JP3709128B2 - Endoscope operating device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
【Technical field】
The present invention relates to an endoscope for medical use or industrial use, and particularly relates to an operation device for an endoscope that can bend a distal end side of an insertion portion into a desired shape by a manual operation.
[0002]
[Prior art and its problems]
Usually, this endoscope has an insertion portion that is inserted into an observation target such as a body cavity or a jet engine, and a bending portion on the distal end side of the insertion portion is provided by rotating the bending operation portion. A bending mechanism that bends into a shape; and a lock mechanism that holds the bending shape of the bending portion constant by braking or preventing the operation of the bending mechanism by rotating the lock operation portion.
[0003]
Further, in such an endoscope, for example, the lock operation unit that rotates around the rotation axis side is allowed to move only in the axial direction of the rotation axis that is perpendicular to the rotation direction. In addition, a friction member (which is prevented from rotating) is attached, and an attaching member that rotates integrally with the bending operation unit is attached to the bending operation unit side.
[0004]
In such an endoscope, when the lock operation portion is rotated in a certain direction, the friction member that is prevented from rotating moves linearly by the action of a screw and starts to come into close contact with the abutting member. When the lock operation unit is further rotated from this close contact state, and the friction member is firmly attached to the abutting member, the rotational operation of the bending operation unit is braked and locked by the frictional force generated between them. . Thereby, for example, although the bending operation is not performed, it is possible to prevent a problem that the bending operation portion is rotated and the bending shape of the bending portion is changed.
[0005]
By the way, a donut type member made of cork or rubber is usually used as the friction member. Such a donut-shaped friction member is not easily deformed by the action of an external force. That is, it is a stable shape that is not easily crushed. For this reason, in this friction member, the amount of displacement in the vertical direction from when contact with the abutting member begins to change in the thickness direction until the braking operation due to friction is sufficiently applied to lock the bending operation unit (Stroke) is slight, and the operation is heavy and dull.
[0006]
That is, when the lock operation unit is turned, the braking force suddenly changes / increases at a small turning angle, so that fine adjustment of the brake is necessary. In other words, this is the time until the lock state is achieved by finely adjusting the gap between the friction member that is fixed on the lock operation portion side that constitutes the lock mechanism and the abutting member facing the lock member, that is, It adjusts the time until the brake is fully effective, and indirectly adjusts the operating force when locking.
[0007]
For this reason, it is necessary to adjust the braking force that is troublesome and time-consuming, and even if the bending portion is in a bending state, the locking force to the bending operation portion is released according to the external force that acts on the bending portion. In other words, the so-called half lock cannot be easily set.
[0008]
Further, usually, in the lock mechanism having such a configuration, since the click mechanism is provided separately, the structure is complicated, and the operation becomes heavier.
[0009]
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope operating device that does not require adjustment of a braking force, can easily set a half lock, and can be easily operated by a simple mechanism.
[0010]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a rotation shaft provided on the proximal end side of the insertion portion, a bending mechanism for turning a bending operation knob around the rotation shaft to bend the distal end side of the insertion portion, and the rotation An endoscope operating device having a lock mechanism that rotates a knob for locking operation around an axis to hold the operation of the bending mechanism in a locked state. The locking mechanism is configured as follows. It is characterized by that. That is, a rotating member that rotates integrally with the knob for locking operation, a cam pin that protrudes radially from the rotating member around the rotating shaft, and a knob for bending operation are integrated. A rotating abutting member, and a cylindrical brake member having a friction member at a position facing the abutting member, the movement of the rotating direction being restricted and the movement along the rotating shaft being allowed. And a circumferential cam groove formed on the circumferential surface of the cylindrical brake member and engaged with the cam pin, and a brake member that elastically deforms and applies a load to the cam pin when the cam pin moves in the circumferential cam groove. When the locking operation knob is rotated forward and backward, the cam pin moves in the circumferential cam groove to move the brake member forward and backward along the rotation shaft, and is provided on the brake member. The friction member touched and separated from the abutting member Is characterized in that is to the rotation restricting state and a rotation allowing state knob for bending operation Te.
[0011]
The circumferential cam groove has a pair of click holes that hold the cam pins at positions where the knob for bending operation is in the rotation restricted state and the rotation allowed state, and is connected to the pair of click holes and is narrower than the click hole. It is preferable that the elastic deformation portion is elastically deformed when the cam pin moves in the inclined groove of the peripheral surface cam groove. Moreover, an elastic deformation part can be obtained with a simple structure by opening one click hole in the circumferential cam groove toward the outside.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an endoscope to which an operation device according to the present invention is attached. The endoscope includes an operation unit 100, an insertion unit 101, a light source device 103 connected to a connector 102, and the like. Is provided.
[0016]
The operation unit 100 is provided with a bending operation unit and a lock operation unit which are not shown, which are a part of the operation device 1 according to the present invention. By rotating the knobs 2A and 4A, the operation unit 100 is not shown. The bending portion 101A provided on the distal end side of the insertion portion 101 can be bent in any direction up, down, left, and right via a power transmission means using a wire. Further, an observation window and an illumination window (not shown) are provided at the distal end of the insertion unit 101, and an image obtained through the observation window is directly viewed from the eyepiece unit 105 provided on the operation unit 100 side. I can observe. On the other hand, illumination light from the light source device 103 is guided to the illumination window via a light guide, and a desired part of the observation target is projected and illuminated.
[0017]
Next, an endoscope operating device according to the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, only the bending operation unit in the vertical direction and the lock operation unit for locking the bending state in the vertical direction are described, but the same applies to the bending operation unit and the lock operation unit in the horizontal direction. The configuration is applied.
2 and 3 show an operating device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The operating device 1 has, as a schematic configuration, a rotating shaft 3, a bending operation unit 4, and a housing 6. A lock operation unit 5, a bending operation mechanism (not shown), and a lock mechanism 7 are provided.
[0018]
The rotating shaft 3 is formed with a base 3C, and right and left and up and down pulleys 23 and 43 are fixed immediately above. The base portion 3C of the rotation shaft 3 is fixed to a substrate 62 on the housing 6 side, which will be described later, and does not rotate with respect to the housing 6 side.
[0019]
The up / down bending operation unit 4 is configured to turn the bending operation knob 4A to bend the bending portion on the distal end side of the insertion portion to be inserted into the observation target in the vertical direction. In addition, a rotating member 41, an abutting member 42, and a pulley 43 are provided.
[0020]
The knob 4A is integrally fixed to the rotating member 41, and the bending operation of the bending portion in the vertical direction is performed by rotating the knob 4A in either the forward or reverse direction.
[0021]
The rotation member 41 is provided with a shaft portion 41A constituting a rotation shaft extending in the vertical direction at the center portion, and a rotation hole 41B formed by hollowing the center portion of the shaft portion 41A in a circular cross section. It penetrates in the vertical direction. The shaft portion 41 </ b> A is rotatably inserted into the outer peripheral side of the shaft portion 21 </ b> A on the side of the left / right bending operation portion (externally attached to the rotation shaft 3), and is coaxial with the rotation shaft 3. It is designed to rotate.
[0022]
In the shaft portion 41A, the rotating portion 41C provided at the upper portion is provided with a stopper portion 21D provided on the shaft portion 21A and an upper end surface of the slide guide portion 61A of the fixed base 61 on the housing 6 side to be described later via the X ring S1. In the bending operation, it is rotated without moving up and down while maintaining this clamping state. In addition, the above-described pulley 43 around which a pair of wires (not shown) is wound is fixed to the lower end portion of the shaft portion 41A.
[0023]
By rotating the pulley 43 integrally with the knob 4A by the same angle in the same direction by rotating the knob 4A in either the forward or reverse direction, one of the wires is wound and the other is wound. Is to be paid out. That is, the wire winding / unwinding operation causes the bending portion to be pulled in either the left or right direction and bent in the same direction.
[0024]
On the other hand, the abutting member 42 is provided directly below the friction member 54 to be described later and fixed integrally with the rotating member 41. Further, the abutting member 42 is provided with a circular round hole 42A on the center side, and is rotatably inserted into a rotating member 51 described later via an X ring S2. Note that when the knob 4A is rotated, the abutting member 42 is rotated integrally with the knob 4A and the rotating member 41 at a constant height with respect to the rotating shaft 3. ing.
[0025]
The lock operation unit 5 uses a lock mechanism 7 to be described later, and holds the lock operation unit 5 in a locked state that prevents (or brakes) the operation of the bending operation mechanism. , A cam pin 52, a brake member 53 engaged with the cam pin 52, and a friction member 54 fixed to the brake member 53.
[0026]
A knob 5A is integrally fixed to the rotating member 51, and a circular round hole 51A is opened on the center side, and this round hole 51A is located on the rotating shaft 3 side via an O-ring S3. The slide guide 61A having a circular cross section is extrapolated in a rotatable state. That is, the rotating member 51 is rotated by the same angle in the same direction by rotating the knob 5A without displacing the mounting position with respect to the axial direction (vertical direction) of the rotating shaft 3. It has become. In addition, the two cam pins 52 are fixed to the rotating member 51 so as to protrude sideways while maintaining a phase of 180 degrees.
[0027]
As shown in FIG. 3, the cam pin 52 includes a large-diameter portion (diameter D1) 52A and a small-diameter portion (diameter D2, where D1> D2) 52B. Of these, the large-diameter portion 52A is a brake member 53 described later. The cam groove 55 is engaged.
[0028]
On the other hand, the brake member 53 is formed in a substantially thin disk (cylindrical) shape, and a cam groove 55 is formed on the outer peripheral surface with a phase difference of 180 degrees. The cam pin 52 is engaged. Further, the brake member 53 is provided with a slide part 53A having a non-circular shape such as a square hole at the center, and a slide guide part 61B having a non-circular cross section provided at the uppermost part of the fixed base 61 (see FIG. 3) is engaged in a slidable state in the vertical direction. Further, the brake member 53 is formed with a high surface portion 53B and a low surface portion 53C in almost every quarter of the middle upper surface portion, whereby an elastic deformation portion between the low surface portion 53C and the cam groove 55 is formed. 53D has a spring property.
[0029]
Accordingly, when the knob 5A of the lock operation unit 5 is turned, the turning member 51 and the cam pin 52 integral with the knob 5A turn in the same direction by the same angle, so that the anti-rotation brake engaged with the cam pin 52 is prevented. The member 53 is pushed in the vertical direction (the axial direction of the rotation shaft 3 along the outer surface of the slide guide portion 61A) together with the friction member 54 described later and moves linearly.
[0030]
The friction member 54 is formed in a substantially donut shape using a material having a large friction coefficient such as cork or rubber, but it is preferable that the friction member 54 has a particularly enhanced stretchability in the vertical direction.
[0031]
A plurality of cam grooves 55 are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the brake member 53 (two in this embodiment at point-symmetrical positions shifted in phase by 180 degrees). As shown in FIG. The narrow groove (W1) -shaped inclined groove 55A formed over the inclined groove 55A is larger than the inclined groove width W1 provided at the left and right ends of the inclined groove 55A (diameter D3, where D3> D1 ≧ w1). And substantially circular click holes 55B and 55C. Among these, the click hole 55B is provided with a notched opening 55D that opens to the outside, and the click hole 55C is provided with a narrow groove 55E. The cam groove 55 can be freely set by adjusting its length L so that the stroke of the lock operation portion 5 when performing the lock operation. For example, by increasing this length L, A large stroke can be secured.
[0032]
The housing 6 includes a fixed base 61 that rotatably supports the shaft portions 21A and 41A on the bending operation parts 2 and 4 side, a substrate 62 that fixes the fixed base 61, and a space between the fixed base 61 and the housing body 6. And a lid 63 that is pivotably closed via O-rings S4 and S5.
[0033]
The lock mechanism 7 temporarily holds the bending portion in a locked state by preventing the bending operation portion 4 that constitutes a part of the bending operation mechanism from rotating carelessly. That is, the lock mechanism 7 includes a cam pin 52, a brake member 53, a friction member 54, an abutting member 42, and the like. When the rotating member 51 and the cam pin 52 are rotated, the brake mechanism The member 53 slides along the axis L (vertical) direction of the rotation shaft 3. The friction member 54 is pressed against and brought into close contact with the abutting member 42 using the linear movement force of the brake member 53 in the axial direction, thereby generating a friction braking force. As a result, the abutting member 42 (and thus the bending mechanism including the bending operation unit 4) can be prevented from being inadvertently rotated by the frictional force.
[0034]
Next, the operation of the cam pin 52 on the rotating member 51 side and the cam groove 55 on the brake member 53 side according to this embodiment will be described.
For example, after the bending portion is bent into a desired bending shape, the knob 5A on the lock operation portion 5 side is rotated (tightened) counterclockwise in FIG. 51 and the cam pin 52 also rotate together with the lock operation unit 5 in the same direction by the same angle.
Then, because of this turning operation, the brake member 53 provided with the cam groove 55 that engages with the cam pin 52 is prevented from rotating and prevented from moving in the turning direction, so that the cam pin 52 climbs up the inclined groove 55A. To go. That is, the brake member 53 is relatively pushed down and is pushed downward along the direction of the axis L (see FIG. 2) of the rotation shaft 3, so that the friction member fixed to the brake member 53 is used. 54 also slides downward while being integrated.
[0035]
As a result, the friction member 54 comes into close contact with the abutting member 42 that is integral with the turning member 41 on the bending operation unit 4 side. When the knob 5A is further rotated, the cam pin 52 finally enters the click hole 55C. In this way, by firmly tightening the knob 5A, the friction member 54 can be strongly pressed against the abutting member 22, and the frictional force generated between the two can be used for the bending operation portion 2 on the abutting member 22 side. The rotation operation is prevented and the locked state is established.
[0036]
As a result, for example, when the insertion part is inserted while appropriately bending the bending part in a deep and narrow observation object such as a body cavity or an observation object of a jet engine, the wrong part is mistakenly observed. Even if a finger or the like touches the knob 4A on the bending operation unit 4 side, the friction member 54 is strongly pressed against the abutting member 42, so that the locked state can be maintained. As a result, for example, the bending operation unit 4 is inadvertently rotated to operate the bending operation mechanism, and the trouble that the observation site is shifted due to the displacement of the bending state in the left-right direction at the bending unit can be prevented. That is why.
[0037]
In particular, according to the brake member 53 according to this embodiment, the cam groove 55 is provided with a notched opening 55D that opens to the outside so as to impart springiness to the elastically deforming portion 53D. when 52 passes, will allow the operation of lightly knob 5A while feeling appropriate load by elastic deformation of the elastic deformation portion 53D. In addition, by reducing the inclination angle θ of the inclined groove 55A, the locking operation can be performed with a light operating force.
[0038]
In addition, by forming the inclined groove 55A with an appropriately long length L, a large stroke can be secured during the locking operation, so that, for example, play until the brake starts to work can be secured sufficiently and sufficiently. Thus, the braking force does not increase suddenly with a short stroke. As a result, the half lock can be easily set. For example, the half lock can be set at a stroke amount that is easy to operate.
[0039]
In addition, according to this embodiment, a large stroke amount in the direction of the axis L of the rotating shaft 3 can be secured, so that a change in the braking force per unit stroke can be set small, and the braking force can be easily adjusted. As a result, fine adjustment becomes unnecessary.
[0040]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, a large stroke can be ensured by increasing the length of the cam groove, so that the brake force can be easily adjusted and fine adjustment is not required. In addition, since the distance from the start position of the brake operation to the lock position where the brake can be fully applied can be set longer, the half lock can be easily set in this intermediate position. Since the brake member is elastically deformable and an appropriate load is applied to the cam pin at an intermediate position of the stroke, the operability during the lock operation is good, and the above half lock setting is performed more reliably. be able to.
[0041]
In addition, according to the present invention, the brake member is made elastically deformable, and a click hole having an enlarged groove width is provided at both ends of the cam groove. A feeling can be obtained , and weight reduction and cost reduction can be achieved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external view showing an overall structure of an endoscope to which an operating device according to the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of the operating device of the present invention.
3 is a perspective view of a main part of the operating device shown in FIG. 2. FIG.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a cam groove according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Operation apparatus 2A (For right-and-left bending operation) Knob 3 Rotating shaft 4 (For vertical movement) Bending operation part 4A (For vertical bending operation) Knob 41 Rotating member 42 Abutting member (locking mechanism)
43 Pulley 5 (For vertical lock) Lock operation part 5A (For left / right lock) Knob 51 Rotating member 52 Cam pin (Lock mechanism)
53 Brake member (lock mechanism)
54 Friction member (lock mechanism)
55 Cam groove (locking mechanism)
55A Inclined groove 55B Click hole 55C Click hole 55D Opening 55E Narrow groove 6 Housing 61 Fixed base 62 Substrate 7A (For left and right lock) Lock mechanism 7A (For vertical lock) Lock mechanism

Claims (3)

A bending mechanism for turning the bending operation knob about the turning shaft fixed to the proximal end side of the insertion portion and bending the distal end side of the insertion portion, and for locking operation around the turning shaft An operating device for an endoscope comprising a locking mechanism for rotating the knob of the bending mechanism to hold the rotating operation of the bending mechanism in a locked state,
The locking mechanism is
A rotating member that rotates integrally with a knob for locking operation;
A cam pin provided on the rotating member so as to protrude in a radial direction around the rotating shaft;
An abutting member that rotates integrally with the knob for bending operation;
A cylindrical brake member having a friction member at a position facing the abutting member, the movement of the rotation direction being restricted, and movement only in the direction along the rotation axis;
A circumferential cam groove formed on the circumferential surface of the cylindrical brake member and engaged with the cam pin;
An elastically deforming portion provided on the brake member for elastically deforming and applying a load to the cam pin when the cam pin moves in the circumferential cam groove;
With
When the knob for locking operation is rotated forward and backward, the cam pin moves in the circumferential cam groove to move the brake member forward and backward along the rotating shaft, and the friction member provided on the brake member applies the contact An operating device for an endoscope, wherein a bending operation knob is brought into contact with and separated from a member to be in a rotation restricted state and a rotation allowed state . The circumferential cam groove has a pair of click holes for holding a cam pin at a position where the knob for bending operation is in the rotation restricted state and the rotation allowed state, and a width wider than the click hole by connecting the pair of click holes. The endoscope operation according to claim 1, wherein the elastic deformation portion is elastically deformed when the cam pin moves in the inclined groove of the circumferential cam groove. apparatus. The endoscope operating device according to claim 2, wherein one click hole in the circumferential cam groove is open to the outside.

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