JPH09238889A - Structure of seal part of endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To keep a thin part of a plastic part for forming an outer wall part of an endoscope, which is formed thin for disposing an O-ring from being deformed by autoclave or the like so as to have good durability, and also prevent the occurrence of recess at the time of molding. SOLUTION: A rib 37 is formed in such a manner as to stretch over a thin part 31a of an outer wall part 31 formed thin for disposing an O-ring 36 and a thick part 31b adjacent to the thin part 31a, or in order to prevent the thin part 31a from being recessed by the external pressure, a bearing part 38 for bearing the outer wall part 31 from the inside is formed as an adjacent part 32.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a structure of a seal portion of an endoscope in which an outer wall portion is made of plastic.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the operation section and connector section of an endoscope, the outer wall section is generally made of plastic because of its weight reduction and freedom of shape design.

Further, in order to perform cleaning and disinfection after using the endoscope, it is necessary to have a watertight structure as a whole. Therefore, an O-ring made of an elastic member is provided between the outer wall component and its adjacent component. To seal the outside and the inside.

[0004]

As illustrated in FIG. 8, in order to interpose the O-ring 93 at the joint between the outer wall component 91 and its adjacent component 92, the outer wall component 91 is thinned only at that portion. Need to be formed. 91a is the thin portion.

However, when the endoscope is put in an autoclave (high-pressure steam sterilizer) for sterilization, the outer wall part 91 of the endoscope is exposed to high temperature due to steam, and a maximum of 3 parts is left between the inside and the outside. A large pressure change of about atmospheric pressure is applied.

Therefore, in the outer wall part 91 of the endoscope put in the autoclave device, the thin portion 91a is deformed as shown in FIG. 9 due to a high temperature and a large internal / external pressure difference, and the thin wall part 91a is taken out from the autoclave device to remove the internal / external pressure difference. Even after disappearance, the deformation as shown in FIG. 10 remains.

As a result, the seal by the O-ring 93 may be incomplete, and a so-called water leakage accident may occur in which water enters the endoscope. If the entire thin portion 91a is thickened in consideration of deformation prevention, sink marks are likely to occur during plastic molding, which is not successful.

Therefore, the present invention has excellent durability such that the thin-walled portion of the plastic part constituting the outer wall portion of the endoscope, which is thinly formed for disposing the O-ring, is not deformed by an autoclave or the like. Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a structure of a seal portion of an endoscope in which sink marks or the like do not occur during molding.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the structure of the seal portion of the endoscope according to the present invention comprises a plastic outer wall component constituting the outer wall portion of the endoscope and its adjacent component. In a structure of a sealing portion of an endoscope in which an O-ring made of a resilient member is interposed between the O-ring and the outside to seal the inside, a thin-walled structure is provided for disposing the O-ring. The rib is formed so as to extend over the thin wall portion of the outer wall component and the thick wall portion adjacent to the thin wall portion.

The outer wall component may be formed by plastic molding, and the rib may be integrally formed with the outer wall component by plastic molding.

The ribs may be provided linearly in a direction substantially perpendicular to the boundary line between the thin wall portion and the thick wall portion of the outer wall component, and the rib may be formed in the thin wall portion of the outer wall component. It may be continuously formed so as to pass through the thick portion to the thin portion again, and it may be curved.

Further, a plurality of ribs may be provided, and a receiving portion for receiving the outer wall component from the inside may be formed in the adjacent component in order to prevent the thin portion from sinking in due to external pressure.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 shows an endoscope in which an endoscope observation image is picked up by a solid-state image pickup element, and has a watertight structure as a whole in which water or the like does not enter from the outside to the inside.

In the endoscope, a base end of an insertion portion 1 having a solid-state image pickup element built in at the tip is connected to an operation portion 2, and a connector portion 3 connected to a light source device / video processor (not shown) is provided. Is attached to the tip of a flexible connecting pipe 4 whose one end is connected to the operating portion 2.

The connector portion 3 is surrounded by a case 31 made of heat-resistant plastic such as polysulfone, and its end face side opening portion is closed by a front plate 32 also made of heat-resistant plastic. It is peeling.

The front plate 32 transmits a light guide connecting tube 33, in which the incident end of a light guide fiber bundle for illumination (not shown) is inserted, an image pickup signal of an endoscopic observation image, and the like. And a signal connector 34 on which contact pins are arranged.

A circuit board (not shown) on which a drive circuit for the solid-state image pickup device and the like are mounted is built in the connector section 3. Reference numeral 35 is an internal / external pressure adjusting valve for adjusting the internal pressure of the endoscope in accordance with the external pressure.

Like the other parts, the connector part 3 has a watertight structure in which water or the like does not enter from the outside to the inside. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
An O-ring 36 made of an elastic member such as a rubber material is attached in a crushed state to a joint portion of a connecting and connecting portion between the case 31 and the front plate 32.

As a result, the space between the outside and the inside of the connector portion 3 is sealed to prevent the intrusion of water or the like from the outside to the inside. Part 31a for overlapping with 32
Is thinly formed.

Therefore, in this embodiment, a plurality of ribs 37 are formed by plastic molding integrally with the case 31 so as to straddle the thin portion 31a and the thick portion 31b adjacent to the thin portion 31a. There is.

Case 3 is taken along line III-III in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3 which is a cross-sectional view taken along line 1, the ribs 37 are provided on the outer surface side of the case 31 at intervals, for example, at 16 places, and are provided partially at intervals. Therefore, sink marks etc. do not occur during molding.

As shown in FIG. 2, the rib 37 has a case 31 with respect to a boundary line between the thin portion 31a and the thick portion 31b.
The ribs 37 are provided in a straight line in a substantially right-angled direction from the end of the ribs 37 and are parallel to each other.

As described above, the thin-walled portion 31 of the case 31 formed thin for disposing the O-ring 36 for sealing.
By forming the plurality of ribs 37 over the thick portion 31b adjacent to the thin portion 31a, the strength against the deformation of the portion is significantly improved, and the rib 37 is deformed even when placed in an autoclave device or the like. do not do.

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the rib 37 is a continuous curve from the thin portion 31a of the case 31 through the thick portion 31b to the thin portion 31a again. It is formed into a shape. In this way, the rib 37
The shape of can take various forms.

FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. Instead of forming ribs on the thin wall portion 31a of the case 31, the thin wall portion 31a of the case 31 is prevented from being submerged by external pressure. Therefore, a receiving portion 38 that receives the thick portion 31b from the inside is formed in the front plate 32 at a portion adjacent to the thin portion 31a.

The receiving portion 38 is formed integrally with the front plate 32 by plastic molding, and is made of III-III.
As shown in FIG. 6 which is a cross-sectional view of the position, the front plate 32 is projected from a plurality of places with a space between each other. However, as shown in FIG. 7, the front plate 32 may be formed to extend inward over the entire circumference.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and the present invention may be applied to a portion other than the connector portion 3, and an endoscopic observation image is an image guide fiber bundle or a relay lens. It may be applied to an optical endoscope that transmits by a system or the like.

[0028]

According to the present invention, ribs are formed over the thin wall portion of the outer wall component formed thin for disposing the O-ring and the thick wall portion adjacent to the thin wall portion, or the outer wall is formed. By forming the receiving portion for receiving the component from the inside in the adjacent component, the thin wall portion of the outer wall component does not deform due to the autoclave or the like and has excellent durability, and sink marks etc. do not occur during molding.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall side view of the endoscope according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a III- case of the case of the first embodiment of the present invention.
It is a III sectional view.

FIG. 4 is a partial side view of the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view of a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III of the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view of a seal portion of a conventional endoscope.

FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view of a seal portion of an endoscope put in a conventional autoclave device.

FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view of a seal portion of an endoscope taken out from a conventional autoclave device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Connector part 31 Case 31a Thin part 31b Thick part 32 Front plate 36 O-ring 37 Rib 38 Receiving part

Claims (7)

[Claims] Claim: What is claimed is: 1. An O-ring made of an elastic member is interposed between a plastic outer wall component forming an outer wall portion of an endoscope and its adjacent component to form a seal between the outside and the inside. In the structure of the seal portion of the endoscope described above, a rib is formed across the thin wall portion of the outer wall part formed thin for disposing the O-ring and the thick wall portion adjacent to the thin wall portion. The structure of the seal part of the characteristic endoscope. 2. The structure of the seal portion of the endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the outer wall component is formed by plastic molding, and the rib is integrally formed with the outer wall component by plastic molding. 3. The seal portion for an endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the rib is provided linearly in a direction substantially perpendicular to a boundary line between the thin portion and the thick portion of the outer wall component. Structure. 4. The seal for an endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the rib is continuously formed from the thin wall portion of the outer wall component to the thin wall portion again through the thick wall portion. Structure of the department. 5. The structure of the seal portion of the endoscope according to claim 4, wherein the rib is formed in a curved shape. 6. The rib according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of ribs are provided.
The structure of the sealing portion of the endoscope according to 2, 3, 4 or 5. 7. A seal between the outside and the inside is provided by interposing an O-ring made of an elastic member between the plastic outer wall component forming the outer wall portion of the endoscope and its adjacent component. In the structure of the sealed portion of the endoscope, the outer wall part is received from the inside in order to prevent the thin part of the outer wall part, which is formed thinly for disposing the O-ring, from being submerged by external pressure. A structure of a seal portion of an endoscope, wherein a receiving portion is formed on the adjacent component.