JPS6336325Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] This invention is related to industrial endoscopes, and is particularly effective for collecting impurities, rust, and deposits adhering to the inner walls of pipes and inside machines, such as boilers and chemical plant equipment, with less loss. This invention relates to an industrial endoscope that can be used to analyze operating conditions, etc.

In general, endoscopes have an illumination optical system and an observation optical system built into a flexible insertion section, and are designed to be used inside body cavities (biological endoscopes), boilers, pipes of chemical plant equipment, and machines (industrial endoscopes). It is designed to be inserted into a mirror (mirror), etc., and supply illumination light to the inside for observation and inspection. In the case of biomedical endoscopes, it has become possible not only to observe the subject to be examined, but also to insert forceps into the body cavity through a forceps channel formed in the endoscope insertion section to collect tissue for biopsies. ing. By the way, with industrial endoscopes, impurities, rust, and deposits attached to pipes and inside machines cannot be collected by simply pinching or suctioning the living tissue, and it is difficult to effectively obtain these samples. I couldn't do it.

This idea was made in view of the above-mentioned points, and a channel tube is provided on the axial outer circumference of the endoscope insertion section, and a scraping forceps is inserted into this channel tube, and the distal end side of the endoscope insertion section and the The tip holder that holds the tip of the channel tube can be moved freely in and out of the window, and the tip holder is equipped with a sample storage section to prevent impurities and rust that adhere to the inside of boilers, pipes of chemical plant equipment, machinery, etc. The industrial interior is designed to scrape off sediment using the scraping forceps and store and collect it in the storage section, making it possible to easily and reliably collect a large amount of samples at one time for analyzing the operating conditions of plants, machinery, etc. The purpose is to provide endoscopes.

Another purpose of this invention is that, as mentioned above, by attaching the channel tube through which the foreign body scraping forceps are inserted to the axial outer circumference of the endoscope insertion section, this channel tube can be used in existing industrial applications. To provide an industrial endoscope in which forceps for scraping off foreign objects can be inserted and used by attaching the endoscope to the endoscope, and the endoscope can be used alone by removing the channel tube from the endoscope insertion part. It is in.

This invention will be specifically explained below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 show an embodiment of this invention. In these figures, reference numeral 1 denotes an industrial endoscope, which includes an operating section 2, a flexible insertion section 3, a tip structure section 4, and the tip structure section 4 and insertion section 3.
and a curved portion 5 interposed and connected between the two. The operation section 2 has an operation knob 7 for bending the eyepiece section 6 and the bending section 5, and is connected to a light guide fiber cable 8.
A light guide fiber and an image guide fiber (not shown) are inserted into the insertion section 3, and an objective lens system 10 is disposed on the side surface of the tip component 4 at the output end 9 of the light guide fiber and the input end of the image guide fiber. are provided to constitute a side-viewing endoscope having a lateral field of view.

A channel tube 11 is attached to the insertion section 3 or the tip structure section 4 of the industrial endoscope 1 on the outer periphery in the axial direction so as to be removable and to follow the bending of the insertion section 3 and the curvature of the curved section 5. There is. This channel tube 11 has a first fixed holder 12 and a second fixed holder 1 at its base and tip, respectively.
3 are attached and fixed with screws, adhesive, etc., and the first fixed holder 12 and the second fixed holder 1
3 are inserted through the base of the endoscope insertion section 3 and the rear of the distal end component 4, respectively, and are fixed with screws 14. The second fixed holder 13 is formed in a cylindrical shape and has a through hole 15 in the axial direction, and the rear part of the distal end component 4 of the endoscope is inserted into the through hole 15 so that the distal end thereof projects forward. Further, this second fixed holder 13 has a window portion 16 formed on its outer periphery that communicates with the tip of the channel tube 11. Further, in the second fixed holder 13, a plurality of groove-shaped sample storage sections 20 are formed around the outer periphery of the window section 16 side and around the window section 16 at the tip. On the other hand, a plurality of intermediate holders 17 are loosely inserted in the middle of the channel tube 11. This intermediate holder 17... has a channel insertion hole 17a and an endoscope insertion hole 17b as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.
is formed to have a larger diameter than the outer diameter of the channel tube 11, and can be slidably inserted through the channel tube 11 to follow the bending motion of the endoscope insertion section 3. Further, this intermediate holder 17 has an L-shaped or V-shaped notch 18 along the center direction of the endoscope insertion hole 17b on its outer periphery, and a groove extending from the notch 18 to the inner periphery of the endoscope insertion hole 17b. Insertion hole 17b
A screw hole 19 is formed in the center direction, and the screw 14 is screwed into the screw hole 19 to press the outer periphery of the endoscope insertion portion 3 and press against the inner periphery of the opposite side insertion hole 17b to be fixedly attached.

The channel tube 11 attached to the axial outer circumference of the endoscope 1 as described above has a forceps insertion port 22 with a wide end at its base.
The scraping forceps 23 are inserted through the window 16 of the second fixed holder 13. The scraping forceps 23 are composed of a gripping part 24 on the proximal side, a sheath 25 flexibly formed of a tightly wound coil, and a spatula-shaped scraping part 26 as a tip component.

In such a configuration, the endoscope insertion part 3 is inserted into the pipe 27 of a machine, boiler, or chemical plant equipment from the side, for example, as shown in FIG.
With the window 16 of the fixed holder 13 facing upward, the spatula-shaped scraping part 26 of the forceps 23 is projected from the window 16, and by operating the grip on the hand side, the scraping part 26 is removed from the pipe 27, etc. The storage portion 20 formed around the window portion 16 of the second fixed holder 13 by hitting or scraping foreign matter 28 such as impurities, rust, and deposits attached to the inner wall and scraping it off as thin pieces.
. . . After collection, the endoscope insertion section 3 is gently pulled out from the pipe 27 etc. to prevent the sample inside the storage section 20 from spilling out.

Further, in the above configuration, the industrial endoscope 1 is placed inside the object member 27 such as a pipe or a machine of chemical plant equipment.
When inserting the insertion section 3 and performing observation/inspection, if there is foreign matter 28 adhering to the inner wall of the object member 27 that may obstruct observation, such as impurities, rust, or deposits, the observation/inspection will not be possible. In such a case, insert the scraping forceps 23 into the channel tube 11 and use the grip section 24 on the outside hand side to remove the forceps 23.
The spatula-shaped scraping portion 2 at the tip protrudes from the window portion 16 of the second fixed holder 13 by moving back and forth in the axial direction.
In step 6, the foreign matter 28 is scraped off to expose the test area. In this case, since the scraping operation can be performed while observing with the endoscope 1, even if the test part is configured to be easily damaged, the test part will not be damaged.

Also, as mentioned above, foreign matter 2 that simply obstructs observation.
8 can be scraped off and removed, but the inside of the object member 27 such as a pipe can be cleaned while being observed with the endoscope 1.

Further, with this invention, each holder can be removed from the endoscope 1 and the channel tube 11 can be easily removed, and in this way, the industrial endoscope can be used alone.

In this invention, each holder is made of plastic, metal such as aluminum, or coated with resin such as Teflon, and the shape and structure of the holder are not limited. Furthermore, the configuration of the viewing direction of the endoscope does not matter at all.

As mentioned above, this invention consists of a sample storage section provided in the tip holder that has a window section through which the forceps protrude.
Impurities, rust, and deposits adhering to the inside of machines, etc. can be scraped off with the scraping forceps, stored in the storage section, and collected, and these foreign substances can be easily and reliably collected from the necessary parts, and It has the effect of being able to collect a large amount at one time.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a front view showing an industrial endoscope according to an embodiment of the invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective cross-sectional explanatory view showing the state of use, and Figs. 3 and 4 are cross-sections showing an example of the intermediate holder. FIG. 2 is a diagram and a perspective view. 2... Operation section, 3... Insertion section, 11... Channel tube, 13... Second fixed holder, 16...
...Window section, 20...Storage room, 23...Scraping forceps.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] (1) In an endoscope in which an observation optical system and an illumination optical system are incorporated in a flexible insertion section, a channel tube is held on the axial outer circumference of the insertion section with a holder,
A foreign matter scraping means is inserted into the channel tube and is configured to emerge and retract through a window formed in the tip holder, and the tip holder having this window is provided with a storage section for storing and collecting foreign matter scraped off. An industrial endoscope characterized by: (2) The industrial endoscope according to claim 1, wherein there are a plurality of foreign matter storage sections around the window of the tip holder.