JPH03146022A - Endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the insert-through resistance of a forceps to a channel tube, and also, to prevent the damage of the channel tube by forming a chearance for allowing a turning play of a nodal ring between each shoulder port part of adjacent nodal rings of a curved part, at the time of operating the endoscope to the maximum curvature operation state. CONSTITUTION:In the case a curved part 25 is curved to the maximum curvature angle by applying curvature operation wires 55, 57 to tractive operation, a clearance (t) is formed between shoulder port parts 46a of adjacent nodal rings 46, therefore, as for each nodal ring 46, its motion is allowed to some extent without being fixed to its position. Accordingly, in the case a head part 44a of the tip of a forceps 44 is inserted through the inside of a forceps channel tube 42 in the curved part 25, even if wire guides 56, 58 of the nodal ring 46 are pushed against the forceps channel tube 42, the nodal ring 46 turns in the direction in which the wire guides 56, 58 draw back so as to escape from its forceps channel tube 42. That is, when a forceps 44 passes through the forceps channel tube 42, the nodal ring 46 turns a little so that its forceps 44 passes through easily. As a result, the insert-through of the forceps 44 is improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of application for sedentary work↓] The present invention relates to an endoscope with an improved curved structure of a curved portion in a closet portion.

[Prior Art] As conventional examples of curving the curved portion in the insertion section of an endoscope, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 56-89233 and 62-790 disclose
33, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 57-36163, and the like.

4 to 6 show an example of the curved portion 2 in the insertion section 1 of the endoscope. This curved part 2 has a plurality of short tube-shaped joint rings 3 arranged in the axial direction of the insertion part 1, and the adjacent ends of each joint ring 3 are pivotally connected to each other with a pivot pin 4, so that the entire joint can be arranged vertically, horizontally, and vertically. The outer periphery of the connected node ring group 3 is covered with an exterior member such as a blade or an outer skin.

Further, a plurality of wire guides 7a, 7a are provided at four opposing positions on the upper, lower, left and right sides of the inner periphery of the node ring 3.

7b, 7b are provided in a protruding manner. Then, each of the plurality of wire guides 7g at four opposing positions on the upper and lower sides and on the left and right sides
, 7a, 7b, 7b for bending operation wire 8g
+ 8 a s 8 b r 8 b is inserted and guided.

Curving operation wires 8 a , 8 a s 8 b ,
The distal end of 8b is fixed to the member of the distal end portion 9 of the insertion section 1 at corresponding positions above, below, and to the left and right. Further, the proximal ends of the bending operation wires 8a, 8a, 8b, and 8b are guided through the insertion section 1 to an operation section (not shown) of the endoscope, and are connected to a bending operation drive mechanism of the operation section. Then, the upper and lower bending operation wires 8 are operated by the bending operation drive mechanism.
a * 8 a s or left and right bending operation wire 8b
, 8b, the curved portion 2 of the insertion portion 1 is curved vertically or horizontally.

Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper bending operation wire 8
When a is pulled and the curved part 2 in the insertion part 1 is curved to its maximum upward angle, each adjacent node ring 3 becomes the 6th v
! As shown by J, the shoulder portion 3a abuts against each other, thereby determining the maximum bending angle. The same holds true when curving in other directions.

Further, various built-in objects including the curved portion 2 are inserted into the insertion portion configured as described above. FIG. 5 shows the arrangement of the internal components. That is,
11 is a channel tube through which a forceps 12 as a treatment tool is inserted; 13 is an air/water supply tube; and 14 is a light guide fiber bundle.

15 is an image guide fiber bundle.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, in the conventional endoscope, when the bending section 2 is curved, the wire guides 7a, 7a, 7b, 7 protrude inward.
b compresses the channel tube 11 of the built-in object, as shown in FIG. 4, and deforms the channel tube 11.

This is because the positional relationship between the vertical wire guides 7a, 7a and the horizontal wire guides 7b, 7b, which are arranged to sandwich the channel tube 11, changes.
It is something that is caused.

For example, in FIG. 6, the wire guide designated 7b-1 changes from a dotted line position to a solid line position. and,
At this time, the symbols 7b-1, 7b-2, .

The channel tube 11 is sandwiched between three points indicated by three wire guides 7a-3.

At this time, forceps 12 are inserted into the channel tube 11.
is inserted, the hard tip portion 12a of the forceps 12 will be caught between the three points.

For this reason, not only does the resistance to push the treatment tool 12 into the channel tube 11 increase, but there is a risk that the channel tube 11 may be damaged by the forceps 12.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to reduce resistance to insertion of forceps into the channel tube and prevent damage to the channel tube, while providing a simple If. Our goal is to provide endoscopes that can

[Means and effects for solving the problem] In order to solve the above-mentioned lIMB, the present invention provides an endoscope in which a channel tube through which forceps or the like is inserted is arranged in the insertion part, and a plurality of joints provided in the insertion part. A curved section formed by connecting rings so as to be bendable and rotatable; one end is attached to the distal end side of the curved section, and the other end is connected to a bending operation drive mechanism of an operating section through the insertion section to drive the bending operation. A bending operation wire towed by a mechanism, and a plurality of wire guides protruding from an inner circumferential portion of a node ring of the bending portion and guiding the operation wire, and an operation for pulling the bending operation wire. When the bending operation state is the maximum in the bending range, a gap is formed between the shoulders of adjacent joint rings of the bending part to allow rotational play of the joint rings. (IJ)
Even when one portion is bent, a gap is formed between the zero opening portions of adjacent node rings. Therefore, each node ring at that time is not fixed at that position and is allowed to move to some extent.

Therefore, when inserting forceps through the channel tube inside the curved part curved at the maximum curve angle,
Even if the wire guide presses against the channel tube, the node ring rotates in a direction in which the wire guide escapes from the channel tube.

In other words, the node ring rotates so that the forceps can easily pass through the channel tube, and as a result, the forceps can be inserted easily.

[Embodiment] FIGS. 1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 3, 20 is an electronic endoscope, which is the operating section 2.
1, an insertion section 22, and a universal cord 23. The insertion section 22 is made up of a flexible tube 24 connected to the operating section 21, and a curved section 25 connected to the distal end thereof, and a distal end section 26 is provided at the distal end of the curved section 25. A connector 27 is provided at the extending end of the universal cord 23, and this connector 27 is connected to a video processor 28 having a built-in air/water supply device, illumination light source device, etc. (not shown) inside.
It is designed to be detachably connected to the The video processor 28 is connected to a water tank 29 that stores cleaning liquid and a monitor 30 that displays an observed image.

As shown in FIG. 2, the distal end main body 31 of the distal end 26 of the insertion section 22 is provided with an observation window 32, an illumination window 33, and a forceps port 34. An imaging lens system 35 is disposed inside the observation window 32, and a solid-state imaging probe 36 such as a CCD is disposed at the imaging position of the imaging lens system 35. The signal imaged by the solid-state imaging cable 36 is transmitted to the video processor 28 through the cable 37 and converted into an image signal. The monitor 30 receives the imaging signal and displays an image of the observation field of the endoscope 20. The operating section 21 of the electronic endoscope 20 is provided with various operating switches 38.

Further, inside the illumination window 33, a distal end surface of a light guide 39 made of an optical fiber is connected. The base end portions of the three light guides include an insertion section 22, an operation section 21,
and is guided through each interior of the universal cord 23 and connected to the connector 27. By connecting the connector 27 to the video processor 28, the light guide 39 transmits illumination light from a light source device inside the light guide 39, and irradiates the subject through the illumination window 33.

Further, a flexible forceps channel tube 42 is connected to the rear end of the forceps port 34 via a base 41 . This forceps channel tube 42 is pushed through the insertion section 22, and the proximal side is a forceps entry port 4 provided in the operation section 21.
Connected to 3.

The forceps 44 are inserted through the forceps channel tube 42 from the forceps insertion port 43 and can be protruded from the forceps port 34 into the body cavity. The forceps 44 normally have a distal treatment section configured as a hard portion 44a.

On the other hand, the curved portion 25 in the insertion portion 22 is configured as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. That is, the bending core material 45 of the bending section 25 has a plurality of short tube-shaped joint rings 46 arranged in the axial direction of the push-in part 22, and adjacent joint rings 46 are rotatably attached to a pivot shaft. Pin 47 a, 47
It is connected by b.

The pivot point by the pivot pins 47a and 47b is such that the two joint rings 46 and 46 can pass through the pivot pin 47a in the diametrical direction at the left and right positions and rotate in the vertical direction. When you put it on, the two adjacent node rings 46, 46 including one node ring 46! - is pivoted so that its pivot pin 47b penetrates in the diametrical direction at the top and bottom positions and can rotate in the left and right direction.

In other words, the positions of the pivot pins 47a, 47b are switched to the right in the upper and lower directions. Thus, the curved core material 45 as a whole can be curved vertically and horizontally.

The most advanced node ring 46 of the bay-shaped core material 45 is fitted and fixed to the rear end portion of the tip main body 31 of the tip 26. Further, the rearmost node ring 46 is fixed to the distal end portion of the flexible tube 24. Furthermore, this curved core material 45 is covered with a cylindrical blade 49 made of braided metal wires, and the outer peripheral surface of this blade 49 is watertightly covered with a flexible rubber tube 50. The distal end portion of the rubber tube 50 is fitted over the rear end of the distal end main body 31, and the rear end portion of the rubber tube 50 is fitted over the distal end portion of the flexible tube 24. The tip/end portion and the rear end portion of the rubber tube 50 are each tightened by, for example, wrapping a thread 51 around them, and then hardened by gluing.

A pair of wire guides 56 are provided at upper and lower positions on the inner surface of the node ring 46 to protrude inward, respectively, for inserting and guiding a pair of upper and lower vertical bending operation wires 55 . In addition, a pair of wire guides 58 are provided at the left and right positions on the inner surface of a certain node ring 46 to protrude inward, through which the left and right pairs of left and right bending operation wires 57 are respectively inserted and guided. . The node rings 46 that provide each of the wire guides 56.58 are not specified, but are arranged at predetermined intervals in the axial direction of the push-in portion 22, and are connected to the operating wires 55.5.
7 can be guided along the inner surface of the node ring 46.

The tip of each operating wire 55, 57 is attached to the tip body 31. Further, the proximal ends of each of the operating wires 55 and 57 are connected to a bending operation drive mechanism (not shown) of the operating section 21 through the insertion section 22.

The bending operation drive mechanism is operated by rotating five angle operation knobs, and each of the upper and lower or left and right operation wires 5
5.57. The bending operation drive mechanism is provided with a stopper means (not shown) that prevents the operating wire 55.57 from being pulled any further when the bending portion 25 reaches the maximum bending angle. The operating range for towing the 57 is defined. 1. As a method of the stopper, for example, an abutting tool that hits the stopper member is provided in the middle of the traction wire connected to the proximal end side of the operating wire 55, 57. In addition, a stopper member is provided to block moving members of the mechanism such as a boob for driving the operating wires 55 and 57 and a rack and pinion. Further, in the case of driving by a motor, a method such as electronically controlling the amount of traction operation at which the bending portion 25 has a maximum bending angle may be considered.

By the way, the bending core material 45 composed of the above-mentioned node rings 46
is configured so that when it is bent to the maximum bending angle, the shoulder portions 46a of the edges of each node ring 46 do not touch each other.

FIG. 1 shows a state in which the bending portion 25 is bent upward to the maximum bending angle.
6a do not abut each other and form a gap t. In other words, if the shoulder portions 46a of the adjacent node rings 46 are in contact with each other as shown in FIG. 6, the bending angle is θ, and the predetermined maximum bending angle α in the state shown in FIG. On the other hand, the relationship is set such that θ>α. Note that the shoulder portion 46a of the node ring 46 refers to a portion where adjacent node rings 46 may collide on the inside of the curve when the node ring 46 is curved.

Therefore, as described above, the bending operation wire 55.5
When the bending portion 25 is bent to the maximum bending angle in a predetermined bending operation range by pulling the joint 7, a gap t is formed between the shoulder portions 46a of adjacent node rings 46. In this state of maximum bending angle, each node ring 46 is not fixed at its position and is allowed to move to some extent.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, when the hard portion 44a at the tip of the forceps 44 is inserted through the forceps channel tube 42 in the curved portion 25, the wire guides 56, 58 of the node ring 46 are inserted into the forceps channel tube 42. Even if the forceps channel tube 42
, the node ring 46 rotates in a direction in which the wire guides 56, 58 are retracted. In other words, when the forceps 44 pass through the forceps channel tube 42, the node ring 46 rotates a little so that the forceps 44 can easily pass through, as shown by the broken line in FIG. As a result, the JtD compatibility of the forceps 44 is improved.

Generally, the forceps 44 has a relatively long hard portion 44a at its distal end treatment portion, but even when the curved portion 25 is bent to the maximum curve angle, the forceps 44 can be easily restrained.

Moreover, there is less possibility that the forceps channel tube 42 will be damaged by the hard portion of the forceps 44.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, when the forceps, etc. are passed through a curved portion that is curved to the maximum within a predetermined curved range, the insertion resistance given to the forceps, etc. is reduced. It is reduced by the rotation of the ring and improves the penetrating performance.

In addition, there is less risk of damaging the channel tube with the hard end portion of the forceps through which the VtIII is passed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention, with Figure 1 being a sectional view of the curved part, Figure 2 being a side sectional view of the curved part and the distal end of the insertion part, and Figure 3 being an internal view. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a mirror system. 4 to 6 show conventional examples, FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the insertion section of the endoscope, FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the curved section of the insertion section, and FIG. 6 is the side of the curved section. FIG. 20... Endoscope, 22... Insertion part, 25... Curved part, 46... Nodal ring, 46a... Shoulder opening part, 55...
Operating wire, 56... Wire guide, 57... Operating wire, 58... Wire guide, 5... Angle operating knob, t... Gap.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In an endoscope in which a channel tube through which forceps or the like is inserted is arranged in the insertion part, a curved part formed by connecting a plurality of nodal rings provided in the insertion part so as to be bendable and rotatable; a bending operation wire attached to the distal end side of the bending section, the other end of which is connected to the bending operation drive mechanism of the operation section through the insertion section, and is pulled and operated by the bending operation drive mechanism;
a plurality of wire guides protruding from the inner circumferential portion of the nodal ring of the bending portion and guiding the operation wire, when the bending operation wire is operated to a maximum bending operation state in an operation range in which the bending operation wire is towed; An endoscope characterized in that a gap is formed between shoulder openings of adjacent joint rings in a curved part to allow rotational play of the joint rings.