JPH0713087A - Hard endoscope device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the hard endoscope device which is inexpensive and easily handled. CONSTITUTION:The hard endoscope device 1 is equipped with a shaft 2 as a throwaway hard endoscope main body equipped with the observation optical system and lighting optical system consisting of an objective optical system 8 and a relay optical system 9, an adapter 3 which is fitted detachably to this shaft 2 and equipped with an adapter optical system 13 transmitting an optical image formed by the observation optical system of the shaft 2 and an adapter light guide 12 transmitting illumination light to the lighting optical system 7 of the shaft 2, and a light guide cable 4 which is extended from the adapter 3 almost in parallel to the optical system of said observation optical system and optically connected with the adapter light guide 12 through a connector 4a for adapter connection.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rigid endoscope device to which a rigid endoscope body and an adapter are detachably attached.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, by inserting an elongated insertion portion into a body cavity, an organ in the body cavity can be observed, and if necessary, a treatment instrument inserted in a treatment instrument channel can be used.
Endoscopes capable of various therapeutic treatments are widely used.

Boilers, gas turbine engines,
BACKGROUND ART Industrial endoscopes are widely used for observing and inspecting internal scratches and corrosion of piping of chemical plants and the body of automobile engines.

Such an endoscope is roughly classified into a soft endoscope and a rigid endoscope depending on whether or not the insertion portion has flexibility. The rigid endoscope among these consists of an eyepiece on the proximal side, a light guide mouthpiece protruding laterally of this eyepiece, and a shaft portion extending forward from the eyepiece. The eyepiece section allows visual observation by connecting an eyepiece adapter, and by connecting a television adapter, the observation image is photoelectrically converted by an image pickup device provided in the television adapter to monitor, etc. It is also configured so that it can be observed at. In addition, the light guide base,
By connecting one end of the light guide cable and connecting the connector provided at the other end to the light source device, the illumination light is supplied from the light source device.

By the way, an endoscope, particularly an endoscope for medical use, needs to be sufficiently sterilized to prevent infection and the like, but since this sterilization must be performed at high temperature and high pressure for a long time, There is a problem that the use efficiency of the endoscope is reduced. In recent years, in view of this problem, various endoscope systems have been proposed which eliminate the sterilization step by attaching a disposable sheath to an endoscope and attaching a new sheath to each subject. .

[0006] By further pushing such an idea, it is considered that the endoscope itself is made disposable. Since this endoscope is disposable, it is extremely clean because it does not require sterilization and other steps because the endoscope itself is replaced with a new one for each subject. Therefore, it has various advantages such as no inconvenience during use.

At the time of this disposing, it is rather difficult to dispose the flexible endoscope because it has a high cost portion such as a bending mechanism. It is rather preferable to use an endoscope.

[0008]

However, when considering the disposition of the rigid endoscope, the light guide mouthpiece portion and the eyepiece portion cause a cost increase. Further, if the light guide is extended in the direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the scope, the structure is likely to be complicated, which increases the number of processes and also causes the cost increase.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a rigid endoscope device which is inexpensive and easy to handle.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, a rigid endoscope apparatus according to the present invention comprises a disposable rigid endoscope main body equipped with an observation optical system and an illumination optical system. Illumination light is attached to the rigid endoscope main body in a detachable manner, and an illumination light is transmitted to an illumination optical system of the rigid endoscope main body and an adapter optical system for transmitting an optical image by the observation optical system of the rigid endoscope main body. An adapter including an adapter illumination optical system for transmitting, and an illumination light transmission unit optically connected to the adapter illumination optical system extending from the adapter substantially parallel to the optical axis of the observation optical system. It is a thing.

[0011]

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 a side view including a partial cross section of a rigid endoscope apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a side view showing a connection between an adapter and a shaft and a connector. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the connection between the shaft and the adapter to which the light guide cable and the television cord are integrally connected.

As shown in FIG. 1, the rigid endoscope apparatus 1 of the first embodiment has a shaft 2 which is a rigid endoscope body, and an adapter 3 which has an optical system detachably connected to the shaft 2. The light guide cable 4 and the television cord 5, which are illumination light transmission means, which are also detachably connected to the adapter 3, constitute a main part thereof.

The shaft 2 has an illumination optical system 7 inserted therein, and an objective optical system 8 is disposed inside the tip portion 2a. The objective optical system 8 has a relay optical system behind the optical axis. A system 9 is provided and these objective optical systems 8
An observation optical system is configured to include the relay optical system 9.

The shaft 2 as described above is attachable to and detachable from the adapter 3 by, for example, a screw as described above. The adapter 3 has an adapter light guide 12 for transmitting incident illumination light from the light guide cable 4 to the light guide 7 in the shaft 3 inserted therein, and a relay optical system in the shaft 3. An adapter optical system 13 for further transmitting the subject optical image relayed by 9 to the base end of the shaft 3 to the television code 5 is provided. The light guide cable 4 is provided on the base end side of the adapter light guide 12.
A light guide connection mouthpiece 14 for connecting the television guide is provided so as to project parallel to the axis of the shaft 2, and a television connection mouthpiece 15 for connecting the television cord 5 to the base end side of the adapter optical system 13. Are provided so as to project substantially coaxially with the axis of the shaft 2.

The light guide cable 4 and the television cord 5 are connected to the light guide connection mouthpiece 14 and the television connection mouthpiece 15 by adapter connection connectors 4a and 5a provided at their respective ends. There is.

Such a rigid endoscope apparatus can be separated into a shaft 2, an adapter 3, a light guide cable 4 and a television cord 5, as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the television code 5
Alternatively, the light guide cable 4 and the adapter 3a may be integrally formed so that only the shaft 2 is detachable from the adapter 3a.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described.
Illumination light supplied by a light source device (not shown) is transmitted through the light guide cable 4, is incident on the illumination optical system 7 of the shaft 2 through the adapter light guide 12, and is transmitted to the shaft tip portion 2a. Then, the subject is irradiated from the tip of the illumination optical system 7. The light image of the illuminated subject enters through the objective optical system 8,
It is transmitted to the hand side by the relay optical system 9. Further, the signal is transmitted by the adapter optical system 13 of the adapter 3 and the adapter connecting connector 5a of the television cord 5 is transmitted.
Is incident on the camera, is photoelectrically converted by an image pickup device such as a CCD (not shown) provided in the connector 5a for adapter connection, is transmitted through the television cord 5 as an electric signal, and is input to a camera control unit (not shown). After being subjected to various signal processing, it is converted into a standard television signal and input to a monitor or the like for observation.

When one case is completed, the shaft 2 may be removed from the adapter 3 and disposed of, or it may be recovered so that it can be reused.

According to the first embodiment, the light guide cable is extended from the adapter substantially parallel to the optical axis of the observation optical system, so that the shaft has a simple structure and can be manufactured at a relatively low cost. This makes it possible to dispose the shaft in terms of cost. This not only eliminates the need for washing and sterilizing steps, but also eliminates the work of attaching a sheath or the like, thereby further reducing the burden on the user.

FIGS. 4 and 5 relate to a second embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 4 is a side view including a partial cross section of the rigid endoscope device, and FIG. 5 is a partial side view showing the connection between the shaft and the adapter.

The rigid endoscope device 21 of the second embodiment is
As shown in FIG. 4, the shaft 22 that is the rigid endoscope main body
The main part is composed of an adapter 23 having an optical system that is detachably connected to the shaft 22, and a television / light guide cord 24 that is integrally extended from the hand side of the adapter 23.

An objective optical system 28 is disposed inside the tip portion 22a of the shaft 22, and a relay optical system 29 is disposed behind the optical axis of the objective optical system 28. The observation optical system is configured to include the relay optical system 29, and the light guide 27, which is a ring-shaped illumination optical system, is inserted around the observation optical system.

As described above, the shaft 22 is detachable from the adapter 23 by using, for example, a screw as shown in FIG. The adapter 23 is provided with a relay optical system 29 in the shaft 22 so that the shaft 2
An adapter optical system 33 for forming a subject light image relayed to the base end of No. 2 on an image pickup device 35 such as a CCD provided further rearward is provided, and illumination light is provided in the shaft 22. An adapter light guide 34, which is also provided in a ring shape around the adapter optical system 33 for transmitting to the light guide 27, is inserted inside. The TV / light guide cord 24 is provided on the proximal end side of the adapter light guide 34, and
It extends rearward almost coaxially with the axis of 2.

The end of the TV / light guide cord 24 is branched into two parts, a TV cord 25 and a light guide cable 26, via a branch part 24a, and a TV connector 25a is provided at each end. A light guide connector 26a is provided.

The operation of this second embodiment is almost the same as that of the above-mentioned first embodiment. According to the second embodiment as described above, substantially the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained, and
The operability of the endoscope is improved because the TV and light guide code are integrated. Also, since the light guide is arranged around the observation optical system and the adapter optical system in a ring shape, even if the TV cord and the light guide cable are integrally provided, the cross-sectional shape can be maintained in a perfect circle. hand,
It has good flexibility and is not hard to bend in a particular direction. In addition, the fact that the cross section can be made circular means that the maximum diameter of the cord can be reduced. Further, when the shaft is screwed into the light guide, it is not necessary to adjust the rotation amount to align the shaft side light guide and the adapter side light guide, and the connection is facilitated.

As a code having a structure in which the television code and the light guide cable are integrally provided, in addition to arranging the above-mentioned light guide in a ring shape, a type in which an interposing material is put into a perfect circle, or a code It is also possible that the light guide and the signal line of the image sensor, which is an image transfer member, are separately provided with different shapes.

By the way, it is difficult for a rigid endoscope to have an airtight structure if there are movable parts. For this reason, in the conventional rigid endoscope, in order to make it airtight and sterilizable, the observation optical system has a fixed focus and no movable part. In this case, a variable focus or variable magnification TV camera is attached to the proximal side of the rigid endoscope for use in zooming and focus adjustment.

However, when the magnification is increased by the television camera on the hand side, the image becomes dark. If the objective optical system provided at the tip portion is used to increase the magnification by such zooming, it is possible to keep the brightness constant, but from the point that it is necessary to maintain the airtightness as described above, I couldn't do this.

In view of these problems, zooming and focusing are possible without loss of brightness,
Moreover, a rigid endoscope device capable of preventing infection will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8.

As shown in FIG. 6, for example, a convex lens is provided in a portion of the reusable endoscope body 41 that covers at least the insertion portion 41a, and in a portion of the endoscope body 41 located in front of the optical axis of the observation optical system. An inner cylinder 43 provided with 45 is mounted so as to be movable back and forth, and an outer cylinder 44 provided with, for example, a concave lens 46 is provided around the inner cylinder 43 at a portion located further forward of the convex lens 45 of the optical axis. The inner cylinder 43 is provided so that it can be moved forward and backward relative to the inner cylinder 43. The outer cylinder 44 and the inner cylinder 43 are detachable with respect to the endoscope body 41 and are disposable sheaths that can be replaced for each case.

The operation of the structure shown in FIG. 6 is such that, when it is desired to change the magnification at the time of observation, the inner cylinder 4 is different from the outer cylinder 44.
2 can be switched between two points of magnification by moving the slide projection 43a provided on the proximal side back and forth in the optical axis direction.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the endoscope main body 51
, A sheath 53 having a concave lens 54, for example, is attached to a portion of the endoscope main body 51 located in front of the optical axis of the observation optical system so as to be movable back and forth. 55a capable of separating a predetermined distance from the concave lens 54 inside the optical axis of the
The convex lens 55, which is integrally provided with, is dropped and disposed.
Further, the illumination light transmitted by the light guide 52 (see FIG. 8) of the endoscope main body 51 is transmitted to the sheath 53 in parallel to the optical axis of the concave lens 54 to the distal end side of the sheath 53. An illumination light transmission section 56 is provided.

The operation of the configuration as shown in FIG. 7 is that the illumination light transmitted by the light guide 52 of the rigid endoscope 51 is directed from the distal end to the subject through the illumination light transmission section 56 of the sheath 53. The light image of the subject is irradiated and enters the observation optical system (not shown) of the endoscope 51 via the concave lens 54 and the convex lens 55. At this time, when focus adjustment is desired, the sheath 53 is moved relative to the endoscope 51 in the optical axis direction. Then, the subject light image is focused on the image pickup device 57 such as a CCD provided at the tip of the endoscope 51 by the focus adjustment, photoelectrically converted, and then transmitted through the signal line 58 as an electric signal to a monitor or the like. It is displayed and observed.

According to the constructions shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, although the endoscope is a rigid endoscope apparatus capable of preventing infection and the like, focus adjustment and zooming on the side of the objective optical system at the distal end portion. It is possible to provide an endoscopic device in which the observation image does not become dark even during zooming.

By the way, as an ordinary endoscope, in addition to the direct-viewing endoscope, there are a perspective-viewing endoscope and a side-viewing endoscope. Such a strabismus endoscope and a side-viewing endoscope are expensive due to the complexity of the optical system and it is difficult to make them disposable. Further, since the oblique-viewing endoscope and the side-viewing endoscope have different optical systems, they are naturally separate endoscopes. As a result, there is a problem in that it is necessary to have a plurality of endoscopes as necessary, which increases costs.

A configuration made in view of such problems will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11. The endoscope body 61 is a normal rigid endoscope as shown in FIG.
An observation optical system including an objective optical system 68 and a relay optical system 69 is provided, and an eyepiece optical system 65 is provided on the optical axis side of the observation optical system at the hand side. Then, a light guide 67 that transmits the illumination light is inserted in parallel along the optical axes of these optical systems.

As shown in FIG. 10, such an endoscope body 61 is attached to a disposable sheath 63 for use. The sheath 63 covers at least the insertion portion 62 of the endoscope body 61, and an optical axis bending member formed of a transparent material having a wedge-shaped cross section is provided at a portion in front of the optical axis of the observation optical system. 64 is provided. Thereby, for example, a rigid endoscope apparatus having a perspective view in which the optical axis is inclined by 5 to 10 degrees can be configured.

The illumination light transmitted by the light guide 67 may also be bent toward the subject by the same optical axis bending member 64, and the illumination light may mix with the subject optical image to cause flare or the like. In such a case, a similarly configured optical axis bending member may be separately provided for transmitting illumination light.

Further, if the endoscope main body 61 is attached to a disposable sheath 71 as shown in FIG. 11, it is possible to realize an endoscope for side view. At the tip of the sheath 71, a prism 72 having a reflecting surface inclined by about 45 degrees with respect to the axis of the sheath 71 is arranged.

The sheath 63 or the sheath 7 as described above
When using the rigid endoscope apparatus with 1 attached, the endoscope body 61 can be always kept clean by replacing the sheaths 63 and 71 for each case.

According to the constructions shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, the endoscope apparatus is inexpensive and can be disposed of, and both the perspective and the side view can be made by using the same endoscope body. Can be configured, and can be made more inexpensive and useful.

[0043]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a rigid endoscope device which is inexpensive and easy to handle.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 3 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 1 is a side view including a partial cross section of a rigid endoscope device.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the connection between the adapter and the shaft and the connector.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the connection between the shaft and the adapter to which the light guide cable and the television cord are integrally connected.

4 and 5 relate to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a side view including a partial cross section of a rigid endoscope device.

FIG. 5 is a partial side view showing the connection between the shaft and the adapter.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a rigid endoscope device capable of zooming and focusing without loss of brightness.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the configuration of a rigid endoscope device capable of zooming and focusing without loss of brightness.

8 is a diagram showing an imaging system and an illumination optical system of the endoscope main body shown in FIG.

9A and 9B are a horizontal sectional view and a vertical sectional view, respectively, showing an endoscope body of a rigid endoscope device that enables perspective and side view using the same endoscope body.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a sheath that enables perspective using the endoscope body shown in FIG. 9;

11 (A) is a front view and FIG. 11 (B) is a perspective view showing a sheath that enables side view using the endoscope main body shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 21 ... Hard endoscope apparatus 2, 22 ... Shaft 3, 23 ... Adapter 4 ... Light guide cable 7, 27 ... Illumination optical system 8, 28 ... Objective optical system 9, 29 ... Relay optical system 12, 34 ... Adapter Light guide 13, 33 ... Adapter optical system 24 ... TV / light guide code

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Akio Nakata 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Inside Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Shiro Bito 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo No. Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Toshikazu Takayama 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Susumu Takahashi 2-43 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo No. 2 Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yukio Kawase 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo No. 2 Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroaki Kagawa 2-43 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo No. 2 Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tsuruo Hatori 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olympus The Optical Industry Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A disposable rigid endoscope main body having an observation optical system and an illumination optical system, and a detachably attachable hard endoscope body for observing the rigid endoscope main body. An adapter equipped with an adapter optical system for transmitting an optical image by an optical system and an adapter illumination optical system for transmitting illumination light to the illumination optical system of the rigid endoscope body, and an optical axis of the observation optical system from this adapter And an illumination light transmission means that is optically connected to the adapter illumination optical system and that extends substantially parallel to the rigid endoscope apparatus.