Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7914443?ie=ISO-8859-1&dq=patent:+7360079
Timestamp: 2015-06-03 12:00:46
Document Index: 11880105

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 70', 'art 70', 'art 63', 'art 70', 'art 70', 'art 70', 'art 70', 'art 70', 'art 67', 'art 62']

Patent US7914443 - Endoscope with non-contact signal transmission and reception - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsAn endoscope is provided that can reduce examination costs by realizing commonality of an operating unit by making an inserting unit and the operating unit attachable/detachable with respect to each other to enable the exchange of inserting units. The endoscope of this invention includes an operating...http://www.google.com/patents/US7914443?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7914443 - Endoscope with non-contact signal transmission and receptionAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS7914443 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 11/599,562Publication dateMar 29, 2011Filing dateNov 14, 2006Priority dateMay 14, 2004Fee statusPaidAlso published asUS20070060789, WO2005110189A1Publication number11599562, 599562, US 7914443 B2, US 7914443B2, US-B2-7914443, US7914443 B2, US7914443B2InventorsSumihiro Uchimura, Akira Taniguchi, Fumiyuki Onoda, Toshiaki Noguchi, Katsuya SuzukiOriginal AssigneeOlympus CorporationExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (19), Referenced by (2), Classifications (14), Legal Events (3) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetEndoscope with non-contact signal transmission and reception
US 7914443 B2Abstract
An endoscope is provided that can reduce examination costs by realizing commonality of an operating unit by making an inserting unit and the operating unit attachable/detachable with respect to each other to enable the exchange of inserting units. The endoscope of this invention includes an operating unit, an inserting unit that can be detachably connected to the operating unit, and transmission and reception coils provided in the operating unit and the inserting unit, respectively, for sending and receiving signals in a non-contact manner between the operating unit and the inserting unit when the inserting unit is connected to the operating unit.
wherein the operating unit and the connection adapter further internally comprise a third light guide part and a fourth light guide part, respectively, and when the connection adapter is connected to the operating unit, the third light guide part and the fourth light guide part communicate. Description
This application is a continuation application of PCT/JP2005/008801 filed on May 13, 2005 and claims benefit of Japanese Applications No. 2004-145695 filed in Japan on May 14, 2004 and No. 2004-145704 filed in Japan on May 14, 2004, the entire contents of each of which are incorporated herein by their reference.
The endoscope according to the present invention comprises an operating unit; an inserting unit that is detachably connected to the operating unit; and signal transmission and reception sections that are respectively provided in the operating unit and the inserting unit, and perform sending and receiving of signals between the operating unit and the inserting unit in a non-contact manner when the inserting unit is connected to the operating unit.
FIG. 1 is a view for describing the structure of an endoscope according to a first embodiment;
Hereunder, embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the drawings.
FIGS. 1 to 11 relate to the first embodiment of this invention. FIG. 1 is a view for describing the structure of an endoscope according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a view for describing the structure of an operating unit of the endoscope according to this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a view for describing the structure of an inserting unit of the endoscope according to this embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of an endoscope system controlling apparatus to which a scope connector of the endoscope according to this embodiment is connected. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the operating unit and the inserting unit of the endoscope according to this embodiment. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of an image pickup unit that is provided in the inserting unit of the endoscope according to this embodiment. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of a sensing unit that is provided in the inserting unit of the endoscope according to this embodiment. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of a motion controlling unit that is provided in the inserting unit of the endoscope according to this embodiment. FIG. 9 is a view for describing a configuration that illustrates a first modification example of the endoscope according to this embodiment. FIG. 10 is a view for describing a configuration in a case where a conventional endoscope is connected to the endoscope system controlling apparatus according to this embodiment. FIG. 11 is a sectional view of an adapter that is used when connecting a conventional endoscope to the endoscope system controlling apparatus according to this embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 6, the image pickup unit 70 as an image pickup part has an image pickup device 22, an ADC 70 a as an analog/digital conversion circuit (hereunder abbreviated to “ADC”), an amplification factor control part 70 b, and an image pickup device driving part 70 c. After receiving a control signal that was sent from the control signal demodulating part 63, more specifically, an image pickup control signal, the image pickup device driving part 70 c sends the image pickup control signal to the image pickup device 22, the ADC 70 a and the amplification factor control part 70 b. The image pickup device driving part 70 c then drives each part to which it has sent the image pickup control signal based on the state of the image pickup control signal. Based on the contents of the control signal that was sent from the image pickup device driving part 70 c, i.e. the amplification factor control signal, and the image pickup control signal, the amplification factor control part 70 b sends a signal for performing sensitivity control, i.e. a sensitivity control signal, to the image pickup device 22, and sends an amplification factor signal that was obtained by converting an amplification factor based on the adjusted sensitivity to a digital signal to the status signal synthesizing part 67. The image pickup device 22 photographs the interior of the body of the examinee based on the state of the image pickup control signal and the sensitivity control signal. The images captured inside the body of the examinee are sent to the ADC 70 a. Upon receiving the images of the interior of the examinee's body, the ADC 70 a converts the images of the interior of the examinee's body to digital signals and sends the digital signals, i.e. image pickup signals, to the image pickup signal modulating part 62.
FIGS. 12 to 17 are views that relate to a second embodiment of this invention. In this connection, a detailed description of parts that have the same configuration as those of the first embodiment is omitted. In addition, the same symbols are used to denote components that are the same as those in the first embodiment, and a description of these components is omitted.
FIGS. 28 to 32 relate to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an endoscope according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 29 is a view for describing the configuration of the operating unit shown in FIG. 28. FIG. 30 is a view for describing the configuration of the inserting unit shown in FIG. 28. FIG. 31 is a block diagram showing the overall electrical configuration of the endoscope shown in FIG. 28. FIG. 32 is a configuration diagram for describing a first modification example of the endoscope according to the fourth embodiment. Hereunder, a detailed description of portions having the same configuration as those of the first embodiment to third embodiment is omitted. Further, the same symbols are used to denote components that are the same as those in the first embodiment to third embodiments, and a description of these components is omitted.
FIGS. 33 to 37 relate to the fifth embodiment of this invention. FIG. 33 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an endoscope according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 34 is a schematic diagram for describing the configuration of a camera head adapter of the endoscope. FIG. 35 is a view for describing the configuration of an operating unit shown in FIG. 33. FIG. 36 is a view for describing the configuration of the camera head adapter shown in FIG. 33. FIG. 37 is a block diagram showing the overall electrical configuration of the endoscope shown in FIG. 34. Hereunder, a detailed description of portions having the same configuration as those of the first embodiment to fourth embodiment is omitted. Further, the same symbols are used to denote components that are the same as those in the first embodiment to fourth embodiments, and a description of these components is omitted.
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