JPH0440641Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a main body operation section of an endoscope used for medical and industrial purposes.

[Prior Art] Regardless of whether the endoscope is for medical or industrial use, an endoscope has an insertion section that is inserted toward the observation target, and a proximal end of the insertion section. It has a structure that includes a main body operating section that is connected to the main body. and,
The person operating this endoscope must grasp the operating section of the main body with one hand and insert the insertion section along the insertion path until the tip of the endoscope is located at the specified observation target. Endoscopes can be used to diagnose and test the inside of a patient's body, and provide necessary treatment.Industrial endoscopes can also be used to inspect the inside of nuclear reactors, aircraft engines, etc. It can be inserted for inspection and repair.

In such endoscopes, the main body operation section is equipped with angle knobs, forceps, etc., as is well known, in order to perform various operations while the insertion section is inserted into the body. It is equipped with a treatment instrument insertion section for inserting treatment instruments, as well as an air and water supply button for cleaning the observation window, a suction button for suctioning dirt from the body, and an auxiliary unit for supplying high-pressure fluid, etc. Injection buttons, camera shutter release buttons, electronic endoscopes are now equipped with buttons for controlling VTRs, etc.

Here, in the endoscope according to the prior art, among the operation members described above, the treatment instrument insertion section is provided at the connection section between the main body operation section and the insertion section, and the angle knob is provided at the main body operation section. The various buttons described above are arranged on the top surface of the main body operating section in the direction of the center line of the main body operating section. That's what I do.

Inserting the treatment instrument and operating the angle knob are performed with the hand on the opposite side of the body from the hand that grips the main unit, and each operation button is operated using the hand that is gripping the main unit. It can now be operated with your fingers.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] However, in recent years, from the perspective of improving the functions and operability of endoscopes, the number of operation buttons provided on the main body operation section has increased, and each of these operations has become more and more difficult. If the buttons are arranged in the direction of the center line of the main body operation section, each operation button will be arranged so that the means such as valves and switches controlled by each operation button will not interfere with each other. They must be arranged with a certain amount of spacing between them, and therefore, the more operation buttons are arranged in parallel as described above, the greater the distance between the operation buttons at both ends becomes. In order to operate the device, the range of movement of the fingers becomes wider, and it is necessary to change the grip of the hand that grips the main unit operation part, etc.
The drawback is that its operability is poor.

The present invention was made in view of the above points, and its purpose is to improve the functionality of the endoscope by providing as many operation buttons as possible. An object of the present invention is to provide a main body operation section of an endoscope that has good operability.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention has a main body that has an insertion section connected to the observation target part on the distal end side and can be grasped and operated with one hand by the operator. There is an angle knob on the side of the operation section in a position that can be operated with the thumb of the hand that is gripping the main body operation section, and a plurality of angle knobs on the top surface at a position proximal to the gripping position that can be operated with the index finger. The endoscope is equipped with operation buttons, and among the operation buttons, the operation button closest to the gripping position of the main body operation section is provided to one side toward the angle knob attachment side, and the other operation buttons are The device is characterized in that the angle knobs are sequentially arranged in a diagonal direction so as to face in the opposite direction to the continuous part to the insertion portion and to face the side opposite to the mounting side of the angle knob. It is.

[Function] With this configuration, even if a large number of operation buttons are provided on the main body operation section, the fingers of the hand holding the main body operation section, usually the index finger, can easily reach all the operation buttons. Each operation button can be operated smoothly and quickly.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 2, the endoscope includes an insertion section 1 that is inserted into a body cavity or the like in a human body, and a main body operation section 2 to which a proximal end of the insertion section 1 is connected. , most of the insertion part 1 is a soft part 1a,
An angled portion 1b is connected to the flexible portion 1a, and a distal end portion connected to the angled portion 1b is a rigid distal portion 1c. Although a lead-out section and the like are provided, since these are well known, illustration and explanation thereof will be omitted. and,
The other end of a universal cord 3, one end of which is connected to a light source device, is connected to the main body operation section 2, and an eyepiece section 4 is provided on the opposite side from the section connected to the insertion section 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the endoscope configured as described above is operated by holding the main body operating section 2 with one hand, and the endoscope is operated by holding the main body operating section 2 with one hand. An angle knob 10 for controlling the angle of the angle section 1b is attached to the section, and a connecting section 5 between the main body operation section 2 and the insertion section 1 is used for inserting treatment tools such as forceps. A treatment instrument insertion section 11 is provided for the treatment.

Also, inside the main body operation section 2, there is an air and water supply valve for controlling the supply of cleaning liquid to the observation window etc. provided in the distal end hard part 1c of the insertion section 1, and a suction valve for suctioning dirt from the body. is established, and
Supplying high-pressure irrigation water towards the body cavity wall,
There is a built-in auxiliary injection valve for supplying nonflammable gas such as CO2 gas. On the top surface of the unit 2, an air/water supply button 12 and a suction button 13 are provided.
and an auxiliary injection button 14 are provided. Further, a shutter button 15 for releasing the shutter of a camera connected to the eyepiece section 4 is also provided on the upper surface of the main body operation section 2.

Therefore, each of the operation buttons 12 to 15 described above is
The insertion portion 1 is positioned on the proximal side of the gripping position of the main body operating portion 2, that is, at the upper surface position proximal to the area where the index finger is located when the main body operating portion 2 is gripped, based on the operation frequency, etc. An air/water supply button 12, a suction button 13, an auxiliary injection button 14, and a shutter release button 15 are arranged in this order from the side connected to the main body operating section 2, that is, from the side closest to the hand gripping the main body operation section 2. However, these are not arranged side by side in the direction of the center line A of the main body operation section 2, but the air/water supply button 12 is placed on the side where the angle knob 10 is attached, that is, the side where the palm gripping the main body operation section 2 touches. It is mounted offset to the opposite side. The operation buttons 13 to 15 other than the air/water supply button 12 face the eyepiece 4,
The angle knob 10 is mounted along an oblique line B facing the side opposite to the mounting portion. Therefore, the shutter release button 15 is located farthest from the position of the hand gripping the main body operation section 2 and closest to the side on which the palm rests.

By configuring as described above, when the main body operation section 2 is held by hand,
Each of the operation buttons 12 to 15 is now located within a range that can be easily reached by the tip of the index finger of this hand.
When operating the operation button 15 located on the side,
It is not necessary to change the grip of the hand, and the operability of each of the operation buttons 21 to 15 is extremely good, and the operation can be performed smoothly.

Moreover, the operation button 12 located closest to the grip on the main body operating section 2 is
It is located farthest from the side where the palm of the hand is placed,
In addition, the shutter release button 15, which is provided farthest from the gripping position of the main body operation section 2, is provided at the closest position to the side where the palm touches, and the suction button 13 and the auxiliary release button, which are located in the middle, Since the injection button 14 is located in the middle position between the two,
When the main body operation section 2 is held by hand, all the operation buttons 12 to 15 are approximately the same distance from the position of the finger for operating the operation buttons. Here, each of these operation buttons 12 to 15 is designed to be pressed and operated, so that the fingertip can be pressed against all the operation buttons 12 in relation to the grip position of the main body operation section 2. From this point on, operation buttons 12 to 15
Improves operability.

Although the above-described embodiment is configured to have four operation buttons, the number of operation buttons provided on the main body operation section is not limited to the above-mentioned number, and the arrangement order thereof is also limited to the above-mentioned one. Needless to say, it is not a thing.

[Effects of the invention] As explained above, the present invention has the advantage that when the operator of the endoscope grips the main body operation part with one hand, each Among the operation buttons, the operation button closest to the part where the index finger is located in this grasping position is provided on the side where the angle knob is installed, and the other operation buttons are placed toward the proximal side and on the side where the angle knob is installed. are arranged diagonally side by side in order to face the opposite side, so when holding the main body operation part with one hand, you can make the most of the range in which you can move the index finger of that hand. , it is possible to rationally arrange as many operation buttons as possible, and even if a larger number of operation buttons are provided in order to improve the functions of the endoscope, each of these operation buttons can be easily arranged. The fingertip of the index finger can be placed in contact with the control panel, making it easier to operate all the operation buttons.
without requiring any operation with the fingers of the other hand,
With this other hand free, you can perform the insertion operation by holding the insertion tube, or when operating each operation button while operating a treatment instrument such as forceps, etc., in parallel. It is no longer necessary to interrupt the operation being performed, and the operability of the endoscope is significantly improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a plan view of the main body operating section of the endoscope, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the endoscope. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Insertion part, 2... Main body operation part, 4... Eyepiece part, 10... Angle knob, 11... Treatment instrument insertion part, 12... Air and water supply button, 13... Suction button, 14... ...Auxiliary injection button, 15...Shutter release button.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] The insertion part into the observation target part is connected to the tip side,
An angle knob is placed on the side of the main body control section, which can be operated by the operator by holding it with one hand, at a position where the operator can operate it with the thumb of the hand holding the main body control section, and an angle knob is placed at a position on the proximal side of the gripping position. In an endoscope in which a plurality of operation buttons are mounted on the top surface at positions that can be operated with the index finger, of the operation buttons, the operation button located closest to the grip position of the main body operation section is placed on the side where the angle knob is attached. provided on one side, with other operation buttons facing in the opposite direction from the part connected to the insertion part,
A main body operation section of an endoscope, characterized in that the main body operation section of an endoscope is arranged in a diagonal direction sequentially so as to face a side opposite to the side on which the angle knob is attached.