JPH06269397A - Endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enhance durability without damaging the following properties and insertion properties of a flexible tube to insertion operation by providing a plurality of reinforcing members in the flexible tube so as to differentiate the flexiblity of the flexible tube in the longitudinal direction thereof. CONSTITUTION:A flexible tube 2 is constituted of a spiral tube 3 composed of a strip like thin metal plate, the reticulated tube 4 covering and attaching to the outer periphery of the spiral tube 3 and the flexible tube 5 covering the surface of the reticulated tube 4 and has proper flexibility and elasticity. A first reinforcing member 28a having length almost equal to the total length of the flexible tube 2 and a second reinforcing member 28b having length almost half the total length of the flexible tube 2 are arranged in the flexible tube 2 along the longitudinal direction of the tube 2. The reinforcing members 28a, 28b are formed from a metal pipe and have proper flexibility and elasticity. The reinforcing member 28a is fixed to the connection tube 30 of the flexible tube 2 and the curving tube 6 at the leading end thereof and the leading end of a tubular member 28b is fixed to the guide member 29 attached to the flexible tube 2 at the almost intermediate position thereof.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endoscope used for diagnosing a body cavity of a living body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an endoscope of this type has an operating section,
The flexible tube is extended from the operation portion, and the bending tube is provided at the tip of the flexible tube. The flexible tube and the bending tube form an insertion portion. The flexible tube of such an endoscope is formed by covering a surface of a spiral tube made of a strip-shaped metal thin plate with a mesh tube called a blade, and further covering the surface of the mesh tube with a flexible tube made of polyethylene or the like. It has good flexibility and elasticity.

By the way, in such an endoscope, the flexibility and elasticity of the flexible tube forming the insertion portion greatly affect the insertability into the body cavity, and the distal end side of the flexible tube is made flexible. At the same time, it is conventionally known that the proximal end side can be made relatively harder than the distal end side to improve the insertability into a body cavity. Therefore, conventionally, in order to improve the insertability of the flexible tube forming the insertion portion of the endoscope into the body cavity, a part of the flexible tube forming the outer skin of the flexible tube has a two-layer structure, It has been proposed that the base end side is harder than the tip end side (see Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 60-38961).

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, the outer skin (flexible tube) made of materials having different hardness or different characteristics (elongation rate, shrinkage rate, surface wettability, etc.) is laminated. Since the proximal end side of the flexible tube is made harder than the distal end side, if the flexible tube is subjected to frequent bending and twisting during insertion into a body cavity, strain is likely to occur between layers. Therefore, there are problems in durability such as rapid softening due to peeling and generation of wrinkles. Further, in the above-described prior art, it is difficult to finely adjust the flexibility and elasticity of the flexible tube, and it is difficult to obtain a proper flexibility and elasticity.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide an endoscope capable of improving the durability without impairing the followability of the flexible tube to the insertion operation and the insertability. is there.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an endoscope including an operating portion and a flexible tube extending from the operating portion, wherein the flexible tube is provided. It is characterized in that a plurality of reinforcing members are provided inside the container so as to have different flexibility in the longitudinal direction.

[0007]

In the present invention, since the insertability of the flexible tube into the body cavity is improved without the outer skin of the flexible tube having a two-layer structure, the durability can be improved.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an endoscope according to the present invention, in which 1 denotes an operating portion and 2 denotes a flexible tube extending from the tip of the operating portion 1. This flexible tube 2 is, as shown in FIG. 2, a spiral tube (flex) made of a strip-shaped thin metal plate.
3, a reticulated tube (blade) 4 attached to the outer circumference of the spiral tube 3, and a flexible tube (outer skin) 5 that covers the surface of the reticulated tube 4, and has an appropriate flexibility and elasticity. have.

Further, in the figure, 6 is a bending tube provided at the tip of the flexible tube 2, 7 is a tip member provided at the tip of the bending tube 6, and these bending tube 6 and tip member 7 are ,
Together with the flexible tube 2 described above, the insertion portion of the endoscope is formed.

Reference numeral 8 in the drawing denotes a bending operation knob provided in the operation portion 1, and when the bending operation knob 8 is rotated, the bending tube 6 is bent in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. There is. A treatment instrument insertion port 9 is provided in the operation portion 1, and the treatment instrument such as forceps inserted through the treatment instrument insertion port 9 is a flexible tube provided inside the flexible tube 2 and the bending tube 6. It is adapted to be guided through an opening 11 formed at the tip of the tip member 7 by being inserted through 10 (see FIG. 5).

An observation window 12 (see FIG. 5) is provided at the tip of the tip member 7, and an optical image from the observation window 12 is formed on a solid-state image sensor (CCD) 21 behind the observation window 12. An objective lens system 13 for imaging is provided. This

As shown in FIG. 6, the objective lens system 13 includes a first lens 14 provided on the rear side of the observation window 12,
First lens holder 15 for holding this first lens 14
A rear group lens 16a, 16b, 16c arranged on the rear side of the first lens 14, a second lens holder 17 for holding the rear group lens 16a, 16b, 16c; It is composed of a second lens holder 17 and a cylindrical insulator 18 that electrically insulates the first lens holder 15 from each other.

A chamfered portion 19 is provided at the rear end of the insulator 18.
(See FIG. 7) is formed, and the chamfered portion 19 is plated with metal (not shown) for soldering the first lens holder 15 and the second lens holder 17 to the insulator 18. There is.

The first lens 14 is a rear lens group 16a.
It is formed of plastic so that dew condensation does not occur due to the temperature difference on the lens surface 14a opposite to. A glass plate 20 is provided on the front side of the first lens 14 so that the first lens 14 made of plastic is not corroded by chemicals. Instead of forming the first lens 14 from plastic, the lens surface 14a may be hydrophilically coated.

At the rear end of the solid-state image pickup device 21, a signal line 22 for transmitting an image signal from the solid-state image pickup device 21 is extended. The signal line 22 is connected to the bending tube 6 and the flexible tube 2.
Through the universal cord 23 extending from the side portion of the operation unit 1, and is connected to a connector 24 provided at the tip of the cord 23. The connector 24 is connected to a connector portion (not shown) of the control device 25, and the image signal supplied from the solid-state imaging device 21 to the control device 25 is processed by the signal processing unit of the control device 25 to generate an image. It is designed to be converted into a signal. The video signal obtained by the signal processing unit of the control device 25 is
It is displayed on the screen of a monitor TV 27 connected to the control device 25 via a cable 26.

Inside the flexible tube 2 shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 5, the first reinforcing member 28a having a length substantially equal to the total length of the flexible tube 2 and the second reinforcing member 28b having a length substantially half the total length of the flexible tube 2 are flexible. It is arranged along the longitudinal direction of the tube 2. These reinforcing members 28
The a and 28b are formed of metal pipes made of stainless steel or the like, and have appropriate flexibility and elasticity. The tip of the first reinforcing member 28a is fixed to the connecting tube 30 that connects the flexible tube 2 and the bending tube 6,
A plurality of guide members 2 attached to the inner surface of the spiral tube 3.
It extends through the flexible tube 2 by inserting 9 through it. On the other hand, the tubular member 28b has its tip fixed to a guide member 29 provided at a substantially middle position of the flexible tube 2, and extends through the plurality of guide members 29 to the proximal end side of the flexible tube 2. Has been done. That is, the reinforcing members 28 a and 28 b are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the flexible tube 2 so that their rear ends are aligned on the proximal end side of the flexible tube 2.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a state in which the endoscope 35 is housed in the autoclave sterilizer 36. An air supply tube 37 and a suction tube 38 are connected to the connector 24 of the endoscope 35. These tubes 37 and 38 are connected to a ventilation device 39, and the suction force of the ventilation device 39 ventilates the humidity in the endoscope 35.

Since the endoscope 35 has a watertight structure,
When autoclave sterilization is performed, the bending rubber of the endoscope 35 may expand and burst during suction, but by reducing the internal pressure of the endoscope 35 by the ventilation device 39, the bending rubber Explosion can be prevented.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a carrying case type autoclave container 40 used when the endoscope 35 is sterilized by an autoclave. The autoclave container 40 is a container body 41 and an upper lid that covers the opening of the container body 41. 42
a and an upper lid 42b. A scope holding member 43 is detachably attached to the container body 41. The scope holding member 43 is formed in a U shape as shown in FIG. 10, and as shown in FIG. 11, the autoclave-sterilized endoscope 35 can be taken out from the autoclave container 40 without touching it with a hand. , It can be hung on the scope hanger as it is.

The flexible tube 2 of the endoscope thus constructed
Is harder on the proximal end side than on the distal end side, and the elasticity on the proximal end side is stronger than the elasticity on the distal end side. Therefore, even if the outer skin 5 of the flexible tube 2 does not have a two-layer structure, The insertability of the tube 2 into the body cavity can be improved. Therefore, it is possible to improve the durability without impairing the followability of the flexible tube 2 to the insertion operation and the insertability.

In the embodiment described above, the second reinforcing member 28b having a length of about half the total length of the flexible tube 2 is provided in parallel with the first reinforcing member 28a. As shown in FIG. 14, the first reinforcing member 28a may be passed inside the second reinforcing member 28b having a length that is approximately half the total length of the flexible tube 2.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, by providing a plurality of reinforcing members inside the flexible tube so that the flexibility in the longitudinal direction is different, the outer layer of the flexible tube has two layers. It is possible to enhance the insertability of the flexible tube into the body cavity without the structure. Therefore, it is possible to improve durability without impairing the followability of the flexible tube to the insertion operation and the insertability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a first embodiment of an endoscope according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the inside of the flexible tube of the same embodiment.

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

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

5 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the distal end portion of the endoscope shown in FIG.

6 is a configuration diagram of the objective lens system shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an insulator.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of an autoclave sterilizer.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a portable autoclave sterilizer.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a scope holder.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing how to use the scope holder.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of a flexible tube showing a second embodiment of the endoscope according to the present invention.

13 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a reinforcing member.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Operation part 2 ... Flexible tube 6 ... Curved tube 7 ... Tip member 28a, 28b ... Reinforcing member

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An endoscope comprising an operating section and a flexible tube extending from the operating section, wherein a plurality of flexible tubes are provided inside the flexible tube so as to have different flexibility in the longitudinal direction. An endoscope having a reinforcing member.