JP2003024274A - Endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide a light source section at the tip of an insertion section without increasing the number of signal lines disposed in the endoscope insertion section. SOLUTION: A distal end portion 11A of an insertion portion 11 of an endoscope 10 is provided.
Is provided with a light source unit 17 for illumination. A pair of angle wires 22 and 23 made of a conductive material constituting an angle mechanism of a curved portion of the endoscope 10 are disposed along the insertion portion 11. The light source unit 17 is provided with a plurality of LEDs. The anode-side lead wire 30A of the light source unit 17 is connected to the end of the angle wire 22 from the tip end 11A. The cathode-side lead wire 30K of the light source unit 17 is connected to the end of the angle wire 23 from the distal end 11A. The + terminal of the LED drive circuit 18 provided in the operation section 12 is connected to the operation section of the angle wire 22, and the − terminal is connected to the operation section of the angle wire 23. A current is supplied from the LED drive circuit 18 to the light source unit 17 via the angle wires 22 and 23.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to electric wiring of a light source for illumination used in an endoscope.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, it has been proposed to provide an LED, which is a light source, at the tip of an insertion portion of an endoscope as the performance of a light emitting element such as a light emitting diode (LED) is improved. In such an endoscope, since the illumination light can be directly supplied to the observation site without passing through the light guide, it is easy to reduce the diameter of the endoscope insertion section and it is necessary to provide a separate light source section. Since it disappears, its configuration is simple
It can be small.

[0003]

FIG. 3 shows an example of a case where the above-mentioned configuration is applied to a conventional portable endoscope.
Shown in. The endoscope 100 is generally composed of an elongated and flexible insertion section 110, an operation section 120 for performing an operation, and an eyepiece section 130 for performing an endoscope observation. The image of the observed portion is passed through an objective lens 140 provided at the distal end portion 110A of the insertion portion 110, and an image guide (CFB: coherent fiber bundle) made up of a bundle of ultrafine optical fibers.
e) Optically transmitted to the eyepiece 130 by 150,
It is observed through an eyepiece lens 160 provided in the eyepiece unit 130. A light source unit 170 including, for example, a plurality of LEDs is provided at the tip portion 110A, and the light emission of the LEDs is controlled by a current supplied from an LED drive circuit 180 provided in the operation unit 120 via a signal line 190. To be done. An angle knob 200 is provided on the operation unit 120. When the angle knob 200 is operated, the rotating unit 210
Is rotated. The angle wire 22 is attached to the rotating part 210.
0 and 230 are attached to one end, and the other end of the angle wires 220 and 230 is attached to the insertion part 11
It is fixed to the end portion of the tip portion of 0. By operating the angle knob 200, the angle wire 220,
One of the portions 230 is pulled toward the operation portion 120, and the curved portion in the vicinity of the distal end portion of the insertion portion 110 can be curved left or right or up and down.

By the way, the insertion portion 110 of the endoscope is required to have an extremely small diameter. However, increasing the number of electric wires by providing a light emitting element such as an LED on the distal end portion 110A of the endoscope is disadvantageous in reducing the diameter of the insertion portion 110. In addition, the increase in the number of electric wires arranged in the insertion portion 110 affects the flexibility of the insertion portion 110 and prevents the bending of the curved portion near the tip of the insertion portion.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an endoscope in which a light source section is provided at the tip of the insertion section without increasing the number of signal lines arranged in the insertion section of the endoscope. The purpose is to get a mirror.

[0006]

An endoscope of the present invention includes a flexible tubular insertion portion, an operation portion connected to the insertion portion for performing various operations, and inserted by a predetermined operation of the operation portion. An endoscope having an angle mechanism for bending a curved portion near the tip of the insertion portion, wherein a plurality of light source portions for illumination provided at the tip of the insertion portion and a plurality of at least one angle mechanism made of a conductive material are formed. An angle wire is provided, and power supply to the light source unit is performed via a predetermined angle wire of the plurality of angle wires.

The angle wires are preferably resin-coated because they are electrically insulated from each other or from other members. Further, the angle wire is preferably made of a stainless wire mixed with a copper wire in order to obtain high strength and high electric conductivity.

For example, a drive circuit for supplying electric power to the light source section is preferably provided in the operation section of the endoscope, and the light source section preferably includes an LED as a light source.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a portable endoscope which is an embodiment of the present invention.

The endoscope 10 has an elongated and flexible tubular insertion portion 11, an operation portion 12 to which one end of the insertion portion 11 is connected to perform various operations, and endoscope observation. The eyepiece section 13 for The image of the observed region is optically transmitted to the eyepiece unit 13 through the objective lens 14 provided at the distal end portion 11A of the insertion unit 11 and the image guide (CFB) 15 composed of a bundle of ultrafine optical fibers. It is observed through an eyepiece lens 16 provided in the eye part 13. The image guide 1 is provided in the endoscope 10.
5, a forceps channel, an air / water supply channel, a suction channel, and the like are provided, and the operation unit 12 is provided with various operation buttons and the like, but these are not shown.

The operation portion 12 is provided with an angle knob 20 for driving an angle mechanism for bending a bending portion provided near the tip of the insertion portion. The angle knob 20 is connected to the rotary unit 21 via, for example, a lever 20L, and by operating the angle knob 20, the rotary unit 21 is rotated.
Can be rotated. Angle wires 22, 2
3 is made of a conductive material such as a metal wire. As the metal wire, for example, a stainless wire mixed with a copper wire is used. Thereby, high strength and electrical conductivity can be obtained.

[0012] One ends of the angle wires 22 and 23 are attached at positions facing each other with the rotating shaft of the rotating portion 21 interposed therebetween via insulating members 22A and 23A, respectively. Further, the angle wires 22 and 23 are, for example, coated with a resin to be insulated from each other, and
It is also electrically insulated from other metal members in the endoscope 10.

The angle wires 22 and 23 are inserted in the insertion portion 1.
1, and the other end thereof is fixed to the end portion of the distal end portion 11A of the insertion portion 11 via an insulating member or the like. The angle knob 20 is operated to rotate the rotary unit 21.
When is rotated, one of the angle wires 22 and 23 is pulled toward the operation portion 12, and the other is fed toward the distal end of the insertion portion. As a result, the bending portion near the tip of the insertion portion is bent to the left or right or up and down, and the bending angle of the bending portion is controlled by adjusting the operation amount of the angle knob 20.

The light source unit 1 having, for example, two LEDs 50 and 51 (see FIG. 2) as light emitting elements at the tip 11A.
7 is provided. The LEDs 50 and 51 emit light from the operation unit 1.
It is controlled by the current supplied from the LED drive circuit 18 provided in the No. 2. In FIG. 2, LEDs 50 and 51 are shown.
And the LED drive circuit 18 is electrically connected. As shown in FIG. 2, the LEDs 50 and 51 provided in the light source unit 17 are connected in series to the LED drive circuit 18. An ON / OFF switch for controlling driving / non-driving of the LED drive circuit 18 to control lighting / non-lighting of each LED is omitted.

The anode terminal of the LED 50 is the lead wire 30.
It is connected to the end of the angle wire 22 on the side of the tip 11A via A. The cathode terminal of LED51 is lead wire 3
It is connected to the end of the angle wire 23 on the tip end portion 11A side via 0K. Further, the + side terminal of the LED drive circuit 18 is connected to the operation portion side of the angle wire 22 via the lead wire 31A, and the − side terminal of the circuit is the lead wire 31.
It is connected to the operation part side of the angle wire 23 via K. That is, the light source unit 17 provided at the tip portion 11A of the insertion unit 11 and the LED drive circuit 18 provided in the operation unit 12 are connected by using the angle wires 22 and 23 as electrical wiring.

As described above, according to this embodiment, even when the light source section is provided at the distal end of the endoscope insertion section, the angle wire can be used also as the electric wiring of the light source section. It is not necessary to dispose the electric wiring of, and the number of electric wiring arranged in the insertion portion can be suppressed. As a result, the diameter of the endoscope insertion portion can be easily reduced, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. In addition, since power for the light source can be supplied to the tip of the insertion section without disposing new electric wiring, the flexibility of the curved section near the tip of the insertion section is not affected, and the tip of the insertion section is not affected. It is possible to provide a light source section.

In this embodiment, the number of LEDs is two, but the number of LEDs is not limited to this, and may be more or less than this. Furthermore, LED
The electrical connection between the LED drive circuit and the LED drive circuit is not limited to the form shown in FIG. Further, in the present embodiment, as the angle mechanism, only one pair of angle wires is illustrated, but a two-way angle mechanism including two pairs of angle wires may be used, and any angle of the two pairs of angle wires may be used. The wire may also be used as necessary electrical wiring.

Although the present embodiment has been described by taking a portable endoscope as an example, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to a portable endoscope, and an endoscope using a normal fiberscope or an electronic endoscope can be used. It may be a mirror.

[0019]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain an endoscope in which the light source section is provided at the distal end of the insertion section without increasing the number of electric wires arranged in the endoscope insertion section. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a portable endoscope that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing an electrical connection state between an LED provided at the tip of the portable endoscope shown in FIG. 1 and an LED drive circuit provided in an operation unit.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a portable endoscope when a light source unit is provided at a distal end portion of an endoscope without applying the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 endoscope 11 Insert 11A tip 17 Light source 18 LED drive circuit 22, 23 angle wire 50, 51 LED

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A flexible tubular insertion portion, an operation portion connected to the insertion portion for performing various operations, and a curved portion near the tip of the insertion portion bent by a predetermined operation of the operation portion. An endoscope including an angle mechanism for making the light source section for illumination provided at the tip of the insertion section, and a plurality of angle wires which form at least a pair of the angle mechanism made of a conductive material, The endoscope is characterized in that power is supplied to the light source unit via a predetermined angle wire of the plurality of angle wires. 2. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the angle wire is resin-coated. 3. The angle wire is a stainless wire mixed with a copper wire.
The endoscope described in. 4. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein a drive circuit that supplies electric power to the light source unit is provided in an operation unit of the endoscope. 5. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the light source unit includes an LED as a light source.