JPH07184840A - Airtightness inspector for endoscope cover - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an airtightness inspector for an endoscope cover which enables detection to determine whether an endoscope cover can be re-used or not. CONSTITUTION:A cover part 18 of an insertion part is provided with an endoscope insertion path 59 into which an insertion part of an endoscope for a cover is inserted, an opening 80 is provided being penetrated into the endoscope insertion path 59 on a hand-side mouth body 54 of the cover part 18 of the insertion part and one end of a tube 99 for pressurization is connected thereto airtightly. An air pump, flowmeter and the like are connected to the other end of the tube 99 for pressurization. A space of the endoscope insertion path 59 is pressurized with the air pump and it is checked to determine whether the cover part 18 of the insertion part can be re-used depending on the presence of an air leakage.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endoscope cover airtightness inspection device for inspecting whether or not an endoscope cover can be reused.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In endoscopic examination using a medical endoscope, it is necessary to use a clean endoscope that has been thoroughly washed and disinfected before the examination. Since the conventional endoscope is repeatedly used for a plurality of patients, the endoscope once used for inspection has been cleaned and disinfected before being used for the next inspection. It takes about one hour to perform sufficient cleaning and disinfection, and the work requires considerable labor.

In order to reduce the inconvenience caused by the time-consuming and labor-intensive work, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-54734 provides a disposable endoscope cover for covering the endoscope insertion portion. Before inspection, cover the endoscope insertion part with a clean endoscope cover, and after the inspection, remove the endoscope cover and discard. As a result, the endoscope insertion portion is not contaminated, and the inspection can be performed one after another only with the loss time of the exchange time of the endoscope cover.

[0004]

However, since the endoscope cover is disposable, it has the following problems.
Firstly, since one endoscope cover is required for each examination, the examination fee becomes expensive and the burden on the patient increases. Secondly, it is necessary to treat the endoscope covers for the number of examinations as medical waste, which is not only a treatment cost but also a problem from the viewpoint of environmental protection. Thirdly, it is necessary to stock the endoscope covers for the number of examinations in the hospital, which requires a large storage space.

Therefore, it is very effective to provide a device based on the new concept. It is a device that makes it possible to wash and disinfect a cover that covers the endoscope insertion portion and to determine whether or not the function of isolating the endoscope insertion portion from contamination is maintained.

As a result, a clean endoscope cover is used for each day of the examination, and the used endoscope covers are stored in the storage box, and are washed and washed collectively at the end of the one-day examination. It is sterilized and can be used as a clean endoscope cover again the next day. Of course, it is also possible to wash and disinfect every test or several pieces without washing and disinfecting collectively. As a result, while maintaining the same effect as the disposable endoscope cover that the next inspection can be done only by exchanging the endoscope cover between inspections, the inspection can be performed by using the endoscope cover multiple times. The cost per unit can be reduced and the medical waste / hospital storage space can be reduced.

The reason why the conventional disposable endoscope cover cannot be repeatedly used is as follows. To ensure the flexibility of the endoscope, the endoscope cover is made of thin and flexible material. Therefore, there is a possibility that a hole may be opened in the endoscope cover during the work of attaching and detaching the endoscope and the endoscope cover.

Further, when used multiple times, there is a possibility that holes will be formed due to the limit of resistance. However, the conventional device has no means for detecting whether or not there is a hole.
If a perforated endoscope cover is used, the endoscope insertion part may be contaminated or the contamination of the endoscope insertion part may come into contact with the patient, resulting in infection.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope cover airtightness inspection apparatus capable of detecting whether or not the endoscope cover can be reused.

The present invention indirectly confirms that the endoscope insertion part is not contaminated by checking before the examination and confirming that there is no hole after use if it can be connected to the disposable endoscope cover. It can also be used for the purpose of doing.

[0011]

Means and Action for Solving the Problem A first mounting portion provided in an opening on the proximal end side of an endoscope insertion passage through which an endoscope insertion portion provided in an insertion portion cover portion is inserted, and a pressing force. The second mounting portion provided at the end of the pressurizing conduit connected to the means, and then pressurizing the space in the endoscope insertion passage by the pressurizing means,
It is possible to check whether or not the endoscope cover can be reused by checking whether or not there is a hole on the endoscope cover side based on the presence or absence of air leakage at this time.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 14 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of a cover type endoscope apparatus.
Shows the vicinity of the pinch valve to which the leak pipe and the suction pipe are attached, FIG. 3 shows a cleaning / disinfecting device for the insertion portion cover portion including an airtightness inspection device for the insertion portion cover portion, and FIG. 4 is provided for the insertion portion cover portion. 7 shows the structure of the opening of the endoscope insertion passage and the connecting end of the pressurizing tube that can be attached to and detached from the opening, and FIGS. 5 and 6 show a specific example of a rack in which the insert cover is installed, and FIG. 8 shows the structure of the insertion part cover part, FIG. 8 shows a cross section taken along the line AA to GG of FIG. 7, FIG. 9 shows the structure near the chamfered part of the outer periphery of the objective lens, and FIG. 10 shows the shield case. FIG. 11 shows a structure in which the corner facing the receiving portion is chamfered, FIG. 11 shows a structure in which the position of the bending wire facing the receiving portion is also shifted to further thin the entire outer shape, and FIG. 12 shows an air pump and pressurization. Indicates that a flow meter is installed in the air pipe that communicates with the air supply port. FIG. 13 shows a process for the gas-tight check of the endoscope insertion path of the insertion portion cover, FIG. 14 shows a step in the case of performing continuous airtightness inspection and cleaning and disinfecting.

An endoscope apparatus 1 using a channel-equipped endoscope cover used with the endoscope cover airtightness inspection apparatus of this embodiment has a cover-type endoscope 2 as shown in FIG. The cover type endoscope 2 is an endoscope cover with a channel (hereinafter simply referred to as an endoscope cover) provided with various channels such as air supply, water supply, suction, and treatment tool channels as described later. ) 3 and a cover endoscope 4 which is covered with the endoscope cover 3 to prevent contamination and the like.

The cover type endoscope apparatus 1 holds a cart 5 in which various peripheral devices connected to the cover type endoscope 2 are installed, and the cover type endoscope 2. And a cover holder 6.

The cart 5 includes, for example, a light source device 7 for supplying illumination light, a video processor 8 for signal processing, a fluid control device 9 for controlling fluid, and an endoscope cover extender (hereinafter, referred to as an extension mechanism) having an extension mechanism. , Abbreviated as dilator) 10 and the like. A monitor 11 that receives a video signal from the video processor 8 and displays an endoscopic image is placed on the upper surface of the cart 5.

The cover endoscope 4 includes an elongated and flexible insertion portion 12 and an operation portion 13 which also serves as a large-diameter grip portion provided at the proximal end of the insertion portion 12 on the proximal side. From the side of the operation section 13 to the universal cord 14
Has been extended. A connector 15 for connecting to the light source device 7 is provided at an end of the universal cord 14.

The light source device 7 is detachably connected to the cover endoscope 4 via a connector 15, supplies illumination light to an illumination light transmission means provided in the cover endoscope 4, and illuminates the illumination light. The inside of the body cavity is illuminated with the illumination light emitted from the illumination light emitting means on the tip side of the light transmitting means.

Further, the video processor 8 is detachably connected to the cover endoscope 4 via a curl cord 16 extending from a side portion of the connector 15, and is incorporated in the cover endoscope 4 for imaging. It drives the device and processes the signal output from the image pickup device to convert it into a standard video signal and output it to the monitor 11.

The expander 10 is for sending air into the endoscope cover 3 through the expansion tube 17, and by sending air to the endoscope cover 3 to expand the air, the inside of the cover is expanded. The endoscope 4 can be easily attached to or removed from the endoscope cover 3. For this reason, the other end of the expansion tube 17 whose one end is connected to the dilator 10 is connected to the expansion tube mouth 21 provided at the base end of the insertion section cover 18 when it is attached or removed. To be done.

When the endoscope cover 3 is attached to or detached from the cover endoscope 4, a cover holder 6 is used, and the base end side of the endoscope cover 3 is fixed by the cover holder 6. Hold and do.

The endoscope cover 3 includes a flexible insertion portion cover portion 18, a thin and flexible operation portion cover portion 19 and a universal cord cover portion 20 which are made of a polymer material such as vinyl chloride. It is provided with the insertion portion 12 (and the vicinity thereof) of the cover endoscope 4, the operation portion 13,
Each of the universal cords 14 is covered. All of these covers are sterilized before use.

The angle knob 22 portion of the operating portion 13 of the cover endoscope 4 is also covered with the angle knob cover 23. In addition, the universal cord 14 is the operation unit 1
3 is a connection pipe for connecting to the light source device 7, which is extended from 3, and has a light guide and a signal cable inserted therein.

The fluid control device 9 includes an insertion portion cover portion 1
An air supply conduit tube 24, a water supply conduit tube 25, and a suction conduit tube 26 (hereinafter, the tubes are omitted) extending from No. 8 are connected to each other.

The suction conduit 26 is connected to a suction tube 61 and a leak conduit 62 communicating with a suction bottle 60 connected to a suction device (not shown) by a three-way stopcock 63. The leak line 62 and the suction line 26 are attached to an electromagnetic pinch valve 64, and those parts are shown in FIG.

The suction line 26 and the leak line 62 are tubes of different colors, for example black and translucent.
The pinch valve 64 has a mounting portion 65 for mounting the leak conduit 62 and a mounting portion 66 for mounting the suction conduit 26.
Therefore, by controlling the pinch valve 64, the leak pipeline 62 attached to the attachment portion 65 sandwiches and blocks either of the suction pipelines 26 attached to the attachment portion 66, and the suction operation and the leak operation are switched.

In the vicinity of the mounting portion 65 and the mounting portion 66, an index 67 and an index 68 having the same color as the leak conduit 62 and the suction conduit 26, respectively, are provided. As a result, the leak line 6
2 and the attachment position of the suction pipe line 26 are prevented from being incorrect. The leak conduit 62 and the suction conduit 26 may be distinguished from each other not by the color of the tube but by attaching a seal having a different color or shape to the indicators 67 and 68.

Further, at this time, which position of the leak pipe line 62 and the suction pipe line 26 should be set in the attachment portion 65 and the attachment portion 66 may be indicated by the seal. Since it is set at an appropriate position, the pipe can be prevented from sagging or collapsing. For the purpose of identifying the conduits, the connection ends of the air supply conduit 24 and the water supply conduit 25 have different colors, and the connection ports of the respective fluid control devices 9 are the air supply conduit 24 and the water supply conduit 2
The color corresponds to 5.

In this embodiment, the air supply pipe line 24, the water supply pipe line 24 and the suction pipe line 26 extending from the base end side of the insertion section cover 18 are connected to the fluid control device 9 in the middle of the universal cord. Together with 14, the universal cord cover portion 20 is arranged to cover them collectively.

During a case, a treatment tool such as a biopsy forceps 28 can be inserted into the forceps channel provided in the endoscope cover 3 from the forceps insertion port 27 to perform a medical treatment or the like when necessary. ing. The cover holding member 6a of the cover holder 6 is a portion that is connected to the insertion portion cover portion 18 when the cover holding member 6a is attached and detached, and is formed in a U shape. The surface of the cover holding member 6a is also covered with a cover holding member cover 29 for preventing contamination.

FIG. 3 shows a cleaning / disinfecting apparatus for the insertion section cover 18, including an airtightness inspection apparatus for the insertion section cover 18. In the figure, a cleaning / disinfecting apparatus main body (hereinafter, apparatus main body) 71 is provided with a processing tank (so-called cleaning tank) 72. This processing tank 7
A rack 74 on which the insertion section cover 18 to be cleaned and disinfected is placed is detachably provided in the inside of the unit 2.

In the main body 71 of the apparatus, a water tank 7
5 and a first disinfecting solution tank 76 are incorporated, and a replenishment conduit 78 having a water supply valve 77 inserted in the middle is connected to the upper part of the water supply tank 75. The supply line 78 is connected to a water tap not shown.

A second antiseptic solution tank 81, which is also incorporated in the apparatus main body 71, is connected to the upper portion of the water supply tank 75 via a solenoid valve 82. The second disinfectant solution tank 81 stores a concentrated type disinfectant solution for water supply system disinfection.

Inside the processing tank 72, the insertion portion cover portion 18 is provided.
A pedestal portion 83 that is sufficiently higher than the above portion is formed on a side portion of the pedestal portion 83, avoiding a portion where the pedestal portion is installed.
An in-apparatus inlet 84 and an air vent 85 are provided on the upper surface of the. The inlet 84 in the device is now the water tank 8
It is for injecting an antiseptic solution into the No. 5. The in-apparatus inlet 84 is normally closed by a first cap 86.

Further, the air vent port 85 is a water supply tank 75.
A second cap (not shown) is detachably screwed and inserted into the air vent port 85.

A leak hole is formed in the second cap, and air is discharged from the water supply tank 75 through this leak hole. The leak hole has a diameter as small as possible to prevent the inflow of dirt. It should be noted that such an air bleeding structure is preferably provided in each of the pipe lines in order to smoothly flow the liquid in each part.

Two cleaning liquid supply pipes 91, 92 are connected to the bottom of the water supply tank 75, and one cleaning liquid supply pipe 91 is connected.
Communicates with a cleaning nozzle 93 provided in the processing tank 72, and the other cleaning liquid supply pipe 92 communicates with a channel water supply cap 94 provided on a side wall of the processing tank 72. The cleaning water is supplied from the water supply tank 75 to the cleaning liquid supply pipes 91 and 92 simultaneously by operating the cleaning pump 95.

A water supply tube 96 is detachably connected to the channel water supply base 94. The other end of the water supply tube 96 is branched into three and is detachably connected to the suction pipe line 26, the air supply pipe line 24, and the water supply pipe line 25 (only the suction pipe line 26 is shown in FIG. 4). Although shown, the same applies to the connection portion of the air supply conduit 24 and the water supply conduit 25).

The suction pipe line 26 and the water supply tube 96 may be connected to the forceps port 27 by connecting the water supply tube 96 or by connecting the forceps port 27 and the suction pipe line 26 so that water is supplied from both sides. Good. At this time, the water supply tube 96 may be connected after removing the forceps plug 69 made of an elastic body with a slit attached to the forceps port 27 to prevent leakage.

On the other hand, two disinfectant solution supply pipes 87 and 88 are connected to the bottom of the first disinfectant solution tank 76, and one disinfectant solution supply pipe 87 communicates with the inside of the processing tank 72 and the other. The disinfecting liquid supply pipe 88 communicates with the cleaning liquid supply pipe 92 in parallel with the channel water supply base 94. Then, the supply of the disinfectant solution from the first disinfectant solution tank 76 to the respective disinfectant solution supply pipes 87, 88 is simultaneously performed by operating the disinfectant solution pump 73.

A pressurized air supply port 98 communicating with an air pump 97 incorporated in the apparatus main body 71 is provided on the side wall of the processing tank 72. This pressurized air supply port 9
An endoscope pressurizing tube 99 is detachably connected to 8.

As shown in FIG. 4, the pressurizing mouth 100 located at the other end of the pressurizing tube 99 has a tip end portion 31, a bending portion 32, and a flexible portion of the cover endoscope 4 provided on the insertion portion cover portion 18. It is adapted to be detachably connected to the opening 80 of the endoscope insertion passage 59 that covers the portion 33.

As shown in FIG. 4, the opening 80 provided in the proximal mouth 54 is composed of a sealing surface 89 formed of an annular smooth surface and an internal thread portion 90 having a diameter larger than that of the sealing surface 89. The pressurizing mouth 100 has an O-ring 106 that ensures airtightness with the sealing surface 89 when attached to the insertion portion cover 18.
And a male threaded portion 107 corresponding to the female media portion 90 for connecting the insertion portion cover portion 18 and the pressurizing tube 99.

As shown in FIG. 3, a disinfectant recovery port and a discharge port are provided at the bottom of the processing tank 72, and the disinfectant recovery port is provided at the disinfectant recovery port via the disinfection recovery electromagnetic valve 101. 10
2 is connected. The other end of the disinfectant solution collecting line 102 is connected to the upper part of the first disinfectant solution tank 76.
Further, a discharge pipe line 104 is connected to the discharge port via a discharge solenoid valve 103. A discharge pump 105 is inserted in the middle of the discharge pipeline 104.

On the other hand, the insertion portion cover portion 18 is provided in the processing tank 72.
FIG. 5 shows a specific example of the rack 74 for installing the above. Figure 5
5A shows a plan view, and FIG. 5B shows H- in FIG.
The H section is shown.

That is, the rack 74 is composed of a lower stage 108 made of the grid-like wires and an upper stage 109 made of parallel wires having a wide pitch. The wire may be made of metal or synthetic resin. Insert section cover section 1
8 is usually supported by the wires in the upper stage 109.

Generally, the insert cover 18 and the rack 74 are
The smaller the contact area is, that is, the coarser the wire pitch, the higher the cleaning / disinfecting level. However, if the pitch is rough, the tip portion of the insertion portion cover portion 18 may drop from the rack 74 and be damaged. In the structure of the rack 74, normally, the wire of the upper stage 109 is mainly in contact with the insertion portion cover portion 18, so that the contact area becomes the minimum,
Also, in the event of a drop, the wire in the lower stage 108 catches it and prevents it from falling.

The number of racks 74 is not two but two.
It may have three or more stages. As for the shape, various shapes are conceivable, and for example, the shape shown in FIG. 6 may be used. This is because the amount of water for water leak detection and the disinfectant solution accumulated in the processing tank 72 is small, and in order to effectively utilize the water, a raised base 110 is formed in the center of the processing tank 72.

The insertion portion cover portion 18 is, as shown in FIG. 6, a ring-shaped rack 7 arranged around the raised base portion 110.
Rolled into 4 and placed. The rack 74 is composed of a lower stage 108 made of the grid-like wires and an upper stage 109 made of radial wires having a wide pitch.
It is possible to prevent the insertion portion cover portion 18 from being rolled up into a small size and set by the raised base portion 110, and the durability of the insertion portion cover portion 18 is not impaired.

Next, the distal end portion 31, the bending portion 32, and the flexible portion 33 of the cover endoscope 4 used together with the insertion portion cover portion 18 will be described. FIG. 7 shows the distal end portion 31, the bending portion 32, and the flexible portion 33 of the insertion portion 12. In addition, FIG. 8 is AA of FIG.
~ G-G section is shown.

The tip forming member 34 constituting the tip 31 has a substantially semicircular outer shape as shown in the AA cross section. An objective lens 35 is fixed to a through hole as an observation window (imaging window) formed in the longitudinal direction of the tip forming member 34 via a lens frame 36 and the like, and a CCD 37 is arranged on the focal plane of the objective lens 35. ing. One end of the circuit board 38 is connected to the lead on the back surface of the CCD 37, and the signal line 39 is connected to the other end of the circuit board 38.

An illumination lens 40 is attached to each of the illumination windows provided on the upper and lower sides of the image pickup window, and the tip portion of the light guide fiber 41 is housed and fixed in the interior thereof. The first bending piece 4 is provided on the rear end side of the tip forming member 34.
2 is fixed with screws as shown in the AA cross section.

Since the signal line 39 is provided on the proximal end side of the circuit board 38 housed inside the first bending piece 42, its proportion to the cross-sectional area is reduced, and since it is flexible, the proximal end side is curved. You can change the shape of the piece. A second bending piece 44, a third bending piece 45 ... Are provided on the rear end side of the first bending piece 42.
The front mouthpiece 48 of the flexible portion 33 is fixed to the final bending piece 47.

The sectional shape of the second bending piece 44 is a flat type which is close to the AA and BB cross sections as shown in the CC section on the front side, but is shown in the DD section on the rear side. It has a shape close to a circle. Further, the third bending piece 45 has a shape whose front side is shown in the DD cross section and is basically circular as shown in the EE cross section on the back side. (Some rivets 46
(The part through which is inserted is flatly deformed.) The cross-sectional outer shapes of the bending portion 32 and the flexible portion 33 on the near side are circular.

That is, most of the curved portion 32 and the flexible portion 33.
The outer shape of is circular. Second bending piece 44, third
The outer side of the bending pieces 45, ..., And the final bending piece 47 is covered with a mesh tube 49 made of a metal wire, a thread or the like, and an outer skin 50 made of an elastic body such as an elastomer.

The circuit board 38 is covered with a filling material 51 at the periphery thereof, and the flattened tip end constituting member 34 has a plate thickness in the longitudinal direction as shown in the cross section AA of FIGS. 7 and 8A. It is arranged so that it becomes the direction. With this structure,
Since the width of the circuit board 38 in the major axis direction of the tip forming member 34 can be narrowed, even if the two light guide fibers 41 are laid side by side, the major axis width of the tip forming member 34 does not need to be widened so much, and thus the flatness is improved. It can be small. This can smooth the transition from flat to circle. This effect is remarkable when the light guide fiber 41 is divided into a plurality of parts.

The bending portion 3 is pulled by pulling from the operating portion 13 side.
Bending wires 52a, 52b for remotely operating the two,
Reference numerals 52c and 52d (one of which is shown by 52 in FIG. 7) are inserted through the wire guide 53 fixed to the inner wall of the bending portion 32, and each tip side end portion thereof is shown in FIG. b)
As described above, the receiving portions 57a, 57b, 57 of the first bending piece 42 are
It is fixed to c and 57d by brazing or the like.

As shown in FIG. 8B, a part of the first bending piece 42 is deformed inward so that the four receiving portions 57a, 57b, 57 are formed.
c, 57d, and receiving portions 57a, 57b, 57c, 5
Each of the curved wires 52a, 52b, 52c, 5 in 7d
The end of 2d is fixed with brazing. In this case, the receiving part 5
When the position of 7c is located at the top of the semi-circular shape of the first bending piece 42, the outer shape of the first bending piece 42 becomes large in order to prevent interference with the CCD 37, and the insertability into the vagina of the endoscope is increased. Spoil.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the position of the receiving portion 57c is shifted so as to be located on the side of the CCD 37. However, the position of the wire guide 53 that guides the bending wire 52c provided after the CC cross section of FIG. 7 is arranged on the extension of the top portion of the first bending piece 42, and when bending, the bending portion 3
It prevents the 2 from bending while twisting.

The position and C of the receiving portion 57c in the BB cross section of FIG.
If the position of the wire guide 53 in the -C cross section is changed significantly, the resistance of the bending wire 52c decreases, so the wire guide 53
The position of may be shifted little by little in the CC cross section, the DD cross section, and the EE cross section. As shown in FIG. 8B, the receiving portion 57a is partially cut to prevent interference with the shield case 58 that covers the CCD 37.

As shown in FIG. 7, the chamfered portion on the outer periphery of the objective lens 35 is a ring-shaped mask 3 which is a black thin plate.
0 is pasted. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the reflected light from the transparent window at the tip of the insertion portion cover portion 18 from being scattered by the chamfered portion on the outer periphery of the objective lens 35 to generate flare or ghost. Instead of the mask 30, black paint or adhesive may be applied. Further, the chamfered portion may be roughened.

As shown in FIG. 9A, the chamfer 111
May be rounded with a smooth curve. Figure 9
As shown in (b), the flange 112 is attached to the tip forming member 34.
May be provided to cover the outer circumference of the objective lens 35. Figure 9
As shown in (c), the frame body 36 of the objective lens 35 is protruded from the objective lens 35 by 0.1 to 0.3 mm to form the chamfered portion 111.
May be isolated from the reflected light from the insertion portion cover portion 18. As shown in FIG. 9D, the objective lens 35 may be retracted from the tip forming member 34 by 0.1 to 0.3 mm.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9 (e), the convex portion of the frame 36 in FIG. 9 (c) may not be the entire surface but only the portion facing the illumination lens 40. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 10B, the amount of lateral displacement of the receiving portion 57c may be reduced to chamfer the corner facing the receiving portion 57c of the shield case 58 covering the CCD 37.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11B, the receiving portion 57c
The position of the bending wire 52a facing to may be shifted to further reduce the overall outer shape. As shown in FIG. 12, a flow meter 116 communicates with an air supply pipe 115 that connects the air pump 97 and the pressurized air supply port 98. Flow meter 11
The control unit 117 executes the processing described later on the signal from the control unit 6 to display the presence / absence of leakage on the display unit 118.

When the flexible portion 33 is round when inserting the cover endoscope 4 into the insertion portion cover portion 18, it is difficult to align the tip end portion 31 and the tip end constituting member 34 in the rotational direction. Therefore, a straight line extending in the axial direction is printed on the outer surface of the flexible portion 33 at a position corresponding to the apex of the semicircular portion of the tip portion 31.

An index corresponding to this straight line is also provided on the hand side mouth 54 of the insertion section cover 18. If the flexible portion 33 is inserted into the insertion portion cover portion 18 while aligning the index and the straight line, it is easy to align the distal end portion 31 and the distal end constituent member 34.

In the above embodiment, only the tip portion 31 has a semi-circular shape, but only the connecting portion of the tip portion 31, the curved portion 32 and the flexible portion 33 whose outer shape tends to be large has a semi-circular shape and the insertion portion cover portion. The outer shape when the 18 is mounted may be locally thick over the entire length in the axial direction.

If the circumferential length of the semicircular portion and the circumferential length of the round portion are matched, the clearance between the insertion portion cover portion 18 and the endoscope insertion passage 59 becomes constant over the entire length, and the insertion portion cover portion 18 and the inner cover portion are covered. The mounting of the endoscope 4 becomes easy.

Next, FIG. 13 shows a process of checking the airtightness of the endoscope insertion passage 59 of the insertion portion cover portion 18 using the apparatus of the first embodiment.

First, as in step S1, the first mounting portion and the second mounting portion are joined together. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the male screw portion 10 of the pressurizing mouth 100 of the pressurizing tube 99.
7 is screwed into the female screw portion 90 provided on the inner peripheral surface of the opening 80 of the proximal-side mouth body 54 of the insertion portion cover portion 18, and the male screw portion 107.
Is connected to the opening 80. At this time, the O-ring 106 and the sealing surface 89 provide airtightness of the endoscope insertion passage 59.

Next, as in step S2, a leak detection switch (not shown) provided on the apparatus main body 71 is turned on to operate. By this operation operation, the air pump 97 is operated as in step S3 to pressurize the inside of the endoscope insertion passage 59. After this pressurization, the state is held for a set time as in step S4, and after this set time, step S4 is performed.
The flow rate is measured as in 5.

When there is no hole in the endoscope insertion passage 59, the internal state of the endoscope insertion passage 59 becomes steady in a predetermined time, and the flow rate data of the flow meter 116 becomes zero. After a set time longer than a predetermined time, the flow rate data of the flow meter 116 is read.

Then, as in step S6, it is determined whether or not the flow rate exceeds 0. When there is no hole in the endoscope insertion passage 59, the flow rate is zero, so at this time, the normal LED indicating normal is turned on (step S7a), and the air pump 9 is turned on.
7 is stopped (step S8), and the inspection process ends.

On the other hand, when there is a hole in the endoscope insertion passage 59, the flow rate is not zero.
The ED is flashed (step S7b), an alarm sound is emitted (step S7c), the air pump 97 is stopped, and the inspection process is ended.

Instead of controlling by the output of the flow meter 116, the inspector confirms whether or not there is an air leakage sound due to leakage at the time of pressurization, or the insertion portion cover 18 is immersed in water while pressurizing to confirm the leakage of air bubbles. You may do it.

Next, FIG. 14 shows the steps in the case of continuously performing the airtightness inspection and the cleaning / disinfection of this apparatus. However, detailed steps of cleaning / disinfecting are omitted from FIG. 14, and will be described in the following sentence.

First, as in FIG. 13, the male screw portion 107 and the opening 80 are connected in step S1. Next, the device body 7
The cleaning / disinfecting switch (not shown) provided in No. 1 is operated (step S2 '). And steps S3 to S
Perform the leak confirmation process in 8.

<Leak Confirmation Step> In the same step as in FIG. 13, it is confirmed whether or not there is a leak in the endoscope insertion passage 59. If there is a leak, the same abnormality display as in FIG. 13 (step S7b) is displayed and the operation is stopped (step S8). If there is no leakage, the pressurization of the air pump 97 is continued and the process proceeds to the cleaning process (steps S11 and S12 in FIG. 14).

<Cleaning Step> The water supply valve 77 is opened, and tap water is sequentially supplied to the water supply tank 75. The cleaning pump 95 sends the liquid to the cleaning nozzle 93 and the endoscope channel to clean the outer surface of the endoscope and the inside of the channel. At this time, the solenoid valve 103 is open and the drainage pump 105 sequentially drains the water. Next, the disinfection process (steps S13 and S14 in FIG. 14) is performed.

<Disinfection process> By the disinfection pump 73, the first
The disinfecting liquid in the disinfecting liquid tank 76 is sent into the processing tank 72 and the suction pipe line 26, the air supply pipe line 24, and the water supply pipe line 25. Since the solenoid valves 101 and 103 are closed, the disinfectant solution is stored in the processing tank 72 and the insertion portion cover portion 18 is immersed. Then, after the completion of the liquid transfer, the immersion disinfection is performed by leaving it for a predetermined time. After the completion, the solenoid valve 101 is opened, and the disinfectant solution is collected in the first disinfectant solution tank 76 by free fall. Next, the process proceeds to the rinsing process (steps S15 and S16 in FIG. 14).

<Rinse Step> In this step, the disinfectant solution adhering to the insertion section cover 18 is washed away by the same operation as the above-mentioned cleaning step. After this step, water is removed and dried if necessary. Next, the leak is confirmed again (steps S5 to S in FIG. 14).
8).

<Leak Confirmation Step> Here, the leakage is confirmed again to confirm that there is no hole in the endoscope insertion passage 59 during cleaning / disinfection. This step is the same as that shown in FIG. 13 or the above. LE for normal use when no leak is detected
D is turned on, the air pump 97 is stopped, and the process ends. When using this device at the beginning of the day, disinfect the device.

<In-apparatus disinfection step> When the apparatus main body 71 is used at the beginning of the day, this in-apparatus disinfection step is performed in order to remove germs that have propagated in the water supply pipe system including the water supply tank 75 at night. To do. When the operation start operation button (not shown) is pressed, the operation of discharging the water remaining (adhered) from the previous day into the pipeline or the water supply tank 75, that is,
The accumulated water removing operation is performed. That is, the water supply valve 77 and the discharge electromagnetic valve 103 are opened, and the cleaning pump 95 and the discharge pump 105 are operated for a predetermined time.

As a result, fresh tap water is supplied to the water supply tank 75 through the supply pipe 78.
5 through the respective cleaning liquid supply pipes 91, 92 to pass through the treatment layer 7
2 and then discharged to the outside through the discharge conduit 104. That is, the accumulated water in the water supply system is wiped out (the operation is similar to the cleaning step described later). Next, with the water supply valve 77 closed, the pumps are continuously operated to perform the drainage operation in the water supply tank to empty the inside of the water supply tank 75.

Here, a time period is set to allow the disinfectant solution to be received for a certain period of time D. That is, the predetermined time D
It is determined whether or not the user has put the disinfectant solution through the inlet 84 in the apparatus. And the user himself cap 8
When 6 is removed and a specific disinfectant solution is injected by opening the in-apparatus inlet 84, the subsequent steps are performed with the disinfectant solution. On the other hand, if the liquid is not supplied within the fixed time D, the electromagnetic valve 82 is opened, so that the second disinfectant liquid tank 81 is opened.
The concentrated type disinfectant is automatically supplied from the inside to the water supply tank 75. At this time, the water supply valve 77 is opened and the tap water flows into the water supply tank 75, and the disinfectant solution is diluted into a practical solution, and the subsequent steps are performed with the solution.

In the subsequent steps, the cleaning pump 95 is used again.
Operates to send the disinfecting liquid in the water supply tank 77 to each pipe in the apparatus. At this time, the water supply valve 77 is closed. Also,
Intermittent operation is performed to ensure the effective disinfection time (contact time between the disinfectant solution and the wall surface of the pipeline). For example, it operates for 10 seconds and stops for 60 seconds. This intermittent operation cycle is continued until the disinfectant solution in the water supply tank 75 is empty. afterwards,
The water supply valve 77 is opened to supply tap water to rinse those water supply system pipelines (this is the same operation as the cleaning step).

Here, as the liquid in the second disinfection tank 81, amphoteric soap, reverse soap, chlorine-based disinfecting liquid and other inexpensive ones are used. Unless infectious bacteria with strong resistance to disinfectant are present in tap water, disinfection with these solutions will keep the inside of the equipment clean every morning. On the other hand, in cases where the inside of the device is already contaminated, it is necessary to use a strong disinfectant such as glutaral, as a special case. In that case, use the appropriate disinfectant supplied from the above-mentioned device inlet 84. It is desirable to do.

In addition, in order to make the liquid flow smoothly, an air vent pipe is provided in each part of the pipe. The user disinfects by pouring the disinfectant solution through the openings of these conduits. The air vent 85 of the water supply tank 75 is opened as a leak hole as small as possible in order to prevent the backflow of dirt, but by removing the removable cap, the opening is enlarged and water injection becomes easy.

In the case of an apparatus which adopts a method for observing the presence or absence of air bubbles by immersing the insertion portion cover portion 18 in water as leakage detection, the following may be performed.

At the same time that the endoscope insertion passage 59 is pressurized, the cleaning pump 95 is operated with the electromagnetic valves 101 and 103 closed. As a result, water is stored in the treatment tank 72 and the insertion portion cover portion 18 is immersed in the water. On the other hand, since the liquid is also sent to the suction pipe line 26, the water supply pipe line 24, and the air supply pipe line 25, the bubbles adhering to the inner walls of these pipe lines are washed away and removed.

Therefore, it is possible to prevent mistaken recognition of these bubbles and leaking bubbles. After reaching the immersion water level, the cleaning pump 95 is stopped, and at this point, the user visually confirms that the air leaking from the leaking point is released as air bubbles and floats up to check. That is, the air pump 9
Since No. 7 continues to operate, if there is a leaking point, it can be visually observed that bubbles are generated from the corresponding point. The pressurizing mouth 100 and the opening 80 may be connected by a one-touch connector such as a snap fit instead of the screw.

According to the first embodiment, there are the following effects. 1. Since the cover is washed while being pressurized, the cover can be washed in the extended state. No folds are formed, so there is no wash residue.

2. Since the cleaning is performed with the opening 80 closed, the inside of the endoscope insertion passage 59 does not get wet. When the inside of the endoscope insertion passage 59 gets wet, it is difficult to dry, and if water droplets remain, the water droplets may adhere to the objective to obstruct the field of view, or when the humidity rises and the cover surface cools, the inside surface of the cover is cooled. There is a problem that it becomes cloudy.

3. First, we will check if there are holes, so
If there are holes, it is not necessary to use unnecessary cleaning and disinfection. 4. First, the presence or absence of perforation is checked. If there is a perforation at this time, it can be confirmed that the endoscope used with this cover is contaminated, so that the endoscope can be cleaned and disinfected early. There is a loss of about one hour after the completion of all processes.

5. First, we will check if there are holes, so
It is possible to easily determine whether there was a hole during the inspection or a hole during cleaning and disinfection. Even if there is a hole in the confirmation of the final process, if the hole is not opened in the first confirmation, cleaning and disinfection of the endoscope is unnecessary.

Next, the structure of the main part of the cover airtightness inspection apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. A plurality of insertion section cover sections 18 can be simultaneously checked for airtightness, washed, and disinfected. A three-branch solenoid valve 149 is connected to the air pump 97, and an endoscope pressurizing tube 99 and a pressurizing mouth 100 are connected to the three branches.

A separate insertion portion cover portion 18 can be set in each pressurizing mouth 100. Similarly, the washing pump 95 and the disinfection pump 73 communicate with the three-branch solenoid valve 150 and branch into three water supply tubes 96. Each water supply tube 96
The suction pipe line 26 and the air supply pipe line 2 of each insertion portion cover portion 18.
4. The water supply line 25 can be connected.

Next, the operation will be described. Basically, airtightness check cleaning / disinfection is performed in the same process as in FIG. However, the pressurization by the air pump 97 is simultaneously applied to the three insertion portion cover portions 18 at first. If there is no leakage at this time, the process proceeds to the cleaning process. If there is a leak, each insert cover 18
To sequentially pressurize individually to identify which insert cover 18 is leaking.

The abnormality LED corresponding to the leaked insertion portion cover portion 18 is made to blink. It is possible to select a mode in which the apparatus is stopped when the abnormality LED blinks, or a mode in which washing and disinfection is performed while the blinking continues when there is a leak-free insertion section cover 18.

Water injection from the water supply tube 96 is performed separately for each of the three tubes. As a result, even if the thickness and length of the conduits of the insertion portion cover portions 18 are different, water can be surely poured into all the conduits without any difficulty in balance of the flow rate.

The second embodiment has the following effects. 1. Airtightness check, cleaning and disinfection can be done at the same time, so time can be used efficiently.

2. Since the airtightness check is performed at the same time for the three lines at the beginning, the process time can be shortened when all three lines are leak-free. The number of attachments is not limited to three and may be any number. In addition, the number of insert portion cover portions 18 less than the number of attachable pieces
At the time of setting, the pressurizing mouth 100 not connected may be plugged.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

This device has only the airtightness check function and does not have the cleaning / disinfecting function. As shown in FIG. 16A, the pressurizing mouth 100 has a pair of convex portions 151 and a cutout portion 152 on the side of the convex portion 151. The part shown by the broken line in FIG. 16B is a notch.

As shown in FIG. 17, the proximal mouth 54 of the insertion portion cover 18 is an elastic body such as a plastic elastomer having a locking portion 154 for engaging the convex portion 151 with an annular hole.

At the time of mounting, the mouthpiece for pressurization 100 is used as the mouthpiece 5 on the hand side.
When pushed in 4, the convex portion 151 pushes the hand side mouth body 54 wide to enter into the hand side mouth body 54, and the convex portion 151 is housed in the locking portion 154 and fixed in a stable state. When detaching, when the hand side mouth body 54 is sandwiched from the direction orthogonal to the locking portion 154 of the hand side mouth body 54, the hand side mouth body 54 and the cutout portion 152.
The hand side mouth 54 is contracted by the air created in step S3, and the hand side mouth 54 extends in the direction opposite to this direction. Pressing mouth 1 in that state
The connection can be easily released by pulling the mouthpiece 54 toward 00.

The airtightness inspection apparatus can be constructed integrally with various apparatuses such as a cleaning / autoclave apparatus and a cleaning / active oxygen sterilization apparatus. In a case where a negative pressure or positive pressure step is included as in an autoclave, it is possible to prevent the insertion portion cover portion 18 from rupturing by opening the opening 80 so that the pressure inside and outside the endoscope insertion passage 59 becomes the same.

FIG. 18 shows a pressurizing mouth 100 and a hand side mouth 5.
The other structure of the connection part of 4 is shown. The check valve 155 is housed inside the pressurizing port 100, and when the hand side port member 54 is not connected, if the air pump 97 is pressurized, the check valve 155 will close and air will not leak.

When the hand side mouth 54 is connected, the hand side mouth 5
The projection 56 at the end of 4 pushes the check valve 155. At this time, the endoscope insertion passage 59 communicates with the inside of the endoscope pressurizing tube 99, and when the air pump 97 is operated, the endoscope insertion passage 59 is pressurized.

The effects of this embodiment are as follows. In an apparatus capable of simultaneously inspecting a plurality of insertion portion cover portions 18 as shown in FIG. 18, even if pressurized air is sent to all endoscope pressurizing tubes 99 in a state where the number of connections is smaller than the connectable number, the inspection can be performed. Since leakage occurs without the check valve 155, it is impossible to know whether or not there is a leakage in the connected insertion portion cover portion 18.

[0110]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to detect whether or not the endoscope cover can be reused. Further, since the mounting portion of the airtightness inspection device can be connected to the opening through which the endoscope insertion portion is inserted, there is no need to provide a mouthpiece for airtightness check on the endoscope cover, There is no need to provide a separate means for closing the opening.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a cover type endoscope apparatus.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing the vicinity of a pinch valve to which a leak pipeline and a suction pipeline are attached.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a cleaning / disinfecting apparatus for an insertion section cover section including an airtightness inspection apparatus for the insertion section cover section.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure of an opening of an endoscope insertion passage provided in an insertion portion cover portion and a connection end portion of a pressurizing tube detachably attached thereto.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a specific example of a rack in which an insertion section cover section is installed.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a rack of a modified example of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure of an insertion portion cover portion.

8 is a sectional view taken along line AA to GG in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a structure in the vicinity of a chamfered portion on the outer periphery of an objective lens.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure in which a corner facing the receiving portion of the shield case is chamfered.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure in which the position of the bending wire facing the receiving portion is also shifted to further thin the entire outer shape.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing that a flow meter is provided in an air supply pipe that connects an air pump and a pressurized air supply port.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a process of checking the airtightness of the endoscope insertion passage of the insertion portion cover portion.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart showing steps in the case where airtightness inspection and cleaning / disinfection are continuously performed.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a cover airtightness inspection device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a cover airtightness inspection device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure of an insertion portion cover portion.

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view showing another structure of the connecting portion between the pressing mouthpiece and the hand side mouthpiece.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Endoscope device 2 ... Cover-type endoscope 3 ... Endoscope cover 4 ... Cover endoscope 6 ... Holder 7 ... Light source device 8 ... Video processor 9 ... Fluid control device 10 ... Dilator 12 ... Insertion part 13 ... Operation part 14 ... Universal code 18 ... Insertion part cover part 24 ... Air supply conduit 25 ... Water supply conduit 26 ... Suction conduit 54 ... Hand side mouth 59 ... Endoscope insertion passage 72 ... Disinfection tank 74 ... Rack 80 ... Opening 90 ... Female screw portion 97 ... Air pump 98 ... Pressurized air supply port 99 ... Pressurizing tube 100 ... Pressurizing port 107 ... Male screw part

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A first mounting portion provided in the vicinity of a proximal end of the endoscope insertion passage of an endoscope cover having an endoscope insertion passage through which an endoscope insertion portion having a built-in optical system is inserted. A second mounting portion that engages, an opening that opens to the endoscope insertion passage in a state where the second mounting portion and the first mounting portion are engaged, and the inner portion that communicates with the opening. Pressurizing means for pressurizing the endoscope insertion passage, and a space in a state in which the second mounting portion and the first mounting portion are engaged with each other, by keeping the space other than the opening in an airtight state, the endoscope An endoscope cover airtightness inspection device comprising: an airtight means capable of detecting whether or not the insertion passage is airtight.