JPH0773568B2 - Endoscopic insertion aid - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an endoscope insertion assisting tool provided with a rotation mechanism capable of independently rotating mounted endoscopes.

[Prior Art] In recent years, by inserting an elongated insertion portion into a body cavity or a lumen, an endoscope capable of observing the inside of the body cavity or the lumen to diagnose a diseased part or inspect for damage or the like Became widely used.

The insertion portion of the endoscope has flexibility so that it can be inserted into a bent insertion path, but due to this flexibility, the orientation on the distal end side is not fixed with respect to the hand side. , It may be difficult to introduce in the target direction.

For this reason, for example, British Patent No. 2,154,335 is provided with a hollow shaft through which an endoscope can be inserted, and the insertion portion of the endoscope can be protruded from the opening on the distal end side of the shaft, and curved toward the proximal side. A conventional example of an endoscope insertion assisting tool provided with a clamp means for fixing the operation means and the endoscope is disclosed.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above-described conventional example, when the visual field direction is changed, or when the photographing device is mounted and the vertical direction is adjusted to an appropriate azimuth for photographing, the endoscope is generally used. Since the operating portion of the device has a shape different from a cylindrical or conical shape that is easy to rotate, the endoscope cannot be independently rotated with respect to the auxiliary tool.

Therefore, in order to set the azimuth suitable for observation or photography, the endoscope must be pulled out by an appropriate length, then rotated to set the azimuth to an appropriate azimuth, and then mounted again. It had the drawback of being poor in nature.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to provide an endoscope insertion assisting tool having improved operability by enabling the endoscope to rotate independently of the assisting tool side.

[Means and Actions for Solving Problems] According to the present invention, an endoscope holding portion through which an endoscope is inserted is provided with an extension / contraction mechanism that is extendable / contractible in the insertion direction with respect to the auxiliary tool body, and A rotation mechanism that can rotate independently of the main body of the auxiliary tool is provided in the endoscope mounting portion on which the mirror is mounted. Therefore, the endoscope inserted into the guide tube via the mounting portion can be moved back and forth in the insertion direction by the expansion / contraction mechanism, and the mounted endoscope can be rotated at an arbitrary angle by the rotation mechanism.

EXAMPLES The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 6 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of an endoscope mounting portion of the auxiliary tool of the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a side view showing the whole of the first embodiment,
3 is a sectional view taken along the line AA 'in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line BB' in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line CC 'in FIG. The drawing is a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD 'in FIG.

The endoscope insertion assisting tool 1 of the first embodiment is a flexible guide that is elongated and has a hollow passage so that the endoscope insertion portion 3 of the endoscope 2 can be inserted as shown in FIG. The tube portion 4, a wide guide tube operating portion 5 continuously provided on the rear end side of the guide tube portion 4, and a rear end of the (guide tube) operating portion 5 are formed so that the endoscope can be held. The endoscope mounting portion 7 is provided with the endoscope holding portion 6 having a stretchable structure.

A curved portion 8 is formed on the front end side of the guide tube portion 4 by connecting a large number of joint pieces (not shown) in tandem. These joint pieces connect the wires in the operation portion 5 with the wires inserted through the guide tube portion 4. Connected to a mechanism for pulling and loosening, operating section 5
By rotating the bending operation knob 9 provided on the outer surface, the bending portion 8 can be bent vertically or horizontally.

The holding portion 6 formed on the front side of the endoscope mounting portion 7 on which the operation portion 11 of the endoscope 2 can be detachably mounted has a structure as shown in FIG. 1, for example. .

The holding portion 6 has a structure in which the total length can be changed by sliding the four pipes 14, 15, 16, 17 for example.

The first pipe 14 has a thickened front end to which a holding portion stopping member 18 is fitted on the outer periphery, and the holding member 18 is screwed into screw holes provided at four positions as shown in FIG. By screwing 19 into the screw hole on the pipe 14 side, the pipe 14 can be fixed to the stopper member 18 so as not to rotate. By pressing the rotation stop knob 21 on the outer peripheral surface of the outer pressing member 23, the pressing member 23 of the auxiliary tool 1 can suppress the rotation of the distal end side. Further, the stopper member 18 is provided with a screw hole 22 for mounting a tripod or the like on the side opposite to the knob 21, for example.
The holding portion 6 can be fixed with a tripod or the like.

The front end side of the stopper member 18 projects radially inward and is externally fitted to the fitted outer pressing member 23 inside the front end of the pipe 14, and its front surface abuts on the rear end surface of the joint member 24 and is prevented from coming off. ing. Then, the joint member 24 is used for the operation unit 5.
It is fixed to the rear end of the main body 25 by means of screws or the like.

A female screw is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the outer pressing member 23, and an inner pressing member 26 provided with a male screw to be screwed with this female screw is screwed, and the tapered surfaces of both pressing members 23, 26 are flexible. The guide tube 27 of is clamped and fixed. The inner diameter of the guide tube 27 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the insertion portion 3 of the endoscope 2 which is inserted through the inside. In addition, the outer pressing member
An O-ring is interposed in the stepped portion 23 having a large diameter.

The first pipe 14 is fitted into the second pipe 15 so that it can slide in the longitudinal direction (front-back direction).
In this case, the vicinity of the rear end of the first pipe 14 is appropriately length d (the first pipe 14) so that it can be moved in the longitudinal direction without being rotated carelessly.
(See the drawing) is made slightly thicker, and as shown in FIG. 4, key grooves 28, 28 are provided at the top and bottom, and each key groove 28 is provided with a second pipe 15 as shown in FIG. 1 or 4. Square keys 29 attached by screws or the like are inserted in the longitudinal direction (front-back direction) of the inner wall of the.

A male screw is formed on the outer circumference of the front end of the second pipe 15,
The stop ring 31 can be screwed, and the O-ring 32 is provided on the inner tapered surface of the stop ring 31 to increase the screwing amount of the stop ring 31.
The friction of 32 prevents the first pipe 14 and the second pipe 15 from sliding so that they can be fixed at a desired length position.

Similar means are formed for the second pipe 15 and the third pipe 16.

That is, the key grooves 34, 34 are provided with a large outer diameter near the rear end of the second pipe 15, and each key groove 34 is formed in the third pipe 1.
The square keys 35 attached to 6 are respectively engaged, and the second pipe 15 is slidable back and forth while being fitted in the third pipe 16. Further, a male screw is formed on the outer circumference of the front end of the third pipe 16, and the O-ring 37 interposed inside the tapered inner peripheral surface is pressed by the stop ring 36 to move the second screw.
Clamping means for fixing the first pipe 15 and the third pipe 16 so as not to move back and forth is formed.

As shown in FIG. 5, the outer circumference of the rear end of the third pipe 16 is also made large in diameter so that key grooves 38, 38 are provided, and the square key 3 of the fourth pipe 17 is provided.
It is designed to be able to slide back and forth with 9,39 stored. A male screw is formed on the outer periphery of the front end of the fourth pipe 17 so that the stop ring 41 can be screwed.
By pressing the O-ring 42 interposed on the inner circumference of the stop ring 41,
The third pipe 16 and the fourth pipe 17 can be clamped.

By the way, at the rear end side of the fourth pipe 17, there is formed a mounting portion 7 provided with a rotation mechanism capable of rotatably mounting the endoscope 2 (which is the main part of the first embodiment). There is.

The outer periphery of the rear end of the fourth pipe 17 is notched and the stopper 44
The thin-walled portion on the front end side of the ring 46, which is provided with the anti-rotation knob 45, is fixed by a screw or the like. The rear end side of the ring 46 projects rearward from the fourth pipe 17, and a recess formed on the outer periphery of the front end of the scope holding member 47 is fitted on the outer side of the fourth pipe 17. The front end face of this scope holding member 47 is a hollow pressing disc.
It is fixed to 48 with screws. The holding disk 48 is attached so as to sandwich the front and rear surfaces of a ring 46 on which a knob 45 is projected with the scope holding member 47, and a scope holding member for holding the endoscope 2 to be attached to the ring 46. The member 47 side can be rotated. The holding disk 48 prevents the scope holding member 47 from coming out backward. Then,
By rotating the knob 45 protruding by inserting the threaded portion into the threaded hole of the ring 46 and setting the inner tip of the threaded portion to press the outer surface of the scope holding member 47, the scope The holding member 47 can be clamped so as not to rotate.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 6, the scope holding member 47 is provided with a substantially rectangular inner wall surface 47A corresponding to the outer shape of the operation portion 11 of the endoscope 2 so that the scope holding member 47 can be mounted without rattling.

Therefore, the screw portion screwed into the screw hole of the scope holding member 47 in the scope holding knob 49 protruding from the scope holding member 47 is projected inward and pressed through the holding protection member 51 to provide an internal view. The endoscope 2 can be fixed by pressing the side surface of the operation unit 11 of the mirror 2. An O-ring 52 is interposed between the scope holding member 47 and the ring 46 provided with the knob 45 so as to have an appropriate frictional force.

By the way, the front portion side of the operation portion 5 of the auxiliary tool 1 is connected to the rear end of the guide tube portion 4 protected by the tapered bending preventing member 53.

According to the first embodiment configured in this manner, the mounting portion 7 formed on the rear end side of the operation portion 5 via the endoscope holding portion 6 is provided with the knob 49 as a fixing means of the endoscope 2. The scope holding member 47 provided is rotatably attached and the holding member 47
A rotation stopper knob 45 is provided on the ring 46 that is in sliding contact with the rotation of the. Therefore, when the endoscope 2 in the auxiliary tool 1 is inserted to guide the distal end side of the insertion portion 3 of the endoscope 2 to an observation or inspection site in a body cavity or a lumen, the direction of the visual field is changed. In order to set the direction desired by the user, the following may be done.

By loosening the knob 45 of the ring 46, the scope holding member 47
Ring 46 side, that is, each pipe 1 to which this ring 46 is connected
4,15,16,17 can be rotated independently of the operation unit 5. Therefore, since the endoscope 2 together with the scope holding member 47 is rotatable, the orientation can be set to be suitable for observation by tightening the knob 45 after rotating and setting the direction suitable for observation. Since the direction suitable for observation can be set by such a simple operation, the operability can be greatly improved.

Further, when a photographing device is attached to the eyepiece 54 of the endoscope 2 for photographing, a tripod mounting screw hole provided in the stopper member 18 is used to cause the blurring of the auxiliary tool 1 when photographing. Can be prevented. Even if the azimuth of the imaging field of view is not appropriate, the knob 45 can be used to easily reset the settings, and imaging for diagnosis or inspection can be completed in a short time.

In the first embodiment, for example, as a sliding mechanism for the first pipe 14 and the second pipe 15, a key is attached to the rear end of the first pipe 14, while the inner wall side of the second pipe 15 is attached. The key groove may be provided in the.

FIG. 7 shows the essential parts of the second embodiment of the present invention.

The auxiliary tool 61 of the second embodiment is the pipe of the first embodiment.
The holding part 6 that can expand and contract with 14, 15, 16, 17 is formed,
In the second embodiment, an interlocking spiral tube 62 is used to form a retractable holding portion 63 as shown in the figure. Thus, a mounting portion 7 that can be mounted rotatably is formed on the rear end side of the holding portion 63.

Others are the same as those in the first embodiment.

The rotation mechanism on the side of the endoscope mounting portion 7 on which the endoscope 2 is mounted (for example, between the ring 46 and the scope holding member 47 in FIG. 1) and the main body of the auxiliary tool (on the side of the operation portion 5). A click mechanism may be provided in the rotating mechanism (for example, between the fitting surface of the pipe 14 and the stopper member 18 in FIG. 3) so that the setting can be performed with good reproducibility every several degrees of angular rotation.

The rotation of the endoscope mounting portion 7 and the operation portion 5 may be electrically driven by using a motor or the like.

In addition, when the endoscope holding portion (6, etc.) is extendable and retractable, a mechanism that can be click-locked at a predetermined extension / contraction position may be provided.

It should be noted that although the distal end side of the insertion portion 4 can be bent at one place, the guide tube portion 4 may be bent at two positions such as the distal end portion and an intermediate position.
It is also possible to allow the point to be curved.

Further, in the above embodiment, the entire guide tube portion 4 is a flexible soft guide tube portion, but a part thereof may be made hard. Alternatively, the entire guide tube portion 4 may be made rigid to have a stretchable structure.

Further, the guide tube portion 4 is formed of an interlocking spiral tube or the like to have a structure capable of being bent or expanded and contracted, or a bending portion is provided on the distal end side of this guide tube portion so that bending operation can be performed at the hand side. good.

Incidentally, the present invention is not limited to a structure in which the holding portion can expand and contract,
It can also be applied to fixed types that cannot be expanded and contracted.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention as described above, since the endoscope holding portion through which the endoscope is inserted is provided with the expansion / contraction means that is expandable / contractible in the insertion direction with respect to the auxiliary tool body, This allows the endoscope inserted into the guide tube to be moved back and forth in the insertion direction through the mounting portion, and the endoscope mounting portion on which the endoscope is mounted can be moved independently of the auxiliary body. Since the rotating means is provided so that it can be rotated, the inserted endoscope can be rotated, and the operability when observing or photographing can be greatly improved. Can be removed. The operability when observing or photographing can be greatly improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 6 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of an endoscope mounting portion of the auxiliary tool of the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a side view showing the whole of the first embodiment,
3 is a sectional view taken along the line AA 'in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line BB' in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line CC 'in FIG. FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line DD 'in FIG. 1, and FIG. 7 is a side view showing the entire second embodiment of the present invention. 1 …… (Endoscope insertion) auxiliary tool 2 …… Endoscope, 4 …… Guide tube section 5 …… (Guide tube) operation section 6 …… Holding section, 7 …… Endoscope mounting section 14,15 , 16,17 …… Pipe 18 …… Stopping member, 21 …… Knob 28,34,38 …… Key groove 29,35,39 …… Key 31,36,41 …… Stop ring 45 …… (for rotation stop) ) Pick 46 …… Ring, 47 …… Scope holding member 49 …… Pick

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An endoscope insertion aid having a guide tube portion having a hollow passage through which an endoscope insertion portion can be inserted, and a guide tube operation portion having a mounting portion to which an endoscope operation portion can be attached and detached. 3. The endoscope insertion aid according to claim 1, wherein the mounting portion is movable back and forth with respect to the guide tube operating portion, and the mounting portion is provided with a rotating mechanism rotatable with respect to the guide tube operating portion. 2. The endoscope insertion aid according to claim 1, wherein the endoscope insertion aid has a bending mechanism.