JPH0482527A - Tube inside inspector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a tube inside inspector which allows no addtional pressure to other internal organs to hurt even when an elastic actuator is expanded without enlarging an outer diameter of an inserting part by arranging a non- stretching part partially at the elastic actuator being turned to the side of the internal organs. CONSTITUTION:An elastic actuator 26 is formed with a thickness of a rubber biased and a fiber 48 is buried to regulate the elongation of the rubber at a part of a surrounding wall. When air is introduced into an internal hole 27, a part where the fiber 48 is buried is expanded in a sector as it is hard to expand as compared with other parts. An internal organ desired to inspect the inside of a tube is inserted into a bending mechanism part 6 together with the elastic actuator 26 and a thick part 46 of the elastic actuator 26 or the fiber 48 is arranged being turned to the side of the internal organ. Thus, the elastic actuator 26 is expanded avoiding the internal organ thereby making the internal organ free from additional pressure.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an in-pipe inspection device that is bent and operated by an elastic actuator whose major axis length is expanded and contracted by supplying and discharging fluid.

[Prior Art] An endoscope or an intraductal inspection device is known in which a bending mechanism for driving a bending portion uses an elastic actuator whose major axis length expands and contracts by supplying and discharging fluid. Such a pipe inspection device is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 64-62154.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the pipe inspection device as described above, when a fluid is sealed in the elastic actuator, the elastic actuator expands uniformly in the diametrical direction, and its cross-sectional shape is always circular. Therefore, if internal objects such as light guides, image guides, electrical signal lines, etc. are closely arranged together with elastic actuators in the insertion section of an intraductal inspection device, there is a problem that when the elastic actuator expands, it presses on the internal objects and damages the internal objects. There is.

Further, if the elastic actuator and the internal organs are arranged with sufficient margin, there is a problem that the outer diameter of the insertion portion becomes large.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to create a tube inside the tube that does not compress and damage other internal organs even when the elastic actuator expands, without increasing the outer diameter of the insertion section. Our objective is to provide inspection equipment.

[Means and effects for solving the problem] The above problem is achieved by the following means. That is, the pipe interior inspection device as a means for this purpose includes a curved section, an elastic actuator that expands and contracts the long axis length by supplying and discharging fluid to curve the curved section, and a curved section that accommodates internal objects for inspecting the inside of the pipe. The elastic actuator is provided with a non-stretchable part in a part of the elastic actuator, and the non-stretchable part of the elastic actuator is disposed toward the internal organ.

Therefore, the elastic actuator does not expand circularly due to the non-stretchable portion, but expands while avoiding internal objects such as the light guide, image guide, and electric signal line. Therefore, it does not put pressure on internal organs.

[Examples] Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the pipe inspection device according to the present invention. This intraductal inspection device 2 includes an insertion section 4, in which a bending section 8 is connected to the distal end of a flexible tube section 5 via a bending mechanism section 6, and a distal end forming section 10 is connected to the distal end of the bending section 8.
is connected.

Moreover, the flexible tube part 5 is wound around the drum 12, and the drum unit 2
The air supply tube 1 is connected to the center of the rotary joint 14.
6 are connected. Therefore, by pulling the insertion part 4, the drum 12 can be rotated and the flexible tube part 5 can be pulled out.

A control device 18 having a solenoid valve (not shown) is connected to the base end of the air supply tube 16, and a compressor 22 is connected to the control device 18 via a filter 20. Further, a joystick 24 is attached to the control device 18, and a signal from the joystick 24 controls a solenoid valve (not shown), and compressed air is supplied from the compressor 22 to the bending mechanism section 6.

Next, the bending mechanism section 6 will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 1, the bending mechanism section 6 includes a plurality of elastic actuators 26, four rubber actuators in this embodiment. These four rubber actuators are provided as actuators for bending the bending portion 8 in the horizontal and vertical directions as shown by arrows in FIG.
They are arranged parallel to each other with their positions shifted in the axial direction. An angle wire 28 is connected to the tip of the rubber actuator 26, and an air tube 34 is connected to the base end of the rubber actuator 26 via a connecting tube 30 and a first joint 32. The air tube 34 is further connected to an air supply/exhaust tube 36 via a second joint 35.

Further, a locking wire 37 is connected to the first joint 32, and the base end of the locking wire 37 is inserted into a through hole 40 formed in a connecting member 38 that constitutes both ends of the bending mechanism section 6, and is screwed into a set screw. 42. Furthermore, the flexible tube portion 5 is connected to the connecting member 38 .

As the elastic actuator, those shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 are used. That is, the elastic actuator 26 shown in FIG. 3 is formed so that the thickness of the rubber is uneven.
When air is introduced into the inner hole 27, the full thickness portion 46 expands in a fan shape as shown in FIG. 4 because it is difficult to expand compared to other portions.

Further, in the elastic actuator 26 shown in FIG. 5, fibers 48 for regulating the elongation of the rubber are embedded in a part of the peripheral wall. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, even in this elastic actuator, when air is introduced into the inner hole 27, the portion where the fibers 48 are embedded is more difficult to expand than other portions, so it expands in a fan shape.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show a state in which internal objects for intraductal inspection are inserted into the bending mechanism 6 together with the elastic actuator 26. FIG. A light guide 50 and an electric signal line 52 are shown as internal components.

In this manner, by arranging the thick wall portion 46 or the portion in which the fibers 48 are embedded in the elastic actuator 26 toward the internal organs, the elastic actuator 26 is expanded to avoid the internal organs, as shown in FIG. do. Therefore, there is no pressure on internal organs.

FIG. 9 shows a modification of the connecting portion of the elastic actuator 26. In this modification, the elastic actuator 2
The outer peripheral surfaces of the base 44 and the first joint 32 of No. 6 are covered with an elastic member 33 such as resin or an elastic tube.

With this configuration, even if it comes into contact with internal objects such as a light guide, the internal objects will not be damaged. Also,
Although not shown, it is preferable that the second joint is also protected by an elastic member.

Next, a first modification of the bending mechanism using the elastic actuator 26 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11.

In this first modification, a ball joint 50 is provided in the curved portion 8 as shown in FIG.
Elastic actuators 26 are connected from four sides to a concave member 54 that is rotatably fitted into a ball 52 (only two are shown). Therefore, by contracting one of the elastic actuators 26 in the longitudinal direction, the curved portion can be curved toward the contracted elastic actuator. In other words, this mechanism allows bending in four directions with one joint.

Although not shown, the rod 5 connected to the concave member 54
The tip end of 6 is attached to the tip component 10.

FIG. 12 shows a second modification of the bending mechanism.

In this second modification, an elastic actuator 26 is connected to the base end of one angle wire 28a, and an air tube 34 and a locking wire 37 are connected to the base end of the elastic actuator 26 via a joint 32. . The proximal end of the locking wire 37 is fixed to the peripheral wall of the bending mechanism section 6.

On the other hand, an elastic member 60 made of a spring or the like is connected to the base end of the ankle wire 28b located on the opposite side of the angle wire 28a, and is configured to attract the elastic actuator 26. Therefore, even when the elastic actuator is not filled with fluid, it is pulled in the opposite direction by the elastic member 60, so that the curved portion 8 does not loosen.

FIG. 13 shows a third modification. In this third modification, the elastic actuator 26 and the elastic member 60 are both connected to the base end of the negative angle wire 28 .

Even with this configuration, it is possible to prevent the angle wire from loosening when the elastic actuator 26 is not filled with fluid.

14 to 16 show modified examples of the joint that connects the elastic actuator 26 and the air tube 34. In FIGS. In the first modification shown in FIG. 14, the metal vibro 2
A rubber coating layer 64 is formed on the inner surface of the elastic actuator 26 and the sharp jaw portion 68 of the cap 66 attached to the air tube 34 is coated with the rubber coating layer 64.
It is fixed by digging into it. With this configuration, the elastic actuator 26 and the air tube 34 can be easily attached and detached.

In a second modification shown in FIG. 15, a recess 70 is formed in the rubber coating layer 64 formed inside the metal vibro 2,
A jaw 72 is formed on the elastic actuator 26 and on the base 44.66 of the air tube 34 for this recess 70.
They are connected by fitting them together.

In a third modification shown in FIG. 16, a rubber coating layer 64 is formed inside the metal vibro 2, and the base 44 is
．． A flange portion 74 and a jaw portion 76 are formed on the rubber coating layer 66, and after the jaw portion 76 is bitten into the rubber coating layer 64 and combined, the flange portion 74 is held by a retaining fitting 78. Therefore, in this modification, the elastic actuator 26 and the air tube 3
After connecting the caps 44 and 66 of No. 4, the caps will not come off.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, in the pipe inspection device according to the present invention, a part of the elastic actuator is provided with a non-stretchable part, and the non-stretchable part of the elastic actuator is directed toward the internal organs for pipe internal inspection. Because of the arrangement, the elastic actuator does not expand circularly due to the non-stretchable portion, but expands while avoiding internal objects such as the light guide, image guide, and electric signal line.

Therefore, it is possible to provide an intraluminal inspection device that does not compress and damage other internal organs even when the elastic actuator expands, without increasing the outer diameter of the insertion portion.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the bending mechanism of the pipe inspection device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the overall structure of the pipe inspection device, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are elastic 5 and 6 are cross-sectional views showing other examples of the elastic actuator; FIGS. 7 and 8 are cross-sectional views of the bending mechanism; and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the elastic actuator. 10 and 11 are vertical cross-sectional views showing modified examples of the connection part.
12 is a schematic diagram showing a second modification example of the bending mechanism; FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a third modification example of the bending mechanism; FIGS. Each figure is a sectional view showing a modified example of a joint for an elastic actuator. 6... Curving mechanism part, 8... Curving part, 26... Elastic actuator, 46... Thick wall part (non-stretchable part), 50
...Light guide (internal organs). BM representative patent attorney Jun Tsuboi

Claims (1)

[Claims] In the pipe interior inspection device, the pipe interior inspection device has a bending part, an elastic actuator whose major axis length expands and contracts by supplying and discharging fluid to curve the curved part, and a bending mechanism part that houses internal objects for inspecting the inside of the pipe. An in-duct inspection device characterized in that a part of an elastic actuator is provided with a non-stretchable part, and the non-stretchable part of the elastic actuator is disposed toward the internal organ.