JPH0121979B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an endoscope in which a curved tube of an insertion section is formed by a first curved section and a second curved section.

In an endoscope in which a curved tube of an insertion section of the endoscope is connected to a first curved section that rotates when operated by an operation section and a second curved section that is naturally bent by an external force, the above-mentioned curved tube The outer periphery of the tube is covered with an elastic tube having equal inner and outer diameters over its entire length. In order to allow the curved tube to freely and lightly curve, the elastic tube is loosely placed over the outer periphery of the curved tube, and only the front and rear ends are fixed. Therefore, although the middle portion of the elastic tube can move freely relative to the curved tube, this single long elastic tube is likely to be pulled in the longitudinal direction and loosened during use or cleaning of the endoscope. Moreover, since the elastic tube is relatively long, there have been frequent problems in that once the elastic tube has loosened, it is naturally absorbed and cannot be restored to its original shape.

The present invention has been made focusing on the above circumstances,
The purpose of this is to prevent the loosening of the elastic tube that covers the outer periphery of the curved tube constructed by connecting the first curved section and the second curved section without impairing the bending characteristics. The goal is to provide a scope.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

Reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1 indicates an endoscope, and this endoscope 1 is composed of an operating section 2 and an insertion section 3. As shown in FIG. The insertion section 3 is formed by connecting a distal end component 6 to the distal end of a flexible tube 4 via a bending tube 5, and the operating section 2 is provided with a bending knob 7 and an eyepiece section 8, which are not shown. Light guide cables are connected. The bending knob 7 is used to remotely bend the bending tube 5 of the insertion section 3.

As shown in FIG. 2, the curved tube 5 consists of a first curved section 11 on the distal end side and a second curved section 12 on the rear end side, and the first curved section 11 has a plurality of short tube-shaped sections. The bending pieces 13 are arranged in series, and each of the bending pieces 13 are connected by a pivot pin 14, so that the whole can be bent, for example, in the vertical direction. Furthermore, the outer periphery of each of the bending pieces 13 is covered with a mesh tube 15, thereby forming the first bending section 11.

Further, the second curved portion 12 is made of a metal strip-shaped plate 1
It is constructed by fitting a mesh tube 18 around the outer periphery of a core material 17 formed by spirally winding a core material 17.

Furthermore, the rearmost bending piece 13 in the first bending part 11 and the tip of the core material 17 are connected to the annular connecting member 1.
They are connected via 9. An elastic tube 21 is loosely fitted over the entire length of the first curved section 11 and the second curved section 12, and a band 22 is attached to the tip and rear end of the elastic tube 21, respectively. , 23 are tightened and fixed. As shown in FIG. 3, the elastic tube 21 has constant inner and outer diameters over its entire length and is made of a soft material.

A ring-shaped fixing member 24 made of rubber or metal is wound around the outer periphery of the elastic tube 21 near the boundary between the first curved portion 11 and the second curved portion 12. By strongly tightening the outer periphery of the elastic tube 21, a part of the elastic tube 21 is fixed. Fixing member 2
A groove 25 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the connecting member 19 corresponding to the fixing member 24, and a part of the elastic tube 21 is pressed against the groove 25. Since the fixing member 24 is pushed into the groove 25 while crushing the elastic tube 21, it does not protrude significantly to the outside.

On the other hand, the band-shaped plate body 16 forming the core material 17 of the second curved portion 12 extends as it is while continuously winding to the flexible tube 4 side, thereby forming the core material 26 of the flexible tube 4 . Similarly, the mesh tube 18 in the second curved portion 12 is formed to extend continuously toward the flexible tube 4 side, thereby forming a mesh tube 27 that covers the outer periphery of the core material 26. The outer periphery of the flexible tube 4 is covered with an exterior tube 28.
Note that this exterior tube 28 is formed so as to exhibit stiffer elasticity than the elastic tube 21. Therefore, the second bending portion 12 side is more flexible than the flexible tube 4, and can easily follow and bend under external force.

Therefore, when the first curved part 11 is curved and inserted, the second curved part 12 is curved to follow the curve of the first curved part 11, so that it can be inserted into a complicatedly curved part. The insertion section can be inserted easily.

Also, inside the insertion section 3, there is a pair of flexible guide tubes 2 that reach from the operating section 2 to the rear end of the first curved section 11.
9, 29 are inserted along the upper and lower inner walls, and the bending operation wires 30,
It is designed to guide 30 people. The distal ends of the bending operation wires 30, 30 are led out from the distal ends of the guide tubes 29, 29 and connected to the most extreme bending piece 13 of the first bending section 11. Then, by operating the bending knob 7 of the operating section 2, the bending operation wires 30, 30 are pushed and pulled to form the first bending section 11.
It is curved.

Note that, as shown in FIG. 2, the distal end component 6 of the insertion section 3 is provided with an objective lens 31, a forceps opening 32, and the like.

Thus, in the bending tube 5, the long elastic tube 21 covering the first bending part 11 and the second bending part 12 is substantially divided into two by the fixing member 24, so that the endoscope 1 Even if it is pulled in the longitudinal direction during use or cleaning, the amount is small and does not become large enough to cause significant loosening. In other words, even if some slack occurs, the amount is small, so
The elasticity of the elastic tube 21 takes up the slack by itself and restores the original shape.

The fixing member 24 may be composed of, for example, a thread that tightens the outer periphery of the elastic tube 21 and an adhesive that is applied and hardened thereon.

As explained above, the present invention covers a curved tube consisting of a first curved part and a second curved part with an elastic tube over its entire length, and the boundary between the first curved part and the second curved part is Since a part of the elastic tube was fixed with a ring-shaped fixing member near the
The relatively long elastic tube is substantially divided into two parts in the middle, and even if it is pulled in the longitudinal direction, the amount of slack is small and no large slack occurs. Moreover, even if slackness occurs, the amount of slack is small, and the elastic tube itself naturally takes up the slack and restores its original shape. Furthermore, since large slack no longer occurs, the durability of the elastic tube is improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of an endoscope showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the vicinity of the curved tube.
FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the elastic tube covering the curved tube. 1... Endoscope, 3... Insertion section, 5... Curved tube, 11...
1st curved part, 12...2nd curved part, 21...elastic tube, 24...fixing member.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 The insertion section is composed of a curved section and a flexible tube section from the distal end side, and this curved section has a first curved section that is curved by operation on the operating section and a second curved section that is curved only by external force. In the endoscope, the first and second curved parts are connected to each other and covered with an elastic tube which is more flexible than the flexible tube part. An endoscope characterized in that a part of the elastic tube is fixed by a ring-shaped fixing member near the boundary of the curved part.