JP2011143179A - Endoscope cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an endoscope cleaning device which can wash the scope insertion part of an endoscopic device without troublesome operation and has simple structure. <P>SOLUTION: A washing sponge 48 is placed on the opening of a container 42 detachably. In the washing sponge 48, an opening and closing slit 48B is prepared. The insertion part 24 of a scope 20 is inserted in a passing hole 48A through the expanded opening and closing slit 48B and is soaked in a cleaning agent 41 in the container 42 after the opening and closing slit 48B is closed. At this time, dirt such as body fluid attached to the surface of the insertion part 24 is washed. After that, the insertion part 24 passes through the passing hole 48A and is drawn out outside of the container 42 as an arrow B shows. In this way, when the insertion part 24 passes through the passing hole 48A and moves outside of a cleaning device 40, the washing sponge 48 removes foreign substances and so on attached to the surface of the insertion part 24 and washes the insertion part 24 further. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope cleaning apparatus, and more particularly to a cleaning apparatus that cleans a scope of an endoscope apparatus.

  In general, the scope insertion part of the endoscope apparatus is cleaned by wiping with a gauze containing a cleaning liquid. Moreover, as an example of an apparatus for disinfecting and cleaning the scope of an endoscope apparatus, an apparatus in which an insertion tube or the like is immersed in a disinfecting liquid (see Patent Document 1), and an apparatus for spraying a cleaning liquid on an endoscopic surgical instrument (Patent Document 2) For example).

  Furthermore, a cleaning device is also known in which a disinfectant and cleaning water are circulated in a tube in which the insertion portion of the scope is suspended (see Patent Documents 3 and 4). In such a cleaning apparatus, a pump or the like is used for flowing and circulating a disinfectant solution or the like into the pipeline.

Special table 2003-530142 gazette Japanese Patent No. 4300294 Japanese Utility Model Publication 4-11689 Japanese Patent No. 3306528

  When the insertion portion of the scope is wiped and cleaned with gauze or the like, a complicated operation is required to enable the use of the endoscope apparatus. In particular, it takes a relatively long time to clean the entire surface of the insertion portion of the scope having an elongated shape.

  In addition, when the insertion part of the scope is disinfected and cleaned only with the disinfecting liquid, particularly when the insertion part is only immersed in the disinfecting liquid, there is a possibility that the dirt attached to the surface of the insertion part cannot be sufficiently removed. . This is because the operation of wiping the surface of the insertion portion with the above-described gauze or the like is not performed.

  Furthermore, when a disinfectant or the like is introduced and circulated into the pipe line where the insertion part is lifted, members such as a pipe, a hose and a pump are required, and the structure of the cleaning device is complicated. For this reason, the cost and work burden required for apparatus installation and maintenance increase.

  An object of the present invention is to realize an endoscope cleaning apparatus that can clean a scope insertion portion of an endoscope apparatus without complicated operations and has a simple structure.

  The endoscope cleaning apparatus of the present invention is a cleaning apparatus that simply cleans the scope of the endoscope apparatus. The cleaning device includes a container filled with a cleaning agent and a stretchable cleaning member attached to the container. The cleaning member is provided with a passage hole through which the insertion portion of the scope passes, and the cleaning member presses the insertion portion when the insertion portion that has been immersed in the cleaning agent passes through the passage hole, thereby cleaning the surface of the insertion portion. In order to clean, the diameter of at least a part of the passage hole is smaller than the diameter of the insertion portion.

  The cleaning member preferably has a protrusion that narrows the diameter of the passage hole and presses the insertion portion. In the cleaning member, an opening / closing slit extending from the passage hole to the outer peripheral surface of the cleaning member is preferably formed. In this case, the opening / closing slit is more preferably bent. Further, it is more preferable that the insertion portion fitted into the passage hole through the expanded opening / closing slit can be moved from the inside of the container to the outside of the cleaning device through the passage hole.

  In the cleaning apparatus, it is preferable that a buffer member for preventing the insertion portion from coming into contact with the container is provided inside the container. Moreover, it is preferable that the container is provided with a discharge port for discharging the cleaning agent.

  In the cleaning apparatus, it is preferable that the storage tank storing the components of the cleaning agent is detachable on the wall surface of the container. Moreover, it is preferable that the detection member which detects the property of a cleaning agent is arrange | positioned in the container. The container is preferably transparent.

  The cleaning member of the present invention is a cleaning member that cleans the scope of the endoscope apparatus. In the cleaning member, a passage hole through which the insertion portion of the scope passes is provided. The cleaning member has elasticity to press the insertion portion that passes through the passage hole and cleans the surface of the insertion portion, and the diameter of at least a part of the passage hole is smaller than the diameter of the insertion portion.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the scope insertion part of an endoscope apparatus can be wash | cleaned without complicated operation, and the endoscope washing apparatus which has a simple structure is realizable.

It is a perspective view which shows an endoscope cleaning apparatus with an endoscope apparatus. It is a perspective view which expands and shows a washing device. It is a perspective view which expands and shows a cleaning sponge. It is a perspective view which shows the state from which an insertion part is removed from a washing | cleaning apparatus. It is a top view which expands and shows the cleaning sponge of the obstruction | occlusion state. It is sectional drawing which cut | disconnected the cleaning sponge. It is a perspective view which shows the washing | cleaning apparatus of a 1st modification. It is a side view which shows the washing | cleaning apparatus of a 2nd modification.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the endoscope cleaning apparatus according to the present embodiment together with the endoscope apparatus.

  The endoscope apparatus 10 includes a scope 20 and a processor 30. The scope 20 is detachably connected to the processor 30. In the scope 20, an insertion portion 24 extending from the operation portion 22 is provided. The insertion unit 24 is inserted into a body cavity and used for endoscopic observation.

  The cleaning device 40 is used for cleaning the scope 20. More specifically, the cleaning device 40 is used to clean the insertion portion 24 in which a foreign substance such as a body fluid adheres to the surface by being inserted into the body cavity. The cleaning device 40 includes a container 42 filled with a liquid cleaning agent 41.

  In general, when the endoscope apparatus 10 is not used, the operation unit 22 of the scope 20 is hung on the hanger 14 of the cart 12 as illustrated. At this time, the insertion portion 24 extends along the vertical direction. In this embodiment, a container 42 is attached to the side of the cart 12.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing the cleaning device 40 of the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing the cleaning sponge, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where the insertion portion 24 is removed from the cleaning device 40.

  The container 42 has a bottomed cylindrical shape. As indicated by an arrow A, a cleaning sponge 48 (cleaning member) is detachably attached to the upper opening 42M of the container 42. The cleaning sponge 48 has a substantially cylindrical shape and has appropriate stretchability. The diameter 48D of the cleaning sponge 48 is slightly smaller than the diameter 42D of the opening 42M. Therefore, the cleaning sponge 48 can be easily attached to and removed from the opening 42M.

  In addition, a passage hole 48 </ b> A is provided at the center of the cleaning sponge 48. Further, the cleaning sponge 48 is provided with an opening / closing slit 48B extending from the passage hole 48A to the outer peripheral surface 48S. The cleaning sponge 48 can be deformed between a closed state in which the opening / closing slit 48B is closed (see FIG. 3A) and an expanded state in which the opening / closing slit 48B is expanded (see FIG. 3B).

  The insertion portion 24 is fitted into the passage hole 48A through the expanded opening / closing slit 48B, and is immersed in the cleaning agent 41 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) in the container 42 after the opening / closing slit 48B is closed. At this time, the cleaning sponge 48 is fitted into the opening 42M. Thus, as shown in FIG. 4, the insertion portion 24 passing through the passage hole 48 </ b> A is immersed in the cleaning agent 41 in the container 42. In this immersed state, dirt such as body fluid attached to the surface of the insertion portion 24 is washed.

  Thereafter, as shown by an arrow B, the insertion portion 24 in the container 42 is pulled out of the container 42 through the passage hole 48A. As described above, when the insertion portion 24 moves to the outside of the cleaning device 40 through the passage hole 48A, the cleaning sponge 48 can be completely cleaned depending on the fine foreign matter adhering to the surface of the insertion portion 24 and the cleaning agent 41. The insertion portion 24 is washed by removing the body fluid component and the like that are not present.

  Thereafter, the entire scope 20 including the insertion portion 24 is further cleaned with cleaning water or the like, and the cleaning agent 41 is removed from the surface of the insertion portion 24. In FIG. 4, the length of the insertion portion 24 is shortened for convenience of explanation. However, in the container 42, the insertion portion 24 that is significantly longer than the height of the container 42 is curved, for example, spirally and stored. Has been.

  In the container 42, as shown in FIG. 2, the buffer member 50 is disposed on the bottom surface 42B. The buffer member 50 is a moderately flexible member. For this reason, even when the insertion portion 24 is erroneously inserted into the container 42 with a force stronger than necessary, the buffer member 50 prevents the insertion portion 24 from colliding with the bottom surface 42B.

  In addition, a drain cock 54 (drain port) is provided below the wall surface 42S of the container 42. Since the cleaning agent 41 can be discharged to the outside of the container 42 by the drain cock 54, the replacement operation of the cleaning agent 41 is easy. The container 42 is formed of a transparent member, and the user can visually recognize the state of the cleaning agent 41 and the insertion portion 24 through the wall surface 42S. For this reason, the cleaning condition of the surface of the insertion part 24 is easily confirmed. In FIG. 4 and subsequent drawings, the buffer member 50 and the drain cock 54 are omitted.

  FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view showing the cleaning sponge 48 in the closed state. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the cleaning sponge 48 taken along the line VI-VI passing through the central axis 48C of the cleaning sponge 48 in FIG.

  The opening / closing slit 48B is bent between the passage hole 48A in the center of the cleaning sponge 48 and the outer peripheral surface 48S. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, when the opening / closing slit 48B is viewed from the upper surface 48U side of the cleaning sponge 48, the upper end of the opening / closing slit 48B is not a straight line corresponding to the radius of the upper surface 48U. It is straight. In the drawings so far such as FIG. 3, the opening / closing slit 48B is shown in a simplified manner for convenience of explanation.

  As described above, by providing the opening / closing slit 48B having a complicated shape, the positional deviation of the cleaning sponge 48 before and after the deformation is prevented. That is, when the opening / closing slit 48B is expanded as indicated by the arrow C in FIG. 5 and then returned to the closed state shown in the figure, the cleaning sponge 48 can always be returned to the cylindrical initial shape.

  As shown in a simplified manner in FIG. 3, when the upper end is a straight line that hits the radius of the upper surface 48U, the left and right regions of the cleaning sponge 48 having the opening / closing slit 48B as a boundary are returned to the closed state. There is a risk of shifting in the vertical direction. In this case, the insertion portion 24 held by the passage hole 48 may be bent or deformed.

  The cleaning sponge 48 is provided with a protrusion 56 for reducing the diameter in at least a partial region of the passage hole 48A (see FIG. 6). For example, as shown in FIG. 6 (A), a plurality of protrusions 56 may be provided around the passage hole 48A, or as shown in FIG. 6 (B). May be.

  By providing such a protruding portion 56, the passage hole 48A is partially narrowed, and the diameter Dmin of the passage hole 48A is made smaller than the diameter of the insertion portion 24 (see FIGS. 3, 4, etc.), thereby passing through the passage hole 48A. The inner surface 48E of the cleaning sponge 48 presses the insertion portion 24 appropriately. As a result, the surface of the insertion portion 24 can be efficiently cleaned. In order to facilitate the operation of moving the insertion portion 24 immersed in the cleaning agent 41 to the outside of the container 42, it is preferable to partially narrow the passage hole 48A by the protrusion 56, but the diameter of the entire passage hole 48A. May be smaller than the diameter of the insertion portion 24.

  The cleaning sponge 48 is made of a heat resistant material. For this reason, the cleaning sponge 48 is heated and sterilized at appropriate intervals. Therefore, the surface of the insertion portion 24 inserted into the body cavity can be kept clean.

  FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a cleaning device 40 of a first modification of the present embodiment.

  In the first modification, a sensor 52 (detection member) that detects the property of the cleaning agent 41 is provided in the container 42. The sensor 52 detects the concentration in the cleaning agent 41 such as a predetermined filth attached to the surface of the insertion portion 24, for example, a body fluid containing blood. For this reason, it becomes clear how much the cleaning agent 41 is contaminated by the cleaning of the insertion portion 24. Note that the sensor 52 may detect not only the components dissolved in the cleaning agent 41 but also the amount of foreign matter such as dust detached mainly from the surface of the insertion portion 24 by the cleaning sponge 48. In this case, the sensor 52 is disposed on the bottom surface 42B as illustrated in order to reliably detect the amount of the deposited foreign matter.

  When the concentration of contaminants and the amount of foreign matter detected by the sensor 52 exceed predetermined reference values, a warning lamp (not shown) connected to the sensor 52 is lit to prompt the user to replace the cleaning agent 41. . As a result, for example, the cleaning agent 41 in the container 42 is discarded through the drain cock 54 (see FIG. 2), and a new cleaning agent 41 is filled into the container 42 from the opening 42M.

  In the first modification, first and second storage tanks 57 and 58 are provided along the wall surface 42 </ b> S of the container 42. In these first and second storage tanks 57 and 58, components of the cleaning agent, for example, a concentrated solution of the active component of the cleaning agent and dilution water for diluting the concentrated solution are stored. . For this reason, the operation | work which newly adjusts the cleaning agent 41 is easy.

  The first and second storage tanks 57 and 58 are detachable from the wall surface 42S by a holding member (not shown) on the wall surface 42S, for example. For this reason, it is easy to replenish the concentrated liquid and dilution water stored in the first and second storage tanks 57 and 58.

  FIG. 8 is a side view showing a cleaning device 40 according to a second modification of the present embodiment.

  In the second modification, the shape of the container 42 is different from the above-described embodiment and the first modification. That is, the container 42 of this modification has a cylindrical shape curved in a U shape. As described above, in the curved cylindrical container 42, even the long insertion portion 24 can be stored and washed in a stretched state without being spiraled. Further, the cleaning device 40 is made compact. For this reason, even when the cleaning device 40 is attached to the side of the cart 12 (see FIG. 1), the cart 12 and the cleaning device 40 can be easily moved without increasing the width of the cart 12.

In this modification, the cleaning agent 41 may be filled up to the first liquid level 41S ₁ near the upper end in the container 42, and the entire surface of the insertion portion 24 may be immersed in the cleaning agent 41. from near to the second liquid surface 41S ₂ to bottom side, it may be filled with cleaning agent 41 of lesser amounts. Thus, even when the filling amount of the cleaning agent 41 is reduced, the insertion portion 24 is cleaned by the cleaning sponge 48, so that there is no problem in cleaning performance, and the cleaning device 40 can be reduced in weight.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the insertion portion 24 can be cleaned by a simple operation of pulling out the insertion portion 24 from the container 42 while passing through the passage hole 48A of the cleaning sponge 48. Furthermore, since the insertion portion 24 is immersed in the cleaning agent 41 in the container 42 in advance, the cleaning effect by the cleaning sponge 48 is increased and the surface of the insertion portion 24 is also reliably protected. This is because the cleaning agent 41 adhering to the surface of the insertion portion 24 reduces the friction between the cleaning sponge 48 and the insertion portion 24 and prevents the occurrence of fine scratches on the surface of the insertion portion 24.

  Further, the cleaning device 40 has a simple structure in which a cleaning sponge 48 is disposed in the opening 42M of the container 42 filled with the cleaning agent 41. For this reason, installation and movement of cleaning device 40 are easy. For example, since a special member such as a pump for circulating the cleaning agent 41 is not necessary, the cleaning device 40 can be easily manufactured.

  The shape, material, and the like of the members included in the cleaning device 40 are not limited to any of the above-described embodiments and modifications. For example, a moderately stretchable member may be used as the cleaning member instead of the sponge. Further, the passage hole 48 </ b> A may be provided in a region other than the center of the cleaning sponge 48. The opening / closing slit 48B may be curved so that the upper end thereof is not a plurality of continuous straight lines (see FIG. 5) but a curved line.

  Moreover, you may combine this embodiment and the 1st, 2nd modification suitably. For example, the container 42 provided with the buffer member 50 and the drain cock 54 may be provided with the sensor 52, the first and second storage tanks 57, 58, etc. in the first modification, and the second A drain cock 54 or the like may be provided in the vicinity of the lowermost portion (bottom of the U shape) of the container 42 that is curved in a U shape.

10 Endoscope device (endoscope)
20 scope 24 insertion part 40 cleaning device 42 container 48A passage hole 48B opening / closing slit 50 buffer member 52 sensor (detection member)
54 Drain cock (discharge port)
56 Projection 57 First storage tank 58 Second storage tank

Claims (11)

A cleaning device for cleaning a scope of an endoscope device,
A container filled with a cleaning agent;
A stretchable cleaning member attached to the container;
A passage hole through which the insertion portion of the scope passes is provided in the cleaning member, and the cleaning member presses the insertion portion when the insertion portion that has been immersed in the cleaning agent passes through the passage hole. In order to wash | clean the surface of the said insertion part, the diameter of at least one part of the said passage hole is smaller than the diameter of the said insertion part, The washing | cleaning apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.   The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning member has a protrusion that narrows the diameter of the passage hole and presses the insertion portion.   The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein an opening / closing slit extending from the passage hole to an outer peripheral surface of the cleaning member is formed in the cleaning member.   The cleaning apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the opening / closing slit is bent.   The insertion portion fitted into the passage hole through the expanded opening / closing slit is movable from the inside of the container to the outside of the cleaning device through the passage hole. The cleaning device described.   The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a buffer member for preventing the insertion portion from coming into contact with the container is provided inside the container.   The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an outlet for discharging the cleaning agent is provided in the container.   The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a storage tank in which a component of the cleaning agent is stored is detachable on a wall surface of the container.   The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein a detection member that detects a property of the cleaning agent is disposed in the container.   The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the container is transparent. A cleaning member for cleaning the scope of the endoscope apparatus,
A passage hole through which the insertion portion of the scope passes is provided, and the cleaning member has elasticity and the passage hole to press the insertion portion that passes through the passage hole to clean the surface of the insertion portion. A cleaning member characterized in that at least a part of the diameter is smaller than the diameter of the insertion portion.

Images