Method for illuminating an object in a digital light microscope, digital light microscope and bright field reflected-light illumination device for a digital light microscope

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017219811-A1
Application number	US-201715485756-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 12, 2017
Priority date	Apr 19, 2013
Publication date	Aug 3, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for illuminating an object in a digital light microscope, to a digital light microscope, and to a bright field reflected-light illumination device for a digital light microscope. According to the invention, the bright field reflected-light illumination and the dark field reflected-light illumination are configured with light-emitting diodes as light sources and are individually or jointly drivable via a control unit. Both the bright field reflected-light illumination and the dark field reflected-light illumination are configured as “critical” illumination, in which the light source is imaged into the object plane.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method for illuminating an object in a digital light microscope,
wherein a bright field reflected-light illumination is effected by means of an illumination device comprising light-emitting diodes ( 01 ) as light sources, wherein a dark field reflected-light illumination is effected by means of a ring illumination device comprising light-emitting diodes ( 17 ) as light sources, said ring illumination device being mechanically and electrically coupleable to an objective of the light microscope, wherein the bright field reflected-light illumination and the dark field reflected-light illumination are separately drivable and superimposable and each configured ascritical illumination, in which an image of the light source is projected into an object plane.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein bright field reflected-light illumination and dark field reflected-light illumination are effected by means of white-light LEDs ( 01 , 17 ).

3 . The method according to claim 1 ,
wherein the ring illumination device is drivable via an electronic interface of the objective, and wherein individual or all light-emitting diodes ( 01 , 17 ) are driven.

4 . A digital light microscope for examining an object, comprising:
an objective; a bright field illumination device; a dark field illumination device; and a control unit, wherein the bright field illumination device comprises at least one light-emitting diode ( 01 , 16 ) as a light source, and the dark field illumination device is embodied as ring illumination comprising at least two light-emitting diodes ( 17 ) as light sources and is coupled to the objective via an electronic interface, wherein the bright field illumination device and the dark field illumination device are individually or simultaneously drivable via the control unit and are configured as critical illumination, in which an image of a light source is projected into an object plane ( 13 ).

5 . A bright field reflected-light illumination device for a digital light microscope comprising:
at least one light source embodied as light-emitting diode ( 01 , 16 ), wherein the at least one light source is configured as critical illumination, in which an image of the light source is projected into an object plane.

6 . The bright field reflected-light illumination device according to claim 5 ,
wherein the light source is a semiconductor white-light LED ( 01 ) and a homogenizer is arranged in the beam path of the bright field reflected-light illumination device, a field stop ( 07 ) having a rectangular cross section being provided at the output of said homogenizer, and wherein the rectangular cross section has the same aspect ratio as an image sensor of the light microscope.

7 . The bright field reflected-light illumination device according to claim 6 , wherein the homogenizer is a light mixing element.

8 . The bright field reflected-light illumination device according to claim 7 , wherein the light mixing element realizes a 90° deflection of the light between an entrance opening and an exit opening for the light.

9 . The bright field reflected-light illumination device according to claim 6 wherein the homogenizer is a hollow-waveguiding light mixing rod ( 06 , 14 ) having a rectangular cross section.

10 . The brightfield reflected-light illumination device according to claim 6 , wherein the size of the field stop ( 07 ) is variable.

Assignees

• Zeiss Carl Microscopy Gmbh

Inventors

• Tandler Hans
• Knoblich Johannes
• Stehr Dominik
• Gaiduk Alexander
• Geissler Enrico
• Buchheister Jan
• Funck Max

Classifications

• G02B21/125 Primary

  affording both dark- and bright-field illumination · CPC title

• G02B21/082

  for incident illumination only · CPC title

• G02B21/084

  having annular illumination around the objective · CPC title