JP4043081B2 - Endoscope bending mechanism - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an endoscope bending mechanism.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a conventional technique, there is known a bending mechanism of an endoscope in which a wire inserted through a bending portion is pushed and pulled by operating an operation knob provided on the operation portion at hand, thereby bending the bending portion.
[0003]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-161596 discloses that when an endoscope insertion portion is inserted into a body blood vessel or the like and used, if the bending operation is performed, the wire is overloaded due to the restriction of the bending portion or the like. Endoscope bending that solves problems such as breakage of the soldered part that fixes the wire, and adverse effects on the blood vessels of the body at the end of the bending part when bending operation is attempted with excessive force A mechanism is disclosed. In this bending mechanism, an overload prevention spring is attached to the middle or end of the wire passing through the bending portion. When the amount of tensile force applied to the wire is below a predetermined amount of force, the overload prevention spring does not extend, While all the tensile force is applied, when the predetermined tensile force is exceeded, the overload prevention spring extends and the overload prevention spring can absorb the overload applied to the wire.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when such a bending mechanism using an overload prevention spring is used, the overload prevention spring absorbs a certain amount of overload when a predetermined amount of tensile force is exceeded. The amount of tensile force is transmitted to the wire, and as a result, the overload on the wire cannot be completely removed.
[0005]
In addition, a bending mechanism using this overload prevention spring is used for an endoscope in which the insertion portion on the proximal side from the bending portion is made of a hard member, and this endoscope is inserted into the abdominal cavity through a trocar, When observing the inside, if the bending portion of the endoscope is positioned in the middle of the trocar, if the bending operation is mistakenly performed, the amount of force transmitted to the wire is reduced by the overload prevention spring. Overloading may cause wire breakage or bend damage. Furthermore, it is conceivable that the trocar is deformed by the compressive force generated by the bending of the bending portion due to an excessive bending operation.
[0006]
The present invention has been made by paying attention to such circumstances, and the purpose of the present invention is to prevent the bending wire from being overloaded at all, prevent breakage, and ensure safe operation. It is to provide a mirror bending mechanism.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the object of the present invention, in a bending mechanism of an endoscope in which a bending operation of the bending portion is performed by pushing and pulling a wire that passes through the bending portion according to an operation at hand, Provided is a bending mechanism for an endoscope, comprising a connecting member that is disposed and includes a coil spring that separates the wire when a predetermined amount of tensile force is applied according to the operation at hand .
[0008]
As a result, even if the bending portion is bent with an excessive load, when the connecting member is loaded with a predetermined amount of tensile force, the wire is not overloaded even if it is operated by hand to separate the wire. Therefore, it is possible to provide a bending mechanism of an endoscope that can prevent breakage and can be operated safely.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 3 show a first embodiment according to the present invention. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a bending mechanism of an endoscope according to the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a component diagram of a close-contact coil spring, and FIG. 3 is a view taken in the direction of arrow A in FIG.
[0010]
As shown in FIG. 1, the bending mechanism 1 of the endoscope is provided with a plurality of bending pieces 2 arranged in a row, and at the front end or the rear end of the plurality of bending pieces 2 in a vertical symmetry with respect to the paper surface. A plurality of rivets 4 that are inserted into and fixed to the rivet holes 3 to connect the plurality of bending pieces 2 and a tip bending piece 5 that is positioned at the forefront of the plurality of bending pieces 2 are fixed at the tips thereof, and the remaining bending Two angle wires 6 that pass through the inside of the frame 2 and are arranged symmetrically with respect to the paper surface, two first rings 7 that are connected to the other ends of the respective angle wires 6, and the first Two contact coil springs 8 which are connecting members respectively connected to the ring 7 in a chain, two second rings 9 respectively connected to the contact coil springs 8 in a chain, and the second ring 9 and both ends thereof Operation wire 10 to be connected with The operation wire 10 is composed of a disk-shaped drum 12 that is joined to the outer periphery of the operation wire 10 by a joining portion 11, and an operation knob 14 that is fixed to the central shaft 13 of the drum 12 and operates the rotation of the drum 12. .
[0011]
As shown in FIG. 2, the contact coil spring 8 has a circular shape and has a total number of turns of four. Further, the contact coil spring 8 is set as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, and the breaking strength A when the contact coil spring 8 is pulled in the radial direction, that is, the contact coil spring 8 is deformed to deform the first ring 7 or the second ring. The amount of force 9 disengages from the contact coil spring 8 is set to satisfy B ≧ C >> A where B is the breaking strength of the bending piece 2 against tension and C is the tensile breaking strength of the angle wire 6 and the operation wire 10. Compared with the tensile breaking strength of the bending piece 2, the angle wire 6 and the operation wire 10, the contact coil spring 8 is set sufficiently small.
[0012]
The operation of the first embodiment configured as described above will be described. As described above, the angle wire 6 and the operation wire 10 are connected via the first ring 7, the close coil spring 8, and the second ring 9. Further, the operation wire 10 is joined to the drum 12 at the joining portion 11, and is fixed to the operation knob 14 on the center shaft 13 of the drum 12. For this reason, when the operation knob 14 is rotated, the drum 12 rotates, and the operation wire 10 joined at the joining portion 11 is pushed and pulled according to the rotation of the drum 12. The stress of pushing and pulling the operation wire 10 is transmitted to the angle wire 6 through the second ring 9, the close coil spring 8 and the first ring 7, and pushes and pulls the angle wire 6. As a result, the bending piece 2 is interlocked in accordance with the pushing and pulling operation of the angle wire 6 to bend in two directions.
[0013]
At this time, the stress of the rotation operation of the operation knob 14 is transmitted to the angle wire 6 through the contact coil spring 8 in the middle. However, since the contact coil spring 8 is set so as to satisfy B ≧ C >> A in advance as described above, if the operation knob 14 is rotated and bent excessively, the contact coil spring 8 is first contacted. The coil spring is deformed, and the first ring 7 or the second ring 9 is detached from the contact coil spring 8.
[0014]
When the contact coil spring 8 is broken and repaired, the contact coil spring 8 is removed, and a new contact coil spring 8 is coupled to the first ring 7 and the second ring 9 in a chain shape. The method of connecting the first ring 7 and the second ring 9 to the new close coil spring 8 in a chain is to hook the end of the new close coil spring 8 to the first ring 7 or the second ring 9, By rotating the contact coil spring 8 as it is, the first ring 7 or the second ring 9 is coupled to the contact coil spring 8 in a chain shape.
[0015]
As described above, even if the operation knob 14 is rotated to be bent excessively, the tensile breaking strength A of the contact coil spring 8 is set to the tensile breaking strength B and the breaking strength C of the bending piece 2, the angle wire 6 and the operating wire 10. Since the contact coil spring 8 is first deformed and the first ring 7 or the second ring 9 is detached from the contact coil spring 8, the angle wire 6 and the operation wire 10 are Is separated. Accordingly, the stress of the rotation operation of the operation knob 14 is not transmitted to the angle wire 6 and the operation wire 10, and the bending piece 2, the angle wire 6 and the operation wire 10 are not damaged.
[0016]
Further, since only the contact coil spring 8 is damaged due to excessive bending operation, it is only necessary to connect only the contact coil spring 8 to the first ring 7 and the second ring 9 in a chain form, so that repair is easy and quick. Can be. Further, since the repair parts are only the close-contact coil springs 8 having a simple structure, the repair parts are inexpensive.
[0017]
In addition, since the contact coil spring 8 has a circular shape, the contact coil spring 8 easily rotates with respect to the first ring 7 or the second ring 9. The coupling position of the ring 7 and the second ring 9 is changed. However, since the total number of turns of the close contact coil spring 8 is 4, there is little variation in the number of coil turns depending on the position of the close contact coil spring 8, and therefore the breaking strength A of the close contact coil spring 8 has almost the same value no matter what direction it is pulled. Show.
[0018]
Therefore, even if the contact coil spring 8 rotates and the joining position of the first ring 7 and the second ring 9 changes, the breaking strength A is substantially constant, so that a reliable bending mechanism can be obtained. it can.
[0019]
Further, when the first ring 7 and the second ring 9 are coupled to the close coil spring 8, it is not necessary to consider the coupling position, and the coupling can be easily performed.
[0020]
FIG. 4 relates to the second embodiment and is a component diagram showing a contact coil spring 20 which is a connecting member having a shape different from that of the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the same configurations and operations as those of the first embodiment will be described with the same reference numerals.
In the second embodiment, the contact coil spring 20 is prevented from rotating with respect to the first ring 7 and the second ring 9, that is, the contact coil spring 20 is connected to the first ring 7 and the second ring 9. The coupling position of the ring 9 can be positioned.
Unlike the shape of the contact coil spring 8 of the first embodiment, the contact coil spring 20 has an oval shape having a first arc portion 21 and a second arc portion 22. The total number of turns of the elliptical contact coil spring 20 is 1.2, and the number of coil turns at the first arc portion 21 and the second arc portion 22 is one. The first ring 7 and the second ring 9 are coupled to the first arc portion 21 and the second arc portion 22 in a chain shape.
[0021]
The operation of the second embodiment configured as described above will be described. As described above, since the contact coil spring 8 according to the first embodiment is circular, the contact coil spring 8 is easy to rotate with respect to the first ring 7 and the second ring 9, and the total amount thereof When the number of turns is small, the variation in the number of coil turns at the position of the contact coil spring 8 is large. Therefore, in the case of using the circular contact coil spring 8 according to the first embodiment, it is necessary to increase the total number of turns in order to reduce the variation in the number of coil turns depending on the position.
[0022]
However, since the close contact coil spring 20 according to the second embodiment has an oval shape having the first arc portion 21 and the second arc portion 22, the first ring 7 and the second ring The first ring 7 and the second ring 9 are coupled to the contact coil spring 20 at the first arc portion 21 and the second arc portion 22, respectively.
[0023]
The effect of the second embodiment is that the total number of turns of the contact coil spring 20 can be reduced in addition to the effect of the first embodiment, so that the contact coil spring 20 that is a repair part is more inexpensive, It is easier to couple the first ring 7 and the second ring 9 to the close coil spring 20. Furthermore, the contact coil spring 20 can be formed small, and the bending mechanism itself of the endoscope can be reduced in size.
[0024]
FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of a bending mechanism of an endoscope according to the third embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 5, the bending mechanism 25 of the endoscope according to the third embodiment has a plurality of bending pieces 2 having rivet holes 3 provided at the front end to the rear end so as to be vertically symmetrical with respect to the paper surface. Are arranged in a row, and there are two four-direction bending pieces 27 that can be bent in four directions, each having the rivet hole 3 and an orthogonal rivet hole 26 provided symmetrically in a direction orthogonal to the rivet hole 3. These are arranged in the middle of the proximal side of the plurality of bending pieces 2 arranged in a line. The plurality of bending pieces 2 and the four-direction bending pieces 27 are inserted into and fixed to the rivet holes 3 and the orthogonal rivet holes 26 of the plurality of bending pieces 2 and the four-direction bending pieces 27, respectively. Are connected in a row. The tip of the angle wire 6 is fixed to the tip bending piece 5 and is inserted through the remaining bending piece 2 and the inside of the four-direction bending piece 27 so as to be vertically symmetrical with respect to the paper surface.
[0025]
The rear end of the angle wire 6 is connected to the first ring 7, and the close contact coil spring 8 similar to the connection member according to the first embodiment is coupled to the first ring 7, and the close contact coil spring 8. A second ring 9 is coupled to the first ring 9. Both ends of the operation wire 10 are connected to the second ring 9, and the operation wire 10 is joined along the outer periphery of the drum 12 by the joining portion 11. An operation knob 14 for operating the rotation of the drum 12 is fixed to the central shaft 13 of the drum 12.
[0026]
Further, the breaking strength A when the contact coil spring 8 is pulled in the radial direction, the breaking strength B of the bending piece 2 against tension, and the tensile breaking strength C of the angle wire 6 and the operation wire 10 are set in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Has been.
[0027]
Next, the operation of the third embodiment will be described. Since the bending mechanism 25 of the endoscope is arranged up and down with respect to the paper surface, the angle wire 6 is pushed and pulled by the operation of the operation knob 14 to bend up and down. At this time, if it is attempted to bend excessively, the contact coil spring 8 is deformed first, the first ring 7 or the second ring 9 is detached from the contact coil spring 8, and the angle wire 6 and the operation wire 10 are separated. To do.
Further, when an external force in the vertical direction is applied to the bending mechanism 25 with respect to the upper and lower bending directions, the four-direction bending piece 27 is bent and absorbs the external force.
[0028]
In addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the third embodiment has the following effects.
That is, even when an external force is received from a direction perpendicular to the two upper and lower directions that are curved by the operation of the operation knob 14, the four-way bending piece 27 is bent and absorbs the external force by providing the four-way bending piece 27. The bending mechanism 25 is not damaged.
[0029]
Further, when the bending mechanism 25 is used for an endoscope by covering the outside of the bending mechanism 25 with a mesh tube (not shown) made of stainless steel or a tube-like bending rubber (not shown), the external force is absorbed more. In particular, in the case of laparoscopic surgery, a rigid treatment instrument is frequently used, and even if the rigid treatment instrument often hits the distal end of the endoscope, the four-directional bending piece 27, the mesh tube, and the bending Since the external force generated by the treatment tool hitting with rubber can be absorbed and the bending portion can be prevented from being damaged, the operation is not interrupted.
[0030]
FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of a bending mechanism of an endoscope according to the fourth embodiment.
The bending mechanism 30 of the endoscope according to the fourth embodiment is obtained by changing only the arrangement of the four-direction bending piece 27 according to the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the four-direction bending piece 27 is arranged second from the most proximal side, and is orthogonally provided symmetrically in the direction perpendicular to the rivet hole 3 of the bending piece 2 on the most proximal side. An orthogonal bending piece 31 having only rivet holes 26 is disposed.
[0031]
The operation of the fourth embodiment will be described. Since the four-direction bending piece 27 is arranged closer to the hand side, it is further curved from the hand side as compared with that of the third embodiment.
[0032]
The effect of the fourth embodiment is that the position of the four-direction bending piece 27 is closer to the hand side, so that the external force in the vertical direction of the bending direction can be absorbed more than in the third embodiment. .
[0033]
FIG. 7 relates to the fifth embodiment and is a configuration diagram in a state in which a cleaning sheath is attached to the outer surface of the bending mechanism 1 of the endoscope of the first embodiment.
FIG. 7 shows, for example, an insertion portion 34 for an abdominal cavity or thoracic cavity endoscope. The insertion portion 34 is a hard distal end hard portion 36 having an objective lens 35 and a proximal side of the distal end hard portion 36. The curved portion 37 is connected to the proximal side of the curved portion 37 and the rigid proximal side hard portion 38 is connected to the proximal side of the curved portion 37. Further, two protrusions 39 are provided at the front end portion of the proximal-side hard portion 38 so as to be 180 degrees symmetrical.
[0034]
A cleaning sheath 40 for cleaning the objective lens 35 is attached to the outer surface of the insertion portion 34, and the cleaning sheath 40 has a portion corresponding to the tip hard portion 36 that is a hard cleaning tip hard portion 41. The portion corresponding to the bending portion 37 is formed in the bendable cleaning curved portion 42, and the portion corresponding to the hand side hard portion 38 is formed in the hard cleaning hand side hard portion 43.
Further, the bending mechanism 1 similar to that of the first embodiment is used as a mechanism for bending the bending portion 35.
[0035]
The operation of the fifth embodiment will be described. When the cleaning sheath 40 is removed from the insertion portion 34 after use, the protrusion 39 provided on the proximal side hard portion 38 serves as a guide, and the clearance between the insertion portion 34 and the cleaning sheath 40 is kept substantially constant.
[0036]
Thus, by providing the protrusion 39 at the distal end on the proximal side, when the cleaning sheath 40 is removed from the insertion portion 34, the clearance between the insertion portion 34 and the cleaning sheath 40 is kept substantially constant, and the proximal-side hard portion 38. Since the bending portion 37 is not easily inserted into the bending portion 37 , the bending portion 37 can be prevented from being damaged.
[0037]
In this embodiment, the contact coil spring 8 and the contact coil spring 20 which are connection members are not covered with other members, but a thin thin tube or the like having a lubricity is covered within a range in which the spring force is not changed. When the coil spring 8 and the close contact coil spring 20 are advanced and retracted, they may be prevented from being caught with other parts.
[0038]
In the present embodiment, the bending direction is two directions up and down, but may be directions other than up and down as needed, and may be one direction or three or more directions. Further, the connecting member is not limited to the coil spring such as the close contact coil spring 8 and the close contact coil spring 20. For example, a magnet may be used, and the angle wire 6 and the operation wire 10 may be separated when a predetermined amount of tensile force is exceeded.
[0039]
Further, in the first embodiment, the number of coil turns of the contact coil spring 8 is four, but may be two or more, and preferably three or more if necessary. Although the contact coil spring of the second embodiment has 1.2 turns, it may be 1 or more turns as necessary.
In the fifth embodiment, the two protrusions 39 are provided symmetrically by 180 degrees. However, the number and arrangement of the protrusions 39 may be changed as necessary each time.
[0040]
The present invention also includes the inventions listed below.
(Appendix)
(Supplementary note 1) In a bending mechanism of an endoscope in which the bending portion is bent by a wire passing through the bending portion according to an operation at hand, the bending portion is arranged in the middle of the wire and is subjected to a predetermined tension. A bending mechanism for an endoscope, comprising a connecting member that separates the wire when a force is applied.
(Supplementary note 2) The endoscope bending mechanism according to supplementary note 1, wherein the connection member is formed of an elastic member.
(Appendix 3) The endoscope bending mechanism according to Appendix 2, wherein the elastic member is a close coil spring.
(Additional remark 4) The bending mechanism of the endoscope according to additional remark 3, wherein the contact coil spring is a spring wound in a circular shape.
(Additional remark 5) The bending mechanism of the endoscope according to additional remark 3, wherein the contact coil spring is a spring wound in an oval shape.
(Appendix 6) An endoscope bending mechanism capable of bending in two directions, wherein a bending piece capable of bending in four directions is provided in a part of the bending portion.
(Supplementary note 7) The bending mechanism for an endoscope according to supplementary note 6, wherein the bending piece that can be bent in four directions is arranged on the most proximal side of the bending portion.
(Purpose of Appendix 6 and Appendix 7)
An endoscope that can be bent in two directions is to provide a bending mechanism of an endoscope that can absorb an external force from a direction other than the bendable direction.
(Effects of Appendix 6 and Appendix 7)
Since an external force from a direction other than the bendable direction can be absorbed, the bending mechanism is not damaged and a safe operation can be performed.
[0041]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the bending mechanism of the endoscope according to the present invention includes the connecting member that separates the wire when a predetermined amount of tensile force is applied, so that the wire is not overloaded at all. It can prevent damage and operate safely.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a bending mechanism of an endoscope according to a first embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a component diagram of a close coil spring.
FIG. 3 is a view taken along arrow A in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a component diagram showing a close contact coil spring according to a second embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of a bending mechanism of an endoscope according to a third embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of a bending mechanism of an endoscope according to a fourth embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a state in which a cleaning sheath is attached to the outer surface of the bending mechanism of the endoscope according to the first embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Endoscope bending mechanism 2 Bending piece 6 Angle wire 7 First ring 8 Contact coil spring 9 Second ring 10 Operation wire 12 Drum 20 Contact coil spring

Claims (7)

In the bending mechanism of the endoscope in which the bending portion is bent by pulling and pulling the wire that passes through the bending portion according to the operation at hand,
A bending mechanism for an endoscope, comprising: a connecting member that is disposed in the middle of the wire and is made of a coil spring that separates the wire when a predetermined amount of tensile force is applied. The coil spring is disposed in the middle of the wire in a state in which the center line direction of the coil spring is disposed in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the wire,
In the wire separation portion of the wire to be separated, the wire includes a first ring disposed at one wire end portion in the wire separation portion and a second ring disposed at the other wire end portion. Have
The coil spring is disposed between the first ring and the second ring, and the first ring, the coil spring, and the second ring are connected in a chained state. The endoscope bending mechanism according to claim 1.   The endoscope bending mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the coil spring is a circularly wound spring.   The endoscope bending mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the coil spring is a spring having two or more turns.   The bending mechanism for an endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the coil spring is a spring wound in an oval shape. 6. The bending mechanism for an endoscope according to claim 5 , wherein the total number of turns of the coil spring is one or more turns .   7. The coil spring according to claim 6, wherein the coil spring is formed into an oval coil having two arc portions and two linear connecting portions connecting the two arc portions. The bending mechanism of the endoscope.

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