JPH06237891A - Process and equipment of grooving on channel tube surface of endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automate the process of exchanging the wire for grooved tubes by drawing out new wire from a reel, and winding it to a tube by rotating itself, and after grooving on the periphery of tube, rewinding a definite length of wire, and then, winding the used wire to the another reel. CONSTITUTION:The wire 8 is drawn out of the feeding reel 7, and its tip is fixed to the notch 16 through the guide 10. Then, the table 14 is moved as the guide 10 is in position B, and warm air is blown to the tube 2 by the heater 13. And the table 14 is shifted by rotating normally through the tube rotating device 4 and as a result, the groove is formed on the surface of the softened tube 2. After the tube 2 is cooled, the rotating device 4 is rotated reversely, the used wire 8 is rewinded by rotating reel 7 to rewinding direction through the reel rotating device 11. Then, the table 14 is shifted as the guide 10 is positioned to point A, the tube rotating device 4 is rotated normally, and used wire 8 is wound to the reel 6.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a process for forming a groove on the outer circumference of the surface of a channel tube of an endoscope by using a wire rod that has already been used for the work and is automatically wound on a reel. The present invention relates to a processing method and a device capable of drawing out a used wire rod and winding the drawn out unused wire rod around a tube.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An endoscope is heavily used in a strongly curved state for ingesting and observing cell tissues in the body. Therefore, it is required that the channel tube provided in the endoscope and through which a treatment tool such as forceps is passed has uniform flexibility without bending. Therefore, a method is used in which a groove is provided on the outer circumference of the surface of the channel tube, and a coil is wound according to the groove, but in order to obtain uniform flexibility without buckling, the pitch, depth and shape are Creating a uniform groove is a very important factor.

A conventional processing method and apparatus for forming a spiral groove on the outer periphery of the surface of an endoscope channel tube is shown in FIG.
Shown in. That is, a round bar core material (hereinafter abbreviated as core material) 1 having an outer diameter matching the inner diameter of the tube 2 is inserted into the inner cavity of the tube 2, and the tube 2 is gripped by the chuck 3. The other end of the core material 1 is rotatably held by a center pusher 5 arranged coaxially with the chuck 3. Here, the wire rod 7 is fed from the wire rod feeder 6 and passed through the wire guide 8, and
The tip is fixed to the set screw 9. At this time, the tension of the wire rod 7 is adjusted using a mechanism (not shown). The adjustment of the tension determines the root diameter of the groove formed on the surface of the tube 2.

While the tube 2 is being rotated by the rotating device 4, the surface of the tube 2 is heated by the heater 10, and the wire guide 8 is moved in the thrust direction of the tube 2 (direction A in the drawing) at a speed corresponding to the pitch in proportion to the rotation. ), The wire 7 is wound around the tube 2. When the wire rod 7 is wound around the tube 2 in the predetermined range in this manner, the rotation of the rotating device 4, the heating by the heater 10 and the feeding of the wire guide 8 are stopped, and the wire rod 7 is fed out of the wire guide 8 and the set screw. Cutting off around 9 and removing the wire 7 from the tube 2 completes the process for forming the groove.

[0005]

However, in the above-described conventional processing method and apparatus, when the processing is performed once, the wire 7
After cutting and removing the wire rod 7 from the tube 1, the wire rod 7 is pulled out again from the wire rod feeding device 6 and passed through the wire guide 8, the tip of the wire rod is fixed to the set screw 9, and the tension is adjusted. It is impossible to move on to the next processing without going through such a step.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope channel tube surface groove capable of omitting a setup step of resetting the wire 7 for each processing. A processing method and apparatus are provided.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention rotates a resin tube used for an endoscope channel tube to wind a wire rod, and the wire rod forms a groove on the outer periphery of the surface of the tube. In the channel tube surface grooving method for an endoscope for forming an unused wire rod is drawn from the first reel, and the unused wire rod is wound around the tube while rotating the tube, so that After forming a groove and winding a predetermined amount of wire rod around the tube, the first reel is reversed to rewind the used wire rod to the first reel again, and after rewinding a predetermined amount, the first reel The used wire among the wire wound on the second reel is wound on the second reel.

The present invention also provides a channel tube surface groove for an endoscope in which a resin tube used for an endoscope channel tube is rotated to wind a wire, and a groove is formed around the surface of the tube by the wire. In a processing apparatus, a chuck that rotatably holds a tube, a first reel that supplies an unused wire rod, a second reel that collects a used wire rod, and a guide machine for guiding the wire rod to the tube It consisted of a rear part.

[0009]

According to the above construction, the guide mechanism guides the wire wound around the tube to the reel by the processing, performs the discharging work to wind the wire onto the reel without cutting, and the new wire is used for the next processing. It will be supplied in conjunction with the work of discharging the finished wire.

[0010]

Embodiment 1 FIGS. 1 to 3 show a method and apparatus for grooving a surface of a channel tube for an endoscope of this embodiment. A tube 2 into which a core material 1 having an outer diameter suitable for the inner cavity is inserted is gripped by a chuck 3, and the tube 2 is rotated by a tube rotation device 4 having a variable speed. The other end of the core material 1 is rotatably held by a core material chuck 5 installed coaxially with the chuck 3 so as to be movable in the thrust direction of the tube 2. In addition, a take-up reel (second reel) 6 is adjacent to the chuck 3 coaxially with the chuck 3 behind the chuck 3 (the direction in which the table 14 moves as the machining progresses) is adjacent to the chuck 3. It can be rotated as an integral unit.

The wire rod 8 wound around the wire rod supply reel 7, which is the first reel, is fixed at its tip to a wire rod mounting notch 16 provided on the take-up reel 6 via a tension adjusting mechanism 9 and a guide 10. ing. Further, the take-up reel 6 has a notch 17 as shown in FIG.
Is provided. Further, a reel rotating device 11 capable of maintaining a constant torque during rotation is installed on the wire rod supply reel 7 via a power transmission mechanism 12. The power transmission mechanism 12 is connected to the wire rod supply reel 7 and the reel. Rotating device 11
Can be separated for power transmission, and it is possible to rotate the wire rod supply reel 7 by the reel rotating device 11 or to make the wire rod supply reel 7 rotatable with an extremely light torque. .

A wire supply reel 7, a tension adjusting mechanism 9, a guide 10, a reel rotating device 11, a power transmission mechanism 12 and a heater 13 capable of heating the surface of the tube 2 are mounted on a table 14. The rail 1 arranged in the thrust direction of the tube 2 as an integrated unit
5 can be moved by a drive device (not shown) which can feed the lead of the groove in proportion to the rotation of the tube rotation device 4. Further, the guide 10 is a table 14
The tube 2 can be moved in the radial direction by a drive device (not shown).

The processing steps in the processing apparatus configured as described above will be described step by step.

(1) The tube rotating device 4 rotates the take-up reel 6 to the original position. This origin position means that the guide 10 crosses the brim of the take-up reel 6 and is indicated by A- in FIG.
The notch 1 provided on the take-up reel 6 so that the wire 8 does not come into contact with the side surface of the brim of the take-up reel 6 even if the wire rod 8 moves between the points B.
Take-up reel 6 so that 7 is in the position shown in FIG.
Represents the state in which the rotational position of is positioned.

(2) The wire rod 8 is pulled out from the wire rod supply reel 7, and its tip is fixed to the wire rod mounting notch 16 provided on the take-up reel 6 via the tension adjusting mechanism 9, the guide 10 and the notch 17. Further, the tension adjusting mechanism 9 is adjusted so as to apply an appropriate tension to the wire rod 8 to obtain a desired groove root diameter.

(3) Move the core material chuck 5 forward,
The tube 2 cut into a predetermined length is attached to the core material 1, and the tube 2 is gripped by the chuck 3.

(4) Move the core material chuck 5 rearward,
Support the heartwood 1.

(5) The guide 14 is moved in the thrust direction of the tube 2 by a driving device (not shown) so that the guide 10 comes to the point B in FIG.
Is moved in the radial direction.

(6) The guide 10 is positioned at a position approaching the tube 2 (point C shown in FIG. 1) by a driving device (not shown) so that the wire 8 wound on the tube 2 can be supplied without disturbing the pitch. To do.

(7) The power transmission mechanism 12 is operated to make the wire rod supply reel 7 rotatable.

(8) Warm air having a predetermined temperature is applied to the surface of the tube 2 by the heater 13.

(9) While the tube 2 is rotated in the forward direction by the tube rotating device 4, a driving device (not shown)
The table 14 is fed with the lead of the groove to be formed, which is proportional to the rotation of the tube 2. Wire rod 8 has notch 1
The edge 18 of 7 is wound around the tube 2 at a predetermined pitch, and grooves are formed on the surface of the tube 2 softened by warm air.

(10) After the work of winding the wire 8 in a predetermined range is completed, the rotation of the tube 2, the feeding of the table 14 and the blowing of the heater 13 are stopped.

(11) By operating the power transmission mechanism 12, the power of the reel driving device 11 is transmitted to the reel 7 which was rotatable, so that the wire driving reel 7 can be rotated by the reel driving device 11. .

(12) After allowing a sufficient time for the tube 2 to cool, the tube rotating device 4 is reversed and the table 14 is driven at a speed proportional to the rotation of the tube 2 by a driving device (not shown). Send to the back. At the same time, the reel rotating device 11 rotates the wire supply reel 7 in the winding direction.

(13) After all the used wire 8 wound around the tube 2 is wound on the wire supply reel 7, the tube rotating device 4, the feed of the table 14 and the rotation of the wire supply reel 7 are stopped. . Guide 1 at this time
0 is at point C in FIG. 1, and the take-up reel 6 is stopped at the origin position.

(14) The guide 10 is moved in a direction away from the tube 2 by a driving device (not shown),
Position it at point B in FIG.

(15) The table 14 is moved by a driving device (not shown) to position the guide 10 near the point A shown in FIG.

(16) The power transmission mechanism 12 is operated to make the wire supply reel 7 rotatable.

(17) Rotate the tube rotating device 4 forward,
The used wire 8 which has been once wound on the wire supply reel 7 is wound on the winding reel 6. According to the shape of the tube 2, the take-up reel 6 is configured to rotate the wire rod 8 used at one time as far as it can be sufficiently taken up.
Always stops at the home position. Further, while the used wire 8 is being wound on the winding reel 6, the guide 10 is swung near the point A.

(18) After all the used wire material 8 is wound on the winding reel 6 in this manner, the tube 2 is removed to complete the processing. FIG. 4 shows a sample of the channel tube produced by the present processing method and apparatus.

After (19), by returning to the above step (3), it is possible to proceed to the next processing without replacing the wire rod 8.

In the apparatus of this embodiment described above,
Since the used wire 8 is wound on the take-up reel 6 and a new front material 8 is pulled out from the front material supply reel 7 in conjunction with it, processing using the new front material 8 can always be performed. . As a result, it becomes possible to process the groove having a more stable root diameter, pitch, and shape, as compared with the case where the used wire 8 is continuously used.

At the start of processing, the winding reel 6 is returned to its original position so that the wire 8 is always cut at the same position.
The wire rod 8 is always caught in the same position of the tube 2 by being caught by the wire rod 7. Therefore, it becomes possible to maintain a stable machining start position. Furthermore, since the new wire rod 8 can be pulled out without cutting the used wire rod 8, the setup for replacing the wire rod 8 with a new wire rod can be omitted, and continuous automatic operation can be easily supported.

Further, since the winding reel 6 for winding the used wire 8 is arranged coaxially with the tube 2, the device for driving the winding reel 6 rotates the tube 2. The processing device can be used together, and it is not necessary to install a new drive device for the take-up reel 6, and it is possible to make an inexpensive and compact processing device. Further, when the used wire rod 8 is once wound around the wire rod supply reel 7, the winding amount varies depending on the diameter of the winding portion of the wire rod supply reel 7. That is, when the diameter of the winding portion is large, that is, when the used wire rod 8 is wound in a state where a large amount of the unused wire rod 8 is wound around the wire rod supply reel 7, it is necessary to slow down the rotation of the wire rod supply reel 7. When the diameter of the winding portion is small, that is, when the used wire rod 8 is wound in a state where only a small amount of the unused wire rod 8 is wound, it is necessary to control the speed of rotation of the wire rod supply reel 7. Occurs.

However, in the apparatus of this embodiment, since the wire rod supply reel 7 uses the drive device capable of driving while keeping the trick constant, it is possible to always ensure a constant winding amount. It is possible. When the used wire 8 once wound on the wire supply reel 7 is wound on the take-up reel 6, the used wire 8 is wound by swinging the guide 10 around the point A in FIG. It is possible to wind the reel 6 uniformly.

[0037]

[Embodiment 2] FIGS. 5 and 6 show an apparatus according to the present embodiment, and in particular, the arrangement of the wire rod supply reel 7, the reel driving device 11 and the power transmission mechanism 12 in Embodiment 1 is replaced as shown in FIG. It is a thing. Further, FIG. 6 shows a positional relationship between the wire rod 8 and the pulley 19. On the table 14, the guide 10, the heater 13, and the two pulleys 10 and the heater 13 are movable in the thrust direction of the tube 2. In addition, the wire rod supply reel 7, the tension adjusting mechanism 9, the reel driving device 11, and the power transmission mechanism 12 are fixed to the pedestal 2
It is installed in 0. The wire rod 8 is pulled out from the wire rod supply reel 7 and guided to the guide 10 via the tension adjusting mechanism 9 and the pulley 19.

Therefore, in the apparatus of this embodiment, only the guide 10, the heater 13 and the pulley 19 move in the thrust direction of the tube 2 due to processing. At this time, the pulley 19 can smoothly supply the wire rod 8 to the guide 10 or guide the used wire rod 8 to the wire rod supply reel 7.

In the apparatus of this embodiment described above,
In addition to the effects shown in the first embodiment, the number of members mounted on the table 14 that slides on the rail 15 is reduced, so that the drive device for the rail 15 and the table 14 (not shown) can be made lighter. The wire rod take-up reel 7 can be made larger, and the wire rod 8 can be supplied more continuously.

[0040]

[Embodiment 3] FIG. 7 shows an apparatus according to the present embodiment, and in particular, the take-up reel 6 in Embodiment 1 is replaced with a take-up reel 21 shown in FIG. The take-up reel 21 has a flange on the side of the chuck 3 smaller than that on the side of the tube rotating device 4, and a side pin 22 of the flange with a small diameter is erected. The take-up reel 21 shown in FIG. 7 has three pins.
Although the number of pins is shown, the number of pins is not limited to three.

Therefore, in the device of this embodiment, the pin 2
2 replaces the edge 18, and when the winding reel 21 is rotated, the wire 8 is caught by the pin 22 and wound around the tube 2.

[0042]

According to the processing method and apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to perform the automatic processing of exchanging the grooved wire.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the origin position of the take-up reel 6 in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an external view of a take-up reel 6 according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a processed sample diagram of the tube in the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of an apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a positional relationship between a wire rod 8 and a pulley 19 according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an external view of a take-up reel 21 according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 core material 2 tube (thermoplastic resin tube) 3 chuck 4 tube rotating device 5 core material chuck 6 winding reel 7 wire rod supply reel 8 wire rod 9 tension adjusting device 10 guide 11 reel rotating device 13 heater

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An endoscope channel tube surface grooving method for rotating a resin tube used for an endoscope channel tube to wind a wire and forming a groove on the outer circumference of the tube by the wire. Unused wire is pulled out from the first reel, and while the tube is rotated, the unused wire is wound around the tube to form a groove on the outer circumference of the surface of the tube. After reversing the first reel, the used wire rod is rewound on the first reel again, and after rewinding by a predetermined amount, the used wire rod of the wire rod wound on the first reel is returned to the second reel. A method for grooving a surface of a channel tube for an endoscope, which comprises winding a reel. 2. An endoscope channel tube surface grooving apparatus for rotating a resin tube used for an endoscope channel tube to wind a wire, and forming a groove on the outer circumference of the surface of the tube by the wire. From the chuck that holds the tube rotatably, the first reel that supplies the unused wire, the second reel that collects the used wire, and the rear part of the guide machine that guides the wire into the tube. A channel tube surface grooving device for an endoscope, which is characterized by: