Electrically bendable endoscope apparatus having controlled fixed bending speed

• US 5,400,769 A
• Filed: 12/10/1992
• Issued: 03/28/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Olympus Optical Corporation Limited (Olympus Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Olympus Optical Corporation Limited (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Tanii, Yoshiyuki, Hibino, Hiroki
• Primary Examiner(s): Apley, Richard J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Leubecker, John P.
• Application Number:
  US07/989,945
• Time in Patent Office: 838 Days
• Field of Search: 128/4, 128/6, 128/7-10, 128/656-658, 128/772, 604/95, 604/280
• US Class Current: 600/152
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0016 using motor drive units
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0052 Constructional details of control elements, e.g. handles

Abstract

In response to the operation of a bending operation switch, a controlling circuit switches on/off a plurality of transistors of a driving circuit, controls the polarity of a voltage applied to a motor or does not apply the voltage and, on the other hand, controls the voltage applied to the motor to be on/off while monitoring the rotating speed of the motor through an encoder to thereby drive and control the motor at a predetermined speed which can be variably set steppedly so that an endoscope bendable part may be bent at a fixed speed.

Claims

1. An electrically bendable endoscope apparatus including an endoscope having an insertable portion comprising:

a bending mechanism for bending a bendable part of said insertable portion of said endoscope;

driving means for driving said bending mechanism, said driving means including a variable voltage power source for producing an output voltage value for driving said bending mechanism;

operating means for providing an instruction for bendably operating said bendable part;

bending angle detecting means for detecting the bending angle of said bendable part;

memorizing means for memorizing the relation between the output voltage value of said variable voltage power source and the bending angle detected by said bending angle detecting means; and

controlling means for controlling said driving means to drive said bending mechanism so as to maintain a fixed predetermined speed, said controlling means selecting the output voltage value of said variable voltage power source stored in said memorizing means corresponding to the bending angle detected by said bending angle detecting means.