JP2014150931A - Endoscope washing and disinfecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an endoscope washing and disinfecting device capable of washing and disinfecting a connection part that extends from an operation part of an endoscope.SOLUTION: An endoscope washing and disinfecting device includes: a cylindrical lower tank 32 that extends in a vertical direction for accommodating an insertion part 11 of an endoscope 10; an upper tank 34 connected to the upper end of the lower tank 32 for accommodating an operation part 12 of the endoscope 10; a water supply pipe 54 connected to either the lower tank 32 or the upper tank 34; and a drain pipe 50 connected to either the lower tank 32 or the upper tank 34. The upper tank 34 is provided with an operation part accommodating part 36 formed in a conical shape so that its diameter gradually increases upward for accommodating the operation part 12 of the endoscope 10, and a connection part accommodating part 38 in which a portion of the operation part accommodating part 36 projects toward the side and accommodates a connection part 14 of the endoscope 10.

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for cleaning and disinfecting an endoscope.

An endoscope is a medical device used for examination and treatment of the human body. Endoscopes are used by being inserted into the human body and are used repeatedly, and therefore must be sterilized after use.
Note that the endoscope has an insertion part that is a part to be inserted into a human body and an operation part that is provided at the base of the insertion part and is operated by a doctor or the like.

Various types of endoscope cleaning and disinfecting devices have been known.
For example, in the endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, the insertion portion is rounded and accommodated in the cleaning / disinfecting tank together with the operation portion.
In addition, the endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatuses shown in Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3 have a cylindrical cleaning tank extending in the vertical direction. In this patent document 2 and patent document 3, the insertion part of the endoscope is straightly extended, and the distal end side is directed downward, and is accommodated in a cylindrical cleaning tank.

JP 2009-207742 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-85180 JP 2004-65612 A

In the endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus as disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the entire apparatus is increased in size, there are problems that the installation location is restricted and the cost is increased.
In addition, the endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 is configured to be able to be cleaned and disinfected in a state where the insertion portion of the endoscope is straightly extended. Compared with Patent Document 1, the entire apparatus is reduced in size. be able to. However, in the configuration of Patent Document 2, the insertion portion and the operation portion of the endoscope can be cleaned and disinfected, but the connection portion (concept including a connection cable) extending laterally from the operation portion is a cleaning tank. There is a problem that it cannot be disposed inside, and the connecting portion cannot be cleaned and disinfected.
In the endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus of Patent Document 3, an upper tank is provided above a cylindrical pipe tank that houses an insertion portion of the endoscope, and an operation portion of the endoscope is disposed in the upper tank. This is illustrated. However, there is no description about the arrangement of the connection portion extending from the operation portion.

As described above, in the endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus having the vertical tank that accommodates the insertion portion of the endoscope straightly as in Patent Documents 2 and 3, the connection extending from the operation unit is used. It was not possible to clean and disinfect parts.
Although it is considered unnecessary to clean and disinfect the connector and the like at the tip of the connecting portion, it is necessary to perform cleaning and disinfecting the connecting portion in the vicinity of the operation portion.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connection extending from an operation unit in an endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus having a vertical tank that accommodates an insertion portion of an endoscope straightly. It is an object of the present invention to provide an endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus capable of cleaning / disinfecting a part.

According to the endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus according to the present invention, in order to accommodate the insertion portion of the endoscope, the cylindrical lower tank extending in the vertical direction, and the operation portion of the endoscope, An upper tank connected to the upper end of the lower tank, a water supply pipe connected to either the lower tank or the upper tank, and a drain pipe connected to either the lower tank or the upper tank And the upper tank includes an operation part accommodation part formed in a conical shape having a diameter gradually increasing upward to accommodate the operation part of the endoscope, and one of the operation part accommodation parts. The connection part accommodating part which accommodates the connection part of an endoscope by projecting toward the side is formed.
By adopting this configuration, since the connection portion is accommodated in the connection portion accommodation portion formed in the upper tank, the connection portion can also be cleaned and disinfected.

Moreover, the said connection part accommodating part may have a notch part for derivat | leading the front end side of the said connection part outside.
According to this configuration, since the tip of the connecting portion does not need to be cleaned and disinfected, or cannot be cleaned and disinfected, it can be taken out from the accommodating portion for cleaning and disinfecting.

In addition, the drain pipe is arranged outside the cutout portion, and the cutout portion has an overflow drainage portion capable of draining the liquid in the upper tank to the drain pipe by overflow. It may be characterized by also serving.
According to this configuration, it is possible to simplify the structure by combining the notch portion and the overflow drainage portion, and since a water flow is generated along the connection portion of the endoscope, cleaning of the connection portion and the like can be performed more reliably. can do. And by washing | cleaning by overflow, washing | cleaning can be completed in a short time rather than the case where water is stored and wash | cleaned.

In addition, a holding member that holds the endoscope in contact with the distal end side of the operation portion of the endoscope may be provided at a connection portion between the lower tank and the upper tank.
According to this configuration, the endoscope is securely held in the upper tank and the lower tank.

Furthermore, the holding member has an insertion hole through which the insertion portion of the endoscope can be inserted at the center, and has a plate-like shape having one or a plurality of circulation holes that allow the liquid to flow around the insertion hole. It may be a member.
According to this configuration, the endoscope can reliably hold the distal end portion of the operation portion by the holding member and can perform the flow of the liquid such as the disinfectant without any trouble.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to perform cleaning and disinfection of the connection portion extending from the operation portion of the endoscope.

It is a side view which shows the whole structure of the endoscope washing | cleaning disinfection apparatus concerning this invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of the endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus in FIG. 1. It is a side view of an upper tank. It is a front view of an upper tank. It is a top view of an upper tank. It is a piping system diagram of an endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus.

FIG. 1 is a side view of the endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a front view, and FIG. 3 is a plan view.
The endoscope to be cleaned and disinfected by the endoscope cleaning and disinfecting apparatus of the present embodiment is an otolaryngological endoscope, but is not limited to otolaryngological use. Therefore, in this specification, even an otoscope is simply referred to as an endoscope.
The endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus 30 is an apparatus for cleaning and disinfecting the endoscope 10 by accommodating the insertion portion 11 of the endoscope 10 in a state of being extended in the vertical direction.

First, the endoscope 10 to be cleaned and disinfected will be described. The endoscope 10 includes an operation unit 12 that is a part that is held by an operator such as a doctor and a part that is inserted into the body of the subject. A certain insertion portion 11 is provided.
A connecting portion 14 extends from the operation portion 12. In this specification, a portion extending from the side surface or the rear surface of the operation unit 12 including the cable 16 connected to the operation unit 12 is referred to as a connection unit 14. In the endoscope 10 according to the present embodiment, the connection portion 14 extends from the side surface to the rear side of the operation portion 12.

  The endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus 30 includes a cylindrical lower tank 32 that houses the insertion portion 11 of the endoscope 10, and an upper tank 34 that is connected to the upper part of the lower tank 32. The lower tank 32 is disposed such that the axis extends in the vertical direction. The insertion portion 11 of the endoscope 10 is accommodated in the lower tank 32 by being straightly extended vertically downward.

  The upper tub 34 includes an operation unit storage unit 36 that stores the operation unit 12 of the endoscope 10 and a connection unit storage unit 38 that stores the connection unit 14 of the endoscope 10. The operation portion accommodating portion 36 has a side shape that matches the shape of the operation portion 12. That is, since the operation part 12 is gradually reduced in diameter toward the insertion part 11, the operation part accommodating part 36 is formed in a conical shape that gradually decreases in diameter toward the lower tank 32 (downward). ing. The operation part accommodating part 36 and the connection part accommodating part 38 may be formed so that it may become integral, and may be formed as a different body.

When the upper tank 34 is viewed in a plan view, a circular operation portion accommodating portion 36 is arranged on the front side, and a substantially rectangular connection portion accommodating portion 38 is connected to the operation portion accommodating portion 36 on the back side of the operation portion accommodating portion 36. (See FIG. 3).
Further, the upper tub 34 is circular in front and square in the rear (back) in plan view, and is provided with a substantially rectangular parallelepiped cover 41 that covers the entire side surface of the upper tub 34 having such a shape. The upper surface of the cover 41 is open, and a cover 40 that can freely open and close the upper surface opening of the cover 41 is provided.

The upper tub 34 and the lower tub 32 are configured by different members, respectively, and a thread groove or the like in which a lower end portion of the operation portion accommodating portion 36 of the upper tub 34 and an upper end portion of the lower tub 32 are respectively formed. Connected by.
In addition, the holding part 43 which hold | maintains the operation part 12 is provided in the connection part of the upper tank 34 and the lower tank 32 (refer FIG. 6).
The holding portion 43 in the present embodiment is a plate-like member that is formed in the lower portion of the upper tank 34 and holds the lower end portion of the operation portion 12.

  Referring to FIG. 6, the holding portion 43 is formed with an insertion hole 45 having a diameter through which the insertion portion 11 of the endoscope 10 can be inserted. Further, around the insertion hole 45, four circulation holes 46 that allow liquid to flow are formed. In the present embodiment, the insertion hole 45 and each flow hole 46 are formed to communicate with each other, but the insertion hole 45 and each flow hole 46 may be formed independently.

  When the endoscope 10 is accommodated in the upper tank 34 and the lower tank 32, the insertion part 11 of the endoscope 10 is inserted into the insertion hole 45 and the insertion part is accommodated in the lower tank 32. The lower end of the operation unit 12 abuts on the upper surface of the holding unit 43, and the endoscope 10 is held in the upper tank 34 and the lower tank 32.

Next, the further detailed structure of an upper tank is demonstrated based on FIGS.
The connection portion accommodating portion 38 of the upper tank 34 is formed on the upper side on the back side of the operation portion accommodating portion 36. The connection part 14 of the endoscope 10 is disposed in the connection diagram accommodating part 38.
In the present embodiment, in order to lead out the distal end side of the connection part 14 from the connection part accommodating part 38 to the outside, the notch part 48 notched downward from the upper end part is provided on the back surface of the connection part accommodating part 38. It is formed at the side end.

The back side of the connection portion accommodating portion 38 is connected to the upper end portion of the drain pipe 50. Specifically, the notch 48 is configured to serve also as an overflow drain for water or disinfecting liquid stored in the connecting portion accommodating portion 38, and from the overflow drain (notch 48). The water that has flowed out due to the overflow flows into the upper surface opening of the drain pipe 50.
The drain pipe 50 is a cylindrical member having an open upper surface and extends vertically downward.

Note that a second cutout portion 52 is also formed at the upper end portion of the drain pipe 50 for leading the distal end side of the connection portion 14 to the outside. That is, in the present embodiment, the cutout portion 48 and the overflow drainage portion are used together, and thus the connection portion 14 is located at the upper surface opening of the drainage pipe 50.
The second cutout portion 52 is formed not at the same straight line as the cutout portion 48 but at a position shifted by about 90 ° in the side surface direction. This is due to the difference between storing the distal end portion of the connecting portion 14 on the back side of the endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus 30 or storing it on the side surface. In this embodiment, since the storage part 55 which accommodates the front-end | tip part side of the connection part 14 collectively is provided in the side surface of the apparatus 30, the 2nd notch part 52 is the side in which the storage part 55 is provided. Notched towards.

FIG. 7 shows a piping system diagram of the endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus according to the present embodiment.
In the endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus 30 according to this embodiment, a water supply pipe 54 is connected to the lower end portion of the lower tank 32, and water supply during cleaning is performed from below the lower tank 32. As described above, since the drain pipe 50 is connected to the overflow drainage section of the upper tank 34, drainage during cleaning is performed from the upper tank 34 by overflow.

Note that the disinfectant used for disinfecting is stored in the chemical tank 44. An air supply pipe 56 and a disinfectant supply / discharge pipe 59 are connected to the chemical tank 44.
The air supply pipe 56 is connected to a control valve 57 that is a three-way valve. One of the control valves 57 is connected to a branching portion 61 in the middle of the water supply pipe 54 via the control valve 62. A pump 58 is connected to the other side of the control valve 57.
An air intake / exhaust port 60 and a control valve 65 are connected to the pump 58. The control valve 65 is a valve that can be switched to the pressure side or the pressure reduction side.

A lower supply / discharge pipe 68 is connected to the lower end of the lower tank 32. The lower supply / discharge pipe 68 is a pipe for supplying / draining and draining the disinfectant liquid from the lower end of the lower tank 32. The lower supply / discharge pipe 68 branches into the disinfectant supply / discharge pipe 59 and the drain pipe 67 to the outside.
A control valve 64 is connected to a midway portion between the disinfecting liquid supply / discharge pipe 59 and the chemical liquid tank 44. By opening and closing the control valve 64, the lower tank 32 and the chemical solution tank 44 can be opened and closed.
The drain pipe 67 to the outside is connected to the external drain section 70 via the control valve 69.

  The end of the water supply pipe 54 opposite to the side connected to the lower tub 32 is connected to an external water pipe 80. Further, a control valve 66 is provided on the lower tank 32 side with respect to the branch portion 61 in the water supply pipe 54. By opening and closing the control valve 66, water supply from the external water pipe 80 and supply of air to the lower tank 32 during bubbling can be controlled. A manual valve 79 is provided between the water pipe 80 and the branch portion 61. The manual valve 79 is always open during operation.

  In addition, a water level sensor 72 is provided in the operation portion accommodating portion 36 of the upper tank 34. The water level sensor 72 is installed at a predetermined position of the operation unit storage unit 36. When it is detected that the water or the disinfecting liquid stored in the operation unit storage unit 36 has reached the installation position of the water level sensor 72, the control unit 74. A detection signal is output to

Specifically, the control unit 74 includes a central processing unit such as a CPU and a memory that stores a control program that instructs the central processing unit to operate. The control unit 74 is connected to the water level sensor 72, the pump 58, and the control valves 57, 62, 64, 65, 66, and 69.
Further, an operation unit 76 for an operator to operate is connected to the control unit 74.
The control unit 74 controls the operation of the pump 58 and each control valve based on a preset control program, an input signal from the operation unit 76, and a detection signal of the water level sensor 72.

Hereinafter, the operation of the endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus according to this embodiment will be described.
However, the operation content is not limited to the one described below, but will be described as an example of the operation.
The endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus 30 performs preliminary cleaning, disinfection, and rinsing operations in this order. Hereinafter, these three operations may be collectively referred to as a cleaning / disinfecting process.

First, the preliminary cleaning operation will be described.
When the operator operates the operation switch of the operation unit 76 to start the cleaning / disinfecting process, the control unit 74 outputs a control signal to each of the control valves 57, 62, 64, 65, 66, 69, and controls the control valve 66. Open and close control valves 62, 57, 64, 69. Water is introduced from the lower end of the lower tank 32 by opening the control valve 66. The water introduced into the lower tank 32 is stored up to the upper tank 34.

Simultaneously with the start of water introduction, the control unit 74 switches the control valve 65 to the pressurization side and opens the control valve 57 so that the pump 58 and the water supply pipe 54 communicate with each other. At the same time, the control unit 74 opens the control valve 62 and drives the pump 58. By driving the pump 58, air is introduced from the air intake / exhaust port 60, and air is sent into the lower tank 32 from the water supply pipe 54 via the control valves 57 and 62.
Air moves from the lower tank 32 to the upper tank 34 in the form of bubbles and can be pre-cleaned by bubbling.

During pre-cleaning, the control valve 66 remains open. For this reason, new water is always introduced from the lower tank 32 during the preliminary cleaning. Then, water overflows from the overflow drainage portion 48 formed on the back side of the connection portion accommodating portion 38 of the upper tank 34 and is drained to the drainage pipe 50.
In this way, during preliminary cleaning, water is always supplied and drained by overflow. Washing can be completed in a shorter time than when water is stored and washed by continuing to supply water. The reason for this is that when water is stored and washed, the water must be replaced in the middle of washing, and it takes time to replace the water. This is because no replacement is required.

  When the control unit 74 detects that a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the preliminary cleaning by bubbling, the control unit 74 stops the pump 58, closes the control valves 65, 62, 66, and opens the control valve 69. Thus, the preliminary cleaning is completed, and the water stored in the lower tank 32 and the upper tank 34 and used for the preliminary cleaning is drained through the drain pipe 67 via the control valve 69.

Disinfection is performed after the pre-cleaning.
When executing the disinfection operation, the control unit 74 switches the control valve 65 to the pressurizing side, and switches the control valve 57 in a direction in which the chemical liquid tank 44 and the pump 58 communicate with each other. Then, the control unit 74 opens the control valve 64. Further, the control unit 74 drives the pump 58 to send air into the chemical liquid tank 44 to push out the disinfectant liquid from the chemical liquid tank 44. The disinfecting liquid is fed into the lower tank 32 through the control valve 64, the disinfecting liquid supply / discharge pipe 59, and the lower supply / discharge pipe 68.

The disinfectant is introduced from the lower end of the lower tank 32. The disinfectant introduced into the lower tank 32 is stored up to the upper tank 34.
When the disinfectant reaches the position of the water level sensor 72, a detection signal is transmitted from the water level sensor 72 to the control unit 74. Based on the detection signal from the water level sensor 72, the control unit 74 closes the control valve 64 and stops the pump 58, thereby stopping the introduction of the disinfecting liquid.

Disinfection is performed in the lower tank 32 and the upper tank 34 in which the disinfectant is stored. In the disinfection process, bubbling is not performed, and the endoscope is simply immersed in the disinfectant for a predetermined time. In this embodiment, the disinfection time is assumed to be about 5 minutes.
When the control unit 74 detects that a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of disinfection, the control unit 74 opens the control valve 64 and switches the control valve 65 to the decompression side to drive the pump 58. By driving the pump 58, the inside of the chemical tank 44 is in a reduced pressure state. As a result, the disinfecting liquid is sucked from the lower tank 32 and is collected in the chemical liquid tank 44 through the lower supply / discharge pipe 68, the control valve 64, and the disinfecting liquid supply / discharge pipe 59. Note that the disinfecting liquid returned to the chemical tank 44 is used for a plurality of disinfection steps.

After the disinfecting process, a rinsing process for rinsing the disinfecting liquid is performed.
The contents executed in the rinsing step are almost the same as those in the preliminary cleaning step.
The control unit 74 outputs a control signal to each control valve 57, 62, 64, 65, 66, 69, opens the control valve 66, and closes the control valves 62, 57, 64, 69. Water is introduced from the lower end of the lower tank 32 by opening the control valve 66. The water introduced into the lower tank 32 is stored up to the upper tank 34.

Simultaneously with the start of water introduction, the control unit 74 switches the control valve 65 to the pressurization side and opens the control valve 57 so that the pump 58 and the water supply pipe 54 communicate with each other. At the same time, the control unit 74 opens the control valve 62 and drives the pump 58. By driving the pump 58, air is introduced from the air intake / exhaust port 60, and air is sent into the lower tank 32 from the water supply pipe 54 via the control valves 57 and 62.
Air moves from the lower tank 32 to the upper tank 34 in the form of bubbles and can be rinsed by bubbling.

During rinsing, the control valve 66 remains open. For this reason, new water is always introduced from the lower tank 32 during rinsing. Then, water overflows from the overflow drainage portion 48 formed on the back side of the connection portion accommodating portion 38 of the upper tank 34 and is drained to the drainage pipe 50.
During rinsing, water is always supplied and drained by overflow. By continuing to supply water and rinsing, rinsing can be completed in a shorter time than when rinsing and rinsing water. The reason for this is that when water is stored and rinsed, the water must be replaced in the middle, and it takes time to replace the water. Is not necessary.

When the control unit 74 detects that a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of rinsing by bubbling, the control unit 74 stops the pump 58, closes the control valves 65, 62, and 66, and opens the control valve 69. Thus, the rinsing is completed, and the water stored in the lower tub 32 and the upper tub 34 and used for rinsing is drained through the drain pipe 67 via the control valve 69.
When drainage is completed, the cleaning and disinfecting process ends.

  In the embodiment described above, bubbling is performed in the preliminary cleaning and rinsing as the cleaning / disinfecting step, but the present invention is not particularly limited to this configuration.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Endoscope 11 Insertion part 12 Operation part 14 Connection part 16 Cable 30 Endoscope washing | cleaning disinfection apparatus 32 Lower tank 34 Upper tank 36 Operation part accommodating part 38 Connection part accommodating part 40 Cover 41 Cover 43 Holding part 44 Chemical solution tank 45 Insertion Hole 46 Flow hole 48 Overflow drainage (notch)
50 drainage pipe 52 second cutout portion 54 water supply pipe 55 storage portion 56 air supply pipes 57, 62, 64, 65, 66, 69 control valve 58 pump 59 disinfectant liquid supply / exhaust pipe 60 air intake / exhaust port 61 branch part 67 drainage Pipe 68 Lower supply / discharge pipe 70 External drainage part 72 Water level sensor 74 Control part 76 Operation part 79 Manual valve 80 Water pipe

Claims (5)

In order to accommodate the insertion portion of the endoscope, a cylindrical lower tank extending in the vertical direction,
An upper tank connected to the upper end of the lower tank in order to accommodate the operation part of the endoscope;
A water supply pipe connected to either the lower tank or the upper tank;
A drain pipe connected to either the lower tank or the upper tank,
The upper tank is
An operation portion accommodating portion formed in a conical shape with a gradually increasing diameter toward the upper portion in order to accommodate the operation portion of the endoscope;
An endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus, wherein a part of the operation portion accommodating portion protrudes sideways to form a connecting portion accommodating portion for accommodating the connecting portion of the endoscope.   The endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connection portion accommodating portion has a cutout portion for leading the distal end side of the connection portion to the outside. It is arranged so that the drain pipe communicates with the outside of the notch,
The endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the cutout portion also serves as an overflow drainage portion capable of draining the liquid in the upper tank to the drainage pipe by overflow.   The holding part which contacts the front-end | tip part side of the operation part of an endoscope and hold | maintains an endoscope in the connection location of the said lower tank and the said upper tank is provided. The endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus according to claim 1. The holding member is
It is a plate-like member having an insertion hole through which the insertion portion of the endoscope can be inserted at the center, and one or a plurality of circulation holes that allow the liquid to flow around the insertion hole. The endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus according to claim 4.

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