JP2005237542A - Light source equipment for endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a light source equipment for an endoscope which can effectively absorb heat from a light carrying bundle sleeve and enhances supporting force relative to the light carrying bundle sleeve inserted into a hole for connecting a light source. <P>SOLUTION: In the light source equipment for the endoscope having the hole for connecting the light source capable of inserting and pulling out the incident side end portion of a light guide fiber extending from the inserting portion of the endoscope into a universal tube together with the light carrying bundle sleeve covering the outer periphery of the same, a light source providing light to the incident end face of the light guide fiber inserted into the hole for connecting the light source, a movable light blocking means opening and closing the hole for connecting the light source, the light blocking means comprises a material with higher thermal conductivity than that of the light carrying bundle sleeve and has a surface contacting portion coming into a surface contact with the outer peripheral surface of the light carrying bundle sleeve inserted into the hole for connecting the light source. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope light source device for supplying light to an endoscope, and more particularly to a light shielding member thereof.

  A light guide fiber (LCB: light carrying bundle) is disposed inside the endoscope, and the outer periphery of the incident side end of the light guide fiber is a cylindrical light carrying bundle sleeve provided in the endoscope. Covered by. When the light carrying bundle sleeve is inserted into the light source connection hole provided in the case of the endoscope light source device, the light carrying bundle sleeve is fixed by the support force of the light source connection hole, and the incident end face of the light guide fiber is It faces the light source in the endoscope light source device. When the light source emits light in this state, the light enters the incident end face of the light guide fiber, passes through the light guide fiber, and is guided to the illumination optical system provided at the distal end of the insertion portion of the endoscope. The light is emitted from the illumination optical system toward the outside of the endoscope to illuminate the inside of the body cavity or the inside of the machine (for example, Patent Document 1).

When the light carrying bundle sleeve is pulled out from the light source connection hole in a state where the light source of the endoscope light source device is caused to emit light, the light leaks from the light source connection hole to the outside of the endoscope light source device. A movable light shielding member is provided inside the endoscope light source device.
This light shielding member is always urged by the urging means toward the direction of closing the light source connection hole, and when the light carrying bundle sleeve is not inserted in the light source connection hole, the light source connection hole is closed, The light from the light source is prevented from leaking to the outside of the endoscope light source device. On the other hand, when the light carrying bundle sleeve is inserted into the light source connection hole, the light blocking member is pushed by the light carrying bundle sleeve, thereby opening the light source connection hole against the urging force of the urging means. Moving.
JP-A-11-305148

  When light is supplied from the light source to the light guide fiber, the light guide fiber is heated and a part of the light emitted from the light source irradiates the light carrying bundle sleeve. If not taken away, the light carrying bundle sleeve will be hotter than a predetermined temperature. If the light carrying bundle sleeve becomes higher than a predetermined temperature, the light guide fiber is difficult to dissipate heat, and the transmittance of the light guide fiber is significantly reduced.

  However, the conventional endoscope light source device has no idea of efficiently removing heat from the light carrying bundle sleeve.

  Further, the conventional endoscope light source device does not have the idea of supporting the light carrying bundle sleeve in addition to the light source connection hole. Therefore, if the force to support the light carrying bundle sleeve in the light source connection hole becomes insufficient due to deformation of the light source connection hole, the posture of the light carrying bundle sleeve becomes unstable (light carrying The bundle sleeve moves with respect to the light source connection hole), and light emitted from the light source cannot be efficiently guided to the incident end face of the light guide fiber.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a light source device for an endoscope which can effectively absorb heat from a light carrying bundle sleeve and which has improved support force for the light carrying bundle sleeve inserted into the light source connection hole. .

  The light source device for an endoscope of the present invention has a light source connection hole in which an incident side end portion of a light guide fiber extending from the insertion portion of the endoscope into the universal tube can be inserted and removed together with a light carrying bundle sleeve covering the outer periphery thereof. A light source for applying light to the incident end face of the light guide fiber inserted into the light source connection hole, and whether the light carrying bundle sleeve is inserted into the light source connection hole. In an endoscope light source device comprising a movable shading means for opening and closing a hole, the shading means is made of a material having higher thermal conductivity than the light carrying bundle sleeve, and is inserted into the light source connection hole. The light carrying bundle sleeve has a surface contact portion that is in surface contact with the outer peripheral surface of the light carrying bundle sleeve.

  When the light carrying bundle sleeve has a substantially cylindrical shape, the surface contact portion may be formed in a semicylindrical shape.

  The light shielding member is always urged in the direction of closing the light source connection hole by the urging means, and the light shielding member is moved by the insertion force when the light carrying bundle sleeve is inserted into the light source connection hole. It is preferable that the light source connection hole is moved in a direction to open against the urging force of the urging means to bring the surface contact portion into surface contact with the outer peripheral surface of the light carrying bundle sleeve.

  It is practical that the light shielding means is composed of a plurality of light shielding members.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
An electronic endoscope (endoscope) 10 shown in FIG. 1 has an operation unit 11 and an insertion unit 12, and the distal end portion of the insertion unit 12 corresponds to an operation of a bending operation device 13 provided in the operation unit 11. A bending portion 12a that is bent in the vertical and horizontal directions is provided. An observation window (object window) and an illumination optical system (not shown) are provided on the distal end surface of the bending portion 12a.

  A universal tube 14 extends from the operation portion 11, and a light carrying bundle sleeve 14 b having a cylindrical shape made of a synthetic resin protrudes from a connector portion 14 a provided at the tip of the universal tube 14. Further, a light guiding fiber (LCB: light carrying bundle) 15 is disposed inside the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b, the connector portion 14a, the universal tube 14, the operation portion 11 and the insertion portion 12, and formed at the tip thereof. The emitted emission end face is connected to the illumination optical system inside the distal end of the insertion portion 11.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the processor (light source device for endoscope) 20 is connected to the front surface 21 a of the casing 21 (the right side in FIGS. 1 and 2 is the front side and the left side is the rear side). A light source connecting hole 22 for inserting the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b is provided, and an upright member 23 positioned immediately after the light source connecting hole 22 is provided on the upper surface of the bottom plate 21b of the casing 21. A support hole 23 a is formed at a position facing the light source connection hole 22 of the member 23.

  A pair of left and right attachment pieces 24 having an L shape in plan view are fixed to the rear surface of the upright member 23. A rotating shaft 25 facing in the vertical direction is supported on the rear end portion of the mounting piece 24 so as to be rotatable around an axis in the vertical direction, and the front ends of the light shielding members 26 and 27 are fixed to the rotating shafts 25, respectively. Has been. The light shielding members 26 and 27 include arm portions 26a and 27a connected to the rotary shaft 25, and heat absorbing portions (surface contact) extending from the rear ends of the arm portions 26a and 27a and inclined with respect to the arm portions 26a and 27a in plan view. Part) 26b, 27b, and the heat absorbing parts 26b, 27b have a semi-cylindrical shape as shown in FIG. The light shielding members 26 and 27 are formed of a material having good thermal conductivity and at least higher thermal conductivity than the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b, such as copper, aluminum, gold, silver, or the like. The light shielding members 26 and 27 are components of the light shielding means.

  A torsion coil spring (biasing means) (torsion spring) S (see FIG. 7) is wound around each rotating shaft 25, and both end arm portions S1 of the torsion coil spring S are shielded from light corresponding to each mounting piece 24. The members 26 and 27 are in elastic contact with each other. For this reason, due to the urging force of the torsion coil spring S, the light-shielding members 26 and 27 always have their heat absorbing portions 26a and 27a opposed to the light source connection hole 22 and the support hole 23a in the front-rear direction and viewed from the rear. The light source connection hole 22 and the support hole 23a are urged toward the closed position shown in FIGS.

A housing H located behind the upright member 23 is fixed to the upper surface of the bottom plate 21 b of the casing 21, and a lamp (light source) ML located in the housing H is a daylight drilled in the front surface of the housing H. The light source connection hole 22 and the support hole 23a are opposed to each other in the front-rear direction through the hole H1. The lamp ML is turned on when a switch (not shown) provided on the outer surface of the casing 21 is turned on and turned off when turned off. When the insertion portion 12 is inserted into a body cavity or a machine, the lamp ML is always turned on. It is.
Further, a lens holder 30 is fixed on the upper surface of the bottom plate 21 b of the casing 21 so as to be positioned between the upright member 23 and the housing H. As shown in FIG. 8, a lens support hole 30a is formed as a through hole in the lens holder 30, and two condensing lenses are inserted into the lens support hole 30a via an annular spacer 31 and a holding ring 32. L1 and L2 are fixed. The optical axes of both condenser lenses L1 and L2 are located on a straight line connecting the centers of the lamp ML, the light source connection hole 22 and the support hole 23a.

Next, the operation of the endoscope system having such a configuration will be described.
When the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b is inserted into the light source connection hole 22 and the support hole 23a of the processor 20 with the switch turned off, the urging force of the torsion coil spring S is applied by the rear end portion of the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b. The left and right light shielding members 26 and 27 held at the closed position are pushed backward against the urging force of the torsion coil spring S. When the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b is completely inserted, the light shielding members 26, 27 are moved to the open positions shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, and the entire inner surfaces of the heat absorbing portions 26b, 27b of both the light shielding members 26, 27 are The light carrying bundle sleeve 14b comes into surface contact with both the left and right side surfaces. At the same time, the incident end face 15a of the light guide fiber 15 disposed inside the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b is coaxial with the lamp ML and the condenser lenses L1 and L2.

  When the switch is turned on in this state, the lamp ML is turned on, and the light beam O emitted from the lamp ML is guided to the incident end face 15a of the light guide fiber 15 through the condenser lenses L1 and L2, and further guided. It is sent to the illumination optical system through the fiber 15. When the subject illuminated by the illumination optical system is observed through the observation window at the distal end of the insertion portion 12, an image of the subject is displayed on a television monitor (not shown) connected to the processor 20.

  When the lamp ML emits light in this way, the light guide fiber 15 is heated, and this heat is transmitted from the light guide fiber 15 to the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b. Furthermore, since a part of the light of the lamp ML is directly irradiated to the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b, the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b is also heated by this light. However, the entire inner surfaces of the heat absorbing portions 26b, 27b of the left and right light shielding members 26, 27 are in surface contact with the outer peripheral surface of the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b, and the heat absorbing portions 26b, 27b (light shielding members 26, 27) are in the light carrying bundle. Since it is formed from a material having a higher thermal conductivity than the sleeve 14b, the heat of the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b is efficiently absorbed by the heat absorbing portions 26b and 27b (light shielding members 26 and 27). Therefore, the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b does not reach a very high temperature (it becomes a low temperature compared to the conventional case), and the transmittance of the light guide fiber 15 is greatly reduced even if the operation of the electronic endoscope 10 is continued for a long time. Absent.

After the work by the electronic endoscope 10 is completed, when the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b is completely extracted from the light source connection hole 22 and the support hole 23a in a state where the lamp ML is still lit, the left and right light shielding members 26, 27 is automatically returned from the open position to the closed position by the biasing force of the torsion coil spring S. Then, the heat absorbing portions 26b, 27b of the left and right light shielding members 26, 27 are positioned immediately after the support hole 23a, and the light emitted from the lamp ML passes through the support hole 23a and the light source connection hole 22, and Prevent leakage to the outside.
When the switch is turned off, the lamp ML is turned off.
Note that the urging force of the left and right torsion coil springs S is set stronger than the other. For this reason, even if the left and right light shielding members 26 and 27 come into contact with each other while moving from the open position to the closed position by the biasing force of the torsion coil spring S, the light shielding member on the side of the torsion coil spring S having a strong biasing force is shielded from the other. The member is pushed away and automatically returned to the closed position first, and the other light shielding member is automatically returned to the closed position after this.

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, when the lamp ML emits light with the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b inserted into the light source connection hole 22 and the support hole 23a, the heat absorbing portions 26b of the light shielding members 26, 27, The entire inner surface of 27b is in surface contact with the outer peripheral surface of the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently absorb heat from the outer peripheral surface of the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b, and it is possible to prevent the light guide fiber 15 from increasing in temperature and greatly reducing the transmittance.

  Further, since the heat absorbing portions 26b and 27b are in surface contact with the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b, when the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b is inserted into the light source connecting hole 22 and the support hole 23a, the light absorbing portions 26b and 27b The carrying bundle sleeve 14b is supplementarily supported with sufficient force. Accordingly, even when the light source connection hole 22 and the support hole 23a are deformed and the holes 22 and 23a cannot give sufficient support force to the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b, the posture of the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b is maintained. Is stable (because the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b does not move relative to the light source connection hole 22 and the support hole 23a), the light emitted from the lamp ML and the white LED 40 can be reliably and securely applied to the incident end face 15a of the light guide fiber 15. It can guide efficiently.

  In the present embodiment, two light shielding members 26 and 27, which are constituent elements of the light shielding means, are provided, but it is possible to implement three or more or only one.

It is an external view which shows the whole structure of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a side view of a processor. It is a top view which shows the mode in a processor when the light carrying bundle sleeve of an electronic endoscope is mounted | worn with a processor. It is a side view which shows the mode in a processor when the light carrying bundle sleeve of an electronic endoscope is mounted | worn with a processor. It is a top view which shows the mode in a processor when the light carrying bundle sleeve of an electronic endoscope is removed from the processor. It is a side view which shows the mode in a processor when the light carrying bundle sleeve of an electronic endoscope is removed from the processor. It is a perspective view of a light shielding member. It is an expansion vertical side view of a lens holder.

Explanation of symbols

10 Electronic endoscope (endoscope)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Operation part 12 Insertion part 12a Bending part 13 Bending operation apparatus 14 Universal tube 14a Connector part 14b Light carrying bundle sleeve 15 Light guide fiber 15a Incident end face 20 Processor (light source device for endoscope)
21 Casing 21a Front surface 21b of casing Bottom plate 22 Light source connection hole 23 Standing member 23a Supporting hole 24 Mounting piece 25 Rotating shaft 26 27 Light shielding member (light shielding means)
26a 27a Arm part 26b 27b Heat absorption part (surface contact part)
30 Lens holder 30a Lens support hole H Housing H1 Daylighting hole L1 L2 Condensing lens ML Lamp (light source)
S Torsion coil spring (biasing means)
S1 arm

Claims (4)

A light source connection hole that can be inserted and removed together with the light carrying bundle sleeve covering the outer periphery of the incident side end of the light guide fiber extending from the insertion portion of the endoscope into the universal tube;
A light source that gives light to the incident end face of the light guide fiber inserted into the light source connection hole;
In an endoscope light source device comprising: a movable shading means for opening and closing the light source connection hole according to whether or not the light carrying bundle sleeve is inserted into the light source connection hole;
The light shielding means is made of a material having higher thermal conductivity than the light carrying bundle sleeve, and includes a surface contact portion that makes surface contact with the outer peripheral surface of the light carrying bundle sleeve inserted into the light source connection hole. An endoscope light source device. In the endoscope light source device according to claim 1,
The light carrying bundle sleeve has a substantially cylindrical shape,
An endoscope light source device in which the surface contact portion has a semi-cylindrical shape. The endoscope light source device according to claim 1 or 2,
The light shielding member is constantly urged by the urging means in a direction to close the light source connection hole, and the light-carrying bundle sleeve inserted into the light source connection hole is forced by the insertion force of the light carrying bundle sleeve. An endoscope light source device that moves in a direction to open the light source connection hole against an urging force so that the surface contact portion is in surface contact with the outer peripheral surface of the light carrying bundle sleeve. The endoscope light source device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the light shielding means includes a plurality of light shielding members.

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