Specimen holder transfer mechanism for an electron microscope

Claim 1

A specimen chamber of an electron microscope and the like apparatus, comprising 1. a specimen stage located across an electron beam path in the main portion of the apparatus, 2. means for moving said specimen stage finely in two directions perpendicular to the electron beam path from the outside of the apparatus, 3. a specimen storage and exchanging compartment located adjacent to said specimen stage for holding a plurality of specimens, 4. rotary mount means supporting a plurality of specimen holders in said compartment for holding specimens to be analyzed, 5. a sealing gate for sealing said compartment and said specimen stage from each other, 6. means for moving said sealing gate from the outside of the apparatus, 7. an exhaust tube for introducing air into or exhausting air from said compartment, 8. specimen holder transfer means mounted within the apparatus for transferring any one of the specimen holders from said compartment onto said specimen stage, 9. means outside the compartment for rotating said rotary mount means to sequentially position the specimen holders in alignment with the transfer means, and 10. means for operating the specimen holder transfer means from the outside of the apparatus, wherein said specimen holder transfer means comprises a. a principal body mounted in the path of the electron beam and being rotatable about an axis perpendicular to the axis of the path of the electron beam and having an electron beam passage transverse to the axis of rotation of the principal body, b. means for rotating said principal body from the outside of the apparatus, c. a cylinder having an axial passage for the electron beam for holding and moving the specimen holder between said compartment and said specimen stage and being mounted in electron beam passage of said principal body for rotation therewith and being movable in said principal body relative thereto in a direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the principal body, a longitudinally extending portion of the peripheral wall of the cylinder being pivotable about a pivot pin provided at a preselected position between one end and the other end of the longitudinally extending portion, said one end having a hook and a tapered portion for engaging a specimen holder, d. holding means for forcing the one end of the longitudinally extending portion towards the inside of the cylinder to thereby hold the specimen holder between the one end of the longitudinally extending portion and the inner surface of the cylinder, e. releasing means for releasing the hold on the specimen holder between the one end of the longitudinally extending portion and the inner surface of the cylinder, and f. means for operating the cylinder and the releasing means from the outside of the apparatus.