JPS5928102A - Optical fiber bundle cord for illumination - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify the production, by packing a ceramic coating agent in spaces among respective fibers of an optical fiber bundle used in an endoscope or the like to fix the optical fiber bundle. CONSTITUTION:An optical fiber bundle 11 whose many fibers are bundled in an outside cylinder 12 for connection fixed by an outside cylinder holding member 13 is inserted into a terminal part 4a0 of a light guide coat 4, and a ceramic coating agent 15 is applied to respective fibers of the optical fiber bundle 11 in the end part and near it except an end face 11a, and respective fibers are fixed in one body by the same coating agent. The same ceramic coating agent 15 is packed in the space between the outside cylinder 12 for connection and the outside circumference of the optical fiber bundle 11 near the end face 11a of the optical fiber bundle 11 whose fibers are fixed near the end face 11a by the ceramic coating agent 15, and thus, the optical fiber bundle 11 and the outside cylinder 12 for connection are fixed in one body.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an optical fiber bundle cord for illumination, and more particularly, to a structure at a terminal portion of an optical fiber bundle cord for illumination that guides illumination light emitted from a light source device to an endoscope or the like.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing the appearance of a flexible endoscope used for medical purposes. This endoscope l consists of an operating section main body 2 for performing various operations at hand, a flexible long body cavity insertion section 3 inserted into a patient's body cavity, and a light source device for illumination (not shown). The light guide cord (optical fiber bundle cord for illumination) 4 is connected to the light guide cord (optical fiber bundle cord for illumination). The operation section main body 2 includes an eyepiece section 5, an operation knob 6 for bending, an insertion lower for an affected area treatment tool such as forceps, an operation knob 8 for co-elevating the treatment, an air/water supply button 9, a suction button 10, etc. It is arranged. The distal end portion 3a of the body cavity insertion section 3 is provided with an observation window, an illumination window, a treatment instrument entrance/exit, and an air/water supply port (none of which are shown). By dynamic operation,
The distal end portion 3a is curved in any direction so as to face a desired location within the body cavity.

By the way, an optical fiber bundle is connected to the operating section main body 2 to transmit illumination light to the illumination optical system including the illumination light transmission optical fiber bundle in the body cavity insertion section 3 via the main body. The light guide cord 4 covered with a protective member includes a long flexible portion 4b and a hard end portion 4a that is connected to the light source device by insertion. This terminal section 4
In a, as shown in FIG. 2, the optical fiber bundle 11 is inserted into the connection outer cylinder 12 fixed by the outer cylinder holding member 13. When inserting and fixing into the outer cylinder 12, conventionally, an epoxy resin, a phenol resin, or the like is used near the end of the optical fiber bundle 11 where the irradiation light from the light source device 16 enters. Synthetic resin adhesive This optical fiber bundle 11 is inserted into the connecting outer tube 12, and the connecting outer tube 1 is inserted into the connecting outer tube 12.
The same type of adhesive 14 was filled in the gap between the inner periphery of the optical fiber bundle 2 and the outer periphery of the optical fiber bundle 11, and the two were adhesively fixed together.

However, as described above, when the end portion 4a of the light guide cord 4 having the synthetic resin adhesive 14 at the end of the optical fiber bundle 11 is connected to the light source device 16, the light source device 16 Light is emitted from the light source 16a, and the condensing reflector 16b
When the high-density, high-intensity focused light reflected by
When the temperature is 1 °C, the temperature may reach higher than that, and as a result, a part of the synthetic resin adhesive 14 melts and expands, popping out in the form of a polyp, which soon carbonizes and adheres to the end surface 11a. This has the disadvantage that the light transmittance of the optical fiber bundle 11 is significantly impaired. This phenomenon is further known to occur when there are air bubbles in a part of the adhesive 14, which reaches a high temperature of 40 δC or more, and the carbonization progresses further.

Therefore, apart from the above-mentioned fixing method, there is a known method of fixing a cap to the end of the optical fiber bundle 11 without using any adhesive 14 as described above (Utility Model No. 51 -6
0852), but in the case of this method, gaps are created between each fiber forming the optical fiber bundle 11, so when polishing the end 11a of the optical fiber bundle 11 into a smooth surface, the fibers are There are disadvantages in that the fibers may be damaged, the polishing liquid may enter the gap during the polishing process, and fiber dust may be mixed in.

Further, the light incident end surface 11a of the optical fiber bundle 11 is connected to the light source device 1.
In order to prevent the temperature from becoming high due to the irradiation light from 6, it has been considered to cool the light incident end face 11a and its vicinity with cold air, but cooling means using cold air does not provide a satisfactory cooling effect. Therefore, in order to enhance the cooling effect, there is a method in which a heat conductive member having a diameter approximately equal to or smaller than the fiber diameter is mixed so as to be uniformly distributed in the optical fiber bundle 11 (Utility Model Application No. 133150/1983).
is proposed. According to this method, the heat generated at and near the end surface 11a of the optical fiber bundle 11 by the radiant heat from the light source device 16 is dispersed through the heat conductive member. However, in reality, there is a filler in the synthetic resin layer between the Phi/ζ- and the heat conductive member, so when used for a long time, there is a limit to the heat dissipation from the heat conductive member, so the filler is Gradually, the synthetic resin layer will also be affected. Furthermore, it is difficult to arrange the heat conductive members uniformly and only near the ends of the optical fiber bundle 11, and this becomes particularly difficult as the number of fibers increases.

Furthermore, in order to prevent burning of the synthetic resin filler at the end of the optical fiber bundle 11 and its vicinity, a metal layer is deposited on the end surface 11a of the optical fiber bundle 11, and then a metal layer is deposited on the deposited metal layer. A method of plating a light reflective thin film and polishing the surface of the thin film (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 54-23551)
has been proposed, but this has the disadvantage that the manufacturing process is very complicated and the product is therefore very expensive.

In view of the above-mentioned points, an object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber bundle cord for illumination, in which each fin (-) is fixed integrally with a ceramic coating agent at the end of the cord connected to a light source device. It is in.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber bundle cord for illumination, in which an optical fiber bundle formed by bundling the above-mentioned fibers and a connecting outer cylinder are fixed together with a ceramic coating agent. be.

According to the present invention, at the end of the fibers connected to the light source device, each fiber is fixed together with a ceramic coating agent that has excellent heat resistance, and there is a synthetic resin layer filler, etc. Therefore, even if the temperature rises due to the irradiation light from the light source, there is no part that will burn out and the light transmittance will not be impaired, and it is easy to manufacture and inexpensive.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained with reference to illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the terminal portion of an optical fiber bundle cord for illumination showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view of the tip end face of the terminal portion. 3, the configuration of the terminal portion 4ao of the light guide cord 4 is as follows:
An optical fiber bundle 11 formed by bundling a large number of fibers inside the connecting outer tube 12 fixed by the outer tube holding member 13
is inserted, and the optical fiber bundle 11 is coated with a ceramic coating agent 15 on each fiber at and near the end except for the end 11a, and the fibers are fixed together by the coating agent. . The optical fiber bundle 11 fixed in the vicinity of the end surface 11a by the ceramic coating agent 15 also has the following properties in the vicinity of the end surface 11a.
The gap between the outer periphery and the inner periphery of the connecting outer tube 12 is similarly filled with a ceramic coating agent 15, so that the optical fiber bundle 11 and the connecting outer tube 12 are fixed together. As a procedure for fixing each fiber of the optical fiber bundle 11 and between the optical fiber bundle 11 and the connection outer tube 12 using the ceramic coating agent 15, first, a large number of fibers forming the optical fiber bundle 11 are fixed. Either apply a liquid ceramic coating agent 15 to the ends of the fibers and then bundle them together, or immerse one end of a large number of fibers in a bundled state in the ceramic coating agent 15 to separate each of the bundled fibers. The ceramic coating agent 15 is filled and adhered to the gap between the two by osmosis. This eliminates gaps between each fiber, and due to the properties of the ceramic coating agent 15, no air bubbles are generated. After that, when the ceramic coating agent 15 is solidified by performing a short-time heat treatment, each fiber of the optical fiber bundle 11 is fixed and integrated at the end, so that the optical fiber bundle 11
The tip of the integrated end is cut to make the tip surface uniform, and then the tip surface is polished to a smooth surface. By cutting and polishing the tip of the optical fiber bundle 11, the ceramic coating agent 15 is not attached to the end 11a of each fiber (see FIG. 4), and the end surface 11a is smooth. The end surface 11a is in a state where the irradiation light from the light source device 16 is efficiently incident. In addition, the optical fiber bundle 1
When cutting and polishing the ends of 1, the gaps between the many fibers are filled with the ceramic coating agent 15 and are integrated, so there is no possibility that the fibers will break or that polishing liquid or dust □ may enter the gaps. There isn't.

Next, the distal end portion and the vicinity thereof of the optical fiber bundle 11 in which the above-mentioned respective fibers are integrated are inserted into the connecting outer cylinder 12 for forming the hard end portion 4ao to be connected to the above-mentioned light source device 16. As shown in FIG. 4, the inner diameter of the connecting outer cylinder 12 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the optical fiber bundle 11 so that the optical fiber bundle 11 can be easily inserted into the outer cylinder 12. After inserting the tip of the optical fiber bundle 11 and its vicinity, the ceramic coating agent 1 is also applied to the gap between the outer periphery of the tip of the optical fiber bundle 11 and the inner periphery of the connecting outer cylinder 12.
Fill 5.

After that, when this part is heat-treated to solidify the ceramic coating agent 15, the optical fiber bundle 11 and the connecting outer cylinder 1 are bonded together.
2 are fixed and integrated.

As the ceramic coating agent 15, for example,
1 Ceramica” (trade name) of Nichiban Research Institute is used.

There are 13 types of "cerami power", type C.

There are P type and three types. Of these, C type has a high heat resistance but weak adhesive strength and low viscosity, so when used at the end of the optical fiber bundle 11, it is difficult to use the required tool - L. It is unsuitable as an adhesive because it penetrates and spreads into the range of C, it is unsuitable as an adhesive.For this reason, the heat-resistant temperature is 1300°C to 2000°C.
Type C is also available, and Type B, which has strong adhesive strength and high viscosity, is suitable for bonding the optical fiber bundle. The "Ceramica B" type includes [Ceramica B-2000j and 1 Ceramica B-1300J, and both types can be used.

This "Ceramicryoku B" type ceramic coating agent 15 has strong adhesive strength and can hold up to 60 kg on iron, stainless steel, etc.
/i, and has a strength of 40 to 9/cra for glass, so between each of the above fibers and the optical fiber bundle 11
and the connecting outer cylinder 12 can be firmly fixed to each other.

In this way, the end portion 4ao of the light guide cord 4, in which each fiber is fixed by the adhesive force of the ceramic coating agent 15, and the optical fiber bundle 11 and the connecting outer tube 12 are fixed, is fixed during use. It is connected to the light source device 16 by insertion.

Then, the incident end surface 11a of the optical fiber bundle 110 is irradiated with high-intensity focused light emitted from the light source 16a of the light source device 16 and reflected by the condensing reflector 16b, but at this time, the ceramic coating agent 15 Since there are no air bubbles in the ceramic coating agent 15, high temperatures are prevented, and since the coating agent 15 has a very high heat resistance temperature, the ceramic coating agent 15 will not melt, burn, or carbonize, and the injection process will not occur. Since there is no change in temperature at the end portion 11a and its vicinity, the entrance end surface 11a of the optical fiber bundle 11 is not contaminated and remains in a state of high light transmittance. In addition, since there is no adverse effect associated with temperature rise, the optical fiber bundle 11
There is no need to apply cold air to the vicinity of the end as in the conventional case, and it is also no longer necessary to arrange a heat conductive part.

Note that, in the present invention, the optical fiber bundle 11 and the connecting outer cylinder 12 are not necessarily fixed by adhesive using the ceramic coating agent 15 described above. That is, FIG. 5 is an enlarged front view of the terminal end of an optical fiber bundle cord for illumination showing another embodiment of the present invention, and as described above, the end is fixed by the ceramic coating agent 15. After inserting the optical fiber bundle 11 formed by bundling a large number of fibers into the connecting outer cylinder 12, for example, as shown in FIG. Alternatively, the diameter of the opening end may be narrowed by applying pressure, and the connecting outer cylinder 12 and the optical fiber bundle 11 may be integrally fixed.

As described below, according to the present invention, the gap between each fiber in an optical fiber bundle is filled with a ceramic coating agent that has high adhesive strength and excellent heat resistance, and each fiber is fixed, unlike the conventional method. Since there are no parts like synthetic resin layers that can be burned out by the heat of the illumination light source, there is no need to install a cooling air device or heat conduction member to dissipate heat.
The manufacturing process is simple as it only requires adhesion, and has excellent effects such as being very economically advantageous.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a side view showing an example of an endoscope in which the optical fiber bundle cord for illumination of the present invention is used, and Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing an example of the end portion of the conventional optical fiber bundle cord for illumination. , FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the terminal portion of an optical fiber bundle cord for illumination showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view of the end surface of the terminal portion shown in FIG. 3 above, and FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged front view of the end face of the terminal portion of the optical fiber bundle cord for illumination showing another embodiment of the present invention. y... Endoscope 4... Light guide cord (optical fiber bundle cord for illumination) 4a, 4ao... Terminal section 11... Optical fiber bundle 12・・・・・・Connection outer cylinder

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] (Li) An optical fiber bundle cord for illumination that connects an endoscope, etc. and a light source device and guides illumination light emitted from the light source device to the endoscope, etc., which is connected to the light source device. An optical fiber bundle cord for illumination, characterized in that a ceramic coating agent is filled in the gaps between each fiber forming the optical fiber bundle at the terminal part, and each fiber is fixed together by solidifying the ceramic coating agent. (2) In an optical fiber bundle cord for illumination that connects an endoscope, etc. and a light source device and guides illumination light emitted from the light source device to the endoscope, etc., the terminal portion of the cord is connected to the light source device. Then, a ceramic coating agent is filled into the gaps between each fiber forming the optical fiber bundle and the gap between the optical fiber bundle and the connecting outer cylinder for connecting the optical fiber bundle to the light source device. An optical fiber bundle cord for illumination, characterized in that each fiber and the optical fiber bundle and a connecting outer tube are integrally fixed by solidifying the fibers.