JP3195673B2 - Coil spring winding device for endoscope channel tube - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for winding a coil spring around a spiral groove provided on the outer periphery of a channel tube of an endoscope, and more particularly to an apparatus for automatically winding an initial coil spring around a channel tube. And a coil spring winding device for an endoscope channel tube.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an endoscope is heavily used in a strongly curved state for ingestion and observation of cell tissues in a body. Therefore, a channel tube provided in the endoscope and through which a wire for operating a treatment tool or the like and an optical fiber for observation pass through is required to have uniform flexibility without buckling. As an effective means for preventing the buckling of the tube, a process of winding a coil spring around the surface of the channel tube is generally used.

FIG. 7 shows a conventional coil spring winding device. This device includes a rotating device 34 having a chuck 33 for gripping a tube 31 into which a tube core 32 is inserted, and supports a tip of the core 32. Center push table 3
5 and a rotating stator 37 holding the other end of the coil spring 36
And a moving base 38 for the rotating stator 37.

According to this device, a tube core material 32 is inserted into a tube 31 and one end thereof is gripped by a chuck 33.
The other end of the core material 32 is rotatably supported by a center push table 35,
The tube 31 is held so as to be able to rotate without oscillating.
Next, one end of the coil spring 36 is manually wound around the outer periphery of the tube 31 two or three times and fixed. Further, the other end of the coil spring 36 is fixed to the rotating stator 37. And
While driving the rotating device 34 to rotate the tube 31,
The rotary stator 37 is slid on the moving base 38, and the coil spring 36 is wound around the spiral groove of the tube 31.

[0005]

However, in the above-described conventional coil spring winding apparatus, initial winding in which the coil spring 36 is wound around the outer periphery of the tube 31, that is, initial winding,
When fixing the tip of the coil spring 36 to the outer periphery of the tube 31, it was necessary to perform it manually. For this reason, the coil spring winding device always requires humans and inefficient processes.
The manual work of the initial winding of the coil spring 36 has hindered its automation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has as its object to provide a coil spring winding device for an endoscope channel tube which can automate the initial winding of a coil spring.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for rotating a channel tube,
In an endoscope channel tube coil spring winding device that winds a coiled wire in accordance with a spiral groove provided on the outer periphery of the surface, a chuck that can hold and rotate the channel tube and a channel tube at the outer periphery of the chuck with respect to the channel tube. With a rotatable ring, fixed to the ring,
A coil chuck that holds an end of a supplied coil spring, a rotating device that rotates a ring, and a coil spring winding claw that grips the supplied coil spring and guides the coil spring around the outer circumference of the channel tube are provided. did.

[0008]

The middle of the supplied coil spring is gripped by a coil spring winding claw, and one end is chucked by a coil chuck fixed to a ring. In this state, when the ring rotates around the outer periphery of the chuck holding the channel tube, the coil chuck, to which one end of the coil spring is fixed, rotates relative to the channel tube, and the coil spring is wound around the channel tube. Automatic winding of the coil spring onto the channel tube by removing the coil spring fixed by the coil chuck from the coil chuck or winding all the fixed portion of the coil chuck onto the channel tube when the coil spring has been wound two or three times. Is completed. Thereafter, the chuck to which the channel tube is fixed is rotated and sent in the longitudinal direction of the channel tube, thereby completing the automatic winding of the coil spring.

[0009]

1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a coil spring winding device, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a coil chuck. In the figure, reference numeral 3 denotes a tube chuck for gripping one end of a channel tube in which a tube core material 2 slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the channel tube 1 is inserted into the inner diameter. Rotation and fixing can be controlled by a rotating device and a brake not shown. Is configured. Tube chuck 3
The center push table 8 is located at a position opposite to the tube chuck 3.
And coaxially arranged with the center hole provided on the other end surface of the tube core 2 so that the tube core 2 can be rotatably held.

On the outer periphery of the tube chuck 3, a ring 10 having a tooth portion 10a formed on the outer peripheral surface is provided.
Are provided so as to slide freely on the outer circumference of the. This ring 10 can rotate independently of the tube chuck 3. A gear 11 a that rotationally drives the ring 10 is screwed and disposed on the tooth portion 10 a of the ring 10.
a is connected to the rotating device 11.

A coil chuck 9 is rotatably fixed to the ring 10 with respect to a coil chuck supporting portion 10b formed so as to protrude from an end face of the ring 10. The tip of the coil chuck 9 is arranged in the direction of a coil core chuck 12 to be described later, and a spiral groove 9 screwed with the inner diameter of the coil spring 4 is formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof.
a is provided. A rotating shaft 16 a of a rotating device 16 for coil chuck is provided inside the base end of the coil chuck 9.
There is provided an engagement recess 9b which engages with the tip of the head.

The rotating device 16 for the coil chuck includes the main body 1.
8 is fixed to an arm 17 which is moved up and down by a cylinder (not shown). The coil chuck rotating device 16 includes: a position where the tip of the rotating shaft 16a is engaged with the engaging concave portion 9b in order to transmit rotation to the coil chuck 9;
It can be positioned at a position where the engagement can be released.

The coil spring 4 wound around the channel tube 1 is supplied by inserting a coil spring core 7 slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the coil spring 4 into the inner diameter of the coil spring 4, and a base 12a fixed to the side surface of the coil spring supply device 6 body. The coil spring core 7 is gripped and fixed by the openable and closable coil core chuck 12 attached to the inclined surface of FIG. 1, and the coil spring 4 is movable along the core 7 below the chuck 12. The coil core chuck 12 is disposed diagonally above the channel tube 1 held by the tube chuck 3 and the center pressing table 8 so as to face the coil chuck 9.

The coil spring winding hand 5 of the coil supply device 6 is disposed between the coil chuck 9 and the coil core chuck 12 at a position above the tube core 2. The coil spring winding hand 5 includes a coil spring retainer 13, a coil spring winding claw 15, and a guide. The coil spring winding claw 15 is fixed to the guide 14, and a claw portion 15 a for locking the wire of the coil spring 4 is provided below the guide 14. The coil spring retainer 13 is slidably mounted on the guide 14, and is provided along the guide 14 by a cylinder (not shown) so as to approach and separate from the coil spring winding claw 15. It is operable between a position for pinching and a position for releasing it. Guide 14
Is attached to the coil spring supply device 6 body. The coil spring supply device 6 is provided on the base 19 so that it can move in the direction of arrow B at a feed pitch equal to the groove pitch of the channel tube 1 in parallel with the channel tube 1.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described along the operation procedure. The tube core 2 is inserted into the channel tube 1, one end of the channel tube 1 is gripped by the tube chuck 3, and the other end is held by the center pusher 8. With the coil spring retainer 13 closed, a coil spring 4 with a coil spring core 7 inserted therein is prepared, and the coil spring core 7 is gripped and fixed by the coil core chuck 12. The coil spring 4
Although it falls by its own weight along the coil spring core 7 below the chuck 12, it comes into contact with the coil spring retainer 13 and stops. Next, when the coil spring 4 is operated with the coil spring retainer 13 opened, the coil spring 4 falls under its own weight and stops when the tip of the coil spring 4 reaches the coil chuck 9. Here, the coil spring 4 is gripped by operating the coil spring retainer 13 again in a closed state and sandwiching the coil spring 4 between the coil spring retainer 13 and the coil spring winding claw 15.

Then, the arm 17 is moved upward by a cylinder (not shown), and the engaging recess 9b at the lower part of the coil chuck 9 and the tip of the rotating shaft 16a of the rotating device 16 for the coil chuck are moved as shown in FIG. Are engaged and connected. Then, by rotating the coil chuck 9 by the coil chuck rotating device 16, the coil spring 4 is wound up (screw-in) in the groove 9a, and one end of the coil spring 4 is chucked (see FIG. 4). When one end of the coil spring 4 is chucked by the coil chuck 9 in this manner, the arm 17 is operated downward, and the rotating shaft 16a of the rotating device 16 for the coil chuck is disengaged from the engaging recess 9b at the lower portion of the coil chuck 9.

Next, the ring 10 is rotated by the ring rotating device 11, and the portion of the coil spring 4 chucked by the coil chuck 9 is wound around the channel tube 1. Then, the ring 10 is rotated until one end of the coil spring 4 comes off the coil chuck 9, and the one end of the coil spring 4 is initially wound and fixed to the channel tube 1.

Next, the rotation of the ring 10 is stopped, the gripping of the coil spring 4 by the coil spring retainer 13 is released, and the tube chuck 3 is rotated to rotate the channel tube 1 and, at the same time, the coil supply including the coil winding claws 15 is performed. The device 6 is fed in the B direction at a feed pitch equivalent to the groove pitch of the channel tube 1. Thereby, the coil spring 4 is wound around the channel tube 1, and an endoscope channel tube in which the wire rod of the coil spring 4 is wound around the spiral groove provided on the outer peripheral surface of the channel tube 1 can be obtained.

According to the present embodiment, the channel tube 1
The initial winding of the coil spring 4 around the channel tube 1 can be performed automatically by winding the end of the coil spring 4 using the ring 10 rotating around the outer periphery of the tube chuck 3 holding the coil spring 4. Further, the coil chuck 9 in the present embodiment does not have a mechanism for removing the coil spring 4 from the coil chuck 9 because the coil spring 4 comes off the coil chuck 9 when the coil spring 4 is wound around the channel tube 1 three to four times. May be.

[0020]

Second Embodiment FIGS. 5 and 6 show only a coil chuck according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a front view of a coil chuck body 21 of a coil chuck 20 with a coil spring stopped. FIG. 6 is a front view of a state where a coil spring is sandwiched. The coil chuck 20 includes a coil chuck body 21, a claw 22, a guide 23, and a spring 24.
And a cylinder 25. The coil chuck body 21 holds the tip of the supplied coil spring 4 and is attached to the coil chuck support 10 b of the ring 10.

The guide 23 is slidably mounted on the coil chuck body 21 and has a claw 22
Is fixed. The claw 22 is formed in an inverted L-shape, and is disposed opposite to the rising portion 21a of the coil chuck body 21 so that the tip 22a of the claw 22 sandwiches the wire of the coil spring 4. On the other hand, a large-diameter portion 23a is formed at the other end of the guide 23, and a spring 24 for constantly attracting the claw 22 toward the coil chuck body 21 to press the coil chuck body 21 against the large-diameter portion 23a and the coil chuck body 21 is formed. It is armed between.

The cylinder 25 has a large diameter portion 2 of the guide 23.
3 a, the guide 23 is provided so as to be able to press the guide 23 in the direction of the claw 22. When the guide 23 is pressed, the outer diameter of the coil spring 4 is larger between the coil chuck body 21 and the claw 22. A gap can be created. Other configurations of the coil spring winding device are the same as those in the first embodiment.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described along the operation procedure with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 5 and 6. The channel tube 1 and the coil spring 4 are set in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Then, the coil spring 4 drops due to its own weight, but is stopped at the position of the coil spring retainer 13 as in the first embodiment, and then operated with the coil spring retainer 13 opened. At this time, in the coil chuck 20, the guide 23 is pushed by the cylinder 25 via the large-diameter portion 23a, and the space between the rising portion 21a of the coil chuck body 21 and the tip 22a of the claw 22 is kept open.

When the coil spring retainer 13 is opened, the coil spring 4 falls by its own weight, and the tip of the coil spring 4 passes through the gap between the rising portion 21 a of the coil chuck body 21 of the coil chuck 20 and the tip 22 a of the claw 22. , Stops at the coil chuck body 21. Next, the coil spring retainer 13 is again
Is operated in a closed state, and the coil spring 4 is gripped by sandwiching the coil spring 4 between the coil spring retainer 13 and the coil winding claw 15. Then, cylinder 25
Is retracted and released from the large diameter portion 23a and the guide 23,
One end of the coil spring 4 is chucked by sandwiching the coil spring 4 between the rising portion 21a of the coil chuck body 21 and the tip portion 22a of the claw 22 by the elastic force of the spring 24.

Next, the ring 10 is rotated by the ring rotating device 11, and the portion of the coil spring 4 chucked by the coil chuck 20 is wound around the channel tube 1. Then, one end of the coil spring 4 comes off the coil chuck 20 (that is, the rising portion 21a and the tip portion 22a).
The wire 10 slides until the end of the wire comes off, and the one end of the coil spring 4 is initially wound and fixed to the channel tube 1. After that, similarly to the first embodiment, an endoscope channel tube obtained by winding the wire of the coil spring 4 around the spiral groove of the channel tube 1 is obtained.

According to the present embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the gap can be set by the coil chuck 20 by the amount of pressing of the guide 23. This can be dealt with without setting up the coil chuck 20 for replacement.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, the initial winding of the coil on the channel tube, which has been conventionally performed manually, can be automatically performed, and the inefficient operation requiring human intervention is required. The steps can be omitted. This makes it possible to automate the coil spring winding process of the endoscope channel tube.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a coil chuck according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a state where a coil spring is chucked on the coil chuck in the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a coil chuck according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a state where a coil spring is chucked on the coil chuck in the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of a conventional coil spring winding device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Channel tube 3 Tube chuck 4 Coil spring 9, 20 Coil chuck 10 Ring 11 Ring rotation device 15 Coil spring winding claw

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-6-78877 (JP, A) JP-A-49-58065 (JP, A) JP-A-61-133001 (JP, U) JP-A-58-144565 (JP) , U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A61B 1/00-1/32 B65H 81/00-81/08 B29C 63/00-65/82

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. While rotating the channel tube,
In an endoscope channel tube coil spring winding device that winds a coiled wire in accordance with a spiral groove provided on the outer periphery of the surface, a chuck that can hold and rotate the channel tube and a channel tube at the outer periphery of the chuck with respect to the channel tube. With a rotatable ring, fixed to the ring,
A coil chuck for holding an end of a supplied coil spring, a rotating device for rotating a ring, and a coil spring winding claw for holding the supplied coil spring and guiding it to be wound around the outer circumference of the channel tube. A coil spring winding device for an endoscope channel tube.