JPH0815482B2 - Endoscope cleaning and disinfecting equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus for cleaning and disinfecting an endoscope after use.

[Conventional technology]

In general, when cleaning and disinfecting an endoscope after use, store the endoscope in the cleaning tank of the cleaning / disinfecting device and wash it with a cleaning solution, then fill the cleaning tank with the disinfectant solution and let the endoscope soak. The sterilization is performed by rinsing, and the rinsing is performed after the sterilization.

By the way, tap water is generally used as the cleaning liquid, which is once stored in a water supply tank in the main body of the apparatus and then guided from this tank to a cleaning tank through a water supply pipe,
In addition, tap water stored in the water supply tank is also used for the rinse water, and the rinse water is also guided to the cleaning tank through the water supply pipe line.

Therefore, in the water supply tank and the water supply pipe where the tap water is once stored, various bacteria mixed in the tap water are propagated,
In addition, there is a possibility that scales, etc. may adhere to the water supply tank and the water supply pipe due to long-term use and become a hotbed for the propagation of various bacteria. When such a situation is reached, the endoscope is re-contaminated by the rinse water, so that it is meaningless to disinfect and the purpose of the cleaning / disinfecting apparatus cannot be achieved.

Under such circumstances, a technique capable of disinfecting a water supply system through which a cleaning liquid passes is known, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-32435. This prior art is provided with an injection port that also serves as an air bleeder for the water supply tank in the upper part of the cleaning tank that houses the endoscope,
A disinfecting liquid supply system is provided in which this and the water supply tank are communicated with each other through a communication pipe.

In such a configuration, after the injection port that is normally closed by the cap is opened, the disinfectant solution is injected into this using a suitable container and supplied to the water tank through the communication pipe, and then the cleaning / disinfecting apparatus. Is operated to guide the liquid in the water supply tank to the cleaning tank, whereby the water supply tank and the water supply pipe can be disinfected and kept hygienic. And, as the disinfectant solution, usually, the disinfectant solution in the disinfectant solution tank built in the apparatus body is used. For this reason, the cleaning and disinfecting solution for the endoscope is used by receiving the disinfecting solution discharged to the outside of the apparatus main body from the drain port into a container such as a bucket and injecting it into the disinfecting solution supply system as described above. It is like this.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, according to the conventional techniques as described above, every time when disinfecting a water supply pipe, etc., a container for an appropriate disinfectant and a disinfectant are manually secured, and the disinfectant is injected into a small opening. Therefore, there is a problem that it is inconvenient because it cannot be easily handled because it requires troublesome work.

An object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus capable of easily cleaning a water supply system having a water supply tank for storing a cleaning solution and a water supply line for guiding the solution in the tank to a cleaning tank. To do.

[Means for solving problems]

Therefore, in order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a water supply system having a cleaning agent tank for storing a cleaning agent solution, a water supply tank for storing a cleaning solution, and a water supply line for guiding the solution in the tank to a cleaning tank. The in-apparatus cleaning means comprising a conduit connecting the water supply tank and the cleaning agent tank to each other and an opening / closing valve provided in the conduit is provided in the apparatus main body.

[Action]

The in-device cleaning means built in the device main body is used by opening and closing its on-off valve after cleaning and disinfecting the endoscope. This on-off valve is automatically or manually opened and closed, and by the opening operation, the in-apparatus cleaning means injects the cleaning solution in the cleaning agent tank into the water supply tank through the conduit.
For this injection, it is only necessary to operate the open / close valve. Then, after injecting such a cleaning agent, the cleaning / disinfecting apparatus is operated. Then, the cleaning agent circulates in the water supply system having the water supply tank and the water supply pipe for guiding the liquid in the tank to the cleaning tank to disinfect bacteria and remove scales in the water supply system. Can be kept clean.

〔Example〕

A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

A cleaning tank 2 is provided in the apparatus body 1. In the cleaning tank 2, an injection nozzle 3 having a large number of nozzle holes arranged in a line is rotatably provided. Further, in the cleaning tank 2, below the injection nozzle 3, a heater 4 for heating and evaporating the cleaning water and the like remaining in the cleaning tank 2 is provided, and the endoscope A is mounted above the injection nozzle 3. A mounting table 5 for mounting is provided. Further, a water supply tank 6, a detergent tank 7 and a disinfectant solution tank 8 are provided in the apparatus main body 1, respectively.

The water supply tank 6 is connected to a water faucet 10 via a solenoid valve 9, and a water supply pipe 11 is provided at the bottom of the water supply tank 6.
Is connected. The water supply pipe line 11 is adapted to guide the cleaning liquid (tap water) in the water supply tank 6 into the cleaning tank 2 through the injection nozzle 3, and the pipe line 11 and the water supply tank 6
And the water supply system 12 is formed. The water supply pipe 11 is provided with a water supply pump 13, and the water supply solenoid valves 14 are respectively located upstream thereof. Therefore, the water supply system 12 temporarily stores the cleaning liquid supplied by the water faucet 10 in the water supply tank 6 and then
This cleaning liquid is pressurized by the water supply pump 13 through the solenoid valve 14 in each process of cleaning, disinfecting and rinsing, and the water supply line
11 is used to guide and spray from the spray nozzle 3 into the cleaning tank 2.

The cleaning tank 7 includes a cleaning solenoid valve 15 and a detergent pump 16
It is connected to the water supply pipeline 11 via a pipeline 17 provided with.
The detergent liquid in the detergent tank 7 is pressurized by the detergent pump 16 through the solenoid valve 15 in the washing process, guided by the water supply conduit 11 and jetted from the jet nozzle 3 into the washing tank 2 together with the washing liquid. ing.

Further, the disinfectant solution tank 8 is connected to the water supply conduit 11 via a conduit 20 provided with a disinfection electromagnetic valve 18 and a disinfectant pump 19. The disinfectant solution in the disinfectant solution tank 7 is pressurized by the disinfectant solution pump 19 through the electromagnetic valve 18 in the disinfection process,
It is configured to be guided by the water supply pipe 11 and sprayed into the cleaning tank 2 from the spray nozzle 3 together with the cleaning liquid.

A drainage pump 21 and a circulation pump 22 are provided in the apparatus body 1. The suction ports of these pumps 21 and 22 are connected to a drain port 2a provided at the bottom of the cleaning tank 2 via a three-way switching valve 23. The discharge port of the drainage pump 21 is communicated with the outside of the apparatus main body 1, and the discharge port of the circulation pump 22 is joined to the water supply pipe line 11 and communicated with the injection nozzle 3. The three-way switching valve 23 can be switched between a state in which the cleaning liquid, the disinfecting liquid, and the like are discharged to the outside of the apparatus main body 1 by the drainage pump 21, and a state in which the circulation pump 22 circulates them.

An in-device cleaning means 24 is provided in the device body 1. The cleaning means 24 includes a cleaning agent tank 25 for storing a concentrated cleaning agent solution, a pipe line 26 communicating the tank 25 with the water supply tank 6 of the water supply system 12, and an opening / closing provided in the pipe line 26. And a valve 27. As the detergent solution, an antiseptic solution suitable for disinfecting bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a scale remover solution suitable for removing scales, or a solution effective for both disinfection and scale removal is used. In the present embodiment, the cleaning agent tank 25 is arranged above the water supplying tank 6 so that the cleaning agent solution in the inside can be injected into the water supplying tank 6 by a drop. When provided, it may be installed anywhere in the apparatus main body 1. Further, as the opening / closing valve 27, in the case of this embodiment, an electromagnetic valve interlocking with a cleaning switch on an operation panel (not shown) of the apparatus body 1 is used. In addition, a flow rate sensor 28 is attached to the pipe line 26 in this embodiment, and the opening / closing valve 27 is closed based on the detection output from the sensor 28.

Reference numeral 29 in the figure denotes a protective case provided on the inner wall of the cleaning tank 2, and a germicidal lamp 30 is housed inside the protective case. The endoscope A is sterilized by the irradiation of ultraviolet rays by the sterilizing lamp 30, and the propagation of various bacteria in the cleaning tank 2 is prevented. The protective case 29 is made of a material having a high ultraviolet transmittance. Further, 31 is a cleaning door for putting the endoscope in and out of the cleaning tank 2, which is attached to the side surface of the apparatus main body 1 so as to be openable and closable.

In the structure of the first embodiment, when the cleaning switch on the operation panel is operated after the cleaning, disinfection, and rinsing processes for the endoscope A are completed, the cleaning process for the water supply system 12 is performed. To be done. That is, since the opening / closing valve 27 is opened by turning on the cleaning switch, the cleaning agent solution in the cleaning agent tank 25 is automatically poured into the water supply tank 6 through the pipe line 26, and the cleaning agent solution is supplied. It is mixed with the cleaning solution inside. The amount of such automatic injection of the cleaning agent solution is detected by the flow rate sensor 28, and when an appropriate amount is injected into the water supply tank 6 to reach an appropriate concentration,
The on-off valve 27 is controlled to automatically close based on the output of the sensor 28. The solenoid valve 9 is closed during the operation of the in-apparatus cleaning means 24 as described above.
Water supply from 10 has stopped.

After such a state is obtained, the same operation as in the water washing mode in the washing process is performed. That is, the cleaning liquid in the water supply tank 6 mixed with the detergent solution is supplied to the water supply pump 13
Is introduced into the cleaning tank 2, and the introduced cleaning liquid is circulated by the circulation pump 22 for a certain period of time, and then the drainage pump 21 is operated to discharge the cleaning liquid to the outside of the apparatus main body 1.

As described above, the cleaning solution is often passed through each part of the water supply system 12 to disinfect the water supply system 12 and
Since water stains inside can be removed, the water supply system 12 can be kept hygienic. Therefore, the cleaned and disinfected endoscope A is
It is possible to prevent re-contamination by various bacteria and scale during the rinsing process.

As described above, the on / off valve 27 can be opened and the cleaning agent solution can be injected into the water supply system 12 simply by turning on the cleaning switch.Therefore, the labor required for injection is minimal, and the water supply system 12 can be easily supplied. Can be cleaned.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, an electromagnetic switching valve 32 is connected to the discharge port of the drainage pump 21, and one outlet of this valve 32 is connected to the water supply tank 6 via a circulation conduit 33. ing. The other outlet of the switching valve 32 is in communication with the drainage port,
This switching valve 32 normally maintains the state in which the discharge port of the drainage pump 21 and the drainage port are in communication with each other, and connects the discharge port of the drainage pump 21 to the circulation pipe line 33 when performing the cleaning process. And the drainage pump at the end of this cleaning process.
It is designed to connect the 21 outlets and the drainage ports.
The structure other than the above points is the same as that of the first embodiment.

Therefore, in the second embodiment, in the cleaning process,
The cleaning liquid mixed with the detergent solution is used as a switching valve 32 and a circulation line.
Since it can be circulated to the water supply system 12 via 33, the cleaning effect can be further enhanced.

Moreover, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. For example, an in-apparatus device cleaning means having a tank for storing a cleaning agent solution for disinfecting bacteria and an in-apparatus device cleaning means having a tank for storing a cleaning agent solution for removing scales are provided in the apparatus body, respectively. Then, these means can be selected and used.

Alternatively, the solenoid valve 9 may be opened at the end of the cleaning process to perform the same operation as in the normal rinsing process, thereby rinsing the cleaned water supply system 12.

Further, a manual cock type on-off valve may be used as the on-off valve 27. In this case as well, since the cleaning agent solution may be injected into the water supply system 12 only by a manual operation of opening and closing the opening / closing valve 27, the injection operation can be easily performed.

Moreover, in the case of using a solenoid valve for the opening / closing valve 27,
The valve 27 may be automatically controlled. In other words, every time the normal cleaning and disinfecting process is performed a certain number of times, the on-off valve
The 27 may be program-controlled to automatically open and perform the cleaning process, in which case regular cleaning is possible, thus preventing the user from forgetting to clean.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, by providing the in-apparatus cleaning means in the apparatus main body, the water supply tank for storing the cleaning liquid and the liquid in the tank are cleaned only by opening and closing the opening / closing valve of the cleaning means. The cleaning agent solution can be injected into the water supply system water supply tank that has a water supply pipe leading to the tank, so that the water supply system can be easily cleaned and the re-contamination of the endoscope that has been cleaned and disinfected is prevented. it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 1 ... Device body, 2 ... Cleaning tank, 6 ... Water tank, 11
…… Water supply pipe, 12 …… Water supply system, 24 …… Cleaning means inside the device,
25 …… detergent tank, 26 …… pipe, 27 …… opening / closing valve.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A disinfectant solution tank, in which a water supply system having a water supply tank for storing a cleaning solution and a water supply line for guiding the solution in the tank to the cleaning tank is provided in an apparatus main body having a cleaning tank therein. In the apparatus body for cleaning and disinfecting the endoscope housed in the cleaning tank, a cleaning agent tank for storing a cleaning agent solution, and this tank and the water supply tank are provided. With the pipeline that communicated,
A cleaning and disinfecting apparatus for an endoscope, wherein an in-apparatus cleaning means including an opening / closing valve provided in the conduit is provided in the apparatus body.