JPH02275405A - Electron endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To cool a solid-state image pickup element without providing a pouring path by providing a storage part which is open to the outside nearby a solid-state image pickup element, storing a cooling medium having large heat capacity, etc., through the opening, and closing the opening with a lid. CONSTITUTION:The columnar storage part 25 is projected lengthwise at the part of a tip part main body 21 on the opposite side from a light guide 24 from its front end surface and the cooling medium 26 such as 'Ice-non(R)' can be stored. A screw hole 27 is formed in the medium entrance part of the front end part of the storage part 25 and covered with the thread-out lid 28. The storage part 25 is long (deep) almost reaching the rear end of the solid-state image pickup element CCD 16 and can be cooled through the tip part main body of the CCD 16 and an optical element 22. The cooling medium 26 can be charged in the storage part 25 in a freely replaceable state by opening the lid 28. Consequently, when the tip side of an insertion part 6 is inserted into a high-temperature part to be inspected and used, the cooling medium 26 prevents the CCD 16 from rising in temperature high.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an electronic endoscope provided with means for cooling a silver image means.

[Prior Art] In recent years, medical endoscopes have become widely used, which allow observation of affected areas within a living body without making any cuts by inserting an elongated insertion portion into a body cavity.

Additionally, industrial endoscopes, which can non-destructively observe and inspect the insides of jet engines, plants, etc., have come into wide use.

Also, recently, instead of transmitting the optical image from the objective optical system through an image guide, it has been photoelectrically converted using a solid-state image sensor, converted into an electrical signal, and transmitted to a signal processing device via a signal cable, and the internal mirror image is displayed on a color monitor. The Ichiko endoscopic gastric display device was developed.

By the way, in the industrial field, it is desirable to be able to operate in an environment as high as possible because it takes a long time for the temperature to drop after use, such as in jet engines.

There is also a request to observe the inside of the vehicle in a high-temperature state immediately after the operation has stopped, that is, in a state that is close to the state in which it is in operation.

Furthermore, electronic endoscopes using solid-state image sensors have the problem that dark current increases with temperature, resulting in a decrease in dynamic range.

For this reason, the present applicant has attempted to cool the solid-state imaging element by perfusing it with a cooling medium, for example in the conventional example disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-73612.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention j In the above conventional example, the cold 7
In addition, the outer diameter of the insertion portion must be increased.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, so it is possible to
The solid-state imaging probe can be cooled without increasing the outer diameter of the fin.
I-! The purpose of the present invention is to provide an electronic endoscope that can perform

[Means and Effects for Solving Problems 1] In the present invention, a storage section that opens to the outside is provided near the solid-state imaging cable, and a cooling medium having a large heat capacity of 1'l is stored through this opening and closed with a lid. This structure allows the solid-state imaging probe to be cooled without providing an irrigation channel.

[Example] Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically explained with reference to the drawings.

Figures 1 to 3 relate to the first embodiment of the present invention.
The figure shows the structure of the distal end side of the first embodiment, FIG. 2 shows the electronic endoscopic vL device equipped with the first embodiment, and FIG. 3 does not show the front view of FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the electronic endoscope device 1 equipped with the first embodiment includes an electronic endoscope 2 incorporating an m-image means, and a light source unit that supplies illumination light to the electronic endoscope 2. The video processor 3 includes a video processor 3 and a signal processing section, and a monitor 4 that displays the video signal processed by the signal processing section on a monitor screen.

The electronic endoscope 2 has an elongated insertion section 6 that can be inserted into a body cavity, and a large operation section 7 is connected to the rear end of the insertion section 6.

An angle knob 8 is provided on the side surface of this operation section 7, and by rotating this angle knob 8, the insertion section 6
A curved portion 11 formed adjacent to the tip portion 9 of the can be bent left and right or up and down.

A universal cord 12 extends from the operation section 7, and a connector 13 attached to the tip of the universal cord 12 can be detachably attached to the connector receiver of the video processor 3.

By attaching this connector 13, illumination light is supplied from the light source section of the video processor 3 to the incident end surface of the light guide 14 (shown in FIG. 1), and this supplied illumination light is The light is emitted forward from the exit end face of the light guide 14. The subject illuminated with this illumination light is
As shown in the figure, a four-digit objective lens 15 placed in an opening at the front end of the distal end 9 forms an image on a CCD 16 as a solid-state diode disposed at its focal plane. The signal photoelectrically converted by the CCD 16 is input to the signal processing unit in the video broker 3 via the signal cable 17, where it is processed and converted into a standard video signal, so that the image of the subject can be displayed on the monitor 4τ. .

The operation section 7 is provided with a treatment instrument insertion port (also referred to as a forceps entrance) 19 through which a treatment instrument 18 is roughly inserted. It communicates with the channel channel (6 is written as channel 17 in -tli).

However, the distal end portion 9 of the electronic endoscope 2 of this first embodiment
has a structure as shown in FIG.

The tip body 21 constituting the tip 9 is made of a metal member, and an objective lens 15 is disposed in a large-diameter through hole provided approximately at the center of the tip body 21. CCD arranged diagonally through the cable 22
A subject image is formed on 16.

A flexible substrate 23 is removed from the back side of the CCD 16 and connected to one end of the signal cable 17.

A small diameter through hole is provided adjacent to the objective lens 15, and the tip of the light guide 14 is fixed to the optical rod 24.
The illumination light is emitted through the OJ.

The light guide 14 is branched into two parts, each of which is emitted forward via an optical rod 24, as shown in FIG.

By the way, a cylindrical storage part 25 is bored in the front end surface of the tip main body 21 on the opposite side from the light guide 24 in the longitudinal direction, so that a cooling medium 26 such as ice cream can be stored therein. A screw hole 27 is provided in the medium type portion of the 011 end portion of this storage portion 25 so that it can be covered with a lid 28 having a screw installed therein.

The storage section 25 has a length (depth) that reaches near the rear end of the CCD 16, and the CCD 16 is placed 91.1 parts into the main body 2.
1. Cold lJ1'c is supplied through the optical element 22.

The outer periphery of the tip main body 25 is notched in the shape of a step, and is covered with a heat insulating cover 29. still,
In FIG. 3, for example, there is an outlet of a 1N Kure channel 30 between the optical fibers 2.24.

According to the first embodiment configured in this way, the tip main body 21 is provided with a storage section 25 (i), and the cooling medium 26 is stored in this storage section 25 so that it can be replaced and sealed with the lid 28. Therefore, when the distal end side of the insertion section 6 is inserted into a high-temperature inspection site, the CCD 16 can be prevented from becoming high temperature due to the cooling medium 26.

Further, according to the first embodiment, the cold medium 26 is charged and reused by discharging the boiling medium 26 into the storage portion 25, so that 1 on the way
This has the advantage that the outer diameter of the inner part 6 does not have to be increased by 6.

Moreover, it can be realized with a simple structure.

FIG. 4 shows a modification of the first embodiment of the invention.

In this modification, in the first embodiment, the tip main body 21 on the outer side of the storage portion 25 is covered with a cylindrical heat insulating member 31. For this reason, a cylindrical hollow part is provided in the outer peripheral part of the tip body 21, and a heat insulating member 31 is interposed therebetween, and the outside thereof is divided into two parts (one piece is good). 32 and the cylindrical cover 29-CI are in place.

The rest of the structure is the same as that of the first embodiment. .

The effects of this modification are almost the same as those of the first embodiment, but the ability to maintain cooling of the CCD 16 is further improved.

FIG. 5 shows a front view of the distal end portion 43 of the second embodiment of the present invention.

This second embodiment is similar to the storage section 25 in the first embodiment.
As shown by the dotted line 1J, the storage part 41 is recessed in an arc shape.
It is designed so that it opens at the .

The cross section taken along the line A-Δ' in Figure 5) is opened with the screw hole 27 as in the case of Figure 1, and the cross section taken along the line 13-8' is shown in Figure 6.
J. The sea urchin has not opened.

In this embodiment, for example, the structure is such that the tunnel is not provided.

The rest is the same as the first embodiment.

According to the second embodiment, since the storage section 41 is a human comb, the CCD 16 can be cooled in a cold water bath compared to the first embodiment.
Increased functionality.

FIG. 7 shows the front end side of the third embodiment of the present invention.

This third embodiment [For example, in the first embodiment, CC
For example, a temperature sensor 51 is provided on the inner side of the D16, and a signal cable 52 connected to the temperature 1 and α sensor 51 is connected to the external temperature measurement/display section π953 through the pattern of the flexible board 23. The detected temperature is transmitted, and the temperature near the CCD can be displayed on the display section 54.

Moreover, in this embodiment-C, the screw hole 27 of the storage portion 25 is closed, and the small hole 56 is closed as shown in FIG.
．． 56 was set (), and there is C. This:'1°155
) is used as the medium 26 stored in the storage chamber 25. In the case of dry )' vaporization f1 in the chair, the storage fil
When the pressure inside 25 becomes ^, the pressure pushes the elastic phase C formed i: 1555 ft L - C'l expands u,
(' (7) 115', -1<) The vaporized gas is released to the outside through the small hole 56. “1° which has the same configuration as the embodiment, according to this third embodiment, C0D
There is no way to know if 1G has reached the temperature of the culm, so when it gets close to the limit temperature for use, pull it out from the area to be inspected and use it again after replacing the medium 26. It is used to prevent the dark current of the CCD 16 from becoming too low (to prevent both ends from becoming too low) and to prevent the CCD 16 from becoming unusable.

FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of a 1h-type internal control system in which a (l-i''-5 processing system for temperature detection is installed) for the first embodiment of the present invention.

The CCD 16 is read out by applying a drive signal from the dry ice 61, (-a; is input to the third ITj circuit 62, converted to a standard video signal, and color [
-Displayed in color on evening 4. Further, the output signal of this CCD 16 is input to the dark current level detection circuit 63, and the dark current level detection circuit 63
The B flow bell is detected and the detected 113 temperature level is input to the temperature conversion circuit 64.

This humidity conversion circuit 64 stores correlation data between the dark current level and temperature in advance in the CCD 16 used, calculates the temperature from the detected dark current level, and outputs the temperature signal. 41 as shown in the figure.
The image is displayed on the screen of the color monitor 4 via a superimpose circuit.

In addition, the output of the temperature conversion circuit 64 is input to the comparator 65, and the voltage Vr corresponding to the combined limit temperature is compared, and when it exceeds the pressure Vr, the output becomes "H".
The LED 67 and the like are caused to emit light via the driver 66 to warn the user that the temperature of the CCD 16 has reached the permissible limit.

Note that the dark current level can be detected by detecting the signal level of the optical Bragg portion.

Furthermore, if an optical Bragg is not provided or not used, it is also possible to stop the light emission of the light source section and detect the COD output level read during the stopped period.

Note that it is desirable that the cold fJ medium stored in the storage chamber has a large cooling capacity. Items with a large specific heat capacity are advantageous, but this is not limited to items such as dry ice, which have a large ability to cool the stomach and have a large latent heat. good.

Incidentally, a storage chamber in the form of a balloon, a hood, or the like may be provided at the tip, and the cooling medium may be stored in the storage chamber.

Alternatively, the storage device may be detachably attached to the distal end and may be attached as needed.

[R, bright effect 1 As described above, according to the present invention, the ml image element provided at the distal end of the insertion section can freely communicate with the outside.
Since a storage chamber for the medium is provided, there is no need for a passage for the cooling medium in the intermediate insertion section.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 to 3 relate to the first embodiment of the present invention.
The figure shows the structure of the distal end side of the first embodiment.
The figure is a front view of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a modification of the first embodiment.
3, FIG. 5 is a front view of the tip of the second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line B-8' in FIG. 5, and FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the tip side of the third embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the tray in the third embodiment, and FIG. 9 is a signal processing system equipped with a COD temperature detection section. It is a block diagram. 2...Electronic congratulations 21...Tip 15.
...Objective lens 16...CCD21...Tip body 25...Storage section 26...Cold IJ1
Medium 28...h Figure 1 Figure 3 Figure 4 Funeral diagram

Claims (1)

[Claims] In an electronic endoscope in which an imaging device is disposed on the distal end side of an insertion section, a cooling medium storage chamber formed near the imaging device and an opening in the storage chamber that communicates with the outside are closed. An electronic endoscope device comprising: a lid member;