JP2006198423A - Endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an endoscope capable of accurately observing an object by exchanging adapters of the different wavelengths of illumination light at an endoscope distal end corresponding to the condition of the surface of the object. <P>SOLUTION: The endoscope comprises: an illumination means 10 composed of a blue LED 15 as a semiconductor light emitting element and a white fluorescent material 16 excited by the blue LED 15 to emit light; and optical adapters 32 and 33 provided with the plurality of illumination means 10 and attachable and detachable to/from the endoscope distal end. The optical adapters 32 and 33 of the different wavelengths of the illumination light can be exchanged. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to medical and industrial endoscopes having illumination means and observation means.

  In a conventional endoscope, a lamp is used as an illuminating unit at a distal end configuration portion provided at the distal end of an insertion unit, and a CCD (solid-state imaging device) is provided as an observing unit. Medical and industrial endoscopes are known. However, the structure in which the lamp and the CCD are incorporated in the tip configuration portion has a problem that the CCD cannot be used for a long time because the CCD is heated by the heat generated by the lamp.

  Therefore, as a means for solving the above-described problems, an in-tube inspection camera device using an LED (semiconductor light emitting element) as an illuminating means at a tip configuration portion is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). This in-tube inspection camera device is provided with a CCD for imaging a subject at the distal end configuration portion, and a plurality of light emitting diodes are provided around the CCD, and the subject reflected light of monochromatic light emitted from the light emitting diodes is imaged by the CCD. It is what you do.

  Also, an endoscope is known in which LEDs (R (red), G (green), and B (blue)) emitting light are collected on a single chip and emitted and used as substantially white light by color mixing (for example, patents). Reference 2). In this endoscope, a one-chip light-emitting diode having R, G, and B light-emitting portions is arranged together with a CCD at the distal end configuration portion, and these three colors of light-emitting diodes are simultaneously irradiated to overlap and irradiate the subject. It is what you do.

In addition, there is an illumination means that uses a light guide fiber known in conventional medical endoscopes and guides illumination light from an external light source device to the illumination window of the distal end configuration section through the insertion section. Fluorescence flaw detection using an endoscope uses a combination of quartz fiber and an ultraviolet light source.
Registered Utility Model No. 3007137 JP 7-275200 A

  However, the thing of the patent document 1 mentioned above is monochrome, and cannot capture | acquire the state of a to-be-photographed object correctly. Further, in Patent Document 2, a single-chip light-emitting diode having R, G, and B light-emitting portions is arranged, and satisfactory color mixing (white light) cannot be obtained due to uneven light distribution of each color, resulting in uneven color. Produce.

  Therefore, any of them can be used, for example, in an industrial endoscope, and the inside of a pipe can be observed to determine corrosion, or can be used in a medical endoscope to remove tissue in a patient's body cavity. When observing and diagnosing, determination of the color of the subject is an important index, but conventional LED lighting causes color unevenness, which is an obstacle to corrosion determination and diagnosis.

  Furthermore, Patent Document 2 shows a light emitting diode having R, G, and B light emitting portions on one chip, but complete white light cannot be obtained because the positions of the light emitting portions of the respective colors are different. Further, since R, G, and B must be integrated very close to one chip, a problem of heat generation occurs. Furthermore, when the light guide fiber is used, the light efficiency is low due to the large light loss due to the light coupling efficiency of the light source and the light guide fiber and the light transmission efficiency of the light guide fiber.

  In addition, when the light guide fiber is used, the maximum light quantity is determined by the number of the light sources and the light guide fibers, so that the optical brightness is determined by the preset endoscope outer diameter. In other words, an optical adapter having a small outer diameter and a small outer diameter was prepared for observation of a thin pipe, and an optical adapter having a large light quantity and a large outer diameter was not prepared for a thick pipe. Furthermore, quartz fiber has various problems such that a sufficient amount of light cannot be obtained because of its low ultraviolet light transmission efficiency.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope that can be observed accurately even if the surface condition of the subject is different.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes an illumination unit comprising a semiconductor light emitting element and a fluorescent material that emits light when excited by the semiconductor light emitting element, and a plurality of the illumination units. The endoscope includes an adapter that can be attached to and detached from a distal end of the endoscope, and the illumination means having different wavelengths of illumination light can be replaced with the adapter.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the adapters having different wavelengths of the illumination light according to the first aspect are a white light illumination adapter and an ultraviolet light illumination optical adapter.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the adapter according to the first aspect further includes an imaging device.

  Claim 4 includes a white light illuminating means comprising a semiconductor light emitting element and a fluorescent material that emits light in the visible light region when excited by the semiconductor light emitting element, and a plurality of the white light illuminating means, A detachable optical adapter for white light illumination, an ultraviolet light illumination means comprising a semiconductor light emitting element and a fluorescent material that emits ultraviolet light when excited by the semiconductor light emitting element, and a plurality of the ultraviolet light illumination means, The endoscope includes an adapter for illuminating ultraviolet light that can be attached to and detached from the distal end of the endoscope, and is replaceable with the adapter for illuminating white light and the adapter for illuminating ultraviolet light.

  According to the present invention, there is an effect that the subject can be accurately observed by exchanging the adapter having a different wavelength of the illumination light at the distal end of the endoscope according to the surface condition of the subject.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  1 to 3 show a first embodiment, FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the whole endoscope, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the whole endoscope, and FIG. It is a vertical side view. As shown in FIG. 1, an endoscope 1 includes an operation unit 2, an insertion unit 3 connected to the operation unit 2, and a head mounted display 5 connected to the operation unit 2 via a signal cable 4. It is composed of

  The insertion portion 3 includes a flexible portion 6, a bending portion 7 connected to the distal end portion of the flexible portion 6, and a distal end configuration portion 8 provided at the distal end portion of the bending portion 7. One end side of an operation wire (not shown) inserted in the flexible portion 6 and the bending portion 7 is connected to the rear end portion of the tip constituting portion 8, and the other end side of the operation wire is connected to the operation portion 2. It is connected to the bending operation knob 9 provided. Then, by pushing and pulling the operation wire by operating the bending operation knob 9, the bending portion 7 is bent up and down and left and right so that the tip constituting portion 8 can be directed to the target portion.

  As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the tip construction unit 8 is provided with illumination means 10 and observation means 11. The illumination means 10 and the observation means 11 will be described. The tip body 12 of the tip constituent portion 8 is cylindrical, and is provided with first and second through holes 13a and 13b penetrating in the axial direction.

  A cylindrical body 14 made of an insulating material such as a synthetic resin is inserted in the first through hole 13a, and a blue LED 15 as a semiconductor light emitting element is mounted behind the cylindrical body 14, and the front side of the blue LED 15 is mounted. A white fluorescent material 16 is attached to the inside of the cylindrical body 14 in the part, and a cover glass 17 is attached to the front part. The cover glass 17 is flush with the front end surface of the tip body 12 and is sealed watertight with the cylindrical body 14. Further, a power cable 18 is electrically connected to the blue LED 15, which extends through the insertion portion 3 to the operation portion 2.

  Further, a cylindrical body 19 made of an insulating material such as a synthetic resin is inserted into the second through-hole 13b, and a CCD 20 as an image pickup device is mounted on the rear side of the cylindrical body 19, and a front portion of the CCD 20 An objective lens 21 is mounted inside the cylindrical body 19 in FIG. The objective lens 21 is flush with the cylindrical body 19 and is flush with the front end surface of the tip body 12. Further, a signal cable 22 is electrically connected to the CCD 20, which extends through the insertion portion 3 to the operation portion 2.

  The operation unit 2 includes a CCU (camera control unit) 23. The CCU 23 is electrically connected to a battery 25 that can be attached to and detached from the operation unit 2 via a power line 24. A power cable 18 connected to the blue LED 15 is electrically connected to the power line 24. Further, a signal cable 22 connected to the CCD 20 is electrically connected to the CCU 23, and further, the head mounted display 5 is connected.

  The battery 25 that can be attached to and detached from the operation unit 2 also serves as a gripping unit for holding the endoscope 1 by the case 25a. The gripping unit includes a power on / off switch and a light amount adjustment unit (not shown). The endoscope 1 can be operated while being gripped.

  Next, the operation of the endoscope 1 configured as described above will be described.

  When the power on / off switch is operated and turned on, the light emitting portion of the blue LED 15 emits light, and the CCD 20 is driven by the CCU 23. When the light emitting portion of the blue LED 15 emits light, the white fluorescent material 16 disposed in front of the blue LED 15 is excited to emit light, and passes through the cover glass 17 as white light to irradiate the subject. The CCD 20 detects subject reflected light irradiated with white light, and the detection signal is input to the CCU 23 by the signal cable 22, so that the image of the subject can be observed by the head mounted display 5 connected to the CCU 23. .

  Accordingly, the light emitting portion of the single blue LED 15 emits light, and the white fluorescent material 16 disposed in the front thereof is excited to irradiate the subject as white light. Therefore, there is no color unevenness, for example, an industrial endoscope. This is used to determine the color of the subject when observing the inside of a pipe to determine corrosion, or when used for a medical endoscope to observe tissue in a patient's body cavity and make a diagnosis. Is an important indicator, but since color unevenness does not occur, it is possible to accurately determine the degree of corrosion and diagnose the structure.

  Moreover, since it is a combination of the single blue LED 15 and the white fluorescent material 16, it is small in size, the tip configuration portion 8 can be downsized, heat generation is small, and the CCD 20 can be adversely affected. There is no effect.

  FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment, and the same components as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. In the present embodiment, a white LED 26 in which a light emitting part and a white fluorescent material are sealed in one package is mounted in a first through hole 13a provided in the tip end body 12, and the other part is the first. This is the same as the first embodiment. The white LED 26 is sealed so as to enclose the light emitting portion with a transparent synthetic resin mixed with a white fluorescent material. When the light emitting portion emits light, the white fluorescent material is excited to irradiate the subject as white light. In addition to the effects similar to those of the first embodiment, the assembling workability is improved and the effects can be provided at low cost.

  5 and 6 show a third embodiment, and the same components as those in the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. In the present embodiment, a white LED and an ultraviolet LED are provided in an endoscope optical adapter.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the distal end body 27 of the insertion portion 3 of the endoscope 1 is provided with a narrow diameter portion 28, and the outer peripheral portion of the narrow diameter portion 28 is provided with a male screw portion 29. A plurality of CCD contacts 30 and a plurality of LED contacts 31 are provided on the surface.

  A small light quantity optical adapter 32 and a large light quantity optical adapter 33 can be interchangeably mounted on the distal end body 27. That is, a contact point (not shown) connected to the CCD contact 30 and the plurality of LED contact points 31 is provided on the base end surface of the small light amount optical adapter 32, and further, at the base end portion of the small light amount optical adapter 32. Is provided with a connection ring 34 having an internal thread portion screwed into the external thread portion 29 on the inner peripheral surface. Further, an observation unit 35 made of a CCD, a white LED 26 and an ultraviolet LED 36 are provided at the tip of the small light quantity optical adapter 32.

  The white LED 26 is incorporated in the optical adapter 32 for small light quantity by the same means as in the second embodiment, and the ultraviolet LED 36 is configured as shown in FIG. That is, a blue LED 38 is mounted inside the cylindrical body 37, an ultraviolet light emitting fluorescent material 39 is mounted inside the cylindrical body 37 in front of the blue LED 38, and a cover glass 40 is mounted further on the front. Yes.

  Similarly to the optical adapter 32 for small light quantity, a contact point (not shown) connected to the CCD contact 30 and the plurality of LED contacts 31 is provided on the base end surface of the optical adapter 33 for large light quantity. Also, a connection ring 34 having a female thread portion screwed into the male thread portion 29 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the base end portion of the optical adapter 33 for large light quantity. Further, the distal end portion of the large light quantity optical adapter 32 is formed in the large diameter portion 41, and an observation portion 35 made of a CCD is provided in the central portion of the large diameter portion 41. Further, a plurality of white LEDs 26 and a plurality of ultraviolet LEDs 36 are disposed around the observation unit 35 as a center.

  According to the present embodiment, for example, when the observation site is narrow and the amount of illumination light is small, the optical adapter 32 for small light quantity is attached to the distal end body 27 of the insertion portion 3 of the endoscope 1 to observe the observation site. However, when a large amount of illumination light is required, the optical adapter 33 for large light amount can be attached to the distal end body 27 of the insertion portion 3 of the endoscope 1. In any case, the connection ring 34 is rotated by turning the connection ring 34 in a state where the contacts provided on the rear end surfaces of the optical adapters 32 and 33 are connected to the CCD contact 30 and the LED contact 31 of the tip body 27. An internal thread portion provided on the inner peripheral surface of the small-diameter portion 28 is screwed into the external thread portion 29 so that the small light amount optical adapter 32 and the large light amount optical adapter 33 can be selectively connected to the distal end portion body 27. .

  In addition, since the ultraviolet light LED 36 is provided in the small light quantity optical adapter 32 and the large light quantity optical adapter 33, fluorescence inspection can be performed by emitting ultraviolet light. That is, when a subject has a scratch and the degree of the scratch is observed by fluorescent flaw detection, the fluorescent paint is applied to the subject so that the fluorescent paint penetrates into the scratch. Next, after washing the fluorescent paint on the surface of the subject and irradiating the subject with ultraviolet light by the ultraviolet light LED 36, the fluorescent paint remaining on the scratch emits visible light, and the degree of the scratch can be clearly observed.

  In the present embodiment, the small-light optical adapter 32 and the large-light optical adapter 33 are provided with both the white LED 26 and the ultraviolet LED 36. However, the optical adapter and the ultraviolet LED provided with the white LED are provided. The optical adapter may be provided, and may be exchanged depending on the purpose of use and attached to the distal end portion body 27 of the insertion portion 3 of the endoscope 1.

  Further, in order to enhance a specific wavelength with a white LED, a monochromatic LED may be combined, and not only a video scope but also a fiber scope may be used.

  According to the embodiment, the following configuration is obtained.

  (Appendix 1) An endoscope having an illuminating means and an observing means, wherein the illuminating means uses a fluorescent material which is excited by a semiconductor light emitting element and emits light.

  (Additional remark 2) The endoscope of Additional remark 1 characterized by the semiconductor light emitting element and the fluorescent material being sealed in one package.

  (Supplementary note 3) The endoscope according to supplementary note 1, wherein the emission wavelength of the fluorescent material is distributed in the visible light region.

  (Appendix 4) The illumination means is provided with a plurality of illumination units, and the illumination unit is mixed with an illumination unit provided with a fluorescent material that emits visible light and an illumination unit provided with a fluorescent material that emits ultraviolet light. The endoscope according to appendix 1, characterized by:

  (Appendix 5) In an endoscope in which an optical adapter is detachably provided on the distal end main body of the endoscope, a semiconductor light emitting element and a fluorescent material that is excited by the semiconductor light emitting element and emits light are provided in the optical adapter. Features an endoscope.

  According to Appendices 1 to 3, white light can be obtained with one LED, and the luminous efficiency (Lumen / W) of the white LED is 100 to 200 times that of the light source and light guide used in the conventional endoscope system. It becomes. The conversion efficiency to white is R.I. About twice as much as that due to the mixed color of G and BLED. According to Supplementary Note 4, it is possible to perform fluorescence flaw detection with a sufficient amount of light by emitting ultraviolet light at the distal end of the endoscope. According to Supplementary Note 5, the illumination light quantity (number of LEDs) can be obtained as necessary.

1 is an overall perspective view of an endoscope showing a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. The whole block diagram of the endoscope of the embodiment. The longitudinal side view of the front-end | tip structure part of the endoscope of the embodiment. The longitudinal side view of the front-end | tip structure part of the endoscope which shows 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The disassembled perspective view of the endoscope which shows the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The longitudinal section side view of ultraviolet LED of the embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Endoscope, 3 ... Insertion part, 26 ... White LED, 27 ... Tip part main body, 36 ... Ultraviolet light LED, 38 ... Blue LED

Claims (4)

An illumination means comprising a semiconductor light emitting element and a fluorescent material that emits light when excited by the semiconductor light emitting element;
An adapter that includes a plurality of the illumination means and is attachable to and detachable from an endoscope tip;
With
An endoscope characterized in that the illumination means having different wavelengths of illumination light can be replaced with the adapter. The adapter having a different wavelength of the illumination light is
A white light adapter,
An optical adapter for UV illumination,
The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein: The adapter is
The endoscope according to claim 1, further comprising an imaging element. A white light illuminating means comprising a semiconductor light emitting element and a fluorescent material excited by the semiconductor light emitting element to emit light in the visible light range;
A plurality of white light illuminating means, and an optical adapter for white light illumination that can be attached to and detached from an endoscope tip;
An ultraviolet light illumination means comprising a semiconductor light emitting element and a fluorescent material that emits ultraviolet light when excited by the semiconductor light emitting element;
A plurality of the ultraviolet light illumination means, an ultraviolet light adapter that can be attached to and detached from the endoscope tip,
With
An endoscope that can be exchanged for the white light illumination adapter and the ultraviolet light illumination adapter.

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