JP2013240474A - Endoscope apparatus and endoscope washer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To clean a wide range by one operation while composing a narrow distal end section.SOLUTION: An endoscope apparatus includes: a channel 7 formed to penetrate an elongated insertion section in the longitudinal direction; a nozzle 5 provided at the distal end of the insertion section in such a way as rotatable around an axis along the longitudinal direction of the insertion section and having a spout 5a communicating with the channel 7 and opened sideways relative to the axis; and a rotational force generating means 10 provided integrally with the nozzle 5 for generating the rotational force around the axis by receiving the fluid pressure of a fluid flowing from the channel 7 toward the spout 5a.

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus and an endoscope cleaning tool.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an endoscope apparatus having a function of cleaning an illumination window and an observation window provided on a distal end surface of an endoscope is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, a nozzle provided at the distal end of an endoscope is rotated, and sterilized water and air are ejected toward the position where the nozzle is spouted toward a position where dirt is adhered, thereby improving cleaning efficiency. Yes.

JP 2008-220709 A

  However, in the case of Patent Document 1, since the distal end portion of the endoscope is provided with a motor, a gear, and the like for rotating the nozzle, it is difficult to reduce the diameter of the distal end portion. In addition, since sterilized water and air are supplied from the nozzle outlet to only a part of the distal end surface of the endoscope, dirt is transferred to the surroundings by the scattered sterilized water. Therefore, in order to obtain a clear visual field over a sufficiently wide range, there is a problem that it is necessary to repeat the ejection of sterilized water and air while changing the position of the ejection port, which is troublesome.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and provides an endoscope apparatus and an endoscope cleaning tool that can clean a wide area with a single operation while having a small-diameter tip portion. The purpose is to do.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following means.
The present invention is provided with a flow passage formed in the elongated insertion portion in the longitudinal direction, and provided at the tip of the insertion portion so as to be rotatable about an axis along the longitudinal direction of the insertion portion, and communicated with the flow passage. And a nozzle having a discharge hole that opens laterally with respect to the shaft, and is provided integrally with the nozzle, and receives the fluid pressure of the fluid that flows from the flow path toward the discharge hole to center the shaft. An endoscope apparatus is provided that includes a rotational force generating means for generating a rotational force.

  According to the present invention, by supplying the liquid to the flow path from the proximal end side of the insertion part, the liquid is discharged from the discharge hole of the nozzle communicating with the flow path to the distal end surface of the insertion part. Thereby, the observation window and the illumination window provided on the distal end surface of the insertion portion can be cleaned. Moreover, the liquid adhering to the front end surface of an insertion part can be blown off by supplying gas to a flow path.

  In this case, the rotational force generating means generates a rotational force by the fluid pressure of the liquid or gas flowing from the flow path to the discharge hole, whereby the nozzle rotates. The liquid or gas discharged from the discharge hole of the rotating nozzle spreads radially while swirling around the nozzle on the distal end surface of the insertion portion. This makes it possible to clean a wide area with a single operation. Further, by using the fluid pressure of the liquid and gas used for cleaning as the driving force for rotation of the nozzle, the configuration can be simplified, and the distal end portion of the insertion portion can be reduced in diameter.

In the above-mentioned invention, it is good also as providing the observation window provided in the front end surface of the above-mentioned insertion part, and the wall which covers the above-mentioned discharge hole on the opposite side to the above-mentioned observation window of the above-mentioned nozzle.
In this way, by restricting the discharge of liquid and gas from some discharge holes by the wall, the pressure of the liquid or gas discharged toward the observation window is increased, and the cleaning efficiency of the observation window is increased. Can be improved.

Moreover, in the said invention, the said wall part is good also as having an opening part in the position distribute | arranged between the said nozzle and the said observation window which covers the front end surface and side surface of the said nozzle.
By doing in this way, while ensuring the supply flow path to the observation window of the liquid and gas discharged from the discharge hole by the opening, the outside of the nozzle is covered by the wall in the portion other than the opening The rotating nozzle can be prevented from coming into contact with the living body.

In the above invention, the nozzle includes a plurality of the discharge holes arranged in a circumferential direction around the axis, and a distance between each discharge hole and the distal end of the insertion portion is in the rotation direction of the nozzle. It may be larger in order.
By doing in this way, the area | region where a liquid or gas is concentratedly supplied from an ejection hole moves sequentially from the position near a nozzle to a position far. Thereby, the radial movement of the liquid and gas centering on the nozzle can be promoted, and the cleaning efficiency can be further improved.

In the above invention, the nozzle may include a plurality of the discharge holes arranged in a circumferential direction centering on the axis, and the plurality of discharge holes may have different opening areas.
By doing in this way, since the pressure of the liquid and gas discharged from each discharge hole changes according to the shape of the opening surface of the discharge hole, dirt with strong adhesive force can be efficiently washed.

Moreover, in the said invention, it is good also as providing the moving mechanism which advances / retreats the said nozzle to the longitudinal direction of the said insertion part.
By doing so, the position to which the liquid and gas discharged from the discharge hole are supplied is changed by operating the moving mechanism and changing the protruding distance of the discharge hole from the distal end surface of the insertion portion. Thereby, it is possible to select a region to be cleaned in particular.

Moreover, in the said invention, it provided with the two observation windows provided in the front end surface of the said insertion part, and observes a to-be-photographed object, and the said nozzle may be provided in the substantially the same distance from the said two observation windows.
In this way, both observation windows can be cleaned evenly.

Moreover, in the said invention, the observation window provided in the front end surface of the said insertion part and observing a to-be-photographed object may be provided, and the said nozzle may be arrange | positioned outside the observation visual field by an observation window.
By doing in this way, it can prevent that a nozzle is reflected in an observation visual field.

Moreover, in the said invention, the cover glass which covers the illumination window and / or observation window which were provided in this front end surface may be provided in the front end surface of the said insertion part.
Moreover, in the said invention, the single cover glass which covers the said illumination window and the said observation window provided in the said front end surface may be sufficient as the said cover glass.
By doing in this way, since an illumination window and an observation window are connected by the flat surface without an unevenness | corrugation, the drainage of a liquid can be made favorable.

Moreover, in the said invention, the surface of the said cover glass may have hydrophilic property.
By doing in this way, the washing | cleaning efficiency of the dirt adhering to the surface of a cover glass can be improved.

  The present invention also provides a tube that can be inserted into a channel that penetrates the elongated insertion portion of the endoscope in the longitudinal direction, and rotates around an axis in the direction along the substantially longitudinal direction of the tube at the distal end of the tube. A nozzle having a discharge hole which is provided in communication with the inside of the tube and which opens to the side with respect to the shaft; and is provided integrally with the nozzle and flows from the flow path toward the discharge hole. There is provided an endoscope cleaning tool comprising: a rotational force generating means for generating a rotational force about the axis in response to a fluid pressure of a fluid.

  According to the present invention, there is an effect that a wide range can be cleaned with a single operation while the tip portion has a small diameter configuration.

It is a block diagram of the front-end | tip part of the insertion part with which the endoscope apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention is provided. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the detailed structure of the front-end | tip part of the insertion part of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the modification of the cover glass with which the insertion part of FIG. 1 is provided. It is a figure explaining the effect | action of the endoscope apparatus of FIG. It is a fragmentary sectional view showing the modification of the composition of the tip part of an insertion part. 5A is a sectional view taken along the line II in FIG. 5, FIG. 5B is a sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 5, FIG. 5C is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. FIG. It is a figure which shows the modification of the discharge hole with which the nozzle of FIG. 5 is provided. It is a figure which shows another modification of the discharge hole with which the nozzle of FIG. 5 is provided. It is a fragmentary sectional view showing a modification of the endoscope apparatus of FIG.

Hereinafter, an endoscope apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a distal end portion of an elongated insertion portion 2 provided in an endoscope apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. The endoscope apparatus 1 acquires a pair of parallax images or a plurality of types of images for stereoscopic shooting. As shown in FIG. 1, illumination light is applied to the subject on the distal end surface 2 a of the insertion unit 2. An illumination window 3 for irradiating and two observation windows 4 for observing the subject are provided. The endoscope apparatus 1 includes a nozzle 5 provided between the illumination window 3 and the observation window 4. In the figure, reference numeral 6 denotes a channel into which an endoscopic treatment tool such as forceps is inserted.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the internal structure of a part of the distal end portion of the insertion portion 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the insertion portion 2 is provided with a flow path 7 formed so as to penetrate in the longitudinal direction of the insertion portion 2. The base end portion of the flow path 7 is connected to a pump (not shown) so that cleaning liquid and gas are supplied from the pump to the flow path 7.
A fitting hole 8 into which the proximal end portion of the nozzle 5 is fitted is formed at the distal end side of the flow path 7. A base end portion of the nozzle 5 fitted in the fitting hole 8 is supported by the insertion portion 2 by a bearing 9 so as to be rotatable around its central axis.

  The nozzle 5 has a cylindrical side wall and a discharge hole 5a formed in the side wall over the entire circumference. In addition, an impeller (rotational force generating means) 10 provided integrally with the nozzle 5 is provided inside the nozzle 5 with the central axis of the nozzle 5 as a rotation axis. A gap between the blades 10a included in the impeller 10 communicates with the discharge hole 5a. The impeller 10 is configured to convert the cleaning fluid or gas fluid pressure flowing from the flow path 7 to the discharge hole 5a into a rotational force around the central axis.

  The nozzle 5 is disposed outside the observation field of view by each observation window 4. Further, the nozzle 5 is provided at a position where the distances from the two observation windows 4 are substantially the same, and the cleaning liquid and air discharged from the discharge holes 5a are equally supplied to both observation windows 4. Yes.

  The illumination window 3 and the observation window 4 are respectively covered with cover glasses 11a and 11b whose surfaces are coated with a hydrophilic material. The washing water spreads without forming water droplets on the surfaces of the cover glasses 11a and 11b having hydrophilicity, and the washing efficiency can be improved by making it difficult for dirt to be adsorbed.

  The illumination window 3 and the observation window 4 may be covered by separate cover glasses 11a and 11b as shown in FIG. 1, but are covered by a single cover glass 11 as shown in FIG. It may be. Thus, when the cover glass 11 is single, there is no groove formed by the joint of the cover glass 11 between the illumination window 3 and the observation window 4, so that cleaning water does not collect in the groove. In addition, it is possible to improve the drainage of the cleaning liquid.

Next, the operation of the endoscope apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described.
When dirt adheres to the observation window 3 and / or the illumination window 4 and an image due to the dirt appears in the image of the subject observed by the endoscope apparatus 1 or unevenness in brightness of the illumination light occurs. The operator operates a pump (not shown) to supply the cleaning liquid to the flow path 7. The supplied cleaning liquid passes through the flow path 7 and the nozzle 5 and is discharged from the discharge hole 5a. At this time, the nozzle 5 is rotated by rotating the impeller 10 by the fluid pressure of the cleaning liquid. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the cleaning liquid A discharged from the discharge holes 5 a moves radially on the distal end surface 2 a of the insertion portion 2 while swirling around the nozzle 5.

  After sufficiently discharging the cleaning liquid, the operator supplies gas to the flow path 7. The cleaning liquid adhering to the illumination window 3 and the observation window 4 is blown off by the gas discharged from the discharge hole 5a. At this time as well, the nozzle 5 is rotated in the same manner, and the gas discharged from the discharge hole 5a moves radially while swirling around the nozzle 5.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the cleaning liquid and the gas are disposed around the nozzle 5 disposed at the position sandwiched between the illumination window 3 and the observation window 4 and on the outer side of the front end surface 2a. It flows in a certain direction. Thereby, the whole range of the illumination window 3 and the observation window 4 can be uniformly cleaned. Further, by adopting a configuration in which the nozzle 5 is rotated by using the cleaning liquid used for cleaning and the fluid pressure of the gas as a driving force, a mechanism such as a motor that generates rotational force and a gear that transmits the rotational force from the motor to the nozzle is provided. It becomes unnecessary. Therefore, the distal end portion of the insertion portion 2 can be made thin. Furthermore, even if a part of the discharge hole 5a is clogged, stable cleaning ability can be maintained.

  In the present embodiment, the configuration in which both the illumination window 3 and the observation window 4 are the objects of cleaning has been described as an example, but only one of them may be the object of cleaning. In that case, as shown in FIG. 5, a wall portion 12 that restricts the direction in which the cleaning liquid and the gas A are discharged may be provided. FIG. 5 illustrates a configuration in which the observation window 4 is an object to be cleaned and the wall portion 12 is provided at a position where the nozzle 5 is sandwiched between the observation window 4 and the observation window 4.

In this way, the discharge of the cleaning liquid and the gas A from some of the discharge holes 5a is restricted, so that the cleaning liquid and the gas A are discharged at a higher pressure to the target portion, and the cleaning efficiency is improved. Can be improved.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the wall portion 12 covers not only a part of the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle 5 but also the tip end side of the nozzle 5, so that the nozzle 5 comes into direct contact with tissue in the body. Can be prevented.

  In addition, in FIG. 5, the nozzle 5 is rotatably supported by the wall part 12 and the front end surface 2a. 6A to 6D are cross-sectional views showing the structures of the nozzle 5 and the wall portion 12 shown in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, the discharge holes 5a are formed over the entire circumference of the side wall of the nozzle 5. Instead, as shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of discharge holes 5a are provided in the circumferential direction. May be provided side by side. In this case, it is preferable that the plurality of discharge holes 5 a be provided so that the distance from the tip surface 2 a is increased in order in the rotation direction of the nozzle 5. By doing in this way, since the cleaning liquid and gas A discharged from the discharge hole 5a move sequentially from the position close to the nozzle 5 to the position away from the nozzle 5, the cleaning liquid and gas A are more efficiently moved to the outside of the tip surface 2a. It is possible to improve the cleaning efficiency by moving to.

Further, the size of the discharge hole 5 a may be configured to gradually change in the circumferential direction of the nozzle 5. In FIG. 8, the nozzle 5 provided with the several discharge hole 5a from which a magnitude | size differs is shown. As shown in FIG. 1, when the discharge holes 5 a are opened over the entire circumference of the nozzle 5, the width of the discharge holes 5 a may be configured to gradually change in the circumferential direction.
By doing in this way, the pressure of the cleaning liquid and gas discharged from the discharge hole 5a changes with the opening area of the discharge hole 5a. As described above, dirt with strong adhesion can be efficiently cleaned by the cleaning liquid and the gas whose pressure changes.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, the moving mechanism which changes the protrusion distance from the front end surface 2a of the discharge hole 5a by moving the nozzle 5 to the longitudinal direction of the insertion part 2 may be provided. In this case, the nozzle 5 is provided so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the insertion portion 2 with respect to the insertion portion 2. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the moving mechanism includes an elastic member 13 that urges the nozzle 5 toward the base end side, and a nozzle that is provided on the base end side of the insertion portion 2 against the urging force of the elastic member 13. It is comprised from the handle | steering_wheel which does not show 5 which moves 5 to the front end side. The operator can arrange the nozzle 5 at a position more protruding from the front end surface 2a by operating the handle.

  The position where the cleaning liquid and the gas are intensively supplied is the position farther from the nozzle 5 as the protruding distance from the distal end surface 2a of the discharge hole 5a is larger. Therefore, the cleaning efficiency at a position further away from the nozzle 5 can be improved by increasing the protruding distance of the nozzle 5. Moreover, the vicinity of the nozzle 5 can be efficiently cleaned by reducing the protruding distance of the discharge hole 5a.

  Moreover, although the insertion part 2 provided with the two observation windows 4 was demonstrated in this embodiment, the structure of this embodiment is applicable also to the insertion part 2 provided with the single observation window 4. FIG.

  In the present embodiment, the nozzle 5, the flow path 7 and the impeller 10 are provided in the insertion portion 2, but these 5, 7, 10 are inserted into the channel 6 and used. It may be configured as a mirror cleaning tool. That is, the endoscope cleaning tool includes a tube as a flow path inserted into the channel, a nozzle rotatably provided at the tip of the tube, and an impeller. Even if it does in this way, there exists an effect similar to the endoscope apparatus 1 mentioned above.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Endoscope apparatus 2 Insertion part 2a Tip surface 3 Illumination window 4 Observation window 5 Nozzle 6 Channel 7 Flow path 8 Fitting hole 9 Bearing 10 Impeller (rotational force generation means)
10a blade 11, 11a, 11b cover glass 12 wall 13 elastic member (movement mechanism)
A Cleaning liquid and gas

Claims (12)

A channel formed through the elongated insertion portion in the longitudinal direction;
A nozzle provided at the tip of the insertion portion so as to be rotatable about an axis in a direction along the longitudinal direction of the insertion portion, and having a discharge hole communicating with the flow path and opening laterally with respect to the axis;
An endoscope apparatus provided with a rotational force generating means provided integrally with the nozzle and receiving a fluid pressure of a fluid flowing from the flow path toward the discharge hole to generate a rotational force around the axis. An observation window for observing a subject provided on the distal end surface of the insertion portion;
The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a wall portion that covers the discharge hole on a side opposite to the observation window of the nozzle.   The endoscope apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the wall portion covers an end surface and a side surface of the nozzle and has an opening at a position disposed between the nozzle and the observation window. The nozzle includes a plurality of the discharge holes arranged in a circumferential direction around the axis;
The endoscope apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a distance between each discharge hole and the distal end of the insertion portion is increased in order in a rotation direction of the nozzle. The nozzle includes a plurality of the discharge holes arranged in a circumferential direction around the axis;
The endoscope apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the plurality of discharge holes have different opening areas.   The endoscope apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a moving mechanism that moves the nozzle forward and backward in a longitudinal direction of the insertion portion. Provided with two observation windows provided on the distal end surface of the insertion portion for observing a subject;
The endoscope apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the nozzle is provided at substantially the same distance from the two observation windows. Provided with an observation window for observing a subject provided at the distal end surface of the insertion portion,
The endoscope apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the nozzle is disposed outside an observation field of view by an observation window.   The endoscope apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a cover glass that covers an illumination window and / or an observation window provided on the distal end surface of the insertion portion.   The endoscope apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the cover glass is a single cover glass that covers the illumination window and the observation window provided on the distal end surface.   The endoscope apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, wherein a surface of the cover glass has hydrophilicity. A tube that can be inserted into a channel formed through the elongated insertion portion of the endoscope in the longitudinal direction;
A nozzle provided at the tip of the tube so as to be rotatable about an axis in a direction substantially along the longitudinal direction of the tube, having a discharge hole that communicates with the inside of the tube and opens laterally with respect to the axis;
An endoscope cleaning system comprising: a rotational force generating means provided integrally with the nozzle and receiving a fluid pressure of a fluid flowing from the flow path toward the discharge hole to generate a rotational force about the shaft. Ingredients.

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