JPH1132988A - Pipeline structure for endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To put a washing brush through all the pipelines from an endoscope operation part for washing and to facilitate washing work. SOLUTION: A pipeline unit 20 is freely attached and detached to an operation part 10C and pipelines (such as water feeding pipes 18A, 18B) are exposed at the folding part 31 of the rear tip part of the part 10C. This unit 20 is provided with an auxiliary pipe 33 for a lens surface flash, e.g. to freely detachably attach an injection port member 35 with an injection port 37 by connecting to this, to replace a check valve 34. In addition, at the unit 20 a disposable flexible suction pipe is connected to a sterilizable and heat-resistant supporting part 20A. Thereby, the washing brush can be put through from the opening of the part 31 and washing work is facilitated by making the valve 34 and the flexible suction pipe disposable.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pipe structure of an endoscope,
In particular, the present invention relates to a pipe structure for facilitating cleaning and disinfection of an air / water pipe, a suction pipe, and the like provided in an endoscope.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, an electronic endoscope, which is a scope,
The endoscope has a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), an insertion section, an operation section, and a cable. The cable is connected to a light source device as a scope or a processor for image processing. It is possible to image and observe the body to be observed irradiated through the guide. In addition, an air supply pipe, a water supply pipe, a suction pipe, and the like are provided in the endoscope, and air and water are supplied to an observation window or the like at a distal end portion through these pipes. The contents inside the observation body can be sucked and discharged.

[0003]

However, since the above-mentioned endoscope apparatus is used in a medical field, it is necessary to clean and sterilize the above-mentioned conduits, and the cleaning and disinfection are performed efficiently. There was a problem that it was not possible. That is, although the above-mentioned conduit is cleaned using a brush, it is difficult to pass the cleaning brush from the front end to the conduit connector at the end of the cable at a time. This is because the entire length of the endoscope is long, there is a part having a strong bend in the internal conduit, particularly in the operation section, and an operation valve having a mechanical structure is used as the air supply / water supply button and the suction button. This is because, in such a case, the conduit becomes complicated (partially cut off) at that portion, and there is a reason that it is difficult to advance the cleaning brush to the back.

Conventionally, therefore, it is necessary to perform an operation such as flowing cleaning water for a long time, and measures have been taken to improve the opening / closing operation valve so that the cleaning brush can reach as much as possible. The cleaning operation is complicated, and the structure of each part for cleaning is complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to wash all pipes from an endoscope operation section through a washing brush, and to facilitate the washing operation. An object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope conduit structure that can be achieved.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an endoscope pipe structure comprising: an operating section in which a pipe in the endoscope is arranged; A pipe unit, which is detachably attached to the pipe unit, and is provided with a pipe line for connecting a pipe line in the operation unit and an on-off valve control unit (an electromagnetic valve unit or another feeding or suction device); At least one of the passages is separated, and the separation opening is disposed so as to be exposed on the outer peripheral portion of the operation unit. When the pipe unit is mounted on the operation unit, the flow path is turned over at the exposed portion of the separation opening. A turn-up portion in which a space is formed, an auxiliary line provided in the line unit so as to be connected to the turn-up portion, and the line so as to connect an inlet to the auxiliary line. It is detachably attached to the unit and can be replaced when removed. An inlet member having a check valve, is characterized in that it comprises a. According to a second aspect of the present invention, the pipe unit is provided with a support portion formed of a heat-resistant synthetic resin material capable of heat disinfection (sterilization) and a portion from the support portion to the on-off valve control portion. And a flexible tube detachably attached to the connection tube of the member. According to a third aspect of the present invention, the pipe unit is made up of a support section integrally formed with a pipe using synthetic resin as a material, and a flexible tube connected to the support section, thereby making the pipe unit disposable. It is characterized by having

According to the above arrangement, when the conduit unit is removed from the operation unit, the separation opening of the conduit is exposed at the turn-back portion, and cleaning is performed by inserting a cleaning brush from the separation opening. Can be. In addition, the auxiliary conduit on the conduit unit side is used as a conduit for flushing a lens surface for injecting water or the like into an observation window or a conduit for supplying air or liquid to a body to be observed. Thus, the inlet member of such an auxiliary pipe can be detached. Therefore, the pipe unit can be washed and heat-sterilized with the check valve removed from the removed inlet member and the flexible pipe removed from the connecting pipe of the support. After the cleaning and disinfection is completed, if the unused check valve and the flexible tube are attached to the support portion, it can be newly used as a pipeline unit. In this case, the check valve and the flexible tube can be used. The sex tubes will be disposable (single use).

[0008] Further, the support portion of the above-mentioned conduit unit is made of a low-cost synthetic resin material, and a flexible tube is integrally formed therewith, whereby the entire conduit unit can be made disposable. According to this, the cleaning and disinfection of the pipeline unit itself becomes unnecessary.

[0009]

1 to 6 show a pipe structure of an endoscope according to an embodiment, and FIG. 6 shows an overall view of an electronic endoscope apparatus. The entire configuration of the endoscope will be described. In FIG. 6, an electronic endoscope 1 as a scope is shown.
No. 0 has a distal end portion 10A having a CCD, an insertion portion 10B, an operation portion 10C, and a cable 10D.
D is connected to a light source device 12 by a connector 11, and is connected to a processor (image processing) device 14 by a signal cable 13. That is, in the endoscope 10, the distal end portion 10A
By the light guide arranged from to the light source device 12,
Light irradiation from the tip 10A is performed, and the tip 10A
, The control of the CCD, the reading of image signals, and the like can be performed through signal lines arranged from the CPU to the processor device.

A conduit cable 15 branched from the connector 11 is connected to an electromagnetic valve unit (open / close valve control unit) 16.
The air supply / water supply pipe (only the water supply pipe 18 is shown in the figure) is arranged in the pipe cable 15 and the cable 10D. The electromagnetic valve unit 16 includes a pump and an electromagnetic valve for controlling the opening and closing of a pipeline, which will be described in detail later, and is electrically connected to the processor device 14.

Further, the operating section 10C is provided with a conduit unit 20 which is detachably attached thereto and comprises a support section 20A and a flexible suction pipe 20B.
B is connected to the suction pipe 21A arranged in the operation unit 10C. That is, a cylindrical receiving portion 23 having a male screw formed on the rear end surface of the operation portion 10C is provided.
An operation ring 24 having an internal thread formed on the inner circumference is provided on the A side, and the operation ring 24 is screwed to the receiving portion 23, whereby the conduit unit 20 is attached to the operation portion 10C.

The support unit 2 of the pipe unit 20
OA is made of, for example, a polyetherimide resin having high heat resistance that does not cause thermal deformation except for a pipe portion formed of a metal tube so that heat treatment can be performed for sterilization. The components such as pipes attached to the support portion 20A are also brazed without using an adhesive,
Heat resistance is maintained. Also, the flexible suction tube 20B
Is made of a flexible synthetic resin material which has flexibility but is not crushed by a suction pressure, and is reinforced by winding a tight coil around its outer periphery to prevent crushing of the tube [for example, Toaron tube ( Trade name)] etc. can be used.

As shown in FIG. 1, this operation unit 10
C is provided with an air supply / water supply switch unit (two-stage switch) 26 as an electrical switch, a suction switch unit 27, and a photographing button 28, and these operation control signals are transmitted to the electromagnetic valve unit 16. Is done. That is, the flow in the pipeline is controlled by controlling the opening and closing of the pinch valve and the like in the electromagnetic valve unit 16 based on the electric operation control signal.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line II of FIG. 2 and shows a configuration relating to a water supply pipe.
Front water pipe 18A arranged from the front end side to the rear end face
Is separated from the rear end face E into the rear water pipe 18B arranged on the cable 10D side. The receiving portion 23 is formed with a folded portion 31 having a predetermined flow path space (the folded portion 31 may be formed on the pipe unit side). Water pipe 18A,
The separation openings 18E and 18F of 18B are arranged.

On the other hand, on the side of the support portion 20A fitted to the receiving portion 23, a convex plug member (packing or the like is arranged) 3 fitted to a part of the space of the folded portion 31.
The auxiliary pipe 33 is provided from the plug member 32 toward the rear end of the support portion 20A. Then, an inlet member 35 having a check valve (check valve) 34 is detachably attached to the auxiliary pipe 33.

That is, as shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 3, in the support portion 20A, a female screw 36G is formed in the fitting portion 36 connected to the auxiliary pipe 33, and a male screw 35G screwed to the female screw 36G. Are formed in the above-described inlet member 35, and the screw portions 35G and 36G allow the inlet member 3 to be formed.
5 becomes detachable with respect to 20 A of support parts. In addition, an O-ring for maintaining airtightness is arranged in the inlet member 35. In addition, the injection port member 35 is provided with an injection port 37 for cleaning the lens surface, and the above-described check valve 34 is in a state where it can be attached and detached from an opening on the distal end side.

According to such an injection port member 35, by disposing a syringe or the like in the lens surface cleaning injection port 37 and supplying water or the like, the observation window of the endoscope distal end portion 10A can be used during use. Cleaning and the like can be performed. After the use of the endoscope is completed, the inlet member 35 can be removed from the support portion 20A and the check valve 34 can be replaced with a new one.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG. 2 and shows a structure related to the air supply pipe. In this case, the front air supply pipe 39A and the rear air supply pipe 39B are also separated and their openings are opened. 39E and 39F are arranged in the folded portion 40. A plug member 41 that fits into the folded portion 40 while securing the folded space of the flow path is disposed on the support portion 20A side.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG. 2 and shows a configuration related to the suction pipe 21. In this example, the suction pipe 21 is provided in another path. That is, the front suction pipe 21A is provided in the operation unit 10C, and the opening 21E thereof is provided.
Is disposed at the center of the receiving portion 24, but the rear suction tube 21
B is arranged on the pipeline unit 20 side. In the supporting portion 20A of the conduit unit 20, as shown in the drawing, a connecting pipe 43 is attached to the rear suction pipe 21B, and the connecting pipe 43 is connected to the flexible suction pipe made of, for example, a soft synthetic resin. One end of the tube 20B is fitted. As shown in FIG. 6, the other end of the flexible suction pipe 20B is attached to a connection pipe 44 (similar to the connection pipe 43) arranged in the solenoid valve unit 16.

In the support portion 20A, a forceps port 46 is disposed via a branch pipe 45 branched from the suction pipe 21B, and a cap for cap (not shown) is attached to the forceps port 46. Therefore, the suction tubes 21A, 21B
In addition to sucking water or the like in the body to be observed, it also functions as a treatment tool insertion channel for introducing a treatment tool such as forceps.

The embodiment is constructed as described above. When the endoscope is used, the operation unit 24 is connected to the receiving unit 23 so that the conduit unit 20 is connected to the operation unit 10C.
In this state, the air / water supply operation and the suction operation can be performed based on the operations of the air / water switch unit (two-stage switch) 27 and the suction switch unit 28. That is, when the operation control signals of the switch units 27 and 28 are transmitted to the electromagnetic valve unit 16 via the processor device 14 in FIG.
The control circuit in the solenoid valve unit 16 operates the pump and controls the opening and closing of the corresponding solenoid valve.

Thus, in the case of the air supply / water supply operation, the air is supplied to the front end portion 10A via the rear air supply pipe 39B, the folded portion 40, and the front air supply pipe 39A (FIG. 4). The water is supplied via the water pipe 18B, the folded part 31, and the front water pipe 18A (FIG. 1). In addition, by injecting, for example, injection water with a syringe or the like from the lens surface cleaning inlet 37 on the conduit unit 20 side, the observation window lens can be washed during use of the endoscope. In the case of the suction operation, as shown in FIG. 5, sewage or the like in the body to be observed is sucked through the suction pipes 21A and 21B and the flexible suction pipe 20B. In the suction tubes 21A and 21B, various treatments can be performed by inserting a treatment tool from the forceps port 46.

On the other hand, when the endoscope has been used and the washing and sterilization of the pipeline is to be performed, the pipeline unit 2 is operated from the operation unit 10C.
0 to the state shown in FIG.
The cleaning brush can be inserted from the rear end side of 0C.
In this case, as shown in FIG.
A brush is applied in order from the openings 18E and 18F for the tubes A and 18B, the openings 39E and 39F for the air supply tubes 39A and 39B, and the opening 21E for the suction tube 21A, thereby brushing all the channels of the endoscope. can do. That is, in this example, since the cleaning ports of the respective conduits are arranged at one place, the conventional complicated setting of the cleaning device and the installation of the cleaning adapter are eliminated, and there is an advantage that the cleaning efficiency is improved.

In the conduit unit 20, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the inlet member 35 is separated from the support portion 20A, and the check valve 34 to which various bacteria and the like adhere is removed.
The flexible suction pipe 20B is removed from the connection pipe 43 of the
3 and the suction pipe 21B are cleaned by a cleaning brush. Thereafter, a sterilization treatment (heat disinfection) using an autoclave or the like is performed, and the above-described check valve 34, flexible suction pipe 2
OB is exchanged for a new one. Therefore, in the conduit unit 20 of this example, it is only necessary to wash the support portion 20A, and sterilization by an autoclave or the like becomes possible.
There is an advantage that the endoscope internal conduit can be kept clean.

In this example, the case where the auxiliary tube 33 is used for the lens surface flash function has been described.
In addition to the air / water supply pipe that jets into the observation window, an injection port for air / water supply into the body to be observed may be disposed at the distal end of the endoscope as a jet port or the like, and a conduit for that may be provided. Yes, it is also possible to connect the above-mentioned auxiliary pipe to such a jet port. Accordingly, the injection port member (35) in this case is provided with a jet injection port.

FIG. 8 shows another example in which the entire pipeline unit is disposable. That is, in the above example, the support portion 20A of the conduit unit 20 is formed of a polyetherimide resin that can be heat-treated. In the example of FIG. 8, the support portion 48 is formed of an inexpensive hard synthetic resin material. Instead of using a metal tube, a conduit is integrally formed in the support portion 48, and the flexible suction tube 2 is connected to the connection tube 43 of the support portion 48.
0B is connected. According to this, the support portion 48
Can be used as a single-use disposable device, and as a result, it is possible to eliminate the need for cleaning and disinfection of the pipeline unit 20 itself.

[0027]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the conduit is exposed at the folded portion in the operating portion, and the conduit unit is detachably attached to the operating portion. By attaching the inlet member detachably to the auxiliary line provided in the unit, the check valve can be removed and replaced, so that the cleaning brush is passed from the endoscope operation unit to all the lines. Washing becomes possible,
The above check valve can be made disposable to facilitate the cleaning operation.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the supporting portion of the pipe unit is formed of a synthetic resin material which can be sterilized by heating.
Since the flexible tube is detachably attached to the support portion, the flexible tube is made disposable,
There is an advantage that the conduit unit can be sterilized.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, there is an advantage that the entire pipeline unit can be made disposable, and washing and sterilization of the pipeline unit can be eliminated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II of FIG. 2, showing a configuration of a pipe structure (water supply pipe) of an endoscope according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2A and 2B show a connecting portion when an operation unit and a pipeline unit of the embodiment are separated, and FIG. 2A is a configuration diagram on the operation unit side;
FIG. 2B is a configuration diagram on the pipeline unit side.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing a configuration of an inlet member of the support section of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows a pipe structure of an air supply pipe according to the embodiment, and FIG.
It is sectional drawing of the II-II line.

5 shows a pipe structure of a suction pipe according to the embodiment, and FIG.
It is sectional drawing of the III-III line.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of the electronic endoscope according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a state in which a pipe unit is removed in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another configuration of the support unit of the pipeline unit of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Electronic endoscope, 10C ... Operation part, 16 ... Solenoid valve unit, 18A, 18B ... Water supply pipe, 20 ... Pipe line unit 20A, 48 ... Support part, 20B ... Flexible suction pipe, 21A, 21B ... Suction Pipe, 34 ... Check valve, 35 ... Inlet member, 39A, 39B ... Air supply pipe.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An operating section in which a pipe in an endoscope is arranged, and a pipe detachably attached to the operating section and connecting between the pipe in the operating section and the on-off valve control section. A pipe unit in which is disposed, at least one of the pipes is separated, and the separation opening is arranged so as to be exposed at an outer peripheral portion of the operation unit, and when the pipe unit is mounted on the operation unit, A turn-back portion for forming a turn-back space for the flow path in the exposed portion of the separation opening; an auxiliary line provided in the line unit so as to be connected to the turn-back portion; An inlet member having a check valve which is detachably attached to the pipe unit so as to connect an injection port and is replaceable at the time of removal; and a pipe structure of an endoscope. 2. The pipe line unit is provided with a support portion made of a synthetic resin material having high heat resistance and capable of being disinfected by heating, and is disposed from the support portion to the on-off valve control portion. 2. The endoscope tube structure according to claim 1, wherein said endoscope tube structure comprises a detachable flexible tube. 3. An operating section in which a pipe in the endoscope is arranged, and a pipe detachably attached to the operating section and connecting between the pipe in the operating section and the on-off valve control section. A pipe unit in which is disposed, at least one of the pipes is separated, and the separation opening is arranged so as to be exposed at an outer peripheral portion of the operation unit, and when the pipe unit is mounted on the operation unit, A turn-back portion for forming a turn-back space for the flow path in the exposed portion of the separation opening; and the pipe unit is formed of a synthetic resin as a material, and a support section integrally formed with a pipe, and A pipe structure for an endoscope, comprising a flexible tube connected to a supporting portion to make the tube disposable.