JP2000147389A - Endoscopic system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the consumption of a battery, power consumption and the shortening of the life of a lamp caused by forgetting to turn off a lamp switch or misoperation by turning on/off a light source switch by clamping the operation part of an endoscope and releasing the clamping. SOLUTION: The clamping part of an endoscope operation part is provided with electrodes 21 and 22 functioning as a set of electrode parts contacting and conducting when the clamping part is clamped, so that electrostatic capacity is changed, and a detection circuit 61 detecting the change of the electrostatic capacity of the electrodes 21 and 22 and a control circuit 62 turning on/off the lamp 30 based on the detected result by the circuit 61 are formed on a substrate 50 inside the battery unit of a battery type light source, Thus, the lamp 30 is turned on/off by clamping the clamping part of the endoscope operation part and releasing the clamping, so that the consumption of the battery 45, the power consumption and the shortening of the life of the lamp caused by forgetting to turn off the lamp switch or the misoperation are prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus, and more particularly to an endoscope apparatus characterized by turning on and off a light source.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, endoscope apparatuses are widely used in medical and industrial fields. In the endoscope apparatus, since a diagnosis or inspection target site is inside a living body, or inside a plant, equipment, or the like, means for illuminating these inspection target sites is required. For this reason,
In a general endoscope device, a light source device is prepared as an external device of the endoscope, and illumination light from a lamp attached to a light source unit in the light source device is guided to a light guide fiber provided in the endoscope. The illumination light guided by the light guide fiber is emitted from the illumination window on the distal end side of the insertion portion to illuminate the inspection target site. The light source device,
Generally, a lamp inside the light source device is turned on using a power supply supplied from a commercial power supply.

On the other hand, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-22490
In the endoscope device described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6 (1994) -1995, a battery-type light source using a battery such as a dry battery as a power supply is detachably attached to an operation unit of the endoscope. The endoscope device in which such a battery-type light source is detachably attached to the operation unit is easy to carry and can be used in a place without a power source, so that it is suitable for use in an emergency or outdoors. I have.

[0004] The proposed endoscope apparatus for detachably attaching a battery-type light source to an operation section of an endoscope is a small rotary knob provided with a switch for turning on and off a lamp in a light source body. Since it is a switch or a push-type push button switch, and it is difficult to distinguish whether the switch is on or off, it is easy to forget to turn off the switch. Furthermore, after using the endoscope device, the endoscope device is stored by holding the endoscope device on an endoscope hanger or the like. In some cases, the light was left in a lit state without noticing the light emitted from the part. For this reason, when the endoscope is used again, the use of the endoscope apparatus may be hindered due to a dead battery or the like. Also, when the endoscope device is prepared before use or when the endoscope device is not intended, such as when the endoscope device is washed, the lamp light switch may be pressed by mistake to turn on the lamp. There was a problem.

A well-known light source device that guides illumination light to an endoscope via a light guide cable detachably connected to an operation section of the endoscope in place of the battery-type light source is disclosed. In the endoscope device used, there is a risk that the lamp may be left as it is lit due to forgetting to turn off the light source switch or erroneous operation as described above, in which case the lamp power is consumed more than necessary or the lamp life is shortened. There was a problem of doing it.

[0006]

An endoscope apparatus for detachably attaching the battery type light source to an operation section of the endoscope comprises:
Since the lamp continues to be turned on even when it is not necessary due to forgetting to turn off the light source switch or an erroneous operation, the battery may be depleted and it may be difficult to use the endoscope again. Further, in the endoscope device using a light source device for guiding illumination light to the operation unit of the endoscope in place of the battery type light source, when the endoscope is not required due to forgetting to turn off the light source switch or erroneous operation. There is a problem that the lamp remains lit and consumes more lamp power than necessary and shortens the life of the lamp.

The present invention has been made in view of these circumstances, and turns on and off a light source switch such as a battery-type light source or a normal light source device by gripping an operation portion of an endoscope and releasing the grip. It is an object of the present invention to provide an endoscope apparatus provided with a light source capable of preventing battery consumption, power consumption, and reduction in lamp life due to forgetting to turn off a light source switch or erroneous operation.

[0008]

To achieve the above object, an endoscope apparatus according to the present invention comprises a light source for supplying illumination light to an illumination optical system provided in the endoscope, and an exterior part of the endoscope. At least one set of electrode units, a detection circuit connected to the electrode units for detecting a change in impedance between the electrode units, and control for adjusting an output of the light source based on a detection result of the detection circuit. And a circuit. With this configuration, the on / off of the light source switch is performed by gripping the operation unit of the endoscope and releasing the grip,
It is possible to prevent the battery from being consumed, power consumption, and lamp life from being shortened due to forgetting to turn off the lamp switch or erroneous operation.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 7 relate to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a main configuration of an endoscope apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a battery-type light source detachably attached to a light guide base of FIG. FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram illustrating an electric circuit of the battery-type light source of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 illustrates a light source device to which a tip of a light guide cable detachably attached to a light guide base is attached. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an illuminance confirmation device that measures the illuminance of irradiation light of the endoscope by inserting the distal end portion of the endoscope, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the illuminance confirmation device in FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a battery voltage and a use time.

An endoscope apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes an endoscope 2
A lamp unit 3 detachably connected to the endoscope 2 and a battery-type light source 5 including, for example, a dry cell type or a non-rechargeable battery unit 4 having a built-in dry cell detachably mounted on the lamp unit 3; A light guide cable 6 is detachably connected to the endoscope 2 instead of the lamp unit 3.

The endoscope 2 includes an elongated insertion section 7, an operation section 8 provided at a rear end of the insertion section 7, and an operation section 8.
And a light guide base 10 protruding from the side of the operation unit 8. A connection base 11 of the lamp unit 3 is attached to and detached from an end of the light guide base 10. It can be connected freely.

The insertion portion 7 has a distal end portion 12 formed at the distal end thereof, a bending portion 13 formed at the rear end of the distal end portion 12, and a bendable portion 13. And a flexible portion 14 having flexibility formed up to the front end.

The operating section 8 is provided with a bending operation lever 16 at the rear end side of a grip 15 gripped by an operator, and the bending section 13 can be bent by rotating the bending operation lever 16. it can. The operation unit 8 is provided with a suction button 17 for performing a suction operation and a suction base 18 protruding from near the base end of the suction button 17. The suction base 18 is suctioned through a tube (not shown). By operating the suction button 17 connected to the apparatus, a body fluid or the like can be sucked through the suction mouthpiece 18 communicating with the suction channel.

Further, a forceps insertion port 19 for inserting a treatment tool such as forceps is formed on the front side of the operation unit 8, and the forceps insertion port 19 communicates with the suction channel inside. Usually, a forceps stopper 20 is attached to the forceps insertion port 19.

A light guide fiber for guiding (transmitting) illumination light is inserted into the insertion portion 7, and the light guide fiber passes through an operation portion 8 and a rear end thereof is fixed in a light guide base 10, and the light guide fiber is connected to the light guide fiber. When the lamp 30 mounted inside the lamp unit 3 emits light by connecting the lamp unit 3 to the light guide base 10, the illumination light from the lamp 30 emits light from the light guide base 1.
0 is supplied to the light incident end face of the light guide fiber.
The supplied illumination light is guided by the light guide fiber, is emitted forward from an illumination window of the distal end portion 12, that is, a light emission end face, and illuminates a subject such as an affected part.

The illuminated subject forms an optical image at an image forming position by an objective lens attached to an observation window adjacent to the illumination window. The distal end face of the image guide fiber is arranged at this image forming position, and transmits the formed optical image to the end face on the eyepiece section 9 side. The transmitted optical image can be magnified and observed through an eyepiece attached to an eyepiece window of the eyepiece 9.

The gripper 15 has electrodes 21 and 22 for detecting that the endoscope 2 has been gripped.
Is provided on the exterior surface. These electrodes 21 and 22
The electrode has a sufficient and necessary area for the capacitance to change, and the surgeon wears rubber gloves to grip the grip portion 15, and grips the electrodes 21 and 22 by hand. 21 and the electrode 22 are brought into contact with each other to change the capacitance. The electrodes 21 and 22 are provided at positions where the endoscope can be grasped by hand during operation.

In this embodiment, the electrode 21 and the electrode 2
2 is transmitted to a detection circuit formed on a substrate provided inside the battery unit 4 of the battery-type light source 5 described later, and based on the detection result of this detection circuit,
Similarly, the lamp is turned on and off under the control of a control circuit formed on the substrate.

The light guide base 10 has a contact 23 for making contact with the connection base 11 of the lamp unit 3,
24 is provided, and is electrically connected to the electrodes 21 and 22 through the inside of the endoscope. The light guide base 10 has a connection base 25 at the front end of the light guide cable 6 through which the light guide fiber is inserted.
Can be connected. Then, by connecting the light guide connector 26 at the rear end of the light guide cable 6 to a light source device to be described later shown in FIG. 4, illumination light from a lamp inside the existing light source device is supplied. The light is guided through the light guide fiber inside, and the guided illumination light can be supplied to the light guide fiber on the endoscope 2 side.

Next, referring to FIG.
The structure of a battery-type light source 5 to which a non-rechargeable battery unit (hereinafter, battery unit) 4 is connected as an example will be described. The lamp unit 3 is made of an insulating member that can withstand the heat of the lamp 30 and is formed in a substantially columnar shape. A through hole is provided in the upper side surface, and a connection base 11 is fixed to one open end side. A storage section 35 from which the lamp holder 32 to which the lamp 30 is mounted can be stored and mounted from the other open end.
Are formed.

A lens frame 37 to which a condenser lens 36 is attached in a water-tight manner is fixed to one opening end of the storage section 35 in a water-tight manner with an adhesive or the like. A connection base 11 for detachably connecting to the light guide base 10 on the side by screwing is prevented from coming off and rotatably mounted. The lens frame 37 is provided with contacts 33 and 34 that contact and communicate with the contacts 23 and 24 formed on the light guide base 10.

A lamp 30, such as a halogen lamp, a xenon lamp, a vacuum lamp, or an LED, can be mounted in the lamp holder 32. The lamp 30 is mounted on the insulating lamp holder 32 by a conductive lamp fixture 38. The lamp fixture 38 is fixed to the screw portion by screwing.
Are electrically connected to contact points on the side surface of the lamp 30. The lamp holder 32 is provided with a contact fitting 39 having one end contacting a contact at the bottom of the lamp 30.
The other end of the contact fitting 39 is fixed so as to be exposed at one location on the outer peripheral surface of the lamp holder 32. On the outer peripheral surface of the lamp holder 32, an O-ring 41 is attached to the lamp unit 3.
In close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the storage section 35 to ensure watertightness on the inner side thereof. Further, a conductive contact pin 42 is disposed on the lamp unit 3 so as to be able to protrude and retract from an opening communicating with the storage section 35 from below, and the contact pin 42 has elasticity and a coil spring 43 having conductivity. The tip of the lamp 30 is urged so as to protrude into the storage portion 35 from the opening, and is electrically connected to the rear end contact of the lamp 30 via the contact fitting 39.

Further, a pair of outlets 44 made of a conductive material are provided at the bottom in the lamp unit 3.
a and 44b are fixed. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, by inserting a conductive plug 47 attached to a battery unit main body 46 formed of an insulating member of a battery unit 4 containing a battery 45 such as a dry battery. In addition, it is attached to the outlet 44 so that conduction between the two can be achieved. Then, the contact pin 42 is connected to the contact fitting 39.
In this state, power from a battery 45 such as a dry battery is supplied to the outlet 44 via the plug 47. One end of the outlet 44a is connected to a coil spring fixing portion 48 to which the coil spring 43 is fixed, and the other end is connected to a substrate 50 described later by a terminal 51. On the other hand, the outlet 44b is connected to the board 50 via a terminal 52.

The substrate 50 is electrically connected to the lamp fixture 38 and the terminal 53 through the through-hole 35a, and further, the contacts 33 and 34 of the connection base 11 and the terminals 54 and 5 are connected.
5 is electrically connected.

The battery unit 4 includes an O-ring 4 housed in a circumferential groove provided on the inner periphery of the lower end of the lamp unit 3.
The outer periphery of the upper end of the battery unit main body 46 is tightly attached to 6a in a watertight state. The battery unit 4 has a case 56 that covers the battery unit main body 46, and the O-ring 46b ensures watertightness with the battery unit main body 46. Inside the battery unit body 46, for example, two dry batteries 45a,
45b or the like can be stored.
The bottom electrodes of the dry batteries 45a and 45b
8, and the upper electrode is electrically connected to each of the pair of plugs 47.

With this configuration, the lamp 30 is turned on and off by the operation of the electric circuit 60 of the substrate 50, the electrodes 21, 22, the lamp 30, and the lamp fixture 38.
This is performed by conduction and non-conduction of the path between the board 50 and the outlets 44a and 44b.

This electric circuit 60 is, as shown in FIG.
Electrodes 21 and 22 for changing the capacitance formed on the grip 15, contacts 23 and 24, and contacts 33 and 34 (formed on a lens frame 37 bonded and fixed to the connection base 11 of the lamp unit 3). Through the terminal 5 of the substrate 50
4 and 55 are electrically connected. Also,
The electric circuit 60 is configured to introduce the electric power supplied from the battery 45 at the terminal 51 and supply the electric power from the terminal 53 to the lamp 30.

The electric circuit 60 includes the electrode 21 and the electrode 22 (by gripping the grip 15 of the endoscope operating section 8).
And a control circuit 62 for turning on and off the lamp 30 based on the detection result.

The detection circuit 61 includes an impedance bridge 64 composed of resistors R1 and R2 and a capacitor C1 for detecting a change in capacitance, and a battery for facilitating the detection of an impedance change in the impedance bridge 64. Oscillator (OSC) 65 and amplifier 66 for converting the voltage of AC voltage 45 into an AC voltage and applying the same, differential amplifier 67 for amplifying a balance change output from impedance bridge 64 via resistors R3 and R4, and amplification R5, R6 that feeds back the output to the positive electrode
And a capacitor C2.

The control circuit 62 compares the output from the detection circuit 61 with a comparison voltage supplied from the battery 45 via the resistors R7 and R8, and based on the output of the comparator 68, It comprises a field effect transistor (hereinafter, FET) 69 for conducting a path from the path of the terminal 51 connected from the battery 45 to the substrate 50 to the lamp 30 via the terminal 53 connected to the lamp 30.

When the surgeon grasps the grasping portion 15 of the endoscope operation section 8 by the electric circuit configured as described above, the dielectric property between the electrodes 21 and 22 changes, and the capacitance increases. This increase in capacitance lowers the voltage at both input terminals of the impedance bridge 64 and causes a negative change in the voltage between the input terminals of the differential amplifier 67. Is output to the plus direction of the detector 68. The output input to the positive side of the comparator 68 is compared with the reference voltage input to the negative side. The output of the comparator 68 is output to the FET 69. If the comparator 68 has a voltage input higher than the reference voltage, the FET 6
9 turns on. The FET 69 is connected to the lamp 3 from the path of the terminal 51 connected from the battery 45 to the substrate 50.
The path leading to the lamp 30 via the terminal 53 connected to 0 is made conductive. When the FET 69 is turned on in this manner, the lamp 30 is turned on.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

When it is difficult to use the existing light source device, for example, when the environment in which the endoscopic examination is performed is away from the place where the existing light source device is installed, the endoscope 2 and the lamp are used. The user carries the unit 3 and the battery unit 4 that drives the lamp 30 used in the lamp unit 3. When the endoscope inspection is performed, the connection base 11 of the lamp unit 3 is connected to the light guide base 10 of the endoscope 2.
Are connected by screwing. The plug 47 of the battery unit 4 is pushed into the outlet 44 of the lamp unit 3 in advance, and the lamp holder 32 is mounted on the lamp unit 3 in a connected state. In this state, when the endoscope operation is performed by gripping the grip 15 of the endoscope operation unit, the electrodes 21 and 22 are gripped by the electrodes 21 and 22.
Is changed, the lamp 30 is turned on, and observation becomes possible. When the endoscope inspection is completed and the endoscope device is hung on a hanger or handed over by an operator to a nurse or the like, the grasping portion 15 is no longer grasped.
The hand is separated from the electrode 1 and the electrode 22, and the lamp 30 is turned off.

As described above, the lamp 30 is surely used except when the lamp 30 is used.
Is turned off, so there is no battery drain due to forgetting to switch off. In addition, even if the battery runs out during use, if the battery unit 4 is prepared in advance,
Since the battery unit 4 can be easily replaced, the battery unit 4 can be replaced with almost no interruption of the endoscopic inspection.

The light source device to which the light guide connector 26 at the rear end of the light guide cable 6 detachably connected to the light guide base 10 is connected, for example,
As shown in FIG. 4, the detection circuit 61 (see FIG. 3) is provided, and the electrode 21 and the electrode 22 are gripped by hand by gripping the grip 15 of the endoscope operation unit 8 and releasing the grip. The lamp 30 may be turned on and off based on a change in the capacitance between the electrode 21 and the electrode 22 due to the release of the grip. In the light source device 70, a terminal 70 that is in contact with and conducts with the contacts 26a and 26b formed on the light guide connector 26 at a connection portion 71 to which the light guide connector 26 at the rear end of the light guide cable 6 is detachably attached.
a, 70b are formed, and the change in the capacitance of the electrodes 21, 22 formed on the grip portion 15 is changed by the contacts 23, 24 formed on the light guide base 10 and the light guide cable 6 at the rear end. Via the contacts 26a, 26b formed on the light guide connector 26, the terminals 70a,
70b.

In the light source device, for example, similarly to the detection circuit 61 described with reference to FIG. 3, a change in the capacitance of the electrodes 19 and 20 is detected by the detection circuit 72, and a detection signal of the detection circuit 72 is sent to the control circuit 73. Then, the control circuit 73 turns on the lamp power supply 75 of the light source lamp 74, or controls the control circuit 73 to control an aperture driving circuit 78 that drives an aperture driving unit 77 that opens and closes the aperture 76 (that is, standby). (Operating from the state to the operating state).

The light source device 70 constructed as described above is connected to the light guide connector 26 at the rear end of the light guide cable 6, and the end portion 15 of the endoscope in this state is gripped so that the electrodes 21 and 22 are connected. The gripping by hand enables the output of the light source lamp 74, and when not in use, releases the gripping of the gripping portion 15 of the endoscope to release the electrode 2
Since the hand is separated from the electrode 1 and the electrode 22, unnecessary light is not output.

By the way, regarding the remaining amount of the battery of the battery type light source 5 which is detachably connected to the light guide base 10, there is no method for accurately measuring the remaining amount, so a spare battery must be prepared in advance. I had to. Therefore, if the remaining amount of the battery can be accurately measured, the life of the battery can be predicted, so that it is not necessary to replace the battery unit during the inspection in a hurry.

This method of measuring the remaining battery capacity can be realized by, for example, an illuminance confirmation system using an illuminance confirmation device 80 shown in FIG. The illuminance checking device 80 has an insertion hole 81 formed at a side portion for inserting a distal end portion of an endoscope, and a light receiving element is provided at the back of the insertion hole 81 (see FIG. 6). Further, on the upper surface, a switch 82 for starting measurement at the time of illuminance measurement and a display panel 83 for predicting and displaying the remaining time are provided.

The internal circuit of the illuminance checking device 80 includes, for example, as shown in FIG.
It comprises a / D converter 86, a computing unit 87 and a display device 88.

When the distal end portion 12 of the endoscope is inserted into the hole 81 of the illuminance checking device 80 thus configured and the lamp is turned on, the light emitted from the lamp is received by the light receiving element 84.

The light receiving element 84 outputs a light receiving signal based on the received irradiation light.

The output light receiving signal is amplified by an amplifier 85 and converted into a digital signal by an A / D converter 86. The remaining time of the received light signal converted into the digital signal is estimated and calculated by the arithmetic unit 87 from the relationship between the received light level and the remaining time. The result of the prediction calculation is displayed on the display device 8.
It is indicated by 8.

FIG. 7 shows the relationship between the battery voltage and the operating time. Since the brightness of the lamp is proportional to the battery voltage, the usage state of a battery such as a battery can be predicted from the measured illuminance. Here, “a” indicates the initial use of the battery, “b” indicates that the battery can be continuously used, and “c” indicates the time of battery replacement. By this, the usage state of the battery can be understood, but since the battery has the characteristic that only the voltage comes out even if there is no energy due to the polarization phenomenon, the illuminance is lower and darker than the measured voltage when the lamp is actually turned on. There is.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the use time area of the battery is divided into three parts of initial use, continuation of use, and replacement time, and is displayed on the display device 88 of the illuminance confirmation device 80 according to the illuminance level. Like that. Table 1 shows the display categories.

[0046]

[Table 1] In Table 1, when the illuminance is “> 80%”, the initial a, “>”
80% -70%>"can be used continuously a, b," 70%
<> Is the battery replacement time a, b, c.

With this display division, the operation of the display device 88 causes the level indicator on the display panel 83 to display the state of the battery.

By using the illuminance confirmation system using the illuminance confirmation device 80, the illuminance check is performed before using the endoscope device, so that the remaining amount of the battery is accurately measured in advance, and the Since the life of the battery can be predicted, the battery can be replaced in advance. Therefore, it is not necessary to replace the battery unit during the inspection in a hurry.

In the endoscope apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the illuminated subject is observed through the eyepiece 9 provided at the rear end of the insertion section 7. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an image pickup device for picking up an image of a portion to be inspected is provided at the distal end portion 12 of the insertion portion 7, and an image pickup signal from the image pickup device is signal-processed and converted into a video signal, and a display device such as a monitor The present invention may be applied to an electronic endoscope apparatus which projects on a computer.

The endoscope device of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[Supplementary Note] (Supplementary Note 1) A light source for supplying illumination light to an illumination optical system provided in the endoscope, at least one set of electrode units provided on an exterior part of the endoscope, An endoscope, comprising: a detection circuit connected to the electrode unit, for detecting a change in impedance between the electrode units, and a control circuit for adjusting an output of the light source based on a detection result of the detection circuit. Mirror device.

(Additional Item 2) The endoscope apparatus according to Additional Item 1, wherein the control circuit controls on / off of the light source.

(Additional Item 3) The endoscope apparatus according to Additional Item 1 or 2, wherein the control circuit controls an output state from a light blocking state of the light source.

(Additional Item 4) The endoscope apparatus according to additional items 1 to 3, wherein the control circuit controls a predetermined output state from the dimmed state of the light source.

(Additional Item 5) The endoscope apparatus according to additional items 1 to 4, wherein the light source is a portable light source that can be attached to and detached from an operation unit of the endoscope.

(Additional Item 6) The endoscope apparatus according to additional items 1 to 4, wherein the control circuit is provided inside the light source.

(Supplementary note 7) The light source according to Supplementary notes 1 to 4, wherein the light source comprises an external device connected via a connector of a light guide connected to an operation unit of the endoscope. Endoscope device.

(Additional Item 8) The endoscope apparatus according to Additional Item 1, wherein the detection circuit detects a capacitance component of impedance between the electrodes.

(Additional Item 9) The endoscope apparatus according to additional item 1, wherein the electrode portion is provided on an exterior portion of an operation portion of the endoscope.

[0060]

As described above, according to the present invention, the light source switch is turned on and off by gripping the operation section of the endoscope and releasing the grip, so that the lamp switch is forgotten or the erroneous operation consumes battery and power. In addition, the lamp life can be prevented from being shortened.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a main configuration of an endoscope apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the structure of a battery-type light source detachably attached to a light guide base of the endoscope in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram illustrating an electric circuit formed inside the battery-type light source in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a light source device to which a distal end of a light guide cable detachably attached to a light guide base of the endoscope in FIG. 1 is attached.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing an illuminance confirmation device that measures the illuminance of irradiation light of the endoscope by inserting the end of the endoscope.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an illuminance confirmation device in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a battery voltage and a use time.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Endoscope apparatus 2 ... Endoscope 3 ... Lamp unit 4 ... Battery unit 5 ... Battery type light source 6 ... Light guide cable 8 ... Operation part 10 ... Light guide base 11 ... Connection base 15 ... Grip part 20 ... Light source body Parts 21, 22 ... electrodes 23, 24 ... contacts 30 ... lamps 45 ... batteries 60 ... electric circuits 61, 72 ... detection circuits 62, 73 ... control circuits 64 ... impedance bridges 65 ... OSCs (oscillators) 66 ... amplifiers 67 ... differentials Amplifier 69: FET 70: Light source device 80: Illuminance confirmation device

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Katsuji Watanabe 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Inside Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Takashi Suzuki 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olympus Optics (72) Inventor Masaaki Nakazawa 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olympus Optical Industry Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kazutaka Nakachi 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olympus Inside Optical Industry Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Ichiro Nakamura 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Oripus Optical Industry Co., Ltd. (72) Takeshi Nakamura 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Ori F-term (reference) in Compass Optical Industry Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A light source for supplying illumination light to an illumination optical system provided in an endoscope, at least one set of electrodes provided on an exterior part of the endoscope, and connected to the electrodes. An endoscope apparatus comprising: a detection circuit that detects a change in impedance between the electrode units; and a control circuit that adjusts an output of the light source based on a detection result of the detection circuit.