JP3276712B2 - Cover-type endoscope - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cover-type endoscope which can be easily inserted and removed when a cover endoscope is inserted into an endoscope cover for use.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, endoscopes have been widely used in the medical field and the like. In particular, when the endoscope used in the medical field is inserted into a living body, the observation window provided at the distal end portion of the insertion portion may become dirty due to adhesion of dirt, mucus, etc. of the affected part, making it impossible to sufficiently observe. is there. For this reason, the endoscope is operated by the operation on the near side and the liquid is sent to the observation window for cleaning,
An air supply / water supply function is provided to blow off remaining water by air supply.

Further, an endoscope is provided with a suction conduit for sucking and discharging unnecessary dirt and mucus, and is used for collecting tissue with biopsy forceps or performing a treatment with a treatment tool. Some have a forceps channel (treatment instrument channel).

As described above, an endoscope used in the medical field adheres to an insertion portion or a tip thereof when inserted into a body cavity of a patient, so that the endoscope used once for the patient is washed. It was necessary to surely prevent infectious diseases and the like by performing sterilization treatment and the like.

[0005] In particular, since the above-mentioned conduit communicates with the outside of the body from the distal end opening that opens in the body cavity of the patient through the conduit that penetrates through the insertion portion, the inside of the conduit including this distal opening is open. Must be completely cleaned and disinfected.However, it takes a lot of time and effort for the user to completely clean and disinfect the pipeline, which is a factor that reduces the use efficiency of the endoscope. I was

For this reason, recently, the endoscope itself is covered with a cover (hereinafter referred to as an endoscope cover) and inserted into a body cavity, and the endoscope after use is discarded for each floor, thereby disposing the endoscope. A so-called cover-type endoscope that simplifies the cleaning and disinfection of the mirror is employed. This cover-type endoscope is provided with a distal end opening portion opening into a body cavity of a patient and respective conduits on the endoscope cover side, and includes an observation unit and an illumination unit that do not need to be opened in the body cavity of the patient. It is provided on the endoscope side.

That is, when performing an endoscopic examination, the endoscope for cover is inserted into the endoscope cover to perform examination / treatment inside the body cavity, so that the endoscope becomes dirty during the examination / treatment. The endoscope cover is discarded after the inspection and treatment is completed, thereby simplifying cleaning and disinfection.

[0008]

However, a plurality of joint pieces are continuously provided at the insertion portion of the cover endoscope to be inserted into the endoscope cover, and the joint pieces are covered with a flexible resin cover. Since the formed curved portion is provided, when the cover endoscope is inserted into the endoscope cover, the flexible resin cover outer surface forming the curved portion and the insertion portion cover portion of the endoscope cover are formed. It was inserted in contact with the inner surface.

For this reason, when the frictional resistance between the outer surface of the resin cover and the inner surface of the insertion portion cover increases, the insertability of the cover endoscope into the endoscope cover deteriorates, and the insertion is difficult. There was a possibility that a problem would occur.

Further, there is a fear that the resin cover forming the curved portion of the cover endoscope that is repeatedly inserted into and removed from the endoscope cover may be worn or deteriorated by the above-mentioned frictional resistance.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and facilitates insertion and removal of a cover endoscope from an endoscope cover, and a resin cover forming a curved portion of the cover endoscope. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cover-type endoscope that prevents wear and deterioration.

[0012]

A cover type endoscope according to the present invention is a cover type endoscope having an endoscope cover and a cover endoscope used by being inserted into the endoscope cover. In addition, an enlarged portion having a diameter larger than the maximum diameter of the curved portion is provided near the distal end portion of the curved portion and near the rear end portion of the curved portion of the cover endoscope.

[0013]

With this configuration, when the cover endoscope is inserted into and removed from the endoscope cover, the enlarged portion provided near the front end of the curved portion and near the rear end of the curved portion of the cover endoscope is covered with the endoscope cover. Inserted / removed by contacting the inner peripheral surface.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 to 6 relate to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a schematic configuration of an endoscope apparatus using a cover type endoscope, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a configuration of an endoscope cover, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a cover endoscope, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a main configuration of a curved portion of the cover endoscope, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between the cover endoscope and a projection member. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the cover endoscope is inserted into the endoscope cover.

In this embodiment, the endoscope used is an electronic endoscope, and the endoscope cover has a channel.

As shown in FIG. 1, an endoscope apparatus 1 is an apparatus having a cover type endoscope 2. The cover type endoscope 2
It comprises an endoscope cover 3 and a cover endoscope 4 which is inserted into and removed from the endoscope cover 3. The endoscope apparatus 1 includes a cart 5 in which various peripheral devices and the like connected to the cover type endoscope 2 are provided, and a cover holder 6 for holding the cover type endoscope 2. ing.

The cart 5 includes, for example, a light source device 7,
Video processor 8, fluid control device 9, endoscope cover 3
An endoscope cover extender (hereinafter referred to as an extender) 10 and the like used when inserting the cover endoscope 4 into the cart 5 are accommodated. An image signal from the video processor 8 is received on the upper surface of the cart 5. A monitor 11 for displaying an endoscope image is mounted.

The cover endoscope 4 has an operation unit 12 which also serves as a large-diameter grip at the proximal end of the elongated endoscope insertion unit 14 on the proximal side.
The universal cord 13 extends from the side of the operation unit 12, and a connector 19 is provided at an end of the universal cord 13.

The light source device 7 supplies illumination light to the endoscope 4 for the cover, and the light source device 7 and the endoscope 4 for the cover are provided.
Can be detachably connected via a connector 19.

The video processor 8 includes the connector 19
Can be detachably connected to the cover endoscope 4 via a signal cable 21 extending from a side of the cover endoscope, and drives an image pickup unit built in the cover endoscope 4 and outputs a signal from the image pickup unit. Is converted to a standard video signal and output to the monitor 11.

The dilator 10 sends air into the endoscope cover to expand the endoscope cover 3. The dilator 10 extends an expansion tube 34 that feeds air to the endoscope or the bar 3. Is out.

The cover holder 6 holds the base end side of the endoscope cover 3 when the cover endoscope 4 is inserted into or removed from the endoscope cover 3.

The fluid control device 9 has an air supply control valve 35, a water supply control valve 36, and a suction control valve 37, and controls air supply, water supply, and suction with these control valves. In addition,
The air supply control valve 35, the water supply control valve 36, and the suction control valve 37
Each of the air supply pipes 26 extending to the insertion part cover part 22,
The water supply pipe 27 and the suction pipe 28 are connected. A suction tube 38 is connected to the suction control valve 37,
A suction device (not shown) is connected to the end of the endoscope so as to suction unnecessary body fluid from the end of the endoscope.
A water supply tube 39 is connected to the water supply control valve 36, and a water supply tank 33 is connected to a distal end of the water supply tube 39. Further, two air supply tubes 40 extend from the fluid control device 9, and include an air supply control valve 35 and a water supply tank 33.
And connected to.

The endoscope cover 3 is composed of a soft insertion portion cover portion 22 and a thin and soft operation portion cover portion 23 and a universal code cover portion 24 made of a polymer material such as vinyl chloride. The insertion section cover section 22 connects the endoscope insertion section 14 with the operation section cover section 2.
Reference numeral 3 covers the operation unit 12, and the universal code cover unit 24 covers the universal code 13.

As shown in FIG. 2, the insertion portion cover portion 22 of the endoscope cover 3 has a cover outer skin 31, a channel tube 45, a water supply tube 39 (not shown),
An air supply tube 40 (not shown) and a partition member 32 are attached. 1 is provided on the base end side of the cover outer cover 31.
Is connected.

Further, the cover outer cover 3 of the insertion portion cover 22 is provided.
An endoscope insertion channel 25 for inserting the cover endoscope 4 is formed by a partition member 32 in the interior covered by 1.

An objective cover lens 52 and an illumination cover lens 53 are provided at the distal end portion 29 of the insertion portion cover portion 22, and an opening 43 of a channel tube, which is an opening into a body cavity, and air / water supply. A nozzle 44 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 3, the endoscope 4 for a cover comprises an insertion portion with a distal end portion 16, a curved portion 17, and a flexible tube portion 18, while a one-plane portion 1 continuous over the entire length of the insertion portion.
5 is formed so as to form a substantially D-shaped cross-sectional shape, and this flat portion 15 is used as a partition member 32 of the endoscope cover 3.
Along with the endoscope cover 3.

Further, a protruding member 20 for forming an enlarged portion, which will be described later, is provided at the front end portion and the rear end portion of the curved portion. The distal end surface of the cover endoscope 4 is provided with an objective lens 5.
4 and an illumination lens 55 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 4, the bending portion 17 of the cover endoscope 4 has a plurality of articulated pieces 46 rotatably connected to each other, and performs a bending operation by moving a pulling wire (not shown) forward and backward. It has become. The outer side of the joint piece 46 is covered with a blade 47 and a resin cover 42 made of a flexible resin such as urethane rubber or fluorine rubber.

As shown in FIG. 5, the distal end portion of the resin cover 42 forming the curved portion 17 of the cover endoscope 4 and the distal end portion 16 of the cover endoscope 4 are fixed with a thread-bonding portion 48. The rear end side portion of the resin cover 48 and the flexible tube 18 are fixed by a thread-bonding portion 48.

Further, a curved portion 17 is provided at the front end and the rear end of the thread bonding portion 48 to which the resin cover 42 is fixed.
A projecting member 20 formed of a member such as metal or hard resin is disposed so as to be slightly larger than the outer diameter of the arc portion other than the flat portion 15.

The projecting member 20 is fixed to the distal end 16 of the cover endoscope 4 and the flexible tube 18 by means such as bonding. Further, since the outer surface of the projecting member 20 comes into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the insertion portion cover outer skin 31 of the endoscope cover 3, it has a surface finish with good slipperiness and damages the insertion portion cover outer skin 31. The entire end face is chamfered so that it can be smoothly inserted and removed without any problems.

The operation of the above-mentioned cover type endoscope will be described.
As shown in FIG. 6, the projecting members 20 are disposed near the front end and the rear end of the curved portion 17 of the cover endoscope 4 to provide an enlarged portion. When the projection member 20 is inserted into the endoscope cover 3, the projection member 20 pushes and expands the outer cover 31 of the insertion portion cover of the endoscope cover 3. Also,
Since the protrusion member 20 pulls the insertion portion cover outer cover 31 in the longitudinal direction, the insertion portion cover outer cover 31 does not come into contact with the resin cover 42 of the cover endoscope 4. Further, the protruding member 20 is formed of a member having a good sliding property with respect to the insertion portion outer cover 31. As a result, when the cover endoscope 4 is inserted into the endoscope cover 3, the projection 20 pushes and spreads the cover outer cover, and the resin cover 42 and the cover outer cover 31.
Is smoothly inserted without contacting

As described above, by forming the enlarged portion near the front end of the curved portion and near the rear end of the curved portion of the cover endoscope, the resin cover and the insertion portion forming the curved portion of the cover endoscope are formed. The cover can be smoothly inserted without coming into contact with the outer cover forming the cover.

Also, the distal end portion, the curved portion,
The insertion stability can be improved by inserting the same flat portion having no step formed over the flexible tube portion along the partition member provided on the endoscope cover.

Further, when the cover endoscope is removed from the endoscope cover, the projection member has the same effect as described above, so that the cover endoscope can be smoothly removed.

Further, the cover endoscope can be inserted and removed without bringing the resin cover forming the curved portion of the cover endoscope into contact with the cover outer skin forming the insertion portion cover portion. It is possible to prevent the resin cover of the cover endoscope from being worn or deteriorated due to insertion and removal of the endoscope from the endoscope cover.

Instead of disposing the projecting member 20 to form an enlarged portion, the adhesive of the thread bonding portion 48 for fixing the resin cover 42 becomes larger than the outer diameter of the curved portion 17 as shown in FIG. The protrusions 20a may be formed in such a manner as to be raised. At this time, the thread bonding portion 48 is
Is formed on the entire circumference of the projection 2 so that the projection 2 is formed with an adhesive.
0a is similarly formed over the entire circumference.

Further, in order to improve the insertability of the endoscope 4 for the cover, there is no limitation to the configuration in which the enlarged portion is provided in the vicinity of the distal end of the bending portion and in the vicinity of the rear end of the bending portion of the bending portion 17. As shown in FIG. 8A, the outer diameter of the distal end portion 16 is made to be uniformly larger than the outer diameter of the curved portion 17, and the protruding member 20 is disposed on the flexible tube portion 18, or as shown in FIG. Even if the protrusion member 20 is disposed at a position slightly away from the position of the thread winding adhesive portion 48 formed at the front end portion of the curved portion and the rear end portion of the curved portion for fixing the resin cover 42 forming the curved portion 17 in the same manner. Functions and effects can be obtained.

Further, by forming the partition member 32 provided inside the endoscope cover with a flexible resin similarly to the resin cover 42, the frictional resistance when the cover endoscope is inserted can be reduced. Can be.

It is preferable that the height of the bulge formed by the protrusion member 20 and the protrusion 20 a is about 0.2 to 0.5 mm larger than the outer diameter of the curved portion 17.

As shown in FIG. 9, an objective lens 54 and an illumination lens 55 are incorporated on the distal end surface of the cover endoscope 4, and the distal end surface of the endoscope cover 3 corresponds to the objective lens 54. An objective cover lens 52 is provided so as to operate, and an illumination cover lens 53 is provided so as to correspond to the illumination lens 55. When the cover endoscope 4 is inserted into the endoscope cover 3, the distal end portion 16 and the cover distal end portion 29 are brought into contact with each other and positioned.

However, the cover lenses 52 and 53 disposed in front of the objective lens 54 of the cover endoscope 4 and the illumination lens 55 adjacent to the objective lens 54, respectively.
When there is a gap between the objective lens and the illumination lens 55, there is a problem that the illumination light emitted from the illumination lens 55 is reflected on the inner surface of the objective cover lens 52 and enters the objective lens, so that a so-called flare is generated.

At this time, flare can be prevented by bringing the distal end surface of the objective lens 54 provided on the cover endoscope 4 into close contact with the inner surface of the objective cover lens 52 of the endoscope cover 3. When the visual field surfaces of the objective lens 54 and the objective cover lens 52 come into direct contact with each other, there is a possibility that the lens surface will be damaged and observation will be hindered.

For this purpose, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a flare stop 56 made of, for example, a black annular body is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the objective lens 54 of the endoscope 4 for covering light. That is, when the cover endoscope 4 is inserted into the endoscope cover 3 and the distal end portion 16 of the cover endoscope 4 comes into contact with the distal end portion 29 of the endoscope cover 3, the objective lens 54 is closed.
The flare diaphragm 56 attached to the objective cover lens 52
It is configured to abut against.

As described above, by providing the flare stop on the front surface of the objective lens, a predetermined gap can be provided between the visual field surface of the objective lens and the objective cover lens. It is possible to prevent the objective lens and the objective cover lens from being damaged when inserted into the cover, and it is possible to prevent light emitted from the illumination lens from being blocked by the flare stop, thereby preventing the occurrence of flare. it can.

As shown in FIG. 9, the objective cover lens provided at the end of the endoscope cover is a flat glass body, and the illumination cover lens is a concave lens. In the combination of ordinary concave and convex lenses, high positional accuracy of the lens is required to satisfy the optical performance. However, by using a flat glass body for the objective cover lens in the objective optical system, the endoscope for the cover with respect to the objective cover lens is required. Even if the relative position of the objective lens of the mirror has an error within the permissible mounting value of the combination of the cover endoscope and the endoscope cover,
The visual field image can be prevented from being greatly distorted.

Further, by making the illumination cover lens a concave lens in the illumination optical system, the illumination angle of the illumination light emitted from the illumination lens of the cover endoscope is enlarged, and the range of the viewing angle of the objective optical system is illuminated. The light shines.

In the present embodiment, the illumination cover lens 53 is shown as a front end surface and its opposite surface is shown as a concave surface.
Both surfaces or one of the surfaces may be formed as a convex surface or a flat surface.

Also, the cover lens incorporated in the distal end portion 29 of the endoscope cover 3 is not integrated with the objective cover lens 52 and the illumination cover lens 53, but is integrated (one piece). May be provided. In this case, the aforementioned flare stop 56
Accordingly, the occurrence of flare can be suppressed, and the same effect can be obtained by forming only the portion where the illumination optical system is located into an uneven shape.

Further, the flare stop 56 is not limited to the structure mounted on the objective lens 54 of the cover endoscope 4, but may be mounted on the endoscope cover side, and the shape of the flare stop 56 is completely annular. Instead of a body shape, a shape and a configuration provided between the objective optical system and the illumination optical system may be used.

In the above-described embodiment, the image pickup device 50 having a relatively large volume is built in the distal end portion of the cover endoscope 4, and the small-diameter signal cable 21 extends from the rear thereof. At the connection between the image sensor 50 and the signal cable 21, the radial dimension changes greatly. For this reason,
As shown in FIG. 4, the outer diameter changing portion 49 of the distal end portion 16 of the cover endoscope 4 or the joint piece 46 of the bending portion 17.
Is provided on the arc side portion, so that the cover endoscope 4
The flat portion 15 provided over the distal end portion 16, the curved portion 17, and the flexible tube portion 18 is substantially flush with each other.

Further, in this embodiment, the electronic endoscope provided with the image pickup device in the objective optical system has been described. However, a fiber endoscope in which the objective optical system is constituted by a fiber bundle may be used.

[0055]

According to the present invention, the cover endoscope can be easily inserted into and removed from the endoscope cover, and the wear and deterioration of the resin cover forming the curved portion of the cover endoscope can be prevented. A cover-type endoscope can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 to FIG. 6 relate to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of an endoscope apparatus using a cover type endoscope.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an endoscope cover.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a cover endoscope.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a main configuration of a bending portion of the endoscope for a cover.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a cover endoscope and a projection member.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the cover endoscope is inserted into the endoscope cover;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a first modified example of the enlarged part of the endoscope for a cover.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a second modified example of the expanded portion of the endoscope for a cover.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of a distal end portion of the cover-type endoscope.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing a distal end portion of the endoscope for a cover.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 ... Cover type endoscope 3 ... Endoscope cover 4 ... Cover endoscope 17 ... Bending part 20 ... Expansion part (projection member)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A cover type endoscope comprising an endoscope cover and a cover endoscope to be inserted into the endoscope cover for use, wherein: A cover-type endoscope, wherein an enlarged portion having a diameter larger than the maximum diameter of the bending portion is provided near the rear end of the bending portion.