JP5324331B2 - Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and more particularly to processing of a hanging portion in a cable.

  The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes an apparatus main body, an operation panel, a display, and the like. The apparatus main body includes a metal casing, a plurality of electronic circuits provided in the casing, a resin cover that wraps the casing, a plurality of casters provided in a lower portion of the casing, and the like. Further, a support column as an elevating mechanism is installed in the casing, and the operation panel is positioned in the height direction by the support column. A display may be mounted on the support along with the operation panel. That is, the movable part supported by the support so as to be movable up and down includes an operation panel, or includes an operation panel and a display. Cables drawn from these movable parts (generally a cable bundle made up of a plurality of cables) pass through the inside of the column and are connected to a predetermined electronic board in the housing through an outlet at the bottom.

  The cable is provided with a certain amount of slack in order to allow the column to move up and down. That is, the length of the cable is determined with a margin so that the support can freely move up and down. In this case, typically, the maximum slack is obtained when the column is at the descending end, and the least slack is obtained when the column is at the rising end. That is, the middle part of the cable hangs down from the cable outlet of the column to form a sag portion, and the amount of slack in the sag portion depends on the vertical movement position of the column. Normally, the support is installed on the front side of the apparatus main body, the cable is guided from the support to the back side, and is connected to the electronic board on the back side of the apparatus main body. Patent Document 1 discloses a structure in which a cable from a display device is guided through the arm and into the apparatus main body. In addition, a cable from the operation panel is also guided into the apparatus main body.

JP 2008-22874 A

  As the apparatus main body is miniaturized and integrated, it is very difficult to secure a space for accommodating the slack portion or the hanging portion of the cable in the apparatus main body or the housing. If the hanging portion is simply guided below the housing, it will come into contact with the floor surface, and thus there is a need to accommodate the hanging portion using the lower space. The sagging portion is essentially a free motion portion (unconstrained portion), and if it is moved freely as the column is raised and lowered, its pinching and excessive twisting are likely to occur. It is desired to naturally guide and guide the slack portion or the surplus portion in a certain direction. In addition, it is desirable not to generate an excessive bending stress in the cable at that time.

  In many cases, an air inlet for air cooling is provided on the lower surface of the casing. Although a filter is provided at the air intake port, if the air intake port faces downward, it is easy to suck up dust and dirt on the floor. Therefore, it is desired to form another intake path instead of directly facing the intake port to the floor surface. In addition, since the lower space of the housing tends to be a dead space, its effective use is expected.

  An object of the present invention is to realize a functional structure at the bottom of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. In particular, it is an object of the present invention to accommodate and protect the portion of the cable that hangs from the column. Alternatively, an object of the present invention is to enable an appropriate intake path to be formed. Alternatively, an object of the present invention is to effectively use the lower space of the housing.

  An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention includes a housing, a movable body including an operation panel, a column installed in the housing and holding the movable body so as to be movable up and down, and an electron provided in the housing. A board, a cable guided from the movable body to the electronic board through a cable path in the support column and a lower space of the housing, and a cable tray provided in the lower space of the housing, The cable has a freely-movable hanging portion as a portion between a cable outlet of the support and a cable holding portion set in the housing, and a slack amount of the hanging portion is above and below the movable body. The cable tray is bent in accordance with the amount of slack by bending the cable tray in the escape direction by contacting the hanging part from below the cable tray. Causing minute, it is characterized in.

  According to the said structure, a support | pillar is installed in a housing | casing and a movable body is hold | maintained by the support | pillar. Preferably, the support column is composed of a fixed column and a movable column, that is, an extendable column. A cable passage is formed inside. The middle of the cable exiting from the cable exit of the cable passage is supported by the cable tray. That is, the hanging portion of the cable is supported from the lower side by the cable tray, and when the portion is increased, the direction in which the portion is released is defined by the cable tray. As a result, even if the amount of slack in the cable changes, it can be securely held and the cable is not exposed, so that the cable can be maintained, and even in this case, the movement of the support is not particularly disturbed. Since the lower part of the housing generally tends to be a dead space, there is an advantage that the space can be effectively used. The lower space of the housing in which the cable tray is installed may be a lower space outside the housing or a lower space inside the housing. Desirably, a box-shaped frame that accommodates a plurality of electronic boards constitutes the above-described housing, and a cable tray is provided below (that is, in a lower space separated from the plurality of electronic boards). The cable holding portion is usually configured as a hook, holder or the like set in the middle of the cable, but it may be an end connector.

  Preferably, the cable tray has an inclined tray surface in contact with the hanging portion, and the downward direction of the tray surface is the escape direction. According to this configuration, the hanging portion is brought into contact with the tray surface, which is an inclined surface, and the portion is naturally guided to the lower side of the inclined surface by using its own weight. The angle of the tray surface is set within a range of 15 degrees to 45 degrees, for example. If the angle is small, it is difficult to obtain a natural escape action, and if the angle is large, the occupied space becomes large. Therefore, it is desirable to determine the angle in consideration of the rigidity (or the number) of cables, the size of available space, and the like. The trace surface may be a connecting surface of a plurality of inclined surfaces, or may be a gently curved surface. If the trace surface is flat, it is very easy to manufacture. Since the hanging portion of the cable comes into contact with the trace surface, it is desirable to configure the trace surface as a sliding surface with low frictional resistance.

  Preferably, the cable tray has a guide frame installed at least at a part of the periphery of the inclined tray surface, and the guide frame is an enclosure for restricting the hanging portion from deviating from the tray surface. Function. According to this structure, the movement range of the cable on the tray surface can be regulated and the deviation can be forcibly prevented.

  Preferably, the support column is provided on the front side of the casing, the cable holding portion is provided on the back side of the lower part of the casing, and the tray surface has the front-rear direction in the casing as the X direction, In the case where the horizontal direction orthogonal to the X direction is the Y direction and the vertical direction is the Z direction, it is provided as a slope that goes down from the intermediate position in the Y direction to one end side. According to this configuration, when the device is viewed from the front, the hanging portion of the cable (generally, a portion having a U shape) can be released in the right oblique direction or the left oblique direction. It is desirable that the cable is configured not to protrude from the side surface of the apparatus even at the maximum amount of slack. It is desirable to adopt the above configuration when the support column is installed at the front center and the connection end of the cable is set on the back side of the apparatus.

  Preferably, the tray surface has a trapezoidal shape whose width gradually decreases in the descending direction, and a guide frame as an enclosure for regulating deviation of the cable is provided at least on the front side and the lower side of the trapezoid. It is done. Since the hanging part or the slack part usually has a U-shape, it is desirable to match the shape of the tray surface with the shape. However, it may be a simple rectangular shape or a semicircular shape.

  Preferably, the casing is provided with an intake opening facing downward, and the tray surface is disposed opposite to the intake opening while being spaced apart from the intake opening, and a gap space between the tray surface and the intake opening. Air is taken in from. According to this configuration, a wedge-shaped or horn-shaped gap is generated between the bottom surface of the housing and the tray surface which is an inclined surface, and can be used as a suction duct. In this configuration, since air can be sucked from the side rather than the lower side, unnecessary suction of dust and dirt on the floor surface directly below the apparatus can be prevented or reduced. In addition, since a sufficient intake path can be secured, an expected cooling effect can be obtained.

  Preferably, the movable body further includes an indicator, and a cable bundle including an operation panel cable and an indicator cable is provided as the cable. When the cable bundle is configured in this way, a considerable rigidity is easily generated as a whole, and the weight of the hanging portion is also considerable. On the other hand, the support by the cable tray can alleviate the motion load of the support and can release the slack of the cable in another direction, so that the cable can be protected.

  According to the present invention, a functional structure can be realized in the lower part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. In particular, the cable portion hanging from the support can be accommodated and protected, or an appropriate intake path can be formed, or the lower space of the housing can be used effectively.

It is a skeleton figure showing an ultrasonic diagnostic device in a rising state. 1 is a skeleton diagram showing an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus in a lowered state. It is a figure which shows the effect | action of the cable tray in a raise state. It is a figure which shows the effect | action of the cable tray in a descending state. It is a figure which shows the intake route in a raise state. It is a figure which shows the intake route in a descending state.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a skeleton thereof. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is an apparatus that is used in the medical field and forms an ultrasonic image in a living body by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves. In FIG. 1, an ultrasonic probe and the like are not shown.

  The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 has a main body 12. The main body 12 has a housing made of metal, a case made of resin, and the like, and a plurality of electronic boards are accommodated therein. In FIG. 1, the main body has a box shape.

  The support column 14 is installed on the main body 12. The support | pillar 14 hold | maintains the movable body 16 so that raising / lowering is possible. The support column 14 includes a movable column 18 and a fixed column not shown. An outlet opening 18 </ b> A is formed at the lower end of the movable column 18. A cable 20 is inserted into the support column 14. The cable 20 is an operation panel cable, a display cable, or the like. The cable 20 may be a cable bundle in which a plurality of cables are assembled. The cable 20 is roughly divided into a portion 20A inside the support column 14, a hanging portion 20B as an intermediate portion from the outlet opening to the clip 24, and a portion 20C from the clip 24 to the connector 22. The clip 24 holds the middle part of the cable.

  The movable body 16 has a pedestal 17 fixed to the column 14. An operation panel (not shown) is attached to the base 17. The operation panel includes a keyboard and a trackball. An arm mechanism and a display may be mounted on the pedestal 17. The arm mechanism holds the display. The display device is constituted by a flat panel display, for example. The movable body 16 is fixed at an arbitrary height.

  A pair of frames 28 forming a part of the housing are provided on the lower side of the main body 12. The pair of frames 28 constitutes a base member. A plurality of members are also bridged between the frames 28, but these are not shown. A plurality of casters 26 are provided on the pair of frames 28.

  The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment includes a cable tray 30 provided in a lower space of the main body 12, that is, a lower space of the housing. The cable tray 30 may be provided in the lower part inside the main body 12. The cable tray 30 supports the hanging or slack portion between the outlet opening 18A of the support column 14 and the clip 24 from below and exerts an action of releasing the portion in a predetermined direction. This will be described in detail later with reference to FIGS.

  The connector 22 described above is connected to a connector provided on a predetermined electronic board. When a plurality of cables are provided, each cable is connected to a predetermined substrate. The connection location is usually the back side of the main body 12. That is, in this embodiment, the support column 14 is provided on the operator side, that is, the front side, and the cable passing therethrough is guided to the back side of the main body 12 through the lower portion of the main body. However, various connector connection positions are possible. The cable 20 is provided with one or more clips in the middle thereof. However, it is necessary to fix the cable so as not to disturb the vertical movement of the support column 14. That is, the cable 20 is disposed so as to satisfy such a condition, and thereby the cable 20 is slack according to the vertical movement position of the support column 14. Therefore, a mechanism for absorbing or releasing the slack is necessary.

  FIG. 1 shows a state in which the movable body 16 is at the rising end. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the movable body 16 is at the lower end. As shown in the figure, the cable 20 has a large slack. That is, the drooping portion indicated by reference numeral 20B is very large, and a U-shaped shape is prominently generated.

  Next, the configuration and operation of the cable tray will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 3, the front-rear direction of the device is the X direction, the left-right direction of the device is the Y direction, and the up-down direction of the device is the Z direction. The support column 14 is installed at the center in the Y direction on the front side of the apparatus. The cable tray 30 has a tray surface 32. The tray surface 32 has a trapezoidal shape as shown. The long side is at a high position and the short side is at a low position. The cable tray 30 is provided with a frame 34, and the frame 34 is specifically composed of two walls 36 and 38. A wall 36 is provided on the hypotenuse on the near side in the trapezoidal shape, and a wall 38 is provided on the short side at the lower position. The tray surface 32 is configured as an inclined surface, and the inclination angle is set within a range of 15 to 45 degrees, for example. Of course, instead of forming the flat tray surface 32, it is possible to use a stepwise inclined or curved one.

FIG. 4 shows the lowered state. A large slack portion is formed between the outlet opening of the support column and the clip (see reference numeral 20B), and it is guided downward, that is, to the side by the action of the inclination of the tray surface 32. The holding action of the cable on the tray surface 32 is naturally determined according to the amount of slack, and as the amount of slack increases, the more cables exist on the tray surface 32. Even in such a case, since the frame body 34 is provided, the problem that a part of the cable protrudes toward the front side or the side is prevented. That is, the movement space of the cable is defined by the frame. The reason why the tray surface 32 is trapezoidal is that the slack portion is U-shaped, and the shape of the tray surface is determined according to such a shape.
As shown in FIG. 3, even in the raised state, in this embodiment, a part of the cable is in contact with the tray surface, and when the movable body is pulled down from there, more cable parts are placed on the tray surface. At the same time, the middle portion of the cable is guided in a diagonally downward direction. Therefore, it is possible to securely release the cable in the specified direction according to the slack of the middle part of the cable, so that it is possible to protect the cable and prevent problems such as unnecessary contact with the floor surface. can do. Even when the maximum amount of slack occurs, the cable does not partially protrude from the side of the apparatus. Although the tray surface is inclined in the YZ plane in the present embodiment, it is also possible to set the inclination in other directions. However, in this embodiment, since the support | pillar was installed in the center of this side, the cable pulled down from it can escape naturally in a horizontal direction. Incidentally, in the present embodiment, walls are provided on two of the four sides of the tray surface 32, but walls can also be provided on the other sides. However, it is desirable to adopt the configuration as in this embodiment from the viewpoint of restraining the movement of the cable more than necessary and reducing the amount of material. In the case of guiding a plurality of cables, it is desirable that a bundle state is maintained by a fastening member with a predetermined interval therebetween. However, each cable may be supported by the cable tray in a disjointed state.

  5 and 6 show another operation of the cable tray 30. FIG. An intake port 36 is set in the center of the lower surface side of the apparatus main body. The air inlet faces the tray surface of the cable tray 30, and thereby a gap having a wedge shape is formed on the lower surface side of the apparatus. Incidentally, FIG. 5 shows the raised state, and FIG. 6 shows the lowered state. As indicated by reference numeral 38, the presence of the cable tray 30 makes it possible to take in air from the lateral direction, take in air along the tray surface, and send the air into the apparatus from the intake port. Is possible. In this case, since air is prevented from being directly sucked from the floor surface facing the air inlet 36, an advantage that dust or dust sucked on the floor surface can be prevented or reduced can be obtained. .

  According to this configuration, the dead space existing on the lower side of the apparatus can be effectively used, and in that case, the cable can be safely stored, and the duct that takes in air from the lateral direction can be configured using the space. Therefore, there is an advantage that the functionality of the lower space of the apparatus can be extremely enhanced. Incidentally, it is possible to provide two cable trays on the left and right sides of the apparatus. If the cable tray inclination angle is too small, the cable escape function cannot be used well. On the other hand, if the cable tray angle is increased, the distance between the cable tray and the floor surface will be shortened, causing problems such as collision. Therefore, it is desirable to set the angle of the tray surface within a range in which such two problems can be cleared.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the intermediate portion of the cable, that is, the free movement portion can be appropriately guided also by raising and lowering the support column, and in particular, the slack portion or the surplus portion is released in an appropriate direction to maintain the cable. The advantage is that the load on the cable applied to the support can be reduced. In addition, since such a structure is provided in the lower part of the apparatus, it is possible to effectively use the dead space and to form a duct for taking in air from the lateral direction in the lower space. In this way, it is possible to obtain many advantages while having a simple structure.

  10 ultrasonic diagnostic equipment, 12 body, 14 struts, 16 movable bodies, 18 movable pillars, 20 cables, 24 clips.

Claims (7)

A housing,
A movable body including an operation panel;
A support installed in the housing and holding the movable body so as to be movable up and down;
An electronic board provided in the housing;
A cable led from the movable body to the electronic board through a cable passage in the support column and a lower space of the housing;
A cable tray provided in a lower space of the housing;
Including
The cable has a freely-movable hanging portion as a portion between a cable outlet of the support and a cable holding portion set in the housing, and a slack amount of the hanging portion is above and below the movable body. Change by movement,
The cable tray is in contact with the hanging portion from the lower side to bend the middle of the hanging portion in the escape direction to produce a bent portion corresponding to the amount of slack.
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. The apparatus of claim 1.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cable tray has an inclined tray surface that is in contact with a part of the hanging portion, and a downward direction of the tray surface is the escape direction. The apparatus of claim 2.
The cable tray has a guide frame installed in at least a part of the periphery of the inclined tray surface, and the guide frame functions as an enclosure for restricting the hanging portion from deviating from the tray surface. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein
The support column is provided on the front side of the housing, the cable holding portion is provided on the back side of the lower part of the housing,
The tray surface extends from an intermediate position in the Y direction to one end side when the front-rear direction in the housing is the X direction, the horizontal direction orthogonal to the X direction is the Y direction, and the vertical direction is the Z direction. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized by being provided as a descending slope. The apparatus of claim 2.
The tray surface has a trapezoidal shape in which the width gradually decreases in the escape direction,
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized in that a guide frame as an enclosure for restricting deviation of the cable is provided on at least the front side and the lower side of the trapezoid. The apparatus of claim 2.
The casing is provided with an intake opening facing downward, and the tray surface is disposed opposite to the intake opening while being separated from the intake opening, and air is supplied from a gap space between the tray surface and the intake opening. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized by being captured. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The movable body further includes a display,
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, wherein a cable bundle including an operation panel cable and a display cable is provided as the cable.

Images