JPH07301751A - Rigid sleeve device for endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a rigid sleeve for an endoscope which makes a soft endoscope usable in the same manner as for a rigid endoscope in broad applications including applications for the rigid endoscope and has high versatility to permit dealing with any lengths of the insertion part of the soft endoscope. CONSTITUTION:This rigid sleeve for the endoscope includes an inside pipe 9 which is freely advanceably and retreatably fitted into the insertion part 2 of the endoscope and a mounting means which is disposed in this inside pipe 9 and freely attachably and detachably fixes the inside pipe 9 in the arbitrary position in its axial direction. The rigid sleeve device for the endoscope is usable by fixing the sleeve to the arbitrary position in the inserting part 2 of the endoscope.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rigid sleeve device for an endoscope used for a flexible endoscope used for internal inspection of a jet engine or other industrial fields.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When the position to be observed can be accessed while the insertion portion of the endoscope remains in a linear state, it is easy to access the observation site, that is, for facilitating inspection work. A rigid endoscope with a rigid straight insert is suitable. Further, for example, when inspecting a turbine blade of a jet engine, a hard endoscope that is easier to handle is suitable than a flexible endoscope because an inspection hole is provided on the engine surface in advance.

However, it is essential to use a flexible endoscope in the examination of a non-linear portion which cannot be accessed by a rigid endoscope. On the other hand, as the mantle tube mounted on the insertion portion of the endoscope, the one described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-40241 is known. In this type of endoscope outer tube, an outer tube to be fitted into an insertion portion having a proximal end side as a hard portion and a distal end portion as a soft end portion is attached to an endoscope main body. Has a structure in which a mounting portion is formed over both the operation portion main body side and the outer tube side of the endoscope, and the mounting portions are combined so that they can be detachably mounted. Further, the length of the mantle tube was a length matched with the insertion length of the endoscope insertion portion.

[0004]

Depending on the examination situation, it may be necessary to perform the examination using both the flexible endoscope and the rigid endoscope as appropriate. When the examiner performs the examination by properly using both endoscopes depending on the purpose of use, it is necessary to possess and prepare both the flexible endoscope and the rigid endoscope.

Further, between the endoscope and the mantle tube which do not have a detachable mounting portion adapted to each, the two cannot be combined, so that the usable types of the endoscope and the mantle tube are specified. . Furthermore, for applications that require different insertion lengths, it is necessary to prepare a jacket tube having a different length for each length. As described above, since a large number of endoscopes and outer tubes that are compatible with each other must be prepared in advance, there has been a problem that management of them and equipment costs increase.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its purpose is to use a flexible endoscope like a rigid endoscope in a wide range of applications including the use of a rigid endoscope. It is also possible to provide a rigid sleeve for an endoscope having high versatility that is capable of handling any length of the insertion portion of the flexible endoscope.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a rigid sleeve which is fitted in an insertion portion of an endoscope so as to be able to move back and forth.
A rigid sleeve device for an endoscope, which is provided on the rigid sleeve, and is provided with an attachment means for removably fixing the rigid sleeve at an arbitrary position in the axial direction on the outer periphery of the insertion portion.

This rigid sleeve device for an endoscope can be used by fixing it at an arbitrary position of the insertion portion of the endoscope. The insertion portion of the flexible endoscope with the rigid sleeve can be handled like a rigid endoscope, and a wide range of observations that could not be used until now as a flexible endoscope can be performed. Further, since no special attachment / detachment mechanism is required on the endoscope side, when the rigid sleeve device is used, the endoscope used therefor does not need to have a special specification. Further, since the rigid sleeve can be fixed at any position of the insertion portion, there is no problem even if the length of the insertion portion is different.

[0009]

【Example】

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows the first embodiment of the present invention.
~ It demonstrates with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of the entire system, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a rigid sleeve device, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the action of the sleeve tip portion.

As shown in FIG. 1, the endoscope system includes a video image scope (electronic endoscope) 1 and a flexible (tip) insertion portion 2 of the video image scope 1.
A rigid sleeve device 3 that is detachably attached to the middle portion of the light source device, a light source device 5 to which a light source connector 4 of the video image scope 1 is connected, and a C of the video image scope 1.
A CCU (camera control unit) device 7 to which the CU connector 6 is connected, and a monitor 8 for displaying an output signal of the CCU device 7 as an image are provided. In addition, as the video image scope 1, the insertion part using the image guide fiber may be replaced with a soft fiber scope, and this may be used in combination with the light source device 5.

The rigid sleeve device 3 is constructed as shown in FIG. That is, it has a hard sleeve inner pipe (inner pipe) 9 formed of a pipe-shaped hard member,
The base end of the inner pipe 9 is attached to a mounting portion body 10 as a base body formed of a cylindrical member. The proximal end of the inner pipe 9 is fitted and fixed in the distal end lumen portion of the mounting portion main body 10. In addition, the inner pipe 9 and the mounting portion main body 1
0 has the same inner diameter and is coaxially connected in a straight line. Inner pipe 9 and mounting body 1
The flexible insertion part 2 of the video image scope 1 described above can be slidably inserted into the lumen of 0. Further, in this embodiment, the inner pipe 9 has a free end which is not attached to the other end of the inner pipe 9.

Further, the base end portion of the mounting portion main body 10 has a knob portion 11 thicker than other portions. Then, a mounting means that can be fixed to an arbitrary position of the insertion portion 2 is provided at a base end portion of the mounting portion main body 10. That is, the inner surface of the base end of the mounting portion main body 10 has a stepped hole 12 having a larger inner diameter than the other portions,
An O-ring 13 made of, for example, an annular elastic member made of fluorine or nitrile rubber is fitted into the hole 12.
The O-ring 13 is pushed until it is joined to the inner end of the stepped hole 12.

A female screw portion 1 is formed on the inner peripheral portion of the outer end of the hole portion 12.
4 are formed. A male screw portion 16 formed on the outer periphery of a fixed cylinder 15 as a pressing ring of the pressing means is screwed onto the female screw 14, and a fixed cylinder 15 as a pressing member is provided so as to be able to move forward and backward.

The inner diameter of the fixed cylinder 15 is formed to have an inner diameter equal to or larger than the inner diameters of the inner pipe 9 and the mounting portion main body 10. Therefore, like the inner pipe 9, the insertion portion 2 of the video image scope 1 described above can be inserted. Then, the O-ring 13 in a free state in which it cannot be tightened while being attached to the mounting portion main body 10
The inner diameter of is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the insertion portion 2 inserted therethrough. The amount of interference between the insertion portion 2 and the O-ring 13 due to this is
The insertion portion 2 is set to a level that does not prevent the insertion portion 2 from moving forward and backward with respect to the O-ring 13 and that the insertion portion 2 does not easily slide off the O-ring 13.

A large-diameter flange 17 is provided on the outer end of the fixed barrel 15.
Are formed. The flange 17 is picked up and the fixed cylinder 15 is rotated. When the fixed cylinder 15 is screwed in, the O-ring 13 is crushed by being sandwiched between the front end surface of the fixed cylinder 15 and the step inner end surface of the hole 12 to reduce the inner diameter of the O-ring 13. Thereby, the insertion portion 2 is tightened and the rigid sleeve device 3 is fixed at that position.

An outer cylinder 21 for a grip portion as a cover member is provided on the outer peripheral portion 20 having the smallest outer diameter of the mounting portion main body 10.
Is slidably mounted. The outer cylinder 21 is provided with O-ring grooves 22 along its circumferential direction at two inner peripheral portions near both ends thereof, and each O-ring groove 22 is made of, for example, an elastic body made of the above-mentioned material. 23 is fitted and attached. The inner diameter of the O-ring 23 is the outer cylinder 2
1 is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the mounting body 10
By elastically pressing and interfering with the outer peripheral portion 20, the sliding operation of the outer cylinder 21 with respect to the mounting portion main body 10 is slightly weighted.

Further, a base end of an outer pipe (outer pipe) 24 made of a hard pipe-like member slidably fitted on the inner pipe 9 is connected and fixed to the tip of the outer cylinder 21. The outer pipe 24 is formed with an inner diameter larger than that of the outer peripheral portion 20 of the mounting portion main body 10, and a hole portion 25 into which the proximal end portion of the outer pipe 24 is fitted is formed on the inner peripheral portion of the outer cylinder 21 at the distal end portion. The base end of the outer pipe 24 is abutted against the end surface of the step at the back of the hole 25 and positioned, and is fixed by means of bonding or the like.

A pin 26 having a tip protruding toward the mounting portion body 10 side is fixed to an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the grip portion outer cylinder 21. The protruding tip of this pin 26 is fitted into a long groove 27 provided along the axial direction on the outer periphery of the mounting portion main body 10 to mate with each other.
The relative positional relationship between 0 and the outer cylinder 21 is regulated.

In this embodiment, the width of the long groove 27 is made slightly larger than the outer diameter of the tip portion of the pin 26.
With respect to 0, the outer cylinder 21 hardly rotates in the circumferential direction. Further, since the long groove 27 is provided in parallel along the axial direction of the outer cylinder 21, the outer cylinder 21 can slide in the axial direction relatively within the range of the long groove 27 with respect to the mounting portion main body 10. Is.

The sliding amount L of the outer cylinder 21 with respect to the mounting portion main body 10 shown in FIG. 2 corresponds to the sliding amount L of the outer pipe 24 with respect to the inner pipe 9 shown in FIG. That is,
The sliding amount L is the bending portion 30 provided at the tip of the insertion portion 2.
The length is set to be covered with the outer pipe 24. Further, regarding the axial lengths of the inner pipe 9 and the outer pipe 24, the tip of the pin 26 is the base end side of the long groove 27 (the fixed cylinder 1
(5 side), the tip end of the inner pipe 9 and the tip end of the outer pipe 24 are in a relationship of being in contact with each other and being in contact with each other.

The inner pipe 9 and the outer pipe 24 described above are used.
For example, a metal such as stainless steel, plastic, or a spiral tube having a braided wire on the outer circumference of a spiral tube and integrally molded with an elastomer on the outer circumference, which is conventionally used for an insertion portion of an endoscope, is used. Also, they may be used in combination as required. When metal is used, resistance to abrasion during use is improved. When plastic is used, the weight of the rigid sleeve device 3 can be reduced. In addition, when a flexible tube is used, it is flexible, so that bending resistance can be obtained.

The rigid sleeve device 3 is attached to the flexible insertion portion 2 of the video image scope 1 as follows. First, the flexible insertion portion 2 of the video image scope 1 is inserted from the distal end side from the fixed barrel 15 side and inserted. Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the distal end of the inner pipe 9 and the proximal end position of the bending portion 30 in the flexible insertion portion 2 of the video image scope 1 are aligned. That is, with respect to the mounting portion main body 10, the outer cylinder 21 is moved toward the fixed cylinder 15 and the pin 2
6 is pulled toward the front side until it hits the edge of the groove 27, and the tip of the inner pipe 9 and the tip of the outer pipe 24 are aligned. In this way, the tip of the inner pipe 9 can be seen.

With the distal end of the inner pipe 9 positioned near the proximal end of the curved portion 30 provided in the insertion portion 2, the fixed cylinder 17 as a pressing member is screwed in, whereby the O-ring 13 is inserted.
Crush. By appropriately setting the screwing amount of the fixed cylinder 17, the interference amount between the insertion portion 2 and the O-ring 13 is set so that both cannot be moved. Thereby, at an arbitrary position in the insertion part 2 of the video image scope 1,
The rigid sleeve device 3 can be attached and fixed.

Then, for example, in the inspection of a turbine blade of a jet engine, the rigid sleeve device 3
In the case of using, the outer cylinder 21 is grasped by one hand, and the other hand holds the knob portion 11 until the pin 26 abuts on the end edge of the long groove 27 on the inner pipe 9 side.
Push from the side to the other side. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, at this time, the tip of the outer pipe 24 projects from the tip of the inner pipe 9. As a result, the curved portion 30 is covered with the protruding outer pipe 24. However, the portion of the tip portion 31 having the observation window and the like is positioned before the tip of the outer pipe 24 and is not covered.

Therefore, the flexible insertion portion 2 of the video image scope 1 becomes a straight and hard insertion portion as in the case of the rigid endoscope. In that state, if it is inserted from the inspection hole provided in the jet engine, the outer cylinder 21 of the rigid sleeve device 3 and the knob 11 of the mounting portion main body 10 that are gripped by the hand side can be operated to operate like a rigid endoscope. Can be used in handling.

Further, while gripping the outer cylinder 21, while holding the knob portion 11, the mounting portion main body 10 is pulled toward the hand side until the pin 26 abuts on the hand side end edge portion of the long groove 27. At this time, the tip end of the outer pipe 24 and the tip end of the inner pipe 9 are not shown in FIG.
Match as shown by the solid line. As a result, both pipes 9,
The curved portion 30 of the insertion portion 2 appears from the tip of 24. In this state, if it is inserted into the inspection hole provided in the jet engine, the mounting portion main body 10 of the rigid sleeve device 3 is held at the hand side.
Also, with the gripping operation of the outer cylinder 21, the inspection can be performed by using it like a rigid endoscope. Further, by using the bending function of the bending portion 30, it is possible to observe in a wider range than the state in which the bending portion 30 is covered with the rigid sleeve device 3.

On the other hand, the rigid sleeve device 3 is inserted into the insertion portion 2
In order to remove the O-ring 23, the fixed cylinder 17 is rotated in the opposite direction to that when the fixed cylinder 17 is attached and fixed, and the deformation caused by the crushing of the O-ring 23 is released. As a result, the original amount of interference is restored, so that the insertion portion 2 is removed from the rigid sleeve device 3.

However, according to the configuration of the first embodiment, (1) the application of the flexible endoscope is expanded to the application of the rigid endoscope, and a wide observation can be performed with one flexible endoscope. it can. (2) Since the structure for attaching and detaching is not required on the endoscope side,
It can be easily attached and used with any endoscope. Further, since the structure for attaching and detaching is not required on the endoscope side, it can be attached to any place of the insertion portion. (3) By using the bending function of the flexible endoscope, it is possible to observe a wider range than that of a general rigid endoscope, and the degree of freedom of access is improved. In addition, the double structure of the inner pipe and the outer pipe, and the slide structure are used for the purpose of covering the bending portion with a pipe to make the insertion portion completely rigid and using the bending function of the flexible insertion portion. Using. As a result, it is possible to select a state in which the bending portion is covered with the pipe by an operation on the hand side as required for the inspection. (4) Since each pipe can cover only the curved part without covering the distal end of the insertion part, it can be used for an endoscope whose observation direction is side-viewing or strabismus without obstructing the field of view. . (Second Embodiment) A rigid sleeve device 40 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The mounting portion main body 41 of the rigid sleeve device 40 is made of a cylindrical member, and a tubular outer pipe (outer pipe) 42 is attached and fixed to the tip of the mounting portion main body 41 as in the first embodiment described above. There is.

An elongated hole 43 is provided on the outer circumference of the mounting portion main body 41 along the circumferential direction thereof with a length of about half a circumference. The elongated hole 43 penetrates the inner and outer peripheral surfaces of the mounting portion main body 41. It is formed in a missing state. Mounting section body 4
An outer cylinder 44 for a grip portion is slidably fitted and attached to the outer periphery of the No. 1. Further, an inner cylinder 46 having an inner cavity through which the insertion portion 45 of the flexible endoscope can be fitted is slidably fitted to the inner circumference of the attachment portion main body 41.

On the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder 46, there is provided a single cam groove 47 which is spirally continuous over about a half circumference. The cam groove 47 in this embodiment is formed as a notched hole that penetrates to the inner peripheral side of the inner cylinder 46.

A pin 48 is attached and fixed to the outer cylinder 44 so as to penetrate from the outer peripheral surface toward the inner peripheral surface.
The inner tip of the pin 48 passes through the long hole 43 and is fitted into the cam groove 47 of the inner cylinder 46 to be assembled. The width of the long hole 43 and the cam groove 47 is larger than the outer diameter of the engaging tip portion of the pin 48, and there is a slight gap between them. The relative movement amount of the spiral cam groove 47 with respect to the pin 48 in the axial direction is indicated by L'in FIG.

At one end of the inner cylinder 46, that is, at the tip end side where the outer pipe 42 is attached to the attachment portion main body 41, from a tubular member having an inner cavity through which the insertion portion 45 of the endoscope can be inserted. The base end of the inner pipe 49 is fixed. The inner pipe 49 is arranged inside the outer pipe 42 described above in a coaxially superposed state with a gap. The length relationship between the outer pipe 42 and the inner pipe 49 is such that the outer pipe 42 and the inner pipe 49 have their tips aligned when the outer cylinder 44 is on the hand side with respect to the mounting portion main body 41. It is set.

A first O-ring groove 51 is formed along the circumferential direction at both ends of the inner circumference of the outer cylinder 44. A first O-ring 52 made of an elastic body is fitted and mounted in each O-ring groove 51 at these two locations. The inner diameter of the first O-ring 52 is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the mounting portion main body 41.
1 is in an interference state of pressing against the outer peripheral surface. For this reason, when they are slid relative to each other, there is a slight weight.

Further, second O-ring grooves 53 formed along the circumferential direction are provided at both ends of the outer periphery of the inner cylinder 46. A second O-ring 54 made of an elastic body is fitted and mounted in each of the O-ring grooves 53 at these two locations. The outer diameter of the second O-ring 54 is slightly larger than the inner diameter of the mounting portion main body 41, and due to the interference state of pressing against the inner peripheral surface of the mounting portion main body 41, the sliding of both is slightly weighted. I have to.

Further, the base end portion of the mounting portion main body 41 is formed with a knob portion 55 thicker than other portions. At the base end portion of the mounting portion main body 41, mounting and fixing means that can be fixed at an arbitrary position of the insertion portion 45 is provided. The mounting and fixing means comprises a chuck 60 for sandwiching the insertion portion 45, which has a cylindrical member 61 through which the insertion portion 45 can be inserted, and the tip end side portion of the cylindrical member 61 is the mounting portion main body 41. It is fixed to the base end of. The proximal end portion of the cylindrical member 61 is configured as a free end, and this portion is provided with notch slits 62 at, for example, 3 to 4 positions from the insertion side of the insertion portion 45 to the intermediate portion in the axial direction thereof. The outer circumference of the end portion is tapered. Cylindrical member 6
1 is made of metal or plastic.
A tapered inner peripheral surface 66 of a fixed cylinder 65, which will be described later, is fitted into the tapered outer peripheral surface 63 of the cylindrical member 61.
The diameter is reduced when tightened. The tapered inner peripheral surface 66 is formed so as to be in contact with and mesh with the tapered outer peripheral surface 63 at the same inclination.

A female screw portion 71 is formed on the inner peripheral portion of the base end portion of the mounting portion main body 41, and a male screw portion 72 formed on the outer periphery of a fixed cylinder 65 as a pressing ring as a pressing means is formed on the female screw portion 71. Is screwed to attach the fixed cylinder 65 so that it can move back and forth. The inner cavity of the fixed cylinder 65 is formed with an inner diameter equal to or larger than the inner diameters of the inner pipe 49 and the inner cylinder 46. Therefore, the insertion portion 45 described above
Can be easily inserted.

A female screw portion 81 is formed at the base end portion of the fixed barrel 65, that is, the end portion on the side opposite to the side where the tapered inner peripheral surface 66 is present, and this portion is made of an elastic member and advances in the axial direction. A retaining ring 83 for holding the tube member 82 as a folding member whose outer diameter becomes smaller accordingly is screwed and attached. The tube member 82 has an inner diameter through which the insertion portion 45 can be inserted. The tube member 82 is intended to prevent bending by bending the portion of the insertion portion 45 drawn out from the rigid sleeve device 40 as gently as possible. It should be noted that this type of break-fastening tube member 82 is not limited to this second embodiment, and the same effect can be obtained by using it in the first embodiment described above.

To attach the rigid sleeve device 40 to the insertion portion 45 of the flexible endoscope, the insertion portion 45 is inserted and predetermined positioning is performed as in the case of the first embodiment described above. First, the outer cylinder 44 is pulled toward the front side so that the tip of the inner pipe 49 is aligned with the tip of the outer pipe 42. In addition, the tip ends of the inner and outer pipes 49 and 42 are positioned at the base end portion of the bending portion 84 of the insertion portion 45.

After that, the fixed cylinder 65 is screwed in to reduce the diameter of the chuck 60, and the insertion portion 45 is tightened and fixed at that position. As a result, the insertion portion 45 of the flexible endoscope is
The rigid sleeve device 40 can be attached and fixed at a predetermined position. The tightening strength at this time is fixed cylinder 6
Adjust by changing the screwing amount of 5.

The mounting portion main body 41 is gripped, and the outer cylinder 44 is rotated with respect to the mounting portion main body 41. The rotation of the outer cylinder 44 causes the pin 48 to move in the circumferential direction according to the elongated hole 43 of the mounting portion main body 41. The movement of the tip of the pin 48 in the circumferential direction is converted into circumferential rotation and axial advance / retreat of the inner cylinder 46 by the spiral cam groove 47 provided in the inner cylinder 46. Therefore, the inner cylinder 46 and the inner pipe 49 fixed to the inner cylinder 46 advance and retreat in the axial direction according to the rotation of the outer cylinder 44. Since the position of the outer pipe 42 fixed to the mounting portion main body 41 does not change, the inner pipe 49 projects from the outer pipe 42.

The protrusion amount L'is dimensioned so that the inner pipe 49 covers the curved portion 84. The protrusion amount L'is shown in FIG. At the time of observation, the outer cylinder 44 is rotated with respect to the mounting portion main body 41, and the inner cylinder 46 is projected toward the tip side along the cam groove 47. The curved portion 84 is covered by the inner pipe 49 extending from the outer pipe 42, but the tip portion 85 is not covered.

When the outer cylinder 44 is rotated in the reverse direction, the inner pipe 49 extending from the outer pipe 42 moves in the axial direction along the cam groove 47 and is housed in the outer pipe 42. The same bending function as can be used.

When the hard sleeve device 40 is removed, the fixed barrel 65 is loosened with respect to the female threaded portion 71 and is retracted, whereby the force of the chuck 60 that holds down the insertion portion 45 is released. Insert the insertion portion 45 into the rigid sleeve device 4
Can be removed from 0.

According to the configuration of the second embodiment, (1) in the first embodiment, the outer pipe 42 moves forward and backward,
The outer pipe 42 could not be fixed to the observation target. Here, since the inner pipe 49 moves back and forth, it can be used for fixing the outer pipe 42 to the observation target. (2) The chuck 60 is used to attach and fix the endoscope to the insertion portion 45.
By doing so, the durability of the member for mounting and fixing is improved as compared with that of the first embodiment. One of the reasons for this
One of them is that the material can be changed from elastic body to metal or plastic. (3) The outer cylinder 44 does not move in the axial direction, and the inner pipe 49 advances and retracts due to the rotation of the outer cylinder 44, so the operation range in the axial direction can be small. Further, since the outer cylinder 44 does not cover the outer pipe 42, the entire outer circumference of the outer pipe 42 can be fixed. (4) The insertion portion 45 is added by adding the tube member 82 for folding.
Durability is improved.

According to the configuration of each of the above embodiments, the following aspects can be obtained. (1) A rigid sleeve that is fitted in the insertion part of the endoscope so as to be able to move forward and backward, and is provided on this rigid sleeve and detachably fixed to the outer periphery of the insertion part at an arbitrary axial position. A rigid sleeve device for an endoscope, comprising: mounting means.

(2) In a rigid sleeve device for an endoscope which is inserted into an insertion portion of an endoscope, the first sleeve inner tube into which the insertion portion of the endoscope is inserted and the outer circumference of the inner tube are arranged. A second sleeve outer pipe slidable in the axial direction of the inner pipe, and an attachment provided at one end of the inner pipe for removably fixing the inner pipe or the outer pipe to an arbitrary position of the insertion portion A rigid sleeve device for an endoscope, comprising:

(3) In the rigid sleeve device for an endoscope which is inserted through the insertion portion of the endoscope, the first sleeve inner tube into which the insertion portion of the endoscope is inserted and the outer circumference of the inner tube are arranged. A second sleeve outer tube in which the inner tube is slidable in the axial direction, and the inner tube or the outer tube can be fixed to an arbitrary position of the insertion portion provided at one end of the inner tube. A rigid sleeve device for an endoscope, comprising: mounting means.

(4) The endoscope according to any one of items 1 to 3, wherein a bending stop member made of an elastic body and having an outer diameter that decreases in the axial direction is provided at the end of the mounting means. Hard sleeve device for use.

(5) The attaching means includes a cover or a base member attached to a hard sleeve, an annular elastic member provided in the member and inserted through the insertion portion, and the elastic member is sandwiched from both sides in the axial direction. 2. The rigid sleeve device for an endoscope according to claim 1, further comprising: a pressing unit that suppresses deformation outward in the radial direction and performs deformation that reduces the diameter.

(6) The member is formed by a cylindrical member through which the insertion portion is inserted, and the pressing means is an annular elastic member for a large-diameter hole formed on the inner circumference of one end of the member. 6. The endoscope according to claim 5, characterized in that the elastic member is inserted into the hole and the pressing ring is screwed into the hole, and the elastic member is sandwiched between the inner end of the large-diameter hole and the pressing ring to reduce the diameter. Hard sleeve device.

(7) A chuck member in which a plurality of cuts are provided at one end of a tubular member made of metal or plastic into which the insertion portion is inserted, up to an intermediate portion in the axial direction, and a holding ring member for reducing the diameter of the chuck member. The rigid sleeve device for endoscopes according to claim 5, further comprising:

[0052]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The insertion portion of the flexible endoscope can be hardened so that the flexible endoscope can be handled in the same manner as the rigid endoscope, and the application as the flexible endoscope is widened. In addition, the user does not need to separately prepare a rigid endoscope at the time of inspection, which facilitates inspection preparation and inspection work.

Since the structure for attaching and detaching the hard sleeve device is not required on the endoscope side, it can be attached to any endoscope for use. In addition, it can be attached anywhere in the insert.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view schematically showing an entire system of a rigid sleeve device for an endoscope according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the rigid sleeve device.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the action of the tip portion of the rigid sleeve device.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a rigid sleeve device for an endoscope according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Video image scope, 2 ... Insertion part, 3 ... Hard sleeve device, 9 ... Inner pipe, 10 ... Attachment part main body, 13
... O-ring, 15 ... Fixed tube, 21 ... Outer tube, 24 ... Outer pipe.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A hard sleeve which is fitted in an insertion portion of an endoscope so as to be able to move back and forth, and a hard sleeve which is provided on the hard sleeve and is detachably fixed to an outer periphery of the insertion portion at an arbitrary axial position thereof. A rigid sleeve device for an endoscope, comprising: