Abstract: According to the centering mechanism of this invention for an electrically bendable endoscope, the control circuit, in response to an instruction for centering, computes residual bending angles in U/D and L/R directions based on the values obtained as a result of feeding values indicated by the U/D and L/R potentiometers to an A/D converter. The control circuit conducts bending angle adjustment by bending the tip of the endoscope in directions appropriate to cancel out residual bending angles: for example, if the tip has been bent upward immediately before the centering switch is activated, the control circuit causes the tip to be bent downward, and if the tip has been bent leftward immediately before the centering switch is activated, the control circuit causes the tip to be bent rightward. Then, the bending angle is adjusted to zero.

Abstract: According to the centering mechanism of this invention for an electrically bendable endoscope, the control circuit, in response to an instruction for centering, computes residual bending angles in U/D and L/R directions based on the values obtained as a result of feeding values indicated by the U/D and L/R potentiometers to an A/D converter. The control circuit conducts bending angle adjustment by bending the tip of the endoscope in directions appropriate to cancel out residual bending angles: for example, if the tip has been bent upward immediately before the centering switch is activated, the control circuit causes the tip to be bent downward, and if the tip has been bent leftward immediately before the centering switch is activated, the control circuit causes the tip to be bent rightward. Then, the bending angle is adjusted to zero.

Abstract: The endoscope system according to the present invention comprises a motor-bent endoscope in which a bendable portion is motor bendable; an operation switch for giving an instruction as to a bending amount including a bending direction and a bending position which the bendable portion should take as a result of bending; a motor for bending the bendable portion in accordance with a bending instruction signal; a detection portion for detecting the bent state of the bendable portion; a first driving power generating portion which generates power for driving the motor responsible for bending the bendable portion, in accordance with a difference between an instructed bending amount fed via the operation switch and a value representing the bending state of the bending portion and given by the detection portion; a second driving power generating portion for generating a pulse driving power having a predetermined magnitude; and a control portion whose control includes selecting one of the first and second driving powe

Abstract: A cyclonic type combustion apparatus that may be constituted so as to jet out a premixed gas made up of a mixture of a gaseous fuel and air into a cylindrical combustion chamber, from nozzle ports provided on an inside cylinder wall, the combustion apparatus being especially adapted for heating the liquid medium in hot water heaters, smoke tube boilers, and the like. For instance, a premixed gas obtained by mixing a gaseous fuel with air is jetted out into a cylindrical combustion chamber from a nozzle port opened on its inner peripheral surface along the inner peripheral surface in its tangential direction. The combustion chamber is disposed in a storage region containing heating medium water. The peripheral wall of the combustion chamber is constituted to be a heat conductive wall which is in contact with the heating medium water. The flame formed by the premixed gas jetted out from the nozzle port is cooled by the heating medium water.

Abstract: There is provided an apparatus for receiving nuclear magnetic resonance signals by applying high frequency energy to a living body placed in a static magnetic field. The distal end portion of the insertion section of the endoscope has a rigid distal end portion and a bendable portion. A housing portion for housing a high frequency coil is provided between the rigid distance portion and the bendable portion. This structure makes it possible to assemble the high frequency coil into the endoscope in a compact manner and can reduce a patient's burden when the insertion section is inserted in the body cavity of the patient.

Abstract: A diagnostic system using a nuclear magnetic resonance phenomenon comprises an external magnetic field generator, provided externally, for generating a magnetic field in a living body, a thin diameter member capable of being inserted into a body cavity and having flexibility, a high frequency coil, provided at a top end of the thin diameter member, for transmitting and receiving a high frequency, a nuclear magnetic resonance signal measuring device for receiving a nuclear magnetic resonance signal from the living body, and a transformer, provided between the high frequency coil and the nuclear magnetic resonance signal measuring device, for electrically isolating and separating the high frequency coil from the nuclear magnetic resonance signal measuring device in a manner such that the nuclear magnetic resonance signal is transmittable between the high frequency coil and the nuclear magnetic resonance signal measuring device.

Abstract: A cavity insert device comprising an insert section capable of being inserted into tracts and cavities, a detection circuit for detecting conditions of components making up the device, such as an observation device formed at the distal end side of the insert section, and a fuzzy inference section for synthetically determining a plurality of information signals outputted from the detection circuit and producing control signals to control the components. The fuzzy inference section employs inference rules which are empirically considered to be desirable, and control is made by the control signals obtained with the fuzzy inference. The device is thus operated in a nearly optimum state.

Abstract: The ultrasonic wave diagnosing apparatus of this invention comprises a controlling circuit controlling the rotation, advance and retreat of an ultrasonic wave oscillator, a DC power source feeding an electric power to a DC motor rotating the ultrasonic wave oscillator, a DC motor controlling circuit inputting a controlling signal from the above mentioned controlling circuit and controlling the voltage of the above mentioned DC power source, a photointerrupter detecting the position of the ultrasonic wave oscillator by the advance and retreat, a stepping motor advancing and retreating the above mentioned ultrasonic wave oscillator and a record controlling apparatus controlling an auxiliary memorizing apparatus which can record an ultrasonic wave image obtained by the above mentioned ultrasonic wave oscillator so that, in order to reverse the rotation by inverting the phases of controlling signals A and B of the stepping motor advancing and retreating the above mentioned ultrasonic wave oscillator, a position d

Abstract: A method of rendering an existing pipeline flexible, by cutting out an intermediate portion of a pipe in a ring form, inserting a pipe joint into a cutout position, and connecting the pipe joint to the pipe. The pipe joint used in this method includes a plurality of sleeves interconnected in a fluid-tight condition to be oscillatable relative to one another. The pipe joint is inserted into the cut-out position and connected to the pipe, with the plurality of sleeves substantially fixed to one another while being interconnected in the fluid-tight condition to be oscillatable relative to one another. The sleeves are thereafter released from the fixed state.

Abstract: An ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus having an ultrasonic observation system for observing an ultrasonic tomographic image of a portion of a body of patient and an optical observation system for observing an optical image of the portion, a direction indicator is superimposed on an ultrasonic tomographic image displayed on a monitor screen, and the direction indicator is rotated on the monitor screen in accordance with the rotation of the ultrasonic tomographic image. The ultrasonic diagnosing apparatus further has a system for compensating for a deviation between the ultrasonic tomographic image displayed on the monitor screen and the optical image due to a twist of a flexible shaft which is extended in an insertion section of the apparatus to rotate an ultrasonic vibrating element arranged in a distal end of the insertion section.

Abstract: A method of rendering an existing pipeline flexible, by cutting out an intermediate portion of a pipe in a ring form, inserting a pipe joint into a cutout position, and connecting the pipe joint to the pipe. The pipe joint used in this method includes a plurality of sleeves interconnected in a fluid-tight condition to be oscillatable relative to one another. The pipe joint is inserted into the cut-out position and connected to the pipe, with the plurality of sleeves substantially fixed to one another while being interconnected in the fluid-tight condition to be oscillatable relative to one another. The sleeves are thereafter released from the fixed state.

Abstract: A refrigeration cycle is a closed cycle constituted by a variable power compressor, a four-way valve, an indoor heat exchanger, an expansion valve and an outdoor heat exchanger. Air-conditioned air is supplied from the refrigeration cycle to a plurality of rooms to be subjected to air conditioning through a supply duct at a portion near a supply opening for supplying the air-conditioned air to a corresponding one of the rooms and controls a flow amount of the air-conditioned air supplied from the supply opening. Air is returned from each room to the refrigeration cycle through a return duct. The indoor heat exchanger of the refrigeration cycle has a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger. A system controller controls a drive frequency of the variable power compressor of the refrigeration cycle in accordance with a difference between the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger detected by the temperature sensor and a preset temperature of the indoor heat exchanger.

Abstract: In a probe for observing an ultrasonic image, which obtains the ultrasonic image of an object to be observed such as a body cavity by means of an ultrasonic transmitting and receiving means, a mechanical scanning operation of the ultrasonic transmitting and receiving means is performed by an ultrasonic driving means, and thus it is possible to obtain a good diagnosis image with no distortion and no flicker because noises of the driving means can be reduced.Therefore, an ultrasonic endoscope system and an ultrasonic video endoscope system etc. which utilize the probe mentioned above can display a good ultrasonic image and a good optical image.

Abstract: An endoscope apparatus for inspecting an object including an insertion section insertable into the object and having a distal end and a proximal end, an image guide arranged within the insertion section and having entrance and exit ends arranged at the distal and proximal ends of insertion section, respectively, an objective lens system arranged at the distal end of insertion section for forming an optical image of the object onto the entrance end of image guide, an eyepiece lens system arranged at the proximal end of insertion section for projecting the optical image transmitted through the image guide onto an observating position, a first piezo-electric bimorph arranged at the distal end of insertion section for vibrating the entrance end of image guide in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the insertion section over a given distance, a second piezo-electric element arranged at the proximal end of insertion section for vibrating the exit end of image guide in the same direction and over the

Abstract: An ultrasonic endoscope according to the present invention comprises an insertion portion having a hard distal end portion. A first holding member is provided to the hard distal end portion, and an ultrasonic vibrator is mounted on the first holding member. A second holding member, detachably mounted with respect to the first holding member, is provided at the hard distal end portion, and an observation optical system is mounted on the second holding member. The second holding member is fixed to the first holding member by a fixing means. In the ultrasonic endoscope with the above arrangement, the first holder for holding the ultrasonic vibrator can be separated from the second holder for holding the observation optical system.

Abstract: This unit is for stopping hemorrhage by supplying a current for heating to a semi-conductive thermal element of small heat capacity to insure good heat response which is incorporated in the distal extremity of a slender probe, and possesses a means to recognize whether, or not, voltage fall between the both ends of the thermal element is within the permissible range in order to make it possible to detect qualitative deterioration of thermal element.

Abstract: An endoscope system includes an endoscope, an endoscope camera and a light source device. The light source device has an error detection unit for detecting an error of communication data and an error recovery unit for performing an error recovery operation in correspondence with an error content detected by the error detection unit.

Abstract: A lamp control control circuit has triacs for controlling a current from an AC power supply and supplying a controlled current to lamps; a phase angle control unit for generating phase angle control pulses for a soft start; switching controllers for triggering the triacs in response to phase angle control pulses, respectively; and switches for selecting the lamp which is to be energized. The control circuit has additional switches for detecting the lamp selecting operation of the switches. The phase angle control unit is started in response to a signal from those switches.

Abstract: A medical capsule device comprises a capsule body having a chamber formed inside and a communicating path for communicating the chamber with outside, a movable member arranged in the chamber and movable between a liquid-receiving position at which the volume of said chamber is made largest and a liquid-pushing position at which the volume of said chamber is made smallest, and a coiled operating member made of shape memory alloy heated by ultrasonic wave to move the movable member to liquid-receiving and -pushing positions selectively.

Abstract: An endoscopic photographing apparatus comprises an endoscope, an endoscopic camera and a light supply unit. A CPU is incorporated into at least one of the endoscopic camera and light supply unit to discriminate the kind of the other. The CPU achieves its kind discrimination depending upon whether a response is present or not after a certain time period since the generation of a flag signal. Further, the CPU achieves its kind discrimination depending upon whether it receives the flag signal or not within a certain time period since the start of its operation.