JPH08322784A - Cover type endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a highly operable cover type endoscope which enables setting of a hand port body of a cover in a weight balance as with an ordinary endoscope without the cover even when it is fixed on the hand side of the endoscope for the cover. CONSTITUTION: A seal part 16 to be fixed on the hand side of the endoscope 2 for a cover is provided at the rear end of a sheath 11 covering an inserting part 4 of the endoscope 2 for the cover, the rear end of a coil 26 of the inserting part 4 is fastened on the front ends of a cylinder member 27 with the outer diameter thereof almost the same as that of the coil 26 and an outer cylinder member 29 with a slightly larger diameter and an outer circumferential surface of the outer cylinder member 29 forms a fixing part of the seal part 16. The rear end of the cylinder member 27 positioned backward from the fixing part is connected to an arm member 50 in an operating section 5 to make a connection part 53 and the outside of the connection part 53 is covered with a grip member 5a while the side backward from the connection part 53 is made wider.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cover type endoscope in which a cover endoscope is covered with an endoscope cover for use.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, endoscopes have been widely used in medical fields and industrial fields. In particular, an endoscope used in the medical field needs to be sufficiently disinfected and washed after an endoscopic examination so that an infection or the like does not occur. For this reason, recently, in order to save the labor and time of disinfection and cleaning between endoscope inspections, the endoscope is covered with an endoscope cover before the inspection, and the endoscope cover is discarded after the inspection. An endoscope was proposed. In this cover-type endoscope, the endoscope covered with the endoscope cover is called a cover endoscope.

FIG. 13 shows the structure of a conventional cover type endoscope 79. A mouthpiece 77 for connecting to the operation portion 75 is fixed to the rear end (hand side end portion) of the flexible flexible tube (or flexible tube portion) 96 of the insertion portion 74 of the cover endoscope 72. The base 77 has a metal inner cylinder member 78 at the front end of the operating portion 75.
It is connected to the.

The outer side of the inner cylinder member 78 is covered with a resinous outer cylinder member 99, and the front end of the outer cylinder member 99 is connected to the rear end of the bending preventing member 98 whose diameter is increased by tapering. . The structures of the rear end portion of the insertion portion 74 and the front end portion of the operation portion 75 are the same as those of the existing reuse endoscope, that is, the endoscope without a cover.

On the other hand, in the endoscope cover 73, a mouth portion 85 for fixing the near side of the endoscope cover 73 to the operation portion 75 is fixed to the rear end of the sheath 81 covering the insertion portion 74. . The mouth body portion 85 is fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the outer tubular member 99 outside the inner tubular member 78 of the operation portion 75. The fixing means is
For example, as shown in FIG. 13, an O-ring 86 provided on the mouth 85
It is fixed by friction. (There are other fixing methods).

[0006]

At the front end of the operating portion 75, there is a connecting portion 83 for connecting the cap 77 to the flexible tube 96. The connecting portion 83 has an inner cylinder member 78 covering the base 77 and an outer cylinder member 99 covering the inner cylinder member 78. In the existing endoscope without a cover, the outer diameter of the outer tube member 99 is not particularly thick.

However, in the cover type endoscope 79,
Since the proximal mouth portion 85 of the endoscope cover 73 is fitted and fixed to the outer tubular member 99 at the front end portion of the operation portion 75, it is apparent that the front end portion of the operation portion 75 is larger than that of the current coverless endoscope. The portion (where the mouth portion 85 is) becomes thick, and the weight balance of the endoscope is different from that of the current endoscope without a cover.

In other words, in the current endoscope without a cover, the weight balance is set so that the operation is easy when the grip portion near the front end of the operation portion is gripped. It is expected that the insertion part side becomes heavy due to the mouth part 85 of the above and the weight balance becomes different from that of the current endoscope without a cover, and the operability is deteriorated and the operator's fatigue is increased. Is desired.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and even if the mouthpiece of the cover is fixed to the near side of the endoscope for a cover, the weight balance is almost the same as that of the existing endoscope without a cover. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cover-type endoscope that can be maintained for a long time and can be used without a decrease in operability.

[0010]

A cover endoscope having an elongated insertion portion, an operation portion formed on the rear end side of the insertion portion, and an insertion portion cover for covering at least the insertion portion are provided. Then, in a cover-type endoscope including a fixing portion that fixes the fixing mouth body portion on the hand side of the insertion portion cover to the hand side of the cover endoscope, in the insertion portion of the cover endoscope, By providing a connection portion between the connection mouthpiece fixed to the proximal end portion and the operation portion of the cover endoscope on the hand side from the fixed portion, the outside diameter of the connection portion becomes larger and the mouth portion is outside the connection portion. The mouth part can be made thinner than when fixing, and the weight balance can be maintained almost the same as the weight balance of the endoscope without the cover even if the cover is attached, and the operation feeling of the endoscope without the cover It can be used with good operability as well.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) FIGS. 1 to 4 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a cover type endoscope of the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a cover type endoscope. The structure of the tip side is shown in FIG.
Shows a detailed structure in the vicinity of the mouth part of the cover endoscope and the endoscope cover, and FIG. 4 shows a structure of a modified example of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, a cover type endoscope 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention comprises a cover endoscope 2 and an endoscope cover 3 which covers the cover endoscope 2. The used endoscope cover 3 is discarded after the endoscopic examination, and the covering endoscope 2 is used by being covered with a new endoscope cover 3 in the next endoscopic examination.

The cover endoscope 2 has an elongated insertion portion 4 having flexibility, a wide operation portion 5 formed at a rear end of the insertion portion 4, and an extension portion 5 extended from the operation portion 5. And a universal cord 6. The insertion portion 4 is formed by a hard tip forming portion 7 formed at the tip thereof, a bending portion 8 formed adjacent to the tip forming portion 7 so as to be bendable, and formed adjacent to the bending portion 8. The bending portion 8 can be bent by operating a bending operation knob (not shown) of the operation portion 5 that has a flexible long flexible tube (or flexible tube portion) 26.

A grip portion 5b is formed adjacent to the rear end of the operation portion 5 so that the bending operation knob or switch provided on the rear end side of the operation portion 5 can be operated by a hand holding the operation portion 5.
On the other hand, the endoscope cover 3 includes a sheath 11 as an insertion portion cover that covers the insertion portion 4, and an operation portion / universal cord cover (hereinafter, referred to as “operation portion / universal cord cover” that covers the operation portion 5 and the universal cord 6).
It simply has an operation portion cover (abbreviated as 12).

The sheath 11 has a distal end cover 14 fixedly formed on the distal end side thereof to cover the distal end constituting portion 7, and a rear end of the sheath 11 is a portion fixed to the proximal side of the cover endoscope 2. A fixing mouth part (hereinafter abbreviated as a mouth part) 15 is provided. When positioning and fixing the distal end forming portion 7 of the cover endoscope 2 to the distal end cover 7 of the endoscope cover 3, it is possible to cope with variations in the lengths of the sheath 11 and the insertion portion 4,
The mouth portion 15 of the sheath 11 is the operation portion 5 of the cover endoscope 2.
The outer peripheral surface having a small diameter can be fixed by a sliding frictional force of the seal portion 16 at an arbitrary position within a certain range. The operation portion cover 12 is fixed and attached to the rear end of the mouth portion 15 with tape or the like.

In this embodiment, as will be described later, the operation unit 5
And a connecting portion 53 for connecting the flexible tube 26 of the insertion portion 4 to the operating portion 5 on the front side of the connecting portion 53,
A fixing portion for fixing the mouth portion 15 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the connection mouthpiece which can be made smaller in diameter than the connection portion 53. In other words, the connecting portion 53 is formed on the rear side of the fixed portion.

The tubular member 27 is covered with an outer tubular member 29, and a gripping member 5a is provided so as to cover the connecting portion 53 from the vicinity of the rear end of the outer tubular member 29. An operator can grip the gripping member 5a that has been turned into a handle and operate a switch or the like provided behind it. Further, the outer peripheral surface of the outer tubular member 29 is substantially fitted to the inner peripheral surface of the mouth portion 15, and the seal portion 16 forms a fixing portion for fixing the rear end side of the sheath 11.

That is, the connecting portion 53 is formed on the rear end side (for example, by lengthening the tubular member 27 and the outer tubular member 29), and the mouth body portion 15 (by the sealing portion 16) is provided on the front side of the connecting portion 53. By forming the fixing portion, the size of the mouth portion 15 (outer diameter and wall thickness associated with the outer diameter) can be made smaller than in the case of the conventional example in which the fixing portion is fixed on the rear side of the connecting portion 53. One of the features of the first embodiment is that the operation can be performed with a sense of balance that is almost the same as when the endoscope without a cover is held.

As shown in FIG. 2, an observation window 17 and an illumination window 10 are provided on the front end surface of the front end forming portion 7, and an objective lens system 22 (more specifically, the first lens of the objective lens system 22) and an observation window 17 are provided. The illumination lens 23 is attached. A slope 25 is formed between the observation window 17 and the illumination window 10 on this tip surface, and the observation window 17 is located at a position higher than the illumination window 10. In other words, the tip surface in the vicinity of the observation window 17 projects forward from the vicinity of the illumination window 10.

On the other hand, the inner surface of the tip cover 14 facing the inclined surface 25 is not inclined but has a flat inner surface. The tip cover 14 is formed of at least an opaque member that is not transparent, or has an inner surface coated with a member having a function of blocking light or absorbing light. Observation window 17 and illumination window 1 in this tip cover 14
The transparent cover 2 made of a transparent material is the part facing 0.
1a and 21b are provided.

A convex portion 30a is formed on the side of the tip forming section 7, and the front surface of the objective lens system 22 is attached so as to slightly project from the tip surface of the tip forming section 7. And
By pushing the cover endoscope 2 side into the sheath 11 to a position where the front surface of the objective lens system 22 abuts against the inner surface of the tip cover 14, the convex portion 30a is moved to the tip cover 14.
A fixing mechanism for positioning and fixing the tip forming portion 7 and the tip cover 14 over the convex portion 30b is formed.

The front surface of the objective lens system 22, that is, the side surface of the first lens exposed from the front end surface of the front end forming portion 7 is coated with a light shielding member or the like.
Light is prevented from entering the lens.

When the front surface of the objective lens system 22 is fixed by abutting against the inner surface of the tip cover 14 as described above, a part of the front surface of the objective lens system 22 is provided on the tip cover 14 as follows. The structure is set so as to overlap with the opaque portion, so that the flare can be prevented or at least reduced.

A part of the inner surface of the transparent cover 21a facing the observation window 17 is provided with a light shielding processing portion 48 for absorbing or shielding light (as a preferable concrete example of the opaque portion). The light-shielding processing unit 48 is located outside the visual field range 24 (shown by a dotted line in FIG. 2) of the objective lens system 22.
2 and a part of the front surface of the second lens, more specifically, a peripheral portion of the front surface of the first lens.

The light-shielding processing portion 48 may be painted in black, or a thin member such as a metal plate having a light-shielding function may be attached. The opaque portion is preferably the light-shielding processing portion 48 having a function of absorbing or blocking light, but other than this, a light-scattering processing portion 48 that diffuses light by scattering or the like to reduce the light may be used. As an example of this dimming part, the inner surface of the transparent cover 21a may be grained.

FIG. 4 shows the structure of the modification of FIG. In this modification, the slope 25 is formed on the tip cover 14 side, not on the tip forming portion 7 side. That is, the tip end surface of the tip forming portion 7 is flat, and the observation window 17 and the illumination window 1 are
On the inner surface of the tip cover 14 facing between 0, a slope 25 is formed such that the portion facing the illumination window 10 projects forward.

Although the light-shielding processing portion 48 of FIG. 2 is not formed, a part of the light-shielding portion 49 provided between the transparent covers 21a and 21b is located outside the visual field range 24 in the objective lens system 2.
It overlaps with a part of the front surface of 2.

FIG. 3 shows a detailed view of the vicinity of the mouth portion 15 of the cover endoscope 2 and the endoscope cover 3. First, the rear end of the flexible flexible tube 26 in the insertion portion 4 of the cover endoscope 2 is fixed to a hard tubular member 27. The vicinity of the connecting portion between the flexible tube 26 and the tubular member 27 is covered with a bending preventing member 28 made of a flexible material such as rubber. The outer circumference of the tubular member 27 is covered with an outer tubular member 29. The grip member 5a is an outer cylinder member 29.
And is watertightly connected.

When the sheath 11 is attached, the pressurizing conduit 23 for detecting whether or not a hole is opened in the sheath 11 by detecting a pressure change when pressurizing is provided with the fixing member 31.
The fixing member 31 is fixed to the tubular member 27. A taper surface 32 is provided at the front end of the fixing member 31 so that the internal components are not damaged, although not shown. The pressure member 33 that penetrates the tubular member 27 and the outer tubular member 29 from the fixing member 31 is provided. The pressure mouthpiece 33 has a pressure hole 34, and the pressure hole 34 is formed in the fixing member 31.
In, it communicates with the inside of the pressurizing pipe line 31. Outer cylinder member 29
A pin 35 stands on a part of.

Next, details of the endoscope cover 3 will be described. A channel 19 for inserting a treatment instrument and fluid conduits 20, 20 for supplying air or water are inserted into the sheath 11.

The rear end of the sheath 11 is fixed to a break preventing cover 36 covering the break preventing member 28 by means such as welding or adhesion. The break prevention cover 36 is made of a flexible material such as a rubber tube. The mouth portion 15 is composed of a break prevention cover 36 and a mouth portion main body 37. The mouth body 37 is molded of hard resin.

The rear end of the break-preventing cover 36 is the mouth main body 3
7 is fitted to the front end, and the outer side thereof is joined by shrinking the heat shrink tube 38. The presence of the break preventive cover 36 allows the flexible tube 26 to have a break preventive function even when the break preventive member 28 of the cover endoscope 2 is covered.

The channel 19 and the fluid conduits 20 and 20 in the sheath 11 pass, for example, on the right side in the cover (the back side of the paper in FIG. 3), but in the fold preventive cover 36, the fold preventive member 28 is moved about. It turns 90 ° and is joined to the front end of the mouth body 37. The channel 19 is the mouth body 37
This is abutted against the front projecting portion 39 of the front end portion of, and the outer circumference thereof is contracted by the heat shrink tube 40 to join them.

The inner cavity of the channel 19 communicates with the front protrusion 39, extends rearward, and communicates with the treatment instrument insertion port 41.
At the end of the treatment instrument insertion port 41, a treatment instrument plug 4 made of a rubber tube is provided.
2 is removable.

A branch portion 43 is provided between the front protruding portion 39 and the treatment instrument insertion opening 41, and communicates with the rear protruding portion 44 and the lumen of the suction tube 18. There is a flange 15a (almost the entire circumference) behind the mouth body 37, and the end of the operation cover 12 is attached to the groove or recess 45 immediately behind it by a tape or ring-shaped binding member 46. There is.

The seal portion 16 provided inside the mouth main body 37
Is a simple fixing in which the outer cylinder member 29 of the operating portion 5 is closely adhered to both members so as to keep airtightness, and the mouth portion 15 at the rear end of the sheath 11 is fixed to the operating portion 5 by the frictional force when they are in close contact. Forming the means. It is possible to slide the mouth part body 37 back and forth against this frictional force.

If the outer shape of the outer tubular member 29 is made substantially circular, and if the seal portion 16 is also made of rubber or the like to have a substantially circular cross section, it is easy to ensure airtightness. A groove 47 is provided at the rear of the seal portion 16 and the pin 35 is fitted therein to regulate rotation (having the effect of keeping the direction in which the treatment instrument insertion port 41 faces substantially constant).

The rear end of the cylindrical member 27 is connected to the arm member 50, which is a member on the operating portion 5 side, with a screw 52. The connecting portion 53 is on the nearer side (rear side) than the seal portion 16 (the friction fixing portion with the operating portion 5) of the mouth portion 15.

In other words, in this embodiment, the tubular member 27 and the outer tubular member 29 as the connection mouthpiece for connecting the rear end side of the flexible tube 26 forming the insertion portion 4 to the operating portion 5 are, for example, forward (insertion portion). 4) side, the outer peripheral surface of which forms a fixing portion capable of fixing the seal portion 16 of the mouth body portion 15, and a connecting portion 53 connected to the arm member 50 of the operation portion 5 on the rear side of the fixing portion. And a fixed portion is formed in a portion that can be thinned in front of the wide gripping member 5a that covers the arm member 50, thereby reducing the diameter of the mouth portion 15 and reducing its weight. Is a feature.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, the diameter of the outer tubular member 29 can be reduced because the diameter of the tubular member 27 fixed to the flexible tube 26 and the connecting portion 53 of the arm member 50 of the operating portion 5 can be reduced in front of the outer tubular member 29. Since the mouth part 15 is fitted on the upper part, the mouth part 15 can be made thin. When the diameter of the mouth portion 15 is reduced, the thickness thereof can be reduced (compared to the case where it is thick), so that the weight can be reduced, and the weight balance when grasping the grasping portion 5b is almost the same as that of the current endoscope without a cover. Can be equal.

The seal portion 16 connects the mouth portion 15 to the outer cylinder member 29.
Since it can be fixed while being kept airtight, it is possible to press the sheath 11 portion through the pressurizing hole 34 and check whether there is a hole or the like in the sheath 11 depending on the pressure change state.

According to the first embodiment, even if the mouth part 15 on the cover side is fixed to the operation part 5 on the side of the cover endoscope 2, the fixed part can be made as thin as possible. The weight balance can be maintained in the same state as the endoscope without a cover,
Therefore, good operability can be maintained, and it is possible to prevent the operator from being easily tired due to a change in weight balance. In addition, since the weight of the gripping operation unit 5 can be reduced,
It is also possible to solve the problem that the operation becomes difficult because the weight becomes heavy and the operator is easily tired. Also, this first
Since the distal end side of the cover type endoscope 1 of the embodiment has the structure as shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 4, it has the following actions.

First, in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, since there is the slope 25, the direction of the observation window 17 through the illumination lens 23,
Most of the illuminating light beams emitted obliquely upward to the front side (in FIGS. 2 and 4) are emitted to the outside through the transparent cover 21b, but some are reflected on the inner surface of the transparent cover 21b. The light beam 51a becomes a light beam 51a, which is reflected by the slope 25 and the like and does not travel to the observation window 17 side.
It goes out from 1b (it has the effect of eliminating flare as much as possible).

The observation window 1 is expanded from the light beam 51a.
The light beam 51b emitted in the seven directions is the objective lens system 22.
The light-shielding processing portion 48 or the light-shielding portion 49 provided so as to overlap the peripheral portion of the (first lens) reaches the light-shielding processing portion 48.
Alternatively, the light is blocked by the light shielding portion 49 so as not to enter the transparent cover 21a facing the observation window 17 to prevent flare. Even in the case of the function of scattering instead of the light-shielding processing unit 48 or the light-shielding unit 49, the incidence of light into the transparent cover 21a is reduced by the scattering, so that flare can be reduced.

As described above, the first embodiment has the effect of preventing or reducing the occurrence of flare. The background to this will be described.

In the conventional example, as shown in FIG. 13, a transparent cover 91a in which the front surface of the objective lens 92 provided in the observation window 87 of the tip forming portion 77 at the tip of the insertion portion 74 is provided in the tip cover 84.
The field of view 94 on the outer surface of the transparent cover 21a is kept as small as possible by preventing the diameter of the transparent cover 21a from increasing, but the front surface of the objective lens 92 of the observation window 87 is reliably contacted with the transparent cover 21a. The front surface of the objective lens 92 projects from the front end surface of the front end forming portion 77 and the front surface of the illumination lens 93 of the illumination window 80.

Therefore, the light beam 95 emitted from the illumination window 80
Is reflected between the inner surface of the tip cover 14 and the tip surface of the tip forming portion 77, enters the transparent cover 91a, is also reflected there and enters the objective lens 92 in the observation window 13, and is observed as flare. May adversely affect the image.

Therefore, even if the front surface of the observation window or the objective lens is surely abutted against the transparent cover as described above,
For the purpose of preventing flare, in order to achieve this purpose, a part of the light-reducing portion or the light-shielding portion provided on the tip cover as described above is overlapped with a portion outside the viewing range of the observation window. With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the light beam emitted from the illumination window from repeatedly reflecting and entering from the front end surface of the observation window.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 5 shows the structure of the distal end forming portion 7 of the cover endoscope 2. A lens frame 57 to which the objective lens system unit 54 is attached is housed in the observation window 17, and a coil spring 55 housed in a ring-shaped recess or groove on the outside of the lens frame 57, for example, makes the front of the objective lens system 22 in the optical axis direction. The objective lens system unit 54 is biased toward the (object side) and is movable in the axial direction with respect to the tip forming unit 7 (a solid-state image pickup device (not shown) also has the objective lens system unit 54).
, And moves with the movement of the lens frame 57).

A projecting portion 56 is provided around the observation window 17 on the tip surface of the tip forming portion 7, and the coil spring 5 is provided.
Due to the biasing force of 5, the front surface of the objective lens system 22 slightly projects from the front surface of the projection 56. A seal member such as an O-ring for watertightness is provided in front of the coil spring 55.

An illumination lens 23 is attached to the illumination window 10 provided adjacent to the observation window 17, and the illumination light transmitted by the light guide 58 is emitted to the opposing transparent cover 21b side. FIG. 6 shows the structure of the distal end side in a state where the cover endoscope 2 is fitted with the endoscope cover 3. When the front surface of the objective lens system 22 is abutted and fixed to the transparent cover 21a, the objective lens system unit 54 is displaced (moved) to the rear side in the axial direction as shown in FIG.
And the protrusion 56 simultaneously contact the inner surface of the tip cover 14.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are modified examples of FIGS. Figure 7
As shown in FIG. 5, the objective lens system unit 54 is fixed and does not move with respect to the distal end forming unit 7, but a ring-shaped concave portion is formed around the observation window 17 to form a ring-shaped elastic projection 59. The elastic projection 59 is housed and the tip of the elastic projection 59 projects slightly forward of the observation window 17. The elastic protrusion 59 has elasticity that can expand and contract in the axial direction. The elastic projection 59 may be a coil spring or a rubber-based resin having elasticity.

FIG. 8 shows a state where the cover is attached. Elastic protrusion 5
When 9 is abutted against the inner surface of the tip cover 14 and the tip forming portion 7 of the cover endoscope 2 is fixed, the elastic projection 59 contracts in the axial direction, and both the observation window 17 and the elastic projection 59 are attached to the tip cover 1.
4 Can be set to hit the inner surface. It should be noted that the illumination lens 23 of FIG. 8 has a shorter non-lens portion in the axial direction than the illumination lens 23 of FIG.

FIG. 9 shows the structure on the hand side of the second embodiment.
The base 60 is fixed to the rear end of the flexible pipe 26.
It is connected to the arm member 50 in the operation portion 5 at the rear end side connection portion 53 (by screwing, bonding, soldering, etc.).

A peripheral groove is formed on the outer peripheral surface near the tip of the mouthpiece 60, a watertight O-ring is housed therein, and on the outer side thereof, a small-diameter cylindrical portion 9 on the tip side of the gripping member 5a is formed. The gripping member 5a is attached by adhesion or the like, and the gripping member 5a has a diameter enlarged near the tip of the arm member 50, and further has a diameter enlarged or widened on the rear side to serve as a gripping portion.

At the rear end of the sheath 11, a break preventing member 28 is provided.
Of the mouthpiece portion 15 is attached to the rear end of the folding preventing member 28. In this embodiment, since the cover member 28 is provided on the cover side, the cover member 28 is not provided on the cover endoscope side.

The operating portion 5 is formed with a thin cylindrical portion 9 having a small diameter on the front side of the connecting portion 53 between the base 60 and the arm member 50. The thin cylindrical portion 9 has a cylindrical outer peripheral surface. The mouth portion 15 is fitted, and the screw 61 serves as a fixing portion that can be fixed and released. The fixing means for fixing to this fixing portion may be something other than the screw 61.

Even if the screw 61 is not provided, the mouth portion 15 may be fitted into the small-diameter cylindrical portion 9 and fixed only by the sliding friction. In that case, the fitting portion (sliding portion) to be fitted becomes the fixed portion, and in any case, it is in front of the connecting portion 53 between the base 60 and the arm member 50. Although not shown, the operation unit 5 and the arm member 50 therein are partially connected.

Next, the operation will be described. Since the bending prevention member 28 is provided on the cover side at the hand side in FIG. 9, the bending prevention member is not required on the cover endoscope 2 side, and the structure is simplified. Further, since it can be firmly fixed with the screw 61 or the like, the mouth body portion 15 does not move with respect to the operation portion 5 during the endoscopic examination, and the proper mounting state of the cover can be maintained.

Therefore, there is an effect that the cover endoscope 2 can be made simpler than that of the first embodiment. Further, when the mouth portion 15 is provided with a strong fixing means such as a screw 61, there is an effect that the mouth portion 15 can be fixed to the operation portion 5 more reliably than friction fixing. Next, the function of preventing the flare from being generated by the configuration of the tip side of FIG. 6 or 8 in the second embodiment will be described.

First, when the cover endoscope 2 shown in FIG. 5 is inserted into and mounted on the endoscope cover 3, the front surface of the objective lens system 22 abuts on the transparent cover 21a and the projection portion as shown in FIG. Since at least a part of 56 also hits an opaque portion (having a function of making at least opaque other than the transparent cover 21a portion) of the tip cover 14, the illumination window 1
The light emitted from 0 does not leak to the observation window 17. In the case of FIG. 8 as well, when the cover endoscope 2 is inserted into the endoscope cover 3 and mounted in the same manner, the front surface of the objective lens system 22 abuts the transparent cover 21a, and at the same time the elastic projection 59 is at least the front end surface. Strikes the opaque portion of the tip cover 14, so that the light from the illumination window 10 does not leak to the observation window 17.

Further, in FIG. 6, the illuminating light is condensed in the illuminating lens 23 (the converging point is indicated by 62) and diverges from the illuminating light. The light is blocked when it hits. However, as shown in FIG. 8, by shortening the illumination lens 23 and projecting the condensing point 62 on the inner side of the outer surface of the tip cover 14 and on the front side of the surface of the illumination lens 23, the outer light ray 51b is projected. Since it goes out of the transparent cover 21b without hitting the opaque portion of the cover 14, the brightness and the light distribution are improved.

(Third Embodiment) Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to (A) and (B). FIG. 10 (A) shows
This is the structure of the tip of the cover-type endoscope 1 and has two illumination windows 10. FIG. 10B is a schematic view of the observation window 17 and the illumination window 10 when viewed from the front.

In this embodiment, among the primary reflection images by the cover transparent portion surface of the outer edge portion of the observation window, the reflection image near the outer edge portion in the closest distance to the illumination window is brought out of the observation visual field range, and the other outer edge portions By arranging at least a part of the reflection image of No. 2 in the observation visual field, the tip size is made small and good observation is possible.

The visual field range 63 shown by the dotted line in FIG.
Is on the surface of the observation window 17. This field of view 63
Is a substantially rectangular shape (or a polygonal shape in which the four corners of the rectangular shape are masked) (matching the monitor screen shape). This field of view 6
3 extends a little like the surface of the tip cover 14 and expands like a visual field range 64 shown by a dotted line. In addition, as shown in FIG. 10B, the opposite side of the substantially rectangular observation visual field 63 (opposite 2
The illumination window 10 is formed adjacent to the side (direction perpendicular to the side).

FIG. 10A shows a visual field range 65 on the opposite side and a visual field range 66 in the diagonal direction in the visual field range 63.
When a part of the illumination light illuminates the edge portion of the objective lens system 22, the illuminated edge portion is reflected inside the outer surface of the transparent cover 21a to form a reflected image 67 (primary reflected image).

This reflected image 67 is a visual field range 6 in the diagonal direction.
6 (width of field of view), but the field of view 65 on the opposite side
It is set outside the (width of the field of view). In addition, the structure of the cover-type endoscope 1 on the near side is shown in FIG.
It has the same structure as.

Next, the operation will be described. In FIG. 10A, a part of the light 68 emitted from the illumination window 10 is attached to the observation window 17 and illuminates the edge of (the first lens of) the objective lens system 22 while reflecting. However, the way to illuminate is that the part of the edge of the objective lens system 22 that is in the closest distance to the illumination window 10 is the brightest (reflected light 68 in FIG. 10B), or the other part is extremely weak, It will disappear.

Therefore, the reflected light 68 is reflected in the visual field range 64 (the visual field range around the reflection image 67 in FIG. 10A).
The reflected image 67 of the other objective lens system 22 is extremely weak, so that it does not matter even if it enters the visual field range. By putting it in the (width) 65,
The objective lens system 22 or the observation window 17 is not made larger than necessary, and the diameter of the tip forming portion 7 does not need to be increased.

According to this embodiment, it is possible to obtain a good observation image and to reduce the diameter of the tip portion. Others can be set to the same weight balance as the endoscope without the cover as in the first or second embodiment, and the deterioration of operability can be prevented.

(Fourth Embodiment) Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. This embodiment is a modification of the third embodiment, and is of the side-view type.
An observation window 17 and an illumination window 10 are provided on the side of the tip forming section 7, and an objective lens system 22 and an illumination lens 23 are attached to each of them. The tip cover 14 is formed of a transparent member.

The field-of-view range 69 has a rear perspective view that widens slightly obliquely rearward. Due to the reflection of illumination light,
Of the reflection image of the edge of the observation window 17, the reflection image 65 of the edge in the vicinity of the illumination window 10 and the closest distance is outside the visual field range 69. However, the reflected image 71 of the edge of the observation window 17 on the side without the illumination window 10 is set to be within the visual field range 69. In addition, the structure on the hand side is the same as that shown in FIG. 3 or 9.

Next, the operation will be described. Since the reflected image 71 is actually very weak or almost non-existent, it does not matter even if it is within the visual field range 69, and it is not necessary to enlarge the observation window 17 more than necessary, so that the tip rigid length is not increased. Live.

Therefore, also in the case of the side-view cover-type endoscope, there is an effect that a good observation image can be obtained as in the third embodiment and that the tip size does not need to be increased. Others can be set to the same weight balance as the endoscope without the cover as in the first or second embodiment, and the deterioration of operability can be prevented.

(Fifth Embodiment) Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. This embodiment is almost the same as the fourth embodiment, but has one illumination window 10 in the case of direct view. The tip cover 14 is formed of a transparent member.

In front of the objective lens 22, there is provided a glass 17a which closes the observation window 17 and protects the objective lens 22. The reflection image 70 of the edge in the vicinity of the illumination window 10 and the close distance is outside the visual field range 69, but the reflection image 71 of the edge on the side where the illumination window 10 is not present is set within the visual field range 69. In addition, the structure on the hand side is the same as that shown in FIG. 3 or 9.

Next, the operation will be described. Since the reflected image 71 is actually extremely weak or almost equal, it does not matter even if it is within the visual field range 69, and since the observation window 17 does not need to be made larger than necessary, the diameter of the tip forming portion 7 is made thin. it can.

Therefore, even in the case of a direct-viewing type cover-type endoscope having one illumination window 10, there is an effect that the diameter of the distal end side can be reduced. Others can be set to the same weight balance as the endoscope without the cover as in the first or second embodiment, and the deterioration of operability can be prevented. Different embodiments and the like may be formed by combining the above-described embodiments and the like.

[Additional Notes] 1. The cover-type endoscope according to claim 1, wherein a position on the hand side of the cover endoscope to which the mouth unit is fixed is the operation unit.

2. The cover type endoscope according to appendix 1, wherein the fixing portion is only fixed by frictional force against sliding of the mouth portion and the operating portion.

3. The cover type endoscope according to appendix 1, wherein the fixing portion has fixing means capable of firmly fixing and releasing the base portion to the operating portion.

4. The cover endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the fixing portion has a function of ensuring airtightness inside the insertion portion cover.

5. The endoscope includes a cover endoscope having an observation window and an illumination window at a distal end portion of the insertion portion, and an endoscope cover that covers at least the insertion portion of the cover endoscope, and the observation window is the endoscope. In a cover-type endoscope which is used by abutting against a tip cover having a transparent portion and an opaque portion provided at the tip of the cover, a part of the observation window overlaps the opaque portion of the tip cover. Cover-type endoscope.

6. The cover-type endoscope according to appendix 5, wherein the opaque portion overlapping with the observation window is a light reduction processing portion that is provided on the inner surface of the transparent portion of the distal end cover to diffuse, reduce light, or block the light.

7. The cover-type endoscope according to appendix 5, wherein the opaque portion overlapping the observation window is a light-shielding portion that blocks the transparent portion in front of the observation window and the transparent portion in front of the illumination window.

8. Provide an illumination window and observation window at the tip of the insertion part,
In a cover-type endoscope that covers them with a cover having a transparent portion, among primary reflection images by the cover transparent portion surface of the outer edge portion of the observation window, a reflection image in the vicinity of the outer edge portion at a close distance to the illumination window is displayed. A cover-type endoscope characterized in that at least a part of a reflection image of the other outer edge portion is located outside the observation visual field range and is positioned within the observation visual field.

9. The cover-type endoscope according to appendix 8, wherein the observation window has a substantially rectangular front shape in the observation visual field range, and the illumination window is located in the opposite side direction.

[0089]

As described above, according to the present invention, the elongated insertion portion, the cover endoscope having the operation portion formed on the rear end side of the insertion portion, and at least the insertion portion are covered. A cover-type endoscope having a fixing portion that has an insertion portion cover and fixes a fixing mouth portion on the proximal side of the insertion portion cover to the proximal side of the covering endoscope, Since the connection mouthpiece fixed to the proximal end of the insertion portion of the mirror and the connection portion with the operation portion of the cover endoscope are provided closer to the hand than the fixing portion, the mouth portion has a small diameter. Yes, the weight balance can be set to be almost the same as the weight balance of the endoscope without the cover even when the cover is attached, and the endoscope inspection can be performed in the same operability as the endoscope without the cover. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a cover-type endoscope according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure on the tip side of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a specific structure in the vicinity of the mouth of the cover-type endoscope.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure of a modified example of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a distal end constituent portion of a cover endoscope according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure on the tip side when the tip component of FIG. 5 is attached to a tip cover.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a part of a tip forming portion in the modification of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure on the tip side when the tip component of FIG. 7 is attached to a tip cover.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure on the proximal side of the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing the structure of the tip side of the third embodiment of the present invention and a view showing an observation window and the like seen from the front.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing the schematic structure of the tip side of the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing the schematic structure of the tip side of the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a conventional cover-type endoscope.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Cover-type endoscope 2 ... Cover endoscope 3 ... Endoscope cover 4 ... Insertion part 5 ... Operation part 7 ... Tip configuration part 10 ... Illumination window 11 ... Sheath 12 ... Operation part cover part 14 ... Tip cover 15 ... Mouth part 16 ... Seal part 17 ... Observation window 21a, 21b ... Transparent cover 22 ... Objective lens system 23 ... Illumination lens 26 ... Flexible tube (flexible tube part) 27 ... Cylindrical member 28 ... Bending prevention member 29 ... Outer cylinder Member 50 ... Arm member 53 ... Connection part

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An insertion section cover having an elongated insertion section, an endoscope for a cover having an operation section formed on the rear end side of the insertion section, and an insertion section cover for covering at least the insertion section. In a cover-type endoscope having a fixing portion that fixes the fixing mouth part on the near side to the near side of the cover endoscope, fixed to the near end portion of the inserting portion of the cover endoscope. A connection mouthpiece and a connection portion with the operation portion of the cover endoscope,
A cover-type endoscope, which is provided closer to the hand than the fixed portion.