Portable compact microscope

Claim 1

A compact portable microscope for vertical viewing of slides comprising; a. a generally rectangular housing divided into a lower base section and an upper cover section, said sections being interconnectable by fastening means, b. a horizontally mounted direct path optical system located within said housing consisting of an eyepiece containing a single lens at one end of a light tube and an objective containing two lenses at the opposite end of said light tube, rotable focus means intermediate said eyepiece and objective forming part of said light tube and adapted to move said objective toward or away from said eyepiece as said focus means is rotated, c. a spring tensioned movable slide holder in said housing at the forward end of said light tube having a central aperture into which the objective protrudes, d. a vertically disposed slide slot just forward of said slide holder which slot is defined by said slide holder at the rear and by a centrally apertured slide retainer at the front said slot extending through the vertical width of said housing by means of apertures in both the base and cover portions of said housing, e. a light deflecting prism forward of said apertured slide retainer said light deflecting prism being in alignment with said light tube, eyepiece and objective, f. a light source and a diffuser each being positioned relative to said light deflecting prism and out of alignment with said light tube so that when said light source is lighted the light rays will pass through said diffuser and be deflected through said light deflecting prism, through said slide slot and along said light tube, and g. an adjustable energy source located within said housing and interconnected with said light source, comprising battery means, an on-off switch and a potentiometer.