JPH0717282Y2 - Endoscope - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to an endoscope in which a plurality of node rings are connected to form a curved tube portion.

[Prior Art] In general, a bending tube portion that is remotely operated by an operation of an operation portion is formed in a part of an insertion portion of an endoscope (see, for example, JP-A-62-192134). .

This bending tube portion has a bending core member configured as shown in FIG. That is, a plurality of node rings are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the insertion part.
51 are arranged side by side, and the ears 52 formed at the adjacent ends of each node ring 51 are pivotally attached by rivets 53 so that each node ring 51 can be curved as a whole. In addition, inside the curved core member composed of the plurality of node rings 51, a pair of left and right operation wires is provided.
54 is provided, and the tip of each operation wire 54 is connected to the most advanced node ring 51. The operation wire 54 is guided through a guide 55 formed on the inner wall of each node ring 51.

The pair of operation wires is operated by the operation mechanism of the operation unit.
By pulling one of the wires 54 and pushing out the other operation wire 54, it is bent to the pulling side.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] By the way, when a bending tube portion of this kind is bent by pushing and pulling the operation wire 54, the shoulder openings 56 of the node rings 51 are close to each other on the bending side as shown in FIG. However, when the shoulders 56 come into contact with each other and hit each other, the maximum bending angle is obtained. In other words, after the shoulders 56 hit each other, even if the bending operation wire 54 is strongly pulled, the bending cannot be further bent.

However, when inserting the insertion portion of the endoscope into the living body and actually using it, the bending tube portion may be pressed against the inner wall of the living body with the maximum bending angle. All the force to be pressed is the ear 52 of the node ring 51.
There is a risk that the curved pipe portion may be damaged due to the pivoting portion formed by the rivet 53.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to prevent the bending tube portion from being damaged even if an external force for bending the bending tube portion beyond the maximum bending angle is applied. To provide a highly safe endoscope.

[Means and Actions for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, according to the present invention, a plurality of node rings are arranged in the longitudinal axis direction of the insertion portion, and adjacent ones of the node rings are mutually axial members. In the endoscope in which the bending tube portion is pivotally attached with the bending tube portion, the bending hole of the node ring into which the shaft body is fitted is formed in the axial direction of the bending tube portion to be larger than the diameter of the shaft body. Is formed in the radial direction substantially the same as the diameter of the shaft body.

Then, when an external force that tries to bend more forcefully is applied from the state where the shoulder openings of the node rings are in contact with each other to reach the maximum bending angle, the shaft body escapes at least in the axial direction of the bending pipe portion, and the shaft body Avoid damage to the curved tube. Therefore, a highly safe endoscope can be provided.

[Embodiment] FIGS. 1 to 7 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 shows a device in which the second endoscope (child scope) 2 is inserted into the insertion channel of the first endoscope (parent scope) 1 for use. The second endoscope 2 projects from the tip of the insertion portion 3 of the first endoscope 1 to observe the inside of the body cavity.

The first endoscope 1 comprises an insertion portion 3, an operation portion 4 and a light guide cable 5, and the operation portion 4 is provided with an eyepiece portion 6, various operation buttons 7 and a pair of bending operation knobs 8. ing. The insertion section 3 of the first endoscope 1 is configured by sequentially connecting a tip forming section 10, a bending tube section 11, and a flexible tube section 12 from the tip side. Further, built-in components such as an image guide fiber, a light guide fiber, and a channel tube, which are not shown, are inserted into the insertion portion 3. The image guide fiber is guided to the eyepiece section 6 of the operation section 4, and the light guide fiber is inserted through a light guide cable 5 to a light source connection section (not shown) attached to an illumination light source device (not shown). The channel tube forming the insertion channel reaches and is connected to the channel opening 13 in the operation section 4. The channel tube has a diameter that allows the insertion portion 14 of the second endoscope 2 to be inserted therethrough.

Further, the bending tube portion 11 in the insertion portion 3 of the first endoscope 1 has a plurality of node rings arranged in front and rear along the longitudinal axis direction of the insertion portion 3 in the bending core material, and the adjacent ends of the respective node rings. The respective ear portions for pivotal support provided on the above are superposed on each other, and a rivet-shaped shaft portion is pierced and pivotally attached to the overlapping portion. Further, the ear portions for pivotal support provided at the adjacent ends of the respective node rings are alternately arranged vertically and horizontally, and the bending tube portion 11 is configured to bend vertically and horizontally. Then, the bending operation wire inserted through the insertion portion 3 is operated by the bending operation knob 8 to push and pull the bending operation mechanism of the operation portion 4 so that the bending operation portion 11 is bent.
It is designed to be operated by bending it remotely. The outer circumference of the curved core material of the curved tube portion 11 is sequentially covered with a mesh tube and an outer cover. The flexible tube portion 12 is formed by sequentially stacking a spiral tube, a mesh tube, and an outer cover, and has flexibility.

On the other hand, the second endoscope 2 also comprises an insertion portion 14, an operating portion 15, and a light guide cable 16 similarly to the first endoscope 1, and the operating portion 4 includes an eyepiece portion 17 and various An operation button 18 and one bending operation knob 19 are provided. further,
The insertion portion 14 of the second endoscope 2 is a distal end portion from the distal end side.
20, a bending tube portion 21, and a flexible tube portion 22 are sequentially connected to each other. In addition, built-in components such as an image guide fiber, a light guide fiber, and a channel tube (not shown) are inserted into the insertion portion 14. The image guide fiber is guided to the eyepiece section 17 of the operation section 15, and the light guide fiber is inserted through a light guide cable 16 to a light source connection section (not shown) attached to a lighting light source device (not shown).

The bending tube portion 21 in the insertion portion 14 of the second endoscope 2 is configured as shown in FIG. That is, a plurality of node rings 25
Align the front and rear along the longitudinal axis of the insertion part 14,
Ear ends 26 for pivotal support are integrally formed so as to protrude from adjacent ends thereof. Adjacent ears 26 are shown in FIGS.
As shown in the drawing, they are stacked on each other, and a rivet-shaped shaft body 27 is provided so as to penetrate through this overlapping portion, and each node ring 25 is connected so as to rotate in the vertical direction. The pivot axis of the shaft 27 is orthogonal to the longitudinal center axis of the insertion portion 14. FIG. 3 shows the node ring 25 as a single body, and the pivot attachment hole 28 penetrating the shaft body 27 is formed as a long hole elongated in the longitudinal center axis direction of the insertion portion 14. In other words, the pivot hole 28 is slightly larger than its diameter so that the narrower width can penetrate the shaft body 27, but the length of the insertion portion 14 in the longitudinal center axis direction is that of the shaft body 27. It is formed to be sufficiently longer than the diameter of the shaft body 27 so as to be movable. As shown in FIG. 1, the curved tube portion 21
In the straight state, the shafts 27 are located on the base end side of the node ring 25 of the pivotal mounting hole 28.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the shaft body 27 is formed in a rivet shape by forming head portions 27b at both ends of the shaft portion 27a, but in this embodiment, at least the shaft portion 27a is at the left and right in the drawing. It is made of a stretchable elastic body.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, wire guides 30 are formed at the upper and lower portions of the inner surface of each node ring 25 by raising the wall portion of the node ring 25. Then, the bending operation wires 3 are vertically moved over the respective wire guides 30.
1,31 are inserted and guided. Operation wire for each bending 3
1,31 has its tip attached and fixed to the most advanced node ring 25, and its rear end side is guided to the operation section 15 through the insertion section 14 and connected to a bending operation mechanism (not shown). Further, the bending wires 31, 31 fixed at both ends are given a constant normal tension. The bending operation mechanism provided in the operation unit 15 includes a bending operation knob 19
The bending tube portion 21 is bent by pulling one of the upper and lower bending wires 31, 31 and pushing out the other one. The bending core member of the bending tube portion 21 configured as described above is covered with the mesh tube and the outer cover as in the first endoscope. Further, the flexible tube portion 22 is also composed of a spiral tube, a mesh tube, and an outer cover as in the case of the first endoscope 1.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. First, the insertion section 3 of the first endoscope 1 is introduced into the body cavity, and then the insertion section 14 of the second endoscope 2 is inserted into the body cavity by using the insertion assisting tool 32.
It is introduced through the insertion channel of the endoscope 1. Then, the bending operation knob 19 of the operation unit 15 in the second endoscope 2
The bending operation mechanism is operated by, and one of the bending wires 31, 31 to which a constant normal tension is applied is pulled, and the other one is pushed out to rotate each node ring 25 of the bending tube portion 21 and bend the bending. The tube portion 21 is curved in the vertical direction. Normally, in the pivoting hole 28 of the adjacent overlapping ear 26, the shaft 27 is located at the proximal end of its own node ring 25 of the pivoting hole 28, as shown in FIG. The lever is rotated with the end face as a sliding face. When the upper operation wire 31 in FIG. 1 is pulled, the arrow a
As indicated by, the curve bends upward, and when the lower operation wire 31 is pulled, the curve bends downward. FIG. 1 is in a neutral straight state.

By the way, FIG. 5 shows a case where the bending nine portion 21 is about to be bent over the maximum bending angle. That is, when the bending tube portion 21 is bent at the maximum bending angle, the opposing shoulder openings 33 of the adjacent joint rings 25 abut each other on the bending side. When the maximum bending angle is reached, the positional relationship between the shaft body 27 and the pivot attachment hole 28 is in the state shown in FIG. 1 described above, but the bending force is increased by a strong force to bend it beyond the maximum bending angle. When the operation wire 31 is pulled, the shaft body 27 slides in the pivot hole 28 around the contact point of the upper shoulder opening 33 that abuts against the normal tension of the lower operation wire 31 in FIG. And then move, which opens the pivotal support for pivoting adjacent node rings 25 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the bending tube portion 21 is larger than the above-mentioned maximum bending angle.
Release the force when trying to bend. Therefore, it is possible to avoid damage to the pivotally connecting portion or the like due to excessive force.

On the other hand, as described above, the second endoscope 2 having a small diameter is usually constructed so that the bending tube portion 21 is bent only in the vertical direction. When the second endoscope 2 of this type is inserted into the insertion channel of the first endoscope 1, the following abnormal external force may be applied. That is, when the insertion portion 3 of the first endoscope 1 is inserted while being bent in three dimensions, or when the bending tube portion 21 of the second endoscope 2 is inserted into the bending tube portion of the first endoscope 1. When the bending tube portion 11 of the first endoscope 1 in the portion 11 is bent in a direction other than the bendable direction of the bending tube portion 21 of the second endoscope 2, the Unreasonable force is applied to the bending tube portion 21 of the second endoscope 2.

However, with the above configuration, this external force can be released as follows. That is, as shown in FIG.
When an external force F other than the vertical direction (a force directed upward in the plane of FIG. 6 and exceeding the normal tension of the operating wire 31) is applied to 25, the node ring 25 on the right side in FIG. Bend upwards. Then, the shaft 27 on the upper side of the paper is
It receives a compressive force exceeding the normal tension of 31. Here, the sliding surface of the pivotal mounting hole 28 with which the shaft 27 is in contact, that is, the surface receiving the compressive force, is the base end side of the node ring 25 of the pivotal mounting hole 28 itself as in the case shown in FIG. It is located at the end b. Similarly, the shaft 27 on the lower side of the paper also receives a compressive force.
Is slidably moved in the pivotal mounting hole 28 in contact with it in the longitudinal direction. For this reason, it is in the opposite direction to the case of the shaft body 27 on the upper side of the drawing, that is, the position of the pivotal mounting hole 28 in contact with the shaft body 27 is located at the proximal end c of the node ring 25 of the pivotal mounting hole 28 itself. To do. Then, by this movement, an unreasonable external force applied to the pivotally-attached portion is released, and it is possible to avoid damage to the pivotally-attached portion or the like due to an unreasonable force. Further, the displacement between the adjacent node rings 25 thus generated is absorbed by the rivet-shaped shaft 27 extending as shown in FIG.

When the external force F applied in a direction other than the bendable direction of the bending tube portion 21 of the second endoscope 2 is released, the normal tension of the operation wire 31 restores the original normal straight direction. Also, the shaft
27 also returns to its original length due to its elastic force.

Then, even though the bending tube portion 21 of the second endoscope 2 is bent only in two directions, but is bent in the non-curving direction,
No damage is imposed and damage can be prevented. Therefore, when using the first endoscope 1 and the second endoscope 2 in combination as described above, the operator always grasps the direction of the bending direction of the bending tube portion 21 of the second endoscope 2. There is no need to be careful not to bend in a non-curving direction. Therefore, the operator is relieved of the trouble and can concentrate on the original operation of the endoscope. That is, the operability of the endoscope can be improved and the examination time by the endoscope can be shortened. Since the insertion portion 14 of the second endoscope 2 has an extremely small diameter, it has a bending function in two directions instead of four directions as in the case of the first endoscope 1 due to its restriction. Absent.

8 and 9 show a second embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is a modification of the bending tube portion 21 of the second endoscope 2 in the first embodiment, in which elastic wire rods 41 are arranged along the left and right inner surfaces of each node ring 25. Each elastic wire 41 is guided by being inserted into the narrowed portion 42 cut and raised inside the wall of each node ring 25, and the most advanced node ring 25 and the rearmost node ring are provided at both ends of each elastic wire 41. Each of the squeezing portions 42 of 25 is fixed with an adhesive 43 or the like. The tip of the operation wire 31 is fixed by brazing or the like in the wire guide 30 of the most advanced node ring 25. The elastic wire 41 may be a single wire or a stranded wire, and the material thereof may be metal or rubber, and the material is not particularly limited.

In this embodiment, however, normal tension is applied to the elastic wire 41 so that the bending operation wire 31 is not applied with normal tension and only a small normal tension is applied.
Since it is not necessary to apply a strong normal tension to the operation wire 31, the operation wire 31 is less fatigued and the durability of the second endoscope 2 using the operation wire 31 can be improved.

The means using the elastic wire 41 may be applied to the bending tube portion 11 of the first endoscope 1.

FIG. 14 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. In the first and second embodiments described above, the bending tube portion 21 that is bent only in the upper and lower two directions is shown, but in this embodiment, the bending tube portion 21 can also be bent in the left and right two directions.
That is, every other one of the shafts 27 pivotally attached between the node rings 25 is arranged in the left-right direction and the up-down direction. The structure of each pivot portion is similar to that of the above-mentioned embodiment.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of node rings are arranged in the longitudinal axis direction of the insertion part, and adjacent ones of the node rings are pivotally attached to each other by a shaft body to form a curved tube portion. In the configured endoscope,
The pivotal mounting hole of the node ring into which the shaft body is fitted is formed in the axial direction of the bending tube portion to be larger than the diameter of the shaft body, and is formed substantially the same as the diameter of the shaft body in the radial direction of the bending tube portion. is there. Therefore, when the bending tube portion is bent, even if an external force that attempts to bend the shoulder tube shoulders of the nodal rings abut each other to a maximum bending angle is applied, the shaft body is at least bent. It is possible to ensure safety by avoiding damage to the shaft bending tube portion by escaping in the axial direction of the portion.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a main part of a bending tube portion of a first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a node ring of the same embodiment. 4 is a side sectional view of the shaft body of the same embodiment, FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of the same when the bending tube portion of the embodiment is bent, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a side sectional view of the bending tube portion when it tries to bend in a non-bending direction, FIG. 7 is a side view showing the entire endoscope of the same embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a bending tube portion of the second embodiment. 9 is a side sectional view of FIG. 9, FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG.
FIG. 11 is a side sectional view of a bending tube portion showing a third embodiment, and FIG. 11 is a side sectional view of a conventional bending tube portion. 1,2 …… Endoscope, 4,14 …… Insertion part, 11,21 …… Bending tube part,
25 …… node rings, 27 …… shafts, 28 …… pivoting holes.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An endoscope in which a plurality of node rings are arranged in a longitudinal axis direction of an insertion portion, and adjacent ones of the node rings are pivotally attached to each other by shaft bodies to form a curved tube portion. The pivotal mounting hole of the node ring into which the shaft is fitted is formed to be larger than the diameter of the shaft in the axial direction of the bending tube portion, and is formed to be substantially the same as the diameter of the shaft body in the radial direction of the bending tube portion. And an endoscope.