JPH02261418A - Endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an endoscope with a long life and a small driving power by providing a plurality of knots forming a curved pipe part, a plurality of tubes consisting of a polymeric substance and fixed on the knots and wires each inserted through each tube and operated to curve the curved pipe part. CONSTITUTION:Tubes consisting of a plastic which is a polymeric substance are inserted through wire guides 7 so as to cover several knots and each tube 4 is fixed on a tube fixing part 5. A wire 3 is inserted through each tube 4 and the curved pipe part can be made to a required curved state by stretching or relaxing the wire 3. The tube 4 is fixed on the tube fixing part by means of adhesion or caulking and the inside of the tube 4 is filled or surface-treated with a grease or a solid lubricating material. As the sliding force between the wire 3 and the tube 4 is made very small by this constitution the frictional force is reduced.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Purpose of the invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to an endoscope used for medical purposes.

(Prior Art) A conventional technology will be explained using drawings. FIG. 3 is a partial side sectional view of a conventional endoscope. The wire 3 and/or the wire guide 7 are treated with a solid lubricant coating. Usually, four wires 3 are provided, and the wires 3 are pulled in accordance with the direction in which the endoscope is bent, and the node ring 1 is tilted by rotation about the pin 2. At this time, the wire 3 slides on the inner surface of the wire guide 7 and some of the joint rings 1, but if only the solid lubricant film treatment is applied, friction and wear will be large on this sliding surface, requiring a large wire tension, and There was a problem with wires breaking.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, in the conventional endoscope, the wire 3 and the wire guide 7 wear out and have a short life span, and the frictional force of the sliding part is large, so the driving force is large. There was a problem. The present invention aims to improve these problems and provide an endoscope with less wear, long life, and low driving force.

[Structure of the Invention (Means for Solving the Problem) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a plurality of joint rings forming a curved pipe portion, and a plurality of joint rings made of a polymeric substance and fixed to the joint rings. The endoscope has a plurality of tubes, and a wire inserted into the tubes and operated to bend the curved tube portion.

(Function) With the above structure, the wire slides inside a tube made of plastic, which is a polymeric substance, for example, and the lubricating action of the plastic results in low friction and low wear. Therefore,
An endoscope with a long life and a small driving force is provided.

(Example) The present invention will be explained in detail using the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of the endoscope of the present invention, and in particular, a cross-sectional view of a curved tube section formed by connecting a plurality of nodal rings. In this figure, a tube 4 made of plastic, which is a polymeric substance.
is inserted through the wire guide 7 of the joint ring 1 so as to extend over several joint rings, and is fixed at one tube fixing part 5 for each tube 4. Wire 3 inside tube 4
is inserted through the wire 3, and by pulling and relaxing the wire 3, the curved tube portion 6 can be brought into a desired curved state.

The tube 4 is fixed to the tube fixing part 5 by adhesion, caulking, or the like. Further, the tube 4 is filled with or coated with grease or a solid lubricant. In such a device, since the sliding movement between the wire 3 and the tube 4 is very small, the frictional force is much reduced compared to the conventional device. Note that in consideration of the sliding movement between the tube 4 and the wire guide 7, grease or a solid lubricant may be filled or coated between the tube 4 and the wire guide 7.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the tube 4 is used in units of one segment ring, and the difference in circumference of each tube 4 that occurs when bending does not affect the use, and it can be used even with a relatively long endoscope. You can get a large amount.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, an endoscope with a long life and a small driving force is provided.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 are cross-sectional views showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a partial side cross-sectional view of a conventional example. 1... node ring, 2... pin, 3... wire, 4...
・Tube, 5...Tube fixing part, 6...Curved pipe part, 7...Wire guide, Fig. 1

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A plurality of nodal rings forming a curved pipe portion, a plurality of tubes made of a polymeric substance and fixed to the nodal rings, and a plurality of tubes inserted into the tubes and manipulated to curve the curved pipe portion. An endoscope characterized by having a wire. (2) The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the tube is lubricated.