JPS6351687B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improvement in an endoscope whose distal end is inserted into a body cavity such as the stomach or intestine to observe or inspect the interior of the body cavity.

As is already well known, an endoscope is configured to bend a curved portion and rotate a distal end portion by operating a bending operation portion provided on the operation portion main body. Normally, for this bending operation, an operating wire is placed inside the flexible tube, and this operating wire is used to connect the bending section provided at the distal end of the flexible tube to the operating section main body, which is also connected to the base side. A remote control method is employed in which a so-called operating wire runs, which is connected to the curved operating section.

By the way, the operating wire used for this bending operation runs under tension, but there is a problem in that it gradually stretches as the bending operation is repeated. When such elongation occurs, play occurs in the bending operation, resulting in a problem that the bending portion does not follow the bending operation, so-called operability deteriorates.

In view of this point, a device as shown in FIG. 1 has been proposed in the past.

That is, what is shown in FIG.
An operating wire c, which is stretched over a pulley b of a bending operating section arranged at the front end, is pressed by a tension mechanism consisting of an elastic member e and rollers d and d connected to the elastic member e.

However, in this structure, the operating wire c
The structure is complicated because the rollers d and d must be constantly biased by the elastic member e when adjusting the length of the curving wire c. There was a problem in which the rollers d and d were pushed by the operating wire c at the beginning of the operation, and the operation did not start until the slack was taken up, causing play, and it was virtually impossible to adjust the elongation of the operating wire c. .

This invention was made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its object is to attach a wire length adjusting member to a part of the operating wire to cause the operating wire to be meanderingly displaced by plastic deformation;
The present invention aims to provide an endoscope that has a simple structure and allows adjustment of the elongation of the operating wire.

The present invention will be explained below based on a first embodiment shown in the drawings. Fig. 2 shows an endoscope. First, to explain this endoscope, numeral 1 in the figure is an operating section main body, and this operating section main body 1 includes a flexible tube section 2, a curved section 3, and a distal end component. 4 are arranged in sequence. A pulley 5 equipped with an operating lever 5a is housed inside the operating section main body 1, and constitutes a bending operating section 6. Further, the curved portion 3 is formed by connecting a plurality of curved tubes 7, for example, four curved tubes 7, so as to be rotatable via rivets 8, so that the curved portion 3 can be rotated to any angle. Two tip-side operating wires (hereinafter referred to as operating wires) 9a and 9b are attached to the most extreme curved tube 7 of this curved section 3 through the inside of the flexible tube section 2, respectively. Further, a hand-side operating wire (hereinafter referred to as an operating wire) 10 is wound around the pulley 5 constituting the bending operating section 6 . And this hand side operation wire 10
and each end of the tip-side operating wires 9a, 9b are connected within the operating section main body 1 by loops 11a formed by bending the ends, respectively, as shown in FIG. and the operation wires 9a, 9b,
Based on the running of the vehicle 10, the curved section 3 can be curved from the curved operation section 6 side.
In other words, it constitutes a bending operation mechanism 11. Note that reference numerals 12 and 12 are fixing rings for forming connection parts 13 and 13 of the operating wires 9a and 9b and the operating wire 10. The endoscope also includes an observation optical system (not shown), an illumination optical system (not shown), etc., which extend through the operation section main body 1, flexible tube section 2, curved section 3, and tip structure section 4. , equipment for inspection is provided, and the front can be observed and inspected from the tip of the tip component 4.

Furthermore, the connection part 1 of the endoscope configured in this way
Part 13a of the operating wire 10 closest to 3 and 13
As shown in FIG. 4, a wire length adjusting member (hereinafter referred to as an adjusting member) 14, which is the gist of the present invention, is attached to the wire length adjusting member 14, for example, at the time of assembly. Specifically, the adjustment member 14 is made of a material that is easily deformed, such as aluminum, brass mild steel, or soft stainless steel, and has a pipe shape, and has a structure that is easily plastically deformed by external force. The adjusting member 14 is inserted through the operating wire 10 (enclosure), and the gap between both ends of the adjusting member 14 and the operating wire 10 is filled with elastic members 15, 15, such as rubber. It is fixed on the part 13a of.

However, when the operating wires 9a, 9b, and 10 are stretched while repeatedly performing bending operations for observation and examination of the inside of a body cavity using an endoscope, for example, when there is no load (angle (when not in use), remove the cover (not shown) constituting the operating section main body 1, and deform, for example, the center of the adjusting member 14 in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the operating wire 10. As a result, the operating wire 10 follows the deformation of the adjustment member 14 and is displaced in a meandering manner as shown in FIG.
The same effect as shortening the total length of a, 9b, and 10 can be obtained, and the elongation can be adjusted.

Therefore, with an extremely simple structure and adjustment operation, it is possible to solve the problem of play in the bending operation. Moreover, the elastic members 15, 15 are
In addition to fixing the adjusting member 14, it is also possible to prevent the operating wire 10 from slipping, and it is possible to prevent the operating wire 10 from being cut by the adjusting member 14.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the adjustment member is configured by using a pipe, but the adjustment member is not limited to this, for example, the adjustment member is configured by using a pipe.
It may also be an adjusting member like the second embodiment shown in the figure.

That is, in the second embodiment, a plastically deformable adjustment member 24 is constructed from a U-shaped metal fitting 20 having a U-shaped cross section.
The adjusting member 24 is fitted (enclosed) to a part of the stretched operating wire 10, and then the adjusting member 24 is crushed to cover the operating wire 10 as shown in FIG.
By bending (deforming) b, 24c in a meandering manner, the operating wires 9a,
The elongation of 9b and 10 can be adjusted. Note that if the adjustment member 24 in this case is made of the same material as in the first embodiment described above, it can be easily deformed.

In each of the embodiments described above, the adjustment member is attached to a part of the proximal operation wire, but it may be attached to any part of the operation wire, including the distal operation wire.

As explained above, the present invention includes attaching a plastically deformable wire length adjusting member that surrounds the operating wire to a part of the operating wire, and adjusting the elongation of the operating wire by deforming the wire length adjusting member. This makes it possible to adjust the elongation of the operating wire by changing the length of the operating wire without cutting it, with an extremely simple structure, and eliminates the problem of play occurring during bending operations. I can do it. Moreover, since it is only necessary to deform the wire length adjusting member, the adjustment of the wire length adjusting member is easy to handle and takes up less space.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a conventional endoscope operation wire adjustment system, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an endoscope equipped with a bending operation mechanism according to a first embodiment of the present invention,
Fig. 3 is a front view showing the connection part of the operating wire, Fig. 4 is a partially sectional perspective view showing the wire length adjustment member, and Fig. 5 is when the elongation of the operating wire is adjusted with the adjustment member. 6 is a perspective view showing the wire length adjusting member of the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a state diagram showing the state when the elongation of the operating wire is adjusted by the adjusting member. FIG. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Operating part main body, 2... Flexible tube part, 3... Curved part, 6... Curved operating part, 9a, 9b, 10...
Operation wire, 14, 24... Wire length adjustment member.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Connect the curved section provided on the distal end side of the flexible tube section and the curved operation section provided on the operation section main body connected to the base side of the flexible tube section with an operating wire through the flexible tube section, and In the device in which the operating wire is run by the operating section to curve the curved portion, a plastically deformable wire length adjusting member that surrounds the operating wire is attached to a part of the operating wire, and the wire An endoscope characterized in that the elongation of the operating wire is adjusted by deforming the length adjusting member in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the operating wire.