JPH0664241B2 - Endoscope insertion aid - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an endoscope insertion aid for inserting an industrial endoscope into a duct.

[Prior Art] In recent years, industrial endoscopes have been widely used.

In this industrial endoscope, the size of the target site to be used also differs significantly. In the case of a duct endoscope, when the inside diameter of the insertion part is extremely larger than the outside diameter of the tip of the insertion part, the insertion part is largely swayed in the insertion part and the observation direction cannot be accurately determined. In addition, in such a situation that the inner diameter of the insertion part is extremely large compared to the outer diameter of the insertion part tip, the insertion part tip is biased to the lower side of the insertion part, and only the bottom wall part of the insertion part is I can't observe.

Therefore, a device in which an insertion aid is attached to the tip of the insertion portion is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-183615. In this prior art example, when the insertion aid is attached to the tip of the insertion part, a holding part for holding the endoscope insertion part is screwed into a screw part provided on the outer circumference of the tip of the insertion part, and the outside is covered. It is configured to screw an insertion guide portion suitable for the tube diameter of the specimen site.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above-described prior art example, since the insertion guide portion is fixed to the endoscope insertion portion (is screwed), a twisting force is applied to the endoscope insertion portion. When added, there is a drawback that the insertion guide portion may slip in the circumferential direction between the inner wall of the tube and damage the subject site.

On the other hand, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 60-26923 proposes a structure in which the insertion guide portion is rotatable with respect to the endoscope side. In this case, the above drawback does not occur.

However, in this prior example, when the target pipe diameter is different,
The entire insertion aid had to be replaced. Alternatively, this prior art would have to further complicate its intricate structure for application to different tube diameters.

In addition, it is difficult to remove sand, metal powder, dust, etc., when it is inserted into a pipeline and used, especially when it is mixed in the rotation support part. It was

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and enables smooth insertion without damaging the subject site even with respect to the movement of the insertion portion tip, and the tube diameter of the subject site is It is an object of the present invention to provide an endoscope insertion assisting tool that can be applied to different cases and that can easily remove dust and the like even if it gets into the endoscope.

[Means and Actions for Solving Problems] In the present invention, an insertion guide portion provided with a wheel protruding from the distal end of the endoscope insertion portion to smoothly move the subject region in the axial direction,
By providing a holding portion that holds the endoscope insertion portion and a rotatable support mechanism and a detachable separation mechanism for the holding portion and the insertion guide portion, the insertion guide is provided even when the tip of the insertion portion is rotated. Since the part and the holding part are rotatable,
The insertion guide portion does not rotate and does not damage the subject site. Further, when the tube diameter of the subject is different, it can be dealt with by converting the insertion guide portion side into one suitable for the tube diameter by the attachment / detachment separation mechanism.

Further, even if dust or the like is mixed in the rotatable support mechanism portion or the like of the endoscope holding portion and the insertion guide portion, the detachment / separation mechanism can easily remove the dust or the like.

EXAMPLES The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 3 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention.
The drawing shows the structure of the first embodiment, FIG. 2 shows the first embodiment in a disassembled state, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line AA 'of FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the endoscope insertion assisting tool 1 of the first embodiment has a holding portion 3 attached to the distal end side of the endoscope 2.
And an insertion guide portion 4 rotatably attached to the holding portion 3, and a positioning portion 5 having a retaining function and a positioning function for preventing the insertion guiding portion 4 fitted on the holding portion 3 from coming off. Composed of and.

The holding portion 3 has a structure that can be detachably attached to the distal end portion 7 of the elongated insertion portion 6 of the endoscope 2 shown in FIG. That is, the holding portion 3 is made of a cylindrical member having an inner diameter that fits with the outer diameter of the distal end portion 7 of the endoscope, and the female screw portion 8 is provided on the inner circumference near the front end of the holding portion 3. It is adapted to be screwed onto the male screw portion 9 formed on the outer periphery of the front end portion 7 of the endoscope near the front end. Therefore, the holding portion 3
To the endoscope tip portion 7 from the front end side of the tip portion 7,
By rotating at a position where the female screw portion 8 and the male screw portion 9 come into contact with each other, these both screw portions 8 and 9 can be screwed and fixed to each other. On the other hand, it can be removed by rotating in the opposite direction.

A collar portion 11 is provided on the outer periphery of the front end of the holding portion 3 so that the front end of the insertion guide portion 4 fitted on the outer periphery of the holding portion 3 abuts on the step surface of the collar portion 11 for positioning. Further, two male screws 12 and 13 are provided on the outer periphery near the rear end of the holding portion 3 at intervals a (shown in FIG. 2), and the positioning portion 5 corresponds to these male screws 12 and 13. An internal thread 14 is provided on the inner circumference of the. If the width a of the female screw 14 is b with respect to the distance a between the male and female screws 12 and 13, a and b have a relationship of a> b (for example, specifically, a = 3 mm and b = 2 mm).

Therefore, when mounting the positioning part 5 from the rear of the holding part 3, the female screw 14 is first screwed into the male screw 13, then the screw is once released between the male screws 12 and 13, and is screwed into the other male screw 12 again. It is configured to match. With such a double screw structure, when the endoscope insertion portion 6 is moved within the tube diameter, etc., the male screw 12 and the female screw 14 are loosely screwed and the screw is removed. M, female screw 1
4 is in a play state between the male screws 12 and 13, and it is difficult to screw the male screw 13 on the other side. Therefore, the insertion guide portion 4 fitted to the holding portion 3 is prevented from being pulled out into the pipe line or the like, so that the safety is enhanced. still,
In the above case, the male screw portion 15 is further provided in the front portion of the male screw portion 9 near the front end of the endoscope distal end portion 7 in addition to the female screw portion 8 near the front end of the holding portion 3 to form a double screw structure. Is the same as. In addition, the detaching / separating mechanism in which the holding portion 3 and the insertion guide portion 4 can be easily separated by unscrewing the positioning portion 5 screwed to the rear end of the holding portion 3 (with the holding portion 3). Are formed.

Further, at the rear end of the holding portion 3, a plurality of cantilever-like protrusions 16 provided with slit-like notches are provided. At the projecting tip of each projecting piece 16, there is a projection 1 projecting outwardly.
7 is provided, and the outer diameter of the circle connecting the protrusions 17 is made larger than the inner diameter portion 18 on the rear side of the positioning portion 5. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the distal end portion 7 of the endoscope is provided with a taper portion 19 having a conical surface on the outer periphery of the rear end thereof, and the distal end portion 7 is more than the insertion portion 6 continuously provided behind the tapered portion 19. It has a large diameter.

Then, when the positioning portion 5 is attached to the holding portion 3, the inner diameter portion 18 pushes each protrusion 17 inward, and each protrusion 16
The protruding tip side of is narrowed down. The protruding tips of the projecting pieces 16 that have been narrowed down are in a state in which they can be engaged with the taper portion 19 of the tip portion 7 of the endoscope insertion portion 6. Then, even when the female screw portion 8 of the holding portion 3 and the male screw portion 9 of the distal end portion 7 of the endoscope insertion portion 6 may loosen in the mounted state of the insertion aid 1, the endoscope The distal end portion 7 can be prevented from coming off the insertion aid 1.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
The insertion guide portion 4 can be fitted from the rear of the insertion guide portion 4, and after the insertion guide portion 4 is fitted, the insertion guide portion 4 is rotated with respect to the holding portion 3 by screwing the positioning guide portion 5 to the rear end of the holding portion 4. It is held freely. That is, a rotatable support mechanism is formed.

The insertion guide portion 4 is composed of a cylindrical outer pipe 20, and wheel portions 21 and 22 attached to the outer periphery of the outer pipe, for example, near the front end and the rear end thereof. These wheel parts 2
By providing 1 and 22, the endoscope insertion portion 6 can be moved smoothly without damaging the subject site when the endoscope insertion portion 6 is moved.

The wheel parts 21 and 22 have the same structure, and in this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
23 and 23 (two are shown in FIG. 3) are provided. Each wheel 23 is formed by molding a synthetic polymer material such as plastic or rubber into a disk shape, and is rotatably held by two arm pieces 24, 24 protruding in parallel to the outside.

By forming each wheel 23 from a synthetic polymer material such as plastic having not so high hardness, each wheel 2
When 3 rolls over the subject site, it is possible to prevent the subject site from being damaged.

Each wheel 23 has a through hole provided in its rotation center axis through which a collar 25 having an outer diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the through hole (thus, the wheel 23 is rotatable with respect to the collar 25), and then two parallel holes are formed. Nut 2 that is sandwiched between the arms 24, 24, passes through the hollow portion of the collar 25, and passes a bolt 26 that penetrates both arms 24, 24, and is screwed with the bolt 26.
It is mounted rotatably with 7. Reference numeral 28 is a washer.

The collar 25 is set to have a width almost equal to that of the wheel 23. The collar 25 positions the widths of the parallel arms 24, 24 so as to sandwich the wheel 23. The wheel 23 is held rotatably around the central axis of the collar 25 without being pinched.

After tightening the bolt 26 with the nut 27, a pin 29 is inserted into the bolt 26 protruding from the nut 27, and even if the nut 27 is loosened, the bolt 26 and the nut 27 may be loosened.
I try not to come off.

Each arm 24 that supports the wheel 23 is
The circular arc portion 4 is superposed on the outer periphery of the thin portion at the front end or the rear end of the outer pipe 20 forming the insertion guide portion 4, and further an annular screwing member 32 is superposed on the inner side of the thin portion and fixed by screws 33, 33. It

Further, since the insertion guide portion 4 improves the sliding function between both members in the rotationally sliding portion with the holding portion 3,
As shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 1, an annular sliding member 34 made of, for example, plastic is fitted at a position adjacent to each screwing member 32, for example. That is, the inner peripheral surface of the outer pipe 20 adjacent to each of the screw fastening members 32, 32 has an inner diameter slightly larger than the inner diameter at the inner side thereof, and the sliding member 34 having this inner diameter as almost the outer diameter is inserted and fitted. Then, the ring-shaped screwing member 32 having an inner diameter slightly larger than that of the sliding member 34 is fitted and screwed as described above. The inner diameter of the sliding member 34 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the holding portion 3 inserted therein,
The holding portion 3 and the insertion guide portion 4 (outer pipe 20) are in sliding contact with each other and are relatively rotatable. In this case, by interposing the sliding members 34, 34 between the insertion guide portion 4 and the holding portion 3, a rotary sliding contact portion capable of relatively smooth rotation is formed therebetween. As the sliding members 34, 34, those having a small friction coefficient with the member forming the outer peripheral surface of the holding member inside the sliding members 34, 34 are desirable, and for example, Teflon (fluorine resin such as polytetrafluoroethylene) is used. be able to. (Alternatively, a rolling bearing such as a ball bearing may be used as the sliding member.) Incidentally, the insertion guide portion 4 includes, for example, a plurality of the same holding portions having different lengths protruding outward. It is designed so that it can be attached to and detached from 3.

According to the first embodiment configured as described above, in order to mount the endoscope insertion aid 1 on the endoscope distal end portion 7 as shown in FIG. 2, in the state shown in FIG. Part 5
Male screw 12, 1 formed on the rear end side of the holding portion 3 by rotating the
When the screwing with 3 is released, the endoscope distal end portion 7 side can be inserted inside the auxiliary tool 1. After that, when the auxiliary tool 1 or the endoscope side is rotated with respect to the other, the female screw portion 8 formed on the front end side inner peripheral surface of the holding portion 3 and the male screw portion 9 formed on the front end side outer periphery of the tip portion 7 are rotated. The positioning portion 5 can be screwed, and then the loosened positioning portion 5 is rotated and screwed into the holding portion 3, so that the positioning portion 5 can be attached to the endoscope 2 by a simple operation.
In addition, in order to remove from the endoscope 2, if the positioning portion 5 is loosened as described above, and then the endoscope 2 or the auxiliary tool 1 side is rotated, the screwing with the holding portion 3 can be released, and removal is performed. You can

As described above, the endoscope 2 can be attached and detached by a simple operation.

By the way, in the first embodiment, the endoscope distal end portion 7 is
The holding part 3 that can be attached and detached by screwing, the insertion guide part 4 that can be covered on the outer peripheral side of the holding part 3, and the insertion guide part 4 that is fitted into the holding part 3 by being screwed afterwards. The insertion guide 4 is provided with a rolling movement means capable of rolling in contact with the subject site. Therefore, for example, when the distal end portion of the endoscope equipped with the first embodiment is inserted into the duct and moved to the examination site side, for example, even if the duct is bent, the insertion guide portion is inserted. Four
Since a means for rolling and moving is provided on the outer peripheral surface of, it can move smoothly. In this case, since the rolling portion is made of a plastic material having a low hardness, the inner wall of the pipe or the like is not damaged. Also, when performing a move operation,
Even if a rotational twisting force is applied to the endoscope to change the observation direction, the insertion guide portion 4 fitted to the holding portion 3 is attached to the holding portion 3 to which the endoscope 2 is attached. Since it is rotatably supported, no rotational force acts on the insertion guide portion 4, and the portion that is in contact with the inner wall of the conduit or the like hardly slides sideways. Therefore, the inner wall of the conduit is not damaged by the side slip in the conventional example.

Further, when there is a large amount of dust, sand, metal powder, etc. in the pipeline, even if these may get into the rotary sliding contact part etc. during movement, etc., the positioning part 5 is loosened as described above. As a result, the insertion guide portion 4 fitted in the holding portion 3 can be slidably moved in the axial direction, so that dust or the like that has entered the rotary sliding contact portion can be easily removed.

Furthermore, even if the inner diameter of the pipeline to be inserted is different,
It is possible to easily remove the insertion guide portion and convert it into an insertion guide portion suitable for the inner diameter of the pipeline to be inserted.

FIG. 4 shows the main part of the second embodiment of the present invention.

In the insertion assisting tool 41 of the second embodiment, the insertion guide portion 42
The arm 43 is formed in a trapezoidal shape so as to form an angle α with the axial direction of the insertion guide portion 42 as shown in this figure.

The angle α is set in the range of 0 ° <α <90 °.
In this embodiment, the angle is specifically 45 °. By forming the inclined surface portion 45 so that the arm 43 becomes wider as it approaches the base portion of the arm 43 from the wheel 44, the wheel of the insertion assisting tool 41 when there is a recess 47 or a step in the subject site 46. Even when 44 is caught in the recess 47, the length K connecting the intersection point of the slope portion 45 of the arm 43 and the line parallel to the central axis of the auxiliary tool 41 and passing through the rotation center of the wheel 44, and the diameter l of the wheel 44. If the relationship is such that K ≧ l, the wheel 44 can be removed by the moving operation, no matter how deep the recess 47 is.

The second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment except that the arm 43 is different from the first embodiment. Although FIG. 4 shows the one provided near the front end of the insertion guide portion 41, the other one is also the same. (Not shown).

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, a holding portion that is attached to an endoscope, an insertion guide portion that is fitted onto the holding portion, is rotatable, and has rolling means provided on the outer surface thereof. Since an insertion / removal mechanism that allows the insertion guide portion and the holding portion to be separated is provided,
It is possible to respond to the subject parts with different tube diameters by exchanging the insertion guide part, and it is possible to move without damaging the subject part, and even if dust, metal powder, etc. enter the rotary sliding contact part, it is easy Can be removed.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 3 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention.
1 is a sectional view showing the structure of the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is an exploded sectional view showing the first embodiment, FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line AA 'of FIG. 1, and FIG. It is a side view which shows the principal part of 2nd Example of this invention. 1 ... Endoscope insertion aid, 2 ... Endoscope 3 ... Holding part, 4 ... Insertion guide part 5 ... Positioning part, 6 ... Insertion part 7 ... Tip part, 8 ... Female screw part 9 ... Male screw portion, 12, 13 ... Male screw 14 ... Female screw, 16 ... Projection piece 20 ... Outer pipe 21,22 ... Wheel portion 23 ... Wheel, 24 ... Arm 32 ... Screw fixing member , 34 …… Slip members

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A holding part mounted and fixed to the distal end side of an endoscope, an insertion guide part rotatably fitted around the outer periphery of the holding part, and a space between the insertion guide part and the distal end of the holding part. An endoscope insertion assisting tool comprising: a positioning section that is detachably fixed to the rear end of the holding section.