JP6003297B2 - Ophthalmic equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ophthalmologic apparatus for observing or photographing a subject's eye.

  In an ophthalmologic apparatus, a main body incorporating an illumination system and an observation system is moved up and down in order to align the subject's eye with the apparatus. For example, in a slit lamp microscope called a slit lamp, a mechanical vertical movement mechanism is generally used, and the rotation of a joystick as an operation unit is mechanically transmitted to a feed screw via a gear or the like, and the main body is interlocked with this. The (illumination system or observation system) is moved up and down with respect to the eye (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  On the other hand, in an ophthalmologic apparatus such as an autorefractometer, an electric vertical movement mechanism is common, and rotation of a joystick is electrically detected, and the electric vertical movement mechanism is driven based on the detection result (for example, a patent Reference 2). In the case of a conventional electric vertical movement mechanism, the rotation of the motor is transmitted to the feed screw, and the main body is moved relative to the subject's eye in conjunction with this.

JP 2001-83429 A JP-A-6-7292

  In the case of a mechanical vertical movement mechanism, the movement of the main body is performed in conjunction with the examiner's operation in a linear manner, which is effective for delicate alignment. However, if the weight of the main body is large, a relatively large force is required to operate the joystick, and the adjustment of the main body to the position desired by the examiner may be slow, which may hinder suitable observation and imaging. There is. On the other hand, since the conventional electric vertical movement mechanism is configured to transmit the operation of the joystick to the main body via a plurality of mechanical parts such as gears and screws, the response of the vertical movement mechanism to the examiner's operation is dull. In some cases, it was an obstacle to smooth alignment.

  In view of the above-described problems of the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ophthalmologic apparatus having a vertical movement mechanism capable of suitable observation and photographing.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is characterized by having the following configuration.

(1) An apparatus main body for observing or photographing a subject's eye, wherein the apparatus includes a movable part on which the apparatus main body that can be rotated in the horizontal direction is mounted, and a vertical movement mechanism that includes a drive unit that moves the movable part up and down. An operation member that is operated by an examiner to move the movable unit up and down, a detection unit that detects an operation signal of the operation member, and the operation signal detected by the detection unit. An ophthalmologic apparatus comprising: a drive control means for converting the drive signal into a drive signal for movement, and driving the drive unit based on the drive signal, wherein the drive unit has a hollow portion around its rotation axis The drive control means controls the rotation of the motor based on the drive signal, and the vertical movement mechanism is arranged to have a stator having an electromagnet and the hollow portion so as to be rotatable with respect to the stator. A rotor having a female portion in the hollow portion; The rotation based on the magnetic force generated by the electromagnet, comprising: a rotor formed with a screw portion; and a male screw fitted to the female screw and fixed to the movable portion side. The movable part is moved in the vertical direction by moving the male screw up and down with respect to the female screw by rotation of a child .
(2) A movable part on which an apparatus main body for observing or photographing a subject's eye is mounted, a vertical movement mechanism including a drive part for moving the movable part up and down, and an examiner for moving the movable part up and down. An operation member to be operated, a detection unit that detects an operation signal of the operation member, and the operation signal detected by the detection unit is converted into a drive signal for moving the movable unit up and down, and the drive signal Drive control means for driving the drive unit based on the drive unit, wherein the drive unit has a motor having a hollow portion around its rotation axis, and the drive control means is based on the drive signal. The motor is controlled to rotate, and the vertical movement mechanism includes a stator having an electromagnet, and a rotor having the hollow portion and arranged to be rotatable with respect to the stator, and the female screw portion in the hollow portion And the female screw A male screw to be fitted to the movable part, and the male screw with respect to the female screw by rotation of the rotor based on a magnetic force generated by the electromagnet. By moving up and down, the movable part is moved in the vertical direction, and the lead angles of the female screw and the male screw are formed at intervals that do not cause rotation due to the weight of the movable part on which the apparatus main body is mounted. It is characterized by that.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an ophthalmologic apparatus having a vertical movement mechanism that can perform suitable observation and photographing.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Here, a slit lamp will be described as an example of the ophthalmologic apparatus. FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of the appearance of a slit lamp. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the optical system of the slit lamp. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the slit lamp of FIG. 1 as viewed by cutting along the axis AA. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the main body 100b.

  The slit lamp 100 is roughly divided into a face support unit 100a and a main body 100b. The face support unit 100a provided on the subject side has a forehead support 11 for supporting the subject's forehead and a chin rest 12 for supporting the chin, and is fixed to the base 21 via two columns 13. ing. The main body 100b has a movable part 200b whose height in the vertical direction is adjusted with respect to the table 1, and a fixed part 200a that supports the movable part 200b.

  A control unit 85 that controls the operation of the illumination unit 60, the microscope unit (observation / photographing unit) 70, and the slit lamp 100 as a whole is provided in the casing of the movable unit 200b. A vertical movement mechanism 200 for moving the movable part 200b up and down with respect to the subject's eye E is provided in the housing of the fixed part 200b.

  The illumination unit 60 includes a visible light source 61, a condenser lens 62, a variable aperture 63, a variable slit 64, a projection lens 65, and a prism mirror 66, and illuminates the observation site of the subject eye E. The luminous flux (visible light) from the visible light source 61 passes through the condenser lens 62 and illuminates the variable aperture 63 and the variable slit 64. The light beam that has passed through the aperture 63 and the slit 64 passes through the projection lens 65, is reflected by the prism mirror 66, and is projected onto the eye E. As the visible light source 61, a known lamp such as a halogen lamp or LED is used.

The microscope unit 70 includes an objective lens 71, a variable magnification optical system 72, a half mirror 73, an imaging lens 74, an erecting prism 75, a field stop 76, and an eyepiece lens 77. The light beam reflected by the subject's eye E passes through the objective lens 71, the variable magnification optical system 72, the half mirror 73, and the imaging lens 74, and is reflected by the erecting prism 75. The light beam reflected by the prism 75 passes through the field stop 76 and the eyepiece lens 77 and enters the eye F of the examiner.
The light beam reflected by the half mirror 73 passes through the relay lens 78 and enters the camera (imaging device) 80. As the camera 80, a known digital camera equipped with a CCD having sensitivity to visible light is used. The control unit 85 captures a captured image of the camera 80 based on a command signal from a switch 22a described later, and displays the captured image on the monitor 87.

  The vertical movement mechanism 200 of the fixing unit 200a is installed in the case 21a, a base 21 fixed to the table 1, a case 21a that is slidable in the horizontal direction (front / rear / left / right direction) with respect to the base 21. A joystick 22 that is an operation member that appears outside through an opening (not shown) of the housing 21a and a drive unit 50 installed in the housing 21a are provided.

  The joystick 22 is inserted through the joystick 22 in a substantially vertical direction (Y direction), a grip (rotating unit) 22a that is gripped and rotated by an examiner, a switch 22b that inputs a trigger signal for photographing (image acquisition), and the like. It comprises a shaft (support member) 22c and a known rotary encoder 22d that detects the rotation angle of the grip 22a.

FIG. 5 shows a configuration example of the rotary encoder 22d. Here, a state in which the encoder 22d in the joystick 22 is viewed from the switch 22b side is shown. The encoder 22d has a rotary grid 27 provided so as to be able to rotate in the horizontal direction together with the grip 22a with the shaft 22c as an axis, and a detection unit 28 fixed in the joystick 22 to detect the rotation angle of the rotary grid 27. . For example, a known photo interrupter or the like is used for the detection unit 28.
The rotary lattice 27 is rotated about the shaft 22c in conjunction with the rotation of the grip 22a. A plurality of slits 27 a penetrating in the plate thickness direction are formed on the outer periphery of the rotating grid 27 at predetermined rotation angles. The detection unit 28 obtains the rotation amount of the grip 22a based on the number of slits 27a detected within a predetermined time. Moreover, the detection part 28 calculates | requires the rotational speed of the grip 22a from the rotation amount of the grip 22a within predetermined time. Although not shown, the encoder 22d is provided with a known detection unit that detects the rotation direction of the rotary grating 27, and the detection unit detects the rotation direction of the grip 22a. A signal related to the rotation amount and rotation speed detected by the detection unit 28 and a signal related to the rotation direction detected by the detection unit are pulse-output to the control unit 85.

  The drive unit 50 includes a hollow brushless motor (hereinafter referred to as a motor) 51 that is rotatably provided around the rotation axis L <b> 1 and a sensor 56 that is a drive detection unit that detects the rotation of the motor 51. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the motor 51. FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view of the motor 51. FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view of the motor 51 viewed along the axis CC.

  The motor 51 is fixed to the housing 21a, and includes a rotor (rotor) 57 having a hollow portion 51a provided at the center of the rotation axis L1 and a stator (stator) 58. The rotor 57 is disposed so as to be rotatable about the rotation axis L <b> 1 with respect to the stator 58. The rotor 57 has a circular pipe structure extending in the direction of the rotation axis L1. On the inner peripheral side surface of the rotor 57, a female screw 51b is formed. The opening portion of the female screw 51b forms a hollow portion 51a. The main body portion of the rotor 57 is made of a permanent magnet. The main body portion of the rotor 57 and the female screw 51b may be formed of the same member or different members. In the case of different members, the female screw 51 b only needs to be fixed to the main body of the rotor 57.

  The stator 58 is fixed to the housing 21a. The stator 58 includes a known electromagnet. For example, the electromagnet has a configuration in which a winding 58a is wound around an iron core 58b, and generates a predetermined magnetic force by passing a current through the winding 58a. Therefore, when a magnetic force is generated by the electromagnet provided on the stator 58, the rotor 57 rotates about the rotation axis L1. Further, by controlling the “amount and direction” of the current flowing through the winding 58a, the rotation direction of the rotor (rotation side) 57 is switched.

The female screw 51b is formed at a predetermined pitch, and the female screw 51b is coupled to a shaft 52 (male screw 52a) on the movable part 200b side described later. When the female screw 51b rotates with the rotation of the motor 51 (rotor 57), the shaft 52 (male screw 52a) is moved in the vertical (up and down) direction via the female screw 51b. Then, the vertical height of the movable portion 200b is changed in conjunction with the vertical movement of the male screw 52a.
Thus, by using a brushless motor for the motor 51 of the drive unit 50, noise and vibration generated with motor rotation can be suppressed as compared with a conventional DC motor, stepping motor, or the like. Further, durability is improved because there is no deterioration due to wear of the brush of the motor (not shown).

  The movable part 200 b includes a base shaft 23 that extends substantially perpendicular to the base 21, an arm 24 that supports the illumination unit 60, and an arm 25 that supports the microscope unit 70. The arms 24 and 25 are supported so as to be individually rotatable in the horizontal direction around the central axis B, whereby the illumination unit 60 and the microscope unit 70 are individually rotated around the central axis B. .

A shaft 52 inserted through the female screw 51b of the motor 51 is fixed below the movable portion 200b. A feed screw (male screw) 52a having a predetermined pitch is formed at the tip of the shaft 52 and is fitted to the female screw 51b. When the rotation of the female screw 51b is transmitted to the male screw 52a, the movable part 200b is moved up and down in a predetermined step.
The male screw 52a only needs to be formed in a predetermined range on the shaft 52 so that it does not come off the female screw 51b when the movable part 200b reaches the upper limit or the lower limit of the moving range.

  Note that the lead angles of the female screw 51b and the male screw 52a are formed such that when the vertical movement of the movable part 100b is stopped, the movable part 200b is not pushed down by its own weight and exhibits a frictional force that maintains the position. The lead angle is determined in consideration of the minimum vertical movable width of the movable part 200b. That is, when the lead angle is small, the movable portion 200b is vertically aligned in finer steps. On the other hand, when the lead angle is small, there is a disadvantage that it takes time to move the movable part 200b up and down. The lead angle may be determined in consideration of the above conditions. Furthermore, the lead angles of the female screw 51b and the male screw 52a are preferably determined in consideration of the material, the state of grease, and the like.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the main body portion 100a is provided with a support portion for stabilizing the vertical movement of the movable portion 200b. For example, the support portion is a combination of a cylindrical portion 231 fixed to the fixed portion 200a and a shaft 232 that passes through the hollow formed inside the cylindrical portion 231 and is fixed to the movable portion 200b side. Composed. When the movable portion 200b moves up and down, the shaft 232 fixed to the movable portion 200b moves in the vertical direction along the inner wall of the cylindrical portion 231. As a result, the movable portion 200b is held by the plurality of support members, and the vertical movement operation is further stabilized. In addition, although the example provided with one support part was shown above, a support part may be provided in multiple places.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the main body 100a is provided with a position detector for detecting the vertical position of the movable part 200b with respect to the fixed part 200a. For example, the position detection unit includes three sensors having a plate part 54 that is fixed on the movable part 200b side and moved up and down in conjunction with the movable part 200b, and an opening that is fixed on the fixed part 200a side and through which the plate part 54 passes. 55a-55c.

When the movable portion 200b is moved up and down and the plate portion 54 is detected by all three sensors 55a to 55c, the control portion 85 detects that the movable portion 200b is at the lower limit. When the plate portion 54 is detected only by the sensor 55a, it is detected that the movable portion 200b is at the upper limit. Further, in the present embodiment, when the plate portion 54 is detected by the sensors 55a and 55b and not detected by the sensor 55c, the main body portion 100a is assumed to be at an intermediate position (position of an eye level marker not shown) in the movable range.
That is, when a switch (not shown) is pressed for initial alignment of the main body 100a, the motor 51 is driven to move the movable part 200b up and down until the plate part 54 is detected by the sensors 55a and 55b. It is easily adjusted automatically. As the sensor, a known sensor such as an optical sensor such as a photo interrupter, a magnetic sensor, or a mechanical sensor is used.

  With the above configuration, when the joystick 22 is slid in the horizontal direction (front / rear / left / right direction) by the examiner's operation, the main body 100b moves in the horizontal direction with respect to the subject's eye E by a known slide mechanism. On the other hand, when the grip 22a is rotated in the horizontal direction around the shaft 22b, the rotation direction, the rotation speed, and the like are detected by the encoder 22d. Based on the output signal from the encoder 22d, the control unit 85 rotates the motor 51 (rotor 57) based on the correspondence between the rotation amount of the grip 22d and the rotation amount of the motor 51 (rotor 57) stored in the memory 81 described later. To control. When the rotor 57 is rotated by the drive control of the control unit 85, the male screw 52a is moved up and down along the female screw 51b formed in the hollow portion 51a, and the entire movable unit 200b is moved up and down.

  The control unit 85 controls the drive of the entire apparatus. The control unit 85 is connected to the above-described grip 22a, switch 22b, encoder 22d, sensors 55a to 55c, motor 51, sensor 56, monitor 87, memory 81, and the like. The memory 81 stores the relationship between the rotation pulse (rotation amount) of the motor 51 and the rotation pulse (rotation amount) of the joystick 22 (grip 22a) detected by the encoder 22d. The memory 81 stores the rotation direction of the joystick 22 detected by the encoder 22d and the rotation direction of the motor 51 in association with each other.

  The controller 85 directly controls the rotation amount and rotation direction of the motor 51 based on the input signal from the joystick 22. Further, the control unit 85 detects the rotation state of the motor 51 based on the rotation amount and rotation speed of the motor 51 detected by the sensor 56 and performs control to correctly operate based on the input signal from the joystick 22.

  The operation of the apparatus having the above configuration will be described. The examiner turns on the power (not shown) of the slit lamp 100 prior to the examination. When the power is turned on or an input signal from a switch (not shown), the control unit 85 moves the main body 100b up and down by driving the motor 51, and adjusts the height of the movable unit 200b to the initial state based on the detection result of the position detection unit. Next, the examiner fixes the subject's face to the face support unit 100a and aligns the examinee's eye E with the main body 100b.

  By the horizontal movement of the joystick 22, the subject's eye E and the main body 100b are aligned in the front-rear and left-right directions. Next, the height of the main body 100b (the illumination unit 60 and the microscope unit 70) is matched with the subject's eye E. When the examiner rotates the grip 22 a of the joystick 22, the rotation amount, rotation speed, and rotation direction are detected by a known encoder 22 d, and the detection result is output to the control unit 85.

  Based on the output signal from the encoder 22d, the control unit 85 directly controls the rotation amount and rotation direction of the motor 51 without using a mechanical configuration such as a gear. When the motor 51 (rotor 57) rotates, the male screw 52a fitted to the female screw 51b is moved upward or downward, and the vertical height of the moving part 200b with respect to the fixed part 200a is changed. At this time, the detection signal of the rotation angle and the rotation direction of the motor 51 by the sensor 56 is fed back to the control unit 85, so that it is detected whether the operation of the motor 51 is correct based on the input signal of the joystick 22. When the rotation amount of the motor 51 is insufficient, the rotation operation of the motor 51 is corrected by the control unit 85.

  When moving the moving unit 200b in the opposite direction, the examiner rotates the joystick 22 (grip 22a) in the reverse direction. The controller 85 reversely rotates the motor 51 based on the signal from the encoder 22d. As described above, the movement of the moving unit 200b in the vertical direction is controlled in conjunction with the rotation of the joystick 22. Further, in the present embodiment, the shaft 232 of the support portion 200c is moved up and down in conjunction with the movement of the moving portion 200b, so that the movement of the entire moving portion 200b is more stable.

  When the moving unit 200b is moved up and down by the rotation operation of the joystick 22 and the plate unit 54 is detected by the sensors 55a to 55c, the control unit 85 has reached the movement limit position (upper limit or lower limit) of the moving unit 200a. Is detected. For example, when the plate part 54 is detected by all of the sensors 55a to 55c, the controller 85 determines that the moving part 200b has reached the lower limit of the movement limit position, and drives the motor 51 regardless of the input signal from the joystick 22. To stop. Similarly, when the plate unit 54 is detected only by the sensor 55a, the control unit 85 stops driving the motor 51 regardless of the input signal from the joystick 22 assuming that the moving unit 200b has reached the upper limit of the movement limit position. . Then, after detecting that the movement limit position has been reached, the control unit 85 ignores (invalidates) the signal even if the joystick 22 is rotated and a signal is input from the encoder 22d. Thereby, generation | occurrence | production of the malfunction by the moving part 200b exceeding a movable range and moving up and down is suppressed.

  When the control unit 85 detects that the movable unit 200b has reached the upper limit or lower limit movement limit position, only a signal in a specific rotation direction of the joystick 22 may be ignored. For example, when it is detected that the movable unit 200b has reached the lower limit, the control unit 85 ignores a signal from the joystick 22 (encoder 22d) for moving the movable unit 200b further downward, and moves the movable unit 200b. The rotation drive of the motor 51 may be controlled on the assumption that the signal from the joystick 22 (encoder 22d) for moving upward is valid.

  When the alignment between the subject's eye E and the main body 100b is completed, the control unit 85 turns on the light source 61 of the illumination unit 60 and projects illumination light (light beam) onto the subject's eye E. As a result, the subject eye E is observed through the microscope unit 70. The examiner rotates the grip 22a as necessary while observing the subject's eye E, and performs fine alignment of the moving unit 200b (the illumination unit 60 and the microscope unit 70).

With the configuration as described above, the electric joystick (electrical vertical movement mechanism) according to the present invention allows the movable part 200b to move up and down quickly, and is suitable for fine adjustment of the movable part 200b in fine steps. It becomes possible to cope with.
That is, as in the prior art, in the configuration of the vertical movement mechanism that drives the movable part 200b by screw rotation via a plurality of mechanical configurations such as gears, a delay time is required until the rotation of the motor is transmitted to the vertical movement screw. As a result, it may be difficult to finely adjust the vertical movement of the movable part 200b smoothly (the vertical movement must be repeated by operating the joystick). On the other hand, in the electric joystick (electrical vertical movement mechanism) 22 according to the present invention, since the rotation of the motor is directly transmitted to the vertical movement screw, the vertical movement screw reacts quickly to the input signal from the joystick 22. Thereby, the operation responsiveness is improved, and the moving unit 200b can be moved up and down in fine steps in conjunction with the rotation operation of the joystick 22.

  In the conventional electric joystick (electrical vertical movement mechanism) and mechanical joystick (mechanical vertical movement mechanism), in order to drive the motor 51, it is necessary to move a plurality of mechanical parts via the joystick. It was. For this reason, depending on the meshing state of the gear and the like, the operating force required for the vertical movement of the movable part may increase, or the operating force may vary due to changes over time of the apparatus. These can be an obstacle in delicate alignment. On the other hand, in the present invention, since the vertical movement screw is directly driven by the rotation of the motor without passing through the mechanical parts, the operating force related to the operation can be made small and constant. Therefore, in an ophthalmologic apparatus having an electric vertical movement mechanism, fine alignment adjustment with respect to the eye to be examined can be performed.

  In the above configuration, it is preferable that the examiner easily shows that the movable portion 200b has reached the upper limit or the lower limit of the movable range. That is, when the slit lamp is moved up and down using a joystick with an encoder and a motor as described above, the process of moving the motor up and down can be stopped based on the detection result of the sensor. However, in such an electric type, since the joystick and the motor are not mechanically connected, the joystick can be rotated even if the movable part is restricted to move up and down. Therefore, the examiner may not be able to easily recognize that the vertical movement of the movable part is limited. In particular, in the case of the slit lamp or the like as described above, since the examiner operates the main body up and down while looking through the binoculars, it is difficult to understand the restriction on the vertical movement of the movable portion.

  Therefore, a brake mechanism 26 may be provided inside the joystick 22 (see FIG. 3). A known electromagnetic brake or the like is used for the brake mechanism 26. In this case, when the grip 22a is rotated and the signal generated by the encoder 22d is input to the control unit 85 as described above, the control unit 85 rotates the motor 51 based on the rotation amount and the rotation direction. As a result, the female screw 51b rotates, the male screw 52a moves upward or downward, and the movable portion 200b moves upward or downward. When the plate portion 54 provided on the movable portion 200b is detected by the sensor 55a or all the sensors 55a to 55c, the control portion 85 determines that the movable portion 200b has reached the upper limit or lower limit movement limit position. The brake mechanism 26 provided in the motor 22 is driven to lock the rotation of the grip 22a. Thereby, the examiner can sensuously grasp that the movable part 200b has reached the upper limit or the lower limit, and can obtain an operation feeling close to a mechanical type.

  In addition to this, a vibration actuator is provided on the joystick 22, and when the movable part 200b reaches the movement limit position, the control unit 85 vibrates the joystick, thereby confirming that the movable part 200b is at the limit position. You may let me know. In addition to this, it is possible to sensibly notify the limit position of the movable part 200b by stimulating the tactile sense of the examiner by various methods.

  Note that the light amount of the illumination unit 60 may be changed to indicate that the movable part 200b has reached the upper limit or the lower limit. For example, when it is detected that the movable unit 200b has reached the movable limit position as described above, the control unit 85 reduces the light amount of the light source 61 of the illumination unit 60 for a period in which the examiner can recognize (or Increase brightness). In this way, the examiner can know that the movable portion 200b is at the limit position of the movable range while observing the eye E with a slit lamp microscope. In addition to this, the light source 61 blinks. Or you may notify that the movable part 200b exists in a movement limit position by changing the lighting wavelength of the light source 61, etc. FIG. In addition, the lighting unit 60 may be turned on depending on the upper limit and the lower limit of the movable range, and the limit position may be distinguished from each other.

  In the configuration of the ophthalmologic apparatus described above, the rotation amount of the motor 51 is determined according to the rotation amount of the joystick 22 (grip 22d) detected by the encoder 22d. Therefore, when the examiner turns the joystick vigorously, it is difficult to move the movable part up and down largely (quickly) compared to a mechanical joystick that rotates with a certain degree of inertia even when released. There is. On the other hand, when a laser delivery system is mounted on a slit lamp and laser irradiation is performed, it is necessary to finely align the upper and lower positions by operating the joystick 22.

Therefore, the amount of rotation of the motor 51 (the amount of vertical movement of the movable portion 200b) may be controlled in accordance with the operation speed of the joystick 22 (the rotational speed of the grip 22a).
For example, the rotational speed of the motor 51 with respect to the rotational speed of the grip 22a is set stepwise (or linearly) and stored in the memory 81. As a result, when the rotation speed of the joystick 22 is slow and the control unit 85 determines that the fine movement operation is performed, the minimum pitch (lead angle) of the vertical movement due to the rotation of the motor 51 is set finely ( For example, 10 μm). On the other hand, when the rotation of the joystick 22 is fast and the controller 85 determines that the joystick 22 is a grand motion operation, the minimum pitch of the vertical movement due to the rotation of the motor 51 is set coarsely (for example, 50 μm). That is, the minimum pitch of the vertical movement when it is determined as the fine movement operation is set to be finer than the minimum pitch of the vertical movement when it is determined as the coarse movement operation.
In this way, by increasing the rotational speed of the joystick 22, the movable part 200b can be moved up and down largely, and quick alignment can be handled. On the other hand, by slowing down the rotation speed of the joystick 22, the movable part 200b can be moved up and down in fine steps, and fine alignment is possible.

It should be noted that, compared with a mechanical joystick in which the movable part 200b is directly moved up and down by a joystick, the electric joystick has a rough movement in the vertical movement of the movable part 200b when the detection accuracy of the rotation angle of the encoder 22d is low. There is a risk of becoming discrete.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of motor drive control in response to an operation signal output from the joystick 22 (encoder 22d). FIG. 7A is an explanatory diagram of motor drive control with respect to a joystick coarse movement operation, FIG. 7B is an explanatory diagram of motor drive control with respect to a conventional joystick fine movement operation, and FIG. 7C is the present invention. It is explanatory drawing of the drive control of the motor with respect to fine movement operation of the joystick which concerns on. In each figure, “S1” is a graph showing the timing of the output signal (output pulse) of the encoder 22d. “S2” is a graph showing the timing of the drive signal (drive pulse) of the motor 51. “S3” is a graph showing changes in the drive amount of the motor 51. “S4” is a graph showing changes in the speed of the motor. Time tn (n = 0, 1, 2,..., M) is a timing at which an output pulse from the encoder 22d is input to the control unit 85. The period (interval) Tn (n = 0, 1, 2,... M) is a time interval when the output signal from the encoder 22d is continuously input to the control unit 85. The period Δt is a vacant time from when the driving of the motor 51 based on the output signal of the encoder 22d is once completed until the driving of the motor 51 is started by the output signal of the next encoder 22d. That is, since the motor 51 is not driven in the period Δt, the movable part 200b is not moved up and down. The threshold value TS is a reference value of a time interval for the control unit 85 to switch between the coarse operation and the fine operation by comparison with the period Tn.

  Note that the vertical movement amount of the movable portion 200b is constant with respect to the rotation amount of the grip 22a of the joystick 22, and in this embodiment, a predetermined movement amount with respect to one pulse signal output from the encoder 22d. D is set. For example, the amount of rotation of the motor 51 relative to the output of the encoder 22d is determined so that the movable portion 200b is moved up and down by 10 μm per pulse of the encoder 22d and the movable portion 200b is moved up and down by 4 mm with respect to one rotation of the grip 22a. Yes.

  Therefore, in the prior art, as shown in FIG. 7A, when the joystick 22 (grip 22b) is rotated relatively quickly by the coarse operation, immediately after the rotation operation of the motor 51 is completed (or the rotation). During operation, the rotation angle detection signal from the encoder 22d is continuously output. In this case, since the period Δt is short (or absent), the motor 51 is continuously driven, and the movable portion 200b is moved up and down relatively smoothly.

  On the other hand, if the grip 22c is rotated slowly to finely adjust the height of the main body 100a by fine movement operation, the vertical movement of the movable part 200b is once completed by the drive control of the motor 51, and then the next encoder 22d. The period Tn until the output signal is input becomes longer. Since the control unit 85 rotates the motor 51 based on the output signal of the encoder 22, if the timing of the output signal of the encoder 22 is late, the period Δt becomes longer, and the vertical movement of the movable unit 200 b driven by the motor 51 is discrete. Become. If the movable portion 200b is not smoothly moved up and down, vibrations are generated, which may cause discomfort to the subject.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7C, in the ophthalmologic apparatus according to the present invention, the threshold value TS, which is the interval (period) of the output signal of the encoder 22d determined to be a fine movement operation, is stored in the memory 81 in advance. . The control unit 85 determines that the operation of the joystick 22 has been switched from coarse movement to fine movement when the period Tn of the output signal of the encoder 22d that is continuously output is equal to or greater than the threshold value TS (Tn ≧ TS). Then, the drive control of the motor 51 is divided and performed with respect to the rotation of the encoder 22d (the pulse output of the motor 41 is performed with a multiple of the drive amount). The drive amount indicates the rotation angle of the motor per drive signal (for example, drive pulse). It is assumed that the sensor 56 that detects the rotation angle of the motor 51 is capable of detecting the angle with higher accuracy than the encoder 22d.

  For example, in FIG. 7C, it is assumed that a signal (pulse) is output from the encoder 22d to the control unit 85 at time tn (n = 0, 1, 2,..., M). Further, the rotation speed (period) of the joystick 22 at time t0 to t1 is T1, the rotation speed (period) of the joystick 22 at time t1 to t2, and the rotation speed (period) T3 at time t2 to t3. As shown in the figure, it is assumed that the coarse motion operation is performed in the period Tn before the time t0. On the other hand, at time t0, when the control unit 85 determines that the period T0 is equal to or greater than the threshold value TS stored in the memory 81, the control unit 85 determines that the operation of the grip 22a has been switched from coarse movement to fine movement. Thus, the drive of the motor 51 is divided and output with respect to the rotation of the encoder 22d.

  For example, the control unit 85 outputs a driving pulse for driving the motor 51 at a multiple (N times (N ≧ 2)) with respect to the output of one pulse of the encoder 22d. The control unit 85 multiplies the moving amount D (moving pitch) per driving pulse at the time of the coarse movement operation by the reciprocal 1 / N of the number of driving pulses (magnification) of the motor 51, so that the fine movement operation can be performed. The movement amount (D / N) per driving pulse is set. That is, the control unit 85 controls the motor 51 by N times the number of drive pulses and the amount of movement (D / N) per drive pulse, and controls the vertical movement (distance, step) of the movable unit 200b. That is, in the case of the coarse movement operation, the motor 51 is driven at the number of pulses of 1 for the output of one pulse of the encoder 22d, and the movable part 200b is moved up and down by a predetermined distance at a time. The movement amount per driving pulse is Dmm.

  On the other hand, in the fine movement operation, the drive of the motor 51 is divided into N times with respect to the output of one pulse of the encoder 22d, and the movable portion 200b is moved up and down by a predetermined distance in N times. Here, the amount of movement per one driving pulse is D / N mm. In this way, even if the pulse output timing of the encoder 22d is delayed by the fine movement operation, the movable portion 200b is moved relatively slowly in the vertical direction while the next pulse is output from the encoder 22d. Therefore, the movable part 200b is smoothly moved up and down in conjunction with the operation of the joystick 22.

  On the other hand, the amount of movement of the movable portion 200b with respect to the rotation of the encoder 22d is constant, and the accuracy within the minimum pitch is maintained, so that fine adjustment of the vertical movement of the movable portion 200b is made with good accuracy. Further, by reducing the resolution of the driving unit and increasing the number of times of driving, the vertical movement interval during the fine movement operation is reduced, and vibration is reduced. Then, after time t3, when it is determined that the pulse output interval Tn of the encoder 22d is smaller than the threshold value TS, the control unit 85 determines that the fine movement operation has been switched to the coarse movement operation, and the motor 51 is moved to the rough position. Switch to drive control in dynamic operation. If the drive amount of the motor 51 at the time of the fine motion operation remains at the timing of switching to the coarse motion operation, the remaining drive amount may be ignored. This is because it is determined that the fine alignment request by the fine movement operation is completed by switching to the coarse movement operation.

  Note that the resolution of driving the motor 51 with respect to the rotation of the encoder 22 may be changed according to the rotation speed of the joystick 22 when performing the fine movement operation. For example, the rotation control of the motor 51 is set more finely as the rotation speed of the joystick 22 becomes slower. In this way, even in the case of an electric joystick, it is possible to realize a smooth operation feeling close to that of a mechanical joystick.

  In the above, an example is shown in which one threshold value for switching between the fine movement operation and the coarse movement operation is prepared. In addition to this, a plurality of threshold values may be stored in the memory 81 and the fine movement operation and the coarse movement operation may be switched in stages under the control of the control unit 85. If it does in this way, according to a use, a more preferable operational feeling can be acquired now.

  Further, in the above description, the moving amount of the movable portion 200b with respect to the rotation of the encoder 22d is constant, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the drive control may be performed so that the amount of movement of the movable unit 200b in the fine movement operation is smaller than the amount of movement of the movable unit 200b in the coarse movement operation. In this way, it is possible to perform vertical positioning in fine steps during fine movement operation.

  In the above configuration, the resolution of the driving unit and the number of times of driving per unit time are changed during the fine movement operation and the coarse movement operation. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the driving time per unit time is changed. If it exists, a certain effect is acquired with respect to the conventional discrete motor operation | movement. FIG. 8 shows a modified example of drive control of the motor 51 according to the present invention. For example, in the fine movement operation, the number of times of driving the motor 51 may be left as one, and the drive time of the drive unit in unit time may be longer than that in the coarse movement operation. In this case, it is preferable that the drive voltage is set so that a constant drive amount can be obtained with respect to the rotation amount per unit time.

The present invention is not limited to the above. For example, various known structures such as a trackball for moving the main body of the ophthalmologic apparatus up and down are used for the operation rod.
In addition, the above-described configuration can be applied to various types of ophthalmologic apparatuses in which the apparatus main body can be moved up and down electrically by operating the operation rod, and the same effects can be achieved. For example, as an ophthalmologic apparatus, an ocular refractive power measurement device that measures the refractive power of the eye, a fundus imaging device that performs fundus observation and imaging, an intraocular pressure measurement device that measures intraocular pressure, and a cornea that measures the corneal shape of the eye Examples include a shape measuring device.

  As described above, by changing the rotation amount of the motor 51 according to the rotation speed of the joystick 22, the operation feeling of the joystick 22 is lightened, and the movable part 200b is moved large (quickly) up and down like a mechanical type. In addition, it becomes possible to flexibly cope with fine positioning.

It is explanatory drawing of the external appearance of a slit lamp. It is explanatory drawing of the optical system of a slit lamp. It is sectional drawing of a slit lamp. It is a perspective view of a slit lamp body. It is a block diagram of a rotary encoder. It is explanatory drawing of a structure of a motor. It is explanatory drawing of drive control of a motor. It is explanatory drawing of the example of a change of the drive control of a motor.

22 Joystick 50 Drive part 51 Motor 51a Hollow part 51b Female screw 52a Male screw 60 Unit 70 Microscope unit 80 Camera 100 Slit lamp 100a Face support unit 100b Movable part 200 Vertical movement mechanism 200a Fixed part 200b Movable part

Claims (2)

An apparatus main body for observing or photographing a subject's eye, the movable section being mounted with an apparatus main body rotatable in a horizontal direction ;
A vertical movement mechanism comprising a drive section for moving the movable section up and down;
An operating member operated by an examiner to move the movable part up and down;
A detection unit for detecting an operation signal of the operation member;
Drive control means for converting the operation signal detected by the detection unit into a drive signal for moving the movable unit up and down and driving the drive unit based on the drive signal;
An ophthalmic device comprising:
The drive unit has a motor having a hollow portion around its rotation axis,
The drive control means controls the rotation of the motor based on the drive signal ,
The vertical movement mechanism includes a stator having an electromagnet, a rotor having the hollow portion and arranged to be rotatable with respect to the stator, and a rotor having a female screw portion formed in the hollow portion. A male screw fitted to the female screw, the male screw fixed to the movable part side,
By moving the male screw up and down with respect to the female screw by rotating the rotor based on the magnetic force generated by the electromagnet, the movable part is moved in the vertical direction.
An ophthalmic apparatus characterized by that. A movable part on which an apparatus main body for observing or photographing a subject's eye is mounted;
A vertical movement mechanism comprising a drive section for moving the movable section up and down;
An operating member operated by an examiner to move the movable part up and down;
A detection unit for detecting an operation signal of the operation member;
Drive control means for converting the operation signal detected by the detection unit into a drive signal for moving the movable unit up and down and driving the drive unit based on the drive signal;
An ophthalmic device comprising:
The drive unit has a motor having a hollow portion around its rotation axis,
The drive control means controls the rotation of the motor based on the drive signal,
The vertical movement mechanism includes a stator having an electromagnet, a rotor having the hollow portion and arranged to be rotatable with respect to the stator, and a rotor having a female screw portion formed in the hollow portion. A male screw fitted to the female screw, the male screw fixed to the movable part side,
By moving the male screw up and down with respect to the female screw by rotating the rotor based on the magnetic force generated by the electromagnet, moving the movable part in the vertical direction,
The lead angles of the female screw and the male screw are formed at intervals that do not cause rotation due to the weight of the movable part on which the apparatus main body is mounted.
An ophthalmic apparatus characterized by that.

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