JP4928818B2 - Endoscope internal pressure adjustment device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an internal pressure adjusting device provided in an endoscope that may be sterilized by an autoclave, ethylene oxide gas (EOG), or the like.

  In order to perform ethylene oxide gas, autoclave, etc. to sterilize an endoscope, it is necessary to temporarily depressurize the sterilization chamber containing the endoscope, and the endoscope has a structure that can withstand such a low pressure environment. There is a need to.

  The problem here is that the most flexible part of the exterior of the endoscope, for example, a tube covered with a curved part, which is generally formed of rubber, may swell and burst during decompression. It is.

  Therefore, a check valve that prevents gas from passing from the inside of the endoscope to the outside and does not pass gas from the outside to the inside of the endoscope is provided. Further, steam, gas, washing water or the like is prevented from entering the endoscope during sterilization or cleaning.

  However, with such a structure, the endoscope's internal pressure remains lower than the atmospheric pressure even after the endoscope has been sterilized. There is a possibility that it may be in a state of being caught between the members and causing a failure.

  Therefore, during the sterilization process, a valve opening adapter that is detachable with respect to the check valve is attached to the check valve, and after the sterilization process, the check valve is moved by the cam mechanism while the valve opening adapter is being removed from the check valve. The endoscope is forcibly opened so that the inside and outside of the endoscope communicate with each other.

  However, in the method of attaching and detaching the valve opening adapter to the check valve after sterilization, there is a risk of forgetting to attach or detach the valve opening adapter. It has to be.

Therefore, the check valve is closed when the inside of the endoscope is at a lower pressure than the outside with the valve opening adapter attached, and is opened when the inside of the endoscope is at a higher pressure than the outside ( For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).
JP 10-328132 A JP 2005-168540 A

  The check valve of the internal pressure adjusting device for an endoscope as described above includes a valve seat wall formed in a mortar shape toward the outside, and a valve that is movably disposed in the axial direction with respect to the valve seat wall. The valve body has an annular groove formed in a conical portion facing the valve seat wall from the outside, and an O-ring for sealing between the valve seat is fitted in the annular groove. It is.

  When the check valve is open, the conical portion of the valve body moves away from the valve seat wall, so that the O-ring is separated from the valve seat wall and the inside and outside of the endoscope communicate with each other. When the stop valve is closed, the conical portion of the valve body approaches the valve seat wall, so that the O-ring is pressed against the valve seat wall so that the inside and outside of the endoscope do not communicate with each other.

  However, in the process of removing the valve opening adapter from the check valve after the sterilization process using autoclave or ethylene oxide gas (EOG) is completed, the internal pressure of the endoscope is in a negative pressure state close to vacuum. Since the suction force acts on the O-ring when the check valve opens, the O-ring comes out of the annular groove and is sucked into the gap with the valve seat wall. As a result, the check valve is closed. Thus, when the valve release adapter is removed, the internal pressure of the endoscope may not recover to atmospheric pressure. Then, as described above, the covering tube or the like of the bending portion may be in a state of being bitten between the inner members, which may cause a failure.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, when removing the valve release adapter, the O-ring of the check valve is not easily dropped from the annular groove even if a suction force due to the low internal pressure of the endoscope is applied. An object of the present invention is to provide an internal pressure adjusting device for an endoscope that can reliably return the pressure to atmospheric pressure.

  In order to achieve the above object, the endoscope internal pressure adjustment device according to the present invention opens the valve to a check valve provided on the outer wall portion of the endoscope in which the outer wall partitioning from the outside is all hermetically configured. When the adapter is detachably attached and the valve opening adapter is attached to the check valve, the check valve closes when the inside of the endoscope is at a lower pressure than the outside, and the inside of the endoscope is at a higher pressure than the outside. An endoscopic pressure adjusting device for an endoscope configured to force the check valve to be in an open state during the process of opening the check valve and removing the valve opening adapter from the check valve. An O-ring for sealing a gap between a valve seat wall formed in a mortar shape toward the stop valve and an annular groove formed in a conical portion facing the valve seat wall from the outside. And a valve body movably disposed in the axial direction with respect to the valve seat wall. In the internal pressure adjusting device for an endoscope, the bottom surface of the annular groove is formed in a slope shape parallel to the surface of the valve seat wall, and the height of the inner side wall surface of the inner and outer side walls of the annular groove is set on the outer side. It is formed higher than the height of the side wall surface.

  The height of the inner side wall surface of the annular groove is preferably substantially the same as the wire diameter of the O-ring, and the valve seat wall is formed in a mortar shape with a sandwich angle of approximately 90 °. Good.

  According to the present invention, the bottom surface of the annular groove into which the O-ring is fitted in the check valve is formed in a slope shape parallel to the surface of the valve seat wall, and the inner side of both the inner and outer wall surfaces of the annular groove. The height of the wall surface is made higher than the height of the outer side wall surface, so that when the valve release adapter is removed, the O-ring of the check valve is not affected by the suction force due to the low internal pressure of the endoscope. It is difficult to drop out of the annular groove, and the pressure inside the endoscope can be reliably returned to atmospheric pressure.

  The valve opening adapter was detachably attached to the check valve provided on the outer wall of the endoscope where the outer wall that partitions the exterior was completely airtight, and the valve opening adapter was attached to the check valve. In the state, the check valve is closed when the inside of the endoscope is at a lower pressure than the outside, the check valve is opened when the inside of the endoscope is at a higher pressure than the outside, and the valve opening adapter is in the process of being removed from the check valve. Is an internal pressure adjusting device for an endoscope configured so that the check valve is forcibly opened, and the check valve has a valve seat wall formed in a mortar shape toward the outside, A valve body which is arranged so as to be movable in the axial direction with respect to the valve seat wall by fitting an O-ring for sealing between the valve seat wall and an annular groove formed in a conical portion opposed to the valve seat wall from the outside. In the endoscope internal pressure adjusting device provided with the above, the bottom surface of the annular groove is the surface of the valve seat wall. And forming a parallel inclined plane and to form the height of the inner side wall surface of the inner and outer sides walls of the annular groove greater than the height of the outer side wall surface.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 shows the overall configuration of the endoscope. A bending portion that can be bent by a remote operation by an operation lever 3 provided on the operation unit 1 is provided at the distal end portion of the insertion unit 2 connected to the operation unit 1. 4 is provided. The curved portion 4 is covered with a flexible rubber tube.

  A light guide connector 7 detachably connected to a light source device (not shown) is attached to the distal end of the flexible connecting tube 6 extending from the operation unit 1. Reference numeral 5 denotes an eyepiece, which is unnecessary in the case of an electronic endoscope.

  In this endoscope, the partition walls that are partitioned from the outside are all hermetically configured by packing, O-rings, and the like, and the insides are in communication with each other. The light guide connector 7 is provided with a check valve 10 for adjusting the pressure inside the endoscope at the time of sterilization with ethylene oxide gas, autoclave or the like, and is detachably attached to the check valve 10. An open adapter 50 is provided.

  When the valve opening adapter 50 is attached, the check valve 10 opens when the pressure inside the endoscope becomes higher than the outside and allows gas to pass from the inside to the outside. When the pressure inside the endoscope is lower than the outside Is closed and does not allow gas to pass from the outside to the inside.

  3 and 4 show a state in which the valve opening adapter 50 is not attached to the check valve 10 and a state in which the check valve 10 is attached. The check valve 10 is externally attached to the outside of the light guide connector 7 that partitions the endoscope from the outside. In the vicinity of the outer end of the substantially cylindrical valve seat wall forming member 14 provided so as to protrude outward, the included angle (R shown in FIG. 1) that tapers outward is approximately 90 °. A valve seat wall 14a having a mortar shape is formed. The surface of the valve seat wall 14a is formed without any irregularities. 13 is an O-ring for sealing.

  An engaging pin 12 for engaging with a guide groove 53 of a valve opening adapter 50 to be described later is provided on the outer wall surface of the adapter barrel 11 which is fitted on the outer peripheral portion of the valve seat wall forming member 14 and fixed by screwing. It protrudes toward the side.

  The valve body 15 is disposed in the valve seat wall forming member 14 so as to be movable in the axial direction and rotatable about the axis, and the annular groove 20 formed in a conical portion facing the valve seat wall 14a from the outside. An O-ring 16 for sealing between the valve seat wall 14a and the valve seat wall 14a is fitted.

  Therefore, when the O-ring 16 is pressed against the valve seat wall 14a, the check valve 10 is closed and the interior and the exterior of the endoscope are completely closed. When the O-ring 16 moves outward and moves away from the valve seat wall 14a, the inside and the outside of the endoscope communicate with each other through the gap.

  A drive groove 15a for engaging a valve opening adapter 50, which will be described later, to rotate the valve body 15 about its axis is provided on the outer surface of the outer end portion of the valve body 15 located outside the valve seat wall 14a. It is also formed as a vent opening that opens.

  The valve body 15 is urged by a compression coil spring 17 in a direction in which the O-ring 16 is pressed against the valve seat wall 14 a and the check valve 10 is closed, and the valve body 15 resists the urging force of the compression coil spring 17. A drive pin 19 for pushing up 15 to forcibly open the check valve 10 from the outside is provided on the side surface near the inner end of the valve body 15.

  A spring receiving cylinder 18 that receives one end of the compression coil spring 17 is connected and fixed to the inner end portion of the valve body 15 by a drive pin 19. The spring receiving cylinder 18 is loosely fitted in the valve seat wall forming member 14 but can be moved forward and backward in the axial direction integrally with the valve body 15, and a plurality of ventilation holes are provided in the outer peripheral portion in the direction parallel to the axial line. A groove 18a is formed.

  A cam groove 22 for driving the drive pin 19 is formed on the side wall surface of the cylindrical portion of the valve seat wall forming member 14. As shown in the developed view of FIG. 5, the cam groove 22 has a chevron-shaped cam surface on the lower surface against which the drive pin 19 is pressed by the urging force of the compression coil spring 17.

  The cam groove 22 is an angle cam so that the movement of the drive pin 19 ″ accompanying the opening / closing operation of the valve body 15 is not restricted when the valve opening adapter 50 is attached to the check valve 10. It is formed in a shape opened upward from the bottom of the surface, and 22a is that portion.

  The intermediate portion of the cam surface of the chevron of the cam groove 22 pushes up the drive pin 19 ′ that has come to that position against the urging force of the compression coil spring 17 so as to force the valve body 15 to open. To work.

  The drive pin 19 is located at a position where the drive pin 19 is engaged when the valve opening adapter 50 is rotated to a predetermined maximum rotation angle θ in a direction in which the valve opening adapter 50 is detached from the check valve 10. A pin contact portion 22 b that prevents the valve from moving to the valve open state is formed on the upper surface of the cam groove 22.

  In the check valve 10 configured as described above, in a state where the valve opening adapter 50 is attached, the O-ring 16 of the valve body 15 is pressed against the valve seat wall 14a by the urging force of the compression coil spring 17 and is closed. When the pressure outside the endoscope drops below a certain level from the internal pressure, the valve body 15 is pushed outward by the differential pressure, and a valve opening is created between the valve seat wall 14a and the O-ring 16. It becomes a state.

  At a position where the valve body 15 is being rotated to the maximum rotation angle θ in the direction in which the valve opening adapter 50 is removed, the drive pin 19 ′ at that position is pushed up by the chevron-shaped cam surface of the cam groove 22. The ring 16 is separated from the valve seat wall 14a, the check valve 10 is forcibly opened, and a forced open state is established in which the inside and outside of the endoscope communicate with each other.

  When the valve body 15 is further rotated to the maximum rotation angle θ in the removal direction of the valve opening adapter 50, the drive pin 19 descends the slope of the angled cam surface and the valve body 15 gradually approaches the valve seat wall 14a. The O-ring 16 of the valve body 15 is pressed against the valve seat wall 14a by the urging force of the compression coil spring 17 to return the check valve 10 to the closed state, and the movement of the drive pin 19 in the opening direction is the pin contact portion. Blocked at 22b, the forced closed state is maintained.

  FIG. 6 shows a single valve opening adapter 50 for guiding the engaging pin 12 of the check valve 10 to the outer wall portion of the adapter main body cylinder 51 fitted to the adapter receiving cylinder 11 of the check valve 10. The guide groove 53 is formed, and a drive piece 54 that engages with the drive groove 15a of the valve body 15 projects from the head. Reference numeral 55 denotes a vent hole.

  FIG. 7 shows a state where the valve opening adapter 50 is being attached to and detached from the check valve 10, and the adapter main body cylinder 51 of the valve opening adapter 50 is fitted on the adapter receiving cylinder 11 of the check valve 10. The valve release adapter 50 is attached to and detached from the check valve 10 by guiding the engagement pin 12 of the check valve 10 into the guide groove 53 of the valve release adapter 50, and is shown in FIG. As described above, the drive piece 54 of the valve opening adapter 50 is engaged with the drive groove 15 a of the check valve 10, so that the valve body 15 rotates around the axis together with the valve opening adapter 50.

  9, the guide groove 53 is bent at a right angle in the circumferential direction following the guide groove 53a through which the engagement pin 12 is guided in the axial direction, and is rotated at the maximum rotation angle θ therefrom. A crank portion 53c is formed at an intermediate portion reaching the portion 53b. Such a crank portion 53 c moves the valve opening adapter 50 in the axial direction with respect to the check valve 10, but does not affect the opening / closing operation of the check valve 10.

  Thus, since the crank part 53c is formed in the intermediate part and the engagement pin 12 cannot pass therethrough at a stretch, it is illustrated in FIG. 7 when the valve opening adapter 50 is removed from the check valve 10. The time for the forced open state is ensured for a certain time or more, and the inside of the endoscope can be made equal to the external atmospheric pressure by reliably introducing the outside air into the endoscope in the decompressed state.

  When the valve opening adapter 50 is rotated about the axis in the removal direction to the maximum rotation angle θ and the engagement pin 12 reaches the end 53b of the guide groove 53, the drive pin 19 is moved as shown in FIG. The forced closing state led to the pin contact portion 22b of the cam groove 22 is established.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in a state where the valve opening adapter 50 is removed from the check valve 10 and the check valve 10 is forcibly closed, the O-ring 16 attached to the valve body 15 is compressed coil spring. 17 is pressed against the valve seat wall 14a by the urging force of 17, and this state is maintained by the engagement between the drive pin 19 and the pin contact portion 22b of the cam groove 22.

  FIG. 1 shows an enlarged view of the valve body 15 in a forced open state (FIG. 7) while the valve opening adapter 50 is being removed from the check valve 10, and the bottom surface 20b of the annular groove 20 is the valve seat wall 14a. The inner side wall surface 20i of the annular groove 20 has a height Li that is higher than the height Lo of the outer side wall surface 20o. Has been. That is, Li> Lo, and the height Li of the inner side wall surface 20 i is formed to be approximately the same as the wire diameter d of the O-ring 16. That is, Li≈d.

  As a result, even if the suction force due to the low internal pressure of the endoscope acts from the gap side with the valve seat wall 14a when the valve release adapter 50 is in the forced open state in the middle of being removed from the check valve 10. Compared to the conventional case, the O-ring 16 is very difficult to drop out of the annular groove 20, and the pressure inside the endoscope can be reliably returned to atmospheric pressure.

It is a partial expanded side sectional view of the state where the check valve of the internal pressure adjusting device of the endoscope according to the embodiment of the present invention is in a forced open state. It is an external view which shows the whole structure of the endoscope of the Example of this invention. It is side surface sectional drawing of the state in which the valve opening adapter is not attached to the check valve of the internal pressure adjusting device of the endoscope of the Example of this invention. It is side surface sectional drawing of the state in which the valve opening adapter was attached to the non-return valve of the internal pressure adjusting device of the endoscope of the Example of this invention. It is an expanded view of the cam groove of the non-return valve of the internal pressure adjusting device of the endoscope of the Example of this invention. It is a side half sectional view of a valve opening adapter of an internal pressure adjusting device of an endoscope of an example of the present invention. It is side surface sectional drawing of the state in which the non-return valve is a forced open state in the internal pressure adjusting device of the endoscope of the Example of this invention. It is VIII-VIII sectional drawing in FIG. 7 of the internal pressure adjustment apparatus of the endoscope of the Example of this invention. It is an expanded view of the guide groove of the valve opening adapter of the internal pressure adjusting device of the endoscope of the embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Check valve 14a Valve seat wall 15 Valve body 16 O-ring 20 Annular groove 20b Bottom surface 20i Inner side wall surface 20o Outer side wall surface 50 Valve release adapter d Wire diameter (diameter) of O-ring
Li Inner side wall surface height Lo Outer side wall surface height

Claims (1)

A valve opening adapter is detachably attached to a check valve provided on the outer wall portion of the endoscope in which the outer wall that partitions the outside is hermetically configured, and the valve opening adapter is attached to the check valve. In the attached state, the check valve is closed when the inside of the endoscope is at a lower pressure than the outside, and the check valve is opened when the inside of the endoscope is at a higher pressure than the outside, and the valve opening adapter is connected to the check valve. In the process of being removed from the valve, the internal pressure adjusting device of the endoscope configured to forcibly open the check valve,
The check valve has a valve seat wall formed in a mortar shape with an angle of about 90 ° toward the outside, and an annular groove formed in a conical portion facing the valve seat wall from the outside. An internal pressure adjusting device for an endoscope, in which an O-ring for sealing between a seat and a valve body that is movably disposed in an axial direction with respect to the valve seat wall is provided,
The bottom surface of the annular groove is formed in a slope shape parallel to the surface of the valve seat wall, and the height of the inner side wall surface of the inner and outer side wall surfaces of the annular groove is higher than the height of the outer side wall surface. High , formed with the same diameter as the O-ring wire diameter,
When the check valve is closed, the O-ring is pressed into the annular groove by the valve seat wall from the inner side wall surface side of the annular groove and crushed, and the valve seat wall is placed outside the annular groove. An internal pressure adjusting device for an endoscope, wherein the internal pressure adjusting device moves in an annular groove inward direction from an outer edge position of an inner side wall surface higher than the side wall surface .

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