Illumination Device for Microscopes

• US 20070297049A1
• Filed: 09/28/2005
• Published: 12/27/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: CARL Zeiss Microimaging GmbH (Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung)
• Original Assignee: CARL Zeiss Microimaging GmbH (Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung)
• Inventors: Schadwinkel, Harald, Nolte, Andreas, Becker, Klaus, Mueller-Wirts, Thomas
• Application Number:
  US11/665,590
• Publication Number:
  US 20070297049A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 359/385
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 21/082 for incident illumination only

Abstract

An illumination device for microscopes is detachably connected to the microscope and has at least one unconventional illumination source such as an LED, laser or the like. The microscope has an operating control for adjusting the brightness of the illumination, and the brightness of the unconventional illumination source is adjusted by means of this operating control.

Claims

9. An illumination device for microscopes comprising:

said device being detachably connected to the microscope;

at least one unconventional illumination source such as an LED, laser or the like;

the microscope having at least one operating control for adjusting the brightness of the illumination; and

the brightness of the at least one unconventional illumination source being adjusted by said at least one operating control.

10. The illumination device for microscopes according to claim 9, wherein the voltage which is applied to an interface of the microscope and which is influenced by the operating control is used for adjusting the brightness of the at least one unconventional illumination source.

11. The illumination device for microscopes according to claim 10, wherein the at least one unconventional illumination source is connected to at least one resistor which causes the voltage applied to the interface to be converted into a voltage that is adapted to the voltage/brightness characteristic curve of the unconventional illumination source.

14. The illumination device for microscopes according to claim 10, wherein a controlled current source is connected to the at least one unconventional illumination source and derives a reference current for controlling the unconventional illumination source from the voltage applied to the interface of the microscope.

15. The illumination device for microscopes according to claim 10, wherein the unconventional illumination source is controlled in a pulsed manner and a control circuit with pulse width modulation is connected to the unconventional illumination source, wherein the supply voltage of the control circuit is obtained from the voltage applied to the interface, and wherein a pulse-duty factor of the pulse widths which corresponds to the applied voltage is generated by the control circuit so that the resulting brightness of the unconventional illumination source is controlled by means of the operating control at the microscope.

16. A microscope further comprising an illumination device according to claim 9.

12. The illumination device for microscopes according to claim I 1, wherein a plurality of unconventional illumination sources with series-connected resistor are connected in parallel to the interface.

13. The illumination device for microscopes according to claim 12, wherein the resistors connected to the respective unconventional illumination sources are so dimensioned that they compensate the individual differences of the voltage/brightness characteristic curve of the respective unconventional illumination sources.