Micromanipulator for inverted-design microscope

A micromanipulator for an inverted design microscope comprising:

• a stage on which a specimen is to be placed;
• a needle carrier disposed between the stage and the condenser lens which is located above the stage, said needle carrier supporting a transparent needle which is substantially aligned in the direction of an optical axis of observation;
• an hydraulically operable drive mechanism mounted on said stage for causing a vertical movement of the needle carrier;
• a source of hydraulic pressure for supplying a hydraulic pressure to the hydraulically operable drive mechanism;
• said needle carrier including a centering mechanism for centering the transparent needle, said needle carrier centering mechanism comprising an annular support frame fixedly mounted on a vertically movable member of the hydraulic drive mechanism and surrounding the optical axis, and a needle holder disposed within the support frame so as to be movable in a plane orthogonal to the direction of the optical axis for carrying the transparent needle, the central portion of the needle holder being formed of a transparent material.

A micromanipulator for an inverted design microscope comprising:

• a stage on which a specimen is to be placed;
• a needle carrier disposed between the stage and the condenser lens which is located above the stage, said needle carrier supporting a transparent needle which is substantially aligned in the direction of an optical axis of observation;
• an hydraulically operable drive mechanism mounted on said stage for causing a vertical movement of the needle carrier;
• a source of hydraulic pressure for supplying a hydraulic pressure to the hydraulically operable drive mechanism;
• said centering mechanism comprising an annular centering frame which is urged toward the center of the annular support frame by an abutment screw including a spring and an abutment pin and a threaded shaft having a centering knob, both the abutment screw and the threaded shaft being threadably engaged with the support frame, a turning of the centering knob causing a protracting and a retracting movement of the threaded shaft to center the transparent needle in a plane orthogonal to the optical axis.

A micromanipulator for an inverted design microscope comprising:

• a stage on which a specimen is to be placed;
• a needle carrier disposed between the stage and a condenser lens which is located above the stage for carrying a glass needle of the manipulator in the direction of an optical axis of observation;
• an hydraulic drive mechanism including a first hydraulic unit fixedly mounted on the stage for causing a vertical movement of the needle carrier;
• a focussing unit including a movable focussing handle;
• a second hydraulic drive mechanism including a second hydraulic unit responsive to a focussing operation, the said hydraulic drive unit being joined to said focussing handle associated with an objective lens, said focussing handle determining the stroke through which the objective lens has moved in terms of the amount of angular movement of a fine motion handle associated with the focussing handle;
• and
• a source of hydraulic pressure for providing an interconnection between the hydraulic drive units and connected to an hydraulic drive system through a hydraulic transmission tube.

A micromanipulator removably attached to a microscope including a microscope stage, said micromanipulator comprising:

• a needle carrier disposed between the stage and a condenser lens which is located above the stage, said carrier supporting a transparent needle which is substantially aligned in the direction of the optical axis of observation;
• hydraulic drive means arranged on said stage including a first hydraulic unit for causing movement of the needle carrier;
• a second hydraulic unit for supplying hydraulic pressure to the first hydraulic unit, characterized in that said second hydraulic unit has a second hydraulic drive mechanism including a stop to limit the delivery of hydraulic pressure to said first hydraulic unit;
• a third hydraulic drive mechanism;
• and
• said second and third hydraulic drive mechanism both delivering hydraulic pressure to said first hydraulic drive unit when operated.