JP5049105B2 - Endoscope operating device, endoscope and endoscope system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope operation device having a rotatable operation knob in a hand operation unit, an endoscope using the same, and an endoscope system including an endoscope and a processor device.

  The endoscope includes an insertion portion that is inserted into the body, and a hand operation portion that is connected to the proximal end portion of the insertion portion. The hand operating section is provided with a rotatable operation knob. By rotating the operation knob, the distal end portion is bent in the vertical and horizontal directions by the wire connected to the operation knob and the bending portion in front of the distal end portion through the insertion portion. Thereby, the insertion of the insertion portion into the patient becomes smooth, and the distal end portion can be directed in a desired direction in the body.

  Conventionally, operation switches such as air / water supply buttons and suction buttons have been provided in the hand control unit in addition to the operation knobs. Recently, the number of switches has increased as the functionality of endoscopes has increased. Tend to. For example, in an electronic endoscope, a release switch for recording a still image and an operation switch such as a freeze switch are provided in the hand operation unit. Thus, when the number of switches increases, the installation space becomes a problem.

Therefore, an endoscope is known in which an operation switch is provided near the operation lever to save space (Patent Document 1). In this endoscope, an L-shaped operation lever is rotatably provided on the side surface of the hand operation unit, and an operation lever and an operation switch are provided.
Japanese Patent No. 3170018

  However, the L-shaped operation lever described in Patent Document 1 has a concern in terms of operability. This is because the operation switch is provided on the operation lever and is displaced together with the operation lever. Therefore, depending on the position of the operation lever, the position of the operation switch may be too far or too close, which may make it difficult to operate.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, an endoscope operating device devised so as to be able to improve functionality without impairing the operability of the endoscope, an endoscope, and An object is to provide an endoscope system.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the endoscope operating device according to the present invention, an operating knob provided in a hand operating portion and rotated around a rotating shaft, and disposed on an outer periphery around the rotating shaft of the operating knob, A plurality of operation switches that rotate together with the operation knob, and an operation switch enabling means that enables an operation switch within an effective range set as a part of the rotation range of the operation knob among the plurality of operation switches; The effective range is set so that at least one of the plurality of operation switches is positioned within the effective range regardless of the rotational position of the operation knob.

  Each operation switch may be arranged on the outer periphery at substantially equal intervals, or may be arranged at an arbitrary position. The effective range may be any range of the rotation range of the operation knob, but is set to a range in which at least one of the thumb, middle finger, and ring finger can reach when the operator grips the hand operation unit. Is desirable. Further, the effective range is not limited to one place, and may be set to a plurality of places. In the case of setting two places, it is preferable to configure the first effective range in which the thumb of the gripped hand reaches and the second effective range in which the middle finger or ring finger of the gripped hand reaches.

  The operation knob may be any rotary operation member having a substantially circular shape, but it is preferable to use an operation knob that performs a bending operation on a part of the insertion portion. The operation knob for bending operation has a shape in which convex portions and concave portions are alternately formed in order to hang a finger. Therefore, it is desirable to provide each operation switch on all or part of the plurality of recesses. In addition, you may provide in all or one part of a convex part instead of providing in a recessed part.

  When the operation switches are arranged on the outer periphery at equal intervals and configured so that only one operation switch is always in the effective range, the effective range when the number of operation switches is “n” (natural number excluding 1). The center angle θ centered on the rotation angle can be calculated by the expression “360 degrees / n”.

  As a function of the operation switch, a release function that is operated when recording an image picked up by a solid-state image pickup device such as a CCD or a CMOS provided inside the distal end of the insertion portion, and a freeze function that is operated when the picked-up image is displayed statically on the monitor One of these. In addition, a function operated at the time of suction, a function operated at the time of air supply / water supply, and the like may be assigned. When a plurality of effective ranges are set, the function assigned to the operation switch may be changed for each effective range.

  The effective range is determined by a reference position around the rotation axis and a size defined by a central angle with respect to the reference position. Therefore, it is preferable to provide effective range adjusting means that can adjust either one or both of the reference position and the size so as to match the size of the hand of the surgeon. In this case, it is desirable to provide a mark indicating the effective range because the effective range can be visually recognized.

  The effective range adjusting means can be configured by an electric circuit and adjusted by software, or can be configured by a mechanical mechanism. In order to adjust the position of the effective range, an adjustment operation unit is required. The adjustment operation unit rotates about the rotation axis, and is preferably disposed closer to the hand operation unit than the operation knob and close to the outer surface of the hand operation unit. Moreover, you may provide the mark which shows an effective range in an adjustment operation part. In this case, the position of the effective range can be adjusted by rotating the adjustment operation unit while visually recognizing the effective range, which is convenient.

  The operation switch enabling means can be configured in software using an electric circuit, or mechanically configured using a mechanical mechanism. In the case of a software configuration, a detection unit that detects the rotational position of each operation switch, and a determination unit that determines an operation switch located within the effective range of the operation switches based on the detection result of the detection unit It is desirable to configure with

  In the case of a mechanical mechanism, a disk that rotates together with the operation switch, and a plurality of first electrodes that are provided on the disk and that are concentrically centered around the rotation axis and arranged at positions corresponding to the operation switches, And a second electrode which is formed according to the number and size of the effective range at a position facing the plurality of first electrodes and selectively contacts each first electrode according to the rotational position of the disk. It is desirable to configure the means. Although a brush electrode is used as the second electrode, it is preferable because it can be used for a long time. Further, the operation switch validation means may be provided inside the hand operation unit, or may be incorporated in the processor device to which the endoscope is connected.

  According to the present invention, a plurality of operation switches are provided on the operation knob, and only the operation switches within the effective range set as a part of the rotation range of the operation knob among the plurality of operation switches are validated. Since the effective range is set so that at least one of the plurality of operation switches is located within the effective range regardless of the rotation position, the functionality can be improved without impairing the operability.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the endoscope system 9 includes an endoscope 10, a processor device 17, a light source device 18, and the like. The endoscope 10 includes an insertion unit 11, a hand operating unit 12, a universal cord 13, and the like. The insertion portion 11 is formed in a tubular shape, and includes a distal end portion 14, a bending portion 15, and a flexible tube portion 16 in order from the distal end. A connector 13a is provided at the base end of the universal cord 13, and the connector 13a is connected to a processor device 17, an air supply device (not shown), a light source device 18, and the like. The processor device 17 includes a video signal processing unit 43 (see FIG. 4) for performing image processing on an image pickup signal obtained from a CCD 29 (see FIG. 4) built in the distal end portion 14 and encoding it into a composite signal or component signal. Is provided. The image processed by the video signal processing unit is displayed on the monitor 23.

  The tip portion 14 is formed of a hard resin material. The flexible tube portion 16 is a portion that connects the hand operation portion 12 and the bending portion 15, is formed in a long shape with a small diameter, and has flexibility. The bending portion 15 includes first and second bending portions 15a and 15b in order from the tip.

  The hand operation unit 12 is formed on a horizontally long substantially rectangular shape along the axial direction of the insertion unit 11, and the two operation knobs 21 and 22 are within a range where either the gripped thumb or the index finger can be operated. Is provided. The operation knobs 21 and 22 are provided coaxially so as to be rotatable, and are arranged in the order of the operation knobs 21 and 22 in the order of the operation knobs 21 and 22 in the direction of the rotation shaft 24 (see FIG. 2).

  The operation knob 21 is an up / down operation knob 21 for operating when the first bending portion 15a is bent in the vertical direction, and the operation knob 22 is used for bending the second bending portion 15b in the left / right direction. This is a left / right operation knob 22 for operation. The rotational drive of each operation knob 21, 22 is transmitted to a wire inserted inside the insertion portion 11, and the bending portions 15 a, 15 b are bent in the vertical and horizontal directions when the wires are pushed and pulled. Thereby, the front-end | tip part 14 is orient | assigned to the desired direction in a body cavity.

  As shown in FIG. 2, each operation knob 21, 22 has a circumferential surface in which convex portions 25 and concave portions 26 are alternately provided every 60 degrees in the circumferential direction around the rotation shaft 24. When each of the operation knobs 21 and 22 is operated, the convex portion 25 becomes a finger hook for preventing slipping. The operation knob 21 for up and down, for example, bends the first bending portion 15a upward by rotating clockwise, and bends downward by a reverse operation. Further, the left / right operation knob 22 bends the second bending portion 15b leftward by rotating clockwise, for example, and bends the second bending portion 15b rightward by a reverse operation. Reference numeral 21 a is a lock lever for locking the rotational position of the up / down operation knob 21, and reference numeral 21 b is a lock dial for locking the rotational position of the left / right operation knob 22.

  Operation switches 28a to 28f (hereinafter referred to as “28” when referring to all operation switches) are provided in the respective recesses 26 of the left and right operation knobs 22. Each operation switch 28 is turned ON / OFF by pressing in the radial direction of the rotating shaft 24. In this embodiment, a release button function for recording a still image is assigned to each operation switch 28. However, if the switch function is enabled for all the operation switches 28, inconvenience such as an erroneous operation occurs. Therefore, among the operation switches 28, only the switch function of the operation switch 28 within a predetermined range (hereinafter referred to as “effective range”) in the rotation direction of the left and right operation knobs 22 is set to be effective. Yes.

  The size of the effective range is determined by a central angle θ centered on the rotation shaft 24, and the position is determined by an absolute position (reference position) with respect to the rotation direction of the operation knob 22. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the range where the thumb is applied when the hand operating unit 12 is gripped with the left hand is set as the effective range. Assuming that the reference position is a position that is half the center angle θ that defines the size of the effective range, the effective range is set to a size that is specified by a center angle θ of, for example, 30 degrees clockwise from the reference position. Is set. When the central angle θ is set to 60 degrees, one operation switch 28 is provided for every 60 degrees on the outer periphery of the left / right operation knob 22, so that one operation is always performed regardless of the rotation position of the left / right operation knob 22. Only the switch function of the switch 28 is activated.

  Although the operation switch 28 is provided on the outer periphery of the operation knob 22 every 60 degrees, the number of the operation switches 28 is not limited to this. In this case, regardless of the rotational position of the operation knob 22, the central angle θ for allowing one operation switch 28 to be in the effective range is determined when the number of operation switches 28 is “N” (natural number excluding 1). , [Equation 1].

[Equation 1]
θ = 360 (degrees) / n

  As shown in FIG. 4, the left / right operation knob 22 is connected to one end of the inner shaft 30 of the rotating shaft 24. A first pulley 32 provided inside the casing 31 of the hand operation unit 12 is fixed to the other end of the inner shaft 30. A first wire 33 for bending the second bending portion 15 b is hung on the first pulley 32, and the first wire 33 is pushed and pulled by the rotation of the first pulley 32. The up / down operation knob 21 is connected to one end of the outer shaft 34. The first bending portion 15a is bent in the vertical direction by pushing and pulling the second wire 36 hung on the second pulley 35 provided at the other end of the outer shaft 34.

  The inner shaft 30 has a hollow cross section, and six signal lines 27a to 27f connected to the operation switches 28 pass through the hollow portion. The signal lines 27a to 27f are connected to the CPU 37 of the processor device 17 from the hand operating unit 12 via the universal cord 13 and the connector 13a.

  Further, an absolute rotary encoder 38 is disposed on the inner shaft 30 in the casing 31. The rotary encoder 38 detects the absolute rotational position of the left / right operation knob 22. The detection signal of the rotary encoder 38 is sent to the CPU 37 through the universal cord 13 and the connector 13a through the signal line 38a. The detection means for detecting the rotational position of the left / right operation knob 22 is not limited to the rotary encoder 38, and a known position sensor such as a sensor using a potentiometer or a Hall element can be used.

  The CPU 37 is provided with a determination circuit 39. The determination circuit 39 monitors the operation signal obtained from each operation switch 28 and the rotational position signal obtained from the rotary encoder 38. Further, an effective range setting memory 41 is connected to the CPU 37 via the bus 40. In the effective range setting memory 41, data of the center angle θ and the reference position that determine the size of the effective range are stored in advance.

  Upon receiving the operation signal from the operation switch 28, the determination circuit 39 sends the operation signal from the operation switch 28 located in the effective range based on the data of the center angle θ and the reference position of the effective range setting memory 41. It is determined whether it is what was done. When the determined result is an operation signal from the operation switch 28 located in the effective range, the CPU 37 controls each unit so as to record an image captured by the CCD 29 at that time. In the present embodiment, since the function of the release button is assigned, the CPU 37 does nothing if the determined result is invalid. The determination circuit 39 constitutes the operation switch enabling means of the present invention together with the rotary encoder 38 described above.

  The processor device 17 is provided with an effective range adjustment operation unit 42. The effective range adjustment operation unit 42 is operated when adjusting the reference position and size of the effective range. A signal obtained from the effective range adjustment operation unit 42 is input to the CPU 37.

  The video signal processing unit 43 includes an analog signal processing circuit 44 and a digital signal processing circuit 45, which are controlled by the CPU 37. An imaging signal obtained from the CCD 29 is input to the analog signal processing circuit 44. The analog signal processing circuit 44 includes a correlated double sampling circuit (CDS), an amplifier circuit (AMP), and an AD converter (A / D). The CDS removes noise from the imaging signal, the AMP amplifies the imaging signal, and the A / D digitally converts the imaging signal to generate image data.

  The image data generated by the analog signal processing circuit 44 is temporarily stored in the image memory 46. The digital signal processing circuit 45 includes an AE / AWB circuit, an image processing circuit, a compression / decompression circuit, and a media controller. The digital signal processing circuit 45 reads image data stored in the image memory 46, and outputs various signals to the read image data. In addition to processing, the captured image is displayed on the monitor 23 via the driver 47, and a memory card (not shown) detachably provided on the recording unit 48 is accessed to read and write the image file. The AE / AWB circuit measures subject brightness and adjusts exposure and white balance during shooting. The image processing circuit performs image correction processing such as gamma correction, sharpness correction, and contrast correction on the image data, and also converts the image data into Y data that is a luminance signal, Cb data that is a blue color difference signal, and a red color difference signal. YC conversion processing is performed to convert the data into YC data composed of Cr data.

  The compression / decompression circuit performs a compression process on the image data subjected to various types of image processing by the image processing circuit, and then generates an image file storing the compressed image data. The generated image file is written to the memory card in the recording unit 48.

  The operation of the above configuration will be described. In an endoscope, generally, an insertion portion 11 to be inserted into the body is held by the right hand, and the hand operation portion 12 is gripped by the left hand as shown in FIG. Then, the operation knobs 21 and 22 are rotated with the thumb and middle finger or ring finger of the left hand attached to bend the bending portion 15 in the vertical and horizontal directions, and the distal end portion 14 is directed in a desired direction in the body.

  An image captured by the CCD 29 is displayed on the monitor 23. The surgeon examines the inside of the body while viewing the image on the monitor 23. When a lesion or the like is found, the operation switch 28 to which the thumb of the left hand reaches the left button assigned with the function of the release button is pressed for the purpose of recording a still image.

  The determination circuit 39 monitors the operation signal of each operation switch 28 sent from the signal lines 27a to 27f and the rotational position signal of the rotary encoder 38 sent from the signal line 38a. Based on the data of the central angle θ that determines the effective range of the effective range setting memory 41 and the reference position, the determination circuit 39 is sent from the operation switch 28 that is located in the effective range. It is determined whether or not.

  For example, when a rotary encoder having three photo interrupters is used, the CPU 37 sets “45 degrees” when the code combining output signals obtained from the respective photo interrupters is “011”, and “90 degrees” when “001”. The absolute angle of the left / right operation knob 22 is specified from the combination code of the output signal, such as “180 degrees” when “100” and “360 degrees” when “111”. Since six operation switches 28 are provided at equal intervals, it is determined in advance that the operation switches 28a to 28f are arranged at rotational positions every 60 degrees. In the effective range setting memory 41, the position and size of the effective range are stored as absolute angles, for example, data of “110 degrees” to “170 degrees”. As a result, since the rotational position of the operation knob 22 is known as an absolute angle at the moment when the power of the processor device 17 is turned on, the operation switch 28 that is in the effective range at that time can be identified instantaneously.

  When it is determined that the operation signal is from the operation switch 28 within the effective range, the CPU 37 controls the recording unit 48 and the like so as to record a still image of the image captured by the CCD 29 at that time. If the input operation signal is not sent, the CPU 37 does nothing.

  As described above, the operation switches 28 are provided in the respective concave portions 26 of the left and right operation knobs 22, and the effective range in which the switch function of the operation switches 28 is effective is within the range where the thumb of the left hand that grips the hand operation unit 12 can reach. Therefore, the release operation can be performed while maintaining the rotation position of the left / right operation knob 22, and the thumb can be moved less, so that the operation can be performed quickly.

  Next, the operation of adjusting the effective range by operating the effective range adjustment operation unit 42 will be described. When adjusting one or both of the center angle θ of the effective range and the reference position, the effective range adjustment operation unit 42 is operated. When the effective range adjustment operation unit 42 is operated, the effective range adjustment mode is automatically entered. As shown in FIG. 5, for example, a contour representing the hand operation unit 12 and the left and right operation knobs 22 and a line representing the reference position are displayed. 23b, lines 23c and 23d indicating the size of the current effective range, and angles around the rotation axis 24 (0 degrees, 90 degrees, 180 degrees, 270 degrees (directions perpendicular to the axial direction are 0 degrees and 180 degrees). The coordinates 49 indicating 90 degrees and 270 degrees) are displayed on the screen 23a of the monitor 23.

  The reference position is adjusted by, for example, operating a dial or the like provided in the effective range adjustment operation unit 42, dragging the line 23b with a mouse, or inputting a numerical value in the setting information box 50. Do. The size can be adjusted by the same operation procedure. Then, after the adjustment operation is completed, by pressing the save button 51 displayed on the screen 23 a, the adjusted effective range data is stored in the effective range setting memory 41. In the above-described embodiment, the effective range is adjusted by setting the reference position and the size of the reference position in the clockwise / counterclockwise direction. Instead, one end of the effective range, for example, the line 23d is used as the reference position. The central angle may be determined from the reference position. According to this, the position and size of the effective range can be adjusted on one screen.

  In the above embodiment, the operation switch 28 is provided in each concave portion 26, but may be provided in the convex portion 25 as shown in FIG. 6. Further, as shown by a dotted line in FIG. Furthermore, although provided at equal intervals on the outer periphery of the left and right operation knob 22, it may be provided at an arbitrary position. Further, the effective range is not limited to the range that the left thumb can reach, but may be set to the range that the index finger of the left hand, or the middle finger or ring finger can reach.

  In the above-described embodiment, the determination circuit 39 constituting the operation switch validation unit is provided in the processor device 17, but may be provided in the hand operation unit 12. Moreover, although the determination circuit 39 and the operation switch enabling means are performed by software using a CPU, they may be configured by a mechanical mechanism.

  In this case, for example, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the determination unit 60 includes a disk 61 and a disk 62 that rotates together with the left / right operation knob 22. The discs 61 and 62 are arranged in such a manner that the surfaces face each other, and an electrode (corresponding to a second electrode) 63 formed in an arc shape centering on the rotation shaft 24 is provided on the surface of the disc 61. . The electrode 63 is formed with a central angle θ corresponding to the effective range. A signal line 63a is connected to the electrode 63, and is connected to the CPU 37 via the universal cord 13 and the connector 13a.

  The disk 62 is provided with the same number (six in this case) of brush electrodes (corresponding to the first electrode) 64 as the operation switch 28 on the same arc as the electrode 63 at a constant pitch. Each brush electrode 64 is connected to each operation switch 28. When the operation switch 28 enters the effective range, only the brush electrode 64 connected to the operation switch 28 contacts the electrode 63. And when it remove | deviates from an effective range, a contact with the electrode 63 is cancelled | released.

  The disks 61 and 62 are provided inside the casing 31. Since the casing 31 has a waterproof structure, even if the endoscope is washed, water does not enter the casing 31, so that there is no problem that the electrode 63 and the brush electrode 64 are short-circuited with water.

  The display plate 69 is disposed between the casing 31 and the upper / lower operation knob 21 and rotates with the disk 61. The lock mechanism 66 normally stops the rotation of the disk 61 and releases the lock in conjunction with the rotation operation of the display board 69. Note that a click mechanism may be used instead of the lock mechanism 66.

  On the display board 69, a mark 68 indicating the effective range is displayed. As shown in FIG. 8, the display plate 69 is disposed close to the casing 31 so as not to obstruct the operation of the operation knobs 21 and 22. In addition, since the display board 69 is connected to the disk 61, when adjusting the effective range, the display board 69 is simply rotated with respect to the hand operating unit 12 while visually recognizing the mark 68, so that the position of the effective range can be determined. Can be adjusted easily. In FIG. 7, the up / down operation knob 21 is omitted in order to prevent complication of the drawing. Further, if only the mark 68 portion is formed larger than the operation knobs 21 and 22 and the portion of the marm 68 protrudes from the back of the operation knobs 21 and 22, the mark 68 can be easily visually recognized. It is.

  Further, as another example of the determination unit, a configuration using a rotary switch may be used. For example, the determination unit 70 illustrated in FIG. 9 includes a rotor 71 that rotates together with the left / right operation knob 22. A plurality of cams 72 are provided on the circumferential surface of the rotor 71. On the outer periphery of the rotor 71, three micro switches 73 to 75 are provided side by side in the axial direction of the rotary shaft 24. The micro switches 73 to 75 are arranged on the rotation locus of the plurality of cams 72, are turned on by being pushed in the radial direction by the convex portions of the cam 72, and are turned off by the concave portions of the cam 72. The plurality of cams 72 are uneven so that the code combining the output signals output from the micro switches 73 to 75 is different depending on the rotation position of the left and right operation knobs 22 within which the operation switches 28 enter the effective range. It has been.

  The ON / OFF signals obtained from the micro switches 73 to 75 are sent to the determination circuit 76 of the processor device 17. The determination circuit 76 identifies the operation switch 28 that falls within the effective range of the operation switches 28 in accordance with the code combining the ON / OFF signals obtained from the micro switches 73 to 75, and the identified operation switch 28 is When it is turned on, an operation signal is sent to the CPU 37.

  The table shown in FIG. 10 shows an example of combination codes of output signals of the micro switches 73 to 75 that are determined in advance for the operation switches 28 of 28a to 28f. The number of codes may be set by the number of operation switches 28 (in this case, 6). When the number of operation switches 28 is increased or decreased, the number of micro switches 73 to 75 can be increased or decreased according to the number of cords, and the shape of the cam 72 can be determined according to the number of cords. is there. In the embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, the cam 72 is provided on the peripheral surface around the rotation shaft 24, but instead, it intersects the rotation shaft 24 of the operation knob 22. A disk having a surface in the direction may be provided, and a plurality of arc-shaped cams may be provided on one surface of the disk on rotation trajectories having different diameters, and each microswitch may be provided on the rotation trajectory of each cam. Good.

  In each of the above embodiments, one operation switch 28 is set so as to be in the effective range. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and two operation switches may be included in the effective range. In this case, a countermeasure for enabling both of the two operation switches in the effective range or a countermeasure for enabling one of them may be appropriately performed in software.

  In each of the above embodiments, the operation switch 28 is provided on the left / right operation knob 22, but may be provided on the up / down operation knob 21. Further, a switch knob that can be rotated separately from the operation knobs 21 and 22 may be provided in the hand operation unit 12, and the operation switch 28 may be provided in the switch knob. In this case, the switch knob may be provided coaxially with the operation knobs 21 and 22, or may be provided on another axis.

  Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, the release button function is assigned to the operation switch 28. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other functions such as a freeze button, an air / water supply button, a suction button, etc. It may be assigned to a function. In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, a switch to be assigned to the operation switch 28 from the drop-down list 81 displayed by displaying the drop-down list box 80 and clicking the triangle mark at the right end of the box 80 with the mouse cursor. Only one function name may be selected and determined. The freeze button causes the captured image displayed on the monitor 23 to be displayed statically. Further, when assigning to an air / water supply button or a suction button, an operation switch may be provided with an actuator for controlling an air / water supply or suction valve. Furthermore, a separate function may be assigned to each operation switch 28 and the switch function may be validated only for those within the effective range.

  In the above embodiment, the effective range is set to only one place in the rotation direction of the operation knob 22, but may be set to a plurality of places. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the first and second effective ranges may be set at two locations that can be operated with both the thumb and middle finger of the left hand. In this case, it is desirable that the setting of whether or not to disable the simultaneous operation is performed in software. Further, the function assigned to the operation switch 28 may be changed for each of a plurality of effective ranges.

  In each of the above embodiments, the electronic endoscope 10 has been described. However, it can also be used for an ultrasonic endoscope, and also for an endoscope that is observed only by optical means such as a fiberscope. Applicable. Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to an operation knob of a treatment instrument erecting apparatus that erects a treatment instrument inserted through a forceps channel of an insertion portion to be inserted into an observation site with a wire.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the use condition of an electronic endoscope. It is explanatory drawing which shows the range which validates the switch function of the operation switch with respect to a hand operation part. It is a perspective view which shows the state which gripped the hand operation part with the left hand. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline of an electrical structure with a hand operation part and a processor apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the screen which adjusts an effective range. It is explanatory drawing which shows the principal part of another example which has arrange | positioned the operation switch to the convex part of the operation knob. It is a perspective view which shows the other example of the determination part which determines whether it is the operation switch which is in the effective range by selectively contacting a some brush electrode with respect to a fixed electrode plate. It is a front view which shows the determination part demonstrated in FIG. 7, and has described the movable disk and the fixed disk in piles. It is a perspective view which shows the other example of the determination means which determines whether it is the operation switch which is in the effective range by detecting the unevenness | corrugation of the cam which rotates with an operation knob with a micro switch. 10 is a table showing codes described in FIG. 9. It is explanatory drawing of the other example which shows the screen which performs operation which allocates another function to an operation switch. It is explanatory drawing which shows another embodiment which set the effective range to two different places in the rotation direction of an operation knob.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 Endoscope system 10 Endoscope 12 Hand operation part 18 Light source device 21 Up / down operation knob 22 Left / right operation knob 28 Operation switch

Claims (20)

An operation knob which is provided in the hand operation part of the endoscope and rotates around a rotation axis;
A plurality of operation switches disposed on an outer periphery of the operation knob around the rotation axis and rotating together with the operation knob;
An operation switch enabling means for enabling the operation switch within the effective range set in a part of the rotation range of the operation knob among the plurality of operation switches, and
The endoscope operating device, wherein the effective range is set such that at least one of the plurality of operation switches is positioned within the effective range regardless of a rotation position of the operation knob.   The endoscope operation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation switches are arranged on the outer periphery at substantially equal intervals.   The internal view according to claim 1, wherein the effective range is set to a range in which at least one of a thumb, a middle finger, and a ring finger can reach when an operator grips the hand operation unit. Mirror operation device.   The endoscope according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the operation knob is operated when bending a part of an insertion portion that is connected to the hand operation portion and is inserted into the body. Operating device.   The endoscope operation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein each of the operation switches is disposed in a plurality of recesses formed on the outer periphery of the operation knob. The following conditional expression (1) is satisfied, where n is a natural number excluding 1 and n is a center angle of the effective range around the rotation axis: The endoscope operation device according to any one of 5 to 5.
θ = 360 ° / n Equation (1)   7. The endoscope operating device according to claim 1, further comprising function changing means for changing a function assigned to the operation switch within the effective range.   The endoscope operating device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the function assigned to the operation switch within the effective range includes either a release function or a freeze function.   The endoscope operating device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the effective range is provided at one place within the rotation range.   The endoscope operating device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the effective range is provided at a plurality of locations within the rotation range.   The endoscope operation apparatus according to claim 10, wherein a function assigned to the operation switch is different for each effective range.   An effective range adjusting means is provided for adjusting at least one of the size of the effective range defined by a central angle around the rotation axis and the position of the effective range around the rotation axis. The endoscope operating device according to any one of claims 1 to 11.   The effective range adjustment means includes an adjustment operation unit that adjusts the position of the effective range by rotating around the rotation axis, and the adjustment operation unit is closer to the hand operation unit than the operation knob. The endoscope operation device according to claim 12, wherein the endoscope operation device is disposed in proximity to an outer surface of the hand operation unit.   The endoscope operating device according to claim 13, wherein a mark indicating the effective range is provided on the adjustment operating unit.   The endoscope operating device according to claim 1, wherein a mark indicating the effective range is provided. The operation switch validation means includes detection means for detecting the rotational position of each operation switch;
The determination unit according to any one of claims 1 to 15, further comprising: a determination unit that determines the operation switch located in the effective range among the operation switches based on a detection result of the detection unit. Endoscope operation device. The operation switch enabling means includes a disk that rotates together with the operation switch,
A plurality of first electrodes provided on the disk, arranged on concentric circles around the rotation axis and at positions corresponding to the operation switches;
A second electrode that is formed at a position facing the plurality of first electrodes according to the number and size of the effective ranges, and that selectively contacts the first electrodes according to the rotational position of the disk; The endoscope operating device according to claim 1, comprising:   The endoscope operating device according to claim 17, wherein the disk and the first and second electrodes are arranged inside the hand operating unit. In an endoscope that images the inside of a subject,
An operation knob which is provided in the hand operation part of the endoscope and rotates around a rotation axis;
A plurality of operation switches disposed on an outer periphery of the operation knob around the rotation axis and rotating together with the operation knob;
An operation switch enabling means for enabling the operation switch within the effective range set in a part of the rotation range of the operation knob among the plurality of operation switches, and
The endoscope is characterized in that the effective range is set such that at least one of the plurality of operation switches is positioned within the effective range regardless of a rotation position of the operation knob. An endoscope system comprising: an endoscope that outputs an imaging signal obtained by imaging an inside of a subject; and a processor device that processes an imaging signal obtained from the endoscope and generates an image for examination. ,
An operation knob which is provided in the hand operation part of the endoscope and rotates around a rotation axis;
A plurality of operation switches disposed on an outer periphery of the operation knob around the rotation axis and rotating together with the operation knob;
An operation switch enabling means for enabling the operation switch within the effective range set in a part of the rotation range of the operation knob among the plurality of operation switches, and
The endoscope system is characterized in that the effective range is set such that at least one of the plurality of operation switches is positioned within the effective range regardless of a rotation position of the operation knob.

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