GB1338173A - Endoscopes having a photographic camera associated therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

1338173 Endoscopic photography RICHARD WOLF GmbH 19 April 1971 [10 March 1970] 22535/71 Heading G2A In an endoscope having an attached camera for photographing body cavities, the light reflected from the object being photographed passes through a beam splitter, part of the light being reflected to a photo-electric light-evaluating device. The camera shown is of the reflex type, the mirror 9 which reflects light along the path 12 to the viewfinder being swung out of the path to the film 10. The illuminating source is a flash tube (not shown), the light from which passes along a light-conducting cable 5 into the endoscopic shaft 7 and is conveyed to the far end thereof. The reflected light passes through the optical system 2 of the camera of the film 10. In its path is a beam splitter 8 formed by two prisms, which reflects about 10% of the incident light down to a photoresistor device 11. This measures the quantity of light received, and by means of an integrating circuit arrangement switches off the tube after the light reaches an optimum value. Thus a photographic exposure may be made without any adjustment of the lens aperture being required. The beam splitter may be disposed before the camera optical system, as at position 16, instead of after it, in which case the photo-electric device is also mounted similarly, as at 18.