Endoscope device and display device

• US 8,033,993 B2
• Filed: 03/08/2007
• Issued: 10/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Imaging Corporation (Olympus Corporation), Olympus Medical Systems Corporation (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Amano, Hirotoshi, Okada, Keiji, Watanabe, Katsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Kasztejna; Matthew J
• Assistant Examiner(s): HENDERSON, RYAN N
• Application Number:
  US11/715,801
• Publication Number:
  US 20070249904A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,678 Days
• Field of Search: 600/120, 600/131, 600/160, 600/164, 600/174, 600/185, 600/188, 128/200.26, 128/207.14, 128/207.15, 348/65, 396/287
• US Class Current: 600/160
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00052 positioned at proximal end of the endoscope body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0051 with controlled bending of insertion part
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/045 Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0669 at proximal end of an endoscope
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0684 using light emitting diodes [LED]

Abstract

An endoscope device of the invention includes: an insertion portion disposed with an observation optical system; an operation portion continuously provided to a proximal end side of the insertion portion; a display device main body provided to a proximal end side of the operation portion and disposed with a monitor portion for displaying a subject image; a rotational movement shaft for rotationally movably journaling the display device main body with respect to the operation portion; and a finger-hooking portion provided to the display device main body and for operation of rotationally moving the display device main body about a rotational movement shaft, and thus it is possible for an operator to easily orient the monitor of the display device in an easily viewable direction when operatably grasping the operation portion.

Claims

1. An endoscope device comprising:

an insertion portion disposed with an observation optical system;

an operation portion continuously provided to a proximal end side of the insertion portion;

a display device main body provided to the proximal end side of the operation portion, the display device main body being disposed with a monitor for displaying a subject image;

a rotational movement shaft for rotationally movably journaling the display device main body with respect to the operation portion;

a concave portion having an opening only on one side surface near a top of the operation portion, the rotational movement shaft being inserted and disposed into the opening so as to rotate about the rotational movement shaft and maintain an angle with respect to the operation portion of the display device main body with a predetermined resistance; and

a tilt lever including a protruding surface which is formed continuously from a surface of the display device main body, the monitor being disposed on the surface and the lever being extended from one side of the surface and provided so as to be extended from a side surface of the display device main body and adapted to rotationally move the display device main body about the rotational movement shaft by being pushed up and down with a thumb of a hand of a user who grasps the operation portion, and to vary a position of the monitor of the display device main body to a desired angled position which faces the user straight.

2. The endoscope device according to claim 1, wherein the insertion portion comprises a bending portion that is bendable in a predetermined direction.

3. The endoscope device according to according to claim 2, wherein the bending portion is operated with a bending operation portion provided on a predetermined side-surface side of the operation portion and on a side closer to the insertion portion than the tilt lever, the bending operation portion being rotationally movable about a shaft that is generally parallel to the rotational movement shaft.

4. The endoscope device according to claim 3, wherein the tilt lever and the bending operation portion are disposed at positions that prevent mutual interference therebetween in respective rotational movement range.

5. The endoscope device according to claim 4, wherein a back surface of the tilt lever configures a contact portion that comes in contact with the operation portion when the display device main body is rotationally moved to a raised position thereof, and the contact portion contacts the operation portion, thereby restricting an angle of the monitor of the display device main body when the monitor is raised to face the user straight.

6. The endoscope device according to claim 1, wherein the tilt lever has a predetermined dimension in both left and right directions sandwiching a center axis in a longitudinal direction of the operation portion.

7. The endoscope device according to claim 1, wherein the tilt lever is provided with a switch for performing a functional operation of the display device main body.

8. The endoscope device according to claim 7, wherein the switch is disposed at a position that causes a direction of pressing operation of the switch to intersect with a center of the rotational movement shaft.

9. The endoscope device according to claim 1, wherein the endoscope device comprises a housing portion in which to house a battery for supplying an electric power at least to the monitor.

10. The endoscope device according to claim 9, wherein the housing portion is provided to the display device main body.

11. The endoscope device according to claim 1, wherein the protruding surface is formed by a plane surface.

12. The endoscope device according to claim 1, wherein the protruding surface is formed by a curved surface along an extending direction.

13. The endoscope device according to claim 1, wherein the protruding surface is formed by a plurality of surfaces.

14. The endoscope device according to claim 1, wherein

the tilt lever includes a finger-hooking surface on which a user hooks a finger to operate to rotationally move the device main body, the finger-hooking surface being disposed continuously from the protruding surface;

and

the finger-hooking surface includes a plurality of convex portions.

15. The endoscope device according to claim 1, wherein the insertion portion comprises a bending portion that is bendable in a predetermined direction and the tilt lever is disposed to protrude farther than the bending operation portion relative to the operation portion.

16. A display device comprising:

a device main body which is rotationally movably journaled with respect to an operation portion of an endoscope by a rotation movement shaft and which includes a monitor for displaying a subject image;

wherein

the rotational movement shaft is inserted and disposed into an opening of a concave portion on only one side surface near a top of the operation portion so as to rotate about the rotational movement shaft and maintain an angle with respect to the operation portion of the display device main body with a predetermined resistance, and

the display device further comprises a tilt lever including a protruding surface which is formed continuously from a surface of the device main body, the monitor being disposed on the surface and the tilt lever being extended from one side of the surface and provided so as to be extended from a side surface of the device main body, and adapted to rotationally move the device main body about the rotational movement shaft by being pushed up and down with a thumb of a hand of a user who grasps the operation portion, and to vary a position of the monitor of the device main body to a desired angled position which faces the user straight.

17. The display device according to claim 16, wherein the tilt lever is provided with a switch for performing various functional operations.

18. The display device according to claim 16, wherein the protruding surface is formed by a plane.

19. The display device according to claim 16, wherein the protruding surface is formed by a curved surface along an extending direction.

20. The display device according to claim 16, wherein the protruding surface is formed by a plurality of surfaces.

21. The display device according to claim 16, wherein

the tilt lever includes a finger-hooking surface on which a user hooks a finger to operate to rotationally move the device main body, the finger-hooking surface being disposed continuously from the protruding surface;

and

the finger-hooking surface includes a plurality of convex portions.