JP4457424B2 - Endoscopic soft part structure - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a flexible part structure of an endoscope, and more particularly, to a flexible part structure of an endoscope in which a light guide and an air / water supply pipe are inserted and arranged.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Endoscopes used for medical treatment mainly consist of a distal hard part, a bending part, an insertion part side soft part, a hand operation part, an LG (light guide) soft part, and a connector. By doing so, the distal end hard portion is configured to bend vertically and horizontally. The hand operation unit is connected to a connector via an LG soft part, and this connector is connected to the light source device. Thereby, the irradiation light from the light source device is transmitted to the distal end hard portion via the light guide built in the soft portion or the like.
[0003]
When inserting such an endoscope into the body cavity of a patient, the surgeon operates the hand operation part to bend the angle and rotates the insertion part by twisting the wrist holding the hand operation part. Insert the insertion part. At this time, since the end part of the LG soft part is connected to the light source device, the LG soft part is twisted by rotating the hand operating part. The LG soft part is formed by covering a screw-type flexible tube with urethane or the like, and has flexibility (flexibility) but almost no twistability (twisting property). Therefore, when the hand operation unit is rotated, a reaction force is immediately generated due to the twisting of the LG soft part, which places a heavy burden on the operator.
[0004]
Therefore, in the conventional endoscope, a rotation mechanism is provided on the connector side of the LG soft portion, and the twist of the LG soft portion is absorbed by this rotation mechanism.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, since the twist generated on the hand operating part side is not completely transmitted to the connector side, in the conventional endoscope, the twist becomes larger toward the hand operating part side, which places a burden on the operator.
Such inconvenience can be solved by providing a rotation mechanism on the hand operating part side of the LG soft part. In this case, however, the provision of the rotating mechanism increases the size of the hand operating section or increases the weight of the hand operating section, which deteriorates the operability.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a flexible part structure of an endoscope that can absorb the twist generated in the LG soft part.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an endoscope soft part structure that protects a tubular soft part that connects an endoscope hand operating part and an endoscope connector. The connecting portion on the endoscope hand operating portion side and the vicinity thereof are constituted by a tube, and the tube is covered with a bending prevention cover member for preventing the flexible portion from being bent, and is an elongated plate-like member. the have a internal at twisting allowed by forming the spiral of the folding preventive cover member, the plate-like member is formed cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the plate-like member is substantially S-shaped In addition, a substantially U-shaped engaging portion is formed at both ends of the substantially S-shaped cross section, and the one engaging portion and the other engaging portion are engaged, the plate-shaped member holding a predetermined helical intervals in the interior of the folding preventive cover member so as to form the spirally Since form was, the twisted generated in the operation portion side of the flexible portion, can be absorbed smoothly by the tube.
[0008]
The invention according to claim 2 is the flexible part structure of the endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the tube has a flexible flexible tube to which the endoscope connector is connected and the bending prevention. It was set as the structure couple | bonded in the cover member .
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the flexible part structure of an endoscope according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an electronic endoscope 10 to which the endoscope flexible portion structure of the present invention is applied.
[0010]
The electronic endoscope 10 shown in FIG. 1 mainly includes a hand operating unit 12, an insertion unit 14, an LG soft part (corresponding to a soft part) 16, and an LG connector (corresponding to a connector) 18.
The insertion portion 14 is a portion that is inserted into the body cavity of the patient, and includes an insertion portion side flexible portion 20, a bending portion 22, and a distal end hard portion 24. The insertion portion side flexible portion 20 has one end connected to the hand operation portion 12 and the other end connected to the bending portion 22. The bending portion 22 is remotely bent by turning a pair of knobs 26, 26 provided in the hand operation portion 12. Thereby, the distal end hard portion 24 can be directed in a predetermined direction.
[0011]
An objective lens, an irradiation hole, an air / water supply hole, and a forceps channel (not shown) are formed on the end surface of the distal end hard portion 24, and a solid-state image sensor (CCD) is provided inside the objective lens.
The hand operating unit 12 is provided with a suction button 30 and an air / water supply button 32 in parallel. When the suction button 30 is pressed, liquid (cleaning liquid, chemical liquid, blood or other liquid) is sucked from the forceps channel, and when the air / water supply button 32 is pressed, compressed air or cleaning liquid is discharged from the air / water supply hole. Supplied. Further, the hand operating unit 12 is provided with a shutter button 28, and an observation image is taken by pressing the shutter button 28. Reference numeral 34 denotes a forceps hole communicated with the forceps channel of the distal rigid portion 24, and a treatment tool such as forceps is inserted from the forceps hole 34 as necessary.
[0012]
The LG (light guide) flexible portion 16 includes a light guide, a signal cable, an air / water supply tube, a suction tube, and the like, and the light guide is connected via a light guide rod 19 of an LG (light guide) connector 18. 4 are connected to contacts on the light source device side built in the processor 50 shown in FIG. Thereby, the irradiation light from the light source device is transmitted through the light guide, and the subject is irradiated from the irradiation light of the distal end hard portion 24.
[0013]
The signal cable is connected to the electrical connector 38 via the LG connector 18 and the flexible tube 36, and the electrical connector 38 is connected to the processor 50. As a result, an electrical signal indicating an observation image from the CCD is output to the processor 50. The electrical signal is processed by the processor 50 to generate a video signal, and the video signal is output to the monitor TV 54 via the connection cable 52. As a result, an observation image is displayed on the monitor TV 54. In addition, the code | symbol 56 of FIG. 1 is a waterproof cap, and is attached to the electrical connector 38 so that a washing | cleaning liquid may not be applied in the case of washing | cleaning.
[0014]
FIG. 2 is a half sectional view of the main part of the present invention.
As shown in the figure, a cover member 40 (corresponding to a bending prevention cover) is externally fitted to the LG soft part 16 on the hand operating part 12 side. The cover member 40 is made of a rubber material having an appropriate mechanical strength, and prevents the LG soft portion 16 from being bent.
[0015]
Further, the LG flexible portion 16 is configured by connecting a protect tube 44 on the hand operating portion 12 side and a flexible tube 42 on the LG connector 18 side, and the connecting portion is disposed inside the cover member 40. Is done. That is, the protect tube 44 is disposed inside the cover member 40, and the base end thereof is connected to the connecting pipe 58. The connecting pipe 58 is connected to the hand operating unit 12 via the O-ring 60.
[0016]
3 is a cross-sectional view of the protect tube shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the protect tube 44 is formed such that the spiral members overlap at the end. That is, the protect tube 44 is configured by engaging an engagement protrusion 44A formed at one end and projecting to the outer periphery with a projection 44B formed at the other end. The protect tube 44 configured as described above has flexibility and twistability because the engagement protrusion 44A can freely move in the gap 44C formed by the spiral interval t. Therefore, when the LG soft part 16 is twisted, the twistable protect tube 44 is twisted to absorb the twist of the LG soft part 16. Further, since the protect tube 44 has a characteristic of holding its shape in a twisted state and a bent state, the protect tube 44 is held in its shape when absorbing the twist of the LG flexible portion 16. Therefore, reaction force due to absorption of the twist of the LG soft portion 16 is not generated.
[0017]
On the other hand, the flexible tube 42 shown in FIG. 2 is the same as the conventional endoscope, and is formed by covering a screw-type flexible tube 46 with urethane 48 or the like. The flexible tube 42 has the characteristics that the radius of curvature is small and the flexibility is excellent. Therefore, the LG flexible portion 16 can smoothly follow the movement of the hand operating portion 12 as the flexible tube 42 bends.
[0018]
The soft tube 42 and the protect tube 44 are coupled by laser welding or brazing via a ring. In this case, although the coupling portion loses flexibility, the operability of the endoscope is not deteriorated because it is inside the cover member 40 that prevents bending.
Next, the operation of the electronic endoscope 10 configured as described above will be described.
[0019]
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a usage method when the electronic endoscope 10 is used as a large intestine endoscope.
As shown in the figure, the surgeon grasps the hand operation section 12 and inserts the insertion section 14 into the body cavity of the patient, and guides the distal hard portion 24 to the lesion while observing the image displayed on the monitor. . At this time, since the inside of the patient's body cavity is complicated, the surgeon operates the hand operation section 12 to bend the bending section 22 or change the posture of the hand operation section 12 to change the distal end hard part. 24 subtle position adjustments are made.
[0020]
When the posture of the hand operation unit 12 is changed, the LG soft part 16 having one end connected to the hand operation unit 12 is twisted or bent because the other end is connected to the processor 50. As described above, the twist generated in the LG soft part 16 on the hand operation part 12 side is smoothly absorbed by the protect tube 44 provided at the end part on the hand operation part 12 side. At this time, since the cover member 40 is made of a rubber material, it can be smoothly twisted together with the protect tube 44. Further, since the protect tube 44 is held in a twisted state, a reaction force due to the twist is not generated.
[0021]
On the other hand, the bending which generate | occur | produced in LG soft part 16 is absorbed when the flexible tube 42 with a small curvature radius bends flexibly. At this time, the protect tube 44 is difficult to bend due to the characteristic that the curvature radius is large. can do.
[0022]
As described above, the electronic endoscope 10 according to the present embodiment is configured such that the LG flexible portion 16 is configured by connecting the flexible tube 42 on the LG connector 18 side and the protect tube 44 on the hand operating portion 12 side. The twist of the LG soft part 16 generated on the operation unit 12 side can be smoothly absorbed without generating a reaction force. Further, in this embodiment, since the protect tube 44 having the characteristic that the radius of curvature is large is disposed inside the cover member 40 for preventing bending, the same flexibility as that of the conventional device can be maintained. it can. Further, in the present embodiment, since the inside of the cover member 40 is merely the protection tube 44, the hand operation unit 12 is not increased in size and the weight of the hand operation unit 12 is not greatly increased. Therefore, the electronic endoscope 10 according to the present embodiment can surely reduce the burden on the operator.
[0023]
Further, the LG soft part of the present embodiment is low in cost because the mechanism itself is simple.
Further, in the present embodiment, since the connecting portion between the flexible tube 42 and the protect tube 44 is provided inside the cover member 40, the unevenness of the connecting portion cannot be seen from the outside, and the appearance of the endoscope may be impaired. Absent.
[0024]
The shape of the protect tube 44 is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and for example, the engaging portion 44A is formed to be curved from the inside like the protect tube 44 whose sectional shape is shown in FIG. The engaging portion 44B may be formed to be curved from the outside, and the curved engaging portions 44A and 44B may be firmly engaged with each other.
[0025]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the flexible part structure of the endoscope according to the present invention comprises the connecting part on the hand operating part side and the vicinity thereof as a twistable tube, so that the twist of the soft part can be smoothly absorbed. be able to. Further, according to the present invention, since the tube is formed of a protect tube, it is possible to prevent generation of reaction force when the twist of the soft part is absorbed. Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the protect tube is provided inside the cover for preventing bending, the flexibility of the conventional device can be maintained. Therefore, the present invention can improve the followability of the soft part with respect to the hand operation part, and can greatly reduce the burden on the operator.
[Brief description of the drawings]
1 is an overall configuration diagram of an electronic endoscope to which a flexible structure of an endoscope according to the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a half sectional view of a main part of the electronic endoscope shown in FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the protect tube shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view for explaining how to use the electronic endoscope shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a protect tube having a different shape from FIG. ]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Electronic endoscope, 12 ... Hand operation part, 14 ... Insertion part, 16 ... LG soft part, 18 ... LG connector, 38 ... Electrical connector, 40 ... Cover member, 42 ... Soft tube, 44 ... Protection tube, 46 ... Flexible tube

Claims (2)

In the endoscope soft part structure that protects the tubular soft part that connects the endoscope hand control part and the endoscope connector,
Of the soft part, the connecting part on the side of the endoscope hand operating part and the vicinity thereof are configured with a tube,
The tube is covered with a cover member for preventing bending of the soft part, and an elongated plate-like member is formed in a spiral shape inside the cover member for preventing bending so as to be twistable. have a gender,
The plate-like member has a shape in which a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the plate-like member is formed in a substantially S shape, and a substantially U-shaped engagement portion is formed at both ends of the substantially S-shaped cross section. The one engagement portion and the other engagement portion are engaged, and the plate-like member is held in the spiral shape while maintaining a predetermined helical interval inside the bending-preventing cover member. The flexible part structure of an endoscope characterized by being formed in the above. The softness of the endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the tube is coupled in a flexible tube having flexibility to which the endoscope connector is connected and in the cover member for preventing bending. Part structure.

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