JPH06277176A - Curving operation apparatus for endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a curving operation apparatus for an endoscope with good operational properties which can return to a neutral position even when a break angle is small. CONSTITUTION:In a curving operation apparatus for an endoscope with a curving mechanism curving a curving part formed on an inserting part of the endoscope, a driving part driving the curving mechanism, a curving switch 18 provided with a freely inclining lever 25 indicating actuation of the driving part, the lever 25 is supported in the RL direction by means of an RL guide 27 and in the UD direction by means of a UD shaft and the RL guide 27 and the UD shaft 28 are respectively energized by means of helical springs 44 and 47 wherein energizing directions are in the reverse directions respectively. A constitution wherein an energizing force being larger than zero works even at the neutral position is obtd. thereby.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bending operation device for an endoscope provided with a biasing means for returning a bending lever for bending a bending portion to a neutral position.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An endoscope for observing the inside of a body cavity or the inside of a pipe lumen is provided with a bending mechanism for changing the visual field direction and for directing the tip in the insertion direction. A method is known in which a joystick switch is used to instruct a bending direction by using a driving means such as a motor or a fluid pressure in order to facilitate the operation of the bending mechanism.

In order for the operator to always recognize in which direction the curve is curved, and for the operator to easily push the insertion part while returning the bending direction straight at the time of insertion, a special application is made. In the flat 4-38066, when the lever of the joystick switch is tilted, the urging force acts in the direction toward the neutral state of the lever.

However, with this structure, it is difficult to obtain a large tilt angle of the lever, and the stroke of the switch becomes short. It is difficult to accurately instruct the bending motion on the distal end side with a small stroke. To solve this, Japanese Patent Application No. 4
-210434, up and down (UD) direction, right left (R
L) direction, biasing means such as a spiral spring in each direction,
It has been proposed to switch between a mode for returning to the neutral position and a mode for not returning.

[0005]

Since the restoring force of the spiral spring is used as the urging means, the urging force is small when the tilt angle of the lever is small, and the urging force is large when the tilt angle is large. Since the urging force is large when the tilt angle is large, the switch quickly returns to the neutral position when the operating lever is released.

However, since the biasing force is small when the tilt angle is small, it takes time for the switch to return to the neutral position even if the operation lever is released due to the influence of friction or the like, that is, the response speed becomes slow. It can happen. It is conceivable that when the operator releases the operating lever, he / she immediately makes an erroneous determination that the distal end side has become straight, and pushes / pulls the insertion portion.

In this case, since the operating lever has not yet returned to the neutral position, that is, the tip side is still curved, an erroneous judgment is made with respect to the actual state. If an operation such as bending is performed, it may not be possible to smoothly insert the endoscope, or the patient may suffer pain.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a bending operation device for an endoscope which has a good operability and can be quickly returned to the neutral position even when the tilt angle is small. And

[0009]

[Means and Actions for Solving the Problem] A biasing means is provided for each tilting direction of the lever, and the biasing force generated when the lever is tilted is set to a predetermined value or more so that the hand for operating the lever can be adjusted. When released, the lever is quickly returned to the neutral state.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 13 relate to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows the entire endoscope apparatus, FIG. 2 shows a cross section taken along the line AA 'of the bending switch of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 shows a cross section of the bending switch taken along the line BB ', FIG. 4 shows a cross section taken along the line CC' of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 shows the base, FIG. 6 shows the first rotary plate, and FIG. 7 shows the second rotary plate. 8 shows a plate, FIG. 8 shows a cross section taken along the line D-D 'of FIG. 3, FIG. 9 shows a view taken in the direction of arrow E of FIG.
Shows a rotating arm, FIG. 11 shows an RL axis, FIG. 12 shows a rotating cylinder, and FIG. 13 shows a characteristic of returning to a neutral position in response to a tilting operation of a lever.

As shown in FIG. 1, an endoscope apparatus 1 includes an electronic endoscope 2 having a built-in image pickup means, a light source 3 for supplying illumination light to the electronic endoscope 2, and signal processing for the image pickup means. A video processor (hereinafter referred to as VP) 4 for performing, a bending control unit 5 for performing bending control for the bending operation means of the electronic endoscope 2, and a monitor such as a CRT for displaying a standard video signal output from the VP 4. 6 and the air supply for performing air supply, water supply, and suction operation by the conduit provided in the electronic endoscope 2.
Water supply / suction unit 7 and air supply / water supply / suction unit 7
And an aspirator 8 connected to.

The electronic endoscope 2 has an elongated and flexible insertion portion 11 so that it can be inserted into a body cavity and the like, and a wide operation portion 12 continuously provided at the rear end of the insertion portion 11. A universal cable 13 extending from the operation portion 12 is attached, and a connector 14 attached to an end portion of the universal cable 13 can be detachably connected to the light source 3.

The insertion portion 11 has a hard tip portion 15 from the tip side, a bendable bending portion 16, and a flexible flexible tube portion 1.
It consists of 7. The connector 14 is detachably connected to the VP 4 via a connection cable (not shown). Further, the connector 14 is provided with the bending control unit 5, air supply / water supply /
It is connected to the suction unit 7 or the like via a connection cable as required.

A bending switch 18 for instructing the bending of the bending portion 16 is formed on the operation portion 12, a bending switch 18 for forming an embodiment, a freeze switch 19 for keeping the observation image stationary, a release switch 20 for photographing the observation image, and air supply / air supply. A switch (not shown) for instructing water supply / suction is provided.

2 and 3 are a sectional view taken along the line AA 'and a section taken along the line B'B in FIG. 1, respectively, and FIG. 4 showing a sectional view taken along the line CC' in FIG. Shows the structure of. The bending switch 18 includes a bottomed box body 21 made of an insulating material and a plate-like lid 22 having an opening.
The box body 21 and the lid 22 are fixed to the casing 23 of the operation portion 12 with an insulating screw such as plastic or ceramic.

A groove is formed between the box body 21 and the casing 23, and an O-ring 24 housed in this groove allows
Water tightness of the operation unit 12 with respect to the inside of the casing 23 is ensured.

A base end (lower end) side of a lever 25 for performing a bending operation by tilting by an operator is housed inside the box body 21, and an upper end side of the lever 25 projects upward from an opening portion of the lid 2. As shown in FIG. 3, a pin hole is formed on the lower end side of the lever 25 which the operator can grasp and perform a tilting operation, and a columnar pin 26 penetrates the pin hole. There is.

A U-shaped bent RL guide 27 is arranged below the pin hole, and the lower end of the lever 25 is formed into the R shape.
It penetrates through the long hole 27a of the L guide 27. In FIG. 3, the lever 25 is rotatably (tilted) supported by the RL guide 27 and the like with the pin 26 as the center of rotation.
That is, the lever 25 is tiltable in the right and left directions in this plane, and in the right and left (RL) direction with respect to the bending portion 16 as well.

The pin 26 is press-fitted and fixed to the UD shaft 28 so as to be orthogonal to the axial direction of the cylindrical UD shaft 28.
The lever 25 is rotatable about the UD shaft 28 on the plane of FIG. That is, the lever 25 is tiltable in the horizontal direction in this plane and in the vertical (UD) direction with respect to the bending portion 16. In this way, the lever 25 has two rotating shafts, and thus can be tilted two-dimensionally.

As will be described later, the RL guide 27 and the UD shaft 28 that tiltably support the lever 25 are biased by helical springs 44 and 47 having different biasing directions so that biasing forces act in opposite directions, When the lever 25 is tilted and then the hand is released from the lever 25, the lever 2 is biased by the urging force.
A return mechanism is formed so that 5 can be quickly returned to the neutral position.

One end of the UD shaft 28 has a base 29 shown in FIG.
Is rotatably fitted in the first rotary plate 30 and the second rotary plate 31 as shown in FIG. The other end of the UD shaft 28 is fixed to a base 29 with a nut 32, and is engaged with a slit of a rotary shaft 33a of a first potentiometer 33 for detecting the tilt of the lever 25 in the UD direction, so that the rotary shaft 33a Rotates integrally with.

Similarly, one end of the RL guide 27 is rotatably fitted in the base 29 shown in FIG. 5, and as shown in FIG. 2, the first rotary plate 30 and the second rotary plate 31 are coaxially and sequentially arranged. It is loosely fitted. The other end of the RL guide 27 has a base 29.
The second potentiometer 57 for fixing the lever 25 in the RL direction is engaged with the slit of the rotary shaft 57a and is rotated integrally with the rotary shaft 57a.

A long hole 28a is formed in the UD shaft 28 so that the lever 25 does not interfere with the rotation of the lever 25 about the pin 26. In order to prevent the play between the elongated hole 28a and the lever 25, the contact surface between the elongated hole 28a and the lever 25 is made as long as possible as shown in FIG. Further, the RL guide 27 is also provided with a long hole 27a so as not to interfere when the lever 25 rotates about the UD shaft 28.

The first rotary plate 30 connected to the UD shaft 28 or the RL guide 27 has a plate portion 35 as shown in FIG.
And a first cylindrical portion 36 fixed to the plate portion 35, and a small-diameter second cylindrical portion 37 coaxially fixed to the first cylindrical portion 36. A slit 38 is provided in a part of the portion 36, and a spiral spring 44
One end of the can be fixed.

Further, a cutout portion 35a is formed in the plate portion 35, and a regulation means is provided so as not to rotate the cutout portion 35a beyond a position where it hits a spring stopper 46 described later. Further, the cylindrical portion 36 is provided with a coaxial boring from the side opposite to the cylindrical portion 37, and the UD shaft 28 (or the RL guide 2).
One end of a rotary cylinder 60) attached to the No. 7 is loosely fitted.

As shown in FIG. 7, the second rotary plate 31 is composed of a plate portion 40 and a cylindrical portion 41, and the cylindrical portion 41 has a boring 42.
Along with the slit 43, the coil spring 47
One end of the can be fixed.

Further, a notch 40a is formed in the plate portion 40, and a regulation means is provided so that the notch 40a does not rotate beyond a position where it hits a spring stopper 46 described later. Further, the cylindrical portion 41 is provided with a coaxial boring from the side opposite to the boring 42, and the second cylindrical portion 37 of the rotary plate 30 is loosely fitted therein.

FIG. 8 shows one of the three helical springs 44 forming one of two urging means for rotatably urging the UD shaft 28, for example, in the section DD 'of FIG. . The spiral spring 4 whose one end is fitted into the slit 38 of the rotary plate 30.
The other end of 4 is fixed to the base 29 by a spring stopper 45. In the state shown in FIG. 8, the spiral spring 44 is elastically deformed, and the first rotary plate 30 receives the counterclockwise biasing force (F in the figure) in FIG. Spring stop 4
It is regulated so that it will not hit the upper surface of 6 and rotate further. In this state, the lever 25 is set to be in the state of the upright neutral position.

Similarly, the three spiral springs 44 forming one of the two urging means for rotatably urging the RL guide 27 have one end inserted into the slit 38 and the other end fixed with a spring 45. It is fixed to the base 29 at. As in the case shown in FIG. 8, the spiral spring 44 is elastically deformed, and the first rotary plate 30 receives a counterclockwise biasing force, for example, so that the notch surface 35a of the plate portion 35 becomes a spring. It is regulated so as not to hit the upper surface of the stopper 46 and rotate further. Also in this case, the first rotary plate 30 can rotate clockwise against the restoring force of the spiral spring 44.

FIG. 9 shows an E arrow view through the box body 21 in FIG. The other end of the spiral spring 47 whose one end is inserted into the slit 43 is fixed to the spring stopper 46. In the state shown in FIG. 9, the spiral spring 47 is elastically deformed, and the rotary plate 31 receives the clockwise biasing force (F 'in the figure) in FIG.
The plate portion 40 and the spring stopper 45 abut and stand still.
The rotary plate 31 can rotate counterclockwise from the position shown in FIG. 9 against the restoring force of the spiral spring 47.

A boss 49 press-fitted into a stopper plate 48 fixed to the side of the spring stopper 45 and the spring stopper 46 is loosely fitted in the boring 42 of the rotary plate 31 to prevent the rotary plate 30 and the rotary plate 31 from falling off. is doing. The RL guide 27 is similarly biased by the spiral spring 47 as the other biasing means.

In this embodiment, each shaft for rotatably supporting the lever 25 is urged by two urging means for urging the lever 25 to rotate in opposite directions, and each shaft is returned so as to return to the neutral position direction. I am energetic. In addition, when returning to the neutral position, the stopper member (restricting member) is used to regulate so as not to shift from the neutral position.

Further, by restricting by the restricting member, that is, by setting the state where the cutout surfaces 35a and 40a are in contact with each other, it is set to the neutral position of the lever 25, the spiral springs 44 and 47 near the neutral position. Even if the magnitude of the biasing force in the opposite direction is different, it is possible to accurately return to the neutral position.

A rotating arm 51 that rotates integrally with the UD shaft 28.
Is arranged so as to rotate the rotary plate 30 clockwise when the lever 25 rotates clockwise from the neutral state in FIG. 8 and rotate the rotary plate 31 counterclockwise when the lever 25 rotates counterclockwise in the neutral state in FIG. There is. This rotating arm 51 is shown in FIG. The rotating arm 51 includes a D-shaped hole 52 that fits with the UD shaft 28, a first bent portion 53 that contacts the rotating plate 30, and a second bent portion 54 that contacts the rotating plate 31. The rotating arm 51 that rotates integrally with the RL guide 27 has the same structure.

When the lever 25 is rotated on the plane shown in FIG. 3, the RL guide 27 shown in FIG. 11 is rotated. The D-shaped hole 56 provided at one end of the RL guide 27 is a rotary shaft 5 of the second potentiometer 57 fixed to the base 29 with the nut 32.
It rotates integrally with 7a. A rotary cylinder 60 shown in FIG. 12 is inserted into a D-shaped hole 59 provided at the other end of the RL guide 27.

The rotary cylinder 60 has a first D-shaped portion 61 fitted into the D-shaped hole 59 and a first cylindrical portion 62 loosely fitted into the base 29.
And a second D-shaped portion 63 fitted to the rotary arm 51, and the rotary plate 3
It is composed of a second cylindrical portion 64 that loosely fits with zero. Similarly to the case described with reference to FIG. 3, when the rotary cylinder 60 rotates to the right, the spiral spring 4
The rotary cylinder 60 is biased in the neutral position direction by the biasing force of 4, and the rotary cylinder 60 is biased in the neutral position direction by the biasing force of the spiral spring 47 when it is rotated counterclockwise.

Even in the vicinity of the neutral position, the urging force larger than zero is set to work in any direction, and even when a small tilting operation is performed in the vicinity of the neutral position, the tilted hand is moved from the lever 25. When released, it forms a mechanism that can be quickly returned to the neutral position by the biasing force.
Further, even in the case of a large tilting motion, a mechanism is formed that can quickly return to the neutral position without reducing the returning motion near the neutral position.

The resistance values of the potentiometer 32 and the potentiometer 57 are read by the bending control unit 5 via the lead wire 66. The lead wire 66 penetrates a hole 67 provided in the box body 21, and after the lead wire 66 is inserted, the hole 67 is filled with a soft adhesive or the like to maintain watertightness.

A lever 25 and a conical watertight sheet 68 are provided between the levers 25 to ensure watertightness inside the switch. The top of the watertight sheet 68 is bonded to the side surface of the lever 25. The bottom of the watertight sheet 68 is watertight by being pinched by the lever 25 and the pressing plate 69 and bonded. The lever 25 and the pressing plate 69, and the pressing plate 59 and the box body 21 are kept watertight by adhesion.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. When the lever 25 is tilted, the resistance value of the potentiometer 32 or the potentiometer 57 changes, and the bending portion 16 is bent by the control of the bending control unit 5 according to this value.

At this time, the lever 25 has a spring coil spring 4 attached thereto.
4 or the restoring force of the spiral spring 47 is added, so when the hand for operating the lever 25 is released, the lever 25 returns to the neutral position. The operation of this portion will be described in detail below.

When the lever 25 is tilted upward (right), the UD shaft 28
The (RL guide 27) rotates, and the rotary arm 51 integrated with the UD shaft 28 (RL guide 27) pushes and rotates the rotary plate 31. At this time, the rotary plate 30 does not move. When the rotary plate 31 rotates, the spiral spring 47 is deformed. The lever 25 returns to the neutral (neutral position) by the restoring force of the spiral spring 47 which is released when the hand is released.

When the lever 25 is tilted downward (left), the UD shaft 28
The (RL guide 27) rotates, and the rotating arm 51 integrated with the UD shaft 28 (RL guide 27) pushes and rotates the rotating plate 30. At this time, the rotary plate 31 does not move.

When the rotary plate 30 rotates, the spiral spring 44
Is transformed. The lever 25 returns to neutral due to the restoring force of the spiral spring 44 which is released when the hand is released. As shown in FIG.
Even in the vicinity of neutral, the urging force to return to the neutral direction is large, so even if the tilt angle of the lever 25 is small, the lever 25 quickly returns to neutral even if the hand is released.

In this embodiment, the urging torque in the vicinity of neutral is, for example, 20 g. The torque is set to about cm, but the magnitude of the torque does not matter as long as the torque can be easily returned to neutral. Since the entire bending switch 18 is covered with the insulating material (21), it does not interfere with other built-in objects, so that the movement of the lever 25 is not impaired and an electric safety problem does not occur.

The watertightness of the bending switch 18 is the watertight sheet 68.
However, since the watertight sheet 68 is a thin film, if a hole is mistakenly made, water may enter the bending switch 18. In this embodiment, since the box body 21 is provided as the second watertight structure, water does not enter the operation portion 12 from the box body 21. Therefore, in that case, the box body 21
And the entire switch need only be replaced.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the lever 25
If is tilted, it is equipped with a biasing means that generates a biasing force greater than zero even in the vicinity of the neutral position in the direction of returning to the neutral position. Can be returned to the position.
Therefore, it is possible to realize a bending operation device having good operability.

Although the bending portion 16 is rotatable (tilted) in the UD direction and the RL direction in the above description, it can be rotated (tilted) in the UD direction or the RL direction. Can also be applied. Further, the biasing means is not limited to the spiral spring, and other biasing means may be used.

[0049]

As described above, according to the present invention, the bending mechanism for bending the bending portion provided in the insertion portion of the endoscope, the driving portion for driving the bending mechanism, and the operation of the driving portion. In a bending operation device for an endoscope having a bending switch provided with a tiltable bending lever for instructing, when the bending lever is tilted, in a direction of returning to a neutral position,
Since the urging means for generating the urging force larger than zero is provided even near the neutral position, the neutral position can be promptly returned to the returning operation from the small tilt angle near the neutral position.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an endoscope apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of the bending switch of FIG.

3 is a sectional view of the bending switch of FIG. 1 taken along the line BB ′.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line CC ′ of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a base.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a first rotating plate.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a second rotary plate.

8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD ′ of FIG.

9 is a view on arrow E of FIG. 3. FIG.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a rotating arm.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an RL guide.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a rotary cylinder.

FIG. 13 is a characteristic diagram showing a characteristic of returning to a neutral position in response to a tilting operation of a lever.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Endoscope device 2 ... Electronic endoscope 3 ... Light source 4 ... Video processor 5 ... Curving control unit 6 ... Monitor 7 ... Air supply / water supply / suction unit 11 ... Insertion part 12 ... Operation part 16 ... Curving part 18 ... Bending switch 21 ... Box 22 ... Lid 23 ... Casing 24 ... O-ring 25 ... Lever 26 ... Pin 27 ... RL guide 28 ... UD shaft 29 ... Base 30, 31 ... Rotating plate 33 ... First potentiometer 35, 40 ... Plate part 36, 37 ... Cylindrical part 38, 43 ... Slit 44, 47 ... Spiral spring 45, 46 ... Spring stop 48 ... Stop plate 51 ... Rotating arm 57 ... Second potentiometer 60 ... Rotating cylinder 68 ... Watertight sheet

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A bending mechanism for bending a bending portion provided in an insertion portion of an endoscope, a drive unit for driving the bending mechanism, and a tiltable bending lever for instructing the operation of the drive unit. In the bending operation device for an endoscope having a bending switch, when the bending lever is tilted, a biasing means for generating a biasing force larger than zero is provided in a direction to return to the neutral position even in the vicinity of the neutral position. A bending operation device for an endoscope, comprising: