Patent ID: 7262910

Claim:
An optical object investigation device, comprising a microscope having an object area, in which an object to be investigated is to be placed, an observation beam path, which leads from the object area to an image area, and at least one illumination beam path connected to a light input for illuminating the object area, and an illuminator having a light source wherein the illuminator is connectable to the light input with a light output, characterised in that the illuminator comprises optical components, which define a plurality of light paths originating from the light source; in at least one of the plurality of light paths a light conditioning arrangement is provided, in order to supply the microscope with conditioned light via the light output; the illuminator comprises at least one light path selector unit, which comprises a plurality of input light path portions assigned in each case to a different one of the plurality of light paths and at least one output light path portion leading to the light output or to an assigned one of a plurality of light outputs of the illuminator; a control unit controlling the light path selector unit is provided, whereby the light path selector unit is selectively adjustable between a plurality of selector states in such a way that, when the light path selector unit is in an appropriate selector state, each of the plurality of light paths is selectively connected as a selected light path via the output light path portion to the light output or via a predetermined or selected output light path portion to a predetermined or selected light output, in order to supply the microscope with light or conditioned light from the selected light path; the control unit is designed to adjust the light path selector unit in a selected time sequence in accordance with a predeterminable selection program in a defined manner between its selector states and to provide defined adjustment times for adjusting the light path selector unit between its selector states; and the light path selector unit comprises at least one optical light deflector element adjustable between a plurality of selection positions, wherein each selector state is achieved on the basis of at least one selection position of the at least one optical light deflector element, light which is incident via the assigned selected light path being diverted in the respective selector state into the output light path portion or into the predetermined or selected output light path portion and light which is incident via a respective non-selected light path not being diverted into any output light path portion.