JPH0669458B2 - Endoscopic forceps device manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an endoscopic forceps device.

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, the endoscope is equipped with a forceps device having a cutting blade for cutting off a part of a piece of meat after inserting the endoscope into the body. This forceps device is used by being inserted into the insertion channel of the endoscope 1 as shown in FIG. 1, and the flexible tube 2 that can be inserted into the insertion channel.
And a forceps section 3, an operation section 4 for operating the forceps section 3, and the like. The forceps part 3 is composed of a pair of forceps 5, 5 as shown in FIG.
Is configured to be connected to the operating portion 4 via the link mechanism portion 6 and the operating wire 7 inserted into the flexible tube 2. The pair of forceps 5, 5 is configured to be openable and closable via a pin 8, and is connected and supported to a connecting portion 11 provided at the distal end portion of the operation wire 7 via link members 9, 9 and a connecting pin 10. There is. A member indicated by 12 is a tip head and a member indicated by 13 is a slit opening cover provided on the tip head 12, and the link mechanism portion 6 and the connecting portion 11 are inserted into the slit opening cover 13. .

The pair of forceps 5, 5 is operated to be opened and closed via the link mechanism section 6 by advancing and retracting the operation wire 7 via the operation section 4.
As shown in the figure, cutting blades 5a, 5a are provided for cutting (cutting) the meat pieces in the body (the affected meat pieces). Cutting edge
Since 5a and 5a are required to have sharpness and durability of the sharpness (that is, to keep a good sharpness state) from the function thereof, the entire forceps 5 and 5 are heat-treated.

According to the forceps device for an endoscope having the above configuration, the operation unit 4
By operating the forceps to open and close the forceps 5, 5, the meat piece of the affected part in the body can be excised and taken out.
The conventional forceps device has the following problems.

The forceps 5 is L = 6 m as shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b).
It is a small part with m and width W = 2.2 mm, and its shape is also relatively complicated. Therefore, originally, only the cutting edge portion 5a needs to be quenched (heat treated), but because of the small size and complicated shape as described above, partial quenching cannot be performed, and the forceps 5
The whole was subjected to quenching treatment to obtain a predetermined hardness. Martensitic stainless steel is used as the material for the forceps 5. If this material is quenched at 1000 ° C or higher, hardness and corrosion resistance are improved, but brittleness occurs and impact resistance is significantly reduced. There are drawbacks.

Therefore, during operation of the forceps device, stress concentrates on the corner 5b shown in FIG. 4 (b), causing a problem that a crack is generated on the corner 5b of the forceps 5. That is, the forceps 5 by the above quenching
In the above hardening means, it is not possible to simultaneously harden the cutting edge portion 5a and maintain the toughness of the corner portion 5b, so that the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks cannot be solved.

Further, there is a means for increasing the toughness by quenching after quenching, but in this case, the corrosion resistance is markedly reduced by tempering, and therefore it is not suitable for use as forceps for an endoscope.

As described above, in the conventional forceps device in which the entire forceps 5 is heat-treated to obtain the hardness of the cutting blade 5a, it is not possible to satisfy all the functions required for the forceps device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to provide a method of manufacturing an endoscopic forceps device equipped with forceps having all required functions. There is a point to do.

Configuration of the Invention The present invention is attached to a flexible tube that can be inserted into an endoscope and a forceps portion main body provided at a tip of an insertion portion of the flexible tube, and is inserted into the flexible tube. In a method of manufacturing an endoscopic forceps device consisting of a pair of forceps pieces configured to be openable and closable via an operation wire, in the forceps body, the forceps piece having a cutting blade portion formed and processed is assembled and adjusted, It is characterized in that both cutting blade portions of a pair of forceps pieces are simultaneously irradiated with laser light to perform heat treatment. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings starting from FIG.

In the following description, the same members as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

Embodiment of the Invention FIGS. 5 and 6 are views showing a means for curing a pair of forceps 5, 5 in the forceps device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In the figure, 14 is a laser device (laser light irradiation device) for irradiating the cutting blade portion 5a of the forceps 5, 5 with a laser beam 15, depending on the material of the forceps 5, required hardness or shape, etc. The irradiation intensity, irradiation time, and irradiation area of the laser beam 15 can be set and adjusted as appropriate.

The cutting blade portion 5a is adapted to be locally hardened through the local heating treatment step and the cooling treatment step by the laser light 15, and accordingly, the forceps 5 in the forceps device is only the cutting blade portion 5a. Is hard and the rest of the material remains the same.

Hereinafter, a means for locally heat-treating the cutting edge portion 5a will be described. First, the laser light 15 is adjusted to a required energy density according to the area of the cutting blade 5a in the forceps 5. next,
The laser beam 15 is irradiated onto the cutting blade 5a to locally heat it, and when the cutting blade 5a reaches a temperature suitable for heat treatment (depending on the material of the forceps 5 or the like), the irradiation of the laser beam 15 is stopped.
Then, the same heat treatment as the quenching can be performed by maintaining the state and performing air cooling (gradual cooling) or blowing cooling air to forcibly cool.

As shown in FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b), the range to be subjected to the heat treatment is the ranges A and B around the cutting edge portion 5a, but when expanding this range, the arc of the cutting edge portion 5a is to be expanded. Enlargement is possible by swinging in the direction of arrow D about the center C. When irradiating the laser beam 15 around the cutting edge 5a, the irradiation range A is obtained by rocking the arc center C of the cutting edge 5a as an axis as shown in FIG. 7 (a). ,
The number is not limited to this, and 3 on the laser device 14 side.
The irradiation range A may be obtained by giving a dimensional movement.

According to the forceps 5 having the above-described configuration, only the cutting edge portion 5a is heat-treated and cured, so that the sharpness and durability required for the cutting edge portion 5a can be improved. In addition, since the non-irradiated portions other than the cutting edge portion 5a are not heat-treated, they are left as they are, and accordingly, brittleness does not occur and they are not significantly weakened against impact as in the conventional case. As a result, the generation of cracks in the corners 5b of the forceps 5 is prevented. Further, since the forceps 5 heat-treats only the cutting blade portion 5a via the laser beam 15,
The pair of forceps 5, 5 can be incorporated into the forceps device, and the cutting blade portion 5a can be locally heat treated after being adjusted (corrected).
The number of manufacturing and assembling steps of the forceps device can be significantly reduced, and the workability of each work can be improved.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As described above, according to the present invention, only the cutting blade portions of the pair of forceps in the forceps device of the endoscope are heat-treated and hardened, and the other portions are made of the material as they are. Since it has toughness and the cutting edge has good sharpness (cutting power) and durability, it is an ideal forceps as a forceps for an endoscope. In addition, since heat treatment can be performed after manufacturing, assembling, and adjustment of the cutting edge portion, and there is almost no change in shape due to local heat treatment, the number of manufacturing and assembling steps can be reduced, and workability can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a general endoscope equipped with a forceps device,
2 to 4 (a) and (b) are enlarged explanatory views of the main part of FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the heat treatment means of the main part of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is FIG. FIG. 7 (a) and FIG. 7 (b) are enlarged explanatory views of the main part of FIG. 1 ... Endoscope 2 ... Flexible tube 3 ... Forceps part 5 ... Pair of forceps 5a ... Cutting edge part 7 ... Operation wire 14 ... Laser device 15 ... Laser light.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A flexible tube which is insertable into an endoscope and an operation wire which is attached to a forceps body provided at a tip of an insertion portion of the flexible tube and is inserted into the flexible tube. In a method of manufacturing an endoscopic forceps device consisting of a pair of forceps pieces configured to be openable and closable via, a forceps body in which a cutting blade portion is processed and formed is assembled into a forceps body, and after adjustment,
Irradiate both cutting blades of a pair of forceps pieces with laser light at the same time,
A method for manufacturing an endoscopic forceps device, characterized by performing heat treatment.