JPH01274732A - Electronic endoscope device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform a work to insert and remove an endoscope in a state that a power source is left turned ON and to prevent the occurrence of the damage accident of an electronic part, by a method wherein when A release motion is executed, the feed to the logic circuit of the endoscope from an endoscope device body is limited. CONSTITUTION:The endoscope device body 1 side is provided with a first DC source 15 for drive of a luminous diode 13 exclusively, a DC source control part 16 for outputting a control command signal responding to the state change of a photo transistor 14, a second DC source 17 the output of which is controlled by the DC source control part, and an image signal processing part 18 to apply given processing on an image signal from the logic circuit of an endoscope 1. By means of an output from an image signal processing part 18, a photographing content is displayed by a picture on the display screen of a CRT 19. The endoscope 2 side is provided with the luminous diode 13, the photo-coupled photo transistor 14, and a logic circuit 20. An electric circuit exerting on an organic substance is formed with the endoscope device body 1 and the endoscope 2 side, resulting in reduction of prevention of the generation of an electric impact in the endoscope 1.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an electronic endoscopic device having a structure in which an endoscope scope is detachably attached to the main body of the endoscope device, and in particular, The present invention relates to an improvement in an interface for protecting electronic components such as semiconductor elements used in a logic circuit formed inside a mirror scope.

(Prior Art) In an example of a conventional electronic endoscope device of this type, an endoscope is guided into the body cavity of a subject, and illumination light is irradiated to a specific part of the body cavity while the endoscope is guided into the body cavity of the subject. The reflected light from a specific part is received by a solid-state 1111m element (hereinafter referred to as COD) and converted into an electrical signal, and this electric signal is converted into a video signal by a camera control unit (hereinafter referred to as CCU) and sent to the endoscope device body. The video signal is transmitted and subjected to predetermined processing in the main body of the endoscope apparatus, and the imaged content is displayed as an image on a display screen such as a CRT.

However, in the case of conventional electronic endoscope devices, when inserting the endoscope scope into the endoscope device body, be sure to turn off the power to the entire system installed in the endoscope device body. There was a need.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In other words, in the conventional electronic endoscope device, when the power of the entire system is turned on in the endoscope device main body, the logic circuit from the endoscope device main body to the internal scope is Power supply status is ensured,
The endoscope logic circuit remains powered until the entire system is powered off.

Therefore, if you accidentally remove the endoscope from the endoscope without turning off the power to the entire system, an overcurrent may momentarily flow through the logic circuit of the endoscope. There was a risk of damaging electronic components such as semiconductor elements of the logic circuit.

Therefore, in the case of conventional electronic endoscope devices, it is necessary to turn off the power to the entire system installed in the endoscope device when inserting or removing the endoscope from the endoscope device itself. , the operability was poor. In addition, preventing the entire system in which the endoscope device is installed from forgetting to turn off the power depends only on the operator's attentiveness, which is disadvantageous in terms of protecting the electronic components such as the semiconductor elements of the endoscope. there were.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to prevent the endoscope from turning on the endoscope main body even when the entire system is powered on in the endoscope main body. An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic endoscope device that can reduce electrical shock within an endoscope when the scope is inserted or removed.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a release operation for removing the locked state in which the endoscope scope is attached to the endoscope apparatus main body. release state detection means for detecting that the release action is being performed; and when the release state detection means detects the release action, the endoscope scope is a power supply control means for limiting power supply to the logic circuit of the
The gist is that the device is provided as a part of an interface interposed between the endoscope device main body and the endoscope scope.

(Function) In the electronic endoscope device according to the present invention, when the release state detection means detects a release operation, the power supply control means connects the endoscope device main body to the logic circuit of the endoscope scope. Power supply is limited. Therefore, even if the endoscope is inserted and removed from the endoscope main body as appropriate when the entire system is powered on, the electrical shock inside the endoscope is reduced or avoided. be done.

(Example) FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing an entire electronic endoscope apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

This electronic endoscope device includes an endoscope 2 that is configured to be detachably attached to an endoscope device main body 1.

The endoscope 2 is inserted into the body by the light guide plug 4 at the main body coupling part 3. ! ! Light source of device main body 1 (not shown)
and the main body connecting portion 3. Universal code 5. Illumination light is guided to the irradiation end of the scope distal end 8 by a light guide (not shown) disposed through the operating section 6 and the guide section 7 to the scope distal end 8 .

In addition, the main body coupling part 3 is electrically connected to the electrical wiring (not shown) of the power supply or processing system of the endoscope apparatus main body 1 through the scope connector 9, and the COD
An electric wire (not shown) is disposed to enable a CCU (not shown) provided in the operation unit 6 to operate.

Therefore, is it inside the endoscope device main body 1? ! When the entire system is powered on in the endoscope main body 1 with the scope attached through the main body coupling part 3, the guide part 7 (including the scope tip 8) is guided into the body cavity of the subject. While irradiating illumination light to a specific part within the body cavity, the reflected light COD from that specific part is received and converted into an electrical signal, and this electrical signal is converted into a video signal by the CCU to be used as an endoscopic mirror device. The video signal is sent to the main body 1, and the video signal is subjected to predetermined processing in the main body 1 of the endoscope apparatus, so that the content of the carried image can be displayed as an image on a display screen such as a CRT.

In the overall configuration of such an electronic mirror device, the central feature of the present invention is the mechanical and electrical configuration including the main body coupling portion 3.

The main body coupling portion 3 includes a light guide plug 4 and a scope connector 9, as shown in FIG. The scope connector 9 locks the connector shaft 10 with the lock lever 1.
By operating 1, locking and releasing operations can be performed, and the operations are as shown in FIG.

In addition, a through hole 12 is formed in the connector shaft 10 in a direction perpendicular to the axis, and a light emitting diode 13 that emits infrared rays is disposed at one end of the through hole 12.
A phototransistor 14 that receives infrared rays from the light emitting diode 13 is arranged on the other end side.

With such an electrical circuit configuration including the light emitting diode 13 and the phototransistor 14 connected to the main body coupling part 3 with such a mechanical arrangement, even under the condition that the power of the entire system is turned on, the endoscope apparatus main body 1, the endoscope 2 can be pushed.

That is, in one embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. a DC power supply control unit 16 that outputs a control command signal in response to a second DC power supply 17 whose output is controlled by the DC power supply control unit 16, and an image from a logic circuit of the endoscope 1, which will be described later. A video signal processing unit 18 is provided which performs predetermined processing on the signal, and the output of the video signal processing unit 18 is used to display the captured content as an image on the display screen of the CRT 19.

On the other hand, on the endoscope scope 2 side, a light emitting diode 13 driven by a first DC power supply 15, a phototransistor 14 optically coupled to this light emitting diode 13, and a second DC power supply 17 are provided. and a driven logic circuit 20.

By forming an electrical circuit that operates in a wired manner on the endoscope device main body 1 side and the endoscope scope 2 side in this way, the endoscope scope 1
Electric inside! lj attack is reduced or avoided.

First, while the entire system of the endoscope main body 1 is powered on, the first DC power supply 15 drives the light emitting diode 13, which causes the endoscope main body 1 to be connected to the endoscope 2. Conditions are established for detecting that a release operation is being performed to release the locked state in which the device is attached.

Under this condition, the lock lever 11 is moved as shown by the solid line in Figure 4.
When the light emitting diode 13 is in the locked position, the light from the light emitting diode 13 reaches the phototransistor 14, as shown in FIG.

Then, light reception is detected by the phototransistor 14, and the DC power supply control unit 16, which receives the signal from the phototransistor 14 due to the light reception detection, sends a control signal to the second DC power supply 17 to instruct the second DC power supply 17 to turn on the power. .

When the second DC power supply 17 is turned on in this way, the logic circuit 20 of the endoscope scope 2 is driven, and the image signal obtained by the combination of the CCD and CCL+ in this logic circuit 20 is transmitted to the endoscope device. The signal is sent to the video signal processing section 18 of the main body 1, and is subjected to predetermined processing by the video signal processing section 18.

Then, the image content indicated by this predetermined processing result is displayed as an image on the CRT.

Further, under the condition that the light emitting diode 13 is driven by the first DC power source 15, the lock lever 11 is rotated to the release position as shown by the chain line in FIG. 4, and the release operation is completed. In other words, when the endoscope 2 can be inserted into and removed from the endoscope main body 1, the light from the light emitting diode 13 is blocked by the connector shaft 12, as shown in FIG. 5(B). photo i
- Prevented from reaching transistor 14.

Then, the release operation is detected by the phototransistor 14, and a signal indicating the detection of this release operation is sent to the DC power supply control section 16. At this time, a control signal is sent from the DC N source control unit 16 to the second DC power supply 17 to prohibit turning off the power. Note that, depending on the type of the second DC power source 17, a control signal may be sent to the second DC power source 11i11!17 to limit the power capacity to a certain level or less.

When the second DC power supply 17 is turned off in this manner, the drive of the logic circuit 20 of the endoscope 2 is stopped.

The release of the lock lever 11 to stop the drive of the logic circuit 20 is performed prior to insertion and removal of the endoscope, that is, prior to the pushing operation of the main body coupling portion 3 with respect to the endoscope apparatus 1.

Therefore, when removing the endoscope from the endoscope main body 1, the internal pAI! Since the logic circuit in the scope 2 is completely de-energized by the power supply, it is possible to avoid an accident in which electronic components such as semiconductor elements of the logic circuit are damaged by electric shock.

In addition, when attaching the endoscope to the endoscope main body 1, the lock lever 11 is returned to the lock position after the endoscope is attached, and the second end of the endoscope main body 1 is fully attached. Electricity is supplied from the DC power supply 17 of the endoscope scope 2 to the logic circuit 20 of the endoscope 2, and this logic circuit 2
0 is driven and leaping becomes possible.

In the embodiment of the present invention described above, the light emitting diode 13 is arranged on one side of the through hole 12 of the connector shaft 1o, and the phototransistor 14 is arranged on the other side.
Although the release operation detection means is configured to recognize the presence or absence of a lock detection signal by the rotational movement of the connector shaft 10, various other structures can be applied as this release operation detection means. For example, (1) A conductor is provided along the circumferential direction on the connector shaft 10 in which two contacts are arranged so that the contacts are electrically connected only in the locked position, and when the contacts are electrically conductive, a lock detection signal is generated. Something that caused this to occur.

(2) A proximity switch using a reflective infrared LED near the connector shaft 10 is provided to generate a lock detection signal that detects reflection or no reflection only at the locked position.

(3) A structure in which the lock position of the lock lever 11 is detected by a proximity switch using a reflective infrared LED.

(4) Attach a permanent magnet to the connector shaft 10,
The structure is such that the reed switch installed near this is activated only in the locked position.

(5) A flag installed on the connector shaft 10, with a structure in which a microswitch installed nearby is activated only in the locked position.

(6) A structure in which the power supplied to the endoscope 2 is controlled using a relay based on the lock position detection signal.

(7) A structure in which the power supply supplied to the endoscope 2 is controlled using a semiconductor switch based on the lock position detection signal.

etc. can be used as the main part of the release operation detection means.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the electronic endoscope device to which the present invention is applied is capable of supplying power from the endoscope device body to the logic circuit of the endoscope scope when the release operation is performed. Because of this restriction, the endoscope can be inserted and removed while the power of the entire system provided in the endoscope apparatus main body is turned on. Accordingly, according to the present invention, operability is significantly improved compared to the conventional method, and damage accidents to electronic components such as semiconductor elements can be avoided.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the main parts of an embodiment of an electronic endoscope device to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the entire electronic endoscope device, and FIG. A detailed explanatory diagram of the mechanical configuration of the main body coupling part, FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory diagram showing the manner of operating the lock lever of the main body coupling part, and FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory diagram showing one embodiment of the release state detection means. be. 1... Endoscope device body 2... Endoscope scope 3.
...Body connection part 4...Light guide plug 5...
Universal cord 6...Hand control part 7...Guiding part 8...Scope tip part 9...Scope connector 10...Connector shaft 11...Lock lever 12...Through hole 13... Light emitting diode 14...Phototransistor 15...First DC power supply 16...DC power supply control unit 17...Second DC power supply 18...Video signal processing unit 19...CRT 20...・Logic circuit agent valve p! Wotori Chikaharu I Ushiro-A, 4-1 (-Takeshi Kondo 4th figure r-=---------------1-co 176
one

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In an electronic endoscope device in which an endoscope scope in which a logic circuit including an electronic component such as a semiconductor element is formed can be detachably attached to the endoscope device body, When a release operation is performed to release the locked state in which the endoscope is attached, a release state detection means detects that the release action is performed, and the release state detection means detects the release action. When the endoscope apparatus is being operated, a power supply control means for restricting power supply from the main body of the endoscope apparatus to the logic circuit of the endoscope scope is interposed between the endoscope apparatus main body and the endoscope scope. An electronic endoscope device, characterized in that it is provided as part of an interface.