JP5622884B2 - Endoscope - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope.

  An endoscope typically includes an operation unit and an insertion unit provided continuously with the operation unit, and the insertion unit is provided with a bending portion and a distal end portion provided continuously with the distal end side of the bending portion. And. An imaging device including a solid-state imaging device, an illumination optical system, and the like are provided at the distal end portion, and an image of the observation target portion of the subject is imaged. The bending portion has a plurality of sequentially connected node rings, and two adjacent node rings are connected by the pins so as to be relatively rotatable around a pin orthogonal to the central axis of the bending portion. Yes. A wire is provided through these node rings to the operation portion, and when the wire is pulled, the bending portion is bent and the tip portion is swung in a predetermined direction.

  In the case of swinging the tip in four directions, up, down, left, and right, the pin that connects two adjacent node rings is orthogonal to the first direction perpendicular to the central axis of the bending portion, and to the central axis of the bending portion, and They are arranged alternately along a second direction that is also orthogonal to the first direction. Further, four wires are provided along the central axis of the bending portion with an interval of about 90 degrees around the central axis of the bending portion. An insertion hole penetrating in the axial direction of the bending portion is formed at the distal end portion of the pin, and each wire is sequentially disposed via the insertion hole of the pin arranged in the axial direction of the bending portion.

  The connection part of two adjacent node rings is configured by overlapping the connection parts provided on both node rings in an inner and outer double, and inserting pins into shaft holes respectively formed in both connection parts. The pin is swaged to the connecting portion of one node ring located on the outside, and is fixed to the connecting portion. On the other hand, the connecting portion of the other node ring located on the inside is loosely fitted to the pin, so that the other node ring adjacent to the one node ring to which the pin is fixed is centered on the pin. It rotates (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the endoscope having the conventional structure described above, when two adjacent node rings rotate relatively, the bending of the wire hardly occurs at the edge of the insertion hole facing one of the node rings to which the pin is fixed. Therefore, the wire can be significantly bent at the edge of the insertion hole facing the other node ring. For this reason, the force acting on the wire due to contact with the pin is concentrated at a portion that contacts one edge of the insertion hole of the pin, and wear of the wire at that portion becomes significant.

Japanese Patent No. 3835077

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an endoscope in which wear of a wire for bending a bending portion is suppressed.

And an insertion portion provided continuously with the operation portion, the insertion portion including a bending portion having a plurality of sequentially connected node rings, and the two adjacent node rings are located at the center of the bending portion. The bending portion is bent by a pulling operation of a wire that reaches the operation portion via a plurality of node rings, and is connected to the shaft member so as to be relatively rotatable around a shaft member that intersects the shaft. In the endoscope, each of the plurality of node rings has a connecting portion in which a shaft hole into which the shaft member is inserted is formed, and two adjacent node rings are the shaft holes of the overlapping connection portions. The shaft member is inserted into and connected to the guide member, and the shaft member is fixedly secured to one of the connection portions of the guide portion having the insertion hole through which the wire is inserted and the two connection portions overlapped. It has a section, the guide portion is separated from the fixed portion, provided in the fixing unit Has a rotatably accommodated by the ball joint in the socket about the central axis of the shaft member, the guide portion ball joint is housed in the socket, with respect to either of the two articulation wheels coupled by the shaft member The endoscope is also supported by the fixing portion so as to be rotatable about the central axis of the shaft member.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to disperse the force acting on the wire by contact with the guide portion of the shaft member, and to suppress wear of the wire.

It is a top view showing an example of an endoscope for explaining an embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the curved part contained in the insertion part of the endoscope shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which expands and shows the curved part of FIG. 2, and is sectional drawing which shows an example of the shaft member which connects two adjacent node rings of a curved part. It is sectional drawing which shows an example of attachment of a shaft member. It is sectional drawing which shows operation | movement of the bending part of the endoscope shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of a shaft member. It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of a shaft member. It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of a shaft member.

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an example of an endoscope for explaining an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a bending portion included in the insertion portion of the endoscope of FIG. 1, and FIG. It is sectional drawing which expands and shows this curved part.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the endoscope 1 includes an operation unit 3, an insertion unit 2 provided continuously to the operation unit 3 and inserted into a subject, and a universal cable 4 extending from the operation unit 3. Yes. The universal cable 4 includes a light guide, a signal line, and the like (not shown), and is connected to a light source device, a signal processing device, and the like (not shown) with a connector 5 provided at the end thereof.

  The insertion portion 2 includes a bending portion 12, a distal end portion 11 provided continuously with the distal end side of the bending portion 12, and a flexible soft portion 13 provided continuously with the proximal end side of the bending portion 12. It is out. The bending portion 12 is connected to the operation portion 3 via the flexible portion 13. The light guide and the signal line reach the distal end portion 11 through the operation portion 3, the flexible portion 13, and the bending portion 12.

  The tip portion 11 is provided with a solid-state image sensor such as a CCD image sensor. In addition, the operation unit 3 is provided with a plurality of buttons 14 for controlling imaging by the solid-state imaging device at the distal end portion 11, knobs 15 a and 15 b for operating the bending of the bending portion 12, and the like.

  Illumination light generated by the light source device is guided to the distal end portion 11 through the light guide and is irradiated to the subject. Then, the reflected light reflected by the subject forms an image on the solid-state imaging device included in the distal end portion 11, and an image signal of the subject is generated. This image signal is sent to a signal processing device via a signal line. The signal processing device generates display image data by processing an input image signal, for example, and displays a subject image based on the generated display image data on a monitor (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the bending portion 12 has a plurality of node rings 21 that are sequentially connected. The node ring 21 is a hard member formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. The node ring 21 forming one end of the arrangement of the node rings 21 is integrally joined to the rear end portion of the outer shell of the tip portion 11. The outer shell of the distal end portion 11 and the plurality of node rings 21 of the bending portion 12 are both covered with a flexible tube 24 such as a rubber tube.

  Two adjacent node rings 21 are connected by a shaft member 31 so as to be relatively rotatable around a shaft member 31 that intersects the central axis of the bending portion 12. The shaft member 31 has a first axis X perpendicular to the central axis Z of the curved portion 12 and a second direction perpendicular to the central axis of the curved portion 12 and also perpendicular to the first direction X. It arrange | positions along Y alternately.

  Four wires 16 (one of which is not shown) are provided along the central axis of the bending portion 12 with an interval of about 90 degrees around the central axis of the bending portion 12. An insertion hole 32 penetrating in the radial direction is formed at an end portion of the shaft member 31 protruding to the inner diameter side of the node ring 21, and each wire 16 is connected to the axial member 31 of the bending portion 12 in the axial direction. It arrange | positions via the insertion hole 32 sequentially.

  One end portion of each wire 16 is fixed to a node ring 21 integrally joined to the outer shell of the tip end portion 11 by an appropriate means such as welding, and the other end portion of each wire 16 is connected to the operation portion 3. Connected to the knob 15a or 15b. For example, in the drawing, a pair of wires 16 facing up and down across the central axis of the bending portion 12 correspond to the upper and lower bending of the bending portion 12 and are connected to the knobs 15a. The remaining pair of wires 16 facing left and right across the central axis of the bending portion 12 correspond to the left and right bending of the bending portion 12 and are connected to the knobs 15b.

  As the knob 15a is rotated, one of the pair of wires 16 connected thereto is pulled, whereby the bending portion 12 is bent up and down. Further, as the knob 15b is rotated, one of the pair of wires 16 connected thereto is pulled, thereby bending the bending portion 12 to the left and right. The up and down bending of the bending portion 12 corresponding to the rotation operation of the knob 15a and the left and right bending of the bending portion 12 corresponding to the rotation operation of the knob 15b are combined, so that the tip portion 11 is swung in the upper, lower, left and right directions. ing.

  Next, the connection location of two adjacent node rings 21 will be described in detail.

  First, with the exception of the node rings 21 that form the ends of the plurality of node rings 21, a pair of connecting portions 22 that are opposed to each other are provided at both axial ends of each node ring 21. The node ring 21 that forms the end of the plurality of node rings 21 is provided with a pair of connecting portions 22 only at the end on the side where the other node rings 21 are connected.

  As shown in FIG. 3, for two adjacent node rings, the connection part 22b of the other node ring 21b is overlapped with the connection part 22a of one node ring 21a. Shaft holes 23a and 23b through which the shaft member 31 is inserted are formed in the connecting portion 22a located inside and the connecting portion 22b located outside. The shaft hole 23b of the connecting portion 22b located outside is formed with a smaller diameter than the shaft hole 23a of the connecting portion 22a located inside. The shaft member 31 is inserted into the shaft holes 23a and 23b of the overlapping connecting portions 22a and 22b, and the node rings 21a and 21b are connected.

  The shaft member 31 includes a guide portion 32 in which an insertion hole 33 into which the wire 16 is inserted, a first shaft portion 34 extending from the guide portion 32, and a first end of the first shaft portion 34. And a second shaft portion 35 provided coaxially with the shaft portion 34. In FIG. 3, among the shaft members 31 arranged in the upper, middle, and lower three rows, the upper row of the shaft members 31 is shown in cross section, and the middle row of the shaft members 31 exposes the insertion holes 33. A portion of 32 is shown broken away.

  The first shaft portion 34 is formed to have a slightly smaller diameter than the shaft hole 23a of the connecting portion 22a located inside, and is loosely fitted into the shaft hole 23a. And the 1st axial part 34 is shape | molded larger diameter than the axial hole 23b of the connection part 22b located outside, and it engages with the peripheral part of the axial hole 23b in the end surface.

  The second shaft portion 35 is formed to have a slightly smaller diameter than the shaft hole 23b of the connecting portion 22b located outside, and is loosely fitted into the shaft hole 23b. The distal end portion of the second shaft portion 35 protrudes out of the connecting portion 22b through the shaft hole 23b, and the distal end portion 36 protruding from the connecting portion 22b is a flat disk so as to have a larger diameter than the shaft hole 23b. To be sandwiched 37. Of the shaft members 31 arranged in the upper, middle, and lower three rows shown in FIG. 3, those in the upper row show the state before the tip portion 36 is plastically deformed, and those in the lower row A state in which the tip portion 36 is plastically deformed to form a clamping portion 37 is shown.

  The shaft member 31 in which the clamping portion 37 is formed sandwiches the peripheral edge portion of the shaft hole 23b of the connecting portion 22b in the overlapping direction of the connecting portions 22a and 22b by the first shaft portion 34 and the holding portion 37. And attached to the connecting portion 22b. That is, the first shaft part 34 constitutes a clamping part that makes a pair with the clamping part 37.

  Here, between the first shaft portion 34 and the sandwiching portion 37 that are the pair of sandwiching portions of the shaft member 31, and the coupling portion 22b sandwiched between them, the coupling portions 22a and 22b are overlapped. A slight gap G is provided in the direction. The first shaft portion 34 is loosely fitted in the shaft hole 23a of the connecting portion 22a, the second shaft portion 35 is loosely fitted in the shaft hole 23b of the connecting portion 22b, and the gap G is provided. The member 31 can rotate without being fixed to either of the joint rings 21a and 21b.

  The distal end portion 36 of the second shaft portion 35 is plastically deformed by, for example, caulking processing to form a clamping portion 37. Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the gap G can be easily provided by overlapping the spacer S such as a metal plate on the connecting portion 22 b and caulking the tip portion 36 and removing the spacer S after caulking. it can.

  In this way, the entire shaft member 31 including the guide portion 32 can rotate, that is, can rotate with respect to both the node rings 21a and 21b around the central axis. In addition, both the node rings 21 a and 21 b are relatively rotatable about the central axis of the shaft member 31.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 5, the deformation | transformation of the wire 16 accompanying the curve of the bending part 12 is demonstrated.

  FIG. 5A shows the state of the bending portion 12 when the wire 16a disposed at the lower portion of the bending portion 12 in the drawing is pulled. When the wire 16a is pulled, it is connected by the shaft member 31c arranged on the side of the bending portion 12 so as to shorten the path length of the wire 16a defined by the guide portion 32 of the shaft member 31a arranged on the lower portion of the bending portion 12. The two adjacent node rings 21 thus rotated relatively in a direction to narrow the interval P1 between the lower edges. Thereby, the bending portion 12 is bent downward. Incidentally, the distance P2 between the upper edges of both joint rings 21 is increased, and accordingly, the path length of the wire 16b defined by the guide portion 32 of the shaft member 31b arranged on the upper portion of the bending portion 12 is extended, and accordingly, The wire 16b is fed out from the operation unit 3.

  The wire 16c that is sequentially inserted through the insertion hole 33 formed in the guide portion 32 of the shaft member 31c arranged on the side portion of the bending portion 12 and is disposed on the side portion of the bending portion 12 corresponds to the bending of the bending portion 12. Thus, it is appropriately bent at the position of each shaft member 31c. Specifically, it contacts the edges 33a and 33b of the guide portion 32 corresponding to both ends of the insertion hole 33 and is bent appropriately at the edges 33a and 33b.

  Here, the entire shaft member 31c including the guide portion 32 is rotatable with respect to any of the two node rings 21 to be connected. The wire 16c comes into contact with the edges 33a and 33b of the guide portion 32, respectively, and acts on the shaft member 31c around the center axis. Therefore, the shaft member 31c is arranged around its central axis so that the torque acting by contacting the wire 16c at one edge 33a and the torque acting by contacting the wire 16c at the other edge 33b are balanced. Rotate.

  As the shaft member 31c rotates, the bending angle θa of the wire 16c at one edge 33a of the guide portion 32 and the bending angle θb of the wire 16c at the other edge 33b become substantially equal. And the force which acts on the wire 16c by contact with the guide part 32 is disperse | distributed substantially equally to the site | part which contacts one edge 33a, and the site | part which contacts the other edge 33b.

  As a reference, in FIG. 5B, when the shaft member that connects two adjacent node rings is fixed to one node ring, that is, the shaft member including the guide portion rotates relative to one node ring. Indicates the case of immobility.

  The shaft member 31c connects two adjacent node rings 21a and 21b, and is fixed to one node ring 21b. The bending of the wire 16c hardly occurs at the edge 33b of the guide portion 32 facing the node ring 21b to which the shaft member 31c is fixed. However, the wire 16c is significantly bent at the edge 33a facing the other node ring 21a. Occurs (θa >> θb≈0). Therefore, the force that acts on the wire 16c due to the contact of the shaft member 31c with the guide portion 32 is concentrated on the portion that contacts the one edge 33a.

  In this way, the entire shaft member 31 including the guide portion 32 can be rotated with respect to any of the two node rings 21 to be connected around the central axis. When relatively rotated, the wire can be bent evenly at both edges of the guide portion 32. Thereby, the force which acts on the wire 16 by contact with the guide part 32 can be disperse | distributed, and wear of the wire 16 can be suppressed.

  6 to 8 show modifications of the shaft member that connects two adjacent node rings 21 of the bending portion 12.

  The shaft member 31 described above includes a pair of sandwiching portions 34 and 37 sandwiching the connecting portion 22b located outside of the connecting portions 22a and 22b in which two adjacent node rings 21a and 21b are overlapped. When attached to the portion 22b, the shaft member 41 shown in FIG. 6 is attached to the connecting portion 22a with the connecting portion 22a positioned therebetween.

  The shaft hole 23a of the connecting portion 22a located inside is formed with a smaller diameter than the shaft hole 23b of the connecting portion 22b located outside. The shaft member 41 has a guide part 42 in which an insertion hole 43 through which the wire 16 is inserted is formed, and a shaft part 44 extending from the guide part 42.

  The guide part 42 is formed to have a larger diameter than the shaft hole 23a of the connecting part 22a located inside. The shaft portion 44 is formed to have a slightly smaller diameter than the shaft hole 23a, and is loosely fitted into the shaft hole 23a. The distal end portion of the shaft portion 44 projects outside the coupling portion 22a through the shaft hole 23a, and the distal end portion projected from the coupling portion 22a has a diameter larger than that of the shaft hole 23a and is outside the coupling portion 22b. It is plastically deformed into a flat disk shape so as to have a slightly smaller diameter than the shaft hole 23 b, thereby forming a clamping part 47.

  The shaft member 41 in which the clamping portion 47 is formed sandwiches the peripheral edge portion of the shaft hole 23a of the coupling portion 22a in the direction in which both the coupling portions 22a and 22b are overlapped by the guide portion 42 and the clamping portion 47. It is attached to 22a. That is, the guide part 42 constitutes a clamping part that makes a pair with the clamping part 47. Further, the sandwiching portion 47 has a slightly smaller diameter than the shaft hole 23b of the connecting portion 22b located outside, and can be loosely fitted into the shaft hole 23b of the connecting portion 22b located outside to serve as a shaft for the connecting portion 22b. Function.

  And between the guide part 42 and the clamping part 47 which become a pair of clamping part of the shaft member 41, and the connection part 22a pinched | interposed between them, it is a little in the direction of the overlapping of both connection parts 22a and 22b. A gap G is provided. The shaft portion 44 is loosely fitted in the shaft hole 23a of the connecting portion 22a, the clamping portion 47 of the shaft portion 44 is loosely fitted in the shaft hole 23b of the connecting portion 22b, and the gap G is provided, so that the shaft member 41 is provided. Can rotate without being fixed to either of the joint rings 21a and 21b.

  The gap G can be provided by, for example, interposing a spacer such as a metal plate between the guide portion 42 and the connecting portion 22a to crimp the tip portion of the shaft portion 44 and removing the spacer after crimping.

  As described above, the entire shaft member 41 including the guide portion 42 can be rotated with respect to any of the two node rings 21 to be connected around the central axis. When relatively rotated, the wire can be bent evenly at both edges of the guide portion 42. Thereby, the force which acts on the wire 16 by contact with the guide part 42 can be disperse | distributed, and abrasion of the wire 16 can be suppressed.

  The shaft member 51 shown in FIG. 7 is attached so as to sandwich the connecting portions 22a and 22b in which two adjacent node rings 21a and 21b are overlapped.

  The shaft holes 23a and 23b of both the connecting portions 22a and 22b are formed to have the same diameter. The shaft member 51 has a guide part 52 in which an insertion hole 53 through which the wire 16 is inserted is formed, and a shaft part 54 extending from the guide part 52.

  The guide portion 52 is formed to have a larger diameter than the shaft holes 23a and 23b of both the connecting portions 22a and 22b. The shaft portion 54 is formed to have a slightly smaller diameter than the shaft holes 23a and 23b, and is loosely fitted into the shaft holes 23a and 23b. And the front-end | tip part of the axial part 54 protrudes out of the connection part 22b through axial hole 23a, 23b, and the front-end | tip part which protruded from the connection part 22b becomes a flat disk shape so that it may be larger diameter than the axial hole 23b. It is plastically deformed to form a clamping part 57.

  The shaft member 51 in which the clamping portion 57 is formed has the guide portion 52 and the clamping portion 57 that allow the peripheral portions of the shaft holes 23a and 23b of the coupling portions 22a and 22b to be overlapped in the overlapping direction of the coupling portions 22a and 22b. Attached with a pinch. That is, the guide unit 52 constitutes a clamping unit that makes a pair with the clamping unit 57.

  And between the guide part 52 and the clamping part 57 which become a pair of clamping part of the shaft member 51, and both connection part 22a, 22b pinched | interposed between them, the overlapping direction of both connection part 22a, 22b A slight gap G is provided. Since the shaft portion 54 is loosely fitted in the shaft holes 23a and 23b of both the connecting portions 22a and 22b, and the gap G is provided, the shaft member 51 is fixed to both the node rings 21a and 21b. Without being able to rotate.

  The gap G can be obtained by, for example, interposing a spacer between the guide portion 52 and the connecting portion 22a, or overlapping the spacer on the connecting portion 22b and caulking the tip portion of the shaft portion 54, and removing the spacer after caulking. Can be provided.

  As described above, the entire shaft member 51 including the guide portion 52 can be rotated with respect to any of the two node rings 21 to be connected around the central axis. When relatively rotated, the wire can be evenly bent at both edges of the guide portion 52. Thereby, the force which acts on the wire 16 by contact with the guide part 52 can be disperse | distributed, and abrasion of the wire 16 can be suppressed.

  Next, referring to FIG. 8, the shaft member 31 described above including the guide portion 32 is configured to be rotatable with respect to the two node rings 21 to be connected. Is configured such that only the guide portion 62 is rotatable.

  Of the connecting portions 22a and 22b in which the two adjacent node rings 21a and 21b are overlapped, the shaft hole 23b of the connecting portion 22b located outside is larger than the shaft hole 23a of the connecting portion 22a located inside. Molded to a small diameter.

  The shaft member 61 has a guide portion 62 in which an insertion hole 63 through which the wire 16 is inserted is formed, and a fixing portion 70. The guide portion 62 and the fixing portion 70 are separate parts and are connected to each other. The fixing portion 70 includes a first shaft portion 64 and a second shaft portion 65 that is connected to the tip of the first shaft portion 64 and provided coaxially with the first shaft portion 64. The guide portion 62 is provided with a ball joint 69 that provides connection with the fixing portion 70, and a socket 68 that accommodates the ball joint 69 is provided at the base end portion of the first shaft portion 64 of the fixing portion 70. Is provided. The guide portion 62 in which the ball joint 69 is accommodated in the socket 68 is supported by the fixing portion 70 so as to be rotatable about the central axis of the fixing portion 70.

  The first shaft portion 64 of the fixing portion 70 is formed to have a slightly smaller diameter than the shaft hole 23a of the connecting portion 22a located inside, and is loosely fitted into the shaft hole 23a. And the 1st axial part 64 is shape | molded larger diameter than the axial hole 23b of the connection part 22b located outside, and it engages with the peripheral part of the axial hole 23b in the end surface.

  The 2nd axial part 65 of the adhering part 70 is penetrated by the axial hole 23b of the connection part 22b located outside. The distal end portion of the second shaft portion 65 protrudes out of the connecting portion 22b through the shaft hole 23b, and the distal end portion protruding from the connecting portion 22b has a flat disk shape so as to have a larger diameter than the shaft hole 23b. To be sandwiched 67.

  The fixing portion 70 in which the holding portion 67 is formed has a gap between the peripheral portion of the shaft hole 23b of the connecting portion 22b in the overlapping direction of the connecting portions 22a and 22b by the first shaft portion 64 and the holding portion 67. They are sandwiched and fixed to the connecting portion 22b.

  The fixing portion 70 is fixed to the connecting portion 22b of one node ring 21b. The first shaft portion 64 of the fixing portion 70 is inserted into the shaft hole 23a formed in the connecting portion 22a of the other node ring 21a. It is loosely fitted. Therefore, the node ring 21 a is rotatable with respect to the node ring 21 b around the first shaft portion 64 of the fixing portion 70. And the guide part 62 supported by the adhering part 70 so that rotation is possible is rotatable with respect to both the node rings 21a and 21b.

  As described above, the guide portion 62 of the shaft member 61 rotates with respect to both of the two node rings 21 a and 21 b to be connected around the central axis of the fixing portion 70, that is, the central axis of the shaft member 61. Since it is possible, when both node rings 21a and 21b rotate relatively, the wire can be bent evenly at both edges of the guide portion 62. Thereby, the force which acts on the wire 16 by contact with the guide part 62 can be disperse | distributed, and wear of the wire 16 can be suppressed. Further, the adhering portion 70 sandwiches the peripheral portion of the shaft hole 23b formed in the connecting portion 22b of the one node ring 21b with the first shaft portion 64 and the holding portion 67 without any gap, and this connecting portion 22b. The shaft member 61 is not rattled. Thereby, relative rotation of both joint rings 21a and 21b is made smoothly.

  As described above, the endoscope disclosed in this specification includes an operation unit and an insertion unit provided continuously to the operation unit, and the insertion unit includes a plurality of node rings sequentially connected. The two adjacent node rings including the curved portion having the following are connected by the shaft member so as to be relatively rotatable around a shaft member intersecting the central axis of the curved portion, and An endoscope in which the bending portion is bent by pulling a wire that reaches the operation portion via a node ring, and the shaft member has a guide portion in which an insertion hole through which the wire is inserted is formed. And at least the guide portion of the shaft member is rotatable about the central axis of the shaft member with respect to any of the two node rings connected by the shaft member.

  According to the endoscope described above, since the guide portion of the shaft member can be rotated with respect to any of the two node rings to be connected, the guide is provided when both the node rings are relatively rotated. The wire can be bent evenly at both edges of the part. Thereby, the force which acts on a wire by the contact with a guide part can be disperse | distributed, and wear of a wire can be suppressed.

  Further, in the endoscope disclosed in the present specification, the plurality of node rings each have a connecting portion in which a shaft hole into which the shaft member is inserted is formed, and two adjacent node rings are The shaft member is inserted and connected to the shaft hole of each of the overlapped connecting portions.

  Further, in the endoscope disclosed in the present specification, the shaft member has a pair of sandwiching portions that sandwich at least one connecting portion of the two overlapping connecting portions in the overlapping direction. A gap is provided in the overlapping direction between the pair of sandwiching portions and the connecting portion sandwiched between the pair of sandwiching portions. According to this endoscope, the shaft member is attached without being fixed to any of the two coupled node rings, and the entire shaft member including the guide portion is centered on the central axis. It becomes possible to rotate relative to the wheel. Thereby, the whole shaft member including the guide portion can be integrally formed, and the configuration can be simplified.

  Further, in the endoscope disclosed in this specification, the shaft member further includes a fixing portion that is fixed to one of the two connecting portions that are overlapped, and the guide portion includes: It is separated from the fixing portion and is supported by the fixing portion so as to be rotatable about the shaft of the shaft member. According to this endoscope, the shakiness of the shaft member can be eliminated, and the relative rotation of the two node rings connected by the shaft member can be smoothly performed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Endoscope 2 Insertion part 3 Operation part 4 Universal cable 5 Connector 11 Tip part 12 Curved part 13 Soft part 14 Button 15a, 15b Knob 16,16a, 16b, 16c Wire 21,21a, 21b Node ring 22,22a, 22b Connecting part 23a, 23b Shaft hole 31, 31a, 31b, 31c Shaft member 32 Guide part 33 Insertion hole 34 First shaft part (clamping part)
35 Second shaft portion 36 Tip portion of second shaft portion 37 Clamping portion

Claims (1)

An operation unit, and an insertion unit provided continuously to the operation unit,
The insertion portion includes a bending portion having a plurality of node rings sequentially connected,
Two adjacent node rings are connected by the shaft member so as to be relatively rotatable around a shaft member intersecting the central axis of the curved portion,
An endoscope in which the bending portion is bent by pulling a wire reaching the operation portion via the plurality of node rings,
Each of the plurality of node rings has a connecting portion in which a shaft hole into which the shaft member is inserted is formed, and two adjacent node rings are inserted into the shaft holes of the overlapping connection portions. The members are inserted and connected,
The shaft member includes a guide portion in which an insertion hole through which the wire is inserted is formed, and a fixing portion that is fixed to one of the two connection portions that are overlapped, The guide portion has a ball joint that is separated from the fixing portion and is accommodated in a socket provided in the fixing portion so as to be rotatable about the central axis of the shaft member. The ball joint is accommodated in the socket. The endoscope is supported by the fixing portion so as to be rotatable about the central axis of the shaft member with respect to any of the two node rings connected by the shaft member. .

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