JPH0733764Y2 - Endoscope - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to an endoscope in which a flexible insertion tube forming a treatment instrument insertion channel is reinforced.

[Conventional technology]

In the endoscope, in order to insert a treatment tool such as forceps, an insertion channel is provided from the operation section to the distal end configuration section of the insertion section, and the treatment tool insertion channel is formed by a flexible tube. ing.

However, when this treatment instrument insertion channel is composed only of a sufficiently flexible flexible plastic tube,
If this is bent, there is a problem that the hip is severely bent and buckles. If the thickness of the tube wall of the insertion tube is increased in order to prevent this, not only the flexibility is impaired, but also the outer diameter of the endoscope insertion portion becomes large.

As a means to prevent such problems, in the future
As described in JP-A-48-7827, JP-A-58-93092 or JP-A-59-36302, a proposal has been made in which a coil body is wound around the outer circumference of a flexible insertion tube. There is.

With such a configuration, even if the flexible insertion tube is largely bent, the coil body assists and hip breakage is unlikely to occur, and therefore other internal components of the endoscope may be damaged or the insertion tube may be cut off. There are advantages such as prevention, improvement in mechanical strength, and reduction in manufacturing cost.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in the case of the above conventional case, the coil body is wound only around the outer circumference of the flexible insertion tube positioned in the curved portion of the endoscope insertion portion, and measures for winding the coil body in other places are It was not given.

However, in the endoscope, a flexible bending stop portion is formed at the boundary between the endoscope operation portion and the insertion portion,
The endoscope may also be bent at this break prevention portion. In particular, when it is necessary to bend the insertion portion of the endoscope into the body cavity using an insertion aid, a sharp bending deformation occurs at the boundary between the tip of the break prevention portion and the insertion portion. Therefore, there is a concern that the flexible insertion tube forming the internal treatment instrument insertion channel may be bent at the waist to cause buckling, which may damage other internal components or cause the insertion tube to be cut.

In the present invention, not only the flexible insertion tube in the curved portion of the endoscope insertion portion, but also the flexible insertion tube in the bending prevention portion is less likely to be bent at the waist, so that other internal components of the endoscope are not easily broken. Prevents problems such as damage and breakage of the insertion tube,
The present invention aims to provide an endoscope having improved mechanical strength.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an endoscope in which a coil body is wound around the outer circumference of a flexible insertion tube forming a treatment instrument insertion channel, wherein the coil body is an endoscope insertion portion. The outer periphery of the flexible insertion tube in the curved portion of, and the portion corresponding to the bending prevention portion including the vicinity of the boundary between the insertion portion in the bending prevention portion provided at the boundary between the endoscope operation portion and the insertion portion The flexible insertion tube is wound around the outer circumference of the flexible insertion tube, and the coil body on the side of the bend preventing portion is extended to the insertion portion side from the end portion of the bend preventing portion on the insertion portion side.

[Action]

According to the present invention, the flexible insertion tube in the curved portion and the flexible insertion tube in the bending prevention portion are reinforced by the coil bodies wound around the outer circumferences respectively, so that waist bending is unlikely to occur and other built-in endoscopes are included. Problems such as damage to objects and breakage of the insertion tube are prevented, and mechanical strength is improved.
In particular, in the portion corresponding to the break-prevention portion, the coil body extends toward the insertion portion side more than the insertion-part-side end portion of the break-prevention portion, so that the flexibility from the break-prevention portion to the insertion portion is sequentially increased. It is changed, and the waist is less likely to be broken at this portion.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be described below based on an embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the entire endoscope, where 1 is an insertion section to be inserted into a living body cavity, and 2 is an operation section at hand. The insertion part 1 is
The flexible tube portion 3 located on the operation portion 2 side, and the flexible tube portion 3
The curved portion 4 is connected to the tip of the curved portion 4 and the tip forming portion 5 is connected to the tip of the curved portion 4.

As will be described later, the flexible tube portion 3 is configured to be able to bend when an external force is applied, and the bending portion 4 formed at the tip end portion thereof is configured as shown in FIG. That is,
The curved portion 4 rotatably and axially connects a plurality of ring-shaped curved pieces 6 ... To each other by a rivet (not shown) or the like, and the outer periphery of these curved pieces 6 is connected via a mesh tube 7. It is configured by being covered with an outer skin 8. Operation wires 9 and 9 are inserted in the curved portion 4, and the operation wires 9 and 9 are inserted.
One end of 9, 9 is connected to the above-mentioned tip forming portion 5, and the other end is a pulley 11 of an operation knob 10 provided in the operation portion 2.
(See FIG. 4). Therefore, by rotating the operation knob 10, the one operation wire 9 is pulled, and the bending portion 4 is bent in an arbitrary direction.

The distal end portion 5 has a through hole 12 that is open to the outside, an observation window 14 having an objective lens 13 attached thereto, and a light irradiation window (not shown).

One end of a flexible insertion tube 15 that constitutes a channel 24 for inserting a treatment tool such as forceps, a catheter, or a high-frequency treatment tool is connected to the through hole 12, and the flexible insertion tube 15 has a flexible insertion tube 15. The other end is guided to the operation part 2 through the insertion part 1 and is connected to the treatment instrument introduction port 16 of the operation part 2. A forceps plug 17 is provided at the treatment tool introducing port 16. A suction pump 21 is connected to the forceps plug 17 via a suction tube 20, and when the external opening of the forceps plug 17 is closed, suction is performed through the treatment tool insertion channel 24. .

One end of an image guide fiber 18 is optically connected to the objective lens 13 in the observation window 14, and the other end of the image guide fiber 18 is guided to the operation part 2 through the inside of the insertion part 1 and operated. It is connected to an eyepiece lens 19 provided in the section 2.

Although not shown, one end of the light guide fiber is connected to the light irradiation window, and the other end of the light guide fiber is inserted through the insertion portion 1 and led out from the operation portion 2 and is not shown. It is connected to the light source device. The light source device is provided with a light source, and when the light source is turned on, light is emitted from the light irradiation window through the light guide fiber.

By the way, the flexible insertion tube 15 that constitutes the treatment instrument insertion channel 24 is formed of a flexible tube such as a fluororesin, and is provided at a portion corresponding to the inside of the curved portion 4. Is formed in a thin shape having an outer diameter smaller than that of other portions. A coil body 25 is wound around the outer circumference of the thin portion having the reduced outer diameter. The coil body 25 is formed by winding a metal wire having a circular cross-section into a flat shape and winding the wire having a substantially oval cross-section in a spiral shape. The flat surface of the wire is a flexible insertion tube 15 It is fitted so as to contact the outer surface of the. The outer diameter of the coil body 25 wound around the flexible insertion tube 15 is set to be smaller than the outer diameter of other portions where the coil body 25 is not wound.

On the other hand, the operation portion 2 is provided at its tip end of the grip portion 30 with a bend preventing portion 31 which covers the base end portion of the insertion portion 1. The break preventing portion 31 is made of a flexible material and forms a tapered tube having a tapered tip.

The flexible portion 3 of the insertion portion 1 covered with the bend preventing portion 31 is
As shown in FIG. 2, a spiral tube 32 in which a strip is wound in a spiral shape.
The outer circumference of the spiral tube 32 is covered with a mesh 34 through a mesh tube 33.
It is constituted by coating with.

In the flexible tube portion 3 as described above, the operation wire (not shown in FIG. 2), the flexible insertion tube 15 and the image guide fiber 1 forming the treatment instrument insertion channel 24 are formed.
8, and the light guide fiber is inserted.

The coil body 35 is also wound around the portion of the flexible insertion tube 15 that faces the bend preventing portion 31.

The flexible insertion tube 15 extends over the entire length of the portion facing the bend preventing portion 31, and further extends over the boundary portion between the tapered distal end portion of the bend preventing portion 31 and the flexible tube portion 3 for a predetermined length. A thin portion having an outer diameter smaller than that of the other portion is formed, and a coil body 35 is wound around the outer periphery of the thin portion having the smaller outer diameter. As can be seen from the figure, the flexible insertion tube 15
The thin-walled portion is extended to the insertion portion side from the insertion portion-side end portion of the bend preventing portion 31. The coil body 35 may have the same shape as that of the coil body wound around the curved portion 4, and is formed by spirally winding a single wire having a flat circular cross section into a single winding. The flat surface of the wire is fitted so as to contact the outer surface of the flexible insertion tube 15. Also in this case, the outer diameter of the coil body 35 wound around the flexible insertion tube 15 is set to be smaller than the outer diameter of other portions where the coil body 35 is not wound.

The operation of the embodiment having such a configuration will be described.

When the operating lever 10 of the operating portion 2 is operated, the operating wire 9 is pulled, so that the bending portion 4 is forcibly bent. Due to this bending, the flexible insertion tube 15 is also greatly bent. However,
Since the coil body 25 is wound around the flexible insertion tube 15, the coil body 25 prevents the insertion tube 15 from bending. Therefore, the insertion tube 15 does not buckle, and it is possible to prevent problems such as damage to other built-in objects of the endoscope, such as fibers, and breakage of the insertion tube 15 itself. Moreover, since the coil body 25 has flexibility, it does not hinder the bending of the insertion tube 15.

Further, since the coil body 25 has a flat wire cross section and is set to have a diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the thick portion of the insertion tube 15, the outer diameter of the insertion portion 1 does not increase.

On the other hand, the flexible break-preventing portion 31 formed at the boundary between the operation portion 2 and the insertion portion 1 may be curved, and in particular, the insertion portion 1 of the endoscope may be inserted by using an insertion aid not shown. If it is bent excessively when it is inserted into the body cavity, a sharp bending deformation occurs at the boundary between the tip of the bend preventing portion 31 and the insertion portion 1. Such bending will bend the flexible insertion tube 15 that is inserted inside. However, this flexible insertion tube
Since the other coil body 35 is also wound around 15, the coil body 35 also prevents the insertion tube 15 from bending at the waist, so that the insertion tube 15 does not buckle and other internal components of the endoscope, that is, Problems such as damage to the fiber and the like, and breakage of the insertion tube 15 itself are prevented. Moreover, since the coil body 35 has flexibility, it does not hinder the bending of the insertion tube 15.

Since the coil body 35 protects the flexible insertion tube 15 over the entire length of the bend preventing portion 31 and over the predetermined length of the boundary portion between the tip of the bend preventing portion 31 and the flexible tube portion 3, Insertion tube even if a large bending occurs at the boundary portion 1 of the flexible tube portion 3 with the bend preventing portion 31
15 does not cause a hip break. In particular, in this embodiment,
Since the coil body 35 extends toward the insertion portion side from the end portion of the bending prevention portion 31 on the insertion portion side, the flexibility from the bending prevention portion 31 to the insertion portion 1 sequentially changes, and waist bending is less likely to occur.

From this, the insertion tube 15 does not buckle at any part, so that the treatment tool can be easily inserted and the suction passage can be secured.

It should be noted that FIG. 4 shows a modification of the present invention. In FIG. 4, another coil body 35 wound around the flexible insertion tube 15 inserted into the inside of the bend preventing portion 31 is The other end of the flexible insertion tube 15 in the operation portion 2, that is, the treatment instrument introducing port
It is extended and wound up to the end connected to 16.

That is, in the operation unit 2 shown in FIG.
The frames 40, 40 are connected to the frame connecting member 4
The operation wire 9 is penetrated through the frame connecting member 41 and the other end of the flexible insertion tube 15 is also penetrated. Has been done. The penetrating portion of the operation wire 9 is surrounded by the coil tube 43, and is protected so that the operation wire 9 is not caught by the frame connecting member 41.

Further, the penetrating portion of the flexible insertion tube 15 is bent, and at this bent portion, the other coil body 35 wound around the flexible insertion tube 15 of the bend preventing portion 31 is extended while being wound. It is led to this penetrating bent portion and wound around this outer surface.

With this configuration, when the treatment tool is inserted from the forceps plug 17 of the operation section 2, waist bending does not occur at a position where the flexible insertion tube 15 in the operation section 2 is bent, and the treatment tool is smoothly operated. Can be inserted through.

[Effect of device]

As described above, according to the present invention, the insertion portion of the bending stop portion provided at the outer circumference of the flexible insertion tube in the curved portion of the endoscope insertion portion and the boundary between the endoscope operation portion and the insertion portion. Since the coil body is wound around the outer periphery of the flexible insertion tube in the portion corresponding to the bend prevention portion including the vicinity of the boundary, not only the flexible insertion tube in the curved portion of the insertion portion but also the bend prevention portion Even the flexible insertion tube is less likely to have a waist bend.
In particular, in the portion corresponding to the break-prevention portion, the coil body extends toward the insertion portion side more than the insertion-part-side end portion of the break-prevention portion, so that the flexibility from the break-prevention portion to the insertion portion is sequentially increased. It is changed, and the waist is less likely to be broken at this portion. Therefore, it is possible to prevent problems such as damage to other internal components of the endoscope and breakage of the insertion tube, improve mechanical strength, and facilitate insertion of the treatment tool.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a structure of a distal end portion of an endoscope, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a structure of a bending prevention portion, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the whole endoscope, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view of an operating portion showing a modified example of the present invention. 1 ... insertion part, 2 ... operation part, 3 ... flexible tube part, 4 ...
Curved part, 5 ... Tip configuration part, 6 ... Curved piece, 7 ... Net tube, 8 ... Skin, 9 ... Operation wire, 15 ... Flexible insertion tube, 24 ... Treatment instrument insertion channel 25 , 35 ... Coil body, 32 ... Spiral tube, 33 ... Net tube, 34 ... Outer skin.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An endoscope in which a coil body is wound around an outer circumference of a flexible insertion tube forming a treatment instrument insertion channel, wherein the coil body has the flexibility in a curved portion of an endoscope insertion portion. On the outer circumference of the insertion tube and on the outer circumference of the flexible insertion tube in a portion corresponding to the bending prevention portion including the vicinity of the boundary between the insertion portion in the bending prevention portion provided at the boundary between the endoscope operation portion and the insertion portion. An endoscope characterized in that each coil is wound and the coil body on the side of the bend-preventing portion is extended to the insertion portion side rather than the end of the bend-preventing portion on the insertion portion side.