JP2001054499A - Angle control wire connecting structure for endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accurately form a loop in order to effectively absorb an excessive length portion of a control wire, which is generated at the time of an angle control, by an extremely simple constitution, and prevent the control wire from slacking even when the angle control is not performed by fitting a loop shape- retaining means on the loop inner peripheral surface of at least one wire of the control wires, which are formed by making the end sections of a doubly divided wire into a loop linked state. SOLUTION: Control wires for an angle control in order to bend an angle section, are constituted of a first wire 20 and a second wire 21. Then, the tip end sections of them are connected by connecting loops 20a and 21a under a linked state, and a slack absorbing section 2 is formed. In this case, on the loop 21a of the second wire 21, an elastic plate piece 25 as a loop shape- retaining member is provided by being connected. The elastic plate piece 25 is constituted of a plate body spring piece 25a being constituted of a long and narrow metal sheet having spring property, and attaching sections 25b, 25b, which are provided on both ends of the plate body spring piece 25a, and on which, a through hole to pass the wire 20 is formed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connecting structure of an operation wire for performing an angle operation of an insertion portion in an endoscope used for medical use or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, an endoscope used for medical purposes or the like includes an insertion portion to be inserted into a body cavity or the like, a main body operation portion provided with a base end portion of the insertion portion, and a main body operation portion. And at least a universal cord detachably connected to the light source device. The endoscope is
The insertion portion is inserted into a patient's body or the like to inspect or diagnose the inner wall of a body cavity, and to perform treatment using forceps, a high-frequency treatment instrument, or the like as necessary.

[0003] The insertion portion comprises a distal end hard portion, an angle portion, and a soft portion from the distal end side. An illumination window and an observation window constituting an observation mechanism of an endoscope are provided in the distal end hard portion. The treatment tool outlet for leading out the treatment tool is also provided to open to the hard distal end portion. The angle portion is for directing the distal end hard portion on which the endoscope observation mechanism or the like is mounted in a desired direction, and the angle portion is bent up and down, or up and down, and left and right by remote control from the main body operation unit, so-called, It is configured to perform an angle operation. Further, the flexible portion is to substantially determine the insertion length into a body cavity or the like,
It has a structure that bends in any direction along the insertion path.

In order to perform the above-described angle operation, an angle operation device is provided in the main body operation section. That is, an operation wire is connected to the distal end portion (or the base end portion of the distal end hard portion) of the angle portion, and the angle portion can be bent in an intended direction by pushing and pulling the operation wire. . At least one pair of operation wires is provided within the angle portion, and when one of the operation wires is pulled and the other is pushed out, the angle portion bends vertically. Further, when a pair of operation wires are provided on the upper and lower sides and the left and right sides, the upper and lower pairs of operation wires are bent in a vertical direction by pushing and pulling, and the left and right pairs of operating wires are bent right and left. Therefore, the operation wires are extended from the insertion portion to the inside of the main body operation portion, and the two operation wires forming a pair can be simultaneously pushed and pulled by the angle operation device provided in the main body operation portion.

The angle operating device is provided with a pulley in which a base end of each operation wire is wound in a main body operation section,
When the pulley is rotated, one of the paired operation wires is wound around the pulley, and the other is pushed out from the pulley. A rotation shaft is connected to the pulley, and the rotation shaft is led out of the casing of the main body operation unit and connected to the angle operation means. The angle operating means is composed of a rotary knob, a lever, and the like, and an operator or the like can operate the angle operating means with a finger or the like of a hand holding the main body operation unit. The pulley is provided in the main body operation unit, and the distal end of the operation wire extends to the angle portion, between which a flexible portion having a predetermined length is provided. Therefore, the middle of the operation wire, that is, from the position pulled out from the pulley to the tip of the flexible portion, is inserted through a wire insertion member composed of a close-contact coil, a sleeve, or the like. The other end is fixed to a connection portion between the angle portion and the angle portion, and the other end is fixed to a position immediately before the winding portion around the pulley. Thus, when the proximal end of the operation wire is pushed and pulled, the force is reliably transmitted to the angle portion.

In the angle operation, one of the pair of operation wires is wound on the pulley side and simultaneously the other operation wire is sent out from the pulley. However, the winding length and the feeding length of the operation wire in the pulley are substantially equal. Are the same. However, the pulling force applied to the operation wire on the side wound by the pulley is smoothly transmitted to the tip, but the operation wire on the pushing side is not pushed to the tip due to sliding resistance in the wire insertion member. There is. Therefore, there is a possibility that the operation wire has an extra length between the winding portion of the pulley and the wire insertion member. If the extra length gradually loosens during this time, no particular problem occurs, but the extra length may be concentrated at, for example, the position where the winding of the pulley starts. Since the pull-out part of the operation wire from the pulley is usually a relatively narrow passage,
If the operation wire is bent in this passage, the operation wire may be bent and deformed, or in extreme cases, may be damaged, or the pulley may be locked.

[0007] Therefore, a configuration in which a slack preventing mechanism for preventing the operation wire from being slackened for an extra length is widely known. This deflection prevention mechanism
In the main body operation unit, the operation wire is divided into a wire extending toward the insertion unit and a wire wound around the pulley,
Generally, the two wires are connected to each other, and a loosening prevention mechanism is generally provided at the connection portion. For example, the divided wires are connected via a connection sleeve,
Conventionally, a pulley-side wire is fixed to a sleeve, and an insertion portion-side wire is mounted in the sleeve so as to be urged by a spring in a direction of being drawn into the sleeve. However, such a slack prevention mechanism has problems in that its configuration is complicated and assembly is troublesome.

Therefore, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho 62-28961 discloses a slack preventing mechanism which has a simple structure and absorbs the extra length generated in the operation wire. This loosening prevention mechanism has a configuration in which a loop is formed at an end of a wire on the insertion portion side and a wire on the pulley side, and both loops are connected in a chain state. Accordingly, since the two wires can be displaced between a state in which the loops of the wires are attracted and a state in which both loops overlap, the extra length absorbing action of the operation wire is exerted by the distance therebetween.

[0009]

By the way, in the above-mentioned prior art configuration, when a loop is formed on a wire, one wire, specifically, a wire wound on a pulley, has a loop formed in advance. It must be formed, the other end of the wire pulled out of the wire insertion member from the insertion portion must be passed through a loop formed on the pulley-side wire, and then the end must be fixed. Since this assembling operation needs to be performed in the operation section of the main body, it is not always possible to form a loop having a fixed shape, and therefore, there is a problem that the length of the absorbable extra length changes. In particular, if you use the endoscope for a long time, the wire will stretch,
Although the length must be adjusted, it is extremely difficult to form a loop so as to have a certain extra length accurately in the main body operation section where other members and the like are arranged. Further, since the tension is repeatedly applied to the linked loops, the loops are eventually deformed so as to be flattened, and the looped chain portion is loosened even when the operation wire is not operated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and a purpose thereof is to provide a loop for effectively absorbing an extra length of an operation wire generated at the time of an angle operation with a very simple configuration. Can be formed accurately,
An object of the present invention is to prevent the operation wire from being loosened even when the angle operation is not performed.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides at least a pair of extending portions from an angle portion for bending an angle portion connected to a rigid end portion of an insertion portion. The end of the operation wire consisting of is wound around a pulley provided in the main body operation unit and provided.
By rotating this pulley, one of the pair of operation wires is drawn into the pulley, and the other is sent out from the pulley, and the operation wire is
A first wire wound on the pulley and a second wire on the insertion portion side, loops are formed at ends of both wires, and both loops are connected in a chained state; At least one of the loops is provided with a loop retaining means for urging the wire in a direction in which the length of the wire is shortened.

Here, the loop shape retaining means comprises, for example, a spring-like plate piece provided in a direction along the locus of the loop in the wire, and a through hole through which a wire can be inserted is formed at both ends of the spring-like plate piece. Can be configured. If the side of the spring-like plate piece facing the wire is bent into a concavely curved shape in the width direction, the spring-like plate piece can be prevented from being displaced from the wire.

[0013]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of the endoscope. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a main body operation section, and 2 denotes an insertion section provided continuously with the main body operation section 1. Insertion part 2
Is constituted by sequentially connecting a hard tip portion 2a, an angle portion 2b, and a soft portion 2c from the tip side, and an illumination window and an observation window are provided on the tip surface (or tip side surface) of the hard tip portion 2a. An endoscope observation mechanism including a window is provided. In addition to these, a treatment tool outlet or the like for leading out a treatment tool such as forceps is provided. Angle part 2b
Is, as is well known, has a node ring structure, and is for directing the distal end hard portion 2a in a desired direction.
It can be bent up and down (or up and down, left and right) by remote control from. The flexible portion 2c is formed of a flexible structure that bends in an arbitrary direction along an insertion path such as in a body cavity.

The main body operation section 1 is used by an operator or the like to perform an operation while holding it by hand. Normally, the operator operates the main body operation unit 1
Is held by one hand, and various operation means can be operated by the fingers of the hand holding the main body operation unit 1. The main body operation part 1 is divided into three main parts, that is, a main body case part 1a, a gripping case part 1b, and a branch case part 1c in order from the base end side. The branch case portion 1c on the tip side is
A treatment device introduction portion 3 for forming a continuous portion to the insertion portion 2 and for introducing a treatment device is provided in a branched manner. The treatment instrument introduction section 3 is disposed near a distal end portion of the main body operation section 1, that is, in the vicinity of a portion connected to the insertion section 2,
Forceps, a high-frequency treatment instrument, and the like are inserted from the treatment instrument introduction section 3. Further, the gripping case portion 1b located in the middle is a portion where an operator or the like grips with one hand to operate the endoscope. Furthermore, a main body case portion 1a located on the base end side of the main body operation portion 1
Is a mounting portion for various operation means.

A universal cord 4 is drawn out of the main body case 1a of the main body operation section 1.
The distal end of the universal cord 4 is a light source connector 4a connected to the light source device. A cord 5 is drawn out of the light source connector 5, and an end of the cord 5 is provided with an electric connector 5a connected to a processor. Further, a fluid pipe 6 for performing, for example, suction or the like is led out from the main body case portion 1a.

An angle operating device 7 is provided inside the main body case portion 1a. The angle operating device 7 is operated by angle operating means 8 to bend the angle portion 2b. Here, in the following, description will be made assuming that the angle portion 2b is configured to bend in the up and down direction. If two pulleys are provided, the angle
b can be curved vertically and horizontally.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show the sectional structure of the main body operation unit 1. FIG. An angle operation device 7 operated by angle operation means 8 is provided inside the main body operation unit 1.
The angle operating device 7 is provided so as to be supported by the main body case portion 1a. The angle operating device 7 pushes a pair of operation wires 10, 10 whose tips are connected to the tip portion of the angle portion 2b or the hard tip portion 2a. It is for pulling operation. Therefore, the angle operating device 7 includes the pulley 11
And a rotation shaft 12 connected to the pulley 11. A concave groove is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the pulley 11, and the operation wire 10 is wound along the concave groove. Further, the rotating shaft 12 is led out through an insertion hole 9 formed in the main body case portion 1a and connected to the angle operating means 8. The angle operating means 8 is composed of a substantially L-shaped lever, and its bent portion is turned around the lower surface of the main body case 1a. The angle operating means 8 may be constituted by a rotary knob or the like.

As shown in FIG. 4, the pulley 11 and its rotating shaft 12 are supported by a pulley support assembly 13 fixed to the main body case 1a. The pulley support assembly 13 includes a shaft support portion 14 that rotatably penetrates the rotation shaft 12, a pulley housing portion 15 that is connected to the shaft support portion 14 and covers most of the angle of the pulley 11, The pull-out housing 15 has a base plate 17 attached to a lower surface of the pulley housing 15. Furthermore, a seal unit 18 for sealing between the inner wall of the insertion hole 9 of the main body case portion 1a and the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft 12 is provided.

The shaft support 14 constituting the pulley support assembly 13 rotatably supports the rotating shaft 12 connected to the pulley 11, but in a direction other than the direction in which the rotating shaft 12 is rotated around its axis, that is, its axial direction and tilt direction. And are fixedly held.
The pulley housing 15 covers the outer peripheral surface of the pulley 11 around which the operation wire 10 is wound, and thereby holds the operation wire 10 so as not to be displaced. The wire pull-out portion 16 is for forming passages 16a, 16a for pulling out the pair of operation wires 10, 10 wound around the pulley 11, to the outside.
Further, the base plate 17 is provided with a wire urging portion 17a for urging the operation wire 10 to extend straight from the pulley 11.

Here, as is apparent from FIG. 3, the operation wire 10 is not composed of one wire over the entire length, but is divided into two in the main body operation portion 1 and is connected to the pulley 11. And a second wire 21 connected to the first wire 20 and having a length leading to the angle portion 2b. Be composed. This second wire 2
1 is mostly inserted through the wire insertion member 19,
From the end of the flexible portion 2c on the distal end side, the inside of the angled portion 2b and the vicinity of the connection portion with the first wire 20 on the proximal end side are led out from the wire insertion member 19. The inner end of the wire insertion member 19 inside the main body operation section 1 is connected to a mounting piece 19a, and the mounting piece 19a is fixed at an appropriate position in the main body operation section 1.

The first wire 2 constituting the operation wire 10
The connection portion between the second wire 21 and the second wire 21 functions as a slack absorbing portion 22 of the operation wire 10, and as shown in FIG.
a, 21a, and the first and second wires 20, 2 are inserted by inserting one loop into the other loop.
1 are linked together in a chain. The two loops 20a and 21a are fixed by fasteners 23 and 24, respectively. Basically, these fasteners 23 and 24 are fixed by soldering or the like after the folded ends of the wires are overlapped and clamped at the starting position of the loop. The fastener 23 for fixing the end of the first wire 20 is configured to clamp the wire in a state where the wire is folded back from the loop, and in the fastener 24 for fixing the end of the second wire 20. Is fixed so that the end of the wire is folded again. Therefore, the fastening tool 24 is composed of a first fastening member 24a through which two wires pass, and a second fastening member 24b through which the wire is folded again and inserted together with the first fastening portion 24a. (See FIGS. 7 and 8).

The difference between the structure of the fastening device 23 and the structure of the fastening device 24 is that most of the first wire 20 is wound around the pulley 11, and the overall length of the first wire 20 is smaller than that of the second wire 21. Since it is extremely short, it is more firmly attached to the fastener 23,
Moreover, they are permanently fixed. On the other hand, since the length of the second wire 21 is extremely long and a large tension acts, the second wire 21 may be elongated. Therefore, the length of the fastener 24 must be appropriately adjusted, and the fastening of the fastener 24 itself is not performed by the fastener 2.
This is because the second wire 21 is securely fixed so that the end of the second wire 21 does not shift. However, the ends of the wires may be fixed in the same configuration, and the fixing method itself may employ direct soldering, thread winding, or other various methods.

At least one of the first and second wires 20 and 21 having a loop formed at the tip, for example, the loop 20a of the second wire 21, has an elastic plate piece 25 as a loop shape retaining member. The connection is provided. The elastic plate piece 25 may be provided on the first wire 20 side, or may be provided on both sides. However, it is more desirable to attach the elastic plate 25 to the loop of the wire on which the length adjustment is performed when the operation wire 10 is extended. Therefore, in the following description, the second wire 21
Although the description will be made assuming that the elastic plate piece 25 is attached to the side, the present invention is not limited to this.

As shown in FIG. 6, the elastic plate piece 25 is formed of a main body spring piece 25a made of a thin metal plate having spring properties, and is formed at both ends of the main body spring piece 25a. Attachment portions 25b, 2 having a through hole through which wire 20 can be inserted in a large diameter portion having a diameter larger than the width dimension of 25a.
5b. The mounting portion 25b is bent from the main body spring piece 25a in a direction substantially orthogonal to the position shown by the dashed line in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 7, the elastic plate piece 25 is provided at a stage before the end of the second wire 21 is fixed to the fastener 24, that is, the second wire 21 Is drawn out by a predetermined length, and is attached to the second wire 21 such that the front and rear mounting portions 25b, 25b are sequentially passed from the end thereof. On the other hand, the first wire 20 is formed in a state in which a loop 20 a is formed in advance and the end is fixed to the fastening portion 23, and the second wire 21 to which the elastic plate piece 25 is attached is formed.
As shown in FIG. 8, the distal end of the first wire 20 is inserted into the loop 20a of the first wire 20 together with the elastic plate piece 25, and then the direction is reversed.
The first fastening member 24a constituting the second wire 21 is inserted through the first fastening member 24a, and the end of the second wire 21 is folded back.
Through the second fastening member 24b together with the fastening member 24a of
The end of the fastener 24 opposite to the side on which the loop 21a is formed is fixed by means such as soldering. in this case,
The surface of the main body spring piece 25a of the elastic plate piece 25 is arranged along the inside of the loop 21a. Moreover, in the loop 21a, when the connecting portion side to the fastening tool 24 is set as the loop end position, both ends of the elastic plate piece 25 are approximately 90 °.
The end of the second wire 21 is pulled into the fastener 24 until the two mounting portions 25b connected in a bent state substantially come into contact with each other.

When the elastic plate piece 25 is incorporated in the second wire 21 as described above, the loop 21a of the second wire 21 can always be formed in a constant shape. That is, the overall length of the loop 21a substantially depends on the overall length of the elastic plate 25, and the loop 21a is
Is always urged to have a shape close to a perfect circle. On the other hand, the first wire 20 is incorporated into the pulley 11 with a loop 20a formed in advance. Therefore, there is no particular difficulty in accurately managing the shape of the loop 20a in the first wire 20. As a result, the shape of the chain between the two loops 20a and 21a becomes extremely stable.

Here, the two loops 20a and 21a
Is a slack absorbing portion 22 that absorbs the slack when the entire operation wire 10 slacks, and absorbs the slack by changing the degree of overlap between the two loops 20a and 21a. That is, as shown in FIG.
The overlapping portion of the two loops 20a and 21a is in the minimum state (solid line state), and most of them are in the overlapping state (virtual line state).
In, the length of the chain portion of the wire changes by L.
The change in the length is the absorption length of the slack in the operation wire 10.

With the above configuration, when the angle operating means 8 is operated to rotate the pulley 11, one of the operation wires 10 is wound into the pulley 11, so that the angle portion 2b is It bends so that the side along the operation wire 10 on which the pulling force acts is inside.
At this time, since the other operation wire 10 extends along the outside of the curved portion, the length of the operation wire 10 in the angled portion 2b is shorter than a straight state by a certain length. Become. This is why the other operation wire 10 is sent out by the rotation of the pulley 11.

On the other hand, in the operation wires 10, 10 which are pushed and pulled in pairs, a pulling force acts on the one side in a direction of being wound up by the pulley 11, and on the other hand, the length is insufficient on the angle portion 2b side. The operation wire 10 is pulled out, but the operation wire 10 is forcibly sent out from the pulley 11. Then, the wire insertion member 12
The operation wire 10 is in a substantially free state for a very limited length from the exit to the pulley 11. In addition,
Although the operation wire 10 is not covered with the wire insertion member in the angle portion 2b, it is inserted through a positioning pin or the like at each predetermined position.
A value of 0 substantially restricts movements other than the axial direction.

Therefore, the wire insertion member 1 is pulled out of the pulley 11.
In the period up to 2, tension is applied to one operation wire 10 and slack occurs in the other operation wire 10. This slack is absorbed so that the degree of overlap between the loops 20a and 21a constituting the chain of the first and second wires 20 and 21 increases. On the other hand, in the operation wire 10 on the side on which tension acts, the chained loops 20a, 20a
1a are pulled toward each other, and these two loops 20a,
21a will be flattened to some extent.

As described above, the slack of the operation wire 10 is effectively absorbed by the slack absorbing portion 22 due to the chain of loops, and when the operation wire 10 is sent out from the pulley 11, for example, the wire insertion member 12 of the operation wire 10 is used.
Even if pulling-out delay on the tip side occurs due to sliding resistance or the like, between the pulley 11 and the inner surface of the pulley housing portion 16 that covers the pulley 11, the inside of the passage 16a in the wire drawing portion 16, etc. There is no risk of bending, damaging, or locking the pulley 11.

As described above, the operation wire 10 divided into two parts
Loop 20a, 2 between the first and second wires 20, 21
If the chain is connected at 1a, the slack of the operation wire 10 itself can be absorbed, but when the angle portion 2b is straight, the operation wire 10 needs to be kept as straight as possible. Providing the operation wire 10 with the loop chain portion involves rotating the pulley 11 to rotate the first wire 2.
When 0 is pulled, no power is immediately transmitted to the second wire 21, and power is transmitted to the second wire 21 after both the loops 20 a and 21 a are flattened to some extent. Therefore,
The stroke up to this position in the angle operation means 8 is an invalid stroke. It is desirable that the invalid stroke is constant. If the invalid stroke is too large or too small, the operability of the angle operation deteriorates.

Since the loop of one wire, that is, the loop 20a of the first wire 20, can be formed at a stage before being incorporated into the main body operating section 1, there is no difficulty in making the loop shape exactly constant. Nor. The loop 21a of the second wire 21, which is the other loop, must be formed after passing through the other loop, and therefore, must be formed after being incorporated into the main body operation unit 1. For this reason, it is difficult to stabilize the loop shape. However, the elastic plate piece 25 is used,
After the elastic plate piece 25 is bent into a curved state after being inserted through the wire 21, the loop 21a on the first wire 21 side is formed. The degree of formation of the loop 21a can be easily identified by the resistance generated when the wire is pulled, and the loop shape can be made constant. When the operation wire 10 is extended during use, the loop 21 of the second wire 21
a is released, the length is adjusted, and a loop 21a is formed on the second wire 21 again. At this time, another member such as a light guide is mounted in the main body operation section 1. Therefore, the loop forming operation itself becomes difficult, and it is extremely advantageous that the loop shape can be formed by the amount of bending of the elastic plate piece 25.

As described above, the first and second wires 20 and 2
If the shape of the loops 20a and 21a in 1 is accurately controlled, the invalid stroke in the angle operating means 8 during the angle operation can be made constant. As a result, even if the angle operation means 8 is largely displaced, the angle part 2b does not bend, and even if the angle operation means 8 is slightly displaced, the angle part 2b is not largely bent. .

The operating wire 10 is pushed and pulled only at the time of the angle operation to bend the angle portion 2b. At other times, the position of the operating wire 10 in the free state, that is, the position from the pulley 11 to the wire insertion member 12 It is desirable that slack does not occur as much as possible.
The operation wire 10 is formed of a thin metal wire in consideration of strength and the like, and has a certain degree of elasticity and waist, so that both loops 20a and 21a are in a perfect circular state. Try to expand. However, if the push-pull operation is repeated, the loop may be habitually flattened. However, the second wire 21
The loop 21a is provided with an elastic plate piece 25 made of a metal plate having a good spring restoring force against bending repeatedly than the wire itself, so that the shape retention and durability of the loop are improved, and the loop 21a is always improved. Since a loop close to a perfect circle can be secured, it is possible to prevent the operation wire 10 from being loosened by that much. Therefore, considering this point, the first
A similar elastic plate piece 25 is formed on the loop 20a on the wire 20 side.
Is more advantageous.

When the operation wire 10 is pushed and pulled, the loop between the loops 20a and 21a forming the connecting portion between the first and second wires 20 and 21 slides. Wire 2
When the metal wires 0 and 21 are formed by metal wires, the sliding friction therebetween increases, and there is a possibility that the wires may break. However, an elastic plate piece 25 made of a metal plate is mounted on the loop 21 side of the second wire 21, and since the elastic plate piece 25 is disposed on the inner peripheral side of the loop, the first wire 21 slides against the elastic plate piece 25, so that the sliding friction therebetween can be suppressed, so that the durability of the wire is also improved. However, the cross section of the operation wire 10 is circular, and the elastic plate piece 25
When the main body spring piece 25a has a planar shape, the main body spring piece 25a cannot be stabilized at a position along the inside of the loop 20a, and the main body spring piece 25a is displaced in the direction of rotation about the mounting portion 25b. There is a possibility that. In this case, as shown in FIG. 9, it is desirable that the main body spring piece 25a of the elastic plate piece 25 be bent into a concave curved shape in the width direction. And, this curvature is controlled by the operation wire 10.
By making the curvature substantially equal to the curvature of the cross section, the contact area of the main body spring piece 25a with the wire 20 is increased, and the displacement can be prevented.

The elastic plate piece is not necessarily the first wire 2
The second wire 21 may be provided on the second wire 21 side, and may be provided on the second wire 21 side.
0 and 21 can also be provided. And although the surface of the main body spring piece of the elastic plate piece was arranged along the inside of the loop, it may be arranged along the outside of the loop. Further, the attachment portions provided at both ends of the elastic plate piece may be simply inserted in a non-fixed state with respect to the wire, but may be fixed using, for example, an adhesive. And
If the elastic plate piece is fixed, the main body spring piece can be reliably prevented from being displaced.

[0038]

As described above, according to the present invention, the operating wire is divided and loops are provided at the ends to be connected in a chain state, and at least one of the wires has a loop shape on the inner peripheral surface thereof. Because it is configured to mount the means, with a very simple configuration, it is possible to accurately form a loop for effectively absorbing the extra length of the operation wire generated at the time of angle operation, even when the angle operation is not performed This has the effect of preventing the operation wire from being loosened.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an endoscope showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the angle operating device.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a connecting portion between a first wire and a second wire of the operation wire.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of an elastic plate piece.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a method of attaching an elastic plate piece to a wire.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the end of the wire is fixed when the elastic plate piece is mounted.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing a modification of the elastic plate.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body operation part 2 Insertion part 7 Angle operation device 8 Angle operation means 10 Operation wire 11 Pulley 12 Rotating shaft 13 Pulley support assembly 19 Wire insertion member 20 First wire 21 Second wire 20a, 21a Loop 22 Looseness absorption part 23, 24 Fastener 25 Elastic plate piece 25a Main body spring piece 25b Mounting part

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An end portion of at least one pair of operation wires extending from the angle portion and wound around a pulley provided in the main body operation portion, in order to perform a bending operation on an angle portion connected to the distal end hard portion of the insertion portion. The operation wire is constituted by a first wire wound on the pulley and a second wire on the insertion portion side, and a loop is formed at an end of both wires to form a loop. In a state where each is fixed by a fastener in a state of being connected in a chain state, the inner peripheral surface of at least one of the loops is formed of a plate-like member having a predetermined length, and this loop is formed into a fixed shape. An angle-operating wire connecting structure for an endoscope, wherein a loop shape retaining means for holding is mounted, and a counterpart wire is brought into contact with the loop shape retaining means. 2. The loop shape retaining means comprises a spring-like plate piece provided in a direction along a locus of a loop, and a connecting portion having a through hole through which the wire can be inserted at both ends of the spring-like plate piece. 2. An angle operating wire connecting structure for an endoscope according to claim 1, wherein said fastening device is configured to be attached near said connecting portion. 3. The angle operating wire for an endoscope according to claim 2, wherein said spring-like plate piece is configured such that a side facing said wire is bent in a concave curved shape in a width direction. Connection structure.