CN113413115B

CN113413115B - Knob assembly, operation part and electronic endoscope

Info

Publication number: CN113413115B
Application number: CN202110535642.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张剑; 刘孟华; 沈和良
Original assignee: Hangzhou Lainset Medical Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Hangzhou Lainset Medical Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2021-05-17
Filing date: 2021-05-17
Publication date: 2023-02-03
Anticipated expiration: 2041-05-17
Also published as: CN113413115A; CN116058767A

Abstract

The invention discloses a knob assembly which is used for an operation part of an electronic endoscope, wherein the operation part comprises an upper shell as a shell, the knob assembly comprises a first knob, a second gear and a first gear which are sequentially and coaxially arranged from the outside to the inside of the shell, the first knob can drive the first gear to rotate, the second knob can drive the second gear to rotate, and the second gear and the first gear are positioned in the shell. Also disclosed are an operation section and an electronic endoscope, which can reduce the cost.

Description

Knob assembly, operation part and electronic endoscope

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of medical instruments, in particular to a knob assembly, an operating part and an electronic endoscope.

Background

In the medical field and the industrial field, an electronic endoscope having an elongated insertion portion that can be inserted into a body cavity or a tube is widely used. When performing endoscopic examination or endoscopic surgery using a medical electronic endoscope, an insertion portion of the endoscope is inserted into a body cavity along a site having a curved shape such as an esophagus or a small intestine or a large intestine, and an operator operates an operation portion to bend a bending portion located at a distal end of the insertion portion in different directions, so that an observation optical system located at a distal end surface of the insertion portion obtains an image of a desired observation site, whereby the operator can perform observation, diagnosis, imaging, treatment, and the like.

However, the electronic endoscope currently marketed as an interventional therapy device is complicated in structure and expensive, and thus can be reused. There is a need for an electronic endoscope that can achieve the basic functions of the above-described electronic endoscope as an interventional treatment device, and that is simple in structure and can be manufactured at low cost.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to solve the problem that the electronic endoscope as an interventional therapy instrument is complicated in structure and high in cost. The invention provides an electronic endoscope which can be used as an interventional therapy apparatus, has a simple structure and can be manufactured at lower cost.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides various electronic endoscope components which individually achieve respective functions satisfying the above object, and which, when combined, can produce an electronic endoscope satisfying the above object.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a knob assembly for an operating portion of an electronic endoscope, where the operating portion includes an upper shell as a housing, and the knob assembly includes, in order from outside to inside of the housing, a first knob, a second gear, and a first gear, which are coaxially arranged in sequence, where the first knob may drive the first gear to rotate, the second knob may drive the second gear to rotate, and the second gear and the first gear are located in the housing.

The technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention can reduce the cost.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first knob and the second knob respectively have a gear shaft extending towards the inner direction of the housing, and the gear shaft of the second knob is a hollow structure and can be penetrated by the gear shaft of the first knob.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the second gear is provided with a lower ring on a side facing an outside direction of the housing, and the lower ring of the second gear is provided with an axially extending slot for axially inserting with the longitudinal teeth on the gear shaft of the second knob so that the second gear rotates with the rotation of the second knob.

In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the second gear is provided with an inner circular ring on a side facing the inner direction of the housing, a lower circular ring of the second gear is communicated with the inner circular ring to form a second channel, and a gear shaft of the first knob passes through the hollow gear shaft of the second knob and the second channel and then is connected with the first gear to drive the first gear to rotate.

In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the first gear is provided with a lower ring on a side facing an outside direction of the housing, and an inner ring on a side facing an inside direction of the housing, the lower ring of the first gear is communicated with the inner ring to form a first channel, and internal teeth are provided in the first channel for meshing with a gear shaft of the first knob, so that the first gear rotates along with the rotation of the first knob.

In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the upper housing is provided with a corresponding opening for passing the gear shaft of the second knob therethrough, the opening allows the gear shaft of the second knob to rotate therein, the opening is provided with a bushing extending into the housing, and the length of the gear shaft of the second knob is set such that when the gear shaft of the second knob extends into the opening, the top thereof substantially coincides with the height of the bushing.

In one possible implementation of the first aspect, a top end of the gear shaft of the first knob is provided with a screw hole, and a length of the gear shaft of the first knob is set such that the top end of the gear shaft of the first knob is flush with a top end of the inner ring of the first gear when the assembly is completed.

In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the second gear and the first gear are each provided with an outer ring on a side facing in the housing, the outer ring being located outside the inner ring.

In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the inner ring and the outer ring of the first gear and the inner ring and the outer ring of the second gear are the same in height, and the lower ring of the first gear is higher than the inner ring and the outer ring of the second gear, and has a diameter smaller than the diameter of the outer ring and larger than the diameter of the inner ring.

In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the locking grooves with openings in the same direction are provided on the annular walls of the outer rings of the first and second gears.

In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the operating unit further includes a lower shell, a lower locking column is disposed on an inner wall of the lower shell, and an upper locking column is disposed on an inner wall of the upper shell; the lower locking column is arranged to be in clamping connection with the outer teeth of the first gear, and the upper locking column is arranged to be in clamping connection with the outer teeth of the second gear.

In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the upper locking column and/or the lower locking column is sleeved with a PU tube.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an operating portion of an electronic endoscope, including the knob assembly according to any one of the embodiments of the first aspect. The beneficial effects that can be achieved by the second aspect can be referred to the beneficial effects of the knob assembly provided by any one of the embodiments of the first aspect, and are not described herein again.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an electronic endoscope including the operation portion according to any one of the second aspect.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic endoscope provided by an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a distal end face structure of a front end portion of a prior art electronic endoscope;

fig. 3 is a schematic perspective view of an image pickup device protection cover of an insertion portion of an electronic endoscope according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a schematic view showing the direction of air/water flow of an image pickup element protective cover of an insertion portion of an electronic endoscope according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural view of a distal end portion of an insertion section of an electronic endoscope according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a perspective view of an operation portion of an electronic endoscope according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a perspective view of an operation portion of an electronic endoscope according to an embodiment of the present invention at another angle;

fig. 8 is a perspective view of the internal structure of the operating part with the lower case removed, according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is an exploded view of a knob assembly of an operating part according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10a is a schematic view of a first gear face according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10b is a schematic view of another side of the first gear of FIG. 10 a;

FIG. 11a is a schematic view of a face of a second gear according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11b is a schematic view of another side of the second gear of FIG. 11 a;

fig. 12 is a schematic view of the internal structure of the lower case according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 13 is a schematic view of the internal structure of an upper case provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a schematic structural view of a tee of a clamp port according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 15 is a view illustrating an installation state of the connector holder according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of a connection seat according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The following description of the embodiments of the present invention is provided for illustrative purposes, and other advantages and effects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the present disclosure. While the invention will be described in conjunction with the preferred embodiments, it is not intended that features of the invention be limited to these embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is described in connection with the embodiments for the purpose of covering alternatives or modifications that may be extended based on the claims of the present invention. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention, and the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. Moreover, some of the specific details have been left out of the description in order to avoid obscuring or obscuring the focus of the present invention. It should be noted that the embodiments and features of the embodiments may be combined with each other without conflict.

It should be noted that in this specification, like reference numerals and letters refer to like items in the following drawings, and thus, once an item is defined in one drawing, it need not be further defined and explained in subsequent drawings.

In the description of the present embodiment, it should be noted that the terms "upper", "lower", "inner", "bottom", and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the drawings or orientations or positional relationships that are conventionally placed when the products of the present invention are used, and are only used for convenience in describing the present invention and simplifying the description, but do not indicate or imply that the devices or elements indicated must have specific orientations, be configured in specific orientations, and operate, and thus, should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

In the description of the present embodiment, it should be noted that the terms "near" and "far" are relative positional relationships, and when an operator operates an instrument to treat a target object, along this instrument, the side close to the operator is "near" and the side close to the target object is "far".

The terms "first," "second," and the like are used solely to distinguish one from another and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

In the description of the present embodiment, it should be further noted that, unless explicitly stated or limited otherwise, the terms "disposed," "connected," and "connected" are to be interpreted broadly, e.g., as a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; can be mechanically or electrically connected; they may be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or may be connected through two elements. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present embodiment can be understood in specific cases by those of ordinary skill in the art.

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

An electronic endoscope (endoscopy) is a medical electronic optical instrument integrating techniques of light collection, machine and electricity, which can be inserted into body cavities and internal organs of human bodies for direct observation, diagnosis and treatment. The electronic imaging element with very small size is used to image the object to be observed inside the cavity via the miniature objective optical system, the received image signal is sent to the image processing system, and the processed image is output in the display for doctor's observation and diagnosis. The electronic endoscopes are classified into electronic gastroscopes, electronic duodenoscopes, electronic colonoscopes, and the like.

The electronic endoscope and the components thereof provided by the embodiment of the invention can be used as a living body endoscope such as the electronic gastroscope, the electronic duodenoscope and the electronic colonoscope, and any other suitable occasions. That is, the electronic endoscope and its components provided by the embodiments of the present invention can be used in any situation where an endoscope is required, such as in the industry, as long as the dimensions are matched. The following usage scenarios are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the electronic endoscope provided by the present invention.

Gastroscopes are a method of medical examination and also refer to instruments used in such examinations. It is inserted into the stomach by means of a thin and flexible tube, and the doctor can directly observe the pathological changes of esophagus, stomach and duodenum, especially the tiny pathological changes. The gastroscopy can directly observe the real condition of the detected part, and can further carry out pathological biopsy and cytology detection on the suspicious lesion part to further clearly diagnose, thereby being the preferred detection method for the upper digestive tract lesion.

When the gastroscope is used for gastric examination, the pathological tissues are amplified, so that doctors can list diseases in the stomach without losing under the condition of very clear visual field, and the gastroscope has no dead angle for examination, no damage and high diagnosis rate. The examination and treatment are safe, the time is short, the patient can not be nervous before the examination, the discomfort is not generated during the examination, the patient can recover quickly after the examination, the examination result of the doctor is more accurate, and the judgment and treatment of the state of an illness are facilitated.

The gastroscope is not only used for examining and diagnosing diseases, but also has obvious effect on the interventional therapy of the stomach diseases. Under the direct vision of gastroscope, the polyp can be directly cut off by using a high-frequency electric knife, so that the pain of the conventional operation is completely avoided, and the malignant change of the polyp is avoided. Electronic gastroscopy has become a very common diagnostic tool.

However, the electronic endoscope as an interventional therapy device or the electronic gastroscope and the electronic enteroscope specially used for stomach and intestine examination are very expensive. In order to reduce the burden on the patient as much as possible, medical workers can only use the medical device repeatedly by means of manual cleaning. However, even if each procedure is cleaned to exacting requirements, bacteria may remain on these devices and the patient may be infected accordingly. In fact, even in medical institutions with relatively good medical conditions, such as the united states and europe, there have been cases where patients are cross-infected due to repeated use of endoscopes. Worse still, these devices can even cause the spread of drug resistant infections, which currently have few cure options.

Therefore, there is a strong need for an electronic endoscope that avoids infection due to incomplete cleaning. In addition, it is important that it is also low cost, otherwise it is still unbearable for the patient. Obviously, when the cost is reduced to a certain degree, the low-cost electronic endoscope can be used as a disposable electronic endoscope, and the problem of secondary infection caused by the fact that the electronic endoscope cannot be thoroughly cleaned is thoroughly solved.

The inventor has studied a lot of times, and has understood that the high cost is mainly due to the complex structure of the current electronic endoscope, and the complex structure not only makes the manufacture more difficult, but also increases the requirement of materials.

The invention provides an electronic endoscope and corresponding independently manufacturable and usable components included in such an electronic endoscope. The electronic endoscope provided by the invention is improved in structure or material, can realize lower-cost production, manufacture and use while meeting a plurality of basic functions of the electronic endoscope, and can even be used as a disposable electronic endoscope.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural view of an electronic endoscope 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 1 shows a structure of an electronic endoscope 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The electronic endoscope 100 includes an operation section 200, and an elongated insertion section 300 located on the distal end side of the operation section 200.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view of a distal end surface structure of a distal end portion of a prior art electronic endoscope. Fig. 2 shows a distal end face structure of a front end portion of an electronic endoscope in the related art. As shown in fig. 2, in the prior art, the insertion portion has a distal end portion a located at the most distal end of the insertion portion. The tip end portion a is formed of a hard material. An imaging element b, an illumination element, an air/water supply channel outlet c, and a clamp channel outlet are provided on the distal end surface of the distal end portion a. The air/water supply channel outlet c also has a function of cleaning the outer surface of the imaging element b in addition to air supply or water discharge. A radial line d in fig. 2 shows a state when air/water is ejected from the air/water feeding channel outlet c.

In the related art, a transparent protective mirror is provided on the outer periphery of the image pickup device b on the distal end surface of the distal end portion a. The protective glass and the front end part a separate the image pickup element b from the outside at the same time of not influencing the image pickup quality of the image pickup element, so as to prevent external liquid such as human body fluid and the like from permeating into the image pickup element b or a cable connected with the image pickup element b and the like to cause damage. Meanwhile, an air/water supply channel outlet c is provided on the distal end surface of the front end portion a, and is formed by a metal (usually stainless steel) flat tube, protruding from the distal end surface, bent to be parallel to the distal end surface, and facing the image pickup element b. Thus, when the operator operates the air supply or the water supply, the air or the water is supplied to the human body along the air supply/water supply channel outlet c via the endoscope. The air or water can flow out of the air/water supply passage outlet c and clean the protective glasses of the imaging element b. However, the bent flat metal tube is used as the outlet c of the air/water feeding channel, which has high material cost and high processing difficulty. Because the leakproofness is guaranteed, the installation difficulty of installing the bent metal flat pipe at the front end part a is higher. These all result in a relatively high cost of this solution of the prior art.

Fig. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the image pickup device protection cover 310 of the insertion unit 300 of the electronic endoscope 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 4 is a schematic view of the air/water flow direction of the image pickup device protection cover 310 of the insertion portion 300 of the electronic endoscope 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

In view of achieving the basic functions and reducing cost, the present invention provides a protective cover 310, which in one embodiment is injection molded from a transparent PC material. The PC material is Polycarbonate (abbreviated as PC), which is a high molecular polymer having a carbonate group in its molecular chain. The protective cover 310 provided by an embodiment of the present invention is shaped like a slipper without a sole under the toe cap, and specifically as shown in fig. 3 and 4, it includes a cover 311, a head 312, and a bending cavity 313 enclosed by the cover 311 and the head 312. A bending chamber outlet 314 is formed above an end of the cover 311 adjacent to the head 312. As shown in fig. 4, the head 312 has a transverse L-shape in a longitudinal cross-sectional view. The top wall of the head 312 has a chamfer on the outside of the end near the bending cavity exit 314 to prevent the protective cover 310 from damaging human tissue as the front end 308 moves within the body cavity. The internal structure of the head 312 is configured to form a tapered outlet (bending cavity outlet 314) from the end far from the cover 311 to the end near the cover 311, or the internal structure described as the head 312 is configured to form a tapered outlet at the bending cavity outlet 314 from the end far from the cover 311 to the end near the cover 311. I.e. the cross-sectional area of the outlet 314 of the bending chamber decreases gradually in the air/water flow direction. This protection cap 310 provided by the embodiment of the present invention is used for the front end portion of the insertion portion of the electronic endoscope.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the protective cover 310 is formed by injection molding of a transparent polymer material, wherein the polymer material is a mixture of one or more of PC, PET, PMMA and PS. PC is an abbreviation for Polycarbonate in english and refers to Polycarbonate. PET is an abbreviation for polyethylene terephthalate in English, and refers to polyethylene terephthalate. PMMA is an abbreviation for poly methyl methacrylate, which refers to polymethyl methacrylate. PS is an abbreviation for Polystyrene, english, and refers to Polystyrene.

Fig. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of the distal end portion 308 of the insertion portion 300 of the electronic endoscope 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The embodiment of the invention also provides a front end part 308 for an insertion part of an electronic endoscope, which comprises the protective cover 310. The front end 308 has an air/water supply channel therein, the distal end surface of which is provided with an image pickup device 309, a protective cover 310 is provided on the distal end side of the image pickup device 309, a cover surface 311 covers the image pickup device 309, and a bending cavity 313 communicates with the air/water supply channel.

As shown in fig. 5, in one embodiment of the present invention, the distal end surface of the distal end portion 308 is provided with a recess having a shape corresponding to the protective cover 310, the image pickup device 309 is provided below the end of the recess corresponding to the cover surface 311 of the protective cover 310, and the end corresponding to the head 312 of the protective cover 310 communicates with the air/water supply passage. In other words, the image pickup device 309 is provided below the end of the recess corresponding to the cover surface 311 of the protective cover 310. The recess is provided such that the installation is completed by merely pressing the protective cap 310 into the recess.

As shown in fig. 4, after the protective cover 310 of the present invention is attached to the distal end portion 308, the bending chamber 313 communicates with the air/water supply channel, and the bending chamber outlet 314 serves as an air/water supply channel outlet. In the working state, when the operator operates to supply air or water, the air or water travels along the air/water supply channel to the bending cavity 313, turns in the bending cavity 313 and flows out from the bending cavity outlet 314. Since the protective cover 310 is transparent, the imaging quality of the image pickup element 309 is not affected; moreover, since the bending chamber outlet 314 faces the cover 311 covering the image pickup device 309, the cover 311 can be cleaned and cleaned by air or water in the air or water feeding state.

In addition, the protective cover 310 provided by the invention is formed by injection molding of a PC material, so that on one hand, the material cost is low, on the other hand, the structure is simple, the molding process is simple, and the production cost is low. The installation is finished by pressing the concave part, and the installation process is simple and the installation cost is low.

Fig. 6 and 7 show the external configuration of the operation section 200 of the electronic endoscope 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention from different angles.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the operation unit 200 of the electronic endoscope 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the operation unit 200 of the electronic endoscope 100 according to another angle.

As shown in fig. 6 and 7, the operation portion 200 extends from the proximal end to the distal end in a substantially tapered shape from large to small. The distal end of the operation portion 200 is provided with a first sheath 206, and the operation portion 200 communicates with the insertion portion 300 through the first sheath 206.

The operation part 200 has an upper shell 214 and a lower shell 201, and a jaw opening assembly including a jaw opening seat 218 and a jaw opening tee 211 provided on the upper shell 214 and a jaw opening cap 212 for closing the jaw opening is provided on the upper shell 214 at a position close to the first sheath 206. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, a jaw channel herein refers to a working channel or an instrument channel, i.e., a channel of an instrument that an operator extends to the front end of an insertion portion of an electronic endoscope through the guidance of the electronic endoscope to perform various diagnostic or therapeutic operations.

As further shown in fig. 6 and 7, a first knob 216 and a second knob 215 are provided on one surface of the upper case 214, which are rotatable relative to the upper case 214 and are coaxial with each other. One side of the lower shell 201 is provided with a connecting seat 208 and a second sheath 207 communicated with the connecting seat 208. Various pipes in the operation part 200, such as an optical path, a water path, an air path, or an electric path, are connected to an external device via the hollow connection seat 208 and the second sheath 207.

On the side wall of the complete housing formed by the upper case 214 and the lower case 201, a button 213 is provided. In this embodiment, there are two buttons 213, namely a first button 2131 and a second button 2132, where the first button 2131 is used to control the on/off of a negative pressure pipeline, and the negative pressure pipeline is connected to a negative pressure generating device outside the electronic endoscope 100; the second button 2131 is used for controlling the on/off of an air path and/or a water path, and the air path and/or the water path are connected with an air supply and/or water supply device outside the electronic endoscope 100.

The side wall of the button 213 may be disposed opposite to the opening side of the second sheath 207 so as to prevent the operator's hand from being affected by various pipes passing through the connection seat 208 and the second sheath 207 when the button 213 is operated.

The embodiment of the invention also provides a knob assembly for an operating part 200 of an electronic endoscope, wherein the operating part 200 comprises an upper shell 214 as a shell, and the knob assembly comprises a first knob 216, a second knob 215, a second gear 204 and a first gear 203 which are sequentially arranged and coaxially arranged from outside to inside of the shell, wherein the first knob 216 can drive the first gear 203 to rotate, the second knob 215 can drive the second gear 204 to rotate, and the second gear 204 and the first gear 203 are positioned in the shell.

Further explained with reference to the drawings, fig. 8 is a perspective view of the internal structure of the operating portion 200 with the lower case 201 removed. Fig. 9 is an exploded view of the knob assembly of the operation part 200. FIG. 10a is a schematic view of a first gear face according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 10b is another schematic view of the first gear of FIG. 10 a; FIG. 11a is a schematic view of a face of a second gear according to an embodiment of the present invention; fig. 11b is a schematic structural view of the other surface of the second gear of fig. 11 a.

Referring to fig. 8, as shown in fig. 9, the operation unit 200 includes a knob assembly including, in order from the outside of the housing to the inside, a first knob 216, a second knob 215, a second gear 204, and a first gear 203. Except for the transmission part, the first knob 216 and the second knob 215 are arranged outside the shell; the second gear 204 and the first gear 203 are provided in the housing. In the operation unit 200 of the present invention, the housing is formed by joining the upper case 214 and the lower case 201.

The first and

second knobs

216, 215 have

gear shafts

2161, 2151, respectively, that extend in a direction inward of the housing. The gear shaft 2151 of the second knob 215 is hollow and is penetrated by the gear shaft 2161 of the first knob 216. The top end of the gear shaft 2161 of the first knob 216 is provided with a screw hole 2162.

Referring specifically to fig. 8 and 9, as shown in fig. 10a, 10b, 11a and 11b, the second gear 204 and the first gear 203 are provided with lower

circular rings

2041, 2031 on one side facing the outside direction of the housing (i.e., upward in fig. 10b and 11b, downward in fig. 10a and 11 a), respectively, and inner

circular rings

2042, 2032 and outer

circular rings

2043, 2033 on one side facing the inside direction of the housing (i.e., downward in fig. 10b and 11b, upward in fig. 10a and 11 a), respectively, each outer circular ring being provided on the outside of each corresponding inner circular ring. Wherein, the lower ring 2041 is communicated with the inner ring 2042, and the lower ring 2031 is communicated with the inner ring 2032. The lower ring 2041 is provided with an axially extending slot 2044 for axially inserting the teeth of the gear shaft 2151 so that the second gear 204 rotates with the rotation of the second knob 215. The first gear 203 has internal teeth 2034 (internal teeth 2034 may also be provided in the communication channel between the lower ring 2031 and the inner ring 2032) on the inner circumference thereof for engaging with the pinion shaft 2161 to rotate the first gear 203 with the rotation of the first knob 216. The inner ring 2032 and the outer ring 2033 of the first gear 203, and the inner ring 2042 and the outer ring 2043 of the second gear 204 are the same in height, and the lower ring 2031 of the first gear 203 is higher than the inner ring 2042 and the outer ring 2043 of the second gear 204, and has a diameter smaller than the diameter of the outer ring 2043 and larger than the diameter of the inner ring 2042.

The second gear 204 and the first gear 203 are described separately, that is, a lower circular ring 2041 is disposed on one side of the second gear 204 facing the outer direction of the housing, and a slot 2044 extending along the axial direction is disposed on the lower circular ring 2041 of the second gear and is used for axially inserting with the longitudinal teeth on the gear shaft 2151 of the second knob 215 so that the second gear 204 rotates along with the rotation of the second knob 215. An inner circular ring 2042 is arranged on one side of the second gear 204 facing the inner direction of the shell, the lower circular ring 2041 of the second gear 204 is communicated with the inner circular ring 2042 to form a second channel, and a gear shaft 2161 of the first knob 216 passes through the hollow gear shaft 2151 of the second knob 215 and the second channel and then is connected with the first gear 203 to drive the first gear 203 to rotate.

The first gear 203 is provided with a lower ring 2031 at a side facing an outside direction of the housing, and an inner ring 2032 at a side facing an inside direction of the housing, the lower ring 2031 of the first gear 203 is communicated with the inner ring 2032 to form a first passage, and internal teeth 2034 are provided in the first passage for meshing with the gear shaft 2161 of the first knob 216, so that the first gear 203 rotates with the rotation of the first knob 216.

In the assembled state, the gear shaft 2161 of the first knob 216 passes through the gear shaft 2151 of the second knob 215, the upper shell 214, the lower ring 2041 of the second gear 204, and the inner ring 2042 of the second gear 204 in this order, enters the lower ring 2031 of the first gear 203, and then meshes with the inner teeth 2034. In this state, the gear shaft 2151 of the second knob 215 passes through the upper case 214 and enters the lower ring 2041 of the second gear 204, and at this time, the external teeth extending in the axial direction on the gear shaft 2151 are inserted into the slots 2044 on the lower ring 2041 of the second gear 204.

Wherein, the upper shell 214 is provided with a corresponding opening 2142 for the gear shaft 2151 of the second knob 215 to pass through, and this opening 2142 allows the gear shaft 2151 to rotate therein. A boss 2143 is provided at the opening 2142 and extends inwardly of the housing. The length of the gear shaft 2151 is such that when the gear shaft 2151 extends into the opening 2142, the top thereof substantially coincides with the height of the collar 2143, i.e., the insertion point of the axially extending external teeth on the gear shaft 2151 into the slot 2044 is located within the collar 2143. With this compact design, not only is space saved, but the bushing 2143 simultaneously achieves radial positioning of the gear shaft 2151 and the lower ring 2041, and thus of the second knob 215 and the second gear 204. The interconnecting hollow gear shaft 2151 of the second knob 215 and the inner ring 2042 of the second gear 204 then effect radial positioning of the first knob 216 by limiting the radial positioning of the gear shaft 2161 of the first knob 216.

In a state of completed assembly, the top end of the pinion shaft 2161 of the first knob 216 is substantially flush with the height of the inner ring 2032 of the first gear 203. At this time, only a bolt needs to be installed in the screw hole 2162, and as long as the diameter of the bolt head is larger than that of the inner circular ring 2032, or a stop ring with a diameter larger than that of the inner circular ring 2032 is additionally installed between the screw hole 2162 and the bolt head, the first knob 216, the second knob 215, the upper shell 214, the second gear 204, and the first gear 203 can be stably installed in a mode with low installation cost. In other words, the top end of the gear shaft 2161 of the first knob 216 is provided with a screw hole 2162, and the length of the gear shaft 2161 of the first knob 216 is set such that the top end of the gear shaft 2161 of the first knob 216 is flush with the top end of the inner circular ring 2032 of the first gear 203 when the assembly is completed.

In the present embodiment, the heights of the inner ring 2032 and the outer ring 2033 of the first gear 203 and the heights of the inner ring 2042 and the outer ring 2043 of the second gear 204 are the same, the height of the lower ring 2031 of the first gear 203 is greater than the heights of the inner ring 2042 and the outer ring 2043 of the second gear 204, and the diameter of the lower ring 2031 is smaller than the diameter of the outer ring 2043 and greater than the diameter of the inner ring 2042. In this way, the second gear 204 may support the first gear 203 in an axial direction without interference therebetween when the first gear 203 and the second gear 204 rotate with the first knob 216 and the second knob 215, respectively.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that by designing the shapes of the first and

second knobs

216 and 215, the first and

second gears

203 and 204 to be the same or similar as much as possible, the cost can be reduced in the manufacturing process.

As shown in fig. 10a and 11a, locking

grooves

2035, 2045 with openings are provided on the circumferential walls of the

outer rings

2033, 2043 of the first and

second gears

203, 204. That is, the ring walls of the

outer rings

2033 and 2043 of the first and

second gears

203 and 204 are provided with locking

grooves

2035 and 2045 with openings in the same direction. In an initial state of assembly completion, the opening is directed distally in preparation for snapping into the line card of the connection harness. In this embodiment, the

card slots

2035 and 2045 are used for placing line cards to which the wiring harness is fixed. During assembly, one end of a wire harness penetrates through the wire clamp, and the wire clamp is pressed to deform the wire clamp so as to clamp the wire harness in the wire clamp; the wire cards are then clamped into the

card slots

2035 and 2045, and the portion of the wire harness extending out of the wire cards passes through the openings of the

card slots

2035 and 2045. Thus, when the knob is rotated, the gear is driven to rotate, and when the gear is rotated, the clamping groove on one side moves towards the near end to pull the wire harness on the other side, and the clamping groove on the other side moves towards the far end to enable the wire harness on the other side to be loosened. The distal end portion of the wire harness is fixed to the distal end of the bending portion of the insertion portion, so that the proximal end of the wire harness can be pulled loose once to drive the distal end of the wire harness to be pulled loose once, and bending control over the bending portion of the insertion portion is achieved.

The ring walls of the

outer rings

2033 and 2043 can play a role in reinforcing the clamping

grooves

2035 and 2045, and when the first gear 203 and the second gear 204 rotate, the ring walls of the

outer rings

2033 and 2043 play a role in supporting the wiring harness, that is, the control of the transmission ratio of the wiring harness can be realized by setting the outside diameters of the

outer rings

2033 and 2043. Further, if there is no

outer ring

2033, 2043 or the outside diameter of the

outer ring

2033, 2043 is too small, although the function of controlling the wire harness can be achieved, there is also a problem in that: when the first gear 203 and the second gear 204 rotate, the wire harness is pulled by the clamping groove on one side, the distance between the wire harness and the axis of the gear is reduced or even touches the

inner rings

2032 and 2042 while the proximal end of the wire harness rotates along with the clamping groove, and undesirable effects may be caused.

Fig. 12 is a schematic view of the internal structure of the lower case 201. As shown in fig. 12, a lower locking post 2091 is provided on the inner wall of the lower case 201; as shown in fig. 8, an upper locking post 2092 is provided on the inner wall of the upper shell 214. Referring to fig. 9, the lower locking post 2091 is positioned to engage the outer teeth of the first gear 203 and the upper locking post 2092 is positioned to engage the outer teeth of the second gear 204. When the first gear 203 is driven by the first knob 216, it is rotated against the resistance of the lower locking post 2091 against one external tooth of the first gear 203, and after the first gear 203 has rotated one tooth relative to the lower locking post 2091, the rotation is stopped by the resistance of the lower locking post 2091 against the next tooth. The same mating relationship applies to the second gear 204 and the upper locking post 2092.

The inventor has desired that the knob be easily turned (easy to handle) and that the locking post be able to effectively fix the position of the gear (easy to maintain the bent form of the insertion portion). In order to balance the ease with which the operator can operate the knob with the robustness of the lock cylinder, the inventors have found that it is advantageous to provide the gear or lock cylinder with suitable properties for elastic deformation. This can be considered in the choice of materials and design of the structure, which must then also be low cost.

The inventor selects a mode of sleeving an elastic component on the locking column to realize the balance through a large amount of experiments. In order to meet the requirement of low cost, the inventor adopts the design that the PU pipe is sleeved on the locking column. After trial, the operator can realize the balance state, and the low-cost material is undoubtedly adopted, so that the low-cost installation and manufacture are realized. Herein, PU (polyurethane) refers to polyurethane, which is a high molecular compound and is known as polyurethane. That is, the upper locking column 2092 and/or the lower locking column 2091 are sleeved with PU tubes.

Continuing to fig. 8, the inner wall of the upper shell 214 is also provided with a wiring harness passage 220.

The electronic endoscope 100 according to the present invention is configured to bend the insertion portion 300 by operating a knob of the operation portion 200 to expand and contract a wire harness connected between the operation portion 200 and the insertion portion 300. This is undoubtedly a low cost and efficient control.

However, the wiring harness is soft, and it seems difficult to restrain its running direction in a relaxed state. In order to prevent the wire harness from interfering with other components inside the housing of the operating portion 200 in a loose state, the present invention provides a wire harness passage 220. The embodiment of the invention provides an upper shell 214 as a shell for an operation part 200 of an electronic endoscope, wherein the inner wall of the upper shell 214 is provided with a wiring harness channel 220, and the wiring harness channel 220 is composed of two first vertical plates 2201 which are fixed on the inner wall of the upper shell 214 and are arranged in parallel. The operating part provided by the embodiment of the invention is used for an electronic endoscope, and comprises a lower shell 201 and the upper shell 214, wherein the upper shell 214 and the lower shell 201 form a shell, the height of the first vertical plate 2201 of the wiring harness channel 220 is equal to the height of an internal space surrounded by the shell at the position of the first vertical plate 2201 of the wiring harness channel 220, so that the wiring harness can be prevented from being separated from the wiring harness channel by the shell after the assembly is finished.

As shown in fig. 8, the wire harness passage 220 is formed by two first vertical plates 2201 fixed to the inner wall of the upper housing 214 and arranged in parallel with each other. Such a design seems simple, but has several technical effects as follows. First, the first vertical plates 2201 arranged in parallel with each other can effectively limit the position of the wire harness in the left-right direction, and at the same time, enough space is reserved in the up-down direction for the up-down layering and bending deformation of the wire harness respectively connected with the first gear 203 and the second gear 204. Secondly, such a design may achieve a low cost objective. The low cost design described herein allows for a simple riser construction in one aspect, yet provides for quick and easy installation.

In another embodiment, a screw hole column 2202 is disposed on the inner wall of the upper case 214, and the first vertical plate 2201 of the wire harness passage 220 and the screw hole column 2202 are in an integral structure, so that the screw hole column 2202 can be used to facilitate the installation of the upper case and the lower case, and the first vertical plate 2201 is more stable.

As shown in fig. 8, a second vertical plate 2211 extending along the outer side wall of the housing is provided on the inner wall of the housing at the proximal end of the housing of the operation portion 200, i.e., the end away from the first sheath 206, and the second vertical plate 2211 and the outer side wall of the upper housing 214 enclose a passage 221. In this embodiment, a plurality of buttons 2212 are disposed on the housing along the channel 221, and the control circuit board 210 extending along the channel 221 is disposed in the channel 221, so that when the button 2212 is pressed by an operator, the control circuit board 210 can be triggered to implement a corresponding function.

The invention provides a channel opening clamping assembly which is used for an operation part 200 of an electronic endoscope, wherein the operation part 200 comprises an upper shell 214 and a lower shell 201 which can form a shell, the channel opening clamping assembly comprises a channel opening clamping three-way piece 211 and a channel opening clamping seat 218 arranged on the upper shell 214, and the upper shell 214, the lower shell 201 and the channel opening clamping assembly can form a complete shell with a channel opening operation part in a working state.

Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the upper case 214. Fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of the clamp port tee 211 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 13, the upper shell 214 is provided with a jaw port seat 218 for cooperating with a jaw port tee 211 (shown in fig. 14) to achieve a quick and secure installation. The state of attachment of the jaw opening tee 211 to the jaw opening seat 218 can be understood from fig. 6 and 7.

As shown in fig. 14, the three-way jaw part 211 is an oblique three-way part, and is formed by injection molding, and includes a main tube 2111, a branch tube 2112, a housing 2113, and a connecting plate 2114. Wherein the housing 2113 forms a complete upper housing with the upper housing 214 after assembly, and the connecting plate 2114 connects the housing 2113, the main tube 2111 and the branch tubes 2112 into a single unit.

As shown in FIG. 13, the jaw opening mount 218 is integrally injection molded with the upper housing 214, and the portion of the jaw opening mount 218 that extends outwardly from the housing is provided with a recess 2181 for receiving and supporting the portion of the branch 2112 that protrudes from the housing 2113 after assembly, which facilitates quick positioning during assembly. Also secured to the inner wall of upper shell 214 is a tube support 2141 for supporting main tube 2111 after assembly.

Based on the foregoing description, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention is designed such that an operator can control the bending of the insertion portion by simply rotating the knob. In order to save costs, this procedure employs a flexible harness to transmit the steering force, and the harness is flexible and runs almost entirely through the electronic endoscope 100 from the operation section 200 to the insertion section 300. In contrast, when the wire harness is assembled to the insertion portion 300, only the corresponding wire harness passage needs to be inserted, and in the operation portion 200, not only the stable operation and control are ensured by the movement of the wire harness, but also the operation and control are prevented from being influenced or interfered with other components due to the undesired movement or bending of the wire harness, and meanwhile, the simple structure is considered as possible, and the assembly efficiency is improved to reduce the cost. In this case, how to design the connection and the routing of the wiring harness is crucial.

According to the present invention, the present embodiment and other embodiments are described, and the structural design of the operation portion 200 provided by the present invention can satisfy the above requirements.

As can be understood from the above drawings and components, when assembling the operation part 200, an injection molded upper case 214 and an insertion part 300 of a wire harness at a proximal end portion thereof are first provided; the proximal end of the wire harness penetrates through the first sheath 206 and the wire clip, and after the proper length of the wire harness is reserved, the wire clip is pressed to deform the wire clip so as to clamp the wire harness in the wire clip; the wire clip is clamped into the clamping

grooves

2035 and 2045, and the part of the wire harness extending out of the wire clip is pressed into the openings of the clamping

grooves

2035 and 2045 and the wire harness channel 220, so that the assembly of the wire harness in the operation part 200 is completed.

The structure of the operation part 200 provided by the invention also has the effect of rapid and stable arrangement of the air path and the water path.

Fig. 15 is a diagram illustrating an installation state of the connection holder 208 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of the connection seat 208 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 15 and 16, the connection seat 208 includes a pipe fitting 2084 and a mounting disc 2081, a lug 2082 is disposed on a side of the mounting disc 2081, and a screw hole is disposed on the lug 2082. A square step 2083 is arranged on one side of the mounting plate 2081 facing the pipe 2084. As shown in fig. 12, the lower case 201 is provided with a square opening 2011 through which the connection holder 208 passes. The outer profile of the square step 2083 is the same as the profile of the square opening 2011 on the lower shell 201, and the outer profile of the mounting plate 2081 is larger than the outer profile of the square step 2083.

Based on the foregoing description, the structural design of the operation part 200 is very important to achieve quick and reliable installation of the wire harness, and likewise, the structural design of the operation part 200 is also important to achieve quick and reliable installation of the air/water passage (typically, air/water pipe).

As can be understood from the above drawings and components, when assembling, the lower shell 201 is provided, the air/water pipe passes through the square opening 2011, and then the air/water pipe passes through the connecting seat 208; at this time, the pipe 2084 of the connecting seat 208 penetrates through the square opening 2011 from inside to outside, the step 2083 is clamped at the edge of the square opening 2011, and as shown in fig. 15, the mounting disc 2081 and the lower shell 201 are fixed through the screw hole on the lug 2082.

Next, as shown in fig. 8, the upper shell 214 is provided, the air/water pipe is connected to the corresponding pipe portions of the first button 2131 and the second button 2132 to control the air/water path by the first button 2131 and the second button 2132, the air/water pipe passes through the main pipe 2111 of the three-way jaw opening part 211 and the first sheath 206, and the three-way jaw opening part 211 and the first sheath 206 are placed at the corresponding positions of the upper shell 214, so that the assembly is completed.

As will be understood by those skilled in the art, by the structural design of the operation part 200 according to the present invention, the whole assembly process can be summarized as follows: firstly, soft components (such as wiring harnesses, water pipes and air pipes) penetrate through scattered components with simple structures, and then the scattered components with simple structures are installed on an upper shell 214 with the most complex structure; at the same time, the portions of the flexible member that expose the structurally simple discrete components can also be easily placed at corresponding positions of the upper case 214 (these positions are substantially open structures).

The above-described components, which are simple in structure, are easy to manufacture and easy to take and hold. For the wire harness, the structurally simple scattered parts may include a first gear 203, a second gear 204, a first sheath 206, and the like; for the air pipe and the water pipe, the simple scattered parts can comprise a connecting seat 208, a lower shell 201, a clamp channel port tee joint piece 211, a first sheath 206 and the like. The open structure is a structure having an opening, such as the channel 221, the groove 2035, the groove 2045, the harness channel 220, and the tube holder 2141.

It is apparent that such a structure can make the assembling efficiency high. The complicated structure is concentrated on one part (the upper case 214), and the simple structural design of the parts other than the upper case 214 can realize the integral injection molding, so that the material cost and the production cost of the parts of the operating part 200 can be sufficiently reduced.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing is a more detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the specific embodiments thereof, and that no limitation of the invention is intended thereby. Various changes in form and detail, including simple deductions or substitutions, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A knob assembly is used for an operating part of an electronic endoscope, the operating part comprises an upper shell as a shell, and the knob assembly is characterized by comprising a first knob, a second gear and a first gear which are sequentially and coaxially arranged from the outside to the inside of the shell, wherein the first knob can drive the first gear to rotate, the second knob can drive the second gear to rotate, the second gear and the first gear are positioned in the shell, the first gear and the second gear are respectively provided with an outer circular ring at one side facing the inside of the shell, clamping grooves with openings in the same direction are arranged on the annular walls of the outer circular rings of the first gear and the second gear, and in an initial state that the knob assembly is assembled, the openings of the clamping grooves are used for facing the far end to clamp a wire harness connected with the wire harness; the operating part also comprises a lower shell, wherein a lower locking column is arranged on the inner wall of the lower shell, and an upper locking column is arranged on the inner wall of the upper shell; the position of lower locking post is set up to with the external tooth joint of first gear, the position of last locking post is set up to with the external tooth joint of second gear.

2. The knob assembly according to claim 1, wherein the first and second knobs each have a gear shaft extending in an inward direction of the housing, and the gear shaft of the second knob has a hollow structure for the gear shaft of the first knob to pass through.

3. The knob assembly according to claim 2, wherein the second gear has a lower ring at a side facing an outside direction of the housing, and the lower ring of the second gear has an axially extending slot for axially engaging with the longitudinal teeth of the gear shaft of the second knob to rotate the second gear with the rotation of the second knob.

4. The knob assembly according to claim 3, wherein the second gear has an inner ring at a side facing an inner direction of the housing, the lower ring of the second gear is communicated with the inner ring thereof to form a second passage, and the gear shaft of the first knob passes through the hollow gear shaft of the second knob and the second passage and then is connected with the first gear to drive the first gear to rotate.

5. The knob assembly according to claim 4, wherein the first gear is provided with a lower ring at a side facing an outside direction of the housing and an inner ring at a side facing an inside direction of the housing, the lower ring of the first gear communicating with the inner ring thereof to form a first passage, the first passage being provided with internal teeth for engaging with a gear shaft of the first knob so that the first gear is rotated according to the rotation of the first knob.

6. The knob assembly according to claim 3, wherein the upper housing defines a corresponding opening for passage of the gear shaft of the second knob therethrough, the opening permitting rotation of the gear shaft of the second knob therein, the opening defining a boss extending inwardly of the housing, the gear shaft of the second knob being of a length such that a top portion thereof substantially conforms to a height of the boss when the gear shaft of the second knob is inserted into the opening.

7. The knob assembly according to claim 5, wherein a top end of the gear shaft of the first knob is provided with a screw hole, and a length of the gear shaft of the first knob is set such that the top end of the gear shaft of the first knob is flush with a top end of the inner ring of the first gear when the assembly is completed.

8. The knob assembly according to claim 5, wherein the outer ring is located outside the inner ring.

9. The knob assembly according to claim 4, wherein the outer ring is located outside the inner ring.

10. The knob assembly according to claim 8, wherein the inner and outer rings of the first gear and the inner and outer rings of the second gear have the same height, and the lower ring of the first gear has a height greater than the height of the inner and outer rings of the second gear, and a diameter smaller than the diameter of the outer ring and greater than the diameter of the inner ring.

11. The knob assembly according to claim 1, wherein a PU tube is sleeved on the upper locking column and/or the lower locking column.

12. An operating section of an electronic endoscope, comprising the knob assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

13. An electronic endoscope comprising the operation portion according to claim 12.