JP7339695B2 - Spray container used for cleaning endoscope and insertion adapter used for this - Google Patents

Description

The present invention supplies gas from a gas supply unit that communicates with an air/water supply conduit formed in an operation part of an endoscope to remove deposits adhering to the tip opening of the air/water supply conduit. The present invention relates to a spray container for removing the , and an insertion adapter used therewith.

An endoscope has a tubular insertion section that is inserted into the body, and an operation section that is connected to the proximal end of the insertion section and performs internal observation or processing operations using the insertion section. Inside the insertion portion are a forceps conduit for inserting various treatment instruments, an air/water supply conduit for sending air and water into the observation window of the insertion portion and into the body cavity, and a light source. A light guide or the like is accommodated for guiding the light from the insertion portion and irradiating it from the distal end portion of the insertion portion.

When such endoscopes are used to observe the inside of the body, such as the stomach, and perform various procedures, blood and gastric juice may be found inside or around the tip opening (nozzle) of the air/water supply conduit in the insertion section. Alternatively, body fluids such as mucous membranes and deposits such as proteins adhere to the surface. If the endoscope is left in this state after use, the attached matter may solidify, causing clogging of the nozzle portion and rendering the endoscope unusable.

For this reason, conventionally, as shown in Patent Document 1, a gas flow path that communicates with an air/water supply conduit (air/water supply passage) is provided in an operation unit, and gas is supplied from the gas flow path to supply air.・A spray container is being considered to remove deposits attached to the tip opening of the water supply pipe.

This spray container is provided with an adapter that is inserted into a mounting recess formed in the operating portion. This adapter has a base that is mounted to the spray nozzle of the pressure container, and an adapter that extends from the base and is inserted into the mounting recess. and a tip attachment. The tip mounting portion is formed with an ejection hole for ejecting gas from the spray nozzle. In addition, a sealing member such as an O-ring is provided on the base end side or the base of the tip attachment part so that the gas does not leak to the outside from between the adapter and the attachment recess when the gas is ejected from the ejection hole. ing.

However, in a configuration that uses a sealing member such as an O-ring to prevent gas from leaking to the outside, repeated insertion of the adapter into the mounting recess of the endoscope wears or deforms the sealing member, causing gas to leak to the outside. There is a risk of

JP 2006-175221 A

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems. The main task is to prevent gas leakage from the

That is, the spray container according to the present invention supplies gas from the gas supply section communicating with the air/water supply conduit formed in the operation section of the endoscope, A spray container for removing deposits adhering to an opening, comprising: a pressure container filled with compressed gas; and an insertion adapter attached to an ejection nozzle of the pressure container and inserted into the gas supply part. The insertion adapter is formed with a supply path for supplying the gas ejected from the ejection nozzle to the air/water supply conduit, and is tapered from the proximal end to the distal end to form the gas supply section. A contact surface is formed to prevent gas leakage to the outside by contacting the inner peripheral surface of the gas supply unit when the gas supply unit is inserted into the gas supply unit.

In addition, the spray container insertion adapter according to the present invention supplies gas from the gas supply section communicating with the air/water supply conduit formed in the operation section of the endoscope, An insertion adapter that is used in a spray container for removing deposits adhering to the tip opening of a pipe line, is attached to an ejection nozzle of a pressure container filled with compressed gas, and is inserted into the gas supply part, A supply passage for supplying the gas ejected from the ejection nozzle to the air/water supply passage is formed, and the diameter decreases from the proximal end to the distal end, and the gas supply is inserted in the gas supply portion. A contact surface is formed to contact the inner peripheral surface of the portion to prevent gas leakage to the outside.

According to this aspect of the invention, the insertion adapter has a contact surface that decreases in diameter from the base end to the tip end, and this contact surface contacts the inner peripheral surface of the gas supply section to release the gas to the outside. Since leakage is prevented, there is no need to provide a sealing member for preventing gas leakage to the outside, and sealing failure due to deterioration of the sealing member or the like can be eliminated. As a result, gas leakage to the outside can be prevented while simplifying the configuration of the insertion adapter.

In the present invention, by pushing the insertion adapter into the gas supply section, the contact surface is brought into close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the gas supply section, and the gas is jetted from the ejection nozzle and sent through the supply passage. Gas will be supplied to the air/water supply pipeline.

As a specific configuration of the insertion adapter, the insertion adapter has a tip insertion portion that is inserted into the gas supply portion, and the contact surface is formed at the proximal end of the tip insertion portion. It is conceivable that

A tapered surface or a rounded surface can be considered as a specific embodiment of the contact surface.

In order to further prevent gas leakage from the contact surface, it is desirable that the contact surface has a tapered surface formed on the distal end side and a rounded surface formed continuously from the proximal end of the tapered surface. .

Similarly, in order to further prevent gas leakage from the contact surface, it is desirable that the contact surface is formed by continuously forming two or more tapered surfaces having different inclination angles.

The insertion adapter of the present invention is desirably made of polyacetal resin. Polyacetal resin has high self-lubricating properties, has the highest wear resistance among plastics, and has excellent mechanical strength, so it is difficult for the tapered surface to wear and deform, preventing gas leakage. can. Moreover, since it has high toughness and high impact resistance, it can be easily handled. Furthermore, since it has high elasticity and elastic recovery rate, it is possible to improve the adhesion between the contact surface and the inner circumferential surface of the gas supply portion. Moreover, it has excellent temperature stability.

In addition to the gas leakage prevention effect of the contact surface, it is desirable that the contact surface is provided with a sealing member made of an elastic material in order to further prevent gas leakage.

According to the present invention described above, in a spray container used for cleaning an endoscope, it is possible to simplify the configuration of the insertion adapter that is inserted into the endoscope and prevent gas from leaking to the outside. .

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a spray container according to one embodiment of the present invention is inserted into an endoscope, and a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which inserted the insertion adapter into the gas supply part formed in the operation part of the same embodiment. It is a fragmentary longitudinal cross-sectional view of the insertion adapter of the same embodiment. FIG. 11 is a partial longitudinal section of a plug-in adapter of a modified embodiment; FIG. 11 is a partial longitudinal section of a plug-in adapter of a modified embodiment;

100... Spray container 2... Pressure container 21... Ejection nozzle 3... Insertion adapter 31... Tip insertion part 3R... Supply path 3X... Contact surface 3X1... Taper Surface 3X2 Round surface 3X3 First tapered surface 3X4 Second tapered surface 34 Seal member 10 Endoscope 11 Insertion section 12 Operation section 13 Air/water supply pipe 14 Gas supply portion 141x Inner peripheral surface of gas supply portion

A spray container for cleaning an endoscope according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the endoscope cleaning spray container 100 of the present embodiment is used by being attached to the operation section 12 of the endoscope 10. Gas is supplied from the gas supply unit 14 communicating with the air/water supply pipe 10b to remove deposits adhering to the tip opening (nozzle portion) (not shown) of the air/water supply pipe 10b. It is.

Here, the endoscope 10 will be briefly described.
As shown in FIG. 1 , the endoscope 10 has a tubular insertion portion 11 to be inserted into the body, and is connected to the proximal end portion of the insertion portion 11 so that the insertion portion 11 can be used for internal viewing or processing operations. a portion 12; Inside the insertion portion 11, there are a forceps conduit 11a for inserting various treatment tools, an air/water supply conduit 11b for sending air and water into the observation window of the insertion section and into the body cavity, A light guide 11c for guiding the light from the light source to irradiate the inside of the body cavity from the distal end of the insertion portion 11, and other ducts 11d for suction and the like are accommodated.

In addition, the gas supply unit 14 communicating with the air/water supply channel 10b formed in the operation unit 12 has an internal channel 141 that communicates with the air/water supply channel 10b accommodated inside the insertion unit 11. and a mounting recess 142 that communicates with the air/water feeding conduit 10b via the internal flow path 141 and to which the spray container 2 is mounted. Here, on the inner surface of the mounting recess 142, a recessed groove 143 is formed over the entire circumferential direction at a position where the opening of the internal flow path 141 is formed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the spray container 100 of the present embodiment is attached to the pressure container 2 filled with compressed gas and the ejection nozzle 21 of the pressure container 2, and communicates with the air/water supply conduit 10b. and an insertion adapter 3 that is inserted into the gas supply unit 14 to be used. In addition, nitrogen, air, etc. can be mentioned as compressed gas.

The pressure vessel 2 is filled with compressed gas, and is provided with a jet nozzle 21 via a valve mechanism 22 at its upper end. By pushing up the ejection nozzle 21 , the valve mechanism 22 is opened and the compressed gas in the pressure vessel 2 is ejected from the ejection nozzle 21 .

As shown in FIG. 3, the insertion adapter 3 is made of resin and has a substantially rotating body shape. and a base portion 32 provided at the proximal end portion of the tip insertion portion 31 . The insertion adapter 3 of this embodiment uses a polyacetal resin (POM resin) that has excellent wear resistance, self-lubricating properties, excellent mechanical properties such as rigidity and toughness, and high temperature stability. . The insertion adapter 3 may be made of resin other than POM resin.

Further, the insertion adapter 3 is formed therein with a supply path 3R for supplying the gas ejected from the ejection nozzle 21 to the gas supply section 14 . A recess 3M into which the ejection nozzle 21 is fitted is formed at the lower end of the supply path 3R, and the bottom surface (upper surface in the drawing) of the recess 3M contacts the upper end surface of the ejection nozzle 21. FIG. By pushing down the insertion adapter 3, the bottom surface of the recess 3M pushes up the upper end surface of the ejection nozzle 21, the valve mechanism 22 is opened, and the gas ejected from the ejection nozzle 21 flows through the supply path 3R.

Also, the supply path 3R communicates with an opening 311 formed on the side surface of the tip insertion portion 31 . A recessed groove 312 is formed over the entire circumferential direction at the position where the opening 311 is formed in the tip insertion portion 31 . Then, when the tip insertion portion 31 is inserted into the mounting recess 142, the groove 312 of the tip insertion portion 31 and the groove 143 of the mounting recess 142 are aligned (see FIG. 2).

Furthermore, a sealing member 33 such as an O-ring is provided on the distal end side (upper side) of the opening 311 in the distal insertion portion 31 . The sealing member 33 is for efficiently introducing gas into the internal flow path 141 formed in the operating portion 11 . In addition, the seal member 33 prevents gas from flowing into another internal flow path (not shown) formed in the mounting recess 142 behind the internal flow path 141 communicating with the air/water supply pipe 10b. become.

The insertion adapter 3 of this embodiment does not have any other sealing member other than this sealing member 33, and the tip insertion portion 31 does not have a sealing portion above the sealing member 33. As a result, the distal end insertion portion 31 can be shortened, and the insertion length of the insertion adapter 3 into the endoscope 10 can be shortened, thereby improving usability for the user.

Then, in the tip insertion portion 31 of the insertion adapter 3, the inner peripheral surface 142x of the mounting recess 142 is inserted into the mounting recess 142 of the gas supply portion 14 communicating with the air/water feeding conduit 10b. A contact surface 3X is formed to contact and prevent gas leakage.

The contact surface 3X is formed of an outer circumferential surface whose diameter decreases from the proximal end to the distal end, and is formed along the entire circumference of the outer circumferential surface on the proximal side of the opening 311 of the distal insertion portion 31. It is

The contact surface 3X shown in FIG. 3 has a tapered surface 3X1 formed on the distal end side and a rounded surface 3X2 formed continuously from the proximal end of the tapered surface 3X. The inclination angle of this tapered surface 3X1 is, for example, 1 to 5 degrees (that is, the taper angle is 2 to 10 degrees). Further, the tapered surface 3X1 has an outer diameter that makes contact with the inner peripheral surface 142x of the mounting recess 142 when the distal end insertion portion 31 is inserted into the mounting recess 142 at the axial middle portion or base end portion of the tapered surface 3X1. have. Although the form of the tapered surface 3X1 shown in FIG. 3 is a linear taper, it may be an exponential function taper or a parabolic taper. Also, when the tip insertion portion 31 is inserted into the mounting recess 142, the tapered surface 3X1 does not come into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the mounting recess 142. The abdomen has an outer diameter that contacts the inner peripheral surface 142 x of the mounting recess 142 . Thus, the contact surface 3X is configured to have the tapered surface 3X1 and the rounded surface 3X2, so that the contact surface 3X comes into contact with the inner peripheral surface 142x of the mounting recess 142 reliably.

The contact surface 3X shown in FIG. 4 has a first tapered surface 3X3 formed on the distal end side and a second tapered surface 3X4 formed continuously from the base end of the first tapered surface 3X3. The slope angles of the first tapered surface 3X3 and the second tapered surface 3X4 are different from each other. FIG. 4 shows an example in which the slope angle of the second tapered surface 3X4 is larger than the slope angle of the first tapered surface 3X3. The first tapered surface 3X3 has the same configuration as the tapered surface 3X1 described above. In addition, the second tapered surface 3X4 is not in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the mounting recess 142 when the tip insertion portion 31 is inserted into the mounting recess 142, and the second tapered surface 3X4 The axial tip or midsection has an outer diameter that contacts the inner peripheral surface 142 x of the mounting recess 142 . Thus, by configuring the contact surface 3X to have the first tapered surface 3X3 and the second tapered surface 3X4, the contact surface 3X reliably contacts the inner peripheral surface 142x of the mounting recess 142. As shown in FIG.

By pushing the tip insertion portion 31 of such an insertion adapter 3 into the mounting recess 142 formed in the operation portion 12, the contact surface 3X comes into airtight contact with the inner peripheral surface 142x of the mounting recess 142, and the ejection nozzle 21 is supplied to the internal flow path 141 through the supply path 3R. At this time, since the contact surface 3X and the inner peripheral surface 142x of the mounting recess 142 are in close contact with each other, the gas jetted from the opening 311 of the insertion adapter 3 is released from between the mounting recess 142 and the insertion adapter 3 to the outside. It is supplied to the air/water supply pipe line 10b through the internal flow path 141 without leaking out. The gas supplied to the air/water supply conduit 10b reaches the nozzle portion of the air/water supply conduit 10b, and deposits adhering to the nozzle are removed.

According to the spray container 100 of this embodiment configured as described above, the insertion adapter 3 has a contact surface 3X whose diameter decreases from the proximal end to the distal end. Since gas leakage to the outside is prevented by contacting the inner peripheral surface, there is no need to provide a sealing member for preventing gas leakage to the outside, and sealing failure due to deterioration of the sealing member can be eliminated. As a result, gas leakage to the outside can be prevented while simplifying the configuration of the insertion adapter 3 .

In addition, in this embodiment, the contact surface 3X secures the tight contact between the gas supply unit 14 and the insertion adapter 3, and there is only one sealing portion inside, so that the length of the insertion adapter 3 is shortened. be able to.

<Other Modified Embodiments>
It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.

For example, in addition to the configuration of the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, a sealing member 34 made of an elastic material may be provided on the tapered surface 3X1 (the first tapered surface 3X3 in the embodiment of FIG. 4) of the contact surface 3X. good. Although FIG. 5 shows a configuration in which the sealing member 34 is provided at one location, the sealing member 34 may be provided at two or more locations above and below the contact surface 3X. As a result, the contact by the contact surface 3X and the sealing by the sealing member 34 make it even more difficult for gas to leak. Although the use of the seal member 34 may cause deterioration, etc., gas leakage can be prevented by the contact of the contact surface 3X, so there is no concern about gas leakage.

Moreover, although the contact surface in the above embodiment has a tapered surface and a curved surface, it may have only one of them.

In addition, various modifications and combinations of the embodiments may be made as long as they do not contradict the gist of the present invention.

Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, gas leakage to the outside can be prevented while simplifying the structure of an insertion adapter that is inserted into an endoscope in a spray container used for cleaning the endoscope.

Claims (5)

A gas is supplied from a gas supply section communicating with an air/water supply conduit formed in an operation section of the endoscope to remove deposits adhering to the tip opening of the air/water supply conduit. a spray container,
a pressure vessel filled with compressed gas;
an insertion adapter attached to the ejection nozzle of the pressure vessel and inserted into the gas supply unit;
The insertion adapter is formed with a supply path for supplying the gas ejected from the ejection nozzle to the air/water supply conduit, and has a diameter that decreases from the proximal end to the distal end so as to supply the gas supply portion. a contact surface is formed to contact the inner peripheral surface of the gas supply unit in the inserted state to prevent gas leakage to the outside,
The insertion adapter has a tip insertion portion that is inserted into the gas supply portion,
The contact surface is formed at the proximal end of the tip insertion portion,
The contact surface has a tapered surface formed on the tip side and a rounded surface formed continuously on the base end of the tapered surface, or two or more tapered surfaces having different inclination angles are continuous. A spray container formed by By pushing the insertion adapter into the gas supply section, the contact surface is brought into close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the gas supply section, and the gas is jetted from the ejection nozzle to pass through the supply path for supplying air and water. A spray can according to claim 1, wherein the line is supplied with gas. 2. The spray can according to claim 1, wherein said insertion adapter is made of polyacetal resin. 2. The spray container according to claim 1, wherein said contact surface is provided with a sealing member made of an elastic material. A gas is supplied from a gas supply section communicating with an air/water supply conduit formed in an operation section of the endoscope to remove deposits adhering to the tip opening of the air/water supply conduit. An insertion adapter that is used in a spray container, is attached to an ejection nozzle of a pressure container filled with compressed gas, and is inserted into the gas supply unit,
A supply passage for supplying the gas ejected from the ejection nozzle to the air/water supply conduit is formed, and the diameter is reduced from the proximal end to the distal end, and the gas supply portion is inserted into the gas supply portion. A contact surface is formed in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the gas supply unit to prevent gas leakage to the outside,
The insertion adapter has a tip insertion portion that is inserted into the gas supply portion,
The contact surface is formed at the proximal end of the tip insertion portion,
The contact surface has a tapered surface formed on the tip side and a rounded surface formed continuously on the base end of the tapered surface, or two or more tapered surfaces having different inclination angles are continuous. An insertion adapter for a spray can, which is formed by

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