JPH05273473A - Auxiliary insertion tool for endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a tool from falling from an endoscope insertion part by providing an index mark which becomes reference to discriminate the normal/defective condition of the mutual assembling position of plural combination members at the combination member. CONSTITUTION:An auxiliary insertion tool 40 is provided with the combination member including a knob means to be engaged to an auxiliary insertion tool connection part of an endoscope. Also, the index marks 35 are provided circumferentially at the rear side of the flange part 27 of a cover member receiver 22. The index mark 35 is located at a position where it is not recognized because of being hidden by the front end part of a cover member 23 in a state where the male screw on the front end part of a lock member 25 is completely tightened with the female screw on the rear end part of the cover member receiver 22. Meanwhile, when the male screw on the front end part of the lock member 25 is incompletely tightened with the female screw on the rear end part of the cover member receiver 22, the index mark 35 can be observed from the front end part of the cover member 23. Therefore, it is possible to discriminate whether or not the assembling of each combination member of the auxiliary insertion tool 40 is performed satisfactorily by confirming whether or not the index mark 35 can be observed visually.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is an endoscope which is fixed to an insertion portion of an endoscope device used for inspecting a pipe of a boiler, a turbine, etc., and a front end of the endoscope device is positioned near the center of the pipe. It relates to an auxiliary tool for a mirror.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, industrial endoscopes are widely used, which are capable of inspecting the inside of a tube by inserting an elongated insertion portion into the lumen of a boiler, a turbine or the like. Generally, in an industrial endoscope, the shape, type, and inner diameter of the tube to be inspected are various compared with the outer diameter of the insertion portion,
When inspecting a tube having an inner diameter that is significantly different from the outer diameter of the endoscope distal end, the endoscope insertion part largely fluctuates in the inserted part, and the observation direction is not accurately determined. Further, as the difference between the inner diameter of the inserted portion and the outer diameter of the endoscope tip portion becomes larger, the endoscope tip may shift toward the lower portion of the inserted portion, and only the bottom wall portion of the inserted portion can be observed. ..

Therefore, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 62-33021 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1-201228 disclose an insertion assisting tool which can be attached to and detached from an endoscope insertion portion in order to solve the above-mentioned inconvenience.

The former insertion assisting tool is formed with a female screw portion on the inner circumference, and when this assisting tool is attached to the endoscope insertion portion, the female screw is provided with a screw portion provided on the outer circumference of the insertion portion. It was fixed by combining. In the latter case, the insertion assisting tool is fixed to the recessed portion provided in the endoscope insertion section. In both cases, the tip optical adapter is removed from the endoscope before attaching the insertion aid, and the tip optical adapter is attached to the endoscope after attachment.The inner diameter of the attachment part of the insertion aid is outside the tip adapter. It is smaller than the diameter. That is, the insertion assisting tool does not fall off unless the distal end optical adapter is removed from the endoscope insertion portion.

[0005]

However, neither of the insertion assisting tools themselves has a standard for determining whether or not the insertion assisting tool is securely attached to the endoscope body. As long as there was an optical adapter at the tip, it was designed so that it would not fall off. When the endoscope becomes a direct-viewing or side-viewing machine due to the reduced diameter of the endoscope insertion part, etc., if the insertion aid is not properly attached, the conventional insertion aid will show abnormal observation images. There is a risk that it will fall out of the endoscope insertion part without any front blurring.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and allows the user to confirm whether or not the insertion assisting tool is assembled properly, and to make the assembly assured.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an endoscope insertion aid that can prevent the endoscope from being detached from the endoscope insertion portion.

[0007]

An insertion aid for an endoscope according to the present invention is an insertion aid for an endoscope which can be mounted on an insertion portion of an endoscope, and which is assembled with each other and has the same structure as the endoscope. At least one of the combination members has a plurality of combination members including attachment means for attaching to the mirror insertion portion, and an index serving as a reference for determining the quality of the assembly position of the plurality of combination members is provided in at least one of the combination members. When the members are assembled, the quality of the assembly position of the combination members is determined by whether or not the index is exposed from one of the combination members not provided with the index.

[0008]

According to the present invention, when a plurality of combination members are assembled and the positions of the combination members are not appropriate, and the combination members are not completely assembled with each other, the index formed on the combination member is
Whether the combination positions of the combination members are good or bad is determined based on whether or not the combination members are exposed.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a positional relationship between an insertion assisting tool inserted in an endoscope insertion section and an index. FIG. 2 shows a cross section of a state in which an insertion assisting tool is attached to the insertion portion of the endoscope. 3 is an overall configuration diagram of the endoscope device before the insertion assisting tool is attached, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a cross section taken along the line AA of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the endoscope apparatus 1 includes an industrial electronic endoscope 2, a light source apparatus 3 for supplying illumination light to the electronic endoscope 2, and the electronic endoscope 2. Consists of a control device 4 for controlling and processing an electric signal sent thereto to convert it into a standard video signal, and a monitor 5 for displaying the video signal output from the control device 4 as an endoscopic image. Has been done.

The electronic endoscope 2 includes an elongated insertion portion 6 and
An operating section 7 connected to the rear end side of the insertion section 6, a universal cord 8 extending on the side of the operating section 7 for transmitting illumination light and a video signal, and an end of the universal cord 8. Signal cable 10 branched from the light source connector 9 attached to the section. A rigid tip portion 11 is provided on the tip side of the insertion portion 6, and the tip portion 1
A bending portion 13 that bends by rotating the operation knob 12 of the operation portion 7 is provided on the rear side adjacent to 1. Further, the flexible portion 14 is connected to the rear side of the curved portion 13. Further, between the flexible portion 14 and the bending portion 13, there is formed an insertion assisting tool connecting portion 15 having a groove on the circumference on which an insertion assisting tool described later can be locked.

By connecting the light source connector 9 to the light source device 3, the white light of the light source lamp 17 is applied to the light guide entrance end face 19 by the condenser lens 18. A signal connector 20 is provided at an end of the signal cable 10 branched from the light source connector 9, and the signal connector 20 is detachably connectable to the control device 4.

In the insertion assisting tool connecting portion 15 of the endoscope,
The insertion aid 40 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 can be mounted.

As shown in FIG. 2, the insertion assisting tool 40.
Is a substantially cylindrical tubular locking member 21 and this locking member 21
A substantially cylindrical tubular cover member receiver 22 whose tip portion is completely screwed and fixed in the middle of the outer periphery of the cover member; a cover member 23 rotatably slidably contacting the outer periphery of the cover member receiver 22; A stopper 24 having a substantially cylindrical tubular shape that is inserted and fitted into the stopper member 21 from the rear end side thereof, and a screw that is abutted against the rear end portion of the stopper 24 and is provided on the inner circumference of the end portion of the cover member receiver 22. It is configured by a combination member including a retaining member 25 that is screwed and fixed to the portion.

As shown in FIG. 4, the locking member 21 has a locking hole 26 having a central axis eccentric with respect to the central axis B of the endoscope insertion portion which is the center of the outer circumference. This locking hole 26
The inner diameter of is slightly larger than the maximum outer diameter of the endoscope insertion portion 6, and the endoscope insertion portion 6 can be inserted into the locking hole 26. Two female screws 21a and 21b are provided on the inner periphery of the rear end of the locking hole 26. The female screws 21a and 21b are provided on the outer periphery near the front end of the stopper 24. It is adapted to be respectively screwed with the screw 24a. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a knurl is provided on the outer periphery of the front end portion of the locking member 21 to facilitate the mounting work.

The cover member receiver 22 is provided with an internal thread on the inner circumference of the tip end side, which is screwed with a male thread provided on the outer circumference of the locking member 21, and the locking member 2 is engaged with this threaded portion.
It is fixed by screwing with 1. In addition, the cover member receiver 22
Is provided with a flange portion 27 having a diameter larger than the inner diameter of the cover member 23 on the outer periphery in the vicinity of the front end portion.
Reference numeral 7 restricts the movement of the cover member 23 toward the distal end side of the insertion portion 6.

The front end portion of the stopper 24 is adapted to fit inside the rear end portion of the locking member 21. The locking hole 26 of the locking member 21 is provided in the endoscope insertion portion 6
Is eccentric from the center B of the cross section of
Convex portion 28 that projects into the groove portion of the insertion aid connecting portion 15
Are formed. Therefore, when the stopper 24 and the locking member 21 are fitted to each other, the groove of the insertion assisting tool connecting portion 15 is hooked on the convex portion 28. The locking member 21 is fixed to the endoscope insertion portion 6 by locking the groove and the convex portion 28. That is, the insertion aid 40
Is fixed to the endoscope insertion portion 6.

Further, when the front end portion of the stopper 24 is fitted to the inner periphery of the locking member 21, the female screw 21a and the female screw 21b at the rear end of the locking member 21 and the male screw 2 at the outer periphery of the stopper 24 are fitted.
4a must be screwed together.

On the outer periphery of the front end of the retaining member 25, there is provided a male screw 25a to be screwed with the female screw 22a at the rear end of the cover member receiver 22, and behind the male screw 25a is the cover member receiver. A flange portion 33 having an outer diameter larger than the diameter of the inner circumference of 22 is provided. In addition, the retainer 25
A taper portion having a smaller diameter than the vicinity of the rear end of the flange portion 33 is formed, and an extension portion having a small diameter is extended to the rear end side of the taper portion. Further, an abutting portion 34 with which the rear end of the stopper 24 abuts is provided on the inner side of the leading end of the extending portion of the retainer 25.
Is formed.

With respect to the positional relationship between the abutting portion 34 and the male screw 25a, unless the front end of the stopper 24 abuts the rear wall of the locking hole 26 of the locking member 21, the male screw 25a of the retaining member 25 is completely removed. Cannot be fastened to the female screw 22a on the rear end side of the cover member receiver 22. That is, when the cover member receiver 22 and the stopper 24 are assembled to the locking member 21, if the stopper 24 is assembled sufficiently, the retaining member 25 is attached to the cover member receiver 22 as shown in FIG. The screw parts can be completely tightened together.

As described above, the insertion assisting tool 40 has a combination member including a fastening means for engaging with the insertion assisting tool connecting portion 15 of the endoscope.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1 (b), behind the flange portion 27 of the cover member receiver 22, the index 3 is circumferentially arranged.
5 is provided. In this index 35, the male screw 25 a at the front end of the retaining member 25 is the female screw 2 at the rear end of the cover member receiver 22.
In the state where it is completely tightened with 2a, Fig. 1 (a)
As shown in FIG. 5, the cover member 23 is hidden by the front end portion of the cover member 23 and cannot be seen. That is, the axial length of the cover member receiver 22 is La, and the flange portion 2 of the cover member receiver 22 is
7 and the flange portion 33 of the retainer 25 in the axial distance L
b, where Lc is the axial distance between the flange portion 33 of the cover member receiver 22 and the index 35, there is a relationship of Lc> Lb-La.

The male screw 25a at the front end of the retainer 25
When the tightening with the female screw 22a at the rear end of the cover member receiver 22 is incomplete, the index 35 is visible from the front end portion of the cover member 23, as shown in FIG. The flange portion 2 of the cover member receiver 22 at this time
If the axial distance between 7 and the flange portion 33 of the retainer 25 is Lb ', then the relationship is Lc <Lb'-La.

Therefore, the user attaches the cover member 23 to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, it is tried to slide in the direction of the flexible portion 14, and whether the index 35 is visible (exposed from the cover member 23) or not is confirmed. It is possible to determine whether or not it is sufficient.

By using the insertion assisting tool 40 of the present embodiment, the user can visually recognize from the index 35 that the retainer 25 is not completely fixed to the cover member receiver 22. Therefore, the user can
The insertion aid 40
That is, it can be reliably attached to the endoscope insertion portion 6. In this way, when the user recognizes the certainty of the assembly and the assembly is incomplete, it is possible to prompt the complete assembly again, and the insertion assisting tool 40 is likely to be generated due to insufficient assembly. It is possible to prevent the 40 from falling off the endoscope insertion section 6.

The position of the index 35 is not limited to the position provided on the front end side of the cover member receiver 22, but may be provided on the rear end side of the cover member receiver 22 in the place where the above operation is performed. Good.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Insertion aid 3 of this embodiment shown in FIG.
6 has substantially the same structure as that of the first embodiment, but is different from that of the first embodiment in that, as shown in FIG. That is, the extended portion 38 in the shape of a circle is extended rearward, and as shown in FIG. 5B, an index 39 is provided on the outer circumference of the extended portion 38. In addition, the same configurations and operations as those of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. Only different points will be described.

When the insertion assisting tool 36 is attached to the insertion assisting tool connecting portion 15, the front end of the stopper 24 abuts on the rear wall of the locking hole 26 of the locking member 21, and the retainer 2
The contact part 34 of 5 is the contact part 37 of the stopper 24.
When it is abutted with,
It comes out from the rear end of 5. Further, when the front end portion of the stopper 24 does not abut the rear wall of the engaging hole 26 of the engaging member 21, or when there is a gap between the abutting portion 34 of the retainer 25 and the abutting portion 37 of the stopper 24. Changes the amount of protrusion of the extension portion 38 protruding from the rear end side of the retainer 25.

With the above operation, when the insertion assisting tool 36 is attached to the insertion assisting tool connecting portion 15, the user can check the incompleteness of attachment (assembly of the insertion assisting tool 36) by the extension portion 3.
This can be known by checking the change in the protrusion amount of No. 8, and the assembly can be surely performed.

Further, in the insertion assisting tool 36 of the second embodiment, depending on whether or not the index 39 provided on the outer periphery of the extending portion 38 can be visually recognized, the insertion can be more clearly performed as in the first embodiment. It is possible to let the user recognize whether or not the auxiliary tool 36 is securely attached to the endoscope insertion portion 6.

Further, in the second embodiment, depending on the position where the index 39 is provided, unlike the first embodiment, the index 39 can be visually observed when the assembly of the combination member is reliable, and not visible when the assembly is insufficient. You can also do so.

[0033]

According to the endoscope insertion assisting tool of the present invention, the user can confirm whether or not the insertion assisting tool is assembled properly, and the assembly is surely performed. This has the effect of preventing the endoscope insertion aid from falling off the endoscope insertion portion.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of an insertion assisting tool according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of the insertion assisting tool attached to the endoscope insertion portion.

FIG. 3 is an overall configuration diagram of an endoscope device.

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 5 is an external view of an insertion assisting tool according to a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 21 ... Locking member 22 ... Cover receiving member 23 ... Cover member 24 ... Stopper 25 ... Fall-out prevention 26 ... Locking hole 27, 33 ... Flange part 28 ... Convex part 34 ... Attached part 40 ... Insertion aid

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] August 28, 1992

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0020

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

On the outer periphery of the front end of the retainer 25, there is provided a male screw 25a which engages with a female screw 22a at the rear end of the cover member receiver 22, and behind the male screw 25a is the cover member 23. Is provided with a flange portion 33 having an outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the. Further, the retainer 25 has a tapered portion having a smaller diameter than the vicinity of the rear end of the flange portion 33, and an extended portion having a small diameter is extended to the rear end side of the tapered portion. Further, an abutting portion 34 with which the rear end of the stopper 24 abuts is formed inside the tip portion of the extending portion of the retainer 25.

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0022

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

As described above, the insertion assisting tool 40 has a combination member including a mounting means for engaging with the insertion assisting tool connecting portion 15 of the endoscope.

[Procedure 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0023

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Further, as shown in FIG. 1 (b), behind the flange portion 27 of the cover member receiver 22, the index 3 is circumferentially arranged.
5 is provided. In this index 35, the male screw 25 a at the front end of the retaining member 25 is the female screw 2 at the rear end of the cover member receiver 22.
In the state where it is completely tightened with 2a, Fig. 1 (a)
As shown in FIG. 5, the cover member 23 is hidden by the front end portion of the cover member 23 and cannot be seen. That is, the axial length of the cover member 23 is La, the axial distance between the flange portion 27 of the cover member receiver 22 and the flange portion 33 of the retaining member 25 is Lb,
Letting Lc be the axial distance between the flange portion 27 of the cover member receiver 22 and the index 35, the relationship Lc> Lb-La is established.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 5

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Figure 5]

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An insertion aid for an endoscope that can be attached to an insertion portion of an endoscope, comprising a plurality of combination members that are assembled with each other and that include attachment means to the insertion portion of the endoscope. At least one of the combination members is provided with an index serving as a reference for determining the quality of the assembly positions of the plurality of combination members, and when the combination member is assembled, the index does not have this index. Depending on whether you are exposed from at least one of
An insertion aid for an endoscope, characterized in that it is configured to determine whether the assembly positions of the combination members are good or bad.