JP2506369B2 - Endoscope device - Google Patents

Description

Description: [Industrial application] The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus adapted to measure a bending operation amount of an insertion portion.

[Prior Art] Generally, a bending operation method of an insertion portion of an endoscope is a method of manually bending an angle wire inserted in the insertion portion by manually operating an angle knob on an operation portion on a hand side. there were. In the case of using an endoscope, it is important to know the bending amount accurately, but conventionally, the bending amount is sensuously known by the angle of rotation of the angle knob and the degree of operation force.

Therefore, since it is not always accurate, the amount of bending (angle) as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 60-106601 has been recently increased.
It has been proposed to display the image on a TV monitor together with the observed image. In this method, the amount of movement of the angle wire from the proximal side of the endoscope is detected with a potentiometer, the amount of bending is known from this, and this is displayed on the screen of the TV monitor.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in this conventional method, since the bending amount is detected by the moving amount of the angle wire, the angle wire is detected depending on whether the insertion portion of the endoscope is straight or bent. The required length of is different. For example, in the neutral position, the position of the angle knob is different when the insertion portion is straight and when it is bent. In addition, as the bending operation was repeated, the angle wire itself stretched due to the amount of tensile force, became longer than the original length, and the neutral range became wider.

As described above, the method of detecting the bending amount only by the rotation amount of the angle knob and displaying the bending amount is not reliable. In particular, in the case of a medical endoscope, its operation must be carefully performed due to matters to be considered in ensuring the safety to the patient, and the operability is impaired. Further, in the case of an industrial endoscope, there is a risk of damaging a duct or the like to be inspected or the endoscope itself.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an endoscope apparatus capable of accurately confirming a bending amount.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is an endoscope apparatus in which a bending portion of an insertion portion is bent, and means for detecting tension applied to the angle wire, The comparing means for comparing the value detected by the detecting means with a predetermined value, and the moving amount of the angle wire after the tension applied to the angle wire by the comparing means becomes equal to or more than the predetermined value, the bending amount is determined. It is an endoscope apparatus provided with a means for measuring.

[Operation] When the tension applied to the angle wire exceeds the predetermined value by the comparison means for comparing the value detected by the means for detecting the tension applied to the angle wire with the predetermined value, the movement amount of the angle wire after that is detected. Since the bending amount is measured, the bending amount can be accurately confirmed without being affected by the insertion state of the insertion portion, the elongation of the angle wire itself, and the like.

[Embodiment] FIGS. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows the system of this endoscope apparatus. The endoscope 1 comprises an insertion section 2, an operation section 3 and a light guide cable 4, and the insertion section 2 is provided with a bending tube section 6 on the distal end side of a flexible tube section 5, and the bending tube section 6 has a tip end. The component 7 is attached. The operation section 3 is provided with an eyepiece section 9 and the like in addition to an angle knob (not shown). Further, a connector 11 is provided at the extending tip of the light guide cable 4, and the connector 11 is a light source device 12.
Is detachably connected to. Although not shown, the endoscope 1 incorporates an illumination system and an observation system necessary for the endoscope. The illumination system is for guiding the illumination light from the light source device 12 to the illumination window of the tip forming section 7 and irradiating it into the observation field of view, and the observation system is obtained by the objective optical system provided in the tip forming section. The observation image is transmitted to the eyepiece unit 9.

The bending tube portion 6 of the insertion portion 2 is configured to be bendable as a whole by arranging a plurality of bending pieces 13 and pivoting adjacent ones to each other. Then, this bending tube portion 6
Is a pair of angle wires inserted into the insertion part 2
It is forcibly bent by pushing and pulling 14,15.
That is, the tip ends of the pair of angle wires 14 and 15 are connected to the most distal bending piece 13 to bend the bending tube portion 6 toward the pulling direction side. Also, each angle wire
The base end sides of 14, 15 are wound around the drum 16 provided in the operation portion 3 from the opposite sides. I mean this drum
When 16 is rotated, one of the angle wires 14 and 15 is pulled, and the other of the angle wires 14 and 15 is paid out.
The drum 16 is rotated by the angle knob.

A TV camera 17 is detachably attached to the eyepiece unit 9. The image pickup signal obtained by the TV camera 17 is image-processed by the camera controller 18, transmitted to the TV monitor 19, and displayed on the TV monitor 19.

Further, in the operation section 3, the angle wire 1
Slack removers 21 and 22 for absorbing the slack of the angle wires 14 and 15 are inserted in the middle of the wires 4 and 15. The slack eliminating tools 21 and 22 are configured as shown in FIG.
That is, the slack eliminating tools 21 and 22 are cylindrical bodies 2 with both ends closed.
Two retaining rings 24 and 25 are slidably provided in 3 so that each end of the angle wires 14 and 15 cut at the slack eliminating portion is attached to each retaining ring 24 and 25. Each is attached. In addition, the cut angle wires 14,1
Each part of 5 passes through each end wall of the cylindrical body 23 and is led out. When the angle wires 14 and 15 are loosened, the retaining rings 24 and 25 are attached to the tubular body 2 in accordance with the looseness.
Move inside 3 to absorb slack.

Further, a ring-shaped pressure sensor 27 is provided on the slack eliminating tools 21, 22 so as to be located between the retaining ring 24 on the distal end side and the end wall 26 of the tubular body 23. This pressure sensor
27 is made of, for example, a pressure conductive rubber, and has the property of lowering the electric resistance by being pressed. Cables 2 are respectively connected to the pressure sensors 27 of the slack eliminating tools 21 and 22.
8,29 are connected. And this each cable 28,29
Is guided to the connector 11 through the operating section 3 and the light guide cable 4, and the resistance value detecting section 31 in the light source device 12 is
It is connected to the.

A gear 32 is attached to the rotary shaft of the drum 16 of the angle operating mechanism, and the gear 32 rotates together with the drum 16. A gear 34 of a potentiometer 33 for detecting the rotation angle of the drum 16 is connected to the gear 32. The cable 35 connected to the potentiometer 33 is guided to the connector 11 through the operation section 3 and the light guide cable 4, and is connected to the angle wire movement amount detection section 36 in the light source device 12. This angle wire movement amount detection unit 36 is provided with a potentiometer 33.
Is detected as the movement amount of the angle wire. Then, the angle calculation circuit 37 is the resistance value detection unit.
After receiving the detection signal from 31, the bending angle is calculated from the detection signal from the angle wire movement amount detection unit 36. The bending angle calculated by the angle calculation circuit 37 is used by the image synthesizing circuit 38 in the camera controller 18 for the TV camera.
It is combined with the observation image from 17 and displayed on the TV monitor 19.

Then, in the above endoscope device, when the bending tube portion 6 of the insertion portion 2 is bent, an unillustrated Agglu knob of the operation portion 3 is rotated. As a result, the drum 16 rotates, one of the angle wires 14 and 15 is wound and pulled, and the other of the angle wires 14 and 15 is paid out, so that the bending tube portion 6 can be bent to the pulling side. by the way,
In this bending operation process, one of the angle wires 14 and 15 that is wound around the drum 16 is pulled so that tension is applied, and this tension is applied to the distal end retaining ring 24 and the end wall of the tubular body 23 in the slack eliminating tools 21 and 22. It is added to the ring-shaped pressure sensor 27 located between 26 and. For this the pressure sensor 27
The electric resistance value of changes. That is, the electric resistance decreases according to the magnitude of the tension. And the angle wires 14,15
The pressure greater than the pressure when the slack is removed is the pressure sensor
When it is added to 27, the electric resistance becomes smaller, but the resistance value detection unit 31 detects this. That is, the slack of the angle wires 14 and 15 on the operating side is removed, and the bending action actually works.

On the other hand, the rotation angle of the drum 16 is detected by the potentiometer 33, and this signal is converted into a signal as the movement amount of the angle wires 14 and 15 by the angle wire movement amount detection unit 36. However, the actual data of this amount of movement is the electrical resistance when a pressure larger than the pressure when the resistance value detection unit 31 removes the angle wires 14 and 15 is applied to the pressure sensor 27, that is, a predetermined value or less. When the electric resistance becomes small, this is detected. Then, the angle calculation circuit 37 integrates the movement amount after receiving the detection signal of the resistance value detection section 31 and uses this as the actual movement amount. Therefore, the slack of the angle wires 14 and 15 is removed, and the accurate bending angle at which the bending action is actually performed is detected.

In this way, the angle calculation circuit 37 calculates the bending angle of the bending tube portion 6 from the detection signal of the resistance value detection unit 31 and the detection signal of the angle wire movement amount detection unit 36. Then, the calculated bending angle is applied to the TV monitor 19 in the image synthesizing circuit 38.
Synthesize the TV screen so that it can be displayed in the corner of the screen. Therefore, the TV monitor 19 displays the accurate bending angle at which the bending operation is actually performed.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is a modification of the slack eliminating tools 21 and 22, and the slack eliminating tools 21 and 22 are ring-shaped and are located between the retaining ring 24 on the distal end side and the end wall 26 of the tubular body 23. Not only is the pressure sensor 27 inserted, but also the retaining ring 25 and the cylindrical body 23 on the rear end side.
The ring-shaped pressure sensor 41 is also interposed between the end wall 26 and the end wall 26. That is, the two pressure sensors 27 and 41 are incorporated in one slack eliminating tool 21 and 22, respectively. And this one or both pressure sensors 2
The bending angle is counted when the electric resistance below a certain resistance value due to the pressure applied to 7,41. Others are the same as those in the above embodiment.

FIG. 4 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is also a modification of the slack eliminating tools 21 and 22. A magnet 42 is attached to the retaining ring 24 on the front end side of the slack eliminating tools 21, 22 and a spring 43 for urging the retaining ring 24 on the front end side to the rear end side is incorporated. Further, a Hall element 44 capable of detecting magnetic strength is attached to the retaining ring 25 on the rear end side. Then, whether or not the slack of the angle wires 14 and 15 has disappeared is detected by separating the magnet 42 and the Hall element 44. Others are the same as those in the above embodiment.

FIG. 5 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is also a modification of the slack eliminating tools 21 and 22. In the slack eliminating tools 21 and 22, the light-emitting element 45 is attached to the retaining ring 24 on the tip side.
And a spring 43 that urges the retaining ring 24 on the front end side toward the rear end. Further, a light receiving element 46 capable of detecting the intensity of light is attached to the retaining ring 25 on the rear end side. Then, the disconnection is optically detected whether or not the slack of the angle wires 14 and 15 has disappeared. Others are the same as those in the third embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, without using the slack eliminating tools 21 and 22, the non-rotating first platen 48 provided with the pressure sensor 47 in the middle of the angle wires 14 and 15 and the rotating first platen 48 close to the first platen 48 are used. Two platens 49 are provided, and both platens, 4
The angle wires 14 and 15 are brought into rolling contact with the peripheral surfaces of 8 and 49. The angle wires 14 and 15 are passed between the platens 48 and 49, and the pressure sensor 47 detects the pressure generated by applying a tension of a certain level or more,
This detection signal is used as the count start signal of the angle calculation circuit 37.

FIG. 7 shows a sixth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the first observation image is captured at the first bending position A of the bending tube portion 6 of the insertion section 2, and the second position is detected while detecting the relative position of the second bending position B with respect to the first position A. The second observation image is taken in at the position A.
That is, in FIG. 7, the output of the TV camera 17 is converted into a digital signal by the A / D (analog / digital) converter 50 and input to the first frame memory 51 or the second frame memory 52. The outputs of the first frame memory 51 and the second frame memory 52 are the image processing device 53.
It is designed to be input to. The output of the angle calculation circuit 37 is input to the first latch 55 and the second latch 56, and the output thereof is input to the image processing device 53. The output of the recording instruction means 58 including an operation switch and a timing circuit is input to the first frame memory 51 and the second frame memory 52, and the first latch 55 and the second latch 56. It is like this.

Then, the bending tube portion 6 of the endoscope 1 is in the first bending position A, and the TV camera 17 is instructed by the recording instruction means 58.
The image information captured by the A / D converter 50 and converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 50 is stored in the first frame memory 51. At the same time, the value of the bending angle at this time is the first
It is stored in the latch 55 of. Next, the bending tube portion 6 of the endoscope 1
Is bent to the second bending position B. The information of the digitized endoscopic image at the second bending position B is stored in the second frame memory 52 by using the recording instruction means 58 at the second bending position B. At the same time, the value of the output of the angle calculation circuit 37 is stored in the second clutch 56. In this way, two types of image positional relationships between the image at the first bending position A and the image at the second bending position B are stored. The values stored in the first frame memory 51 and the second frame memory 52 are stored in the image processing device 53.
Is converted into angle information θ. Further, based on these information, the image processing device 53 can obtain information on the height between two points of the subject and the unevenness of the subject, and display this on a TV camera or the like.

In the above embodiment, the movement amount of the angle wire receives the rotation number of the drum with the potential meter.
It is also possible to directly measure the movement amount of the angle wire.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the present invention is provided with the comparison means for comparing the value detected by the means for detecting the tension applied to the angle wire with the predetermined value so that the tension applied to the angle wire becomes equal to or higher than the predetermined value. Since the bending amount is measured by detecting the moving amount of the angle wire after that, it is possible to accurately confirm the actual bending amount without being affected by the insertion state of the insertion portion or the extension of the angle wire itself.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an overall system configuration diagram thereof, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of a slack eliminating tool, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of a slack eliminating device according to a second embodiment, FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of a slack eliminating device according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
6 is a side sectional view of the slack eliminating tool in the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a side view of the slack eliminating portion in the fifth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is an overall system configuration of the sixth embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure. 1 ... Endoscope, 2 ... Insertion part, 6 ... Curved tube part, 14, 15
...... Angle wire, 17 …… TV camera, 18 …… Camera controller, 19 …… TV monitor, 21,22 …… Slack remover, 2
7 ... Pressure sensor, 31 ... Resistance value detection unit, 33 ... Potentiometer, 36 ... Angle wire movement amount detection unit, 37 ...
… Angle calculation circuit, 38… Image synthesizer.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An endoscope apparatus in which an angle wire inserted in an insertion portion is bent by a push-pull operation of an operation portion on the proximal side to bend the bending portion of the insertion portion, and the tension applied to the angle wire is detected. Means for comparing the value detected by this detecting means with a predetermined value, and this comparison means for detecting the amount of movement of the angle wire after the tension applied to the angle wire exceeds a predetermined value. And a means for measuring the amount of bending.