JP2003061904A - Liquid supplying device for endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid supplying device for an endoscope capable of facilitating maintenance for a liquid supplying pipe. SOLUTION: This liquid supplying device is connected to an endoscope through the liquid supplying pipe for feeding liquid to the endoscope. The device is provided with a cylinder to which the liquid supplying pipe is connected and a piston which is fitted in the interior of the cylinder. The outer peripheral surface if the cylinder is contacted with the inner surface of the cylinder in the water-tight state to form a storage space linked with the liquid supplying pipe and storing the liquid. The piston reciprocates in the direction of reducing or enlarging the volume of the storage space in the cylinder, and has a driving force transmitting part integrally. A screw hole is formed in the driving force transmitting part pointing the axis to the moving direction of the piston and a feed screw is engaged with the screw hole. A driving means for rotating the feed screw round the axis both in the normal and reverse directions.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a liquid delivery device for delivering a liquid such as water used for cleaning an affected area to an endoscope.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art One of the modes of use of medical endoscopes is to clean the affected area by spraying water onto the affected area within the observation target through an opening provided at the distal end of the endoscope. I have something to do. Therefore, a water supply device (liquid delivery device) for supplying water into the endoscope is usually connected to the endoscope via a water supply pipe.

As a conventional example of such a water supply device, a part of a water supply pipe made of a rubber tube, one end of which is connected to an endoscope and the other end of which is connected to a water storage container, is placed in a housing.
The water in the storage container is sent to the inside of the endoscope by continuously squeezing the water supply pipe at both ends of the rotating member installed in the housing that is stored in a bent state and is rotated by the drive means. There is something to do.

However, in this type of water supply device, since the water supply pipe is squeezed by the rotating member, the water supply pipe is easily damaged, and it is necessary to inspect and replace the water supply pipe periodically, and maintenance of the water supply pipe is troublesome. It was

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid delivery device for an endoscope in which maintenance of the liquid delivery pipe is easy.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a liquid delivery device for sending a liquid to the endoscope, which is connected to the endoscope via a liquid delivery pipe, and includes a cylinder to which the liquid delivery pipe is connected. , The inside of the cylinder is fitted, and the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder contacts with the inner surface of the cylinder in a watertight state to form a storage space communicating with the liquid delivery pipe and storing the liquid between the cylinder and the cylinder. And a piston that reciprocates inside the cylinder in a direction of reducing or expanding the volume of the storage space,
A driving force transmitting portion integrally provided on the piston, a screw hole formed in the driving force transmitting portion with an axis line in the moving direction of the piston, a feed screw screwed with the screw hole, and the feed And a drive means for rotating the screw in both forward and reverse directions about its axis.

A hollow portion is formed inside the driving force transmitting portion for accommodating at least the tip portion of the feed screw, a stopper is provided at the tip portion of the feed screw, and the stopper abuts on the hollow portion. When the first contact surface that stops the piston at the position that minimizes the volume of the storage space and the stopper contact the piston, the piston is positioned at the position that maximizes the volume of the storage space. It is preferable to form a second contact surface to be stopped.

Further, it is preferable to provide a detent means for preventing the piston from rotating relative to the cylinder.

Further, the present invention is a liquid delivery device for sending a liquid to the endoscope, which is connected to the endoscope via a liquid delivery pipe, and includes a cylinder to which the liquid delivery pipe is connected. , The inside of the cylinder is fitted, and the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder contacts with the inner surface of the cylinder in a watertight state to form a storage space communicating with the liquid delivery pipe and storing the liquid between the cylinder and the cylinder. And a piston that reciprocates inside the cylinder in a direction of reducing or expanding the volume of the storage space, and a driving force transmission portion integrally provided on the piston,
The driving force transmitting portion is characterized by including a rack formed in the moving direction of the piston, a pinion that meshes with the rack, and a drive unit that rotates the pinion in both forward and reverse directions.

It is preferable that the cylinder is provided with a replenishing pipe for replenishing the liquid in the storage space, and an open end of the replenishing pipe is covered with a detachable lid.

Further, inside the liquid supply pipe, when the piston is stopped, the liquid supply pipe is closed, and the piston moves in a direction of reducing the storage space so that the liquid is removed from the storage space. It is preferable to provide a check valve for opening the liquid delivery pipe when the liquid flows to the endoscope side.

Further, it is preferable that the driving means is a motor.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. An electronic endoscope (endoscope) 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a medical endoscope, and includes an insertion portion 3 to be inserted into a body cavity and an operation portion 5 connected to a base side thereof.
have. The insertion portion 3 has a distal end portion 7 in order from the distal end side,
It has a bending portion 9 and a flexible tube portion 11, and the flexible tube portion 11 is connected to the operation portion 5 via a connecting portion 13.

The tip portion 7 has a tip portion main body (not shown) made of a hard member, and an objective lens holding hole, a light distribution lens holding hole, an air / water feeding channel outlet, a treatment instrument insertion channel are provided in the tip portion main body. An outlet, a water discharge hole, etc. are formed.
An objective lens for image formation and a light distribution lens for illumination are held in the objective lens holding hole and the light distribution lens holding hole.

In the bending portion 9, a plurality of node rings (bending pieces) connected so as to be relatively rotatable about an axis orthogonal to the axis are provided.
They are arranged side by side in the axial direction. By rotating the left and right bending operation knobs 15A and the up and down bending operation knobs 15B provided on the operation unit 5, a plurality of bending operation wires (not shown) are pulled or loosened to relatively rotate a plurality of node rings. Then, the bending portion 9 is bent. Specifically, when the left / right bending operation knob 15A is rotated in the forward / reverse directions, the bending portion 9 is bent in the left / right direction via the pair of bending operation wires, and the up / down bending operation knob 15B is rotated in the forward / reverse directions. When operated, the bending portion 9 bends in the vertical direction via another pair of bending operation wires. Further, the bending state of the bending portion 9 can be fixed by operating the left and right lock knobs 17A and the up and down lock levers 17B.

From the operating section 5, the universal tube 19
Is extended, and a connector portion (not shown) for connecting to the processor is provided at the end portion of the universal tube 19. The connector part is provided with an end part of a signal transmission cable and a light guide (not shown), an inlet part of an air supply tube or a water supply tube, and the like.By connecting the connector part to a processor, these parts are It is connected to the image processing device on the processor side, the light source, and the air / water supply source.

In the tip portion 7, there is a CC behind the objective lens.
D is provided, and the image of the observation object entered from the objective lens into the light receiving surface of the CCD is photoelectrically converted, and is arranged from the CCD to the connector section of the universal tube 19 via the insertion section 3 and the operation section 5. Further, it is sent to the processor as an electronic image through the above-mentioned signal transmission cable. The processor can display the electronic image on a monitor or record it on an image recording medium. The operation unit 5 is provided with a plurality of remote operation button switches 21 for performing remote operations related to image processing. In addition, illumination light from a light source provided in the processor is given to the light distribution lens via the above-described light guide provided from the connector portion of the universal tube 19 to the distal end portion 7 of the insertion portion 3.

The operation unit 5 is provided with an air / water supply button 23 in the vicinity of the remote operation button switch 21. When the air / water supply button 23 is pressed, the above-mentioned air supply source or water supply source on the processor side is operated. The air or liquid sent to the air supply tube or the water supply tube is jetted from the air supply / water supply channel outlet of the tip portion 7 toward the objective lens.

The connecting portion 13 of the electronic endoscope 1 is provided with a treatment instrument insertion port projection 25 for inserting a treatment instrument (not shown) such as forceps or a high frequency cautery treatment instrument, and a treatment instrument insertion port 27.
Is attached with a forceps plug (not shown) that closes the opening of the treatment instrument insertion port 27 when the treatment instrument is not used. Treatment tool insertion port 2
A treatment instrument insertion channel (not shown) is formed from 7 toward the inside of the endoscope, and the distal end portion of the treatment instrument insertion channel faces the above-mentioned treatment instrument insertion channel outlet formed on the distal end portion 7. There is. A suction tube (not shown) is connected to the treatment instrument insertion channel, and the suction tube is connected to a negative pressure source (suction source) (not shown) provided outside the electronic endoscope 1.

Inserting a treatment tool such as forceps or a high frequency cauterization treatment tool into the treatment tool insertion channel through the treatment tool insertion port 27 and applying a negative pressure from a negative pressure source through the suction tube. When the suction button 29 provided on the operation unit 5 is pressed, the negative pressure source side conduit is communicated with the treatment instrument insertion channel, and negative pressure acts on the treatment instrument insertion channel, so that the treatment instrument insertion channel is A liquid such as body fluid can be sucked from the outlet.

Inside the electronic endoscope 1, a water supply pipe line (not shown) is provided which penetrates the electronic endoscope 1 from the base portion to the distal end portion 7, and the water supply pipe line has a base end side opening. The portion is a water supply pipe connecting portion (not shown), and the front end side opening of the water supply pipe line is a water discharge hole that opens at the end face of the front end portion 7.

One end of a water supply pipe (liquid supply pipe) 31 made of a rubber tube is connected to the water supply pipe connection portion, and the other end of the water supply pipe 31 is a water supply device (liquid delivery device) which is a characteristic part of this embodiment. Device) 33. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, when the water supply pipe 31 is normally closed inside the water supply pipe 31 and a water pressure higher than a predetermined set water pressure is generated from the cylinder 55 side described later to the water supply pipe 31 side. Only water pipe 3
A check valve 35 for opening 1 is provided.

The housing 37 of the water supply device 33 is constructed by fixing an upper portion 39 and a lower portion 41, which are substantially vertically symmetrical, by a coupling means (not shown).
The water pipe 3 is provided on the front surface of the housing 37 (the surface on the left side in FIG. 2).
An insertion hole 43 for inserting 1 is formed, and an insertion hole 45 for inserting a supply pipe 59 described later is formed in the front end portion of the upper surface of the upper portion 39.

On the bottom of the lower portion 41, there is fixed a ring-shaped cylinder fixture 51 in which the base ends of the upper and lower semicircular members 47 and 49 are rotatably pivoted about an axis in the front-rear direction. , A screw 53 capable of fixing the free ends of the upper and lower semi-circular members 47, 49 to the free end of the upper semi-circular member 49.
Is provided. Upper and lower semi-circular members 4 by screws 53
Cylinder fixture 51 in which the free ends of 7, 49 are fixed
A cylindrical cylinder 55 having an open rear surface is sandwiched between the two, and the rear surface of the cylinder 55 is in contact with the front surface of a positioning member 56 projecting from the bottom of the lower portion 41.

A connecting pipe 57 is provided so as to project substantially at the center of the front end surface of the cylinder 55, and the connecting hole 57 is inserted into the connecting pipe 57.
The end portion of the water supply pipe 31 inserted in 3 is connected. Further, at the upper part of the front end face of the cylinder 55, the housing 3 is extended upward and passes through the insertion hole 45 of the upper portion 39.
7, a replenishment pipe 59 protruding above is connected, and the upper end opening of the replenishment pipe 59 is closed by a detachable lid 61.

A circular plate-shaped piston 63, the outer peripheral surface of which contacts the inner surface of the cylinder 55 in a watertight state, is fitted inside the cylinder 55 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction. A portion surrounded by the cylinder 55 and the piston 63 is a cylindrical storage space 65, and a driving force transmission portion 67 facing rearward is provided at the center of the rear surface of the piston 63. A straight guide groove (rotation preventing means) 69 that faces the front-rear direction is provided on the lower surface of the driving force transmission portion 67.
An upper end portion of an upward rotation stopping piece (rotation preventing means) 71 projectingly provided on the positioning member 56 is engaged with 9.

A hollow portion 73 is formed inside the driving force transmitting portion 67, and a hollow portion 7 is formed on the rear surface of the driving force transmitting portion 67.
A female screw hole (screw hole) 75 is formed in the front-rear direction that communicates with the No. 3. A male screw 79 formed on the peripheral surface of the feed screw 77 facing the front-rear direction is screwed into the female screw hole 75. A portion of the feed screw 77 that is in front of the portion screwed into the female screw hole 75 is located inside the hollow portion 73, and a stopper 80 is provided at the front end portion of the feed screw 77.

A motor 83 (driving means) installed at the rear end of the bottom portion of the lower portion 41 via a base 81 is provided with a rotary shaft 85 concentric with the feed screw 77. The rotary shaft 85 and the rotary shaft 85 are detachable joint members 8
7 are connected to each other so that they cannot rotate relative to each other (so as to rotate integrally).

When the motor 83 rotates in the normal direction, the piston 63 is moved to the cylinder 5 by the screwing relationship between the male screw 79 and the female screw hole 75.
When the motor 83 reversely moves relative to the cylinder 5 in the forward direction, the piston 63 relatively moves rearward with respect to the cylinder 55. The motor 83, as shown in FIG.
0 contacts the rear surface (first contact surface) 73a of the hollow portion 73 to minimize the volume of the storage space 65, and as shown in FIG. (2 contact surface) 73b, and when the volume of the storage space 65 is maximized, the rotation is controlled to stop.

Next, the operation of the water supply device 33 as described above will be described.

First, the lid 61 of the supply pipe 59 is removed, and water (liquid) W is injected from the supply pipe 59 into the storage space 65. When the motor 83 is rotated in the normal direction after the lid 61 is attached to the supply pipe 59, the piston 63 moves forward and the volume of the storage space 65 becomes smaller, and the water pressure in the water supply pipe 31 becomes higher than the set water pressure, and the check is not performed. The valve 35 opens. The water W in the storage space 65 is pushed out to the inside of the electronic endoscope 1 through the water supply pipe 31, passes through the water supply pipe line, and goes out of the electronic endoscope 1 from the water discharge hole of the distal end portion 7. Is discharged. As shown in FIG. 3, when the stopper 80 contacts the first contact surface 73a, the storage space 65
The volume of is minimized, and the water W in the storage space 65 is lost.

In this state, the lid 61 is removed from the supply pipe 59, the motor 83 is reversed, and the piston 63 is moved rearward until the stopper 80 contacts the second contact surface 73b. It will be maximum. After this, water W is again injected from the supply pipe 59 into the storage space 65,
When the lid 61 is attached to the supply pipe 59, the water supply device 33 is in the state shown in FIG. In this state, by rotating the motor 83 in the normal direction, the water W can be again discharged from the water discharge hole of the distal end portion 7 to the outside of the electronic endoscope 1.

According to this embodiment as described above, the water W is sent to the electronic endoscope 1 by reciprocating the piston 63 in the cylinder 55. Since the water pipe 31 is not damaged and it is not necessary to inspect or replace the water pipe 31 regularly, maintenance of the water pipe 31 is facilitated.

Further, as shown in FIG.
After removing the upper part 39, the screws 53 are loosened to release the connection between the upper and lower semi-circular members 47 and 49, and the upper semi-circular member 49 is rotated upward to move the joint member 87.
Since the cylinder 55 and the piston 63 can be taken out from the housing 37 by removing the feed screw 77 from, the cleaning of the cylinder 55 and the piston 63 can be easily performed.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
Will be described with reference to. The same members as those in the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Housing 9 of water supply device 90 of this embodiment
2 is composed of an upper portion 94 and a lower portion 96 whose front-rear length is shorter than that of the housing 37 of the first embodiment.

A rack 100 is formed on the lower surface of the driving force transmission portion 98 provided on the rear surface of the piston 63. A motor mount 102 is erected on the bottom of the lower portion 96, and a rotation shaft 106 of a motor 104 fixed to the motor mount 102 is attached to a pinion 1 that meshes with the rack 100.
08 is stuck.

When the motor 104 is normally rotated, the storage space 6
The piston 63 moves forward (not shown) until the volume of 5 becomes the minimum, and the water W in the storage space 65 is sent to the water supply conduit of the electronic endoscope 1 through the water supply pipe 31 and the storage space. When the volume of 65 becomes the minimum, the motor 104 stops.

When the motor 104 is rotated in the reverse direction, the piston retracts, and when the volume of the storage space 65 becomes maximum (state of FIG. 6), the motor 104 stops.

Also in this embodiment, the water supply pipe 31 is not damaged by the water supply movement, and it is not necessary to inspect or replace the water supply pipe 31 on a regular basis, which facilitates maintenance of the water supply pipe 31. .

The present invention described above is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, a liquid other than water W is put in the storage space 65 and discharged from the distal end portion 7 to the outside of the electronic endoscope 1. It is also possible.

[0042]

According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a liquid delivery device for an endoscope in which maintenance of the liquid delivery pipe is easy.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall view of an endoscope system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is likewise an enlarged vertical side view of the water supply device with the piston pulled.

FIG. 3 is likewise an enlarged vertical side view of the water feeding device with the piston pushed in.

FIG. 4 is likewise an enlarged vertical front view of the water supply device.

FIG. 5 is likewise an enlarged vertical front view of the water supply device showing a state in which the cylinder and the piston are taken out from the housing.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged vertical side view similar to FIG. 2 of the water supply device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Electronic endoscope (endoscope) 3 Insert 5 Operation part 7 Tip 9 curved part 11 Flexible tube 13 Connection 15A Left and right bending operation knob 15B Vertical bending operation knob 17A Left and right lock knob 17B Vertical lock lever 19 universal tubes 21 Remote control button switch 23 Air / water button 25 Treatment tool insertion port protrusion 27 Treatment tool insertion port 29 Suction button 31 Water pipe (liquid pipe) 33 Water supply device (liquid delivery device) 35 Check valve 37 housing 39 Upper part 41 Lower part 43 insertion hole 45 insertion hole 47 semi-circular member 49 Semicircular member 51 Cylinder fixture 53 screws 55 cylinders 56 Positioning member 57 Connection tube 59 Supply pipe 61 lid 63 pistons 65 Storage space 67 Driving force transmission section 69 Straight guide groove (stopping means) 71 Anti-rotation piece (anti-rotation means) 73 Hollow part 73a First contact surface 73b Second contact surface 75 Female Screw Hole (Screw Hole) 77 Lead screw 79 male screw 80 stopper 81 base 83 Motor (driving means) 85 rotation axis 87 Joint member 90 Water supply device (liquid delivery device) 92 housing 94 Upper part 96 Lower part 98 Driving force transmission section 100 racks 102 motor mount 104 motor (driving means) 106 rotation axis 108 Pinion W water (liquid)

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A liquid delivery device for sending a liquid to the endoscope, which is connected to the endoscope via a liquid delivery pipe, comprising: a cylinder to which the liquid delivery pipe is connected; It is fitted inside, and the outer peripheral surface contacts the inner surface of the cylinder in a watertight state, and between the cylinder and
A piston that communicates with the liquid delivery pipe and forms a storage space for storing the liquid, and that reciprocates inside the cylinder in a direction of reducing or expanding the volume of the storage space, is provided integrally with the piston. A driving force transmitting portion, a screw hole formed in the driving force transmitting portion with its axis oriented in the moving direction of the piston, a feed screw screwed into the screw hole, and the feed screw. And a drive means for rotating the liquid in both the forward and reverse directions. 2. The liquid delivery device for an endoscope according to claim 1, wherein a hollow portion for accommodating at least a tip portion of the feed screw is formed inside the driving force transmission portion, and a tip portion of the feed screw. A stopper is provided, and when the stopper comes into contact with the hollow portion, the first contact surface that stops the piston at the position that minimizes the volume of the storage space is brought into contact with the stopper. And a second contact surface for stopping the piston at a position that maximizes the volume of the storage space. 3. The liquid delivery apparatus for an endoscope according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising detent means for preventing the piston from rotating relative to the cylinder. 4. A liquid delivery device for sending a liquid to the endoscope, which is connected to the endoscope via a liquid delivery pipe, comprising: a cylinder to which the liquid delivery pipe is connected; It is fitted inside, and the outer peripheral surface contacts the inner surface of the cylinder in a watertight state, and between the cylinder and
A piston that communicates with the liquid delivery pipe and forms a storage space for storing the liquid, and that reciprocates inside the cylinder in a direction of reducing or expanding the volume of the storage space, is provided integrally with the piston. A driving force transmitting portion, a rack formed in the driving force transmitting portion in the moving direction of the piston, a pinion meshing with the rack, and a driving means for rotating the pinion in both forward and reverse directions. A liquid delivery device for an endoscope, comprising: 5. The liquid delivery apparatus for an endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the cylinder is provided with a replenishment pipe for replenishing the liquid in the storage space,
A liquid delivery device for an endoscope, in which an open end of the supply pipe is covered with a detachable lid. 6. The liquid delivery device for an endoscope according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein:
When the piston is stopped, close the liquid delivery pipe,
A liquid delivery device for an endoscope, comprising a check valve for opening the liquid delivery pipe when the piston moves in a direction of reducing the storage space and the liquid flows from the storage space to the endoscope side. 7. The liquid delivery apparatus for an endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the drive means is a motor.