JP2582981Y2 - Endoscope - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an endoscope having a protective tube for protecting an optical fiber bundle provided in the endoscope.

[Related Art] Generally, an optical fiber bundle for observation, an optical fiber bundle for illumination, a tube for air / water supply, a tube for inserting a processing tool, and the like are provided along the longitudinal direction inside an insertion portion of an endoscope. And they are arranged together in a relatively dense state. The observation optical fiber bundle and the illumination optical fiber bundle are configured by bundling a number of thin optical fiber elements with a flexible outer tube (protective tube).

The optical fiber bundle for observation and the optical fiber bundle for illumination are arranged together with the air supply / water supply tube and the treatment tool insertion tube in a relatively long state inside the long insertion portion. Therefore, when the insertion portion of the endoscope is inserted into a body cavity, the endoscope is bent so as to follow the curvature of a lumen in the body cavity. By operating the bending operation knob with the endoscope operation section, the bending section in the insertion section is forcibly bent. The insertion portion is bent in this manner, but at this time, the respective built-in components arranged in the insertion portion relatively move in the axial direction as described above, and a force is applied to the built-in components to be pressed.

For this reason, there is a situation in which each optical fiber bundle which is particularly weak among the built-in components is affected and the optical fiber element is broken.

As a solution to such a drawback, there is a conventional technique in which an optical fiber bundle covered with an outer tube (protective tube) is further covered with another protective tube.
This includes, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. -160801.

In the case of Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 60-7801, as shown in FIG. 5, an optical fiber bundle 1 for illumination is guided and mounted inside a member of a distal end component 2 of an insertion portion. The outer periphery is covered over its entire length by the outer tube 3,
Further, the outer tube 3 is covered with a protective tube 4 at a portion closer to the hand than the distal end component 2. That is, the optical fiber bundle 1 for illumination has the outer tube 3 and the protective tube 4
Double covered by. The distal end of the outer tube 3 for protecting the optical fiber bundle for illumination 1 is a distal end component 2
The protective tube 4 is attached and fixed via a pipe 6 to the rear end wall of the member of the distal end component 2 via a base 5.

In this case, the inner diameter of the pipe 6 must be larger than the diameter through which the outer tube 3 passes so as not to interfere with the outer tube 3. For this reason, an extra space for the rear end portion of the front end component 2 is required by the amount of the pipe 6 attached.

Further, the bending piece 7 and the tip base 9 of the observation optical fiber bundle 8 are connected to the tip formation part 2 so that the bending piece 7 and the bending piece 7 of the bending section and the observation optical fiber bundle 8 can be disassembled when repaired. Are detachably fixed by screws 10 and 11. Therefore, a large space is taken also in this portion.

As described above, the space at the rear end of the distal end component 2 has no more room than the space of other portions of the distal end component 2,
In particular, the pipe 6 for attaching the distal end of the protective tube 4 of the optical fiber bundle 1 for illumination to the member of the distal end component 2 is sufficiently larger than the outer diameter of the outer tube 3 so as not to interfere with the outer tube 3 as described above. Therefore, a considerable amount of space is required, and as a result of attaching the pipe 6, the distal end portion 2 becomes thick.

On the other hand, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 160801/1985 discloses that, as shown in FIG. The tube 4 is fitted and fixed in a mounting hole 15 formed in the rear end wall portion of the member of the distal end portion 2 and having a large diameter.

Since the outer tube 3 passes through the inside of the protective tube 4, the inner diameter of the mounting hole 15 must be naturally larger than the outer diameter of the protective tube 4. Therefore, an extra space is required at the rear end portion of the distal end portion 2 by the provision of the mounting hole 15 having a large inner diameter, and the distal end portion 2 becomes thick as in the case of the previous example.

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] As described above, in the conventional case, extra space is required for attaching and fixing the protection tube 4 to the distal end component, and the diameter of the distal end component is increased. Therefore, there are drawbacks such as causing pain for the patient.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the purpose is to reduce the diameter of the distal end component of the insertion portion of the endoscope. The purpose is to reduce the pain given.

Means and Action for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, an endoscope according to the present invention includes a first protective tube for covering an optical fiber bundle in a distal end component of an insertion portion, and an insertion excluding the distal end component. A second protection tube that covers the portion of the optical fiber bundle located in the portion, a member interposed between the first protection tube and the second protection tube, connecting the two, and connecting the both; A cylindrical mounting member fixed to and covering the optical fiber bundle,
A third protection tube which is located in the insertion portion excluding the tip component and covers the second protection tube, and has a tip edge attached to the mounting member; The diameter is equal to or smaller than the inner diameter of the second protective tube.

Thus, between the first protective tube that covers the optical fiber bundle in the distal end component of the insertion portion and the second protective tube that covers the portion of the optical fiber bundle located in the insert except the distal end component. Since the two members are connected via the mounting member, the inner diameter of the mounting member can be reduced to about the inner diameter of the first protective tube or the second protective tube. Therefore, the diameter of the mounting member can be reduced, and the installation space for the mounting member in the vicinity of the rear end of the distal end portion can be reduced. For this reason, the diameter of the distal end component in the insertion section of the endoscope can be reduced.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows the distal end of the insertion section 20 of the endoscope. Inside the insertion portion 20, an optical fiber bundle 22 for illumination reaching a distal end component portion 21, a treatment instrument insertion tube 23 for inserting and guiding forceps and the like, a tube for air / water supply and an optical fiber for observation (not shown) A bundle is built in.

The distal end surface of the member 24 of the distal end forming portion 21 forms an inclined surface 25 inclined with respect to the axial direction. An illumination window 26 is provided on the inclined surface 25. A rising wall 28 perpendicular to the axial direction is provided between the illumination window 26 and the forceps port 27 adjacent thereto.
Are formed. The treatment instrument insertion tube 23 is connected to the forceps port 27 via a base 29 so that a processing tool such as the forceps 31 can be introduced into the body cavity through the treatment instrument insertion tube 23 and the forceps port 27. I have. The bending piece 32 of the bending portion is detachably fixed to the member 24 of the distal end component 21 by a screw 33.

On the other hand, the distal end side of the optical fiber bundle 22 for illumination is a distal end component.
The light is guided to the illumination window 26 through the light guide insertion hole 34 formed in the member 24 of 21, and is optically connected to the illumination window 26. Further, the distal end of the optical fiber bundle 22 for illumination is fixed to the member 24 via a base 35 fixed to the inner surface of the light guide insertion hole 34.

The optical fiber bundle 22 for illumination is formed by bundling a number of thin optical fiber elements, and is covered with first to third flexible protective tubes 36, 37, and 38, which will be described later. Each of the protection tubes 36, 37, 38 is formed of a flexible material.

Inner peripheral surfaces of the first and third protective tubes 36 and 38,
The inner and outer peripheral surfaces of the second protective tube 37 are coated with a solid lubricant such as molybdenum disulfide, for example, to enhance lubricity with those that come into contact with the solid lubricant. For this reason, the optical fiber bundle 22 for illumination
To prevent breakage by directly hitting other members and reducing friction in the axial direction at the time of bending.

The first protective tube 36 covers only the inside of the member 24 of the distal end component 21, that is, only the portion of the optical fiber bundle 22 for illumination located in the light guide insertion hole 34. The tip of the first protective tube 36 is fitted and fixed to the outer periphery of the rear end of the base 35,
The rear end of the first protective tube 36 is attached and fixed to a mounting member 39 described later.

In addition, the second protective tube 37 is provided inside the portion of the insertion section 20 excluding the distal end component section 21 so as to have the optical fiber bundle 22 for illumination.
The tip of the second protective tube 37 is fixedly attached to a mounting member 39.

Further, the third protective tube 38 is a second protective tube.
Similarly to 37, the inside of the portion of the insertion portion 20 excluding the distal end component portion 21 is further covered so as to further cover the second protective tube 37 covering the optical fiber bundle 22 for illumination. In other words, the portion of the optical fiber bundle 22 for illumination located closer to the distal end portion 21 of the insertion portion 20 than the second protection tube 37 and the third protection tube 37
Is double covered by a protective tube 38.

The distal end of the third protective tube 38 is attached and fixed to the mounting member 39 together with the second protective tube 37.

Further, the third protective tube 38 is formed of, for example, a porous tube made of a tetrafluoride resin, penetrates the inside of the portion of the insertion portion 20 except for the distal end component portion 21, and the rear end is not fixed but is at hand. Guided to the side. In particular, the third protective tube 38 prevents breakage of the optical fiber bundle 22 by preventing deformation of the second protective tube 37 received from other internal components when the insertion section 20 is bent or bent. is there.

The mounting member 39 is formed of a rigid cylindrical body having an outer diameter adapted to the inner diameter of the rear end portion of the light guide insertion passage 34, and as shown in FIG. It is fixed by means of screws or adhesive in a fitted state except for the parts. Further, the front end portion of the mounting member 39 is formed as a small-diameter first flange portion 41, and the rear end of the above-described first protective tube 36 is fitted to the first flange portion 41 by bonding. It is stuck. Further, the mounting member 39
Is formed as a small-diameter second flange portion 42, and the second flange portion 42 protrudes closer to the proximal side than the member 24 of the distal end configuration portion 21. The front edge of the above-mentioned second protection tube 37 is fitted to the second flange portion 42, and the front edge of the above-mentioned third protection tube 38 is fitted over the outside thereof. These parts are adhered by an adhesive, and a thread 43 is wound around the outer periphery thereof, and the two parts are fastened and fixed. In order to increase the fixing strength, a concave portion 44 is formed annularly on the outer peripheral surface of the second flange portion 42 so that the fitting edge portion of each of the protective tubes 37 and 38 falls and is tightened. I have.

In this way, the optical fiber bundle 22 for illumination is
Covered and protected by 7,38. The first protective tube 36 and the second protective tube 37 are formed to have a relatively small diameter and a small thickness, and the same one is used in this embodiment. The third protective tube 38 is formed relatively thick and thick. The first protective tube 36 and the second protective tube 37 are fixed to the member 24 of the distal end component 21 with the mounting member 39 interposed therebetween, but substantially one outer tube as a whole. Has the function of directly protecting many thin optical fiber elements.

By the way, in order to give flexibility to the optical fiber bundle 22 for illumination, the filling rate of the second protective tube 37 covering the optical fiber bundle 22 with respect to the optical fiber bundle 22 (radial cut of the optical fiber bundle in the radial direction). (The ratio of the area to the inner diameter cross-sectional area of the protective tube) is in the range of 60 to 90%.

In addition, the first protection tube 36 and the second protection tube 37
Forms a single exterior tube with a mounting member 39 interposed between them, but the mounting position of the mounting member 39 is
This is a rear end portion of the member 24 of the distal end component 21 made of a rigid member. Since this portion does not require flexibility, the filling rate of the optical fiber bundle 22 can be increased. Therefore, the inner diameter of the mounting member 39 and the first protective tube 36 is equal to the inner diameter of the second protective tube 37, or
It can be smaller. Therefore, the inner diameter of the light guide insertion passage 34 is adjusted by the base 35 and the first protection tube.
It can be as small as the inside diameter through which 36 passes.

Although only one optical fiber bundle 22 for illumination is shown in FIG. 1, two optical fiber bundles 22 are provided, and the rear end side of each optical fiber bundle 22 for illumination is a second protective tube 27. Of the light guide cable, and are integrated into a light guide cable. And it reaches the connector part which is inserted in the light guide cable and is connected to the external light source device for illumination.

Next, an assembling sequence around the illumination optical fiber bundle 22 in the above configuration will be described. First, the optical fiber bundle 22 for illumination is inserted into the single base 35, and the tip of the optical fiber bundle 22 for illumination is
Fix to 35 with adhesive. Thereafter, the end surfaces of the optical fiber bundle 22 for illumination and the base 35 are polished.

Thereafter, the first protective tube 36 is cut to a length such that the front end is the base 35 and the rear end is the mounting member 39. Then, the rear end of the first protection tube 36 is connected to the first flange portion of the mounting member 39.
It is fitted and fixed to 41. Then, the first protective tube 36 and the mounting member 39 are fitted to the optical fiber bundle 22. Further, the tip of the first protection tube 36 is fitted to the base 35 and fixed by adhesion.

Further, the second protective tube 37 is put on the optical fiber bundle 22, and the tip of the second protective tube 37 is fitted on the second flange portion 42 of the mounting member 39 and is adhesively fixed.

Next, the third protection tube 38 is connected to the second protection tube 37.
And the distal end of the third protective tube 38 is fitted on the outer periphery of the distal end of the second protective tube 37 fitted on the second flange 42 of the mounting member 39. And the outer periphery thereof is wound and fixed with a thread 43.

Thus, an assembly including the optical fiber bundle 22, the base 35, the first protective tube 36, the mounting member 39, the second protective tube 37, and the third protective tube 38 is inserted into the light guide insertion passage from the metal port 25 side. Insert into 34. After that, the outer peripheral surface of the front end of the base 35 of the assembly is fixed to the member 24 of the front end component 21 and is mounted on the front surface of the base 35 in alignment with the illumination window.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show a second embodiment of the present invention.

The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the configuration of the mounting member 39 to be attached to the member 24 of the distal end component 21. In addition, an opening 45 cut out downward is provided in the middle of the light gas insertion passage 34, and this opening 45 is covered.
What is different is the sealing at 46.

The mounting member 39 is provided with a flange 47 at its proximal end, and the positioning of the mounting member 39 is determined by the light guide insertion passage 34.
The mounting is performed by inserting the mounting member 39 to the rear end face 48 of the member 24 of the distal end component 21 with the flange 47. At this point, the mounting member 39 is fixed at that position by screwing or bonding.

An opening 45 is formed below the light guide insertion passage 34 of the distal end component 21, and an optical fiber bundle for illumination is formed in the opening 45.
A first protection tube 36 into which the 22 has been inserted is arranged.

Also in this embodiment, the optical fiber bundle 22, the base 35, the first protective tube 36, the mounting member 39, the second protective tube 37,
The third protective tube 38 is assembled as described above. Then, the subassembly is inserted through the light guide insertion passage 34, and at this time, the opening of the opening 45 is used. Then, the base 35 of the optical fiber bundle 22 is fixed to the distal end of the distal end component 21, and the illumination window is attached from the distal end of the inclined surface. And
The mounting member 39 abuts the flange 47 against the rear end surface 48 of the member 24 of the distal end component 21 to position and fix the flange 47.

Finally, the assembly of the optical fiber bundle 22 for illumination is completed by externally fixing the opening 45 with the cover 46.

Thus, according to this configuration, the light guide insertion passage 34
Is cut out to form an opening 45, so that when the assembly is inserted into the light guide insertion passage 34 of the distal end component 21,
Since the insertion work can be performed using the opening portion 45, the insertion can be easily performed up to the inclined front end portion.

Further, since the mounting member 39 is provided with the flange 47, positioning when the mounting member 39 is fixed is facilitated.

 FIG. 4 shows a third embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the light guide insertion passage 34 is
This is an example in the case of being tilted with respect to the axis. Mounting member 39
Is bent in the middle, and is inclined along the axis of the light guide insertion passage 34 at the distal end component 21 side. The portion on the front side of the distal end configuration portion 21 is parallel to the curved portion of the insertion portion 20. Other structures are the same as those of the above-described embodiment, and the assembling order is the same as that of the above-described embodiment.

According to the configuration of the third embodiment, the dead space of the distal end component 21 can be effectively used by providing the light guide insertion passage 34 at an angle.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be applied to a side-view type endoscope, an endoscope without a curved tube, and the like.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the present invention provides a first protection tube that covers an optical fiber bundle in a distal end component of an insertion portion, and a portion of the optical fiber bundle located in the insertion portion excluding the distal end component. Since the attachment member is interposed between the first protection tube and the second protection tube, the attachment member is interposed between the first protection tube and the second protection tube. it can. Therefore, the diameter of the mounting member can be reduced, and the installation space for the mounting member in the vicinity of the rear end of the distal end portion can be reduced. For this reason, the diameter of the distal end component in the insertion section of the endoscope can be reduced. In the case of a medical endoscope, the pain given to the patient can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of the distal end portion of the insertion portion in the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the main portion of the distal end portion of the insert portion in the second embodiment of the present invention. And FIG. 3 shows the second
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of a main part of a distal end component of the insertion portion in the third embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. It is a sectional side view of a tip constituent part of an insertion part. 20 ... insertion part, 21 ... tip constituent part, 22 ... optical fiber bundle for lighting,
24 ... member, 36 ... first protection tube, 37 ... second protection tube, 38 ... third protection tube, 39 ... mounting member.

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A first protective tube for covering an optical fiber bundle in a distal end component of an insertion portion, a second protective tube for covering a portion of the optical fiber bundle located in the insert portion excluding the distal end component, A tubular mounting member interposed between the first protective tube and the second protective tube for connecting the two, and fixed to the member of the distal end component, and covering the optical fiber bundle; A third protection tube, which is located in the insertion portion excluding the component and covers the second protection tube and has a distal end edge attached to the mounting member, and has an inner diameter of the first protection tube which is equal to the third protection tube. An endoscope wherein the inner diameter of the endoscope is equal to or smaller than the inner diameter of the protective tube.