JPH04253828A - Endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the removing and replacing of a cylindrical operating section cover without removing a breakage protector forcedly and dissembling the operating section thoroughly. CONSTITUTION:A cylindrical cover 27 covering an operating section 20 to the lower end of which a base end part of a flexible pipe 13 of an inserting part 10 is connected is fixed on the operating section 20 with a circular nut 52 from below while an elastic breakage protector 40 is provided surrounding the vicinity of the end part of the flexible pipe 13 to check the flexible pipe 13 from bending at a small radius of curvature near the end thereof. In an endoscope of such a type, the maximum outer diameter of the breakage protector 40 is made finer than the minimum inner diameter of the cover 27 and the nut 52.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to endoscopes.

In recent endoscopes, which have become electrically insulated and waterproof, a cover is formed in a cylindrical shape to cover the operating section, the lower end of which is connected to the proximal end of the flexible tube of the insertion section. The cover is fixed to the operating part from below with an annular nut, and an elastic ring is attached around the proximal end of the flexible tube to prevent the flexible tube from bending with a small radius of curvature near the proximal end. Many of them have a structure with a break stopper.

0003

2. Description of the Related Art In such a conventional endoscope, for example, as shown in FIG.
That is, it is placed over the operating section 93 from the insertion section flexible tube 92 side and fixed to the operating section 93 by tightening from below with an annular nut 94, and then the proximal end bending stopper 95 of the insertion section flexible tube 92 is attached. It is supposed to be done. As a result, in the assembled state, the end surface 94a of the nut 94 and the base end surface 95a of the bend stopper 95 face each other.

0004

Problems to be Solved by the Invention As the cover of the operating section is changed from metal to plastic for electrical insulation, the cover becomes more susceptible to damage due to falling or the like.

However, in conventional endoscopes, the end surface of the nut and the proximal surface of the break stop are arranged so that they face each other, so if the operating section cover needs to be replaced, the break stop must be replaced. You cannot take out the nut or cover unless you remove it.

[0006] However, since the bend stopper is attached to tighten the flexible tube with an elastic member, the bend stop must be removed by passing through the maximum outer diameter part of the insertion section (in most cases, the tip of the insertion section). This is extremely difficult.

[0007] Therefore, in order to remove the cover of the operating section, it is necessary to completely disassemble the operating section, and replacing the cover requires a very large number of man-hours.

In addition, in the case of an endoscope whose outer diameter of the insertion section is almost the same over its entire length, it is possible to forcibly shift the bending stopper toward the distal end and remove it from the insertion section; This has disadvantages such as damaging the outer rubber tube of the curved part provided on the side.

The present invention eliminates such conventional drawbacks and allows the cylindrical operation section cover to be easily removed and replaced without forcibly removing the bending stopper or completely disassembling the operation section. The aim is to provide an endoscope that can

0010

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the endoscope of the present invention includes a cylindrical cover that covers an operating section to which a proximal end of a flexible insertion tube is connected to a lower end. is fixed to the operating section from below with an annular member, and an elastic ring is attached around the proximal end of the flexible tube to prevent the flexible tube from bending with a small radius of curvature near the proximal end. The endoscope is characterized in that the maximum outer diameter of the bending stop is smaller than the minimum inner diameter of the cover and the annular member.

[0011]

[Embodiment] An embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows an ultrasonic endoscope, in which a distal end main body 11 at the distal end of an insertion section 10 inserted into a patient's body cavity.
includes an observation optical system for obtaining an optical image of the surface of the specimen;
It has a built-in ultrasonic probe that emits and receives ultrasonic waves in order to obtain an ultrasonic tomographic image of the area to be examined. In addition, a balloon 12 that inflates laterally surrounds the built-in part of the ultrasound probe.
is installed.

Most of the insertion section 10 is formed by a flexible tube 13 that can be bent freely, and the bending section 14, which can be bent in any direction by remote control from the operating section 20, 13 , and the tip body 11 is connected to the tip of the curved portion 14 . In the entire insertion section 10, the tip main body 11 has the largest outer diameter.

[0014] The connecting portion between the proximal end of the flexible tube 13 and the operating section 20 is made of flexible material to prevent the flexible tube 13 from bending with a small radius of curvature at the proximal end. A bend stopper 40 made of elastic rubber material or the like is attached to the flexible tube 13.
It is attached around the proximal end of the.

The operating section 20 includes a bending operation knob 21 for remotely controlling the bending state of the bending section 14, and a tip main body 11.
An air/water supply switch 22 that performs an operation to blow out air and water from an air supply nozzle and a water supply nozzle (not shown), and a suction switch 23 that performs a suction operation via a forceps channel or the like are provided. . 24 is an eyepiece.

As shown in FIG. 3, there is a grip cover 25 that covers the grip portion of the operation unit 20, and a lower cover 2 at the lower end.
7 and the intermediate cover 28 between them are both formed in a cylindrical shape, and when the fixed state with respect to the operating section 20 is released,
All of these can be removed by sliding them downward, that is, toward the flexible tube 13 side.

Returning to FIG. 2, 70 is a connector for connecting the input end of the illumination light guide fiber bundle to the light source device, 71 is an air and water supply socket, 72 is a vent fitting, and 73 is a suction nipple. be. Further, 75 is a processing circuit that performs electrical processing on the ultrasonic probe. 76
is a CRT monitor for displaying and observing ultrasonic tomographic images.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the intermediate cover 28 at the bottom of the operating section 20 is provided with a water inlet 30 protruding from the water inlet 30 for feeding degassed water into the water inlet pipe 29 leading to the balloon 12. , and also forceps channel 31 or balloon 12
A suction line switching lever 35 is provided for rotating a cock 34 to connect one of the drain lines 32 to the suction line 33. 3
6 is a treatment instrument insertion port for inserting treatment instruments into the forceps channel 31, and 37 is a stopper that closes the opening of the drain pipe 32.

The parts provided in this part can be removed in order from the outer part outward, so that all the parts indicated by the broken lines in FIG. 3 can be removed. As a result, the forceps channel 31, the drain pipe 32, the water injection pipe 29, etc. can be made free in the direction of the insertion axis, and the intermediate cover 28 can be shifted downward.

FIG. 1 shows the lower end of the operating section 20 and the flexible tube 13.
The area around the connecting part with the proximal end of is shown.

The tapered cap 13a fixed to the proximal end of the flexible tube 13 is attached to the frame 26 by an annular externally threaded nut 51 that is screwed into a threaded portion inside the lower end of the operating section frame 26.
is pressed against the tapered surface of and connected and fixed to the operating section 20.

A cylindrical lower cover 27 made of plastic that covers the lower end of the operating section 20 is fitted on the outside of the frame 26, and has an annular inner part that is screwed into a threaded portion on the outside of the lower end of the frame 26. It is pushed up from below and fixed to the operating section 20 by a screw nut 52.

The bend stopper 40 is fixed to the lower end of the operating section 20 by having a metal cap 41 integrally molded at its base end screwed into a threaded portion inside the lower end of the frame 26 .

The external shape of the bend stopper 40 is formed into a tapered shape that gradually becomes thinner from the base end side to the distal end side, and its maximum outside shape is equal to the minimum inside diameter of the internally threaded nut 52 (that is, the inside diameter of the threaded part). ) and the covers (lower cover 27, intermediate cover 28, and grip cover 25).

Further, in order to prevent the bend-proof metal cap 41 portion and the lower end of the operation unit frame 26 from being exposed to the outside, an annular insulating cover 45 made of electrically insulating rubber material or synthetic resin material is provided. It is installed to cover the surrounding area. 46 is a metal cap that is integrally insert-molded with the insulating cover 45 so as not to be exposed to the outside;
The insulating cover 45 is fixed to the lower end of the operating section by screwing the metal cap 46 into a threaded portion on the outer side of the lower end of the frame 26.

In the endoscope of the embodiment configured as described above, when removing the grip cover 25, intermediate cover 28, lower cover 27, etc., first remove the insulating cover 45 and then the internal threaded nuts 52 from the frame 26. After unscrewing it from the threaded portion, pull it out along the outside of the bending stopper 40 toward the distal end side of the insertion section 10.

[0027] Then, remove each cover in the order of lower cover 27, intermediate cover 28, and grip cover 25 by sliding them downward to the tip of insertion portion 10 without interfering with bending stopper 40, and replace them with new parts. It can be reassembled to its original condition. After assembling the covers, the internal threaded nut 52 and the insulating cover 45 are attached.
The assembly is completed by tightening to the original state without interfering with the bending stopper 40.

During that time, there is no need to remove or loosen the break stop 40, and even when the internal threaded nut 52, insulating cover 45, etc. are loosened or tightened, the break stop 40 is not affected at all. do not have.

Note that the present invention is applicable not only to ultrasonic endoscopes but also to various endoscopes.

[0030]

According to the endoscope of the present invention, the maximum outer diameter of the break stop is made smaller than the minimum inner diameter of the cover and the annular member, so the annular member and cover can be removed and operated without interfering with the break stop. This has an excellent effect in that the cover can be easily replaced without completely disassembling the entire part.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the area around the bending stopper of the embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of an endoscope according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the operating section of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a V-V sectional view of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an exploded schematic diagram of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Insertion part 13 Flexible tube 20 Operation section 27 Lower cover 40 Break stopper 52 Internal thread nut

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: A cylindrical cover for enclosing an operating section, the lower end of which is connected to a proximal end of a flexible insertion tube, is fixed to the operating section from below with an annular member, and the flexible tube is fixed to the operating section from below. In an endoscope provided with an elastic bending stop surrounding the vicinity of the proximal end of the flexible tube in order to suppress bending with a small radius of curvature near the proximal end, the maximum outer diameter of the bending stop is formed to be thinner than the minimum inner diameter of the cover and the annular member.