JPH0560734B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an angle device that performs an angle operation to orient the distal end portion of an insertion portion of an endoscope in a desired direction.

[Prior Art] An endoscope has an insertion section connected to a main body operation section for insertion into a body cavity, etc., and this insertion section has a main body operation section connected to the main body operation section. This portion is a flexible portion, and an angle portion and a hard tip portion are successively provided at the tip of the flexible portion. With the insertion portion inserted into a body cavity or the like, the angle portion can be manipulated to curve in order to orient the rigid distal end portion in a desired direction. To perform this operation, the endoscope is equipped with an angle device.

This angle device has an operating wire, the operating wire is fixed to the tip of the angle part or the hard part of the tip, a winding drum is provided in the main body operating part, and the operating wire is wound on the winding drum. The winding drum is connected to the angle knob by rotating the winding drum. Therefore, when the angle knob is rotated, the operating wire is pushed or pulled, causing the angle portion to curve, thereby making it possible to orient the rigid tip portion in a desired direction. . The operating wire is inserted into a sheath member whose one end is fixed near the position where the angle part and the flexible part are connected and whose other end is fixed near the position where the winding drum is arranged. , to guide the operating wire.

Here, as the sheath member, in order to ensure smooth movement of the operating wire, it is preferable to use a close-contact coil spring that has a small contact area with the operating wire. However, when assembling the operating wire and sheath member into the endoscope, the length must be adjusted due to dimensional errors in the length of the insertion section. The distal end of the sheath member would have to be cut off. However, it is extremely difficult to cut the above-mentioned close-contact coil spring with the operating wire inserted inside.

For this reason, in the case of the angle device according to the prior art, the majority of the sheath member from the fixed position on the side where the angle part and the flexible part of the insertion part are connected is formed of a close coil spring, and this close coil spring is used. The length adjustment part described above is formed on the spring using stainless steel pipe, and when actually assembling this sheath member,
A portion of the stainless steel pipe was cut.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Therefore, the part on the winding drum side is angled to some extent, and if the sheath member of this part is formed of a stainless steel pipe, the operating wire will be When it comes into contact with the inner surface of the stainless steel pipe, it not only becomes difficult to slip, but also causes problems such as excessive force being applied to the stainless steel pipe and damaging it.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to provide an endoscope angle device equipped with a sheath member that can smoothly operate an operating wire. be.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a sheath member for guiding the operating wire, one end of which is fixed to the connecting portion between the angle portion and the flexible portion in the insertion portion. a first close coil spring that has one end fixed in the vicinity of the winding drum installation position in the main body operation section, and a second close coil spring that has one end fixed near the winding drum installation position in the main body operation section, and the other ends of these first and second close coil springs are fixed. The device is characterized in that it is configured to be connected to each other by being screwed into a connecting sleeve having a thread groove formed on the inner surface.

[Function] By employing such a configuration, the entire sheath member is formed of a close coil spring, so that the operating wire can slide within the close coil spring very well, and the operation It becomes possible to smoothly push and pull the wire. Moreover,
If the second close coil spring is detached from the connection sleeve, the second close coil spring can be easily cut, so that the length of the entire sheath member can be easily adjusted.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

First, FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an endoscope.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 indicates a main body operating section, and the main body operating section 1 is connected with an insertion section 2 that is inserted into a body cavity, etc., and a universal cord 3 that is connected to a light source device (not shown). are installed in succession.
Here, most of the insertion section 2 has a flexible section 4.
An angle portion 5 formed by mutually pivoting angle rings 5a is provided at the tip of the flexible portion 4, and a hard tip portion 6 is successively provided at the tip of the angle portion 5. An illumination window 7, an observation window 8, etc. are provided on the end surface of the rigid distal end portion 6 (in the case of a side-viewing endoscope, the side portion of the rigid distal end portion).

Here, in order to orient the observation window 8 in a desired direction with the insertion section 2 inserted into a body cavity or the like, the angle section 5 can be angled vertically and horizontally. For this purpose, a pair of operating wires 10a, 10 are provided on the upper and lower sides and on the left and right sides.
a, 10b, and 10b (hereinafter, the reference numeral 10 is used when referring to the operating wires collectively). As is clear from FIG. 2, the tip of each of these operating wires 10 is fixed to an angle ring 5b (or a hard tip) that is connected to a hard tip 6 of the angle ring 5a of the angle portion 5. , the other end of each of these operating wires 10 extends into the main body operating section 1, and connects connecting wires 12a, 12b wound around the winding drum 11.
are connected to each other via connecting members 13a and 13b each having a well-known wire slack absorption mechanism at both ends thereof. Here, operating wires 10a, 10a for bending the angle portion 2 in the vertical direction are connected to a connecting wire 12a, and operating wires 10b, 10a for bending the angle portion 2 in the left-right direction,
10b is connected to a connecting wire 12b.

A rotating shaft 14 is connected to the winding drum 11, and this rotating shaft 14 is connected to an angle knob 15.
is connected to. Therefore, by rotating the angle knob 15 provided on the main body operation section 1, the angle section 2 can be bent in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction. The angle knob 15 can be used to push and pull the operating wire 10a in the vertical direction and to push and pull the operating wire 10b independently or in combination.
For this purpose, two winding drums 11 are arranged in series, and the rotating shaft 14 is equipped with an inner shaft and an outer shaft that can be rotated independently, but since the structure of these is well known, A detailed explanation will be omitted.

The insertion portion 2 has a fairly long dimension, and the angle portion 5 is designed to prevent the angle portion 5 from unnecessarily curving when the flexible portion 4 is bent along the insertion path. In order to do this, most of the operating wire 10 is inserted into the sheath member 16. One end of this sheath member 16 is fixed to the angle ring 5c on the proximal end side of the angle portion 5, and the other end is fixed to a support plate 17 provided at a position close to the winding drum 11.
Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the sheath member 16 consists of a pair of close coil springs 18a and 18b, and the first close coil spring 18a is connected to the angle ring 5c.
The second close coil spring 18b is fixed to the support plate 17. and,
These first and second close coil springs 18a, 18
b are connected by a connecting sleeve 19.

Close coil spring 18 by connecting sleeve 19
When connecting the close coil springs 18a and 18b, the uneven portions on the outer diameter of the close coil springs 18a and 18b are used as male threads, and the inner surface of the connecting sleeve 19 is provided with a female screw section corresponding to the pitch interval of the close coil springs 18a and 18b. 19a, and by screwing the close coil springs 18a, 18b into this connection sleeve 19, both the close coil springs 18a, 1
8b is connected. Also,
In order to fix the second close coil spring 18b to the support plate 17, lock nuts 20a and 20b are used, and the second close coil spring 18b is screwed into these lock nuts 20a and 20b. Thus, the first and second close coil springs 18a and 18b in the aforementioned connection sleeve 19
Since the connection between the two must be extremely strong, both ends of the connection sleeve 19 are held by caulking or other means to ensure that they do not come off, and a second tight coil spring The connecting portion between 18b and the lock nuts 20a, 20b can be attached or detached by screwing the lock nuts 20a, 20b. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, there is a notch 2 extending from the opening 21 in the support plate 17 through which the second close coil spring 18b is inserted, to the end surface of the support plate 17.
2 is provided, so that when the lock nuts 20a and 20b are attached and detached, the operating wire 10
can be released from engagement with the support plate 17 while being inserted into the second close coil spring 18b.

This embodiment is constructed as described above, and its operation will be explained next.

When inserting the insertion section 2 of an endoscope into a part to be observed such as a patient's body cavity, and diagnosing or observing the inside, or performing treatment, etc., it is necessary to It is necessary to orient the hard tip portion 6 in a desired direction. Therefore, by manipulating the angle knob 15 provided on the main body operating section 1 with a finger, the angle section 5 is curved and the rigid tip section 6 can be directed in a desired direction. That is, the upper and lower operating wires 10
By pushing and pulling a, 10a, the angle part 5 moves in the vertical direction, and the left and right operating wires 10b, 10b
When pushed or pulled, the angle portion 5 curves in the left-right direction, and the upper and lower and left and right operation wires 10a, 10
By pushing and pulling a, 10b, and 10b at the same time, it becomes possible to curve the curve in any direction.

Thus, the sheath member 1 through which the operating wire 10 is inserted
6 are first and second close coil springs 18a, 18b
Since the angle knob 15 is made of a metal material, it has good sliding during the push/pull operation, and the angle operation using the angle knob 15 can be performed smoothly with a light load. Furthermore, since the frictional force between the operating wire 10 and the close coil springs 18a and 18b is reduced, even if the second close coil spring 18b is in an inclined state, there is no possibility of damaging it. will not occur.

By the way, when attaching the operating wire 10 to the endoscope, each first contact coil spring 18
One end of a is fixed to the angle ring 5c of the angle part 5, and the other end is extended from the flexible part 4 to the inside of the main body operation part 1. Therefore, the operating wire 10 is inserted into the first close coil spring 18a.
Then, the distance from the end of the first close coil spring 18a to the mounting position of the support plate 17 is measured, and the second close coil spring 18b is cut to a length corresponding to the length of the second close coil spring 18b. The second close contact coil spring 18b is inserted into the opening 21 in the support plate 17. After that, the first and second contact coil springs 18a and 18b are screwed into the connection sleeve 19 to connect them, and the lock nut 20 is screwed into the connection sleeve 19 to connect them.
Mounting of the operating wire 10 is completed by screwing the lock nuts 20a and 20b into the second tight coil spring 18b and holding the support plate 17 between the lock nuts 20a and 20b. And each operation wire 1
The tip portions of 0a and 10b are connected by connecting wires 12a and 1
Connecting members 13a, 13b attached to the ends of 2b
By connecting it to the angle device, the entire angle device can be assembled.

Further, when it is necessary to remove the operating wire 10 during maintenance or the like, the connecting members 13a, 13b and the operating wires 10a, 10b are separated, and the lock nuts 20a, 20b are removed from the winding drum of the support plate 17. By removing the lock nut 20b located on the 11 side, the operating wire 10 can be easily attached and detached from the support plate 17.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the present invention provides a first close coil spring in which a sheath member for guiding an operating wire is fixed to a connection portion between an angle portion and a flexible portion in an insertion portion, and a main body. and a second close coil spring fixed near the position where the winding drum is disposed in the operating section, and these first and second close coil springs are connected by screwing into a connecting sleeve. Therefore, the entire sheath member can be formed of a close-contact coil spring that can smoothly move the operating wire, and the first close-contact coil spring is fixed to the connecting portion between the angle part and the flexible part. In this state, the second close coil spring is separated from the first close coil spring and cut to a predetermined length, and then connected to the first close coil spring by a connecting sleeve. Therefore, the length of the sheath member can be easily adjusted when the angle device is assembled to the endoscope.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of an endoscope equipped with the angle device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the angle device, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing how the second contact coil spring is attached to the support plate. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Main body operation part, 2... Insertion part, 4... Soft part, 5... Angle part, 5a, 5b, 5c... Angle ring, 6... Hard tip part, 10, 10
a, 10b... Operating wire, 11... Winding drum, 12a, 12b... Connection wire, 13a, 1
3b... Connection member, 15... Angle knob, 16
... sheath member, 18a ... first close coil spring,
18b...Second tight coil spring, 19...Connection sleeve, 20a, 20b...Lock nut.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In an endoscope angle device in which an operating wire for curving an angle portion is wound around a winding drum built into a main body operating portion, and an angle knob is connected to the winding drum, the aforementioned operation is performed. A sheath member for guiding the wire is connected to a first close-contact coil spring having one end fixed to a connecting part between the angle part and the flexible part in the insertion part, and one end fixed to a position near the winding drum arrangement position in the main body operation part. a fixed second close contact coil spring, and these first,
An angle device for an endoscope, characterized in that the other ends of the second close coil springs are connected to each other by screwing into a connecting sleeve having a threaded groove formed on the inner surface.