JP2011072664A - Endoscope storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an endoscope storage device capable of always cleanly and safely storing an endoscope, regardless of a storage period, by mounting a cover on at least the endoscope insertion part of the endoscope hung from the endoscope storage device. <P>SOLUTION: The endoscope storage device for storing the endoscope in the internal space S of a frame body 10 includes: an endoscope storing means 20 arranged in the upper part of the internal space S and storing the endoscope 1 by hanging: and a cover mounting means 30 arranged in the lower part of the stored endoscope 1 and mounting the cover 5 on the endoscope 1, so as to cover at least the endoscope insertion part 3 to be inserted to a body cavity. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope storage apparatus.

  If an endoscope is used, contaminants such as blood, mucus, secretions, tissue fragments, digests, and drugs will adhere to the endoscope. After use, the endoscope should be promptly cleaned, disinfected, dried and sterilized. It must be kept clean until used by the patient. However, liquid droplets tend to accumulate in the inside of the endoscope, such as the endoscope channel after washing, and if it is stored in a state where the liquid is suitable, there is a risk that bacteria remaining inside will propagate. There is a need to dry thoroughly. Therefore, an endoscope storage device is provided that hangs the endoscope after washing and reliably dries it to the inside (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  The cart loaded with electrical equipment for medical use described in Patent Document 1 incorporates a heating device, a fan, and the like in a scope hanger mounted on the cart body, and after cleaning, the endoscope held on the cart body is dried. The cart body can be moved while being stored safely and cleanly. In addition, the endoscope dry storage device described in Patent Document 2 includes a heating device, a dehumidifying device, a heated air supply device that sends heated air from the supply nozzle into the endoscope, and the like. In addition to shortening the drying time of the endoscope, the endoscope is surely dried and stored inside the endoscope.

  In general, the endoscope is dried after being cleaned and stored in the storage device as it is until the next use. However, if the storage period until actual use becomes long, there may be a case where dust or dirt due to contact adheres to the endoscope, which tends to be unsanitary. However, each of the storage devices described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 described above has only a function of drying and storing the endoscope after cleaning. It is the actual situation that is left to attention.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-95888 JP 2008-301875 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a storage period by attaching a cover to at least an endoscope insertion portion of an endoscope suspended from an endoscope storage device. Regardless, it is an object of the present invention to provide an endoscope storage apparatus that can always be stored cleanly and safely.

The present invention has the following configuration.
(1) An endoscope storage device that houses an endoscope in an internal space of a frame,
An endoscope holding means that is disposed in an upper portion of the internal space and holds the endoscope in a suspended state;
Cover mounting means for mounting a cover on the endoscope so as to cover at least an endoscope insertion portion that is arranged below the held endoscope and is inserted into a body cavity;
Endoscope storage device with

  According to the endoscope storage device of the present invention, with respect to the endoscope suspended and held in the endoscope storage device by the endoscope holding means, the endoscope insertion portion is covered with the dust, It is possible to prevent dirt due to contact from adhering to the endoscope, and the endoscope can be stored cleanly and safely for a long period of time.

1 is an overall external view of an endoscope storage device for describing an embodiment according to the present invention. It is a schematic front view of the endoscope storage apparatus shown in FIG. It is a cross-sectional arrow view in the AA line of FIG. It is an expansion perspective view of the B section of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows typically schematic structure of a cover mounting part. It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of a cover mounting jig. It is a control block diagram of a cover mounting part. FIG. 8A is an explanatory diagram in which an endoscope is arranged at the cover mounting position, FIG. 8B is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a long cover material is hung on the endoscope insertion portion, and FIG. 8C is a diagram showing a state in which the long cover material is bound. 8D is an explanatory view showing a state where the cover mounting jig is lowered, FIG. 8E is an explanatory view showing a state in which the long cover material is cut, and FIG. 8F is a retracting endoscope after the antifouling cover is attached. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode made to do. It is a block diagram which shows typically the cover mounting part which has a heat seal head. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which sealed the edge part of the pollution protection cover. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state in which the endoscope insertion part was inserted in the highly rigid antifouling cover.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of an endoscope storage apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  1 is an overall external view of an endoscope storage apparatus for explaining an embodiment according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the endoscope storage apparatus, and FIG. 3 is taken along the line AA of FIG. It is a cross-sectional arrow view. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the endoscope storage device 100 is a device for drying and storing the endoscope 1 after cleaning, and includes a frame body 10 that is a frame member, and a frame body 10. An endoscope holding unit 20 that is disposed in the upper part of the inner space surrounded by the endoscope and suspends and holds the endoscope 1, and an antifouling cover is attached to the endoscope 1 that is disposed below the held endoscope 1. A cover mounting unit 30 for performing the drying process of the endoscope 1.

  The outer shape of the frame body 10 is formed in a box shape, the side surface, the rear surface, and the upper and lower surfaces are covered with, for example, a stainless steel plate, and has an opening on the front surface side. A door 11 that can be opened and closed is provided in the opening, and the stainless steel plate and the door 11 serve as a sealing member, so that the internal space S can be sealed from the outside.

  An air conditioning unit 12 as air conditioning means is disposed below the frame body 10. The air conditioning unit 12 has a heating function that raises the ambient temperature in the internal space S, a dehumidifying function that removes moisture from the air in the internal space S to make a low-humidity environment, and dehumidified and heated air in the internal space S A fan (none of which is shown in the figure) that circulates in is built in. A known technique can be applied to the heating function and the dehumidifying function itself. During the drying process, there may be an appropriate ventilation function such as discharging the air in the internal space S to the outside.

  The endoscope holding unit 20 hangs the endoscope 1 in a state where the endoscope insertion portion 3 to be inserted into the body cavity is suspended, as shown in FIG. A scope hanger 21 having a rectangular cross section for connecting the side walls 13 and 14 on both sides of the frame body 10 in the upper part of the internal space S, and a scope hanger that can be engaged with and detached from the scope hanger 21 and can be freely detached. And a slider 22 that is movable along the longitudinal direction of 21.

  A straight groove 23 that engages with the scope hanger 21 is provided on the lower surface of the slider 22, and a tapered hole 24 in which the operation unit 2 of the endoscope 1 is locked is formed. On the front side of the taper hole 24 of the slider 22, a groove portion 25 into which the endoscope insertion portion 3 can be inserted is formed. Thus, the endoscope 1 is suspended from the slider 22 by guiding the endoscope insertion portion 3 from the front side of the slider 22 into the tapered hole 24 through the groove 25 and placing the operation portion 2 in the tapered hole 24. become.

  Here, the endoscope insertion portion 3 is provided with an illumination window, an observation window, a treatment instrument insertion channel, and the like, and is formed following the distal end portion made of a hard member and the distal end portion, and can be operated to bend in a desired direction. It is a flexible part having flexibility to connect a certain bending part and the bending part to the operation part 2, and refers to a part inserted or grasped into a body cavity at the time of endoscopy.

  The cover mounting portion 30 is a device for mounting the antifouling cover 5 to the endoscope 1 so as to cover at least the endoscope insertion portion 3, and its schematic configuration is shown in FIG. The cover mounting portion 30 is disposed on either the left or right side portion (right side portion in the illustrated example) of the frame 10 shown in FIG. 2 and the cover mounting position CP directly below the scope hanger 21. That is, the antifouling cover 5 is attached to the endoscope insertion portion 3 at the cover attachment position CP. The antifouling cover 5 is made of a thermoplastic resin sheet having translucency.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the cover mounting unit 30 includes a cover roll holding unit 31, a cover mounting jig 32, a binding unit 33, and a cover cutting unit 34. The cover roll holding portion 31 holds a cover roll 35 in which a continuous long cover material 7 having an annular cross section is wound in a roll shape. The long cover material 7 having an annular cross section is held by a pair of pinch rollers 36. It is continuously fed out from the cover roll 35.

  The cover attaching jig 32 is for attaching the long cover material 7 to the endoscope insertion portion 3 while feeding the long cover material 7 from the cover roll holding portion 31. It is arranged freely. As shown in an enlarged perspective view in FIG. 6, the cover mounting jig 32 has an annular portion having a cover holding hole 37 having substantially the same inner diameter as the antifouling cover 5, and a part of the side of the annular portion is a movable base. 38 is fixed. A plurality of suction nozzles 39 are provided on the inner surface of the cover holding hole 37 along the circumferential direction. Each suction nozzle 39 is connected to an air connection port 40 provided in the movable base 38 via an air connection path 41.

  The cover mounting jig 32 and the movable base 38 are integrally moved up and down along the slide rail 42 shown in FIG. That is, the movable base 38 is erected along the side wall 14 of the frame body 10 and slidably engages with the slide rail 42 extending to the upper side of the scope hanger 21 to obtain power from the drive source. It can move up and down. As the drive source, for example, an appropriate one such as an electric motor can be used. For example, the movable base 38 can be driven up and down by a ball screw mechanism.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a binding band such as an adhesive tape, a string, a thread, or the like is drawn out below the cover holding hole 37 of the cover mounting jig 32 so that the upper end portion of the long cover material 7 is placed inside. A bundling portion 33 is arranged for bundling at a lower position of the operation unit 2 of the endoscope 1. As this bundling portion 33, a conventionally known bundling mechanism can be used, and for example, a bundling machine described in JP-A-2008-275235 may be used. That is, the bundling portion 33 extends the length of the bundling band by rotating an arcuate guide member (not shown) holding one end of the bundling band at the tip while being guided around the operation unit 2 of the endoscope 1. The long cover material 7 can be fixed to the operation portion 2 of the endoscope 1 by winding the length cover material 7 around the operation portion 2 and joining the one end and the base end side of the binding band. .

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a cover provided with a pair of cutters 44A and 44B driven by, for example, an electromagnetic solenoid (not shown) or the like above the cover mounting jig 32 at the lowermost position of the moving range. A cutting part 34 is arranged. The cutter 44 moves between a retracted position where the movable side cutter 44A is separated from the fixed side cutter 44B and a position where the movable side cutter 44A intersects the fixed side cutter 44B, so that the long cover material is narrowed between the cutters 44A and 44B. 7 is cut. The fixed cutter 44B is fixed to a frame member (not shown) that can move in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 5, and retracts to a position that does not interfere with the cover mounting jig 32 except when the cover is cut by driving the frame member. It has become.

  A vacuum pump 46 is connected to the air connection port 40 of the movable base 38, and the long cover material 7 is removed from the plurality of suction nozzles 39 arranged along the circumferential direction of the cover holding hole 37 shown in FIG. Suction retention and release are possible at any timing.

  Here, FIG. 7 shows a control block diagram of the cover mounting portion. The cover mounting unit 30 having the above configuration is driven and controlled by the control unit 48 in response to an instruction from the operation unit 49. That is, an electric motor 43 that moves the cover mounting jig 32 up and down, an electromagnetic solenoid that drives the cover cutting part 34, a drive motor for the bundling part 33, and an air passage connected to the air connection port 40 of the movable base 38 are provided. The electromagnetic valve 45 and the like are controlled based on a control signal from the control unit 48 by operating an operation unit 49 such as a switch provided at an appropriate position of the frame 10.

Next, the antifouling cover mounting operation by the endoscope storage apparatus 100 will be described step by step based on FIGS. 8A to 8F.
The used endoscope 1 after the inspection is first cleaned by an endoscope washing machine, and contaminated with blood, mucus, secretions, tissue fragments, digests, drugs, etc. attached to the endoscope 1. The material is removed and cleaned. The undried endoscope 1 to which the cleaning liquid is attached is suspended by fitting the operation portion 2 into the taper hole 24 of the slider 22 in which the straight groove 23 is engaged with the scope hanger 21. Thus, the dehumidified and heated air is circulated in the internal space S and dried.

  After the endoscope 1 is suspended on the scope hanger 21 and a sufficient drying time has elapsed, as shown in FIG. 8A, the endoscope 1 that has finished drying is moved together with the slider 22 to the scope hanger 21 at the cover mounting position CP. Suspend on. Thereby, the endoscope insertion part 3 is disposed immediately above the cover mounting means 30.

  Here, when the operation unit 49 shown in FIG. 7 is switched, the electromagnetic valve 45 is turned on based on a control signal from the control unit 48, and air is sucked from the plurality of suction nozzles 39 in the cover holding hole 37 by the vacuum pump 46. The Thereby, the tip outer peripheral surface of the long cover material 7 fed out from the cover roll 35 is adsorbed by the inner peripheral surface of the cover holding hole 37 and opened in an annular shape.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 8B, when the electric motor 43 (see FIG. 7) drives the cover mounting jig 32 as it is guided by the slide rail 42, the cover mounting jig 32 is attracted to the cover holding hole 37. The endoscope insertion portion 3 is inserted from the distal end portion inside the long cover member 7 that is opened in an annular shape. When the cover mounting jig 32 is raised to the uppermost end of the movable range, the entire endoscope insertion portion 3 is accommodated in the long cover material 7.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 8C, the bundling portion 33 disposed under the movable base 38 is driven to bind the long cover material 7 between the endoscope insertion portion 3 and the operation portion 2. The upper end of the long cover material 7 is fixed to the endoscope 1.

  Then, after the suction from the cover holding hole 37 of the cover mounting jig 32 is stopped by turning off the electromagnetic valve 45 shown in FIG. 7, as shown in FIG. 8D, the movable base 38 is moved to the end of the movable range. Lower to the lower end. Here, the electromagnetic valve 45 is turned on again, and the long cover material 7 is sucked to the suction nozzle 39 of the cover holding hole 37. Then, in a state where the long cover material 7 is held by the cover mounting jig 32, the movable side cutter 44 </ b> A (see FIG. 5) of the cover cutting part 34 is driven to attach the long cover material 7 to the cover mounting jig 32. Cut at an upper position.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 8E, the long cover material 7 separated from the cover roll 35 becomes the antifouling cover 5 that covers the endoscope insertion portion 3 of the endoscope 1. The endoscope 1 suspended on the scope hanger 21 at the cover attachment position CP is covered with the antifouling cover 5 whose lower side is in an open state, and the cover attachment jig. In 32, the upper end part of the new long cover material 7 will be in the adsorbed state.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 8F, the endoscope 1 to which the antifouling cover 5 is attached slides the slider 22 locked to the scope hanger 21 along the scope hanger 21, and starts from the cover attachment position CP. Evacuate. Then, the endoscope 1 suspended by the next slider 22 is set at the vacant cover mounting position CP, and thereafter the same operation is repeated.

As described above, according to the endoscope storage apparatus 100, after the endoscope 1 suspended and held by the endoscope holding unit 20 is dried, the cover roll holding unit is attached to the endoscope insertion unit 3. The long cover material 7 continuously supplied from 31 is hung to prevent dust and dirt due to contact from adhering to the endoscope 1, and the endoscope 1 can be stored cleanly and safely.
The endoscope storage apparatus 100 performs the drying process of the endoscope 1 by the air conditioning unit 12, but may be a storage apparatus that simply suspends the endoscope 1. That is, according to the endoscope storage apparatus 100, since the cover is attached to the endoscope 1 as it is with the endoscope 1 housed in the internal space, the endoscope 1 is inspected, cleaned, dried, A series of usage cycles such as storage can be improved without manpower. As a result, smoother endoscopy operation is possible.

  Next, a modified example of the endoscope storage device will be described. Here, the same members as those in FIG. 5 are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is simplified or omitted. As shown in FIG. 9, the endoscope storage device according to the modified example includes a heat seal portion 50 including a pair of heat seal heads 51 </ b> A and 51 </ b> B above the cover cutting portion 34. The heat seal portion 50 is configured such that the cover cutting portion 34 cuts the long cover material 7 and separates the long cover material 7 from the cover roll 35, and at the same time the lower end (near the cutting position) of the separated antifouling cover 5. Seal by heat welding. As a result, as shown in FIG. 10, the endoscope insertion portion 3 is combined with the binding on the proximal end side (between the endoscope insertion portion 3 and the operation portion 2) and is placed in the antifouling cover 5. Since it is completely sealed, the endoscope 1 can be more reliably prevented from being contaminated.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 11, if the antifouling cover 5 is made of a thick thick material with a waist, the antifouling cover 5 itself provides a buffer function (especially effective in the width W direction of the antifouling cover 5). Even if the distal end portion of the endoscope 1 taken out from the endoscope storage device 100 inadvertently contacts peripheral devices such as a floor or a desk during an endoscopic inspection or the like, damage is caused. You can prevent it from happening. Further, as a material for the antifouling cover 5, a double-structured cushioning sheet in which an air layer is formed on the surface layer, or a cushioning material such as a polystyrene foam piece inside the long cover material 7 before the long cover material 7 is sealed. Appropriate changes such as mixing can be made, and a buffering effect can be obtained in addition to the antifouling effect.

  In the endoscope storage device described above, the suspension work of the endoscope and the movement of the endoscope with the cover attached are performed manually. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the endoscope once suspended on the scope hanger. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the mirror is automatically moved by a motor drive or the like. In addition, by forming the scope hanger in a ring shape, it is possible to easily perform a series of operations for moving the endoscope with the cover attached and moving the endoscope without the cover newly attached to the cover attachment position CP. .

  Further, the drying process time may be automatically terminated by a timer, and the endoscope disposed at the cover mounting position CP may be automatically started to mount the antifouling cover after the drying process is completed. In that case, simply suspending the undried endoscope taken out from the washing machine on the scope hanger of the endoscope storage device, the process from drying to covering can be performed automatically. It becomes unnecessary and the convenience is improved.

  As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and modifications and applications by those skilled in the art based on the description of the specification and well-known techniques are also within the scope of the present invention. It is included in the range to calculate.

As described above, the following items are disclosed in this specification.
(1) An endoscope storage device that houses an endoscope in an internal space of a frame,
An endoscope holding means that is disposed in an upper portion of the internal space and holds the endoscope in a suspended state;
Cover mounting means for mounting a cover on the endoscope so as to cover at least an endoscope insertion portion that is arranged below the held endoscope and is inserted into a body cavity;
Endoscope storage device with

  According to this endoscope storage apparatus, the endoscope holding means for suspending and holding the endoscope in the internal space of the frame body of the endoscope storage apparatus, and the cover mounting means for mounting the cover on the endoscope Therefore, the endoscope suspended and held by the endoscope holding means can be stored in a clean state with the cover attached. Thereby, even if the endoscope is stored for a long period of time, dust and dirt due to contact are prevented from being attached to the endoscope insertion portion, and the endoscope can be stored cleanly and safely.

(2) The endoscope storage device according to (1),
The cover mounting means is
A cover roll holding section for holding a cover roll obtained by winding a long cover material having an annular cross section into a roll;
A cover mounting jig that draws out the long cover material from the cover roll holding portion and allows the endoscope insertion portion to be inserted into the cover ring having an annular cross section from the endoscope distal end side;
A cover bundling unit for bundling and fixing the long side of the long cover member inserted and attached to the proximal end side of the endoscope insertion unit from the endoscope distal end; and
A cover cutting portion for cutting the distal end side of the bound long cover material on the distal end side further than the distal end portion of the endoscope;
Endoscope storage device with

  According to this endoscope storage apparatus, the cover mounting means pays out the long cover material having an annular cross section from the cover roll holding portion that holds the cover roll in which the long cover material is wound in a roll shape. After inserting the endoscope insertion portion into the cover, the long cover material is bundled on the proximal end side of the endoscope insertion portion by the bundling means, and further, the distal end side of the long cover material is cut by the cover cutting means. . As a result, the long cover material can be continuously supplied from the cover roll holding part, and the covering operation can be continuously performed on the plurality of endoscopes, thereby improving the work efficiency.

(3) The endoscope storage device according to (2),
The long cover material has heat-fusibility,
An endoscope storage apparatus provided with a heat sealing means for heating and fusing a distal end side of the long cover to be cut away from the cover cutting portion in a direction in which the long cover material is fed out.
According to this endoscope storage apparatus, it is possible to more reliably prevent the inside of the cover from becoming dirty by heat-sealing the distal end side of the long cover with the heat sealing means.

(4) The endoscope storage device according to any one of (1) to (3),
An endoscope storage apparatus in which the long cover material is formed of a material having translucency.
According to this endoscope storage apparatus, since the long cover material has translucency, the appearance of the endoscope insertion portion can be confirmed even when the cover is attached.

(5) The endoscope storage device according to any one of (1) to (4),
A sealing member surrounding the internal space of the frame,
Air conditioning means for circulating the air in the internal space to dry the endoscope;
Endoscope storage device with
According to this endoscope storage device, the internal space of the frame body is enclosed and sealed by the frame body sealing member, and the interior is sanitized regardless of the external environment by circulating the air in the internal space. It can be held and dried in a short time. In addition, the endoscope drying process and the cover mounting after the cleaning can be performed continuously, and the working efficiency of the endoscope use cycle such as inspection, cleaning, drying, and storage can be improved.

(6) The endoscope storage device according to (5),
An endoscope storage apparatus in which the air conditioning means has a heating function for generating warm air.
According to this endoscope storage device, the endoscope can be dried in a shorter time due to the generation of warm air.

(7) The endoscope storage device according to (5) or (6),
An endoscope storage apparatus in which the air conditioning means has a dehumidifying function for dehumidifying the air in the internal space.
According to this endoscope storage device, the endoscope can be dried in a shorter time by dehumidification.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Endoscope 3 Endoscope insertion part 5 Antifouling cover 7 Long cover material 10 Frame 12 Air-conditioning unit 20 Endoscope holding part 30 Cover mounting part 31 Cover roll holding part 32 Cover mounting jig 34 Cover cutting part 35 Cover roll 50 Heat seal part 51 Heat seal head 100 Endoscope storage device S Internal space

Claims (7)

An endoscope storage device that houses an endoscope in an internal space of a frame,
An endoscope holding means that is disposed in an upper portion of the internal space and holds the endoscope in a suspended state;
Cover mounting means for mounting a cover on the endoscope so as to cover at least an endoscope insertion portion that is arranged below the held endoscope and is inserted into a body cavity;
Endoscope storage device with The endoscope storage apparatus according to claim 1,
The cover mounting means is
A cover roll holding section for holding a cover roll obtained by winding a long cover material having an annular cross section into a roll;
A cover mounting jig that draws out the long cover material from the cover roll holding portion and allows the endoscope insertion portion to be inserted into the cover ring having an annular cross section from the endoscope distal end side;
A cover bundling unit for bundling and fixing the long side of the long cover member inserted and attached to the proximal end side of the endoscope insertion unit from the endoscope distal end; and
A cover cutting portion for cutting the distal end side of the bound long cover material on the distal end side further than the distal end portion of the endoscope;
Endoscope storage device with The endoscope storage device according to claim 2,
The long cover material has heat-fusibility,
An endoscope storage apparatus provided with a heat sealing means for heating and fusing a distal end side of the long cover to be cut away from the cover cutting portion in a direction in which the long cover material is fed out. The endoscope storage device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
An endoscope storage apparatus in which the long cover material is formed of a material having translucency. The endoscope storage device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A sealing member surrounding the internal space of the frame,
Air-conditioning means for circulating the air in the internal space and drying the endoscope;
Endoscope storage device with The endoscope storage device according to claim 5,
An endoscope storage apparatus in which the air conditioning means has a heating function for generating warm air. The endoscope storage apparatus according to claim 5 or 6,
An endoscope storage apparatus in which the air conditioning means has a dehumidifying function for dehumidifying the air in the internal space.

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