Portable endoscope

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a portable endoscope which is capable of supplying liquid and gas for rinsing and cleaning an observing window.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, there is known an endoscope which has a light source, a water tank, and other peripheral devices. The light source supplies light to a distal end of a probe of the endoscope through a light guide. The water tank supplies water via a tube for rinsing and cleaning the observing window which protects the objective lens provided at the distal end of the probe.

Before operating the endoscope, the peripheral devices have to be carried to the place of operation and some have to be connected to electricity. Furthermore, the endoscope needs power cables so that the light source and other devices can be connected to a power socket. There are many problems concerning the portability of the endoscope and the peripheral devices, for example, the inconvenience of using many cables, and the limitation of the places where the endoscope can be used.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to improve the portability and the ease of operation of a portable endoscope.

According to the present invention, a portable endoscope has a probe which is inserted into a human body. The portable endoscope comprises a tank, a flexible tube, a pump, and a weight. The tank stores liquid. The flexible tube extends from inside the tank to a liquid supply nozzle via a connection. The pump pumps the liquid to the distal end of the probe from the flexible tube. The weight is provided at one end of the flexible tube inside the tank, whereby, when the tank is inclined, the flexible tube is bent so that the end reaches the liquid regardless of the angle of inclination.

Further, according to the present invention, a portable endoscope comprises a tank, a flexible tube, a pump, and a weight, and further comprises an electric power source. The electric power source provides electricity for driving the pump and a light source. The tank, the pump, and the electric power source are provided in an operational unit of the portable endoscope.

The objects and advantages of the present invention will be better understood from the following description, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a portable endoscope having a probe to which a liquid and air supply unit of a first embodiment is attached;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view showing the enlarged tip of the probe;

FIG. 3 is a front cross sectional view of the tip body;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the water tank;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of one end of the flexible tube to which the weight is attached;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the water tank when the operational portion is inclined;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of another embodiment of the water tank;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged partial cross sectional view of the water tank of the second embodiment; and

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of the water tank when the operational portion is inclined.

The present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side and partially cross sectional view showing a portable endoscope having a probe. A fiberscope 10 is provided with a probe 11 which is a flexible duct that is inserted into a human body, an operational portion 12 which contains several operational buttons thereon, and an eyepiece portion 13 which is provided on the operational portion 12 . An operational unit or a liquid and air supply unit 15 of a first embodiment is also attached to the operational portion 12 . A connecting portion 14 connects the probe 11 and the operational portion 12 .

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the tip of the probe 11 . A tip body 20 which is made of an appropriate hard material such as corrosion resisting bearing metal, is fixedly adhered to the distal end of the probe 11 . A hole 31 is provided in the tip to accommodate an image guide 30 which goes through the probe 11 and inside the tip body 20 . The image guide 30 is a light fiber bundle for observing an object through the endoscope, and is equipped with an objective lens 32 at its distal end. An observing window 33 is fixed so as to cover the hole 31 to protect the objective lens 32 and to prevent foreign bodies from getting into the hole 31 .

Furthermore, holes 41 and 42 are formed in the tip body 20 along a longitudinal axis. LEDs 43 and 44 are provided in the vicinity of the openings of the holes 41 and 42 . Diverging lenses 45 and 46 are provided in front of the LEDs 43 and 44 inside the holes 41 and 42 . Electrical wires W 11 , W 12 , W 21 , and W 22 are provided to supply driving electricity for the LEDs 43 and 44 .

FIG. 3 shows a front cross sectional view of the tip body 20 in which each part is viewed with relation to the position of each other part. FIG. 2 shows a cross sectional view along a line II—II of FIG. 3 . An air supply nozzle 51 and a water and liquid supply nozzle 52 are respectively provided inside an air channel and a water and liquid channel (not shown) provided inside the probe 11 . The air supply nozzle 51 is used to supply air or a gas to clean and dry the observing window 33 , or to supply air into a human body. The water and liquid supply nozzle 52 is used to supply water or a liquid to rinse and clean the observing window 33 . A treatment tool such as a biopsy forceps is provided through a forceps channel 53 to cut off an affected piece of tissue. The way in which air and liquid is supplied to the tip of the probe 11 will be described later.

In FIG. 1 , a forceps opening 60 which is connected to the above mentioned forceps channel 53 , is provided on the connecting portion 14 . A treatment tool such as a biopsy forceps or a brush is inserted from the forceps opening 60 toward the tip of the probe 11 through the forceps channel 53 .

An air and liquid supply button 71 and an absorption button 72 are provided on the operational portion 12 . When a hole (not shown) on the top of the air and liquid supply button 71 is closed, air spouts from the air supply nozzle 51 (as shown in FIG. 3 ) to clean the observing window 33 which protects the objective lens 32 , or to supply air into a human body. When the air and liquid supply button 71 is pressed down, liquid spouts from the liquid supply nozzle 52 (as shown in FIG. 3 ) of the tip body 20 to clean the observing window 33 . When the absorption button 72 is pressed down, and the forceps opening 60 is equipped with a forceps lid (not shown), liquid or viscous material on the observing window 33 or air inside the human body is absorbed from the opening of the forceps channel 53 of the tip body 20 by an operation of an absorption device (not shown) using an absorption nipple 73 .

The liquid and air supply unit 15 is provided near the absorption nipple 73 . The liquid and air supply unit 15 is provided with a device 80 and a water tank 81 which stores the above mentioned liquid. The device 80 is provided on the opposite side of the air and liquid supply button 71 and the absorption button 72 , and is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, of the operational portion 12 , and is fixed thereto. A partial conceptual cross sectional view of the device 80 is shown in FIG. 1 .

The device 80 is provided with an air supply pump 82 and a battery 83 . The air supply pump 82 is connected to an inlet 84 which is provided on a side wall of the device 80 . The hole on the top of the air and liquid supply button 71 , the air supply nozzle 51 , and the water tank 81 , are also connected to the inlet 84 through a tube or a pipe. The air supply pump 82 is a diaphragm pump provided to send air from the inlet 84 to the air and liquid supply button 71 , the air supply nozzle 51 , and the water tank 81 . A battery 83 is an electric power source which supplies electricity to the air supply pump 82 , and the LEDs 43 and 44 inside the tip body 20 .

An LED button 85 to turn on and off the LEDs 43 and 44 , and a pump button 86 to turn on and off the air supply pump 82 are provided on an outer side wall of the device 80 . A switch SW 1 is controlled to be turned on and off by the operation of the LED button 85 . When the LED button 85 is pressed down with the switch SW 1 being off, switch SW 1 is turned on to start supplying driving electricity to the LEDs 43 and 44 . As a result, the LEDs 43 and 44 are turned on causing light to be emitted from the tip through the diverging lenses 45 and 46 . When the LED button 85 is pressed down again in this situation, ie. when switch SW 1 is on, the switch SW 1 is turned off so that the electricity is prevented from being supplied to the LEDs 43 and 44 , so that they are turned off.

A switch SW 2 is controlled to be turned on and off by the operation of the pump button 86 . When the pump button 86 is pressed down with the switch SW 2 being off, switch SW 2 is turned on to start supplying driving electricity for the air supply pump 82 . As a result, the air supply pump 82 starts drawing in air from the inlet 84 and sending it to the air and liquid supply button 71 and the air supply nozzle 51 . When the pump button 86 is pressed down again in this situation, ie. when the switch SW 2 is on, the driving electricity is prevented from being supplied to the air supply pump 82 .

When using the fiberscope 10 , the air supply pump 82 is always in operation. When the hole on the air and liquid supply button 71 is closed during the operation of the air supply pump 82 , the air from the inlet 84 is supplied to the air supply nozzle 51 as mentioned above. When the air and liquid supply button 71 is pressed down, the air from the inlet 84 is sent through the air supply pump 82 to the water tank 81 only. As a result, the air pressure inside the tank 81 increases to push the liquid from the flexible tube 87 to the nozzle 52 . Therefore, the liquid spouts from the liquid supply nozzle 52 .

FIG. 4 shows an enlarged partial cross sectional view of the water tank 81 . A tube holder 92 and a stopper 93 form a hole through which an air supply tube 100 connected to the air supply pump 82 , an air supply tube 102 connected to the air supply nozzle 51 , and the flexible tube 87 connected to the liquid supply nozzle 52 , are inserted. The flexible tube 87 is provided inside the air supply tube (or pipe) 102 . The air mentioned above goes through a gap between the flexible tube 87 and the air supply tube 102 to the tip of the probe 11 .

The water tank 81 is a sphere as a whole. The flexible tube 87 is made of a flexible material such as silicon. When straightened, the flexible tube 87 has a length which is long enough to have its end approach an inner wall of the water tank 81 . A weight 105 is provided at one end of the flexible tube 87 inside the water tank 81 . The weight 105 is made of a metal which is resistant to chemical decomposition such as stainless steel.

The weight 105 has three sections as can be seen in FIG. 5. A main section 105 a formed to be nearly spherical, which is the largest tubular section providing the bulk of the weight; an insertion section 105 b which is inserted into the flexible tube 87 ; and a deepest section 105 c which has a circumference greater than an outer diameter of the insertion section 105 b . The weight 105 has a main section 105 a having an outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the flexible tube 87 so as to prevent the main section 105 a from being inserted into the flexible tube. The outer diameter of the insertion section 105 b is the same or larger than the inner diameter of the flexible tube 87 . The deepest section 105 c has a circumference greater than an outer diameter of the insertion section 105 b to prevent the weight 105 from separating from the flexible tube 87 . The flexible tube is extendable when the weight 105 is inserted so as to grip the weight 105 tightly. As a result, the weight 105 is fixed to the end of the flexible tube 87 . The weight 105 has a channel so that liquid can flow through the weight 105 and the flexible tube 87 .

As mentioned above, the flexible tube 87 is bendable having the weight 105 at one end. Therefore, when the water tank 81 and the operation portion 12 are inclined to whatever angle, the flexible tube 87 is bent so that the end reaches the liquid all the time regardless of the angle of inclination, providing good operational conditions for supplying liquid to the probe 11 of the fiberscope 10 as shown in FIG. 6 .

Furthermore, the water tank 81 is a sphere in the first embodiment. Therefore, according to the inclination angle of the operation portion 12 , the end of the flexible tube 87 inside the water tank 81 moves along the vicinity of the inner wall thereof. In other words, the end of the flexible tube 87 moves along the inner wall effectively relative to the change of the position of the operational portion 12 . The water tank 81 need not be a sphere as a whole. For example, a tank 106 can be formed to be cylindrical for the main body and a sphere only at a bottom 106 a which is formed at the opposite side of a tank lid 95 as shown in FIG. 7 .

FIG. 8 shows an enlarged partial cross sectional view of the water tank 81 of the second embodiment. The same numerical mark is given to the parts that are the same as those in the first embodiment. A rigid material 107 is made of metal such as stainless steel, formed to be cylindrical. The rigid material 107 extends from the tank lid 95 through to approximately the center of the water tank 81 . Other parts are similar to those in the first embodiment.

As can be seen from FIG. 9 , when the operational portion 12 is inclined, the flexible tube 87 is bent so as to be pivotable about one end of the rigid material, like the swing of a pendulum. As mentioned above, the end of the rigid material 107 is provided near the center of the water tank 81 . In other words, the pivot point of the flexible tube 87 , according to the movement of the operational portion 12 , exists near the center of the spherical water tank 81 . Therefore, regardless of the inclination of the operational portion 12 , the end of the flexible tube 87 stays in the deepest portion of the liquid so that the flexible tube 87 is able to supply liquid to the probe 11 even when the amount of the liquid becomes low.

As mentioned above, according to the present invention, a flexible tube which is bendable has a weight at one end to stay in a liquid inside a tank regardless of the inclination of the operational portion during operation. Further, a device which supplies liquid and air is fixed to the operational portion. Therefore, the present invention is able to improve the portability and the ease of operation of a portable endoscope.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, obviously many modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in this art without departing from the scope of the invention.

The present disclosure relates to subject matter contained in Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-249898 (filed on Aug. 21, 2001) which is expressly incorporated herein, by reference, in its entirety.