JPH0416647Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] a. Purpose of the invention (industrial application field) The endoscope cleaning and disinfecting device according to this invention
Used to clean and disinfect endoscopes used to examine the inner surfaces of the esophagus, rectum, etc. after use.

(Prior Art) Endoscopes are widely used to observe parts of the stomach that are difficult to see from the outside, such as the inner wall surface of the stomach, and to detect gastric cancer early.

When using such an endoscope to observe the inside of the stomach, for example, a cable-shaped portion containing a fiberscope made of bundled glass fibers is inserted into the stomach through the esophagus. Therefore, bacteria that had been attached to the inner wall of the esophagus or stomach of the subject adhere to the surface of the endoscope after use.

Therefore, used endoscopes must be disinfected before reuse to prevent disease transmission through the endoscope.

For this reason, various methods have been devised and used to clean and disinfect used endoscopes, but there is no single method that achieves complete cleaning and disinfection effects, and In cases where there is a risk that the endoscope may be a carrier of infectious bacteria, a combination of multiple methods is used to thoroughly clean and disinfect the endoscope.

However, conventionally known cleaning and disinfecting devices for endoscopes were built to carry out a single method, so when cleaning and further disinfecting an endoscope by combining multiple methods, , multiple devices had to be used, which not only made the cleaning and disinfection work cumbersome, but also there was a risk that the endoscope would be re-contaminated when transferred from one device to another.

Further, even in cases where cleaning and disinfection are sufficient with only a single method, the work is troublesome.

In order to eliminate the above-mentioned inconveniences, an endoscope cleaning and disinfecting device as disclosed in Utility Model Application No. 62-009883 has been proposed.

As shown in Figs. 4 to 6, the endoscope washer/disinfector disclosed in Utility Model Application No. 1983-009883 has an endoscope 3 (see Fig. 3) placed in the upper part of a case 4 which can be freely stored. An upper manifold 16 to which the upper connecting part 7 provided can be tightly joined; and a lower manifold 17 to which the lower connecting part 8 provided at the lower part of the case 4 can be tightly joined.
It has

The upper and lower manifolds 16 and 17 are elongated tank-like structures made of sheet metal, and each has a plurality of upper connection ports and a plurality of lower connection ports for connecting a plurality of cases 4 (six in FIG. 5). .

This device has a circuit as shown in FIG. For simplicity, FIG. 4 shows a state in which only one case is connected between the upper and lower manifolds. Furthermore, since this circuit is also used in the cleaning and disinfecting device of the present invention, which will be described later, the manner of connection between the case 4 and the upper and lower manifolds is shown in accordance with the present invention.

This circuit is provided with a sterilizing gas supply means 21 for supplying sterilizing gas to the upper manifold 16, a chemical solution supply means 22 for supplying a sterilizing chemical solution to the upper manifold 16, and water and hot water to the upper manifold 16. A hot water supply means 31 for supplying water, hot water, or steam, and a feed pipe 23 for supplying water, hot water, or steam are provided.

A tube 24 having one end communicating with the upper manifold 16 and the other end communicating with the lower manifold 17.
A circulation pump 25 is provided in the middle.

Further, a vacuum pump 27 is provided in the middle of an exhaust pipe 26 whose one end is connected to the lower manifold 17, and the case 4 is pumped through the lower manifold 17.
The gas inside can be freely discharged, and the other end of a drain pipe 28, which also has one end connected to the lower manifold 17, is connected to a drainage facility 30.

The operation when a used endoscope 3 is cleaned and further sterilized by the previously devised endoscope washer and sterilizer configured as described above is as follows.

First, the used endoscope 3 is stored in the case 4, and the case 4 is closed in an airtight and liquid-tight state, except for the connection parts 7 and 8 provided on both the upper and lower parts, and the upper part of the case 4 is closed. The connection part 7 is connected to the connection port of the upper manifold 16, and the lower connection part 8 is connected to the connection port of the lower manifold 17.
Connect to the respective connection ports.

From this state, water,
Alternatively, hot water or hot water is introduced into the case 4 in which the upper connecting portion 7 is connected to the upper manifold 16.

If water or hot water enters into case 4,
Driving the circulation pump 25 provided in the middle of the pipe 24,
Transfer the water or hot water in case 4 to lower manifold 1
7. Return to the upper manifold 16 through the pipe 24 and return to the case 4 from this upper manifold 16.
send it inside. As a result, as the circulation pump 25 operates, water or hot water flows through the case 4 housing the endoscope 3 to remove dirt adhering to the surface of the endoscope 3.

Case 4 occurs due to the circulation of water or hot water as described above.
After removing dirt from the surface of the endoscope 3 housed in the interior, the dirty water or hot water is discharged through the drain pipe 28 to the drainage facility 30, and then to the upper manifold 16.
Hot water, high-temperature steam, sterilizing gas, or a sterilizing chemical solution is sent into the case 4 through the case 4 to disinfect the surface of the endoscope 3 housed in the case 4.

When the endoscope 3 is disinfected using sterile gas or a chemical solution, water or hot water is pumped into the case 4 and the circulation pump 25 is operated, as in the case of the cleaning work described above. This water or hot water is poured into the case 4, and the sterilization gas adhering to the surface of the endoscope 3 is removed.
Or wash away the chemical solution.

Once this washing work is completed, the inside of the case 4 is evacuated through the lower manifold 17 by operating the vacuum pump 27, and the water droplets adhering to the surface of the endoscope 3 are evaporated and the surface of the endoscope 3 is dried. let When the surface of the endoscope 3 is disinfected with boiling water, the above-mentioned rinsing operation is omitted and the drying operation is directly performed.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, even in the previously designed endoscope cleaning and disinfecting device as described above, there are problems to be solved as described below.

That is, since there are two types of endoscopes 3, one with a long cable part 2 (see Fig. 3) and one with a short cable part 2,
In order to clean and disinfect these endoscopes 3, two types of endoscope cleaning and disinfecting devices must be prepared, large and small.
In this way, preparing two types of cleaning and disinfecting devices, large and small, increases costs.

Furthermore, when cleaning and disinfecting the used endoscope 3 stored in the case 4 using the previously devised endoscope washer/disinfector, the case 4 is attached to the endoscope in such a way that the tubular part 6 does not bend. However, since the total length of the large case 4 exceeds 2 m, it is troublesome to support the case 4 by hooking the upper part of the case 4 onto the device, especially for short workers. It's not easy for.

The endoscope cleaning and disinfecting device of the present invention eliminates all of the above-mentioned disadvantages.

b. Structure of the invention (Means for solving problems) The endoscope cleaning and disinfecting device of the present invention, like the previous invention described above, has an upper connection part provided at the top of a case that can freely store the endoscope. an upper manifold that can be tightly connected to each other via a connecting pipe, and a lower manifold that can be tightly connected to a lower connecting part provided at the bottom of the case, and a sterilizing fluid for supplying sterilizing fluid to the upper manifold. a sterilizing fluid supply means;
Similarly, the upper manifold is provided with a feed pipe for feeding water, hot water, or steam.

Further, one end of the drain pipe is connected to the lower manifold, and the other end is connected to a drainage facility.

In particular, the endoscope washer/disinfector of the present invention is characterized in that the support plate for supporting the case housing the endoscope on the washer/disinfector is movable up and down.

(Function) When a used endoscope is cleaned and further disinfected by the endoscope washer/disinfector of the present invention configured as described above, the action is similar to that of the previously devised endoscope washer/disinfector. It is similar to the device.

However, in the endoscope washer/disinfector of the present invention, the support plate for supporting the case is movable up and down, so by lowering the support plate,
Not only can the case be easily supported by the endoscope washer/disinfector of the present invention, but also two types of cases, large and small, can be supported in a single disinfector.

Also, when supporting a large case containing a long endoscope, if the support plate is lowered and the case is hooked on the support plate of the washer/disinfector as described above, the top and bottom of the case The cleaning and disinfection work is carried out after the connecting parts and the upper and lower manifolds are communicated with each other, and the supporting plate is raised so that the tubular part of the case is no longer bent.

(Example) Next, the present invention will be explained in more detail while explaining the illustrated embodiment.

Figures 1 to 4 show an embodiment of the endoscope washer/disinfector of the present invention; Figure 1 is a front view, Figure 2 is a right side view, and Figure 3 is a state in which the endoscope is housed. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the case showing the circuit diagram.

The case 4 for housing the endoscope 3 (see Fig. 3), which consists of a main body part 1 for attaching a camera, lighting equipment, etc., and a cable part 2 containing a fiberscope made of bundled glass fibers, is as described above. It consists of a head 5 that can accommodate the main body 1, and a tubular part 6 that is continuous below the head 5 and into which the cable 2 can be inserted.

At the upper part of the head 5 of the case 4, there is an upper connecting part 7 which can tightly connect the other end of a connecting tube 13 whose one end is connected to the upper manifold 16 of the endoscope washer/disinfector of the present invention, which will be described later. At the lower end of the tubular portion 6 of the case 4, a lower connecting portion 8 is provided, which can be tightly connected to the lower connecting port 15 of the lower manifold 17 of the endoscope washer/disinfector.

In order to be able to store the endoscope 3 in such a case 4, in the case shown in FIG. A locking device 10 (shown in FIG. 1) is provided between the other end of the plate 9 and the main body portion of the head 5. When putting the endoscope 3 in and taking it out of the case 4, the lid plate 9 is opened with the locking tool 10 removed, and the endoscope 3 is put in and taken out. When performing cleaning, disinfection, etc. with the endoscope 3 housed in the case 4, close the cover plate 9 and use the locking tool 10 to lock the cover plate 9.
is pressed against the main body portion of the head 5, and airtightness and liquid tightness between the cover plate 9 and the main body portion is maintained by packing (not shown).

The endoscope washer/disinfector of the present invention, which cleans and disinfects the endoscope 3 using the case 4 configured as described above, has operation buttons etc. on the front as shown in Fig. 1. , a main body part 11 that houses various devices constituting this endoscope washer/disinfector, and an upper manifold 16 at the top and a lower manifold 17 at the bottom, which are continuous with the sides of the main body part 11. , and a case mounting portion 12 having a horizontal U-shape in cross section.

A rail 20 extending in the vertical direction is fixed to both left and right ends (left and right are according to the diagram) of the inner back surface of this case mounting portion 12, and the case 4 is attached to this rail 20.
A plurality of through holes 18, 18 are provided in a horizontal row (three in the illustrated embodiment), each having a notch formed on the front surface of a size large enough to allow the tubular portion 6 to pass through, but not to allow the head 5 to pass through. A support plate 19 is provided movably along this rail 20.

The mechanism for making the support plate 19 freely movable along the rail 20 is a mechanism that connects the support plate 19 to the middle of an endless annular belt that is stretched around a driving pulley and a driven pulley that are rotated by a motor. ,
Or pantograph mechanism, screw screw mechanism, etc.
Various known techniques can be adopted as necessary with design considerations.

The upper manifold 16 provided on the upper part of the case mounting part 12 is connected to one end of the connecting pipes 13, 13, which have the same number as the through holes 18, 18 provided in the supporting plate 19. The other end can be tightly connected to an upper connecting portion 7 provided on the head 5 of the case 4. Also, lower manifold 17
Similar to the upper manifold 16, the lower connection ports 15, 15 are provided in the same number as the through holes 18, 18 provided in the support plate 19 at positions aligned with the through holes 18, 18. mouth 15,15
can be tightly connected to the lower connecting portion 8 at the lower end of the tubular portion 6 of the case 4.

Further, one end of an auxiliary connecting pipe can be tightly connected to the other end of the connecting pipe 13 whose one end is connected to the upper manifold 16, and the other end of this auxiliary connecting pipe is provided at the head 5 of the case 4. It can be freely connected to the upper connecting part 7. The auxiliary connecting pipe is used when cleaning and disinfecting the endoscope 3 with a short cable portion 2.

Furthermore, the endoscope washer/disinfector of the present invention, like the endoscope washer/disinfector of the previous invention, is provided with a circuit as shown in FIG. Water, hot water, sterilizing gas, or a sterilizing chemical solution can be fed and circulated from hot water supply means 31, sterilizing gas supply means 21, and sterilizing chemical solution supply means 22, respectively. In addition, after circulating the water or hot water described above, in order to evaporate water droplets adhering to the surface of the endoscope 3 housed in the case 4 and dry the endoscope 3, a lower manifold 17 is installed. A vacuum pump 27 is connected via an exhaust pipe 26. An overflow pipe 29 sends water, hot water, etc. overflowing from the upper manifold 16 to the drainage facility 30. The drainage facility 30 and the lower manifold 17 are connected by a drain pipe 28, and water or hot water used for cleaning and disinfection, or sterilization chemicals are sent to the drainage facility 30 through the drain pipe 28. It will be done.

The effect of cleaning and disinfecting a used endoscope 3 using the endoscope washer and disinfector of the present invention configured as described above is the same as that of the endoscope washer and disinfector of the earlier invention. It is similar to

However, in the present invention, when attaching the case 4 containing the endoscope 3 to be cleaned and disinfected to the endoscope washer/disinfector of the present invention, the support plate 19 is lowered and the case 4 is removed. The upper part of can be attached to this support plate 19. In the illustrated embodiment, the highest height of the support plate 19 is 175 cm and the lowest height is 145 cm, so even a short worker can easily mount it.

Once the case 4 is attached to the support plate 19,
Lower connecting portion 8 at the lower end of the tubular portion 6 of this case 4
is tightly connected to the lower connection port 15 of the lower manifold 17. When the case 4 is long, that is, when cleaning or disinfecting an endoscope 3 with a long cable section 2, the tubular section 6 of the case 4 can be stretched straight by raising the support plate 19. At the same time, the upper connecting part 7 provided on the upper part of the head 5 of the case 4 and the other end of the connecting pipe 13 are fitted and connected.

If the case 4 is attached to the endoscope washer/disinfector of the present invention in this manner, cleaning and
Perform disinfection work.

When cleaning or disinfecting an endoscope 3 with a short cable portion 2, lower the support plate 19 as described above, attach the case 4 to the support plate 19, and connect the lower end of the tubular portion 6 of the case 4. 8 is tightly connected to the lower connection port 15 of the lower manifold 17.

When cleaning or disinfecting an endoscope 3 with a short cable section 2, the support plate 19 should not be raised;
Connection pipe 1 with one end connected to upper manifold 16
3, one end of an auxiliary connecting pipe is connected to the other end of the auxiliary connecting pipe, and the other end of the auxiliary connecting pipe is tightly connected to an upper connecting portion 7 provided at the upper part of the head 5 of the case 4.

After this, as mentioned earlier, as in the previous invention, cleaning,
Perform disinfection work.

The endoscope washer/disinfector of the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, and can employ various mechanisms to move the support plate 19 up and down as described above. The upper manifold 16 may also move up and down as the support plate 19 moves up and down, or the connecting tube 13 may be made to have sufficient flexibility and be made long so that the cable portion Even when cleaning and disinfecting a short endoscope (2), it is possible to avoid using an auxiliary connecting tube.

Further, the support plate 19 is divided into a plurality of parts, and each of the divided support plates 19 can be raised and lowered independently, so that endoscopes having different lengths of the cable portion 2 can be cleaned and disinfected. It is also possible to make it similar.

c Effects of the invention The endoscope cleaning and disinfecting device of the present invention is constructed and operates as described above, so it is similar to the previous device in that endoscopes can be easily cleaned and disinfected with a single device. In addition to the effectiveness, the case containing the endoscope to be cleaned and disinfected can be easily attached to the endoscope washer/disinfector in a comfortable position, and the endoscope with a long cable section and the endoscope with a long cable section can be easily attached. Since both short endoscopes and other endoscopes can be cleaned and disinfected, the practical effect is great.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 and 2 show an embodiment of the endoscope washer/disinfector of the present invention. Figure 1 is a front view showing the case attached, Figure 2 is a side view, and Figure 3 is a side view.
The figure is a schematic vertical side view showing the endoscope housed in a case that houses the endoscope, and Figure 4 is a circuit diagram used in the endoscope washer and disinfector of both the present invention and the previous invention. 5 and 6 show a previously devised endoscope washer/disinfector, with FIG. 5 being a front view showing a state in which a case is attached, and FIG. 6 being a side view. 1... Body part, 2... Cable part, 3... Endoscope, 4... Case, 5... Head, 6... Tubular part,
7... Upper connecting part, 8... Lower connecting part, 9... Lid plate, 10... Locking tool, 11... Main body, 12...
Case attachment part, 13...Connection pipe, 15...Lower connection port, 16...Upper manifold, 17...Lower manifold, 18...Through hole, 19...Support plate,
20...Rail, 21...Sterilizing gas supply means, 2
2... Chemical solution supply means, 23... Sending pipe, 24
... pipe, 25 ... circulation pump, 26 ... exhaust pipe,
27...Vacuum pump, 28...Drain pipe, 29...
Overflow pipe, 30... drainage facility, 31... hot water supply means.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] An upper manifold that can be tightly connected to an upper connecting part provided at the upper part of a case that can store an endoscope via a connecting tube, and a lower manifold that can be tightly connected to a lower connecting part provided at the bottom of the case. , at least one sterilizing fluid supply means for supplying a sterilizing fluid to the upper manifold; an inlet pipe for supplying water, hot water, or steam to the upper manifold; one end connected to the lower manifold; An endoscope cleaning and disinfecting device comprising a drain pipe whose end communicates with a drainage facility, and a support plate that supports the upper part of the case and is movable up and down.