JPH0614869A - Air feed/water feed changeover device for endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the hygienic air feed/gas feed changeover device for an endoscope which can brush the inside of all pipelines connected to cylinders by inserting cleaning brushes into the pipelines from the cylinder side. CONSTITUTION:Four pistons 37 to 40 are freely attachably and detachably inserted into the four cylinders 31 to 34 which are disposed in parallel with each other. The air feed pipeline 21 and the water feed pipeline 22 as well as the air feed pipeline 23 and the water feed pipeline 24 are successively connected to the bottoms of the four cylinders 31 to 34 in approximately the same direction as the axial direction of the respective cylinders 32 to 34. The state in which the air is fed from the air feed pipeline 21 into the gas feed pipeline 23 and the state in which the water is fed from the water feed pipeline 22 into the water feed pipeline 24 are changed over by operating an operation button 36.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air / water switching device for an endoscope.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An air / water switching device for an endoscope of this type is
Generally, one piston connected to the operation button is fitted into one cylinder in which the air supply line, the water supply line, the air supply line and the water supply line are connected, and the piston is axially moved in the cylinder. The air / water supply switching operation is performed by advancing / retreating.

In the air / water supply / switching device for an endoscope having such a structure, four conduits of an air supply conduit, a water supply conduit, an air supply conduit and a water supply conduit are connected to a side portion of the cylinder.

[0004]

In order to completely prevent infection through the endoscope, not only the outer surface of the endoscope is washed and disinfected after use, but also the inside of the internal duct is completely cleaned. It needs to be cleaned and disinfected, which requires brushing over the entire length in each line.

However, if the pipe is connected to the side of the cylinder, it is difficult to insert the brush into the pipe from the inside of the cylinder even if the piston is removed from the cylinder.
Therefore, in some of the four pipelines, the pipelines that are connected near the mouth of the cylinder are connected diagonally near the axial direction of the cylinder so that the brush can be inserted into the pipeline from the cylinder side. (Actual Kaihei 3-33602).

However, when there are four pipelines, it is not possible to form brushes into all of them from the cylinder side. Even in the one shown in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 3-33602, only one or two pipelines near the mouth of the cylinder can be inserted with a brush, and all the pipelines cannot be brushed for cleaning. , Sometimes there were hygiene problems.

Therefore, the present invention provides a sanitary endoscope air / water switching device capable of brushing by inserting a cleaning brush from the cylinder side into all pipes connected to the cylinder. With the goal.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, an air / water switching device for an endoscope according to the present invention has four pistons arranged in parallel with each other attached to a common operation button so that they are mutually connected. The piston is removably fitted and inserted into four cylinders arranged in parallel, an air supply line to which air is supplied, a water supply line to which water is supplied, and an air supply line for sending out air. Water supply pipes for sending out water are sequentially connected to the bottoms of the four cylinders in a direction substantially the same as the axial direction of each cylinder, and by operating the operation buttons, the air supply pipes are connected to the inside of the air supply pipes. It is characterized in that it is possible to switch between a state in which air is sent and a state in which water is sent from the water supply pipe into the water supply pipe.

[0009]

Embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 2 is an operation portion of the endoscope, and the insertion portion 3 and the flexible connection pipe 4 are connected to each other. A connector 6 connected to the light source device 5 is provided at the tip of the flexible connecting tube 4.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a water storage tank whose inside is pressurized by an air supply pump 9 provided in the light source device 5, and air and water are sent out from the air guide pipe 11 and the water guide pipe 12 by the pressurizing pressure. .

The operation unit 2 is provided with a switching valve device 20 for performing air / water supply operation, and an air supply pipe line 21 and a water supply pipe line 22 for supplying air and water to the switching valve device 20. Is connected to the bottom of the switching valve device 20 and is connected to the flexible connecting pipe 4.
It is passed inside. The air guide pipe 11 and the water guide pipe 12 are detachably connected to the ends of the air supply pipe line 21 and the water supply pipe line 22 at the connector 6.

Further, the air supply conduit 23 that is passed through the inside of the insertion portion 3 for ejecting air and water from the opening at the tip of the insertion portion 3.
And the water supply conduit 24 are connected to the bottom of the switching valve device 20.

FIG. 1 shows a switching valve device 20. Thirty
Is a cylinder block fixed to the operation portion 2 by a nut 27, and four cylinders 31 to 34 are formed in parallel with each other so as to open outward (upward in the drawing). 28 is an O-ring for sealing.

FIG. 3 is a view of the single cylinder block 30 as seen from the outside of the cylinder opening side. The air supply pipe 21, the water supply pipe 22, the air supply pipe 23 and the water supply pipe 24 are connected to the air supply cylinder 31. The center of the water supply cylinder 32, the air supply cylinder 33, and the water supply cylinder 34 are opened at the central axis positions.

In FIG. 1, an air supply cylinder 31 is connected to the bottom of the air supply pipe line 21 in the axial direction, and an air supply cylinder 23 is connected to the bottom of the air supply pipe line 23 in the axial direction. A cross section including the water supply line 22 is shown in FIG.
Is connected to the bottom in the axial direction by a water supply cylinder 32
And a water feed cylinder 34 with the water feed conduit 24 connected to the bottom in axial alignment.

Each of the pipes 21 to 24 is made up of the tubes 21a to 24a forming the pipes and the metal pipes 21b to 24.
It is connected to each cylinder 31-34 via b. Three
Reference numeral 6 denotes an operation button operated by the operator's fingertip, which is attached to a head 41 including four pistons 37 to 40 slidably fitted in the four cylinders 31 to 34.

The four pistons 37 to 40 are the air supply piston 37 fitted in the air supply cylinder 31, the water supply piston 38 fitted in the water supply cylinder 32, and the air supply piston fitted in the air supply cylinder 33. Air piston 39 and water supply cylinder 3
The water feeding pistons 40 are inserted in the four and are arranged in parallel with each other.

The piston head 41 includes pistons 37-4.
It is a plastic block integrally molded with 0,
It is covered by a metal cover tube 42. 43
Is an O-ring for sealing.

A projection 44 with a slot is projected on the top of the piston head 41, and the projection 44 is elastically fitted and connected to the cover cylinder 42. And
The cover cylinder 42 is screwed into and connected to the operation button 36.

Further, the pistons 37 to 40 are attached to the cylinder 31.
~ In order not to get out of the inside of 34,
A stopper cylinder 46 is screwed and attached to the outer edge of the cylinder block 30, and a compression coil spring 47 is interposed between the stopper cylinder 46 and the operation button 36.

Therefore, the pistons 37 to 40, the operation button 36, etc. are always urged toward the outside protruding from the inside of the cylinders 31 to 34, and the stopper cylinder 46 and the cover cylinder 42.
It is stationary at the position where the stoppers 48, 49 projecting from the abutment abut.

The air supply cylinder 33 and the water supply cylinder 3
4 has the same depth, and the water feeding piston 40 is formed to be slightly shorter than the air feeding piston 39. As shown in FIG. 1, the vertical holes 51 and 53 formed at the respective axial positions of the air supply piston 37 and the air supply piston 39 have piston heads 41.
A lateral hole 55 penetratingly bored across each other communicates with the inside of the air supply cylinder 31 and the air supply cylinder 33.
Vent holes 51, 53, 55 communicating with the inside are formed.

However, the tip of the air feeding piston 39 is covered with a rubber cap 57 having a check valve 56. An edge portion of the rubber cap 57 is an annular check valve 56 having a V-shaped cross section, and is fitted in an annular groove 39 a provided near the end portion of the air feeding piston 39.

Therefore, air flows from the inside of the air supply piston 39 into the inside of the air supply cylinder 33 through the air holes 39b in the annular groove 39a, but from the inside of the air supply cylinder 33 to the inside of the air supply piston 39, the air holes 39b. Is closed by the check valve 56, so that air does not flow backward. Both ends of the lateral hole 55 are closed by the cover cylinder 42.

A leak hole 58 is formed so as to extend from the lateral hole 55 to the central position on the surface of the operation button 36, straddling the piston head 41 and the operation button 36.
53 and 55 communicate with the atmosphere via a leak hole 58.

Therefore, in the normal standby state,
Since the resistance of the leak hole 58 is significantly smaller than the rubber elasticity of the check valve 56, all the air sent from the air supply pipe 21 into the air supply cylinder 31 has the leak hole 5.
8 is discharged to the atmosphere, and no air is sent into the air supply conduit 23.

However, as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 1, if the leak hole 58 opening in the operation button 36 is closed with a fingertip, there is no escape area for the air, so the air supplied to the air supply cylinder 31 is a vent hole. The check valve 56 is deformed by air pressure through the side holes 51, 55, 53, and further through the lateral hole at the tip of the air feeding piston 39, and is sent into the air feeding conduit 23, and is fed to the tip of the insertion portion 3. .

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, vertical holes 52 and 54 formed at respective axial positions of the water supply piston 38 and the water supply piston 40 are laterally penetrated through the piston head 41. Water holes 52, 54, 59 are formed to connect the water supply cylinder 32 and the water supply cylinder 34 to each other.

However, like the air feeding piston 39, the tip of the water feeding piston 40 is covered with a rubber cap 62 with a check valve 61, so that water flows from the water feeding piston 40 into the water feeding cylinder 34. The water is prevented from flowing backward from the water supply cylinder 34 into the air supply piston 40. Both ends of the lateral hole 59 are closed by the cover cylinder 42.

As a result, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, when the operation button 36 is pushed in with the fingertip covering the leak hole 58, the four pistons 37 to 40 move inwardly of the cylinders 31 to 34. When pushed in, the cap 57 at the tip of the air feeding piston 39 is pressed against the tapered surface of the bottom portion of the air feeding cylinder 33 as shown in FIG. 5, and the inlet of the air feeding conduit 23 is completely closed.

Therefore, the air in the air supply line 21 has no escape, and high pressure is applied to the water in the water storage tank 8.
Also in this state, as shown in FIG. 6, there is a gap between the tip of the water feeding piston 40 and the bottom of the water feeding cylinder 34.

Therefore, the water pushed out from the water storage tank 8 by the air pressure is supplied from the water supply pipe line 22 into the water supply cylinder 32, passes through the water supply holes 52, 59 and 54, and the lateral hole 40b at the tip of the water supply piston 40. The check valve 61 is deformed by water pressure through the water and is sent out into the water supply pipe line 24 and is supplied to the tip of the insertion portion 3.

In the standby state shown in FIG. 4, air is released to the atmosphere through the leak holes 58, and in the air-sending state, the water in the water storage tank 8 rises due to pressurization. The water supply conduit 22 and the water passage hole 5
Before the pressure in 2, 59, 54 rises, the pressure on the air supply side rises, the check valve 56 opens, and air is released into the body cavity, so that high pressure is applied to the water storage tank 8. Therefore, the water in the water storage tank 8 is not sent out.

The switching valve device 20 constructed in this way is
By loosening and removing the stopper cylinder 46 from the cylinder block 30, the four pistons 37 to 40 can be extracted from the cylinders 31 to 34 in an integrated state with the operation button 36 and the like.

When the pistons 37 to 40 are extracted from the cylinders 31 to 34 in this way, as shown in FIG. 3, the air supply conduit 21, the water supply conduit 22, the air supply conduit 23 and the water supply conduit 24 are separated from each other. The cylinders 31 to 34 are opened at the center of the bottom facing the front.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, the cleaning brushes 100 and 200 are inserted into the pipe lines 21 to 24 from the cylinders 31 to 34 side, and the pipe lines 21 to 24 are inserted.
The inside can be brushed over the entire length.

Further, the pistons 37 to 40 are connected to the cylinder 3
1 to 34, the operation button 36 and the pistons 37 to 4
0 and the pistons 37 to 40 are pulled downward, the piston head 41 is removed from the cover cylinder 42, and as shown in FIG. 8, the two lateral holes 55 and 59 of the piston head 41 are removed. The opening is exposed.

Therefore, in that state, the leak hole 58
The cleaning brush 300 can be inserted into the horizontal holes 55 and 59 as well as the vertical holes 51 to 54 in the pistons 37 to 40, and the ventilation holes 51, 53 and 55 and the water passage holes 5 can be inserted.
All the holes 2, 54, 59 can be brushed.

FIG. 9 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which each function of air supply and water supply is the same as that of the first embodiment described above. However, the piston head 141 is the cylinder block 1
Since the stopper cylinder 146 is formed so as to be fitted into the cylinder block 130, the stopper cylinder 146 is loosened and removed from the cylinder block 130 to remove the pistons 137 to 140 from the cylinders 131 to 134.
When it is pulled out from, the openings of the lateral holes 155 and 159 formed in the piston head 141 are immediately exposed.

Therefore, without removing the operation button 136 or the like from the piston head 141, the lateral hole 15 can be more easily formed.
The inside of 5, 159 can be brushed.

[0041]

According to the air / water supply / switching device for an endoscope of the present invention, by removing the pistons from the four cylinders arranged in parallel, each of the air supply, water supply, air supply, and water supply lines can be formed. Since it opens to the front at the bottom of the cylinder, you can insert a cleaning brush into each conduit from there to brush the inside of each conduit easily and reliably over the entire length. Can be performed more completely, and has an excellent effect of preventing infection and the like through an endoscope.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front cross-sectional view of an air / water supply switching device for an endoscope of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an overall schematic view of an air / water supply switching device for an endoscope of an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a partial plan view of the air / water switching device of the endoscope of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of an air / water supply switching device for an endoscope of an embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a front cross-sectional view showing a water supply state of the air / water supply / switching device of the endoscope of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view of a water supply state of an air supply / water supply switching device for an endoscope of an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a cleaning state of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a cleaning state of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a front sectional view of a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 20 Switching Valve Device 21 Air Supply Pipeline 22 Water Supply Pipeline 23 Air Supply Pipeline 24 Water Supply Pipeline 31-34 Cylinder 36 Operation Button 37-40 Piston

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Keito Ito 2-36-9 Maeno-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Shinichi Matsuno 2-36--9 Maeno-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Asahi Hikaru Gaku Kogyo Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Four pistons arranged parallel to each other are attached to a common operation button, and the pistons are removably fitted and inserted into four cylinders arranged parallel to each other to supply air. A trachea line, a water supply line to which water is supplied, an air supply line for sending out air, and a water supply line for sending out water are provided at the bottom of the four cylinders in the same direction as the axial direction of each cylinder. By sequentially connecting and operating the operation button to switch between a state in which air is sent from the air supply line into the air supply line and a state in which water is sent from the water supply line into the water supply line. An air / water switching device for an endoscope, which is characterized in that