JPS6139442Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] This invention relates to a fluid control device for an endoscope that controls fluid flowing through the endoscope.

In general, endoscopes are equipped with fluid passages for air and water supply and suction, and through these passages air and cleaning water are supplied into the body cavity, or sewage, etc. from the body cavity is sucked in and removed. ing. A fluid control device for controlling the flow of the fluid is provided in the middle of the fluid passage, and this comprises a cylinder communicating with the fluid passage and a piston slidably inserted into the cylinder, The piston is always urged upward via a coil spring, and by pushing the piston into the cylinder against this urging force, the flow of the fluid can be controlled. . Sewage, etc. from the body cavity flows into the cylinder by suction or backflow, and as a result, the filth in the sewage adheres to the cylinder, piston, or coil spring for biasing the piston, resulting in an unfavorable sanitary condition. Therefore, it is common practice to disassemble and clean these.

However, in the past, as mentioned above, the piston is biased using a coil spring, which not only makes disassembling the piston troublesome, but also requires time and effort to clean the coil spring, and even after cleaning, water does not drain easily. Therefore, there was a problem in that it was difficult to carry out the cleaning work efficiently.

This idea was developed with these points in mind, and its purpose was to create an internal vision system that made cleaning work more efficient by energizing the piston without using a coil spring. An object of the present invention is to provide a mirror fluid control device.

An embodiment of this invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. In the figure, 1 is an endoscope, 2 is its operating section, 3 is a flexible tube section led out from the operating section 2, 4 is a distal end component provided at the tip of the flexible tube section 3, and 5 is the operating section 2 This is the eyepiece provided at the rear end of the camera. A suction channel 6 and a suction tube 7 constituting a fluid passage are provided within the endoscope 1, and a fluid control device 8 is installed between the two. The fluid control device 8, as shown in FIG.
It consists of a cylinder 9 and a piston 10 slidably inserted into the cylinder 9. The cylinder 9 consists of a large diameter part 11 on the upper end side and a small diameter part 12 on the lower end side, a suction channel 6 is connected to the side surface of the small diameter part 12, and a suction tube 7 is connected to the lower end surface of the narrow diameter part 12. are doing. A suction channel 6 opens to the outside at the distal end portion 4 of the endoscope 1, and a suction tube 7 communicates with a suction pump (not shown).

The piston 10 includes a large diameter portion 13 on the upper end side and a small diameter portion 14 on the lower end side, and has a leak hole 15 formed in the central shaft portion extending from the upper end to the lower end. Then, the narrow diameter portion 14 of the piston 10
The inner end of the cylinder 9 has its outer peripheral surface connected to the narrow diameter part 12 of the cylinder 9.
The opening/closing control end portion slides into contact with the inner circumferential surface of the opening/closing control end. Further, a suction port 16 is formed in a part of the circumferential surface of the opening/closing control end of the piston 10, and this suction port 16 faces the suction channel 6 as the piston 10 moves downward. A protrusion 17 that continues along the circumferential direction is integrally formed at the lower end of the large diameter portion 13 of the piston 10, and the outer peripheral surface of this protrusion 17 is connected to the large diameter portion 11 of the cylinder 9 via an O-ring 18 for sealing. An airtight chamber 19 is formed between the outer circumferential surface of the small diameter portion 14 of the piston 10 and the inner circumferential surface of the large diameter portion 11 of the cylinder 9. A retaining ring 20 made of an elastic material is fitted to the upper edge of the cylinder 9, and the inner circumferential surface of the retaining ring 20 is elastically connected to the outer circumferential surface of the large diameter portion 13 of the piston 10. 17 comes into contact with the periphery of the retaining ring 20, and this contact prevents the cylinder 10 from coming off. In addition, 21
22 is an operating portion formed at the upper end of the piston 10;
is a sealing O-ring provided on the outer peripheral surface of the narrow diameter portion 14 of the piston 10.

Next, the effect will be explained. First piston 10
To explain the procedure for assembling into cylinder 9,
The small diameter part 14 of the piston 10 is inserted into the small diameter part 12 of the cylinder 9, and the protrusion 17 is inserted into the cylinder 12 while elastically expanding and deforming the retaining ring 20.
into the large diameter portion 11 of the As a result, the airtight room 19
is formed, but the internal air pressure becomes higher than the outside air pressure by the amount of pressure pushed by the protrusion 17, and this pressure difference urges the cylinder 10 upward, causing the protrusion 17 to press against the retaining ring 20 as shown in FIG. , and the suction port 16 is held in a state not facing the suction channel 6.

When the suction pump is driven in this state, only external air is suctioned from the leak hole 15 through the suction tube 7, and no suction force is applied to the suction channel 6. On the other hand, while closing the leak hole 15 by placing a fingertip on the upper end of the cylinder 9,
When the cylinder 9 is pushed downward, the suction port 16 faces the suction channel 6 as shown in FIG. The volume of this decreases and the air pressure inside increases. and,
When you remove your fingertip from the top of cylinder 9, cylinder 9
is increased by the air pressure in the airtight chamber 19, returning to the initial state shown in FIG. 2, and the action of the suction force on the suction channel 6 is cut off.

Therefore, by inserting the flexible tube part 3 of the endoscope 1 into the body cavity and performing the above-mentioned operations, the appropriate diagnosis can be made.
Sewage and the like in the body cavity can be suctioned and removed through the suction channel 6 and suction tube 7, and it can also be shut off.

When the cylinder 9 or the piston 10 becomes dirty, the retaining ring 20 is elastically expanded and deformed to remove the piston 10 from the cylinder 9. Then, the cylinder 9 and piston 10 are individually cleaned.

Conventionally, the piston 10 is biased using a coil spring, which not only increases the number of objects to be cleaned, but also requires time and effort to clean because the spring has a complicated coil shape. However, this invention eliminates all of the above-mentioned problems because the piston 10 is biased by a so-called air spring without using a coil spring. This allows efficient cleaning work to be achieved.

4 to 6 show other embodiments of this invention, in which water supply tubes 31, 3 are provided in the endoscope 1.
2 and air supply tubes 33, 34 are provided, and the water supply tube 31 and the air supply tube 33 are connected to the tip component 4.
The water supply tubes 31 and 3 are joined at the side.
2, and a fluid control device 35 is provided between the air supply tubes 33 and 34. That is, a water supply tube 32 and an air supply tube 34 are connected to the cylinder 9 of the fluid control device 35 on one side of the circumferential surface, and a water supply tube 31 located above the water supply tube 32 is connected to the opposite side. Furthermore, an air supply tube 33 is connected to the lower end surface of the cylinder 12. On the outer circumferential surface of the narrow diameter portion 14 of the piston 10 fitted into the narrow diameter portion 12 of the cylinder 9, a wide communication groove 36 continuous in the circumferential direction is formed.
is formed. This communication groove 36 is connected to the piston 1
When the piston 10 is held upward by the air pressure in the airtight chamber 19, it faces only the water supply tube 31, and when the piston 10 is pushed downward against the air pressure in the airtight chamber 19, it faces the air supply tube 32. Both water supply tubes 31 and 32 are arranged to face each other and communicate with each other.

Therefore, when the piston 10 is held upward as shown in FIG. 5, most of the air sent through the air supply tube 34 is exhausted to the outside through the leak hole 15 of the piston 10. Here, when the leak hole 15 is closed with a fingertip, the air is sent to the distal end component 4 side through the air supply tube 33. Furthermore, from this state, the sixth
As shown in the figure, when the piston 10 is pushed downward with the fingertip against the air pressure in the airtight chamber 19, the circumferential surface of the piston 10 faces the air supply tube 34, and the air supply is cut off, and the communication is interrupted. The water supply tubes 31 and 32 communicate through the groove 36, and the water supply tube 3
2 is supplied to the tip component 4 side through the water supply tube 31. In addition to air and water, the fluid to be controlled in this example is
It may also be carbon dioxide gas or the like.

As explained above, according to this invention, the piston is biased by an air spring without using a coil spring, so the overall structure is simple, cleaning work can be performed efficiently, and it can be produced at low cost. Furthermore, unlike coil springs, air springs do not suffer from corrosion or so-called sagging problems, so they have the advantage of improved durability.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an endoscope equipped with a fluid control device according to an embodiment of the invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the control device before operation, and Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the control device after operation. , FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of an endoscope equipped with a fluid control device according to another embodiment of this invention, and FIG.
The figure is a sectional view of the control device before operation, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the same after operation. 1... Endoscope, 6... Suction channel (fluid passage), 7... Suction tube (fluid passage), 8... Fluid control device, 9... Cylinder, 10... Piston, 19... Airtight chamber, 35...Fluid control device, 3
1, 32... Water supply tube (fluid passage), 33,
34...Air supply tube (fluid passage).

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] It has a cylinder installed in the fluid passage of the endoscope, and a piston is slidably and removably inserted into the cylinder, and the opening/closing control portion of the piston allows the fluid to flow through the sliding movement of the piston. In a fluid control device for an endoscope that closes or communicates a passage and controls fluid flowing through the fluid passage, a gap formed between the outer surface of a portion of the piston other than the opening/closing control portion and the inner surface of the cylinder An airtight chamber is formed, and both ends of the airtight chamber are closed by an airtight means that allows the piston to move and maintains airtightness from the outside, and the portions of the cylinder and the piston corresponding to the airtight chamber are closed. A fluid control device for an endoscope, characterized in that the internal volume of the airtight chamber is formed in a shape that changes as a piston moves.