JPH11123193A - Rotary driving device for ultrasonic endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rotary driving device for an ultrasonic endoscope using a small-sized and inexpensive rotation angle position detection means capable of obtaining a prescribed resolution in the ultrasonic endoscope of a mechanical scanning type. SOLUTION: This rotary driving device for the ultrasonic endoscope is constituted so as to obtain ultrasonic diagnostic images by rotationally scanning an ultrasonic vibrator 12 through a deceleration mechanism composed of gear columns 7, 10a, 10b and 11 or the like and a transmission shaft by the rotary force of a motor 6. By providing light shielding members 9 and 15 fixed to a gear shaft rotated faster than the rotating speed of the ultrasonic vibrator 12 and sensors 16 and 17 for generating pulses by the presence/absence of the light shielding members, the prescribed resolution is obtained without providing an expensive rotary encoder, and since miniaturization is performed, operability is improved and a manufacture cost is lowered.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasonic ultrasonic transducer which is used in a mechanical scanning type ultrasonic endoscope which is inserted into a body and diagnoses by ultrasonic waves. The present invention relates to a rotation drive device for an endoscope.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ultrasonic endoscope comprises an operation section and an elongated insertion section having an ultrasonic vibrator installed at the tip thereof. As shown in FIG. 6, a motor as driving means installed in the operation section. 6
And the ultrasonic transducer 1 at the tip by the driving force transmitting means 25.
2 is rotationally scanned. The rotational angle position detector for detecting the ultrasonic scanning angle is configured such that the rotary encoder 26 is connected to the transmission shaft 13 so that the rotational speeds of the ultrasonic transducer 12 and the rotary encoder 26 are the same. ing.

Since the rotary encoder 26 rotates in the same manner as the ultrasonic oscillator 12, one pulse is obtained at a predetermined rotation angle of the ultrasonic oscillator 12, and a plurality of pulses are output in one rotation. The rotation angle position can be detected based on the number of pulses. By triggering a transmission signal for generating an ultrasonic pulse by the rotation angle position detection pulse, it is possible to obtain an ultrasonic diagnostic image having a scanning line for each predetermined angle.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-37943 discloses an angular position detector provided in a distal end component of an insertion section for generating a signal at a predetermined rotation angle, and an angle change detector for detecting an angle change in an operation section. A technique in which detectors are separately arranged is disclosed. Also in this case, the angle change detector is installed so as to rotate at the same speed as the rotation speed of the ultrasonic transducer.

[0005]

The conventional ultrasonic endoscope and the ultrasonic scanner for inspecting the inside of a body cavity disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-37943 have a rotational angle position detector having the same rotational speed as the ultrasonic transducer. It is installed to rotate at the speed of
There is a problem that it is impossible to obtain a resolution higher than the resolution of the rotation angle position detector.

Further, in order to obtain an ultrasonic tomographic image having a resolution sufficient for diagnosis, it is necessary to use a large rotation angle position detector which generates several hundred pulses per rotation. However, there is a problem in that the size of the device is increased, the operability is poor, and the manufacturing cost is increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and uses a small-sized and inexpensive rotational angle position detecting means in a mechanical scanning ultrasonic endoscope which can obtain a predetermined resolution. An object of the present invention is to provide a rotation drive device for an ultrasonic endoscope.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided an ultrasonic vibrator provided at the distal end of an insertion portion, a driving means for driving the ultrasonic vibrator to rotate, and a driving force of the driving means for the ultrasonic vibrator. A driving force transmitting means for transmitting to the ultrasonic endoscope rotation driving device that controls the driving means so as to scan the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the ultrasonic transducer. The driving force transmitting means is provided with a decelerating means for reducing the rotation speed of the driving means and transmitting it to the ultrasonic vibrator, and a light-shielding member which is provided on a member which rotates at a higher speed than the ultrasonic vibrator and has a light-shielding portion. Means and a sensor for generating a pulse depending on the presence or absence of the light-shielding portion.

With such a configuration, the operability is good and the resolution of the rotation angle of the ultrasonic transducer can be improved without increasing the size of the apparatus.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

<First Embodiment> An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Structure) FIGS. 1 to 5 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an overall view showing an ultrasonic endoscope, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing driving force transmitting means in an operation section, FIG. 3 is a front view showing the shape of the first light shielding member, FIG. 4 is a front view showing the shape of the second light shielding member, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a modification of the driving force transmitting means.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ultrasonic endoscope according to the first embodiment comprises an operation section 1, an insertion section 2, and a tip section 3 provided at the tip of the insertion section 2. An illumination cable 4 for illuminating the distal end of the component 3 and an ultrasonic cable 5 for transmitting and receiving an ultrasonic transmission / reception signal are inserted through the distal end component 3 and the insertion section 2 and sent out of the operation section 1. doing.

As shown in FIG. 2, a motor 6 as a driving means is provided inside the operation unit 1. A gear 7 and a first light-shielding member 9 (FIG. 3) having 16 light-shielding portions 8 on the circumference are coaxially fixed to the rotation shaft of the motor 6.

The intermediate gear 10a and the intermediate gear 10b are integrally formed, and the number of teeth of the intermediate gear 10a is larger than that of the intermediate gear 10b. The intermediate gear 10a meshes with the gear 7 having fewer teeth than the intermediate gear 10a, and the intermediate gear 10b
The gear 11 meshes with the gear 11 having more teeth than the intermediate gear 10b.

The rotating shaft of the gear 11 transmits a rotational force to the ultrasonic vibrator 12 in the distal end component 3 and passes through the insertion portion 2, and one light shielding portion on the circumference. A second light-blocking member 15 (FIG. 4) having 14 is coaxially fixed.

In this embodiment, the gear 7 and the intermediate gear 10a
Is set to 1: 4, and the ratio of the number of teeth between the intermediate gear 10b and the gear 11 is set to 1: 4. Therefore, every time the gear 7, which is coaxial with the motor 6, rotates 16 times, the ultrasonic oscillator The gear 11 that is coaxial with the transmission shaft 13 that transmits the rotational force to the rotation 12 rotates once.

That is, the ratio of the number of revolutions of the gear 7 coaxial with the motor 6 to the number of revolutions of the gear 11 coaxial with the transmission shaft 13 for driving the ultrasonic vibrator 12 is set to 16: 1. A deceleration mechanism is configured so that the ultrasonic transducer 12 makes one rotation while the motor 6 makes 16 rotations.

In the vicinity of the first light-blocking member 9, a photo-interrupter 16 for transmitting one pulse each time one light-blocking portion 8 passes is installed in the operation section 1. In the vicinity, a photo interrupter 17 that emits one pulse each time one light shielding unit 14 passes once, that is, each time the ultrasonic transducer 12 makes one rotation, is installed in the operation unit 1.

Therefore, when the first light-blocking member 9 coaxial with the motor 6 makes one rotation, the 16 light-blocking sections 8 pass through the photointerrupter 16 and generate 16 pulses. Motor 6
Is rotated 16 times, the photo interrupter 16 generates 256 pulses, the ultrasonic vibrator 12 rotates once, and the photo interrupter 17 generates one pulse.

(Action) The ultrasonic endoscope rotary driving device thus constructed is configured such that the ultrasonic transducer is rotated while the motor 6 rotates 16 times and the signal of 256 pulses is transmitted from the photo interrupter 16. 12 rotates once, and one pulse is transmitted from the photo interrupter 17. Then, the transmission circuit for generating the ultrasonic pulse is triggered in synchronization with the two signals of the rising edge and the falling edge of one pulse output from the photo-interrupter 16, so that the ultrasonic oscillator 12 One revolution generates 512 ultrasonic pulses. In addition, the pulse output from the photo interrupter 17 detects that the ultrasonic transducer 12 has reached a predetermined rotational position in the ultrasonic endoscope, and displays the ultrasonic tomographic image on a monitor (not shown). It is an index for determining the vertical position of the ultrasonic tomographic image on the monitor.

(Effect) In the rotary driving device for an ultrasonic endoscope according to the present embodiment, a speed reducing mechanism is constituted by gears, and a pulse generating means is provided on the shaft side of the motor 6 which rotates at a high speed. A large number of pulse signals can be generated during one rotation of the ultrasonic transducer 12, and the position information of the rotational angle of the ultrasonic transducer 12 can be accurately detected. Therefore, a high-quality ultrasonic tomographic image can be obtained, and a large and expensive rotary encoder is not required. Therefore, the operation unit 1 can be formed in a small size, so that the operability is good and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. .

In the present embodiment, the gear 7, the intermediate gear 10a / 10b, and the gear 11,
As described above, if the rotation ratio between the motor 6 and the ultrasonic vibrator 12 is an integer, the operation is not limited to two, four or more, or whatever the ratio of the number of teeth. The effect remains the same.

The number and location of the light-shielding portions 8 formed on the first light-shielding member 9 are determined as long as a predetermined number of pulses can be generated during one rotation of the ultrasonic transducer 12. Even if a plurality of holes are formed inside the first light shielding member 9 in any number and place, for example, the function and effect are not changed.

If the second light-blocking member 15 can be set to the same rotational speed as the ultrasonic vibrator 12, the second light-shielding member 15 can be provided at any other position such as via a gear or the like. The effect remains unchanged. Further, the second light-shielding member 15 is for detecting the rotational position of the ultrasonic transducer 12 in the ultrasonic endoscope, and setting the direction of the ultrasonic tomographic image on the monitor. If it is not necessary to set the ultrasonic tomographic image in an arbitrary direction, it may be omitted.

Although the speed reduction mechanism has been described in the form of a gear, as shown in FIG. 5, a belt 18, a pulley 19 fixed coaxially with the motor 6 and the first light shielding member 9, a transmission shaft 13 It is possible to apply a known speed reduction mechanism, such as one configured with the second light blocking member 15 and a pulley 20 fixed coaxially.

[Appendix] As described in detail above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the following configuration can be obtained.
That is,

[Supplementary Note 1] An ultrasonic vibrator provided at the distal end of the insertion portion, driving means for driving the ultrasonic vibrator to rotate, and driving force transmission for transmitting the driving force of the driving means to the ultrasonic vibrator Means, by controlling the driving means, in the rotary drive for ultrasonic endoscope so as to scan the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the ultrasonic transducer, the driving force transmission means, A speed reducing means for reducing the rotation speed of the driving means and transmitting the reduced speed to the ultrasonic vibrator; a light shielding means provided on a member which rotates at a higher speed than the rotational speed of the ultrasonic vibrator, having a light shielding part; And a sensor for generating a pulse in accordance with the presence or absence of the endoscope.

[Supplementary Note 2] The ultrasonic endoscope rotation drive device according to Supplementary Note 1 further forms an ultrasonic diagnostic image when a pulse generated by the light shielding unit and the sensor rises and falls. Pulse control means for generating an ultrasonic pulse for use.

[Supplementary Note 3] The rotational drive device for an ultrasonic endoscope according to Supplementary notes 1 and 2, wherein the deceleration means includes:
At least a part was constituted by a gear.

[Supplementary Note 4] The rotational drive device for an ultrasonic endoscope according to Supplementary notes 1 and 2, wherein the deceleration means includes:
At least a part was constituted by a driving force transmission means by a belt.

[Supplementary Note 5] In the rotation drive device for an ultrasonic endoscope according to Supplementary Notes 1 to 4, the sensor is an optical sensor.

[Supplementary Note 6] The rotary drive device for an ultrasonic endoscope according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 5, wherein the light shielding means comprises:
It has at least one light-shielding blade.

[0033]

As described above, according to the rotary driving device for an ultrasonic endoscope of the present invention, a predetermined resolution can be obtained and the size can be reduced in the mechanical scanning type ultrasonic endoscope. The operability is good, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall view showing an ultrasonic endoscope according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a driving force transmission unit in an operation unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a shape of a first light shielding member of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a shape of a second light shielding member of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a driving force transmitting unit according to a modified example of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a driving force transmission unit according to the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Operation part 2 Insertion part 3 Tip construction part 6 Motor 7, 10a, 10b, 11 Gear 8, 14 Light-shielding part 9, 15 Light-shielding member 12 Ultrasonic vibrator 13 Transmission shaft 16, 17 Photo interrupter 18 Belt 19, 20 Pulley

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An ultrasonic transducer provided at the distal end of an insertion portion, a driving means for rotating and driving the ultrasonic transducer, and a driving force transmitting means for transmitting a driving force of the driving means to the ultrasonic transducer. In the rotation drive device for an ultrasonic endoscope, which controls the drive unit to scan the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the ultrasonic transducer, the drive force transmission unit includes the drive unit, A speed reducing means for reducing the rotation speed of the means and transmitting the same to the ultrasonic vibrator; a light shielding means provided on a member rotating at a higher speed than the rotational speed of the ultrasonic vibrator, having a light shielding portion; And a sensor for generating a pulse according to the above.