JPH11164810A - Flow rate control device for endoscope pipe passage - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make an endoscope highly usable by adjusting the flow rate of fluid in the pipe. SOLUTION: To control the flow rate of water feeding pipes 22A, 22B arranged in an endoscope, three pinch valves V11 , V12 , and V13 are provided at a flexible pipe 22C in serial, and the pinch valves V11 , V12 , and V13 adjust the injection rate of the injection part so that the collaption rate of the flexible pipe 22C varies. Air feeding pipes 23A, 23B and suction pipes 24A, 24B are made in the same manner as the water feeding pipes. By opening/closing these pinch valves, the flow rate in the pipes can be varied in three steps. For the suction pipes 24, pinch valves V41 , V42 , and V43 may be provided at an air release pipe 24D side. Flow rate can also be adjusted by one open/close valve.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a flow control device for an endoscope conduit, and more particularly, to a flow control of a fluid in an air supply pipe provided in an endoscope, water supply in a water supply pipe, suction of a suction pipe, and the like. Related to the configuration.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 8 shows a structure relating to a conventional endoscope conduit and a solenoid valve unit. In FIG. 8, a water pipe 2A, an air pipe 3A, and a suction pipe (also a treatment instrument insertion channel) 4A are provided in the endoscope 1 from the distal end 1A to the operation section 1B. It is also connected to the forceps port 5 arranged on the operation unit 1B. As shown, the operation unit 1B is provided with an air / water (A / W) switch 6, a suction (SUC) switch 7, and a photographing button 8 which are two-stage switches. 7
Is supplied to the solenoid valve unit 10 via a signal line (not shown). Further, a water pipe 2B, an air pipe 3B, and a suction pipe 4B are provided in a cable or the like so as to connect the operation unit 1B and the electromagnetic valve unit 10.

The solenoid valve unit 10 has five solenoid valves V1, V2, V3, V4, V for controlling the opening and closing of each pipeline.
5, a pump 12, a control unit 13, and a water supply tank 14 are provided. The water supply tank 14 is connected to the pump 12 via an air supply pipe 3C, and is connected to the solenoid valve V1 via a water supply pipe 2C. Further, a suction tank 15 and a pump are connected to the suction pipe 4C.

According to the above configuration, the solenoid valves V1, V3
By closing V2 and opening V2, air is supplied by the air supply pipes 3 (A to C). By closing the solenoid valves V2 and V3 and opening V1, water is supplied by the water supply pipes 2 (A to C). You. This air supply / water supply is performed to an objective lens window or the like disposed at the distal end portion 1A, and thereby it is possible to remove stains and the like of the objective lens window. In addition, V of the solenoid valve
Suction is performed by closing 5 and opening V4, whereby contents and the like in the body to be observed are sucked and discharged through the suction pipes 4 (A to C). In addition, as an endoscope device that controls fluid using the above-described solenoid valve,
JP-A 1-297045, JP-A 1-31063
No. 8 publication and the like.

[0005]

However, in such fluid control of the endoscope channel, only control of whether or not to perform air supply, water supply or suction is performed. At present, it is impossible to variably adjust the amount of water or the amount of suction. In the above-mentioned air / water supply to the objective lens window, if the amount can be variably adjusted, the dirt can be efficiently removed while taking into consideration the influence on the body to be observed, and the content can be suctioned even when the contents are sucked. If the amount can be changed, the contents can be discharged according to the situation, and an endoscope that is easy to use can be obtained.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope tube which can variably adjust a flow rate of a fluid in the tube and can provide a user-friendly endoscope. It is to provide a flow control device.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 is a flow rate control device for controlling a flow rate in a pipe arranged in an endoscope, wherein A crushing type on-off valve for changing the crushing amount of the soft tube is provided, and the flow rate in the pipeline is variably adjusted by controlling the on-off valve. According to a second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of on-off valves of the crushing type are provided in series for one pipe line, and the flow rate in the pipe line is variably adjusted by selectively opening and closing the plurality of on-off valves. It is characterized by the following. According to a third aspect of the present invention, an open / close valve capable of arbitrarily varying the amount of squeezing of the soft tube is provided as the squeezing type on / off valve. It is characterized by doing. The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that when controlling the suction amount, the above-mentioned on-off valve is arranged in an atmosphere opening pipe of the suction pipe.

According to the above configuration, for example, a plurality of on-off valves are attached to one flexible pipe constituting an air supply pipe, a water supply pipe, a suction pipe, and the like. As the on-off valve, a pinch valve or the like is used, and the push-out amount of the pressing portion with respect to the flexible tube arranged in the pinch valve is set to be different from each other. Therefore, depending on which of the plurality of on-off valves is operated, the amount of crushing of the flexible tube changes, and as a result, the flow rate changes.

In addition, a single on-off valve for arbitrarily changing the amount of crushing of the soft tube can be used. According to this, it is possible to variably adjust the flow rate in the pipeline with one on-off valve.

Further, the on-off valve for controlling the suction amount may be disposed on the suction pipe itself, or may be disposed on the side of the open-to-atmosphere pipe to similarly change the flow rate. Contrary to the arrangement in the tube, the larger the amount of crushing, the larger the suction flow rate.

[0011]

1 and 2 show the configuration of a flow control device for an endoscope conduit according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, an endoscope (electronic endoscope) 20 includes:
A water supply pipe 22A, an air supply pipe 23A, and a suction pipe 24A are provided from the distal end portion 20A to the operation section 20B. A detachable cap 25 is attached to the distal end of the endoscope distal end portion 20A, and a nozzle or the like for supplying air / water to an observation window (lens window of the objective optical system) is provided on the cap 25. Can be

As shown, the operation section 20B is provided with a two-stage air / water switch 26, a suction switch 27, and a photographing button 28. The operation control signals for the switches 26 and 27 are provided. Is the solenoid valve unit 30
Supplied to The water supply pipe 22B and the air supply pipe 2 are connected so as to connect the operation unit 20B and the solenoid valve unit 30.
3B is provided in the cable.

A pipe unit 20C is provided on the rear side of the operation unit 20B.
The above-mentioned water supply pipes 22A and 22B and the air supply pipes 23A and 23B are connected by a folded portion formed at the time of connection. A suction pipe 24B extending to the electromagnetic valve unit 30 is attached to the conduit unit 20C, and a forceps port 31 is provided on the suction pipe 24B separately from the middle.

The solenoid valve unit 30 includes a pump 1
2, a control unit 35 and a power supply unit 36 are provided, and the water supply tank 14 and the suction tank 15 are connected. In order to control the flow rate of each of the pipes 22, 23, and 24, three pinch valves (electromagnetic valves) are provided in the flexible pipe portion of the water supply pipe 22C.
Similar pinch valves V21, V22, V23 are arranged in series on V11, V12, V13, the soft tube portion of the air supply tube 23C, and similar pinch valves V41, V42, V43 are arranged in series on the soft tube portion of the suction tube 24C. As in the prior art, an electromagnetic valve V3 is attached to the atmosphere opening pipe 23D for air / water supply, and an electromagnetic valve V5 is attached to the atmosphere opening pipe 24D for suction.

FIG. 2 shows the three pinch valves V11 to V11.
The configuration (at the time of the opening operation) of V13 is shown. In the pinch valve V, a pressing portion P is disposed at the tip of the axis X,
A stopper S is provided at the rear end, and the stoppers S move back and forth by electromagnetic force to crush the water supply pipe (soft pipe) 22C. The stopper S of the left valve V11 is located at a position where the pressing portion P completely crushes the flexible tube 22C and closes the conduit during the closing operation, while the stopper S of the central valve V12 is closed. Length L from the body side contact surface
1 and the stopper S of the right valve V13 is located at a position of a length L2 (L2> L1) from the closed contact surface.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the pinch valve V12 is closed, and as shown in FIG.
Is operated, each pressing portion P does not completely crush the flexible tube (22C), but stops halfway by the stopper S. Therefore, the water supply flow rate of the water supply pipe 22 </ b> C becomes smaller than when the water supply pipe is fully opened by being crushed halfway. Also,
In the case of the pinch valve V13 on the right side, the flexible tube is crushed more deeply than in the case of the valve V12 described above, and the flow rate is further reduced. Note that the pinch valve V11 sets the maximum flow rate when fully opened during the opening operation.

On the other hand, the air supply pipe 23C and the suction pipe 24C
Each pinch valve V21, V22, V2 arranged in
3, the same applies to V41, V42, and V43. In this example, for example, "large" (fully open), "medium", and "small" flow rates can be set. When the flow in each of the pipelines 22 to 24 is stopped, the pinch valves V11, V21, V41 are used.
May be closed. The number of the valves V is arbitrary, and the larger the number, the more finely the flow rate can be adjusted.

Further, referring to FIG.
A flow control switch 38 is provided on the operation panel 0.
A, the operation of each of the air supply amount switch 38B and the suction amount switch 38C makes it possible to control the flow rate of each pipeline stepwise.

The first example has the above configuration,
When the water supply switch 26 is not operated, the pinch valves V11 and V21 are closed and the solenoid valve V3 is opened, and the air from the pump 12 is discharged to the atmosphere from the atmosphere open pipe 23D. Then, when the water supply operation (for example, the first-step pressing) is performed by the air supply / water supply switch 26, the water supply amount switch 3
Opening / closing control of the pinch valves V11, V12, V13 is performed so that the flow rate set at 8A is achieved. That is, the flow rate
When the setting is "large", the valve V11 is opened (V12 and V13 are also opened), and when the setting is "medium", only the valve V12 is closed (V11 and V13 are open), and when the setting is "small". At this time, only the valve V13 is closed (V11 and V12 are open), and water is supplied at the selected flow rate.

When the air supply / water supply switch 26 performs an air supply operation (for example, the second stage pressing) or the suction switch 27 performs a suction operation, the pinch valve V21, V22, V23, V41, V4
2, opening / closing control of V43 is performed, and air supply and suction at three flow rates can be executed.

FIG. 4 shows a configuration of a switch for arranging a flow rate adjusting operation in the endoscope operating section 20B. In the above embodiment, the switch 38 for adjusting the flow rate of air supply, water supply or suction is set to the electromagnetic valve unit 3.
However, this flow rate operation can be performed by disposing the operation switch 40 shown in FIG. 4 as an air supply switch, a water supply switch, or a suction switch in the endoscope operation unit 20B.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the operation switch 40 is configured to press the pressure sensor 41 with an operation body (push button unit) 40A that moves up and down.
As 1, a pressure-sensitive diode, a pressure-sensitive transistor, a piezo-type micromachined silicon element, or the like can be used. According to this, the pressing force of the operating body 40A is detected as a stepwise value, and the pinch valves V11, V12, V13, V21, V22, V23, V4 are detected according to the stepwise operating pressure.
By controlling the opening and closing of 1, V42 and V43, the flow rate can be variably adjusted stepwise. The operation switch 40
Instead of detecting the pressure, the operation stroke amount may be detected stepwise, and the flow rate may be adjusted by the stepwise stroke amount.

FIG. 5 shows another example of a configuration in which the crushing amount of the plurality of pinch valves V is variable. In the pinch valve VB shown in FIG. 3A, a male screw portion 43 is formed on the rear end side of the shaft X, and a stopper SB made of a double nut is attached to the male screw portion 43. In the pinch valve VC shown in FIG. 3B, the pin 44 is set up in the pin hole 45 for positioning the stopper SC. With such a configuration, the stopper S
The length L from B, SC to the contact surface can be easily changed to a predetermined value.

FIG. 6 shows the configuration of a second example of the embodiment in which the squeezing amount is arbitrarily changed by one on-off valve. The illustrated opening / closing valve 42 uses a stepping motor. A shaft 42X connected to the pressing portion 42P is arranged as a rotation shaft of the stepping motor portion 43, and a male screw portion 42XA is formed at the tip end thereof. Is done. A bearing 44 having a female thread 44A is provided on the front side of the stepping motor 43.

According to the on-off valve 42, the shaft 42X is moved back and forth by an amount corresponding to the rotation speed of the shaft 42X by the stepping motor 43, and the protrusion amount of the pressing portion 42P is variably adjusted by controlling the rotation speed. can do.
Therefore, in this second example, one on-off valve 42
The water supply flexible pipe 22C (the air supply flexible pipe 23C, the suction flexible pipe 2)
4C), the flow rate can be adjusted by changing the crushing amount.

Various other configurations can be applied as the one that can arbitrarily change the crushing amount. For example, in the on-off valve shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, for example, a locking member such as a pin-shaped member is used as a stopper. A plurality is provided in the vertical direction of the outer wall of S,
These locking members may be selectively protruded toward the center side by an electric means (an electromagnetic solenoid or the like) so that the stopper S can be locked at a different position in the movement direction of the axis X.

FIG. 7 shows a configuration of a third example for controlling the flow rate of the suction pipe 24. In this third example, as shown, a suction valve 24C is connected to a solenoid valve V4 similar to the conventional one.
And pinch valves V51, V52 and V53 having different crushing amounts are attached to the open-to-atmosphere pipe 24D. The valves V51, V52, V53 can be configured similarly to the valves V11, V12, V13 in FIG.

According to the third example, by opening any of the pinch valves V51, V52 and V53 while the solenoid valve V4 is open, four stages of flow rates can be controlled. That is, when the valve V51 (V11) is opened,
When the valve 52 (V12) is opened, when the valve V53 (V13) is opened, and when the valve V51 (V11) is closed, the flow rate increases. Therefore, in the case of controlling the flow rate of the suction pipe 24, the first
Compared with the example, the arrangement of the valve V on the side of the open-to-atmosphere pipe 24D has the advantage that the number of flow rate controls increases by one. Note that the on-off valve of the second example may be used.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the open / close valve of the type that crushes the flexible tube is used and the amount of crushing of the flexible tube of the open / close valve is changed, it is possible to variably adjust the flow rate of the fluid in various pipelines by controlling these open / close valves. It becomes possible. As a result, in the case of the air supply / water supply operation, the dirt can be efficiently removed while considering the influence on the body to be observed, and the contents can be discharged according to the situation by the suction operation, which is convenient. An endoscope is obtained.

According to the third aspect of the invention, there is an advantage that the flow rate can be adjusted by one on-off valve and the configuration is simplified. Furthermore, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in the case of controlling the suction amount, the plurality of on-off valves can be arranged on the atmosphere opening pipe of the suction pipe to control the flow rate, and the plurality of on-off valves are arranged on the suction pipe. There is an advantage that the flow rate can be finely adjusted by one step as compared with the case.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an endoscope to which an endoscope conduit flow control device according to an example of an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a configuration of a set of pinch valves in each pipeline in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view showing an operation state of the pinch valve of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of an operation switch arranged in an endoscope operation unit for adjusting a flow rate.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another configuration example of the pinch valve of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of an on-off valve according to a second example of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a third example of flow rate control in the suction pipe according to the embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional endoscope pipeline system and a fluid control device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1,20 ... endoscope, 1B, 20B ... operation unit, 2,22 ... water supply pipe, 3,23 ... air supply pipe, 4,24 ... suction pipe, 10, 30 ... solenoid valve unit, 35 ... control unit, 38 ... Flow control switch unit, 40 ... Operation switch, 42 ... On-off valve, V1-V5 ... Solenoid valve, V11-V13, V21-V23, V41-V43, V51-V53 ...
Pinch valve.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A flow control device for controlling a flow rate in a conduit arranged in an endoscope, comprising a crushing type opening / closing valve for changing an amount of crushing of a flexible tube in the conduit, A flow control device for an endoscope pipeline, wherein the flow rate in the pipeline is variably adjusted by controlling the on-off valve. 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of on-off valves of the crushing type are provided in series for one pipe line, and the flow rate in the pipe line is variably adjusted by selectively opening and closing the plurality of on-off valves. 2. The flow control device for an endoscope conduit according to claim 1, wherein: 3. An on-off valve capable of arbitrarily varying the amount of crushing of a flexible tube as the on-off valve of the crushing type, and variably adjusting the flow rate in the pipeline by controlling the amount of crushing of the on-off valve. The flow control device for an endoscope conduit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein 4. The flow control device for an endoscope conduit according to claim 1, wherein the on-off valve is arranged in an open-to-atmosphere pipe of the suction pipe when controlling the suction amount.