JPH11276426A - Angle operation device for endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve operability of curving operation of an angle part by an angle operation means by using an operation ratio changing means interposed between an angle operation member and an angle actuation member to change a curvature degree of the angle part to an angle operation quantity. SOLUTION: Between an operation knob 15 and a pulley 13, a rotation ratio changing means 20 comprising a drive side rotary body 21, a follower side rotary body 22, and a V-belt 23 is interposed, both rotary bodies 21, 22 are composed of fixed side disc plates 21b, 22a and movable side disk plates 21a, 22b, and a support plate 26 is moved up and down by an actuation lever 30 to move the disk plate 21a and the disk plate 22b simultaneously in the opposite directions to each other. Width of a V-groove formed on outer circumferential surfaces of both disk plates 21a, 21b and 22a, 22b is thus changed, and an applied position to a groove in the V-belt 23 is displaced toward the outer circumferential side or inner circumferential side, thereby a rotation ratio discharged.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an angle operating device for remotely bending a distal end hard portion of an insertion portion of an endoscope, and more particularly to a degree of bending of the angle portion with respect to an operation amount of the angle operation. The present invention relates to an angle operating device that can be changed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An endoscope used for medical purposes or the like has a main body operation section provided with an insertion section for insertion into a body cavity or the like, and a light guide flexible section extends from the main body operation section. The insertion portion is a flexible portion that bends in any direction along the insertion path from the side connected to the main body operation portion, and has an angle portion at the tip of the flexible portion and a tip portion of the angle portion. , A hard tip portion is sequentially provided. An illumination unit and an observation unit constituting an endoscope observation mechanism are provided in the distal end hard unit,
Observation of an in-vivo image or the like is performed through the observation window under illumination from the illumination unit. The angle portion allows a bending operation to be performed in a desired direction to guide the insertion portion to a desired position along the insertion path and to change the observation field of view to an arbitrary direction.

Therefore, a schematic configuration of the entire endoscope is shown in FIG.
FIG. 14 shows the configuration of the angle portion. First, FIG.
In 3, reference numeral 1 denotes an insertion portion, 2 denotes a main body operation portion, and 3 denotes a universal cord. The insertion portion 1 includes a distal end hard portion 1a, an angle portion 1b, and a soft portion 1c from the distal end side. The distal end hard portion 1a is formed of a substantially cylindrical member, and has a through hole for inserting a light guide constituting an illumination portion, an objective lens, and a solid-state imaging device (an image guide in the case of an optical endoscope). A through hole for mounting is further provided with a through hole or the like constituting a treatment instrument insertion channel as necessary. On the other hand, the flexible portion 1c has a helical tube, and by providing a net and an outer skin layer on the outer periphery of the helical tube, the flexible portion 1c does not expand or contract, but has a structure that bends in any direction.
However, since the configurations of the distal end hard portion 1a and the soft portion 1c are well known, illustration of them is omitted.

When the insertion path of the endoscope is bent, the flexible section 1c bends in an arbitrary direction along the path. Therefore, the flexible section 1c bends in an arbitrary direction by the action of an external force. Has become. On the other hand, the angle portion 1b interposed between the distal end hard portion 1a and the soft portion 1c
Is configured such that the distal end hard portion 1a can be bent by an angle operation in order to direct it in a desired direction. Therefore, the angle portion 1b is configured as shown in FIG. The structure of the angle portion 1b is a structure in which a plurality of angle rings 4 (usually formed of a metal material) are sequentially connected using a pivot pin 5.
The pivoting positions of the front and rear angle rings 4 and 4 by the pivoting pin 5 are 180 degrees with respect to each other. here,
In the drawings, for simplicity, a configuration in which the upper and lower sides are curved only is shown. In addition, it is general to be configured to be able to bend in an arbitrary direction by these combined operations. In the angle portion 1b, a net and a skin layer are sequentially attached to the outside of the structure in which the angle rings 4 are connected, but illustration thereof is omitted.

The bending operation of the angle portion 1b is performed by a main body operation portion 2 provided at a base end portion of the insertion portion 1. For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 15, an operation knob 6 that is rotated by manual operation is provided on a side surface of the main body operation unit 2. The operation knob 6 is for rotating the pulley 7 for angle operation, and is provided with a pair of operation wires 8, 8 wound around the pulley 7 for bending the angle portion 1b by remote control. The operation knob 6 and the pulley 7 are connected by a shaft 9. When the angle portion 1b is configured to be able to bend up and down and left and right, four operation wires 8 are respectively inserted vertically and left and right, and a total of four operation wires are inserted. Two pulleys, a pulley wound with an operation wire and a pulley wound with an operation wire for bending in the left-right direction, are used. The rotation axes of these two pulleys are provided coaxially, and the operation knob is also provided. The rotary shaft is configured to be provided in two stages in the axial direction.

The operation wire 8 wound around the pulley 7 extends into the insertion portion 1, and the flexible portion 1
In c, it is inserted into a close contact coil (not shown),
Both ends of this close contact coil are fixedly held.
Then, in the angle portion 1b, the operation wire 8 is led out from the close contact coil, and is inserted into a cut-out portion formed in the angle ring 4 (or a through hole inserted through the pivot pin 5). Further, the distal end of the operation wire 8 is fixed to the leading-end angle ring 4a (or the distal end hard portion 1a) of the angle rings 4.

Accordingly, when the operation knob 6 is rotated by the finger or the like of the hand holding the main body operation section 2, the pulley 7 is rotated,
One of the pair of operation wires 8, 8 is drawn into the pulley 7 side, and as a result, the angle portion 1b faces the direction in which the operation wire 8 is pulled, as shown in FIG. Or the state of a two-dot chain line. At the time of the angle operation, the other operation wire 8 is extended, so that the other operation wire 8 does not become a resistance when bending. Thus, the bending operation of the angle portion is performed by remote control,
When the operation knob is rotated, the angle portion rotates by an amount corresponding to the rotation angle of the operation knob. In addition, a slack preventing member 8a is provided at a position near the winding portion of the operation wire 8 around the pulley 7 so as to have a necessary extra length and always keep the slack.

[0008]

By the way, the bending operation of the angle portion is performed when the distal end hard portion of the insertion portion is directed in a desired direction along the insertion path, and when the insertion portion is directed to a predetermined observation target portion. A typical case is that the observation field of view is changed while being guided. In these two modes of operation,
The degree of curvature of the angle portion with respect to the operation amount of the operation knob, that is, the followability of the angle portion by the operation knob does not need to be constant. Rather, it is preferable that the followability to the operation of the operation knob be made different depending on the operation mode or the like. For example, when inserting the insertion section along the insertion path, it is better to improve the ability to follow the operation of the operation knob in order to quickly guide the direction of the hard distal end part to the observation target part. When the observation field of view is changed in the target portion, it may be desirable to reduce the followability to the operation of the operation knob in order to improve the controllability of the direction. Also, by bending the angle part rapidly to some extent, and then bending it by a small amount, the direction of the hard tip part is accurately controlled,
Depending on the angle of curvature of the angle part, the operability is better if the degree of curvature is made to have a gradual difference. Furthermore, the degree of curvature of the angle portion with respect to the operation of the operation knob differs depending on the preference of the operator who operates the endoscope. However, in the configuration of the related art described above, the degree of bending of the angle portion with respect to the rotation angle of the operation knob, that is, the followability to the operation of the operation knob depends on the radius of the pulley, and therefore, the operation of the operation knob is The degree of curvature of the angle portion cannot be changed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to change the degree of curvature of an angle portion with respect to operation of an angle operation member such as an operation knob. It is to improve the operability of the bending operation of the angle portion.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the present invention, an operation transmitting member is extended from an insertion portion into a main body operation portion in order to bend an angle portion constituting an insertion portion. Connecting the angle operating member provided in the main body operating section to an angle operating member provided in the main body operating section so that the angle operating section can be manually operated, thereby bending the angle section. The operation member and the angle operating member are connected via an operation ratio conversion means, and the degree of curvature of the angle portion with respect to the angle operation amount is changed by the operation ratio conversion means. is there.

Here, the angle operating section can be constituted by, for example, a slide member or a lever. However, in many cases, the angle operating section is constituted by an operation knob provided on a side surface of the main body operating section and rotated by manual operation. When an operation knob is used as the angle operation member, a pair of operation wires or the like is used as an operation transmission member, and the pair of operation wires is directly wound around an angle pulley, or a chain or a timing belt is attached to the operation wire. Connect and connect to sprocket etc. The operation ratio conversion means is constituted by a rotation ratio conversion means for changing the rotation ratio of the angle pulley to the rotation amount of the operation knob.

Here, the turning ratio converting means has a V-shaped groove having a variable groove width, and a driven-side rotating body rotated by an operation knob and a driven-side rotating body for rotating an angle pulley. If the drive-side rotating body and the driven-side rotating body are formed by changing the groove width of the driving-side rotating body and the driven-side rotating body, the driving-side rotating body It is possible to change the rotation ratio between the rotating body and the driven-side rotating body. In order to change the groove width, the drive-side rotating body and the driven-side rotating body are constituted by a pair of upper and lower disks having an outer peripheral surface tapered, and a V-groove is formed on the outer peripheral surface by the tapered surfaces of these two disks. When the grooves are formed and these paired disks are moved toward and away from each other, the groove width changes. In this case, both disks may be moved, but one side of each of the pair of disks on the drive side and the driven side is a fixed side disk, and the other is with respect to this fixed side disk. When the movable disk is movable in the direction of approaching / separating, the structure of the mechanism for changing the groove width is simplified.

A groove width changing means is provided to change the groove width. When one of the two movable side disks moves in the direction approaching the fixed side disk, the other movable side disk is Move in opposite directions, such as moving away from the fixed disk. The method has various aspects. For example, each movable-side disk is configured to be individually driven, or each movable-side disk is supported at both ends, and a swing plate having a swing fulcrum at an intermediate point is provided. The movable disk can be simultaneously moved in the opposite direction by swinging the plate, etc., but both movable disks are supported by a support member, and are manually operated by a cam mechanism or driven using an electric motor or the like. It can be configured to be driven by a member.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Here, since the configuration of the insertion portion including the angle portion is not particularly different from that of the above-described conventional technology, the same reference numerals are used for the same or equivalent members as described in the conventional technology.

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway view of the main body operation unit, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. In these figures, reference numeral 10 denotes a main body operation unit, and a mounting plate 1 is provided inside a casing 10a constituting the main body operation unit 10.
1 is fixedly provided. The mounting plate 11 is provided with a rotating shaft 12, and the rotating shaft 12 is integrally provided with a pulley 13 as a rotating member constituting an angle operating member. The pulley 13 has a pair of operation wires 1 as an operation transmission member by remote operation.
4, 14 are provided by winding. Therefore, pulley 1
When the user rotates the operation wire 3, the operation wire 14 is pushed and pulled, so that the angle portion 1b is curved.

An angle operating member for rotating the rotating shaft 12 of the pulley 13 is constituted by an operating knob 15, which can be rotated by a finger or the like of the hand holding the main body operating section 10. It has become. However, the operation knob 15 does not directly rotate the pulley 13, but interposes a rotation ratio conversion means 20 as an operation ratio conversion means therebetween, and transmits the rotation by the rotation ratio conversion means 20. ing. The rotation ratio conversion means 20 includes a drive-side rotation body 21 and a driven-side rotation body 22, and a V-belt 23. The driven rotating body 22 is connected to the rotating shaft 12 of the pulley 13, and the driving rotating body 21 is connected to the operation knob 15.
Is connected to the rotating shaft 16. The V-belt 23 has a trapezoidal cross section, and is provided by being wound between the driving-side rotating body 21 and the driven-side rotating body 22. For this purpose, a V-shaped groove is formed on the outer peripheral surface of both the driving side and driven side rotating bodies 21 and 22, and when the driving side rotating body 21 is rotated, the V belt 23 is transmitted. As a member, the driven-side rotating body 22 follows and rotates.

Here, the rotation ratio of the driven-side rotating body 22 to the driving-side rotating body 21 depends on the ratio of the radii of the two rotating bodies 21 and 22. The driving-side rotating body 21 is driven by the driven-side rotating body 22.
When the radius is larger, the degree of curvature of the angle portion 1b with respect to the rotation angle of the operation knob 15 is large,
When the radius of the driven-side rotating body 22 is larger, the degree of bending of the angle portion 1b with respect to the rotation angle of the operation knob 23 becomes smaller, and the angle portion 1 with respect to the operation of the operation knob 15 is reduced.
The degree of curvature of b, that is, the followability to the operation changes. Each of the rotating bodies 21 and 2 on the driving side and the driven side
The radius of the V-shaped groove 2 corresponds to the winding portion of the V-belt 23. Therefore, when the groove width of the V-shaped groove on the outer peripheral surfaces of the two rotating bodies 21 and 22 is changed, the V-belt 2
Since the contact position of No. 3 changes, the turning ratio between the driving-side turning body 21 and the driven-side turning body 22 changes.

In order to change the groove width of the driving-side rotating body 21 and the driven-side rotating body 22, the driving-side rotating body 21 and the driven-side rotating body 22 are each formed of a pair of upper and lower tapered disks 21.
a, 21b and 22a, 22b, the V-shaped grooves are formed on the outer peripheral surfaces of the driving-side rotating body 21 and the driven-side rotating body 22 by arranging the reduced-diameter end faces of the tapered surfaces so as to face each other. The taper angle of each disk is made to match the inclination angle of the V-belt 23. Therefore, between the disks 21a and 21b and between the disks 22a and 22b.
Changing the distance from b changes the groove width.

Each pair of disks 21a, 21b
, 22a and 22b, the drive-side rotating body 21 is such that the lower disk 21b is the fixed side and the upper disk 21a is the disk 21b.
In the driven-side rotating body 22, the upper disk 22a is fixed and the lower disk 22b is close to and separated from the disk 22a. It is movable side in the direction. Here, as for the vertical relationship between the disks, the side closer to the mounting plate 11 is the lower side, and the mounting plate 1
The side away from 1 is the upper side. And the disk 21
a and the disk 22b are simultaneously moved in opposite directions. With this configuration, both discs 2
The width of the V-shaped grooves formed on the outer peripheral surfaces of 1a, 21b and 22a, 22b changes, and the contact position of the V belt 23 to these grooves is displaced from the outer peripheral side to the inner peripheral side. Become. In addition, by making the opposite disks movable, such as the upper disk 21a on the drive side and the lower disk 22b on the driven side (or vice versa), V
The center axis of the V-belt 23 is kept constant even if the contact positions of the belt 23 with the grooves formed on the driving and driven rotating bodies 21 and 22 change.

Thus, as shown in FIG.
Is separated from the disk 21b, and the disk 22b is brought close to the disk 22a.
The amount of rotation of the driven-side rotating body 22 is greater than the amount of rotation of. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, when the disk 21a is brought close to the disk 21b and the disk 22b is separated from the disk 22a, the disk 21a is driven by the rotation amount of the driving side rotation body 21 in the V-belt 23. The amount of rotation of the side rotation body 22 is smaller. Therefore, when the operation knob 14 is rotated by a certain angle, the rotation ratio between the driving-side rotating body 21 and the driven-side rotating body 22 is changed by displacing the movable-side disks 21a and 22b. When the rotation is transmitted from the operation knob 14 to the pulley 13 via the rotation ratio conversion means 20, the followability, that is, the degree of curvature of the angle portion 1b with respect to the rotation amount of the operation knob 14 changes. In the state of FIG. 3, the angle portion 1b is in a high tracking state where the degree of curvature is large, and in the state of FIG. 4, the angle portion 1b is in a low tracking state where the degree of bending is small.

As described above, in order to displace between the high follow-up state and the low follow-up state, the distance between the disks 21a and 21b and the position of the disk 2
There is provided groove width changing means for changing the groove width by changing the interval between 2a and 22b. The groove width changing means is configured as follows. That is, the elevating shafts 24, 25 are connected to the movable disks 21a, 22b, respectively. Disk 21a
Is connected to the mounting plate 1 through the disk 21b.
1 and extends and descends a shaft 22 of the disk 22b.
5 also extends below the mounting plate 11 through the rotating shaft 12 to which the pulley 13 is connected. These lifting shafts 24, 25 are connected to thrust bearings 27, 28 mounted on a support plate 26 as a support member. Here, the support plate 26 has upper and lower flat portions 26a and 26b and a cam surface portion 26c formed of an inclined surface connected between the flat portions 26a and 26b, and a thrust bearing 27 is provided on the flat portion 26a. A thrust bearing 28 is attached to the flat portion 26b. Then, the cam surface portion 2 of the support plate 26
In FIG. 6c, a roller 29 as a cam follower is in contact with the surface opposite to the side where the thrust bearings 27 and 28 are provided. An operating rod 30 is connected to the roller 29, and the operating rod 30 is led out of the casing 10a.
0a are provided in connection with each other. Therefore, this operating rod 3
When the push / pull operation is performed on the roller 29, the roller 29
Rolling along the cam surface portion 26c of the support plate 26,
The support plate 26 moves up and down.

The operating rod 30 can be pushed and pulled by manual operation from outside the main body operating section 10. When the operating rod 30 is pushed into the main body operating section 10, the roller 29 is driven by the cam surface 26c of the support plate 26. The position becomes closer to the lower flat portion 26b, and the support plate 26 rises. As a result, the high tracking state shown in FIG. 3 is obtained. When the operating rod 30 is pulled out from the main body operating section 10, the roller 29 is moved to the cam surface section 2.
Since it rolls along 6c and is displaced to a position near the upper flat portion 26b to lower the support plate 26, the low-following state shown in FIG. 4 is established.

A positioning member is provided for positioning and holding the operating rod 30 at the above two positions. The positioning member includes a circumferential groove 3 provided in the operating rod 30.
1a, 31b and an elastic stopper 3 fixedly mounted on the mounting plate 11 and engaged with these circumferential grooves 31a or 31b.
And 2. Elastic stopper 32 is circumferential groove 31a
In the state in which the operating rod 30 is engaged in the main body operating section 10, the operating rod 30 is maintained in a high following state, and in the state in which the operating rod 30 is engaged with the circumferential groove 31b, the operating rod 30 projects from the main body operating section 10 in a low following state. Will be held. Therefore, the operating rod 3
In the state where no external force is applied to the elastic stopper 3, the elastic stopper 3
2 is held in a state of being engaged with the circumferential groove 31a or 31b. When a push-pull operation is performed, the elastic stopper 32 is elastically deformed, and the circumferential stopper 31a, 31b is deformed.
As a result, the operating rod 30 rides on the outer surface of the operating rod 30, so that the operating rod 30 can be displaced.

Each of the rotating bodies 21 and 22 on the driving side and the driven side
Are a pair of disks 21a, 21b and 22a, 2 respectively.
2b, the disk 21a and the disk 21b rotate integrally, and the disk 22a and the disk 22a
b also rotates integrally. For this purpose, the insertion portion of the lifting shaft 24 connected to the disk 21a into the disk 21b is spline-coupled, and a spline shaft 33 is connected to the disk 22a, and the spline shaft 33 moves up and down from the disk 22b. The spline is inserted into the concave portion provided with the spline formed on the shaft 25. Further, a fitting portion 34 is provided on the upper surface of the disk 21a, and the rotating shaft 16 connected to the operation knob 15 is spline-connected to the fitting portion 34. Thus, when the operation shaft 15 is rotated by operating the operation knob 15, the drive-side rotating body 21 composed of the disks 21 a and 21 b is rotated, and the power is transmitted to the V-belt 2.
3 is transmitted to the driven-side rotating body 22. The disk 22a and the disk 22b constituting the driven-side rotating body 22 are connected to each other by a spline shaft 33 connected to the disk 22a so that they cannot rotate relative to each other, so that both the disks 22a and 22b are integrally formed. Rotate. Further, the elevating shaft 2 connected to the disc 22b
5 extends through the rotating shaft 12 connected to the pulley 13, and the fitting portion of the lifting shaft 25 to the rotating shaft 12 is also spline-coupled, so that the driven-side rotating body 22 and the pulley 13 are separated from each other. It will rotate together. Needless to say, each of the above-described spline coupling portions can be replaced with a coupling mechanism such as a key coupling that cannot rotate relatively.

Reference numeral 35 denotes a spring for urging the movable-side disk 21a downward in the drive-side rotating body 21. The lifting shaft 24 connected to the disk 21a by the spring 35 serves as a thrust bearing. 27. On the other hand, the fixed-side disk 21b is rotatable by a collar 36 provided on the mounting plate 11, and is supported so as not to move in the vertical direction. The spring 35 applies an urging force to the movable disk 21a in a direction approaching the fixed disk 21b, so that the V-belt 23 acts between the upper and lower disks 21a and 21b by the action of the spring 35. Become pinched.

On the other hand, in the driven-side rotating body 22, the fixed-side disk 22a is attached to the holding plate 37 provided on the mounting plate 11.
It is connected to. For this purpose, a connecting rod 38 is connected to and provided on the upper surface of the disk 22a, and a distal end portion of the connecting rod 38 is a small-diameter portion 37a, which is provided on the holding plate 37. The stopper ring 38 is provided in a portion that is inserted through the through hole 37a and passes through the through hole 37a. Therefore, the connecting rod 38 connected to the disk 22a is held so as to be sandwiched between the stepped portion forming the small diameter portion and the stopper ring 38a. However, the disk 22a is not completely fixed, but the distance between the stepped portion and the stopper ring 38a is set to be somewhat larger than the thickness of the holding plate 37, and the distance between the holding plate 37 and the disk 22a is A spring 39 is interposed therebetween to apply an urging force in a direction in which the disk 22a approaches the movable side disk 22b. With this urging force, the V belt 23
2a, 22b and the movable side disk 22b.
The lifting shaft 25 connected to the thrust bearing 28 is urged in a direction in which the lifting shaft 25 is pressed against the thrust bearing 28.

As described above, the V-belt 23 is clamped between the upper and lower disks 21a and 21b and between the upper and lower disks 21a and 21b by the urging forces of the springs 35 and 39, whereby each of the driving and driven rotators is rotated. The frictional force between the V-belt 23 and the V-belt 23 is increased. As a result, the transmission of the turning power by the V-belt 23 becomes smoother and more reliable. In the drawing, reference numeral 40 denotes a spacer ring formed of a synthetic resin or the like formed in an annular shape.
When b is separated from the disk 22a, the disk 22b is brought into contact with the spacer ring 40, so that the disk 22b and the pulley 13 which are both formed of a member having high strength such as metal are directly pressed into contact with the pulley 13. Is prevented.

In order to perform an examination / diagnosis using an endoscope, the insertion section 1 is inserted from the oral cavity or the like, and the distal end hard section 1a is inserted into a predetermined examination target section such as the stomach or duodenum. Lead to. At this time, the direction of the distal end hard portion 1a must be appropriately controlled so as to follow a predetermined insertion path.
By operating the operation knob 15, the angle portion 1b is curved, so that the direction of the distal end hard portion 1a can be controlled by remote control.

As described above, when the angle portion 1b is curved to control the direction of the distal end hard portion 1a along the insertion path, the direction may be controlled roughly to some extent. Rather, it is preferable to increase the followability to the operation of the operation knob 15. Therefore, in order to enhance the followability, the operating rod 30 is operated so as to be pushed into the main body operating section 10 to displace the elastic stopper 32 to a position where the elastic stopper 32 engages with the circumferential groove 31a of the operating rod 30.
As a result, the support plate 26 rises so as to approach the mounting plate 11, and as a result, the disk 21a constituting the driving-side rotating body 21 is separated from the disk 21b, and the driven-side rotating body 22 is circular. The plate 22b is brought into the state of FIG. 3 in which the plate 22b is close to the disk 22a. Therefore, the radius of the V-belt 23 wound around the drive-side rotating body 21 is larger than the radius of the wound part around the driven-side rotating body 22. As a result, even if the operation knob 15 is slightly rotated, the angle portion 1b bends greatly, the followability of the angle portion 1b to the operation of the operation knob 15 is increased, and the distal end hard portion 1a
Can be quickly turned in a desired direction.

As described above, the insertion portion 1 can be quickly and smoothly inserted into the observation target portion, but when the distal end hard portion 1a is guided to the observation target portion and the inspection or diagnosis is started, It is necessary to orient the distal end hard portion 1a in a desired direction. When the affected part is found as a result of the examination, the treatment tool is inserted through a treatment tool insertion channel (not shown) provided in the endoscope. This is done by bending. in this way,
In order to direct the observation visual field in a desired direction, and particularly to enhance the aimability of the treatment tool, it is necessary to finely control the bending operation of the angle portion 1b rather than the ability to follow the operation of the operation knob 15.

Then, the operating rod 30 is operated so as to be pulled out from the main body operating section 10. As a result, the support plate 26 descends, and the disc 21a of the drive-side rotating body 21 is moved.
Are separated from the disk 21b, and the disk 2
2b is in contact with the disk 22a, and
The groove around which the belt 23 is wound is widened, and the driven side rotating body 22 is in a low following state in FIG. The elastic stopper 32 is provided on the circumferential groove 31 of the operating rod 30.
In this position, the operating rod 30 is stably held. As a result, the rotation ratios of the driving-side and driven-side rotating bodies 21 and 22 change, and the degree of curvature of the angle portion 1b becomes slower than the amount of rotation of the operation knob 15, so that the angle portion 1b By slightly bending, the degree of bending of the distal end hard portion 1a can be controlled with higher accuracy. Therefore, when the observation visual field is slightly changed or an appropriate treatment is performed using the treatment tool, the aimability of the treatment tool at an affected part or the like is significantly improved.

The followability of the degree of curvature of the angle portion 1b with respect to the operation of the operation knob 15 is only changed between the time of insertion into the body cavity and the time of controlling the direction of the rigid distal end portion 1a in the observation target portion. Alternatively, the rotation ratio between the driving-side rotating body 21 and the driven-side rotating body 22 may be appropriately changed according to the surgeon's preference or the like. It is also possible to control to change the characteristic according to the degree of bending of the angle portion 1b, such as setting the high follow-up state when the angle portion 1b is bent halfway, and setting the low follow-up state when bending the angle portion 1b or more. It is.

Next, FIG. 5 shows another example of the structure for moving the operating rod constituting the groove width varying means.
In the example of FIG. 5, a configuration in which a screw shaft is used as the operating rod 50 is shown. That is, the mounting plate 11
Is provided with a nut member 52 fixed thereto via an arm 51, and the operating rod 50 includes a cam follower portion 50a having a substantially spherical tip, and includes a portion inserted into the nut member 52. A screw portion 50b having a thread provided on the outer peripheral surface over a predetermined length is provided.
0b is a positioning portion 50c provided with a plurality of circumferential grooves.
The part led out from a is the rod-shaped part 50d. The rod-shaped portion 50 of the operating rod 50
A rotation operating section 53 for rotating the operating rod 50 is connected to the end of the section d. Since the configuration other than the above is the same as that of the first embodiment, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals.

With this configuration, the operating rod 50 is rotated by the rotation of the operating rod 53 so that the screwed portion of the nut member 52 into the screw portion 50b is screwed in and out. Resulting in displacement in the direction
The cam follower portion 50a slides along the cam surface portion 26c of the support plate 26, thereby moving the support plate 26 up and down. Accordingly, the groove width of the driving-side rotating body 21 and the driven-side rotating body 22 changes. A plurality of circumferential grooves are formed in the positioning portion 50c of the operating rod 50, and the elastic stopper 32 is engaged with any of these grooves. It is possible to hold not only two positions of the following state and the low following state but also an intermediate position between them, and the rotation of the driving side rotating body 21 and the driven side rotating body 22 according to the operator's preference or the like. The dynamic ratio can be set arbitrarily.

In the embodiment of FIG. 5 described above, the operating rod 50 is projected from the casing 10a of the main body operating section 10 and the rotary operating section 53 is provided directly on the operating rod 50. As shown in FIG.
It is also possible to provide a rotation operation member 54 formed of a member different from the one provided on the casing 10a and connect the operating rod 50 to the rotation operation member 54.

In this configuration, the rotating operation member 54 includes an operating portion 54a that is rotated by manual operation and a spline hollow shaft 54b.
4b is provided so as to penetrate the casing 10a of the main body operation unit 10, and the operation unit 54a is connected and fixed to the spline hollow shaft 54b outside the casing 10a. A spline having a predetermined length in the axial direction is provided on an inner surface of a portion of the hollow spline shaft 54b located in the casing 10a. A spline portion 55d is formed at the base end of the operating rod 55 so as to be able to move straight forward and backward by a predetermined stroke with respect to the spline hollow shaft 54b. The operating rod 55 has a cam follower portion 5 having a substantially spherical tip.
5a, a screw portion 55b having a thread provided on the outer peripheral surface over a predetermined length including a portion inserted into the nut member 52, and a plurality of portions proximal to the screw portion 55b are provided. This embodiment is the same as the embodiment of FIG. 5 in that the positioning portion 55c is provided with a circumferential groove.

With the above configuration, when the operating portion 54a is rotated, the operating rod 55 is
The actuating rod 55 moves back and forth because the screwing portion of the second screw portion 55b is screwed in and out. At this time, the operating rod 5
The 5th spline portion 55d advances and retreats into the spline hollow shaft 54b connected to the operation portion 54a. Therefore,
It can be moved to the position in the high tracking state shown in FIG. 6 or the position in the low tracking state shown in FIG. Moreover, the operating rod 5
5 moves in the spline hollow shaft 54b,
Even in the low-following state shown in FIG. 7, it does not protrude greatly toward the rear of the main body operation unit 10.

Further, the rotary operation member 56 shown in FIG. 8 can be used. The rotation operation member 56 is configured by connecting a screw cylinder 56b to an operation portion 56a rotated by manual operation. On the other hand, the operating rod 57 has a substantially spherical tip, and a cam follower portion 57a that slides along the support plate 26 is formed. The cam follower portion 57a is provided with a spline portion 57b. A positioning portion 57c provided with a circumferential groove is provided continuously at a portion closer to the proximal end than 57b, and a screw portion 57d is provided at the most proximal portion. The screw portion 57d is screwed into the screw cylinder 56b of the rotation operation member 56. The arm 51 fixed to the mounting plate 11 is provided with a spline cylinder 58, and the spline portion 57b of the operating rod 57 is
The spline cylinder 58 is inserted.

With the above configuration, the operating rod 57 is
Since the spline portion 57b is restricted by the spline cylinder 58 and cannot be rotated, when the operation portion 56a of the rotary operation member 56 is rotated, the operating rod 57 moves in the front-rear direction, so that the support plate 26 moves up and down. As a result, the followability of the degree of curvature of the angle portion 1b can be changed.

Further, what is shown in FIG.
An operating rod 61 connected to a roller 60 serving as a cam follower rolling along the cam surface portion 26c is supported by a pair of support arms 62a and 62b so as to be movable in the axial direction. The operating rod 61 is driven by a lever 64 connected to a solenoid 63. The lever 64 is capable of swinging about a swing fulcrum 65. A long hole 64a is formed near the end of the lever 64 opposite to the side where the lever 64 is connected to the solenoid 63.
Is engaged with a pin 66 provided on the operating rod 61. In FIG. 9, the same components as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals except for the configuration described above.

With the above arrangement, when the solenoid 63 is operated, the lever 64 is moved to the swing fulcrum 65.
The lever 64
The operating rod 61 connected to the distal end of the actuator via a pin 66 moves back and forth. As a result, the roller 60 provided at the tip of the operating rod 61 rolls along the cam surface portion 26c of the support plate 26, so that the rotation ratio of the driving-side and driven-side rotating bodies 21 and 22 changes. Become like

Further, as shown in FIG.
At 0, a roller 71 as a cam follower is mounted at the end, and a spline portion 70a is formed at the intermediate portion, and the spline portion 70a is inserted into the support member 72 so as to be relatively non-rotatable and movable in the axial direction. Let me.
A screw portion 70b is formed on the base end side of the operating rod 70 over a predetermined length. The screw portion 70b is connected to a nut member 74 rotatably supported by a holding member 73 connected to the mounting plate 11. It is screwed. A gear 74 a is provided on an outer peripheral portion of the nut member 74.
a meshes with a drive gear 76 attached to the output shaft of the stepping motor 75. Therefore, when the stepping motor 75 is operated to rotate the drive gear 76,
A nut member 74 provided with a gear 74a meshing with the nut 74 is driven to rotate. Since the operating rod 70 is spline-coupled to the support member 72 by the spline portion 70a and cannot be rotated relative to each other, the rotation of the nut member 74 causes the axial direction of the operating rod 70 having the screw portion 70b threadedly inserted therein. And the roller 7 provided at the tip of the operating rod 70
1 rolls along the cam surface 26 c of the support plate 26. As a result, the support plate 26 moves up and down, and the rotation ratio of the driving-side and driven-side rotating bodies 21 and 22 changes. Moreover, the stepping motor 7
When the nut 5 is stopped, the nut member 74 is fixed, so that the operating rod 70 can be stopped at an arbitrary position.

Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG.
A cam surface is not provided on the support plate 80 on which the thrust bearings 27 and 28 are mounted, and a cam 81 is in contact with the support plate 80. A worm wheel 82 is provided on the cam plate 81.
Are connected to each other.
Are in mesh with the worm gear 83. Further, the worm gear 83 is driven to rotate by a stepping motor 84. Therefore, the stepping motor 84
Is driven, the cam 81 rotates via the worm gear 83 and the worm wheel 82, so that the support plate 80 moves up and down. As a result, the rotation ratios of the driving-side and driven-side rotating members 21 and 22 change, and when the stepping motor 84 is stopped, the cam plate 81 stops at that position. 22 can be maintained in an arbitrary state.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the driven-side rotating body 22 and the pulley 13 are arranged on the distal end side, that is, on the side connected to the insertion section 1 in the main body operating section 10, and the driving-side rotating body 21 is used as a base. It is configured to be arranged on the end side. However, in the configuration of the main body operation unit 10, it may be more convenient to arrange the operation knob 15 directly operated by the operator at the distal end for convenience of operation.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12, the positions of the driven-side rotating body 90 and the pulley 91 and the positions of the driving-side rotating body 92 and the operation knob 93 can be reversed.
Then, each pair of the discs 90 constituting the two rotating bodies 90 and 92
a, 90b and the disk 9 on the movable side of 92a, 92b
A support plate 97 on which thrust bearings 95 and 96 for rotatably supporting elevating shafts 93 and 94 connected to the shafts 0a and 92b are mounted.
Is moved up and down by the cam 98 in the same manner as in the embodiment of FIG. 11, so that the distance between the discs 90a and 90b and
The distance between the disks 92a and 92b is changed. To drive the cam 98, the worm wheel 9
9 and a worm gear 100 are provided.
00 is driven by the stepping motor 101.

As described above, the driven side rotating body 90 is provided at the base end side of the main body operating section 102, and the driving side rotating body 92 is disposed at the distal end side of the driven side rotating body 90.
The operation knob for rotating the knob 2 can be arranged at an arbitrary position on the side surface of the main body operation unit 102, and the mounting position of the operation knob can be given a degree of freedom. By operating the stepping motor 101, it is possible to change the rotation ratio when power is transmitted from the driving-side rotating body 92 to the driven-side rotating body 90 via the V-belt 103.

[0047]

As described above, according to the present invention, by interposing the operation ratio converting means between the angle operating member and the angle operating member, the angle of the angle portion with respect to the operation of the angle operating member including the operation knob and the like can be improved. The degree of bending can be changed, and thus, there is an effect that the operability of the bending operation of the angle portion performed by operating the angle operation member can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an internal configuration diagram of a main body operation unit incorporating an angle operation device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a turning ratio conversion unit in a high following state.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view when the rotation ratio conversion unit is in a low rotation ratio state.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a main part of an angle operating device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a main part of an angle operating device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view in which the rotation ratio conversion unit is in a rotation ratio state different from that in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a main part of an angle operating device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a main part of an angle operating device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a main part of an angle operating device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a main part of an angle operating device according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of a main part of an angle operating device according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an overall configuration diagram of the endoscope.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of an angle unit.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of an angle operating device according to a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Insertion part 1a Tip hard part 1b Angle part 1c Soft part 4 Angle ring 10 Main body operation part 11 Mounting plate 12,16
Rotation shaft 13 Pulley 14 Operation wire 15 Operation knob 20 Rotation ratio conversion means 21, 92 Drive side rotation body 22, 90
Driven-side rotating bodies 21a, 22b, 90b, 92a movable-side disks 21b, 22a, 90a, 92b fixed-side disks 23, 103 V-belts 24, 25,
93,94 elevating shaft 26,97 support plate 29,60,
71 roller 30, 50, 55, 57, 61, 70 operating rod 53, 54, 56 rotation operation part 54a, 56
a Operating part 54b Spline part 55b Screw cylinder 63 Solenoid 64 Lever 75,84,101 Stepping motor 81,98 Cam 82,99
Worm wheel 83,100 Worm gear

Claims (15)

[Claims] An operation transmitting member extends from an insertion portion into a main body operation portion and is connected to an angle operation member provided in the main body operation portion, in order to bend an angle portion constituting the insertion portion. By operating an angle operating member provided in the main body operation unit so that the operating member can be manually operated, the angle portion is bent, and the angle operating member and the angle operating member are connected via an operation ratio conversion unit. An angle operation device for an endoscope, wherein the angle ratio of the angle portion with respect to the angle operation amount is changed by the operation ratio conversion means. 2. The angle operation section is provided on a side surface of the main body operation section and includes an operation knob that is rotated by manual operation, and the angle operation member is rotationally driven by the pair of operation transmission members. 2. An endoscope according to claim 1, wherein said operation ratio conversion means comprises a rotation ratio conversion means for changing a rotation ratio between said operation knob and said rotation member. Mirror angle operation device. 3. The operation transmitting member is constituted by a pair of operation wires, the rotating body is constituted by an angle pulley around which both the operation wires are wound, and the rotation ratio converting means includes a groove width. And a driven-side rotating body that is rotated by the operation knob and a driven-side rotating body that rotates the angle pulley; and a winding between the driven-side rotating body and the driven-side rotating body. A V-belt which is provided in a rotating manner, and by changing the groove width of the driving-side rotating body and the driven-side rotating body, the rotation ratio between the driving-side rotating body and the driven-side rotating body is changed. The angle operating device for an endoscope according to claim 2, characterized in that: 4. The driving-side rotating body and the driven-side rotating body,
The outer peripheral surface is composed of a pair of upper and lower disks having a tapered shape, and a V-groove is formed on the outer peripheral surface by the tapered surfaces of these two disks, and these paired disks are brought close to each other by groove width variable means.・
The angle operating device of an endoscope according to claim 3, wherein the groove width is changed by separating the angle. 5. A direction in which one side of each of a pair of disks constituting the rotating body on the driving side and the driven side is a fixed side disk, and the other is approaching / separating from the fixed side disk. The movable width disk and the groove width variable means, when one of these movable side disks moves in the direction approaching the fixed side disk, the other is separated from the fixed side disk, The angle operating device for an endoscope according to claim 4, wherein the angle operating devices are configured to move in mutually opposite directions. 6. The variable groove width means comprises a support member for rotatably supporting each of the movable side disks, and a drive means for moving the support member up and down. An angle operating device for an endoscope as described in the above. 7. The angle operating device for an endoscope according to claim 6, wherein said driving means comprises a cam surface formed on said support member and a cam follower moving along said cam surface. 8. The endoscope according to claim 7, wherein the cam follower is provided on an operating rod, and the operating member is moved in an axial direction to move the support member up and down. Angle operating device. 9. The angle operating device for an endoscope according to claim 8, wherein the operation rod can be moved by manual operation. 10. The angle operating device for an endoscope according to claim 9, wherein said operating rod is projected from said main body operating portion, and a push-pull operating portion is provided on said projected portion. 11. A rotating operation member rotatable by manual operation on the main body operating portion, and means for connecting the operating rod to the rotating operating member, and converting the rotational movement of the rotating operating member into a linear movement of the operating rod. The angle operating device for an endoscope according to claim 9, wherein the angle operating device includes: 12. The angle operating device for an endoscope according to claim 9, wherein the operating rod includes a positioning portion for positioning and holding at least two positions. 13. The angle operating device for an endoscope according to claim 8, wherein the operating rod is moved by an electric motor. 14. The angle operating device for an endoscope according to claim 6, wherein said driving means comprises a cam member for vertically moving said support member and a cam driving member for driving said cam member. . 15. The operating wire includes a pair of upper and lower operation wires and a pair of left and right operation wires, a pair of upper and lower operation wires, and a pair of left and right operation wires in the angle portion. 4. The angle operating device for an endoscope according to claim 3, wherein each of the angle operating members is connected to an angle operating member, and both of the angle operating members are connected to the angle operating member via operation ratio conversion means.