Adjustable pinhole device of confocal microscope

Abstract

The invention discloses an adjustable small hole device of a confocal microscope, which comprises a base, two blade mounting seats, blades fixedly arranged on the blade mounting seats and a driving mechanism for driving the blade mounting seats to move, and is characterized in that the blades are provided with original light through holes which are overlapped to form light through small holes; the device is characterized in that the driving mechanism comprises a driving cam, a bearing mounting seat and a bearing arranged on the bearing mounting seat, the bearing mounting seat is provided with an elastic device so that the bearing can be tightly attached to the driving cam, the blade mounting seat is provided with a guide device, and the blade mounting seat and the bearing mounting seat are connected through matching of a sliding rotating shaft and a sliding groove. The device has the advantages that the movement of the bearing seat is pushed by the transfer of the driving cam, the movement of the bearing mounting seat is converted into the linear movement of the blades towards the two sides through the mutual matching of the sliding rotating shaft and the sliding groove and the combination of the sliding rotating shaft and the sliding groove and the guide device, the light through holes are enlarged or reduced, the center offset is reduced, the light utilization rate is improved, and the repetition precision is high.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a confocal microscope, in particular to an adjustable pinhole device of the confocal microscope. Background Art

[0002] Existing confocal microscopes such as Figure 1 As shown, it includes: a laser source 101, a semi-transparent and semi-reflective mirror 102, an objective lens 103, a sample 104, a pinhole device 105 and a light detection device 106. The laser source 101 is used to emit laser light; the semi-transparent and semi-reflective mirror 102 can be a dichroic mirror. In the path of the laser light from the laser source 101 to the sample 104, the semi-transparent and semi-reflective mirror 102 is used to allow the laser light to pass through and reach the objective lens 103, and the objective lens 103 focuses the laser light on the surface of the sample 104; the sample 104 generates fluorescence under the action of the laser light, and the fluorescence passes through the objective lens 103 and is focused on the other side of the objective lens 103, wherein the semi-transparent and semi-reflective mirror 102 reflects the fluorescence so that the fluorescence is focused at the position of the pinhole device 105, so that the fluorescence generated by the sample on the focal plane of the objective lens 103 on the sample side can pass through the pinhole device 105 and be received by the light detection device 106.

[0003] The design of the pinhole effectively prevents background noise interference caused by impurity signals (such as dust fluorescence, contamination on the back of the sample, fluorescence signals from glass, common dust particles in the air, and fluorescence contamination from the scanner optical components). For general confocal imaging, usually only the central part of the diffraction-limited signal is allowed to be transmitted through the pinhole. This central part is called the "Airy disk". The size of the Airy disk depends on the wavelength (color), numerical aperture NA, magnification of the objective lens, and magnification of the internal optical system of the microscope. Therefore, for different colors and different objectives with different NA and magnification, the required pinhole diameter is different, so the diameter of the pinhole device of the confocal microscope is usually adjustable.

[0004] The Chinese invention patent with the publication number CN 104849212 A discloses a pinhole device such as Figure 2As shown, the pinhole device includes: a stepper motor 110, two movable sliders 200, two sheet loading platforms 300 and two sheets 120, the front end of the screw of the stepper motor 110 is provided with a pin nut 100, the first sides of the two movable sliders 200 are both arranged on the same bearing 500, the two movable sliders 200 can rotate around the bearing 500, the sheets 120 are arranged on the sheet loading platform 300, the sheet loading platforms 300 are respectively arranged on the movable sliders 200, and a hole 130 is respectively arranged in the two sheets 120, and the pinhole 140 is formed by the holes 130 of the two sheets 120 being superimposed up and down, and the size of the pinhole 140 is determined by the size of the superimposed area of ​​the holes 130 of the two sheets 120; the linear motion of the pin nut 100 is controlled by the stepper motor 110 and the two movable sliders 200 are rotated, and the size of the pinhole 140 is adjusted by the rotation of the movable slider 200. The technical solution adopts a stepper motor as a drive, realizes electrical control, and is easy to accurately position and control.

[0005] However, there is usually a gap between the stepper motor lead screw and the nut, which will cause repeated gaps when the small hole opens and closes, resulting in only one-way control during software control or the need to increase the compensation gap. In addition, when the two movable sliders rotate, they will not only open to both sides of the motor, but also have a displacement in the direction of motor movement, which will cause the center of the small hole to shift when it opens and closes. Summary of the invention

[0006] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an adjustable pinhole device for a confocal microscope with small center deviation and high repeatability.

[0007] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve the above-mentioned technical problems is: an adjustable pinhole device for a confocal microscope, comprising a base, two blade mounting seats, a blade fixedly arranged on the blade mounting seats and a driving mechanism for driving the blade mounting seats to move, the blades are provided with original light-through holes, and the two original light-through holes are overlapped to form the light-through pinhole, the driving mechanism comprises a driving cam, a bearing mounting seat and a bearing arranged on the bearing mounting seat, the bearing mounting seat is provided with an elastic device to make the bearing close to the driving cam, the blade mounting seat is provided with a guide device, the blade mounting seat and the bearing mounting seat are connected to each other through the cooperation of a sliding shaft and a sliding groove, when the driving cam rotates to push the bearing to drive the bearing mounting seat to move, the bearing mounting seat drives the blade mounting seat to move the blade in a straight line to both sides under the action of the guide device, thereby expanding or shrinking the light-through pinhole.

[0008] Compared with the prior art, the advantage of the present invention is that the movement of the bearing seat is driven by the rotation of the driving cam, and the movement of the bearing mounting seat is converted into linear movement of the blades to both sides through the mutual cooperation of the sliding shaft and the sliding groove and the combination with the guide device, thereby expanding or shrinking the light-transmitting hole; the hole device of the present invention is continuously adjustable, the center offset is reduced, the light utilization rate is improved, and two-way control can be realized to improve the repeatability.

[0009] The adjustable aperture device of the present invention is used to adjust the aperture size. When the side length of the square aperture ranges from 0 to 300 microns, the minimum adjustment step can reach 0.6 microns, the center offset can basically reach less than 4 microns, and the repeatability can reach within 5 microns.

[0010] Preferably, the guide device comprises a fixed block fixedly arranged on the base, the fixed block is provided with a guide groove, the blade mounting seat is provided with at least one guide column, and the guide column is inserted into the guide groove. The blade mounting seat is usually provided with two guide columns, which can ensure that the movement of the blade mounting seat is more stable and reliable.

[0011] Preferably, the sliding shaft is arranged on the blade mounting seat, and the sliding groove is arranged on the bearing mounting seat. Alternatively, the sliding groove is arranged on the blade mounting seat, and the sliding shaft is arranged on the bearing mounting seat.

[0012] Preferably, the elastic device is an elastic pick, one end of the elastic pick is fixedly arranged on the base, and the bearing mounting seat is fixedly connected to the free end of the elastic pick.

[0013] Preferably, the driving cam is driven by a steering gear, the steering gear is fixedly mounted on the base, and the driving cam is fixedly arranged on a steering gear rotating wheel of the steering gear.

[0014] Preferably, a section of the outer contour line on the driving cam whose radius increases continuously and evenly with the angle is an Archimedean curve, and the bearing is tightly attached to the Archimedean curve position of the driving cam. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of an existing confocal microscope; Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of an adjustable small hole device in the prior art; Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the adjustable small hole device of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the adjustable small hole device of the present invention after removing the fixed block; Figure 5It is a top view of the adjustable small hole device of the present invention after removing the fixing block when the small hole is in zero position; Figure 6 This is a top view of the adjustable small hole device of the present invention after removing the fixing block when the small hole is at its largest.

[0016] Figure 3~Figure 6 The numbers in the figure are: 1. base; 2. servo; 3. driving cam; 4. guide column; 5. guide groove; 6. fixing block; 7. elastic paddle; 8. bearing mounting seat; 9. bearing; 10. sliding shaft; 11. sliding groove; 12. blade mounting seat; 13. blade; 14. light hole; 15. servo wheel. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0018] Example: Figure 3~Figure 6 As shown, an adjustable pinhole device for a confocal microscope comprises a base 1, a steering gear 2, a driving cam 3, a fixing block 6, two elastic paddles 7, two bearing mounting seats 8 and two blade mounting seats 12, wherein the two ends of the elastic paddle 7 are respectively a fixed end and a free end, the fixed end is fixedly connected to the base 1, and the bearing mounting seat 8 is fixedly mounted on the free end of the elastic paddle 7, so that the bearing mounting seat 8 can make a small-angle arc motion around the fixed end of the elastic paddle 7; the steering gear 2 is fixedly mounted on the base 1, the driving cam 3 is fixedly mounted on the steering gear rotating wheel 15 of the steering gear 2, a section of the outer contour line of the driving cam 3 whose radius continuously and evenly increases with the angle is an Archimedes curve, the bearing 9 is arranged on the bearing mounting seat 8, and the bearing 9 is closely attached to the Archimedes curve position of the driving cam 3 by means of the elastic paddle 7, when the steering gear 2 drives the driving cam 3 to rotate, the bearing 9 is pushed to drive the bearing mounting seat 8 to make a small-angle arc motion around the fixed end of the elastic paddle 7; the blade 13 is fixedly mounted on the blade mounting seat 12, and the end of the blade 13 A notch is provided as an original light-through hole, and the original light-through holes on the two blades 13 overlap with each other to form a light-through hole 14; a sliding shaft 10 is provided on the blade mounting seat 12, and a sliding groove 11 is provided on the bearing mounting seat 8. The blade mounting seat 12 and the bearing mounting seat 8 are connected to each other through the cooperation of the sliding shaft 10 and the sliding groove 11. The fixing block 6 is fixedly arranged on the base 1, and a guide groove 5 is provided on the fixing block 6. Two guide columns 4 are provided on the blade mounting seat 12. The guide columns 4 are inserted into the guide groove 5 to guide the moving direction of the blade mounting seat 12. When the steering gear 2 rotates, the driving cam 3 rotates to push the bearing 9 to drive the bearing mounting seat 8 to make a small-angle arc movement around the fixed end of the elastic paddle 7. Through the sliding shaft 10 and the sliding groove 11 that cooperate with each other, the bearing mounting seat 8 applies a driving force to the blade mounting seat 12. Under the guiding action of the mutually cooperating guide columns 4 and the guide groove 5, the blade mounting seat 12 drives the blade 13 to move linearly to both sides, so that the light-through hole 14 is enlarged or reduced.

[0019] In the above embodiment, the positions of the sliding groove 11 and the sliding shaft 10 can be interchanged, that is, the sliding shaft 10 can be arranged on the bearing mounting seat 8 and the sliding groove 11 can be arranged on the blade mounting seat 12 .

[0020] The working principle of the adjustable small hole device of the present invention is as follows: When the driving cam 3 is at the initial position, the light-passing hole 14 is also at the initial position. Figure 5 As shown, at this time, the diameter of the circumscribed circle of the light-transmitting aperture 14 is 0; the cam 3 is driven by the rotation control of the steering gear 2 to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise to control the opening and closing of the blade 13. When the steering gear 2 rotates counterclockwise, the blade 13 opens to both sides, and the size of the light-transmitting aperture 14 increases, as shown in FIG. Figure 6 As shown, at this time, the shape of the light-transmitting hole 14 is square, and the maximum circumscribed circle diameter of the light-transmitting hole 14 is 300 microns; when the servo 2 rotates clockwise, the blades 13 overlap toward the middle, and the size of the light-transmitting hole 14 is reduced. When the servo 2 rotates to the initial angle, the light-transmitting hole 14 is closed.

Claims

1. An adjustable pinhole device for a confocal microscope, comprising a base, two blade mounting seats, blades fixedly mounted on the blade mounting seats, and a driving mechanism for driving the blade mounting seats to move, wherein the blades are provided with original light holes, and the two original light holes are superimposed to form a light pinhole, characterized in that The driving mechanism includes a driving cam, a bearing mounting seat and a bearing arranged on the bearing mounting seat. The bearing mounting seat is provided with an elastic device to make the bearing close to the driving cam. The blade mounting seat is provided with a guide device. The blade mounting seat and the bearing mounting seat are connected to each other through the cooperation of a sliding shaft and a sliding groove. When the driving cam rotates to push the bearing to drive the bearing mounting seat to move, the bearing mounting seat drives the blade mounting seat to make the blade move back and forth in a straight line to both sides under the action of the guide device, thereby expanding or shrinking the light-transmitting hole.

2. The adjustable aperture device for a confocal microscope as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that The guide device comprises a fixed block fixedly arranged on the base, the fixed block is provided with a guide groove, and the blade mounting seat is provided with at least one guide column, and the guide column is inserted into the guide groove.

3. The adjustable aperture device for a confocal microscope as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that The blade mounting seat is provided with two guide columns.

4. The adjustable aperture device for a confocal microscope as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that The sliding shaft is arranged on the blade mounting seat, and the sliding groove is arranged on the bearing mounting seat.

5. The adjustable aperture device for a confocal microscope as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that The elastic device is an elastic pick, one end of which is fixedly arranged on the base, and the bearing mounting seat is fixedly connected to the free end of the elastic pick.

6. The adjustable aperture device for a confocal microscope as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that The driving cam is driven by a steering gear, the steering gear is fixedly mounted on the base, and the driving cam is fixedly arranged on the steering gear rotating wheel of the steering gear.

7. The adjustable aperture device for a confocal microscope as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that The outer contour line of the driving cam whose radius increases continuously and evenly with the angle is an Archimedean curve, and the bearing is tightly attached to the Archimedean curve position of the driving cam.

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