JP2011150194A - Microscope - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a microscope which has a shading correction device for correcting shading by an illumination optical system and a photographing optical system and can yield a high-quality image. <P>SOLUTION: The microscope 40 includes: a storage part 52 configured to store shading data for illumination corresponding to a plurality of illumination conditions of the illumination optical system, and shading data for photography corresponding to a plurality of photographing conditions of the photographing optical system as individual data; a shading correction data generation means 53 configured to generate shading correction data for the image of a sample 1 acquired under the selected illumination condition and the selected photographing condition by using the shading data for illumination and the shading data for photography stored in the storage part; and a shading correction means 54 configured to correct the image of the sample according to the generated shading correction data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a microscope having a shading correction device.

  Conventionally, a handy magnification observation unit that captures an image of a specimen illuminated by an illumination device arranged on the outer periphery of the objective lens with an imaging device (CCD) via the objective lens, and a display for displaying the captured specimen image There has been proposed a magnified imaging device configured with a device (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A-11-164293

  However, a conventional microscope including a magnification observation unit has a problem that it is difficult to obtain a high quality image due to non-uniformity of illumination light, various aberrations of the photographing optical system, and shading by the CCD.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has an object to provide a microscope having a shading correction device that corrects shading by an illumination optical system or a photographing optical system and capable of acquiring a high-quality image. To do.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a microscope main body, an illumination optical system, illumination condition selection means for selecting an illumination condition of the illumination optical system, an imaging optical system for imaging a specimen, and the imaging optical system Shooting condition selection means for selecting the shooting conditions, illumination shading data corresponding to a plurality of the illumination conditions of the illumination optical system, and shooting shading data corresponding to the plurality of the imaging conditions of the shooting optical system individually Storage unit for storing the data, and shading correction data for the specimen image acquired under the selected illumination condition and the selected imaging condition, the shading data for illumination and the shading for imaging in the storage unit And a shading correction data generation means for generating the sample using the data, and the generated shading correction data Providing a microscope, characterized in that it comprises a shading correction means for correcting the serial images.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it has a shading correction apparatus which correct | amends the shading by illumination optical system or imaging | photography optical system, and can provide the microscope which can acquire a high quality image.

It is a schematic configuration side view of the microscope according to the present embodiment held on a stand. FIG. 2 shows a microscope equipped with the microscope adapter according to the present embodiment, and is a view showing a state where the microscope is removed from the stand and the test object is observed. It is a schematic block diagram of the microscope concerning this embodiment.

  Hereinafter, a microscope having a shading correction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The following embodiments are only for facilitating understanding of the invention, and exclude additions and substitutions that can be performed by those skilled in the art without departing from the technical idea of the present invention. Is not intended.

  First, the overall configuration of a microscope having a shading correction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration side view of a microscope according to an embodiment of the present application, and shows a state in which a microscope main body is attached to a stand. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a microscope 101 according to this embodiment includes a stand 20 and a microscope main body 40 (hereinafter simply referred to as “main body”) that is detachably attached to the stand 20. The main body 40 is configured so as to function as a microscope even in a single state detached from the stand 20. For this reason, the main body 40 includes an image forming optical system 41 including an objective lens and a variable power optical system, an image sensor 45, a small monitor 46, and an LED light source 43 and a lens 49 arranged around the image forming optical system 41. An illumination optical system that illuminates the specimen, a microscope adapter 60 that is used by being attached to the specimen side end of the illumination optical system, and an electrical system 42 that controls each part. Note that the illumination optical system may be disposed at a position other than the outer peripheral portion of the imaging optical system 41.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the stand 20 includes a base portion 12 on which a stage 10 on which a specimen is placed is disposed, a support column 14 standing from the base portion 12, and a support column 14 in a direction facing the stage 10. The arm portion 16 is provided vertically, and a cylindrical main body 40 is connected to the arm portion 16.

  In the present embodiment, the arm portion 16 and the main body 40 are connected by connectors 18-1 and 18-2 of the grip portion 48 and fixing means (not shown) such as a concave and convex fitting by a male ant and a female ant. It is configured to be connected electrically at the same time. The main body 40 is provided with a clamp (not shown) for fixing the main body 40 to the arm portion 16 when the connectors 18-1 and 18-2 are connected. The means for fixing the main body 40 to the arm portion 16 is not limited to the clamp, and for example, the main body 40 may be connected to the stand 20 with an appropriate fitting force. Hereinafter, the connectors 18-1 and 18-2 are simply referred to as connectors 18 when it is not necessary to distinguish them individually.

  A stage vertical movement handle 24 for moving the stage 10 up and down is provided on the side of the base portion 12, and the stage 10 moves up and down when the observer operates the stage vertical movement handle 24. . Further, an arm part vertical movement handle 26 for moving the arm part 16 up and down is provided on the side of the support column 14, and the arm part 16 is operated by an observer operating the arm part vertical movement handle 26. Can be moved up and down. By moving the stage 10 and the arm part 16 up and down, the observer can adjust the focus. The vertical movement of the stage 10 and the arm unit 16 may be performed manually or automatically.

  Further, on the side portion of the base portion 12, the magnification ratio of the variable magnification optical system in the imaging optical system 41 in the main body 40 used when the main body 40 is mounted on the arm portion 16 and used is changed. In addition to the zoom switch 27 for adjusting the light amount of the LED 43 (see FIG. 2) and the like, the dimming switch 28 for adjusting the amount of light, etc. A reproduction button 31 for switching and a switching button 32 for instructing switching of display of the observation image are provided.

  The stand 20 is provided with a stand-side control board 33 that controls the operation of the entire stand 20, and the main body 40 is provided with a main body-side control board 42 that controls the operation of the entire main body 40.

  In such a configuration, when the main body 40 is mounted on the arm unit 16 and the sample is observed, power from a power source (not shown) connected to the stand 20 is supplied from the power supply unit 35 in the stand 20 to the arm unit 16. To be supplied to each part of the main body 40 to drive the main body 40. The observation image obtained by the main body 40 is supplied from the main body side control board 42 to the stand side control board 33 via the connector 18 and displayed on the monitor 37 connected to the stand 20. When the above-described capture button 29 or the like provided on the base unit 12 is operated, the stand-side control board 33 performs an operation according to a signal supplied from the operated button or the like via the connector 18 on the main body side. The control board 42 is instructed and an operation corresponding to the operated button is performed.

  In the microscope according to the present embodiment, when the main body 40 is separated from the arm unit 16, the main body side control board 42 switches the power supply source to the main body 40 from the power supply unit 35 to the battery 44 in the main body, The supply destination of the observation image is switched from the monitor 37 connected to the stand 20 to the small monitor 46 provided on the side surface of the main body 40. Thereby, the electric power to each part of the main body 40 comes to be supplied from the battery 44, and the main body 40 functions as a microscope alone.

  When the main body side control board 42 determines that the main body 40 is electrically connected to the stand 20 via the arm portion 16, the main body side control board 42 does not accept the operation on the operation system of the main body 40 as invalid and does not accept the operation on the operation system of the stand 20. Only is accepted as valid. The validity / invalidity of the operation for each operation system of the main body 40 and the stand 20 is not limited to this. For example, the operation for both operation systems may be validated or the validity / invalidity may be appropriately switched by a separately provided switch. good.

  Next, the main body 40 will be described. FIG. 2 shows the main body 40 to which the microscope adapter 60 is attached. The main body 40 is removed from the stand 20 and the test object (specimen) 1 is being observed.

  The main body 40 includes a cylindrical casing 47 and a grip portion 48 for the observer to grip. In the housing 47, an imaging optical system 41 including an objective lens and a variable magnification optical system, and an observation image formed by the imaging optical system 41, in order from the end of the housing 47 on the side of the test object 1. A CCD 45 for imaging is arranged. The magnification of the imaging optical system 41 can be changed from a low magnification to a high magnification by operating a magnification (WT) button 70 (see FIG. 1) disposed on the outer periphery of the main body 40. can do.

  Around the imaging optical system 41, a plurality of LEDs 43 are arranged and fixed in a ring shape along the inner wall of the housing 47 so as to surround the imaging optical system 41. A lens 49 for irradiating the test object 1 with illumination light from the LED 43 is disposed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the lens 49 is also disposed along the inner wall of the housing 47 so as to surround the objective lens 41. In the main body 40, by operating a dimming button 50 (see FIG. 1) arranged on the outer periphery of the main body 40, all of the plurality of LEDs 43 are turned on at once, or only some of the LEDs 43 are turned on. The inspection object 1 can be illuminated.

  In addition, the above-described battery 44 is disposed in the housing 47, and the battery 44 is configured to be detachable from the main body 40. By making the battery 44 detachable, the battery 44 can be charged by a charger (not shown) when the battery 44 is removed from the main body 40. The battery 44 can also be charged in a state where it is mounted on the arm portion 16.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a small monitor 46 for displaying an observation image is provided on the outer surface of the housing 47. The small monitor 46 may be provided by being fitted on the side surface of the housing 47, or may be provided with a hinge structure or the like that can be opened and closed with respect to the housing 47.

  The microscope adapter 60 is externally fitted to the end of the casing 47 on the side of the test object 1 so that the observer can appropriately attach and detach. The method of fixing the microscope adapter 60 to the housing 47 is not limited to external fitting, and may be fixed by a fixing means such as a screw.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the microscope adapter 60 includes an adapter bottom portion 62 having an opening 61 at the center and an adapter housing 64 having a substantially U-shaped cross section including a cylindrical portion 63. The illumination light from the LED 43 irradiates the test object 1 through the opening 61. The imaging optical system 41 can be focused on the surface of the test object 1 by pressing the adapter bottom 62 against the surface of the test object 1. The light reflected by the test object 1 is imaged on the CCD 45 by the imaging optical system 41, and the image of the test object 1 is picked up by the CCD 45 and can be observed on the small monitor 46. Note that the microscope adapter 60 is preferably formed of a transparent member. By being formed of a transparent member, an observer can visually recognize the observation position of the test object 1.

  The main body 40 of the microscope according to the present embodiment includes a shading correction device that corrects shading of an acquired image due to shading of the illumination optical system (43, 49) and shading of the photographing optical system. The shading correction apparatus will be described below with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 3, the main body 40 has shading data (hereinafter abbreviated as pattern 1, pattern 2, and pattern 3) corresponding to, for example, three types of illumination conditions of the illumination optical system (43, 49) measured in advance. It is stored in the memory 52. When the microscope is observed only with the main body 40, the battery 44 disposed in the main body 40 is used. Therefore, the number of light emission of the LED 43 is limited to extend the life of the battery 44.

  For example, the pattern 1 is the shading data in the case where a quarter of all the LEDs 43 emit light as the illumination condition. Pattern 2 is assumed to be shading data when one-third of all LEDs 43 are illuminated as illumination conditions. Pattern 4 is used as shading data in the case where ½ of all the LEDs 43 emit light as illumination conditions. In this way, by controlling the number of light emission of the LED 43 as an illumination condition, power consumption is suppressed and the battery 44 can be observed for a long time. Needless to say, the shading data of the illumination optical system that can be stored in the memory 52 is not limited to three types. Further, the shading data is not limited to the number of light emission of the LED 43 but may correspond to the light emission area.

  Further, the main body 40 stores shading data (hereinafter abbreviated as pattern A, pattern B, and pattern C) corresponding to, for example, three types of imaging conditions of the photographing optical system (41, 45) measured in advance. 52. The shading data here is shading data of a photographing optical system including the imaging optical system 41 and the CCD 45.

  For example, the pattern A is used as shading data when the magnification of the imaging optical system 41 is a low magnification as an imaging condition. The pattern B is assumed to be shading data when the magnification ratio of the imaging optical system 41 is an intermediate magnification as a photographing condition. The pattern C is assumed to be shading data when the magnification ratio of the imaging optical system 41 is high as a photographing condition. Needless to say, the shading data of the imaging optical system 41 that can be stored in the memory 52 is not limited to three types.

  The main body 40 is composed of 3 types of shading data of the illumination optical system and 3 types of shading data of the photographing optical system, and 3 × 3 = 9 types of shading correction data obtained by combining them, and between these 9 types of shading correction data. A shading correction data generation unit 53 is provided that generates shading correction data by complementary calculation using the nine types of shading correction data.

  As described above, the shading correction apparatus of the present application has only the plurality of shading data of the illumination optical system and the plurality of shading data of the photographing optical system in the memory 52, and the shading correction data generation unit 53 performs the observation state (illumination condition, photographing condition). ), The shading correction data can be generated by the shading correction data generation unit 53. Therefore, it is not necessary to store all the shading data, and the capacity of the memory 52 for storing the shading data can be reduced. it can.

  In the main body 40, an image subjected to shading correction is obtained as follows. In the following description, the illumination condition is pattern 1 (1/4 of all LEDs 43 is emitted as the illumination condition) and the imaging condition is pattern A (low magnification as the imaging condition). is there.

  The dimming button 50 is operated to illuminate the test object 1 by emitting a quarter of the LEDs 43, and the zooming button 70 is operated to reduce the zooming magnification of the photographing optical system to the test. An image of the object 1 is picked up by the CCD 45 and the image data is input to the shading correction unit 54.

  The positions of the zoom button 70 and the light control button 50 are detected by the CPU 53, and the illumination condition pattern 1 and the shooting condition pattern A corresponding to the positions are selected from the memory 52 and sent to the shading correction data generation unit 53. It is done.

  The shading correction data generation unit 53 uses the pattern 1 and the pattern A to generate shading correction data corresponding to the observation state (illumination condition, photographing condition) and inputs the generated shading correction data to the shading correction unit 54.

  The shading correction unit 54 performs shading correction on the test object image input based on the generated shading correction data. The image data subjected to the shading correction by the shading correction unit 54 is subjected to image processing by the image generation unit 55 and an image whose shading is corrected is displayed on the small monitor 46 of the main body 40. In this way, the observer can observe on the small monitor 46 the image of the test object corrected by the shading correction data corresponding to the illumination condition and the imaging condition and having the shading eliminated.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the main body 40 can be mounted on the stand 20 and used as a microscope 101 to observe the test object 1 placed on the stage 10. The stand 20 has a memory 57 in which a plurality of shading data of the illumination optical system (hereinafter abbreviated as pattern 4, pattern 5, and pattern 6) are measured and stored in advance. In this case, since an external AC power source can be used as the power source, the shading data of the illumination optical system of patterns 4 to 6 can be used in addition to patterns 1 to 3 in the case of the main body 40 alone.

  For example, the pattern 4 is assumed to be shading data when 2/3 of all the LEDs 43 emit light as illumination conditions. The pattern 5 is assumed to be shading data when 3/4 of all the LEDs 43 emit light as illumination conditions. The pattern 6 is shading data when all the LEDs 43 emit light as illumination conditions.

  Thus, when an external AC power supply can be used, the image of the test object 1 can be observed with bright illumination light by increasing the number of light emission of the LED 43. Needless to say, the shading data of the illumination optical system stored in the memory 57 of the stand 20 is not limited to these three types. Further, the shading data of the photographing optical system to be stored may include shading data of the photographing optical system corresponding to the replaceable objective lens in addition to the magnification. Further, the shading data of the illumination optical system may be data when the light emitting area is changed in addition to the number of light emission of the LED 43.

  The shading data of the illumination optical system patterns 4 to 6 stored in the memory 57 is sent to the shading correction data generation unit 53 of the main body 40 when these illumination conditions are selected by the dimming switch 28 of the base unit 12. Thus, the shading correction data generation unit 53 generates shading correction data at the time of observation in combination with the shading data (patterns A to C) of the photographing condition selected by the zoom switch 27. Thereafter, the shading correction unit 54 performs the shading correction of the image using the generated shading correction data in the same manner as described above, and a description thereof will be omitted. In this case as well, it goes without saying that shading data other than the combination of the patterns 1 to 6 and the patterns A to C is generated by complementary calculation. Needless to say, the dimming switch 28 can also select patterns 1 to 3 which are shading data of the main body 40.

  In the microscope 101 in which the main body 40 is mounted on the stand 20, the image of the test object 1 subjected to the shading correction is displayed on the monitor 37 connected to the stand 20 via the GUI generation unit 56 of the stand 20. Thereby, the acquired image of the test object 1 can be enlarged and observed on the monitor 37.

  As described above, the shading correction apparatus and the microscope according to the present embodiment measure the shading data of the illumination optical system and the shading data of the photographing optical system in advance and store them in the memory, respectively, and the selected illumination condition and By generating shading correction data corresponding to the shooting conditions in the shading correction data generation unit and performing shading correction on the image acquired by the CCD, it is possible to acquire a high-quality image in which shading of the optical system is eliminated.

  Further, the shading correction data generation unit generates combined shading correction data of the illumination condition and the imaging condition at the time of observation from the shading data of the illumination optical system and the shading data of the imaging optical system stored in the memory. The memory capacity can be reduced as compared with the case of storing the combined shading data, and a high-quality image with shading correction can be obtained even with a handy microscope as in the present application.

  The lighting conditions and shooting conditions are detected by detecting the position of the light control means (buttons, switches, etc.) and the magnification ratio (positions of the zooming buttons, zoom switches, etc.), respectively, and combining shading from the corresponding shading data. By generating correction data in the shading correction data generation unit and performing shading correction of the acquired object (specimen) image, shading correction for the object image acquired under various combinations of illumination conditions and imaging conditions is performed. It can be carried out.

  In addition, when performing microscopic observation only with the main body, it is possible to obtain an image that has been subjected to shading correction by reducing the amount of illumination light, and battery consumption can be reduced, so long-term observation can be performed outdoors.

  This is the end of the description of the shading correction apparatus and the microscope. This microscope is not limited to the above-described microscope that can be attached to and detached from the stand, but other microscopes in which an observation illumination unit is disposed on the outer periphery of the objective lens, for example It can be attached to a microscope or the like. By using this shading correction apparatus, an image obtained by correcting shading of the optical system can be acquired.

  Moreover, although this embodiment demonstrated the microscope which has the illumination part which consists of LED, it cannot be overemphasized that it is not limited to this.

1 Test object (specimen)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Stage 12 Base part 14 Support | pillar 16 Arm part 18 Connector 20 Stand 24 Stage vertical movement handle 26 Arm vertical movement handle 33 Stand side control board 40 Microscope main body 41 Objective lens 42 Main body side control board 47 Housing 48 Grasping part 49 Lens 50 Dimming button 52, 57 Memory 53 Shading correction data generation unit (CPU)
54 Shading correction section 55 Image generation section 56 GUI generation section 60 Microscope adapter 61 Opening section 62 Adapter bottom section 63 Tubular section 64 Adapter housing 70 Scaling button 101 Microscope

Claims (8)

A microscope body,
Illumination optics,
Illumination condition selection means for selecting an illumination condition of the illumination optical system;
A taking optical system for taking a specimen;
Photographing condition selecting means for selecting photographing conditions of the photographing optical system;
A storage unit that stores illumination shading data corresponding to the plurality of illumination conditions of the illumination optical system and imaging shading data corresponding to the plurality of imaging conditions of the imaging optical system as individual data;
Shading correction for generating shading correction data for the image of the specimen acquired under the selected illumination condition and the selected imaging condition using the illumination shading data and the imaging shading data in the storage unit Data generation means;
A microscope comprising: a shading correction unit that corrects the image of the sample with the generated shading correction data. A base portion to which the microscope main body can be attached and detached,
The base unit has a storage unit different from the storage unit,
The another storage unit stores at least one of a plurality of illumination shading data and a plurality of imaging shading data different from the illumination shading data and the imaging shading data stored in the storage unit of the microscope main body. The microscope according to claim 1, further comprising: generating the shading correction data via the shading correction data generation unit. The base unit includes another illumination condition selection unit and another imaging condition selection unit,
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the microscope is mounted on the base portion, the other illumination condition selection means and the other imaging condition selection means provided on the base portion are preferentially used. 2. The microscope according to 2.   The shading correction data generating means generates the shading correction data from the lighting shading data corresponding to the selected lighting condition and the shooting shading data corresponding to the selected shooting condition. The microscope according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that:   The shading correction data generating means stores the storage when at least one of the illumination shading data corresponding to the selected illumination condition and the imaging shading data corresponding to the selected imaging condition is not stored. The illumination selected from at least one of the at least two illumination shading data close to the selected illumination condition stored in the unit and at least two of the imaging shading data close to the selected imaging condition The microscope according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein shading correction data corresponding to a condition and the selected imaging condition is generated by complementary calculation.   The microscope according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the illumination optical system is disposed on an outer peripheral portion of the microscope main body on the sample side. The illumination optical system has a plurality of light sources,
The microscope according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the illumination condition is a condition in which a light emission number or a light emission region of the plurality of light sources is changed.   The microscope according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the photographing condition is a condition in which a magnification of an objective lens or a variable magnification optical system is changed.

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