JP2010267390A - Push button switch and push button switch of endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a push button switch excellent in an assembling (decomposing) workability with less number of components and having a simple structure, and to provide an operation button of an endoscope. <P>SOLUTION: In the push button switch of the endoscope provided with: a guide cylinder to be inserted into a through-hole of a grip operation part outer shell of the endoscope; a fixing ring which is located inside an grip operation part and fixes the guide cylinder on the grip operation part; a push operation member supported by the guide cylinder; and a switch-housing member held inside the guide cylinder and housing a switch body to be operated by the push operation member. A locking leg part, on the tip end part of which a falling-off prevention projection protruded inside the fixing ring is provided, is formed integrally with the switch-housing member, and the falling-off prevention projection of the locking leg part is locked with the fixed ring and the switch housing member and the fixed ring are fixed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a push button switch, and more particularly to an endoscope push button switch.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the push button switch 1 of the conventional endoscope is positioned inside the guide cylinder 3 inserted into the through hole of the outer shell 2 a of the grip operation unit 2 and the grip operation unit 2, A stationary ring 4 for fixing the cylinder 3 to the gripping operation unit 2, a pressing operation member 5 supported by the guide cylinder 3, and a switch body 6 supported in the guide cylinder 3 and operated by the pressing operation member 5 are accommodated. And a switch housing member 7. In order to support the switch housing member 7 in the guide cylinder 3 (in order not to drop the switch housing member 7 from the guide cylinder 3), a retaining ring 8 that is screwed with the inner peripheral surface of the guide cylinder 3 is used as a separate member. Provided.

JP 2002-170453 A

  However, in the conventional push button switch of the endoscope, since a special tool (jig) is required for screwing the guide cylinder 3 and the retaining ring 8, assembly (disassembly) workability is not good. Moreover, since the retaining ring 8 is provided as a separate member, the number of parts is large and the structure is complicated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a push button switch and an endoscope push button switch which are excellent in assembly (disassembly) workability, have a small number of parts, and have a simple structure. To do.

  The push button switch of the present invention includes a guide cylinder that is inserted into a through hole of the button support member; a fixed ring that is positioned inside the button support member and fixes the guide cylinder to the button support member; and is supported by the guide cylinder. And a switch housing member that houses a switch body that is supported in the guide cylinder and is operated by the push operation member. A locking foot portion that protrudes inward and has a retaining protrusion at the tip thereof is formed, and the retaining protrusion of the locking foot portion is engaged with the fixing ring, thereby fixing the switch housing member and the fixing ring. It is characterized by that.

  The push button switch of the endoscope of the present invention is a guide cylinder inserted into the through hole of the outer shell of the gripping operation portion of the endoscope; located inside the gripping operation portion, and fixes the guide cylinder to the gripping operation portion A push-button switch for an endoscope having: a fixed ring; a pressing operation member supported by the guide cylinder; and a switch housing member that is supported in the guide cylinder and accommodates a switch body that is operated by the pressing operation member. The locking member is integrally formed with the switch housing member and protrudes to the inside of the stationary ring, and a locking foot having a retaining protrusion is formed at the tip thereof. The retaining protrusion of the locking foot is engaged with the stationary ring. In combination, the switch housing member and the stationary ring are fixed.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a push button switch and an endoscope push button switch that are excellent in assembly (disassembly) workability, have a small number of parts, and have a simple structure.

It is the figure which looked at the endoscope which provided the pushbutton switch by this invention from the side. It is sectional drawing which expands and shows one pushbutton switch of FIG. It is a figure which shows the switch storage member by this invention. It is sectional drawing which expands and shows the pushbutton switch of the conventional endoscope.

  The overall configuration of an electronic endoscope 100 provided with a push button switch that is the subject of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The endoscope 100 includes a flexible insertion portion 10 and a grip operation portion 11 connected to the base portion of the insertion portion 10. An objective lens (not shown), an image sensor (CCD), a treatment instrument channel outlet, a light distribution lens for illumination, a suction nozzle, and the like are arranged at the distal end of the insertion unit 10. An image in the body cavity by the objective lens is converted into an image signal by the imaging element, and provided separately from the endoscope 100 main body by a signal transmission cable extending from the insertion unit 10 to the universal tube 12 through the grasping operation unit 11. Sent to the image display processing device. In the image display processing device, an electronic image can be displayed on a television monitor or recorded on a recording medium. Illumination light is given to the light distribution lens through a light guide extending from the insertion unit 10 to the universal tube 12 through the grip operation unit 11 and an illumination device connected to the tip of the light guide. The grasping operation section 11 is provided with a treatment instrument channel inlet section 13 that communicates with a treatment instrument channel outlet section at the distal end of the insertion section 10. A partial region in the vicinity of the distal end of the insertion portion 10 is a bending portion capable of changing the bending state in accordance with the turning operation of the bending operation levers 14 and 15 provided in the grip operation portion 11. The gripping operation unit 11 includes a suction button 16 for sucking a fluid such as a body fluid from a suction nozzle at the distal end of the insertion unit 10, and an air / water supply button for feeding and feeding water to the objective lens at the distal end of the insertion unit 10. 17 is provided.

  The grip operation unit 11 is further provided with two remote operation buttons 20 and 30 adjacent to the suction button 16 and a remote operation button 40 located on the surface opposite to the remote operation buttons 20 and 30. . The remote operation button 20-40 is a control button for electronic image processing, and the above-described image display processing device is remotely operated by a pressing operation thereof. The remote operation performed by the remote operation button 20-40 includes, for example, an operation for freezing the screen on the television monitor, a switching operation of a photometric pattern (average photometry or peak photometry), an image recording such as a video or a magneto-optical disk, etc. This is an operation for recording a still image or a moving image on a medium. Each button 20-40 is arranged at a position where it can be pressed with an index finger and thumb when the grip operation unit 11 is gripped by hand.

  Details of the remote control button 20-40 will be described with reference to the cross-sectional view of FIG. Since the remote operation button 20-40 has a common internal structure, FIG. 2 shows the remote operation button 20 as a representative, and the remote operation button 20 will be described below as a representative.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a through hole 18 that communicates the inside and the outside is formed in the outer shell 11 a (button support member) of the grip operation unit 11 of the endoscope 100. A step 18a is formed in the middle of the through hole 18, and the opening diameter on the outer surface side of the gripping operation portion 11 is large and the opening diameter on the inner surface side is small with the step portion 18a interposed therebetween. A guide cylinder 21 can be inserted into and removed from the through hole 18. The guide cylinder 21 has an inner flange (annular flange) 21 a for mounting the O-ring 22 and an outer flange (annular flange) 21 b for mounting the O-ring 23, and the guide cylinder 21 is located outside the through hole 18. Is inserted toward the inside, the outer flange 21b abuts on the step portion 18a of the through hole 18 to restrict insertion. When the male screw 21c formed on the outer peripheral surface of the lower end portion of the guide cylinder 21 at the time of the insertion restriction protrudes into the grip operation portion 11, and the female screw 24a formed on the fixed ring 24 is screwed into the male screw 21c, the guide The cylinder 21 is fixed to the grip operation unit 11.

  A switch storage member 25 is supported in the guide cylinder 21. Above the bottom wall 25a of the switch storage member 25, a bottomed cylindrical portion 25b for storing a tact switch (switch body) 26 is formed. On the tact switch 26, a pressing operation member 27 is supported in a state of being in contact with the switch head 26a of the tact switch 26. The switch head 26 a is urged to move in a direction in contact with the pressing operation member 27 by the elastic force of an elastic switch piece (not shown) in the tact switch 26. The pressing operation member 27 is covered with an elastic button cover 28 made of an elastic material such as silicon rubber or fluorine rubber, which is non-conductive and water-impermeable. The elastic button cover 28 has an engagement groove 28 a engaged with an upper flange (annular flange) 21 d of the guide cylinder 21, and the inner side surface 28 b of the elastic button cover 28 and the outer side surface 27 a of the pressing operation member 27 are in close contact with each other. The guide cylinder 21 is fixed. Although not shown, a lead wire electrically connected to the tact switch 26 is extended below the bottom wall 25a of the switch housing member 25 (on the side opposite to the tact switch 26). The line is connected to a switch signal input circuit (not shown) in the grip operation unit 11.

  The switch housing member 25 has an outer peripheral surface that is in contact with an inner peripheral surface of the guide cylinder 21 and is further prevented from falling off in the direction of the lower end portion of the guide cylinder 21. This retaining structure will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The switch storage member 25 is integrally provided with a locking foot portion 25d that protrudes from the lower side of the bottom wall 25a (on the opposite side to the bottomed cylindrical portion 25b) to the inside of the fixed ring 24 and has a retaining protrusion 25c at its tip. Is formed. In the present embodiment, two locking feet 25d are formed at intervals in the circumferential direction of the switch storage member 25. Further, since the latching foot portion 25d is made of an elastic material, it can be elastically deformed in the direction of diameter reduction of the virtual circle formed with the latching foot portion 25d (FIG. 3A). Therefore, when the latching foot portion 25d is inserted into the fixed ring 24 in an elastically deformed state, and the locking projection 25c of the locking foot portion 25d eventually protrudes from the fixing ring 24, the locking projection 25c is fixed. The switch housing member 25 is fixed to the fixed ring 24 by engaging with the ring 24.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the switch storage member 25 is fixed to the fixed ring 24 and the switch storage member 25 is inserted into the guide cylinder 21 simply by inserting the locking foot portion 25 d into the fixed ring 24. Since it can be supported, a special tool (jig) is not required and the assembly workability is excellent. In addition, when the switch is repaired and replaced, it is possible to easily remove it from the stationary ring 24 by elastically deforming the locking foot portion 25d. Furthermore, since it is not necessary to provide a retaining ring as a separate member in order to prevent the switch storage member 25 from coming off from the guide cylinder 21, the number of parts can be reduced and the structure can be simplified.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the push button switch of the present invention is applied to the remote control button of the endoscope has been described as an example, but the present invention can be applied to any other push button switch.

  In the above embodiment, the case where two locking feet are formed at intervals in the circumferential direction of the switch storage member has been described as an example. However, at least two locking feet are sufficient, and three or more are required. It is good.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Electronic endoscope 10 Insertion part 11 Grip operation part 11a Grip operation part outer shell (button support member)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 Universal tube 13 Treatment instrument channel inlet parts 14 and 15 Curve operation lever 16 Suction button 17 Air supply / water supply button 18 Through hole 18a Step part 20, 30, 40 Remote operation button 21 Guide cylinder 21a Inner flange (annular flange)
21b Outer flange (annular flange)
21c Male thread 21d Upper flange (annular flange)
22, 23 O-ring 24 Fixed ring 24a Female thread 25 Switch housing member 25a Bottom wall 25b Bottomed cylindrical part 25c Retaining protrusion 25d Locking foot part 26 Tact switch (switch body)
26a switch head 27 pressing member 27a outer surface 28 elastic button cover 28a engagement groove 28b inner surface

Claims (4)

A guide cylinder inserted into a through hole of the button support member; a fixed ring positioned inside the button support member and fixing the guide cylinder to the button support member; a pressing operation member supported by the guide cylinder; and the guide A push button switch having a switch housing member that houses a switch body supported in a cylinder and operated by the pressing operation member;
Integrally formed with the switch housing member, projecting to the inside of the stationary ring, forming a locking foot portion having a retaining projection at the tip thereof;
A pushbutton switch characterized in that the switch-holding member and the fixed ring are fixed by engaging a retaining protrusion of the locking foot with the fixed ring. The push button switch according to claim 1,
A plurality of the locking foot portions of the switch housing member are formed as a push button switch at intervals in the circumferential direction of the switch housing member. A guide cylinder inserted into a through hole in the outer shell of the gripping operation portion of the endoscope; a fixed ring that is positioned inside the gripping operation portion and fixes the guide cylinder to the gripping operation portion; a pressure supported by the guide cylinder In an endoscope push button switch, comprising: an operation member; and a switch housing member that houses a switch body supported in the guide cylinder and operated by the pressing operation member.
Integrally formed with the switch housing member, projecting to the inside of the stationary ring, forming a locking foot portion having a retaining projection at the tip thereof;
A push button switch for an endoscope, wherein the retaining member and the fixing ring are fixed by engaging a retaining protrusion of the locking foot with the fixing ring. In the push button switch of the endoscope according to claim 3,
The push button switch of the endoscope in which a plurality of locking feet of the switch storage member are formed at intervals in the circumferential direction of the switch storage member.

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