JPS6223447Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed explanation of the idea] The present invention relates to an endoscope bending operation device.

An endoscope uses bendable optical fibers to send illumination light to a target such as a polyp inside a body cavity, and guides the image of the target to an eyepiece in the handle for observation and treatment of the target. It is a device that performs such operations. When using such an endoscope to observe or treat various objects, in order to properly face the observation window etc. of the rigid tip to the target, the curved part following the rigid tip should be connected to the operating wire. It is curved in two to four directions depending on the direction. FIG. 1 shows an example of a bending operation device for this purpose, which is a bending section consisting of a rigid tip section 2 provided with an observation window 1, etc., followed by a large number of pieces etc. connected in a swingable manner. 3, one end of a pair of operation wires 4 such as stainless steel wire is fixed to the curved part 3, and the other end is fixed to the outer periphery of one pulley 5, and the pulley 5 is connected to an angle dial. He is trying to curve the curved part 3 by rotating it by 6. That is, when the operator rotates the angle dial 6, the angle dial 6
The pulley 5 interlocking with
is curved in a specific direction so that the observation window 1, etc. of the rigid tip portion 2 faces the object.

By the way, the pair of operating wires 4, which are pulled and relaxed by the rotational forces of the angle dial 6 and the pulley 5, bend the bending portion 3 in two to four directions, as described above. In the case of , there is only one pair of operating wires, and in the case of four directions, there is a combination of two pairs of operating wires. Therefore, taking the case of four directions as an example, above, below, and
Of the left and right directions, the wire that is most frequently used and has a large bending angle is the so-called upward wire that pulls and bends the bending portion 3 upward. In other words, when we examine it empirically, we find that the surgeon often tries to orient the observation window 1 upward, and that the curvature angle in the three directions (down, left, and right) is approximately 90°. On the other hand, the upward bending angle is required to be up to 180°.

In response to this fact, in conventional bending operation devices, the plurality of operation wires all have the same outer diameter, so for example, the cross-sectional area of the tip of the endoscope or the flexible tube section There was a problem that it was difficult to reduce the amount.

The present invention was developed in view of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to strengthen operating wires that are used frequently and at a bending angle, that is, have a large load, while reducing the space occupied by other operating wires. .

In order to achieve the above object, the endoscope bending operation device according to the present invention is characterized in that the outer diameter of a specific operation wire among the plurality of operation wires is increased to strengthen the tensile strength.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of the flexible tube portion of the endoscope to which the present invention is applied, showing a case where it can be bent in four directions, where 7 is an upward operation wire and 8 is a downward operation wire. These two operating wires constitute a pair of operating wires, and the rear ends of each operating wire 7, 8 are fixed around one pulley. Reference numeral 9 indicates a right direction operating wire, and 10 indicates a left direction operating wire. These two constitute a pair of operating wires, and the rear ends of each of the operating wires 9 and 10 are connected to pulleys different from the above-mentioned pulleys. It is stuck around the . 11 is an image guide, 1
2 is a light guide, 13 is a channel, and 14 is a jacket.

Generally, the operating body for a pair of operating wires is a combination of a pair of racks and a pinion sandwiched between them in addition to the pulleys mentioned above, and the rear ends of the pair of operating wires are fixed to the opposing racks. Of course, this structure may also be used in this embodiment.

Among the four operating wires, upward operating wire 7
has a larger outer diameter than the other operating wires 8, 9, and 10. This is because the upward operation wire 7 is used frequently and has a large bending angle and a high load, so the outer diameter is increased to increase the tensile strength. Usually, a stainless steel wire or a collection of a plurality of stainless steel wires is used as the operating wire, and in these cases, the outer diameter refers to the outer diameter of the collection of the plurality of stainless steel wires. It is also possible to increase the tensile strength by using an operating wire made of another material, but this is also included.

As described above, according to the endoscope bending operation device according to the present invention, the outer diameter of a specific one of the plurality of operation wires is increased to strengthen the tensile strength, so that the operation wire can be This has the significant effect of being able to withstand usage conditions and reducing the outer diameter of the insertion portion of the endoscope.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing an example of a bending operation device for an endoscope, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of a flexible tube portion of an endoscope to which the present invention is applied. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... observation window, 2... tip rigid part, 3... curved part, 4... operating wire, 5... pulley, 6... angle dial, 7... upward direction operating wire, 8,
9,10...operation wire.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] For each pair of operating wires, one pair of operating wires is used for bending the tip bending section in two directions, and two pairs of operating wires are used for bending the tip bending section in four directions. In an endoscope capable of bending the bending portion in a desired direction by pulling and relaxing each operating wire, the outer diameter of a specific one of the plurality of operating wires is made larger than that of the other operating wires. An endoscope bending operation device characterized by enhanced tensile strength.