2; FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the observation device of FIG. 1; FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining a control pattern selection routine of FIG. 4; FIG. 1. It is a general block diagram which shows the modification of the observation apparatus of FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view for explaining the observation device main body of FIG. 6; 8 is a schematic diagram showing the internal configuration of the observation device main body of FIG. 7; FIG. FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a modification of the control pattern selection routine of FIG. 4 used in the observation device of FIG. 6; FIG.

An observation device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
An observation apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is provided in an observation system 100 including a microscope 2 and a computer (control unit) 3 that processes images acquired by the microscope 2, as shown in FIG.
In the figure, reference numeral 4 denotes a display unit (for example, monitor or liquid crystal display) connected to the computer 3, and reference numeral 5 denotes an input unit such as a mouse and keyboard connected to the computer 3. FIG.

The microscope 2 includes a microscope body 21 and an observation device body 11 .
A microscope main body 21 includes a stage 22 on which a specimen (observation target) X is mounted and moved three-dimensionally, an objective lens 23 arranged above the stage 22 and having a vertical optical axis, and an objective lens 23 to be replaced. and a revolver 24 for

As shown in FIG. 2, the observation apparatus main body 11 includes an imaging unit (for example, an imaging device such as CCD or CMOS) 12 that captures the light from the specimen X that is focused by the objective lens 23, and the computer 3. a communication unit 13 that communicates between them, a power supply capability acquisition unit 14 that detects and acquires the power supply capability of the computer 3, and a communication band acquisition unit that acquires information on the communication band from the computer 3 to the observation device main body 11 15 , a control unit 16 and a storage unit 17 .
The power capability acquisition unit 14, the communication band acquisition unit 15, the control unit 16, and the storage unit 17 are configured by processors and memories.

The power capability acquiring unit 14 sends an inquiry signal requesting power capability information (for example, power supply amount) of the computer 3 to the computer 3 in a state in which communication with the computer 3 is established. The power supply capability of the computer 3 is detected and acquired from the power capability information sent from the computer 3 . In the figure, reference numeral 18 denotes a notification unit that notifies when the detected power supply capability is smaller than the minimum power threshold Tmin. The notification unit 18 is, for example, a lamp or a buzzer.

Further, the communication band acquisition unit 15 sends an inquiry signal requesting information on a communicable communication band to the computer 3 in a state where communication with the computer 3 is established, and the computer 3 sends an inquiry signal requesting information on a communicable communication band. Get information. For example, the computer 3 sends a communication band detection signal in a predetermined communication band to the observation device main body 11, and when a confirmation signal is sent from the observation device main body 11 in response to the detection signal, the computer 3 performs communication in the communication band. is possible. When the confirmation signal is not sent, the communication section 31, which will be described later, gradually lowers the communication band and repeats transmission of the detection signal, and when the confirmation signal is sent, the communicable communication band is detected. Then, the computer 3 sends information on the communication band that can be communicated to the communication band acquisition section 15 of the observation device main body 11 .

When the power supply capability and communication band are acquired, the control unit 16 selects an imaging control pattern based on the acquired power supply capability and communication band, and controls the imaging unit 12 using the selected imaging control pattern. .
As for the imaging control pattern, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, three patterns are stored in the storage unit 17 according to the size relationship between the power supply capability and the communication band.

Specifically, the power supply capacity threshold (first threshold) Tp is 4 W, the communication band threshold (second threshold) Tt is 4 Gbps, and when both the power supply capacity and the communication band are greater than the thresholds Tp and Tt, is an imaging control pattern (first imaging control pattern) A, and if the communication band is greater than the threshold Tt but the power supply capability is equal to or less than the threshold Tp, the imaging control pattern (second imaging control pattern) B, and the communication band is the threshold Tt In the following cases, the imaging control pattern C is selected.

In imaging control pattern A, the imaging unit 12 operates with imaging parameters of a frame rate of 60 fps and a pixel count of 5 million pixels.
In imaging control pattern B, the imaging unit 12 operates with imaging parameters of a frame rate of 45 fps and a pixel count of 2,000,000 pixels.
In imaging control pattern C, the imaging unit 12 operates with imaging parameters of a frame rate of 30 fps and a pixel count of 600,000 pixels.

The computer 3 includes a communication unit 31 that communicates with the observation device main body 11, a power supply unit 32 that supplies power to the observation device main body 11 and transmits power supply capability information via the communication unit 31, and an imaging unit. 12 and an image processing unit 33 for processing the image sent via the communication unit 31 .
The computer 3 is, for example, a general-purpose personal computer or workstation, a computer using an embedded processor, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), a GPGPU (General Purpose Computing on Graphics Processing Unit), or the like.

The operation of the observation device 1 according to this embodiment configured in this way will be described below.
To observe the specimen X using the observation device 1 according to this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the observation device main body 11 and the computer 3 are connected by a USB cable or the like (step S1). As a result, power is supplied from the computer 3 to the observation device main body 11, and communication between the observation device main body 11 and the computer 3 is established.

In this state, the power capability information is acquired by the power capability acquisition unit 14 (step S2), and the communication band is acquired by the communication band acquisition unit 15 (step S3).
Next, it is determined whether or not the power supply capability of the computer 3 is smaller than the minimum power threshold (third threshold) Tmin (step S4). Processing ends.

If the power supply capability is equal to or higher than the minimum power threshold Tmin, a control pattern is selected (step S6).
As shown in FIG. 5, the imaging control pattern is selected by first determining whether or not the acquired communication band is greater than the threshold Tt (step S61). C is selected (step S62).

If the obtained communication band is greater than the threshold Tt, it is determined whether or not the power supply capability of the computer 3 is greater than the threshold Tp (step S63).
If the power supply capability is greater than the threshold Tp, the imaging control pattern A is selected (step S64), and if the power supply capability is equal to or less than the threshold Tp, the imaging control pattern B is selected (step S65).

Then, the selected imaging control pattern is sent to the control unit 16, and the control unit 16 controls the imaging unit 12 according to the selected imaging control pattern, thereby imaging the sample X (step S7).

That is, in the imaging control pattern A in which both the communication band and the power supply capability are greater than the threshold values Tt and Tp, power shortage does not occur even if the frame rate and the number of pixels are increased, and a high-definition image can be acquired at high speed. can be done.
On the other hand, in imaging control pattern B in which the power supply capability is equal to or less than threshold Tp even if the communication band is greater than threshold Tt, the frame rate and the number of pixels are lower than those in imaging control pattern A, thereby reducing the transmission data per unit time. Power consumption can be reduced by reducing the capacity and setting the operating frequency of the device low.

Further, when the communication band is equal to or less than the threshold Tt, regardless of the power supply capacity, the frame rate and the number of pixels are suppressed to be smaller than those of the imaging control pattern B, and the transmission data capacity per unit time is reduced. An imaging control pattern C that can be suppressed is selected.

Thus, according to the observation device 1 according to the present embodiment, there is an advantage that data can be efficiently transferred without causing power shortage.
In addition, in the observation device 1 according to the present embodiment, a USB cable is used as an interface (communication means) for connecting the observation device body 11 and the computer 3, but instead of this, another interface may be used. good. Specifically, the observation system 100 can be operated satisfactorily even if either USB 2.0 or USB 3.0, for example, USB 2.0 or USB 3.0, which has the same shape of connection portion and different power supply capacity and communication band, is used. , there is an advantage that the versatility of the interface connecting the observation device main body 11 and the computer 3 can be improved.
Note that the values shown in FIG. 3 are only examples, and can be arbitrarily changed according to the power supply capacity of the computer 3, the power consumption of the observation device main body 11, and the communication band.

In the imaging control pattern B, the imaging unit 12 is operated with imaging parameters of a frame rate of 45 fps and a pixel count of 2,000,000 pixels. , the operator may select from the input unit 5 .

That is, since the power consumption is the same in these multiple imaging patterns, the operator can select according to the application, thereby preventing unexpected stoppages due to power shortage and high power consumption such as in the case of screening the entire specimen. It is possible to switch between observation at a frame rate and high-definition observation such as when obtaining a high-resolution image.

Further, in the present embodiment, the observation apparatus main body 11 is provided with the imaging unit 12 attached to the microscope main body 21, but instead of this, as shown in FIG. You may adopt what is done. In FIG. 6, the observation device main body 11 is connected to the computer 3 arranged outside the incubator 6 .

As shown in FIG. 7, the observation device main body 11 includes a transparent stage 71 on which the culture vessel 7 is placed, an imaging unit 12 arranged below the stage 71 as shown in FIG. A driving unit (for example, a motor) 72 that moves the unit 12 in three-dimensional directions, and a driving unit (for example, a motor) 72 that is arranged near the imaging unit 12 and that emits illumination light from below the stage 71 toward the culture container 7 on the stage 71, such as an LED. and a lighting section (light source section) 73 of the light source.

Illumination light emitted from the illumination unit 73 is made incident from below the transparent stage 71 into the culture container 7 placed on the stage 71 , and the light returning from the culture container 7 is photographed by the imaging unit 12 . At this time, the drive unit 72 is operated to move the illumination unit 73 in two horizontal directions, move the imaging unit 12 in two horizontal directions to change the shooting range, and move it in the vertical direction to adjust the focus. .

In this case, power is also consumed by the drive unit 72 and the illumination unit 73. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, the control pattern selection routine of FIG. If the power supply capability is equal to or less than the threshold value Tp, the drive control pattern D and the lighting control pattern F are selected (steps S67 and S69), and the drive control pattern E and the lighting control pattern G are selected if the (steps S68, S70).

In the imaging control pattern A in this case, the imaging unit 12 operates with imaging parameters for taking 100 shots, and in the imaging control pattern B, the imaging unit 12 operates with imaging parameters for taking 10 shots. Operate.
Further, in the drive control pattern D, the drive unit 72 operates with drive parameters of an operating speed of 50 mm/s, a moving distance of 50 mm, and an activation time of 0.1 s. It operates with drive parameters of 10 mm/s, a moving distance of 10 mm, and a startup time of 1 s.
In the illumination control pattern F, the illumination unit 73 operates with an illumination parameter of 1600 lux (light amount), and in the illumination control pattern G, the illumination unit 73 operates with an illumination parameter of 300 lux.

Accordingly, by switching the operation of the illumination section 73 and the driving section 72 according to the power supply capability from the computer 3, there is an advantage that it is possible to perform photographing without causing power shortage.

Further, a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature in the culture container 7 is mounted on the stage 71, and when the temperature in the culture container 7 exceeds a predetermined threshold, the light intensity of the illumination light emitted from the illumination unit 73 is reduced, Alternatively, by reducing the moving speed of the drive unit 72, the heat generation of the illumination unit 73 or the drive unit 72 may be suppressed, and the temperature rise of the culture container 7 may be suppressed.

1 observation device 3 computer (control unit)
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 11 observation device main body 12 imaging unit 14 power supply capacity acquisition unit 15 communication band acquisition unit 16 control unit 18 notification unit 72 drive unit 73 illumination unit (light source unit)
A imaging control pattern (first imaging control pattern)
B imaging control pattern (second imaging control pattern)
Tp threshold (first threshold)
Tt threshold (second threshold)
X specimen (observation target)

Claims (8)

an observation device main body;
a control unit connected to the observation device main body, supplying power to the observation device main body, and communicating with the observation device main body;
The observation device main body includes an imaging unit that photographs an observation target, a power supply capability acquisition unit that acquires the power supply capability of the control unit, and a communication band acquisition that acquires a communication band from the control unit to the observation device main body. and a control unit that selects an imaging control pattern including imaging parameters that satisfy the acquired power supply capability and communication band, and controls the imaging unit according to the selected imaging control pattern. The control unit compares the power supply capability with a first threshold, compares the communication band with a second threshold, and compares the power supply capability with the first threshold and the communication band with the second threshold. is greater than, the first imaging control pattern is selected as the imaging control pattern, the imaging unit is controlled by the selected first imaging control pattern, and the power supply capability is equal to or less than the first threshold, the 2. The viewing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a second imaging control pattern that consumes less power than the first imaging control pattern is selected as the imaging control pattern, and the imaging unit is controlled by the selected second imaging control pattern. The observation device main body includes a drive unit that moves the imaging unit,
3. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit selects a drive control pattern including drive parameters that satisfy the acquired power supply capability, and controls the drive unit according to the selected drive control pattern. Observation device. The observation device main body includes a light source unit that illuminates the observation target,
4. The control unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control unit selects an illumination control pattern including illumination parameters that satisfy the acquired power supply capability, and controls the light source unit according to the selected illumination control pattern. Observation device according to. 5. The observation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the imaging parameters include at least one of a frame rate and the number of pixels of the imaging section. 4. The observation device according to claim 3, wherein the driving parameters include at least one of operating speed, operating range and activation time of the drive unit. 5. The observation device according to claim 4, wherein the illumination parameter is the amount of light. 8. The observation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a notification unit that notifies when the power supply capability acquired by the power supply capability acquisition unit is smaller than a predetermined threshold.

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