Camera operating device for endoscope

Claim 2

An endoscope in combination with a photographic camera having a shutter release means in the camera, said endoscope comprising a head, a mounting body having an eyepiece, an optical fiber bundle connected between said head and said mounting body for transmitting an image of an object from the head to the eyepiece, remote control means such as a dial on said mounting body for controlling the direction of said head, and mounting means provided on the mounting body for demountably mounting said photographic camera on the eyepiece of the mounting body, wherein the improvement comprises camera operating means provided on the mounting body for operating the camera mounted on the eyepiece, connecting means provided in the mounting body, and said camera having connecting means operatively connected to said shutter release means in the camera and being positioned such that the connecting means automatically mates with the connecting means provided in said mounting body when the camera is mounted on the mounting body to automatically and operatively connect said camera operating means with the camera when the camera is mounted on the eyepiece, whereby the camera mounted on the eyepiece is operated by the camera operating means.

Claim 3

An endoscope in combination with photographic camera as defined in claim 1, in which said camera has a shutter, and said camera operating means is operative to release the shutter of said camera.

Claim 4

An endoscope in combination with a photographic camera as defined in claim 2, including a shutter release button which is depressably mounted on said mounting body adjacent to said remote control means, and said connecting means comprises an electrical switch means having a first pair of contacts and associated with the shutter release button so that the first pair of electrical contacts are put into contact with each other when the shutter release button is depressed, a second pair of electrical contacts disposed on the front face of said eyepiece, a third pair of electrical contacts disposed on the camera side, said shutter release means comprising a shutter control circuit in the camera, said second pair of electrical contacts being adapted to be put into contact respectively with said third pair of electrical contacts when the camera is mounted on the eyepiece, said second pair of contacts being operatively connected to the first pair of contacts and said third pair of contacts being connected to the shutter control circuit so that the circuit may be energized when the third pair of contacts are operatively put into contact with each other, whereby the shutter control circuit is energized when said shutter release button is depressed.

Claim 5

An endoscope in combination with a photographic camera as defined in claim 3 in which a normally opened electric switch is operatively connected to said third pair of contacts, and a shutter release button is provided on the camera for closing said electric switch in response to the depression of the shutter release button provided on the camera, whereby the shutter of the camera can be released either by the shutter release button provided on the mounting body of the endoscope or by the shutter release button provided on the camera.