JP2000046482A - Industrial endoscope with cooling structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an industrial endoscope with a cooling structure for assuring a visual field of a lens by using it in bent piping or a complicated mechanism at a high temperature. SOLUTION: The industrial endoscope comprises an inserting unit, an operating unit and an eyepiece 3. The inserting unit has an inside soft element 14 including a soft part and a bent part 12, an outside soft element 15 for surrounding the element 14 at an interval, and an interval holder 16 for holding an interval between the inside and outside elements. The operating unit has an outer cylinder 23 connected to a cooling fluid supply tube 24. Thus, cooling fluid flows between the inside and outside elements, and is discharged from the vicinity of the end 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is used for efficient inspection and maintenance of various machines, plant facilities, structures, etc., and for internal inspection which is widely used in quality control and production technology, etc. The present invention relates to an industrial endoscope. In particular, the present invention relates to an industrial endoscope having a cooling structure that can be used even under a certain high temperature such as a cooling pipe of a blast furnace.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG.
1, an insertion section 1 comprising a bending section 12 and a flexible section 13, an operation section 2 and an eyepiece section 3. An image guide fiber for image transmission and illumination light from a light source device are connected to a connector 4. A flexible endoscope in which a light guide cable 5 or the like which leads to a distal end portion 11 through the flexible endoscope is generally known. This flexible endoscope is provided with an angle knob 21 of the operation unit 2.
By operating, the bending portion 12 can be bent freely, the angle can be changed freely, and the observation target can be widened, and the flexible portion 13 can be changed freely. The inside of the machine can also be observed.

However, since the flexible endoscope does not have a cooling structure, operating temperature conditions are limited. On the other hand, an internal observation device having a cooling structure is also disclosed in JP-A-53-19104 and JP-A-63-26339.
No. 0, Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-6872, etc., which are of a fixed type, and in which the cooling structure does not have a flexible portion, and the use thereof is extremely limited. It has become.

[0004]

The flexible type industrial endoscope represented by the above-mentioned conventional fiberscope has a use range of -10.degree. C. to 80.degree. C. due to the material and adhesive used. And its use was limited to a narrow range due to temperature limitations. Further, when used in an oil mist, inside a reduction gear, or in a place with mud-like dirt, there is a problem that oil or dirt adheres to the lens at the tip end, resulting in poor visibility. In addition, the conventional internal observation device having a cooling structure is used fixedly at the place where it is used, and since the cooling structure has no flexible part, the inside of a curved piping system or a complicated mechanism is not used. Etc. could not be handled, and the place of use was determined.

An object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the above-mentioned conventional industrial endoscope at once, and at a high temperature which cannot be used conventionally, for example, at 250 ° C. to 300 ° C.
Industrial endoscope with a cooling structure that can be used in a room and can prevent oil and dirt from adhering to the lens, but can also be used to observe the inside of a pipe with many bends and the inside of an engine or machine with a complicated structure It is intended to provide a mirror.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided an industrial endoscope having a cooling structure described in each claim as means for solving the above-mentioned problems.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the inner soft body and the outer soft body have a double soft structure, and a cooling fluid is passed between the inner and outer soft bodies.
Under high temperatures that cannot be used normally, it is possible to observe inside curved pipes and engines and machines with complicated structures,
Its use expands.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the cooling fluid is caused to flow from the outer cylinder of the operation portion between the inner flexible member and the outer flexible member and discharged from the vicinity of the distal end of the insertion portion. In addition to the effects of the industrial endoscope of item 1, it is possible to prevent dirt from adhering to the lens and obtain a good field of view.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, both the outer cylinder and the outer flexible body are configured to be detachable, so that the cooling structure can be freely employed or not employed under temperature conditions. In addition, in some cases, the cooling structure of the present invention can be applied to an industrial endoscope having no conventional cooling structure.

The means described in the fourth, fifth, and sixth aspects limit the structure of the spacing member between the inner flexible body and the outer flexible body, respectively, whereby the inner flexible body and the outer flexible body are limited. Can be reliably maintained, the flow of the cooling fluid can be ensured, and the effects of the baffle plate and the guide plate can be expected, thereby improving the cooling effect.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a scale is provided on the outer periphery of the outer flexible member, whereby the insertion length of the industrial endoscope is immediately known, so that the defective portion can be easily known. be able to.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the outer flexible body is constituted by a plurality of cooling fluid pipes arranged around the inner flexible body, thereby maintaining a space for securing a flow path of the cooling fluid. The flow path of the cooling fluid can be formed by a simple method of simply bundling the tubes without requiring a body.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating an industrial endoscope having a cooling structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. The industrial endoscope includes an insertion section 1, an operation section 2, and an eyepiece section 3. The insertion section 1
An inner flexible body 14 composed of a flexible portion 13 and a curved portion 12,
The distal end portion 11 provided at the tip of the curved portion 12, the outer flexible body 15 surrounding the inner flexible body 14 with a space therebetween, and the space between the inner flexible body 14 and the outer flexible body 15 are maintained. And a spacing member 16 for performing the operation. Therefore, both ends of the insertion portion 2 are open, and a cooling fluid is introduced from one end and a cooling fluid is discharged from the other end. The inner flexible body 14 is a bundle of fibers, a curved wire, a light guide, and the like, like a conventional industrial endoscope, and an objective lens is connected to the distal end portion 11 with the fiber. The outer flexible member 15 may be made of any material that can be freely bent. A scale is provided on the outer periphery of the outer flexible body 15 as necessary so that the insertion distance can be determined.

The operation unit 2 is connected to a light source via a light guide cable 5 and a connector 4 as in the conventional case, and is provided with a lever such as an angle knob 21 so that the bending unit 12 can be freely operated by operating the lever. It can be bent so that the direction of the objective lens can be freely changed, and this position can be locked or unlocked. Further, in the present invention, the grip portion 22 of the operation section 2 is wrapped by the outer cylinder 23, and the outer cylinder 23
Fluid supply pipe 2 having flow control valve 25
4 are connected. The outer tube 23 is provided with an outer tube stabilizing guide 26 made of rubber or the like on the eyepiece portion 3 side of the connection portion with the supply tube 24, whereby the outer tube 23 is collapsed and cooled. It acts as a fluid seal. The type of cooling fluid is not limited, but air is generally used. The outer cylinder 23 is detachably fixed to the grip portion 22. For example, a male screw portion 27 provided on the grip portion 22 and an end of the outer cylinder are fixed by a cap nut 28, or a one-touch joint or the like. Adopt means. The outer cylinder 23 and the outer flexible body 15 may be completely fixed or detachably fixed.

The industrial endoscope having the cooling structure of the present invention configured as described above is used as follows. The outer cylinder 23, which passes the inner flexible body 14 through the center of the outer flexible body 15 and is then connected to the outer flexible body 15, is used to
Fixed to. Next, the cooling fluid supply pipe 24 is connected to the inlet of the outer cylinder 23. In this state, the flow rate adjusting valve 25 of the cooling fluid is gradually opened to adjust the flow rate. The insertion section 1 is inserted into the object to be observed, and the inside is observed from the eyepiece 3. If the flow rate of the cooling fluid is large or the tip shakes and the image is not stable, the flow rate is adjusted again. The flow rate adjustment is also necessary to prevent the visual field from being obstructed by stirring the inside of the object to be observed, and also to prevent the surface of the object to be observed from becoming dusty.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the spacing member 16 used in an industrial endoscope having a cooling structure according to the present invention. In this embodiment, the spacing member 16 is used.
Is a perforated disk 30 having a hole 31 for an inner flexible body in the center and having a number of small holes 32 for allowing a cooling fluid to pass therethrough. 15 and a plurality of them are interposed at intervals. In this case, since the inner and outer flexible bodies slightly elongate due to a temperature difference, the porous disc 30 is fixed to the outer flexible body 15 side, and a slight gap is formed between the inner and outer flexible bodies 14. In addition, the flow of the cooling fluid is disturbed by the perforated disk, and has a further cooling effect.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the spacing member 16. The spacing member 16 is in the form of a spiral tube 33 formed by spirally winding a band-shaped material, and the band-shaped surface is arranged so as to be in parallel with the flow of the cooling fluid and to be in contact with the inner surface of the outer flexible body 15. It acts like a coil spring to keep the gap between the outer and inner soft bodies.

FIG. 4 shows still another embodiment of the spacing member 16. The spacing member 16 has the shape of a spiral body 34 formed by spirally winding a belt-like material in the same manner as in FIG. 3, but the orientation of the belt-like surface is different from that in FIG. It also has the role of turning around and guiding you. In this case, the cooling fluid flows spirally and the flow path becomes longer, so that there is a further cooling effect. The spiral tube 33 is also a spiral body 34
Both are fixed to the outer flexible body 15.

FIG. 5 shows a cooling structure of another embodiment of the industrial endoscope having the cooling structure of the present invention. In this cooling structure, a plurality of cooling fluid pipes 17 are arranged around and in contact with the inner flexible body 14, and the cooling fluid pipes are also in contact with each other. The inner flexible body 14 and the plurality of cooling fluid pipes 17 are bundled together by a holding band or a holding ring 18. In the case of this cooling structure, there is no need to provide the spacing member 16,
There is no need to consider the difference in elongation between the inner flexible body 14 and the outer flexible body 15, and there is an advantage that it can be easily formed.

[0020]

As described above, the industrial endoscope having the cooling structure of the present invention has both the cooling function and the flexible function, and thus cannot be used conventionally, for example, 250 ° C. to 300 ° C. It can be used even at high temperatures, and can be used inside curved pipes and complicated machines. In addition, by spraying the cooling fluid onto the lens portion at the tip, a clear view can be maintained even in oil mist, inside the reduction gear, or in a place with muddy dirt, and the lens can be protected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an entire configuration of an industrial endoscope having a cooling structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, a part of which is shown in cross section.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a spacing member used for an industrial endoscope having a cooling structure according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the spacing member used in the industrial endoscope having the cooling structure of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows still another embodiment of the spacing member used for the industrial endoscope having the cooling structure of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a cooling structure in another embodiment of the industrial endoscope having the cooling structure of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an overall schematic view of a conventional industrial endoscope.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Insertion part 2 ... Operation part 3 ... Eyepiece part 4 ... Connector 5 ... Light guide cable 11 ... Tip part 12 ... Bending part 13 ... Flexible part 14 ... Inner flexible body 15 ... Outer flexible body 16 ... Spacing support 17 ... Cooling fluid pipe 18 ... Holding band, holding ring 21 ... Angle knob 22 ... Grip part 23 ... Outer cylinder 24 ... Cooling fluid supply pipe 25 ... Valve 26 ... Outer cylinder stabilization guide 27 ... Male thread part 28 ... Cap nut part 30 ... perforated disk 31 ... hole 32 ... hole 33 ... spiral tube 34 ... spiral body

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An industrial endoscope comprising an insertion section, an operation section, and an eyepiece section, wherein a flexible body reaching the flexible section and the curved section of the insertion section is formed of a double of an inner flexible body and an outer flexible body. An industrial endoscope having a flexible structure, wherein the inner flexible body and the outer flexible body surrounding the inner flexible body have a spacing member for maintaining a space for flowing a cooling fluid. mirror. 2. An outer cylinder is provided on the grip portion of the operating portion so as to cover the grip portion, an intake port for cooling fluid and a valve for flow rate adjustment are provided, and the inner flexible body and the outer flexible body are provided. 2. A cooling fluid is caused to flow during the discharge, and is discharged from the vicinity of the distal end of the insertion portion.
2. The industrial endoscope according to claim 1. 3. Both the outer cylinder and the outer flexible body,
2. A detachable structure.
Or the industrial endoscope according to 2. 4. The spacing member comprises a perforated disk,
The industrial endoscope according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a plurality of the endoscopes are arranged along the flexible body. 5. The spacing member according to claim 1, wherein the spacing member is formed by spirally winding a belt-like material, and guides the cooling fluid in a spiral shape. Industrial endoscope. 6. The spacing member according to claim 1, wherein the spacing member is formed by spirally winding a belt-like material so that the belt surface is parallel to the flow of the cooling fluid. The industrial endoscope according to any one of the preceding claims. 7. The industrial endoscope according to claim 1, wherein a scale is provided on an outer periphery of the outer flexible body. 8. An industrial endoscope comprising an insertion section, an operation section, and an eyepiece section, wherein the flexible body reaching the flexible section and the curved section of the insertion section is formed of an inner flexible body and an outer flexible body. A flexible structure, the outer flexible body is constituted by a plurality of cooling fluid pipes arranged so that the outer periphery of the inner flexible body is in contact with each other, and the outer flexible body and the inner flexible body are formed by a holding band or a holding ring. An industrial endoscope characterized by being bundled together.