Processor for electronic endoscope

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention is a processor for an electronic endoscope, the processor comprising: a housing; a partition plate that partitions the interior space of the housing into a lower first space and an upper second space; the partition plate forms an opening communicating the first space and the second space, namely a first opening, and the exhaust fan is installed on the basket body and exhausts air in the first space to the outside. A first air suction hole for sucking external air into the first space and a second air suction hole for sucking external air into the second space are formed in the housing.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a processor for an electronic endoscope capable of acquiring and processing a camera image of living tissue. Background Art

[0002] An electronic endoscope system is used for observing and treating living tissue inside the human body. The electronic endoscope system includes an electronic endoscope and a processor (electronic endoscope processor), wherein the electronic endoscope uses an imaging element to photograph living tissue and transmits the photographed image to the processor, and the processor processes the signal of the photographed image to create an image for display.

[0003] In order to ensure power supply lines and high-performance processing capabilities, processors for electronic endoscopes use substrates containing integrated circuits such as CPUs and FPGAs (field-programmable gate arrays), and there are also cases where a light source device for observing living tissue is built into the processor. Since the heat source as described above is housed in the processor housing, various solutions have been proposed to reduce the temperature rise inside the processor caused by long-term operation.

[0004] For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-107291 proposes a processor solution, which partitions the space near the exhaust port in the housing in the up-down direction, and has a heat shield forming a first internal space on the lower side and a second internal space on the upper side, and a single cooling fan that discharges air flowing into the first internal space and the second internal space from the air intake port to the outside. The structure of the processor adopts an exhaust mechanism, which uses a single cooling fan to discharge the internal heat of the first internal space on the lower side and the second internal space on the upper side. Summary of the invention

[0005] [Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

[0006] However, the exhaust mechanism described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-107291 uses one fan to exhaust air from both the first internal space on the lower side and the second internal space on the upper side to the outside, so there is a problem that the airflow sucked by the fan from the first internal space and the second internal space is uneven. Therefore, when there are heat sources in the first internal space and the second internal space, respectively, the cooling performance may deviate.

[0007] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a processor for an electronic endoscope that can cool the internal space of a casing in a balanced manner.

[0008] [Solution to solve the problem]

[0009] One aspect of the present invention is a processor for an electronic endoscope having the following structure:

[0010] box,

[0011] A partition that divides the internal space of the housing into a first space at a lower portion and a second space at an upper portion, and the partition forms an opening that connects the first space and the second space, namely a first opening, and an exhaust fan that is mounted on the housing and discharges the air in the first space to the outside.

[0012] The housing is formed with a first air intake hole for taking outside air into the first space and a second air intake hole for taking outside air into the second space.

[0013] The electronic endoscope processor is arranged in the first space and has one or more heat generating components that generate heat during operation. In this case, the electronic endoscope processor preferably has an airflow adjustment plate, which is arranged between the first opening in the first space and each heat generating component, and adjusts the airflow entering the first space from the first opening so that the airflow blows toward each heat generating component.

[0014] The airflow adjustment plate may also be formed with a second opening, which is an opening for adjusting the wind speed and / or wind volume of the airflow blowing toward each heat generating component.

[0015] Preferably, the second air intake hole is larger than the first air intake hole.

[0016] The size of the first air intake hole is preferably set to a size that allows the airflow in the first space and the second space to be the fastest.

[0017] The first opening may have a turbulence generating mechanism on the peripheral edge thereof to generate turbulence in the airflow passing through the first opening. The second opening may have a turbulence generating mechanism on the peripheral edge thereof to generate turbulence in the airflow passing through the second opening.

[0018] [Effects of the invention]

[0019] With the above-mentioned processor for an electronic endoscope, the internal space of the housing can be cooled evenly. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 This is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of an electronic endoscope system according to one embodiment.

[0021] Figure 2 The present invention is a perspective view and a rear view of a processor for an electronic endoscope according to an embodiment.

[0022] Figure 3This is a schematic exploded perspective view of a processor for an electronic endoscope according to an embodiment.

[0023] Figure 4 This is a diagram showing the inside of an electronic endoscope processor according to one embodiment as viewed from the side.

[0024] Figure 5 This is a diagram when a lower space of a processor housing for an electronic endoscope according to an embodiment is viewed from above.

[0025] Figure 6 This is a diagram when the interior of a processor for an electronic endoscope according to one embodiment is viewed from the front.

[0026] Figure 7 This is a diagram for explaining the airflow in the internal space of the processor for an electronic endoscope according to one embodiment.

[0027] Figure 8 This is a diagram for explaining the airflow when the inside of the electronic endoscope processor according to one embodiment is viewed from the side.

[0028] Fig. 9 This is a diagram showing a state in which a protrusion is provided in a processor for an electronic endoscope according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] (System Configuration)

[0030] Hereinafter, an electronic endoscope system according to an embodiment will be described.

[0031] An electronic endoscope system according to one embodiment includes an electronic endoscope (electronic scope) equipped with an imaging element for acquiring a live tissue image, and an electronic endoscope processor detachably connected to the electronic endoscope. The electronic endoscope processor is an electronic device for performing signal processing on the live tissue image and generating an image for display.

[0032] Figure 1 FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an electronic endoscope system 100 according to an embodiment. Figure 1 As shown, the electronic endoscope system 100 includes an electronic endoscope processor 1, an electronic scope 6, and a monitor 8. The electronic endoscope processor 1 and the electronic scope 6 are connected via a connector CON.

[0033] The electronic endoscope processor 1 includes a system controller 11. The system controller 11 executes various programs stored in a memory 12 and centrally controls the entire electronic endoscope system 100. In addition, the system controller 11 is connected to an operation panel 13. The system controller 11 changes various operations of the electronic endoscope system 100 and parameters corresponding to the various operations according to instructions input into the operation panel 13 by an operator.

[0034] The processor 1 for electronic endoscope includes a light source device 14. The light source device 14 emits illumination light L for illuminating a subject such as living tissue in a body cavity. The light source of the light source device 14 is, for example, a high-brightness lamp (such as a xenon lamp, a metal halide lamp, a mercury lamp, or a halogen lamp) that emits white illumination light, a plurality of light-emitting diodes that emit light of a predetermined color wavelength band, or a laser light source. The illumination light L emitted from the light source device 14 is focused on the incident end face of the LCB (Light Carrying Bundle) 61 by a focusing lens 15 and then injected into the LCB 61.

[0035] The illumination light L incident into the LCB 61 propagates in the LCB 61. The illumination light L propagating in the LCB 61 is emitted from the emission end face of the LCB 61 disposed at the front end of the electronic scope 6, and is irradiated onto the subject via the light distribution lens 62. The subject is illuminated by the illumination light L from the light distribution lens 62, and the return light returning from the subject forms an optical image on the light receiving surface of the solid-state imaging element 64 via the objective lens 63.

[0036] The solid-state imaging element 64 is a single-plate color CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor with a Bayer-type pixel configuration. The solid-state imaging element 64 accumulates the optical image formed on each pixel on the light-receiving surface as an electric charge that varies with the amount of light, and generates R (Red), G (Green), and B (Blue) image signals and outputs them. In addition, the solid-state imaging element 64 is not limited to a CCD image sensor, and may also be a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor.

[0037] A drive signal processing circuit 65 is provided in the connection portion of the electronic scope 6. The image signal of the subject from the solid-state imaging element 64 is input to the drive signal processing circuit 65 at a predetermined frame cycle. The frame cycle is, for example, 1 / 30 seconds. The drive signal processing circuit 65 performs predetermined processing including A / D conversion on the image signal input from the solid-state imaging element 64, and outputs it to the image processing unit 16 of the processor 1 for the electronic endoscope.

[0038] The image processing unit 16 performs predetermined image processing to generate a video format signal and outputs the signal to the monitor 8 .

[0039] The processor 1 for the electronic endoscope includes a light source control unit 17 that acquires brightness information of the image signal from the image processing unit 16 and controls the intensity of the illumination light of the light source device 14 based on the brightness information.

[0040] The light source control unit 17 controls the light source device 14 to increase the intensity of the illumination light emitted by the light source device 14 when the brightness is low, and to reduce the intensity of the illumination light emitted by the light source device 14 when the brightness is high. Thus, the brightness of the image signal received from the drive signal processing circuit 65 can be controlled to be maintained at a constant state.

[0041] The system controller 11 performs various operations and generates control signals based on the unique information of the electronic scope 6. The system controller 11 uses the generated control signals to control the operation and timing of each circuit in the electronic endoscope processor 1 so as to perform processing suitable for the electronic scope 6 connected to the electronic endoscope processor 1.

[0042] (Structure of the Electronic Endoscope Processor 1)

[0043] Next, the structure of the electronic endoscope processor 1 will be described.

[0044] In the electronic endoscope processor 1, the system controller 11, the image processing unit 16, and the light source control unit 17 are respectively composed of circuit substrates containing a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), an FPGA (field-programmable gate array), etc., and are heat-generating components that generate heat as the electronic endoscope processor 1 operates. The light source device 14 is a heat-generating component that generates heat as the light source emits light. In addition, the electronic endoscope processor 1 is also equipped with heat-generating components such as a power supply substrate and a heat sink.

[0045] As described above, a plurality of heat-generating components must be contained in the housing constituting the electronic endoscope processor 1 , and therefore an internal space that can be evenly cooled within the housing must be ensured during design.

[0046] Figure 2 1 shows a perspective view and a rear view of a processor 1 for an electronic endoscope according to an embodiment.

[0047] like Figure 2 As shown, the housing 2 of the electronic endoscope processor 1 has a front portion 21, a rear portion 22, a top plate 23, a bottom plate 24, a left side plate 25L and a right side plate 25R, and has a rectangular parallelepiped appearance.

[0048] The operation panel 13 is disposed on the front portion 21. The left side plate 25L is formed with an air intake hole 251 (an example of a first air intake hole) and an air intake hole 252 (an example of a second air intake hole) for introducing external air into the housing 2. Figure 2 Although not visible, the right side plate 25R may also be symmetrically formed with air intake holes 251 and 252. In the following description, when referring to matters common to the left side plate 25L and the right side plate 25R, they are labeled as "side plate 25".

[0049] Two exhaust fans 71 and 72 are provided on the rear surface portion 22 of the housing 2. The exhaust fans 71 and 72 are provided to inhale and exhaust the air introduced into the housing 2 through the air intake holes 251 and 252.

[0050] In addition, the XYZ coordinate axes are marked in the figures referenced in the following description, which take the direction from the left plate 25L to the right plate 25R as the +X direction, the direction from the rear portion 22 to the front portion 21 as the +Y direction, and the direction from the bottom plate 24 to the top plate 23 as the +Z direction.

[0051] In one embodiment, the air intake holes 251 and the air intake holes 252 are respectively composed of a collection of multiple smaller holes. Figure 2 In the example shown, the shape of each hole is a substantially flat elliptical shape, but the shape is not limited thereto and may be a circular shape, a polygonal shape, or the like.

[0052] Next, refer to Figure 3 to Figure 6 The internal structure of the housing 2 of the electronic endoscope processor 1 will be described.

[0053] Figure 3 This is a schematic exploded perspective view of a processor 1 for an electronic endoscope according to an embodiment.

[0054] like Figure 3 As shown, the housing 2 of the electronic endoscope processor 1 includes a front portion 21, a rear portion 22, and a box-shaped frame 20 including a bottom plate 24. The frame 20 has a left side plate 25L, a right side plate 25R, a top plate 23, and a partition plate 26 attached thereto.

[0055] The partition plate 26 and the top plate 23 are fixed to the frame 20 in this order, and the internal space of the housing 2 is divided into two spaces, an upper space and a lower space. In other words, the partition plate 26 makes the housing 2 of the electronic endoscope processor 1 have a two-layer structure.

[0056] The frame 20 is formed with an opening 201 at a position corresponding to the air intake hole 251. Thus, when the side plate 25 is mounted on the frame 20, external air can be introduced into the internal space (lower space) of the housing 2 through the air intake hole 251 and the opening 201.

[0057] The partition plate 26 has a pair of side wall portions 261 facing the left side plate 25L and the right side plate 25R, respectively, and an opening 262 (an example of a first opening) is formed on the side wall portion 261. Thus, when the side plate 25 is mounted on the frame 20, external air can be introduced into the internal space (upper space) of the housing 2 from the air intake hole 252 and the opening 262.

[0058] like Figure 3 As shown, two openings 263 are formed on the partition 26. Exhaust fans 71 and 72 are arranged at the rear of the lower space. The purpose of providing the openings 263 is to make the air introduced from the air intake hole 252 form an airflow moving from the upper space of the housing 2 to the lower space. In addition, Figure 3 In the example shown, the number of the openings 263 is two, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the number of the openings 263 may be appropriately set so as to generate a desired airflow.

[0059] Heat generating components such as a circuit board and a light source device of the electronic endoscope processor 1 are mounted in the upper and lower spaces of the housing 2. Therefore, the electronic endoscope processor 1 according to one embodiment has a structure capable of evenly cooling these heat generating components.

[0060] Reference Figures 4 to 6 , the structure inside the housing 2 of the processor 1 for an electronic endoscope according to one embodiment will be further described.

[0061] Figure 4 This is a diagram of the inside of a housing 2 of a processor 1 for an electronic endoscope according to one embodiment, as viewed from the side. Figure 4 As shown, the internal space of the housing 2 is partitioned into an upper space 20U (an example of the second space) and a lower space 20L (an example of the first space) by a partition plate 26. Heat generating components 41 and 42 are arranged in the lower space 20L.

[0062] The opening 263 of the partition plate 26 is preferably arranged at the front. Figure 4 As shown, the air intake hole 252 and the opening 263 of the partition plate 26 are spaced a certain distance apart in the front-to-rear direction. When the room temperature air introduced from the air intake hole 252 flows toward the opening 263, all the heat generating components installed in the upper space 20U are cooled.

[0063] Figure 5 This is a diagram when a lower space 20L of a housing 2 of a processor 1 for an electronic endoscope according to an embodiment is viewed from above. Figure 6 This is a diagram showing the interior of an electronic endoscope processor 1 according to one embodiment as viewed from the front.

[0064] In one embodiment, an airflow adjustment plate 31 is provided in the lower space 20L of the housing 2. The airflow adjustment plate 31 is a plate that rises upward from the bottom plate 24 of the housing 2 and is arranged to be substantially parallel to the direction of the airflow flowing to the exhaust fans 71 and 72. The airflow adjustment plate 31 is arranged between the opening 263 in the lower space 20L and the heat generating component 42, and adjusts the airflow entering the lower space 20L from the opening 263 to flow to the heat generating component 42. By providing the airflow adjustment plate 31, the airflow can be separated in the lower space 20L according to the configuration of the heat generating components 41 and 42.

[0065] exist Figure 5 In the illustrated example, the airflow adjustment plate 31 is formed to separate the airflow in two directions of the two exhaust fans 71 and 72 .

[0066] Although not shown in the drawings, an airflow adjustment plate for separating the airflow may be disposed in the upper space 20U as necessary.

[0067] For example, when three exhaust fans are provided in the lower space 20L, two airflow adjustment plates may be arranged in parallel with the airflow adjustment plate 31 to separate the airflow entering the lower space 20L from the upper space 20U to each exhaust fan.

[0068] like Figure 5 As shown, for example, an airflow adjustment plate 32 may be provided in the direction of the airflow facing the exhaust fan 72 .

[0069] like Figure 6 As shown, an opening 321 (an example of a second opening) is formed in the airflow adjustment plate 32 . The opening 321 is an opening for adjusting the wind speed and / or wind volume of the airflow flowing to each heat generating component 42 . Figure 6 In the example shown, an example of forming two openings 321 is shown, but the number of openings 321 is not limited to this. The number of openings 321 and / or the size of openings 321 can be set to obtain the air volume and / or wind speed that matches the heat generating component. The number of openings 321 is preferably set according to the position of each heat generating component 42.

[0070] Figure 6 In the figure, the shape of the opening 321 is rectangular, but is not limited thereto, and any desired shape (eg, circular, elliptical, polygonal) may be used to adjust the airflow.

[0071] The size, shape and position of the opening 321 are adjusted to increase the speed of the airflow, which is also a preferred approach from the perspective of preventing dust accumulation and adhesion on the heat-generating components 42 .

[0072] Next, refer to Figure 7 and Figure 8, the cooling operation of the electronic endoscope processor 1 will be described.

[0073] Figure 7 The diagram is a diagram for explaining the airflow in the internal space (upper space and lower space) of the housing 2 of the electronic endoscope processor 1 according to one embodiment. Figure 8 This is a diagram for explaining the airflow when the interior of the housing 2 of the electronic endoscope processor 1 according to one embodiment is viewed from the side.

[0074] The airflow in the housing 2 of the electronic endoscope processor 1 is an airflow in which external air is introduced into the upper space from the air intake hole 252 and exhausted by the exhaust fans 71 and 72 located in the lower space.

[0075] Reference Figure 7 , the airflow F1 introduced into the upper space from the air intake hole 252 is changed into the airflow F2 which cools the heat generating components arranged in the upper space and flows to the opening 263 of the partition plate 26, and flows to the lower space. The airflow F3 is introduced into the lower space from the air intake hole 251. The airflow F2 heated by the heat generated by the heat generating components in the upper space is mixed with the airflow F3 at room temperature introduced from the air intake hole 251, and the heat is reduced.

[0076] The lower space is provided with airflow adjustment plates 31 and 32, so that a part of the airflow F2 flowing from the openings 263 formed at two positions to the lower space flows as airflow F4 to the exhaust fan 71, and the other part of the airflow F2 flowing to the lower space flows as airflow F4 to the exhaust fan 72. According to the heat generating components 41 and 42 arranged in the lower space, an airflow adjustment plate 32 having an opening 321 is provided to adjust the air volume and / or wind speed of the airflow F4. According to the position of the heat generating component 42, the size, position, shape, etc. of the opening 321 of the airflow adjustment plate 32 is adjusted, thereby locally cooling the heat generating component 42.

[0077] As described above, in the housing 2 of the processor 1 for an electronic endoscope according to one embodiment, the airflow flows from the air intake hole 252 in the upper space to the exhaust fans 71 and 72 arranged only in the lower space, so that the airflow between the upper space and the lower space is not uneven, and the internal space of the housing can be cooled evenly. At this time, the cooling performance can be adjusted by adjusting the air volume and / or wind speed of the airflow using the airflow adjustment plate according to the arrangement of the heat generating components in the housing 2.

[0078] In one embodiment, the size of the air intake hole 252 is set larger than that of the air intake hole 251. By enlarging the air intake hole 252, more external air can be introduced from the upper space 20U of the housing 2, and the flow rate and / or flow rate of the airflow to the exhaust fans 71 and 72 can be increased.

[0079] In one embodiment, the size of the air intake hole 251 is set to ensure the fastest airflow in the lower space 20L and the upper space 20U.

[0080] The inventors simulated the air flow velocity in the internal space of the housing 2 by changing the sizes of the air intake holes 251 and 252. First, the size of the air intake hole 252 that introduces external air into the upper space 20U was reduced from the base size to 1 / 2 and 1 / 3. In both cases, the flow velocity in the upper space 20U was reduced, so the larger the size of the air intake hole 252, the better. In addition, the size of the air intake hole 251 that introduces external air into the lower space 20L was changed from the base size to 1 / 2 (reduced) and 3 / 2 (increased). When the size of the air intake hole 251 was reduced, the air flow velocity in the upper space 20U and the lower space 20L increased. When the size of the air intake hole 251 was increased, the air flow velocity in the upper space 20U and the lower space 20L decreased.

[0081] According to the above simulation results, it is confirmed that by adjusting the size of the air intake hole 251, the airflow in the lower space 20L and the upper space 20U can be set to be the fastest.

[0082] In one embodiment, a turbulence generating mechanism may be provided to generate turbulence in the airflow passing through the opening 263 of the partition plate 26 and / or the opening 321 of the airflow adjustment plate 32. For example, Fig. 9 2 shows an example of providing protrusions 264 and 322 as turbulence generating mechanisms on the peripheral edges of openings 263 and 321, respectively. In addition, other than protrusions, bends, flaps, etc. may also be used as turbulence generating mechanisms.

[0083] The electronic endoscope processor of the present invention has been described in detail above, but the electronic endoscope processor provided by the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various improvements and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0084] The present invention relates to a patent application of Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-120374 filed with the Japan Patent Office on July 28, 2022, and the entire contents of the application are incorporated into this specification by reference.

Claims

1. A processor for an electronic endoscope, comprising: box, a partition that divides the internal space of the housing into a first space at a lower portion and a second space at an upper portion, and a first opening that is an opening connecting the first space and the second space is formed on the partition; an exhaust fan, which is mounted on the housing and discharges the air in the first space to the outside, The housing is formed with a first air intake hole for sucking external air into the first space and a second air intake hole for sucking external air into the second space.

2. The processor for an electronic endoscope according to claim 1, comprising: One or more heat generating components are arranged in the first space and generate heat during operation. An airflow adjustment plate is arranged between the first opening and each heat generating component in the first space, and adjusts the airflow entering the first space from the first opening to flow toward each heat generating component.

3. The processor for an electronic endoscope according to claim 2, wherein: The airflow adjustment plate is formed with a second opening which is an opening for adjusting the wind speed and / or wind volume of the airflow flowing to each heat generating component.

4. The processor for an electronic endoscope according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The second air intake hole is larger than the first air intake hole.

5. The processor for an electronic endoscope according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The size of the first air intake hole is set to a size that maximizes airflow in the first space and the second space.

6. The processor for an electronic endoscope according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: A turbulence generating mechanism for generating turbulence in the airflow passing through the first opening is provided on the peripheral edge of the first opening.

7. The processor for an electronic endoscope according to claim 3, wherein: A turbulence generating mechanism for generating turbulence in the airflow passing through the second opening is provided on the peripheral edge of the second opening.

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