Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Yoshisada Aoki

Yasuhiro Ueda

Yoshinao Oaki

Takeaki Nakamura

Sakae Takehana

Atsushi Miyazaki

Eiichi Fuse

Hirofumi Miyanaga

Susumu Takahashi

Akira Suzuki

Hiroki Hibino

Akitoshi Toda

Shinichi Nishigaki

Yoshio Shishido

Akira Takano

Masahito Goto

Nobuyuki Sakamoto

Morihide Mizumoto

Yoshikatsu Nagayama

Toshiyuki Takara

Mutsumi Yoshikawa

Kimihiko Nishioka

Toshiaki Nishikori

Koichi Yoshimitsu

Hisanari Shimazu

Kazuhiro Misono

Hiroshi Hasegawa

Yoshihiro Iida

Akira Taniguchi

Osamu Tamada

Hideyuki Adachi

Koji Takamura

Shigeru Nakajima

Hiroyuki Sasa

Kunio Kinoshita

Raifu Matsui

Minoru Okada

Akibumi Ishikawa

Jun Hiroya

Masaru Shiraiwa

Masahiro Kumakura

Saburo Hosono

Ichiro Takahashi

Ryouji Masubuchi

Nobuyuki Nakanishi

Satoshi Tagami

Mitsugu Nagayoshi

Koichi Hoshimitsu

Yoshinao Ohaki

Morihide Tojo

Toshiaki Nishikiori

Tutomu Yamamoto

Hisanari Simazu

An endoscope system includes an endoscope having internal conduits, a cleaning solution supply portion formed in the endoscope and communicating with the internal conduits, and a solution feed unit for feeding a cleaning solution to the cleaning solution supply portion. The internal conduits are formed such that the cleaning solution supplied from the cleaning solution supply portion to the internal conduits by the solution feed unit flows in all the flow paths of the internal conduits at a flow speed almost equal to that in the cleaning solution supply portion.

Endoscope system wherein cleaning solution flows at same speed in

An endoscope comprises an insertion section, and this insertion section has a distal end portion, a proximal end portion, and a bendable portion located between the distal and proximal end portions. A fluid-pressure actuator is coupled to the insertion section, so as to bend the bendable portion. The fluid-pressure actuator is made up of an extensible body and an expansion-restricting member. The extensible body defines an internal space and has an extension axis along which it extends or contracts. The expansion-restricting member causes the extensible body to extend in the direction of the extension axis when a fluid is supplied into the internal space, and causes the extensible body to contract in the direction of the extensible axis when the fluid is discharged from the internal space. The bendable portion of the insertion section is bent in accordance with the extension or contraction of the extensible body.

Endoscope

At least one controlling unit of a controlling unit for controlling a bending driving motor bending driving a bendable portion, a controlling unit for controlling an advancing and retreating driving motor advancing and retreating moving an insert section and a controlling unit for controlling a rotating driving motor rotating driving the insert section and a camera controlling unit for processing a signal for an imaging device are made separate from each other so that such existing scope as an electronic scope or fiber scope fitted with a TV camera may be used.

Electronic endoscope system provided with a separate camera controlling

A borescope apparatus comprising a flexible insertion section, a jet port formed at the insertion section, a moving device for supplying a compressed fluid to the jet port, whereby the insertion section is moved by an impellent force of the fluid ejected from the jet port, and a stabilizing device for steadily maintaining the position of the insertion section.

Borescope apparatus

An objective optical system is provided with at least one liquid crystal lens whose polarizing characteristic selected in a direction such that polarizing components of light reflected from the lens are counterbalanced and a variable liquid crystal stop is arranged at an angle with respect to an optical axis so that an incident direction of light is deviated to the side on which contrast between transmission and blocked states of light is maximized. The objective optical system enables the balance of the polarizing components to bring about a proper image for observation, can moderate asymmetry, relative to the optical axis, of the contract between the transmission and blocked states of light of the liquid crystal stop, and can secure an adjustable object image.

Optical system including liquid crystal devices

An imaging apparatus is provided with a negative lens, a variable focal length lens unit including a material with an electrooptic effect, a light blocking unit, including the material with the electrooptic effect, capable of changing an aperture diameter, and a switch, interlocked with each other, capable of supplying electric power to the variable focal length lens unit and the light blocking unit which are arranged in order on an optical axis from an object side to an image side. When the switch is turned off, the variable focal length lens unit is set to bring an object at a far point into focus and the light blocking unit is set so that an aperture is determined by an aperture stop, while on the other hand, when the switch is turned on, the variable focal length lens unit is set so that an object at a near point is in focus and the light blocking unit is set to be smaller in aperture. Apertures different in size are determined by a plurality of annular transparent electrodes incorporated in the light blocking unit and configured concentrically. Thus the imaging apparatus can be constructed to be small or compact in size and is easy in manufacturing.

Imaging apparatus having electrooptic devices which comprise a variable

An endoscope apparatus comprises an elongate insert section including an observation window in the distal end portion and inserted into an object to be observed; an observation device for producing an endoscope image, the observation device including a focusing optical system which receives an incident light from the object through the observation window to focus the endoscope image; and a vibration device for vibrating at least a part of the insert section in a direction crossing the axial direction of the insert section, the vibration device including a vibration unit capable of vibrating in itself to vibrate at least the part of the insert section even under a condition that the insert section is not contact with the object.

Endoscope apparatus

A borescope apparatus comprises an insertion section having a bending portion and a flexible portion, a bending mechanism for bending the bending portion under the pressure of supplied fluid, a pressurized fluid supplying unit for supplying the fluid to the jet port and the bending mechanism and a flow control unit for controlling the fluid supplied to jet ports which are provided in the distal end of either the bending portion or flexible portion and the bending mechanism.

At least a part of an image forming optical system is formed of a liquid crystal assembly consisting of a plurality of liquid crystals having a refractive index anisotropy and having different response frequencies of molecule orientation so that the transmittivity and refractive index of the plurality of liquid crystals may be independently controlled with few signal lines by varying the frequency of the driving signal applied to the liquid crystal assembly.

Endoscope using liquid crystal devices different in the response

A borescope apparatus having a borescope and a pressurized fluid supply device. The borescope has an operation unit and an insertion unit. The insertion unit comprises a bending tube portion, a jet port member coupled to a proximal end of the bending tube portion, and a flexible tube portion. The bending tube portion can be bent by operating the operation unit. The jet port member has a jet port. A pressuring fluid is supplied from the fluid supply unit to the jet port member, and is ejected through the jet port. The flexible tube portion can be bent by a jet of the fluid from through the jet port independently of the bending tube portion.

The endoscope apparatus comprises an endoscope having an elongate insertable part having a bendable part and a driving apparatus for bending and driving the bendable part, a first bending controlling apparatus for controlling the driving apparatus and a second bending controlling apparatus for controlling the driving apparatus independently of the first bending controlling apparatus when the first bending controlling apparatus is controllable.

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Hachioji, Japan

Yoshisada Aoki