IP Library Granted Patent US 9,664,886
Granted Patent B2
US 9,664,886 · App. 14/875,134 · Granted May 30, 2017

Microscope tube lens, microscope apparatus and image pickup optical system

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,664,886
App. No.
14/875,134
Granted
May 30, 2017
Kind
B2
Abstract

A tube lens for a microscope includes, in the order from an object, a first lens group that has positive power and that includes a cemented lens, a second lens group that has negative power, and a third lens group has positive power. The tube lens satisfies the following condition expressions, where NA is a numerical aperture on an image side of the tube lens, FN is a field number of the tube lens, and ε is an airy disk diameter with respect to d line of the tube lens (588 nm): 0.04<NA; and 1700≦FN/ε.

Claims (69)

1. A tube lens that is for a microscope and that forms an enlarged image of an object by being combined with an infinity-corrected objective, the tube lens comprising in an order from an object side:

a first lens group that has positive power and that includes a cemented lens;

a second lens group that has negative power; and

a third lens group that consists of a plurality of lenses each having positive power and that has positive power as a whole, wherein

a following condition expression is satisfied, where FL is a focal length of the tube lens and D2 is a distance from a lens surface that is closest to the object in the tube lens to a position of an entrance pupil of the tube lens:

0.3 <D 2/FL<1.3.

2. The tube lens according to claim 1 , wherein

following condition expressions are satisfied, where FLG1 is a focal length of the first lens group, FLG2 is a focal length of the second lens group, D0 is a distance from a lens surface that is closest to the object in the tube lens to an imaging plane, on which the enlarged image is formed, and D1 is a distance from a lens surface that is closest to the object in the tube lens to a lens surface that is closest to the imaging plane in the tube lens:

0.3<FLG1/FL<3;

−4<FLG2/FL<−0.05; and

0.3< D 1/ D 0<0.8.

3. The tube lens according to claim 1 , wherein

the first lens group includes a first lens having a concave surface facing toward an image side, and

the second lens group includes a second lens having a concave surface facing toward an object side.

4. The tube lens according to claim 3 , wherein

the first lens is a meniscus lens that is arranged closest to an image plane in the first lens group, that has a concave surface facing toward an image side, and that includes a single lens or a cemented lens, and

the second lens is a meniscus lens that is arranged closest to the object in the second lens group, that has a concave surface facing toward an object side, and that includes a single lens or a cemented lens.

5. The tube lens according to claim 4 , wherein

the first lens and the second lens include at least four lenses in total, and

at least one of the first lens and the second lens includes a cemented lens.

6. The tube lens according to claim 5 , wherein

the first lens and the second lens are cemented lenses, respectively.

7. The tube lens according to claim 4 , wherein

at least one of the first lens and the second lens is a cemented lens including a lens having positive power and a lens having negative power, and

a following condition expression is satisfied, where ν1 is a highest Abbe number among Abbe numbers of lenses with positive power included in the cemented lens and νs is a lowest Abbe number among Abbe numbers of lenses with negative power included in the cemented lens:

30<ν1−ν s.

8. The tube lens according to claim 6 , wherein

the first lens and the second lens are cemented lenses each including a lens having positive power and a lens having negative power, and

following condition expressions are satisfied, where ν11 is a highest Abbe number among Abbe numbers of lenses with positive power included in a first cemented lens, which is one of the first lens and the second lens, νs1 is a lowest Abbe number among Abbe numbers of lenses with negative power included in the first cemented lens, ν12 is a highest Abbe number among Abbe numbers of lenses with positive power included in a second cemented lens, which is the other one of the first lens and the second lens, and νs2 is a lowest Abbe number among Abbe numbers of lenses with negative power included in the second cemented lens:

30<ν11−ν s 1; and

25<ν12−ν s 2.

9. The tube lens according to claim 3 , wherein

following condition expressions are satisfied, where RG1 is a curvature radius of the concave surface of the first lens facing toward an image side, RG2 is a curvature radius of the concave surface of the second lens facing toward an object side, NdG2 is a refractive index with respect to d line of the second lens or a refractive index with respect to d line of a lens closest to the object among lenses constituting the second lens, and νdG1 is a highest Abbe number among Abbe numbers of lenses with positive power included in the first lens group:

0<| RG 2/ RG 1|<3;

1.5< NdG 2; and

70< νdG 1.

10. The tube lens according to claim 1 , wherein

the third lens group includes a meniscus lens with positive power having a concave surface facing toward an object side.

11. The tube lens according to claim 1 , wherein

the third lens group comprises:

a third lens with positive power that is arranged closest to the object; and

a fourth lens with positive power that is arranged closest to an image plane, and

a following condition expression is satisfied, where FLG3a is a focal length of the third lens and FLG3b is a focal length of the fourth lens:

0.2<FLG3 b /FLG3 a< 5.

12. The tube lens according to claim 1 , wherein

following condition expressions are satisfied, where NdG3 is a highest refractive index among refractive indexes of lenses included in the third lens group and νdG3 is a lowest Abbe number among Abbe numbers of lenses included in the third lens group:

1.7< NdG 3; and

ν dG 3<45.

13. The tube lens according to claim 1 , wherein

a following condition expression is satisfied, where Ha is a height of an off-axis principal ray when the off-axis principal ray is incident on a lens surface closest to the object in the tube lens and Hi is a height of the off-axis principal ray when the off-axis principal ray is incident on an imaging plane:

0.3< Ha/Hi< 1.

14. The tube lens according to claim 1 , wherein

a following condition expression is satisfied, where Ea is a maximum effective diameter of a lens included in the first lens group and Ec is a maximum effective diameter of a lens included in the third lens group:

−0.04<( Ea−Ec )/FL<0.03.

15. A microscope apparatus comprising

a tube lens according to claim 1 .

16. A microscope apparatus according to claim 15 , further comprising

an image pickup element that picks up the enlarged image of the object formed by the tube lens, wherein

a following condition expression is satisfied, where L is a pixel size of the image pickup element:

1 μm≦L≦17 μm.

17. An image pickup optical system comprising:

an infinity-corrected objective; and

a microscope tube lens, wherein

the microscope tube lens includes in an order from an object side:

a first lens group that has positive power and that includes a cemented lens;

a second lens group that has negative power; and

a third lens group that consists of a plurality of lenses each having positive power and that has positive power as a whole, and

a following condition expression is satisfied, where FL is a focal length of the tube lens and D2 is a distance from a lens surface that is closest to an object in the tube lens to a position of an entrance pupil of the tube lens:

0.3 <D 2/FL<1.3.

Assignments (5)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 25, 2023
From: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
To: EVIDENT CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 062492/0267 →
CHANGE OF ADDRESS Recorded Apr 25, 2017
From: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
To: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 042327/0487 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE INCORRECT SERIAL NUMBER 14875143 PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 036940 FRAME 0828. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE ASSIGNMENT. Recorded Jan 5, 2016
From: FURUYA, YO
To: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 037493/0174 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 18, 2015
From: FURUYA, YO
To: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 037070/0434 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 2, 2015
From: FURUY, YO
To: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 036940/0828 →