Endoscope system comprising an electrically bendable endoscope

• US 6,669,629 B2
• Filed: 04/24/2002
• Issued: 12/30/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Olympus Optical Company Ltd. (Olympus Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Olympus Optical Company Ltd. (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsui, Koichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Leubecker, John P.
• Application Number:
  US10/128,891
• Publication Number:
  US 20020165432A1
• Time in Patent Office: 615 Days
• Field of Search: 600/152, 600/149, 600/146, 600/102, 600/118, 600/145
• US Class Current: 600/152
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00042 for mechanical operation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0016 using motor drive units
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0053 using distributed actuators, e.g. artificial muscles

Abstract

The endoscope system comprises a endoscope in which a bendable portion is motor bendable; an operation switch for giving an instruction as to a bending amount; a motor for bending the bendable portion in accordance with a bending instruction signal; a detection portion for detecting the bent state of the bendable portion; a first driving power generating portion which generates power for driving the motor in accordance with a difference between an instructed bending amount fed via the operation switch and a value representing the bending state of the bending portion and given by the detection portion; a second driving power generating portion for generating a pulse driving power having a predetermined magnitude; and a control portion whose control includes selecting one of the first and second driving power generating means depending on said difference, and causing the thus selected means to drive motor so as to bend the bendable portion.

Claims

1. An endoscope system, comprising:

an electrically bendable endoscope in which a bendable portion is electrically bendable;

bending input feeding means for giving an instruction as to a bending amount which includes a bending direction and a bending position which the bendable portion of the electrically bendable endoscope should take as a result of bending;

driving means for bending the bendable portion based on the bending instruction signal from the bending input feeding means;

detection means for detecting a bent state of the bendable portion;

first driving power generating means which obtains a difference between the instructed bending amount given by the bending input feeding means and a value representing the bent state given by the detection means, and generates power for driving the driving means which is responsible for bending the bendable portion in accordance with the difference;

second driving power generating means for generating a pulse driving power having a predetermined magnitude; and

control means whose control includes selecting one of the first and second driving power generating means which have a characteristic of power generating activities according to said difference, and activating the thus selected driving power generating means so as to bend the bendable portion.

2. The endoscope system according to claim 1, wherein:

the control means switches a driving voltage applied to the driving means from a normal voltage to a pulse voltage according to said difference.

3. The endoscope system according to claim 1, further comprising:

winding means for taking up an insertion portion of the electrically bendable endoscope to hold it;

detection means for detecting an amount of the insertion portion which is wound around the winding means for winding; and

correction means for correcting a driving power generated by the first or second driving power generating means according to a detection result given by the detection means, wherein;

the control means controls such that the driving means bends the bendable portion with the driving power corrected by the correction means.

4. The endoscope system according to claim 3, wherein:

the control means corrects driving voltage in accordance with an amount of the insertion portion wound up around the winding means in such a manner as to keep the bending amount of the bendable portion constant regardless of the wound-up amount of the insertion portion.

5. The endoscope system according to claim 3, wherein:

the control means prevents driving voltage from becoming equal to or higher than a predetermined value which would otherwise occur depending on the amount of the insertion portion wound up around the winding means.

6. The endoscope system according to claim 3, wherein:

the magnitude of a pulse voltage is corrected in accordance with the amount of the insertion portion wound up around the winding means.