JPH0366354A - Endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the endoscope which is inexpensive and has a thin diameter without giving damage to a visceral by providing a connecting part for connecting at least one of curved operating wires to an operating part side from a joint axis on the inside peripheral wall of a curved piece. CONSTITUTION:In the center part of the outside peripheral wall of a first curved piece 42, wire fitting parts 44, 44 of curved operating wires 43, 43 are formed. The curved operating wires 43, 43 are pushed and drawn by operating a curved operating knob 22 and curved in the vertical direction of a curved tube part 19. On a second curved part 48 side from joint axes 47, 47 of flat elastic parts 46, 46, wire fitting parts 51, 51 being connecting parts drawn out in the inside diameter direction are provided, and to the wire fitting parts 51, 51, the tip parts of curved operating wires 52, 52 for curving the curved part 19 in the left and the right directions are fixed. A curvature angle of the curved part 19 is smaller in the left and the right directions than in the vertical direction, and the curved operating wires 52, 52 in the left and right directions are smaller in tension applied to the wire, therefore, the curved operating wires 52, 52 are formed thinner than the curved operating wires 43, 43, and the diameter of an inserting part 11 is thinned.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an endoscope having a curved tube section in which a plurality of curved pieces are connected.

[Prior Art and Problems to be Solved by the Invention] A push-in section of an endoscope inserted into a living body cavity consists of a flexible tube section, a curved tube section, and a tip component, and the curved tube section has a plurality of It is composed of curved pieces rotatably connected by a joint shaft.

In FIG. 10, wire guides 62 are provided inside each of the bending pieces 61, and bending operation wires 63 are inserted through these wire guides 62.
One end side is connected to the most advanced bending piece 61, and the other end side is connected to a bending operation mechanism provided in the operation section. The bending operation wire 63 generally consists of four wires, two on the top and bottom are for vertical bending, and two on the left and right are for left and right bending, and the bending operation wire 63 is pushed and pulled selectively or simultaneously by the bending operation mechanism. This allows the curved tube portion 64 to be curved in any direction. Therefore, a large tensile force is applied to each of the bending operation wires 63 during the bending operation, and the end of the bending operation wire 63 is moved to the most advanced bending piece 6.
1 must be firmly attached.

Therefore, conventionally, for example, as shown in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 55-143806, the tip of a bending operation wire (hereinafter referred to as an angle wire) was connected to the most advanced bending piece (hereinafter abbreviated as the first bending piece). It was fixed by brazing to the cut-up part provided in the. However, inside the first bending piece there is a connection part where the internal components are connected to the tip component, and in the videoscope, a solid-state image device (hereinafter abbreviated as CCD) is used.

) and the imaging unit containing the electric circuit, this part requires the largest outside diameter among the multiple bending pieces, so if you connect the angle wire to this position, this part will be In some cases, the diameter was the maximum outer diameter of the insertion section of the endoscope.

Therefore, in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 64-22305, the tip of the angle wire is fixed not to the inner surface of the first bending piece but to the joint shaft on the proximal side. According to this technique, there is no need to provide a fixing part for the wangle wire in the first bending piece, so the diameter can be reduced accordingly.

However, since the joint axis that fixes the angle wire is not common to other joint axes, the number of parts increases, making assembly work complicated, and the unit price of parts also increases, leading to increased costs. Become.

Further, in order to fix the angle wire to the +am axis, this fixing portion protrudes in the inner diameter direction, and there is a risk that it may come into contact with built-in components and cause damage.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an inner diameter that can be made inexpensive and small without damaging internal components.

[Means and Means for Solving the Problem] Internal view of the present invention
11 is an inner circumferential wall of the bending piece, and is provided with a connection portion for connecting at least one of the bending operation wires on the operation unit side from the joint axis.

In the present invention, at least one bending operation wire is connected to a connecting portion provided on the inner circumferential wall of the bending piece closer to the operating section than the joint axis. The connecting portion is pulled by a bending operation wire, thereby bending the bending portion.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 5 relate to the first embodiment of the present invention.
The figure is a longitudinal sectional view of the tip of the endoscope, Figure 2 is a block diagram of the endoscope @ position, Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram of the connection part of the air supply tube and water supply tube, and Figure 4 is the same as in Figure 1. A-A unidirectional sectional view,
FIG. 5 is a sectional view along the line BB in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 2, the endoscope 11 device 1 of this embodiment is equipped with an electronic endoscope Al12, and this electronic endoscope 2 is equipped with a light source device 3.
Illumination light is supplied from Further, the electronic endoscope 2 is connected to a video processor 4, and the video processor 4 processes electrical signals from the electronic endoscope 2. The video processor 4 has a monitor 6 that displays the video signal output from the video processor 4, a VTR deck 7 and a video disk 8 that record the video signal, etc., and a video printer 9 that prints out the video signal as a video. It is connected.

The electronic endoscope 2 has an elongated insertion section 11, and a large diameter operation section 12 is formed at the rear end of the insertion section 11, and a universal cord 13 extends from the operation section 12. A connector 14 is provided at the tip of the universal cord 13, and the connector 14 is connected to the light source device 3 to receive illumination light. Connector 14
is further connected to the video processor 4 by a signal cable 16, and the electronic internal 8! Electric signals from the mirror 2 are transmitted to a video processor 4.

A distal end portion 18 , a curved tube portion 19 , and a flexible tube portion 21 are connected to the insertion portion 11 in this order from the distal end side, and the flexible tube portion 21 is connected to the operating portion 12 . Note that the bending tube section 19 is configured to be bent by a bending operation knob 22 provided on the operation section 12.

The distal end portion 18 includes a rigid distal end component body 23. As shown in FIG. The distal end component main body 23 is provided with an observation hole 24, a treatment instrument hole 26, an illumination hole (not shown), and an air/water supply hole (not shown) in the longitudinal direction of the push-in portion 11.

A lens frame 28 to which an objective optical system 27 is fixed is positioned and fixed at the front of the observation through-hole 24, and the imaging surface of the solid-state imaging probe 29 is located at the imaging position of the objective optical system 27. It looks like this. The solid-state image sensor 29 is attached to the lens frame 2
It is fixed within an element frame 34 that is externally fitted and fixed to the rear part of the device 8. A substrate 32 on which an IC 31, which is an amplifier circuit, is mounted is connected to the back surface of the solid-state kneeling element 29 by an external lead, and a signal line 33 is connected to the substrate 32. The solid-state R image element 29, IC 31, and substrate 32 are surrounded by an insulating member to form a 1111II unit 35, and are electrically insulated from surrounding members.

Above 51! A connecting pipe 36 is fixed to the rear of the instrument through hole 26, and a treatment instrument tube 37 constituting a treatment instrument channel is connected to this connecting tube 36. The treatment instrument tube 37 reaches the operation section 12 via the insertion section 11, and communicates with a treatment instrument insertion opening (not shown) provided in the operation section 12.

The objective optical system 27 is located in the air/water supply through hole (not shown).
An air/water supply nozzle (not shown) for cleaning the outer surface of the container is provided, and an air/water supply tube 38 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is connected thereto.

A light distribution lens (not shown) is provided in the illumination hole (not shown), and the output end face of the light guide 39 shown in FIGS. It is provided.

The light guide 39 is covered with a protective tube 41 and reaches the light source device 3 via the insertion section 11, the operation section 12, and the universal cord 13, and is supplied with illumination light output from the light source device 3.

Among the plurality of cylindrical curved parts constituting the curved tube part 19, the rear outer circumferential wall of the tip structure main body 23 has a first one which is the most advanced one.
The front part of the bending piece 42 is fitted onto the outside and fixed with screws or the like (not shown). At the center of the outer circumferential wall of the first bending piece 42, wire attachment portions 44, 44 are formed for bending operation wires 43, 43, which are punched out in the radial direction at opposing positions in the upper and lower portions of FIG. has been done. The bending operation wires 43, 43 are pushed or pulled when the bending operation knob 22 is operated to bend the bending tube portion 19 in the vertical direction in FIG.

At the rear end of the first bending piece 42, where the wire attachment makes an angle of 90 degrees in the circumferential direction from the portion 44.44, a manual portion 46.46 protruding rearward is provided. ,
A joint axis 47°47 as a rotation axis is provided in the radial direction. A second bending piece 48 is located behind the first bending piece 42, and a connecting portion 49° 49 protruding from the tip of the second bending piece 48 and the hand-hammering portion 46 connect to the joint shaft 47. They are rotatably connected.

On the side of the second curved part 48 from the joint part 47.47 of the manual hammering part 46.46, a wire attachment part 51.51 is provided as a connecting part which is punched out in the inner diameter direction. .51, a bending operation wire 5 for bending the bending portion 19 in the left-right direction and in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG.
The tip of 2.52 is fixed.

The left-right bending operation wires 52.52 have a smaller outer diameter than the up-down bending operation wires 43.43. This is because the bending angle of the bending pipe portion 19 is smaller in the left-right direction than in the up-down direction, that is, the tension applied to the left-right bending operation wires 52.52 is smaller than that in the left-right bending operation wires 52.52. 52 is made as thin as possible than the vertical bending operation wires 43, 43, and the insertion portion 11 is made to have a small diameter.

The bending operation wires 43, 43, 52, 52 are wire guides 53, 53 provided on the inner circumferential walls of a plurality of bending sections rotatably connected from the second bending piece 48 to the operation section 12 side by a joint section 47. , . . , to reach the bending operation knob 22.

The outer periphery of the plurality of curved parts including the first bending piece 42 and the second bending piece 48 is covered with a blade 54 braided with thin metal wires, and the tip of this blade 54 has a wire attached to the part 44. The tip end is fixed to the first curved portion 42 by brazing or the like. Further, the outer periphery of the blade 54 is covered with an outer skin tube 56, and the tip of this outer skin tube 56 reaches near the tip of the tip component body 23, and after winding the thread, the tip component body 23 is attached with an adhesive or the like.
It is fixed to 3. A tip cover 57 is externally fitted and fixed on the tip surface of the tip component main body 23.

In this embodiment, since the wires provided on the operating section 12 side of the joint shaft 47 of the manual striking section 46 are connected to the left and right bending operating wires 52, 52 to the sections 51, 51, the m-image unit as shown in FIG. There is no need to insert the bending operation wire 63 between the bending piece 35 and the bending piece 61, and therefore the outer diameter of the wire 63 and the insertion portion 11 can be made small in diameter.

Furthermore, since the left-right bending operation wire 52 is provided on the operation section 12 side of the joint shaft 47, the wire 52 is attached to the joint shaft 47.
2, the wire attachment portion 51 does not protrude in the inner diameter direction, and the insertion portion 11 can have a diameter of IIl.

Further, since the wire attachment does not cause the portion 51 to protrude in the inner diameter direction, there is no possibility of damaging the built-in components.

Furthermore, since there is no need to provide the part 51 for attaching the wire 52 to the gQ node shaft 47 that connects the first bending piece 42 and the second bending piece 48, it can be made the same part as the other joint shafts. There is no need for an increase in the number of parts due to

Incidentally, in a case where an air supply tube and a water supply tube are connected to the tip structure main body 23, the space for the connection can be reduced by the connection method shown in FIG. 3.

In the figure, the tip structure main body 23 is provided with an air/water supply through hole 68 which is branched at the rear and has an air supply hole 66 on one side and a water supply hole 67 on the other side. An air/water supply nozzle 69 is provided at the tip of the air/water supply hole 68, and a mist of cleaning liquid from this nozzle 69 cleans the outer surface of the objective optical system. Further, a connection pipe 71 is fixed to the air supply hole 66, and a connection pipe 72 is fixed to the water supply hole 67, respectively.

The outer circumferential walls of the connecting pipes 71 and 72 that protrude rearward are cut out at opposing portions to form cutout portions 73 and 74, and the air supply tube is arranged to cover the cutout portions 73 and 74. 76 and a water supply tube 77 are connected to each other. The air supply tube 76 and the water supply tube 77 are glued and fixed after being wound with threads at positions corresponding to the notches 73 and 74. By doing this, the thread winding part sinks into the cutout part 73.74, and the air supply tube 76 and water supply tube 77 can be brought closer to each other by the thickness of the thread winding part than in the case where there is no cutout part 73.74. The filling rate within the portion 11 can be increased to reduce the diameter.

6 and 7 relate to a second embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a connecting portion of a bending operation wire, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line c-c'' in FIG. 6.

In FIG. 6, a joint shaft 47 that rotatably connects a second bending piece 48 is provided in the radial direction on a manual part 46 that projects from the rear of the first bending piece 42. As shown in FIG.

A stop portion 81 is screwed into the hand-operating portion 46 on the side closer to the operating portion 12 than the joint shaft 47, and a loop portion 82 formed at the tip of the bending operation wire 52 is locked to this stop portion 81. . Note that the loop portion 82 and the stop portion 81 are rotatably engaged.

The other configurations are the same as in the first embodiment.

In this embodiment, the wire 52 rotates with respect to the first bending piece 42 (hand-cutting part 46), so when bending in the vertical direction while applying curvature in the left-right direction, the wire 52 rotates with respect to the stop part 81. Since the loop portion 82 is not subjected to tilting, it is not damaged and the durability can be improved.

Other effects are similar to those of the first embodiment.

8 and 9 relate to the third embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the connection part of the bending operation wire, and FIG. 9 is an illustration of the connection part between the tip component main body and the bending operation wire. It is a diagram.

Incidentally, FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken in the same direction as the CC= direction in FIG. 6.

In the present embodiment, a through hole 84 is provided in the radial direction of the curved tube section 19 on the operating section 12 side of the joint shaft 47 of the manual striking section 46, and the through hole 84 is provided at the inner peripheral wall side edge of the manual striking section 46 of the through hole 84. A wire receiving portion 86 is formed in a cylindrical shape. Wire receiver is part 8
A loop portion 82 formed at the tip of the bending operation wire 52 is locked to the outer periphery of the bending operation wire 52, and the wire 52 is prevented from falling off by a stopper pin 83 inserted through a through hole 84.

The other configurations are the same as in the first embodiment.

In this embodiment, the flat part 46 of the wire receiver can be formed at the same time when the part 86 is burred, so the processing cost can be lowered and the product can be made inexpensive.

Other effects are similar to those of the first embodiment.

Incidentally, the tip component main body 23 and the bending operation wire 43 may be connected as shown in FIG. 9.

In the figure, the tip of the outer skin tube 56 is connected to the first curved chest 4.
2, where it is glued and fixed after the thread winding. The distal end surface and outer peripheral wall of the distal end component main body 23 are covered with a distal end cover 87.

A notch 88 that opens from the tip is provided in the upper outer peripheral wall of the first bending piece 42, and the bending operation wire 43 is inserted through this notch 88.

A groove 89 is provided in the longitudinal direction on the outer circumferential wall of the tip structure main body 23 at a position corresponding to the notch 88, and the tip of the bending operation wire 43 is inserted into this groove 89 and bonded or bonded. It is fixed to the tip component main body 23 by soldering or the like.

Further, an escape portion 91 for the wire 43 is formed on the inner circumferential wall of the tip cover 87 at a position corresponding to the groove portion 89.

On the other hand, a through hole 92 is provided in the center of the lower outer w4 wall of the first bending piece 42 in the radial direction, and the tip of the bending operation wire 43 passes through the through hole 92. This penetrating bending operation wire 43 connects to the first bending piece 42.
It is fixed to the outer circumference wall by adhesive or soldering.

A relief portion 93 is formed on the inner circumferential wall of the tip cover 87 corresponding to the fixed wire 43, so that the wire 43 can escape.

As described above, the bending operation wire 43 is connected to the tip component main body 23.
By connecting the wires, there is no need to form the wire attachment part 44, and the diameter of the push-in part 11 can be reduced.

Further, the tip of the blade 54 covering a plurality of curved chests may be fixed as shown in FIG. 9.

In the same figure, the blade 54 that covers the bending piece from the flexible tube section 21 side enters the inner circumferential wall of the first bending piece 42 from between the second bending piece 48 and the first bending piece 42, and the tip end is attached to the first bending piece 42. It reaches the center of the inner circumferential wall of the bending piece 42. This tip portion is fixed to the first bending piece 42 by soldering. With this configuration, the outer periphery of the first bending piece 42 can be made small in diameter.

In each of the above embodiments, an electronic endoscope has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the present invention may be applied to an optical endoscope having an image guide.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, by connecting the bending operation wire from the joint axis to the operation section side, it is possible to reduce the cost and reduce the diameter without damaging the internal components.

[Brief Description of the Drawings] Figures 1 to 5 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention.
The figure is a longitudinal sectional view of the tip of the endoscope, Figure 2 is a block diagram of the endoscope device, and Figure 3 is the connection between the air supply tube and the water supply tube. An explanatory diagram of the IS, FIG. 4 is a sectional view in the A-/M direction of FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is a sectional view in the B-8'' direction of FIG. 1, and FIGS. Regarding the embodiment, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the connection part of the bending operation wire, and FIG.
The one-way sectional view, FIGS. 8 and 9 relate to the third embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the contact R part of the bending operation wire, and FIG. 9 is the tip structure main body and the bending operation wire. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the endoscope insertion portion according to a conventional example. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11... Insertion part 18... Tip part 19... Curving tube part 23... Tip structure part main body 42... First bending piece 43.52... Curving operation wire 46... Flat part
47...Joint axis 48...Second curve 111149...
・Contact R part °＼ Fig. 2 Fig. 4 Fig. 5

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] The insertion section has a bending tube section formed by rotatably connecting a plurality of bending pieces by joint shafts, and the bending tube section and the bending operation mechanism provided in the operation section have a An endoscope connected by a plurality of bending operation wires, characterized in that the inner circumferential wall of the bending piece is provided with a connecting part for connecting at least one of the bending operation wires on the operation section side from the joint axis. endoscope.