An angle-adjustable endoscope and an angle-adjusting method thereof

Abstract

The application discloses an angle-adjustable endoscope and an angle adjusting method thereof, and relates to the field of medical devices.The endoscope comprises a main pipe body, a pulling steel wire, a spiral steel wire with a self-recovery function and an initial outer diameter greater than the inner diameter of the main pipe body, and a camera.The one end of the spiral steel wire is connected with the camera, the other end is connected with the pulling steel wire, the spiral steel wire is slidably arranged in the main pipe body, and the spiral steel wire is coaxially arranged with the main pipe body.The one end of the pulling steel wire away from the spiral steel wire is extended out of the main pipe body to form a force applying end.In the application, when the pulling steel wire is used to push the spiral steel wire to move, the front end of the spiral steel wire gradually slides out of the main pipe body, and the sliding-out part will produce axial deflection with the contact point between the spiral steel wire and the port of the main pipe body as the base point.The spiral steel wire rotates around the axis of the main pipe body by 360 degrees in the inclined state, so that the shooting angle of the camera is continuously adjusted, the freedom degree of the camera is greatly improved, and the adjustment is realized by only pushing the pulling steel wire, and the adjustment convenience is high.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of medical devices, and in particular to an angle-adjustable endoscope and a method for adjusting the angle thereof. Background Technology

[0002] An endoscope is a diagnostic instrument that integrates traditional optics, ergonomics, precision mechanics, modern electronics, mathematics, and software. It contains an image sensor, optical lens, light source, and mechanical devices. It can enter the stomach through the mouth or other natural orifices. Endoscopes can visualize lesions that X-rays cannot. Therefore, endoscopes are crucial diagnostic equipment in the medical field. However, some endoscopes have a fixed shooting angle and a small shooting range, which limits the effectiveness of examinations. To improve the examination of the human body, increasing the shooting range of the camera is of paramount importance. To improve the shooting range of the camera, application number "201380053" was applied for. Patent application number 351.2, entitled "Multi-camera Endoscope," discloses an endoscope that increases the shooting range by increasing the number of cameras. The multiple cameras are oriented differently, thus enabling the capture of a wide range of images. However, this increases the diameter of the tube and raises production costs. Another patent application number, "202210765458.0," entitled "Angle-adjustable Endoscope," discloses an endoscope that adjusts the tube tip and camera orientation by pulling the tube tip with steel wires. However, this requires multiple steel wires, which restricts the freedom of camera movement. Furthermore, in actual use, multiple steel wires need to be constantly adjusted, making the adjustment process cumbersome.

[0003] Therefore, there is an urgent need for an endoscope with high freedom of movement and easy adjustment. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide an angle-adjustable endoscope and its angle adjustment method to solve the problems existing in the prior art. When the spiral steel wire with an initial outer diameter greater than the inner diameter of the main tube slides out of the main tube, the slid-out part will rotate around the axis of the main tube in an inclined state, thereby continuously adjusting the shooting angle of the camera, which has a high degree of freedom and is easy to adjust.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following solution: The present invention provides an angle-adjustable endoscope, comprising a main body, a traction wire, a spiral wire with a self-recovering function and an initial outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the main body, and a camera. One end of the spiral wire is connected to the camera, and the other end is connected to the traction wire. The spiral wire is slidably disposed within the main body and is coaxially disposed with the main body. The end of the traction wire away from the spiral wire extends out of the main body to form a force-applying end.

[0006] Preferably, the initial outer diameter of the spiral steel wire is not greater than the outer diameter of the main pipe.

[0007] Preferably, the tension wire is connected to the camera.

[0008] Preferably, the main body includes a wire storage section for storing the spiral wire and a pulling section for the pulling wire to pass through, wherein the inner diameter of the pulling section matches the outer diameter of the pulling wire.

[0009] Preferably, the outer end of the main body is provided with a liquid injection port.

[0010] Preferably, the end of the camera is rounded.

[0011] Preferably, the outer diameter of the camera is the same as the outer diameter of the main body.

[0012] The present invention also provides a method for adjusting the angle of an angle-adjustable endoscope, comprising the following steps:

[0013] S1: Insert the endoscope into the tube of the human body to be examined, and use a camera to observe in real time whether the endoscope has reached the patient's position;

[0014] S2: Slowly push the traction wire forward. The front end of the traction wire pushes the spiral wire to gradually slide out of the main body. The part that slides out undergoes radial deformation due to its own shape recovery. However, the part inside the main body cannot undergo radial deformation, which causes the part that slides out to be deflected. As the spiral wire continues to slide out of the main body, it rotates around the axis of the main body in an inclined state, thereby continuously adjusting the shooting angle of the camera to more comprehensively observe the patient's location.

[0015] The present invention achieves the following technical effects compared to the prior art:

[0016] In this invention, when the spiral wire is inside the main body, it is in a compressed state, and its outer diameter in the compressed state is smaller than its outer diameter in the initial state. When the spiral wire is pushed by the pulling wire, the front end of the spiral wire gradually slides out of the main body. The part that slides out returns to its initial state because it loses the constraint of the main body. However, since the part that slides out tends to return to the initial state with a larger outer diameter, while the part inside the main body is still in a compressed state with a smaller outer diameter, the part that slides out will axially deflect with the contact point between the spiral wire and the port of the main body as the base point, thereby causing the camera to axially deflect. On this basis, during the process of the spiral wire being pushed by the pulling wire and sliding out of the main body, the contact point between the spiral wire and the port of the main body moves continuously with the circumference of the port of the main body as the movement path, presenting a 360° circumferential position change. Specifically, the spiral wire rotates 360° around the axis of the main body in an inclined state, thereby continuously adjusting the shooting angle of the camera, greatly improving the freedom of the camera, and this can be achieved simply by pushing the pulling wire, making the adjustment highly convenient.

[0017] Attached illustrations

[0018] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the angle-adjustable endoscope of the present invention;

[0020] Among them, 1. main body; 2. traction steel wire; 3. spiral steel wire; 4. camera; 5. liquid injection port. Detailed Implementation

[0021] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0022] The purpose of this invention is to provide an angle-adjustable endoscope and its angle adjustment method to solve the problems existing in the prior art. When the spiral steel wire with an initial outer diameter greater than the inner diameter of the main tube slides out of the main tube, the slid-out part will rotate around the axis of the main tube in an inclined state, thereby continuously adjusting the shooting angle of the camera, which has a high degree of freedom and is easy to adjust.

[0023] To make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0024] Please refer to the following: Figure 1 As shown, an angle-adjustable endoscope and its angle adjustment method are provided, including a main body 1, a traction wire 2, a spiral wire 3, and a camera 4. The spiral wire 3 has a self-recovery function, and its initial outer diameter is larger than the inner diameter of the main body 1. One end of the spiral wire 3 is connected to the camera 4. Specifically, the front free end of the spiral wire 3 extends towards the middle to form a welding rod, which is then welded to the end of the camera 4. The other end of the spiral wire 3 is connected to the traction wire 2. Specifically, the rear free end of the spiral wire 3 extends towards the middle to form a welding rod, which is then welded to the traction wire 2. The welding rod can be lengthened by increasing the length of the weld joint between the welding rod and the camera 4 or the traction wire 2 to improve the weld strength. As a result, the spiral steel wire 3 is slidably set inside the main body 1, and the spiral steel wire 3 is coaxially set with the main body 1. When selecting the material of the main body 1, it should be considered that the friction between it and the spiral steel wire 3 in the compressed state can be overcome by the thrust of the pulling steel wire 2. Alternatively, a stainless steel pipe section can be added to the front end of the main body 1 to compress the spiral steel wire 3. The inner wall surface of the stainless steel pipe section is smoothed. At this time, the stainless steel pipe section, as part of the main body 1, can be installed in the form of wrapping (the stainless steel pipe section is partially sleeved outside the end of the main body 1) or embedding (the stainless steel pipe section is partially inserted into the end of the main body 1). The end of the pulling steel wire 2 away from the spiral steel wire 3 extends out of the main body 1 to form the force application end.

[0025] The principle behind this device's adjustable camera angle is as follows: When the spiral wire 3 is inside the main body 1, it is in a compressed state, with its outer diameter smaller than its initial diameter. When the spiral wire 3 is moved by the pulling wire 2, its front end gradually slides out of the main body 1. The slid-out portion, freed from the constraint of the main body 1, returns to its initial state. However, because the slid-out portion tends to return to its initial state with a larger outer diameter, while the portion inside the main body 1 remains in a compressed state with a smaller outer diameter, the slid-out portion will axially deflect around the contact point between the spiral wire 3 and the end of the main body 1, thereby driving the camera... 4. Axial deviation occurs. Based on this, during the process of the spiral steel wire 3 being pushed and sliding out of the main body 1 by the pulling steel wire 2, the contact point between the spiral steel wire 3 and the port of the main body 1 moves continuously along the circumferential direction of the port of the main body 1, presenting a 360° circumferential position change. Specifically, the spiral steel wire 3 rotates 360° around the axis of the main body 1 in an inclined state, thereby continuously adjusting the shooting angle of the camera 4, greatly improving the degree of freedom of the camera 4. Moreover, it can be achieved simply by pushing the pulling steel wire 2, making the adjustment highly convenient. The number of adjustment turns of the 360° angle adjustment of the camera 4 can be increased by increasing the number of turns of the spiral steel wire 3.

[0026] The initial outer diameter of the spiral wire 3 is not greater than the outer diameter of the main body 1, so as to avoid the problem of a large radial gradient between the spiral wire 3 and the main body 1, which makes it difficult to remove the spiral wire 3 after it has completely slid out.

[0027] To improve the transmission effect of the driving force, the pulling steel wire 2 is connected to the camera 4. At this time, the spiral steel wire 3 that slides out can drive the pulling steel wire 2 to bend when it is tilted.

[0028] The main body 1 includes a wire pre-storage section for pre-storing the spiral steel wire 3 and a traction section for the pulling steel wire 2 to pass through. The inner diameter of the traction section matches the outer diameter of the pulling steel wire 2, that is, there is a sliding fit gap between the two. This can ensure that the part corresponding to the traction section does not bend or deform during the pushing process of the pulling steel wire 2, thereby improving the force transmission effect.

[0029] Based on the premise that the inner diameter of the pulling section matches the outer diameter of the pulling wire 2, a strip groove can be opened on the inner wall of the pulling section for the wire of the camera 4 to pass through.

[0030] The outer end of the main tube 1 is provided with an injection port 5. The traction section needs to be provided with a corresponding flow channel for injecting saline through the injection port 5 during the inspection process. The saline flows through the main tube 1 to the camera 4, thereby cleaning the camera 4 and ensuring the clarity of the camera 4's images.

[0031] To prevent the camera from scratching the human body during its movement, the end of the camera is rounded.

[0032] The outer diameter of the camera 4 is set to be the same as that of the main body 1. This ensures that after the spiral wire 3 is completely slid out, the camera 4 will not form a large radial gradient with the main body 1. At the same time, it ensures that the camera 4 will not retract into the main body 1 during the compression phase of the spiral wire 3. This can provide shooting guidance for the movement of the main body 1 in the human body tube.

[0033] The present invention also provides a method for adjusting the angle of an angle-adjustable endoscope, comprising the following steps:

[0034] S1: Insert the endoscope into the tube of the human body to be examined, and use camera 4 to observe in real time whether the endoscope has reached the patient's position;

[0035] S2: Slowly push the traction wire 2 forward. The front end of the traction wire 2 pushes the spiral wire 3 to gradually slide out of the main body 1. The part that slides out undergoes radial deformation under the action of its own shape recovery. However, the part inside the main body 1 cannot undergo radial deformation, so the part that slides out is deflected. As the spiral wire 3 continues to slide out of the main body 1, the spiral wire 3 rotates around the axis of the main body 1 in an inclined state, thereby continuously adjusting the shooting angle of the camera 4, so as to observe the patient's position more comprehensively.

[0036] Any adaptive changes made according to actual needs are within the scope of protection of this invention.

[0037] It should be noted that, for those skilled in the art, it is obvious that the present invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above, and that the invention can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the invention. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered illustrative and non-limiting in all respects, and the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description. Thus, all variations falling within the meaning and scope of equivalents of the claims are intended to be included within the present invention. No reference numerals in the claims should be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.

[0038] Specific examples have been used to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of this invention. The descriptions of the above embodiments are only for the purpose of helping to understand the method and core ideas of this invention. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will recognize that, based on the ideas of this invention, there will be changes in the specific implementation methods and application scope. Therefore, the content of this specification should not be construed as a limitation of this invention.

Claims

1. An angle-adjustable endoscope, characterized in that, The device includes a main body, a pulling wire, a spiral wire with a self-recovering function and an initial outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the main body, and a camera. One end of the spiral wire is connected to the camera, and the other end is connected to the pulling wire. The spiral wire is slidably disposed within the main body and is coaxially arranged with the main body. The end of the pulling wire away from the spiral wire extends out of the main body to form a force-applying end. When the spiral wire is located within the main body, it is in a compressed state, and its outer diameter in the compressed state is smaller than its outer diameter in the initial state. When the pulling wire pushes the spiral wire, the front end of the spiral wire gradually slides out of the main body. The slid-out part, due to the loss of the restraint of the main body, returns to its initial state. However, because the slid-out part tends to return to the initial state with a larger outer diameter, while the part inside the main body remains in a compressed state with a smaller outer diameter, the slid-out part will axially deflect with the contact point between the spiral wire and the end of the main body as the reference point, thereby causing the camera to axially deflect.

2. The angle-adjustable endoscope according to claim 1, characterized in that, The initial outer diameter of the spiral steel wire is not greater than the outer diameter of the main pipe.

3. The angle-adjustable endoscope according to claim 1, characterized in that, The tension wire is connected to the camera.

4. The angle-adjustable endoscope according to claim 3, characterized in that, The main body includes a wire pre-storage section for pre-storing the spiral steel wire and a traction section for the traction steel wire to pass through, wherein the inner diameter of the traction section matches the outer diameter of the traction steel wire.

5. The angle-adjustable endoscope according to claim 1, characterized in that, The outer end of the main body is provided with a liquid injection port.

6. The angle-adjustable endoscope according to claim 1, characterized in that, The camera has a rounded end.

7. The angle-adjustable endoscope according to claim 6, characterized in that, The outer diameter of the camera is the same as the outer diameter of the main body.

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