JP2013202305A - Light source device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a light source device which obtains white light by efficiency using fluorescence emitted from a fluorescent material in response to excitation light.SOLUTION: A light source device 3L has: a fourth light source 14 emitting excitation light having a predetermined wavelength; a fluorescent material arrangement member 40 provided with a fluorescent material 43 emitting fluorescence having a predetermined wavelength by being excited by the excitation light; and optical members 24 and 34 guiding the excitation light emitted from the fourth light source 14 to the fluorescent material 43 and guiding the fluorescence emitted from the fluorescent material 43 in a predetermined direction. The fluorescent material arrangement member 40 has, on one side thereof: a first slope 41 provided with the fluorescent material 43 and tilted at a prescribed angle with respect to the optical axis 45A of the excitation light guided to the fluorescent material 43; and a second slope 42 facing the first slope 41 with the optical axis 45A interposed in-between and provided with a reflection member 44 reflecting the fluorescence emitted from the fluorescent material 43.

Description

  The present invention relates to a light source device including a phosphor that receives excitation light and emits green illumination light.

  Endoscopes are used in the medical field, the industrial field, and the like. An insertion portion of an endoscope used in the medical field is inserted into a dark body. On the other hand, an insertion portion of an endoscope used in the industrial field or the like is inserted into a dark engine or piping. In these endoscopes, the distal end portion of the insertion portion is provided with an illumination optical system for irradiating the observation site with illumination light and an observation optical system for observing the observation site irradiated with the illumination light. Yes.

  Conventionally, in endoscopes, it is common to illuminate an observation site from an illumination window by transmitting illumination light emitted from a light source device to a distal end portion through a light guide fiber inserted into the insertion portion. . In recent years, an endoscope in which a light emitting element is provided as an illumination optical system at a distal end portion of an insertion portion has been put into practical use.

  In the light source device, conventionally, a lamp such as a xenon lamp capable of obtaining white light close to sunlight has been used as a light source, but in recent years, a light emitting element such as an LED has been used as a light source.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a semiconductor light emitting device that includes a red light source that emits red light and a blue light source that emits blue light, and an excitation light source that emits excitation light to a phosphor that emits fluorescence in the green wavelength band. A light source unit provided as a light source is shown.

In this light source unit, the phosphor is provided in an annular recess formed in a fluorescent wheel arranged so as to be orthogonal to the optical axis of the excitation light emitted from the excitation light irradiation device. Specifically, the phosphor is laid on the reflecting surface of the concave portion of the fluorescent wheel that has been subjected to mirror processing.

JP 2011-095388 A

  However, as shown in FIG. 1, when the phosphor 100 receives the excitation light 101, it emits fluorescence in all directions as indicated by arrows in the figure. Therefore, even if the mirror processing 104 is applied to the surface of the fluorescent wheel 102 and the surface of the recess 103, the fluorescent light emitted from the phosphor 100 cannot be picked up by the optical lens 105, and a lot of fluorescent light becomes leakage light. It was.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a light source device that obtains white light by efficiently using fluorescence emitted from a phosphor upon receiving excitation light.

  A light source device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a phosphor arrangement in which an excitation light source that emits excitation light having a predetermined wavelength and a phosphor that is excited by the excitation light and emits fluorescence having a predetermined wavelength are provided. A light source device comprising: a member; and a plurality of optical members that guide excitation light emitted from the excitation light source to the phosphor and guide fluorescence emitted from the phosphor in a predetermined direction. The body arrangement member is provided with the phosphor, the first inclined surface inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the optical axis of the excitation light guided to the phosphor, and the first inclination with the optical axis interposed therebetween And a second inclined surface provided with a reflection surface that reflects the fluorescence emitted from the phosphor.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a light source device that obtains white light by efficiently using fluorescence emitted from a phosphor upon receiving excitation light.

The figure explaining the fluorescence radiate | emitted from the fluorescent substance which received excitation light 2 to 6B relate to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an endoscope system including an endoscope. Schematic diagram illustrating a light source device including a plurality of light sources The figure explaining the structure of a fluorescent substance arrangement | positioning member The figure explaining the effect | action of a fluorescent substance arrangement | positioning member The figure which shows the structural example which set the angle of the 1st inclined surface and the angle of the 2nd inclined surface to the same angle by an angle smaller than 45 degree | times. The figure which shows the structural example which set the angle of one inclined surface to an angle smaller than 45 degree | times, and set the angle of the other inclined surface to an angle larger than 45 degree | times. The figure explaining other composition of phosphor arrangement member, and its operation The figure explaining another structure of a fluorescent substance arrangement | positioning member, and its effect | action The figure explaining the example of 1 structure of the reflective surface of a reflective member The figure explaining the other structural example of the reflective surface of a reflective member The figure explaining the structure of the fluorescent substance arrangement | positioning member comprised in disk shape

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

  As shown in FIG. 2, the endoscope system 1 includes an endoscope 2, an external device such as a camera control unit (hereinafter referred to as CCU) 3, and a monitor (not shown). Has been.

  The CCU 3 according to the present embodiment also serves as a light source device that includes a light source for supplying illumination light to the endoscope 2 and a video processor that performs various signal processing and the like of an image sensor provided in the endoscope 2. . In the CCU 3, a plurality of light sources described later are provided.

  The endoscope 2 includes an insertion part 5, an operation part 6, and a universal cable 7. The insertion portion 5 is an elongated long member that is inserted into the site to be observed. The insertion portion 5 is configured by connecting a distal end portion 5a, a bending portion 5b, and a flexible tube portion 5c.

  The distal end portion 5a incorporates an illumination optical system including a light guide (not shown) and an imaging optical system that is an observation optical system including an imaging device. The bending portion 5b is configured to be capable of bending in four directions, for example, up, down, left, and right. The flexible tube portion 5c is a long and flexible tubular member.

The operation unit 6 is provided with a bending operation unit 6a, various switches 6b, an air / water supply button 6c, a suction button 6d, and the like. The bending operation unit 6a includes an up / down knob 6e, a left / right knob 6f, and the like. The switch 6b is, for example, a release switch, a freeze switch, an observation mode switching switch for switching between normal observation and fluorescence observation.
Reference numeral 6g denotes a treatment instrument insertion port.

The universal cable 7 extends from the side surface of the operation unit 6. An endoscope connector 7 a is provided at the end of the universal cable 7. In this embodiment, the signal transmission cable 7b is extended from the side part of the endoscope connector 7a. An electrical connector 7c is provided on the other end side of the signal transmission cable 7b.
A light guide base (see reference numeral 7d in FIG. 3) and an air supply base (not shown) are provided so as to protrude from the base end face of the endoscope connector 7a.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the CCU 3, a plurality of light sources 11, 12, 13, and 14 constituting a light source device 3L, a plurality of dichroic filters 21, 22, 23, and 24, and a plurality of condenser lenses 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 and a phosphor arranging member 40. Reference numeral 25 denotes an observation light switching filter, which is switched and arranged on the optical axis of the fifth condenser lens 35 by a driving device (not shown).

  The light sources 11, 12, 13, 14, the dichroic filters 21, 22, 23, 24, the condenser lenses 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, and the phosphor arranging member 40 are arranged at predetermined positions in the CCU 3. It is installed.

The first light source 11 includes one or a plurality of light emitting elements that emit violet light having a predetermined wavelength indicated by a solid line. The second light source 12 includes one or more light emitting elements that emit blue light having a predetermined wavelength indicated by a one-dot chain line. The third light source 13 includes one or a plurality of light emitting elements that emit red light having a predetermined wavelength indicated by a two-dot chain line.
The fourth light source 14 includes one or more laser diodes that emit blue excitation light having a predetermined wavelength indicated by a broken line.

  A first dichroic filter (hereinafter abbreviated as a first filter) 21 is an optical member having a characteristic of reflecting violet light that is light of a specific wavelength and transmitting light of other wavelengths. The first filter 21 is disposed at a predetermined angle with respect to the violet light so as to reflect the violet light toward the end face 7f of the light guide fiber 7e in the light guide base 7d.

  The second dichroic filter (hereinafter abbreviated as a second filter) 22 is an optical member having characteristics of reflecting blue light, which is light of a specific wavelength, and transmitting light of other wavelengths. The second filter 22 is disposed at a predetermined angle with respect to the blue light so as to reflect the blue light toward the end face 7f of the light guide fiber 7e.

  The third dichroic filter (hereinafter abbreviated as “third filter”) 23 is an optical member having characteristics of reflecting red light, which is light of a specific wavelength, and transmitting light of other wavelengths. The third filter 23 is disposed at a predetermined angle with respect to the red light so as to reflect the red light toward the end face 7f of the light guide fiber 7e.

  The fourth dichroic filter (hereinafter abbreviated as the fourth filter) 24 is an optical member that reflects blue excitation light, which is light having a specific wavelength, and transmits light having other wavelengths. The fourth filter 24 is disposed at a predetermined angle with respect to the excitation light so as to reflect the blue excitation light toward the phosphor arrangement member 40.

  The first condenser lens 31 is an optical member that condenses the violet light emitted from the light emitting element of the first light source 11 on the first filter 21. The second condenser lens 32 is an optical member that condenses the blue light emitted from the light emitting element of the second light source 12 on the second filter 22. The third condenser lens 33 is an optical member that condenses the red light emitted from the light emitting element of the third light source 13 on the third filter 23.

  The fourth condenser lens 34 emits blue excitation light reflected by the fourth filter 24 toward a phosphor described later provided in the phosphor arrangement member 40, and emits green fluorescence described later as a light guide. This is an optical member that emits light toward the end face 7f of the fiber 7e.

  The fifth condenser lens 35 includes the violet light reflected by the first filter 21, the blue light reflected by the second filter 22 and passed through the first filter 21, and reflected by the third filter 23 and filtered by the filter 22. The red light that has passed through 21 and the green fluorescence emitted from the phosphor shown by the broken lines that have been emitted from the fourth condenser lens 34 and passed through the filters 23, 22, and 21 are collected on the end face 7f of the light guide fiber 7e. It is an optical member that emits light.

  In FIG. 3, in order to make it possible to distinguish the optical path of blue light indicated by a one-dot chain line, the optical path of red light indicated by a two-dot chain line, the optical path of purple light indicated by a solid line, and the optical path of green light indicated by a broken line. The optical path of blue light and the optical path of red light are drawn as diagonal straight lines.

As shown in FIG. 4, the phosphor arranging member 40 is provided with a groove or a dent that includes a first inclined surface 41 and a second inclined surface 42 on one surface facing the fourth condenser lens 34. Have. In the present embodiment, the first inclined surface 41 is provided with a phosphor 43 that constitutes a phosphor screen, and the second inclined surface 42 is provided with a reflecting member 44 that constitutes a mirror surface.
Note that a V-groove is formed in the phosphor arranging member 40. Further, the reflecting surface which is the surface of the reflecting member 44 is a flat surface.

  The first inclined surface 41 is inclined with respect to the optical axis 45A of the excitation light reflected by the fourth dichroic filter 24 and passing through the fourth condenser lens 34, and the first inclination angle θ1 is an acute angle. On the other hand, the second inclined surface 42 is formed opposite to the first inclined surface 41 with the optical axis 45A interposed therebetween, and is inclined with respect to the optical axis 45A. The second inclined angle θ2 is an acute angle. In the present embodiment, the first inclination angle θ1 and the second inclination angle θ2 are set to 45 degrees.

  The phosphor 43 receives excitation light and emits fluorescence that is green illumination light. The reflecting member 44 is a reflecting plate or the like that is fixed to the second inclined surface by adhesion or the like, and reflects the green illumination light emitted from the phosphor 43.

The operation of the light source device 3L including the phosphor arranging member 40 configured as described above will be described.
When the light source device 3L of the CCU 3 is turned on for endoscopic observation, the illumination light of each color is emitted from each of the light sources 11, 12, 13 as described above, and the excitation light is emitted from the fourth light source 14. Is done. The excitation light emitted from the fourth light source 14 is reflected by the fourth filter 24 and passes through the fourth condenser lens 34 as shown in FIG. 5 to reach the phosphor screen composed of the phosphor 43.
Reference numeral 46 is excitation light.

  When receiving the excitation light 46, the phosphor 43 emits fluorescence that becomes green illumination light in all directions. Of the fluorescence emitted from the phosphor 43, the solid line fluorescence indicated by the arrow Y1 is emitted so as to directly enter the fourth condenser lens 34, and the solid line fluorescence indicated by the arrow Y2 is indicated by the second inclined surface 42. And is reflected by the reflecting member 44 and then enters the fourth condenser lens 34.

  On the other hand, the broken line fluorescence indicated by the arrow Y <b> 3 becomes leakage light without entering the fourth condenser lens 34. The broken line fluorescence indicated by the arrow Y4 is emitted toward the second inclined surface 42, reflected by the reflecting member 44, and then leaked without entering the fourth condenser lens 34.

  That is, according to the above-described configuration, the green fluorescence emitted from the phosphor 43 upon receiving the excitation light is directly incident on the fourth condenser lens 34 and emitted toward the end face 7f of the light guide fiber 7e. In addition, after being reflected by the reflecting member 44, the light enters the fourth condenser lens 34 and is emitted toward the end face 7f of the light guide fiber 7e.

As described above, the phosphor 43 is provided on the first inclined surface 41 of the phosphor arranging member 40, and the reflecting member 44 is provided on the second inclined surface 42 facing the first inclined surface 41. It is possible to reduce the generation of leakage light by causing the fluorescence emitted from 43 and the fluorescence reflected by the reflecting member 44 to enter the fourth condenser lens 34, in other words, to efficiently use the green fluorescence. it can.
As a result, desired white light can be obtained by reducing the output of the fourth light source 14.

  The fourth condenser lens 34 is configured so that the excitation light is incident on the phosphor 43 of the first inclined surface 41 in an optimal state, and the green fluorescence is directed toward the end surface 7f of the light guide fiber 7e. The light is output in an optimum state.

In the embodiment described above, the first inclination angle θ1 and the second inclination angle θ2 are set to 45 degrees. However, as shown in FIG. 6A, the first inclination angle θ1a and the second inclination angle θ2a are smaller than 45 degrees and set to the same angle, or one inclination angle as shown in FIG. The configuration may be such that one inclination angle is set to an angle θ1a smaller than 45 degrees, and the second inclination angle, which is the other inclination angle, is set to an angle θ2b larger than 45 degrees.
And although illustration is omitted, the inclination angle of the first inclined surface and the inclination angle of the second inclined surface are each set to be larger than 45 degrees and set to the same angle, or the inclination angle of the first inclined surface is 45 degrees. The angle may be set to a larger angle, and the inclination angle of the second inclined surface may be set to an angle smaller than 45 degrees.

  As described above, by appropriately adjusting the inclination angle of the first inclined surface and the inclination angle of the second inclined surface within an acute angle range, a configuration in which the fluorescence utilization efficiency is optimal can be obtained.

  In the above-described embodiment, the phosphor 43 is provided on the first inclined surface 41 provided in the phosphor arranging member 40, and the reflecting member 44 is provided on the second inclined surface 42. However, the configuration of the phosphor arrangement member 40 is not limited to this configuration, and the phosphor arrangement member may be configured as shown in FIGS.

With reference to FIG. 7, the other structure and effect | action of a fluorescent substance arrangement | positioning member are demonstrated.
The phosphor arranging member 40A shown in FIG. 7 is configured by providing a reflecting member 44A on the first inclined surface 41 and providing a phosphor 43 on the reflecting surface which is the surface of the reflecting member 44A. The other configuration is the same as the configuration of the phosphor-arranged member 40 shown in FIG. 4, and the same reference numerals are given to the same members and the description thereof is omitted.

  In the phosphor arranging member 40A having this configuration, the phosphor 43 that has received the excitation light 46 is emitted so as to enter the fourth condenser lens 34 directly as indicated by the two-dot chain line as described above. Provided on the first inclined surface 41 in addition to the fluorescence and the fluorescence incident on the fourth condenser lens 34 after being emitted toward the second inclined surface 42 and reflected by the reflecting member 44 as indicated by a broken line. After being reflected by the reflecting member 44A, the fluorescence emitted directly to enter the fourth condenser lens 34 as indicated by an arrow Y5 and the second inclined surface 42 as indicated by an arrow Y6. Then, after being reflected by the reflecting member 44, the fluorescence incident on the fourth condenser lens 34 is emitted.

  As described above, the reflecting member 44A is provided on the first inclined surface 41, and the phosphor 43 is provided on the surface of the reflecting member 44A to constitute the phosphor arranging member 40A. As a result, in addition to the fluorescence emitted directly from the phosphor 43 toward the fourth condenser lens 34 and the fluorescence emitted toward the reflecting member 44 of the second inclined surface 42, After being emitted toward the inclined surface 41 and reflected by the reflecting member 44A, fluorescence incident on the fourth condenser lens 34 directly or via the reflecting member 44 can be obtained. According to this configuration, it is possible to further improve the utilization efficiency of fluorescence.

With reference to FIG. 8, another configuration and operation of the phosphor-arranged member will be described.
In the phosphor arrangement member 40B shown in FIG. 8, the reflection member 44A is provided on the first inclined surface 41 as described above, the phosphor 43 is provided on the surface side of the reflection member 44A, and the second inclination surface 42 is provided. The phosphor 43 </ b> B is provided on the surface side of the reflecting member 44. The other configuration is the same as the configuration of the phosphor-arranged member 40 shown in FIG. 4, and the same reference numerals are given to the same members and the description thereof is omitted.

  In the phosphor arranging member 40B having this configuration, the excitation light 46 is received and fluorescence is emitted from the phosphor 43 provided on the first inclined surface 41 in all directions, and is provided on the first inclined surface 41. Upon receiving the excitation light reflected by the reflecting member 44A, fluorescence is emitted in all directions from the phosphor 43B provided on the second inclined surface.

  Specifically, in addition to the fluorescence described above and shown in FIG. 7, the phosphor 43 </ b> B provided on the second inclined surface 42 newly enters the fourth condenser lens 34 directly as indicated by a broken line. The emitted fluorescence as shown by the two-dot chain line, the fluorescence incident on the fourth condenser lens 34 after being reflected by the reflecting member 44 of the second inclined surface 42, and the first inclined surface as shown by the solid line After being emitted toward 41 and reflected by the reflecting member 44 </ b> A, fluorescence or the like incident on the fourth condenser lens 34 is emitted.

  As described above, the reflecting member 44A is provided on the first inclined surface 41, the phosphor 43 is provided on the surface of the reflecting member 44A, and the phosphor 43B is provided on the surface of the reflecting member 44 of the second inclined surface 42. The disposing member 40B is configured. As a result, in addition to the fluorescence from the phosphor 43 described above, the fluorescence emitted directly from the phosphor 43B toward the fourth condenser lens 34 and reflected by the reflecting member 44 of the second inclined surface 42 Is it possible to obtain fluorescence directed toward the fourth condenser lens 34 and fluorescence emitted from the phosphor 43B toward the first inclined surface 41 and reflected by the reflecting member 44A and then incident on the fourth condenser lens 34? it can. According to this configuration, it is possible to greatly improve the use efficiency of fluorescence.

  In addition, the surface which is a reflective surface of the reflective members 44 and 44A is a mirror surface configured by a plane, or a mirror surface having an uneven portion 44c configured by a curved surface as shown in FIG. 9A, or as shown in FIG. 9B. It is comprised by the mirror surface which has the uneven | corrugated | grooved part 44d comprised by the slope, or the mirror surface which has a satin.

Specifically, the concavo-convex portion 44c of FIG. 9A or the concavo-convex portion 44d of FIG. 9B is provided on the surface of the reflecting member 44A on which the phosphor 43 is provided and on the surface of the reflecting member 44 on which the phosphor 43B is provided.
As a result, the excitation light is repeatedly reflected by the concave and convex portions 44 c and 44 d, and more fluorescent light can be emitted from the phosphor 43.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the phosphor arranging member 40C is configured as a disk that rotates around the central axis 40CA. In this configuration, the V groove 47 having the first inclined surface 41 and the second inclined surface 42 is formed in an annular shape on one surface side of the phosphor arranging member 40C.

  Then, at least the phosphor 43 described above is provided on the first inclined surface 41, and at least the reflecting member 44 described above is provided on the second inclined surface 42.

  According to this configuration, the problem that the phosphor 43 is deteriorated by the excitation light being constantly irradiated to the same point of the phosphor 43 by eliminating the phosphor arranging member 40C that is a disk is eliminated. can do.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Endoscopy system 2 ... Endoscope 3 ... Camera control unit (CCU)
3L: Light source device 5: Insertion part 5a ... Tip part 5b ... Bending part 5c ... Flexible tube part
6 ... Operation part 6a ... Bending operation part 6b ... Switch 6c ... Air / water supply button
6d ... Suction button 6e ... Vertical knob 6f ... Left / right knob 6g ... Treatment instrument insertion port 7 ... Universal cable 7a ... Endoscope connector 7b ... Signal transmission cable 7c ... Electric connector 7d ... Light guide cap 7e ... Light guide fiber 7f ... end face 11 ... first light source 12 ... second light source 13 ... third light source 14 ... fourth light source 21 ... first dichroic filter 22 ... second dichroic filter 23 ... third dichroic filter 24 ... fourth dichroic filter 25 ... observation light Switching filter 31... First condenser lens 32. Second condenser lens 33. Third condenser lens 34. Fourth condenser lens 35. Fifth condenser lenses 40, 40 </ b> A, 40 </ b> B, 40 </ b> C. 40CA ... center axis 41 ... first inclined surface 42 ... second inclined surface 43, 43B ... phosphor 44, 44A Reflecting member
44c, 44d ... Uneven portion 45A ... Optical axis 46 ... Excitation light 47 ... V-groove 100 ... Phosphor 101 ... Excitation light 102 ... Fluorescent wheel 103 ... Concave 104 ... Mirror processing
105: Optical lens

Claims (6)

An excitation light source that emits excitation light of a predetermined wavelength;
A phosphor arrangement member provided with a phosphor that is excited by the excitation light and emits fluorescence of a predetermined wavelength;
An optical member that guides the fluorescence emitted from the phosphor in a predetermined direction;
The phosphor arranging member is on one side,
A first inclined surface provided with the phosphor and inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to an optical axis of excitation light guided to the phosphor;
A second inclined surface provided with a reflecting member facing the first inclined surface across the optical axis and reflecting the fluorescence emitted from the phosphor;
A light source device comprising:   2. The light source device according to claim 1, wherein an inclination angle of the first inclined surface with respect to the optical axis of the excitation light is an acute angle, and an inclination angle of the second inclined surface with respect to the optical axis is an acute angle.   The light source device according to claim 1, wherein a reflection member is provided on the first inclined surface, and a phosphor is provided on the reflection surface of the reflection member.   The light source device according to claim 1, wherein a phosphor is provided on a reflection surface of a reflection member provided on the second inclined surface.   The light source device according to claim 3, wherein an uneven portion is provided on a reflection surface of the reflection member.   The phosphor arranging member is formed of a disk, and an annular V-shaped groove including the first inclined surface and the second inclined surface is provided on one surface side of the disk. The light source device according to claim 1.

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