JPH10309255A - Endoscope cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an endoscope cleaning device with improved reliability in detecting disorders at the time of ultrasonic cleaning. SOLUTION: An ultrasonic vibrator 40 is attached in a cleaning tub 1 of this device. An endoscope 2 is soaked in the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tub 1, and is cleaned with ultrasonic vibrations generated by the ultrasonic vibrator 40. This device has also a drive circuit 41 of the ultrasonic vibrator 40, a float switch 50 for detecting the level of the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tub 1, and a disorder detecting circuit 42 for detecting disorders of the drive circuit 41 and the ultrasonic vibrator 40 when the cleaning liquid is at a prescribed level in the cleaning tub 1. The disorder detecting circuit 42 can precisely detect disorders of the ultrasonic vibrator 40 even when the liquid surface of the cleaning liquid is moved to prevent damages on the endoscope 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endoscope cleaning apparatus for cleaning an endoscope with ultrasonic waves.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An endoscope is used by being inserted into a body cavity for the purpose of examining and treating the inside of the body cavity. Therefore, it is necessary to wash and disinfect the endoscope after use. An endoscope cleaning and disinfecting apparatus as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-28669 has been provided for cleaning and disinfecting an endoscope.

In an endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus, an endoscope is set in a cleaning tank, and a cleaning liquid is jetted from a jet nozzle for liquid washing provided in the cleaning tank, and the liquid is fed into an endoscope channel. By doing so, the endoscope is cleaned. Further, there has been proposed an endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus in which the cleaning function of an endoscope is enhanced by combining a cleaning function by an ultrasonic wave in addition to the cleaning function by the liquid flow. Further, there has been proposed an endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus in which the cleaning ability is improved by cleaning with warm water.

[0004] Endoscopes generally have low heat resistance.
The heat-resistant temperature is set low, and the use of warm water for washing and disinfecting is limited. Further, as a countermeasure against the temperature at the time of cleaning with hot water, a temperature sensor is provided in the endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus to limit the temperature of the cleaning liquid to a low level.

[0005]

The endoscope is a precision instrument, and is easily affected by ultrasonic waves when performing ultrasonic cleaning. For this reason, when performing cleaning by ultrasonic waves, the cleaning water is used so that the antinodes of the sound waves concentrate on a part of the endoscope and do not damage a part of the endoscope, for example, the lens surface at the distal end. Measures have been considered such as changing the water level to make sound pressure and cavitation uniform.

The ultrasonic cleaning function in the endoscope cleaning and disinfecting apparatus is provided with a means for detecting whether the intended cleaning effect is obtained or whether the ultrasonic vibrator has a failure from the viewpoint of reliability. Although there were some, accurate detection could not be performed due to the fluctuation of the washing water level as described above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope cleaning apparatus with improved reliability of abnormality detection when performing ultrasonic cleaning. .

[0008]

According to the present invention, an ultrasonic oscillator is provided in a cleaning tank, an endoscope is immersed in a cleaning solution in the cleaning tank, and the ultrasonic vibration generated by the ultrasonic oscillator is internally transmitted. In an endoscope cleaning apparatus that performs cleaning by giving to an endoscope, a driving unit of an ultrasonic vibrator, a liquid level detecting unit that detects a liquid level of the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank, and a cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank is supplied with a predetermined liquid. And an abnormality detecting means for performing an operation of detecting an abnormality of the ultrasonic vibrator at the time of moving the ultrasonic wave even when the level of the cleaning liquid is changed so as not to damage the endoscope. This is to enable the abnormality of the vibrator to be accurately detected.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a schematic configuration of an endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a schematic configuration of an abnormality detection circuit, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an operation flow of the abnormality detection circuit.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a cleaning tank, in which an endoscope 2 to be cleaned is accommodated. Peripheral equipment necessary as an endoscope cleaning device is provided in the cleaning tank 1 as follows.

First, a water supply system (liquid supply system) 3 for injecting cleaning water as a cleaning liquid into the cleaning tank 1 is connected. The water supply system 3 has a water supply pipe 4, and in the middle of the water supply pipe 4,
An electromagnetic water supply valve 5 is provided. A hot and cold water supply pipe 7 is connected to an inflow end of the water supply pipe 4 via an electromagnetic first on-off valve 6, and a cold water supply pipe 9 is connected via an electromagnetic second on-off valve 8. ing. Hot water supply pipe 7 and cold water supply pipe 9 are connected in parallel. The hot water supply pipe 7 is connected to a hot water source (not shown), and the cold water supply pipe 9 is connected to a liquid supply source such as tap water, for example, a water tap.

When the first on-off valve 6 is opened, the water supply pipe 4 is opened.
Hot water and cold water can be supplied to the water supply pipe 4 by opening the second on-off valve 8. Moreover,
Hot water and / or cold water is injected into the cleaning tank 1 by opening the water supply valve 5. Note that the hot water source may be cold water supplied from tap water or the like and heated by a heater to generate hot water.

A first temperature sensor 10 is provided in the middle of the water supply pipe 4 of the water supply system 3.
0 detects the temperature of the cleaning water supplied into the cleaning tank 1 through the water supply pipe 4.

A channel cleaning system 11 for supplying cleaning water to the channels of the endoscope 2 set in the cleaning tank 1, and a flowing liquid cleaning system 12 for forming a flowing liquid in the cleaning tank 1 and cleaning the endoscope 2. Is connected. The channel cleaning system 11 has a pipe 13, and the flowing liquid cleaning system 12 has a pipe 14. The suction sides of these pipes 13, 14 are both located at the bottom of the cleaning tank 1. It is connected to the circulating fluid suction port 15 provided. The pipe 13 of the channel cleaning system 11 is provided with a pump 16 for cleaning the inside of the scoping pipe and a check valve 17 located downstream of the pump 16. The outflow end of the channel 13 for the channel cleaning system is connected to the channel connection port 1.
8 is connected. An endoscope channel cleaning tube 19 is connected to the channel connection port 18, and the other end of the endoscope channel cleaning tube 19 is connected to a channel port provided in the operation unit of the endoscope 2. . The channel cleaning system 11 supplies cleaning water from the channel cleaning system pipe 13 to each channel of the endoscope 2 through the endoscope channel cleaning tube 19.

An air supply line is connected to the channel cleaning system pipe line 13 so that compressed air from the compressor is supplied to the endoscope 2 through the channel connection port 18 and the endoscope channel cleaning tube 19. Send it into the channel,
Water removal in the channel may be performed.

The other end of the pipe line 14 of the flowing liquid cleaning system 12 is connected to a cleaning liquid jet port 21 provided on the inner wall of the cleaning tank 1. A flowing liquid washing pump 22 is provided in the middle of the pipe 14. The flowing liquid cleaning system 12 sucks the cleaning water stored in the cleaning tank 1 from the circulating liquid suction port 15 by the flowing liquid cleaning pump 22 and ejects high-pressure cleaning liquid from the jet port 21 into the cleaning tank 1. Thus, a circulation of the cleaning liquid is created in the cleaning tank 1, and the outer surface of the endoscope 2 set in the cleaning tank 1 is washed by the circulation of the cleaning liquid.

A drain port 26 provided with a switching valve 25 is provided at the bottom of the cleaning tank 1. The switching valve 25 has a position connected to a disinfecting liquid pipe 27 to be described later, a position connected to a discharging pipe 28 also to be described later, and a position to stop draining, and a switching operation is performed by a control device (not shown). It has become.

In the middle of the disinfecting pipe 27, a disinfecting solution tank 31 is provided.
The disinfectant pump 32 is interposed further downstream than the disinfectant tank 31. Disinfection pipeline 2
The outflow end of 7 is connected to a disinfectant injection port 33 provided on the inner wall surface of the cleaning tank 1. A drain pump 34 is provided in the middle of the discharge line 28. The distal end of the discharge line 28 is guided to the outside of the apparatus.

An ultrasonic vibrator 40 for applying ultrasonic vibration to the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank 1 is attached to the bottom plate of the cleaning tank 1. As the ultrasonic vibrator 40, for example, a Langevin type ultrasonic vibrator is used. The number and arrangement of the ultrasonic vibrators 40 are selected in accordance with the state of the endoscope 2 which is correctly set in the cleaning tank 1 in a predetermined state. The ultrasonic vibrator 40 is driven by applying a high frequency by a driving circuit 41 as an ultrasonic driving means. Drive circuit 41
Is provided with an abnormality detection circuit 42 as abnormality detection means for detecting an abnormality of the ultrasonic transducer 40.

FIG. 2 shows the drive circuit 41 and the abnormality detection circuit 4
2 shows a circuit configuration of No. 2. The high frequency output of the drive circuit 41 is applied to the ultrasonic transducer 40 through the output transformer T1. The input circuit of the ultrasonic transducer 40 is provided with a detecting transformer T2, which detects a high-frequency current flowing through the ultrasonic transducer 40. The high-frequency current detected by the detection transformer T2 is converted into a frequency by the current / frequency conversion circuit 43.

The current / frequency conversion circuit 43 converts a high-frequency current into a voltage by a resistor R, and inputs the converted voltage to one input terminal of a comparator (op-amp) 45. The reference voltage E is input to the other input terminal of the comparator 45. Then, the comparator 45 detects a driving frequency corresponding to a high-frequency current for driving the ultrasonic transducer 40.

The output of the comparator 45 is the frequency / voltage converter 4
6 is converted to a voltage. This analog voltage signal is further converted into a digital signal by the first A / D converter 47, and the digital signal is taken into the control unit 48. The control unit 48 compares the digital signal with a preset value to determine whether the ultrasonic transducer 40 is abnormal. Further, the abnormality detecting circuit 42 detects the abnormality only when the washing water stored in the washing tank 1 is at a predetermined water level by a water level detecting means described later. This abnormality detection may be performed not only when the water level is at a predetermined water level but also when the water level is higher than the predetermined water level.

The abnormality detecting circuit 42 of the ultrasonic vibrator 40
Is not limited to the case where the detection is made based on the oscillation frequency of the ultrasonic vibrator 40. Although not shown here, it can also be achieved by, for example, obtaining the impedance of the ultrasonic vibrator 40. Also, detection from the power supplied to the ultrasonic vibrator 40, detection from the output by providing a detection vibrator in the ultrasonic vibrator 40, or detection from the output thereof by providing a strain gauge, A sound absorbing material may be provided, and the temperature may be detected based on the temperature rise.

On the other hand, the washing tank 1 is provided with water level (liquid level) detecting means and water temperature (liquid temperature) detecting means. The water level detecting means is provided with a float switch 50 in the cleaning tank 1 to detect a water level stored in the cleaning tank 1, takes it into a control unit 48, and controls the water supply operation of the water supply system 3 by the control unit 48. The level of the washing water stored in the washing tank 1 is limited to a predetermined constant value.

The water temperature detecting means comprises a second temperature sensor 52 for detecting the temperature of the washing water stored in the washing tank 1.
The signal detected by the second temperature sensor 52 is the second A / A
It is digitized by the D converter 53 and taken into the control unit 48. The controller 48 adjusts the drive output of the drive circuit 41 according to the flow shown in FIG. 3 according to the detection value of the second temperature sensor 52.

Next, the operation of the endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus will be described. With the operation of various operation switches not shown,
Each process of washing, disinfection, rinsing, and air supply (water removal) is performed. First, as preparation, the used endoscope 2 is set in the cleaning tank 1, and the endoscope channel cleaning tube 19 connected to the channel connection port 18 is inserted into the channel opening of the endoscope 2. Connecting.

Thereafter, by turning on the operation start switch, the respective steps of washing, disinfection and rinsing are automatically performed sequentially. First, the water supply valve 5 is opened at the beginning of the cleaning process, and the cleaning water is supplied into the cleaning tank 1 through the water supply pipe 4. Here, the washing water is a mixture of hot water and hot water, or hot water,
The water is supplied into the cleaning tank 1 while adjusting the water supply temperature using either one of the water. This depends on the equipment at the facility where the device is used.

Although the warm water improves the cleaning performance, it is one of the factors that damage the endoscope 2. Also, ultrasonic cleaning is one of the factors that damage the endoscope 2 as described above. Therefore, the detection value of the second temperature sensor 52 provided in the cleaning tank 1 is taken into the control unit 48, the ultrasonic output of the ultrasonic vibrator 40 is adjusted, and the endoscope 2
Output that does not damage the FIG. 3 shows an example of the flow. When the temperature of the cleaning water in the cleaning tank 1 is higher than room temperature, a control signal D for lowering the ultrasonic output of the ultrasonic vibrator 40 is given to the drive circuit 41 and the ultrasonic vibration is performed. The ultrasonic output of the child 40 is reduced. Therefore, even when the ultrasonic cleaning and the warm water are used together, the cleaning ability can be improved without adversely affecting the endoscope 2. That is, the cleaning ability can be secured as much as possible without being affected by the temperature of the cleaning liquid.

A first temperature sensor provided in the water supply system 3 as a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the washing water used in the washing tank 1.
The temperature of the cleaning water in the cleaning tank 1 may be detected by using the temperature sensor 10 described above to predict the temperature of the cleaning water in the cleaning tank 1.

As means for adjusting the temperature of the washing water supplied into the washing tank 1, the opening and closing and the degree of opening and closing of the first opening / closing valve 6 and the second opening / closing valve 8 in the water supply system 3 are adjusted. The temperature of the washing water supplied into the tank 1 is adjusted, and the temperature of the washing tank 1 is adjusted.
The temperature of the washing water in the inside may be controlled to be lowered to a predetermined temperature, for example, room temperature. For example, when the temperature of the washing water in the washing tank 1 is high, the supply of hot water is stopped or the ratio is reduced so that the temperature of the washing water supplied into the washing tank 1 is adjusted to a predetermined temperature. You may.

On the other hand, the user injects the set amount of detergent into the washing tank 1 before starting the process, or automatically adds the detergent. When the washing water is supplied to the washing tank 1 up to a certain water level, the float switch 50 detects the water level at this time, and the control unit 48 closes the water supply valve 4 to shut off the water supply. Thus, the washing water is stored in the washing tank 1 up to a predetermined water level.

Next, the in-scope channel cleaning pump 16 starts water supply operation, and the inside of the channel of the endoscope 2 is cleaned. When the designated water level is reached, the flowing liquid washing pump 22 also starts operating, and the washing with the flowing liquid is started. In this cleaning with the cleaning water, large dirt, soft dirt, light dirt, etc. attached to the endoscope 2 are washed.

When the preset time of the washing step of the washing water is completed, ultrasonic washing is performed. In this ultrasonic cleaning step, the endoscope 2 is cleaned by applying ultrasonic waves to the cleaning liquid stored in the cleaning tank 1 by the ultrasonic vibrator 40. In this ultrasonic cleaning, hard dirt adhered to the endoscope 2 and dirt adhered to a complicated shape portion are strongly removed. When the ultrasonic cleaning step is completed, the liquid washing is performed again. In this step, the ultrasonic cleaning removes the dirt that has been removed from the endoscope.

In the ultrasonic cleaning step, water supply / drainage is repeated to change the water level of the cleaning water in the cleaning tank 1 to reduce the ultrasonic attack on the endoscope 2. That is, ultrasonic cleaning is performed by changing the acoustic impedance so that the antinodes and nodes of the standing wave are not constant.

In the ultrasonic cleaning step, an abnormality detecting circuit 42 as an abnormality detecting means operates to monitor abnormal operation of the ultrasonic vibrator 40 and abnormality of the ultrasonic vibrator 40. It works only when the switch 50 is turned on, that is, only when the washing water is at a predetermined water level. Since the water level of the washing water is constant and abnormality detection works, there is no change in acoustic impedance due to fluctuations in the water level.
The abnormality detection accuracy of the ultrasonic transducer 40 can be improved. When there is an abnormality, an abnormality countermeasure process for stopping the ultrasonic cleaning operation or reducing the ultrasonic output of the ultrasonic transducer 40 is performed.

On the other hand, in addition to the operation of detecting an abnormality of the ultrasonic transducer 40 as described above, the following abnormality detection operation may be performed. In general, the oscillation frequency of the ultrasonic vibrator 40 may change under the influence of the temperature of the cleaning water in the cleaning tank 1 or the temperature of the cleaning environment such as room temperature (air temperature), thereby hindering accurate abnormality detection. Sometimes. Therefore, the processing of the flow as shown in FIG. 4 is performed. First, before the washing step, for example, the room temperature is measured by the second temperature sensor 52 to determine the absolute value X1 of the difference from the reference temperature, and the temperature of the washing water is measured by the second temperature sensor 52. Obtain the absolute value X2 of the difference from the reference water temperature. Then, a threshold value is calculated from the temperature detection data of each value X1, X2, and the abnormal operation of the ultrasonic vibrator 40 is detected by comparing the threshold value with the oscillation frequency of the ultrasonic vibrator 40. When there is an abnormality, an abnormality countermeasure process for stopping the ultrasonic cleaning operation or reducing the ultrasonic output of the ultrasonic transducer 40 is performed.

When the last washing step is completed, the drain port 26
Switch valve 25 opens to the drain side, and at the same time, the drain pump 34
Is operated, and the washing water in the washing tank 1 is discharged to the outside. Thereafter, the water supply valve 5 is opened again, new washing water is supplied into the washing tank 1, and the scooping line washing pump 16 is provided.
Is driven to perform rinsing. In the rinsing step, the rinsing water in the rinsing tank 1 may be replaced with new water in an overflow manner, or the rinsing may be performed several times.

In the latter half of the rinsing process, the operation of the pump 16 for cleaning the inside of the scoping pipeline is stopped, and a compressor (not shown) is operated, so that air flows into various channels of the endoscope 2 through the channel connection port 18. -Endoscope 2 introduced
Drainage in the channel is performed.

After the rinsing step is completed, a disinfection step is subsequently performed. In this disinfection process, the disinfectant tank 31 is first used.
The disinfecting solution is supplied into the cleaning tank 1 through the injection pump 32 and the disinfecting conduit 27. The entire endoscope 2 is completely immersed in the disinfectant stored in the cleaning tank 1 and the disinfectant in the cleaning tank 1 is supplied to the channel connection port 18 by turning on the cleaning pump 16 in the scope conduit. The endoscope 2 is disinfected. At this time, disinfection may be effectively performed by ultrasonic cleaning. After a lapse of a predetermined time, the drain valve opens, and the disinfecting solution is collected in the disinfecting solution tank 31.

After the end of the disinfection step, the rinsing step is performed again. After the rinsing step, the drain of the channel of the endoscope 2 is completely drained by driving the compressor. Further, after a certain period of time, the drain pump 34 stops.

After the end of the rinsing step, a water removing step is performed, and the drainage of the channel of the endoscope 2 is carefully performed. The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. Further, the endoscope cleaning device may include a function of disinfection other than cleaning.

(Appendix) According to the above description, at least the following items can be obtained. 1. An ultrasonic transducer is provided in the cleaning tank, the endoscope in the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank is immersed, and the ultrasonic vibration generated by the ultrasonic transducer is applied to the endoscope to perform cleaning. At
Driving means for the ultrasonic vibrator, liquid level detecting means for detecting the level of the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank, and abnormality of the driving means and the ultrasonic vibrator when the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank is at a predetermined liquid level. An endoscope cleaning device, comprising: an abnormality detecting means for performing an operation of detecting.

2. An ultrasonic transducer is provided in a cleaning tank, an endoscope in a cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank is immersed, and ultrasonic vibration generated by the ultrasonic transducer is applied to the endoscope to perform cleaning. Driving means for the ultrasonic vibrator, temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the cleaning environment such as the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank, and detecting abnormality of the driving means and the ultrasonic vibrator from the temperature detection data of the temperature detecting means. An endoscope cleaning device comprising: an abnormality detecting means for calculating a threshold value when the endoscope is operated.

3. An ultrasonic transducer is provided in the cleaning tank, the endoscope in the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank is immersed, and the ultrasonic vibration generated by the ultrasonic transducer is applied to the endoscope to perform cleaning. A driving means for the ultrasonic vibrator, a liquid level detecting means for detecting a liquid level of the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank, a temperature detecting means for detecting a temperature of a cleaning environment such as the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank; When the liquid level of the cleaning liquid is a predetermined constant value, a threshold value for detecting abnormality of the drive unit and the ultrasonic transducer is calculated from the temperature detection data of the temperature detection unit, and An endoscope cleaning device, comprising: an abnormality detector that performs an operation of detecting an abnormality of the ultrasonic transducer.

4. An ultrasonic transducer is provided in the cleaning tank, the endoscope in the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank is immersed, and the ultrasonic vibration generated by the ultrasonic transducer is applied to the endoscope to perform cleaning. , An ultrasonic vibrator driving means, a temperature detecting means for detecting a temperature of the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank, and an ultrasonic output of the ultrasonic vibrator driving means based on an output of the temperature detecting means. And a control means for adjusting the temperature so as to be suitable for the temperature of the endoscope. 5. An ultrasonic transducer is provided in the cleaning tank, the endoscope in the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank is immersed, and the ultrasonic vibration generated by the ultrasonic transducer is applied to the endoscope to perform cleaning. At
Driving means for the ultrasonic vibrator, liquid level detecting means for detecting the liquid level of the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank, and the driving means and the ultrasonic wave when the liquid level of the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank is a predetermined fixed value. An endoscope cleaning device, comprising: an abnormality detection unit that performs an operation of detecting an abnormality of a vibrator.

[0046]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank is at a predetermined liquid level, the operation for detecting the abnormality of the driving means and the ultrasonic vibrator is performed. Can improve the reliability of abnormality detection.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a schematic configuration of an endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a schematic configuration of an abnormality detection circuit of the endoscope cleaning / disinfecting apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an operation flow of the abnormality detection circuit.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a flow of another abnormality detection operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Cleaning tank 2 ... Endoscope 10 ... 1st temperature sensor 40 ... Ultrasonic vibrator 41 ... Drive circuit 42 ... Abnormality detection circuit 50 ... Float switch 52 ... 2nd temperature sensor

Claims (1)

[Claims] An ultrasonic vibrator is provided in a cleaning tank, an endoscope is immersed in a cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank, and ultrasonic vibration generated by the ultrasonic vibrator is applied to the endoscope to perform cleaning. In an endoscope cleaning device, a driving unit for an ultrasonic vibrator, a liquid level detecting unit for detecting a liquid level of the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank, and the driving unit when the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank is at a predetermined liquid level. An endoscope cleaning device, comprising: an abnormality detecting means for performing an operation of detecting an abnormality of the ultrasonic vibrator.