B&L (or Cambridge) PhotoZoom inverted microscope?

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wporter
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B&L (or Cambridge) PhotoZoom inverted microscope?

#1 Post by wporter » Sat Sep 01, 2018 2:42 am

I am looking for documentation (manuals, etc.) for the B&L (later Cambridge) PhotoZoom inverted microscope.

All I've been able to find, so far, is a patent from 1990 patenting the external arrangement & styling of the scope.

Sorolla
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Re: B&L (or Cambridge) PhotoZoom inverted microscope?

#2 Post by Sorolla » Mon Feb 10, 2020 8:38 am

Good morning
          I also look for the same and I have 9 pages of the manual. I also know who has it.
What is the patent link?

Greetins Francisco

apochronaut
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Re: B&L (or Cambridge) PhotoZoom inverted microscope?

#3 Post by apochronaut » Mon Feb 10, 2020 4:27 pm

I'm pretty sure the manufacturing was by Kyowa. Probably, a custom job but there may be a similar Kyowa instrument sans the zoom. My info. says they were only mfg. from 1986-88.
Objectives were like this , https://www.ebay.com/itm/BAUSCH-LOMB-OB ... XQjwVQ~fkF si?

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wporter
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Re: B&L (or Cambridge) PhotoZoom inverted microscope?

#4 Post by wporter » Mon Feb 10, 2020 5:35 pm

The ornamental design is downloadable from here (USD308879, 1990): http://www.freepatentsonline.com/D308879.html

The rubber objective turret cover patent (!) along with a lot more (!?), is detailed here (US 4,770,520, 1988): http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4770520.html

Why the patent 4,770,520 has much more detail than just the rubber turret cover is a mystery to me, unless it was a sneaky way of patenting the rest of the microscope design also?

apochronaut
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Re: B&L (or Cambridge) PhotoZoom inverted microscope?

#5 Post by apochronaut » Mon Feb 10, 2020 11:14 pm

It would be pretty hard to patent an inverted microscope in 1986 but certain aspects of the design might be patentable. Describing the context of a device's patent application in as great a detail as possible , can only help to secure the patent.

here is the basic U.S. application. https://patents.google.com/patent/USD304592 for the cover.

Some of the components of the microscope itself already had patents on them, such as the zoom mechanism and many others are not really patentable, since there is nothing unique about them. The binocular head looks like a Kyowa, similar to the late 80's Jentsch versions and this appeared right in the era of the Galen II, a Kyowa microscope. My guess is that it was either made in Japan, or assembled from a combination of Kyowa made and Rochester made parts in Rochester from a design that originated at Kyowa. The zoom concept came from B & L of course.

Sorolla
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Re: B&L (or Cambridge) PhotoZoom inverted microscope?

#6 Post by Sorolla » Tue Feb 11, 2020 5:09 pm

The microscope manual is held by the group of science museums in England.
The documentation officer is called Anne Sharman and the contact link is:
documentationonline@sciencemuseum.ac.uk

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