JPH0372291B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an endoscope with an improved mounting structure for an operating wire inserted through an insertion portion and a wire guide therefor.

FIG. 1 shows the insertion section 1 of a conventional flexible endoscope.
The insertion portion 1 is formed by connecting a tip component 4 to the tip of a flexible tube 2 via a curved tube 3. The above curved pipe 3
is curved by arranging a plurality of joint rings 5 in its axial direction and further connecting each joint ring 5 with a shaft 6. The curved tube 3 is inserted into the insertion portion 1 and has a plurality of operating wires 7 connected to the tip component 4.
It can be curved by pushing and pulling. Furthermore, when pulling the operating wires 7, the operating wires 7 are prevented from absorbing the tensile force of the operating wires 7, 7 due to the axial compression of the flexible tube 2 and reducing the amount of bending. ... are adapted to be guided by incompressible wire guides 8, respectively. The wire guides 8 are therefore fixed at both ends of the flexible tube 2.

On the other hand, the insertion section 1 of the endoscope is desirably as small as possible in order to reduce patient pain and reach deep inside the body, and to minimize dead space in the lumen of the endoscope. It is necessary to store internal items efficiently.

However, in conventional endoscopes, the tips of the operating wires 7 and wire guides 8 are fixed as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. That is, the tips of the operating wires 7 are inserted into holes 10 made in the wall of a tubular member such as the tip cap 9 and fixed by means such as brazing or adhesive. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, it was necessary to make the wall of the tubular member thick. Further, the distal ends of the wire guides 8 are joined to the inner circumferential surface of the tubular curved pipe connecting member 11 and fixed by means such as brazing or adhesive. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 3, the operating wires 7 and wire guides 8 protrude from the inner peripheral surface toward the lumen side.
This creates a large dead space 12, which is inefficient in terms of storing built-in items. Furthermore, as a result, this has become an obstacle to reducing the diameter of the insertion portion 1.

The present invention has been made focusing on the above circumstances,
The purpose is to provide an endoscope that can reduce the dead space in the insertion section and reduce the diameter of the insertion section by improving the mounting structure of the operating wire and its wire guide.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in FIGS. 4 to 10.
This will be explained based on the diagram.

FIG. 4 shows the entire bronchial endoscope 21, which consists of an operating section 22, an insertion section 23 inserted into a body cavity, and a light guide cable 24 connected to the operating section 22. It's summery. The insertion section 23 is formed by connecting a distal end component 27 to the distal end of a flexible tube 25 via a bending tube 26, and the bending tube 26 controls a bending operation mechanism (not shown) in the operation section 22 with an operation lever 28. By operating it, it can be bent remotely via an operating wire, which will be described later. And this insertion part 2
3, an observation optical fiber bundle 31, an illumination optical fiber bundle 32, a pair of operating wires 33a, 33b, and wire guides 34a, 34b are inserted.

As shown in FIG. 5, the bending pipe 26 has a plurality of joint rings 35 arranged along its axial direction, and each joint ring 35 is connected by a shaft body 36 so that it can be bent up and down. An outer skin 3 that constitutes a core member 37 and includes a cylindrical blade on the outer periphery of the core member 37.
9 is covered. Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the distal end component member 27 is made of a metal tubular member 43 having a window hole 41 formed in the distal wall portion and a tube wall portion 42 formed on the rear end side. window hole 4
1 is fitted with a cylindrical tip frame 44, and a cylindrical lens frame 45 is inserted into the tip frame 44. The objective lens 46 is fitted into the tip of the lens frame 45, and the tip of the observation optical fiber bundle 31 is fitted into the rear end. Furthermore, the tip end of the illumination optical fiber bundle 32 is arranged in an annular manner between the tip frame 44 and the lens frame 45. By the way, the above optical fiber bundle for observation 3
1 and the illumination optical fiber bundle 32 are covered together by a single protective tube 47 in the insertion section 23, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, but they are separated in the operating section 22. are covered with separate protective tubes 48, 49. Each optical fiber bundle 31, 32 is guided toward the eyepiece section 22a and the light guide cable 24 side. Note that this method of assembling both optical fiber bundles 3
One protective tube 47 over the entire length of 1,32
After covering the protective tube 47 with
As shown in Figure 1, the optical fiber bundle 3 is peeled off for observation.
1 and the exposed section of each section as the 1st
Separate protective tubes 48, 49 as shown in Figure 2
Cover with

By the way, the pair of operation wires 33a, 33
Each tip of b is fixed to the tube wall portion 42 of the tip component 27, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7.
That is, a pair of notch grooves 51a and 51b are formed in the upper and lower portions of the tube wall portion 42 and extend through the tube wall portion 42 and are long in the axial direction of the insertion portion 23. 33a, 33
Insert each tip of b into each notch groove 51a,
51b by brazing or gluing. Furthermore, the fixing material 52 such as wax adhesive is filled in the notched grooves 51a and 51b and is not protruded from the inner and outer peripheries of the tube wall portion 42. Further, the wall thickness of the tube wall portion 42 is formed to be approximately equal to the outer diameter of the operating wires 33a and 33b.
a and 33b are attached so as not to protrude from the inner and outer peripheries of the tube wall portion 42. Note that the most advanced node ring 35 in the curved pipe 26 is connected to the pipe wall portion 4.
It is fitted onto and fixed to the outer periphery of 2.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the flexible tube 25 is formed by fitting the outer periphery of a metal spiral tube 53 with a synthetic resin outer cover 54. The tip of the spiral tube 53 is connected to the rearmost node ring 35 of the curved tube 26 via a connecting tube 55 as a tubular member. That is, the distal end portion of the connecting tube 55 is fitted into and fixed to the node ring 35, and the connecting tube 55
The rear end portion is fitted into and fixed to the tip of the spiral tube 53.

Then, the wire guides 34a and 34b described above
consists of a tightly wound coil, the tip of which is fixed to the connecting tube 55. That is, in the rear end portion of the connecting tube 55, a pair of notch grooves 56a, 56b are formed at locations corresponding to the distal end portions of the wire guides 34a, 34b that extend through the connecting tube 55 and extend in the axial direction of the insertion portion 23. The tips of the wire guides 34a, 34b are fitted into the cutout grooves 56a, 56b and fixed by brazing or adhesive. Fixing material such as wax or adhesive at this time 5
7 is filled in the notch grooves 56a and 56b. Further, the fixing material 57 is attached so as not to protrude from the outer periphery of the connecting pipe 55. In other words, the flexible tube 25 does not get in the way when the spiral tube 53 is fitted onto the flexible tube 25. In addition, in this embodiment, since the wall thickness of the connecting tube 55 is originally thinner than the diameter of the wire guides 34a, 34b, only a portion of the wire guides 34a, 34b fits into the notch grooves 51a, 51b. The other portion protrudes inward of the connecting pipe 55. However, the amount of protrusion of the wire guides 34a, 34b is reduced by the amount that the wire guides 34a, 34b fit into the notch grooves 51a, 51b. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, the size of the dead space within the insertion section 23 is reduced.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the operation wires 33a, 33b for bending operation and the wire guides 34a, 34
Although the case where b is fixed has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and can also be applied to an operation wire for performing a forceps raising operation and its wire guide. Further, the tubular member of the insertion portion is not limited to the tubular member 43 and the connecting tube 55 of the distal end component, but may be other tubular members.

As explained above, the present invention forms a cutout groove penetrating the tube wall of the tubular member of the insertion section, and fits the tip of the operating wire or wire guide into the cutout groove. It is fixed by filling it with a fixing agent and sealing it. Since the tip of the operating wire or the wire guide is fitted into the notch, the tip can be retracted into the thickness of the tubular member, thereby reducing the dead space in the inner cavity of the insertion section. Therefore, built-in components such as optical fiber bundles to be inserted into the insertion section can be effectively accommodated, and the outer diameter of the insertion section can be made thinner, thereby reducing patient pain and allowing insertion into narrow spaces deep inside the body. become able to.

In addition, since the notch groove is filled and closed with a bonding agent such as a brazing metal or an adhesive, the tubular member is substantially free of defects over its entire circumference.
Its strength and adhesion strength can be maintained as without notch grooves.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of the vicinity of the tip of the insertion section in a conventional endoscope, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line - in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line - in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an endoscope showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing the distal end of the insertion section, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the distal end component, FIG. 8 is a side sectional view of the connecting portion between the flexible tube and the bending portion, and FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line - in FIG. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the connecting tube, and FIGS. 11 and 12 are side views of the optical fiber bundle. 21... Endoscope, 22... Operation section, 23... Insertion section, 25... Flexible tube, 26... Curved tube, 27...
...Tip component, 33a, 33b...operation wire, 34a, 34b...wire guide, 43...
Tubular member, 51a, 51b...notch groove, 52...
...Fixing material, 55...Connecting pipe, 56a, 56b...
Notch groove, 57...Fixing material.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An operating wire and a wire guide for guiding the operating wire are inserted into a long insertion section to be inserted into a body cavity, and the tips of at least one of the operating wire and the wire guide are fixed to the tubular member of the insertion section. In this endoscope, a notch groove is formed in the tube wall of the tubular member to which at least one of the operating wire and the wire guide is fixed, and the operating wire and the wire guide are attached to the notch groove. What is claimed is: 1. An endoscope, wherein at least one tip of the endoscope is fitted into the cutout groove, and the notch groove is filled with a fixing material to close and fix the endoscope.