JP4438938B2 - Endoscope with angle mechanism - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is an endoscope used for medical purposes and the like, and includes an angle portion for directing a distal end hard portion of the insertion portion in a desired direction, and the angle portion is bent by remote operation. The present invention relates to an endoscope with a mechanism.

  Endoscopes that are widely used for medical purposes, etc., have an insertion part that is inserted into the body cavity etc. connected to the main body operation part that can be operated by an operator such as an operator with one hand. In addition, the main body operation unit is generally configured by extending a universal cord that is detachably connected to the light source device and the video signal processing device. Here, the insertion part is formed of a rigid pipe over its entire length, or forms an angle part for directing a tip component part incorporating an endoscope observation mechanism consisting of at least an illumination window and an observation window in a desired direction. The part from the angle part to the connection part to the main body operation part has a soft structure that bends freely along the insertion path, and is constituted by a hard pipe.

  Regardless of which configuration is adopted, when an angle portion is provided in the insertion portion, the bending operation of the angle portion is performed by remote operation from the main body operation portion. For this purpose, the main body operation unit is provided with an angle operation means. The angle operation means includes a configuration in which the angle portion can be bent in two directions, usually in the vertical direction, and a configuration in which the angle portion can be bent in four directions, up and down and left and right. Here, an endoscope having an angle portion that can be bent only in two directions is usually of a small diameter, and a general endoscope has four directions in view of its operability. What can be bent is used. As an endoscope provided with an angle mechanism capable of performing a bending operation in four directions as described above, for example, an endoscope described in Patent Document 1 has been conventionally used.

  The angle operating means according to the prior art is provided by extending an operation wire connected to the distal end of the angle portion or the hard end portion of the angle portion to the main body operation portion, and winding the proximal end portion of the operation wire around the winding wheel. For this purpose, a groove for accommodating the operation wire is formed in the outer peripheral portion of the winding wheel. In an endoscope having an angle portion that can be bent in four directions, the winding wheel is provided in two stages in the vertical direction, and one of the two winding wheels is provided on one winding wheel. Is a pair of operations for winding the base end of a pair of operation wires provided to bend the angle part up and down, and the other winding wheel to bend the angle part left and right The base end portion of the wire is wound and provided. When the winding wheel is rotated in one direction, one of the operation wires wound around the winding wheel is pulled and the other operation wire is fed out, so that the angle portion is bent in one direction. Further, when the winding wheel is rotated in the other direction, the angle portion is bent in the opposite direction.

Therefore, as the angle operation means for rotating the two winding wheels described above, the two winding wheels are provided with the rotation shafts connected, and these rotation shafts are connected to the main body operation unit. A knob for manual operation is attached to the tip of the casing. In addition, the two rotation shafts are provided coaxially so that the two winding wheels can be rotated at a single location. A support plate is mounted inside the main body operation unit, and the two winding wheels are rotatably supported on the support plate. Of the two rotation shafts, a rotation shaft located inside. The lower winding wheel connected to is provided directly on the support plate or on a sliding plate mounted on the support plate. On the other hand, the winding wheel connected to the rotating shaft located outside is disposed at the upper position of the winding wheel located below. And by interposing a spacer between the lower side winding wheel and the upper side winding wheel, the other winding wheel is prevented from rotating together when one winding wheel rotates.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-237055

  The operation wires wound around the winding wheel disposed above and below are extended toward the insertion portion, but in order to prevent these operation wires from deviating from the groove of the winding wheel, A housing side wall formed in an arc shape is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the winding wheel. The housing wall located on the lower side, that is, the first housing wall with respect to the lower winding wheel is opened for a predetermined width from which the operation wire is led out, and the portion where the operation wire is wound around the winding wheel Configured to go. The first housing wall is fixed to the support plate. A second housing wall is also provided on the upper side winding wheel. In addition, the second housing wall is also fixed to the support plate. Further, a spacer is interposed between the first housing wall and the second housing wall.

  In assembling the two housing walls, first, the base of the first housing wall is fixed to the support plate, and then the spacer is disposed on the first housing wall, and then the second housing wall is attached to the support plate or the second plate. 1 is fixed to the housing wall. Therefore, the second housing wall functions as an outer wall with respect to the first housing wall, and the first housing wall is assembled so as to be fitted into the outer wall constituting the second housing wall. Of the winding wheels provided in two upper and lower stages, the upper winding wheel usually curves the angle portion in the vertical direction, and the lower winding wheel causes the angle portion to curve in the left and right direction. Configured as a thing.

  Here, the operation wire is usually formed to have a circular cross section by relying on a large number of strands made of metal, and the strands are not fixed to each other. The groove of the winding wheel that accommodates the operation wire has an arc shape in cross section. Therefore, when a pulling force is applied to the operation wire, if the operation wire is pressed against the groove of the winding wheel, there is a special problem. However, when a force in a direction to be pressed against the housing wall acts, the flattening occurs, and a part of the wires may bite between the housing wall inner surface and the outer surface of the winding wheel. Thereby, the resistance to the movement of the operation wire is extremely increased. Nevertheless, if the angle knob is forcibly rotated, the degree of biting of the wire of the operation wire becomes greater and eventually becomes inoperable. In particular, if the angle operation becomes impossible when the angle portion is greatly curved, when the insertion portion is taken out from the body cavity, the tip of the insertion portion comes into sliding contact with the inner wall of the body cavity, so that the insertion portion is removed from the body. Not only will this cause problems, but the subject will be inconvenienced by a heavy burden or distress.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to improve the operability of an angle operation means constituted by a knob or the like during an angle operation.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention provides at least one winder wheel and an angle for rotating the winder wheel on a main body operation unit connected to a proximal end part of an insertion part of an endoscope. An operating wire extending from the winding wheel to bend the angle portion provided in the vicinity of the distal end of the insertion portion by remote operation, and the distal end of the angle portion of the insertion portion or the hard tip portion of the insertion portion The endoscope is equipped with an angle mechanism that operates the angle operation means and pushes and pulls the operation wire to bend the angle portion in a desired direction. The operation wire is made of a thin metal wire. It is composed of a ground wire composed of a large number of strands, and the outer periphery of the winding wheel is surrounded by a housing wall except for the drawer portion of the operation wire, and at least the operation is provided on the outer periphery of the housing wall. The outer wall is disposed at an interval corresponding to one strand constituting the ear, and the housing wall is configured to be elastically deformable at least by the interval. .

  An interval is provided between the housing wall and the outer wall, and this interval is at least an interval corresponding to the diameter of one strand or more. Further, the housing wall is made elastic so that it can be elastically deformed when the operation wire is strongly pressed. However, it is desirable to have a rigidity that does not substantially deform with the pressing force acting during normal operation. Here, it is not necessary to make the gap between the housing wall and the outer wall too large. Rather, if the space is made too wide, the angle operation mechanism is enlarged, and the housing wall may be damaged by the pressing force of the operation wire. There is no. Thereby, even if a part of the operation wire enters the gap between the housing wall and the outer peripheral surface of the winding wheel, the operation wire can be easily pulled out from the gap by pushing and pulling.

  Accordingly, the housing wall is formed of a thin metal or synthetic resin in consideration of the sliding property with the operation wire, etc., but from the viewpoint of reducing the weight of the main body operation unit, the housing wall is formed of a thin synthetic resin. Is desirable. In addition, as a specific configuration of the angle operation means, a knob that is manually operated is generally employed, but other than this, for example, a lever or a knob may be used.

  Here, if one winding wheel is provided, the angle portion is curved only in a specific direction, for example, in the up-down direction, and the angle portion is provided by providing two winding wheels up and down. Can be bent in four directions, up and down and left and right. When the winder is provided in two upper and lower stages, the upper winder is used for bending the angle part in the vertical direction, and the lower winder is used for bending the left and right. It is common to assume. In this case, of these two winding wheels, the housing wall of the lower winding wheel is used as the first housing wall, and the housing wall of the upper winding vehicle is used as the second housing wall. However, one or both of the first and second housing walls are made elastically deformable, and the above-described gap is provided between the first and second housing walls.

  Therefore, the present invention can easily operate an operation wire provided to bend the angle portion between the winding portion of the winding wheel and the housing wall located on the outer periphery thereof. It is possible to prevent the angle operation from becoming extremely difficult or locked.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of the endoscope, and FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional structure of a main part of the angle operation means. The endoscope has a structure in which an insertion portion 2 inserted into a body cavity or the like is connected to the main body operation portion 1, and the insertion portion 1 includes a flexible portion 2 a and an angle portion in order from the connection side to the main body operation portion 1. 2b and a hard tip 2c. The flexible portion 2a is arbitrarily bent along the insertion path, and the angle portion 2b is configured to be able to bend in a desired direction as indicated by a virtual line in FIG. 1 by remote control. . The reason why the angle portion 2b is curved is to direct the distal end hard portion 2c in a desired direction. Since the distal end hard part 2c is provided with an endoscope observation mechanism including an illumination part and an observation part, the observation visual field can be directed in a desired direction by operating the angle part 2b.

  The bending operation of the angle portion 2b is configured to be performed manually by the main body operation unit 1. For this purpose, the main body operation unit 1 is provided with an angle operation means 3. The angle operation means 3 has an angle knob 4 provided outside the casing 1a of the main body operation unit 1, and the angle knob 4 is provided in two stages, and the outer knob 4a moves the angle part 2b to the left and right. The inside knob 4b is for bending the angle portion 2b up and down. Therefore, when the knobs 4a and 4b constituting the angle knob 4 are turned, the pair of operation wires 10 connected and fixed to the tip of the angle portion 2b or the tip hard portion 2c are pushed and pulled, and the operation wires pulled. The angle portion 2b is curved so that the side connected to 10 is the inside. At this time, the other operation wire 10 is fed out.

  In FIG. 2, a support plate 11 having a high strength made of metal or the like is disposed inside the casing 1 a of the main body operation unit 1. The angle operation means 3 is mounted on the support plate 11 inside the main body operation unit 1, and a support shaft 12 is erected on the support plate 11. Then, the lower side winding wheel 13A wound with a pair of operation wires 10 and 10 for bending the angle portion 2b in the vertical direction and the pair of operation wires 10 and 10 for bending in the left-right direction are wound. The upper side take-up wheel 13 </ b> B is wound around each other. These two winding wheels 13A and 13B are provided so as to be connected to the rotating shafts 14A and 14B. These rotation shafts 14A and 14B are each formed of a hollow shaft, and are provided coaxially with the support shaft 12. The rotating shaft 14A connected to the lower-side winding wheel 13A is an inner rotating shaft fitted so as to be in sliding contact with the outer peripheral surface of the support shaft 12, and is also connected to the upper-side winding wheel 13B. The shaft 14B is fitted so as to be in sliding contact with the inner rotating shaft 14A.

  The knob 4a is connected to the outer rotating shaft 14A, and the knob 4b is connected to the inner rotating shaft 14B. Accordingly, when the knob 4a is turned, the lower winding wheel 13A connected to the outer turning shaft 14A is turned, and when the knob 4b is turned, the upper side via the inner turning shaft 14B is turned. Since the winding wheel 13B is rotated, the angle portion 2b is bent vertically or horizontally.

  As is apparent from FIG. 3, annular grooves 15a and 15b are formed at two locations on the outer periphery of the winding wheel 13A connected to the rotating shaft 14A, and a pair of operation wires 10 and 10 are formed. Are respectively wound around the grooves 15a and 15b, and the winding wheel 13b connected to the rotating shaft 14B is also formed with two annular grooves 16a and 16b on the upper and lower sides. , 16b is provided with a pair of operation wires 10, 10 wound around. These four operation wires 10 are wound around the winding wheels 13A and 13B by 180 ° or more and are extended in the direction of the insertion portion 2. The outer periphery of the lower side winding wheel 13A is surrounded by a first housing wall 17 formed in an arc shape so that the operation wires 10 and 10 do not deviate from the respective grooves 15a and 15b. Is retained. In particular, when one operation wire 10 is pulled, the other operation wire 10 is slackened, and thus is held by the first housing wall 17 in the groove 15a or 15b. The operation wires 10 and 10 wound around the upper winding wheel 13B are also wound by the second housing wall 18 formed in an arc shape in order to hold them in the grooves 16a and 16b. The outer periphery of the

  The first housing wall 17 has an arc tube portion 17a surrounding the winding wheel 13A, and a lower end portion thereof is a base portion 17b. Here, the base portion 17b is formed with a through hole 17c penetrating the support shaft 12 in the center thereof, and has a shape projecting toward the inside and the outside of the arc tube portion 17a. Accordingly, the winding wheel 13A slides and rotates on the base portion 17b, and the projecting portion of the base portion 17b to the outside of the circular tube portion 17a is fixed to the support plate 11 by the set screw 19. ing.

  On the other hand, the second housing wall 18 has an arc tube portion 18a surrounding the winding wheel 13B, and an outer wall portion 18b having an enlarged inner diameter is connected to the lower portion of the arc tube portion 18a. The outer wall portion 18b surrounds the first housing wall 17 disposed on the outer peripheral portion of the lower-side winding wheel 13A. Further, an outward flange portion 18 c is formed at a lower position of the second housing wall 18, and this flange portion 18 c is fixed to the base portion 17 b of the first housing wall 18 by a set screw 20. ing. Furthermore, an annular spacer 21 that separates the lower-side winding wheel 13A and the upper-side winding wheel 13B is mounted in the outer wall portion 18b. On the other hand, a cylindrical projecting portion 18d is connected to the upper end portion of the arc-shaped cylindrical portion 18a in the second housing wall 18, and a screw portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the projecting portion 18d. The through-hole 22 is provided in the part to allow the rotation shafts 14A and 14B formed in the casing 1a and connected to the knobs 4a and 4b constituting the angle operation means 3 to be led out from the inside of the main body operation unit 1 to the outside. The lid portion 23 is screwed into the airtight state.

  The endoscope configured as described above controls the direction of the distal end portion of the insertion portion 2 by appropriately operating the knobs 4a and 4b constituting the angle knob 4 with the insertion portion 2 inserted into the body cavity. In addition, the visual field of the endoscope observation means provided on the distal end hard portion 2c of the insertion portion 2 can be directed in an appropriate direction.

  Here, in the two winding wheels 13A and 13B provided coaxially, generally, the pair of operation wires 10 and 10 wound around the upper winding wheel 13A has the angle portion 2b in the vertical direction. A pair of operation wires 10 and 10 wound around the lower winding wheel 13B are for bending the angle portion 2b in the left-right direction. The angle knob 4 is provided on the side surface of the casing 1 a of the main body operation unit 1. And each pair of operation wire 10 pulled out from winding-wheel 13A, 13B is extended toward the insertion part 2. As shown in FIG. Although not shown, the distal end of the operation wire 10 is fixed to a distal end ring that forms the angle portion 2b.

  The operation wire 10 wound around the winding wheels 13A and 13B is pressed against the groove bottoms of the grooves 16a and 16b provided on the winding wheels 13A and 13B in a normal state. However, since the position of the operation wire 10 is not restricted in the grooves 16a and 16b, the operation wire 10 may be displaced in the direction of rising from the groove bottom of the groove 16a or 16b depending on the direction of the force acting on the operation wire 10. For example, the operation wire 10 guided in the grooves 16a and 16b of the winding wheel 13A is pressed by the first housing wall 17 surrounding the winding wheel 13A and can be biased in either the vertical direction. There is sex. Moreover, when the operation wire 10 is wound around the winding wheel 13A, a large tension acts on the operation wire 10. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the operation wire 10 composed of a large number of strands of wire has a flat cross-sectional shape. In this state, when the knob 4a is further rotated, the wire constituting the operation wire 10 (wire indicated by reference numeral 10a in FIG. 4) is joined to the winding wheel 13A and the first housing wall 17. There is a possibility that the winding wheel 13A cannot rotate and the knob 4a is locked.

  Thus, when the knob 4a is locked, the curved state of the angle portion 2b in the insertion portion 2 cannot be eliminated. Accordingly, when the insertion portion 2 is taken out of the body, the stenosis portion or the like in the insertion path is compressed, so that the subject is greatly distressed and the operation for taking out the insertion portion 2 from the body cavity becomes difficult. Such inconveniences occur.

  In the present invention, in order to eliminate the inconvenience described above, the first housing wall 17 is not deformed to the extent that a normal pressing force by the operation wire 10 is applied, but is outward when a strong pressing force is applied. It is set as the structure deform | transformed into. In order to reduce the weight, the first housing wall 17 is formed of a synthetic resin, but is configured to be elastically deformable by reducing the thickness of the arc tube portion 17a. As a result, the first housing wall 17 is caused to exhibit an overload detection function of the winding wheel 13A. The outer wall portion 18 b of the second housing wall 18 faces the outer peripheral portion of the first housing wall 17. Then, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a predetermined clearance C is formed between the arc tube portion 17 a of the first housing wall 17 and the outer wall portion 18 b of the second housing wall 18. As a result, the arc tube portion 17a in the first housing wall 17 is deformed outward when an external force is applied, but the amount of deformation is restricted by the clearance C, and the second housing wall 18 is configured. The position is limited to a position where the outer wall portion 18b contacts the outer wall portion 18b. The clearance C is approximately the same as the thickness of one strand of the operation wire 10 or slightly wider or narrower than that.

  As described above, by forming the limited clearance C as described above between the outer peripheral surface of the winding wheel 13A and the inner surface of the arc tube portion 17a in the first housing wall 17, the inner knob 4a is operated. Thus, when the angle portion 2b is operated to bend, the cross-sectional shape of the operation wire 10 is flattened, and one strand 10a is bitten in the gap between the joint between the winding wheel 13A and the first housing wall 17. If it tries to insert, the 1st housing wall 17 will deform | transform into the side contact | abutted to the 2nd housing wall 18, and as a result of permitting the approach of this strand, the situation where rotation of winding-wheel 13A locks is produced. It does not occur.

  Even if one element wire constituting the operation wire 10 is bitten, the element wire is held in a slidable state between the outer surface of the winding wheel 13A and the inner surface of the first housing wall 17. . And since the element wire is composed of a grounded material, it comes out of the gap as the operation wire 10 moves. Further, when the knob 4a is further rotated, even if the wire of the operation wire 10 does not come out of the gap, the operation torque of the knob 4a increases. Therefore, the knob 4a is moved in the reverse direction. When it is rotated, the tension of the operation wire 10 is released, and a force that presses the operation wire 10 by the rotation of the knob 4a in the reverse direction acts. Can be released. Then, the deformation of the first housing wall 17 is released, and the original vertical state is restored. Therefore, the angle portion 2b is not fixed in a curved state.

  Here, if there is a clearance that allows a plurality of strands to enter the gap between the joints of the winding wheel 13A and the first housing wall 17, complicated movement occurs between the strands that have entered the gap. there is a possibility. As a result, even if the knob 4a is rotated in the opposite direction, some of the strands may be pushed toward the back of the gap, which is not preferable.

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the function of preventing the lock by the biting of the operation wire 10 is provided on the winding wheel 13A side is shown. However, the operation wire 10 for bending the angle portion 2b in the vertical direction is provided. In order to provide the same anti-locking function on the wound winding wheel 13B side, for example, the configuration shown in FIG. That is, as shown in the figure, the peripheral cylindrical portion 30a of the first housing wall 30 is extended upward and is mounted so as to surround not only the winding wheel 13A but also the winding wheel 13B. Two housing walls 31 are provided so as to surround the first housing wall 30. A clearance C similar to that described in the first embodiment is formed between the arc tube portion 30a of the first housing wall 30 and the second housing wall 31. Since the first housing wall 30 surrounds the winding wheels 13A and 13B, the spacer 32 for separating the upper winding wheel 13 and the lower winding wheel 13B from It is made to engage with the shallow annular groove 30b formed in the inner surface of the circular arc cylinder part 30a.

  Also with this configuration, when the outer knob 4b is operated and the angle portion 2b is bent up and down, one element constituting the operation wire 10 wound around the winding wheel 13B is formed. Even if the wire 10a is about to be bitten in the gap between the winding wheel 13B and the arc tube portion 30a in the first housing wall 30, the upper end portion of the arc tube portion 30a in the first housing wall 30 is the second portion. Since it is deformed in the direction in which it abuts against the housing wall 31 and this wire is allowed to enter, it is not locked.

  Further, in the above-described embodiments, the knob lock prevention function is provided on the upper or lower side take-up wheel. For example, a configuration in which the knob is provided on the upper and lower two steps of the first housing wall is adopted. If it does so, the lock prevention function in a both-winding vehicle can be exhibited.

It is a schematic block diagram of an endoscope. It is principal part sectional drawing of an angle operation means. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. It is effect | action explanatory drawing which shows the state by which the operation wire was pressed by the housing wall. It is an enlarged view of the mounting part of the winding vehicle in FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion where an operation wire is pulled out from the winding wheel in FIG. 3. It is sectional drawing similar to FIG. 2 which shows the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body operation part 2 Insertion part 2b Angle part 3 Angle operation means 4 Angle knob
4a Inner knob 4b Outer knob 10 Operation wires 13A, 13B Winding wheels 14A, 14B Rotating shafts 15a, 15b, 16a, 16b Grooves 17, 30 First housing walls 17a, 30a Arc tube portions 18, 31 Second housing Wall 18a Arc tube 18b Outer wall

Claims (1)

At least one winding wheel and an angle operating means for rotating the winding wheel are provided in the main body operation unit connected to the proximal end portion of the insertion portion of the endoscope, near the distal end of the insertion portion. In order to bend the provided angle portion by remote control, an operation wire is extended from the winding wheel and fixed to the distal end of the angle portion or the hard end portion of the insertion portion, and the angle operation means is operated. In an endoscope with an angle mechanism that pushes and pulls the operation wire to bend the angle portion in a desired direction,
The operation wire is composed of a ground wire composed of a number of strands made of fine metal wires,
The outer periphery of the winding wheel is surrounded by a housing wall except for the drawer portion of the operation wire,
An outer wall is disposed on the outer peripheral portion of the housing wall at an interval of at least one strand constituting the operation wire,
An endoscope with an angle mechanism characterized in that the housing wall is elastically deformable and deformed at least by this distance.

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