JP4206239B2 - Endoscope optical fiber bundle protector - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
【Technical field】
The present invention relates to an optical fiber bundle protection device built in an insertion tube (insertion portion) of an endoscope.
[0002]
[Prior art and its problems]
The insertion tube of the endoscope incorporates optical fiber bundles such as an image guide fiber bundle for image observation and a light guide fiber bundle for illumination. Each optical fiber bundle is a thin tube (protective) formed of silicon or the like. Tube). Furthermore, in an endoscope in which a part of the insertion tube is a bending portion that can be bent, a force that pushes and pulls the optical fiber bundle according to the bending is applied. Therefore, in order to prevent the optical fiber bundle from being cut, A thin metal tube is covered with a metal reticulated tube or the like to ensure strength, and the end of the reticulated tube is covered with a flexible tube or tied with a thread to be in close contact with the thin tube. Due to such a structure, the diameter of the flexible tube mounting portion and the thread-binding portion at the end of the mesh tube is the largest. Therefore, particularly in a small-diameter endoscope in which the internal space of the insertion tube is narrow, the large-diameter portions (flexible tubes and the like) in the protective structures of the plurality of optical fiber bundles interfere with each other. There is a possibility that the insertion workability at the time of assembling is deteriorated, or the advancement / retraction of the optical fiber bundle in the insertion tube at the time of bending is prevented and stress is applied.
[0003]
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to obtain an optical fiber bundle protection device for an endoscope that prevents mutual interference between a plurality of optical fiber bundle protection portions.
[0004]
Summary of the Invention
The present invention provides a light guide for illumination and an observation that are formed of optical fiber bundles that are arranged substantially in parallel in an insertion tube that extends from an operation unit and that is partially curved, and is covered with a protective tube . of the image guide; the operation unit side of the end of each bay song protective tube child; covering respectively from the light guide and the image guide on the protective tube, curved curved protective tube you located portion of the insertion tube coercive Mamorukan fixing member Ru is fixed to the protection tube outer surface; an endoscope equipped with a protective tube fixing member is attached to the outside of the image guide, a protective tube fixing member is attached to the outside of the light guide, image The guide-side protection tube fixing member is positioned closer to the distal end side of the insertion tube than the light guide-side protection tube fixing member, and the light guide and the image guide are matched by changes in the bending amount of the bending portion. Always only one protective tube fixing member in the same plane in the radial direction irrespective of the position change in relation to the position, is characterized in that arranged by spaced longitudinally of the insertion tube.
[0005]
The protective tube fixing member can be, for example, a flexible tube that can be elastically deformed in the radial direction. The curved protective tube can be a metal mesh tube alone or a metal mesh tube and an inner spiral tube.
[0006]
Although the number of image guides and light guides in the present invention is arbitrary, for example, a pair of light guides can be arranged on both sides in the radial direction across the image guide. In this case, the protective tube fixing members attached to the outside of the pair of light guides are arranged so as to be separated from each other in the longitudinal direction of the insertion tube.
[0007]
The present invention also includes an image guide for viewing the light guide for illumination consisting of optical fiber bundle which is disposed substantially parallel to the insertion tube and a curved portion extending from the flexible tube portion and the movable Shiwakan portion; this light guide and image guide the covers, respectively, and the bay songs protective tube you located in the curved portion, at least the flexible tube protective tube located portion; protective tube fixing member for connecting the the bay song protective tube of the child protecting tube A protective tube fixing member attached to the outside of the image guide and a protective tube fixing member attached to the outside of the light guide. The protective tube fixing member on the image guide side is a protective tube on the light guide side. Located on the distal end side of the insertion tube with respect to the fixed member, and within the same radial plane regardless of the relative position change of the light guide and the image guide due to the change in the bending amount of the bending portion Always in relation to only one protective tube fixing member is located, it is characterized in that arranged by spaced longitudinally of the insertion tube.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An endoscope 10 shown in FIG. 1 is a medical endoscope (fiber scope), and has an insertion portion (insertion tube) 11 to be inserted into a body cavity and an operation portion 12 connected to the base side thereof. Yes. The insertion portion 11 includes a distal end rigid portion 13, a bending portion 14, and a flexible tube portion 15 in order from the distal end side, and the flexible tube portion 15 is further connected to the operation unit 12 via a connecting portion 16. . A universal tube 17 extends from the operation unit 12, and a connector unit 18 provided at the end of the universal tube 17 can be attached to and detached from a light source device 19 that is separate from the endoscope body. The light source device 19 includes a light source (not shown) inside.
[0009]
4 and 5, an image guide (fiber bundle) 21 for observation, a pair of light guides (fiber bundle) 22A and 22B for illumination, a treatment instrument insertion channel 23, a pair, The bending operation wire 24 is inserted.
[0010]
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, a large number of tubular curved segments (node rings) 28 are aligned in the longitudinal direction in the curved portion 14, and the left and right pivots of each curved segment 28 are arranged. The tongue pieces 28a are sequentially pivoted by left and right rivets 28b that are the center of curvature. The pair of pivoting tongue pieces 28a and the pair of bending operation wires 24 are located in planes orthogonal to each other. A wire guide ring 29 is provided inside the curved segment 28. The distal end portions of the pair of bending operation wires 24 are coupled to the distal end rigid portion 13, and the rear end portions are connected to the bending operation lever 30 of the operation portion 12. When the bending operation lever 30 is operated, a plurality of bending operations are performed. The segments 28 swing around the respective rivets 28b as the center of bending, and the bending portion 14 is bent as shown in FIGS.
[0011]
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, in the flexible tube portion 15, instead of the curved segment 28 and the wire guide ring 29, the spiral tube 31 covers the various built-in items described above. The spiral tube 31 is a flat coil tube formed by spirally winding a metal strip having a flat rectangular cross section.
[0012]
Further, in the above-described insertion portion 11, the entire portion from the distal end rigid portion 13 to the flexible tube portion 15 is covered with a metal mesh tube 32 and an outer skin rubber tube 33 on the outside thereof. The reticular tube 32 and the outer rubber tube 33 are fixed to the outer surface of the distal end hard portion 13 by thread tying portions 34 and 35, respectively. Although not shown in the drawings, the reticular tube 32 and the outer rubber tube 33 are fixed to the proximal end side of the flexible tube portion 15 by the same structure.
[0013]
2 and 3, the distal end rigid portion 13 is provided with an objective optical system 25. The distal end portion of the image guide 21 is located behind the objective optical system 25, and the rear end portion is an eyepiece. It is guided to the eyepiece 26 (FIG. 1). The object is observed by the optical system from the objective optical system 25 to the eyepiece 26. The distal end rigid portion 13 is provided with a pair of light distribution lenses 27A and 27B. The distal ends of the light guides 22A and 22B are located behind the light distribution lenses 27A and 27B, and the rear end portions are connector portions. It is led to 18.
[0014]
As shown in FIG. 7, the image guide 21 is configured by covering a central optical fiber bundle 40 with a thin tube (protective tube) 41 made of silicon over the entire length, and the optical fiber bundle 40 and the thin tube are formed. One end portion of 41 is fixed to the distal end hard portion 13 by a base 42 (FIG. 3). The optical fiber bundle 40 and the thin-walled tube 41 are also provided with a base (not shown) at the other end, and are fixed in the vicinity of the eyepiece 26 via this base. The image guide 21 is further protected in the bending portion 14 by a spiral tube (curved protective tube) 43 that covers the outside of the thin tube 41 and a mesh tube (curved protective tube) 44 that covers the outside of the spiral tube 43. Has been. The spiral tube 43 is a flat coil tube formed by spirally winding a metal strip having a flat rectangular cross section, and the mesh tube 44 is formed by braiding metal wires such as tungsten into a mesh shape. Each of them is flexible. The front end of the mesh tube 44 is fixed to the outer surface of the thin tube 41 together with the spiral tube 43 by a thread binding portion 45, and the rear end is fixed by a flexible tube (protective tube fixing member) 46 made of synthetic resin. As with the tip, it is fixed to the outer surface of the thin tube 41. The flexible tube 46 has an elastic force (restoring force) that shrinks in the radial direction in the mounted state shown in FIG. 7, and holds down the mesh tube 44 and the spiral tube 43 inside.
[0015]
As shown in FIG. 8, each of the light guides 22A and 22B is formed by covering the center optical fiber bundles 50A and 50B with silicon thin tubes (protection tubes) 51A and 51B over the entire length. One end portions of the optical fiber bundles 50A and 50B and the thin-walled tubes 51A and 51B are fixed to the distal end hard portion 13 by caps 52A and 52B (FIG. 3). The light guide 22A and the light guide 22B have the same basic structure, and FIG. 8 is common to both the light guide 22A and the light guide 22B. The optical fiber bundles 50A and 50B and the thin-walled tubes 51A and 51B are also provided with a base (not shown) at the other end, and are fixed in the connector portion 18 via the base. The light guides 22A and 22B are further protected in the bending portion 14 by mesh-like tubes (curved protective tubes) 54A and 54B that cover the outside of the thin tubes 51A and 51B. The mesh tubes 54A and 54B are formed by braiding metal wires such as tungsten into a mesh shape, and have flexibility. The front ends of the mesh tubes 54A and 54B are fixed to the outer surfaces of the thin-walled tubes 51A and 51B by the thread binding portions 55A and 55B, and the rear ends are flexible tubes (protective tube fixing members) 56A made of synthetic resin. , 56B are fixed to the outer surfaces of the thin-walled tubes 51A, 51B in the same manner as the tip portion. The flexible tubes 56 </ b> A and 56 </ b> B have elastic force (restoring force) that shrinks in the radial direction in the mounted state shown in FIG. 7, and hold down the mesh tube 43 and the spiral tube 42.
[0016]
With the above protection structure, the diameter of the flexible tube 46 is the largest in the image guide 21, and the diameter of the flexible tubes 56A and 56B is the largest in the light guides 22A and 22B. The insertion portion 11 of the present embodiment has a small diameter, and these flexible tubes (46, 56A, 56B) are arranged at the same position in the longitudinal direction of the insertion portion 11 (positioned in the same plane in the radial direction). ) There is no space. If these large diameter portions are arranged at the same position in the longitudinal direction of the insertion portion 11, it becomes difficult to insert the image guide or the light guide during assembly, or the large diameter portion interferes during the bending operation and the image guide or light guide The advance and retreat of the optical fiber is hindered, and the optical fiber inside may be cut. In order to eliminate such a problem without enlarging the diameter of the insertion portion 11, in this embodiment, the positions of the flexible tubes 46, 56A and 56B of the image guide 21 and the light guides 22A and 22B, respectively, In both the straight state and the curved state of the bending portion 14, they are arranged at positions that are not included in the same radial plane (so as to be separated from each other in the longitudinal direction of the insertion tube).
[0017]
Specifically, the flexible tubes 46, 56A and 56B are all located in the flexible tube portion 15, but as shown in FIGS. 2, 6, 9 and 10, the image guide 21 The flexible tube 46 is positioned closest to the distal end hard portion 13 side, and the flexible tube 56A of the light guide 22A is separated from the rear end portion of the flexible tube 46 toward the operation portion 12 side (right hand in the figure). Further, the flexible tube 56B of the light guide 22B is arranged so as to be separated from the rear end portion of the flexible tube 56A toward the operation unit 12 side.
[0018]
In the straight state of the bending portion 14 shown in FIG. 2, there is a distance C1 between the flexible tube 46 and the flexible tube 56A, and between the flexible tube 56A and the flexible tube 56B. There is an interval of C2. Here, when the bending portion 14 is bent upward as shown in FIG. 9, the upper light guide 22 </ b> A is pushed out to the operation portion 12 side (right hand in the drawing), and the lower light guide 22 </ b> B is the distal end rigid portion 13. When pulled to the side (left hand in the figure), the interval C1 ′ between the flexible tube 46 and the flexible tube 56A increases, and the interval C2 ′ between the flexible tube 56A and the flexible tube 56B decreases. At this time, since the gap C2 ′ is still secured between the flexible tube 56A and the flexible tube 56B that are close to each other, both the flexible tubes 56A and 56B are in the same radial plane. They are not positioned and do not interfere with each other. When the bending portion 14 is bent downward as shown in FIG. 10, the lower light guide 22B is pushed out to the operation portion 12 side (right hand in the drawing), and the upper light guide 22A is moved to the distal end rigid portion 13 side. The distance C2 ″ between the flexible tube 56A and the flexible tube 56B is reduced, and the distance C1 ″ between the flexible tube 46 and the flexible tube 56A is increased. At this time, since the gap C1 ″ is still secured between the flexible tube 46 and the flexible tube 56A approaching each other, both the flexible tubes 46 and 56A are in the same plane in the radial direction. They are not positioned and do not interfere with each other.
[0019]
As described above, the flexible tubes 46, 56A, and 56B, which are the maximum diameter portions of the image guide 21 and the light guides 22A and 22B, have a diameter in each of the linear state and the forward and reverse curved states of the bending portion 14. Are not included in the same plane in the direction (only one flexible tube is always located in the same plane in the radial direction), so that these large-diameter portions are space-efficient in the small-diameter insertion portion 11. They can be arranged well and can avoid mutual interference during assembly and bending.
[0020]
The present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the flexible tubes 46, 56A, and 56B cover the ends of the mesh tubes 44, 54A, and 54B in the flexible tube portion 15, but the mesh tube ends are fixed. The member may be a thread binding portion. Similar to the flexible tube, the thread tying portion is the portion having the largest diameter in the protective structure of the fiber bundle, and therefore, by associating with the flexible tube 46, 56A and 56B of the embodiment, assembly is performed. It becomes possible to avoid mutual interference at the time of bending or bending.
[0021]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent mutual interference between the protection portions of the plurality of optical fiber bundles provided with a simple structure.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external view of an entire endoscope.
2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the insertion portion of the endoscope in FIG. 1 in a straight state of a bending portion. FIG.
3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a distal end rigid portion and a bending portion of the insertion portion in FIG. 2;
4 is a cross-sectional view of the flexible tube portion taken along the line IV-IV in FIG.
5 is a cross-sectional view of a curved portion along the VV cross-sectional line of FIG.
6 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a part of the flexible tube portion of the insertion portion in FIG. 2;
FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a protection structure for the end portion of the mesh tube in the image guide.
FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a protection structure for the end portion of the mesh tube in the light guide.
9 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which a bending portion of the insertion portion of the endoscope shown in FIG. 1 is bent upward. FIG.
10 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which the bending portion of the insertion portion of the endoscope shown in FIG. 1 is bent downward. FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 Endoscope 11 Insertion part (insertion tube)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 Operation part 13 Tip rigid part 14 Bending part 15 Flexible pipe part 17 Universal tube 18 Connector part 19 Light source device 21 Image guide (fiber bundle)
22A 22B Light guide (fiber bundle)
24 Bending operation wire 25 Objective optical system 26 Eyepiece 27A 27B Light distribution lens 28 Bending segment (node ring)
29 Wire guide ring 30 Bending operation lever 40 50A 50B Optical fiber bundle 41 51A 51B Thin-walled tube (protection tube)
42 52A 52B Base 43 Spiral tube (curved protective tube)
44 54A 54B Reticulated tube (curved protective tube)
45 55A 55B Yarn tying portion 46 56A 56B Flexible tube (protection tube fixing member)

Claims (6)

A light guide for illumination and an image guide for observation , each comprising an optical fiber bundle that is arranged substantially in parallel in an insertion tube extending from the operation portion and having a curved portion that can be partially bent, each covered with a protective tube; the light guide and the image guide to cover each of the above protective tube, the insertion tube the curved portion curved protective tube you located; and the end of the operation portion side of the respective curved protective tube, on Kiho in the endoscope having a; protection Mamorukan fixing member Ru is fixed to the tube outer surface
The protective tube fixing member attached to the outer side of the image guide and the protective tube fixing member attached to the outer side of the light guide are arranged such that the protective tube fixing member on the image guide side is closer to the insertion tube than the protective tube fixing member on the light guide side. Inserted so that only one protective tube fixing member is always located in the same plane in the radial direction regardless of the relative position change of the light guide and the image guide due to the change of the bending amount of the bending portion. An apparatus for protecting an optical fiber bundle of an endoscope, wherein the protection device is disposed so as to be separated in a longitudinal direction of the tube . 2. The endoscope optical fiber bundle protection device according to claim 1, wherein the protection tube fixing member is a flexible tube that covers an end of the curved protection tube and is elastically deformable in a radial direction. Mirror optical fiber bundle protector. 3. The protection device for an optical fiber bundle of an endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the curved protective tube is a metal mesh tube. 3. The protection device for an optical fiber bundle of an endoscope according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the curved protection tube covers a spiral tube in which a strip-like material having a flat rectangular cross section is wound spirally and an outer side of the spiral tube. A device for protecting an optical fiber bundle of an endoscope comprising a metal mesh tube. The optical fiber bundle protecting device for an endoscope according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the pair of light guides are disposed on both sides in the radial direction across the image guide, and the pair of light guides An optical fiber bundle protecting device for an endoscope in which the protective tube fixing members attached to the outside of the endoscope are arranged apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the insertion tube . Image guide for observation and a light guide for illumination consisting of optical fiber bundle which is disposed substantially parallel to the insertion tube and a curved portion extending from the flexible tube portion and the movable Shiwakan portion; the light guide and image guide comprising a; each coating, and the bay songs protective tube you positioned in the curved portion, at least the flexible tube protective tube located portion; protective tube fixing member for connecting the the bay song protective tube of the child protecting tube In the endoscope
The protective tube fixing member attached to the outer side of the image guide and the protective tube fixing member attached to the outer side of the light guide are arranged such that the protective tube fixing member on the image guide side is more inserted than the protective tube fixing member on the light guide side. Inserted so that only one protective tube fixing member is always located in the same plane in the radial direction regardless of the relative position change of the light guide and the image guide due to the change of the bending amount of the bending portion. An apparatus for protecting an optical fiber bundle of an endoscope, wherein the protection device is disposed so as to be separated in a longitudinal direction of the tube .

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