JP2000014628A - Endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a simple and highly reliable structure for connecting to an operating part the actuation member of a wire cable whose end in particular is oriented in a predetermined direction, in an endoscope in which a portion consisting of an end portion, a curved portion, and a soft portion is removably coupled to the operating part via an attaching part. SOLUTION: A wire cable 29 has its basic end portion inverted by inversion guide wheels 28. The basic end portion of the wire cable 29 is connected to a driven shaft 27 and a drive shaft 35 on the side of an operating part 15 is coupled to the driven shaft 27 while abutting thereto by the coupling of a demountable part 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endoscope, and more particularly, to a detachable endoscope.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An endoscope is used for observing a part of a living body which cannot be observed by direct visual observation. Such an endoscope has an operation unit as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-280606, and by manually operating a handle provided on the operation unit, a distal end side is provided. The bending portion is bent in a desired direction, and the observation site can be observed through an objective optical system inside the distal end provided on the distal end side of the bending portion.

[0003] Such endoscopes are widely used for diagnosing the properties of various parts of the human body. For example, gastric endoscopes include a conventional gastric camera type endoscope and a type incorporating a camera. Also, a fiberscope type endoscope that can be photographed by a hand-held camera is used.

[0004]

Since the conventional endoscope is assembled as a single unit, if the distal end or the bent portion breaks down due to disconnection, all of the endoscope becomes useless. There was a problem that it had to be replaced with a new one. Further, there is a problem that, despite being very expensive, a plurality of types of organs must be prepared for each type of organ. In addition, sterilization takes a long time to prevent serious infections, and sterilization processing capacity may not be able to keep up with diagnostic treatment.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and has as its object to provide a detachable endoscope.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an endoscope provided with a detachable portion between a flexible portion and an operating portion for connecting the flexible portion and the operating portion in a separable manner.

A connector for detachably connecting an electric wire or an optical fiber for transmitting a signal or energy may be provided in the detachable portion. Further, a connector for detachably connecting tubes such as an air supply tube, a water supply tube, and a forceps tube may be provided in the attaching / detaching portion. In addition, a first connector may be provided inside the detachable portion main body, and a second connector may be provided outside the detachable portion. The connected members that do not need to be aligned may be connected by the first connector, and the connected members that need to be aligned may be connected by the second connector. An operating member for remotely pulling a wire cable whose tip is directed in a predetermined direction may be detachably connected to the detachable portion.

Another main invention is provided between a flexible portion and an operating portion, and a detachable portion for connecting the flexible portion and the operating portion in a separable manner, and a remote portion so that a tip portion is directed in a predetermined direction. Operating the wire cable, a guide wheel provided on the flexible portion side of the detachable portion and reversing the direction of the wire cable, and a passive member connected to the inverted base end of the wire cable, A driving member that is operated by the operation of the operation unit and is in contact with the passive member and presses the passive member. When the detachable unit is connected, the driving member comes into contact with the passive member. The present invention relates to an endoscope characterized by the following.

A reversing mechanism consisting of a guide wheel may be provided for each of the four wire cables connected to the distal end. Further, a pinion is fixed to a drive shaft constituting a support shaft of an operation knob provided in the operation portion, and a pair of racks mesh with each other so as to face the pinion, and the drive members are respectively engaged with the racks. They may be linked. Further, a spring may be provided for urging the passive member in a direction in which the wire cable is loosened.

[0010] In a preferred aspect of the present invention, a detachable endoscope is provided with a detachable portion for separating a portion constituted by a distal end portion, a curved portion, and a flexible portion from an operation portion. The present invention relates to an endoscope, and is particularly characterized in that a detachable portion is provided between a flexible portion and an operation portion so as to releasably connect the both.

A solid-state image pickup device (CC
D) Wires for transmitting signals and energy for driving, optical fiber for light guide, air supply tube, water supply tube, forceps tube with suction function, and structures with other functions can be separated And a connector for connecting to the detachable part. Here, a part of the connector for attaching and detaching wires, optical fibers, tubes, and other structures having other functions is provided inside the attaching / detaching part body, and other connector functions are provided outside the attaching / detaching part body. May be borne by the provided connector.

[0012] In particular, connected members that do not require alignment, such as an air supply tube and a water supply tube, are connected by a connector in the attaching / detaching portion main body, and wires, optical fibers, etc. that require accurate alignment. It is preferable that the connected members such as the fiber and the forceps tube are connected by another connector provided outside the attaching / detaching portion.

Further, a connecting mechanism for detachably connecting an operating member for remotely controlling a wire cable for directing the distal end portion in a predetermined direction is provided on the detachable portion.

The power transmission mechanism for the wire cable for directing the distal end in a predetermined direction is not a traction type transmission mechanism such as a hook type, but a base end side in which the direction of the wire cable is reversed by a guide wheel. The pressing method of pressing the portion is adopted. By adopting such a pressing method, it is possible to make the connecting mechanism of the operating member of the wire cable in the attaching / detaching portion a very simple structure. Further, it is preferable that the attaching / detaching portion is provided with a lock mechanism for maintaining the connected state after the connection.

By allowing the flexible portion and the operating portion to be separated at the attaching / detaching portion, it is possible to provide the portion from the flexible portion to the distal end at a low cost, whereby the distal end is owned more than the operating portion. It becomes possible to do. Therefore, a sufficient sterilization time can be secured especially for the distal end portion that requires sterilization, and infection between patients can be more reliably prevented.

Further, by separating the flexible portion and the operating portion at the attaching / detaching portion, the flexible portion and the flexible portion have more of the operating portion than the operating portion with few failures. Can be owned in large numbers, and the operating unit can be owned by a minimum number of owners, and only the distal end can be owned by multiple organs by organ.

If the flexible part and the operation part can be separated from each other at the attachment / detachment part, the user can have a dedicated operation part. As a result, it is possible to cope with operators with different usability, to improve the operability of diagnosis and treatment, and to increase the reliability of diagnosis and treatment.

Further, by adopting a reversing mechanism using a guide wheel as a connecting mechanism of the operating member of the wire cable in the attaching / detaching portion, it is not necessary to find the origin when connecting the driving member and the passive member. A complicated mechanism for that can be omitted. As a result, the attaching / detaching operation can be performed very easily, and the reliability of the power transmission mechanism of the connecting portion is improved, and the cost can be reduced.

The connected members which do not require alignment and can be connected by one-touch connection are connected by a connector in the attaching / detaching portion main body, and the connected members requiring alignment are connected by a connector external to the attaching / detaching portion. Therefore, it is possible to simplify the connector and improve the reliability.

[0020]

FIG. 1 shows a separation type endoscope according to an embodiment of the present invention. This endoscope has a distal end 11
, A bending portion 12, a flexible portion 13, a detachable portion 14, and an operation portion 15. And light from the power supply,
A universal cord 16 for guiding water, air, and power is connected to the operation unit 15.

A solid-state image pickup device (CCD) for imaging a target site via an objective lens is built in the distal end portion 11. The distal end portion 11 is introduced into a cavity in a living body, and the target site is photographed. Treatment or the like is performed by operation of forceps from the suction port, and such a tip 11 is attached to the tip.

The distal end portion 11 is supported by a bending portion 12 that can be bent at the base end. Curved part 12
Functions to follow changes in the camera angle. A flexible portion 13 is provided on the base end side connected to the bending portion 12, and the flexible portion 13 is detachably connected to the operation portion 15 via a detachable portion 14. The operation section 15 includes an operation knob 17. By rotating the operation knob 17, the bending section 12 is bent up, down, left, and right by a built-in wire cable.

The operating section 15 is provided with an insertion port 18 that penetrates a forceps channel provided in the distal end portion 11. The operation unit 15 remotely controls the operation of the camera angle and the forceps, and the attachment / detachment unit 14 remotely controls the air supply tube, the connector for connecting the water supply tube, and the operating members such as the distal end portion 11 and the bending portion 12. A joint for connecting a wire cable to be pulled is provided, so that the flexible portion 13 and the operation portion 15 can be separated. Further, the flexible portion 13 is provided with an electric wire for transmitting a signal and energy for driving the solid-state imaging device, a light guide optical fiber, and a connector 19 for connecting a forceps tube. It can be separated from.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the flexible portion 13 includes a housing 21, a connector housing 22 fixed to the housing 21, a lock screw 23 for fixing the flexible portion 13 to the detachable portion 14, and a connector housing 22. , A positioning bush 25 mounted on the connector housing 22, an air supply tube housed in the positioning bush 25, and a connector made of an elastic material for connecting the water supply tube. A seal 26 (see FIG. 4) is provided.

Further, on the flexible portion 13 side of the attaching / detaching portion 14, the position is regulated by a guide groove provided in the connector housing 22, and the passive shaft 27 which slides smoothly, is connected to the passive shaft 27 and smoothly. The direction is reversed through the rotating reversing guide wheel 28, and the flexible portion 13,
A total of four wire cables 29 for towing operation, which are connected to the distal end portion 11 via the curved portion 12,
Is provided with a length adjusting adjuster 30 for adjusting the length. 2 is provided on the flexible portion 13 side of the detachable portion 14.
As shown in FIG. 1, a connector housing 31 fixed to the housing 21, an electric wire for transmitting a signal and electric power for driving the solid-state imaging device, and an optical fiber for a light guide attached to the connector housing 31 are provided. A suction port branched from the insertion port 18 provided in the flexible section 13 is provided in order to prevent adhesion of contaminants to the flexible section side connector 32 and the clean area in the connector section. Further, by providing a separable suction port in the operation unit 15 and connecting the both with a flexible tube, a joint for connecting a forceps tube which completely separates the air supply tube and the water supply tube is provided. 33
Is provided.

The attaching / detaching portion 14 further includes a positioning pin 24 attached to the connector housing 22 on the flexible portion 13 side,
A housing 34 for connecting the lock screw 23 having a positioning groove and a hole, which is structured to be positioned by the positioning bush 25, and a housing for transmitting the operating force of the operating portion 15 to the passive shaft 27. A drive shaft 35 whose position is regulated by a smooth movement by a guide provided on a guide tube 34 and a connector 36 in a main body for connecting an air supply tube and a water supply tube.
And an attachment / detachment-portion-side connector 37 coupled to the external soft-portion-side connector 32.

A major feature of this endoscope is a structure in which the direction of the wire cable 29 is inverted by a guide wheel 28 and the passive shaft 27 is connected to the inverted base end of the wire cable 29. is there. FIG.
As shown in the figure, the wire cables 29 connected to the mover 40 in the distal end portion 11 are connected to the corresponding guide wheels 2 respectively.
The passive shaft 27 is connected to the proximal end of these wire cables 29.

The drive shaft 35 is provided in a state of being connected to the rack 41 so as to press the passive shaft 27 and pull the wire cable 29. The rack 41 is adapted to mesh with both sides of the pinion 42. The pinion 42 is fixed to the drive shaft 43 of the operation knob 17. The passive shaft 27 is urged by a return spring 46 in a direction to loosen the wire cable 29.

Next, the operation of the endoscope having the above configuration will be described. First, the connection operation in the attaching / detaching section 14 will be described. Connector housing 2 of flexible portion 13
The rotation angle and the position are adjusted while the positioning pin 24 and the positioning bush 25 attached to the second unit 2 face the positioning groove and the entrance of the hole provided in the housing 34 of the attaching / detaching portion 14, and the rotation angle and the position are adjusted. The connector 36 provided on the flexible part 13 for connecting the air supply tube and the water supply tube as shown in FIG. A seal connector 26 provided in the bush 25 and made of an elastic material is coupled thereto. Further, the passive shaft 27 provided on the flexible portion 13 side and the drive shaft 35 provided on the attachment / detachment portion 14 side are automatically brought into contact with each other.

Further, by rotating the lock screw 23 provided on the flexible portion 13 side with respect to the male screw of the housing 34 provided on the attaching / detaching portion 14, the housing 3 is rotated.
4 is fixedly connected to the flexible portion 13 side.

By this operation, as shown in FIG. 5, a drive unit comprising the pinion 42 of the operation unit 15 and the rack 41,
The drive shaft 35 and the flexible portion 1 provided on the attaching / detaching portion 14 side
The passive shaft 27 provided on the third side and the wire cable 29 fixed to the bending portion 12 are connected. Therefore, by rotating the bending operation knob 17 provided on the operation unit 15, the distal end 11 can be bent vertically and horizontally by pulling the wire cable 29. In particular, the connection between the drive shaft 35 and the passive shaft 27 for driving the wire cable 29 can be achieved in one action only by abutting the ends of the two together without performing origin search. . This is a major feature of this endoscope.

Next, a connector 32 is provided on the flexible portion 13 for connecting an electric wire for transmitting a signal and power for driving the solid-state image pickup device in the distal end portion 11 and an optical fiber for a light guide. When the 37 is inserted while being positioned in the rotational direction, the two are automatically fitted and connected. By turning the housing provided with the connector 37, the connecting portion is fixed.
The suction tube from the forceps port is attached and detached by a one-touch connector (not shown) between the flexible section 13 and the operation section 15.

Next, a method of transmitting the power of the wire cable 29 will be described. When the connector housing 22 and the housing 34 are fitted together with the attachment / detachment portion 14, the operation portion 15 and the distal end portion 11 are connected to each other, and the operation knob 17 for bending the bending portion 12 is operated. By rotating the drive shaft 35, the drive shaft 35 interlocking with the drive mechanism of the operation unit 15 is pushed out to the distal end side, whereby the passive shaft 27 is pushed out similarly to the distal end side, and the wire connected to the passive shaft 27 side A force acts on the cable 29 in the direction of pulling the base end side into the operation unit side via the reversing guide wheel 28, and the wire cable 29 is pulled and the distal end portion 11 is bent.

Next, the operation knob 17 is moved in the direction opposite to the current operation.
When the rotary shaft is rotated, the passive shaft 2 disposed at a position opposite to the passive shaft 27 extruded from the connector housing 22 toward the distal end portion 11 by the above operation from the connector housing 22.
The corresponding drive shaft 35 is pushed out to the tip end side together with the restoring force of the return spring 46 provided in the direction of pushing back the tip 7, and the tip end curves to the opposite side. This completes the mounting operation.

Next, the separating operation will be described. The lock screw 23 provided on the operation section 13 is rotated to move the positioning pin 24 and the positioning bush 25 to the housing 3.
By pulling the connector 37 out of the hole 4, rotating the housing in which the connector 37 is mounted, and pulling the connector 37 out of the connector 32, the separating operation is completed.

According to such a structure, the operation section 15 side and the flexible section 13 side can be separated by the detachable section 14,
As a result, it is possible to hold a large number of portions only from the flexible portion 13 on the distal end side, and it is possible to secure a sufficient sterilization time, or it is possible to own only a large number of the distal portions only as a spare for repair. become. Alternatively, it is possible to prepare various types of only the tip for each organ.

Further, according to such a structure, the passive shaft 27 and the drive shaft 35 in the attaching / detaching portion 14 are connected by the abutting mechanism of the wire cable 29 provided with the guide wheel 28 without contacting the origin. This makes it possible to omit the mechanism for locating the origin, simplify the connection mechanism for remote operation of the wire cable 29, and improve the reliability. Note that such an endoscope is not necessarily limited to a medical field, and can be applied to an industrial endoscope.

[0038]

As described above, according to the present invention, an attaching / detaching portion is provided between the flexible portion and the operating portion so as to removably couple the both.

Therefore, the flexible portion and the operating portion can be appropriately separated by such an attaching / detaching portion, whereby a large number of only the distal portion on the flexible portion side can be prepared.
Therefore, it is possible to secure a sufficient sterilization time or to use it as a spare for repairing the tip. Furthermore, it becomes possible to own many types of only the tip part for each organ.

According to the structure in which the connector for detachably connecting the electric wire or the optical fiber for transmitting the signal or the energy is provided on the detachable portion, the electric wire or the optical fiber can be connected or separated by such a connector. Will be possible.

According to a configuration in which a connector for detachably connecting tubes such as an air supply tube, a water supply tube, and a forceps tube is provided in the detachable portion, the connection and separation of the tubes can be performed by such a connector. Will be possible.

According to the configuration in which the first connector is provided inside the attaching / detaching portion body and the second connector is provided outside the attaching / detaching portion, the connected members can be arbitrarily connected using these connectors. And can be separated.

According to the configuration in which the connected members that do not require alignment are connected by the first connector and the connected members that require alignment are connected by the second connector, no alignment is required. The connected member is the first
Are connected in a separable manner, and the connected members that need to be aligned are connected in a state where they are aligned by the second connector.

According to the structure in which the operating member for remotely pulling the wire cable whose tip is directed in a predetermined direction is detachably connected at the attaching / detaching portion, the operating member can be detached at the attaching / detaching portion as necessary. Become.

Further, another main invention is provided between a flexible portion and an operation portion, a detachable portion for connecting the flexible portion and the operation portion in a separable manner, and a remote portion such that a distal end portion is directed in a predetermined direction. Operating the operation unit, a guide wheel provided on the flexible portion side of the detachable portion and reversing the direction of the wire cable, a passive member connected to the inverted base end of the wire cable, A driving member that is actuated by and is pressed against the passive member in contact with the passive member,
The drive member comes into contact with the passive member when the detachable portion is connected.

According to such a configuration, when the detachable portion is connected, the driving member comes into contact with the passive member connected to the base end portion of the wire cable which is inverted by the guide wheel. A connection is achieved that exerts a force on the wire cable in the direction of pulling.

According to the configuration in which the reversing mechanism composed of the guide wheel is provided for each of the four wire cables connected to the distal end, each of the wire cables has the reversing mechanism and the reversing mechanism of such a reversing mechanism is provided. The driving member comes into contact with and is connected to the passive member.

A pinion is fixed to a drive shaft constituting a support shaft of an operation knob provided in an operation portion, and a pair of racks are engaged with the pinion so as to face each other, and drive members are connected to the racks. According to this configuration, the pinion is rotated by rotating the operation unit, and the pair of racks meshing with the pinion move in opposite directions to each other. Are connected so as to be moved in opposite directions to each other.

According to the configuration in which the spring for biasing the passive member in the direction in which the wire cable is loosened is provided, the spring prevents the wire cable from being loosened.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an entire configuration of an endoscope.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway front view showing a configuration of a detachable unit.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of a detachable portion.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of a detachable portion.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view of a detachable portion.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a wire cable reversing mechanism by a guide wheel.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ° tip, 12 ° curved, 13 ° flexible, 1
4 ‥‥ detachable section, 15 部 operation section, 16 ‥‥ universal cord, 17 コ ー ド operation knob, 18 ‥‥ insertion port, 19 ‥‥
Connector, 21 ‥‥ housing, 22 ‥‥ connector housing, 23 ‥‥ lock screw, 24 ‥‥ positioning pin,
25mm positioning bush, 26mm seal connector, 27mm passive shaft, 28mm guide wheel, 29mm
Wire cable, 30 adjuster, 31 connector housing, 32 flexible connector, 33 joint, 34 housing, 35 drive shaft, 36 connector, 37 connector, 40 connector {Motor, 41} Rack, 42} Pinion, 43} Drive shaft, 46} Return spring

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2H040 CA07 DA11 DA21 DA57 4C061 AA01 BB00 CC06 DD03 FF11 FF24 FF32 FF42 FF45 FF46 FF50 HH32 HH36 JJ06

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An endoscope comprising a detachable portion provided between a flexible portion and an operation portion for removably connecting the flexible portion and the operation portion. 2. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein a connector for detachably connecting an electric wire or an optical fiber for transmitting a signal or energy is provided on the detachable portion. 3. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein a connector for detachably connecting tubes such as an air supply tube, a water supply tube, and a forceps tube is provided on the attachment / detachment portion. 4. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein a first connector is provided inside the attaching / detaching portion main body, and a second connector is provided outside the attaching / detaching portion. 5. A connected member which does not require positioning is connected to the first member.
5. The endoscope according to claim 4, wherein a connected member that needs to be aligned is connected by the second connector. 6. An endoscope according to claim 1, wherein an operating member for remotely pulling a wire cable whose tip is directed in a predetermined direction is detachably connected at said attaching / detaching portion. 7. An attaching / detaching portion provided between the flexible portion and the operating portion, for detachably connecting the flexible portion and the operating portion, and remotely operating the distal end portion in a predetermined direction. A wire cable, a guide wheel provided on the flexible portion side of the attaching / detaching portion and reversing the direction of the wire cable; a passive member connected to the inverted base end of the wire cable; A driving member that is operated by an operation and is in contact with the passive member and presses the passive member. When the detachable portion is connected, the driving member comes into contact with the passive member. Endoscope. 8. The endoscope according to claim 7, wherein a reversing mechanism comprising a guide wheel is provided for each of the four wire cables connected to the distal end. 9. A pinion is fixed to a drive shaft constituting a support shaft of an operation knob provided on the operation section,
The endoscope according to claim 8, wherein a pair of racks mesh with each other so as to face the pinion, and the driving members are respectively connected to the racks. 10. The endoscope according to claim 7, further comprising a spring for urging the passive member in a direction in which the wire cable is loosened.