JPH0717283Y2 - Flexible tube for endoscope - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to a flexible tube that constitutes a flexible portion of an endoscope.

[Prior Art] Generally, as shown in FIG. 3, an endoscope has an operating section 1, a flexible flexible section 2 extending from the operating section 1, and a remote section from the operating section 1 provided at the tip of the flexible section 2. It has a bending portion 3 that is bent by an operation, and a tip forming portion 4 that is further formed at the tip of the bending portion 3.

The conventional structure of the flexible tube forming the flexible portion 2 is shown in FIG.
It was as shown in FIG. That is, in the flexible tube 10, the blade 12 is covered on the outer side of the spiral tube 11, the thread body 13 is spirally wound around the outer periphery of the blade 12, and the outer tube 14 is further covered on the outer side thereof. There is. The yarn body 13 is intended to regulate the blade 12 so that it does not expand in the radial direction when the flexible tube 10 receives a compressive force in the longitudinal direction. It is disclosed in the utility model registration application filed on November 25. Above spiral tube 11
Includes a pair of operating wires 16 guided by a flexible guide tube 15.
Has been inserted. The guide tubes 15 are arranged inside the spiral tube 11 so as to face each other in the radial direction, and are welded and fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the spiral tube 11. The operation wire 16 is inserted through the guide tube 15, one end side of which is associated with an operation dial (not shown) provided in the operation section 1 and the other end side of which is associated with the inner tip of the bending section 3. There is. The operation wire 16 is pulled by operating the operation dial to bend the bending portion 3.

An observation diameter, an illumination diameter, a forceps channel, etc. are inserted into the flexible tube 10 to form the flexible portion 2.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the flexible tube 10, since the guide tube 15 is inserted inside the spiral tube 11, the area inside the spiral tube 11 is equal to the area occupied by the guide tube 15. Has a drawback that the effective area for inserting an observation system and the like is reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to provide a flexible tube for an endoscope having a large inner space or a small outer diameter. is there.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the first invention is that at least a pair of operation wires for bending a bending portion of an endoscope is provided in a spiral tube in an axial direction thereof. In a flexible tube of an endoscope which is movable back and forth and is immovable in the circumferential direction, the spiral tube is provided with engaging projections projecting radially outward at the same position in the circumferential direction at predetermined pitches. The operation wire is passed inside the engaging projection in the engaging projection forming portion of the spiral tube, and is passed outside the spiral tube in the engaging projection non-forming portion.

According to a second aspect of the invention, at least a pair of operation wires for bending the bending portion of the endoscope are attached to a spiral tube covered with a blade so as to be movable back and forth in the axial direction and immovable in the circumferential direction. In the flexible tube of the endoscope, the operation wire is inserted into the inside of the spiral tube and is inserted into the blade drawn into the inside of the spiral tube through the gap between the spiral tubes at a predetermined pitch. Is characterized by.

[Operation] In the conventional flexible tube, the guide tube guides the operation wire. However, in the invention according to the present application, the engaging projection provided with the spiral tube or the blade covering the spiral tube guides the operation wire. invite. Therefore, the spiral tube becomes unnecessary, and the effective area for accommodating the observation system and the like inside the spiral tube can be made larger than the conventional area. From a different perspective,
If the volume of the filler accommodated inside the spiral tube is the same, the outer diameter of the spiral tube can be made smaller than before.

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the invention according to this application will be described below with reference to the drawings from FIG. 1 to FIG. The overall configuration of the endoscope shown in FIG. 3 is the same as that of the conventional one, and therefore its explanation is omitted.

First, the flexible tube forming the flexible portion 2 according to the first invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

The flexible tube 20 includes a spiral tube 21, a blade 22 covering the outside of the spiral tube 21, a thread body 23 spirally wound around the outer periphery of the blade 22, and the blade 22 and the thread body 23. The outer flexible tube 10 is the same as the conventional flexible tube 10 in that it has an outer tube 24 covered on the outside. However,
The flexible tube 20 is not provided with a guide tube that is conventionally inserted to guide the operation wire. Then, in order to give the spiral tube 21 a function of guiding the operation wire, the spiral tube 21 has, at every other pitch, arcuate engagements protruding outward in the radial direction at positions facing each other in the radial direction. The convex portion 21b is formed. The operation wire 26 is passed through the inside of the engaging protrusion 21b at a portion where the engaging protrusion 21b is formed (hereinafter, simply referred to as the engaging protrusion forming portion C), and the engaging protrusion is formed. In the engagement convex portion non-formation portion D formed between the formation portions C, C, the spiral tube 21 is passed outside. Therefore, the engagement protrusion 21b guides the operation wire 26.

Since there is no guide tube in the flexible tube 20 and the engaging projection 21b projects to the outside of the spiral tube 21,
Since the circular cross section inside the engagement convex portion non-formation portion D of the spiral tube 21 can be used as it is as a storage portion, the storage portion can be made extremely large.

Therefore, if the inner diameter of the spiral tube 21 is the same as the conventional one, the packing condition (packing density) of the packing such as the observation system in the spiral tube 21 becomes rougher than before, and as a result, the durability of the packing is improved. Is improved. In other words, if the accommodation state (filling density) of the filling material is the same as the conventional one, the outer diameter of the spiral tube 20 can be made smaller than the conventional one, and the flexible portion 2 can be made thinner.

Further, the engaging convex portion 21b projects toward the outside of the spiral tube 21, and thus the projection section such as the guide tube can be eliminated in the spiral tube 21. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the contents such as the optical fiber inserted into the spiral tube 21 from being damaged.

In the case of the flexible tube 20, the engaging projection 21b bulges slightly outward from the other portions, and thus has a slightly elliptical shape. However, for convenience of description, FIG. 2 shows the engaging protrusion 21b in an exaggerated manner.

4 and 5 show a flexible tube 20 according to the second invention. In the case of this flexible tube 20, the spiral tube 20 is engaged with the concave portion.
Neither 21a nor the engaging protrusion 21b is provided. Both operation wires 26 are inserted inside the spiral tube 21 and are arranged so as to face each other in the radial direction. Further, the operation wire 26 is inserted into the blade 22 drawn from the gap between the spiral tubes 21.
By inserting the operating wire 26 through the blade 22, the operating wire 26 is guided by the blade 22 and its movement in the circumferential direction is restricted. In the case of this flexible tube 20,
By retracting a part of the blade 22 into the spiral tube 21, the area of the accommodating portion is smaller than that of the flexible tube 20 according to the first invention, but the accommodating portion is smaller than that of the conventional flexible tube using the guide tube. The area can be increased.

This invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various modes can be adopted.

In the above-mentioned first and second embodiments of the acrylate, two operation wires are used, but it is possible to use four operation wires.

Further, when the number of operation wires is four, the pair of opposing operation wires is guided by using the guide tube as in the conventional case, and only the other pair of operation wires is guided by this invention without using the guide tube. You may make it guide using a mechanism.

Further, in the first invention, the engaging protrusion provided on the spiral tube is 1
The pitch is not limited to every other pitch, and may be provided every two pitches. Further, in the second invention, when the blades are pulled through the gaps of the spiral tube, the blades may be pulled through all the gaps and the operation wire may be inserted through the gaps. You may make it pass.

[Advantages of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the engaging projection provided on the spiral tube or the blade covering the spiral tube guides the operation wire instead of the conventional guide tube. Therefore, the spiral tube becomes unnecessary, and the effective area for accommodating the observation system and the like inside the spiral tube can be made larger than before.

Therefore, if the inner diameter of the spiral tube is the same as the conventional one, the accommodation state (filling density) of the filling material such as the observation system in the spiral tube
Can be made coarser than in the past, and as a result, the excellent effect that the durability of the filling material can be improved is exhibited.

Also, if the packing condition (packing density) is the same as before, the outer diameter of the spiral tube can be made smaller than before.
The excellent effect that the soft portion can be made thin is exhibited.

Particularly, in the first invention, the engaging convex portion projects to the outside of the spiral tube, and there is no protrusion in the spiral tube. Therefore, the size of the accommodating portion in the spiral tube can be made extremely large. In addition, it is possible to prevent the inclusions such as optical fibers from being damaged by the protrusions.

[Brief description of drawings]

The drawings from FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 show an embodiment of the first invention according to this application. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a flexible tube, and FIG. 2 is a VI of FIG. -VI sectional view and FIG. 3 are overall external views of the endoscope. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the second invention, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII of FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional flexible tube. Is the sixth
It is a XX sectional view of a figure. 3 ... Curved part, 20 ... Flexible tube, 21 ... Spiral tube, 21b ...
Engagement convex part C ... Engagement convex part formation part D ... Engagement convex part non-formation part 22 ... Blade, 24 ... Skin tube, 26 ... Operation wire.

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A flexible endoscope which is provided with at least a pair of operation wires for bending a bending portion of an endoscope, which is attached to a spiral tube so as to be movable back and forth in its axial direction and immovable in a circumferential direction. In the pipe, the spiral pipe is provided with engaging protrusions that project outward in the radial direction at the same position in the circumferential direction at predetermined pitches, and the operation wire is engaged with the engaging protrusion in the engaging protrusion forming portion of the spiral pipe. A flexible tube for an endoscope, wherein the flexible tube is passed through the inside of the portion, and is passed through the outside of the spiral tube in the engaging convex portion non-forming portion. 2. An endoscope in which at least a pair of operation wires for bending a bending portion of an endoscope are attached to a spiral tube covered with a blade so as to be movable back and forth in the axial direction and immovable in the circumferential direction. In the flexible tube of the mirror, the operation wire is inserted into the inside of the spiral tube, and is inserted into a blade drawn into the inside of the spiral tube through a gap between the spiral tubes at a predetermined pitch. Flexible endoscope tube.