JP2009153901A - Endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely prevent inconvenience such as disconnection and peeling-off of solder by absorbing force applied to a signal line. <P>SOLUTION: A rigid tip section 14 incorporates a printed circuit board 40 mounting an image sensor 39, and a multicore cable 28 formed by bundling a plurality of signal lines 42 and connected to the printed circuit board 40 by soldering. The multicore cable 28 has a stopper 51. A forceps tube type rigid tube 45 has a movement restriction member 52. The movement restriction member 52 has a guide section 54 loosely inserting the multicore cable 28 into a loose insertion hole, and a fixing section 55 located at the outer circumference of the rigid tube 45 for fixing a fixed hole. When the multicore cable 28 moves more than its movement tolerance length, the stopper 51 abuts on the guide section 54 to prevent its movement. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope including a sensor at a distal end of an insertion portion.

  The endoscope has an insertion portion that is inserted into the body. The insertion portion is provided with a distal end rigid portion, a bending portion, and a flexible tube portion in order from the distal end. The hard end portion is provided with an objective lens, an illumination lens, a forceps outlet, an air supply / water supply port, and the like. The distal end hard part is formed of a hard metal material or the like, and the flexible tube part is a part that connects the operation part and the bending part in a thin and long shape, and has flexibility. Yes. The bending portion is bent in any of the up, down, left, and right directions by rotating the operation knob provided in the operation portion at hand. Thereby, the insertion property to the patient can be made smooth, and the distal end hard portion can be directed in a desired direction in the body cavity.

  Inside the insertion portion, a light guide for guiding illumination light to the illumination lens at the distal end hard portion, a forceps tube, and an image sensor for imaging an observation image formed by the objective lens at the distal end hard portion are connected. A plurality of contents such as a multi-core cable in which signal wires are bundled and an air / water supply tube are loosely inserted, and an angle wire for bending the bending portion is also inserted. In addition, in the ultrasonic endoscope, a multi-core cable connected to an ultrasonic transducer disposed at the distal end portion is inserted in addition to the above contents and the like.

  An image sensor, such as a CCD, disposed inside the hard tip portion is in the form of a bare chip that is not packaged, and the electrodes on the chip are connected to the electrodes on the circuit board. To this circuit board, signal lines inside a multicore cable arranged through the insertion portion are connected by soldering or the like. Moreover, in the ultrasonic endoscope, a multi-core cable connected to an ultrasonic transducer provided at the distal end portion of the endoscope is also provided.

  By the way, the bending portion is inserted into the body and bent into various shapes, whereby the contents loosely inserted into the insertion portion can move in the radial direction of the insertion portion and also in the longitudinal direction. However, when a bending or pulling force is applied to the multi-core cable, there are cases in which inconveniences such as disconnection or removal of solder occur in a portion connected to the electrode of the circuit board.

Therefore, an endoscope provided with a signal line fixing tool for fixing a signal line is known (Patent Document 1). The signal line fixing tool is fixed in such a manner that the fitting hole provided at one end is fixed to the outer periphery of the forceps tube and the fixing hole provided at the other end bundles and tightens the signal lines. This fixing is a fixing that prevents movement in both the insertion direction of the insertion portion and the circumferential direction of the forceps tube. Thereby, the signal line is fixed to the forceps tube. In addition, the forceps tube is connected to a flexible tube made of synthetic resin placed inside the curved portion and a hard tube placed inside the hard end of the tip. The hard tube is fixed inside the hard tip. Has been. And since the fitting hole of a signal wire fixing tool is being fixed to the outer periphery of a flexible tube or a hard tube, a signal wire is fixed reliably.
JP 11-216112 A

  However, as in the invention described in Patent Document 2, if the signal line is firmly fixed inside the distal end of the insertion portion, conversely, stress is applied to the multicore cable at the root of the insertion portion, that is, inside the operation portion. Therefore, inconvenience such as disconnection of signal lines in the multicore cable may occur. Therefore, if the contents such as the multi-core cable are fixed firmly, stress is applied to the places other than the fixed places, and conversely, if they are left free without being fixed, the stress is applied to weak places such as the joint between the signal line and the circuit board. Concentration caused inconveniences such as disconnection, and there was a drawback that it was difficult to balance the degree of fixing and the degree of freedom.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances. For stresses that do not cause inconveniences such as wire breakage, the movement associated therewith is allowed, and for the stresses that cause inconvenience, further movement is prevented. An object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope in which the durability of a signal line or cable is improved.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the endoscope of the present invention, a plurality of signal lines or a plurality of signal lines inside the distal end are connected to the contents arranged inside the distal end of the insertion portion inserted into the body. A movement preventing means is provided which allows a predetermined amount of movement of the bundled cables in the backward direction away from the sensor and prevents further movement.

  The movement preventing means includes a stopper that protrudes and is fixed to the outer periphery of the signal line or the cable; a guide portion that loosely inserts a plurality of signal lines or cables in the rear direction of the stopper, and one end of the guide portion And a movement restricting member having a fixed portion that is connected and fixed to the content at the other end inside the tip. In this case, when the signal line or the cable moves beyond a predetermined amount in the rearward direction away from the sensor, the movement restricting member comes into contact with the stopper to prevent the movement.

  Further, a pair of stoppers may be provided on both sides of the guide portion so as to prevent a movement exceeding a predetermined amount in the forward direction.

  Further, the stopper may be omitted, the movement restricting member may be divided into two parts, and the two divided members may be connected so as to be movable in the insertion direction. In this case, the movement preventing means includes a first fixing portion fixed to a plurality of signal lines or cables inside the tip, and a second fixing portion fixed to the contents arranged inside the tip. Is desirable. The second fixing portion connects the first fixing portion so as to be movable in at least the insertion direction, allows the first fixing portion to move in the insertion direction by a predetermined amount, and moves beyond the predetermined amount. What is necessary is just to make it the structure which blocks.

  In addition, when the allowable movement length of the multicore cable is long, it is preferable to use a three-part configuration in which the first and second fixing portions are connected by a connecting portion that is a separate member. In this case, the connecting portion may be configured to allow a predetermined amount of movement of the first fixing portion in the insertion direction with respect to the second fixing portion and prevent movement exceeding the predetermined amount.

  In addition to the signal lines and cables, the contents include a plurality of contents such as a light guide, a forceps tube or a flexible tube or a hard tube connected thereto, a jet spray tube, and an air / water supply tube. Any one of the objects may be used.

  According to the endoscope of the present invention, the movement preventing means is provided inside the distal end, and with this movement preventing means, a plurality of signal lines or cables move with respect to the contents in at least the rearward direction away from the sensor. In order to allow movement by a predetermined amount and prevent movement exceeding the predetermined amount, movement of the signal line or cable is prevented against stress that causes inconvenience inside the tip, and disconnection or solder removal inside the tip is prevented. For stress that can be reliably prevented and that does not cause any inconvenience inside the tip, the signal line or cable is given a degree of freedom and stress is not applied to other parts such as the operation unit side. Durability is improved and life can be extended.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic endoscope 10 has an elongated shape including an insertion portion 11, an operation portion 12, a universal cord portion 13, and the like. The insertion portion 11 is formed in a tubular shape, and is composed of a distal end rigid portion 14, a bending portion 15, and a flexible tube portion 16 in order from the distal end. One end of the universal cord portion 13 is connected to the operation portion 12, and the connector portion 18 at the other end is connected to a processor device 19, an air supply device (not shown), a light source device (not shown), and the like. The processor device 19 is provided with a video signal processing unit for performing image processing on an image pickup signal obtained from an image pickup sensor built in the hard tip portion 14 and encoding it into a composite signal or an RGB component signal.

  The distal end hard portion 14 is formed of a hard metal material or the like, and the flexible tube portion 16 is a portion connecting the operation portion 12 and the bending portion 15 with a small diameter and a long shape, and is flexible. have. The bending portion 15 bends in the vertical and horizontal directions as the wire inserted in the insertion portion 11 is pushed and pulled in conjunction with the operation of the angle knob 12 a provided in the operation portion 12. Thereby, the distal end hard portion 14 is directed in a desired direction in the body cavity, and the observation site imaged by the imaging sensor is displayed on the display unit 20 via the video signal processing circuit. Reference numeral 21 denotes a forceps port through which the treatment tool is inserted, and the forceps port 21 is connected to a forceps tube 26 disposed in the insertion portion 11 as indicated by a dotted line.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the flexible tube portion 16 includes light guides 24 and 25 for guiding illumination light to the illumination lens of the distal end hard portion 14, a forceps tube 26, an air supply, inside the flexible tube 23. A plurality of contents such as the water supply tube 27, the multicore cable 28, and the jet injection tube 29 are loosely inserted. The multi-core cable 28 is a cable for mainly sending a signal for driving the imaging sensor from the video signal processing unit and sending an imaging signal obtained from the imaging sensor to the video signal processing unit. The cross-sectional shape is covered with a protective coating. In addition, the code | symbol 30 is an angle wire for operating the bending part 15, and is penetrated in the close_contact | adherence coil pipe 30a.

  The flexible tube 23 is called a screw tube 23a called a flex that protects the inside while maintaining flexibility in order from the inside, and a blade that covers the screw tube 23a and prevents the extension of the screw tube 23a. It is composed of three layers: a net 23b and an outer layer 23c having a resin deposited on the net 23b.

  As shown in FIG. 3, an observation window 31, illumination windows 32 and 33, a jet injection outlet 34, a forceps outlet 35, and an air / water supply nozzle 36 are exposed on the distal end surface 14 a of the distal end hard portion 14. Is provided. The observation window 31 is provided with a part of an objective optical system for capturing image light of a site to be observed in the body cavity. The illumination windows 32 and 33 incorporate a part of an illumination lens, and guide the illumination light emitted from the light source device by the light guides 24 and 25 to irradiate the observation site in the body cavity. The forceps outlet 35 communicates with a forceps port 21 provided in the operation unit 12 via a forceps tube 26. The air / water supply nozzle 36 injects cleaning water or air for removing dirt from the observation window 31 by operating an air / water supply button provided in the operation unit 12. The jet injection outlet 34 injects fluid supplied from the air supply device, such as air or carbon dioxide gas, toward the site to be observed.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a part of the objective optical system 37 is exposed in the observation window 31. The illumination light emitted from the illumination windows 32 and 33 is incident on the observation window 31 after reflecting the observation site. Subject light incident from the observation window 31 enters the prism 38 through the objective optical system 37 and is bent inside the prism 38 to form an image on the imaging surface of the image sensor 39. The imaging sensor 39, for example, a CCD, is in the form of a bare chip that is not packaged, and the electrode on the chip is connected to the terminal 41 of the printed circuit board 40 by a method such as wire bonding, TAB (tape automated bonding), or flip chip. It is connected to the. This printed circuit board 40 is also fixed inside the hard tip portion 14.

  A plurality of signal lines 42 exposed from the rear end of the multicore cable 28 are connected to the printed circuit board 40 by soldering or the like to terminals 41 of the printed circuit board 40. The signal line 42 is an insulated wire in which a conductor is covered with an insulator. The multi-core cable 28 has a protective film removed before the printed circuit board 40 and exposes a plurality of signal lines 42. The terminal 41 is connected to a conductor from which the insulator of the signal line 42 is peeled off.

  A flexible tube 44 made of synthetic resin is disposed inside the bending portion 15. A forceps tube 26 is connected to one end of the flexible tube 44, and a hard tube 45 disposed inside the distal end hard portion 14 is connected to the other end. The rigid tube 45 is fixed inside the distal end rigid portion 14, and the distal end is connected to the forceps outlet 35.

  When the flexible tube portion 16 is bent or the bending portion 15 is bent, the base of the multicore cable 28 is fixed inside the operation portion 12, so that the multicore cable 28 faces the operation portion 12. As a result, the signal line 42 is also pulled with respect to the printed circuit board 40. Therefore, a movement preventing means 50 for restricting the movement of the multi-core cable 28 to a predetermined amount is arranged inside the distal end hard portion 14 or the bending portion 15.

  The movement blocking means 50 includes a stopper 51 and a movement restricting member 52. The stopper 51 protrudes and is fixed to the outer periphery of the multi-core cable 28 inside the distal end hard portion 14 or the bending portion 15. As shown in FIG. 6, the movement restricting member 52 is a member that integrally includes a guide portion 54 and a fixing portion 55. The guide portion 54 is disposed away from the stopper 51 by a predetermined length in the rear direction (operation portion direction), and has a loose insertion hole 56 into which the multicore cable 28 is loosely inserted. The fixing portion 55 has a fixing hole 57 that fits to the outer periphery of the hard tube 45, and is fixed to the hard tube 45. The loose insertion hole 56 may be provided with a notch portion that is partially opened so as to have a C-shaped cross section with respect to the multi-core cable 28 and inserted through the notch portion. good.

  When the multi-core cable 28 is pulled toward the operation unit 12 beyond a predetermined length, the signal line 42 is disconnected or the tip of the signal line 42 is unsoldered. The predetermined length at this time is the allowable movement length of the multi-core cable 28. Therefore, the movement restricting member 52 is fixed at a position where the guide portion 54 is separated from the stopper 51 by the movement allowable length when no stress such as tension is applied.

  When the multi-core cable 28 moves backward within the allowable movement length due to a bending operation or the like, the stopper 51 does not come into contact with the guide portion 54, so that the multi-core cable 28 is allowed to move. When the multicore cable 28 moves rearward beyond the allowable movement length, the stopper 51 comes into contact with the guide portion 54 as shown in FIG. Thereby, inconveniences such as disconnection of the signal line 42 and removal of solder can be reliably prevented without causing stress in other portions. When the bending operation is finished, the load disappears, so that the stopper 51 returns to the original position away from the guide portion 54. The stopper 51 and the movement restricting member 52 are preferably made of metal or a synthetic resin material having electrical insulation.

  In the movement blocking means of the above-described embodiment, only movement exceeding the allowable movement length in the backward direction of the multicore cable 28 is blocked, but movement in the forward direction may also be blocked. In this case, a pair of stoppers may be provided on both sides of the guide portion so as to prevent movement in excess of a predetermined amount in the forward direction.

  Furthermore, when the permissible movement length of the multi-core cable 28 is long, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the multi-core cable 28 moves with three parts including the first fixing portion 61, the connecting portion 62, and the second fixing portion 63. What is necessary is just to comprise the prevention means 60. FIG. The first fixing portion 61 is provided with a first fixing hole 64 that is fixed to the outer periphery of the multicore cable 28. The second fixing portion 63 is provided with a second fixing hole 65 that is fixed to the outer periphery of the hard tube 45. The connecting portion 62 intersects the axis of the second fixing hole 65 and the first link portion 67 that rotatably connects the first fixing portion 61 around the first axis 66 that intersects the axis of the first fixing hole 64. And a second link portion 69 that rotatably connects the second fixing portion 63 about the second shaft 68 that is configured to be provided.

  When the multi-core cable 28 moves backward within the allowable movement length, as shown in FIG. 10, the connecting portion 62 is counterclockwise about the second shaft 68 with respect to the second fixing portion 63. Since it rotates in the direction, the rearward movement of the multi-core cable 28 is allowed. When the multi-core cable 28 moves beyond the allowable movement length, the connecting portion 62 cannot rotate any further, and the movement is prevented. When the bending operation is completed, the load is eliminated, so that the movement preventing unit 60 returns to the original state where the first fixing unit 61 is positioned on the second fixing unit 63. Conversely, the movement of the multi-core cable 28 in the forward direction is permitted because the connecting portion 62 rotates clockwise about the second shaft 68 with respect to the second fixed portion 63 as shown in FIG. Movement within the length is allowed. When the multi-core cable 28 moves beyond the allowable movement length, the connecting portion 62 cannot rotate any further, and the movement is prevented.

  The first and second fixing portions 61 and 63 and the connecting portion 62 are preferably made of an electrically insulating material. In addition, the connecting portion 62 is made of a flexible material so that the second fixing portion 63 is not stressed even when the multicore cable 28 is moved in a direction other than the insertion direction. On the other hand, since the 1st fixing | fixed part 61 can be tracked, it is desirable. Further, as the connecting portion 62, the first fixing portion 61 is rotatably supported with respect to the second fixing portion 63, but instead of this, the first fixing portion 61 is supported with respect to the second fixing portion 63. You may make it support so that sliding is possible in an insertion direction. In this case, a long guide groove along the insertion direction and a guide pin that engages with the guide groove may be provided.

  Further, the connecting portion 62 may be omitted and a two-part configuration including the first and second fixing portions may be employed. In this case, if the second fixing portion has a structure in which one end is fixed to the hard tube 45 and a link portion connected to the first fixing portion is provided at the other end so as to be movable at least in the insertion direction. Good.

  In each of the above embodiments, the fixing portion 55 or the second fixing portion 63 is fixed to the hard tube 45, but a flexible tube 44 may be used. In addition to the forceps tube system tube, the contents to which the fixing portion 55 or the second fixing portion 63 is attached include the hard portions of the linear light guides 24 and 25, the cylindrical air / water supply tube 27, and Any of the cylindrical jet injection tubes 29 may be used.

  In each of the above embodiments, the electronic endoscope 10 has been described, but the present invention can also be applied to an ultrasonic endoscope. In this case, for example, the present invention may be applied to a signal line wired between the multi-core cable and the ultrasonic probe.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the use condition of an electronic endoscope. It is sectional drawing which shows the inside of a flexible tube part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the front-end | tip of a front-end | tip hard part. It is the cross section which looked at the inside of a front-end | tip hard part from the side surface. It is explanatory drawing which looked at the connection with the signal wire | line between a printed circuit board and a multicore cable from the plane. It is explanatory drawing which shows the movement control member attached to a multicore cable and a rigid pipe. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which prevents the movement of a multicore cable. It is a front view which shows another embodiment of a movement prevention means. It is sectional drawing which shows the movement prevention means demonstrated in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which prevents the movement to the back of a multicore cable. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which blocks | prevents the movement to the front of a multicore cable.

Explanation of symbols

28 Multi-core cable 40 Printed circuit board 42 Signal line 45 Rigid tube 50, 60 Movement prevention means 51 Stopper 52 Movement restricting member 56 Free insertion hole 57 Fixed hole 61 First fixed part 62 Connecting part 63 Second fixed part

Claims (5)

A plurality of signal lines that pass through the inside of the insertion portion are connected to a sensor provided inside the distal end of the insertion portion that is inserted into the body, and a signal obtained from the sensor is transmitted via the signal line. In the endoscope,
Contents of the plurality of signal lines inside the tip or the cable that bundles the plurality of signal lines are arranged in the tip in the rearward movement away from at least the sensor in the insertion direction of the insertion portion. An endoscope comprising movement preventing means that allows a predetermined amount of an object and prevents further movement. The movement preventing means includes a stopper that protrudes and is fixed to the outer periphery of the plurality of signal lines or the cable,
A plurality of signal lines arranged in the rearward direction with respect to the stopper, or a guide portion for loosely inserting the cable, and one end connected to the guide portion and the other end inside the tip. A movement restricting member having a fixed portion to be fixed;
Consists of
The movement restricting member is characterized in that when the signal line or the cable moves beyond a predetermined amount in the rearward direction, the guide portion abuts against the stopper to prevent the movement. Item 1. The endoscope according to Item 1. The movement preventing means includes a plurality of signal lines inside the tip, or a first fixing portion fixed to the cable;
A second fixing portion having a link portion connected to the first fixing portion so that one end is fixed to the contents inside the tip and the other end is movable at least in the insertion direction;
Consists of
The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the link portion allows a predetermined amount of movement of the first fixed portion in the insertion direction and prevents movement exceeding the predetermined amount. The movement preventing means includes a plurality of signal lines inside the tip, or a first fixing portion fixed to the cable;
A second fixing part fixed to the contents inside the tip;
The first and second fixing portions are connected to each other, allow a predetermined amount of movement of the first fixing portion in the insertion direction with respect to the second fixing portion, and move beyond the predetermined amount. A connecting part to block,
The endoscope according to claim 1, comprising:   5. The internal view according to claim 2, wherein the content is a tube connected to a forceps tube, and the fixing portion or the second fixing portion is fixed to an outer periphery of the tube. mirror.

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