A traction rope distal end fixing structure and endoscope

Abstract

The present invention relates to the technical field of endoscopes, and specifically discloses a traction rope distal end fixing structure and an endoscope, the traction rope distal end fixing structure comprising an active bending section, a traction rope and an adapter, the active bending section is a tubular component, the distal end of the active bending section is provided with an orifice radially penetrating the active bending section, the distal end of the traction rope passes through the orifice, so that the traction rope has a first section distributed on the inner side of the active bending section and a second section distributed on the outer side of the active bending section, the adapter is connected to the distal end of the active bending section, and the adapter is configured to apply pressure to the second section so that at least part of the second section is tightly attached to the outer wall of the active bending section; in the above scheme, the second section at the distal end of the traction rope is pressed and attached to the outer wall of the active bending section by the adapter, thereby achieving the fixation of the distal end of the traction rope, and as the traction rope is pulled, the traction rope can be further embedded in the depth of the orifice to strengthen the connection with the active bending section, and this method avoids the complicated welding process.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of endoscopes, and in particular to a traction rope distal end fixing structure and an endoscope. Background Art

[0002] An endoscope is a medical device that inserts an insertion part into the human body and observes the internal tissues of the human body through a camera module at the distal end of the insertion part. It can help doctors determine the location of lesions in the patient's body and the tissue structure characteristics of the lesion location. An endoscope includes an operating handle and an insertion part. In actual operation, the traction wheel is driven to rotate by turning the lever on the operating handle to adjust the posture of the active bending section of the insertion part, thereby adjusting the direction of the distal module to achieve fixed-point observation and other functions.

[0003] In the related art, the active bending section is usually formed by riveting multiple pivot units or cutting a tubular member as a whole. The far end of the traction rope is usually connected and fixed to the active bending section by welding. However, in the specific welding process, there are problems such as high operating difficulty and poor stability of the welding connection. Summary of the invention

[0004] The invention discloses a traction rope distal end fixing structure and an endoscope, so as to solve the above-mentioned technical problems existing in the related technology.

[0005] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] The present application provides a traction rope distal end fixing structure, the traction rope distal end fixing structure comprising:

[0007] An active bending section, wherein the active bending section is a tubular member, and a distal end of the active bending section is provided with an orifice radially penetrating the active bending section;

[0008] A traction rope, the distal end of which passes through the orifice, so that the traction rope has a first section distributed inside the active bending section and a second section distributed outside the active bending section;

[0009] A transition piece is connected to the distal end of the active bending section, and the transition piece is configured to apply pressure to the second section so that at least a portion of the second section is closely attached to the outer wall of the active bending section.

[0010] Furthermore, along a first direction, the width of the orifice gradually decreases, and the width of the small end of the orifice is smaller than the radial dimension of the traction rope, and the first direction is the extension direction of the active bending section from its distal end to its proximal end.

[0011] Furthermore, the orifice passes through the distal end surface of the active bending section.

[0012] Furthermore, the distal end fixing structure of the traction rope also includes a support body, which is arranged in the active bending section, and part of the first section abuts against the support body, and the support body is configured to guide the first section to extend in an arc-shaped transition from the radial direction of the active bending section to the axial direction of the active bending section.

[0013] Furthermore, the support body is formed by solidifying the glue poured into the active bending section.

[0014] Furthermore, a clamping strip which is recessed inwardly is stamped and formed on the side wall of the active bending section, and the clamping strip defines a receiving groove for receiving the traction rope on its radial outer side, and the traction rope is passed through the receiving groove.

[0015] Furthermore, the traction rope includes a traction rope body and a metal sleeve, the metal sleeve is sleeved on the distal end of the traction rope body, the metal sleeve is arranged in the active bending section, or the metal sleeve is arranged outside the active bending section.

[0016] Furthermore, the metal sleeve is fixed to the traction rope body by stamping.

[0017] Furthermore, along the radial direction of the active bending section, a portion of the tube wall of the metal sleeve overlaps a portion of the end wall of the clamping strip.

[0018] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application further discloses an endoscope, and the disclosed endoscope includes the aforementioned traction rope distal end fixing structure.

[0019] The technical solution adopted by the present invention can achieve the following beneficial effects:

[0020] The traction rope distal end fixing structure and endoscope of the present application, through the adapter, presses the second section of the distal end of the traction rope and fits it on the outer wall of the active bending section, thereby achieving the fixation of the distal end of the traction rope, and as the traction rope is continuously pulled, the traction rope can be further embedded in the depth of the hole to strengthen the connection with the active bending section, which can effectively prevent the traction rope from sliding off the active bending section. This method avoids the complicated welding process, reduces the difficulty of assembly and manufacturing of the entire fixing structure, and reduces the production cost of the endoscope. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0022] Figure 1 This is one of the structural schematic diagrams of the far-end fixing structure of the traction rope according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A local enlarged schematic diagram of the middle A;

[0024] Figure 3 This is the second structural schematic diagram of the far-end fixing structure of the traction rope according to the embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 4 This is one of the cross-sectional schematic diagrams of the distal end fixing structure of the traction rope according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Figure 5 This is the second cross-sectional schematic diagram of the traction rope distal end fixing structure of the embodiment of the present application;

[0027] Figure 6 This is the third cross-sectional schematic diagram of the traction rope distal end fixing structure of the embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Figure 7 yes Figure 6 A local enlarged schematic diagram of point B in the middle.

[0029] In the figure:

[0030] 100, active bending section; 110, orifice; 120, clamping strip; 200, traction rope; 210, traction rope body; 211, first section; 212, second section; 220, metal sleeve; 300, adapter; 400, support body. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] To make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present invention clearer, the technical solution of the present invention will be described in detail below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other implementation methods obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work belong to the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0032] The terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of the present application are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchangeable under appropriate circumstances, so that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described here, and the objects distinguished by "first", "second", etc. are generally of one type, and the number of objects is not limited. For example, the first object can be one or more. In addition, "and / or" in the specification and claims represents at least one of the connected objects, and the character " / " generally indicates that the objects associated with each other are in an "or" relationship.

[0033] The present application discloses a traction rope distal end fixing structure and an endoscope. Figures 1 to 7 , the traction rope distal end fixing structure and the endoscope provided in the embodiment of the present application are described in detail through specific embodiments and their application scenarios.

[0034] See also Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3 and Figure 4 The embodiment of the present application discloses a distal end fixing structure of a traction rope, which is applied to an endoscope. The disclosed distal end fixing structure of the traction rope includes an active bending section 100, a traction rope 200 and an adapter 300, wherein the active bending section 100 is a tubular structure as a whole. For example, the active bending section 100 can be formed by riveting a plurality of tubular pivot units to each other, or can be formed integrally by laser cutting of a metal pipe, or the active bending section 100 can be formed by integral injection molding, and the present embodiment does not impose specific restrictions on this. In the embodiment of the present application, the traction rope 200 can be passed through the active bending section 100, or can be disposed on the outside of the active bending section 100. For the convenience of subsequent writing, the embodiment of the present application is mainly described as the traction rope 200 being passed through the inside of the active bending section 100. The distal end of the traction rope 200 is connected and fixed to the distal end of the active bending section 100. When the operator controls the operating handle of the endoscope to pull the traction rope 200, the entire active bending section 100 can be driven to bend.

[0035] In the embodiment of the present application, the distal end of the active bending section 100 is provided with an orifice 110 that radially penetrates the active bending section 100, the distal end of the traction rope 200 is inserted into the orifice 110, and the traction rope 200 has a first section 211 distributed on the inner side of the active bending section 100 and a second section 212 distributed on the outer side of the active bending section 100. The adapter 300 is connected to the distal end of the active bending section 100. For example, the adapter 300 can be an injection-molded cylindrical structure, which can be sleeved on the distal end of the active bending section 100 in a tight-fitting manner, and the adapter 300 can be used as a lens holder of the endoscope, that is, the camera module and light source of the endoscope can be installed in the adapter 300. After being connected to the active bending section 100, the adapter 300 can be glued, fixed and sealed with the active bending section 100. The adapter 300 sleeved on the far end of the active bending section 100 can apply an extrusion force to the second section 212, so that the second section 212 is tightly attached to the outer wall of the active bending section 100, thereby realizing the connection and fixation of the traction rope 200 and the active bending section 100.

[0036] Based on the above technical solution, the distal end fixing structure of the traction rope of the embodiment of the present application presses the second section 212 of the distal end of the traction rope 200 and fits it on the outer wall of the active bending section 100 through the adapter 300, thereby achieving the fixation of the distal end of the traction rope 200, and as the traction rope 200 is continuously pulled, the traction rope 200 can be further embedded in the depth of the orifice 110 to strengthen the connection with the active bending section 100. This method avoids the complicated welding process, reduces the difficulty of assembling and manufacturing the entire fixing structure, and reduces the production cost of the endoscope; at the same time, the method of crimping and fixing the distal end of the traction rope 200 by the adapter 300 can eliminate the active bending section 100. To avoid the inconvenience in connecting the traction rope 200 due to the difference in materials, whether it is an active bending segment 100 made of metal material (such as an integrally cut or riveted active bending segment) or an active bending segment 100 made of non-metallic material (such as an integrally injected active bending segment), a traction rope 200 made of metal material (such as a traction rope 200 formed by twisting multiple metal traction wires) can be selected, or a traction rope 200 made of non-metallic material (such as a nylon traction rope) can be selected. That is to say, the far-end fixation of the traction rope in the embodiment of the present application can increase the flexibility of the combination of the active bending segment 100 and the traction rope 200, and eliminate the influence of the material itself on the specific installation environment.

[0037] For further technical solutions, see Figure 2 and Figure 4 , along the first direction, the width of the orifice 110 gradually decreases, and the width of the orifice 110 at its small end is smaller than the radial dimension of the traction rope 200. The first direction is the extension direction of the active bending section 100 from its distal end to its proximal end. For example, from the radial outer side of the active bending section 100, the orifice 110 can be in a V-shape with a large distal end and a small proximal end, and the width of the small end of the orifice 110 is smaller than the radial dimension of the traction rope 200. In this way, when the traction rope 200 is pulled toward the proximal end, the portion of the traction rope 200 passing through the orifice 110 gradually moves toward the orifice 110. As the traction rope 200 moves deeper and deeper, the friction force generated by the wall of the hole 110 on the traction rope 200 becomes greater and greater. In other words, the greater the pulling force on the traction rope 200, the greater the stable clamping force of the two sides of the hole 110 on the traction rope 200. The part of the hole 110 where the traction rope 200 is embedded forms an auxiliary clamping position. Based on the clamping effect of the hole 110 on the traction rope 200, the proximal end of the traction rope 200 is difficult to slide along the axial direction when being pulled, thereby enhancing the connection stability between the distal end of the traction rope 200 and the distal end of the active bending section 100.

[0038] For further technical solutions, please continue to refer to Figure 2 and Figure 4The hole 110 passes through the distal end surface of the active bending section 100. When connecting the traction rope 200 to the active bending section 100, the traction rope 200 can be first passed through the distal end of the active bending section 100, and then the part of the traction rope 200 passing through the distal end of the active bending section 100 is bent outward and slid into the hole 110. When the traction rope 200 is passed through the active bending section 100, the difficulty of passing the traction rope 200 outward at the hole 110 can be reduced, which helps to improve the passing efficiency, reduce the assembly time of the fixed structure at the distal end of the traction rope, and effectively reduce the production and assembly costs.

[0039] The inventor discovered during the research process that when the endoscope is used in a specific application, since the traction rope 200 will be subjected to reciprocating pulling and releasing actions, the portion of the traction rope 200 at the orifice 110 will inevitably produce a greater or lesser swing, and the edge of the active bending section 100 at the orifice 110 will produce a shear force on the traction rope 200. Long-term frictional contact can easily lead to surface wear of the traction rope 200, and then cause the traction rope 200 to break and detach, affecting the stability of the endoscope.

[0040] Based on this situation, in some embodiments of the present application, the distal end fixing structure of the traction rope also includes a support body 400, which is arranged in the active bending section 100. Specifically, the support body 400 has a smooth arc-shaped guide surface to guide the traction rope 200 to transition and extend from the radial direction of the active bending section 100 to the axial direction of the active bending section 100 at a position in the traction rope 200 adjacent to the orifice 110. That is to say, a portion of the first section 211 abuts against the arc-shaped guide surface of the support body 400. When the traction rope 200 is subjected to reciprocating pulling and releasing actions, the arc-shaped guide surface can effectively disperse the pressure generated by the traction rope 200 when it is pulled, avoid excessive stress concentration at a specific point, and help reduce the risk of the traction rope 200 breaking due to excessive local pressure.

[0041] In some embodiments of the present application, the support body 400 may be integrally injection molded with the adapter 300 .

[0042] In some embodiments of this application, see Figure 6 and Figure 7, the support body 400 can also be formed by curing the glue poured into the active bending section 100. Exemplarily, a glue injection hole can be opened on the active bending section 100, or the aforementioned orifice 110 can be a glue injection hole. After the adapter 300 is crimped and fixed to the second section 212, glue can be injected into the active bending section 100. On the one hand, the cured glue can provide stable support for the remaining components (such as the camera module and the light source) in the active bending section 100. On the other hand, the cured glue can be coated on the outside of the first section 211, and part of the glue forms the aforementioned support body 400 to support the arc-shaped transition of the traction rope 200 from the radial direction to the axial direction. It can be understood that, based on the covering and supporting effect of the solidified adhesive on the traction rope 200, the portion of the traction rope 200 embedded in the adhesive can be regarded as a structure integrated with the solidified adhesive. Therefore, when the traction rope 200 is subjected to pulling, the portion of the first section 211 exposed to the adhesive is only subjected to the pulling force along its extension direction, thereby preventing the traction rope 200 from being broken due to shear force.

[0043] See also Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 The traction rope 200 of the embodiment of the present application includes a traction rope body 210 and a metal sleeve 220, wherein the traction rope body 210 can be formed by twisting at least two traction ropes, and the metal sleeve 220 is sleeved on the distal end of the traction rope body 210. For example, the metal sleeve 220 can be a stainless steel tube, an aluminum tube or a copper tube, and the metal sleeve 220 and the traction rope body 210 can be connected and fixed by stamping. On the one hand, the metal sleeve 220 can provide additional protection for the traction rope body 210, which helps to reduce the risk of damage to the traction rope body 210 due to wear, cutting or pressure. On the other hand, the metal sleeve 220 can tightly wrap the distal end of the traction rope body 210 to prevent the traction wire from loosening and falling off, that is, to avoid the phenomenon of wire jumping, thereby maintaining the integrity and stable traction function of the traction rope 200; at the same time, the traction rope 200 of the embodiment of the present application is welded to the active bending section 100 through the metal sleeve 220. Compared with the welding of the traction rope body 210 and the active bending section 100, it is necessary to ensure that each traction wire can be accurately and firmly welded to the active bending section, which greatly simplifies the welding process and reduces the difficulty of operation.

[0044] In some embodiments of this application, see Figure 4The metal sleeve 220 can be arranged in the active bending section 100, and the metal sleeve 220 can be coated and fixed in the active bending section 100 by the aforementioned glue. In this way, the position where the metal sleeve 220 is located can form an anchor point, thereby enhancing the connection strength between the distal end of the traction rope 200 and the active bending section 100, and further preventing the traction rope 200 from being pulled and separated from the active bending section 100.

[0045] In the embodiment of the present application, the side wall of the active bending section 100 is stamped to form an inwardly recessed clamping strip 120, and the plurality of clamping strips 120 are distributed along the axial direction of the active bending section 100. The clamping strip 120 forms a receiving groove for accommodating the traction rope 200 on its radially outer side, and the aforementioned first section 211 can be passed through the receiving groove. The plurality of clamping strips 120 distributed along the axial direction of the active bending section 100 can play a certain restraining role on the traction rope 200 passed through the receiving groove, effectively preventing the traction rope 200 from jumping, thereby ensuring that the active bending section 100 can bend along a preset direction.

[0046] In the embodiment of the present application, the active bending section 100 includes a plurality of snake bone joints connected end to end in a rotational manner. The aforementioned clamping strip 120 can be stamped on each snake bone joint, or can be arranged at intervals on a plurality of snake bone joints. For further technical solutions, please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The receiving groove formed on the most distal serpentine segment in the active bending section 100 axially penetrates the proximal wall of the serpentine segment, so that it is convenient for the operator to thread the traction rope 200 on the most distal serpentine segment.

[0047] In some embodiments of this application, please continue to refer to Figure 2 The metal sleeve 220 can be passed through and accommodated in the accommodating groove, that is, the accommodating groove can play a pre-positioning role for the metal sleeve 220.

[0048] In some embodiments of the present application, along the radial direction of the active bending section 100, the metal sleeve 220 is located in the area jointly occupied by the clamping strip 120 and the accommodating groove, and the tube wall of the metal sleeve 220 and the end wall of the clamping strip 120 have an overlapping portion in the radial direction. In this way, the arrangement of the metal sleeve 220 does not occupy too much additional radial space, thereby providing a larger accommodating space for the arrangement of other components (such as camera modules, light sources and instrument tubes) in the active bending section 100. For example, a larger camera module can often accommodate a higher-resolution sensor to provide a higher-quality image, or a larger instrument tube diameter can accommodate larger-sized medical devices to increase the flexibility of surgical operations, thereby optimizing the performance of the endoscope, and in the axial direction, the clamping strip 120 can be offset against the metal sleeve 220 to prevent the metal sleeve 220 from slipping out of the accommodating groove.

[0049] In some embodiments of this application, see Figure 5 The metal sleeve 220 can also be arranged outside the active bending section 100, that is, the metal sleeve 220 is sleeved on the second section 212, and the aforementioned adapter 300 can press and fix the metal sleeve 220 on the outside of the active bending section 100. Under such a setting, compared with the way in which the adapter 300 directly presses the second section 212 to make it close to the outer wall of the active bending section 100, the metal sleeve 220 usually has a larger outer diameter and a certain wall thickness relative to the second section 212. This makes it possible that during the crimping process, the metal sleeve 220 and the active bending section 100 and the metal sleeve 220 and the adapter 300 have a relatively large contact area, which can effectively disperse the crimping force and reduce local stress concentration, thereby ensuring the stability and reliability of the crimping.

[0050] It should be noted that, in this article, the terms "comprise", "include" or any other variant thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that the process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also includes other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "comprise one..." do not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the element. In addition, it should be pointed out that the scope of the methods and devices in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, and may also include performing functions in a substantially simultaneous manner or in reverse order according to the functions involved, for example, the described method may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may also be added, omitted, or combined. In addition, the features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

[0051] The above description is only a specific implementation mode of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention, which should be covered by the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A traction rope distal end fixing structure, applied to an endoscope, characterized in that: include: An active bending section (100), the active bending section (100) being a tubular component, and a distal end of the active bending section (100) being provided with an orifice (110) radially penetrating the active bending section (100); A traction rope (200), the distal end of the traction rope (200) passing through the orifice (110), so that the traction rope (200) has a first section (211) distributed inside the active bending section (100) and a second section (212) distributed outside the active bending section (100); An adapter (300), the adapter (300) being a cylindrical structure, the camera module and the light source of the endoscope being arranged inside the adapter (300), the adapter (300) being connected to the distal end of the active bending section (100), and the adapter (300) being configured to apply pressure to the second section (212) so that at least a portion of the second section (212) is closely attached to the outer wall of the active bending section (100); Along a first direction, the width of the orifice (110) gradually decreases, and the width of the small end of the orifice (110) is smaller than the radial dimension of the traction rope (200), and the first direction is the extension direction of the active bending section (100) from its distal end to its proximal end.

2. The traction rope distal end fixing structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The orifice (110) passes through the distal end surface of the active bending section (100).

3. The traction rope distal end fixing structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The invention also comprises a support body (400), wherein the support body (400) is arranged in the active bending section (100), a portion of the first section (211) abuts against the support body (400), and the support body (400) is configured to guide the first section (211) to extend in an arc-shaped transition from a radial direction of the active bending section (100) to an axial direction of the active bending section (100).

4. The traction rope distal end fixing structure according to claim 3, characterized in that: The support body (400) is formed by curing the glue poured into the active bending section (100).

5. The traction rope distal end fixing structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: An inwardly recessed clamping strip (120) is punched on the side wall of the active bending section (100), and the clamping strip (120) defines a receiving groove for receiving the traction rope (200) on its radial outer side, and the traction rope (200) is inserted into the receiving groove.

6. The traction rope distal end fixing structure according to claim 5, characterized in that: The traction rope (200) comprises a traction rope body (210) and a metal sleeve (220), wherein the metal sleeve (220) is sleeved on the distal end of the traction rope body (210), and the metal sleeve (220) is arranged inside the active bending section (100), or the metal sleeve (220) is arranged outside the active bending section (100).

7. The traction rope distal end fixing structure according to claim 6, characterized in that: The metal sleeve (220) is fixed to the traction rope body (210) by stamping.

8. The traction rope distal end fixing structure according to claim 6, characterized in that: Along the radial direction of the active bending section (100), a portion of the tube wall of the metal sleeve (220) overlaps a portion of the end wall of the clamping strip (120).

9. An endoscope, characterized in that: It comprises the traction rope distal end fixing structure as described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

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