JP5063419B2 - Endoscope tip hood and endoscope unit including the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope tip hood to be attached to the tip of an insertion portion of an endoscope and an endoscope unit including the same.

  Acquire images of the inside of a living body, for example, to examine or observe lesions such as body cavities, machines, structures, and buried pipes, for example, abnormal sites such as failure sites and degraded sites As a device, an insertion part having a photographing part at its tip is inserted into the inside of a living body or inside a machine, the inside of the living body or inside the machine is photographed by the photographing part, and images and images inside these parts are acquired. There is an endoscope for displaying on a display device. Such an endoscope displays a photographed video or image on a display device, and by observing the displayed image or the like, it examines a lesion site such as inside a living body or an abnormal site inside a machine or the like. The inspection method to be used is used.

In this endoscope, an insertion part is inserted into a narrow tubular part of a body cavity such as the esophagus or the intestine to obtain an image to be inspected. In the case of a shape, a part that cannot be imaged inside the unevenness due to the folds, that is, a blind spot that cannot be seen from the imaging unit, has an uneven surface on the side facing the imaging unit (an uneven surface, a convex side The upper surface of the concave portion is visible from the imaging portion, but is not visible on the concave surface on the side farther from the photographing portion (the inner surface of the concave portion, the inner surface of the concave portion, or the inner side of the fold). Cannot be photographed and cannot be visually recognized from the imaging unit.
Here, in a portion such as the stomach where there is room in the space, the insertion portion of the endoscope inserted into the space can be bent, so the insertion portion is bent and the back side of the unevenness (inside the recess) However, in a narrow tubular region such as the esophagus or intestine, the insertion portion cannot be curved and imaged.

As an apparatus for imaging the surface on the back side of the unevenness (inside the recess) with such a narrow tubular portion, there is an apparatus described in Patent Document 1, for example.
In Patent Document 1, a reflecting mirror is projected from the distal end portion of an insertion portion of an endoscope, and an observation image (an image to be inspected) is reflected toward an observation window (imaging unit) by the reflecting mirror. In addition, an endoscope provided with an observation aid for an endoscope provided with a reflecting mirror at the tip is disclosed.
This endoscopic observation aid is inserted into a forceps channel through a reflector fixed to a 45 ° bent leaf spring attached to the end of a flexible insertion portion, and the reflector is inserted into the forceps mouth. By projecting from the tip, the inside of the recess is also observed. And the same literature has disclosed modifications, such as a shape memory alloy, a hinge and an electromagnet, and a link mechanism, as an attachment part of a reflecting mirror.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, it is inserted into a narrow tubular part such as a body cavity, and an inspection object such as a lesion part is imaged, observed, and imaged in the oral cavity, not an endoscope for inspection. Although it is a dental endoscope, an endoscope apparatus is disclosed in which a tip pipe having a built-in imaging means is provided at the tip, and a mirror is disposed at the tip of a cap that is detachably mounted on the outside thereof.

JP 2000-271068 A Japanese Patent No. 3406090

  By the way, by using the endoscopic observation aid described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to photograph the inside of a concave portion in a concave and convex shape such as a fold of a narrow tubular portion to be inspected. Therefore, there is a problem that the mirror surface of the reflecting mirror cannot be made larger than the diameter of the forceps channel. For this reason, there is a problem that the size of the mirror surface of the reflecting mirror is inevitably small, a sufficient field of view cannot be secured, and a narrow range can be observed only partially. In addition, since a sufficient field of view cannot be secured, there is a problem that it takes time for observation and inspection, such as searching for a site such as a lesion site to be inspected.

  Further, since this observation aid uses a forceps opening and a forceps channel, there is a problem that an endoscope with a single forceps channel cannot be treated with a treatment tool while observing an inspection target. Furthermore, in this observation aid, even in an endoscope having a plurality of forceps channels, the reflection mirror of the observation aid is bent and protrudes from the forceps channel, so that interference with other treatment tools is likely to occur. There is a problem that the use of is restricted.

  Further, as in the endoscope apparatus of Patent Document 2, it is conceivable to arrange a reflecting mirror at the tip of a cap that is detachably attached to a tip pipe having a built-in imaging means at its tip. In the case of a narrow tubular part, since the reflecting mirror is arranged at the tip, when inserting the endoscope into the living body, the reflecting mirror protruding from the insertion part may damage the narrow tubular part to be examined. There is a risk of end. And if the area of the mirror surface of the reflector is increased in order to secure a sufficient field of view, the possibility of damaging a narrow tubular part to be inspected is further increased, and the front in the traveling direction is hidden by the reflector. When inserting an endoscope, it becomes difficult to confirm the front state, and the insertion operation becomes difficult.

  The object of the present invention is to eliminate the problems based on the above prior art and to inspect a narrow tubular part with irregularities such as the intestine with an endoscope by attaching it to the tip of the insertion part of the endoscope. However, it is possible to easily observe the back surface of the uneven portion to be inspected with an endoscope, and it is possible to prevent the inspection object from being damaged when the insertion portion of the endoscope is inserted into and extracted from a narrow tubular portion. An object is to provide a distal end hood for an endoscope and an endoscope unit including the same.

  In addition to the above object, another object of the present invention is to attach a lid capable of switching between a transparent state and a mirror surface state to the distal end of the insertion portion of the endoscope, and switch the lid body to the mirror surface state to arbitrarily open and close it. As a reflector that can be adjusted to an arbitrary angle with a sufficiently large field of view by opening and closing to a position, it is also possible to easily observe the inner surface of the concave and convex shape of a narrow tubular part to be inspected by an endoscope Furthermore, it is intended to provide an endoscope front end hood capable of preventing an inspection object from being damaged by closing a lid when inserting an insertion portion of an endoscope, and an endoscope unit including the same. .

  In order to solve the above problems and achieve the above object and other objects, the present inventor finds a lesion in a part hidden in the folds of the large intestine by suppressing the folds of the large intestine in an endoscope used for a living body. In order to make it easier and / or to guide the treatment tool protruding from the forceps port, we have studied and researched a substantially cylindrical tip hood attached to the tip of the insertion part of the endoscope. As a result of the overlapping, a lid that can be opened and closed is attached to the tip of the tip hood for the endoscope, and the insertion part of the endoscope can be inserted and removed without damaging the inspection object by changing the light transmission state of the lid. The present inventors have found that the surface on the back side of the concavo-convex portion of a narrow tubular part such as the intestine can be observed easily and reliably, and have reached the present invention.

  That is, the first aspect of the present invention is an endoscope tip hood that is attached to the tip of the insertion portion of the endoscope where the observation window for imaging the inspection object is disposed, and is a substantially cylindrical transparent hood. A cap portion, a fixing portion that is formed on the cap portion and fixes the cap portion to the distal end of the insertion portion, and a lid body that is attached to the distal end of the cap portion so as to be openable and closable. An end hood for an endoscope characterized by comprising:

Here, it is preferable that the lid body is a dimming mirror capable of selecting a transparent state and a specular reflection state by changing a light transmission state, and changing the light transmission state according to an applied voltage. It is preferable to be able to switch between a transparent state and a reflective state, and it is transparent when the tip of the cap is closed, and is reflective when the tip of the cap is open. Is preferred.
Further, when the lid is in a reflective state, the reflected light from the inspection object can be opened and closed at least to an angle toward the rear from the observation window axis of the endoscope that is orthogonal to the axial direction of the cap portion. Is preferred.
Further, it is preferable that hydrophilic coating or hydrophilic coating is applied to the surface of the lid and / or at least a part of the outer surface side and the inner surface side of the cap portion.
Moreover, it is preferable that the said fixing | fixed part is a cyclic | annular convex part or protrusion formed in the internal peripheral surface of the said cap part.

The endoscope front hood according to the first aspect further includes a connecting portion that connects the lid body to the cap portion so as to be openable and closable, and opens and closes the lid body to a predetermined position. It is preferable to have a lid opening / closing means for holding at this position.
The connecting part is a hinge part formed at a tip of the cap part, and the lid opening / closing means opens and closes the lid for transmitting the lid opening / closing operation by the operation part of the endoscope to the lid. The insertion portion of the endoscope that is equipped with the motion transmission means and the lid opening / closing motion transmission means channel formed integrally with the cap portion in the axial direction from the outer periphery of the cap portion. It is preferable to have an opening / closing operation transmission means cover attached to the outer periphery of the device in the axial direction.
Further, the lid opening / closing operation transmitting means is movably inserted into the lid opening / closing operation transmitting means channel of the cover for opening / closing operation transmitting means, the tip thereof is attached to the lid, and the other end is attached to the lid. It is preferable that the lid is opened and closed by a push-pull operation of the flexible strip by the operation unit of the endoscope. The flexible strip is connected to the operation unit of the endoscope. .
The lid body opening / closing means is further provided between the cap portion and the lid body, and biasing means for biasing the lid body in the opening direction or the closing direction with respect to the cap portion. It is preferable that the lid is opened and closed against the urging force of the urging means.

In addition, the endoscope front end hood of the first aspect is further provided at the front end edge of the substantially cylindrical shape of the cap part, and irradiates visible light from the front end edge to illuminate the inspection object. It is preferable to provide a light irradiation part.
In addition, the light irradiation unit includes a light emitting element disposed at a substantially cylindrical tip edge of the cap unit, and a current-carrying channel integrally formed with the cap unit in the axial direction from the outer periphery of the cap unit. And an energizing wiring cover attached in the axial direction to the outer periphery of the insertion portion of the mounted endoscope, and inserted into the energizing channel in the energizing wiring cover, and its tip Is connected to the light emitting element, and the other end is connected to an external power source via the operation part of the endoscope, and the light emitting element is operated by the operation part of the endoscope. It is preferably turned on or off.
The light emitting element is preferably a light emitting diode.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the second aspect of the present invention is such that an observation window for imaging an inspection object in a body cavity is disposed at a tip thereof, and an insertion section that is inserted into the body cavity, and the insertion section An endoscope unit comprising: an operation unit for operating the endoscope; and an end hood for an endoscope according to the first aspect attached to a distal end of the insertion unit. It is.

According to the present invention, the lid is attached to the cap portion of the distal end hood attached to the distal end of the insertion portion of the endoscope, and is tilted to an arbitrary opening / closing position to change the light transmission state of the lid, Preferably, by making the lid into a mirror-reflecting state and making it a reflecting mirror, it is possible to easily observe the inner surface of a concavo-convex shape such as a fold even if the inspection object of the endoscope is a narrow tubular part It becomes.
In addition, according to the present invention, since this lid is attached to the tip of the cap portion, it can be made sufficiently large, and by enlarging it, a sufficient field of view can be secured, so that observation takes time. It is possible to reduce the burden on patients and the like.

In addition, according to the present invention, since no forceps channel is used, even with an endoscope having a single forceps channel, it is possible to perform a treatment with a treatment tool inserted into the forceps channel while observing an inspection target. Furthermore, since the lid functioning as a reflecting mirror is arranged at the tip of the cap portion, there is no interference with other treatment tools, and the use of other treatment tools is not limited, and other treatment tools Can be used easily and freely.
Furthermore, according to the present invention, by closing the lid, it is possible to prevent the inspection object from being damaged when the insertion portion of the endoscope is inserted into or removed from the living body, and the cap portion is covered with the lid. Even in the closed state, by making the lid transparent, it is possible to see the front of the advancing direction without being hidden when the endoscope is inserted, so the front state can be easily confirmed and inserted. There is no difficulty in operation.

An endoscope front hood and an endoscope unit including the same according to the present invention will be described below in detail based on preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of an endoscope unit including an endoscope distal end hood according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram of an endoscope of the endoscope unit shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of the front-end | tip part of an insertion part.
In the following, an endoscope insertion portion equipped with the endoscope tip hood of the present invention is inserted into a living body, for example, a body cavity, in particular, an intestine such as the large intestine or the small intestine, an esophagus, etc. The endoscope of the present invention is a representative example in which the inside of a living body is imaged by a section, an image or image inside the living body is acquired, and an inspection target site such as a lesion site inside the living body is inspected or observed. Although the unit will be described, the present invention is not limited to this, and is inserted into a machine, structure, embedded pipe, or the like other than a living body, images of these are captured, and images and images inside these are acquired. Of course, it is possible to observe and inspect abnormal parts such as faulty parts and deteriorated parts such as non-living machines and structures and buried pipes.

As shown in FIG. 1, an endoscope unit 10 of the present invention includes an endoscope 11 and an endoscope front end hood 100 (hereinafter simply referred to as a front end hood) 100 mounted on the endoscope 11. And have.
First, the endoscope 11 captures an image (video) of a region to be inspected using an image sensor such as a CCD sensor, displays the image on a display device of an image signal processing device (not shown), It is a so-called electronic scope type endoscope that captures a still image, and includes an insertion unit 12, an operation unit 14, a connector 16, and a universal cord 18, as in a normal endoscope.

This endoscope 11 inserts an insertion portion 12 into a tubular part to be inspected such as a body cavity (digestive tract, otolaryngology, etc.), and images the inspection object with an imaging element such as a CCD sensor arranged at the tip thereof. Observation, imaging of moving images and still images, and further, sampling of tissues to be examined by inserting forceps (not shown).
Here, the endoscope 11 acquires an image in a state where the inspection target is irradiated with white light, and acquires an image in a state where the inspection target is irradiated with light of a specific wavelength and normal observation for observing the inspection target. Two modes of special observation for observing the inspection object are provided, and the inspection object can be observed and the inspection object can be photographed by these two modes.

The insertion portion 12 of the endoscope 11 is a flexible long member that is inserted into a site to be inspected, such as in a body cavity, and includes a distal end portion 22 and an angle portion (curved portion). ) 24 and a soft part (flexible part) 26.
As shown in FIG. 2, the distal end portion 22 includes a CCD sensor 60 that includes an imaging device for imaging the examination site, and an (imaging) lens 62 that serves as an optical system for imaging the examination site using the CCD sensor 60. A prism 64 for causing the image (light) incident on the lens 62 to enter the imaging surface (light receiving window) of the CCD sensor 60, and an output signal of the CCD sensor 60 are subjected to predetermined processing such as A / D conversion and output. And a processing substrate 68. Note that the output signal line 70 a that transmits the output signal output from the processing board 68 is combined into one data cable 70. The data cable 70 is connected to the operation section 14 through the angle section 24 and the flexible section 26 of the insertion section 12 of the endoscope 11, and is connected to the operation section 14 from the operation section 14 via the universal cord 18 and the connector 16. 56 (see FIG. 1).

Here, the CCD sensor 60, the lens 62, the prism 64, and the processing substrate 68 constitute an imaging unit such as a CCD camera as a whole, and are housed in the upper half part inside the cylindrical outer skin 28 of the tip 22. The In the illustrated example, a processing substrate 68 is disposed parallel to the axial direction of the tip 22 at the central diameter portion of the cylindrical outer skin 28 of the tip 22, a CCD sensor 60 is disposed on the processing substrate 68, and the tip 22 A prism 64 is disposed on the imaging surface of the CCD sensor 60 that is parallel to the axial direction of the CCD sensor 60, with its inclined surface facing away from the distal end side (on the operation unit 14 side). The incident light is disposed above the CCD sensor 60 in parallel with the axial direction of the tip 22 so that the incident light is incident on the tip-side surface of the prism 64 (a surface perpendicular to the axial direction of the tip 22).
In addition, the upper half of the distal end portion 22 guides the illumination light emitted from an illumination light source (not shown) and transmitted to the endoscope via the LG bar 52, and the inspection site from the distal end portion 22. The ends of the two light guides 76 that emit illumination light for illumination are arranged above the CCD sensor 60 on both sides of the lens 62 in parallel with the axial direction of the tip 22. The tip ends of these two light guides 76 and the tip end of the lens 62 are connected to two illumination windows 76a and an observation window 62a opened at the tip surface of the tip portion 22, respectively.

Further, a forceps channel 78 including a conduit for inserting a forceps (not shown) for sampling tissue into the lower half of the cylindrical outer skin 28 of the distal end portion 22 and guiding it to the examination site. Air supply / liquid supply channel comprising pipes for supplying gas such as air and water such as water and physiological saline supplied from each supply source (not shown) and liquid such as saline to the examination site 80 is disposed on both sides, and a distal end surface of the distal end portion 22 is a distal end opening of the forceps channel 78, a forceps port 74 for projecting the forceps is opened, and the distal end opening of the air / liquid feeding channel 80 is opened. There is an air / water supply port 72 for spraying gas and liquid onto the inspection site (see FIG. 2). The forceps channel 78 is formed so as to communicate from the forceps port 82 of the operation unit 14 for inserting forceps to the forceps port 74 of the distal end portion 22 through the flexible portion 26 and the angle portion 24 of the insertion portion 12. . Further, the air / liquid supply channel 80 passes through the connector 16 of the endoscope 11 to which gas and liquid are supplied from the supply source, the universal cord 18, the operation part 14, the flexible part 26 of the insertion part 12, and the angle part 24. It is formed so as to communicate with the air / water inlet 72 of the tip 22 (see FIG. 1).
In addition, a concave portion 81 is formed on the outer periphery of the outer skin 28 of the distal end portion 22 for fitting with a convex portion 103 (see FIG. 4) serving as a fixing portion of the cap portion 102 of the distal end hood 100.

As shown in FIG. 1, the angle portion (curved portion) 24 inserts the distal end portion 22 into a target position to be inspected in the body cavity, or images the inspection target at the target position by the CCD sensor 60 of the distal end portion 22. Therefore, it is an area that is bent up and down and left and right (four directions orthogonal) by an operation on the operation unit 14. In the endoscope 11 of the illustrated example, the angle portion 24 has a configuration in which a large number of circular rings are connected like the angle portion of a known endoscope, and the angle portion is bent on this ring. For this purpose, a wire (angle wire: not shown) is connected.
As will be described later, the angle portion 24 is bent in an arbitrary direction by the operation of the LR knob 88 and the UD knob 90 of the operation section 14.

The flexible portion 26 is a portion that connects the angle portion 24 and the operation portion 14, and is a long member having sufficient flexibility for insertion into a tubular portion that is a region to be inspected.
Here, the angle portion 24 and the flexible portion 26 include the data cable 70, the two light guides 76, the forceps channel (forceps tube) 78, the air / water supply channel (air / water tube) 80, and the angle portion. A wire or the like for bending 24 is accommodated / inserted.

The operation unit 14 is a part that operates the endoscope 11.
Also in the endoscope 10 of the present embodiment, the operation unit 14 communicates with the forceps channel 78 in addition to the above-described LR knob 88 and UD knob 90, as in the case of a normal endoscope. Via a suction button 84 for performing suction from the distal forceps port 74 of the distal end portion 22 via an insertion forceps port 82 and a forceps channel 78 which are openings for a user to insert forceps, and an air supply / water supply channel 80. The air supply / water supply button 86 and the like for supplying air and water from the air supply / water supply port 72 of the distal end portion 22 to the examination site and the like are arranged.
In addition, the endoscope 11 which is an electronic scope includes various switches for observing / photographing images with the CCD sensor 60 such as a zoom switch, a still image shooting switch, and a moving image shooting switch. Is provided.

  Further, as described above, the operation unit 14 includes an LR knob (left / right knob) 88 that bends the angle part 24 leftward and rightward, and a UD that bends the angle part 24 upward and downward. A knob (up / down knob) 90 is arranged. In the endoscope 11 of the present embodiment, a wire (not shown) connected to the angle portion 24 is pulled by turning the LR knob 88 and the UD knob 90 as in various known endoscopes. By pulling the angle portion 24, the angle portion 24 can be bent in an arbitrary direction such as a vertical direction, a horizontal direction, or a combined vertical / horizontal direction.

  Although not shown, the connector 16 is necessary for imaging a power source of a facility necessary for using the endoscope 11, an image signal processing device for processing the imaged image signal, and a site to be examined in a body cavity in a living body. LG rod 52 for connecting a light guide 76 for illuminating the examination site and an illumination light source (not shown). However, a water supply connector for connecting the endoscope 11 to the water supply (water supply) means of the facility, a ventilation connector for connecting to the air supply means, a suction connector for connecting to the suction means, and an electric knife are used. In this case, an S terminal (not shown) for connecting the S cord is arranged.

The universal cord (connector soft part) 18 is a part for connecting the connector 16 and the operation part 14.
In the universal cord 18, two light guides 76, a data cable 70 for transmitting signals, a power cord (not shown) for supplying power, and the like are accommodated / inserted. Furthermore, although not shown, the universal cord 18 also accommodates / inserts a water supply channel connected to the water supply connector, an air supply channel connected to the ventilation connector, a suction channel connected to the suction connector, and the like.

As described above, since the endoscope 11 is an electronic scope, an output device such as a printer device that outputs a display device or a hard copy of a still image via the image signal processing device is further connected to the connector 16. A video connector 56 for connecting to is connected. As described above, the data cable 70 that transmits the image signal captured by the CCD sensor 60 extends from the distal end portion 22 of the insertion portion 12 to the operation portion 14 through the angle portion 24 and the flexible portion 26, and from the operation portion 14. It is connected to the video connector 56 through the connector 16 through the inside of the universal cord 18. The video connector 56 is connected to an image signal processing device, and is connected to an output device such as an image display device or a printer device that outputs a still image.
The endoscope 11 is basically configured as described above.

Next, the endoscope front hood and endoscope unit of the present invention will be described.
3A and 3B are a front view and a side view, respectively, showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of the endoscope front hood of the endoscope unit shown in FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV when the lid of the tip hood shown in FIG. In addition, in FIG. 4, the state which closed the cover body is shown with a dotted line. 5A and 5B are a front sectional view and a side view, respectively, showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of the endoscope unit of the present invention, and a distal end portion of the insertion portion of the endoscope shown in FIG. 3 (A) and 3 (B) are attached with the endoscope front end hood, the state where the front end hood lid is closed is indicated by a solid line, and the state where it is opened is indicated by a two-dot chain line. In FIG. 5A, only a part of the distal end portion of the endoscope is broken and shown in a sectional view.

The tip hood 100 of the present invention is detachably attached to the tip of the insertion portion 12 of the endoscope 11, as shown in FIGS. 1, 5A, and 5B. 3 (A), FIG. 3 (B), and FIG. 4, a cap portion 102 having a substantially cylindrical shape serving as a hood body that is attached to the distal end of the insertion portion 12 of the endoscope 11, and the cap portion 102 An annular convex portion 103 formed on the inner peripheral surface and a disc shape having a function of a dimming mirror that is attached so as to be openable and closable so as to cover the opening at the tip of the cap portion 102 and that changes the light transmission state. A lid 104, a lid opening / closing mechanism 106 for opening / closing the lid 104, and an illumination mechanism 108 for irradiating illumination light to the inspection object.
Here, the annular convex portion 103 of the cap portion 102 functions as a fixing portion that fixes the cap portion 102 to the distal end portion 22 of the insertion portion 12 of the endoscope 11, and the distal end hood 100 of the present invention has the endoscope. The concave portion 81 of the distal end portion 22 provided at the distal end of the 11 insertion portion 12 and the annular convex portion 103 of the cap portion 102 are fitted to each other, so that the distal end portion 22 is attached from the outside.

The cap portion 102 is a substantially cylindrical transparent member having a front end opening 102a on the front end side and a rear end opening 102b on the rear end side, and is located on the rear end side. An attachment portion 110 into which the distal end portion 22 of the insertion portion 12 is inserted, and an opening / closing portion 112 that is located on the distal end side of the insertion portion 12 and is connected to an end portion on the distal end side of the attachment portion 110, and the distal end opening 102 a is opened and closed by the lid 104. An annular rib 111 is formed between the attachment part 110 and the opening / closing part 112 to separate them.
The attachment part 110 has a substantially cylindrical shape along the outer peripheral surface of the distal end part 22 whose inner peripheral surface is located at the distal end of the insertion part 12 of the endoscope 11, and a part thereof becomes the fixing part of the present invention. An annular (ring-shaped) convex portion 103 is formed. When the endoscope front hood 100 is used, the distal end 22 of the insertion portion 12 of the endoscope 11 is fitted into the attachment portion 110 from the rear end opening 102 b, and an annular convex portion formed on the attachment portion 110. 103 and the recessed part 81 formed in the front-end | tip part 22 fit, and the cap part 102 is fixed with respect to the insertion part 12. FIG. At this time, it is preferable that the distal end of the distal end portion 22 abuts on the annular rib 111 positioned on the distal end side of the attachment portion 110. In this case, the cap portion 102 is securely and firmly fixed by the insertion portion 12.

  As a fixing method and fixing mechanism for fixing the cap portion 102 of the tip hood 100 to the insertion portion 12 of the endoscope 11, an annular convex portion 103 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the mounting portion 110 of the cap portion 102, and The present invention is not limited to fitting with an annular recess 81 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the distal end portion 22 of the insertion portion 12, and any fixing method or any fixing mechanism may be used as long as both can be fixed. On the contrary, the concave portion may be formed on the inner peripheral surface of the mounting portion 110 and the convex portion may be formed on the outer peripheral surface of the distal end portion 22, screwing by screws, an axial groove and a guide fitted to this, etc. Known fixing methods and fixing mechanisms can be applied.

The opening / closing part 112 has a substantially cylindrical shape having an inner diameter and an outer diameter substantially the same as those of the attachment part 110, is formed integrally with the attachment part 110, and is positioned on the distal end side of the insertion part 12 of the attachment part 110.
The opening / closing part 112 is a part where the tip opening 102a is opened and closed by the lid body 104, and has an approximately cylindrical shape whose inner diameter and outer diameter are substantially the same as the attachment part 110, and is formed integrally with the attachment part 110, It is located on the distal end side of the insertion portion 12 of the attachment portion 110. A wire 116 (described later) of the lid opening / closing mechanism 106 for opening and closing the lid 104 by moving it between the closed position and the open position on the upper end side in the figure of the inner peripheral surface of the opening / closing section 112 (cap section 102). A vertical groove 112a through which the first and second passages pass is formed in the axial direction from the tip opening 102a to an intermediate position of the opening / closing portion 112. As will be described later, the longitudinal groove 112a communicates with a wire channel 120 (described later) through which the wire 116 is inserted.

In addition, as will be described later, a wire cover 118 in which a wire channel 120 is formed is formed in a hook shape from a slightly retracted position on the upper end side in the drawing of the outer peripheral surface of the opening / closing portion 112 (cap portion 102). On the lower end side in the figure of the outer peripheral surface of the portion 112 (cap portion 102), an energization wiring cover 128 in which an energization wiring channel 126 is formed is formed in a bowl shape from a position slightly retracted.
Further, on the lower end side of the inner peripheral surface of the opening / closing portion 112, as will be described later, a hinge portion 114 that rotatably supports the lid body 104 is connected to the lower end side of the inner plate surface of the lid body 104 in the drawing. It is formed between. Further, as will be described later, a light emitting diode 124 serving as a light source of the illumination mechanism 108 is disposed on the lower end side of the opening / closing portion 112 in the drawing, specifically, below the hinge portion 114, and the light emitting diode 124 is energized. A wiring channel 126 for storing electrical wiring for supplying power
Is formed. Of course, the wiring channel 126 in the opening / closing portion 112 communicates with the wiring channel 126 in the wiring cover 128.

  The cap part 102 composed of the attachment part 110 and the opening / closing part 112 having such a shape is made of a material having high biocompatibility, transparency, and a certain degree of hardness. Specifically, the cap portion 102 has a light transmittance that does not hinder the field of view of the observation window 62a of the distal end portion 22 of the endoscope 11, and thus the field of view of the CCD sensor 60, that is, to the extent that it does not hinder the field of view of the endoscope. It has sufficient light transmissivity, is uncolored, and when inserted into a narrow tubular part to be examined, does not cause major deformation when pressed against the mucous membrane of a living body or when the mucous membrane is aspirated, and It is made of a material that does not damage the mucous membrane. Examples of such a material include silicon rubber or a polymer resin material such as styrene resin, fluorine resin, and acrylic resin.

The lid opening / closing mechanism 106 includes a hinge (hinge) portion 114 that connects the lid 104 to the tip opening 102 a of the cap portion 102 so as to be opened and closed, a wire 116 that opens and closes the lid 104, and an outer periphery of the cap portion 102. A wire cover 118 that is formed and extends in the axial direction from the rear end of the cap portion 102; a wire channel 120 that is formed inside the cap portion 102 and the wire cover 118 and is movably inserted through the wire 116; A pulling operation unit 122 (see FIG. 1) that pulls or pushes back the wire 116 inserted into the channel 120 and moves back and forth.
In this embodiment, the wire 116 constitutes the lid opening / closing operation transmitting means of the present invention, and the wire 116, the wire channel 120, the wire cover 118, and the traction operation unit 122 constitute the lid opening / closing means of the present invention. Constitute.

The hinge portion 114 is provided between the inner plate surface of the lid body 104 and the inner peripheral surface of the front end side of the cap portion 102 on the lower end side of the lid body 104 in the figure, and can open and close the lid body 104 to the cap portion 102. To form a connecting portion of the present invention.
Here, the hinge portion 114 is not limited to the present embodiment, and is closed by any biasing means such as a torsion coil spring (not shown), a coil spring, a leaf spring, a tension spring, or a compression spring. Or it can comprise so that it may bias in the opening direction. If comprised in this way, the cover body 104 can be opened and closed by moving the flexible wire 116 to one direction against the biasing force of this biasing means.

The wire 116 is a flexible strip or linear member, one end of which is locked to the upper end side in the figure of the lid 104, and the cap portion 102 from the rear end of the vertical groove 112 a of the opening / closing portion 112 of the cap portion 102. The other end is locked to a traction operation unit 122 fixed in the vicinity of the operation unit 14 of the endoscope 11 through the wire channel 120 formed in the wire cover 118.
The wire 116 according to the present embodiment can be moved in the wire channel 120 by the operation of the towing operation unit 122, specifically, can be moved forward and backward (forward and backward), or can be pushed and pulled. By being pulled to the position or pushed back, the lid body 104 can be opened and closed to a predetermined inclination position, that is, a predetermined inclination angle, but by stopping the wire 116 at the predetermined position by the towing operation unit 122, The lid 104 can be held at a predetermined tilt position or a predetermined tilt angle.

The wire 116 shown in this embodiment pushes and pulls the lid 104 connected by the hinge portion 114 to open and close, so that when the lid 104 is pushed to open, there is an obstacle outside the lid 104. It must be rigid enough to open without buckling, and metal wires such as piano wires and thin resin wires can be used. However, the endoscope is inserted into a bent or curved thin tubular path of the body cavity of the living body. Since it is used in the insertion part 12 of the eleven in the mirror, a certain degree of flexibility is also required, so it is preferable to use a stranded wire obtained by twisting fine wires.
As described above, when the hinge 104 is urged in the closing direction by the urging means, the lid 104 moves in the closing direction even if trouble such as cutting occurs in the flexible wire 116. A safer configuration can be obtained. On the other hand, when the hinge portion 114 is urged in the opening direction by the urging means, the flexible wire 116 is always pulled in the opening direction. It is also possible to use a flexible material having a low tensile strength that is soft and freely deformed.

The wire 116 is not limited to a structure arranged in the wire channel 120 formed along the axial direction inside the cap portion 102 and the wire cover 118, but the wire cover 118 and the wire channel 120. Can also be placed through forceps channel 78, or any other path.
For example, if the wire 116 does not obstruct the visual field of the observation window 62a, the wire 116 is pulled out of the forceps port 74 of the distal end portion 22 of the endoscope 11 through the forceps channel 78 and from the forceps port 82 of the operation unit 14, An operation force may be applied to the wire 116 to move the wire 116 forward or backward, or the wire 116 is communicated with an endoscope forceps channel formed integrally with the distal end hood. The advance / retreat operation may be performed.
Further, the position where the wire 116 is attached to the lid 104 is not limited to the upper end of the lid 104 farthest from the hinge portion 114 as shown in FIG. As a position close to, the field of view of the observation window 62a may not be blocked by the wire 116 when the lid 104 is open.

The wire cover 118 is formed integrally at the upper end side in the drawing by first retreating slightly along the outer periphery of the cap portion 102, and then further extending in the axial direction from the rear end surface of the cap portion 102. 1, when the distal end hood 100 is attached to the insertion portion 12 of the endoscope 11, it extends in the axial direction along the outer periphery of the insertion portion 12, and near the operation portion 14 of the endoscope 11. It has a length that reaches the traction operation unit 122. One end of the wire cover 118 is coupled to the cap unit 102, and the other end is coupled to the traction operation unit 122. In this embodiment, since the wire cover 118 is inserted into a tubular part such as a body cavity of a living body, it has flexibility and directly contacts the living body. It is good to form with the material which has.
A wire channel 120 extending in the axial direction is formed in the wire cover 118. Accordingly, the wire cover 118 slidably supports the wire 116 in the wire channel 120.

The wire channel 120 is inserted and accommodated so that the wire 116 that opens and closes the lid 104 can be moved, specifically, moved forward and backward, and is opened and closed so as to communicate with the vertical groove 112a of the opening and closing portion 112 of the cap portion 102. An opening is formed in the inner peripheral surface of the portion 112, and the cap portion 102 is formed in the cap portion 102, first in the opening / closing portion 112, and obliquely upward in the figure, and then along the axial direction of the cap portion 102, the cap portion 102 (open / close In the wire cover 118 integrally formed on the portion 112 and the attachment portion 110), and then in the wire cover 118 further extending in the axial direction from the rear end surface of the cap portion 102 along the axial direction. Is formed.
The pulling operation unit 122 (see FIG. 1) is for applying a pulling force that pushes and pulls the wire 116 to move forward and backward in the wire channel 120 in order to open and close the lid body 104. It is preferable to arrange in the vicinity of the operation unit 14, particularly in the vicinity of the forceps opening 82. The mechanism for pulling the wire 116 is not particularly limited, and various mechanisms can be used. For example, a mechanism that attaches a trigger to the end of the wire 116 and pulls the wire 116 according to the amount of pulling the trigger. A winding unit that winds the wire 116 by rotating itself, and a mechanism that pulls the wire 116 by rotating the winding unit can be used.

The lid 104 is a circular plate-like member capable of closing the tip opening 102 a of the cap portion 102, and the plate surface on the lower end side in the figure of the lid 104 and the inner peripheral surface on the tip side of the cap portion 102. It is connected to the cap part 102 so that opening and closing is possible via a hinge part 114 of a lid opening / closing mechanism 106 provided therebetween.
The lid body 104 can be opened and closed with respect to the tip opening 102a of the cap portion 102, and has a function of changing the light transmission state. Preferably, the lid body 104 changes between the transmission state and the reflecting mirror surface state. Functions as a selectable dimming mirror.

In the present invention, the lid 104 that functions as a dimming mirror maintains a transmission state in the closed state, and ensures a forward visual field when the insertion portion 12 of the endoscope 11 is inserted into a body cavity of a living body. be able to. For example, when the lid 104 is in a closed state, light in a range indicated by Vb in FIG. 5A can be incident on the observation window 62a of the distal end portion 22 of the endoscope 11 from the front. When the lid 104 is in the closed and transparent state, it becomes a front visual field, and a visual field larger than the size of the insertion portion 12 of the endoscope 11 can be secured. In this way, when the lid 104 is closed, it is configured to automatically become transparent, so that when the insertion portion 12 of the endoscope 11 is inserted into a living body, for example, in its body or into a body cavity. The front can always be viewed in a wide range.
As described above, since the lid 104 is closed, even when the insertion portion 12 of the endoscope 11 is inserted / extracted into / from a narrow tubular part such as a living body or a body cavity, The surface of the body is not damaged, safety can be ensured, and the front vision at the time of insertion is large and surely secured. Can be inserted easily and reliably. Therefore, the burden on the patient who undergoes endoscopy can be reduced.

On the other hand, when the lid 104 is in the open state, the inner surface maintains a specular reflection state to become a reflecting mirror surface, and can function as a reflecting mirror. As a result, the lid 104 is set to a predetermined open position, that is, the inclination angle is set to a predetermined angle, so that the inside of the body cavity of the living body in the direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the insertion portion 12 of the endoscope 11 is set. The reflected light (light carrying the image) from the inspection target and the vicinity thereof is reflected by the reflecting mirror surface of the lid 104, so that it can be incident on the observation window 62 a of the distal end portion 22 of the endoscope 11.
Therefore, in the endoscope 11 including the tip hood 100 of the present invention, the tilt angle of the lid 104 can be set at various angles, so that the image to be inspected from various angles is reflected by the reflecting mirror surface of the lid 104. Can be made incident on the observation window 62a of the distal end portion 22 of the endoscope 11, and the inner surface of the concavo-convex shape such as a fold can be easily observed even if the inspection object to be inspected or the inspection region is a narrow tubular portion. It becomes possible to do.
In addition, since the inner surface of the lid 104 is a reflecting mirror surface in the open state, only light in a range indicated by Va in FIG. 5A is incident on the observation window 62a of the distal end portion 22 from the front. Therefore, this Va becomes a front field of view when the lid 104 is in the open specular reflection state, and the front field of view is smaller than the front field of view when the lid 104 is closed, and the insertion portion 12 of the endoscope 11 Only a field of view smaller than the size of can be secured.

  Here, the lid 104 will be described in detail later, but as shown in FIG. 6, at the time of the specular reflection state, the lid 104 is at least from the observation window 62 a of the distal end portion 22 of the endoscope 11 through the lens 62 and the prism 64. The sensor 60 needs to be opened to a position where the inside of the pleat to be examined inside the body cavity of the living body can be visually recognized, and the cap portion 102 is opened at least 90 ° from the closed position so that the cap portion 102 is opened. It is desirable to be able to open to a position parallel to the axis of 102. With this configuration, when a forceps or other treatment tool is inserted through the forceps channel 78, interference with the lid 104 can be prevented. Note that the lid 104 may be opened more than 90 ° in order to avoid interference between the lid 104 and the forceps inserted through the forceps channel 78 and other treatment tools.

In addition, when the lid 104 is in a specular reflection state, the lid 104 can be opened and closed to an angle at which the reflected light from the inspection object is at least an angle directed backward from the axis of the observation window 62 of the endoscope 11 orthogonal to the axial direction of the cap 102. Preferably there is. At this time, as described above, the surface on the inner side (observation window side) of the lid body 104 becomes a reflection surface, and the image to be inspected is reflected toward the observation window 62a of the endoscope 11, but the inclination angle of the lid body 104 In some cases, the opening / closing part 112 is interposed between the lid 104 and the inspection object. In this embodiment, even in such a case, since the cap portion 102 (opening / closing portion 112) is transparent, the image to be inspected is transmitted through the opening / closing portion 112 and projected onto the lid 104. It can be reflected toward the observation window 62a of the endoscope 11.
Therefore, according to the present invention, even when the inspection target region is a narrow tubular region, when using forceps inserted into the forceps channel 78 and other treatment tools, interference with the lid 104 is prevented from various angles. Since the image to be inspected can be reflected by the reflecting mirror surface of the lid 104 and can enter the observation window 62a of the distal end portion 22 of the endoscope 11, the lesion on the inner surface of the concavo-convex shape such as a fold can be easily obtained. In addition, it is possible to appropriately, reliably and easily perform treatment with forceps and other treatment tools while observing such a lesion.

In the present invention, the lid 104 has a function of a dimming mirror that can change a light transmission state to select a transparent state and a specular reflection state. Such a lid 104 can be formed of a transparent base material and a light control mirror formed on the surface thereof. Here, in order to manufacture such a lid 104, the light control mirror may be directly formed on the surface of the base material, or the light control mirror film may be attached to the surface of the base material.
Here, the base material is formed of a non-colored material that has excellent biocompatibility and does not interfere with the visual field of the endoscope 11. Examples of such a material include polymer resin materials such as styrene resin, fluorine resin, and acrylic resin.

On the other hand, the dimming mirror is preferably capable of switching between a transparent state and a reflective state by changing a light transmission state according to an applied voltage. In other words, the dimming mirror operates by an electrochromic method (switching by electricity), and the mirror reflection state and the transparent state are switched by applying a voltage of several volts. It is good to use what maintains the state. As such a dimming mirror, for example, a dimming element such as an all solid-state reflective dimming electrochromic element made of a specific multilayer thin film disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-102197 can be used.
The specific multilayer thin film constituting such a light control element may be directly formed on the transparent base material of the lid body 104 by a PVD method such as magnet sputtering, or may be attached to the transparent base material of the lid body 104. For this purpose, the multilayer thin film may be formed on a transparent sheet to form a light control mirror.

The dimming element of the dimming mirror used in the lid body 104 of the present embodiment switches between the transparent state and the mirror surface state by applying a voltage by energization. The energization for switching the dimming element As will be described later, the energization formed in the cap portion 102 and the energization wiring cover 128 is similar to the electrical wiring for energizing the light-emitting diode 124 that serves as a light source for illuminating the inspection target of the illumination mechanism 108. An electrical wiring (hereinafter simply referred to as a wiring) may be provided in the wiring channel 126, and the wiring may be performed through the wiring, or may be integrated with the wire 116 that opens and closes the lid 104, or may be provided integrally. Or the wiring may be provided in the wire channel 120 formed in the cap portion 102 and the wire cover 118. Similar to the wire 116, the wiring may be performed through the forceps channel 78 or any other route, for example, in the forceps channel 78 passing through the forceps port 74 of the distal end portion 22 of the endoscope 11. Alternatively, the wiring may be performed via a wiring that is connected to the forceps channel of the endoscope formed integrally with the distal end hood or the wiring arranged on the tip.
In order to uniformly energize the light control elements of the light control mirror formed on the inner surface of the lid 104, circular wiring is provided on the outer peripheral edge of the inner surface of the lid 104. It is preferable to connect each of the above-described wires to a circular wire to energize the circular wire.

The illumination mechanism 108 includes a plurality of (five in the illustrated example) light emitting diodes 124 serving as a light source, a current-carrying wiring channel 126, a current-carrying wiring cover 128, and a power source 130. Light is emitted toward the subject.
As shown in FIGS. 3 (B) and 5 (B), five light emitting diodes 124 serve as light sources for illuminating the inspection object, and the tip surfaces (attachment portions 110) of the opening / closing portions 112 of the cap portion 102 of the tip hood 100, respectively. Is embedded in a position surrounding the lid body 104 when the lid body 104 is in a closed state. Further, the light emitting diodes 124 are arranged on a predetermined circumference at intervals of 60 degrees apart from adjacent light emitting diodes 124 except for the upper end portion in the figure. In the illustrated example, five light emitting diodes 124 are used as light sources for illuminating the inspection target. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the number of light emitting diodes 124 is 4 if a sufficient amount of light is obtained. Below, 6 or more may be sufficient, and instead of a light emitting diode (LED), other light emitting elements, such as LD (laser diode), may be used, and another light source may be used.

  The wiring channel 126 is a channel for arranging (accommodating) flexible electric wiring for energizing (supplying power) the five light emitting diodes 124 and / or the lid body 104 therein. The wiring channel 126 opens and closes the cap portion 102 behind the light emitting diode 124 so that wiring connected to the five light emitting diodes 124 arranged at the edge of the front end surface of the opening and closing portion 112 of the cap portion 102 can be accommodated. In the interior of the wiring cover 128 formed obliquely downward in the figure, and then integrally formed on the cap portion 102 (opening / closing portion 112 and mounting portion 110) along the axial direction of the cap portion 102. Thereafter, the wiring cover 128 is further formed along the axial direction inside the wiring cover 128 that further extends in the axial direction from the rear end surface of the cap portion 102. The wiring connected to the light emitting diode 124 and disposed in the wiring channel 126 is connected to the power source 130 disposed in the vicinity of the operation unit 14 of the endoscope 11, and the power supplied from the power source 130 is emitted as each light. Supply to the diode 124. In addition, the wiring in the wiring channel 126 formed on the lower end side of the cap portion 102 in the figure is connected to five light emitting diodes 124 arranged at the edge of the front end surface in front of the opening / closing portion 112 of the cap portion 102. As shown, it is arranged in the opening / closing part 112 along its circumferential direction (not shown). The wiring for connecting these five light emitting diodes 124 is preferably connected in parallel, but the wiring is congested, so if sufficient space cannot be secured, serial connection is more space-saving. preferable.

Note that the current-carrying wiring to the light emitting diode 124 is not limited to the structure disposed in the wiring channel 126 formed in the cap portion 102 and the wiring cover 128 along the axial direction thereof. It is also possible to place through forceps channel 78 or any other path without using wiring cover 128 and wiring channel 126.
For example, if the energization wiring to the light emitting diode 124 does not interfere with the field of view of the observation window 62a, the energization wiring passes from the forceps port 74 of the distal end portion 22 of the endoscope 11 through the forceps channel 78 and passes through the forceps channel 78. It may be pulled out from the forceps port 82 and connected to the power source 130, or the energizing wiring is connected to the forceps channel of the endoscope formed integrally with the tip hood, and similarly connected to the power source 130. You may do it.

The wiring cover 128 covers the wiring arranged in the wiring channel 126, and at the lower end side in the figure, first, the wiring cover 128 is formed by retreating slightly along the outer periphery of the cap portion 102, and then the cap portion 102. As shown in FIG. 1, when the distal end hood 100 is attached to the insertion portion 12 of the endoscope 11, the axial direction along the outer periphery of the insertion portion 12 is extended as shown in FIG. 1. It has a length that extends and reaches the vicinity of the operation unit 14 of the endoscope 11. The wiring cover 128 has one end connected to the cap 102 and the other end connected to the power source 130. In this embodiment, since the wiring cover 118 is inserted into a tubular part such as a body cavity of a living body, the wiring cover 118 is flexible and directly contacts the living body. It is good to be formed with the material which has.
The power supply 130 is a device that supplies power, and is disposed in the vicinity of the operation unit 14 of the endoscope 11, in addition to the wiring disposed in the wiring channel 126 that is connected to the light emitting diode 124 at one end. Connected to the end. The arrangement position of the power supply 130 is not particularly limited as long as it is electrically connected to the wiring in the wiring channel 126. For example, the power supply 130 may be a power supply common to the power supply of the endoscope 11. Note that the wiring channel 126 and the wiring cover 128 extend from the cap portion 102 to the vicinity of the operation portion 14 regardless of the position of the power supply 130 in order to prevent an influence on a living body to be examined. Is preferred.

By arranging the plurality of light emitting diodes 124 of the illumination mechanism 108 at the tip of the cap portion 102 in this way, the light emitted from the two light guides 76 of the endoscope 11 is blocked by the lid body 104, and ride Even when the intensity of light emitted from the guide 76 and reaching the inspection object is reduced, the inspection object on the tip side of the cap portion 102 can be illuminated by the light emitting diode 124. Thereby, the inspection object on the tip side of the cap portion 102 can be suitably photographed, observed, and inspected.
Note that the number of the light emitting diodes 124 is not particularly limited, and may be one. In this embodiment, the light is emitted by the light emitting diode 124. However, various means can be used as the means for emitting light as long as the inspection object can be irradiated. For example, the light is guided by a light guide. A wave method may be used.

Here, in the tip hood 100 of the present invention, a part or all of the inner and outer surfaces of the cap portion 102 and the lid body 104, preferably including at least a range that becomes a visual field by reflection of the lid body 104. It is preferable to apply a hydrophilic surface treatment to the portion of the observation window 62a that enters the field of view. Specifically, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4, the entire area F on the inner and outer surfaces of the lid 104 and the almost entire area F ′ of the inner peripheral surface of the opening / closing part 112 of the cap 102 and the outer peripheral surface thereof. About about half of the region F ″, hydrophilic surface treatment is preferably performed.
In this way, a hydrophilic surface treatment is performed on the portion of the endoscope 11 that enters the field of view of the observation window 62a to prevent clouding due to bodily fluids and humidity in the living body, and a washing solution for washing the bodily fluids and the observation window 62a. Even if dew condensation occurs on the surface of each part, it becomes a uniform water film without forming water droplets, and the water film on the surface of each part is uniformly formed, causing irregular reflection of light due to water drops. Can be prevented. Therefore, the hydrophilic surface treatment can ensure the antifogging and the visual field by the uniform water film.
Such hydrophilic surface treatment is not particularly limited, but for example, by applying a hydrophilic coating using a synthetic resin paint to which hydrophilic polymer fine particles are added, or by coating a titanium oxide photocatalyst film. It can be carried out. Here, as a titanium oxide photocatalyst film | membrane, the Tochiki apparatus Co., Ltd. brand name "HYDROTECT" can be mentioned, for example.
The endoscope front hood and the endoscope unit of the present invention are basically configured as described above.

Hereinafter, the operation of the endoscope front hood and the endoscope unit of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view schematically showing a state in which an inspection object is being observed by the endoscope unit of the present invention, and imaging of the endoscope when using the endoscope distal end hood of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the visual field of a part (observation window).
First, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the attachment portion 110 of the cap portion 102 of the distal end hood 100 is fitted to the distal end portion 22 of the insertion portion 12 of the endoscope 11. Specifically, the fitting is performed so that the outer peripheral surface of the distal end portion 22 and the inner peripheral surface of the mounting portion 110 are in contact with each other, and the concave portion 81 of the distal end portion 22 and the convex portion 103 of the mounting portion 110 are further fitted. The attachment part 110 is fixed to the part 22. Further, the traction operation unit 122 is fixed in the vicinity of the operation unit 14, and the power source 130 is also fixed at a predetermined position. At this time, the lid body 104 is placed at a position indicated by reference symbol A in the drawing and is in a closed and transparent state.

Next, the insertion part 12 of the endoscope 11 is inserted into the examination target. For example, when examining the lower digestive system such as the large intestine and small intestine of a living body, the insertion part is inserted from the anus toward the large intestine.
Here, when the insertion portion 12 is inserted, the lid 104 is in a closed and transparent state, so that the front visual field Vb shown in FIG. 5A can be secured and the visual field is larger than the size of the insertion portion 12. As a result, the burden imposed on the patient by the insertion portion 12 can be reduced, and the test object can be inserted promptly, reliably and appropriately.
Thus, when the insertion portion 12 is inserted and the distal end portion 22 reaches the inspection target T, an image photographed by the CCD sensor 60 is observed and inspected through the observation window 62a. Here, even in the case where the inspection target T is a tubular portion having rugged pleats, as shown in FIG. When it is opened and tilted, the range of light incident on the observation window 62a becomes the range indicated by RVb, and the concave portion (inner back side) between the pleats of the tubular portion that is the inspection target T can be observed. Moreover, when it is opened and tilted to the position indicated by reference symbol C in the figure, the range of light incident on the observation window 62a is the range indicated by RVc, and the ridges (front side) of the folds of the tubular portion can be observed.

In this way, by adjusting the tilt angle of the reflecting mirror surface of the lid 104 by the lid opening / closing mechanism 106, the position of the image of the inspection target T that is incident on the observation window 62a by the reflecting mirror surface of the lid 104 is changed to various positions. The CCD sensor 60 can capture and observe images at various positions of the inspection target T through the observation window 62a. As a result, even if it is a narrow tubular portion where the bending portion cannot be bent by attaching the endoscope tip hood 100 having the lid 104 to the tip of the insertion portion 12 of the endoscope 11, It is possible to easily photograph, observe, and inspect a lesion or the like in a concave portion (inner back side) between the folds of the tubular part, for example, the inner side of the tube.
The endoscope unit 10 in the illustrated example captures an inspection object as described above, acquires an image, and uses it for observation and inspection.

In the endoscope front hood 100 of the present invention, the lid body 104 can be opened and closed (the inclination angle can be adjusted) by the lid body opening / closing mechanism 106, and the light transmission state of the lid body 104 changes, and according to the opening and closing. The light control mirror is selectable between a transparent state and a specular reflection state.
Accordingly, when inserted, the lid 104 is closed and transparent by the lid opening / closing mechanism 106 so that the front field of view is maximized, that is, the front range that can be observed through the observation window 62a is shown in FIG. 5A. As Vb, a wide front view can be secured and the insertion portion 12 can be easily inserted, that is, it can be inserted into the living body while confirming the front state without damaging the narrow tubular portion.
On the other hand, at the time of observing the inspection object, the lid 104 is opened to an arbitrary position by the lid opening / closing mechanism 106 and tilted, and the light control mirror on the inner surface thereof is mirror-reflected to form a concave portion of the tubular part with the unevenness of the inspection object. For example, the inner surface of the concave portion in the concave and convex shape such as a fold can be easily imaged, observed, and inspected. Thereby, even if it is the surface of the back side of a test object, it can observe as a whole in a short time.

In the present invention, the lid 104 has a size sufficient to cover the entire surface of the tip opening 102a of the cap portion 102. Therefore, as described above, even when the lid 104 is in the closed transparent state, it can only ensure a wide front view. In addition, even when the lens is opened to a predetermined position and brought into a specular reflection state, a wide field of view can be secured as a sufficiently large reflecting mirror.
Further, when the insertion portion 12 of the endoscope 11 is inserted / removed, the lid body 104 can be closed at the distal end opening 102a of the cap portion 102, so that it is not necessary to insert / remove the endoscope 11 with the lid body 104 protruding. . Therefore, the insertion portion 12 can be inserted into and removed from the inspection target without the lid 104 damaging the inspection target (wall surface of the intestine, trachea, etc.). In addition, since the cap part 102 and the cover body 104 are formed with the material which has a certain amount of flexibility, and are cylindrical shapes which are hard to be caught at the time of insertion / extraction, damage to a test object can be prevented reliably.

In addition, since the endoscope front end hood 100 of the present invention is an endoscope front end hood attached to the outside of the endoscope 11, the lid 104 is used without using the forceps port 74 of the endoscope 11. Can be made into a specular reflection state, and the back side surface of the inspection object can be observed.
In addition, since the lid 104 serving as a reflecting mirror is disposed at the tip of the cap portion 102 and can be opened widely to an arbitrary opening / closing position, a forceps or other treatment tool is inserted into the forceps channel 78 from the forceps port 74. Even if it makes it protrude, interference with the cover body 104 can be prevented to the maximum extent.
Thereby, while observing the back side surface of the inspection target, the forceps and various treatment tools can be inserted into the forceps port 74 to treat the inspection target, and workability can be further improved.
Moreover, although this embodiment demonstrated as the case of the endoscope 11 which has the forceps opening | mouth 74, it is not limited to this, The front-end | tip hood for endoscopes of this invention is used also for the endoscope which is not provided with a forceps opening | mouth. be able to. That is, since a reflecting mirror can be provided without using a forceps opening, it can also be used for an endoscope without a forceps opening.

Further, the cap portion 102 of the tip hood 100 and the inner and outer surfaces of the lid body 104, at least the range that becomes the field of view by the reflection of the lid body 104 in the specular reflection state, include a portion that enters the field of view of the observation window 62a. The surface water film is uniformly formed without clouding due to the humidity in the body, and the field of view of the observation window 62a is pulled. The field of view taken by the CCD sensor 60 is clearly ensured.
Further, since a plurality of light sources (light emitting diodes) 124 are arranged at the front end edge of the cap portion 102, even if the lid 104 serves as a reflecting mirror to block light projected from the light guide 40, the shadow is not affected. Can be prevented from affecting the image picked up through the observation window 62a.
The wire 116 that operates the power source of the light source 124 and the hinge portion 114 that connects the lid body 104 so as to be openable and closable are the wiring channel 126 formed in the cap portion 102 along the axial direction and the wire 116. Since the forceps channel 78 is not used because the forceps channel 78 is disposed in the channel 120, the forceps channel 78 can be used for forceps and other treatment tools. However, treatment with forceps and other treatment tools can be performed, and there is no problem that the use of forceps and other treatment tools is limited.

The tip hood may further be provided with a forceps opening and a forceps channel. Specifically, similarly to the wire channel and the wiring channel, a forceps channel extending from the hood main body of the tip hood to the vicinity of the operation portion along the insertion portion may be provided to form a forceps port in the tip hood.
By providing the forceps port and the forceps channel in the distal end hood, even when an endoscope without the forceps port and the forceps channel is used, it is possible to treat the inspection object with the treatment tool. Even in the case of an endoscope provided with forceps ports and forceps channels, the number of channels can be increased, that is, more treatment tools can be used at the same time.
Thus, by providing the forceps opening and the forceps channel, the treatment efficiency and the workability can be improved.

  As described above, the endoscope front hood and the endoscope unit using the endoscope hood according to the present invention have been described in detail. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and does not depart from the gist of the present invention. Various improvements and changes may be made in the range.

For example, in the present embodiment, both the attachment portion and the opening / closing portion are made transparent, but at least in the extending direction of the insertion portion, the portion on the tip side from the observation window of the insertion portion of the endoscope (that is, more than the observation window) What is necessary is just to make transparent the part of the side away from the base end part of an insertion part, and other parts, for example, an attaching part, may be colored.
In the above embodiment, the lid is configured to be in a transparent state when closed, i.e., in a transparent state, and in a specular reflection state when opened, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the state of the lid, You may comprise so that a transparent state and a reflective state can be switched arbitrarily irrespective of the open / closed state of a cover body.

  Further, in the present invention, since the versatility can be increased and it can be used according to the application, the endoscope tip hood can be attached to and detached from the endoscope. The endoscope may be integrated. That is, an endoscope unit in which a hood main body, a reflecting mirror, an angle adjustment mechanism, and the like are incorporated in the endoscope may be used. Thus, by integrating the endoscope and the distal end hood for the endoscope, the wire and the wiring portion can be built in the insertion portion of the endoscope.

It is a perspective view showing the schematic structure of one embodiment of an endoscope unit provided with the tip hood for endoscopes of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of the front-end | tip part of the insertion part of the endoscope of the endoscope unit shown in FIG. (A) And (B) is the front view and side view which show schematic structure of one Example of the front-end | tip hood for endoscopes of the endoscope unit shown in FIG. 1, respectively. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV when the lid of the tip hood shown in FIG. (A) and (B) are a front sectional view and a side view, respectively, showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of the endoscope unit of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view schematically showing a state in which an inspection object is observed by the endoscope unit shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Endoscope unit 11 Endoscope 12 Insertion part 14 Operation part 16 Connector 18 Universal cord 22 Tip part 24 Angle part 26 Soft part 28 Outer skin 56 Video connector 60 CCD sensor 62 Lens part (lens)
62a Observation window 64 Prism 68 Processing board 70 Data cable 72 Air supply / water supply port 74, 82 Forceps port 76 Light guide 78 Forceps channel 80 Air supply / liquid supply channel 81 Recess 84 Suction button 86 Air supply / water supply button 88 LR knob 90 UD knob 100 Tip hood for endoscope (tip hood)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 102 Cap part 103 Convex part 104 Lid body 106 Lid body opening / closing mechanism 108 Illumination mechanism 110 Attachment part 112 Opening / closing part 114 Hinge part 116 Wire 118 Wire cover 120 Wire channel 122 Traction operation part 124 Light emitting diode 126 Wiring channel 128 Wiring cover 130 Power supply

Claims (14)

An endoscope tip hood to be attached to the tip of an endoscope insertion portion, where an observation window for imaging an inspection object is disposed,
A substantially cylindrical transparent cap,
A fixing portion that is formed on the cap portion and fixes the cap portion to a distal end of the insertion portion;
An endoscope distal end hood, comprising: a lid that is attached to the distal end of the cap portion so as to be openable and closable, and changes a light transmission state.   The endoscope front end hood according to claim 1, wherein the lid is a dimming mirror capable of selecting a transparent state and a specular reflection state by changing a light transmission state.   The distal end hood for an endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the lid body is capable of switching between a transparent state and a reflective state by changing a light transmission state according to an applied voltage.   The internal view according to claim 1, wherein the lid is in a transparent state when the tip of the cap part is closed, and is in a reflective state when the tip of the cap part is opened. Mirror tip hood.   The lid is capable of being opened and closed up to an angle toward which the reflected light from the inspection object is at least rearward from the observation window axis of the endoscope perpendicular to the axial direction of the cap when in the reflective state. The tip hood for endoscopes in any one of -4.   The hydrophilic coating or the hydrophilic coating is given to the surface of the said cover body and / or the at least one part surface of the outer surface side and inner surface side of the said cap part. Endoscope hood for endoscopes. Furthermore, a connecting portion that connects the lid to the cap portion so as to be openable and closable;
The distal end hood for an endoscope according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising lid body opening / closing means for opening and closing the lid body to a predetermined position and holding the lid body at the predetermined position. The connecting part is a hinge part formed at the tip of the cap part,
The lid opening / closing means includes
A lid opening / closing operation transmitting means for transmitting the lid opening / closing operation by the operation unit of the endoscope to the lid;
A lid opening / closing operation transmission means channel formed integrally with the cap portion in the axial direction from the outer periphery of the cap portion is provided therein, and the shaft is provided on the outer periphery of the insertion portion of the endoscope that is mounted. The endoscope front hood according to claim 7, further comprising an opening / closing operation transmission means cover attached in a direction. The lid opening / closing operation transmitting means is movably inserted in the lid opening / closing operation transmitting means channel of the cover for opening / closing operation transmitting means, the tip of the lid is attached to the lid, and the other end of the cover opening / closing operation transmitting means. It consists of a flexible strip connected to the operation part of the mirror,
The endoscope front end hood according to claim 8, wherein the lid is opened and closed by pushing and pulling the flexible strip by the operation unit of the endoscope.   The lid body opening / closing means further includes an urging means that is provided between the cap portion and the lid body and urges the lid body in either an opening direction or a closing direction with respect to the cap portion. The tip hood for an endoscope according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the lid is opened and closed against a biasing force of the biasing means.   Furthermore, it is provided in the substantially cylindrical front-end | tip edge part of the said cap part, Irradiates visible light from this front-end | tip edge part, The light irradiation part which illuminates the said test object is provided in any one of Claims 1-10. Endoscope hood for endoscope. The light irradiator is
A light emitting element disposed at a substantially cylindrical tip edge of the cap portion;
An energization channel formed integrally with the cap portion in the axial direction from the outer periphery of the cap portion is provided therein, and the energization is attached to the outer periphery of the insertion portion of the attached endoscope in the axial direction. Wiring cover for
A distribution line that is inserted into the energization channel in the energization wiring cover, has a distal end connected to the light emitting element, and the other end connected to an external power source via the operation unit of the endoscope. Have
The distal end hood for an endoscope according to claim 11, wherein the light emitting element is turned on or off by an operation by an operation unit of the endoscope.   The endoscope distal end hood according to claim 12, wherein the light emitting element is a light emitting diode. An endoscope provided with an observation window for imaging an inspection target in a body cavity at the tip thereof, an insertion section that is inserted into the body cavity, and an operation section that operates the insertion section;
An endoscope unit comprising: the end hood for an endoscope according to any one of claims 1 to 13, which is attached to a distal end of the insertion portion.

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