Turn snake bone structure and electronic endoscope

Abstract

The invention provides an over-bending snake bone structure and an electronic endoscope. The over-bending snake bone structure comprises a snake bone front end, a snake bone transfer link and a snake bone rear end, the snake bone transfer link comprises an annular snake bone body, a first connecting end and a second connecting end are integrally formed at the two ends of the snake bone body in the axial direction respectively, the snake bone front end is connected with the first connecting end, the snake bone rear end is connected with the second connecting end, and the connecting center of the first connecting end deviates from the central axis of the snake bone body in the forward direction. The connecting center of the second connecting end reversely deviates from the central axis of the snake bone body. Even if the bending angle exceeds 180 degrees, the problem that the snake bone rear end and the snake bone front end collide with each other cannot occur, so that clear view of the camera and normal working of a working channel are guaranteed, and the snake bone structure is small in horizontal deflection angle.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The application discloses a snake bone structure and an electronic endoscope, and relates to the technical field of endoscopes. BACKGROUND

[0002] The electronic endoscope comprises a handle part and an insertion part, the insertion part enters a human body through a natural orifice of the human body, the end of the insertion part is provided with a snake bone structure, the end of the snake bone structure is provided with a front end piece (the front end piece is provided with a camera part and a working channel), and the structure realizes the inspection of tissues and organs. The snake bone structure is formed by connecting snake bone joints in sequence, the snake bone structure is usually a tubular body, and the inner cavity of the tubular body is usually used for accommodating components such as instrument tubes, signal lines and steel wires. The bending direction and the bending degree of the snake bone structure are changed through the traction of the steel wires, and then the bending control of the snake bone structure is realized, so that the tissues and organs are inspected in multiple angles and in all directions.

[0003] Most of the existing snake bone structures adopt a completely symmetrical design form, and are provided with two steel wires inside. The snake bone structure is bent to one side through the traction of the steel wires, and the front end piece at the end of the snake bone structure is driven to bend. However, the design form of the single symmetrical structure makes the structures of the snake bone joints completely the same. Therefore, the maximum bending angle cannot exceed 180 degrees, otherwise the head of the snake bone will collide with the rear part of the snake bone when the head is bent backward, the rear part of the snake bone directly blocks the field of view of the camera part in the front end piece, and the working of the working channel is also hindered.

[0004] At present, some manufacturers also design some snake bone structures whose maximum bending angle can exceed 180 degrees. For example, a patent with the authorization announcement number CN221308157 U provides a soft electronic ureteral cystoscope, which is provided with an included angle of 1-10 degrees at the connection position of each snake bone joint, realizes the bending of ±270 degrees in the vertical direction, and realizes the bending of ±8 degrees in the horizontal direction. The snake bone structure gradually accumulates the bending angle to realize large-angle bending. With the increase of the rotation angle, the horizontal deflection angle of the snake bone structure of this form also becomes larger and larger. If the horizontal deflection angle is too large, the patient will feel uncomfortable. SUMMARY

[0005] The application provides a snake bone structure and an electronic endoscope, which solve the problem that the existing snake bone structure cannot simultaneously realize super-180-degree bending and small-angle horizontal deflection.

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned application purposes, the application adopts the following technical scheme: The application discloses a kind of over-bending serpentine structures, including serpentine front end, serpentine ring link and serpentine rear end;The serpentine ring link includes circular serpentine main body, the first connecting end and the second connecting end are integrally formed with the both ends of the serpentine main body along the axial direction, the serpentine front end and the first connecting end are connected, and the serpentine rear end and the second connecting end are connected;The connecting center of the first connecting end is positively deviated from the central axis of the serpentine main body, and the connecting center of the second connecting end is negatively deviated from the central axis of the serpentine main body.

[0007] Preferably, the diameter of the serpentine front end, the diameter of the serpentine rear end and the diameter of the serpentine ring link are the same, which ensures that the serpentine structure has the same outer diameter. The same outer diameter ensures that the outer contour of each segment (serpentine front end, serpentine ring link, serpentine rear end) can smoothly transition when the serpentine is bent, forming a continuous, stepless curved arc.

[0008] It should be noted that the positive deviation and the negative deviation are not limited to the deviation direction. For example, the first connecting end can be negatively deviated from the central axis of the serpentine main body, and the second connecting end can be positively deviated from the central axis of the serpentine main body. The first connecting end and the second connecting end are not limited to the connecting end. The serpentine front end and the second connecting end can be connected, and the serpentine rear end and the first connecting end can be connected.

[0009] In a specific embodiment, the connecting centers of the first connecting end and the second connecting end are deviated from the central axis of the serpentine main body at the same deviation angle, and the sum of the angles at which the connecting centers of the first connecting end and the second connecting end are deviated from the central axis of the serpentine main body is 2° In a specific embodiment, the connecting centers of the first connecting end and the second connecting end are deviated from the central axis of the serpentine main body at different deviation angles, and the sum of the angles at which the connecting centers of the first connecting end and the second connecting end are deviated from the central axis of the serpentine main body is 2°.

[0010] In a specific embodiment, the relationship between the diameter D of the serpentine main body and the deviation angle α is 2.5D≤α≤4D, and D≤10mm.

[0011] Preferably, =3D, that is, when the diameter D of the serpentine main body is 1mm, the deviation angle is 3°, and the included angle between the connecting center of the first connecting end and the connecting center of the second connecting end of the serpentine ring link is 2, that is, 6°.

[0012] By designing the deviation angle α to increase with the increase of the diameter of the serpentine main body, it can be ensured that the serpentine structure of different diameters can be bent more than 180°, and the large-angle bending of the serpentine structure is ensured.

[0013] Preferably, D≤8mm, i.e. the diameter D of the snake body is ≤8mm, when the diameter D of the snake body is 8mm, the included angle between the connection center of the first connecting end and the connection center of the second connecting end of the snake ring segment is 40°-64°, preferably 48°, at this time the steel wire rope only increases the point friction, and does not affect the work of the steel wire rope. If the diameter D of the snake body exceeds 10mm, at this time the included angle between the connection center of the first connecting end and the connection center of the second connecting end of the snake ring segment can reach 80° at most, this form will affect the work of the steel wire rope.

[0014] Preferably, D≤6.5mm, i.e. the diameter D of the snake body is ≤6.5mm, when the diameter D of the snake body is 6.5mm, the included angle between the connection center of the first connecting end and the connection center of the second connecting end of the snake ring segment is 32.5°-52°, preferably 39°. This form not only does not affect the work of the steel wire rope, but also makes the processing of the first connecting end and the second connecting end of the snake ring segment easy, and does not need to change the arrangement position of the pressure groove.

[0015] In a specific scheme, the number of the snake ring segments 2 is 1-3; when the number of the snake ring segments is multiple, the multiple snake ring segments are connected in sequence, and the included angle between the connection center of the first connecting end of the first snake ring segment and the connection center of the second connecting end of the last snake ring segment is 2°.

[0016] Preferably, the number of the snake ring segments being multiple refers to the number of the snake ring segments being 2 and the number of the snake ring segments being 3.

[0017] In a specific scheme, the first connecting end is a first C-shaped arm, the second connecting end is a first C-shaped groove, and the first C-shaped arm can rotate in the first C-shaped groove; the end of the snake body is located on both sides of the first C-shaped arm to form a first table top, and is located on both sides of the first C-shaped groove to form a second table top, the first table top and the second table top are both inclined surfaces with the same inclination angle; the height of the first table top is between the top height and the bottom height of the first C-shaped arm; the height of the second table top is between the top height and the bottom height of the first C-shaped groove.

[0018] Preferably, the form of one-piece is any one of laser cutting, 3D printing or machining. That is, the first connecting end and the second connecting end are machined at both ends of the cylindrical snake body.

[0019] Preferably, two first connecting ends are symmetrically arranged at one end of the snake body, i.e. two symmetric first C-shaped arms are arranged, and two second connecting ends are symmetrically arranged at the other end of the snake body, i.e. two symmetric first C-shaped grooves are arranged.

[0020] In one specific embodiment, the front end of the snake bone structure comprises a snake bone first segment and a snake bone front segment connected in sequence, the rear end of the snake bone structure comprises a snake bone middle segment, a snake bone middle rear segment, a snake bone rear segment and a snake bone last segment connected in sequence; the snake bone front segment is connected with the first connecting end, the snake bone middle segment is connected with the second connecting end, the snake bone first segment is used for connecting the front end member, and the snake bone last segment is used for connecting the insertion part.

[0021] Preferably, the snake bone structure comprises a snake bone first segment, a snake bone front segment, a snake bone ring segment, a snake bone middle segment, a snake bone middle rear segment, a snake bone rear segment and a snake bone last segment connected in sequence. The snake bone last segment in the snake bone structure is connected with the tail end of the insertion part, the front end member is installed on the snake bone first segment, and the steel wire rope enters the snake bone structure from the insertion part and is connected with the snake bone first segment.

[0022] In one specific embodiment, the snake bone front segment comprises 4-8 movable segments, the snake bone middle segment comprises 9-13 movable segments, and the snake bone middle rear segment and the snake bone rear segment each comprise 2-6 movable segments; the structures of the plurality of movable segments are the same, each comprising a movable segment main body in the shape of a circular ring, the two ends of the movable segment main body in the axial direction are respectively provided with a second C-shaped arm and a second C-shaped groove, the second C-shaped arm can rotate in the second C-shaped groove; the end of the movable segment main body is located on the two sides of the second C-shaped arm to form a third table surface, the end of the movable segment main body is located on the two sides of the second C-shaped groove to form a fourth table surface, the third table surface and the fourth table surface each have an inclined surface and the same inclination angle; the height of the third table surface is between the top height and the bottom height of the second C-shaped arm; the height of the fourth table surface is between the top height and the bottom height of the second C-shaped groove.

[0023] Preferably, the structures of the first C-shaped arm and the second C-shaped arm are the same, and the structures of the first C-shaped groove and the second C-shaped groove are the same, that is, the first C-shaped arm can rotate in the first C-shaped groove and the second C-shaped groove, and the second C-shaped arm can rotate in the first C-shaped groove and the second C-shaped groove, which can effectively ensure the connection between the snake bone ring segment and the movable segment main body.

[0024] In one specific embodiment, the length of the movable segment in the snake bone front segment is a, the length of the snake bone ring segment, the length of the movable segment in the snake bone middle segment, the length of the movable segment in the snake bone middle rear segment and the length of the movable segment in the snake bone rear segment are all greater than a; the length of the movable segment in the snake bone middle segment is less than the length of the movable segment in the snake bone middle rear segment, which is less than the length of the movable segment in the snake bone rear segment; the bending angle of the movable segment in the snake bone middle segment is greater than the bending angle of the movable segment in the snake bone middle rear segment, which is greater than the bending angle of the movable segment in the snake bone rear segment.

[0025] Preferably, the length of the snake bone ring segment is equal to the length of the movable segment in the snake bone middle segment, and the bending angle of the snake bone ring segment is equal to the bending angle of the movable segment in the snake bone middle segment.

[0026] Preferably, the length of the movable joint in the front segment of the snake bone is a, the length of the movable joint in the middle segment of the snake bone is 1.2±0.2a, the length of the movable joint in the middle rear segment of the snake bone is 1.3±0.2a, and the length of the movable joint in the rear segment of the snake bone is 1.5±0.2a.

[0027] In a second aspect, the present application provides an electronic endoscope comprising the over-bending snake bone structure of any one of the first aspect. Advantages

[0028] The first connection end of the snake bone turning ring segment deviates from the central axis of the snake bone main body in a positive direction, and the second connection end deviates from the same axis in a reverse direction. This design causes the front end of the snake bone and the rear end of the snake bone to naturally deviate from the central axis of the snake bone turning ring segment by a certain amount. When the snake bone is bent at a large angle (more than 180 degrees), the deviation amount guides the trajectory of the front end of the snake bone to avoid the axis on which the rear end of the snake bone is located. Even if the bending angle exceeds 180 degrees, the front end of the snake bone will not interfere with the rear end of the snake bone, thereby ensuring the clear view of the camera at the rear end of the snake bone and the normal operation of the working channel.

[0029] The present application adopts the design form that the first connection end and the second connection end of the snake bone main body deviate from the central axis, which avoids the accumulation of horizontal deflection from the root, thereby controlling the horizontal deflection angle within a very small range. Moreover, the present application only needs to specially process the snake bone turning ring segment, and the front end of the snake bone and the rear end of the snake bone can be designed relatively standardized. Compared with the snake bone unit that needs to be precisely processed to have a specific small angle for each segment, the present application reduces the complexity and cost of manufacturing. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0030] Figure 1 is the overall schematic diagram of the straight state of the snake bone structure of the present application; Figure 2 is the overall schematic diagram of the straight state of the snake bone structure of different embodiments of the present application; Figure 3 is the overall schematic diagram of the over-bending structure of the snake bone structure of the present application; Figure 4 is the front view of the snake bone turning ring segment in the present application; Figure 5 is the structural schematic diagram of the snake bone turning ring segment in the present application; Figure 6 is the schematic diagram of the first connection end and the second connection end of the snake bone turning ring segment deviating from the central axis in the present application; Figure 7 is the design schematic diagram of the first table surface and the second table surface of the snake bone turning ring segment in the present application; Figure 8 is the schematic diagram of the movable joint in the present application; Figure 9The schematic diagram of the C-arm and the structure of the C-arm of the present application; Figure 10 The schematic diagram of the design of the pressing groove of the present application.

[0031] 1, the front end of the snake bone; 2, the snake bone ring section; 3, the rear end of the snake bone; 11, the first section of the snake bone; 12, the front section of the snake bone; 21, the main body of the snake bone; 22, the first connecting end; 23, the second connecting end; 201, the first arm; 202, the second arm; 203, the first slot; 204, the second slot; 31, the middle section of the snake bone; 32, the middle rear section of the snake bone; 33, the rear section of the snake bone; 34, the last section of the snake bone; 211, the first table top; 212, the second table top; 100, the main body of the movable section; 101, the second C-arm; 102, the second C-slot; 103, the third table top; 104, the fourth table top; 4, the pressing groove. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The present application will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0033] As Figures 1 to 4 shown, a kind of overbend snake bone structure, including snake bone front end 1, snake bone ring section 2 and snake bone rear end 3;Snake bone ring section 2 includes circular snake bone main body 21, and the first connecting end 22 and the second connecting end 23 are integrally formed with the both ends of snake bone main body 21 along the axial direction, snake bone front end 1 and the first connecting end 22 are connected, and snake bone rear end 3 and the second connecting end 23 are connected;The connection center of first connecting end 22 is positively deviated from the central axis of snake bone main body 21, and the connection center of second connecting end 23 is negatively deviated from the central axis of snake bone main body 21.

[0034] In initial state, as Figure 1 And Figure 2 Shown, snake bone front end 1, snake bone ring section 2 and snake bone rear end 3 are in linear arrangement state.Serpentine main body 21 of snake bone ring section 2 is hollow, and can accommodate instrument tube, signal line, steel wire rope and other components inside.Snake bone front end 1 is connected with the first connecting end 22 of snake bone ring section 2, and snake bone rear end 3 is connected with the second connecting end 23 of snake bone ring section 2.At this time, the connection center of first connecting end 22 is positively deviated from the central axis of snake bone main body 21, and the connection center of second connecting end 23 is negatively deviated from the central axis of snake bone main body 21.

[0035] When a bending operation is needed, the operator drives the steel wire through the control device such as a knob of the endoscope handle to perform a traction operation. The traction force of the steel wire acts on the snake rear end 3. When the steel wire pulls the snake rear end 3, the snake rear end 3 will bend in the offset direction due to the reverse offset of the connection center of the second connecting end 23 from the central axis of the snake main body 21. This reverse offset design cooperates with the forward offset of the front end to enable the snake to achieve a bending angle of more than 180 degrees. That is, unlike the traditional symmetrical structure, the bending angle is not limited by the collision between the head and the rear part, as shown in Figure 3 .

[0036] The first connecting end 22 and the second connecting end 23 are designed in opposite offset directions on the snake rotating ring segment. This design can prevent the problem of gradually accumulating bending angles through the snake segments to cause a large horizontal deflection angle. The structural design of the present application can effectively reduce the horizontal deflection angle, so that the snake can better control the horizontal deflection angle while achieving a large bending angle, avoiding the problem of a too large horizontal deflection angle, and improving the safety and comfort of operation.

[0037] In the present application, the first connecting end 22, the second connecting end 23 and the snake main body 21 are made in an integrated form, which can be made by cutting, 3D printing or machining. For example, a hollow metal pipe is laser cut to form the snake main body 21 and the first connecting end 22 and the second connecting end 23 located at both ends of the snake main body.

[0038] In the present application, the snake main body 21 is a circular ring, i.e. the snake main body 21 has a hollow passage that can pass through the traction rope (steel wire, carbon fiber rope or other high-strength rope), surgical instruments and signal lines, etc.

[0039] Embodiment 1

[0040] In an embodiment of the present application, as shown in Figure 6 , the connection centers of the first connecting end 22 and the second connecting end 23 both offset from the central axis of the snake main body 21 at the same offset angle.

[0041] As shown in Figures 4 to 7 , the first connecting end 22 is a first C-shaped arm, and the second connecting end 23 is a first C-shaped groove. The first C-shaped arm can rotate in the first C-shaped groove. Since the snake front end 1 is connected to the first connecting end 22 and the snake rear end 3 is connected to the second connecting end 23, the snake front end 1 is designed as a corresponding C-shaped groove structure to cooperate with the first C-shaped arm. Similarly, the snake rear end 3 is designed as a C-shaped arm structure to cooperate with the first C-shaped groove. For manufacturing convenience, the C-shaped groove structure of the snake front end 1 and the C-shaped arm structure of the snake rear end 3 can adopt the same structure of the first C-shaped arm and the first C-shaped groove.

[0042] As a preferred solution, as shown in Figure 7 (b), two first C-shaped arms are symmetrically arranged at one end of the snake bone body 21, and as shown in Figure 7 (a), two first C-shaped grooves are also symmetrically arranged at the other end of the snake bone body 21, that is, the line connecting the centers of the two first C-shaped arms passes through the central axis of the snake bone body 21, and by the same token, the line connecting the centers of the two first C-shaped grooves also passes through the central axis of the snake bone body 21. As designed above, the connection of the snake bone rotating link 2 can be more secure, and the rotation can be more stable.

[0043] Further, as shown in Figure 7 (a) and 7(b), the end of the snake bone body 21 is located on both sides of the first C-shaped arm to form a first table surface 211, and is located on both sides of the first C-shaped groove to form a second table surface 212. The first table surface 211 and the second table surface 212 are both inclined surfaces with the same inclination angle, which is denoted as. The height of the first table surface 211 is between the top height and the bottom height of the C-shaped arm; the height of the second table surface 212 is between the top height and the bottom height of the C-shaped groove.

[0044] When the snake bone is bent greatly, the relative angle of adjacent segments will become very large. Sharp right-angled edges are very easy to collide with adjacent segments when bending (hard collision), limiting the bending angle or causing damage. The adoption of the inclined surface design form of the first table surface 211 and the second table surface 212 can avoid the jamming of the connection of the snake bone rotating link when bending at a large angle, and ensure the smooth and continuous movement of the snake bone link.

[0045] By designing the height of the first table surface 211 to be between the top height and the bottom height of the C-shaped arm, and the height of the second table surface 212 to be between the top height and the bottom height of the C-shaped groove, the rotation angle of the C-shaped arm in the C-shaped groove can be limited, preventing the C-shaped arm from disengaging from the C-shaped groove and causing the connection between the snake bone links to fail.

[0046] It is worth noting that one end of the snake bone rotating link has two first C-shaped arms, and the other end has two first C-shaped grooves; one end of the movable link has two symmetric second C-shaped arms 101, and the other end has two symmetric second C-shaped grooves 102. The first C-shaped arm and the second C-shaped arm 101 have the same structure, and the first C-shaped groove and the second C-shaped groove 102 have the same structure, which can ensure the effective connection of the snake bone rotating link and the movable link.

[0047] As shown in Figure 9As shown, the first C-arm and the second C-arm 101 each comprises a second arm 202 and two first arms 201, which are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the second arm 202. The first C-slot and the second C-slot 102 each comprises a second slot 204 and two first slots 203, which are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the second slot 204. When the adjacent movable joints are connected, or the snake bone rotary joint and the movable joint are connected, the first arm 201 is located in the first slot 203, and the second arm 202 is located in the second slot 204.

[0048] Through the design, good contact can be formed between the first arm 201 and the first slot 203, and between the second arm 202 and the second slot 204. Compared with a single connection mode, the multi-point contact mode can better disperse the force borne by the connection part, and reduce the possibility of loosening or damage of a single connection part due to excessive force.

[0049] When bending operation is needed, the operator drives the steel wire rope through the control device of the endoscope handle part to perform traction operation. The first arm 201 slides in the first slot 203, and the second arm 202 rotates in the second slot 204 to realize bending control of the snake bone structure.

[0050] Embodiment 2

[0051] In this embodiment, the connection centers of the first connecting end 22 and the second connecting end 23 of the snake bone rotary joint are offset from the central axis of the snake bone main body 21 at different offset angles.

[0052] Specifically, the first connecting end 22 of the snake bone rotary joint is offset from the central axis of the snake bone main body 21 at a first angle, and the connection center of the second connecting end 23 of the snake bone rotary joint is offset from the central axis of the snake bone main body 21 at a second angle (the second angle is different from the first angle), and the sum of the first angle and the second angle is 2°.

[0053] Embodiments 1 and 2 are the same in that the deflection angle α between the snake bone front end 1 and the snake bone rear end 3 is the same, which is 2°, 2.5D≤α≤4D, and D≤10mm. Preferably, =3D. That is, when the diameter of the snake bone main body is 1mm, the deflection angle between the snake bone front end 1 and the snake bone rear end 3 is 6°, when the diameter of the snake bone main body is 2mm, the deflection angle between the snake bone front end 1 and the snake bone rear end 3 is 12°, and when the diameter of the snake bone main body is 10mm, the deflection angle between the snake bone front end 1 and the snake bone rear end 3 is 60°.

[0054] It should be noted that the present application is suitable for a snake bone with a diameter less than 10 mm, and when the diameter of the snake bone structure is 10 mm, the maximum deflection angle between the snake bone front end 1 and the snake bone rear end 3 is 80°, which not only affects the arrangement of the snake bone rotating ring segment, but also affects the steel wire rope work.

[0055] Preferably, = 3D, that is, when the diameter D of the snake bone body is 1 mm, the deflection angle is 3°, and the included angle between the connection center of the first connecting end and the connection center of the second connecting end of the snake bone rotating ring segment is 2, that is, 6°.

[0056] By designing the deflection angle α to increase with the increase of the diameter of the snake bone body, it can be ensured that snake bone structures of different diameters can achieve more than 180° bending, thereby ensuring large-angle bending of the snake bone structure.

[0057] Preferably, D≤8mm, that is, the diameter D of the snake bone body is ≤8mm, and when the diameter D of the snake bone body is 8mm, the included angle between the connection center of the first connecting end and the connection center of the second connecting end of the snake bone rotating ring segment is 40°~64°, preferably 48°, at this time, the steel wire rope work only increases the point friction, and will not affect the steel wire rope work. If the diameter D of the snake bone body exceeds 10 mm, the included angle between the connection center of the first connecting end and the connection center of the second connecting end of the snake bone rotating ring segment can reach 80° at most, which will affect the steel wire rope work (when pulling the steel wire rope, there is a risk of steel wire rope jamming) Preferably, D≤6.5mm, that is, the diameter D of the snake bone body is ≤6.5mm, and when the diameter D of the snake bone body is 6.5mm, the included angle between the connection center of the first connecting end and the connection center of the second connecting end of the snake bone rotating ring segment is 32.5°~52°, preferably 39°. This form not only will not affect the steel wire rope work, but also the processing of the first connecting end and the second connecting end of the snake bone rotating ring segment becomes easy, and the arrangement position of the pressure groove does not need to be changed.

[0058] Tests have found that when the diameter of the snake bone body is 1 mm, the deflection angle between the snake bone front end 1 and the snake bone rear end 3 exceeds 5°, that is, when bending at a large angle (more than 180°), the snake bone front end 1 and the snake bone rear end 3 will not collide. However, when the snake bone is applied to an electronic endoscope, a waterproof silicone sleeve needs to be wrapped around the outer periphery of the snake bone, so a certain amount of allowance needs to be left to ensure that the snake bone structure can still satisfy large-angle bending after the silicone sleeve is set. Therefore, the present application preferably has a deflection angle of 6° between the snake bone front end 1 and the snake bone rear end 3.

[0059] The deflection angle between the snake bone front end 1 and the snake bone rear end 3 of the present application can reach at least 5°, that is, the snake bone front end and the rear end are offset by 5°, which can simultaneously realize small-angle horizontal offset and satisfy bending with a maximum bending angle of more than 180°, and the present application will not accumulate the horizontal offset angle with the increase of the bending angle.

[0060] Embodiment 3

[0061] This embodiment provides a specific snake bone front end 1 and snake bone rear end 3 structure.

[0062] The snake bone structure includes a snake bone first segment 11, a snake bone front segment 12, a snake bone rotating ring segment 2, a snake bone middle segment 31, a snake bone middle rear segment 32, a snake bone rear segment 33 and a snake bone last segment 34 connected in sequence. The snake bone last segment 34 in the snake bone structure is connected with the tail end of the insertion part, the camera part is installed in the snake bone first segment 11, and the steel wire rope enters the snake bone structure from the insertion part and is connected with the snake bone first segment.

[0063] The number of the snake bone first segment 11 and the snake bone last segment 34 is only one, and since the snake bone last segment is connected with the insertion part, the snake bone last segment 34 cannot rotate. The snake bone front segment 12, the snake bone middle segment 31, the snake bone middle rear segment 32 and the snake bone rear segment 33 all include a plurality of movable segments with the same structure.

[0064] It should be noted that the movable segments have the same structure, which means that the movable segments have the same shape, not the same size. The same shape specifically means that all the movable segments include a movable segment body 100 in the shape of a circular ring, the movable segment body 100 has a second C-shaped arm 101 and a second C-shaped groove 102 at both ends in the axial direction, and the second C-shaped arm 101 can rotate in the second C-shaped groove 102.

[0065] The movable segments have the same size in that the diameters of the movable segments are the same, and the movable segments have different sizes in that the lengths of the movable segments are different.

[0066] The design of the snake bone first segment 11, the snake bone front segment 12, the snake bone rotating ring segment 2, the snake bone middle segment 31, the snake bone middle rear segment 32, the snake bone rear segment 33 and the snake bone last segment 34 in the snake bone structure is as follows: Design of the snake bone first segment: there is only one snake bone first segment 11, one end of the snake bone first segment 11 is used to connect the camera part (front end part), and the other end is designed with a C-shaped groove or a C-shaped arm to realize connection with the snake bone front segment 12. Two pressing grooves are provided on the snake bone first segment 11 to fix the steel wire rope.

[0067] Design of the snake bone front segment: it provides rigidity and support force while having a large angle bending function. Since the snake bone front segment 12 needs to be flexibly bent in the front end, each movable segment needs to have a large cutting angle (inclination angle) and a short length a, such as shown in Figure 2 The angle is 8.5°±2°, and the length a is 2.2±0.2mm. The number of movable segments in the front segment is selected according to the length of the product and the length of the product to be matched, and the number of segments is 6±2.

[0068] The design of the snake bone rotating link: provides rigidity and support while having a large angle bending effect. The snake bone rotating link 2 needs to have a large turning bending at the front end, and support the large angle flexible bending of the front end, so the length of the snake bone rotating link 2 is greater than the length of the snake bone front link 12, the length of the snake bone rotating link 2 is (1.2±0.2)a, the angle is 7.5°±1°, and the number is 2±1.

[0069] The design of the snake bone middle link: provides rigidity and support while having a medium angle bending effect. The snake bone middle link 31 needs to have a medium turning bending at the middle end, and support the large angle flexible bending of the front end, so each movable link needs to have a medium cutting angle and a medium length a. The angle a is 7.5°±1°, and the length is (1.2±0.2)a. The number of movable links in the snake bone middle link is selected according to the length and the product to be adapted, and the number of links is 11±2.

[0070] The design of the snake bone middle rear link 32: provides rigidity and support while having a small angle bending effect. The inclination angle of the snake bone middle rear link 32 is 6°±1°, and the length is (1.3±0.2)a. The number of movable links in the snake bone middle link is selected according to the length and the product to be adapted, and the number of links is 4±2.

[0071] The design of the snake bone rear link: mainly provides rigidity and support, and has a slight angle bending effect. The snake bone rear link 34 only needs to have a small turning bending at the rear end, and has a certain supporting effect on the bending (the farther the snake bone is from the front, the greater the force it needs to withstand when pulling the steel wire rope to bend, the greater the cutting angle, the shorter the length, and the worse the structural strength), so each movable link needs to have a small cutting angle and a large length a. The angle is 5°±1°, and the length is (1.5±0.2)a. The number of movable links in the snake bone rear link is selected according to the length and the product to be adapted, and the number of links is 4±2.

[0072] The snake bone tail link 34 has only one, one end of the snake bone tail link 34 is used for insertion, and the other end is designed as a C-shaped slot or a C-shaped arm to realize connection with the snake bone rear link. The snake bone tail link can not be provided with a pressing groove.

[0073] Through the above design, the minimum bending angle of the snake bone structure is 109° (4*6.5+1*6.5+9*6.5+2*5+2*4), and the maximum bending angle reaches 298° (8*10.5+3*8.5+13*8.5+6*7+6*6), and the preferred bending angle is 192° (6*8.5+2*7.5+11*7.5+4*6+4*5), which realizes a bending angle of more than 180°.

[0074] It should be noted that the first connecting end (the first C-shaped arm) and the second connecting end (the first C-shaped groove) in the snake bone rotating link section 2 are designed to deviate from the central axis of the snake bone main body 21. In the movable section, the second C-shaped arm 101 and the second C-shaped groove 102 are arranged along the central axis of the movable section and do not deviate from the central axis of the movable section.

[0075] As shown in Figure 8 , the end of the movable section main body 100 located on both sides of the second C-shaped arm 101 forms a third table surface 103, and the end of the movable section main body 100 located on both sides of the second C-shaped groove forms a fourth table surface 104. The third table surface 103 and the fourth table surface 104 are both inclined surfaces, and the inclination angles of the third table surface 103 and the fourth table surface 104 are the same. The height of the third table surface 103 is between the top height and the bottom height of the second C-shaped arm 101, and the height of the fourth table surface 104 is between the top height and the bottom height of the second C-shaped groove 102.

[0076] The inclined surface design of the third table surface 103 and the fourth table surface 104 can avoid the jamming of the movable section when bending at a large angle, and ensure smooth and continuous movement of the movable section. By designing the height of the third table surface 103 to be between the top height and the bottom height of the second C-shaped arm 101 and the height of the fourth table surface 104 to be between the top height and the bottom height of the second C-shaped groove 102, the rotation angle of the C-shaped arm in the C-shaped groove can be limited to prevent the C-shaped arm from disengaging from the C-shaped groove, which can cause the connection between the movable sections to fail.

[0077] It should be noted that the shape of the second C-shaped arm is the same as that of the first C-shaped arm, including a first arm and a second arm, and the shape of the second C-shaped groove is the same as that of the first C-shaped groove, including a first groove and a second groove.

[0078] It should be further emphasized that in the prior art, the gradual accumulation of angles is used to achieve deflection, and each snake bone section will be deflected, which can cause the front end and the rear end of the snake bone to have a large deflection angle. In the present application, the snake bone middle section 31, the snake bone middle-rear section 32, the snake bone rear section 33, and the snake bone terminal section 34 at the rear end of the snake bone are always on the same straight line, and the angle changes only after the snake bone rotating link section. In addition, the front end of the snake bone before the snake bone rotating link section of the present application only includes one snake bone first section and 4 to 8 snake bone front sections, so the design of 5 to 9 snake bone sections before the snake bone rotating link section of the present application also ensures the small-angle horizontal deflection of the front and rear ends of the snake bone structure.

[0079] Embodiment 4

[0080] This embodiment is a supplement to the contents of embodiments 1 to 3. It includes the design of the pressure groove and the number of snake bone sections in the snake bone rotating link section.

[0081] As shown in Figure 2 and Figure 10As shown, the snake bone structure includes a snake bone first segment 11, a snake bone front segment 12, a snake bone rotating ring segment 2, a snake bone middle segment 31, a snake bone middle rear segment 32, a snake bone rear segment 33 and a snake bone last segment 34 connected in sequence.

[0082] The snake bone first segment 11 is designed with two pressure grooves 4 for fixing the steel wire rope, and the snake bone last segment 34 can not be provided with a pressure groove. All the movable segments (snake bone segments) in the snake bone front segment 12, the snake bone rotating ring segment 2, the snake bone middle segment 31, the snake bone middle rear segment 32 and the snake bone rear segment 33 are alternately provided with pressure grooves 4. The steel wire rope enters from the snake bone last segment 34 and then passes through each pressure groove and is finally connected and fixed with the two pressure grooves 4 in the snake bone first segment 11.

[0083] In order to prevent the pressure grooves before and after the snake bone rotating ring segment from deviating too much, the present application is only suitable for a snake bone structure with a diameter less than 10 mm.

[0084] The number of nodes of the snake bone rotating ring segment can be one, two or three, and the larger the number of the snake bone rotating ring segments, the more suitable it is for large-angle deflection (the deflection angle is gradually accumulated through multiple snake bone rotating ring segments, so that the transition of the steel wire rope in the pressure groove is smoother, the friction is reduced, and the difficulty of pulling the steel wire rope is not increased). However, the number of the snake bone rotating ring segments can be at most three, and if the number of the snake bone rotating ring segments is too large, the manufacturing cost of the snake bone structure will be increased, and the horizontal deviation may also be accumulated, resulting in a too large horizontal deflection angle. The present application limits the number of the snake bone rotating ring segments, limits the maximum diameter of the snake bone structure to 10 mm, and designs each snake bone segment, so as to realize large-angle bending (bending of more than 180°) and minimum 5° horizontal deflection of the snake bone structure.

[0085] Embodiment 5

[0086] The present embodiment provides an electronic endoscope, which includes the snake bone structure of any one of embodiments 1 to 4, and the electronic endoscope can be an electronic ureteral endoscope, an electronic cystoscope, an electronic nephroscope, an electronic pancreatobiliary endoscope, an electronic bronchoscope, etc.

[0087] Although the embodiments of the present application have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made thereto without departing from the principles and spirit of the present application, and the scope of the present application is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An overbend serpentine structure, characterized by, The snake bone front end (1), the snake bone rotating ring section (2) and the snake bone rear end (3) are connected in sequence. The snake bone rotating ring section (2) comprises a circular ring-shaped snake bone main body (21), the two ends of the snake bone main body (21) are integrally formed with a first connecting end (22) and a second connecting end (23) respectively, the snake bone front end (1) is connected with the first connecting end (22), and the snake bone rear end (3) is connected with the second connecting end (23). The connection center of the first connecting end (22) deviates from the central axis of the snake bone main body (21) in a forward direction, and the connection center of the second connecting end (23) deviates from the central axis of the snake bone main body (21) in a reverse direction.

2. The over-bending serpentine bone structure of claim 1, wherein, The connection centers of the first connecting end (22) and the second connecting end (23) deviate from the central axis of the snake bone main body (21) at the same deviation angle, and the sum of the deviation angles of the connection centers of the first connecting end (22) and the second connecting end (23) from the central axis of the snake bone main body (21) is 2°.

3. The over-bending serpentine bone structure of claim 1, wherein, The connection centers of the first connecting end (22) and the second connecting end (23) deviate from the central axis of the snake bone main body (21) at different deviation angles, and the sum of the deviation angles of the connection centers of the first connecting end (22) and the second connecting end (23) from the central axis of the snake bone main body (21) is 2°.

4. The over-bent serpentine bone structure of any one of claims 2 or 3, wherein, The relationship between the diameter D of the snake bone main body and the deviation angle α is 2.5D≤α≤4D, and D≤10mm.

5. The over-bent hingebone structure of claim 4, wherein, The number of the snake bone rotating ring sections (2) is 1-3. When the number of the snake bone rotating ring sections (2) is multiple, the multiple snake bone rotating ring sections (2) are connected in sequence, and the included angle between the connection center of the first connecting end (22) of the first snake bone rotating ring section and the connection center of the second connecting end (23) of the last snake bone rotating ring section is 2°.

6. The over-bending serpentine bone structure of claim 1, wherein, The first connecting end (22) is a first C-shaped arm, and the second connecting end (23) is a first C-shaped groove, and the first C-shaped arm can rotate in the first C-shaped groove. The end of the snake bone main body (21) is located on both sides of the first C-shaped arm to form a first table top (211), and is located on both sides of the first C-shaped groove to form a second table top (212), the first table top (211) and the second table top (212) are both inclined surfaces with the same inclination angle, the height of the first table top (211) is between the top height and the bottom height of the first C-shaped arm, and the height of the second table top (212) is between the top height and the bottom height of the first C-shaped groove.

7. The over-bending serpentine bone structure of claim 1, wherein, The snake bone front end (1) comprises a snake bone head section (11) and a snake bone front section (12) connected in sequence, and the snake bone rear end (3) comprises a snake bone middle section (31), a snake bone middle rear section (32), a snake bone rear section (33) and a snake bone tail section (34) connected in sequence. The snake bone front section (12) is connected with the first connecting end (22), the snake bone middle section (31) is connected with the second connecting end (23), the snake bone head section (11) is used for connecting a front end part, and the snake bone tail section (34) is used for connecting an insertion part.

8. The over-bent hingebone structure of claim 7, wherein, The snake bone front section (12) includes 4-8 movable sections, the snake bone middle section (31) includes 9-13 movable sections, the snake bone middle back section (32) and the snake bone back section (33) each include 2-6 movable sections; the structures of the plurality of movable sections are the same, each including a movable section body (100) in a circular ring shape, the movable section body (100) has a second C-shaped arm (101) and a second C-shaped groove (102) at both ends in the axial direction, the second C-shaped arm (101) can rotate in the second C-shaped groove (102); The end of the movable section body (100) is located on both sides of the second C-shaped arm (101) to form a third mesa (103), and is located on both sides of the second C-shaped groove (102) to form a fourth mesa (104), the third mesa (103) and the fourth mesa (104) are both inclined surfaces with the same inclination angle; the height of the third mesa (103) is between the top height and the bottom height of the second C-shaped arm (101), and the height of the fourth mesa (104) is between the top height and the bottom height of the second C-shaped groove (102).

9. The over-bending serpentine bone structure of claim 7, wherein, The length of the movable section in the snake bone front section (12) is a, and the length of the snake bone rotating ring section (2), the length of the movable section in the snake bone middle section (31), the length of the movable section in the snake bone middle back section (32), and the length of the movable section in the snake bone back section (33) are all greater than a; The length of the movable section in the snake bone middle section (31) is less than the length of the movable section in the snake bone middle back section (32), which is less than the length of the movable section in the snake bone back section (33), and the bending angle of the movable section in the snake bone middle section (31) is greater than the bending angle of the movable section in the snake bone middle back section (32), which is greater than the bending angle of the movable section in the snake bone back section (33).

10. An electronic endoscope characterized by comprising: The over-bending snake bone structure includes any one of claims 1-9.

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