JP2002065575A - Electronic endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic endoscope provided with an operating part providing satisfactory grip property and operability for an operator. SOLUTION: A pair of guide rails 26 are provided in the specified positions of the upper part face part of an insertion part body 2b, and a slide groove 34 engaged with the outside of the guide rails 26 is formed at the operating part 3a. A fixture 7 is provided for integrally fixing the operating part 3a and the insertion part body 2b. The fixture 7 is composed of a guide part 7a, a fixing screw 7b and a fixing knob 7c. In the state of the slide groove 34 being engaged with the guide rails 26, the guide part 7a is disposed at a parallel groove 26a to make the operating part 3a slidable in the direction of an arrow mark in relation to the insertion part body 2b. When the operating part 3a is slid into a specified position in relation to the insertion part body 2b to rotate the fixing knob 7c in a specified direction, the operating part 3a and the insertion part body 2b are integrally fixed to each other. At this time, an electric contact point 33 of the operating part and an electric contact point 24 of the insertion part come in electrical contact.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic endoscope having a bending operation switch for electrically bending a bending portion.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an elongated insertion portion has been inserted into a body cavity,
If necessary, insert the treatment tool into the treatment tool channel,
Endoscopes that can perform various examinations and treatments are widely used.
These endoscopes use a solid-state imaging device such as a charge-coupled device (hereinafter abbreviated as a CCD) as an imaging means.
2. Description of the Related Art There is an electronic endoscope that converts a subject image formed into an image into an electric signal and outputs the electric signal to an observation unit that is an external device. In this observation unit, after converting the electric signal output from the electronic endoscope into a video signal, the image signal is output to a monitor, and a subject image is displayed on a monitor screen to perform observation, treatment, and the like. .

Some electronic endoscopes have a flexible insertion portion, and a bending portion formed by connecting a plurality of bending pieces to the insertion portion so as to be able to bend, for example, vertically and horizontally. The bending operation of the bending portion is performed by a bending operation instruction means such as a bending operation knob or a bending operation switch provided on an operation portion also serving as a grip portion located at the proximal end of the insertion portion.

[0004]

However, there is an individual difference in the size of the fingers of the operator who operates the operation unit.
For this reason, depending on the operator, when operating the bending operation instructing means, there is a case where the operation cannot be performed without changing the position of the hand holding the operation unit, and there is a problem that the working efficiency is reduced.

[0005] Further, since the operating section is formed for right-handed use, a left-handed operator has also performed an endoscope operation by holding the operating section with the right hand.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic endoscope provided with an operation section capable of obtaining a grasping property and an operability that are satisfactory to an operator.

[0007]

An electronic endoscope according to the present invention comprises:
An electronic endoscope including an imaging unit at a distal end of an insertion unit having a bending unit, and operating a bending driving unit based on an instruction signal from a bending operation instruction unit provided in an operation unit to bend the bending unit. In addition, an operation unit having the bending operation instruction means is detachable from the insertion unit.

[0008] According to this configuration, the operation section dedicated to each person, which is manufactured according to the size of the hand of the surgeon, the dominant hand, etc., is exchanged and attached to the insertion section to constitute the electronic endoscope. The person can obtain ideal grip and operability.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 6 relate to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a view for explaining a schematic configuration of an endoscope system in which an electronic endoscope of the present invention is combined. FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an attachment / detachment mechanism, FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example when an air supply pipe and a water supply pipe are provided in an electronic endoscope, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating another configuration of the attachment / detachment mechanism, FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating another configuration of the attachment / detachment mechanism between the operation unit and the insertion unit, and FIG. 6 is a diagram of an endoscope system using the electronic endoscope of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating another configuration example.

FIG. 2A is an explanatory view showing the structure of the attachment / detachment mechanism, FIG. 2B is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2A, and FIG. FIG. 3 (b) is an explanatory view showing FIG.
FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB, FIG. 5A is an explanatory view showing the configuration of the attachment / detachment mechanism, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, an electronic endoscope (hereinafter simply referred to as an endoscope) 1 of the present embodiment is, for example, a medical endoscope, and has an elongated insertion portion 2a inserted into a body cavity. And an endoscope insertion section 2 including an insertion section main body 2b located on the base end side of the insertion section 2a, and an insertion section main body 2 of the endoscope insertion section 2.
a plurality of types of endoscope operation units (hereinafter, abbreviated as operation units) 3 which also serve as a grip unit detachably exchanged with respect to b.
a, 3b, 3c,... and a universal cord 4 extending from a side portion of the insertion portion main body 2b.

An insertion section 2a constituting the endoscope insertion section 2
Is a rigid tip rigid portion 21 having a built-in image pickup device 21a such as a CCD in order from the distal end side, a bending portion 22 formed by connecting a plurality of bending pieces (not shown) so as to bendable in, for example, up and down, left and right directions, The flexible tube portion 23 having the property is connected to each other. The proximal end of the insertion portion 2a is integrally fixed to a predetermined position of the insertion portion main body 2b.
The one end of the universal cord 4 is also integrally fixed to a predetermined position of the insertion portion main body 2b.

The insertion section main body 2b is formed of, for example, a hard resin member in a substantially cylindrical shape, and the operation sections 3a, 3b, 3c,... Are detachably mounted on the upper surface of the insertion section main body 2b. It is supposed to be. Reference numeral 24 denotes an insertion portion electrical contact described later.

The operating section 3a is of a standard type which is operated with the right hand and is formed in a reference size. The operating section 3a is provided with an electric switch for indicating a bending direction by operating a switch with a thumb, for example. A bending operation switch 31 is provided as a bending operation instruction unit that outputs a signal. A signal line 32 for transmitting an electric signal indicating a bending direction extends from the bending operation switch 31, and is electrically connected to an operation section electrical contact 33 that electrically contacts the insertion section electrical contact 24.

On the other hand, the operation section 3b is a standard type of a left hand type operated by a left hand, and is provided with a bending operation switch 31, a signal line 32 and an operation section electric contact 33 similarly to the operation section 3a. I have.

The operating units 3c and 3d are a right-handed standard type operating unit 3a and a left-handed standard type operating unit 3b.
The shape of the grip portion is smaller than that of the operation portions 3a and 3b, and a bending operation switch 31, a signal line 32, and an operation portion electrical contact 33 are provided similarly to the operation portions 3a and 3b. In addition,
In addition to the operation units 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d, the operation unit has a larger gripping shape than the standard type operation units 3a and 3b, a shape corresponding to a user's request, or There are various types such as one in which the arrangement position of the bending operation switch 31 is changed to a position desired by the user.

The operation sections 3a, 3b, 3c,... Are detachable from the insertion section main body 2b, respectively, but the position of the operation section electrical contacts 33 is determined by the operation sections 3a, 3b,.
Regardless of the shape of 3c,..., They are arranged at positions where they make reliable electrical contact with the insertion portion electrical contacts 24. Therefore, when these operating portions 3a, 3b, 3c,... Are appropriately replaced and fixed to the insertion portion main body 2b, the operating portion electrical contacts 33 and the insertion portion electrical contacts 24 are electrically connected. Become.

An endoscope connector 4a is provided at the base end of the universal cord 4. The endoscope connector 4a is attached to and detached from an observation unit 6 which is an external device constituting an endoscope system incorporating a light source unit (not shown), a video processor (not shown), an electric bending mechanism unit 5 serving as a bending driving unit, and the like. It can be connected freely.

The electric bending mechanism 5 in the observation unit 6
Is a bending drive DC motor (hereinafter abbreviated as “motor”) 61 for generating a bending drive force, a motor driver 62 for driving the motor 61, and a motor control unit (hereinafter MCU) for outputting a control signal to the motor driver 62. 63). Note that reference numeral 6
Reference numeral 4 denotes an encoder for converting the amount of rotation of the motor 61 into a rotation angle.
The data is output to the CU 63. Reference numeral 6
5 is a bending instruction signal transmitting contact, 66 is a driving force transmitting unit,
Reference numeral 67 denotes a clutch.

The endoscope connector 4a is provided with a connector electrical contact 4b that is in electrical contact with the bending instruction signal transmitting contact 65. One end of a signal cable 42 for transmitting a signal is electrically connected to the connector electric contact 4b. This signal cable 42 is inserted through the inside of the universal cord 4 and the inside of the insertion portion main body 2b,
The other end of the cable is electrically connected to the insertion portion electrical contact 24. This allows the bending operation switch 3
1 is transmitted to the MCU 63.

Further, the endoscope connector 4a is mechanically connected to the driving force transmitting portion 66, and transmits the bending driving force to the bending wire 41 as the driving force transmitting means. Is provided. One end of the bending wire 41 is connected to the connector-side driving force transmission section 4c. The bending wire 41 is inserted through the universal cord 4 and the insertion portion main body 2b and the insertion portion 2a, and the other end of the wire is fixed to the most advanced bending piece constituting the bending portion 22.

Thus, the bending operation switch 3
The driving force of the motor 61, which is rotationally driven in response to the electric signal from the motor 1, is transmitted to the bending wire 41 and
2 performs a bending operation in the designated direction.

A signal line (not shown) extends from the image pickup device 21a. The signal line extends through the insertion portion 2a, the insertion portion main body 2b, and the universal cord 4 and extends to the endoscope connector 4a. Is out. Then, by connecting the endoscope connector 4 a to the observation unit 6, the image signal converted into an electric signal by the imaging element 21 a is transmitted to the video processor in the observation unit 6.
The motor 61, the bending wire 41, and the like are provided for upper and lower and left and right, respectively, but are described as one motor for simplification of description. Further, a display device for displaying an endoscope image captured by the endoscope 1 on the observation unit 6 may be provided.

Here, a mechanism for attaching and detaching the operation section and the insertion section main body will be described. In the present embodiment, an attachment / detachment mechanism will be described using the operation unit 3a and the insertion unit main body 2b. FIG. 2 (a),
As shown in (b), in this embodiment, since the operation section 3a and the insertion section main body 2b are configured to be detachable, the insertion section main body 2b
A pair of guide rails 26 having a substantially L-shaped cross section are provided at predetermined positions on the upper surface of the device for positioning and guiding.
These guide rails 26 are fixed by fixing screws 25 so as to form parallel grooves 26a whose widths are slightly wider than the width (diameter in the present embodiment) of a guide portion (reference numeral 7a in the figure) to be described later. ing.

On the other hand, the operating portion 3a has a slide groove 3 engaged with the anti-parallel groove side outside the guide rail 26.
4 are formed. The operating section 3a is provided with a fixture 7 for integrally fixing the operating section 3a and the insertion section main body 2b.

The fixing member 7 is disposed on the lower end surface of the operating portion and moves in the parallel groove 26a.
and a fixing screw 7b having one end integrated with the guide portion 7a.
And a fixing knob 7c screwed to the fixing screw 7b.

Therefore, with the slide groove 34 of the operation portion 3a engaged with the guide rail 26, the guide portion 7a of the operation portion 3a is disposed in the parallel groove 26a formed by the pair of guide rails 26. As a result, the operation section 3a is moved in the direction of the arrow with respect to the insertion section main body 2b (FIG. 2A).
Slide).

The operation section 3a is inserted into the insertion section main body 2b.
To the predetermined position with respect to the fixed knob 7c.
Is rotated in a predetermined direction. Then, the operation section 3a is integrally fixed to the insertion section main body 2b. At this time, the operation unit electrical contact 33 and the insertion unit electrical contact 24 come into electrical contact.
Note that the configurations of the insertion portion electrical contacts 24 and the operation portion electrical contacts 33 are not limited to the above-described configurations.
When the and the insertion portion main body 2b are integrated, any structure may be used as long as they are electrically connected. In the present embodiment, the operation unit 3a
The attachment / detachment mechanism has been described above, but the configuration of the attachment / detachment mechanism of other operation units is the same.

The operation of the electronic endoscope 1 configured as described above will be described. First, the surgeon or medical staff attaches an operation section (here, the operation section 3a) dedicated to the operator in charge to the insertion section main body 2b, and extends from the insertion section main body 2b of the electronic endoscope 1. The endoscope connector 4 a provided at the end of the universal cord 4 is connected to a predetermined position of the observation unit 6.

Next, the surgeon grasps the endoscope 1 and inserts the insertion section 2 into the body cavity. At this time, the operator operates the bending operation switch 3 with his / her finger holding the operation unit 3a while observing an endoscope image displayed on a screen such as a liquid crystal monitor.
Operate 1 Then, the motor 61 is driven in response to the electric signal output from the bending operation switch 31, and the driving force of the motor 61 is transmitted to the clutch 67 and the driving force transmitting unit 6.
6, the bending wire 4 via the connector-side driving force transmitting portion 4c
1 and the bending portion 22 performs the bending operation in the designated direction. Then, while performing the bending operation and the twisting operation, the distal end hard portion 21 of the insertion portion 2 is inserted toward the observation site. At this time, since the surgeon grasps the dedicated operation section 3a and performs an operation such as a bending operation, the insertion operation can be performed in a stable grasping state without performing an operation such as changing the position of the grasping hand.

When the distal end rigid portion 21 of the insertion section 2 of the endoscope 1 is opposed to the observation site, an endoscopic image of the observation site displayed on the screen is observed. Then, a treatment or the like is performed as needed.

As described above, since the operation section constituting the electronic endoscope is configured to be detachable from the insertion section main body extending the endoscope insertion section and the universal cord, the shape and curvature of the operation section are improved. By forming a dedicated operation unit in which the positions of the operation switches and the like are adjusted to each operator and attaching this operation unit to the insertion unit main body, it is possible to provide an electronic endoscope excellent in operability for the operator. it can.

Also, by instructing a bending operation of the bending section by transmitting an instruction signal from a bending operation switch provided on the operation section as an electric signal to an electric bending mechanism section provided on an external device, a bending operation of the bending section is performed. By eliminating the need for a mechanical mechanism, the weight of the operation unit can be reduced and the workability of attachment and detachment can be improved. The instruction signal from the bending operation switch is transmitted to the M of the observation unit.
By causing the CU to transmit by wireless communication, the signal cable can be eliminated and the detachability can be further improved.

In the present embodiment, the configuration in which the bending operation switch is disposed as the operation switch in the endoscope operation section has been described. However, the operation switch is not limited to the bending operation switch. It is also possible to arrange an air / water switch.

In this case, an air supply switch and a water supply switch (not shown) are electric switches that output electric signals, and by operating these switches, for example, an electromagnetic valve (not shown) opens and closes. These switches are arranged at positions desired by the operator. Thus, air supply and water supply operations can be performed in a stable gripping state without performing an operation such as changing the position of a hand to be gripped.

When constructing a conduit for air supply and water supply to the electronic endoscope 1, for example, as shown in FIGS. 27 and the water supply line 28 are connected to the universal cord side air supply line 2 respectively.
7a, an insertion part-side air supply line 27b, and a universal cord-side water supply line 28a and an insertion part-side water supply line 28b, while the operation part 3a is provided with a universal cord-side air supply line 27a and an insertion part-side air supply line 27b. Connecting groove 35 for air supply and water supply pipe 28a on the universal cord side
And a water supply connection groove (not shown) facing the insertion part side water supply conduit 28b.

Thus, when the operation section 3a and the insertion section main body 2b are integrally formed, the universal cord side air supply pipe 27a, the insertion section side air supply pipe 27b, and the universal cord side water supply pipe 28a are inserted into the respective sections. The configuration is such that the unit-side water supply conduit 28b communicates with the air supply connection groove 35 and the water supply connection groove. By thus configuring each of the air supply / water supply pipes with a plurality of pipes, the cleaning workability is improved as compared to a case where the air supply / water supply pipes are configured with, for example, one tube body. .

As described above, since the operation section is detachably attached to the insertion section main body, if the insertion section (or the operation section) breaks down, only the insertion section (or the operation section) is used. Can be replaced. This reduces the economical burden compared to replacing the entire endoscope including the insertion section and the operation section. Also, when an additional endoscope is purchased, an endoscope with excellent operability can be obtained by purchasing only the insertion portion, so that the economic burden is reduced.

The mechanism for attaching and detaching the operation section and the insertion section main body is not limited to the above-described configuration, and may be, for example, the configuration shown in FIG. In the following embodiments, the attachment / detachment mechanism will be described using the operation unit 3a and the insertion unit main body 2b. At this time, the same members as those of the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the present embodiment, while a convex portion 36 is provided on the operation portion 3a for positioning,
An engagement groove 29 in which the protrusion 36 is engaged is formed in the insertion portion main body 2b. The operation unit 3a and the insertion unit main body 2
The operation part 3a is provided with a male screw 7d having a fixing knob at a predetermined position as a fixing tool 7A for integrally fixing the male screw 7b with the male screw part 7e of the male screw 7d having the fixing knob. A mating female screw portion 7f is formed at a predetermined position.

As a result, the convex portion 36 is
Male screw 7d with fixing knob
By screwing the male screw portion 7e of the above into the female screw portion 7f, the operation portion 3a and the insertion portion main body 2b are integrally formed in a state where the operation portion electric contact 33 and the insertion portion electric contact 24 are in electrical contact with each other. To form an electronic endoscope. Thus, the same operation and effect as those of the above embodiment can be obtained.

Note that, as shown in FIG.
May be configured to use the detachable pin 7g. At this time, for example, as shown in FIG.
On the other hand, a guide hole 37 for guiding the detachable pin 7g and an insertion section main body engaging groove 38 are formed on the operation section 3a side, and the insertion section main body engaging groove 38 is engaged on the insertion section main body 2b side. Engagement hole 44 that is inserted and arranged to receive the detachable pin 7g.
The projection 43 for positioning and fixing formed is formed.

With the above arrangement, the detachable pin 7g is disposed in the engaging hole 44 through the guide hole 37 with the convex portion 36 being engaged with the engaging groove 29, thereby providing the operating section electrical contact 33. The operation section 3a and the insertion section main body 2b are integrally fixed in a state where the and the insertion section electrical contact 24 are in electrical contact with each other, thereby forming an electronic endoscope. This allows
The same operation and effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained.

Referring to FIG. 6, another example of the configuration of the endoscope system using the electronic endoscope and the detachable operation unit will be described. In the present embodiment, in addition to the endoscope system shown in FIG. 1, an operation unit 3e is connected to the observation unit 6a via a connection line 51. A communication line 52 connecting the signal conversion devices 52a and 52b as communication means.
The operation unit 3f located at a remote place is connected to the observation unit 6a via.

That is, in the present embodiment, for example, in a state where the operation section 3a is integrally attached to the insertion section main body 2b,
The bending operation and the like of the bending portion 22 can be performed in a state where a plurality of operation units such as the other operation units 3e and 3f are connected to the observation unit 6a.

Thus, even when a doctor with little experience operates the endoscope while holding the operation unit 3a,
An experienced doctor can operate the operation unit 3e or the operation unit 3f in an auxiliary manner to reliably operate the endoscope. That is, the endoscope operation can be performed while performing operator training.

The operating units 3a, 3e, and 3f have priorities set in advance, and operations handled by experienced doctors are given the highest priority. Also, in such a case, since each operator handles his own operation unit, he can obtain the operability as desired and can perform the operation without feeling uncomfortable.

In the above-described embodiment, the endoscope is described as a medical electronic endoscope. However, the present invention is not limited to the medical endoscope but may be an industrial electronic endoscope.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to only the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[Appendix] According to the embodiment of the present invention described in detail above, the following configuration can be obtained.

(1) An image pickup means is built in the distal end of the insertion section having a bending section, and the bending drive section is operated based on an instruction signal from a bending operation instructing section provided in the operation section to bend the bending section. In the electronic endoscope to be operated, an operation section provided with the bending operation instruction means is detachable from the insertion section.

(2) The bending drive means is an external device, and has an electric contact between the operation section and the insertion section for electrically connecting the bending operation instruction means and the bending drive means. 2. The electronic endoscope according to 1.

(3) A drive for transmitting the driving force of the bending driving means which operates based on an instruction signal from the bending operation instruction means into the insertion part and the universal cord, wherein the insertion portion and the universal cord are integrated. 2. The electronic endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the force transmitting means is inserted.

(4) The electronic endoscope according to appendix 4, wherein at least one of the operation units can be connected to the external device, and the bending unit can be bent by the connected operation unit.

[0055]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an electronic endoscope provided with an operation section capable of obtaining an operator's satisfactory grip and operability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an endoscope system in which an electronic endoscope of the present invention is combined.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a detachable mechanism between an operation unit and an insertion unit.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example when an air supply pipe and a water supply pipe are provided in an electronic endoscope.

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining another configuration of the attachment / detachment mechanism between the operation unit and the insertion unit.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining another configuration of the attachment / detachment mechanism between the operation unit and the insertion unit.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining another configuration example of an endoscope system using the electronic endoscope of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electronic endoscope 2 ... Endoscope insertion part 2a ... Insertion part 2b ... Insertion part main body 5 ... Electric bending mechanism part 6 ... Observation unit 7 ... Fixture 7a ... Guide part 7b ... Fixing screw 7c ... Fixing knob 24 ... Insertion section electrical contact 26 Guide rail 26a Parallel groove 3 Endoscope operating section 31 Bending operation switch 32 Signal line 33 Operation section electrical contact 34 Slide groove

Claims (1)

[Claims] An image pickup means is provided at a distal end portion of an insertion section having a bending section, and a bending drive section is operated based on an instruction signal from a bending operation instruction section provided in an operation section to perform a bending operation of the bending section. In the electronic endoscope, an operation section having the bending operation instruction means is detachable from the insertion section.