JPH0631448Y2 - Direct-viewing type electronic endoscope - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention is a direct-view type electronic device in which an image of an object to be observed is converted into an electric signal, transmitted to the outside, and displayed by a display device such as a CRT. It relates to an endoscope.

[Prior Art] An electronic endoscope is equipped with a solid-state image sensor such as a CCD at the tip of an insertion portion inserted into a body cavity or the like, and an image of an observation target portion incident from an observation window is formed by a lens system. And an image is formed on the solid-state image pickup device through a prism, the solid-state image pickup device converts the electric signal to an electric signal, and the electric signal is taken out through a signal cable to be input to an image processing apparatus to perform the image processing. The device performs signal processing and then displays it on a display device such as a CRT. Since many people can observe it at the same time, it has advantages such as excellent recordability and storability. In recent years, it has become widely used.

There are two types of endoscopes, a direct-viewing type and a side-viewing type.In the case of a direct-viewing type endoscope, an observation window is opened in the body of the distal end hard portion of the insertion section. The objective lens system is mounted on. And the optical axis of this lens system
By connecting a prism for deflecting 90 °, a solid-state image sensor for forming an image of an observation target portion can be arranged in a direction parallel to the axis of the insertion portion.
In addition, inside the tip hard portion, in addition to the above-mentioned members,
A light guide for illuminating the observation target part,
A treatment tool insertion channel and an air / water supply pipe are provided for inserting a treatment tool such as forceps, and the light guide is connected to an illumination window formed on the tip end main body, and the treatment tool insertion channel and the air / water supply pipe are also provided. It is adapted to be connected to a treatment tool outlet and an air / water supply port opened in the tip body. Of the above-mentioned members, the treatment instrument insertion channel is arranged in the center, and the other members are arranged around the treatment instrument insertion channel. For this reason, the treatment instrument outlet is located in the center of the tip body, and the observation windows and the like are arranged at positions apart from the center of the tip body.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, as described above, when the observation window is disposed at a position displaced from the center of the tip body, the center of the observation field obtained through the observation window and the insertion portion Since there is a deviation from the axis, there is a disadvantage in that, for example, an operation of inserting the insertion portion into a narrowed portion cannot be performed smoothly, and the operability is not good.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its purpose is to improve the operability by providing the center of the observation field of view substantially in alignment with the axis of the insertion portion. The present invention provides a direct-viewing endoscope.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention forms an observation window in the distal end hard portion of the insertion portion connected to the operation portion main body, and the light is incident through this observation window. The image of the object to be observed is imaged on a solid-state image sensor mounted on a substrate extending in the optical axis direction of the lens system by deflecting the optical axis through 90 ° from a lens system mounted on the rigid tip. The image of the observation target portion is photoelectrically converted by the solid-state image pickup device, and the electric signal thereof is transmitted to the outside by a signal cable. , A treatment instrument insertion channel made of a flexible tube is disposed on the opposite side of the arrangement portion of the solid-state image pickup device and the solid-state image pickup device assembly from which the solid-state image pickup device assembly is arranged, with respect to the optical axis of the lens system of the prism.
The present invention is characterized in that the connecting portion to the distal end hard portion of the treatment instrument insertion channel faces the rear portion of the reflecting surface having an angle of 45 °.

[Operation] With the above-described configuration, when the insertion portion is inserted into the body cavity or the like and the tip thereof is inserted toward the narrowed portion, the axis of the insertion portion is obtained through the observation window. Since it substantially coincides with the center of the observation visual field, the aiming property to the narrowed portion of the distal end portion becomes good, and it becomes possible to smoothly insert into this portion.

By the way, the treatment instrument insertion channel is made of a soft tube and has a uniform outer diameter as a whole, but at the tip of the insertion portion, it is connected to the mouthpiece mounted on the hard tip portion. Since they overlap, the diameter becomes larger than other parts. On the other hand, a prism is provided as the image pickup system, and this prism has a triangular shape.
For this reason, the relevant part becomes a dead space.
Therefore, by utilizing this dead space portion, the connection portion of the treatment instrument insertion channel to the base is disposed between the prism and the end portion of the solid-state imaging device assembly including the solid-state imaging device and the substrate. is doing. As a result, the diameter of the insertion portion can be reduced.

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, FIG. 4 shows the overall configuration of the electronic endoscope. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an operation portion main body, or an insertion portion 2 is continuously provided to the operation portion main body 1. The insertion part 2 is a flexible part 2a that can be bent freely along the insertion path from the part that is connected to the operation part body 1 and that is the flexible part 2a.
The angled portion 2b and the hard tip portion 2c are sequentially provided at the tip of the, and after the insertion portion 2 is inserted along the insertion path, the angled portion 2b is angled to operate the hard tip portion 2c as desired. It can be turned in any direction. Also, the universal cord 3 is attached to the operation unit main body 1.
Is connected, and the other end of the universal cord 3 is
It is connected to a light source device 4 having a built-in image processing device, and an image of an observation target portion subjected to image processing in the light source device 4 is displayed on a display device 5.

The tip hard portion 2c includes a tip body 7 and a cylindrical body 8 made of stainless steel or the like.
As shown in FIG. 1, the tip end main body 7 is provided with an observation window 9 at a substantially central portion of the tip end surface thereof, and the light guides 10, 10 are provided on both left and right sides of the observation window. 10 are arranged. A treatment tool outlet 11 for guiding out a treatment tool such as forceps is arranged directly below the observation window 9, and an air / water supply port 12 is arranged obliquely above the observation window 9.

As shown in FIG. 2, a lens barrel 14 that supports an objective lens system 13 for forming an image of an observation target portion is attached to the observation window 9, and the lens barrel 14 is attached to the lens barrel 14. In order to deflect the optical axis of the lens system 13 by 90 °, a prism 15 having an angle of 45 ° with respect to the optical axis of the lens system 13 is connected, and the prism 15 is a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD. element
16 are bonded to each other, the solid-state image sensor 16 is mounted on a substrate 17, and the solid-state image sensor 16 and the substrate 17 form a solid-state image sensor assembly. Then, the image of the observation target portion obtained via the lens system 13 is formed on the solid-state imaging device 16. As described above, since the optical path can be deflected by 90 degrees by the prism 15, the substrate 17 and the solid-state image sensor 16 are arranged at the upper position in the figure in the axial direction of the insertion section 2. ing.

Further, a treatment instrument insertion channel 18 is disposed on the opposite side of the mounting portion of the lens system 13 from the placement portion of the solid-state imaging device 16, and the treatment instrument insertion channel 18 is made of a flexible tube. As is apparent from FIG. 2, the tip portion is fitted at a position slightly rearward of the position where the prism 15 is arranged, into a base 19 made of a metal pipe or the like inserted through the treatment instrument lead-out port 11 in the tip body 7. , Solid-state image sensor 16 and substrate
The end of the solid-state imaging device assembly consisting of 17 will be located considerably rearward of the connection between the treatment instrument insertion channel 18 and the base 19. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, in the angle portion 2b, the signal cable 20 connected to the solid-state image pickup device 16 is arranged at substantially the center portion,
Other members, that is, the treatment instrument insertion channel 18, the light guides 10, 10 and the air / water supply pipe 21 are arranged around the signal cable 20.

The present embodiment is configured as described above, and its operation will be described next.

In order to observe or treat the inside of a body cavity of a human body using an endoscope, the insertion portion 2 is inserted from the oral cavity or nasal cavity and the tip rigid portion 2c is guided to a portion to be observed. Thus, in the middle of this insertion path, even when the main path is branched and the branch path is narrowed, the observation window 9 is arranged substantially in the center of the distal end hard portion 2c. Therefore, the observation window 9
Since the center of the observation field of view obtained through the lens and the axis of the insertion portion 2 are substantially aligned with each other, the light guide 10
By illuminating the site with the display device 5 and displaying the image on the display device 5 and performing the angle operation of the angle portion 2b while visually recognizing the display, the angle portion 2b can be surely inserted into the narrowed portion. As a result, the operability is improved.

Then, the insertion portion 2 is guided to a site to be observed along the insertion path, and the angle portion 2b is angle-operated so that the end face portion of the tip end main body 7 of the tip rigid portion 2c having the observation window 9 is directed in a desired direction. By pointing, the observation and diagnosis can be performed. Also, the treatment instrument insertion channel 18 to the base 19
By pulling out a treatment tool such as forceps from the treatment tool lead-out port 11 via the cell, it becomes possible to perform removal of cells, treatment of an affected area, and the like.

Here, the treatment instrument insertion channel 18 is made of a soft tube, and its overall outer diameter is uniform, but the connecting portion to the mouthpiece 19 is expanded by the thickness of the mouthpiece 19. The diameter of this part is increased. However, the connection portion of this treatment instrument insertion channel 18 is a prism.
As shown in FIG. 2, the prism 15 is located at the rear position of the prism 15. Since the prism 15 has a space at the rear part thereof, the treatment instrument insertion channel 18 is provided at the position of this space. Connected to 19. Further, like the treatment instrument insertion channel 18, the air / water supply pipe 21 made of a flexible tube is also connected in the space behind the prism 15. As a result, the diameter of the insertion portion 2 can be reduced. Moreover, the hard portion of the insertion portion 2 is the end portion of the solid-state imaging device assembly, specifically, the end portion of the substrate 17 on which the solid-state imaging device 16 is mounted, and this end portion is a treatment tool made of a flexible tube. Since it is located far behind the connection part such as the insertion channel 18, it is arranged inside the hard part for a predetermined length from this connection part, and the angle part 2b is formed at a sharp angle. Even if it is bent, the connecting portion to the base 19 is held in a substantially straight state, and it is possible to reliably prevent buckling or the like.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the observation window is arranged at the substantially central position on the tip surface of the tip body, so that the observation window can be obtained through the observation window. It becomes possible to substantially match the center of the observation field and the axis of the insertion part, and it becomes possible to perform an operation of inserting along the insertion path of the insertion part extremely smoothly and easily,
The operability can be significantly improved, and the space where the connection part to the hard end of the treatment instrument insertion channel is formed at the rear position of the reflecting surface at an angle of 45 ° to the optical axis of the lens system in the prism. Since it is configured to face, the connection part to the base of the tip hard part that has the largest diameter of the treatment instrument insertion channel is connected to the mouthpiece after the reflection surface that is inevitably formed in the arrangement part of the prism with the reflection surface of 45 °. It can be placed in the back dead space, and the hard part extends to the end of the solid-state imaging device assembly.However, it can be placed in the hard part for a predetermined length from the connection part of the treatment instrument insertion channel to the mouthpiece. Therefore, even if the angle part is sharply bent, the bending force acts on the connection part of the treatment instrument insertion channel to the mouthpiece, and there is no risk of buckling, etc., and the effect is protected. That.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a distal end surface of an insertion portion of an endoscope showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a distal end rigid portion of FIG.
II sectional view, FIG. 3 is a III-III sectional view of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is an overall configuration diagram of the electronic endoscope. 1: Main body of operation part, 2: Insertion part, 2c: Hard part of tip, 7: Body of tip, 9: Observation window, 11: Treatment tool outlet, 13: Objective lens system, 15: Prism, 16: Solid-state image sensor , 17: substrate,
18: treatment instrument insertion channel, 19: base.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An observation window is formed in a distal end hard portion of an insertion portion connected to an operation portion main body, and an image of an observation target portion incident through the observation window is formed from a lens system attached to the distal end rigid portion to a prism. The optical axis is deflected by 90 ° via the optical axis to form an image on the solid-state image sensor mounted on the substrate extended in the optical axis direction of the lens system,
In the one in which the image of the observation target portion is photoelectrically converted by the solid-state imaging device, and the electric signal thereof is transmitted to the outside by a signal cable, the observation window is arranged in the substantially central portion of the tip rigid portion, and A treatment tool insertion channel made of a flexible tube is arranged on the side opposite to the arrangement part of the solid-state image pickup device assembly made up of the solid-state image pickup device and the substrate with the lens system interposed therebetween, and with respect to the optical axis of the lens system in the prism. A direct-viewing electronic endoscope, characterized in that a connecting portion to the distal end hard portion of the treatment instrument insertion channel is made to face a rear portion position of a reflecting surface having an angle of 45 °.