JPH07113755A - Pipe inside self-traveling device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify constitution, and realize diametric reduction and downsizing by arranging two elastic expansible bodies, which expand in the diameter direction by pressurization and are locked on a wall surface in a pipe line, continuously in the diameter direction of the pipe line, and arranging an elongation regulating body in one elastic expansible body. CONSTITUTION:Elastic expansible bodies 4 and 5 to be locked on a wall surface in a pipe line expanding by pressurization, are arranged continuously in the shaft direction of the pipe line in a self-traveling device body 3. Fiber 13 as elongation regulating body to regulate shaft directional elongation caused by the pressurization is arranged in the expansible body 4. When the expansible body 4 is pressurized, it expands in the diameter direction, and contracts in the shaft direction by an action of the fiber 13. At this time, the body 3 is locked on an inside surface of the pipe line. In succession, the elastic expansible body 5 is pressurized, and the body 3 is locked on the inside surface of the pipe line by the expansion. After this expansible body 5 is locked, the expansible body 4 returns to an initial condition after the pressurization is stopped. At this time, since the expansible body 5 is locked on and fixed to the inside surface of the pipe line, the expansible body 4 elongates in the axis direction with a locking and fixing part as its center, and the body 3 moves in the shaft direction.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an in-tube self-propelled device for self-propelling in a living body conduit such as the large intestine or an industrial conduit such as a buried conduit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an in-pipe self-propelled device for self-propelled in a large intestine, a buried pipe or the like, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 51-1.
As shown in Japanese Patent No. 5678, USP4848168 and the like, balloons for locking the inside of the pipe are provided in the front and rear of the main body of the self-propelled device, and elastic bodies (bellows etc.) that expand and contract in the axial direction are provided between the front and rear balloons. -Various proposals have been made for peristaltic self-propelled mechanisms.

[0003]

However, since the above-described conventional in-pipe self-propelled device requires three driving bodies consisting of a pair of front and rear balloons for locking inside the pipe and an elastic body between the front and rear balloons. However, there is a problem that the structure of the self-propelled device main body of the in-pipe self-propelled device becomes complicated and the cost increases.

Further, since pressure lines for supplying pressurized fluid to the three driving bodies of the self-propelled device body are required respectively, the structure of the entire device is complicated and the diameter of the self-propelled device body itself is reduced.・ There is a problem that miniaturization is difficult.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a self-propelled device body in which a self-propelled device body itself can be reduced in diameter and size. To provide a running device.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a self-propelled device body inserted into a conduit is expanded in a radial direction by pressurization, and two elastic expansion bodies are locked to a wall surface in the conduit. Is continuously provided along the axial direction of the pipe line, and at least one of the elastic expansion bodies is provided with an expansion restricting body that restricts expansion in the axial direction due to pressurization.

[0007]

[Function] When the main body of the self-propelled device is driven, the elastic expansion bodies in front and behind are sequentially pressed. Then, when one of the elastic expansion bodies provided with the expansion restricting body is pressed, it is expanded in the radial direction by this pressurization and contracted in the axial direction by the action of the fibers of the elastic expansion body. Due to the radial expansion at this time, the self-propelled device body is locked to the inner surface of the conduit. Subsequently, the other elastic expansion body is pressurized, and the self-propelled device body is locked to the inner surface of the conduit by the expansion of the elastic expansion body. After the elastic expansion body is locked, the pressurization of the elastic expansion body provided with the expansion restricting body is stopped,
The elastic expansion body including the expansion restricting body returns to the initial state. At this time, since the other elastic expansion body is locked and fixed to the inner surface of the conduit, the elastic expansion body equipped with the expansion restricting body expands in the axial direction around the locking and fixing portion, and the self-propelled device main body. Is designed to move in the axial direction.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the self-propelled device body 3 of the in-tube self-propelled device is mounted on the outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion 2 of the endoscope 1 on the distal end side. The self-propelled device body 3 is provided with a pair of front and rear elastic expansion bodies 4 and 5 which are expanded in the radial direction by pressurization and are locked to the wall surface in the pipeline along the axial direction of the pipeline. .

Here, as shown in FIG. 1, a first base tube 6 is attached to the first elastic expansion body 4 arranged on the front side.
And a tube-shaped first elastic film 7 disposed on the outer peripheral surface side of the base tube 6. further,
Both front and rear ends of the first base tube 6 and the first elastic film 7 are joined and fixed. A first pressurizing chamber 8 that is hermetically sealed is formed between the first base tube 6 and the first elastic film 7 between the both end fixing portions.

The second elastic expansion body 5 arranged on the rear side has a second base tube 9 and a tubular second elastic film 10 arranged on the outer peripheral surface side of the base tube 9. And are provided. Further, both front and rear ends of the second base tube 9 and the second elastic film 10 are joined and fixed. A second pressure chamber 11 that is airtightly sealed is formed between the second base tube 9 between the both end fixing portions and the second elastic film 10.

Further, a coil 12 is arranged on the inner peripheral side of the first base tube 6 in the first elastic expansion body 4 as shown in FIG. The coil 12 prevents the first base tube 6 from expanding in the inner peripheral direction when the first pressure chamber 8 is pressurized and allows the first base tube 6 to move in the axial direction.
Therefore, a mesh tube may be used instead of the coil shape.

Further, inside the first elastic film 7, there is a fiber 13 which is an expansion restricting member for restricting axial expansion due to pressurization.
... is buried. Here, as the material of the first elastic film 7, a material having excellent extensibility by pressurization is required, and for example, silicon, latex, urethane rubber or the like is used. The fiber 13 may be anything as long as it prevents the first elastic film 7 from extending in the axial direction, and as an example, silk thread, Kevlar, polyester fiber or the like is used. Further, the fiber 13 may have a blade shape other than the axial shape.

As a method of embedding the fibers 13 ... In the first elastic film 7, the lower layer of the elastic film 7 is molded into a tube shape, and the fibers 13 ... Are axially formed on the outer peripheral surface of the lower layer tube. A method of extending and further dipping the same material as the lower layer tube on the upper layer, or molding the upper layer of the elastic film 7 into a tube shape and adhering the upper layer tube to the lower layer tube. At the same time, there is a method of extrusion molding. By these methods, the fibers 13 ... Are embedded and fixed in the elastic film 7.

Further, the fibers 13 ... Are not arranged in the second elastic film 10 of the second elastic expansion body 5. This elastic film 1
The material of No. 0 is the first elastic film 7 of the first elastic expansion body 4.
The same is used. The first base tube 6 and the second base tube 9 may be made of any material as long as they have flexibility, but from the viewpoint of adhesion, it is preferable to use the same material as the elastic films 7 and 10.

In the first pressurizing chamber 8 of the first elastic expansion body 4, one end of the first pressurizing conduit 14 is provided, and in the second pressurizing chamber 11 of the second elastic expansion body 5. One end of the second pressurizing conduit 15 is connected and opened. The first pressurizing conduit 14 and the second pressurizing conduit 15 serve as the insertion portion 2 of the endoscope 1.
Is disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the. Furthermore, the first pressure line 1
4 and the other end of the second pressurizing conduit 15 extends toward the operation part of the endoscope 1 and is connected to a supply source of a pressurized fluid (not shown).

Further, when the self-propelled device body 3 is mounted on the endoscope 1, the first base tube 6 and the first elastic film 7 are collectively sealed on the distal end side of the first elastic expansion body 4. It is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion 2 of the endoscope 1 on the distal end side. The first base tube 6 and the front end portion of the first elastic film 7 may be bonded in advance, and the first elastic film 7 may be wound and fixed from the outer circumference, or may be fixed by elastic force.

The first base tube 6 and the second base tube 6
The base tube 9 of each is formed by a common single tube, and the rear end of the first elastic film 7 and the second tube are formed on the single tube.
The elastic film 10 and the front end of the elastic film 10 are bonded and fixed.

The first pressurizing pipe line 14 and the second pressurizing pipe line 15 may be of any type as long as they have flexibility, but they are adhesive seals of the portions opened in the pressurizing chambers 8 and 11. Therefore, the same material as the elastic films 7 and 10 and the base tubes 6 and 9 is preferable. In addition, it is preferable in terms of insertion operation to fix the outer peripheries of the conduits 14 and 15 with a band or the like at a plurality of important points of the insertion part 2 of the endoscope 1 and integrate them with the insertion part 2.

Further, FIG. 4 shows a schematic structure of a bending portion 21 which is arranged on the distal end side of the insertion portion 2 of the endoscope 1 and can bend in four directions. A plurality of bending pieces 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d ... Are arranged in parallel on the bending portion 21.
In this case, the tip end of the bending operation wire 24 is fixed to the wire receiving portion 25, which is formed by cutting and raising the wire receiving portion 25 on the inner side of the frontmost bending piece 22a.

Further, the bending operation wire 2 is attached to the other bending pieces 22b, 22c, 22d ... In addition to the most advanced bending piece 22a.
4 wire insertion holes 23 are formed respectively. Then, the bending operation wire 24 is connected to each of the bending pieces 22b, 22c, 2
2d ... is extended to the flexible tube portion side through the wire insertion hole 23.

Therefore, the bending pieces 22b, 22 other than the tipmost bending piece 22a in the bending portion 21 of the endoscope 1 are provided.
Unlike the conventional case, a wire receiving portion for inserting the bending operation wire 24 does not project inside the portions of c, 22d ..., Therefore, the built-in components such as the light guide fiber and the image guide fiber hit the wire receiving portion, and the indentation occurs. It is possible to prevent such scratches.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. First, the self-propelled device body 3 of the in-tube self-propelled device is mounted on the outer peripheral surface on the distal end side of the insertion portion 2 of the endoscope 1. In this way, the insertion portion 2 of the endoscope 1 having the self-propelled device body 3 mounted therein is used for industrial purposes such as a large intestine, a small intestine, a pancreatic duct, a bile duct, a biological duct such as a blood vessel, a plant pipe, a water pipe, a pipe such as a gas pipe. It is inserted into the conduit 16.

In this case, when the insertion portion 2 of the endoscope 1 is inserted into the duct 16 by a pushing operation which is usually the basic insertion method of the endoscope 1, and this method makes it difficult to insert, the present embodiment The self-propelled device body 3 is driven.

This self-propelled device body 3 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (A), the pressurizing chambers 8 and 1 of the elastic expansion bodies 4 and 5 are shown.
It is held in a contracted state in which the pressurized fluid is not supplied to the inside 1. When the self-propelled device body 3 is driven, a pressurized fluid is first supplied into the pressure chamber 8 of the first elastic expansion body 4 on the front side, and the pressure chamber 8 is pressurized. By this pressurization,
As shown in FIG. 6B, the first elastic film 7 expands in the radial direction and contracts in the axial direction by the action of the fibers 13.
By the radial expansion of the first elastic expansion body 4, the endoscope 1
The insertion part 2 is locked to the inner peripheral surface of the conduit 16.

Next, the pressurizing chamber 11 of the second elastic expansion body 5
A pressurized fluid is supplied into the inside of the pressurizing chamber 11 to pressurize it. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6C, the second elastic film 1
By the expansion of 0, the second elastic expansion body 5 is locked to the inner peripheral surface of the conduit 16.

Further, the supply of the pressurized fluid into the pressurizing chamber 8 of the first elastic expansion body 4 is stopped in a state where the second elastic expansion body 5 is locked to the inner peripheral surface of the pipe line 16. To be done. Therefore, the first elastic expansion body 4 returns to the initial state. At this time, since the second elastic expansion body 5 is held in a locked and fixed state, the first elastic expansion body 4 extends toward the tip side from the locking and fixed portion of the second elastic expansion body 5 as a starting point. , The self-propelled device body 3 advances by the distance x as shown in FIG. 6 (D).

Thereafter, the pressurizing chamber 11 of the second elastic expansion body 5
The supply of the pressurized fluid into the inside is stopped, and the second elastic expansion body 5
Returns to the initial state as shown in FIG. Then, after that, the inside of the pipe 16 is advanced by repeating the operations of FIGS.

Although the in-tube self-propelled device of this embodiment cannot perform the backward movement by the action of the self-propelled device main body 3 itself, the endoscope 1 itself can be inserted by pulling it out from the hand side. It is also possible to reverse part 2.

Therefore, in the above-mentioned structure, the two elastic expansion bodies 4 and 5 which expand radially in response to pressure and are locked to the wall surface in the pipe line 16 are attached to the main body 3 of the self-propelled device. The first elastic expansion body 4 arranged continuously along the axial direction of the path 16 and provided on the front side thereof are provided with the fibers 13 ... Which are expansion restricting bodies that restrict expansion in the axial direction due to pressurization. Therefore, the configuration of the self-propelled device body 3 can be simplified as compared with the conventional one, and the diameter and size of the self-propelled device body 3 itself can be reduced.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the endoscope 1 is a fiberscope,
Any video scope is acceptable. Further, other than the endoscope 1, it may be used for a catheter, a treatment tool, etc. to be inserted into the body. Furthermore, since the self-propelled device body 3 is a wearable type that is mounted on the outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion 2 of the endoscope 1 on the distal end side, it can be easily replaced when the elastic membranes 7, 10 or the like are damaged, and in hospitals, etc. There is an effect that it can be used in combination with the existing endoscope 1 owned by.

The self-propelled device body 3 may be provided in the insertion portion 2 other than the tip end side of the endoscope 1. Further, the self-propelled device main body 3 may be provided at a plurality of positions on the insertion portion 2 other than the distal end side of the endoscope 1 to enhance the self-propelled propulsion force.

The self-propelled device body 3 may be provided in a catheter having a central hole, and the endoscope 1 may be inserted through the central hole. In this case, the inside of the catheter may have a multi-lumen structure, and this lumen may be used as the pressure conduits 14 and 15.

FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. This is a dedicated machine having a structure in which the self-propelled device body 41 also serves as an outer cover of the endoscope 31 and the pressurizing conduit is also disposed in the insertion portion 32 of the endoscope 31, for example, a small intestine of a patient. It is equipped with a sonde-type small intestine scope that advances the endoscope in the same way as food by the peristaltic movement of.

In FIG. 7, 34 is an operating portion of the endoscope 31, 35 is a first connecting cable, 36 is a second connecting cable, and 37 is a forceps port of the operating portion 34. Here, one end side of the first connection cable 35 is detachably connected to the operation section 34 via a connector 35a, and
One end side of the second connection cable 36 is detachably connected via a connector 36a.

Further, the other end of the first connection cable 35 is connected to a video processor 38 containing a light source device. A TV monitor 39 is connected to the video processor 38.

The other end of the second connection cable 36 is connected to a drive unit 40 having a pressurizing controller, a pump, a valve controller and the like built therein. The drive unit 40 is connected to the video processor 38. Further, 42 is a first elastic expansion body of the self-propelled device body 41, and 43 is a second elastic expansion body.

In this sonde type small intestine scope, normally, until the tip of the insertion portion 32 of the endoscope 31 reaches the deep small intestine,
Although it takes as long as 8 hours or more, the time required for the insertion can be shortened by combining with the in-tube self-propelled device of the present invention.

With the conventional sonde type small intestine scope, detailed observation and diagnosis are performed while pulling out the endoscope 31, but there are cases where it is pulled out too much. In such a case, there is a problem that the examination time becomes longer because the endoscope 31 is moved forward again by peristalsis, but this is also combined with the intravascular self-propelled device of the present invention, so that the forward movement is performed in a short time, It has an excellent effect that inspections are overlooked.

Further, in the case of the above construction, the self-propelled device body 41 is made into an integral type which also serves as the outer cover of the endoscope 31, and the pressurizing conduit is also arranged in the insertion portion 32 of the endoscope 31. Therefore, there is an effect that the outer diameter of the self-propelled device body 41 can be further reduced. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and it is needless to say that various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0040]

According to the present invention, a self-propelled device body inserted into a pipeline is provided with two elastic expansion bodies which are radially expanded by pressure and are locked to a wall surface in the pipeline. In addition to being installed along the axial direction of the self-propelled device, at least one elastic expansion body is provided with an expansion regulation body that regulates axial expansion due to pressurization. It is possible to reduce the diameter and size of the device body itself.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a cross section of an upper portion of a self-propelled device in a pipe according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a self-propelled device in a pipe.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a main part of a first elastic expansion body 4.

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a main portion showing a schematic configuration of a bending portion arranged on the distal end side of the insertion portion of the endoscope.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a wire insertion hole of a bending piece.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the self-propelled device body.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

3 ... Self-propelled device main body, 4 ... 1st elastic expansion body, 5 ... 2nd elastic expansion body, 13 ... Fiber (extension control body), 16 ... Pipe line.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A self-propelled device main body inserted into a pipeline is provided with two elastic expansion bodies that are radially expanded by pressure and locked to a wall surface in the pipeline in an axial direction of the pipeline. A self-propelled device in a tube, which is continuously provided along with, and at least one of the elastic expansion members is provided with an expansion restricting member that restricts expansion in the axial direction due to pressurization.