JP2006187390A - Light source device for endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a light source device for an endoscope, the light source device which can be manufactured at low cost and easily assembled, nonetheless, enables the irradiation range of the illumination luminous flux therefrom to be limited to the inside of a light carrying bundle sleeve. <P>SOLUTION: The light source device for the endoscope is provided with: a casing 21 with a built-in light source 45; a light carrying bundle sleeve support member 23 which includes a fixing part 23a fixed to the casing and a fiber support leg 26 and a limiting leg 27 extended in parallel with each other from the fixing part, the limiting leg being positioned between the fiber support leg and the light source; a support hole 28 formed on the fiber support leg, into/from which the incident side end part of a light guiding fiber and the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b can be inserted and detached; and an incident light limiting hole 29 formed on the limiting leg and for limiting the irradiation range of a luminous flux emitted from the light source to the inside of the light carrying bundle sleeve. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,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 carrying bundle sleeve support 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. A light source connection hole through which the light carrying bundle sleeve can be inserted and removed is formed in the wall surface of the casing of the light source device. Further, a light carrying bundle sleeve support member is screwed to the upper surface of the bottom plate of the casing. The light carrying bundle sleeve support member is formed with a support hole into which the tip of the light carrying bundle sleeve protruding into the casing is fitted. In the casing, there are provided a light source facing the support hole and a condensing lens that is positioned between the light source and the support hole and guides the light emitted from the light source to the incident end face of the light guide fiber.

  The light beam emitted from the light source is guided to the incident end surface of the light guide fiber by the condensing lens, and further guided to the illumination optical system provided at the distal end of the insertion portion of the endoscope through the inside of the light guide fiber. The light is emitted from the illumination optical system toward the outside of the endoscope to illuminate the body cavity or the inside of the machine (for example, Patent Document 1).

In the endoscope light source device having such a configuration, the incident light limiting member may be fixed to the upper surface of the bottom plate of the casing between the condenser lens and the support hole by screwing. The incident light limiting member includes an incident light limiting hole for guiding the light beam transmitted through the condenser lens only to the incident end face of the light guide fiber and preventing the light beam from being irradiated onto the light carrying bundle sleeve. By providing such an incident light limiting member in the endoscope light source device, the light carrying bundle sleeve is no longer irradiated to the light carrying bundle sleeve, thereby preventing the light carrying bundle sleeve from becoming extremely hot.
JP-A-11-305148

However, if two members, a light carrying bundle sleeve support member and an incident light limiting member, are provided in the endoscope light source device, the number of parts increases, and further, fixing work by fixing screws to the bottom plate of these casings becomes troublesome. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the endoscope light source device is increased.
In addition, since the incident light limiting hole has the above-mentioned purpose, high accuracy is required for the relative position of the incident light limiting hole with respect to the light source, the condenser lens, and the supporting hole. It is not easy to fix the carrying bundle sleeve support member and the incident light limiting member to the bottom plate of the casing with a fixing screw while securing the above.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope light source device capable of limiting the irradiation range of an illumination light beam to the inside of a light carrying bundle sleeve while being able to keep the manufacturing cost low and being easy to assemble. .

  An endoscope light source device according to the present invention includes a light source for giving light to an incident end face of a light guide fiber extending from an insertion portion of an endoscope into a universal tube, a casing in which the light source is incorporated, and fixing to the casing. And a fiber supporting leg and a restricting leg extending in parallel with each other from the fixed part, the restricting leg being a light carrying handle sleeve supporting member positioned between the fiber supporting leg and the light source, and the fiber supporting The incident side end of the light guide fiber formed on the leg is formed in a support hole that can be inserted and removed together with a light carrying bundle sleeve covering the outer periphery of the light guide fiber, and is formed in the restriction leg coaxially with the support hole. And an incident light limiting hole for limiting the irradiation range of the light beam emitted from the light source to the inside of the light carrying bundle sleeve. .

  The light carrying bundle sleeve support member is preferably made of aluminum from the viewpoint of weight reduction.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain an endoscope light source device that can keep the manufacturing cost low and can be easily assembled, but can limit the irradiation range of the illumination light beam to the inside of the light carrying bundle sleeve.

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 has a circular hole 21b in the front wall 21a of the casing 21 (the right side in FIGS. 1 and 2 is the front and the left side is the rear). Is drilled. In the circular hole 21b, a support cylinder 22 having a stepped cylindrical shape and having an insertion hole 22a having substantially the same diameter as the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b extending in the front-rear direction is fitted and fixed. The support cylinder 22 includes a small diameter portion 22b fitted into the circular hole 21b and a large diameter portion 22c positioned outside the circular hole 21b. A light carrying bundle sleeve support member 23 positioned immediately after the circular hole 21b is placed on the upper surface of the bottom plate 21c of the casing 21, and two insertion holes 21d (see FIG. 4) drilled in the bottom plate 21c are provided. The fixing screw 24 (see FIG. 4) that passes therethrough is screwed into a screw hole 25 formed in the lower surface of the fixing portion 23a of the light carrying bundle sleeve support member 23, whereby the light carrying bundle sleeve support member 23 becomes the bottom plate 21c. It is fixed to.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the light carrying bundle sleeve support member 23 includes a fiber support leg 26 and a control leg 27 that extend in parallel from the fixed portion 23a and are spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction. It is integrally molded. The fiber support leg 26 and the control leg 27 are provided with a support hole 28 and an incident light restricting hole 29 that penetrate both of them in the front-rear direction. The support hole 28 has the same diameter as the insertion hole 22a, and the support hole 28 and the incident light limiting hole 29 are coaxial with each other in the front-rear direction. A light-shielding plate 30 that is wider than the fiber support leg 26 and is square in front view is fixed to the upper end portion of the rear surface of the fiber support leg 26. Further, a pair of left and right hinges 31 is provided on the rear surface of the light shielding plate 30, and the upper end of the light shielding lid 33 is fixed to a rotation shaft 32 that is rotatably supported by the left and right hinges 31. . A torsion spring (not shown) is attached to the rotary shaft 32, and the light shielding lid 33 always closes the rear end opening of the support hole 28 by the rotational biasing force of the torsion spring (see FIGS. 2 and 4). It is urged to rotate counterclockwise. The rear end surface of the support tube 22 is in contact with the front surface of the fiber support leg 26, and the insertion hole 22a and the support hole 28 are coaxially connected.

The lamp power supply 40 located behind the light carrying bundle sleeve support member 23 and the lamp power supply 40 are electrically connected to the upper surface of the bottom plate 21c of the casing 21 through a negative power supply line 46 and a positive power supply line 47. An igniter 41 and a pair of front and rear heat sinks 42 are fixed. The rear end portion and the front end portion of the light source lamp (light source) 45 are fitted and fixed in the attachment holes 43 and the attachment holes 44 formed in the front and rear heat sinks 42. The light source lamp 45 and the igniter 41 are connected to each other by a minus side feeding line 48 and a plus side feeding line 49. Further, a lens holder 50 positioned between the front heat sink 42 and the light carrying bundle sleeve support member 23 is fixed to the upper surface of the bottom plate 21c, and the lens fixing hole 51 penetrating the lens holder 50 in the front-rear direction collects in the lens fixing hole 51. The optical lens L1 and the condenser lens L2 are fitted and fixed. The light source lamp 45, the condensing lens L1, the condensing lens L2, the incident light limiting hole 29, the supporting hole 28, and the insertion hole 22a are all coaxial with a common axis facing the front-rear direction.
When a switch (not shown) provided on the outer surface of the casing 21 is turned on, the electric power generated by the lamp power supply 40 is sent to the igniter 41 through the positive power supply line 47, and from the igniter 41 through the positive power supply line 47. Then, the light source lamp 45 returns to the lamp light source 40 through the negative power supply line 48, the igniter 41, and the negative power supply line 46. When current flows through the light source lamp 40 in this way, arc discharge occurs in the light source lamp 45, and the light source lamp 45 is turned on by this arc discharge. The light source lamp 45 is always turned on when the insertion portion 12 is inserted into a body cavity or machine, and is turned off by the switch OFF operation.

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 insertion hole 22a of the support tube 22 and the support hole 28 of the light carrying bundle sleeve support member 23 in the state where the switch is OFF, the rear end portion of the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b blocks the light. The lid 33 rotates in the clockwise direction in FIGS. 2 and 4 against the biasing force of the torsion spring, and the rear end surface of the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b is positioned immediately before the incident light limiting hole 29 (the phantom line in FIG. 4). reference). When the switch is turned on in this state, the light source lamp 45 is turned on, and the luminous flux O of the illumination light travels toward the control leg 27 through the condenser lens L1 and the condenser lens L2. Then, the total luminous flux transmitted through the incident light limiting hole 29 of the control leg 27 is guided to the incident end face 15a of the light guide fiber 15 (directed to the inside of the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b), and the luminous flux outside the incident light limiting hole 29. Is blocked by the rear surface of the control leg 27 and the light shielding lid 33. Therefore, the outer peripheral side light flux is not irradiated to the rear end portion of the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b. The light that enters the incident end face 15 a of the light guide fiber 15 is sent to the illumination optical system through the light guide 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.

After the operation by the electronic endoscope 10 is completed, when the light carrying bundle sleeve 14b is completely extracted from the support hole 28 and the insertion hole 22a with the light source lamp 45 still emitting light, the light shielding lid 33 is moved to the torsion spring. The urging force automatically returns to the closed position and closes the rear end opening of the support hole 28, so that the light emitted from the light source lamp 45 leaks outside the case 21 through the support hole 28 and the insertion hole 22a. There is nothing.
When the switch is turned off, the light source lamp 45 is turned off.

Thus, according to the present embodiment, the single light carrying bundle sleeve support member 23 in which the incident light limiting hole 29 and the support hole 28 are previously drilled with high positional accuracy is attached to the upper surface of the bottom plate 21c by the fixing screw 24. In this way, the illumination light flux of the light source lamp 45 is guided only to the incident end face 15 a of the light guide fiber 15. Therefore, the number of parts is smaller than that of a conventional endoscope light source device, and the manufacturing cost can be kept low.
Further, the light carrying bundle sleeve support member 23 having the support hole 28 and the incident light limiting hole 29 is fixed to the bottom plate 21c by the fixing screw 24, so that the illumination light beam can be guided only to the incident end face 15a. Therefore, it is easier to fix the member (the light carrying bundle sleeve support member 23) having the support hole 28 and the incident light limiting hole 29 to the bottom plate 21c as compared with the conventional case.
Further, since the light carrying bundle sleeve support member 23 is made of aluminum, the light carrying bundle sleeve support member 23 is reduced in weight, and as a result, the entire processor 20 is reduced in weight. In this embodiment, the light carrying bundle sleeve support member 23 is an integrally formed product of aluminum. However, the light carrying bundle sleeve support member 23 may not be an integrally formed product, and may be formed of a material other than aluminum. .

It is an external view which shows the whole structure of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a vertical side view of a part of the processor. It is sectional drawing which follows the III-III arrow line of FIG. It is a side view which fractures | ruptures and shows a part of light carrying bundle sleeve support member, a support cylinder, and a casing. It is a top view of a light carrying bundle sleeve support member and a support cylinder. It is a front view of a light carrying bundle sleeve support member and a support cylinder.

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 21 Casing 21a Front wall 21b Circular hole 21c Bottom plate 21d Insertion hole 22 Support cylinder 22a Insertion hole 22b Small diameter part 22c Large diameter part 23 Light carrying bundle sleeve support member 23a Fixing part 24 Fixing screw 25 Screw hole 26 Fiber support leg 27 Control leg 28 Support hole 29 Incident light limiting hole 30 Light shielding plate 31 Hinge 32 Rotating shaft 33 Shading cover 40 Lamp power supply 41 Igniter 42 Heat sink 43 44 Mounting hole 45 Light source lamp (light source)
46 Negative side power supply line 47 Positive side power supply line 50 Lens holder 51 Lens fixing hole L1 L2 Condensing lens

Claims (2)

A light source for providing light to an incident end face of a light guide fiber extending from the insertion portion of the endoscope into the universal tube;
A casing containing this light source,
A fixing part for the casing; and a fiber support leg and a restriction leg extending in parallel with each other from the fixing part, wherein the restriction leg is a light carrying handle sleeve support member positioned between the fiber support leg and the light source. ,
A support hole formed on the fiber support leg, the incident side end of the light guide fiber being detachable together with a light carrying bundle sleeve covering the outer periphery, and
The restricting leg includes an incident light restricting hole that is formed coaxially with the supporting hole and restricts an irradiation range of a light beam emitted from the light source to the inside of the light carrying bundle sleeve. Endoscope light source device. In the endoscope light source device according to claim 1,
An endoscope light source device in which the light carrying bundle sleeve support member is made of aluminum.

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