Claims
- 1. A microscope system in which an objective lens for observing an observation object can be relatively moved in a direction of an optical axis with respect to a stage on which the observation object is mounted, said microscope system comprising:
(i) a detector for detecting non-contact and contact between the observation object and the objective lens, and for outputting a detection signal which is changed depending on one of the detected non-contact and a degree of the detected contact in a use condition of the microscope system, wherein the detection signal is varied in accordance with a change of the use condition of the microscope; (ii) a judging section comprising:
storing means for storing a default threshold value corresponding to a contact state in the use condition; setting means for setting the default threshold value as a first reference threshold value in a first timing, resetting the first reference threshold value, and setting a second reference value in a second timing based on the detection signal output by the detector in a state in which the observation object is separated from the objective lens; and a comparator for comparing the first reference threshold value with the detection signal to generate a contact signal in a period between the first and second timing, and for comparing the second reference threshold value with the detection signal to generate a contact signal after the second timing; and (iii) a controller for controlling relative movement of the stage and the objective lens in response to the contact signals output by the comparator.
- 2. The microscope system according to claim 1, wherein:
the judging section includes a state detector for detecting a first separation state to generate a first separation state signal and for detecting a second separation state to generate a second separation state signal; the observation object and the objective lens are separated from each other by at least a predetermined distance in the first separation state; the objective lens focuses on the observation object in the second separation state; and the setting means resets the first reference threshold value based on an output from the detector in response to one of the first and second separation state signals.
- 3. The microscope system according to claim 2, wherein when the first and second separation state signals are not generated for a predetermined period, the setting means returns the second reference threshold value to the first threshold value after the elapsed predetermined period.
- 4. The microscope system according to claim 1, wherein the detector comprises a pressure sensor which detects a contact pressure between the observation object and the objective lens.
- 5. The microscope system according to claim 1, wherein the detector comprises an electrical capacitance sensor which detects an electrical capacitance between the observation object and the objective lens.
- 6. The microscope system according to claim 5, wherein the objective lens comprises an end part opposed to the observation object, and the electrical capacitance sensor is provided at the end part of the objective lens.
- 7. The microscope system according to claim 2, wherein the detector comprises a pressure sensor which detects a contact pressure between the observation object and the objective lens and the first reference threshold value is preset based on a thickness and conductivity of the observation object in advance.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
2001-069121 |
Mar 2001 |
JP |
|
Parent Case Info
[0001] This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/094,722 filed on Mar. 11, 2002.
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10094722 |
Mar 2002 |
US |
Child |
10794163 |
Mar 2004 |
US |