JP2579366B2 - Endoscope - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an endoscope provided with operation buttons on an operation unit.

[Problems to be solved by conventional technology and invention] In recent years, by inserting an elongated insertion portion into a body cavity,
2. Description of the Related Art Endoscopes (scopes or fiberscopes) capable of diagnosing and examining internal organs and the like are widely used. In addition to being used for medical purposes, it is also used for observing and inspecting objects in pipes of boilers, machines, chemical plants, and the like, or in equipment, for industrial use.

Further, various electronic scopes using a solid-state imaging device such as a charge-coupled device (CCD) as an imaging means are also used.

The above-mentioned faba scope or electronic scope is provided with an operation part at the rear end of the insertion part, and this operation part is provided with a gripping part, a suction button, an angle lever, various kinds of electric control operation buttons and the like. I have. When operating these buttons, the surgeon holds the operation unit by holding the grip with the left hand and operates the operation buttons and the like with the left or right hand,
Since the right hand normally performs operations such as pushing and pulling and twisting while holding the insertion portion, operations of various operation buttons and the like are performed with the left hand holding the operation portion. Furthermore, since the left thumb always operates the angle lever on the rear surface of the operation unit, and the middle finger, ring finger, and little finger hold the grip, the operation of various operation buttons is performed with the left index finger.

Conventionally, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-182704, a plurality of operation buttons are provided on the front of the operation unit, but these operation buttons are arranged without considering the frequency of use. .

If only the left index finger can be operated as described above, it is necessary to dispose the operation button so that it can be easily operated with the index finger, and the most frequently used operation button should be located at the position where it can be operated most easily with the index finger. Need to be placed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope having a single function and improved operability of frequently used operation buttons.

[Means and Actions for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides an operation unit connected to a rear end of an insertion unit and having a grip on the insertion unit side and a plurality of operation buttons on a side opposite to the insertion unit of the operation unit. In the endoscope, the plurality of operation buttons are provided in a longitudinal direction of the operation unit, and among the plurality of operation buttons, an operation button closest to the grip unit is a suction control button, and other operation buttons are provided. Are operation buttons that can individually achieve a plurality of functions.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 relate to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an endoscope, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration of an endoscope apparatus.

In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to a bronchial scope.

The bronchial scope 1 has an elongated and flexible insertion portion 2 inserted into the bronchus, and an operation portion 3 is provided at one end of the insertion portion 2. A distal end 4 is provided at the other end of the insertion portion 2, and a curved portion 6 is provided at a rear portion of the distal end 4. Further, a flexible portion 7 is connected to a rear portion of the curved portion 6.

A grip section 8 is provided on the insertion section side of the operation section 3, and a switch section 9 is provided on a side opposite to the insertion section of the grip section 8. A bending operation knob 13 for bending the bending portion 6 is provided on one side of the switch portion 9, and a universal cord 14 is extended on the other side surface.

The bending operation knob 13 is formed in an L-shape.
One end of 13 is rotatably supported, and the other end is provided with a finger rest 17.

A suction control button 11 having a single function most frequently used in the bronchial scope 1 and an operation button 12 having a plurality of functions are provided on the reaction-side wall surface of the finger pad 17 of the switch section 9. I have. The operation button 12 of the suction control button 11 is moved along the longitudinal direction of the operation
A suction control button 11 is provided at a position close to and a row of operation buttons 12 are provided at a position far from the suction control button. The operation button 12 is, for example, a two-stage switch. When the first stage is pressed, the freeze switch is operated, and when the second stage is pressed, the release switch is operated. Can be switched.

At the rear end of the universal cord 14, a connector 16 is provided.
It is configured to be detachably connected to a control device 21 having an 18 and a light source unit 19. This control device 21 includes a monitor device
A recording device 23 including a photographing device or the like is connected to the recording device 22 so that an endoscope image can be observed and recorded. The light source unit 19 is provided with a light source lamp 24, and the illumination light output from the light source lamp 24 is condensed by the condenser lens 16 and radiated to the incident end face of the light guide 27 provided on the connector 16. It has become. The light guide 27 is inserted through the universal cord 14 and the insertion portion 2 so that the distal end portion 4 irradiates the subject with illumination light. The reflected light from the object is reflected by an objective lens system 28 provided at the tip 4.
As a result, an image is formed on the imaging surface of the solid-state imaging device 29 and converted into an electric signal. The solid-state imaging device 29 is input to a common mode rejection amplifier (hereinafter, abbreviated as CMR amplifier) 31 which is an amplifier having a high ability to remove noise of an in-phase component from an electric signal. The signal is sent to the video processing circuit 18. The video process circuit 18 performs signal processing on the electric signal and outputs the video signal to the monitor device 22 and the recording device 23.

One end of a suction conduit 32 inserted through the insertion section 2 is open at the distal end face of the distal end portion 4, and the other suction conduit is opened.
The suction switching valve 33 provided in the operation unit 3 at the end of the switch 32 is connected. This suction switching valve 33 is connected to the suction control button 11
The suction switching valve 33 is opened and closed by operating the button 11. Suction switching valve
The suction pipe 34 is further connected to one end of a suction pipe 34, which is inserted through the universal cord 14 and connected to a suction device 36.

The operation button 12 provided adjacent to the suction control button 11 can input a freeze and release signal to a video processing circuit 18 via a universal cord 14, and the video processing circuit 18 receives a freeze signal. Then, the endoscope image of the moving image displayed on the screen of the monitor device 22 is used as a still image, and when a release signal is input, the recording device 23 records the still image.

 The operation of the endoscope configured as described above will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the surgeon has the left middle finger 37b, the third finger 37c,
The gripper 8 is gripped by the little finger 37d, the thumb 37e is placed on the finger rest 17, and the index finger 37a is placed on the suction control button 11. The right hand grips the insertion section 2 and performs push / pull or twist.

Irradiation light output from the light source lamp 24 of the light source unit 19 is irradiated on the incident end face of the light guide 27 by the condenser lens 26 and transmitted to the distal end portion 4. The illumination light emitted from the distal end portion 4 is applied to the subject, and the reflected light from the subject forms an image on the imaging surface of the solid-state imaging device 29 by the objective lens system 28. The solid-state imaging device 29 converts an optical image into an electric signal and performs CMR.
The electric signal output to the amplifier 31 and amplified by the CMR amplifier 31 is sent to the video processing circuit 18. The video signal is generated in the video processing circuit 18, and the video signal is output to the monitor device 22 and the recording device 23.
An endoscopic image of the moving image is displayed on the screen of 22.

In the bronchial scope 1, the suction control button 11 is used most frequently, but when operating the suction control button 11,
Since the index finger 37a is always placed on the button 11, the button 11 can be operated only by pressing the finger.

When the image is to be a still image, the index finger 37a is moved from the suction control button 11 to the operation button 12, and is depressed one step. Then, the freeze switch operates to output a freeze signal to the video processing circuit 18, and the video processing circuit 18 outputs a still image to the monitor device 22 and the recording device 23.

When recording a still image, when the second stage of the operation button 12 is pressed, the release switch operates and a release signal is sent to the recording device 23 via the video process circuit 18. Then, the recording device 23 records the endoscope image as a still image.

As described above, in the present embodiment, since the suction control button 11 which is used most frequently is provided at the position closest to the grip portion 8, it is easy to operate the suction control button 11 with the index finger 37a. Operability can be improved.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the operation button disposed near the grip portion is a frequently used suction control button, and each of the other operation buttons achieves a plurality of functions independently. The operability of this frequently used operation button can be improved by using an operation button that can be used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 and 2 relate to one embodiment of the present invention, and are explanatory diagrams of the endoscope in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the endoscope apparatus. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... bronchial scope, 2 ... insertion part 3 ... operation part, 8 ... gripping part 9 ... switch part, 11 ... suction control button 12 ... operation button

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An endoscope connected to a rear end of an insertion portion and having a grip portion on the insertion portion side and a plurality of operation buttons on a side opposite to the insertion portion of the operation portion, wherein the plurality of operations are A button is provided in a longitudinal direction of the operation unit, and among the plurality of operation buttons, an operation button closest to the grip unit is set as a suction control button, and the other operation buttons can individually achieve a plurality of functions. An endoscope comprising an operation button.