JPH0470899B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus in which the lengths of signal cables for solid-state imaging devices used in imaging means of electronic scopes are equal.

[Prior Art] In recent years, optical endoscopes (also called fiberscopes) have been developed that transmit an optical image formed by an objective lens at the distal end of an insertion section to the proximal side using an image guide formed by a fiber bundle. ), the optical image formed by the objective lens is transferred to a charge-coupled device (hereinafter referred to as
It is written as CCD. An electronic endoscope ( (Hereinafter, also referred to as electronic endoscope or electronic scope.)
has come into practical use.

The above electronic scopes are available depending on the purpose of use.
The length of the insertion portion that can be inserted into a body cavity or a lumen is different. For this reason, the lengths of the signal cables that are inserted into the insertion portion and the universal cord extending from the rear end of the insertion portion to the video processor, camera control unit, etc. are also different.

If the length of the signal cable is different, the resistance value of the entire signal cable will be different, which will cause a difference in the output gain of the SID, a variation in S/N, and a difference in the impedance at the end of the cable. Therefore, when the end of the cable is connected to the camera control unit, the waveform may become distorted due to reflection, there may be a difference in the amount of delay in the SID drive pulse from the camera control unit, or there may be a difference in the amount of delay in the video output signal from the SID. There may be a difference. For this reason, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 60-80429, a matching circuit is built into the connector of an electronic scope to prevent waveform distortion.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The conventional example described above has a drawback in that matching adjustment of the matching circuit must be performed for each electronic scope. Furthermore, providing a matching circuit for each electronic scope has the disadvantage that the connector becomes taller.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope device that requires almost no adjustment.

[Means and effects for solving the problem] In the present invention, the electrical lengths of the signal cables leading to the SID and the signal processing system are unified into one type, and in the usage state, the difference in influence due to the signal cables is eliminated and adjustment is possible. This makes it possible to obtain high-quality images with almost no need for additional processing.

[Example] The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 5 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 shows the entire system of the first embodiment,
Figure 2 shows the state of the signal cable housed in the universal cord of an electronic scope with a short insertion part, Figure 3 shows a cross section taken along line A-A' in Figure 2, and Figure 4 shows a long insertion part. FIG. 5 shows the structure of a signal line forming a signal cable.

As shown in FIG. 1, an endoscope device 1 of the first embodiment
are electronic scopes 3a and 3b each having insertion portions 2a and 2b of different lengths, and each electronic scope 3a.
Or 3b and connector receiver 4 that can be connected respectively
A camera control unit (or video processor unit) that has a
5 and this camera control unit (below)
It consists of a color monitor 6 which takes in the video signal output from CCU 5 and displays it in color.

The electronic scope 3a or 3b has an elongated insertion section 2a or 2b that can be inserted into a body cavity or a lumen, and a wide operation section connected to the rear end of the insertion section 2a or 2b. 7, and a universal cord 8a or 8b extending from the operating section 7.

An objective lens 9 for imaging the object is disposed on the distal end side of the insertion section 2a or 2b, and a solid-state image sensor (hereinafter referred to as SID) 11 such as a CCD is provided at the focal plane of the objective lens 9. is arranged so that the imaging surface (light-receiving surface) of This objective lens 9 and
The SID 11 constitutes an imaging means. In other words, the optical image of the object is SID1 by the objective lens 9.
The optical image formed on this imaging surface is photoelectrically converted into an electrical signal.

Each SID 11 has a drive pulse transmission device that applies a drive pulse for signal readout to the SID 11.
One end of a signal cable consisting of a plurality of signal lines is connected for output signal transmission for transmitting the output signal read from the SID 11 and for power feeding for supplying power to the SID 11. The other end of the signal cable 12a or 12b inserted through the insertion portion 2a or 2b of each electronic scope 3a or 3b and the universal cord 8 has a plurality of pin-shaped terminals in the connector 13 that can be connected to the connector receiver 4. 14, 14, . . . , 14.

Each signal line 1 forming the signal cables 12a and 12b in the two electronic scopes 3a and 3b
5, as shown in FIG. 5, an inner conductor 16, an outer conductor 17, a dielectric member 18 interposed between these conductors 16 and 17, and an outer insulating coating 130 covering the outer conductor 17. A coaxial cable consisting of

The diameters of the inner conductor 16 and outer conductor 17 are respectively A and B, and the dielectric member 1 filled in between
If the relative dielectric constant of 8 is K, then this signal line 15
The characteristic impedance Z ₀ is Z ₀ = (138/√K)l
It becomes Og (B/A) [Ω].

The signal cables 12a and 12b in the two electronic scopes 3a and 3b have the same characteristic impedance Z ₀ for each signal line, and have the same attenuation constant, etc. Cables 12a, 12b
Its distinctive feature is that the total lengths of the two are the same. The outer surface of the inner conductor 16 and the outer conductor 1
The inner surface of 7 is plated with silver to reduce high frequency loss components.

In both the above electronic scopes 3a and 3b, the insertion section 2
Since the lengths of a and 2b are different, if the universal cords 8a and 8b are made equal in length as in the first embodiment, the universal cords 8a and 8b can be inserted in the same way as the insertion parts 2a and 2b. Then, the total lengths of the signal cables 12a, 12b will be different, but by making the insertion states different in the universal cords 8a, 8b, the lengths of both the signal cables 12a, 12b can be made equal. .

The CCU 5 provided with the connector receiver 4 is configured to transmit signals between the SID 11, the video signal processing circuit 21, and the SID drive circuit 22 via the signal cables 12a and 12b.

A matching circuit 23 is interposed between the connector receiver 4, the video signal processing circuit 21, and the SID drive circuit 22, so that when the connector 13 and connector receiver 4 are connected, there is no reflection. Impedance matching for signal transmission is performed. Furthermore, in general, frequency-dependent attenuation when transmitting output signals using both signal cables 12a and 12b is compensated for by emphasizing the high frequency side within the matching circuit 23 or the video signal processing circuit 21. It's on.

The matching circuit 23 also matches the signal cables 12a, 1 to different electronic scopes 3a, 3b.
Since the lengths of the CCUs 2b are equal, they can be used in common (without having to be provided for each electronic scope), and one CCU 5 that can be used in common is provided.

The signal cables 12a, 12b bundle a plurality of signal lines 15, .

Moreover, an electronic scope 3a having a long insertion portion 2a
The universal cord 8a is inserted in a straight line as shown in FIG. On the other hand, in the universal cord 8b of the electronic scope 3b having the short insertion part 2b, both signal cables 1 in the insertion parts 2a and 2b are connected as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.
In order to eliminate the difference in length between the universal cord 2a and 12b, the universal cord 8b is detoured by an amount corresponding to the length difference (in the first embodiment, it is spirally wound), By making this detoured shape, both signal cables 12a, 12b
have the same total length.

As shown in Figure 2, universal code 8b
is covered with a mantle tube 24 made of synthetic resin or the like,
A spiral tube 25 made of a flexible material such as foamed polyurethane is fitted inside the tube. A spiral groove 26 is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the helical tube 25, and a notch 28 that communicates with the inner hollow portion 27 is formed in one location on the outer circumferential surface in the longitudinal direction. The cross section of this spiral tube 25 has a C-ring shape as shown in FIG.

The signal cable 12b is wound spirally along a spiral groove 26 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the spiral tube 25, and the length of the spiral portion is set to a length that compensates for the difference in length between the insertion portions 2a and 2b. It is set so that it becomes small.
Therefore, for example, the universal cord 8b on the side of the insertion portion 2b is inserted through the hollow portion 27 of the spiral tube 25, and then passes through the notch 28 and then passes through the insertion portions 2a, 2.
In order to detour by the difference in length b, the spiral groove 26
, and then inserted through the hollow portion 27 again. By doing this, the total length of the signal cable 12a passing through the insertion section 2a and the universal cord 8a in the electronic scope 3a having the long insertion section 2a, and the inside of the short insertion section 8b and the universal cord 8b can be set to a predetermined value. The total length of the signal cable 12b which is spirally wound several times is made equal to the total length of the signal cable 12b. (In addition, in the electronic scope 3a having a long insertion part 2a, the universal cord 8a
As shown in FIG. 4, the signal cable 12a is routed in a substantially straight line, but if it is longer than the universal cord 8a, it may be partially spiraled. ) In the spiral groove 26, the spacing between adjacent grooves 26, 26 is not very close. In other words, the higher frequency of the signal to be transmitted,
The interval is set so that the reactance component in the spiral configuration does not substantially affect the frequency of the drive pulse output from the SID drive circuit 22.

Incidentally, in the hollow portion 27 of the universal cords 8a and 8b, a light guide 29 is formed of a flexible fiber bundle and covered with a soft tube.
Built-in items such as the air and water supply tube 30 are inserted. The light guide 29 is for transmitting illumination light, and is also inserted into the insertion portion 2b or 2a (omitted in FIG. 1). Therefore, the light guide 29 in the universal cords 8a and 8b
When the connector 13 is connected to the connector receiver 4 of the CCU 5, the light guide connector (not shown)
are connected at the same time, and illumination light is supplied by a light source device (not shown) built into the CCU 5. Thus, illumination is emitted from the end face on the distal end side of the insertion section 2a or 2b, so that the object side that can be imaged by the imaging means can be illuminated.
One end of the air/water supply tube 30 is connected to the insertion portion 2a, 2
It is connected to an air/water supply nozzle (not shown) provided toward the outer surface of the objective lens 9 at the tip of b, and the other end is connected to an air/water pump (not shown) provided within the camera control unit 5. Thus, air and water can be supplied to the objective lens 9.

Further, the operation section 7 is provided with a bending operation knob (not shown), and by rotating this knob, the curved section formed near the tip of the insertion section 2a or 2b is curved to change the observation direction. It is designed so that it can be inserted into a curved insertion path.

According to the first embodiment configured in this manner, as shown in FIG. 1, the lengths of the insertion portions 2a and 2b are different, and the lengths of the universal cords 8a and 8b are equal to each other. which one is CCU
Since the lengths of the signal cables 12a and 12b between each SID 11 and the CCU 5 are made equal even when connected to the SID 11 and the CCU 5, the characteristics of the output signals read from the SID 11 and input to the CCU 5 are unified. Therefore, it is not necessary to adjust the output characteristics for each electronic scope. Further, the characteristics of the output signal are made uniform, and an endoscope device of constant quality can be realized.

Further, there is no need for a matching means for each electronic scope, and a common matching means is sufficient, resulting in cost reduction.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment, two electronic scopes with different lengths of the insertion sections 2a and 2b are described, but the number of spiral windings can also be determined for electronic scopes with different lengths of insertion sections. By changing the output characteristics, the output characteristics can be similarly adjusted.

Further, since the signal cable 12b within the universal cord 8b is spirally shaped, even if the universal cord 8a is bent, the fatigue caused by the bending can be reduced.

In the first embodiment, one notch 28 is provided in the circumferential direction, but a plurality of notches are provided at equal intervals along the spiral groove 26, and the length of the spiral portion is made shorter than one time. It may also be possible to make fine adjustments with .

Furthermore, since a coaxial cable is used for the signal line 15, the generation of reactance components can be reduced compared to the case where a single wire is used, and the influence on noise can also be reduced.

Note that the signal cable 12b may be directly wound around the outer surface of the air/water tube 30, the light guide 29, etc. without using the spiral tube 25, or the signal cable 12b may be wound directly on the outer surface of the air/water tube 30, the light guide 2, etc.
9 etc. may be covered with a flexible tube, and the signal cable 12b may be wrapped around it. Furthermore, the signal cable 12b may be fixed by covering the signal cable 12b with a heat shrinkable tube.

FIG. 6 shows the structure of a universal code in a second embodiment of the present invention.

In the universal cord 31b of this second embodiment, the depth of the spiral groove 32 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the spiral tube 25 is made shallow. This depth is made slightly larger than the outer diameter of each signal line 15 of the signal cable 12b. Further, the width of the groove 32 is made slightly wider than the width when the signal cables 12b are arranged in a line in the form of a flat cable. ,
When inserting the signal cable 12b, which is longer than the entire length of the universal cord 31b, into the universal cord 31b, for example, the thread 34 is wound and bundled through the hollow part 27 on the operating section side, and the thread 34 is wound in a bundle in the spiral groove 32. It is wound in the form of a flat cable, and is passed through in a loose state within the hollow portion 27 on the connector side.

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

According to the second embodiment, it has the same effect as the first embodiment, and the outer diameter of the universal cord 31b can be made thinner by the amount that the depth of the groove 32 can be made shallower. If you can make it thin like this,
It can be easily bent and operability can be improved.

In this second embodiment, by reversing the winding direction of the groove 32 of the spiral tube 25 and the winding direction of the signal cable 12b, when the universal cord 31b is bent, the groove 32 is
This prevents b from getting caught and getting scratched.

FIG. 7 shows the structure of a universal cord 41 in a third embodiment of the present invention.

In this third embodiment, a signal cable 43b bundled as in the first embodiment is inserted into a tube (or spirally wound tube) 42 which is previously formed into a spiral shape.

The spirally wound tube 42 has an outer diameter D of the spirally wound portion that is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the outer tube 24, and built-in objects such as the light guide 29 are passed through the inside of this spirally wound tube. Further, the spirally wound tube 42 is made of, for example, polyurethane or tetrafluoroethylene (Teflon is a famous commercial product).
When the universal cord 41 is moved using a material such as the above, it has appropriate rigidity so that even if the helical shape is deformed, it will not become noticeably denser.
It has enough flexibility to bend easily.

Incidentally, the outer or inner circumferential surface of the spirally wound tube 42 may be coated with a metal film to form a shield tube that more accurately prevents noise from the inner signal cable 43b from entering. (Each signal line 15 of the signal cable 43b is constructed with a shielded wire to prevent noise from entering, but double shielding can more reliably prevent noise from entering. ) This third embodiment has the same effects as the first embodiment, and furthermore, since the spirally wound tube 42 can be cut at any position, any excess length of the signal cable 43b within the universal cord 41 can be dealt with. . Furthermore, since the spiral shape is maintained at approximately constant intervals, no reactance component is generated even when the wire is bent, and even high-frequency signal components can be transmitted without waveform distortion.

FIG. 8 shows the structure of a universal cord 51 in a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

In the third embodiment, the spirally wound tube 42 had a circular cross-sectional shape, but in this fourth embodiment, the spirally wound tube 52 has an elongated circular tube shape.

By doing so, the outer diameter of the universal cord 51 can be reduced.

FIG. 9 shows a fifth embodiment of the invention.

In the electronic scope 61 of this embodiment, the insertion section 2
The signal cable 62 that is inserted through the inside is a signal cable that is not inserted through the universal cord 8 (usually through which a signal cable, light guide, air/water tube, etc. is inserted) but is extended outside from the operation unit 7. It passes through the guide tube 63. By wrapping the guide tube 63 around the outer periphery of the universal cord 8, the extra length that is longer than the universal cord 8 is absorbed. That is, the length of the guide tube 63 is changed according to the difference in the length of the insertion portion 2, and the number of times the universal cord 8 is wound around the outer periphery is changed according to the length of the guide tube 63. This guide tube 6
The flexibility of the universal cord 3 is lower than that of the universal cord 8. Further, one end of the guide tube 63 is fixed to the operating section 7 with an adhesive or the like. The other end of the guide tube 63 is fixed to a signal cable insertion hole in the connector 13 at the tip of the universal cord 8, and the signal cable 62 pulled out of the opening of the guide tube 63 is connected to the terminals 14, 14, Connected to...

This embodiment has the same effects as the first embodiment. Furthermore, the internal structure of each universal cord 8 can be made the same even when the length of the insertion portion is different, and can be realized simply by winding the guide tube 63 side. In other words, there is no need to insert a spiral tube or the like into the universal cord 8, and assembly is easy.

FIG. 10 shows an electronic scope in a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, in electronic scopes 72a and 72b having different lengths of insertion parts 71a and 71b, if there is a difference l in length between both insertion parts 71a and 71b, the electronic scope 72b on the shorter insertion part 71b side has a universal Universal cord 73a of electronic scope 72a of insertion part 71a with longer cord 73b
The length is longer than the length of . In this way, even when the electronic scopes 72a and 72b have different lengths of the insertion sections 71a and 71b, the signal cable 74
The total lengths of a and 74b are made equal.

According to this embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained, and the structure of the universal code can be simplified and costs can be reduced.

Furthermore, since the signal cable can be stored in a straight line even within the universal cord, the generation of reactance components can be eliminated.

FIG. 11 shows an electronic scope according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

The electronic scope 81 of this embodiment is, for example, a first
The long universal cord 73b in Figure 0 is changed into a curled cord-like universal cord 82. Note that this curl shape is designed to have a reactance below a level that does not affect signal transmission characteristics.

This embodiment has the same effect as the fifth embodiment, and furthermore, by curling the universal cord 82, it does not get in the way during operation.

FIG. 12 shows an endoscope device 9 according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention.
1 is shown.

Electronic scope 92 forming this eighth embodiment
As shown in FIG. 13, a signal cable guide tube 9 is inserted into the universal cord 8 in order to make the signal cable 93b equal in length to the signal cable of another electronic scope (not shown).
Meandering groove 9 formed in a meandering manner on the outer peripheral surface of 4.
The excessively long portion of the signal cable 93b can be stored in the cable 93b. Furthermore, this meandering groove 9
5 is configured to communicate with a hollow portion 97 of the guide tube 95 through a notch 96 . The meandering groove 95 is designed so that when the signal cable 93b is passed through the groove 95, the winding direction of the signal cable 93b is reversed at regular intervals, thereby reducing the generated inductance component.

In addition, in this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 12, the SID
11 is amplified by a preamplifier 101 housed on the distal end side of the insertion section 2b, and then sent to the signal cable 93b.
The signal is then input to the video signal processing circuit 21 of the CCU 5'. Further, the drive pulse of the SID drive circuit 22 is inputted to the waveform shaping circuit 102 housed in the distal end of the insertion tube via the signal cable 93b, and this circuit 1
The waveform is shaped in step 02 and a driving pulse is applied to SID11.

Note that the light guide 2 inserted through the insertion portion 2b
9 is inserted through the universal cord 8, and by attaching the rear end of this light guide 29 to the light guide connector receiver 104 of the light source device 103 in the CCU 5', the illumination light of the light source lamp 105 is The light is supplied through a filter 106 and a lens 107. The rotating color filter 106
is rotationally driven by a motor 108, and passes through the three primary color separation filters (not shown) of this rotating color filter 106 to the light guide 2 in R, G, and B colors.
Illumination light is supplied to 9. Incidentally, the drive pulse of the SID drive circuit 22 is synchronized with the rotation of the rotary color filter 106, and the drive pulse is outputted at the time when each of the R, G, and B illuminations is completed, causing the SID 11 to output a signal.

Although this embodiment uses a frame-sequential illumination method, the present invention can be similarly applied to a color imaging method in which images are taken under white light. In addition, in the case of a method of color imaging under white illumination, a color mosaic filter is used in front of the SID 11. Although the meandering cycle is shown to be relatively short in FIG. 13, it may be one or more cycles in which right-handed winding and left-handed winding are alternated.

FIG. 14 shows a ninth embodiment of the present invention.

This ninth embodiment is applied to a fiberscope with a television camera, in which a television camera 113 is attached to an eyepiece 112 of a fiberscope 111.

In the fiberscope 111, an image guide 115 and a light guide 116 are inserted into an insertion section 114 as image transmission means. The image guide 115 transmits an optical image formed on the entrance end surface by the objective lens 117 to the eyepiece side end surface, and can normally be observed with the naked eye through the eyepiece lens 118. The above light guide 116 is a universal cord 119
Illumination light is supplied from a light source device within the CCU 121 via the CCU 121 .

Television camera 1 attached to the eyepiece section 112
13 forms the optical image transmitted by the image guide 115 on the SID 123 via the magnifying lens 122. A signal cable 124 extending from the television camera 113 is passed through a curl cord 125 and connected to the CCU 121. The curl cord 125 incorporating the signal cable 124 is made equal to the total length of the signal cables 12a, 12b of the electronic scopes 3a, 3b, etc. in each of the above embodiments.
By making the length of the signal cable 124 equal to that of other electronic scopes in this way, a common matching circuit can be used and the output characteristics can be made uniform.

FIG. 15 shows a tenth embodiment of the present invention.

In the electronic scope 131 of this embodiment, the signal cable 133b is housed in the operating section 132 of the electronic scope 131 of the insertion section 2b, which is shorter by the difference in length between the insertion sections 2a and 2b.

According to this embodiment, it has the same effect as the first embodiment, and the structure and dimensions of the universal cord 8 can be simplified and unified.
Cost can be reduced.

FIG. 16 shows an eleventh embodiment of the present invention.

In the electronic scope 134 of this embodiment, a relatively large connector 135 is provided, and the signal cable 13
6b is accommodated in the connector 135 by the length difference between the insertion portions 2a and 2b.

According to this embodiment, the structure of the universal cord 8 is simple, and the work of storing the signal cable 136b can be done in a shorter time than the work of winding it around the spiral groove 26 in the first embodiment, so that costs can be further reduced. .

17 and 18 show a twelfth embodiment of the present invention.

Electronic scopes 137a and 137b of this embodiment
In this case, a cable storage section 138 is provided between the universal cord 8 and the connector 13, and a short insertion section 2b is installed.
In the electronic scope 137b having the above, the signal cable 139b is accommodated by the length difference between the insertion portions 2a and 2b. As shown in FIG. 18, the cable storage 138 consists of an inner tube 140 and an outer tube 141, and the space between the inner tube 140 and the outer tube 141 is a cylindrical winding chamber 142. Inner cylinder 140
is provided with a long hole A140a and a long hole B140b that are elongated in the axial direction. The widths of the elongated hole A140a and the elongated hole B140b are slightly wider than the signal cable 139b. The length of long hole A140a is long hole B140
It is the same as or longer than b, and is slightly shorter than the total length of the winding chamber 142.

Therefore, the signal cable 139b is pulled out from the elongated hole A140a by the length difference between the insertion portions 2a and 2b, and the winding chamber 142 is placed around the outer periphery of the inner cylinder 140.
It is possible to wrap the signal cable 139b from both ends toward the center, and then push a part of the signal cable 139b into the inner cylinder 140 through the elongated hole B140b. The signal cable 139b wrapped around the inner cylinder 140 in this manner is fixed with a vinyl tape (not shown). The outer cylinder 141 is covered with a covering rubber 141a having a plurality of grooves. A light guide 29, an air/water supply tube 30, and pin-shaped terminals 14, 14, . . . are provided on the end face of the connector 13.
14 stands out.

According to this embodiment, the same effects as the first embodiment described above can be obtained, and the structure of the universal cord 8 can be simplified. Signal cable storage section 13
The structure of 8 is also simple, and the signal cable 139
The work of wrapping around the inner cylinder 140 in b can also be performed extremely easily. Therefore, the cost can be reduced.

Furthermore, since the winding direction of the signal cable 139b is both right-handed and left-handed, the inductance component is canceled out.

This signal cable storage section 138 is connected to the connector 1.
Since it can also be used as a grasping part when attaching and detaching the connector 13 to and from the camera control unit 5, it is easy to attach and detach the connector 13. Furthermore, the signal cable storage section 13
Since a covering rubber 141a is provided on the outer periphery of the cover 8, it does not slip and can be attached and detached with light force.

Note that the signal cable storage section 138 may be provided in the middle of the universal cord 8 or between the universal cord 8 and the operation section 7.

FIG. 19 shows a thirteenth embodiment of the present invention.

Electronic scope 143 (143a,
143b. In the illustration, only one having a short insertion portion 2b is shown. ), the signal cable 144
(representing 144a, 144b) and a universal cord 145 into which a light guide 29 and an air/water supply tube 30 (not shown) are inserted, and a signal cable guide cord 146 (representing 146a, 146b) into which a signal cable 144 is inserted. .)
and a light guide cord 148 into which the light guide 29 and the like are inserted. Signal cable guide cord 146 and light guide cord 148
has a signal cable connector 147 and a light guide connector 149 at each end, and both connectors 14
7 and 149 are each connected to the camera control unit 5'' separately.The signal cable guide cord 146b on the short insertion portion 2b side is a curled cord, and the signal cable guide is not curled (or slightly curled). code 14
The difference in length between the guide cord 6a and this guide cord 146b is equal to the difference in length between the insertion portions 2a and 2b.

According to this embodiment, only the length of the signal cable guide cord 146 needs to be changed depending on the insertion length, so the structure is simple. Further, since a commercially available electrical connector can be used as the signal cable connector 147, the cost is reduced.

Note that the air/water supply tube 30 may be inserted into the signal cable guide cord 146. Furthermore, the signal cable 144 may be threaded helically through the signal cable guide cord 146.

By the way, when removing reset noise components etc. contained in the output signal, if the length of the signal cable is different, a delay will occur depending on the length, so it is necessary to shift the timing of sampling only the signal part. According to each of the above embodiments, since the amount of delay is constant, noise can be easily removed without requiring adjustment for each scope.

Furthermore, even if the lengths of the signal cables are made equal, a slight error is allowed in the resistance and reactance components of the signal cable, which affect the output characteristics of the SID, to the extent that it hardly affects the output characteristics. Of course it is.

In each of the above embodiments, the power supply signal lines in the signal cable do not necessarily have to be made equal to each other like other signal lines. Further, the light source device is not limited to one housed in the CCU 5 or 5', but may be a separate device.

Incidentally, the groove 95 of the guide tube 94 in FIG. 13 may be made shallower so that the signal cable is stored in the form of a flat cable, or it may be stored in the form of a flat bundle. .

Alternatively, the cable may be fixed to the outer circumferential surface of the circular tube shape with an adhesive or the like without forming a groove for storing the signal cable.

It should be noted that other embodiments formed by partially combining the above-mentioned embodiments also belong to the present invention.

In addition, the parts whose explanation is omitted in each example are as follows:
The structure is the same as that of other embodiments such as the first embodiment.

The universal cord and the signal cable guide cord are collectively referred to as the signal cable cord.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to connect the solid-state image sensor of an electronic scope to the electronic scope, and to connect the signal cable between the solid-state image sensor and the camera control unit that transmits signals. Since the length is fixed, there is no need to make adjustments for each electronic scope when the length of the signal cable is different.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 5 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing the entire system of an endoscope device of the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an electronic scope having a short insertion section. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' in Figure 2, and Figure 4 is a side sectional view showing how the signal cable is inserted into the universal cord of an electronic scope with a long insertion section. Side sectional view showing the state of insertion into the signal cable, No. 5
The figure is a sectional view of a signal line constituting a signal cable, FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing how the signal cable is inserted into the universal cord in the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing how the signal cable is inserted into the universal cord according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing how the signal cable is inserted through the universal cord according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an electronic scope in a sixth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an electronic scope in a seventh embodiment of the present invention. The figure is a schematic configuration diagram of the eighth embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 13 is a side view showing a guide tube for inserting a signal cable in the universal cord in the eighth embodiment, and FIG. 14 is a diagram of the ninth embodiment of the present invention. A schematic configuration diagram, FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing an electronic scope according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing an electronic scope according to an eleventh embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 12
Explanatory diagram showing the electronic scope in the example, 1st
FIG. 8 is a side sectional view of a signal cable storage section according to a twelfth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 19 is a schematic configuration diagram of a thirteenth embodiment of the present invention. 1... Endoscope device, 2a, 2b... Insertion section, 3
a, 3b...electronic scope, 4...connector holder, 5...camera control unit, 6...
Color monitor, 8a, 8b...Universal code, 11...SID, 13...Connector, 21...
Video signal processing circuit, 22...SID drive circuit,
23...Matching circuit, 25...Spiral tube, 26
...Spiral groove, 28...Notch.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A solid-state imaging device is arranged on the distal end side of the insertion section,
At least two types of electronic scopes having different lengths of insertion portions, a means for applying a drive signal for signal readout to the solid-state image pickup device, and a means for applying a drive signal for reading out a signal to the solid-state image pickup device, and a means for applying a drive signal for reading out a signal to the solid-state image pickup device, and a means for applying a drive signal for reading out a signal to the solid-state image pickup device, and a means for applying a drive signal for reading out a signal to the solid-state image pickup device, and a means for applying a drive signal for reading out a signal to the solid-state image pickup device. In an endoscope apparatus equipped with a camera control unit containing means for image processing, the length of the signal cable between the solid-state image sensor and the camera control unit is made equal for all electronic scopes. Features of the endoscopic device.