Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Olympus Corporation

Olympus Medical Systems Corporation

Takayasu Miyagi

Yuichi Ikeda

Keiichi Arai

Toshinari Maeda

Hiroshi Ishii

Jun Hasegawa

Hiroki Moriyama

Akira Taniguchi

Yasuo Hirata

Katsuyoshi Sasagawa

Yoshinao Oaki

Chieko Aizawa

Tsugio Okazaki

Seiki Toriyama

Hideo Ito

Kazutaka Tsuji

Fumiyuki Onoda

Seiichiro Kimoto

Takeshi Kawabata

Takemitsu Honda

Sumihiro Uchimura

Toshimasa Kawai

Masanao Hara

Haruhiko Ueno

Atsushi Watanabe

Yasuhiro Yoshizawa

Kan Naito

Tetsuo Nonami

Michio Sato

Hidenobu Kimura

Ryuichi Toyama

Akira Suzuki

Takashi Otawara

Haruhiko Kaiya

Kotaro Yoda

Michio Satou

Tae Nakatsuji

Kotaro c/o Olympus Medical Systems Corporation Yoda

An endoscope includes: a distal end opening of a treatment instrument insertion channel opened at a side surface of a distal end portion; a treatment instrument elevator base that is provided at a position facing the distal end opening in the treatment instrument insertion channel and leads a distal end of a treatment instrument protruding from the distal end opening, to a desired position; a first wall portion along the insertion direction of the distal end opening; and a second wall portion at a proximal end side of the insertion direction of the distal end opening and provided with a groove in which a part of the treatment instrument elevator base is fitted when the treatment instrument elevator base is raised, and as the treatment instrument elevator base is raised, a guide wire protruding from the distal end opening is releasably engaged by contacting the treatment instrument elevator base, the first wall portion, and a surface constituting the groove of the second wall portion.

Endoscope

An endoscope includes: a treatment instrument elevator base including a contact surface which contacts with a treatment instrument inserted into a treatment instrument insertion channel, and rotatably provided to a distal end to elevate the instrument; a contact portion provided to the distal end to contact with the instrument when the elevator base is elevated; a first leading portion provided to the contact surface to lead the instrument to a predetermined position on the contact surface as the elevator base is rotated; a holding portion provided to the contact surface and the contact portion, and including a grasping surface for sandwiching the instrument with a diameter not exceeding a predetermined value; and a second leading portion provided to the contact portion to lead the instrument larger than the grasping surface away from the holding portion.

An electric bending endoscope includes a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of a motor as a state value indicating the driving state of a bending drive unit. A bending control device comprises: a temperature detection unit that receives the data of the temperature detected by the temperature sensor; a record unit in which the limits of motor temperature inputted in advance are recorded; a comparison unit that compares the data of the temperature sent from the temperature detection unit with the limits of motor temperature recorded in the record unit; and a notification unit that notifies that the driving state of a motor is approaching the limit.

Electric bending endoscope

An electric bending endoscope comprises a bending portion arranged to an inserting portion, a bending driving unit and a buffering member. The bending driving unit bends the bending portion, and includes a motor, a first unit and a second unit. The motor generates driving force for bending the bending portion. The first unit holds the motor. The second unit includes a driving force transmitting member. The buffering member connects the first unit to an outer member of the inserting portion, a connecting code and a switch. The buffering member absorbs external force generated during the operation of the electric bending endoscope.

An electric bending endoscope according to the present invention includes a bending portion arranged to an inserting portion, a bending driving mechanism which electrically bends the bending portion, an operation input member which instructs an operation to the bending driving mechanism so that the bending driving mechanism bends the bending portion, and a bending angle holding mechanism which holds the bending angle of the bending portion.

Endoscope device with electrically actuated bending

An electric bending endoscope apparatus includes an electric bending endoscope, a bending control device for controlling a bending direction and the amount of bending of a bending portion based on a bending instructing signal outputted from a portion for instructing a bending operation in the electric bending endoscope, an image processing device for generating an observing image captured by the electric bending endoscope to a video signal, and a display device for displaying the video signal generated by the image processing device as an endoscope image, wherein the electric bending endoscope includes a bending driving portion for bending the bending portion arranged at an inserting portion, a bending motive portion for driving the bending driving portion, a portion for restoring transmission and disconnection of driving force that reversibly switches a status for transmitting the driving force by transmitting the driving force of the bending motive portion to the bending driving portion and a status for disconnecting the driving force, a portion for detecting a bending status which detects an operating status of the bending driving portion and detects the bending status of the bending portion, a portion for instructing a bending operation having a portion for inputting the bending instructing signal that outputs the bending instructing signal for relatively changing the bending direction and the amount of bending of the bending portion, a portion for detecting a predetermined bending status which detects that the bending portion is in at least one predetermined bending status, and a portion for notifying the predetermined bending status which sends a notification indicating that the bending portion is in the predetermined bending status based on a detecting result of the portion for detecting the predetermined bending status.

Endoscope apparatus having electric bending endoscope

Driving force of a bending motor is transmitted to a sprocket via a clutch mechanism portion. The operation of a switching operation lever switches the clutch mechanism portion to a disconnecting/restoring status. A bending control device includes a bending angle calculating portion which calculates information on a bending status based on an output signal of a potentiometer, a motor driving signal generating portion which generates a driving signal for bending a bending portion, a JS-motor driving signal generating portion which calculates a position for an instructing status of a stick portion based on the information on the bending status and generates the driving signal for moving the stick portion to the position, and a calibration instructing portion which receives a position signal from a status detecting switch and which sends an instruction for outputting to a JS motor, the driving signal generated by the JS-motor driving signal generating portion. With the above construction, the calibration operation is easily performed in a freely bending status.

Electric bending endoscope apparatus

An electric bending endoscope includes a bending portion arranged to an inserting portion and a bending driving unit which bends the bending portion. In the electric bending endoscope, the bending driving unit includes a motor which generates driving force for bending the bending portion, a first unit which holds the motor, a driving force transmitting member which transmits the driving force of the motor, and a second unit which bends the bending portion by the driving force of the motor. The electric bending endoscope further includes a first holding member which detachably supports, to the first unit, a rotating shaft arranged to the driving force transmitting member of the second unit.

An electrically-bent endoscope includes a bend driving portion for bending a bending portion. The bend driving portion has a motor for generating driving force, a gear train for transmitting driving force generated in the motor, a sprocket for converting driving force of the motor to a back and forth movement of bending operation wires for bending the bending portion at the head portion of an inserting portion, and a clutch mechanism for connecting and disconnecting driving force transmitted from the gear train to the sprocket. The clutch mechanism includes a transmitting member for connecting and disconnecting the gear train and sprocket, a thrust mechanism for moving the transmitting member in the axial direction of the sprocket and a clutch operating member, connected to the thrust mechanism, for inputting instructions for connecting and disconnecting the gear train and the sprocket.

Electrically-bent endoscope

An endoscope shape detection system has a CPU included in a control unit. The CPU performs frequency sampling of digital data to calculate coordinates indicating the spatial positions of source coils incorporated in an insertion unit of an endoscope received in a patient and of marker coils placed on a patient. An inserted state of the insertion unit of the endoscope is estimated based on the calculated coordinate data indicating the positions of the source coils. Display data based on the shape of the endoscope is produced from the calculated coordinate data indicating the positions of the source coils, and output to a video RAM. Display data of the marker coils is produced from the calculated coordinate data indicating the positions of the marker coils, and output to the video RAM. Consequently, the positions of the markers are depicted together with the shape of the endoscope. The positional relationship between the insertion unit of the endoscope and a patient's body can therefore be ascertained.

System for detecting the shape of an endoscope using source coils and sense coils

Three magnetic field generating coils on the distal end side of the shape detection probe are provided in the curvable portion, and the first coil at the leading end position is placed at the position corresponding to the leading end curvable piece, whereas the third coil at the position corresponding to the trailing end curvable piece. Further, the second coil is placed at a middle position between the leading end curvable piece and the trailing end curvable piece in the curvable portion. With this structure, the accuracy of detecting the shape of the curvable portion can be improved, and the production cost of the system as a whole can be lowered.

An endoscope shape detecting system displays an endoscope image and an insertion form image simultaneously on a display means. A first memory stores an endoscope image and a second memory stores an insertion form image. A control device controls a switching action such that the insertion form image is output to the display means during a period wherein the output of the endoscope image to the display means is turned off and stored in the first memory means, and that the output of the insertion form image to the display means is turned off and stored in the second memory during the period wherein the output of the endoscope image to the display is turned on. In addition, a control device is provided that controls the storing action such that a first period for storing endoscope images in the first memory and a second period for storing output signals from a magnetic field detecting device in the second memory do not overlap.

Endoscope shape detecting apparatus wherein form detecting processing is controlled according to connection state of magnetic field generating means

An endoscope includes an insertion section inserted into the body cavity and a probe provided inside the insertion section for detecting the form of the endoscope. The probe includes a plurality of coil portions arranged in the longitudinal direction of the insertion section of the endoscope and a wire electrically connecting the coil portions. The coil portions and the wire are covered with a flexible member. And the outer diameter of the covered wire is smaller than the outer diameter of the covered coil portions.

An endoscope capable of improving assembly operativity and facilitating a repair operation is provided. This endoscope has an insertion section having a proximal end portion and a distal end portion, and inserted into a body cavity, an operation section arranged on a proximal end portion side of the insertion section, a universal cord extending from the operation section, and having a distal end portion, and a conduit extended in the insertion section, the operation section and the universal cord. This conduit has one end arranged on the distal end portion of the insertion section and having a first opening portion formed therein and the other end arranged on the connector and having a second opening portion formed therein, and separable on a portion between one end and the other end.

An endoscope shape detection system has a CPU included in a control unit. The CPU performs frequency sampling on digital data to calculate coordinates indicating the spatial positions of source coils incorporated in an insertion unit of an endoscope and of marker coils. An inserted state of the insertion unit of the endoscope is estimated based on the calculated coordinate data indicating the positions of the source coils. Display data based on which shape of the endoscope depicted is produced from the calculated coordinate data indicating the positions of the source coils, and output to a video RAM. Display data based on which marker coils are depicted is produced from the calculated coordinate data indicating the positions of the marker coils, and output to the video RAM. Consequently, the positions of the markers are depicted together with the shape of the endoscope. The positional relationship between the insertion unit of the endoscope and a patient's body can therefore be ascertained.

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Hachioji, Japan

Takayasu Miyagi