Endoscope, active bending section thereof, and snake bone unit thereof

Abstract

The present application belongs to the technical field of medical instruments, and particularly relates to an endoscope, an active bending section thereof, and a snake bone unit thereof. The snake bone unit has at least one connecting end rotatably connected to an adjacent snake bone unit in an axial direction of the snake bone unit, a partial region of the at least one connecting end is recessed towards the interior of the snake bone unit to form a rotating shaft, and the rotating shaft is used for rotatable connection to a rotating hole of the adjacent snake bone unit. The present application utilizes the rotatable connection of the rotating shaft formed by the snake bone unit itself to the rotating hole of the adjacent snake bone unit, so that there is no need to additionally assemble a rivet between two adjacent snake bone units, thereby reducing the assembly difficulty of the snake bone unit and improving the assembly efficiency. Moreover, the partial region of the connecting end of the snake bone unit is recessed towards the interior of the snake bone unit to form the rotating shaft, that is, the rotating shaft is formed by stamping from the outside to the inside of the snake bone unit, and the solid part of the snake bone unit does not hinder a stamping tool, thereby providing a larger working space for the stamping tool and facilitating the processing of the rotating shaft.

Description

Endoscope and its active bending segment, snake bone unit Technical Field

[0001] This application belongs to the field of medical device technology, specifically relating to an endoscope and its active bending segment and snake bone unit. Background Technology

[0002] Endoscopes are typically used to diagnose and treat lesions within a patient's body. An endoscope consists of a handle and an insertion section. During operation, by controlling the handle, the active bending section at the tip of the insertion section can be pulled via a traction cable, thus changing the orientation of the insertion section and facilitating its entry into the body's natural cavities.

[0003] The active bending section is composed of multiple snake-bone units connected sequentially. Adjacent snake-bone units are connected by rivets, which makes the assembly between adjacent snake-bone units difficult and inefficient. Utility Model Content

[0004] The purpose of this application is to provide an endoscope and its active bending section and snake bone unit, which can solve the problems of high assembly difficulty and low efficiency between two adjacent snake bone units.

[0005] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, this application is implemented as follows:

[0006] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a snake-bone unit for an endoscope. The snake-bone unit has at least one connecting end in its own axial direction for rotatably connecting with an adjacent snake-bone unit. A portion of the connecting end is recessed toward the interior of the snake-bone unit to form a rotating shaft, which is used for rotatably connecting with a rotating hole of an adjacent snake-bone unit.

[0007] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide an active bending section of an endoscope, including multiple snake-bone units connected in series, with adjacent snake-bone units rotatably connected, at least one snake-bone unit being the aforementioned snake-bone unit, and one connecting end of the snake-bone unit forming a rotating shaft, the rotating shaft being rotatably connected to the rotating hole of an adjacent snake-bone unit.

[0008] Thirdly, embodiments of this application provide an endoscope including the aforementioned active bending segment.

[0009] In this embodiment, a portion of the connecting end of the snake bone unit is recessed to form a rotating shaft, and the rotating shaft formed by the snake bone unit itself is used to rotate and connect with the rotating hole of the adjacent snake bone unit. Compared with the rotational connection of two adjacent snake bone units using rivets, this embodiment does not require additional rivets to be installed between two adjacent snake bone units, thereby reducing the assembly difficulty of the snake bone unit and improving the assembly efficiency.

[0010] Furthermore, a portion of the connecting end of the snake-bone unit is recessed towards the interior of the snake-bone unit to form a rotating shaft. In other words, the rotating shaft is formed by stamping from the outside to the inside of the snake-bone unit. Compared to embodiments where the rotating shaft is formed by stamping from the inside to the outside of the snake-bone unit, the solid portion of the snake-bone unit in this application embodiment does not obstruct the stamping tool, thereby providing a larger working space for the stamping tool, which makes it easier to process the rotating shaft. Attached Figure Description

[0011] Figures 1 to 3 are schematic diagrams of the snake-bone unit disclosed in different embodiments of this application;

[0012] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the assembly between two adjacent snake-bone units disclosed in the embodiments of this application;

[0013] Figures 5 and 6 are assembly diagrams of the rotating shaft and rotating hole disclosed in different embodiments of this application;

[0014] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the active bending segment disclosed in the embodiment of this application.

[0015] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0016] 100, snake bone unit; 110, connecting end; 120, rotating shaft; 121, rotating part; 122, guide part; 130, connecting ear; 210, mating part; 211, rotating hole. Detailed Implementation

[0017] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this application. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0018] The terms "first," "second," etc., used in the specification and claims of this application are used to distinguish similar objects and not to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such use of data can be interchanged where appropriate so that embodiments of this application can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein, and the objects distinguished by "first," "second," etc., are generally of the same class and the number of objects is not limited; for example, a first object can be one or more. Furthermore, in the specification and claims, "and / or" indicates at least one of the connected objects, and the character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0019] The endoscope, its active bending segment, and its snake-bone unit provided in this application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, through specific embodiments and application scenarios.

[0020] As shown in Figures 1 to 6, this application discloses a snake-bone unit for an endoscope. The snake-bone unit 100 has at least one connecting end 110 along its axial direction for rotatable connection with adjacent snake-bone units 100. Optionally, the snake-bone unit 100 may have only one connecting end 110 along its axial direction. In this case, the snake-bone unit 100 is the first or last segment of the active bending section, used to connect with the passive bending section of the insertion part or with the front end seat of the insertion part. The structure of the snake-bone unit 100 in this case can be seen in Figure 3. Alternatively, both ends of the snake-bone unit 100 along its axial direction can also be connecting ends 110. In this case, the snake-bone unit 100 may be a middle segment located between the first and last segments of the active bending section. Furthermore, the rotation structures of the connecting ends 110 at both ends of the snake-bone unit 100 in its own axial direction can be the same or different. For example, one connecting end 110 can be provided with the rotation shaft 120 described in this embodiment, and the other connecting end 110 can be provided with a rotation hole 211, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, which show two different structures of rotation holes 211; or, both connecting ends 110 of the snake-bone unit 100 can be provided with the rotation shaft 120 of this embodiment.

[0021] At least one connecting end 110 has a portion recessed towards the interior of the snake-bone unit 100 to form a rotating shaft 120. The rotating shaft 120 is used for rotatable connection with the rotating hole 211 of an adjacent snake-bone unit 100. In this embodiment, the rotating shaft 120 is formed by the recess of a portion of the connecting end 110 of the snake-bone unit 100, and the rotating shaft 120 formed by the snake-bone unit 100 itself is used to rotatably connect with the rotating hole 211 of an adjacent snake-bone unit 100. Compared with the rotatable connection of two adjacent snake-bone units 100 using rivets, this embodiment does not require additional rivets to be installed between two adjacent snake-bone units 100, thereby reducing the assembly difficulty of the snake-bone unit 100 and improving the assembly efficiency.

[0022] Furthermore, a portion of the connecting end 110 of the snake-bone unit 100 is recessed towards the interior of the snake-bone unit 100 to form a rotating shaft 120. In other words, the rotating shaft 120 is formed by stamping from the outside to the inside of the snake-bone unit 100. Compared to embodiments where the rotating shaft 120 is formed by stamping from the inside to the outside of the snake-bone unit 100, the solid portion of the snake-bone unit 100 in this application embodiment (the side wall of the tube end or the connecting lug 130 provided on the tube as described below) does not obstruct the stamping tool, thereby providing a larger working space for the stamping tool, which makes it easier to process the rotating shaft 120.

[0023] It should be noted that there are two relative rotation points between the connecting ends 110 of two adjacent snake bone units 100. One of the two rotation points can be rotatably connected by the rotating shaft 120 and the rotating hole 211 as described in the embodiments of this application, and the other can be rotatably connected by a rivet. Of course, both of the above-mentioned rotation points can also be rotatably connected by the rotating shaft 120 and the rotating hole 211 as described in the embodiments of this application.

[0024] Optionally, the snake-bone unit 100 may only include a tubular body, in which case the connecting end 110 of the snake-bone unit 100 is located at the side wall of the end of the tube body itself; further, the snake-bone unit 100 may also include a connecting ear 130, which protrudes from the end face of the tube body along the axial direction, in which case the connecting end 110 of the snake-bone unit 100 is located at the connecting ear 130.

[0025] In one optional embodiment, the rotating shaft 120 has a fixed end and a free end arranged opposite to each other. The fixed end is connected to the portion of the snake-bone unit 100 located outside the rotating shaft 120, and the free end is a closed end. In this embodiment, the free end of the rotating shaft 120 is a closed end, meaning that during the process of stamping the solid portion of the snake-bone unit 100 to form the rotating shaft 120, the solid portion of the snake-bone unit 100 is not penetrated, and the hole formed in the rotating shaft 120 is a blind hole. This avoids the free end of the snake-bone unit 100 being punched through and generating burrs. In addition, the closed end of the rotating shaft 120 also increases the structural strength of the rotating shaft 120, preventing the rotating shaft 120 from deforming and being damaged under pressure, thereby improving the rotational stability between two adjacent snake-bone units 100. Of course, the free end of the rotating shaft 120 can also be an open end; this application does not limit the specific structure of the free end.

[0026] To facilitate the assembly of the rotating shaft 120 into the rotating hole 211 of the adjacent snake-bone unit 100, in an optional embodiment, the rotating shaft 120 includes a rotating part 121 and a guide part 122 connected in sequence in a first direction. The rotating part 121 is used to rotatably connect with the rotating hole 211. In the first direction, the diameter of the rotating part 121 remains unchanged, while the diameter of the guide part 122 gradually decreases. The first direction is the direction extending from the fixed end to the free end. When assembling the snake-bone unit 100 of this embodiment, the rotating shaft 120 of this embodiment can be inserted into the rotating hole 211 of the adjacent snake-bone unit 100 along the first direction. The rotating shaft 120 includes a rotating part 121 and a guide part 122 connected sequentially in the first direction. Therefore, the guide part 122 and the rotating part 121 of the rotating shaft 120 will enter the rotating hole 211 one after the other, and the end of the guide part 122 along the first direction will enter the rotating hole 211 first. Since the diameter of the guide part 122 gradually decreases in the first direction, the diameter of the end of the guide part 122 along the first direction is smaller, which facilitates the guide part 122 entering the rotating hole 211, thereby further reducing the assembly difficulty between two adjacent snake-bone units 100. It should be noted that after the rotating shaft 120 of this embodiment is assembled into the rotating hole 211, the rotating part 121 is rotatably engaged with the rotating hole 211, and the guide part 122 extends out of the rotating hole 211 and is not rotatably engaged with the rotating hole 211. Of course, the rotating shaft 120 may not have a guide portion 122. In this case, all parts of the rotating shaft 120 are used to rotate in conjunction with the rotating hole 211.

[0027] To facilitate the guide portion 122's entry into the rotating hole 211, in one optional embodiment, the guide portion 122's extension length in the first direction is greater than the extension length of the rotating portion 121 in the first direction. In this embodiment, the guide portion 122 has a larger extension length in the first direction, which further reduces the diameter of the end of the guide portion 122 in the first direction, thereby making it easier for the guide portion 122 to enter the rotating hole 211. Of course, the extension length of the guide portion 122 in the first direction may also be less than or equal to the extension length of the rotating portion 121 in the first direction.

[0028] In one optional embodiment, the end face of the guide portion 122 facing away from the rotating portion 121 is a plane or a recessed curved surface, that is, the curved surface is concave towards the rotating portion 121. Optionally, the curved surface can be an arc surface, a wavy surface, a spherical surface, etc. In this embodiment, the end face of the guide portion 122 facing away from the rotating portion 121 is a plane or a recessed curved surface, which can reduce the space occupied by the guide portion 122 inside the snake-bone unit 100, thereby improving the space utilization rate inside the snake-bone unit 100. Of course, the end face of the guide portion 122 facing away from the rotating portion 121 can also be a convex curved surface, and this application does not limit this.

[0029] In one optional embodiment, the axial extension length of the rotating shaft 120 is less than its diameter. In this embodiment, the axial extension length of the rotating shaft 120 is less than its diameter, thus allowing the rotating shaft 120 to have a smaller extension length, thereby reducing the space occupied by the rotating shaft 120 within the snake-bone unit 100. Furthermore, the rotating shaft 120 in this embodiment also has a larger diameter, thus allowing it to have a larger surface area, thereby distributing greater load pressure and enabling the rotating shaft 120 to withstand a larger load. Of course, the axial extension length of the rotating shaft 120 can also be greater than or equal to its diameter.

[0030] As shown in Figure 7, this application also discloses an active bending section of an endoscope, including multiple snake-bone units 100 connected in series. Adjacent snake-bone units 100 are rotatably connected, and at least one snake-bone unit 100 is the snake-bone unit 100 described in any of the above embodiments. One connecting end 110 of the snake-bone unit 100 forms a rotating shaft 120, which is rotatably connected to the rotating hole 211 of the adjacent snake-bone unit 100. In this embodiment, a portion of the connecting end 110 of the snake-bone unit 100 is recessed towards the interior of the snake-bone unit 100 to form the rotating shaft 120. That is, the rotating shaft 120 is formed by stamping from the outside to the inside of the snake-bone unit 100. Compared with embodiments where the rotating shaft 120 is formed by stamping from the inside to the outside of the snake-bone unit 100, the solid portion of the snake-bone unit 100 in this application embodiment does not obstruct the stamping tool, thereby providing a larger working space for the stamping tool, which makes it easier to process the rotating shaft 120.

[0031] In one optional embodiment, a portion of an adjacent snake-bone unit 100 is recessed toward the interior of the snake-bone unit 100 to form a mating portion 210, and a rotating hole 211 is formed within the mating portion 210. In this embodiment, the mating portion 210 is formed by the recess of a portion of an adjacent snake-bone unit 100, that is, the mating portion 210 is formed by stamping, and both the mating portion 210 and the rotating hole 211 formed within the mating portion 210 have a certain extension length. The mating portion 210 protrudes radially from the inner wall of the snake-bone unit 100, and the rotating hole 211 formed within the mating portion 210 includes two sequentially connected segments in its extension direction. The first segment is formed by being surrounded by the side wall of the snake-bone unit 100, and the second segment is formed by being surrounded by the portion of the mating portion 210 that protrudes radially from the inner wall of the snake-bone unit 100. Since the depth of the rotating hole 211 is equal to the sum of the depths of the first and second segments, and the depth of the first segment is equal to the wall thickness of the snake-bone unit 100, the depth of the rotating hole 211 formed in this embodiment is greater than the wall thickness of the snake-bone unit 100. This increases the contact area between the rotating shaft 120 and the rotating hole 211, thereby improving the rotational stability between two adjacent snake-bone units 100. Of course, the rotating hole 211 can also be formed by cutting, in which case the depth of the rotating hole 211 is equal to the wall thickness of the snake-bone unit 100.

[0032] In an optional embodiment, referring to FIG5, the end of the mating part 210 facing away from the snake-bone unit 100 connected to it is a closed end. That is, during the process of stamping the solid part of the snake-bone unit 100 to form the mating part 210, the solid part of the snake-bone unit 100 is not penetrated, and the rotation hole 211 formed in the mating part 210 is a blind hole. This can prevent the end of the mating part 210 facing away from the snake-bone unit 100 connected to it from being punched through and generating burrs. In addition, the fact that the end of the mating part 210 facing away from the snake-bone unit 100 connected to it is a closed end can also increase the structural strength of the mating part 210, prevent the mating part 210 from deforming and being damaged when under pressure, thereby improving the rotational stability between two adjacent snake-bone units 100.

[0033] Alternatively, in an optional embodiment, referring to FIG6, the end of the mating part 210 that is away from the snake-bone unit 100 connected to it is an open end, and the length of the rotating shaft 120 protruding from the inner wall of the corresponding snake-bone unit 100 is greater than or equal to the length of the rotating hole 211 extending in its own axial direction. That is to say, after the rotating shaft 120 is assembled into the rotating hole 211 formed in the mating part 210, the end of the mating part 210 will not protrude from the end of the rotating shaft 120 in the axial direction. This can reduce the space occupied by the mating part 210 in the internal space of the snake-bone unit 100, thereby improving the space utilization rate of the internal space of the snake-bone unit 100.

[0034] This application also discloses an endoscope, including the active bending segment described in any of the above embodiments. The endoscope referred to in this application can be a bronchoscope, pyeloscope, esophagoscope, gastroscope, colonoscope, otoscope, rhinoscope, oral endoscope, laryngoscope, colposcope, laparoscope, arthroscope, etc. This application does not specifically limit the type of endoscope.

[0035] The foregoing embodiments of this application focus on describing the differences between various embodiments. As long as the different optimization features between embodiments are not contradictory, they can be combined to form better embodiments. For the sake of brevity, these differences will not be elaborated upon here. The embodiments of this application have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this application is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. The specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art, under the guidance of this application, can make many modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims, all of which fall within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. An ophion unit of an endoscope, characterized by, The snake bone unit (100) has at least one connecting end (110) for rotationally connecting with an adjacent snake bone unit (100) in the axial direction of the snake bone unit (100), and a part of the at least one connecting end (110) is recessed towards the inside of the snake bone unit (100) to form a rotation shaft (120) for rotationally connecting with a rotation hole (211) of an adjacent snake bone unit (100).

2. The serpentine bone unit of claim 1, wherein, The rotation shaft (120) has a fixed end and a free end arranged oppositely, the fixed end is connected with the part of the snake bone unit (100) outside the rotation shaft (120), and the free end is a closed end.

3. The serpentine bone unit of claim 2, wherein, The rotation shaft (120) includes a rotation part (121) and a guide part (122) connected in sequence in a first direction, the rotation part (121) is used for rotationally connecting with the rotation hole (211), In the first direction, the diameter of the rotation part (121) remains unchanged, and the diameter of the guide part (122) gradually decreases, wherein the first direction is a direction extending from the fixed end to the free end.

4. The serpentine bone unit of claim 3, wherein, The extension length of the guide part (122) in the first direction is greater than the extension length of the rotation part (121) in the first direction.

5. The serpentine bone unit of claim 3, wherein, The end face of the end of the guide part (122) away from the rotation part (121) is a flat surface or a concave curved surface.

6. The serpentine bone unit of claim 1, wherein, The extension length of the rotation shaft (120) in the axial direction is less than the diameter of the rotation shaft (120).

7. An actively bending section of an endoscope, comprising a plurality of serpentine units (100) connected in series, two adjacent serpentine units (100) being connected in rotation, characterized in that, At least one of the snake bone units (100) is the snake bone unit (100) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, and one of the connecting ends (110) of the snake bone unit (100) is formed with the rotation shaft (120), and the rotation shaft (120) is rotationally connected with the rotation hole (211) of an adjacent snake bone unit (100).

8. The active bend section of claim 7, wherein, A part of an adjacent snake bone unit (100) is recessed towards the inside of the snake bone unit (100) to form a matching part (210), and the matching part (210) is formed with the rotation hole (211) therein.

9. The active bend section of claim 8, wherein, The end of the matching part (210) away from the part of the snake bone unit (100) connected therewith is a closed end, or the end of the matching part (210) away from the part of the snake bone unit (100) connected therewith is an open end, and the length of the rotation shaft (120) protruding from the inner wall of the corresponding snake bone unit (100) is greater than or equal to the extension length of the rotation hole (211) in the axial direction.

10. An endoscope characterized by comprising: The active bending section includes the active bending section as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 9.

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