JPH07107580B2 - Endoscope - Google Patents

Description

Description: [Industrial application] The present invention relates to an endoscope in which a main body of a distal end forming portion of an insertion portion is covered with a synthetic resin distal end cover.

[Prior Art] In general, an endoscope is composed of an operation section and an insertion section. The insertion section is provided with a tip forming section at the tip of the flexible tube section via a bending tube section. This tip forming portion has a hard main body made of metal or the like, and the front end surface side of this main body is covered with a tip cover made of synthetic resin. An objective optical system is provided in the main body, and the cover lens which is the outermost optical member is attached to the main body or the objective lens frame.

When the cover lens is attached to the main body or the objective lens frame, a gap is apt to occur between them, and therefore the gap is filled with an adhesive. However, in such a case, a layer of an adhesive is formed around the cover lens, so that cleaning water when the objective lens is cleaned easily adheres to this portion, and the problem that water drainage is deteriorated occurs. Occurs.

There is no endoscope having a structure that solves such a problem, but a structure shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-249114 has been proposed as a structure close to that. This prior art has an optically transparent plastic objective head, which is intended to mold the lens as a single, integral piece. That is, when the objective lens is molded, the lens is molded at the same time. According to such a structure, there is no possibility that the drainage property is lowered unlike the case where the cover lens is adhered and fixed to the main body or the objective lens frame. However, since the lens is not optically shielded from other parts of the objective head, when the lens constitutes an objective optical system, extra light enters the lens from the objective lens and observation is good. There is a problem that you can not go to.

An object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope in which an optical member can be provided on the tip cover without causing deterioration of water drainage and deterioration of observation performance.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The present invention is achieved by integrally molding a tip cover 22 made of synthetic resin and an optical member 23 located outside the objective optical system, which is a separate component. In addition, it is intended to prevent water drainage and deterioration of observability.

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. The endoscope shown in FIG. 3 has an operating section 1 and an inserting section 2.
It consists of and. A universal cord 3 is connected to the operation section 1, and a bending operation knob 5, an air / water supply button 6, a suction button 7 and the like are provided. Further, the insertion section 2 is provided with a distal end forming section 11 at the distal end of a flexible tube section 8 via a bending tube section 9. This tip forming part 11 is the first
Body 12 made of hard material such as metal as shown
Have. The main body 12 is provided with a first mounting hole 13 and a pair of second mounting holes 14 (only one is shown) along the axial direction. One end of an objective lens frame 16 having a large number of objective lenses 15 held therein is fitted into the first mounting hole 13. At the other end of the objective lens frame 16, a solid-state image sensor 17 is provided so as to face it. Further, an illumination lens frame 19 having a large number of illumination lenses 18 held therein and a light guide fiber 21 optically connected to the illumination lens 18 are fitted and held in the second mounting hole 14.

Further, the tip surface side of the main body 12 is covered with a tip cover 22. A cover lens 23 as an observation window member that constitutes an objective optical system with the objective lens 15 is provided on the tip cover 22 at a position facing the objective lens 15 as described later, and the tip cover 22 and the cover lens are provided. Constitutes the tip surface cover body. Also, the illumination lens of the tip cover 22
A fitting hole 24 is formed at a position facing 18 and the illumination lens frame 19 is fitted therein.

The tip cover 22 is formed of an optically transparent or opaque synthetic resin, and when the tip cover 22 is formed, the cover lens 23 is first formed by insert molding.
As shown in the figure, it is integrated with the tip cover 22. The cover lens 23 may be made of glass or transparent synthetic resin. In the case of transparent synthetic resin, the tip cover is used.
It is desirable to use an opaque synthetic resin for 22.

The tip cover 22 has nozzles as shown in FIG.
An opening 25a communicating with 25 and a forceps channel (not shown) is provided. From the nozzle 25, the air / water button 6
By this operation, the cleaning water for cleaning the cover lens 23 and the air for removing the cleaning water after cleaning can be jetted.

According to the endoscope having such a structure, since the tip cover 22 and the cover lens 23 are integrally formed, no gap is formed between them. Therefore, the washing water when the cover lens 23 is washed flows smoothly from the cover lens 23 along the tip cover 22, so that the drainage property is improved. In addition, the tip cover 22 formed integrally
Since the cover lens 23 and the cover lens 23 are separate parts, the refractive indexes of the light of the both are different. Therefore, even if the tip cover 22 is optically transparent, it is difficult for light to enter the cover lens 23 from the tip cover 22, and thus the observability is not deteriorated. If the cover lens 23 is optically transparent and the tip cover 22 is made of an opaque material, it is obvious that there is no such concern.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a concave portion where the cover lens 23 is fitted to the front end surface of the objective lens frame 16
26 is formed, and the tip cover 22 is positioned by these fittings. In addition, a first gap 27 is provided between the inner peripheral surface of the tip cover 22 and the outer peripheral surface of the main body 12, and a second gap 28 is provided between the illumination lens frame 19 and the fitting hole 24. The first and second gaps 27 and 28 enable the position adjustment of the tip cover 22 when the cover lens 23 is fitted into the recess 26. In addition, each of the above gaps 27, 28
After the tip cover 22 is positioned, the adhesive 29 is filled.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the metallic endoscope distal end body provided with the objective lens, the transparent observation window member provided at a position facing the objective lens, and the observation window member have different refractive indices. A tip that covers the tip surface of the objective lens and the endoscope tip portion main body, which is made of different transparent synthetic resin or opaque synthetic resin, and the observation window member is integrated by insert molding without gaps. It is characterized by comprising a surface cover body and an air / water supply nozzle provided on the tip cover so as to face the observation window member. Therefore, according to the present invention, since the front end cover of the front end face cover body is made of a synthetic resin having a refractive index different from that of the observation window member or an opaque synthetic resin, extra light causing deterioration of observation performance is generated. It is possible to prevent it from entering from.

Further, since the air / water supply nozzle is provided in the tip cover of the tip cover body, the tip cover body is always inserted into the endoscope tip body to check whether the observation window member can be satisfactorily washed.
In addition, since it can be checked in a state that matches the performance of the air / water nozzle, cleaning confirmation and adjustment can be performed very easily.

That is, in the endoscope in which the air / water supply nozzle is provided in the endoscope tip portion body as in the conventional case, it is necessary to determine the state by assembling the tip surface cover body and then performing cleaning, As a result, if the cleaning condition is not good, you have to change the tip cover body and so on.
According to the present invention in which the air / water feeding nozzle is provided in the tip cover of the tip end face cover body, it is very troublesome, but according to the present invention, the tip end face cover body is not attached to the tip end body, and the same condition as the attached state is provided. Since a cleaning test can be performed, cleaning confirmation and adjustment become easy.

Also, since the tip cover is integrated with the observation window member by insert molding without gaps, it has good drainage properties during cleaning, and the tip surface of the metallic endoscope tip body is covered with a synthetic resin tip cover body. Therefore, there is an advantage that the patient is not damaged by the endoscope main body of the metal during use of the endoscope and the objective lens is not damaged.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a tip forming portion showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the same, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the same endoscope as a whole, and FIG. 4 is another embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the front-end | tip structural part which shows an example. 2 ... Insertion part, 11 ... Tip configuration part, 12 ... Main body, 22 ... Tip cover, 23 ... Cover lens (optical member).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A metallic endoscope distal end body provided with an objective lens, a transparent observation window member provided at a position facing the objective lens, and the observation window member having a different transparent refractive index. A tip cover made of a resin or an opaque synthetic resin, the tip cover having the tip window cover integrated with the observation window member by insert molding without a gap, and a tip surface cover body for covering the tip surface of the endoscope tip body. And an air / water feeding nozzle provided on the distal end cover so as to face the observation window member.