JPH0820612B2 - Endoscope light source device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial application] The present invention relates to an endoscope light source device with a flash unit attached and detached.

[Prior Art] In recent years, endoscopes have been widely used not only in the medical field but also in the industrial field.

In general, there is provided with an exposure amount adjusting means for adjusting an exposure amount in a light source device so that an observation image sent through an image guide of an endoscope can be photographed, and a control means for controlling this adjusting means. Yes, this type of light source device has a specific imaging sequence.

FIG. 7 shows a conventional example of a photography system 1 for a general endoscope observation image.

A still camera 3 is attached to an eyepiece of an endoscope (abbreviated as a scope) 2, and a light source device 5 is connected to an end of a light guide cable 4 extending from an operation portion of the scope 2. Illumination light is supplied from the light source device 5 to the end surface of the light guide 6.

That is, the light from the lamp 8 as a light source that emits light with the power from the lighting means 7 is condensed by the lens 9, the amount of light is controlled by the diaphragm 11, and the light is supplied to the incident side end surface of the light guide 6.

A shutter 12 is detachably attached to the optical path between the aperture 11 and the end face of the light guide 6, and the attachment / detachment is controlled by the photographing control means 13 together with the aperture amount of the aperture 11.

 The photographing control means 13 also controls the lighting means 7.

The operation mode of the system 1 includes automatic exposure control mode and manual exposure control mode. When the shutter is released in the automatic exposure control mode, the shutter is released as shown in FIG. 8 (b).
The shutter 12 of the camera 3 closes once, stops sending the examination light to the scope 2, and the shutter of the camera 3 opens as shown in FIG. After that, the shutter 12 opens and at the same time, the photographing control means 13
Thus, the amount of light emitted from the lamp 8 is increased to some extent via the lighting means 7 as shown in FIG. From this point of time, the lamp 8 continues to emit light in a semi-flash, and the photographing control means 13 monitors whether or not an appropriate exposure amount has been reached based on a signal from a photometric means (not shown) of the camera 3 to perform an appropriate exposure. When the amount is reached, the shutter 12 is closed and the semi-flash of the lamp 8 is stopped via the lighting means 7 to once drop below the normal light emission level to prevent post-fog and then return to the normal light emission level.

After that, the shutter in the camera 3 is closed and the shutter 12 is opened.

These series of operations are controlled by the photographing control means 13.

In the manual exposure control mode, when the preset exposure time is reached, the same operation as that in the automatic exposure control mode is performed except that the shutter 12 is closed even if the exposure amount is not at an appropriate level.

FIG. 9 shows the construction of a photography system 16 having a light source device 15 equipped with a flash control means 14 of a larger capacity.

As shown in FIG. 10, the difference in operation from the system 1 shown in FIG. 7 is that the flash control means 14 greatly increases the amount of light emitted from the lamp 8 instead of the semi-flash when the shutter is released. Do a flash of light,
This means that the exposure time until the proper exposure amount can be shortened and a photographed image with less image blur can be obtained. In the case of flash emission, a cooling fan 17 is provided to prevent the light guide 6 from burning.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] A light source device including a flash control means 14 shown in FIG.
Photographing with 15 requires a short exposure time, produces a photograph with less blurring and can be photographed at a long distance, but the light source device 15 becomes large, making it difficult for a user who does not need a flash to move or the like. And it becomes expensive.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is possible to easily configure a system that performs flash light emission according to the needs of the user or to construct a small system without performing flash light emission. An object is to provide a mirror light source device.

[Means and Actions for Solving Problems] In the present invention, a light emission amount increasing drive unit for flash light emission with a large light amount is detachably attached to a light source device body including a lamp that emits light with electric power supplied from a lighting means,
Photographs can be taken either in the main body or when the unit is attached or detached.

EXAMPLES The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 relate to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an endoscopic photography system including the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 shows a specific configuration of FIG.

The endoscopic photography system 21 shown in FIG. 1 includes a cooling fan 22 and a neutral density filter 23 in the light source device 5 shown in FIG.
The light source device main body 25 provided with the connection detection means 24 and the flash unit 26 that is detachable from the light source device main body 25 constitute a light source device 27.

This light source device 27 can use only the light source device main body 25 as a normal light source device when the flash unit 26 for increasing the amount of light emitted from the lamp 8 is not needed, and the light source equipped with this flash unit 26 can be used. One of the features of the device 27 is that it can also take a photograph with a large amount of flash light.

Next, a specific configuration of the light source device 27 will be described below with reference to FIG.

A first connector 31 for electrically connecting to a flash unit 26 for increasing the amount of electric energy supplied to the lamp 8 is attached to the light source device body 25 which is sent from the lamp 8 to the scope 2 by the lens 9. And the second connector
32 is provided.

Further, the CPU 33 which constitutes the photographing control means 13 of FIG. 1 controls the operation / non-operation of the switching regulator 34 which constitutes the lighting means 7 which supplies the electric energy for making the lamp 8 illuminate for examination. Further, the CPU 33 operates with the diaphragm amount of the diaphragm 11 that adjusts the amount of light sent to the scope, the opening and closing of the shutter 12 that allows outgoing light to pass through in a blocked or open state, the cooling fan 22 that cools the light incident part of the scope 2, and too strong. Each operation of inserting / removing the neutral density filter 23 for dimming light is controlled.

The CPU 33 has a connector 31 that constitutes the connection detecting means 24.
Of the flash unit 26, which is connected to the power source terminal Vcc through the resistor R1.
When the flash unit 26 is connected, it is "High" level when it is not connected, and when it is connected to the grounded pin d via the conducting wire 35, it becomes "Low" level.

Therefore, the CPU 33 detects the connection of the flash unit 26 by determining whether the level of the pin c is "Low".

The CPU 33 is connected to the pin a of the first connector 31,
When the flash unit 26 is connected, the pin a is electrically connected to the pin b, which is electrically connected to the pin a via the LED 37 of the photocoupler 36 and the resistor R2.

The collector of the phototransistor 38 of the photocoupler 36 incorporated in the flash unit 26 is connected to the power source terminal Vcc via the resistor R3, and the emitter is connected to the base of the transistor Q1 forming the flash drive circuit 39.

The flash drive circuit 39 induces the electric power of the AC power supply 40 connected to the primary coil of the transformer T1 to the secondary coil side, rectifies it with the rectifying diode D1, and connects the storage capacitors C1 and C2 in parallel. To charge. This capacitor C1, C2
Is connected to the pin a of the second connector 32 via the collector / emitter of the switching transistor Q1, and the negative electrode is connected to the pin b.

The pin a of the second connector 32 is connected to the anode of the light source lamp 8 via the backflow prevention diode D2, and the pin b is connected to the cathode.

The anode of the light source lamp 8 is connected to the positive output terminal of the switching regulator 34 via a backflow prevention diode D3, and the cathode is also a switching regulator.
It is connected to the negative output terminal of 34. The switching regulator 34 is adapted to be supplied with AC power from an AC power supply 40.

The CPU 33 receives an output signal from a photometric sensor (not shown) in the camera 3 (the light guide cable is connected to the light source device body 25).
(When it is connected to), it is possible to judge whether or not the exposure amount suitable for photography is reached by integrating the input signal.

The operation of the light source device 27 thus configured will be described below.

When the flash unit 26 is not connected to the light source device main body 25, the input of the CPU 33 connected to the pin c of the connector 31 is “High”, and at this time, the CPU 33 operates in the normal photography sequence shown in FIG. To do. The manual exposure control mode is also controlled so that the exposure is completed when the normal exposure time is reached.

On the other hand, when the flash unit 26 is connected, the connectors 31 and 32 will be in the state shown in FIG. 2, and the pins c and d of the connector 31 will be short-circuited by the lead wire 35, so the CPU 33 connected to the pin c. Becomes "Low", the CPU 33 detects that the flash unit 26 is connected, and controls to operate in the photography sequence by the flash emission of a large amount of light shown in FIG.

In this sequence, when a release is performed, the CPU 33 detects this release signal via a signal line (not shown),
U33 is flash unit 2 via pin a of connector 31
The photo coupler 36 of 6 is operated. That is, a "High" signal is sent to the LED 37 via the pin a, the LED 37 is caused to emit light, the phototransistor 38 is turned on, and the switching transistor Q1
A base current is flowed to the transistor Q1 to turn on the transistor Q1, and the charges accumulated in the capacitors C1 and C2 are sent to the light source lamp 8 through the connector 32 and the diode D2, and flash light is emitted with a large amount of light.

In the automatic exposure control mode, similar to the sequence shown in FIG. 10, the CPU 33 takes in the output signal of the photometric sensor (not shown) of the camera 3 to monitor the exposure amount, and stops the flash emission when the exposure amount becomes appropriate.

In this automatic control mode, the CPU 33 may calculate the proper exposure time according to the light emission amount and always take a photograph with the proper exposure amount.

On the other hand, the exposure time in the manual exposure control mode is set shorter than the normal time when the flash unit 26 is not connected, and when that time elapses, a large amount of flash light is output to the photo coupler 36 (LED37) to "Low". Then, the shutter 12 is closed. This exposure time, which is set shorter than the normal time, considers the ratio of the amount of light emitted by the semi-flash emission when the flash unit 26 is not connected to the amount of emission by the large flash emission when the flash unit 26 is connected. It is set short so that the exposure amount is the same.

According to the first embodiment, even if the flash unit 26 is not connected, it is possible to take a picture by semi-flash emission, and in this case, it is small and easy to move.

On the other hand, when the flash unit 26 is connected and used,
It is possible to take a picture with less blur by emitting a large amount of flash light. In this case, in the automatic exposure control mode, it is possible to always shoot with an appropriate exposure amount, and it is possible to shoot a photograph with little blur even at a long distance.

In addition, in the manual exposure control mode, when the flash unit is connected, a photo is taken with a shorter exposure time than when the flash unit is not connected. It is possible to take a picture with less.

As a modification of the first embodiment, a flash unit
The photo coupler 36 of 26 may be replaced with a relay or the like having an ON / OFF function, or a photo coupler or the like may be used for connection detection.

FIG. 3 shows a photography system 51 having a second embodiment of the present invention.

The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the DIP switch 52 as the output identification means of the flash unit is further added.
Is provided in the flash unit 26 '.

That is, the pin e,
The flash unit 26 'is provided with a DIP switch 52 connected to the pins e, f, g using a light source device body 25' having a connector 31 'provided with f, g.

The pins e, f, g are connected to the power supply terminal Vcc via resistors R4, R5, R6, respectively, and DIPs connected to these pins e, f, g.
The contacts a, b, c of the switch 52 are grounded.

The contacts a, b, c of the DIP switch 52 are turned on and off according to the amount of energy emitted by the flash unit 26 '.
It is set to FF, so that the CPU 33 can determine the actual light emission amount when the flash light is emitted from the level of the pins e, f, g when the flash unit 26 'is connected. Therefore, when the flash unit 26 'is connected, the shooting mode suitable for the flash emission amount when the flash unit 26' is used can be performed.

 The operation of this embodiment will be described below.

The operation of the second embodiment is almost the same as that of the first embodiment, but as a different operation, the output from the DIP switch 52 set in accordance with the flash emission amount of the large amount of light by the flash unit 26 'is changed to this flash. When the unit 26 'is connected to the light source device main body 25', the CPU 33 is connected to the connector 31 '.
It detects via the pins e, f, g of, and selects a photography sequence corresponding to each flash emission amount stored in advance according to these information.

 This is shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 (a) shows a photographing sequence in the case where the flash unit 26 'is not connected and is released.

4 (b), (c) and (d) are flash units
Shows the shooting sequence when 26 'is connected,
(B), (c), (d) in this order, the flash unit 26 '(26 which increases the amount of drive energy for flash emission
A, 26, 26B). ) Is connected. As shown in FIG. 4, the exposure time becomes shorter as the flash unit 26 'is connected to increase the flash emission amount. The exposure time in the manual exposure control mode is also set to be inversely proportional to the flash emission amount of a large amount of light.

When a large amount of light is applied to the incident part of the light guide 6 of the scope 2 due to the connection of the flash unit 26 ', the temperature of this part may rise and the light guide 6 may be burnt. , Flash unit 26 ′
The CPU33 detects the connection of the flash fan and further identifies the flash emission amount.
Is rotated, or when a flash unit 26 'having a certain amount of light emission exceeding the limit is connected to take a picture, the neutral density filter 23 is inserted.

As a modification of the second embodiment, a resistor having a certain value may be used instead of the DIP switch 52, or the connection detecting means 24 and the output identifying means may be a single DIP switch. Alternatively, one flash unit may be capable of switching several types of light emission amounts, and by sending this switching to the CPU 33, it is possible to perform an appropriate shooting sequence even when light emission is performed with different light emission amounts. it can.

FIG. 5 shows a photography system 61 having a third embodiment of the present invention.

In the third embodiment, in the light source device body 25 of the first embodiment, a shutter having a faster response speed than the shutter 12 is used.
A light source device main body 25 ″ is provided in which 62 is provided to form two shutters 12 and 62, and a switch 63 for switching these shutters 12 and 62 is provided.

The operation of the third embodiment is such that, when the flash unit 26 ″ is connected, the CPU 33 operates by switching from the normal shutter 12 to the shutter 62 having a high response speed. Other operations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

The effect of the third embodiment is that the shutter 62 having a high response speed is used.
By using, the error of the exposure amount due to the delay of the response of the shutter is reduced and the value can be set to a value close to the set value, so that a better photograph can be taken. In particular, when performing short-distance photography in the automatic exposure control mode, the operation is performed with a proper exposure time and a closer value, which is very effective.

When performing exposure control by flash emission in the automatic exposure control mode, the value of the excess exposure amount from the appropriate exposure amount due to the delay of the response of the shutter 12 is previously checked, and the CP
When U33 becomes the setting value smaller by this value, shutter 1
You may control so that 2 may be closed. When the light emission amounts are different, the timing of closing the shutter 12 may be adjusted according to the light emission amounts.

Incidentally, for example, in the second embodiment, the flash unit
The shooting sequence for shooting in the manual exposure control mode with 26 'connected may be performed as shown in FIG. 4, or as shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIGS. 6 (b), (c), and (d), the lamp 8 is caused to emit semi-flash light (pre-light emission) (6th light emission).
After that, the flash unit 26 'may emit a large amount of light according to the driving energy from the flash unit 26'. In this way, the exposure time is controlled according to the intensity of the flash light so that the same exposure amount is obtained. With this control, no matter which flash unit 26 'is connected, a photograph can be taken with the same feeling as normal (when the flash unit is not connected).

The shooting sequence shown in FIG. 6 may be applied to the first embodiment.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the light emission increasing drive unit for emitting a large amount of light is detachable, it can be used only with the light source device main body according to the user's needs. It is also possible to take pictures with less blur by emitting light.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 and 2 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an endoscope photography system including the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a specific diagram of FIG. Configuration diagram, FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of an endoscopic photography system including a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory diagram of the second embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a third embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a configuration diagram of an endoscopic photography system including an example, FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory diagram in the fourth embodiment, FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a conventional endoscopic photography system, and FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the figure, FIG. 9 is a block diagram of another conventional example, and FIG.
The figure is a diagram for explaining the operation of FIG. 2 ... Scope, 3 ... Camera 7 ... Lighting means, 8 ... Lamp 11 ... Aperture, 12 ... Shutter 13 ... Shooting control means, 24 ... Connection detection means 25 ... Light source device main body 26 ... Flash unit 27 …… Light source device

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A light source lamp for supplying illumination light to an endoscope, a first electric energy supply means capable of supplying first electric energy for illuminating the light source lamp for examination, and the light source lamp for supplying the first electric energy. Control means for controlling the first electric energy, a first connection detecting attachment / detachment portion whose attachment / detachment state is detected by the control means, and supply control of electric energy generated by the control means in response to the detection of the attachment / detachment state. A light source device main body having a first electric energy control signal transmitting end for transmitting a signal, a first electric energy supplying end electrically connected to the light source lamp, and a light amount larger than the first electric energy Second electric energy supply means capable of supplying second electric energy for causing the light source lamp to emit light, and the second electric energy supply means detachably attached to the first electric energy supply end. A second electrical energy supply end to which the second electrical energy is supplied,
A second electric energy control signal transmitting end that is attached to and detached from the first electric energy control signal transmitting end, and is connected to the second electric energy control signal transmitting end, and the second electric energy control signal transmitting end is connected to the second electric energy control signal transmitting end according to the electric energy supply control signal. Second electric energy supply control means for controlling the supply of electric energy of the device, and a second connection detection attachment / detachment portion attached to / detached from the first connection detection attachment / detachment portion, and attached to or detached from the light source device body. An endoscope light source device, comprising: a detachable unit.