JP2005237705A - Endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an endoscope which achieves a higher operability of making it adaptable to the operation means such as that for the bending operation or an air/water feeding switch installed at the operation part without lowering the observation function. <P>SOLUTION: The operation part 22 of the endoscope 3 is provided with an air/water feed pipeline 60b, a suction pipeline 61b, a power source line 73a and a connector part 51 to which is detachably connected the total connector 52 at the base end of a tube unit 19 with a signal line 73b inserted therethrough. A track ball 69, scope switches SW1-SW3 and the like as the operation means for various operations are disposed on the outer surface of the operation part 22. The processing for the operation means, the processing for a CCD 25 or the like as the image sensing means and the like are concentrated with a control circuit 57 provided in the operation part 22. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope that is inserted into a body cavity or the like and performs an endoscopic examination or the like.

Endoscopes incorporating an image sensor in an insertion portion are widely adopted in examinations in body cavities and treatments using treatment tools.
Thus, in the case of an endoscope having a built-in image sensor and having a flexible insertion section, it is connected to a light guide that transmits illumination light from an operation section provided on the rear end side of the insertion section, and the image sensor. Some universal cables with extended signal lines are extended.
Further, the operation unit is provided with operation buttons and switches for performing various control operations, so that various operations can be performed by the operation unit to improve operability.
JP 2002-369789 A

However, it is possible to perform various controls by providing a large number of operation buttons, switches, etc. in the operation section. For this reason, it is necessary to insert many signal lines into the universal cable, and the universal cable becomes thicker. Therefore, it becomes easy to get in the way of operating the thick universal cable. In addition, when different functions are provided, it is necessary to insert signal lines into the universal cable corresponding to the different functions, and there is a drawback that it is difficult to expand. In this case, the manufacturing cost increases.
On the other hand, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-369789, a universal cable through which a light guide for transmitting illumination light is inserted is detachable, and the optical cable is inserted along with the light guide and imaged by an imaging device. There is an endoscope that is configured to transmit signals to a signal processing device outside the endoscope, but the function to send fluid by pipes such as air supply and water supply cannot be realized at all, so the observation function etc. is greatly reduced There is a drawback.

(Object of invention)
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described points, and has excellent operability that can cope with a case where an operation unit such as a bending operation or an air / water supply switch is provided in the operation unit without deteriorating the observation function. An object is to provide an endoscope.

The present invention includes an elongated insertion portion and a grip portion provided at the rear end of the insertion portion, and an endoscope incorporating an imaging means.
A connection part that is provided in the gripping part or the periphery thereof and to which a tube unit into which at least one pipe line is inserted is detachably connectable;
Control processing means for performing control processing on the gripping section or its surroundings and control means for the imaging means;
It is characterized by comprising.
With the above configuration, the control processing means can easily cope with a pipe line that prevents deterioration of the observation function and the like due to air supply / water supply, etc., and operation means such as a bending operation and an air supply / water supply switch are provided, Good operability can be secured.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily cope with the control processing means even when a pipe line that prevents deterioration of the observation function and the like due to air / water supply etc. is provided and an operation means such as a bending operation or an air / water supply switch is provided. And good operability can be secured.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 26 relate to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an endoscope system equipped with the present invention, FIG. 2 shows a data communication mode, and FIG. 3 shows the endoscope of the present invention. 4 shows the general configuration of the mirror, FIG. 4 shows the overall configuration of the endoscope system provided with the present embodiment, FIG. 5 shows a specific external shape of the periphery of the AWS unit, and FIG. 6 shows the attachment / detachment to the AWS unit. FIG. 7 shows the structure of the AWS adapter, FIG. 8 shows the internal configuration of the endoscope system control device and the AWS unit, and FIG. 9 shows the structure of the first embodiment. The detailed structure of an endoscope is shown.
FIG. 10 shows the general characteristics of conductive polymer artificial muscle (EPAM) used for the angle member and the hardness variable member, and FIG. 12 shows the configuration of the contactless transmission unit in which the base end of the tube unit is detachably connected to the operation unit main body without contact, and FIG. 13 shows the electrical system of the components provided in the endoscope. 14 shows the configuration of the electrical system of the main part of the endoscope system control apparatus, FIG. 15 shows the configuration of the electrical system of the AWS unit, and FIG. 16 shows a typical monitor display surface of the observation monitor. A display example and a specific example of menu display are shown.

17 shows the operation content of the AWS unit activation process, FIG. 18 shows the operation content of the endoscope activation process, FIG. 19 shows the operation content of the imaging control process, and FIG. 20 shows air supply / water supply. FIG. 21 shows the control process of the angle operation, FIG. 22 shows the control operation for the hardness variable operation, FIG. 23 shows the setting operation of the hardness variable and the UPD image corresponding to the operation, 24 and 25 show the processing contents on the endoscope side and the endoscope system control apparatus side in the human interface, and FIG. 26 shows a configuration of a modification example of the endoscope system.
Before describing the specific configuration of the present invention, the schematic configuration of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 1, an endoscope system 1 provided with the present invention is a flexible endoscope (also referred to as a scope) 3 that is inserted into a body cavity of a patient (not shown) lying on an examination bed 2 and performs an endoscopic examination. And an air supply / water supply / suction unit (hereinafter abbreviated as “AWS unit”) 4 having an air supply, water supply, and suction function connected to the endoscope 3, and an image sensor incorporated in the endoscope 3. An endoscope system control device 5 that performs signal processing and control processing for various operation means provided in the endoscope 3, a liquid crystal monitor that displays a video signal generated by the endoscope system control device 5, and the like And an observation monitor 6.
Further, the endoscope system 1 is connected to an image recording unit 7 for filing, for example, a digital video signal generated by the endoscope system control device 5 and the AWS unit 4, and is inserted into an insertion portion of the endoscope 3. When a shape detection coil (hereinafter abbreviated as UPD coil) is built in, the position of each UPD coil is detected by receiving an electromagnetic field signal generated by the UPD coil, etc. And a UPD coil unit 8 for displaying the shape of the insertion portion.

Further, the image recording unit 7 is connected to a LAN 9 in the hospital where the endoscope system 1 is provided, and the image recording unit 7 is filed by the terminal device connected to the LAN 9 by wire or wirelessly. You can refer to images.
Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the AWS unit 4 and the endoscope system control device 5 transmit and receive information (data) wirelessly. In FIG. 1, the endoscope 3 is connected to the AWS unit 4 via a cable, but information (data) may be transmitted and received (bidirectional transmission) wirelessly. Further, the endoscope system control device 5 may transmit and receive information to and from the endoscope 3 wirelessly.
2A to 2C show three methods in a transmission / reception unit (communication unit) that performs data transmission / reception between units and devices in the endoscope system 1 or between the endoscope 3 and the unit or device. Show. 2A, as a specific example, the case of the AWS unit 4 and the endoscope system control device 5 will be described.

FIG. 2A shows a wireless system, in which the data communication control unit 11 built in the AWS unit 4 modulates the data via the data transmission unit 12 and transmits it wirelessly from the antenna unit 13 to the endoscope system control device 5.
In addition, the AWS unit 4 receives data wirelessly transmitted from the endoscope system control device 5 side by the antenna unit 13, demodulates the data by the data reception unit 14, and transmits the data to the data communication control unit 11. In the present invention, when data is transmitted by a wireless system, a wireless LAN having a maximum data communication speed of 54 Mbps is formed according to, for example, the IEEE 802.11g standard.
FIG. 2B illustrates a wired system. As a specific example, a case where data transmission / reception is performed between the endoscope 3 and the AWS unit 4 will be described. The data communication control unit 11 built in the endoscope 3 transmits the data from the electrical connector 15 to the AWS unit 4 via the data transmission unit 12 ′. Further, the data transmitted from the AWS unit 4 is sent to the data communication control unit 11 via the electrical connector 15 and the data receiving unit 14 '.

FIG. 2C shows an optical communication method, and a case where data transmission / reception is performed between the AWS unit 4 and the endoscope system control device 5 will be described as a specific example. A data communication control unit 11 built in the AWS unit 4 is connected to an optical communication coupler 16 provided in the AWS unit 4 via a data transmission unit 12 ″ for transmitting and receiving for optical communication and a data reception unit 14 ″. Data is transmitted and received through an optical communication coupler on the endoscope system control device 5 side.
FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration of the endoscope 3 of the present invention. The endoscope 3 includes an endoscope main body 18 and a tube unit 19 that is detachably connected to the endoscope main body 18 and is, for example, a disposable type (disposable pipe). The tube unit 19 has a diameter smaller than that of a conventional universal cable, and in the present embodiment, the tube unit 19 includes only two pipe tubes 63 and 64, a power line 72a, and a signal line 72b.
The endoscope main body 18 includes a flexible insertion portion 21 that is inserted into a body cavity, and an operation portion 22 provided at the rear end of the insertion portion 21, and the operation portion 22 includes a base of the tube unit 19. The end is detachably connected.

In addition, an imaging unit using a CCD 25 whose gain is variable inside the imaging device is arranged at the distal end portion 24 of the insertion portion 21 as an imaging device. Further, the distal end portion 24 is provided with a contact sensor 142 (specifically, Example 2 described later) that detects a state in which the distal end portion 24 is in contact (pressure contact) with an inner wall or the like in the body cavity.
In addition, a bending portion 27 that can be bent with a low force is provided at the rear end of the distal end portion 24, and the bending portion 27 is bent by operating the angle / remote control operator 28 provided in the operation portion 22. be able to. The angle / remote control operator 28 includes an angle operation (bending operation), an operation such as air / water supply and suction, and a remote control operation (specifically, freeze instruction operation, release instruction) for the endoscope system control device 5 and the like. Remote control operation as an operation) can be performed. Further, the insertion portion 21 is formed with a portion whose hardness is variable so that the insertion can be performed more smoothly.
In addition, a cleaning level detection unit 29 is provided in the insertion unit 21 so that the cleaning level of the pipe line and the like can be detected (described in Example 2 described later).
Next, a more specific configuration of the endoscope system 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

An observation monitor 6 composed of a liquid crystal monitor or the like is disposed adjacent to the side surface of the inspection bed 2, and is displayed on the cart 31 movably disposed near one end portion in the longitudinal direction of the inspection bed 2. Mirror system control device 5, AWS unit 4, image file / LAN / electric knife / ultrasonic unit (image file unit, wireless LAN or wired LAN, electric knife device, ultrasonic unit, etc. are simplified) 32 are arranged. A monitor 33 with a touch panel is arranged at the top.
Further, the UPD coil unit 8 is embedded in the upper surface portion of the examination bed 2 on which the patient lies. The UPD coil unit 8 is connected to the AWS unit 4 by a UPD cable 34.

  In this embodiment, the AWS unit 4 and the endoscope system control device 5 perform data transmission / reception by wireless transmission / reception units 77 and 101 as shown in FIG. 8, for example. As shown in FIG. 4, the observation monitor 6 is connected to a monitor connector of the endoscope system control device 5 by a monitor cable 35.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the transmission / reception units 101 and 36 are attached to the endoscope system control device 5 and the observation monitor 6, respectively, and a video signal is transmitted from the endoscope system control device 5 to the observation monitor 6, Endoscopic images corresponding to the video signals may be displayed on the display surface.
As will be described later, the endoscope system control device 5 includes an image of the insertion portion shape (UPD image) of the endoscope 3 detected using the UPD coil unit 8 together with image data captured by the CCD 25 from the AWS unit 4 side. Therefore, the endoscope system control device 5 sends video signals corresponding to these image data to the observation monitor 6 so that the UPD image can be displayed together with the endoscope image on the display surface. ing.

The observation monitor 6 is composed of a high-resolution TV (HDTV) monitor so that a plurality of types of images can be simultaneously displayed on the display surface.
In this embodiment, a storage recess is formed at one end in the longitudinal direction of the inspection bed 2 and a position below the end, and the tray transporting trolley 38 is slidable in the storage recess. It can be stored in. A scope tray 39 in which the endoscope 3 shown in FIG.
The scope tray 39 storing the sterilized or sterilized endoscope 3 can be transported by the tray transporting trolley 38 and can be stored in the storing recess of the inspection bed 2. The operator can pull out the endoscope 3 from the scope tray 39 and use it for the endoscopy, and can store it again in the scope tray 39 after the end of the endoscopy. Thereafter, the scope tray 39 in which the used endoscope 3 is accommodated is transported by the tray transporting trolley 38, whereby sterilization or disinfection can be performed smoothly.

As shown in FIG. 4, for example, the AWS unit 4 is provided with a scope connector 40. Then, a scope connector 41 (of the endoscope 3) is detachably connected to the scope connector 40 as shown in FIG.
In this case, a more specific external shape of the scope connector 40 on the AWS unit 4 side is shown in FIGS. 7 shows the structure of an AWS adapter 42 that is detachably attached to the scope connector 40 of the AWS unit 4, and FIG. 8 shows the inside of the scope connector 40 on the AWS unit 4 side and the scope connector 41 on the endoscope 3 side. The structure is shown in a connected state.
Actually, as shown in FIG. 6 (B), a concave-shaped AWS adapter mounting portion 40a is provided on the front surface of the AWS unit 4, and the AWS adapter mounting portion 40a has an AWS adapter (pipe) shown in FIG. A scope connector 40 is formed by attaching a (road connection adapter) 42, and the scope connector 41 of the endoscope 3 is connected to the scope connector 40.

The AWS adapter mounting portion 40a is provided with an electrical connector 43 for connecting the scope, an air supply connector 44, and a pinch valve 45. The inner end face of the AWS adapter 42 is detachably attached to the AWS adapter mounting portion 40a. The scope connector 41 of the endoscope 3 is connected from the outer end face side.
Details of the AWS adapter 42 are shown in FIG. 7A is a front view of the AWS adapter 42, FIGS. 7B and 7C are left and right side views, and FIGS. 7D and 7E are views of FIG. 7A. AA 'and BB' sectional views are shown respectively.
In the AWS adapter 42, a scope connector 41 is inserted into a concave portion 42a on the front surface. In this case, an electrical connector portion of the scope connector 41 is inserted into a through hole 42b provided in the concave portion, and the through hole 42b is inserted into the through hole 42b. It is connected to an electrical connector 43 for connecting a scope provided on the facing AWS unit 4.

Further, an air / water supply connector 42c and a suction connector 42d are provided below the through hole 42b, and an air / water supply base 63 and a suction base 64 (see FIGS. 8 and 9) in the scope connector 41 are connected to each other. Is done.
Note that a recess 42f for housing the pinch valve 45 protruding from the AWS adapter mounting portion 40a is provided on the base end surface side of the AWS adapter 42.
As shown in FIG. 7E, the air / water supply connector 42c provided in the AWS adapter 42 has an internal air passage 42e that is connected to the air supply connector 44 of the AWS unit 4 by branching an internal pipe line communicating therewith. And a water supply cap 46 protruding sideways. Further, the suction connector 42d becomes a suction base 47 that is bent to the side and protrudes to the side surface by a pipe communicating with the suction connector 42d, and becomes a relief pipe 47a that branches, for example, upward in the middle of the suction connector 42d. After passing through the inside of the pinch valve 45 on the way, its upper end is open.

The relief pipe 47a is normally set in a released state by the pinch valve 45 when a suction pump (not shown) that forms the suction means is set to a constantly operating state, and the pinch valve when a suction operation is performed. 45 is driven. Then, the relief valve 47a is closed by the pinch valve 45, so that the release is stopped and the suction operation is performed.
As shown in FIG. 5 and the like, the water supply base 46 and the suction base 47 are respectively connected to a water supply tank 48 and a suction device (a suction tank 49b is inserted halfway through a suction tube 49a). . The water tank 48 is connected to the water tank connector 50 of the AWS unit 4. Note that an operation panel 4 a is provided on the upper side of the scope connector 40 on the front surface of the AWS unit 4.
Next, a specific configuration of the endoscope 3 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
As described in FIG. 3, the endoscope 3 of this embodiment includes an endoscope main body 18 having a flexible insertion portion 21 and an operation portion 22 provided at the rear end thereof, and the endoscope. A disposable type (abbreviated as disposable type) in which a general connector portion 52 at the base end is detachably connected to a connector portion 51 (for tube unit connection) provided near the base end (front end) of the operation portion 22 in the main body 18. The above-mentioned scope connector 41 that is detachably connected to the AWS unit 4 is provided at the end of the tube unit 19.

The insertion portion 21 includes a hard distal end portion 24 provided at the distal end of the insertion portion 21, a bendable bending portion 27 provided at the rear end of the distal end portion 24, and an operation unit from the rear end of the bending portion 27. It is composed of up to 22 elongated flexible portions (conduit tube portions) 53, and at a plurality of locations in the flexible portion 53, specifically, at two locations, it can be expanded and contracted by applying a voltage, and the hardness can be changed. There are provided hardness varying actuators 54A and 54B called conductive polymer artificial muscles (abbreviated as EPAM).
For example, a light emitting diode (abbreviated as LED) 56 is attached as an illuminating means inside the illumination window provided at the distal end portion 24 of the insertion portion 21, and the illumination light of the LED 56 is an illumination integrally attached to the LED 56. The light is emitted forward through the lens and illuminates a subject such as an affected part. The LED 56 may be an LED that generates white light, or an R LED, a G LED, and a B LED that generate light in each wavelength region of red (R), green (G), and blue (B). You may comprise using. The light-emitting element that forms the illumination means is not limited to the LED 56, and can also be formed using an LD (laser diode) or the like.

Further, an objective lens (not shown) is attached to an observation window provided adjacent to the illumination window, and a CCD 25 having a variable gain function is disposed at the imaging position thereof, and an imaging means for imaging a subject is provided. Is formed. The CCD 25 in this embodiment has a variable gain function built into the CCD element itself, and the gain variable function can easily change the gain of the CCD output signal to several hundred times, so even under illumination light from the LED 56, A bright image with little decrease in S / N is obtained. Further, since the LED 56 has better light emission efficiency than the case of the lamp, the temperature rise near the LED 56 can be suppressed.
One end of each of the LED 56 and the CCD 25 is connected, and the other end of the signal line inserted into the insertion unit 21 is provided in, for example, the operation unit 22 and connected to a control circuit 57 that performs centralized control processing (aggregated control processing). ing.
A plurality of UPD coils 58 are arranged at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction in the insertion portion 21, and signal lines connected to the respective UPD coils 58 are connected to the UPD coil drive unit 59 provided in the operation portion 22. To the control circuit 57.

In addition, angle actuators 27a formed by arranging EPAM in the longitudinal direction are arranged at four locations in the circumferential direction inside the outer skin of the curved portion 27. The angle actuator 27a and the hardness varying actuators 54A and 54B are also connected to the control circuit 57 via signal lines.
The EPAM used in the angle actuator 27a and the hardness varying actuators 54A and 54B is shown in FIG. 10B by attaching electrodes to both sides of a plate shape and applying a voltage as shown in FIG. As shown, it can shrink in the thickness direction and extend in the longitudinal direction. As shown in FIG. 10C, this EPAM can vary the amount of distortion in proportion to, for example, approximately the square of the electric field strength E due to the applied voltage.
When used as the angle actuator 27a, the bending portion 27 can be bent in the same manner as a normal wire function by forming a wire shape or the like and extending one and contracting the other side. Further, the hardness can be varied by the expansion or contraction, and the hardness varying actuators 54A, 54B can vary the hardness of the portion by utilizing the function.

In addition, an air / water supply conduit 60 a and a suction conduit 61 a are inserted into the insertion portion 21, and a rear end thereof is a conduit connector portion 51 a opened in the connector portion 51. And the tube connector 52a in the general connector part 52 of the base end of the tube unit 19 is detachably connected to this pipe line connector part 51a.
The air / water supply conduit 60 a is connected to the air / water supply conduit 60 b inserted into the tube unit 19, and the suction conduit 61 a is connected to the suction conduit 61 b inserted into the tube unit 19. At the same time, it branches off in the tube connector 52a, opens to the outside, and communicates with a treatment instrument insertion port (abbreviated as forceps port) 62 through which a treatment instrument such as forceps can be inserted. The forceps port 62 is closed by a forceps plug 62a when not in use.
The rear ends of the air / water supply conduit 60b and the suction conduit 61b become the air / water supply cap 63 and the suction cap 64 in the scope connector 41.

  The air / water supply base 63 and the suction base 64 are connected to the air / water supply connector 42c and the suction connector 42d of the AWS adapter 42 shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 7, the air / water supply connector 42 c branches into an air supply line and a water supply line inside the AWS adapter 42. As shown in FIG. 8, the air supply line is connected to an air / water supply pump 65 inside the AWS unit 4 via an electromagnetic valve B <b> 1, and the water supply line is connected to a water supply tank 48. The water supply tank 48 is also connected to the air / water supply pump 65 via the electromagnetic valve B2 on the way. The air / water pump 65 and the electromagnetic valves B1 and B2 are connected to the AWS control unit 66 by a control line (drive line), and opening / closing is controlled by the AWS control unit 66 so that air and water can be supplied. I have to. The AWS control unit 66 also performs suction operation control by controlling opening and closing of the pinch valve 45.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the operation unit 22 of the endoscope body 18 is provided with a gripping portion 68 that is gripped by an operator, and a remote control such as a release or a freeze is provided around the gripping portion 68. For example, three scope switches SW 1, SW 2, SW 3 that perform an operation (abbreviated as remote control operation) are provided along the longitudinal axis of the operation unit 22, and are connected to the control circuit 57.
Further, the slope portion Sa formed as an upper surface opposite to the position where the scope switches SW1, SW2, and SW3 are provided in the operation portion 22 is positioned so that it can be operated by the hand holding the grip portion 68. There is provided a waterproof trackball 69 for setting an angle operation (curving operation) or switching to set other remote control operations.
Moreover, FIG. 11 shows a view C in FIG. As shown in FIG. 11, two scope switches SW4 and SW5 are provided on both sides of the trackball 69 in the inclined surface Sa at positions that are symmetrical in the left-right direction that is both sides in the longitudinal direction of the operation unit 22. . The scope switches SW4 and SW5 are normally assigned the functions of an air / water supply switch and a suction switch.

When the operation unit 22 of the endoscope 3 is viewed from the front in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 8, the trackball 69 is on the center line in the longitudinal direction with respect to the longitudinal direction of the operation unit 22 or the insertion unit 21. The two scope switches SW4 and SW5 are arranged symmetrically and the scope switches SW1, SW2 and SW3 are arranged on the back side along the center line.
As described above, the operation unit 22 is provided with various operation means such as the track ball 69 symmetrically with respect to the central axis in the longitudinal direction, so that the operator holds the grip unit 68 of the operation unit 22. In the case of operation, good operability can be ensured in the same manner in both cases of gripping with the left hand and gripping with the right hand.
The trackball 69 and scope switches SW4 and SW5 are also connected to the control circuit 57. The trackball 69 and the scope switches SW1 to SW5 correspond to the angle / remote control operator 28 in FIG.

Further, the power supply line 71a and the signal line 71b extended from the control circuit 57 are inserted through the tube unit 19 through the contactless transmission parts 72a and 72b formed in the connector part 51 and the general connector part 52. The power supply line 73a and the signal line 73b are electrically connected without contact (refer to FIG. 12 for details). The power line 73a and the signal line 73b are connected to an electrical connector 74 having a power source & signal contact in the scope connector 41. In addition, the connector part 51 side in the contactless transmission parts 72a and 72b is called, for example, the contactless transmission unit 51b.
Then, the user connects the scope connector 41 to the AWS unit 4 so that the power line 73a is connected to the power unit 75 via the electrical connector 43 of the AWS unit 4 as shown in FIG. Are connected to the UPD unit 76, the transceiver unit 77, and the AWS control unit 66 (via the power supply unit 75). The transmission / reception unit 77 is connected to an antenna that transmits and receives radio waves by radio.

FIG. 12 shows the configuration of the contactless connection parts by the contactless transmission parts 72a and 72b in the connector parts 51 and 52.
The AC power supplied from the power supply unit 75 through the power line 73a inserted through the tube unit 19 is housed in the outer case of the connector portion 52, and is applied to the primary coil C1a forming the contactless transmission portion 72a. Supplied.
A secondary-side coil C1b is disposed inside the outer case of the connector portion 51, and the primary-side coil C1a and the secondary-side coil C1b are close to each other and electromagnetically coupled in a state where there is little magnetic flux leakage. T1 is formed.
And by this electromagnetic coupling, the alternating current power supplied to this coil C1a is efficiently transmitted to the secondary side coil C1b. The coil C1b is connected to a power supply circuit 78 in the control circuit 57, and the power supply circuit 78 generates DC power required on the control circuit 57 side.

The power supply circuit 78 converts the DC voltage rectified through the rectifying diode D and the smoothing capacitor into a DC voltage necessary for the operation of the control circuit 57 by, for example, the three-terminal power supply IC 79 and the smoothing capacitor. , Supplied to the control circuit 57.
The signal line 71b connected to the control circuit 57 (forming a common signal transmission means) is connected to the coil C2a forming the contactless transmission part 72b, and the coil C2b facing and close to the coil C2a is The signal line 73b inserted through the tube unit 19 is connected. That is, the contactless transmission unit 72b is formed by the transformer T2 that is electromagnetically coupled by the coils C2a and C2b in substantially the same manner as the transformer T1.
A signal is transmitted from the signal line 71b side to the signal line 73b side through the electromagnetically coupled coils C2a and C2b, and also in the reverse direction.

In this embodiment, as explained in FIG. 13, the control circuit 57 centrally controls or manages various operation means, image pickup means, etc., so that the tube unit 19 is inserted. The number of electric signal lines to be reduced can be reduced. Even when the function provided in the endoscope 3 is changed, the signal line 73b in the tube unit 19 can be used without change. That is, the signal line 73b forms common signal transmission means for transmitting various signals in common.
12, for example, adjacent to the transformer T2, the magnetic poles different from the magnets M1 and M2 are arranged to face each other, and when connecting the general connector part 52 to the connector part 51, the coil C1a And C1b, and coils C2a and C2b are detachably attached in a state where they are close to each other and face each other. In addition, you may make it provide the uneven | corrugated | grooved part which mutually fits and positions the both connector parts 51 and 52 instead of the magnets M1 and M2.
Thus, the endoscope 3 according to the present embodiment is characterized in that the endoscope main body 18 is configured to be detachably connected to the tube unit 19 without contact.
FIG. 13 shows the configuration of the electrical system in the main components arranged in each part of the insertion unit 21 and the control circuit 57 and the like arranged in the operation unit 22 of the endoscope body 18.
A CCD 25 and an LED 56 are arranged at the distal end portion 24 of the insertion portion 21 shown at the lower left side in FIG. EPAM) 27a and encoder 27c are arranged.

Further, the soft portion 53 includes a hardness varying actuator 54 and an encoder 54c (specifically, in this embodiment, the hardness varying actuators 54A and 54B are EPAM, but are simply represented by one). Are arranged respectively. In addition, the UPD coil 58 is disposed in the soft portion 53.
In addition, a trackball 69, an air / water supply SW (SW4), a suction SW (SW5), and a scope SW (SW1 to SW3) are arranged on the surface of the operation unit 22 described on the soft part 53 of the insertion unit 21. Is done. As will be described later, the trackball 69 is used for angle setting, selection and setting of other functions, and the like.
These components shown on the left side of FIG. 13 are connected to a control circuit 57 (in the operation unit 22 in the UPD coil drive unit 59) provided in the operation unit 22 shown on the right side via a signal line. Performs drive control of these functions, signal processing, and the like.

The control circuit 57 includes a state management unit 81 configured by a CPU or the like that manages the control state, and the state management unit 81 is connected to a state holding memory 82 that holds (stores) the state of each unit. The state holding memory 82 has a program storage memory 82a as a control information storage means, and the components shown in FIG. 13 are changed by rewriting the program data as control information stored in the program storage memory 82a. Even in this case, the state management unit 81 (a CPU constituting the state management unit 81) can perform control (management) corresponding to the changed configuration.
Further, the state holding memory 82 or at least the program holding memory 82a is composed of, for example, a non-volatile and electrically rewritable flash memory or an EEPROM so that the program data can be easily changed via the state management unit 81. I have to.

For example, a command for changing program data is sent to the state management unit 81 via the signal line 71b, that is, via the following wired transmission / reception unit 83, and program data to be rewritten after the command is sent from the AWS unit 4 side. By doing so, the program data can be changed. In addition, version upgrade or the like can be easily performed via the signal line 71b.
In addition, model information unique to each endoscope 3 and individual information corresponding to the use state may be written and held in the state holding memory 82 as described below so that the information can be used effectively. Specifically, the state holding memory 82 holds, for example, model information of the endoscope 3 (for example, information on the type of the CCD 25, the length of the insertion portion, etc.), and the internal information that varies depending on usage conditions such as endoscopy. Individual information of the endoscope 3 (for example, information such as usage time (total time of endoscopy or total usage time), number of cleanings, adjustment value, maintenance history, etc.) is stored, and these information are used to determine system operation. Used to provide information to users and users.
These pieces of information can be edited from the outside such as the endoscope system control device 5 and a cleaning device (not shown).
By doing so, information (data) held in the scope ID can be effectively used by sharing and using the state holding memory 82 by combining the function of the conventional scope ID.
Further, since this state holding memory 82 is provided, it is not necessary to provide a separate scope ID, and it is possible to make it more functional than the existing scope ID, and to perform appropriate settings, adjustments, management, processing, etc. in more detail. Is possible.

  The state management unit 81 is connected to a wired transmission / reception unit 83 (in this embodiment) that communicates with the AWS unit 4 by wire (this transmission / reception unit 83 corresponds to FIG. 2B). 2 (B), the electrical connector 15 is a contactless transmission unit 72a, 72b in the operation unit 22 and an electrical component at the end of the tube unit 19. Connector 74).

Moreover, this state management part 81 controls the LED drive part 85 controlled by this illumination control part 84 via the illumination control part 84 which controls illumination. The LED drive unit 85 applies an LED drive signal for causing the LED 56 serving as an illumination unit to emit light.
The illuminated object such as an affected part is imaged on the imaging surface of the CCD 25 arranged at the imaging position by an objective lens (not shown) attached to the observation window, and is photoelectrically converted by the CCD 25. The
The CCD 25 outputs signal charges accumulated by photoelectric conversion as an imaging signal by application of a CCD drive signal from a CCD drive unit 86 controlled by the state management unit 81. The imaging signal is converted from an analog signal to a digital signal by an A / D converter (abbreviated as ADC) 87 and then input to the state management unit 81, and the digital signal (image data) is stored in the image memory 88. The The image data in the image memory 88 is sent to the data transmission unit 12 ′ of the transmission / reception unit 83.

Then, the signal is transmitted from the electrical connector 15 (contactless transmission unit 51b in this embodiment) to the AWS unit 4 side through the signal line 73b in the tube unit 19. Further, the data is transmitted from the AWS unit 4 to the endoscope system control device 5 wirelessly.
The output signal of the ADC 87 is sent to the brightness detection unit 89, and information on the brightness of the image detected by the brightness detection unit 89 is sent to the state management unit 81. Based on this information, the state management unit 81 performs dimming control through the illumination control unit 84 so that the amount of illumination light from the LED 56 has an appropriate brightness.
Further, the state management unit 81 controls the actuator driving unit 92 via the angle control unit 91, and manages the driving of the angle actuator (EPAM) 27 a by the actuator driving unit 92. The driving amount of the angle actuator (EPAM) 27a is detected by the encoder 27c, and the driving amount is controlled so as to coincide with the value corresponding to the instruction value.

In addition, the state management unit 81 controls the actuator driving unit 94 via the hardness variable control unit 93 and performs management for driving the hardness varying actuator 54 by the actuator driving unit 94. The driving amount of the hardness varying actuator 54 is detected by the encoder 54c and controlled so that the driving amount becomes a value corresponding to the instruction value.
In addition, an operation signal corresponding to an operation amount from a trackball 69 or the like provided in the operation unit 22 is input to the state management unit 81 via the trackball displacement detection unit 95.
In addition, an operation of pressing a switch such as ON by air / water supply SW, suction SW, or scope SW is detected by the switch press detection unit 96, and the detected information is input to the state management unit 81. EPAM has a characteristic of generating an electromotive force by deformation due to an external force, and EPAM arranged on the opposite side of the driven EPAM may be used as an encoder.
The control circuit 57 includes a power transmission / reception unit 97 and a power generation unit 98. Specifically, the power transmission receiving unit 97 is a contactless transmission unit 72 a in the operation unit 22. The AC power transmitted to the power generation unit 98 is converted into a DC power by the power generation unit 98. The power supply generation unit 98 corresponds to the power supply circuit 78 of FIG. The DC power generated by the power generator 98 supplies power necessary for its operation to each part in the control circuit 57.

FIG. 14 shows the internal configuration of the transmission / reception unit 101 and the image processing unit 116 of FIG. 8 in the endoscope system control apparatus 5.
The endoscope system control device 5 includes a wireless transmission / reception unit 101, for example. Data such as an image signal transmitted wirelessly from the AWS unit 4 is captured by the antenna unit 13, sent to the data receiving unit 14, amplified, and demodulated. The operation of the data receiving unit 14 is controlled by the data communication control unit 11, and the received data is sequentially stored in the buffer memory 102.
The image data in the buffer memory 102 is sent to the image processing unit 103 that processes the image data. In addition to the image data from the buffer memory 102, the image processing unit 103 also receives character information from the character generation unit 105 that generates character information by key input on the keyboard 104, and the character information is superposed on the image data. You can pose.

The image processing unit 103 sends the input image data and the like to the image memory control unit 106, temporarily stores the image data and the like in the image memory 107 via the image memory control unit 106, and records them on the recording medium 158.
The image memory control unit 106 reads the image data temporarily stored in the image memory 107 and sends the image data to the digital encoder 108. The digital encoder 108 encodes the image data in a predetermined video format, and the D / A converter ( (Abbreviated as DAC) 109. The DAC 109 converts a digital video signal into an analog video signal. The analog video signal is further output from the video output end to the observation monitor 6 via the line driver 110, and an image corresponding to the video signal is displayed on the observation monitor 6.
The image data temporarily stored in the image memory 107 is read out and input to the DV data generation unit 111. The DV data generation unit 111 generates DV data, and the DV data is output from the DV data output terminal. Is done.

In addition, the endoscope system control device 5 is provided with a video input terminal and a DV data input terminal, and a video signal input from the video input terminal is converted into a digital signal via the line receiver 112 and the ADC 113. The video signal is demodulated by the digital decoder 114 and input to the image memory control unit 106.
Also, the DV data input to the DV data input terminal is extracted (decoded) by the image data extraction unit 115 and input to the image memory control unit 106.
The image memory control unit 106 also temporarily stores the video signal (image data) input from the video input terminal or the DV data input terminal in the image memory 107, records it in the recording medium 158, or outputs the video signal. Or output to the observation monitor 6 from the end.
In the present embodiment, image data captured by the CCD 25 of the endoscope 3 and UPD image data generated by the UPD unit 76 are wirelessly input to the endoscope system control device 5 from the AWS unit 4 side. The endoscope system control device 5 converts these image data into predetermined video signals and outputs them to the observation monitor 6. The endoscope system control device 5 may receive UPD coil position data instead of UPD image data, and generate UPD image data in the image processing unit 103.

FIG. 15 shows the internal configuration of the AWS unit 4.
Image data input from the control circuit 57 of the endoscope 3 to the electric connector 43 for the scope and operation data such as a switch are output to the data communication control unit 11 of the transmission / reception unit 77 and UPD image data from the UPD unit 76. At the same time, the signal is transmitted from the antenna unit 13 to the antenna unit 13 of the endoscope system control device 5.
On the other hand, the AWS related information such as the operation of the air / water supply switch and the suction switch provided in the operation unit 22 of the endoscope 3 is also sent to the air / water supply control unit 122. The operations of the pump 65 and the solenoid valve unit 124 are controlled in accordance with the information thus obtained. Air supply / water supply tubes 60 b and 61 b are connected to the electromagnetic valve unit 124 via the AWS adapter 42. Further, a water supply tank 48 is connected to the electromagnetic valve unit 124 and the AWS adapter 42, and a suction tank 49 b is connected to the AWS adapter 42.

Further, commercial power is supplied to the AWS unit 4, and this commercial power is sent to the power transmission output unit 127 via the insulation transformer 126. The power transmission output unit 127 supplies an AC power source insulated from the commercial power source from the electrical connector 43 to the power source line 73 a of the endoscope 3 connected to the electrical connector 43.
The power transmission output unit 127 has its power transmission output controlled by a power transmission control unit 128 connected to the data communication control unit 11.
In the endoscope system 1 provided with the present embodiment, when the power is turned on, various images are displayed on the observation monitor 6 as shown in FIG. In this case, in addition to the information display area Rj for displaying patient information, the endoscope image display area Ri, the UPD image display area Ru, the freeze image display area Rf, and the angle display area Ra, the menu display area Rm is provided, and a menu is displayed in the menu display area Rm. The angle-shaped display area Ra detects the angle operation amount of the angle actuator 27a by the encoder 27c and displays the angle shape in that case.

As a menu displayed in the menu display area Rm, a main menu shown in FIG. 16B is displayed. This main menu includes a scope switch, angle sensitivity, insertion section hardness, zoom, image enhancement, air supply amount, and an instruction to return to the previous menu screen. Is displayed.
Then, when the user moves and selects the selection frame to the scope switch item by operating the trackball 69 or the like, the scope switch item frame is displayed thickly to indicate that it has been selected. By pressing and performing the determination operation, it is possible to select and set the function assigned to the five scope switches SW1 to SW5 as shown in FIG.

Next, the operation of the endoscope system 1 having such a configuration will be described.
As a preparation for carrying out the endoscopic examination, first, the general connector portion 52 on the disposable tube unit 19 side is connected to the connector portion 51 of the operation portion 22 of the endoscope body 18. In this case, the transformers T1 and T2 forming the contactless transmission units 72a and 72b are electromagnetically connected to each other in an insulated and waterproof state. With this connection, the preparation of the endoscope 3 is completed.
Next, the scope connector 41 of the tube unit 19 is connected to the connector 43 of the AWS unit 4. This part is completed by a single connection operation by various connection lines, power lines, signal lines, and optical connections by one-touch connection. There is no need to connect various pipes or electrical connectors each time as in a conventional endoscope system.

The user connects the AWS unit 4 to the UPD coil unit 8 and connects the endoscope system control device 5 to the observation monitor 6. Further, the setup of the endoscope system 1 is completed by connecting the endoscope system control device 5 to the image recording unit 7 or the like as necessary.
Next, the power of the AWS unit 4 and the endoscope system control device 5 is turned on. Then, each part in the AWS unit 4 is in an operating state, and the power supply unit 75 can supply power to the endoscope 3 side via the power supply line 73a and the like.
Operations at the time of starting the AWS unit 4 and the endoscope 3 in this case will be described with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18.

When the power transmission control unit 128 in the power supply unit 75 of the AWS unit 4 shown in FIG. 15 starts the startup process, the power transmission output unit 127 is supplied with power in the first step S1, as shown in FIG. Stop, that is, turn off the power supply.
Thereafter, in step S2, after the monitoring timer is turned on, the power transmission output unit 127 is turned on, that is, the power supply is turned on, as shown in step S3. When the power transmission output unit 127 is in a state of supplying power, the power is transmitted through the power line 73a in the tube unit 19 and further through the contactless transmission unit 72a, and the power generation unit in the control circuit 57 of the operation unit 22 AC power is supplied to 98.
Thereafter, as shown in step S <b> 4, the power transmission control unit 128 waits to receive an activation message from the endoscope 3 side via the signal line 73 b in the tube unit 19. If the power transmission control unit 128 does not receive the activation message, the power transmission control unit 128 determines whether or not the monitoring timer has expired as shown in step S5. If not, the process returns to step S4. In this case, the process returns to the first step S1.

On the other hand, when the activation message is received before the time expires in step S4, the power transmission control unit 128 turns off the time measurement of the monitoring timer as shown in step S6. Then, a continuation message is issued as shown in step S7, and this activation process is terminated.
On the other hand, the control circuit 57 of the endoscope 3 is supplied with AC power to the power generation unit 98, so that the power necessary for the operation in the control circuit 57 is supplied and starts the startup process. Then, the state management unit 81 shown in FIG. 13 waits for the power supply voltage of the power generation unit 98 to be stabilized in the first step S11.
When the power supply voltage is stabilized, the state management unit 81 performs system initialization of each part of the control circuit 57 in the next step S12. After this system initialization, as shown in step S13, the state management unit 81 transmits an activation message to the power transmission control unit 128 via the transmission / reception unit 83 and further via the signal line 73b in the tube unit 19.

After the activation message is transmitted, the state management unit 81 waits to receive a continuation message from the power transmission control unit 128 as shown in step S14. If the continuation message is received, the activation process is performed. finish. On the other hand, when the continuation message is not received, as shown in step S15, the state management unit 81 returns to step S13 when the retry end condition (for example, the preset number of retry conditions) is not reached. If the start message is issued again and the retry condition is met, the process ends in error.
When the activation process ends normally, imaging by the CCD 25 starts, and the user can perform air / water feeding, suction, angle operation, hardness variable operation, and the like by the operation means of the operation unit 22.
Representative processing operations related to these will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 19 shows the operation content of the imaging control process.

As shown in FIG. 19, when the imaging process starts, the endoscope 3 acquires imaging data as shown in step S21. Specifically, under the management (control) of the state management unit 81, the LED 56 emits light, and the CCD driving unit 86 starts an operation of driving the CCD 25. An image signal captured by the CCD 25 is a digital signal ( Imaging data). The imaging data (image data) is sequentially stored in the image memory 88, and acquisition of imaging data is performed.
The acquired image data is sequentially transmitted as shown in step S22. The image data read from the image memory 88 is transmitted from the transmission / reception unit 83 to the AWS unit 4 by wire, and is transmitted wirelessly from the transmission / reception unit 77 of the AWS unit 4 to the endoscope system control device 5 side. It is converted into a video signal inside the mirror system control device 5 and displayed on the observation monitor 6.

In addition, the imaging data of the ADC 87 is input to the brightness detection unit 89. As shown in step S23, the brightness detection unit 89 detects the brightness of the imaging data by calculating an average value of luminance data of the imaging data at an appropriate time.
The detection data of the brightness detection unit 89 is input to, for example, the state management unit 81, and a determination is made as to whether or not the brightness is designated (step S24). If the brightness is the designated brightness, the imaging process is terminated, and the next imaging process is started.
On the other hand, if the state management unit 81 determines in step S24 that the brightness is not the designated brightness, an illumination light adjustment instruction signal (control signal) is sent to the illumination control unit 84, as shown in step S25. The controller 84 adjusts the amount of illumination light. For example, the illumination control unit 84 adjusts the amount of illumination light by increasing or decreasing the drive current that causes the LED 56 to emit light. The illumination control unit 84 returns this adjustment result to the state management unit 81.

Therefore, the state management unit 81 determines whether the brightness adjustment range is possible by the illumination control unit 84 based on the adjustment result information. If the illumination control unit 84 can perform the brightness adjustment, the imaging process control is terminated without performing the process of step S27. On the other hand, when it is out of the brightness adjustment range by the illumination control unit 84, the state management unit 81 outputs a CCD gain adjustment signal to the CCD drive unit 86 as shown in step S27, and the gain of the CCD 25 is increased. The brightness of the image data is adjusted by adjusting the brightness. And this imaging process is complete | finished.
Next, the air / water supply process of FIG. 20 will be described. As shown in FIG. 11, the functions of the air / water supply switch and the suction switch are normally assigned to both sides of the trackball 69 in the operation unit 22.
When the air / water supply process is started, as shown in step S31 of FIG. 20, the state management unit 81 of the control circuit 57 acquires the state data of the air / water supply switch.

The operation of the air / water supply switch is detected by the switch press detection unit 96 shown in FIG. 13 and information on the detection result is input, so that the state management unit 81 stores the status data of the air / water supply switch. Acquire.
And as shown to step S32, the state management part 81 judges the state change of an air / water supply switch. If it is determined in step S32 that there has been a change in the state of the air / water supply switch, as shown in step S33, the state management unit 81 performs the air / water supply control corresponding to the instruction of the air / water supply switch operated by the user. Data is transmitted to the AWS unit 4 side via the transmission / reception unit 83.
The air / water supply control unit 122 in the AWS unit 4 performs control operations of the pump 65 and the electromagnetic valve unit 124 in accordance with the air / water supply control data. Then, the air / water supply processing operation is terminated. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S32 that there is no change in the state of the air / water supply switch, the air / water supply processing operation is terminated without performing the process of step S33. The suction process is substantially the same as the air / water supply process, and thus the process is omitted.

Next, an angle operation control process will be described with reference to FIG. When the angle control process starts, the state management unit 81 determines whether or not the angle control is valid as shown in step S41.
In the present embodiment, depending on whether or not the trackball 69 is pressed against the trackball 69, the state management unit 81 determines whether or not the angle control is valid as shown in step S41. Specifically, the state management unit 81 can detect the displacement operation and the pressing operation of the trackball 69 based on the output of the trackball displacement detection unit 95. When the trackball 69 is pressed, the angle control is turned off.
The state management unit 81 determines whether or not the angle control is valid based on the output of the trackball displacement detection unit 95.

If it is determined that the angle control is not effective, the process proceeds to step S45, and the previous command value is held. On the other hand, if it is determined that the angle control is valid, the process proceeds to the next step S42, and the state management unit 81 acquires the state data by operating the trackball 69. In the next step S43, the state management unit 81 determines whether or not there is a further state change based on the output of the trackball displacement detection unit 95.
In this case, when the state management unit 81 determines that there is no state change, the process proceeds to step S45. Conversely, when it is determined that there is a state change, the rotation direction of the trackball 69 is determined in the next step S44. The command value corresponding to the rotation amount is calculated.
After the processing of step S44 or S45, as shown in step S46, the state management unit 81 sends the command value to the actuator driving unit 92 via the angle control unit 91, and servo-processes the angle actuator.

That is, the actuator driving unit 92 drives the angle actuator so as to be in an angle state (curving angle) corresponding to the command value based on the command value. At this time, the angle state of the angle actuator is detected by the encoder, and the actuator driving unit 92 drives the angle actuator so that the value detected by the encoder matches the command value. In this way, the angle control process ends.
FIG. 21 also shows processing operations (steps S47 and S48) when the contact sensor described in the second embodiment is provided during the servo processing in step S46. The processing of step S47 and step S48 will be described in the second embodiment.

Next, with reference to FIG. 22, the control process of the hardness varying operation will be described. This control process is basically the same as that shown in FIG.
When the control process of the hardness variable operation is started, the state management unit 81 determines whether or not the hardness variable control is valid as shown in step S51.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 16B, the insertion unit hardness is assigned to the scope switches SW1 to SW5 by the main menu, and the state management unit 81 is effective when the insertion unit hardness scope switch is pressed. It is determined whether or not
If the state management unit 81 determines that the hardness variable control is not effective, the state management unit 81 proceeds to step S55 and holds the previous command value. On the other hand, if it is determined that the hardness variable control is valid, the process proceeds to the next step S52, and the state management unit 81 acquires the state data by operating the trackball 69.

In the next step S53, the state management unit 81 determines whether or not there is a further state change based on the output of the trackball displacement detection unit 95.
In this case, when the state management unit 81 determines that there is no state change, the process proceeds to step S55, and when it is determined that there is a state change, the rotation direction of the trackball 69 is determined in the next step S54. The command value corresponding to the rotation amount is calculated.
After the process of step S54 or S55, as shown in step S56, the state management unit 81 sends a command value to the actuator drive unit 94 via the hardness variable control unit 93, and servo-processes the hardness variable actuator 54A or 54B. .

That is, the actuator driving unit 94 drives the hardness varying actuator 54A or 54B based on the command value so as to achieve the target hardness corresponding to the command value. At that time, the hardness varying state of the hardness varying actuator 54A or 54B is detected by the encoder 54c, and the actuator driving unit 94 is configured so that the value detected by the encoder 54c reaches the target hardness. Drive.
In step S57 during the servo process, the hardness variable control unit 93 or the state management unit 81 determines whether the actuator driving unit 94 is within the variable range of the hardness variable actuator 54A or 54B. When deviating from the variable range, the hardness variable control process is terminated.

If the hardness variable actuator 54A or 54B is within the variable range in step S57, the hardness variable control unit 93 or the state management unit 81 determines whether or not the target hardness has been reached in the next step S58. A determination is made, and if the target hardness has not been reached, the process returns to step S56 and servo processing is continued. In this way, when the target hardness is reached, the control process for varying the hardness is terminated.
Further, the UPD unit 76 detects the position of the UPD coil 58 disposed inside the insertion portion 21 of the endoscope 3 by the UPD coil unit 8, calculates the insertion shape of the insertion portion 21, and observes the observation monitor 6. The insertion portion shape, that is, the UPD image is displayed on the display screen.

FIGS. 23A to 23D show the right menu screen and the left UPD image corresponding to each other, and the user selects and sets the hardness of the hardness varying actuators 54A and 54B on the menu screen. In this case, by displaying the hardness portions of the hardness varying actuators 54A and 54B provided at a plurality of locations (two locations in the specific example) in a color corresponding to the set hardness, it is possible to easily identify the hardness of the portions. Show.
FIG. 23A shows the display state of the main menu, and shows that the user selects variable insertion section hardness in this display state. In this case, since the UPD image is immediately before the insertion section hardness variable is selected, the sections A and B of the hardness variable actuators 54A and 54B are displayed without being distinguished from the sections other than the sections A and B. The
When variable insertion section hardness is selected as shown in FIG. 23B, the section ranges of the hardness set for the sections A and B of the two hardness varying actuators 54A and 54B are shown. Then, a hardness setting screen for setting the hardness in a soft state from a (soft) soft state to a hard state is shown, and the current hardness position is indicated by a circle. In this case, the display colors are different from soft to hard.

Accordingly, the corresponding UPD image is displayed in a display color corresponding to the hardness for which the hardness varying actuator is set, and the portion of the hardness varying actuator is displayed in color. In the state of FIG. 23 (B), the hardness section is set to a soft state, and the sections A and B of the hardness varying actuators 54A and 54B in the UPD image in this case are displayed in yellow.
FIG. 23C shows a case where the hardness of the section B of the hardness varying actuator 54B is set to a hardness near the center in the state of FIG. 23B. The section B of the actuator 54B is displayed in green.
FIG. 23D shows a case where the hardness of the section B of the hardness varying actuator 54B is set to a hard (hard value) hardness in the state of FIG. 23B or 23C, for example. In this case, B of the hardness varying actuator 54B in the UPD image is displayed in blue.

By displaying in this way, the user can freely set the hardness of the hardness varying actuators 54A and 54B, and the sections A and B of the set hardness varying actuators 54A and 54B correspond to the set hardness. Since the display color is displayed, the user can easily identify the hardness of the hardness varying actuators 54A and 54B.
Further, since the shape of the insertion portion 21 is displayed by the UPD coil 58, the operator can easily perform the insertion operation of the insertion portion 21 and the like.

Next, processing contents on the endoscope 3 side and the endoscope system control device 5 side of the human interface that realizes the remote control operation by the user will be described with reference to FIGS. 24 and 25. FIG. In FIGS. 24 and 25, the human interface is abbreviated as HMI.
As shown in FIG. 24, when the process of the human interface is started, the state management unit 81 waits for the angle effective switch to be turned off. That is, it waits for the trackball 69 to be pressed and the angle effective switch to be turned off.

When the angle effective switch is turned off, the state management unit 81 issues a GUI (graphical user interface) display message as shown in the next step S62. This GUI display message is wirelessly transmitted from the endoscope 3 via the AWS unit 4 to the (control CPU) in the system control unit 117 of the endoscope system control device 5.
After issuing the GUI display message, the state management unit 81 waits to receive a GUI display completion message from the endoscope system control device 5 side in the next step S63. If the GUI display completion message cannot be received, the state management unit 81 proceeds to step S64 to determine whether or not the retry end condition is satisfied. If the retry end condition is not satisfied, the state management unit 81 proceeds to step S64. Returning to step S63, if the retry termination condition is met, the process ends in error.

In the process of step S63, when the state management unit 81 receives a display completion message, the state management unit 81 proceeds to step S65 and determines whether or not the angle effective switch is turned on. When the angle effective switch is turned ON, the state management unit 81 issues a GUI end message as shown in step S66.
This GUI end message is transmitted from the endoscope 3 to the endoscope system control apparatus 5 wirelessly via the AWS unit 4 as in the case of the GUI display message. After issuing this GUI end message, the state management unit 81 waits for reception of a GUI display end message from the endoscope system control device 5 side in the next step S67. Then, when receiving the GUI display end message, the state management unit 81 ends the human interface process.

On the other hand, if the state management unit 81 cannot receive the GUI display end message, the state management unit 81 proceeds to step S68 to determine whether or not the retry end condition is satisfied, and when the retry end condition is not satisfied. Returns to step S66, and on the contrary, if the retry end condition is satisfied, the process ends in error.
In step S65, if the angle effective switch is not turned ON, the process proceeds to the process on the menu screen on step S69. In step S69, the state management unit 81 determines whether the state of the trackball 69 has changed. The determination of whether or not is made based on whether or not there is a change amount greater than a certain threshold from the output of the trackball displacement detection unit 95.
If the state management unit 81 determines that there is a change in the state of the trackball 69 as shown in step S70, the state management unit 81 acquires the state data (change data) of the trackball 69.

In this case, the user can select and instruct the function of the desired item with the cursor that moves in response to the operation of the trackball 69 on the main menu screen of FIG.
Then, as shown in step S71, the state management unit 81 transmits state data corresponding to the operation of the trackball 69 by the user. This state data is transmitted from the endoscope 3 to the endoscope system control device 5 through the AWS unit 4 as packet data in synchronization with the imaging data of the CCD 25. After the transmission of this status data, the process returns to step S65.
In step S69, when the state management unit 81 determines that there is no change in the state of the trackball 69, it detects whether the switch state (switches SW1 to SW5) has changed as shown in step S72. The determination is made based on the detection output from the unit 96.

If it is determined in step S72 that there is no change in the switch state, the process returns to step S65. Conversely, if it is determined that there is a change in the switch state, as shown in step S73, the state management unit 81 The pressing state data is acquired, and the switch pressing data acquired in the next step S74 is transmitted, and the process returns to step S65.
On the other hand, when the processing of the human interface is started as shown in FIG. 25, the CPU of the system control unit 117 of the endoscope system control device 5 receives the GUI display message from the endoscope 3 side in the first step S81. It will be in a waiting state. This CPU waits for reception of a wireless GUI display message via the transmission / reception unit 101 of FIG.
Then, as shown in step S82, when the CPU of the system control unit 117 receives a GUI display message, it performs a GUI display control process. That is, the CPU controls the image processing unit 116 to perform GUI display.

After the GUI display processing in step S82, the CPU issues a display completion message as shown in step S83. The CPU transmits this display completion message via the transmission / reception unit 101. In the next step S84, the CPU determines whether or not a GUI end message has been received from the endoscope 3 side. When receiving the GUI end message, the CPU performs a process for ending the GUI display in step S85, issues a GUI display end message in the next step S86, and then performs the process of the human interface. finish.
In step S84, when the CPU has not received the GUI end message, the CPU proceeds to step S87 and determines whether or not the received data of the trackball 69 has changed. The determination of whether or not the received data of the trackball 69 has changed is made in response to the determination result of the change in the state of the trackball 69 by the endoscope 3 side. If there is a change in the received data, the status data of the trackball 69 is acquired as shown in step S88. In the next step S89, the CPU moves the cursor and the movement amount corresponding to the acquired state data (change data) of the trackball 69. Then, the process returns to step S84.

If it is determined in step S87 that there is no change in the received data of the trackball 69, the CPU determines whether the received data of the switch has changed as shown in step S90. This is performed based on the received data of the transmission data of the determination result on the mirror 3 side.
If it is determined that there is a change in the received data of the switch, the CPU acquires switch pressing state data from the transmission information from the endoscope 3 side as shown in step S91. Further, as shown in step S91, the CPU performs the process of executing the function assigned to the pressed switch, and returns to the process of step S84. In step S90, the process returns to step S84 also when there is no change in the received data of the switch.
According to the endoscope 3 of the present embodiment that forms the endoscope system 1 that performs such an operation, the endoscope 3 can be separated into the endoscope body 18 and the tube unit 19 at the operation unit 22. Thus, by making the tube unit 19 side a disposable type, the endoscope body 18 can be easily cleaned, sterilized, and the like.

That is, the air / water supply conduit 60a and the suction conduit 61a in the endoscope main body 18 can be made much shorter than in the conventional example in which the universal cable corresponding to the tube unit 19 is integrally formed, and thus the cleaning is performed. And easy to sterilize.
Further, in this case, in the case of the conventional example in which the universal cable corresponding to the tube unit 19 is integrally formed, the universal cable is bent from the operation portion 22 and is continuously provided. In the connector part 51 of the operation part 22, the pipe connector part 51a is slightly bent, and the other parts are an air / water supply pipe line 60a and a suction pipe line 61a that extend substantially linearly. It is possible to easily and quickly perform processing such as washing, sterilization, and drying in the road. Therefore, it can be set in a short time so that the endoscopy can be performed.

Further, in this embodiment, since the endoscope body 18 and the tube unit 19 are detachably connected without contact, even if the endoscope body 18 is repeatedly cleaned and sterilized, it is not contactless. In this case, there is no occurrence of contact failure or the like, and reliability can be improved.
In the present embodiment, the operation unit 22 is provided with a number of operation means such as an angle operation means, an air / water supply operation means, a suction operation means, a hardness varying means, a freeze operation means, a release operation means, and the like. The means is configured to be intensively (intensively) controlled by a control circuit 57 provided in the operation unit 22. In addition, the control circuit 57 is configured to collectively control the light emitting means for emitting illumination light for performing imaging and the imaging means for performing imaging together with the operation means.
As described above, in this embodiment, various functions provided in the endoscope main body 18 are collectively controlled by the control circuit 57 provided in the operation unit 22, and the AWS unit connected to the endoscope main body 18 is used. 4 and the endoscope system control device 5 that wirelessly transmits and receives information are configured to collectively control various functions with respect to the operation means, so that the user (more specifically, the surgeon) Various operations can be freely performed by the various operation means provided, and the operability can be greatly improved.

Particularly in the present embodiment, by providing a control circuit 57 that performs intensive control in the operation unit 22, image data obtained by the CCD 25 from the control circuit 57 and various signals from the operation means are packetized. For example, the number of electric signal lines can be reduced (specifically, two signal lines for transmitting signals and a power line 2 for transmitting power). In addition, if one of the signal line and the power supply line is used in common, the total number can be reduced to three).
Therefore, the number of signal lines that need to be inserted into the tube unit 19 connected at the connection portion in the operation portion 22 can be reduced, and the tube unit 19 side can be made disposable.
Further, by reducing the number of signal lines inserted into the tube unit 19, the tube unit 19 can be easily reduced in diameter and bent, and the operability when the user operates can be improved.
As a modification of the endoscope system 1 shown in FIG. 4, an endoscope system 1B having a configuration shown in FIG. 26 may be used.

This endoscope system 1B has a configuration in which the AWS unit 4 is housed in a recess provided on the upper end surface of the examination bed 2 in the endoscope system 1 of FIG.
The AWS unit 4 is provided with a wireless transmission / reception unit 77 as shown in FIG. Further, when housed in the recess, a scope connector 40 is provided on the front surface exposed to the outside so that the scope connector 41 of the endoscope 3 can be detachably connected.
Other configurations are the same as those in FIG. In the case of this configuration, when performing an endoscopic examination or the like with the endoscope 3, the AWS unit 4 is attached to the examination bed 2, so that the tube unit 19 extended from the endoscope 3 is drawn long. Even if it is not performed, it can be connected to the AWS unit 4 and an environment that is easy to operate for the surgeon can be provided. The other effects are the same as those of the endoscope system 1 shown in FIG.

Next, Embodiment 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 27 shows the configuration of the endoscope according to the second embodiment, FIG. 28 shows an explanatory diagram of the action of the cleaning level detection by the transparency sensor, and FIG. 29 shows the configuration of the electric system inside the endoscope.
As shown in FIG. 27, the endoscope 3B of the present embodiment is different from the endoscope 3 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. The image data obtained by the above and various data are transmitted and received with the AWS unit 4 wirelessly. That is, instead of the signal line 71b serving as a common signal transmission unit for various wired signals in the first embodiment, the antenna unit 141 that forms a common signal transmission unit for various wireless signals is employed.

For this reason, the connector part 51 of the operation part 22 of the endoscope body 18 is configured not to have the contactless transmission part 72b connected to the signal line 71b in the connector part 51 in FIG. The tube unit 19 side also has a structure in which the signal line 73b (in the tube unit 19 in the case of FIG. 9) is not inserted.
Accordingly, the air / water supply conduit 60b, the suction conduit 61b, and the power line 73a are inserted into the tube unit 19. For this reason, the electrical connector 74 ′ in the connector 41 has only the connection portion of the power supply line 73 a. According to the present embodiment, since the structure in the tube unit 19 can be simplified as compared with the case of the first embodiment, the cost can be reduced, and the tube unit 19 can be made more disposable.

In this embodiment, a contact sensor 142 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the distal end portion 24, and the contact sensor 142 is connected to the control circuit 57 via a signal line. When an angle operation is performed, control is performed to restrict the bending of the bending portion 27 based on the detection result of the contact sensor 142 at that time. By performing this control, the bending portion 27 is reduced so as not to apply more force than necessary to the inner wall of the body cavity. For example, when inserting the insertion portion 21 into the body cavity, the pain given to the patient is reduced. Smooth insertion.
Further, in this embodiment, a transparency sensor 143 for detecting the transparency of the fluid in the air / water supply pipeline 60a and the suction pipeline 61a is provided at an appropriate position in the longitudinal direction of the insertion portion 21, and this transparency is provided. A detection signal of the sensor 143 is sent to the control circuit 57. In the present embodiment, the UPD coil 58 in the first embodiment is not arranged.

FIG. 28 is an explanatory view of the action of the cleaning level detection by the transparency sensor 143.
As shown in FIG. 28 (A), a photo reflector 144 and a reflector 145 are arranged so as to face each other on the outer periphery of an air / water supply conduit 60a (same for the suction conduit 61a) formed of a transparent tube. A sensor 143 is formed.
Then, as shown in FIG. 28B, the light from the light emitting element constituting the photo reflector 144 is emitted to the reflecting plate 145 side, and the reflected light reflected by the reflecting plate 145 is received by the light receiving element constituting the photo reflector 144. To do.
In this case, actually, a transmittance detector 146 such as an air / water supply pipe 60a formed of a transparent tube is disposed between the photo reflector 144 and the reflection plate 145, and therefore, the air / water supply pipe When the inner wall side of the air / water supply conduit 60a is washed by flowing a transparent cleaning liquid inside the 60a, when the inner wall surface becomes clean, the amount of light received by the light receiving element of the photoreflector 144 increases, and the cleaning is performed. The condition can be detected.

Therefore, this function makes it possible to quantitatively detect the cleaning level of the inner wall surface of the air / water supply conduit 60a and the inner wall surface of the suction conduit 61a.
In the description of this case, the operation in the case of cleaning with the cleaning liquid has been described. However, during the endoscopic inspection or the like, by referring to the detection output of the transparency sensor 143, the inner wall surface of the air / water supply conduit 60a and the suction It is also possible to know how dirty the inner wall surface of the pipeline 61a is.
FIG. 29 shows the configuration of the electric system in the case of the endoscope 3B in the present embodiment. In the configuration shown in FIG. 29, in FIG. Via the state management unit 81.

Further, for example, a transparency sensor 143 is further provided in the flexible part of the insertion unit 21, and is connected to the state management unit 81 via a transparency detection unit 148 that detects transparency based on the detection output of the transparency sensor 143.
In the present embodiment, a transmission / reception unit 149 that performs transmission / reception in a wireless manner is employed instead of the wired transmission / reception unit 83 in FIG. The data communication control unit 11 of the endoscope system control device 5 receives all the image data and the operation data such as switches that have been input to the electrical connector 43 of the AWS unit 4 in the first embodiment as in the first embodiment. .
In addition, the data communication control unit 11 of the AWS unit 4 receives only the AWS related information such as the operation of the air / water supply switch and the suction switch, and then sends it to the air / water supply control unit 122 to send the pump 65 and the electromagnetic valve unit 124. Control. In the present embodiment, the UPD coil 58 is not provided.

In the present embodiment, when performing the angle operation control with respect to the angle operation, the state management unit 81 is in the middle of starting the servo processing in step S46 as shown in FIG. As shown, the detection result of the contact sensor 142 is taken in via the contact sensor detection unit 147 to detect (determine) whether the distal end portion 24 is in contact with the inner wall of the body cavity or the like with a pressure of an appropriate value or more. .
When the state management unit 81 determines that the contact is not made at an appropriate value or more, the state management unit 81 proceeds to the next step S48 to determine whether or not the target position corresponding to the command value of the angle has been reached. Judgment is made based on the detected value. If the target position has not been reached, the process returns to step S46. If the target position has been reached, the control process for the angle operation is terminated.
On the other hand, in step S47, when the state management unit 81 determines that the contact is made at an appropriate value or more, the control process for the angle operation is terminated without performing the process of the next step S48.

As described above, when the angle operation is performed, the state management unit 81 performs the control process so as to bend the bending portion 27 to the target position corresponding to the command value by the angle operation. If the inner wall or the like in the body cavity is contacted with a pressure equal to or higher than the determined value, control is performed to suppress further bending.
Therefore, when the user inserts the insertion portion 21 into the body cavity, even when the user performs an angle operation in order to insert the insertion portion 21 along the bent duct, the contact is made at a pressure higher than the set value. Therefore, the pain given to the patient can be further reduced and smooth insertion can be achieved.
Note that the hardness by the hardness variable actuator may be further changed by the detection output of the contact sensor 142.
Other operations and effects in the present embodiment are almost the same as those in the first embodiment.

Next, Embodiment 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 30 shows the configuration of the endoscope of the third embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 30, the endoscope 3C of the present embodiment is not provided with the signal line 71b in the endoscope 3 of FIG. The antenna unit 141 transmits and receives signal data, and further, the power supply line 71a is not provided, and the operation unit 22 is provided with the battery 151, the charging circuit 152 connected thereto, and the non-contact charging coil 153. ing.
Therefore, the connector part 51 of the operation part 22 in the present embodiment is formed only with a pipe line connector part 51a composed of an air / water supply connector and a suction connector.
For this reason, the tube unit 19 detachably connected to the endoscope main body 18 of the present embodiment is not provided with the power supply line 73a and the signal line 73b, and the air supply / water supply conduit 60b and the suction conduit 61b are not provided. Only the tube tube is inserted. That is, in the present embodiment, the tube unit 19 is substantially composed only of a tube unit (cable unit) into which only the pipeline system is inserted.

The battery 151 is configured by a rechargeable secondary battery such as a lithium battery, and the battery 151 is for water-tight structure non-contact charging built in a portion near the outer surface of the operation unit 22 via the charging circuit 152. The coil 153 is connected. Then, a non-contact power supply coil (not shown) is arranged oppositely on the outer surface of the portion in which the non-contact charge coil 153 is incorporated, and an alternating current is supplied to the non-contact power supply coil. The battery can be charged.
That is, by supplying AC power to the contactless power supply coil disposed on the outer surface side of the operation unit 22, AC power is contactlessly connected to the contactless charging coil 153 inside the operation unit 22 by electromagnetic coupling. Can be communicated. This AC power is further converted into a DC voltage for charging the battery 151 by the charging circuit 152 and supplied to the battery 151, and the battery 151 is charged.

In the present embodiment, as described in the first embodiment, since the LED 56 is used as the illumination means, the power consumption can be reduced much more than in the case of using a lamp, and the image pickup element (variable gain) can be used. Since the ultra-sensitive CCD 25 (incorporating the above function) is employed, a sufficiently bright image can be obtained even when the amount of illumination light is small. For this reason, even when the battery 151 is employed, the endoscopy can be performed for a much longer time than in the conventional example. Also, the battery 151 can be smaller and lighter than that of the conventional example, and the operation unit 22 can be reduced in weight to ensure good operability.
The configuration of the electrical system inside the endoscope 3C in the present embodiment is a configuration in which the contact sensor 142, the transparency sensor 143, etc. are removed in FIG. 29, and the power transmission receiving unit 97 is connected to the battery 151 and the battery 151. The charging circuit 152 and the contactless charging coil are replaced. For this reason, the drawing is omitted.

According to the present Example, the tube unit 19 consists only of a pipe line system, and becomes a structure more suitable for a disposable type. Also, when recycling (reusing), since there is no electric wire in the tube unit 19, it is easy to recycle.
Further, according to the present embodiment, when the duct system is not used, the tube unit 19 can be detached from the endoscope body 18 and used. That is, in this case, since the tube unit 19 can be made unnecessary, it is possible to eliminate the fact that the tube unit 19 obstructs the operation, and the operability can be improved.
Other operations and effects are almost the same as those described in the first embodiment or the second embodiment.

Next, Embodiment 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 31 shows the configuration of the endoscope of the fourth embodiment, and FIG. 32 shows the configuration of the battery unit peripheral portion and the like.
As shown in FIG. 31, in the endoscope 3D of the present embodiment, a power supply circuit 161 is arranged instead of the battery 151 and the charging circuit 152 built in the operation unit 22 in the endoscope 3C of FIG. Further, a non-contact power supply coil 162 is connected to the power supply circuit 161, and a concave portion 163 is formed at a position facing the portion in which the non-contact power supply coil 162 is built in the operation unit 22. The battery unit 164 is of a type that can be detachably mounted.
32A shows an enlarged view of the vicinity of the battery unit 164, FIG. 32B shows the internal configuration in FIG. 32A, and FIG. 32C shows the connection of the battery unit 164 to the charging device 165. A circuit configuration for charging the battery 166 by the charging device 165 is shown.

As shown in FIG. 32A, the battery unit 164 having a watertight outer case attached to the recess 163 provided in the operation unit 22 is opposed to the non-contact power supply coil 162 on the power supply circuit 161 side. A non-contact power supply coil 167 is disposed in the portion to be connected, and the non-contact power supply coil 167 is connected to the battery 166 via the power supply circuit 168.
As shown in FIG. 32B, the non-contact power supply coil 167 is connected to the switching circuit 169 and the charging circuit 170 that constitute the power supply circuit 168, and the switching circuit 169 and the charging circuit 170 are magnetic (magnetic field). Are connected to reed switches 171 and 172 as magnetically sensitive switches that are turned on / off in response to each. The battery unit 164 is housed in an outer case and has a waterproof structure.
Further, the power supply circuit 161 connected to the other non-contact power feeding coil 162 has the same configuration as that shown in FIG. 12, for example. The AC power transmitted to the non-contact power supply coil 162 is rectified by the rectifying diode D, and the pulsating current component is removed and smoothed through the smoothing capacitor, and is input to the three-terminal power supply IC 79. The voltage is converted into a predetermined voltage value by the terminal power supply IC 79.

DC power having a predetermined voltage value generated by the power supply circuit 161 is supplied to each part of the control circuit 57.
In addition, when the magnet 174 is arranged in the vicinity of the operation unit 22 facing the reed switch 171 and the battery unit 164 is mounted in the recess 163 as shown in FIG. 32A, the reed switch 171 is magnetized by the magnet 174. Set to ON.
On the other hand, a magnet 175 is also arranged on the other reed switch 172 side, but this magnet 175 does not act on the reed switch 172, and the magnetic flux is directed to the side of the reed switch 172. The reed switch 172 is turned off (the magnet 175 is used to control the charging device 165 side as shown in FIG. 32C).

Therefore, the electric power of the battery 166 is supplied to the switching circuit 169, and the switching circuit 169 performs a switching operation. The pulse (alternating current) switched by the switching operation is supplied to the non-contact power supply coil 167 through the non-contact power supply coil 167. It is transmitted to the non-contact power supply coil 162 side that is electromagnetically coupled to the power supply coil 167 in a non-contact manner.
A DC power supply having a predetermined voltage value is generated by the power supply circuit 161 connected to the non-contact power supply coil 162.
The charging device 165 for charging the battery 166 of the battery unit 164 has a circuit configuration as shown in FIG.
The AC power from the AC power source is input to the rectifying / smoothing circuit 182 via the EMI filter 181 and converted into the smoothed DC power, and then the switching operation or the like is performed in order to perform the charge control in substantially the same manner as the switching circuit 169. Is supplied to the charge control circuit 183. A contactless power supply coil 184 is connected to the output terminal of the charge control circuit 183, and AC power switched by the charge control circuit 183 is supplied to the contactless power supply coil 167 side via the contactless power supply coil 184. Is done.

In addition, a reed switch 185 is connected to the charging control circuit 183. By attaching the battery unit 164 to a recess provided in the charging device 165, the charging control circuit 183 reacts to magnetism by the magnet 175 provided on the battery unit 164 side. The reed switch 185 is turned on. A reed switch 172 connected to the charging circuit 170 can be turned on by a magnet 186 provided on the charging device 165 side.
Accordingly, in this case, the charging control circuit 183 is in an operating state and performs switching operation to supply AC power from the non-contact power supply coil 184 to the non-contact power supply coil 167 side. The AC power supplied to the non-contact power feeding coil 167 side is converted into a DC voltage for charging the battery 166 by the charging circuit 170 to charge the battery 166.

Further, the charging control circuit 183 detects the charging state of the battery 166 from the value by monitoring the current supplied from the non-contact power feeding coil 184 to the non-contact power feeding coil 167 side, and the predetermined charging state When the power reaches the value, the supply of AC power is stopped, and an LED (not shown) is turned on to notify the completion of charging.
As described above, according to the present embodiment, by attaching the detachable battery unit 164 to the endoscope body 18, it is possible to perform an intensive control operation by the control circuit 57 provided in the operation unit 22. it can.
Further, when the electric energy of the battery 166 in the battery unit 164 is consumed or decreased, the battery unit 164 is attached to the charging device 165 in a non-contact manner as shown in FIG. This battery 166 can be charged.

According to the present embodiment, since it is not necessary to insert an electric signal line into the tube unit 19, the cost of the tube unit 19 can be further reduced, and the tube unit 19 more suitable for a disposable type can be realized. Moreover, the diameter of the tube unit 19 itself can be reduced, and the operability when operating the operation unit 22 can be improved.
Further, according to the present embodiment, when the air supply / water supply operation and the suction operation are not required, the tube unit 19 side is removed from the endoscope body 18 as described in the third embodiment. You can also.
It should be noted that embodiments configured by partially combining the above-described embodiments and the like also belong to the present invention. Moreover, the modified example which changed each Example also belongs to this invention. For example, a configuration in which the connecting portion of the tube unit 19 is deformed by shifting the connecting portion 68 or the operating portion 22 toward the proximal end (rear end) of the insertion portion 21 basically also belongs to the present invention.

[Appendix]
1. In Claim 1, the said connection part has a connection part of a contactless.
2. In Claim 1, the wireless signal transmission means is provided in the circumference | surroundings including the said holding | grip part.
3. In Claim 1, a battery is built in the circumference | surroundings including the said holding | grip part.
4). In Supplementary Note 3, the battery can be charged without a contact.
5). In Claim 1, the battery of a watertight structure is detachable in the periphery including the said holding | grip part.
6). In Supplementary Note 5, the battery can be charged by a charging device.
7). The operation means includes a bending operation means for performing a bending operation.
8). In Claim 1, the endoscope has an air / water supply conduit for air / water supply, and the operation means has an air / water supply operation means for performing an air / water instruction operation.

9. 2. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the endoscope has a suction conduit for suction, and the operation means has a suction operation means for performing an instruction operation of the suction means.
10. 3. The operating means according to claim 1, wherein the operating means includes operating means for varying the hardness of a hardness varying actuator provided in the insertion portion for varying the hardness.
11. The control processing means includes control information storage means for storing control information for performing the control processing, and different control processing can be executed by changing the control information.
12 In Supplementary Note 11, the control information stored in the control information storage means can be electrically rewritten from the outside.

13. An endoscope main body having an elongated insertion portion and a gripping portion provided at the rear end of the insertion portion;
A tube unit that is detachably connected to a connection portion provided around the grip portion and includes at least one pipe line; and
Control processing means for performing control processing on the operation means provided in the periphery including the imaging means and the grip portion;
An endoscope characterized by comprising:

14 In Supplementary Note 13, the connection portion has a contactless connection portion.
15. In Supplementary Note 13, wireless signal transmission means is provided around the grip portion.
16. In Supplementary Note 13, a battery is built in the periphery including the grip portion.
17. In Supplementary Note 16, the battery can be charged without a contact.

18. In Supplementary Note 1, the control processing means has endoscope model information as control information for performing control processing.
19. In Supplementary Note 18, the endoscope model information includes at least either type information of a solid-state imaging device forming the imaging unit or information on the length of an insertion portion.
20. In Supplementary Note 1, the control processing means includes endoscope individual information as control information for performing control processing.
21. In Supplementary Note 20, the endoscope individual information includes at least either information on the use time of the endoscope or information on the number of times of washing.

  According to the endoscope of the present invention, an endoscope inspection is performed with good operability by inserting an insertion portion into a body cavity and operating various operation means such as a trackball provided in the operation portion. It can be performed.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an endoscope system including the present invention. The figure which shows a data communication form. The figure which shows the schematic structure of the endoscope of this invention. The perspective view which shows the whole structure of the endoscope system provided with the present Example. The perspective view which shows the concrete external appearance shape of an AWS unit periphery part. The perspective view which shows the state which attached and removed the AWS adapter which can be attached or detached to an AWS unit. The figure which shows the structure of the connection part of an internal structure of an endoscope system control apparatus and an AWS unit, and a scope connector. The figure which shows the structure of an AWS adapter. 1 is an overall view showing a detailed configuration of an endoscope according to Embodiment 1. FIG. Explanatory drawing for showing the rough function of the conductive polymer artificial muscle (EPAM) used for the member for angles and the actuator for variable hardness. The figure which shows the track ball etc. which were provided in the operation part by A arrow view of FIG. The circuit diagram which shows the structure of the contactless transmission part by which the base end of a tube unit is detachably connected to an operation part main body without a contact. The block diagram which shows the structure of the electric system in the component provided in the endoscope. The block diagram which shows the structure of the electrical system of the principal part of an endoscope system control apparatus. The block diagram which shows the structure of the electrical system of an AWS unit. The figure which shows the typical display example of the monitor display surface of an observation monitor, and the specific example of a menu display. The flowchart figure which shows the operation | movement content of the starting process of an AWS unit. The flowchart figure which shows the operation | movement content of the starting process of an endoscope. The flowchart figure which shows the operation content of an imaging control process. The flowchart figure which shows the operation | movement content of the control process of an air supply / water supply. The flowchart figure which shows the control processing of angle operation. The flowchart figure which shows control operation with respect to hardness variable operation. Operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows the setting operation of variable hardness, and the UPD image corresponding to the operation. The flowchart figure which shows the processing content by the side of an endoscope in a human interface. The flowchart figure which shows the processing content by the endoscope system control apparatus side in a human interface. The perspective view which shows the structure of the modification of an endoscope system. The figure which shows the whole structure of the endoscope of Example 2 of this invention. The figure for a structure and effect | action description of a transparency sensor. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electric system in the endoscope according to the second embodiment. The figure which shows the whole structure of the endoscope of Example 3 of this invention. The figure which shows the whole structure of the endoscope of Example 4 of this invention. The figure which shows the structure and circuit structure of a battery unit periphery part.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Endoscope system 2 ... Examination bed 3 ... Endoscope 4 ... AWS unit 5 ... Endoscope control system 6 ... Observation monitor 7 ... Image recording unit 8 ... UPD coil unit 9 ... LAN
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Data communication control part 13 ... Antenna part 15 ... Electric connector 18 ... Endoscope main body 19 ... Tube unit 21 ... Insertion part 22 ... Operation part 25 ... CCD
27 ... Bending part 27a ... Angle actuator 40, 41 ... Scope connector 42 ... AWS adapter 43 ... Electric connector 44 ... Air supply connector 45 ... Pinch valve 51 ... Connector part 52 ... General connector part 53 ... Soft part 54A. 54B ... Hardness variable actuator 56 ... LED
57 ... Control circuit 58 ... UPD coil 59 ... UPD coil drive unit 60a, 60b ... Air / water supply pipeline 61a, 61b ... Suction pipeline 66 ... AWS control unit 68 ... Grasping part 69 ... Trackball 71a, 73a ... Power supply line 71b 73b ... Signal lines 72a, 72b ... Contactless transmission unit 75 ... Power supply unit 76 ... UPD unit 77, 83 ... Transmission / reception unit 81 ... State management unit 82 ... State holding memory 91 ... Angle control unit 92 ... Actuator drive unit 93 ... Hardness Variable control unit 95 ... Track ball displacement detection unit 143 ... Transparency sensor Agent Patent attorney Susumu Ito

Claims (4)

In an endoscope having an elongated insertion portion and a grip portion provided at the rear end of the insertion portion, and incorporating an imaging means,
A connection part that is provided in the gripping part or the periphery thereof and to which a tube unit into which at least one pipe line is inserted is detachably connectable;
Control processing means for performing control processing on the imaging means and operation means provided in the gripping part or its periphery;
An endoscope characterized by comprising:   The operation means includes a plurality of operation means of at least different types, and the control processing means performs control processing for the imaging means and the plurality of operation means, and transmits the generated signal through a common signal transmission means. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein:   The endoscope according to claim 2, wherein the common signal transmission unit is detachably connected to the signal transmission line inserted into the tube unit at the connection portion without contact.   The endoscope according to claim 2, wherein the common signal transmission unit is formed by a wireless signal transmission unit provided in the gripping part or a peripheral part thereof.

Images