JPH035809B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an endoscope in which an operating section is provided with a switching operation device section for controlling operations such as air supply and water supply.

The operation section of a conventional endoscope has a grip section that can be held by the operator with one hand, and an eyepiece section located above the grip section and provided at the top end of the operation section main body. . Furthermore, a plurality of operation buttons for controlling air supply, water supply, and suction operations are installed on the side surface of the operation unit body located between the eyepiece and the grip. Further, an angle knob is provided on the side surface of the operating section main body for operating a bending operation mechanism consisting of a pulley or the like installed within the operating section main body.

Incidentally, the central axis of movement of each of the operation buttons mentioned above is either perpendicular to the central grip axis of the grip portion, or is inclined toward the grip portion as shown in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 163403/1983. . Therefore, when gripping the grip with the ring finger and little finger of one hand and operating the operation buttons with the index and middle fingers, if the thumb is placed in the optimal position of the angle knob, the index finger will The bending direction of each joint of the middle finger and the middle finger was different from the direction of the center axis of the pressing movement of the operation button, making it difficult to operate. In addition, the angle knob may be temporarily held fixed during rotation operation by the ring finger while gripping it, but on the other hand, during normal angle operation, it is necessary to make sure that the angle knob does not get caught by that finger. No. However, due to the above arrangement structure, this problem could not be solved and the operation was difficult.

Furthermore, in the case of the above-mentioned conventional type in which the center axis of push movement of each operation button is perpendicular to the center axis of the grip of the grip or tilted toward the grip, the angle knob is operated depending on the grip condition. It was supposed to be located far away from the button and toward the eyepiece. For this reason,
The bending operation mechanism installed inside the operating section main body also has to be installed closer to the eyepiece section, which causes the operating section main body to extend upward, resulting in a drawback that the operating section becomes larger and heavier.

The present invention has been made focusing on the above circumstances,
The purpose is to provide an endoscope that has improved operability and can have an operating section that is lightweight and compact.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

In the figure, 1 indicates an endoscope, and this endoscope 1 consists of an insertion section 2 and an operation section 3 connected to the proximal end of the insertion section 2.
The operating section 3 has various structures incorporated in the operating section main body 4 as will be described later. That is, the operating section main body 4 is made of plastic and has a relatively elongated shape as a whole, and its front, rear, left, and right side surfaces are substantially flat. The proximal end of the insertion section 2 is connected to one end of the operating section main body 4 via a snap stop 5, and the eyepiece section 6 is connected to the other end of the operating section main body 4.
is provided. Further, the circumferential surface of the midway portion of the operation section main body 4 is a grip section 7 that can be grasped using at least the ring finger and little finger of the operator's one hand (left hand in this embodiment). In addition, the eyepiece section 6 is larger than the grip section 7.
The proximal end 8 of the operation unit main body 4 located on the side
The front side part is protruded forward to provide a base part 9, and a step formed between this base part 9 and the grip part 7 forms a rising wall 11 for finger rest. . The surface of the platform 9 is sloped such that the eyepiece 6 side is downward and the grip portion 7 side is protruding. An air/water supply operation button 12 and a suction operation button 13 are arranged on the surface of the base section 9 in parallel along the longitudinal axis direction of the operation section main body 4. The air/water supply operation button 12 is used to switch the air/water supply flow path formed within the endoscope 1 to selectively perform air and water supply operations. Normally, this air and water supply operation button 12 operates a valve device consisting of a cylinder and a piston, and when the leak hole opening in the finger pad 14 is closed by placing the pad of the fingertip on the finger pad 14, the air/water supply operation button 12 is operated. Water is conveyed by moving the water and pushing it further.
The suction operation button 13 similarly operates a valve device consisting of a cylinder and a piston, and suction can be performed by placing the pad of your finger on the finger rest 15 and moving it. There is. In other words, each of the operation buttons 12 and 13 is operated by pressing with a fingertip.

In addition, a rotating shaft 1 is provided on the right side surface of the proximal end 8.
An angle operation knob 17 having a diameter of 6 is attached. This angle operation knob 17 rotates a drum of an angle operation mechanism installed inside the operation section main body 4, and moves a pair of operation wires inserted into the insertion section 2 back and forth in the direction of curvature of the tip of the insertion section 2. is beginning to change.

Further, a light guide cable 19 is connected to the corner between the left side surface and the rear side surface of the proximal end 8 via a folding portion 18 extending diagonally.

Further, a protrusion 21 is integrally formed on the circumferential surface of the end of the operating section main body 4 on the insertion section 2 side, and the tip of the protrusion 21 is used for inserting a processing tool such as forceps into the endoscope 1. A processing tool opening 22 is formed for taking the processing tool in and out of the channel. The grip portion 7 is disposed on the upright wall 11 between the protruding portion 21 and the raised wall 11 .

Incidentally, the optical axis 0 ₁ of the eyepiece section 6 intersects with the central grip axis 0 ₂ of the grip section 7, and is tilted toward the opposite side of the base section 9 with respect to the central grip axis 0 ₂ . For example, the angle θ ₁ formed by the respective axes 0 ₁ and 0 ₂ is
It is 12°. In other words, the eyepiece section 6 is tilted toward the eyes of the surgeon's face when the operator grasps and holds the grip section 7 of the operation section main body 4 and operates the operation buttons 12, 13 and the operation knob 17. Now that it's peeled off, it's easier to peek through.

Further, the pushing movement center axes 0 ₃ , 0 ₄ of the respective operation buttons 12 , 13 are parallel as described above, but the extension line of the pushing movement center axes 0 ₃ , 0 ₄ is the gripping center axis 0 _{2 .} It is designed to pass through or near the intersection. Furthermore, each pushing movement center axis 0 ₃ ,
The angle θ ₂ (angle measured from the grip portion 7 side) that 0 ₄ makes with respect to the central grip axis 0 ₂ is more than 90°, that is, an obtuse angle. This angle θ ₂ is usually 100° ~
110° is optimal. In this example, the most appropriate
It is 102°. Incidentally, the direction in which the upright wall 11 is inclined is also parallel to the direction of the central axes 0 ₃ and 0 ₄ of the pushing movement.

Therefore, when using the endoscope 1, as shown in FIG.
, and make sure that the front side part where each operation button 12, 13 is located is farthest from the operator's chest. Then, if necessary, the pad of the thumb is placed on the operation knob 17 to perform rotational operation, while the fingertips of the index and middle fingers are placed on the finger rests 14 and 15 of the operation buttons 12 and 13, respectively, and the joints are bent to selectively perform the rotation operation. Push operation. Also, at this time, the ring finger and little finger are in contact with each other side by side, while one side of the ring finger is positioned in contact with the rising wall 11, and the movement of moving toward the eyepiece 6 is stopped during each operation to ensure stable operation. can be done.

By the way, in order to make the operation unit 3 small and lightweight, it is better to position the operation mechanism structure including the operation buttons 12 and 13 and the operation knob 17 closer to each other so that the end 8 on the hand side is closer to the eyepiece 6 side. Since it is not formed to extend to the outside, it can be made smaller and lighter. On the other hand, when operating the operating knob 17 with the thumb of the operator's left hand, it is easiest to operate the operating knob 17 by placing the abdomen of the fingertip of the thumb on the tip of the operating knob 17. Further, each of the operation buttons 12 and 13 can be operated most reliably and easily by pressing with the abdomen of the fingertip of the index or middle finger of the operator's left hand. Generally speaking, pressing the operation buttons 12 and 13 is performed using only the index finger, but there is also a method of pressing the operation buttons 12 and 13 individually using the index and middle fingers.
(see figure) is also known. In this method, as described above, the side surface of the ring finger is placed on the rising wall 11 and the grip portion 7 is gripped with the ring finger and little finger.
7. Due to the relative positional relationship between the operation buttons 12, 13 and the grip portion 7, the bending direction of each joint of the index finger and middle finger is relative to the central grip axis 0 ₂ of the grip portion 7 as shown in FIG. The angle will exceed 90°. and,
Since the directions of the push-movement axes 0 ₃ and 0 ₄ of the operation buttons 12 and 13 are set accordingly, the relationship is easy to operate.

Here, the relative positional relationship of the above-mentioned parts will be described in more detail. The most frequent and important operations in the operation section 3 of the endoscope 1 are performed using the operation knob 17.
It is a curving operation using . The operating knob 17, which is operated with the thumb of the left hand, is rotated by pulling down or pushing up the thumb, but in order to temporarily fix the rotation of the operating knob 17, it is hung on the rising wall 11. While the operating knob 17 may be held with the tip of the finger (middle finger or ring finger) that is attached to the operating knob 17, the operating knob 17 may be held in a position such that this finger (middle finger or ring finger) does not interfere with the rotation of the operating knob 17. It is also necessary that there be. Therefore, the relative positional relationship between the upright wall 11 and the operating knob 17 is determined at a position where both operations can be satisfied with a slight movement of the finger. Another reason is that when the operating knob 17 is located above the eyepiece 6 side, the operating section main body 4 extends greatly toward the eyepiece 6 side due to the structure of the bending operation mechanism within the operating section main body 4, There are circumstances in which the operation section 3 becomes larger and heavier. On the other hand, the air/water supply operation button 12 and the rising wall 1
1, it is easier to operate if the finger placed on the rising wall 11 and the finger pushing the air/water supply operation button 12 are not spread apart. For this reason, it is better to have both fingers as close as possible. Therefore, the distance between the rising wall 11 and the air/water supply operation button 12 is set so that both fingers touch each other. Further, the outer diameter of the operating knob 17 is determined by the relationship between the power factor that applies the curvature and the rotation angle of the operating knob, and the position of the rotating shaft 16 of the operating knob 17 is determined accordingly.

In addition, each operation button 1 can be pressed using two fingers, the index finger and the middle finger.
When operating fingers 2 and 13, it is natural that the bending directions of the joints of the two fingers are almost parallel, and therefore, the center axes of the pushing movements 0 ₃ and 0 ₄ may be parallel.

In addition, when the operating section 3 is lightly held by the operator, the clasp section 18 and the light guide cable 19 also have the function of preventing the operating section 3 from slipping off by hitting the operator's hand when the operator tries to slide it down. . In order to utilize this function, it is better not to be too far away from the grip portion 7. In the present invention, since there is no need for the operating section main body 4 to extend toward the eyepiece section 6, it can be moved closer to the eyepiece section 6.

As explained above, the present invention forms a grip part on the main body of the operation part, which is gripped using at least the ring finger and little finger of one hand of the operator, and which is located adjacent to the upper side of the grip part and extends forward. A protruding base is formed to allow easy determination of the gripping position. Furthermore, the base section is provided with at least two operation buttons, and the central axes of the pressing movement of each of the operation buttons are substantially parallel to each other, and the gripping center axis of each of the operation buttons is substantially parallel to the central gripping axis of the gripping section. It is tilted so that the angle measured from the front side is an obtuse angle. Therefore, it is easy to individually operate each corresponding operation button with a plurality of fingers of the hand gripping the grip part, and the operation knob can be reliably operated with the thumb or ring finger of the same hand. Furthermore, since the rotation axis of the operating knob can be moved closer to the grip section, the internal mechanism operated by the operating knob can be installed closer to the operating section. Therefore, the main body of the operating section is not extended and can be made lighter and smaller.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a right side view of the operation area showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a right side view of the operating state. 1... Endoscope, 2... Insertion section, 3... Operation section,
4... Operating unit main body, 6... Eyepiece part, 7... Gripping part, 11... Standing wall, 12, 13... Operating button,
17...Operation knob, ₀₂ ...Grip center axis, _03,0
4 ...Pushing movement center axis.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A long and slender operation unit main body having front, rear, left and right side parts, and a grip that has a central grip axis along the longitudinal direction of the operation unit main body and is gripped using at least the ring finger and little finger of the operator's one hand. A holding part, a stand part with the front side surface part of the upper part of the grip part protruding forward, at least two operation buttons installed on the front side part of the stand part, and at least one of the left and right sides of the stand part. and an operation knob provided on the side surface of the button, the central axes of the pressing movement of each of the operation buttons are substantially parallel to each other, and the angle measured from the grip side with respect to the central grip axis is obtuse. An endoscope characterized by: