JPH09294712A - Endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To change the softness of a soft part provided at a slender inserting part to the specification desirable for a user. SOLUTION: Inside a soft part 7, a flexible guide duct 11 having a hole to house a slender hardened member 10a for changing the softness of this soft part 7 is provided. The top end of this guide duct 11 is fixed so as to keep watertightness with a lid 12, and the rear end part is fixed so as to keep watertightness at a rear part 3a inside an operating part 3. A male screw part 10b of the hardened member 10a can be screwed with a female screw part 3b provided at the rear part 3a. Then, a fitting member 10c, into which an O ring 16 is fitted, is watertightly fitted and fixed to a hole 15 for fitting.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endoscope having a flexible portion in an elongated insertion portion, and more particularly to a technique for changing the flexibility of the flexible portion.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an endoscope in which an elongated insertion portion is inserted through a portion that cannot be directly observed by visual observation, the insertion portion is inserted so that it can be easily inserted into a bent tube or the like. A flexible soft portion having flexibility is provided.

For example, in the medical field, when an endoscope having a flexible portion as described above is used, the flexible portion is used as the flexible portion so that the distal end portion of the insertion portion can freely move in a meandering body cavity. It is desirable that it is flexible and has good elasticity.

In particular, among endoscopes for medical use that are inserted into the lower gastrointestinal tract, since the shape of the large intestine, which is the site to be observed, is complicated, there is a demand for an endoscope with higher insertability. It was

Therefore, conventionally, by changing the material such as the outer skin forming the flexible portion and the flexible tube body, the flexible portion and the high elasticity are provided, and the insertion portion having high insertability is constructed. I was trying to do it.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-105796, a metal pipe is provided along the inner wall of the flexible part so that the structure is simple, and the insertability of the insert part can be improved easily and at low cost. An endoscope is shown that is movably inserted into the endoscope.

[0007]

However, when it is attempted to manufacture a flexible pipe body having new characteristics by changing the material forming the flexible portion as described above, it is not easy to develop the material. There was a problem that it took a lot of time and money.

Further, in the endoscope disclosed in the above-mentioned JP-A-6-105796, since the metal pipe is arranged in the soft portion, the flexibility of the soft portion is appropriately selected by the user. Could not be made to have a flexibility and elasticity.

Further, since the metal pipe must be disposed in the soft portion in order to increase the resilience of the soft portion, the number of internal components in the insertion portion increases, the assemblability becomes complicated, and the insertion portion becomes thick. There was a risk of diameter reduction.

Further, by inserting the metal pipe into the soft portion, the entire portion where the metal pipe is arranged is similarly hardened and highly elasticized, so that the operability of the insertion portion is optimum. I couldn't say it was in a state.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an endoscope in which the flexibility of a flexible portion provided in an elongated insertion portion can be changed to a specification desired by a user. ing.

[0012]

The endoscope of the present invention is an endoscope having a flexible part having flexibility in the insertion part, and a hard part for changing the flexibility of the soft part in the flexible part. The liquefying unit is detachable and watertightly mountable in the insertion portion.

According to this structure, the detachable hardening unit is selectively placed in the insertion portion, so that the endoscope has flexibility and elasticity according to the specifications desired by the user.
At this time, since the hardened unit is watertightly attached to the insertion portion, it is not necessary to wash and disinfect the hardened unit after the attachment.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of an endoscope, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing variations of a hardening unit.

As shown in FIG. 1 (A), an endoscope 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes an elongated insertion portion 2 and an operation portion 3 connected to the proximal end of the insertion portion 2. , And the universal cord 4 extending from the side portion of the operation portion 3 is mainly configured.

The insertion portion 2 is formed of a flexible member and a tip portion 5 which is harder than the tip side, a plurality of bending pieces 6a, ... And a flexible portion 7 which is flexible.

An angle wire 8 for bending the bending portion 6 is inserted in the insertion portion 2, and the angle wire 8 inserted in the insertion portion 2 is usually a coil pipe in the flexible portion 7. Covered by 9.

Further, inside the flexible portion 7, there is provided a flexible guide conduit 11 having a through hole for accommodating an elongated hardened member 10a for changing the flexibility of the flexible portion 7. A watertightness of a front end portion of the guide conduit 11 is maintained by a lid 12, and a rear end portion thereof is fixed to, for example, a rear portion 3a in the operation portion 3 so as to maintain the watertightness. The lid 12 is provided with a placement wire 13 extending in the direction of the tip portion 5, and the placement wire 13 is connected to a hard tube 14.

As shown in FIG. 1 (B), a light guide 21 and a treatment instrument channel 22 are inserted into the insertion portion 2 as internal components. The light guide 21 and the treatment instrument channel 22 which are the built-in components are provided in the light guide 21 when the bending portion 6 is bent to the maximum bending state, for example.
The light guide 21 is covered with a protective tube 21a in the curved portion 6 so that the treatment tool channel 22 is not bent and the treatment tool channel 22 is not bent. ing.

However, since the rear end surface of the protective tube 21a and the rear end surface of the reinforcing coil 22a extend to the tip side of the flexible portion 7, the protective tube 21a and the reinforcing coil 22a in the flexible portion 7 are positioned. The filling rate of the built-in material is high in the part to be filled.

For this reason, if the guide pipe 11 is to be arranged at the position where the protective tube 21a and the reinforcing coil 22a are located, the outer diameter of the flexible portion 7 must be increased due to the filling rate. Therefore, as shown in the figure, the thin arranging wire 13 extended from the lid 12 as shown in FIG.
Is attached to the hard pipe 14, and the guide pipe line 11 is held at a predetermined position in the flexible portion 7 so as not to be entangled with a built-in object. The placement wire 13 may be eliminated and the tip end portion of the guide conduit 11 may be placed in a free state.

The elongated hardened member 10a arranged in the guide conduit 11 is formed of a metal member such as stainless steel, aluminum, brass, or super elastic alloy, or a relatively hard resin member. Particularly when a superelastic alloy is used as the member, it has excellent characteristics in both flexibility and high elasticity.

A spherical portion for preventing the inner peripheral surface of the guide conduit 11 from being scratched is provided at the tip of the hardening member 10a, and a male screw portion 10b is provided on the rear side.

The male screw portion 10b of the hardened member 10a.
Is adapted to be screwed into a female screw portion 3b provided on the rear portion 3a of the operation portion 3. A mounting hole 15 is formed in the rear of the female screw portion 3b formed in the rear portion 3a of the operating portion 3, and a mounting member 10c in which an O-ring 16 is fitted is mounted in the mounting hole 15.
Are watertightly fitted and fixed.

A knob 10d is provided at the rear end portion of the mounting member 10c so as to project from the rear end surface of the operating portion 3. An operator can grasp the knob 10d and rotate it to operate the male screw. The screwed state between the portion 10b and the female screw portion 3b is released, and the attachment member 10c can be easily attached and detached from the attachment hole 3b. The hardening member 10a, the male screw portion 10b, the mounting member 10c, the knob 10d, and the O-ring 16 are collectively referred to as a hardening unit 10.

The hardening member 10a and the members other than the hardening member 10a constituting the hardening unit 10 are made of different materials and are joined together, or the outer diameter of the hardening member 10a is adjusted. Change or harden the member 10a
By changing the outer shape of the
It is possible to configure the hardening unit 10 having various flexibility and high elasticity and different variations.

The O-ring 16 of the mounting member 10c
A tapered surface is provided so that the gap between the mounting member 10c and the mounting hole 15 becomes large so that the portion located further rearward can be easily washed.

Now, variations of the hardening unit 10 will be described. For example, when a plurality of surgeons use the same endoscope 1 in a large hospital or the like, the surgeon prefers a soft part 7 of the endoscope 1 which is relatively soft and a soft part 7 which is relatively stiff. There are cases. In addition, even when the same operator uses it for insertion into the large intestine, the preference of the flexibility of the soft portion may change depending on the degree of improvement of the operator. Therefore, the hardening member 10a of the hardening unit 10 has the following variations.

As shown in FIG. 2 (A), the hardened member 10a of this figure has three different diameters.
Hardening member 10a from the hand side to the tip
Has a smaller diameter. Therefore, by arranging the stiffening member 10a in the guide conduit 11, the flexibility of the soft portion is soft on the distal end side, slightly harder on the midway portion, and harder than the midway portion on the proximal side portion. .

As shown in FIG. 2 (B), the hardened member 10a of this figure is formed by shortening the portion to be inserted into the guide conduit 11. Therefore, by arranging the hardening member 10a in the guide conduit 11, the hardening member 10a is not arranged from near the middle of the guide conduit 11 to the tip side. As a result, the softness on the hand side is set to be relatively hard, and the tip end side becomes a considerably softer soft portion 7.

As shown in FIG. 2 (C), the hardening member 10a of this figure has a diameter dimension changed in two steps.
Contrary to the case of FIG. 2 (A), the tip side is formed to have a large diameter and the middle side to the hand side is formed to have a small diameter. Therefore, by arranging the stiffening member 10a in the guide conduit 11, the flexibility of the flexible portion 7 makes the tip side harder and the hand side becomes softer than that.

When the rigidizing member 10a is not attached to the endoscope 1, the softness of the flexible portion 7 is the softest.

The variations of the hardening unit are not limited to those described above, but the hardening member 1
It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which 0a is formed in a tapered shape, or a plurality of nodes are provided at predetermined intervals.

Further, when the operator changes the flexibility of the flexible portion 7 of the insertion portion 2 of the endoscope 1 to a desired specification, the knob 10d provided on the hardening unit 10 is rotated to attach the mounting member 10c. It may be removed from the operation unit 3 and replaced with a new hardening unit 10.

As described above, by providing a plurality of variations in flexibility and elasticity of the rigidizing unit and appropriately replacing the rigidizing unit, even in the same endoscope, the flexible portion of the endoscope can be changed. The flexibility of can be changed to the operator's favorite specifications.

Further, in the state in which the hardening unit is arranged in the insertion portion, the hardening member, the male screw portion, the inner surface of the guide conduit and the female screw portion are watertightly shielded from the outside, so after the inspection is completed, The endoscope can be cleaned and disinfected in this state. This eliminates the need for cleaning and disinfecting the inside of the guide conduit and the hardened member after the operation.
When replacing the hardening unit, even if moisture or dirt intrudes into the guide conduit from the outside, the guide conduit and the space inside the flexible part and the operation part should be in a watertight sealed state. As a result, moisture and dirt do not enter the flexible space and the internal space of the operating part.

"Hardening" of the hardening member 10a
By defining the hardened member 10a in the soft part 7, the softness of the soft part 7 is 1.2 as compared with the case where the hardened member 10a is not provided in the soft part 7.
It means that it can be more than doubled.

Further, the hardening unit 10 has a structure in which an elongated hardening member 10a is arranged in the guide conduit 11 in the flexible portion 7, and when the hardening unit 10 is formed integrally. But male thread 10b, mounting member 1
0c and the knob 10d are distinguished.

Further, the hardening member 10a, the mounting member 10c, and the male screw portion 10b do not necessarily have to be integrated, and may be a separate body. In the case of a separate body, the handling is more complicated than when they are integrated. However, when the hardening member 10a is replaced, the mounting member 10c and the male screw portion 10b can be used as a common member, so that the cost can be reduced.

The method of fixing the hardening unit 10 to the operation portion 3 is not limited to the method other than the screw fixing by the male screw portion 10b and the female screw portion 3b.
The position where the hardening unit 10 is attached and fixed is also the operation portion 3
It is not limited to the rear end portion 3a, but may be the front side of the operation portion 3 or the like.

Furthermore, since there are models in which the length of the flexible portion 7 is different and models in which the diameter of the guide conduit 11 is different, a mark is provided for each model, for example, on the knob 10d of the hardening unit 10. This can prevent erroneous mounting.

Further, the flexible tube 3 constituting the flexible part 7
0 is formed of an outer cover 31 made of a resin member and an inner cylindrical body 32 mainly made of a metal spiral tube or a knitted tube. In the past, for example, the hardness of the outer cover 31 was changed from the middle to change the flexibility of the flexible portion 7, but the outer cover 31 formed of a resin member is repeatedly used. In some cases, the softness of the outer skin 31 may impair the softness of the entire flexible portion 7.

However, in the present embodiment, even if the outer skin 31 is softened, the flexibility can be changed to a desired specification by changing the hardening member 10a arranged inside the flexible portion 7. The flexibility of the flexible part 7 is not significantly impaired. Even if the hardened unit 10 is deteriorated by repeated inspections, the function of the soft part 7 is restored by replacing the hardened unit 10 with a new one.

Another configuration for changing the flexibility of the flexible portion 7 of the insertion portion 2 of the endoscope 1 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 1, the tip end side of the coil pipe 9
The thin metal pipe 9a is made of a material such as stainless steel or brass, which is a highly elastic member having the property of quickly returning to a straight line from a bent state, or a superelastic alloy.

As described above, by arranging the metal pipe in the portion of the soft portion where the elasticity is to be increased, the elasticity can be increased easily. Further, since the metal pipe is at the position where the coil pipe was originally arranged, the number of built-in objects is not newly increased, and therefore the diameter of the soft portion is not increased.

Thus, for example, when the endoscope 1 is inserted into the large intestine, when the endoscope 1 is inserted into the meandering sigmoid colon, the soft part 7 is first inserted along the sigmoid colon while being bent. Twist or pull the flexible part 7 with to release the bent state of the flexible part 7 and at the same time, S
It is effective to use an insertion method in which the distal end portion 5 of the endoscope 1 is further inserted while linearizing the sigmoid colon. In addition,
By using a superelastic alloy for the metal pipe 11, flexibility and high resilience are significantly improved. Further, when the soft part 7 is in a loop state, the rear end of the metal pipe 11 tends to move in the soft part 7 in the axial direction. At this time, since the metal pipe 11 is a hard pipe and does not meander, the coil pipe 9 can meander.
The movement of the rear end of the metal pipe 11 is absorbed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, a built-in object 40 such as a conduit for a treatment instrument that is inserted into the flexible portion 7 of the endoscope 1 is replaced with a first tubular body 41 that is originally from the distal end side. , A second tube body 42 that covers the outer surface on the proximal side of the first tube body 41 from the middle
And a third tube body 43 that covers the outer surface of the second tube body 42 on the proximal side. As a result, the flexibility of the built-in object 40 inserted into the insertion portion 2 of the endoscope 1 changes between the distal end side and the proximal side.

In this way, by changing the flexibility of the built-in object arranged in the insertion portion of the endoscope, the flexibility of the soft portion can be set to the operator's favorite specifications.

Note that a plurality of built-in objects may be inserted into the insertion portion, as a matter of course. In addition, by increasing the rate of change in the flexibility of the built-in object inserted through the flexible portion in the longitudinal direction to be greater than the rate of change in the flexibility of the flexible portion in the longitudinal direction, the outer skin forming the flexible tube of the flexible portion is Even if it deteriorates, the function of the flexible portion is not significantly impaired. Furthermore, not only the rate of change in the degree of flexibility, but also the degree of flexibility of the flexible portion itself is set to be greater than the flexibility of the flexible portion so that the built-in object inserted through the flexible portion has a greater flexibility, even if the outer skin deteriorates. The flexibility of the soft part does not decrease.

Another configuration of the hardening unit 50 will be described with reference to FIG. The hardening unit 50 is a mechanism for adjusting the flexibility of the unit itself.

That is, the hardening member 10a is replaced with the coil 51.
And the wire 52, the coil 51 and the wire 5
The tip end of 2 is firmly fixed integrally, while the wire 52 is movable in the coil 51 at other portions. The rear end surface of the coil 51 is brought into contact with the front end surface of the mounting member 10c.

The mounting member 10c is provided with a male screw portion 10b as in the previous embodiments, and is adapted to be screwed into a female screw portion 3b formed in the operating portion 3.

On the other hand, a female screw hole 53 having a female screw formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof is provided at a substantially central portion of the mounting member 10c. A male screw member 54 fixed to the rear end of the wire 52 is screwed into the female screw hole 53. A rotating body 55 is provided behind the male screw member 54, and further, a rotating body 55 of the rotating body 55. An adjustment knob 56 is provided on the rear side so as to project from the operation unit 3. In addition, the rotating body 5
5, an O-ring 57 is provided, and the mounting member 10
The inner part and the outer part of c are watertightly shut off from each other.

That is, the hardening unit 50 pulls the wire 52 by rotating the adjusting knob 56, and by pulling the wire 52, the coil 51 is compressed and the spring property of the coil 51 is changed. It is a mechanism that changes the flexibility of the soft part.

By providing the O-ring 16 and the O-ring 57, moisture and dirt from the outside are guided inside the guide conduit 11 or inside the mounting member 10c while the hardening unit 50 is mounted on the operating portion 3. Not to break into.

As described above, the surgeon can appropriately adjust the flexibility of the soft portion even during the examination by rotating the adjustment knob. As a result, for example, when inserting into the large intestine, the flexible part 7 has flexibility when inserting into the meandering sigmoid colon, and when inserting deeper than that, it is easy to transmit the force at hand. In order to do so, the insertability is changed by rotating the adjustment knob 56 so as to pull the wire 52 and setting the softness of the flexible portion 7 to be stiff. In addition, when the natural length of the wire 52 is extended due to repeated inspection and the desired flexibility cannot be obtained, the entire hardening unit 50 is replaced. The hardening unit 50 can be replaced by the same method as described in the first embodiment.

By the way, when the examination / treatment is performed by using the endoscope, it has been desired to reduce the diameter of the insertion portion so as to alleviate the pain of the patient as much as possible.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a state in which the hardening unit 10 is attached to the operation portion 3. The knob 10d of the above embodiment is not provided on the mounting member 10c of the hardening unit 10 shown in this figure. Also, the mounting member 10
A caulking hole 45 is provided in a part of c, and the mounting member 10c
The whole is fixed in the mounting hole 15. For this reason,
A special jig is required to remove the mounting member 10c from the mounting hole 15. Furthermore, the endoscope 1 is not provided with the guide conduit 11 for disposing the hardening member 10a.

When mounting and removing the hardening unit 10 on the endoscope 1, a dedicated jig matching the caulking hole 45 is required. For this reason, an operator or the like cannot replace the hardened unit 10 without permission, and the manufacturer side is allowed to do so.

As described above, since the hardening unit is arranged on the manufacturer side by using the dedicated jig, dirt or the like can be prevented from entering during the work when the operator replaces the hardening unit. The guide line that was prevented is no longer necessary, and it is possible to reduce the diameter of the soft part.

[Additional Notes] According to the above-described embodiment of the present invention as described in detail above, the following configuration can be obtained.

(1) In an endoscope having a flexible part having flexibility in the insertion part, a hardening unit for changing the flexibility of the soft part is detachably mounted in the insertion part, and An endoscope that can be attached in a watertight manner.

(2) The hardening unit is a hardening member,
The endoscope according to Appendix 1, which includes a male screw portion, a mounting member, a knob, and an O-ring.

(3) The endoscope according to appendix 2, wherein the hardened member is housed in a watertight pipe line provided inside the endoscope.

(4) The endoscope according to appendix 3, wherein the distal end of the conduit is connected to the hard portion on the distal end side of the flexible portion.

(5) The endoscope according to appendix 3, wherein the distal end of the conduit is disposed closer to the proximal side than the rear end face of the large diameter portion extending from the curved portion side of another built-in object.

(6) The endoscope according to appendix 4, wherein a member having a diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the conduit is connected to the distal end of the conduit and the member is connected to the hard portion at the tip of the flexible portion.

(7) The endoscope according to appendix 2, wherein the flexibility of the hardened member changes.

(8) The endoscope according to appendix 2, wherein the hardened member has a substantially spherical tip.

(9) The endoscope according to appendix 1, wherein a plurality of hardening units having different specifications can be attached to and detached from the same endoscope.

(10) The endoscope according to appendix 9, wherein the hardening unit is different in flexibility of the hardening member.

(11) The endoscope according to appendix 9, wherein the hardening unit has different hardening members.

(11) The endoscope according to appendix 10, wherein the hardening unit has a different degree of change in flexibility.

(12) The endoscope according to appendix 1, wherein the hardened unit is provided with a mark corresponding to the model.

(13) The endoscope according to appendix 2, wherein the hardness of the hardening member itself can be adjusted.

(14) The endoscope according to appendix 2, wherein the hardening member is made of a super elastic material.

(15) An endoscope including an insertion portion having a bending portion and a flexible portion, wherein an operating wire for bending the bending portion is inserted into the coil pipe in the flexible portion, and a part of the coil pipe is provided. An endoscope formed by a hard pipe.

(16) The endoscope according to appendix 15, wherein the distal end side of the coil pipe is a hard pipe.

(17) The endoscope according to appendix 15, wherein the hard pipe is a superelastic material.

[0080]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide the endoscope in which the flexibility of the soft portion provided in the elongated insertion portion can be changed to the specifications desired by the user.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 relate to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of an endoscope.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing pariation of a hardened unit.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conduit that is inserted through an insertion portion.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another configuration of the hardening unit.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a method of fixing the hardening unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Endoscope 2 ... Insertion part 7 ... Soft part 10 ... Hardening unit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An endoscope having a flexible portion having flexibility in an insertion portion, wherein a hardening unit for changing the flexibility of the flexible portion is detachably attached to the insertion portion and is watertight. An endoscope characterized in that it can be attached mechanically.