Endoscope Sheath Fixation Without Welding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing endoscope designs require complex and costly welding processes to secure sheaths for bending wires, which increases manufacturing costs and complexity.
Innovation Solution
The endoscope incorporates a plate body with annular surfaces and holes through which the bending wire is passed, utilizing a sheath that is compressed and fixed by its restoring force to create a frictional intersection, eliminating the need for welding and reducing friction, thereby simplifying and lowering production costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If welding processes are used to secure sheaths for bending wires, then the sheath can be firmly fixed, but manufacturing costs and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the welding process (thermal/mechanical system) with a friction-based mechanical fixation system. The plate body with holes and the sheath work together through friction force to secure the bending wire, eliminating the need for welding operations and associated skilled labor.
Solution Approach 2:
The sheath and plate body configuration creates a self-fixing mechanism where the sheath passes through the holes and is retained by friction against the plate body surfaces. The system secures itself without requiring external welding processes or additional fastening components.
2Ease of operation
If friction between sheath and wire is reduced using lubricants, then wire movement is improved, but watertightness in the insertion portion cannot be ensured
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the lubrication function from the insertion portion by providing a separate lubrication path through the sheath. The bending wire is lubricated as it passes through the sheath, which is positioned away from the insertion portion, thus maintaining watertightness in the insertion portion while still reducing friction for wire movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The sheath acts as an intermediary element that provides lubrication to the bending wire in a location separate from the insertion portion. This mediator allows friction reduction without compromising the watertight seal in the insertion portion.
3Ease of operation
If an inner sheath is provided with less friction, then wire passage is improved, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The sheath in the patent serves multiple functions: it guides the bending wire, provides lubrication, reduces friction, and works with the plate body to secure the wire position. By combining these functions into a single component rather than using separate inner and outer sheaths, the overall structure complexity is reduced while maintaining low friction for wire passage.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration allows for cost-effective manufacturing of endoscopes by eliminating the need for skilled labor and complex welding, while ensuring stable wire guidance and improved insertability.
Implementation Method 1
a distal end of at least the portion of the first sheath is configured to produce a frictional force in a direction intersecting the longitudinal axis between the distal end of at least the portion and a periphery of the hole on the second annular surface
Implementation Method 2
utilizing a sheath that is compressed and fixed by its restoring force
Data Source
AI summary
An endoscope includes a bending tube extending along a longitudinal axis from a proximal end side to a distal end side, a wire that bends the bending tube, a first sheath through which the wire is passed, and a plate body having an annular shape and disposed in the proximal end side of the bending tube. The plate body includes: a first annular surface facing distally; a second annular surface facing proximally and intersecting the longitudinal axis; and a hole penetrating the first annular surface and the second annular surface and through which the wire is passed, and at least a portion of the first sheath is disposed proximally relative to the second annular surface and a distal end of at least the portion of the first sheath is configured to push a periphery of the hole on the second annular surface.