JP2582732B2 - Endoscope device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus, and more particularly to a method for measuring the amount of reflected light from an observation object obtained through an image guide formed of a fiber bundle. The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus capable of performing photometry even without using a photometric half prism.

[Conventional technology]

2. Description of the Related Art An endoscope apparatus capable of directly observing the inside of a cavity of a device or a human stomach or the like or performing a simple treatment without laparotomy is widely used.

Here, a conventional endoscope apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a flexible portion 103 inserted into a cavity such as an aircraft engine or a body cavity such as a stomach extends from a lower side of the operation portion main body 101 of the endoscope 100. A bending portion 104 that can be freely bent is provided at the tip of the flexible portion 103.

The operation section main body 101 is provided with a large number of buttons for operating the bending section 104 and for performing operations such as water supply and air supply.

An eyepiece 102 is fixedly provided on the upper side of the operation unit main body 101, and a light guide flexible part 105 for irradiating light to an object to be observed is attached to the eyepiece 102, and a distal end thereof is provided. Light source unit 107 having a halogen or xenon lamp or the like
A connector section 106 for connection to the power supply is mounted.

Then, the connector section 106 is connected to the light source section 107, and light emitted from a lamp (not shown) provided in the light source section is used to connect the connector section 106 and the light guide flexible section 1 to each other.
It is sent to the operation section main body 101 via 05, and further irradiates the observation object via the flexible section 103 and the bending section 104.

Here, the main part of the optical system of the conventional endoscope apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

The light emitted from the lamp 116 passes through the stop 117 and irradiates the observation object 114 from the emission end of the light guide 115 made of a glass fiber bundle.

The light reflected by the observation object 114 forms an image of the observation object on the entrance end of the image guide 108 by the objective lens 113, and the image transmitted to the exit end of the image guide 108 passes through the half prism 109, In addition, the human eye through the eyepiece 102
Observed by 112.

The light reflected by the reflection surface 109a of the half prism 109 is received by a light receiving element 111 made of CdS or a silicon blue cell, and then processed by a processing circuit 119.
, An appropriate process is performed, and is sent to a driving unit 118 including a servomotor, a rotary solenoid, and the like.

Then, the driving unit 118 drives the aperture 117, and the observation object
Automatic light amount control is performed so that the amount of light irradiated to 114 is always maintained in an optimal state.

[Problem to be solved]

In the endoscope apparatus shown in FIG. 5, the eyepiece 102, the half prism 109, and the image guide 10
8 was formed integrally with the emission end, and was completely sealed so that water, dust, and the like did not enter from the outside. Therefore, for example, it has not been possible to change the magnification by exchanging only the eyepiece.

On the other hand, since the above-mentioned half prism 109 is relatively large and expensive, there has been a demand for a countermeasure in terms of space saving and cost reduction.

[Means for solving the problem]

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems by irradiating light emitted from a light source to an observation object such as an affected part via a light guide, observing the observation object via an image guide, and emitting the image guide. In an endoscope apparatus in which a photometric element is arranged on an end side and the amount of light emitted from the light source is adjusted by the amount of light received by the photometric element,
A mount for detachably attaching an optical adapter such as an eyepiece is provided on the exit end side of the image guide, and a transparent member for preventing water, dust and the like from entering the endoscope body is disposed in the mount opening. In addition, the photometric element is disposed at a position for receiving light reflected from the inner surface of the transparent member.

[Action]

In the endoscope apparatus according to the present invention, a transparent member such as glass and a photometric element are arranged at the output end side of the image guide, and light reflected by the transparent member is received by the photometric element.

Therefore, the conventional half prism can be eliminated, and the cost can be reduced.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, an endoscope apparatus according to the present invention will be described based on an illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a main part of an optical system according to a first embodiment of the endoscope apparatus of the present invention.

Light emitted from the lamp 116 passes through the stop 117 and irradiates the observation object 114 from the emission end of the light guide 115.

The light reflected by the observation object 114 is condensed by the objective lens 113, and further exits from the exit end via the image guide 1.

A transparent member 3 made of glass or the like is provided in parallel with the emission end of the image guide 1, and the transparent member 3 is prevented from entering water or dust from the outside into the endoscope main body by the sealing member 5. It has become.

Further, a light receiving element 2 made of CdS or the like is disposed near the emission end of the image guide 1 so as to face the inner surface of the transparent member 3, and the light emitted from the emission end is reflected by the surface of the transparent member 3. Then, the light reaches the light receiving surface of the light receiving element 2.

Further, an eyepiece 4 is attached to the right side of the transparent member 3 by a detachable attaching means such as a peripheral screw mount or a bayonet mount. It is possible to observe the image of the observed object.

A signal line extends from the light receiving element 2 and is connected to a processing circuit 119, and an output end of the processing circuit 119 is connected to a driving unit 118.

With the above configuration, the light reflected by the observation object 114 is reflected by the transparent member 3 from the emission end via the image guide 1, and received by the light receiving element 2.

That is, the transparent member 3 fulfills the function of the conventional half prism (see FIG. 5).

Further, since the transparent member 3 is firmly fixed to the emission end side of the image guide 1 by the sealing member 5,
No water or dust enters from outside.

Further, instead of the eyepiece 4, a TV camera, a lecture scope, or an eyepiece having a different magnification can be used, so that the magnification can be easily changed.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a main part of an optical system of a second embodiment of the endoscope apparatus according to the present invention.

A transparent member 12 made of glass or the like is fixed to the sealing member 13 on the emission end side of the image guide 11 at a predetermined angle. A light receiving element 2 is provided on the lower side remote from the observation optical axis.
Is provided, and receives light emitted from the emission end of the image guide 11.

By arranging the light receiving element 2 in this manner, it becomes possible to use a larger amount of light from the exit end of the image guide for observation, and observe the observation object 114 in a brighter state than in the first embodiment. It becomes possible.

Further, the inner surface of each transparent member of the first and second embodiments is coated with a near-infrared light cut filter film, and a light-receiving (photometric) element having high sensitivity to near-infrared light is used. In this case, 100% of visible light can be used for observation, and observation can be performed in a brighter state.

Further, by coating the inner surface of each of the transparent members with a color correction filter film having characteristics as shown in FIG. 3, it is possible to observe an image with more color balance than before,
In addition, the selected unnecessary light can be used for photometry,
The amount of light for photometry can be increased without adversely affecting the observation as compared with the related art.

〔effect〕

According to the present invention, since a relatively expensive and large half prism can be eliminated, it is possible to reduce the cost of the endoscope apparatus and to realize space saving.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a main part of an optical system of a first embodiment of the endoscope apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a main part of an optical system of a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. Is a characteristic diagram of a color correction filter film coated on the inner surface of each transparent member, FIGS. 4 and 5 are an overall view of a conventional endoscope device and a perspective view showing a light source unit, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a main part of the optical system of FIG. 1,11 image guide, 2 light receiving element, 3,12 transparent member, 4 eyepiece lens, 5,13 sealing member, 114 observation object, 116 lamp, 117 … Aperture.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An object, such as an affected part, is irradiated with light emitted from a light source through a light guide, the object is observed through an image guide, and a photometric element is arranged on an emission end side of the image guide. In the endoscope apparatus, the light amount emitted from the light source is adjusted according to the amount of light received by the photometric element. A transparent member that prevents water, dust, etc. from entering the endoscope body is disposed in the mount opening, and the photometric element is disposed at a position that receives reflected light from the inner surface of the transparent member. An endoscope device characterized by the above-mentioned.