WO2001072210A1 - Optical instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

An optical instrument (1) capable of immediately detecting the position of an object in an image to be observed even if the direction of an operating part is changed, comprising a fiberscope (10), a tubular operating part (20), a fixed part (40), a storage case (50), a connector (60), and a goggle type holding part (70), wherein a rail groove (25) is formed in the inner peripheral surface of the tubular part (21) of the tubular operating part (20), a projected piece (45) is formed on the insert shaft part (41) of the fixed part (40), and the projected piece (45) is fitted rotatably and slidably to the rail groove (25), whereby, even if a user of the optical instrument (1) inserts an ear wax scraping-out part (33) into an ear hollow and rotates the tubular operating part (20) using the center axis of an insert hole (22) as a rotating axis, the unmoving state of the fiberscope (10) can be held so as to prevent the direction of the image focused on an ocular (13) from changing, and the position of the object (ear wax inside ear hollow) can be detected immediately.

Description

 Description Optical device Technical field

 The present invention relates to an optical device for observing the inside of a tube such as the ear cavity using an image capturing cable such as a fiberscope, and more specifically, for example, it is possible to remove earwax while observing the inside of the ear cavity. The present invention relates to an optical device that is configured to be capable of being used. Background art

 Conventionally, by placing one end of a fiberscope in the inside of a tube of the human body (in the ear cavity, etc.), or at a high place or narrow place where it is difficult for humans to see, It is known that there are optical devices configured to allow observation.

 As such an optical device, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Hei 8-173382, a configuration is used in which earwax can be extracted while observing the inside of the ear cavity using a fiberscope. There was something that was done.

 The optical device includes a fiber scope, an operation unit which is located near an end of the fiber scope on the objective lens side as a part to be held by a user of the optical device, and a spoon-shaped unit attached and fixed to the operation unit. And a housing-like main body for accommodating three magnifying lenses connected to the end of the fiber scope opposite to the objective lens.

When using this optical device, the user of the optical device places the housing-shaped main body on a table, and inserts the earwax protruding portion into the ear cavity while holding the operation unit by hand. In this case, the user must use the fiber lens through the objective lens. The image inside the ear canal can be viewed through the magnifying lens located at the top of the main body.

 That is, if this optical device is used, a normal ear cleaning tool without a fiber scope, that is, for example, a spoon-shaped earwax protruding portion is provided at one end of a rod-shaped member, and earwax in the ear cavity It is possible to remove earwax and foreign substances from the ear cavity more efficiently than when using a substance commonly used for extracting foreign substances and foreign substances.

 Specifically, with the above-mentioned normal ear cleaning tool, if you remove your own earwax, you cannot see inside the ear cavity yourself, and the earwax protruding part contacts the inner wall of the ear cavity inside the ear cavity Since the earwax must be extracted by relying on the sense of sensation, the efficiency of ear cleaning is low. However, according to the above optical device, the user outputs to the magnifying lens. The earwax can be efficiently extracted at the earwax extraction part while confirming the position of the earwax in the ear cavity.

 However, in the above-described conventional optical device, the direction of the image formed on the magnifying lens changes depending on the direction of the operation unit where the earwax exuding part is fixed, and thus the image is formed. In some cases, the user may not be able to immediately grasp the position of an object in an image (for example, the position of earwax in the ear cavity).

Specifically, for example, when earwax adhering to the inner wall of the ear cavity is extracted by the earwax extraction part, the direction of the earwax insertion part inserted into the ear cavity is such that the earwax can be easily extracted. In some cases, the operation part, to which the earwax protruding portion is fixed, is rotated about the longitudinal axis of the fiberscope in the vicinity of the earwax protruding portion as a rotation axis. However, in the above-mentioned conventional optical device, since the operation unit is fixed to the fiber scope, when the operation unit is rotated as described above, the end of the fiber scope on the objective lens side is also integrated with the operation unit. And it turns. In this case, the image of the inner wall of the ear cavity formed on the magnifying lens rotates with the rotation of the operation unit, and the earwax in the displayed image is on the inner wall surface on the face side in the ear cavity The user cannot immediately grasp whether it is on the inner wall surface on the occipital side. As a result, the user cannot efficiently extract the earwax in the ear cavity. Disclosure of the invention

 The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an optical device capable of immediately grasping the position of an object in an observed image even when the direction of an operation unit is changed. It is to be.

 The optical device of the present invention made in order to achieve such an object,

 An objective lens provided at one end; a video shooting cable having image transmission means for transmitting a video captured via the objective lens to the other end; and a vicinity of an end of the video shooting cable on the objective lens side. A tubular operating portion having an insertion hole into which a portion near the end of the video shooting cable on the objective lens side is inserted,

 In addition to restricting movement of the tubular operating portion with respect to the video shooting cable in a direction along a center axis of the insertion hole, the tubular operating portion is positioned at the center of the insertion hole with respect to the video shooting cable. A cylindrical operating portion holding means for enabling rotation about an axis as a rotation axis;

 An output means provided at an end of the video shooting cable opposite to the objective lens, for outputting a video transmitted through the image transmission means.

According to the optical device of the present invention configured as described above, the objective lens is arranged in a desired place such as inside a tube of the human body (in the ear cavity or the like) or at a high place or a narrow place where it is difficult to enter the human field of view. By doing so, it is possible to capture the image of the place where the objective lens is arranged (the image within the field of view of the objective lens) into the video shooting cable. Then, the video captured by the video shooting cable is transmitted by image transmission. The signal is transmitted to the end of the video shooting cable opposite to the objective lens, and is output to the output means provided at the end.

 Therefore, if the user of the optical device of the present invention arranges the objective lens at a desired position, the user sees an image around the objective lens via the output means as in the case of using the conventional optical device. be able to.

 Further, in the present invention, since the tubular operating section which is the operating section held by the user is held by the tubular operating section holding means with respect to the video shooting cable, the direction of the video output to the output means is provided. However, it does not change depending on the direction of the cylindrical operation unit.

 In other words, the movement of the cylindrical operation portion with respect to the video shooting cable in the direction along the center axis of the insertion hole is restricted by the cylindrical operation portion holding means, but the center axis of the insertion hole is defined as the rotation axis. It is possible to rotate the cylindrical operation unit around the center axis of the insertion hole as the rotation axis, so that the video recording cable rotates integrally with the cylindrical operation unit. Never. Therefore, the image output to the output means does not rotate with the rotation of the cylindrical operation unit, and the direction of the output image is constant.

 Then, if the image having the fixed orientation is used, the user is not confused in determining the direction of the object in the displayed image. That is, even if the user changes the direction of the cylindrical operation unit, the position of the object in the observed image can be immediately grasped.

 Also, in the present invention, the tubular operation unit is

 A working instrument portion projecting from at least a part of the objective lens side end of the cylindrical operation portion,

At least a part of the working instrument unit may be provided so as to be in the field of view of the objective lens so that the operation of the working instrument unit can be taken into the image transmitting means via the objective lens. With the provision of the working instrument section in this manner, since at least a part of the working instrument section is configured to be within the field of view of the objective lens, an image around the working instrument section is imaged through the objective lens. It can be captured by a shooting cable and output to an output unit.

 Therefore, the user can perform work using the work implement on the object while checking the position of the work in the video around the work implement output to the output means.

 In addition, since the working instrument section is provided for the cylindrical operating section, even if the working instrument section is rotated about the center axis of the insertion hole of the cylindrical operating section as a rotation axis, the output is output to the output means. The image does not rotate with the rotation of the work implement, and the direction of the output image is constant.

 Therefore, even if the user changes the direction of the work implement, the user is not confused in determining the direction of the object in the output video, and the user is The position of an object can be immediately grasped. The working instrument is not limited to a specific one, and can be changed as appropriate according to the use of the optical device. For example, the working instrument unit may be configured to have scissors, tweezers, a scalpel, a needle, a spatula, forceps, a wire, or the like, or may be configured to have an earwax protruding unit as described below. That is, in the present invention, the working instrument unit is:

 A shaft protruding from at least a part of an end of the cylindrical operation unit on the objective lens side, and extending in a direction away from the end;

 An earwax protruding portion provided at the end of the shaft portion so as to enter the field of view of the objective lens, and configured to protrude the earwax when inserted into the ear cavity;

 It may be composed of

In this embodiment, since the earwax protruding portion is provided in the field of view of the objective lens, an image around the earwax protruding portion is taken through the objective lens for use in a video photographing case. And output it to output means.

 Therefore, if the user of this optical device inserts the earwax protruding portion into the ear cavity, the user can view an image around the earwax protruding portion in the ear cavity via the output means. As a result, the user checks the position of the earwax (object) in the ear cavity by looking at the image output to the output means, as in the case of the conventional optical device described above. Earwax can be efficiently extracted at the earwax extraction part.

 In addition, since the earwax protruding portion is provided to the cylindrical operating portion via the shaft portion, even if the earwax protruding portion is rotated with the center axis of the insertion hole of the cylindrical operating portion as the rotation axis, The image output to the output means does not rotate with the rotation of the earwax protruding portion, and the direction of the output image is constant.

 Then, by using an image in which the orientation is fixed in this way, in the displayed image of the ear cavity, for example, the inner wall of the ear cavity displayed as the upper inner wall surface is in any direction in the actual ear cavity. The user will not be confused in determining whether it is the inner wall. That is, even if the user changes the direction of the earwax protruding portion, the position of the earwax in the ear cavity can be immediately grasped.

 The earwax protruding portion is not particularly limited as long as it is configured to protrude the earwax when inserted into the ear cavity, and for example, has a spoon-like shape. It may be present, or it may be a cotton swab.

 Further, in the present invention, the working instrument portion may have a surface facing the objective lens side, and a mirror may be provided on the surface.

In this way, an image outside the field of view of the objective lens can be captured from the objective lens via the mirror provided in the working instrument unit, so that when the user views the image from the output means, It is possible to understand in more detail the state of the place where the objective lens is arranged. On the other hand, in the present invention, the cylindrical operating portion holding means includes: a fixed engaging portion fixedly provided near an end of the video shooting cable on the objective lens side;

 And a cylindrical operating portion provided on the cylindrical operating portion and engaged with the fixed engaging portion.

 Here, there is no particular limitation on the mode of the fixed engaging portion and the cylindrical operating portion side engaging portion as long as they function as cylindrical operating portion holding means in a state where they are engaged with each other. For example, the fixed engaging portion and the tubular operating portion side engaging portion may be configured as rail grooves or protrusions as described below. That is, a fixing portion having a portion arranged in the insertion hole of the cylindrical operating portion, and having a through hole in which a portion near the end portion on the objective lens side of the video shooting cable is fitted, A rail groove extending in the circumferential direction is formed on one of the outer peripheral surface of the portion inside the insertion hole and the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole of the cylindrical operation portion, and the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole of the fixed portion and the cylindrical operation portion. Alternatively, a protruding piece rotatably slidably fitted in the rail groove may be formed at a position corresponding to the other rail groove having no rail groove. In this aspect, one of the rail groove and the projection piece provided on the fixed portion corresponds to a fixed engagement portion, and the other provided on the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole of the cylindrical operation portion has a cylindrical shape. It corresponds to the shape operation part side engagement part.

 In this aspect, when the cylindrical operating portion is rotated with the center axis of the insertion hole as the rotation axis, the projection piece slides in the rail groove, and thus the cylindrical operating portion remains in a state in which the image capturing cable does not move. Only to be rotated. On the other hand, even if the user tries to move the cylindrical operation part in the direction along the center axis of the insertion hole with respect to the video shooting cable, the movement is restricted by the engagement between the projection and the rail groove. .

When the cylindrical operation part is rotated with the center axis of the insertion hole as the rotation axis, In order to reliably prevent the movement of the video shooting cable in conjunction with the cylindrical operation unit, it is preferable to provide a weight near the end of the video shooting cable on the objective lens side. This makes it possible to more reliably prevent a change in the direction of the output image.

 On the other hand, in the present invention, there is provided a glasses-type holding unit for arranging the output means in front of one of the left and right eyes of the user of the optical device. Output means for holding an end of the video shooting cable on the output means side at a portion located in front of one eyeball of the user when the spectacle type holding part is mounted on the head of the user. It may be configured to have a holding portion.

 If the eyeglass-type holder is provided in this manner, even if the user's posture changes while the eyeglass-type holder is mounted on the user's head, the output means is placed in front of the user's eyeball. , And the user can always keep watching the video output from the output means.

 In other words, in the conventional optical device, when viewing an image of the place where the objective lens is located (in the ear cavity), the user looks at the magnifying lens of the housing-shaped main body placed on a table or the like. If the user changes his or her posture, for example, into a lying state, the objective lens must be placed unless the position of the housing-shaped main body is moved. I couldn't satisfactorily watch the video of the spot where it was.

 On the other hand, in the present invention, if the eyeglass-type holding unit is used as described above, the user can continue to watch the image from the output unit regardless of the posture, and therefore, the position where the objective lens is disposed The user can easily perform work using the optical device while watching the video.

Further, in order to maintain the state in which the output means is arranged in front of the user's eyeball as described above, the present invention The end of the cable for video photographing on the side of the output means is arranged so that the output means is arranged to face the surface of the lens of glasses or sunglasses worn by the user of the device opposite to the user. A holding means for detachably holding the glasses or sunglasses may be provided.

 In other words, if the user prepares commercially available glasses or sunglasses that are regularly used by the user, it is possible to cause the glasses or sunglasses to hold the end of the video shooting cable on the output means side via the holding means. However, if the user wears the glasses or sunglasses in this state, the user can continue to watch the image from the output means through the glasses or the lens of Sandaras. Therefore, similarly to the case where the spectacle-type holding unit is provided, the user can easily perform the operation using the optical device while watching the image of the place where the objective lens is arranged.

 Also, the size of the member constituting the holding means may be such that the lens of the glasses or sunglasses can hold the end on the output means side of the video shooting cable. In the aspect provided with the optical device, it is possible to reduce the size of the entire optical device as compared with the aspect provided with the spectacle-shaped holding portion which must be configured to be attachable to the head of the user. Become.

 On the other hand, in the present invention, the video photographing cable is a fiberscope which is an image transmitting optical fiber cable formed by bundling a number of optical fibers together. ant,

 The output means may be configured to be an eyepiece provided at an end of the optical fiber cable for image transmission opposite to the objective lens.

In this fiberscope, the image captured by the objective lens (in the ear cavity) Is imaged on the eyepiece via the optical fiber cable for image transmission. Therefore, in this case, the user can efficiently work using the optical device while viewing the image of the position of the objective lens projected on the eyepiece when the objective lens is placed at a desired position to be observed. It can be carried out.

 It should be noted that the video shooting cable is not limited to the above-described fiberscope, but may be of any other type. That is, the video shooting cable is provided, for example, with an objective lens provided at the front end, an imaging device such as a CCD provided behind the objective lens, and connected to the imaging device behind the imaging device. And a cable for transmitting a video captured by the imaging device to the rear as an electric signal, and a video scope including: In this case, the output unit is configured as a monitor or the like that outputs a signal transmitted via the cable as an image.

 On the other hand, in the optical device of the present invention, an illumination light source;

 A power supply for supplying power to the illumination light source;

 Illumination light that is provided along the video shooting cable and transmits the light from the illumination light source received at one end to the other end located near the end of the video shooting cable on the objective lens side. Transmission means;

 It is preferable to provide illumination means comprising:

With this configuration, the light from the illumination light source, which emits light upon receiving power supply from the power supply, is transmitted to the end of the illumination light transmission means arranged near the end of the video shooting cable on the objective lens side. Therefore, when the objective lens is placed at a desired location to be observed, light transmitted to the end of the illumination light transmitting means can illuminate the location where the objective lens is placed. Therefore, it is possible to preferably capture an image of the location of the objective lens (a location where external light is difficult to reach, such as the ear cavity) with the video capturing cable, and use the optical device. Work and the like can be performed more efficiently.

 Further, in such a mode that the illumination means is provided, and the tubular operation portion holding means is composed of the fixed engagement portion and the cylindrical operation portion side engagement portion, the illumination light source and the power supply are fixedly provided. It may be provided in a storage case provided so as to be integral with the engaging portion.

 This makes it easier to handle the optical device during use than when the storage case is provided separately from other components of the optical device.

 In addition, as described above, when the illumination light source is disposed in the storage case integrated with the fixed engagement portion, the distance between the illumination light source and the end of the video shooting cable on the objective lens side is reduced. Therefore, the total length of the illuminating light transmitting means can be shortened.

 Furthermore, the storage case in which the illumination light source and the power supply are stored functions as a weight in the vicinity of the end of the video shooting cable on the objective lens side, and the cylindrical operation unit is rotated around the center axis of the insertion hole as the rotation axis. When rotated, it is possible to reliably prevent the video shooting cable from moving in conjunction with the cylindrical operation unit.

 Further, in the aspect including the lighting means and the spectacle type holding unit, the illumination light source and the power supply may be provided in a storage case provided so as to be integrated with the spectacle type holding unit.

 Also in this case, the optical device becomes easier to handle during use as compared with the case where the storage case is provided separately from other components of the optical device.

In addition, as a specific mode in which the storage case is provided so as to be integral with the fixed engagement portion or the spectacle-type holding portion as described above, one component of the storage case is a fixed engagement portion or a spectacle-type holding portion. Is integrally molded into one part It may be something. Alternatively, the storage case may include a predetermined stopper or the like, and the storage case may be fixed to the fixed engagement portion or the spectacle-type holding portion with the stopper or the like.

 Further, in the present invention, the illumination light transmitting means at a position near an end of the video shooting cable on the objective lens side is configured to be a portion of the cylindrical operation portion made of a light transmitting material. Is also good.

 With this configuration, the outer diameter of the cylindrical operation section near the end portion on the objective lens side is reduced compared to a case where the entire illumination light transmitting means is an optical fiber for transmitting the illumination light. be able to.

 In other words, as a specific mode of the illumination light transmission means, the entire illumination light transmission means may be configured as an optical fiber for illumination light transmission. Since the optical fiber is provided along the video shooting cable (image transmission means) up to near the end of the video shooting cable on the objective lens side, the optical fiber for illuminating light transmission is used. The outer diameter of the portion near the objective lens side end of the video shooting cable becomes larger by the amount of the eye bar. As a result, it is necessary to increase the diameter of the insertion hole (and, consequently, the outer diameter of the cylindrical operation portion near the end of the objective lens side), and to increase the diameter of the cylindrical operation portion near the end of the objective lens side. In some cases, the outer diameter is too large to insert and dispose the tubular operating portion in a narrow place such as the ear cavity.

On the other hand, as described above, the portion of the tubular operating portion is formed of a light-transmitting material, and the portion of the tubular operating portion is located near the end of the video shooting cable on the objective lens side (in other words, Functioning as the illuminating light transmitting means at the position where the tubular operating portion is disposed), the video shooting cable on the objective lens side can be compared with a case where the illuminating light transmitting means at the position is a single optical fiber. Since the outer diameter of the portion near the end of the cylinder can be reduced, The outer diameter of the portion near the end on the object lens side can be reduced.

 Further, in the present invention, the insertion hole of the cylindrical operation portion has an opening end for inserting the video shooting cable at a rear end which is an end on the output unit side,

 A front end of the insertion hole opposite to the opening end may be closed by a lid plate made of a light-transmitting material.

 In this case, the objective lens of the video shooting cable inserted into the insertion hole of the cylindrical operation unit is covered with the cover plate and is not exposed to the outside, but the cover plate is formed of a light transmitting material. Therefore, the video at the place where the objective lens is arranged is taken into the video shooting cable via the cover plate and the objective lens, and output to the output means.

 If the objective lens is configured to be covered with the lid plate in this way, when the objective lens is arranged at a desired location to be observed, foreign matter at the location is prevented from directly touching the objective lens. As a result, the applicable range of the optical device is expanded.

 Specifically, for example, even when the front end of the cylindrical operation unit is placed in an environment such as underwater or oil, it is possible to prevent moisture and oil from directly adhering to the objective lens on the lid plate. Therefore, the optical device can be used for a long time without any trouble.

 Further, even when the front end of the cylindrical operating portion is inserted into the ear cavity or the like, since ear wax and the like are prevented from directly adhering to the objective lens, it is necessary to remove ear wax and the like attached to the objective lens. Maintenance of the video shooting cable becomes easier as much as it becomes unnecessary. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the overall configuration of the optical device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2A is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a structure near a tubular operating portion in the optical device according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view showing a shape near an earwax protruding portion in the tubular operating portion. FIG.

 FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a structure near the connector in the optical device of the first embodiment.

 FIG. 4 (a) is an explanatory view illustrating the configuration of a holder used when the connector in the optical device of the first embodiment is held by eyeglasses, and FIG. 4 (b) is a diagram illustrating the holder attached to the eyeglasses. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view illustrating a fixed state,

 FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the optical device according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure in the vicinity of the cylindrical operation portion of the optical device according to the second embodiment.

 FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of an earpick portion as a modified example.FIG. 8A is an explanatory diagram illustrating an embodiment in which a holding protrusion is provided in a storage case in the optical device of the first embodiment. FIG. 8B is an explanatory view illustrating an aspect in which a holding projection is provided on a fixing portion in the optical device according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 8C illustrates a method of using the optical device having the holding projection. FIG. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

 (Example 1)

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of an optical device 1 as one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the optical device 1 of the present embodiment includes a fiber scope 10, a tubular operation unit 20, a fixing unit 40, a storage case 50, a connector 60, and an eyeglass-type holding device. And 70. In the optical device 1, the eyeglass-type holding portion 70 is attached to the head of the user of the optical device 1, and the earwax protruding portion 33 (described later) of the cylindrical operating portion 20 is inserted into the ear cavity. If you do, Huai The earwax extraction unit 33 is configured to extract earwax while watching an image in the ear cavity taken into the bar scope 10.

 First, the configuration of the optical device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 (a), 2 (b) and 3. Here, FIG. 2A is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a structure near the cylindrical operation unit 20 in the optical device, and FIG. 2B is an earwax protruding unit in the cylindrical operation unit 20. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a shape in the vicinity of 33. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a structure near the connector 60 in the optical device 1.

 The fiber scope 10 is provided with an objective lens 11 at one end on the side of the cylindrical operation unit 20, and the video captured from the objective lens 11 is transmitted to the connector 60 side via the optical fiber cable 12 for image transmission. It is transmitted to the other end. At the other end, an eyepiece 13 (see FIG. 3) is provided, and the eyepiece 13 is configured to form an image transmitted from the objective lens 11. Further, the optical fiber cable 12 for image transmission is obtained by bundling a large number of optical fibers together and coating the bundle of optical fibers with a tube material such as polyurethane.

 The cylindrical operating section 20 is disposed near the cylindrical section 21, an earpick section 31 as a working instrument section, a body, and an end of the fiberscope 10 on the side of the objective lens 11. I have.

 The cylindrical portion 21 is a long member having an insertion hole 22 into which a portion near the end portion of the fiberscope〗 0 on the side of the objective lens 11 is inserted, and is an end portion on the side of the objective lens 11 The outer diameter near the front end 27a is reduced so that it can be inserted into the ear cavity. The cylindrical portion 21 is formed of a light transmitting material such as a transparent acrylic resin.

The insertion hole 22 is a hole provided along the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical portion 21. The insertion hole 22 has an open end 23 only at the rear end 27 b of the cylindrical portion 21, and the fiber scope 10 is inserted from the open end 23. That is, insert The end of the hole 22 opposite to the open end 23 is closed by a cover plate 24, and the cover plate 24 has an objective lens 11 of the fiberscope 10 inserted into the insertion hole 22 outside. The objective lens 11 is covered so as not to be exposed to light.

 Further, the shape of the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole 22 is configured such that the cross-sectional shape cut by an arbitrary plane whose normal direction is the longitudinal direction of the insertion hole 22 is substantially circular. The inner diameter of the insertion hole 22 differs in two stages along the axial direction (longitudinal direction) of the insertion hole 22. That is, first, the portion on the opening end 23 side of the insertion hole 22 is a large-diameter portion 22 a, and the objective lens at the insertion shaft portion 41 of the fixed portion 40 fixed to the fiberscope 10. The end near the end 41a on the 11 side is inserted so as to be freely slidable. In addition, the portion of the insertion hole 22 opposite to the open end 23 (in other words, the portion on the side of the objective lens 11) is a small-diameter portion 2 2b having a smaller inner diameter than the large-diameter portion 22a. A state in which the portion near the end of the fiber scope 10 on the side of the objective lens 11 penetrating through a through hole 44 (described later) provided in the fixed portion 40 is rotatably slidably inserted. Has become.

 In addition, a rail groove 25 as a cylindrical operating portion side engaging portion is provided at a position near the open end 23 on the inner peripheral surface of the large diameter portion 22a. The rail groove 25 is formed so as to extend in the circumferential direction on the inner peripheral surface of the large-diameter portion 22 a. In the present embodiment, the rail groove 25 is formed except for a portion provided with a notch 26 (described later). It is configured so as to form an annular groove that goes around the peripheral surface. The outer diameter of the cylindrical portion 21 near the rear end 27 b is increased in correspondence with the rail groove 25 so that the plate thickness is not reduced. Further, a projection piece 45 (described later) provided on the fixed portion 40 is rotatably slidably fitted in the rail groove 25.

Further, a plurality of (two in this embodiment) cutouts 26 (see FIG. 1) are provided at a position on the open end 23 side of the cylindrical portion 21. 2 notches 2 6 are large It is formed at a position opposing the insertion hole 22 on the inner peripheral surface of the large diameter portion 22 a (in other words, 180 ° in the circumferential direction with respect to the inner peripheral surface of the large diameter portion 22 a). ° are formed at intervals), and each notch 26 is formed by cutting the inner peripheral surface of the large diameter portion 22 a from a predetermined position on the inner peripheral surface to the rear end 27 b. It is.

 Further, a fitting hole 28 extending toward the rear end 27 b is provided on the front end 27 a of the cylindrical portion 21. The fitting hole 28 is configured so that a shaft portion 32 (described later) of the earplug portion 31 can be fitted along the axial direction of the insertion hole 22.

 The earpick part 31 includes a shaft part 32 which is a rod-shaped member, an earwax protruding part 33 having a spoon-like shape provided at one end of the shaft part 32, The end portion 34 opposite to the protruding portion 33 is fixed to the cylindrical portion 21 by fitting into the fitting hole 28.

 As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 (a), when the earplug portion 31 is fixed to the cylindrical portion 21, the portion near the earwax protruding portion 33 of the shaft portion 32 starts from the front end 27 a. Protruding in the direction away from the earwax protruding part 3 3 (Specifically, the earwax protruding part

The object surface 3 3 a), which is the surface on the side of the objective lens 11 3, is located within the field of view of the objective lens 11. A mirror 33b (see FIG. 2 (b)) is provided on the photographed surface 33a of the earwax protruding portion 33.

 The fixing portion 40 is a columnar member bent in a dogleg shape. That is, the fixed portion 40 is provided with an insertion shaft extending toward the objective lens 11 along the longitudinal direction near the end portion of the fiberscope〗 0 on the objective lens 11 side with the bent portion 43 interposed therebetween. A storage case fixed shaft portion 42 extending in a direction bent at a predetermined angle with respect to the longitudinal direction. The fixing portion 40 is formed of a light-transmitting material like the cylindrical portion 21.

 The fixing portion 40 is provided with a through hole 44. Through holes 4 4

40 from the bent part 4 3 to the insertion shaft part 4 1 from the objective lens 11 1 end 4 1 a It is a hole that penetrates the part up to and through which the fiber scope 10 is fixed while penetrating. Specifically, the fixing portion 40 is such that the portion near the end of the fiber scope 10 on the side of the objective lens 11 projects from the end 41 a side opening 44 a of the through hole 44. And the fiberscope 10 are integrally fixed with an adhesive or the like. Further, a concave portion 46 is provided at an end portion 42 a of the fixing portion 40 on the side of the storage case fixing shaft portion 42 to facilitate placement of a distal end portion 55 a (described later) of the illumination light source 55. ing. As described above, the portion near the end portion 41 a of the insertion shaft portion 41 is in a state of being inserted into the large-diameter portion 22 a of the insertion hole 22, but the outer periphery of the portion of the insertion shaft portion 41 is The surface is provided with a projection piece 45 as a fixed engagement portion at a position corresponding to the rail groove 25.

 The protruding piece 45 is formed so as to extend in the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral surface of the insertion shaft portion 41. Have been. The protruding piece 45 is fitted into the rail groove 25 by rotation and sliding. That is, when the cylindrical operation portion 20 is rotated with the center axis of the insertion hole 22 as a rotation axis, the protrusion 45 slides in the rail groove 25, so that the fixed portion 40 ( Only the tubular operation unit 20 can be rotated in a state where the fiber scope 10) does not move. On the other hand, even if the cylindrical operation unit 20 is to be moved in the direction along the center axis of the insertion hole 22 with respect to the fixed unit 40 (and the fiber scope 10), the movement is And the rail groove 25 are engaged.

 As shown in FIG. 2 (a), the storage case 50 includes a main body case portion 51 and an annular stopper 52.

The main body case section 51 is a housing in which a lighting light source 55 (light emitting diode or the like) and a power supply 56 (lithium battery or the like) for supplying power to the lighting light source 55 are housed. The body case 51 has an opening at the top of its upper end 51a. 5b, and the tip 55a of the illumination light source 55 projects from the opening 51b. Although not shown, a power switch is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the main body case portion 51 to switch 0N / 0FF of power supply from the power source 56 to the light source 55 for illumination.

 The annular stopper 52 is an annular member having a vertically extending fixing hole 53, and is formed of hard rubber or the like. An annular engagement projection 54 extends from an upper part of the annular stopper 52. The inner diameter of the fixing hole 53 where the upper end 54 of the engaging projection 54 is located is fixed when there is no load (in other words, when nothing is fitted in the fixing hole 53). It is smaller than the inside diameter in the lower part of the hole 53.

The main body case 51 and the annular stopper 52 are fixed to the lead body by fitting the upper end 51 a into the lower part of the fixing hole 53. The storage case 50 is integrally fixed to the fixing portion 40 by fitting a portion near the end portion 42 a of the storage case fixing shaft portion 42 to an upper portion of the fixing hole 53. I have. That is, the upper end 54 a of the engaging projection 54 contacts the outer peripheral surface of the storage case fixed shaft portion 42, and the frictional force acts between the outer peripheral surface of the storage case fixed shaft portion 42 and the upper end 54 a. Thereby, the storage case 50 and the fixing portion 40 are integrally fixed. In the present embodiment, since the storage case 50 is configured so as to be integrated with the fixing portion 40 in this manner, the storage case 50 is separated from each component constituting the optical device 1. The optical device 1 is easier to handle at the time of use as compared with the case where the optical device 1 is provided. In addition, the storage case 50 can be easily removed from the fixed part 40 by pulling out the storage case fixing shaft part 42 from the fixing hole 53 so that the storage case 50 may be damaged. It is possible to replace only the storage case 50 at a time. In the state where the storage case 50 and the fixing portion 40 are fixed in this manner, the tip portion 55 a of the illumination light source 55 protruding from the opening 51 b is It is located in the recess 46.

 The connector 60 is a member for holding the end of the fiberscope 10 on the side of the eyepiece 13 near the center of a hole 71 a (described later) provided in the eyeglass-shaped holder 70. It is formed of an elastic material such as rubber.

 The connector 60 is a disc-shaped member having a through hole 61 (see FIG. 3) at substantially the center, and a portion near the end of the fiberscope 0 on the eyepiece lens 13 side is fitted into the through hole 61. It is fixed. An annular protruding piece 63 is provided along the edge of the eye-facing surface 62, which is the surface of the connector 60 on the eyepiece 13 side, so as to surround the eye-facing surface 62. A check piece 64 that protrudes longer as approaching the eyeball opposing surface 62 is provided on the edge-side surface of the eyeball opposing surface 62 near the tip 63 a of the annular projection piece 63.

 The eyeglass-type holding portion 70 is obtained by adding a process of providing a hole 71 a (see FIG. 3) for fitting the annular projection piece 63 into the lens 71 of a commercially available sunglass. The hole 7 1a on the lens 7 1 is arranged in front of one eyeball of the user (the right eyeball in this embodiment) when the user of the optical device 1 wears the eyeglass-shaped holding unit 70. Formed in the part.

 The annular projection piece 63 is fitted into the hole 71 a so that the eyepiece 13 faces the user's eyeball when the spectacle type holding unit 70 is attached. Specifically, the lens 7 1 near the hole 7〗 a was sandwiched between the surface 6 4 a of the check piece 6 facing the eyeball 62 2 and the surface 62 a of the surface 64 a. In this state, the end of the fiberscope 10 on the eyepiece 13 side is fixed to the spectacle type holding unit 70.

 Then, when using the optical device 1 of the present embodiment, first, the spectacle-type holding unit 70 is attached to the head of the user of the optical device 1, and the eyepiece 13 is attached to the eyeball of the user. It will be in the state where it was placed before.

Next, the cylindrical operation section 20 (specifically, the cylindrical section 2 1) as the operation section is With the power switch on the body case 51 set to 0 N, the earwax protruding part 33 is inserted into the ear cavity, and the ear imaged on the eyepiece 13 The earwax protruding part 33 protrudes the earwax while watching the image in the cavity. At this time, the light from the illumination light source 55 is introduced into the fixed part 40 from the recess 46 and the storage case Propagating through the fixed shaft part 42, the optical fiber for image transmission near the objective lens 111, and the cylindrical part 21 provided along the optical transmission cable 12 near the rear end 27b of the cylindrical part 21 (Specifically, through the insertion shaft portion 41 inserted into the insertion hole 22) into the cylindrical portion 21 and propagated through the cylindrical portion 21; Illuminate the cavity. Therefore, the photographing of the intraocular image by the fiber scope 10 is suitably performed. In addition, since the earwax extracting portion 33 is located within the field of view of the objective lens 11, the user can view an image around the earwax extracting portion 33 in the ear cavity via the eyepiece lens 13. The earwax extraction unit 33 can efficiently extract the earwax while confirming the position of the earwax in the ear cavity from the image. Further, since a mirror 33b is provided on the photographed surface 33a of the earwax protruding part 33, an image outside the field of view of the objective lens 11 is passed through the mirror 33b to the objective lens 11b. The state inside the ear cavity can be grasped in more detail using the image outside the visual field.

Further, in this embodiment, since the end of the fiberscope 10 on the eyepiece 13 side is held by the eyeglass-type holder 70 by the engagement between the connector 60 and the hole 7a, the eyeglass-type Even if the posture of the user changes to a lying posture while holding the holder 70 on the head of the user, the eyepiece 13 should be kept in the state of being placed in front of the eyeball of the user. Can be. In other words, the user can keep watching the image in the ear cavity through the eyepiece lens 13 as long as the spectacle type holding unit 70 is not removed from the head, and the user can easily clean the ear. . Note that the eyeglass-type holding portion 70 of this embodiment is a commercially available Since it is easily formed by performing additional processing for forming the hole 71a in the glass, the manufacturing cost of the entire optical device 1 can be suppressed to a low level.

 Further, in this embodiment, since the cylindrical operating portion 20 is held with respect to the fiber scope 10 by the engagement between the projection piece 45 and the rail groove 25, the cylindrical operating portion 20 is provided through the eyepiece 13. The direction of the image viewed by the user does not change depending on the direction of the earwax extruding part 33 (cylindrical operating part 20).

 That is, as described above, since the cylindrical operating portion 20 is configured to be able to rotate about the center axis of the insertion hole 22 without rotating the fiberscope 10, the insertion hole 2 Even if the cylindrical operation part 20 is rotated with the center axis of 2 as the rotation axis, the image in the ear cavity formed on the eyepiece 13 does not rotate with the rotation of the earwax protruding part 33. Therefore, the direction of the image is constant.

 Then, by using an image in which the orientation is fixed in this way, in the displayed image of the ear cavity, for example, the inner wall of the ear cavity displayed as the upper inner wall surface is in any direction in the actual ear cavity. The user will not be confused in determining whether it is the inner wall. That is, even if the user changes the direction of the earwax protruding portion 33, the position of the earwax in the ear cavity can be immediately grasped. In this embodiment, since the fixed portion 40 and the storage case 50 function as weights in the vicinity of the end of the fiber scope 10 on the objective lens 11 side, the center axis of the insertion hole 22 is rotated. When the cylindrical operation section 20 is rotated as an axis, it is possible to reliably prevent the fiber scope 10 from moving in conjunction with the cylindrical operation section 20.

Further, in the present embodiment, since the objective lens 11 of the fiberscope # 0 is covered with the cover plate 24 in the cylindrical portion 21, the optical device 1 is compared with the case where the cover plate 24 is not provided. Front end of cylindrical operation part 20 after use Earwax and the like attached to the vicinity can be easily removed. In addition, since ear wax and the like are prevented from directly adhering to the objective lens 11, the fiber scope 10 can be used for a long period without trouble.

 In addition, since the notch 26 is provided in the cylindrical portion 21, the portion near the rear end 27 b of the cylindrical portion 21 is easily elastically deformed in a direction away from the outer peripheral surface of the insertion shaft portion 41. Can be done. That is, the operation of removing the cylindrical portion 21 from the fixed portion 40 (and thus the fiber scope〗 0) can be easily performed while the projection piece 45 is not fitted in the rail groove 25. Therefore, replacement can be easily performed when the cylindrical portion 21 is damaged. In addition, the earpiece 31 can be easily removed from the cylindrical part 21 by pulling out the shaft part 32 from the fitting hole 28, so that the earpiece 31 can be easily replaced. Can be done. In the first embodiment, the combination of the connector 60 and the hole 71a corresponds to the output means holding portion of the present invention, and the combination of the fixing portion 40 and the cylindrical portion 2〗 corresponds to the present invention. It corresponds to illumination light transmission means.

 In the first embodiment, the fixing portion 40 and the cylindrical portion 21 are made of a light-transmitting material so that the interior of the fixing portion 40 and the cylindrical portion 21 are separated from the illumination light source 55. The outer surface of the fixed part 40 (especially the bent part 4) is designed so that the light propagates efficiently from the illumination light source 55 to the front end 27a of the cylindrical part 2 部. The outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 21 and the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 21 may be covered with a tube material as a clad portion having a smaller refractive index than the material forming the fixing portion 40 and the cylindrical portion 21.

 In addition, since the light from the illumination light source 55 propagates inside the fixed part 40, the illumination light transmission in which both ends are arranged in the concave part 46 and the end part 41 a of the fixed part 40. May be embedded in the fixed portion 40.

Furthermore, in order to propagate light from the end 41 a of the fixed part 40 to the vicinity of the front end 27 a of the cylindrical part 21, the optical fiber for illumination light transmission from the end 41 a is used. And the optical fiber for transmitting illumination light may be extended along the fiber scope 10 in the small-diameter portion 22b to the vicinity of the front end 27a. However, in this embodiment, the diameter of the small-diameter portion 22b of the insertion hole 22 (and thus the objective of the cylindrical portion 21) is increased by the amount of the additional optical fiber for transmitting the illumination light inside the small-diameter portion 22b. In some cases, the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion 21 near the end of the objective lens 11 near the end portion of the cylindrical portion 21 should be increased. Care must be taken that the 2 1 may be too large to be inserted into the ear cavity. The edge 27c of the front end 27a of the cylindrical portion 21 is rounded so as not to damage the inner wall of the ear cavity when the cylindrical portion 21 is inserted into the ear cavity. It is preferable to provide a bevel or a chamfer.

 On the other hand, in the first embodiment, the storage case 50 is provided with the annular stopper 52, and the storage case 50 is integrally fixed to the fixing portion 40 having the protruding piece 45 with the annular stopper 52. As described above, the storage case 50 is configured such that one part of the storage case 50 is molded into one part of the fixing part 40 so that the fixing part 40 is formed. Of course, it may be configured so as to be integrally fixed. In addition, even in the case of such a configuration, the optical device 1 becomes easier to handle during use as compared with the case where the storage case 50 is provided separately for each component constituting the optical device 1. The effect is obtained.

Also, the connector 60 is not fixed to the spectacle-shaped holding unit 70 but is arranged in front of an image sensor such as a CCD, and the image formed on the eyepiece 13 is captured by the image sensor. The captured video may be displayed on a monitor or the like. In this way, it becomes possible for a plurality of persons to view the image in the ear cavity captured by the objective lens 11 at a time. In the first embodiment, in order to maintain the state in which the eyepiece lens 13 is arranged in front of the eyeball of the user of the optical device 1, The connector 60 (specifically, the annular projection 6 3) is fixed to the hole 71 a of the eyeglass-shaped holding portion 70. In this way, the eyepiece 1 is placed in front of the eyeball of the user of the optical device 1. As a mode for disposing 3, various modes can be considered in addition to the mode of the first embodiment.

 For example, a fixing device (not shown) for fixing the connector 60 is provided on a hat (not shown), and when the user wears the hat with the connector 60 fixed to the fixing device, the eyepiece 13 is formed. It may be configured to be placed in front of the user's eyeball.

 Further, for example, in a state where the eyepiece 13 is placed facing the user on the surface of the lens of the commercially available glasses or sunglasses worn by the user of the optical apparatus 1 facing the user, the connector 60 is connected to the glasses or the sunglasses. It may be configured to be held by sunglasses. Hereinafter, a specific example of the mode in which the eyepiece 13 is held in a state of facing the lens surface will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b).

 Fig. 4 (a) shows the surface 91a of one lens 91 of the commercially available spectacles 90 (specifically, the surface opposite to the user when the user wears the spectacles 90). FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a holder 80 for holding the connector 60 together with the glasses 90 and the connector 60 so that the eyepieces 13 face each other.

 As shown in FIG. 4 (a), the holder 80 includes an annular holder 81 and two movable engagement pieces 86.

 The annular holding portion 81 includes an annular main body 82 having a centrally provided engaging hole 82 through the plate surface in the front-rear direction, an engaging piece 83 extending from a lower end of the annular main body 82, and Is provided. The engagement hole 82 a in the annular main body 82 is a hole for fitting the annular projection piece 63 of the connector 60. The lower end of the engaging piece 8 3 is

3 is bent backward (in Fig. 4 (a), toward the glasses 90 side) The lower engagement end is 84. Further, a buffer plate 85 made of an elastic material such as rubber is adhered to the upper surface of the lower engagement end 84.

 The two movable engagement pieces 86 are rod-shaped members having a longitudinal axis in the vertical direction, and are formed by engagement members (not shown) provided on both left and right ends of the rear surface (rear surface) of the annular main body 82. Each is fixed to the holding part 81 so as to be able to move up and down. That is, the engaging member is a member provided as an annular member or the like for fitting the movable engaging piece 86, and if the fitting position of the movable engaging piece 86 with the engaging member is changed, the movable member becomes movable. The configuration is such that the vertical position of the engagement piece 86 with respect to the annular holding portion 81 can be set to a desired position. The upper ends of the two movable engaging pieces 86 are upper engaging ends 87 formed by bending the movable engaging pieces 86 backward. A buffer plate 88 made of the same material as the buffer plate 85 is adhered to the lower surface of each upper engagement end 87.

 When the connector 60 is held on the glasses 90 using the holder 80, for example, first, the annular projection piece 63 is fitted into the engagement hole 82a. Next, the two movable engagement pieces 86 are positioned sufficiently above the annular holding portion 81, and the upper surface of the buffer plate 85 (the surface opposite to the lower engagement end 84) is placed on the lens. 9 1 Make sure that it is in contact with the lower end of the frame 9 2 surrounding it. Then, the two movable engagement pieces 86 are moved downward with respect to the annular holding portion 81 so that the lower surfaces of the two buffer plates 88 (surfaces opposite to the upper engagement ends 87) are at the upper ends of the frames 92. In this state, the connector 60 is held by the glasses 90, and the eyepiece 13 is opposed to the surface 91a of the lens 91.

That is, the connector 60 fixed to the holder 80 is held by the spectacles by the frictional force acting between the buffer plates 85, 88 and the frame 92. When worn by the user, the user can continue to watch the image from the eyepiece 13 through the lens 91 of the glasses 90. Therefore, as in the case of the embodiment having the spectacles type holding portion 70, the user can use it. You will be able to clean your ears without permission.

 In addition, since the size of the holder 80 is smaller than the spectacle-type holder 70, in this embodiment, the spectacle-type holder 70, which must be configured to be attachable to the user's head, is required. It is possible to reduce the size of the entire optical device 1 as compared with the aspect including

 Further, when the holder 80 is fixed to the frame 92 in the above procedure, as can be seen from FIG. 4 (b), only the buffer plates 85, 88 are in contact with the frame 92. Therefore, no scratch or the like is formed on the surface of the frame 92.

 Note that the combination of the connector 60 and the holder 80 in this embodiment corresponds to the holding means of the present invention.

 (Example 2)

 Next, a second embodiment will be described.

 The description of the same parts as in the first embodiment will be omitted or simplified.

 As shown in FIG. 5, the optical device 100 in the present embodiment includes a fiber scope 110, a cylindrical operation unit 120, a fixing unit 140, a connector 150, and a spectacle type holding device. Part 170 consists of:

 The optical device 100 of the present embodiment has the cylindrical operation unit 120 in a state where the eyeglass-type holding unit # 70 is mounted on the head of the user, similarly to the optical device 1 of the above-described embodiment 1. If the earwax protruding part 1 3 3 is inserted into the ear cavity, the earwax protruding part 1 3 3 can be used to extract the earwax while watching the image of the ear cavity taken into the fiber scope 110. Have been. In the optical device 100, the light transmission mechanism from the illumination light source 18 3 (specifically, the light from the illumination light source 18 3 to the rear end 124 b of the cylindrical operating section 120) Is different from the mechanism in the first embodiment.

First, referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the configuration of the optical device 100 of the present embodiment will be described. A description will be given focusing on differences from the configuration of the optical device 1 of the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of the optical device 100 in the vicinity of the cylindrical operation portion 120.

 The spectacles-type holding portion 170 of the optical device 100 of the present embodiment faces the user's face when the spectacles-type holding portion 170 is worn by the user of the optical device 100. The main body part 17 1 to be arranged and the ear engaging ends 17 2 a, 17 3 a which are respectively provided on the left and right ends of the main body part 17 1 and are hooked to the upper edge of the user's ear at the end And chord members 17 2 and 17 3 having

 In the main body section 171, when the spectacle-type holding section 170 is worn by the user of the optical apparatus 100, it is arranged in front of one eyeball of the user (the right eyeball in this embodiment). The hole 17 1 a is formed in the portion where A connector〗 50 having a through hole (not shown) in which a portion near the end of the eyepiece lens 113 of the fiberscope 10 is fitted is fixed to the hole 171a. The eyepieces 113 are configured to face the user's eyeball when the spectacles type holder 170 is mounted.

 In addition, in the main body portion 171, when the user of the optical device 100 wears the glasses-type holding portion 170, it is positioned in front of the other eyeball of the user (the left eyeball in this embodiment). The light source for lighting 18 3 (light emitting diode etc.) and the power supply 18 4 for supplying power to the light source 18 3 for lighting (AAA battery etc.) The built-in case body part 18 1 of the case 180 is molded.

 The storage case 180 includes the built-in case main body 18 1 and a lid 18 2.

The built-in case main body 18 1 has an opening 18 1 a on the face which is the user's face side when the user wears the glasses-type holding portion 170, and the lid 18 2 is for opening and closing the opening 18 1 a. Lid 1 8 2 The end 18a of the chord member 172 closer to the chord member 172 (left side in this embodiment) is fixed to the chord member 172 by a method such as screwing. Therefore, when the cover 182 is opened with respect to the opening 181a, the user is prevented from dropping the cover 182. In addition, in this embodiment, since the storage case 180 is configured so as to be integrated with the spectacle-shaped holding portion 170 in this way, the storage case 180 forms the optical device 100. The optical device 100 is easier to handle at the time of use, compared to a case where the optical device 100 is provided separately from the components. Although not shown, a power switch is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the main body 171, for switching ON / OFF of the power supply from the power supply 184 to the light source 183 for illumination.

 The fiberscope 110 in the optical device 100 is the same as the fiberscope 10 in the first embodiment, and includes an objective lens 111, an optical fiber cable for image transmission 111, and an eyepiece 111. And an optical fiber (not shown) for transmitting the illumination light from the illumination light source 183.

 The illumination light transmitting optical fiber 1 is provided along the image transmitting optical fiber cable 1 12 near the inner peripheral surface of the tube material coated on the outer peripheral surface of the image transmitting optical fiber cable 1 1 2. The light from the illumination light source 183 is passed through an end (not shown) of the eyeglass-shaped holder 170 (not shown), and a cylindrical portion 1 having an insertion hole 1 22 into which a fiber scope 110 is inserted. It is configured to be able to transmit to the end facing the rear end 1 2 4 b of 2 1 (a constituent member of the cylindrical operation unit 120).

In other words, the end 1 15 of the optical fiber for illumination light transmission opposite to the spectacle-shaped holder 170 is located closer to the spectacle-shaped holder 1 than the end of the fiberscope〗 10 on the side of the objective lens 111. The light source for illumination 1 that is exposed to the outside near the location where the rear end 1 2 4 b on the 70 side is located, and is transmitted to the end 1 15 The configuration is such that light from 83 is introduced into the cylindrical portion 12 1 from the rear end 124b of the cylindrical portion 121 held by the fiberscope 110.

 The cylindrical operating section 120 is disposed near the end of the fiberscope〗 10 on the side of the objective lens 111, which is composed of a cylindrical section 121, an earpick section 131, and a body. In FIG. 6, the cylindrical part Ί 21 and the earpick part〗 3 か ら have been removed from the fiberscope 示 す 10 to clearly show the structure near the cylindrical operating part 120 in the optical device 100. FIG.

 The cylindrical portion 1 2〗 is a fiber scope] 10 having an insertion hole 1 2 2 into which the part closer to the objective lens 1 1 1 than the end 1 1 5 of the optical fiber 1 for transmitting the illumination light is inserted. It is a scale-shaped member, and is configured such that the outer diameter of at least a portion near the front end 124a, which is the end on the objective lens 111 side, is an outer diameter that can be inserted into the ear cavity. The cylindrical portion 121 is formed of a light-transmitting material similarly to the cylindrical portion 21 of the first embodiment.

 The insertion hole 122 is a hole provided along the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical portion 121. The insertion hole 122 has open ends 123 a and 123 b at both the front end〗 24 a and the rear end 124 of the cylindrical portion 121. Then, the fiber scope 110 is rotatably slidably inserted from the opening end 1 2 3 b of the insertion hole 1 2 2 on the rear end 1 2 4 b side, and the objective lens 1 1 1 side of the fiber scope 110 is inserted. End protrudes from the open end 123a on the front end 124a side. In addition, the shape of the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole 1 2 2 is configured such that the cross-sectional shape cut by an arbitrary plane whose normal direction is the longitudinal direction of the insertion hole 1 2 2 is substantially circular. .

A rail groove (not shown) is provided as a cylindrical operating portion side engaging portion at a position near the rear end〗 24 b on the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole〗 22. Except for the notch 1 2 5 (described later), the rail groove has an insertion hole 1 2 It is configured to be an annular groove that makes a full circumference in the circumferential direction on the inner peripheral surface of the second. The outer diameter of the cylindrical portion 121 near the rear end 124b is enlarged so as not to be thinner in accordance with the rail groove. Further, a projection piece 144 provided on the fixed portion 140 is fitted in the rail groove so as to be rotatable and slidable.

 Also, on the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole 1 22, there is provided one notch 1 25 which cuts the inner peripheral surface from the front end 124 a to the rear end 124 b. . A pair of notch inner wall surfaces 1 2 5a facing each other within the notch 1 2 5 have earplugs extending from the front end 1 2 4 a to the rear end 1 2 4 b side along the axial direction of the insertion hole 1 2 2. A fitting groove 125b is provided. The earplug portion fitting groove 125b is configured so that the shaft portion 132 of the earplug portion 131 can be fitted in the axial direction of the insertion hole 122.

The earplug 131, like the earplug 31 in the first embodiment, is composed of a shaft portion 132 and a spoon-shaped earwax protruding portion 133. This is different from the earplug portion 31 in the first embodiment in that the earplug portion 31 is not provided and that the entire earplug portion 131 is formed of a light-transmitting material like the cylindrical portion 121. The earpiece 13 1 is formed into a cylindrical shape by fitting the end 13 4 of the shaft 13 2 on the opposite side to the earwax protruding part 13 3 into the earpiece fitting groove 1 25 b. Fixed to 1 2 1. As shown in FIG. 5, also in this embodiment, when the earplug 13 1 is fixed to the cylindrical portion 121, the portion near the earwax protruding portion 133 of the shaft portion 132 is the front end 1 2. Projection in the direction away from 4a, the earwax extruding part 13 3 is located in the field of view of the objective lens 1 11. The fixing portion 140 has a through hole 141 that penetrates the member that forms the fixing portion 140, and the through hole 144 has a fiberscope including an optical fiber for transmitting illumination light. The end near the end portion 115 of the illumination light transmitting optical fiber 110 is fixed with an adhesive or the like in a state where it penetrates. At the end of the through hole 141 of the fixed part 140 on the side of the objective lens 111, an annular projecting cylindrical part 144 surrounding the periphery of the fiber scope 110 is provided so as to protrude. . A plurality of (four in the present embodiment) projection pieces 144 are provided at an end portion 144 a of the protruding cylindrical portion 1443 on the side of the objective lens 111.

The four protruding pieces 1 45 are formed at 90 ° intervals in the circumferential direction with respect to the end portion 144 a, and the radially outer end portions 1 of the four protruding pieces 1 45 are formed. 45 a is configured to be located radially outward from the outer peripheral surface 144 b of the protruding cylindrical portion 144. The four protruding pieces 1 4 5 are rotatably slidably fitted in the rail grooves of the cylindrical portion 1 2 Ί. That is, when the cylindrical operating portion 120 (cylindrical portion 121) is rotated around the center axis of the insertion hole 122 as the rotation axis, the four protrusions 144 slide in the rail groove. Therefore, only the tubular operation section 120 can be rotated in a state where the fixed section 140 (and thus the fiber scope〗 100) does not move. On the other hand, if the cylindrical operation section 120 is moved in the direction along the center axis of the insertion hole 122 with respect to the fixed section 140 (and the fiber scope 110), The movement is regulated by the engagement between the projections 144 and the rail groove.

 When the optical device 100 of the present embodiment is used, the handling may be performed in substantially the same manner as when the optical device 1 of the first embodiment is used. That is, after the spectacle type holder 170 is attached to the head of the user of the optical device 100 and the eyepiece 113 is placed in front of the user's eyeball, the main body 1 7 With the power switch set to Ί turned on, insert the earwax protruding portion 1 3 3 into the ear cavity, and watch the image of the earwax formed on the eyepiece 1 1 3 while watching the image in the ear cavity.耳 The earwax is extruded at the outlet 1 3 3.

Then, at this time, the light from the illumination light source 18 3 propagates through the illumination light transmission optical fiber and enters the cylindrical portion 1 2 1 from the rear end 1 2 4 b of the cylindrical portion 1 2 1. After being introduced and propagating through the tubular part 1 2 1, it passes through the ear cavity from the front end 1 2 4 a. Illuminate. Therefore, as in the case of the first embodiment, the photographing of the intraocular image using the fiberscope # 10 is suitably performed.

 Also, in this embodiment, since the earwax extracting portion 133 is disposed within the field of view of the objective lens 111, the user can obtain an image around the earwax extracting portion 133 in the ear cavity. Can be seen through the eyepiece lens 13, and the image makes it possible to efficiently extract the earwax at the earwax projection part 133 while confirming the position of the earwax within the ear cavity. Further, in the present embodiment, the earwax protruding portion 13 3 (the earplug portion 1311) is formed of the same light-transmitting material as the cylindrical portion 121, so that the earwax protruding portion 133 is formed. The field of view of the objective lens 1 1 1 is not obstructed. In other words, it is possible to see what is in front through the earwax protruding portions 13 3, and it is possible to reliably find the earwax in the ear cavity.

 Also, since the end of the fiberscope〗 10 on the eyepiece lens 113 side is held by the eyeglass-type holding portion〗 70 by the engagement of the connector 150 with the hole 171a, the eyeglasses Even if the user's posture changes to a lying posture while the mold holding part 170 is mounted on the user's head, the state in which the eyepieces 113 are placed in front of the user's eyeballs is maintained. You can keep holding. In other words, the user can keep watching the image in the ear cavity through the eyepiece lens 113 as long as the spectacle type holding part 170 is not removed from the head, and the user can easily clean the ear. It is.

 Further, in the present embodiment, the cylindrical operating portion 120 is held by the fiber scope 110 by engagement of the four protrusions 144 with the rail groove of the cylindrical portion 121. Therefore, the direction of the image viewed by the user via the eyepiece lens 113 does not change depending on the direction of the earwax projection part 133 (cylindrical operation part 120).

In other words, the cylindrical operation section 120 is accompanied by the movement of the fiber scope 10. It is configured to be able to rotate with the center axis of the insertion hole〗 22 as the rotation axis without any trouble. However, the image in the ear cavity formed on the eyepiece lens 113 does not rotate with the rotation of the earwax extracting part 133, and the direction of the image is constant.

 Then, by using an image in which the orientation is fixed in this way, in the displayed image of the ear cavity, for example, the inner wall of the ear cavity displayed as the upper inner wall surface is in any direction in the actual ear cavity. The user will not be confused in determining whether it is the inner wall. That is, even if the user changes the direction of the earwax protruding portion 133, the position of the earwax in the ear canal can be immediately grasped.

 In this embodiment, since the fixed portion 140 functions as a weight in the vicinity of the end of the fiber scope 110 on the objective lens 111 side, the center axis of the insertion hole 122 is used as a rotation axis, and When the tubular operating section 120 is rotated, it is possible to reliably prevent the fiber scope 110 from moving in conjunction with the tubular operating section 120.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the notch 1 25 is provided in the tubular portion 121, the portion near the rear end 124 b of the tubular portion 121 is elastically deformed to form the projection piece 1. The operation of removing the cylindrical portion 121 from the fixed portion 140 (and thus the fiberscope 110) while the 45 is not fitted in the rail groove can be easily performed. In other words, replacement can be easily performed when the tubular portion 122 is damaged or the like. In addition, the earpiece 13 1 1 can be easily removed from the cylindrical part 12 1 by pulling the shaft 13 2 out of the earpiece fitting groove 12 5 b. Can be easily exchanged. In the second embodiment, the combination of the connector 150 and the hole 171a corresponds to the output means holding portion of the present invention, and the combination of the optical fiber for illumination light transmission and the cylindrical portion 12 1 The combination corresponds to the illumination light transmitting means of the present invention. In the second embodiment, the cylindrical portion 121 is made of a light transmitting material so that light from the illumination light source 183 propagates inside the cylindrical portion 121. However, in order to allow light to propagate efficiently through the inside of the cylindrical portion 121, a crack having a smaller refractive index than the material forming the cylindrical portion 121 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 122. Alternatively, a tube material may be coated as a door portion.

 Also, the end 1 15 of the optical fiber for illumination light transmission opposite to the spectacle-shaped holding section 170 is placed near the end of the fiber scope 110 on the side of the objective lens 111, and the illumination light source The light from 183 may be transmitted to the vicinity of the end of the fiberscope 110 on the side of the objective lens 111 by only the illumination light transmitting optical fiber. However, in this embodiment, the diameter of the insertion hole 1 2 2 (and thus the objective lens 1 of the cylindrical portion 1 2 1) is increased by the amount of the optical fiber for transmitting the illumination light in the insertion hole 1 2 2. It becomes necessary to increase the outer diameter of the portion near the end on the 11 side, and in some cases, the outer diameter of the portion near the end on the objective lens 11 side of the cylindrical portion 12 Care must be taken because the part 21 may be too large to be inserted into the ear cavity.

On the other hand, in the second embodiment, the built-in case main body 181, which is a constituent member of the storage case 180, is integrated with one part of the main body 171, of the glasses-type holding portion 170. Although it has been described that the storage case 180 is integrally fixed to the spectacle-shaped holding portion 170 by being molded, the storage case 180 is provided with a predetermined stopper, and the stopper is provided. Of course, it may be configured so as to be integrally fixed to the spectacles type holding portion 170. In addition, even in the case of such a configuration, the optical device 100 can be used when compared with the case where the storage case 180 is provided separately for each component constituting the optical device 100. This has the effect of making it easier to handle. In this case, the storage case 180 is removed from the spectacle-shaped holding portion 170 by releasing the engagement of the stopper with the spectacle-shaped holding portion 170. Since the storage case 180 can be removed, only the storage case 180 can be replaced when the storage case 180 is damaged.

 As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the first and second embodiments, and various embodiments can be adopted.

 For example, in the first and second embodiments, a rail groove 25 (rail groove) as a cylindrical operating portion side engaging portion is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole 22 (insertion hole 122), and the fixing portion is provided. Rotate the rail groove 25 (rail groove) at the location corresponding to the rail groove 25 (rail groove) of the part inside the insertion hole 2 2 (insertion hole 1 2 2) at 40 (fixed part 140). The projection piece 4 5 (projection piece 1 45) is provided as a fixed engagement portion that is movably fitted, but the insertion hole 2 2 (insertion hole に お け る) in the fixed portion 40 (fixed portion 140) is provided. 2 2) A rail groove (corresponding to a fixed engaging portion) extending in the circumferential direction is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the inner part, and a portion corresponding to the rail groove on the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole 2 2 (insertion hole 1 2 2) A protruding piece (corresponding to the cylindrical operating portion side engaging portion) which is rotatably and slidably fitted in the rail groove may be provided in this case. In this case, the same operation and effect as those of the first and second embodiments can be obtained. can get.

 In the first and second embodiments, the cylindrical operation unit 20 (cylindrical operation unit 120) is different from the cylindrical unit 21 (cylindrical unit 1 2 1) and the earpick 3 Although the description has been made on the assumption that the two components are 1 (the earpiece portion 13 1), the cylindrical operation portion 20 (the cylindrical operation portion 120) may be formed by integrally molding these two components.

 In the first and second embodiments, the shape of the earwax protruding portion 33 (the earwax protruding portion 133) in the earplug portion 31 (earplug portion 1311) is described as a spoon shape. However, it is needless to say that any other device (for example, a swab-shaped device) may be used as long as the device can extract earwax when inserted into the ear cavity.

Then, as in the first and second embodiments, the earwax protruding portion 33 (the earwax protruding portion 13 When the shape of 3) is made into a spoon shape, as shown in FIG. 7, the shaft portion 3 2 (shaft portion 13 2) of the earwax protruding portion 3 3 (the earwax protruding portion 13 3) is reversed. The semi-annular ring 201 may be provided at the side end 33c (end 133c). The semi-annular ring 201 is formed by bending a rod-shaped member such as a wire into a semi-annular shape, and fixing both ends 201 a of the rod-shaped member to an earwax protruding portion 3 3 (an earwax protruding portion 13 3). Things.

 If the semicircular ring 201 is provided in the earwax protruding portion 33 (the earwax protruding portion 13 3) in this manner, the earwax protruding portion 33 (the earwax protruding portion 13 3) can be heard. When inserted into the cavity, earwax can be extracted more efficiently.

 That is, when the earwax protruding portion 3 3 (the earwax protruding portion 1 3 3) without the semi-annular ring 201 is inserted into the ear cavity, the earwax protruding portion 3 3 (the earwax protruding portion 1 3 3) Depending on the angle of contact of the earwax with the inner wall of the ear cavity, there may be cases where earwax is easily extracted or hardly extracted, but the earwax extraction portion 33 having a semi-annular ring 201 (the earwax extraction portion 1). When the 3 3) is inserted into the ear cavity, the semi-annular ring 201 is connected to the inner wall of the ear cavity irrespective of the angle of the earwax protruding portion 3 3 (the earwax protruding portion 13 3) to the inner wall of the ear cavity. The contact state can be easily created, and if the semi-annular ring 201 is in line contact with the inner wall of the ear cavity, the earwax protruding portion 33 (the earwax protruding portion 13 3) is pulled out of the ear cavity. Since the earwax can be extracted, the earwax can be extracted more efficiently.

In the first and second embodiments, the center axis of the insertion hole 2 2 (the insertion hole 1 2 2) is rotated by using the fixing portion 40 and the storage case 50 (the fixing portion 140) as weights. When the cylindrical operation unit 20 (cylindrical operation unit 120) is rotated as a shaft, the fiber scope 10 (fiber optics) is linked to the cylindrical operation unit 20 (cylindrical operation unit 120). The scope 1 10) was prevented from moving, but as shown in FIGS. 8 (a) and 8 (b), further along the cylindrical portion 2 1 (cylindrical portion 12〗) Projecting holding projection 5 1 a (Holding projection 1 4 0 If a) is provided in the main body case section 51 (fixed section 140), the movement of the fiber scope 100 (fiber scope 110) in this case can be more reliably prevented.

 That is, as shown in FIG. 8 (c), when the user has the cylindrical portion 21 (cylindrical portion 121), the holding protrusion 51a (holding protrusion 140a) is held by the user. If it is held so as not to move between the thumb and the index finger, the fiber scope 10 (fiber scope 1 1 0) is linked to the rotation of the tubular operating section 20 (cylindrical operating section 1 2 0). ) Can be more reliably prevented from moving.

 The optical device 1 (optical device 100) of the first and second embodiments is in a state in which the earplug portion 3 1 (the earplug portion 1 3 1) is removed from the cylindrical portion 2 1 (the cylindrical portion 1 2 1). When used in a laboratory, it was placed in a high place where it would be difficult for humans to see, such as in the ear cavity or other tubes of the human body (in the nasal cavity, oral cavity, etc.). It can also be used as an observation instrument for observing articles (meters of measuring instruments, etc.) and articles placed in narrow places (parts behind complex structures, etc.). The length in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical portion 21 (cylindrical portion 121) may be appropriately changed according to the intended use of the optical device 1 (optical device 100). Specifically, for example, the length X in the longitudinal direction of the portion where the outer diameter is reduced in the vicinity of the front end 27a of the cylindrical portion 21 (see FIG. 2 (a)) depends on the purpose of use. It may be long (for example, X = 10 to 20 cm).

Further, when the objective lens 11 of the fiberscope 10 is covered with the cover plate 24 as in the optical device 1 of the first embodiment, the cylindrical operation unit 20 is disposed at a position such as in water or in oil. Even if the front end 27a is arranged and the site concerned is observed, the lid plate 24 prevents moisture, oil, etc. from directly adhering to the objective lens 11, so that the optical device 1 can be used for a long period of time. The effect that it can be used without trouble can get.

 When the optical device 1 (optical device 100) of the first and second embodiments is applied to a portion other than the inside of the ear cavity as described above, the fitting hole 28 (the earplug portion fitting groove 1 25) is used. b) A work implement part other than the earpick part 3 1 (earpick part 13 1) may be attached to b).

 Examples of such a working instrument part include, for example, the end of the shaft part 32 (shaft part 13 2) (in the first and second embodiments, the place where the earwax protruding part 33 is provided, Scissors, tweezers, scalpels, and needles between the objective lens 11 (object 1 11 1) when the instrument section is mounted on the cylindrical section 2 1 (cylindrical section 1 2 1) , A spatula, a forceps, a wire or the like may be considered.

 Also, for example, when the optical device 1 is applied to the oral cavity, only the diameter of the imaging surface 3 3a (and, consequently, the mirror 3 3b) is made relatively large as compared with the earplug portion 31. (For example, the diameter is set to〗 0 to 3 O mm.) A working instrument for dental inspection is prepared, and the working instrument is attached to the fitting hole 28 to inspect teeth. May be suitably configured. Industrial applicability

 With the use of the optical device of the present invention, even when a user of the optical device rotates the cylindrical operation unit around the center axis of the insertion hole of the cylindrical operation unit as the rotation axis, the video shooting cable is connected to the cylindrical operation unit They do not rotate as one, and the direction of the video output to the output means is constant. Then, by using an image with a fixed orientation, the user is not confused when judging in which direction the object in the displayed image is actually located. That is, even if the user changes the direction of the cylindrical operation unit, the position of the object in the observed video can be immediately grasped.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. An objective lens is provided at one end, and a video shooting cable having image transmission means for transmitting a video captured through the objective lens to the other end; and an end of the video shooting cable on the objective lens side. A cylindrical operation portion having an insertion hole in which a portion near the end of the video shooting cable near the objective lens is inserted,

 In addition to restricting movement of the tubular operating portion with respect to the video shooting cable in a direction along a center axis of the insertion hole, the tubular operating portion is positioned at the center of the insertion hole with respect to the video shooting cable. A cylindrical operating portion holding means for enabling rotation about an axis as a rotation axis;

 An optical device, provided at an end of the video shooting cable opposite to the objective lens, for outputting a video transmitted via the image transmission means. .

 2. The cylindrical operation part is

 A working instrument portion projecting from at least a part of the objective lens side end of the cylindrical operation portion,

 At least a part of the working instrument is provided so as to be in the field of view of the objective lens so that the operation of the working instrument can be taken into the image transmission means via the objective lens. Optics according to claim 1

3. The working instrument section is

 A shaft protruding from at least a part of an end of the cylindrical operation unit on the objective lens side, and extending in a direction away from the end;

An earwax protruding portion provided at the end of the shaft portion so as to enter the field of view of the objective lens, and configured to drive out the earwax when inserted into the ear cavity; 3. The optical device according to claim 2, comprising:

4. The optical device according to claim 2, wherein the working instrument section has a surface facing the objective lens side, and a mirror is provided on the surface.

5. The cylindrical operating portion holding means is

 A fixed engaging portion fixedly provided near an end of the video shooting cable on the objective lens side;

 The cylindrical operating portion provided on the cylindrical operating portion, the cylindrical operating portion being engaged with the fixed engaging portion, and an engaging portion. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: Optical device.

6. A spectacle type holding unit for arranging the output means in front of one of the left and right eyes of the user of the optical device,

The spectacles-type holding unit is provided at a portion located in front of one eyeball of the user when the spectacles-type holding unit is mounted on the head of the user, and on the output unit side of the video shooting cable. The optical device _{t according} to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising an output unit holding unit that holds an end of the optical device _t.

7. The output unit side of the video shooting cable such that the output unit is arranged to face the surface of the glasses or sunglasses worn by the user of the optical device opposite to the user. The optical device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: holding means for holding the end of the lens to be detachable from the glasses or sunglasses.

 8. The video shooting cable is

 A fiber scope as an optical fiber cable for image transmission formed by bundling a number of optical fibers together with the image transmission means,

The output means is an eyepiece provided at an end of the optical fiber cable for image transmission opposite to the objective lens. The optical device according to claim 1.

 9. Lighting source and

 A power supply for supplying power to the illumination light source;

 Illumination light that is provided along the video shooting cable and transmits the light from the illumination light source received at one end to the other end located near the end of the video shooting cable on the objective lens side. Transmission means;

 The optical device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising an illumination unit comprising:

 1 0. Lighting source and

 A power supply for supplying power to the illumination light source;

 Illumination light that is provided along the video shooting cable and transmits the light from the illumination light source received at one end to the other end located near the end of the video shooting cable on the objective lens side. Transmission means;

 Lighting means consisting of

 6. The optical device according to claim 5, wherein the illumination light source and the power supply are provided in a storage case provided so as to be integrated with the fixed engagement portion.

 Ί 1. Lighting source and

 A power supply for supplying power to the illumination light source;

 Illumination light that is provided along the video shooting cable and transmits the light from the illumination light source received at one end to the other end located near the end of the video shooting cable on the objective lens side. Transmission means;

 Lighting means consisting of

7. The optical device according to claim 6, wherein the illumination light source and the power supply are provided in a storage case provided so as to be integrated with the glasses-type holding unit.

12. The illumination light transmitting means at a position near an end of the video shooting cable on the objective lens side is a portion of the cylindrical operation portion made of a light transmitting material. The optical device according to any one of claims 9 to 11.

 13. The insertion hole of the cylindrical operation portion has an opening end for inserting the video shooting cable at a rear end which is an end on the side of the output means, and the opening end in the insertion hole. The optical device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein a front end opposite to the front end is closed by a lid plate made of a light-transmitting material.