JP2002224015A - Endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve durability of an endoscope having a light emitting device on the tip as an illuminating means. SOLUTION: A part up to reaching the vicinity of a boundary with a curved part 14 in a flexible part 15 via the curved part 14 from at least a tip part 13 of lead wires 132 for supplying electric power to a white LED 130, is covered with housing tubes 133. The lead wires 132 are respectively independently arranged one by one in the housing tubes 133. The lead wires 132 are arranged so as to loosen in the respectively housed housing tubes 133 in the part reaching the vicinity of the boundary with the curved part 14 in the flexible part 15 from a part soldered to the white LED 130. In the flexible part 15, the respective lead wires 132 are adhered and fixed by a prescribed adhesive 139 to a part of an inner peripheral surface of the housing tubes 133 so as to maintain a loose stats. The housing tubes 133 are formed so that an inner diameter has the size of a degree capable of arranging the lead wires 132 in a loosened state in the lengthwise direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endoscope provided with an illuminating means at a distal end.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, medical practice using an endoscope (scope) has been performed in a medical field. For example, in medical treatment using a fiberscope, a lesion site is discovered by an optical image obtained through an objective optical system provided at the distal end of an insertion portion and an image guide fiber bundle (hereinafter, referred to as an image guide) provided in the insertion portion. Then, the biopsy forceps is guided to the distal end through the forceps channel, and a medical examination and medical treatment are performed, such as collecting a part of the diseased tissue. In addition, CCD (Charge Coupled Device)
There is also used a type of electronic scope that is provided with a solid-state imaging device such as the one described above and forms on a monitor image information obtained by forming reflected light from a living body on a light receiving portion of the solid-state imaging device on a monitor.

[0003] In any type of scope, the observation site must be irradiated with illumination light in order to observe the inside of a living body. As a device for supplying such illumination light, a light source device having a light source such as a halogen lamp or a xenon lamp is prepared. When the scope is connected to the light source device, a light guide fiber bundle (hereinafter, light guide) provided in the scope is optically connected to the light source. Light emitted from the light source is guided to the distal end by the light guide, and is emitted from the distal end to the observation site via the diverging optical system.

[0004] A bending portion is provided near the distal end of the insertion portion of the scope. The bending portion bends in a predetermined range of angles in the left-right direction and the up-down direction orthogonal to the left-right direction by appropriately operating a bending knob of an operation portion provided at a base end opposite to the distal end portion of the scope. as a result,
The tip is freely oriented in a living body, and a wide range of observation is possible.

On the other hand, in recent years, small and high-brightness LEDs
(Light Emitting Diode) has been developed. The LED can be driven at a lower current compared to a discharge tube such as the above-described halogen lamp, and is turned on immediately upon the start of current supply.
There is an advantage that it is excellent in durability without problems such as filament breakage. Therefore, a scope in which an LED is provided at the tip has been devised as an illuminating means instead of the above light source device.

[0006]

However, since the diameter of the lead wire (conductor) is smaller than that of the above-described light guide, in a scope provided with an LED at the tip,
More space is created inside the insert. Therefore, according to the bending operation of the bending portion, other tubular members such as a lead wire, an image guide, an air supply / water supply tube, and a forceps channel are easily entangled, and the bending portion is deflected in a specific direction, and the outer shape is in the longitudinal direction. May meander along. Further, in the fiberscope, there is a problem that the image guide is easily broken due to the entanglement of the lead wires and other tubular members. Further, the lead wire is pulled by another member in accordance with the bending operation, and external force is applied to a soldered portion between the LED and the lead wire, which may cause a disconnection or the like.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has as its object to improve the durability of an endoscope provided with an illuminating means at the distal end.

An endoscope according to the present invention comprises: an insertion portion to be inserted into a living body; a semiconductor light emitting element provided at a distal end for irradiating illumination light forward of the distal end of the insertion portion; A conducting wire disposed to pass through the insertion portion for supplying power, the insertion portion having a curved portion that is bent within a predetermined angle range by an operation of an operator to orient the distal end portion, Is characterized by being covered with a covering member at least in a curved portion.

[0009] Preferably, the conductor is loosely disposed inside the covering member, and more preferably, the conductor is fixed to a part of the inner peripheral surface of the covering member in the flexible portion continuous with the curved portion of the insertion portion. Is done. Preferably, the portion where the conductor is covered by the covering member is longer than the curved portion. Still more preferably, the conductors are provided one by one inside the covering member.

As described above, according to the present invention, the conducting wire for supplying power to the semiconductor light emitting element disposed at the distal end of the insertion section of the endoscope is bent within a predetermined angle range by the operation of the operator. The inside of the curved portion of the insertion portion is covered with the covering member. Therefore, the area occupied by the conductor in the curved portion is larger than the original outer diameter of the conductor. In other words, in a cross section at an arbitrary position of the curved portion, the empty space between the various tubular members including the conducting wire through which the insertion portion is inserted becomes smaller. Therefore, these tubular members are prevented from being significantly displaced in the bending portion with the bending operation of the bending portion, and the above-described conductive wire does not become entangled with other tubular members. As a result, breakage of each member is prevented, and durability of the endoscope is improved.

Further, if the above-mentioned conductor is arranged to be relaxed inside the covering member, the conductor will not be pulled even if the bending portion is bent by the operator. Therefore, no external force is applied to the mounting portion of the conductor, and the conductor is prevented from coming off the semiconductor light emitting device.

Further, in the flexible portion continuous with the curved portion of the insertion portion, the conductor is fixed to a part of the inner peripheral surface of the covering member, or the portion covered by the covering member with the covering member is provided longer than the curved portion. Thereby, the relaxed state of the conductive wire is stably maintained, which is more effective.

Further, if the conductors are arranged one by one inside the covering member, the above-mentioned empty space becomes smaller, and the displacement of each tubular member accompanying the bending operation of the bending portion is more effectively suppressed. Can be

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external view of an endoscope to which an embodiment according to the present invention is applied. Fiberscope 1
Reference numeral 0 denotes an insertion portion 11 to be inserted into a patient's body, and an insertion portion 11
And an operation section 12 provided on the base end side opposite to the tip end. In the vicinity of the distal end portion 13 of the insertion portion 11, a bending portion 14 that bends at an angle within a predetermined range in the vertical and horizontal directions is provided. The flexible portion 15 is a flexible conduit provided continuously with the curved portion 14.

The operation unit 12 is provided with an air / water button 121 and a suction button 122. Air / water button 1
When a hole (not shown) at the upper part of 21 is closed, air is blown out from the distal end portion 13 to remove fogging of the surface of an objective lens (not shown) provided at the distal end portion 13 and to send air into the body. . When the air supply / water supply button 121 is pushed in, water spouts from the distal end portion 13 to clean the surface of the objective lens.
Air and water spouted from the distal end portion 13 by operating the air / water supply button are supplied from the air / water supply unit 20 connected to the air / water supply base 123. When the suction button 122 is pushed in, the suction machine 3 connected via the suction nipple 124
With 0, suction is performed from the distal end portion 13 to remove water droplets, mucus, etc. attached to the surface of the objective lens, and to eliminate air inside the body.

The operating section 12 is provided with a left and right angle knob 125 and a vertical angle knob 126 for orienting the distal end portion 13 in a predetermined direction at a predetermined angle.
By turning the left and right angle knob 125, the bending portion 14 bends in a predetermined linear direction (left and right direction), and the tip 1
3 is oriented. By turning the vertical angle knob 126, the bending portion 14 bends in the vertical direction orthogonal to the above-described left-right direction, and the tip portion 13 is oriented. The direction in which the bending portion 14 bends is determined by the direction in which each angle knob is turned, and the degree of bending is determined by the angle of rotation of the angle knob.

A forceps port 127 for inserting biopsy forceps or a brush is provided between the insertion section 11 and the operation section 12. The biopsy forceps and brush inserted from the forceps opening 127 are inserted through the above-described forceps channel, and the cup portion and the brush protrude from the opening of the distal end portion 13.
The suction by the above-mentioned suction button 122 is performed by the forceps port 127.
This is performed in a state where a forceps stopper (not shown) is attached to the device.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the bending portion 14 shown in FIG. 1 cut along a plane including the central axis of the insertion portion 11 and parallel to the paper surface of FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along a plane including the central axis of the insertion portion 11 and perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1. 2 and 3 show the bending portion 1.
The bending portion 14 in a state where 4 is not bent is shown. still,
In order to avoid complicating the drawing and to clearly show a configuration for realizing the bending operation of the bending portion 14, some members such as a tubular member inserted into the insertion portion 11 in FIGS. 2 and 3 are omitted.

The bending portion 14 has four wires 120U, 1
20D, 120R and 120L are inserted. Each wire has a plurality of wire guides 12 arranged along the longitudinal direction.
1 supported. A wire 120U shown in FIG. 2 is a wire for directing the distal end portion 13 (see FIG. 1) upward, and a wire 120D is a wire for directing the distal end portion 13 downward. The wires 120U and 120D are pulled in response to the operation of the up / down angle knob 126. The wire 120R shown in FIG. 3 is a wire for turning the tip 13 to the right, and the wire 120L is
To the left. Wire 120R
And 120L are towed in response to the operation of the left and right angle knobs 125.

The curved node ring 100 is a substantially ring-shaped member. One end face 100A is provided with a pair of protruding connecting portions 10.
1 are integrally formed. The pair of connecting portions 101 are provided at symmetrical positions with respect to the central axis of the curved node ring 100.
Similarly, a pair of protruding piece-shaped connecting portions 1 is attached to the other end face 100B.
02 is provided at a position symmetrical with respect to the center axis of the curved node ring 100. Further, when viewed from one of the end surfaces, the pair of connecting portions 101 and 102 are formed so as to be positioned at approximately 90 degrees in the circumferential direction.

Here, one set of curved node rings 100 (α), 10
The shape of the curved node ring 100 will be described using 0 (β).
The curved node ring 100 (α) in FIG. 2 and the curved node ring 100 in FIG.
As is clear from (β), the end face 10 of the curved nodal ring 100
0A is inclined toward the connecting portion 101 in the circumferential direction so as to be away from the central portion of the outer peripheral surface. In addition, as is apparent from the curved node ring 100 (β) in FIG. 2 and the curved node ring 100 (α) in FIG. Formed away from the part. In other words, the end surface 100A is inclined toward the portion corresponding to the connecting portion 102 so as to approach the central portion of the outer peripheral surface, and the end surface 100B is inclined toward the portion corresponding to the connecting portion 101 so as to approach the central portion of the outer peripheral surface. are doing.

The connecting portions 101 and 102 have the same shape,
Holes of the same dimensions are formed. In the bending portion 14, each bending nodal ring 100 is connected to the connecting portion 10 of one of the bending nodal rings 100.
The connection is made such that the holes of the connection portions 102 of the first and second curved node rings coincide with each other. As described above, the end surface 100A is inclined away from the central portion of the outer peripheral surface toward the connecting portion 101, and the end surface 100B is inclined away from the central portion of the outer peripheral surface toward the connecting portion 102. Therefore,
A space is formed between the curved nodal rings 100 by the end faces 100A and 100B.

As is apparent from FIGS. 2 and 3, the center axes of the aligned holes are the wires 120U, 120D, 1D.
The connected curved nodal ring 100 is positioned so as to be orthogonal to 20R, 120L. In addition, wire 1
The connecting part 101 and the connecting part 10 where 20R and 120L are located
The rivet 110UD is inserted through the second hole, and the curved node ring 100 is supported rotatably about the rivet 110UD. Also, a wire 120U is placed on the center axis of the hole,
The rivet 110RL is inserted through the holes of the connecting portions 101 and 102 where the connecting portion 120D is located.
0 is supported rotatably around the rivet 110RL.

When the vertical angle knob 126 (see FIG. 1) is rotated so that the distal end portion 13 (see FIG. 1) faces upward, the wire 120U in FIG. 2 is pulled. Wire 12
When 0U is pulled, each curved nodal ring 100
The rivet 110UD rotates about the rivet 110UD so that the end surface 100A and the end surface 100B on the 0U side approach each other, and the end surface 100A and the end surface 100B on the wire 120D side move away from each other. As a result, the bending portion 14 bends as shown in FIG. Similarly,
Up and down angle knob 126 so that tip 13 faces downward.
Is rotated, the wire 120D is pulled, and in each curved nodal ring 100, the end face 100A on the wire 120D side and the end face 100B approach, and the end face 100A on the wire 120U side.
And the end face 100B is separated from the rivet 110UD.

Similarly, when the left and right angle knob 125 is rotated so that the tip 13 is directed leftward, the wire 12
0L is pulled, and the curved nodal ring 100 moves closer to the end face 100A and the end face 100B on the wire 120L side, and
The rivet 110RL is rotated about the rivet 110RL so that the end surface 100A on the R side and the end surface 100B are separated from each other. Also, when the left and right angle knob 125 is rotated to face right,
The wire 120R is pulled, and the curved nodal ring 100 rotates about the rivet 110RL so that the end face 100A and the end face 100B on the wire 120R side approach and the end face 100A and the end face 100B on the wire 120L side separate.

As described above, the bending portion 14 bends at a predetermined angle in the vertical and horizontal directions by rotating the bending nodal ring 100, and the tip portion 13 is oriented accordingly. As a result, a wide range of observation in a living body becomes possible.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the flexible portion 15, and FIG.
FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view when the insertion portion 11 is cut at a position corresponding to line II in FIG. 5. In FIG. 6, a part of the bending portion 14 is omitted. As shown in FIG. 6, the wire 1 for bending the bending portion 14 in the flexible portion 15
A guide coil 128 is wound around the outer peripheral surface of 20U. The same applies to the other wires 120D, 120R, and 120L.

A white LED 130 for irradiating illumination light forward is provided at the front end portion 13. White LED1
The white light emitted from 30 is a diverging optical system 1 such as a concave lens.
Irradiation is performed on the observation site via 31. An image fiber 134 is inserted into the insertion portion 11 up to the distal end portion 13. An objective optical system 135 is provided at the distal end 13 in front of the incident end of the image fiber 134. The reflected light from the living body enters the incident end of the image fiber 134 via the objective optical system 135,
To the eyepiece 16 (see FIG. 1).

Further, as shown in FIG.
Inside, the tip portion 1 is operated according to the operation of the air / water supply button 121.
3, an air supply tube 136 for supplying air, a water supply tube 137 for supplying water, a biopsy forceps and a brush inserted from a forceps port 127 are inserted, and the cup portion and the brush are moved to the distal end portion 13. A guiding forceps channel tube 138 is provided. In FIG. 6, the air supply tube 136 and the water supply tube 1
37, the forceps channel tube 138 is omitted.

A pair of leads 132 shown in FIG. 6 are for supplying power to the white LED 130. In the pair of lead wires 132, at least the bending portion 1 of the flexible portion 15 through the bending portion 14 from the distal end portion 13
The portion up to the vicinity of the boundary with the housing 4 is a storage tube 133 (covering member) made of, for example, Teflon (registered trademark).
Coated. That is, each lead wire 13
The length of the portion covered by the storage tube 133 in 2 is longer than the length of the curved portion 14 along the longitudinal direction. The power source for the driving current of the white LED 130 is the forceps port 127.
Is supplied from a battery pack 40 (see FIG. 1) provided in the vicinity of.

Each of the pair of lead wires 132 is independently disposed in the storage tube 133 one by one. Further, each lead wire 132 is disposed so as to be relaxed in the storage tube 133 stored from the portion soldered to the white LED 130 to the portion near the boundary with the curved portion 14 in the flexible portion 15. Is done. Further, in the flexible portion 15, each of the lead wires 132 is bonded and fixed to a part of the inner peripheral surface of the storage tube 133 with a predetermined adhesive 139 so that the above-described relaxed state is maintained. In other words, by being partially fixed by the adhesive 139, even if the bending portion 14 is bent in the vertical and horizontal directions by the operator, the displacement of the lead wire 132 in the storage tube 133 along the longitudinal direction is prevented, and the bending is performed. Part 1
In 4, the lead wire 132 is always relaxed and positioned in the storage tube 133. Further, the storage tube 13
3 is formed such that its inner diameter is large enough to be disposed with the lead wire 132 relaxed.

As shown in FIG. 5, a pair of lead wires 140 is inserted in addition to the pair of lead wires 132. Like the above-mentioned white LED 130, another white LED disposed on the distal end portion 13 is provided. Supply power to the LED. In FIG. 6, a white LED supplied with power through the lead wire 140 is omitted to avoid complication of the drawing. The lead wire 140 is connected to the lead wire 13 at the bending portion 14 and the flexible portion 15.
2 has the same configuration as that of FIG. That is, the lead wire 14
The portion located at the curved portion 14 is disposed so as to be relaxed in the storage tube 141 formed of Teflon, and is fixed to the storage tube 141 at a part of the flexible portion 15.

The number of white LEDs provided at the tip 13 is determined by the relative relationship between the area of the cross section of the tip 13, the size of the white LED, and the outer diameter of another tubular member. . It goes without saying that all of the lead wires to be soldered to the provided white LED are disposed in the storage tube in the above-described manner.

The present embodiment has been described by taking as an example a fiber scope of a type in which reflected light from a living body is guided to an eyepiece by an image guide. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention is also applicable to an electronic scope provided with a solid-state imaging device.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention, a scope having a light-emitting element as a lighting means at the tip is built in the insertion portion of the scope even if the bending section is operated for bending in a living body. The entangled or broken tubular member is prevented, and the durability of the scope is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a fiberscope to which an embodiment according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a bending portion of the fiberscope cut along a vertical direction including a center axis of an insertion portion, and is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a member used for a bending operation.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a bending portion of the fiberscope cut along a left-right direction including a center axis of an insertion portion, and is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a member used for a bending operation.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which a bending portion is bent upward, and is a diagram showing a configuration of a member used for a bending operation.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a curved portion of an insertion portion of the fiberscope.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a configuration of a distal end portion and a curved portion of the fiberscope.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Fiberscope 11 Insertion part 12 Operation part 13 Tip part 14 Curved part 15 Flexible part 100 Curved node ring 110UD, 110RL Rivet 120U, 120D, 120R, 120L Wire 130 White LED 132, 140 Lead wire 133, 141 Storage tube 134 Image fiber

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2H040 BA21 CA03 CA12 CA23 DA03 DA15 DA16 DA17 DA21 DA56 DA57 4C061 BB02 CC04 DD03 FF47 FF50 QQ06

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An insertion section to be inserted into a living body, a semiconductor light emitting element provided at the distal end for irradiating illumination light in front of the distal end of the insertion section, and supplying power to the semiconductor light emitting element. And a conducting wire disposed so as to pass through the insertion portion, wherein the insertion portion has a bending portion that is bent within a predetermined angle range by an operation of an operator to direct the distal end portion, and the conducting wire Is an endoscope which is covered by a covering member at least in the curved portion. 2. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the conductive wire is provided so as to be relaxed inside the covering member. 3. The endoscope according to claim 2, wherein the conducting wire is fixed to a part of an inner peripheral surface of the covering member in a flexible portion continuous with the curved portion of the insertion portion. mirror. 4. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the conductive wire covered by the covering member is longer than the curved portion. 5. The endoscope according to claim 2, wherein the conductive wires are provided one by one inside the covering member.