Endoscopic light source connector
In a socket portion of an endoscopic light source connector, a rod end holder is mounted on a riser plate within a housing of a light source for holding and supporting a fore end portion of a light guide rod of a light source connector, which has a proximal end portion of a light guide encased in a rigid pipe. The rod end holder is constituted by a fixed tubular casing which is mounted on the riser plate in an aligned position relative to an optical axis of illumination light path from a source lamp of the light source, and a slide member which is axially slidably fitted in the fixed tubular casing and internally provided with a light guide passage for passing illumination light from the source lamp. The light guide passage in the slide member is spread continuously or stepwise in the outward direction or toward the front side of the light source to permit connection of light guide rods of different diameters, and the slide member is constantly in an outward direction or in a direction inverse to the direction of insertion of a light guide rod.
1. An endoscopic light source connector for connecting an endoscopic light guide in the form of a bundle of fiber optics detachably to a light source, said light guide having a light receiving end portion thereof encased in a rigid pipe and projected from a distal end of a connector casing over a predetermined length to form a light guide rod to be plugged into a socket portion of said light source, characterized in that said socket portion on the side of said light source comprises:
a rod end holder fixedly mounted on a riser plate within a light source casing for holding a fore end portion of said guide rod, said rod end holder being composed of a fixed tubular casing fixedly mounted on said riser plate in alignment with an optical axis of an illumination light path from a source lamp of said light source, and a slide member axially slidably fitted in said tubular casing and internally defining a light guide passage for passing illumination light from said source lamp;
said light guide passage in said slide member being in the form of an outwardly spread light guide passage having a conical passage portion formed by a conical inner peripheral wall portion over a predetermined axial length from an outer end of said outwardly spread light guide passage, a cylindrical passage portion formed continuously over a predetermined length from a narrowest inner end of said conical passage portion; and
said slide member being constantly urged in an outward direction or in a direction toward a plugged light guide rod by a biasing means,
whereby said cylindrical passage portion being adapted to receive the narrowest light guide rod and light guide rods of larger diameters being received on a conical wall surface of said conical passage portion and being held said light guide rods in pressed contact with said conical wall surface by said biasing means.
2. An endoscopic light source connector as defined in 1 , further comprising an inwardly projecting annular ridge portion formed on the inner side of said cylindrical passage portion of said light guide passage in said slide member for abutting engagement with an end face of a rigid pipe of a narrowest one of light guide rods to be connected with said light source, said annular ridge portion serving as a stop member for limiting the amount of input light to a light guide rod of a larger diameter in abutting engagement with said conical wall surface of said slide member.
3. An endoscopic light source connector as defined in claim 2 , wherein said source lamp of said light source is a high intensity lamp, illumination light from said high intensity lamp being shed substantially on an entire area of a light incident end face of a light guide in case of said narrowest light guide rod, but said annular ridge acting as a stop letting illumination light from said high intensity lamp fall on a limited area on a light incident end face of a light guide in case of a light guide rod of a larger diameter originally adapted to transfer illumination light from a low intensity lamp.
4. An endoscopic light source connector as defined in claim 3 , wherein positions of fiber optics at least in a light guide in said light guide rod of a larger diameter are randomly shuffled toward a light emitting end of said light guide.
5. An endoscopic light source connector as defined in claim 1 , further comprising a condensing lens mounted on said riser plate for condensing illumination light from said source lamp toward said slide member.
6. An endoscopic light source connector as defined in claim 1 , wherein said riser plate is constituted by a metal plate and said slide member is formed of an electrically insulating material.