JP4804093B2 - Body operation part of body cavity inspection device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a main body operation unit equipped with an angle operation device for remotely bending a distal end portion of an insertion unit in an in-vivo inspection device such as an endoscope.

  As an in-vivo inspection device, for example, an endoscope has a structure in which an insertion portion to be inserted into a body cavity is connected to a main body operation portion, and an endoscope observation means including an illumination portion and an observation portion is provided. In order to turn the distal end hard portion of the provided insertion portion in a desired direction, an angle portion is connected to the distal end hard portion. The angle portion can be operated to bend in at least one direction or two directions, more preferably in four directions, up and down and left and right, by remote operation from the main body operation unit. For this purpose, an angle operation device is provided in the main body operation unit. The angle operation device includes a pulley, and an operation wire is wound around the pulley, the operation wire is extended to the insertion portion, and the distal end thereof is fixed to the distal end of the angle portion or the distal end hard portion. When the pulley is rotated, the operation wire is pushed and pulled to bend in a direction in which tension is applied to the operation wire.

  In addition, the angle operation device includes at least a pulley drive shaft connected to the pulley and an angle operation member including an operation lever and an operation ring connected to the pulley drive shaft. Locking means for locking at the rotated position is provided.

  One or two operation wires are wound around the pulley, and in order to bend the angle portion up and down and left and right, two pulleys are mounted, and a pair of upper and lower operation wires and left and right pairs are attached to each pulley. The operation wire is wound and provided. Two sets of pulley drive shafts and angle operation members are also provided, but the two pulley drive shafts are provided coaxially or are extended independently from the casing of the main body operation unit as independent shafts.

The structure for mounting the angle operating device to the main body operation unit includes a structure in which an opening is formed in the side surface portion of the casing of the main body operation unit, and an operation means assembly having a pulley drive shaft or the like mounted in the opening is detachably mounted This is shown, for example, in Patent Document 1. In the configuration of Patent Document 1, the operating means assembly is configured to attach and fix a circular support member to the opening described above, and a pulley drive shaft that is detachably connected to the pulley is attached to the support member. In addition, locking means for locking the pulley drive shaft in a desired rotation angle state is also mounted. And these pulley drive shafts and locking means are operated by the fingers of the hand holding the main body operation unit.
Japanese Patent No. 3390973

  In Patent Document 1, the support plate constituting the operation means assembly is fixed to the casing of the main body operation unit by screws. If this screw is exposed on the outer surface of the main body operation unit, not only the appearance is impaired, but also dirt is attached and collected, so in Patent Document 1, a cap is mounted so as to cover the mounting portion of the screw. For this reason, the configuration of the main body operation unit becomes complicated. Further, the inside of the main body operation unit needs to have an airtight structure. However, since the structure is connected with screws, there is a problem that it is difficult to make the inside completely airtight. Therefore, the structure of Patent Document 1 still has room for improvement.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points. An object of the present invention is to provide a screw used for fixing the angle operating device when the angle operating device is mounted on the main body operating portion. The object is to ensure that the main body operation unit has an airtight structure without being exposed to the outside.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the first invention in the present application is provided inside a casing to which a base end portion of the insertion portion is coupled in order to perform a bending operation of the angle portion constituting the insertion portion, An angle operation device comprising a pulley wound with an operation wire extending from an angle portion, a pulley drive shaft detachably connected to the pulley, and an angle operation member for rotating the pulley drive shaft A body operation unit of the body cavity inspection device, wherein the casing is connected to the body casing having at least a side surface to which the angle operation device is mounted, and the body casing, and the insertion unit is pulled out. No configured to have a front-side connecting part casings, the apertures, the operation unit assembly provided with at least the pulley drive shaft to the support member A seal member interposed between the inner peripheral wall of the opening and the outer peripheral surface of the support member, and the main body casing and the support member at a position on the inner side of the main body casing from the mounting portion of the seal member. The front-side connecting portion casing is joined to the main body casing so as to cover the set screw.
Further, in the second invention of the present application, in order to perform a bending operation of the angle portion constituting the insertion portion, the proximal end portion of the insertion portion is provided inside the casing to which the insertion portion is connected, and extends from the angle portion. Body cavity inspection device equipped with an angle operation device comprising a pulley around which an operation wire is wound, a pulley drive shaft detachably connected to the pulley, and an angle operation member for rotating the pulley drive shaft The casing includes a main casing having at least an opening on which the angle operating device is mounted on a side surface, and a rear side connecting section casing connected to the main casing and from which a universal cord is drawn. The opening is provided with an operating means assembly provided with at least the pulley drive shaft on a support member, and the opening is provided with an inside of the opening. A seal member is interposed between the wall and the outer peripheral surface of the support member, and the main body casing and the support member are connected by a set screw at a position on the inner side of the main body casing from the mounting portion of the seal member. The rear side connecting portion casing is configured to be joined to the main body casing so as to cover the set screw.

In either the first invention or the second invention described above, the in- vivo inspection device to which the angle operating device of the present invention is applied has an insertion portion to be inserted into the body cavity. An angle portion that is bent by remote operation from the main body operation portion is provided. A typical example is an endoscope. However, in addition to an endoscope, an ultrasonic probe or the like can be applied to an inspection apparatus having an insertion portion having an angle portion.

  The pulley around which the operation wire is wound is provided in the casing of the main body operation unit. If one pulley is provided and one operation wire is wound around this pulley, the angle portion can be bent in one direction. . Further, if the two operation wires are wound, the angle portion can be bent in two directions, for example, the vertical direction. When two pulleys are arranged and two operation wires are wound around the pulleys, the angle portion can be bent in four directions, up and down and left and right. In this way, when two pulleys are provided, a partition plate is mounted in the casing, pulleys are mounted on both sides of the partition plate, and the pulley drive shafts are led out to the left and right sides of the casing, respectively. Can do. Therefore, an operating means assembly constituting an angle operating device is attached to the main casing on one side or both left and right sides. When the pulley drive shafts are rotatably supported by the casing and the pulleys are attached to the pulley drive shafts, it is not necessary to provide the partition plate described above.

  The casing constituting the main body operation unit is composed of a main body casing to which the operation means assembly of the angle operation device is mounted, and at least a front side connection unit casing to which the insertion unit is connected. A connecting portion casing can also be mounted on the rear side, and the universal cord can be drawn out from the connecting portion casing on the rear side. In this case, a set screw for fixing the support member is provided on both sides of the joint portion of the main body casing to the connection portion casing on the front side and the joint portion to the connection portion casing on the rear side. The set screw may be provided at one position on each of the front side and the rear side. However, in order to further improve the stability of the support member, it is desirable to provide a total of four set screws at two positions.

  Further, the head of the set screw for fixing the support member is projected toward the joint portion of the connecting portion casing, and the head portion of the screw is accommodated in the joint surface of the connecting portion casing to the main body casing. It can be set as the structure which forms a recessed part, and, as a result, the connection part casing is prevented from rotating with respect to the main body casing.

  When attaching the angle operating device to the main body operating part, the screws used to fix the angle operating device are covered with the connecting part casing and are not exposed to the outside. It can be a structure.

    Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 shows a configuration of an endoscope as an example of a body cavity inspection apparatus. In the figure, 1 is a main body operation part, 2 is an insertion part into a body cavity as an axial insertion part, and 3 is a universal cord.

  In the present embodiment, most of the length from the connecting portion of the insertion portion 2 to the main body operation portion 1 is constituted by the hard portion 2a. In addition, it can replace with the hard part 2a and can also be comprised as a soft part. An angle portion 2b is connected to the tip of the hard portion 2a, and a tip hard portion 2c is connected to the tip of the angle portion 2b. Although illustration is omitted, the distal end hard part 2c is provided with an illuminating part for irradiating illumination light and an observation part for taking an image of a body cavity under illumination from the illuminating part. In the present embodiment, the observation unit is configured to include solid-state imaging means. The universal cord 3 is detachably connected to a light source device for transmitting illumination light to the illuminating unit and a processor that drives a solid-state imaging unit constituting the observation unit and processes a video signal from the solid-state imaging unit. Connectors 4 and 5 are provided.

  The main body operation unit 1 is, for example, for an operator to operate the endoscope by grasping with a hand. And in order to curve the angle part 2b in the insertion part 2, the casing 10 of the main body operation part 1 is provided with the angle operation apparatus. The casing 10 is made of metal or synthetic resin. As shown in FIG. 2, in order to allow the casing 10 to be disassembled, the front side connecting portion casing 10b and the rear side connecting portion are provided at both ends of the main body casing 10a. A casing 10c is provided so as to be separable. The insertion part 2 is extended from the front side connection part casing 10b, and the universal cord 3 is pulled out from the rear side connection part casing 10c.

  The angle device shown in the figure is configured to bend the angle portion 2b vertically and horizontally. For this purpose, a partition plate 11 having high strength is provided in the casing 10 of the main body operation unit 1, and as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, pulleys 12, 12 is rotatably supported. Each of the pulleys 12 and 12 is provided with four operating wires 13 wound from the angle portion 2b. The two operation wires 13 and 13 wound around one pulley 12 are for bending the angle portion 2b in the vertical direction, and the two operation wires 13 wound around the other pulley 12 and 13 is for bending the angle portion 2b to the left and right. When the pulley 12 is rotated and a tensile force is applied to one of the pair of operation wires 13, the angle portion 2 b is bent. At this time, the other operation wire 13 is drawn out from the pulley 12.

  The pulley 12 is integrally provided with a hollow shaft portion 14, which is spaced from the partition plate 11 and extends toward the side surface portion of the main body casing 10 a. Openings 15 are formed in the left and right side portions of the main body casing 10 a, and the operating means assembly 16 is attached to both the openings 15. The operation means assembly 16 includes a support disk 17 as a circular support member. The support disk 17 is attached to the opening 15 via a seal ring 18 so that the inside of the casing 10 has an airtight structure.

  A first insertion hole 17a is formed in the support disc 17 so as to penetrate in the thickness direction, and a pulley drive shaft 19 is attached to the first insertion hole 17a. A tip end portion 19 a of the pulley drive shaft 19 is fitted to the support shaft portion 14 and fixed in a connected state by a set screw 20. A chamfered portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the tip end portion 19 a of the pulley drive shaft 19, and a flat surface is formed on the hollow portion of the support shaft portion 14. It will rotate integrally with the spindle 14. Accordingly, the support shaft portion 14 also constitutes a part of the pulley drive shaft 19.

  The pulley drive shaft 19 passes through the support disc 17 and is led out of the main body casing 10a. A seal member 21 is mounted near the base end of the pulley drive shaft 19, and the seal member 21 is a hole wall of the first insertion hole 17a. The first insertion hole 17a is held in an airtight state. An angle operation lever 22 as an angle operation means is connected to the shaft end of the pulley drive shaft 19 so as to rotate integrally. The angle operation lever 22 extends in a direction orthogonal to the pulley drive shaft 19, and a tip portion is bent in a direction parallel to the pulley drive shaft 19 to form an operation portion 22 a that is operated with fingers. By operating the angle operation lever 22, the pulley drive shaft 19 can be rotated, and the support shaft portion 14 and the pulley 12 connected to the pulley drive shaft 19 can be rotated. As a result, one of the pair of operation wires 13 wound around the pulley 12 is drawn into the pulley 12, and the other is drawn out, so that the angle portion 2b is bent in the operated direction.

  The angle operating device is provided with means for locking in a desired curved state. This locking means is composed of a lock operating shaft 23 inserted through a second insertion hole 17 b formed in the support disk 17. The lock operating shaft 23 is led out of the main body casing 10a, and a lock lever 24 is connected to an end portion thereof. Accordingly, when the lock lever 24 is turned, the lock operating shaft 23 is turned. In the figure, reference numeral 25 denotes a seal member provided in a lead-out portion from the second insertion hole 17b of the lock operating shaft 23.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the lock actuating shaft 23 has a lock plate 23a formed of a large-diameter disk integrally formed at a tip portion located in the main body casing 10a. 23 a is eccentric with respect to the axis of the lock operating shaft 23. Therefore, the lock plate 23 a protrudes in a direction orthogonal to the axis of the lock operation shaft 23. As a result, when the lock operating shaft 23 is rotated about the axis, the lock plate 23a is eccentrically rotated, so that the lock operating shaft 23 contacts and separates from the outer peripheral surface of the pulley drive shaft 19. An elastic ring 26 made of rubber or the like is fitted to a portion where the lock plate 23a of the pulley drive shaft 19 contacts and separates. A hard collar 27 made of synthetic resin or metal is fitted to the elastic ring 26. Yes. Here, the elastic ring 26 is mounted to be bent to some extent by the outer peripheral surface of the pulley drive shaft 19 and the inner peripheral surface of the collar 27, and as a result, the elastic ring 26 and the collar 27 are attached to the pulley drive shaft 19. It is fixed so that it does not rotate relative to it. The lock plate 23a is reciprocally rotated between the stopper pins 28 and 29. When the lock plate 23a comes into contact with the stopper pin 28, the pulley drive shaft 19 is in an unlocked state in which the pulley drive shaft 19 can rotate, When in contact, the pulley drive shaft 19 is locked so that it cannot rotate.

  As described above, the angle operating device is configured by the pulley 12 mounted inside the main body casing 10a and the operation means assembly 16 which is detachably mounted on the opening 15 of the main body casing 10a. Will be able to do. The operation means assembly 16 is mounted so that the support disk 17 is fitted into the opening 15 of the main body casing 10a, and is fixed using the set screw 30 as shown in FIGS. It is like that.

  The set screw 30 is arranged in a direction substantially parallel to the partition plate 11 on the inner side from the position where the seal ring 18 is mounted, that is, on the side close to the partition plate 11 in the fitting portion of the support disk 17 to the opening 15. Screwed in the direction. For this purpose, a screw insertion hole 31 is formed in the main body casing 10 a so as to open at the front and rear end faces thereof, and a screw hole 32 is formed in the support disc 17 so as to be continuous with the screw insertion hole 31. It has been drilled. Accordingly, the set screw 30 is screwed into the screw hole 32 through the screw insertion hole 31, whereby the support disk 17 of the operation means assembly 16 is fixed at the position of the opening 15 of the main body casing 10a, and the angle operation lever 22 and The lock lever 24 can be operated with a finger of a hand that holds the main body operation unit 1. And in order to fix the support disk 17 firmly, the set screw 30 is provided in two places, respectively in the junction part to the front side connection part casing 10b, and the junction part to the rear side connection part casing 10c. Accordingly, since the support discs 17 are mounted at four locations on one support disc 17 and on both the left and right sides of the main body casing 10a, set screws 30 are mounted at a total of eight locations. Become.

  Thus, the heads 30a of the set screws 30 provided at four locations for each support disk 17 are all located on the inner surface of the outer peripheral surface of the main body casing 10a at the end surface of the main body casing 10a. The end surfaces of the front-side connecting portion casing 10b and the rear-side connecting portion casing 10c are joined to the end surfaces of the main body casing 10a, but the outer surface side has no step and has a substantially continuous surface shape. The set screw 30 and its head 30a are disposed inside the casing 10 and are not exposed to the outside. Further, the end portions of the front side connecting portion casing 10b and the rear side connecting portion casing 10c are fitted inside the end portions of the main body casing 10a, and seal members 33 and 34 are interposed in the fitting portions, respectively. Has been. Accordingly, the space between the main body casing 10a, the front side connecting portion casing 10b, and the rear side connecting portion casing 10c is maintained in an airtight state.

  In this way, the front-side connecting portion casing 10b and the rear-side connecting portion casing 10c are joined to both ends of the main body casing 10a and fitted with a predetermined length. The casings 10b and 10c are prevented from rotating with respect to the main body casing 10a. This detent is performed by the head 30 a of the set screw 30. That is, as is apparent from FIG. 7, a recess 35 for receiving the head 30a of the set screw 30 is formed on the end faces of the connecting portion casings 10b and 10c, and these connecting portion casings 10b and 10c are connected to the main body casing. When joined to both ends of 10a, the head 30a of the set screw 30 is fitted into the recess 35, so that the connecting portion casings 10b and 10c do not rotate about the axis relative to the main body casing 10a. Are linked together.

  The front side connecting portion casing 10b and the rear side connecting portion casing 10c are detachable from the main body casing 10a and can be fixed in a connected state. As is clear from FIG. 2, a connecting member 36 is fixedly provided at the proximal end portion of the insertion portion 2, and this connecting member 36 is fixed to the distal end portion of the partition plate 11. Further, the diameter of the vicinity of the connecting portion of the connecting member 36 to the partition plate 11 is increased. The insertion portion 2 is inserted into the front end portion of the front side connection portion casing 10b, and the insertion portion allows the connection member 36 to be inserted therethrough. A screw portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the connecting member 36, and a presser ring 36a is screwed to the insertion portion 2 in this screw portion. And the sealing member 37 is mounted | worn between the connection member 36 and the front end side internal peripheral surface of the front side connection part casing 10b. Furthermore, in the figure, 38 is a holder pipe.

  Thus, in FIG. 2, the holder pipe 38 and the presser ring 36a are arranged on the distal end side of the insertion portion 2, and the front side connecting portion casing 10b is pulled out in the same direction as these. As a result, the end face on the front end side of the main casing 10a is opened. In this state, the support disk 17 of the operation means assembly 16 is fitted into the opening 15 and fixed to the main body casing 10 a by the set screw 30. Here, since the screw insertion portion of the set screw 30 is inside the seal ring 18 and is parallel to the partition plate 11, the set screw 30 and its head portion 30 a, the screw insertion hole 31 and the screw hole 32, Is not exposed to the outside. Then, the front side connection part casing 10b is joined to the main body casing 10a, and the part provided with the seal member 33 is inserted into the main body casing 10a. And the front side connection part casing 10b is penetrated by the connection member 36, and the edge part is made to contact | abut to the edge part of the main body casing 10a. Thereafter, the presser ring 36a is screwed into the connecting member 36, and the front side connecting portion casing 10b is tightened in a direction in which it is pressed against the end portion of the main body casing 10a. Since the main body casing 10a and the front side connecting portion casing 10b are abutting and joining portions, they are kept in an airtight state by pressure-contacting them. Further, the holder pipe 38 is screwed into the connecting member 36.

  Further, the rear side connecting portion casing 10c is also fixed to the main body casing 10a in substantially the same manner as the front side connecting portion casing 10b. That is, the universal cord 3 drawn out from the rear side connection portion casing 10c is provided with a connection base 39 to the main body operation unit 1, and the connection ring 39 is fitted with a screw ring 39a. Yes. The screw ring 39a is screwed into a holder ring 40 connected to the base end portion of the partition plate 11. Furthermore, the cover member 41 of the universal cord 3 is attached to the rear side connecting portion casing 10c, and this cover member 41 is screwed into the screw ring 39a, thereby the rear side connecting portion casing 10c is attached. The main body casing 10a is assembled to be pressed. Here, since the illustrated universal cord 3 is extended in a direction having a predetermined angle with respect to the axis of the rear side connecting portion casing 10c, it is the front portion that is prevented from rotating by the head 30a of the set screw 30. It becomes more important than the side connecting portion casing 10b.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of an endoscope as an example of a body cavity inspection device to which an angle operation device of the present invention is applied. It is sectional drawing of the main body operation part of the endoscope of FIG. It is XX sectional drawing of FIG. FIG. 4 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 3 showing the operating means assembly separately. It is YY sectional drawing of FIG. It is an external appearance perspective view of the main body casing which decomposes | disassembles and shows the operation means assembly. It is an external appearance perspective view of a front side connection part casing.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body operation part 2 Insertion part 3 Universal cord 10 Casing 10a Main body casing 10b Front side connection part casing 10c Rear side connection part casing 11 Partition plate 12 Pulley 13 Operation wire 16 Operation means assembly 17 Support disk 19 Pulley drive shaft 22 Angle Operation lever 23 Lock operating shaft 23a Lock plate 24 Lock lever 30 Set screw 30a Head

Claims (5)

In order to bend the angle portion constituting the insertion portion, a pulley provided inside the casing to which the proximal end portion of the insertion portion is coupled, and wound with an operation wire extending from the angle portion, In the body operation portion of the body cavity inspection device equipped with an angle operation device composed of a pulley drive shaft detachably connected to the pulley and an angle operation member for rotating the pulley drive shaft,
The casing has a configuration including a main body casing having at least an opening on which the angle operating device is mounted on a side surface, and a front side connecting portion casing that is connected to the main body casing and from which the insertion portion is drawn,
An operating means assembly having at least the pulley drive shaft provided on a support member is attached to the opening,
A seal member is interposed between the inner peripheral wall of the opening and the outer peripheral surface of the support member, and between the main body casing and the support member at a position on the inner side of the main body casing from the mounting portion of the seal member. Connect with a set screw,
The main body operation unit of the body cavity inspection device, wherein the front side connecting portion casing is joined to the main body casing so as to cover the set screw. Further, a rear side connecting portion casing from which the universal cord is drawn out is provided at the rear portion of the main body casing, and the set screw mounted between the main body casing and the support member is a joint portion with the front side connecting portion casing. The body operation part of the body cavity inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the body operation part is provided on both sides of a joint part with the rear side connecting part casing. The head of the set screw to protrude toward the junction of the front-side connecting part casing from the end of the main body casing, and this screw is the bonding surface to the main body casing of the front-side connecting part casing The in-body cavity inspection device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the front side connecting portion casing is prevented from rotating with respect to the main body casing by forming a concave portion that accommodates the head of the body. Main unit operation unit. In order to bend the angle portion constituting the insertion portion, a pulley provided inside the casing to which the proximal end portion of the insertion portion is coupled, and wound with an operation wire extending from the angle portion, In the body operation portion of the body cavity inspection device equipped with an angle operation device composed of a pulley drive shaft detachably connected to the pulley and an angle operation member for rotating the pulley drive shaft,
The casing includes at least a main body casing formed on a side surface to which the angle operating device is mounted, and a rear side connecting portion casing connected to the main body casing and from which a universal cord is drawn out.
An operating means assembly having at least the pulley drive shaft provided on a support member is attached to the opening,
A seal member is interposed between the inner peripheral wall of the opening and the outer peripheral surface of the support member, and between the main body casing and the support member at a position on the inner side of the main body casing from the mounting portion of the seal member. Connect with a set screw,
The rear side connecting portion casing is joined to the main body casing so as to cover the set screw.
A body operation unit of the body cavity inspection device, characterized in that it is configured. The head of the set screw protrudes from the end of the main body casing toward the joint of the rear side connecting portion casing, and the head of the screw is formed on the joint surface of the rear side connecting portion casing to the main body casing. The main body operation unit of the body cavity inspection device according to claim 4, wherein the connection unit casing is configured to be prevented from rotating with respect to the main body casing by forming a concave portion that accommodates the unit.

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