Patents by Inventor Akinori Shigihara

Akinori Shigihara has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 8216150
    Abstract: The present invention provides an ultrasound probe in which bend of a tip part is fixed only in a state that it is not bent in a direction orthogonal to a direction in which ultrasonic waves are emitted from an ultrasound generation source. To be specific, the ultrasound probe includes: a rod-like tip part inserted into a body cavity; an ultrasound emitting part placed at the tip part to emit ultrasonic waves to a subject; a first bending part for bending the tip part in a direction substantially orthogonal to the emission direction; and a fixing part configured to, when the first bending part is not bending the tip part toward any side of the direction orthogonal to the emission direction, lock a rotation member of the first bending part and inhibit the first bending part from bending the tip part in the direction substantially orthogonal to the emission direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2012
    Assignees: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation
    Inventors: Hideki Kosaku, Akinori Shigihara, Takashi Kubota, Yutaka Oonuki
  • Publication number: 20100179431
    Abstract: The present invention provides an ultrasound probe in which bend of a tip part is fixed only in a state that it is not bent in a direction orthogonal to a direction in which ultrasonic waves are emitted from an ultrasound generation source. To be specific, the ultrasound probe includes: a rod-like tip part inserted into a body cavity; an ultrasound emitting part placed at the tip part to emit ultrasonic waves to a subject; a first bending part for bending the tip part in a direction substantially orthogonal to the emission direction; and a fixing part configured to, when the first bending part is not bending the tip part toward any side of the direction orthogonal to the emission direction, lock a rotation member of the first bending part and inhibit the first bending part from bending the tip part in the direction substantially orthogonal to the emission direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 18, 2009
    Publication date: July 15, 2010
    Applicants: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation
    Inventors: Hideki Kosaku, Akinori Shigihara, Takashi Kubota, Yutaka Oonuki
  • Patent number: 6929602
    Abstract: In an endoscope apparatus, an air/water switch (15) that is provided in an operating section (9) of an endoscope (5) each generate an air feed on/off signal and a suction on/off signal, and air feed flow and suction flow signals that are responsive to the amount of depression of each of the switches, these signals being sent to a signal processing circuit (33). The signal processing circuit (33) controls a air/water feed control valve 40 and a suction force control valve 50, so as to control air/water feed flow and suction flow, a flow display being made by an indicator (65) on the screen (63) of a TV monitor (35).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2005
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Katsuya Hirakui, Akinori Shigihara
  • Publication number: 20030216617
    Abstract: In an endoscope apparatus, an air/water switch (15) that is provided in an operating section (9) of an endoscope (5) each generate an air feed on/off signal and a suction on/off signal, and air feed flow and suction flow signals that are responsive to the amount of depression of each of the switches, these signals being sent to a signal processing circuit (33). The signal processing circuit (33) controls a air/water feed control valve 40 and a suction force control valve 50, so as to control air/water feed flow and suction flow, a flow display being made by an indicator (65) on the screen (63) of a TV monitor (35).
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 20, 2003
    Publication date: November 20, 2003
    Applicant: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Katsuya Hirakui, Akinori Shigihara