JP4336943B2 - Endoscope operation section - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a structure of a main body operation unit to which a proximal end portion of an insertion unit is connected in order to be grasped and operated by an operator or the like in an endoscope used for medical purposes.
[0002]
[Prior art]
An endoscope used for medical purposes includes an insertion portion that is inserted into a body cavity, a main body operation portion that an operator holds and operates with a hand, and a universal cord that is detachably connected to a light source device and the like Consists of roughly. The base end portion of the insertion portion is connected to the main body operation portion, and the universal cord is pulled out from the main body operation portion, and the distal end portion is a connector that is detachably connected to the light source device or the like. The main body operation section is provided with various members operated by the operator. For example, an angle operation means for remotely bending the angle section provided at the distal end portion of the insertion section, an air / water supply valve, a suction Valves and various switches are provided.
[0003]
In this way, the main body operation section is equipped with angle operation means and valves, and the optical fiber cable for transmitting illumination light, the signal cable, and the like pass therethrough. A circuit board is also arranged because of a control switch and the like. Therefore, in order to assemble these various members and to perform maintenance such as repair and inspection, the casing of the main body operation unit has a configuration in which a part thereof can be divided.
[0004]
Further, it is necessary to reduce the weight of the casing of the main body operation unit in consideration of the operator holding the main body operation unit for a long time at the time of endoscopy. For this purpose, the casing of the main body operation unit is made of plastic. Moreover, the thickness of the casing is made as thin as possible unless there is a problem in strength. Therefore, among various operation members provided in the main body operation unit, members on which a large load acts are concentrated in one place, and the universal cord is drawn out from the same part. Since a part of the main body operation part is grasped by the operator's hand, the above-described operation member and the universal cord lead-out part are not provided at the part grasped by the operator. Accordingly, only the gripping force is substantially applied to the portion of the main body operation unit that is held by the operator.
[0005]
From the above, the rear end side of the main body operation part is configured as a main body casing having a large thickness so as to have high strength, and an operation member including an angle operation means is disposed, and a universal cord lead-out part is provided. Conventionally, it has been known that the gripping part is used as a gripping part casing and the thickness of the gripping part is reduced to maintain the necessary strength as a whole of the main body operation part and to reduce its weight. It has been.
[0006]
As described above, the main body casing and the gripper casing constituting the main body operation unit are connected to each other so as to be fitted to each other, but normally, the thick-walled main body casing side is inward, and the thin-walled gripper casing side With the outside facing. When operating the endoscope, particularly when performing an operation such as bending the angle portion, a torsional force acts on the connecting portion between the main body casing and the gripping portion casing. For this reason, a rotation prevention part must be provided in the fitting part between the main body casing and the gripping part casing.
[0007]
As a rotation preventing part, in the fitting part between the main body casing and the gripping part casing, a member located on the inner side, usually a stopper projection formed in one or more places of the main body casing, and a member located on the outer side, That is, the structure which formed the notch which accommodates the protrusion for stoppers in the holding | grip part casing is conventionally known (for example, refer patent document 1). Therefore, the fitting portion between the main body casing and the gripping portion casing does not reach the entire circumference, and the member located inside the fitting portion is exposed to the outside at the portion where the stopper projection is provided. . As a result, the left and right side walls of the stopper projection and the left and right side walls of the notch are held in a joined state, so that the relative rotational movement between the main body casing and the gripper casing is prevented. Will be.
[0008]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-26084 (page 2, FIGS. 4 and 5)
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, an endoscope used for medical use is particularly excellent in cleanability, and the main body operation section as well as the insertion section inserted into the body cavity must be cleaned and disinfected at the same time. Accordingly, there must be no places that cannot be cleaned or difficult to clean on the outer surface of the main body operation section. When the main body casing and the gripping part casing are fitted, the joint between them is exposed to the outside. Since these casings are made of plastic and are formed by molding means, if the shape of the joining portion is simple, they can be joined in a state in which the mutual wall surfaces are in close contact with each other. However, if the joint portion is complicated, a slight step or a concave portion or the like may occur in the corner portion or the like, which may become a stagnant portion of the contaminated material. In the above-described prior art, a portion where the rotation preventing portion is provided is a portion where the casings are interlaced with each other. As a result, unless the two casings are molded so accurately, it is impossible to prevent the staying part of the fouling from occurring. And if such a stagnant part has occurred, even if it is extremely small, it must be cleaned and disinfected more carefully to completely remove the contaminants.・ Problems such as troublesome disinfection work occur.
[0010]
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and the object of the present invention is not to impair the rotation prevention function of the fitting portion between the main body casing and the gripping portion casing, and the fitting between them. It is to be able to make the shape of the joint surface by the very simple one.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention includes a grip portion casing and a main body casing provided with at least an angle operation mechanism, the base end portion of the insertion portion being coupled, and the grip portion casing is attached to the main body casing. An endoscope main body operation unit connected so as to be fitted over a predetermined length, one of which is a protrusion on the overlapping surface portion formed by the fitting of the gripper casing and the main body casing, and the other is a recess. The rotation preventing portion is formed of a rising wall and an upper surface wall, and the rising wall and the upper surface wall are inclined surfaces whose area continuously decreases toward the tip side. No, also the recess is composed of those with a shape corresponding to the projecting shapes, and the mating end face of the body casing of the grip portion casing has a configuration in which a non-uneven It is an its features and.
[0012]
In the main body operation part, the gripping part casing is provided at a position on the connection side from the main body casing to the insertion part, and the main body casing constitutes a part on the base end side of the main body operation part. A structure in which the gripping part casing is directly connected to the insertion part and a branching part casing may be further connected to the gripping part casing, and the base end part of the insertion part may be connected to the branching part casing. Here, the branch portion casing forms a treatment instrument introduction section for introducing forceps and other treatment instruments, and the passage from the treatment instrument introduction section communicates with the treatment instrument insertion channel. In some cases, the treatment instrument insertion channel is also connected to the suction passage. Therefore, although the branch part of the passage is formed, the branch part of this passage may be provided in the gripping part casing together with the treatment instrument introduction part, but this part can be further configured as a separate member.
[0013]
Whether the casing of the main body operation unit is divided into two or three in the length direction, the entire casing is made of plastic for weight reduction. Various external forces act on the casing during operation of the endoscope and the like. Accordingly, the casing is required to have a predetermined strength. However, in order to increase the strength, the thickness of the casing must be increased, and the weight increases by the increase in the thickness.
[0014]
Therefore, the wall thicknesses are set so as to give the necessary strength with reference to the external force acting on the gripping part casing and the main body casing constituting the casing of the main body operation unit. The gripper casing is gripped by the operator by hand, but has a strength sufficient to withstand this gripping force and does not receive any further force. That is, various operation means including an angle operation means provided in the main body operation unit are attached to the main body casing, and the universal cord is also drawn out from the main body casing side.
[0015]
Thereby, the gripping part casing can be thinned. Therefore, it is desirable to fit the gripping portion casing on the thin wall side to the main casing having a large thickness because high strength is required, that is, to fit the gripping portion casing to the outside. In this case, in the overlapping surface portion of the main body casing and the gripping portion casing by fitting, the concave portion constituting the rotation preventing portion is formed on the inner surface of the gripping portion casing, and the protrusion is formed on the outer surface of the main body casing. However, the protrusion is held in a state covered with the grip casing without being exposed to the outside. In other words, the concave portion has a height equal to or lower than the thickness of the grip portion casing. Therefore, the joint part between the gripping part casing and the main body casing has a uniform shape over the entire circumference, and the joint part is not uneven.
[0016]
The main body operation unit generally has a shape that fits well with the hand when held by an operator or the like, that is, a vertically long shape with rounded corners. In this case, a rotation preventing part is provided on the upper and lower short sides. Also, the projections of the rotation prevention portion are those composed of a rising wall and the upper wall, these rising wall and a top wall inclined surface without decreasing continuously area toward the distal end side, which also recess A shape corresponding to . By configuring the rotation preventing portion in this way, the shape of the rotation preventing portion by the forming means can be stabilized.
[0017]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration of an endoscope. In FIG. 1, 1 is a main body operation unit, 2 is an insertion unit, 3 is a universal cord, and the endoscope is roughly configured by these. The The main body operation unit 1 is for an operator or the like to hold and operate it, and the insertion unit 2 is inserted into a body cavity or the like. The insertion portion 2 is a flexible portion 2a that is bent in an arbitrary direction along the insertion path from the side connected to the main body operation portion 1, and an angle portion 2b is provided at the tip of the flexible portion 2a. A distal end hard portion 2c is connected to the end of the angle portion 2b. An endoscope observation mechanism including an illumination part and an observation part is provided in the distal end hard part 2c, and the angle part 2b can be bent in four directions, up and down and left and right, so that the distal end hard part 2c is directed in a desired direction. It is like that. The operation of bending the angle portion 2b is performed by operating the angle operation means 4 provided in the main body operation portion 1 with fingers.
[0018]
Next, FIG. 2 shows a cross section of the main body operation unit 1. In FIG. 2, a light guide (and image guide), cables, tubes, and other various members mounted inside the main body operation unit 1 are arranged. Omitted.
[0019]
The casing of the main body operation unit 1 is made of plastic by molding means from the viewpoint of weight reduction and the like, but this casing is divided into two parts in the front and rear. In the figure, 10 is a gripping part casing, and 11 is a main body casing. Of the casings 10 and 11 divided into two, the gripping part casing 10 is located on the connection side to the insertion part 2 and the main body casing 11 is located on the base end side thereof. A treatment instrument introduction part 12 for introducing a treatment instrument such as forceps is formed in the gripping part casing 10. On the other hand, the body casing 11 is provided with air / water feeding buttons 13 and 14, and switches 15 to 17 for performing various electrical controls and an auxiliary water injection unit 18. Here, in the main body operation unit 1, when the treatment instrument introduction unit 12 is protruded and the surface on which the air / water supply buttons 13 and 14 are provided is the upper surface, that is, when the operator holds the grasping unit casing 10, The upper surface is the surface on which the other four fingers can be contacted. Therefore, in the grasping part casing 10, the operator's hand brings the palm into contact with one side surface.
[0020]
Further, the main body casing 11 is provided with an angle operating means 4 on a side surface with which the palm abuts, and a rotation shaft 19 of the angle operating means 4 is mounted so as to extend into the main body casing 11. As a result, the angle operating means 4 can be operated with the thumb. Further, the universal cord 3 is pulled out from the side surface or the lower surface of the main body casing 11 opposite to the mounting portion of the angle operation means 4. As shown in FIG. 3, the cross-sectional shape of the gripping part casing 10 is such that the length of the side surface is longer than the length of the upper surface part and the lower surface part, so that almost the entire gripping part casing 10 is It becomes a shape close to a vertically long rectangular shape.
[0021]
From the above, the operator's gripping force is applied to the gripping part casing 10, but no other force is applied, and even if the operator's gripping force is applied, a large gripping force that can be crushed is obtained. It doesn't work. That is, since a very large external force does not act on the grip portion casing 10, the weight can be reduced from the viewpoint of weight reduction. On the other hand, the main body casing 11 is provided with the above-described various members, and a considerably large force may be applied. Therefore, in order to prevent the occurrence of breakage or damage, the body casing 11 is made thicker than the grip portion casing 10. Therefore, the strength is maintained.
[0022]
A support plate 20 made of, for example, a metal thin plate is disposed in the vertical direction in the internal space of the main body operation unit 1 including the gripping part casing 10 and the main body casing 11. The support plate 20 is fixed to a plurality of support columns 21 provided in the main body casing 11, and extends from the main body casing 11 to the vicinity of an intermediate position in the gripper casing 10. And in order to hold | maintain the support plate 20 stably, the slit groove | channel by which the support plate 20 is penetrated by the connection part vicinity to the holding part casing 10 of the main body casing 11 and the upper and lower inner surfaces of the holding part casing 10 is provided. 11a and 10a are formed. A second support plate 22 is connected to the support plate 20, and although not shown, the second support plate 22 is fixedly held in the vicinity of the treatment instrument introducing portion 12. The support plate 20 is provided for fixing the rotation shaft and the pulley housing constituting the angle operation means 4 and supporting the rotation shaft 19 so as to be rotatable, and for tubes used for air supply and water supply. It is for functioning as a positioning part.
[0023]
Next, a connection structure between the gripper casing 10 and the main body casing 11 constituting the main body operation unit 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. The gripping part casing 10 and the main body casing 11 are coupled so as to be fitted with a predetermined fitting margin. Therefore, the portion of the fitting allowance is a surface on which the grip portion casing 10 and the main body casing 11 are overlapped. As already described, since the gripping part casing 10 is thin and the main body casing 11 is thick, it is not indispensable, but the gripping part casing 10 faces outside and the main body casing 11 is covered. It is reasonable to make it fit. An annular concave groove 23 is formed in the fitting portion of the main body casing 11 located on the inner side by the gripping portion casing 10, and a seal ring 24 is mounted in the concave groove 23, so that the main body operation unit The interior of 1 has an airtight structure. In order to fix the gripping part casing 10 and the main body casing 11 in the fitted state, a biasing force acts in a direction in which the gripping part casing 10 is pressed against the main body casing 11 by the support plate 20 and the second support plate 22. It has become.
[0024]
Thus, it is necessary to prevent the gripping portion casing 10 and the main body casing 11 from being bent around the fitting portion and to improve the sealing performance inside the main body operation portion 1. The end face of the gripping part casing 10 is joined to the step part 11 b of the main body casing 11. And between the short side part and the recessed groove 23 which are located up and down in the level | step-difference part 11b of the main body casing 11, and the corresponding position in the holding part casing 10, between the holding | grip part casing 10 and the main body casing 11 is relative. A rotation prevention unit is provided for holding the lens so as not to rotate.
[0025]
Here, since the fitting part between the gripping part casing 10 and the main body casing 11 is non-circular, the grip part casing 10 does not relatively rotate, but the gripping part casing 10 has a small thickness. When a torsional force or the like acts between the casing 11 and the casing 11, there is a possibility that a slight shift occurs in the rotation direction. The rotation prevention unit is provided to prevent such a situation from occurring.
[0026]
As is clear from FIGS. 3 to 5, the rotation preventing portion includes protrusions 25 provided at two locations on the upper surface portion and the lower surface portion of the fitting portion of the grip portion casing 10 in the main body casing 11, and the grip portion casing. 11 and a recess 26 provided at a position corresponding to the protrusion 25. Here, the protrusion 25 provided on the main body casing 11 side extends from the step portion 11b to a position in front of the concave groove 23, and is composed of left and right rising walls 25a and 25b and an upper surface wall 25c. The rising walls 25a and 25b have a tapered shape continuously narrowing from the step portion 11b side toward the groove 23, and the upper surface portion 25c is continuous in the direction from the step portion 11b toward the groove 23. It is an inclined surface inclined in the direction inclined to the side.
[0027]
On the other hand, the recess 26 formed in the gripping part casing 10 is composed of left and right side walls 26 a and 26 b and a cover wall 26 c, and fits into the female member, that is, the protrusion 25, in close contact with the protrusion 25. It has a shape. However, as is apparent from FIG. 4, the depth dimensions of the left and right side walls 26 a and 26 b are slightly longer than the depth dimensions of the rising walls 25 a and 25 b of the protrusion 25. Accordingly, even when the end face of the gripping part casing 10 is assembled in a state where it is joined to the stepped part 11 a of the main body casing 11, a gap S is formed on the end face of the protrusion 25 with respect to the end on the back side of the recess 26. Further, the rising walls 25a and 25b and the side walls 26a and 26b do not necessarily have to be in close contact with each other, and even if a slight gap is generated that does not interfere with the function as the rotation preventing unit. This is not a special issue.
[0028]
By configuring as described above, when the gripping part casing 10 is connected to the main body casing 11, the protrusion 25 on the main body casing 11 side constituting the rotation preventing part is completely covered by the gripping part casing 10, and the gripping part The front end surface of the casing 10 is in contact with the step portion 11b of the main body casing 11 along the entire circumference, and this abutting portion is linear and does not have a complicated structure such as an uneven portion. Therefore, in the case where the gripping part casing 10 and the main body casing 11 are formed by molding means, if the entire circumference of the end surfaces is flat, it is not so difficult to obtain a very accurate shape by molding. Therefore, there are no corners or the like where dirt or the like may stay in the connecting part between the gripping part casing 10 and the main body casing 11, so that cleaning and disinfection after use of the endoscope can be easily performed. Can be done with precision.
[0029]
When the gripping part casing 10 is fitted to the main body casing 11, the protrusion 25 must be inserted into the recess 26. For this purpose, the concave portion 26 and the protrusion 25 must be formed to have accurate dimensions. In forming the recesses 26 and the protrusions 25 by the forming means, it is possible to increase the forming accuracy by forming the inclined wall rather than the straight wall. Moreover, even if there is some dimensional error if the distance between the side walls 26a and 26b is not narrower than the distance between the rising walls 25a and 25b between the rising walls 25a and 25b of the protrusion 25 and the side walls 26a and 26b of the recess 26, Since it does not become a special problem, since the side walls 26a and 26b are longer than the rising walls 25a and 25b, it becomes easier to form them.
[0030]
Since the gripper casing 10 is considerably thin in order to reduce the weight, the joint area between the rising walls 25a and 25b of the protrusion 25 and the side walls 26a and 26b of the recess 26 is relatively small. However, the anti-rotation part is formed in two places, upper and lower, and in the gripping part casing 10, it is formed on the short side part with a short length. The possibility that the short side portion is deformed is small, and the side walls 26 a and 26 b do not run on the protrusion 25. Accordingly, the function of preventing relative rotation between the gripping part casing 10 and the main body casing 11 is sufficiently exhibited. Further, by providing the recess 26, the covering wall 26c becomes extremely thin. However, since the covering wall 26c is almost in close contact with the upper surface wall 25c of the protrusion 25, there is no possibility of damage due to an external force.
[0031]
【The invention's effect】
There is an effect that the function of preventing the rotation of the fitting portion between the main body casing and the gripping portion casing is not impaired, and the shape of the joint surface by fitting between them can be made extremely simple.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an endoscope showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main body operation unit with an internal structure omitted.
3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG.
4 is a YY sectional view of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is an external view of a connecting portion side of a main body casing to a gripping casing.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body operation part 2 Insertion part 3 Universal cord 4 Angle operation means 10 Grip part casing 11 Main body casing 11b Step part 20 Support plate 25 Protrusion 26 Recessed part 25a, 25b Standing wall 25c Upper surface wall 26a, 26b Side wall 26c Covering wall

Claims (2)

The proximal end portion of the insertion portion is connected, and includes a gripping portion casing and a main body casing provided with at least an angle operation mechanism, and the gripping portion casing is connected to the main body casing so as to be fitted over a predetermined length. In the main body operation part of the endoscope,
On the overlapping surface part by fitting the grip part casing and the main body casing, one of the protrusions is a protrusion and the other is a concave part to form a rotation preventing part,
The protrusion of the rotation preventing portion is composed of a rising wall and an upper surface wall. The rising wall and the upper surface wall are inclined surfaces whose area continuously decreases toward the distal end side, and the concave portion has this protrusion shape. Consists of the corresponding shape,
And the main body operation part of the endoscope characterized in that the fitting side end face of the grip part casing to the main body casing has a non-recessed shape.   The cross section of the fitting part between the gripping part casing and the main body casing is vertically long, and the rotation prevention part is provided on the upper and lower short sides thereof, and the protrusions constituting the rotation prevention part are formed on the main body casing. The endoscope main body operation unit according to claim 1, wherein the endoscope is formed on an outer surface, and the recess is formed on an inner surface of the grip portion casing.

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