CN212650818U

CN212650818U - Endoscope, and variable-hardness assembly and variable-hardness unit thereof

Info

Publication number: CN212650818U
Application number: CN202022052081.3U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 韩志敏; 郝金霞; 韩新生
Original assignee: Shenzhen Aoteng Medical Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen Aoteng Medical Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2020-09-18
Filing date: 2020-09-18
Publication date: 2021-03-05
Anticipated expiration: 2030-09-18

Abstract

The utility model discloses an endoscope and variable subassembly of hardness, the variable unit of hardness thereof. A variable stiffness unit comprising: a snake bone component; and the first sleeve covers the snake bone component and can be bent along with the bending of the snake bone component, and the first sleeve is filled with magnetorheological fluid. With the above-described embodiment, the hardness of the insertion portion of the endoscope can be freely controlled to facilitate insertion of the endoscope into a complicated lumen.

Description

Endoscope, and variable-hardness assembly and variable-hardness unit thereof

Technical Field

The utility model relates to the technical field of medical equipment, especially, relate to an endoscope and variable subassembly of hardness, the variable unit of hardness thereof.

Background

At present, flexible colonoscopes are used for the examination and minimally invasive surgery of large intestine diseases. The flexible colonoscope enters the body from the anus to the cecum.

Because the colonoscope is soft and the large intestine is also soft, the process of inserting the colonoscope is time-consuming and labor-consuming, the requirements on the skill of a doctor and the intestinal condition of a patient are higher, and the entry of the patient is difficult when the patient encounters the complicated bending condition of the large intestine.

If the stiffness of the colonoscope itself is increased, it will cause pain to the patient at the location of the bend, although it will facilitate the transmission and control of forces during insertion.

If the hardness of the colonoscope is reduced, the force applied by the doctor outside the body cannot be transmitted to the end of the colonoscope, and the inserting operation cannot be finished.

Therefore, there is a strong need to provide an endoscope that can facilitate a doctor to smoothly perform insertion into a patient with a complicated large intestine.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides an endoscope and a hardness variable module and a hardness variable unit thereof, which can freely control the hardness of an insertion portion of the endoscope so as to facilitate insertion of the endoscope into a complicated lumen.

In order to solve the above technical problem, the utility model provides a hardness variable cell, include: a snake bone component; and the first sleeve covers the snake bone component and can be bent along with the bending of the snake bone component, and the first sleeve is filled with magnetorheological fluid.

The snake bone component comprises a connecting shaft and a plurality of joints, the joints are of sheet structures, the connecting shaft is a flexible shaft, the joints are overlapped and arranged at intervals, and the connecting shaft is connected with and supports the joints.

The connecting shaft penetrates through the joints from the centers of the joints and is connected with the joints, and the first sleeve covers the outer peripheries of the joints in the snake bone assembly.

The connecting shaft is of a solid rod structure, and the magnetorheological fluid is filled in a space between the outer wall of the connecting shaft and the inner wall of the first sleeve.

The connecting shaft is of a hollow pipe structure, and the magnetorheological fluid is at least filled in a space between the outer wall of the connecting shaft and the inner wall of the first sleeve.

The connecting shaft is of a hollow pipe structure, the inner wall of the connecting shaft is connected with the outer periphery of each joint, and the magnetorheological fluid is filled in the connecting shaft.

And at least one first through hole for the magnetorheological fluid to flow through is formed in each joint along the axial direction of the connecting shaft.

The joints are also provided with more than one pair of second through holes along the axial direction of the connecting shaft, and the second through holes of different joints are arranged in alignment so as to allow a cable driving the snake bone assembly to move in more than one degree of freedom to pass through.

The snake bone component is provided with two degrees of freedom, the second through holes are correspondingly arranged in two pairs, the two pairs of second through holes are orthogonally arranged, the snake bone component comprises two pairs of cables, the first end of each cable is fixedly connected to the joint positioned at the head end, and the second end of each cable sequentially penetrates through the second through holes of the joints from the head end to the tail end of the snake bone component and extends out of the tail end of the first sleeve.

Wherein, each joint is the circular sheet structure and the size is the same.

The joints are of circular sheet structures, and the sizes of the joints are gradually increased from the head ends of the snake bone assemblies to the far ends of the snake bone assemblies.

Wherein each of the joints has the same thickness.

Wherein the thickness of the joint is between 0.1mm and 5 mm.

Wherein, the connecting shaft and each joint are of an integrated structure.

The hardness variable unit comprises a first end cover assembly and a second end cover assembly, the first end cover assembly is connected with and seals the head end of the first casing, the second end cover assembly is connected with and seals the tail end of the first casing, the first end cover assembly is further connected with the head end of the snake bone assembly, and the second end cover assembly is further connected with the tail end of the snake bone assembly.

The snake bone component comprises a plurality of joints, the joints at the head end are connected with the first end cover component, the joints at the tail end are connected with the second end cover component, the joints are mutually rotatably connected to form at least one degree of freedom, the snake bone component further comprises cables with the same number of pairs as the degree of freedom, and each pair of cables drives the movement of one degree of freedom.

The first end of each cable is fixedly connected with the joint at the head end, and the second end of each cable sequentially passes through the joints from the head end to the tail end and then extends out of the second end cover assembly.

Among the joints, the joint at the tail end is a first joint, the rest joints are second joints, the head end of the first joint is provided with a first hinge part, the head end of the second joint is also provided with the first hinge part, the tail end of the second joint is provided with a second hinge part matched with the first hinge part, the tail end of the first end cover assembly is also provided with the second hinge part, the tail end of the first joint is connected with the second end cover assembly, and the rotary connection between the second joint and the first joint, between the first joints and between the first joint and the first end cover assembly is realized through the matching between the first hinge part and the second hinge part.

Wherein the first hinge is a pair of ears and the second hinge is a pair of notched slots that mate with the ears; alternatively, the first hinge is a pair of notched slots and the second hinge is a pair of ears that mate with the ears.

Wherein, the ear with the breach groove is the arc structure.

Wherein a gap is left between the ear part and the notch groove.

Wherein the first hinge portion and the second hinge portion of the first joint are located on the same side so that when the plurality of joints are rotationally connected, the plurality of joints have the same rotation axis to constitute one degree of freedom.

Wherein the first and second articulations of the first joint are respectively on orthogonal sides such that when the plurality of joints are rotationally connected, the plurality of joints have two rotational axes that are orthogonally oriented to constitute the two degrees of freedom.

Wherein each joint has a plurality of pulling holes through which the cable passes, the number of the pulling holes being more than twice the logarithm of the cable.

Wherein, the center of each joint is provided with a through hole for the flowing of the magnetorheological fluid.

The first end cover assembly comprises a first connecting seat, the first connecting seat is connected with and seals the head end of the first sleeve and is connected with the joint located at the head end, and meanwhile, the first end of the mooring rope is fixedly connected with the first connecting seat.

The first end cap assembly further comprises a first end cap, and the first end cap covers and seals the first connecting seat.

Wherein the first end cap is a soft end cap.

The second end cover assembly comprises a second connecting seat, the second connecting seat is connected with and seals the tail end of the first sleeve and is connected with the joint located at the tail end, and meanwhile, the second end of the cable movably extends out of the second connecting seat.

The second end cap assembly further comprises a second end cap, the second end cap covers and seals the second connecting seat, and the second end of the cable further movably extends out of the second end cap.

Wherein the variable-hardness unit further comprises a second sleeve covering the first sleeve and bendable in accordance with bending of the snake bone assembly.

Wherein the first cannula and/or the second cannula is a cortical cannula or a plastic cannula.

Wherein, the inner wall or the outer wall of the second sleeve is integrally provided with a magnetic field generating unit for generating a magnetic field to change the state of the magnetorheological fluid.

And a magnetic field generating unit for generating a magnetic field to change the state of the magnetorheological fluid is sleeved between the outer wall of the first sleeve and the inner wall of the second sleeve.

The outer periphery of the second end cap is provided with a plurality of axially extending grooves for the positive and negative electrodes of the magnetic field generating unit to enter and exit.

Wherein, the outer wall of the first sleeve is integrally formed with a magnetic field generating unit for generating a magnetic field to change the state of the magnetorheological fluid.

Wherein the magnetic field generating unit is an electromagnetic coil and/or an electromagnet.

The electromagnetic coil and/or the electromagnet are one in number and are provided with a pair of positive and negative electrodes; or the number of the electromagnetic coils and/or the electromagnets is more than two and are mutually independent, and each electromagnetic coil and/or electromagnet is provided with a pair of positive and negative electrodes.

Wherein, the mooring rope is a steel wire rope or an alloy rope or a nylon rope.

In order to solve the above technical problem, the present invention further provides a hardness variable component, including the hardness variable unit according to any one of the above embodiments, and further including a magnetic field generating component for generating a magnetic field to change a state of the magnetorheological fluid.

The magnetic field generating assembly comprises an outer sleeve which can coat the hardness variable unit, and the inner wall or the outer wall of the outer sleeve is integrally provided with the magnetic field generating unit.

The magnetic field generating assembly comprises wearable equipment, the wearable equipment is used for covering the surface of a human body, and the magnetic field generating unit is arranged inside the wearable equipment.

The magnetic field generation assembly comprises a supporting platform, the supporting platform is used for a human body to lie, and the magnetic field generation unit is arranged in the supporting platform.

In order to solve the above technical problem, the utility model also provides an endoscope, include: a control component; and a variable stiffness component as described in any of the above embodiments; the control assembly is coupled with the magnetic field generating assembly in the variable hardness assembly and is used for controlling the magnetic field generating assembly to generate a magnetic field so as to change the hardness of the variable hardness unit in the variable hardness assembly.

The utility model discloses following beneficial effect has:

because the magnetorheological fluid is filled in the first sleeve in the hardness variable unit and the snake bone component is coated by the first sleeve, when the hardness variable unit is matched with the magnetic field generating unit for use, the magnetorheological fluid provides variability, and the snake bone component provides support and hardness. The assembly can be used in combination with an endoscope such as a large intestine endoscope, has simple structure, convenient assembly and disassembly and low cost, does not influence the structure of the large intestine endoscope, can be selectively used according to the intestinal condition of a patient, and has universal applicability.

When the endoscope is used, the large intestine endoscope is not required to be hooked and pulled to retract the intestinal wall, the technical action of inserting the large intestine endoscope is simplified, the inserting difficulty and the risk of a knot of the large intestine endoscope are reduced, the intestinal wall is not stressed, and the risks of damage, perforation and the like of the large intestine wall are reduced; when the insertion of the large intestine endoscope is assisted, the insertion rate of the large intestine endoscope inserted into the ileocecal part is improved, and the large intestine endoscope insertion assisting device has great assistance and practical value for patients with complicated partial large intestine shapes and difficult large intestine endoscope insertion.

When the endoscope is used, the magnetic field intensity in vitro can be controlled only through the working channel of the large intestine endoscope, the shape of the endoscope per se is passively changed along with the existing shape of the large intestine endoscope, active shape change and control are not needed, and the endoscope is convenient to use.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of the hardness variable unit according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural view of an embodiment of the variable stiffness unit shown in FIG. 1 with the first sleeve removed.

Fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the variable-stiffness unit shown in fig. 1 with only the first sleeve and the magnetorheological fluid retained.

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural view of an embodiment of a joint of the snake bone assembly of the variable stiffness unit of FIG. 2.

Fig. 5 is an assembly structure view of the first cap assembly of the hardness-variable unit shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is an exploded view of the first end cap assembly of fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is an assembled structural view of the second end cap assembly of the variable stiffness unit shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 8 is an exploded view of the second endcap assembly of fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a schematic structural view of a snake bone component according to another embodiment of the hardness variable unit of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a front view of the snake bone assembly of fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a schematic structural view of a snake bone component according to another embodiment of the hardness variable unit of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic structural view of another embodiment of the variable stiffness unit shown in FIG. 1 with the first sleeve removed.

Fig. 13 is an enlarged view of the hardness-variable unit of fig. 12 at the snake bone component F.

Fig. 14 is a structural schematic view of the second sleeve.

Fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of the magnetic field generating unit.

Fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of the magnetic field generating unit.

FIG. 17 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a magnetic field generating assembly.

Fig. 18 is a functional block diagram of the endoscope of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples so that those skilled in the art can better understand the present invention and can implement the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the examples.

The term "plurality" as used herein includes one or more than two. The term "each" as used in the present invention includes one or more cases. The term "head end" as used herein refers to the proximal end, i.e., the inserted end. The term "tail end" as used herein refers to the end opposite the "head end", i.e., the distal end.

Referring to fig. 1 to 3, a variable stiffness unit 100 is provided. The variable hardness unit 100 includes: a snake bone component 210 and a first cannula 220. The first sleeve 220 covers the snake bone component 210 and can be bent along with the bending of the snake bone component 210. Therein, the first sleeve 220 is filled with magnetorheological fluid 230 inside. When the hardness variable unit 100 is placed in a magnetic field environment, the viscosity of the magnetorheological fluid 230 increases, so that the viscous resistance for preventing the snake bone assembly 210 from bending increases, and the hardness of the hardness variable unit 100 can be increased.

In some embodiments, the snake bone assembly 210 may be provided with only a driven bending configuration. In some embodiments, the snake bone assembly 210 can also have both driven and active bending configurations. The configuration of the active bend is such that the snake assembly generally requires the provision of cable 2105 to achieve active control of the bend through cable 2105.

In one embodiment, with continued reference to fig. 2, the variable-stiffness cell 100 includes a first end cap assembly 240 and a second end cap assembly 250. The first end cap assembly 240 is connected to and seals the head end of the first casing 220, and the second end cap assembly 250 is connected to and seals the tail end of the first casing 220, so that the first casing 220 is integrally sealed, and the magnetorheological fluid 230 can be prevented from leaking out of the end of the first casing 220. Also, the first end cap assembly 240 is further connected to the head end of the snake assembly 210, and the second end cap assembly 250 is further connected to the tail end of the snake assembly 210.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the snake bone assembly 210 can include a plurality of joints 2102 that are not in a sheet-like configuration. The joints 2102 at the head end are connected to the first end cap assembly 240, the joints 2102 at the tail end are connected to the second end cap assembly 250, and the joints 2102 are rotatably connected to each other to form at least one degree of freedom, which is not a rotational degree of freedom.

Further, snake bone assembly 210 may also include as many pairs of cables 2105 as there are degrees of freedom, each pair of cables 2105 driving movement of one degree of freedom. Each cable 2105 is fixedly attached at a first end to a knuckle 2102 at a first end, and extends from the second end cap assembly 250 after passing through the knuckles 2102 from the first end to the tail end.

For convenience of description, among the joints 2102, the joint 2102 located at the trailing end is made a first joint, and the remaining joints 2102 are made second joints. As shown in fig. 4, the first knuckle 2102 has a first hinge 2106 at the head end, the second knuckle 2102 also has a first hinge 2106 at the head end, a second hinge 2107 at the tail end that mates with the first hinge 2106, and the first end cap assembly 240 also has a second hinge 2107 at the tail end. The tail end of the first joint 2102 is connected with the second end cover assembly 250, and the second joint 2102 is connected with the first joint 2102, the first joints 2102 are connected with each other, and the first joint 2102 is connected with the first end cover assembly 240 in a rotating mode through the cooperation of the first hinge portion 2106 and the second hinge portion 2107.

In some embodiments, the first hinge 2106 and the second hinge 2107 may be connected by a pivot shaft, such as a rivet, so that the two may rotate about the pivot shaft.

In some embodiments, the first hinge 2106 and the second hinge 2107 may be rotatably connected by other structures. For example, with continued reference to figure 4, the first hinge 2106 is a pair of ears and the second hinge 2107 is a pair of notches 2103 "that mate with the ears; alternatively, first hinge 2106 is a pair of notches 2103 "and second hinge 2107 is a pair of ears that mate with the ears. The ear and the notch 2103 'are matched in a plugging mode or a clamping mode to achieve the rotary connection of the joint 2102, and the notch 2103' can be used for physically limiting the rotary range of the ear.

Preferably, the ear and the notch 2103' are both arc-shaped to facilitate rotation. Preferably, the ears are spaced from the slots of the notches 2103 "to facilitate rotation as well.

In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 2, the first hinge portion 2106 and the second hinge portion 2107 of the first joint 2102 are located on the same side, so that when the joints 2102 are rotatably connected, the joints 2102 have the same rotation axis to form one degree of freedom.

In another embodiment, the first hinge 2106 and the second hinge 2107 of the first joint 2102 are respectively located on orthogonal sides, such that when the plurality of joints 2102 are rotationally connected, the plurality of joints 2102 have two rotational axes that are orthogonally oriented to constitute two degrees of freedom.

In this embodiment, each joint 2102 has a plurality of pull holes 2104 through which cables 2105 are passed, the number of pull holes 2104 being more than twice the number of pairs of cables 2105, typically twice the number of pairs of cables 2105.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, each joint 2102 has a through hole 2103 at the center thereof for flowing the magnetorheological fluid 230. The aperture of the through hole 2103 is generally larger than that of the traction hole 2104, so that under a non-magnetic field environment, the magnetorheological fluid 230 can rapidly circulate, and the joints 2102 can be flexibly and rapidly bent, and the direction of the snake bone assembly 210 can be rapidly changed when the force is applied to the snake bone assembly in a driving state or a driven state.

In another embodiment, referring to fig. 9 to 11, the snake bone assembly 210 ' comprises a connecting shaft 2101 ' and a plurality of joints 2102 '. The knuckle 2102' is a sheet-like structure, which can also be expressed as a sheet-like structure or a leaf-like structure, and the thickness is usually smaller; the connecting shaft 2101' is a flexible shaft that can be forced to bend. Joints 2102 'are arranged in an overlapping and spaced arrangement, and connecting shafts 2101' connect and support the joints 2102 ', thereby forming the snake bone assembly 210'. Preferably, the connecting shaft 2101' may be a shaft having elasticity.

The connecting shaft 2101 'may be coupled to and support the stacked and spaced knuckles 2102' in various ways.

In one way, referring to fig. 9 and 10, a connecting shaft 2101 'extends through each joint 2102' from the center of each joint 2102 'and connects each joint 2102', and a first sleeve (e.g., first sleeve 220 shown in fig. 1 and 3) wraps around the outer periphery of each joint 2102 'in the snake bone assembly 210'. Wherein, the connecting shaft 2101 'may be a solid rod structure, and the magnetorheological fluid 230 is filled in a space between an outer wall of the connecting shaft 2101' and an inner wall of the first sleeve 220. Or, the connecting shaft 2101 'may also be a hollow tube structure, and the magnetorheological fluid 230 is at least filled in a space between the outer wall of the connecting shaft 2101' and the inner wall of the first sleeve 220, for example, the magnetorheological fluid 230 is only filled in a space between the outer wall of the connecting shaft 2101 'and the inner wall of the first sleeve 220, and at this time, the side wall of the connecting shaft 2101' is not provided with a through hole; for another example, the magnetorheological fluid 230 is filled in the space between the outer wall of the connecting shaft 2101 'and the inner wall of the first sleeve 220 and the space in the connecting shaft 2101', and at this time, the magnetorheological fluid 230 can flow between the inside and the outside of the connecting shaft 2101 'by forming a through hole on the side wall of the connecting shaft 2101'.

In another mode, as shown in fig. 11, the inner wall of the connecting shaft 2101 'is connected to the outer periphery of each joint 2102', and in order to achieve such connection, the connecting shaft 2101 'is a hollow pipe structure, and the magnetorheological fluid 230 is filled in the connecting shaft 2101'. In this manner, the magnetorheological fluid 230 may be further filled between the inner wall of the first sleeve 220 and the outer wall of the connecting shaft 2101 ', for example, the magnetorheological fluid 230 may flow between the inside and the outside of the connecting shaft 2101 ' by forming a through hole on the side wall of the connecting shaft 2101 '. In this embodiment, when the side wall of the connecting shaft 2101 'is not provided with a through hole, actually, the first sleeve 220 may be omitted, that is, the connecting shaft 2101' itself may be used as the first sleeve 220.

In both of these modes, the axial direction of the connecting shaft 2101 'and the axial direction of the joint 2102' are parallel to each other. In some embodiments, the connecting shaft 2101 ' and the joints 2102 ' are integrally formed, for example, the connecting shaft 2101 ' and the joints 2102 ' may be formed in one step by a 3D printing process, and in order to facilitate the 3D printing process and to make the connecting shaft 2101 ' flexible or even elastic, a plastic material is often used as the material for making the connecting shaft 2101 ' and the joints 2102 '. In some embodiments, the connecting shaft 2101 'and the joints 2102' may also be assembled, that is, the connecting shaft 2101 'and each joint 2102' may be relatively independent structures, and the connecting shaft 2101 'and the joints 2102' may be assembled into a whole by means of subsequent methods such as screwing, clamping, interference fit, etc. In the assembled structure, the material for manufacturing the connecting shaft 2101 'and each joint 2102' may be the same or different; for example, the material for making the connecting shaft 2101 'and each joint 2102' may be plastic material; for another example, the material for forming the connecting shaft 2101 'and each joint 2102' may be an alloy or a metal such as an aluminum foil or a sheet, for example, the material for forming the connecting shaft 2101 'may be a plastic material, and the material for forming each joint 2102' may be an alloy or a metal such as an aluminum foil or a sheet.

As shown in fig. 10, in the case that the connecting shaft 2101 ' has a hollow tube structure, a plurality of notches may be formed on a side wall of the connecting shaft 2101 ', and the notches may or may not communicate with the inside and the outside of the tube of the connecting shaft 2101 '; a groove 2106 'may be formed in the connecting shaft 2101', and the groove 2106 'may or may not communicate with the inside and the outside of the pipe of the connecting shaft 2101'. Through the arrangement of the gaps and/or the grooves 2106 ', and other structures, the thickness of the wall body of the connecting shaft 2101' can be reduced, the flexibility of the connecting shaft 2101 'is enhanced, and the bending of the connecting shaft 2101' is facilitated when the connecting shaft is stressed. Moreover, such a structural design is also beneficial for reducing the weight of the snake bone assembly 210'.

Similarly, even in the case where the connecting shaft 2101 'has a solid bar structure, the thickness of the connecting shaft 2101' may be appropriately reduced by the start notch and/or the groove 2106 ', thereby enhancing the flexibility of the connecting shaft 2101'.

The groove 2106 'of the connecting shaft 2101' may be exemplified by a spiral groove.

As shown in fig. 9, in the joints 2102 ' of the sheet structure, at least a first through hole 2103 through which the magnetorheological fluid 230 flows is opened in each joint 2102 ' along the axial direction of the connecting shaft 2101 '. When the magnetorheological fluid 230 is not placed in a magnetic field environment, the magnetorheological fluid 230 can circulate among the joints 2102 ', so that the snake bone component 210 ' can be forced to bend, and the direction of the snake bone component 210 ' can be changed at least in a driven state; when the magnetorheological fluid 230 is placed in a magnetic field environment, the magnetorheological fluid 230 has greatly increased viscosity and can not easily flow between the joints 2102 ' through the first through hole 2103, and the space size of each joint 2102 ' is fixed, so that the shape and the hardness of the whole snake bone assembly 210 ' are fixed.

In the joints 2102 ' having a sheet-like structure, each joint 2102 ' is further provided with one or more pairs of second through holes 2104 along the axial direction of the connecting shaft 2101 '. The second through holes 2104 in these different joints 2102 'are aligned for passage of a cable 2105 that drives the snake assembly 210' in more than one degree of freedom. The term "aligned" as used herein generally refers to the state in which the snake bone assembly 210 'is not under a magnetic field and is not under a force, and the snake bone assembly 210' is aligned in a linearly extended state, i.e., in a non-bent state.

In the above-described embodiment of the snake bone assembly 210 ' in which the joints 2102 ' of the respective sheet structures are connected by the connecting shaft 2101 ', the snake bone assembly 210 ' generally has two degrees of freedom, one of which is a degree of freedom in the X-axis and one of which is a degree of freedom in the Y-axis, in a plane coordinate system constituted by the X-axis and the Y-axis, and the snake bone assembly 210 ' can move arbitrarily in the plane by the cooperation of the two degrees of freedom. To facilitate active control of the snake bone assembly 210' in the two degrees of freedom, the second through holes 2104 are correspondingly arranged in two pairs, and the two pairs of second through holes 2104 may be orthogonally arranged. Further, the snake assembly 210 ' includes two pairs of cables 2105, each cable 2105 having a first end fixedly attached to a joint 2102 ' located at a head end of the snake assembly 210 ', and a second end passing through a second through-hole 2104 of each joint 2102 ' from the head end to the tail end of the snake assembly 210 ' and extending out of a tail end of the first casing 220. Of course, in some embodiments, each degree of freedom of snake assembly 210' may also be driven by multiple pairs of cables 2105, without limiting the need for only one pair of cables 2105 to drive that one degree of freedom. For example, one or both degrees of freedom of snake assembly 210 'may be controlled by three or even more pairs of cables 2105, which may or may not be uniformly circumferentially arranged, without interfering with the control of the degrees of freedom of snake assembly 210'.

In the above embodiment, the joints 2102 'in the snake bone assembly 210' may be configured in a circular sheet-like configuration and have the same size. In another embodiment, the joints 2102 'in the snake bone assembly 210' can be arranged in a circular sheet-shaped structure and have different sizes, for example, the joints 2102 'at the head end can gradually increase towards the joints 2102' at the tail end, namely, the joints 2102 'closer to the head end have smaller sizes, and the joints 2102' farther away from the far end have larger sizes, so that the snake bone assembly 210 'can be constructed into a cone structure or a truncated cone structure, and the construction is easy to shuttle the snake bone assembly 210' forwards, and is particularly suitable for use scenes of intestinal endoscopes and the like. Each of the joint 2102' assemblies may have the same or different thicknesses. For example, each joint 2102' has the same thickness. The thickness of the knuckles 2102' can be between 0.1mm and 5mm, such as any thickness between 0.1mm, 0.2mm, 0.3mm, 0.4mm, 0.5mm, 0.6mm, 0.7mm, 0.8mm, 0.9mm, 1mm, 2mm, 3mm, 4mm, 5mm, and adjacent values.

In this embodiment, the connection of the head end of the snake assembly 210 ' to the first end cap assembly 240 may be achieved, for example, by connecting the head end of the connecting shaft 2101 ' to the first end cap assembly 240, and for example, by connecting the joint 2102 ' at the head end to the first end cap assembly 240. The connection between the tail end of the snake bone assembly 210 ' and the second end cap assembly 250 can be achieved, for example, the tail end of the connecting shaft 2101 ' is connected with the second end cap assembly 250, and for example, the joint 2102 ' at the tail end is connected with the second end cap assembly 250.

Wherein the smaller the thickness of the joint 2102', the higher the flexibility. To ensure the overall stiffness of the snake 210 ' in a magnetic field environment, the thickness of the joints 2102 ' is inversely proportional to the spacing between adjacent joints 2102 '. For example, when the thickness of the joint 2102 'is small, the spacing distance between the adjacent joints 2102' may be set small, and when the thickness of the joint 2102 'is large, the spacing distance between the adjacent joints 2102' may be set large. For example, when the thickness of the joint 2102 'is 0.1mm, the spacing distance between the adjacent joints 2102' may be set to 0.2mm, and for example, when the thickness of the joint 2102 'is 0.5mm, the spacing distance between the adjacent joints 2102' may be set to 1 mm. In other embodiments, the spacing distance between adjacent joints 2102 'is the same, regardless of the thickness of the joints 2102'.

In other embodiments, referring to fig. 12 and 13, the snake bone assembly 210 "is an integral flexible tube 2101" itself, the flexible tube 2101 "is hollow to facilitate the flow of the magnetorheological fluid 230, a plurality of joints 2102" are formed by providing notches 2103 "at corresponding positions on the tube wall of the flexible tube 2101", and the flexible tube 2101 "itself can be used for achieving the rotation effect. In one embodiment, these notches 2103 "open out on the opposite side of the flexible tube 2101" to create one degree of freedom. In one embodiment, these notches 2103 "may be opened on two orthogonal sides of the flexible tube 2101" to create two degrees of freedom. The flexible tube 2101 "with the notch 2103" may be manufactured by a 3D printing process, and the material for manufacturing the flexible tube 2101 "with the notch 2103" may be a plastic material. In this embodiment, more than one pair of pulling holes may be axially formed on the flexible pipe 2101 "for the cable 2105 to pass through to achieve active control of the degree of freedom of the flexible pipe 2101", and of course, no pulling hole is provided, or when no cable is provided in the pulling hole, the degree of freedom of the flexible pipe 2101 "may be controlled in a driven manner. In this embodiment, the flexible pipe 2101 "is connected to the first end cap assembly 240 at the leading end and to the second end cap assembly 250 at the trailing end.

In one embodiment, referring to fig. 5 and 6, the first end cap assembly 240 includes a first connection seat 2401, the first connection seat 2401 connects and seals the head end of the first casing 220 and connects to the joint at the head end, and the first end of the cable 2105 is fixedly connected to the first connection seat 2401. Further, the first end cap assembly 240 may further include a first end cap 2402, and the first end cap 2402 covers and seals the first connection seat 2401. The first end cap 2402 has a radiused surface to facilitate smooth insertion. The first endcap 2402 can be an endcap of a soft material to also facilitate smooth insertion.

In one embodiment, referring to fig. 7 and 8, the second end cap assembly 250 includes a second connecting seat 2501, the second connecting seat 2501 is connected to and seals the rear end of the first sleeve 220 and is connected to the joint at the rear end, and the second end of the cable 2105 is movably extended out of the second connecting seat 2501, which is advantageous for actively controlling the rotation of the snake bone assembly. Further, the second end cap assembly 250 may further include a second end cap 2502, the second end cap 2502 covering and sealing the second connecting base 2501, the second end of the cable 2105 further movably extending out of the second end cap 2502.

The first connection seat 2401 and the second connection seat 2501 may be made of a silicone material, so as to utilize elasticity or expansion property of the silicone to seal the cable 2105 passing through the

connection seats

2401 and 2501, thereby preventing the magnetorheological fluid 230 from leaking out from between the first connection seat 2401 and the cable 2105 and between the second connection seat 2501 and the cable 2105. While the arrangement of the first end cap 2402 and the second end cap 2502 may further prevent the magnetorheological fluid 230 from seeping out.

As shown in fig. 14, the variable stiffness unit 100 may further include a second sleeve 260. The second sleeve 260 covers the first sleeve 220 and is bendable in response to bending of the snake bone assembly. Wherein the second sleeve 260 can be sleeved on the first end cap 2402 and the second end cap 2502 to further prevent the magnetorheological fluid 230 from seeping out.

In the above embodiments, the first sleeve 220 and/or the second sleeve 260 may be a leather sleeve or a plastic sleeve, so that the sleeve has good flexibility and hydrophobicity and is light and thin.

In order to provide a magnetic field, in an embodiment, with continued reference to fig. 14, a magnetic field generating unit 310 for generating a magnetic field to change the state of the magnetorheological fluid 230 may be integrally formed on an inner wall or an outer wall of the second sleeve 260.

In another embodiment, a magnetic field generating unit 310 for generating a magnetic field to change the state of the magnetorheological fluid 230 is sleeved between the outer wall of the first sleeve 220 and the inner wall of the second sleeve 260.

In another embodiment, the outer wall of the first sleeve 220 is integrally formed with a magnetic field generating unit 310 for generating a magnetic field to change the state of the magnetorheological fluid 230. In these embodiments, a plurality of axially extending grooves 2503 may be provided on the outer periphery of the second end cap 2502 for the positive and negative poles of the magnetic field generating unit 310 to enter and exit.

In the above embodiment, the magnetic field generating unit 310 is an electromagnetic coil and/or an electromagnet.

In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 15, the number of the electromagnetic coils 310 and/or the electromagnets is one, and the electromagnetic coils and/or the electromagnets have a pair of positive and negative electrodes.

In another embodiment, as shown in fig. 16, the number of the electromagnetic coils 310 and/or the electromagnets is two or more and independent of each other, and each of the electromagnetic coils 310 and/or the electromagnets has a pair of positive and negative electrodes. In this embodiment, by providing a plurality of independent magnetic field generating units 310, the magnetic field can be generated wholly or partially (i.e. in segments), which facilitates more flexible control of the motion profile of the snake bone assembly to adapt to more scenes.

In the above embodiment, cable 2105 may be a steel or alloy or nylon rope.

The present invention also provides a hardness variable assembly including the hardness variable unit 100 and the magnetic field generating assembly as described in any one of the above embodiments. The variable-stiffness unit 100 and the magnetic field generating unit are independent components. That is, the variable stiffness unit 100 does not include a magnetic field generating unit itself, but generates a magnetic field by a magnetic field generating member that can be assembled or used in cooperation without assembly. For example, the variable-stiffness unit 100 includes the first sleeve 220 and the snake bone assembly covered by the first sleeve 220, and the first sleeve 220 does not include the magnetic field generating unit.

In one embodiment, with continued reference to FIG. 14, the magnetic field generating assembly includes an outer sleeve 260 for covering the variable-stiffness unit 100, the outer sleeve 260 generally covering the first sleeve 220, and the outer sleeve 260 being bendable to follow the bending of the variable-stiffness unit 100. The inner wall or the outer wall of the outer tube 260 is integrally formed with a magnetic field generating unit 310. Such an arrangement allows for the hardness variable unit 100 or the magnetic field generating assembly to be replaced separately, at a lower cost.

In an embodiment, the magnetic field generating component may also be a wearable device 320 covered on the surface of the human body, and the magnetic field generating unit 310 is disposed inside the wearable device 320. Since the variable stiffness unit 100 is usually inserted into the upper body of the human body such as the abdomen, the chest, etc. through a natural orifice or an artificially made incision, the wearable device 320 is usually worn on the upper body of the human body, and the wearable device 320 may be usually in the form of a garment, for example, the simplest vest (vest), as shown in fig. 17.

In an embodiment, the magnetic field generating assembly may also be a supporting platform, the supporting platform is used for a human body to lie, and the magnetic field generating unit 310 is disposed inside the supporting platform. The support platform may often take the form of a bed.

In one embodiment, the magnetic field generating assembly may also be an arch device (similar to the main magnet structure in a nuclear magnetic resonance instrument, not shown) having a magnetic field generating unit 310 disposed inside.

For the embodiment in which the variable stiffness element and the magnetic field generating element are independent components, especially for the embodiment in which the magnetic field generating element includes a wearable device, a supporting platform, and an arch device, since the magnetic field generating element does not need to be assembled with the variable stiffness unit 100 for use, the variable stiffness unit 100 has a smaller size, is suitable for insertion into an intestinal tract or other cavities, and is easy to use. In addition, the magnetic field generating assembly can be repeatedly used and has long service life. And, may not be limited to space, so that the magnetic field generating assembly may be better designed.

The utility model also provides an endoscope, include: a control assembly 400; and a variable stiffness component as in any of the above embodiments; the control assembly 400 is coupled to the magnetic field generating assembly in the variable stiffness assembly. More specifically, the control assembly 400 is coupled to the magnetic field generating unit 310 in the magnetic field generating assembly and is used to control the magnetic field generating unit 310 to generate a magnetic field to change the hardness of the variable-hardness unit 100.

For example, the hardness variable component includes the hardness variable unit 100 and the wearable magnetic field generating component, and in use:

the endoscope is normally inserted, and when the endoscope is difficult to insert in a large bending part, the endoscope is suspended to be inserted and keeps the shape; inserting the hardness variable unit 100 into a working channel of an endoscope and reaching the front end (i.e., the head end) of the working channel, energizing the operation control assembly 400 to make the magnetic field generation unit 310 generate a magnetic field to make the magnetorheological fluid 230 change into a bingham body state, so that the viscous resistance between adjacent joints in the snake bone assembly becomes large, the relative positions of the adjacent joints hardly change, and further the hardness variable unit 100 becomes hard and the shape is almost fixed, at this time, the pushing force applied by a doctor to an insertion part (having an imaging unit for imaging such as an ultrasonic probe or a camera) of the endoscope outside the body is changed in direction by the hardness variable unit 100 with large rigidity, and the insertion part advances forward along the hardness variable unit 100 with large rigidity in the working channel of the endoscope;

when the insertion part reaches the next large bending part, the operation control assembly 400 is powered off to stop the magnetic field generation unit 310 from generating the magnetic field so as to change the magnetorheological fluid 230 into a Newtonian liquid state and further restore the hardness variable unit 100 to a normal state, namely to be softened, and at the moment, the thrust exerted by the doctor outside the body enables the hardness variable unit 100 to advance along the working channel of the endoscope again to reach the front end of the working channel;

the operation control assembly 400 is energized to cause the magnetic field generating unit 310 to generate a magnetic field to change the magnetorheological fluid 230 into a bingham fluid state to harden the hardness variable unit 100, and the insertion part is advanced forward again along the hardness variable unit 100 having the rigidity increased in the working channel of the endoscope under the thrust of the doctor, and so on until the insertion part reaches the target position.

This whole insertion process makes the intestinal wall atress no longer, has avoided or has alleviateed patient's misery to along with hardness (rigidity) grow, the doctor is more accurate to the control of insertion portion.

Except that the above mode work of assisting is carried out through endoscope working channel, the utility model discloses a hardness variable unit can also replace the snake bone part of inserting portion in the endoscope of prior art, as a holistic new endoscope snake bone, constitutes neotype endoscope inserting portion mirror body, carries out work.

The utility model discloses following beneficial effect has:

because the magnetorheological fluid 230 is filled in the first sleeve 220 of the hardness variable unit 100 and the first sleeve 220 is coated with the snake bone component, when the magnetorheological fluid is used in cooperation with the magnetic field generating unit 310, the magnetorheological fluid 230 provides variability, and the snake bone component provides support and hardness. The assembly can be used in combination with an endoscope such as a large intestine endoscope, has simple structure, convenient assembly and disassembly and low cost, does not influence the structure of the large intestine endoscope, can be selectively used according to the intestinal condition of a patient, and has universal applicability.

It is to be noted that the above-described various embodiments may be used alone or in combination as long as the object of the present invention is not violated.

The above is only the embodiment of the present invention, not the limitation of the patent scope of the present invention, all the equivalent structures or equivalent processes that are used in the specification and the attached drawings or directly or indirectly applied to other related technical fields are included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A variable stiffness unit comprising:

a snake bone component;

and the first sleeve covers the snake bone component and can be bent along with the bending of the snake bone component, and the first sleeve is filled with magnetorheological fluid.

2. The variable stiffness unit according to claim 1, wherein:

3. The variable stiffness unit according to claim 2, wherein:

the connecting shaft penetrates through each joint from the center of each joint and is connected with each joint, and the first sleeve covers the outer periphery of each joint in the snake bone assembly.

4. The variable stiffness unit of claim 3, wherein:

5. The variable stiffness unit of claim 3, wherein:

6. The variable stiffness unit according to claim 2, wherein:

7. The variable stiffness unit according to claim 2, wherein:

along the axial direction of the connecting shaft, each joint is at least provided with a first through hole for the magnetorheological fluid to flow through.

8. The variable stiffness unit according to claim 7, wherein:

along the axial direction of the connecting shaft, each joint is also provided with more than one pair of second through holes, and the second through holes of different joints are arranged in alignment so as to allow a cable driving the snake bone assembly to move in more than one degree of freedom to pass through.

9. The variable stiffness unit according to claim 8, wherein:

10. The variable stiffness unit according to claim 2, wherein:

each joint is of a circular sheet structure and has the same size.

11. The variable stiffness unit according to claim 2, wherein:

each joint is of a circular sheet structure, and the size of each joint is gradually increased from the head end of the snake bone component to the far end.

12. The variable stiffness unit according to claim 2, wherein:

each of the joints has the same thickness.

13. The variable stiffness unit of claim 12, wherein:

the thickness of the joint is between 0.1mm and 5 mm.

14. The variable stiffness unit according to claim 2, wherein:

the connecting shaft and each joint are of an integrally formed structure.

15. The variable stiffness unit according to claim 1, wherein:

the variable-hardness unit includes a first end cap assembly connected to and sealing the head end of the first casing and a second end cap assembly connected to and sealing the tail end of the first casing, and the first end cap assembly is further connected to the head end of the snake bone assembly and the second end cap assembly is further connected to the tail end of the snake bone assembly.

16. The variable stiffness unit of claim 15, wherein:

the snake bone component comprises a plurality of joints, the joints at the head end are connected with the first end cover component, the joints at the tail end are connected with the second end cover component, the joints are mutually rotatably connected to form at least one degree of freedom, the snake bone component further comprises cables with the same number of pairs as the degree of freedom, and each pair of cables drives one degree of freedom to move.

17. The variable stiffness unit of claim 16, wherein:

18. The variable stiffness unit of claim 16, wherein:

in the joints, the joint at the tail end is a first joint, the other joints are second joints, the head end of the first joint is provided with a first hinge part, the head end of the second joint is also provided with the first hinge part, the tail end of the second joint is provided with a second hinge part matched with the first hinge part, the tail end of the first end cover assembly is also provided with the second hinge part, the tail end of the first joint is connected with the second end cover assembly, and the rotary connection between the second joint and the first joint, between the first joints and between the first joint and the first end cover assembly is realized through the matching between the first hinge part and the second hinge part.

19. The variable stiffness unit according to claim 18, wherein:

the first hinge is a pair of ears and the second hinge is a pair of notched slots that mate with the ears;

alternatively, the first hinge is a pair of notched slots and the second hinge is a pair of ears that mate with the ears.

20. The variable stiffness unit of claim 19, wherein:

the ear with the breach groove is the arc structure.

21. The variable stiffness unit of claim 19, wherein:

a gap is reserved between the lug part and the notch groove.

22. The variable stiffness unit according to claim 18, wherein:

the first hinge portion and the second hinge portion of the first joint are located on the same side so that when the plurality of joints are rotationally connected, the plurality of joints have the same rotation axis to constitute one degree of freedom.

23. The variable stiffness unit according to claim 18, wherein:

the first hinge portion and the second hinge portion of the first joint are respectively located on orthogonal sides so that when the plurality of joints are rotationally connected, the plurality of joints have two rotation axes orthogonally oriented to constitute the two degrees of freedom.

24. The variable stiffness unit of claim 16, wherein:

each joint has a plurality of pull holes through which the cable passes, the number of pull holes being more than twice the number of pairs of the cable.

25. The variable stiffness unit of claim 16, wherein:

the center of each joint is provided with a through hole for the flowing of the magnetorheological fluid.

26. The variable stiffness unit of claim 16, wherein:

27. The variable stiffness unit of claim 26, wherein:

28. The variable stiffness unit of claim 27, wherein:

the first end cap is a soft end cap.

29. The variable stiffness unit of claim 16, wherein:

the second end cap assembly comprises a second connecting seat, the second connecting seat is connected with and seals the tail end of the first sleeve and is connected with the joint positioned at the tail end, and meanwhile, the second end of the cable movably extends out of the second connecting seat.

30. The variable stiffness unit of claim 29, wherein:

31. The variable stiffness unit of claim 30, wherein:

the variable-hardness unit further includes a second sleeve covering the first sleeve and bendable in response to bending of the snake bone assembly.

32. The variable stiffness unit of claim 31, wherein:

the first cannula and/or the second cannula is a cortical cannula or a plastic cannula.

33. The variable stiffness unit of claim 31, wherein:

and a magnetic field generating unit for generating a magnetic field to change the state of the magnetorheological fluid is integrally formed on the inner wall or the outer wall of the second sleeve.

34. The variable stiffness unit of claim 31, wherein:

35. The variable stiffness unit according to claim 33 or 34, wherein:

36. The variable stiffness unit according to claim 1, wherein:

the outer wall of the first sleeve is integrally formed with a magnetic field generating unit for generating a magnetic field to change the state of the magnetorheological fluid.

37. The variable-stiffness unit according to claim 33, 34 or 36, wherein:

the magnetic field generating unit is an electromagnetic coil and/or an electromagnet.

38. The variable stiffness unit of claim 37, wherein:

the number of the electromagnetic coils and/or the electromagnets is one, and the electromagnetic coils and/or the electromagnets are provided with a pair of positive and negative electrodes;

or the number of the electromagnetic coils and/or the electromagnets is more than two and are mutually independent, and each electromagnetic coil and/or electromagnet is provided with a pair of positive and negative electrodes.

39. A variable-stiffness assembly comprising a variable-stiffness unit according to any one of claims 1 to 30, and further comprising a magnetic field generating assembly for generating a magnetic field to change a state of the magnetorheological fluid.

40. The variable stiffness assembly of claim 39, wherein:

41. The variable stiffness assembly of claim 39, wherein:

42. The variable stiffness assembly of claim 39, wherein:

the magnetic field generating assembly comprises a supporting platform, the supporting platform is used for a human body to lie, and the magnetic field generating unit is arranged in the supporting platform.

43. An endoscope, comprising:

a control component;

and a variable-stiffness component according to any one of claims 39-42;

the control assembly is coupled with the magnetic field generating assembly in the variable hardness assembly and is used for controlling the magnetic field generating assembly to generate a magnetic field so as to change the hardness of the variable hardness unit in the variable hardness assembly.