JP3462618B2 - Endoscope lighting system - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an illuminating device for an endoscope in which illumination light emitted from a light bulb with a lens is incident on a light guide and transmitted.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a so-called simple endoscope, a light guide for transmitting illumination light has an incident end portion arranged in an operating portion, and a lens is provided in an illumination light supply unit detachable from the operating portion. A light bulb with a lens is arranged so that the light emitted from the light bulb with a lens enters the light guide.

[0003]

The light emitted from the filament of the light bulb with a lens is condensed by a convex lens formed at the tip of the filament, but since the filament has a certain size, the condensed state is one point. It does not have an area.

Therefore, the light converging range is projected from the incident end face of the light guide, and a ray bundle is generated which is not incident on the light guide and is lost, so that the illumination light of the endoscope becomes dark.

[0005]

In view of the above, the present invention is directed to an endoscope illumination device capable of reducing the loss of the illumination light by narrowing the light condensing area of the illumination light beam emitted from the lens-equipped bulb and making the illumination light of the endoscope brighter. The purpose is to provide.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an endoscope illumination device according to the present invention is provided with a lens facing an incident end face of a light guide for transmitting illumination light for illuminating a subject. In an illumination device for an endoscope, in which a light bulb is arranged and a light beam emitted from the lens-equipped light bulb is made incident on the light guide, between the lens-equipped light bulb and the incident end face of the light guide, The light emitting end surface of the first illumination light passing member and the second
The illumination light passing member is arranged so as to be in close contact with the light incident end face.

A transparent member is arranged between the light bulb with lens and the incident end face of the light guide, and the transparent member and the lens surface at the tip of the light bulb with lens are arranged so as to be in close contact with each other. Good.

At least the first and second illumination light passing members are arranged so that the light emitting end face of the first illumination light passing member and the light incident end face of the second illumination light passing member are in close contact with each other. A biasing means for biasing one may be provided.

[0010]

Embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 2
A side view of the operation unit 2 portion of the endoscope, FIG. 3 is a rear view,
The base end of the insertion part 1 which is covered with a flexible tube is connected to the lower end of the operation part 2.

The lower three-quarters portion of the operation portion 2 is a grip portion 2a, and a forceps insertion opening portion 4 is provided between the grip portion 2a and the insertion portion 1 so as to project obliquely forward. Has been. Reference numeral 3 is a pressure adjusting valve for adjusting the pressure inside the airtightly configured endoscope.

A suction operation valve 6 for performing a suction operation through a forceps channel (not shown) inserted in the insertion portion 1 in the operation mechanism portion 5 above the grip portion 2a of the operation portion 2.
And a bending operation lever 7 for remotely bending and operating a bending portion (not shown) formed at the distal end portion of the insertion portion 1 are arranged on the front surface and the rear surface, and an eyepiece portion 8 is provided on the upper surface. Has been done.

An illumination light guide fiber bundle 9 for transmitting illumination light for illuminating an object has an incident end portion arranged in the operation mechanism portion 5, and has a grip portion 2a in the insertion portion 1 and the operation portion 2. Through the inside, the ejection end portion is arranged at the tip of the insertion portion 1.

Then, the light guide fiber bundle 9
Illumination light supply unit 3 for supplying illumination light to
0 is detachably attached to the side surface portion of the operation mechanism unit 5.

As shown in FIG. 3, the illumination light supply unit 30 emits the illumination light to be supplied to the light guide fiber bundle 9 and the lens light bulb 32 for lighting the lens light bulb 32. A battery 100, which is a power source, is built in. As the battery 100, any battery such as a dry battery or a rechargeable nickel-cadmium battery may be used.

The battery 100 is replaceable by removing the cap portion 50 detachably attached to the end portion of the illumination light supply unit 30, and an AC / DC adapter can be connected instead of the battery 100. .

FIG. 1 shows an operation unit 2 and an illumination light supply unit 3.
The main body case 11 which shows the vicinity of the connection portion with 0 and covers the operation mechanism portion 5 of the operation portion 2 is made of electrically insulating plastic.

The bearing cylinder 12 supporting the bending operation lever 7 and the suction operation valve 6 are fitted and inserted in separate holes formed in the main body case 11, and are watertightly sealed at respective portions. The bearing tube 12 and the base of the suction operation valve 6 are fixed to a frame 13 having strength and conductivity such as metal or carbon resin in the operation section 2 (hereinafter, simply referred to as “metal frame 13”). ing.

A lid 15 made of electrically insulating plastic is fitted into the side opening formed in the main body case 11 and an O-ring 16 for sealing is attached to the fitting surface so that it can be removed from the gap. Water does not enter the inside of the operation unit 2.

A rotation stopper 2 for restricting relative rotation between the lid 15 and the main body case 11 is provided at the fitting portion.
1 is formed. A support cylinder 17 whose base is fixed to the metal frame 13 in the operation portion 2 is arranged at the central axis position of the through hole formed in the central portion of the lid body 15. Then, the light guide mounting cylinder 18 biased toward the projecting end side by the first compression coil spring 22 mounted between the supporting cylinder 17 and the supporting cylinder 17 projects outward from the projecting end of the supporting cylinder 17. .

However, since the stopper pin 23 protruding from the side surface of the light guide mounting cylinder 18 is engaged in the long groove 24 formed in the support cylinder 17, the light guide mounting cylinder 1
The moving range of 8 is restricted to the range in which the stopper pin 23 can move within the long groove 24.

The incident end of the light guide fiber bundle 9 is screwed and fixed at the central axis position of the light guide mounting barrel 18, and the light guide fiber bundle 9 is incident on the projecting end portion of the light guide mounting barrel 18. End face 9
The convex meniscus lens 20 is watertightly joined to face a.

A unit socket 27 made of, for example, stainless steel, for receiving (connecting) the illumination light supply unit 30 which is attached to and detached from the operating section 2, is provided in the through hole formed in the lid 15 toward the outside. It is fitted so as to protrude, and is fixed by being pressed inward by a metal tightening ring 28 screwed into the support cylinder 17.

However, the unit socket 27 and the tightening ring 2
A cylindrical insulating tube 29 made of electrically insulating plastic is interposed between the unit receiving mouth 27 and the tightening ring 28 so that the unit receiving mouth 27 and the tightening ring 28 do not come into contact with each other. The ring 28 is electrically insulated.

An O-ring for sealing is attached to the fitting portion between the respective members arranged inside the hole of the lid body 15, and the operation portion 2 is protected from water from the outside at all portions. It has a watertight structure that does not enter. Of course, the insertion portion 1 is also formed in a watertight structure.

The illumination light supply unit 30 is formed in a straight tubular shape as a whole, and has a lamp chamber portion 30a near the connection portion with the operation portion 2 and a battery on the side remote from the connection portion with the operation portion 2. It is divided into a chamber portion 30b, and FIG. 1 shows the entire lamp chamber portion 30a. Reference numeral 32a is a convex lens portion integrally formed at the tip portion of the lens-equipped light bulb 32 so as to converge the light flux emitted from the filament 32b in the lens-equipped light bulb 32.

The outer wall of the battery chamber portion 30b is formed by an outer case 31b having good corrosion resistance (chemical resistance), such as stainless steel, metal or plastic with a chemical-resistant surface treatment, and the inside of which is electrically conductive. A cylindrical inner case 31a made of copper or a copper alloy having good properties such as phosphor bronze is inscribed and arranged.

At the boundary between the lamp chamber portion 30a and the battery chamber portion 30b, the lamp socket 33 to which the lens-equipped bulb 32 is detachably inserted and attached is fixed to the inner case 31a through some parts. There is.

The cylindrical lamp chamber case 35a forming the outer wall of the lamp chamber portion 30a is made of strong stainless steel, for example, and is connected and fixed to the outer case 31b.

Lamp chamber case 35a and outer case 31b
The rotation restricting pin 37 protruding from the lamp chamber case 35a is rotated in the groove 36 formed in the outer case 31b.
Is regulated by engaging with.

Further, a fixed ring 38 fixed to the lamp chamber case 35a by a rotation restricting pin 37 is fitted to the outer periphery of the lamp chamber case 35a and is screwed with the outer case 31b. The lamp chamber case 35a and the outer case 31b are sandwiched between and fixed in the axial direction. Reference numeral 39 is an O-ring for sealing the connecting portion between the lamp chamber case 35a and the outer case 31b.

At the tip of the lamp chamber case 35a, a reflecting mirror 34 for converging the illumination light emitted from the lens-equipped bulb 32 toward the incident end surface of the light guide fiber bundle 9 surrounds the lens-equipped bulb 32. Are arranged as follows.

A transparent cover glass 49 in the form of a plane parallel plate is watertightly fixed to the front end surface of the reflecting mirror 34, and is mounted between the lamp chamber case 35a and the reflecting mirror 34.
By the compression coil spring 48 of the cover glass 4
9 and the reflecting mirror 34 are integrally biased toward the lens-equipped light bulb 32 side.

As a result, the second compression coil spring 4
The light-incident surface of the cover glass 49 is pressed against the light-exiting surface of the lens portion 32a of the lens-equipped light bulb 32 by the urging force of 8, and both surfaces are in close contact with each other.

The urging force of the second compression coil spring 48 is not so strong that the cover glass 49 and the lens portion 32a are damaged by the urging force, and is not so weak that the contact state is separated by the vibration during use. Has been done.

Reference numeral 40 is a stopper for restricting the moving range of the reflecting mirror 34 so that the cover glass 49 and the reflecting mirror 34 do not move too much by the urging force, and the lamp chamber case 35a.
It is attached by screwing to the inner surface of the.

On the outer peripheral surface of the tip of the lamp chamber case 35a,
A male screw that is screwed with a female screw formed on the inner peripheral surface of the unit base 27 is formed, and the illumination light supply unit 30 is connected to the operation unit 2 by connecting both the screws. .

Then, the illumination light emitted from the bulb 32 with lens passes through the lens portion 32a near the axis and is reflected by the reflecting mirror 34 in the peripheral portion, and then the cover glass 49.
Then, the light passes through the convex meniscus lens 20 and converges and enters the incident end surface 9 a of the light guide fiber bundle 9.

In this state, as shown in FIG. 1, the light-incident end surface of the convex meniscus lens 20 is pressed against the light-exiting end surface of the cover glass 49 by the urging force of the first compression coil spring 22, so that both surfaces are in close contact with each other. ing.

The biasing force of the first compression coil spring 22 is the convex meniscus lens 20 and the cover glass 49.
And are not so strong that they are damaged by the urging force, and are not so weak that the contact state is separated by the vibration during use.

In this way, the light exit surface of the lens portion 32a of the lens-equipped light bulb 32 and the light entrance surface of the cover glass 49 are brought into close contact with each other, and the light exit surface of the cover glass 49 and the light entrance surface of the convex meniscus lens 20 are joined together. Since and are in close contact,
The distance between the incident end surface 9a of the light guide fiber bundle 9 and the lens-equipped light bulb 32 is as short as possible.

As a result, the light-collecting area of the light beam emitted from the lens-equipped bulb 32 and condensed on the incident end surface 9a of the light guide fiber bundle 9 is minimized, and is not incident on the light guide fiber bundle 9 and is lost. The amount of light that is lost is reduced, and the subject of the endoscope can be illuminated brightly.

Unit socket 27 and lamp chamber case 3
When the screw connection with 5a is released, the illumination light supply unit 30 is removed from the operation section 2. At this time, since the movement range of the light guide mounting cylinder 18 is restricted by the stopper pin 23, the light guide mounting cylinder 18 does not jump out by the urging force of the first compression coil spring 22.

Reference numeral 41 denotes an O for sealing the fitting portion between the lamp chamber case 35a and the unit socket 27 when the illumination light supply unit 30 is connected to the operating portion 2.
It's a ring.

2 protruding rearward from the light bulb 32 with a lens
The book electrode is inserted into the socket 33 and electrically connected to the connection pins 42a and 42b behind the socket 33. The base end of each connection pin 42a, 42b is divided and fixed to two electrode plates 43a, 43b arranged with an insulating plate 44 interposed therebetween.

The positive electrode of the battery 100 is always in contact with the one electrode plate 43a, and the other electrode plate 43a is in contact therewith.
In b, via a holding cylinder 46 made of a highly conductive metal,
The inner case 31a is electrically connected.

These members are surrounded by an electrically insulating tubular body 45, and are pressed and fixed together with the socket 33 to the inner case 31a by a holding nut 47 screwed to the inner case 31a.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, but the present invention makes the light emitting end face and the light incident end face between the adjacent illumination light passing members adhere to each other at least at one place. Anything is acceptable.

Further, in a device in which the cover glass 49 is not provided, the surface of the lens portion 32a of the lens-equipped bulb 32 and the condenser lens 20 may be in close contact with each other, and in a device in which the condenser lens is not provided, Light bulb with lens 32
The lens portion 32a of 3 and the incident end surface 9a of the light guide fiber bundle 9 may be in close contact with each other.

[0050]

According to the present invention, the light exit end surface of the first illumination light passing member and the second illumination light passing member which are adjacent to each other between the light bulb with lens and the incident end surface of the light guide are adjacent to each other. The close contact between the light-incident end surface and the light-incident end surface of the light guide allows the distance between the light bulb with lens and the light-incident end surface of the light guide to be shortened. The condensing area of the light beam bundle becomes smaller, and as a result, less light is lost without being incident on the light guide, and the subject of the endoscope can be illuminated brightly.

By urging at least one of the first and second illumination light passing members by the urging means in order to bring them into close contact with each other, they can be brought into close contact with each other with a moderate force.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a connection portion between an endoscope operation unit and an illumination light supply unit according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the simplified endoscope apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the simplified endoscope apparatus according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 operation part 9 Light guide fiber bundle 9a entrance end face 20 Convex meniscus lens (condenser lens) 22 Compression coil spring 30 Illumination light supply unit 32 bulb with lens 32a lens part 32b filament 48 compression coil spring 49 cover glass

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Takashi Koeda 2-36-9 Maeno-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Asahi Optical Industry Co., Ltd. (72) Takisuke Adachi 2-36 Maeno-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo No. 9 Asahi Optical Industry Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroshi Sano 2-36 Maeno-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Inside Asahi Optical Industry Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-58-173101 (JP, A) Kaihei 8-19515 (JP, A) JP 8-146311 (JP, A) JP 8-280613 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A61B 1 / 00

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A light bulb with a lens is arranged so as to face an incident end surface of a light guide for transmitting illumination light for illuminating an object, and a light flux emitted from the light bulb with a lens is incident on the light guide. In the illuminating device for an endoscope, the light emitting end surface of the first illuminating light passing member and the second illuminating light passing member that are adjacent to each other between the light bulb with lens and the incident end surface of the light guide. An illuminating device for an endoscope, wherein the illuminating device is arranged so as to be in close contact with a light incident end surface of the member. 2. A transparent member is arranged between the light bulb with lens and the incident end surface of the light guide, and the transparent member and the lens surface at the tip of the light bulb with lens are arranged to be in close contact with each other. The illumination device for an endoscope according to claim 1. 3. At least one of the first and second illumination light passing members so that the light emitting end face of the first illumination light passing member and the light incident end face of the second illumination light passing member are brought into close contact with each other. The illumination device for an endoscope according to claim 1, further comprising a biasing unit that biases one of them.