JPH039728B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a double knob for operating an endoscope.

In general, the angle operation knob that changes the end of the endoscope in four directions (up, down, left and right), the double knob that is used for angle operation in two directions, the direction of forceps, and other various operations, etc. A conventional example has a structure as shown in FIG. In the figure, 1 is the handle of the endoscope, 2 and 3 are coaxial knobs, the inner knob 3 has a large diameter, the outer knob 2 has a small diameter, and the shafts 4 and 5 of the knobs 2 and 3 are It is connected within the handle 1 to a drive device, usually a combination of a rack and pinion, a wire winding drum, etc., to operate an angle operation wire, etc.

Also, since the shafts 4 and 5 of the knobs 2 and 3 are coaxial, the shaft 4 of the knob 2 is connected to the drive device through the center of the shaft 5 of the knob 3 to operate the angle operation wire, etc. It's summery.

In the knobs 2 and 3 thus constructed, the outer knob 2 has a smaller diameter than the inner knob 3. Therefore, when operating the outer knob 2 with the hand holding the handle 1,
The fingers are blocked by the inner knob 3, making it difficult to operate, making it unsuitable for operation with only one hand. Therefore, it is possible to make the outer knob larger in diameter than the inner knob, which allows the hand holding the handle to operate both knobs, but the other hand can operate the inner knob. When it is necessary to perform an operation, the large diameter outer knob gets in the way, making it difficult to operate the inner knob, which is impractical.

Furthermore, in these cases, since the diameters of both knobs are different, the operating force is different, and it is difficult to operate both knobs equally.

In addition, as another conventional example, two
There is a double knob with a shaft. According to this, since one-handed operation is not possible unless both knobs 6 and 7 are located within the reach of the fingers of the hand holding the handle 1, the distance between the shafts 8 and 9 of both knobs 6 and 7 is As a result, the inner knob 7
There will be a limit to the diameter of the Therefore, if the diameter of the outer knob 6 is made to match the diameter of the inner knob 7, both knobs will have a small diameter, resulting in extremely poor operability. Therefore, if only the diameter of the outer knob is increased, as in the conventional example described above, since the diameters of the knobs are different, the operating force will be different, making it difficult to operate both knobs equally.

Therefore, a structure as shown in FIG. 3 was devised. This is because the two knobs 10 and 11 are held by shafts 12 and 13 which are also spaced apart, and in order to increase the diameter of the inner knob 11, the radius is extended to the shaft 12 of the outer knob 10. , and insert an arc-shaped elongated hole 14 into the inner knob 11.
is provided, and the shaft 12 of the outer knob 10 is inserted into this elongated hole 14.
It is a structure through which According to this structure, the diameter of the inner knob 11 can be increased, but on the contrary,
Since it has to be made large enough to accommodate the elongated hole 14 through which the shaft 12 of the outer knob 10 passes, the diameter becomes larger than necessary, which impairs operability and requires precision machining of the elongated hole of the knob. It has the following disadvantages.

The present invention aims to solve these drawbacks, and is characterized by allowing the distance and diameter of the two knobs to be determined arbitrarily, and furthermore, allowing both knobs to be placed in a position where they can be operated with one hand. do.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 4 is a side view, Fig. 5 is a plan view, Fig. 6 is a side sectional view of the main part, and Fig. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the main part.
In the drawing, reference numeral 15 is the handle of the endoscope, which has the same shape as the conventional one, with a normal eyepiece part 16 at the rear end, a flexible tube 17 connected to the tip, and a light guide and air - A guide pipe 18 such as a water supply pipe is connected.

A knob 19 is attached to a shaft 20, and this shaft 20 is connected to a drive device 21 within the handle 15. This drive device 21 may be a combination of a rack and pinion or a drum, but in this embodiment a drum is shown. An operating wire 22 is connected to this drive device 21 .

23 is a shaft with a gear 24 attached to its end, and this shaft 23 is also connected to another drive device 2 within the handle 15.
5, and an operating wire 26 is also connected to this drive device 25 in the same manner as described above.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a support frame, which includes a support frame portion 28 and a foot portion 29.
This foot portion 29 is fixed to the handle 15, and the shaft 23 passes through the foot portion 29.

A support shaft 30 is rotatably supported on the support frame 27, and has a knob 31 at one end and a gear 32 attached to the other end.
It is meshed and connected with the gear 24 of No. 3. The support position of the support frame 27 may be a position where the knob 31 can be easily operated, and is determined depending on conditions such as the shape and size of the handle 15.

33 is a lid body.

According to the above configuration, since both knobs 19, 31 are eccentrically located, both knobs 19, 31 are at a position where the fingers of the hand gripping the handle 15 can reach sufficiently, and both knobs 19, 31 are large. It is possible to operate with one hand under the same conditions in terms of size and shape, and uniform operation can be performed.

Note that the diameters of both the knobs 19 and 31 may be the same, but the diameters may be changed as necessary. Also, the gear ratios of both gears 24 and 32 may be the same, but the knob 3
It may be changed in consideration of the relationship with the diameter of No. 1, etc.

8 and 9 show a second embodiment, in which a knob 31 and a gear 3 are attached to the support frame portion 29 of the support frame 27.
This is an embodiment in which a support shaft 30 with a support shaft 23 attached thereto is movably attached, and an arc-shaped elongated hole 34 centered on the shaft 23 is formed in a lid 33 of a support frame 27. 35
is a tubular body having a flange 36 at the end and a screw 37 cut into it, and the positioning lever 3
8 are screwed together. This pipe body 35 is inserted into the elongated hole 34.
The support shaft 30 is inserted into the tube body 35 with the flange 36 facing inside.

According to the above configuration, by tightening the positioning lever 38, the positioning lever 38 and the flange 36 sandwich the lid 33, and the position of the tube body 35 through which the support shaft 30 is passed can be fixed.

Therefore, the user can move the tube body 35 along the arcuate long hole 34 by loosening the positioning lever 38, thereby moving the gear 2
The position of the support shaft 30 having the gear 32 meshed with the gear 32 can be changed arbitrarily, and as a result, the position of the knob 31 can be set at a desired position.

FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 show a third embodiment, which is a technique in which the user can change the position of the knob 31 similarly to the second embodiment. In the figure, 39 is a support frame, and the support frame part 40 and the foot part 41 are separable. The foot portion 41 is fixed to the handle 15 as in the above embodiment, and a gear 42 is fixed to the end portion. Reference numeral 40 denotes a support frame portion, and a hole having internal teeth 44 that mesh with the gear 42 is bored in the bottom portion 43. By meshing the internal teeth 44 with the gear 42, the foot portion 41 and the support frame portion 40 are connected. and are now fixed together. A support shaft 30 with a knob 31 attached to the end thereof passes through the lid 45 of the support frame 40 as in the above embodiment, and a gear 32 attached to the support shaft 30 is positioned within the support frame 40. It meshes with a gear 24 attached to a shaft 23 passed through the foot 41.

According to this configuration, by changing the meshing angle between the gear 42 of the foot portion 41 and the internal teeth 44 of the support frame portion 40, the angle of the support frame 39 can be changed and the position of the knob 31 can be changed as appropriate.

It should be noted that the terms gears 24 and 32 in the description of each of the above embodiments and the claims include the concept of a combination of a pulley and a belt, or a gear and a chain, and are all expressed by gears.

According to the present invention described above, there is a double knob for angle operation that changes the tip in four directions, up, down, left and right;
In a double knob consisting of a knob for two-way angle operation and a knob used for directional operation of forceps, each knob has a shaft connected to its respective drive device that is sufficiently separated and protrudes from the handle. A knob is attached to one end, a gear is attached to the other shaft end, and the knob is rotatably supported by a support shaft on a support frame fixed to the handle, and the gear is connected to the above gear. By making it possible to position the knobs at desired intervals, the operator can arbitrarily determine the position and size of the knobs, allowing both hands to be adjusted using just the fingers of the hand holding the handle. This makes it possible to fully operate the knobs, and the diameter of both knobs can be changed arbitrarily, which greatly improves operability and allows both knobs to be operated equally. It becomes easier.

Furthermore, according to the second and third embodiments, the user can move the position of one of the knobs as needed, allowing the user to adjust the knob according to conditions such as the size of his or her hands. Since the knob can be set at a desired position, the operability of the knob is further improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a first conventional example, FIG. 2 is a side view showing a second conventional example, FIG. 3 is a side view showing a third conventional example, and FIG. 4 is a side view showing a third conventional example. 5 is a plan view of the same, FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the main part, FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the main part, and FIG. 8 is a main part of the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view, FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the main part, FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional view of the main part showing the third embodiment, and FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of the main part. 15...Handle, 19,31...Knob, 20,30
... shaft, 23 ... support shaft, 24, 32 ... gear.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a knob for operating an endoscope with a double knob used for four-way angle operation, two-way angle operation, directional operation of forceps, etc., each drive device is connected within the handle. Attach one of the above knobs to one shaft of the two connected shafts, attach a gear to the other shaft, mesh the gear with this gear, and attach the knob to the support shaft that is pivotally supported by the meshed gear. A knob for operating an endoscope, characterized in that both knobs are mounted at desired positions. 2. The knob for operating an endoscope according to claim 1, characterized in that the support shaft to which the knob and the gear are attached is movable.