JPS6232769B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a device for moving a condenser of a Kohler illumination system in a microscope so that it is always at an optimal position.

Microscope illumination methods include the critical illumination method and the Kohler illumination method, which provide even and uniform illumination, do not damage the specimen, and can change the aperture diaphragm and field diaphragm independently. Köhler illumination method is used. The Koehler illumination system A for achieving the Koehler illumination method includes, for example, a light source 1, a field stop 2, a collector lens 3, a reflector 4, an aperture stop 5, and a condenser 6 as shown in FIG.
It is made up of. A slide glass 8 is placed on the stage top surface 7, and a specimen 9 is fixed onto the slide glass 8 with a cover glass 10. The specimen 9 is observed through an objective lens 11. In the Köhler illumination method, the image of light source 1 is converted into a condenser 6.
The image of the field stop 2 is formed on the specimen surface by vertical movement of the condenser 6.

In this case, if the thickness of the specimen 9 or the thickness of the slide glass 8 changes, the observer moves the specimen stage up and down to refocus on the specimen 9 and obtain the best optical performance for the Kohler illumination method. To adjust the field aperture 2, move the condenser up and down
It is necessary to match the image to the specimen surface.

When examining several hundred specimens a day by changing from weak to strong magnification, it is extremely troublesome to move the condenser up and down to align it, and therefore this operation is rarely performed. However, in this case, there was a drawback that sufficient optical performance was not always obtained.

The present invention solves these shortcomings and provides a condenser moving device that moves the condenser to an optimal position by refocusing the specimen even if the thickness of the specimen or slide glass changes. be.

The present invention will be described below based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

Before describing the embodiment, the relationship between the stage vertical amount Δ due to the change Δ in the thickness of the slide glass 8 and the capacitor vertical amount δ will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2a and 2b. Figure 2a shows the case where the slide glass 8 has a thickness of d ₁ , and Figure 2b shows the slide glass 8.
When using a material with a thickness of d ₂ , the following are shown.
When a slide glass 8 with a thickness of d ₁ is inserted between the objective lens 11 and the condenser 6, the condenser 6
The image of the field stop is shifted toward the objective lens 11 by n-1/nd ₁ (≡x ₁ , where n is the refractive index of the slide glass), that is, it floats up. Therefore,
In order to image the field stop on the surface of the slide glass 8, it is necessary to lower the condenser 6 by x ₁ .
Next, the thickness is applied to the top surface 7 of the stage set in Fig.
When the slide glass 8 of d ₂ (>d ₁ ) is installed, the top surface of the stage 7 is moved to the position shown in Fig. 2b for focusing.
It is necessary to lower the value by △ (= d ₂ - _{d 1} ) as shown below. on the other hand,
In order for the image of the aperture diaphragm by the condenser 6 to be generated on the top surface of the slide glass, the condenser 6 must be set to n-1/nd ₂ (≡x ₂ , where n needs to be lowered by the refractive index of the slide glass. Therefore, the amount of movement δ of the capacitor 8 to reach the state shown in FIG. 2a is obtained by δ=x ₂ -x ₁ =n-1/nΔ. As is clear from the above explanation, if the condenser 6 is moved by n-1/n△ relative to the movement amount △ of the stage top surface 7, the field stop image will always be formed on the top surface of the slide glass 8. . Exactly the same relationship holds true when changing the thickness of the slide glass from d ₂ to d ₁ .

Figures 3 and 4 show one embodiment of the present invention;
The figure is a front view, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG. 3.

The stage 70 is integrally formed with a stage mounting portion 71 using screws (not shown), and is moved up and down by a well-known coarse and fine movement device in which a coarse movement handle and a fine movement handle are configured to move independently. In Figure 3, the coarse movement handle of such a coarse and fine movement device is shown.
30, and the fine movement handle is shown at 31. The coarse movement handle 30 of this embodiment is operated by rotation of the lever 30a. Normally, such a coarse and fine movement device is constructed with a single shaft, and has a coarse movement handle and a fine movement handle on the left and right sides, respectively, but in this embodiment, for simplicity, a coarse movement handle 30 is provided on one side and a fine movement handle 31 is provided on the other side. Ta. A spur gear 32 is attached to the rotating shaft of the fine movement handle 31.
are concentrically fixed, a spur gear 33 meshes with the spur gear 32, a spur gear 34 meshes with the spur gear 33, and the shaft of the spur gear 34 is integrated with a worm gear 35. The worm gear 35 meshes with a worm wheel 36 rotatably supported by the main body 100. A connecting pipe 37 having a groove 37a formed in the vertical direction is fixed to the worm wheel 36. The feed screw 38 has a pin 39 near its lower end, and the pin 39 fits into a groove 37a of the connecting pipe 37, forming a so-called pin-groove fit. A flange portion 42 is formed near the upper end of the feed screw 38, and this flange portion 42 is held between the upper and lower sides by a bearing 40 fixed to the stage mounting portion 71. Therefore, although the feed screw 38 rotates with respect to the stage mounting portion 71, it is fixed in the vertical direction. The threaded portion 38a of the feed screw 38 is connected to the capacitor mounting portion 6 that holds a capacitor (not shown).
It penetrates the female thread of 0. Capacitor mounting part 6
0 is connected to the stage attachment part 71 by a dovetail 41, and is movable in the vertical direction with respect to the stage 70. As is well known, the stage mounting portion 71 is connected to the handles 30 and 31 by a rack-and-pinion mechanism or the like, and is configured to move up and down by a dovetail between it and the main body 100.

Because of this structure, the coarse movement handle 30
By tilting down, that is, by rotating the coarse adjustment handle 30, the stage 70 and the condenser mounting part 60, which are connected by the feed screw 38, are lowered together, and the upper surface of the stage 70 and the objective lens (not shown) are connected. Leave some space between them to make it easier to insert and remove the slide glass. At this time, the groove 37 of the connecting pipe 37
A serves as a relief for pin 39. After setting the slide glass on the stage 70, press the lever 30.
When the stage a is raised, the stage 70 and the capacitor mounting portion 60 rise as one. The position of the top surface of the stage 70 at this time is determined so that when a glass slide of approximately average thickness is placed on the stage 70, the top surface of the slide glass is exactly at the position where the objective lens is in focus. . At this time, the capacitor mounting portion 60 is positioned so that the field stop image formed by the capacitor is precisely formed on the top surface of the slide glass. Of course, the capacitor mounting part 6
It is possible to make fine adjustments by adjusting the vertical position of the capacitor with respect to 0.

Next, the fine movement handle 31 is rotated. At the same time the stage 70 moves up and down by a known transmission mechanism (not shown), the spur gears 32, 33, 34 and the worm gear 3
5, worm wheel 36, connecting pipe 37, groove 37
The feed screw 38 rotates through a, and the capacitor mounting portion 60 moves up and down with respect to the stage 70. The movement is as follows.

When using a slide glass that is △ thicker than an average thickness slide glass, when the fine adjustment handle is rotated in a direction to lower the stage 70 in order to focus, the capacitor mounting part 60 will lower together with the stage 70 and lower the stage 70. 1/ for
n△ increases. That is, the capacitor mounting portion 60
The amount of decrease is △-1/n△=(n-1/n)△, as explained above. On the other hand, if the thickness of the slide glass is △ thinner than the average thickness, when the fine adjustment handle is rotated in the direction of raising the stage 70 to adjust the focus, the condenser mounting portion 6
0 rises with stage 70 and reaches stage 70
1/n△decrease. In other words, the amount of rise of the capacitor mounting portion 60 is △-1/n△=(n-1/
n) △, as described above.

Since the refractive index of a slide glass is usually about 1.5, in the above embodiment, the condenser mounting portion 60 is moved in the opposite direction by 2/3△ relative to the amount of movement △ of the stage.

In addition, in FIG. 3, a clamp 50 for fixing the capacitor mounting part 60 to the stage mounting part 71 is provided. In addition, the coarse movement handle 30 and the main body 100 are connected so that the coarse movement lever 30a can be swung within a certain angle.
By providing a stopper between the
The slide glass replacement position and observation position can be selectively selected by the first and second positions of the coarse movement lever 30a, resulting in good operability.

The above embodiment has a configuration in which the capacitor mounting portion 60 is coupled to the member 71 that holds the stage 70, and the capacitor mounting portion 60 is moved together with the stage 70 and also moved relative to the stage in order to correct the amount of movement. However, the capacitor mounting portion 60 and the stage 70 may be configured to be movable independently with respect to the main body 100 without being combined, so that the rotation of the fine movement handle 31 is transmitted completely independently to each of them. In that case, the capacitor (that is, the capacitor mounting portion) should be moved up and down so that (n-1/n)Δ is satisfied with respect to the vertical amount Δ of the stage.

As described above, according to the present invention, even if the thickness of the specimen or the thickness of the slide glass changes, the optimum illumination condition in the Koehler illumination system can always be automatically obtained by simply focusing on the specimen by slight movement of the stage. Therefore, the microscope can be examined in optimal conditions without compromising operability.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a Koehler illumination system, FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the vertical amount of the stage and the vertical amount of the condenser due to changes in the thickness of the slide glass, and FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the present invention. A front view, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 3. [Explanation of symbols of main parts], Coarse movement handle...
30. Fine movement handle... 31. Specimen stage...
70.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A condenser used in a microscope having an observation optical system, a specimen stage, a coarse or fine movement device that coarsely or finely moves the specimen stage in the optical axis direction of the observation optical system, and a Kohler illumination system. In the moving device, the amount of movement Δ of the specimen stage is adjusted in conjunction with only the fine movement of the specimen stage by the coarse and fine movement device.
1. A condenser moving device for a microscope, characterized in that an interlocking device is provided to move the condenser relative to (n-1/n)Δ (where n is the refractive index of the slide glass).