JPH0414570B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a forceps lifting device for raising and lowering forceps inserted from a forceps channel of an endoscope.

"Prior art and its problems" Figures 12 and 13 show a conventional forceps lifting device, in which a chamber 13 is provided in the distal end block 12 of the internal insertion section 11 of the endoscope. A forceps raising stand 14 is pivotally mounted within this chamber 13 with a pin 15. An operating wire 16 is connected to the free end side of the forceps lifting base 14, and this operating wire 16
is guided to the operating section 20 through a passage 17 formed in the tip block 12 and a guide tube 18 communicating with this passage 17. The tip block 12 also has a passage 2 through which the forceps tube 21 opens.
2 are provided, and forceps 23 inserted from this forceps tube 21 protrude outside from an opening 24 of the chamber 13. The forceps wire 23 is connected to the operation wire 16
axially move the forceps lifting base 14 to the pin 15.
When it is rotated around , it is pushed by the forceps elevator 14 to change its protruding direction, and the tip sampling portion 23a can be directed to the site where tissue sampling is required.

The operating wire 16 guided to the operating section 20 is connected to the piston pipe 25, and the guide tube 18 is
This piston pipe 25 is connected to a cylinder pipe 26 into which it is slidably fitted. The piston pipe 25 is formed with an axial passage 27 and a radial passage 28 that communicates the axial passage 27 with the inside of the cylinder pipe 26. 29 are connected by a flexible tube 30, and the liquid inlet 29 and the inside of the cylinder pipe 26 are in communication.

An interlocking link 31 is provided at the rear end of the piston pipe 25.
One end of the pin 32 is pivotally connected by a pin 32, and the other end of the pin 32 is pivotally connected by a pin 35 to an eccentric portion of a rotary disk 34 which is rotatably operated by a forceps raising operation lever 33. Therefore, when the rotating disk 34 is rotated via the forceps lifting operation lever 33, the piston tube 25 moves in the axial direction, and the operation wire 16 integrated with the piston tube 25 slides within the guide tube 18. As a result, the forceps raising base 14 moves and the forceps are raised. After the examination or tissue sampling is completed, the stopper 36 is removed and a cleaning liquid is injected into the liquid injection port 29 using a syringe (not shown). The injection liquid is supplied to the flexible tube 30 and the axial passage 2 of the piston pipe 25.
7, enters the cylinder tube 26 via the radial passage 28 and is further discharged from the chamber 13 and the opening 24 through the guide tube 18 and the passage 17. Therefore, body fluids and blood that have entered the guide tube 18 during the examination are cleaned, and these are removed from the guide tube 1.
It is possible to avoid the risk of residual solidification within the patient or the risk of infection to other patients.

However, if this conventional forceps lifting device is used repeatedly and the piston tube 25 is moved frequently, the flexible tube 30 may bend, become fatigued and become "cracked," or in the worst case, be cut off. There was a risk that it would happen. In order to cope with the reciprocating movement of the piston tube 25, some flexible tubes 30 rotate once as shown in the figure, but inside the operating section 20,
Elements such as an optical fiber bundle for image transmission, an optical fiber bundle for illumination, a bending operation mechanism for the curved part at the tip of the body insertion part 11, a forceps tube, an air supply tube, a water supply tube, etc. are housed, and the operation section 20 is small. Because of the requirements, there is very little space. For this reason, the bending diameter d of the flexible tube 30 after one rotation becomes extremely small, and therefore fatigue is likely to occur when this expands or contracts as the piston tube 25 moves in the axial direction. Further, if the curved portion d of the flexible tube 30 after one rotation becomes extremely small, the inner diameter of the tube 30 becomes small, which may cause a problem in the flow of the cleaning liquid.

``Object of the Invention'' The present invention solves the problems of these conventional endoscope forceps lifting devices, and allows the flexible tube that connects the piston tube and liquid inlet to be easily connected even when the piston tube is reciprocated. The purpose is to obtain a forceps lifting device that does not cause fatigue.

"Summary of the Invention" In the endoscope forceps lifting device of the present invention, the reason why the conventional flexible tube is easily fatigued is that the curved diameter of the flexible tube that is rotated once becomes smaller as the operating part becomes smaller. Also, because of the structure of the flexible tube, in which one end is connected to the rear shaft of the piston tube and the other end is rotated one revolution before being connected to the liquid inlet, the distance between the piston tube and the liquid inlet is particularly important. This was done based on the analysis that if the piston tube cannot be made larger, the cause is that it is difficult to give space to the flexible tube.
It is characterized in that a fixed pipe whose distal end connecting part faces toward the body insertion part is fixed, and the connecting part of the fixed pipe and the liquid inlet are connected by a flexible tube. With such a connection structure, the bending diameter of the flexible tube becomes large, and the length of the tube itself becomes long, so that it becomes possible to easily cope with the reciprocating movement of the piston pipe.

"Embodiments of the Invention" The present invention will be described below with reference to illustrated embodiments. FIGS. 9 and 10 are general views of an endoscope incorporating a forceps lifting device according to the present invention. A left-right curved lock knob 41, a left-right curved operation knob 42, a vertically curved operation knob 43, a vertically curved lock lever 44, and a forceps lifting operation lever 33 of a forceps lifting device that is the object of the present invention are located in this order. The operation unit 20 further includes an eyepiece unit 4.
5. Well-known elements of an endoscope such as a suction operation valve 46, a suction operation valve 47, a water supply operation valve 48, and a forceps insertion port 49 are provided, and a light guide cable 50 and a suction tube 51 are extended.

A rear end portion of a flexible body insertion portion 11 is connected to the operating portion 20, and a curved portion 11a is further connected to a distal end portion of the body insertion portion 11. The tip block 12 is fixed to the tip of this curved portion 11a. As is well known, the curved portion 11a is formed by connecting a large number of joint elements with pins, and has a pair of operating wires 52 for the upper and lower portions, and a pair for the left and right portions at the tip thereof.
An operating wire 53 is connected (see FIG. 11), and by rotating the vertical bending operating knob 43 to pull one of the pair of operating wires 52 and letting out the other, the bending portion 11a is bent in the vertical direction. By rotating the left-right bending operation knob 42 to pull one of the pair of operation wires 53 and let out the other, the bending portion 11a is bent in the left-right direction.

A board 55 as shown in FIG. 7 and other figures is fixed within the casing 54 of the operating section 20, and a fixed shaft 56 protruding from the casing 54 is fixed to the board 55. The fixed shaft 56 is formed by integrating a central fixed shaft 57, an intermediate fixed cylinder 58, and an outer fixed cylinder 59 with a fixing screw 60. Between the central fixed shaft 57 and the intermediate fixed cylinder 58, A left and right rotation tube 61 that interlocks with the left and right bending operation knob 42 and a vertical rotation tube 62 that interlocks with the up and down bending operation knob 43 are fitted concentrically inwardly and outwardly so as to be relatively rotatable.

The inner ends of the left and right rotating tubes 61 and the vertical rotating tubes 62 are located inside the casing 54, respectively, and are attached to pulleys 63, 64 at different axial positions.
is fitted. Left and right rotating cylinder 61 and pulley 6
3. The vertical rotation cylinder 62 and the pulley 64 are connected with square holes and are integral in the rotation direction, and the operation wire 53 is connected to the pulley 63.
The operation wires 52 are fixed to each of them.

Between the intermediate fixed cylinder 58 and the outer fixed cylinder 59,
A rotating ring 65 having a rotating disk 34 and a stopper ring 66 are fitted so as to be rotatable relative to each other.
The forceps lifting operation lever 33 is fixed to a rotating ring 65 with a fixing screw 67. stopper ring 66
A fixing screw 68 screwed onto the outer fixing tube 59 enters into an annular V groove 66a formed around the outer fixing tube 59, and is fixed to the outer fixing tube 59 by tightening the fixing screw 68. As shown in FIG. 8, this stopper ring 66 has a forceps lifting operation lever 3
A contact surface 69 that restricts the rotation range of one side of the forceps lifting operation lever 33 is provided in a part of the other outer fixed cylinder 59. surface) 70 is provided protrudingly. Therefore, by rotating the stopper ring 66 to an appropriate position and then fixing it to the outer fixing cylinder 59 with the fixing screw 68, the rotation range of the forceps lifting operation lever 33 can be set outside the casing 54. can.

As shown in FIG. 1, a link block 31a is fixed to a rotating disk 34 provided on a rotating ring 65 that is rotated by a forceps lifting operation lever 33 with a fixing screw 31b. link block 3
An interlocking link 31 is pivoted to 1a via a pin 35. The interlocking link 31 and the piston pipe 25 are
They are not directly connected, but a length adjustment mechanism 71 is interposed between them in order to absorb elongation of the operating wire 16 and errors during assembly. This length adjustment mechanism 71
, a male threaded rod 72 is pivotally attached to the interlocking link 31 with a pin 32, and a female threaded rod 7 is screwed to the male threaded rod 72.
3 is fixed to the piston pipe 25 with a fixing screw 74.If the male threaded rod 72 and the female threaded rod 73 are rotated with the fixing screw 74 or the pin 32 removed, the male threaded rod 72 and the female threaded rod 73 can be rotated. The total length can be adjusted.

FIG. 6 shows another example of this length adjustment mechanism 71,
A diametrical slot 75 is provided in the female threaded rod 73 to form a pair of elastic legs 76, 76.
A snap spring 77 is fitted on the outside of 6 and 76. According to this embodiment, when the snap spring 77 is removed, the elastic legs 76, 76 of the female threaded rod 73 can be opened according to their elasticity, so that by applying a large force in the axial direction, the male threaded rod 72 and The length can be adjusted by moving the female threaded rod 73 in the axial direction without relative rotation. After adjusting the length, fit the snap spring 77, and the elastic legs 76, 7
6 can be prevented from opening, the engagement of the male threaded rod 72 and the female threaded rod 73 prevents axial movement. In place of the snap spring 77, use a female screw rod 73
An anti-opening nut may be screwed onto the outer periphery of the opening.

As shown in FIG.
and a piston body 5b fixed to this by means such as brazing. A fixed pipe 80, which is a feature of the present invention, is fixed to the pipe fixing body 25a with its connecting portion 80a facing the intracorporeal insertion portion 11 side. This fixed pipe 80 is connected to the piston body 25b via a passage 81 in the pipe fixed body 25a.
It communicates with the shaft passage 27 of. One end of the flexible tube 30 is placed on the outside of the connecting portion 80a of the fixed pipe 80, and a fixed ring 82 is placed over the flexible tube 30. The flexible tube 30 is once extended toward the body insertion portion 11 and then bent into a U-shape, and the other end is connected to a liquid inlet 29 provided at a position rearward of the piston tube 25.
The flexible tube 30 may be rotated once as shown by the dashed line. The direction in which the fixed pipe 80 should protrude around the piston pipe 25 is determined by taking into consideration the position of the liquid inlet 29, the position of other built-in elements, etc., so as to increase the curved diameter of the flexible tube 30. Generally, liquid inlet 2
If the fixed pipe 80 is made to protrude on the side opposite to the side where the pipe 9 is located, the bending diameter can be increased. It is desirable that the connection part of the liquid inlet 29 with the flexible pipe 30 faces in the direction of insertion into the body.
(See Figure 1).

According to the above configuration, the flexible tube 30 connects the piston pipe 25 and the liquid inlet 29.
Even if the piston tube 25 is reciprocated, an excessive force is not applied to the flexible tube 30, and the curved diameter of the flexible tube 30 is not reduced to reduce the inner diameter.

The guide tube 18 is fixed to the cylinder pipe 26 via an end pipe 18a, and the operating wire 16 in the guide tube 18 is fixed to a connecting body 16a that is screwed onto the shaft of the piston pipe 25. . As shown in FIG. 2, the connecting body 16a has a gap 16b between it and the shaft passage 27 of the piston pipe 25, and the shaft passage 27 and the inside of the cylinder pipe 26 communicate with each other via this clearance 16b.

Since the piston pipe 25 described above has the fixed pipe 80 protruding, when the fixed pipe 80 rotates, the fixed pipe 80, the fixed ring 82, or the flexible tube 30 will interfere with the surrounding internal components, and in the worst case, the fixed pipe 80 will cause the fixed pipe 80 to protrude. 82 comes off and flexible tube 3
0 may come off from the fixed pipe 80. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the piston body 25b of the piston tube 25 is formed with a rotation regulating plane 85 that is continuous in the axial direction, and the substrate 5
5, a rotation stopper plate 86 having a rotation restriction portion 86a that comes into contact with the rotation restriction plane 85 is fixed with a fixing screw 87. The rotation regulating plane 85 and the rotation regulating portion 86a may have any shape, such as a groove or a curved surface, as long as they can regulate the rotation of the piston pipe 25.

Further, the cylinder pipe 26 is fixed at an appropriate position on the substrate 55, but in this embodiment, the fourth cylinder pipe 26 is
As shown in FIG.
The cylinder pipe 26 is fixed by using the fixing structure of the stay pipes 90, 91 inserted through the cylinder pipes 90 and 91. At the ends of the stay pipes 90, 91,
Pipe stops 90a and 91a with large diameters are integrally provided, and a pair of holding walls 92a and 92a of a holding plate 92 fixed to the base plate 55 have small diameter portions at both ends of these pipe stops 90a and 91a from the lateral direction. Side opening grooves 92b and 92c for insertion are formed. The pipe stops 90a, 91a utilize the side opening grooves 92b, 92c to attach the retaining walls 92a, 92.
It is inserted between a and is prevented from coming off in the axial direction. In order to prevent the pipe stops 90a, 91a from coming off laterally, the sides of the side open grooves 92b, 92c are further closed by a pair of left and right slip-off prevention plates 94a, 94b fixed to the base plate 55. The cylinder pipe 26 is fixed using one of the retaining plates 94a.
a, a retaining plate 96 having a retaining groove 95;
This retaining groove 95 is provided at the end of the cylinder tube 26 on the side of the body insertion part 11.
A small-diameter portion 26a that fits in is formed. Therefore, without providing a special fixing means for the cylinder pipe 26, the small diameter portion 26a of the cylinder pipe 26 can be fixed simply by fitting into the retaining groove 95. Note that the open side of the retaining groove 95 is closed by other built-in objects, so no special closing means is required.

"Effects of the Invention" As described above, the endoscope forceps lifting device of the present invention has a flexible tube that connects the piston tube that connects the operation wire connected to the forceps lifting base and the liquid inlet. A fixed pipe is fixedly attached to the tube, with the connection part facing toward the body insertion part.
Since this fixed pipe and the liquid inlet are connected by a flexible tube, the curved diameter of the flexible tube becomes larger and its actual length becomes longer. Therefore, it is possible to prevent excessive force from being applied to the flexible tube, thereby preventing damage to the flexible tube. Furthermore, by restricting the rotation of the piston tube, it is possible to prevent the fixed pipe projecting in the radial direction of the piston tube and the flexible tube connected thereto from interfering with other internal components.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the main parts showing an embodiment of the forceps lifting device for an endoscope according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a -
3 is a perspective view of essential parts showing an example of a piston pipe rotation prevention mechanism, FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an example of a cylinder pipe fixing structure, and FIG. 5 is a front view of the same. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another example of the length adjustment mechanism, FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line - in FIG. 10,
8 is a sectional view taken along the - line in FIG. 7, FIG. 9 is a front view showing an external appearance example of an endoscope incorporating the forceps lifting device of the present invention, FIG. 10 is a side view of the same, and FIG. The figure is a front view showing an example of the arrangement of the operating wire at the tip of the curved part, FIG. 12 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the main part showing an example of a conventional forceps lifting device, and FIG. 13 is a longitudinal cross-sectional front view of the same. 11...Body insertion part, 12...Tip block,
14... Forceps elevator, 16... Operation wire, 18
...Guide tube, 20...Operation section, 21...
Forceps tube, 23... Forceps, 25... Piston tube, 26... Cylinder tube, 27... Shaft passage, 28
...Radial passage, 29...Liquid inlet, 30...
...Flexible tube, 31...Interlocking link,
33... Forceps lifting operation lever, 34... Rotating disk, 65... Rotating ring, 66... Stopper ring, 71... Length adjustment mechanism, 72... External threaded rod,
73... Female threaded rod, 80... Fixed pipe, 80a
... Connection portion, 85 ... Rotation regulating plane, 86 ... Rotation prevention plate.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An operating wire movably fitted in a guide tube is connected to a forceps elevator pivotally attached to the inside of the distal end of the body insertion section, and this operating wire is guided into the operating section together with the guide tube. The operating wire is coupled to the piston tube, the guide tube is coupled to a cylinder tube in which the piston tube is slidably fitted, and the piston tube is connected to a liquid inlet provided in the operating portion and the cylinder tube. forming an axial passage that communicates with the flexible tube through the flexible tube;
In the endoscopic forceps lifting device in which the piston tube is moved in the axial direction by the forceps lifting operation lever, the piston tube is fixed to the piston tube so as to communicate with the axial passage and have its distal end facing toward the body insertion section. A forceps lifting device for an endoscope, characterized in that a pipe is fixed, and the tip of the fixed pipe and the liquid inlet are connected by a flexible tube. 2. In claim 1, the piston tube is provided with a rotation restriction surface that is continuous in the axial direction, and a rotation stopper fixed outside the piston tube is in contact with this rotation restriction surface. Endoscope forceps lifting device.