JPH06296585A - Endoscope cleaning apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an endoscope cleaning apparatus having a simple structure of a relatively small number of piezo-electric transducers well arranged, capable of surely removing stains from markedly soiled portions to attain efficient cleaning effect. CONSTITUTION:An endoscope 2 is washed in a cleaning solution by means of cavitation brought about by supersonic waves. Apparatus consists of vessel 1 in which the endoscope is fixed at a prescribed position, together with a small number of piezo-electric transducers 10 and an electric circuit for driving transducers. The transducers are arranged in a manner to concentrate cavitation upon soiled parts of the endoscope.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasonic cleaning type endoscope cleaning apparatus for cleaning an endoscope while applying ultrasonic vibration.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A method is conceivable in which cavitation is generated in a cleaning liquid in which an endoscope is immersed by vibration of an ultrasonic transducer to clean the endoscope. This cavitation is a shocking pressure and is useful for cleaning the endoscope.
Conventionally, when cleaning an endoscope with an ultrasonic cleaning method, as a generally considered endoscope cleaning device, an ultrasonic transducer is used to generate uniform cavitation in the cleaning tank. Place a large number at equal intervals.

[0003]

However, the effect of ultrasonic cleaning depends on the state of cavitation. In the conventional endoscope cleaning device that performs ultrasonic cleaning,
In order to obtain uniform cavitation in the cleaning tank, ultrasonic transducers are arranged at equal intervals on the bottom surface of the cleaning tank.

Therefore, the cavitation generation state in the unloaded state (the state in which the cleaning object is not filled in the cleaning tank) is uniform in the cleaning tank. However, since the shape of the object to be cleaned is not taken into consideration, when cleaning an object having a unique shape such as an endoscope, many cavitations are wasted.

In particular, the endoscope has a portion such as the distal end portion of the insertion portion which requires cleaning inside and details, and a portion such as the operation portion which may be surface-cleaned. Conventional products were able to perform uniform cleaning as a whole, but they were inefficient because they required a higher cleaning effect at locations where sufficient cleaning was required.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to provide a relatively simple structure for changing the arrangement structure of ultrasonic transducers, but to provide a particularly dirty portion of the endoscope. It is an object of the present invention to provide an endoscope cleaning apparatus capable of reliably performing ultrasonic cleaning and efficiently performing ultrasonic cleaning with a smaller number of ultrasonic transducers.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is an endoscope cleaning apparatus for cleaning an endoscope by causing cavitation in a cleaning liquid in which the endoscope is immersed, and the set position of the endoscope is determined. A cleaning tank, an ultrasonic vibrator arranged at a position for concentrating cavitation on a particularly dirty portion of the endoscope in the cleaning liquid of the cleaning tank, and a drive circuit for driving the ultrasonic vibrator. It is equipped.

When performing ultrasonic cleaning, the drive circuit causes the ultrasonic vibrator to start vibrating, causing cavitation in the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank. Since the ultrasonic transducer is arranged so that cavitation is likely to occur particularly at a dirty portion of the endoscope, for example, at the distal end portion of the insertion portion or the like, a portion requiring the ultrasonic cleaning effect can be reliably and reliably disposed. Can perform efficient cleaning.

[0009]

1 to 5 show a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 and 2 show a conceptual configuration,
3 to 5 show an endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus having a more specific structure.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the cleaning tank 1 of the endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus has the endoscope 2 installed in a substantially horizontal state near its bottom. The cleaning tank 1 is provided with a drainage port 3 at one corner of the bottom and a lid 4 at the opening. The endoscope 2 includes an operating portion 5, a flexible tube portion 7 that constitutes the insertion portion 6, a bending portion 8 and a tip portion 9, and is installed in a predetermined position of the cleaning tank 1 in a determined state. FIG. 1 shows an example of the position form. The endoscope 2 is immersed in the cleaning liquid stored in the cleaning tank 1.

An ultrasonic transducer 10 is attached to the bottom wall of the cleaning tank 1 so as to correspond to the set position of the endoscope 2.
The ultrasonic transducer 10 is used especially in the insertion portion 6 of the endoscope 2.
And are arranged in one row facing it. During cleaning, the ultrasonic transducer 10 is driven by a drive circuit (not shown).

When performing ultrasonic cleaning, the ultrasonic vibrator 10
Are driven by a drive circuit (not shown). Then,
High sound pressure is generated above it, and strong cavitation is generated there. Further, the cleaning effect in this portion is the highest. The insertion portion 6 of the endoscope 2 is positioned corresponding to the insertion portion 6 and is reliably and efficiently cleaned. Since the insertion portion 6 is inserted into the human body, it is the portion that is most likely to be contaminated, and is a portion that requires thorough cleaning, especially inside and in details. The cavitation allows intensive cleaning of the part.

Further, the sound pressure generated by the ultrasonic vibrator 10 propagates while being attenuated, and weak cavitation is generated at a place away from the ultrasonic vibrator 10. On the other hand, part of the sound pressure generated by the ultrasonic transducer 10 is reflected by the cleaning tank 1,
It decays and propagates, resulting in similarly weak cavitation. Therefore, it suffices to clean the surface of the endoscope 2, and the place where the operation unit 5 of the endoscope 2 and the light guide cable are arranged is
Since it is arranged away from the ultrasonic transducer 10, cleaning is performed by weak cavitation.

Further, the cleaning time is selected according to the most dirty part, but the operation part 5 and the light guide cable are not unnecessarily impacted. With such a configuration, a dirty portion such as the insertion portion 6 can be efficiently and reliably cleaned with a small number of ultrasonic transducers 10, while an operation having a relatively weak portion such as an eyepiece portion against impact. It is difficult to damage the part 5.

3 to 5 show an endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus having a specific structure to which the concept is applied. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the cleaning tank 1 is provided with a rotary cleaning nozzle 15 in the center thereof and a bay portion 16 for arranging the operation portion 5 of the endoscope 2 in one corner. The above-mentioned drainage port 3 is provided at the inner bottom of the bay 16. The light guide cable 1 of the endoscope 2 is provided at the corner opposite to the bay 16.
The concave portion 19 in which the light guide connector 18 of No. 7 is arranged is formed.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the operation portion 5 of the endoscope 2 is positioned in the bay 16 and the light guide connector 18 of the light guide cable 17 is positioned in the recess 19, the endoscope 2 is moved. Is positioned such that its insertion portion 6 is curved around the cleaning nozzle 15 in an arcuate shape.
The light guide cable 17 is located near the cleaning nozzle 15 above the insertion portion 6. That is, the set position of the endoscope 2 is naturally determined. However, it goes without saying that a guide frame, a net or the like may be used to determine the set position of the endoscope 2.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, the water supply pipe 21
A water supply tank 23 is connected to the cleaning nozzle 15 and the cleaning water inlet 22 through. A water supply pump 24 is provided in the middle of the water supply pipe 21. Tap water is appropriately supplied to the water supply tank 23 from a tap water tap (not shown).

Further, the cleaning tank 1 is provided with a disinfectant solution inlet 25, to which a supply pipe 27 leading to a disinfectant solution tank 26 is connected. Then, when performing the disinfection by the disinfection pump 28 provided in the middle of the supply pipe 27, a required amount of the disinfectant solution is supplied to the cleaning tank 1 from the disinfectant solution tank 26.

A drain pipe 30 and the disinfectant solution tank 26 are connected to the drain port 3 via an opening / closing valve 29. A drainage pump 31 is provided in the middle of the drainage pipe 30. The on-off valve 29 selects each state of “closed” for closing the drainage port 3, “drainage” for communicating the drainage port 3 with the drainage pipe 30, and “recovery” for communicating the drainage port 3 with the disinfectant tank 26.

Next, the order of cleaning / disinfecting by the endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus will be described together with its operation. First, the open / close valve 29 is set to the “drainage” state, the water supply pump 24 is operated, and water is supplied from the water supply tank 23 to the rotary cleaning nozzle 15 to shower the endoscope 2 installed in the cleaning tank 1. To do. In other words, wash off large dirt and wash tank 1
Discard outside.

After that, the on-off valve 29 is closed,
The water supply pump 24 is operated to move the water supply tank 23 to the cleaning tank 1
By supplying water to the cleaning tank 1, the cleaning tank 1 is filled with the cleaning liquid, and the endoscope 2 is immersed in the cleaning liquid. Here, as described above, the ultrasonic transducer 10 is driven, and strong cavitation is generated in the ultrasonic transducer 10 for cleaning. As described above, it is possible to intensively and intensively wash the portion of the insertion portion 6 which is the portion that is most likely to get dirty and in particular the portion where sufficient cleaning is required in the interior and details.

After the ultrasonic cleaning is completed, the open / close valve 29 is set to the "drain" state, the drain pump 31 is operated, and the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank 1 is discharged. Further, subsequently, the water supply pump 24 is operated to supply water, and the endoscope 2 in the cleaning tank 1 is rinsed. The opening / closing valve 29 may be closed to store the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank 1 and the endoscope 2 may be subjected to immersion cleaning. In this case, the on-off valve 29 is finally set to the “drainage” state for draining.

After the cleaning liquid is discharged from the cleaning tank 1, the disinfecting pump 28 is operated to inject an appropriate amount of the disinfecting liquid into the cleaning tank 1 from the disinfecting liquid inlet 25. Then, the ultrasonic transducer 10 is driven. Then, the disinfecting liquid that touches the vibrating surface is atomized and scattered in the cleaning tank 1. The cleaning tank 1 is filled with an atmosphere of a disinfecting solution, and the endoscope 2 is disinfected. Disinfectant injection port 25
It is also possible to drive only the ultrasonic transducer 10 in the vicinity of and to atomize the disinfecting liquid only with that.

At this time, the amount of disinfecting liquid required for disinfection is smaller than that of the immersion type, which is economical. Therefore, the used disinfectant solution may be directly discharged without being collected in the disinfectant solution tank 26. Of course, it may be collected in the disinfectant solution tank 26 as in the conventional case. Further, since the same ultrasonic vibrator as that used in ultrasonic cleaning is used for the atomization and disinfection, the structure can be simple and inexpensive. When the used disinfectant solution is always discharged as it is without being collected in the disinfectant solution tank 26, the recovery circuit can be omitted, and the configuration can be further simplified.

Finally, the on-off valve 29 is opened to drain the disinfectant solution, and then the rinsing and washing in the case of the above-mentioned washing step is carried out to complete the washing / disinfecting step. 6 and 7 show a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. In this embodiment, the endoscope 2
A plurality of ultrasonic transducers 10 are arranged in a concentrated manner around the insertion portion 6, especially the tip portion 9 thereof, and the other points are the same as those of the first embodiment. As described in the description of the first embodiment described above, the tip portion 9 of the endoscope 2 is most easily soiled. Therefore, the effect of ultrasonic cleaning can be most expected.

8 and 9 show the third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, in addition to the one of the first embodiment, another ultrasonic transducer 40 facing the endoscope 2 is attached to the side wall of the cleaning tank 1. That is, the ultrasonic transducers 10 and 40 are attached to the bottom surface and the side surface of the cleaning tank 1. Then, the ultrasonic transducers 10 and 40 are simultaneously
Alternatively, by vibrating alternately, interference of ultrasonic waves is generated to eliminate the unevenness of the whole, and at the same time, cavitation is likely to occur particularly in a portion that is easily soiled. Other functions and effects are similar to those of the first embodiment described above.

10 and 11 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the cleaning tank 1 is formed in a vertical cylindrical shape, and a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 10 are arranged at the bottom thereof. As shown in FIG. 10, the endoscope 2 is suspended in the cleaning tank 1. Ultrasonic transducer 1 for ultrasonic cleaning
The cleaning action due to 0 is concentrated on the tip portion 9 of the insertion portion 6. Other functions and effects are similar to those of the first embodiment described above.

Incidentally, ultrasonic transducers having characteristics suitable for each part of the endoscope may be selected and arranged. For example, output waveform (divergence, equality, convergence), output value (weak near operation part, strong near insertion part), frequency (for example, one corresponding to a flexible tube requires impact force rather than precision, 28 kHz , 40 kHz), etc. should be selected because precision is required for the tip and eyepieces.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the endoscope cleaning apparatus for cleaning the endoscope by causing cavitation in the cleaning liquid in which the endoscope is immersed, the setting position of the endoscope is determined. An ultrasonic transducer is arranged at a position where cavitation is concentrated in a particularly dirty portion of the endoscope in the cleaning tank. When ultrasonic cleaning is performed, the ultrasonic transducer is arranged so that cavitation is likely to occur especially at a dirty portion of the endoscope, for example, at the tip of the insertion portion. It is possible to perform reliable and efficient cleaning of the parts that require Further, it is possible to provide an economical endoscope cleaning apparatus capable of effectively cleaning the ultrasonic transducer with a smaller number.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a conceptual configuration of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the conceptual configuration of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a cleaning tank portion of the endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a cleaning tank portion of the endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration explanatory view of the endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a conceptual configuration of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a conceptual configuration of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a conceptual configuration of a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a side view showing a conceptual configuration of a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing a conceptual configuration of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a bottom view showing the conceptual configuration of the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Cleaning tank, 2 ... Endoscope, 6 ... Insertion part, 8 ... Bending part, 9
... tip part, 10 ... ultrasonic transducer, 40 ... ultrasonic transducer.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Takeaki Nakamura 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An endoscope cleaning apparatus for cleaning an endoscope by generating cavitation in a cleaning liquid in which an endoscope is immersed, and a cleaning tank in which an endoscope setting position is determined, and this cleaning tank. And an ultrasonic oscillator arranged at a position for concentrating cavitation on a particularly dirty portion of the endoscope in the cleaning liquid, and a drive circuit for driving the ultrasonic oscillator. Endoscope cleaning device.