Patent Description:
An inserting unit, with at least lighting and shooting functions, of an endoscope enters the human body through a natural orifice or a surgical incision to detect the human body's cavity environment. The bending angle of an active bending section located at the front end of the inserting unit of the endoscope is adjusted by operating a handle located outside the human body such that the active bending section is deflected in a preset direction to provide a wider visual angle range for observation.

Typically, the inserting unit of the endoscope is provided with an instrument channel. During the detection or treatment of the human body's cavity environment, excess fluid of the internal tissue of the human body is extracted and guided to the outside of the human body through the instrument channel. In addition, through the instrument channel, external instruments such as biopsy forceps can be delivered into the body cavity to collect a part of the human tissue for biopsy detection after reaching a target tissue.

When the inserting unit is inserted into the human body, its external part and internal instrument channel are severely contaminated. Typically, after the use, the inserting unit and the handle are discarded as a whole, resulting in high costs, and patients are difficult to support the high cost of equipment. To address the cost issue, in the prior art, the handle is divided into a disposable part and a reusable part. However, the connecting process of the disposable part and the reusable part in the prior art is complex, increasing the operational difficulty for doctors. Meanwhile, the disposable part needs a new structural design and has a complex force transmission process, resulting in high fabrication costs. <CIT> discloses an endoscope. The endoscope includes first to fourth curved wire units which move in the forward/backward directions or the backward/forward directions in a rectilinear manner to change the direction of a front end of the endoscope to any direction, a first curved driving unit which rotates in the forward/reverse directions in accordance with a control signal to move the first or second curved wire unit in the forward/backward directions or the backward/forward directions in a rectilinear manner, a second curved driving unit which rotates in the forward/reverse directions in accordance with a control signal to move the third or fourth curved wire unit in the forward/backward directions or the backward/forward directions in a rectilinear manner, first to fourth curved wire guiding tube units for guiding the first to fourth curved wire units, respectively, and a control unit for applying control signals to the first or second curved driving unit in accordance with key signals for every direction.

An objective of the present disclosure is to provide a disposable section of an endoscope handle, including:.

Preferably, the proximal end surface of the housing is provided with an annular groove; a rotating wheel is rotatably mounted at a central area of the annular groove; a curved guide groove is formed between an outer edge of the rotating wheel and a ring wall of the annular groove; and the first connecting portion is slidably provided in the curved guide groove.

Preferably, an outer ring wall surface of the rotating wheel is provided with an accommodating groove.

Preferably, two ends of the curved guide groove are respectively provided with a first through hole and a second through hole along the axial direction of the proximal end surface of the housing; and the first traction wire and the second traction wire are respectively threaded through the first through hole and the second through hole.

Preferably, a wheel disc is rotatably mounted at the proximal end surface of the housing; a first guide hole and a second guide hole are provided in the axial direction of the proximal end surface of the housing; the first guide hole and the second guide hole are located in the proximity of an outer ring wall of the wheel disc; an outer ring wall between the first guide hole and the second guide hole forms the first curved movement path; and the first connecting portion is abutted against an outer circumferential wall of the wheel disc.

Preferably, the proximal end surface of the housing is provided with a first accommodating groove; the first connecting portion is located in the first accommodating groove; and the first accommodating groove is curved.

Preferably, the first connecting portion is provided with a roller, and the roller is abutted against a side wall of the first accommodating groove.

Preferably, the disposable section of an endoscope handle further includes:.

An endoscope handle includes the above-mentioned disposable section and reusable section, where the disposable section and the reusable section are detachably connected; and
a distal end of the reusable section is provided with a matched portion that is configured to be connected to the first connecting portion; and one of the first connecting portion and the matched portion is a male connecting element, and the other of the first connecting portion and the matched portion is a female connecting element.

An endoscope includes the above-mentioned endoscope handle.

To describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure more clearly, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for describing the embodiments or the prior art. Apparently, the drawings in the following description show merely some embodiments of the present disclosure, and persons of ordinary skill in the art may still derive other drawings from these drawings without creative efforts.

Reference Numerals:
<NUM>. disposable section; <NUM>. inserting unit; <NUM>. active bending section; <NUM>. first connecting portion; <NUM>. sliding portion; <NUM>. connecting rod; <NUM>. second connecting portion; <NUM>. end cap; <NUM>. curved guide groove; <NUM>. annular groove; <NUM>. mounting hole; <NUM>. rotating wheel; <NUM>. accommodating groove; <NUM>. mounting shaft; <NUM>. first through hole; <NUM>. second through hole; <NUM>. first traction wire; <NUM>. second traction wire; <NUM>. third traction wire; <NUM>. fourth traction wire; <NUM>. housing; <NUM>. reusable section; <NUM>. curved guide groove; and <NUM>.

The following description provides many different embodiments or examples for implementing different features of the present disclosure. The elements and arrangements described in the following specific examples are only intended to concisely express the present disclosure, and are only for illustration purposes, rather than to limit the present disclosure.

In order to make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the described embodiments are some, rather than all of the embodiments of the present disclosure. On the basis of the embodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art without making creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the detailed description of the embodiments of the present disclosure in the drawings is not intended to limit the protection scope of the present disclosure, but merely represent the selected embodiments of the present disclosure. On the basis of the embodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art without making creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure.

In the present disclosure, unless otherwise clearly specified, the terms "installation", "interconnection", "connection" and "fixation" etc. are intended to be understood in a broad sense. For example, the "connection" may be a fixed connection, removable connection or integral connection; may be a mechanical connection or electrical connection; may be a direct connection or indirect connection using a medium; and may be a communication or interaction between two elements. Those of ordinary skill in the art may understand specific meanings of the above terms in the present disclosure based on a specific situation. In addition, the terms such as "first", "second", and "third" are used only for the purpose of description and cannot be understood to indicate or imply relative importance.

In the present disclosure, unless otherwise expressly specified, when it is described that a first feature is "above" or "under" a second feature, it may indicate that the first feature is in direct contact with the second feature, or that the first feature and the second feature are not in direct contact with each other but are in contact via another feature between them. Moreover, "a first feature is above and on a second feature" includes "the first feature is directly above or obliquely above the second feature" or simply means that "the first feature is higher than the second feature". "A first feature is under and below a second feature" includes "the first feature is directly under or obliquely under the second feature" or simply means that "the first feature is lower than the second feature".

In addition, in the present disclosure, for the convenience of describing and understanding the positional relationship between components, "proximal end" and "distal end" refer to proximal and distal positions of a structure for in-vivo operation in an operating environment. For the same component, "proximal end" and "distal end" refer to the relative rather than absolute positional relationship of the component. Therefore, the understanding of "proximal end" and "distal end" should be based on the principles of the present disclosure, without deviating from the essence of the present disclosure.

As shown in <FIG>, the present disclosure provides disposable section <NUM> of an endoscope handle.

The disposable section includes housing <NUM>. The housing <NUM> includes a proximal end provided with a connecting portion. The connecting portion is configured to be detachably connected to reusable section <NUM> of the handle.

The disposable section includes inserting unit <NUM>. A proximal end of the inserting unit <NUM> is located at a distal end of the housing <NUM>. A distal end of the inserting unit <NUM> is provided with active bending section <NUM>. The active bending section <NUM> includes snake bone units that are rotatable relatively to make the active bending section <NUM> bent.

The disposable section includes a first transmission assembly. The first transmission assembly includes: first traction wire <NUM>, second traction wire <NUM>, and first connecting portion <NUM>. The first traction wire <NUM> and the second traction wire <NUM> are located in the inserting unit <NUM> of an endoscope. A distal end of the first traction wire <NUM> and a distal end of the second traction wire <NUM> are connected to the active bending section <NUM> at the distal end of the inserting unit <NUM>. The first traction wire <NUM> and the second traction wire <NUM> are movable in opposite directions synchronously to move the active bending section <NUM> in a preset bending direction. A front end of the active bending section <NUM> is provided with a camera module. When the active bending section <NUM> bends in the preset direction, the camera module moves and a lens in the camera module captures image information of a target position. Further, to make the active bending section <NUM> rotate in the bending direction, a proximal end of the first traction wire <NUM> and a proximal end of the second traction wire <NUM> are connected to the first connecting portion <NUM>. A proximal end surface of the housing <NUM> forms a first curved movement path. The first curved movement path is orthogonal to an axial direction of the proximal end surface and located at a periphery of the proximal end surface of the housing <NUM>. The first connecting portion <NUM> is movable along the first curved movement path. It should be noted that compared to a linear movement path, the first curved movement path can provide a longer movement path within the same planar area. Specifically, when the proximal end surface of the housing <NUM> is quasi-circular, the first curved movement path can be formed on the periphery of the proximal end surface. In this way, the first connecting portion <NUM> can drive the first traction wire <NUM> and the second traction wire <NUM> to move for a longer distance, providing a larger bending angle for the active bending section <NUM>. It should be noted that, compared to the prior art, the present disclosure only needs to connect one force transmission component, that is, the first connecting portion <NUM>. The first connecting portion <NUM> is connected to the first traction wire <NUM> and the second traction wire <NUM> to form a closed force driving circuit. When the first connecting portion <NUM> is forced to move, it directly drives the first traction wire <NUM> and the second traction wire <NUM> to move synchronously, ensuring a good synchronous movement effect of the first traction wire <NUM> and the second traction wire <NUM>. When an operator connects the disposable section <NUM> to the reusable section <NUM>, the operator only needs to connect one force transmission component, that is, the first connecting portion <NUM>, reducing the difficulty of connecting the disposable section <NUM> and the reusable section <NUM>. It should be noted that in the prior art, at least two force transmission components, typically two push rods, need to be connected. In addition, in the prior art, a signal connector for signal transmission, such as a Type-C connector needs to be connected. However, when there are many connecting positions between the disposable section <NUM> and the reusable section <NUM>, the connecting difficulty directly increases, and improper application of a force during operation can easily lead to damage to the Type-C connector. Due to the fact that the present disclosure only needs to connect one force transmission component, the connecting difficulty is reduced.

As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, preferably, the proximal end surface of the housing <NUM> is provided with annular groove <NUM>. Rotating wheel <NUM> is rotatably mounted at a central area of the annular groove <NUM>. Curved guide groove <NUM> is formed between an outer edge of the rotating wheel <NUM> and a ring wall of the annular groove <NUM>. The first connecting portion <NUM> is slidably provided in the curved guide groove <NUM>. It should be noted that in order to mount the rotating wheel <NUM>, protruding mounting shaft <NUM> is provided in the central area of the annular groove <NUM>. The mounting shaft <NUM> can be a cylindrical post that protrudes from the proximal end surface of the housing <NUM> and is integrated with the proximal end surface of the housing <NUM>. Mounting hole <NUM> of the rotating wheel <NUM> is sleeved on the post, and the rotating wheel <NUM> is rotatable around the post. To reduce a friction between the rotating wheel <NUM> and the post, lubricating oil can be applied before the rotating wheel and the post are mounted. Alternatively, the mounting shaft <NUM> is provided with a rotating disc. The rotating wheel <NUM> is provided on the rotating disc, effectively reducing the friction between the rotating wheel <NUM> and the mounting shaft <NUM>. To prevent the rotating wheel <NUM> and the first connecting portion <NUM> from detaching along the axial direction of the proximal end surface of the housing <NUM>, detachable end cap <NUM> is further provided on the proximal end surface of the housing <NUM>. The end cap <NUM> is provided with curved accommodating groove <NUM> that is adapted to the curved guide groove <NUM>. A width of the curved accommodating groove <NUM> is smaller than a width of the curved guide groove <NUM> to prevent the first connecting portion <NUM> from detaching from the curved accommodating groove <NUM>.

Preferably, in the above embodiment, it should be noted that the outer edge of the rotating wheel <NUM> directly defines the movement path of the first connecting portion <NUM> along the outer edge of the rotating wheel <NUM>. Therefore, if the rotating wheel <NUM> is not rotatably fixed on the proximal end surface of the housing <NUM>, when the first connecting portion <NUM> is forced to move, it will inevitably rub against the outer edge of the rotating wheel <NUM>. Meanwhile, when the first traction wire <NUM> and the second traction wire <NUM> move, they will inevitably rub against an outer edge wall surface of the rotating wheel <NUM>. As a result, a driving force for driving the first connecting portion <NUM> to move will increase. To solve this problem, as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the rotating wheel <NUM> is rotatably located on the proximal end surface of the housing <NUM>. When the first connecting portion <NUM> is forced to move along the outer edge of the rotating wheel <NUM> and when the first traction wire <NUM> and the second traction wire <NUM> move relative to the rotating wheel <NUM>, the friction between the first connecting portion <NUM> and the rotating wheel <NUM> and the friction between the first traction wire <NUM> as well as the second traction wire <NUM> and the rotating wheel drive the rotating wheel <NUM> to rotate. During the rotation process, the friction is reduced, which reduces the difficulty of operation as well as wear and faults.

To further improve the stability of the disposable section <NUM>, preferably, an outer ring wall surface of the rotating wheel <NUM> is provided with the accommodating groove <NUM>. The first traction wire <NUM> and the second traction wire <NUM> are embedded in the accommodating groove <NUM> to prevent the first connecting portion <NUM> from detaching along an axial direction of the rotating wheel <NUM> due to unstable force when the first connecting portion moves relative to the rotating wheel <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, two ends of the curved guide groove <NUM> are respectively provided with first through hole <NUM> and second through hole <NUM> along the axial direction of the proximal end surface of the housing <NUM>. The first traction wire <NUM> and the second traction wire <NUM> are respectively threaded through the first through hole <NUM> and the second through hole <NUM>. The first through hole <NUM> and the second through hole <NUM> change a direction of force transmission for the first traction wire <NUM> and the second traction wire <NUM>. Compared to the prior art, in the present disclosure, the housing <NUM> of the disposable section <NUM> does not require a pulley block mechanism for guidance. In addition to the first traction wire <NUM> and the second traction wire <NUM>, the rotating wheel <NUM> and the first connecting portion <NUM> are located on the proximal end surface of the housing <NUM> of the disposable section <NUM>, not occupying the internal space of the housing <NUM>. Therefore, the internal space of the housing <NUM> of the disposable section <NUM> can be further optimized, thereby reducing the volume of the housing <NUM>. Alternatively, the size of the housing <NUM> remains unchanged, while the arrangement of wires or flexible circuit boards (FPCs) and instrument tubes for a camera module is eased. Therefore, compared to the prior art, in the present disclosure, the disposable section <NUM> saves a large number of components, such as the pulley block mechanism, thereby reducing production costs and achieving a fast and convenient assembly process. During the assembly process, the first traction wire <NUM> and the second traction wire <NUM> are respectively threaded through the first through hole <NUM> and the second through hole <NUM>. The rotating wheel <NUM> is provided on the mounting shaft <NUM>, and the first connecting portion <NUM> is provided at the outer edge of the rotating wheel <NUM> and forms the curved guide groove <NUM> together with the ring wall of the annular groove <NUM>. The assembly process is simple and involves fewer parts, thereby improving production capacity and efficiency.

In addition, in other implementations, a wheel disc is rotatably mounted at the proximal end surface of the housing <NUM>. A first guide hole and a second guide hole are provided in the axial direction of the proximal end surface of the housing <NUM>. The first guide hole and the second guide hole are located in the proximity of an outer ring wall of the wheel disc. An outer ring wall between the first guide hole and the second guide hole forms the first curved movement path. The first connecting portion <NUM> is abutted against an outer circumferential wall of the wheel disc. In this embodiment, it is not necessary to mount the annular groove <NUM> on the proximal end surface of the housing <NUM>, but to directly mount the wheel disc on a rotating shaft on the proximal end surface of the housing <NUM>. An outer circumferential wall surface of the wheel disc directly forms the movement path of the first connecting portion <NUM>. On this basis, the wheel disc can be a rotating component, similar to the rotating disc in the above embodiment. When the first connecting portion <NUM> is forced to move along the outer circumferential wall surface of the wheel disc, the wheel disc rotates to reduce the friction. Additionally, the wheel disc can be fixed in a non-rotational manner. The first connecting portion <NUM> is provided with a rotating portion, which can be a roller. When the first connecting portion <NUM> is abutted against an outer circumference of the wheel disc and forced to move, the first connecting portion <NUM> is connected to the outer circumference of the wheel disc in a rolling manner through the roller.

In other embodiments, the proximal end surface of the housing <NUM> is provided with a first accommodating groove. The first connecting portion <NUM> is located in the first accommodating groove. The first accommodating groove is curved. Unlike the above embodiment, in this embodiment, the first accommodating groove, rather than the wheel disc or the rotating wheel <NUM> in the above embodiment, defines the movement path of the first connecting portion <NUM>. The wheel disc or the rotating wheel <NUM> is usually cylindrical, so the movement path of the first connecting portion <NUM> is limited to a circular or fan-shaped surface. In this embodiment, the first accommodating groove is curved. It is not necessarily a regular circular arc, but can be a circular arc with different curvature radii or can be a curve.

Therefore, in order to solve the problem that there is a friction between a wall of the first accommodating groove and the first connecting portion <NUM> during the forced movement of the first connecting portion <NUM>, the first connecting portion <NUM> is provided with a roller. The roller is abutted against a side wall of the first accommodating groove.

In an implementation of the present disclosure, the disposable section <NUM> of an endoscope handle further includes a second transmission assembly.

The second transmission assembly includes: third traction wire <NUM>, fourth traction wire <NUM>, and second connecting portion <NUM>. The third traction wire <NUM> and the fourth traction wire <NUM> are located in the inserting unit <NUM> of the endoscope. A distal end of the third traction wire <NUM> and a distal end of the fourth traction wire <NUM> are connected to the active bending section <NUM> at the distal end of the inserting unit <NUM>. A proximal end of the third traction wire <NUM> and a proximal end of the fourth traction wire <NUM> are connected to the second connecting portion <NUM>. The first transmission assembly is opposite to the second transmission assembly. The proximal end surface of the housing <NUM> is further provided with a second curved movement path. The second connecting portion <NUM> is located on the second curved movement path. The second curved movement path is curved. This implementation provides two transmission assemblies, namely the first transmission assembly and the second transmission assembly, and provides the first curved movement path and the second curved movement path. The first connecting portion <NUM> of the first transmission assembly and the second connecting portion <NUM> of the second transmission assembly independently move along the first curved movement path and the second curved movement path, providing more bending directions for the active bending section <NUM> than in above embodiment. The formation of the second curved movement path matches the formation of the first curved movement path in the above implementation.

An endoscope handle includes the above-mentioned disposable section <NUM> and reusable section <NUM>. The disposable section <NUM> and the reusable section <NUM> are detachably connected.

A distal end of the reusable section <NUM> is provided with a matched portion that is configured to be connected to the first connecting portion <NUM>. One of the first connecting portion <NUM> and the matched portion is a male connecting element, and the other of the first connecting portion <NUM> and the matched portion is a female connecting element. In the embodiments shown in <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG>, the first connecting portion <NUM> is a male connecting element, including sliding portion <NUM> and connecting rod <NUM>. The connecting rod <NUM> is connected to a matched portion located at the distal end of the reusable section <NUM>. By driving a force application component of the reusable section <NUM>, the matched portion drives the first connecting portion <NUM> to move along the first curved movement path and/or drives the second connecting portion <NUM> to move along the second curved movement path, causing the active bending section <NUM> to deflect in a preset direction.

Claim 1:
A disposable section of an endoscope handle, comprising:
a housing (<NUM>), comprising a proximal end provided with a connecting portion, wherein the connecting portion is configured to be detachably connectable to a reusable section (<NUM>) of the endoscope handle;
an inserting unit (<NUM>), wherein a proximal end of the inserting unit is located at a distal end of the housing (<NUM>); and
a first transmission assembly, comprising: a first traction wire (<NUM>), a second traction wire (<NUM>), and a first connecting portion (<NUM>), wherein the first traction wire (<NUM>) and the second traction wire (<NUM>) are located in the inserting unit (<NUM>); and a distal end of the first traction wire (<NUM>) and a distal end of the second traction wire (<NUM>) are connected to an active bending section (<NUM>) at a distal end of the inserting unit (<NUM>), and a proximal end of the first traction wire (<NUM>) and a proximal end of the second traction wire (<NUM>) are connected to the first connecting portion (<NUM>), characterized in that
a proximal end surface of the housing (<NUM>) is provided with a first curved movement path; the first curved movement path is orthogonal to an axial direction of the proximal end surface and located at a periphery of the proximal end surface of the housing (<NUM>); and the first connecting portion (<NUM>) is movable along the first curved movement path.