JP2023053654A - Endoscope apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an endoscope apparatus which can enter into a relatively narrow empty area, and can easily and accurately photograph images in the empty area.SOLUTION: A long-sized endoscope body 2 provided with a camera 21 and an LED 23 on the tip comprises: a flexible exterior coil 11 disposed over the entire length of the endoscope body 2; and a slim tube 12 having a slim cylinder part 13 fitted internally to the exterior coil 11 over the entire length except a tip part 19 and a support projection 14 extended from the tip of the slim cylinder part 13 and fitted internally to the tip part of the exterior coil 11. A tip of a filament 15 which towably connects a base end to a head swinging operation member is firmly connected to the tip of the exterior coil 11 so as to face the support projection 14. In this configuration, with the filament 15 towed by operation of the head swinging operation member, the tip part 19 of the endoscope body 2 can be bent in a direction facing the support projection 14.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus used for imaging the inside of an object to be imaged.

Endoscopes are commonly used for internal inspection and repair of imaging subjects. A specific configuration of such an endoscope includes a long insertion rod to be inserted into a hole of a subject (imaging target), and an imaging unit disposed at the tip of the insertion rod. A camera for imaging and a light source (LED or the like) are arranged, and an operation section supported by a user of the endoscope is connected to the proximal end of the insertion rod. The insertion rod is provided with a bendable bending portion at least in the vicinity of the distal end thereof, and the bending portion can be bent according to a predetermined operation in the operating portion. As an endoscope having such a configuration, for example, Patent Document 1 has been proposed.

JP 2018-153623 A

By the way, the above-described endoscope has an advantage that it can be applied to various subjects by adopting a configuration in which the outer diameter of the insertion portion is small. Furthermore, by configuring the bending portion of the insertion portion to be relatively small, there is an advantage that it is possible to cope with a case where the inspection target site of the subject is a relatively narrow space. However, in the configuration of Patent Document 1 described above, the imaging section provided at the distal end of the insertion section has the camera and the light source arranged inside a cover that cannot be bent, and the orientation of the imaging section is Since the bending portion of the insertion portion is bent in order to change, the length from the central portion of the bending to the tip of the imaging portion is relatively long, and the imaging portion is bent in a relatively narrow space. It was getting difficult. In the case of inspecting such a narrow space (inside the hole of the subject), there are problems such as being unable to properly image the desired site and requiring advanced techniques for the imaging.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention proposes an endoscope apparatus capable of capturing images easily and accurately even when capturing images in a relatively narrow space.

The present invention comprises a long endoscope main body having an imaging means and a light emitting means arranged at a distal end portion thereof, which is inserted into a hole of an object to be imaged, and a distal end portion fixed to the distal end portion of the endoscope main body. a filament longitudinally inserted through the interior of the endoscope main body, and a filament attached to the proximal end portion of the endoscope main body and connected to the filament so that the base end of the filament can be pulled; oscillating operation means for oscillating and releasing the oscillating operation for bending the distal end portion of the endoscope main body, wherein the endoscope main body A flexible exterior coil provided over the entire length of the scope main body and having the distal end of the filament fixed to the distal end, and a flexible body that is internally fitted over the entire length of the range excluding the distal end of the exterior coil. and a flexible support projecting piece protruding from the tip of the tube, fitted inside the tip of the outer coil, and disposed opposite to the fixed portion between the tip of the filament and the outer coil. wherein the tip portion of the endoscope main body is oscillated toward the coagulation site by performing an operation to pull the filament by the oscillating operation means. It is an endoscope device that

In such a configuration, since the tip of the filament (fixed portion) and the support projecting piece are arranged to face each other at the tip of the exterior coil, when the filament is pulled by the operation of the swing operating means, , the relative difference between the action of drawing the solidified site toward the base end side and the action of making it difficult to pull the solidified site by the support protrusion causes the distal end of the endoscope main body to move toward the solidified site (the direction facing the support protrusion). ). Furthermore, in this configuration, the end portion of the exterior coil in which the imaging means and the light emitting means are arranged is bent, and unlike the conventional configuration described above, there is no cover. The length from the central portion of the endoscope) to the tip of the exterior coil (endoscope body) is shorter than that of the conventional configuration described above. Since the distal end portion of the endoscope body can be bent compactly in this manner, the distal end portion of the endoscope body can be bent even when the endoscope body is inserted into a relatively narrow space (inside the hole to be imaged). can easily and accurately image a desired site of an object to be imaged.

In the above-described endoscope apparatus of the present invention, the filament has an internal tubular body which is flexible and less stretchable in the longitudinal direction than the external coil, and which extends over at least a range of the endoscope main body excluding the distal end portion. A fitted configuration is proposed.

In such a configuration, since the filaments are fitted on the outside of the interior cylindrical body that is flexible and difficult to expand and contract in the longitudinal direction, it is possible to prevent the filaments from swinging inside the exterior coil. As a result, since the filament can be stably pulled, the oscillation operation for bending the distal end portion of the endoscope main body and the release of the oscillation operation can be reliably and stably performed, The response of the striation traction by the operation of the swing operation means is improved.

According to the endoscope apparatus of the present invention, the distal end portion of the endoscope body can be bent compactly. It can be easily bent, and a desired part can be imaged accurately.

1 is an external view showing an endoscope apparatus 1 of an embodiment; FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an endoscope main body 2 of the endoscope apparatus 1; FIG. (A) A front view showing an enlarged distal end portion 19 of the endoscope main body 2, and (B) a partial cross-sectional view. 2 is an exploded view of the endoscope main body 2; FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the swing operation of the endoscope main body 2; FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the swing operation continued from FIG. 5; (A) An external view showing a part of an endoscope main body 52 of another example, and (B) a partial cross-sectional view.

An embodiment embodying the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the endoscope apparatus 1 of the embodiment includes a long endoscope main body 2, a swing operation member 3 attached to the proximal end of the endoscope main body 2, and a swing member. A data control device 4 connected to the operation member 3 via a communication cable 6 and a monitor 5 whose display is controlled by the data control device 4 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 4, the endoscope main body 2 includes a long outer coil 11 and a long thin tube 12 fitted inside the outer coil 11. Further, the thin tube 12 is provided with a filament to be described later. An internal coil 16 inserted through 15 is fitted inside. The exterior coil 11 is composed of a spring wound with a stainless steel filament, and has flexibility. The thin tube 12 is made of flexible silicon, and is formed by integrally forming a long cylindrical thin tube portion 13 and a support protrusion 14 extending from the tip of the thin tube portion 13 and having an arcuate cross section. be. As shown in FIG. 3(A), the support protrusion 14 has a circular cross section formed with a central angle smaller than 180 degrees. The internal coil 16 is composed of a stainless steel spring and has flexibility. The internal coil 16 is formed to have a smaller diameter (larger curvature) and tighter winding (smaller pitch) than the external coil 11, and expands and contracts in the longitudinal direction as compared with the external coil 11. Because it is hard, it is difficult to buckle.

Here, in this embodiment, the outer coil 11 has an outer diameter of 3 mm, a wire diameter of 0.3 mm, and an overall length of about 300 mm. In the thin tube 12, the outer diameter of the thin cylindrical portion 13 is about 2.4 mm, the total length of the thin cylindrical portion 13 is about 285 mm, and the length of the supporting protrusion 14 is about 15 mm. The internal coil 16 has an outer diameter of 1 mm, a wire diameter of 0.2 mm, and a total length of about 285 mm. The tip portion 19 of the endoscope main body 2 has a length of about 18 mm.

As shown in FIG. 2, the endoscope main body 2 has an outer coil 11 in which a thin cylindrical portion 13 of a thin tube 12 is fitted inside, except for the distal end portion of the outer coil 11, and a support protrusion 14 of the thin tube 12 is fitted. The narrow tube 12 is fitted in the distal end portion of the exterior coil 11 so as to be slidable in the longitudinal direction. A camera 21 and an LED 23 are arranged inside the distal end of the exterior coil 11 in the endoscope main body 2 . The camera 21 is arranged so as to pick up an image forward from the tip of the endoscope main body 2, and the LED 23 is arranged so as to irradiate the imaging direction (previous section) of the camera 21. As shown in FIG. The camera 21 and the LED 23 are fixed inside the front end of the exterior coil 11 with an ultraviolet curable resin. The camera 21 is a very small camera that can be attached inside the exterior coil 11, and a CCD camera, for example, is preferably used.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the camera 21 is connected to a communication line 22 capable of transmitting electric power and signals. It is arranged so as to reach the swing operation member 3 . Similarly, a communication line 24 for supplying electric power is connected to the LED 23, and the communication line 24 is inserted through the narrow tube 12 in the longitudinal direction to reach the swing operation member 3. It is These communication lines 22 and 24 are connected to the communication cable 6 via connectors (not shown) provided on the swing operation member 3 . As described above, the camera 21 is connected to the data control device 4 by the communication line 22 and the communication cable 6, and receives power and a signal for instructing image pickup from the data control device 4, and also transmits the imaged data. It is transmitted to the data control device 4 . The LED 23 is connected to the data control device 4 via a communication line 24 and a communication cable 6, and is supplied with power from the data control device 4 via the communication line 24. FIG. It should be noted that the communication lines 22 and 24 can be of a flexible general configuration.

Further, a filament 15 is inserted through the endoscope main body 2 through the thin cylindrical portion 13 of the thin tube 12 in the longitudinal direction. The tip of the filament 15 is fixed to the tip of the exterior coil 11 , and the distal end of the filament 15 is connected to the operation portion 31 of the swing operation member 3 . Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the portion where the end of the filament 15 and the end of the exterior coil 11 are fixed together is the support protrusion 14 of the thin tube 12 fitted inside the exterior coil 11 and the exterior coil. are arranged so as to face each other in the radial direction. The filament 15 is fitted in the internal coil 16 at least inside the thin cylindrical portion 13 , and is fitted only in the external coil 11 at the distal end portion 19 of the endoscope body 2 . . In this embodiment, the filaments 15 are made of flexible wires.

The oscillating operation member 3 has a rectangular parallelepiped housing, and is attached by inserting the distal end of the endoscope main body 2 into a hole (not shown) formed in the front surface of the housing. there is The communication lines 22 and 24 inserted inside the endoscope main body 2 are connected to the connector (not shown) inside the swing operation member 3 . Further, the oscillating operation member 3 has an elongated hole 32 extending in the front-rear direction in one side surface of its housing, and an operation part 31 is provided in the elongated hole 32 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction. ing. The distal end of the filament 15 inserted through the interior of the endoscope main body 2 is connected to the operation portion 31, and the filament 15 is pulled rearward when the operation portion 31 is operated to move backward. When the rearward movement operation is released, the rearward traction of the filament 15 is released. Here, the operation part 31 is in a state where the filament 15 is not pulled rearward at the front position (see FIG. 2) where it is locked to the front end of the long hole 32, while it is locked to the rear end of the long hole 32. At the rear position (see FIG. 6), the filaments 15 are provided so as to be pulled to the rearmost position. As a result, the operating portion 31 is easily maintained at the front position in the normal state, and when the movement is released after being moved rearward from the front position, the outer coil 11 fixed to the tip of the filament 15 is attached. It is returned to the forward position according to the force.

The data control device 4 includes power supply means for supplying power to the camera 21 and the LED 23 via the communication cable 6, imaging instruction means for instructing imaging by the camera 21, and data processing data received from the camera 21. Processing means and image display means for displaying an image on the monitor 5 are provided. Furthermore, various switches such as a power switch and an imaging switch are arranged. By operating the switch, the data control device 4 supplies power to the camera 21 and the LED 23, takes an image with the camera 21, and displays an image taken with the camera 21 on the monitor 5. control.

In the endoscope apparatus 1 of this embodiment, only the camera 21 and the LED 23 are arranged at the distal end portion 19 of the endoscope main body 2, and a signal (power) for communicating with the camera 21 and the LED 23 is provided. is not provided in the endoscope main body 2, and a board for signal communication processing is provided in the data control device 4. FIG. Therefore, the distal end portion 19 of the endoscope main body 2 does not require a cover or the like for arranging the substrate, and the camera 21 and the LED 23 are fixed inside the distal end portion of the exterior coil 11 by ultraviolet curable resin. It is configured. As a result, the endoscope main body 2 of the present embodiment is inflexible only at the distal end portion having a length of about 3 mm, which cannot be bent due to the camera 21, the LED 23, and the ultraviolet curable resin.

The endoscope apparatus 1 of the present embodiment can bend the distal end portion 19 of the endoscope main body 2 by operating the operation portion 31 of the swing operation member 3, and the imaging direction of the camera 21 and the LED 23 can be adjusted. can change the irradiation direction of the light. As shown in FIG. 5, when the operation portion 31 of the swing operation member 3 is moved rearward from the front position (see FIG. 2), the wire 15 is pulled rearward as the operation portion 31 moves rearward. be done. As a result, the distal end portion 19 of the endoscope main body 2 bends toward the solidified portion between the distal end of the filament 15 and the distal end of the exterior coil 11 . More specifically, at the distal end portion 19 of the endoscope main body 2, the solidified portion between the distal end of the filament 15 and the distal end of the outer coil 11 is aligned in the radial direction of the support protrusion 14 of the thin tube 12 and the outer coil 11. Since they are provided at opposing positions (see FIG. 3), when the filament 15 is pulled rearward, a pulling force acts rearward on the side of the fixed portion of the exterior coil 11, while the fixed portion is pulled. On the opposite side of the section the rearward pulling force is blocked by the support projections 14 . Due to the difference in force acting on the fixed portion side and the opposite side of the external coil 11, the fixed portion side contracts and the opposite side expands, so that the distal end portion 19 of the endoscope main body 2 is fixed. Bend to the joint side.

Further, when the operation portion 31 of the swing operation member 3 is moved to the rear position, the distal end portion 19 of the endoscope main body 2 bends toward the coagulation site as shown in FIG. Here, when the operating portion 31 is operated to move to the rear position, the filament 15 is pulled rearward relatively large, and the exterior coil 11 is bent with a relatively large curvature toward the fixed portion side. Further, the length from the center portion of the bend (the center portion of the arc) to the tip of the endoscope body 2 can be shortened, and the tip portion 19 of the endoscope body 2 can be bent relatively compactly. Therefore, the endoscope apparatus 1 of this embodiment can easily bend the distal end portion 19 of the endoscope body 2 when the endoscope body 2 is moved into a relatively narrow space. be. The operation of bending the distal end portion 19 of the endoscope main body 2 in this way (FIGS. 5 and 6) is the oscillation operation of the distal end portion 19 . Even in such a bent state, the distal end portion (a portion approximately 3 mm from the distal end) of the endoscope main body 2 where the camera 21 and the LED 23 are arranged cannot be bent, but the portion of the distal end portion is extremely short. Therefore, there is almost no effect on bending due to the curvature described above.

When the operating portion 31 of the swing operating member 3 is operated to move backward and then the operation of the operating portion 31 is released, the force pulling the filament 15 backward disappears. As a result, the force that pulls the tip of the exterior coil 11 backward is lost, and the urging force of the exterior coil 11 at the tip of the exterior coil 11 causes the contraction of the fused portion side and the extension of the opposite side. Then, the bending of the distal end portion 19 of the endoscope main body 2 is released. Along with this, the filament 15 is pulled forward, and the operating portion 31 returns to the forward position. The operation of releasing the bending of the distal end portion 19 of the endoscope main body 2 in this manner is the operation of releasing the swinging operation.

The endoscope apparatus 1 of this embodiment can be suitably used for quality inspection and maintenance of industrial products. For example, it can be used for internal inspection of relatively small diameter holes such as engine cylinder blocks and air conditioner copper pipe joints. In the inspection of such industrial products, the endoscope main body 2 is inserted into the small-diameter hole, and the images captured by the camera 21 are displayed on the monitor 5 . By appropriately bending the distal end portion 19 of the endoscope body 2 while the endoscope body 2 is inserted into the hole, a desired portion of the hole can be imaged. Here, since the distal end portion 19 of the endoscope main body 2 is short in length from the center portion of the bend to the distal end of the endoscope main body 2 as described above, it is a narrow gap inside the small-diameter hole. can be easily bent, and the desired site can be accurately imaged.

Furthermore, the endoscope main body 2 of this embodiment has a structure in which the filament 15 is fitted around the interior coil 16 which is more tightly wound than the exterior coil 11 . 15 can be made difficult to shake. As a result, the filament 15 can be stably pulled according to the operation of the operation portion 31 of the swing operation member 3, and the operation of bending the distal end portion 19 of the endoscope main body 2 (oscillation operation) and releasing operation (oscillation operation). release) can be stably performed.

Incidentally, in this embodiment, the camera 21 corresponds to the imaging means according to the invention, and the LED 23 corresponds to the issuing means according to the invention. The swing operation member 3 corresponds to the swing operation means according to the present invention. The thin cylindrical portion 13 of the thin tube 12 corresponds to the tube according to the invention, and the support projection 14 corresponds to the support projection piece according to the invention. The internal coil 16 corresponds to the internal tubular body according to the present invention.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the scope of the present invention.
For example, the dimensions and shape of each part in the above-described embodiment can be changed as appropriate. Specifically, each outer diameter, pitch, etc. of the exterior coil 11 and the interior coil 16 can be changed as appropriate.

In the embodiment, the exterior coil 11 is a spring made of stainless steel, but the spring is not limited to this, and can be made of a metal wire such as piano wire or SK material. The internal coil 16 can also be a similar spring. Also, instead of the internal coil 16, a flexible cylindrical body that is less likely to expand and contract in the longitudinal direction than the external coil 11 can be used. Furthermore, in the embodiment, the filament 15 is externally fitted by the internal coil 16, but it is also possible to adopt a structure without the internal coil 16. FIG.

In the embodiment, the thin tube 12 is integrally formed with the thin cylindrical portion 13 and the support protrusion 14. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may include a long cylindrical tube and a support joined to the tip of the tube. It is good also as a structure provided with the projecting piece. In other words, a structure in which separate tubes and support protrusions are joined to each other may be used instead of the fine tubes 12 of the embodiment.

In the embodiment, the communication lines 22 and 24 connected to the camera 21 and the LED 23, respectively, are configured to pass through the thin cylindrical portion 13 of the thin tube 12. A configuration in which the coil 11 and the narrow cylindrical portion 13 are inserted in the longitudinal direction can also be used. In this configuration, the inner diameter of the outer coil 11 and the outer diameter of the thin cylindrical portion 13 are appropriately adjusted so that there is a gap between the outer coil 11 and the thin cylindrical portion 13 through which the communication lines 22 and 24 can be inserted. need to be set.

In the embodiment, the exterior coil 11 is made of a spring formed with a uniform pitch in the longitudinal direction, but the invention is not limited to this. It can also be configured by For example, as shown in FIG. 7, an exterior coil 53 forming an endoscope main body 52 includes a distal end winding portion 54 (a portion forming the distal end portion of the endoscope main body) and a main coil portion other than the distal end winding portion 54. 55 and springs with different pitches. In the outer coil 53, the pitch of the main coil portion 55 is smaller than the pitch of the tip winding portion 54 (close winding). According to the endoscope main body 52 of this another example, the distal end portion 19 can be bent in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment, and the main coil portion 55 has flexibility. It can produce an effect. In addition, since the pitch of the main coil portion 55 is short, it is possible to prevent protrusions, bends, etc. in the hole from being caught by the main coil portion 55 when entering the hole of the object to be imaged. have Here, since the configuration of another example is the same as that of the above-described embodiment except that the external coil 53 is different, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted. In addition, in such an exterior coil 53 of another example, the configuration in which the pitch of the main coil portion 55 is 0 can also be applied.

In the embodiment described above, it is also possible to arrange a transparent protection plate at the tip of the exterior coil 11 to protect the camera 21 and the LED 23 . In this configuration, it is preferable that the protection plate is capable of suppressing fluctuations of the camera 21 . Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the endoscope main body 2 may be externally fitted by a flexible cylindrical protective member. Here, if the protective member is waterproof and the endoscope main body 2 is covered with the protective member and the protective plate, it can be applied to inspection in liquid. Such a waterproof configuration can be applied not only to industrial products but also to medical applications (for example, inspection of the human body).

In the above-described embodiment, the camera 21 and the LED 23 are arranged side by side at the tip of the endoscope main body 2. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the camera 21 is arranged in the center. A configuration in which a plurality of LEDs are arranged in a surrounding manner is also possible.

1 endoscope apparatus 2, 52 endoscope main body 3 swing operation member (oscillation operation means)
4 data control device 5 monitor 6 communication cable 11, 53 exterior coil 12 thin tube 13 thin cylindrical part (tube)
14 support protrusion (support protrusion)
15 Wire 16 Internal coil 19 Tip (tip of endoscope main body)
21 camera (imaging means)
22, 24 communication line 23 LED (light emitting means)
31 Operation Part 32 Long Hole 54 Tip Winding Part 55 Main Coil Part

Claims (2)

an elongated endoscope main body having an imaging means and a light emitting means arranged at a distal end thereof and inserted into a hole of an object to be imaged;
a filament having a distal end fixed to the distal end portion of the endoscope body and longitudinally inserted through the interior of the endoscope body;
The neck is attached to the proximal end of the endoscope main body and connected to the proximal end of the filament so that the filament can be pulled. and a swinging operation means capable of operating to release the swinging operation,
The endoscope body includes:
a flexible exterior coil provided over the entire length of the endoscope main body and having the distal end of the filament fixed to the distal end;
a flexible tube that is internally fitted over the entire length of the range excluding the distal end of the exterior coil;
a flexible support projecting piece protruding from the tip of the tube, fitted inside the tip of the outer coil, and disposed opposite to a fixed portion between the tip of the filament and the outer coil;
An endoscope characterized in that an operation of pulling the filaments by the swinging operation means is performed to swing the distal end portion of the endoscope main body toward the solidification site. Device. An inner cylindrical body, which is flexible and more difficult to expand and contract in the longitudinal direction than the outer coil, is fitted on the filament over a range of the endoscope main body excluding at least the distal end portion. The endoscope device according to .

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