JPH08280617A - Handy type endoscope apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a handy type endoscope apparatus which enables lighting of a light source lamp brightly by minimizing voltage drop in a conducting path for turning ON the light source lamp while making a member composing the conducting path free from corrosion under disinfection by chemicals or the like. CONSTITUTION: An illumination light supply unit 30 is sheathed liquidtightly by members 31b and 51b comprising a highly anticorrosive material and members 31a and 51a comprising a highly conducting material are arranged tangential therewith to make the highly conducting members 31a and 51a inside as a conducting path for energizing a light source lamp.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a simplified endoscope apparatus in which an illuminating light supply unit for supplying illuminating light to a light guide is attached to an operating portion.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a so-called simple endoscope device in which a light emitting body for illumination is provided in an operating portion, generally, an illumination light supply unit containing a miniature bulb and a dry battery is attached to an operating portion of the endoscope. Is configured.

Such an illumination light supply unit is generally covered by a stainless steel tubular member having high corrosion resistance, and the tubular member is used as a conductive path for energizing a light bulb.

[0004]

However, since stainless steel or the like has a large electric resistance, if a member made of stainless steel is used as a conductive path to a light bulb as described above, a large voltage drop occurs in that portion, Originally not enough, the light emission from the light bulb was even darker.

Further, contacts and the like for making electrical connection in the middle of the conductive path are formed of a highly conductive metal such as a copper alloy, but when disinfecting with a chemical solution after using the endoscope,
The contact was corroded by the chemical liquid, and the conductivity of the contact portion was lowered, which caused lighting failure.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the voltage drop in the conductive path for lighting the light source lamp is extremely small, and the members forming the conductive path are not corroded by chemical solution sterilization or the like, so that the light source lamp can be brightly lit. An object is to provide a simplified endoscope apparatus.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, in the simplified endoscope apparatus of the present invention, the incident end portion of the light guide for transmitting the illumination light for illuminating the subject is arranged in the operation portion. In addition, in a simple endoscope apparatus in which an illumination light supply unit having a light source lamp for supplying illumination light to the light guide is attached to the operation portion, the illumination light supply unit is made of a material having high corrosion resistance. And a member made of a material having good conductivity is arranged in contact with the member to be liquid-tight, and the member having good conductivity is used as a conductive path for energizing the light source lamp. And

All the members forming a conductive path for energizing the light source lamp may be arranged in the outer member that liquid-tightly covers the illumination light supply unit.

[0009]

Embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG.
A side view of the operation unit 2 portion of the endoscope, FIG. 7 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 port 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 an 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.

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. 7, the illumination light supply unit 30 includes a light source lamp 32 for emitting illumination light to be supplied to the light guide fiber bundle 9 and a power source for turning on the light source lamp 32. A certain battery 100 or the like 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 of the illumination light supply unit 30, and instead of the battery 100, as shown in FIG.
An AC / DC adapter 80 can also be connected as shown in FIG.

The AC / DC adapter 80 has a plug 8 which can be plugged into an outlet of a 100-volt or 200-volt commercial AC power source distributed to general households.
2, the commercial AC voltage is converted into a DC voltage of 3 V, for example, and the light source lamp 32 can be turned on.

FIG. 2 shows the operation unit 2 and the 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. Although the O-ring 16 is crushed by being mounted, the figure shows a cross-section in a natural state before being crushed (hereinafter the same).

At the central axis position of the through hole formed in the central portion of the lid body 15, the base portion is the metal frame 13 inside the operation portion 2.
A support cylinder 17 fixed to the is arranged. Then, the light guide mounting cylinder 18 screwed and connected to the support cylinder 17
However, it protrudes outward from the projecting end of the support cylinder 17.

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. A convex meniscus lens 20 is watertightly joined to face the end face.

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.

As described above, since the lid 15 and the insulating tube 29 which are in contact with the unit receiving cap 27 on the operating portion 2 side are both electrically insulating, the unit receiving cap 27 protruding outward from the operating portion 2 is attached. Even if a leak current or the like from the outside flows, the leak current is not transmitted to other members of the operation unit 2.

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 operating portion 2 is protected from water from the outside in 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. 2 shows the entire lamp chamber portion 30a.

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 the outer case 31b 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 light source lamp 32 is detachably inserted and attached is fixed to the inner case 31a through some components. . The structure of the fixed portion will be described later.

The cylindrical lamp chamber case 35a forming the outer wall of the lamp chamber portion 30a is formed 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 light source lamp 32 toward the incident end face of the light guide fiber bundle 9 surrounds the light source lamp 32. Adhesive fixed.

A transparent cover glass 49 is fixed to the front end surface of the reflecting mirror 34 by a pressing nut 40. A sealant is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the cover glass 49, and is sealed so that water does not enter the lamp chamber case 35a from the outside.

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 light source lamp 32 is reflected by the reflecting mirror 34, and then the cover glass 4
After passing through 9 and the convex meniscus lens 20, they converge and enter the incident end surface of the light guide fiber bundle 9.

Then, the illumination light supply unit 30 is detached from the operation portion 2 by releasing the screw connection between the unit receiving cap 27 and the lamp chamber case 35a. 41 is
When the illumination light supply unit 30 is connected to the operation unit 2, the lamp chamber case 35a and the unit socket 27
It is an O-ring for sealing the fitting part with.

The two electrodes protruding rearward from the light source lamp 32 are inserted into the socket 33 and electrically connected to the connection pins 42a, 42b on the rear side thereof. 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 cylindrical body 45, and are pressed and fixed together with the socket 33 to the inner case 31a by a pressing nut 47 screwed to the inner case 31a.

FIG. 1 shows the battery chamber portion 30b. A cap portion 50 is detachably screwed to an end portion of a cylindrical inner case 31a accommodating the battery 100, and the energization between the battery 100 and the light source lamp 32 is turned on to the cap portion 50. , Has a built-in switch to turn it off.

Reference numeral 51b is an outer cylindrical body made of a material having good corrosion resistance, and forms an outer wall of the cap portion 50. An inner cylinder 51a made of a metal having good conductivity, which is detachably screwed to the inner case 31a, is disposed inside the inner case 51a, and the outer cylinder 51b and the inner cylinder 51a are screwed together. And it is integrated by fixing with screws. 5
Reference numeral 2 is an O-ring for sealing.

The outer case 3 on the side of the battery chamber 30b
1b outer peripheral surface and the outer cylinder 51b on the side of the cap 50
An O-ring (cap portion O-ring) 53 for sealing is attached to the fitting portion with the inner peripheral surface of the device so that water does not enter the inside from there.

On the other end side of the inner cylinder 51a of the cap 50, a cap main body 54 made of a highly conductive metal is screwed and integrally connected to the inside of the outer cylinder 51b. Then, the first compression coil spring 55, one end of which is received by the cap body 54, is movably in the axial direction via the push ring 56 fitted into the inner cylindrical body 51a,
The battery 100 is biased toward the lamp chamber portion 30a. This ensures contact between the positive electrode of the battery 100 and the electrode plate 43a.

The first compression coil spring 55 is arranged coaxially with the battery 100, and the push ring 56 does not come into contact with the negative electrode of the battery 100.
It is in contact with the peripheral portion of 0. Reference numeral 57 denotes a ring-shaped washer having a good sliding property.

Reference numeral 58 denotes a movable contact member that comes into contact with the negative electrode of the battery 100, and is formed of a rigid body made of a highly conductive metal into a cylindrical shape having a bottom portion, and is movable in the axial direction in the cap body 54. Has been inserted into.

The contact 58a formed at the center of the bottom surface of the movable contact member 58 is pressed against the center of the negative electrode of the battery 100 by the second compression coil spring 66.

The guide pin 59 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the movable contact member 58 engages in the guide groove 60 formed in the cap body 54 in the axial direction, so that the movable contact member 58 rotates about the axis. It is regulated to do. Further, the leaf spring 61 whose base is fixed to the cap main body 54 is
It is pressed against the head of 9 from the outside.

The guide pin 59 and the leaf spring 61 are also made of a highly conductive metal, and the negative electrode of the battery 100 has a movable contact member 58, a guide pin 59 and a leaf spring 6.
1, the inner cylindrical body 51a, the inner case 31a, and the like, and the negative electrode plate 43 through the good conductive metals that are sealed in the illumination light supply unit 30 and are isolated from the outside and contact each other.
It is electrically connected to b.

Therefore, the battery 100 serves as a power source,
Light source lamp 3 with almost no voltage drop in the conductive path
2 lights up. Even when the illumination light supply unit 30 is dipped in a chemical solution or the like, each conductive member does not come into contact with the chemical solution, so that it does not corrode and good conductivity can be maintained.

A rotary shaft 63, which is rotatable about the axis of the cap 50, is fitted inside the cylindrical movable contact member 58, and the rotary shaft 63 projects toward the projecting end of the cap 50. A switch operation ring 64 is screw-bonded and integrally connected to the head of the.

The switch operating ring 64 is formed in a substantially bowl shape and is arranged so as to surround the end portion of the cap portion 50. The switch operating ring 64 and the outer cylindrical body 51b inside thereof are provided at the outer edge corners. In the space between and, a drain hole 64a for draining water entering at the time of cleaning and disinfecting is formed.

The drainage hole 64a may be one,
Since the drainage property is better when a plurality of them are provided, it is better to provide two at 180-degree symmetrical positions, and if more than three are provided, the drainage property will be better.

Since the drain holes 64a are formed in the outer edge corners of the switch operating ring 64 in this manner, the water entering the space between the switch operating ring 64 and the outer cylindrical body 51b inside thereof is washed and disinfected. Is smoothly discharged, and the switch operating ring 6
It doesn't collect on the back side of 4. Reference numeral 65 is a decorative plate.

The head portion of the movable contact member 58 is the outer cylindrical body 5.
1b is rotatably fitted to the inner peripheral surface of the end portion 1b, and the fitting O-ring (switch O-ring) 67 is fitted to the fitting portion.
Is attached to prevent water from entering inside. In this way, the illumination light supply unit 30 has a watertight structure in which water does not enter from the outside in all parts.

When comparing the switch portion O-ring 67 and the cap portion O-ring 53, there is not much difference in wire diameter, but the ring diameter of the cap portion O-ring 53 is much larger. Therefore, the sliding resistance against the rotational movement in the fitting portion is greater in the cap portion O ring 53 portion than in the switch portion O ring 67 portion.

In this embodiment, the ring diameter of the cap O-ring 53 is about three times the ring diameter of the switch O-ring 67. However, if the ring diameter is more than doubled, there will be a clear difference in the sliding resistance against the rotational movement.

As shown in FIG. 3 showing a III-III cross section, a lead pin 69 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the rotary shaft 63 so as to project outward perpendicularly to the axis. 70 is
It is a leaf spring for giving resistance when the lead pin 69 rotates around the axis of the rotary shaft 63 and comes to both end positions thereof.

The movable contact member 5 through which the lead pin 69 penetrates
8 and the side wall of the cap portion main body 54 are provided with a cam groove 71 and a circumferential groove 72 for escape. Therefore, when the lead pin 69 is rotated around the axis of the rotary shaft 63, the movable contact member 58 is forced to move in the axial direction by the cam groove 71 against the biasing force of the second compression coil spring 66. Then, the contact 58a is separated from the negative electrode of the battery 100, and the light source lamp 32 is turned off.

FIG. 4 shows the switch operating ring 6 in this way.
4 shows a state in which the switch is turned off by rotating 4 and FIG.
Shows the VV cross section. In this embodiment, when the switch operating ring 64 is rotated 90 degrees from the ON state, the lead pin 69 is rotated via the rotary shaft 63 that rotates integrally with the switch operating ring 64, and the movable contact member 58 causes the cam groove 7 to move.
The contact point 58a is separated from the negative electrode of the battery 100 by being guided by 1 and moving in the axial direction.

The central axis of rotation of the switch operating ring 64 is the cap portion 5 that is screwed into the inner case 31a of the battery chamber portion 30b.
It coincides with the center axis of rotation of the inner cylindrical body 51a of 0. However, as described above, the cap portion O-ring 53 has a larger ring diameter and a larger sliding resistance than the switch portion O-ring 67.

Therefore, when the switch operating ring 64 is rotated, the outer cylindrical body 51b of the cap portion 50 does not rotate with respect to the outer case 31b of the battery chamber portion 30b, and the inner cylindrical body 51a of the cap portion 50 and the battery chamber The screwing of the portion 30b with the inner case 31a does not loosen.

Further, the battery 100 is biased by the first compression coil spring 55 in the direction opposite to the direction in which the movable contact member 58 is separated from the battery 100 by the switch operation, and the first compression coil spring 55. When,
Since the battery 100, the contact 58a, the second compression coil spring 66, and the like are coaxially arranged, the battery 100 can be placed in the battery chamber portion 30b without rattling in any of the on and off states. It is kept stable.

When the cap portion 50 is removed from the illumination light supply unit 30 for replacing the battery 100, the outer cylindrical body 51b is directly sandwiched by fingers and rotated, and the inner cylindrical body 51a and the inner case 31a are screwed together. Just solve it.

As shown in FIG. 4, the leaf spring 61 that presses the head of the guide pin 59 is bent so that it just comes out of the state of pressing the guide pin 59 at the switch-off position. Therefore, a so-called click acts at that position, and a stable stationary state is obtained.

[0066]

According to the present invention, a member made of a highly conductive material is provided inside a member having a high corrosion resistance that covers the illumination light supply unit, and the highly conductive member is used for lighting the light source lamp. Since the conductive path is used, the voltage drop in the conductive path is extremely small, and the light source lamp can be brightly lit.

Then, if all the members forming the conductive paths for energizing the light source lamp are arranged inside the outer member that liquid-tightly seals the illumination light supply unit, the conductive paths can be obtained even if the chemical solution is sterilized. Since all the members constituting the above are not in contact with the chemical liquid, the connecting portion of the conductive path is not corroded and the lighting failure does not occur.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a battery chamber portion and a cap portion of an illumination light supply unit according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a connection portion between the endoscope operation unit and the illumination light supply unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the cap portion of the illumination light supply unit in the off-state according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV of the example.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the simplified endoscope apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a rear view of the simplified endoscope apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a rear view of the simplified endoscope apparatus in a state where the AC / DC adapter of the embodiment is connected.

[Explanation of symbols]

 30 Illumination Light Supply Unit 31a Inner Case 31b Outer Case 32 Light Source Lamp 51a Inner Tube 51b Outer Tube

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Kunitoshi Ikeda 2-39 Maeno-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kuniyoshi Kaneko 2-36-36 Maeno-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo No. 9 Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takashi Koeda 2-36 Maeno-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Tokyo Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An illumination light supply unit in which an incident end portion of a light guide for transmitting illumination light for illuminating an object is arranged in an operation portion and a light source lamp for supplying the illumination light to the light guide is built in. In the simple endoscope apparatus in which is attached to the operation section, the illumination light supply unit is liquid-tightly sealed by a member made of a material having high corrosion resistance, and a member made of a material having good conductivity is inscribed in the exterior. A simple endoscope device, wherein the simple conductive member disposed inside is a conductive path for energizing the light source lamp. 2. All of the members forming a conductive path for energizing the light source lamp are arranged inside the outer member that liquid-tightly covers the illumination light supply unit.
The simple endoscope device described.