JP2009251574A - Wide-field endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wide-field endoscope that is easily used by widening the visual field range of an electronic endoscope, and especially that easily obtains a front visual field and a side visual field in an optional direction. <P>SOLUTION: The wide-field endoscope has a tip structure to attach a first imaging module to one end of a transparent cylinder provided to the tip of the endoscope so as to have the front visual field toward the axial direction of the transparent cylinder, and to have a second imaging module which is arranged in the rear of the first imaging module, has an optical axis in the side visual field in relation to the optical axis of the first imaging module, and is attached inside the transparent cylinder in a freely rotatable manner. The endoscope further has a means to display the visual field direction of the side view of the second imaging module in an image by the first imaging module. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a wide-field endoscope suitable for observing the inside of a device or the inside of a body cavity.

  Endoscopes for the purpose of observing the inside of a device or body cavity as a subject use a rigid endoscope using an objective lens and a relay lens, or an objective lens and a fiber image guide as means for observing an image of a specimen. There are fiberscopes, electronic endoscopes incorporating a solid-state image sensor such as an objective lens and CCD at the tip, etc., which are used properly according to the purpose of use, but in recent years the solid-state image sensor has been reduced in size and performance Accordingly, electronic endoscopes using solid-state image sensors have been widely used.

  FIG. 1 shows a basic configuration of an electronic endoscope. In the figure, 101 is an electronic endoscope (main body), 102 is a signal processing circuit, 104 is a light source device for illumination, and 103 is an image display means. Shows the monitor. In the following description, the electronic endoscope (main body) 101 is referred to as an endoscope.

  The endoscope 101 includes an insertion portion 105 that is inserted into the specimen, an operation portion 106 that holds and operates the endoscope by hand, and a distal end portion 107 that includes an objective lens, a solid-state imaging device, and the like. An imaging module 110 including an objective lens 111 and a solid-state imaging device 112 typified by a CCD sensor, a CMOS sensor, or the like is incorporated in a distal end portion 107 attached to the distal end of the portion 105, and an objective lens is mounted on an end surface of the distal end portion. A light guide 113 that illuminates the visual field direction of the lens is incorporated as illumination means, and the other end of the light guide 113 is connected to the light source device 104 for illumination. A video signal from the solid-state imaging device 112 is connected to the signal processing circuit 102 by a cable 114, and the video signal subjected to predetermined signal processing by the signal processing circuit is displayed as an image on the monitor 103. The operation unit 106 incorporates a mechanism unit for operating the endoscope and an operation means 115 such as a switch.

  Depending on the purpose of the endoscope, a bending portion that can change the direction of the distal end portion is provided between the distal end portion 107 and the insertion portion 105, the insertion portion 105 is also formed of a flexible member that can be bent, or a rigid material such as a metal pipe There are various forms such as those composed of members.

  Conventionally, most of the signal processing circuit 102 for processing the video signal from the imaging module 110 is provided outside the endoscope, and a part of the signal processing circuit or the like is provided in the distal end portion 111 or the operation portion 106. However, in recent years, signal processing circuit devices have been miniaturized, and those in which the signal processing circuit is incorporated in the operation unit 106 or the imaging module 110 at the tip are also in practical use. . Further, as a small high-efficiency light-emitting diode is put into practical use, the light-emitting diode is mounted in the operation unit 106 and connected to the light guide 113 mounted on the distal end portion of the endoscope or connected to the light guide 113. Instead, it has become possible to place a light emitting diode directly at the tip. In this case, the light source unit 104 is not necessary, and the power of the light emitting diode can be supplied from the signal processing circuit 102.

  In any form of endoscope, the viewing direction of the imaging module 110 provided at the distal end portion 110 is mostly forward-viewed. There are many demands for an endoscope that can be observed, and there is an endoscope called a side-view type that has a field of view only for side view.

  For this purpose, an endoscope capable of forward view and side view as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-313435 is disclosed, and the tip of a direct-view endoscope is used in an industrial endoscope. Some optical path changing means are attached to and removed from the part to satisfy the requirements for forward view and side view, but it is not possible to observe the subject images for forward view and side view at the same time.

  Endoscopes that allow forward and side views as described above have a limited field of view in the side view direction when observing the wall of the tube. When observing the wall surface, it is possible to observe the circumferential portion by rotating the endoscope. However, for a bent tube or the like, the insertion portion is made of a soft member. Even with a mirror, it is difficult to rotate the endoscope itself in a bent tube, and it is often difficult to widen the observation range of the side view.

  In JP-A-2000-131737, JP-A-2003-279862, etc., a conical reflecting member is provided in front of the objective lens in order to observe the inner wall of the tube extending around 360 degrees without rotating the endoscope. Although an arrangement plan is presented, since the object image is observed in a band shape because the peripheral visual field portion of the objective lens is used, the width of the band shape that can be observed is limited, and the resolution is also limited. In addition, there is a large defect that there is no front visual field for observing the front direction of the endoscope.

As described above, various attempts have been made to widen the field of view of the endoscope, but none of them is sufficient, and it is not sufficient as a wide field endoscope having a front field of view and a side field of view.
JP 9-313435 A JP 2000-131737 A JP 2003-279862 A

  As described above, various attempts have been made to widen the field of view that can be observed by the endoscope, but this is not sufficient. An object of the present invention is to provide a wide-field endoscope in which a front visual field and a lateral visual field in an arbitrary direction can be easily obtained.

    To achieve the above object, a wide-field endoscope having a first imaging module and a second imaging module having different viewing directions, the imaging module has a structure including at least an objective lens and a solid-state imaging device. The first imaging module is attached to one end of the transparent cylindrical body provided at the distal end portion of the endoscope so as to have a front visual field in the axial direction of the transparent cylindrical body, and the rear part of the first imaging module And having a tip structure having a second imaging module rotatably mounted within a transparent cylindrical body, having an optical axis in a lateral view direction with respect to the optical axis of the first imaging module. Configure a wide-field endoscope.

  More specifically, the second imaging module mounted rotatably in the transparent cylindrical body has a 360 degree circumference by providing a control means for freely controlling the rotation direction from the endoscope operation unit. Since the field of view in any lateral direction can be selected, it is possible to construct a very easy-to-use wide field endoscope.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided rotational position detecting means for detecting the visual field direction of the second imaging module, and visual field direction display means for displaying the visual field direction, and the image by the first imaging module having a front visual field is included in the image. 2. The wide-field endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the field-of-view direction of the second imaging module is displayed in a superimposed manner, and the tube wall is damaged in the image of the front field of view by the first imaging module. When the second imaging module is discovered, it is possible to easily control the rotation of the visual field direction of the second imaging module in the direction of the scratch. Therefore, the scratch can be easily detected by the second imaging module without rotating the endoscope itself. It becomes possible to observe from the front.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a side-viewing illumination unit having a light emitting diode mounted around the second imaging module so as to rotate in a transparent cylindrical body in synchronization with the second imaging module. The wide-field endoscope according to claim 1, wherein a side-view visual field of 360 degrees can be illuminated with a minimum number of light emitting diodes.

  In the case of the wide-field endoscope according to the present invention, as a means for illuminating the observation range for side viewing 360 degrees, it is common to arrange a plurality of light emitting diodes along the outer periphery of the distal end portion. As shown in the figure, the minimum number of light emitting diodes having the necessary brightness is arranged around the rotating second imaging module, and the illumination range is changed in synchronization with the rotation of the second imaging module. It has the effect of suppressing the heat generation of the part as much as possible.

  The wide-field endoscope according to the present invention can be observed in a state in which an arbitrary visual field peripheral direction extending in a 360-degree circumference is viewed from the front without rotating the endoscope itself. It can be observed alongside the field of view. In addition, since the inner wall of a bent tube, which is difficult to rotate the endoscope, can be easily observed, its utility value is very large.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings used in the description of the embodiments, specific details such as mechanisms not directly related to the present invention are omitted so that the present invention can be easily understood and understood.

  2 is a configuration diagram of a distal end portion of an endoscope showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 (A) shows a cross section of the distal end portion, FIG. 2 (B) is a front view as seen from the left front side, FIG. FIG. 2C is a cross-sectional view in the XX ′ direction in FIG.

  The distal end portion 110 includes a transparent cylindrical body 121 made of a material such as transparent acrylic, a first imaging module 122 mounted on the end surface of the cylindrical body 121, and a first rotationally mounted in the cylindrical body 121. Two imaging modules 123 are the main components.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the imaging modules 122 and 123 are configured to include at least an objective lens 111 and a solid-state imaging device 112 such as a CMOS or a CCD, and a driving circuit and a signal processing circuit for the solid-state imaging device according to the purpose. It can be changed to a component that incorporates etc. A dotted line 114 indicates the visual field range of the objective lens.

  For example, the imaging module when trying to make the tip of the endoscope as thin as possible is composed of an objective lens, a solid-state imaging device, a preamplifier, etc., and the drive circuit, signal processing circuit, etc. of the solid-state imaging device are separated from the imaging unit It can be downsized by arranging it on the operation unit or outside.

  Although the shape is slightly larger, an imaging module that integrates an objective lens, a CMOS imaging device, and its peripheral circuits and can extract UYVY digital output has been put into practical use. By using such an imaging module, a signal processing circuit Can also be simplified.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the first imaging module 122 is fixedly attached to the front end surface of the transparent cylindrical body 121 so as to have a visual field in the forward direction, and the second imaging module 123 is the first imaging module. It has an optical axis in the side viewing direction (approximately 90 degrees) with respect to the optical axis 122, and is mounted so as to move freely inside the transparent cylindrical body 121.

  The mounting method of the first imaging module 122 will be described in detail. The front holding frame 124 is fixed to the front surface of the transparent cylindrical body 121, and the first imaging module 122 is mounted on the front holding frame 124. Further, a cover glass 125 is mounted on the front surface of the front holding frame 124, and a small light emitting diode 126 for illumination is incorporated therein.

  A connecting member 128 that connects the transparent cylindrical portion 121 and the insertion portion 127 is attached to the other end surface of the transparent cylindrical body 121, and the rotating member 132 to which the second imaging module 123 is attached is transparent to the connecting member 128. A cylindrical sliding portion 142 is provided so that it can rotate within the cylindrical body 121.

  In addition, a cylindrical sliding portion 141 is provided at the rear end of the front holding frame 124 so that the rotating member 132 on which the second imaging module 123 is mounted can rotate within the transparent cylindrical body 121.

  The outer periphery of the rotating member 132 is in contact with the sliding portions 141 and 142, and the rotating member 132 rotates inside the transparent cylindrical body 121, but a gear 143 is provided on the inner side at the rear end portion of the rotating member 132. The rotating member 132 is driven by the motor 131, and is connected to a gear 144 attached to the tip of the rotating shaft of the motor 131 attached to the connecting member 128. Further, a light emitting diode 145 that illuminates the field of view in the side view direction is mounted in the vicinity of the second imaging device 123 mounted on the rotating member 132, and is a transparent cylindrical body in synchronization with the second imaging device 123. Rotates within 121.

  In the figure, reference numeral 146 denotes a bundle of cables such as a power cable for driving the solid-state imaging device and the light emitting diode, and a signal cable for driving the imaging module.

  FIG. 4 shows control means for driving the motor 131. 150 is a momentary-operation double pole double throw switch. When the switch lever is tilted in the direction shown in the upper part of the figure, the positive terminal of the power supply 151 is connected to the terminal 152 of the motor 131, A negative terminal of the power source 151 is connected to the terminal 153. When the switch lever is tilted in the direction shown in the lower part of the figure, the negative terminal of the power source 151 is connected to the terminal 152 of the motor 131, and the positive terminal of the power source 151 is connected to the other terminal 153 of the motor 131. Connected. When the lever of the switch is released, the switch 150 returns to the off state.

    In this way, by using the momentary-operation double-pole double-throw switch 150, the rotation direction of the motor 131 can be changed clockwise or counterclockwise by the lever operation of the switch 160, and the rotation can be easily stopped. However, in order to protect the cable 146 from the first and second imaging modules and the like, it is desirable to limit the rotation range to within 360 degrees. In general, the double pole double throw switch is incorporated in the operation unit 106 (see FIG. 1).

  The image from the first imaging module 122 and the image from the second imaging module 123 may be displayed side by side in a single monitor or may be displayed in a form such as picture-in-picture, depending on the purpose of use. May be displayed individually on two monitors.

  An endoscope with such a tip can be seen at the same time as the front part and the side part in the desired direction. Since the second imaging module having a side field of view can be rotated to an appropriate position, it is possible to view a flawed object on the tube wall from the front, and a useful observation as a wide field endoscope is possible. become.

  The endoscope described in Example 1 enables selection of a front visual field by the first imaging device and a side visual field in an arbitrary direction by the second imaging device when observing the inside of the tube wall or the like. The front view image and the side view image are independent and are not directly related. Therefore, when a flawed object on the tube wall is found in the image of the front field of view, the second imaging device needs to be rotated by trial and error in order to incorporate the flawed object or the like in the side field of view. There is.

  In the second embodiment, the above-mentioned drawbacks are remarkably improved. FIG. 5A shows a state in which the inner tube wall of the tube body 160 is observed with the wide-field endoscope according to the present invention, and FIG. 4B shows the front field of view in FIG. An image is shown. The image by the first imaging device 122 of the endoscope 101 is the outer circumference circle a of FIG. 4B at the position of the tube wall a, and the position of the tube wall b is the dotted circle b of FIG. 4B. The position of the tube wall c is indicated by a small circle c in FIG.

  When the scratched object 161 is observed in the front visual field by the first imaging device 122, the visual field direction 163 of the second imaging device 123 is like a marker 162 on the image on the monitor by the first imaging device. When displayed, the rotation direction of the second imaging device is controlled so that the marker 162 overlaps the wounded object 161, and the wounded object 162 is easily moved forward by moving the endoscope forward. It can be captured within the field of view and can be displayed on the monitor as an image. In this embodiment, the marker 162 is displayed in a linear shape, but various other shapes can be selected.

  In order to display the visual field direction of the second imaging device 123, a means for detecting in advance the position of the second imaging device 123 in the visual field direction is required. FIG. 6 shows an example in which a potentiometer is attached to the first embodiment as an example of position detecting means for detecting the position of the second imaging device 123 in the visual field direction in advance. In the drawing, reference numeral 170 denotes a potentiometer. A gear 171 is attached to the tip of the potentiometer, and is connected to a gear 143 provided at the rear end of the rotating member 132 to which the second imaging device 123 is attached. Since other parts are the same as those in FIG. 5, detailed description of the structure is omitted.

  FIG. 7 shows a means for superimposing and displaying the image on the monitor by the first imaging device 122 using the visual field direction of the second imaging device 123 as a marker. It is converted into a signal and converted into a rotational position display pattern signal by a rotational position display pattern generation circuit 180.

  The video signal from the signal processing circuit 182 that performs predetermined processing using the signal from the first imaging module 122 as a video signal and the rotation position display pattern signal are combined by the signal superimposing circuit 181 and displayed as an image on the monitor 184 as shown in FIG. (A) is displayed. Here, 161 represents a flaw on the tube wall, and 162 represents a marker for displaying the rotational position.

  In this state, when the endoscope is advanced forward, the signal from the second imaging module in FIG. 7 is subjected to predetermined signal processing by the signal processing circuit 173, and the tube is displayed on the monitor 185 as shown in FIG. It is displayed as an image of a wall scratch viewed from the front.

  The image from the first imaging module and the image from the second imaging module may be displayed side by side on a single monitor or may be displayed in a form such as picture-in-picture, but on two monitors It may be displayed individually as in the case of the first embodiment.

  Thus, by displaying the visual field direction of the second imaging module having the side field of view in the image of the first imaging module having the front field of view, it is possible to easily find scratches or the like inside the tube wall, etc. An easy-to-use wide-field endoscope can be provided because an image always viewed from the front can be easily obtained without rotating the endoscope itself regardless of the direction of the tube wall. .

  The wide-field endoscope according to the present invention is suitable for observing the inner wall and the like of a pipe, but the first imaging module and the second imaging module are miniaturized using an ultra-small objective lens and a solid-state imaging device. Therefore, a wide field endoscope for medical use can be configured by using an insertion portion of a soft member, so that the applicability in a wide field is very large.

1 is a basic configuration diagram of an electronic endoscope. The block diagram of the front-end | tip part by the 1st Example of a wide-field endoscope. The basic block diagram of an imaging module. Explanatory drawing of the control means which controls rotation of the motor with which the front-end | tip part was mounted | worn. Explanatory drawing of a 2nd Example. The block diagram of the front-end | tip part by the 2nd Example of a wide-field endoscope. Explanatory drawing of the control means used for a 2nd Example. Explanatory drawing of the relationship between the forward view image and side view image by a 2nd Example.

Explanation of symbols

101 Endoscopes 102, 182, 183 Signal processing circuits 103, 184, 185 Monitor 105 Insertion unit 106 Operation unit 107 Tip portions 110, 122, 123 Imaging module 111 Objective lens 112 Solid-state imaging device 113 Light guide 121 Transparent cylindrical body 126 145 Light-emitting diode 131 Motor 132 Rotating member 143, 144, 171 Gear 150 Two-pole double-throw switch 151 Power supply 161 Wound object 162 Marker 170 Potentiometer 180 Rotation position display pattern generation circuit 181 Signal superposition circuit

Claims (3)

    A wide-field endoscope having a first imaging module and a second imaging module having different viewing directions. The imaging module has a structure including at least an objective lens and a solid-state imaging device, and is provided at the distal end of the endoscope. The first imaging module is mounted on one end of the transparent cylinder so that the first imaging module has a front field of view in the axial direction of the transparent cylinder, and is disposed at the rear of the first imaging module. Wide-field endoscope having a tip structure having a second imaging module having an optical axis in a lateral viewing direction with respect to the optical axis of the module and rotatably mounted inside a transparent cylindrical body mirror.     Rotation position detecting means for detecting the visual field direction of the second imaging module and visual field direction display means for displaying the visual field direction are provided, and the second imaging module is superimposed on the image of the first imaging module having the front visual field. The wide-field endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the visual field direction is displayed.   2. The wide viewing illumination device according to claim 1, further comprising a side-view illumination unit having a light emitting diode mounted around the second imaging module so as to rotate in a transparent cylindrical body in synchronization with the second imaging module. Field endoscope.

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