JPS6024323Y2 - Flexible tube for endoscope - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] This invention relates to a flexible tube for an endoscope inserted into a living body cavity for observation, photography, etc.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the conventional flexible tube of an endoscope, a metal mesh covering 2 is placed around a thin spiral tube 1 to prevent twisting of the spiral tube 1, and a synthetic resin is further coated on the outside of the thin spiral tube 1. The wire mesh covering 2 is covered with an outer covering 3 made of a tube, or a synthetic resin is soaked into the wire mesh covering 2 to form the outer covering.

In this case, the inside of the spiral tube 1 is hollow, and into this part, for example, an image guide fiber 4, a light guide fiber 5, a channel 6 through which various accessories such as catheters and forceps are inserted, and fluid transport tubes 7, 7. , an operating wire 8 for bending or manipulating the distal end of the visible tube, a coil spring 9 for guiding these, and the like are inserted.

However, when the fluid transport tube 7 is opened to the outside in the middle of the visible tube, a rigid body 11 is provided in the hollow part 10 of the flexible tube as shown in FIG.
It is necessary to drill an L-shaped bent through hole 12 in the tube 1 to connect it to the tube 7.

Moreover, when the rigid body 11 is attached in this way, the rigid body 1
Not only the part a facing 1 but also the vicinity before and after it and C
Flexibility is also impaired in some parts.

Therefore, when opening the tube 7 at each part in the axial direction of the flexible tube, or when opening each tube 7 by shifting the position in the axial direction of the flexible tube, a hard part is opened at each part in the axial direction of the flexible tube. However, the flexibility of the insertion section, which is an extremely important property in endoscopes, is impaired.

Furthermore, when the flexible tube is bent, the load is not distributed over the entire cross-sectional circle of the flexible tube, but is concentrated only on the outer sheath 3, the wire mesh sheathing 2, and the annular cross-sectional portion of the spiral tube 1, resulting in large stress. , the spiral tube 1 must have great rigidity.

This makes it difficult to manufacture highly flexible flexible tubes in terms of durability.

Further, since the wire mesh sheath 2 and the spiral tube 1 are located inside the outer sheath 3, when the flexible tube is bent and these move relative to each other, the outer sheath 3 is easily rubbed and damaged.

The image guide fiber 4 and the light guide fiber 5 are often caught in gaps between adjacent pitches of the spiral tube 1 and are damaged, and when the wire of the wire mesh coating 2 breaks and protrudes inward, the fiber 4 , 5. If the channel 6 or tube 7 is damaged and protrudes outward,
There is a risk of damaging the body cavity wall.

Furthermore, the built-in components inserted into the hollow portion 10 of the flexible tube are likely to become entangled, which may cause malfunctions, and as shown in FIG. If the tube 7.7 is arranged in the same manner as shown in FIG.

Therefore, there is a drawback that the diameter of the flexible tube is necessarily large.

This idea was made based on the above circumstances, and its purpose is to form multiple hollow parts extending in the axial direction in the flexible body, increase the built-in functions that can be accommodated in the same cross-sectional area, and The present invention aims to provide a flexible tube for an endoscope with excellent flexibility.

This invention will be explained below based on an embodiment shown in the drawings.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, reference numeral 21 denotes a flexible body serving as a flexible tube of the endoscope, and this is made of rubber or synthetic resin material and is shaped like a cylindrical rod.

The flexible main body 21 has a plurality of hollow portions having different diameters in the axial direction.

That is, a hollow part 22 for an image guide fiber and a hollow part 23 for a light guide fiber are provided in the center of the flexible main body 21, and a guide hollow part for inserting instruments such as catheters and forceps is provided around these. 24, hollow portions 25, 26 for fluid transport, and hollow portions 27 for operating wires for bending the flexible tube, each being bored at a predetermined interval.

An image guide fiber is provided in the hollow portion 22.
22a1 Hollow part 23 has a light guide fiber 23a.
Operation wires 27a... are inserted into the hollow portions 27....

In addition, when opening the hollow part 25, 26 for fluid transport from the middle part of the flexible body 21, horizontal holes 25a and 26a are bored in the side wall of the flexible body 21, as shown in FIG. And this horizontal hole 25 a? What is necessary is just to connect a tube etc. to 26a as appropriate.

Moreover, if the hollow parts 25 and 26 for fluid transport are arranged adjacently as shown in FIG. 7, the distance between these hollow parts 25 and 26 can be t, resulting in a conventional lug 172.

Therefore, it is possible to increase the built-in function of accommodating the flexible main body 21 in a small diameter, in other words, in the same cross-sectional area.

Note that the flexible main body 21 may be molded from a foamed material.

By molding in this manner, even a material lacking in flexibility can be made to have appropriate flexibility by adjusting the degree of foaming.

As explained above, this device has multiple hollow parts extending in the axial direction of the flexible body, and the image guide fiber, light guide fiber, and operation wire necessary for the endoscope are inserted into these hollow parts. In addition, since the hollow part itself is used as a fluid transport path and a guide for instruments, the built-in functions that can be accommodated in the same cross-sectional area can be increased, and in other words, the flexible tube can be made smaller in diameter.

Moreover, it has excellent flexibility, is easy to operate, and has the advantage of being easier to manufacture.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 to 3 show a conventional example. Figure 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view, Figure 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view with a part of the interior omitted, and Figure 3 is a partially cutaway view of the interior. FIG. 4 is an omitted cross-sectional view, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a flexible main body showing an embodiment of this invention.
The figure is a perspective view of the main body equipped with internal functions, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the main body showing another embodiment of this invention, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing still another embodiment of this invention. 21...Flexible main body, 22. 23. 24.
25.26,27...Hollow part.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] An endoscope comprising a plurality of hollow parts extending in the axial direction and a flexible tube filled with synthetic resin except for the hollow parts, and at least an image guide and a light guide are built into these hollow parts. flexible tube.