JP2001075020A - Electronic endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic endoscope which enable a user existing in a dangerous place to handle the endoscope while observing an endoscope image. SOLUTION: The electronic endoscope 1 comprises an illumination section 12 arranged with an LED for illumination at its front end 11, an insertion part 10 disposed with a C-MOS 13 and an operation part 15 disposed with an LCD monitor as a display part. The monitor is a monitor 20 with a back light arranged with an LED back light 21. A battery 17 for supplying electric power to the illumination section 12, the C-MOS 13 and the monitor 20 is arranged within the operation part 14. The battery 17 and the illumination section 12 and the C-MOS 13 are connected to each other by a cable 18 for power source supply. The cable 18 for power source supply is provided with a current limiting circuit 19 for preventing the supply of excess current thereto. The monitor 20 is driven by the electric power supplied from the battery 17 through the current limiting circuit 19 and a video signal transmission cable 22 extending from the C-MOS 13 is connected thereto.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic endoscope which is excellent in portability and allows a user to observe an endoscope.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, by inserting an elongated insertion portion into a body cavity, it is possible to observe internal organs in the body cavity or to perform various treatments using a treatment tool inserted into a treatment tool channel as necessary. Endoscopes are widely used. Also, in the industrial field, industrial endoscopes are widely used for observing and inspecting internal scratches and corrosion of boilers, turbines, engines, chemical plants and the like.

An endoscope used as described above has an electronic endoscope (hereinafter abbreviated as an endoscope) provided with an image pickup device such as a CCD for photoelectrically converting an optical image into an image signal at the distal end of an insertion portion. Do). In this endoscope, an observation image of an observation site illuminated by illumination light supplied from a light source device is formed on an imaging surface of an imaging device, and an image signal of the observation image photoelectrically converted by the imaging device is output to an external device. This is transmitted to a signal processing unit of a camera control unit (hereinafter abbreviated as CCU) to generate a video signal, and an endoscopic image is displayed on a monitor screen for observation.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. HEI 8-117184 discloses an endoscope apparatus which realizes high performance with a small diameter and simple configuration by eliminating a light guide fiber composed of an optical fiber. An endoscope apparatus including a solid-state imaging device for imaging an observation region and a surface light source for illuminating the observation region is disclosed.

Some endoscopes used in the industrial field include:
Some are used in hazardous locations such as explosive atmospheres (hereinafter referred to as hazardous locations), such as piping and gas tanks in chemical plants. In order to prevent the device from being used as a source of ignition or the like, the device used in this hazardous area must be at least “DC28V or less, 93mA or less, 0.66W or less”.
Must meet the safety standard conditions.

[0006]

However, since the CCD provided in the endoscope has a characteristic that a rising current value generated at the time of driving becomes high, even if the problem of power consumption can be solved. Since the above-mentioned current value condition cannot be satisfied, there remains a problem in use in a dangerous place.

In addition, heat generated by electronic components such as resistors provided in the vicinity of the CCD, or the temperature of the tip becomes high due to the LED for illumination, for example, ethyl nitrite having an ignition point of 80 ° C. or ethyl nitrate having an ignition point of 85 ° C. There is a problem that it becomes difficult to use an electronic endoscope in a pipe or the like that handles a gas that may ignite at a low temperature.

Further, when a user who operates an endoscope in a danger area observes an endoscope image, the display device itself must be configured to satisfy safety standard conditions. Inconveniences such as the inconvenience of preparing a suitable display device and the necessity of disposing this display device in the safety area when using a non-explosion-proof type display apparatus, and the observer in the safety area must make observations and give observation instructions. was there.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic endoscope that can be handled by a user in a dangerous place while observing an endoscope image.

[0010]

An electronic endoscope according to the present invention comprises:
A C-MOS image sensor disposed at a distal end of the insertion unit, the imaging unit having an imaging surface on which an optical image is formed, and photoelectrically converting the optical image formed on the imaging surface to output a video signal; The illumination unit, which is arranged at the distal end of the illumination unit and is configured by at least one or more illumination LEDs that supply illumination light to the observation site, is arranged on the operation unit arranged at the base end of the insertion unit, An LCD monitor for displaying an endoscopic image based on a video signal output from the C-MOS image sensor is provided.

According to this configuration, the user can observe the dangerous place while observing the endoscope image directly displayed on the LCD monitor.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a view for explaining a schematic configuration of an electronic endoscope of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an electronic endoscope using an LED backlight for an LCD monitor. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a specific configuration example of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, an electronic endoscope 1 according to the present embodiment is configured by arranging, for example, one or a plurality of illumination LEDs as surface emitting light sources as illumination means at a distal end portion 11 of an insertion portion 10. Illumination unit 12 and C-MOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Se
An insertion part 10 in which an image sensor 13 is disposed, and an LCD as a display part at a base end serving also as a holding part.
It is mainly composed of an operation unit 14 provided with a monitor 15.

The insertion portion 10 includes, for example, a distal end portion 11 formed of a hard member in order from the distal end side, a bending portion (not shown) formed by connecting a plurality of bending pieces to be rotatable, and a flexible member. The flexible tube section (not shown) is provided continuously. The insertion section 10 may be formed such that the entire insertion section is hard. Reference numeral 16 denotes an objective lens for forming an observation image of the observation site illuminated by the illumination light emitted from the illumination unit 12 on the imaging surface of the C-MOS 13.

C-MOS 13 used as imaging means
Is suitable for high-density mounting of all functions as a camera, such as a drive signal generator, a noise reduction circuit, an output signal level stabilization circuit, and an A / D converter.
Hereinafter, the system is characterized in that the system satisfies the condition of “93 mA or less, 0.66 W or less” as a system including the lighting LED and operates. The LCD monitor 15 is, specifically, an LCD monitor with LED backlight (hereinafter abbreviated as a monitor with backlight) 20 in which an LED backlight 21 is arranged as a backlight as shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the operation is performed while satisfying the condition of 93 mA or less and 0.66 W or less.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the illumination section 12 and the C-MOS 13 are provided in an operation section 14 of the endoscope 1.
A battery 17 such as a dry battery is disposed as a power supply unit for supplying power to the monitor with backlight 20.

The battery 17 and the lighting unit 12
The C-MOS 13 is electrically connected to the C-MOS 13 by a power supply cable 18 which branches into a power supply cable 18a for illumination and a power supply cable 18b for image sensor at an intermediate portion.

In the middle of the power supply cable 18, there is provided a current limiting circuit 19 for preventing an excessive current from flowing through the lighting section 12 and the C-MOS 13 due to a short circuit or the like. Further, a video signal transmission cable 22 extending from the C-MOS 13 and transmitting a video signal is electrically connected to the monitor with backlight 20. Further, the monitor 20 with the backlight
Is driven by electric power supplied from the battery 17 via the current limiting circuit 19.

As a result, the endoscope 1 has a “DC
28 V or less, 93 mA or less, 0.66 W or less ", and a target observation site can be observed in a dangerous place by satisfying the safety standard conditions.

The operation of the electronic endoscope 1 configured as described above will be described. First, the user brings the endoscope 1 into a danger area and operates a power switch (not shown) provided on the operation unit 14. Then, power is supplied from the battery 17 provided in the operation unit 14 to the illumination unit 12, the C-MOS 13, and the monitor 20 with a backlight through the current limiting circuit 19.

Thus, the lighting LE of the lighting unit 12 is
D lights up and illumination light is emitted toward the observation site. In addition, the observation image of the observation site passes through the objective lens 16 and C-
An image is formed on the imaging surface of the MOS 13 and is processed into a video signal in the C-MOS 13. And this C-MOS1
The video signal subjected to the signal processing in 3 is transmitted to the monitor 20 with the backlight through the video signal transmission cable 22, and displays the endoscopic image of the observation site on the screen. Therefore, the observer can perform observation and the like while viewing the endoscope image displayed on the screen of the monitor 20 with the backlight.

As described above, the C-MOS and the LED for illumination are provided at the distal end, while the monitor with the backlight is provided in the operation unit, and the power of the C-MOS, the LED for illumination and the monitor with the backlight is supplied to the operation unit. An electronic endoscope is configured as the provided battery, and the system is DC28V or less, 93
By operating at mA or less and 0.66 W or less, it is possible to provide an electronic endoscope that is excellent in portability and observability, and that can be used in dangerous places.

Further, by providing a current limiting circuit in the operation unit, it is possible to reliably prevent an excessive current from being supplied to the C-MOS, the LED for illumination, and the monitor with the backlight, and to secure the safety of the electronic endoscope. Can be achieved.

As shown in FIG. 3, a temperature sensor 31 for detecting the temperature of the distal end 11 is provided at the distal end 11 of the electronic endoscope 1A.
By providing a safety circuit 32 for controlling the supply of electric power to the illumination unit 12 in accordance with the temperature information transmitted from the temperature sensor 31 and adjusting the amount of illumination light in the middle of 8a, the heat generation of the illumination unit 12 is reduced. It is possible to reliably prevent the tip 11 from rising to a predetermined temperature or more due to the cause.

Further, the illumination power supply cable 1 is supplied from the first battery 17a to the illumination unit 12 provided at the distal end 11 of the electronic endoscope 1A via the first current limiting circuit 19a.
8a, a circuit for supplying power by the C-MOS 1
3 to the second current limiting circuit 19b from the second battery 17b.
A circuit for supplying power by an image sensor power cable 18b through the
0 to the third current limiting circuit 19c from the third battery 17c.
, The circuits that supply power via the respective circuits are configured independently of each other, so that each circuit satisfies the safety standard conditions that can be used in the hazardous area, and the lighting unit 12 and the C-MOS 2
The power may be supplied to each of the monitor 3 and the monitor with backlight 20.

As a result, the number of illumination LEDs constituting the illumination section is increased to increase the amount of illumination light.
The characteristics of the illumination unit 12, the C-MOS 23, and the monitor with backlight 20 can be sufficiently extracted to perform favorable observation.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the electronic endoscope 1B
The operation unit 14 is provided with a transmission unit 33 for transmitting a video signal, and the transmission unit 33 can be used in a danger area toward a display device (not shown) having a reception unit disposed in the safety area. By outputting a weak radio wave or infrared light and displaying an endoscope image on a screen, not only the user but also a plurality of related parties can consider the observation site.

In this case, power is supplied to the transmitting unit 33 by a fourth battery 17d.
A fourth current limiting circuit 19d is provided between the transmitter and the transmitting unit 33.

Further, by providing a recording C-MOS memory 34 in the operation unit 14, an image recording or the like may be stored in the recording C-MOS memory 34 during observation. At this time, the power is supplied to the recording C-MOS memory 34 via the current limiting circuit, for example, by using one of the batteries 17a, 17b, 17c, 17d in common, or by using another one. Install it with a dry cell.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the objective lens and the illumination unit are provided on the distal end surface. However, the objective lens and the illumination unit may be provided on the side surface and the like.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to only the above-described embodiments, but can be variously modified without departing from the gist of the invention.

[Appendix] According to the above-described embodiment of the present invention as described in detail above, the following configuration can be obtained.

(1) A C-MOS image which is arranged at the distal end of the insertion portion and has an imaging surface on which an optical image is formed, and which photoelectrically converts the optical image formed on the imaging surface and outputs it as a video signal. A sensor, an illumination unit disposed at a distal end of the insertion unit, configured by an illumination LED for supplying illumination light to an observation site, and an operation unit disposed at a base end of the insertion unit; And an LCD monitor for displaying an endoscope image based on a video signal output from the C-MOS image sensor.

(2) The electronic endoscope according to appendix 1, wherein the LCD monitor includes an LED backlight.

(3) The power supply of the C-MOS image sensor, the LED for illumination, and the LCD monitor provided with the LCD monitor or the LED backlight is a battery provided in the operation unit. Endoscope.

(4) The battery, the illumination unit, and the C-
4. The electronic endoscope according to claim 3, wherein a current limiting circuit is provided between the MOS image sensor, the LCD monitor, and the LED backlight.

(5) The C-MOS image sensor comprises:
3. The electronic endoscope according to Supplementary Note 1 or 2, wherein the electronic endoscope operates under a safety standard condition.

(6) The electronic endoscope according to Supplementary Note 1 or 2, wherein the illumination LED satisfies safety standard conditions and emits illumination light.

(7) The electronic endoscope according to Supplementary Note 1 or 2, wherein the LCD monitor or the LCD monitor having an LED backlight is driven while satisfying safety standard conditions.

(8) The electronic endoscope according to Supplementary Note 1 or 2, further comprising a temperature sensor and a safety circuit provided at a distal end of the insertion portion.

(9) The electronic endoscope according to Supplementary Note 1 or 2, wherein a signal transmission unit is provided in the operation unit.

(10) The electronic endoscope according to Supplementary Note 1 or 2, wherein a C-MOS memory for recording is provided in the operation unit.

[0043]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an electronic endoscope which can be handled by a user at a dangerous place while observing an endoscope image.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 and 2 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an electronic endoscope according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a specific configuration example of an electronic endoscope using an LED backlight for an LCD monitor;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating another configuration example of the electronic endoscope.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating another configuration example of the electronic endoscope.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electronic endoscope 10 ... Insertion part 12 ... Illumination part 13 ... C-MOS image sensor 14 ... Operation part 17 ... Battery 18a ... Lighting power cable 18b ... Image sensor power cable 19 ... Current limiting circuit 20 ... LED back LCD monitor with light 21 ... LED backlight 22 ... Video signal transmission cable

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Katsunori Sakiyama 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo F-term in Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (reference) 2H040 AA02 AA03 BA00 BA11 BA23 CA03 GA02 GA11 4C061 AA00 BB01 CC06 DD00 FF50 JJ11 LL01 NN01 PP01 QQ06 RR02 VV10 5C022 AA09 AB15 AB40 AC03 AC42 AC54 AC73 AC75 5C054 AA01 CB02 CC07 FA02 HA12

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A C-MOS image sensor disposed at a distal end portion of an insertion portion, having an imaging surface on which an optical image is formed, and photoelectrically converting the optical image formed on the imaging surface and outputting it as a video signal. An illumination unit disposed at a distal end of the insertion unit and configured to include at least one or more illumination LEDs for supplying illumination light to an observation site; and an operation unit disposed at a base end of the insertion unit. And an LCD monitor for displaying an endoscope image based on a video signal output from the C-MOS image sensor.