JP2760585B2 - Endoscope system - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an endoscope system provided with a curved angle display means.

[Prior Art] In recent years, endoscopes have been widely used in medical fields, industrial fields, and the like.

This endoscope is generally inserted into a bent part,
A bending portion is provided near the distal end of the insertion portion or the like so that the user can observe the object in a desired direction.

For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 62-122981, a sensor for detecting a driving position or the like by a bending operation is provided so as to be displayed on a monitor screen together with an endoscope image.

In addition, the present applicant drives the bending mechanism provided in the endoscope insertion portion in Japanese Patent Application No. 63-321537 by motor, and measures the bending angle using a photo reflector to display the bending angle on a monitor. An endoscope system was proposed.

In the bending device of the endoscope disclosed in the above publication, since the motor is not driven, the operator (operator) can estimate the bending angle by the reaction force of the bending device during the bending operation.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in this case, if it is desired to increase the amount of bending, the force of the bending operation must be increased, and the operability is reduced.

On the other hand, when the motor is driven by the present applicant, it can be easily performed even when the motor is largely curved.

However, in the case of motor driving, there is no reaction force from the bending device, and thus the surgeon cannot know the bending angle as it is. In this case, if the surgeon does not recognize the angle of curvature and applies an excessive curve or attempts to withdraw while curved, there is a possibility that the body wall etc. may be damaged, especially in the case of medical use.
Very dangerous.

Therefore, as in this proposal, a sensor for detecting a bending angle, such as a photoreflector, is provided in the operation unit, and bending information is displayed on a monitor. As described above, in the bending device driven by the motor, the display of the bending angle is indispensable for safety.

However, when such a sensor is provided, there is a disadvantage that the operation unit becomes large due to a storage space for the sensor, and the operability is reduced. It is also conceivable to provide a bending angle detecting means in the insertion section instead of in the operation section.However, in this case, the outer diameter of the insertion section becomes large, which causes a great pain to the patient, or an application that can be inserted and used. Becomes narrower.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has an endoscope system capable of bending without requiring a large amount of force and displaying a bending angle without providing a sensor for detecting a bending angle. The purpose is to provide.

[Means for Solving the Problems and Action] In the present invention, an output signal of an input detection unit that detects an input signal from a bending switch is input to a bending driving unit to drive a bending portion to bend and to display a bending angle. By inputting also to the bending angle control means for controlling the means and generating a signal for displaying the bending angle, the bending angle can be displayed without the need for the bending angle detection sensor means. ing.

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be described specifically with reference to the drawings.

1 to 14 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a control system of a bending drive unit and a bending angle display unit in the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a first embodiment. 3 to 6 show the appearance of the electronic endoscope. FIG. 3 is a plan view, FIG. 4 is a front view, FIG. 5 is a left side view of FIG. 6 is a right side view of FIG. 4, FIGS. 7 to 10 show the structure of the bending switch, FIG. 7 is a sectional view, FIG. 8 is a plan view of FIG. 7, and FIG. A-O in FIG.
10, FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along the line B--O of FIG. 8, FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a bending piece of the bending portion, and FIG. 12 is a line GG of FIG.
13 is a sectional view taken along line HH of FIG. 12, and FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram showing a bending drive control unit and a bending angle calculation unit.

As shown in FIG. 2, an endoscope system 1 according to the first embodiment includes an electronic endoscope 2 having built-in image pickup means,
A signal processing device 4 including a light source device 3 for supplying illumination light to the device, a television signal conversion circuit that receives an output signal from the electronic endoscope 2 and converts the signal into a television signal; And a monitor 5 for displaying television signals as video.

The electronic endoscope 2 has an elongated insertion portion 6 formed so as to be inserted into a body cavity or the like, a wide operation portion 7 formed on the rear end side of the insertion portion 6, and extends from the operation portion 7. And a signal connector 10 attached to the end of one universal cord 8 and a light source connector 11 attached to the end of the other universal cord 9.

The insertion portion 6 has a distal end (configuration) portion 12, a bendable bending portion 13, and a flexible tube portion 14 formed in this order from the distal end side.

The signal connector 10 can be connected to a signal connector receiver 15 provided on the front surface of the signal processing device 4, and the light source connector 11 can be connected to a light source connector receiver 16 of the light source device 3.

By connecting the light source connector 11 to the light source connector receiver 16, light from a light source lamp (not shown) in the light source device 11 is supplied to the proximal end face of the light guide 17 of the electronic endoscope 2, and Illumination light is emitted from the side end surface toward the subject. The illuminated subject is moved by a CCD 19 disposed on the focal plane by an objective lens 18 provided at the distal end portion 12.
Is imaged.

The image signal photoelectrically converted by the CCD 19 is input into the signal processing device 4, converted into a television signal, and displayed on the monitor 5.

The external appearance of the electronic endoscope 2 is as shown in FIGS. 3 to 6.

Various switches are provided on a gripper 21 of the operation unit 7 which is gripped by hand.

That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the grip portion 21 has a square cross section with four corners that are relatively large. As shown in FIG. 4, a slope 22 is formed on the side opposite to the insertion portion 6, and this slope 22 is formed.
The switch 23 for bending is attached to.

The normal direction of the slope 22 is the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. By doing so, the movement of the thumb that operates the bending switch 23 becomes smooth.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, an air supply switch 24, a water supply switch 25, and a suction switch 26 are provided on the side surface of the grip portion 21 from above. The surface area of the water supply switch 25 is smaller than the air supply switch 24 and the suction switch 26 and is square, so that the water supply switch 25 and the round air supply switch 24 and the suction switch 26 can be easily distinguished. In order to improve the operability, the air supply switch 24 is arranged to be shifted to the right from the water supply switch 25 and the suction switch 26 as shown in FIG.

The bending switch 23, the air supply switch 24, the water supply switch 25, and the suction switch 26 are slightly convex from the surface of the operation section main body, and are smoothly connected to the main body with an adhesive, a filler, or the like. Therefore, it is easy to take measures for cleaning and disinfection.

Above air supply switch 24, water supply switch 25, suction switch
Reference numeral 26 denotes a switch made of a conductive material such as a piezoelectric rubber which is turned on when pressed.

A light guide 17, a pipe, a bending device power cord, and the like are housed inside the universal cord 8 extending from the upper right position in FIG.

Next, referring to FIGS. 7 to 10, a bending switch will be described.
The structure of 23 will be described.

The bending switch 23 includes a base 32, a base retainer 36 and a nut 37 for fixing the base 32 to the operation unit main body 33, a flexible board 38 bonded and fixed on the base 32,
Pressure-sensitive conductive rubber 39 placed on this flexible substrate 38
And a plate 40 made of an insulating material such as plastic, which is tiltably placed in the concave portion above the base retainer 36, and a switch cover 41 covering these. The switch cover 41 is formed of an elastic rubber such as silicon rubber, and the inside of the cover 41 has a watertight structure.

A first through hole 33a is provided at the center of the operation unit main body 33, and four second through holes 33b are arranged around the first through hole 33a at intervals of 90 °. Through hole 33c
(See FIG. 9), a fourth through-hole 33 arranged around it
d is drilled respectively.

The base 32 has a disk shape. The base 32 also has a first through hole 32a, a second through hole 32b, and a third through hole corresponding to the through holes 33a,. A hole 32c and a fourth through hole 32d are formed. As shown in FIG. 10, a notch 32 for positioning is provided in a part of the outer periphery of the base 32.
g is provided.

The base presser 36 penetrates through first through holes 33a and 32a provided at the center of the operation unit main body 33 and the base 32, and is fixed with a nut 37 at a screw portion at the end (lower end) thereof.

On the upper surface of the base 32, the disc-shaped flexible substrate 38 is bonded and fixed. This flexible board 38
An electrode pattern is provided on the upper surface of the substrate. In this electrode pattern, lands 38b and 38d are provided at positions corresponding to the through holes 32b and 32c of the base 32 (see FIG. 8), and combs extending from the lands 38b (at all four locations) in the outer peripheral direction. A shaped electrode portion 38e is provided. One pattern portion of the comb-shaped electrode portion 38e is connected to the land portion 38b, and the other pattern portion is connected to the land portion 38d as a common GND (ground) by making one round around the outer periphery of the flexible substrate 38. I have.

 Further, a through hole is provided in each of the lands 38b and 38d.

The pressure-sensitive conductive rubber 39 is formed of, for example, Tudex manufactured by Mitsuboshi Belting Co., Ltd., and has a through hole 39a at the center and a through hole 39c at a position corresponding to the land portion 38d of the flexible substrate 38.
(See FIG. 9), and a flexible substrate to be described later.
It does not come in contact with the 39 soldered parts.

The plate 40 has a tilt shaft 40a protruding from the center thereof, and is supported in contact with the conical notch recess of the base retainer. Further, a total of four pressing projections 40b are provided at positions corresponding to the respective comb-shaped electrode portions 38e of the flexible substrate 38. Positioning concave portions 40c (four in total) are provided on the opposite surface of each pressing convex portion 40b.

The switch cover 41 includes a disk-shaped main body 41a and a skirt 41b provided on an outer peripheral portion thereof. The main body 41a is provided with a concave portion 41c with a center portion of the outer surface thereof slightly cut away, and a positioning convex portion 41d provided on the inner surface thereof so as to fit into the positioning concave portion 40c of the plate 40. On the outer surface on the opposite side of each positioning projection 41d, a projection 41e for supporting the direction is provided.

In the lower part of the skirt portion 41b, the squeezed portion 41f extends over the entire circumference.
Is provided, and is fitted by the base 32 into a concave portion provided in the operation section main body 33.

It should be noted that a positioning projection 41g is provided below the skirt 41b.
(See FIG. 10), which is fitted into the positioning notch 32g of the base 32.

Leads 42, 43 (four in total) are soldered to the lands 38b, 38d of the flexible substrate 38, and the leads 42, 43 are connected to a bending instruction reading circuit 44 (see FIG. 1). Connected.

Note that positioning pins 45 are fitted into the fourth through holes 33d and 32d to position the base 32.

By the way, in this embodiment, when a bending operation is performed, a bending drive system and a bending amount display system as shown in FIG. 1 operate. When the bending switch 23, that is, the bending instruction input means 46 is operated, a signal corresponding to the operation amount is input to the bending instruction reading circuit 44 according to the operation amount.
The magnitude of the signal is detected by the bending instruction reading circuit 44, and the signal is transmitted to the drive control circuit 47. The drive control circuit 47 calculates a drive amount for driving the drive device 48 from the magnitude of the transmitted signal, transmits a signal corresponding to the drive amount to the drive device 48, and operates the bending mechanism 49.

Next, the structure of the curved corner portion 13 will be described below with reference to FIG. 11 to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 11, the bending portion 13 includes a plurality of node rings (bending pieces) 53a, 53b,... Connected via electrostatic motors 54a, 54a; 54b, 54b; (Where i is a, b, ...)
By rotating, it is possible to bend.

The electrostatic motor 54i has the structure shown in FIG. 12 and FIG.

SiO ₂ layer 62, SiN ₄ layer 63, polycrystalline Si on silicon substrate 61
Layer 64 is laminated, and as shown in FIG. 13, a polycrystalline Si layer
64 has corners 65, 65,...
Two electrode wires 66, 66 from 65 are drawn out and connected to an input switching control device 67. This input switching control device 67
Can sequentially apply a voltage to each corner 65 in accordance with an external input. The input switching control device 67 is integrated and fixed to the silicon substrate 61.

The silicon substrate 61 is inserted into a hole provided in the ear 68a of the first node ring 53a, and is fixed by bonding or the like.

On the other hand, a silicon substrate 69 is inserted into a hole provided in the ear 68b of the second node ring 53b adjacent to the first node ring 53a,
It is fixed by bonding or the like. This silicon base 69 is made of Si
An O ₂ layer 70, a SiN ₄ layer 71, and a polycrystalline Si layer 72 are laminated. The polycrystalline Si layer 72 has three arms located on the inner peripheral side of the corner 65.
73, 73, 73.

The shaft 74 provided on the polycrystalline Si layer 72 is made of a silicon base so that the corner 65 and the arm 73 are arranged with a slight gap.
It is rotatably fitted in a hole 75 provided in 61.

A lubricating layer of Si3N4 is provided on the surface of the shaft 74 and the opposing surfaces of the corner 65 and the arm 73.

Thus, when a voltage is applied to the corner 65, the arm 73 is pulled by the corner 65 to which the voltage is applied by the electrostatic force.
When the corner 65 to which the voltage is applied is sequentially changed to the next side, the arm 73 rotates accordingly. If the voltage is applied in the opposite direction, the arm 73 rotates in the reverse direction. This is the basic principle of rotation by an electrostatic motor.

Here, if the corners 65 to which the voltage is applied are sequentially changed one by one, the arm 73 is placed near the corner 65 to which the voltage is first applied.
Is present, the rotation starts immediately, but if there is no arm 73 nearby, the corner 65 to which the voltage is applied is sequentially changed, and the rotation starts from the position where the arm 73 approaches.

In this case, an error in the rotation angle occurs, or the response deteriorates. Therefore, in this embodiment, four corners at 90 ° intervals are used.
A voltage is applied to 65, 65, 65, 65 simultaneously. Then, since one of the arms 73 always exists near the corner 65 to which the voltage is applied, the above problem can be solved.

On the other hand, if you want more power than responsiveness,
A voltage may be applied simultaneously to the three corners 65, 65, 65 at 120 ° intervals. In this case, the number of arms 73 is increased to four,
It is more effective if voltages are simultaneously applied to the four corners 65,.

Next, with reference to FIG. 14, a control system for driving the bending and a signal processing system for displaying the bending angle on the monitor 5 will be described.

The vertical bending switch portion of the bending switch 23 shown in FIG. 7 is represented by two switches 23a and 23b in FIG. 14, wherein the switch 23a is for upward bending and the switch 23b is for downward bending. Each switch 23a or 23b is equivalently composed of a switch SW and a variable resistor VR.

These switches 23a and 23b are connected to constant current circuits 77a and 77b, respectively.
And voltage measurement circuits 78a and 78b.
a and 78b output resistance changes of the switches 23a and 23b as voltage changes. This output is supplied to the A / D conversion circuits 79a and 79b.
The D / A conversion is performed, and the A / D conversion output is transmitted to the input switching control device 67 and the adders 80a and 80b. In the input switching control device 67, A
Based on the digital signals from the / D conversion circuits 79a and 79b, the number of driving steps and the direction are calculated, and a voltage is sequentially applied to the number of driving steps via an arbitrary electrode. Along with this, the electrostatic motors 54a, 54b ... (represented by 54 in FIG. 14) rotate as described above, and the bending portion 13 of the electronic endoscope 2 is bent.

While the number of rotations of the electrostatic motor 54 is managed by the number of drive steps, the adders 80a and 80b integrate data over time and output the integrated data to the angle conversion circuit 81. The angle conversion circuit 81 calculates the difference between the outputs of the adders 80a and 80b and converts the difference into angle data based on the relationship between the number of drive steps and the bending angle. This angle data is superimposed on the television signal of the signal processing circuit 83 for the CCD 19 of the electronic endoscope 2 by the superimposing circuit 82 and output to the monitor 5, for example, as shown in FIG. It is displayed on the surrounding bending angle display section 85.

The bending angle display section 85 is provided with, for example, four small circular display sections each for displaying the bending angle in the vertical and horizontal directions, and one display for each of the bending angles of, for example, 30 ° in each direction.
Subsequently, the LED is displayed as if it were lit.

For example, in the state shown in FIG. 14, a black circle indicates a small circle displaying a color as if the LED was lit, and in this case, it indicates that the circle is curved 90 ° to the right and 30 ° to the lower side.

When the maximum bending angle is displayed, a warning can be given to the operator by displaying the maximum bending angle in a color different from the color that has been displayed.

The circuit 86 shown by a dashed line in FIG. 14 is made into one unit and housed in the connector 10, for example.

According to the first embodiment, since there is no need to provide a bending angle detecting means in the insertion section or the operation section, the insertion section does not need to be thick and the operation section does not need to be large, and the operability is reduced. Can be prevented. In this embodiment, since the bending drive means uses an electrostatic motor, the size can be reduced as compared with the case where a drive motor is provided in the operation unit.

 FIG. 15 shows a main part in a second embodiment of the present invention.

In the second embodiment, for example, a peripheral portion of a bending angle display means when applied to a fiberscope is shown.

In the case of a fiberscope, since the monitor 5 in the first embodiment is not required, the angle conversion circuit 81 in the circuit 86 shown in FIG. 14 (in this embodiment, a digital output signal is output, so it is indicated by 81 '). .) Of the LED display section 91 as the bending angle display means with the output signal of (1), the bending angle is displayed. Note that a signal may be output to the LED display unit 91 via the decoder.

The display method of the bending angle by the LEDs 92, 92,.
This is the same as the embodiment. The configuration of the bending drive system and the like is the same as in the first embodiment.

The circuit 86 of this embodiment is housed in, for example, a light guide connector of a fiberscope.

The operation and effect of the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment.

The present invention is not limited to the one using an electrostatic motor, but may use an ultrasonic motor or a step motor.

Further, the present invention can be applied to a device in which a TV camera is mounted on a fiberscope.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the amount of bending (angle) of the bending drive system is controlled by the signal from the bending switch, and the amount of bending is displayed on the display means. Therefore, there is no need to provide a bending amount detecting means in the insertion section or the operation section, and the diameter of the insertion section can be reduced and the operability of the operation section can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 1 to 14 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a control system of a bending drive unit and a bending angle display unit in the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram of the first embodiment, and FIGS. 3 to 6 are external views of an electronic endoscope. Indicates that
3 is a plan view, FIG. 4 is a front view, FIG. 5 is a left side view of FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a right side view of FIG. 4, and FIGS.
Fig. 7 shows the structure of the bending switch, Fig. 7 is a sectional view, Fig. 8 is a plan view of Fig. 7, Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line A-O of Fig. 8, and Fig. 10 is Fig. 11 is a perspective view showing a bending piece of the bending portion, FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line GG of FIG. 11, and FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line HH of FIG. FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram showing a bending drive control unit and a bending angle calculation unit, and FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a bending angle display unit in a second embodiment of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Endoscope system, 2 electronic endoscope 3 ... Light source device 4, ... Signal processing device 5 ... Monitor, 6 ... Insertion part 7 ... Operation part, 13 ... Bending part 23 ... Bending switch 54a, 54b ... Electrostatic Motor 84… Angle display

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A bending portion formed on the distal end side of the insertion portion; an operation portion formed on a rear end side of the insertion portion; a driving means provided on the insertion portion for driving the bending portion; A bending switch provided on the operation unit for inputting an operation instruction of the driving means, an input detection means for detecting an input by the bending switch, and an electric signal output from the input detection means, the driving means Drive control means for controlling the drive of
In an endoscope system including display means for displaying a bending state of the bending portion and display control means for controlling the display means, an electric signal output from the input detection means is transmitted to the drive control means. An endoscope system comprising: an input section for driving a driving section; and an input section for inputting to the display control section to generate an electric signal for controlling the display section from the electric signal.