Patent ID: 8213081

Claim:
An objective replacement device for a microscope, comprising: a specimen chamber having a specimen located therein surrounded by an immersion medium inside the specimen chamber, said specimen being arranged so as to be positioned and oriented relative to a lens focus, light from said specimen creating a detection beam, the detection beam path being parallel to an optical axis of an objective lens, said path being perpendicular to gravity, a system for exchanging said lens for at least one other selected lens while keeping the specimen within the specimen chamber that is filled with the immersion medium in an unchanged position and orientation, and wherein a plurality of lenses project through a wall of said specimen chamber, whereby lens side ends of said plurality of lenses are positioned inside the specimen chamber, and image-side ends are positioned outside the specimen chamber, and said plurality of lenses, in an area of lead-through through the specimen chamber wall, are connected to the specimen chamber wall so as to provide a hermetic seal against said immersion medium, and said specimen chamber wall being movably mounted in a guide, which is hermetically sealed against the immersion medium, and which is moveable by said guide together with the plurality of lenses relative to other walls of said specimen chamber so that, by moving the specimen chamber wall, a selected lens of said plurality is positioned in the detection beam path.