JP2012075709A - Endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To form a fixed member in comparatively simple shape and to maintain accurate curve operation in an endoscope.SOLUTION: A guide member 30 includes a base part 41, a support member 42, fixed members 43-46 and guide pipes 47-50. The ends of guide screws 51-54 are fixed to the ends 47a-50a of the guide pipes 47-50. The opening edges of holes 43a-46a of the fixed members 43-46 and the opening edges of the guide pipes 47-50 are chamfered beforehand. The guide pipes 47-50 are positioned so that the pulley side opening positions of the guide pipes 47-50 are located inside the holes 43a-46a of the fixed members 43-46. The guide screws 51-54 stop the positions of the guide pipes 47-50 in a state of not being over-extended and over-loose in insertion parts, and molten solder is poured into solder holes 43e-46e. When the solder is solidified, the guide pipes 47-50 are fixed to the fixed members 43-46.

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope configuration, and more particularly to a configuration for fixing a guide pipe that guides an operation wire for bending a bending portion of an endoscope.

  The endoscope includes an insertion portion that is inserted into the body and a main body operation portion that is provided on the proximal end side of the insertion portion. The insertion portion is provided with a distal end rigid portion, a bending portion, and a flexible portion in order from the distal end. The distal end rigid portion is provided with an objective lens, a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD, and an illumination lens. The distal end hard portion is formed of a hard resin material in order to protect each lens and the solid-state imaging device.

  The flexible tube portion is a thin and long tube portion that connects the operation portion and the bending portion, and has flexibility. The bending portion bends in the vertical and horizontal directions by pulling the operation wire inserted into the insertion portion by rotating an operation means such as an operation knob provided in the main body operation portion. As a result, the insertion into the body becomes smooth, and the distal rigid portion can be oriented in a desired direction in the body.

  In the endoscope described in Patent Document 1, an operation wire for bending a bending portion is inserted into a tube made of a steel coil spring, which is usually called a guide spiral, and the traction force is transmitted to the bending portion. . The guide spiral is fixed to the base in the operation unit via a fixing member (shaft) having an elongated cylindrical shape. When the endoscope is assembled, the position of the fixing member in the longitudinal direction is adjusted so that the guide spiral has an appropriate path length. A plurality of groove portions are formed at equal intervals in the length direction on the outer peripheral portion of the fixing member, and a U-shaped stopper that engages with the groove portion of the fixing member is formed on the base. When the stopper is engaged with any one of the grooves, the fixing member is positioned with respect to the base, and the tension applied to the operation wire is adjusted.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-238895

  The endoscope described in Patent Document 1 uses a complicated fixing member formed with a plurality of grooves and a base formed with a U-shaped stopper that engages with the grooves of the fixing member. Since a large number of parts having various shapes are used, there is a disadvantage that the cost increases.

  In addition, since the shape of the fixing member is a processing man-hour, the length of the fixing member is limited, the adjustment range of the position adjustment of the fixing member with respect to the base is limited, and the pitch of the groove of the fixing member is relative to the base. In order to determine the accuracy of the position adjustment of the fixing member, it is impossible to adjust the position finer than the pitch of the groove, and the coil spring and the guide pipe may be assembled with an unnatural force applied. There is.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and aims to provide an endoscope capable of reducing the cost by maintaining a relatively simple shape of a fixing member and maintaining an accurate bending operation. To do.

  The endoscope of the present invention is inserted into the body, and in order from the distal end, includes an insertion portion composed of a distal end rigid portion, a bending portion, and a flexible portion, and a main body operation portion provided on the proximal end side of the insertion portion. In the endoscope, the operation wire disposed inside the insertion portion and pulled by a drive mechanism built in the main body operation portion when bending the bending portion, In the vicinity of the soft part, a part of the operation wire is inserted and guided, and at least the guide pipe with the chamfered edge of the mouth opposite to the soft part, and the guide pipe is inserted and at least on the opposite side of the soft part A hole having a chamfered edge is formed, and the guide pipe is positioned so that an end opposite to the soft part of the guide pipe inserted into the hole is located at a predetermined position in the hole. Guide pipe is fixed Characterized in that a fixing member.

  It is preferable that an end portion of a flexible coil spring for guiding and guiding the operation wire is fixed to an end portion of the guide pipe on the soft portion side. Further, it is preferable that the predetermined position is determined in a state where the coil spring is not stretched too much in the insertion portion and is not loosened too much. Moreover, it is preferable that the fixing member has a hole for pouring a liquid material for fixing the guide pipe to the fixing member by solidifying. Moreover, it is preferable that the liquid material is any one of solder, a hard solder for brazing, and an adhesive.

  According to the present invention, at least the guide pipe with the chamfered edge of the mouth opposite to the soft part is inserted into the hole of the fixing member in which the hole with the chamfered edge of the mouth opposite to the soft part is formed. Since the guide pipe is fixed to the fixing member after the end portion of the guide pipe is positioned at a predetermined position in the hole that does not protrude from the mouth of the fixing member, the fixing member has a relatively simple shape. As a result, the cost can be reduced and an accurate bending operation can be maintained.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the external appearance of an electronic endoscope. It is explanatory drawing which shows the operation wire arrange | positioned inside an insertion part and an operation part. It is explanatory drawing which fractures | ruptures and shows the structure of a guide member and a guide pipe. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the hole of a fixing member, and a guide pipe.

  In FIG. 1, an electronic endoscope 1 includes an insertion portion 10 that is inserted into a body, an operation portion 11 that is connected to a proximal end portion of the insertion portion 10, and a universal cord 12 that is connected to the operation portion 11. Prepare. The insertion portion 10 includes a distal end rigid portion 13, a bendable bending portion 14 provided continuously with the proximal end of the distal end rigid portion 13, and a flexible flexible portion 15 provided continuously with the proximal end of the bending portion 14. And have. The flexible portion 15 has a length of about 2 m, for example, in order to allow the distal rigid portion 13 to reach a target position in the body.

  An imaging element such as an objective lens, CCD, or CMOS image sensor is built in the distal end rigid portion 13. An image of the site to be observed in the body captured from the objective lens is captured by the image sensor. An image signal obtained by the image sensor is transmitted to a processor device (not shown) connected to the universal cord 12 via a signal cable inserted into the insertion unit 10 and the operation unit 11. The processor device performs various types of image processing on the image signal, and displays the image as an observation image on a monitor (not shown).

  The operation portion 11 is provided with operation knobs 17 and 18 for bending the bending portion 14. The operation knob 17 is an operation knob for bending the bending portion 14 in the vertical direction, and the operation knob 18 is an operation knob for bending the bending portion 14 in the left-right direction. The operation knobs 17 and 18 are rotatably attached to the housing 19 of the operation unit 11.

  As shown in FIG. 2, two pulleys 20 and 21 for bending the bending portion 14 in the up and down direction and the left and right direction are provided inside the operation unit 11. Arranged to be shifted in the direction. The pulleys 20 and 21 are connected to the operation knobs 17 and 18, respectively. Operation wires 22 and 23 are wound around the pulleys 20 and 21.

  The operation wire 22 includes a traction drive wire 24 and three driven wires 25 and 26 connected to the bending portion 14, and the end portions 24 a and 24 b of the traction drive wire 24 and the driven wires 25 and 26. The end portions 25a and 26a are connected by connecting portions 27 and 28, respectively. The driven wires 25 and 26 are guided by a guide member 30 which will be described in detail later, and the end portions 25b and 26b on the distal end side are passed through through holes (not shown) formed in the node ring 14a of the bending portion 14. The tip rigid portion 13 is connected.

  The pulley 20 and the traction drive wire 24 constitute a driving force transmission mechanism for transmitting a driving force generated in accordance with the rotation operation of the operation knob 17, and the pulley 20 rotates in conjunction with the rotation operation of the operation knob 17. The pulling drive wire 24 that moves according to the rotation of the pulley 20 pulls the driven wires 25 and 26 along the axial direction of the insertion portion 11 via the connecting portions 27 and 28, respectively. Then, when the driven wires 25 and 26 are pulled, the bending portion 14 bends in the vertical direction. The pulley 20, the traction drive wire 24, the connecting portions 27 and 28, the driven wires 25 and 26, and the support members 29 and 30 constitute a vertical drive system.

  The configuration of the left-right direction drive system is the same as the configuration of the up-down direction drive system, and includes a pulley 21, a traction drive wire 32, connecting portions 33, 34, and driven wires 35, 36. Both ends 32a and 32b of the traction drive wire 32 are connected to the end portions 35a and 36a of the driven wires 35 and 36 by the connecting portions 33 and 34, respectively.

  End portions 35b and 36b on the distal end side of the driven wires 35 and 36 are connected to the distal end rigid portion 13 through through holes (not shown) formed in the node ring 14a of the bending portion 14. The pulley 21 and the pulling drive wire 32 constitute a driving force transmission mechanism, and the driven wires 35 and 36 are pulled by the rotation operation of the operation knob 22, and the bending portion 14 is bent in the left-right direction.

  Thus, by bending the bending portion 14 in the vertical direction and the left-right direction, the distal end rigid portion 13 can be directed in a desired direction in the body, and the imaging range of the solid-state imaging device can be directed to a desired observation site. it can.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the guide member 30 includes a base 41 attached to the inner wall of the housing 19 of the operation unit 11, a substantially cubic support member 42 attached to the upper surface, and a metal such as brass supported by the base member 41. After being inserted into the four long cylindrical fixing members 43 to 46 formed from the holes and the holes 43a to 46a penetrating in the longitudinal direction, the cylindrical metal members fixed to the fixing members 43 to 46 are made. It consists of guide pipes 47-50.

  The guide pipes 47 to 50 are thin by inserting the driven wires 25, 26, 36, and 36 that enter obliquely from the pulleys 20 and 21 (see FIG. 2) into the holes of the guide pipes 47 to 50, respectively. It is guided into the insertion section 10 that is almost straight.

  The guide pipes 47 to 50 are formed longer than the lengths of the fixing members 43 to 46, and end portions 47 a to 50 a protrude from the end surface of the fixing members 43 to 46 on the insertion portion 10 side. The ends of the tubes are fixed to the ends 47a to 50a by flexible steel coil springs called guide spirals 51 to 54 (coil springs). The driven wires 25, 26, 35 and 36 are inserted into the guide spirals 51 to 54, and the traction force of the driven wires 25, 26, 35 and 36 is transmitted to the bending portion 14.

  The fixing members 43 to 46 include small-diameter portions 43b to 46b having a small diameter and two large-diameter portions 43c, 43d to 46c and 46d having a large diameter and spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction. The support member 42 is configured by stacking and fastening substantially rectangular plate-like members 42a to 42c, and the small-diameter portions 43b and 44b are sandwiched between the plate-like members 42a and 42b, so that the plate-like member 42b. , 42c are sandwiched between the small diameter portions 45b, 46b.

  Large diameter portions 43c to 46c (large diameter portion 45c not shown) on the pulleys 20 and 21 side are fitted into notches 42d to 42g (notch 42f not shown) of the support member 42, respectively. The fixing members 43 to 46 can be positioned in the longitudinal direction with respect to 42. Thus, since the positioning of the fixing members 43 to 46 with respect to the support member 42 is performed only by the large diameter portions 43c to 46c, the fixing members 43 to 46 have a relatively simple shape, and the fixing members 43 to 46 are It can be manufactured at a relatively low cost.

  Solder holes 43e to 46e perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the fixing members 43 to 46 are formed in the large diameter portions 43d to 46d on the insertion portion 10 side so as to cross the holes 43a to 46a. Guide pipes 47 to 50 are inserted into the holes 43a to 46a and adjusted in positioning, and then heated and liquefied solder is poured into the solder holes 43e to 46e. The guide pipes 47 to 50 are fixed to the fixing members 43 to 46e. 46 is fixed.

  The positioning adjustment of the guide pipes 47 to 50 with respect to the fixing members 43 to 46 will be described with reference to FIG. 4 by taking the positioning adjustment of the guide pipe 48 with respect to the fixing member 44 as an example. The same applies to the fixing members 43, 45, 46 and the guide pipes 47, 49, 50. The edge of the opening 44f on the pulley 20 side of the hole 44a of the fixing member 44 and the edge of the opening 48b of the guide pipe 48 are chamfered in advance when parts are manufactured as shown in the figure. The inner diameter of the hole 44a of the fixing member 44 is larger than the outer diameter of the guide pipe 48, and before the solder is poured into the solder hole 44e (see FIG. 3), the guide pipe 48 can freely move in the longitudinal direction within the hole 44a. It is.

  With the guide spirals 51 to 54 and the driven wires 25, 26, 35, 36 inserted through the insertion portion 10 and the insertion portion 10 and the operation portion 11 being connected, the position of the mouth 48 b of the guide pipe 48 is The guide pipe 48 is positioned so as to be positioned inside the hole 44a with respect to the hole 44f on the pulley 20 side of the hole 44a of the fixing member 44. Thereafter, the driven wires 25 and 26 and the drive pulling wire 24 are connected by connecting members 27 and 28. Thus, when the driven wire 26 is pulled, the diameter of the driven wire 26 is smaller than the inner diameter of the hole 44a even if the driven wire 26 may move and rub against the opening 44f of the fixing member 44, as shown by the phantom line. The rate of rubbing with the opening 48b of the guide pipe 48 is extremely small. The frictional force received by the driven wire 26 is smaller when it is rubbed against the mouth 44f of the fixing member 44 with a larger diameter than when it is rubbed against the mouth 48b of the guide pipe 48 having a smaller diameter. Is less likely to occur. Even if it rubs against the opening 48b of the guide pipe 48, the edge of the 48b is chamfered in advance when manufacturing the part, so that it has a certain level of wire disconnection prevention effect.

  The adjustment margin for adjusting the position of the guide pipe 48 with respect to the fixing member 44 is a range in which the position of the opening 48b is deeper (closer to the opening 44f) than the solder hole 44e and does not go out of the opening 44f. The guide pipe 48 can be freely moved along the hole 44a of the fixing member 44 within a sufficiently wide adjustment range (for example, 15 mm or more). If the length of the fixing member 44 is changed, the adjustment allowance can be changed. Note that it is preferable to change the length of the guide pipe 48 in accordance with the length of the fixing member 44.

  The guide pipe 48 is naturally shifted to the insertion portion 10 side during manufacturing and assembly (the position of the opening 48b of the guide pipe 48 is slightly retracted from the opening 44f of the hole 44a of the fixing member 44 to the inside of the hole 44a. It is preferably supported and fixed to the support member 42 via the fixing member 44 in the state as shown. If the guide pipe 48 is supported and fixed in a state in which the guide pipe 48 is forcibly approached to the pulley 20 (the position of the opening 48b of the guide pipe 48 protrudes outward from the opening 44f of the hole 44a), the guide spiral 52 is formed. There is a risk that the guide spiral 52 is fatigued and deformed by force and stretched to cause a problem that an accurate bending operation cannot be performed. Further, if the guide pipe 48 is supported and fixed in a state where the guide pipe 48 is forced to approach the insertion portion 10 (the position of the opening 48b of the guide pipe 48 is close to the opening of the hole 44a on the insertion portion 10 side), There is a possibility that the guide spiral 52 is loosened in the unit 10 and the internal components such as the signal cable connected to the image sensor or the light guide for illumination and the guide spiral 52 (the driven wire 26) are entangled. Occurs.

  If the guide pipe 48 is supported and fixed naturally toward the insertion portion 10 as described above, an accurate bending operation can be performed. However, there are variations in manufacturing parts such as the insertion portion 10, the guide spiral 52, and the guide pipe 48. Due to assembly variations, the position of the mouth 48b of the guide pipe 48 is not constant. However, according to the present embodiment, a sufficiently wide adjustment allowance (for example, 15 mm or more) can be provided, so that the opening 48b of the guide pipe 48 is surely connected between the opening 44f of the hole 44a of the fixing member 44 and the solder hole 44e. It can be positioned within the range of and can be supported and fixed.

  In the embodiment described above, the support member and the fixing member are manufactured as separate parts, and then assembled integrally. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the support member and the fixing member are integrated from the beginning. You may manufacture as. In this case, although the fixing member is made of metal in the above-described embodiment, it is easy to form the supporting member and the fixing member as an integral part by using resin and the supporting member made of the same resin. Both the support member and the fixing member may be made of metal.

  In the above embodiment, solder is used to fix the guide pipe to the fixing member. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be, for example, an adhesive such as epoxy resin, or for brazing. Hard wax may be used.

  In the above embodiment, the four fixing members are fixed to the supporting member of one guide member. For example, the four fixing members are divided into two sets, and the supporting members of two separate guide members are provided. You may make it fix to.

  In each of the above embodiments, both the vertical drive system and the horizontal drive system are provided, but either one may be omitted. In addition, two connecting portions are provided in each drive system, but either one may be omitted. Furthermore, although the operation knob has been described as the operation means, an operation means such as a lever may be used.

  In each of the above embodiments, the electronic endoscope is described, but the present invention can also be applied to an endoscope that is observed only by optical means such as a fiberscope.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electronic endoscope 10 Insertion part 11 Operation part 14 Bending part 17, 18 Operation knob 22, 23 Operation wire 24, 32 Traction drive wire 25, 26, 35, 36 Drive wire 27, 28, 33, 34 Connection part 30 Guide Member 43-46 Fixing member 44f, 48b Port 47-50 Guide pipe 51-54 Guide spiral

Claims (5)

In an endoscope that is inserted into the body and is composed of an insertion portion composed of a distal rigid portion, a bending portion, and a flexible portion in order from the distal end, and a main body operation unit provided on the proximal end side of the insertion portion.
An operation wire disposed inside the insertion portion and pulled by a drive mechanism built in the main body operation portion when bending the bending portion;
A guide pipe in which a part of the operation wire is inserted and guided near the soft part in the main body operation part, and at least the edge of the mouth opposite to the soft part is chamfered,
A hole having a chamfered edge of the mouth opposite to the soft part is formed while the guide pipe is inserted, and an end opposite to the soft part of the guide pipe inserted into the hole is a predetermined position in the hole. An endoscope comprising: a fixing member to which the guide pipe is fixed after the guide pipe is positioned.   The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein an end portion of a flexible coil spring that guides and guides the operation wire is fixed to an end portion on the soft portion side of the guide pipe.   The endoscope according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined position is determined in a state where the coil spring is not stretched too much in the insertion portion and is not loosened too much.   The endoscope according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a hole for pouring a liquid material for fixing the guide pipe to the fixing member by being solidified is formed in the fixing member.   The endoscope according to claim 4, wherein the liquid material is any one of solder, a hard solder for brazing, and an adhesive.

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