JP2006334112A - White balance regulator for electronic endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a white balance regulator for an electronic endoscope which can position the inserting section of the electronic endoscope at a specified position in the white balance regulator without bringing the inserting section into contact with the internal surface of the white balance regulator, and in addition, can perform an accurate white balance regulation regardless of the direction of the white balance regulator. <P>SOLUTION: This white balance regulator for the electronic endoscope is equipped with internal holding cylinders 42 and 52, and openings 45 and 56. In this case, the internal holding cylinders 42 and 52 are provided in cylindrical sections 31 and 32 so as to be spaced apart from the bottom section 32 and the internal surface of the cylindrical section. Also, the internal holding cylinders 42 and 52 detachably support the inserting section 12 of the electronic endoscope. The openings 45 and 56 are formed on the opposed end section to the bottom section 32 of the internal holding cylinder, and make an illumination optical system 19 and an observation optical system 18 which are provided on the distal end surface of the inserting section of the electronic endoscope exposed to the internal surface side of the bottom section. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a white balance adjusting tool for an electronic endoscope.

When an electronic endoscope that emits light from the illumination optical system at the distal end of the insertion section is connected to a processor and a TV monitor for color imaging of subjects such as affected areas, white balance is required in advance to obtain a good color screen. Make adjustments.
As a white balance adjustment tool used at the time of white balance adjustment, for example, one having a bottomed cylindrical shape in which one end is open and the other end is closed and the entire inner surface is opaque white is known (for example, Patent Documents). 1).

  When the tip of the insertion part of the electronic endoscope is inserted into this white balance adjustment tool, illumination light is irradiated from the tip of the insertion part, and the white balance switch provided in the processor is turned on, the processor adjusts the white balance. Do.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-69615

  At the time of white balance adjustment, the operator grasps the insertion part of the electronic endoscope by hand and inserts the insertion part into the white balance adjustment tool, but accidentally makes the insertion part contact the inner surface of the white balance adjustment tool. was there. If contact is made in this way, the white balance adjusting tool must be washed after that, which is troublesome.

  Furthermore, if the distance between the tip of the insertion section and the inner surface of the white balance adjustment tool is not kept constant, the reflected light from the inner surface of the white balance adjustment tool will be too strong, so the white balance cannot be adjusted properly. . However, since it is not easy to keep the insertion portion in a predetermined position by hand, conventionally, such a problem is likely to occur.

  In addition, when adjusting the white balance, if the opening end of the white balance adjustment tool is not pointed downward, indoor light (for example, illumination light) will enter the white balance adjustment tool. Absent. Conventionally, however, white balance adjustment has been performed with the open end of the white balance adjustment tool facing upward or sideward due to carelessness of the operator, and inaccurate white balance adjustment has been performed.

  The object of the present invention is to position the insertion part of the electronic endoscope at a predetermined position in the white balance adjusting tool without making contact with the inner surface of the white balance adjusting tool. An object of the present invention is to provide a white balance adjuster for an electronic endoscope that can perform balance adjustment.

  The white balance adjusting tool for an electronic endoscope according to the present invention includes a bottomed cylindrical portion in which the insertion portion of the electronic endoscope is inserted, and the entire inner surface is opaque white, and the bottomed cylindrical portion. An inner holding cylinder that removably supports the insertion portion, the tip of which is provided in a manner that the tip is spaced from the bottom and the inner surface of the bottomed cylindrical portion, and the bottom of the inner holding cylinder And an opening formed at the end for allowing the illumination optical system and the observation optical system at the tip of the insertion portion to face the bottom.

  Preferably, the inner holding cylinder is made of an elastic material, and an inner diameter of a portion of the inner holding cylinder that comes into contact with the insertion portion when the insertion portion is not inserted is smaller than a cross-sectional diameter of the insertion portion.

  It is preferable that a stopper for preventing the distal end portion of the insertion portion from projecting from the opening into the bottomed cylindrical portion is formed at an end portion of the inner holding tube facing the bottom portion.

  It is preferable to form a part of the inner holding cylinder as a linear reinforcing part that is thicker than the other part of the inner holding cylinder that extends linearly from the opening toward the opposite end side. .

  It is practical to form a plurality of the linear reinforcing portions side by side in the circumferential direction of the inner holding cylinder.

  If the end of the inner holding cylinder opposite to the opening is connected to the entire circumference of the opening end of the bottomed cylindrical part, indoor light is not irradiated to the inner surface of the bottomed cylindrical part. . Therefore, regardless of the orientation of the white balance adjustment tool, it is possible to always perform white balance adjustment in the same state as in the body.

  The inner holding cylinder may be detachably attached to the open end of the bottomed cylindrical part.

  The inner holding cylinder may be an integrally molded product made of silicon rubber.

  According to the present invention, since the insertion portion of the electronic endoscope is covered by the inner holding cylinder, there is no possibility of bringing the insertion portion into contact with the bottom portion of the bottomed cylindrical portion or other inner peripheral surface. Furthermore, since the insertion part is positioned by the inner holding cylinder, the reflection state of the bottomed cylindrical part can be maintained in an appropriate state. Furthermore, if the end opposite to the opening of the inner holding cylinder is connected to the entire circumference of the opening end of the bottomed cylindrical part, the inner holding cylinder prevents external light from entering the bottomed cylindrical part. Therefore, accurate white balance adjustment can be performed regardless of the direction of the bottomed cylindrical portion.

Hereinafter, a first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an electronic endoscope 10 will be described.
An electronic endoscope 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes an operation unit 11 and an insertion unit 12, and the distal end of the insertion unit 12 is vertically and horizontally depending on the operation of a bending operation device 13 provided on the operation unit 11. The curved portion 12a is curved. A universal tube 14 extends from the operation unit 11, and a connector unit 14a provided at the tip of the universal tube 14 can be connected to a processor 15 in which an image processing circuit, a light source, and the like (all not shown) are built. It has become.
As shown in FIG. 6B, an observation window (object window, observation optical system) 18 and an illumination optical system 19 are provided on the distal end surface of the insertion portion 12. An image forming lens and a CCD (both not shown) are disposed in the distal end of the insertion portion 12 immediately after the observation window 18, and an image signal cable (not shown) is provided rearward from the CCD. The rear end portion of the image signal cable reaches the signal connection portion 14b projecting from the connector portion 14a. Reference numeral 20 shown in FIG. 6B is an opening for an endoscope treatment tool.
A light source insertion end 16 that can be inserted into an insertion hole (not shown) of the processor 15 protrudes from the connector portion 14 a, and the light source insertion end is provided inside the electronic endoscope 10. A light guide fiber bundle 17 is disposed from the portion 16 to immediately after the illumination optical system 19.

  When the light source insertion end 16 of the electronic endoscope 10 is inserted into the insertion hole of the processor 15, the incident end face of the light guide fiber bundle 17 is positioned immediately before the light source. When the light source in the processor is caused to emit light in this state, the light emitted from the light source is given to the illumination optical system 19 through the light guide fiber bundle 17 and an image obtained through the observation window 18 at the distal end of the insertion portion 12. Is displayed on a television monitor (not shown) connected to the processor 15.

  In order to improve the color image displayed on the television monitor in this way, it is necessary to perform white balance adjustment using the white balance adjusting tool main body 30 shown in FIGS.

The white balance adjuster main body 30, which is integrally formed of, for example, a non-translucent white plastic resin, has a circular cylindrical cylindrical portion 31, a bottom portion 32 that closes one end of the cylindrical portion 31, and a cylinder And an attachment piece 34 extending from the shape portion 31 and having a through hole 33 formed therein. The cylindrical part 31 and the bottom part 32 are components of the bottomed cylindrical part.
As shown in FIG. 5, the white balance adjusting tool main body 30 is inserted with a head screw 36 in the through hole 33 of the mounting piece 34 with the opening end side of the cylindrical portion 31 facing downward. The screw 36 is fixed to the top plate 38 of the wagon by screwing the screw 36 with a female screw hole 39 formed in the side surface of the top plate 38 of the wagon that can move on the floor surface.

A positioning cylindrical member 40 is detachably attached to the open end of the white balance adjusting tool body 30.
In the initial state, the positioning cylindrical member 40 is fitted from the fitting cylindrical part 41 whose inner diameter is slightly smaller than the outer diameter on the opening end side of the cylindrical part 31 from the entire circumference of one end of the fitting cylindrical part 41. An inner holding cylinder 42 concentric with the fitting cylindrical part 41 extending toward the opposite end through the inside of the cylindrical part 41 is provided. The general shape of the inner holding cylinder 42 is a conical shape with the head cut. The inner holding cylinder 42 has an inner diameter that decreases toward the tip side. The inner holding cylinder 42 is longer than the fitting cylindrical part 41, and the tip of the inner holding cylinder 42 protrudes from the fitting cylindrical part 41 in a side view. Six inward stoppers 43 are formed at the tip of the inner holding cylinder 42. Each stopper 43 is orthogonal to the axis of the fitting cylindrical portion 41 and the inner holding cylinder 42. Between adjacent stoppers 43, a slit 44 extending to the tip of the inner holding cylinder 42 is provided. Furthermore, a substantially circular opening 45 in front view is formed between the inner peripheral surfaces of the stoppers 43. The positioning cylindrical member 40 having such a structure is integrally formed of silicon rubber (elastic material).

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the positioning cylindrical member 40 has its inner holding cylinder 42 inserted into the cylindrical portion 31 and the inner surface of the cylindrical positioning member 40 is elastically deformed while the fitting cylindrical portion 41 is elastically deformed. The white balance adjusting tool body 30 is detachably mounted by being fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the main body. When the positioning cylindrical member 40 is attached to the white balance adjusting tool main body 30, the inner surface of the fitting cylindrical portion 41 elastically contacts the outer surface of the cylindrical portion 31, so that the positioning cylindrical member is not removed unless the operator intentionally removes it. If the surgeon elastically deforms the fitting tubular portion 41 in the expanding direction by the hand, the positioning tubular member 40 can be easily removed from the white balance adjuster main body 30. Can be removed.
As shown in FIG. 5, when the positioning cylindrical member 40 is attached to the white balance adjuster main body 30, the inner holding cylinder 42 and the cylindrical portion 31 are coaxial, and the inner holding cylinder 42 is further formed of the cylindrical portion 31 and the bottom portion 32. A predetermined distance away from the inner peripheral surface. When the insertion part 12 of the electronic endoscope 10 is inserted into the inner holding cylinder 42 of the positioning cylindrical member 40 attached to the white balance adjusting tool main body 30 in this way, the distal end part of the inner holding cylinder 42 expands while elastically deforming. The inner peripheral surface of the distal end portion of the inner holding cylinder 42 is elastically contacted with the peripheral surface of the distal end portion of the insertion portion 12, and the distal end portion of the insertion portion 12 is held (positioned) in the state of FIG. When the insertion portion 12 is not inserted, the inner diameter of the distal end portion of the inner holding tube 42 (the portion that contacts the outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion 12) is smaller than the diameter L2 of the distal end surface of the insertion portion 12 (the innermost of the inner holding tube 42). The inner diameter of the tip is L1, which is smaller than L2, see FIG. 6A), but the inner diameter of the tip of the inner holding cylinder 42 (the portion that contacts the outer peripheral surface of the insert 12) when the insert 12 is inserted is the same as L2. (See FIG. 6B). And if the front end surface of the insertion part 12 contacts each stopper 43, the further entry of the insertion part 12 will be blocked | prevented. Furthermore, at this time, as shown in FIG. 6B, the observation window 18, the illumination optical system 19, and the treatment instrument opening 20 are exposed from the opening 45 to the outside (the inner surfaces of the cylindrical portion 31 and the bottom portion 32).
The white balance adjusting tool main body 30 and the positioning cylindrical member 40 are components of the white balance adjusting tool.

  When the light source of the processor 15 is caused to emit light while the distal end portion of the insertion portion 12 of the electronic endoscope 10 is inserted into the inner holding cylinder 42 of the positioning cylindrical member 40 in this way, the illumination light is opened from the illumination optical system 19. 45 is irradiated to the bottom 32 side, and the state of the inner surface of the bottom 32 is displayed on the television monitor. When the white balance switch S1 provided in the processor 15 is turned on, the processor 15 performs white balance adjustment. At the time of white balance adjustment, if the distal end surface of the insertion portion 12 gets too close to the inner surface of the bottom portion 32 of the white balance adjustment tool main body 30, the reflected light reflected by the cylindrical portion 31 and the inner surface of the bottom portion 32 may become stronger than necessary. However, in this embodiment, since the position of the distal end surface of the insertion portion 12 is regulated by the inner holding cylinder 42 and the stopper 43 of the positioning cylindrical member 40, such a problem does not occur and is always in an appropriate state. Can be used to adjust the white balance.

Further, since the distal end portion of the insertion portion 12 is covered by the distal end portion of the inner holding cylinder 42, the distal end portion of the insertion portion 12 comes into contact with the inner surfaces of the tubular portion 31 and the bottom portion 32 and the inner surfaces of the tubular portion 31 and the bottom portion 32. Will not pollute you. Therefore, it is not necessary to clean the white balance adjusting tool main body 30 after the white balance adjustment.
Further, even if the white balance adjustment is performed with the opening end of the white balance adjusting tool body 30 facing upward or sideward, the opening end of the white balance adjusting tool body 30 is blocked by the positioning cylindrical member 40. (The end of the inner holding cylinder 42 on the fitting cylindrical portion 41 side is connected to the entire opening end of the cylindrical portion 31), and the inner surface of the inner end of the inner holding cylinder 42 is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the distal end of the insertion portion 12 ( (Elastic contact), indoor light is not irradiated to the inner surface of the cylindrical portion 31 and the bottom portion 32. Therefore, the white balance adjustment can always be performed in the same state as the body regardless of the orientation of the white balance adjustment tool main body 30.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The same members as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.
Since the feature of this embodiment is in the positioning cylindrical member 50, the structure of the positioning cylindrical member 50 will be described first.
The positioning cylindrical member 50 of the present embodiment is an integral body made of silicon rubber and includes a fitting cylindrical portion 51 having the same shape as that of the first embodiment and an inner holding cylinder 52 having substantially the same shape as that of the first embodiment. It is a molded product. However, the difference is that twelve linear reinforcing portions 53 are formed on the inner holding cylinder 52. The linear reinforcing portion 53 is a linear component that extends from the proximal end side (the connecting end portion side with the fitting cylindrical portion 51) to the distal end of the inner holding cylinder 52. As shown in FIG. 10, the linear reinforcing portion 53 is thicker than the thin portion 54 which is another portion (a portion between adjacent linear reinforcing portions 53), and relatively relative to the other portions. Hard and relatively difficult to elastically deform. Twelve stoppers 55 project from the distal end portion of the inner holding cylinder 52 so that the circumferential position thereof corresponds to each linear reinforcing portion 53 (each stopper 55 includes the fitting cylindrical portion 51 and the inner holding portion). Perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder 52). A substantially circular opening 56 is formed between the inner peripheral surfaces of the stoppers 55 when viewed from the front. The inner diameter of the distal end portion of the inner holding cylinder 52 in the initial state (the portion that contacts the outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion 12) is L1 smaller than the diameter L2 of the distal end surface of the insertion portion 12 (see FIG. 11A).

  Also in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the inner holding cylinder 52 is inserted into the cylindrical portion 31, and the inner surface of the cylindrical portion 31 is made to elastically deform the fitting cylindrical portion 51. The positioning cylindrical member 50 can be detachably mounted on the white balance adjusting tool main body 30 by fitting to the outer peripheral surface. When the positioning cylindrical member 50 is mounted on the white balance adjuster main body 30, the inner holding cylinder 52 and the cylindrical portion 31 are coaxial, and the inner holding cylinder 52 is predetermined from the inner peripheral surfaces of the cylindrical portion 31 and the bottom portion 32. Separate by distance. When the insertion part 12 of the electronic endoscope 10 is inserted into the inner holding cylinder 52, the tip of the inner holding cylinder 52 (the part that contacts the outer peripheral surface of the insertion part 12) expands in diameter while being elastically deformed, and FIG. ), The inner diameter of the distal end portion of the inner holding cylinder 52 is the same as the diameter L2 of the distal end surface of the insertion portion 12. Further, the distal end surface of the insertion portion 12 comes into contact with each stopper 55. And the inner peripheral surface of the front-end | tip part of the inner side holding | maintenance cylinder 52 elastically contacts the peripheral surface of the front-end | tip part of the insertion part 12, and the front-end | tip part of the insertion part 12 is hold | maintained in the state of FIG. Further, at this time, as shown in FIG. 11B, the observation window 18, the illumination optical system 19, and the treatment instrument opening 20 are exposed from the opening 56 to the outside (the inner surfaces of the cylindrical portion 31 and the bottom portion 32).

  In this embodiment, not only the same effects as in the first embodiment are obtained, but also the inner holding cylinder 52 is provided with twelve linear reinforcing portions 53, so that the inner holding cylinder 52 as a whole is the first. Compared to the inner holding cylinder 42 of the embodiment, it is less likely to be elastically deformed. Therefore, the inner holding cylinder 52 has a stronger force for holding the insertion portion 12 in the state shown in FIG. 9 than the inner holding cylinder 42, and even if an operator accidentally applies unnecessary force to the insertion portion 12, the insertion portion 12. Can be maintained in the state of FIG.

While the present invention has been described based on the first and second embodiments, the present invention can be implemented with various modifications.
For example, although the positioning cylindrical member 40 and the positioning cylindrical member 50 are integrally molded products made of silicon rubber, they may be integrally molded using an elastic material such as NBR, fluororubber, synthetic rubber, natural rubber or the like.
Furthermore, the positioning cylindrical member 40 or the positioning cylindrical member 50 may be formed integrally with the white balance adjusting tool main body 30.
Further, the number of the stoppers 43, the linear reinforcing portions 53, and the stoppers 55 is not limited to the above, and may be one or a plurality other than the above.

1 is a side view showing an overall configuration of an electronic endoscope system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of a white balance adjuster body. It is a perspective view of a white balance adjustment tool. It is a perspective view of a positioning cylindrical member. It is sectional drawing when a white balance adjustment tool is mounted | worn with the top plate of a desk. (A) is a front view of the front end surface of the positioning cylindrical member when the insertion part of an electronic endoscope is not inserted, (b) is a positioning cylinder shape when the insertion part of an electronic endoscope is inserted It is a front view of the front end surface of a member. It is a perspective view of the white balance adjustment tool main body of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing when a white balance adjustment tool is mounted | worn with the top plate of a desk. It is sectional drawing when an insertion part is inserted in the white balance adjustment tool with which the top plate was mounted | worn. It is sectional drawing of a positioning part. (A) is a front view of the front end surface of the positioning cylindrical member when the insertion part of an electronic endoscope is not inserted, (b) is a positioning cylinder shape when the insertion part of an electronic endoscope is inserted It is a front view of the front end surface of a member.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Electronic endoscope 11 Operation part 12 Insertion part 12a Bending part 18 Observation window (objective window) (observation optical system)
19 Illumination optical system 20 Treatment tool opening 30 White balance adjuster body (white balance adjuster)
31 cylindrical part (bottomed cylindrical part)
32 Bottom (bottomed cylindrical part)
33 Through-hole 34 Mounting piece 36 Screw with head 38 Top plate 39 Female screw hole 40 Positioning cylindrical member (white balance adjusting tool)
41 Fitting cylindrical portion 42 Inner holding cylinder 43 Stopper 44 Slit 45 Opening 50 Positioning cylindrical member (white balance adjusting tool)
51 Fitting cylinder 52 Inner holding cylinder 53 Linear reinforcing part 54 Thin part 55 Stopper 56 Opening

Claims (8)

A bottomed cylindrical portion in which the insertion portion of the electronic endoscope is inserted, and the entire inner surface is opaque white,
An inner holding cylinder that removably supports the insertion part, provided in a manner in which the tip part is separated from the bottom part and the inner peripheral surface of the bottomed cylindrical part inside the bottomed cylindrical part,
An electronic endoscope comprising: an opening formed at an end portion of the inner holding cylinder facing the bottom portion so that an illumination optical system and an observation optical system of the insertion portion face the bottom portion. Mirror white balance adjuster. The white balance adjusting tool for an electronic endoscope according to claim 1,
The white balance adjusting tool for an electronic endoscope, wherein the inner holding cylinder is made of an elastic material, and an inner diameter of a portion of the inner holding cylinder that contacts the insertion portion when the insertion portion is not inserted is smaller than a cross-sectional diameter of the insertion portion. In the white balance adjustment tool for electronic endoscopes according to claim 1 or 2,
A white balance adjuster for an electronic endoscope in which a stopper that prevents the distal end portion of the insertion portion from projecting from the opening into the bottomed cylindrical portion is formed at an end portion of the inner holding tube facing the bottom portion. . In the white balance adjustment tool for electronic endoscopes according to claim 2 or 3,
An electronic endoscope in which a part of the inner holding cylinder is linearly extended from the opening toward the opposite end side and is thicker than the other parts of the inner holding cylinder. Mirror white balance adjuster. In the white balance adjustment tool for electronic endoscopes according to claim 4,
A white balance adjusting tool for an electronic endoscope in which a plurality of the linear reinforcing portions are formed side by side in the circumferential direction of the inner holding cylinder. In the white balance adjustment tool for electronic endoscopes according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A white balance adjusting tool for an electronic endoscope, wherein an end of the inner holding cylinder opposite to the opening is connected to the entire circumference of the opening end of the bottomed cylindrical section. The white balance adjusting tool for an electronic endoscope according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A white balance adjusting tool for an electronic endoscope, wherein the inner holding cylinder is detachably attached to an opening end of the bottomed cylindrical part. In the white balance adjustment tool for electronic endoscopes according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
A white balance adjuster for an electronic endoscope in which the inner holding cylinder is an integrally molded product made of silicon rubber.

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