JPH0553064A - Light source device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily supply light with various kinds of wavelength and color temperature without making a light source device into large scale. CONSTITUTION:When visible light generated at a lamp 4 in the light source device 1 is used, a mirror 9 is held at a position of broken line in figure. and the light from the lamp 4 is introduced to an emission part 6 via an optical path 7. Meanwhile, when the light from an external light source device 2 is used, the mirror 9 can be held at a position of continuous line in figure by turning by driving a mirror motor 8, and the light from the external light source device 2 can be made incident on the light source device 1 from an external light emission part 11 via a light guide member 3. In such a way, the light from the external light source device 2 is reflected on the mirror 9 via an optical path 10, and furthermore, it is introduced to the emission part 6 via the optical path 7. Thereby, it is possible to select observation light with various kinds of wavelength and color temperature arbitrarily without making the device into large scale.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a light source device capable of supplying light of various wavelengths and color temperatures.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a light source device for supplying light to an optical fiber used for an endoscope, a light guide for external treatment, etc., when a lamp such as a built-in light source has a problem such as a disconnection or a color temperature Conventionally, various examples have been proposed in which a plurality of lamps are provided in one housing and a mechanism for switching the light from these lamps to one optical path is provided for the case of using different lights.

For example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 55-48104 has two lighting fixtures each including a lamp and a reflective shade, and a mechanical switching means for switching the mechanical operation between these two lighting fixtures. There is disclosed a light source device provided with an electric switching means for switching an electric circuit. Also, the actual exploitation 62
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 103008, two lamps are attached to a rotating plate pivotally supported by an operation shaft, and each lamp faces either one or two optical fiber insertion holes formed in a main body case. There is disclosed a light source device capable of performing the above.

[0004]

However, in recent years,
Instead of visual observation with an endoscope or visual observation at the time of external treatment, an image from a subject is often taken and observed on a monitor, and conventional visible light illumination represented by xenon or halogen is used. Separately, irradiation of light of various wavelengths such as ultraviolet laser light and infrared laser light has been tried.

In this case, in order to avoid the complexity of preparing a large number of light source devices corresponding to light of each wavelength and color temperature and switching the connection, according to the above-mentioned prior example, generation of light of each wavelength and color temperature is performed. The device must be built in one light source device, which leads to an increase in the size of the housing. Furthermore, when the scale of the generator is large, such as with an argon laser beam, it is practically difficult to store the light generators of various wavelengths in the housing of one light source device.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a light source device capable of easily supplying light of various wavelengths and color temperatures without increasing the size of the device. There is.

[0007]

In the light source device of the present invention, the light from a light source built in the housing and the light guided to the housing from an external light source device are switched or combined to form the housing. It is equipped with a mechanism capable of emitting light outside the body.

[0008]

In the light source device of the present invention, the light from the built-in light source and the light from the external light source device are switched within the housing to change the wavelength
Light with different color temperatures is emitted, or light from a built-in light source and light from an external light source device are combined in a housing to emit light with different wavelengths and color temperatures.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an internal configuration of a light source device, and FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an endoscope device.

As shown in FIG. 1, in a light source device 1 of the present invention, an external light source device 2 for generating a special light such as an ultraviolet laser light or an infrared laser light has a light guide member 3 formed of a fiber bundle or the like. Connected through.

A lamp 4 that emits visible light, such as a xenon lamp or a halogen lamp, is provided as a light source inside the housing 1a of the light source device 1. For the lamp 4, a condensing optical system 5 and An optical path 7 is formed which passes through the central axis of the emitting portion 6 for emitting light to the outside of the housing 1a.

A mirror 9 having a mirror motor 8 attached to an end thereof is provided in the middle of the optical path 7, and the mirror 9 is rotated by the mirror motor 8 to move from the optical path 7 to the mirror 9. Are being put in and taken out.

A switch for driving / stopping the mirror motor 8 is provided on an operation panel surface (not shown) of the housing 1a of the light source device 1, and the mirror motor is turned off when the switch is off. When the mirror 8 is not driven, the mirror 9 is assumed to be stopped and held at the position indicated by the broken line in FIG.

Further, the mirror 9 is provided in the light source device 1.
Thus, an external light incident portion 11 to which the light guide member 3 from the external light source device 2 is mounted is provided at the end of the optical path 10 orthogonal to the optical path 7.

FIG. 2 shows an example in which the light source device 1 is connected to an endoscope 15. The light source device 1 to which the external light source device 2 is connected and a solid-state image pickup device such as a charge coupled device (CCD) are internally provided. Endoscope (electronic endoscope) 15 and this endoscope 15
The endoscope device is composed of a control device 20 that processes an electric signal from the CCD of FIG. 1 to generate a video signal and a monitor 25 that displays the video signal from the control device 20.

The endoscope 15 has an elongated insertion portion 16 that can be inserted into a subject, an operation portion 17 having a large diameter that is connected to a rear end of the insertion portion 16, and an operation portion 17 of the insertion portion 16. And a universal cord 18 extending from the side of the universal cord 18, and is connected to the light source device 1 via a connector 19 provided at an end of the universal cord 18.

At the tip of the insertion portion 16, the light emitting end face of a light guide composed of a fiber bundle, an objective optical system (neither is shown), etc. are arranged, and the light source device 1 guided by the light guide is provided. When the light from the object is irradiated on the subject, the optical image of the subject is converted into an electric signal by the CCD arranged at the image forming position of the objective optical system.

A signal cable for transmitting electric signals from the light guide and the CCD (not shown) is inserted into the inside of the universal cord 18, and the incident end face side of the light guide is connected to the light source device via the connector 19. An electric signal from the CCD is input to the control device 20 via a signal cable 21 which is attached to the emitting portion 6 of the first connector and extends from the side portion of the connector 19.

When observing a subject with the endoscope 15 using the above light source device 1, first, the observation light is selected according to the situation.

For example, when illuminating and observing a subject with visible light generated by the lamp 4 in the light source device 1, the mirror 9 is held at the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. Then, the light from the lamp 4 enters the light guide of the universal cord 18 attached to the emitting portion 6 through the optical path 7, and irradiates the subject from the tip of the insertion portion 16.

The optical image of the subject illuminated by the light from the lamp 4 is imaged on the CCD by the objective optical system at the tip of the insertion portion 16 and photoelectrically converted, so that the controller 2
At 0, it is converted into a video signal. As a result, an observation image of the subject is displayed on the monitor 25.

On the other hand, when irradiating the subject with light from the external light source device 2 for observation, a switch on the operation panel surface (not shown) of the light source device 1 is turned on to drive the mirror motor 8 and the mirror 9 Is rotated and held at the position indicated by the solid line in FIG.

Then, the external light source device 2 generates external light such as ultraviolet laser light or infrared laser light,
This external light enters the light source device 1 from the external light incident part 11 via the light guide member 3. External light that has entered the light source device 1 is reflected by the mirror 9 after passing through an optical path 10, and is further guided to an emitting section 6 through an optical path 7.
Similarly, the light is guided by the light guide in the universal cord 18, and the subject is irradiated from the tip of the insertion portion 16 of the endoscope 15.

The image of the subject irradiated with the external light from the external light source device 2 is photoelectrically converted by the CCD of the endoscope 1, is subjected to image processing by the control device 20, and is displayed on the monitor 25.

That is, in order to avoid the complexity of switching the connection of a plurality of light source devices corresponding to the light of each wavelength and color temperature, it is necessary to house the light sources of various wavelengths and color temperatures in one housing. The observation light of various wavelengths and color temperatures can be arbitrarily selected without increasing the size of the apparatus.

The mirror 9 may be a half mirror, and the light from the lamp 4 and the light from the external light source device 2 may be combined and emitted from the emitting portion 6.

3 to 6 relate to the second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing the internal structure of the light source device, FIG. 4 is a front view of the turret, and FIG. 5 is an explanation showing the structure of the diaphragm mechanism. 6 and 6 are circuit diagrams of the safety circuit.

As shown in FIG. 3, the light source device 30 of this embodiment has a turret 32, a condensing optical system 33, and a diaphragm on the optical path of a lamp 31 incorporated in a housing 30a from the side of the lamp 31. The blades 34 and the emission part 35 are arranged,
In addition, a light guide member 3 from an external light source device 2 (not shown in FIG. 3) is mounted on the front surface of the turret 32 on the side of the condensing optical system 33, at the end of an optical path orthogonal to the optical path of the lamp 31. To be done.

The light emitting portion 35 of the light source device 30 and the outer periphery of the insertion portion of the light guide 36 inserted into the light emitting portion 35 are made of metal or the like in consideration of heat resistance and the like. Part of the outer circumference of the insertion part of
An electrically insulating portion 37 is provided.

The insulating portions 37 are used to determine the type of fiber of the light guide 36 based on the number and position of the insulating portions 37, and are provided at, for example, 0 to 2 places (2 places in FIG. 3). .. In addition, the emitting unit 35
In addition, the light guide 36 is biased by a spring 38 at a position facing the insulating portion 37.
A contact pin 39 having a tapered tip is provided so that the contact pin 39 can be smoothly inserted without being caught when it is inserted.

The rear end of the contact pin 39 is provided with the spring 38.
Is electrically connected to the scope discriminating circuit 40, and the emitting section 35 itself is also connected to the scope discriminating circuit 40. Further, the scope discrimination circuit 40 is connected to a turret drive circuit 41 for driving a motor 42.

A gear 43 is attached to the drive shaft of the motor 42, and a gear 44 meshing with the gear 43 is provided on the outer periphery of the turret 32, as shown in FIG. Then, when the motor 42 is driven, the turret 32 is rotated about the rotation shaft 32a.

In the turret 32, a dimming mesh 45 and a half mirror prism 4 are provided around the rotating shaft 32a.
6, through holes 47 are provided, and these are the turret 3
It is designed to be inserted into the optical path of the lamp 31 with the rotation of 2.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the diaphragm blade 34 inserted between the condensing optical system 33 and the incident end of the light guide 36 is pivotally mounted about a fulcrum 34a. And the narrowed portion 34c at the tip and the fulcrum 34a
The sections 34b made of a magnetic material are integrally or separately attached to both sides of the intermediate portion between and.

Further, electromagnets 48 are disposed at the stop positions at both ends of the swingable range limit of the diaphragm blade 34 so as to face the section 34b.

The electromagnets 48 are connected to a diaphragm control circuit 49, and the electromagnets 4 are connected to the diaphragm control circuit 49.
The diaphragm blades 34 swing due to the magnetic force generated according to the electric power supplied to the diaphragm 8. As a result, the aperture of the lamp 31 with respect to the optical path of the lamp 34 changes, and the amount of light incident on the light guide 36 is adjusted.

In the light source device 30 having the above structure, when the tip of the light guide 36 is inserted into the emitting portion 35, the type of the light guide 36 is discriminated by the scope discrimination circuit 40.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, contact pin 39
When the light guide 36 having two insulating portions 37 is inserted into the light emitting portion 35 provided with two
When the light guide 36 having one insulating portion 37 is inserted, the two electrical paths formed by the emitting portion 35 and the contact pin 39 do not conduct, and the contact pin at a position without the insulating portion 37 is inserted. When only the electric path by 39 is conducted, and when the light guide 36 in which the insulating portion 37 is not formed on the outer periphery is inserted, both electric paths by the two contact pins 39 are conducted.

That is, the insulating portion 37 of the light guide 36.
It is possible to determine the type of the light guide 36 inserted in the emitting portion 35 based on the number and position of the motors. When a signal corresponding to this determination result is output from the scope determination circuit 40 to the turret drive circuit 41, the motor 42 is driven to rotate the turret 32 to a predetermined position.

In this case, when the heat resistance of the fiber of the light guide 36 determined by the scope determination circuit 40 is insufficient for the light of the lamp 31, the light-reducing mesh 45 of the turret 32 causes the lamp 31 to move. When the motor 42 is controlled through the turret drive circuit 41 so as to be inserted into the optical path of the light guide 36 and the heat resistance of the fiber of the light guide 36 is sufficient for the light of the lamp 31, the turret. The motor 42 is controlled via the turret drive circuit 41 so that the through hole 47 of 32 is inserted in the optical path of the lamp 31.

As a result, the light-reducing mesh 45 or the through hole 47 is inserted in the optical path of the lamp 31 according to the type of the light guide 36 that has been discriminated, and the light is selected according to the heat resistance of the fiber of the light guide 36. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the light guide 36 from being burnt.

On the other hand, when the light from the external light source device 2 and the light from the lamp 31 are used in combination, a signal is sent from the operation panel (not shown) to the turret drive circuit 41. Then, the motor 42 is driven and the half mirror prism 46 of the turret 32 is inserted into the optical path of the lamp 31.

Then, when the external light from the external light source device 2 enters the light source device 30 through the light guide member 3, the external light from the external light source device 2 is reflected by the half mirror prism 46. The light from the lamp 31 passes through the half mirror prism 46, and the external light from the external light source device 2 and the light from the lamp 31 are combined and incident on the light guide 36 of the emitting unit 35.

That is, in the second embodiment, by using the turret 32 as compared with the above-mentioned first embodiment, the observation light of various wavelengths and color temperatures can be selected more finely.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 6, the lamp 31 is turned on by the lighting circuit 50, and the lighting circuit 5 is turned on.
To 0, a safety circuit including an interlock switch 51 and a discharge resistor 52 is connected to discharge the electric charge of a capacitor (not shown) in the lighting circuit 50 when the lamp 31 is replaced.

Further, a temperature sensor 53 is thermally coupled to the discharge resistor 52, a discrimination circuit 54 is connected to the temperature sensor 53, and the discrimination circuit 54 is connected to an abnormality notification mechanism.

The interlock switch 51 is turned off, for example, when the housing 30a of the light source device 30 is closed, and the discharge circuit of the capacitor in the lighting circuit 50 is opened.

On the other hand, when the casing 30a of the light source device 30 is opened in order to replace the lamp 31 due to disconnection or the like,
The interlock switch 51 is turned on, and the electric charge of the capacitor is discharged through the discharging resistor 52 to ensure safety.

At this time, the temperature of the discharge resistor 52 is detected by the temperature sensor 53, and based on the detected temperature,
The discriminating circuit 54 discriminates whether an abnormality such as burning of the discharge resistor 52 has occurred. When an abnormality has occurred, an operation signal is output from the discrimination circuit 54 to activate the abnormality notification mechanism 55, for example, to notify the abnormality occurrence by light, sound or the like to prevent electric shock.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the internal structure of the light source device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The light source device 60 of the present embodiment is different from the light source device 1 of the first embodiment described above in that the light guide member 3 from the external light source device 2 is drawn into the housing 60a, and instead of the mirror motor 8 and the mirror 9, A slide mechanism 61 is provided for putting the emitting end of the light guide member 3 in and out of the optical path 7 of the lamp 4.

That is, in the slide mechanism 61, the holding frame 62a for holding the emitting end of the light guide member 3 is fixed to the condensing optical system 5 side, and the light shielding plate 62b is fixed to the lamp 4 side. The slider 62 is moved so that the emission end of the light guide member 3 is moved in and out of the optical path 7.

In this embodiment, when the light from the lamp 4 is used, the slider 62 is held at the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 7, and the illumination light from the lamp 4 is guided to the emitting portion 6. On the other hand, when using the light from the external light source device 2, the slider 62 is moved to the position shown by the broken line in FIG.

As a result, the light from the lamp 4 is shielded by the light shielding plate 62b of the slider 62, and the light from the external light source device 2 guided by the light guide member 3 passes through the optical path 7 to the emitting portion 6. You will be guided.

It goes without saying that the same effects as those of the above-described first embodiment can be obtained in this embodiment as well.

[0055]

As described above, according to the present invention, excellent effects such as the ability to easily supply light of various wavelengths and color temperatures without increasing the size of the device can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an internal configuration of a light source device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an endoscope apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an internal configuration of a light source device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a turret according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a diaphragm mechanism according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of a safety circuit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an internal configuration of a light source device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 light source device 1a housing 2 external light source device 4 lamp 6 emitting part 8 mirror motor 9 mirror

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A mechanism is provided which is capable of switching or combining light from a light source built into the housing and light guided from an external light source device into the housing and emitting the light to the outside of the housing. Characteristic light source device.