JP2753279B2 - Endoscope - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention has a built-in component such as an image transmission unit and an illumination light transmission unit in a flexible insertion portion, and the insertion portion is bent by a hand operation. An endoscope having a possible curved tube section.

[Conventional technology]

An endoscope capable of observing the inside of a body cavity and treating an affected part includes an operation part and an insertion part. The insertion part has an image transmission means such as an image guide fiber and an illumination light transmission made of a light guide fiber. Means are furnished. Further, a bending tube portion is provided on the distal end side of the insertion portion, and is configured to bend the bending tube portion in a desired direction by performing a bending operation with a bending operation knob provided on the operation portion. . Therefore, the bending tube portion is repeatedly bent, and in order to withstand this, a plurality of bending pieces are generally connected by a pivot pin, and the outer periphery is covered with a soft outer tube via a blade. ing.

However, the outer tube of the bending tube part is deteriorated, a bending habit is formed, and an angle wire for bending the bending tube part is extended, so that play occurs in the bending mechanism.
Therefore, when the angle wire is not loaded (at the time of angle neutral), the curved tube portion does not become straight,
There is a drawback that a curved state has a bending habit.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem,
As shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-258675, there is known a structure in which a core material made of a superelastic alloy is embedded in an axial direction of an insertion portion, or a flex is made of a superelastic alloy.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, the insertion part of the endoscope is not only its outer tube and flex, but also the image guide fiber,
The built-in components such as the light guide fiber and each channel tube have a tendency to bend due to aging, and when bent in this state, there is a problem that the built-in components are buckled and the built-in components are damaged.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an endoscope which can prevent a bending habit of an insertion portion by a superelastic action and can prevent damage to a built-in component. is there.

[Means and actions for solving the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an insertion portion having a bending tube portion and a flexible tube portion rotatably connecting a plurality of bending pieces that can be bent by advancing and retreating of a distal end configuration portion and an angle wire, An operating portion provided with an angle knob connected to the proximal end side of the insertion portion to operate the angle wire, wherein the angle wire is inserted into the insertion portion, and the distal end portion is connected to the distal end portion. In an endoscope having a base end connected to the angle knob, the endoscope is inserted into a guide ring disposed on the plurality of bending pieces, and one end is connected to the distal end component and the other end is set to the base end of the bending tube. A super-elastic metal wire stretched in the bending tube portion in parallel with the angle wire is provided so that the super-elastic metal wire can be restored straight by the restoring action of the super-elastic metal wire even if the bending operation is repeatedly performed. Lies in the fact was.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 2 shows the entire endoscope. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an endoscope main body, which comprises an operation section 2 and a flexible insertion section 3. The operation unit 2 includes an eyepiece unit 4,
A bending operation knob 5 is provided, and as shown in FIG. 1, an image guide fiber 6 as an image transmission means and a light guide fiber 7 as an illumination light transmission means are provided in the insertion section 3. The image guide fiber 6 is optically connected to the eyepiece 4, and the light guide fiber 7 is connected to a light source device (not shown) via the operation unit 2 and the light guide cord 8. ing. Further, the insertion portion 3 includes a flexible tube portion 9, a bending tube portion 10, and a tip configuration portion 11, and the bending tube portion 10 rotatably connects a plurality of bending pieces 12 by pivot pins 13. , And its outer periphery is covered with a flexible outer skin 14. A guide ring 15 is provided inside the bending piece 12, and the guide ring 15 is provided.
The angle wire 16 is inserted through the hole. The proximal end of the angle wire 16 is connected to the bending operation knob 5 and the distal end of the angle wire 16 is connected to the distal end configuration portion 11. The unit 10 is configured to bend in an arbitrary direction. In addition, an objective lens 17 that is optically connected to the image guide fiber 6 is provided at a central portion of the distal end portion 11, and the light guide fiber 7 is arranged on the outer periphery of the objective lens 17 in a focused state. .

Further, one stay wire is provided in parallel with the angle wire 16 on the guide ring 15 through which the angle wire 16 is inserted.
18 has been inserted. One end of the stay wire 18 is connected to the distal end portion 11, and the other end is extended to near the boundary between the curved tube 10 and the flexible tube 9. This stay wire 18 is formed of a superelastic alloy. The material of this superelastic alloy is made of a Ti-Ni alloy or a Cu-Zn-Al alloy, and is generally the same as a shape memory alloy (SMA), but a martensitic phase (M phase)
It is a property that develops at a temperature equal to or higher than the transformation temperature Af from a phase to an austenite phase (area) which is a high temperature phase (mother phase).
Therefore, when deformed in the operating temperature range of the endoscope, stress-induced martensite is generated, and when the external force is removed, the phase returns to the original phase, thereby generating a thermoelastic martensite transformation exhibiting superelastic behavior.

Next, the operation of the endoscope configured as described above will be described. When a bending operation knob 5 provided on the operation unit 2 is operated by a finger, an angle wire connected thereto is operated.
When the bending tube 12 of the bending tube portion 10 rotates and the bending tube portion 10 bends and the finger is released from the bending operation knob 5, the bending tube portion 10 is restored to the straight, that is, the original state. . At this time, the curved tube portion 10 is covered with a flexible outer skin 14,
In addition to the resiliency of this shell 14, a super-elastic alloy stay wire
Even if the bending tube 10 is straightened by the super-elastic restoring force 18 and the outer skin 14 is deteriorated due to repeated bending, the stay wire 18 improves the resilience of the bending tube 10 and protects the internal components. Can be.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, a guide ring provided in a plurality of bending pieces is inserted, and one end is connected to the distal end component and the other end is connected to the base end of the bending pipe, so that the bending pipe is inserted into the bending pipe. By providing a stretched super-elastic metal wire, the deterioration of the resilience of the curved tube part caused by the outer sheath and deterioration of the insertion part and the bending habit and elongation of the angle wire is eliminated, and excellent resilience over a long period of time And the built-in components can be protected.

Further, by inserting the super-elastic metal wire through the guide ring of the bending piece, it is possible to not only prevent the super-elastic metal wire from being displaced in the circumferential direction of the bending tube portion and damage the built-in component, The elastic restoring force of the superelastic metal wire is directly transmitted to the bending piece, and the bending tube portion is restored straight to its original state, thereby improving the restoring property.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal side view of the distal end side of an insertion portion, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the entire endoscope. Reference numeral 3 denotes an insertion portion, 6 denotes an image guide fiber (image transmission means), 7 denotes a light guide fiber (illumination light transmission means), 10 denotes a curved tube portion, and 18 denotes a stay wire (super-elastic metal wire).

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An insertion portion having a bending tube portion and a flexible tube portion rotatably connecting a plurality of bending pieces that can be bent by the forward and backward movement of an angle wire, and a proximal end side of the insertion portion. And an operating portion provided with an angle knob for operating the angle wire, the angle wire being inserted into the insertion portion, the distal end portion of the operating portion being connected to the distal end portion, and the base end portion being connected to the angle portion. In an endoscope connected to each of the knobs, the endoscope is inserted into guide rings provided on the plurality of bending pieces, and one end is connected to the distal end forming portion and the other end is connected to the base end of the bending tube. An endoscope comprising a superelastic metal wire stretched inside the curved tube portion in parallel with the wire.