ENDOSCOPE APPARATUS

• US 20160235285A1
• Filed: 04/29/2016
• Published: 08/18/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: YOSHIDA, Yusuke, SHIROTA, Yutaka, TAKAHASHI, Tomoya, TODA, Masato, YABE, Yusuke, SAKAI, Aiko, MASAKI, Takahiro, HAYAMA, Takahiro, MACHIDA, Ryo, OMORI, Koji
• Granted Patent: US 10,085,630 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00006 of control signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/044 for absorption imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0638 providing two or more wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0669 at proximal end of an endoscope
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0684 using light emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/07 using light-conductive means, e.g. optical fibres
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/128 provided with means for regulating temperature
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 23/2461 Illumination
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/141 using dichroic mirrors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/64 Heat extraction or cooling elements

Abstract

An endoscope apparatus includes: first and second cooling units configured to cool first and second light source portions; an image pickup portion configured to generate a picked-up image; and a cooling control portion configured to control amounts of light emission of the light source portions while maintaining an amount-of-light ratio so that the brightness of the picked-up image becomes the target brightness and control cooling based on the information about the amount-of-light ratio and the brightness control information; wherein the cooling control portion decides a cooling capacity of the first cooling units and a cooling capacity of the second cooling units for cooling the respective light source portions for which the amounts of light emission are controlled, at the cooling ratio, so as to cause the light source portions to be included within a predetermined temperature range, based on the brightness control information.

Claims

1. An endoscope apparatus comprising:

a first light source portion configured to generate light;

a second light source portion configured to generate light;

first cooling means configured to cool the first light source portion;

second cooling means configured to cool the second light source portion;

a light guiding portion configured to be inserted into a subject and configured to be capable of guiding the light from the first light source portion and the light from the second light source portion and capable of emitting the guided lights from a distal end;

an image pickup portion configured to receive light from the subject to which the lights emitted from the distal end of the light guiding portion is radiated to generate a picked-up image;

a generation portion configured to generate brightness control information for causing brightness of the picked-up image to be target brightness; and

a cooling control portion configured so that information about an amount-of-light ratio, which is a ratio of an amount of the light emitted by the second light source portion to an amount of the light emitted by the first light source portion, and the brightness control information are inputted and configured to control amounts of light emission of the first light source portion and the second light source portion while maintaining an amount-of-light ratio corresponding to the information about the amount-of-light ratio so that the brightness of the picked-up image generated by the image pickup portion becomes the target brightness and control the first cooling means and the second cooling means based on the information about the amount-of-light ratio and the brightness control information, wherein

the cooling control portion identifies information about a cooling ratio, which is a ratio for performing cooling by the first cooling means and cooling by the second cooling means, based on the information about the amount-of-light ratio;

decides a cooling capacity of the first cooling means and a cooling capacity of the second cooling means for cooling the first light source portion and the second light source portion for which the amounts of light emission are controlled so that the brightness of the picked-up image becomes the target brightness, at the cooling ratio, so as to cause the first light source portion and the second light source portion to be included within a predetermined temperature range, based on the brightness control information; and

controls the first cooling means and the second cooling means to be driven with the cooling capacities decided for the first cooling means and the second cooling means.

2. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cooling control portion controls the cooling capacity of the first cooling means and the cooling capacity of the second cooling means by controlling driving powers supplied to the first cooling means and the second cooling means.

3. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, comprising an information detecting portion configured to read the information about the amount-of-light ratio stored in a storage portion of an endoscope to which illuminating light by the first light source portion and the second light source portion is supplied.

4. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cooling control portion controls the cooling capacities of the first cooling means and the second cooling means at a predetermined cooling ratio if the information about the amount-of-light ratio is not given.

5. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information about the amount-of-light ratio is set for each endoscope supplied with the illuminating light by the first light source portion and the second light source portion or for each observation mode of the endoscope.

6. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, comprising:

a first inlet port configured to cause a cooling wind to flow into a heat radiation portion of the first cooling means; and

a second inlet port configured to cause a cooling wind to flow into a heat radiation portion of the second cooling means, wherein

the first cooling means comprises a flow path restricting member provided for the first inlet port in a state of freely moving back and forth; and

the cooling control portion controls the back-and-forth movement of the flow path restricting member from and to the first inlet port.

7. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a light emission control portion configured to perform light emission control of the first light source portion and the second light source portion individually so that each of the first light source portion and the second light source portion emits light within a permitted predetermined amount of light emission, wherein

the cooling control portion performs cooling control of the first cooling means and the second cooling means individually so that each of the first cooling means and the second cooling means performs cooling within a permitted cooling capacity.

8. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 7, comprising an ambient temperature detecting portion configured to detect ambient temperature, wherein

the light emission control portion sets an upper-limit value of maximum inputted power that can be inputted to each of the first light source portion and the second light source portion, based on the ambient temperature detected by the ambient temperature detecting portion.

9. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 7, comprising:

an ambient temperature detecting portion configured to detect ambient temperature; and

an ambient humidity detecting portion configured to detect an ambient humidity, wherein

the light emission control portion sets an upper-limit value of maximum inputted power that can be inputted to each of the first light source portion and the second light source portion, based on the ambient temperature detected by the ambient temperature detecting portion and the ambient humidity detected by the ambient humidity detecting portion.