Microscope stand with protected turret

Claim 1

A microscope including an eyepiece assembly, a rotatable lens turret, at least one objective lens mounted on said lens turret, said microscope further including a microscope stand, said stand having front and rear portions including an eyepiece and lens turret mounting structure, said structure extending generally horizontally in a direction from the rear portion of said stand towards the front portion of said stand, said stand including means defining a recess in a lower surface of said structure, said recess extending towards an upper surface of said structure, said recess defining a recessed surface, said eyepiece assembly mounted on said upper surface and said lens turret rotatably mounted on said recessed surface, said recessed surface recessed from a lower surface of said structure and at an angle with the horizontal, said recessed surface slopes downwardly away from said rear portion of said stand, said recessed surface being sufficiently close to said upper surface such that said lens turret and said eyepiece assembly are operatively mounted to obviate the necessity of an intervening tube lens, said recess contributing to define a weakened portion of said structure, said structure further including means for strengthening said weakened portion, said strengthening means comprises at least one vertical web along said structure, said web having a greater vertical thickness adjacent said recess than the vertical thickness of said structure in said recess.