JPH0810975A - Production of bent tube joint part for endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the production method of a bent tube joint part for endoscope which does not damage or cut the glass fiber or wire inserted therein. CONSTITUTION:A platy metal member 2 having thin thickness is inserted in a metal tube 1, the metal member 2 is pushed to the adhesive coated on the inner peripheral surface of metal tube 1 beforehand and is brought tight contact therewith. Successively, the metal tube 1 and metal member 2 are simultaneously cut by a laser 6.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a cansetsu component which constitutes a bending tube for an endoscope which is flexibly operated by an operation of an operating portion and which is rotatably connected by a rivet at a connecting portion. It is a thing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 6, a bending tube 23 for an endoscope is constructed by connecting a plurality of cansetsu parts 21 with a rivet 22 so that an operating section (not shown) moves the vertical and horizontal directions. A so-called bending operation in the direction is possible.

An example of a method of manufacturing a Kansetsu component for an endoscope is the invention described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-49884. In the above invention, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a tubular or rod-shaped metal light-shielding body 1 having a relatively good thermal conductivity is provided inside a pipe 16 attached to a rotary support 19.
7 is provided coaxially and rotates synchronously with the pipe 16.

In the above structure, the pipe 16 is cut by melting and scattering by irradiating the laser beam L while ejecting the assist gas from the nozzle 10.
The dross 11 generated and scattered at the time of cutting is the pipe 16
The pipe 1 is attached to the light shield 17 rotating in synchronization with the pipe 1.
It is proposed that it does not adhere to the inner peripheral surface of No. 6.

[0005]

However, the above-mentioned prior art has the following drawbacks. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the dross 11, which is a molten material generated when the pipe 16 is cut, is certainly blocked by the light shield 17 having a high thermal conductivity, and therefore adheres to the lower surface of the inner circumference of the pipe 16. do not do. However, since the assist gas 8 is applied with a necessary pressure to cut the pipe 16 appropriately, the assist gas 8
The dross 11 scatters due to the force of, and bounces on the upper surface of the light shield 17, and adheres to the inner peripheral surface of the pipe 16, particularly the inner peripheral upper surface.

Further, when the inner peripheral surface of the pipe 16 and the outer surface of the light shield 17 are close to each other, the influence of the bounce becomes large, and more dross 11 adheres to the inner peripheral surface of the pipe 16. Further, since the material having a large wall thickness of the pipe 16 or the material whose cutting width has to be widened depending on the processing conditions has a large amount of melted material, the amount of the dross 11 generated is naturally increased. Therefore, the dross 11 is connected to the pipe 16
More and more adheres to the inner surface.

As another drawback, as shown in FIG. 10, when the pipe 16 is cut by the laser light L, the molten material does not generate only the dross 11, but a lump of the molten material (hereinafter Burr) is also generated. The burr 12 adheres to the inner peripheral surface of the pipe 16 at the cut portion. In this way, the dross 11 and the burr 12 are attached and remain on the inner peripheral surface of the pipe 16. This means that the glass fiber for transmitting an image or the wire that can be freely bent is inserted inside the bending tube for an endoscope. It leads to serious defects or accidents of damage or cutting.

Therefore, the dross 11 and the burr 12 must be removed. However, since the dross 11 has a high temperature, it is welded to the inner peripheral surface of the pipe 16, and once attached, it is difficult to easily remove it. That is, conventionally, a person has manually rubbed it with a brush or the like, or washed it. The burr 12 was also shaved by hand with a file. Therefore, if the above steps are taken, it is not possible to improve the number of products produced and the yield rate.

The objects of claims 1, 2 and 3 are such that, when a metal pipe is cut by a laser, dross and burrs do not adhere to the inner peripheral surface of the metal pipe, and the glass is inserted into the inside of the bending tube for an endoscope. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing a curved tube casset component without damaging or cutting fibers or wires.

[0010]

According to the present invention, a thin metal member is brought into close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the metal pipe when the Kansetsu component of the endoscope bending tube is cut from the metal pipe by a laser. After that, the metal pipe on the inner peripheral surface of the metal pipe is cut at the same time while rotating the metal pipe in the outer peripheral direction.

[0011]

The operation of claims 1 and 2 will be described below. When cutting the metal pipe with the laser, the metal member that is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the metal pipe is also cut at the same time. At this time, the dross scattered inside the metal member due to the momentum of the assist gas adheres to the inner peripheral lower surface. Further, it bounces off the inner peripheral surface of the metal member and adheres to the inner peripheral surface of the metal member. Further, a part of the melted material adheres to the inner peripheral surface for the metal member of the cut portion as burrs.

Further, the lower surface of the inner circumference of the metal pipe has a function of not being cut because the lower surface of the inner circumference of the metal member blocks the laser beam. Then, after cutting, the metal member is removed. As a matter of course, the dross and burrs adhering to the inner peripheral surface of the metal member are removed. That is, dross and burrs do not adhere to the inner peripheral surface of the metal pipe.

The operation of claims 1 and 3 will be described below. A metal material having a low melting point such as solder is melted and fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the metal pipe, and the metal pipe is cut by a laser. Then, the metal material is melted and removed again. It goes without saying that similarly, the dross and burrs do not adhere to the inner peripheral surface of the metal pipe.

[0014]

[Embodiment 1] FIGS. 1 to 3 show the present embodiment, FIG. 1 is a perspective view at the time of cutting a pipe by a laser, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of mounting a plate-shaped metal member, and FIG. 3 is a time at which a pipe is cut by a laser. FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, a table 5 is provided which can be controlled to move in the X-axis direction, which is the axial direction of the metal pipe 1, by a motor and a ball screw (not shown). Table 5
A rotating device 4 having a rotating shaft is installed on the upper surface. Further, the rotating device 4 is connected to a motor (not shown) so that rotation can be controlled.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the metal pipe 1 is previously prepared.
The adhesive 24 is applied to the inner peripheral surface, and the thin plate-shaped metal member 2 is wound around the outer periphery of the columnar or cylindrical member 20 and inserted into the metal pipe 1. And
The columnar or cylindrical member 20 is pulled out, and the metal member 2 is pressed against the inner peripheral surface of the metal pipe 1 by a rod-shaped member (not shown) to bring them into close contact. Furthermore, the metal member 2 can be removed after cutting. The metal pipe 1 with which the metal member 2 is in close contact is held by the rotating device 4 via the collet chuck 3.

Next, the laser 6 is arranged so as to focus near the cut surface of the metal pipe 1 via the lens 9, and the optical axis of the laser 6 intersects with the central axis of the metal pipe 1. It is arranged. Further, when the metal pipe 1 is cut by the laser 6, the assist gas 8 is ejected from the nozzle 10 through the assist gas pipe 7.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below. First,
The metal pipe 1 with which the metal member 2 is in close contact is held by a rotating device 4 driven by a motor via a collet chuck 3. Next, the position of the metal pipe 1 is positioned at the cutting start position by an external control device (not shown). The laser 6 oscillator is activated in advance, the assist gas 8 is ejected from the nozzle 10 through the assist gas pipe 7, and the shutter of the laser 6 is opened.

The rotating device 4 is rotated by driving the motor. That is, the laser 6 is sequentially irradiated to the outer peripheral surface of the metal pipe 1 to perform cutting processing. This state is shown in Figure 3.
It will be explained in. Laser 6 for metal pipe 1 and metal member 2
And are disconnected at the same time. At this time, the molten metal pipe 1
The material of the metal member 2 is the dross 11 and the burr 12.
Becomes

The dross 11 is scattered by the momentum of the assist gas 8 and adheres to the lower surface of the inner circumference of the metal member 2. Moreover, what is rebounded from the inner peripheral lower surface of the metal member 2 adheres to the inner peripheral surface of the metal member 2. Furthermore, the burr 12 adheres to the inner peripheral surface of the metal member 2 at the cut portion. Further, it is needless to say that the complicated shape of the Kansetsu part can be cut by controlling the rotation of the metal pipe 1 and the metal member 2 in the X-axis direction at the same time.

According to the present embodiment, the metal pipe and the metal member are simultaneously cut by a laser, and the metal member is removed after cutting, so that there is an effect that dross and burrs do not adhere to the inner peripheral surface of the metal pipe. Further, the attachment of the plate-shaped metal member has an effect that it can be applied to pipes having different diameters. Further, it is possible to provide a highly reliable curved tube canss component that does not damage or cut the glass fiber or wire that is inserted through the inside of the curved tube for an endoscope.

[0021]

Embodiment 2 FIGS. 4 and 5 show this embodiment, FIG. 4 is a front view when cutting a pipe with a laser, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view when cutting a pipe with a laser. In this embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a tubular metal member 2 having a small thickness is fitted into the inner diameter of the metal pipe 1. After cutting, the metal member 2 can be removed.

Only the operation different from that of the first embodiment will be described below. When the metal pipe 1 is cut by the laser 6, the tubular metal member 2 fitted to the inner peripheral surface of the metal pipe 1 is also cut at the same time. At this time, similarly to FIG. 3, the dross 11 and the burr 12 generated during cutting adhere to the inner peripheral surface of the metal member 2. After further cutting, the metal member 2 is removed.

According to the present embodiment, the metal pipe and the metal member are simultaneously cut by the laser, and the metal member is removed after cutting, so that the dross and burrs do not adhere to the inner peripheral surface of the metal pipe. Further, it is possible to provide a highly reliable curved tube component which does not damage or cut a glass fiber or a wire inserted through the inside of the curved tube for an endoscope. Further, by fitting a tubular metal member to the inner peripheral surface of the metal pipe, it is possible to cut a metal pipe of several meters, which brings about an effect of improving productivity.

[0024]

Third Embodiment This embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Further, the same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. A material having a low melting point, such as solder, is melted to form the metal member 2, and the metal member 1 is evenly fixed to the inner peripheral surface. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the metal pipe 1 is held by the rotating device 4 via the collet chuck 3.
Cut with the laser 6. Further, after cutting, the metal member 2 can be melted and removed.

Only the operation different from that of the first embodiment will be described below. When cutting the metal pipe 1 with the laser 6, the metal pipe 1 and the metal member 2 are cut at the same time. Then, the dross 11 and the burr 12 generated at the time of cutting adhere to the inner peripheral surface of the metal member 2. Further, after cutting, the metal member 2 is melted and removed.

According to this embodiment, by cutting the metal pipe and the metal member at the same time with the laser and removing the metal member after cutting, there is an effect that dross and burrs do not adhere to the inner peripheral surface of the metal pipe. Further, it is possible to provide a highly reliable curved tube canss component that does not damage or cut the glass fiber or wire that is inserted through the inside of the curved tube for an endoscope. Further, fixing the molten metal member to the inner peripheral surface of the metal pipe has an effect that not only the pipe shape but also the one having a complicated cross-sectional shape is possible and cutting processing can be performed. Further, the metal member melted and removed after cutting can be used many times by separating and removing burrs and dross, which also has an effect of reducing the cost.

[0027]

The effects of the first, second and third aspects of the present invention are to bring a metal member having a thin wall thickness into close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the metal pipe, cut the metal member together with the metal pipe with a laser, and cut the metal member after cutting. By removing it, it is possible to obtain the effect that the dross and burrs do not adhere to the inner peripheral surface of the metal pipe. Therefore, it is possible to provide a method of manufacturing a curved tube component for an endoscope without damaging or cutting a glass fiber or a wire inserted through the inside of the curved tube for an endoscope.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a laser when cutting a pipe according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of mounting a plate-shaped metal member showing the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view when cutting a pipe with a laser according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a laser when cutting a pipe according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view when cutting a pipe with a laser according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 8 is a front view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Metal Pipe 2 Metal Member 3 Collet Chuck 4 Rotating Device 5 Table 6 Laser 7 Assist Gas Pipe 8 Assist Gas 9 Lens 10 Nozzle 11 Dross 12 Burr

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. When cutting a Kansetsu component of a curved tube for an endoscope from a metal pipe with a laser, after a thin metal member is brought into close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the metal pipe, the metal pipe is moved in the outer peripheral direction. A method for manufacturing a curved tube Kansetsu part for an endoscope, characterized in that the metal member on the inner peripheral surface of the metal pipe is cut at the same time while being rotated. 2. The curved tube cansetsu component for an endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the metal member on the inner peripheral surface of the metal pipe is a thin-walled tubular member fitted to the metal pipe. Production method. 3. The curved tube capsule for an endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the metal member on the inner peripheral surface of the metal pipe is a molten metal material having a low melting point fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the metal pipe. Manufacturing method of parts.