JP4526284B2 - Endoscope device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus having a curved portion at a distal end portion of an insertion portion of an elongated endoscope.

  In recent years, endoscopes are widely used in the medical field and the industrial field. Endoscopes used in the medical field include various types of treatment tools that are used to observe organs in a body cavity by inserting an elongated insertion portion into a body cavity, or inserted into an insertion channel of a treatment tool as necessary. Can be treated.

  In addition, endoscopes used in the industrial field are designed to prevent damage and corrosion of a test site by inserting a long and thin insertion portion into piping of a boiler, a gas turbine engine, or a chemical plant, or the body of an automobile engine. Observation, inspection, etc. can be performed.

  A bending portion and a distal end portion are provided at the distal end of the insertion portion of such an endoscope. The user bends and pulls a pulling member such as an operation wire extending from the bending portion inserted into the endoscope by a predetermined operation of the operation portion of the endoscope, thereby bending the bending portion, It is possible to change the observation direction of the objective lens of the observation optical system disposed in the.

  Some endoscopes are provided with a stop member or a control circuit for restricting the movement of the operation wire in order to operate the bending portion only within a predetermined bending operation range.

  For example, in an endoscope bending operation device disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-41532, an operation wire is moved forward and backward by a rotating drum provided inside the device, and the bending portion of the endoscope is bent. . Further, in this bending operation device, the operation wire moves forward and backward so that the first stopper mechanism as a stop member does not apply an excessive load to the bending portion of the endoscope due to an excessive amount of rotation of the rotating drum. Restricted stop members and impact members are provided. Further, the bending portion operating device has a second stopper mechanism that is stronger than the first stopper mechanism and restricts the rotation of the rotating drum so that the movement of the bending portion can be restricted even with an overload more than expected. Is provided.

Next, the control circuit is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent No. 3092980. In an endoscope having this control circuit, a bending operation of the bending portion of the endoscope is not performed by rotating the pulley by an electric driving means using a motor or the like, but by manually rotating the pulley by the user. Is done. This endoscope includes a control device that electrically controls drive means for rotating the pulley. The control device controls the rotation amount of the pulley and limits the range of the maximum rotation amount of the pulley.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-41532 Japanese Patent No. 3092980

  However, in the endoscope having the first and second stopper mechanisms disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-41532, the load applied to the first stopper mechanism is increased, and the first stop member and the first abutment are applied. A predetermined amount of contact between each groove and the protrusion of the member is required. Furthermore, there is a problem that a sufficient abutment surface for stopping the advancement / retraction movement of the operation wire with which the respective grooves and the projections abut is not secured, and the stop strength when the operation wire is moved is lowered.

  Specifically, a rotating drum around which an operation wire for bending the bending portion is wound needs to have a predetermined clearance or more in the thickness direction in order to smoothly rotate. Within the clearance, the rotary drum can move in the thickness direction, and the first stop member of the first stopper mechanism, the respective grooves and protrusions of the first abutting member, and the second stop member of the second stopper mechanism. The amount of contact between the circumferential groove and the second abutting member varies. When these contact amounts are small, there is a possibility that the strength for stopping the advancement / retraction movement of the operation wire by the first and second stopper mechanisms may be reduced. As a means for preventing these, it is necessary to ensure a sufficient depth of each groove and a height of the protrusion, and to ensure a predetermined amount of contact in any situation. However, if the first stop member and the first abutting member of the first stopper mechanism are enlarged to secure the respective contact amounts in order to increase the contact amount, There is a case where the tip of the protrusion collides, and the rotational resistance of the rotating body increases, which hinders the rotation. Further, when the peripheral groove of the second stop member of the second stopper mechanism is deepened and the abutting surface of the second abutting member is enlarged, it is necessary to increase the thickness of the portion to be formed, etc. There is a problem of becoming.

  That is, the endoscope having the first and second stopper mechanisms disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-41532 is provided with a groove and a protrusion of each of the first stop member and the first abutting member of the first stopper mechanism. In the contact amount between the circumferential groove of the second stop member of the second stopper mechanism and the respective groove and protrusion of the second abutting member, the contact amount of the groove and the protrusion varies depending on the floating position of the rotating body. Therefore, there is a problem that the stopper strength varies depending on the situation. Moreover, since this endoscope has the first and second stopper mechanisms, there is also a problem that the number of members used increases.

  Furthermore, in the endoscope disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3092980, information on the joystick full scale and the bending angle of the bending portion is defined in the internal control device.

  Normally, based on this information, the bending unit of the endoscope can be bent to a predetermined bending angle by rotating the pulley unit within the rotation range stored in the electric bending circuit unit. However, when different information is defined in the control device, the bending portion of the endoscope may be operated beyond the desired bending range. It is further preferable that the bending device of the endoscope apparatus is devised with improved stability so as to prevent the bending portion of the endoscope from exceeding the desired bending range.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and does not give a load exceeding a predetermined value applied to the bending portion of the endoscope, and the predetermined stopper strength is maintained even if the stopper mechanism is miniaturized, and various dimensions are provided. It is an object of the present invention to provide an endoscope apparatus having a stopper member with a simple configuration that is rich in stability without being affected by settings.

A first endoscope apparatus according to the present invention has a flexible endoscope having an elongated insertion portion, a bending portion that is provided at a distal end portion of the endoscope and is operated for bending, A pair of operation wires that respectively extend from the bending portion and operate to bend the bending portion in at least two directions; a pulley unit in which the pair of operation wires are wound and two flange portions are opposed to each other ; the a shaft member of the pulley unit to the support shaft rotatably, an endoscopic device is provided, in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said pulley unit, said two of said pulley unit The two first protrusions projecting from the outer peripheral surface of the flange portion , and the first protrusion rotating with the pulley unit at a position spaced from the outer peripheral surfaces of the two flange portions. Provided in a contact position, and the first protrusion is Contact by regulating the maximum rotation amount of the pulley unit, and a second projection defining the maximum bending angle of the bending portion, wherein the shaft member for pivotally supporting said pulley unit, and the second protrusion A base body provided, wherein a direction in which at least one of the first protrusions of the two flange portions protrudes from the rotating shaft toward the outer peripheral side is changeable, and the first protrusion is By changing the clockwise and counterclockwise rotation range of the pulley unit that is regulated by contacting the second protrusion, the pair of operation wires in which the bending portion is in a substantially linear state The range of the maximum clockwise rotation amount of the pulley unit and the range of the maximum counterclockwise rotation amount of the pulley unit from the reference position in the initial state are changed to be different from each other. Different bending angles Sea urchin set was freely.
In addition, a second endoscope apparatus according to the present invention includes an endoscope having flexibility and an elongated insertion portion, and a bending portion that is provided at a distal end portion of the endoscope and is operated for bending. A pair of operation wires extending from the bending portion and bending the bending portion in at least two directions, and a pulley in which the pair of operation wires are wound and the two flange portions are opposed to each other An endoscope apparatus provided with a unit and a shaft member that pivotally supports the pulley unit, wherein the pulley unit has a plane substantially perpendicular to the rotation axis of the pulley unit. The two first protrusions projecting in the same direction from the respective outer peripheral surfaces of the two flange portions, and the position rotating away from the outer peripheral surfaces of the two flange portions and rotating together with the pulley unit Position where the two first protrusions abut The two first protrusions are in contact with each other from a reference position where the pair of operation wires in which the bending portion is in a substantially linear state is in an initial state, and the maximum rotation amount of the pulley unit is regulated. And a second protrusion that defines a maximum bending angle of the bending portion, the shaft member that pivotally supports the pulley unit, and a base body on which the second protrusion is provided.

This onset Ming not give endoscope load of a predetermined or more applied to the curved portion of, even when the size of the stopper mechanism prescribed stopper strength is maintained, as it not to be affected by a variety of sizing, stability It is possible to realize an endoscope apparatus having a stopper member with a simple configuration rich in a large number of objects. In particular, in the endoscope apparatus of the present invention, since the bending portion is not bent more than necessary, damage to members inside the bending portion, the outer skin, and the like can be prevented.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an endoscope apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, an endoscope apparatus 1 includes, for example, an industrial endoscope (hereinafter referred to as an endoscope) 2 and a storage case 8, and main parts are configured. The storage case 8 includes a box body 81 and a lid body 82 that is openably and closably connected to an upper portion of the box body 81, and stores the endoscope 2 and the like when not in use.

  The box 81 of the storage case 8 includes a cushioning material that absorbs an impact force applied from the outside to the endoscope 2 stored inside. Further, inside the box 81, when the endoscope 2 is stored, a drum unit 3, a light source unit 32, which is a storage unit that winds an insertion unit 21 (to be described later) of the endoscope 2 around the outer peripheral surface unit 31, A frame unit 4 in which a camera control unit (hereinafter referred to as CCU) 33, an electric bending drive unit 34, an electric bending circuit unit 35, and the like are housed is disposed.

  Moreover, the frame part 4 is supporting the drum part 3 so that rotation is possible. Furthermore, the drum part 3 is comprised by the tubular member 201 (refer FIG. 5) which has the side plates 203 and 204 and the outer peripheral surface part 31 (all refer FIG. 6) mentioned later.

  A front panel 5 in which various switches, connectors, and air supply / exhaust ducts are provided is provided on the top of the box 81. Specifically, from the upper surface of the front panel 5, various members housed in the frame portion 4 and an AC cable 51 for supplying power to the endoscope 2 are extended.

  In addition, on the upper surface of the front panel 5, an extendable pole 71 that rotatably supports a monitor 7 that displays an image of a region to be examined imaged by the endoscope 2 is provided. Further, a cable 61 of a remote controller (hereinafter referred to as a remote controller) 6 is detachably connected to the upper surface of the front panel 5.

  The remote control 6 is provided with a joystick 62. The joystick 62 serves as a bending input control unit for bending the bending portion 23 of the insertion portion 21 (to be described later) of the endoscope 2. Further, the remote control 6 is provided with a power-on button 63 for various devices and the endoscope 2 housed in the frame unit 4.

  Further, on the upper surface of the front panel 5, a buckling prevention rubber member 52 is provided in which an opening for inserting and removing the insertion portion 21 of the endoscope 2 with respect to the box body 81 is formed. The rubber member 52 for buckling prevention prevents the insertion portion 21 of the endoscope 2 from buckling in the vicinity of the exit of the front panel 5 when the insertion portion 21 of the endoscope 2 is taken out from the box body 81. .

  The endoscope 2 includes an elongated insertion portion 21 having flexibility. When the endoscope 2 is used, the insertion portion 21 is inserted from the front panel 5 through a rubber member 52 for preventing buckling. It is extended. A rigid distal end main body 22, a bending portion 23, and a flexible tube portion 24 having an elongated flexibility are connected to the insertion portion 21 in order from the distal end side.

  The bending portion 23 is configured to be bendable in multiple directions, and the bending portion 23 is arranged in the distal end portion main body 22 by being bent by an operation of the remote controller 6, and will be described later. The observation direction of the objective optical system 116 (see FIG. 3) of the system can be changed to a desired direction.

  Various optical adapters 25 that convert optical characteristics such as a viewing direction and a viewing angle are detachably connected to the distal end of the distal end body 22 of the insertion portion 21 of the endoscope 2.

  Next, the configuration of the endoscope 2 and the drum unit 3 around which the endoscope 2 is wound will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 is a front view showing an internal configuration of the drum section 3 in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the endoscope 2 in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is an IV-IV in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which follows a line.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an internal space formed by the disk-shaped member serving as the side plate 203 of the drum unit 3, the disk-shaped member serving as the side plate 204, and the outer peripheral surface unit 31 (see FIG. 6). In addition, devices such as the light source unit 32, the CCU 33, the electric bending drive unit 34, and the electric bending circuit unit 35 are accommodated.

  The light source unit 32 is mainly configured by a lamp unit 221 and a lighting device 222. The light source unit 32 is connected to a light guide receiving unit 37 which will be described later, thereby irradiating illumination light to the proximal end surface of the light guide 111 inserted through the insertion unit 21 of the endoscope 2.

  The CCU 33 performs signal processing on a charge coupled device solid-state imaging device (hereinafter referred to as a CCD) 117 (see FIG. 3), which will be described later, disposed on the distal end body 22 of the insertion portion 21 of the endoscope 2.

  The electric bending drive unit 34 includes a device that generates a driving force when the bending portion 23 of the insertion portion 21 of the endoscope 2 is bent, and causes the bending portion 23 to bend. The electric bending drive unit 34 will be described later in detail in FIG.

  The electric bending circuit unit 35 controls a driving state of the electric bending driving unit 34 based on an operation instruction signal input from the joystick 62 of the remote controller 6 and controls a bending state of the bending unit 23 of the endoscope 2. Have.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the optical adapter 25 that is detachable from the distal end main body 22 is configured by arranging an adapter-side optical system 102 and an illumination optical system 103 on the adapter main body 101.

  Further, a light guide 111 that transmits the illumination light supplied from the light source unit 32 to the test site is inserted into the insertion unit 21. The base end of the light guide 111 is fixed to a light guide connector 112 serving as a base as shown in FIG. The light guide connector 112 is assembled to the light guide connector receiving portion 37, and the light guide connector receiving portion 37 is connected to the light source portion 32.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the distal end main body 22 is provided with an illumination window 113 at the distal end. An illumination lens 114 is fixed to the illumination window 113. The distal end of the light guide 111 is located on the proximal end side of the illumination lens 114.

  Therefore, the illumination light supplied from the light source unit 32 is transmitted through the light guide 111, passes through the illumination lens 114 from the tip surface of the light guide 111, and further passes through the illumination optical system 103 of the optical adapter 25. The test site is irradiated.

  Further, an observation window 115 that is an imaging window is disposed adjacent to the illumination window 113 at the distal end of the distal end main body 22, and an objective optical system 116 is disposed on the proximal end side of the observation window 115. It is arranged. A CCD 117 is disposed at the imaging position of the objective optical system 116.

  One end of each of the plurality of signal lines 118 is connected to the outer periphery of the CCD 117, and the other end of each of the plurality of signal lines 118 is connected to the CCU 33 as shown in FIG. The CCU 33 generates a standard video signal from the signal that has been imaged and photoelectrically converted by the CCD 117 transmitted via the signal line 118, and outputs the standard video signal to the monitor 7 (see FIG. 1). As a result, an endoscopic image that is an image of the region to be examined is displayed on the screen of the monitor 7.

  The bending portion 23 of the endoscope 2 is configured by covering a plurality of bending pieces 121 formed in an annular shape so as to be rotatable along an optical axis direction, and covering a net tube 122 and a tube body 123. Yes. The distal end portion of the bending piece 121 is fixed to the rear end portion on the proximal end side of the distal end portion main body 22.

  Inside the bending portion 23 of the endoscope 2, the light guide 111 and the signal line 118 are arranged in a column or a position slightly shifted in the left-right direction with respect to the bending vertical direction, as shown in FIG. 4. The outer periphery of the tube body 123 is covered with an outer skin 124 along substantially the entire region up to the proximal end portion of the insertion portion 21.

  As shown in FIG. 4, for example, four hole portions 125 are formed at positions corresponding to the upper and lower sides and the left and right sides in the thin portion that divides the circumference of the annular portion of the bending piece 121 into approximately four equal parts. Inside the four holes 125, insertion portion side wires 135, 136, 137, and 138 of bending operation wires 131, 132, 133, and 134, which are angle wires, are slidably inserted.

  The distal end portions of the insertion portion side wires 135 to 138 are respectively fixed at positions corresponding to the vertical and lateral directions of the distal end portion of the bending piece 121. Therefore, the insertion portion side wires 135 to 138 corresponding to the respective directions are pulled and relaxed by the electric bending drive portion 34, so that the bending portion 23 of the endoscope 2 is bent in desired directions in the vertical and horizontal directions. .

  Therefore, the observation direction of the objective optical system 116 (see FIG. 3) of the observation optical system, which will be described later, disposed in the distal end main body 22 can be changed to desired directions in the vertical and horizontal directions. In addition, the insertion portion side wires 135 to 138 are mainly formed by a pair of insertion portion side wires 135 and 136 and a pair of insertion portion side wires 137 and 138, respectively, by two metal guide tubes 139 such as stainless steel. Then, it is guided to the proximal end side of the insertion portion 21 of the endoscope 2.

The insertion portion side wires 135 to 138 are connected to the electric bending drive portion 34. This connection will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a partial front view showing in detail the electric bending drive section 34 of the drum section 3 of FIG.
As shown in the figure, the pair of insertion portion side wires 135 and 136 are connected to the pair of electric bending drive portion side wires 141 and 142 on the electric bending drive portion 34. Although not illustrated in FIG. 5, the pair of insertion portion side wires 137 and 138 are connected to the pair of electric bending drive portion side wires 143 and 144 on the electric bending drive portion 34.

  The electric bending drive unit 34 is provided with a pair of pulley units 153, which will be described later, which are the same mechanism that bends the bending portion 23 of the endoscope 2 in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, for example.

The insertion portion side wires 135 to 138 and the electric bending drive portion side wires 141 to 144 constitute bending operation wires 131 to 134.
Hereinafter, the pair of insertion portion side wires 135 and 136 are used as bending wires in the vertical direction of the bending portion 23 of the endoscope 2, and the pair of insertion portion side wires 137 and 138 are left and right of the bending portion 23 of the endoscope 2. Direction wire.

  The proximal end portion of the guide tube 139 is led out to the connector portion 9, and the proximal end portion is engaged by an engagement portion 167 made of sheet metal (hereinafter referred to as engagement sheet metal 167) of the drum portion 3. It is supported. Further, the pair of insertion portion side wires 135 and 136 and the pair of electric bending drive portion side wires 141 and 142 are connected at a midway position between the engagement sheet metal 167 and the pulley units 153 and 154. A male screw cap 168 having a male screw and a female screw cap 169 having a female screw are used. The connection between the insertion portion side wires 137 and 138 and the electric bending drive portion side wires 143 and 144 is the same.

  The male screw cap 168 and the female screw cap 169 are provided with chemical loosening prevention means such as a screw lock. Furthermore, you may make it provide the heat contraction tube which coat | covers the male screw cap 168 and the female screw cap 169 in the said connection location.

  In addition, the electric curve drive part side wires 141-144 are using a wire with a diameter larger than the insertion part side wires 135-138. That is, the electric bending drive unit side wires 141 to 144 are thick and supple wires with high repeated bending resistance.

  Specifically, for the insertion portion side wires 135 to 138, 1 × 3, 1 × 7 twisted wires having a diameter of about 0.2 to 0.5 mm are used, and the electric bending drive portion side wires 141 to 144 are used. In this case, 7 × 7, 3 × 7, 7 × 19 twisted wires having a diameter larger than that of the insertion portion side wires 135 to 138 are used.

  Furthermore, the locking base 310 which is a base part with a diameter larger than the electric bending drive part side wires 141-144 is formed in the base end part side of the electric bending drive part side wires 141-144, respectively.

  The electric bending drive unit 34 is provided with a pulley unit 153 around which a pair of electric bending drive unit side wires 141 and 142 connected to the pair of insertion unit side wires 135 and 136 is wound. A pulley unit 154 having the same configuration as the pulley unit 153 around which the pair of electric bending drive unit side wires 141 and 142 connected to the insertion unit side wires 137 and 138 is wound is provided.

  Therefore, in the following description, the pair of electric bending drive unit side wires 141 and 142 connected to the pair of insertion unit side wires 135 and 136 for bending the bending unit 23 of the endoscope 2 in the vertical direction are wound. The description will focus on the pulley unit 153 having the pulley body.

  As the pulley units 153 and 154 rotate, the bending operation wires 131 to 134 are pulled and loosened, respectively. The pulley units 153 and 154 are pivotally supported on the output shafts 217 and 218 of the motor units 211 and 212 disposed in the electric bending drive unit 34, respectively.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the drum part 3 in which the electric bending drive part 34 is housed is constituted by a tubular member 201 having an outer peripheral surface part 31 and a pair of disk members 202. When the endoscope 2 is stored in the box 81 (see FIG. 1), the insertion portion 21 of the endoscope 2 is wound around the outer peripheral surface portion 31 of the tubular member 201. One set of disk members 202 closes the openings on the front surface and the back surface of the tubular member 201 in the figure.

  The disk member 202 is a side plate 203 that covers the opening on the surface of the drum portion 3 shown in FIG. 2 and the side plate 203 that closes the opening on the back surface of the drum portion 3. To do.

In addition, the electric bending drive unit 34 is connected to the electric bending circuit unit 35 by cables 165 and 230. Next, the electric bending drive unit 34 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line VI-VI in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, a mounting plate 323 for connecting the side plate 203 and the side plate 204 is disposed inside the drum portion 3 formed by the side plate 203, the side plate 204, and the tubular member 201. In addition, a pair of base bodies 322 for connecting the mounting plate 323 and the tubular member 201 are disposed.

  Motor units 211 and 212 are fixed to the pair of base bodies 322, respectively, and a pulley unit 153 is rotatably supported on an output shaft 217 of the motor unit 211. The motor unit 211 is connected to a potentiometer 151 that is a variable resistor that detects the rotation angle of the output shaft 217.

  The motor unit 211 includes a motor unit 320 serving as a driving source for generating a driving force, and a reduction gear unit 321 configured by a gear train such as a spur gear or a planetary gear that transmits the driving force of the motor unit 320 to the output shaft 217. Thus, the main part is configured. The motor unit 211 has a plus terminal and a minus terminal, and a cable 230 led out from the bipolar terminals is connected to the electric bending circuit unit 35.

  The potentiometer 151 has first and second terminals indicating the upper and lower limits of its resistance value and a third terminal indicating a resistance value corresponding to the rotational position. These three terminals are connected to the electric bending circuit unit 35 via the cable 165.

  The configuration and connection mode on the motor unit 212 side are the same as the configuration and connection mode on the motor unit 211 side described above, and the description thereof is omitted.

  The electric bending circuit unit 35 of the drum unit 3 is based on the current rotational position information of the output shaft 217 detected by the potentiometer 151 and the operation instruction signal transmitted from the joystick 62 (see FIG. 1) of the remote controller 6. The motor units 211 and 212 of the electric bending drive unit 34 shown in FIG. Accordingly, the bending portion 23 of the endoscope 2 is bent in a desired direction by a mechanism described later.

  Note that the rotational position information of the potentiometers 151 and 152 that is the maximum bending angle of the bending portion 23 of the endoscope 2 is stored as a default value on the electric bending circuit portion 35. That is, up to that value, pulley units 153 and 154 described later can rotate. However, even if it is a default value, the numerical value cannot be changed, and can be corrected to an arbitrary value by connecting a personal computer (not shown) to the endoscope apparatus 1. In addition, even if an incorrect value is input to the electric bending circuit unit 35 as an arbitrary value, the rotation amount of the pulley units 153 and 154 is controlled by a base body side stopper 322 and a flange side stopper 324 described later. Is done. As a result, the bending portion 23 of the endoscope 2 can perform a bending operation only within a bending range having no problem.

The electric bending drive unit 34 and the electric bending circuit unit 35 are accommodated in the drum unit 3 and are rotatable with respect to the frame unit 4 as described above.
FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view of the drum portion 3 and the electric bending drive portion 34 accommodated therein as viewed from the upper side, that is, the front panel 5 side. Further, FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the electric bending drive unit 34 shown in FIG. These FIGS. 7 and 8 should be supplementary explanation diagrams for the configuration of the electric bending drive unit 34 described above.

  Next, the pulley units 153 and 154 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 9 is a transverse sectional view taken along line VII-VII of the pulley units 153 and 154 in FIG. 5, and FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line VIII-O-VIII in FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional view of the electric bending drive unit 34 housed inside the drum unit 3 as viewed from the front panel 5, and FIG. 12 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the line IX-IX of FIG. is there. Here, FIG. 12 should be an explanatory supplementary diagram of pulley units 153 and 154 described below.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the pulley unit 153 has an outward flange portion 301 </ b> F (see FIG. 10) at a position in contact with the outer periphery of the output shaft 217 that is rotatably supported by the output shaft 217. A pulley body 301 having an annular portion, two hollow substantially disc-shaped flange portions 302 sandwiching a portion other than the outward flange portion 301F of the pulley body 301, and the two flange portions 302. The main part is composed of locking members 303a and 303b (hereinafter also simply referred to as a locking member 303) which are provided locking portions.

  The flange portion 302 has a flange-side stopper 324 that protrudes in the outer circumferential direction in a plane substantially orthogonal to the rotation axis as the first protrusion. The flange-side stopper 324 has contact portions 326a and 326b, which will be described later, on both side surfaces in a direction substantially orthogonal to the substantially disc-shaped projecting direction.

  The base body 322 (see FIG. 11) is located at a predetermined distance from the outer periphery of the flange portion 302 of the pulley unit 153, and has two gaps between the electric bending drive portion side wire 141 and the electric bending drive portion side wire 142. A base body side stopper 325 is provided. The two base body side stoppers 325 are fixed by a fixing member such as a screw 327 (see FIG. 12) so as to protrude in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the base body 322, that is, the plane of the flange portion 302. . Further, the two base body side stoppers 325 have peripheral surface portions 328a and 328b each having a cylindrical shape, and the outer peripheral surfaces of these peripheral surface portions 328a and 328b are in contact with the contact portions 326a and 326b of the flange side stopper 324. It is positioned where it can. One peripheral surface portion 328 a is in contact with the contact portion 326 a of the flange side stopper 324, and the other peripheral surface portion 328 b is in contact with the contact portion 326 b of the flange side stopper 324.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the pulley unit 153 includes a surface on which the base body 322 and the outward flange 301F face each other, and a surface on which the mounting plate 323 and the outward flange 301F face each other so that smooth rotation operation can be performed. Clearances are provided so as to be spaced apart in the thickness direction at a distance Δh. In the range of the clearance distance Δh, the pulley unit 153 can move in the thickness direction. Therefore, the peripheral surface portions 328a and 328b of the base body side stopper 325 are cylinders whose outer peripheral surfaces can always come into contact with the contact portions 326a and 326b of the flange side stopper 324 even when the pulley unit 153 moves in the thickness direction. Have a length.

  The locking members 303a and 303b are configured by a main body having a rotary body shape with a trapezoidal cross section and disk-like leg portions 306a and 306b formed on the lower surface of the main body. That is, the locking members 303a and 303b have a helical shape.

  The outer peripheral surfaces of the main bodies of the locking members 303a and 303b shown in FIG. 10 form slope portions 309a and 309b, respectively, and grooves on the lower leg portions 306a and 306b of the locking members 303a and 303b. The locking grooves 307a and 307b are respectively formed.

  In addition, when the pair of electric bending drive unit side wires 141 and 142 are wound around the pulley main body 153, a part of the slope portions 309a and 309b is the main body of the locking members 303a and 303b. Locking surfaces 311a and 311b for locking the locking caps 310a and 310b formed on the base end side of the bending drive side wires 141 and 142 are formed as shown in FIG.

  Further, the positions of the holes 305a and 305b provided in the flange portion 302 will be described with reference to FIGS. A hole portion 305a is formed in one of the two flange portions 302, and the hole portion 305a is formed in the other flange portion 302 at a position that is symmetric with respect to the line IX-IX line shown in FIG. 305b is formed.

  The leg portion 306 a of the locking member 303 a is rotatably fitted in the hole portion 305 a of one flange portion 302, and the leg portion 306 b of the locking member 303 b is rotated to the hole portion 305 b of the other flange portion 302. Fits freely.

  On the outer peripheral surface of the pulley main body 301, a groove 304a is formed on the lower side in FIG. 10 of the shaft 900 orthogonal to the central axis 800 of the output shaft 217 and in the vicinity of the hole portion 305a of one flange portion 302 formed. It is formed along the outer peripheral surface. A part of the main body of the locking member 303a is rotatably fitted in the groove 304a.

  Further, on the outer peripheral surface of the pulley body 301, which is the upper side in FIG. 10 of the shaft 900 orthogonal to the center axis 800 of the output shaft 217, in the vicinity where the hole 305a of one flange portion 302 is formed, A winding surface 308a around which the electric bending drive unit side wire 142 is wound is formed.

  Further, on the outer peripheral surface of the pulley main body 301, the back side of the middle point in the thickness direction, that is, the upper side of the shaft 900 orthogonal to the central axis 800 of the output shaft 217 in FIG. A groove 304b is formed along the outer peripheral surface in the vicinity of the portion 305b. A part of the main body of the locking member 303b is rotatably fitted in the groove 304b.

  Further, the outer peripheral surface of the pulley body 301 is on the surface side of the center in the thickness direction where the groove 304b is not formed, that is, on the lower side in FIG. 10 of the shaft 900 orthogonal to the central axis 800 of the output shaft 217. A winding surface 308b around which the electric bending drive unit side wire 141 is wound is formed in the vicinity of the hole portion 305b of the one flange portion 302.

  A pair of electric bending drive side wires 141 and 142 are wound around the pulley body 301 of the pulley unit 153 configured as described above. Specifically, the electric bending drive unit side wire 141 is guided around the locking groove 307a of the locking member 303a and the inclined surface portion 309b of the locking member 303b and is wound around the winding surface 308b of the outer peripheral surface of the pulley body 301.

Further, the electric bending drive unit side wire 142 is wound around the winding surface 308a of the outer peripheral surface of the pulley body 301 while being guided by the locking groove 307b of the locking member 303b and the inclined surface portion 309a of the locking member 303a. .
Since the pulley unit 154 has the same configuration as the pulley unit 153, the description thereof is omitted.

Next, a method for using the endoscope apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described.
First, the user opens the lid 82 of the storage case 8 and connects the AC cable 51 to the power source. Next, after taking out the remote controller 6, the user grasps the vicinity of the distal end main body 22 of the insertion portion 21 of the endoscope 2 and slowly pulls out the insertion portion 21.

  When the user pulls out the insertion portion 21, the drum portion 3 around which the insertion portion 21 is wound around the outer peripheral surface portion 31 rotates. Therefore, the drum part 3 supplies the insertion part 21 from the storage case 8 to the outside of the storage case 8 through the rubber member 52 for buckling prevention. Note that this operation may be performed electrically using the remote controller 6.

  Further, the user selects the optical adapter 25 necessary for the inspection, attaches the optical adapter 25 to the tip body 22, and turns on the power-on button 63 of the remote controller 6. As a result, the endoscope 2 is in an inspectable state.

Next, the bending operation of the bending portion 23 of the endoscope 2 during the examination and the driving operation of the electric bending driving portion 34 by the operation of the remote controller 6 will be described.
When the user operates the joystick 62 of the remote controller 6 in a desired direction, up, down, left, or right, a signal corresponding to the tilt angle of the joystick 62 is transmitted to the electric bending circuit unit 35 shown in FIGS.

  The electric bending circuit unit 35 receives the operation signal of the joystick 62 and calculates the amount of rotation corresponding to the operation signal of the motor unit 320 of the motor units 211 and 212 of the electric bending drive unit 34 (see FIG. 6 for both). On the other hand, a rotation instruction signal corresponding to the calculation result is transmitted to the motor units 211 and 212.

  The motor units 211 and 212 rotate the output shaft (not shown) in response to the rotation instruction signal transmitted from the electric bending circuit unit 35. The rotation of the motor unit 320 of the motor units 211 and 212 is transmitted to the output shafts 217 and 218 via the reduction gear unit 321, and the output shafts 217 and 218 rotate. As the output shafts 217 and 218 rotate, the pulley units 153 and 154 rotate.

  Here, the rotation of the pulley units 153 and 154 will be described. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of the pulley unit before rotation, FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view showing that the pulley units 153 and 154 have rotated a certain amount clockwise from the position shown in FIG. 13, and FIG. FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view showing that the pulley units 153 and 154 rotate a certain amount clockwise from the position shown in FIG. 14, and FIG. 16 shows that the pulley units 153 and 154 rotate a certain amount clockwise from the position shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing that the limit of clockwise rotation has been reached.

  In the state before the rotation of the pulley unit 153 shown in FIG. 13, the electric bending drive unit side wires 141 and 142 are in an initial state in which a predetermined tension is applied. At this time, the bending unit 23 of the endoscope 2 is It is a straight state.

  First, the direction in which the electric bending drive unit side wire 141 is wound by the rotation of the pulley unit 153 will be described. When the output shaft 217 of the pulley unit 153 rotates clockwise from the position shown in FIG. 13, the pulley body 301 of the pulley unit 153 is integrally rotated clockwise.

  That is, the pulley unit 153 inserts the electric bending drive unit side wire 141 into the locking groove 307a (see FIG. 10) of the locking member 303a disposed in the pulley unit 153, and the locking surface 311a (see FIG. 9). ), In a state where the locking base 310a of the electric bending drive unit side wire 141 is locked, it is rotated clockwise from the position shown in FIG. 13 to the position shown in FIG. 16 through the positions shown in FIGS. It moves. As a result, the pulley unit 153 winds the electric bending drive unit side wire 141 around the winding surface 308 b of the pulley body 301.

  Accordingly, since the electric bending drive unit side wire 141 is pulled, the insertion unit side wire 135 connected by the male screw cap 168 and the female screw cap 169 is pulled. Accordingly, the bending portion 23 of the endoscope 2 is bent in a direction pulled by the insertion portion side wire 135, for example, in an upward direction.

  After that, as shown in FIG. 16, the pulley unit 153 rotates clockwise by pulling the electric bending drive unit side wire 141 until the female screw cap 169 just contacts the flange portion 302.

  On the other hand, the non-winding electric bending drive unit side wire 142 inserted through the locking groove 307b (see FIG. 10) of the locking member 303b and partially wound around the winding surface 308a has the pulley body 301. By rotating clockwise from the position shown in FIG. 13, the locking base 310b of the electric bending drive unit side wire 142 is separated from the locking surface 311b of the locking member 303b as shown in FIG. As a result, the insertion portion side wire 136 connected to the electric bending drive portion side wire 142 is relaxed.

Thereafter, the electric bending drive unit side wire 142 slides in the locking groove 307b. At that time, the pulley body 301 passes through the positions shown in FIGS.
At this time, the electric bending drive unit side wire 142 and the insertion unit side wire 136 connected thereto are slightly pulled into the insertion unit side but are not actively pushed back. As shown in FIG. 15, an excessive portion 142 </ b> T is generated on the wire 142.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 15, the locking base 310b gradually moves away from the locking member 303b, and the surplus portion 142T of the electric bending drive unit side wire 142 is the side opposite to the insertion unit 21 side. It moves to the base end side of 153.

  After that, as shown in FIG. 16, when the pulley unit 153 reaches the limit of clockwise rotation, the electric bending drive unit side wire 142 becomes linear, and the bending load of the electric bending drive unit side wire 142 is It becomes almost 0 (zero).

  Since the locking member 303 is rotatable with respect to the flange portion 302, the direction can be rotated as shown in FIGS. 13 to 16 according to the trajectory of the electric bending drive unit side wires 141 and 142. Therefore, the load on the electric bending drive unit side wires 141 and 142 due to the rotation of the pulley unit 153 can be reduced.

  According to such a configuration, the electric bending drive unit side wires 141 and 142 connected to the insertion unit side wires 135 and 136 are slack due to the pulling and loosening of the insertion unit side wires 135 and 136 due to the rotation of the pulley unit 153. It does not occur. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the bending operation wires 131 and 132 configured by the insertion portion side wires 135 and 136 and the electric bending drive portion side wires 141 and 142 from being consumed.

  The rotation amount of the pulley output shaft 217 that rotates the pulley unit 153 is detected by the potentiometer 151 as described above. Specifically, the motor unit 320 (see FIG. 6) is always operated in a state where the rotation position of the output shaft 217 is monitored by the potentiometer 151.

  Therefore, the electric bending circuit unit 35 causes the operation of the motor unit 320 to stop at the stage where the calculated value calculated by the calculation process and the rotation amount coincides with the rotation position of the output shaft 217 detected by the potentiometer 151. The motor unit 320 is controlled.

  When the joystick 62 (see FIG. 1) is operated by the above operation, the bending portion 23 of the endoscope 2 is bent in a desired direction, and the bending portion 23 is disposed in the distal end portion main body 22. In addition, the observation direction of an objective optical system 116 (see FIG. 3) of the observation optical system described later can be changed to a desired direction. This can be used to observe the inspection object.

  Therefore, the operator operates the pulley unit 153 to perform a normal rotation operation, inspects the inspection object, pulls out the insertion portion 21 from the pipe, winds the insertion portion 21 around the drum portion 3, and then By closing the lid 82, the cleaning of the endoscope apparatus 1 is completed.

  As described above, the pulley unit 153 rotates as instructed to operate. However, since the default value on the electric bending circuit unit 35 is arbitrarily determined, the rotation amount of the pulley unit 153 is set freely. That is, the electric bending circuit unit 35 may be erroneously set to exceed the predetermined rotation amount of the pulley unit 153, and the bending unit 23 of the endoscope 2 may be bent to exceed the maximum bending angle.

  Accordingly, the pulley unit 153 rotates to a minute angle that does not cause the bending angle of the bending portion 23 of the endoscope 2 to be an excessive angle and exceeds the set bending angle, and the contact of the flange side stopper 324 as shown in FIG. The contact portion 326a and the peripheral surface portion 328a of the base body side stopper 325 come into contact with each other to prevent clockwise rotation.

  Further, in the case of counterclockwise rotation, the pulley unit 153 is prevented from rotating counterclockwise by the contact portion 326b of the flange side stopper 324 and the peripheral surface portion 328b of the base body side stopper 325 coming into contact with each other.

  The above-described clockwise operation of the pulley unit 153 is the same even when the pulley unit 153 pulls the electric bending drive unit side wire 142 by rotating counterclockwise and loosens the electric bending drive unit side wire 141. Therefore, the description is omitted. Furthermore, since the rotation operation of the pulley unit 154 has the same configuration, the description of the operation is omitted.

  As a result of the above, in the endoscope apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, at least a part of the contact portion 326a or 326b of the flange-side stopper 324 is always at the maximum rotation amount in both directions of the pulley units 153 and 154. The base body side stopper 325 contacts the peripheral surface portion 328a or the peripheral surface portion 328b. Therefore, the bending portion 23 of the endoscope 2 can prevent the pulley units 153 and 154 from rotating with a stable holding force of the flange side stopper 324 and the base body side stopper 325. Performance to be operated is ensured.

  In addition, since the bending portion 23 of the endoscope 2 is not bent more than necessary, damage to members inside the bending portion 23 and the outer skin is prevented.

  Furthermore, the bending operation wires 131, 132, 133, 134, the insertion portion side wires 135, 136, 137, 138, the locking members 303a, 303b, the locking caps 310a, 310b, the male screw cap 168, the female screw cap 169, etc. Since unnecessary tension is not applied by the rotation of the pulley units 153 and 154, each damage is prevented.

  In particular, in the drum type endoscope apparatus 1, the position of the electric bending drive unit 34 changes to various positions according to the rotation position of the drum unit 3. That is, the pulley units 153 and 154 maintain substantially uniform rotation stopping performance by the flange side stopper 324 and the base body side stopper 325 regardless of the position of the electric bending drive unit 34.

  As shown in FIG. 18, the base body 322 (see FIG. 11) has a plurality of screw hole portions 329 that are screwed into the screws 327, and the base body side stopper 325 extends from the outer periphery of the flange portion 302 of the pulley unit 153. Alternatively, the screw holes 329 may be selectively fixed and disposed at predetermined spaced positions. In this case, since the arrangement position of the base body side stopper 325 can be changed for each model of the endoscope apparatus 1, it can be arranged at a position suitable for the rotation of the pulley units 153 and 154. Further, even in the same model of the endoscope apparatus 1, the base body side stopper 325 is provided by changing the rotation range of the pulley units 153 and 154 in order to adjust the tension amount of the bending operation wires 131, 132, 133, and 134. The arrangement position can be changed.

  Further, two base body side stoppers 325 are provided for the flange side stopper 324, but one base body side stopper 325 may be provided for the base body 322.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 19, the two flange side stoppers 324 of the pulley units 153 and 154 may be changed in the protruding direction. In this case, the abutting portion 326 of each flange-side stopper 324 is changed in distance, which is a rotation amount that abuts against the base-body-side stopper 325, and depending on the type of the endoscope apparatus 1, the pulley units 153 and 154 rotate clockwise. Can be used for different rotation ranges and counterclockwise rotation ranges. That is, the bending portion 23 of the endoscope 2 can set the bending angle in the other direction to an angle different from the bending angle in one direction with respect to the straight axis.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 20, the flange portion 302 may be provided with a protrusion piece 343 as a separate member, and fixed to the disk surface of the flange portion 302 by a fixing means such as a screw 344 on the surface thereof. . The fixing means for the flange portion 302 and the protruding piece 343 may be fixed by adhesion, welding, or the like. The material of the projecting piece 343 may be the same material as that of the flange 302, for example, a metal such as brass or stainless steel, or a resin such as ABS resin, polycarbonate, or polyphenylene sulfide. The disk surface of the flange portion 302 may have a plurality of female screw portions (not shown), and the protruding piece 343 may be fixed by a screw 344 or the like at an arbitrary female screw portion position.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 21, the winding surface 308 has a recess 346 on the outer surface of the winding surface 308 at a portion where the electric bending drive unit side wires 141 and 142 are not wound, and the recess 346. The projecting piece 345 may be press-fitted into. Also in this case, the winding surface 308 and the protruding piece 345 may be the same material or different materials, and the protruding piece 345 may be a metal or a resin as described above. Furthermore, the winding surface 308 may be provided with a plurality of recesses 346 so that the protruding piece 345 can be fixed at an arbitrary position. Further, the protruding piece 345 is not necessarily fixed by press fitting into the concave portion 346 of the winding surface 308 but may be fixed by fixing means such as adhesion, welding, solder, or screws.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 22, either one of the two flange portions 302 has one flange-side stopper 324 that protrudes in the outer circumferential direction in a plane substantially perpendicular to the rotation axis. May be.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 23 (a), the two flange portions 302 may be connected to the planar end portions on the respective protrusion sides by vertical surface portions. That is, the two flange portions 302 have a substantially disk shape that is bent into a U-shape that is integrated by a surface portion where the two flange side stoppers 324 are vertically connected. At this time, as shown in FIG. 23A, the base body 322 (see FIG. 11) is located at a predetermined distance from the outer periphery of the flange portion 302 of the pulley unit 153, and is opposed to the electric curve driving portion side wire. It is necessary to provide two base body side stoppers 325 positioned on the outer side opposite to between 141 and the electric bending drive unit side wire 142.

  Accordingly, the pulley units 153 and 154 have a larger area in which the abutting portions 326a and 326b abut on the peripheral surface portions 328a and 328b of the base body side stopper 325, and the two flange portions 302 are connected by the surface portion. Therefore, the function of the rotation stopping force is enhanced. Moreover, since the electric bending drive part side wires 141 and 142 wound around the pulley units 153 and 154 are not detached from the flange part 302, the bending operation of the bending part 23 of the endoscope 2 can be performed stably. Can do.

  FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view showing that the pulley unit 153 or 154 is rotated a certain amount clockwise from the position shown in FIG. FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional view showing that a certain amount of clockwise rotation has been reached from the position shown in FIG. 25 and the limit of rotation has been reached.

  These FIG. 24 to FIG. 26 should be used as reference views because they perform the same operation as the pulley unit 153 of FIG. 13 to FIG. 16 described above.

  Also, in the pulley unit 153 in which the two flange side stoppers 324 are vertically connected as shown in FIG. 27, the contact portion of the flange side stopper 324 is prevented so that the angle of the curved portion 23 of the endoscope 2 is not excessive. 326a and the peripheral surface portion 328a of the base body side stopper 325 come into contact with each other to prevent clockwise rotation.

  The pulley units 153 and 154 may be formed by integrally forming the pulley main body 301 and the flange portion 302.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 23 (b), the base body side stopper 325a has a thread groove that engages with a screw hole 329 (see FIG. 18) of the base body 322, and an end surface portion on the opposite side to the thread groove. May have a rotation groove for engaging with a screwdriver or the like for adjusting the screwing amount.

(Second Embodiment)
An endoscope apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment, and the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the configuration, operation, and Description of matters having effects is omitted.

  First, the pulley unit 153 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 26, 27, and 28.

  As shown in FIGS. 28 and 29, the two flange portions 302 of the pulley unit 153 have a stopper disc 340 on the outer surface facing the surface of the base body 322. Further, the stopper disk 340 has a disk-side stopper 341 having a contact portion 342 as a first protrusion that protrudes toward the outer circumferential direction within a plane substantially orthogonal to the rotation axis thereof. .

  As shown in FIG. 28, the base body 322 is provided with a cylindrical base body-side stopper 332 having a cylindrical portion 336 (see FIG. 30) as a second protrusion. The base body side stopper 332 is fixed to the base body 322 by a fixing member such as a screw (not shown). The base body side stopper 332 is a member having a substantially cylindrical shape protruding in the vertical direction from the surface of the base body 322, that is, in the surface direction of the pulley unit 153. The outer peripheral surface of the base body side stopper 332 is a position where the contact portion 342 of the disk side stopper 341 can contact (see FIG. 29), and the outer surface of the disk of the flange portion 302 and the outer surface of the base body 322 are opposed to each other. It is positioned in the space between and protrudes.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 30, the pulley unit 153 has a surface on which the base body 322 and the disc-side stopper 341 face each other, a mounting plate 323, and an outward flange 301F (see FIG. 10) so that a smooth rotation operation can be performed. ) Have a clearance so as to be separated from each other in the thickness direction at a distance Δh. In the range of the clearance distance Δh, the pulley unit 153 moves in the thickness direction. Therefore, the base body-side stopper 332 has a cylindrical length that allows the cylindrical portion 336 to be in contact with the contact portion 342 of the disk-side stopper 324 even when the pulley unit 153 moves in the thickness direction. The end surface on the side to be connected has a cylinder length that does not contact the outer surface of the disc of the flange portion 302.

  Since the pulley unit 154 has the same configuration as the pulley unit 153, the description thereof is omitted.

  Next, the operation of the endoscope apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described, but the operation described in the first embodiment will be omitted.

  Normally, as in the first embodiment, here, the pulley unit 153 rotates clockwise as instructed to operate. However, the electric bending circuit unit 35 may be erroneously set to exceed the predetermined rotation amount of the pulley unit 153, and the bending unit 23 of the endoscope 2 may be bent to exceed the maximum bending angle.

  Therefore, the pulley unit 153 rotates to a minute angle at which the bending angle of the bending portion 23 of the endoscope 2 does not become an excessive angle to exceed the set bending angle, and as shown in FIG. The abutting portion 342 and the cylindrical portion 336 of the base body side stopper 332 abut on each other to prevent clockwise rotation.

  Even in the case of counterclockwise rotation, the abutting portion 342 of the pulley unit 153 is in contact with the cylindrical portion 336 of the base body side stopper 332 in the same manner as described above, thereby preventing the pulley unit 153 from rotating counterclockwise. Is done.

  The above-described clockwise operation of the pulley unit 153 is the same even when the pulley unit 153 pulls the electric bending drive unit side wire 142 and rotates the electric bending drive unit side wire 141 by rotating counterclockwise. Therefore, the description is omitted. Furthermore, since the rotation operation of the pulley unit 154 has the same configuration, the description of the operation is omitted.

  As a result of the above, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the flange portion 302 has the protrusions of the protruding portions removed, so that the electric bending drive side wires 141 and 142 are temporarily stretched due to the expansion and contraction of the respective wire lengths. Even when sticking occurs, the protrusion of the flange portion 302 is not caught. Therefore, the bending portion 23 of the endoscope 2 cannot be affected by the bending operation.

  Further, the electric bending drive unit side wires 141 and 142 and the pulley unit 153 can prevent the pulley unit 153 from being damaged by the protrusions of the flange portion 302 as described above being hooked on the electric bending drive unit side wires 141 and 142. .

  Furthermore, since the disc outer peripheral shape of the flange portion 302 can be reduced in size, the pulley main body 301 of the pulley unit 153 can be reduced in size, and the pulley unit 153 can maintain a stable rotation preventing function.

The pulley unit 153 and the stopper disc 340 of the pulley main body may be an integral member.
Further, the means for rotating the pulley units 153 and 154 according to the first and second embodiments is not limited to the rotation transmission by the motor units 211 and 212, but the operation knob of the manually rotating means. It may be connected to.

(Third embodiment)
The endoscope apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 31 and 32. FIG. In the description of the endoscope apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the same components as those of the first embodiment and the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and have the configuration, operation, and effect. Description of items will be omitted, and the configuration, operation, and effects of the electric bending drive unit 34 will be mainly described. Since the pulley unit 154 has the same configuration as the pulley unit 153, the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 31 is an exploded view of the periphery of the electric bending drive unit 34 in which the motor unit 211 provided in the endoscope apparatus 1 is attached to the base body 322 and the pulley unit 153 is engaged with the output shaft 217. . FIG. 32 is a partial cross-sectional view of the periphery of the electric bending drive unit 34 after the various members of FIG. 31 are assembled.

  As shown in FIG. 31, the plate-like base body 322 has a substantially circular hole 1005 and four countersinks 1007 around the hole 1005. Each of these four countersinks 1007 is inserted with four countersunk screws 1006 and overlaps with each of the four screw holes 1015 so that a screw hole 1015 of the motor unit 211 described later and a countersunk screw 1006 can be screwed together. In the position.

  The reduction gear part 321 of the motor unit 211 having the motor part 320 is covered with a casing 1000 that is an exterior of the reduction gear part 321.

  One surface of the casing 1000 has four screw hole portions 1015 and at least one screw hole 1002. The screw hole portion 1015 has a cylindrical shape protruding in a direction orthogonal to one surface of the casing 1000.

  The screw hole 1002 is a screw hole provided on one surface of the casing 1000 that is spaced a predetermined distance from the outer peripheral surface of a stopper disc 1004 that engages with an output shaft 217 described later.

  The stopper disk 1004 has, as a first protrusion, a disk-side stopper 1003 that protrudes toward the outer peripheral direction in a plane substantially orthogonal to the rotation axis. The stopper disc 1004 has a hole having the same shape as the cross section of the substantially semicircular output shaft 217 whose side surface is chamfered at the center thereof. Further, the stopper disc 1004 abuts the surface on the side engaged toward the output shaft 217 and the end surface of the chamfered portion of the output shaft 217 facing the surface.

  In addition, a substantially cylindrical motor unit side stopper 1001 is screwed and fixed to the screw hole 1002 as a second protrusion.

  The cylinder length of the screw hole portion 1015 has a length shorter than the length of the motor unit side stopper 1001 in the longitudinal direction excluding the screw portion into which the motor unit side stopper 1001 is screwed. One surface of the base body 322 comes into contact with the end surfaces of these four screw hole portions 1015, and the base body 322 and the motor unit 211 are respectively fixed so as to be integrated by a countersunk screw 1006.

  Further, the motor unit 211 has a potentiometer 151 on the surface of the casing 1000 on the motor unit 320 side, and the output shaft 217 protrudes in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the casing 1000 opposite to the surface on which the potentiometer 151 is located. have.

  A substantially disc-shaped stopper disc 1004 is engaged with the output shaft 217 from the direction in which the output shaft 217 protrudes, that is, from the front end side of the output shaft 217.

  The periphery of the electric bending drive unit 34 including the motor unit side stopper 1001 and the stopper disk 1004 is in a state as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 32, each one surface of the motor unit side stopper 1001 and the stopper disc 1004 is accommodated within the range of the hole thickness of the hole portion 1005 of the base body 322, that is, the plate thickness of the base body 322.

  More specifically, the end surface of the motor unit side stopper 1001, that is, the surface of the motor unit 211 opposite to the side that is screwed into the casing 1000 (see FIG. 31) is the one surface of the pulley unit 153 of the base body 322. It is located on a surface substantially equal to the surface facing the. Further, both surfaces of the stopper disk 1004 are positioned on substantially the same surface as both surfaces of the base body 322. In other words, the stopper disk 1004 is positioned so as to be accommodated in the hole 1005 of the base body 322.

  Since the operation of the endoscope apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is the same as that of the endoscope apparatus 1 of the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

  In other words, normally, as in the first and second embodiments, here, the pulley unit 153 rotates clockwise as instructed to operate. However, the electric bending circuit unit 35 (see FIG. 2) of the electric bending driving unit 34 is erroneously set to exceed the predetermined rotation amount of the pulley unit 153, and the bending unit 23 of the endoscope 2 has the maximum bending angle. In some cases, the bending motion is exceeded.

  Accordingly, the pulley unit 153 rotates to a minute angle at which the bending angle of the bending portion 23 of the endoscope 2 does not become an excessive angle so as to exceed the set bending angle, and a contact portion that is a side surface of the disc-side stopper 1003. And the cylindrical portion which is the outer peripheral surface of the motor unit side stopper 1001 are in contact with each other to prevent clockwise or counterclockwise rotation.

  As a result, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the endoscope apparatus 1 of the present embodiment has a portion of the motor unit side stopper 1001 within the plate thickness of the base body 322. Since the stopper disc 1004 is accommodated, the space around the electric bending drive unit 34 can be reduced.

  A plurality of screw holes 1002 may be provided on one surface of the casing 1000 of the motor unit 211. That is, the motor unit side stopper 1001 can be attached to the casing 1000 of the motor unit 211 so that a desired bending angle position that matches the bending characteristics of the endoscope 2 can be selected.

  Next, a modification of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 33 and 34, a plate-like holding plate 1008 is provided between the base body 322 and the motor unit 211.

  33 is an exploded view of the periphery of the bending operation drive unit 34, and FIG. 34 is a partial cross-sectional view of the periphery of the electric bending drive unit 34 after the various members of FIG. 33 are assembled.

  A holding plate 1008 shown in FIG. 33 has a shaft hole portion 1025 through which the output shaft 217 passes, a screw hole 1009 into which the holding plate side stopper 1001a is screwed, and four countersunk holes 1007 into which four countersunk screws 1006 are respectively inserted. And four holes 1020 through which the four screws 1010 pass, respectively.

  The holding plate 1008 is fixed to the motor unit 211 by four countersunk screws 1006 and fixed to the base body 322 by four screws 1010. Specifically, a countersunk screw 1006 is passed through each of the four countersinks 1007 of the holding plate 1008, and these four countersunk screws 1006 are respectively screwed into four screw holes 1015 provided on one surface of the casing 1000 of the motor unit 211. Match. Therefore, the holding plate 1008 and the motor unit 211 are fixed so as to be integrated. Also, screws 1010 are respectively passed through the four holes 1020 of the holding plate 1008, these four screws 1010 are screwed into the screw holes 1011 of the base body 322, respectively, and the holding plate 1008 and the base body 322 are integrated. It is fixed to become.

  As a result, the motor unit 211, the holding plate 1008, and the base body 322 are integrated. The four holes 1020 and the four countersunk holes 1007 of the holding plate 1008 can be screwed into the screw holes 1015 or the screw holes 1011 of the motor unit 211 or the base body 322 to which the countersunk screws 1006 or screws 1010 respectively correspond. It is provided in such a position.

  A holding plate-side stopper 1001 a that is screwed into the screw hole 1009 of the holding plate 1008 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and has a surface with which a contact portion that is a side surface of the disk-side stopper 1003 of the stopper disc 1004 comes into contact. ing. The screw hole 1009 is a screw groove provided in the holding plate 1008 at a position spaced apart from the outer periphery of a stopper disc 1004 that engages with an output shaft 217 described later.

  As shown in FIG. 34, one surface of each of the holding plate side stopper 1001a and the stopper disk 1004 is accommodated in the hole thickness of the hole portion 1005 of the base body 322, that is, the plate thickness of the base body 322. More specifically, the end surface of the holding plate side stopper 1001a, that is, the surface opposite to the side screwed to the holding plate 1008 is substantially the same as the surface facing the one surface of the pulley unit 153 of the base body 322. Located on the surface. Further, both surfaces of the stopper disk 1004 are positioned on substantially the same surface as both surfaces of the base body 322. In other words, the stopper disk 1004 is located in the hole 1005 of the base body 322.

  By providing the holding plate 1008, it is not necessary to provide the screw hole 1002 in the casing 1000 of the motor unit 211 described above. However, although the periphery of the electric bending drive unit 34 is increased by the thickness of the holding plate 1008, the screw hole 1009 can be provided at an arbitrary position over a wide range of the holding plate 1008. Further, the strength around the electric bending drive unit 34 is increased.

  Note that a plurality of screw holes 1009 may be provided in the holding plate 1008. That is, the operator can attach the holding plate side stopper 1001a to the holding plate 1008 so that the desired bending angle position that matches the bending characteristics of the endoscope 2 can be selected.

  Without changing the strength of the casing 1000, the holding plate side stopper 1001 a can be provided at a desired position at a position corresponding to the bending characteristics of the endoscope 2.

  Note that the endoscope apparatus 1 of the present invention according to the first to third embodiments described above may be used by rearranging the examples without departing from the spirit of these embodiments. .

1 is a perspective view of an endoscope apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is the front view which showed the structure inside the drum part in FIG. It is the cross-sectional view which showed the structure of the endoscope in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which follows the IV-IV line of FIG. FIG. 3 is a partial front view showing in detail an electric bending drive section of the drum section in FIG. 2. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which follows the VI-VI line of FIG. It is the fragmentary sectional view which looked at the electric curve drive part of the drum part and the drum part from the front panel side. It is an enlarged view of the electric bending drive part in FIG. It is a cross-sectional view which follows the VII-VII line of the pulley unit of FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the VIII-O-VIII line of FIG. It is a transverse cross section showing the state of the pulley unit before rotation. It is sectional drawing which follows the IX-IX line of FIG. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing that the pulley unit has rotated a certain amount clockwise from the position shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view showing that the pulley unit has rotated a certain amount clockwise from the position shown in FIG. 13. FIG. 15 is a transverse sectional view showing that the pulley unit has rotated a certain amount clockwise from the position shown in FIG. 14. FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view showing that the pulley unit has rotated a certain amount clockwise from the position shown in FIG. 15 and has reached the limit of rotation. It is a cross-sectional view for explaining a state where the rotation of the pulley unit is stopped by the contact between the flange side stopper of the pulley unit and the base body side stopper. It is a perspective view for demonstrating the screw hole part screwed together with the screw which fixes a base body side stopper. It is a perspective view for demonstrating the pulley unit which the flange side stopper protrudes in a different direction. It is a perspective view for demonstrating the protrusion piece provided in a flange part. It is a perspective view for demonstrating the recessed part provided in the winding surface, and the pulley unit by which the convex-piece piece is press-fitted in the recessed part. It is a perspective view for demonstrating the pulley unit which has a flange side stopper only in one side of two flange parts. It is a perspective view for demonstrating the pulley unit which has a surface part to which two flange side stoppers are connected (a). It is a perspective view for demonstrating the base body side stopper which has a thread groove part and a rotation groove | channel (b). FIG. 22 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the pulley unit in FIG. 5 taken along line VII-VII at the time of FIG. 22. FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view showing that the pulley unit has rotated a certain amount clockwise from the position shown in FIG. 22. FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view showing that the pulley unit has rotated a certain amount clockwise from the position shown in FIG. 24 and has reached the limit of rotation. It is a cross-sectional view for explaining a state where the rotation of the pulley unit is stopped by the contact between the flange side stopper of the pulley unit and the base body side stopper. It is a perspective view for demonstrating the pulley unit which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 27 is a cross-sectional view showing that a certain amount of clockwise rotation has been reached from the position shown in FIG. 26 and that the rotation limit has been reached. It is the fragmentary sectional view which looked at the electric bending drive part from the front panel side. FIG. 10 is an exploded view of the periphery of an electric bending drive unit in which a motor unit provided in an endoscope apparatus according to a third embodiment is attached to a base body and a pulley unit is engaged with an output shaft. FIG. 32 is a partial cross-sectional view of the periphery of the electric bending drive unit after the various members of FIG. 31 are assembled. FIG. 33 is an exploded view of the periphery of the bending operation drive unit 34. 34 is a partial cross-sectional view of the periphery of the electric bending drive unit 34 after the various members of FIG. 33 are assembled.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 ... Drum part (accommodating part), 21 ... Insertion part, 23 ... Bending part, 131, 132 ... Bending operation wire (a pair of operation wires), 133, 134 ... Bending operation wire (a pair of operation wires), 135, 136 ... insertion part side wires (pair of operation wires), 137, 138 ... insertion part side wires (pair of operation wires), 141, 142 ... electric bending drive part side wires (pair of operation wires), 143, 144 ... electric bending Drive part side wires (pair of operation wires), 153... Pulley unit, 154... Pulley unit, 301... Pulley body (pulley), 303 ... locking member (locking part), 303a, 303b. (Locking part), 310a ... locking base (base part), 310b ... locking base (base part), 324 ... flange side stopper (first projection), 325 ... base body side stopper (second) Projection), 326a, 326b ... abutting part, 327 ... screw, 328a, 328b ... peripheral surface part, 390 ... pulley unit, 391 ... pulley unit, 401 ... pulley body (pulley), 403 ... locking member (locking part) ) (One locking part), 409a ... locking base (base part), 409b ... locking base (base part), 509a ... locking base (base part)
Agent Patent Attorney Susumu Ito

Claims (15)

An endoscope having flexibility and an elongated insertion portion;
A bending portion that is provided at a distal end portion of the endoscope and is operated to bend;
A pair of operation wires that respectively extend from the bending portion and operate to bend the bending portion in at least two directions; a pulley unit in which the pair of operation wires are wound and two flange portions are opposed to each other; ,
A shaft member for pivotally supporting the pulley unit;
An endoscope apparatus provided with
Two first protrusions that respectively protrude from outer peripheral surfaces of the two flange portions of the pulley unit in a plane substantially orthogonal to the rotation axis of the pulley unit;
The pulley unit is provided at a position spaced apart from the outer peripheral surfaces of the two flange portions and at a position where the first protrusion that rotates together with the pulley unit contacts, and the first protrusion contacts the pulley unit. A second protrusion that regulates the maximum turning angle of the bending portion and regulates the maximum bending angle of the bending portion,
The shaft member that pivotally supports the pulley unit, and a base body provided with the second protrusion;
With
The direction in which at least one of the first protrusions of the two flange portions protrudes from the rotating shaft toward the outer peripheral side can be changed, and the first protrusion abuts on the second protrusion. By changing the range of clockwise and counterclockwise rotation of the pulley unit that is restricted by this, the pair of operation wires in which the bending portion is in a substantially straight state is changed from the reference position in the initial state. The range of the maximum clockwise rotation amount of the pulley unit and the range of the maximum counterclockwise rotation amount are changed so as to be different from each other, and the maximum bending angle in the relatively bending direction of the bending portion can be set to be different. An endoscopic device characterized by that. An endoscope having flexibility and an elongated insertion portion;
A bending portion that is provided at a distal end portion of the endoscope and is operated to bend;
A pair of operation wires respectively extending from the bending portion and bending the bending portion in at least two directions;
A pulley unit in which the pair of operation wires are wound, and the two flange portions are arranged to face each other;
A shaft member for pivotally supporting the pulley unit;
An endoscope apparatus provided with
Two first protrusions projecting in the same direction from the respective outer peripheral surfaces of the two flange portions of the pulley unit in a plane substantially perpendicular to the rotation axis of the pulley unit;
The pair of the two flange portions provided at positions spaced apart from the outer peripheral surfaces of the two flange portions and at positions where the two first protrusions rotating together with the pulley unit come into contact with each other, and the curved portions are in a substantially linear state. The second first protrusions come into contact with each other from the reference position in which the operation wire is in the initial state to regulate the maximum amount of rotation of the pulley unit to define the maximum bending angle of the bending portion. With protrusions,
The shaft member that pivotally supports the pulley unit, and a base body provided with the second protrusion;
An endoscope apparatus characterized by comprising:   The pulley in which a fixing portion for fixing the second protrusion to the base body so as to protrude in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the two flange portions is separated from the outer peripheral surface of the two flange portions. A plurality of positions around the unit are provided, and the second protrusions are selectively fixed to the plurality of fixing parts, thereby changing the position where the second protrusions abut on the first protrusions. The range of the maximum rotation amount of the pulley unit is changed from the reference position where the pair of operation wires is in the initial state, and the maximum bending angle of the bending portion is selectively changed. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the endoscope apparatus is freely settable. Each of the pair of operation wires has a base portion provided at a base end portion,
The pulley unit includes an engaging portion that pulls and loosens the pair of operation wires to bend and operate the bending portion by holding the base portions detachably. The endoscope apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. Having at least one second protrusion,
The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first protrusion is in contact with the at least one second protrusion. Two second protrusions,
The two second protrusions are in one direction with which the two second protrusions are brought into contact with each other, with a position where the pair of operation wires in which the curved portions are in a substantially straight state being in an initial state as a reference position The maximum rotation amount of the first protrusion and the maximum rotation amount in the direction opposite to the one direction of the first protrusion are respectively positioned and fixed to the fixing portion of the base body. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 3 . Two second protrusions,
The two second protrusions are in one direction with which the two second protrusions are brought into contact with each other, with a position where the pair of operation wires in which the curved portions are in a substantially straight state being in an initial state as a reference position The maximum rotation amount of the first protrusion and the maximum rotation amount in the direction opposite to the one direction of the first protrusion are respectively positioned and fixed to the fixing portion of the base body. Item 5. The endoscope apparatus according to Item 3 .   The two flange portions protrude from the outer peripheral surfaces of the two flange portions in different directions from the rotation shaft to the outer peripheral side in a plane substantially orthogonal to the rotation shaft of the pulley unit. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a protrusion.   The endoscope apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the two flange portions include the first protrusions that are connected so as to be integrated with each other.   The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the base body is a plate-like member that forms a part of an insertion passage through which the operation wire is inserted.   The endoscope apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the shaft member is an output shaft of a motor unit that rotates the pulley unit. Each of the pair of operation wires has a base portion provided at a base end portion,
The pulley unit includes an engaging portion that pulls and loosens the pair of operation wires to bend and operate the bending portion by holding the base portions detachably. The endoscope apparatus according to Item 6. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the first protrusion is in contact with the two second protrusions. Each of the pair of operation wires has a base portion provided at a base end portion,
The pulley unit includes an engaging portion that pulls and loosens the pair of operation wires to bend and operate the bending portion by holding the base portions detachably. Item 8. The endoscope apparatus according to Item 7. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the first protrusion is in contact with the two second protrusions.

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