JPH0254087B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an endoscope equipped with a suction switching valve and an air/water supply switching valve.

Generally, an endoscope is provided with a suction switching valve that controls opening and closing of a suction channel for suctioning mucus and the like in a body cavity. This suction switching valve is composed of a cylinder and a piston, and is configured to perform a suction operation by pushing the piston which is biased in an outward projecting direction by a biasing means such as a spring. Naturally, the lighter the amount of pushing force at this time, the less tiring it will be and the better the operability will be. However, during standby, the surgeon often rests his or her finger on the piston operation button, so if the amount of pushing force is too small, suction may occur due to an accidental pushing operation. It was dangerous.

In addition to the suction switching valve, the endoscope is also provided with an air/water switching valve for controlling the opening/closing of the air/water supply pipe to perform air/water supply.
Conventionally, there are typically two types of air/water supply switching valves. First, the first type is one in which air is supplied by blocking the opening of a leak hole provided in a piston with a finger, and water is supplied by further pushing the piston (for example, see Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 48-34638). The second type is one in which the piston is pushed in two stages, air is supplied in one stage of pushing operation, and water is supplied in the second stage of pushing operation (Utility Model Open in Showa 54-).
(Refer to Publication No. 154588).

With the first type, you can not only maintain the force required to start pushing by resting your finger on the operation button, but also
It is necessary to make it heavy enough to withstand the air pressure from the leak hole during air supply and prevent water from being accidentally supplied when the leak hole is closed. However, it goes without saying that the lighter it is, the better when you push it in.

In addition, with the second type, not only is the force required to start pushing from the standby state of the first stage to a certain level to prevent air from being inadvertently supplied, but also when the first stage is being pushed in and air is being supplied, it is necessary to It is also necessary to make the force to start pushing from the standby stage in the second stage to a certain degree so as not to supply water.

It is considered that the amount of operating force for each switching operation valve should be set from the above viewpoint. Furthermore, it is necessary to consider whether the relationship between the suction switching valve and the air/water supply switching valve should be set to ensure operability and safety, but no research has been conducted on these points in the past. .

The present invention has been made focusing on the above points,
The purpose of this is to increase the strength of the suction switching valve and the air/water switching valve from the standby state to start the pushing operation, so that the air/water switching valve can be operated safely and easily without accidentally feeding water. Our mission is to provide quality endoscopes.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

1 in FIG. 1 is an endoscope, and this endoscope 1 includes an insertion section 2, an operation section 3, and a light guide cable 4.
It is composed of. Inside the endoscope 1, various ducts are incorporated as will be described later.
First, the air supply conduit 5 and the water supply conduit 6 are connected to the insertion section 2, the operation section 3, and the light guide cable 4.
and are inserted. The ends of the air supply pipe line 5 and the water supply pipe line 6 merge and are connected to an air and water supply nozzle 7 provided at the distal end of the insertion section 2, and the air and water supply nozzle 7 is connected to the outer surface of the observation window 8. The cleaning water and air are sprayed toward the outer surface of the observation window 8. A connector 9 is provided at the extending end of the light guide cable 4, and this connector 9 has first and second air supply caps 10, 11 which communicate with the air supply pipe line 5, and which communicate with the water supply pipe line 6. A water supply mouthpiece 12 and a suction mouthpiece 13 communicating with a suction conduit described later are provided, respectively. And the first air supply cap 10
When the connector 9 is attached to a light source device (not shown), it is connected to an air pump inside the light source device. In addition, the second air supply cap 11
and the water supply cap 12 are connected to an air supply tube 15 and a water supply tube 16 on the water supply tank 14 side, respectively. Further, the suction cap 13 is connected to a suction pump (not shown).

On the other hand, a suction conduit 17 is inserted into and arranged inside the insertion section 2, the operation section 3, and the light guide cable 4. This suction conduit 17 is formed using a treatment instrument insertion channel 18 on the distal end side. The distal end of the treatment instrument insertion channel 18 opens at the distal end surface of the insertion section 2, and the proximal end of the treatment instrument insertion channel 18 opens to the outside in the operating section 3 to form an insertion port 19. Note that a forceps plug 20 is detachably provided in the insertion port 19.

Furthermore, the treatment instrument insertion channel 18 is connected to the proximal end of the suction conduit 17 via a suction switching valve 21 . In addition, the air supply pipe 5
An air/water supply switching valve 22 is installed in the middle of the water supply pipe 6.
is inserted. The switching valves 21 and 22 are installed adjacent to the side surface of the operating section 3 side by side.

The suction switching valve 21 is constructed as shown in FIG. That is, the outer wall body 3a of the operation section 3
A mounting hole 23 is bored in the mounting hole 23, and a cylinder 24 serving as a valve seat body is fitted into the mounting hole 23. The outer end of the cylinder 24 projects outward from the outer wall 3a, and a collar 25 is formed on the outer periphery of the inner end of the cylinder 24, which corresponds to the inner surface of the outer wall 3a. A mounting ring 26 is screwed onto the outer periphery of the outer end of the cylinder 24, and by sandwiching the outer wall 3a between the mounting ring 26 and the collar 25, the cylinder 24 is installed. It is attached and fixed to the outer wall body 3a. A ring packing 27 is fitted between the inner circumferential surface of the mounting hole 23 and the outer circumferential surface of the cylinder 24 to ensure liquid tightness therebetween.

Further, the suction source side conduit portion 17a of the suction conduit 17 is connected to the inner end of the cylinder 24 via a first connecting pipe 28. Furthermore, cylinder 2
4 is formed with an opening 29 that opens into the cylinder 24, and a nozzle side pipe line of the suction pipe 17 is connected to the opening 29 through a second connecting pipe 30. 17b is connected.

A piston 31 for switching control is fitted into the cylinder 24 so as to be movable up and down. A hollow hole 32 is formed in the inner end of the piston 31 along the axial direction of the piston 31.
The upper end of the piston 31 opens laterally through an opening 33 provided in the side wall of the midway portion of the piston 31. This opening 3
3 protrudes upward from the outer end of the cylinder 24 when the piston 31 is in the standby position as shown in FIG.
When the cylinder 1 is pushed in, the opening 33 thereof is aligned with and communicates with the opening 29 of the cylinder 24.

The mounting ring 26 has a fitting groove 34 formed on its outer peripheral surface, and its protruding outer end including the groove 34 serves as a mounting flange 35. This mounting flange 35 has an abutment member 36
It is designed to be attached and detached at will. Each of the abutment members 36 has an outer cylindrical portion 36a and an inner cylindrical portion 36b made of metal, which are arranged concentrically.
A, 3b are integrally connected at one end with a connecting bottom wall part 36c, and a substantially cylindrical rubber member 37 is integrally connected to the outer cylinder part 36a. be. That is, the rubber member 37 is integrally attached and fixed to the outer cylinder portion 36a of the abutment member 36 by insert molding. Furthermore, an engaging protrusion 38 is formed at one end of the rubber member 37 and is elastically and tightly fitted into the groove 34 of the mounting flange 35 . Furthermore, an abutment portion 39 that projects radially inward is integrally formed at the outer end of the inner cylinder portion 36b of the abutment member 36. The upper end step portion 41 of the piston 31 in the standby position abuts against this abutting portion 39, thereby regulating the position during standby.

On the other hand, the upper end of the piston 31 has a male thread 31.
a is formed, and a connecting pipe 42 is formed on this male thread 31a.
An internal thread 42a formed at one end of the holder is screwed and fixed. Furthermore, an operating button 43 made of relatively hard plastic is fitted onto the outer end of the connecting tube 42. Further, the peripheral edge of the operation button 43 is formed as a falling cylindrical wall portion 44, and this wall portion 44 enters into the rubber member 37 when the piston 31 is pushed in, and the inner edge protrusion 3
It is designed to touch the top surface of 7a.

Further, a piston 3 is provided between the outer end peripheral edge of the connecting pipe 42 and the bottom wall portion 36c of the abutment member 36.
A coil spring 45 as a biasing member is interposed around the coil spring 1 . And the piston 31
is urged outward, and the piston 31 is held at a position where the upper end step portion 41 abuts the abutting portion 39.

In addition, a plurality of leak holes 46 are formed in the wall of the inner cylindrical portion 36b of the abutting member 36, and when the piston 31 is on standby, the openings 46 of the piston 31
It is now connected to 3.

In order to prevent the piston 31 from rotating, the side wall of the cylinder 24 is provided with a guide pin 47 that protrudes from the inner wall surface thereof. A vertical groove 48 is formed along the axial direction, and the guide pin 47 is engaged with this vertical groove 48.

When the suction switching valve 21 is on standby, the opening 29 of the cylinder 24 is closed by the circumferential surface of the piston 31, as shown in FIG. For this reason, the suction conduit 17 is interrupted in the middle, and the suction action toward the treatment instrument insertion channel 18 does not work. However, the hollow hole 3 of the piston 31
2. Opening hole 33 and leak hole 4 of abutting member 36
In order to communicate with the outside through 6, outside air is sucked in. Therefore, when performing a suction operation, a finger is placed on the operation button 43 and the piston 31 is pushed in until the wall portion 44 touches the inner edge protrusion 37a. As a result, the opening 33 of the piston 31 is connected to the opening 29 of the cylinder 24.
The suction conduit 1 is connected to the
7 is opened. However, it is blocked from the outside. Therefore, suction is performed through the suction conduit 17 while preventing the suction of outside air.

Next, the air/water supply switching valve 22 will be explained. The configuration of this is shown in FIG. That is, the cylinder 50 is composed of a cylinder 50 and a piston 51, and the cylinder 50 has a substantially bottomed cylindrical shape with a lower opening closed by a bottom cover 52. Also,
The upper outer end of the cylinder 50 is connected to the outer wall 3 of the operating section 3.
The cylinder 40 is fitted into a mounting hole 56 drilled in the outer wall 3a, and a mounting ring 57 is screwed into the portion protruding from the mounting hole 56 to the outside, so that the cylinder 40 is fixedly attached to the outer wall 3a. There is.
Further, the inside of the cylinder 50 is formed as a large diameter cylindrical part 58 on the open end side and a small diameter cylindrical part 59 on the bottom cover 52 side, and a tapered part 60 is formed at the boundary between these parts. Bottom cover 5 of small diameter cylindrical portion 59
An escape groove 61 is formed in the inner circumferential wall near No. 2. The upstream pipe section 6a of the water supply pipe 6 is connected to this portion. Further, the small diameter cylindrical portion 59 above the escape groove 61 is connected to the downstream pipe section 6a of the water supply pipe 6, and further above this, the upstream pipe section 5a of the air supply pipe 5 is connected. has been done. Further, an air supply pipe 5 is provided on the wall of the large diameter cylindrical portion 58.
A downstream pipe section 56 is connected thereto.

The piston 51 is fitted into the cylinder 50 configured in this manner. This piston 51 consists of a first shaft portion 62 with a large diameter corresponding to the large diameter cylindrical portion 58 of the cylinder 50, and a second shaft portion 63 with a small diameter corresponding to the small diameter cylindrical portion 59. A leak hole 64 is formed from the middle of the shaft portion 63 to the entire length on the first shaft portion 62 side. Note that this leak hole 64 is connected to a connecting pipe 67 and an operation button 7, which will be described later.
1 and open to the outside. Further, a leak hole 6 is provided in the side wall of the second shaft portion 63.
An opening 65 communicating with 4 is formed. Further, a female thread 66 is formed at the outer end of the piston 51, and a male thread 68 formed on the outer periphery of one end of the connecting tube 67 is screwed into this female thread 66. A collar 69 is integrally formed at the other end of the connecting portion 67;
An operation button 71 made of relatively hard plastic rubber is fitted into the collar 69. In other words,
The periphery of this operation button 71 is a descending cylindrical wall 7
It is formed as 2.

On the other hand, the mounting ring 57 has a fitting groove 73 formed on its outer circumferential surface, just like the mounting ring 26 of the air/water switching valve 22, and its protruding outer end including the groove 73 is attached to the mounting ring 57. It is provided as a flange 74. An abutting member 75 is detachably attached to the mounting flange 74. This abutment member 75 is constructed in exactly the same manner as the abutment member 36 of the air/water supply switching valve 22. That is, each outer peripheral portion 75 is made of metal.
A and an inner cylindrical portion 75b are arranged concentrically, and one end of the two cylindrical portions 75a, 75b is integrally connected with a bottom wall portion 75c. And the outer cylinder part 7
A cylindrical rubber member 76 is connected to 5a. In other words, this rubber member 76 is
It is integrally attached and fixed to the outer cylindrical portion 75a by insert molding. Furthermore, an engaging protrusion 78 is formed at the lower end of the rubber member 76 and is elastically and tightly fitted into the groove 73 of the mounting flange 4 . Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the lower end surface 75d of the inner cylindrical portion 75b of the abutment member 75 is configured to abut the outer end of the first shaft portion 62 of the piston 51 in the standby state of the piston 51 to regulate the position. It's summery.

Further, a coil spring 77, which is exactly the same as the coil spring 45 of the suction switching valve 21, is interposed as a biasing member between the outer end peripheral edge of the connecting pipe 67 and the bottom wall portion 75c of the abutment member 75. The above piston 5
1 is biased outward.

Further, a first mounting groove 81 is formed in the first shaft portion 62 of the piston 51, and a first sealing member 82 as an abutting member formed of an elastic material such as silicone rubber is formed here. is attached.
The first sealing member 82 maintains airtightness of the air passage 83 formed by the large-diameter cylindrical portion 58 of the cylinder 50 and the first shaft portion 62 of the piston 51.

Further, a second mounting groove 84 is formed at the boundary between the first shaft portion 62 and the second shaft portion 63 of the piston 51, and a valve body 85 made of an elastic body is mounted here. . This valve body 85 is attached to the second mounting groove 84
The flexible portion 87 extends obliquely upward from the base portion 86 and has a tip end contacting the inner circumferential surface of the large-diameter cylindrical portion 58. The base portion 86 is provided with a slope 88 that comes into close contact with the tapered portion 60 formed at the boundary between the large-diameter cylindrical portion 58 and the small-diameter cylindrical portion 59 of the cylinder 50 when the piston 51 is pushed in as shown in FIG. In addition, the flexible portion 87 directs the flow direction of the gas flowing through the air supply path 83 in one direction.
In other words, the valve body 85 is restricted only from the lower side to the upper side.

Further, a third mounting groove 89 is formed at the lower end of the second shaft portion 63 of the piston 51, and a second sealing member 90 is mounted therein. This third
The mounting groove 89 includes a pair of side grooves 91, 91 spaced apart in the vertical direction of the second shaft portion 63, and side grooves 91, 9 formed between these side grooves 91, 91.
1, and an intermediate groove 92 shallower than 1. Also, the second
The sealing member 90 includes a pair of protrusions 93, 93 that fit into a pair of side grooves 91, 91 and come into close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the small diameter cylindrical portion 59 of the cylinder 50, and a thin wall portion 94 corresponding to the intermediate groove 92. A communication passage 95 is provided between the thin wall portion 94 and the inner circumferential surface of the small diameter cylindrical portion 59.
is formed. When the piston 51 is pushed in as shown in FIG.
b. Further, the opening 65 of the piston 51 is connected to the air supply pipe in both the standby state in which the piston 51 is urged outward as shown in FIG. 3 and the operating state in which the piston 51 is pushed in as shown in FIG. It has a width such that it communicates with the upstream pipe section 5a of the channel 5.

Next, the operation of the air/water supply switching valve 22 having the above configuration will be explained. First, when the air supply pump is operated in a standby state, the gas sent to the upstream side pipe section 5a of the air supply pipe line 5 is transferred to the opening 65 and the leak hole 6.
4 and is emitted into the atmosphere from this leak hole 64. At this time, the gas tries to flow from the air supply path 83 to the downstream side pipe section 5b of the air supply pipe 5, but the flow path resistance here is greater than the flow path resistance flowing from the leak hole 64 to the atmosphere. It's too big, so it won't flow here. When air is to be supplied into the body cavity, the opening end of the leak hole 64 is closed by placing a finger on the operation button 71. Then, the gas released from the leak hole 64 flows into the air supply path 83, elastically deforms the flexible portion 87 of the valve body 85, and flows into the downstream side pipe section 5b of the air supply pipe 5. Therefore, the gas from the air pump flows out from the air and water nozzle 7 of the insertion section 2.

On the other hand, when feeding liquid, the piston 5 is closed with the leak hole 64 closed with a finger as shown in FIG.
1 is pushed in against the biasing force of the coil spring 77 until the slope 88 of the valve body 85 comes into contact with the tapered portion 60 of the cylinder 50. Then, the upstream pipe section 5a and the downstream pipe section 5b of the air supply pipe 5, which had been in communication until then, are cut off by the close contact between the slope 88 and the tapered part 60, so that the air supply is interrupted. Gas discharged from the pump flows into the pressurizing air supply tube 15 and pressurizes the inside of the water supply tank 14. Therefore, water flows from the water tank 14 to the water supply pipe 6.

By the way, in the above configuration, the suction switching valve 21
and each abutment member 36, 7 of the air/water supply switching valve 22
5 are exactly the same, and coil springs 45 and 77 for biasing are also the same. However, the installed lengths of the coil springs 45 and 77 are set shorter for the air/water supply switching valve 22.
For this reason, the pushing operation force at the time of starting the operation of the air/water switching valve 22, that is, the equipment capacity, is greater for the air/water switching valve 22. In other words, there is a difference in the ability to start operation from standby (equipment ability during standby). Further, the amount of operating force during the pushing operation is the same.

For example, if the installed capacity of the suction switching valve 21 is 400g,
The installed capacity of the air/water supply switching valve 22 is 550g,
The operating force at the end of pushing is 700g for both.

The reason for this setting is as follows. That is, the suction switching valve 21 and the water supply switching valve 22 are provided side by side in the operating section 3. in general,
How these are operated depends on the operator.
In other words, it varies depending on the size of the surgeon's hands, the length of his fingers, how he operates the angle knob with his left hand, and other preferences, but broadly speaking, there are two ways to do it: The first method is to operate both switching valves 21, 22 with the index finger of the left hand. In this case, the middle finger does not touch the operation buttons 43, 71, and the index finger normally does not touch the operation buttons 43, 71. Place it lightly on top and let it rest. The second method is to operate the suction switching valve 21 with your index finger and the air/water supply switching valve 22 with your middle finger. Air/water switching valve 22
Place it on the operation button 71 and let it rest.

These two methods are not specified by the operator, and include operating the angle with the left hand, rotating the operating unit 3, holding the upper part of the operating unit 3, and holding the lower part of the operating unit 3 during endoscopy. The operating method changes from moment to moment depending on the situation. Moreover, since the operator concentrates on fixing his eyes on the eyepiece and gazing at the observation image, until now his index finger has been used to press either operation button 43 or 71.
You cannot judge by looking at the heat on the surface. Under such circumstances, as described above, it is necessary to set the operation start force to be different from the standby state in order to operate accurately and safely.

However, the relationship between the magnitude of the force required to start operation from the standby state is whether the suction switching valve 21 is lighter, or conversely, the air/water switching valve 22 is lighter.
Or the same case can be considered. If they are the same,
Basically, the operator can rest his/her fingers on either of the operation buttons 43, 71 with the same force. However, when suctioning, it is sufficient to push in with a sufficiently large force, but when blowing air, the leak hole 64 must be blocked with a force stronger than the force of resting a finger on it to withstand the leaking air pressure. Moreover, the operation button 71 must not be pushed in at that time. However, it is natural and comfortable for the operator to rest his/her fingers on both operation buttons 43 and 71 with the same pressure, so there is a risk of accidentally pumping water by applying too much pressure when pumping air. There is a risk that this may occur. For example, operation button 4
The ability to start operation from the standby time of 3 and 71 is both 400.
Assuming that the force is 400 g, the operator can rest the finger with any force of 400 g or less. However, on the other hand, the operator uses the ring finger and little finger of his left hand to
Because you are gripping the operating part 3 tightly, when you become absorbed in the examination, your fingers placed on the operating button 43 or 71 will also put pressure on it.
There are many situations where a relatively strong force, for example around 350g, is required to keep the finger in place without pushing it in. On the other hand, when supplying air, we are conscious of having to close the hole, so
The power to keep your fingers rested (for example 350g) plus alpha (for example 150g), i.e. 500g
When the operator presses the operation button 71, the water is supplied by mistake. This is likely to happen.

Next, it is clear that if the operation button 71 of the air/water supply switching valve 22 is made lighter, it will be more difficult to use than in the same case.

Therefore, as in the present invention, the air/water supply switching valve 22
By making the button heavier, the operator can rest his/her fingers on both operation buttons 43 and 71 in the same way, and also prevents the operator from accidentally supplying water when supplying air. It is also safe.

In addition, in the above embodiment, each switching valve 21,
22 and the rubber member 37 of the abutting member 36, 75,
76 is the mounting flange 3 of the mounting rings 26 and 57
5, 74, the pistons 31, 51, coil springs 45, 77, and connecting pipes 42, 67 can be removed together with the abutting members 36, 75. In addition, the connecting pipes 42, 67
If the screws are loosened and removed from the pistons 31, 51, each of the above-mentioned members can be separated into individual parts. Therefore,
Easy to clean. In addition, each switching valve 21, 22
Since the screw connection between the connecting pipes 42, 67 and the pistons 31, 51 is the opposite of the recommended method, it is easy to distinguish between them when assembling.

In addition, the abutting member 3 at each switching valve 21, 22
The coil springs 6 and 75 (including the rubber members 37 and 76) and the coil springs 45 and 77 have exactly the same configuration and are made common. Therefore, even if it is disassembled and cleaned, there will be no inconvenience caused by reinstalling it by mistake.

In addition, since the operating force when pressing the operation buttons 43 and 71 is the same, for example, when water supply and suction are performed at the same time in order to powerfully clean the observation window 8, in other words, when pressing the operation button 43 and 71 with your index finger, When pressing , and pressing the air/water supply operation button 71 with the middle finger, the operating force of both fingers is the same, resulting in good operability.

Further, the rubber member 37 of the abutting member 36, 75,
76 can be attached to and detached from the mounting flanges 35, 74 with one touch, and the inner surfaces of the engaging edges 38, 78 of the rubber members 37, 76 are tapered, making attachment easy. In addition, the piston 31,
51 and the abutting portions of the abutting members 36 and 75 that abut against each other are both made of metal, so when they abut, a sound of metal hitting each other is heard and a good operational feel can be obtained.

In addition, the abutting members 36, 75 and the piston 31,
51 side, so that when the abutting members 36 and 75 are pushed from the side, they do not become eccentric or tilt.

On the other hand, when the piston 31 is pushed halfway during the suction operation, even though the suction conduit 17 is in communication, the leak path is between the cylinder 24 and the piston 3.
When the operation button 43 is pushed all the way in, the tip of the wall 44 of the operation button 43 hits the rubber member 37 of the abutting member 36, and the leak path is completely blocked. For this reason, the amount of suction can be controlled by selecting the amount on the way. Further, the leak passage and the suction pipe 17 are momentarily communicated with each other during the return of the piston 31. Therefore, in the case where the sticky wall or the like is suctioned, even if the endoscope is pulled out as it is, the sticky wall will not be released from the suction port during the return of the piston 31, and the sticky wall will not be damaged.

Note that while operating the suction pump, the piston 31
If the operation part 3 is immersed in a disinfectant solution while the abutting member 36 is attached, the disinfectant solution flows inside the abutment member 36 and can be disinfected.

Further, the outer peripheral portions of the abutment members 36, 75 are covered with rubber members 37, 75, and the operation buttons 43, 75 are covered with rubber members 37, 75.
1 is made of plastic, so the surgeon will not get burned if he or she touches it during high-frequency treatment.

Further, accessories for cleaning pipes such as a cleaning device can be attached to the mounting flanges 35 and 74. When cleaning the pipe, the abutment member 36,
75, etc., the pistons 31 and 51 are connected to the cylinder 2.
Pull out from 4,50.

Note that depending on the endoscope, the switching valves 21, 2
In addition to 2, there are also models that are equipped with an operation button for gas supply. However, the appropriate amount of pushing force for this operation button differs depending on its installation position. In other words,
If you can rest your finger on the operation button, it should be the same as the operation button for suction, and if you can't, then something lighter is better.

As explained above, in the present invention, the force required to start operating the operation buttons of the suction switching valve and the air/water switching valve from a standby state is greater than that of the air/water switching valve. Therefore, the operator can rest his or her fingers on both operation buttons in the same way, and there is no chance of accidentally supplying water when supplying air. In other words, it is easy to operate and ensures safety.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the entire endoscope, Fig. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the suction switching valve when it is on standby, and Fig. 3 is a diagram showing air and water supply. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the switching valve when it is on standby, and FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the air/water switching valve when it is pushed in. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Endoscope, 5... Air supply pipe, 6... Water supply pipe, 17... Suction pipe, 21... Suction switching valve, 2
2...Air/water supply switching valve, 24...Cylinder, 31...
Piston, 45...Coil spring, 50...Cylinder,
51... Piston, 64... Leak hole, 71... Operation button.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A suction switching valve is provided in the operation section, which performs a suction operation by pressing and operating an operation button, and a leak hole is opened at the protruding end of the operation button, and a suction operation is performed by blocking this leak hole with a finger. In an endoscope equipped with an air/water switching valve that performs a water supply operation by pushing the air/water switching valve operation button, the force for starting the pushing operation from the standby state of the operation button of the air/water switching valve is changed by suction switching. An endoscope characterized in that the force is set to be greater than the force required to start pushing a valve operation button from a standby state. 2. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the amount of biasing force in the return direction when each operation button of both the switching valves is pressed is approximately the same.