JPH04197235A - Curvedly operating device for endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To regulate the max. curving angle of a curved part and to miniaturize an operating part by providing a stopper provided in the curvedly operating device provided in the operating part on the movable range of a traction means and collision members or on the inner side of this range. CONSTITUTION:The L-shaped collision parts provided on the collision members 26a, 26b connecting the base end of a wire 20 and a chain 32 collide against a stopper 28 when the wire is pulled and, therefore, the wire 20 cannot be pulled any more. The collision members 26a, 26b exist on the inner side in the transverse direction of a base plate 15 of partition walls 15a, 15b bent and formed on the base plate 15 and do not, therefore, protrude to the outer side beyond these walls and the width of the base plate 15 can be narrowed. Since the stopper 28 is provided on the inner side of the range enclosed by the partition walls 15a, 15b, a sprocket 25 and the chain 32, the width of the base plate 15 is narrowed and the operating part 2 is miniaturized. The max. curving angle in vertical and lateral directions is adjustable with one member and the number of parts is reduced.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a stopper provided on a bending operation device provided in the operation section of an endoscope on the movable range of the traction means and the collision member or inside the range. The present invention relates to a bending operation device for an endoscope, in which the operation section is miniaturized by being provided in the endoscope.

[Prior Art] Generally, a bending section provided at the distal end of an insertion section of an endoscope is bent by pulling a wire through a bending operation knob provided on an operation section. . In such a configuration, if the curved portion is curved too much, an accident such as damage to the light guide or image guide inserted into the insertion portion may occur. Therefore, by attaching the wire collision member and causing the collision member to collide with the stopper, the maximum bending angle of the curved portion is regulated.

Japanese Utility Model Application No. 61-7204 has been proposed as a bending operation device for regulating the maximum bending angle of the bending portion. That is, in this bending operation device, a wall portion is provided upright on a substrate, and a screw shaft having a male thread formed over the entire length in the axial direction is rotatably supported on the wall portion. By screwing the stopper onto this screw, the maximum bending angle of the curved portion is regulated, and the stopper and the screw are positioned and fixed at any position in the axial direction. moreover,
When a collision member collides with the stopper, the bending stress generated in the male thread is prevented from concentrating on the valley of the male thread when the bending operation knob is further rotated after the collision, and the screw shaft is prevented from breaking. It looks like this.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in such a bending operation device, the range surrounded by the movable range of the bending drive system composed of a chain, a sprocket, a collision member, etc. that bends the bending part, for example, A stopper is provided on the outside to regulate the maximum bending angle of the bending portion, and therefore, the operating portion becomes larger by the width of the stopper provided outside the range surrounded by the movable range of the bending drive system. There was a problem with this.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and includes providing a stopper on a bending operation device provided in the operation section of an endoscope above or inside the movable range of the traction means and the collision member. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a bending operation device for an endoscope whose operation section is downsized.

[Means and Effects for Solving the Problems] The endoscope bending operation device of the present invention bends the bending portion provided in the insertion portion of the endoscope by pulling it with a pulling means, and
In a bending operation device having a stopper that is provided with a collision member interlocked with the traction means and regulates the maximum bending angle of the curved portion by causing the collision member to collide, the stopper is connected to the traction means and the collision member. Since it is provided on or inside the movable range, the bending section provided in the insertion section of the endoscope is operated to bend, and the maximum bending angle of the bending section is regulated.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 to 4 relate to the first embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing the general structure of the endoscope, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the operating section, and FIG. 3 2 is a sectional view taken along the line I--I in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line J--J' in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the endoscope 1 includes an elongated insertion section 3,
An operating section 2 connected to the rear end of the insertion section 3, a universal cable 4 extending outward from the side of the operating section 2, and an eyepiece section provided at the rear end of the operating section 2. It consists of 8.

A tip forming section 13 is provided at the distal end of the insertion section 3, and a bendable bending section 12 is provided on the rear side of the distal end forming section 13.

The operating section 2 is connected to a light source device (not shown) via a connector 5 at the tip of the universal cord 4. Further, the operation section 2 includes an air supply/water supply and suction switch 6, a vertical operation knob 7a for use in bending the bending section 12, and a left and right operation knob 7.
b, and a forceps opening 10 of a treatment instrument insertion channel (not shown) which can be opened and closed by a forceps stopper 9 is provided.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, a bending operation device 14 is built into the main body 16 within the operation section 2.

The base plate 15 of the bending operation device 14 is formed longer than the main body 16, and one end of the base plate 15 is a metal body that is fixed to one side wall of the main body 16 by an inner metal fitting 17 and an outer metal fitting 1.
A pair of tongue pieces 1 are bent and formed on the inner metal fitting 17 of 8.
It is connected and fixed to 9. A frame 20 has one end fixed to the other end of the substrate 15, and a connecting tube (not shown) for connecting the insertion section 3 to the operating section 2 is attached to the other end of the frame 20. . The connecting tube and the proximal end portion of the insertion section 3 are covered with an anti-bending member 11 that prevents the insertion section 3 from being bent excessively, as shown in FIG. Note that the grip cover 21 is fixed to the main body 16 by a presser metal fitting (not shown) attached to the connecting tube. Further, the outer metal fitting 18 also serves as a connection body for attaching the eyepiece section 8 to the main body 16.

Further, a shaft 22 is protruded from the upper surface of one end of the substrate 15 located inside the main body 16, and an inner sleeve 23 and an outer sleeve 24 are rotatably fitted onto the shaft 22. One end of each sleeve 23, 24 engages with a pair of sprockets 25 (only one shown) that are rotatably positioned vertically in the axial direction of the shaft 22, and the other end protrudes from the main body 16 to They are connected to bending operation knobs 7a and 7b, respectively.

In addition, Fig. 3 and Fig.
Referring to FIG. 4, which shows a cross section taken along line J-J in the figure, the substrate 1
A plate-shaped partition member 29 extends along the longitudinal direction of the substrate 15 on the upper surface of the other end side protruding into the grip cover 21 of the substrate 15.
For example, it is integrally formed and protrudes from the center and is fixed. Partition walls 31 are provided on both sides of this partition wall member 29.
The passage 30 is divided into two stages, upper and lower. Further, the substrate 15 is bent outward in the width direction into a U-shape, and partition walls 15a and 15b are formed.

On the other hand, a chain 32 is engaged with the sprocket 25 and connected to collision members 26a and 26b.

The collision members 26a and 26b have colliding portions that are connected to the partition wall member 2.
It protrudes on the 9 side and is L-shaped. The collision member 2
6a, 26b are movable along the longitudinal passage 30 of the substrate 15. On the other hand, the collision members 26a, 26
A wire 27 is connected to b. On the other hand, a stopper 2 is placed near the center of the upper surface of the substrate 15 inside the area surrounded by the partitions 115a, 15b and the chain 32.
8 is fixed to the third board 15 with screws 33. Also,
The stopper 28 is a single component so as to stop not only the collision member 26a but also the collision member 26b.

In the bending operation device 14 configured in this way, when the bending operation knobs 7a and 7b are rotated, the sprocket 25
rotates and the chain runs.

One passage 30 side in the width direction of the substrate 15 is pulled, and the wire 20 on the other passage 30 side is pushed. Therefore, the curved portion 12 is curved in the direction of the wire 20 being pulled. When the wire 20 is further pulled, the L-shaped collision parts provided on the collision members 26a and 26b that connect the base end of the wire 20 and the chain 32 collide with the stopper 28, so that the wire 20 It becomes impossible to tow the vehicle any further. Furthermore, since the collision members 26a and 26b are located on the inside of the partition walls 15a and 15b formed by bending the substrate 15 in the width direction of the substrate 15, they do not protrude any further to the outside, thereby reducing the width of the substrate 15. I can do it.

Since the stopper 28 is provided inside the area surrounded by the partition walls 15a, 15b, the sprocket 25, and the chain 32, the width of the board 15 is narrowed, and the entire bending operation device 14 can be made thinner. That is, the operating section 2 can be downsized. Furthermore, the maximum bending angle in the vertical and horizontal directions can be adjusted with one member, and the number of parts can be reduced.

5 to 7 relate to the second embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the structure of the operating section, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line L-L in FIG. 5.

As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, at the upper part of the other side of the board 5o that protrudes into the grip cover 59, a partition wall member 51 bent in a U-shape is attached to a holding plate through its intermediate side. 5
2 along the longitudinal direction of the substrate 5o. On the outer sides of both sides of the partition wall member 52, passages 54 are defined in two stages, upper and lower, by partition walls 53. This partition wall 53 is fixed to the substrate 50 with screws 56a. Further, this substrate 50 is formed by bending the outer side in the width direction into a U-shape, and partition walls 60a and 60b are formed. The traction member of the second embodiment has a pulley instead of the sprocket of the first embodiment. In other words,
A shaft 62 protrudes from the upper surface of one end of the substrate 50 located inside the main body 16, and a pair of rotatably provided pulleys 55 (only one shown) is fitted onto the shaft 62.

A wire 58 is fixedly attached to this pulley 55, and collision members 57a, 57b are attached to the base end of this wire 58.
is attached. The collision members 57a and 57b have collision parts projecting in an L-shape toward the partition walls 60a and 60b, respectively, and are movable along the longitudinal passage 54 of the substrate 50. On the other hand, this collision member 57a
, 57b are connected to the wire 61, and also serve as a continuum between the wire 61 and the wire 58.

The stopper 56 is located between the collision members 57a, 57b on the outside in the width direction of the substrate 50 and the pulley 55, and is located between the movable range of the outermost portion of the collision portion of the collision members 57a, 57b, the pulley 55, and the wire. It is bent into a U-shape inside the area surrounded by 58.

In the second embodiment, the sprocket of the first embodiment is replaced with a pulley, the chain is replaced with a wire, and the position of the stopper is changed, so the other configurations are the same as the first embodiment. .

In the second embodiment configured in this manner, the bending operation device 14 can be made thinner because the stopper 56 is installed so as not to protrude outside the outermost portion of the collision portion of the collision members 57a, 57b.

8 to 10 relate to the third embodiment of the present invention,
8 is a sectional view showing the structure of the operating section, FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line MM' in FIG. 8, and FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along the line NN' in FIG. 8.

As shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, a partition wall member 78 bent in a U-shape is attached to the upper part of the other side surface of the board 71 that protrudes into the grip cover 73, and the partition wall member 78 is bent into a U-shape and is attached to the board 71 through its intermediate side. 71 is attached and fixed along the longitudinal direction. and,
On the outside of both sides of the partition wall member 78, passages 95 are defined in two stages, upper and lower, by partition walls 94. This partition wall 94 is fixed to the substrate 71 with screws 74.

Further, this substrate 71 is bent on the outside in the width direction into a U-shape, and partition walls 76a and 76b are formed. In the traction member of the third embodiment, the sprocket of the first embodiment is replaced with a pinion, and the chain of the towed member is replaced with a rack and wire. That is, a shaft 96 protrudes from the upper surface of one end located within the main body 16 of the substrate 71, and a pair of pinions 72 (
(only the - side shown) is fitted. In addition, this board 71
one end located within the main body 16 of the is bent into a U-shape;
Partition walls 82a and 82b are formed. This partition wall 8
2a, 82b are installed with racks 83a, 83b that can move forward and backward. Wires 81 are attached to these racks 83a and 83b.
is fixedly attached, and collision members 77a and 77b are attached to the base end of this wire 81. The collision members 77a and 77b each have a collision portion that is connected to the partition wall member 7.
It protrudes in an L-shape toward the 8 side, and is movable along the longitudinal passage 95 of the substrate 71.

On the other hand, the collision members 77a and 77b are connected to a wire 91, and the wire 91 and the wire 81 are connected to each other.
It also serves as a continuum. The stoppers 79a and 79b are
The collision members 77a, 77b and the pinion 72 are fixedly attached to the substrate 71 at an intermediate side adjacent to the partition wall member 78. Further, the partition member 78 is bent into a U-shape, and a forceps lifting mechanism 99 is provided in the U-shaped groove.

By the way, a forceps elevator (not shown) is provided at the end of the endoscope, and this forceps elevator is operated by a wire 90.
It is fixed to a first pipe fixing member 89. This first
The pipe fixing member 89 is connected to the second pipe by the connecting pipe 88.
is fixed to a pipe fixing member 86. This second pipe fixing member 86 is connected to the operating wire coupling member 85 by a connecting rod 87. On the other hand, a guide member 80 shorter than the partition wall member 78 is attached to the pinion 72 side of the partition wall member 78, so that the operation wire coupling member 85 can move forward and backward. The shaft 96 protrudes from the upper surface of one end of the substrate 71, and a treatment tool guide operating lever (not shown) is rotatably provided on the shaft 96. The treatment instrument inductor operating lever is interlocked with the operating wire coupling member 85 via a connecting member 84 . Further, in the treatment instrument guide control lever, a part of the lever (not shown) protrudes from the main body 16, and when this part of the lever is operated, the operation wire coupling member 85 advances and retreats, and the wire 90 is pulled, allowing the endoscopic view. A forceps elevator (not shown) stands at the tip of the mirror.

In the third embodiment, the sprocket and chain of the first embodiment are replaced with a rough pinion, so other configurations are the same as the first embodiment.

In the third embodiment configured in this way, the collision member 77a1
The stoppers 79a and 79b that 77b collides with are connected to the substrate 71.
By oriented inward in the width direction, the width of the substrate 71 can be made narrower. In addition, since the forceps lifting mechanism 99 (not shown) is installed in the U-shaped groove of the partition member 78 outside the outermost portion so as not to get in the way, the bending operation device 14 can be made thinner.

11 to 14 relate to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram showing the general configuration of an electric bending endoscope, FIG. 12 is a sectional view showing the structure of the operating section, and FIG. Figure 13 is a sectional view taken along the O-○° line in Figure 12, and Figure 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line p- in Figure 12.
It is a p-line sectional view.

As shown in FIG. 11, the endoscope 101 includes an elongated insertion section 102, an operation section 103 connected to the rear end of the insertion section 102, and an operation section 103 extending outward from the side of the operation section 103. It consists of a universal cable LO4.

The insertion section 102 includes a distal end forming section 105 at the distal end, a bendable bending section 106 provided at the rear side of the distal end forming section 105, and a flexible section 107 provided at the rear end of the bending section 106. It is configured.

The operation section 103 is provided with an air/water supply switch 109, a suction switch 120, and a bending operation switch section 121. As will be described later, this bending operation switch section 121 includes an upward switch 121a and a downward switch 1 for use when operating the bending section 106 in a bending manner.
21b, a left direction switch 121C, and a right direction switch 121d. Further, a connector 122 for connecting to the illumination light source device 130 is attached to the lower and higher ends of the universal cord 104. Inside this illumination light source device 130, a motor control unit 131 is provided.
and a video signal processing unit 132, which are electrically/optically connected to the endoscope 101 side when the connector 122 of the endoscope 101 is connected to the illumination light source device 130. It has become. The image signal processed by the video signal processing unit 132 is transmitted to a monitor 133.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12 to FIG.
is built-in. The board 1 of this electric bending operation section 135
36 is formed to be longer than the main body 134, and one end of the inner metal 1 of the inner metal 137 and the outer metal 138 is a metal body that is fixed by sandwiching one side wall of the main body 134.
37 is connected and fixed to a piece bent into an L-shape. A frame 139 has one end fixed to the other end of the substrate 136, and a connecting tube (not shown) for connecting the insertion section 102 to the operating section 103 is attached to the other end of the frame 139. . This connecting tube and insertion part 102
The proximal end portion of the insertion portion 102 is covered with an anti-bending member 140 shown in FIG. 11 that prevents the insertion portion 102 from being bent excessively. Note that the grip cover 141 is fixed to the main body 134 by a presser metal fitting (not shown) attached to the connecting tube (not shown). Furthermore, the outer metal 138
also serves as a connection body for attaching the video camera operating section 142 to the main body 134.

Further, a shaft 143 protrudes from the upper surface of one end of the substrate 136 located inside the main body 134, and a sprocket 144 and a driven gear 145 are rotatably fitted onto the shaft 143. Incidentally, the sprocket 144 and the driven gear 145 are fixed in close contact with each other, and are provided in pairs, one above the other (only one is shown). Also, a driven gear 145 is arranged so as to mesh with this driven gear 145.
and located at the middle side of the video camera operation section 142,
A drive gear 146 is installed. A shaft 147 of this drive gear 146 is fixedly connected to a shaft of a motor (not shown). On the other hand, on both upper and lower sides of the substrate 136,
A sub-board 148 (only one of which is shown) is fixed with screws 157, and the aforementioned motor (not shown) is fixed to this sub-board 148. Further, a plate-shaped partition member 149 is fixed to the upper surface of the other end of the substrate 136 that protrudes into the grip cover 141 along the longitudinal direction of the substrate 136 via its intermediate side. The substrate 136 has an L-shaped outer side bent in the radial direction, and has partition walls 150a and 15.
0b is formed, and a passage 151 is defined. On the other hand, a chain 152 is attached to the drive gear 146.
are connected and fixed to the collision members 153a and 153b. The collision members 153a and 153b have a shape in which two symmetrical points are cut into a plane from a cylindrical metal. Furthermore, the collision members 153a and 153b are
The substrate 136 is movable along the longitudinal passage 151. Furthermore, a bending wire 154 is connected to the collision members 153a and 153b, and also serves as a connection body between the chain 152 and this bending wire 154. On the other hand, the stopper 155 is located at the middle of the movable range of the collision members 153a and 153b in the longitudinal direction of the base plate 136 and the range surrounded by the sprocket 144 and the chain 152, and is bent into an L-shape. The two pieces are fixed to the substrate 136 with screws 158.

The other piece of this stopper 155 has a hole 155a through which the chain 152 passes.

In the electric bending operation device 101 configured as described above, when the bending operation switch 121 is operated, the shaft of the motor (not shown) rotates, and the shaft 14 fixedly connected to this shaft rotates.
7, the driven gear 145 rotates. When the driven gear 145 rotates, the sprocket 144, which is closely fixed, rotates and the chain 144 runs.

The wire 154 on one side of the passage 151 in the width direction of the substrate 136 is pulled, and the wire 154 on the other side of the passage 151 is pushed. Therefore, the curved portion 106 will be curved in the direction of the wire 154 being pulled. Then, when the wire 154 is further pulled, the wire 1
Collision member 153 connecting the base end of 54 and chain 152
a and 153b are larger than the hole 155a provided in the stopper 155 through which the chain 152 is passed, so the stopper 1
Collision with 55. Therefore, the wire 154 can no longer be pulled. Further, the stopper 155 is a single component so as to stop not only the collision member 153a but also the collision member 153b.

Since the entire collision members 153a and 153b collide with the stomper 155, the shape is simplified and the width of the board 136 can be narrowed, so the operation section 103 can be downsized. Also, the chain 152 is connected to the stopper 15.
Since the chain 152 is passed through the hole 155a, it also prevents the chain 152 from sagging.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the bending operation device of the present invention, the stopper provided on the bending operation device provided in the operation section of the endoscope can be moved over or within the movable range of the traction means and the collision member. Since it is provided inside the endoscope, the bending part provided in the insertion section of the endoscope can be operated to bend, and the maximum bending angle of the bending part can be controlled, and the operating part can be made smaller.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 4 relate to the first embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the general structure of the endoscope, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the structure of the operating section, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the J-1 cross section of the operating portion, and FIGS. 5 to 7 relate to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing the structure of the operating section, Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along the -° line in Fig. 5, and Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken along line L-L' in Fig. 5.
8 to 10 relate to the third embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing the structure of the operating section, and FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line MM' in FIG. 8. , FIG. 10 is N- in FIG.
The N-line sectional views, FIGS. 11 to 14, are the fourth embodiment of the present invention.
Regarding the embodiment, FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram showing the general configuration of the electric bending endoscope, FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the operating section, and FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line ○-0' in FIG. 12. 14 is a sectional view taken along the line P-P= in FIG. 12. l.. Endoscope 2.. Operating unit 14.. Curving operating device 15. Board 22.. Shaft 2.
5... Sprocket 26a... Collision member 26
b... Collision member Fig. 1 Fig. 3 ＼ Fig. 4 Fig. 6 Fig. 9 rl 93 Fig. 13 Fig. 14 1991 = Child month 21st

Claims (1)

[Claims] The bending section provided in the insertion section of the endoscope is operated by a traction means to bend the bending section, and a collision member is provided which is linked to the traction means, and the maximum curvature of the curved section is achieved by causing the collision member to collide. 1. A bending operation device for an endoscope having a stopper for regulating an angle, wherein the stopper is provided on or inside a movable range of the traction means and the collision member.