JP3326236B2 - Rigid electronic endoscope - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rigid electronic endoscope in which an insertion portion is formed by a rigid tube and an observation image is converted into an electric signal by a solid-state image sensor and transmitted.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a rigid electronic endoscope has a structure in which an operation unit for grasping by hand is connected to a base end of an elongated rigid insertion tube.

A control switch such as a copy switch for taking a hard copy of an observation image displayed on a monitor, a freeze switch for stopping a monitor image, and a VTR switch for recording a monitor image is provided on an operation unit. Is located near the rear end.

[0004]

When such a rigid electronic endoscope is used as a laparoscope, it is necessary to perform a surgical operation.
As illustrated in FIG. 4, a method of gripping the operation unit 93 so that the insertion tube portion 91 comes to the thumb 92 side is often used.

Then, since the control button 94 is located near the rear end of the operation section 93, it is located behind the little finger 95, and the operation with the fingertip of the hand holding the operation section 93 cannot be performed. This makes it difficult to use.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a rigid electronic endoscope with good operability that allows easy operation of control buttons even when used during surgery as a laparoscope or the like. I do.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a rigid electronic endoscope according to the present invention has an elongated rigid insertion tube portion connected to an operating portion for grasping by hand at a base end thereof, A control button for performing an operation on an observation image is arranged on a front side of a grip portion of the operation unit.

[0008] A flange may be provided between the grip part of the operation part and the control button.

[0009]

An embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an elongated round rod-shaped insertion tube section which is covered with a hard stainless steel pipe. Reference numeral 4 denotes a light guide fiber bundle for illuminating the observation range.

An operation portion 6 for grasping by hand is connected to a base end of the insertion tube portion 1. Further, a flexible connection tube 7 connected to a rear end side of the operation portion 6 is connected to a distal end of a flexible connection tube 7. , Connector 8 is attached.

The connector 8 is connected to a video processor for controlling the driving of the solid-state imaging device 3 and processing image signals sent from the solid-state imaging device 3. Reference numeral 9 denotes an electrical connector for that purpose. Illumination light from a light source lamp attached to the video processor is incident on the light guide fiber bundle incident end 4a projecting from the connector 8.

Although a video processor is not shown, the image signal processed by the video processor is output to a monitor television, and an observation image is displayed on the monitor screen.

Further, a copying device for making a hard copy of the monitor image, a video tape recorder (VTR) for recording the monitor image, and the like are connected to the video processor, but these are not shown.

The rear half of the operation section 6 is a grip section 11 having a thickness suitable for being squeezed into the back of the hand. To Tsuba 1
2 are protruding.

Near the front end of the operation unit 6, three control buttons 13 are provided at an interval from the collar 12. The control button 13 is, for example, a copy switch for taking a hard copy of the monitor image, a freeze switch for stopping the monitor image, and a VTR switch for taking a picture of the monitor image. Connected to the electrical connector section 9 by a signal line.

As shown in FIG. 2, the control buttons 13 slightly protrude from the outer peripheral surface of the circular operation section 6 and are arranged on the same circumference at intervals of, for example, 75 degrees. FIG. 3 shows a use state of the rigid electronic endoscope of the present embodiment. When the rigid electronic endoscope is used during a surgery as a laparoscope, the thumb 51 and the index finger 52 are inserted as shown in FIG. The grip 11 of the operation unit 6 is squeezed toward the tube 1.

By extending the index finger 52 or the thumb 51 of the hand holding the grip portion 11 in this manner,
By pressing the control button 13, an operation on the observation image can be performed.

The grip 11 and the control button 1
The position of the hand is regulated by a collar 12 protruding between the control portion 13 and the grip portion 11 and the control button 13.
Is determined, so that an erroneous operation in which the operator presses the control button 13 by mistake is prevented.

Since there are a plurality of control buttons 13, an identification mark for discriminating the function of each control button 13 is preferably provided on the control button 13 itself or in the vicinity thereof. You can do that by changing it with a button.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, a rigid electronic device such as one in which a relay lens or the like is disposed in the insertion tube portion 1 and a solid-state image pickup device is disposed in the operation portion 6. It may be an endoscope.

[0021]

According to the rigid electronic endoscope of the present invention, the control button is arranged on the front side of the grip portion of the operation section, so that the control button can be gripped even when it is used during surgery as a laparoscope or the like. The control button can be easily operated with the fingertip of the hand holding the part, and if a flange is protruded between the grip part and the control button, the positional relationship between the grip part and the control button can be judged by hand Therefore, an erroneous operation of pressing the control button by the operator by mistake can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall side view of a rigid electronic endoscope according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a front view of an operation unit of the rigid electronic endoscope according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the rigid electronic endoscope according to the embodiment in a used state.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a conventional rigid electronic endoscope in use.

[Description of Signs] 1 Insertion tube section 6 Operation section 11 Grip section 12 Flange 13 Control button

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] To 1. A base end of the insertion tube portion of the elongated rigid, the insertion
The outer shape of the cross section perpendicular to the axis of the pipe is circular
Rigid the operation unit is connected, and the control buttons for performing operations with respect to the observation image is arranged to the operating portion
In the electronic endoscope, the control button is connected to the insertion tube section and the operation section.
A rigid electronic endoscope , wherein a plurality of rigid electronic endoscopes are arranged on the same circumference on the outer surface between the handle and the grip portion . 2. The rigid electronic endoscope according to claim 1, wherein a flange is provided between the grip portion of the operation portion and the control button.