Microscope-Illuminating System

My present invention relates to a microscope-illuminating system utilizing the Kohler principle of illumination.

According to the well-known Kohler principle, the image of a light source is projected through a collective lens by way of a first diaphragm onto an image plane of a microscope objective for illumination of its object plane. It is also known in such a system to insert a pair of axially spaced diaphragms between the light source and the objective, i.e. a first diaphragm proximal to the source serving as a field stop and a second diaphragm remote from the source acting as an aperture stop; the latter diaphragm lies in the image plane of the microscope objective. Since the filaments of the ordinary incandescent lamps produce a disjointed image, a diffuser such as a plate with a matt finish is generally disposed behind the lamp to scatter its light rays. In many instances, moreover, it is necessary to provide a protective heat filter or special cooling means.

The object of my present invention is to provide an illuminating system of the character described which uses cold light, thus eliminating the need for heat-protective means, and which does not require the interposition of light-scattering surfaces between the primary source and the microscope objective.

In accordance with my present invention, an aerial image of a fluorescent lamp serving as the light source is produced just ahead of the aperture-control diaphragm by collective lens means positioned between the two diaphragms, preferably close to the field-control diaphragm and remote from the aperture-control diaphragm, the same collective lens means serving to focus the field-control diaphragm at infinity whereby an image of that diaphragm is formed at a focal plane of the microscope objective, namely the aforementioned object plane, which is illuminated by rays from the aerial lamp image.

If necessary, the apparent position of the fluorescent lamp may be moved even closer to the collective lens means (thereby allowing a shortening of the focal lengths from the latter) by the insertion of dispersive lens means between the lamp and the field-control diaphragm proximal thereto.

The luminous intensity of such a fluorescent lamp can be readily varied by controlling its energizing voltage or current.

The above and other features of my invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a conventional microscope-illuminating system based on Kohler's principle;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1, showing my present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a view like FIG. 2 but illustrating a modification designed for the illumination of larger fields of view.

FIG. 1 shows a conventional illumination system in accordance with Kohler's principles wherein an aerial image of the filament of a lamp 1 is formed in the plane of an aperture-control diaphragm 5 by a convergent lens 3, the filament image being homogenized by a diffuser element 2. A diaphragm 4 disposed in front of the image plane is focused onto an object plane 7 by a condensing objective 6.

In contrast to this conventional system, FIG. 2 shows a fluorescent lamp 8 disposed at an appropriate distance from a diaphragm 9 whcih defines the image field. An ancillary lens system 10, 11 forms an aerial lamp image 14 immediately ahead of an aperture stop 12 preceding a condensing microscope objective 13. Field diaphragm 9 is disposed in the front focal plane of the ancillary lens system 10, 11. It is focused at infinity by lenses 10, 11 so that via the condenser 13 an image of this field-control diaphragm the light is formed in the object plane 15. Means for controlling the operating current of lamp 8 to vary the light intensity have been indicated diagrammatically at 17. A weak yellow filter, not shown, may be used to block objectionable ultraviolet radiation.

In cases where, for better illumination of the field of light, a greater overall length is required to determine the sizes in which the lamp image is depicted, I prefer to insert a supplemental lens 16 the ray path between lamp 8 and field stop 9 as shown in FIG. 3. This is necessary if, in consideration of the size of the aperture stop 12, lens system 10, 11 must have a very short focal length.

The novel illuminating system according to my invention makes it possible for the first time expediently to employ cold light while fulfilling Kohler's conditions of illumination so that the diaphragm delineating the light field and also the location of the light-source image are properly associated with the path of the light rays in the microscope. The short and compact structure which is made possible by this arrangement makes it possible with almost any microscope equipped with a condenser to carry out Kohler's illumination properly in conjunction with cold light.