Endoscope

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9510744-B2
Application number	US-201113158139-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 10, 2011
Priority date	Jun 11, 2010
Publication date	Dec 6, 2016
Grant date	Dec 6, 2016

Abstract

An endoscope comprises an elongated shaft, a headpiece at a proximal end of the shaft, the headpiece having a housing, at least one light source which is arranged in the shaft in a distal area thereof, and produces lost heat, and a passive cooling which has at least one heat pipe which is arranged in the shaft and is thermally coupled to the at least one light source in order to lead away the lost heat in the proximal direction. The at least one heat pipe extends into the headpiece, and a heat sink body is arranged in the headpiece, to which heat sink body the at least one heat pipe is thermally coupled, and which absorbs the lost heat from the at least one heat pipe and emits the lost heat to the environment directly or via the housing of the headpiece.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An endoscope, comprising:
an elongated shaft having a distal end, a distal area and a proximal end,
a headpiece arranged at the proximal end of the shaft, the headpiece having a housing,
at least one light source arranged in the shaft in the distal area thereof and producing lost heat,
a passive cooling, the passive cooling having:
at least one heat pipe arranged in the shaft and being thermally coupled to the at least one light source in order to lead away the lost heat in proximal direction, the at least one heat pipe extending into the headpiece,
a heat sink body arranged in the headpiece and thermally coupled to the at least one heat pipe, the heat sink body absorbing the lost heat from the at least one heat pipe and emitting the lost heat to an environment of said headpiece,
wherein the at least one heat pipe comprises a first heat pipe coupled to the at least one light source and extending to an intermediate area in the shaft between the distal and proximal ends thereof, and at least one second heat pipe thermally coupled to the first heat pipe, the second heat pipe extending from the intermediate area into the headpiece, and being thermally coupled to the heat sink body, and
a camera arranged in the distal area of the shaft, and a rotating drive, wherein the at least one second heat pipe is rotatable relative to the shaft about a longitudinal axis of the at least one second heat pipe, the at least one second heat pipe being connected to the camera, and to the rotating drive, in order to allow the camera to rotate relative to the shaft about an optical axis of the camera, wherein the camera is connected to the at least one second heat pipe via a torque transmission member.

2. The endoscope of claim 1 , wherein, at least in the distal area, the shaft is internally thermally insulated from the at least one heat pipe.

3. The endoscope of claim 1 , wherein electronic and/or electrical components are arranged in a cavity in the heat sink body.

4. The endoscope of claim 1 , further comprising a heat coupling element thermally conductively coupling a distal end of the at least one heat pipe to the at least one light source.

5. The endoscope of claim 1 , wherein the heat sink body surrounds a proximal end area of the at least one heat pipe, and makes direct contact with it.

6. The endoscope of claim 1 , wherein the first heat pipe and the at least one second heat pipe partially overlap with one another in the intermediate area in longitudinal direction of the shaft.

7. The endoscope of claim 1 , further comprising a heat coupling element thermally conductively connecting the first heat pipe and the at least one second heat pipe to one another in the intermediate area, the heat coupling element surrounding the first and the at least one second heat pipe.

8. The endoscope of claim 7 , wherein the heat coupling element is flexible.

9. The endoscope of claim 1 , wherein the rotating drive comprises a magnetic coupling, which has a driving actuating element, which is arranged externally on the shaft, and a driven element, which interacts magnetically with the actuating element and is arranged in the shaft, and to which the at least one second heat pipe is coupled in rotationally fixed manner.

10. The endoscope of claim 7 , wherein the at least one second heat pipe is rotatable relative to the heat coupling element.

11. The endoscope of claim 1 , wherein the passive cooling comprises at least two heat pipes thermally coupled to the at least one light source.

12. The endoscope of claim 11 , wherein the at least two heat pipes are jointly thermally coupled via a heat coupling element to the at least one light source.

13. The endoscope of claim 11 , wherein the at least two heat pipes comprise a first heat pipe and at least one further heat pipe, the first heat pipe and the at least one further heat pipe being coupled to the at least one light source and extending to an intermediate area in the shaft between the distal and proximal ends thereof, and the passive cooling further comprises at least one second heat pipe thermally coupled to the first heat pipe and the at least one further heat pipe in the intermediate area, the at least one second heat pipe extending from the intermediate area into the headpiece and being thermally coupled to the heat sink body.

14. An endoscope, comprising:
an elongated shaft having a distal end, a distal area and a proximal end,
a headpiece arranged at the proximal end of the shaft, the headpiece having a housing,
at least one light source arranged in the shaft in the distal area thereof and producing lost heat,
a passive cooling, the passive cooling having:
at least one heat pipe arranged in the shaft and being thermally coupled to the at least one light source in order to lead away the lost heat in proximal direction, the at least one heat pipe extending into the headpiece,
a heat sink body arranged in the headpiece and thermally coupled to the at least one heat pipe, the heat sink body absorbing the lost heat from the at least one heat pipe and emitting the lost heat to an environment of said headpiece,
wherein, at least in the distal area, the shaft is internally thermally insulated from the at least one heat pipe,
wherein the at least one heat pipe comprises a first heat pipe coupled to the at least one light source and extending to an intermediate area in the shaft between the distal and proximal ends thereof, and at least one second heat pipe thermally coupled to the first heat pipe, the second heat pipe extending from the intermediate area into the headpiece, and being thermally coupled to the heat sink body,
further comprising a camera arranged in the distal area of the shaft, and a rotating drive, wherein the at least one second heat pipe is rotatable relative to the shaft about a longitudinal axis of the at least one second heat pipe, the at least one second heat pipe being connected to the camera, and to the rotating drive, in order to allow the camera to rotate relative to the shaft about an optical axis of the camera, wherein the camera is connected to the at least one second heat pipe via a torque transmission member.

15. The endoscope of claim 14 , wherein electronic and/or electrical components are arranged in a cavity in the heat sink body.

16. The endoscope of claim 14 , further comprising a heat coupling element thermally conductively coupling a distal end of the at least one heat pipe to the at least one light source.

17. The endoscope of claim 14 , wherein the heat sink body surrounds a proximal end area of the at least one heat pipe, and makes direct contact with it.

18. The endoscope of claim 14 , wherein the first heat pipe and the at least one second heat pipe partially overlap with one another in the intermediate area in longitudinal direction of the shaft.

19. The endoscope of claim 14 , further comprising a heat coupling element thermally conductively connecting the first heat pipe and the at least one second heat pipe to one another in the intermediate area, the heat coupling element surrounding the first and the at least one second heat pipe.

20. The endoscope of claim 19 , wherein the heat coupling element is flexible.

21. The endoscope of claim 14 , wherein the rotating drive comprises a magnetic coupling, which has a driving actuating element, which is arranged externally on the shaft, and a driven element, which interacts magnetically with the actuating element and is arranged in the shaft, and to which the at

Assignees

• Schrader Stephan
• Oginski Stefan
• Brueggemann Daniel
• Storz Karl Gmbh & Co Kg

Inventors

• Schrader Stephan
• Oginski Stefan
• Brueggemann Daniel

Classifications

• A61B1/00066

  Proximal part of endoscope body, e.g. handles (A61B1/0052 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F28D2021/005

  for medical applications · CPC title

• A61B1/00121

  Connectors, fasteners and adapters, e.g. on the endoscope handle · CPC title

• G02B23/2476

  Non-optical details, e.g. housings, mountings, supports · CPC title

• A61B1/0676

  at distal tip of an endoscope · CPC title