JP3606364B2 - Endoscope with zoom function - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an endoscope having a magnification changing function, and more particularly to a structure of a magnification changing operation member for driving a lens for changing an observation distance.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In an endoscope, an operation part with a thickness that can be grasped by hand is arranged on the proximal end side of the insertion part, and an angle operation knob (rotating member) and an air / water supply switch for bending the distal end part to this operation part, Operation switches such as a photographing switch are arranged. The surgeon operates the angle operation knob and various operation switches with his / her finger while holding the operation unit with the left hand, for example.
[0003]
Recently, it has been proposed to incorporate, for example, a zoom drive mechanism for changing the observation distance at the insertion tip, and an endoscope having this zoom drive mechanism is shown in FIG. In FIG. 6A, a magnification changing drive unit 2 having a drive motor, a transmission gear, and the like is disposed inside the operation unit 1, and a linear transmission member 3 composed of multiple coil springs is connected to the magnification changing drive unit 2. The linear transmission member 3 is passed through the soft protective tube 4.
[0004]
In FIG. 6B, an objective lens 6, a movable lens 7 that performs a zooming operation, and a prism 8 are disposed at the distal end portion 5 of the endoscope, and a solid-state imaging device is disposed on the prism 8 through a cover glass 9. The CCD 10 is optically connected. The holding member 12 of the movable lens 7 has a female threaded portion at the upper part thereof, and a rotational driving body 13 that screwes the male threaded portion into the female threaded portion is disposed, and the linear transmission is transmitted to the rotational driving body 13. The member 3 is connected.
[0005]
Therefore, when the linear transmission member 3 is rotationally driven by the drive unit 2, the movable lens 7 is moved back and forth due to the screwed coupling of the rotational drive body 13 and the holding member 12, and the observation distance (focal length) is increased by moving forward. It can be set in the near distance (Near) direction by moving to the far distance (Far) direction. In this case, a varifocal optical system is used, but another zooming drive mechanism such as a zoom optical system that is not varifocal may be used. 6A is provided with an air / water feed button 15, a suction button 16, a freeze shooting button 17, and the like, and the angle operation knob is attached to the back side of the operation unit 1 in the figure. .
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, an operation member is also required in the above-described zoom drive mechanism, but there is a problem of how to attach it to the endoscope operation unit. That is, the operation for zooming is often performed in connection with the operation of the above-described angle operation knob. For example, the target portion to be observed is projected while the distal end portion of the endoscope is bent with the angle operation knob. An operation of enlarging or reducing the observation unit is performed. Accordingly, it is required that the operator's finger (for example, thumb) reciprocate between the angle operation knob and the zoom operation member so that the finger can be easily operated with this finger.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope having a magnification changing function that allows a magnification changing operation member to be easily operated in relation to an angle operation knob.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, an endoscope having a zooming function according to claim 1 includes an angle driving mechanism for bending and driving a distal end portion, and a zooming driving mechanism for changing an observation distance by a zooming driving unit. An angle operating knob for operating the angle driving mechanism, a rotating body rotatably attached to the main shaft of the angle operating knob, and the rotating body And a zooming operation member for operating the zooming drive mechanism and a gear provided on the rotating body via an intermediate gear to operate the zooming knob. A potentiometer for detecting the rotation state is provided, and the zooming drive unit of the zooming drive mechanism is driven and controlled based on the output of the potentiometer .
The invention according to claim 2 is provided with a click ball stop mechanism for locking the click ball to the locking hole in order to stop the zooming rotation operation member at the operation-off position that is in the middle of the rotation angle. It is characterized by that.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the zooming operation member sets a zooming direction by a clockwise or counterclockwise rotation operation from the operation-off position, and rotates clockwise or counterclockwise. The zooming speed is set by the amount of movement .
[0009]
According to the above configuration, the zooming operation member is attached so as to rotate around the main shaft on the base side (operation unit side) of the angle operation knob, so that the distance from the angle operation knob is close, and A zooming operation can be performed by a rotation operation similar to the angle operation. Therefore, the scaling operation itself and the reciprocating operation between the scaling operation and the angle operation become smooth. Further, there is an advantage that the zooming speed can be easily controlled by the rotation amount (rotation angle) of the rotation operation member.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIGS. 1 to 5 show the configuration of the operation unit of the endoscope according to the embodiment. This endoscope has a conventionally known angle driving mechanism and the configuration described in FIG. A variable power drive mechanism is provided. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the operation unit 1 shown in FIG. 6A as viewed from the end side with the back side of the operation unit 1 on the upper side. A knob 21B is rotatably arranged.
[0011]
That is, the main shaft 22 is attached to the support portion in the operation unit 20, and the first connecting cylinder 23A and the second connecting cylinder 23B are arranged so as to rotate about the main shaft 22, and the first connecting cylinder 23A is connected to the first connecting cylinder 23A. The left / right angle knob 21A is attached, and the upper / lower angle knob 21B is attached to the other second connecting cylinder 23B. The first connecting cylinder 23A has a winding wheel 24A that winds a wire for bending the tip portion left and right, and the other second connecting cylinder 23B has a winding wheel for winding a wire for bending the tip portion up and down. 24B is connected. Each of these wires is disposed from the operation unit 20 to a predetermined position of the distal end portion of the endoscope.
[0012]
Therefore, when the left and right or upper and lower angle knobs 21A and 21B are rotated, the winding wheel 24A or 24B rotates via the first or second connecting cylinders 23A and 23B. The tip is bent to the right or left according to the moving direction and amount, and in the case of the vertical angle knob 21B, the tip is bent up or down according to the turning direction and amount.
[0013]
Then, a magnification changing operation member 27 is rotatably arranged with respect to the main shaft 22 of such angle knobs 21A and 21B. That is, the rotary body (upper and lower two stages) 27A is rotated between O-rings 29A and 29B for airtightness (waterproofing) between the support portions 28A and 28B outside the connecting cylinders 23A and 23B on the angle operation side. Mounted movably. As shown in FIG. 2, a zooming (operation) knob 27 </ b> B is attached to the outer peripheral portion on the upper side of the rotating body 27 </ b> A that can rotate about the main shaft 22.
[0014]
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a gear 27C is formed on a part of the lower disk of the rotating body 27A, and a potentiometer 31 is disposed on the gear 27C via an intermediate gear 30. The potentiometer 31 detects the rotation angle of the intermediate gear 30. For example, the gear 27C has an angle α = about 30 degrees (± 15 degrees), and the rotation angle is converted by the intermediate gear 30 into a rotation angle of about 200 degrees (± 100 degrees). Is detected by the potentiometer 31.
[0015]
Further, a click ball stop mechanism is provided to stop the rotating body 27A at an intermediate position of the rotation angle, and as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. It is attached so as to be urged upward by a coil (compression) spring 34, and a ball press portion 27D for pressing the click ball 33 is formed on the upper side of the click ball 33. The ball press portion 27D is a ball placement portion. It is pressed by the holding plate 35 on the 32 side.
[0016]
The ball pressing portion 27D is provided with a locking hole 36 for locking the click ball 33 at the center position of the rotation angle of the rotating body 27A. In the potentiometer 31, the locking position of the click ball 33 to the locking hole 36 is the zero point position of the operation angle, that is, the operation off position, and the operation state is clockwise or counterclockwise from the off position. The angle, in this example, the above ± 100 degrees is detected.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 1, the potentiometer 31 is connected to a CPU 38 in the operation unit 20, and the CPU 38 controls driving of the zooming driving unit 2, and the zooming knob 27 </ b> B (rotation) from the above-described off position. The zooming direction is determined by the rotation direction of the body 27A), and the zooming speed is determined by the size of the rotation angle.
[0018]
The above zooming drive unit 2 and other zooming mechanisms that are moved by this drive unit 2 are configured in the same manner as in FIG. In other words, the variable magnification drive unit 2 includes a drive motor, a transmission gear, and the like, and moves a movable lens arranged at the front end through a linear transmission member. This movable lens constitutes a part of the objective optical system, and the far distance (Far) direction and the near distance (Near) direction are set with respect to the observation distance (focal length) by moving back and forth, and the moving speed of this movable lens The speed of zooming changes by changing. This zooming speed may be a speed that changes continuously, or may be a speed that changes in stages in stages.
[0019]
FIG. 5 shows a view of the operation unit 20 viewed from the arrangement side of the zooming knob 27B. The zooming knob 27B is bent halfway (FIG. 1) and protrudes to the side surface 20A side of the operating unit 20. Like that. As shown in FIG. 6, the side surface 20A is the opposite side of the surface on which the air / water supply switch 15, the suction switch 16, and the freeze shooting button 17 are arranged. If the thickness of the operation unit 20 is a, The projection amount b at the tip position of the zoom knob 27B is set to about (1/4) a, so that the operation with the thumb of the hand holding the operation unit 20 is facilitated.
[0020]
The embodiment has the above-described configuration. For example, when the zoom knob 27B is rotated clockwise, the focal length is set to a short distance (enlarged) (the movable lens moves rearward), and when the counterclockwise is rotated. A long distance (reduction) is set (the movable lens moves forward), and at the same time, a zooming speed corresponding to the angle at which the zooming knob 27B is turned is set. In this example, the click ball 33 can be operated about 15 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise from the off position (intermediate position) where the click ball 33 is locked in the locking hole 36. For example, if the button ball is turned slightly clockwise, the image is enlarged at a low speed. If you turn it large, the image will be enlarged at high speed. On the other hand, in an operation in the counterclockwise direction, the image is reduced and set at a higher speed as it is rotated more greatly.
[0021]
Such a zoom knob 27B is arranged near the lower side of the angle knobs 21A and 21B and rotates around the same main shaft 22 as the angle knobs 21A and 21B. Since the operation can be performed smoothly and the operation angle corresponds to the zooming speed, it is easy to set and grasp the zooming speed. In addition, the click position of the click ball 33 to the locking hole 36 makes it possible to easily grasp the off position only by the touch of the hand.
[0022]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, in an endoscope provided with an angle drive mechanism and a variable power drive mechanism, together with an angle operation knob composed of a rotation member arranged to be rotatable with respect to a main shaft, a rotating body And a zooming operation member having a zooming knob is rotatably attached to the main shaft, and an operation rotating state of the zooming knob is detected by a potentiometer, and the zooming drive mechanism is based on the output of the potentiometer. the so zooming drive unit and to control drive, the focal length can be easily set in a short distance or a long distance by a predetermined direction of rotational operation of the variable Baimisao operating member, zooming operation is the angle operating knob It becomes easy to do by relationship.
[0023]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the above-described zooming operation member, the zooming speed is variable depending on the amount of rotation of the clockwise or counterclockwise operation with the intermediate position of the rotation angle being the off position. Therefore, there is an advantage that the zooming speed can be easily operated together with the zooming operation.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of an operation unit of an endoscope having a magnification changing function according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a view of a portion of a zooming rotation operation member in the operation unit of FIG. 1 as viewed from above.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration for detecting a rotation angle of a variable magnification rotation operation member according to an embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a click ball locking mechanism for stopping a zooming operation member according to an embodiment at an intermediate position of a rotation angle.
FIG. 5 is a diagram of an endoscope operation unit according to the embodiment as viewed from the right side of FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of an endoscope having a zooming function in the related art or the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1,20 ... Endoscope operation unit,
2 ... variable power drive unit, 7 ... movable lens,
21A, 21B ... Angle knob,
22 ... Main shaft, 23A, 23B ... Connecting cylinder,
27A: Rotating body, 27B: Variable magnification knob,
27C: gear, 27D: ball presser,
29A, 29B ... O-ring,
30 ... intermediate gear,
31 ... Potentiometer,
33 ... Click ball, 35 ... Presser plate,
36 ... A locking hole.

Claims (3)

Provided with an angle drive mechanism that bends and drives the tip and a zoom drive mechanism that changes the observation distance by the zoom drive unit ,
An angle operation knob for operating the angle drive mechanism, comprising a rotation member arranged to be rotatable with respect to the main shaft;
A rotation body that is rotatably attached to the main shaft of the angle operation knob, and a magnification change knob that is attached to the rotation body, and operates the magnification drive mechanism ;
A potentiometer connected to a gear provided on the rotating body via an intermediate gear and detecting an operation rotation state of the zoom knob ;
An endoscope having a zooming function for driving and controlling a zooming drive unit of the zooming drive mechanism based on an output of the potentiometer . The click ball stopping mechanism for locking the click ball to the locking hole is provided in order to stop the zooming rotation operating member at the operation-off position in the middle of the rotation angle. 1. An endoscope having a zooming function according to 1. The zooming rotation operating member sets a zooming direction by a clockwise or counterclockwise rotating operation from the operation-off position, and sets a zooming speed by a clockwise or counterclockwise rotation amount. An endoscope having a zooming function according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that

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