JP2016174670A - Curved part structure of endoscopic insertion part - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a curved part structure of an endoscope insertion part that can fix a coil pipe with sufficient fixed strength without extending an axial direction length of a connecting piece, in the curved part structure of the endoscope insertion part in which an active curved part subjected to curving operation actively by the predetermined operation of the operation part and a passive curved part capable of being passively curved are sequentially provided from an insertion part tip side, the active curved part and the passive curved part are connected through the connecting piece, multiple curving operation wires respectively inserted in a coil pipe extend from a flexible tube to the passive curved part and the active curved part, and the tip part of the coil pipe is fixed to the connecting piece.SOLUTION: A curved part structure of an endoscope insertion part is characterized in that a coil fixing member is fixed in a connecting piece for connecting an active curved part with a driven curved part, and a coil pipe with a bending operation wire inserted thereto is fixed in the coil fixing member.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a bending portion structure of an endoscope insertion portion, and more particularly to a bending portion structure in which an active bending portion and a passive bending portion that are positioned in order from the distal end side of an insertion portion are connected via a connecting piece.

  Conventionally, a distal end rigid portion, a bending portion, and a flexible tube portion are arranged in order from the distal end in an insertion portion of an endoscope in the medical field (Patent Document 1). In addition, the bending portion includes, in order from the distal end side of the insertion portion, an active bending portion (first bending portion) that is actively bent by a predetermined operation of the operation portion and a passive bending portion (second bending portion) that can be passively bent. (Patent Document 2), and the first bending portion and the second bending portion are connected via a connecting piece. The first bending portion and the second bending portion are formed by connecting a plurality of bending pieces, and both the first bending portion and the second bending portion can be bent in two or four directions.

  Two or four bending operation wires connected to the bending operation unit of the operation unit are inserted into the insertion unit. The bending operation wire usually extends from the flexible tube portion to the bending portion, and the tip portion thereof is fixed to the tip end of the first bending portion (tip rigid portion). In the portion from the flexible tube portion to the connecting piece, It is guided in the coil pipe.

WO2011 / 136115A1 publication JP 2007-37566 A

  Conventionally, the tip of the coil pipe has been directly fixed to the connecting piece by welding. That is, the outer peripheral surface of the coil pipe is welded and fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the connecting piece. However, in this welded structure, in order to obtain a sufficient fixing strength between the coil pipe and the connecting piece, it is necessary to increase the welding length in the length direction of the coil pipe, and the axial length of the connecting piece is increased. . This problem is particularly serious when the bending direction is four directions.

  The present invention has been made on the basis of the above problem awareness, and the bending portion structure of the endoscope insertion portion that can fix the coil pipe with sufficient fixing strength without increasing the axial length of the connecting piece. The purpose is to obtain.

  According to the present invention, if the coil pipe for inserting the bending operation wire is directly welded and fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the connecting piece, the coil fixing member is fixed to the connecting piece, and the coil pipe is fixed to the coil fixing member. The present invention has been completed based on the viewpoint that the coil pipe can be fixed to the connecting piece without increasing the axial length of the connecting piece.

  The present invention includes, in order from the distal end side of the insertion portion, an active bending portion that is actively bent by a predetermined operation of the operation portion, and a passive bending portion that can be passively bent. A plurality of bending operation wires connected through connecting pieces (connecting pieces) and respectively inserted into the coil pipe extend from the flexible tube portion to the passive bending portion and the active bending portion, and the tip end portion of the coil pipe is connected to the connecting piece. In the bending portion structure of the endoscope insertion portion fixed to the coil, a coil fixing member having a coil pipe fixing portion located inside the connecting piece is fixed to the connecting piece, and the coil pipe fixing portion of the coil fixing member Further, the feature is that the tip of the coil pipe is fixed.

  In a preferred embodiment, the coil fixing member includes a fixing protrusion inserted into and fixed to a fixing hole formed in the connecting piece, and a ring-shaped portion having a coil insertion hole for inserting and fixing the tip of the coil pipe. ing. This ring-shaped part may be a complete ring or an incomplete ring.

  In one embodiment, the tip end portion of the coil pipe inserted into the ring-shaped portion of the coil fixing member can be processed into a small diameter in advance (before being fixed to the coil fixing member). This small diameter machining may be a tip L machining that removes the diameter portion of the coil wire constituting the coil pipe, or an incomplete tip L machining that cuts to the extent that a spiral groove remains between adjacent coil wires. it can.

  In another embodiment, the coil fixing member is a first coil fixing member that is fixed to the connecting piece, and a second coil fixing member that fixes the coil pipe and is fixed to the first coil fixing member. A member can be included.

  In the present invention, the coil fixing member is fixed to the connecting piece connecting the active bending portion and the driven bending portion, and the coil pipe through which the bending operation wire is inserted is fixed to the coil fixing member. The coil pipe can be securely fixed to the connecting piece without increasing the length.

It is a front view of the whole endoscope which has the curved part structure of the endoscope insertion part made into the object of the present invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows 1st Embodiment of the curved part structure of the endoscope insertion part by this invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the III-III line of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows 2nd Embodiment of the curved part structure of the endoscope insertion part by this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows 3rd Embodiment of the curved part structure of the endoscope insertion part by this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 2 which shows the curved part structure of the conventional endoscope insertion part. It is sectional drawing which follows the VII-VII line of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an endoscope 100 according to this embodiment includes a long insertion portion 10 that is inserted into a body cavity, an operation portion 20 that is provided on the proximal end side of the insertion portion 10, and this operation. And a universal cord 30 extending from one side of the unit 20.

  The insertion portion 10 includes, in order from the distal end side, a hard distal rigid portion 11, an active bending portion (first bending portion) 12 that bends actively, and a passive bending portion (second bending portion) 13 that bends passively. And a flexible tube portion 14 having flexibility. In the distal end rigid portion 11, an image pickup unit (not shown) constituted by an image pickup device such as a CCD or CMOS, a circuit board for driving the image pickup device, an observation optical system, or the like is built in as the image pickup means. Further, the distal end rigid portion 11 is provided with a distal end portion of a light guide through which illumination light for illuminating an observation target site in the body cavity is disposed, and an illumination unit including the light guide, illumination optical system, and the like is built in. Has been.

  The operation unit 20 includes a gripping unit 21, a bending operation knob 22, various switches 23 for instructing the release of the imaging means, and various buttons 24 such as an air / water supply button. By operating the bending operation knob 22, the active bending portion 12 is actively bent through the bending operation wire inserted into the insertion portion 10, and the passive bending portion 13 is passively bent.

  The universal cord 30 is provided with an endoscope connector 31 connected to the processor at an extended end. Illumination light from the light source device in the processor is given to the light guide via the endoscope connector 31, and a video signal is generated by an electric signal transmitted from the imaging means and displayed on the monitor.

  2 and 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention of a connecting portion (bending portion structure) of the active bending portion 12 and the passive bending portion 13. As is well known, both the active bending portion 12 and the passive bending portion 13 are composed of a plurality of bending pieces 12a and 13a pivotally attached at joint portions (axes). In FIG. 2, only the bending piece 12a at the rear end portion of the active bending portion 12 and the bending piece 13a at the front end portion of the passive bending portion 13 are depicted, and the bending piece 12a and the bending piece 13a are connected pieces (connection pieces). 15 is connected. That is, the bending piece 12a and the connecting piece 15 are connected to be pivotable (swingable) by the joint shaft 15a, and the connecting piece 15 and the bending piece 13a are connected to be able to turn (swing) by the joint shaft 15b. Yes. Each of the joint shaft 15a and the joint shaft 15b is provided with a pair facing each other in the radial direction when the connecting piece 15 is viewed from the axial direction. The positions of the joint shaft 15a and the joint shaft 15b in the circumferential direction are different from each other. (For example, 30 ° to 60 °). FIG. 2 shows a joint shaft 13b that connects the bending piece 13a at the front end and the next bending piece 13a so as to be rotatable (oscillated).

  Four bending operation wires 16 (only three are shown in FIG. 2) extending from the operation unit 21 are inserted into the flexible tube portion 14, the passive bending portion 13, the connecting piece 15, and the active bending portion 12. The distal end portion of each bending operation wire 16 is fixed to the distal end rigid portion 11, and the rear end portion is connected to the bending operation knob 22 (bending operation mechanism) of the insertion portion 10. The bending operation wire 16 is inserted into the coil pipe 17 in the flexible tube portion 14 and the passive bending portion 13, and in the active bending portion 12, the wire guide 12c provided in each bending piece 12a. It is inserted. In the illustrated embodiment, the coil pipe 17 is formed by closely winding a coil wire (spring wire) and forming it into a pipe shape, and has flexibility (flexibility). The wire guide 12c has a radial protrusion 12e inserted and fixed in a radial hole 12d formed in the bending piece 12a, and a wire guide hole 12f parallel to the axis of the bending piece 12a.

  The distal end portion of each coil pipe 17 is fixed to the inner surface of the connecting piece 15, and the active bending portion 12 is activated by pulling one or more of the four bending operation wires 16 with the bending operation knob 22. The passive bending portion 13 is passively bent by receiving an external force.

  In the present embodiment, each coil pipe 17 is not directly fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the connection piece 15, but is connected to the connection piece 15 via a coil fixing member 18 that is a separate member from the connection piece 15 and the coil pipe 17. It is fixed to the inner surface. The coil fixing member 18 includes a fixing protrusion 18 a protruding in the radial direction of the connecting piece 15 and a ring-shaped portion (coil pipe fixing portion) 18 c having a coil insertion hole 18 b parallel to the axis of the connecting piece 15. . Although the ring-shaped part 18c is a complete ring in the illustrated embodiment, it may be an incomplete ring (C-shaped). On the other hand, a smooth cylindrical portion 17a is formed on the outer periphery of the distal end portion of the coil pipe 17 by cutting a coil wire having a circular cross section that constitutes the coil pipe 17 to substantially its diameter portion (tip L processing). The cross section of the coil wire rod of the coil pipe 17 may be an irregular shape (for example, a rectangle or a flat circle).

  The above coil fixing member 18 is fitted with the smooth cylindrical portion 17a of the coil pipe 17 in the coil insertion hole 18b and fixed with an adhesive. In FIG. 2, hatching and symbol S are given to the adhesive, but the adhesive actually enters between the outer periphery of the smooth cylindrical portion 17 a and the inner periphery of the coil insertion hole 18 b. Of course, the coil pipe 17 and the coil fixing member 18 can be connected by soldering such as brazing or welding.

  Thus, the coil pipe 17 having the coil fixing member 18 fixed to the distal end portion thereof is guided from the passive bending portion 13 into the connecting piece 15, and a radial hole (fixing hole) whose fixing protrusion 18 a is formed in the connecting piece 15. ) Insert and fix in 15c. Fixing can be performed by any means such as adhesion, soldering, welding, and caulking.

  6 and 7 are views corresponding to FIGS. 2 and 3, showing a conventional product in which the coil pipe 17 is directly fixed to the inner surface of the connecting piece 15 </ b> X without using the coil fixing member 18. 6 and 7, the same (corresponding) elements as those in FIGS. 2 and 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the connecting piece 15 </ b> X has the same diameter as the connecting piece 15. The tip of the coil pipe 17 is directly fixed to the inner surface of the connecting piece 15X via an adhesive S. In this conventional example, in order to secure the fixing strength between the coil pipe 17 and the connecting piece 15X, the axial bonding length must be increased, and the axial length of the connecting piece 15X is increased. In contrast to the conventional axial length B of the connecting piece 15X and the bonding length D of the coil pipe 17 (FIG. 6), the axial length b of the connecting piece 15 of this embodiment and the bonding length d of the coil pipe 17 (FIG. 2). Are both sufficiently short (can be shortened).

  FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the connecting portion between the active bending portion 12 and the passive bending portion 13 according to the present invention. In this embodiment, a non-smooth cylindrical portion 17c is formed by cutting a coil wire having a circular cross section constituting the coil pipe 17 at the tip of the coil pipe 17 so that the spiral groove 17b remains between the adjacent coil wires. (Tip incomplete L processing). According to this embodiment, it is possible to allow the adhesive S to enter the spiral groove 17b, and it can be expected to increase the fixing strength.

  FIG. 5 shows an embodiment in which the coil fixing member 18 is formed of two members, a first coil fixing member 18A and a second coil fixing member 18B. The first coil fixing member 18A has a fixing protrusion 18a, a coil insertion hole 18b, and a ring-shaped portion 18c, as in the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3, whereas the second coil fixing member 18B It has a cylindrical part (coil pipe fixing part) 18d to be inserted into the coil insertion hole 18b of one coil fixing member 18A, and an outer flange part 18f formed at one end of this cylindrical part 18d. The cylindrical portion 18d protrudes from the ring-shaped portion 18c of the first coil fixing member 18A, and the distal end portion of the coil pipe 17 is fitted and fixed to the outer peripheral portion of the protruding end.

  In assembling the coil pipe 17, the first coil fixing member 18A, and the second coil fixing member 18B, the cylindrical portion 18d of the second coil fixing member 18B without the outer flange portion 18f is used as the coil pipe. After fitting and fixing to the distal end portion of 17, the cylindrical portion 18 d is fitted into the coil insertion hole 18 b of the first coil fixing member 18 A, and the outer flange portion 18 f is bent to the distal end protruding portion from the coil insertion hole 18 b. The first coil fixing member 18A and the second coil fixing member 18B are fixed. The first coil fixing member 18A of this assembly is fitted and fixed to 15c of the connecting piece 15 as in the first embodiment. According to this embodiment, there is a merit that manufacture is easy as compared with the embodiment (FIGS. 2 and 4) in which the smooth cylindrical portion 17a or the non-smooth cylindrical portion 17c is formed at the tip of the coil pipe 17. However, an embodiment in which the smooth cylindrical portion 17a or the non-smooth cylindrical portion 17c is not formed at the tip of the coil pipe 17 is also possible for the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Endoscope 10 Insertion part 11 Hard tip part 12 Active bending part (1st bending part)
12a bending piece 12c wire guide 13 passive bending portion (second bending portion)
13a Bending piece 13b Joint shaft 14 Flexible tube portion 15 Connecting piece 15c Radial hole (fixed hole)
15X connecting piece (conventional product)
15a 15b joint shaft 16 bending operation wire 17 coil pipe 17a smooth cylindrical portion 17b spiral groove 17c non-smooth cylindrical portion 18 coil fixing member 18A first coil fixing member 18B second coil fixing member 18a fixing protrusion 18b coil insertion hole 18c ring Shaped part (coil pipe fixing part)
18d cylindrical part (coil pipe fixing part)
18f Outer flange portion 20 Operation portion 21 Holding portion 22 Bending operation knob (bending operation mechanism)

Claims (5)

In order from the distal end side of the insertion portion, there are an active bending portion that is actively bent by a predetermined operation of the operation portion, and a passive bending portion that can be passively bent. The active bending portion and the passive bending portion are connected via a connecting piece. A plurality of bending operation wires respectively connected to the coil pipe and extending from the flexible tube portion to the passive bending portion and the active bending portion, and the distal end portion of the coil pipe is fixed to the connecting piece. In the curved part structure of the mirror insertion part,
A coil fixing member having a coil pipe fixing portion located inside the connecting piece is fixed to the connecting piece, and a tip end portion of the coil pipe is fixed to the coil pipe fixing portion of the coil fixing member. The bending portion structure of the endoscope insertion portion. The bending portion structure of the endoscope insertion portion according to claim 1, wherein the coil fixing member has a fixing protrusion that is inserted into and coupled to a fixing hole formed in the connecting piece, and the coil pipe fixing portion is A bending portion structure of an endoscope insertion portion comprising a ring-shaped portion having a coil insertion hole for inserting and fixing the distal end portion of the coil pipe. The bending portion structure of the endoscope insertion portion according to claim 2, wherein the distal end portion of the coil pipe inserted into the ring-shaped portion of the coil fixing member is processed to have a small diameter in advance. Construction. 4. The bending portion structure of the endoscope insertion portion according to claim 3, wherein the small-diameter processing portion has a tip L processing for removing the diameter portion of the coil wire constituting the coil pipe, or a spiral groove between adjacent coil wires. The bending portion structure of the endoscope insertion portion formed by incomplete tip L machining that cuts to the extent that remains. 2. The bending portion structure of the endoscope insertion portion according to claim 1, wherein the coil fixing member fixes the first coil fixing member fixed to the connecting piece, the coil pipe, and the first coil fixing. The bending part structure of the endoscope insertion part provided with the 2nd coil fixing member fixed to a member.

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