JPS59218135A - Drying apparatus for endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

Detailed Description: TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an endoscope drying device that supplies hot air to an endoscope and can efficiently dry the endoscope in a short time. [Technical background of the invention and its problems] In recent years, endoscopes have come to be widely used in the medical and industrial fields. The above-mentioned endoscopes include a rigid endoscope that has a rigid and substantially straight insertion section, and a flexible endoscope that has a flexible insertion section that can be inserted into a curved path from the oral cavity or lumen. be. These endoscopes require sterilization, especially when inserted into a body cavity. For this reason, in recent years, the inside that has waterproof function? ! With the development of mirrors, endoscopes can now be easily cleaned, disinfected, and sterilized by immersing them directly in a chemical solution. However, due to this immersion, steam can enter the interior through the polyurethane resin or synthetic rubber membrane that forms the endoscope's insertion section, and even in endoscopes with waterproof functions, the humidity inside the endoscope can be reduced. may rise. or,
If the humidity around the place where the endoscope is stored is high, the humidity inside the endoscope may increase over time. When humidity increases in this way, in flexible endoscopes, it is necessary to smooth the sliding between the fibers that form the image guide and light guide inserted into the flexible insertion section, or between the fibers and the inner periphery of the outer skin tube. The antifriction function of the fiber decreases, and the fiber is more likely to break when bent. Therefore, it is necessary to particularly reduce the humidity inside the insertion section 2. For this reason, as disclosed by the present applicant in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 57-40404, a heat insulator is used to prevent the objective optical system from fogging by inserting the endoscope insertion part and keeping it warm. We proposed a conventional example installed inside a storage warehouse. Although this conventional example is effective in preventing fogging of the objective optical system, the drying efficiency is poor because water vapor evaporated by heating remains in the heat insulator. Furthermore, the conventional example disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-209034 is aimed at restoring the light transmittance of a fiber that has been reduced by radiation such as X-rays.
Since the insertion section of the endoscope is heated and the distal end of the insertion section or its vicinity is cooled, the efficiency of drying or dehumidification is not good. There was a drawback that it remained inside the device. [Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a drying device for inner 7F+ mirrors that can dry mirrors in a short time and efficiently. [Summary of the Invention] The present invention provides a means for drying an endoscope with warm air, and also provides a hot air outlet to quickly discharge evaporated water vapor. This allows for timely and efficient drying. [Embodiments of the Invention] The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. 1, and 2 relate to the first embodiment of the present invention.
Is the diagram soft? ! FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the first embodiment as seen from the upper side. As shown in FIG. 1, a flexible endoscope 1 to which the first embodiment is applied includes an elongated and flexible insertion section 2, and a large-scale operation device connected to the rear end side of the insertion section 2. section 3, an eyepiece section 4 formed at the rear end of the operating section 3, and a flexible light guide cable 5 extending from the side of the operating section 3. An objective optical system for observation is disposed at the distal end 6, and an optical image of the object formed by the objective optical system is transmitted to an image transmission means formed using a fiber bundle inserted through the insertion section 2. An observation optical system is formed in which the light is transmitted to the rear end surface by an image guide, and the eyepiece optical system in the eyepiece section 4 can be observed through 7. On the other hand, a light guide fiber bundle is used to enable observation with the observation optical system. By attaching the connector 7 formed at the end of the light guide cable 5 through which the light guide cable 5 is inserted to a light source device (not shown), the illumination light irradiated onto the end face of the fiber bundle can be transmitted through the light guide in the light guide cable 5. An illumination optical system is formed, which is bent by the operating section 3, and further passes through a light guide in the insertion section 2 and emits from the distal end surface to the object side that can be observed by the observation optical system.The illumination optical system A freely bendable curved section 3 is formed adjacent to the distal end section 6 so that the inside of the body cavity and the like can be illuminated and observed over a wide range by the observation optical system.
By rotating the bending operation knob 9 provided in the
The distal end portion 6 of the insertion portion 2 is configured to be curved in the left and right or up and down directions. On the side of the operation section 3, an air/water supply switching valve 1'11 and a suction operation valve 12 are formed adjacent to each other. The air supply/water supply switching valve 11 can discharge the supplied air from the nozzle at its open end via the air supply pipe by blocking the air hole, and by blocking the air hole, the valve 1
1 is further pushed in, the water is discharged from the nozzle, and deposits on the objective window glass that may interfere with observation can be removed. On the other hand, by closing the air hole of the suction operation valve 12 and pushing in the valve 12, gastric juice or the like can be suctioned from the open end of the suction conduit through the suction conduit. Furthermore, a treatment instrument introduction port that is closed with a forceps plug 13 is formed on the side of the operating section 3, and the treatment instrument inserted through the introduction port is passed through the communicating suction pipe and opened. It is configured so that it can be protruded forward from the end for therapeutic treatment. The drying device 15 of the first embodiment, which accommodates and dries the insertion section 2 of the flexible endoscope 1, is configured as follows. That is, the drying device [15 includes a cylindrical storage member 16 that stores the distal end portion of the insertion portion 2, and a hot air supply side that supplies hot air for drying through a blower pipe 17 into the storage member 16. 1
It consists of 8. The hot air supply device [18] includes an air supply pump 19 and a heating heater 20 housed in a box-shaped container, for example. The air heated by the heater 19 is blown as warm air from the front outlet 21 to the air pipe 17 side by the rear pump 19, and the warm air that has passed through the air pipe 17 is transferred to the storage member 1.
It is configured such that the liquid is blown onto the outer periphery of the distal end side of the insertion section 2 (housed inside) from the supply port 22 on the cylindrical bottom side of No. 6 to dry it. The storage member 16 has an engaging groove 23 formed on the outer circumferential surface of the open upper end, and an elastic lid 25 having a protrusion 24 that removably fits into the groove 23 is placed over the drying chamber. 26 is formed. As shown in FIG. 2, this lid 25 has a cross-shaped slit 27 formed in the center of the disc-shaped portion.
By pressing the central part where the insertion part 2 is formed,
It has a removable structure that allows it to be easily inserted and removed by pulling. In addition, exhaust ports 28, 28, 28, 28 are formed around the slit 17, so that water vapor can be quickly exhausted together with the hot air. The operation of the first embodiment of the present invention configured in this manner will be described below. After disinfecting and sterilizing the waterproof flexible endoscope 1 by immersing it in a chemical solution, the distal end of the insertion section 2 is inserted into the lid 25 by pressing the central part of the lid 25 where the slit 27 is formed.
5 can be stored in the drying chamber 26 inside the storage member 16. With the distal end 6 of the insertion section 2 inserted sufficiently deep into the drying chamber 26, the heater 2 of the hot air supply device 18 is turned off.
The outer periphery of the insertion portion 2 is rapidly heated by supplying hot air generated by starting the air blower 0 and the air pump 19 to the drying chamber 26 through the air pipe 17. Therefore, if the outer periphery of the insert 12 is damp due to immersion or the like, it will be turned into water vapor by the hot air blown onto it, and will be discharged from each outlet 28 together with the warm air. In addition, if the inside of the insertion section 2 is moist, the hot air is quickly heated and turned into water vapor, which increases the internal pressure and is released to the outer circumferential side along with other gases, and the released water vapor is as described above. It is discharged from each discharge port 28 as shown in FIG. Furthermore, the insertion section 2, which was quickly warmed by mm,
Heat is also transferred to the outside (upper part) of the drying chamber 26 to the insertion 112 side by heat conduction, raising the temperature and releasing moisture to the outside. As described above, according to the first embodiment, hot air is blown onto the insertion section 2 in the drying chamber 26 that prevents heat dissipation to quickly vaporize moisture, and the vaporized moisture is removed from each outlet. Since the air is discharged from 28, it is possible to dry or dehumidify efficiently in a short time. Therefore, since the humidity inside the insertion section 2 can be reduced, the function of the anti-friction agent that improves sliding can be prevented from deteriorating, and breakage of the fiber can be prevented. Furthermore, the first embodiment can be used in relatively narrow spaces. 3 and 4 show a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 shows the structure of the second embodiment, and FIG.
A line cross-sectional view is shown. The drying device 31 of this second embodiment has a structure in which the hot air supply device 32 can be integrated into the bottom side of the storage member 16 in the first embodiment. That is, a threaded portion 33 having a small diameter is formed on the outer periphery of the bottom of the cylindrical storage member 16, while a screw hole into which the threaded portion 33 is screwed is formed on the inner periphery of the upper end of the cylindrical frame 34 of the hot air supply device 32. 3
5 is formed. Further, a hole is formed in the center of the bottom of the storage member 16, so that a blower pipe 36, which is fixedly inserted into the hole provided in the cylindrical frame 34, can be inserted into the hole. The pump 19 and the heater 20 are housed in the cylindrical frame 34 as in the first embodiment, and the warm air generated by supplying power to these and starting them passes through the supply pipe 36 to the housing member. 16 It is designed to be supplied upward from the supply port at the bottom. Note that a removable lid 37 having a threaded portion formed on the outer periphery is screwed into the screw hole on the inner periphery of the bottom of the cylindrical frame 34. A desiccant 38 such as silica gel is stored in the drying chamber 26 in which a lid 25 is formed on the storage member 16 to further accelerate drying, and the desiccant 38 does not flow downward from the air pipe 36. In order to supply the material in this manner, a rope plate 39 made of stainless steel or the like is attached as shown in FIG. The effects of the second embodiment configured in this way are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, a part containing a desiccant is provided in the middle of the ventilation path (not shown) between the hot air supply device 18 and the outside, and the air passing through the desiccant is dried.
It is also possible to perform drying in a shorter time. FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment of the invention. In the drying device 41 of this embodiment, a lid 25 is formed on the bottom side in the same manner as on the top side in the first embodiment, and hot air from the hot air supply device 18 is passed through the air pipe 42 to the storage member 43.
The drying chamber 26 is supplied from the side of the drying chamber 26. The rest is the same as in the first embodiment, and the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals. According to this third embodiment, as shown in FIG.
is passed through the center of both lids 25 and 25, so that any part of the insertion section 2 can be dried in a concentrated manner. Therefore, for example, after drying the distal end of the insertion section 2 as in the first embodiment, the distal end of the insertion section 2 may be passed through the lid 25 on the bottom side to further dry the rear portion of the insertion section 2. can. In this case, a desiccant 28 may be placed in the drying chamber 43 as in the second embodiment to further accelerate drying. It should be noted that the drying chamber 26 described above can be made longer so that it can accommodate not only a portion of the distal end of the insertion portion 2 or a portion in the middle thereof, but also a considerable portion thereof. In addition, the air pipes 17 and 42 are made into visible tubes, etc., and connected to the drying chamber 26 side and the hot air supply device 1.
It is also possible to arrange the 8 side in an appropriate state depending on the usage situation. Furthermore, in the above description, hot air is supplied for drying, but the present invention also includes the case where air or gas sufficiently dried by a desiccant is supplied to dry or maintain a dry state. . Note that the present invention not only allows storing and drying at least a part of the insertion section 2, but also allows storing and drying the light guide cable (universal cord) 5, and this case also belongs to the present invention. be. Note that the present invention is applicable not only to the flexible endoscope 1 but also to rigid endoscopes. That is, by drying, the outer and inner metal parts can be prevented from rusting and the lifespan can be extended. Furthermore, by reducing the internal humidity, it is possible to prevent the objective optical system and the like from becoming foggy inside. [Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the insertion portion of the endoscope is housed and dried by supplying hot air, and an exhaust port is provided to quickly discharge steam. Drying can be carried out in a short time and efficiently.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the first embodiment in which the insertion section of an endoscope is housed and dried, and FIG. The plan view of the lid of the embodiment, FIGS. 3 and 4 show the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 shows the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A'' in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a third embodiment of the present invention. 1...Flexible endoscope 2・・・Insertion part 3・
...Operation unit 5...Light guide cable 6...Tip section 15
．． 31.41... Drying device 16.43... Storage member 17.36.42... Air pipe 18.32... Hot air supply device 19... Pump 2
0... Heater 21... Supply port 25
...Lid 26...Drying chamber 28.
...Discharge port 38...Desicant procedure correction (voluntary) 1.4Jfl display
1981 Mochiju 1' [Wishing power 9 J II b 1
';'; 2. Title of the invention Endoscope drying device 3. Relationship with the amendment filer's case. Representative of the patent applicant: Shigeru Kitamura, male 6. Column 7, Contents of amendment As shown in Attachment 1, on page 3, line 20 of the specification, the phrase "for the purpose of" is amended to read "for the purpose only." 2. In the 9th line of page 6 of the Akira @ Il book, the phrase "curved part 3" is corrected to 1 curved part 8 is 1. Above 162

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) While drying the endoscope? ! The food drying device is equipped with a storage part that can removably store at least a part of the insertion part of the endoscope and the light guide cable, and a hot air 1. A drying device for an endoscope, comprising: a warm air supply means for supplying hot air; and an outlet for hot air introduced into the storage section. (2) The endoscope drying device according to claim 1, wherein the hot air supply means is integrated with the storage section by screwing. (3) The endoscope drying device according to claim 1, wherein the mFIA supply means includes a heating heater and an air supply pump.