Active bending section, insertion portion, and endoscope

Abstract

The application provides an active bending section, an insertion part and an endoscope, and belongs to the technical field of endoscopes. The active bending section comprises a bending body, the bending body comprises a plurality of snake bone units arranged along the axial direction thereof, and a hinge part arranged between two adjacent snake bone units, and the snake bone unit and the hinge part are integrally arranged; along the arrangement direction of the hinge part, the bending body has a mounting hole, and a support is arranged in the mounting hole along the axial direction of the mounting hole, and the support is configured to bear the extrusion force along the axial direction of the bending body during the bending of the bending body. By arranging the support, the support bears the extrusion force along the axial direction of the bending body when the bending body is bent, the hinge part only bears part of the extrusion force or does not bear the extrusion force under the action of the support, so that the structure of the hinge part is prevented from being damaged, the stability of the structural strength of the hinge part is maintained, the length and the bending radius of the bending body are prevented from changing, and the bending stability of the bending body is maintained.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of endoscope technology, specifically relating to an active bending section, an insertion part, and an endoscope. Background Technology

[0002] An endoscope is a medical diagnostic instrument consisting of a handle and an insertion section. During operation, by controlling the handle, the active bending section of the insertion section can be pulled by a traction rope to achieve bending action, thereby changing the orientation of the front end of the insertion section.

[0003] In related technologies, the active bending segment can be formed by riveting multiple serpentine units or by integral injection molding of multiple serpentine units. Riveting is flexible, but the riveting process is complex and cumbersome due to the small size of the active bending segment. Compared with riveting, integral injection molding is simpler and faster to manufacture. However, after long-term use, the bending stability of the active bending segment of integral injection molding will deteriorate. For example, the bending radius of the active bending segment may change, the bending accuracy of the active bending segment may decrease, and the bending units of the active bending segment may break. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this application is to provide an active bending section, an insertion part, and an endoscope to solve the aforementioned technical problems existing in the prior art.

[0005] This application is implemented as follows:

[0006] In a first aspect, this application provides an active bending section for use in an endoscope, including a bending body, the bending body including a plurality of serpentine units arranged along its axial direction, and a hinge portion disposed between two adjacent serpentine units, the serpentine units and the hinge portion being integrally disposed; along the arrangement direction of the hinge portion, the bending body has a mounting channel, and a support member is disposed in the mounting channel along its axial direction, the support member being configured to withstand the compressive force along the axial direction of the bending body during the bending process of the bending body.

[0007] In the above technical solution, by setting a support in the mounting hole of the bending body, the structural strength of the active bending section corresponding to the hinge area is improved. When the bending body is subjected to bending force, the support bears the compressive force along the axial direction of the bending body, thereby relieving or avoiding the hinge being compressed, preventing the hinge from deforming or structurally damaged under the action of compressive force, and avoiding the situation where the bending stability of the active bending section deteriorates.

[0008] Furthermore, the support component is a spiral wire.

[0009] Furthermore, adjacent spiral segments of the spiral wire abut against each other along the axial direction of the spiral wire.

[0010] Furthermore, the support member is disposed in contact with the inner wall of the mounting hole along its circumferential sidewall; and / or, both ends of the support member in its axial direction are fixedly disposed with the mounting hole.

[0011] Furthermore, the bending body is provided with an installation opening, which is connected to the installation channel.

[0012] Furthermore, the mounting opening is located on the inner sidewall of the curved body along its circumference; and / or, the width of the mounting opening is less than or equal to half the diameter of the mounting channel.

[0013] Furthermore, along the radial direction of the bent body, the thickness of the inner wall of the bent body along its circumference to the mounting hole is less than the thickness of the outer wall of the bent body along its circumference to the mounting hole.

[0014] Furthermore, the structural stiffness of the portion corresponding to the hinge is less than the structural stiffness of other portions of the support.

[0015] Secondly, this application provides an insertion portion, including the active bending segment of any of the foregoing.

[0016] Thirdly, this application provides an endoscope including the aforementioned insertion portion.

[0017] The beneficial effects of this invention are:

[0018] 1. In this invention, by setting mounting holes on the bending body and setting support members in the mounting holes, the support members are used to replace the hinge part to bear the compressive force along the axial direction of the bending body, thereby relieving or avoiding the hinge part being compressed under the action of compressive force, thus maintaining the bending stability of the active bending section.

[0019] 2. In this invention, by setting the support member as a spiral wire structure, the support member can be bent at multiple points simultaneously. When the traction rope is pulled to bend the main body, the support member part corresponding to the hinge part can be bent under the action of the traction rope, ensuring the stability of the bending shape of the main body.

[0020] 3. In this invention, the support member with the spiral wire structure can have a restoring force to restore its unbent state after bending, and can drive the bent main body to reset together when the spiral wire is reset.

[0021] 4. In this invention, the side wall of the support member along its circumference abuts against the inner side wall of the mounting hole. The support member is constrained by the inner side wall of the mounting hole, so that the support member is always subjected to the compressive force along the axial direction of the bending body. This avoids the support member from bending irregularly when subjected to the compressive force along the axial direction of the bending body, which would result in the support member being unable to withstand the compressive force. Attached Figure Description

[0022] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art 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.

[0023] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the bending process of the active bending section formed by integral injection molding in related technologies;

[0024] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the bending process of the active bending section after the hinge is widened in the related technology;

[0025] Figure 3 This is a comparison diagram of the active bending section with normal hinge width and with widened hinge width in related technologies;

[0026] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a bent tube structure provided in some embodiments of this application. Figure 1 ;

[0027] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a bent tube structure provided in some embodiments of this application. Figure 2 ;

[0028] Figure 6 These are side views of a bent tube provided in some embodiments of this application;

[0029] Figure 7 This is a cross-sectional view of a bent tube portion provided in some embodiments of this application;

[0030] Figure 8 This is a cross-sectional view of a bent tube portion provided in some embodiments of this application;

[0031] Figure 9 These are schematic diagrams of the support structure provided in some embodiments of this application;

[0032] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the curved tube end structure provided in some embodiments of this application.

[0033] 100 - Bending body, 110 - Snake bone unit, 120 - Hinge, 200 - Mounting hole, 300 - Support, 310 - Helical segment, 400 - Mounting opening. Detailed Implementation

[0034] The following description provides many different embodiments or examples for implementing various features of the invention. The elements and arrangements described in the specific examples below are only for concise expression of the invention and are merely examples, not intended to limit the invention.

[0035] It should be noted that in the various embodiments of this application, "proximal end" and "distal end" refer to the position of the endoscope and its accessories relative to the user in the usage environment. The end closer to the user is designated as the "proximal end", and the end farther from the user is designated as the "distal end".

[0036] While the manufacturing process of a one-piece injection molded active bending section is simpler, its bending stability decreases over time compared to a riveted active bending section. For specific details, please refer to... Figures 1 to 3 analyze.

[0037] Figure 1 In the prior art, the active bending section is integrally injection molded. Adjacent snake-bone units 110 are connected by a hinge 120, and the two adjacent snake-bone units 110 can be bent on both sides through the hinge 120. When the active bending section is bent by pulling the traction rope, one end of the adjacent snake-bone units 110 will move closer to each other and abut together. As the adjacent snake-bone units 110 move closer to each other, the part of the hinge 120 near the bending side will be compressed by the axial compressive force of the active bending section. As the active bending section bends, the other end of the adjacent snake-bone units 110 will move away from each other. Correspondingly, the part of the hinge 120 away from the bending side will be stretched by the axial tensile force of the active bending section. When the active bending section bends in the opposite direction, the part of the hinge 120 that was just compressed becomes stretched, and the part that was just stretched becomes compressed.

[0038] After prolonged use, the structure of the hinge 120 is damaged due to repeated compression and stretching, and the structural strength of the hinge 120 will decrease. When pulling the traction rope with the same force, the degree of compression of the hinge 120 before the structural strength of the hinge 120 is damaged is less than the degree of compression of the hinge 120 after the structure of the hinge 120 is damaged. The length of the hinge 120 after compression will be shorter, which will make the gap between two adjacent snake bone units 110 smaller, shorten the overall length of the bending section, and reduce the bending radius of the active bending section, thus making the bending stability of the active bending section worse.

[0039] After the hinge 120 is subjected to compressive force, the degree of compression will increase compared to before the structure is damaged. Furthermore, after the structure of the hinge 120 is damaged, the strength of the hinge 120 weakens. When the operator pulls the traction rope to bend the active bending section, even when one end of the adjacent snake unit 110 is already abutting against each other, the operator can still pull the traction rope to continue moving. Continuing to pull the traction rope will cause the adjacent snake unit 110 to continue to compress against each other, and the hinge 120 will be subjected to greater compressive force, which will further damage its structure and cause cracks to appear on the hinge 120. This will result in the adjacent snake unit 110 being in the wrong abutting position and misaligned with each other. At this time, although the hinge 120 can still connect the adjacent snake unit 110, it cannot support the adjacent snake unit 110 to bend according to the preset trajectory, which will make the bending stability of the active bending section worse.

[0040] After analyzing the above problems, it was found that the structural damage of the hinge 120 was caused by its low structural strength. Therefore, this problem can be solved by increasing the strength of the hinge 120. Obviously, the strength of the hinge 120 can be increased by increasing the width of the hinge 120, so that when the hinge 120 is subjected to compressive and tensile forces along the axial direction of the active bending section, the structure of the hinge 120 is not easily damaged and its structural strength is not easily reduced.

[0041] However, in actual use, it was found that although the widened hinge portion 120 increased the structural strength of the hinge portion 120, it could not maintain the bending stability of the active bending section. In fact, the widened hinge portion 120 was more prone to structural damage and tearing than the unwidened hinge portion 120. Specifically, in conjunction with... Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, although the width of the hinge portion 120 is increased, during the bending process of the active bending section, under the same bending radius, the widthened hinge portion 120 causes the hinge portion 120 of the adjacent snake bone unit 110 to be compressed more than the normal width of the hinge portion 120. Therefore, the deformation of the widened hinge portion 120 on both the side subjected to compressive force and the side subjected to tensile force will increase, making the deformation of the hinge portion 120 more severe. This makes the hinge portion 120 more prone to tearing during the bending process of the active bending section. The torn hinge portion 120 cannot support the relative position of the adjacent snake bone unit 110, and the two adjacent snake bone units 110 will become disconnected. When the traction rope is pulled, the snake bone unit 110 cannot run according to the preset bending trajectory, causing the adjacent snake bone units 110 to be in the wrong abutment position and misaligned with each other, ultimately resulting in poor bending stability of the active bending section. In addition, the traction force required by the widened hinge portion 120 will also increase, which is not conducive to operation.

[0042] In view of this, some embodiments of this application provide an active bending segment for use in an endoscope, combined with Figures 4 to 10 As shown, by setting a support member 300 in the active bending section to withstand the axial compressive force when the active bending section bends, the structure of the hinge part 120 is prevented from being damaged, thereby improving the bending stability of the active bending section.

[0043] Some embodiments of this application provide an active bending segment including a bending body 100. The bending body 100 includes a plurality of snake-bone units 110 arranged along its axial direction and a hinge portion 120 disposed between two adjacent snake-bone units 110. The snake-bone units 110 and the hinge portion 120 are integrally disposed. It can be understood that the plurality of snake-bone units 110 are the main structure of the bending body 100. The hinge portion 120 between the snake-bone units 110 enables relative rotation between the snake-bone units 110. From the perspective of the bending body 100 as a whole, it can achieve bending action through the rotation between some of the snake-bone units 110.

[0044] In this application, the bending body 100 includes a plurality of serpentine units 110 and a hinge portion 120, and also has a mounting channel 200. The bending body 100 is provided with a mounting channel 200 along the arrangement direction of the hinge portion 120 on the bending body 100, and a support member 300 is provided in the mounting channel 200 along its axial direction. The axial direction of the mounting channel 200 is the arrangement direction of the hinge portion 120. The support member 300 is configured to withstand the compressive force along the axial direction of the bending body 100 during the bending process of the bending body 100.

[0045] When the bending body 100 is pulled and bent by the traction rope, the ends of the adjacent snake bone units 110 will approach each other and abut together. However, since the mounting hole 200 of the bending body 100 is provided with a support member 300, the structural strength of the support member 300 is greater than that of the hinge part 120. When the support member 300 and the hinge part 120 are subjected to compressive force, the support member 300 is less likely to be compressed than the hinge part 120. Therefore, the support member 300 bears the compressive force along the axial direction of the bending body 100 when the bending body 100 is pulled by the traction rope. When the support member 300 bears the compressive force, the hinge part 120 will not bear the compressive force or will only bear a very small compressive force. Therefore, the structure of the hinge part 120 will not be damaged or the possibility of damage is very small. Its structural strength will remain stable, thereby maintaining the bending stability of the bending body 100.

[0046] The support member 300 is generally a component with high structural strength. When subjected to compressive force, the length of the support member 300 will not be compressed, thereby maintaining the distance between two adjacent snake-bone units 110 and preventing the hinge portion 120 between two adjacent snake-bone units 110 from being compressed. At the same time, due to the presence of the support member 300, when the pulling force of the traction rope on the bending body 100 increases, the support member 300 will not be compressed due to its high structural strength. Therefore, it can prevent further contact between two adjacent snake-bone units 110 and the further compression of the abutment portion.

[0047] In the active bending section provided in this application, since the support member 300 bears the compressive force along the axial direction of the bending body 100, the structure of the hinge part 120 is maintained intact and its strength is not damaged. The hinge part 120 always supports the two adjacent snake bone units 110. When the bending body 100 bends normally, the two adjacent snake bone units 110 can move under the pull of the traction rope according to the preset bending trajectory. The abutment position of the two adjacent snake bone units 110 is correct and there will be no misalignment of the adjacent snake bone units 110. Moreover, since the hinge part 120 is not compressed by the compressive force, its overall length and bending radius will not change when the bending body 100 bends, thus maintaining the bending stability of the bending body 100.

[0048] In some embodiments of this application, two hinge portions 120 are connected between two adjacent snake bone units 110. The two hinge portions 120 are located on both sides of the circumference of the bending body 100, and the arrangement direction of the two hinge portions 120 between two adjacent snake bone units 110 passes through the axis of the bending body 100. The two hinge portions 120 jointly support the adjacent snake bone units 110. Furthermore, the arrangement direction of the plurality of hinge portions 120 located on the same side of the circumference of the bending body 100 is the same as the axial direction of the bending body 100.

[0049] The mounting holes 200 provided on the bending body 100 have various structures; for details, please refer to [link / reference needed]. Figure 7 As shown, the mounting channel 200 can directly penetrate both ends of the bending body 100. The mounting channel 200 connects all the hinges 120 located on one side of the bending body 100. The support member 300 in the mounting channel 200 fills the entire mounting channel 200. When the bending body 100 bends, the support member 300 needs to have a small turning radius. The small turning radius means that when two adjacent snake-bone units 110 bend, the support member 300 corresponding to the position of the hinge 120 needs to adapt to the change in position of the two adjacent snake-bone units 110. From the perspective of the bending body 100 as a whole, the support member 300 needs to have multiple small turning radii to achieve bending at multiple hinges 120 of the bending body 100.

[0050] In some embodiments, see Figure 8 As shown, the active bending section has multiple mounting channels 200, with one mounting channel 200 corresponding to each hinge portion 120. The mounting channel 200 extends through the entire hinge portion 120, and a support member 300 is installed in the mounting channel 200. When the bending body 100 bends, the support member 300 mainly bears the compressive force along the axial direction of the bending body 100 at the hinge portion 120. Therefore, the support member 300 can be installed directly at the hinge portion 120 without having the mounting channel 200 extend through the bending body 100. Furthermore, the mounting channel 200 needs to extend into the two serpentine units 110 adjacent to the hinge portion 120, partly to reduce the bending of the bending body 100. The traction force required for bending varies. For longer objects, the lever arm is longer, so less force is needed when bending. For shorter objects, the lever arm is shorter, so more force is needed when bending. On the other hand, increasing the length of the support member 300 can prevent large gaps from forming between its two ends and the two ends of the mounting channel 200 when bending. In such gaps, the support member 300 will not be able to provide support. However, the processing technology of the segmented mounting channel 200 and the installation technology of the support member 300 are both relatively complex and costly. Therefore, considering manufacturing efficiency and cost, a mounting channel 200 structure that runs through the bending body 100 is generally chosen.

[0051] Because the support member 300 in some embodiments of this application needs to meet the requirement of a small bending radius, in some embodiments, the support member 300 can be selected as a spiral wire, combined with Figure 9 As shown, the spiral filament is formed by a filamentous structure spiraling around a straight line, and the spiral filament can be bent at multiple points simultaneously.

[0052] With the mounting channel 200 penetrating both ends of the bending body 100, when the support member 300 is installed in the mounting channel 200, it also penetrates the bending body 100. The support member 300 is simultaneously connected to multiple hinge parts 120. When the bending body 100 bends, the support member 300 will begin to bend as the snake unit 110 rotates. The support member 300 located in the hinge part 120 will bend, while the part of the support member 300 located in the snake unit 110 will not bend. When the support member 300 corresponding to the hinge part 120 bends, the corresponding lever arm is longer, which is the length of the support member 300 in the snake unit 110. When the traction rope pulls the bending body 100, the traction force required by the traction rope is less.

[0053] In addition to being able to bend in multiple places simultaneously, the spiral wire has a unique spiral structure. Due to the special nature of this structure, after the external force that caused the spiral wire to bend disappears, the spiral wire has a restoring force to return to its unbent state. The spiral wire is installed in the mounting hole 200 of the bending body 100. When the spiral wire is reset, it will drive the bending body 100 to reset. However, in the prior art, after the bending body 100 is bent, the squeezed and compressed hinge part 120 cannot automatically return to its natural state. It is necessary to pull the traction rope in another direction to reset the bending body 100, which is cumbersome.

[0054] In addition, since the spiral wire needs to withstand the compressive force along the axial direction of the bending body 100, in order to satisfy the supporting effect of the spiral wire on the adjacent snake unit 110, the spiral wire cannot be compressed. The two adjacent spiral segments 310 of the spiral wire need to abut against each other along the axial direction of the spiral wire. There is no gap between the two adjacent spiral segments 310 of the spiral wire. When the spiral wire is subjected to compressive force, the two adjacent spiral segments 310 can no longer approach each other, thereby stabilizing the axial length of the two adjacent spiral segments 310. The two adjacent spiral segments 310 of the spiral wire can also abut against each other. There is a mutual abutting force between the two adjacent spiral segments 310. After the spiral segments 310 are abutted, the overall structure of the spiral wire is more compact, and the supporting effect on the snake unit 110 will be better.

[0055] In some embodiments, the support member 300 can be configured as an elastic rod, which is a slender rod-shaped structure made of elastic material. When the support member 300 is subjected to the traction force of the traction rope, it can bend. At the same time, the structural strength of the support member 300 needs to be set to be high so that when the support member 300 is subjected to the compressive force along the axial direction of the bending body 100, the axial length of the support member 300 will not change, thereby stabilizing the distance between two adjacent snake bone units 110 and preventing the length of the hinge portion 120 from being compressed. At the same time, the elastic material also has a restoring force to restore its unbent state after being bent.

[0056] In addition to being a spiral wire and an elastic rod, the support member 300 can also be a composite structure, dividing the support member 300 into multiple segments. The support rod 300 located at the corresponding position of the snake bone unit 110 is a rod-shaped structure made of high-strength material, which is incompressible and cannot be bent. The support rod 300 located at the corresponding position of the hinge part 120 is a spiral wire or an elastic rod, which can bend along with the bending body 100 while bearing the axial compressive force along the bending body 100.

[0057] When the support member 300 is subjected to axial compressive force, due to its slender structure, if there is no corresponding restraint structure around it, even if the support member 300 is not compressed, it is prone to irregular bending or folding. This would render the support member 300 unable to withstand the axial compressive force, unable to protect or support the hinge 120, and unable to support the two adjacent serpentine units 110. Therefore, the support member 300 is installed within the mounting hole 200, and its shape within the hinge 120 needs to follow the bending changes of the mounting hole 200. The changes are designed to maintain the structural stability of the support member 300 when it is subjected to axial compressive force, thereby achieving the support function. In some embodiments of this application, the support member 300 is abutted against the mounting channel 200. Specifically, the support member 300 is abutted against the inner sidewall of the mounting channel 200 along its circumferential sidewall. The support member 300 and the mounting channel 200 are in close contact. When the mounting channel 200 bends, it causes the support member 300 to bend along with it. The mounting channel 200 constrains the shape of the support member 300, preventing the support member 300 from bending or bending irregularly during the bending process, and ensuring that the support member 300 can always withstand the compressive force along the axial direction of the bending body 100.

[0058] The support member 300 can be in a state of just contact with the inner wall of the mounting hole 200 along its circumferential sidewall, and the support member 300 cannot bend in other directions beyond the restriction of the mounting hole 200. Alternatively, it can be in a state of tight contact, with the support member 300 firmly pressed against the inner wall of the mounting hole 200 along its circumferential sidewall, so that the bending states of the support member 300 and the mounting hole 200 are completely synchronized. When the support member 300 is a spiral wire, its structural radius will deform when the spiral wire bends. When the spiral wire is pressed against or abuts against the sidewall of the mounting hole 200, the sidewall of the mounting hole 200 will restrict the deformation of the spiral wire, thereby preventing changes in the structure of the spiral wire and a shortening of its axial length.

[0059] To further synchronize the bending changes of the mounting channel 200 and the support 300, the support 300 can be fixed in the mounting channel 200 to prevent the support 300 from rotating in the mounting channel 200; when the support 300 is a spiral wire, the two ends of the spiral wire structure are fixed to the mounting channel 200.

[0060] To improve installation efficiency when installing the support member 300 into the mounting channel 200, an installation opening 400 can be provided on the bending body 100. The installation opening 400 communicates with the mounting channel 200. The support member 300 can be installed into the mounting channel 200 through the installation opening 400, or the size of the mounting channel 200 can be temporarily enlarged by the installation opening 400 before installing the support member 300 into the mounting channel 200. The size of the installation opening 400 should not be too large, on the one hand to avoid affecting the structural strength of the bending body 100. If the installation opening 400 is too large, the structural strength of the bending body 100 will be affected. The structural strength is reduced due to the impact of the problem. On the other hand, it is also necessary to prevent the support 300 from detaching from the mounting opening 400. In specific implementation, the width of the mounting opening 400 is less than or equal to half the diameter of the mounting channel 200. The length of the mounting opening 400 along the axis of the bending body 100 is the same as the length of the mounting channel 200 along the axial direction. The width of the mounting opening 400 is the shortest distance between the two sides of the mounting opening 400. The width of the mounting opening 400 remains unchanged along its axial direction. The mounting opening 400 can be extended along the axial direction of the bending body 100 or inclined relative to the axis of the bending body 100. There are no restrictions here.

[0061] In addition, the installation opening 400 is located on the inner sidewall of the bending body 100 along its circumference. On the one hand, when the bending body 100 is bent, its outer surface structure remains intact, and there will be no stress concentration. There is no need to worry about the bending body 100 being torn due to the presence of the bending opening during repeated bending. On the other hand, if the installation opening 400 is located on the outer sidewall of the bending body 100 along its circumference, when the bending body 100 is bent, it will have a certain pulling effect on the installation opening 400. There is a certain probability that the size of the installation opening 400 will be stretched, and the support member 300 in the installation channel 200 may be at risk of detaching from the installation channel 200 through the installation opening 400.

[0062] When the bending body 100 bends, a traction rope is inserted through the traction rope through-hole on the bending body 100. The traction force of the traction rope causes the bending body 100 to bend. When the hinge part 120 bends under the action of traction force, the position of the hinge part 120 closer to the inside of the bending body 100 receives more traction force than the position closer to the outside. Therefore, the position of the hinge part 120 closer to the inside of the bending body 100 experiences stronger compressive force. To further improve the supporting effect of the support member 300 on the hinge part 120 and to further improve the protection of the hinge part 120 by the support member 300, the support member 300 is positioned closer to the inside of the bending body 100. That is, along the radial direction of the bending body 100, the thickness of the inner wall of the bending body 100 along its circumference to the mounting hole 200 is less than the thickness of the outer wall of the bending body 100 along its circumference to the mounting hole 200. Figure 10 As shown, when the bending body 100 bends, the support member 300 provided closer to the inner side of the bending body 100 can withstand more axial compressive force, thus preventing the traction force transmitted by the traction rope from acting on the hinge part 120, or reducing the traction force transmitted by the traction rope to the hinge part 120.

[0063] In some embodiments of this application, to avoid compression of the support member 300 and to improve the support effect of the support member 300 on the bending body 100, the structural strength of the support member 300 is increased. Under this structure, although the support member 300 can maintain its structural stability under axial compressive force along the bending body 100, a greater traction force is required to bend the bending body 100. Therefore, to reduce the traction force required for bending the bending body 100, the same support member 300 is configured with two different structural strengths. The structural stiffness of the portion of the support member 300 corresponding to the hinge portion 120 is set to be less than the structural stiffness of other portions of the support member 300. When the support member 300 bends, the bent portion is... The portion corresponding to the hinge 120 has a relatively lower structural strength. The portion of the support member 300 located within the snake-bone unit 110 will not bend, so its structural strength can be relatively higher. It supports the portions of the support members 300 corresponding to the two adjacent hinge portions 120, maintaining the relative positions of the support members 300 corresponding to the two adjacent hinge portions 120. Although the strength of the support member 300 located at the position corresponding to the hinge portion 120 is reduced, this is only to reduce the external force required when it bends. The length of this portion of the support member 300 cannot be compressed during the bending process of the bending body 100. The portion of the support member 300 with greater strength located within the snake-bone unit 110 can share the compressive force.

[0064] Some embodiments of this application provide an insertion portion including the active bending segment of any of the foregoing embodiments. Thus, the insertion portion possesses the beneficial effects of the aforementioned active bending segment, which will not be elaborated further here.

[0065] Some embodiments of this application provide an endoscope, including the insertion part of any of the foregoing embodiments. The endoscope in the embodiments of this application can be a bronchoscope, pyeloscope, esophagoscope, gastroscope, colonoscope, otoscope, rhinoscope, oral scope, laryngoscope, colposcope, laparoscope, arthroscope, etc. The embodiments of this application do not specifically limit the type of endoscope.

[0066] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An active bending segment for use in an endoscope, characterized in that, The device includes a bending body (100), which includes a plurality of snake-bone units (110) arranged along its axial direction, and a hinge portion (120) disposed between two adjacent snake-bone units (110), wherein the snake-bone units (110) and the hinge portion (120) are integrally disposed. Along the arrangement direction of the hinge portion (120), the bending body (100) has a mounting channel (200), and a support member (300) is provided in the mounting channel (200) along its axial direction. The support member (300) is configured to withstand the compressive force along the axial direction of the bending body (100) during the bending process of the bending body (100). The support member (300) abuts against the inner sidewall of the mounting hole (200) along its circumferential sidewall, and the support member (300) and the mounting hole (200) can be bent synchronously; The bending body (100) is provided with an installation opening (400), which is connected to the installation channel (200); The mounting opening (400) is provided on the inner sidewall of the curved body (100) along its circumference; The width of the mounting opening (400) is less than or equal to half the diameter of the mounting channel (200).

2. The active bending segment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The support member (300) is a spiral wire.

3. The active bending segment according to claim 2, characterized in that, The two adjacent spiral segments (310) of the spiral wire abut against each other along the axial direction of the spiral wire.

4. The active bending segment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The support member (300) is fixedly installed at both ends of the mounting hole (200) in the axial direction.

5. The active bending segment according to claim 1, characterized in that, Along the radial direction of the curved body (100), the thickness of the curved body (100) from its inner circumferential sidewall to the mounting channel (200) is less than the thickness of the curved body (100) from its outer circumferential sidewall to the mounting channel (200).

6. The active bending segment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The structural stiffness of the portion of the support member (300) corresponding to the hinge portion (120) is less than the structural stiffness of the other portions of the support member (300).

7. An insertion part, characterized in that, Includes the active bending segment as described in any one of claims 1-6.

8. An endoscope, characterized in that, Includes the insertion portion as described in claim 7.

Images