A flexible, thin laryngoscope insertion tube assembly

Abstract

This invention relates to a flexible, thin laryngoscope insertion tube assembly, comprising a spring tube, a braided mesh tube, a polyurethane sheath, a front connecting ring, a rear connecting ring, and a traction spring tube. The spring tube is disposed within the braided mesh tube, the rear connecting ring is fitted around the outer periphery of the tail of the braided mesh tube, and the traction spring tube is disposed within the spring tube. A sealing unit is provided on the outer periphery of the rear connecting ring. The innovation lies in the following: the front connecting ring includes an inner ring and an annular platform on the outer periphery of the inner ring, with a portion of the inner ring inserted into the inner hole at the end of the spring tube. The inner ring has a through-hole for positioning the traction spring tube, and the head of the traction spring tube is embedded within this groove. The remaining portion of the inner ring and the outer periphery of the braided mesh tube covering the pharyngeal segment are provided with a flexible sheath. This invention not only achieves high-precision positioning and connection but also increases the insertion tube aperture space, allowing larger minimally invasive surgical instruments to enter, and ensuring more stable, powerful, and smooth insertion.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to an insertion tube assembly, specifically a flexible, thin laryngoscope insertion tube assembly, belonging to the field of endoscopy technology. Background Technology

[0002] Flexible laryngoscopes are widely used for the diagnosis of upper respiratory tract diseases, and for minimally invasive surgery or treatment of related diseases in the nasal cavity, nasopharynx, and larynx. The insertion tube of the flexible laryngoscope is inserted into the nasal cavity, nasopharynx, larynx, and finally to the glottis of the upper respiratory tract for examination, diagnosis, or some minimally invasive surgical treatments. In current technology, laryngoscopes can be inserted through the nasal cavity or oral cavity. Due to the location of use, the overall size is very small. For pediatric laryngoscopes, the overall size is even smaller, and the inner diameter is even smaller, making it difficult to insert standard-sized minimally invasive surgical instruments. Further explanation of the application scenarios for pediatric laryngoscopes is needed.

[0003] 1. Due to the high prevalence of nasopharyngeal diseases such as rhinitis, pharyngitis, and nosebleeds in children, and the frequent occurrence of foreign objects lodged in the nasal cavity or throat, or fish bones or small bone spurs lodged in the throat, there is a market demand for the development of thin, flexible endoscopes. This invention is particularly suitable for and meets the needs of diagnosing and treating throat diseases in children.

[0004] 2. Furthermore, the insertion tube of the thin flexible laryngoscope is one of the most critical components of this medical flexible endoscope. Also, because children's pharyngeal and laryngeal cavities are much smaller than those of adults, the design and production of thin laryngoscopes is more difficult. Therefore, it is necessary to design and develop an insertion tube for a thin flexible endoscope that will not damage the pharyngeal and laryngeal cavities of children.

[0005] Currently, in existing flexible laryngoscope insertion tube assemblies, firstly, because the front connecting ring is a single ring structure and is entirely set inside the inner hole of the spring tube, and the traction spring tube is directly welded to the inner wall of the front connecting ring's aperture, this results in low positioning accuracy and angular deviation defects after the traction spring tube is welded. This is because the position of the traction spring tube will deviate after welding on the front connecting ring, and the traction steel rope of the curved snake bone assembly connected to the front connecting ring will not be coaxial. This causes the steel rope at the traction bend on the snake bone to be coaxial with the traction spring tube. When the steel rope pulls the bend, the greater the deviation of the steel rope, the greater the friction. With too much pulling and friction, the steel rope will break due to excessive friction, causing the endoscope's bending function to be unusable, and in severe cases, medical accidents may occur.

[0006] Secondly, the welding of the outer diameter of the traction spring tube to the hole wall of the front connecting ring not only has a small contact welding area, but also low welding strength, making it prone to falling off.

[0007] Third, since the outer diameter of the traction spring is directly welded to the inner wall of the front connector, and the traction spring tube is cylindrical in shape, it will occupy part of the space in the inner hole of the front connector. This will make it more crowded when assembling the endoscope insertion tube hole. If some large-sized minimally invasive surgical instruments (forceps, biopsy forceps, etc.) cannot be inserted.

[0008] Fourth, because existing technologies have polyurethane protective tubes of equal length wrapped around the braided mesh tube, the front part of the insertion tube is not soft enough and the rear part is not hard enough. When the doctor inserts it by hand, the front part (pharyngeal segment) which is not soft enough will cause discomfort when inserted into the patient's body, and the rear part (hand-held segment) will be unstable and the insertion force will be insufficient, making the operation difficult. Summary of the Invention

[0009] The purpose of this invention is to provide a flexible, thin laryngoscope insertion tube assembly that not only achieves high-precision positioning and connection, but also increases the internal space after the inner wall of the annular platform of the front connecting ring fits against the outer wall of the traction spring tube, thereby increasing the internal space of the insertion tube. This allows for the entry of larger minimally invasive surgical instruments and enables more stable, powerful, and smooth insertion.

[0010] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution of the present invention is: a flexible, thin laryngoscope insertion tube assembly, comprising an insertion tube frame, a bending traction unit, and a sealing unit.

[0011] The insertion tube skeleton includes a spring tube, a braided mesh tube, and a polyurethane sheath. The braided mesh tube is fitted around the outer periphery of the spring tube, and its two ends are integrally connected to the two ends of the spring tube. The spring tube includes a pharyngeal segment, a nasal or oral segment, and a hand-held segment, which are sequentially connected as one piece.

[0012] The corner traction unit includes a front connecting ring, a rear connecting ring, and a traction spring tube. The rear connecting ring is fitted around the outer periphery of the tail end of the braided mesh tube. The traction spring tube is located inside the spring tube, with its tail end outside the rear connecting ring. A sealing unit connected to the operating handle is provided around the outer periphery of the rear connecting ring.

[0013] Its innovation lies in:

[0014] The front connecting ring has a double-ring structure, including an inner ring and an annular platform on the outer periphery of the inner ring. A portion of the inner ring is inserted into the inner hole of the throat section of the spring tube. The annular platform is located on the outer side of the end of the throat section and is integrated with the spring tube. A through-hole for positioning the traction spring tube is provided on the inner ring along its length. The head of the traction spring tube is embedded in the traction spring tube positioning groove, and the inner wall of the annular platform is in contact with the outer wall of the traction spring tube.

[0015] The polyurethane sheath is fitted around the outer periphery of a portion of the braided mesh tube, with one end located at the junction of the pharyngeal segment and the nasal or oral cavity segment, and the other end adjacent to the rear connector and fitted to the inner end face of the rear connector.

[0016] The remaining portion of the inner ring and the outer periphery of the braided mesh covering the pharyngeal segment are provided with a flexible protective tube, which is more flexible than the polyurethane protective tube.

[0017] In the above technical solution, the spring pitch P1 of the pharyngeal segment and the spring pitch P2 of the nasal or oral segment are equal, and the spring pitch P2 of the nasal or oral segment is smaller than the spring pitch P3 of the hand-held segment.

[0018] In the above technical solution, the inner ring of the front connector is provided with a pair of symmetrically arranged snake-bone connecting holes, or the inner ring of the front connector is provided with three equally arranged snake-bone connecting holes along its circumference.

[0019] In the above technical solution, the pores of the braided mesh tube on the outer periphery of the handheld section of the spring tube are coated with polyurethane coating.

[0020] In the above technical solution, the spring tube is provided with two or four traction spring tubes, the annular platform is located in the middle part of the inner circle in the length direction, and the inner circle is provided with two symmetrically arranged or four equally divided traction spring tube positioning grooves along its length direction, and the head of each traction spring tube is respectively embedded in the corresponding traction spring tube positioning groove.

[0021] In the above technical solution, when two symmetrically arranged traction spring tube positioning slots are provided on the inner ring along its length, the axes of the two traction spring tube positioning slots are offset from the central axis of the inner ring by 4° to 6°; or, when four cross-shaped traction spring tube positioning slots are provided on the inner ring along its length, the axes of the two oppositely arranged traction spring tube positioning slots are offset from the central axis of the inner ring by 4° to 6°.

[0022] In the above technical solution, the outer diameter of the inner ring is equal to the inner diameter of the spring tube, and the outer diameter of the annular platform is equal to the outer diameter of the braided mesh tube.

[0023] In the above technical solution, the spring pitch P1 of the pharyngeal segment and the spring pitch P2 of the nasal or oral segment are both 1.7mm to 2.2mm, and the spring pitch P3 of the hand-held segment is 2.2mm to 2.8mm.

[0024] In the above technical solution, the outer periphery of the polyurethane protective tube is provided with a transparent polyurethane coating to protect the length printing mark.

[0025] In the above technical solution, the sealing unit includes a sealing cone sleeve and a sealing cone sleeve insert. The sealing cone sleeve insert is disposed on the outer periphery of the rear connector that is sealed to the operating handle. The sealing cone sleeve is connected to the sealing cone sleeve insert.

[0026] The rear connector has a solder injection hole that is integrally welded to the tail of the braided mesh tube, and the rear connector is also provided with a sealing ring that is sealed to the operating handle seat.

[0027] In the above technical solution, the joint between the flexible protective tube and the polyurethane protective tube is fixed by a binding wire, and the binding wire is also coated with medical epoxy adhesive.

[0028] In the above technical solution, the tail end of the traction spring tube is provided with a spring tube fixing sleeve that is positioned and connected to the operating handle connecting plate, and the outer periphery of the spring tube fixing sleeve is provided with a positioning step.

[0029] The positive effects of this invention are as follows: When using the flexible, thin laryngoscope insertion tube assembly of this invention, the anterior connecting ring has a double-ring structure, including an inner ring and an annular platform located on the outer periphery of the inner ring. A portion of the inner ring is inserted into the pharyngeal segment of the spring tube. The annular platform is located on the outer side of the end of the pharyngeal segment and is integrated with the spring tube. A through-hole for positioning the traction spring tube is provided on the inner ring along its length. The head of the traction spring tube is embedded in the traction spring tube positioning groove, and the inner wall of the annular platform is in contact with the outer wall of the traction spring tube.

[0030] The polyurethane sheath is fitted around the outer periphery of a portion of the braided mesh tube, with one end located at the junction of the pharyngeal segment and the nasal or oral cavity segment, and the other end adjacent to the rear connector and fitted to the inner end face of the rear connector.

[0031] The remaining portion of the inner ring and the outer periphery of the braided mesh covering the pharyngeal segment are provided with a flexible protective tube, which is more flexible than the polyurethane protective tube.

[0032] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows:

[0033] First, it has the advantage of further increasing the insertion tube aperture space: The traction spring tube of this invention can be welded tightly to the bottom of the traction spring tube positioning groove on the inner ring, so that the outer diameter of the traction spring tube is tightly attached to the annular platform hole with the maximum outer diameter of the front connecting ring. The outer arc surface of the traction spring tube and the inner arc surface of the inner ring are on the same plane, which greatly increases the space of the insertion tube. This overcomes the problem that the traction spring tube is attached to the inner wall of the front connecting ring in the prior art, which will occupy the internal space. In addition, since this invention is the insertion tube of a fine-diameter laryngoscope, when the insertion tube aperture space is increased, it is convenient to assemble the internal contents of the insertion tube such as the larger diameter forceps tube, providing sufficient space for the subsequent assembly of other internal contents.

[0034] Secondly, it improves welding strength: because the outer diameter of the traction spring tube is tightly fitted inside the entire traction spring tube positioning groove, it not only increases the contact area during welding, but also results in a high connection strength after welding, making it less prone to detachment.

[0035] Third, welding is more convenient and efficient during mass production: because the outer diameter of both ends of the traction spring tube positioning groove can be welded to the contact part of the traction spring tube, welding is very convenient and efficient during production and assembly.

[0036] Fourth, high positioning accuracy. Because the front connecting ring structure of this invention is improved to a combination of an inner ring and an outer boss, and the inner ring is equipped with a traction spring tube positioning groove, the traction spring tube can be directly positioned and fitted with the traction spring tube positioning groove before welding. This overcomes the drawback of blind welding the traction spring tube to the approximate position of the front connecting ring in existing technologies, ensuring that the relative position of the traction spring tube and the front connecting ring will not deviate. It should be further noted that because the traction spring tube contains a traction steel wire rope connected to the bend of the insertion tube, this ensures that the orientation of the upright image captured by the camera at the very front of the insertion part is consistent. When the traction steel wire rope is pulled, there will be no excessive friction due to misalignment. This ensures that the bends of the insertion tube in different directions are precisely bends on a 180° plane, further improving the comfort of subsequent bend operations and making the bend operation more effective for doctors.

[0037] Fifth, the present invention provides polyurethane sheaths only on the nasal or oral cavity segment and the outer periphery of the hand-held segment, while a flexible sheath with a softer texture than the polyurethane sheath is provided on the outer periphery of the braided mesh tube in the pharyngeal segment. This makes the pharyngeal segment softer and increases the rigidity of the hand-held segment, giving it sufficient insertion force and making it easier for doctors to operate. Attached Figure Description

[0038] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram (two-direction) of the structure of the first specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the middle insert tube skeleton and the front connector ring after assembly;

[0040] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the front connector ring;

[0041] Figure 4 yes Figure 3 A side view diagram;

[0042] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the spring tube of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 6This is a structural schematic diagram (four directions) of the second specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 7 yes Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the front connector;

[0045] Figure 8 yes Figure 7 A side view diagram. Detailed Implementation

[0046] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and the given embodiments, but is not limited thereto.

[0047] Example 1

[0048] like Figure 1 , 2 As shown in Figures 3, 4, and 5, a flexible, thin laryngoscope with a two-way insertion tube assembly includes an insertion tube frame, a bending traction unit, and a sealing unit.

[0049] The insertion tube skeleton includes a spring tube 1, a braided mesh tube 2, and a polyurethane protective tube 4. The braided mesh tube 2 is sleeved around the outer periphery of the spring tube 1, and both ends of the braided mesh tube 2 are integrally connected to both ends of the spring tube 1. The spring tube 1 includes a pharyngeal segment 11, a nasal or oral segment 12, and a hand-held segment 13, which are sequentially connected as one piece.

[0050] The corner traction unit includes a front connecting ring 3, a rear connecting ring 5, and two traction spring tubes 6. The rear connecting ring 5 is fitted around the outer periphery of the tail of the braided mesh tube 2. The traction spring tubes 6 are located inside the spring tube 1, with their tails located outside the rear connecting ring 5. The outer periphery of the rear connecting ring 5 is provided with a sealing unit that connects to the operating handle.

[0051] The front connecting ring 3 has a double-ring structure, including an inner ring 31 and an annular platform 32 on the outer periphery of the inner ring 31. A portion of the inner ring 31 is inserted into the inner hole of the throat section 11 of the spring tube 1. The annular platform 32 is located on the outer side of the end of the throat section 11 and is integrated with the spring tube 1. The inner ring 31 has two through-hole traction spring tube positioning grooves 33 along its length. The head of each traction spring tube 6 is embedded in the corresponding traction spring tube positioning groove 33, and the inner wall of the annular platform 32 is in contact with the outer wall of the traction spring tube 6.

[0052] The polyurethane protective tube 4 is fitted around the outer periphery of a portion of the braided mesh tube, with one end of the polyurethane protective tube 4 located at the junction of the pharyngeal segment 11 and the nasal or oral segment 12, and the other end adjacent to the rear connecting ring 5 and fitted to the inner end face of the rear connecting ring 5.

[0053] The remaining portion of the inner ring 31 and the outer periphery of the braided mesh covering the pharyngeal segment 11 are provided with a flexible protective tube 7. The flexible protective tube 7 is more flexible than the polyurethane protective tube 4. For example, the flexible protective tube is a silicone tube.

[0054] Because the spring tube of the insertion tube skeleton in the existing technology is divided into two sections with different hardness, that is, the latter half of the second section does not enter the human body, and the transition section outside the human body is also the handheld insertion tube skeleton. This section has the same hardness as the first half of the second section. This will cause the doctor to not have enough hardness when holding the endoscope in the subsequent operation. When inserting by hand, the middle section (the first half of the second section) will sometimes bend automatically, which is not conducive to insertion and makes insertion difficult. In addition, the hardness of the latter half of the second section is not right, which makes the doctor's hand holding the latter part of the insertion tube (skeleton) less stable, causing a chain reaction of difficulty in insertion.

[0055] To solve the above problems, the insertion tube of the present invention is divided into three sections with different hardness. The specific structure is as follows: the spring pitch P1 of the pharyngeal section 11 is equal to the spring pitch P2 of the nasal or oral cavity section 12, and the spring pitch P2 of the nasal or oral cavity section 12 is less than the spring pitch P3 of the handheld section 13.

[0056] Therefore, the spring tube 1 is divided into two sections with different hardness: the pharyngeal section and the nasal or oral cavity section have the same hardness, and the pharyngeal section is softer than the hand-held section. Furthermore, since the nasal or oral cavity section and the hand-held section are surrounded by a polyurethane protective tube, and the remaining part of the inner ring 31 and the posterior part of the braided mesh covering the pharyngeal section 11 are surrounded by a flexible protective tube 7, the flexible protective tube 7 is more flexible than the polyurethane protective tube 4, so that the insertion tube as a whole forms three sections with different hardness: the pharyngeal section is the softest, the nasal or oral cavity section is the second softest, and the hand-held section is the hardest.

[0057] Thus, the insertion tube of this invention, from front to back, has a first section inserted into the pharynx, that is, deep into the pharynx; the second section is the nasal or oral cavity section (the thin insertion tube enters the pharynx or part of the esophagus from the oral cavity to catch foreign objects such as fish bones), or it can be inserted into the pharynx through the nostril; the third section is the operator's holding part, which facilitates better insertion of the first two sections. When the laryngoscope is inserted into the pharyngeal cavity for examination and diagnosis, its rear section is the operator's holding part. This improvement, without affecting the flexibility of the front part of the insertion tube, avoids the automatic bending caused by the relatively soft middle section, making insertion more convenient. It ensures the stability of the insertion of the nasal or oral cavity section and the holding part, improves the insertability of the laryngoscope, facilitates the doctor's operation, shortens the time for insertion, examination, and diagnosis of related diseases of the pharynx, and reduces patient discomfort.

[0058] Furthermore, such as Figure 3 , 4 As shown, in order to facilitate the positioning and connection with the curved snake bone of the insertion tube, and also to provide positioning screw holes for positioning the camera to the correct direction and orientation during the use and diagnosis of the medical electronic endoscope, that is, to maintain an upright image and improve the quality of operation, inspection, diagnosis, etc., the inner ring 31 of the front connecting ring 3 is provided with a pair of snake bone connecting holes 34 symmetrically arranged along it. Of course, three equally spaced snake bone connecting holes 34 can also be provided on the inner ring 31 of the front connecting ring 3 along its circumference, so that the stability after the snake bone is connected at three points is better.

[0059] In the prior art, the outer periphery of the braided mesh tube is provided with a plastic coating layer formed by curing polyurethane coating, and then a polyurethane protective tube is fitted on the outer periphery of the braided mesh tube. This not only increases the overall outer diameter of the insertion tube, but also excessively increases the hardness, which is not conducive to the insertion operation. Therefore, the pores of the braided mesh tube on the outer periphery of the handheld section 13 of the spring tube 1 of the present invention are coated with polyurethane coating.

[0060] Specifically, the braided mesh tube 2 is made of woven steel wire. Liquid polyurethane coating is impregnated into the pores of the braided mesh tube around the outer periphery of the handheld section 13, appearing as star-shaped dots in the pores of the outer diameter of the braided mesh tube. This increases the bending rigidity of this section, meaning that the coating increases the insertion force of the handheld section, making it easier for doctors to operate. Furthermore, because the liquid coating is only applied to the gaps in the steel wire, the maximum outer diameter of the steel wire is not coated, thus not increasing the outer diameter of the skeleton and increasing the insertion force of the insertion tube, among other advantages.

[0061] Furthermore, such as Figure 3 As shown, in order to make the front connecting ring structure more reasonable, the annular platform 32 is located in the middle part of the length direction of the inner ring 31, which ensures the balance and stability of the traction spring tube 6 and the front connecting ring 3 after assembly.

[0062] Furthermore, such as Figure 4 As shown, the axes of the two traction spring tube positioning grooves 33 are offset from the central axis of the inner ring 31 by 4° to 6°. Based on the larger angle of space, the internal space of the inner ring 31 is divided into two parts of different sizes, one side is about 190° and the other side is about 170°.

[0063] The advantages of this design are: Advantage 1, it increases the space of the insertion tube aperture, which is conducive to the assembly of the largest forceps tube of a pediatric laryngoscope, and allows larger minimally invasive surgical instruments, such as large biopsy forceps, to be inserted through the large forceps tube for minimally invasive surgery.

[0064] Advantage 2: The traction spring tube is soldered from the slot of the outer diameter of the front connecting ring, so that the long slot and the outer diameter of the traction spring tube assembled in the slot are filled with solder, resulting in higher welding strength and the welding effect can be visually inspected. In the existing technology, the outer diameter of this positioning slot structure is not through, and the soldering is carried out in the hole of this part, which makes it almost impossible to see the welding effect, etc.

[0065] Advantage 3: Standard-sized forceps tubes for laryngoscopes can be installed even in the large space within a narrow insertion tube. The angle offset of the traction spring tube positioning groove in this invention corresponds to the angle offset of the traction wire rope of the curved section of the endoscope, i.e., a synchronous offset angle. This means that the angular position of the traction spring tube and the angular position of the traction wire rope of the curved section are on the same concentric axis, but this does not affect the bend angle of the curved section of the endoscope. Because the connecting shafts of the two sets (two rows) of curved sections are still designed at a symmetrical 180-degree position, the directional position remains unchanged after bending in both directions, remaining in a 180-degree plane position, and is not affected when operating the bend angle.

[0066] Furthermore, such as Figure 2 As shown, in order to make the structure more reasonable and without increasing the outer diameter, the outer diameter of the inner ring 31 is equal to the inner diameter of the spring tube 1, and the outer diameter of the annular platform 32 is equal to the outer diameter of the braided mesh tube 2.

[0067] Furthermore, in order to further improve the rationality of the structure, the spring pitch P1 of the pharyngeal segment 11 and the spring pitch P2 of the nasal or oral segment 12 are both 1.7mm to 2.2mm, and the spring pitch P3 of the handheld segment 13 is 2.2mm to 2.8mm.

[0068] Furthermore, such as Figure 5 As shown, the total length L of the spring tube 1 is 450mm to 540mm, the length L1 of the pharyngeal segment 11 is 75mm to 90mm, the length L2 of the nasal or oral segment 12 is 225mm to 270mm, the length L3 of the handheld segment 13 is 150mm to 180mm, and the inner diameter of the spring tube 1 is Φ2.4mm to Φ3.0mm.

[0069] Furthermore, in order to ensure that the flexibility of the section with the polyurethane protective sleeve at the rear of the insertion tube meets the technical requirements, the Shore hardness of the polyurethane protective sleeve 4 is 46A to 50A.

[0070] Furthermore, such as Figure 1 As shown, in order to prevent frequent high-temperature sterilization of the insertion tube from affecting the clarity of the length printing mark, and to improve the smoothness of the overall outer surface of the insertion tube and improve the smoothness of insertion, the outer periphery of the polyurethane protective tube 4 is provided with a transparent polyurethane coating 8 to protect the length printing mark.

[0071] Furthermore, such as Figure 1 As shown, in order to ensure that the insertion tube assembly and the operating handle can form a sealed connection and prevent moisture from entering the interior of the operating handle from the connection point due to frequent high-temperature sterilization of the insertion tube assembly, thus preventing corrosion of related components, the sealing unit includes a sealing cone sleeve 9 and a sealing cone sleeve insert 10. The sealing cone sleeve insert 10 is located on the outer periphery of the rear connector 5 that is sealed to the operating handle. The sealing cone sleeve 9 is connected to the sealing cone sleeve insert 10, and the sealing cone sleeve insert 10 also forms a sealed connection with the end face of the operating handle. The sealing cone sleeve insert 10 of the present invention is machined on a lathe, and then the sealing cone sleeve insert is installed into the vulcanization mold of the sealing cone sleeve and vulcanized to form an integrated "sealing cone sleeve nut" structure.

[0072] In order to improve the quick connection between the rear connector and the braided mesh tube and to ensure the sealing between the rear connector and the operating handle, the rear connector 5 has a solder injection hole that is welded to the tail of the braided mesh tube 2. The rear connector 5 is also provided with a sealing ring 51 that is sealed to the operating handle seat.

[0073] Furthermore, such as Figure 1 As shown, in order to ensure the firmness of the joint between the flexible sheath 7 and the polyurethane sheath 4, the joint between the flexible sheath 7 and the polyurethane sheath 4 is fixed by a binding wire, and the binding wire is also coated with medical epoxy glue to ensure the smoothness of the binding wire surface and to prevent damage to the surface mucosa when inserted into the human body for diagnosis.

[0074] In conventional technology, the traction spring tube and the connecting plate of the operating handle are welded together as one piece. When subsequent maintenance is required, it is not easy to disassemble, which is not only time-consuming and labor-intensive, but also reduces maintenance efficiency.

[0075] To solve the above problems, such as Figure 1 As shown, the tail end of the traction spring tube 6 is provided with a spring tube fixing sleeve 61 that is positioned and connected to the operating handle connecting plate.

[0076] Furthermore, such as Figure 1 As shown, to ensure the reliability of the positioning connection between the spring fixing joint and the connecting plate of the operating handle after assembly, a positioning step 611 is provided on the outer periphery of the spring tube fixing sleeve 61. During assembly, the positioning step 611 is engaged in the positioning groove of the connecting plate 4 (90° bent) of the operating handle. When operating the traction steel wire rope inside the traction spring tube, the spring tube fixing sleeve will not fall out of the positioning groove of the 90° connecting plate. However, during maintenance, it can simply be removed from the positioning groove of the connecting plate, greatly facilitating the rapid progress of maintenance work.

[0077] Example 2

[0078] like Figure 6 ,7 As shown in Figure 8, Embodiment 2 is a flexible thin laryngoscope four-way insertion tube assembly, which differs from Embodiment 1 in that: the curved traction unit includes four traction spring tubes 6, and the inner ring 31 is provided with four through traction spring tube positioning grooves 33 along its length direction, and the head of each traction spring tube 6 is embedded in the corresponding traction spring tube positioning groove 33.

[0079] The thin laryngoscope in Example 2 allows the insertion tube assembly to bend in four directions (up, down, left, and right), enabling more comprehensive observation of the lesion and thus making the diagnosis more accurate.

[0080] In Example 2, the axes of the two traction spring tube positioning slots 33 arranged opposite to each other in the four traction spring tube positioning slots are offset by 4° to 6° from the central axis of the inner ring 31. The advantages of this design are the same as those in Example 1, and will not be elaborated further.

[0081] Furthermore, the present invention includes three embodiments with different technical parameters, as shown in Table 1:

[0082]

[0083]

[0084] In summary, the advantages of this invention are:

[0085] (1) Structural improvements to the front connector:

[0086] First, it offers the advantage of further increasing the insertion tube aperture space: the front connecting ring is designed as a double-ring structure, allowing the traction spring tube to be welded tightly to the bottom of the traction spring tube positioning groove on the inner ring. This ensures the outer diameter of the traction spring tube is flush with the annular platform hole of the front connecting ring's maximum outer diameter, significantly increasing the space available for the insertion tube. This overcomes the problem in existing technologies where the traction spring tube is integrally attached to the inner wall of the front connecting ring, occupying internal space. Furthermore, since this invention uses the insertion tube for a small-diameter laryngoscope, the increased insertion tube aperture space facilitates the assembly of larger-diameter forceps tubes and other internal components, providing sufficient space for subsequent assembly of other internal components.

[0087] Secondly, it improves welding strength: because the outer diameter of the traction spring tube is tightly fitted inside the entire traction spring tube positioning groove, it not only increases the contact area during welding, but also results in a high connection strength after welding, making it less prone to detachment.

[0088] Third, welding is more convenient and efficient during assembly and production: because the outer diameter openings at both ends of the traction spring tube positioning groove can be welded to the contact parts of the traction spring tube, welding is very convenient during production and assembly.

[0089] Fourth, it boasts high positioning accuracy. Because the inner ring of the front connector has a traction spring tube positioning groove, the traction spring tube directly engages with this groove before welding. This overcomes the drawback of blind welding the traction spring tube to the approximate position of the front connector in existing technologies, ensuring that the relative position of the traction spring tube and the front connector will not deviate. It should be further noted that because the traction spring tube contains a traction steel cable connected to the bend of the insertion tube, this ensures that the orientation of the upright image captured by the camera at the very front of the insertion section is consistent. When the traction steel cable is pulled, there will be no excessive friction due to misalignment. This ensures that the bends of the insertion tube in different directions are precisely bends on a 180° plane, further improving the comfort of subsequent bend operations and providing better results for doctors.

[0090] (2) Improvement to make the insert tube skeleton have three sections with different hardness:

[0091] The spring tube of this invention has the same hardness in the pharyngeal and nasal or oral cavity sections, with the pharyngeal section being more flexible than the handheld section. Furthermore, the pharyngeal section of the insertion tube frame is surrounded by a flexible protective tube (silicone tube), while the remaining portion is surrounded by a polyurethane protective tube, which is even more flexible than the polyurethane tube. This creates three sections of different hardness in the insertion tube assembly. When the laryngoscope is inserted into the pharyngeal cavity for examination and diagnosis, the rear section serves as the handheld section for the operator. This improvement does not affect the flexibility of the front part of the insertion tube, avoiding automatic bending of the relatively soft middle section, thus facilitating insertion. It also ensures the stability of insertion into the nasal or oral cavity section and the handheld section, improving the insertability of the laryngoscope, facilitating doctor's operation, shortening the time for insertion, examination, and diagnosis of related pharyngeal diseases, and reducing patient discomfort.

[0092] (3) Improvements to the traction spring tube:

[0093] The spring tube fixing sleeve at the tail of the traction spring tube is directly snapped into the mounting and positioning groove of the connecting plate 4 (90° bent) of the operating handle. When the traction steel wire rope inside the traction spring tube is operated, the spring tube fixing sleeve will not fall off from the mounting and positioning groove of the 90° connecting plate. However, when maintaining it, it can be simply removed from the mounting and positioning groove of the connecting plate, which greatly facilitates the rapid development of maintenance work and overcomes the disadvantage of the existing technology where the traction spring tube and the connecting plate of the operating handle are welded together, making it difficult to disassemble when maintenance is required.

[0094] Based on the above-described preferred embodiments of the present invention, and through the foregoing description, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the inventive concept. The technical scope of this invention is not limited to the contents of the specification, but must be determined according to the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A flexible, thin laryngoscope insertion tube assembly, comprising an insertion tube frame, a bending traction unit, and a sealing unit. The insertion tube skeleton includes a spring tube (1), a braided mesh tube (2) and a polyurethane protective tube (4). The braided mesh tube (2) is sleeved on the outer periphery of the spring tube (1), and the two ends of the braided mesh tube (2) are connected to the two ends of the spring tube (1) as a whole. The spring tube (1) includes a pharyngeal segment (11), a nasal or oral segment (12) and a hand-held segment (13) connected in sequence. The corner traction unit includes a front connecting ring (3), a rear connecting ring (5), and a traction spring tube (6). The rear connecting ring (5) is fitted around the outer periphery of the tail of the braided mesh tube (2). The traction spring tube (6) is located inside the spring tube (1), with its tail outside the rear connecting ring (5). The outer periphery of the rear connecting ring (5) is provided with a sealing unit that connects to the operating handle. Its features are: The front connecting ring (3) has a double-ring structure and includes an inner ring (31) and an annular platform (32) on the outer periphery of the inner ring (31). A portion of the inner ring (31) is inserted into the inner hole of the throat section (11) of the spring tube (1). The annular platform (32) is located on the outer side of the end of the throat section (11) and is integrated with the spring tube (1). A through traction spring tube positioning groove (33) is provided on the inner ring (31) along its length. The head of the traction spring tube (6) is embedded in the traction spring tube positioning groove (33), and the inner wall of the annular platform (32) is in contact with the outer wall of the traction spring tube (6). The outer diameter of the inner ring (31) is equal to the inner diameter of the spring tube (1), and the outer diameter of the annular platform (32) is equal to the outer diameter of the braided mesh tube (2). The polyurethane sheath (4) is fitted around the outer periphery of a portion of the braided mesh tube, with one end of the polyurethane sheath (4) located at the junction of the pharyngeal segment (11) and the nasal or oral segment (12), and the other end adjacent to the rear connecting ring (5) and fitted to the inner end face of the rear connecting ring (5). The remaining portion of the inner ring (31) and the outer periphery of the braided mesh covering the pharyngeal segment (11) are provided with a flexible protective tube (7), which is more flexible than the polyurethane protective tube (4). The spring pitch P1 of the pharyngeal segment (11) and the spring pitch P2 of the nasal or oral segment (12) are equal, and the spring pitch P2 of the nasal or oral segment (12) is less than the spring pitch P3 of the hand-held segment (13).

2. The flexible, thin laryngoscope insertion tube assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inner ring (31) of the front connector (3) is provided with a pair of symmetrically arranged snake-bone connecting holes (34), or the inner ring (31) of the front connector (3) is provided with three equally arranged snake-bone connecting holes (34) along its circumference.

3. The flexible, thin laryngoscope insertion tube assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The pores of the braided mesh tube on the outer periphery of the handheld section (13) of the spring tube (1) are coated with polyurethane coating.

4. The flexible, thin laryngoscope insertion tube assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The spring tube (1) is provided with two or four traction spring tubes (6). The annular platform (32) is located in the middle part of the inner ring (31) along its length. The inner ring (31) is provided with two symmetrically arranged or four equally divided traction spring tube positioning grooves (33) along its length. The head of each traction spring tube (6) is respectively embedded in the corresponding traction spring tube positioning groove (33).

5. The flexible, thin laryngoscope insertion tube assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: When two symmetrically arranged traction spring tube positioning grooves (33) are provided on the inner ring (31) along its length, the axes of the two traction spring tube positioning grooves (33) are offset from the central axis of the inner ring (31) by 4°~6°; or, when four cross-shaped traction spring tube positioning grooves (33) are provided on the inner ring (31) along its length, the axes of the two oppositely arranged traction spring tube positioning grooves (33) are offset from the central axis of the inner ring (31) by 4°~6°.

6. The flexible, thin laryngoscope insertion tube assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The spring pitch P1 of the pharyngeal segment (11) and the spring pitch P2 of the nasal or oral segment (12) are both 1.7 mm to 2.2 mm, and the spring pitch P3 of the handheld segment (13) is 2.2 mm to 2.8 mm.

7. The flexible, thin laryngoscope insertion tube assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer periphery of the polyurethane protective tube (4) is provided with a transparent polyurethane coating (8) to protect the length printed mark.

8. The flexible, thin laryngoscope insertion tube assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sealing unit includes a sealing cone sleeve (9) and a sealing cone sleeve insert (10). The sealing cone sleeve insert (10) is located on the outer periphery of the rear connector (5) which is sealed to the operating handle. The sealing cone sleeve (9) is connected to the sealing cone sleeve insert (10). The rear connector (5) has a solder injection hole that is welded to the tail of the braided mesh tube (2), and the rear connector (5) is also provided with a sealing ring (51) that is sealed to the operating handle seat.

9. The flexible, thin laryngoscope insertion tube assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The joint between the flexible sheath (7) and the polyurethane sheath (4) is fixed by a binding line, and the binding line is also coated with medical epoxy adhesive.

10. The flexible, thin laryngoscope insertion tube assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The tail end of the traction spring tube (6) is provided with a spring tube fixing sleeve (61) that is positioned and connected to the operating handle connecting plate, and the outer periphery of the spring tube fixing sleeve (61) is provided with a positioning step (611).

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