JPH01317423A - Endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatically change the vending velocity of a vending part for both cases whether a view direction is widely large changed or finely adjusted by detecting the operation continuing time of an operating switch, which bends the bending part, and changing the driving speed of a vending mechanism in correspondence to the detected time. CONSTITUTION:Since a switch control circuit 40 outputs the voltage of an H-level when a bending switch 11 is turned on in an UP-direction, the respective input edges of switch boxes 44 and 49 are conducted. Since a low voltage is supplied to an ultrasonic motor 15 for going up and down just after the switch box 44 is turned on, the fine adjustment of a view can be easily executed because a bending part 2b starts to be slowly bent in a rising direction. Since the supplying voltage is increased to the ultrasonic motor 15 for going up and down as the operating time of the bending switch 11 in the UP-direction passes, a revolving number is also increased and the bending velocity is improved. As a result, a time is shortened in order to bend the bending part 2b up to a prescribed bending angle.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an endoscope whose insertion portion can be automatically bent.

[Prior Art] Generally, an endoscope is composed of an operating section and an insertion section connected to the operating section. The insertion section has a distal end component provided at the distal end of a flexible tube section via a bending section, and the bending section can be remotely operated to bend by a bending mechanism provided on the operation section. .

Conventionally, a manual bending mechanism has been used to drive the bending section. That is, the operating section is provided with an angle knob, and the angle knob can rotate a boob provided within the operating section. A chain is hung on this boob, and one end of an operating wire is connected to each end of this chain. The other end of the operating wire is connected to the most advanced node ring forming the curved portion. Therefore, the bending portion can be bent by pushing and pulling the operation wire using the angle knob.

However, since a considerable amount of operating force is required to bend the curved portion using the angle knob, operability is poor and the operator tends to get tired quickly.

Therefore, a drive means consisting of a wave motor is provided in the bending section, and this drive means is driven by operating a switch provided in the operation section, thereby making it possible to automatically perform the bending operation of the above-mentioned bending section. A mirror has been developed. Prior art showing such an endoscope is JP-A-61-1
There is a publication No. 06126.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] When the curved portion is curved, there are cases in which it is desired to greatly change the viewing direction and cases in which it is desired to make fine adjustments. In the former case, it is better that the bending speed of the bending portion is fast, and in the latter case, it is better that the bending speed is slow.

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, when a switch provided on the operating section is operated, the motor of the driving means only operates at a constant speed. Therefore, if you use a slow motor, it will take too long to change the field of view, making it difficult to operate, while if you use a fast motor, it will be difficult to make fine adjustments to the field of view. was there.

This invention was made based on the above circumstances, and its purpose is to be able to automatically change the bending speed of the bending portion depending on whether the viewing direction is changed significantly or when making fine adjustments. The aim is to provide an endoscope with

[Means and effects for solving the problems] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a curving mechanism for curving the distal end of the insertion section, a drive section for driving the curving mechanism, and a drive section for driving the curving section. In an endoscope having an operation switch for operating the operation switch, and a control means for controlling the drive section by operating the operation switch, the control means includes a detection means for detecting the operation duration time of the operation switch, and a detection means for detecting the operation duration time of the operation switch; and speed control means for changing the drive speed of the bending mechanism according to the time detected by the detection means. If the operation time of the operation switch becomes longer in order to greatly curve the distal end of the insertion portion, this is detected and the driving speed of the curving mechanism is increased.

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG. 2 shows an endoscope, which is composed of an operating section 1 and an insertion section 2. As shown in FIG. The operating section 1 includes a grip section 3 and a throw/receive section 4 provided eccentrically with respect to the grip section 3. The gripping portion 3 is provided with a suction switch 5, an air supply switch 6, a water supply switch 7, etc., and a connector 8 connected to an external device (not shown) at the end.
A universal cord 9 provided with is connected.

In addition, a curved switch 11 consisting of a lever that can be swung in a 360 degree direction is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the throw/receive part 4.
and a tip lock changeover switch 12 are provided, and the insertion portion 2 is connected thereto. This insertion section 2 is inserted into the distal end of the flexible tube section 2a via the curved section 2b.
C is provided. Further, on the upper surface of the throw/receive part 4, there is a first button that displays on/off of the tip lock changeover switch 12.
A display section 13 and a second display section 14 that display the bending direction of the bending section 2b in the vertical and horizontal directions are provided.

Inside the operating section 1, as shown in FIG. 3, a vertical ultrasonic motor 15 and a left and right ultrasonic motor 16 are provided. Each ultrasonic motor 15.16 has a stator 15a,
16a and a rotor 15b116b. The stator 15a and rotor 15b of the vertical ultrasonic motor 15 are fitted onto a columnar first holding member 17. A collar 17a is provided protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the upper end side of the first holding member 17.
A threaded portion 18 is provided protruding from the center of the lower end surface. A nut 21 is screwed into this threaded portion 18 via a first receiver member 19 . In this first support, a first spring 23 is interposed between the member 19 and a first pressing member 22 joined to the lower end surface of the stator 15a, which biases the stator 15a in a direction to press the stator 15a into contact with the rotor 15b. equipped.

The stator 16a and the rotor 16b of the left and right ultrasonic motor 16 are fitted into a cylindrical second holding member 24 having a radially inward collar 24a at its lower end.

A second pressing member 25 is joined to the upper surface of the stator 16a located on the upper side. Further, the second holding member 2
A threaded portion 26 is formed at the upper part of the inner circumferential surface of 4, and a nut 28 for holding a second receiver member 27 is screwed into the threaded portion 26. A second spring 29 is interposed between the second holding member 24 and the second bearing member 27 to bias the stator 16a in the direction of pressing the stator 16a into contact with the rotor 16b.

Rotor 15b116b of each of the above ultrasonic motors 15.16
A sprocket portion 15C116c is formed in each. A chain (not shown) is hung on each sprocket portion 15c, 16C. One end of an operating wire 8 (not shown) is connected to both ends of each chain. The other ends of these operating wires are connected in the vertical and horizontal directions of a node ring located at the tip of a large number of node rings (not shown) that are connected so as to be freely curved in the vertical and horizontal directions forming the curved portion 2b. are connected to each other. therefore,
The curved portion 2b is curved in the vertical direction by the vertical ultrasonic motor 15, and in the left-right direction by the left-right ultrasonic motor 16.

In FIG. 3, 29 is an LED display section forming the first and second display sections 13 and 14, and 31 is an O-ring for liquid-tightly disposing the bending switch 11 on the finger receiving section 4. It is.

The pair of ultrasonic motors 15, 16 are controlled by a control device 35 shown in FIG. That is, this control device 35 has switch control circuits 39 to 42 for vertical and horizontal directions corresponding to the operating direction of the bending switch 11. These switch control circuits output high level H/low level L voltages in conjunction with the on/off of the bending switch 11. The output terminals of each of the switch control circuits 39 to 42 are connected to the control input terminals of the switch boxes 43 to 46, and are also connected to the input terminal of an OR circuit 47.

A switch control circuit 48 is provided corresponding to the tip lock changeover switch 12. This switch control circuit 48 is configured to output an H level when the angle free operation is performed, and an L level when the angle lock operation is performed. Ultrasonic motor 15.
16. The output terminal of the OR circuit 47 is connected to the control input terminal of the switch box 49. The encoder 50 detects the rotation direction and rotation angle of the ultrasonic motors 15 and 16, and displays them on the LED display section 29.

On the other hand, numeral 52 in the figure is a constant voltage power supply for driving, and the pulse generator 53 receiving the supply from this constant voltage power supply 52 has V - V
o sinωt is supplied, one end of its output side is connected to each ultrasonic motor 15, 16, and the other end is connected to the input end of the 90 degree phase shifter 51 and each of the above switch boxes 43.
.about.46 input terminals. The output ends of these switch boxes 43 to 46 are connected to the ultrasonic motor 1, respectively.
5.16 and timer circuit 54.

The 90 degree phase shifter 51 advances the phase of the input voltage by 90 degrees, and its output end is connected to the input end of the switch box 49. The output end of this switch box 49 is connected to the ultrasonic motor 15.16.

The switch boxes 43 to 46 and 49 have their input terminals and output terminals electrically connected when the voltage at the control input terminal is at the H level, and disconnected when the voltage at the control input terminal is at the L level.

The timer circuit 54 operates as a timer when the switch boxes 43 to 46 are conductive, and is reset when the switch boxes 43 to 46 are turned off. The output from the timer circuit 54 is sent to the constant voltage power supply 52 via the voltage control circuit 55.
It is designed to set the voltage of the In the voltage control circuit 55, a function between the time input from the timer circuit 54 and the voltage output is set as shown in FIG. That is, within a predetermined period of time, the output increases as time passes.

Next, a case in which the endoscope having the above configuration is used will be described. When the operator grips the grip part 3 with his left hand and places his index finger on the finger rest 4, the fingertips of the index finger, middle finger, and ring finger are located at the suction switch 5, air supply switch 6, and water supply switch 7, respectively, and these operations are performed. can be done easily.

Next, a case will be described in which the tip lock changeover switch 12 is operated for angle locking to bend the bending portion 2b in the upward (UP) direction. When the bending switch 11 is turned on in the UP direction, the switch control circuit 40 outputs an H level voltage, so that the input terminals of the switch boxes 44 and 49 are electrically connected.

As a result, the vertical ultrasonic motor 15 has V-Vos1n.
The voltage ωt and V −V o 5in(ωt+π/
2) is supplied. At this time, no voltage is supplied to the left and right ultrasonic motors 16. Therefore, standing wave vibration is generated in the left and right ultrasonic motors 16, and the motors 16 become easily movable against external forces. On the other hand, vibration waves are generated in the vertical ultrasonic motor 15 in the direction of pulling the wire that bends the bending portion 2b upward. As a result, the curved portion 2b begins to curve in the UP direction.

On the other hand, when the switch box 44 is turned on, the timer circuit 54 starts operating and its output is input to the voltage control circuit 55. The voltage control circuit 55 has a function of time input and voltage output set in advance as shown in FIG. 5, and controls the vertical ultrasonic motor 15 based on the flowchart shown in FIG. In other words, switch box 4
4 is turned on, a low voltage is supplied to the vertical ultrasonic motor 15, and the bending portion 2b starts to curve slowly in the upward direction, making it easy to finely adjust the field of view. Then, as the operating time of the bending switch 11 in the UP direction elapses, the voltage supplied to the vertical ultrasonic motor 15 increases, so its rotational speed also increases and the bending speed becomes faster. As a result, the time required to curve the curved portion 2b to a predetermined curve angle can be shortened.

In this way, when the bending switch 11 is turned off after bending the bending part 2b, no voltage is applied to each ultrasonic motor 15, 16, so the bending part 2b is not easily moved by external force in its curved state. state. Furthermore, since the timer circuit 54 is reset when the bending switch 11 is turned off, when the bending switch 11 is turned on again, the bending is performed gently at first as described above, and then the bending speed is gradually increased. I can do it.

Furthermore, by turning on the bending switch 11 in the DOWN, LEFT, or RIGHT direction, the bending portion 2b can be bent in each direction similarly to the UP direction.

On the other hand, when the tip lock changeover switch 12 is operated in an angle-free manner, the switch control circuit 48 outputs an H level signal, so that the input and output terminals of the switch box 49 become conductive. Therefore, each ultrasonic motor 15.16
Since a voltage of 2V-Vosin (ωt+π/2) is always applied, a standing oscillation wave is always generated. When the bending switch 11 is turned on in this state, the bending portion 2b can be bent in the operating direction similarly to the angle lock operation described above.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the invention m: in which the drive voltage supplied from the voltage control circuit 55 to the constant voltage power supply 52 is made into a pulse. The interval between the pulses is made to gradually become shorter as time passes by a signal from the timer circuit 54.

In this way, the rotation speed of each ultrasonic motor 15, 16 does not change, but the rotation angle per unit time increases with the passage of time, so the bending speed of the bending portion 2b is gentle at first, and then It can be done quickly.

Moreover, if the pulse interval is set to about 100 to 1 OIls, the curved portion 2b can be smoothly curved.

Note that a constant current power source may be used instead of the constant voltage power source 52 to control the current.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the present invention detects the operating duration of the operation switch for bending the bending part, and changes the driving speed of the bending mechanism for bending the bending part in accordance with the detected time.

In other words, when the operation duration of the operation switch becomes longer in order to greatly change the viewing direction of the curved section, the driving speed of the curved section increases, so the curved section can be quickly curved, and the curved section can be slightly bent. When curving, the operating time of the operation switch is short, so the curving speed is slow.
Easy to make fine adjustments.

Also, the bending speed of the bending portion does not increase rapidly, but gradually increases, so the bending operation can be performed safely.

[Brief Description of the Drawings] Fig. 1 is a control circuit diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the endoscope, Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the operating section, and Fig. 4 is a control circuit diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. A flowchart diagram of the voltage control circuit, FIG. 5 is a graph diagram of the relationship between time input and voltage output in the voltage control circuit, and FIG. 6 is a graph diagram of the relationship between time input and voltage output in the voltage control circuit showing another embodiment of the present invention. It is a graph diagram of the relationship with. 2... Insertion part, 2b... Curving part, 11... Curving switch, 15.16... Ultrasonic motor, 35... Control device, 52... Constant voltage power supply, 54... Timer circuit, 55... Voltage control circuit. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] A bending mechanism for bending the distal end of the insertion section, a drive section for driving the bending mechanism, an operation switch for operating the drive section, and a control means for controlling the drive section by operating the operation switch. In the endoscope, the control means includes a detection means for detecting the operation duration time of the operation switch, and a speed control means for changing the driving speed of the bending mechanism according to the time detected by the detection means. An endoscope comprising: