JPS637204Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improvement of a bending operation device provided within the operation section of an endoscope.

Generally, a bending section provided at the distal end of an insertion section of an endoscope is bent by pulling a wire through a bending operation knob provided on an operation section. In such a configuration, if the curved portion is curved too much, an accident such as breakage of the light guide or image guide inserted into the insertion portion may occur. Therefore, by attaching a collision member to the wire and causing the collision member to collide with a stopper, the maximum bending angle of the curved portion is regulated. The stopper is provided so that its fixing position can be adjusted to the bending operation device within the operating section, and the position is determined when the bending operation device is assembled to set the maximum bending angle of the bending portion. .

In order to provide the above-mentioned stopper so that its fixed position can be adjusted freely, it is necessary to use the Utility Model Application No. 57-51573 (Unpublished Utility Model Application No. 57-51573
58-153802) is used. That is, a wall portion is provided upright on the substrate of the bending operation device, and a screw shaft having an external thread formed over the entire length in the axial direction is rotatably supported on this wall portion. By screwing the stopper onto this screw, the stopper can be positioned and fixed at any position in the axial direction of the screw.
However, with such means, when the stopper collides with the collision member or when the bending operation knob is further rotated after the collision, a considerably large bending moment is generated in the screw shaft.
As a result, bending stress is concentrated in the valley of the male thread formed on the screw shaft, that is, in the small diameter portion, and this bending stress can cause the screw shaft to break.

This idea was made based on the above circumstances,
The purpose of this is to prevent the bending stress generated in the screw shaft from concentrating on the valley of the male thread when a collision member collides with the stopper or when the bending operation knob is further rotated after the collision. It is an object of the present invention to provide a bending operation device for an endoscope in which the screw shaft is difficult to break.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Reference numeral 1 in the figure is the operation section of the endoscope. The operating section 1 is composed of a main body 2 made of synthetic resin and formed into a hollow shape, and a grip section 4 consisting of a cylindrical grip cover 3. The main body 2 is connected to a universal cord 4a, and is also provided with an eyepiece 5, an air/water supply button 6, a suction button 7, a gas supply button 8, two angle operation knobs 9, and the like. Further, the gripping portion 3 is provided with an insertion opening body 10 for a treatment tool such as forceps, and an insertion portion 11 is connected to the distal end thereof. As is well known, this insertion section 11 is formed by providing a distal end component at the distal end of a flexible tube section 12 via a curved section (not shown). Note that one end of the grip cover 3 is joined to the end surface of the main body 2 in a liquid-tight manner via an O-ring 13, and positioned by a protrusion 14 projecting from the end surface.

On the other hand, a bending operation device 15 is built into the operation section 1 as shown in FIG. The board 16 of this bending operation device 15 is formed to be longer than the main body 2, and one end of the board 16 is one of the inner metal fitting 17 and the outer metal fitting 18, which are metal bodies clamped and fixed to one side wall of the main body 2. It is connected and fixed to a pair of tongue pieces 19, 19 which are bent and formed on the inner metal fitting 17. A frame 20 has one end fixed to the other end of the substrate 16, and the other end of the frame 20 has the insertion portion 1
1 to the operating section (not shown)
is attached. This connecting tube and insertion part 11
As shown in FIG.
Covered by 1. Note that the gripping cover 3 is
It is fixed to the main body 2 by a presser fitting (not shown) attached to the connecting tube. Further, the outer metal fitting 18 also serves as a connecting body for attaching the eyepiece portion 5 to the main body 2.

Further, a shaft 22 is protruded from the upper surface of one end of the substrate 16 located inside the main body 2.
An inner sleeve 23 and an outer sleeve 24 are rotatably fitted into the inner sleeve 23 and outer sleeve 24 . Each sleeve 23, 24
One end is provided with a pair of sprockets 25, 2 which are rotatably positioned vertically in the axial direction of the shaft 22.
5 (only one is shown), and the other end protrudes from the main body 2 and is connected to the angle operation knobs 9, 9, respectively. Further, on the upper surface of the other end side of the substrate 16 protruding into the grip portion 4, a partition wall member 26 having a U-shaped cross section is attached to the presser plate 2 through its intermediate side.
7 is attached and fixed along the longitudinal direction of the substrate 16. On the outside of both sides of the partition wall member 26, passages 29 are defined in two upper and lower stages by partition walls 28. The above partition wall 28...
is the inner partition wall 28a in the width direction of the passage 29...
and an outer partition wall 28b, and each of the partition walls 28a, 28b has a longitudinal midway portion and an end on the sprocket 25 side that are provided with first and second support portions 30a, which are erected on the base plate 16, It is supported and fixed to 30.

A mounting plate 31 is erected on the end surface of the partition wall member 26 on the side opposite to the sprocket 25, and a flat holding member 32 having a width larger than that of the partition wall member 26 is bonded and fixed to this mounting plate 31. . The passages 2 are provided at both ends of the holding member 32 in the width direction.
Two notches 33 are formed corresponding to the notches 9. This notch 33 has a hollow cylindrical regulating member 34 with a small-diameter step 34a formed in the middle part in the axial direction.
is provided in a state in which movement in the axial direction is restricted by engaging the stepped portion 34a. This regulating member 3
4 is held by the end of the outer partition wall 28b so as not to come off from the notch 33. Further, a flexible wire guide pipe 35 made of a tightly wound coil or the like, which is inserted over the entire length of the insertion portion 11, is fitted into the regulating member 34 at its base end and fixed by brazing with a brazing material 36a. ing.
A wire 36 is inserted through the wire guide pipe 35 . The tip of this wire 36 is connected and fixed to a piece (not shown) constituting the curved portion,
The proximal end side is guided to the passage 29 described above. aisle 29
A connecting member 37 is connected to the base end of the wire 36 led to the connecting member 37, and an end portion of a chain 38 whose midway portion is engaged with the sprocket 25 is connected to the connecting member 37. A collision member 39 is attached to the connecting member 37 in a state perpendicular to the axis of the wire 36.
has been planted. A portion of this collision member 39 protrudes outward in the width direction of the substrate 16,
The outer peripheral surface of this protruding portion is formed into a slope 40 forming an acute angle with the end surface thereof.

On the other hand, the first support section 30 erected on the substrate 16
A wall portion 4 formed by bending a part of the substrate 16 or a separate member into an L-shape is provided between the second support portion a and the second support portion 30.
1 is provided. A support hole 42 is bored in one side of the wall portion 41 along the width direction of the substrate 16, and a screw shaft 43 is rotatably supported in the support hole 42. This screw shaft 43 has a shaft portion 43a,
A head 43b is provided at one end of the shaft 43a, and a screw 4 is attached to the other end of the shaft 43a.
3c is formed. In other words, the male thread 43c is formed to have approximately half the length of the shaft portion 43a. The screw shaft 43 is rotatably supported in the support hole 42 at the end of the shaft portion 43a on the head 43b side where the male thread 43c is not formed. The screw shaft 43 is provided with its axis parallel to the axis of the wire 36 and located outside the axis of the wire 36 in the width direction of the substrate 16, and the end of the screw portion 43a is formed in the second support portion 30. It is engaged with the support hole 44. A stopper 45 is screwed onto the male thread 43c of this screw shaft 43. This stopper 4
5 is formed with a female thread 45a that is screwed into the male thread 43c of the screw shaft 43, and a cylindrical protector having an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the screw shaft 43 on one end thereof. Wall portion 45b
is formed. This protective wall portion 45b protrudes toward the head 43b side of the screw shaft 43, and the stopper 45b
No matter where 5 moves along the axial direction of the screw shaft 43, its tip end is connected to the male thread 4 of the screw shaft 43.
It is located in the part where 3c is not formed. In other words, even if the stopper 45 is moved until it touches the second support part 30, the tip of the protective wall part 45b will be located in the part of the screw shaft 43 where the external thread 43c is not formed. . Further, the height of the stopper 45 is slightly smaller than the height of the passage 29. Therefore, when the screw shaft 43 is rotated, the stopper 45 moves back and forth through the passage 29 without rotating. Note that the passage 29 in the portion where the screw shaft 43 is provided is defined by an outer partition wall 28b. A slope 46 having an angle corresponding to the slope 40 of the collision member 39 is formed on one side of the stopper 45 facing the partition wall member 26,
The slope 40 of the collision member 39 collides with the slope 46 of the stopper 45, causing the wire 36 to travel.
The maximum bending angle of the curved portion in the vertical and horizontal directions is regulated.

On the other hand, the head 43b of the screw shaft 43 is provided with an engagement hole 47 that passes through the head 43b in the radial direction.
A locking spring 48 made of a wire bent into a wave shape is provided in the engagement hole 47 with one end thereof engaged. Further, the other end of the locking spring 48 is in pressure contact with the first support portion 30a in a compressed state. Therefore, the screw 43 is connected to the locking spring 48.
Rotation is restricted by this, and the end surface of the head 43b is brought into pressure contact with the side surface of the wall portion 41 by the restoring force of the locking spring 48, so that movement in the direction of coming out of the support hole 42 is restricted.

In the bending operation device 15 configured in this way, when the sprocket 25 is rotated by the angle operation knob 9 and the chain 38 is run in order to bend the bending portion, one passage 29 side in the width direction of the board 16 is rotated. wire 36 is towed,
The wire 36 on the other side of the passage 29 is pushed. The curved portion will therefore be curved in the direction of the wire 36 being towed. Then, when the wire 36 is further towed, this wire 36
A connecting member 37 connecting the base end of the chain 38 to the chain 38
Since the slope 40 of the collision member 39 provided at the front collides with the slope 46 of the stopper 45, the wire 36 cannot be pulled any further. That is, the maximum bending angle of the bending portion is regulated by the stopper 45. Also, when the collision member 39 collides with the stopper 45, the stopper 45
A bending moment, indicated by arrow M in FIG. 5, is generated on the screw shaft 43 via the screw shaft 43, causing the screw shaft 43 to bend. Then, the tip of the protective wall portion 45b of the stopper 45 comes into contact with the portion of the screw shaft 43 where the male thread 43c is not formed, and the bending moment is applied to the portion where the male thread 43c is not formed. . Therefore, the male thread 4 of the screw shaft 43
Since no large bending moment is applied to the portion 3c, bending stress is prevented from concentrating on the valley of the male thread 43c and causing the screw shaft 43 to break.

As described above, in the present invention, a thread is formed at one end in the axial direction of the screw shaft into which the stopper is screwed, and the tip of the stopper is attached to the part of the screw shaft where the male thread is not formed. A protective wall is provided. Therefore, when the screw shaft is deflected by the bending moment generated when the collision member collides with the stopper, the tip of the protective wall comes into contact with the portion of the screw shaft where the male thread is not formed. Therefore, bending stress is applied to the portion of the screw shaft where the male thread is not formed, and not so much bending stress is applied to the male thread portion, which has the advantage that the screw shaft is less likely to break.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a partially sectional side view of the endoscope operating section, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the inside of the operating section, and FIG.
A cross-sectional view of the bending operation device along the line, FIG. 4 is a side view, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view along the line of FIG.
FIG. 6 is a front view of the tip side of the bending operation device, and FIG. 7 is a side view of the same. 11...Insertion part, 36...Wire, 39...Collision part, 43...Screw shaft, 43c...Male thread, 45
...stopper, 45a...female thread, 45b...protective wall section.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] The wire is pulled to bend the bending section provided at the distal end of the insertion section of the endoscope, and
A bending operation device that includes a collision member interlocked with the wire and causes the collision member to collide with a stopper screwed onto a screw shaft rotatably supported on a board of the bending operation device to regulate the maximum bending angle of the bending portion. In the screw shaft, a thread is formed at one end in the axial direction, and the stopper is formed with a female thread that is screwed into the male thread, and where the female thread is screwed into the male thread. A bending operation device for an endoscope, characterized in that a protective wall portion is provided, the distal end of which is located on the other end side of the screw shaft where the male thread is not formed, even if the two ends are aligned.