JP3450496B2 - Endoscope - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endoscope provided with a check valve for preventing backflow of fluid from the tip side.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an endoscope is used for switching a communication state between an air supply water supply pipe to which pressurized air and water are supplied and an air supply water supply pipe opened at a tip of an insertion portion. Is provided with a check valve for blocking the reverse flow of fluid from the tip side.

Further, in an endoscope provided with an auxiliary water supply pipe for jetting water vigorously (so-called jet jet) to wash dirt and the like adhering to the inner wall of the body cavity, a water supply instrument is connected. A check valve for preventing the backflow of fluid from the tip side is attached to the sub water supply mouthpiece.

[0004]

In the endoscope having the air / water feeding operation valve and the sub water feeding mouthpiece as described above, a check valve is attached to each of the air feeding / water feeding operation valve and the sub water feeding mouthpiece. However, since a large water pressure is applied to the sub water supply mouthpiece, it is necessary to make the check valve robust.

As a result, the check valve attached to the air / water supply operation valve and the check valve attached to the auxiliary water supply mouthpiece are completely different, and the check valve considerably increases the manufacturing cost. It was

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to reduce the manufacturing cost of a check valve in an endoscope having an air / water feeding operation valve and an auxiliary water feeding mouthpiece.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an endoscope according to the present invention has an air supply / water supply pipe to which a pressurized gas and a liquid are supplied and a tip of an insertion portion of the endoscope. An air / water supply operation valve for switching the communication state with the open air / water supply pipe, and a sub-water supply mouthpiece for connecting a water injection device to the base end of the sub-water supply pipe opening at the tip of the insertion section. And an endoscope in which a check valve is attached to each of the air / water feeding operation valve and the sub-water feeding mouthpiece in order to prevent the backflow of the fluid from the distal end side of the insertion portion. The check valve attached to the pneumatic water supply operation valve and the check valve attached to the sub water supply mouthpiece are made common.

It should be noted that the check valve may be formed of one part made of an elastic material, and the check valve may be provided for each of the air / water feeding operation valve and the sub water feeding mouthpiece. It should be detachable.

[0009]

Embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 shows the entire configuration of the endoscope. A bending portion 2 which is bendable by remote control is formed at the tip of an insertion portion 1 which is covered by a flexible tube, and a tip body 3 is provided at the tip portion. It is connected.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the tip end main body 3, and FIG.
It is a IV-IV sectional view. The tip portion main body 3 is formed by a metal block portion 3a on the latter half side to which the tip portion of the bending portion 2 is connected and fixed, and a plastic portion 3b on the first half side exposed to the outer surface, and a flexible tip cap 3c is detachable. Is attached to.

The observation window 4 is arranged on the front surface of the tip portion main body 3, and an objective lens 5 arranged inside the observation window 4 allows
An image of a subject in front of the observation window 4 is formed on the image pickup surface of the solid-state image pickup device 6. A pair of illumination windows 7 are arranged on both left and right sides of the observation window 4.

Reference numeral 8 denotes an air / water feeding nozzle that opens toward the surface of the observation window 4, and the tip of the air feeding tube and the water feeding tube (not shown) inserted through the entire length of the insertion portion 1 are connected to each other. There is. Reference numeral 9 is a suction port / forceps outlet.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a sub-water supply nozzle (jet injection nozzle) which opens forward in parallel with the observation direction, and the sub-water supply tube 1 is inserted through the entire length of the insertion portion 1.
The tip of 1 is connected.

If the tip cap 3c is removed from the plastic portion 3b, the sub water supply nozzle 10 is detached by this, so that a cleaning brush can be inserted into the sub water supply tube 11.

Returning to FIG. 2, the operation section 15 has an operation button 17 of an air / water supply operation valve 16 for performing air / water supply operation.
And an operation button 19 of the suction operation valve 18 for performing a suction operation. Reference numeral 20 denotes three remote control switches for remotely controlling the recording state of an electronic observation image.

A forceps insertion port 22 and an auxiliary water supply mouthpiece 23 are provided in different directions in the vicinity of the connecting portion between the operation section 15 and the insertion section 1. The base end of the sub water supply tube 11 is connected to the sub water supply mouthpiece 23. A connector 24 is connected to the light source device and the video processor.

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the connecting portion between the operation portion 15 and the insertion portion 1. The proximal end portion of the forceps channel 33 is provided with a branch block 35 through a stainless steel channel connection pipe 34. It is connected to the.

In the branch block 35, a forceps insertion passage 36, which is in straight communication with the opening on one end side of the channel connection pipe 34, is formed so as to penetrate therethrough. Further, the end portion of the suction connection pipe 37 connected to the tip of the suction tube 38 is connected to the forceps insertion passage 36 in a T-shape at a right angle from the side. The suction tube 38 is used for the suction operation valve 18
Via an external suction device (not shown).

The suction connection pipe 37 is a branch block 35.
Is not directly connected to the branch block 35, but is connected to the branch block 35 via a metal connection seat 39. The mouth 39a of the connecting seat 39 is largely chamfered.

In this portion, the branch block 35 is formed by partially notching, and the connection seat 39 is fitted exactly in the notched portion. The inside of the root of the projecting portion 29 of the exterior case 27 in which the branch block 35 is arranged is formed in a shape that the branch block 35 engages with, and the branch block 35 engages with this engaging portion 40 and does not rotate. Thus, the outer case 27 is locked.

Reference numeral 43 is a forceps insertion mouthpiece made of, for example, stainless steel, which is screwed into the branch block 35 from above and communicates straight with the forceps insertion passage 36. By screwing the forceps insertion mouthpiece 43 into the branch block 35, the branch block 35 is pulled upward and fixed in the state shown in FIG.

The forceps insertion mouthpiece 43 is fixed to the upper end of the protrusion 29 by a nut 44. A forceps plug 45 made of rubber or synthetic resin can be detachably attached to the head portion 43a of the forceps insertion mouthpiece 43.

As for the portion of the sub water supply mouthpiece 23 projecting rearward, FIG. 6 is a plan sectional view of the portion and a state showing the check valve unit 50 removed from the sub water supply mouthpiece 23. The description will be made with reference to FIG.

The connection tube 11a connected to the base end of the sub water supply tube 11 is connected via a connection pipe 52 to the bottom of a base 51 fixed to the operating section frame 15a with screws. The connection pipe 52 is the sub water supply tube 1
In order to smoothly introduce the cleaning brush into the inside of the base 1, it is obliquely attached to the bottom of the base 51.

Then, the tubular receiving cap 53 screwed to the base 51, and the outer case 27 by the receiving cap 53.
The sub-water supply mouthpiece 23 is formed by the female screw ring 54 fixed between and.

At the base of the female screw ring 54, the outer case 27 is provided.
A rotation stopper (not shown) is formed in the engaging portion with.
The outer peripheral surface of the female screw ring 54 has an electrically insulating tubular cover 5
It is covered by 5. Reference numerals 56 and 57 are O-rings for sealing.

As shown in FIG. 1, the check valve unit 50 is detachably attached to the sub water supply mouthpiece 23, and is fitted into the receiving mouthpiece 53 of the sub water supply mouthpiece 23. A rubber stopper 60 is lined on the head of a check valve mouthpiece 59 having a front side portion and an intermediate male screw portion screwed to the female screw ring 54. With this rubber plug 60,
The mouth opening portion of the check valve unit 50 can be closed. The rubber plug 60 may be formed as a separate part.

The check valve 62 is a cup-shaped component made of an elastic rubber material, and is detachably attached to the tip of the check valve mouthpiece 59. The edge portion of the check valve 62 is formed thin, and a through hole 63 is formed in the side wall surface of the check valve mouthpiece 59 located inside thereof.

Therefore, when the pressure inside the check valve mouthpiece 59 increases, the pressure leaks from the through hole 63 to the outside to push the check valve 62 outward, and conversely, to the check valve mouthpiece. 5
When the pressure around the check valve 62 is higher than the pressure inside the check valve 9, the check valve 62 comes into close contact with the periphery of the through hole 63 and is closed, and acts as a check valve.

When the check valve unit 50 is attached to the sub water supply mouthpiece 23, the bottom surface of the check valve 62 (that is,
The end surface of the insertion portion 1 on the side close to the tip) is set so as to substantially abut the inner surface step portion (reception surface) 53a (see FIG. 1 for reference numeral) of the receiving mouthpiece 53. In addition, a “−”-shaped groove 64 that crosses the bottom is formed in the bottom portion of the check valve 62, and the groove 64 serves as a passage for the fluid at the bottom of the check valve 62. There is.

As shown in FIG. 1, the check valve unit 50 has the rubber stopper 60 opened, and the water supply device 1
The connection mouthpiece 102 provided at the tip of the connection tube 101 of No. 00 can be connected.

The connected state is a C-shaped snap ring 1.
03 and the check valve mouthpiece 59 are clicked and fixed, and the O-ring 104 is pressed against the inner peripheral surface of the check valve mouthpiece 59 to perform sealing. The connection mouthpiece 102 is removed from the check valve unit 50 by pulling outward with a little force.

FIG. 7 shows the auxiliary water supply cap 23 as described above.
The check valve unit 50 attached to the
Shows the connected state, and the syringe 11 filled with water
By manually applying high pressure to 0, water is sent from the inside of the sub water supply mouthpiece 23 to the sub water supply tube 11 through the inside of the connection tube 101.

As shown by the arrow in FIG. 7, the water pushes the check valve 62 through the through hole 63 to spread it out to the outside thereof, and through the groove 64, it is sent to the sub water supply tube 11. At this time, the bottom surface of the check valve 62 is the inner surface step portion 53 of the receiving mouthpiece 53.
Since it is almost in contact with a, even if the water pressure is high, the check valve 6
2 does not come off from the tip side of the check valve mouthpiece 59.

After completion of the endoscopic inspection, as shown in FIG. 8, the check valve unit 50 is removed from the sub water supply mouthpiece 23, and the cleaning brush 200 is inserted from the subwater supply mouthpiece 23 into the subwater supply tube 11. It can be inserted and brushed inside for full length cleaning.

The check valve unit 50 removed is shown in FIG.
Further, the check valve 62 can be removed and the inside can be brushed and cleaned with the cleaning brush 200 as shown in FIG. Although the check valve 62 can be well cleaned and disinfected and can be reused, it is preferable to dispose of the check valve 62 after each use because it can be manufactured at a very low cost with one rubber component.

FIG. 10 shows the air / water supply operation valve 16, in which the cylinder body 71 arranged in the operation portion 15 is fixed to the operation portion 15 by the fixing nut 72 so that the mouth is opened outward. Has been done. 73 is an O-ring for sealing.

On the side wall surface of the cylinder body 71, an air supply pipe 74 to which pressurized air is supplied, a water supply pipe 75 to which pressurized water is supplied, and an air supply tube and water supply to the tip body 3. The tube base end connection pipes 76 and 77 (hereinafter, referred to as "air pipe 76" and "water pipe 77") are connected. 1
Reference numerals 20 and 130 denote a water supply tank and an air supply pump for supplying pressurized air and water to the air supply pipe 74 and the water supply pipe 75.

A piston body 81 is slidably inserted in the cylinder body 71 in the axial direction, and is located between the respective openings of a water feed pipe 77, a water feed pipe 75, an air feed pipe 74 and an air feed pipe 76. An O-ring for sealing is attached to the portion, and circumferential communication grooves 82 and 83 are formed at two locations. Further, a ventilation hole 84 is formed over the entire length of the axial line portion of the piston body 81, and the first communication groove 82 directly communicates with the ventilation hole 84.

The rear end of the piston body 81 is formed in the same shape as the tip of the check valve mouthpiece 59, and the check valve 62 common to the check valve unit 50 is detachably attached thereto. It is installed. Reference numeral 85 is a through hole.

The operation button 17 is attached to the head of the piston body 81 via a connecting ring 87, and they are integrally urged outward by a compression coil spring 88.

The operation button 17 is provided with a leak hole 89 which is in direct communication with the ventilation hole 84 of the piston body 81 and is open to the atmosphere. A portion around the leak hole 89 is formed of a plastic tube 90 colored in blue.

A receiving ring 9 for receiving the base end side of the spring 88.
The reference numeral 1 serves as a stopper that prevents the piston body 81 from jumping outward, and an elastic rubber fixed ring 92 is integrally lined on the outer periphery thereof.

The lower inner peripheral portion of the fixed ring 92 is a fixing nut 7.
The unit in which the piston body 81 and the operation button 17 are integrated with each other is engaged with the cylinder body 71.
The piston body 81 can be pulled out from the cylinder body 71 by elastically deforming the fixed ring 92 and releasing its engagement.

The air / water supply operation valve 16 configured as described above
In the standby state, as shown in FIG. 10, the pressurized air sent from the air supply pipe 74 is connected to the communication groove 82.
The gas is discharged from the leak hole 89 to the atmosphere through the vent hole 84. The outlet of the water supply pipe 75 is closed by a piston body 81.

Since the air in the vent hole 84 escapes from the leak hole 89 into the atmosphere, a force enough to push the check valve 62 open is not generated. Further, the check valve 62 completely blocks the reverse flow of the fluid from the tip side of the air supply pipe 76.

As shown in FIG. 11, when the leak hole 89 is closed with a fingertip, there is no place for the pressurized air sent from the air supply pipe 74 into the vent hole 84, and the air is
The check valve 62 is pushed outward through the through hole 85 and is sent out to the air supply pipe 76. As a result, air is supplied from the air / water supply nozzle 8 of the tip body 3 to the surface of the observation window 4.

As shown in FIG. 12, when the operation button 17 is pushed while the leak hole 89 is closed, the piston body 81 is pushed into the cylinder body 71 and the water supply pipe 75 is inserted through the communication groove 83. And the water pipe 77 communicate with each other. As a result, the pressurized water sent through the water supply pipe 75 is sent to the water supply pipe 77 through the communication groove 83, and water is sent from the air / water supply nozzle 8 toward the surface of the observation window 4.

After using the endoscope, the fixed ring 92 is elastically deformed to disengage from the fixed nut 72, and the piston body 81 is removed from the cylinder body 71 as shown in FIG. Then, the air supply pipe 76 and the water supply pipe 77 connect the cylinder body 7 to each other.
The cylinder body 71 is connected diagonally with respect to
It is possible to insert the cleaning brush 200 into the air supply pipe 76 and the water supply pipe 77 from the opening mouth side thereof, and brush the inside thereof over the entire length.

As shown in FIG. 14, the piston body 81 removed from the cylinder body 71 has the check valve 62 removed from the tip end thereof, and the inside of the vent hole 84 is cleaned with the cleaning brush 20.
You can brush with 0. Although the check valve 62 can be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected for reuse, it is preferably disposable after each use.

[0051]

According to the present invention, since the check valve attached to the air / water supply operation valve and the check valve attached to the auxiliary water supply mouthpiece are made common, one type of check valve is prepared. Can be used for both, and the manufacturing cost of the check valve can be greatly reduced. Further, if the check valve is formed of one component made of an elastic material, the cost of one check valve can be reduced to the limit.

If the check valve is detachably attached to each of the air / water supply operation valve and the sub-water supply mouthpiece, the check valve can be used as a single disposable item and used very hygienically. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side partial cross-sectional view of a state in which a check valve unit is removed from a sub water supply cap of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the overall configuration of the endoscope of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the distal end portion main body of the endoscope of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a IV-IV cross-sectional view of the distal end body of the endoscope of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of the vicinity of a connecting portion between an operation portion and an insertion portion of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional plan view of the vicinity of the connecting portion between the operation portion and the insertion portion of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a side surface partial cross-sectional view of a state in which sub-water supply is performed according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view of the vicinity of the connecting portion between the operating portion and the insertion portion of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a side sectional view of the check valve unit in the detached state of the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the air / water supply operation valve of the embodiment in a standby state.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of an air / water supply operation valve of an embodiment in an air supply state.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of an air / water supply operation valve of the embodiment in a water supply state.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the air / water supply operation valve in a state where the piston body of the embodiment is pulled out.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the piston body in a state of being pulled out from the cylinder body of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

16 Air / water control valve 23 Sub water supply mouthpiece 50 Check valve unit 62 Check valve 81 Piston body

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-63-35226 (JP, A) JP-A-5-224136 (JP, A) JP-A-6-14869 (JP, A) Actual Kaihei 6- 7701 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A61B 1/00

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A communication state between an air supply water supply pipe to which a pressurized gas and a liquid are supplied and an air supply water supply pipe opened at a tip of an insertion portion of an endoscope can be switched and operated. The piston body is provided with an air / water supply operation valve that is arranged in the cylinder body so as to be able to move back and forth in the axial direction, and a sub water supply mouthpiece for connecting a water injection device to the base end of the sub water supply pipe that opens at the tip of the insertion part An endoscope in which a check valve is attached to each of the air / water supply operation valve and the sub-water supply mouthpiece in order to prevent the backflow of the fluid from the distal end side of the insertion portion, The check valve attached to the operation valve and the check valve attached to the sub water supply mouthpiece are made common, and the reverse
The bottom surface of the stop valve is formed with a groove for passing a fluid, and in the air / water supply operation valve, the check valve is provided even when the piston body is pushed deepest into the cylinder body. The check valve is attached to the rear end of the piston body without touching the cylinder body, and in the sub water supply mouthpiece, the bottom surface of the check valve is fixedly received by the sub water supply mouthpiece. An endoscope characterized in that the check valve is arranged in a state of being in contact with a surface. 2. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the check valve is formed of one component made of an elastic material. 3. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the check valve is attachable to and detachable from each of the air / water feeding operation valve and the sub-water feeding mouthpiece.