Granted Patent B2

US 12,607,050 · App. 17/981,559 · Granted Apr 21, 2026

Inventor: Seiji Iwasaki (Hachioji, JP)

Assignee: Olympus Medical Systems Corp.

E05C9/043E05C21/00

Abstract

Claims (53)

1 . An operation portion for use with an endoscope, comprising:

a knob configured to rotate around a rotation shaft;

a lock button provided at the knob, the lock button configured to translate between a first position and a second position;

a first lock bar extending from an inside surface of the lock button;

a second lock bar extending from the inside surface of the lock button; and

a fixed wall provided in the knob,

wherein the first lock bar is separated from the second lock bar with the rotation shaft interposed therebetween,

wherein, when the lock button is in the second position, at least one of the first lock bar and the second lock bar penetrates completely through the fixed wall to prevent the knob from rotating around the rotation shaft, and

wherein, in a view along the rotation shaft, the lock button is located on an opposite side of the rotation shaft from the fixed wall.

2 . The operation portion according to claim 1 , wherein the fixed wall includes an elastic material, and

wherein, when the lock button is in the second position, the at least one of the first lock bar and the second lock bar penetrating completely through the fixed wall includes a distal end of the at least one of the first lock bar and the second lock bar piercing a surface of the elastic material.

3 . The operation portion according to claim 2 , wherein the fixed wall includes an opening portion, and

wherein the elastic material covers the opening portion.

4 . The operation portion according to claim 1 , wherein the fixed wall includes a wire net formed of metal, and

wherein, when the lock button is in the second position, the at least one of the first lock bar and the second lock bar penetrating completely through the fixed wall includes a distal end of the at least one of the first lock bar and the second lock bar piercing a mesh of a surface of the wire net.

5 . The operation portion according to claim 1 , wherein (i) a distal end of the at least one of the first lock bar and the second lock bar includes a bent portion configured to hook on the fixed wall or (ii) the at least one of the first lock bar and the second lock bar is an elastic material or both (i) and (ii).

6 . The operation portion according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a release button provided at the knob, the release button configured to translate between a third position and a fourth position, and

a release bar extending from an inside surface of the release button and configured to release the at least one of the first lock bar and the second lock bar from the fixed wall.

7 . The operation portion according to claim 6 , wherein the first lock bar extends along a first axis,

wherein the release bar extends along a second axis, and

wherein the first axis and the second axis are coaxial.

8 . The operation portion according to claim 7 , wherein the first axis and the second axis are oriented 90 degrees relative to the rotation shaft.

9 . The operation portion according to claim 1 , further comprising a biasing element generating a biasing force to bias the at least one of the first lock bar and the second lock bar in a radially outward direction such that the at least one of the first lock bar and the second lock bar is in the first position.

10 . The operation portion according to claim 9 , wherein the lock bar engages the fixed wall with a friction force, and

wherein the friction force is larger than the biasing force.

11 . The operation portion according to claim 1 , wherein the fixed wall extends 90° in a circumferential direction of the rotation shaft.

12 . The operation portion according to claim 1 , wherein the endoscope is a single-use endoscope.

13 . The operation portion according to claim 1 , further comprising:

an operation portion body;

an insertion portion provided distally relative to the operation portion body;

a turn locking mechanism provided in the knob, the turn locking mechanism comprising the lock button and the lock bar; and

a lock release mechanism provided in the knob, the lock release mechanism comprising a release button and a release bar.

14 . The operation portion according to claim 1 , wherein the lock button is configured to translate between the first position and the second position in a radial direction relative to the rotation shaft.

15 . The operation portion according to claim 1 , wherein, in a longitudinal direction relative to the rotation shaft, a longitudinal position of the fixed wall relative to the rotation shaft is maintained during translation of the lock button between the first position and the second position.

16 . The operation portion according to claim 1 , wherein the lock button is configured to translate between the first position and the second position along a translation axis, and

wherein the translation axis is oriented 90 degrees relative to the rotation shaft.

17 . A method for locking the operation portion according to claim 1 , the method comprising:

translating the lock button from the fist position to the second position; and

penetrating at least one of the first lock bar and the second lock bar completely through the fixed wall to prevent the knob from rotating around the rotation shaft.

18 . The method according to claim 17 , wherein the fixed wall includes a surface provided in a direction different from a rotation direction of the knob.

19 . An operation portion for use with an endoscope, comprising:

a knob configured to rotate around a rotation shaft;

a lock button provided at the knob, the lock button configured to translate between a first position and a second position;

a lock bar extending from an inside surface of the lock button,

a fixed wall provided in the knob;

a release button provided at the knob; and

a release bar extending from an inside surface of the release button,

wherein, when the lock button is in the second position, the lock bar engages the fixed wall to prevent the knob from rotating around the rotation shaft,

wherein, in a view along the rotation shaft, the lock button is located on an opposite side of the rotation shaft from the fixed wall,

wherein the release button is configured to translate between a third position and a fourth position,

wherein the release bar is configured to release the lock bar from the fixed wall, and

wherein the lock bar extends along a first axis, the release bar extends along a second axis, and the first axis and the second axis are coaxial.

Continuity (2)

References Cited (11)