JPS6339041B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a method for fixing or removing the entire or part of an industrial endoscope insertion section to an object made of a magnetic material, such as the inner wall of a pipe in chemical plant equipment or the inside of a machine. , without impairing the functions of industrial endoscopes,
The present invention relates to an industrial endoscope insertion section fixing device that allows an endoscope insertion section to be easily fixed to and removed from an object.

When performing various operations such as observation, illumination, collection, and treatment using an industrial endoscope, it is necessary to fix the insertion portion to the work object in order to perform the operations more accurately and reliably.

Conventionally, as this type of fixing device, one having a structure as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 of Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 48-25750 has been used.

This type of fixing device shown in FIG. 1 has a concave suction cup 2 attached around the distal end portion 1 of the endoscope.
The fixing device shown in FIG. 2 is one in which magnets 3 are attached to several places on the concave surface of the suction cup 2 shown in FIG. is the concave suction cup 2 described in Fig. 1.
The fixing device shown in FIG. 4 has a light guide 4 and a fiberscope 5 attached to the insertion part, and an electromagnet 6 is attached in a ring shape (cylindrical shape) to the tip of the light guide 4 in the insertion part, and the electromagnet 6 is attached inside the workpiece. It is inserted and fixed into the

However, in the fixing device as described above, when a concave suction cup 2 as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is used, the fixing device itself becomes large.
The original function of the endoscope deteriorates, and it becomes inconvenient when inserting and fixing the endoscope.

Also, as shown in Fig. 4, an electromagnet 6 is placed around the endoscope.
When the endoscope insertion section is usually small, it is difficult to provide the electromagnet 6 attached to it with enough electromagnetic force to secure the endoscope firmly enough. Since the electromagnet 6 is provided at the end of the insertion portion, there is a drawback that the mechanism (for electrical connection) at the tip of the insertion portion becomes complicated.

This invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and includes a magnetization device that includes a magnetic material with high magnetic permeability in the insertion portion and is capable of generating and losing magnetization on the side of a workpiece made of a magnetic material. An industrial endoscope insertion part fixing device is provided that can sufficiently securely fix and remove the insertion part of an industrial endoscope to a desired part of an object to be worked on without reducing the function of the endoscope. The purpose is to provide.

The present invention will be explained below with reference to the drawings.

5 and 6 show a first embodiment, which is constructed as follows.

In an industrial endoscope in which the insertion section 11 is composed of a distal end section 12, a curved section 13, and a flexible section 14, FIG. FIG. 6 shows the outer skin 11a of the insertion portion 11 in a case where the structure includes a magnetic material (piece) 15 made of a paramagnetic material or a ferromagnetic material with high magnetic permeability that almost disappears.
This is a case where the entire inside is configured to include the same magnetic material (piece) 15 as described above.

The magnetic material (piece) 15 may of course be a mixture of a paramagnetic material and a ferromagnetic material, and if it contains a ferromagnetic material, a material with less hysteresis characteristics is desirable.

Furthermore, when the magnetic body 15 is provided at the tip 12 as shown in FIG. 5A, the sectional view taken along line D-D' is
As shown in the enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG. It may also be provided.

The above can be similarly applied to FIG.

On the other hand, a coil or the like is formed around the magnetic material with high magnetic permeability outside the work object 16, such as a pipe made of a magnetic material that is magnetized by a magnetic field, and a current from a power source is passed through this coil to generate a magnetic field. By magnetizing the workpiece 16 and the magnetic body 15, the workpiece 16 and the magnetic body 15 are attracted to each other, and the tip portion 1
A magnetizing device 17 is provided for fixing 2.

In addition, this magnetizing device 17 can eliminate most of the magnetic field by cutting off the current, so that the magnetic body 15 provided at the distal end portion 12 of the endoscope and the workpiece 16 can be separated. The structure is such that it can be easily removed by substantially eliminating the attraction force caused by the magnetization between the two.

To explain the operation of the first embodiment configured in this way, the endoscope tip 12 is moved to the workpiece 1.
6, place it in the area to be observed,
On the other hand, a magnetic body 15 provided on the workpiece 16 and the tip 12 is passed through an external magnetizing device 17.
(FIG. 5) or by magnetizing the magnetic body 15 (FIG. 6) provided on the entire insertion section 11, the magnetic body 15 is placed in a predetermined position of the endoscope tip 12 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Work object 16 as shown in the figure
is fixed to the wall by suction. Therefore, functions such as observation of the endoscope can be operated in this state.

When removing the endoscope after completing functions such as observation,
Alternatively, when observing other parts, the magnetic field almost disappears by turning off the power to the magnetization device 17, and the magnetic body 15 provided in the insertion section 11 can be freely separated from the workpiece 16. So remove it,
Alternatively, it will be possible to further reset the settings.

Incidentally, the magnetizing device 17 is not limited to the position shown in FIG. 5, but a position closer to the magnetic body 15 is somewhat more advantageous for the fixing function. Optionally, the magnetization device 17 can also be installed within the workpiece 16 . Since the magnitude of the magnetizing function can be adjusted by adjusting the current supplied to the magnetizing device 17, the required fixing strength can be easily achieved.

The second embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is an embodiment in which the magnetic body 15 in the first embodiment is provided over only a part or the whole of the flexible portion 14.

Therefore, in this case as well, work object 1 is almost the same as described above.
6 can be fixed and removed.

In this embodiment, the magnetic body 15 is
4, this part is the magnetizing device 1.
7, the tip part 12 and the curved part 13 are not fixed as shown in the figure, so the curved part 1
By bending 3, it is possible to observe, collect, etc. over a wide range around the fixed position.

In the first and second embodiments described above, the magnetic body 15
is housed inside the outer skin 11a of the insertion section 11, but the third embodiment shown in FIG. It is. In the illustrated example, a magnetic body 15 is attached to a part of the flexible portion 14 in substantially the same manner as shown in FIG. 7, but the present invention is not limited to this.

The magnetic body 15 in this embodiment has, for example, a cylindrical shape with a part cut out as shown in the enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG. The insertion portion 11 is inserted by pressing the soft portion 14 into the magnetic body 15.
The fixing magnetic body 15 can be fixedly attached to a desired position, and by performing the reverse operation, it can be removed and used as an ordinary industrial endoscope.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, since the magnetic body 15 can be attached to and removed from the insertion portion 11 at a desired position, the advantage is that it can be used attached to an ordinary industrial endoscope. When this magnetic body 15 is attached, the operations for fixing and removing it to the workpiece 16 are the same as those described above.

Although the shape of the magnetic body 15 in each of the above-mentioned embodiments is shown as a simple structure, it is not limited to the above-mentioned shape as long as it has the function of fixing the magnetization by the magnetization device 17. , and its dimensions depend on the dimensions of the insertion section 11 when it is accommodated within the insertion section 11, but when it is provided on the outer periphery of the insertion section 11, it may have other shapes other than the shape shown in FIG. It could be something like that.

Although each of the embodiments described above is a case in which one magnetic body 15 is provided, the present invention is not limited to this, and a large number of magnetic bodies 15 may be provided to simultaneously fix a plurality of desired fixing positions.

Note that even if the workpiece 16 does not have a pipe-like shape as shown, it can be magnetized by the magnetization device 17, so it goes without saying that the present invention is applicable to the workpiece 16.

Furthermore, when the magnetic body 15 is provided within the insertion portion 11,
By incorporating it as a part of the component, rather than specifically incorporating it for fixation, the external shape of the insertion portion 11 can be made less bulky, and the material used for the component can be reduced.

As described above, according to the present invention, a magnetic material (piece) is provided in the insertion portion, and a magnetization device that can generate and eliminate magnetization is provided on the side of the workpiece made of the magnetic material. The endoscope can be easily fixed and removed so that the tip of the insertion section can be inserted to the desired position of the work object and used for functions such as observation, collection, and treatment, without any deterioration of the endoscope's functions. Moreover, since a magnetization device is used, the magnetic body provided in the insertion portion has the advantage that it can be firmly fixed at a desired position without having to increase the external shape.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a sectional view showing a conventional example equipped with a suction cup.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a conventional example in which a plurality of magnets are provided in a part of the suction cup shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a conventional example in which a fiber scope and a light guide are provided in the suction cup. Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing a conventional example in which an electromagnet is attached to the tip of a light guide, Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing a first embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 6 is an extension of the magnetic body shown in Fig. 5. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified example in which the magnetic body shown in FIG. 7 is extended and attached; FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing a third embodiment of the invention. 11... Insertion part, 12... Tip part, 13... Curved part,
14... Soft part, 15... Magnetic body (piece), 16... Work object, 17... Magnetization device.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Industrial use characterized by providing one or more magnetic bodies with high magnetic permeability in any shape at any position of the insertion part, and also providing a magnetization device for magnetizing a magnetic workpiece. Endoscope insertion section fixing device. 2. The industrial endoscope insertion section fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic material provided in the insertion section is provided inside or outside the outer skin of the distal end of the insertion section. 3. The industrial endoscope insertion part fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic material provided in the insertion part is provided inside or outside the outer skin of the flexible part of the insertion part.