JP2934514B2 - TV camera device for endoscope - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endoscope TV camera device having a function of cooling an image pickup means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, by inserting an elongated insertion portion into a body cavity, it is possible to observe internal organs in the body cavity or to perform various treatments using a treatment tool inserted into a treatment tool channel as necessary. Endoscopes are widely used.

[0003] In the case of displaying a region to be observed by the endoscope on a television monitor, in an optical endoscope such as a fiberscope, an external camera is attached to an eyepiece and is built in the external camera. A subject image is formed on an imaging means such as a charge-coupled device (CCD) and photoelectrically converted. The photoelectrically converted video signal is sent to a video processor and displayed on a television monitor.

Generally, in an image pickup device as an image pickup means, a peripheral circuit for driving the device or the device itself generates heat during photoelectric conversion, and a dark current increases, which tends to increase noise. Is not only a cause of deterioration of the image quality, but also a cause of deterioration of the photoelectric conversion surface of the image sensor.

For this reason, techniques for cooling the image sensor have been proposed in the past, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-201.
No. 472 discloses that, when a voltage is applied, a part of a heat absorbing part, and another part of the electronic cooling element, which is a heat radiating part, contacts a heat absorbing part of the electronic cooling element to the imaging element, and a heat radiating part contacts a camera housing. A technique for promoting heat radiation of an image sensor has been disclosed.

[0006]

However, in an environment where the camera housing itself is not cooled and heat is hardly dissipated, a temperature rise inside the camera housing is unavoidable, and heat is radiated from the heat dissipating portion side of the electronic cooling element. Conversely, the heat to be returned may return to the heat absorbing portion side, and the imaging element may be insufficiently cooled.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of these circumstances, and efficiently cools image pickup means built in an external camera, reduces noise to improve the S / N ratio, and degrades image quality. It is an object of the present invention to provide a TV camera device for an endoscope which can prevent the occurrence of the camera.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided a T for an endoscope.
The V-camera device comprises an external TV camera having a built-in image pickup means detachably attached to an endoscope, and a camera control device connected to the TV camera for controlling the TV camera. An air supply passage for guiding air for cooling the camera is provided in the TV camera, and an opening for discharging air from the TV camera is provided at a connection with the camera control device.

[0009]

The air for cooling the image pickup means built in the TV camera is guided into the TV camera through the air supply passage. Further, the air that has passed through the TV camera is discharged from an opening provided at a connection portion with a camera control device that controls the TV camera.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a main part of an endoscope TV camera device, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing details of a portion A of an endoscope insertion portion in FIG. 1, and FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the connector part and waterproof cap.

As shown in FIG. 1, a TV camera 1 for an endoscope
Has a camera head 2 for picking up a subject image, and the camera head 2 is detachably connected to the eyepiece 4 of the endoscope 3. A cable 5 extending from the camera head unit 2 is connected to a video processor 7 as a camera control device via a connector unit 6 as a connection unit, and the video processor 7 is connected to a television monitor 8 and a recording device 9. Are connected.

The endoscope 3 is a fiberscope having an eyepiece portion 4 for observing the naked eye, and is provided with an elongated and flexible insertion portion 10 and a rear end of the insertion portion 10. An operation unit 11 provided with an operation switch (not shown) for bending the distal end side of the insertion unit 10 and the like, and a light guide cable 12 extending from a side of the operation unit 11 are provided. The eyepiece unit 4 is provided at the rear end of the operation unit 11.
Is provided.

A rigid distal component 13 is provided on the distal side of the insertion portion 10, and the distal component 13 is provided with an illumination window and an observation window. Inside the lighting window,
A light distribution lens 14 is mounted, and an output end of a light guide 15 made of a fiber bundle is connected to the rear end of the light distribution lens 14. The light guide 15 is inserted through the insertion unit 10, the operation unit 11, and the light guide cable 12, and the incident end is connected to a light source device (not shown).

An objective lens system 16 is provided inside the observation window, and a distal end surface of an image guide 17 made of a fiber bundle is arranged at an image forming position of the objective lens system 16. The image guide 17 is inserted through the insertion section 10, and has a rear end face facing an eyepiece lens system 18 provided in the eyepiece section 4.

The camera head 2 has a built-in solid-state image pickup device 20 such as a charge-coupled device (CCD) as an image pickup means.
8 is provided at an image forming position of the image forming lens 21 facing the image forming lens 8. Further, an electronic cooling element 22 such as a Peltier element is mounted on the back surface of the solid-state imaging device 20, and the electronic cooling element 22 includes a heat absorbing portion 22a and a heat absorbing portion 2a.
And a heat radiating portion 22b opposing the heat radiating portion 2a. The heat generating portion 22a absorbs heat generated from the solid-state imaging device 20 by applying a voltage, and radiates the heat from the heat radiating portion 22b.

On the other hand, a pump 23 is provided in the video processor 7. An air supply tube 24 as an air supply passage is connected to the pump 23, and the air supply tube 24 is inserted through the cable 5, and one end thereof is opened at a position facing the heat radiation portion 22 b of the electronic cooling element 22. ,
The air pumped from the pump 23 is scavenged toward the heat radiating portion 22b. The pump 23 is also connected to an intake port 25 via an air supply tube 24, and sucks air therefrom. When the connector section 6 is connected to the video processor 7, the air supply tube 24 is connected between the cable 5 and the video processor 7 via a coupler 24a.

The inside of the connector section 6, the cable 5, and the camera head section 2 has a hermetically sealed structure, and the air scavenged by the heat radiating section 22b by the pump 23 and the air supply tube 24 is connected to the cable section. 5 and is discharged from the opening 26 of the connector 6. The opening 26 faces the opening of the video processor 7 when the connector 6 is connected to the video processor 7, and air discharged from the opening 26 passes through the video processor 7. , Exhaust window 27
It is to be released from.

The outer skin of the insertion portion 10 includes
A pressure-sensitive sheet switch 28 is provided, and
Holding the switch at 0 turns on the pressure-sensitive sheet switch 28. FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of the portion A of the insertion portion 10. Generally, the endoscope insertion section is
The blade 31 and the flex 32 are arranged under the
Although it is configured to have flexibility, a pressure-sensitive sheet switch 28 is provided between the outer skin 30 and the blade 31 here. The sheet switch 28 is connected to an electric wire 29, the electric wire 29 passes through the camera head unit 2 via a contact point 33, passes through the cable 5, and is connected to the video processor 7. When the camera head unit 2 is connected to the eyepiece unit 4, the contact 33 comes into contact with the camera head unit 2 side and the eyepiece unit 4 side, and the electric wire 29 is connected. As described above, by providing the sheet switch 28 in the insertion section 10, when the endoscope 3 is inserted into a body cavity, the insertion section 10 can be easily gripped by the hand supporting the insertion section 10. In addition, image control of the TV camera 1 such as displaying a still image on the television monitor 8 and recording the image on the recording device 9 can be performed.

An electric wire 34 is connected to the solid-state imaging device 20 and the electronic cooling device 22. The electric wire 34 is inserted through the cable 5 and connected to a control circuit 35 in the video processor 7. The control circuit 35 is also connected to the television monitor 8, the recording device 9, and the pump 23, and controls the solid-state imaging device 20 and the electronic cooling device 22, controls an image, controls an air supply device, and the like. I have.

When the connector 6 is not connected, a waterproof cap 36 can be attached as shown in FIG. By attaching the waterproof cap 36, the opening 26 and the coupler 24a of the air supply tube 24 can be closed at the same time.
The whole can be made waterproof. Thereby, TV
The camera 1 can be easily washed or stored.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
In the in-vivo observation by the endoscope 3, the light emitted from the light source device is emitted from the illumination window of the distal end component 13 of the endoscope 3 through the light guide 15, and is applied to the subject at the observation site. The objective lens system 16 of the tip constituting section 13
Is transmitted to the eyepiece unit 4 by the image guide 17 and the imaging lens 2 of the camera head unit 2
An image is formed on the solid-state imaging device 20 via the optical element 1 and photoelectrically converted.

The signal photoelectrically converted by the solid-state imaging device 20 is input to a video processor 7 and processed by a video signal. The video signal output from the video processor 7 is input to a television monitor 8, and an image of a subject is displayed on the television monitor 8. By pressing the pressure-sensitive sheet switch 28, the control circuit 35 temporarily stores the subject image at this time, and a still image of the subject is displayed on the television monitor 8 or recorded on the recording device 9.

At this time, a voltage is applied to the electronic cooling element 22 attached to the back surface of the solid-state image pickup device 20, the temperature of the heat radiating portion 22b rises, and the temperature of the heat absorbing portion 22a drops. To cool. Here, air sucked from the air inlet 25 of the video processor 7 is pumped by the pump 23 and is scavenged into the camera head unit 2 through the air feeding tube 24. The air supply tube 24
Is opened toward the heat radiating portion 22b, so that the air in the vicinity of the heat radiating portion 22b is swept out by the scavenged air, and the heat radiating portion 22b is forcibly cooled and generated from the solid-state imaging device 20. The generated heat is efficiently cooled by the heat absorbing portion 22a, and the peripheral circuits of the solid-state imaging device 20 are cooled by the scavenged air.

Then, the scavenged air passes through an opening 26 from the space formed by the camera head 2, the cable 5 extending from the camera head 2, and the connector 6. The gas is discharged into the video processor 7 and discharged to the atmosphere through the exhaust window 27. Here, the inside of the video processor 7 can be cooled by the air.

As described above, the heat generated from the solid-state image pickup device 20 built in the camera head unit 2 is transferred to the intake port 25.
Since the air sucked from the air is forcibly removed by scavenging, the cooling of the solid-state imaging device 20 is promoted, the temperature rise is suppressed, the noise is reduced, and the S / N ratio can be improved. Accordingly, the photoelectric conversion performance of the solid-state imaging device 20 is stabilized and the dynamic range is improved, so that a clear image can be displayed on the television monitor 8. In addition, the pump 23 and the air supply tube 2
4. Since the air is circulated through the opening 26 to cool the solid-state imaging device 20, the imaging means can be cooled with a simple configuration.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a configuration of a main part of an endoscope TV camera apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, a cooling water tank 42 for storing cooling water for cooling the solid-state imaging device 20 is provided in the video processor 7. In the cooling water tank 42, an end of the outward path of the circulation pipe 43 is provided, and the end of the outward path is opened in the cooling water. A pump 41 is provided on the outward path of the reflux pipe 43 so that the cooling water in the cooling water tank 42 is pumped. The return line 43 passes through the cable 5 through the connector section 6 so as to be in contact with the periphery of the solid-state imaging device 20, and the return path passes through the cable 5 again and returns through the connector section 6. Is opened into the upper space of the cooling water tank 42, so that the cooling water circulates. The end of the return path may open into the cooling water of the cooling water tank 42.

The control circuit 44 controls the video processor 7
And controls the cooling and the image processing. A cooling device 45 provided outside the cooling water tank 42 and a temperature sensor 46 provided in the cooling water tank 42 are connected to the control circuit 44 to control the temperature of the cooling water. ing. Otherwise, the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment.

In the present embodiment, the solid-state image pickup device 20 is cooled by providing a circulation pipe 43 around which the cooling water circulates. The cooling water in the cooling water tank 42 is pumped to the circulation pipe 43 by the pump 41. Since the reflux conduit 43 is inserted through the cable 5 and passes around the solid-state imaging device 20, the solid-state imaging device 20 is cooled by the cooling water.

Then, the cooling water passing around the solid-state imaging device 20 flows back to the cooling water tank 42 via the cable 5 and the connector 6. The water in the cooling water tank 42 is cooled by the cooling device 45. The temperature of the cooling water is detected by a temperature sensor 46. In accordance with the detected temperature, the control circuit 44 controls the operation of the cooling device 45, and the temperature of the cooling water in the cooling water tank 42 is kept constant.

As described above, by controlling the temperature of the cooling water, the solid-state imaging device 20 can be efficiently cooled, noise can be reduced, and the S / N ratio can be improved. Accordingly, the photoelectric conversion performance of the solid-state imaging device 20 is stabilized and the dynamic range is improved, so that a clear image can be displayed on the television monitor 8.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, the imaging means incorporated in an external camera is efficiently cooled, noise is reduced, the S / N ratio is improved, and the image quality is prevented from deteriorating. There is an effect that it is possible to do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a TV camera device for an endoscope according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing details of a portion A of the endoscope insertion section in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a connector portion and a waterproof cap of the endoscope TV camera;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a main part of an endoscope TV camera device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... TV camera for endoscope 2 ... Camera head part 3 ... Endoscope 4 ... Eyepiece part 6 ... Connector part 7 ... Video processor 20 ... Solid-state image sensor 23 ... Pump 24 ... Air supply tube 26 ... Opening part

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A TV camera detachably attached to an endoscope and having built-in image pickup means, and a TV camera connected to the TV camera.
T for endoscope having camera control device for controlling camera
In the V camera device, an air supply passage for guiding air for cooling the imaging unit is provided,
An endoscope TV camera device provided in the TV camera, wherein an opening for discharging air from the TV camera is provided in a connection portion with the camera control device.