JP3769848B2 - Endoscopic fluid device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides fluids for supplying high-pressure gas such as pressurized air, generating negative pressure for sucking body fluid, and supplying liquid such as cleaning liquid in an endoscope. The present invention relates to an endoscope fluid device provided for performing pressure supply / discharge control.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Endoscopes that are inserted into body cavities and used to perform inspections and diagnoses within the body cavities and to perform appropriate treatments, etc. are connected to the main body operation section with an insertion section into the body cavity, and the main body operation The universal cord is configured to extend from the section. At the tip of the universal cord, a light source connector that is detachably connected to the light source device is provided. A light guide is routed from the light source connector to the tip of the insertion portion. When the light source connector is connected to the light source device, illumination light from a light source lamp provided in the light source device is guided into the light guide, and this light guide With the illumination light transmitted through the inside of the body cavity, the inside of the body cavity can be illuminated from the illumination window provided at the distal end of the insertion portion, and the inside of the body cavity can be observed through the observation window.
[0003]
Since the observation window is formed at the tip of the insertion portion, there is a possibility that bodily fluids and other contaminants in the body adhere to the observation window. In this case, the observation field of view deteriorates, and the observation window must be cleaned. For cleaning the observation window, first, a cleaning liquid is sprayed toward the observation window to wash away the contaminants, and then pressurized air is sprayed at a high pressure to remove water droplets adhering to the observation window. In addition, if the body cavity is filled with body fluid, blood, or other filth, the tip of the insertion portion will be immersed in the filth, so it is necessary to suck and remove the filth.
[0004]
In view of the above requirements, the endoscope is provided with a fluid device that controls supply and discharge of fluid pressure. This fluid device includes a fluid supply mechanism including a cleaning liquid and pressurized air for cleaning the observation window, and a suction mechanism for sucking in-body filth. FIG. 7 shows the configuration of these fluid supply mechanism and suction mechanism.
[0005]
In the figure, 1 is a main body operation unit, 2 is an insertion unit, and 3 is a universal cord. The distal end of the universal cord 3 is a light source connector 4, and this light source connector 4 is detachably connected to the light source device 5. The light source device 5 includes an air pump 6 in addition to a light source lamp and the like, and a suction device 7 including a suction pump and a tank and a cleaning liquid tank 8 are disposed outside the light source device 5.
[0006]
The light source connector 4 is a pipe connection part, and the cleaning liquid supply flow path 10, the pressurized air supply flow path 11 and the suction flow path 12 are connected. The cleaning liquid supply flow path 10 is connected to the cleaning liquid tank 8, and the pressurized air supply flow path 11 and the suction flow path 12 are connected to the air pump 6 and the suction device 7, respectively. In order to pump the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid tank 8 to the cleaning liquid supply channel 10, the pressurized air of the air pump 6 is used. That is, a liquid level pressurizing channel 13 is branched in the middle of the pressurizing air supply channel 11 from the air pump 6, and this liquid level pressurizing channel 13 forms a double pipe line with the cleaning liquid supply channel 10. Thus, the cleaning liquid tank 8 is opened at a position on the liquid level. Accordingly, the liquid level of the cleaning liquid tank 8 is pressurized by the air pressure guided from the liquid level pressurizing flow path 13, and the cleaning liquid can be pumped by this pressure.
[0007]
The endoscope is provided with a cleaning liquid supply path, a pressurized air supply path, and a suction path. The main body operation unit 1 is provided with a cleaning fluid control valve 14 and a suction control valve 15. The cleaning fluid control valve 14 controls supply and shutoff of cleaning liquid or pressurized air, and the suction control valve 15. Thus, whether or not to apply a negative pressure to the suction path is controlled. For this purpose, between the light source connector 5 through the universal cord 3 to the main body operation unit 1, a primary side cleaning liquid conduit 16 detachably connected to the cleaning liquid supply flow path 10, and a pressurized air supply flow path A primary-side pressurized air line 17 that is detachably connected to 11 and a primary-side suction line 18 that is detachably connected to the suction flow path 12 are extended. The primary side cleaning liquid line 16 and the primary side pressurized air line 17 are connected to the cleaning fluid control valve 14, and the primary side suction line 18 is connected to the suction control valve 15.
[0008]
On the other hand, a secondary side cleaning liquid line 19 and a secondary side pressurized air line 20 are connected to the cleaning fluid control valve 14, and a secondary side suction line 21 is connected to the suction control valve 15. The secondary-side cleaning liquid line 19 and the secondary-side pressurized air line 20 are located in the vicinity of the distal end of the insertion portion 2, that is, before the angle portion that is bent to direct the distal end of the insertion portion 2 in a desired direction. The merged line 22 is joined at the position, and the merged line 22 is connected to the injection nozzle 23. On the other hand, the secondary suction line 21 is provided from the main body operation unit 1 toward the insertion unit, and communicates with a treatment instrument insertion channel 24 provided for inserting a treatment instrument such as forceps therein. In the figure, reference numeral 25 denotes a check valve provided in the middle of the secondary-side pressurized air line 20.
[0009]
With the above configuration, the cleaning fluid control valve 14 can control the injection of the cleaning fluid from the injection nozzle 23, and the suction control valve 15 can control the suction. In the cleaning fluid control valve 14, the secondary side cleaning liquid line 19 is normally disconnected from the primary side cleaning liquid supply line 16. The secondary side pressurized air line 20 communicates with the primary side pressurized air line 17, but the cleaning fluid control valve 14 is provided with an air release path 26, and the primary side pressurized air line 17. Since the air is communicated with the atmosphere via the atmosphere opening path 26, the pressurized air is released to the atmosphere, and the pressurized air is not supplied to the secondary pressurized air line 20 side. When the atmosphere opening path 26 of the cleaning fluid control valve 14 is closed with a finger or the like, the pressurized air from the primary side pressurized air line 17 is supplied to the secondary side pressurized air line 20 and injected from the injection nozzle 23. Can be made. When the cleaning fluid control valve 14 is switched, the secondary side cleaning liquid line 19 communicates with the primary side cleaning liquid supply line 16, and the secondary side pressurized air line 20 communicates with the primary side pressurized air line 17. Will be blocked. As a result, the cleaning liquid can be ejected from the ejection nozzle 23. On the other hand, the suction control valve 15 communicates and blocks the primary suction line 18 and the secondary suction line 21 by switching.
[0010]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, the above-described cleaning liquid supply path, pressurized air supply path, and negative pressure suction path are disposed over the entire length of the endoscope from the proximal end portion of the universal cord 3 to the distal end of the insertion portion 2. Therefore, it is extremely long. In addition, since the insertion portion 2 is inserted into a body cavity of a patient, there is a high demand for reducing the diameter thereof, and accordingly, it is necessary to reduce the diameter of each of the fluid paths described above. For this reason, the pressure loss becomes extremely large until reaching the injection nozzle 23 and the like, and a pressure loss of about 50% to more than that occurs particularly when pressurized air is supplied. As described above, the pressurized air is jetted from the jet nozzle 23 mainly to remove water droplets adhering to the observation window. Therefore, when the jet air is jetted from the jet nozzle 23, the pressure of the pressurized air is reduced. If it is low, water droplets cannot be efficiently removed from the observation window. Moreover, when the suction force by a negative pressure becomes weak, a body fluid etc. cannot be sucked efficiently. Further, with respect to the cleaning liquid, if the spray pressure is low, the observation window cannot be cleaned smoothly. In order to suppress these pressure losses, there has been conventionally a hydrophilic lubrication treatment applied to the inner surface of each pipeline, but if such treatment is performed, the pipeline becomes expensive. End up. Further, it is only necessary to improve the capabilities of the air pump 7 and the suction device 8, but there is a problem that the air pump 7 and the suction device 8 become large and difficult to be accommodated in the light source device 5.
[0011]
This invention is made | formed in view of the above point, Comprising: The objective is to make it possible to suppress the pressure loss in the pipe line which distribute | circulates a fluid as much as possible by simple structure.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention is provided with a primary fluid conduit extending from the universal cord side and a secondary fluid conduit extending from the distal end side of the insertion portion in the main body operation portion. The primary side fluid line and the secondary side fluid line are connected and cut off by displacement of a valve body slidably provided in the casing of the control valve. A plurality of side fluid pipes are provided, and each of the primary side fluid pipes is connected to a casing of the control valve, and the secondary side fluid pipes and the respective ones of the casings are connected to the casing by movement of the valve body. This is characterized in that an air chamber is formed to communicate with the primary fluid conduit .
[0013]
By providing a plurality of primary side fluid pipes, the flow passage cross-sectional area is increased, and the flow rate flowing into the control valve is increased accordingly, so that the pressure is also increased. However, depending on the endoscope, it may be preferable that the ejection pressure from the ejection nozzle is not so high. Therefore, the pressure can be adjusted by reducing the opening area to the control valve in the primary channel. For this purpose, a closing member that closes a part of the total opening amount into the casing by each primary-side fluid conduit is provided so that the opening amount can be controlled. Here, the closing member can be provided integrally with the valve body of the control valve, and the valve body of the control valve switches the flow path by sliding in the axial direction along the casing. By opening the valve body, it is possible to control the opening amount by the closing member.
[0014]
In the case of a pressurized air supply device that constitutes the cleaning fluid, it extends from the pipe connection part provided at the connector part at the tip of the universal cord to the injection nozzle provided at the tip of the insertion part through the main body operation part. An air flow path for supplying pressurized air, a control valve is provided in the main body operation section, and a primary side air pipe that connects the air flow path to the pipe connection section by the control valve; and the injection The primary air pipe and the secondary air pipe are brought into contact with and separated from each other by the displacement of the valve body slidably provided in the casing of the control valve. Accordingly, a plurality of the primary side air pipes are provided, and each of the primary side air pipes is opened in an air chamber provided in the casing of the control valve, respectively, and all the openings by the respective primary side air pipes are opened. Occlusion that occludes part of the volume By providing a timber, and controllable configuration the flow path cross-sectional area of the primary air channel.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the basic structure of the cleaning fluid supply mechanism and the suction mechanism in the endoscope is not particularly different from that of the prior art shown in FIG. The same reference numerals are given and description thereof is omitted.
[0016]
Thus, as shown in FIG. 1, the air pump 6 is provided with two pressurized air flow paths 30a and 30b, which are connected to the pressurized air flow paths 30a and 30b on the endoscope side. Two primary pressurized air lines 31a and 31b are provided. Therefore, when the universal cord 3 is connected to the light source device 5, the two primary-side pressurized air ducts 31a and 31b provided in the light source connector 5 are connected to the pressurized air passages 30a and 30b, respectively. Become.
[0017]
Of the two control valves provided in the main body operation unit 1, the cleaning fluid control valve has the configuration shown in FIGS. The cleaning fluid control valve 32 has a valve body 34 mounted in a casing 33 so as to be slidable in the axial direction, and an operation button 34 a that can be operated with fingers is connected to the tip of the valve body 34. It has been. Seal bodies 35 to 37 are provided on the valve body 34. The seal ring 35 located at the uppermost part is for sealing the inside of the casing 33, and the seal rings 36 and 37 are provided for switching between air supply and liquid supply.
[0018]
The casing 33 has a liquid inlet port 38 in which the primary side cleaning liquid pipe 16 is opened and pressurized air inlet ports 39a and 39b in which two primary side pressurized air pipes 31a and 31b are opened. In addition, a liquid outlet port 40 where the secondary cleaning liquid conduit 19 opens and a pressurized air outlet port 41 where the secondary pressurized air conduit 20 opens are formed. In the casing 33, a liquid chamber 42 for selectively communicating the liquid inlet port 38 and the liquid outlet port 40 by the sliding displacement in the axial direction of the valve body 34, and pressurized air inlet ports 39a and 39b, An air chamber 43 that selectively communicates with the pressurized air outlet port 41 is formed. An air release path 44 that penetrates the valve body 34 and reaches the operation button 34 a is formed, and the air chamber 43 is in a state where it can communicate with the atmosphere through the air release path 44.
[0019]
Further, a spring receiver 45 is connected to the upper portion of the casing 33, and a spring 46 is elastically mounted between the spring receiver 45 and the valve body 34. As shown in FIG. 1, the seal ring 36 blocks between the liquid inlet port 38 and the liquid outlet port 40, and the pressurized air inlet ports 39 a and 39 b and the pressurized air outlet port 41 are connected to the air chamber. It is in a state of communicating through 43. Further, the air chamber 43 communicates with the atmosphere via the atmosphere opening path 44.
[0020]
When the operation button 34a is pressed with a finger or the like, the pressurized air supplied from the pressurized air inlet ports 39a and 39b is supplied to the pressurized air outlet port 41 and passes through the secondary pressurized air conduit 20. Pressurized air is sent from the junction line 22 to the injection nozzle 23, and the pressurized air is injected from the injection nozzle 23.
[0021]
Further, when the operation button 34a is pushed against the spring 46, as shown in FIG. 3, the seal ring 37 blocks the pressurized air inlet ports 39a, 39b and the pressurized air outlet port 41 so as to seal the seal. The ring 36 is also displaced, so that the liquid inlet port 38 and the liquid outlet port 40 communicate with each other, the liquid level of the cleaning liquid tank 8 is pressurized, and the cleaning liquid flows from the secondary side cleaning liquid conduit 19 through the junction pipe 22. Then, it is supplied to the injection nozzle 23.
[0022]
As shown in FIG. 4, the supply path of the pressurized air supplied from the air pump 6 is cleaned from the two pressurized air flow paths 30a and 30b through the two primary pressurized air lines 31a and 31b. It passes through the air chamber 43 in the casing 33 of the fluid control valve 32 and reaches the injection nozzle 23 from one secondary pressurized air line 20 and the merging line 22. That is, there are two pipelines from the universal cord 3 to the main body operation unit 1, that is, the air chamber 43. Here, the universal cord 3 is a cylindrical member, and inside thereof, as shown in FIG. 5, in addition to the primary-side pressurized air conduits 31a and 31b, the primary-side cleaning liquid conduit 16 and the primary-side suction The pipe 18, the light guide F, the signal cable C and the like are inserted, and these insertion members are all circular in cross section. Therefore, there is a space for inserting the primary pressurized air pipes 31a and 31b having a relatively thin outer diameter, and compared with a case where only one pipe line is provided even if two pipe lines are inserted. Thus, the universal cord 3 does not have a particularly large diameter.
[0023]
Here, the pressure loss of the pressurized air flowing through the pressurized air channel depends on the channel cross-sectional area and the channel length, and the pressure loss increases as the channel length increases. . Now, for example, when the flow passage cross-sectional area of each of the primary-side pressurized air conduits 31 a and 31 b is the same as the flow passage cross-sectional area of the secondary-side pressurized air conduit 3, the pressurized air in the air chamber 43 Since the opening area on the inlet side is about twice the opening area on the outlet side, naturally the inflow rate into the air chamber 43 is larger than the outflow rate, and the pressure in the air chamber 43 increases. As a result, the pressure is increased in the air chamber 43. The pressurized air thus increased is supplied to the injection nozzle 23 via the secondary-side pressurized air line 20, but there is a pressure loss between them, but the primary side and the secondary side are the same. Compared with the case where the cross-sectional area of the flow path is used, the length of the flow path of the pressurized air is substantially shortened, so the degree of pressure loss from the pressure in the air chamber 43 is reduced. As a result, high-pressure pressurized air can be ejected from the ejection nozzle 23, and water droplets adhering to the observation window can be efficiently removed.
[0024]
As described above, there is a strong demand for reducing the diameter from the relationship of being inserted into the body cavity by increasing the flow rate of the pressurized air into the air chamber 43 and increasing the pressure in the air chamber 43. The injection pressure of the pressurized air from the injection nozzle 23 can be increased without increasing the flow path cross-sectional area of the secondary-side pressurized air conduit 20 inserted into the insertion portion 2.
[0025]
Here, if the spray pressure from the spray nozzle 23 is too low, water droplets cannot be removed, but it is not preferable that the spray pressure is too high. Therefore, it is desirable to be able to adjust the spray pressure. Therefore, a closing member 50 is integrally connected to the lower end portion of the valve body 34 so that the injection pressure can be adjusted. The closing member 50 covers a part of the inner surface of the casing 33 in the circumferential direction. When the valve body 34 is rotated, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, one pressurized air inlet port 39a is provided. Can be opened and closed. A click mechanism is provided between the closing member 50 and the inner surface of the casing 33. Here, in the illustrated example, a pair of click grooves 51 a and 51 b are formed on the closing member 50 side, and a click ball 53 biased by a spring 52 is provided on the casing 33 side. When the cleaning liquid is supplied, the valve body 33 is slid and displaced in the axial direction. Therefore, when the valve body 33 is in the raised position, the valve body 33 is not between the lower end portion of the closing member 50 and the bottom wall of the casing 33. A gap corresponding to at least the sliding stroke of the valve body 33 is formed, and the click grooves 51 a and 51 b are also long grooves having a length corresponding to at least the sliding stroke of the valve body 33.
[0026]
With the above-described configuration, both the pressurized air inlet ports 39a and 39b are connected to the air chamber 43 at the position of FIG. 4 where the click groove 51a of the closing member 50 is engaged with the click ball 53 by the rotation of the valve body 34. In a high-pressure injection state in which a large amount of pressurized air is supplied to the air chamber 43. Further, when the closing member 50 is rotated to the position shown in FIG. 6, the click groove 51b is engaged with the click ball 53, and the pressurized air inlet port 39a is closed by the closing member 50. A normal pressure injection state in which pressurized air is supplied to the air chamber 43 only from the port 39b is established. In order to recognize from the outside whether the closing member 50 is in the high pressure injection state or the normal pressure injection state, a mark is provided on the peripheral body portion of the operation button 34 a and the upper end surface of the spring receiver 45. 54 and 55 are provided.
[0027]
Accordingly, for example, whether the closing member 50 is brought into the high pressure injection state or the normal pressure injection state by appropriately rotating the operation button 34a according to the capability of the air pump 5 or the state of the supply path of the pressurized air. Can be selected. This makes it possible to adjust the pressure of the pressurized air that is injected onto the observation window.
[0028]
In the above-described embodiment, the primary side of the pressurized air supply path is constituted by two pipe lines, but it may be configured such that more pipe lines are provided. Further, the primary suction line in the suction control valve can also be constituted by a plurality of lines, and a plurality of primary side washing liquid lines for supplying the washing liquid can be formed.
[0029]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the present invention has a configuration in which a plurality of primary side fluid conduits are connected in the casing of the control valve, so that the total length of the fluid conduit is substantially shortened, and the pipe through which this fluid flows is circulated. An effect such as suppression of pressure loss in the road is obtained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a fluid device for an endoscope showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a cleaning fluid control valve.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a cleaning fluid control valve different from FIG. 2;
4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a universal cord.
6 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 4 showing different operating positions of the closing member.
FIG. 7 is an overall configuration diagram of a fluid device for an endoscope according to a conventional technique.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body operation part 2 Insertion part 3 Universal cord 4 Light source connector 5 Light source device 6 Air pump 7 Suction device 8 Cleaning liquid tank 30a, 30b Pressurization air flow path 31a, 31b Primary side pressurization air pipe 32 Cleaning fluid control valve 33 Casing 34 Valve body 34a Operation button 38 Liquid inlet port 39a, 39b Pressurized air inlet port 40 Liquid outlet port 41 Pressurized air outlet port 42 Liquid chamber 43 Air chamber 45 Spring receiver 50 Closure member 51a, 51b Click groove 53 Click ball 54, 55 mark

Claims (5)

Connect the primary side fluid conduit extending from the universal cord side and the secondary side fluid conduit extending from the distal end side of the insertion section to the control valve provided in the main body operation section. Connecting and shutting off the primary side fluid conduit and the secondary side fluid conduit by the displacement of the valve body slidably provided in the
Providing a plurality of primary fluid lines, and connecting each primary fluid line to the casing of the control valve ;
An endoscope characterized in that an air chamber is formed in the casing for communicating the secondary side fluid conduit and the primary fluid conduits by movement of the valve body. Fluid device. Claims, characterized in that a configuration in which the occlusion member for closing a portion of the total opening amount provided to each primary fluid conduit by the air chamber, to allow control of the opening amount by the closing member The endoscope fluid apparatus according to claim 1.   The said closing member is provided integrally with the said valve body, It was set as the structure which makes variable the opening amount of each said primary side fluid pipe line by rotating this valve body. Endoscopic fluid device.   4. The endoscope fluid apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a mark for indicating a position of the closing member is provided on a valve body of the control valve or an operation member thereof. The main body has an air flow path that extends from a pipe connection portion provided at the connector portion at the distal end of the universal cord to a spray nozzle provided at the distal end of the insertion portion through the main body operation portion, and supplies pressurized air. A control valve is provided in the operation portion, and the control valve is divided into a primary side air conduit that leads to the pipe connection portion and a secondary side air conduit that leads to the injection nozzle. In the case where the primary side air pipe and the secondary side air pipe are brought into contact with and separated from each other by the displacement of the valve body slidably provided in the casing, a plurality of the primary side air pipes are provided. The air ducts are respectively opened in the air chambers provided in the casing of the control valve, and the primary air ducts are provided by providing a closing member that closes a part of the total opening amount of each primary air duct. Passage break Fluidic device of the endoscope, characterized in that the control configuration capable product.

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