JPH02193635A - Bent structure of light guide body for endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve operability without being disturbed by a light guide body when an endoscope main body is held and to prevent a cover body or the light guide body from being damaged, etc., by bending and providing the light guide body with a naturally small curvature using the cover body. CONSTITUTION:A cover body 2 bent in a prescribed direction is freely turnably fitted to a connection part 1a projected almost vertically to the outer circumferential surface of an operation part in the base edge side of an endoscope main body 1. In the connection part, a groove 1c is formed and to this groove, a female screw part 1b to be screwed to a fixing screw 4, which rotates the cover body and a light guide body 3 in an axial line l as a center and fixes the light guide body in a condition to turn it at a prescribed angle, and a turning projection 5a of a stopper 5. Thus, for light guide bending structure, the light guide body is naturally bent with being guided by the cover body bent in a fixed direction. Then, in the both cover body and light guide body, there is not concentration, etc., of stress and the generation of loosing or cracking can be prevented.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an endoscope, and particularly to a curved structure of a light guide body that guides light from a light source side toward an endoscope body side. It is something.

[Conventional technology]

The endoscope has a dedicated light source section that is equipped with a light source such as a xenon lamp or halogen lamp, separate from the endoscope body, so that it can observe dark objects such as diseased parts of the body or deep parts of the machine. The light from the light source section is guided to the distal end side of the endoscope body, and is irradiated and illuminated toward the subject through an illumination window provided at the distal end side.

Therefore, for example, as shown in Fig. 4, this endoscope has
The operating section 100a and the light source section 10 on the proximal end side of the endoscope main body 100
1 and transmit the light from the light source to the endoscope main body 100 side, a flexible light guide body 102 with an optical fiber bundle disposed inside the light guide body 102 is attached to the base end side of the main body 100. It is attached so that it protrudes to the side.

By the way, in such an endoscope, the user generally observes the object while placing the eye on the eyepiece provided on the operation section on the proximal end of the main body. In addition, similar operations are performed for endoscopes with a solid-state image sensor (COD) attached to the distal end of the main body, so for any type of endoscope, the insertion tube Considering the operation, etc., it is inevitable to perform a holding operation such as raising the base end of the main body upright or horizontally.

[Problem to be solved]

However, with such an endoscope, when the operator observes a subject while performing the above-mentioned hold operation, the light that protrudes in a greatly curved state from the side of the proximal end of the insertion tube. The guide body 102 comes into contact with the operator's body and becomes a hindrance, resulting in poor operability. Moreover, especially the fourth
As shown in the figure, when observing while holding the proximal end of the main body 100 in an upright state, the light guide body 1
02 is curved with a larger radius of curvature, the cover body 1 is provided in a state that stands upright at a substantially right angle from the outer peripheral surface on the proximal end side of the main body.
There is a risk that stress will concentrate on a portion of the light guide 102, causing loosening or cracking, damaging the light guide body 102, or forming a large gap between the two.

[Means to solve the problem]

That is, this invention takes light from a light source provided outside the main body into the main body from the connection part of the operating part on the proximal end of the main body via the light guide body, and directs it toward the subject through the illumination window provided at the distal end of the main body. In the endoscope that emits light, a cover body curved in a certain direction is attached to the connection part on the main body side so that the light guide body is extrapolated, and the light guide body is given a bending tendency in a certain direction. It is something.

[Effect]

The light guide curved structure of the endoscope of the present invention allows the light guide body to curve smoothly while being guided by the cover body curved in a certain direction.In other words, the light guide body has a small radius of curvature with respect to the base end side of the main body. However, the light guide body and the cover body can be bent easily, and there is no concentration of stress on both the light guide body and the cover body during the bending operation, and the occurrence of cracks or the like if they become slack can be prevented.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of this invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 and 2 show a light guide curved structure of an endoscope according to the present invention, and this light guide curved structure is approximately perpendicular to the outer peripheral surface of the operating section on the proximal end side of the endoscope main body 1. A cover body 2 is used, which is rotatably attached to a connecting portion fa protruding from and curved in a predetermined direction.

Note that the reference numeral 3 in the figure indicates a flexible light guide body in which an optical fiber bundle is disposed for optically connecting the light source section (circuit) side and the endoscope main body 1 side.

The connecting portion 1a has a female screw that is screwed into the fixing screw 4 in order to rotate the cover body 2 and the light guide body 3 around the axis β and to fix the light guide body 3 in a state where it is rotated at a desired angle. Threaded portion 1b and rotation protrusion 5 of stopper 5
A groove 1c into which a fits is formed. Further, this connecting portion 1a is provided with a sealing O-ring 6 to prevent cleaning liquid from entering during cleaning after use.

The cover body 2 is bent in a predetermined direction in advance, that is, in a state in which it is comfortably curved toward the light source placed on the lower side, and the cover body 2 is arranged so that the light guide body 3 can be inserted into the inner side thereof. It has a tubular shape, is made of a material such as rubber, and has a stopper 5 fixed to its base end. The cover body 2 of this embodiment is fixed to the connecting part la side by a screw 4 inserted through a rotation hole 5a on the stopper 5 side, or in a state where it is rotated at a desired angle. It is now possible to do so. In addition, this cover body 2
In addition to materials such as rubber, it may also be molded from plastic resin or the like.

The light guide body 3 has an optical fiber bundle disposed on the center side and a protective portion on the outer circumference side. The protective portion is made of a flexible material, and connects the connecting portion 1a on the proximal end side of the endoscope main body 1 to the light source portion. The protection part of this embodiment has a structure in which the portion inserted into the cover body 2 is previously formed into a shape curved to the radius of curvature between the cover body 2 and the path. The operation when holding the endoscope body 1 can be performed even more smoothly.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, when holding the endoscope main body 1, the cover body 2 is rotated from side to side as shown in FIG. 2 according to the position and posture of the operator, and the fixing screws 4
By fixing the tightening, the light guide body 3 can be placed at the best rotation angle.

Next, a light guide curved structure of an endoscope according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In the light guide curved structure of this embodiment, a connecting portion 7a on the side of the endoscope main body 7 is protruded in a downwardly inclined state in consideration of usage conditions, and a cover with a curved shape is attached to the connecting portion 7a. A body 8 is rotatably attached by fixing screws 9.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the light guide body IO
is attached to the endoscope body 7 in a curved state with a smaller radius of curvature than those of the previous embodiments, making it easy to use in narrow spaces.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, when the light guide body 10 is stored in a cleaning tank filled with cleaning liquid in a compact manner, for example, in a spirally wound state, and the cleaning tank is cleaned, the cleaning tank becomes more compact. A small one will suffice.

〔effect〕

As explained above, according to the light guide curved structure of the endoscope according to the present invention, the light guide body is guided by the cover body and can be curved to a small radius of curvature without difficulty, making it easy to operate. Since it can be compactly bent in the desired direction depending on the position and posture of the user, it is not obstructed by the light guide body when holding the endoscope body, which greatly improves operability. , damage to the cover body and light guide body can be effectively prevented and reliability can be improved.

Furthermore, according to the curved structure of the light guide body of the endoscope according to the present invention, the light guide body can be easily and compactly packed by the cover body, so there are also effects such as requiring less space during storage and cleaning. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the curved structure of the light guide body of the endoscope according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a route diagram for explaining the operation of the curved structure of the light guide body of the endoscope according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a side view showing another embodiment of the curved structure of the light guide body of an endoscope according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a side view showing the light guide body of a conventional endoscope. 1, 7...Main body, 3.10...Light guide body, 2, 8...Cover body. Figure 1

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Light from a light source provided outside the main body is introduced into the main body from the connection part of the operation part on the proximal end of the main body through a light guide, and the light is illuminated through the illumination window provided at the distal end of the main body. In an endoscope that emits light toward a target, a cover body curved in a certain direction is attached to the connection part on the main body side so as to extend the light guide body, and the light guide body is given a bending tendency in a certain direction. The light guide body of the endoscope has a curved structure. 2. The light guide body curved structure of an endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the cover body is rotatably attached to the main body side connection part.