JP2007196014A - Endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an endoscope which can improve operability of a valve and a curved lever of an operating portion. <P>SOLUTION: The endoscope includes a curved part 8 for changing the direction of the tip of the endoscope, the operating portion 3 which has a shaft portion protruding in a first direction and the curved lever 14 operating the curved part, and a valve 17 which is protruded on the operating portion 3 in a second direction parallel to the first direction and controls flow of a fluid to a connected conduit. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope provided with a control valve in an endoscope operation unit.

  In recent years, endoscopes have been widely used for surgical operations. During surgery, body fluid may adhere to the objective lens during use of the endoscope and obstruct the field of view. For this reason, in general endoscopes, water supply and air supply means are incorporated, whereby air supply and water supply are performed, and an object attached to the distal end portion of the endoscope is removed.

For example, in JP-A-9-173283, a control valve for supplying a cleaning medium is detachably provided at a plurality of positions of an endoscope operation portion, and is attached to an endoscope insertion portion by operating this control valve. By feeding the cleaning medium into the cleaning sheath, the dirt attached to the objective lens is removed.
JP-A-9-173283

  The valve means disclosed in the above prior art has an advantage that the valve can be attached at a desired position according to the endoscope grasping method of the operator. However, since the valve means has an external structure with respect to the operation portion, the handling of the valve means is complicated, and sufficient operability may not be obtained.

  The present invention provides an endoscope that can improve the operability of the valve and the bending lever of the operation portion.

The present invention includes a bending portion for changing the direction of the distal end portion of the endoscope, a shaft portion projecting in a first direction, and an operation portion including a bending lever for operating the bending portion, A valve that protrudes from the operation unit toward a second direction parallel to the first direction and that controls a flow of fluid to the connected flow path. It is an endoscope.
The present invention is connected to a bending portion for changing the direction of the distal end portion of the endoscope, an operation portion projecting a bending lever for operating the bending portion toward the first direction, and the operation portion. A case portion and a valve that projects from the case portion in a second direction different from the first direction and that controls a flow of fluid to the connected flow path. It is the characteristic endoscope.

  According to the present invention, the operability between the valve and the bending lever of the operation portion can be improved.

<First Embodiment>
An endoscope according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 6.

(Constitution)
As shown in FIG. 1, an endoscope main body 1 constituting an endoscope according to the present embodiment has an elongated insertion portion 2 and a base end of the insertion portion 2 that is rotatable with respect to the insertion portion 2. And the universal cable 4 extended from the base end side of this operation part 3, and the branch connector 5 provided in the terminal of this universal cable 4.

  An objective lens 6 is attached to an observation window (or an imaging window) provided on the distal end surface of the distal end portion 7 of the insertion portion 2. A solid-state imaging device such as a charge imaging device (CCD) (not shown) is arranged at the imaging position of the objective lens 6 in the distal end portion 7, and these form an imaging means. A lens cleaning nozzle 10 that opens toward the objective lens 6 and an illumination lens 11 that faces forward are disposed in the vicinity of the objective lens 6 on the distal end surface of the distal end portion 7.

  The distal end portion 7 is connected to a long and hard rigid portion 9 via a curved portion 8 provided adjacent to the proximal end thereof. The bending portion 8 can be bent in four directions, up, down, left and right. The base end of the long and rigid hard part 9 adjacent to the base end of the bending part 8 is connected to the operation part 3. A front grip 12 as a first gripping part gripped by the operator is provided on the insertion part side portion of the operation part 3.

  The front grip 12 is provided with a video switch such as a VTR (not shown) or a remote switch 61 for remotely operating a CCU (not shown). On the proximal end side of the front grip 12, an operation unit main body 13 that houses a bending mechanism for bending the bending portion 8 is provided. The operation unit body 13 is provided with an up / down bending lever 14 for performing an operation for controlling the bending in the up / down direction and a left / right bending lever 15 for performing an operation for controlling the bending in the left / right direction. A rear grip 16 serving as a second grasping portion having a substantially circular cross section and having a length sufficient for the operator to grasp is provided on the proximal end side of the operation portion main body 13.

  The rear grip 16 is provided with a control valve 17 for supplying a cleaning medium such as cleaning liquid or air to the lens cleaning nozzle 10. The rear grip 16 functions as a case member that houses and holds the control valve 17. As shown in FIG. 3, the control valve 17 includes a substantially cylindrical cylinder portion 18 protruding into the rear grip 16 and an air / water supply button 19 combined therewith. The cylinder portion 18 is connected with a liquid supply conduit 20 and an air conduit 21 guided from the branch connector 5 through the universal cable 4, and a distal end from the cylinder portion 18 toward the insertion portion 2 side. The side liquid supply line 22 and the front end side air line 23 are connected. By operating the air / water supply button 19, the liquid supply line 20 and the front end side liquid supply line 22, and the air line 21 and the front end side air line 23 are configured to selectively communicate with each other. .

  The distal end side liquid supply conduit 22 and the distal end side air conduit 23 merge into one conduit (not shown) in the rigid portion 9 of the insertion portion 2, and the distal end portion is connected to the lens cleaning nozzle 10. . Then, the air supply / water supply button 19 is operated to send cleaning liquid or pressurized air from the lens cleaning nozzle 10 toward the lens surface of the objective lens 6. As a result, it is possible to obtain a good field of view by washing away adhering matter adhering to the lens surface or blowing off water droplets adhering to the lens surface.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a disc ring-shaped base 24 is uniquely positioned at the mouth of the operation unit body 13 on the rear grip 16 side and fixed to the operation unit body 13 with screws. Four pedestals 25 protrude from the pedestal 24 in the longitudinal direction of the operation unit 3 and are arranged and fixed at the four corner positions shown in FIG. The other end on the protruding side of the column 25 is screwed together with the base fixing member 26 of the universal cable 4. That is, the operation unit body 13 is fixed to the base fixing member 26 of the universal cable 4 by the support column 25.

  As shown in FIG. 5, engagement portions 16 a and 13 a as positioning means in the rotational direction of the rear grip 16 are provided in the fitting portion between the rear grip 16 and the operation portion main body 13. As shown in FIG. 5, there are two engaging portions 13 a formed in the positions different from each other by 90 ° in the rotation direction. Further, the rear grip 16 and the operation portion main body 13 can be assembled by engaging the engagement portion 16a of the rear grip 16 with one selected from the engagement portions 13a of the operation portion main body 13. For example, in the assembled state shown in FIG. 5, the air / water supply button 19 is disposed on the surface where the remote switch 61 and the bending levers 14 and 15 are located, and the air / water supply button 19 is in the position shown by the solid line in FIGS. . At this time, the member of the cylinder portion 18 is disposed between the columns 25 as the connecting members, and does not interfere with the columns 25.

  Further, when the rear grip 16 and the operation portion main body 13 are assembled by engaging the engaging portions 16a and 13a by rotating 90 ° relative to the position in the state shown in FIG. It is arrange | positioned in the position shown with a broken line. Also at this time, the cylinder portion 18 passes between the columns 25 and does not interfere with the columns 25.

  That is, in this embodiment, the arrangement position of each column 25 supported on the pedestal 24 is rotated approximately 45 ° in both directions with respect to the arrangement position of the member of the cylinder portion 18 with respect to the center of the pedestal 24. It will be located on each diagonal line 37 in position.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 7, each of the above-mentioned elements outside the circle whose radius is the distance from the center of the pedestal 24 to the intersection 36 of the outer diameter of the substantially cylindrical cylinder portion 18 and the diagonal line 37. The support column 25 is arranged so that the cylinder portion 18 and the support column 25 do not interfere with each other. The positions of the pillars 25 satisfying such conditions are four places shown in FIG.

  Therefore, in a state where the rear grip 16 is positioned at any angular position, as shown in FIG. 3, a nut 27 is screwed onto the base fixing member 26 from the rear end side of the rear grip 16, and then The folding stop 28 for preventing the universal cable 4 from being bent is screwed into the base fixing member 26. In this state, the rear grip 16 is positioned and fixed with respect to the operation portion main body 13.

  In addition to the cylinder portion 18, a CCD cable 29, a remote switch cable 30, and a light guide cable 31 are passed through the rear grip 16.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a vertical bending engagement lever 50 is provided on the side surface of the operation unit main body 13 so as to be able to frictionally fix and release the vertical bending angle by the operation of the vertical bending lever 14. It has been. A left and right curved engagement lever (not shown) is similarly provided on the opposite side surface.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a light guide connector 49 in which one end of the light guide cable 31 is arranged and an air supply pin 32 to which the air pipe 21 is connected project from the end face of the branch connector 5. When this branch connector 5 is connected to a light source device (not shown), the illumination light is condensed on the light incident end face of the light guide cable 31 of the light guide connector 49, and the air supply pin 32 is not shown inside the light source device. Connected to the air pump.

  Inside the branch connector 5, the pipe connected to the air supply pin 32 branches in two directions, one is connected to the air supply base pin 33 protruding from the side of the branch connector 5, and the other is the above-mentioned It is connected to the air line 21. Next to the air supply base pin 33, a liquid supply base pin 34 protrudes. The liquid feeding cap pin 34 is connected to the liquid feeding conduit 20 inside the branch connector 5. The base 35 a of the liquid supply bottle 35 containing the cleaning liquid can be connected to the air supply base pin 33 and the liquid supply base pin 34.

  A camera cable 54 is extended from the outer surface of the branch connector 5 so as to be adjacent to the air / liquid feeding cap pins 33 and 34 and in the same direction. With such an arrangement structure, the connection parts of the camera cable 54 serve to protect the pin portions of the air / liquid supply cap pins 33 and 34. A camera connector 40 is provided at the end of the camera cable 54. The camera connector 40 is detachably connected to a camera control unit (CCU) (not shown) that performs signal processing on the imaging means.

  Therefore, by connecting the camera connector 40 to a camera control unit (not shown), a drive signal is applied from the drive circuit in the camera control unit to the solid-state image pickup device built in the distal end portion 7 of the insertion section 2. The photoelectrically converted imaging signal is read out and input to a signal processing circuit in the camera control unit. Then, a standard video signal is generated in the signal processing circuit, and this video signal is input to a monitor (not shown) and displayed as an endoscopic image on this monitor.

  Further, a vent hole 57 with a sealing valve is provided at a position symmetrical to the installation position of the camera cable 54 in the branch connector 5 so that water leakage inspection of the endoscope body 1 can be performed.

(Function)
When the endoscope is used, the branch connector 5 is connected to a light source device (not shown) and the camera connector 40 is connected to the camera control unit. Subsequently, the base 35 a of the liquid supply bottle 35 containing the cleaning liquid is connected to the air / liquid supply base pins 33 and 34 of the branch connector 5.

  Next, when the endoscope is used with the insertion portion 2 in a substantially horizontal state, the rear grip 16 is gripped so that the up / down bending lever 14 and the left / right bending lever 15 are upward, and the bending operation is performed with the thumb. Do. This is a common method. In this gripping state, the air / water feeding button 19 is in either the center position (state shown in FIG. 1) or the position rotated by 90 ° from the center (state shown in FIG. 6) depending on the direction in which the rear grip 16 is assembled.

  When dirt adheres to the objective lens 6 during a surgical operation under endoscopic observation, the air supply / water supply button 19 is pressed to remove the cleaning liquid in the liquid supply bottle 35 or the pressurized air from the air supply pump into the lens cleaning nozzle. 10 is sprayed toward the lens surface to remove dirt on the lens surface.

  At this time, when the air / water supply button 19 is at the center position (the state of FIG. 1), the operation of the air / water supply button 19 is performed with the thumb.

  On the other hand, in the state of FIG. 6 in which the air / water supply button 19 is rotated 90 ° with respect to the center position, the operation is performed with the index finger.

  By the way, the installation position of the air / water supply button 19 can be appropriately changed according to the operator's preference. That is, the folding stop 28 and the nut 27 are loosened from the base fixing member 26, the engaging portion 16a of the rear grip 16 is removed from the engaging portion 13a of the operating portion main body 13, and the support 25 is removed from the base 24 to remove the rear grip 16. By rotating 90 ° with respect to the operation unit main body 13 and fixing it again, the direction is changed according to the operator's preference.

  Further, in the case of left gripping, the same operation as described above is possible even in the case of left gripping by providing the support column 25 and the engaging portion 13a of the operation unit main body 13 at positions reversed from the positions in FIGS. It becomes.

(effect)
According to the present embodiment, since the air supply / water supply function is incorporated in the endoscope main body 1, the complexity of preparation and the handling performance during use are improved as compared with the conventional method of attaching the cleaning sheath to the endoscope main body. Is done.
When the air / water supply button 19, the bending levers 14 and 15, and the remote switch 61 are arranged linearly, a sense of unity appears in the operation method. For this reason, it is possible to prevent each operation from being confused during the operation.

  On the other hand, in the above case, the air / water supply button 19 may interfere with the operation when the bending lever is operated with the thumb. When the air / water supply button 19 is rotated 90 ° from the center position, the thumb can easily reach the bending levers 14 and 15. In addition, by operating the air / water supply button 19 with the index finger, the air / water supply button 19 can be pushed in a state where the operation unit body 13 is firmly wrapped in the palm of the hand, and as a result, the distal end of the insertion portion 2 This also helps prevent blurring.

  In addition, the position of the two air / water supply buttons 19 can be easily changed according to the operator's preference, resulting in improved operability.

Second Embodiment
An endoscope according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIGS.

(Constitution)
This embodiment differs from the endoscope according to the first embodiment described above in the following points. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the engaging portion that engages with the engaging portion 16a of the rear grip 16 in the operation portion main body 13 has a shape that is cut out over approximately 90 °, and this engaging portion is formed as a rotation guide portion 13b. It was.

  In addition, as in the first embodiment, the arrangement position of the support column 25 erected on the pedestal 24 is provided on a diagonal line 37 rotated about 45 ° with respect to the arrangement position of the cylinder portion 18 with respect to the center of the pedestal 24. Further, the support column 25 is disposed outside a circle whose radius is the distance from the center of the pedestal 24 to the intersection 36 between the outer diameter of the cylinder portion 18 having a substantially cylindrical shape and the diagonal line 37.

  However, the support column 25 is not disposed within the angle range where the rotation guide portion 13b is formed. That is, on the diagonal line rotated approximately 45 ° in the direction in which the rotation guide portion 13b is not formed with respect to the center of the pedestal 24, in other words, the cylinder portion 18 is within the angular range of the rotation guide portion 13b. The support column 25 is disposed outside the continuously rotating region, and the cylinder portion 18 and the support column 25 do not interfere with each other. There are two positions shown in FIG. 7 that satisfy this condition.

  When the CCD cable 29, the remote switch cable 30, and the light guide cable 31 that pass through the rear grip 16 are fixed to the side surface of the cylinder portion 18 with an adhesive or the like, and the cylinder portion 18 rotates, the cylinder portion 18 This prevents the cables from being sandwiched between the support 25 and the support 25.

  In addition, it is preferable to provide a click mechanism (not shown) so that the click fixing position is set as appropriate within the rotation range to prevent the rear grip 16 from rotating unexpectedly during use.

(Function)
Since the nut 27 does not tighten the rear grip 16 (the screwing end of the nut 27 is in contact with the base fixing member 26), the rear grip 16 has a sliding resistance of the watertight ring 36 within the angular range of the rotation guide portion 13b. Rotate continuously. Other operations are the same as those of the first embodiment described above.

(effect)
According to the present embodiment, since the position of the air / water supply button 19 can be continuously changed within the rotation range, it is possible to cope with various gripping methods. Further, since the position of the air / water supply button 19 can be changed immediately without the need for a tool, it can be easily rotated even during the operation.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the thing of each embodiment mentioned above. Further, according to the above description, the items listed below and the items listed below can be arbitrarily combined.

(Appendix)
1. In an endoscope provided with a control valve for supplying a cleaning medium to the endoscope distal end portion in the endoscope operation unit,
A case member for storing and holding the control valve is assembled so that a plurality of positions can be selected and arranged on the endoscope operation unit, and a connecting member for connecting the case member to the endoscope operation unit is provided. An endoscope which is disposed inside a case member and has a plurality of positions where the case member can be disposed, and the position of the connecting member is not interfered with the control valve.
2. 2. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the case member is capable of rotating relative to the endoscope operation section within a specified angle range and continuously changing its position.
3. 2. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the connecting member is disposed in a longitudinal direction of the endoscope operation section, and the control valve is disposed in the case member so as to be orthogonal to the connecting member.
4). The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of arrangement positions of the control valve are positioned in a rotation direction with a longitudinal axis of the endoscope operation unit as a central axis.
5). 2. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the control valve rotates relative to the endoscope operation section within a specified angle range and continuously changes its position.

6). The connecting member is disposed outside a circle having a radius extending from the central axis to the intersection of a diagonal line passing through the central axis and approximately 45 ° with respect to the control valve and the outer diameter of the control valve. The endoscope according to item 4, characterized in that:
7). The connecting member includes a diagonal line that is inclined by about 45 ° with respect to the control valve from the rotation center when the control valve rotates with respect to the endoscope operation section, and the outside of the control valve. The endoscope according to item 5, wherein the endoscope is disposed outside a circle having a radius up to an intersection with the diameter.

1 is a perspective view of an endoscope according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The front view which expands and shows the front-end | tip part of the insertion part of the said endoscope. The longitudinal cross-sectional view of the operation part vicinity part of the said endoscope. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the endoscope operation unit along AA in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the endoscope operation unit along BB in FIG. 3. Explanatory drawing of the use condition which grips the operation part of the said endoscope and operates a control valve. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an endoscope operation unit taken along the line AA in FIG. 3 in the endoscope according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The transverse cross section of the endoscope operation part which meets the above-mentioned BB of Drawing 3 in the endoscope concerning a 2nd embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Endoscope main body, 2 ... Insertion part, 3 ... Operation part, 6 ... Objective lens,
7 ... tip portion, 8 ... curved portion, 9 ... hard portion, 10 ... lens cleaning nozzle,
12 ... Front grip, 13 ... Operation part main body, 13a ... Engagement part,
14 ... vertical bending lever, 15 ... left / right bending lever, 16 ... rear grip,
16a ... engaging portion, 17 ... control valve, 20 ... liquid feeding conduit,
21 ... Air line, 22 ... Tip side liquid supply line, 23 ... Tip side air line,
24 ... pedestal, 25 ... column, 26 ... base fixing member, 27 ... nut,
33.34 ... Air / liquid supply cap pin, 36 ... Intersection, 37 ... Diagonal line.

Claims (2)

A curved portion for changing the direction of the distal end portion of the endoscope;
An operating portion having a shaft portion projecting in a first direction and provided with a bending lever for operating the bending portion;
A valve that protrudes from the operation portion toward a second direction parallel to the first direction and that controls a flow of fluid to the connected flow path;
An endoscope comprising: A curved portion for changing the direction of the distal end portion of the endoscope;
An operation unit that projects a bending lever for operating the bending unit toward the first direction;
A case unit connected to the operation unit;
A valve that protrudes from the case portion toward a second direction different from the first direction, and that controls the flow of fluid to the connected flow path;
An endoscope comprising:

Images