JPH11197101A - Endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To cope with the preference of the flexibility and the feature of the insertion technique of various operators. SOLUTION: The coil 36 of an endoscope 2 is present at the position of about 30 cm from an endoscope tip, the coil 36a of the endoscope 2a is present at the position of 20 cm from the endoscope tip and the endoscope 2a can be flexibility adjusted to the tip side of 10 cm from the endoscope 2. As a result, the flexibility 71 of the (most) soft state of the soft part 13 of the endoscope 2 and the flexibility 71a of the (most) soft state of the soft part 13a of the endoscope 2a are almost the same. Also, on a hand side from 30 cm, the flexibility 72 of the (most) rigid state of the soft part 13 of the endoscope 2 and the flexibility 72a of the (most) hard state of the soft part 13a of the endoscope 2a are almost the same. At the part of 20 cm to 30 cm, the soft part 13 of the endoscope 2 is soft at all times but the soft part 13a of the endoscope 2a can be stiffened.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus, and more particularly to an endoscope apparatus characterized by an endoscope portion provided with a hardness adjusting means capable of adjusting the hardness of a flexible portion.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, by inserting an elongated insertion portion into a body cavity, a site to be inspected in the body cavity can be observed without the need for an incision, and a therapeutic treatment can be performed using a treatment tool if necessary. Endoscopes that can be used have become widely used.

The insertion portion of the endoscope has flexibility so that it can be inserted also into a bent insertion path. May not be determined, and it may be difficult to introduce in the target direction.

To cope with this, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
Japanese Patent No. 91971 discloses a hardness varying means (flexibility varying means) comprising a coil pipe and a wire in an insertion portion of an endoscope.
Are disclosed. According to the configuration of this conventional example, the operator performing the endoscopy can adjust the flexibility of the insertion portion with a simple operation, and can easily insert the insertion portion into a curved path such as the large intestine. be able to.

[0005]

However, while an endoscope with adjustable hardness may be useful for some surgeons, many surgeons have a preference for hardness and features of many surgeon insertion techniques. May not be compatible with

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope which can cope with the stiffness of many operators and the characteristics of insertion techniques.

[0007]

An endoscope apparatus according to the present invention comprises:
In an endoscope apparatus provided with an endoscope provided with a hardness adjusting means capable of adjusting the hardness of the flexible part, the endoscope apparatus includes a plurality of endoscopes having different hardness adjustment modes of the soft part by the hardness adjusting means. Be composed.

In the endoscope apparatus according to the present invention, by providing a plurality of the endoscopes in which the hardness adjusting means has different forms of adjusting the hardness of the flexible portion, the preference of the hardness of many operators and the characteristics of the insertion technique are provided. It is possible to respond to

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 to FIG. 8 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of an endoscope apparatus, and FIG. FIG. 3 is an external view showing an external configuration of a second endoscope provided in the endoscope apparatus, FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of the first endoscope in FIG. 1, and FIGS. 4 (A) and 4 (B). 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross section taken along line AA and a cross section taken along line BB of FIG. 3, FIGS. 5A and 5B are views showing a specific example of the cam cylinder of FIG. 3, and FIG. FIG. 7 is an explanatory view for explaining the hardness of the first and second endoscopes provided in the endoscope apparatus. FIG. 7 is an insertion section of the first and second endoscopes provided in the endoscope apparatus of FIG. FIG. 8 (A) is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a container for accommodating and accommodating rolls.
FIGS. 2C to 2C are explanatory diagrams illustrating the operation of the first and second endoscopes provided in the endoscope apparatus of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, an endoscope apparatus 1 includes an electronic endoscope (hereinafter, simply referred to as an endoscope) 2 as a first endoscope having a built-in image pickup means, and an endoscope. A light source device 3 that supplies illumination light to the mirror 2, a signal processing device 4 that performs signal processing on an imaging signal output from the endoscope 2, and a video signal output from the signal processing device 4 is displayed on a screen. And a color monitor 5.

The endoscope 2 includes an elongated insertion section 6, a wide operation section 7 connected to the rear end of the insertion section 6, and a universal extending from a side of the operation section 7. A connector 9 is provided at an end of the universal cable 8, and the connector 9 can be detachably connected to the light source device 3.

The insertion portion 6 has a rigid distal end portion 11 from the distal end side.
And a flexible portion 12 formed at the rear end of the distal end portion 11 and capable of bending, and a flexible portion 13 formed at the rear end of the curved portion 12 and having a long length and flexibility. The rear end of 13 is connected to the front end of the operation unit 7. This soft part 1
On the outer periphery of the rear end of 3, there is provided a bending preventing member 10 having a tapering shape and having a function of preventing bending.

Further, in the endoscope apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, in addition to the endoscope 2, as shown in FIG.
The insertion section 6a (the distal end 11a, the bending section 12a, and the flexible section 13a) has the same configuration as the operation section 7 and the insertion section 6 of the endoscope 2, but has different specifications from the coil 36.
An endoscope 2a as a second endoscope having 6a is provided.

The endoscope 2a has basically the same configuration as the endoscope 2, so that the endoscope 2 is used as an example.

Returning to FIG. 1, in the endoscope 2, a light guide 14 composed of a fiber bundle having flexibility and a function of transmitting illumination light is provided in the insertion section 6, the operation section 7, and the universal cable 8. By connecting the light guide connector portion 15 inserted and fixed to the connector 9 so as to protrude to the light source device 3, the illumination light of the lamp 16 in the light source device 3 is condensed by the lens 17 and the light guide connector portion 1
5 is supplied to the end face.

The illumination light transmitted by the light guide 14 is emitted forward from a distal end surface fixed to an illumination window of the distal end portion 11 to illuminate a subject such as an affected part. The illuminated subject forms an optical image at an image forming position by an objective lens 18 attached to an observation window provided at the distal end portion 11 adjacent to the illumination window. At this image forming position, a charge-coupled device (abbreviated as CCD) 19 is arranged as an image sensor having a function of performing photoelectric conversion, and converts an optical image into an electric signal.

The CCD 19 is connected to one end of a signal cable 21. The signal cable 21 is inserted through the insertion portion 6 and the like, and the rear end is connected to the electric connector 22 of the connector 9 and connected to the electric connector 22. It is connected to the signal processing device 4 via the external cable 23. By applying the CCD drive signal generated by the drive circuit 24 in the signal processing device 4 to the CCD 19, the photoelectrically converted image signal is read out and input to the signal processing circuit 25 in the signal processing device 4, Performs processing to convert to a standard video signal. This standard video signal is sent to the color monitor 5
The image formed on the CCD 19 is displayed in color in the endoscope image display area 5a.

Bending portion 1 provided adjacent to tip 11
Reference numeral 2 denotes a ring-shaped bending piece 26 which is rotatably connected to an adjacent bending piece 26 at a position corresponding to up, down, left and right with rivets or the like. The rear end of the bending wire 27 fixed to the operation unit 7 is connected to a sprocket 28 in the operation unit 7, and a bending operation knob 29 for performing a bending operation is attached to a shaft of the sprocket 28 (in FIG. 1, for simplicity). , Up and down or right and left directions only).

By rotating the bending operation knob 29, one of the pair of bending wires 27 arranged in the up-down direction or the left-right direction is pulled, and the other is relaxed and pulled. The bending portion 12 can be bent toward the 27 side.

The operating section 7 is provided with a grip 31 in front of the position where the bending operation knob 29 is provided, and the operator can hold one of the hands holding the grip 31 (such as a thumb not used for gripping). The operation of the bending operation knob 29 can be performed with a finger).

A treatment tool insertion port 32 is provided on the front end side of the grip portion 31. By inserting a treatment tool from the treatment tool insertion port 32, an internal treatment tool channel 33 (see FIG. 4) is provided. Then, the distal end side of the treatment tool is projected from the channel outlet of the distal end portion 11 so that a treatment such as polyp resection can be performed.

In the present embodiment, for example, a cylindrical hardness adjusting knob 34 for performing a hardness adjusting operation is provided at the front end of the operating portion 7 adjacent to the buckling member 10.
By performing an operation of rotating the hardness adjusting knob 34, a hardness changing wire (hereinafter simply abbreviated as a wire) 35 and a hardness changing coil (hereinafter simply referred to as a wire) 35 that form hardness changing means disposed in the soft portion 13 are formed. A hardness adjusting mechanism that can change the hardness of the soft portion 13 via a coil (abbreviated as a coil) 36 is formed.

FIG. 3 shows a more specific structure of the insertion section 6 and the operation section 7 of the endoscope 2. A wire 35 for transmitting a force when the hardness adjusting knob 34 is operated is provided in a soft tube 37 forming an outer skin of the flexible portion 13, and a coil 36 in which the wire 35 is inserted is in a tightly wound state or in a nearly wound state. Is provided.

The wire 35 inserted through the coil 36 is firmly fixed to the tip of the coil 35 by brazing or the like, and the wire extension 30 forming a coil rotation regulating member extending from the tip of the coil 36 is The tip is firmly fixed by brazing or the like to a hard and ring-shaped connection pipe 38 for connecting the curved portion 12 and the soft portion 13.

The connecting pipe 38 is fixed to the rearmost bending piece 26. Alternatively, the bending piece 26 at the rear end is connected to the connecting pipe 38.
May also be used. The bending piece 26 including the connecting pipe 38 is made of an elastic sheath 39 such as a rubber tube.
Covered with.

In this embodiment, the distal end of the coil 36 is connected to the connecting pipe 38 via the wire extension 30 having a torsional rigidity that is stronger (greater) than the torsional rigidity of the coil 36 in the natural state. By fixing, a function of stopping rotation that restricts or suppresses rotation of the coil 35 is provided. The wire extension 30 has a flexible elasticity against bending and a moderate elasticity against torsion.

The end of the coil 36 on the hand side is connected to the operation unit 7.
Is fixed by a solder, an adhesive, or the like, which abuts a coil stopper 40 disposed inside the front end of the front end, and movement and rotation of the rear end from this position are restricted (prevented).

The wire 35 inserted through the coil 36 extends rearward through the hole of the coil stopper 40, and the wire 35 is movable with respect to the coil 36. Note that the coil 36 does not rotate significantly.

The coil stopper 40 is fixed with a screw 42 to a rear end base 41 for fixing the rear end of the flexible tube 37 to the operation section 7. The rear end base 41 is fixed with a nut 44 near the front end of a cylindrical tube 43 arranged on the outer periphery thereof. On the other hand, a ring-shaped wire stopper 45 is firmly fixed to the proximal end of the wire 35, that is, the rear end by brazing or the like.

Between the coil stopper 40 and the wire stopper 45, there is disposed a pulling member 46 movable in the front-rear direction. The pulling member 46 is attached to the moving ring 47 so that the wire 35 passes through the groove 48. Fixed.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4B, a pulling member 46 having a groove 48 for passing the wire 35 in the radial direction is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical moving ring 47 by the screw 49.

This moving ring 47 is movable in the axial direction (front-back direction) inside the cylindrical tube 43. Therefore, when the traction member 46 moves rearward together with the moving ring 47, the traction member 46 comes into contact with the wire stopper 45 as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Further, by performing an operation of moving the traction member 46 rearward, the wire stopper 45 is also moved rearward.

In the state where the wire stopper 45 is not moved rearward, the coil 36 whose movement to the rear side is restricted by the coil stopper 40 is in the state of the highest flexibility, that is, in the soft state of the lowest bending hardness. is there.

On the other hand, when the coil stopper 40 moves rearward and the rear end of the wire 35 also moves rearward at the same time, the coil stopper 40 relatively exerts a compressive force for pressing the coil 36 forward.

That is, a compressive force is applied to the coil 36 by applying a force for moving the rear end of the wire 35 rearward, and this compressive force reduces the flexibility of the coil 36 having elasticity. In other words, it is possible to set a hard state in which the hardness that hardly bends (more precisely, the hardness against bending) is high. In this case, the wire stopper 45
The magnitude of the compressive force applied to the coil 35 can be changed in accordance with the amount of rearward movement of the coil 35, so that the degree of flexibility (the degree of hardness) can be changed.

A cam cylinder 51 covers the outside of the cylindrical tube 43. The cam cylinder 51 has helically provided cam grooves 52a and 52b at two opposing positions of the cylinder. The cylindrical tube 43 is also provided with a long hole 53 in the longitudinal direction. The moving ring 47 has two pins 54 that move together with the moving ring 47.
It is fixed with a screw portion through 2a or 52b and a long hole 53 outside thereof.

The length of the elongated hole 53 is set so as to cover the rear end of the wire 35 or the moving range of the wire stopper 45 (reference numeral E in FIG. 3).

A hardness adjusting knob 34 is fixed to the outer side of the cam cylinder 51 by pins 55 at a plurality of positions in the circumferential direction. That is, the hardness adjustment knob 34 is formed with a pin hole that reaches the cam cylinder body 51 inside the hardness adjustment knob 34, the pin 55 is fitted therein, and the hardness adjustment knob 34 is closed with the filler 56.

The front end of the hardness adjusting knob 34 abuts against an annular contact member 57, and its forward movement is restricted. The contact member 57 is disposed outside the vicinity of the front end of the cylindrical tube 43, and is fixed to the outer periphery of a support member 58 that supports the rear end of the buckling member 10 with screws 59.

On the rear end side of the hardness adjusting knob 34, the inner peripheral surface of the front end of the gripping cylinder 61 is fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the cam cylinder 51, and the outer peripheral surface of the front end of the gripping cylinder 61 is fitted. The surface is fitted to the notched inner peripheral surface at the rear end of the hardness adjusting knob 34. In other words, the hardness adjustment knob 34 is slidably in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical tube 43 via the cam cylinder 51 in a state where the movement in the front-rear direction is restricted, and is rotatably disposed (around the cylindrical tube 43). ing.

As described above, the hardness adjusting knob 34 can be rotated, but the contact member 57 is screwed so as not to rotate.
It is fixed at.

An O-ring 62 is provided between the inner peripheral surface of the front end of the hardness adjusting knob 34 and the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical tube 43 facing the inside thereof.
Are arranged, and the inner peripheral surface of the front end of the hardness adjustment knob 34 is pressed against the O-ring 62. Also, between the outer peripheral surface near the rear end of the cam cylinder 51 and the inner peripheral surface of the gripping frame 61 fitted to the outer peripheral surface, for example, an O-ring 63 is provided in a peripheral groove provided on the cam body 51 side. Is housed, and the inner peripheral surface of the gripper frame 61 is
3 is pressed.

That is, the water tightness is secured by the O-rings 62 and 63, and a friction force is applied to the cam cylinder 51 and the hardness adjustment knob 34, and the hand that operates the hardness adjustment knob 34 by the friction force is applied. Even if it is released, it can be locked (or held) in that state.

As described above, in this embodiment, the O-ring 62, the O-ring 62, The state of the hardness adjustment knob 34 can be maintained (locked) by the frictional force of 63.

In other words, even if the hardness adjusting knob 34 is rotated by hand to increase the hardness of the soft portion 13 and the hand is released from the hardness adjusting knob 34, the hardness adjusting knob 34 is operated by the operation. By locking in the state, the coil 36 can be locked in the hardness state corresponding to the operation state.

Note that an O-ring for generating a frictional force for locking the hardness adjusting knob 34 may be provided at a place other than a place where a watertight seal is performed.

FIG. 5A shows a cam groove 52 of a cam cylinder 51.
a and 52b are shown. The cam grooves 52a and 52b are two-row cams, one of which is a cam groove 52a and the other is a cam 52b.
Indicated by.

The cam grooves 52a and 52b have the same shape and are provided at symmetrical positions such that one is rotated by 180 degrees with respect to the axis of the cam cylinder 51 and the other is overlapped. In FIG. 5A, the cam grooves 52a and 52b have a simple smooth groove shape (smooth spiral shape).

Instead of the structure shown in FIG.
For example, as shown in FIG.
The structure may be such that a is provided or a concave portion 64b is provided at the end of the groove 52b so that the click feeling is given to the operator when the pins 54 are set at these positions.

As shown in FIG. 3, an insertion port frame 65 for forming the treatment instrument insertion port 32 at a front position adjacent to the grip portion 31.
Is provided. The insertion port frame 65 is connected to a branch member 67 that branches into the treatment instrument insertion port 32 side and the suction conduit 66 side inside the operation unit 7.
The treatment instrument channel 3 provided in the insertion portion 6 is provided at the front end of the
3 are connected to each other by a connection portion 68.

The branch member 67 is fixed to the cylindrical tube 43 with screws. The rear end of the cylindrical tube 43 is connected to a frame 60 to which a bending operation mechanism of the operation unit 7 is attached by a screw. The cylindrical tube 43 does not rotate even when the hardness adjustment knob 34 is rotated.

As shown in FIG. 4A, various built-in components are arranged in the insertion section 6. That is, four curved wires 27 arranged at positions corresponding to up, down, left and right, two signal cables 21 arranged near the center, two light guides 14 arranged at the upper part of the center, and the lower part. , A treatment instrument channel 33 disposed on the left side, a coil 36 and a wire 35 disposed on the left side, and an air supply tube 69 for performing air supply and a water supply tube 70 for supplying water disposed adjacent thereto. I have. Also, a built-in component as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the traction member 46 takes up a certain amount of space. However, as shown in FIG. 3, the traction member 46 is located at a position forward of the connecting portion 68. Even if the traction member 46 is moved to the rearmost position, the traction member 46 is arranged so as to be located forward of the connecting portion 68 so that it can be compactly stored in a smaller space than when the traction member 46 is located rearward of the connecting portion 68.

As described above, in the endoscope apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, in addition to the endoscope 2, as shown in FIG. 2, the operation section 7a and the insertion section 6a (the distal end section 11a).
a, the bending section 12a and the flexible section 13a) have the same configuration as the operation section 7 and the insertion section 6 of the endoscope 2;
An endoscope 2a having a coil 36a having a specification different from that of the endoscope 2 is provided.

A specific difference will be described with reference to FIG. First, in the endoscope 2a, the distal end position of the coil 36a is different from that of the coil 36 with respect to the endoscope 2. That is, although the coil 36 of the endoscope 2 is at a position of about 30 cm from the endoscope end,
The coil 36a of the endoscope 2a is 20 cm from the endoscope end.
, And the hardness of the endoscope 2a can be adjusted to the distal end side of the endoscope 2 by 10 cm.

As a result, the (most) of the flexible portion 13 of the endoscope 2
The hardness 71 of the soft state and the (most) of the flexible portion 13a of the endoscope 2a
The hardness 71a in the soft state is substantially the same, and the hardness 72 of the soft part 13 of the endoscope 2 in the (most) hard state and the hardness of the soft part 13a in the endoscope 2a at the hand side of 30 cm (most). The hardness 72a in the hard state is substantially the same, but is
In the area of cm, the flexible portion 13 of the endoscope 2 is always soft, but the flexible portion 13a of the endoscope 2a can be hard.

The endoscope 2 and the endoscope 2a are different from each other in the position of the tip of the coil 36 and the end of the coil 36a. In some cases, however, the optical system is different, the size of the treatment channel is different, or the endoscope 2 is inserted. The outer diameters of the parts may be different. In any case, in the present embodiment, the insertion portions of the endoscope 2 and the endoscope 2a have hardness characteristics as shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 shows the insertion portion 7 (7) of the endoscope 2 (2a).
The container 80 which rounds and accommodates a) is shown. The container 80 is, for example, a case for carrying an endoscope. Alternatively, the container 80 is a container part of a device for cleaning and disinfecting the endoscope. As described above, the hardness adjusting means includes the wire 35 and the coil 36. The more the coil 36 is rounded, the more the wire 35 in the coil 36 is tensioned and the more the coil 36 is compressed.

When the endoscope is housed in the container 80, how much the insertion bends depends on the shape of the container 80, the length of the insertion portion, and the length of the coil 36. For example, the container 8 of FIG.
At 0, the bending amount is larger by 90 ° in the case of the distal end position 82 of the flexible portion 13 between the case of the distal end position (variable hardness distal end position) 81 of the coil 36 and the case of the distal end position 82 of the flexible portion 13. .

The wire 35 is kept at the maximum hardness.
The position at which the wire 35 is operated is held (locked) even if the hand is released from 5. For this reason, it is conceivable that after the inspection is completed, the insertion portion, which should be kept in a soft state, is housed in the container 80 while being hardened. Flexible part 13 during inspection
Is harder to bend if it is harder, it is unlikely that the amount of bending of the flexible portion 13 becomes larger.
Even when the flexible portion 13 is in the hardest state, the housing is forcedly performed artificially. In that case, in some cases, the load on the coil 36 may become too high, and the coil 36 may buckle. Buckling is the occurrence of local plastic deformation. Therefore, in consideration of such a situation, the length and the radial size of the coil 36 and the size of the coil 36 so that the coil 36 does not buckle even when the endoscope 2 is housed in the housing 80 with the maximum hardness. The hardness change width was set.

Also, when assembling the coil 36 into the endoscope 2, the coil 36 is pushed too far into the flexible portion 13 (the coil 36 meanders largely in the flexible portion 13), and on the contrary, it is extremely pulled. It was not assembled in the state. The amount of pushing of the coil 36 into the flexible portion 13 is also set when the coil 3 is stored in the container 80 with the maximum hardness.
6 is one of means for preventing buckling.

As a result, even if the endoscope 2 is housed in a peripheral device in the hardest state, the hardness adjusting function is not damaged.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

In the endoscope 2, when the hardness adjusting knob 34 is rotated, the cam cylinder 51 also rotates.
4 moves in the cam grooves 52a and 52b, and the traction member 46 moves rearward. When the traction member 46 slightly moves, the traction member 46 eventually hits the wire stopper 45, and the traction member 46 further moves rearward to pull the wire 35, apply a compressive force to the coil 36, harden the coil 36, and harden the soft portion 13 Can be adjusted.

FIG. 8 illustrates a method of inserting the insertion portion 6 into the large intestine. Generally, as shown in FIG. 8A, with the insertion portion 6 being soft, the insertion portion 6 is passed through the descending colon 93 so as to follow the sigmoid colon 92 winding from the anus 91, and the insertion portion 6 is moved to the vicinity of the spleen curve 94. insert. Therefore, the insertion portion 6 is pulled substantially while being twisted so as to be in a substantially straight state. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 8B, the meandering portion of the colon 92 is shortened so as to be folded, and becomes substantially straight. Here, the hardness adjusting knob 34 is operated to harden the coil 36 and the insertion portion 6. By doing so, the flexible portion 13
8 is easily transmitted to the distal end, and in that state, the transverse colon 95, the liver curve 97, and the ascending colon 96 are hardened.
The tip reaches the deep part of the cecum 98 as shown in FIG.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 8A, the flexible portion 13 is inserted into the meandering sigmoid colon 92 in a soft state. Since the flexible portion 13 is soft, even if a loop is formed in the middle of the flexible portion 13, the patient's pain can be reduced. Eventually, the tip will move from the descending colon 93 to the spleen
Reach nearby.

Next, as shown in FIG.
By pulling 3, the flexible part 13 and the sigmoid colon 92 are brought into a substantially linear state (the sigmoid colon 92 is folded). Here, the hardness adjusting knob 34 is rotated to make the soft portion 13 hard. By doing so, the distal end of the endoscope can be moved to the transverse colon 9
When pushed to 5, the sigmoid colon 92 can be prevented from bending again.

The flexible portion 13 passes through the transverse colon 95 in a hard state, and can reach the cecum 98 over the liver curve 97. Since the flexible portion 13 is strong, not only does it prevent re-looping of the sigmoid colon 92, it also makes it easy to insert the transverse colon 95 without bending it as much as possible, so that the operation at hand can be easily transmitted to the tip. And good insertion becomes possible.

Here, the difference in usage depending on the operator will be described. There are sites where the surgeon is good at insertion and sites where they are not very good. For example, as shown in FIG.
After substantially linearizing, there is an operator who is not good at crossing the splenic curvature 94 next (although the ease of insertion differs depending on the patient, of course). However, there are operators who do not have much trouble once the splenic curvature 94 is exceeded.

In the state shown in FIG. 8B, the flexible portion 13
Is said to be about 40 cm from the end of the endoscope. When trying to cross the splenic curvature 94, even if the flexible portion 13 of the endoscope 2 is hardened, the hand side becomes harder from 30 cm as shown in the (hardest) hardness 72 of FIG.
Although the hardened portion enters into the living body for about 10 cm, the front portion is not hardened. Therefore, there is an effect that the flexible portion 13 is harder to bend than the endoscope having no hardness adjusting function.
The possibility of bending again as shown in FIG.

However, the flexible portion 13a of the endoscope 2a shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8 (B), when the hardness can be relatively increased to the vicinity of the distal end, as shown in FIG.
3a becomes difficult to bend. That is, the endoscope 2a is more effective when exceeding the splenic curvature 94.

Also, there is another surgeon who hardly has difficulty with the splenic curve 94 but often has difficulty passing through the liver curve 97. If the bend of the liver curve 97 is gentle, there is little difficulty, but in the case of a patient with a complicated shape or a sharp bend of the liver curve 97, if the endoscope 2a is hard to the vicinity of the tip, It becomes difficult to cope with complicated bending or sudden bending. However, the hardness 71 in the (most) soft state shown in FIG.
If it returns to soft as in a, the possibility that the proximal side of the sigmoid colon 92 bends is increased. Therefore, in that case, the specifications of the hardness adjustment function of the endoscope 2 are excellent. That is, since the front part is not harder than 30 cm and the flexible part is longer than the endoscope 2a, even in the hard state (hardness 72 in the (highest) hard state in FIG. 6), the liver curve 97 sharply bends or is complicatedly bent. Easy to respond to. Further, since the proximal side is harder than 30 cm, the sigmoid colon 92 does not easily bend, and the manual operation is easily transmitted to the distal end side.

As described above, both the endoscope 2 and the endoscope 2a are effective on a case-by-case basis depending on the characteristics of the insertion procedure of the operator and the characteristics of the patient.

In the present embodiment, since the endoscope system is provided with the endoscope system which can adjust the hardness of these different specifications, it is possible to cope with the characteristics of insertion by many operators, and to increase the number of operators. And is applicable to more patients.

Second Embodiment FIG. 9 shows first and second endoscope apparatuses provided in an endoscope apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the hardness of the endoscope.

Since the second embodiment is almost the same as the first embodiment, only different points will be described, and the same components will be denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

In the endoscope apparatus of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the endoscope 2 is basically a second endoscope in addition to the endoscope 2 of the first embodiment. Structure is the same,
The length of the bending portion 12 b is slightly shorter than the length of the bending portion 12 of the endoscope 2, and the coil 36 b is accordingly reduced by the coil 36 of the endoscope 2.
An endoscope 2b that is slightly longer is provided.

Here, the length of the unadjustable portion of the flexible portion 13b of the endoscope 2b is substantially the same as the length of the unadjustable portion of the flexible portion 13 of the endoscope 2. But this is not a difference that has a big impact. The major difference is that
This is a setting of the hardness level of the soft state and the hard state of the soft part 13 and the soft part 13c.

That is, the (most) of the flexible portion 13 of the endoscope 2
Although the hardness 71 in the soft state is very soft, the hardness 71b of the soft part 13b of the endoscope 2b in the (most) soft state is slightly softer, and the hardness of the soft part 13 of the endoscope 2 in the (most) soft state. 7
Clearly harder than 1. Also, when hardened, the endoscope 2
Although the hardness 72 of the (hardest) hard state of the soft part 13 is a moderately hard level, the hardness 72b of the (hardest) hard state of the soft part 13b of the endoscope 2b can be very hard.

This is because the flexible portion 13 is, for example, 10 mm to 1 mm.
The diameter of the flexible portion 13b is 1
By setting the diameter to be as large as 2.5 mm to 14 mm, the hardness 71 of the soft part 13 in the (most) soft state and the soft part 13
b may be different from the hardness 71b of the (most) soft state, and even if the soft portion 13 and the soft portion 13b have similar diameters, the material of the member constituting the soft portion 13 is the soft portion 13b.
The hardness of the soft part 13 in the (most) soft state 71 and that of the soft part 13b in the (most) soft state 71b may be made different from each other by using a material softer than the material of the members constituting the above. Alternatively, even if the outer diameters of the flexible portion 13 and the flexible portion 13b are substantially the same, the hardness of the flexible portion 13 and the hardness 71 of the (most) soft state of the flexible portion 13 are changed by changing the size of the members forming the inside of the flexible portion 13 and the flexible portion 13b. Hardness 71b of the (most) soft state of the flexible portion 13b
You can make a difference to Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. The surgeon's preference for hardness during insertion varies. Some surgeons prefer a very soft flexible portion 13 initially (eg, when passing through the colon 92). Some people think that when they are hardened, they need not be extremely hard. The endoscope 2 is suitable for such an operator.

Also, some operators dislike if the softness is too soft because the hand operation hardly follows the distal end even when passing through the colon 92. Therefore, at first, the hardness of the (most) soft state 71b of the soft portion 13b in FIG. 9 is good, and instead, when it is desired to make it hard, it is desired that it can be considerably hard. Some people want to prevent it. The endoscope 2b is suitable for such an operator.

The hardness of the soft part 13 in the (most) soft state of 7
An endoscope that can have a hardness of 1 to the level of the hardness 72b in the (most) hard state of the flexible portion 13b is also conceivable. Always the hardness of the softest part 13 in the (most) soft state 7
1 is used after adjusting the hardness 71b of the soft part 13b to the (most) soft state, which is troublesome. However, for an operator who likes the hardness 71 of the soft part 13 in the (most) soft state, the hardness can be changed from the hardness 71 of the soft part 13 in the (most) soft state to the hardness 72b of the soft part 13b in the (most) hard state. Some people think that an endoscope is necessary, so such an operator may be provided with such an endoscope. Other operations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

As described above, in this embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, it is possible to appropriately cope with the preference of the hardness of many operators.

Third Embodiment FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 relate to a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10 shows the configuration of first and second endoscopes provided in an endoscope apparatus. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of the first and second endoscopes in FIG.

Since the third embodiment is almost the same as the first embodiment, only different points will be described, and the same components will be denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

This will be described with reference to FIG. The endoscope apparatus according to the present embodiment includes an endoscope 2c as a second endoscope in addition to the endoscope 2 according to the first embodiment. The mirror 2c has the same basic configuration as the endoscope 2, and includes a coil 36 of the endoscope 2 and a coil 3 of the endoscope 2c.
The position of the distal end of the endoscope 6c from the endoscope distal end is substantially the same, but the length of the insertion section 6c is different from that of the insertion section 6 of the endoscope 2.
That is, the endoscope 2c is a model having the insertion portion 6c longer by L than the length of the insertion portion 6 of the endoscope 2. The coil 36c is longer than the coil 36 by that amount.

Note that the hardness change width of the coil 36 and the coil 36c is substantially the same, and the flexible portion 13 of the endoscope 2 and the endoscope 2c
The hardness level of the softest part and the hardest state of the soft part 13c are substantially the same. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 11A, the endoscope 2 (or the endoscope 2
In c), the operator inserts the endoscope while holding the operation section 7 with the left hand and holding the flexible section 13 with the right hand. The role of the right hand is not only to push and pull the flexible part 13 but also to twist the flexible part 13 right and left (although the frequency varies depending on the operator). When the flexible part 13 is greatly twisted by the right hand, the operation part 7 of the left hand should be twisted as little as possible. Therefore, the ease of the twisting operation (the lightness of the twisting torque) depends on the flexibility of the flexible portion 13 on the hand side (hand side from the portion gripped by the right hand).

In other words, FIG. 11A shows a state before twisting (original, when the endoscope is gripped by the left and right hands at the time of the examination, a certain amount of bending toward the 13 hand side as shown in FIG. 11A). FIG. 11B shows the state after the twisting, but if the operating section 7 is not twisted, the flexible section 1 is formed.
After twisting 3, as shown in FIG. 11B, the proximal side of the flexible portion 13 bends more than in FIG. 11A (a larger amount of loop is formed).

[0092] The ease of bending on the proximal side also affects the hardness level of the flexible portion 13 (or the flexible portion 13c) on the proximal side, but also affects the length. In other words, the position where the left hand grips the operation unit 7 (or the operation unit 7c) is substantially the same regardless of the model, and the right hand of a certain operator is the flexible unit 13 (or the flexible unit 13).
c) is also held at a certain distance from the distal end of the endoscope irrespective of the length of the flexible portion 13.
The difference in the length of 3 is the difference in the margin on the hand side. The more room there is (the longer the flexible portion 13 is near the hand), the more easily it bends between the right hand and the left fulcrum.

As described in the above embodiments, when the flexible portion 13 is hardened as necessary, the operation of the flexible portion 13 on the hand side is easily transmitted to the distal end side, and the insertability is improved. In terms of the ease of the twisting operation, the amount of operation force is heavy.

Therefore, as in the present embodiment, the endoscope 2c
Is longer than the flexible portion 13 of the endoscope 2 by L, so that the insertability of the insertion portion on the distal end side with respect to the right hand remains good, but the proximal side of the right hand is long even with almost the same hardness and is bent. By making it easier, the amount of twisting power required by the right hand is reduced. As described above, the operability of the insertion portion is improved due to the difference in the specifications on the hand side of the hardness adjusting means.

Of course, if the insertion portion is long, the handling of the entire insertion portion (not only during the inspection) may be troublesome. Therefore, the operator can select which of the merits and demerits is important depending on the operator. Other operations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

As described above, in this embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the operability of the insertion section can be improved.

In each of the above embodiments, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to hardness adjusting means other than coils and wires.

[Supplementary Note] (Additional Item 1) In an endoscope apparatus provided with an endoscope provided with a hardness adjusting means capable of adjusting the hardness of the flexible part, the hardness adjusting means for the soft part may be adjusted by the hardness adjusting means. An endoscope apparatus comprising a plurality of different endoscopes.

(Additional Item 2) The endoscope apparatus according to Additional Item 1, wherein the different hardness adjustment mode is a difference in length of a portion where hardness can be adjusted.

(Additional Item 3) The endoscope apparatus according to Additional Item 2, wherein the length from the distal end of the endoscope to the distal end of the part whose hardness can be adjusted is different.

(Additional Item 4) The endoscope apparatus according to Additional Item 2, wherein the length from the distal end of the endoscope to the proximal end of the portion where the hardness can be adjusted is different.

(Additional Item 5) The endoscope apparatus according to Additional Item 1, wherein the different hardness adjustment mode is a difference in hardness level between a soft state and / or a hard state of the soft part.

(Additional Item 6) The different hardness levels are as follows:
6. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the size of the member constituting the flexible portion is different.

(Additional Item 7) The different hardness levels are as follows:
The endoscope apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the endoscope apparatus is based on a difference in a material of a member constituting the flexible portion.

(Appendix 8) An endoscope provided with an endoscope provided with a hardness adjusting means capable of adjusting the hardness of the flexible portion, and an endoscope container accommodating the insertion portion of the endoscope by bending the endoscope. In the device, the size and the hardness adjustment width of the hardness adjusting means are set so that the hardness adjusting means does not buckle even when the endoscope is housed in the endoscope housing in a state where the flexible portion is the hardest. An endoscope apparatus characterized in that:

Conventionally, only the operation at the time of inspection of an endoscope whose hardness can be adjusted is described. Generally, at the time of inspection, the harder the insertion portion, the harder it is to bend. However, among endoscope peripheral devices, there is a container for accommodating the insertion portion in a rounded shape, and when accommodating the endoscope therein, the container is forcibly inserted into the container regardless of the hardness of the insertion portion. The insertion part is bent and accommodated. Therefore, if the insertion portion is accommodated in the container without being softened while being adjusted to be hard, the hardness adjusting means may buckle.

Therefore, in the endoscope apparatus according to the additional item 8, by setting the size (axial direction and radial direction) of the hardness adjusting means and the hardness variable width to appropriate values, the insertion portion can be rounded in a hard state. Even when housed in a peripheral device, the hardness adjusting means can be prevented from buckling.

(Additional Item 9) The additional item 8 is characterized in that the endoscope container is a case for carrying the endoscope.
An endoscope apparatus according to claim 1.

(Additional Item 10) The endoscope apparatus according to Additional Item 8, wherein the endoscope housing is a housing portion of a washing / disinfecting machine for the endoscope.

(Additional Item 11) The endoscope apparatus according to Additional Item 8, wherein the hardness adjusting means changes hardness according to a bending amount in a hard state.

(Additional Item 12) The endoscope apparatus according to Additional Item 8, wherein an amount of pushing of the hardness adjusting means into the flexible portion is set.

[0112]

As described above, according to the endoscope apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of endoscopes having different arrangements of the hardness adjusting means are provided. There is an effect that it is possible to cope with features.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of an endoscope apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an external view showing an external configuration of a second endoscope provided in the endoscope apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a first endoscope in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a section taken along line AA and a section taken along line BB of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view showing a specific example of the cam cylinder shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining hardness of first and second endoscopes provided in the endoscope apparatus of FIG. 1;

7 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a container that accommodates the insertion portions of the first and second endoscopes provided in the endoscope apparatus of FIG. 1 in a rounded state;

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the first and second endoscopes provided in the endoscope apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the hardness of the first and second endoscopes provided in the endoscope apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of first and second endoscopes provided in an endoscope apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the first and second endoscopes in FIG. 10;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Endoscope apparatus 2, 2a ... (electronic) endoscope 4 ... Signal processing apparatus 5 ... Color monitor 6, 6a ... Insertion part 7, 7a ... Operation part 11, 11a ... Tip part 12, 12a ... Bending part 13 Reference numeral 13a: Flexible portion 16: Lamp 18: Objective lens 19: CCD 21: Signal cable 26: Bending piece 27 ... Bending wire 29: Bending operation knob 30 ... Wire extension portion 31 ... Grip portion 32 ... Treatment tool insertion port 33 ... Treatment instrument channel 34 Hardness adjusting knob 35 Hardness changing wire (wire) 36, 36a Hardness changing coil (coil) 37 Soft tube 38 Connecting tube 40 Coil stopper 41 Rear end cap 45 Wire stopper 46 ... traction member 47 ... moving ring 48 ... groove 51 ... cam cylinder 52a, 52b ... cam groove 80 ... container 91 ... anus 92 ... sigmoid colon 93 ... descending colon 94 ... spleen curve 5 ... transverse colon 96 ... ascending colon 97 ... hepatic flexure 98 ... cecum

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An endoscope apparatus provided with an endoscope provided with a hardness adjusting means capable of adjusting the hardness of a flexible part, wherein the plurality of endoscopes having different forms of adjusting the hardness of the flexible part by the hardness adjusting means. An endoscope device comprising a mirror.