Endoscope and illumination assembly therefor
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202522086026.9
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-09-26
- Publication Date
- 2026-09-25
- Estimated Expiration
- 2035-09-26
AI Technical Summary
但是，光束通过透镜组后在其像面上的照度分布服从余弦四次方的下降规律，即通过透镜组后光束越发散，边缘照度降低越多，容易造成图像边缘出现暗影、暗角的现象
[0022]本实用新型的内窥镜的照明组件中，导光件出射的照明光先通过匀光棒，匀光棒使其中不同角度光线经过多次反射以进行匀光，匀光棒的出射光入射至微透镜阵列，微透镜阵列中的各个微透镜的出射光互相交叠而进行匀光，能够达到较好的匀光效果。与通过增加匀光棒长度来达到较好的匀光效果相比，本实用新型的内窥镜的照明组件中，使用匀光棒并结合使用微透镜阵列进行匀光，微透镜阵列轴向长度较小，能够避免大幅度地增加照明组件长度。
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Figure CN224792327U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model relates to the field of endoscopes, and in particular to an endoscope and its illumination component. Background Technology
[0002] In the medical field, endoscopes are inserted into body cavities to acquire images of lesions for observation. Specifically, light is emitted from the tip of the endoscope and irradiated onto the area being observed. The objective lens inside the endoscope collects the reflected light from the observed area, forming an image on an image sensor. The uniformity of the light output from the endoscope's illumination assembly is one of the important factors affecting the quality of endoscopic imaging.
[0003] In an endoscope, light emitted from a light source is coupled into a light guide, which then transmits the beam. However, currently, due to limitations in the numerical aperture of the light guide, the beam output through it is insufficient to cover the endoscope's field of view. Therefore, a lens group is needed to diverge the beam. However, the illuminance distribution on the image plane after the beam passes through the lens group follows a decreasing law of the fourth power of cosine. That is, the more the beam diverges after passing through the lens group, the greater the reduction in edge illuminance, which can easily cause shadows and vignetting at the image edges.
[0004] To solve this problem, a frosted surface can be added to the lens or a light-diffusing rod can be added to the illumination path for light homogenization. However, adding a frosted surface to the lens will reduce the light transmission efficiency and cause heat accumulation. To achieve a better light homogenization effect, the number of beam reflections needs to be increased, which will inevitably increase the length of the light-diffusing rod and increase the size of the entire illumination assembly. This will make the rigid part at the tip of the endoscope too long, which is not conducive to improving the maneuverability of the endoscope. Utility Model Content
[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide an endoscope and its illumination component that can achieve a better uniform light effect without significantly increasing the length of the illumination component.
[0006] To achieve the above objectives, this utility model provides the following technical solution:
[0007] An illumination assembly for an endoscope, comprising:
[0008] Light guides are used to transmit illumination light.
[0009] A light-diffusing rod is disposed on the light-emitting side of the light guide and is used to perform primary light-diffusing on the illumination light;
[0010] A microlens array is disposed on the light-emitting side of the light-diffusing rod to perform secondary light homogenization on the illumination light emitted from the light-diffusing rod.
[0011] The first lens is disposed on the light-emitting side of the microlens array and is used to cause the illumination light emitted from the microlens array to be emitted in a divergent manner.
[0012] Optionally, each microlens in the microlens array has positive optical power and is configured such that the focal point of the emitted illumination light is located within the first lens or on the side of the first lens closer to the microlens array.
[0013] Optionally, the lighting assembly further includes:
[0014] A second lens is disposed between the light-diffusing rod and the microlens array, and the second lens has positive optical power.
[0015] Optionally, the optical power of the second lens and the optical power of each microlens in the microlens array are configured such that the illumination light emitted from the microlens array is focused into the first lens.
[0016] Optionally, the second lens includes a biconvex lens.
[0017] Optionally, the first lens includes a plano-convex lens, the convex surface of which faces the microlens array.
[0018] Optionally, the individual microlenses of the microlens array are symmetrically distributed about the optical axis of the illumination component.
[0019] Optionally, the diameter of each microlens in the microlens array is less than or equal to 100 micrometers.
[0020] Optionally, the light guide includes a plurality of optical fibers arranged side by side, wherein the light-emitting end faces of the plurality of optical fibers are attached to the light-incoming end face of the light-diffusing rod.
[0021] An endoscope comprising an illumination assembly of any of the endoscopes described above.
[0022] In the illumination assembly of the endoscope of this invention, the illumination light emitted from the light guide first passes through a light-diffusing rod. The light-diffusing rod causes the light rays at different angles to undergo multiple reflections to achieve uniform illumination. The light emitted from the light-diffusing rod is then incident on a microlens array. The light emitted from each microlens in the microlens array overlaps with each other to achieve uniform illumination, resulting in a better uniform illumination effect. Compared to achieving a better uniform illumination effect by increasing the length of the light-diffusing rod, the illumination assembly of the endoscope of this invention uses a light-diffusing rod in combination with a microlens array for uniform illumination. The axial length of the microlens array is relatively small, which avoids a significant increase in the length of the illumination assembly. Attached Figure Description
[0023] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this utility model or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this utility model. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.
[0024] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an illumination assembly for an endoscope according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0025] Figure 2 for Figure 1 The diagram shows the principle of the light homogenizing rod performing primary light homogenization on the illumination light.
[0026] Figure 3 for Figure 1 The diagram shows a partial light propagation of the lighting assembly (the propagation path of the lighting light in the light guide and light diffuser is omitted).
[0027] The reference numerals in the accompanying drawings include:
[0028] 100-Light guide, 101-Light homogenizer, 102-Second lens, 103-Microlens array, 104-First lens, 105-Fiber optic cable, 106-Microlens, 107-Illuminated surface. Detailed Implementation
[0029] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions of this utility model, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this utility model, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort should fall within the protection scope of this utility model.
[0030] This embodiment provides an illumination component for an endoscope, including:
[0031] Light guides are used to transmit illumination light.
[0032] A light-diffusing rod is disposed on the light-emitting side of the light guide and is used to perform primary light-diffusing on the illumination light;
[0033] A microlens array is disposed on the light-emitting side of the light-diffusing rod to perform secondary light homogenization on the illumination light emitted from the light-diffusing rod.
[0034] The first lens is disposed on the light-emitting side of the microlens array and is used to cause the illumination light emitted from the microlens array to be emitted in a divergent manner.
[0035] The illumination light transmitted by the light guide is incident on the homogenizing rod, which performs primary homogenization of the illumination light. Specifically, after the illumination light enters the homogenizing rod, it undergoes multiple reflections within the rod, constantly changing direction during propagation. When the light exits from the output end of the homogenizing rod after multiple reflections, the potential for uneven intensity is improved through a superposition effect, forming a more uniformly distributed outgoing light spot, thereby achieving primary homogenization of the illumination light.
[0036] The illumination light emitted from the homogenizing rod is incident on the microlens array. The illumination light passes through each microlens of the microlens array. The light emitted from any microlens overlaps at least partially with the light emitted from at least one other microlens, causing the light emitted from each microlens to mix, thereby achieving secondary homogenization of the illumination light.
[0037] In the illumination assembly of the endoscope in this embodiment, the illumination light emitted from the light guide is first homogenized by a light homogenizing rod, and then by a microlens array for secondary homogenization, which can achieve a better homogenization effect. Compared with achieving a better homogenization effect by increasing the length of the light homogenizing rod, the axial length of the microlens array is smaller, which can avoid significantly increasing the length of the illumination assembly.
[0038] For example, refer to Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an illumination assembly for an endoscope according to one embodiment. As shown in the figure, a light-diffusing rod 101, a microlens array 103, and a first lens 104 are sequentially disposed on the light-emitting side of a light guide 100. The light emitted from the light guide 100 (specifically, the illumination light transmitted by the light guide 100) is incident on the light-diffusing rod 101 and reflected multiple times within the light-diffusing rod 101. The light emitted from the light-diffusing rod 101 further passes through the microlens array 103 and the first lens 104 before exiting onto the illuminated surface 107.
[0039] For example, refer to Figure 2 , Figure 2 for Figure 1 The diagram illustrates the principle of primary homogenization of illumination light by the homogenizing rod shown. As illustrated, light rays incident on the homogenizing rod 101 from different angles undergo multiple reflections within the rod. The number of reflections varies depending on the angle of the light entering the rod, resulting in thorough mixing of light rays from different angles. Theoretically, each point on the light-emitting end face of the homogenizing rod 101 will be illuminated by light rays at different angles, thus outputting an illumination beam with uniform illuminance distribution.
[0040] Each microlens 106 of the microlens array 103 can be considered as a channel. A light beam incident on the microlens array 103 is divided into multiple fine beams by each microlens 106. Each fine beam corresponds to a microlens 106 in a channel. The emitted light from any microlens 106 at least partially overlaps with the emitted light from at least one other microlens 106, causing the emitted light from each microlens 106 to mix for homogenization. The illuminance uniformity within each fine beam is better than the illuminance uniformity across the entire wide beam, and the illuminance non-uniformity within each fine beam is homogenized due to the overlap between different fine beams. The uniformity of the object surface illuminance after overlap is significantly better than the illuminance uniformity of a single wide beam. In some embodiments, the microlenses 106 of the microlens array 103 are symmetrically distributed about the optical axis of the illumination component. This allows the emitted light from microlenses 106 in symmetrical positions to overlap and mix, contributing to improved illuminance uniformity and homogenization effect.
[0041] The more microlenses 106 included in the microlens array 103, the better the light uniformity achieved by the microlens array 103. In practical applications, the diameter of a single microlens 106 can be minimized as much as possible, given the available fabrication conditions, so that a larger number of microlenses 106 are contained within the same area, which helps to improve the light uniformity. In some embodiments, the diameter of each microlens 106 in the microlens array 103 is less than or equal to 100 micrometers. Specifically, to reduce fabrication difficulty, the diameter of the microlens 106 can be set to be greater than or equal to 50 micrometers and less than or equal to 100 micrometers.
[0042] In some embodiments, each microlens 106 in the microlens array 103 has positive optical power and is configured such that the focal point of the emitted illumination light is located within the first lens 104 or on the side of the first lens 104 closer to the microlens array 103. This arrangement allows as much of the emitted light from any microlens 106 in the microlens array 103 as possible to be incident on the first lens 104, reducing light energy loss. The first lens 104 causes the emitted light from any microlens 106 in the microlens array 103 to be emitted in a divergent manner, which can increase the range of the emitted light angle of any microlens 106, thereby increasing the overlap range of the emitted light from each microlens 106 with the emitted light from other microlenses 106, and further improving the uniform light effect. For example, see [reference needed]. Figure 3 The illumination light emitted from each microlens 106 of the microlens array 103 converges within the first lens 104. The light emitted from any microlens 106 is emitted in a divergent manner after passing through the first lens 104. The light emitted from each microlens 106 can overlap as completely as possible with the light emitted from other microlenses 106, which helps to improve the uniform light effect.
[0043] In some embodiments, the illumination assembly of the endoscope may further include a second lens 102 disposed between the light-diffusing rod 101 and the microlens array 103, the second lens 102 having positive optical power. The second lens 102 is used to focus the emitted light from the light-diffusing rod 101, so that the emitted light from the light-diffusing rod 101 passes through the second lens 102 and enters the microlens array 103. In this way, the second lens 102 allows light rays with larger angles in the emitted light from the light-diffusing rod 101 that would originally exit outside the microlens array 103 to also enter the microlens array 103, reducing light energy loss and ensuring the light transmission efficiency of the entire illumination assembly.
[0044] In some embodiments, the optical power of the second lens 102 and the optical power of each microlens 106 in the microlens array 103 are configured such that the illumination light emitted from the microlens array 103 is focused within the first lens 104. This allows rays with larger angles from the light emanating from the homogenizing rod 101 that would otherwise exit the microlens array 103 to also enter the microlens array 103, and ensures that as much of the light emitted from any microlens 106 in the microlens array 103 as possible enters the first lens 104, thereby reducing light energy loss. Furthermore, it increases the overlap range between the light emitted from each microlens 106 in the microlens array 103 and the light emitted from other microlenses 106, improving the homogenization effect. Additionally, by combining the second lens 102 and the microlens array 103 to focus the illumination light emitted from the microlens array 103 within the first lens 104, the processing requirements for the microlens array 103 can be reduced. See, for example, [reference needed]. Figure 3 As shown, the divergent illumination light, such as the light emitted from the light-diffusing rod 101, is incident on the microlens array 103 in a parallel light form after passing through the second lens 102. The illumination light emitted from each microlens 106 is focused on the first lens 104 and then emitted in a divergent form after passing through the first lens 104. The light transmission process of this illumination component is as follows: light emitted from the light source → enters the light guide 100 → primary light-diffusing by the light-diffusing rod 101 → light-diffusing by the second lens 102 → secondary light-diffusing by the microlens array 103 → the first lens 104 expands the divergence angle and enhances the light-diffusing effect → illuminated surface 107.
[0045] In this embodiment, the structure and shape of the second lens 102 are not limited, and the second lens 102 may include, but is not limited to, a biconvex lens.
[0046] In this embodiment, the structure and shape of the first lens 104 are not limited, and the first lens 104 may include, but is not limited to, a plano-convex lens. In some embodiments, the first lens 104 includes a plano-convex lens, with the convex surface of the plano-convex lens facing the microlens array 103. In this case, the planar surface of the plano-convex lens faces the light-emitting side, making it less prone to contamination and easier to clean. If the light-emitting side of the first lens 104 is concave or convex, it is easy for dirt to accumulate, and the light-emitting side of the first lens 104 is difficult to clean during the operation of the endoscope in the body cavity, affecting efficiency.
[0047] In some embodiments, the light guide 100 includes a plurality of optical fibers 105 arranged side by side, the light-emitting end faces of the plurality of optical fibers 105 being fitted with the light-incoming end faces of the light-diffusing rod 101, making the overall structure of the illumination assembly compact. In some embodiments, the illuminance distribution of the light emitted from the optical fibers 105 follows the fourth cosine law, enters the light-diffusing rod 101 for primary light homogenization, and is further homogenized by the microlens array 103 for secondary light homogenization.
[0048] In some embodiments, the illumination assembly of the endoscope may further include: a cylindrical body, a light guide 100, a light-diffusing rod 101, a second lens 102, a microlens array 103, and a first lens 104, which may be sequentially arranged within the cylindrical body. On the one hand, the cylindrical body serves to assemble the various components; on the other hand, during assembly and adjustment, the eccentricity and tilt of each component can be controlled through the cylindrical body.
[0049] The illumination assembly of the endoscope in this embodiment can improve the situation where the illumination intensity at the edge and center of the emitted light differs too much from that in existing endoscope illumination assemblies, thereby improving image quality. The microlens array has a small axial length, which can improve the insufficient light homogenization effect of existing light-diffusing rods due to size limitations, and leave more space for the design of the endoscope lens end structure.
[0050] This embodiment also provides an endoscope, including the illumination component of the endoscope described in any of the above embodiments.
[0051] In this embodiment of the endoscope, the illumination component causes the illumination light emitted from the light guide to first pass through a light homogenizing rod. The light homogenizing rod causes the light rays at different angles to undergo multiple reflections to achieve homogenization. The light emitted from the light homogenizing rod is incident on the microlens array. The light emitted from each microlens in the microlens array overlaps with each other to achieve homogenization, which can achieve a better homogenization effect. Compared with achieving a better homogenization effect by increasing the length of the light homogenizing rod, the illumination component of the endoscope in this embodiment uses a light homogenizing rod in combination with a microlens array for homogenization. The axial length of the microlens array is small, which can avoid significantly increasing the length of the illumination component.
[0052] The endoscope and its illumination assembly provided by this utility model have been described in detail above. Specific examples have been used to illustrate the principle and implementation of this utility model. The descriptions of the embodiments above are only for the purpose of helping to understand the method and core idea of this utility model. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make several improvements and modifications to this utility model without departing from the principle of this utility model, and these improvements and modifications also fall within the protection scope of the claims of this utility model.
Claims
1. An illumination assembly for an endoscope, characterized in that, include: Light guides are used to transmit illumination light. A light-diffusing rod is disposed on the light-emitting side of the light guide and is used to perform primary light-diffusing on the illumination light; A microlens array is disposed on the light-emitting side of the light-diffusing rod to perform secondary light homogenization on the illumination light emitted from the light-diffusing rod. The first lens is disposed on the light-emitting side of the microlens array and is used to cause the illumination light emitted from the microlens array to be emitted in a divergent manner.
2. The illumination assembly of the endoscope according to claim 1, characterized in that, Each microlens in the microlens array has positive optical power and is configured such that the focal point of the emitted illumination light is located within the first lens or on the side of the first lens closer to the microlens array.
3. The illumination assembly of the endoscope according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lighting assembly also includes: A second lens is disposed between the light-diffusing rod and the microlens array, and the second lens has positive optical power.
4. The illumination assembly of the endoscope according to claim 3, characterized in that, The optical power of the second lens and the optical power of each microlens in the microlens array are configured such that the illumination light emitted from the microlens array is focused into the first lens.
5. The illumination assembly of the endoscope according to claim 3, characterized in that, The second lens includes a biconvex lens.
6. The illumination assembly of the endoscope according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The first lens includes a plano-convex lens, the convex surface of which faces the microlens array.
7. The illumination assembly of the endoscope according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The individual microlenses of the microlens array are symmetrically distributed about the optical axis of the illumination component.
8. The illumination assembly of the endoscope according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The diameter of each microlens in the microlens array is less than or equal to 100 micrometers.
9. The illumination assembly of the endoscope according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The light guide includes multiple optical fibers arranged side by side, with the light-emitting end faces of the multiple optical fibers attached to the light-incoming end face of the light-diffusing rod.
10. An endoscope, characterized in that, The illumination assembly of the endoscope as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.