JP2001198077A - Endoscopes device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an endoscope device which is good in operability, is easy in washing work after use and is low in a production cost. SOLUTION: A sheath fixing section 24 comprises a flexible section 28 which is formed of a flexible material having elasticity to an approximately pipe shape, a rigid section 29 which is formed of a rigid material to an approximately pipe shape and operation bodies 25a and 15b which are formed by arranging metallic members integrally disposed at two points at the flexible section 28. The inner peripheral surface on the front side of the flexible section 28 is provided with a valve section 30 constituting a valve mechanism which comes into tight contact with the outside surface in the operation section of the endoscope 10 and assures the water-tightness with the outside surface of the operation section. The base end of the flexible section 28 is provided with a recessed part 31 for forming a passage. Further, the inner peripheral surface of at the base end of the flexible section 28 is provided with a sealing part 32 of a projecting shape engaged and arranged in a groove part 2c formed to a circumferential shape on the outside surface of the operation section aver the entire periphery thereof.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus provided with an endoscope having a fluid conduit for observation and inspection when inserted into a body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an elongated insertion portion is inserted into a body cavity to observe organs in the body cavity, and, when necessary, to perform various treatments using a treatment tool inserted into a treatment tool channel. Medical endoscopes that can be used are widely used.

In this medical endoscope, when an endoscope insertion portion is inserted into a living body, body fluid, dirt, mucus, etc. of an affected part adhere to an observation window provided at a distal end side of the insertion portion. In some cases, contamination and observation cannot be performed sufficiently.
For this reason, the endoscope is provided with an air-supply / water-supply function for supplying liquid to the observation window for cleaning, and for blowing out remaining water by air supply.

For example, in an endoscope disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-76153, an air supply / water supply cylinder and a suction cylinder are provided in an operation unit, and the air supply / water supply cylinder and the suction cylinder are connected to an air supply line, a water supply line. The suction pipe extends to the insertion section side, and an air supply pipe, a water supply pipe, and a suction pipe are arranged in a light guide cable extending from the operation section to provide air supply / water supply and suction functions.

Further, in a cleaning sheath for an endoscope disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-173370, a connection tube is connected to a base provided on a sheath body, and a fluid control valve is provided to supply air, water, and suction. Can be done.

[0006]

However, the cleaning sheath for an endoscope disclosed in JP-A-8-173370 has a configuration in which a fluid control valve is provided by connecting a connection tube to a base. An air supply / water supply tube, a suction tube, and the like are further connected to the rear end of the control valve so that air supply, water supply, and suction can be performed.

Therefore, before use, the fluid control valve and the cleaning sheath are connected via a connection tube, and a long air supply / water supply tube and a suction tube extending from a water supply source and a suction source are connected to the fluid control valve. I was connected.

[0008] Therefore, not only is the operation of the preparation stage complicated, but also the air supply / water supply tube, suction tube, connection tube, etc., extending from the fluid control valve are arranged near the operation section, so that the endoscope is not used. This was a factor that reduced operability.

On the other hand, in the endoscope disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-76153, an air supply pipe, a water supply pipe, a suction pipe, and an air supply pipe in a light guide cable that extend toward the insertion section after using the endoscope. In addition, there is a problem that it takes time to wash a water supply pipe and a suction pipe with a cleaning liquid or a disinfecting liquid or to clean the pipe using a cleaning brush. In addition, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost is increased due to the complicated structure of the endoscope.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide an endoscope apparatus which has good operability, can be easily cleaned after use, and is inexpensive to manufacture. I have.

[0011]

An endoscope apparatus according to the present invention comprises:
An endoscope having an insertion portion to be inserted into a body or the like and an operation portion provided on the base end side of the insertion portion, and assembled so as to cover at least a distal end portion of the insertion portion and the operation portion of the endoscope; And a fluid supply device provided with a fluid source to which a fluid tube extending from the operation unit of the endoscope is connected, and the sheath is water-tightly attached to at least a part of the insertion unit and the operation unit. By assembling, the endoscope apparatus to form a fluid passage of the fluid supplied from the fluid source between the inner surface of the sheath and the outer surface of the insertion portion and the outer surface of the operation portion, the inner surface of the sheath, A valve portion that closes the fluid passage formed in close contact with the outer surface of the operating portion in the fluid passage formed between the operating portion and the outer surface of the operating portion, and changes the close contact state of the valve portion to the outer surface of the operating portion to an open state. Valve operation to open and close In is provided with a valve mechanism portion configured.

According to this configuration, by assembling the sheath to the endoscope, a fluid passage is formed between the inner surface of the sheath and the outer surface of the endoscope so that the fluid can be reliably controlled by the valve mechanism.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 7 relate to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an endoscope apparatus, FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a sheath, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a view showing a mounted state, and FIG.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a fluid supply device, FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a fluid supply state in an endoscope with a sheath attached, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB shown in FIG. FIG.

FIG. 2A is a front view of the sheath, and FIG.
(B) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the sheath.

As shown in FIG. 1, an endoscope apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has an elongated insertion portion 11 to be inserted into a body and an operation portion 12 located at a base end of the insertion portion 11 and also serving as a grip portion. And a sheath 20 that covers at least the distal end side of the insertion section 11 and the operation section 12 of the endoscope 10.
And a fluid supply device 50 containing a plurality of syringes described later as a fluid source.

The insertion section 11 of the endoscope 10 includes, for example, a distal end hard section 14, a bending section 15, and a flexible tube section 1 in order from the distal end side.
The universal cord 13 extends from a base end side of an operation unit 12 provided at a base end of the insertion unit 11.

A light guide connector 13a is provided at an end of the universal cord 13 so as to be detachably connected to a light source device (not shown). A camera connector 17a is provided from a side to an end of the light guide connector 13a. Camera cable 17 is branched. The camera connector 17a is detachably connected to a video processor (not shown).

A water supply base 2 and a suction base 3 are provided on the side of the light guide connector 13a. An end of a water supply tube 4 extending from the fluid supply device 50 and supplying a water supply liquid, for example, is connected to the water supply base 2, and a suction tube 5 extending from the fluid supply device 50 is connected to the suction base 3. Each is connected.

The water supply mouthpiece 2 and the suction mouthpiece 3
May be provided not on the side of the light guide connector 13a but on, for example, the universal cord 13 or the base end of the operation unit 12.

On the other hand, the sheath 20 comprises, in order from the distal end side, a distal end frame 21, a flexible tube portion 22, and a rigid pipe portion 2.
3. The sheath fixing portion 24 is provided continuously. The distal end frame 21 constitutes a distal end portion of the sheath 20 and is formed of a hard member made of metal or resin, and is engaged with the distal end hard portion 14. The flexible tube 22 is formed of, for example, fluorine rubber or silicon rubber,
The hard pipe portion 23 is made of, for example, polysulfone, polyphenylsulfone, or polyphenylene sulfide. The sheath fixing portion 24 includes the sheath 2
0 and constitutes a base end portion of the operation portion 12 and is engaged with the operation portion 12. The sheath fixing portion 24 is provided with an operating body 25 projecting from the distal end side end surface and constituting a valve operating portion of the valve mechanism.

Incidentally, the sheath has autoclave resistance. In the present embodiment, the bending portion 15
Although the sheath 20 is attached to the endoscope 10 having the structure described above, the sheath attached to the hard endoscope may have a configuration in which the flexible tube portion is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 2, the distal end portion of the distal end frame 21 of the sheath 20 has a flange portion 2 projecting in the central axis direction.
6 are provided, and at least one nozzle portion 27 having a concave groove shape is provided on the inner surface of the flange portion 26. As shown in FIG. 3, when the sheath 20 is attached to the endoscope 10, the inner surface of the flange portion 26 comes into contact with the distal end surface of the distal end hard portion 14 of the endoscope 10. In this state, the opening of the nozzle portion 27 faces the direction of the tip lens cover (not shown) provided on the tip surface of the insertion portion of the endoscope 10.

On the other hand, the sheath fixing portion 24 includes a soft portion 28 which is formed in a substantially pipe shape with a soft member having elasticity such as fluorine rubber or silicon rubber, and a metal such as stainless steel or titanium which is a hard member. A hard portion 29 formed of a resin member such as polysulfone, polyphenylsulfone, polyphenylene sulfide, or the like in a substantially pipe shape and constituting a distal end side portion of the sheath fixing portion 24, and two portions of the soft portion 28 are integrally formed. An operating body 25 formed by arranging provided metal members such as stainless steel and titanium.
a, 25b.

On the inner peripheral surface on the front side of the flexible portion 28, a valve portion 30 which is in close contact with the outer surface of the operating portion of the endoscope 10 to ensure watertightness with the outer surface of the operating portion and constitutes a valve mechanism. Is provided. In addition, a concave portion 31 that forms a fluid passage is provided at the base end of the flexible portion 28. Further, a convex seal portion 32 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the base end portion of the flexible portion 28 over the entire periphery thereof, the convex seal portion 32 being engaged with a groove 12c formed in a peripheral shape on the outer surface of the operation portion described later. .

In this embodiment, reference numeral 3 in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 1a and 31b, for example, two concave portions 31 are provided, one concave portion 31a is used for a water supply passage, and the other concave portion 31b.
Is an intake passage. Reference numeral 33 denotes a positioning and rotation preventing means provided at a part of the base end of the flexible portion 28 so as to protrude from the base end surface, and engaged with an engaging recess (not shown) provided on the operation portion 12. Projection 33.

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG.
When the sheath fixing portion 24 of the endoscope 10 is mounted on the operating portion 12 of the endoscope 10, the concave portions 31a and 31b, the valve portion 30, and the operating portion 1
A space 34 is formed which is surrounded by the outer surface 2. A communication pipe 1 communicating with the space 34 is provided in the operation unit 12.
8a and 18b are provided. The distal end opening of the communication pipe 18 is open on the outer surface of the operation section main body 12a. At the base ends of the communication pipes 18a and 18b, the other ends of communication tubes 19a and 19b having one end connected to the water supply base 2 and the suction base 3 provided on the side of the light guide connector 13a, respectively. Are connected.

Further, a fluid passage valve seat portion 12b, to which the valve portion 30 is in close contact, and a groove portion 12c, into which the seal portion 32 is fitted, are provided all around the outer surface of the operation portion 12 on the distal end portion side. I have. Further, a small-diameter portion 12d for forming a clearance serving as a fluid passage is provided between the fluid passage valve seat portion 12b and the distal end side of the fluid passage valve seat portion 12b.

Therefore, when the sheath fixing portion 24 is mounted at a predetermined position of the operation portion 12, the sealing portion 32 is
2c, the endoscope 1 of the sheath 20 is inserted.
0, the sheath fixing portion 24 and the groove 12c
And the sheath fixing portion 2
4 is prevented from dropping from the operation unit 12. At this time, between the inner surface of the sheath 20 and the outer surface of the insertion portion 11 and the outer surface of the operation portion 12, the valve portion 30 and the operation members 25a, 25
5b constitutes a fluid passage having a valve mechanism for water supply and suction.

As shown in FIG. 5, inside the fluid supply device 50, as a fluid source, for example, syringe bodies 41 and 51 having a substantially convex cross section, and the syringe bodies 41 and 5 are provided.
The two syringes 43, 53, which are constituted by piston portions 42, 52 which are fitted and arranged to be able to move forward and backward in 1, are installed.

In the fluid supply device 50, there are provided elastic members 45, 55 in which piston holders 44, 54 for holding the base ends 42a, 52a of the pistons 42, 52 of the syringes 43, 53 are arranged. Is provided. The elastic member 45 has an urging force for constantly pressing the piston portion 42 in the direction of arrow a, and the elastic member 55 has an urging force for constantly pulling the piston portion 52 in the direction of arrow b.

Further, the syringe main bodies 41 and 51 are provided in an apparatus main body 59 constituting a casing of the fluid supply apparatus 50.
The arrangement through-hole 58 into which the small-diameter distal end portions 41a, 51a are loosely fitted, and the large-diameter portion 41b,
A convex portion 57 having a fixed concave portion into which the tip side of 51b is fitted is provided.

That is, the syringes 43 and 53 are provided with the small-diameter distal end portions 41a and 51a and the large-diameter portions 41b and 51b of the syringe main bodies 41 and 51, respectively. The base portions 42a, 52a of the piston portions 42, 52 are arranged in the piston holding portions 44, 54 and installed in the fluid supply device 50 in a state of being arranged in the fixed concave portion. The water supply tube 4 and the suction tube 5 are connected to the small-diameter end portions 41a and 51a which are loosely fitted in the placement through holes 58.

The inside of the syringe body 41 connected to the water supply tube 4 is filled with a water supply liquid as a fluid, and the syringe body 51 connected to the suction tube 5 is provided.
Is filled with air as a fluid. For this reason,
The water supply liquid of the syringe 43 is in a state of being compressed by the urging force of the elastic member 45 constantly pressing, and the air in the syringe 53 is in a negative pressure state by the urging force of the elastic member 55 constantly pulling. .

The number of the concave portions 31 is not limited to two, but may be one or more. The operating bodies 25 are provided in accordance with the number of the concave portions 31 and corresponding to the positions of the concave portions 31.

The operation of the endoscope apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described. The water supply liquid filled in the syringe 43 of the fluid supply device 50 is in the water supply tube 4, the communication tube 19, the communication pipe 18a and the concave portion 31a, the valve portion 30, and the operation portion because the piston portion 42 is always in a compressed state. The space portion 34 surrounded by the outer surface of the portion 12 is filled. Therefore, when cleaning the end lens cover surface of the endoscope 1, the water supply operation body 25 a is pressed in the longitudinal direction of the endoscope insertion portion as shown by the arrow.

Then, when the operation body 25a for water supply is depressed, the flexible portion 28 is deformed so as to use the rigid portion 29 as a fulcrum as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the close contact state of the valve portion 30 where the concave portion 31a constituting the fluid passage for water supply, which was in the close contact state, is closed is gradually released and becomes an open state. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, an opening 39 is formed in the valve portion 30 that has closed the fluid passage, and the water supply liquid filled in the space portion 34 flows from the opening 39 to the tip side at a stretch. Spill out.

The water-supplying liquid that has flowed toward the distal end reaches the distal end side portion as a fluid passage through the gap between the inner surface of the sheath 20 and the outer peripheral surface of the insertion section 11 of the endoscope 10, Cleaning is performed by ejecting the liquid from the nozzle portion 27 provided on the lens 21 toward the front lens cover surface. When the pressing force on the operation body 25a is released, the valve portion 30 comes into close contact with the fluid path valve seat portion 12b again, and the ejection of the water supply liquid from the nozzle portion 27 stops.

On the other hand, after cleaning the front lens cover surface, when sucking water droplets remaining on the lens cover surface, the suction operating body 25b is pressed in the longitudinal axis direction of the endoscope insertion section. . Then, when the suction operation body 25b is pressed, the valve portion 30 is lifted up as described above, and the valve portion 30 that has closed the fluid passage is opened. As a result, the inside of the space 34 surrounded by the suction tube 5, the communication tube 19b, the communication pipe 18b, the concave portion 31b, the valve portion 30, and the outer surface of the operation portion 12 connected to the syringe 53 as a suction source is formed. Since it is always in the suction state, suction is started at the same time when the valve section 30 is opened.

That is, the nozzle portion 27, the gap between the inner peripheral surface of the sheath 20 and the outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion 11 of the endoscope 10, the open portion 39, the space portion 34, the communication pipe 18b, the communication tube 19b, Water drops remaining on the front lens cover surface are sucked into the syringe body 51 via the suction tube 5.

After the endoscope inspection, the endoscope 10
The outer surface of the endoscope 10, the communication pipe 18b, the communication tube 19, and the inner and outer surfaces of the sheath 20 are cleaned. The fluid supply device 50
The syringes 43 and 53, the water supply tube 4 and the suction tube 5 are washed.

As described above, by forming the concave portion serving as the fluid passage in the sheath fixing portion constituting the base end portion of the sheath, and providing the valve portion capable of controlling the open / close state of the fluid passage by the operating body, it is easy. Water supply and suction can be controlled with a simple structure. This eliminates the need to provide a fluid conduit at the insertion portion of the endoscope, thereby reducing endoscope manufacturing costs.

Further, since no water supply tube or suction tube is arranged around the operation section, the operability during the operation is good.

Further, at the time of cleaning after use of the endoscope, since no fluid conduit is provided in the endoscope insertion portion, cleaning workability can be greatly improved.

Further, the sterilization time can be shortened by autoclaving the cleaning sheath.

The fluid supply device is very inexpensive because of its simple configuration. In addition, because of the simple configuration, not only the preparation and clearing are easy, but also the disposable type of tubes enables easy sterilization work only by washing the syringe.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the water supply base 6 communicating with the recess 31 a is connected to the sheath fixing portion 24.
The endoscope 1 is provided by providing a suction base 62 communicating with the base 1 and the recess 31b, and connecting the water supply tube 4 and the suction tube 5 to the bases 61, 62, respectively.
From zero, fluid lines can be eliminated.

Accordingly, only the outer surface of the endoscope needs to be cleaned after use, so that the cleaning workability can be greatly improved. Further, the elimination of the fluid conduit from the endoscope further reduces the manufacturing cost of the endoscope.

The present invention is not limited to only the above-described embodiments, but can be variously modified without departing from the gist of the invention.

[Appendix] According to the above-described embodiment of the present invention as described in detail above, the following configuration can be obtained.

(1) An endoscope having an insertion portion to be inserted into a body or the like and an operation portion provided on the base end side of the insertion portion, and at least a distal end side of the insertion portion and the operation portion of the endoscope A fluid supply device provided with a fluid source to which a fluid tube extending from the operation unit of the endoscope is connected, and the sheath is attached to the insertion unit and the operation unit. In an endoscope apparatus which forms a fluid passage of a fluid supplied from the fluid source between the inner surface of the sheath and the outer surface of the insertion portion and the outer surface of the operation portion by being assembled in at least a part in a watertight manner. A valve portion that closes the fluid passage in close contact with the outer surface of the operating portion and opens a close contact state of the valve portion with the outer surface of the operating portion in a fluid passage formed between the inner surface of the sheath and the outer surface of the operating portion. Change to state and open Operation endoscope apparatus provided with a valve mechanism portion which is constituted by a valve operating portion that performs.

(2) The endoscope apparatus according to appendix 1, wherein the sheath is detachable from the endoscope.

(3) The endoscope apparatus according to appendix 1, wherein the valve mechanism section closes the fluid passage in a normal state with the valve section in close contact with the outer surface of the operation section.

(4) The fluid passage resiliently deforms the soft portion constituting the sheath by pressing the valve operating portion to release the tight contact state of the valve portion with the outer surface of the operating portion. The endoscope device according to attachment 1.

[0054]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an endoscope apparatus which has good operability, is easy to clean after use, and has a low manufacturing cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 to 7 relate to one embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an endoscope apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a sheath.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which a sheath is attached to an endoscope.

4 is a sectional view taken along line AA shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a fluid supply device.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining a fluid supply state in the endoscope in a sheath mounted state.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line BB shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating another configuration of the sheath.

9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Endoscope 20 ... Sheath 25 ... Operating body (reference number 25a, 25b) 28 ... Flexible part 12b ... Fluid path valve seat part 24 ... Sheath fixing part 30 ... Valve part 31 ... Recess (reference number 31a, 31b)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Yousuke Yoshimoto 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Inside Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Hidetoshi Saito 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo No. Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 4C061 AA00 BB00 CC06 DD03 FF12 FF21 GG02 HH04

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An endoscope having an insertion portion to be inserted into a body or the like and an operation portion provided on a base end side of the insertion portion, and at least a distal end portion of the insertion portion and the operation portion of the endoscope. A fluid supply device provided with a fluid source to which a fluid tube extending from an operation unit of the endoscope is connected, and the sheath is at least one of the insertion unit and the operation unit. An endoscope apparatus which forms a fluid passage of a fluid supplied from the fluid source between the inner surface of the sheath and the outer surface of the insertion portion and the outer surface of the operation portion by being partially assembled in a watertight manner. A valve portion that is in close contact with the outer surface of the operating portion to close the fluid passage formed in the fluid passage formed between the inner surface of the sheath and the outer surface of the operating portion, and the close contact state of the valve portion with the outer surface of the operating portion is opened. Opening and closing operation The endoscope apparatus characterized in that a valve mechanism portion which is constituted by a valve operating portion that performs.