JP2693992B2 - Endoscope bending operation device - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a bending operation device for an endoscope for forcibly bending a bending portion of an insertion portion.

[Prior Art] Recently, in order to forcibly bend the bending portion in the insertion portion of the endoscope, an electric motor is incorporated in the operation portion of the endoscope, and the power of the electric motor is used to perform bending operation. It has been proposed to pull a pulling member to remotely bend the bending portion. For example, JP-A-61-12261
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 9 discloses a device in which a pulse motor is installed in the operation unit, and the wire drum (pulley) is rotationally driven by the pulse motor to rotationally drive the wire drum to wind the bending operation wire. There is. According to this electric bending operation device, the operability is remarkably improved as compared with the conventional manual operation device.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional electric type, since the operating section accommodates the device section such as the electric motor, the operating section tends to be large in size. There was a problem of inhibiting sex.

In addition, a considerably large driving force is required to perform the bending operation. Therefore, a method has been proposed, such as DE2504663 C2, that increases the drive torque by using a reduction gear mechanism, but the tendency to increase the size of the operating section of the endoscope by providing this reduction gear mechanism. was there.

Further, since a normal endoscope performs a bending operation in the up-down direction and a bending operation in the left-right direction, two bending operation device sections are installed in the same operation section to perform the bending operation in each direction. Therefore, it will be larger than that.

By the way, as a method of arranging the two bending operation device portions in the operation portion 1 of the endoscope, as shown in FIG. 7, a method of arranging the motors 2, 2 symmetrically, and as shown in FIG. In addition, it is conceivable to shift the motors 2, 2 in the longitudinal direction of the operation unit 1 and arrange them in the front and rear.

However, as shown in FIG. 7, in the system in which the motors 2, 2 are symmetrically arranged, the thickness of the operation section 1 of the endoscope becomes too large. In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, the operation unit 1 becomes too long in a system in which the motors 2 and 2 are displaced in the longitudinal direction of the operation unit 1 and arranged in front and rear. It was difficult to operate any of them.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to transmit power to a bending operation rotating body in an endoscope bending operation device using a bending operation drive motor as a drive source. It is an object of the present invention to provide a bending operation device for an endoscope, in which a transmission gear train is used in the above and the arrangement structure thereof is taken into consideration so that the operation portion of the endoscope can be made compact.

[Means and Actions for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, a bending operation device for an endoscope according to the present invention accommodates two bending operation device portions in an operation portion of the endoscope, and each bending operation is performed. Each of the device parts includes a bending operation driving motor, a transmission gear train rotatably driven by the motor, a traction operation rotating body rotatably driven by the bending operation drive motor via the transmission gear train, and a rotation operation unit. The traction member is wound around the body and is inserted through the insertion portion of the endoscope to the distal end side, and when the traction operation is performed along with the rotation of the rotating body, the traction member bends the bending portion of the insertion portion. The pulling operation rotating body in each bending operation device section is arranged so as to be positioned on the other bending operation device side with respect to the transmission gear train in the bending operation device section itself, and further, the rotation shaft of the motor and the pulling operation are performed. The rotating shaft of the rotating body is parallel to each other, the two shafts are orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the endoscope, and the gears forming the transmission gear train are disk-shaped gears, and the shafts of the gears are the motors described above. It is arranged in parallel with the rotation axis of the and the rotation axis of the pulling operation rotating body.

Therefore, according to this structure, the bending drive motor can be made as small as possible by increasing the driving force by the transmission gear mechanism. Also, since the rotating body is arranged inside the transmission gear train and the transmission gear train is arranged outside, the operating portion of the endoscope can be made compact without lengthening or thickening the operating portion. Can be planned.

Embodiment FIG. 1 to FIG. 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 shows a schematic configuration of the entire endoscope apparatus. The endoscope 11 is of the electronic type, which has an insert 1
2, an operation portion 13, and a light guide universal cord 14, and the insertion portion 12 is formed of a tip forming portion 15, a bending portion 16, and a flexible tube portion 17. Also,
The air / water switch button 19 and the suction switch button 2 are provided on the operation unit 13.
0 and a bending operation switch unit 21 are provided. The bending operation switch portion 21 has an upward switch button 21a for use when bending the bending portion 16 as described later,
A downward switch button 21b, a leftward switch button 21c, and a rightward switch button 21d are provided. Further, a connector 22 for connecting to the illumination light source device 60 is attached to the extending tip of the light guide universal cord 14.

A motor control unit 61 is provided in the main body of the lighting light source device 60.
And a video signal processing unit 62, which are electrically connected to the endoscope 11 side when the connector 22 of the endoscope 11 is connected to the illumination light source device 60. The image signal processed by the video signal processing unit 62 is displayed on the monitor 63.
Is transmitted to

The motor control unit 61 may be separate from the illumination light source device 60.

1 and 2 show the structure of a bending operation device incorporated in the operation portion 13 of the endoscope 11. That is, the operation unit
The case 25 of 13 consists of a main frame 26 and a sub-frame 27 with a certain space between them to form a space 2
The pair of frames 28, 28 are arranged symmetrically on the left and right sides. Then, the bending operation device portion 29 for vertical bending operation is assembled to the one frame 28, and the bending operation device portion (not shown) for left and right bending operation is assembled to the other frame 28. In FIG. 1, only one of the bending operation device portions 29 for vertical bending operation is shown. Since these bending operation device sections 29 have the same configuration, one of the bending operation device sections 29 for vertical bending operation will be specifically described.

That is, the ultrasonic motor unit 31 is incorporated in the sub-frame 27 supported by the main frame 26.
The ultrasonic motor 32 in this ultrasonic motor unit 31 is composed of a disk-shaped stator 33 and a rotor 34 that is in close contact with the surface of the stator 33 facing the case 25 side in the peripheral portion, and is located on the opposite side of the rotor 34. A piezoelectric body 35 is adhesively fixed to the surface of the peripheral portion of the stator 33 located. Rotor 34
Is fitted and fixed to the tip of the rotary shaft 36. Axis of rotation
36 is a thrust bearing 37 and the first radial bearing
It is pivotally supported by 38 and. The thrust bearing 37 and the first radial bearing 38 are housed and held in a first bearing box 39. The first bearing box 39 is joined to the sub-frame 27 and fixed by screws 41. Further, the stator 33 is fitted on the outer periphery of the first bearing box 39,
The stator 33 is tightened and fixed by a nut 43 screwed into a screw 42 formed on the outer circumference of the first bearing box 39. That is, the stator 33 is fixed and cannot rotate.

The thrust bearing 37 is supported at a fixed position on the rotary shaft 36 by a snap ring 45 fitted through a washer 47 into a groove 46 provided on the peripheral surface of the rotary shaft 36.

The inner end portion of the rotary shaft 36 is supported by the second radial bearing 48 attached to the main frame 26. The second radial bearing 48 is supported by the second bearing box 70.

On the other hand, a disc spring 49 is attached by caulking to the outer end portion of the rotating shaft 36 thus supported, and the disc spring 49 strongly urges the rotor 34 against the stator 33. Further, an arbitrary biasing force can be selected by changing the thickness and the number of the washers 47 described above.

A rubber sheet 44 is provided between the rotor 34 and the disc spring 49 to protect the rotor 34 from damage and prevent the rotor 34 and the rotary shaft 36 from slipping.

A rotating shaft 36 of the ultrasonic motor unit 31 has a first radial bearing 38 and a second radial bearing 38.
Transmission gear train as a transmission gear mechanism located in the middle of 48
50 drive gears 51 are fixed by means such as shrink fitting. The drive gear 51 is a disc-shaped gear and meshes with a driven gear 52 which is also a disc-shaped gear. The driven gear 52 is a shaft 53 installed between the main frame 26 and the sub frame 27.
It is supported so that it can rotate freely. A washer 54 made of resin, for example, is interposed between the driven gear 52 and the sub-frame 27 so that the rotation thereof becomes smooth.
Further, between the driven gear 52 and the main frame 26, a sprocket 55 as a traction rotating body is supported so as to be freely rotatable with respect to the shaft 53 thereof. Further, the driven gear 52 and the sprocket 55 are coupled by an engaging means or, for example, a screw (not shown) so as to rotate integrally.

Further, a chain 56 is wound around the sprocket 55 as shown in FIG. 3, and bending operation wires 58, 58 are connected to respective ends of the chain 56 via connecting pieces 57, 57. The chain 56 and the bending operation wires 58, 58 form a pulling member. Also, each bending operation wire 58,5
Reference numeral 8 is connected to the tip of the bending portion 16 or the rear end of the tip forming portion 15 through the insertion portion 12. Then, as described later, when the sprocket 55 rotates, the bending operation wires 58, 58 are pushed and pulled according to the rotating direction to bend the bending portion 16. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a partition plate 59 is installed between the transmission gear train 50 and the chain 56 side to prevent the two from contacting each other.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the rotary shaft 36 and the sprocket 55
The shafts 53 are arranged parallel to each other with a shift in the longitudinal axis direction of the operating portion 13. The width a between the chains 56 corresponding to the outer diameter of the sprocket 55 is the second bearing box 70.
Is larger than the outer diameter d. Therefore, the second bearing box 70 is arranged with a margin between the chains 56, so that the chain 56 does not contact the second bearing box 70.

Next, the operation of the bending operation device section 29 will be described. First, the insertion section 12 of the endoscope 11 is inserted into a body cavity, and when the bending section 16 is desired to be bent upward at this time, the operator presses the upward switch button 21a of the bending operation switch section 21. As a result, a controlled drive voltage is applied to the piezoelectric body 35 of the stator 33, and a traveling wave having a predetermined direction is generated in the stator 33. As a result, the rotor 34 rotates in a predetermined direction by the traveling wave. The rotation of the rotor 34 is transmitted to the rotary shaft 36, and the drive gear 51 attached to the rotary shaft 36 is rotated. Furthermore, the rotation of the drive gear 51 is driven by the driven gear.
The sprocket 55, which is transmitted to 52, is driven to rotate. Then, the chain 56 is rotated and the upper bending operation wire 58 connected to one end thereof is pulled, and the lower bending operation wire 58 is paid out. As a result, the bending portion 16 is forcibly bent upward.

In this transmission gear train 50, the diameter of the driven gear 52 is made sufficiently smaller than the diameter of the driving gear 51, so that the driving force can be increased. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the drive gear 51
The sprocket 55 and the sprocket 55 are arranged in the axial direction of the operating portion 13 while being displaced,
Since the width a between the 56 is made larger than the outer diameter d of the second bearing box 70, the chain 56 does not come into contact with the outer periphery of the second bearing box 70 and the movement is not hindered.

On the other hand, when you want to bend the bending portion 16 downward, press the downward switch button 21b in the bending operation switch portion 21,
When it is desired to bend the bending portion 16 to the left, the left direction switch button 21c of the bending operation switch portion 21 is pressed to bend the bending portion 16
When the user wants to bend to the right, the user presses the right direction switch button 21d of the bending operation switch section 21 to bend it to the desired direction in the same manner as above. When the bending portion 16 is bent in the left-right direction, it is operated by the other bending operation device portion (not shown) symmetrically provided on the bending operation device portion 29.

A pulley may be used instead of the sprocket 55 in the embodiment having the above configuration, and a pulling wire may be used instead of the chain 56.

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a DC motor 65 is used instead of the ultrasonic motor unit 31. The drive gear 51 similar to the above is fixed to the rotating shaft 66 of the DC motor 65.

Therefore, by using the DC motor 65, the driving voltage can be lowered as compared with the case where the ultrasonic motor is used, and the safety, economy, etc. can be improved.

FIG. 6 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, in the configuration of the second embodiment, the endoscope 11 is a fiberscope type,
For this reason, the operation portion 13 is provided with an eyepiece portion 18.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications can be considered within the scope of the invention. In each of the above embodiments, the bending operation drive motor is a vibration wave motor of another method or an AC
A rotary motor such as a motor or a pulse motor may be used.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, 2
Since the bending pulling operation rotating body is arranged inside each of the transmission gear trains in one bending operation device section, the operating section can be made compact without lengthening or thickening the operation section. . Further, by increasing the driving force with the transmission gear train, the driving motor can be made as small as possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a bending operation device portion according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is also a bending according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the arrangement of the operating device section, FIG. 4 is a side view showing the entire endoscope of the same first embodiment, and FIG. 5 is an explanation of the arrangement of the bending operation device portion in the second embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 6 and 6 are layout explanatory views of the bending operation device section according to the third embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are layout explanatory views of the bending operation device section of the system considered so far. 11 …… Endoscope, 12 …… Insertion part, 16 …… Bending part, 21 …… Bending operation switch part, 26 …… Main frame, 29 …… Bending operation device part, 31 …… Ultrasonic motor unit, 32 ...... Ultrasonic motor, 36 …… Rotary shaft, 50 …… Transmission gear train, 51 …… Drive gear, 52 …… Driven gear, 53 …… Shaft, 55 …… Sprocket, 56 …… Chain, 58 …… Bend Operating wire, 61
...... Pulley, 62 …… Truck wire, 65 …… DC motor.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An endoscope operation section accommodates two bending operation device sections, and each of the bending operation apparatus sections includes a bending operation drive motor, a transmission gear train rotationally driven by the motor, and the bending operation drive motor. A traction operation rotating body that is rotatably driven by the bending operation driving motor through a transmission gear train, and a rotative body that is wound around this rotating body and inserted through the insertion portion of the endoscope to the distal end side, And a pulling member that bends the bending portion of the insertion portion when the pulling operation is performed along with the pulling operation rotating body in each bending operating device portion to the transmission gear train in the bending operating device portion itself. On the other hand, it is positioned on the other bending operation device side, and the rotation axis of the motor and the rotation axis of the traction operation rotor are parallel to each other,
These two shafts are orthogonal to the length direction of the endoscope, and the gears that form the transmission gear train are disc-shaped gears, and the shafts of these gears rotate the rotation shaft of the motor and the rotating body for traction operation. A bending operation device for an endoscope, which is arranged parallel to an axis.