Endoscope system with an electric bending mechanism
First Claim
1. An endoscope apparatus comprising:
- (a) an insertion section bendable in a body cavity upon insertion thereinto;
(b) an endoscope body mechanically coupled to said insertion section;
(c) motor means in said endoscope body for generating rotating torque for bending said insertion section;
(d) an operation lever member provided in and protruding at least partially from said endoscope body so as to be manually operable by an operator;
(e) bending mechanism means in said insertion section and said endoscope body and coupled to said motor means, to said insertion section and to said operation lever member, for bending said insertion section and rotating said operation lever member by the torque from said motor means;
(f) lever operating amount detecting means mounted to said operation lever member, for changing the resistance value thereof in response to elastic deformation in said lever member when an operator operates said lever member and external pressure is applied and, for detecting an operating amount of said lever member; and
(g) control circuit means, electrically connected to said motor means and said lever operating amount detecting means, for supplying electricity to said motor means in response to changes in the resistance of said operation lever member, thereby causing said bending mechanism means to bend said insertion section and to rotate the lever member in substantially the same direction as the direction of lever operation to decrease the elastic deformation of said operation lever member and, for shutting off said motor means when the change in resistance of said lever operating amount detecting means reaches substantially zero in response to the elastic deformation of said lever member reaching substantially zero, to thereby control the bending of said insertion section such that the bending is automatically stopped when the insertion section is bent by an amount corresponding to said lever operation amount;
said control circuit means including switching transistor means electrically connected to said lever operating amount detecting means, for controlling the power supply to said motor means, in response to a change in the resistance value of said lever operating amount detecting means, in such a manner that said motor means is rotated forward or backward in response to the change in the resistance value of said lever operating amount detecting means.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An endoscope apparatus is disclosed which includes an insertion section inserted into a coeliac cavity of a human body and freely bendable therein, a motor housed in an operating section of an endoscope, a bending mechanism for bending a flexible tube of the insertion section on the basis of a torque of the motor, and a bending operating lever made of resilient material manually operated by an operator. When the operator operates the lever and deflects the lever, a piezoelectric rubber serving as wire distortion gauge attached to the lever is compressed or tensioned to change its resistance. At this time, the motor rotates to turn the drum, so that the flexible tube is bent through angulation wires. When the deflection of the lever mounted to the rotating drum disappears, the resistance change of the gauge is zero. Responsive to no change of the resistance, the motor stops its rotation. Consequently, the bending operation of the flexible tube rapidly stops.
1434 Citations
11 Claims
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1. An endoscope apparatus comprising:
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(a) an insertion section bendable in a body cavity upon insertion thereinto; (b) an endoscope body mechanically coupled to said insertion section; (c) motor means in said endoscope body for generating rotating torque for bending said insertion section; (d) an operation lever member provided in and protruding at least partially from said endoscope body so as to be manually operable by an operator; (e) bending mechanism means in said insertion section and said endoscope body and coupled to said motor means, to said insertion section and to said operation lever member, for bending said insertion section and rotating said operation lever member by the torque from said motor means; (f) lever operating amount detecting means mounted to said operation lever member, for changing the resistance value thereof in response to elastic deformation in said lever member when an operator operates said lever member and external pressure is applied and, for detecting an operating amount of said lever member; and (g) control circuit means, electrically connected to said motor means and said lever operating amount detecting means, for supplying electricity to said motor means in response to changes in the resistance of said operation lever member, thereby causing said bending mechanism means to bend said insertion section and to rotate the lever member in substantially the same direction as the direction of lever operation to decrease the elastic deformation of said operation lever member and, for shutting off said motor means when the change in resistance of said lever operating amount detecting means reaches substantially zero in response to the elastic deformation of said lever member reaching substantially zero, to thereby control the bending of said insertion section such that the bending is automatically stopped when the insertion section is bent by an amount corresponding to said lever operation amount;
said control circuit means including switching transistor means electrically connected to said lever operating amount detecting means, for controlling the power supply to said motor means, in response to a change in the resistance value of said lever operating amount detecting means, in such a manner that said motor means is rotated forward or backward in response to the change in the resistance value of said lever operating amount detecting means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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Specification