JPH0439331B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a flexible tube for an endoscope.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a tube-type flexible tube for an endoscope in which peeling of the jacket tube of the tube-type flexible tube for an endoscope is prevented.

[Conventional technology]

In general, an endoscope A consists of a flexible tube D that connects a manual operating section B and a rigid tip C, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, and a tube shell that constitutes the flexible tube D. body 1
consists of a spiral tube 2 in which an elastic ribbon made of metal or non-metal is spirally wound from the inside, and a mesh woven with thin metal wires or thin non-metal wires, or a mixture of these thin wires on the outer periphery of the spiral tube 2. It is composed of a mesh pipe 3 having a shape of a shape, and an outer jacket pipe 4 formed of a smooth and flexible surface such as rubber or soft synthetic resin. In this way, in the case where the outer periphery of the mesh pipe 3 is simply directly covered with the jacket pipe,
When wiping the jacket tube 4 for disinfection, etc.,
The jacket tube 4 is misaligned with respect to the mesh pipe 3, and the jacket tube 4 has an expanded portion and a contracted portion, which not only spoils the aesthetics of the jacket tube, that is, the flexible tube D, but also damages the flexible tube. Since the rigidity of D itself in the torsional direction is weakened, when the operation part B is rotated, the rotational response performance of the rigid tip part C rotated via this flexible tube D, in other words, the followability is significantly deteriorated. There were times when I had to do something like that.

For this reason, in the past, an adhesive was applied to the mesh pipe 3 to form an adhesive layer, and then the jacket tube 4 was fitted around the outer periphery of the mesh pipe 3 having the adhesive layer. However, there was a problem in that the adhesive force between the above-mentioned mesh pipe 3 and the jacket pipe 4 was weak and they easily peeled off.

One of the causes of this problem of easy peeling is thought to be a problem in the adhesion between the mesh pipe 3 and the jacket pipe 4, and the adhesion situation is determined by simply dots as shown in Figure 7. This is thought to be the main reason for the weakening of the adhesive force because it is nothing more than an adhesive.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The present invention changes the adhesion state between the mesh pipe and the jacket pipe from the conventional point adhesion to surface adhesion, thereby increasing the bonding area and making it possible to bond the mesh pipe and the jacket pipe together. The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a flexible tube for an endoscope that prevents peeling of the tube.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention covers the outer periphery of a helical pipe with a mesh pipe, forms an adhesive layer on the surface of the mesh pipe, and then fits an outer jacket pipe on the outer periphery of the mesh pipe to form a spiral pipe. A tube shell body consisting of a mesh tube and a jacket tube is formed, and then the pressure inside the tube shell body is maintained lower than the internal force outside the tube shell body, so that the bond between the mesh tube and the jacket tube is made into a surface bond. This is a method of manufacturing a flexible tube for an endoscope.

[Effect]

According to the method for manufacturing a flexible tube for an endoscope of the present invention,
Since the pressure inside the tube shell, which is made up of the spiral tube, mesh tube, and jacket tube that make up the flexible tube, is kept lower than the pressure outside the tube shell, the outermost jacket tube of the tube shell is a mesh tube. The net pipe is in a contracted state or a pressed state, so the mesh pipe is bitten into the jacket pipe.
Since the bonding area between the jacket tube and the mesh tube is large, the bonding condition is good and there is no possibility of peeling.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be described with reference to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, and the same or equivalent members as in the conventional apparatus shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 will be described with the same reference numerals.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a tube shell that constitutes a flexible tube D of an endoscope A, and this tube shell 1 is composed of a spiral tube 2, a mesh tube 3, and a jacket tube 4 in this order from the inside.

In order to manufacture the tube shell body 1, a metallic or non-metallic elastic ribbon is wound spirally, and this itself has appropriate elasticity and smooth bending, and also has rigidity against torsion. After covering the spiral tube 2 with a mesh tube 3 woven with thin metal wires or thin non-metal wires, or a mixture of these two wires to form a mesh, adhesive is applied to the mesh tube 3. Then, the jacket tube 4 made of rubber or soft synthetic resin and having appropriate flexibility is inflated, and the helical tube 2 is covered with the mesh tube 3. The shell body coated with adhesive is inserted into the inflated jacket tube 4, and after insertion, the jacket tube 4 is returned to its normal state so that the jacket tube 4 is fitted over the outer periphery of the mesh pipe 3. .

As described above, the tube shell 1 is constructed by the spiral tube 2, the mesh tube 3, and the jacket tube 4 in this order, and the connecting tube 5 is connected to one end of the jacket tube 4 at the outermost periphery of the tube shell 1. and screwing the lid 6 onto the connecting tube 5 to seal one side of the tube shell 1, and fitting the connecting tube 5 into the jacket tube 4 at the other end of the tube shell 1. A cylindrical connecting fitting 7 is screwed onto the other end of the connecting pipe 5, and the other end of the cylindrical connecting fitting 7 is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown).
A pipe 8 made of rubber or the like that communicates with is fitted. If the vacuum pump is operated in this way to maintain the inside of the tube shell 1 in a negative pressure state, the jacket tube 4 constituting the tube shell 1
is in a contracted state, and the mesh pipe 3 is bitten into the jacket pipe 4. Before the vacuum pump was activated, the mesh pipe 3 and the jacket pipe 4 were bonded at points, but as described above, the mesh pipe 3 and the jacket pipe 4 were bonded at points. 3 bites into the jacket tube 4, the bonding state becomes surface bonding and the bonding area becomes large. Further, it is more effective to heat and soften the jacket tube when suctioning.

Note that suction may be performed from both ends of the tube shell 1.

In order to keep the inside of the tube shell 1 at a negative pressure as described above, it is preferable to maintain the inside of the tube shell 1 at a negative pressure using, for example, a check valve as shown in FIG. In the valve shown in FIG. 1, the inside of the tube shell 1 is maintained at a negative pressure by using the end 5' of the connecting pipe 5 as a valve seat and pressing the valve body 9 with a spring 10. Further, the check valve device shown in FIG. 3B has a stepped portion 7' serving as a valve seat and a stepped portion 7'' serving as a spring receiving portion on the inner periphery of a cylindrical connecting fitting 7 that is screwed onto the connecting pipe 5. A recessed portion is formed, a valve body 9 is brought into contact with the stepped portion 7', and a spring 10 is interposed between the valve body 9 and the stepped portion 7'' serving as a spring receiving portion. In this way, the cylindrical connecting fitting 7 is equipped with a check valve device, the cylindrical connecting fitting 7 is screwed onto the connecting pipe 5, and the other end of the cylindrical connecting fitting 7 is connected to a pipe 8 that communicates with a vacuum pump or the like. When the inside of the tube shell body 1 reaches a predetermined negative pressure by operating the vacuum pump, the vacuum pump is stopped and the inside of the tube shell body 1 is brought into a constant negative pressure state by the above-mentioned check valve device. It is something to keep.

In another example shown in FIG. 4, both ends of the tube shell 1 are closed by lids 6, 6 via connecting pipes 5, 5, and the tube shell 1 with both ends sealed is placed in a container. By pressurizing the inside of the container 11 to a predetermined pressure, the jacket tube 4 is pressed against the mesh pipe 3, and the adhesive state between the jacket tube 4 and the mesh pipe 3 is surface bonded.

As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, the tube shell body 1 is constructed by covering the spiral tube 2 with the mesh tube 3, further applying an adhesive to the mesh tube 3, and then fitting the jacket tube 4 around the outer periphery of the spiral tube 2. Then, by applying suction from one end or both ends of the tube shell 1 to create a negative pressure inside the tube shell 1, the jacket tube 4 is brought into a contracted state, and the mesh pipe 3 is inserted into the jacket tube 4. Alternatively, both ends of the tube shell body 1 may be closed and the tube shell body 1 may be placed in a sealed container, and the inside of the sealed container may be pressurized to press the jacket tube 4 against the mesh pipe 3. Since the sheath tube 4 and the mesh pipe 3 are surface bonded by being bitten into the sheath tube 4, peeling of the sheath tube 4 and the mesh pipe 3 is completely prevented.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the present invention forms a tube shell consisting of a spiral tube, a mesh tube, and a jacket tube, and maintains the pressure inside the tube shell lower than the pressure outside the tube shell. The outermost jacket tube of the body is pressed against the mesh pipe, and the mesh pipe is bitten into the jacket pipe, and the adhesive layer provided on the outer periphery of the mesh pipe makes the mesh pipe and the jacket pipe face to face. By increasing the adhesive area, separation of the jacket pipe and the mesh pipe is completely prevented.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial vertical sectional view of a device for creating negative pressure inside the tube shell, and FIG. 2 is a partial view showing the state of adhesion between the jacket tube and the mesh tube of a flexible tube obtained by the method of the present invention. A vertical sectional view, FIGS. 3A and 3B are explanatory diagrams of different examples of a device for maintaining negative pressure inside the tube shell, and FIG. 4 is another embodiment of the present invention in which the tube shell is mounted in a closed container. Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an endoscope, and Fig. 6 is a partial longitudinal section of the main part of the flexible tube of a conventional endoscope. FIG. 7 is a partial vertical sectional view showing the state of adhesion between the jacket tube and the mesh tube of a conventional flexible tube for an endoscope. A: endoscope, 1: tube shell body, 2: spiral tube, 3: mesh tube, 4: envelope tube, 5: connecting tube, 6: lid body, 7: cylindrical connecting fitting.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. After covering the outer periphery of the helical pipe with a mesh pipe and forming an adhesive layer on the surface thereof, a jacket pipe is fitted over the outer periphery of the mesh pipe to form a tube shell body consisting of the spiral pipe, the mesh pipe, and the jacket pipe. The flexible tube for an endoscope is characterized in that the pressure inside the tube shell body is then maintained lower than the pressure outside the tube shell body, so that the bond between the mesh tube and the jacket tube is made in the form of a surface adhesive. manufacturing method.