JP4918268B2 - Endoscope device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus, and more particularly, to a configuration of a portable endoscope apparatus or the like in which a battery is mounted as a power source for an LED light source unit for illuminating an object to be observed.

  The endoscope apparatus irradiates an object to be observed (inside) with illumination light, and directly observes the object to be observed optically by an objective optical system disposed at the insertion tip of the endoscope (scope), or An object image obtained by the objective optical system is imaged by a solid-state image sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) to observe an image of the object to be observed on a monitor screen. In mirrors, it has recently been proposed to arrange a light emitting diode (LED) that outputs white light as a light source of illumination light, instead of a conventionally used light source lamp such as a xenon lamp.

  That is, when the light output from the light source lamp provided in the light source device is supplied to the endoscope distal end portion through the light guide as in the prior art, light loss occurs during transmission of the light guide, When the LED is arranged at the tip, there is an advantage that the light from the LED light source can be efficiently used as illumination light, and the adoption of this LED light source simplifies the configuration of the entire endoscope, is lightweight, It becomes possible to reduce the size and the like.

On the other hand, as an endoscope apparatus, a portable apparatus using an LED light source for illuminating an object to be observed is manufactured. In this portable endoscope apparatus, a battery is used as a power source of the LED light source. However, when this battery is installed, if the battery runs out while the endoscope is in use, there is an inconvenience that the object to be observed cannot be illuminated and observation becomes impossible. Therefore, conventionally, as described in Patent Document 1, for example, an auxiliary power supply battery is provided in addition to the battery pack as the main power supply, and the life of the main power supply is detected and switched to the auxiliary power supply. Is called.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-21792 JP 2002-112953 A

  However, when the main power supply battery and the auxiliary power supply battery are provided as in the above-described conventional example, different types of batteries such as the supply voltage and the size of the battery itself are mounted, and the handling of the battery is complicated. There is a problem of becoming.

  In addition, LED light sources are more durable than halogen lamps and are less likely to burn out, but during observation, the amount of light decreases due to their lifetime, or light output is reduced due to other causes such as LED drive circuits. It may be impossible, and in such a case, an immediate response and a backup of the optical output are required.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and the object of the present invention is to use an LED light source when the used LED light source runs out during observation without being complicated by different types of batteries, or the LED light source. Another object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope apparatus that can ensure good illumination of an object to be observed even when there is a failure or the like in its drive circuit.

In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 is an endoscope apparatus provided with a plurality of light emitting diodes for illumination, and a first set of light emitting diodes disposed at a central portion of the plurality of light emitting diodes. A second set of light emitting diodes disposed on the outer periphery of the first set of light emitting diodes; a first battery connected to the first set of light emitting diodes; a second battery connected to the second set of light emitting diodes; a control circuit for a power supply state to any one of the battery of the first battery and the second battery, when detecting a battery capacity currently powered, the battery capacity is lowered, the first battery and A battery switching control circuit that automatically switches to a battery that is not currently being fed out of the second battery is provided.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, the battery switching control circuit detects the capacity (voltage, etc.) of the battery that is currently feeding power among the first battery and the second battery, and the battery capacity is reduced (life is detected). In some cases, a warning is displayed.

According to the arrangement, the multiple light-emitting diodes are divided into first and second sets of two pairs, the first battery in the first set, will be the second battery is connected to the second set, When it is detected that the capacity of the first battery that is feeding the first set of light emitting diodes is lower than a predetermined value, the power is automatically switched from the second battery, and the illumination of the object to be observed is also performed. Switch to two sets of light emitting diodes.

According to the configuration of claim 2, when it is detected that the capacity of the battery currently in use is detected , the operator is notified that the battery is out by lighting the warning lamp or the like.

In addition, according to the present invention, by switching between one set and two sets of light emitting diodes , it is possible to illuminate a narrow-angle light distribution limited to the central portion, or perform a wide-angle light distribution illumination spreading to the peripheral portion. it can.

  According to the endoscope of the present invention, when the battery of the LED light source used during observation has run out, or when the LED light source or its drive circuit has a failure, the LED light source and the battery are switched simultaneously. As a result, it is possible to ensure good illumination of the object to be observed, and since the plurality of batteries have the same voltage, size, etc., the battery can be handled easily.

In addition, it is not necessary to manually switch the first and second batteries, the battery can be easily switched, and illumination with different light distribution can be obtained.
According to the invention of claim 2, there is an advantage that the life of the battery can be easily known .

The Figures 1 and 2, there is shown a configuration of an endoscope apparatus according to the first example reference example, an example of this is obtained by a detachable light source unit to the endoscope operation portion . As shown in FIG. 1, the endoscope 10 is provided with a light guide 14 made of an optical fiber from the irradiation window 12 provided at the distal end of the insertion portion 10A to the connector portion 13 of the operation portion 10B. The unit 13 is provided with a light source unit (attachment) 16 that is detachable. Although not shown, this endoscope apparatus has an observation window (lens) of the objective optical system in the vicinity of the irradiation window 12, and an object image captured by the objective optical system The eyepiece 18 can be optically observed through an optical fiber. Two or more irradiation windows 12 may be provided. In this case, the light guide 14 may be branched from the middle and arranged in each irradiation window 12.

  The light source unit 16 includes a condensing lens 20, an LED light source (member) 21 in which a plurality of LEDs (light emitting diodes) 26 are formed, switching circuits 22a to 22c, output (rated) voltages, and three pieces having the same magnitude. Batteries 23a to 23c and a switching operation switch (button) 24 are provided.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the LED light source 21 distributes a plurality of LEDs (single unit) 26 into a region obtained by dividing the inside of the circle into three at equal angles, and the first group LED unit 21 a and the second group LED unit. 21b and the third set LED section 21c are formed as independent light source bodies, the first set LED section 21a is switched to the first battery 23a via the switching circuit 22a, and the second set LED section 21b is switched to the second set via the switching circuit 22b. The third battery 23c is connected to the second battery 23b and the third LED unit 21c via the switching circuit 22c. In addition, each set of LED units 21a to 21c is driven to be lit by the same voltage (power). A control circuit 28 is provided for turning the switching circuits 22a to 22c on and off by operating the switching operation switch 24.

Consists of a first example above configuration reference Example of this, the operated switching operation switch 24 by the surgeon or the like using the endoscope, the feed from the first battery 23a is performed by the ON operation of the switching circuit 22a If the first LED unit 21a is turned on, the illumination light is irradiated from the irradiation window 12 to the object to be observed through the light guide 14. And when the illumination by this 1st group LED part 21a becomes dark, by selecting either the 2nd battery 23b or the 3rd battery 23c with the switching operation switch 24, the 2nd group LED part 21b or Illumination by the third LED unit 21c is performed, and it is prevented that the illumination becomes dark during endoscopic observation. In addition, since the batteries 23a to 23c are of the same type, it is easy to handle such as replacement.

The 3 and 4, and configuration of the endoscope apparatus is shown according to the actual施例, real施例this, as the light distribution of the illumination light is changed in the same configuration as the reference first example It is a thing. As shown in FIG. 3, the LED light source 31 arranged in the light source unit 16 divides the inside of the circle into a concentric central part circular area and a donut-shaped circular area, and a plurality of LEDs 26 are arranged in the central circular area. The first set LED unit 31a and the second set LED unit 31b in which a plurality of LEDs 26 are arranged in a donut-shaped circular region, and the first battery 33a and the second set LED are connected to the first set LED unit 31a via a switching circuit 32a. The second battery 33b is connected to the part 31b via the switching circuit 32b. Further, a control circuit 35 for turning on / off the switching circuits 32a and 32b by the operation of the switching operation switch 24 is provided.

According to such a configuration of the real施例, the first pair LED unit 31a by the first battery 33a is turned, as shown in FIG. 4 (A), narrow-angle light distribution of the concentrate in the center Illumination light can be obtained, and when the switching operation switch 24 switches to the second battery 33b, as shown in FIG. 4B, the second LED unit 31b emits wide-angle illumination light on the whole. Will be obtained. Therefore, in the case of this embodiment, different light distributions can be selected, and illumination light can be secured by another battery when the battery runs out.

The 5 to 7, an example configuration is shown, this endoscope apparatus according to the reference a second example of the present invention is obtained by disposing the LED light source unit in the endoscope tip portion. As shown in FIG. 5, the distal end portion 37A of the endoscope 37 is provided with an observation window 38, an objective optical system 39, two irradiation windows 41a and 41b, a first LED portion 42, and a second LED portion 43. A light guide 44 is provided from the objective optical system 39 to the operation unit 10B, and an object image transmitted by the light guide 44 can be observed by the eyepiece unit 45. Further, the first battery 48a is connected to the first LED section 42 via a switching circuit 47a, and the second battery 48b is connected to the second LED section 43 via a switching circuit 47b. The first battery 48a and the second battery 48b can be exchanged by opening the lid 49 provided at the rear end of the operation portion 37B.

  Also, in the vicinity of the lid 49, there are a first warning lamp 50a for informing the battery exhaustion state (life) of the first battery 48a and a second warning lamp 50b for informing the battery exhaustion state of the second battery 48b. Provided.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the second reference example, a detection circuit 52 and a control circuit 53 for monitoring the voltages (capacities) of the first battery 48a and the second battery 48b are provided. When the detection circuit 52 detects that the battery voltage currently in use has dropped to a predetermined value or less (battery exhausted state), the warning lamps 50a and 50b corresponding to the batteries (48a and 48b) are turned on. Control to switch to the other battery.

  FIG. 7 shows the configuration of the distal end surface of the distal end portion 37A, and the first and second LED portions 42 and 43 (the irradiation window is omitted) are provided so as to sandwich the observation window 38 therebetween. In addition, an air supply / water supply nozzle 55 for supplying and supplying air toward the observation window 38, a treatment instrument insertion channel (forceps opening) 56 for deriving a treatment instrument such as forceps, and the like are provided. In addition, the first and second LED units 42 and 43 of the example are configured by arranging, for example, five LEDs 26 as shown in the figure.

According to the configuration of the second reference example, the detection circuit 52 is in a state where the first battery 48a is out of battery, for example, during the illumination of the observation object by the first LED unit 42 based on the power supply of the first battery 48a. When it is detected that the battery voltage has dropped below a predetermined voltage, the switching circuit 47a is turned off by the control circuit 53, and the switching circuit 47b is turned on to switch to the second battery 48b and the second LED unit 43. Illumination by the second LED unit 43 is performed.

In this reference second example, the first LED unit 42 and the second LED unit 43 are divided into sets, but as shown in FIG. 6, each of the five LEDs 26 in the first LED unit 42 and the second LED unit 43 is divided into three. It is divided into two pieces (dotted line), and the first set is composed of three pieces in the first LED portion 42 and two pieces in the second LED portion 43, and the other two pieces in the first LED portion 42 and the second pair. It is also possible to configure the second set from the other three LEDs in the 2LED section 43 and connect the first battery 48a to the first set and the second battery 48b to the second set as shown by the chain line. According to this, illumination light can always be output from both the left and right illumination windows 41a and 41b across the observation window 38, and equivalent illumination can be obtained even when the first set and the second set are switched. There is an advantage.

8, there is shown a configuration of a reference third example, an example of this is obtained by the same configuration as in the case of set the reference first example of the LED light source disposed in the distal portion (Fig. 1) is there. That is, in the 1st LED part 57 and the 2nd LED part 58 provided in the right and left of the observation window 38, the area | region in a circle is divided into 3 at equal angles, and 1st group LED57a, 2nd group LED57b, 3rd group LED57c, and 1st group The LED 58a, the second set LED 58b, and the third set LED 58c are formed independently. The first set LEDs 57a and 58a are switched to the first battery via the switching circuit, the second set LEDs 57b and 58b are switched to the second battery, and the third set LEDs 57c and 58c are switched to the third battery via the switching circuit. Connect. According to this example, three sets of LEDs can be used by switching three batteries as in the first reference example.
In addition, the Example of this invention is applicable in the said reference 2 example and the reference 3rd example.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the object image is optically observed by the eyepieces 18 and 45 is shown. However, a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD is connected to the objective optical system 39, and the object is electronically connected. The present invention can be similarly applied to an endoscope apparatus for imaging.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the endoscope apparatus which concerns on the reference 1st example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the LED light source part of a reference 1st example, and a main electric circuit. It is a diagram showing a configuration of the LED light source unit and the main electric circuit of the endoscope apparatus of the real施例. Is a diagram showing an output state of the illumination light from the LED light source unit in the real施例. It is a figure which shows the structure of the endoscope apparatus of the reference 2nd example. It is a figure which shows the structure of the LED light source part and main electric circuit of a reference 2nd example. It is a figure which shows the structure of the front-end | tip part tip surface of the reference 2 example (irradiation window abbreviation). It is a figure which shows the structure of the front-end | tip part front end surface of the reference 3rd example (irradiation window omitted).

Explanation of symbols

10, 37 ... endoscope, 12, 41a, 41b ... lighting window,
16 ... Light source unit 21, 31 ... LED light source,
22a-22c, 32a, 32b, 47a, 47b ... switching circuit,
23a-23c, 33a, 33b, 48a, 48b ... battery,
24 ... switching operation switch (button), 26 ... LED,
42, 57 ... 1st LED part, 43, 58 ... 2nd LED part,
52 ... Detection circuit 28, 35, 53 ... Control circuit.

Claims (2)

In an endoscope apparatus provided with a plurality of light emitting diodes for illumination,
A first set of light emitting diodes disposed at the center of the whole of the plurality of light emitting diodes;
A second set of light emitting diodes disposed on the outer periphery of the first set of light emitting diodes;
A first battery connected to the first set of light emitting diodes;
A second battery connected to the second set of light emitting diodes;
A control circuit for a power supply state to any one of the battery of the first battery and the second battery, when detecting a battery capacity currently powered, the battery capacity is lowered, the first battery and An endoscope apparatus comprising: a battery switching control circuit that automatically switches to a battery that is not currently supplied with power among the second batteries .   2. The battery switching control circuit according to claim 1, wherein the battery switching control circuit detects a capacity of a battery that is currently being fed from the first battery and the second battery, and displays a warning when the battery capacity is reduced. Endoscopic device.

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