Supports – Suspended supports – Adjustable
Patent
1993-06-23
1994-10-04
Foss, J. Franklin
Supports
Suspended supports
Adjustable
2481231, A47H 110
Patent
active
053519256
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a device for supporting and positioning a microscope. An application for such a device lies in the field of microsurgery, and also in numerous other fields requiring high accuracy work with the assistance of a microscope. Motor-driven devices are known in the state of the art for adjusting surgical microscopes in which the apparatus suspended vertically from a support or on a stand is capable of being displaced in six or seven degrees of freedom. However, when the portion of the object under observation is not plane, or when the surface in question is observed at a certain angle of incidence, displacement causes focus to be lost since the trajectories generated do not take place on the optical axis. It is then necessary to constantly readjust the focus of the microscope lens. This gives rise to manifest discomfort in use and is highly prejudicial during microsurgical operations.
Proposals have also been made in the prior art for devices in which the microscope is supported so as to be capable of pivoting about a first axis perpendicular to the optical axis and about a second axis that is substantially vertical. When the magnification of the microscope is very low, such an embodiment is acceptable. However, under all circumstances, rotation causes the observer to see the point of aim moving in the field of view. The user is thus continually constrained to recenter the field of view. In addition, focusing is maintained for certain types of displacement only.
Since considerable progress has been made in micromanipulation both in surgery and in other fields such as precision engineering, it has become clear that known types of microscope support suffer from drawbacks that handicap an operator. Part of an operator's attention and effort must be devoted to adjusting the positioning and focusing of the microscope.
To remedy those drawbacks, an object of the present invention is to provide a microscope support of great stability and of ergonomic design that facilitates positioning of the microscope by the operator. In addition, a preferred embodiment of the device makes it possible to control displacements of the microscope along trajectories that are monitored and controlled in a frame of reference that includes the line of sight. More particularly, the present invention provides a device for supporting and positioning a microscope, the device comprising a support suitable for being tied to a fixed frame of reference, and a plate suitable for supporting a microscope, an intermediate moving element being connected firstly to said support via a first series of motor-driven hinged members of parallel structure providing three Cartesian degrees of freedom and to said plate by a second series of motor-driven members of gimbal-type structure providing three degrees of freedom in rotation. In a particular embodiment, the device further includes control means generating control signals that are used by a computer for displacing the microscope in the frame of reference that includes the line of sight of said microscope in a plane perpendicular to the line of sight and/or around a sphere centered on the image focal point of the objective lens of the microscope and having a radius corresponding substantially to the focal length of said objective lens.
The operator is thus no longer required to take any action for controlling the focus or the trajectory of the microscope.
In a preferred embodiment, the series of motor-driven hinged members of parallel structure providing three Cartesian degrees of freedom is constituted by three arms movable in rotation about axes secured to said support, said axes being coplanar. The opposite ends of each of said three arms are connected to the moving element by means of respective link bars. Three actuators secured to the support control the movements of said three moving arms. The other series of motor-driven hinged members advantageously has three degrees of freedom in rotation about three perpendicular axes. That makes six degrees of freedom, namely thre
REFERENCES:
patent: 3809454 (1974-05-01), Brambring
patent: 4344595 (1982-08-01), Heller
patent: 4531816 (1985-07-01), Baumgartel
patent: 4684088 (1987-08-01), Heller
patent: 4741607 (1988-05-01), Heller
patent: 4867405 (1989-09-01), Nakamura
patent: 5186422 (1993-02-01), Nakamura
patent: 5205522 (1993-04-01), Nakamura
patent: 5213293 (1993-05-01), Muentener
Deemed International
Foss J. Franklin
LandOfFree
Device for supporting and positioning a microscope does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Device for supporting and positioning a microscope, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Device for supporting and positioning a microscope will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-576597