Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Olympus Corporation

Konica Corporatioin

Hiroshi Hasegawa

Takakazu Ishigami

Hirofumi Miyanaga

Masahiro Kumakura

Nobuyuki Saruya

Yasufumi Shimoe

Shinji Fujikawa

Seiji Kimura

Yutaka Konomura

Nobuyuki Motoki

Yukinori Koizumi

Masahiro Chiba

Katsuya Nagaishi

Takashi Minaki

Keiichi Kawazu

Masaru Tsuzuki

According to the present invention, an endoscope system having an insertion member thereof wound about a drum comprises an electronic endoscope, a drum, an angling input unit, a motor-driven angling unit, a camera control unit, a motor-driven angling control circuit unit, and a stowage case. A bending section included in an insertion member of the electronic endoscope is motor-driven to bend, and a solid-state imaging device is incorporated at the tip of the insertion member. The insertion member is wound about the periphery of the drum. The angling input unit is separated from the electronic endoscope, and used to enter a direction of bending in which a user wants to bend the bending section. The motor-driven angling unit is incorporated in the drum, and includes a driving source for driving a driving mechanism that drives the bending section. The camera control unit controls the solid-state imaging device, and includes a signal processor for processing an electric signal sent from the solid-state imaging device to generate a video signal. The motor-driven angling control circuit unit controls the movement of the bending section. The drum is rotatably stowed in the stowage case freely.

Endoscope apparatus with drum part to wind insertion part therearound

According to the present invention, an endoscope system having an insertion member thereof wound about a drum comprises an electronic endoscope, a drum, an angling input unit, a motor-driven angling unit, a camera control unit, a motor-driven angling control circuit unit, and a stowage case. A bending section included in an insertion member of the electronic endoscope is motor-driven to bend, and a solid-state imaging device is incorporated at the tip of the insertion member. The insertion member is wound about the periphery of the drum. The angling input unit is separated from the electronic endoscope, and used to enter a direction of bending in which a user wants to bend the bending section. The motor-driven angling unit is incorporated in the drum, and includes a driving source for driving a driving mechanism that drives the bending section.

An electronic endoscope includes a solid imaging device with a rectangular effective imaging plane built into the tip of an inserting portion; and an endoscope channel through which endoscope fixing pieces are inserted; wherein the opening of the endoscope channel is positioned to the long side of the effective imaging plane of the solid imaging device at the tip of the inserting portion.

Electronic endoscope

A cylindrical surface on which an insertion portion where a curving portion is provided is wound for containing is formed in a drum portion rotatably supported by a fulcrum. Inside the cylindrical surface, an electric drive unit such as motors moving back and forth manipulation wires transmitting driving forces curving the curving portion is contained. By instructing a curving direction with a joy stick provided through a cable outside the drum portion, the curving portion is curved in a desired direction through the electric drive unit. A monitor displaying an image to be observed through a cable is located outside the drum portion.

Endoscope apparatus driving manipulation wires with drive motor in drum portion

An optical adaptor for an endoscope enabling an optically highly precise arrangement consists of a first frame member, a second frame member, and a distance restriction member. The first frame member is located at the distal part of the optical adaptor. A plurality of objective optical systems is stowed and held in the first frame member. The second frame member is located behind the plurality of objective optical systems. A relay optical system that transmits optical images formed by the objective optical systems and teams with an imaging optical system located in front of an imaging device in an endoscope to form an image transmission optical system is stowed and held in the second frame member. The distance restriction member is interposed between the first frame member and second frame member and thus sets the distance between the members to a predetermined value.

Optical adaptor for highy precision endoscope

An image pick-up apparatus includes, an image pickup device having a plurality of pixels disposed with a predetermined distance therebetween to pick up an image on a photographic original with respect to a plurality of colors; an image forming device having an optical axis, to form the image of the photographic original onto the image pickup device; a pixel shifting device to shift a focal point of the image on the image pickup device by a distance shorter than a distance between the pixels of the image pickup device; a plurality of color filters having a plurality of colors different from each other; and a filter selector to select a color filter from the plurality of color filters and for disposing the color filter between the photographic original and the image pickup device. The image pick-up apparatus further includes a controller to control the image pickup device to pick up the image of the photographic original in a first condition that makes the pixel shifting device operative, and to pick up the image of the photographic original in a second condition that makes the pixel shifting device inoperative, at each time when the controller controls the filter selector to change a color filter to another color filter of the plurality of color filters.

Imaging apparatus including a pixel shifting means

As inserted through an insertable part, a flexible image guide transmitting an optical image and a flexible light guide transmitting an illuminating light are secured in a tip part so as to be parallel/vertical to a curvature axis and are inserted in a position displaced rotatably around the center axis within a curvable tube part adjacent to this tip part so that, in case a tip adapter is fitted, the visual field direction and the direction of the curvature axis may be parallel/vertical to each other.

Endoscope using an optical guide twisted on the tip side to have the

An endoscope comprising an elongated insertable part, a rigid tip body provided in the tip part of the insertable part and having an observing window and illuminating window, an observing means for observing an object to be imaged by receiving a light from the object incident from the observing window and an illuminating means emitting an illuminating light from the illuminating window, wherein the insertable part has a removably fitted tubular outer cover covering the outer periphery of this insertable part, an annular fixing member fixing the outer cover in the tip part to the tip body is secured to the outer periphery of the tip body and has a slit provided in the axial direction and further a cuttable connecting part connecting the slit in the direction intersecting the axial direction is provided.

Endoscope with a removable cover member

In an endoscope apparatus, an optical end adapter is detachably attached to the end portion of an elongated inserting section, and an endoscope insertion aid is detachably provided which has the minimum diameter which is smaller than the maximum outer diameter of the optical end adapter. The endoscope insertion aid is fitted onto the inserting section from the leading end thereof, and then the optical end adapter is attached. It is, accordingly, possible to positively prevent the endoscope insertion aid from coming off the optical adapter.

Endoscope apparatus provided with endoscope insertion aid

A hook forceps apparatus for industrial endoscopes in which a hook stopper is connected to the tip of an elongated flexible shaft part and is provided with a fitting part, a male screw part having a self-tapping function is formed on the outer periphery of this fitting part and, on the other hand, a recess in which the above mentioned fitting part is fitted and a female screw is cut by the male screw part is provided on the base side of a hook part to be connected to this hook stopper and which is used as inserted through a channel in the industrial endoscope.

Hook forceps apparatus for industrial endoscopes

An endoscope comprises an elongated insertable part, illumination device for illuminating an object to be imaged, and observing device for allowing observation of the object to imaged upon receiving a light from the object incident from an observing window disposed at a tip portion of the insertable part, the insertable part being provided with an inner tube and a tubular outer cover for covering the outer periphery of the inner tube. The outer cover is fixed to the inner tube by means of a cylindrical fixing member externally fitted to the outer cover. Further, a cylindrically projecting member for radially expanding the outer cover is provided in the vicinity of and on the outside of at least one axially opposite end portion of the fixing member in such a manner that an outside diameter of the outer cover in the vicinity of and on the outside of the axially opposite end portion of the fixing member becomes substantially equivalent to that of the fixing member.

Growing community of inventors

Hachioji, Japan

Hiroshi Hasegawa