JP2010068931A - Endoscope and its built-in element - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inexpensively provide an endoscope with high durability. <P>SOLUTION: A light guide 34 inserted into the insertion section 10 of an electronic endoscope 2 comprises a bundle 60 of optical fibers 6, a binding tube 61 holding the optical fiber bundle 60, and a protecting tube 62 covering and protecting them. The front end section 63 of the protecting tube 62 is attached to the outer circumference at the rear end section of a nozzle 35 fixed to the front end section 11 of the electronic endoscope 2. The protecting tube 62 is made of a flexible resin and has a length covering from the rear end section of the nozzle 35 to the rear end section of a curved section 12. Because a rigid body 64 is embedded within the protecting tube 62 except for the front end section 63 and the rear end section of the protecting tube, metal strands composing the rigid body 64 is prevented from becoming loose and protruding from the front end section 63 and the rear end section. In addition, because metal parts are prevented from being exposed outside, the metal parts do not contact and damage the binding tube 61, the optical fiber bundle 60 and other built-in elements around. Further, the endoscope is produced at low cost because it does not use solder. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope in which a built-in object inserted through an insertion portion is covered with a tube in which a metal reinforcing member is embedded, and the built-in object.

  Conventionally, examination using an endoscope, for example, an electronic endoscope, has been widely used in the medical field. A plurality of built-in objects are inserted through the insertion portion of the electronic endoscope inserted into the subject. In addition to the optical fiber bundle that constitutes the light guide that guides the illumination light from the light source device, the transmission line connected to the solid-state image sensor, the forceps channel through which the treatment tool is inserted, air and water There are things like air / water channels to do.

  Since the insertion portion is required to have a small diameter in order to reduce the burden on the patient, the built-in objects are arranged with almost no gap therebetween. Further, the insertion portion has a bending portion for bending the distal end portion in the vertical and horizontal directions. For this reason, a built-in thing may contact with a surrounding built-in thing in an insertion part, especially a curved part, and may receive compression. In this case, for example, the optical fiber constituting the light guide is very vulnerable to compression, and therefore breaks. When the optical fiber is broken, the amount of illumination light is reduced, or the broken portion is reflected in the endoscopic image as a black spot, making observation impossible in some cases.

In order to solve the above problem, in Patent Document 1, a net made of a thin metal wire having a spring property is packaged on a thin-film tube that bundles optical fibers, and a flexible adhesive is further coated thereon. ing. The exterior of the net and the flexible adhesive coating are applied at least to the thin-film tube in the curved portion. The compression force from other built-in objects is relieved by the net to prevent the force from directly reaching the optical fiber bundle. Paragraph [0014] describes that the end of the net fixed to the base is soldered to form a hard part and held so that the net is not loosened.
JP 05-323210 A

  In the invention described in Patent Document 1, there is a risk of damage to other built-in objects at the end (hard portion) of the soldered net. Moreover, the cost for the amount of solder was incurred.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope having higher durability at a low cost.

  In order to achieve the above object, an endoscope of the present invention covers a built-in object inserted through an insertion part to be inserted into a subject and at least a curved part of the insertion part, and ends thereof. And a flexible tube in which a metal reinforcing member is embedded.

  The metal reinforcing member is a net formed by braiding metal strands or a screw tube formed by winding a metal string in a spiral shape. Further, the metal reinforcing member has a spring property.

  The built-in object is at least one of an optical fiber bundle of a light guide that guides illumination light or a transmission line connected to a solid-state imaging device.

  The endoscope built-in object according to the present invention is an endoscope built-in object that is inserted into an insertion part of an endoscope that is inserted into a subject, and a metal reinforcing member is embedded in an area other than the end part. The flexible tube is covered at least in the curved portion of the insertion portion.

  According to the present invention, since the metal reinforcing member is not exposed to the outside, other built-in objects are not damaged. Also, do not use solder. Therefore, an endoscope with higher durability can be provided at a low cost.

  In FIG. 1, an electronic endoscope 2 is connected to a flexible insertion portion 10 to be inserted into a body cavity of a patient and a distal end portion of the insertion portion 10 as is well known, and a solid-state imaging device 41 (FIG. 3). And the like, a bending portion 12 disposed behind the leading end portion 11 and connecting a plurality of bending pieces, and an operation portion 13 connected to a proximal end portion of the insertion portion 10; A connector (not shown) connected to the processor device and the light source device (both not shown) and a universal cord 14 connecting the operation unit 13 are provided.

  The operation section 13 is provided with an angle knob 15 for bending the bending section 12 in the vertical and horizontal directions, an air supply / water supply button 16 for ejecting air and water from the distal end section 11, and the like. A forceps port 17 through which a treatment tool such as an electric knife is inserted is provided on the insertion unit 10 side of the operation unit 13.

  2 and 3, an observation window 30, an illumination window 31, a forceps outlet 32, and an air / water supply nozzle 33 are provided on the end surface 11 a of the distal end portion 11. The observation window 30 is disposed at the center on one side of the end surface 11a. Two illumination windows 31 are arranged at symmetrical positions with respect to the observation window 30. Behind the illumination window 31, an exit end of a light guide 34 for guiding illumination light from the light source device is disposed. The illumination window 31 irradiates the observation site in the body cavity with the illumination light guided by the light guide 34. The light guide 34 is attached to a hole (not shown) drilled in the distal end portion 11 via a cylindrical base 35 fixed to the distal end.

  The forceps outlet 32 is connected to a forceps channel 50 disposed in the insertion portion 10 and communicates with the forceps port 17. The distal end of the treatment instrument inserted through the forceps port 17 is exposed from the forceps outlet 32. The air supply / water supply nozzle 33 injects air and water supplied from the air supply / water supply device built in the light source device toward the observation window 30 in accordance with the operation of the air supply / water supply button 16.

  In the back of the observation window 30, a lens barrel 37 is disposed that holds an objective optical system 36 for capturing image light of a site to be observed in the body cavity. The lens barrel 37 is attached so that the optical axis of the objective optical system 36 is parallel to the central axis of the distal end portion 11.

  A prism 38 is provided at the rear end of the lens barrel 37. The prism 38 has an incident surface connected to the lens barrel 37 and an output surface connected to the cover glass 39. A solid-state image sensor 41 is attached to the lower part of the cover glass 39 via a square frame spacer 40. Thereby, the optical axis of the objective optical system 36 and the surface of the light receiving unit 42 of the solid-state imaging device 41 are parallel.

  The solid-state image sensor 41 is composed of a CCD image sensor or a CMOS image sensor, for example. The solid-state imaging device 41 uses a bare chip in which a light receiving portion 42 is provided on the surface and an electrode pad is provided on the rear end portion. The solid-state image sensor 41, the spacer 40, and the cover glass 39 are assembled by being bonded together with an adhesive. The light receiving unit 42 is accommodated in a sealed space surrounded by the spacer 40 and the cover glass 39, and the light receiving unit 42 is protected from intrusion of dust, water, and the like.

  A signal processing circuit 43 is attached to the rear end of the solid-state image sensor 41. The signal processing circuit 43 has an electrode pad at its front end, and the electrode pad and the electrode pad of the solid-state imaging device 41 are electrically connected by a bonding wire or the like. The signal processing circuit 43 includes, for example, a circuit for transmitting a drive signal for driving the solid-state image sensor 41, a circuit for performing signal processing such as digitizing an image signal from the solid-state image sensor 41, and an image signal. A circuit or the like for transferring to the processor device is mounted.

  A plurality of electrode pads 44 are provided at the rear end portion of the signal processing circuit 43, and a transmission line 46 drawn from the transmission cable 45 is soldered to the electrode pads 44. The transmission cable 45 mediates exchange of signals between the signal processing circuit 43 and the processor device. The transmission cable 45 is a multi-core cable composed of a plurality of transmission lines 46, but only one transmission line 46 is shown in the figure to avoid complication.

  In FIG. 4, the light guide 34 includes a bundle 60 of a plurality of quartz optical fibers 60a, a restraint tube 61 that restrains and holds the optical fiber bundle 60 loosely, and a protective tube 62 that covers and protects the bundle. The The constraining tube 61 is made of a flexible thin film such as silicon resin, and the tip thereof is fitted into the base 35 together with the optical fiber bundle 60. A distal end portion 63 of the protective tube 62 is fixed to the outer periphery of the rear end portion of the base 35 with an adhesive, a thread spool or the like.

  The protective tube 62 is made of a flexible resin and has a length from the rear end portion of the base 35 to the rear end portion of the curved portion 12. Inside the protective tube 62, a net body 64 is embedded in addition to the front end 63 and the rear end (not shown). The net body 64 is formed by braiding thin metal wires having spring properties such as stainless steel and tungsten with a predetermined number and number of strikes. The protective tube 62 is held in a cylindrical shape by the net body 64.

  As an example of a manufacturing method of the protective tube 62, first, molten resin is poured into a mold holding the mesh body 64, and these are integrally formed. The resin in which the mesh body 64 is embedded, the front end portion 63, and the rear end There is a method in which the resin that does not have the net 64 embedded therein is integrated by an adhesive or welding. Of course, other methods may be used.

  The operation of the electronic endoscope 2 configured as described above will be described. When observing the inside of a patient's body cavity with the electronic endoscope 2, the operator connects the electronic endoscope 2, the processor device, and the light source device, and inserts the insertion portion 10 into the body cavity. Then, by appropriately operating the operation unit 13 to perform a procedure such as bending the bending unit 12 and directing the distal end portion 11 in a desired direction, while illuminating the inside of the body cavity with illumination light from the light source device, An endoscopic image in the body cavity by the image sensor 41 is observed on a monitor.

  When the insertion portion 10 is inserted into the body cavity or when the bending portion 12 is bent, built-in objects such as the light guide 34, the forceps channel 50, the transmission cable 45, and the like come into contact with each other and are pressed against each other. The compression force applied to the light guide 34 is relaxed and absorbed by the spring property of the net 64 and does not reach the optical fiber bundle 60 inside. Further, since the rigidity in the bending direction is increased by the net body 64, the degree of bending of the light guide 34 is averaged. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the optical fiber 60a from buckling and breaking.

  Since the net body 64 is not embedded in the front end portion 63 and the rear end portion of the protective tube 62, there is no fear that the metal strands are loosened and protrude from the front end portion 63 and the rear end portion. In addition, in the conventional one, the hard part that was soldered was exposed, so there was a risk of scratching the surrounding built-in objects. However, in this example, the metal part is never exposed to the outside. There is also no risk of damage due to contact with the internal restraint tube 61, the optical fiber bundle 60, or surrounding built-in objects. The durability can be improved as compared with the conventional case where the tip of the net is soldered.

  Since the protective tube is made of resin of the same material without using solder, it is advantageous in terms of cost compared to the conventional case.

  The protective tube may be used not only for the light guide 34 but also for other built-in objects. FIG. 5 shows an example in which a protective tube 62 is used as the exterior of the transmission cable 45. The protective tube 62 accommodates a bundle of transmission lines 46 inside. A heat shrinkable tube 65 is fitted to the distal end portion 63 of the protective tube 62. The heat-shrinkable tube 65 covers the transmission line 46 drawn from the distal end portion 63 except for the connection portion with the electrode pad 44. The disconnection of the transmission line 46 can be prevented.

  Further, a screw tube 81 may be used instead of the mesh body 64 as in the protective tube 80 shown in FIG. The screw 81 is formed by spirally winding a metal string having a spring property like the net 64. The cross-sectional shape of the screw tube 81 may be the illustrated rectangular shape or a circular shape. The same effect as in the case of the net body 64 can be obtained.

  In the above embodiment, an example in which a protective tube is coated on the optical fiber bundle and the transmission line has been described. However, both of them may be covered with a protective tube, and other built-in objects may be covered with a protective tube. . Moreover, although the protective tube is covered only in the curved portion, the entire insertion portion may be covered. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, an electronic endoscope is exemplified as an endoscope. However, an ultrasonic endoscope may be used, and not only a medical endoscope but also an industrial endoscope.

It is an external view which shows the structure of an electronic endoscope. It is a top view which shows the end surface of the front-end | tip part of an electronic endoscope. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the front-end | tip part of an electronic endoscope. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of a light guide. It is sectional drawing which shows the example which used the protection tube as the exterior of a transmission cable. It is sectional drawing of the protection tube with which the screw tube was embed | buried.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 Electronic endoscope 10 Insertion part 11 Tip part 12 Bending part 34 Light guide 41 Solid-state image sensor 46 Transmission line 60 Optical fiber bundle 62, 80 Protection tube 63 Tip part 64 Net body 81 Screw tube

Claims (5)

A built-in object inserted through an insertion part to be inserted into the subject;
An endoscope comprising: a flexible tube that covers at least the built-in object in a curved portion of an insertion portion and has a metal reinforcing member embedded in an area other than an end portion thereof.   The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the metal reinforcing member is a net formed by braiding metal strands or a screw tube formed by winding a metal string in a spiral shape.   The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the metal reinforcing member has a spring property.   4. The built-in object is at least one of an optical fiber bundle of a light guide that guides illumination light, or a transmission line connected to a solid-state imaging device. The endoscope described. An endoscope built-in object that is inserted through an insertion portion of an endoscope that is inserted into a subject,
A built-in endoscope, which is covered at least in a curved portion of an insertion portion with a flexible tube having a metal reinforcing member embedded in addition to the end portion.

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