JPH034241Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to an endoscope with an improved structure of the operating section.

Generally, the operating section of an endoscope is composed of a main body, a frame connected to the main body at one end, and a grip cover connected to the main body that covers the frame and a part of the main body. A bending operation device for bending a curved portion formed at the distal end of the insertion portion is built-in, and the insertion portion is connected to the other end of the frame via a connecting tube.

Conventionally, the above-mentioned bending operation device has had its substrate directly attached and fixed to the main body with a large number of screws.
For this reason, the main body had approximately the same length as the board, and was made of metal such as aluminum to provide enough strength to attach and secure the board. However, the main body, which is made of metal and has approximately the same length as the substrate, inevitably has a considerable weight, resulting in considerable fatigue for the operator during endoscopic examination.

In order to eliminate these drawbacks, it is conceivable to mold the main body from a synthetic resin that is lighter than metal. However, if the board of the bending operation device is directly attached and fixed to the main body made of synthetic resin with a large number of screws, stress will be applied to the main body if the board is distorted. There is a risk that cracks may occur in the main body.

This idea was made based on the above circumstances,
The purpose is to make the main body of the operating section sufficiently short compared to the board of the bending operating device, and
It is an object of the present invention to provide an endoscope whose weight and size can be reduced without reducing the strength of the operating section by integrating the main body and the frame via the substrate.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Reference numeral 1 in the figure is the operation section of the endoscope. The operating section 1 is composed of a main body 2 made of synthetic resin and formed into a hollow shape, and a grip section 4 consisting of a cylindrical grip cover 3. The main body 2 is connected to a universal cord 4a, and is also provided with an eyepiece 5, a gas feed button 6, a suction button 7, an air/water feed button 8, two angle operation knobs 9, and the like. Further, the gripping portion 3 is provided with an insertion opening body 10 for a treatment tool such as forceps, and an insertion portion 11 is connected to the distal end thereof. As is well known, this insertion section 11 is formed by providing a distal end component at the distal end of a flexible tube section 12 via a curved section (not shown). Note that one end of the gripping cover 3 is joined to the end surface of the main body 2 through an O-link 13 in a fluid-tight manner and positioned by a protrusion 14 protruding from the end surface.

On the other hand, a bending operation device 15 is built into the operation section 1 . The substrate 16 of this bending operation device 15
is formed to be longer than the main body 2, and one end thereof is bent on the inner metal 17 of the inner metal 17 and the outer metal 18, which are metal bodies clamped and fixed to one side wall of the main body 2. A pair of tongue pieces 19, 19
The connection is fixed. A frame 20 has one end fixed to the other end of the substrate 16, and a connecting tube (not shown) for connecting the insertion section 11 to the operating section 1 is attached to the other end of the frame 20. ing. The connecting tube and the base end portion of the insertion portion 11 are
It is covered with an anti-bending member 21 that prevents the insertion portion 11 from being bent excessively. The gripping cover 3 is fixed to the main body 2 by a presser fitting (not shown) attached to the connecting tube.
That is, the grip cover 3 is held and fixed to the main body and the frame 20 via the holding metal fittings for the connecting cylinder. The outer metal fitting 18 also serves as a connecting body for attaching the eyepiece portion 5 to the main body 2.

Further, a shaft 22 is protruded from the upper surface of one end of the substrate 16 located inside the main body 2.
An inner sleeve 23 and an outer sleeve 24 are rotatably fitted into the inner sleeve 23 and outer sleeve 24 . Each sleeve 23, 24
One end is provided with a pair of sprockets 25, 2 which are rotatably positioned vertically in the axial direction of the shaft 22.
5 (only one is shown), and the other end protrudes from the main body 2 and is connected to the angle operation knobs 9, 9, respectively. Further, on the upper surface of the other end side of the substrate 16 protruding into the grip portion 4, a partition wall member 26 having a U-shaped cross section is attached to the presser plate 2 through its intermediate side.
7 is attached and fixed along the longitudinal direction of the substrate 16. On the outside of both sides of the partition wall member 26, passages 29 are defined in two upper and lower stages by partition walls 28. The above partition wall 28...
is the inner partition wall 28a in the width direction of the passage 29...
and an outer partition wall 28b, and each of the partition walls 28a, 28b has a longitudinal midway portion and an end on the sprocket 25 side that are provided with first and second support portions 30a, which are erected on the base plate 16, It is supported and fixed to 30.

A mounting plate 31 is erected on the end surface of the partition wall member 26 on the side opposite to the sprocket 25, and a flat holding member 32 having a width larger than that of the partition wall member 26 is bonded and fixed to this mounting plate 31. . The passages 2 are provided at both ends of the holding member 32 in the width direction.
Two notches 33 are formed corresponding to the notches 9. This notch 33 has a hollow cylindrical regulating member 34 with a small-diameter step 34a formed in the middle part in the axial direction.
is provided in a state in which movement in the axial direction is restricted by engaging the stepped portion 34a. This regulating member 3
4 is held by the end of the outer partition wall 28b so as not to come off from the notch 33. Further, a flexible wire guide pipe 35 made of a tightly wound coil or the like, which is inserted over the entire length of the insertion portion 11, is fitted into the regulating member 34 at its base end and fixed by brazing with a brazing material 36a. ing.
A wire 36 is inserted through the wire guide pipe 35 . The tip of this wire 36 is connected and fixed to a piece (not shown) constituting the curved portion,
The proximal end side is guided to the passage 29 described above. aisle 29
A connecting member 37 is connected to the proximal end of the wire 36 led to, and an end of a chain 38 whose midway portion is engaged with the sprocket 25 is connected to the connecting member 37. A collision member 39 is attached to the connecting member 37 in a state perpendicular to the axis of the wire 36.
has been planted. A portion of the collision member 39 protrudes outward in the width direction of the substrate 16,
The outer peripheral surface of this protruding portion is formed into a slope 40 forming an acute angle with the end surface thereof.

On the other hand, the first support section 29 erected on the substrate 16
A wall portion 4 formed by bending a part of the substrate 16 or a separate member into an L-shape is provided between the second support portion 30 and the second support portion 30.
1 is provided. A support hole 42 is bored in one side of the wall portion 41 along the width direction of the substrate 16, and a screw 43 having a receiving portion 43c between a screw portion 43a and a head 43b is inserted into the support hole 42. It is rotatably supported via a receiving portion 43c. That is, this screw 43 has its axis parallel to the axis of the wire 36 and closer to the substrate 16 than the axis of the wire 36.
The threaded portion 43 is provided at the outer side in the width direction.
The end of a is engaged with a support hole 44 formed in the second support part 30. Threaded portion 4 of this screw 43
A stopper 45 is screwed onto 3a. The height of this stopper 45 is formed to be slightly smaller than the height of the passage 29, so when the screw 43 is rotated, the stopper 45 moves forward and backward through the passage 29 without rotating. There is. Note that the passage 29 in the portion where the screw 43 is provided is defined by an outer partition wall 28b. A slope 46 that faces the slope 40 of the collision member 39 is formed on one side of the stopper 45 facing the partition wall member 26 side. When the wires 40 collide, the travel of the wire 36, that is, the maximum bending angle of the curved portion in the vertical and horizontal directions is restricted.

On the other hand, the head 43b of the screw 43 is provided with an engagement hole 47 that passes through the head 43b in the radial direction. A locking spring 48 made of a wire bent into a wave shape is provided in the engagement hole 47 with one end thereof engaged.
Further, the other end of the locking spring 48 is in pressure contact with the first support portion 30a in a compressed state. Therefore, the rotation of the screw 43 is restricted by the locking spring 48, and the end surface of the head 43b is brought into pressure contact with the side surface of the wall portion 41 by the restoring force of the locking spring 48, so that the screw 43 is rotated in the direction of exiting from the support hole 42. Movement is regulated.

In the bending operation device 15 configured in this way, when the sprocket 25 is rotated by the angle operation knob 9 and the chain 38 is run in order to bend the bending portion, one passage 29 side in the width direction of the board 16 is rotated. wire 36 is towed,
The wire 36 on the other side of the passage 29 is pushed. The curved portion will therefore be curved in the direction of the wire 36 being towed. Then, when the wire 36 is further towed, this wire 36
A connecting member 37 connecting the base end of the chain 38 to the chain 38
Since the slope 40 of the collision member 39 provided at the front collides with the slope 46 of the stopper 45, the wire 36 cannot be pulled any further. That is, the maximum bending angle of the bending portion is regulated by the stopper 45.

By the way, the main body 2 and the frame 20 of the operating section 1 are connected by the board 16 of the bending operating device 15. That is, one side wall of the main body 2 is held between the inner metal fitting 17 and the outer metal fitting 18, and the substrate 1 is attached to the tongue pieces 19, 19 provided on the inner metal fitting 17.
One end of the substrate 16 is connected to the other end of the substrate 16, and the frame 20 is connected to the other end of the substrate 16. Therefore, regardless of the length dimension of the main body 2, the board 1 can be attached to the main body 2.
6 can be fixed, it is possible to downsize the main body 2. Moreover, since the board 16 is connected and fixed to the tongue pieces 19, 19 provided on the inner metal fitting 17 of the inner metal fitting 17 and the outer metal fitting 18 that sandwich one side wall of the main body 2, the stress caused by fixing the substrate 16 is reduced. There is no direct contact with the main body 2. Therefore, the main body 2 can be made of synthetic resin, which has lower stress resistance than metals such as aluminum but is lightweight.

Furthermore, a portion of the substrate 16 that protrudes from the main body 2 and corresponds to the grip portion 4 can be directly covered by the grip cover 3. Therefore, the thickness of the grip cover 3 is not limited by the main body 2 unlike in the conventional case where the main body 2 is covered with the grip cover 3. That is, since the thickness of the grip cover 3 is limited only by the width dimension of the board 16, the grip cover 3 can be made thinner than in the past, making it easier to grip the operating section 1.

As described above, in the present invention, one side wall of the operation section main body is sandwiched between two metal bodies, one end of the board of the bending operation device is connected to one of the metal bodies inside the main body, and a frame is attached to the other end of this board. The frame and the portion of the board protruding from the main body are covered by a grip cover held and fixed to the main body and the frame. Therefore, even if the main body is made sufficiently shorter than the board, the board can be connected to the main body, so the weight of the operating section can be reduced due to the miniaturization of the main body. In addition, the connection between the main body and the board is made by sandwiching one side wall of the main body between two metal bodies, and through the metal body inside the main body of these two metal bodies, so that it is possible to attach the board to the main body. There is almost no large stress associated with fixing. Therefore, the main body can be made of synthetic resin, which has low strength but is lighter than metal, and this also makes it possible to reduce the weight of the main body. Furthermore, since the main body and the frame are firmly connected by the substrate, sufficient strength of the operating section can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a partially sectional side view of the endoscope operating section, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the inside of the operating section, and FIG.
4 is a side view of the bending operation device along the line, FIG. 5 is a front view of the tip side of the bending operation device, FIG. 6 is a side view, and FIG. 7 is a side view of the bending operation device.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the connection structure between the metal fitting and the substrate along a line. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Operating unit, 2... Main body, 3... Gripping cover, 15... Curving operation device, 16... Board, 17
...Inner metal fitting (metal body), 18...Outer metal fitting (metal body), 20...Frame.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] One side wall of the operation unit main body is sandwiched between two metal bodies,
One end of the board of the bending operation device is connected to one metal body inside the main body, and a frame for fixing the proximal end of the insertion section is connected to the other end of this board, and this frame and the board protrude from the main body. An endoscope comprising: a gripping cover fixed to the main body and the frame;