Microscope system

• US 8,120,649 B2
• Filed: 11/06/2006
• Issued: 02/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/11/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Evident Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: Hashimoto, Yuichiro, Kawanabe, Hideyuki, Hirano, Ryuichi, Shirota, Tetsuya
• Primary Examiner(s): TANG, KAREN C
• Application Number:
  US11/593,216
• Publication Number:
  US 20070115542A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,933 Days
• Field of Search: 348 68- 70
• US Class Current: 348/79
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 21/365 Control or image processing arrangements for digital or video microscopes G02B21/361, G02B21/362 take precedence

Abstract

A microscope system having a selectively mountable optical element, comprises: a first noncontact type storage medium, being equipped in the optical element, for enabling a noncontact readout of information externally; and a first readout unit for reading information non-contactingly from the first noncontact type storage medium, wherein the first noncontact type storage medium stores information related to the optical element.

Claims

1. A microscope system comprising:

a microscope body including an optical element which is selectively mounted and which attributes to a setup of an observation condition;

a first noncontact type storage medium which is provided to the optical element, and which stores information related to the optical element, wherein a noncontact readout of information from the first noncontact type storage medium is performed from outside of the optical element;

a first readout unit which reads the information non-contactingly from the first noncontact type storage medium;

a display unit which displays the information related to the optical element read by the first readout unit;

an image pickup unit which picks up an image via the optical element; and

a photography information obtainment unit which obtains photography information including setup information of the image pickup unit at a time of picking up the image;

wherein the display unit further displays the image picked up by the image pickup unit and information which is read by the first readout unit and which is related to the selectively mounted optical element at a time of picking up the image.

2. The microscope system according to claim 1,

wherein the display unit further displays the photography information obtained by the photography information obtainment unit.

3. The microscope system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a recording unit which adds to the image picked up by the image pickup unit the information which is read by the first readout unit and which is related to the optical element at the time of picking up the image, and the photography information obtained by the photography information obtainment unit, and which records the image with said information read by the first readout unit and said photography information added thereto.

4. The microscope system according to claim 3, further comprising:

a process unit which carries out a process to perform a same setup as a setup of the image pickup unit and the optical element at the time of picking up the image recorded by the recording unit with said information read by the first readout unit and said photography information added thereto, based on said information read by the first readout unit and said photography information.

5. The microscope system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a second noncontact type storage medium, which is provided to a replacable unit of the microscope system which requires a replacement when a total usage time exceeds a predefined length of time, wherein a noncontact readout of information from the second noncontact type storage medium is performed from outside of the unit, and a noncontact writing of information to the second noncontact type storage medium is performed from outside of the unit; and

a read/write unit which reads and writes information from and to the second noncontact type storage medium,

wherein the read/write unit reads and writes a total usage time of the unit from and to the second noncontact type storage medium, and

wherein the display unit displays the total usage time of the unit which is read by the read/write unit.

6. The microscope system according to claim 5, wherein the replacable unit comprises a lamp used as a light source.

7. The microscope system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a write unit which writes information non-contactingly to said first noncontact type storage medium,

wherein the write unit writes group information unique to the microscope system to the first noncontact type storage medium.

8. The microscope system according to claim 7, wherein the first readout unit reads both the information related to the optical element and the group information, from the first noncontact type storage medium.

9. The microscope system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a judgment unit which judges whether or not group information, which is stored in the first noncontact type storage medium and which is read by the first readout unit along with the information related to the optical element, is identical to group information unique to the microscope system,

wherein the information related to the optical element read by the first readout unit along with the group information is not used if the judgemetn unti judges that the group information read by the first readout unit and the group information unique to the microscope system are not identical.

10. The microscope system according to claim 1,

wherein the first readout unit further reads, from noncontact type storage mediums which are within a readable range of the first readout unit and which are respectively provided to optical elements, group information along with information related to the optical elements;

wherein the microscope system further comprises;

a write unit which writes group information unique to the microscope system non-contactingly to the first noncontact type storage medium; and

a judgment unit which judges whether or not the group information, which is read by the first readout unit along with the information related to the optical elements, is identical to the group information unique to the microscope system;

wherein the information related to the optical element read by the first readout unit along with the group information is not used if the judgment unit judges that the group information read by the first readout unit and the group information unique to the microscope system are not identical.

11. The microscope system according to claim 1, wherein the first noncontact type storage medium further stores information unique to the optical element.

12. The microscope system according to claim 11, further comprising:

a second readout unit which reads information non-contactingly from the first noncontact type storage medium,

wherein the second readout unit reads the information unique to the optical element from the first noncontact type storage medium.

13. The microscope system according to claim 12, further comprising a registration unit which registers the information unique to the optical element which is read by the second readout unit.

14. The microscope system according to claim 13, wherein the first readout unit reads both the information related to the optical element and the information unique to the optical element, from the first noncontact type storage medium, and further reads, from noncontact type storage mediums provided to optical elements within a readable range of the first readout unit, information unique to the optical elements.

15. The microscope system according to claim 14, further comprising:

a judgment unit which judges whether or not the information unique to the optical element read by the first readout unit along with information related to the optical element is registered by the registration unit,

wherein the information related to the optical element read by the first readout unit along with the information unique to the optical element is not used if the judgment unit judges that the information unique to the optical element is not registered.

16. The microscope system according to claim 1,

wherein the first noncontact type storage medium further stores information unique to the optical element;

wherein the system further comprises;

a second readout unit which reads the information unique to the optical element non-contactingly from the first noncontact type storage medium;

a registration unit which registers the information unique to the optical element read by the second readout unit; and

a judgment unit which judges whether or not information unique to the optical element read by the first readout unit along with information related to the optical element is registered by the registration unit,

wherein the information related to the optical element read by the first readout unit along with the information unique to the optical element is not used if the judgment unit judges that the information unique to the optical element is not registered.

17. The microscope system according to claim 12, wherein the first readout unit is a readout unit for a long distance, and the second readout unit is a readout unit for a short distance.

18. The microscope system according to claim 1, further comprising:

an optical element unit comprising a plurality of the optical elements,

a second noncontact type storage medium, provided to the optical element unit, wherein a noncontact readout of information from the second noncontact type storage medium is performed from outside of the optical element unit; and

a second readout unit which reads information non-contactingly from the second noncontact type storage medium,

wherein;

the first readout unit reads information related to an optical element which is in use from the first noncontact type storage medium equipped in the optical element from among the plurality of optical elements included in the optical element unit,

the second noncontact type storage medium stores the information related to the optical element read by the first readout unit, and

the second readout unit reads information related to the optical element from the second noncontact type storage medium.

19. The microscope system according to claim 18, wherein:

the first noncontact type storage medium is a short distance noncontact type storage medium,

the first readout unit is a short distance readout unit,

the second noncontact type storage medium is a long distance noncontact type storage medium, and

the second readout unit is a long distance readout unit.

20. The microscope system according to claim 1, wherein the first readout unit collectively reads information of respective optical elements stored in a plurality of first noncontact type media provided to the optical elements in response to a one-time external read instruction.