JPH0226491B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an endoscope cleaning device that automatically cleans an endoscope.

When cleaning an endoscope using a cleaning device, the endoscope is placed in a cleaning tank, the lid of the cleaning tank is closed, and cleaning liquid is sprayed onto the endoscope from a spray nozzle. However, since the lid of a conventional cleaning device is simply placed on the upper edge of the cleaning tank when it is closed, the lid may be accidentally opened during cleaning. In this case, the cleaning liquid sprayed from the spray nozzle is scattered outside, contaminating surrounding equipment, etc., and also causing an unsanitary situation such as falling on the operator.

For this reason, during cleaning, a part of the cleaning liquid that is force-fed into the liquid supply path is introduced into the cylinder, and the piston is moved forward by the liquid pressure and is latched to the hook of the lid body. A method that made it impossible to open was proposed earlier (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 147672/1983).
issue).

However, with this method, if filth or water scale were stuck to the cylinder or piston, the piston could not be returned to its original position, and the lid could not be opened without extensive disassembly work.

The present invention has been developed in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to easily release the locking device from the outside and close the lid even if the locking device becomes stuck due to dirt or water scale. An object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope cleaning device that can be opened.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

The main body of the cleaning device 2 is shown in FIG.
An operation panel 3 is provided at the upper front of the main body 1 of the apparatus, and an indicator 4 is provided at the front for indicating the respective amounts of detergent and disinfectant. A cleaning tank 6 that houses the entire endoscope 5 is provided inside the device main body 1, as will be described later.
An opening at the top of the cleaning tank 6 is closed by a lid 7 that can be opened and closed. In addition, this lid body 7
It can be opened directly by hand using the handle 8, but it can also be opened indirectly using the foot pedal 9.

A rotary tube 11 for attaching a nozzle is attached to the center of the inside of the cleaning tank 6 so as to be rotatable in the horizontal direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the bottom central wall of the cleaning tank 6 is raised in the shape of a truncated cone, and this truncated cone portion 1
A rotating shaft 13 passes through the center of 2 in an airtight manner. A shaft retainer 14 is provided in this penetrating portion, and the rotating shaft 13 is attached via the shaft retainer 14. A ring-shaped packing 15 is inserted between the bearing sleeve 14 and the rotating shaft 13.
A bottom plate 16 made of a non-magnetic material is attached and fixed to the lower opening of the truncated cone portion 12 via mounting screws 17, so as to airtightly close the inside of the truncated cone portion 12. Outer wall and bottom plate 16 of cleaning tank 6
A packing 18 is attached between the two. Furthermore, a thrust pin 19 is protruded from the center of the bottom plate 16, and is adapted to support a driven side yoke 21 attached to the lower end of the rotating shaft 13. A driven magnet 23 is attached to the periphery of the driven side yoke 21. Further, a driving side yoke 24 is installed on the outside of the driven side yoke 21 with the bottom plate 16 interposed therebetween so as to face the driven side yoke 21 . This drive side yoke 2
4 is the driven magnet 2 of the driven side yoke 21.
A driving magnet 25 opposite to 3 is attached. Then, the rotation shaft 26 of the drive side yoke 24
A drive motor 27 is connected to and is activated when performing a cleaning operation. Therefore, the driving side yoke 24 and the driven side yoke 2
1, each driving magnet 25 and driven magnet 23 are connected by magnetic force, and the rotational power of the driving motor 27 can be transmitted to the rotating cylinder 11.

Furthermore, an upper nozzle 28 and a lower nozzle 29 are attached to the rotary cylinder 11, which protrude in a radial horizontal direction, that is, in a rotational radial direction. The upper nozzle 28 is located above the endoscope 5 installed in the cleaning tank 6 and sprays cleaning liquid onto the endoscope 5 from above. In addition, the lower nozzle 29 is connected to the cleaning tank 6.
It is located below the endoscope 5 installed in the interior, and sprays cleaning liquid onto the endoscope 5 from below. As shown in FIG. 4, each nozzle 28, 29 communicates with a cleaning liquid passage 31 formed within the rotary cylinder 11. The cleaning liquid passage 31 communicates with the internal space 33 of the truncated conical portion 12 via the inflow passage 32 formed within the rotary cylinder 11 described above. Further, a tube 35 connected to the empty space 33 via a connecting alloy 34 communicates with the tube 35, and a water pump W is used to supply pressurized cleaning liquid from a cleaning liquid tank (not shown). There is.

By the way, the lower nozzle 29 is connected to the nozzle shaft cylinder 3.
6 and a nozzle tip 37, which are fixedly attached to the rotary cylinder 11. On the other hand, the upper nozzle 28 is attached so as to be able to move forward and backward in the radial direction of rotation. That is, upper nozzle 2
8 consists of a nozzle shaft cylinder 38 and a nozzle tip 39, and the nozzle shaft cylinder 38 is inserted into a guide hole 41 formed in the rotary cylinder 11. Further, a large diameter piston portion 42 is integrally formed at the inner end of the nozzle shaft cylinder 38. This piston portion 42 has a cylinder hole 4 formed in a large diameter continuously from the guide hole 41.
It is inserted into 3. The piston portion 42 is configured to slide within the cylinder hole 43 and move the nozzle shaft cylinder 38 forward and backward by the amount of its stroke. Further, a return spring 44 wound around the nozzle shaft cylinder 38 is provided in the guide hole 41 as a means for biasing the upper nozzle 28 . In other words, the return spring 44 causes the upper nozzle 28 to be drawn inward. Also, the guide hole 41
A ring-shaped packing 45 is provided on the stepped wall between the guide hole 41 and the cylinder hole 43, and is configured to watertightly shield the gap between the guide hole 41 and the piston portion 42 during supply of cleaning liquid. There is.

On the other hand, the endoscope 5 has an operating section 5a and an insertion section 5b.
and a light guide cable 5c, and the entire structure is watertight. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the whole is installed in the cleaning tank 6 by installation support means to be described later. That is, the elongated insertion part 5b and the light guide cable 5c are spirally wound around the rotary cylinder 11 in opposite directions, and the operating part 5a is installed in a sidewardly recessed bay part 46. Ru. The setting support means includes a net 47 on which the insertion portion 5b and the light guide cable 5c are placed, and a shelf 48 on which the operating portion 5a is placed.
It is made up of.

Further, in the bay part 46, a plurality of cleaning nozzles 49 are provided, each facing the operating part 5a placed on the shelf 48.
...is permanently installed. That is, the fixedly installed cleaning nozzles 49 spray the cleaning liquid toward the operation part 5a, where the cleaning liquid jetted from the rotating upper nozzle 28 and lower nozzle 29 does not reach sufficiently. Note that these cleaning nozzles 49 are connected to a cleaning liquid tank via the water pump W described above.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a discharge port 51 is provided at the bottom of the cleaning tank 6.

Further, at the bottom of the cleaning tank 6, as shown in FIG.
A raised bottom portion 52 is provided, the bottom wall of which is raised to avoid the passage area where the rotor 9 rotates. This raised bottom portion 52 has a bay portion 46 centered around the rotary cylinder 11.
It is formed over the entire circumference of the cleaning tank 6 except for. In other words, the raised bottom portion 52 is formed with a raised bottom so as to eliminate dead space within the cleaning tank 6.
As a result, the volume inside the cleaning tank 6 is significantly reduced. Therefore, as will be described later, the required amount of disinfectant solution to be supplied into the cleaning tank 6 in the disinfection process can be greatly reduced.

On the other hand, a cylindrical collar 63 is attached to the inner surface of the lid 7 so as to be located around the opening of the cleaning tank 6 and descending into the cleaning tank 6. This flange 63 is for blocking the cleaning liquid from entering between the periphery of the opening of the cleaning tank 6 and the lid 7.
Furthermore, a hole 64 is formed in a part of the collar 63, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, and constitutes a hook 65 into which a piston 66, which will be described later, is inserted and locked. Further, a cylinder 67 having a piston 66 inserted therein is attached and fixed to the wall of the cleaning tank 6 with respect to the hook 65. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, one end of the cylinder 67 is connected to the cleaning tank 6.
The other end of the cylinder 67 is attached by penetrating through a mounting hole 61 provided in the outer wall 1a of the main body 1 in a liquid-tight manner. Note that the vicinity 68 of the mounting hole 62 that supports the other end of the cylinder 67 is recessed more than the other outer surface, as shown in FIG. Further, the piston 66 is slidably provided within the cylinder 67 so as to protrude and retract into the cleaning tank 6. The piston 66 is urged in the retracting direction by a spring 69 as an urging member,
Usually, a locking pin 70 that also serves as a stopper and connected to the inner end of the piston 66 connects to a cap 71, which will be described later.
When the robot hits the cylinder 67, it retreats to a position where it can be retracted into the cylinder 67 and waits. Note that the locking pin 70 is provided with a hole 70a that passes through the locking pin 70 in a transverse manner. The cap 71 is screwed into the outer end opening of the cylinder 67 exposed to the outside, and closes the opening of the cylinder 67.
In other words, on the outer periphery of the inner end of the cap 71, there is a male threaded portion 7.
2 is formed, and this male threaded portion 72 is connected to the cylinder 67.
It is adapted to be screwed into an internal threaded portion 73 formed on the inner periphery of the holder. Further, a ring packing 74 is fitted on the inner outer periphery of the cap 71 to form a liquid-tight shield between the cylinder 67 and the cap 71. The cap 71 can be operated by directly touching the knob 75 from the outside, and can be attached to and detached from the cylinder 67 by turning it. Furthermore, the sliding collar 76 of the piston 68 and the cap 71 in the standby position shown by the dotted line in FIG. 4 are separated by the length of the locking pin 70, but the cylinder 67 corresponding to this space A ferrule 77 is provided on the side wall of the holder 77 to be inserted into the space. And this base 77
A tube 78 as a conduit is connected to the water pump W, and the tube 78 is connected to a cleaning liquid supply line communicating with the water pump W as shown in FIG.

Next, the operation of the above cleaning device will be explained.

First, the cover 7 is opened and the endoscope 5 to be cleaned and disinfected is placed in the cleaning tank 6. At this time, the rotating cylinder 11 is not rotating,
Both the upper and lower nozzles 28 and 29 are stopped. Moreover, since there is no supply of cleaning liquid, the upper nozzle 28 is retracted by the biasing force of the return spring 44, and therefore does not protrude so far as to become an obstruction. Therefore, the endoscopy that will be performed from now on
does not interfere with the installation work.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, the operating section 5a of the endoscope 5 is placed on the shelf 48 in the cleaning tank 6, and
The insertion portion 5b and the light guide cable 5c are placed on the net 47. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, after closing the cover 7, the operation panel 3 is operated to start the cleaning operation. That is, the water pump W for supplying the cleaning liquid is activated, pressurizes the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid tank, and the cleaning liquid is supplied to the entire endoscope 5 through each cleaning nozzle, that is, the upper nozzle 28, the lower nozzle 29, and the nozzle 49. sprayed on. Upper nozzle 28 and lower nozzle 29
The cleaning liquid is spouted out while rotating in the cleaning tank 6 together with the rotary cylinder 11 rotated by the drive motor 27 . Incidentally, the piston portion 42 of the nozzle shaft cylinder 38 of the upper nozzle 28 is moved against the restoring force of the return spring 44 when pressurized cleaning liquid is supplied into the cylinder hole 43 .
Then, the piston portion 42 reaches a position where it crushes the packing 45 and stops. Further, at this time, by crushing the packing 45, that part is kept liquid-tight, so that no liquid leaks to the outside. Furthermore, this causes the upper nozzle 28 to protrude from the rotating barrel 11, and its nozzle tip 39 to protrude more than that of the stationary lower nozzle 29.
Looking at this in FIG. 2, the upper nozzle 28 and the lower nozzle 29 have different rotation radii at their respective nozzle tips 37 and 39, and can spray the cleaning liquid in a distributed manner. And upper nozzle 2
8 sprays from above, the lower nozzle 29 sprays from below, and the other nozzles 49 spray mainly onto the operating portion 5a located in the bay 46.

In this way, the outer surface of the endoscope 5 is cleaned with the cleaning liquid, and the internal passages such as the forceps channel of the endoscope 5 are also cleaned by connecting a liquid feeding tube (not shown) and supplying the cleaning liquid.

Further, the cleaning liquid that has fallen to the bottom of the cleaning tank 6 is collected at a discharge port 51, from which it is discharged to the outside by a discharge pump through, for example, an on-off solenoid valve.

On the other hand, during this cleaning process, a part of the cleaning liquid supplied from the water pump W is transferred to the tube 78.
Through the cylinder 6 of the locking device constructed as described above.
It has been sent into 7. For this reason, piston 6
6 is pushed by the hydraulic pressure and moves forward against the biasing force of the spring 69. Therefore, the tip of the piston 66 protrudes as shown by the solid line in FIG.
It is inserted into the hole 64 of the hook 65. In other words, the lid 7 is in a locked state where it cannot be opened. Therefore, even if an attempt is made to open the lid 7 by mistake during cleaning, the lid 7 cannot be opened, thereby reliably preventing the cleaning liquid from scattering to the outside due to the opening of the lid 7.

Once this cleaning operation is complete, the disinfection process will begin if specified. That is, the discharge port 51 is closed by a solenoid valve (not shown), and a water pump (not shown) is operated. As a result, the disinfectant in the disinfectant tank is injected into the cleaning chamber from a disinfectant injection nozzle (not shown). Then, the entire endoscope 5 is immersed in the disinfectant solution. Disinfection is performed by allowing a predetermined period of time to pass. After the disinfection is completed, the disinfectant in the cleaning tank 6 is collected into the disinfectant tank. Thereafter, water washing (rinsing) is performed again in the same way as the washing operation described above.

Furthermore, when the endoscope 5 is taken out after cleaning and disinfection, the rotating tube 11 and the upper and lower nozzles 28 and 29 have stopped rotating, and there is no supply after cleaning.
The upper nozzle 28 is retracted by the biasing force of the return spring 44 and becomes shorter. Therefore, the endoscope 5 can be easily taken out without being hindered.

On the other hand, if the cleaning operation stops, the liquid will not be sent to the cylinder 67 of the locking device, so the piston 6
8 is returned by the biasing force of the spring 69 and retracted into the cylinder 67. Therefore, the piston 66 comes off the hook 65. Therefore, the lid body 7 can be opened freely.

Incidentally, as a result of the above-mentioned use, dirt, water scale, etc. may adhere to the cylinder 67, piston 66, etc. of the locking device, which may impede the return operation of the piston 66, causing it to remain locked to the hook 65 and become unable to be released. There is. In such a case, the cap 71 is removed from the outside of the device main body 1 and the cylinder 67 is opened. Then, use a tool such as pliers to pinch and pull the locking pin 70 to remove the piston 66 from the hook 65. Moreover, when using a hook-shaped tool, it is locked into the hole 70a of the locking pin 70 and pulled out. In this way, the piston 66 can be easily removed from the hook 65 by simply removing the cap 71 from the outside. Therefore, large-scale disassembly work is not required to open the lid body 7.

The locking pin 70 is not limited to this, for example, it may be formed into a plate shape, a hole may be provided in it, the tip of the plate member may be bent, or a small diameter part may be formed in the middle. , a narrow portion may be provided.

As explained above, in order to prevent the lid from opening during cleaning, the present invention introduces a portion of the cleaning liquid that is force-fed into the liquid supply path into the cylinder, and uses the liquid pressure to advance the piston to close the lid. In a locking device that is adapted to be locked onto a hook on the body, a cap that can be attached and detached from the outside is provided at the opening of the cylinder, and when this cap is removed, a part of the piston is exposed to the outside, preventing it from being exposed from the outside. The piston can be easily returned by operation. Therefore, even if the cylinder, piston, etc. become stuck with dirt, water scale, etc. as a result of use, the user can easily and immediately open the lid by operating from the outside.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cleaning device, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view near the cleaning tank, FIG. 3 is a side sectional view near the rotating nozzle,
FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the vicinity of the lock device, and FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of the vicinity of the lock device as seen from the outside. 1...Device main body, 6...Cleaning tank, 7...Lid body,
65... Hook, 66... Piston, 67... Cylinder, 69... Spring, 70... Locking pin, 71... Cap.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In an endoscope cleaning device that pumps cleaning liquid through a supply path to an injection nozzle in a cleaning tank during cleaning, a lid body that opens and closes an opening of the cleaning tank;
A hook provided on the lid, a cylinder provided on the wall of the cleaning tank opposite to the hook, and the supply path communicated with the cylinder, and a portion of the cleaning liquid is supplied when the cleaning liquid is pumped. A pipeline is introduced into the cylinder, and the biasing member is biased by the hydraulic pressure of the cleaning liquid that is slidably provided in the cylinder and is biased by a biasing member. a piston that moves forward against force and removably locks one end of the piston to the hook, and the piston is removably attached to the cylinder so that it can be attached and detached from the outside, and when removed, the piston is detachably attached to the cylinder. 1. An endoscope cleaning device characterized by having a cap that operablely exposes a portion of the endoscope to the outside.