JP2008023064A - Bending device of coelom examination apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To permit the operating angle of a locking member to lock a pulley driving shaft by the locking member to be easily adjusted so as to make an angle nearly constant by forming a bending device to bend a bending tube portion. <P>SOLUTION: A thread portion is provided on the periphery of the pulley driving shaft 19 to be operated by a bending lever 22, a friction pad 29 having a pad layer 32 structured so as to have a conical surface the periphery of which is continuously diametrally reduced toward the tip side is fitted into the thread portion. The friction pad 29 is fixed by making a prescribed tightening force act on a spacer ring 33 and a nut 34. The friction pad 29 can displace toward the axis of the pulley driving shaft 19, when the locking lever 24 is rotated by a prescribed angle, a locking plate 23a provided in a locking action shaft 23 butts against the friction bad 29, and a position adjustment is made to obtain a fixed pressing force in the mean time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a bending operation device for bending a distal end portion of an insertion portion in a body cavity inspection device such as an endoscope by remote operation, and particularly, a bending operation provided with a lock mechanism for fixing in a desired bending angle state. It relates to the device.

  As an in-vivo inspection device, for example, an endoscope has a structure in which an insertion portion to be inserted into a body cavity is connected to a main body operation portion, and an endoscope observation means including an illumination portion and an observation portion is provided. In order to orient the distal end hard portion of the provided insertion portion in a desired direction, a curved tube portion is connected to the distal end hard portion. The bending tube portion can be bent in at least one direction or two directions, more preferably in four directions, up and down and left and right, by remote operation from the main body operation unit. For this purpose, a bending operation device is provided in the main body operation unit. The bending operation device includes a pulley, and an operation wire is wound around the pulley. The operation wire extends to the insertion portion, and the tip thereof is fixed to the tip of the bending tube portion or the hard tip portion. When the pulley is rotated, the operation wire is pushed and pulled to bend in a direction in which tension is applied to the operation wire.

  In the bending operation device, one or two operation wires are wound around the pulley. Therefore, in order to bend the bending tube portion up and down and left and right, two pulleys are mounted, and a pair of upper and lower operation wires and a pair of left and right operation wires are wound around each pulley. Two sets of pulley drive shafts and pulley operation members are also provided, but the two pulley drive shafts are provided coaxially or as independent shafts, and both these pulley drive shafts are extended from the casing of the main body operation unit to the outside. . As described above, the pulley operation member is connected to the part of the pulley drive shaft that is led out of the casing, and the pulley operation member can be operated by a finger of a hand that holds the main body operation unit. When the bending tube portion is bent up and down, if the pulley operation member is turned to one side by finger operation, the bending tube portion is bent upward, and if the pulley operation member is turned in the opposite direction, the bending tube portion is bent downward. In addition, it is bent by an amount corresponding to the operation angle of the pulley operation member.

  The bending operation device is provided with locking means. This locking means is for operating the pulley operation member to bend the bending tube portion in either direction and maintain this state when a desired bending angle state is obtained. The lock means includes a lock operation member and a lock member, and the lock operation member and the lock member are connected to both ends of a lock operation shaft provided so as to penetrate the casing. Further, a locking member is fixedly attached to the pulley drive shaft, and a lock member is pressed against the locking member, and the pulley drive shaft is locked at a predetermined rotational position by the pressing force, and this The pulley attached to the pulley drive shaft is held so as not to rotate.

Here, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a lock operation shaft to which a lock member is connected is provided coaxially with a pulley drive shaft. In the configuration of Patent Document 1, a pulley drive shaft is provided with a flange portion, and a lock operation shaft is provided with a pair of upper and lower brake pads for clamping the flange portion. It is set as the structure which clamps a part. Further, as disclosed in Patent Document 2, a configuration in which a lock operation shaft is provided in parallel with a pulley drive shaft is also known. The lock mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 2 includes a braking adjustment member, two cam members, and a friction member. By rotating the lock operation shaft, the distance between the two cam plates is increased. When the two cam plates are displaced in a direction away from each other, the friction member is pressed against the pulley and the pulley is fixed in the rotating direction.
JP 7-159700 A JP 2005-160790 A

  Incidentally, in the configurations of Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above, the amount of movement of the friction member is constant with respect to the rotation angle of the lock operating shaft, and when the lock operation member is rotated by a predetermined angle, The lock member is locked so that a predetermined pressing force acts on the contact member of the pulley drive shaft and the pulley drive shaft does not rotate. However, each member constituting the bending operation device has a pulley operation means, a lock means, a lock operation shaft and a pulley drive shaft having a coaxial structure, or a structure in which the shafts are arranged in parallel. Is separately assembled in the casing of the main body operation unit, so it is impossible to prevent variations in the position of each part due to dimensional error or assembly error of each part, and thus the pulley drive shaft is fixed. Therefore, the rotation angle of the lock operating shaft necessary for obtaining the friction braking force required for the change may vary, and the operation angle when the lock operation member is locked may change. Thus, if there is variation in the angle of the lock operation member when the lock function is exhibited, sufficient reliability cannot be obtained for the bending operation device.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a lock operation member for locking a pulley drive shaft by a lock operation member in a bending operation device for bending operation of a bending tube portion. This is to make it possible to easily adjust the operation angle so that the operation angle becomes substantially constant.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention is provided in a casing of a main body operation unit in order to bend a bending tube unit constituting an insertion unit of an in-vivo inspection device by pushing and pulling an operation wire, A bending operation means comprising a pulley around which an operation wire is wound, a pulley drive shaft led out of the casing from the pulley, a pulley operation member connected to the pulley drive shaft, and a pulley drive shaft A bending operation device having a lock means that can be engaged and disengaged, wherein the lock means is connected to the lock operation shaft provided rotatably on the casing of the main body operation section, and the lock operation shaft. And a lock operating member connected to a lead-out portion from the casing to the outside of the lock operating shaft, and the pulley drive shaft includes the lock member and A releasing locking member is mounted, and by changing the contact position between the locking member and the locking member, the pressing force of the locking member to the locking member necessary for the locking operation is changed. It is characterized by having an adjustable configuration.

  The body cavity inspection device to which the bending operation device of the present invention is applied has an insertion portion that is inserted into the body cavity, and the insertion portion includes a bending tube portion that is bent by remote operation from the main body operation portion. Is. A typical example is an endoscope. However, in addition to an endoscope, the present invention can also be applied to other inspection apparatuses having an insertion portion including a curved tube portion such as an ultrasonic probe.

  The pulley around which the operation wire is wound is provided in the casing of the main body operation portion. If one pulley is provided and one operation wire is wound around this pulley, the bending tube portion is bent in one direction. it can. Moreover, if it comprises so that two operation wires may be wound, a bending tube part can be bent in two directions, for example, an up-down direction. When two pulleys are arranged and two operation wires are wound around the pulleys, the bending tube portion can be bent in four directions, up and down and left and right.

  This bending operation device includes a bending operation means for rotating a pulley and a lock means. The lock member provided on the lock operating shaft constituting the lock means is detachable from the locking member mounted on the pulley drive shaft, and is held so that the pulley drive shaft does not rotate in the engaged state. That is, when a predetermined pressing force is applied from the lock member to the locking member of the pulley drive shaft, the pulley drive shaft is held so as not to rotate.

  Since the pulley drive shaft and the lock operation shaft are both mounted on the casing, when the lock member is rotated at a certain angle by accurately assembling them, a substantially constant pressing force is applied to the locking member. It is assembled so that pressure acts. However, since the pressing force may vary due to processing errors or assembly errors of the parts constituting the bending operation device, a means for adjusting the pressing force of the locking member against the locking member is provided. Yes. The locking member composed of a friction member and the like that engages and disengages with the lock member has a conical shape at least part of its outer surface, and the lock member is configured to contact and separate from this conical surface portion. Accordingly, by adjusting the position of the locking member in the axial direction of the pulley drive shaft, it is possible to adjust the pressing force of the locking member to the locking member.

  The locking member can be formed of a conical locking tapering, and the locking tapering can be attached to the outer peripheral surface of the hard ring. The rigid ring can be fixedly held at an arbitrary position in the axial direction of the pulley drive shaft. For this purpose, the pulley drive shaft is provided with fastening means for the locking member. For example, a thread portion is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the pulley drive shaft, and a nut is fitted at least on the tip side. The base end side of the pulley drive shaft, that is, the connection side to the pulley operating means is provided with a spacer or nut, and the position of the locking tapering can be adjusted by changing the thickness of the spacer or changing the position of the nut. it can. Also, a part of the locking taper ring is cut out to form a long hole in the hard ring that is long in the direction parallel to the pulley drive shaft, and a screw hole is provided in the side surface of the pulley drive shaft to make it long. The position of the locking member in the axial direction of the pulley drive shaft can also be adjusted by screwing a fixing screw into the screw hole and fixing the screw through the hole.

  In order to keep the bending tube portion in a desired bending state, when locking the pulley drive shaft, the positions and operation angles of the unlocking state and the locking state of the lock operation member are substantially constant, and the lock operation member is locked. It can be easily adjusted so that the pressing force against the locking member is constant.

    Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 shows a configuration of an endoscope as an example of a body cavity inspection apparatus. In the figure, 1 is a main body operation part, 2 is an insertion part into a body cavity as an axial insertion part, and 3 is a universal cord.

  In the present embodiment, most of the length from the connecting portion of the insertion portion 2 to the main body operation portion 1 is constituted by the hard portion 2a. In addition, it can replace with the hard part 2a and can also be comprised as a soft part. The bending tube portion 2b is connected to the distal end of the hard portion 2a, and the distal end hard portion 2c is connected to the distal end of the bending tube portion 2b. Although illustration is omitted, the distal end hard part 2c is provided with an illuminating part for irradiating illumination light and an observation part for taking an image of a body cavity under illumination from the illuminating part. In the present embodiment, the observation unit is configured to include solid-state imaging means. The universal cord 3 is detachably connected to a light source device for transmitting illumination light to the illuminating unit and a processor that drives a solid-state imaging unit constituting the observation unit and processes a video signal from the solid-state imaging unit. Connectors 4 and 5 are provided.

  The main body operation unit 1 is used for, for example, an operator to operate the endoscope by grasping with a hand. As one of these operations, there is an operation for bending the bending tube portion 2b in the insertion unit 2. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the bending operation device is provided in the casing 10 of the main body operation unit 1. The casing 10 is made of metal or synthetic resin. As is apparent from FIGS. 2 and 3, in order to allow the casing 10 to be disassembled, a front casing 10b and a rear casing 10c are provided at both ends of the main body casing 10a. It is connected and provided. The insertion portion 2 extends from the front casing 10b, and the universal cord 3 is pulled out from the rear casing 10c. The bending operation device is attached to the main casing 10a.

  The illustrated bending operation device is configured to bend the bending tube portion 2b vertically and horizontally. For this purpose, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a partition plate 11 is provided in the casing 10 of the main body operation unit 1, and pulleys 12, 12 are supported on both surfaces of the partition plate 11. . Each of the pulleys 12 and 12 is provided with four operating wires 13 wound from the bending tube portion 2b. The two operation wires 13 and 13 wound around one pulley 12 (for example, the left pulley in FIG. 4) are for bending the bending tube portion 2b in the vertical direction, and the other pulley 12 (for example, The two operation wires 13 and 13 wound around the pulley on the right side in FIG. 4 are for bending the bending tube portion 2b to the left and right. By rotating the pulley 12 and applying a pulling force to one of the pair of operation wires 13, the bending tube portion 2 b is bent in the pulling direction. At this time, the other operation wire 13 is connected to the pulley 12. It is paid out from.

  The bending operation device is for rotating the pulley 12 as described above. For this purpose, the pulley 12 is integrally provided with a hollow support shaft portion 14, which is separated from the partition plate 11 and extends toward the side surface portion of the main body casing 10 a. Openings 15 are formed in the left and right side portions of the main body casing 10a, and an operation means assembly 16 is mounted in each of the openings 15. The operating means assembly 16 includes a circular support disk 17 which is attached to the opening 15 via a seal ring 18 so that the inside of the casing 10 has an airtight structure.

  A first insertion hole 17a is formed in the support disc 17 so as to penetrate in the thickness direction, and a pulley drive shaft 19 is attached to the first insertion hole 17a. A tip end portion 19 a of the pulley drive shaft 19 is fitted to the support shaft portion 14 and fixed in a connected state by a set screw 20. A chamfered portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the distal end portion 19a of the pulley drive shaft 19, and the hollow portion of the support shaft portion 14 has a flat surface. The twelve support shafts 14 rotate integrally. Accordingly, the support shaft portion 14 also constitutes a part of the pulley drive shaft 19.

  The pulley drive shaft 19 passes through the support disk 17 and is led out of the casing 10, and a seal member 21 is mounted in the vicinity of the base end of the pulley drive shaft 19, and the seal member 21 is attached to the hole wall of the first insertion hole 17a. The first insertion hole 17a is kept in an airtight state in close contact with each other. A bending operation lever 22 as a pulley operation member constituting a bending operation means is connected to the shaft end of the pulley drive shaft 19 so as to rotate integrally. The bending operation lever 22 extends in a direction orthogonal to the pulley drive shaft 19, and a distal end portion is bent in a direction parallel to the pulley drive shaft 19, thereby forming an operation portion 22 a that is operated with fingers. Therefore, by operating the bending operation lever 22, the pulley drive shaft 19 can be rotated, and the support shaft portion 14 and the pulley 12 connected to the pulley drive shaft 19 can be rotated. As a result, one of the pair of operation wires 13 wound around the pulley 12 is pulled and the other is drawn out, so that the bending tube portion 2b is bent in the operated direction.

  The bending tube portion 2b is bent by operating the bending operation lever 22 as described above, and this bending operation device includes a lock unit that locks in a desired bending state. This locking means is composed of a lock operating shaft 23 inserted through a second insertion hole 17 b formed in the support disk 17. The lock operating shaft 23 is connected to a leading end portion of the casing 10 to the outside with a lock lever 24 as a lock operation member. Accordingly, when the lock lever 24 is turned, the lock operating shaft 23 is turned. In the figure, reference numeral 25 denotes a seal member provided in a lead-out portion from the second insertion hole 17b of the lock operating shaft 23.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the lock operating shaft 23 is formed of a large-diameter disk integrally formed at a tip portion located in the casing 10, that is, an end portion on the opposite side to the connecting portion of the lock lever 24. A lock plate 23 a is provided, and the lock plate 23 a is eccentric with respect to the axis of the lock operating shaft 23. The lock plate 23 a protrudes in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the lock operation shaft 23. As a result, when the lock operating shaft 23 is rotated about the axis, the lock plate 23a is eccentrically rotated, so that the lock plate 23a contacts and separates from the outer peripheral surface of the pulley drive shaft 19, and this lock plate 23a is a lock member. .

  FIG. 7 shows the configuration of the mounting portion of the pulley drive shaft 19 to the support disk 17. As is clear from this figure, the pulley drive shaft 19 is formed with a flange portion 26 on the inner side of the casing 10 at the insertion portion to the support disc 17, and the flange portion 26 is formed on the support disc 17. The first insertion hole 17a is positioned and held by coming into contact with the enlarged stepped wall 27. A set screw 28 is screwed into the end of the pulley drive shaft 19 located outside the casing 10. Thus, the pulley drive shaft 19 is connected to the bending operation lever 22 so as to rotate integrally, and is fixedly held by the support disk 17.

  On the outer peripheral surface of the pulley drive shaft 19, a portion from the flange portion 26 to immediately before the fitting portion to the support shaft 14 is a screw portion, and a locking tapering 29 as a locking member is provided at this portion. It is mated. The locking taper ring 29 is located on the innermost side, and the hard pipe 30 having a tapered shape whose outer peripheral surface is continuously reduced in diameter toward the distal end side is fitted and fixed to the hard pipe 30. It has a three-layer structure of an elastic ring 31 and an outer diameter ring 32 made of a hard member fitted and fixed to the elastic ring 31. And the outer peripheral surface of the taper ring 29 for latching has a structure which has the conical surface continuously diameter-reduced as it goes to the front end side.

  The locking taper ring 29 is fitted and fixed to the pulley drive shaft 19 so that the small diameter side faces the tip. That is, the spacer ring 33 is fitted to the pulley drive shaft 19 so as to contact the flange portion 26. Then, the locking taper ring 29 is fitted to the pulley drive shaft 19, and a nut 34 is screwed to the distal end side so that a predetermined tightening force is applied to the pulley drive shaft 19. It will be fixed so that it will not move. Therefore, the spacer ring 33 and the nut 34 constitute fastening means for fixing the locking taper ring 29 as a locking member in the axial direction of the pulley drive shaft 19.

  In the bending operation device configured as described above, the state where the lock plate 23a is separated from the outer surface of the locking taper ring 29 is the unlock position where the pulley drive shaft 19 rotates without resistance. When the lock operating shaft 23 is rotated, the lock plate 23a comes into contact with the locking taper ring 29, and the elastic ring 31 is compressed by the pressing force at this time. As a result, the outer diameter ring 32 is eccentric with respect to the pulley drive shaft 19. When the pulley drive shaft 19 is rotated to a position where a predetermined pressing force is applied, the pulley drive shaft 19 is fixedly held at the predetermined rotation position by the pressing force of the lock plate 23a against the locking tapering 29. Become.

  A stopper pin 35 is provided on the support disc 17 for positioning and holding the lock plate 23a at that position when the lock plate 23a is in the locked position. Here, the position shown in FIG. 8 is the unlocking position, and the position shown in FIG. 9 is the locking position. That is, with respect to the line L connecting the shaft center C1 of the pulley drive shaft 19 and the shaft center C2 of the lock operation shaft 23, the protrusion direction line P of the lock plate 23a (the shaft center C2 of the lock operation shaft 23 and the lock plate 23a When the line connecting the protruding position is opened by a predetermined angle or more, the lock release position is reached. The position where the protruding direction line P slightly exceeds the line L is the lock position. In this position, the pulley drive shaft 19 is locked so as not to rotate due to the deformation of the locking taper ring 29. Even in this locked state, when a load larger than the pressing force between the lock plate 23a and the locking taper ring 29 is applied, the pulley drive shaft 19 rotates in the direction of the load. It will be.

  The endoscope inserts its insertion portion 2 into the body of the subject, and the inspection inside the body is performed. Then, in order to change the observation visual field as necessary, the bending tube portion 2b is desired by individually rotating the pair of bending operation levers 22 attached to the main body operation portion 1 appropriately forward or backward. It will bend in the direction. In order to hold the bending tube portion 2b in a curved state, the lock lever 24 provided in the main body operation portion 1 is rotated. As a result, the lock plate 23a provided on the lock operating shaft 23 is displaced from the unlocked position of FIG. 8 to the locked position of FIG. And a pressing force is applied to the locking taper ring 29. As a result, the resistance to rotation of the pulley drive shaft 19 is increased, and the bending tube portion 2b is held in the bending angle state at that time.

  In order to operate the locking means accurately, when the lock plate 23a is in the state shown in FIG. 9, a predetermined resistance force against the rotation of the pulley drive shaft 19 can be generated, and the lock plate 23a Until a state before the state shown in FIG. 9 is reached, a strong pressing force is not applied to the locking taper ring 29. In other words, when the locking means is operated, the lock lever 24 is always at a constant angular position, and a constant pressing force (specifically, a compressive force on the elastic ring 31) against the locking taper ring 29 is obtained by the lock plate 23a. There must be. Therefore, the position of the locking taper ring 29 can be adjusted in the axial direction of the pulley drive shaft 19. Accordingly, the nut 34 is detached from the pulley drive shaft 19 to adjust the mounting position of the locking taper ring 29 on the pulley drive shaft 19.

  As a result, when the locking taper ring 29 is arranged at a fixed position with respect to the pulley drive shaft 19, the locking at the time of locking is caused by processing errors, assembly errors, etc. of each part constituting the bending operation device. Variations in the pressing force of the plate 23a on the locking taper ring 29 can be adjusted. As a result, the operating condition of the lock means can be made constant, that is, when the lock lever 24 is rotated by a predetermined angle, the lock plate 23a comes into contact with the locking taper ring 29, and at that time, the fixed condition is constant. Adjustment can be made to obtain a pressing force.

  Here, the locking taper ring 29 must be fixed so as not to move in the axial direction with respect to the pulley drive shaft 19. For this purpose, the locking taper ring 29 is interposed between the spacer ring 33 and the nut 34. It is fixed by holding 29. Therefore, when the position of the locking taper ring 29 is adjusted, the thickness of the spacer ring 33 also needs to be changed. Therefore, a spring washer can be used in place of the spacer ring 33. If a spring washer is used in this way, a certain distance can be absorbed.

  Further, as the locking member, the locking tapering 40 having the configuration shown in FIG. 10 can be used. That is, the notch 44 is formed in the elastic ring 42 and the outer diameter ring 43 while leaving the hard pipe 41 in a part of the peripheral body of the locking taper ring 40. Then, a long hole 46 that is elongated in the axial direction of the pulley drive shaft 45 is formed in a portion of the hard pipe 41. The pulley drive shaft 45 is not provided with a threaded portion, and a screw hole 47 is formed at a predetermined position of the peripheral body portion. With this configuration, the locking taper ring 40 is driven by a pulley by screwing the set screw 48 into the screw hole 47 from the outside through the long hole 46 provided in the locking taper ring 40 and tightening. It can be fixed to the shaft 45. Moreover, the fixing position of the locking taper ring 40 to the pulley drive shaft 45 can be adjusted in the axial direction. Therefore, a constant pressing force against the locking taper ring 40 by the lock plate 50a provided continuously with the lock operation shaft 50 is obtained at a certain angular position of the lock lever 49.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of an endoscope as an example of a body cavity inspection device to which a bending operation device of the present invention is applied. It is sectional drawing of the main body operation part of FIG. It is a front view of the main body operation part of the endoscope of FIG. It is XX sectional drawing of FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 4 showing the operating means assembly separately. It is an external appearance perspective view which shows a lock | rock action | operation axis | shaft and a lock board. It is structure explanatory drawing which decomposes | disassembles and shows the mounting part of the tapering for a latching. FIG. 6 is a front view of the bending operation device in which the lock lever is in the unlocked position and a nut for fixing the locking tapering is omitted. FIG. 6 is a front view of the bending operation device in a state where the lock lever is in a locked position and a nut for fixing the locking tapering is omitted. It is sectional drawing similar to FIG. 4 which shows the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body operation part 2 Insertion part 2b Curved tube part 10 Casing 11 Partition plate 12 Pulley 13 Operation wire 14 Support shaft part 16 Operation means assembly 17 Support disk 19, 45 Pulley drive shaft 22 Bending operation lever 23, 50 Lock operation shaft 23a 50a Lock plate 24, 49 Lock lever 29, 40 Locking taper ring 30, 41 Hard pipe 31, 42 Elastic ring 32, 43 Outer ring 33 Spacer ring 34 Nut 44 Notch 46 Long hole 47 Screw hole 48 Set screw

Claims (2)

In order to bend the bending tube portion constituting the insertion portion of the body cavity inspection device by pushing and pulling the operation wire, a pulley around which the operation wire is wound, and a pulley around which the operation wire is wound, In a bending operation device having a bending operation means having a pulley drive shaft led out of the casing, a pulley operation member connected to the pulley drive shaft, and a lock means detachable from the pulley drive shaft. ,
The lock means includes a lock operation shaft that is rotatably supported on the casing of the main body operation unit, a lock member that is connected to the lock operation shaft, and the lock operation shaft from the casing to the outside. A locking operation member connected to the lead-out portion of
The pulley drive shaft is fitted with a locking member that contacts and separates from the locking member, and the lock required for the locking operation is changed by changing the contact position between the locking member and the locking member. A bending operation device for a body cavity inspection device, wherein the pressing force of the member to the locking member is adjustable. The locking member has a conical surface that contacts and separates the locking member formed on at least a part of the outer surface thereof, and the locking member is fixed to be movable in the axial direction of the pulley drive shaft by a fastening means. The bending operation apparatus for an in-vivo inspection device according to claim 1, wherein

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