JPH0332326Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] This invention relates to an endoscope equipped with an air and water supply conduit that sends out air, water, etc. from the distal end.

[Prior Art] In order to maintain an appropriate distance between the observation window at the tip of the insertion unit and the object to be observed in the body cavity, or to clean the surface of the observation window that is dirty due to adhesion of mucus, etc., the insertion unit is Air, water, etc. are sent out from the distal end of the endoscope, and the air, water, etc. are sent to the distal end of the insertion section through an air/water supply conduit provided in the endoscope. Conventionally, a connector connected to a light source device provided with an incident end of a light guide fiber for illumination is connected to an operating section via a flexible connecting tube, and a connector connected to a light source device provided with an incident end of a light guide fiber for illumination is connected to an operating section via a flexible connecting pipe, and the connector is connected to an operating section via a flexible connecting tube. A cap holder connected to the connector was fixed to the connector, and an air and water supply pipe line passed through the connecting pipe was connected to the cap holder.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] In recent years, the necessity of disinfecting endoscopes has been recognized, and improvements have been made, such as making the endoscope watertight so that the entire endoscope can be immersed in a disinfectant solution. The air and water passages installed in endoscopes are no exception, and must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected to prevent harmful bacteria from contaminating the air and water pumped into the body cavity. There is.

Therefore, when considering the base receiving part that is connected to an external air and water supply device, it is necessary to install an O-ring on this base receiving part, as it is unavoidable that there will be some unevenness where bacteria can breed. It is necessary to perform thorough cleaning and disinfection. However, as described above, the conventional endoscope has a cap holder fixedly attached to the connector, and therefore has the disadvantage that the inside of the holder cannot be sufficiently cleaned and disinfected.

The object of this invention is to provide an endoscope that can completely clean and disinfect the cap holder to which the cap of the air/water supply device is connected, by eliminating such conventional drawbacks.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The endoscope of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems has the following features: A connector, which is provided with an input end of an illumination light guide fiber and is connected to a light source device, is made of a flexible material. In an endoscope that is connected to the operation unit via a connecting tube, a base end of the air/water supply pipe running inside the endoscope is connected to the base of an external air/water supply device. The connector is characterized in that the attached cap holder is detachably provided on the connector.

[Function] Since the cap holder is provided on the connector, even if the cap of an external air/water supply device is connected, it will not interfere with the operation of the operator holding the operation unit. Since the cap holder is detachably attached to the connector, it can be removed from the connector and cleaned and disinfected in any way.

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 3.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the endoscope of the present invention, where 1 is an insertion section, 2 is an operating section, and 3 is a connector detachably connected to a light source device 4. It is connected to the operating section 2 by flexible connecting tubes 5, 5a, and 5b, and the input end 6a of the illumination light guide fiber 6 is provided at the tip end thereof to receive illumination light from the light source device 4. It is designed to receive light.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a cap holder that is connected to an external air/water supply device (not shown), and a cap holder holding cylinder 8 to which the cap holder 7 is detachably attached is fixed to the side of the connector 3. has been done. Reference numeral 9 denotes a retainer ring which is screwed onto the cap receiver holding tube 8 to fix the cap receiver 7 to the cap receiver holding tube 8. FIG. It shows.

Reference numerals 10, 10a, and 10b are air and water supply conduits that open at the distal end of the insertion portion (not shown) and eject air and water from there; 10a is an air supply tube, and 10b is a water supply tube. A known air/water supply line switching valve 11 is inserted in the operating section 2 in the middle of the air/water supply line 10, so that the air/water supply can be switched. The air and water supply pipe line 10 is branched at a branch part 30 formed in the middle of the operation section 5, and the air supply tube 10a is branched.
and the water supply tube 10b are each independently connected to the base receiver 7 outside the connector 3. 12 is a suction connection mouthpiece connected to an external suction device (not shown), and 13 is a known suction switching valve.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the cap holder 7 attached to the cap holder holding cylinder 8, and 14 is a cap of an air/water supply device connected to the cap holder 7;
14a is an air supply port, and 14b is a water supply port.

The cap holder 7 is formed into a substantially cylindrical shape with an inner diameter that changes in several steps, and the inside thereof is connected to an air supply path 16.
A separation pipe 17 is provided to separate the water supply channel a and the water supply channel b. 18 is a sealing O-ring. The air supply tube 10a is connected to the air supply path 16a.
However, the water supply tube 10b is connected to the water supply channel 16b.
However, the connecting pipe 19 protruding from the side wall of the base holder 7,
They are connected to each other via 19.

The cap holder holding cylinder 8 is a cylindrical body with a screw 15 screwed on the outer periphery of the upper part. The connecting pipe 19 projects to the outside through it. A flange 21 protruding from the outer periphery of the cap holder 7 is pressed and fixed against the upper end surface of the cap holder holding cylinder 8 by the presser ring 9, and the presser ring 9 is screwed from the cap holder holding cylinder 8. Once released, the cap holder 7 can be pulled out upwards as shown in FIG. By connecting the cap 14 of the air/water supply device to the cap holder 7 configured in this manner, the air supply port 14a is connected to the air tube 10a, and the water supply port 14b is connected to the water tube 10.
b, respectively.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the branch section 30, in which the respective caps 22a and 22b of the connecting tube 5a connected to the operating section 2 and the connecting tube 5b connected to the connector 3 are screwed into the frame 24 of the branch section. A light guide fiber 6 for illumination is inserted into these connecting pipes 5a and 5b. 25a and 25b are folding stops that prevent the ends of the connecting pipes 5a and 5b from being bent sharply and buckling.

An air and water supply tube 10 is installed on the side plate 26 of the branch part.
A connecting pipe 27 is provided to connect the connecting pipes 10a and 10b, and the air and water supplying tubes 10a and 10b, which have passed through the connecting pipe 5a from the operation part 2 to the branching part 30, are branched from the connecting pipe here. 28 is a cover that covers the outer surface of the branch, and 29 is a sealing O-ring provided at various locations.

The air and water supply tubes 10a and 10b are arranged to be exposed to the outside between the branch portion 30 and the base holder 7, and are connected to the connecting tube 1 at both ends thereof.
9, 27, and therefore the tubes 10a, 10b and the base receiver 7.
It is not only convenient for cleaning and disinfecting, but also allows you to select and connect a base holder that is compatible with various air and water supply devices of different formats.
It can be connected to the base of any air/water supply device. Furthermore, on the side closer to the operation section 2, the air and water supply tubes 10a and 10b are integrated into one tube through the connecting tube 5a, so that the operator can operate without interfering with the operation of the operator. The quality is also excellent.

[Effects of the invention] According to the endoscope of this invention, the mouthpiece holder connected to the mouthpiece of the external air and water supply device is detachably attached to the connector, so the mouthpiece holder can be removed from the connector and cleaned and disinfected. It can also be done as,
This has the effect of more completely preventing infection through the endoscope.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an endoscope according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of its base holder, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a branch part. 2... Operation unit, 3... Connector, 4... Light source device, 5a, 5b... Connecting tube, 6... Light guide fiber for lighting, 7... Cap holder, 8... Cap holder holding cylinder, 9... ...Suppressing ring, 10a...Air supply tube, 10b...Water supply tube, 14...Cap.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] 1. An endoscope in which a connector connected to a light source device provided with an incident end of a light guide fiber for illumination is flexibly connected to an operating section via a connecting tube, A cap holder attached to the proximal end of the air/water conduit passing through the endoscope is detachably provided on the connector so that the cap of an external air/water supply device can be connected. Characteristic endoscope. 2. The utility model registration claim 1, wherein the air and water supply pipe passes from the operating section through the connecting pipe, branches to the outside midway, and is connected to the cap holder outside the connector. endoscope. 3. The endoscope according to claim 2, wherein the air and water supply pipe is detachably connected to the cap holder. 4. The endoscope according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the air/water supply pipe branched to the outside of the connecting pipe is removably connected to the air/water pipe inside the connecting pipe. .