Stage apparatus, method of controlling stage apparatus, and microscope system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10948706-B2
Application number	US-201615566844-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 21, 2016
Priority date	May 1, 2015
Publication date	Mar 16, 2021
Grant date	Mar 16, 2021

Abstract

A stage apparatus comprises an incremental scale fixed to a movable unit and having a predetermined length shorter than a distance the movable unit can move in a first direction, a first and a second sensor that are arranged in the first direction with an interval therebetween shorter than the predetermined length, and a detection unit that detects an origin point position set in a movable range of the movable unit. In an origin return, if the movable unit is at a position at which both the first sensor and the second sensor can read the scale, the apparatus moves the movable unit to the origin point position by a predetermined distance, then moves the movable unit at a lower speed until the origin point position is detected.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A stage apparatus, comprising:
an incremental scale fixed to a movable unit and having a predetermined length shorter than a distance the movable unit can move in a first direction as a movable range;
first and a second sensors which read the scale and that are arranged in the first direction with an interval therebetween shorter than the predetermined length, wherein the first and second sensors obtain information on movement of the movable unit in the first direction;
a detection unit configured to detect that the movable unit has reached an origin point position set in the movable range; and
a movement control unit configured to perform an origin return that moves the movable unit to the origin point position,
wherein, if the movable unit is at a position at which both the first sensor and the second sensor can read the scale, the movement control unit executes, in the origin return, a first movement that causes the movable unit to move a predetermined distance toward the origin point position, and, after the first movement, when the first sensor reads the scale and the second sensor does not read the scale, a second movement that causes the movable unit to move at a lower speed than the first movement until the detection unit detects that the movable unit has reached the origin point position.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the first sensor is arranged closer to the origin point position than the second sensor, and
the movement control unit executes the first movement by reading the scale by the first sensor.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein
if the second sensor can read the scale but the first sensor cannot read the scale, the movement control unit executes a third movement that moves the movable unit toward the origin point position, and executes the first movement when the movable unit comes to a position at which the scale can be read by both of the first sensor and the second sensor.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein a speed of the third movement is a speed in the first movement.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein, if the first sensor, when starting the origin return, can read the scale but the second sensor cannot read the scale, the movement control unit executes a fourth movement that moves the movable unit in an opposite direction to the origin point position, and executes the first movement when the movable unit comes to a position at which the scale can be read by both of the first sensor and the second sensor.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, after causing the movable unit to move toward the origin point position, the movement control unit manages the position of the movable unit while the first sensor and the second sensor can read the scale, by performing a handover of reading of the scale between the first sensor and the second sensor.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the movement control unit executes the origin return at a time of power activation.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the movement control unit executes the origin return if a value of the scale read by the first sensor or the second sensor enters a reset state.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a position signal processing circuit for processing signals from the first and second sensors and generating a position signal,
wherein the movement control unit is implemented by an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit) executing a program, and obtains the position of the movable unit from the position signal processing circuit.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an AD converter configured to convert signals from the first and second sensors into digital signals,
wherein the movement control unit is implemented by an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit) executing a program, and obtains the position of the movable unit from the conversion unit.

11. A method of controlling a stage apparatus,
the stage apparatus comprising:
an incremental scale fixed to a movable unit and having a predetermined length shorter than a distance the movable unit can move in a first direction as a movable range;
first and a second sensors which read the scale and that are arranged in the first direction with an interval therebetween shorter than the predetermined length, wherein the first and second sensors obtain information on movement of the movable unit in the first direction; and
a detection unit configured to detect that the movable unit has reached an origin point position set in the movable range of the movable unit,
the method comprising:
in an origin return that moves the movable unit to the origin point position, performing a first movement, if the movable unit is at a position at which both the first sensor and the second sensor can read the scale, in which the movable unit is caused to move a predetermined distance toward the origin point position; and
performing a second movement, after the first movement, when the first sensor reads the scale and the second sensor does not read the scale, in which the movable unit is caused to move at a lower speed than in the first movement until the detection unit detects that the movable unit has reached the origin point position.

12. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer for controlling a stage apparatus, the stage apparatus comprising:
an incremental scale fixed to a movable unit and having a predetermined length shorter than a distance the movable unit can move in a first direction as a movable range;
first and a second sensors which read the scale that are arranged in the first direction with an interval therebetween shorter than the predetermined length, wherein the first and second sensors obtain information on movement of the movable unit in the first direction; and
a detection unit configured to detect that the movable unit has reached an origin point position set in the movable range of the movable unit,
the program comprising computer executable code to execute:
in an origin return that moves the movable unit to the origin point position, performing a first movement, if the movable unit is at a position at which both the first sensor and the second sensor can read the scale, in which the movable unit is caused to move a predetermined distance toward the origin point position; and
performing a second movement, after the first movement, when the first sensor reads the scale and the second sensor does not read the scale, in which the movable unit is caused to move at a lower speed than in the first movement until the detection unit detects that the movable unit has reached the origin point position.

13. A microscope system comprising a stage apparatus as a stage for placing a slide, wherein the stage apparatus comprises:
an incremental scale fixed to a movable unit and having a predetermined length shorter than a distance the movable unit can move in a first direction as a movable range;
first and second sensors which read the scale and that are arranged in the first direction with an interval therebetween shorter than the predetermined length, wherein the first and second sensors obtain information on movement of the movable unit in the first direction;
a detection unit configured to detect that the movable unit has reached an origin point position set in the movable range; and
a movement control unit configured to perform an origin return that moves the movable unit to the origin point position,
wherein, if the movable unit is at a position at which both the first sensor and the second sensor can read

Assignees

• Canon Kk
• Canon Precision Inc

Inventors

• Ando Hirotake
• Aizu Seiyo

Classifications

• H04N23/54

  Mounting of pick-up tubes, electronic image sensors, deviation or focusing coils · CPC title

• G01B5/0004

  Supports (G01B5/025 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01D5/347

  using displacement encoding scales · CPC title

• G02B21/26 Primary

  Stages; Adjusting means therefor · CPC title

• H04N5/2253

  Electricity · mapped topic