Snake bone assembly, insert and endoscope, and method for manufacturing snake bone assembly

Abstract

A snake bone assembly, an insert, an endoscope, and a method for manufacturing the snake bone assembly. The snake bone assembly comprises a plurality of snake bones (100) and riveting members (200). The plurality of snake bones (100) are sequentially connected end to end. One of two adjacent snake bones (100) is provided with a rotating ear (111), and the other is provided with a rotating groove (121). The rotating ear (111) rotatably fits the rotating groove (121) to enable a rotary fit between the adjacent snake bones (100). The two adjacent snake bones (100) are riveted by means of one of the riveting members (200) passing through the corresponding rotating ear (111) and rotating groove (121), and the riveting direction is distributed along the rotating axis of the fit between the corresponding rotating ear (111) and rotating groove (121). The present invention can be used for solving at least the problem of poor bending accuracy in actively bendable segments employing riveted snake bones.

Description

Snake bone assembly, insertion part and endoscope and manufacturing method of snake bone assembly TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of medical devices, and in particular to a snake bone assembly, an insertion part and an endoscope and a manufacturing method of the snake bone assembly. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the continuous development of medical technology, endoscopes have been widely used in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. When using an endoscope, the insertion part of the endoscope needs to be sent into the patient's body, and the bending action is realized by pulling the active bending section of the insertion part through the traction rope, so as to adjust the orientation of the distal end of the insertion part, and to obtain the image information of the target site (such as a lesion).

[0003] In related technologies, the active bending section usually adopts a riveted snake bone assembly, and the specific structure is to connect adjacent snake bones through rivets, and to realize rotational cooperation by taking the rivets as the pivot. However, the active bending section in the form of riveted snake bone is often found to have poor bending accuracy. SUMMARY

[0004] The present application provides a snake bone assembly, an insertion part and an endoscope and a manufacturing method of the snake bone assembly, which can at least solve the problem of poor bending accuracy of the active bending section using riveted snake bone.

[0005] In a first aspect, the present application provides a snake bone assembly for an endoscope.

[0006] The snake bone assembly includes a plurality of snake bones and a riveting piece, wherein: the plurality of snake bones are connected in sequence and end to end, in adjacent two snake bones, one is provided with a rotating lug, and the other is provided with a rotating groove, the rotating lug and the rotating groove are rotationally matched to realize the rotational cooperation between the adjacent snake bones; the adjacent two snake bones are riveted by the riveting piece arranged in the corresponding rotating lug and rotating groove, and the riveting direction is distributed along the rotation axis of the corresponding rotating lug and rotating groove.

[0007] In a second aspect, the present application provides an insertion part including the snake bone assembly of the first aspect of the present application.

[0008] In a third aspect, the present application provides an endoscope including the insertion part of the second aspect of the present application.

[0009] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a manufacturing method of a snake bone assembly, which includes:

[0010] Providing a flexible tube;

[0011] Cutting a plurality of snake bones through the rotating lug and the rotating groove on the flexible tube by laser cutting;

[0012] The rotating ears are cut through laser to form mounting holes, and the riveting members are arranged through the mounting holes to rivet the adjacent serpentine bones.

[0013] The technical solutions applied in the embodiments of the present application can achieve the following beneficial effects:

[0014] In the serpentine bone assembly disclosed in the embodiments of the present application, the rotating ears and the rotating grooves, as rotating structures, are part of the serpentine bones, which are equivalent to direct connection between the serpentine bones to realize rotating cooperation, so that the installation of the rivets and the structural setting requirements for rotation in the riveted serpentine bones do not need to be considered. Therefore, the rotating gap between the rotating ears and the rotating grooves can be set smaller, and the rotating ears and the groove walls of the rotating grooves can be more reliably and stably supported and constrained, avoiding the occurrence of deflection between the adjacent serpentine bones. Even when extended to the level of the entire active bending section, the cumulative deflection of the serpentine bones is difficult to affect the bending accuracy of the active bending section, thereby ensuring that the serpentine structure of the embodiments of the present application has better bending accuracy when applied to the active bending section.

[0015] Secondly, the riveting members in the embodiments of the present application are riveted along the rotating axis of the rotating ears and the rotating grooves, which can play a role in preventing the serpentine bones from being radially detached.

[0016] Furthermore, since the riveting members in the embodiments of the present application generally exist as radial anti-detachment constraint members of the rotating structure between the serpentine bones, in the case that the rotating structure between the serpentine bones is damaged due to a large internal force, the riveting members can connect the adjacent serpentine bones as a rotating shaft, and the relative rotation between the serpentine bones can still be realized, to ensure that the endoscope can continue to be normally used. It can be seen that the riveting members of the embodiments of the present application can serve as a backup rotating structure, which prolongs the service life of the endoscope.

[0017] In addition, in the case that the rotating structure between the serpentine bones bears an excessively large internal force or the serpentine bones are deflected, the riveting members will provide support to share the internal force, so that the risk of stress concentration at the rotating structure can be reduced, the damage resistance of the serpentine bone assembly is improved, and the connection strength of the rotating structure between the serpentine bones is optimized. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0018] The drawings described herein are used to provide further understanding of the present application, and form a part of the present application. The schematic embodiments of the present application and the descriptions thereof are used to explain the present application, and do not constitute an improper limitation on the present application.

[0019] In the drawings:

[0020] FIG. 1 is a structural schematic view of a serpentine bone assembly disclosed in a first embodiment of the present application;

[0021] FIG. 2 is an exploded schematic view of the serpentine bone assembly disclosed in the first embodiment of the present application;

[0022] Fig. 3 is a top view of the snake bone assembly disclosed by the first embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Fig. 4 is a sectional view along A-A direction in Fig. 3;

[0024] Fig. 5 is a side view of the snake bone assembly disclosed by the first embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Fig. 6 is a top view of the snake bone assembly disclosed by the second embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Fig. 7 is a sectional view along B-B direction in Fig. 6;

[0027] Fig. 8 is a structural schematic view of the snake bone assembly disclosed by the third embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Fig. 9 is a flow chart of the manufacturing method of the snake bone assembly disclosed by some embodiments of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the technical solutions of the present application will be described clearly and completely in conjunction with the specific embodiments of the present application and the corresponding drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present application, not all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0030] In order to facilitate the understanding of the snake bone assembly, the insertion part and the endoscope provided by the embodiments of the present application and the manufacturing method of the snake bone assembly, the related technologies will be introduced in conjunction with application scenarios as follows.

[0031] In view of the poor bending accuracy of the active bending section of the riveted snake bone, through research, the inventors found that the main reason is that the large reserved clearance around the rivet. To be specific, considering the smooth installation and subsequent smooth rotation cooperation, the installation hole for rivet on the snake bone is usually machined to be larger in size, which leads to the rivet as the rotating shaft to be easily deflected when rotating, so that the adjacent snake bones will be deflected, and the deflection of all the snake bones in the entire active bending section will be accumulated, resulting in more obvious bending accuracy error.

[0032] In view of this, some embodiments of the present application provide a snake bone assembly for an endoscope.

[0033] Please refer to FIG. 1-8, the snake bone assembly disclosed by the embodiment of the application comprises a plurality of snake bones 100 and riveting pieces 200, wherein: the plurality of snake bones 100 are sequentially connected end to end, in the two adjacent snake bones 100, one is provided with a rotating lug 111, and the other is provided with a rotating groove 121, the rotating lug 111 and the rotating groove 121 are rotationally matched to realize the rotation matching between the adjacent snake bones 100; the two adjacent snake bones 100 are riveted by the riveting piece 200 penetrating the corresponding rotating lug 111 and rotating groove 121, and the riveting direction is distributed along the rotation axis of the corresponding rotating lug 111 and rotating groove 121.

[0034] Among them, the snake bone 100 is the main component of the snake bone assembly, and the plurality of snake bones 100 are connected end to end to have a certain extension length; at the same time, the adjacent snake bones 100 are rotationally matched, so that the bending action of the active bending section can be realized. In the usual application scene, the snake bone assembly is driven by the relative rotation between the snake bones 100 through the traction rope to transmit the force, so as to realize the bending action of the active bending section.

[0035] In the embodiment of the application, the rotation structure including the rotating lug 111 and the rotating groove 121 is used to realize the rotation matching between the adjacent snake bones 100, specifically, the rotating groove 121 has a containing space, the rotating lug 111 is placed in the rotating groove 121, which is equivalent to that the rotating lug 111 is embedded in the rotating groove 121, and the groove wall of the rotating groove 121 provides constraint support for the rotating lug 111, so as to realize the relative rotation between the snake bones 100.

[0036] At the same time, in the above structure layout, the riveting piece 200 rivets the snake bones 100 in the rotation structure between the snake bones 100, and since the riveting direction is approximately distributed on the rotation axis of the corresponding rotating lug 111 and rotating groove 121, there is no structural interference to ensure that the relative rotation between the snake bones 100 can be smoothly realized. The riveting direction of the riveting piece 200 can be understood as the axial direction of the riveting piece 200.

[0037] In the snake bone assembly of the embodiment of the application, the rotation between the snake bones 100 is realized by the cooperation of the rotating lug 111 and the rotating groove 121, and the rotating lug 111 and the rotating groove 121 are part of the snake bone 100, so that the snake bone 100 is directly connected to realize the rotation matching. Since the rotation matching between the snake bones 100 is directly realized, the structure setting requirements of the rivet installation and the rotation matching in the related art do not need to be considered, the rotation gap between the rotating lug 111 and the rotating groove 121 can be set smaller, and the groove walls of the rotating lug 111 and the rotating groove 121 can be more reliably and stably supported and constrained, so that the deflection between the adjacent snake bones 100 is avoided, and even when the whole active bending section is expanded to the level, the cumulative deflection of the snake bones 100 is difficult to affect the bending accuracy of the active bending section.

[0038] Compared with the riveted snake bone of the related art, the snake bone assembly of the embodiment of the present application, when in use, the interaction force between the snake bones 100 is distributed between the rotating ears 111 and the groove walls of the rotating grooves 121. It can be seen that the riveting piece 200 is no longer mainly used as a rotating shaft as in the riveted snake bone of the related art, but mainly plays a role in preventing the rotating ears 111 and the rotating grooves 121 from being separated radially, that is, it exists as a radial anti-disengagement restraint member of the rotating structure between the snake bones 100.

[0039] It should be noted that in the field of reusable endoscopes, the quality of the rotating structure between the snake bones 100 also determines the service life of the reusable endoscope. In the embodiment of the present application, the internal force is mainly borne by the rotating ears 111 and the groove walls of the rotating grooves 121 in the case of relative rotation between the snake bones 100. If the rotating function cannot be realized due to damage to the two, since the riveting piece 200 is arranged along the rotating axis of the rotating ears 111 and the rotating grooves 121, it can be used as a rotating shaft to connect the two adjacent snake bones 100, and the relative rotation between the snake bones 100 can still be realized, thereby ensuring that the endoscope can continue to be used normally. As can be seen, the riveting piece 200 of the embodiment of the present application can be used as a backup rotating structure, which can greatly prolong the service life of the endoscope.

[0040] Furthermore, the endoscope is a relatively delicate instrument, and the rotating structure between the snake bones 100 is easy to be damaged when used violently, for example, the active bending section is excessively bent due to the forceful pulling of the traction cord, and the rotating structure between the snake bones 100 is broken. In the embodiment of the present application, in addition to the groove walls between the rotating ears 111 and the rotating grooves 121 which can be used as force bearing parts, in the case that the rotating structure between the snake bones 100 bears excessive internal force or the snake bones 100 are deflected, the riveting piece 200 will provide support to share the internal force, and as the contact area between the riveting piece 200 and the rotating structure of the snake bone 100 becomes larger and larger, the internal force shared by the riveting piece 200 will also gradually increase. As can be seen, the snake bone assembly of the embodiment of the present application can reduce the risk of stress concentration at the rotating structure based on the above structural layout, improve the damage resistance of the snake bone assembly, and optimize the connection strength of the rotating structure between the snake bones 100.

[0041] The rotating structure between the snake bones 100 can be of various types, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit it.

[0042] In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 2-4, in the two adjacent snake bones 100, one has a first connecting part 110, and the other has a second connecting part 120, the first connecting part 110 includes a rotating ear 111, and the second connecting part 120 includes a rotating groove 121; wherein: in the radial direction of the snake bone assembly, the first connecting part 110 and the second connecting part 120 are distributed in a staggered manner.

[0043] It should be understood that the first joint part 110 and the second joint part 120 are the positions of the corresponding rotating structure on the snake bone 100. In this example, along the radial direction of the snake bone assembly, the first joint part 110 and the second joint part 120 do not have corresponding overlapping parts, that is, apart from the rivet 200, at the positions of the corresponding rotating structure, the tube wall of the snake bone assembly is only formed by the first joint part 110 or the second joint part 120, so that the wall thickness of the snake bone assembly can be as thin as possible, which can increase the installation space in the tube of the snake bone 100 and reduce the radial size of the snake bone assembly.

[0044] In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, in two adjacent snake bones 100, one of which has the first joint part 110 and the other of which has the second joint part 120, the first joint part 110 includes a rotating lug 111, and the second joint part 120 includes a rotating groove 121; wherein: along the radial direction of the snake bone assembly, the first joint part 110 and the second joint part 120 are overlapped with each other.

[0045] It should be understood that in this layout, along the radial direction of the snake bone assembly, the first joint part 110 and the second joint part 120 have corresponding overlapping parts, so that the radial limit cooperation between them is realized, and in combination with the radial constraint of the rivet 200, the radial limiting capability between the snake bones 100 in the snake bone assembly can be significantly enhanced. In addition, the structural layout of this example actually also increases the contact area between the snake bones 100 through the cooperation of the first joint part 110 and the second joint part 120, which also optimizes the connection strength and damage resistance.

[0046] It should be noted that generally, the rotating structure between the snake bones 100 is one group, that is, two along the radial direction of the snake bone assembly, of course, the rotating structure between the snake bones 100 can also be more than one group, for example, two groups of four.

[0047] In the embodiment in which the first joint part 110 and the second joint part 120 are overlapped with each other, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a positioning protrusion 111b can be provided on the rotating lug 111, the positioning protrusion 111b extends into the rotating groove 121, and the rotating lug 111 is rotationally connected with the rotating groove 121 through the positioning protrusion 111b, thereby realizing the relative rotation between the snake bones 100.

[0048] In the embodiment in which the first connecting part 110 and the second connecting part 120 are overlapped with each other, in the two adjacent serpentine bones 100, the two connecting parts in the same group on one of the serpentine bones 100 are both distributed on the inner side, and the two connecting parts in the same group on the other of the serpentine bones 100 are both distributed on the outer side, so that the two serpentine bones 100 are limited and constrained in the radial inward and outward directions by the rotating structure. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the serpentine bone 100 on the right side has two first connecting parts 110 on the upper and lower sides, the serpentine bone 100 on the right side has two second connecting parts 120 on the upper and lower sides, and the two second connecting parts 120 are arranged on the radial outer side of the two first connecting parts 110, so that the two serpentine bones 100 are limited and constrained in the radial inward and outward directions.

[0049] In the embodiment in which the first connecting part 110 and the second connecting part 120 are overlapped with each other, in the two adjacent serpentine bones 100, the two connecting parts in the same group on one of the serpentine bones 100 are both distributed on the inner side, and the two connecting parts in the same group on the other of the serpentine bones 100 are both distributed on the outer side, so that the two serpentine bones 100 are limited and constrained in the radial inward and outward directions by the rotating structure. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the serpentine bone 100 on the right side has two first connecting parts 110 on the upper and lower sides, the serpentine bone 100 on the right side has two second connecting parts 120 on the upper and lower sides, and the two second connecting parts 120 are arranged on the radial outer side of the two first connecting parts 110, so that the two serpentine bones 100 are limited and constrained in the radial inward and outward directions.

[0050] The embodiment of the present application does not limit the processing technology of the serpentine bone assembly, for example, the serpentine bone assembly can be formed by etching, stamping and other means. In some embodiments, for the serpentine bone assembly in which the first connecting part 110 and the second connecting part 120 are staggered, the plurality of serpentine bones 100 of the serpentine bone assembly can be formed by a cutting process. The cutting means can be preferably laser cutting. For example, the cutting-formed serpentine bone assembly can be an integrated cutting structure, that is, an integrated cutting technology is used in the cutting operation, for example, an integrated laser cutting process, so as to form an integrated cutting serpentine bone 100, which can improve the processing efficiency and accuracy, and optimize the overall strength of the serpentine bone assembly.

[0051] After the rivet 200 is installed in place, the two ends of the rivet 200 are limited and constrained in the axial direction by the limiting parts, so as to realize riveting. In some embodiments, in the case where the first connecting part 110 and the second connecting part 120 are staggered, the two limiting parts of the rivet 200 can be arranged to be different in size, so as to reduce the space occupation of the smaller side of the limiting part of the rivet 200, and improve the performance of the corresponding endoscope.

[0052] In a further embodiment, when the first adapter 110 and the second adapter 120 are misaligned, the projection of the first limiting portion 210 of the riveting piece 200 is located in the rotating lug 111 along the riveting direction, and the second limiting portion 220 of the riveting piece 200 is in limiting cooperation with the second adapter 120. For example, as shown in FIGS. 2-5, the limiting portion of the riveting piece 200 located outside the snake bone 100 is the first limiting portion 210, and the limiting portion of the riveting piece 200 located inside the snake bone 100 is the second limiting portion 220. Of course, the first limiting portion 210 can also be arranged inside the snake bone 100, and the second limiting portion 220 can also be arranged outside the snake bone 100.

[0053] Based on the structural layout of this example, the first limiting portion 210 only needs to be arranged in axial limiting cooperation with the rotating lug 111 to achieve riveting of the riveting piece 200, and cannot be in limiting cooperation with the second adapter 120, which can greatly reduce the size of the first limiting portion 210. In this way, the space occupation requirement of the side of the riveting piece 200 close to the first limiting portion 210 can be reduced, thereby improving the performance of the corresponding endoscope.

[0054] For example, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the first limiting portion 210 is located outside the snake bone 100, which can reduce the space occupation of the riveting piece 200 on the outer surface of the snake bone 100. If the radial size of the snake bone 100 remains unchanged, the radial size of the entire insertion portion of the endoscope can be reduced, which is beneficial for the insertion operation. Of course, if the radial size of the insertion portion remains unchanged, since the space occupation of the riveting piece 200 on the outer surface of the snake bone 100 is reduced, the radial size of the installation space inside the snake bone 100 can be correspondingly enlarged to optimize the accommodation capacity, for example, a larger instrument tube can be installed.

[0055] For example, the first limiting portion 210 is located inside the snake bone 100, which can reduce the space occupation of the riveting piece 200 inside the snake bone 100. If the radial size of the snake bone 100 remains unchanged, the radial size of the installation space inside the snake bone 100 can be enlarged to optimize the accommodation capacity. If the accommodation capacity of the snake bone assembly remains unchanged, the radial size of the entire insertion portion of the endoscope can be reduced, which is beneficial for the insertion operation.

[0056] It is worth mentioning that in the embodiment where the projection of the first limiting part 210 is located in the rotating lug 111, it is not in axial limiting cooperation with the second connecting part 120, so it is necessary to arrange two riveting pieces 200 symmetrically distributed along the radial direction of the snake bone assembly, and the first limiting part 210 of the two riveting pieces 200 is located outside the snake bone 100, and the second limiting part 220 of the two riveting pieces 200 is located inside the snake bone 100, and in this layout, the limiting directions of the second limiting parts 220 of the two riveting pieces 200 are opposite, one is radially outward, and the other is radially inward, thereby ensuring that the two adjacent snake bones 100 are simultaneously limited in the radially inward and radially outward directions to ensure that they do not come off.

[0057] In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in the case where the first connecting part 110 is misaligned with the second connecting part 120, the first connecting part 110 includes arc-shaped grooves 112 arranged on both sides of the rotating lug 111, and the second connecting part 120 includes two oppositely arranged arc-shaped arms 122, and the rotating groove 121 is defined between the two arc-shaped arms 122, and the two arc-shaped arms 122 are respectively in rotational cooperation with the corresponding arc-shaped grooves 112.

[0058] It can be understood that in this example, in addition to the rotational cooperation between the rotating lug 111 and the rotating groove 121 between the snake bones 100, another set of rotational pairs is formed by the arc-shaped arms 122 and the arc-shaped grooves 112 on the periphery of the rotating lug 111 and the rotating groove 121, which is equivalent to making part of the extension structure of the two adjacent snake bones 100 to be embedded in each other, which is beneficial to improve the connection reliability and rotational stability between the snake bones 100.

[0059] It is worth noting that the arrangement of the arc-shaped grooves 112 and the arc-shaped arms 122 will cause the strength of the corresponding rotating structure part on the snake bone 100 to be reduced, and in the embodiments of the present application, the snake bone assembly strengthens the connection strength between the snake bones 100 through the riveting piece 200, which can be seen from the foregoing content, so that the strength defect caused by the arrangement of the arc-shaped grooves 112 and the arc-shaped arms 122 in this example can be compensated. That is, this example can effectively improve the rotational stability and reliability between the snake bones 100 without reducing the connection strength between the snake bones 100.

[0060] Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first connecting part 110 further includes a first rotation stopping protrusion 113 arranged in the arc-shaped groove 112, and the second connecting part 120 further includes a second rotation stopping protrusion 123 arranged on the arc-shaped arm 122, and the first rotation stopping protrusion 113 can be in limiting cooperation with the second rotation stopping protrusion 123 during the rotational cooperation between the arc-shaped arm 122 and the arc-shaped groove 112.

[0061] It can be understood that when the two adjacent snake bones 100 are relatively rotated, the first rotation stopping protrusion 113 and the second rotation stopping protrusion 123 will also be relatively rotated, and the first rotation stopping protrusion 113 and the second rotation stopping protrusion 123 are located in the rotation path of each other. When the two abut, the limiting fit is achieved. Such a structure layout can prevent the arc-shaped arm 122 from being pulled out of the arc-shaped slot 112, thereby preventing the two adjacent snake bone 100 units from being separated along the axial direction. At the same time, the limiting fit of the first rotation stopping protrusion 113 and the second rotation stopping protrusion 123 can also limit the angle range of the relative rotation of the two adjacent snake bones 100, and the angle range can be adaptively set according to the actual needs of the snake bone assembly.

[0062] The first rotation stopping protrusion 113 can be arranged on the side wall of the rotation lug 111, or on the side wall opposite to the rotation lug 111 in the arc-shaped slot 112. Of course, the first rotation stopping protrusion 113 can also be arranged on both the above-mentioned two regions.

[0063] In addition, compared with the embodiment without the first rotation stopping protrusion 113 and the second rotation stopping protrusion 123, when the internal force between the snake bones 100 is large, the existence of the first rotation stopping protrusion 113 and the second rotation stopping protrusion 123 can increase the contact area with the riveting piece 200, thereby reducing the risk of stress concentration and preventing damage to the rotating structure.

[0064] In some embodiments, along the radial direction of the snake bone assembly, at least one of the limiting portions at both ends of the riveting piece 200 is embedded in the rotating structure of the snake bone 100. It should be understood that in this case, a groove can be arranged on the rotating structure (for example, the rotation lug 111) corresponding to the limiting portion of the riveting piece 200. When the riveting piece 200 is riveted, the limiting portion of the riveting piece 200 can be pressed into the groove. In this way, the space occupation of the limiting portions at both ends of the riveting piece 200 inside and outside the snake bone 100 can be effectively reduced, so as to achieve the effect of reducing the radial size of the insertion portion and expanding the internal accommodation capacity of the snake bone 100 structure.

[0065] In order to facilitate the riveting piece 200 to rivet the rotating structure between the snake bones 100, the rotation lug 111 needs to be provided with a mounting hole 111a for penetrating the riveting piece 200.

[0066] In some embodiments, the rotation lug 111 is in a closed annular structure relative to the mounting hole 111a, so as to ensure that the rotation lug 111 has better strength.

[0067] In some other embodiments, as shown in FIG. 8, the rotating lug 111 has an open ring structure relative to the mounting hole 111a. In this arrangement, the rotating lug 111 has a gap 111c that communicates with the mounting hole 111a, so that the rotating lug 111 has free ends on both sides of the gap 111c, and the overall rigidity of the rotating lug 111 is reduced, that is, the rotating lug 111 has better deformation performance. In the case of a rotating structure between the serpentine bones 100 that bears a large internal force, the rotating lug 111 can deform to hold the rivet 200, and share part of the internal force supported by the rivet 200, thereby preventing damage to the rotating structure including the rotating lug 111 due to excessive internal force, achieving the effect of prolonging the service life of the serpentine bone structure; in addition, when the rotating lug 111 holds the rivet 200, the rivet 200 can be used as a rotating shaft to achieve smooth and stable rotation when the internal force between the serpentine bones 100 is large.

[0068] Referring to FIGS. 1-8, some embodiments of the present application provide an insertion portion including the serpentine bone assembly of any of the foregoing solutions, thereby having the beneficial effects of the serpentine bone assembly, which will not be repeated.

[0069] Referring to FIGS. 1-8, some embodiments of the present application provide an endoscope including the insertion portion described above, thereby having the beneficial effects of the insertion portion, which will not be repeated.

[0070] The endoscope involved in the embodiments of the present application can be a bronchoscope, a nephroscope, an esophagoscope, a gastroscope, a colonoscope, an otoscope, a nasoscope, an oral mirror, a laryngoscope, a vaginal mirror, a laparoscope, an arthroscope, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit the type of endoscope.

[0071] The serpentine bone assembly disclosed in the embodiments of the present application is described above, and the manufacturing method of the serpentine bone assembly will be described below, and the parts not described in detail can be referred to the foregoing.

[0072] Referring to FIGS. 1-9, some embodiments of the present application provide a manufacturing method of a serpentine bone assembly, which includes the following steps:

[0073] S901, providing a flexible tube.

[0074] S902, cutting a plurality of serpentine bones 100 that are rotatably connected through the rotating lug 111 and the rotating groove 121 on the flexible tube by laser cutting. Through S902, the flexible tube can be quickly processed into an integrally cut serpentine bone assembly.

[0075] S903, a mounting hole 111a is cut through the rotating ear 111 by laser cutting, and the adjacent snake bone 100 is riveted by passing a rivet 200 through the mounting hole 111a. During the riveting process, the rivet 200 can be supported by a tool to facilitate the riveting operation. For example, the rivet 200 can be passed through the mounting hole 111a in the snake bone assembly, and then a mandrel is inserted into the snake bone assembly to support the rivet 200, and then the rivet 200 can be riveted outside the snake bone 100 to form a limiting portion to achieve riveting cooperation. Of course, the tool can also be a sleeve distributed outside the snake bone assembly, and the rivet 200 is riveted inside the snake bone assembly.

[0076] The manufacturing method described above can quickly produce the snake bone assembly described above, has high production efficiency and low cost. The snake bone assembly produced by the manufacturing method has the beneficial effects described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0077] In some embodiments, riveting adjacent snake bones 100 by passing a rivet 200 through a mounting hole 111a includes passing the rivet 200 through the mounting hole 111a, and welding solder on the periphery of the end of the rivet 200 away from the head end to form a limiting portion, the limiting portion being used for limiting cooperation with the snake bone 100.

[0078] It should be understood that riveting by riveting the rivet 200 can easily transmit the riveting force to the snake bone assembly, and the rivet 200 corresponds to the rotating structure between the snake bones 100, which increases the risk of damage to the rotating structure. In this regard, the example discards the means of riveting the rivet 200 during riveting, and forms a limiting portion by welding solder on the end of the rivet 200 away from the head end, which completely avoids the risk of force exerted on the rotating structure between the snake bones 100 by riveting and causing damage, and maximizes the structural strength of the rotating structure between the snake bones 100 in the case of riveting.

[0079] Further, the rivet 200 can be welded with solder on the end away from the head end by laser welding, which can improve the processing precision and avoid miswelding on the rotating structure between the snake bones 100; of course, laser welding can also improve the processing efficiency.

[0080] Further, the rivet 200 is passed through the mounting hole 111a inside the snake bone assembly, and the rivet 200 is welded outside the snake bone assembly. In this way, it is beneficial to provide an operating space for facilitating welding operation.

[0081] The above embodiments of the present application mainly describe the differences between the various embodiments, and the different optimization features between the various embodiments can be combined to form a more optimal embodiment as long as they are not contradictory. Considering the brevity of the text, it will not be repeated here.

[0082] The above merely provides an example of the present application, but is not intended to limit the present application. The present application can have various modifications and changes for those skilled in the art. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. within the spirit and principle of the present application shall be included in the scope of claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A serpentine bone assembly for use in an endoscope, characterized by, The snake bone assembly includes multiple snake bones and riveting components, wherein: The multiple snake bones are connected end to end in sequence. In two adjacent snake bones, one is provided with a rotating ear and the other is provided with a rotating groove. The rotating ear and the rotating groove are rotatably engaged to realize the rotational engagement between adjacent snake bones. The two adjacent snake bones are riveted together by the riveting member passing through the corresponding rotating ear and the rotating groove, and the riveting direction is distributed along the rotation axis of the corresponding rotating ear and the rotating groove.

2. The snake bone assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that, In two adjacent snake bones, one has a first connecting portion and the other has a second connecting portion. The first connecting portion includes the rotating ear, and the second connecting portion includes the rotating groove; wherein: In the radial direction of the snake bone assembly, the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion are staggered; or, in the radial direction of the snake bone assembly, the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion are superimposed on each other.

3. The snake bone assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that, When the first connecting part and the second connecting part are misaligned, along the riveting direction, the projection of the first limiting part of the riveting member is located inside the rotating ear, and the second limiting part of the riveting member is limited and engaged with the second connecting part.

4. The snake bone assembly according to claim 3, characterized in that, The first limiting part is located outside the snake bone.

5. The snake bone assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that, When the first connecting part and the second connecting part are misaligned, the first connecting part includes arc-shaped grooves provided on both sides of the rotating ear, and the second connecting part includes two arc-shaped arms arranged opposite to each other, the rotating groove is defined between the two arc-shaped arms, and the two arc-shaped arms are respectively rotatably engaged with the corresponding arc-shaped grooves. And / or, in the case of misalignment between the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion, the plurality of snake bones of the snake bone assembly are formed by laser integral cutting.

6. The snake bone assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, Along the radial direction of the snake-bone assembly, at least one of the limiting portions at both ends of the rivet has a rotating structure embedded in the snake-bone; and / or, the rotating ear has a mounting hole for passing through the rivet, the rotating ear having an open annular structure or a closed annular structure relative to the mounting hole.

7. An insertion part, characterized in that, The snake bone assembly includes any one of claims 1 to 6.

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

9. A method for manufacturing a snake-bone component, characterized in that, The manufacturing method includes: Provide flexible tubing; Multiple snake-like bones are laser-cut into the flexible tube and rotated and engaged by rotating ears and rotating grooves; Mounting holes are cut into the rotating ear using a laser, and rivets are inserted through the mounting holes to rivet adjacent snake bones together.

10. The manufacturing method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The method of riveting adjacent snake bones by inserting the rivet through the mounting hole includes: The rivet is passed through the mounting hole, and solder is welded to the outer periphery of the end of the rivet opposite to its head to form a limiting part, which is used to cooperate with the snake bone limiting part.

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