JP2004212856A - Light source device for endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent occurrence of simultaneous lamp breakage of an endoscope light source device having a plurality of light source lamps. <P>SOLUTION: The device is provided with a housing 12 having a lamp exchanging door 16, a rotative pedestal 26 on which first and second light source lamps 22 and 24 are mounted and a system control circuit 30 which is used to control the rotating position of the pedestal 26. The circuit 30 stores the lighting condition of the lamps 22 and 24 in a RAM48 prior to a lamp exchange, reads the data stored in the RAM48 after the lamp exchange and the lamp 22 or 24 which was usable in the previous time is continuously used. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a light source device connected to an endoscope and supplying illumination light to the endoscope, and more particularly to an endoscope light source device having a plurality of light source lamps.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Generally, an endoscope or an electronic endoscope is optically connected to a light source device that supplies illumination light, guides the illumination light from the light source device to the distal end of the body insertion section by a light guide, and illuminates a portion to be inspected in front thereof. I do. In the case of an endoscope, an optical image of the inspected portion is guided to an eyepiece via an image guide fiber, and the inspected portion is observed from the eyepiece. In the case of an electronic endoscope, the optical image of the part to be inspected is photoelectrically converted by a CCD, sent to a video signal processing device as a video signal, and subjected to predetermined image processing on the video signal by the video signal processing device. The image is sent to the monitor device, and the optical image of the inspected portion is observed on the monitor screen. As a light source lamp of the light source device used for such a purpose, a high-brightness lamp, for example, a xenon lamp or a halogen lamp is suitably used.
[0003]
In order to prevent the life of the light source lamp from ending and the observation from being interrupted during the observation of the inspected portion, two light source lamps are provided as in Patent Document 1, for example, and when one of the light source lamps is out of lamp, the other is used. There has already been proposed a two-lamp type light source device which can be immediately switched to a light source lamp of the type.
[0004]
However, when manually selecting a light source lamp, after replacing the lamp, the light source lamp at the same position is always used, and the other light source lamp is often used only for auxiliary use. However, there is a problem that it is easy to cause a situation in which two light source lamps are turned off at the same time and the lamp replacement operation must be performed continuously despite two lamps.
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-27012 [0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to prevent a light source lamp from being cut off simultaneously in an endoscope light source device using a plurality of light source lamps.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
An endoscope light source device according to the present invention is an endoscope light source device that optically couples one of a first light source lamp and a second light source lamp housed in a housing to a light guide cable. A lamp support for mounting the light source lamp, a first lighting position for optically coupling the first light source lamp to the light guide cable, and a second lighting position for optically coupling the second light source lamp to the light guide cable. Between the first light source lamp and the second light source lamp, based on a detection result of the detection means, and a driving means for moving the first light source lamp or the second light source lamp. And a drive control means for controlling a drive means for optically coupling the light source lamp to the light guide cable.
[0008]
It is preferable that the endoscope light source device further includes a lamp-out detecting unit that detects lamp out of the first and second light source lamps, and an open-close detecting unit that detects opening and closing of a lamp replacement door of the housing.
[0009]
Further, in the endoscope light source device, the detecting means detects that the lamp replacement door is opened after one of the first and second light source lamps has run out, and further closes the lamp replacement door. When the drive control means detects that the light source lamp which has been turned off and can be turned on can be turned on, the drive control means may control the drive means to optically couple the other light source lamp which has not been replaced to the light guide cable. Preferably, while the lamp replacement door is detected to be closed, the lighting state of the first and second light source lamps is detected by the detection means at predetermined time intervals, and the detection results are updated and stored in the memory. When it is stored and the lamp replacement door is detected to be open, the detection result immediately before the lamp replacement door is opened is retained in the memory, and the lamp replacement door is closed again. If detected, it is preferable to operate as a detection result stored in the memory is read out.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0011]
FIG. 1 is a top view schematically showing a main configuration inside an endoscope light source device, and FIG. 2 is a side view thereof. Note that the top wall of the housing is omitted in FIG. 1, and the housing is omitted in FIG.
[0012]
The light source device for an endoscope includes a housing 12 having a hollow rectangular parallelepiped. An opening 14 for exchanging the light source lamps 22 and 24 is formed in one side wall of the housing 12, and a lamp exchange door 16 is attached to this opening 14 by a hinge so as to be freely opened and closed. Normally, the opening 14 is closed by a lamp replacement door 16, but at the time of lamp replacement, the lamp replacement door 16 is opened as shown by a broken line in FIG. 1 and the light source lamp unit 20 accommodated in the housing 12 through the opening 14. Can be taken out to the right in FIG.
[0013]
The light source lamp unit 20 supports first and second light source lamps 22 and 24, a disk-shaped rotating base 26 that detachably supports the two light source lamps 22 and 24, and supports the rotating base 26 so as to be relatively rotatable. And a motor 28. The first and second light source lamps 22 and 24 are relatively high-luminance white lamps, for example, halogen lamps or xenon lamps, on one side of which a concave reflecting mirror is incorporated, and the light emitting surface is configured as a condensing lens. Is done. A motor rotation shaft 28a extending in the vertical direction is press-fitted into the center of the rotation pedestal 26 from below in the drawing, and the rotation pedestal 26 is supported by the motor 28 so as to be relatively rotatable in a horizontal plane. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the light source lamp unit 20 is supported by a guide member 25 formed on the inner wall of the bottom surface of the housing 12 so as to be slidable in the left-right direction in the drawing. The guide member 25 has a U-shape that is open at the right end in the figure, and the distance between the two straight portions is slightly larger than the diameter of the motor 28. When the light source lamp unit 20 is pushed in until the side surface of the motor 28 contacts the curved surface portion of the guide member 25, the first or second light source lamps 22 and 24 are automatically moved to a position where illumination light can be supplied to the light guide 40. Positioned. In FIG. 2, the guide member 25 is shown broken at the center of the curved surface portion.
[0014]
The endoscope light source device controls the turning on and off of the first and second light source lamps 22 and 24 and controls the relative rotation position of the rotary pedestal 26, specifically, the rotation amount and rotation direction of the motor 28. A control circuit 30 is provided. The system control circuit 30 forms a part of a circuit board fixed in the housing 12. Although not shown, a power supply unit for turning on the first and second light source lamps 22 and 24 is provided in the housing 12, and this power supply unit is configured to be supplied with power from a commercial power supply.
[0015]
Two lamp mounting frames 21 and 23 are fixed to the upper surface of the rotating pedestal 26, and first and second light source lamps 22 and 24 are detachable from these lamp mounting frames 21 and 23, respectively. The first and second light source lamps 22 and 24 are mounted on lamp mounting frames 21 and 23, respectively, and a plug provided at the rear end thereof is inserted into a socket (not shown) of the housing 12 to supply power from the power supply unit. Then, the illumination light can be emitted outward in the radial direction of the rotating pedestal 26. The first and second light source lamps 22 and 24 are disposed equidistant from the rotation axis R, and the optical axes L1 and L2 of the illumination light of the first and second light source lamps 22 and 24, respectively (shown by a chain line in the figure). ) Form a predetermined angle θ (about 90 degrees in the present embodiment) with each other through the rotation axis R of the motor 28, that is, the rotation base 26.
[0016]
A connector 15 for connecting one end of a light guide 40 of an endoscope is provided on a side wall 13 of the housing 12. The rotating base 26 is rotatable between a first lighting position where the first light source lamp 22 is optically coupled to the light guide 40 and a second lighting position where the second light source lamp 24 is optically coupled to the light guide 40. The second lighting position is a position rotated relative to the first lighting position shown in FIG. 1 by an angle θ in a clockwise direction.
[0017]
In the first lighting position shown in FIG. 1, the optical axis L1 of the first light source lamp 22 is aligned with the optical axis of the light guide 40 inserted into the connector 15, and the position of one end face 40a of the light guide 40 is in the second position. The focal position of the condenser lens of one light source lamp 22 is set. Thereby, the illumination light emitted from the first light source lamp 22 is efficiently made incident on the one end surface 40 a of the light guide 40. A stop 42 is provided between the light source unit 20 and the light guide 40, and the diameter of the stop is controlled by the system control circuit 30, whereby the amount of illumination light to be incident on the light guide 40 is adjusted.
[0018]
FIG. 3 is a view of the rotating base 26 as viewed from the bottom. First and second position detection switches 34 and 36 for detecting the rotation position of the rotation pedestal 26 are fixedly provided on the bottom surface of the rotation pedestal 26. The first and second position detection switches 34 and 36 are provided in a housing. The projection 32 can be abutted on the projection 32 fixed to the projection 12. The first position detection switch 34 is disposed on the back side of the first light source lamp 22, and the second position detection switch 36 is disposed on the back side of the second light source lamp 24, and a straight line connecting each center and the rotation axis R. Is substantially equal to the angle θ formed by the optical axes L1 and L2 of the first and second light source lamps 22, 24. The first and second position detection switches 34 and 36 are, for example, microswitches, and their detection results are constantly monitored by the system control circuit 30.
[0019]
When the system control circuit 30 detects that the first position detection switch 34 and the second position detection switch are in the OFF state, it is determined that the rotary pedestal 26 is not at the first lighting position or the second lighting position, that is, it is moving. It is determined that both the first and second light source lamps 22 and 24 are not turned on.
[0020]
When the first light source lamp 22 is turned on, the system control circuit 30 causes the motor 28 to relatively rotate the rotating pedestal 26 toward the first lighting position, that is, clockwise in FIG. When the position detection switch 34 contacts the protrusion 32 and switches from the OFF state to the ON state and detects that the second position detection switch is in the OFF state, it is determined that the rotary base 26 has reached the first lighting position, and the motor After stopping the rotation pedestal 28, the first light source lamp 22 is enabled and the second light source lamp 24 is stopped.
[0021]
On the other hand, when switching the light source lamp to be turned on to the second light source lamp 24, the system control circuit 30 moves the rotary pedestal 26 from the first lighting position shown in FIG. When the second position detection switch 36 contacts the projection 32 and switches from the OFF state to the ON state and detects that the first position detection switch 34 is in the OFF state, the rotation pedestal 26 After it is determined that the lighting position has been reached, and the motor 28 is stopped, the second light source lamp 24 can be turned on and the lighting of the second light source lamp 24 is stopped.
[0022]
As described above, based on the detection results of the first and second position detection switches 34 and 36, the system control circuit 30 determines which of the first and second light source lamps 22 and 24 is at a position where the illumination light can be supplied to the light guide 40. Therefore, in response to a lamp lighting instruction from the operator, only the light source lamp that can supply the illumination light to the light guide 40 can be turned on, and the other light source lamp can be prevented from being turned on. A power button 44 (see FIG. 1) for instructing to turn on the lamp is provided on the outer wall surface of the housing 12, and the first or second light source lamp 22, 24 is turned on or off by manually operating the power button 44. Is indicated.
[0023]
The system control circuit 30 monitors the lighting state of the first and second light source lamps 22 and 24, that is, whether or not the lamps are out, at a predetermined cycle, for example, a one-second cycle. (See FIG. 1). The data stored in the RAM 48 is updated each time the lamp lighting state is detected. The means for determining whether or not the lamp has run out is not particularly limited, but in the present embodiment, the determination is made by detecting the output potentials of the lamp burn-out detection circuits 46 and 47, and the light source lamp 22 or 24 that needs to be replaced is determined. Notify the operator. As a means for notifying, a dedicated lamp may be provided on the side surface of the outer wall of the housing 12 to be turned on, or may be displayed on a screen of a monitor device (not shown) connected to the endoscope light source device. A message may be displayed.
[0024]
When the first light source lamp 22 is out of lamp during use, the system control circuit 30 automatically switches to lighting of the second light source lamp 24, and when the second light source lamp 24 is out of use during use. If it does, the light source lamp 22 is automatically switched to lighting. The first light source lamp 22 or the second light source lamp 24 whose lamp has run out is manually replaced with a new one. At the time of lamp replacement, the lamp replacement door 16 is first opened, and the light source lamp 22 or 24 whose lamp has run out is replaced with a new one. After the lamp replacement, the lamp replacement door 16 is closed again.
[0025]
The system control circuit 30 detects the opening and closing of the lamp replacement door 16 and stops the lighting of both light source lamps 22 and 24 when the lamp is replaced. Referring to FIG. 1, an opening / closing switch 50 for detecting opening / closing of the lamp replacement door 16 is provided in the opening 14 of the housing 12. The open / close switch 50 is, for example, a micro switch, and when the lamp replacement door 16 is closed and the projection 52 provided at its free end presses the open / close switch 50, the open / close switch 50 is turned on, and the lamp replacement door 16 is opened. When the free end moves away from the open / close switch 50, the open / close switch 50 switches to the OFF state. The detection result of the open / close switch 50 is monitored at predetermined intervals by the system control circuit 30. When the open / close switch 50 is in the OFF state, the system control circuit 30 determines that the lamp replacement door 16 is open, and the first and second light source lamps. Lighting of 22 and 24 is stopped. As a result, the lamp can be turned on only while the lamp replacement door 16 is closed, thereby preventing an accident such as an electric shock during the replacement work.
[0026]
The system control circuit 30 selects the light source lamp 22 or 24 to be turned on based on the detection result of the open / close switch 50 and the detection result of the lighting state of the first and second light source lamps 22 and 24, 26 is automatically positioned at either the first or second lighting position.
[0027]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a lamp lighting position switching process executed in the system control circuit 30. The lamp lighting position switching process is started when the power is turned on by the power button 44, and is executed at a constant cycle (for example, a one-second cycle) while the lamp replacement door is closed.
[0028]
First, in step S102, the system control circuit 30 detects the lighting state of the first and second lamp light sources 22, 24, and stores the detection result in the RAM. In the next step S104, the system control circuit 30 detects whether the lamp replacement door 16 is open, that is, whether the open / close switch 50 is in the OFF state. If the lamp replacement door 16 is kept closed while the open / close switch 50 is ON, the lamp lighting position switching process ends. If the lamp replacement door 16 is opened for lamp replacement and the open / close switch 50 is switched to the OFF state. Move to step S106. At this time, the RAM 48 holds the detection result immediately before the lamp replacement door 16 is opened.
[0029]
In step S106, the system control circuit 30 detects whether the opened lamp replacement door 16 has been closed again after replacing the lamp, that is, whether the open / close switch 50 has been switched from the ON state to the OFF state, and switches to the OFF state. Step S106 is repeatedly executed until it is changed, and when it is detected that the open / close switch 50 has been switched to the OFF state, the lamp exchange door 16 is regarded as closed and the process proceeds to step S108. In step S108, the data held in the RAM 48, that is, the detection result of the lighting state of the first and second lamp light sources 22 and 24 before lamp replacement is read.
[0030]
As described above, while the lamp replacement door 16 is detected to be closed, the lighting state of the first and second light source lamps 22 and 24 is detected at predetermined time intervals, and the detection result is updated while the RAM 48 is updated. When it is detected that the lamp replacement door 16 is opened, the detection result immediately before the lamp replacement door 16 is opened is held in the RAM 48, and when it is detected that the lamp replacement door 16 is closed again, the RAM 48 is detected. The detection result of the lamp lighting state held in is read out.
[0031]
Subsequently, in step S110, the lighting state of the first and second lamp light sources 22 and 24 is detected again. In the next step S112, the detection result before the lamp replacement read out in step S108 and the after-lamp replacement obtained in step S110 are obtained. By comparing the result with the detection result, it is determined whether or not the second light source lamp 24 is out of lamp. If it is determined that the light source lamp that has been burnt out before the lamp replacement and has not been burned out after the lamp replacement, that is, the light source lamp that has been replaced with a new one, is the second light source lamp 24, the first light source that has not been replaced is replaced. The rotating pedestal 26 is moved to the first lighting position so as to light the light source lamp 22 (step S114). The rotating pedestal 26 is moved to the second lighting position to turn on the light source lamp 24 (step S116). When step S114 or S116 ends, the lamp lighting position switching processing ends.
[0032]
As described above, the light source device for an endoscope according to the present embodiment stores the lighting state of the first and second light source lamps 22 and 24 immediately before the lamp replacement in the RAM 48, and reads out the data stored in the RAM 48 after the lamp replacement. Therefore, it is easy to determine which of the first and second light source lamps 22 and 24 was the light source lamp that could be turned on last time, and the light source lamp 22 or 24 that was able to be turned on last time is automatically turned on. Since it is optically coupled to the ride guide 40, the first and second light source lamps 22 and 24 can be used alternately, and it is possible to avoid a situation where both light source lamps 22 and 24 are out of lamp at the same time.
[0033]
FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing the use status of the first and second light source lamps in time series. FIG. 5A shows that the first light source lamp (indicated by reference numeral 22 ') is always turned on after replacement. FIG. 5B is a diagram showing a conventional example, and FIG. 5B is a diagram showing the present embodiment in which the light source lamp 22 or 24 lit last time after replacement is continuously lit. In FIG. 5, the point indicated by the arrow indicates that the lamp has been replaced.
[0034]
For example, assuming that the usable time of each of the first and second light source lamps 22 (22 ') and 24 (24') is 50 hours, in the related art shown in FIG. When the lamp is replaced after the second light source lamp 24 'has been used for two hours, the first light source lamp 22' is used again, and the second light source lamp 24 'is gradually turned on for a short time. Only used. Therefore, if the first light source lamp 22 'is replaced when the total use time of the second light source lamp 24' is close to 50 hours, the second light source lamp 24 'will soon be out of lamp. Occurs, and the second light source lamp 24 'must be replaced again immediately after the replacement of the first light source lamp 22', which is very troublesome for the operator. However, in the present embodiment shown in FIG. 5B, the second light source lamp 24 used last time can be used even after the first light source lamp 22 is replaced, so that the second light source The remaining 48 hours when the lamp 24 is turned off can be used. Therefore, it is not necessary to continuously perform the lamp replacement immediately after the lamp replacement, and the lamp replacement operation can be always performed at a substantially constant use time, specifically, every usable time of the light source lamp.
[0035]
In the present embodiment, the light source lamp unit 20 is configured to slide along the guide member 25 for lamp replacement. However, the present invention is not particularly limited to the configuration of the present embodiment. For example, Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-098717. As shown in (2), a configuration in which two movable lamp mounting bases for performing lamp replacement may be combined. FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are drawings showing an endoscope light source device shown as a second embodiment of Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-098717, and reference numerals are described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-098717. (In order to avoid confusion with the code of the present embodiment, the code of Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-098717 will be indicated by enclosing it in [] below.) The second movable lamp mount [62] to which the two light source lamps [18A] and [18B] are fixed is mounted on the first movable lamp mount [60] provided in the housing [10] on the pivot shaft [68]. ], The second movable lamp mounting base [62] is pulled out of the housing [10] as shown in FIG. 7, and the two light source lamps [18A] and [18B] are exchanged. can do.
[0036]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the light source device for an endoscope of the present invention, simultaneous lamp out of a plurality of light source lamps can be prevented.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a main configuration of an endoscope light source device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view of the light source unit shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a view of the rotating pedestal shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from a bottom surface side.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a lamp lighting position switching process executed in a system control circuit.
FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing the usage status of the first and second light source lamps.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an endoscope light source device having a different configuration for lamp replacement.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state of the endoscope light source device shown in FIG. 6 at the time of lamp replacement.
[Explanation of symbols]
12 Housing 16 Lamp replacement door 22 First light source lamp 24 Second light source lamp 26 Rotary pedestal (lamp support pedestal)
28 motor (drive means)
30 System control circuit (drive control means)
40 Light Guide (Light Guide Cable)
46, 47 Lamp burnout detection circuit (Lamp burnout detection unit)
50 Open / close switch (open / close detector)

Claims (4)

An endoscope light source device for optically coupling one of the first and second light source lamps housed in a housing to a light guide cable,
A lamp support for mounting the first and second light source lamps,
Drive means for moving the lamp support between a first lighting position for optically coupling the first light source lamp to the light guide cable and a second lighting position for optically coupling the second light source lamp to the light guide cable; When,
Detecting means for detecting replacement of any one of the first light source lamp and the second light source lamp;
Drive control means for controlling the drive means to optically couple an unreplaced light source lamp among the first and second light source lamps to the light guide cable based on a detection result of the detection means. Endoscope light source device. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detecting unit includes a lamp-out detecting unit that detects lamp-out of the first and second light source lamps, and an open-close detecting unit that detects opening and closing of a lamp replacement door of the housing. 3. The light source device for an endoscope according to claim 1. The detecting means detects that the lamp replacement door has been opened after one of the first and second light source lamps has run out of lamp, and further detects that the lamp replacement door has been closed and the lamp has gone out. The drive control means controls the drive means so as to optically couple the other light source lamp, which has not been replaced, to the light guide cable when it is detected that the light source lamp can be turned on. 3. The light source device for an endoscope according to 2. While it is detected that the lamp replacement door is closed, the lighting state of the first and second light source lamps is detected by the detection means at predetermined time intervals, and the detection results are updated and stored in the memory. When it is detected that the lamp replacement door is opened, a detection result immediately before the lamp replacement door is opened is held in the memory, and when it is detected that the lamp replacement door is closed again, the memory is stored. The light source device for an endoscope according to claim 2, wherein the detection result stored in the light source is read.

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