JPH01229220A - Guide tube for endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To change the position and direction of the insertion part of the endoscope without using any auxiliary tool by fixing the guide tube to the endoscope by an axially expansible means and jetting high-pressure liquid from a nozzle provided to the guide tube. CONSTITUTION:When the internal wall part of a tank 31 is inspected, the insertion part 21 of the endoscope 2 is inserted into the guide tube 1 and guided in the tank 31 through piping 32. At this time, the nozzle 16 of the guide tube 1 is made to face down and landed on the bottom surface in the tank 31. The high-pressure air is sent to the nozzle 16 through an air feed tube 19 and jetted to hold the insertion part 21 at an optional floating position with its thrust. Further, the tip of the extension part 4 is extended from (a) to (b) to move the tip of the guide tube 1 from A to B. Then when desired height is obtained, the connection part 35 of small-diameter pipes 33 and 34 linked with the tank 31 or an internal wall part is inspected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a guide tube for an endoscope that guides the insertion portion of the endoscope into an object to be examined.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, guide tubes incorporating a bending mechanism have been commercially available for use in engine inspections, etc. (USP
4,659,195). This guide tube is curved by rotating the bending knob according to the inspection posture and direction of the endoscope inserted into it, and by supporting the insertion part of the endoscope in a curved manner, stable observation and inspection can be performed. It has become. Further, this guide tube is provided with a means for expanding and contracting within a certain stroke range.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, this conventional guide tube incorporates both its bending portion and its bending operation means, as well as an expansion and contraction means for adjusting the length of the insertion portion protruding from the distal end of the guide tube. However, as the structure becomes complicated and the size increases, the weight also increases. In addition, in order to hold this heavy guide tube in a predetermined curved shape, it must be constructed with a strong load-bearing structure, which results in an increase in weight. For this reason, it was necessary to constantly hold it with an auxiliary tool such as a magic arm (multi-joint arm).

As described above, the conventional guide tube has a complicated structure, is large in size, increases in weight, and requires an auxiliary tool, making it difficult to use.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to achieve a simple, compact and lightweight structure, while still being able to perform a bending action, and without necessarily using auxiliary tools. Another object of the present invention is to provide an easy-to-use guide tube for an endoscope.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a guide tube for an endoscope through which an insertion section of an endoscope is inserted and guided, and a fixing method for fixing this guide tube to an endoscope. a means for expanding and contracting a guide tube fixed to an endoscope by the fixing means in the axial direction thereof; and an extensible means provided on the guide tube to inject high-pressure fluid to apply thrust for bending the guide tube. and a supply means for supplying the high-pressure fluid to the injection port.

Then, when high-pressure fluid is supplied to the injection port of the guide tube through the supply means and is ejected from the injection port, the guide tube receives thrust and bends, thereby changing the position and orientation of the insertion section of the endoscope to be guided. In addition to being able to change
It can be held in that position.

Furthermore, if the guide tube that supports the endoscope is expanded and contracted in the axial direction by the expansion and contraction means, the amount of protrusion of the insertion section of the endoscope from the distal end of the guide tube can be freely set within a certain range.

[Embodiment] FIGS. 1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a state in which a so-called electronic endoscope 2 is attached to a guide tube 1 of the present invention. The guide tube 1 consists of a guide tube part 3 made of a metal blade as an insertion part to be inserted into the inside of the object to be inspected, and an extensible part (extensible means) 4 connected to the base end of the guide tube part 3, and the guide tube part 3 is bendable. It is formed in such a way that it can be In addition, the elastic part 4
A mounting ring 5 is attached to the base end of. The mounting ring 5 is provided with a fixing screw 6. When the guide tube 1 is attached to the endoscope 2, the attachment ring 5 is fitted onto the proximal end of the stopper section 8 of the operating section 7, and the fixing ring 5 is fixed with the fixing screw 6. constitutes a means.

In addition, the telescopic portion (extendable means) 4 of the guide tube 1 is constructed by superimposing a plurality of pipe bodies 11 whose diameters become smaller in sequence in the shape of bamboo and fitting each other in a slidable manner. and connect as shown in FIG. In this case, a rising edge 12 is formed on the edge of the inner tubular body 11 that fit into each other, and a falling edge 13 is formed on the edge of the outer tubular body 11. The rising edge 12 and the falling edge 13 engage with each other via a leaf spring 14 when the overlapping tube body 11 is stretched, thereby preventing the tube body 11 from coming off. The leaf spring 14 allows the overlapping tubes 11 to slide against each other and is held in that position by frictional force. Therefore, this telescopic portion 4 has a tubular body 11
They can be expanded and contracted by sliding against each other.

A cylindrical injection port member 1 is provided at the tip of the guide tube 1.
5 is attached. This injection port member 15 is provided with an injection port 16 directed downward. The injection port 16 jets a high-pressure fluid, such as air, downward, and as a result, the tip of the guide tube 1 receives an upward thrust, causing the guide tube 1 to gently curve from the tip side. It has become. Further, this injection port 16 is connected to a connecting ring 17 that connects the guide tube section 3 and the telescopic section 4 via an air supply tube (not shown) passed through the guide tube section 3.
It communicates with an inflow terminal 18 provided at. The air supply tube 1 is detachably connected to the inflow terminal 18.
9 supplies high-pressure fluid supplied from a high-pressure fluid supply source such as a compressor (not shown) to the injection port 16;
It is designed to emit jets. Note that the connecting ring 17 of the guide tube 1 is rotatably attached to the extendable portion 4 side thereof. In other words, the portion of the guide tube 1 on the guide tube portion 3 side is rotatable relative to the extendable portion 4 on the proximal end side.

On the other hand, the endoscope 2 has a flexible insertion section 21 that is inserted through the guide tube 1 described above and is connected to an operating section 7 on the hand side, and the operating section 7 is provided with various control switches 2B. . The types of control performed by this control switch 23 include the supply of high-pressure fluid to the above-mentioned spout member 15 and the endoscope-side spout 27 (described later), its increase/decrease, and control of imaging operations, etc. .

In addition, the insertion section 21 includes a flexible tube section 24, a curved section 2, and a curved section 2 from the proximal side.
5, and the tip portion 26 are successively connected to form the curved portion 25.
can be bent vertically and horizontally by operating the bending knob 22 of the operating section 7, for example. Further, the distal end portion 26 of the insertion portion 21 is also provided with an endoscope-side injection port 27 that jets high-pressure fluid. This endoscope side injection port 27
The opening is formed diagonally toward the rear.

Further, a cable 28 is connected to the operation section 7 for connecting the endoscope 2 to an external device, such as a light source device for illumination, a compressor, a camera control unit, etc.

Next, the operation of the above endoscope system will be explained. −
As an example, the case where it is introduced into a tank 31 as shown in FIG. 4 will be described. That is, the insertion section 21 of the endoscope 2 is inserted into the guide tube 1, and the attachment ring 5 of the guide tube 1 is inserted.
is fitted onto the stopper part 8 of the endoscope 2 and fixed with the fixing screw 6. Then, the insertion section 21 of the endoscope 2 is introduced into the tank 31 together with the guide tube 1 through the piping 32.

At this time, it is initially grounded on the bottom surface inside the tank 3.

In this state, the injection port 16 of the guide tube 1 is directed downward. This operation can be selected by rotating the connecting ring 17 on the proximal side and turning the guide tube section 3 on the distal end side.

Therefore, by operating the control switch 23, high pressure air is sent to the injection port 16 through the air supply tube 19,
When the jet is injected, the thrust causes the object to float as shown by the arrow in FIG. 4, and by adjusting the injection pressure by operating the control switch 23, it can be floated to any desired floating position.

In this floating position, the sum of the thrust due to the injection from the jet nozzle 16, the elastic repulsion force against the bending of the guide tube section 3 of the guide tube 1 and the insertion section 21 of the endoscope 1, and the weight. is balanced.

Note that in this floating state, if the guiding action to raise and project the distal end of the insertion section 21 is insufficient, push the entire guide tube 1 further and adjust the injection pressure to a higher level again to reach the desired height. Can be set to That is, for example, extend the telescopic part 4 until the position of the distal end of the telescopic part 4 is moved from a to b, and move the distal end of the guide tube 1 to A.
Move it forward from to position B.

Then, when the desired height is obtained, the connecting portions 35 of the small diameter pipes 33, 34 communicating with the tank 31 or the inner wall of the tank 31 are inspected. In addition, air is jetted from the endoscope side injection port 27 to raise the insertion section 21, and the bending section 25 is bent to be inserted into the small diameter tube 33, 34, and the small diameter tube 33 ．．
The inside of 34 can be observed. Also, at this time,
The extensible part 4 of the guide tube 1 is operated to expand and contract, and the protruding length of the guide tube 1 is adjusted to assist in position selection. Note that jet injection on the endoscope 2 side is not necessarily necessary.

In addition, the jet injection from the injection port 16 is made stronger to float strongly in the direction shown by the arrow port, and the injection pressure is kept constant by floating to a nearly vertical state as shown by C in FIG. If the distal end side of the endoscope 2 is fixed and the extensible portion 4 is expanded and contracted, the distal end portion of the insertion section 21 of the endoscope 2 can be moved up and down as shown in FIG. Therefore, the inner wall surface of the tank 31, the welded portion 36, etc. can be observed from the front.

In this case, the bending portion 25 may be bent or the insertion portion 2 may be bent.
By performing the rotation operation shown in step 1, each part can be observed more easily.

Therefore, if high-pressure fluid is supplied to the injection port 16 of the guide tube 1 through the supply means and is injected from the injection port 16, the guide tube 1 will bend under the thrust.
The position and orientation of the insertion section 21 of the endoscope 2 to be guided can be changed, and it can be stably held at that position. Furthermore, the guide tube 1 supporting the endoscope 2 can be expanded and contracted in the axial direction by expanding and contracting the extensible section 4 as an extensible means, so that the insertion section 21 of the endoscope 2 protrudes from the distal end of the guide tube 1. The amount can be freely set within a certain range. Therefore, the endoscope 2 can be guided to an appropriate position depending on various usage conditions.

5 to 7 show a second embodiment of the present invention. An interlock type spiral tube 41 is used in the guide tube portion 3 of the guide tube 1 of this embodiment.

This interlocking spiral tube 4] is shown in Figures 5 and 6.
As shown in the figure, both ends of the spiral member 41a are engaged with each other to generate a frictional force, so that the spiral member 41a can be held in any bent shape. and,
A tube 42 containing a blade is inserted into the spiral tube 41, and a fluid supply passage 43 is formed within the tube 42. At the tip of the spiral tube 41, there is a spout 16 as described above.
A spout member 15 having a diameter is rotatably provided with respect to the helical tube 41.

High-pressure fluid is supplied to the spout 16 through the fluid supply passage 43. Further, an elastic backing 44 having an X-shaped cross section is provided on the inner surface of the spout member 15 and slides in airtight contact with the outer periphery of the insertion portion 21 inserted therein.

Furthermore, a connecting cylinder member 45 is fixed by brazing to the base end of the spiral tube 41, and a base holder member 47 is connected to this connecting cylinder member 45 via a joint pipe 46. Connection cylinder part 4
4'45, the joint pipe 46, and the base member 47 are each fixed with screws. And the base holder is member 47
One air supply tube is connected to the same as above. Further, the base holder is provided with a relatively rotatable base tube 48 fitted into the inner surface of the member 47, and the proximal end of the above-mentioned braided tube 42 is airtightly connected to this base tube 48. has been done. An elastic backing 49 having an X-shaped cross section is provided on the inner surface of the base tube 48 and slidably contacts the outer periphery of the insertion portion 21 inserted therein in an airtight manner. Further, a circumferential groove 51 is formed on the outer surface of the base tube 48, and a base holder communicating with the air supply tube 19 is always opposed to the mouth portion 52 of the member 47. .

Therefore, even if the base tube 48 rotates, the base holder is not connected to the member 4.
It always communicates with the opening 52 of No. 7. In addition, the base pipe 48
Elastic backings 53 and 54 having an X-shaped cross section are provided on the outer periphery of the opening 52, and are arranged to establish airtight communication between the opening 52 and the fluid supply path 43. .

Further, a rotary operation ring 55 for rotating the base tube 48 is fixed to the rear end of the rotatable base tube 48 by screws.

Furthermore, a cylindrical fixing member 56 for fixing the guide tube 1 to the operating section 7 of the endoscope 2 is connected to the proximal end of the guide tube 1 . This fixing member 56 is fitted onto the outer periphery of the proximal mouthpiece 57 of the stopper part 8 of the endoscope 2, as in the case of the above embodiment, and is fixed by the fixing screw 6. The tip of the fixing screw 6 is pushed into a circumferential groove 58 formed on the outer periphery of the proximal cap 57 of the stopper part 8 and fastened.

Further, two guide shafts 59 are provided on the fixing member 56 and project in parallel to each other in the axial direction forward. The guide shaft 59, which also serves as a slider, passes through a guide hole 60 penetrating the outer periphery of the member 47, and the guide shaft 59 guides the member 47 in the axial direction while preventing its rotation. Note that a stopper 61 is provided at the tip of the guide shaft 59. The base holder, which also serves as a slider, allows the member 47 to move within the range between the distal end surface of the fixing member 56 and the stopper 61, and constitutes an extensible portion 4 that expands and contracts the entire length of the guide tube 1.

In this embodiment, the base holder which also serves as a slider can expand and contract the entire length of the guide tube 1 by moving the member 47 back and forth with respect to the fixed member 56. Furthermore, by rotating the rotary operation ring 55, the base tube 48 that is integrated therewith can be rotated. When the mouthpiece tube 48 rotates, the injection port member 15 on the distal end side is rotated via the tube 42 inserted into the spiral tube 41 of the guide tube 1, and the direction of the injection port 16 can be changed. can. That is, since the expansion and contraction action of the guide tube 1 and the direction of the injection port 16 can be changed, it can be used in the same manner as the first embodiment.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, an interlock type spiral tube 41 is used for the guide tube portion 3 of the guide tube 1, but as shown in FIG. When in use, the rotary operation ring 55 is rotated on the hand side to rotate the nozzle member 15 on the distal end side and direct the nozzle 16 downward. and,
Pressure fluid is injected from this injection port 16, and the thrust at that time is used to move this interlock type spiral tube 41 into the seventh
Bend it as shown by the solid arrow in the figure. Since this interlock type spiral tube 41 has a function of maintaining the bent state, the insertion portion 2 of the endoscope 2 can be held in the bent state.
The inducing effect of 1- is stabilized. Moreover, when returning to the original state, the injection port 16 can be turned upward as shown by the dotted line arrow in FIG. 7 and the injection can be performed. Moreover, according to this guide tube 1, there is no need to bend it beforehand and insert it, and the insertion operation is simple.

= 15- Figures 8 and 9 show a third embodiment of the present invention. The guide tube 1 of this embodiment is the injection port member 1.
5. Separate the slide side portion 67 consisting of the flexible tube 65, rotary operation ring 55, and base member 66 and the fixing member 68 fixed to the operation section 7 side of the endoscope 2, and attach both of them with the telescopic section 4. They are connected. Fixed member 68
is provided with a mounting ring 70 for detachably fixing it to the operating section 7 of the endoscope 2. Furthermore, the fixing member 68
A guide holder 71 is provided.

This guide holder 71 is connected to the guide shaft 7 as shown in FIG.
A pair of clamping pieces 73, 73 that elastically clamp and hold 2.
The guide shaft 72 is removable. This guide shaft 72 is pivotally attached to the base member 66 of the slide side portion 67. Note that a stopper 74 is provided at the tip of the guide shaft 72. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the guide holder 71 is attached to and detached from the guide holder 71 by tilting it backward.

Therefore, by moving the slide side portion 67 back and forth to set the position -16=, and tilting the guide shaft 72 backward and fitting it into the guide holder 71 of the fixed member 68 and clamping it, the slide side portion 67 is fixed. The distance to the member 68 can be set. In other words, the length of the guide tube 1 can be expanded or contracted.

Further, the injection port member 15 of the guide tube 1 can be remotely rotated by operating the rotary operation ring 55 on the hand side via the flexible tube 65, and the direction of the injection port 16 can be freely selected.

In this way, the length of the guide tube 1 can be expanded or contracted by the operation on the hand side, and the direction of the injection port 16 can be arbitrarily set, so that it can be used in the same manner as described above.

10 to 16 show the insertion section 2 of the endoscope 2, respectively.
1 shows an example of how the spout unit 81 is mounted on the tip end 26 of FIG. The one in Figure 10 is the insertion part 21.
A half-notch portion 82 is formed in the tip portion 26, and the spout unit 81 is fitted into the half-notch portion 82 to be detachably attached.

This is an example in which a magnetic body 83a is provided in the spout unit 81, and is magnetically attracted and fixed to a magnet 83b provided on the wall surface of the half-cutout portion 82 at the tip portion 26. Note that the tip of an air supply channel 84 is provided protruding from the bottom surface of the half-cutout portion 82, and is communicated with the injection port 27 of the injection port unit 81.

FIGS. 11 to 13 show examples in which the injection ports 27 of the injection port unit 81 have different directions.

These various types of spout units 81 are selectively used depending on the usage situation.

14 and 15 show the distal end 2 of the insertion section 21.
6 is covered with a tip hood 85, and this tip hood 85 is attached with a fixing ring 86. The tip hood 85 is provided with a positioning portion 87 for aligning the injection ports 27 and 27 provided in the injection port unit 81 and the tip hood 85, respectively. Note that 88 is an objective lens, and 89 is an illumination window.

In FIG. 16, a half notch 82 is formed in the distal end 26 of the insertion portion 21, similar to that in FIG. However, this is an example in which the spout unit 81 is fastened and attached with a C ring at 9 degrees. A groove 91 into which a C ring 90 is fitted is formed on the outer periphery of the tip portion 26 and the spout unit 81 .

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the present invention supplies high-pressure fluid to the injection port of the guide tube through the supply means, and when the fluid is injected from the injection port, the guide tube bends under the thrust and guides. The position and orientation of the insertion section of the endoscope can be changed, and the endoscope can be held in that position. Furthermore, if the guide tube that supports the endoscope is expanded and contracted in the axial direction by the expansion and contraction means, the amount of protrusion of the insertion section of the endoscope from the distal end of the guide tube can be freely set within a certain range. Therefore, according to the present invention, although the guide tube can be curved, its structure can be simplified and made smaller and lighter. Moreover, it is not necessary to use an auxiliary tool, and it is extremely easy to use.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a side view of the endoscope attached to the guide tube, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the extendable part, FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the telescopic part, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the state of use, and FIGS. 5 to 7 show a second embodiment of the present invention.
The figure is a side sectional view of the vicinity of the base end of the guide tube, FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of the vicinity of the tip of the guide tube, FIG. FIG. 9 is a front view of the guide holder, FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the injection port unit attached to the distal end of the endoscope, and FIGS. 11 to 13 are side views of the guide tube showing the embodiment. FIG. 14 is a side sectional view of the distal end of the endoscope equipped with the nozzle unit, and FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the distal end of the endoscope equipped with the nozzle unit. , FIG. 16 is a side sectional view of the distal end portion of an endoscope equipped with yet another example of an injection port unit. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Guide tube, 2... Endoscope, 3... Guide tube part, 4... Telescopic part, 5... Mounting ring, 6... Fixing screw, 15... Injection port Member, 16... Injection port, 2
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Insertion part, 23... Control switch, 41...
Spiral tube, 43... Fluid supply passage, 55... Rotating operation ring, 56... Fixed member, 59... Guide shaft, slide side portion, 68... Fixed member, 71... Guide holder , 72...Guide shaft. Applicant's representative Patent attorney Jundai Tsuboi 211! il / Procedural amendment 63, 6.30 Showa year, month, day, Japan Patent Office Commissioner Yoshi 1) Takeshi Moon 1, Indication of the case Japanese Patent Application No. 63-055361 2, Name of the invention Endoscope guide tube 3, Amendment Patent applicant (037) Olympus Optical Industry Co., Ltd. 4, Agent 3-7-2 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo UBE Building 1
00 Telephone 03 (502) 3181 (main representative)
(6881) Patent attorney Jun Tsuboi 7,
Contents of amendment (1) Each "C ring" on page 19, line 5 and line 7 of the same page of the specification will be corrected to "0 ring." (2) Correct box 5 in the drawing as shown in the attached sheet.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In an endoscope guide tube that is inserted through and guided through the insertion section of an endoscope, there is a fixing means for fixing the guide tube to the endoscope, and a fixing means for fixing the guide tube to the endoscope by the fixing means. an extensible means that is expandable and retractable; an injection port provided in the guide tube for injecting high-pressure fluid to apply thrust for bending to the guide tube;
A guide tube for an endoscope, characterized in that the injection port is provided with a supply means for supplying the high-pressure fluid.