Patent ID: 7060027
Filing Date: 2006-06-13
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. An electric bending endoscope, comprising: an inserting portion that is inserted into a subject, the inserting portion having a bending portion that can be bent in accordance with an operation; a bending instructing member which provides a bending instruction for bending the bending portion in a desired status, the bending instructing member being operated by an operator and outputting a bending instruction signal for matching the bending status of the bending portion to a bending status based on a value instructed by the bending instructing member when the bending portion is instructed so as to be bent by the bending instructing member; a bending motive device for supplying power to bend the bending portion based on the bending instruction signal; a detecting device for detecting the bending status of the bending portion; a bending angle calculating portion for calculating a value indicative of the bending status of the bending portion based on the bending status of the bending portion detected by the detecting device; a driving force transmission switching portion connected to the bending motive device and the bending portion, the driving force transmission switching portion being able to selectively switch between the status in which the bending motive device and the bending portion are connected so that the power supplied by the bending motive device may be transmitted to the bending portion and the status in which the bending motive device and the bending portion are disconnected so that the power supplied by the bending motive device may not be transmitted to the bending portion, the bending portion being able to be bent in the status in which the value instructed by the bending instructing member and the value calculated by the bending angle calculating portion do not coincide with each other in the status in which the bending motive device and the bending portion are disconnected by the driving force transmission switching portion; a judging portion for judging whether the instructed value and the calculated value coincide with each other; a positioning control portion for validating or invalidating the bending instruction signal in response to the switching between the connected status and the disconnected status by the driving force transmission switching portion, the bending motive device being operative based on the bending instruction signal in the status in which the bending instruction signal is validated by the positioning control portion, the bending motive device being not operative based on the bending instruction signal in the status in which the bending instruction signal is invalidated, the positioning control portion invalidating the bending instruction signal when the bending motive device and the bending portion are switched from the connected status to the disconnected status and validating the bending instruction signal when the bending motive device and the bending portion are switched from the disconnected status to the connected status if the judging portion judges that the instructed value and the calculated value coincide with each other.