JPH066101B2 - Endoscope device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus having an improved structure for bending a bending portion.

[Conventional technology]

As a conventional structure for bending a curved portion, for example, as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 55-101240, a motor is built in a rigid portion provided at the tip of the curved portion, and the rotation of the motor is controlled by a wire. There is one in which the bending portion is bent and deformed by transmitting it to a suction mechanism and sucking the wire inserted in the bending portion by this suction mechanism.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

In the conventional technique, the motor must be built in the rigid portion provided at the tip of the insertion portion, which causes a problem that the tip of the insertion portion becomes large and the structure for bending operation becomes complicated. The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object thereof is to provide an endoscope apparatus that can make the insertion portion small and simplify the structure for bending operation.

[Means for solving problems]

In this endoscope apparatus, a curved portion 2 that allows a plurality of annular joint pieces 1 to be connected in the axial direction of the insertion portion to be curved, a traction means disposed in the curved portion 2, and the traction means. The driving means 3 is a vibration wave motor that is driven in the axial direction. Further, the control means 4 for controlling the voltage supplied to the drive means 3 is provided.

[Action]

In this endoscopic device, the voltage supplied to the driving means 3 is controlled by the control means 4 to drive the pulling means in the axial direction by the driving means 3 to bend the bending portion 2.

〔Example〕

2 to 6 show a first embodiment of the present invention, in which an endoscope 10 has an insertion portion 11, an operation 12 connected to a proximal end portion of the insertion portion 11, and an extension from the operation portion 12. It comprises a universal cord 13 provided and a connector 14 provided at an end of the universal cord 13. Insertion part 11
Is composed of a tip portion 15, a curved portion 16, and a flexible tube portion 17.
The operation unit 12 includes an eyepiece unit 18, air and water supply, and a suction switch 1.
9, 20 and bending operation switch, 21 (DOWN), 22
(UP), 23 (LEFT), 24 (RIGHT), and a changeover switch 25 for switching between angle lock / free are provided.

As shown in FIG. 3, the curved portion 16 is connected to a joint piece 26 composed of a large number of short cylindrical tubular members so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction indicated by the arrow a and the horizontal direction indicated by the arrow b. It becomes. In other words, a pair of connecting pieces 27 are provided so as to be circumferentially displaced by 180 degrees from both end surfaces of each joint piece 26, and a pair of connecting pieces 27 are provided so as to be circumferentially displaced by 90 degrees at both end surfaces, Each pair of connecting pieces 2 of the adjacent joint pieces 26
7 are pivotally attached to each other by a support shaft 28. In addition,
The joint pieces 27 project from only one end surface of the joint pieces 26a and 26b at the most distal end and the rearmost end of the curved portion 16. Therefore, the bending portion 16 in which the joint pieces 26 are connected in this manner
Is bendable in the vertical direction indicated by the arrow a and the horizontal direction indicated by the arrow b orthogonal to the vertical direction as described above. On the outer peripheral surface of the most advanced joint piece 26a, cylindrical wire fixing portions 29 are provided at four positions displaced by 90 degrees in the circumferential direction corresponding to the bending direction of the bending portion 16. One end of a bending wire 30 is inserted into each through hole 29a of the wire fixing portion 29, and is firmly fixed by soldering or the like. The other end of the four bending wires 30 is connected to the joint piece 26.
It is drawn through four wire driving parts 31a, 31b, 31c, 31d provided on the outer peripheral surface of b at 90 degree intervals (only 31d is not shown). Here, the bending wire and the wire driving portion constitute a driving means for driving the joint piece.

The outer portion 32 of the wire driving portion 31a is formed of a cylindrical pipe member, and is separated from the inner peripheral surface by 90 degrees in the circumferential direction.
Four fixing members 33 are provided over the entire axial length. The fixing member 33 supports and fixes the fitting member 34 made of an elastic vibrating body from four directions. Fitting member 34
Has a length that is substantially the same as the axial length of the exterior portion 32, and its circumferential cross section is substantially U-shaped. That is, the fitting groove 34a is provided in the axial direction. Two pieces 3 of the fitting member 34
4b is slanted inward, that is, slightly inclined toward each other so as to sandwich the bending wire 30 from both sides, and the inner circumferential surface of the fitting groove 34a and the bending wire 30 are closely contacted and fixed. A large number of electrostrictive elements 35a, 3a are provided in the axial direction on the three planes provided on the outer periphery of the fitting member 34, respectively.
5b are alternately bonded at intervals most suitable for generating a standing vibration wave described later. Electrostrictive elements 35a, 35b
Are connected to electric wires, 36a and 37a, respectively.
An electric wire 38a is connected to the fitting member 34. The other wire driving units 31b, 31c, 31d have the same configuration, and thus the description thereof will be omitted.

A control circuit as a control means for controlling each wire drive section will be described with reference to FIG. The switch control circuits 39 to 42 provided corresponding to the bending operation switches 21 to 24 respectively output high level (H) / low level (L) voltages in conjunction with ON / OFF of the switches. . The output terminals of the switch control circuits 39 to 42 are
It is connected to the control input terminals of the switch boxes 43 to 46 and to the input terminal of the OR circuit 47.

The switch control circuit 48 provided corresponding to the changeover switch 25 is adapted to output H level by an angle free operation and L level by an angle lock operation, and its output end is an input end of the OR circuit 47. It is designed to be entered. The output terminal of the OR circuit 47 is connected to the control input terminal of the switch box 49.

The driving power supply 50 supplies a voltage of V = Vosinωt, one end of which is connected to the electric wires 38a to 38d and the other end of which is connected to the input end of the 90-degree phase shifter 51 and the switch boxes 43 to 46. It is connected to each input terminal. The output ends of the switch boxes 43, 46, 44 and 45 are connected to the electric wires 36c, 36d, 36a and 36b, respectively. The 90-degree phase shifter 51 shifts the phase of the input voltage to 9
The output end is connected to the input end of the switch box 49. The output end of the switch box 49 is connected to the electric wires 37a to 37d. The switch boxes 43 to 46 and 49 are configured to conduct the input end and the output end when the voltage at the control input end is at the H level, and disconnect the switch box when the voltage at the control input end is at the L level.

Here, the operating principle of a vibration wave motor (also referred to as a piezoelectric motor, an ultrasonic motor, or the like) configured by the fitting member 34 of the wire driving unit, the bending wire 30, and the electrostrictive elements 35a and 35b is the same as that of the wire driving unit 31a. An example will be explained.

In FIG. 7, reference numeral 30 is a bending wire as a moving body that is pressed by force F, and 34 is a fitting as a fixed body that elastically vibrates by an electrostrictive element (such as PZT) as an electric-mechanical energy converting means. It is a figure which showed the compound member typically, X axis is a direction on the surface of the fixed body 34, and Z axis is a normal line direction. When a bending vibration is applied to the surface of the fixed body 34 by the electrostrictive element, a traveling vibration wave is generated and propagates on the surface of the fixed body 34. This traveling frequency is a surface wave accompanied by a longitudinal wave and a transverse wave, and the motion of the mass point draws an elliptical orbit. Mass A
Focusing on, the elliptic motion is performed with the vertical amplitude u and the lateral amplitude w, and the elliptic motion is clockwise when the traveling direction of the surface wave is the X-axis direction. This surface wave has vertices A, A '... For each wavelength, and its apex velocity has only the X component, and ν = 2πfu (f is a frequency). Therefore, when the surface of the moving body 30 is brought into frictional contact with the surface of the fixed body 53,
Since the surface of the moving body 30 contacts only the vertices A, A '..., The moving body 30 is driven in the direction of arrow N by the frictional force.

The speed of the moving body 30 is proportional to the frequency f. Further, because of frictional drive by pressure contact, it depends not only on the longitudinal vibration u but also on the lateral vibration w. That is, the speed of the moving body 52 is proportional to the size of the elliptical movement. Therefore, the speed of the moving body 30 is proportional to the voltage applied to the electrostrictive element.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the generation of a traveling vibration wave and a standing vibration wave. When the electrostrictive elements 35a and 35b operate independently, they are arranged in a state in which the fixed body 34 resonates, that is, in a position where a standing vibration wave exists, and the standing vibration wavelength and the electric current generated by the electrostrictive element 35a are different from each other. They are arranged so that the standing vibration wavelength of the strain element 35b becomes equal and the phase is shifted by 90 degrees (the physical position is shifted by a quarter wavelength). Power supply for driving 5
0 supplies the voltage V = Vosinωt. Electrostrictive element 3
5a directly from the driving power supply 50 by the line 36a,
The voltage Vosinωt is applied, and 90 ° is applied to the electrostrictive element 35b.
After passing through the phase shifter 51, the voltage Vosin (ωt
±) π / 2) is applied. Voltage Vosin (ωt ±) π /
2) ± is switched depending on the direction in which the moving body 30 is moved. 3A to 3F show the states of the vibration waves when the voltage Vosin (ωt + π / 2) is applied. A is a state where a standing vibration wave is generated only by the electrostrictive element 35a,
(B) shows a state in which a standing vibration wave having a 90 ° phase lead is generated only by the electrostrictive element 35b. Ha ~
D shows a state in which two electrostrictive elements 35a and 35b are simultaneously operated to generate a traveling vibration wave. C is time t = 0 + 2nπ / ω, d is time t = π / 2ω + 2nπ / ω,
E is time t = π / ω + 2nπ / ω, f is 3π / 2ω + 2nπ
The phases of the traveling vibration waves of / ω are shown respectively. Although the traveling vibration wave travels to the left in FIG. 8, any mass point on the frictional contact surface of the fixed body 34 makes an elliptic motion in the clockwise direction. Therefore,
The moving body 30 moves to the right.

When the standing vibration waves of (a) and (b) are generated, at the mass points other than the nodes on the frictional contact surface of the fixed body 34, only lateral vibration, that is, vertical movement in FIG. Therefore, the frictional contact between the moving body 30 and the fixed body 34 is not the static friction state but the dynamic friction state, the friction coefficient is small, and the contact area is also small. Therefore, the moving body 30 can be easily moved by an external force.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described. First, a case where the changeover switch 25 is operated in an angle lock will be described by way of an example in which a bending portion is operated in an UP manner. When the bending operation switch 22 (UP) is turned on, the switch control circuit 4
0 outputs the H level, so the switch box 44,
Each input / output terminal of 49 is conducted. As a result, the voltage V = Vosinωt is applied to the electric wire 36a,
Is supplied with a voltage V = Vosin (ωt + π / 2). At this time, no voltage is supplied to the electric wires 36b to 36d. Therefore, a standing vibration wave is generated in the fitting member composed of the elastic vibrator of the wire driving units 31b to 31d, and the wire driving units 31b to 31d can be easily moved by an external force. On the other hand, a traveling vibration wave in the wire pulling direction is generated in the fitting member 34 of the wire driving unit 31a. Therefore, when the wire in the UP direction is pulled, the bending portion 16 bends smoothly in the UP direction. When the bending operation switch 22 is turned off, no voltage is applied to the fitting member of each wire driving unit, so that the wire driving unit stops in the bending state and does not move easily even when an external force is applied to the bending unit. In addition, the bending operation switch 21,
When 23 and 24 are turned on, the curves are made in the DOWN, LEFT, and RIGHT directions, respectively, but description thereof will be omitted.

If the changeover switch 25 is angle-free operated,
Since the switch control circuit 48 outputs the H level signal,
The input and output ends of the switch box 49 are in a conductive state. Therefore, V = Vosin (ω
Since a voltage of t + π / 2) is constantly applied, a standing vibration wave is always generated. In this state, for example, when the bending operation switch 22 is turned on, bending is performed in the UP direction as in the above-described angle lock operation. In the above-described embodiment, the wire driving portion is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the joint piece, but the wire driving portion may be provided on the inner peripheral surface of the joint piece so that the bending wire can pass through the inside of the joint piece. The wire driving unit may be provided on the tip forming unit side. In addition, if the wire driving portions are provided on both the tip forming portion side and the hand operation portion side and the bending wires are bent by pulling each other, quick bending is possible. Instead of providing the electrostrictive element on the fitting member (fixed body), it may be provided on the curved wire (moving body) side. A magnetostrictive element may be used instead of the electrostrictive element. Further, if the curved portions of the above-mentioned embodiment are provided in appropriate numbers in appropriate portions of the endoscope insertion portion and are operated separately, complicated bending is possible.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, each joint piece 60 is provided with a wire driving portion 61, and each adjacent joint piece is provided with a wire 62, so that each wire driving portion is controlled to push and pull the wire. By doing so, it is possible to perform a complicated bending operation on the bending portion. Reference numeral 63 is a wire fitting portion made of an elastic vibrating body and having an electrostrictive element attached thereto.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the present invention, the insertion portion can be downsized and the structure for bending operation can be simplified. Further, the followability of the bending operation can be remarkably improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the present invention. 2 to 6 show a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view showing an endoscope apparatus, FIG. 3 is a view showing a curved portion, and FIG.
FIG. 5 and FIG. 5 are sectional views showing the wire driving unit, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a circuit for controlling the driving of the wire driving unit. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the driving principle of the vibration wave motor used in the wire drive unit, and FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the generation of the traveling vibration wave and the standing vibration wave in the vibration wave motor. 9 and 10 show a modified example of the first embodiment, FIG. 9 is a view showing a curved portion, and FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a joint piece. Reference numeral 10 ... Endoscope, 16 ... Curved portion, 26 ... Joint piece, 30 ... Curved wire, 31a, 31b, 31c, 31d ... Wire driving section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A bending portion which is provided with a plurality of annular joint pieces connected to an insertion portion of an endoscope in an axial direction of the insertion portion so as to be bendable, and a pulling means arranged in the bending portion. A drive means composed of a vibration wave motor for driving the traction means in the axial direction,
An endoscopic device comprising: a control unit that controls a voltage applied to the drive unit.