JPH0315044Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed explanation of the idea] [Industrial application field] This invention relates to a curved tube for an endoscope.

[Conventional technology]

Conventional curved tubes for endoscopes include those shown in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 47346/1982 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 116442/1983. Both of these are
In addition to connecting a plurality of curved pieces in series so as to be freely rotatable, each curved piece has a wire insertion portion provided on the inner wall surface, and an operating wire is inserted into each row of wire insertion portions. Then, connect the tip of the operating wire passed through the wire insertion part to the frontmost bending piece or the tip body beyond that, and
I try to make curves by pushing and pulling.

By the way, as shown in the previous publication, the wire insertion part has conventionally been provided on the inner wall surface of the bending piece by stamping or welding a small diameter cylindrical member, but It is pointed out that the part is an acute angle. In particular, when the wall portion of the curved piece was punched inward to form the wire insertion portion, burrs were sometimes generated on the sheared end surface. Therefore, in the case of curved tubes for endoscopes, the entire curved tube has traditionally been finished by barrel polishing to remove burrs and sharp corners. However, as shown in Fig. 8, the end face of the bending piece a, the operating wire
Although the outer parts, such as the part c in contact with part b, can be sufficiently finished, the wire insertion part d is inside the curved piece a and has a small external shape, so the stone for polishing the barrel cannot reach it. ), it was not possible to remove burrs and sharp corners. In particular, the smaller the curved pipe, the more difficult it was to remove burrs and sharp corners. For this reason, in conventional curved pipes, the wire
Conventionally, the operation wire b was inserted through the insertion portion d while leaving the burrs and sharp corners intact.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In conventional curved pipes, each time the operating wire b is repeatedly pushed and pulled to bend the pipe, the operating wire b is scraped and worn by the burrs and sharp corners of the operating part d, and the wire elongates. This caused the wire to break. In particular, if such wires become obstructed, the endoscopic function cannot be achieved. This invention was made with attention paid to such problems, and its purpose is to reduce wear on the operating wire due to burrs and sharp corners on the end surface of the wire insertion portion.

[Means and actions to solve the problem]

In this curved tube, the corner of the end face of the wire insertion portion of the bending piece is made obtuse or arc-shaped to reduce wear on the corner of the end face of the wire insertion portion of the operating wire.

〔Example〕

1 to 4 show a first embodiment of this invention. FIG. 4 shows the entire endoscope, with reference numeral 1 an operating section, and 2 an insertion section formed by connecting a flexible tube section 2a, a curved section 2b, and a distal end component section 2c in series. The operating section 1 is connected to the proximal end of the insertion section 2 and the proximal end of a light guide cable having a connector at its tip (not shown), thereby forming a main body. The curved portion 2b is constructed by covering the outer circumferential surface of the curved tube 3 made up of a row of curved pieces with an outer skin.
More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the curved piece array includes, for example, a plurality of cylindrical curved pieces 4 arranged in series, and each of the curved pieces 4 is curved in two directions, for example, the up and down direction. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, a pair of wire insertion portions are provided at opposing positions on the inner wall surface of each curved piece 4, for example, by protruding the inner wall inward in an arc shape. 5,
5 are integrally provided. Then, the operation wires are connected to the wire insertion part rows of each bending piece 4...
6, 6 are inserted, and the tips of each operating wires 6, 6 are connected to the frontmost bending piece 4 or the tip body that constitutes the tip component 2c, and a flexible tube is connected to the rear end of the operating wires 6, 6. A curve operation lever 7 provided in the operating section 1 is connected through the inside of the section 2a, so that a curve can be created. Further, the acute angles of the end faces of the wire insertion portions 5, 5 of each bending piece 4 are obtuse angles. Here, to explain this, after forming the wire insertion parts 5, 5 by punching, for example, as shown in FIG. A rod-shaped cutter 8 with a blade around the circumference of a drill, an end mill, a file, etc. is repeatedly passed through the wire insertion hole 5.
The acute angle B of the sheared end face is cut off and chamfered to an obtuse angle. At this time, the corner portion A of the outer end face of the wire insertion portion 5 is also chamfered at the same time.

Thus, by rotating the bending operation lever 7, the operating wires 6, 6 are pushed and pulled, and the bending tube 3 of the endoscope is bent as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 2 is bent, but at this time, when the operating wires 6, 6 pass through the wire insertion part 5 of each bending piece 4..., burrs or sharp corners remaining on the end face of the wire insertion part 5 may cause damage. There is a concern that it will get scratched. However, according to this invention, the angle of the wire insertion portion 5 is made obtuse. This means that all sharp corners and burrs remaining on the processed end surface of the wire insertion portion 5 are removed by the obtuse angle (chamfering), making it difficult for the operating wire 6 to be shaved.
Therefore, even if the operating wires 6, 6 repeatedly pass through the wire insertion portions 5, 5 each time they are bent, they will not be scraped by sharp corners or burrs on the end surfaces of the wire insertion portions 5, 5. As a result, the operating wire
The wear of the operating wire 6 is reduced, and the life of the operating wire 6 can be extended. In addition, it is possible to eliminate the feeling of catching or jumping in the operating wire 6 when making a bend, and to perform the bending operation smoothly.
The amount of operating power can be reduced. Moreover, it is possible to prevent troubles (for example, breakage of light guide fibers, etc.) caused by cut burrs or scraped pieces entering the bending piece 4.

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of this invention, in which the acute angle B of the end face of the wire insertion part 5 is made into an arc shape. After forming the parts 5, 5, the wire 10 coated with polishing powder 10a on the outer peripheral surface is
By repeatedly inserting the wire into the insertion portion 5,
The edges of the sheared end surface are rounded and rounded, and even in this way, the operation wire 6 can be made difficult to be shaved. However, C indicates roundness. Incidentally, if the wire 10 is harder than the bending piece 4, the polishing powder 10a may be omitted. Further, the wire 10 can also be inserted parallel to the axis of the bending piece 4 to remove burrs from the corners of the machined cross section, similar to the file shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 shows a third embodiment of this invention, in which the wire insertion portion 5 is formed by pressing, etc., so that the center is formed in a circular arc along the direction in which the operating wire 6 passes. It is inflated and stamped, and the end face of the wire insertion part 5 has an obtuse angle. However, D indicates an obtuse angle.

FIG. 7 shows a fourth embodiment of this invention, in which when forming the wire insertion part 5, the wire insertion part 5 is punched out by pressing or the like so that the corners of the end face are rounded. The end face of No. 5 has an obtuse angle. However, E indicates an obtuse angle.

In all of the above-mentioned embodiments, this invention was applied to wire insertion portions formed by punching, but instead of forming wire insertion portions integrally with such curved pieces, the wire insertion portions were formed with a small diameter. A wire insertion portion constructed by welding a cylindrical member to the inner wall surface of the bending piece can also be applied. Of course, the present invention is not limited to a tube curved in two directions, but may also be applied to a tube curved in four directions (vertical, horizontal, and vertical directions) provided with four wire insertion portions. In addition, when making the end face of the wire insertion part into an obtuse angle or an arc shape, a rod-shaped knife, a file, press molding, etc. were used, but the method is not limited to this. Needless to say, it may be processed into an arc shape.

[Effect of idea]

As explained above, according to this invention, it is possible to reduce the wear of the operating wire due to burrs and sharp corners on the end surface of the wire insertion part, and the wear of the operating wire can be reduced.
The lifespan of can be extended. In addition, it is possible to eliminate the feeling of the operating wire getting caught or jumping, and to perform the bending operation smoothly.
The amount of operating power can be reduced. Moreover, it is possible to prevent troubles caused by cut burrs and scraps from entering the curved piece.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 4 show a first embodiment of this invention, FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the wire insertion part of the curved tube, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the curved tube, and FIG. The figure is a partial front sectional view, FIG. 4 is a front view showing the entire endoscope to which a curved tube is applied, FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the main parts of the second embodiment of this invention, and FIG. 6 7 is a sectional view showing the main part of the third embodiment of this invention, FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing the main part of the fourth embodiment of this invention, and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the curved tube of a conventional endoscope. FIG. 3... Curved pipe, 4... Curved piece, 5... Wire.
Insertion part, 6... operation wire.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In a curved tube of an endoscope in which a plurality of curved pieces are rotatably connected in series and a wire insertion portion is provided on the inner wall surface of each curved piece, the end face of the wire insertion portion of the curved piece has an obtuse angle. Or a curved tube of an endoscope characterized by having an arc shape.