IP Library Granted Patent US 8,982,457
Granted Patent B2
US 8,982,457 · App. 13/615,561 · Granted Mar 17, 2015

Microscope system and illumination intensity adjusting method

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 8,982,457
App. No.
13/615,561
Granted
Mar 17, 2015
Kind
B2
Abstract

A microscope system and an illumination intensity adjusting method that can automatically adjust an illumination intensity when a bright-field illumination system and a dark-field illumination system are simultaneously used are provided. The microscope system includes: a stage on which a specimen is placed; an objective lens that converges observation light from at least the specimen S on the stage; a bright-field illumination unit configured to emit bright-field illumination light that is illumination light aperture to the specimen for a bright-field observation; a dark-field illumination unit configured to emit dark-field illumination light that is illumination light aperture to the specimen for a dark-field observation; and an illumination intensity control unit configured to adjust an illumination intensity of at least one of the bright-field illumination light and the dark-field illumination light according to the illumination intensity of the other one.

Claims (18)

1. A microscope system comprising:

a stage on which a specimen is placed;

an objective lens that converges observation light from at least the specimen on the stage;

a bright-field illumination unit configured to emit bright-field illumination light that is illumination light applied to the specimen for a bright-field observation;

a dark-field illumination unit configured to emit dark-field illumination light that is illumination light applied to the specimen for a dark-field observation;

an illumination intensity control unit configured to adjust an illumination intensity of one of the bright-field illumination light and the dark-field illumination light based on an illumination intensity of the other of the bright-field illumination light and the dark-field illumination light; and

a control unit configured to execute a simultaneous irradiation process by controlling the bright-field illumination unit and the dark-field illumination unit to simultaneously emit the adjusted bright-field illumination light and the adjusted dark-field illumination light, respectively, after the illumination intensity has been adjusted by the illumination intensity control unit.

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

an imaging unit configured to capture an image of the specimen to which the bright-field illumination light and the dark-field illumination light are respectively applied,

wherein the illumination intensity control unit adjusts the illumination intensity based on a ratio of exposure times when the imaging unit captures the image of the specimen to which the bright-field illumination light is applied and when the imaging unit captures the image of the specimen to which the dark-field illumination light is applied.

3. The microscope system according to claim 2 , wherein the illumination intensity control unit adjusts the illumination intensity of the one of the bright-field illumination light and the dark-field illumination light which has a shorter exposure time than the other of the bright-field illumination light and the dark-field illumination light.

4. The microscope system according to claim 1 , further comprising an input unit configured to accept input of a ratio of the illumination intensity of the bright-field illumination light and the illumination intensity of the dark-field illumination light.

5. The microscope system according to claim 4 , wherein the input unit comprises a touch panel.

6. An illumination intensity adjusting method comprising:

irradiating a specimen placed on a stage with dark-field illumination light that is illumination light for a dark-field observation to capture a first image of the specimen;

irradiating the specimen with bright-field illumination light that is illumination light for a bright-field observation to capture a second image of the specimen;

adjusting an illumination intensity of one of the dark-field illumination light and the bright-field illumination light based on a ratio of exposure times when the first image of the specimen is captured in the dark-field imaging and when the second image of the specimen is captured in the bright-field imaging; and

after the adjusting the illumination intensity, executing a simultaneous irradiation process by simultaneously emitting the adjusted bright-field illumination light and the adjusted dark-field illumination light.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 25, 2023
From: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
To: EVIDENT CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 062492/0267 →