JP6689589B2 - Endoscope - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope including an insertion portion that includes a bending portion that bends as a bending operation wire moves.

  Endoscopes are used in the medical field. The doctor inserts the insertion part of the endoscope into a bent luminal organ or a luminal organ that branches from one lumen to multiple lumens, observes the lesion, and performs diagnosis and treatment. There is.

  For example, the insertion part of a respiratory endoscope is inserted into the bronchus through the oral cavity, nasal cavity, and tracheal branch. When the lesion is in the upper lobe of the lung, when the insertion part is inserted from the tracheal bifurcation into the bronchus of the upper lobe, it is necessary to bend the curved part largely. Therefore, in a respiratory endoscope, the bending portion needs to be bent at a large bending angle of about 200 degrees. On the other hand, in a thin lumen such as a bronchus, it is also desired that only the distal end side of the bending portion can be slightly bent.

  However, the bending portion of the endoscope generally begins to bend from the proximal end side of the bending portion, and finally bends toward the distal end side. In other words, the bending portion starts to bend around the base end side of the bending portion regardless of whether the bending portion is bent 200 degrees or 30 degrees. Therefore, the position of the distal end portion of the insertion portion moves greatly at the start of the bending operation regardless of the size of the bending angle.

  Then, since the amount of movement of the position of the distal end portion of the insertion portion increases, it becomes difficult to capture the lesion in the visual field. In particular, it is difficult to observe or treat the tangential direction of the lumen of the bronchus.

Patent Document 1 discloses an endoscope capable of switching the length of a portion that is bent by a bending operation (hereinafter, referred to as a bending length).
This patent document 1 discloses an endoscope in which an inner guide sheath and an outer guide sheath made of, for example, a flexible coil pipe are arranged in a flexible tube portion that constitutes an insertion portion. The inner guide sheath is arranged inside the outer guide sheath and is movable in the insertion direction with respect to the outer guide sheath.

  The bending operation wire that bends the bending portion of the endoscope is movably arranged inside the inner guide sheath. The tip portion of the outer guide sheath is fixed to the tip side of the flexible tube portion. The base end portion of the outer guide sheath is fixed to a stopper member arranged on the base end side of the flexible tube portion.

  The distal end portion of the inner guide sheath is fixed to a connection mouthpiece provided in the middle portion of the curved portion. The base end portion of the inner guide sheath can be fixed or released by a moving member fixing mechanism provided in the operation portion.

The moving member fixing mechanism can switch between fixing and releasing the fixing of the base end portion of the inner guide sheath by rotating the fixing lever provided on the operation portion. When the base end portion of the inner guide sheath is in a fixed state, the base end portion of the inner guide sheath cannot move in the extending direction, and only the distal end side of the bending portion can bend. On the other hand, when the base end portion of the inner guide sheath is released, the base end portion of the inner guide sheath can move in the extending direction, and the bending portion moves from the base end portion of the bending portion to the distal end side, that is, the entire bending portion. Can be bent.
As described above, in the insertion device of Patent Document 1, the bending length can be switched by switching between fixing and releasing the fixation of the proximal end portion of the inner guide sheath by rotating the fixing lever.

Japanese Patent No. 5416324

  However, according to the configuration of the insertion device of Patent Document 1, the bending length is switched by rotating the fixing lever provided in the operation unit. Therefore, when the fixing lever is rotated, the operation part moves, the position of the insertion part provided at the distal end side of the operation part moves, and when the insertion device is an endoscope, the observation field of view changes. As a result, the lesion in the visual field may be displaced from the visual field.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope in which the bending length of a bending portion can be switched without providing a special operating means on the operating portion.

An endoscope according to an aspect of the present invention includes an insertion portion that includes a bending portion and a flexible tube portion that is continuously provided on a proximal end side of the bending portion, and that is continuously provided on a proximal end side of the insertion portion. An operating portion having a bending operation lever for bending the bending portion, a bending operation wire disposed in the insertion portion and bent by the bending operation lever to bend the bending portion, and a distal end side in the bending portion. disposed, the bending operation wire is inserted through the inside, and an inner wire guide to move the operating portion direction according to the amount of the bending operation wire is moved is pulled, the distal end portion, said inner wire guide base An urging force generating member that abuts against the end portion and urges the inner wire guide toward the distal end side.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an endoscope in which the bending length of the bending portion can be switched without providing a special operating means on the operating portion.

The figure which shows the whole structure of the endoscope which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure explaining the bending part which comprises the insertion part of the endoscope of this invention. The figure explaining the relation between the bending operation lever provided in the operation part of the endoscope of the present invention, the bending operation wire, the inside wire guide, the outside wire guide, and the biasing force generating member. The figure which shows the 1st compression state of the compression coil spring which is the biasing force generation member of this invention. The figure which shows the 2nd compression state of the compression coil spring which is the urging | biasing force generation member of this invention. The figure explaining operation | movement at the time of bending only the front end side bending part of the bending part of this invention. The figure explaining operation | movement at the time of bending the front end side bending part and base end side bending part of the bending part of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each of the drawings used in the following description, the scale is made different for each component in order to make each component recognizable in the drawings. It is not limited only to the number of constituent elements, the shape of constituent elements, the ratio of the sizes of constituent elements, and the relative positional relationship of each constituent element described in 1.

  The endoscope of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. As shown in FIG. 1, an endoscope 1 according to the present embodiment includes an insertion portion 2, an operation portion 3 continuously provided at a base end of the insertion portion 2, and a universal cord extended from the operation portion 3. 4 and an endoscope connector 5 arranged at the tip of the universal cord 4 and the like.

  The insertion part 2 is formed in an elongated tubular shape. The insertion portion 2 is formed by sequentially connecting a tip portion 6, a bending portion 7, and a flexible tube portion 8 from the tip side. The tip portion 6 is formed of a hard member, and an image pickup device (not shown) including an image pickup means, an illumination means (not shown), and the like are housed therein.

  The bending portion 7 is a mechanism portion configured to be able to be actively bent in two up and down directions (UP-DOWN) by a turning operation of a bending operation lever 13 described later among the operation members of the operation portion 3.

  The bending portion 7 is not limited to a type that bends in two directions up and down, and includes four directions including the left and right directions in addition to the up and down directions (the entire circumferential direction around the axis, UP- It may be a configuration capable of being curved to DOWN / RIGHT-LEFT).

  The flexible tube portion 8 is a tubular member formed to have flexibility so as to be passively flexible. Inside the flexible tube portion 8, in addition to a treatment instrument insertion channel which will be described later, the flexible tube portion 8 extends from an imaging device built in the distal end portion 6 and further extends from the operation portion 3 into the inside of the universal cord 4. Various signal lines (not shown), a light guide (not shown) for guiding the illumination light from the light source device and causing it to be emitted from the tip portion 6 are inserted.

  The operation unit 3 has a grip unit 10 that is gripped by a hand when an operator uses the endoscope 1. On the outer surface of the grip portion 10, an operation member for operating various endoscope functions, a treatment instrument insertion portion 11 and the like are provided.

  As the operation member provided in the operation unit 3, for example, a bending lever 13 for performing a bending operation of the bending portion 7, a plurality of operation members 14 for operating an imaging unit, or an illuminating unit, and a suction operation for performing a suction operation. There is a suction valve 15, and the like.

  The treatment instrument insertion portion 11 includes a treatment instrument insertion port into which various treatment instruments (not shown) are inserted. The treatment instrument insertion portion 11 is a component that communicates with the treatment instrument insertion channel via the branch member inside the operation portion 3. A forceps plug 12 is provided in the treatment instrument insertion portion 11. The forceps plug 12 is a lid member for opening and closing the treatment instrument insertion port, and is detachably (replaceable) with respect to the treatment instrument insertion portion 11.

  The universal cord 4 is a tubular member formed to have flexibility so as to be passively flexible. Inside the universal cord 4, various signal lines extending from the distal end portion 6 of the insertion portion 2 to the operation portion 3 through the insertion portion 2 and further extended from the operation portion 3 and lights of a light source device (not shown). A guide etc. is inserted.

  The endoscope connector 5 includes an electric connector portion 16 and a light guide base 17. Various signal lines are connected to the electric connector unit 16 and are connected to a video processor (not shown) which is an external device via an electric cable (not shown). A light guide bundle is inserted inside the light guide base 17. The light guide base 17 is connected to a light source device that is an external device.

The bending portion 7 forming the insertion portion 2 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the curved portion 7 is provided on the proximal end side of the distal end portion 6. The bending portion 7 is configured to include a plurality of bending pieces to be described later and a flexible bending rubber (two-dot chain line portion in FIG. 2).

  The plurality of bending pieces are formed by processing a tubular member made of metal such as stainless steel. The plurality of bending pieces are a tip bending piece 31a, a plurality of intermediate bending pieces 31, and a base end bending piece 31b in this order from the tip end 7 side. Adjacent pieces are rotatably connected by rivets 25. The boundary bending piece 31c is provided at a predetermined position between the plurality of intermediate bending pieces 31.

  The tip bending piece 31a to the bending piece 31 in front of the boundary bending piece 31c are referred to as a tip bending portion 7a, and the boundary bending piece 31c to the base end bending piece 31b are referred to as a base end bending portion 7b.

  The curved rubber surrounds the distal curved portion 7a and the proximal curved portion 7b that form the curved portion 7 in a watertight manner. A reticulated tube formed by braiding a metal wire may be inserted between the tip curved portion 7a and the base curved portion 7b and the curved rubber.

  A pair of wire fixing portions 32 corresponding to the vertical bending direction are provided on the inner peripheral surface of the tip bending piece 31a. The wire fixing portion 32 has an insertion hole (not shown) into which a distal end portion of a bending operation wire 40 described later can be inserted. The bending operation wire 40 is fixed to the wire fixing portion 32 by soldering or brazing with the tip of the bending operation wire 40 inserted in the insertion hole. The bending operation wire 40 has a length set so as to be inserted into the bending portion 7 and the flexible tube portion 8 and extended into the operation portion 3.

  A distal end cap 26a fixed to the distal end side of the flexible tube 8 is connected to the proximal end bending piece 31b on the proximal end side of the bending portion 7. The flexible tube 8 is composed of a spiral tube 26 made of stainless steel from the inner surface side, a mesh tube (not shown) formed by braiding metal wires, and an outer cover (not shown) that covers them. The unit is connected to the operation unit 3.

  The wire receivers 24 are fixed to the inner peripheral surfaces of the plurality of intermediate bending pieces 31. The wire receiver 24 is a convex portion that projects from the inner peripheral surface, and has a through hole along the axial direction that serves as a wire insertion portion. A boundary wire receiver 33 is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the boundary bending piece 31c. The boundary wire receiver 33 is a protrusion protruding from the inner peripheral surface, and has a wire insertion portion formed of a through hole like the wire receiver 24. A bending operation wire 40 extending from the wire fixing portion 32 to the proximal end side is inserted into the through holes of the wire receiver 24 and the boundary wire receiver 33, respectively.

  The bending operation wire 40 extending from the proximal end surface side of the boundary wire receiver 33 is inserted into the through hole of the inner wire guide 43. The inner wire guide 43 is a metal pipe having a predetermined flexibility such as a coil pipe, and has a predetermined length.

  The inner diameter of the through hole of the wire receiver 24 is set to be larger than the inner diameter of the through hole of the boundary wire receiver 33. In addition, the inner diameter of the through hole of the boundary wire receiver 33 is set smaller than the outer diameter of the inner wire guide 43, and the inner diameter of the through hole of the wire receiver 24 is set larger than the outer diameter of the inner wire guide 43.

Therefore, the inner wire guide 43 cannot be inserted into the through hole of the boundary wire receiver 33. In other words, the tip end surface of the inner wire guide 43 comes into contact with the base end surface of the boundary wire receiver 33. In this contact state, the tip of the inner wire guide 43 cannot move to the tip side of the boundary wire guide 33.
That is, the boundary wire receiver 33 functions as an abutment body that regulates the arrangement position of the tip portion of the inner wire guide 43.

  Further, the base end portion of the inner wire guide 43 extends into the operation portion 3. The proximal end portion of the bending operation wire 40 further extends from the proximal end surface of the inner wire guide 43 in the proximal direction of the operation portion 3.

  The inner wire guide 43 has a function as a bending limiting member that limits the bending of the proximal bending portion 7b when the distal end surface and the proximal end surface of the wire guide 43 are held in contact with each other. Therefore, the inner wire guide 43 is formed by adjusting the material and dimensions so that the proximal end side curved portion 7b has a bending strength such that it cannot bend.

  A base end side wire receiver 34 is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the tip base 26a. The base end side wire receiver 34 is a convex portion protruding from the inner peripheral surface, and like the wire receiver 24 and the boundary wire receiver 33, a through hole extending in the axial direction is formed. The inner diameter of this through hole is larger than the outer diameter of the inner wire guide 43. That is, the through hole of the proximal wire receiver 34 is an inner wire guide insertion portion through which the inner wire guide 43 can be inserted.

  A distal end surface of the outer wire guide 44, which is a metal tube having a predetermined flexibility such as a coil pipe and having a predetermined length, is arranged on the proximal end surface of the proximal wire receiver 34.

  The inner diameter of the outer wire guide 44 is set larger than the outer diameter of the inner wire guide 43, and the inner wire guide 43 can be inserted without meandering. The distal end of the outer wire guide 44 is integrally fixed to the proximal wire receiver 34.

On the other hand, the proximal end portion side of the outer wire guide 44 is pressed and fixed to the structural member 51 in the operation portion 3 via, for example, the pressure contact plate 56 as shown in FIG. The proximal end of the outer wire guide 44 is located closer to the proximal end of the insertion portion 2 than the proximal end of the inner wire guide 43. That is, the total length of the outer wire guide 44 is set shorter than the total length of the inner wire guide 43.
The fixing of the outer wire guide 44 on the proximal end side is not limited to the pressing and fixing by the press contact plate 56, and other fixing methods may be used.

  The proximal end portion of the inner wire guide 43 extending from the proximal end surface of the outer wire guide 44 is disposed in a spring receiver 47 fixed to a structural member 51 shown in FIG. . As shown in FIG. 4A, the base end surface of the inner wire guide 43 is disposed in contact with the tip end portion of the compression coil spring 46 which is a biasing force generating member held by a spring receiver 47 which is a holding member.

  The compression coil spring 46 is arranged in a storage hole 47h formed in the spring receiver 47. A storage hole 47h and a wire insertion hole 47w are formed in the spring receiver 47. The proximal end portion of the inner wire guide 43 and the compression coil spring 46 are housed in the housing hole 47h.

  The wire insertion hole 47w is a through hole that allows the bending operation wire 40 to be inserted and communicates the space of the storage hole 47h with the outside. The inner diameter of the wire insertion hole 47w is smaller than the inner diameter of the storage hole 47h. The base end surface of the compression coil spring 46 housed in the housing hole 47h is disposed in contact with the bottom surface 47hd having the opening 47wm.

The biasing force of the compression coil spring 46 is set to a predetermined value.
Specifically, the compression coil spring 46 presses the base end surface of the inner wire guide 43 whose front end surface is in contact with the base end surface of the boundary wire receiver 33 with the urging force F1 when the bending portion 7 is in the straight state. It is set.
At this time, the compression coil spring 46 is in the first compression state in which it is elastically deformed by being sandwiched between the base end surface of the inner wire guide 43 and the bottom surface 47hd and having a predetermined length shorter than the natural state.

  On the other hand, the inner wire guide 43 is deformed by a predetermined length shorter than the natural state to lose the flexibility by receiving the biasing force F1 from the compression coil spring 46, in other words, the above-mentioned proximal end side. The bending strength is maintained such that the bending portion 7b cannot be bent.

  The inner wire guide 43 in this state exists in the entire axial range of the proximal end side curved portion 7b and the inside of the outer wire guide 44, and the proximal end side curved portion 7b is maintained in a state of being difficult to bend. Curvature is limited by.

  That is, in the bending portion 7, when the bending portion 7 is in the straight state, when the pulling of the bending operation wire 40 is started, only the distal-side bending portion 7a starts bending. Then, as the bending operation wire 40 is pulled, the bending angle of the distal-side bending portion 7a increases.

As the bending angle of the distal side bending portion 7a increases, the frictional force between the pulled bending operation wire 40 and the inner wire guide 43 increases. Then, as the frictional force increases, the inner wire guide 43 slides as the bending operation wire 40 is pulled.
A compressive force F2 is applied to the compression coil spring 46 as the inner wire guide 43 slides toward the base end.

  Here, when the compression force F2 exceeds the urging force F1, the compression coil spring 46 is compressed and becomes shorter than the initial state when the bending portion 7 is straight. At this time, the inner wire guide 43 is moved to the base end side, and the tip end surface of the inner wire guide 43 starts to separate from the base end surface of the boundary wire receiver 33.

  The bending operation wire 40 is further pulled and the compression force F2 further increases, whereby the compression coil spring 46 is further contracted. As a result, the tip end surface of the inner wire guide 43 is further moved to the base end side, and the bending restriction of the base end side bending portion 7b by the inner wire guide 43 is released. As a result, in addition to the distal end side curved portion 7a, the proximal end side curved portion 7b can be curved. Then, as shown in FIG. 4B, the compression coil spring 46 enters the second compression state in which the compression coil spring 46 is in a close contact state, whereby the bending length of the bending portion 7 is maximized and the bending portion 7 bends at the largest bending angle.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the inner wire guide 43, the outer wire guide 44, and the compression coil spring 46 configure the bending length changing mechanism 30.
The biasing force generating member is not limited to the compression coil spring 46, and may be a rubber member, an elastic resin member or the like as long as it is a member that generates a repulsive force against the compression force.

The operation of the endoscope 1 configured as described above will be described.
When the operator turns the bending lever 13 from the neutral position (the position when the bending portion 7 is in the straight state), the bending operation wire 40 is pulled. When the bending portion 7 is in the straight state, the compression coil spring 46 is in the first compression state, and the tip end surface of the inner wire guide 43 is brought into contact with the base end surface of the boundary wire receiver 33 by the urging force F1 of the compression coil spring 46. ing.

  In this state, the distal-side bending portion 7a of the bending portion 7 can be bent, but the proximal-side bending portion 7b cannot be bent because the operation is limited by the inner wire guide 43.

  Since the force for pulling the bending operation wire 40 is small while the pulling amount of the bending operation wire 40 is small, that is, while the bending angle of the distal-side bending portion 7a is small, the bending operation wire 40 and the inner wire guide 43 have a small force. Friction is small. Therefore, the compression force F2 does not exceed the urging force F1, and the compression coil spring 46 is maintained in the first compression state. Therefore, while the bending angle of the distal bending portion 7a is small, the inner wire guide 43 limits the bending of the proximal bending portion 7b and the proximal bending portion 7b cannot bend.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, the pulling amount of the bending operation wire 40 is small, and during the small bending angle, only the distal-side bending portion 7a of the bending portion 7 bends while the bending length remains short. In other words, it is possible to bend at a small angle with a short bending length.

  When the bending lever 13 is further rotated from this state to pull the bending operation wire 40, the frictional force between the bending operation wire 40 and the inner wire guide 43 gradually increases as the bending angle of the distal-side bending portion 7a increases. Grows to.

  Then, as the inner wire guide 43 is slid along with the pulling of the bending operation wire 40, the compression force F2 applied to the compression coil spring 46 gradually increases and exceeds the urging force F1.

  Then, the amount of contraction of the compression coil spring 46 gradually increases as compared with the first compressed state. As a result, the inner wire guide 43 gradually moves toward the proximal end side. In other words, the position of the tip end surface of the inner wire guide 43 moves to the base end side within the base end side bending portion 7b, and the bending limitation of the base end side bending portion 7b is gradually released from the tip end side.

  Then, in the proximal end side curved portion 7b, the inner wire guide 43 moves toward the proximal end side as the amount of contraction of the compression coil spring 46 increases from the first compressed state toward the second compressed state. , The bending restriction is lifted and it becomes easier to bend.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, in addition to the distal side curved portion 7a, the proximal side curved portion 7b can be curved. By bending both the distal-side bending portion 7a and the proximal-side bending portion 7b, the bending length of the bending portion 7 becomes long, and the bending portion 7 can be bent at a large bending angle.

  In addition, when both the tip side bending portion 7a and the base end side bending portion 7b are bent and then the bending lever 13 is returned to the neutral position, the inner wire guide 43 is moved to the tip side and the base side bending is performed. The portion 7b becomes hard to bend again, and as shown in FIG. 5, the bending length in which only the distal-side bending portion 7a bends returns to a short bending state. Then, when the bending lever 13 returns to the neutral position, the bending portion returns to the straight state.

  As described above, the bending portion 7 of the endoscope 1 is provided with the bending length changing mechanism 30, so that the bending length of the bending portion 7 is changed according to the pulling amount of the bending operation wire 40 that is pulled by operating the bending lever 13. Can be changed. Then, when the bending amount of the bending lever 13 is small and the bending angle is small, only the distal-side bending portion 7a of the bending portion 7 bends to realize bending with a short bending length.

  On the other hand, when the bending amount of the bending lever 13 is large and the bending angle is large, both the distal-side bending portion 7a and the proximal-side bending portion 7b of the bending portion 7 bend to realize bending with a long bending length. To do.

  With this configuration, it is possible to easily change the bending length according to the bending angle without requiring a special operating member such as a bending length switching lever. Further, since the bending length is changed by operating the bending lever 13 and increasing the amount of rotation without performing a special operation, the problem that the observation field of view of the endoscope moves is eliminated. In addition, since a bending length switching lever or the like is not required as an operating member in the operation unit, it is possible to obtain the same operability as a normal endoscope even though the endoscope is capable of switching the bending length. It also has the effect to be done.

  By appropriately setting the spring constant of the compression coil spring 46, the biasing force can be changed and various bending lengths can be changed. For example, by setting the spring constant to be smaller, the compression coil spring 46 can be more easily contracted by a slight change in the bending angle, and the bending length can be quickly switched. On the contrary, by setting the spring constant large, the compression amount of the compression coil spring 46 is small even if the bending angle is large, and the bending length is gently switched.

  The difference in the characteristic of the change in the bending length is set according to the inner diameter of the luminal organ or the degree of bending.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications, and it goes without saying that various modifications and applications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. Further, although the present invention has been described with respect to the medical endoscope as an embodiment, it is also applicable to so-called industrial endoscopes such as chemical plants and aircraft engines.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Endoscope 2 ... Insertion part 3 ... Operation part 4 ... Universal cord 5 ... Connector 6 ... Tip part 7 ... Bending part 7a ... Tip side bending part 7b ... Base end side bending part 8 ... Flexible tube part 24 ... Wire Receiver 31 ... Intermediate bending piece 31a ... Tip bending piece 31c ... Boundary bending piece 32 ... Wire fixing portion 33 ... Boundary wire receiver 40 ... Bending operation wire 43 ... Inner wire guide 44 ... Outer wire guide 46 ... Compression coil spring 47 ... Spring receiver 47h ... Storage hole 47hd ... Bottom surface 47w ... Wire insertion hole 47wm ... Opening

Claims (8)

An insertion portion including a bending portion and a flexible tube portion continuously provided on the base end side of the bending portion,
An operating portion that is continuously provided on the base end side of the insertion portion and that has a bending operation lever for bending the bending portion,
A bending operation wire disposed in the insertion portion and pulled by the bending operation lever to bend the bending portion,
An inner wire guide, the distal end side of which is disposed in the bending portion, the bending operation wire is inserted through the inside, and the bending operation wire moves in the operation portion direction according to the amount of pulling and movement of the bending operation wire;
A tip end portion is in contact with a base end portion of the inner wire guide, and a biasing force generation member that biases the inner wire guide toward the tip end,
An endoscope comprising: The inner wire guide is set to a predetermined length, the distal end portion abuts on an abutment body provided in the longitudinal middle portion of the bending portion, and the proximal end portion is disposed in the operation portion,
The biasing force generating member biases the inner wire guide toward the distal end side in a state of being compressed by a predetermined amount,
The overall length is shorter than that of the inner wire guide, the distal end portion is fixed to the proximal end portion of the bending portion, the proximal end portion extends beyond the proximal end portion side of the insertion portion, and the inner wire guide is movable. An outer wire guide to be inserted,
The endoscope according to claim 1, further comprising:   The endoscope according to claim 2, wherein the urging force generating member is a compression coil spring.   The endoscope according to claim 3, wherein the compression coil spring is held in a holding member fixed to the operation portion.   The endoscope according to claim 4, wherein the holding member has a hole for accommodating the compression coil spring and a through hole having a diameter smaller than an inner diameter of the hole through which the bending operation wire is inserted.   The endoscope according to claim 2, wherein in the inner wire guide, the abutting body is a convex portion that projects from an inner peripheral surface of an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the curved portion.   The endoscope according to claim 6, wherein the convex portion has a wire insertion portion through which the bending operation wire is inserted.   The endoscope according to claim 2, wherein the inner wire guide and the outer wire guide are coil pipes.

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