JPH059701Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] <Industrial application field> The present invention is a micromanipulator that performs predetermined processing on microscopic objects such as cells by operating microinstruments under the field of view of a microscope. In the rater,
The present invention relates to a position detection device for positioning a microinstrument at a desired initial position outside the field of view of a microscope.

<Conventional technology> Generally, when a micromanipulator is attached to a micromanipulator to process cells, etc. under the field of view of a microscope, it is necessary to insert the tip of the microinstrument into the field of view of the microscope before processing. There is.

In conventional micromanipulators, this operation was mostly performed manually and intuitively. Therefore, the present inventor installed a position detector on the stage of the microscope in a predetermined positional relationship with respect to the optical axis of the microscope, and used this detector to roughly position the microinstrument in advance outside the field of view of the microscope. However, a mechanism has already been proposed in which the tip of the microinstrument is inserted into the field of view of a microscope by moving the microinstrument based on the above-mentioned positional relationship.

<Problems to be solved by the invention> However, when such a position detector is placed on the stage of a microscope, the movement of the microinstrument may be restricted during actual manipulation. However, there were problems that hindered operation.

<Means for Solving the Problems> The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and the structure of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 corresponding to the embodiments. , a sensor 2 for detecting the position of a micro-instrument 1, a support (sensor arm) 4 to which the sensor 2 is fixed and movable with respect to a stage 31 of a microscope 3, and a support body (sensor arm) 4 for detecting the position of a micro-instrument 1; A stopper (for example, the top surface of the stage 31) that restricts the displacement of the support 4 so that it is located at a preset position on the stage 31
31a.

<Function> Before performing actual processing, the sensor 2 is moved onto the stage 31 only when setting the initial position of the micro instrument 1 outside the field of view of the microscope 2, and when it is not needed during actual processing, the sensor 2 is moved. The above problem is solved by moving the support 4 to a position where it does not interfere with the manipulation.

<Example> An example of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

Figure 1 shows a microscope 3 equipped with an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the main parts. Moreover, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the left side view of FIG. 2 and the micromanipulator 5 equipped with the microinstrument 1. In addition, the micromanipulator 5
can drive the micro-instrument 1 in the horizontal direction (x, y direction) and vertical direction (z direction). Hereinafter, the longitudinal direction of the micro-instrument 1 in the horizontal direction will be referred to as the x direction.

A shaft 6 is implanted in the frame of the microscope 3, and one end of an L-shaped sensor arm 4 is rotatably supported on the shaft 6. The sensor 2 is fixed to the other end of the sensor arm 4.

The sensor 2 consists of a gate-shaped housing 21 having a gap S in the center, and a light emitting diode 22 and a light receiving element 23 housed in the housing 21 facing each other with the gap S in between. The x- and z-direction positions of the tip of the microinstrument 1 are
It can be detected based on the output of the light receiving element 23.

One rotating end of the sensor arm 4, which is rotatable around the axis 6, is connected to the upper surface 31 of the stage 31 of the microscope 3.
It is regulated by the housing 21 of the sensor 2 coming into contact with a. That is, one rotation end of the sensor arm 4 is restricted by using the upper surface 31a of the stage 31 as a stopper, and in this state, the sensor 2 is positioned at a predetermined position on the stage 31. x, y of sensor 2 in this positioning state
The position in the direction is such that in the y direction, the center of the gap S coincides with the center of the objective lens 32, that is, the optical axis, and in the x direction, it is shifted by a predetermined distance toward the micromanipulator 5 side with respect to the optical axis. be. The other rotating end of the sensor arm 4 is located away from the stage 31 to the extent that it does not interfere with the operation of the microinstrument 1 by the micromanipulator 5, for example, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. It is set at a position rotated approximately several tens of degrees from the one rotation end mentioned above.

According to the above-described embodiment of the present invention, first, the sensor arm 4 is brought down to position the sensor 2 on the stage 31, and the coarse movement mechanism 51 of the micromanipulator 5
Insert the tip of the microinstrument 1 into the gap S of the sensor 2 using the . Then, based on the output of the sensor 2, the tip of the micro-instrument 1 is roughly positioned in the x and z directions. Thereafter, the sensor arm 4 is rotated to remove the sensor 2 from the stage 31, and the micro instrument 1 is moved to the coarse movement mechanism 51 based on the positional relationship between the position of the sensor 2 on the stage 31 and the optical axis of the microscope 3. to advance in the x direction. As a result, the tip of the microinstrument 1 comes within the field of view of the microscope 3, and henceforth, the microscopic image can be precisely positioned using the fine movement mechanism 52.

The shaft 6 may be implanted by processing the frame of the microscope 3, or may be fixed by utilizing an existing screw hole, etc. Furthermore, the shaft 6 may be fixed to the sensor arm 4 side and rotatably supported in a hole drilled in the frame of the microscope 3. Furthermore, the sensor arm 4 may be supported by a base whose relative position with respect to the microscope 3 does not change.

Moreover, instead of fixing the sensor 2 to the rotary arm as in the above-described embodiment, the stage 31 of the microscope 3
It may be fixed on a slider that can move toward and away from the slider in one dimension or in multiple dimensions, but in this case, it is necessary to separately provide a stopper for positioning. Furthermore, it is also possible to use a combination of a rotating type and a sliding type, or a pin is set up on a table whose relative position to the stage 31 does not change, and the sensor 2 can be freely fitted onto the pin.

In either method, the sensor 2 may be moved manually, or an actuator may be provided to move the sensor 2 automatically. Also, sensor 2
The method is not limited, and stage 3
Of course, the positioning location on the microscope 3 is arbitrary as long as the positional relationship with the optical axis of the microscope 3 is known.

<Effects of the invention> As explained above, according to the invention, a position detector is disposed movably with respect to the stage of the microscope, and this position detector is positioned in a predetermined positional relationship with respect to the optical axis of the microscope. Because it is configured so that it can be done,
By positioning the position detector on the stage only when needed, the tip of the microinstrument can be roughly positioned outside the field of view of the microscope, and the tip of the microinstrument can be easily inserted into the field of view of the microscope. In addition, by removing the position detector from the stage when it is not needed, it does not become an obstacle during manipulation, greatly contributing to the automation of the micromanipulator system.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an overall view of a microscope equipped with an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of its main parts, and Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the left side view of Fig. 2 together with the micromanipulator. be. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Micro instrument, 2... Sensor, 21... Housing, 22... Light emitting diode, 23... Light receiving element, 3... Microscope, 31... Stage, 31a
...Stage top surface, 4...Sensor arm, 5...
Micromanipulator, 6...axis.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In a device that performs a predetermined process on a workpiece such as a cell by operating a micro-instrument under the field of view of a microscope, the micro-instrument is placed at a predetermined position outside the field of view of the microscope in order to insert the micro-instrument into the field of view of the microscope. A position detection device for positioning the microinstrument, the device comprising: a sensor for detecting the position of the microinstrument; a support to which the sensor is fixed and is movable with respect to the stage of the microscope; 1. An initial position detection device for a microinstrument of a micromanipulator, comprising a stopper for regulating displacement of the support so that the support is located at a preset position on a stage of the micromanipulator.