JPS646805Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to an improvement of a device for bending the tip of an insertion tube of an endoscope.

An endoscope whose distal end of an insertion tube can be bent is generally constructed as follows. That is, a bending operation device is connected to the proximal end side of the insertion tube, and a sprocket is installed within the housing of the bending operation device. A chain is attached to the sprocket. One end of a pair of wires is brazed to both ends of the chain, and the other end of each wire is fixed to the tip of the insertion tube. Then, by rotating the sprocket, pulling one end of the chain and the wire connected thereto, and pushing the other end of the chain and the wire connected thereto toward the insertion tube, the tip of the insertion tube is pushed out. It is designed to be curved.

However, with this configuration, the chain and wire on the push-in side sometimes wobble, the wire becomes crumpled and breaks, and the engagement between the chain and the sprocket becomes unstable.

Further, when brazing the chain and the wire, the brazing work must be performed within a narrow and limited space of the housing of the bending operation device, which is extremely difficult.

The present invention was developed based on these circumstances, and its purpose is to prevent wire breakage by configuring the chain and wire to move on a straight track, and also to prevent the chain and sprocket from becoming disconnected. It is an object of the present invention to provide an endoscope bending operation device that can engage the chains in a good condition and can easily connect the chain and the wire.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8. FIG. 1 shows an overall view of the endoscope. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an insertion tube, and a bending operation device 2, which is a characteristic feature of the present invention, is connected to the proximal end side of the insertion tube 1. A plug 4 is connected to the bending operation device 2 via a light guide cable 3.
By connecting this plug 4 to a light source device (not shown), light is emitted from the tip of the insertion tube 1. The bending operation device 2 is provided with an eyepiece tube 5 so that the image captured at the tip of the insertion tube 1 can be observed.

Next, the bending operation device 2 will be explained in detail. Second
The figure shows the lower half of the bending operation device, and the third
The figure is a sectional view of the same. 11 in the figure is the bending operation device 2
The housing 11 constitutes the outer shell of the upper and lower housing members 1.
2, 13 and end plates 14, 15. In detail, the housing members 12 and 13 are made of aluminum or aluminum alloy,
Alternatively, they are formed by cutting one type of extruded material into the same length, and therefore have the same shape. One end edge of each housing member 12, 13 is bifurcated and has a groove 16.
By inserting the other end edge 17 of the housing members 12, 13 opposite to the housing 1
1 body is constructed. The openings at both ends of the body are closed by the end plates 14 and 15.

The end plates 14 and 15 are the case members 12 and 1, respectively.
3 has a protrusion 29 inscribed in the end thereof, and also has a hole 30. The proximal end of the insertion tube 1 is inserted and fixed into the hole 30 of one end plate 14. Further, an eyepiece tube 5 is provided in the hole 30 of the other end plate 15.
The insertion has been fixed. Note that the base end portion of the light guide cable 4 is inserted and fixed into a hole (not shown) formed in the side portion of the housing members 12 and 13.

Two rail portions 21a, 21b are integrally formed on the inner surface of each housing member 12, 13, respectively. Each rail portion 21a, 21b has two protrusions 23, 24, respectively, as shown in FIG.
It is made up of The outer protrusion 23 has a protrusion 23a that protrudes laterally from the upper end, and has an L-shaped cross section. Further, the inner protrusion 24 has protrusions 24a and 24b that protrude laterally from both sides of the upper end, and has a T-shaped cross section. For this reason, each rail portion 21a, 21b has a groove 25 and a slit 26 narrower than the groove 25. Also, between the two inner protrusions 23, 23, the rail portions 21a, 2
Grooves 27 and slits 28 similar to those in 1b are formed.

The internal structure of the bending operation device 2 is as follows. That is, two stop members 31 are attached to the right end portions of the rail portions 21a, 21b of the lower housing member 12 by nuts 42 and bolts 41, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5. This stopper member 31 includes flexible spiral tubes 32a and 32b.
One end is inserted and fixed. The other end of the spiral tube is connected to the proximal end of the curved tip of the insertion tube 1. Wires 33a and 33b are freely inserted through the spiral tubes 32a and 32b. This wire 33a,
One end of 33b is connected to the distal end of insertion tube 1, and the other end is connected to chain 34. That is, a connecting pipe 35a is connected to the ends of the wires 33a and 33b.
The wires 33a, 33b and the chain 34 are connected by hooking a hook member (hook portion) 35b attached to the connecting pipe 35a onto the connecting pin 34a of the chain 34. The chain 34 is mounted on a sprocket 36 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The sprocket 36 communicates with a knob 37 via a shaft 36a that passes through the upper housing 13. Sprocket 36 and shaft 36a are supported by case 38. This case 3
8 is fixed to the rail portions 21a, 21b with nuts (not shown) and bolts 41, similar to the stopper member 31. Note that a hole (not shown) for inserting the chain 34 is formed in the lower peripheral wall of the case 38.

A slider 39 is further provided at the end of the chain 34.
are connected. The slider 39 has a connecting portion 39a with a U-shaped cross section as shown in FIG. The chain 34 and the slider 39 are connected by insertion and caulking.

The slider 39 further includes an insertion portion 39b and a rib portion 39c narrower than the insertion portion 39a.
The slider 3 is inserted into the groove 25 of 1b and the rib portion 39c is inserted into the slit 26.
9 is configured to run along rail portions 21a and 21b.

A stopper 45 is attached near the case 38 to restrict the movement stroke of the slider 39. As shown in FIG. 7, this stopper 45 is fixed by screwing into a nut 42 inserted into the groove 25 of the rail portions 21a, 21b.

In the above configuration, when the knob 37 is turned, the sprocket 36 is turned, and the wires 33a,
33b is driven. For example, if the knob 37
When turned counterclockwise in FIGS. 2 and 2, one wire 33a is pulled and the tip of the insertion tube 1 is bent in the direction of the arrow X in FIG. 1, and the knob 37 is turned in the opposite direction. Then, the other wire 33b is pulled and the distal end of the insertion tube 1 is bent in the X' direction.

By the way, when one of the wires 33a and 33b is in a tensioned state, the other is in a pushed state.
b) When chain 34 moves sideways, chain 3
4 and the sprocket 36 becomes uncertain, making the bending operation unstable, or the wire 33a,
33b may become folded and break, or become entangled with other members. In this example, a slider 39 is attached to the end of the chain 34, and the slider 39 is made to travel straight along the rails 21a, 21b.
4 and the wires 33a, 33b can be prevented from lateral wobbling, and the above-mentioned inconvenience can be solved.

Also, a pair of wires 33a, 3 are connected to the chain 34.
3b, wires 33a, 33b
One end of the wire is connected to the distal end of the insertion tube 1, and the wire is inserted through the spiral tubes 32a and 32b, and the hook member 35b of one of the wires 33a and 33b is hooked onto the chain 34. Next, the sprocket 36 is rotated to push and move the end of the chain to which the other wires 33b and 33a are connected. In this state, the hook members 35b of the other wires 33b, 33a are hooked onto the chain 34.

In this way, the chains 33a and 33b can be easily connected to each other by simply hooking the hook members 35b provided on each of the chains 33a and 33b onto the chain 34.

Moreover, if the wires 33a and 33b are simply connected to the chain 34 via the hook member 35b, there is a risk that the hook member 35b will come off from the chain 34 due to lateral wobbling of the chain 34 and the wires 33a and 33b. 33a, 33b are moved straight by the slider 39, the hook member 35 is moved during the bending operation.
b can be prevented from coming off the chain 34. Note that the hook member 35b is connected to the chain 34.
From the viewpoint of preventing the slider 39 from coming off, it is desirable to attach the slider 39 near both ends of the chain 34.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various embodiments are possible. For example, in the example described above, the configuration is such that a bending operation can be performed in two directions, but it may be possible to perform a bending operation in four directions. In this case, the same components as those attached to the lower housing member 12 are attached to the upper housing member 13. In addition, in this configuration, if the knob for turning the lower sprocket is provided below the lower housing member and the knob for turning the upper sprocket is provided above the upper housing member, both knobs are mutually connected. It can be placed in a position facing the On the contrary, if the positional relationship between the knob and the sprocket is as shown in FIG. 3, it is necessary to deviate the installation positions of the two knobs from each other in the longitudinal direction of the case.

The configuration for performing the bending operation in four directions may be shown in FIGS. 8 to 10. In these figures, members corresponding to the configurations of the above-described embodiments are given the same numbers and their explanations will be omitted. That is,
A protrusion 50 is provided on the inner surface of the lower housing member 12.
are integrally formed. As shown in FIG.
b are formed back to back, and a pair of rail portions 52a, 52b are also formed on the upper part of the protrusion 50 back to back. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, two sprockets 53 and 54 are coaxially installed on the lower housing member 12.
The upper sprocket 53 is connected to a knob 56 via a shaft 55, and the lower sprocket 54 is connected to another knob 58 via a sleeve 57. A chain 34 is attached to each sprocket 53,54. 2 chains 34
Wires 33a and 33b are connected to both ends of the wires, respectively. Further, a slider 60 is connected to the chain 34 as shown in FIG. The slider 60 has a connecting portion 60a similar to the slider 39 in the previous embodiment, and this connecting portion 60a is fitted into the connecting pin 34a of the chain 34. The slider 60 further includes an insertion portion 60
b and a rib portion 60c, and these are inserted into the rails 51a, 51b, 52a, 52b as shown in FIG. In addition, Figures 8 and 9
Although the stopper and the stopper member for the spiral tube are omitted in the figure, they are attached to the protrusion 50 in the same manner as in the previous embodiment.

Further, the slider 70 may be configured as shown in FIG. Specifically, the slider 70 has a circular connecting portion 70a, an insertion portion 70b, and a rib portion 70c having a smaller diameter than these, and a screw hole 71 is formed in the upper surface of the connecting portion 70a. On the other hand, at the end of the chain 34, the connecting pin is removed and the insertion hole 7 is inserted.
2 is formed. The chain 34 and the slider 70 are connected by inserting the screw 73 into the insertion hole 72 of the chain 34 and screwing it into the threaded hole 71 of the slider 70. In this case, by hooking the hook member 35b on the screw 73, the chain 34 and the wires 33a, 33
b may be connected. Note that the insertion portion 70b and rib portion 70c of the slider 70 are inserted into the rail portion in the same manner as in the previous embodiment.

As explained above, in the present invention, a rail part is integrally formed on the inner surface of the housing, a slider is inserted into the rail part so as to be freely movable, a chain is connected to the slider, and wires are connected to both ends of the chain via hook parts. It is a concatenation of Therefore, it is possible to prevent the chain from swinging sideways, thereby preventing the wire from breaking or the engagement between a certain chain and the sprocket becoming unstable, and furthermore, the chain and the wire can be can be easily connected. Moreover, effects such as being able to prevent the hook portion from coming off the chain can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 7 show one embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the entire endoscope, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the lower half of the bending operation device, and FIG. The figure is a sectional view taken along the line - in Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the rail section, and Figs. 5 to 7 are enlarged sectional views showing the supporting states of the stop member, slider, and stopper on the rail section, respectively. It is a diagram. 8 to 10 show other aspects of the present invention, in which FIG. 8 is a plan view with the lower half of the bending operation device partially omitted;
The figure is a sectional view taken along the line - in FIG. 8, and FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along the line - in FIG. 8. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a different aspect of the slider. 1... Insertion tube, 2... Curving operation device, 11...
Housing, 12, 13...Housing member, 2
1a, 21b, 51a, 51b, 52a, 52b
...Rail portion, 33a, 33b...Wire (driving strip), 34...Chain (driving strip), 35b...
...Hook member (hook part), 37...Knob, 39,
60, 70...Slider.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A sprocket is provided in the housing, a chain is applied to the sprocket, wires are connected to both ends of the chain, and by turning the sprocket, the distal end of the insertion tube is manipulated to bend via the chain and the wire. In the bending operation device,
A straight rail part is integrally formed on the inner surface of the housing, a slider is inserted into this rail part so as to be freely movable, a chain is connected to the slider, and hook parts provided on wires at both ends of the chain are connected to the chain. An endoscope bending operation device characterized in that a wire is connected to a chain by hooking it.