TWI581749B - Endoscopic joint structure with compound bending curvature - Google Patents

Description

Endoscope joint structure with complex bending curvature

The present invention relates to endoscopes, and more particularly to an endoscope joint configuration having a plurality of curved curvatures.

According to the advancement of endoscope technology, various application requirements have also arisen. In addition to the common medical endoscopes, there are also endoscopes for inspecting industrial equipment, which are often used for inspection. The inside of the slit in the machine tool, aircraft structure or car engine room that is difficult for the user to directly observe. In addition to the general-looking endoscopes, there are also bendable joints on the lens, and the endoscopes can be controlled by the user to bend the lens segments to see other angles on the side.

Conventional curved structures of the endoscopes, such as U.S. Patent No. 4,530,568, issued to U.S. Pat. However, in actual operational requirements, it is often necessary to increase the degree of bending at the end position, and the pitch of the joints of the above-mentioned conventional patents is equal, and the stroke of the bending is large, so that the above requirements cannot be satisfied.

U.S. Patent No. 5,174,277, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entire entire entire entire entire entire entire entire entire entire entire entire entire portion However, structurally, the joints are connected to each other and can only swing with the connected portion as an axis, and the manner of swinging is limited. Moreover, it is necessary to produce joint parts of different sizes in order to achieve different joint spacing effects, and it is necessary to grow a plurality of different parts, and the manufacturing cost thereof is high. Moreover, there is also the problem that the selection of the joint parts can not be wrong when assembling, that is, when assembling, different joint parts having only a small difference in length are selected, and in fact, the assembly personnel need to carefully select the parts, which also increases the assembly. Difficulty and time.

In view of this, it is necessary to issue an easy to produce, relatively low cost, and also An endoscope steering configuration that can be adjusted as needed at the joint spacing.

The known endoscope steering structure has the problems of high production cost and high assembly difficulty. Therefore, a steering structure of an endoscope is developed to make it easier to produce, lower in cost, and have different bending curvature effects.

An endoscope joint structure having a plurality of bending curvatures provided by the present invention comprises: a backbone having a return elastic force when being flexed; and at least one joint plate allowing the backbone to pass through the center and being fixed to the backbone The at least one joint plate has at least one pair of perforations extending through the plate surface thereof, the at least one pair of perforations being symmetrical with respect to the backbone; further, the at least one joint plate has at least one hollow portion penetrating the plate surface thereof; An end connector disposed at a head end of the backbone for providing an image capturing device; a tail end connector disposed at a tail end of the backbone; and at least one control cable passing through the tail end connector and the The at least one joint plate is perforated and fixed to the head end connector; wherein the backbone is defined as a front portion and a rear portion, and a spacing between the at least one joint plate at the front portion of the backbone and the head end connector is greater than a spacing between the at least one joint plate of the rear section of the backbone and the end connector; operating the at least one control cable to cause the at least one joint plate and the head end connector to flex together with the backbone.

Thereby, the invention has the advantages of simple structure and uncomplicated parts, thereby enabling the invention to be easy to produce, lower in cost, and having different bending curvature effects.

10‧‧‧Endoscopic joint construction with complex bending curvature

11‧‧‧ backbone

21‧‧‧ joint plate

22‧‧‧Perforation

24‧‧‧镂空部

26‧‧‧ teeth

31‧‧‧ head joints

41‧‧‧End connector

51‧‧‧Control cable

59‧‧‧ Spring

D1, D2‧‧‧ spacing

F‧‧‧

R‧‧‧After

60‧‧‧Endoscopic joint construction with complex bending curvature

11’‧‧‧ backbone

21’‧‧‧ Joint Plate

31'‧‧‧ head joints

41'‧‧‧End connector

D1', D2', D3', D4', D5', D6', D7'‧‧‧ spacing

F’‧‧‧

R’‧‧‧After

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is another perspective view of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing a state different from the angle of view of the first figure.

Figure 3 is a side view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is an exploded view of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a front elevational view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 of Figure 5;

Fig. 7 is a view showing a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which the degree of bending is different, in which a spring is not shown.

Figure 8 is a side view of a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 6, an endoscope joint structure 10 having a plurality of bending curvatures according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention is mainly composed of a backbone 11, at least one joint plate 21, and a tip end. The connecting member 31, a tail end connecting member 41 and at least one control cable 51 are formed, wherein: the backbone 11 has a return elastic force when being deflected.

The at least one joint plate 21 is plural in this embodiment, and the backbone 11 is fixed to the backbone 11 through the center through the space, and each of the joint plates 21 has at least a plate surface extending therethrough. A pair of perforations 22, the at least one pair of perforations 22 being symmetrical with respect to the backbone 11, and the perforations 22 of each of the joint plates 21 are opposite each other. In addition, each of the joint plates 21 has at least one hollow portion 24 extending through its plate surface for receiving at least one electric wire (not shown), and the at least one electric wire system can provide a control signal or a power source. The transmission path is not described as the wire is a conventional component of the related art of the endoscope. In this embodiment, at least one pair of perforations 22 on each of the joint plates 21 are two pairs of perforations 22 in number, each pair of perforations 22 being located on two sides of the backbone 11 and the two pairs of perforations 22 The line of the pair of perforations 22 is perpendicular to the line connecting the other pair of perforations 22. A manner in which the joint plates 21 are fixed to the backbone 11 is implemented by providing a pinch 26 in the center of each of the joint plates 21, and the pinching teeth 26 are bitten by the backbone 11 to form a fixing effect. The fixing method is only one of the implementation methods, and the other fixing methods should also be equivalent implementation. In addition, in the present embodiment, each of the joint plates 21 has a circular plate shape and is identical in shape to each other, and each of the joint plates 21 has four hollow portions 24 in an amount of equiangular arrangement. The outer edges of the joint plates 21 are located, and each of the through holes 22 is located between the hollow portions 24.

The head end connector 31 is disposed at the head end of the backbone 11 for providing an image capturing device.

The end connector 41 is disposed at the tail end of the backbone 11.

The at least one control cable 51 passes through the end connector 41 and the through holes 22 of the joint plates 21 to fix the head end connector 31. In this embodiment, the at least one control cable 51 is two in number. Each of the control cables 51 passes through one of the through holes 22 of the pair of perforations 22 corresponding to each of the joint plates 21, passes through the head end connecting member 31, and passes through the joint plates 21. The other perforation 22 of the corresponding pair of perforations 22 is then passed through the end connector 41 and secured to the head end connector 31 at a location around the head end connector 31. Thereby, one of the two control cables 51 can be used to control the bending of the joint structure 10 of the present invention in the left-right direction, and the other is used to control the bending in the up-and-down direction. If there is only one control cable 51, then only the left and right can be controlled, or only the upper and lower bends can be controlled.

Wherein, the backbone 11 is defined as being divided into a front section F and a rear section R, a spacing D1 of the two joint plates 21 located in the front section F of the backbone 11, and a spacing D1 between the head end connector 31 and one of the adjacent joint plates 21 The distance D2 between the two joint plates 21 located at the rear portion R of the backbone 11 and the distance D2 between the end connector 41 and one of the adjacent joint plates 21 are located in the front portion F of the backbone 11 in this embodiment. The distances D1 of the two joint plates 21 are identical to each other, and the spacing D1 between the head end connector 31 and one of the adjacent joint plates 21 is also the same; and the two joint plates 21 of the rear portion R of the backbone 11 are The pitch D2 is identical to each other, and is also the same as the distance D2 between the tail end connector 41 and one of the adjacent joint plates 21. Operating the at least one control cable 51 can cause the joint plates 21 to produce a curved state along with the backbone 11.

In this embodiment, a spring 59 may be further included, and the two ends of the spring 59 are respectively fixed to the head end connecting member 31 and the tail end connecting member 41. The body of the spring 59 surrounds the backbone 11 and the joint members. And the two control cables 51 are outside. This provides additional flexibility in the overall construction, resulting in greater return elasticity and better recovery after bending.

The structure of the first embodiment has been described above, and the state of use of the first embodiment will be described next.

Referring again to Fig. 7, in operation, when the user desires to bend the joint structure 10 of the present invention, the control cable 51 is operated to pull it toward the tail end. At this time, the length of the control cable 51 located between the joint plates 21 is reduced due to the pulling force, thereby causing the backbone 11 to bend toward the control cable 51 being pulled. At this time, since the pitch D1 of the joint plate 21 on the front section F of the backbone 11 is larger than the distance D2 of the joint plate 21 of the rear section R, The elastic modulus of the backbone 11 between the two joint plates 21 of the anterior segment F of the diaphysis 11 is smaller than the elastic modulus of the diaphysis 11 between the two joint plates 21 of the posterior segment R of the diaphysis 11 and, furthermore, the condition The degree of bending of the front section F of the backbone 11 is greater than the degree of bending of the rear section R of the backbone 11, that is, the bending curvature of the front section F is greater than the bending curvature of the rear section R, and the condition as shown in Fig. 7 is formed.

In the assembly, since the joint plates 21 of the present invention are directly fixed to the backbone 11, the installation position on the backbone 11 can be installed, and the assembler does not need to select the joint plate 21, so that the assembly is performed. It's even simpler. In addition, each of the joint plates 21 can also be identical in shape, without requiring different sizes or sizes, and reducing the types of parts. Therefore, the production of the present invention is simple, the number of parts is reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

It should be noted that although the at least one joint plate 21 is exemplified in the first embodiment, in the case of a special small space, there is still a need for a short joint structure. In this case, only one joint plate 21 is disposed between the head end connecting member 31 and the tail end connecting member 41, and the bending effect of different bending curvature can be achieved in the same manner. At this time, the distance D1 between the head end connector 31 and the joint plate 21 is larger than the distance D2 between the tail end connector 41 and the joint plate 21. Since this situation can be inferred from Fig. 3 of the present case, it is not represented by the drawings.

Referring to FIG. 8, an endoscope joint structure 60 having a plurality of bending curvatures according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention is mainly similar to the first embodiment disclosed above, except that the backbone is located. 11' in the position of the front section F', the spacing between the two front joint plates 21' and the spacing between the head end connector 31' and one of the adjacent joint plates 21' are larger than the two sides located at the rear The pitch of the joint plate 21', that is, D1'>D2'>D3'.

In the position of the rear portion R' of the backbone 11', the spacing between the two front joint plates 21' is larger than the distance between the rear two joint plates 21' and one of the rear end connecting members 41' and the adjacent one. The spacing between the joint plates 21' is D4'>D5'>D6'>D7'.

That is, the pitch of the two joint plates 21' in the front section F' of the backbone 11' may be different, and the pitch of the two joint plates 21' in the rear section R' of the backbone 11' may be different. Such a structure can also form a state in which the elastic modulus of the backbone 11' between the two joint plates 21' of the front end of the backbone 11' is smaller, so that the joint structure 60 of the present invention is bent more forward than the rear. The effect of the degree of bending.

The remaining configurations of the second embodiment and the achievable effects are the same as those of the first embodiment, and will not be described again.

11‧‧‧ backbone

21‧‧‧ joint plate

24‧‧‧镂空部

31‧‧‧ head joints

41‧‧‧End connector

51‧‧‧Control cable

59‧‧‧ Spring

D1, D2‧‧‧ spacing

F‧‧‧

R‧‧‧After

Claims (9)

An endoscope joint structure having a plurality of bending curvatures, comprising: a backbone having a return elastic force when being flexed; and at least one joint plate, the backbone being fixed through the center and fixed on the backbone, the at least one The joint plate has at least one pair of perforations extending through the plate surface thereof, the at least one pair of perforations being symmetrical with respect to the backbone; further, the at least one joint plate has at least one hollow portion extending through the plate surface thereof; Providing an image capturing device at a head end of the backbone; a tail end connecting member disposed at a tail end of the backbone; and at least one control cable passing through the tail end connecting member and the at least one joint plate Perforating, but being fixed to the head end connector; wherein the backbone is defined as a front segment and a rear segment, and a spacing between the at least one joint plate at the front portion of the backbone and the head end connector is greater than the distance at the back portion of the backbone a spacing between the at least one joint plate and the trailing end connector; operating the at least one control cable to cause the at least one joint plate and the head end connector to flex together with the backbone. An endoscope joint structure having a plurality of bending curvatures according to the first aspect of the patent application, wherein: the at least one joint plate is plural in number, is spaced apart from each other on the backbone, and each of the joint plates is perforated The spacing between the two joint plates in the anterior segment of the diaphysis and the spacing between the head end connector and one of the adjacent articular plates is greater than the spacing between the two joint plates at the posterior segment of the backbone And a spacing between the end connector and one of the adjacent joint plates. An endoscope joint structure having a plurality of bending curvatures according to claim 2, wherein: the spacing of the two joint plates located in the front section of the backbone is the same as each other; the spacing of the two joint plates located in the rear section of the backbone is the same as each other . An endoscope joint structure having a plurality of bending curvatures according to claim 2, wherein: at a position of the front portion of the backbone, a distance between the two front joint plates is larger than that of the two joint plates at the rear The spacing between the two joint plates located at the front of the backbone is greater than the distance between the two joint plates at the rear. An endoscope joint structure having a plurality of bending curvatures according to claim 1 wherein: the at least one control cable is two in number; and the at least one joint plate has two pairs of perforations, each pair a perforation is located on both sides of the backbone, and a pair of perforations in the pair of perforations is perpendicular to a line connecting the other pair of perforations; each of the control cables is passed through the end connector One of the pair of perforations corresponding to the less than one joint plate passes through the head end connector, and then passes through another perforation of the pair of perforations corresponding to the at least one joint plate, and then the tail end connector is pierced And fixed to the head end connector at a portion that is wound around the head end connector. An endoscope joint structure having a plurality of bending curvatures according to the first aspect of the patent application, wherein: the at least one joint plate has a pinch at the center thereof, and the pinching is fixed to the backbone to form a fixing effect. An endoscope joint structure having a plurality of bending curvatures according to the first aspect of the patent application, wherein: the hollow portion is for at least one electric wire to pass. An endoscope joint structure having a plurality of bending curvatures according to the first aspect of the patent application, wherein: the at least one joint plate has a circular plate shape, and each of the joint plates has at least one hollow portion in number four, and the like An angular arrangement is disposed on an outer edge of each of the joint plates, and each of the perforations is located between the hollow portions. An endoscope joint structure having a plurality of bending curvatures according to the first aspect of the patent application, wherein: further comprising a spring, the two ends of which are respectively fixed to the head end connecting member and the tail end connecting member, the spring body The department surrounds the backbone, the at least one joint plate, and the at least one control cable.