JP2005168767A - Endoscope and manufacturing method of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an endoscope and a method for manufacturing the endoscope which can simply be assembled to the tip of the endoscope and which has a light guide excellent in durability. <P>SOLUTION: The endoscope has an insertion part and is tilted at the tip surface of the tip of the insertion part. The endoscope is provided with: an observation optical system 32b used for observing the inside of a body cavity arranged at the tip 10; and an illumination optical system 33 which is arranged at an axis 33LA tilted with respect to the direction of an axis 32LA where the observation optical system 32b is arranged and which has an illumination lens 11 provided at the tilting of the tip surface 21 of the tip 10 to be used for illuminating the inside of the body cavity and the light guide 33b for emitting illumination light to the lens 11. The outer periphery of the light guide 33b is covered with a hard tubular member 33c. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope and a manufacturing method thereof, and more particularly, to a wide-angle endoscope whose observation optical system has a wide viewing angle and a manufacturing method thereof.

  As is well known, endoscopes are widely used in the medical field and the like. An endoscope observes an organ in a body cavity by inserting an elongated insertion portion into the body cavity, and performs various treatments using a treatment tool inserted into an insertion channel of the treatment tool as necessary. be able to.

  The distal end of the insertion portion is provided with a bending portion and a distal end portion, and the observation direction of the objective lens of the observation optical system disposed in the distal end portion is operated by operating the operation portion of the endoscope to bend the bending portion. Can be changed.

  By the way, the viewing angle of the observation optical system of the conventional endoscope is, for example, 140 °, and the operator observes the inside of the body cavity from the observation image of the viewing angle, but wants to observe a part outside the viewing range. As described above, the surgeon observes a portion outside the visual field range by curving the bending portion.

  However, when observing the inside of the large intestine, for example, the back side of the fold of the large intestine may not be able to obtain a desired observation image simply by bending the curved portion. In view of such circumstances, an endoscope having a wide viewing angle has been proposed so that a wider range can be observed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In the endoscope proposed in Patent Document 1, an observation optical system having a wide viewing angle of, for example, 210 ° is disposed at the distal end portion. In addition, as the observation optical system has become wide-angled, the illumination optical system that is disposed at the distal end and illuminates the inside of the body cavity uniformly irradiates the observation site in the body cavity, so the observation optical system is provided. It is arranged on a shaft inclined with respect to the axial direction.
JP 2001-258823 A

  By the way, the illumination optical system includes an illumination lens used when illuminating an observation site in the body cavity, and a light guide that emits illumination light to the illumination lens. In general, it is formed by bundling optical fibers.

  When assembling the illumination optical system configured as described above to the distal end portion of the endoscope, first, the illumination lens is on an axis inclined with respect to the axial direction in which the observation optical system is disposed. , Disposed on the distal end surface of the distal end portion.

  Next, the light guide is disposed behind the illumination lens in the tilt axis direction. Here, the light guide is inserted into a long hole formed in the distal end portion of the endoscope. The elongated hole is formed by being bent at a predetermined location along the inclined axis from the axis on which the observation optical system is disposed.

  When the light guide is inserted into the elongated hole formed as described above, the light guide is inserted along the shape of the elongated hole, and is bent at a predetermined location. At this time, in order to improve the insertability, a hard part obtained by hardening a plurality of optical fibers with an adhesive is usually formed in the first half of the light guide in the insertion axis direction. Further, the hard part is formed with a bent part which is bent and hardened according to the bent shape of the long hole. As a result, the light guide is easily and reliably inserted into the elongated hole.

  However, when the distal end portion of the endoscope is bent, the bending portion of the endoscope is bent in a predetermined direction. At this time, if a bent portion is formed in the hard portion of the light guide, bending stress concentrates on the bent portion, and the optical fiber constituting the light guide may be damaged. Further, when the bent portion is formed in the hard portion of the light guide, there is a problem that the manufacturing process of the light guide becomes complicated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides an endoscope having a light guide that can be easily assembled to the distal end portion of an endoscope and has excellent durability, and a method for manufacturing the endoscope. For the purpose.

  In order to achieve the above object, an endoscope according to the present invention has an insertion portion, and is an endoscope having an inclination at the distal end surface of the distal end portion of the insertion portion, and is disposed at the distal end portion. An observation optical system used for observing the inside of the body cavity, and an axis inclined with respect to the axial direction in which the observation optical system is arranged, and provided in an inclination of the distal end surface of the distal end portion. And an illumination optical system having a light guide that emits illumination light to the illumination lens, and a hard tubular member is provided on the outer periphery of the light guide. It is characterized by being coated.

  In addition, the light guide is bent at a predetermined location along the axial direction of the observation optical system from the axial direction of the illumination optical system, and the hard tubular member is the light guide. At a predetermined position where the guide is bent, the guide is bent along an axis parallel to the axis where the observation optical system is arranged from the axis inclined with respect to the axial direction where the observation optical system is arranged. The light guide is formed by bundling a plurality of optical fibers, and the rigid tubular member is formed by a metal pipe. It is characterized by being.

  An endoscope manufacturing method according to the present invention is an endoscope that has an insertion portion, and is provided with an inclination on the distal end surface of the distal end portion of the insertion portion, and is parallel to the insertion axis direction of the insertion portion. A step of disposing an observation optical system used when observing the inside of a body cavity at the tip, and an axis inclined with respect to an axial direction where the observation optical system is disposed, A step of disposing an illumination lens used for illuminating the inside of a body cavity at an inclined surface, and a step of inserting and fixing a light guide for emitting illumination light to the illumination lens in the rigid tubular member And a light guide in which a predetermined portion is bent from the inclined axis along the axis parallel to the axis where the observation optical system is arranged, behind the inclined axial direction of the illumination lens. Disposing a fixed rigid tubular member, and That.

  The endoscope and the manufacturing method thereof according to the present invention can be easily assembled to the distal end portion of the endoscope, and can provide an endoscope having a light guide excellent in durability and a manufacturing method thereof.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a front view showing an outline of an endoscope showing an embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, an endoscope 1 includes an operation unit 2 that performs a bending operation and a control of a duct system, an insertion unit 3 that is connected to the operation unit 2 at a proximal end side thereof, and is inserted into a body cavity. And a universal cord 3a extending from the operation portion 2 and having a connector portion 40 at the tip. The connector unit 40 is connected to a light source device (not shown) through a predetermined connector.

  The insertion portion 3 is provided with a flexible tube 8, a bending portion 9 provided on the distal end side of the tube 8, and a distal end portion 10 provided on the distal end side of the bending portion 9. . The distal end portion 10 incorporates an imaging element 32d for imaging a site in the body cavity.

  The operation section 2 is provided with a bending operation knob (not shown) for remotely bending the bending section 9. By operating the operation knob, a pulling action and a relaxing action of an operation wire (not shown) inserted into the insertion portion 3 are generated, and as a result, the bending portion 9 can be bent in four directions. .

FIG. 2 is a front view of the distal end surface of the insertion portion of the endoscope of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, on the distal end surface 21 of the distal end portion 10 of the insertion portion 3 of the endoscope 1, an objective lens 32a, three illumination lenses 11, 12, 13 which are illumination optical systems, for example, and a treatment are provided. The air supply / water supply nozzle that cleans the dirt of the objective lens 32a or the three illumination lenses 11, 12, and 13 by supplying air and water when the insertion part 3 is inserted into the body cavity and the opening 24, etc. 25 and a front water supply nozzle 26 for washing blood, mucus and the like of the affected part in the body cavity are disposed. Therefore, the objective lens 32 a, the three illumination lenses 11, 12, 13, the treatment instrument opening 24, the air / water supply nozzle 25, and the front water supply nozzle 26 are provided on the distal end surface 21 of the distal end portion 10. A plurality of openings are provided for disposing the.

  The three illumination lenses 11, 12, 13 are arranged in the vicinity of the peripheral edge of the objective lens 32a with a predetermined angular interval. Further, between the illumination lenses and in the vicinity of the peripheral edge of the objective lens 32a, a treatment instrument opening 24, an air / water supply nozzle 25, and a forward water supply nozzle 26 are disposed.

  Specifically, a treatment instrument opening 24 is provided between the illumination lens 11 and the illumination lens 12, and air / water supply is provided between the illumination lens 12 and the illumination lens 13. A nozzle 25 is disposed, and a front water supply nozzle 26 is disposed between the illumination lens 13 and the illumination lens 11.

3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line II-II of the endoscope of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, a distal end hard portion 31 having a long hole that is a space in which the imaging unit 32 and the light guide unit 33 that is an illumination optical system are disposed is provided inside the distal end portion 10 of the insertion portion 3. It has been. Further, a cap 31 a is covered on the distal end side in the insertion axis direction of the distal end hard portion 31 so as to cover the front surface and the outer peripheral surface of the distal end hard portion 31.

  The imaging unit 32 is inserted and fixed in one elongated hole of the distal end hard portion 31 in parallel with the insertion axis direction of the endoscope insertion portion 3. The imaging unit 32 includes an observation optical system 32b including a plurality of lenses having a wide viewing angle and an objective lens 32a having a wide viewing angle of 150 ° or more, for example, 150 ° to 170 °, and the observation optical system. A cover glass 32c provided on the rear end side of 32b, and an image sensor 32d, which is a solid-state image sensor such as a CCD, provided on the rear end side of the cover glass 32c.

  The imaging unit 32 further includes a substrate 32e having various circuits connected to the imaging element 32d. Further, a signal cable 32f is connected to the substrate 32e. The signal cable 32f is connected to a video processor (not shown) that is inserted through the insertion portion 3 and connected to an endoscope. Note that the imaging unit 32 is fixed to the distal end hard portion 31 with a filler or the like (not shown).

  The light guide unit 33 is mainly configured by the illumination lens 11 and an optical fiber bundle 33b composed of a plurality of optical fibers which are light guides provided on the rear end side of the illumination lens 11. The outer periphery of the optical fiber bundle 33b is covered with a metal pipe 33c, which is a hard tubular member, and the tip of the optical fiber bundle 33b is fixed in the metal pipe 33c with an adhesive or the like.

  Since the metal pipe 33c is composed of a hard member, the bending stress generated in the bending portion 9 and the distal end portion 10 when the bending portion 9 is bent by the operation portion 2 of the endoscope 1 The optical fiber bundle 33b is not damaged.

  The distal end portion of the optical fiber bundle 33b and the illumination lens 11 are inserted and fixed in a frame 33d disposed in the other elongated hole of the distal end hard portion 31. Note that the emission end surface, which is the front end surface of the optical fiber bundle 33b, is in contact with the curvature surface 11a, which is the rear end surface of the illumination lens 11. The frame 33d is fixed to the distal end hard portion 31 by a fixing screw 34. Further, the ride guide unit 33 extends rearward from the distal end hard portion 31 and is connected to a lighting device (not shown).

  A part of the metal pipe 33c and the optical fiber bundle 33b are covered with an outer tube 33e. The outer tube 33e is fixed to the outer periphery of the metal pipe 33c by a thread winding 33g.

  The metal pipe 33c extends from the axis inclined to the direction of the axis 32LA on which the observation optical system 32b that is the optical axis is disposed, in other words, from the axis 33LA of the illumination lens 11 that is the illumination optical system. The predetermined part P1 is bent along the direction of the axis 32LA. As a result, the optical fiber bundle 33b is also bent at the predetermined part P1 along the bent shape of the metal pipe 33c. In addition, this predetermined location P1 is located in the vicinity of the fitting part of the metal pipe 33c and the front-end | tip hard part 31, and is located in the operation part 2 side.

  Accordingly, the optical axis 33LA of the illumination lens 11 that emits illumination light is not parallel to the optical axis 32LA of the imaging unit 32. In other words, the optical axis 33LA is tilted with respect to the optical axis 32LA so that the tip direction of the optical axis 33LA is away from the previous point in the observation direction of the optical axis 32LA of the imaging unit 32. Therefore, the light guide unit 33 is disposed on the shaft 33LA inclined with respect to the direction of the shaft 32LA on which the observation optical system 32b is disposed.

  In addition, the optical axis of the light guide unit 33 corresponding to the other illumination lenses 12 and 13 is also in a direction in which the tip direction of the optical axis is away from the previous point in the observation direction of the optical axis 32LA of the imaging unit 32. Inclined with respect to the optical axis 32LA. Therefore, the distal end side of the ride guide unit 33 is disposed to be inclined with respect to the observation optical system 32b, and the surface of the illumination lens 11 is disposed to be inclined with respect to the surface of the objective lens 32a.

  This is because the objective lens 32a and the observation optical system 32b are composed of lenses having a wide viewing angle, and therefore the light guide unit 33 that illuminates the inside of the body cavity needs to uniformly irradiate the inside of the body cavity. Because.

Here, a method for inserting the distal end hard portion 31 of the optical fiber bundle 33b into the other elongated hole will be described.
First, the operator places the optical fiber bundle 33b inside the metal pipe 33c bent at the predetermined position P1 as described above toward the rear end of the illumination lens 11 fixed to the frame 33d. Insert until the exit end face 33b abuts on the curvature surface 11a of the illumination lens 11. Further, the operator fixes the tip of the optical fiber bundle 33b in the metal pipe 33c with an adhesive or the like. Thereby, the outer periphery of the optical fiber bundle 33b is covered with the metal pipe 33c.

  Next, the metal pipe 33c into which the optical fiber bundle 33b is inserted is inserted along the other long hole provided in the distal end hard portion 31, that is, the shaft 33LA. Thereafter, the metal pipe 33c is fixed to the frame 33d.

  Finally, the worker fixes the frame 33d to which the metal pipe 33c into which the illumination lens 11 and the optical fiber bundle 33b are inserted and the distal end hard portion 31 are fixed by the fixing screw 34.

  In this way, the optical fiber bundle 33b is inserted into the other long hole of the distal end hard portion 31 via the metal pipe 33c and fixed. As described above, the light guide units corresponding to the other illumination lenses 12 and 13 are also inserted into the other elongated hole of the distal end hard portion 31 and fixed after being inserted into the metal pipe.

  The air / water supply nozzle 25 is made of, for example, metal, and an opening 25 a is provided on the distal end side of the air / water supply nozzle 25. The opening 25a is configured so that water or air ejected from the air / water feeding nozzle 25 is in a direction parallel to a plane orthogonal to the optical axis of the imaging unit 32, and the surface of the objective lens 32a and the surface of the illumination lens 11 It is provided to be ejected in the passing direction.

  The air / water nozzle 25 is formed so as to protrude from the distal end surface 21 of the distal end portion 10 at a position that does not fall within the viewing angle range of the objective lens 32a.

  From the above, the shape of the distal end surface 21 of the distal end portion 10 formed by the respective distal end surfaces of the cap 31a, the illumination lens 11, the objective lens 32a, and the air / water feeding nozzle 25 is orthogonal to the insertion axis of the insertion portion 3. It has a substantially bullet-like shape having an inclination formed at a predetermined angle with respect to the flat surface. In addition, the said inclination means what contains a planar thing and a phased thing.

  The proximal end side of the air / water supply nozzle 25 has a pipe shape, and a water supply tube 25c is connected via a connecting pipe 25b. Therefore, a water supply conduit is formed by the connecting pipe 25b and the water supply tube 25c. The water supply tube 25c is fixed to the connecting tube 25b by a thread winding 25d.

  The proximal end portion of the distal end hard portion 31 is fixed to a part of the curved distal end piece 35. The proximal end side of the distal end hard portion 31 and the curved distal end piece 35 are covered with an outer tube 36. The outer tube 36 is fixed to the distal end hard portion 31 by a spool 37.

  As described above, in the endoscope and the manufacturing method thereof according to the embodiment of the present invention, the optical fiber bundle 33b inserted into the other elongated hole of the distal end hard portion 31 having the bent portion at the predetermined place P1. A metal pipe 33c was coated on the outer periphery of the wire.

  Therefore, when the bending portion 9 is bent by the operation portion 2 of the endoscope 1, the metal pipe 33c is formed of a hard member, and therefore, due to the bending stress generated in the bending portion 9 and the distal end portion 10, The optical fiber bundle 33b is not damaged. Accordingly, an endoscope having an optical fiber bundle excellent in durability can be provided.

  Further, since the metal pipe 33c is made of a hard member, it can be easily inserted when the metal pipe 33c into which the optical fiber bundle 33b is inserted is inserted into the distal end hard portion 31. The fiber bundle 33b can be assembled to the distal end portion 10 of the endoscope 1.

  In the present embodiment, the illumination lens has been described by taking the illumination lens 11 as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and even when the illumination lens 12 or the illumination lens 13 is used, the present invention is not limited thereto. Needless to say, the same effect as the embodiment can be obtained.

[Appendix]
As described in detail above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the following configuration can be obtained. That is,
(1) An endoscope having an insertion portion and having an inclination on the distal end surface of the distal end portion of the insertion portion,
An observation optical system used when observing the inside of the body cavity disposed at the tip, and
An illumination lens disposed on an axis inclined with respect to the axial direction in which the observation optical system is disposed, provided at an inclination of the distal end surface of the distal end portion, and used for illuminating the inside of a body cavity, and the illumination lens An illumination optical system having a light guide for emitting illumination light to the lens;
Comprising
An endoscope characterized in that a hard tubular member is coated on an outer periphery of the light guide.

(2) The endoscope according to appendix 1, wherein the observation optical system is disposed in an axial direction of the insertion portion.

(3) The endoscope according to appendix 1, wherein the light guide is bent at a predetermined position along the axial direction of the observation optical system from the axial direction of the illumination optical system.

(4) The rigid tubular member has the observation optical system disposed at a predetermined position where the light guide is bent from an axis inclined with respect to an axial direction in which the observation optical system is disposed. The endoscope according to appendix 3, wherein the endoscope is formed by being bent along an axis parallel to the formed axis.

(5) The endoscope according to any one of appendix 1 to appendix 4, wherein the light guide is formed by binding a plurality of optical fibers.

(6) The endoscope according to any one of appendix 1 to appendix 5, wherein the hard tubular member is formed of a metal pipe.

(7) An endoscope having an insertion portion and having an inclination on the distal end surface of the distal end portion of the insertion portion,
Arranging an observation optical system used when observing the inside of a body cavity at the distal end portion in parallel with the insertion axis direction of the insertion portion;
Disposing an illumination lens on an axis inclined with respect to the axial direction in which the observation optical system is disposed, and used for illuminating the inside of a body cavity with the inclination of the distal end surface;
Inserting and fixing a light guide for emitting illumination light to the illumination lens in the rigid tubular member; and
A light guide having a predetermined portion bent from an inclined axis along an axis parallel to an axis where the observation optical system is disposed is fixed to the rear side of the inclined lens in the tilted axial direction. Disposing a rigid tubular member;
An endoscope manufacturing method characterized by comprising:

The front view which showed the outline of the endoscope which shows one embodiment of this invention. The front view of the front end surface of the insertion part of the endoscope in FIG. The longitudinal cross-sectional view which follows the II-II line of the endoscope in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

3 ... Insertion part 10 ... Tip part 11 ... Illumination lens (illumination optical system)
12. Illumination lens (illumination optical system)
13. Illumination lens (illumination optical system)
21 ... distal end surface of the insertion portion 32b ... observation optical system 32LA ... axis on which the observation optical system is disposed (optical axis)
33 ... Light guide unit (illumination optical system)
33b ... Optical fiber bundle (light guide)
33c ... Metal pipe (hard tubular member)
33LA: Axis tilted with respect to the axis where the observation optical system is arranged P1: Predetermined place Agent Patent attorney Susumu Ito

Claims (6)

An endoscope having an insertion portion and having an inclination on the distal end surface of the distal end portion of the insertion portion,
An observation optical system used when observing the inside of the body cavity disposed at the tip, and
An illumination lens disposed on an axis inclined with respect to the axial direction in which the observation optical system is disposed, provided at an inclination of the distal end surface of the distal end portion, and used for illuminating the inside of a body cavity, and the illumination lens An illumination optical system having a light guide for emitting illumination light to the lens;
Comprising
An endoscope characterized in that a hard tubular member is coated on an outer periphery of the light guide.   The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the light guide is bent at a predetermined position along the axial direction of the observation optical system from the axial direction of the illumination optical system.   The rigid tubular member has an axis on which the observation optical system is disposed at a predetermined position where the light guide is bent from an axis inclined with respect to an axial direction on which the observation optical system is disposed. The endoscope according to claim 2, wherein the endoscope is bent along an axis parallel to the endoscope.   The endoscope according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the light guide is formed by binding a plurality of optical fibers.   The endoscope according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the hard tubular member is formed of a metal pipe. An endoscope having an insertion portion and having an inclination on the distal end surface of the distal end portion of the insertion portion,
Arranging an observation optical system used when observing the inside of a body cavity at the distal end portion in parallel with the insertion axis direction of the insertion portion;
Disposing an illumination lens on an axis inclined with respect to the axial direction in which the observation optical system is disposed, and used for illuminating the inside of a body cavity with the inclination of the distal end surface;
Inserting and fixing a light guide for emitting illumination light to the illumination lens in the rigid tubular member; and
A light guide having a predetermined portion bent from an inclined axis along an axis parallel to an axis where the observation optical system is disposed is fixed to the rear side of the inclined lens in the tilted axial direction. Disposing a rigid tubular member;
An endoscope manufacturing method characterized by comprising:

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