Stereo microscope condenser

• US 5,706,128 A
• Filed: 04/30/1997
• Issued: 01/06/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Agency For Science Technology and Research
• Original Assignee: Edge Scientific Instrument Company, LLC
• Inventors: Greenberg, Gary
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Thong
• Assistant Examiner(s): Robinson, Mark A.
• Application Number:
  US08/846,412
• Time in Patent Office: 251 Days
• Field of Search: 359/376, 359/377, 359/378, 359/384, 359/391, 359/394, 359/368, 359/369, 359/370, 359/371, 359/385, 359/381, 359/386, 359/388, 359/227, 359/232, 359/233, 359/234, 359/235, 359/236, 351/213, 351/214, 351/215, 351/217, 351/233, 351/234, 351/216
• US Class Current: 359/385
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 21/086 for transillumination only

Abstract

A condenser for a transmitted light microscope with built-in 3-D filters and stereo pair photo apertures that permit a standard 2-D microscope, high power as well as low power, to produce a variety of high quality 3-D images and photos.

Claims

1. A condenser lens system for use with a transmitted light microscope for taking stereo photographs of an image of a specimen, comprising in combination:

a condenser lens having a rear aperture through which a light beam can pass;

a carrier operatively associated with the condenser lens and selectively positionable relative to the rear aperture of the condenser lens;

a plurality of different light beam screens spaced apart on said carrier, said plurality of different light beam screens including a filter pair formed by two contrasting filters of a particular geometric shape, said filter pair operative when brought into alignment with the rear aperture of said condenser lens to effectively divide a light beam directed toward the rear aperture of said condenser lens into two contrastable light beams;

whereby movement of said carrier relative to said condenser lens permits selection of one of said plurality of light beam screens to be brought into alignment with the rear aperture of said condenser lens such that any light beam directed toward the rear aperture of said condenser lens will encounter said aligned light beam screen;

said plurality of light beam screens further including two through-apertures for taking stereo pair photographs wherein a first of said through-apertures is operative when brought into alignment with the rear aperture of said condenser lens toward which a light beam is directed to pass only a portion of the light beam and wherein the second of said through-apertures is operative when brought into alignment with the rear aperture of said condenser lens toward which a light beam is directed to pass only a portion of the light beam wherein the portion of the light beam passed by said first through aperture is different than the portion of the light beam passed by said second through aperture.

2. The condenser lens system of claim 1, wherein

said first through-aperture for taking stereo pair photographs has the same geometric shape as one of the filters of said filter pair and said second through-aperture has the same geometric shape as the other filter of said filter pair.

3. The condenser lens system of claim 2 wherein the geometric shape of each filter of said filter pair, is a half circle.

4. The condenser lens system of claim 2 wherein the geometric shape of each filter of said filter pair is a sector of a circle.

5. The condenser lens system of claim 4 wherein the filters of said filter pair have a common radius.

6. The condenser lens system of claim 2 wherein said filter pair is two polarization filters aligned to have different directions of polarization.

7. The condenser lens system of claim 3 wherein said filter pair is two polarization filters aligned to have different directions of polarization.

8. The condenser lens system of claim 4 wherein said filter pair is two polarization filters aligned to have different directions of polarization.

9. The condenser lens system of claim 2, wherein said filter pair is two filters of different colors.

10. The condenser lens system of claim 3, wherein said filter pair is two filters of different colors.

11. The condenser lens system of claim 4, wherein said filter pair is two filters of different colors.

12. The condenser lens system of claim 6 wherein the microscope is further described as having a pair of spaced-apart eyepiece lenses for viewing a specimen and the direction of polarization of each of said filters of said filter pair is neither parallel nor perpendicular to an imaginary line between the eyepiece lenses.

13. The condenser lens system of claim 12 wherein the direction of polarization of each filter of said filter pair is approximately 45 degrees to the imaginary line between the eyepiece lenses and approximately 90 degrees to one another.

14. The condenser lens system of claim 2 further described by said condenser lens having an optical axis which passes through the center of its rear aperture and wherein said carrier comprises:

a disc having a radius disposed in a plane perpendicular to the condenser optical axis and having an axis of rotation parallel to but displaced from the optical axis of the condenser lens a distance less than the radius of said disc whereby rotation of said disc sequentially aligns said screens with the rear aperture of said condenser lens.

15. The condenser lens system of claim 2 further described by said condenser lens having an optical axis which passes through the center of its rear aperture and wherein said carrier comprises:

a slide member movable in a plane generally perpendicular to, and along a path that includes, the optical axis of said condenser lens whereby said screens are selectively aligned with the rear aperture of said condenser lens by movement of said slide member.

16. The condenser lens system of claim 2 further described by said condenser lens having an optical axis which passes through the center of its rear aperture and wherein said carrier comprises:

a plurality of slide members each having a longitudinal axis along which it is movable and along which are located screens at spaced intervals whereby said screens are selectively aligned with the rear aperture of the condenser lens by movement of said slide members, said slide members being stacked along the optical axis, one over the other.

17. The condenser lens system of claim 16 wherein each said slide member further includes a circular through-aperture.

18. The condenser lens system of claim 16 wherein each slide member includes at least one filter pair and two through-apertures.

19. The condenser lens system of claim 12 wherein said plurality of different light beam screens are further described as including:

a first polarizing alignment filter with its direction of polarization aligned with one filter of said filter pair;

a second polarizing alignment filter with its direction of polarization aligned with the other filter of said filter pair; and

a polarization direction-adjustable polarizing filter cap operatively disposed at each of said eyepieces.

20. The condenser lens system of claim 13 wherein said plurality of different light beam screens are further described as including:

a first polarizing alignment filter with its direction of polarization aligned with one filter of said filter pair;

a second polarizing alignment filter with its direction of polarization aligned with the other filter of said filter pair; and

a polarization direction-adjustable polarizing filter cap operatively disposed at each of said eyepiece lenses.

21. The condenser lens system of claim 1 wherein the microscope is further described as having a pair of spaced-apart eyepiece lenses for viewing a specimen and said filter pair are polarizing filters wherein the direction of polarization of each of said filters of said filter pair is neither parallel nor perpendicular to an imaginary line between the eyepiece lenses.

22. The condenser lens system of claim 21 wherein the direction of polarization of each filter of said filter pair is approximately 45 degrees to the imaginary line between the eyepiece lenses and approximately 90 degrees to one another.

23. The condenser lens of claim 1 further described by said condenser lens having an optical axis which passes through the center of its rear aperture and wherein said carrier comprises:

a slide member movable in a plane generally perpendicular to, and along a path that includes, the optical axis of said condenser lens whereby said screens are selectively aligned with the rear aperture of said condenser lens by movement of said slide member.

24. The condenser lens system of claim 1 further described by said condenser lens having an optical axis which passes through the center of its rear aperture and wherein said carrier comprises:

a plurality of slide members each having a longitudinal axis along which it is movable and along which are located screens at spaced intervals whereby said screens are selectively aligned with the rear aperture of the condenser lens by movement of said slide members, said slide members being stacked along the optical axis, one over the other.

25. The condenser lens system of claim 24 wherein each said slide member further includes a circular through-aperture.