JPH0593867A - Microscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatically manipulate an optional sample that an observer or inspector selects without being affected by the kind and size of the sample. CONSTITUTION:This microscope is equipped with a data input part 7 through which the best observation illuminance of an observation optical path is set by the magnifications of respective objectives, a photodetecting element 4 or AF sensor 24 which detects the optimum illuminance of the observation optical path when the magnification of the objective inserted into the observation optical path is set through the data input part 7, and a controller 8 which stores a storage circuit with the illuminance of the observation optical path in the absence of the sample on a sample movement stage 3 detected by the photodetecting element 4 or AF sensor 24, decides whether or not there is the sample on the observation optical path according to the stored data, and controls the movement of the sample movement stage 3 according to the decision result.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a microscope capable of magnifying and observing a fine sample and recording the magnified image in a photograph or a video.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, this type of microscope has been widely used in research and inspection in the biological field including the industrial field.

When performing an inspection using such a microscope, generally, a plurality of objective lenses having different magnifying powers are attached to a rotary revolver, and a sample can be moved within a plane orthogonal to an observation optical path from the objective lenses. The sample moving stage is operated to perform observation and inspection.

As a method of this inspection, first, a sample such as a slide glass is visually confirmed, and then the objective lens is set at a low magnification to screen the entire sample, and an abnormal portion is found in the sample. In that case, the objective lens is switched to a high-magnification objective lens, and the abnormal portion is inspected in detail and observed. Therefore, the inspector who operates the microscope must perform such work for each sample, and the time spent on the microscope may be longer than the original research and inspection.

In order to solve the above problems, JP-A-59-177507 and JP-A-59-17750.
Japanese Patent No. 8 discloses a microscope in which the illumination optical system is automatically switched so that the state of the illumination optical system is optimized in accordance with the switching of the objective lens. Also, JP-A-60-1188
No. 17 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-32244 disclose that a rotary revolver is electrified, or Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 64-53157.
The publication discloses a microscope in which the sample stage is automated to save labor in operating the microscope. Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 64-53157 discloses a microscope in which the inspection itself of a specimen is automated to improve the operability.

[0006]

However, in the conventional microscope, although the operation of the microscope is made electrically or labor-saving, a part of the series of operations of the microscope, for example, the electrification of the rotary revolver or the electrification of the sample moving stage is performed. The operability itself does not change by scanning, and especially in the parts that must be visually confirmed, although the sample moving stage is electrified, manual operation is required,
The conventional description has a drawback that cannot be solved by any means.
In addition, when the microscope is operated while observing in this way, the microscope itself is originally observed at a magnified size (100 × to 2000 ×). There is a possibility of moving from the possible range (field of view) to the outside of the range, which may increase the number of extra operations of the microscope. And such an operation requires some skill.

Further, in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 64-53157, there has been proposed one in which cells to be observed are measured by automating a microscope to improve operability. However, it was unsuitable for observing with a constant amount of movement and range of movement of the stage and inspecting a sample of any size and shape by the scanner. That is, if the sample is large, not all parts can be scanned, and if the sample is small, useless parts are scanned.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has an operability that allows an operator to automatically operate an arbitrary sample selected by an observer or an observer without depending on the type and size of the sample. The purpose is to provide a high microscope.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention differs from a sample moving stage for moving the sample in a plane orthogonal to the observation optical path and a magnification for enlarging the sample on the sample moving table. In a microscope provided with a holding means for holding a plurality of objective lenses in a switchable manner, a setting means for setting an optimum observation illuminance of the observation optical path for each magnification of each of the objective lenses, and a setting means for inserting into the observation optical path by the setting means. When the magnification of the objective lens is set, detection means for monitoring the optimum illuminance of the observation optical path at that time, and storage for storing the illuminance of the observation optical path when there is no sample on the sample moving stage monitored by this detection means Means, a judging means for judging whether or not a sample is present on the observation optical path based on the data stored in the storing means, and the existence of the sample judged by the judging means. It is obtained; and a movement control means for moving controls the sample moving stage according to.

[0010]

In the microscope having such a structure, when the magnification of the objective lens is first set by the setting means, the optimum illuminance of the observation optical path when the sample is not on the sample moving stage suitable for this objective lens is stored. By memorizing in the means, when observing the sample, the judging means judges whether the sample is on the observation optical path based on the data stored in the storing means, and moves the sample depending on the presence or absence of the sample. The movement of the stage is controlled, so you can skip unnecessary scanning.
The scanning time can be shortened, and the automatic scanning operation can be performed on an arbitrary sample selected by the observer regardless of the type and size of the sample.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a microscope according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a microscope main body, and a rotary revolver 2 for converting an objective lens is attached to the microscope main body 1, and a bit alignment of an observation sample and a sample movable in the XY directions are provided thereunder. A moving stage 3 is attached.

On the other hand, 4 is a light receiving element for detecting the brightness of the illumination light from the microscope main body 1, 5 is a REVO hole detector for detecting the REVO hole position of the rotary revolver 2, and 6 is the present of the sample moving stage 3. A stage position detector for detecting the stage position, and 7 is a data input unit for inputting setting data of the magnification and brightness of the objective lens with respect to the revolving position.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a control device to which the detection signals from the light receiving element 4, the hollow hole detector 5, the stage position detector 6 and the magnification of the objective lens from the data input section 7 are respectively inputted. The device 8 is a rotary revolver 2.
Of the lamp house 9 for controlling the rotation of the microscope, controlling the movement of the sample moving stage 3, and irradiating the microscope body 1 with illumination light for observation.
The dimming circuit 10 that sets the brightness of the internal lamp to the optimum illuminance for each objective magnification is controlled.

An example of the internal configuration of the control device 8 will be described with reference to the block diagram shown in FIG. The control device 8 receives the detection signal from the hollow hole detector 5 shown in FIG. 1, the detection signal from the stage position detector 6 and the signal from the data input section 7, and the detection from the light receiving element 4. An analog input circuit 12 for receiving a signal, and A for converting the signal from the analog input circuit 12 into a digital signal
A / D converter 13, a memory circuit 14 for storing data corresponding to the position of the revolute hole output from the A / D converter 13, a digital input circuit 11, data from the A / D converter 13 and the memory circuit 14, and the like. A control signal is supplied to the comparison calculation circuit 15 that performs comparison and calculation, and a drive circuit 16 that drives the moving stage 3 and the rotary revolver 2 based on the comparison and calculation results obtained by the comparison calculation circuit 15, and the objective magnification is changed. It comprises a control circuit 17 which gives a control signal to the dimming circuit 10 which sets the optimum light amount.

As shown in FIG. 3, the input operation section 7 comprises an objective button 18, a set button 19, a lamp button 20 for setting the brightness, and a start button 21 for starting the scanning of the sample. Has been done.

Next, the operation of the microscope thus constructed will be described with reference to the flow charts shown in FIGS.

Normally, the rotary revolver 2 of the microscope body 1 is used.
A plurality of objective lenses having different magnifications are attached to the. When the power of the device (not shown) is turned on in this state, first, it is confirmed which of the plurality of objective lenses is inserted in the current observation optical path.
In this case, as a confirmation method, the current position of the revolver hole of the rotary revolver 2 is detected by a signal from the revolver hole detector 5, and the control circuit 17 shown in FIG. Read the data corresponding to.
In this case, when there is no data in the memory circuit 14 by reading the data corresponding to the position of the hollow hole from the memory circuit 14 of the control circuit 17, the objective data is input from the data input unit 7.

As an input operation, the rotary revolver 2 is rotated into a revo hole desired to input data, and the objective lens is inserted in the optical path. Then, the objective magnification at that time is selected by the objective button 18 of the data input unit 7, and the set button 1
Data is stored by pressing 9. here,
When the set button 19 is pressed, the control circuit 17 acquires the signal from the REVO hole detector 5 through the digital input circuit 13. A table as shown in FIG. 5 is created in advance in the memory circuit 12 so that the value of the magnification corresponding to the revolute hole can be stored, and the data is input to the memory location of the acquired revolute hole NO. The objective magnification set by the unit 9 is stored. Now, according to FIG. 6, the 40 × objective lens is set in the memory location of the REVO hole NO2. Therefore, data input is completed by performing the above operation for the number of objective lenses attached to the rotary revolver 2.

It should be noted that this data input operation may be set once, and is stored even after the power is cut off unless there is a change such as a change in the object magnification with respect to the revolute hole.

Next, the reference light amount of the illumination light required for scanning the sample moving stage 3 is set. The reference light amount is set by first placing a slide glass having no sample on the sample moving stage 3 and inserting it into the observation optical path. Then, the sample moving stage 3 is moved in the vertical direction to bring the slide glass into focus. Finally, the lamp button 20 of the data input section 7 is pressed to perform the operation. Data input section 7
When the lamp button 20 is pressed, the control circuit 17 drives the dimming circuit 10 in order to set the optimum amount of illumination light that matches the objective lens currently inserted in the observation optical path. Therefore, the dimming circuit 10 changes the lamp voltage of the lamp house 9 to set the optimum illuminance.

The set value at this time is stored in advance in the storage circuit 14, and is adjusted to a level suitable for the objective magnification currently inserted in the observation optical path. For example, if a data table is stored in the storage circuit 12 as shown in FIG. 7, the dimming level is 8 if the observation magnification is 40 ×, and the dimming circuit 10 is driven to match this value. And adjust the brightness.

When the light control suitable for the objective magnification is completed in this way, the control circuit 17 detects the actual illuminance incident on the light receiving element 4. The light incident on the light receiving element 4 is converted into an analog amount of an electric signal by the analog input circuit 12, and converted into a digital amount by the A / D converter 13 so that it can be controlled by the control circuit 17. The data converted into the digital amount is stored in a data table, for example, as shown in FIG.
The actual illuminance of is a set value of 20. When the storage of the data is completed, the control circuit 17 continues to drive the rotary revolver 2 by the drive circuit 16 to collect the data of the objective lens next to the objective lens of the rotary revolver 2 which is currently being observed.
Moves by the click amount and stores the data. By performing this work for one rotation of the rotary revolver 2 (six times according to the flowchart of FIG. 4), the storage of the brightness data is completed.

The storage of data necessary for observing (scanning) the sample is completed as described above.

Next, actual observation (scanning) will be described.

By placing a scanning sample on the sample moving stage 3 and pressing the start button 21 of the data input section 9, stage scanning is started. When the start button 21 is pressed, the optimum stage moving speed is set for the objective magnification currently inserted in the observation optical path. This setting is for memory circuit 1
4 is performed using the data stored in advance. A data table as shown in FIG. 9 is created in the storage circuit 14, speed 1 being the fastest and speed 150
Is the slowest speed.

If 10 × is inserted in the observation optical path, the speed is set to 10. The optimum moving speed for the objective magnification is the speed at which the sample can be actually observed through a microscope and does not burden the eyes even when observed for a long time. For example, a speed value of 2.0 mm / sec as shown in FIG. ~
It is a value obtained by dividing 6.0 mm / sec, which is the same as the value described in the column of actual measurement degree in FIG. However, it is a value when the magnification is 10 times that of a microscope eyepiece lens (not shown).

Further, when the total magnification is changed, for example, when observing on a TV monitor or the like, it can be easily set by correcting the magnification of the intermediate magnification lens.
Eyepiece lens for TV or photo at 20 times of 5.0
If × is used, the total magnification is half that of the eyepiece of the microscope, so it is sufficient to move at a stage speed of 2 times (0.2 to 0.6 mm / sec).

When the speed setting is completed, the position of the present sample moving stage 3 is confirmed by the stage position detector 6, and if it is not at the stage scanning start point (hereinafter referred to as the origin), the drive circuit 16 The sample moving stage 3 is moved to the origin. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, if the arrow direction of the slide glass 22 is the scanning direction,
The sample moving stage 3 is moved to a position where the part A becomes the origin and the part A can be observed. In this case, the scanning range is also stored in the storage circuit 14 and is the movement range for one slide glass.

When the movement of the origin is completed, the actual scanning starts. Assuming that scanning is performed as shown in FIG. 11, a movement when scanning a sample as shown in FIG. 10 will be described. In FIG. 11, A is the scanning start point, and a sample such as B is now on the slide glass as a sample.

First, when the sample moving stage 3 starts scanning, the light amount data from the light receiving element 4 input to the analog input circuit 12 is digitally converted by the A / D converter 13 and taken into the control circuit 17. The data taken into the control circuit 17 is immediately compared with the reference light amount data stored in the storage circuit 14 by the comparison operation circuit 15. The data read from the storage circuit 14 is the actual illuminance data shown in FIG. 8, which is selected from the table and called out according to the objective magnification currently inserted in the observation optical path.

At this point, the data to be compared is in the state A shown in FIG. 11 in which nothing is placed on the slide glass, so there is no need to observe the sample. In this case, the sample moving stage 3 is moved at the maximum speed of the stage.
This maximum speed depends on the components of the sample moving stage 3, but generally 100 mm / sec to 400 mm / sec is suitable. If the stage is scanned in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 11 while acquiring and comparing the light amount data, there is no sample until just before the portion C shown in FIG. 11, so move at the maximum speed. become.

When the stage is scanned up to the C portion, the light amount data of the C portion is input to the control circuit 17. In this case, the sample is inserted in the observation optical path, the transmittance of the irradiation light from the lamp house 9 naturally deteriorates, and the light amount entering the light receiving element 4 also weakens, so that it is smaller than the reference light amount. By comparing the light amount data with the reference light amount read from the storage circuit 14 by the comparison calculation circuit 15, it is determined that the sample B is inserted in the observation optical path, and the stage moving speed is the optimum speed for the objective magnification that allows observation. Set to.
While the sample B is being inserted into the observation optical path (shown by the dotted line in FIG. 11), scanning is performed at an observable moving speed, the sample B disappears from the observation optical path again, and the light amount data of D shown in FIG. When it becomes equal to the reference light amount, the stage moving speed is set to the highest speed, and the solid line portion shown in FIG. 11 performs high speed scanning.

The above comparison of light amount data, determination, and speed speed variation are repeated, and when the scanning is completed up to the scanning final point stored in advance in the memory circuit 14 at the portion E shown in FIG. 11, the sample moving stage 3 scans. Ends.

As described above, in the first embodiment, by operating the data stored in the storage circuit 14, the sample moving stage can be scanned without being influenced by the size of the sample, and the operation can be performed. A highly efficient microscope can be obtained. Further, when a sample having an irregular pattern as shown in FIG. 12 is scanned, there is an even greater effect (particularly the F portion), and the scanning accuracy can be increased.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flow charts shown in FIGS. Since the schematic structure of the microscope is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, its description is omitted here. In the second embodiment, as the data input unit 7, as shown in FIG. 15, in addition to the objective button 18, the set button 19, the start button 21, and the lamp button 20, the sample moving stage 3 is provided.
The memory button 23 for storing an arbitrary position of is added.

The operation will be described below with reference to the flow charts of FIGS. 13 and 14. Since the input of the objective data, the setting of the reference light amount, etc. are the same as those in the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted, and the different points will be described here. Only mention. The state in which the start button 21 is pressed to perform the stage scanning will be described. Now, when the start button 21 is pressed, the light receiving element 4 is switched to the analog input circuit 12, the A / D converter 1
When the light amount data is input to the control circuit 17 through 3,
The control circuit 17 performs stage scanning while comparing the light amount data and the reference light amount.

For example, assuming that the sample is being scanned as shown in FIG. 16, an abnormal site is found at point G during scanning of the observation image, and if this site is to be reexamined later, the data input section 7 By pressing the memory button 23, the position of the G portion of the sample moving stage 3 can be stored. That is, when the memory button 23 is pressed, the control circuit 17 acquires the stage coordinates from the stage position detector 6 from the digital input circuit 11. The acquired stage coordinates are stored in a data table created in advance in the storage circuit 14 as shown in FIG. A plurality of stage coordinate data can be stored in this data table, and the number of times the memory button 23 is pressed can be stored.

When the stage scan is completed and the abnormal portion is to be inspected again, when the memory button 23 is pressed again (except during the stage scan), quick movement can be performed directly to the location stored in the storage circuit 14. Here, assuming that the memory circuit 14 stores a plurality of memory points, for example, four memory points as shown in FIG. 18, each time the memory button 23 is pressed, the memory button 23 is moved one by one, and re-inspection allows detailed observation. ..

Now, in FIG. 18, with the sample moving stage 3 stopped at the start position A, the memory button 2
When 3 is pressed, it moves to the H part, then the memory button 23
Every time the memory button 23 is pressed, the cursor moves to I-JK, such as when the key is pressed, and when the memory button 23 is pressed, it returns to the start position A (origin) when the movement to all the memory positions is completed.

By the above operation, the points for re-examination of the abnormal portion of the scanning sample can be stored, the observation is facilitated, the examination can be carried out quickly, and the operability is further improved as compared with the first embodiment. A high microscope is obtained.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. Only different points will be described here. In the third embodiment, an A for autofocus (hereinafter simply referred to as AF) for inputting an observation image for performing vertical sample focusing instead of the light receiving element 4 of FIG.
An F sensor 24, an AF control circuit 25, a Z-axis drive motor 27 for vertically moving the sample moving stage 3 to perform AF, and an AF motor drive circuit 26 for driving the Z-axis drive motor 27 are added. ..

In the third embodiment, as a means for monitoring the illumination light from the lamp house 9, it is taken out from the AF sensor 24 and controlled. The AF sensor 24 is a well-known light receiving element such as a CCD element, and it is extremely easy to take a brighter signal into the control device 8. The AF control circuit 25 is also a well-known autofocusing means such as a contrast method or a pupil division method, and sends a signal to the AF motor drive circuit 26 based on the output which is controlled and calculated to rotate the Z-axis drive motor 27. To focus.

By adding the output of the AF sensor 24 to the control device 8 by adding the autofocus circuit as described above, the variation of the flatness due to the processing and assembling accuracy of the sample moving stage 3 and the thickness of the sample. The sample moving stage 3 can be scanned while correcting variations in directions, etc., and the sample is always in focus during scanning, and a microscope with better scanning characteristics than in the first and second embodiments can be obtained. ..

20 and 21 are flow charts for explaining the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The hardware configuration of the control system in the fourth embodiment is the same as that in FIG. 1 or FIG. 19, so description thereof will be omitted. The operations such as the input of the objective data and the setting of the reference light amount are the same as those in the first embodiment, so that the description thereof will be omitted and only different points will be described here.

The present embodiment is characterized in that the judging means for judging the presence / absence of the sample on the observation optical path shown in the above-mentioned first to third embodiments is changed. In the first to third embodiments, the brightness that passes through the sample and is incident on the light receiving element 4 or the AF sensor 24 is compared with the reference illuminance, and if the level is equal to the reference illuminance, it is determined that there is no sample. I was trying to control it. For example, as shown in FIG. 22A, the amount of light (a) that passes through the sample and is incident on the light receiving element 4 or the AF sensor 24 is compared with the reference illuminance (a), and (a) =
In the part (c) of (a), the sample moving stage 3 was scanned at high speed on the assumption that there was no sample. The amount of incident light (a) is the light receiving element 4 or the AF sensor 2 at a certain time.
4 is an average value of the amount of light incident on No. For example, in FIG.
The incident light quantity (Lx) in the portion (d) of (a) is shown in FIG.
The waveform (e) is as shown in (b), and the data actually used as the judgment reference is the value (Lx) of the average data (f) of this waveform (e), which is judged by the so-called brightness level. It was

In the fourth embodiment, 1 is used as this criterion.
It is a comparison and judgment of the waveform (e) itself,
As the determination means, the well-known Contrans method, which is often used for autofocus means, will be briefly described. For example, the difference .DELTA.LA between the input levels of T1 and T2 in the waveform of FIG. 23 is obtained, and then the level difference .DELTA.L between T2 and T3.
B is calculated, these are calculated up to Tn, the sum of ΔL is calculated, and the contrast of the amount of incident light is judged by the size.

By using this method, the presence or absence of the sample can be determined by a determination means different from those of the first to third embodiments, and the same effect can be obtained.

24 and 25 show a flow chart for explaining the fifth embodiment of the present invention. The hardware configuration of the control system in the fifth embodiment is the same as that of the fourth embodiment, but as the means for determining the presence or absence of the sample, the comparison of the magnitude of the brightness level and the contrast is performed at the same time. is there.

Also in the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 24 and 25, the operation of the data storage means and the like is the same as that of the first to fourth embodiments, but the operation for judging the presence or absence of the sample is different, so here it is. Describe the action.

First, as shown in the fourth embodiment, the presence / absence of a sample is determined by using the contrast method, and when it is determined that the sample is present, the scanning speed of the sample moving stage 3 is lowered to move the sample. This case is the same as in the fourth embodiment. Next, it is judged that there is no sample, that is, if there is no so-called contrast, it is judged that there is no sample. At this time, for example, if the sample is scanned as shown in FIG. 26, the amount of incident light entering the light receiving element 43 or the AF sensor 24. Has a waveform as shown in FIG. When this waveform is subjected to the differential contrast method as shown in the fourth embodiment, the calculation result may be "0", and there is a possibility that it may be erroneously determined that there is no sample. To prevent this, the brightness level as shown in the first to third embodiments is further determined,
When the amount of light transmitted is smaller than the reference amount of light, that is, when the amount of illumination transmitted light entering the light receiving element 4 or the AF sensor 24 is attenuated, the stage movement amount is set to a low speed and scanning is performed.

By providing two judging means,
Pattern recognition as shown in FIGS. 28 and 29 can also be processed. For example, in the first to fourth embodiments, if the contrast or the brightness level changes to some extent, it is determined that the sample is present, and the portion indicated by (G) is the light receiving area of the light receiving element 4 or the AF sensor 24 as shown in FIG. If so,
Until the entire light receiving range is exhausted, the scanning is performed at a low speed from the portion (K) to the portion (K), which is a wasteful operation.

In such a case, the scanning operation as shown in FIG. 31 is performed by setting the length of the judgment portion (U) shown in FIGS. 28 and 29, and judging and scanning that portion. In this case, since the edge of the sample becomes short, the low speed operation range (K)-(K) becomes short.

As described above, according to the fifth embodiment, it is possible to improve the determination level of the presence or absence of the sample and the sample scanning speed.
Therefore, the operability is higher than that of the fourth embodiment.

Further, according to each of the embodiments described above, the case where the scanning as shown in FIG. 10 is performed as the scanning direction of the sample moving stage 3 has been described, but the scanning as shown in FIGS. 32 and 33 is performed. However, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the sample moving stage 3 is moved in the vertical direction also as the operation for focusing, but the same effect can be obtained by moving the rotary revolver 2 or the like. Further, the voltage of the lamp is adjusted as a method of adjusting the lamp in the lamp house 9, but the method is not limited to this. The same effect can be obtained by using a mechanism in which an optical ND filter (attenuating filter) or the like is inserted in the optical path while keeping the voltage constant.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the transmission illumination type microscope is used for description, but the reflected light from the sample moving stage is detected and the automatic scanning is performed by using the epi-illumination type microscope. May be.

[0058]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to omit a scan of a useless place when the observation sample is automatically scanned, so that the scanning time can be shortened.
Further, it is possible to provide a microscope with high operability that enables automatic scanning operation on an arbitrary sample selected by an observer, regardless of the type and size of the sample.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a microscope according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a control device in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a data input unit in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart following FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a data table showing a relationship between a recess hole NO stored in a storage circuit of FIG. 2 and a magnification.

FIG. 7 is a diagram similarly showing a data table showing the relationship between the objective magnification and the dimming level.

FIG. 8 is a diagram similarly showing a data table showing the relationship between the objective magnification and the actual illuminance.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a data table similarly showing the relationship between the objective magnification and the optimum stage moving speed and actual speed.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a scanning direction with respect to the slide glass in the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a scanning speed when the sample is placed on the slide glass.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a scanning speed when a sample different from that shown in FIG. 11 is placed on the slide glass.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart similarly to FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a front view of a data input unit used in the embodiment.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram when an abnormal point is found in the scanning process on the slide glass in the example.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a data table for storing an abnormal point and its coordinates in the embodiment.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram for observing a plurality of abnormal points in the example.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart similarly to FIG. 21.

22 (a) and 22 (b) are waveform diagrams in the case of determining the brightness level of the incident light amount in the first to third embodiments.

FIG. 23 is a waveform diagram in the case of determining the contrast of the incident light amount in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart similarly to FIG. 24.

FIG. 26 is a view showing a scanning direction of a sample on a slide glass in the example.

FIG. 27 is a waveform chart of the amount of incident light entering a light receiving element or an AF sensor in the example.

FIG. 28 is a pattern diagram for explaining determination means for the amount of incident light in the example.

FIG. 29 is a pattern diagram for explaining a determination means different from that in FIG. 28 with respect to the amount of incident light.

FIG. 30 is a diagram for explaining the scanning speed of the sample moving stage with respect to changes in the contrast of the incident light amount or the brightness level in the first to fourth examples.

FIG. 31 is a diagram for explaining the scanning speed of the sample moving stage with respect to changes in the contrast of the amount of incident light or the brightness level in the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 32 is a diagram showing a scanning direction for a slide glass different from that in FIG.

FIG. 33 is a diagram showing a scanning direction with respect to a slide glass different from FIG. 32.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Microscope main body, 2 ... Rotating revolver, 3 ... Sample moving stage, 4 ... Light receiving element, 5 ... Rebo hole detector, 6 ... Stage position detector, 7 ... Data input section,
8 ... Control device, 9 ... Lamp house, 10 ... Dimming circuit, 11 ... Digital input circuit, 12 ... Analog input circuit, 13 ... A / D converter, 14 ... Storage circuit, 15 ... Comparison arithmetic circuit, 16 ... Driving circuit.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A sample moving stage for moving a sample in a plane orthogonal to an observation optical path, and holding means for holding a plurality of objective lenses having different magnifications for enlarging the sample on the sample moving table in a switchable manner. In the microscope, the setting means for setting the optimum observation illuminance of the observation optical path for each magnification of each objective lens, and the observation optical path at that time when the magnification of the objective lens inserted in the observation optical path is set by the setting means Detecting means for monitoring the optimum illuminance, storage means for storing the illuminance of the observation optical path when there is no sample on the sample moving stage monitored by this detecting means, and observation light based on the data stored in this storage means. Judgment means for judging whether or not there is a sample on the road, and a movement control for controlling movement of the sample moving stage according to the presence or absence of the sample judged by this judgment means. A microscope comprising a control means. 2. The microscope according to claim 1, wherein the determining means determines the presence or absence of the sample on the observation optical path based on the brightness level. 3. The microscope according to claim 1, wherein the determination means determines the presence or absence of the sample on the observation optical path based on the contrast of the observed image of the sample.