JP4761908B2 - Angle operation device for body cavity inspection device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an angle 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.

  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 turn the distal end hard portion of the provided insertion portion in a desired direction, an angle portion is connected to the distal end hard portion. The angle portion can be operated to bend 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, an angle operation device is provided in the main body operation unit. The angle operation device includes a pulley, and an operation wire is wound around the pulley, the operation wire is extended to the insertion portion, and the distal end thereof is fixed to the distal end of the angle portion or the distal end hard 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.

  The angle operation device includes a pulley around which an operation wire is wound, a pulley drive shaft connected to the pulley, and pulley operation means including an operation lever and an operation ring connected to the pulley drive shaft. One or two operation wires are wound around the pulley. Therefore, in order to curve the angle portion vertically and horizontally, 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 means are also provided, but the two pulley drive shafts are provided coaxially or are extended independently from the casing of the main body operation unit as independent shafts. Each of these pulley drive shafts is provided with pulley operation means. For example, when the angle part is bent up and down, if the pulley operating means is turned to one side by finger operation, the angle part is bent upward, and if the pulley is turned in the opposite direction, the angle part is bent downward. In addition, it is bent by an amount corresponding to the operation angle of the pulley operation means.

  The angle operating device is provided with a locking means. The lock means is for locking the angle portion in a state where the angle portion is bent in any direction by a desired angle by operating the pulley operation means. The lock means is constituted by a lock member that is actuated by a lock operation member. By pressing the lock member against the surface of a friction member attached to the pulley drive shaft, the pulley drive shaft is brought into a predetermined rotational position. Locked and held so that the pulley mounted on this pulley drive shaft does not rotate. The lock operation member constituting the lock means is located outside the casing of the main body operation unit, and the lock member is provided in the casing. Accordingly, the lock operation member and the lock member are connected to both ends of the lock operation shaft provided so as to penetrate the casing.

Here, Patent Document 1 discloses a structure in which a lock operation shaft connected to a lock member is provided coaxially with a pulley drive shaft, and Patent Document 2 discloses a structure in which a lock operation shaft is provided in parallel with a pulley drive shaft. It is also known. In the configuration of Patent Document 2, the lock member is fitted to the pulley drive shaft, and the lock operation shaft is provided with an engagement member that engages with the lock member.
JP 7-159700 A JP 2005-160790 A

  By the way, in the above-described known technique, the friction member and the lock member are coaxial with the pulley drive shaft even if the lock operation shaft is provided coaxially with the pulley drive shaft and the lock operation shaft is provided parallel to the pulley drive shaft. In addition, when the lock is released, the friction member and the lock member need to be separated from each other by a predetermined distance. In addition, in order to stably operate the locking means, the friction member and the locking member are arranged in the sealed casing of the main body operation unit. Thus, the pulley drive shaft provided with the lock member has a problem that the part located in the casing is elongated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to lock a pulley connected to the pulley drive shaft with a compact configuration without particularly lengthening the pulley drive shaft. This is to enable reliable switching between the position and the unlock position.

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 an angle portion constituting an insertion unit of a body cavity inspection device by pushing and pulling an operation wire. An angle operating device comprising a pulley around which a wire is wound, a pulley drive shaft led out of the casing from the pulley, and pulley operation means connected to the pulley drive shaft , the pulley drive shaft and provided parallel to, said the locking operation shaft in the casing of the manipulation section Ru is rotatably supported, the lock actuating shaft provided integrally with within the casing, the direction perpendicular to the axis of the lock actuation shaft consists overhanging a locking member comprising a protruding portion, and the lock operation member provided by connecting from the casing of the lock actuation shaft in the derivation of the outside, the When the lock operating shaft is rotated by a lock operating member, the unlocking position where the pulley drive shaft can be rotated, the lock member is engaged with the pulley drive shaft, and the pulley drive shaft is It is characterized in that it is configured to be able to rotate and displace to a lock position where it is held so as not to rotate.

  The body cavity inspection apparatus to which the angle operation device of the present invention is applied has an insertion portion to be inserted into the body cavity, and this insertion portion has an angle portion that is bent by remote operation from the main body operation portion. It is. A typical example is an endoscope. However, in addition to an endoscope, an ultrasonic probe or the like can be applied to an inspection apparatus having an insertion portion having an angle portion.

  The pulley around which the operation wire is wound is provided in the casing of the main body operation unit. If one pulley is provided and one operation wire is wound around this pulley, the angle portion can be bent in one direction. . Further, if the two operation wires are wound, the angle portion can be bent in two directions, for example, the vertical direction. When two pulleys are arranged and two operation wires are wound around the pulleys, the angle portion can be bent in four directions, up and down and left and right.

  The pulley drive shaft extends from the pulley to the outside of the casing of the main body operation unit. When two pulleys are provided, a partition plate is mounted in the casing, and pulleys are mounted on both sides of the partition plate. The drive shaft can be led out to the left and right sides of the casing. However, when the pulley drive shafts are rotatably supported by the casing and the pulleys are mounted on these pulley drive shafts, the partition plate described above need not be provided.

The lock member provided on the lock operating shaft can be engaged with and disengaged from the pulley drive shaft, and is held so that the pulley drive shaft does not rotate in the engaged state. Lock actuation shaft in order to rotatably supported to the casing independently of the pulley drive shaft, the lock actuating shaft is Ru provided in parallel with the pulley drive shaft. The locking member acts on the pulley drive shaft, either directly or indirectly, to fix the pulley drive shaft so as not to move. The lock operation shaft is provided in parallel with the pulley drive shaft, and the lock member is provided integrally with the lock operation shaft, and is constituted by a projecting portion protruding to the side of the lock operation shaft.

  In order to cause the lock member to act on the pulley drive shaft, at least one of the lock member or a portion of the pulley drive shaft where the lock member abuts is configured by an elastic member, and the elastic member is compressed at the lock position. it can. Further, it is desirable that an elastic ring is fitted to the pulley drive shaft, and a collar made of a hard member is fitted to the elastic ring. Although the elastic ring is compressed in the locked position, if the elastic ring is pressed against the hard collar so as to be pressed toward the center of the pulley drive shaft, the pulley drive shaft can be stably fixed. Also, the lock operating shaft can be stabilized.

  It is desirable that the lock operating member is formed of a lever provided with an end portion of the lock shaft formed in a ring shape or connected to the lock operation shaft. A stopper member for positioning the lock member between the lock release position and the lock position can be provided on the casing or a member fixedly provided in the casing. Accordingly, these stopper members serve as stroke end regulating members that regulate the rotation stroke of the lock operation member.

  By engaging the lock member with the pulley drive shaft, the pulley drive shaft is operated by operating the lock position and the pulley drive shaft so that the pulley is not rotated by a compact configuration without lengthening the pulley drive shaft. By rotating, the angle portion can be switched to the unlocking position that enables the bending operation.

    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. An angle portion 2b is connected to the tip of the hard portion 2a, and a tip hard portion 2c is connected to the tip of the angle 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 the operations, a so-called angle operation for bending the angle unit 2b in the insertion unit 2 is performed. is there. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the angle operation means is provided in the casing 10 of the main body operation unit 1. The casing 10 is made of metal or synthetic resin, and in order to allow the casing 10 to be disassembled, a front casing 10b and a rear casing 10c are connected to both ends of the main body casing 10a. The insertion portion 2 extends from the front casing 10b, and the universal cord 3 is pulled out from the rear casing 10c. The angle operating device is mounted on the main body casing 10a.

  The angle device shown in the figure is configured to bend the angle portion 2b vertically and horizontally. For this purpose, a partition plate 11 is provided in the casing 10 of the main body operation unit 1, and pulleys 12 and 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 angle portion 2b. The two operation wires 13 and 13 wound around one pulley 12 are for bending the angle portion 2b in the vertical direction, and the two operation wires 13 wound around the other pulley 12 and 13 is for bending the angle 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 angle portion 2 b is bent, and at this time, the other operation wire 13 is drawn out from the pulley 12.

  The angle operating 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 tip end portion 19 a of the pulley drive shaft 19, and a flat surface is formed on the hollow portion of the support shaft portion 14. It will rotate integrally with the spindle 14. 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 disc 17 and is led out of the main body casing 10a. A seal member 21 is mounted near the base end of the pulley drive shaft 19, and the seal member 21 is a hole wall of the first insertion hole 17a. The first insertion hole 17a is held in an airtight state. An angle operation lever 22 as an angle operation means is connected to the shaft end of the pulley drive shaft 19 so as to rotate integrally. The angle operation lever 22 extends in a direction orthogonal to the pulley drive shaft 19, and a tip portion is bent in a direction parallel to the pulley drive shaft 19 to form an operation portion 22 a that is operated by fingers. Therefore, by operating the angle 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 drawn into the pulley 12, and the other is drawn out, so that the angle portion 2b is bent in the operated direction.

  The angle portion 2b is bent by operating the angle operation lever 22 as described above, and this angle operation device includes means for locking 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 led out of the main body casing 10a, and a lock lever 24 as a lock operation member is connected to an end of the lock operation shaft 23. 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. 5, the lock operating shaft 23 is formed from a large-diameter disk integrally formed at a tip portion located in the main body casing 10 a, that is, an end portion on the opposite side to the connecting portion of the lock lever 24. The lock plate 23 a is eccentric with respect to the axis of the lock operating shaft 23. Therefore, the lock plate 23 a protrudes in a direction orthogonal 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 it comes into contact with and separates from the outer peripheral surface of the pulley drive shaft 19. This lock plate 23a is a lock member.

  An elastic ring 26 made of rubber or the like is fitted to a portion where the lock plate 23a of the pulley drive shaft 19 contacts and separates. A hard collar 27 made of synthetic resin or metal is fitted to the elastic ring 26. Yes. Here, the elastic ring 26 is mounted to be bent to some extent by the outer peripheral surface of the pulley drive shaft 19 and the inner peripheral surface of the collar 27, and as a result, the elastic ring 26 and the collar 27 are attached to the pulley drive shaft 19. It is fixed so that it does not rotate relative to it. If necessary, these elastic rings 26 may be bonded to the pulley drive shaft 19 and the collar 27.

  Of the operation positions of the lock lever 24, FIG. 6 shows the unlocking position where the pulley drive shaft 19 can rotate, and FIG. 7 shows the lock position where the pulley drive shaft 19 is locked so that the pulley drive shaft 19 cannot rotate. Has been. Further, in the operation means assembly 16, the unlocked position is shown in FIG. 8, and the locked position is shown in FIG. 8 and 9, 28 is a stopper pin at the unlocking position, 29 is a stopper pin at the locking position, and both the stopper pins 28 and 29 are provided on the inner surface of the support disk 17 and are directed toward the inside of the casing 10. And can come into contact with the side surface of the lock plate 23a. Therefore, the rotation stroke of the lock operating shaft 23 is in a range restricted by these stopper pins 28 and 29. As is apparent from FIGS. 3 and 4, the inner surface of the support disc 17 is provided with a step, and the outer peripheral portion protrudes toward the pulley 13 side. 8 can be a lock release position, and in this case, it is not necessary to provide the stopper pin 28.

  8 and 9, the shaft center of the pulley drive shaft 19 is C1, the shaft center of the lock operation shaft 23 is C2, and the direction in which the lock plate 23a protrudes from the lock operation shaft 23 is a line. The direction is P.

  When the lock lever 24 is in the unlocked position in FIG. 6, the lock plate 23 a is in contact with the collar 27 as shown in FIG. 8, and the protruding direction line P of the lock plate 23 a is the axis center C <b> 1 of the pulley drive shaft 19. And a line L connecting the axis C2 of the lock operating shaft 23 with a predetermined angle. At this time, since the elastic ring 26 is in an uncompressed state and no load is applied to the pulley drive shaft 19, the pulley drive shaft 19 can rotate. Accordingly, when the angle operation lever 22 is operated, the pulley drive shaft 19 rotates. At this time, the lock plate 23a and the collar 27 slide. However, since both the lock plate 23a and the collar 27 are made of hard members, they slide substantially without resistance. Therefore, the lock plate 23a and the collar 27 can be formed of a member having good slidability and can be coated with a lubricant. In addition, since the lock plate 23a is in contact with not only the collar 27 but also the stopper pin 28, even when the pulley drive shaft 19 is operated, the lock actuating shaft 23 and the lock lever 24 are stable without rotating. Retained.

  On the other hand, when the lock lever 24 is rotated to the lock position shown in FIG. Preferably, the projection direction line P is slightly displaced toward the stopper pin 29 as shown in FIG. As a result, the elastic ring 26 fitted to the pulley drive shaft 19 is compressed, the pulley drive shaft 19 is locked, and a load for rotating the angle operation lever 22 and the pulley drive shaft 19 is applied. However, since the lock plate 23a is held between the collar 27 and the stopper pin 29, the lock plate 23a does not rotate. Accordingly, the pulley drive shaft 19 is held in an extremely stable state. When the lock plate 23a is set to contact the stopper pin 29 when the lock plate 23a is rotated to a position where the protruding direction line P exceeds the line L, a click feeling can be applied to the lock lever 24. Therefore, the operator can be surely recognized that the pulley drive shaft 19 is locked.

  Thus, by locking and releasing the lock depending on whether or not the elastic ring 26 is compressed, even if the degree of compression of the elastic ring 26 at the lock position is slightly different depending on the assembled state, the lock operating shaft As long as the positions of the stopper pins 28 and 29 for restricting the rotation stroke range of the lock plate 23 a connected to the lock plate 23 a are accurately set, the operation of the lock means is not affected. Accordingly, variations in parts such as the pulley drive shaft 19 and the lock operation shaft 23, assembly errors, and the like can be absorbed, and stable operation is possible. In addition, since a mechanism for driving and braking the pulley 12 is incorporated in the support disk 17 constituting the operation means assembly 16, these parts can be assembled by removing the support disk 17 from the casing 10. Can be disassembled, and maintenance including repair and replacement of parts can be easily performed.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of an endoscope as an example of a body cavity inspection device to which an angle operation device of the present invention is applied. It is sectional drawing of the main body operation part of the endoscope of FIG. It is XX sectional drawing of FIG. FIG. 4 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 3 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 an external view of the main body operation part which shows the state which made the lock lever into the lock release position. It is an external view of the main body operation part which shows the state which made the lock lever the lock position. FIG. 5 is a view of the operating means assembly as viewed from the direction of the arrow in FIG. FIG. 5 is a view of the operation means assembly as viewed from the direction of the arrow in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body operation part 2 Insertion part 2b Angle part 10 Casing 11 Partition plate 12 Pulley 13 Operation wire 14 Support shaft part 16 Operation means assembly 17 Support disk 19 Pulley drive shaft 22 Angle operation lever 23 Lock operation shaft 23a Lock plate 24 Lock lever 26 Elastic ring 27 Collar 28, 29 Stopper pin

Claims (5)

In order to bend the angle part that constitutes the insertion part of the body cavity inspection device by pushing and pulling the operation wire, the pulley is provided in the casing of the main body operation part, and the operation wire is wound around the pulley. In an angle operation device comprising a pulley drive shaft led out of the casing and pulley operation means coupled to the pulley drive shaft,
Provided in parallel with the pulley drive shaft, and a lock actuation shaft Ru is rotatably supported by the casing of the main body operation portion,
A lock member which is provided integrally with the lock operation shaft in the casing and includes a projecting portion projecting in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the lock operation shaft ;
A lock operation member provided by connecting to the lead-out portion from the casing to the outside of the lock operating shaft,
When the lock operating shaft is rotated by the lock operation member, the unlocking position where the pulley drive shaft can be rotated, the lock member is engaged with the pulley drive shaft, and the pulley drive shaft is An angle operating device for an in-vivo inspection device, characterized in that it can be rotated and displaced to a lock position for holding it so as not to rotate.   2. The lock member according to claim 1, wherein the lock member is configured to abut against the stopper member at the unlock position and the lock position, and the rotation stroke end of the lock operation member is regulated by the both stoppers. An angle operating device of the body cavity inspection device described.   An elastic ring is fitted to the pulley drive shaft, a hard collar member is fitted to the elastic ring, and the lock member is configured to contact and separate from the hard collar member. An angle operating device of the body cavity inspection device according to Item 1. 4. The body cavity inspection device according to claim 3 , wherein the locking member is configured to press-contact the collar so that the elastic ring is pressed toward the center of the pulley drive shaft in the locked position. Angle operating device.   A partition plate is provided in the casing, and two pulleys are mounted so as to sandwich the partition plate. A pulley drive shaft extends in a direction away from both pulleys, and both pulleys are driven. 2. The angle operating device for an in-vivo inspection device according to claim 1, wherein a lock operation shaft is provided in parallel with the shaft.

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