Patent ID: 7852553
Filing Date: 2010-12-14
Classification: G02B

Abstract:
1. A microscope illumination apparatus, which has at least three kinds of light sources, each of a different emission wavelength region and a different shape and size of a light-emitting section, and supplies emitted light from individual light sources as illumination light for observing a specimen to a microscope boy, the microscope illumination apparatus comprising: collimator lenses converting incident rays into parallel rays, arranged on exit sides of the individual light sources; path sharing means introducing light emerging from the collimator lenses into a common optical path; an imaging lens placed on the common optical path, forming images of the individual light sources introduced into the common optical path through the path sharing means at a common position; and an optical fiber placed so that an entrance end face of the optical fiber is located at a position where the images of the individual light sources are formed through the imaging lens, wherein the path sharing means comprises a turret in which the at least three kinds of light sources and the collimator lenses corresponding to the light sources are held, and by rotation about a center axis, optical axes of each of the light sources and each of the collimator lenses can be aligned with the optical axis of the imaging lens.