JP2011120788A - Guide of endoscope washing brush - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a guide for guiding a washing brush to a conduit extending from the inside of a cylinder to the side in an endoscope. <P>SOLUTION: The guide 50 for guiding the washing brush 80 to the conduit extending from the inside of the cylinder 13 to the side in the endoscope 1 includes: a peak part 51 which can be abutted to the edge part of the upper opening of the cylinder; an inclined guide part 52 enabled to reach the vicinity of the entrance of the conduit from the peak part to the inner side of the cylinder; and an attaching means enabled to keep the guide 50 in a required attached state to the operation part of the endoscope. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a guide used for guiding a cleaning brush to a conduit of an endoscope.

  Conventionally, it is well known to use a cleaning brush to clean the endoscope duct after use. In addition, there are pipes that extend laterally from the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder that extends straight in the vertical direction, and guides for guiding the cleaning brush to the pipes that extend in this way are known.

  For example, an “endoscope cleaning brush insertion aid” disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3169514 (Patent Document 1) has a brush guide inserted into a cylinder of an endoscope. The guide hole to the pipe line connected to the cylinder is formed. The cleaning brush is guided to the pipe line through the guide hole. The guide hole is a tunnel-like hole that penetrates the brush guide in the radial direction.

  An “endoscope cleaning aid” disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200031 (Patent Document 2) is inserted into a cylinder for air / water feeding of an endoscope. A tunnel-shaped brush guide path is formed so as to penetrate through in the radial direction. When the cleaning brush is inserted into the brush guide path, it can proceed to the endoscope conduit connected to the guide path.

  The insertion guide in “Instrument cleaning brush insertion guide and method of use thereof” disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4144666 (Patent Document 3) has a through hole connected to the suction cylinder of the endoscope. An inclined brush guide groove is formed on the peripheral wall of the through hole. When the brush to be inserted into the through hole is inserted along the brush guide groove, the brush enters the pipe line extending laterally from the suction cylinder after crossing the suction cylinder.

Japanese Patent No. 3169514 JP 2002-200031 A Japanese Patent No. 4144666

  The auxiliary tool in Patent Document 1 and the auxiliary tool in Patent Document 2 use tunnel-shaped holes or tunnel-shaped guide paths to guide the cleaning brush. Even if such a hole or guide path is dirty, it may be difficult to easily find the dirt visually. In addition, tunnel-shaped holes and guide paths are sometimes troublesome when forming them in an auxiliary tool, which may increase the cost of manufacturing the auxiliary tool. Moreover, these auxiliary tools cannot remove only an auxiliary tool from a cylinder, when the brush for washing | cleaning has approached the pipe line.

  The insertion guide in Patent Document 3 uses a guide groove to guide the cleaning brush to the pipeline, and when the guide groove becomes dirty, the dirt can be easily found by visual observation. However, this insertion guide is made for the purpose of making it easy to connect the cleaning brush incorporated in the endoscope automatic washer to the endoscope. However, it is difficult to avoid an increase in the production cost because the structure is complicated.

  This invention makes it a subject to provide the guide of the simple structure which can guide the brush for washing | cleaning with respect to the pipe line extended from the inside of the cylinder in an endoscope to the side of a cylinder.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is directed to extending downward from an inner surface of a peripheral wall of a cylinder formed in an operation portion of an endoscope in an up-down direction at an angle intersecting with the central axis of the cylinder. It is a guide for guiding the cleaning brush inserted from the upper opening of the cylinder to the pipe line.

  In such a cleaning brush guide, the present invention is characterized in that a top portion capable of abutting on an edge of the upper opening of the cylinder from above, a head from the top toward the inside of the cylinder and the central axis An inclined guide portion that extends in a direction intersecting with the inner wall and reaches the vicinity of the entrance of the pipe line formed on the inner surface of the peripheral wall, and the guide tool is maintained in a required attachment state with respect to the operation portion. Having possible attachment means.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, when the top portion abuts against an edge of the upper opening and the inclined guide portion extends toward the inside of the cylinder, the washing brush from above the top portion. A guide opening having a width substantially the same as the width of the inclined guide portion is formed at the top portion so that the tip portion of the guide portion can be guided to the inclined guide portion through the upper opening.

  In another embodiment of the present invention, the attachment means includes a function capable of maintaining the guide portion in the required attachment state by sandwiching the operation portion from both sides of the operation portion. Yes.

  In another embodiment of the present invention, the top portion is formed flat at a portion that contacts the edge of the upper opening, and the inclined guide portion extends in a direction intersecting the flat portion. ing.

  In another embodiment of the present invention, the top portion is formed of a metal plate material, and the inclined guide portion is formed by bending the plate material.

  In another embodiment of the present invention, the inclined guide portion has a length direction extending in a direction intersecting the central axis and a width direction orthogonal to the length direction, and a cross section in the width direction. The shape includes either a flat surface or a concave surface for guiding the cleaning brush.

  In still another embodiment of the present invention, the guide tool can be removed from the operation portion in a state where the washing brush is guided to the pipe line.

  In the guide tool according to the present invention, when the tilt guide part of the guide tool is inserted into the cylinder from above the operation part of the endoscope and the top part of the guide tool is applied to the edge of the upper opening of the cylinder, the tilt guide part is the upper part. It extends from the edge of the opening and reaches the vicinity of the inlet of the pipe formed on the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder. When the tip of the cleaning brush is inserted into the upper opening and moved downward while contacting the inclined guide portion, it reaches the entrance of the pipeline and can enter the pipeline. Such a guide has a simple structure, and an inclined guide portion can be obtained by bending a flat metal plate punched into a required shape, for example.

The perspective view of an endoscope, a guide, and a brush for washing. II-II sectional view taken on the line of FIG. III-III sectional view taken on the line of FIG. The top view of the operation part to which the guide tool is attached. The figure which illustrates the cross-sectional shape of an inclination guide part by (a) and (b).

  The details of the guide according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a guide tool 50 and an endoscope 1 in which the guide tool 50 is used, but a part of a cleaning brush 80 used together with the guide tool 50 is also shown. An endoscope 1 in the illustrated example is commercially available and has an operation unit 2, and an insertion unit 3 and a universal cord unit 4 extend from the operation unit 2. The operation unit 2 includes a pedestal portion 11, and a cylindrical first base 7 and a second base 8 are attached to the pedestal portion 11. When the endoscope 1 is used, a suction button (not shown) is inserted into the first base 7 in a detachable state, and an air / water supply button (not shown) is removed from the second base 8. Inserted as possible. Side wall 12a-12d is formed in the circumference | surroundings of the base part 11. As shown in FIG. The operation unit 2 is also provided with angle knobs 16 and 17, angle fixing knobs 18 and 19, a third cap 9 and the like that can insert and remove a forceps plug (not shown). A double-headed arrow A in FIG. 1 is parallel to a line (not shown) connecting the central axis C of the first base 7 and the central axis D of the second base 8, and indicates the length direction of the operation unit 2. (See FIG. 4). A double-headed arrow B is orthogonal to the double-headed arrow A and indicates the width direction of the operation unit 2. A cleaning brush 80 in the figure is used for cleaning the inside of the endoscope 1, and includes a flexible metal wire portion 81 and a brush portion 82 formed of fibers such as nylon fibers. Is included.

  2 and 3 are a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1 and a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III. The line II-II intersects the central axis C of the first base 7. It is a line orthogonal to the double-headed arrow A, and the line III-III intersects the line II-II at the central axis C of the first base 7 so as to bisect the width of the inclined guide part 52 in the guide 50. As an example, the crossing angle α between the II-II line and the III-III line is about 30 ° (see also FIG. 4). In both of these drawings, the guide tool 50 is indicated by a solid line above the pedestal portion 11, and the guide tool 50 attached to the pedestal portion 11 is indicated by a virtual line. In FIG. 3, the cleaning brush 80 is indicated by a virtual line.

  In FIG. 2, the suction cylinder 13 extends in the vertical direction in the figure below the first base 7. The suction cylinder 13 has an upper opening 15 defined by the first base 7. The bottom portion 21 of the suction cylinder 13 is formed in a mortar shape, and an insertion portion conduit 22 extends from the bottom portion 21. The distal end of the insertion portion conduit 22 extends to the insertion portion 3 (see FIG. 1).

  In FIG. 3, an inlet 25 a of a suction pipe 25 is formed on a vertical peripheral wall inner surface 23 formed in the suction cylinder 13 so as to extend obliquely downward from the peripheral wall inner surface 23 at an angle intersecting the central axis C. Yes. Although not shown, the suction conduit 25 extends to the universal cord portion 4.

  The endoscope 1 after use must wash the inside of each pipe line such as the insertion part pipe line 22 using a washing liquid and a washing brush 80 or the like. With respect to the illustrated suction cylinder 13, the cleaning brush 80 must be inserted into each of the insertion portion conduit 22 and the suction conduit 25 for cleaning. Of these two ducts 22 and 25, the insertion section duct 22 extends almost directly below the bottom 21 of the suction cylinder 13 formed in a straight shape. The cleaning brush 80 that goes straight along easily enters the insertion portion pipeline 22. However, since the suction line 25 extends obliquely downward from the peripheral wall inner surface 23, the washing brush 80 that is inserted into the suction cylinder 13 and travels straight cannot enter the suction line 25. Accordingly, the guide 50 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is used to allow the cleaning brush 80 to enter the suction conduit 25.

  As is apparent from FIGS. 1 to 3, the guide 50 includes a flat plate-like top 51, a narrow inclined guide 52 extending obliquely downward from the top 51, and downward from the periphery of the top 51. It has first, second, and third hanging parts 53a, 53b, and 53c that extend, and a holding part 54 that extends laterally is formed at the lower end of the second hanging part 53b. Further, a U-shaped guide port 56 having substantially the same width as that of the inclined guide portion 52 is formed in the top portion 51 (see FIG. 4).

  FIG. 3 shows a state in which the guide tool 50 is attached to the operation unit 2 by the virtual line guide tool 50. The guide tool 50 includes a side wall portion 12a opposite to each other of the pedestal portion 11 between the first hanging portion 53a and the third hanging portion 53c facing each other while the lower end portion 52b of the inclined guide portion 52 enters the suction cylinder 13. It is made to approach to the base part 11 so that 12c may be accommodated. The lower surface 51 a of the top 51 is flat, and the lower surface 51 a forms the edge 13 a of the upper opening 15 of the suction cylinder 13 in the pedestal portion 11, and the same height as the first base 7. Thus, the guide 50 is brought close to the pedestal portion 11 so as to come into contact with the second base 8 (see FIG. 1) forming the edge of the upper opening of the air / water feeding cylinder 14 (see FIG. 1). In the preferred first to third hanging parts 53a to 53c, the side wall parts 12a to 12c of the pedestal part 11 are fitted to the inner surfaces of the first hanging part 53a and the third hanging part 53c, respectively. A part of 2 can be sandwiched in the width direction B (see FIG. 2). At the same time, the base end portion 52 a of the inclined guide portion 52 extending obliquely downward from the top portion 51 comes into contact with or approaches the first base 7. In this way, the guide tool 50 has the first to third hanging parts 53a to 53c as attachment means for the operation unit 2 in the length direction indicated by the double-headed arrow A and in the width direction indicated by the double-headed arrow B. Are used in a required attachment state to the operation unit 2 (see the phantom line in FIG. 3). In the guide 50 attached to the operation unit 2, the inclined guide unit 52 extends in the length direction L from the edge 13 a of the suction cylinder 13 toward the inlet 25 a of the suction conduit 25 in the peripheral wall inner surface 23 (see FIG. 3). And a width direction W (see FIG. 4) orthogonal to the length direction L, and in the length direction L, it is preferable to extend to the vicinity of the lower edge of the entrance 25a.

  FIG. 4 is a top view of the operation unit 2 to which the guide tool 50 is attached, in which the II-II line and the III-III line in FIG. 1 are shown together. The size of the opening of the guide port 56 in the guide tool 50 is restricted by a part of the edge 13 a of the suction cylinder 13, so that the washing brush 80 inserted into the guide port 56 is surely directed to the suction line 25. You can make it. As shown in FIG. 3, the brush 80 for washing when inserted into the guide port 56 has a wire portion 81a which is substantially parallel to the inclined guide portion 52, and the brush portion 82 is inclined. When inserted so as to come into contact with the guide portion 52, the brush portion 82 automatically enters the suction conduit 25 at the tip of the lower end portion 52 b of the inclined guide portion 52. When the wire portion 81 is inserted as a wire portion 81b substantially parallel to the central axis C, the brush portion 82 contacts the inclined guide portion 52 from above, and the wire portion 81b and the brush portion 82 are connected to the suction pipe. Then, the brush portion 82 automatically enters the suction pipe 25. When the wire brush 80 is inserted into the suction cylinder 13, the inclination of the wire portion 81 can be freely selected between the wire portion 81a and the wire portion 81b. After the brush portion 82 has entered the suction pipe 25, the guide 50 is lifted upward as indicated by the arrow Q (see FIGS. 2 and 3) and removed from the pedestal portion 11, and an appropriate cleaning liquid is injected into the suction cylinder 13. The suction line 25 can be brushed and washed by advancing the washing brush 80 while more preferably moving forward while moving forward and backward slightly. When the brush 80 for cleaning after the suction line 25 has been cleaned is returned to the suction cylinder 13 and then advanced again, the brush 80 is easily moved into the insertion part line 22, and the insertion part line 22 is removed. Can be brushed and washed.

  In such brushing washing of the suction line 25 and the insertion part line 22, the washing brush 80 may be operated by hand, but the washing brush 80 may be automatically operated by a commercially available automatic washing machine. it can. However, even if the automatic washing machine at that time can automatically reciprocate the washing brush 80 with respect to each of the suction pipe line 25 and the insertion part pipe line 22, as shown in FIG. When it is difficult or impossible to automatically insert the cleaning brush 80 into the extending suction line 25, the cleaning brush 80 is inserted into the suction line 25 using the guide 50, and thereafter If the guide tool 50 can be removed from the operation part 2, use of an automatic washing machine will become easy. Further, the guide 50 having the structure shown in the drawing is preferable in terms of hygiene management because it is easy to find the filth wherever it is attached after use.

  In this invention, the guide tool 50 can be easily obtained by pressing a metal plate material having a thickness of about 0.3 to 1 mm, for example, a stainless steel plate material. That is, the top portion 51 is formed by a plate material having an appropriate planar shape, and the inclined guide portion 52, the first to third hanging portions 53a to 53c, and the gripping portion 54 are obtained by bending the plate material. it can. Further, the first to third hanging parts 53a to 53c serving as positioning means for the pedestal portion 11 can be replaced with positioning means of other shapes. For example, by bringing the inclined guide portion 52 into contact with the first base 7, the inclined guide portion 52 can be used as a part of the positioning means. By providing the top 51 with a hanging portion that extends from the lower surface 51a toward the inside of the second base 8 and bringing the hanging portion into contact with the second base 8 and the circumferential surface of the air / water supply cylinder connected thereto, the guide 50 The positioning means can also be used. Furthermore, the first base 7 formed separately from the pedestal portion 11 and the suction cylinder 13 in the endoscope 1 of the illustrated example to be used by the guide tool 50 is formed integrally with the pedestal portion 11. It can also replace with what is formed integrally with the suction cylinder 13. The first base 7 is preferably made of metal, but may be replaced with plastic.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a cross-sectional shape in the width direction W of the inclined guide portion 52 of the guide 50 by (a) and (b). FIG. 5A shows a cross-sectional shape of the inclined guide portion 52 illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4, and an upper surface 52 a of the inclined guide portion 52 that is a surface for guiding the cleaning brush 80 is formed on a flat surface. Has been. In FIG. 5B, the upper surface 52 a is formed as a concave surface that describes a U-shape or a V-shape, and is convex toward the lower side of the operation unit 2. Such a concave surface makes it easy to guide the brush portion 82 of the washing brush 80 along the inclined guide portion 52, but the upper surface 52a is not only formed in the concave surface in its entire length, but also the suction tube. Only the vicinity of the entrance 25a of the path 25 may be formed as a concave surface, and the other part may be formed as a flat surface.

  In the illustrated example according to the present invention, in the suction cylinder 13 of the endoscope 1, the suction conduit 25 extends obliquely downward from the peripheral wall inner surface 23 at an angle intersecting the central axis C of the suction cylinder 13, and the suction conduit 25 In contrast, when the guide tool 50 is used, but not the suction pipe 25, the insertion section pipe 22 extends obliquely downward from the peripheral wall inner surface 23 at an angle intersecting the central axis C of the suction cylinder 13. A guide tool 50 can be used for the insertion portion pipeline 22. In the illustrated example, the guide tool 50 is used for the suction cylinder 13. However, the guide tool 50 may be formed so that it can be used for cylinders other than the suction cylinder 13 in the endoscope 1. it can.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Endoscope 2 Operation part 7 Base (1st base)
13 Cylinder (Suction cylinder)
13a Edge 15 Upper opening 23 Inner surface of peripheral wall 25 Pipe line (suction line)
25a Pipe entrance 50 Guide tool 51 Top 52 Inclined guide 52a Contact surface (upper surface)
53a, 53b, 53c Attachment means (hanging part)
56 Guide port 80 Cleaning brush C Center axis L Length direction W Width direction

Claims (7)

A cleaning tube inserted from an upper opening of the cylinder into a pipe line extending downward from an inner surface of a peripheral wall of the cylinder formed in the operation portion of the endoscope and extending in the vertical direction at an angle intersecting the central axis of the cylinder. A guide for guiding a brush for use,
A top portion that can contact the edge of the upper opening of the cylinder from above, and the pipe line that is formed on the inner surface of the peripheral wall extending from the top portion toward the inside of the cylinder and intersecting the central axis. The guide device comprising: an inclined guide portion that can reach the vicinity of the entrance of the door; and an attachment means that can maintain the guide device in a required attachment state with respect to the operation portion. .   When the top part contacts the edge of the upper opening and the inclined guide part extends toward the inside of the cylinder, the tip of the washing brush is passed through the upper opening from above the top part. The guide tool according to claim 1, wherein a guide opening having a width substantially the same as the width of the inclined guide portion is formed at the top portion so that the guide portion can be guided to the inclined guide portion.   The guide device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the attachment means includes a function capable of maintaining the guide portion in the required attachment state by sandwiching the operation portion from both sides of the operation portion.   The top portion is formed flat at a portion that contacts the edge of the upper opening, and the inclined guide portion extends in a direction intersecting with the flat portion. Guides.   The guide according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the top portion is formed of a metal plate material, and the inclined guide portion is formed by bending the plate material.   The inclined guide portion has a length direction extending in a direction intersecting with the central axis and a width direction orthogonal to the length direction, and a cross-sectional shape in the width direction is for guiding the washing brush The guide according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein either a flat surface or a concave surface is included.   The said guide tool is a guide tool in any one of Claims 1-6 formed so that it can remove from the said operation part in the state in which the said brush for washing | cleaning has led to the said pipe line.

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