JP4787057B2 - Endoscope light source device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope light source device.

The endoscope light source device includes a light source for providing illumination light to the distal end of the insertion portion, a circuit for processing an image signal of an image observed by the insertion portion, and the like. It is used by attaching and detaching. In this endoscope light source device, when the operator (doctor) finishes the endoscopic examination, the endoscope is pulled out of the endoscope light source device, and then the power switch is turned off at the tip of the endoscope light guide. There was a thing. Such an operation is not a recommended operation.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-172087

  Accordingly, the present invention directly looks at the fact that the power guide may be turned off by the tip of the light guide, and prevents the power switch from being damaged by preventing the power switch from being turned on / off by the tip of the light guide. An object of the present invention is to obtain an endoscope light source device that can be used.

  An endoscope light source device according to the present invention includes a recess that houses a power switch, a sensor that is disposed closer to the opening of the recess than the operation surface of the power switch, and that detects that a metal member has entered the recess. And a shutter that is disposed on the operation surface side of the power switch and is closed while the sensor detects the metal member. When the sensor detects the metal member, the shutter is closed and the power switch is operated. The metal member is prevented from coming into contact with the surface.

  The endoscope light source device of the present invention is also provided with a recess that houses a power switch, a sensor that is disposed closer to the opening side of the recess than the operation surface of the power switch, and detects that a metal member has entered the recess. A shutter in a direction perpendicular to the plane including the opening of the recess is located at the same position as the sensor and is closer to the operation surface side of the power switch than the opening of the recess, and is closed while the sensor detects the metal member. The shutter is closed when the sensor detects the metal member, and the metal member is prevented from coming into contact with the operation surface of the power switch.

  The sensor preferably includes a detection coil, a current power source for supplying electricity to the detection coil, and detection determination means for detecting a change in impedance of the detection coil.

  As another aspect, the sensor has a magnet, and preferably detects that the magnetic field of the magnet changes when the metal member enters the recess.

  As another aspect, the sensor preferably includes a pair of flat plates, and detects that the capacitance of the pair of flat plates changes when the metal member enters the recess.

  The shutter includes a shutter plate having an opening and a rotation support member that rotatably supports the shutter plate. The shutter plate is rotated to move the opening of the shutter plate to a predetermined position to open and close the shutter plate. It is preferable to perform the operation.

  As another aspect, the shutter includes a plurality of shutter plates and a shutter plate housing that rotatably supports these shutter plates, and the shutters are closed by rotating and overlapping the plurality of shutter plates. Preferably it is done.

  The present invention can prevent the power switch from being turned on and off by a metal member such as the tip of the light guide, so that the power switch can be prevented from being damaged.

  FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an endoscope light source device 100 of the present invention. An electronic endoscope 200 shown in FIG. 2 can be attached to and detached from the endoscope light source device 100.

  The electronic endoscope 200 includes an operation unit 10 held by an observer (operator), a light guide cable 11 connected to a side portion of the operation unit 10, and a connector provided at a distal end portion of the light guide cable 11. And an insertion section 13 that extends from the operation section 10 and is inserted into the observation object (patient) (inside the body). The connector portion 12 is provided with a light guide connector (light guide tip portion) 12a and a circuit connector 12b made of a metal material protruding in parallel in the same direction. The light guide connector 12a has an outer diameter smaller than that of the circuit connector 12b and is elongated. An illumination window and an observation window (not shown) are provided on the distal end surface of the insertion portion 13. An illumination lens system and an imaging unit (not shown) are provided behind the illumination window and the observation window, respectively. The photographing means includes an image sensor such as a CCD.

  The light guide connector 12a is provided with an optical lens on the front end surface thereof, and light incident on the optical lens is emitted to an illumination window through a light guide (not shown). The ride guide is inserted into the light guide connector 12 a, the connector portion 12, the light guide cable 11, the operation portion 10, and the insertion portion 13.

  On the other hand, the circuit connector 12b is connected to the photographing means via a series of signal transmission cables (not shown) provided separately from the light guide. The signal transmission cable is inserted into the circuit connector 12 b, the connector part 12, the light guide cable 11, the operation part 10, and the insertion part 13.

  The endoscope light source device 100 is provided with an output connector 21 for receiving the light guide connector 12a and a circuit receiving portion (not shown) when the circuit connector 12b is received on the side surface 22. Further, on the side surface 22, a cylindrical push button type power switch 20 made of a resin material is provided in the vicinity of the output connector 21 and the circuit receiving portion.

  A light source lamp 30, a lamp power source 31, and a process circuit (not shown) are provided inside the endoscope light source device 100. When the push button type power switch 20 is turned on by an operator, the lamp power source The current is supplied from 31 to the light source lamp 30 and the process circuit, and the supply of current is cut off by the OFF operation.

  The light source lamp 30 is, for example, an arc lamp that is filled with xenon gas. When a current is supplied from the lamp power source 31, an arc discharge occurs between the cathode and the anode of the light source lamp 30. The light generated by the arc discharge is collected and emitted from the light source lamp 30 as light passing through the output connector 21. Therefore, when the light guide connector 12a is attached to the output connector 21, light emitted from the light source lamp 30 is emitted as illumination light from the illumination window via the light guide connector 12a and the light guide.

  The process circuit processes the electrical signal sent via the signal transmission cable. In other words, the optical image of the observation region illuminated by the light emitted from the light source lamp 30 is formed on the CCD of the photographing means and processed as an electrical signal. This electrical signal is sent to the process circuit via a signal transmission cable. The process circuit processes the electrical signal as an image and displays it on a monitor (not shown). Therefore, the operator (operator) can confirm the observation site as an image.

Next, characteristic portions of the endoscope light source device 100 of the present invention will be described.
As shown in FIG. 3, the side surface 22 of the endoscope light source device 100 is formed with a concave portion 28 having a bottomed cylindrical shape that houses the push button type power switch 20. The recess 28 includes an insertion guide tube 24, a shutter unit 40, and a switch storage unit 23 in order from the side surface 22 side. The recess 28 can be made of a material other than metal, for example, resin or ceramic.

The push button type power switch 20 housed in the switch housing portion 23 (recess 28) has a power switch body 20c and an urging spring 20d, and this urging spring 20d is the force of the push button type power switch 20. The power switch body 20c is urged in the axial direction toward the opening side of the recess 28. When the power switch body 20c is pushed against this biasing force, the power source of the endoscope light source device 100 is turned on / off. The power switch body 20c includes a pilot lamp 20b and a transparent protective plate 20a that protects the pilot lamp 20b. The pilot lamp 20b is an LED, and lights up when the power source of the endoscope light source device 100 is on. The push button type power switch 20 has the protection plate 20 a facing the opening side of the switch housing portion 23, and the protection plate 20 a is an operation surface that is pushed by the operator when the endoscope light source device 100 is turned on / off. During the on / off operation, the push button type power switch 20 is guided to the switch housing portion 23.

The insertion guide tube 24 is continuous with the side surface 22 and has the same inner diameter as that of the switch storage portion 23. A detection coil 25 a of the sensor 25 is provided outside the insertion guide tube 24. As the sensor of the present invention, a known sensor that detects a metal member can be used.
The sensor 25 includes a detection coil 25a, and detection determination means 25b and a current power source 25c connected to the detection coil 25a (see FIG. 4). Electricity is supplied to the detection coil 25a from the current power supply 25c, and the on / off operation of the sensor 25 is independent of the on / off operation of the endoscope light source device 100. When the detection coil 25a is energized, a magnetic field is generated in the detection coil 25a (direction A in FIG. 3). Therefore, when a metal member such as the light guide connector 12a is brought close to the magnetic field (detection coil 25a), an induced current is generated in the metal member by electromagnetic induction. When this induced current changes the impedance (AC resistance) of the detection coil 25a, the detection determination means 25b detects that a metal member has been inserted (entered) into the insertion guide tube 24. Thus, the sensor 25 can detect a metal member. The magnetic field of the detection coil 25a is equal to a detection area in which the sensor 25 can detect the metal member, and this detection area is proportional to the amount of current flowing through the detection coil 25a. be able to. That is, the detection sensitivity can be adjusted by the amount of current.

  A shutter unit (shutter) 40 is disposed between the switch storage unit 23 and the insertion guide tube 24. The shutter unit 40 includes a shutter plate housing 41, a shutter plate 42, and a shutter cover 43 in this order from the switch storage unit 23 side. In the shutter plate housing 41, the shutter plate 42, and the shutter cover 43, openings (openings) 41a, 42a, 43a having the same diameter as the inner diameters of the switch housing portion 23 and the insertion guide tube 24 are formed. The shutter plate 42 is accommodated in the shutter plate housing 41, and is rotatably supported by the shutter plate housing 41 via a shaft (rotation support member) 42b. Therefore, the shutter unit 40 can select the open state (FIG. 5) and the closed state (FIG. 6) by rotating the shutter plate 42 by 180 ° about the shaft 42b. The shutter portion 40 is preferably made of a resin material in order to realize low cost, but may be made of other materials. Further, the shutter of the present invention can be provided with a known opening / closing mechanism.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a control unit 26 is connected to the detection determination unit 25 b of the sensor 25. A shutter drive unit 27 is connected to the control unit 26. The shutter drive unit 27 is connected to the shutter unit 40, and rotates the shutter plate 42 of the shutter unit 40 when receiving an instruction from the control unit 26. That is, when a metal member such as the light guide connector 12a enters the detection area of the sensor 25, the sensor 25 sends a signal to the control means 26, and when the control means 26 that receives the signal drives the shutter drive section 27, the shutter section 40 opens and closes.

Next, operations of the endoscope light source device 100 and the electronic endoscope 200 according to the present invention will be described.
Prior to the treatment, the surgeon attaches the light guide connector 12a to the output connector 21 and attaches the circuit connector 12b to the circuit receiving portion, thereby allowing the connector portion 12 (electronic endoscope 200) to become an endoscope. Connect to the light source device 100.
Thereafter, the surgeon pushes the push button type power switch 20 (protection plate 20a) to turn on the endoscope light source device 100. When the push button type power switch 20 is pressed by a member other than a metal member such as an operator's finger, the shutter unit 40 (shutter plate 42) can be turned on without being closed.

  When the endoscope light source device 100 is turned on, electricity is supplied to the lamp power supply 31 and the process circuit. When electricity is supplied to the lamp power supply 31, the light source lamp 30 discharges an arc between its cathode and anode. The light generated by this arc discharge is emitted to the output connector 21 and supplied from the illumination window as illumination light through the light guide. When the monitor is turned on, an image formed on the CCD is displayed on the monitor.

  After confirming that illumination light is supplied from the illumination window and that an image is displayed on the monitor, the surgeon inserts the insertion portion 13 of the electronic endoscope 200 into the patient's body, and monitors the monitor. The lesion is reached while confirming with. When it is confirmed that the distal end portion of the insertion portion 13 has reached the lesioned portion, the surgeon performs necessary treatment such as observation. After the treatment, the insertion portion 13 is removed from the patient's body and the treatment is completed. Thereafter, the connector 12 is removed from the endoscope light source device 100 and the endoscope light source device 100 is turned off (the push button type power switch 20 is pressed). Then, the supply of electricity to the lamp power supply 31 is cut off and the light source lamp 30 is turned off.

  The endoscope light source device 100 is normally turned off with an operator's finger or the like. However, depending on the operator, the push button type power switch 20 may be pushed by the light guide connector 12a of the connector part 12 following the operation of removing the connector part 12. Such an operation is not preferable because the push button type power switch 20 may be damaged. Therefore, in the endoscope light source device 100 of the present invention, the sensor 25 that detects that the metal member has entered the recess 28 is closed and the metal member is pressed while the sensor 25 is detecting the metal member. And a shutter portion 40 that prevents contact with the operation surface of the power switch 20.

When the light guide connector 12a is inserted into the insertion guide tube 24 (recessed portion 28) following the operation of removing the connector portion 12 from the endoscope light source device 100 after the treatment, the shutter portion 40 performs the following closing operation. Do.
First, when the light guide connector 12a approaches, the impedance of the detection coil 25a changes. The detection determination unit 25 b determines that the metal material has entered the recess 28 due to this change, and sends a signal to the control unit 26. Upon receiving this signal, the control means 26 drives the shutter drive unit 27. The shutter drive unit 27 rotates the shutter plate 42 by 180 ° about the shaft 42b. With the above operation, the shutter portion 40 (shutter plate 42) is closed and the light guide connector 12a is prevented from entering the switch housing portion 23. While the sensor 25 is detecting the light guide connector 12a (while the light guide connector 12a is in the insertion guide tube 24), the shutter unit 40 holds the shutter plate 42 closed (FIG. 6).

  Therefore, the surgeon cannot press the push button type power switch 20 with the light guide connector 12a, and the light guide connector 12a can prevent the push button type power switch 20 from being damaged or damaged. Note that the push button type power switch 20 can be prevented from being damaged by the closing operation as long as the operation is not limited to the light guide connector 12a but a metal material such as tweezers.

Further, when the endoscope light source device 100 is turned on, the operator may press the push button type power switch 20 with the light guide connector 12a. However, at the time of the on operation, the light guide connector 12a is already connected to the output connector. 21, and the operator does not turn on the endoscope light source device 100 using the light guide connector 12 a (presses the push button type power switch 20) compared to the off operation.
Even if an attempt is made to push the push button type power switch 20 with the light guide connector 12a during the on operation, the shutter portion 40 is closed by the same operation as during the off operation, so that the light guide connector 12a is a push button. The power switch 20 cannot be touched.

  The push button type power switch 20 may have a columnar shape or the like, or may have a simple columnar shape without the pilot lamp 20b and the protection plate 20a. Further, the power switch may be a seesaw type in which one end portion is alternately folded by an on / off operation instead of the push button type.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the shutter part (shutter) 140 includes three shutter plates 142 and a shutter plate housing 141 that rotatably supports each shutter plate 142 and has an opening (opening) 141b. I have. Each shutter plate 142 is retracted without closing the opening 141b of the shutter plate housing 141 when the shutter portion 140 is in the open state. In the closing operation of the shutter unit 140, each shutter plate 142 rotates about a shaft 141a formed in the shutter plate housing 141 and overlaps with each other in front of the opening 141b (side 22 side) of the shutter plate housing 141. This is done by closing (FIG. 8).

  Moreover, the sensor has a magnet, and when the metal member enters the recess, the sensor can be of a type that detects a change in the magnetic field of the magnet. Further, the sensor may include a pair of flat plates, and may be of a type that detects that the capacitance of the pair of flat plates changes when the metal member enters the recess.

The positional relationship between the sensor and the shutter may be the shutter and the sensor in order from the opening side of the recess. In addition, the shutter may be disposed at a position perpendicular to the plane including the opening of the concave portion at the same position as the sensor and closer to the operation surface side of the power switch than the opening of the concave portion. In other words, the detection coil 25a can be disposed in the outer periphery of the shutter unit 40.

It is a top view of the endoscope light source device according to the present invention. It is a figure which shows the electronic endoscope made to attach or detach with the endoscope light source device which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing of the power switch of the endoscope light source device which concerns on this invention, a shutter, and a sensor. It is a block diagram which shows the system connection of the sensor and shutter of the endoscope light source device which concerns on this invention. It is a front view which shows the state which the shutter of the endoscope light source device which concerns on this invention opened. It is a front view which shows the state which the shutter of the endoscope light source device which concerns on this invention closed. It is a front view which shows the state which another shutter of the endoscope light source device which concerns on this invention opened. It is a front view which shows the state which another shutter of the endoscope light source device which concerns on this invention closed.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Operation part 11 Light guide cable 12 Connector part 12a Light guide connector 12b Circuit connector 13 Insertion part 20 Pushbutton type power switch 20a Protection board (operation surface)
20b Pilot lamp 21 Output connector 22 Side surface 23 Switch housing part 24 Insertion guide tube 25 Sensor 25a Detection coil 25b Detection judgment means 25c Current power supply 26 Control means 27 Shutter drive part 28 Recess 30 Light source lamp 31 Lamp power supply 40 Shutter part 41 Shutter plate Housing 41a Opening 42 Shutter plate 42a Opening 42b Shaft 43 Shutter cover 43a Opening 100 Endoscope light source device 200 Electronic endoscope

Claims (7)

A recess for storing the power switch;
A sensor that is disposed closer to the opening of the recess than the operation surface of the power switch and detects that a metal member has entered the recess;
A shutter that is disposed closer to the operation surface of the power switch than the sensor and is closed while the sensor detects a metal member;
With
An endoscope light source device, wherein when the sensor detects a metal member, the shutter is closed to prevent the metal member from coming into contact with the operation surface of the power switch. A recess for storing the power switch;
A sensor that is disposed closer to the opening of the recess than the operation surface of the power switch and detects that a metal member has entered the recess;
The position in the direction perpendicular to the plane including the opening of the recess is the same position as the sensor, and is disposed closer to the operation surface side of the power switch than the opening of the recess, and the sensor detects the metal member. A shutter that is closed between,
With
An endoscope light source device, wherein when the sensor detects a metal member, the shutter is closed to prevent the metal member from coming into contact with the operation surface of the power switch. The endoscope light source device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sensor includes a detection coil, a current power source that supplies electricity to the detection coil, and a detection determination unit that detects a change in impedance of the detection coil. Light source device. The endoscope light source device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sensor includes a magnet, and detects that the magnetic field of the magnet changes when a metal member enters the recess. . The endoscope light source device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sensor has a pair of flat plates, and detects that a capacitance of the pair of flat plates changes when a metal member enters the concave portion. Endoscope light source device. The endoscope light source device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the shutter includes a shutter plate having an opening, and a rotation support member that rotatably supports the shutter plate. An endoscope light source device that opens and closes by moving the opening of the shutter plate to a predetermined position by rotating the shutter plate. 6. The endoscope light source device according to claim 1, wherein the shutter includes a plurality of shutter plates and a shutter plate housing that rotatably supports these shutter plates. Endoscope light source device that performs a closing operation by rotating and overlapping the shutter plates of the above.

Images