JPH11244225A - Endoscope apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an endoscope apparatus comprising a drum unit for winding around an insertion portion thereof which can bend a bend portion by feeding forward and backward a wire member for bending by the use of a driving motor installed in the interior of the drum unit. SOLUTION: An insertion part 21 can be wound around a drum part 32 and has an internal structure which enables an operator to bend a bend part 23 by operating a joy stick 44, which is disposed outside the drum part 32, to give an instruction of bending to a desired direction, which makes a motor installed in a rack and pinion part, namely an element consisting of an actuator part inside the drum 32, rotate and thereby move an operational wire that is inserted from the insertion part 21 at the bend part 23 side to the inside of the drum unit 32 forward and backward in a longitudinal direction of the insertion part 21, so that the bend part 23 is bent as instructed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus provided with a bending mechanism for bending an endoscope insertion section.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an elongated insertion portion is inserted into a body cavity to observe organs in the body cavity, and, when necessary, to perform various treatments using a treatment tool inserted into a treatment tool channel. Medical endoscopes that can be used are widely used. Also, in the industrial field, industrial endoscopes capable of observing and inspecting internal scratches and corrosion of boilers, turbines, engines, chemical plants, and the like are widely used. For example, when a non-destructive inspection of a compressor blade (hereinafter, referred to as a blade) inside a jet engine is performed using the industrial endoscope, it is generated by birds, stones, ice, and the like sucked during operation of the jet engine.
Damage such as chipped or cracked blade edges can be found.

Generally, in an endoscope having a flexible insertion portion, a bending portion is provided in the insertion portion, and a bending operation wire inserted into the insertion portion is advanced and retracted by using a bending means so that the bending portion can be bent. It has become. In this way, by bending the bending portion in the target direction and angle by the bending means, the observation can be performed with the distal end of the insertion portion directed in the target direction, and insertion into the test site can be easily performed. I have.

As a bending structure of a bending portion of a conventional endoscope, a plurality of bridge members are rotatably connected to each other to form a bending tube, and the most advanced bridge member constituting the bending tube is remotely operated. A bending tube structure that bends a bending portion in a desired direction by fixing a bending operation wire for pulling and pulling the wire.

As a conventional endoscope apparatus, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-142482 discloses a configuration in which an insertion portion is wound around a drum. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication
Japanese Patent No. 81711 discloses an endoscope apparatus that bends a bending portion by fluid pressure.

US Pat. No. 5,090,259 discloses an endoscope apparatus provided with means for allowing an insertion portion to run in a pipe by itself. In addition, US Patent 5,37
3,317, JP-A-4-81711,
There is 56486 publication.

[0007]

However, in the prior art, a bending wire rod for winding a bending portion provided on the insertion portion, which has a drum portion for winding the insertion portion, is driven by a driving motor. A drive motor for bending the bending portion by moving in the longitudinal direction is provided in the drum portion, and no bending operation means for performing a bending instruction operation of the bending portion is provided outside the drum portion.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has a drum for winding an insertion portion, and a driving wire for bending a bending portion provided in the insertion portion. A drive motor for bending the bending portion is provided in the drum portion by moving forward and backward in the longitudinal direction of the insertion portion,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an endoscope apparatus provided with a bending operation means for performing a bending instruction operation of a bending section outside the drum section.

[0009]

An endoscope apparatus according to the present invention comprises:
A distal end portion having an observation optical system and an illumination optical system, an elongated and flexible insertion portion having a bendable bending portion, and a base end portion of the insertion portion are connected, and the insertion portion is wound. A drum portion provided with a take-up portion, a bending wire inserted into the drum portion from the bending portion side, and a bending wire provided in the drum portion to move the bending wire forward and backward in the longitudinal direction of the insertion portion. A drive motor for bending the bending portion, and bending operation means provided outside the drum portion and performing a bending instruction operation for bending the bending portion via the driving motor. It is characterized by having.

According to this structure, the bending operation of the driving motor provided inside the drum unit is controlled by operating the bending operation means provided outside the drum unit, and the bending unit of the insertion unit is bent. Can be.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 11 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a schematic configuration of an endoscope apparatus of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a schematic configuration of a drum section. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the distal end side of the insertion portion, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of the distal end side of the insertion portion, and FIG. 5 illustrates the configuration and operation of a conductive holder provided on the distal end adapter. Figure,
6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 4, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a connection relationship between the drum unit and the connector, and a configuration of an actuator unit in the drum unit, and FIG. FIG. 9, FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a specific example of attachment of the insertion section and the drum section, FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the endoscope device, and FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing a bending state of the bending section. It is.

As shown in FIG. 1, an endoscope apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment comprises, for example, an industrial endoscope 2 having a long and flexible insertion portion 21 and an industrial endoscope (hereinafter referred to as an industrial endoscope). A drum device 3 provided with a drum portion 32 that is rotatable with respect to a table 31 and winds around the insertion portion 21 of the endoscope 2), and an elongated electric cable that is detachably attached to the drum device 3 Controller 4 provided with operating means and observation means at the base end of 41
It is composed of

The insertion portion 21 of the endoscope 2 has a flexible tube 22 whose base end is attached to the drum portion 32.
A bending portion 23 which is connected to the distal end of the flexible tube 22 and bends in a desired direction, and which is connected to the distal end of the bending portion 23 and which serves as an observation optical system. It is composed of a rigid tip portion 24 having a built-in solid-state imaging device such as a coupling device (abbreviated as CCD). A plurality of types (two types in the figure) of distal end adapters 5a and 5b for changing a viewing angle and a viewing direction are detachably attached to the distal end rigid portion 24.

As shown in FIG. 2, a camera having an image processing circuit for generating an image picked up by a CCD into a TV signal and a timing generating circuit for generating a timing signal for driving the CCD are provided in the drum section 32. A control unit (hereinafter abbreviated as CCU) 33; an actuator section 34 constituting a bending section; a control circuit 35 for controlling a bending state of the bending section 23 based on an instruction signal from an operation section of the controller; Part 3
4. A battery 36 serving as a power supply for the control circuit 35 is provided. The CCU 33, the actuator unit 34, the control circuit 35, and the battery 36 are disposed in the drum unit 32 in consideration of the rotational balance, and a balance weight is added to keep the weight balance of the drum unit 32 optimal. You can do it.

The electric cable 41 of the controller 4
A connector 42 is provided at the front end of the drum 42. The connector 42 is detachable from a connector connecting portion, which will be described later, provided at the rotation center position of the drum portion 32. The controller 4
Is provided with an LCD monitor 43 on which an endoscope image picked up by a CCD is displayed, and a joystick 44 operated to bend the bending portion 23 in a desired direction.

First, the endoscope 2 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the distal end rigid portion 24 is provided with an observation lens cover 51 constituting one observation window and two illumination lens covers 52 constituting two illumination windows on the distal end surface. 5a is connected. In addition, the flexible tube 2
The flexible tube front base 6 is provided between the second base 2 and the curved portion 23, and two metal contacts 6 a are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the flexible tube front base 6.

Referring to FIG. 4, the configuration of the distal end side of the insertion section 21 will be described. The flexible tube 22 is provided with an impregnated resin layer 2
2a, a metal mesh layer 22b and a metal spiral tube 22c are sequentially provided.
Are arranged flexibly in a three-layer structure.

The front end of the flexible tube 22 is provided with a flexible pipe front base 6 having a substantially pipe shape. One of the metal contacts 6a provided on the flexible tube front base 6 is a cathode metal contact 6n, and the other is an anode metal contact 6p. One end of an electric cable 6b corresponding to each characteristic is connected to these metal contacts 6n and 6p. The metal contacts 6n and 6p are disposed on the flexible tube front base 6 via a non-conductive collar 6c. A non-conductive coil spring 6d is disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the flexible tube front base 6 so as to protect the metal contacts 6n and 6p.

A bending portion 2 is provided at the tip of the flexible tube front base 6.
One end of a synthetic rubber resin coating 25 constituting 3 is coated, and the other end of the resin coating 25 is coated on the base end of the rigid distal end portion 24. A thread-wound adhesive portion (not shown) is provided at both ends of the resin coating 25 so that the flexible tube front base 6 and the distal end hard portion 24 and the resin coating 2 are provided.
5 are integrally fixed.

The hard resin portion 24 is coated with the resin coating 25.
At the same time, one end of an operation wire 26 formed of a wire material of a Ni-Ti alloy having superelasticity and generally called a superelastic alloy is fixed as a wire material constituting the curved portion 23. The other end of the operation wire 26 is provided in the drum portion 32 through the inside of the flexible tube front base 6 and the flexible tube 22, and the operation wire 26 advances and retreats in the longitudinal direction of the insertion portion. It is connected and fixed to an actuator section 34 which is a bending means to be operated. In the present embodiment, three operation lines 26 are provided, and the positional relationship between the three operation lines 26 will be described later with reference to FIG.

A sensor 26a such as a strain gauge is provided on the operation line 26 located in the bending portion 23 in order to detect the bending direction of the operation line 26. The bending state detection signal detected by the sensor 26a is
The signal transmission line 26b extending from 6a is transmitted and output to the control circuit 35 in the drum unit 32.

The tip rigid portion 24 includes a CCD 27 for constituting an observation optical system and a cathode for supplying illumination power to, for example, an LED device (hereinafter referred to as an LED) 54 which is a light emitting element for constituting an illumination optical system described later. A contact electrode 28 serving as a second electrical contact serving as an anode contact is provided.

The CCD 27 includes a driving circuit 27a for driving the CCD 27 and a preamplifier 27b for amplifying an electric signal which is formed on the image pickup surface of the CCD 27 and photoelectrically converted.
And so on. From the driving circuit 27a and the preamplifier 27b, a signal cable 29 for transmitting and receiving signals extends through the bending portion 23, the flexible tube front base 6 and the flexible tube 22, and extends to the drum portion 32. The base end of the cable 29 is connected to the CCU 33 provided on the drum 32.

On the other hand, one end of an electric wire 28a corresponding to the characteristics of each electrode is connected to the above-mentioned contact electrode 28, and the other end of the electric wire 28a inserted through the insertion portion 21 is provided on the drum portion 32. Connected to the battery 36 which is in use.

An observation lens cover 51 and an objective lens 5 constituting an observation optical system are provided at the distal end of the rigid distal end portion 24.
3 and a distal end adapter 5a provided with an LED 54 for supplying illumination light, and a female screw portion screwed to a male screw portion (not shown) formed on the outer peripheral surface of the hard tip portion 24. The distal end adapter 5a is connected and fixed to the distal end of the insertion portion via a rotating ring 50 formed on the inner peripheral surface side. The rotary ring 50 is provided with a watertight member for preventing dust and water from entering the endoscope from the connection between the distal end adapter 5a and the rigid distal end portion 24.

The L provided on the tip adapter 5a
The ED 54 has a contact electrode 2 provided on the tip rigid portion 24.
8, a cathode terminal 54n and an anode terminal 54p are provided. Note that the LED 54 has an optical axis that matches the viewing direction of the observation optical system of the endoscope.

A conductive holder 7 formed of an insulating member is disposed on the distal end adapter 5a. The conductive holder 7 is provided with a conductive compression spring 71 for electrically connecting the cathode terminal 54n and the anode terminal 54p of the LED 54 to the contact electrode 28, and a mounting through hole 73 for disposing a metal ball 72. When the metal ball 72 and the compression spring 71 are provided in the mounting through hole 73 as shown in FIG. 5A, the cathode terminal 54n or the anode terminal 54p is provided on the end face of the compression spring 71. It constitutes a first electrical contact that makes contact. And the tip adapter 5a
When is not attached to the distal end rigid portion 24, the biasing force of the coil spring 71 causes the ball 72 disposed on the proximal end side to protrude from the proximal end surface by a dimension a.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the tip adapter 5a is attached to the tip rigid portion 24, the ball 72 biased by the compression spring 71 and the tip surface of the contact electrode 28 are used. Is in contact with Thereby, the electric wire 28a, the contact electrode 28, the ball 72, the compression spring 71, and the terminal 54
n, 54p, power for illumination is supplied to the LED
54 lights up. At this time, the ball 72 always contacts the distal end surface of the contact electrode 28 while being pressed by the urging force of the compression spring 71, so that reliable conduction can be achieved regardless of the operation of the endoscope.

As shown in FIG. 6, the operation line 26 constituting the curved portion 23 does not come into contact with the two conductive holders 7 provided with the contact electrodes 28 for supplying power to the LEDs 54, and does not come into contact with the internal space. Are secured to the outer peripheral surface side of the distal end rigid portion 24 so as to form a regular triangular shape.

The three operation wires 26 fixed to the distal end rigid portion 24 and extending to the drum portion 32 are formed by connecting two arbitrary operation wires 26 from the three operation wires 26. When a plurality of planes are formed as a set, at least one set of planes among a plurality of planes formed by an arbitrary set of operation lines 26 is a plane not including the central axis of the insertion portion (curved portion) 21. Are arranged to form

Therefore, at least any one of the three operation lines 26 is moved forward and backward by the actuator section 34, whereby the operation line not moved forward and backward by the actuator section 34 is moved. 26
After resisting the movement of the operating line 26 that has moved forward and backward,
The bending portion 23 bends in the direction of the operation line 26 moved forward and backward.

Next, the drum device 3 will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, the base end of the flexible tube 22 constituting the insertion portion 21 is connected to a connecting member 32b provided on a winding surface 32a of the drum portion 32, and the bending portion 23, the flexible The other end of the operation wire 26 extending through the front tube base 6 and the flexible tube 22 and extending into the drum portion 32 is connected to the actuator portion 3.
The rack 3 of the rack and pinion portion 34a that constitutes 4
4b. The rack 34b is configured to move forward and backward in response to the rotation of the pinion 34c, and the pinion 34c is rotated by a rotatable motor 37. This motor 37
It is fixed inside the drum part 32.

As shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 4 denotes three operation wires 2 inserted through the insertion portion 21.
6, three rack and pinion portions 34a are provided so as to correspond to the respective rack and pinion portions 34a.
The ends of the operation wires 26 are connected and fixed to the rack 34b.

That is, the operation lines 26 are configured to advance and retreat independently of the operation of the rack and pinion portions 34a corresponding to the respective operation lines 26. By appropriately controlling the operation described above, each rack 34b is moved forward and backward, whereby the operation line 26 fixed to the rack 34b is moved forward and backward, and the bending portion 23 is bent in a desired direction.

Further, the operation line 26 is moved from the initial position where the bending of the bending portion 23 is released to be pushed toward the bending portion to bend the bending portion 23, and the position where the bending of the bending portion 23 is released. The bending may be released by returning the operation line 26 to the position.

Further, the drum 3 is inserted through the insertion portion 21.
2, the signal transmission line 26b and the end of the signal cable 29 are connected to a control circuit 35 and a CCU 33 provided in the drum unit 32, respectively, as shown in FIG.

The specific mounting of the insertion section 21 and the drum section 32 of the endoscope 2 is performed as shown in FIG. That is, as shown in the figure, the connecting tool 32b to which the proximal end of the flexible tube 22 which is the proximal end of the insertion portion 21 is connected,
It is configured to be detachable from the winding surface 32a of the drum portion 32 with a screw.

The connector 32b is provided with a connector 32c that is electrically connected to the CCU 33, the control circuit 35, or the battery 36 provided in the drum unit 32. Therefore, by connecting the connector 32c of the connection tool 32b to the mating connector provided on the drum section 32, the signal transmission line 26b and the signal cable 29 passing through the insertion section 21, the control circuit 35 and the CCU 33 Is connected. The connector 32c
Is connected to the mating connector in the drum unit, and then the connection tool 32b is fixed to the winding surface 32a using screws, whereby the connection between the insertion unit 21 and the drum unit 32 is completed.

A reduction gear mechanism is provided between the rotation shaft 37a of the motor 37 and the pinion 34c.
May be reduced.

Next, the control circuit 35 and the CCU 33
The connection relationship between the controller and the controller 4 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 7, from the side of the table 31 of the drum device 3,
A connector receiver 31a provided with a bearing portion 31b therein is protruded. On the bearing 31b of the connector receiver 31a, a shaft 38 protruding from the center of the side surface of the drum 32 and having a plurality of contact portions on the bottom surface of the connector connecting portion 39 is provided.
1 is rotatably mounted with respect to 1.

A video signal contact electrode 39a to which a video signal line 33a extending from the CCU 33 is connected and a ground line 33b are connected to the bottom surface side of the connector connecting portion 39 of the shaft portion 38 protruding from the drum portion 32. A terminal 39b for ground (also referred to as GND) is provided, and a communication photodiode 39c and a communication LED 39d connected to a communication cable 35f for bidirectional communication extending from the control circuit 35 are provided. A plurality is provided.

The video signal contact electrode 39a to which the video signal line 33a is connected is provided on a non-conductive first holder 75 disposed on the rotation center axis of the drum section 32. On the other hand, the GND terminal 39b to which the ground line 33b is connected is housed in a non-conductive second holder 76 disposed near the outer peripheral surface of the connector connection portion 39 away from the video signal contact electrode 39a. And a compression spring 7 disposed in the second holder 76.
1, the GND terminal 39b is constantly urged outward in the side surface. In addition, a diffusion plate 39e is provided in front of the communication photodiode 39c and the communication LED 39d.
Is arranged.

On the other hand, on the distal end surface of the connector 42 which is inserted into the connector receiver 31a and is connected to the connector connection portion 39, the video signal contact electrode 39a, the GND terminal 39b, and the communication Signal connection terminal 42a, GND contact electrode 42b, and communication LED 42, which are respectively opposed to the diffusion plate 39e disposed in front of the photodiode 39c for communication and the communication LED 39d.
c and a communication photodiode 42d.

The video signal connection terminal 42a is
It is housed in a non-conductive second holder 76 sealed and fixed with a filler or the like at the center position of the connector 42.
The video signal connection terminal 42a is constantly urged outward from the side surface by the compression spring 71 disposed in the holder 76. The communication LED 42c and the communication photodiode 42d are sealed and fixed with a filler or the like so as to face the communication photodiode 39c and the communication LED 39d provided in the connector connection portion 39, respectively. Further, the GND contact electrode 42b is
G arranged near the outer peripheral surface side of the connector connection portion 39
The connector 42 is arranged in a ring shape on the distal end surface of the connector 42 so as to be reliably connected to the ND terminal 39b.

As a result, the light emitted from the communication LED 42c in response to the bending instruction signal output by operating the joystick 44 provided on the controller 4 is diffused by the diffusion plate 39e of the connector connection portion 39. And reaches the photodiode 39c to reach the communication cable 35.
The signal is transmitted to the control circuit 35 via f. At this time, even when the connector 42 is attached to the connector connection portion 39 in any circumferential positional relationship, the light emitted by the plurality of communication LEDs 42c and the diffusion effect of the diffusion plate 39e is surely emitted. Control circuit 35 as a bending instruction signal
Is transmitted to

The video signal contact electrode 39 connected to the video signal line 33a extending from the CCU 33.
signal connection terminal 42a and connector 4 that come into contact with a
2, the GND terminal 39b that contacts the GND contact electrode 42b is pressed by the urging force of the compression spring 53 so as to always contact the contact electrodes 39a and 42b. Electrodes 42b, 3
Signals can be transmitted / received by reliably establishing conduction with the signal 9a.

An O-ring 31c is provided at the inner peripheral surface of the connector receiver 31a to prevent dust and water from entering the inside of the connection portion and to prevent the connector 42 from coming off the connector receiver 31a. Is provided.

The operation of the endoscope apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. The endoscope 2
LED 54 that illuminates the observation site and CC that images the observation site illuminated by this LED 54
D27, a driving circuit 27a for driving the CCD 27,
A preamplifier 27b is provided for amplifying an electric signal that is formed on the image pickup surface of the CCD 27 and photoelectrically converted. In addition, the curved portion 2 of the operation wire 26 whose distal end is fixed to the distal end rigid portion 24 and extends to the actuator portion 34
A sensor 26a for detecting the bending state of each operation line 26 is provided in the middle part located in the inside 3.

A CCU 33 having an image processing circuit for generating an electric signal of the CCD 27 into a video signal and the like inside the drum unit 32 of the drum device 3, an actuator unit 34 for moving the operation line 26 forward and backward, the bending A control circuit 35 for controlling the bending state and the like of the unit 23 and a battery 36 as a power supply are provided.

When the flexible tube 22 forming the insertion portion 21 is connected and fixed to the drum portion 32, the LED 54 is lit by receiving power from the battery 36.

The controller 4 includes a joystick 44 as an operation switch,
The CPU 45 converts the movement of the motion into a bending instruction signal.
A communication circuit 46 for outputting the bending instruction signal converted by U45 to the control circuit 35, a TV signal receiving circuit 47 serving as a receiving unit of a TV signal transmitted from the CCU 33,
An LCD monitor 43 which is a television monitor, and a superimposer 48 for displaying image information and character information on the LCD monitor 43 are provided.

The CC provided on the tip rigid portion 24
The D drive circuit 27a is driven by a drive signal output from a timing generation circuit 61 provided in the CCU 33. The electric signal formed on the imaging surface of the CCD 27 and amplified by the preamplifier 27b is transmitted to the CCU 3
3 is transmitted to the image processing circuit. In this image processing circuit, the transmitted electric signal is subjected to well-known processing by a clamp circuit 62 and a sample-and-hold circuit 63, then amplified by an amplifier (not shown), input to an A / D conversion circuit 64, and
/ D conversion. The A / D converted image data is
The data is input to the memory 65. The image data input to the memory 65 is obtained from a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) 67 based on a program from a DSP ROM 66 to obtain a predetermined video signal.
8a, after being D / A-converted by a D / A conversion circuit 69 via a second frame memory 68b, generated by an encoder 70 as a TV signal output to an external device, and transmitted to the controller via a TV signal transmission circuit 70a. 4 is output to the TV signal receiving circuit 47.

That is, the image picked up by the CCD 27 is
After being converted into an electric signal, it is amplified by the preamplifier 27b and transmitted to the CCU 33. And this CCU33
Within the TV signal. The TV signal is a TV signal.
The signal is output to the TV signal receiving circuit 47 of the controller 4 via the signal transmitting circuit 70a, and is output from the TV signal receiving circuit 47 via the superimposer 48 to the LCD monitor 43.
Displayed above.

The joystick 4 of the controller 4
When the user operates the bending section 23 to bend the joystick 44, the movement of the joystick 44 is controlled by the CPU 45 and the communication circuit 46.
Then, the signal is input as a bending instruction signal from the joystick 44 to the control unit CPU 35b via the communication circuit 35a of the control circuit 35 provided in the drum unit 32.

When a bending instruction signal is input to the control unit CPU 35b, the bending control circuit 3
5c from the bending drive circuit 35d to the actuator unit 3
A drive signal is output to the corresponding motor 37 of No. 4 and the motor 37 starts driving. This allows the pinion 3
The rack 34b moves by rotating the rack 4b by a predetermined amount in a predetermined direction, and the operation line 26 moves in the indicated direction.

Then, with respect to the moved operation line 26,
The operation line 26 that has not moved is the operation line 2 that has moved.
6, the distal end rigid portion 24 is drawn against the flexible tube front base 6, and the operation wire 26 is bent, and the curved portion 23 is indicated by an arrow as shown in FIG. Curve in the direction.

When the bending portion 23 starts bending as shown in the figure, the amount of distortion is detected by a sensor 26a provided on each operation line 26, and the signal is transmitted via a signal transmission line 26b as a bending state detection signal. The signal is transmitted to a sensor signal receiving circuit 35e which is a sensor signal receiver of the control circuit 35. The bending state detection signal output from the sensor 26a and input to the sensor signal receiving circuit 35e is compared with the bending instruction signal from the joystick 44 by the control unit CPU 35b via the bending control circuit 35c, and then the bending driving circuit 35
A drive signal is output from d to the actuator section 34, and the respective operation lines 26 are advanced and retracted so that the bending section 23 bends in the direction instructed by the joystick 44.

As described above, when the distal ends of the operation wires formed of the three superelastic alloys are fixed to the rigid distal end portion constituting the distal end side of the insertion portion, any of these three operation wires can be used. When an arbitrary plane is formed by each of the two operation lines selected in at least one of the planes arbitrarily selected and formed,
The two planes are arranged so as not to include the central axis of the distal end rigid portion and the curved portion constituting the insertion portion, and the base end of each operation line is connected to the actuator portion for moving the respective operation line forward and backward. By configuring the bending mechanism, the moving amount of each operation line can be appropriately adjusted for each actuator section, and the bending section can be bent in a desired direction.

Further, a sensor for detecting the bending state of the operation line is arranged at an intermediate portion located in the bending portion of the three operation lines, and a bending state detection signal output from this sensor is provided in the control circuit. And outputs a new drive signal for controlling the bending state of the bending section to the actuator section via the bending drive circuit based on the comparison result based on the comparison result with the bending instruction signal from the joystick. By operating the operation line forward and backward, the bending portion can be reliably controlled to bend in the direction specified by the joystick.

Further, in contrast to a conventional bending section provided with a plurality of bending pieces and an operation wire for bending a bending tube formed by the plurality of bending pieces, the bending section and the bending mechanism are provided with three operation lines. With this configuration, a sufficient space inside the insertion portion can be secured. As a result, a sufficient space for inserting a built-in component other than the bending mechanism is secured, so that it is not necessary to reduce the diameter of the built-in component, while the endoscope insertion portion can be reduced in diameter.

Further, by disposing an LED on the distal end adapter and connecting a flexible tube constituting the base end side of the insertion portion to the drum portion, power is supplied from the battery provided on the drum portion to the LED. By obtaining the illumination observation light, it is possible to always illuminate the test site with a predetermined amount of illumination light. As a result, the light quantity shortage is solved by the light loss caused by the lengthening of the light guide fiber normally used as the illumination means and the light quantity decrease due to the light loss at the connection surface with the leading end adapter. Also, in order to efficiently transmit illumination light from a distant light source device to an observation site, it is not necessary to use a large fiber diameter or use an expensive fiber having high transmission efficiency. A diameter and an inexpensive configuration are realized.

The video signal contact electrode to which the video signal line extending from the CCU is connected and the video signal connection terminal provided on the connector are provided on the rotation center axis of the drum unit. In addition, it is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of a problem in the conduction between the video signal contact electrode and the video signal connection terminal due to the rotation of the drum unit.

Further, the metal ball provided on the distal end adapter is always pressed against the distal end surface of the contact electrode by the urging force of the compression spring, and the video signal connection terminal and the ground terminal are always pressed by the urging force of the compression spring. By pressing against the signal contact electrode and the ground contact electrode, conduction between the metal ball, the contact electrode, the video signal connection terminal, the video signal contact electrode, and the ground terminal and the ground contact electrode is ensured. be able to.

In this embodiment, the lighting means is L
Although the ED is used, a lamp may be used instead of the LED, and the configuration may be the same as described above.

12 to 15 relate to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a bending portion of an endoscope provided with four operation wires and one spacing wire. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a link mechanism constituting an actuator unit,
FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the link mechanism, and FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing the bending state of the bending portion.

First, the configuration of the endoscope 2 will be described. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, in this embodiment, the number of operation lines 26 is increased by one to four. And four operation lines 26
For operation lines 26U, 26 for upper, lower, left, and right, respectively.
D, 26L, and 26R are fixed at four divided positions on the outer peripheral surface side of the distal end rigid portion 24.

Further, as a wire rod for holding the gap between the curved portions 23 at a predetermined interval, the gap holding wire 81 is connected to the distal end rigid portion 24.
The other end of the spacing line 81 is fixed substantially on the central axis of the flexible tube front base 6.

Further, instead of the resin coating 25 covering the curved portion 23, a composite pipe in which a metal mesh pipe (blade) 22b and a metal spiral pipe (flex) 22c are arranged coaxially is used. The composite pipe may have a configuration in which the metal spiral pipe 22c is on the inside and the metal mesh pipe 22b is on the outside, or may have a configuration opposite thereto.

Next, the structure of the actuator section 34 will be described. As shown in FIG. 13, the actuator section 34 of the present embodiment includes an up / down link bar 82 to which the up / down operation lines 26U and 26D are connected, and left / right operation lines 26R and 26L.
A link mechanism section having left and right link rods 83 to which the link mechanism is connected, a screw-type linear drive member 84 connected to the vertical link rod 82 and the left and right link rods 83, and the screw-type linear drive member 84 is driven. And a motor 85. In this figure, a screw type linear driving member 84 connected to the left and right link rods 83 and the screw type linear driving member 8 are shown.
The motor 85 for driving the motor 4 is omitted.

The link rod 82 constituting the link mechanism for up and down is formed by a shaft 86 fixed inside the drum 32.
, And one end of the link rod 82 and one end of a screw-type linear drive member 84 that moves forward and backward by a motor 85 are fixed. Thus, the motor 85 is rotated by the drive signal from the bending drive circuit 35d to move the link rod 82 fixed to the screw-type linear drive member 84 from the position shown by the solid line to the position shown by the broken line. As shown in FIG. 14, for example, while the upper operation line 26U is towed, the lower operation line 26D is pushed out, that is, by simultaneously pushing and pulling a pair of operation lines, the bending portion 23 It bends in the direction of the pulled up operation line 26U.

The structure in the left-right direction is the same as the above-described structure in the up-down direction, and a description thereof will be omitted. The positions of the fixed portions of the operation lines 26U and 26D and the link bar 82 and the fixed portions of the operation lines 26R and 26L and the link bar 83 are equidistant from the shaft portion 86 as a fulcrum. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, and the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

The operation of the endoscope apparatus configured as described above will be described. By operating the joystick 44 of the controller 4 as in the first embodiment, a bending instruction signal is output to the control unit CPU 35b. Then, a drive signal is output from the control unit CPU 35b via the bending control circuit 35c to the corresponding motor 85 corresponding to the up, down, left, and right directions provided in the actuator unit 34 from the bending drive circuit 35d, and the motor 85 rotates. Start. As a result, the screw-type linear drive member 84 advances and retreats in a predetermined direction, and the link rods 82 and 83 fixed to the screw-type linear drive member 84 rotate with respect to the shaft portion 86, and this link A pair of operation lines 26U, 26D or operation lines 26R, 26L fixed to the rods 82, 83
Moves relatively, and the position of the distal end rigid portion 24 with respect to the flexible tube front base 6 changes. This causes the spacing line 81 to bend, and the bending portion 23 bends freely in a desired direction as shown in FIG.

As described above, the number of operation wires is increased, and the spacing wire is fixedly provided as a wire material for maintaining the gap between the curved portions at a predetermined interval between the rigid distal end portion and the front base of the flexible tube. By bending the gap maintaining line with the movement of the service line and bending the bending portion, the bending control can be accurately performed.

Further, since the interval between the curved portions is maintained at a predetermined interval by providing the interval maintaining line, the curved portion can have a small curvature to maintain a stable curved angle.

In the present embodiment, the configuration in which the number of operation lines is increased is described. However, by providing the line for maintaining the interval, the bending portion may be formed by using two operation lines. Good. At this time, the bending portion can be bent in a desired direction by appropriately setting the positions of the spacing lines and the operation lines. Also, a plurality of spacing lines may be provided. Further, as the number of operation lines increases, instead of providing a link mechanism, the number of rack and pinion units may be increased in accordance with the increase in operation lines.

Incidentally, when performing normal endoscope observation, the distal end side in the insertion direction of the endoscope is directly observed to inspect the entire inner surface of the pipe. For example, when observing the inside of a pipe with the endoscope, it may be necessary to observe the inside of the pipe having an inner diameter much larger than the diameter of the endoscope. In such a case, the endoscope insertion portion is inserted substantially along the vertical lower surface of the inner circumferential surface of the pipe without being inserted at the approximate center of the pipe. In this state, when the distal end side in the insertion direction is directly observed, the entire inner surface of the pipe cannot be inspected, and the observation is performed in a one-sided state. In order to solve this problem, there is an insertion aid that attaches to the distal end side of the insertion section of the endoscope to position the distal end of the insertion section substantially at the center of the pipe. They were prepared so as to be compatible with pipes of various inner diameters.

However, when observing the inside of a pipe having a large inner diameter by using the insertion aid, since the internal space in the pipe to be observed is large, the illumination means provided in the endoscope has the entire circumference of the inner surface of the pipe. Could not be efficiently illuminated, which could hinder observation. For this reason, even when observing a large space using the insertion assisting tool, an endoscope apparatus capable of performing observation with sufficient illumination has been desired.

The endoscope device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 16, the endoscope device 90 of the present embodiment has substantially the same configuration as that of the endoscope device 1 of the first embodiment, and in this embodiment, the insertion portion is long and flexible. An insertion aid 91 made of a non-conductive resin such as polyacetal having a small sliding resistance is attached to a tip end of the insert 21.

As shown in FIG. 17, three projecting feet are provided at both ends of an auxiliary tool main body 92 for covering the endoscope insertion section of the auxiliary tool 91 attached to the distal end of the endoscope insertion section 21. 93 are provided. The foot portion 93 is formed such that the outer peripheral side surfaces of the three foot portions 93 are substantially circular as shown by a dashed line in the figure, and the outer peripheral surface of the foot portion 93 serves as a guide surface. The small-diameter endoscope 2 provided in the auxiliary tool main body 92 is inserted in a state of being disposed on a substantially central axis in a pipe having a large inner diameter.

A distal end portion of the endoscope insertion section 21 is provided in an endoscope fixing hole 92a formed in the auxiliary tool main body 92 of the insertion auxiliary tool 91.
An LED device (LED) 94, which is a light emitting element for illumination, is provided on the distal end surface of the LED. This LED 94
Observation lens cover 51 provided on endoscope 2
Has an optical axis coinciding with the viewing direction.

As shown in FIG.
Is detachably attached to the distal end side of the endoscope insertion portion 21 inserted into the endoscope fixing hole 92a by tightening a screw 95 provided in the auxiliary tool main body 92.

An electric wire 94a extending from the electrode of the LED 94 provided on the distal end surface of the auxiliary tool 91 is connected to the first contact 96 made of a conductive material.
The metal contact 96 has a pin 96 urged by a spring 96a.
The pin 96b protrudes toward the center axis of an endoscope fixing hole 92a in which the endoscope insertion portion 21 is disposed by the urging force of a spring 96a.

For this reason, the insertion portion 21 of the endoscope 2 is inserted into the endoscope fixing hole 92 a formed in the insertion assisting tool 91.
When the endoscope is inserted from the distal end side, the endoscope fixing hole 92 is
A pin 96b protruding in the direction of the central axis of a moves on the outer peripheral surface of the distal end adapter 5a, the rigid end portion 24, and the curved portion 23 to cover the outer peripheral surface of the flexible tube front base 6. Contact the end face of 6d. And the pin 96b
Compresses the spring 6d in the proximal direction of the insertion portion.
As a result, the metal terminal 6a provided on the flexible tube front base 6 is exposed, and the pin 96b is brought into contact with the metal terminal 6a to electrically connect the two, whereby the LED 94 is turned on. At this point, the screw 95 is tightened to fix the endoscope insertion portion 21 and the insertion assisting tool 91 integrally.

As described above, by fixing the endoscope to the insertion aid provided with the illuminating means and observing the inside of the pipe having a large inner diameter, the internal space in the observed pipe is large.
With the illumination means provided in the endoscope, the entire circumference of the inner surface of the pipe is efficiently illuminated by the illumination means of the insertion aid, and the inside of the pipe can be observed with illumination light brighter than the illumination optical system provided in the endoscope. .

Note that, as shown in FIG. 17, the projecting positions of the both ends of the foot portion 93 may not be in the same position in the circumferential direction, but may be shifted from each other in the circumferential direction. Also,
The LED 94 may be provided on the foot 93 or on the peripheral surface of the assisting device main body 92. Further, a lamp may be used instead of the LED 94.

As shown in FIG. 19, an electric wire 97 for supplying power for lighting the LED 94 may be directly drawn from the LED 94 provided on the insertion assisting tool 91. By attaching the insertion assisting tool 91 to the endoscope insertion section 21, the endoscope insertion section 2
Even with the endoscope 2 which does not have the metal terminal 6a for connection in 1, it is possible to perform observation with an optimum amount of illumination light. Further, by fixing a wire 98 to the insertion aid main body 92 and extending the wire 98 to the hand side, the wire 98 is pulled to connect the insertion aid 91 and the endoscope insertion portion 21 to the inside of the pipe. It becomes possible to remove from.

When inspecting the inside of the pipe with the endoscope, the purpose is to observe the entire circumference of the inside of the pipe at the time of insertion. Usually, the insertion direction in which the endoscope is inserted is observed. Then, when any defective portion is found on the inner surface of the pipe, the observation window arranged on the distal end surface of the endoscope is brought closer to the portion to check the enlargement. At this time, the distal end surface of the endoscope is brought closer to the defective portion using the bending function of the endoscope. However, while the distance from the curved portion to the distal end surface is constant, the distance between the inner surface of the pipe and the distal end surface of the endoscope is not always constant. However, there was a case that did not sufficiently approach the defective part. For this reason, there is a demand for an endoscope that can easily widen the observation range by easily changing the distance from the curved portion to the distal end surface (also referred to as the distal end length).

Referring to FIGS. 20 to 22, an endoscope having a structure in which the length of the distal end portion is variable will be described. As shown in FIG. 20, in the present embodiment, a plurality of variable-length-pieces 101 are disposed between the rigid distal end portion 24 constituting the distal end side of the endoscope 2 and the flexible tube front mouthpiece 6, and A curved portion 23 forms a gap between the group of variable-length tip pieces 102 connected to the distal-end rigid portion 24 and the group of variable-length tip pieces 103 connected to the flexible tube front base 6.

The connecting portions 101 are attached to both ends of the variable-length-end piece 101 so that the pieces can be detachably connected to each other.
a is provided. The connecting portion 101a has a concave portion 10 which can be connected to the convex base end of the rigid distal end portion 24.
1b and a concave front end portion of the flexible tube front base 6 and detachable convex portions 101c at both ends.

As shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, the variable-length-end piece 101 includes the operation line 26 and the spacing line 8.
Through holes 104a and 104b having diameters larger than the outer diameters of the spacing line 81 and the operation lines 26 are formed at positions corresponding to the lines 26 and 81 so as to be able to advance and retreat with respect to 1. And a wire 28a connected to the signal cable 29 and the contact electrode 28 extending from the CCD 27.
Is formed to penetrate in the longitudinal direction of the insertion portion.

Thus, as shown in FIGS. 22 (a) to 22 (c), by changing the number of connected variable-length tip pieces 101 connected to the rigid tip portion 24, the gap to be the curved portion 23 is formed. Is moved, the length from the curved portion 23 to the distal end surface can be freely changed.

As described above, by moving the position of the variable tip length piece according to the observation situation, the length from the curved portion to the tip end surface can be freely changed, and the observation of the test site can always be performed under the optimal condition. Can be observed.

In the endoscope 2 using the variable-length-end piece 101, the position of the variable-length-piece 101 must be frequently changed. Does not use the resin coating 25 constituting the curved portion 23.

When an industrial endoscope is inserted into a pipe, a guide tube called a guide tube is inserted in advance to a target observation site in the pipe, and the endoscope is objectively observed through the guide tube. Observation is made by penetrating to the site.
However, the pipe for performing the endoscopy is not always limited to a straight pipe, and may have a complicated shape such as a part bent in a right angle direction by an elbow pipe. For this reason, when the guide tube reaches the elbow tube while pushing the guide tube to the target observation site, the distal end surface of the guide tube is caught by the step forming the connecting portion between the elbow tube and the straight tube, and this guide is provided. Sometimes it became difficult to insert the tube further into the tube. In such a case, the guide tube is twisted or repeatedly pushed and pulled to reach the target portion.

For this reason, even if the distal end surface of the guide tube is caught on a step or the like in the elbow tube, a guide tube having a structure capable of passing through the elbow tube with a simple operation and smoothly sending it to the target observation site is desired. I was

The configuration and operation of the guide tube will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 23, a guide tube 110 of the present embodiment is, for example, a spiral tube 111 made of stainless steel.
The tip surface of the tip base 112 attached to the tip of the
Rather than forming a face perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, the inclined surface 11 obliquely intersects this longitudinal axis.
Three. Then, a protruding portion 114 protruding toward the distal end side of the longitudinal axis is provided on the base end side of the inclined surface 113.
And the tip surface position of the projection 114 and the inclined surface 1
It is configured such that the 13 most advanced positions are substantially the same. The end cap 112 is fixed to the end of the spiral tube 111 by brazing or the like.

The operation of the guide tube 110 configured as described above will be described. When the distal end cap 112 of the guide tube 110 reaches the elbow tube 115 as indicated by the broken line in FIG. 24A, the tip of the inclined surface 113 of the guide tube 110 comes into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the elbow tube 115. Then, when the guide tube 110 is further pushed in in this state, as shown by a solid line in FIG.

However, at this time, the projection 114 provided at the base end of the inclined surface 113 is attached to the elbow tube 1.
15 has reached the inner peripheral surface side of the straight pipe 116. Therefore, by twisting the guide tube 110 in this state, as shown in FIG.
The projection 114 that is in contact with the inner peripheral surface side of 6 serves as a fulcrum, and the entire guide tube 110 starts rotating. Then, by performing a pushing operation while rotating the guide tube by 180 degrees, the inclined surface 11 stuck on the step portion 115a is rotated.
3 The leading end moves toward the inner peripheral surface of the straight pipe 116 and is inserted further into the guide pipe 110 as shown by the broken line in FIG.

As described above, the distal end surface of the distal end cap provided at the distal end of the spiral tube constituting the guide tube is formed as an inclined surface obliquely intersecting the longitudinal axis, and from the base end side of the inclined surface. By providing a projection that is almost the same height as the tip of the inclined surface that protrudes in the insertion direction, when the tip of the guide tube is caught on a step, etc., simply twist and rotate the guide tube with the projection as a fulcrum By the operation described above, the portion caught by the step can be eliminated.

Further, since the tip end face of the tip cap is formed as an inclined surface, and a projection protruding forward in the longitudinal direction is provided on the base end side of the inclined surface, the number of parts can be increased. Since the diameter is not large, the configuration can be made inexpensive and suitable for reducing the diameter.

As shown in FIG. 25, a face 117 perpendicular to the longitudinal axis direction shown by a solid line is provided instead of the inclined face 113 shown by the broken line in this embodiment, and a projection 114 is formed on a part of the face 117. Is provided, when the tip end of the inclined surface 113 is caught on the step portion 115a, the protrusion 114 also comes into contact with the step portion 115a. Therefore, the guide tube 110 is arranged on the inner peripheral surface side of the straight tube 116. There is a problem that you cannot get the trigger.

The present invention is not limited to only the above-described embodiments, but can be variously modified without departing from the gist of the invention.

[Supplementary Notes] (1) A distal end rigid portion provided with an observation optical system and an illumination optical system, an elongated insertion portion having a curved portion connected to the base end side of the distal end rigid portion, and a distal end portion having the distal end rigidity And three or more wire rods whose base ends are inserted at least up to the bending portion, and bending means provided on the base end side of the insertion portion that bends the bending portion. By moving at least one wire rod in the longitudinal direction of the insertion portion by the operation of the bending means, among the three or more wire rods, the other wire rods that have not been moved forward and backward by the bending means can be obtained. By resisting the movement of the wire rod that has moved forward and backward, all of the three or more wire rods are bent in the direction in which the wire rod that has moved forward and backward, and any of the three or more wire rods A set of two wires is used as a set When forming a surface, the endoscope arranges each wire so that at least one set of a plurality of planes formed by the arbitrary set of wires forms a plane that does not include the center axis of the insertion portion. Mirror device.

(2) The endoscope apparatus according to attachment 1, wherein the three or more wires are superelastic alloys.

(3) The three or more wires are operating wires whose distal ends are fixed to the rigid distal end portion and whose proximal ends are fixed to bending means provided on the proximal end side of the insertion portion. Endoscope device.

(4) At least one of the three or more wires is an interval maintaining wire for setting and maintaining the interval of the curved portion between the rigid tip portion and the flexible tube at a predetermined value. Is a wire for operation whose distal end is fixed to the rigid distal end portion and whose proximal end is fixed to a bending means provided on the proximal end side of the insertion portion.
The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1.

(5) The endoscope apparatus according to appendix 1, wherein the bending means includes an actuator, and a bending control circuit that controls driving of the actuator to control a bending state.

(6) The endoscope apparatus according to appendix 5, wherein the actuator bends the bending portion by pushing the operation line toward the bending portion.

(7) The actuator includes a rack to which the base end of the operation wire is fixed, a rack and pinion mechanism having a pinion that meshes with the rack and moves the rack forward and backward, and a motor that rotates the pinion. 5. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 5, comprising:

(8) The endoscope apparatus according to attachment 7, wherein the rack bends the bending portion by pushing the operation line toward the bending portion.

(9) The endoscope device according to attachment 7, wherein the rack and pinion mechanism is provided in correspondence with the number of operation wires.

(10) The actuator includes a link mechanism for fixing two base ends of the operation wire, and a screw-type linear moving mechanism for fixing one end of a link rod constituting the link mechanism. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising: a motor for moving the screw-type linear moving mechanism forward and backward.

(11) The endoscope apparatus according to appendix 10, wherein the fixing portions of the two operation lines fixed to the link rod are equidistant with respect to the center of rotation of the link rod.

(12) An internal endoscope having an endoscope distal end adapter which is detachably attached to the distal end of the elongated endoscope insertion portion and converts the optical characteristics of the endoscope and the physical shape of the distal end of the endoscope. In an endoscope apparatus, an endoscope apparatus in which a light emitting element disposed in the endoscope distal end adapter and a power supply provided in the endoscope apparatus are electrically connected by an electric wire passing through the endoscope. .

(13) The endoscope apparatus according to appendix 12, further comprising an electrical contact for electrically connecting the distal end adapter and an electric wire passing through the endoscope.

(14) A metal ball provided on the endoscope distal end adapter and protruding toward the distal end surface of the endoscope;
A first electrical contact formed by a conductive coil spring that urges the metal ball and contacts a terminal of the light emitting element is provided at a distal end of the endoscope, and the electric wire is connected to the first electrical contact. A second electrical contact, wherein the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact are electrically connected by connecting the endoscope distal end adapter to the endoscope;
14. The endoscope apparatus according to 2 or Appendix 13.

(15) The supplementary note 12 or the supplementary note 13, wherein the tip adapter and the light emitting element are integrally formed.
An endoscope apparatus according to claim 1.

(16) The endoscope apparatus according to appendix 14, wherein the light emitting element and the first electric contact are integrally formed.

(17) The endoscope apparatus according to appendix 16, wherein the integrally formed light emitting element and the first electric contact are detachable from the distal end adapter.

(18) An elongated insertion portion having an observation mechanism for observation at the distal end portion, a main body to which the insertion portion is connected, and an observation operation device connected to the main body via a connection connector. In the endoscope apparatus, an endoscope apparatus in which the main body and the observation operation device are functionally connected by a connector mechanism having an electrical connector and an optical connector.

(19) The electrical connector provided in the connector mechanism electrically connects the main body and the video circuit of the observation operation device to transmit a video signal, while the optical connector is connected to the main body and the main body. 19. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the operation communication signal is transmitted to and from the observation operation apparatus.

(20) The endoscope apparatus according to attachment 18, wherein the electrode of the electric connector is arranged at a center position of the connector mechanism, and the electrode of the optical connector is arranged on the outer peripheral side of the electrode of the electric connector.

(21) The endoscope apparatus according to attachment 18, wherein the electrode of the optical connector is arranged at a center position of the connector mechanism, and the electrode of the electric connector is arranged on the outer peripheral side of the electrode of the electric connector.

(22) An elongated insertion portion having an observation mechanism for observation at the distal end portion, a main body to which the insertion portion is connected, and an observation operation device connected to the main body via a connection connector. In the endoscope apparatus, a wireless communication circuit is provided between the main body and the observation operation device, and the main body and the observation operation device perform mutual communication of a video signal and an operation command signal.

(23) An elongated insertion portion having an observation mechanism for observation at the distal end portion, a main body to which the insertion portion is connected, and an observation operation device connected to the main body via a connection connector. An endoscope apparatus, comprising: a connecting portion for detachably connecting the insertion portion and the main body.

(24) Supplementary note 2 wherein the drive circuit for driving the observation mechanism is provided on the insertion portion side such that when the insertion portion is removed from the main body, the drive circuit is positioned on the insertion portion side.
3. The endoscope device according to 3.

(25) An endoscope having a fixing portion detachably attached to the distal end portion of the endoscope insertion portion, and one or more projecting portions projecting in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the insertion portion. In an endoscope apparatus provided with a mirror insertion aid, a light emitting element that emits observation illumination light provided in the insertion aid is aligned with an optical axis in a viewing direction of an endoscope to which the insertion aid is attached. Endoscope device.

(26) The endoscope apparatus according to attachment 25, wherein the light emitting element is provided on a front surface of the insertion aid.

(27) The endoscope apparatus according to attachment 25, wherein the light emitting element is provided on a side surface of the insertion aid.

(28) The endoscope apparatus according to attachment 25, wherein the light emitting element is provided in the overhang portion.

(29) The endoscope apparatus according to attachment 25, wherein the light emitting element is an LED.

(30) The endoscope apparatus according to attachment 25, wherein the light emitting element is a lamp.

(31) The endoscope apparatus according to supplementary note 25, further comprising a first electrically connected light emitting element.
Of the endoscope, located on the outer peripheral surface side of the insertion portion of the endoscope,
A metal contact electrically connected to an electric wire passing through the insertion portion from a power supply as an external device, wherein when the insertion aid is attached to the endoscope, the first contact and the metal contact are electrically connected. An endoscope apparatus in which the light emitting element is turned on upon contact with the endoscope.

(32) The endoscope apparatus according to Supplementary Note 25, further comprising an electric wire extending from the light emitting element to a power supply which is an external device, for electrically connecting the light emitting element and the power supply. Mirror device.

(33) A rigid distal end portion having an observation optical system and an illumination optical system, an elongated insertion portion having a curved portion connected to the proximal end side of the rigid distal end portion, and a distal end portion fixed to the rigid distal end portion And the base end is inserted at least up to the curved portion 3
And a bending means provided on the base end side of the insertion section for bending the bending portion, and at least one of the three or more wires is inserted by operating the bending means. By moving the wire rod in the longitudinal direction, the other wire rods not moved by the bending means out of the three or more rod rods resist the movement of the moved wire rod by the three or more wire rods. Are bent in the bending direction of the wire rod moved forward and backward, and have a fitting hole between the rigid end portion and the distal end of the insertion portion, which is slidably fitted to the wire rod. An endoscope apparatus provided with one or a plurality of variable-length-end pieces, each of which has a fitting portion in which adjacent pieces are fitted with each other.

(34) The endoscope apparatus according to attachment 33, wherein a pair of concave portions and convex portions forming the fitting portion are provided at the end of the variable length tip.

(35) The endoscope apparatus according to attachment 33, wherein the length of the distal end length is changed by changing the arrangement of the variable length end pieces.

(36) In an endoscope apparatus provided with a flexible guide tube for guiding an elongated insertion portion of an endoscope to a target observation site, an end portion of the guide tube may be inserted in an insertion direction. An endoscope apparatus provided with a tip base having a protruding projection.

(37) The endoscope apparatus according to attachment 36, wherein a distal end surface of the distal end base having the protruding portion is formed as an inclined surface which is inclined and intersects with the longitudinal axis of the guide tube.

(38) The endoscope apparatus according to attachment 36, wherein the protruding portion is provided at the most proximal end side of the inclined surface.

(39) The endoscope apparatus according to attachment 36, wherein the amount of protrusion of the protrusion in the insertion direction is substantially the same as the position of the most distal end surface of the guide tube.

[0143]

As described above, according to the endoscope apparatus of the present invention, the driving operation of the driving motor provided inside the drum unit is controlled by operating the bending operation means provided outside the drum unit. Thus, the bending portion of the insertion portion can be bent.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 to FIG. 11 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a schematic configuration of an endoscope apparatus of the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a drum unit.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a distal end side of an insertion portion.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of the distal end side of the insertion section.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining the configuration and operation of a conductive holder provided on the distal end adapter;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a connection relationship between a drum unit and a connector and a configuration of an actuator unit in the drum unit.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific configuration example of an actuator unit.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a specific example of mounting the insertion portion and the drum portion.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an endoscope apparatus.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a bending state of a bending portion.

12 to 15 relate to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a bending portion of an endoscope provided with four operation lines and one spacing line.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a link mechanism constituting an actuator unit.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the link mechanism.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a bending state of a bending portion.

FIGS. 16 to 18 relate to an endoscope apparatus having another configuration, and FIG. 16 is a view showing the configuration of an endoscope apparatus provided with an insertion aid.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory view showing a connection state of an endoscope insertion portion of the insertion assisting tool.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a configuration of an insertion aid.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view showing an example of an insertion aid having another configuration.

20 to 22 relate to an endoscope having a structure with a variable tip length, and FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a configuration of an endoscope having a variable tip length piece;

FIG. 21 is a front view of a variable tip length piece.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of connecting variable-length-end pieces.

23 to 25 relate to a guide tube, and FIG.
Is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a distal end portion of the guide tube.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an inserted state of a guide tube.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory view showing a failure example of the guide tube.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 ... Endoscope 4 ... Controller 6 ... Flexible tube front base 21 ... Insertion part 23 ... Bending part 24 ... Tip rigid part 26 ... Operation line 26a ... Sensor 32 ... Drum part 33 ... CCU 34 ... Actuator part 35 ... Control Circuit 36 ... Battery 37 ... Motor 44 ... Joystick

Claims (1)

[Claims] An elongated flexible insertion portion having a distal end portion provided with an observation optical system and an illumination optical system, a bendable bending portion, and a base end portion of the insertion portion are connected, and A drum portion provided with a winding portion around which the portion is wound; a bending wire inserted into the drum portion from the bending portion side; and a bending wire provided in the drum portion, the bending wire being inserted into the insertion portion. A drive motor that bends the bending portion by moving forward and backward in the longitudinal direction; and a bending operation that is provided outside the drum portion and that performs a bending instruction operation to bend the bending portion via the driving motor. Means, and an endoscope apparatus comprising: