JPH0376932B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a suction device for an endoscope that is operated to suction and remove mucus, dirt, blood, etc. within a body cavity.

(Prior Art) Generally, some endoscopes are provided with a suction line for suctioning and removing mucus, dirt, blood, and the like within a body cavity. This suction line normally consists of a first tube on the upstream side from the operating section of the endoscope to the distal end of the insertion section, and a second tube on the downstream side from the operating section to the connector connected to the end of the universal cord. The tube is divided into two tubes, and one end of each tube located inside the operating section is connected to a suction switching valve provided in the operating section. Suction can be performed by operating this suction switching valve.

The suction switching valve is formed of a cylinder and a piston slidably fitted in the cylinder in an airtight manner. A horizontal hole is bored in the peripheral wall of the cylinder, and the suction pipe is formed in the horizontal hole.
One end of the book tube is connected. By operating the piston, the first tube and the second tube of the suction pipe can be brought into communication or disconnected from each other.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) By the way, when a horizontal hole is bored in the circumferential wall of the cylinder as described above in order to connect the tube of the suction conduit to the cylinder, burrs or burrs may occur at the mouth of the horizontal hole. is unavoidable. Since the cylinder of the suction switching valve has a fairly small diameter, it is not possible to easily remove burrs or burrs that occur at the mouth of the horizontal hole on the inner circumferential surface of the cylinder.

If the piston is used with incomplete removal of burrs and burrs, the piston and cylinder will be damaged during piston pushing operation. Also, when removing burrs and burrs, it is easy to damage the inner surface of the cylinder.
The damage may impair airtightness.
Furthermore, in order to improve the airtightness between the cylinder and the piston, if a packing such as an O-ring is provided on the outer circumference of the piston, when the packing passes through the side hole when pushing the piston or attaching/detaching the piston, There was also the fact that the packing was easily damaged.

This invention was made based on the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to provide an inner wall that eliminates the need to drill a side hole for connecting a suction pipe in the peripheral wall on which the piston of the cylinder slides. An object of the present invention is to provide a suction device for an endoscope.

(Means and operations for solving the problems) In order to eliminate the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a first cylinder having an internal space that opens toward the outside of the endoscope; a second cylinder having an inner diameter smaller than the inner diameter and detachably fitting into the inner surface of the inner space of the first cylinder to separately form an airtight chamber in the inner space; a hollow piston that is slidably fitted into the piston; a tube on either the upstream side or the downstream side of the suction line that is constantly connected to the inside of the piston; and the tube that is connected to the airtight chamber. the other tube of the suction conduit, a position that is bored on the outer periphery of the piston and is closed facing the second cylinder by sliding of the piston, and a position that is opened facing the airtight chamber. and a communicating hole that moves between the holes.

With this configuration, there is no need to open a side hole for connecting the suction pipe to the inner circumferential surface of the second cylinder on which the piston slides.
There are no burrs or burrs on the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder.

(Embodiment) Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. 1 in FIG. 1 is an endoscope. This endoscope 1 consists of an insertion section 2 and an operating section 3, and a universal cord 5 having a connector 4 at its end is connected to the operating section 3. Further, the insertion section 2 is provided with an observation optical system 6, and this observation optical system 6 is optically connected to an eyepiece section 7 provided on the operation section 3.

On the other hand, a suction channel 8 is formed in the endoscope 1 . This suction conduit 8 includes a first tube 9 on the upstream side from the insertion section 2 to the operation section 3;
and a second tube 10 on the downstream side extending from the universal cord 5 to the connector 4. One end of the first tube 9 is connected to a suction switching valve 11 provided in the operating section 3,
The other end is open to the distal end 2a of the insertion section 2.
One end of the second tube 10 is connected to the suction switching valve 11, and the other end communicates with a base 4a connected to a suction pump (not shown) provided on the connector 4.

The suction switching valve 11 is constructed as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. That is, a mounting hole 12 is formed in the wall 3a of the operation section 3, and the mounting hole 12
A first cylinder 13 is inserted into the holder. The first cylinder 13 has a bottomed cylindrical shape with one end open and protruding from the wall 3a to the outside of the operating section 3, and has a stepped portion in the middle of the outer peripheral wall that engages with the inner surface of the wall 3a. 14 is formed, and a screw 15 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of one end. The first cylinder 13 is fixed to the wall 3a by an annular stopper 16 screwed onto the screw 15. The stopper 16 has a substantially U-shaped cross section, and has an upper flange 16a and a lower flange 16b having a larger diameter than the upper flange 16a.
6b is joined to the outer surface of the wall 3a. Further, at the bottom of the first cylinder 13, a first connecting pipe 17 is provided at a position offset from the center in the radial direction, and a second connecting pipe 18 is provided at the center in the radial direction. This second connecting pipe 18 consists of a large diameter part 18a and a small diameter part 18b, and an abutment step part 19 is formed at the boundary between these parts. One end of the first tube 9 is connected to the first connecting tube 17, and the second tube 1 is connected to the small diameter portion 18b of the second connecting tube 18.
One end of 0 is connected. That is, first,
One ends of the second tubes 9 and 10 are connected to the bottom of the first cylinder 13 so as to open therein. Further, the first cylinder 13 has a second cylinder 20
is inserted. This second cylinder 20 is
The outer circumferential surface is hermetically joined to the inner circumferential surface of the first cylinder 13, thereby forming an airtight chamber 13a in the internal space of the first cylinder 13, and an upper end portion protruding from the first cylinder 13. A flange 21 having approximately the same diameter as the upper flange 16a of the stopper body 16 is formed in the flange 21, and an insertion hole 22 penetrating in the axial direction is formed in the center. A piston 23 is fitted into the insertion hole 22 so as to be vertically movable. A leak passage 24 extending over the entire length in the axial direction is bored in the piston 23, and a communication hole 25 communicating with the leak passage 24 is provided in the middle of the peripheral wall. Furthermore, the piston 23 has a second cylinder 2.
A recess 26 having a substantially U-shaped cross section is formed at one end projecting outward from the recess 26 . And piston 2
3 is a biasing member 27 made of an elastic material such as synthetic resin or rubber, so that one end or the second
It is elastically held in a state where it protrudes from the cylinder 20 of. That is, the biasing member 27 has a substantially skirt-like shape with open upper and lower surfaces, and has an annular flange 28 projecting radially inward at the upper end, and a first annular collar 28 at the inner peripheral surface of the lower end. Groove 29 and second
An annular groove 30 is formed. Then, the biasing member 27 removably fits the first and second annular grooves 29 and 30 into the upper flange water 16a of the stopper body 16 and the flange 21 of the second cylinder 20, respectively, and the annular collar portion 28. Recess 26 of the piston 23
It is provided so as to cover the outer circumferential surface of the piston 23 by being fitted into the piston 23. Therefore, by removing the first annular groove 29 of the biasing member 27 from the upper flange 16a of the stopper 16, the piston 23 and the second cylinder 20 are removed together with the biasing member 27.
and can be removed from the first cylinder 13.

Note that when the piston 23 is held by the biasing member 27 as shown in FIG. and the lower end part is fitted into the second connecting pipe 18, so that the first tube 9 and the second tube 10 are connected to each other.
is cut off from. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, when the piston 23 is pushed against the restoring force of the biasing member 27 until its lower end surface abuts the abutment step 19 formed on the second connecting pipe 18, the above-mentioned Communication hole 2
5 is exposed and opened from the insertion hole 22 of the second cylinder 20, so the first
The first tube 9 and the second tube 10 are arranged to communicate with each other.

In an endoscope with such a configuration, the connector 4
When a suction pump (not shown) connected to the base 4a of the valve is operated, the first tube 9 and the second tube 10 are connected to each other when the suction switching valve 11 is not operated as shown in FIG. Since it is blocked by the piston 23, the second tube 10
Atmospheric air is sucked in through the leak passage 24 of the piston 23 by the suction force acting on the piston 23 . Therefore,
Dirt inside the body cavity will not be sucked out. To suction and remove dirt from the body cavity, as shown in FIG.
Push in 3. Then, the first tube 9 and the second tube
Since the second tube 10 communicates with the second tube 10 through the communication hole 25 of the piston 23, the suction force is transferred to the second tube 10.
It acts on the first tube 9 through the suction and removes dirt and the like in the body cavity.

In the endoscope 1 used in this manner, the suction line 8 becomes contaminated with dirt and the like, so the suction line 8 must be cleaned after use. In that case, a cleaning device 3 as shown in FIG.
1 is used. This cleaning device 31 includes a brush 32
and a cover 33 molded from a transparent elastic material such as flexible synthetic resin or rubber. That is, the brush 32 is formed by providing a predetermined length of brush bristles at the tips of twisted wires 34 to form a bristled portion 35 . The cover 33 has a cap shape with an open bottom, and has a mounting groove 36 formed on the inner circumferential surface of the lower end to removably fit into the upper flange 16a of the stopper 16, and a top portion that is open. A hole 37 is bored through the hole 37, and the wire 34 of the brush 32 is inserted through the hole 37 in a substantially airtight state. The height of the cover 33 is such that when the cover 33 is attached to the stopper 16, the height of the space formed by the cover 33 and the first cylinder 13 is equal to the height of the bristles 35 of the brush 32. It is set to be longer than the length dimension of.

Cleaning of the suction pipe line 8 using such a cleaning device 31 is performed as follows. First, after a sufficient amount of disinfectant is suctioned into the suction line 8 by a normal suction operation, air is sucked to drain the suction line 8, and then the suction pump is stopped. Next, after removing the piston 23 and the second cylinder 20 together with the biasing member 27 from the first cylinder 13, the cover 33 through which the brush 32 is inserted is inserted into the opening of the first cylinder 13, that is, the stopper 1
6 is attached by fitting the mounting groove 36 into the upper flange 16a. Once the cover 33 is attached, the cover 33 is transparent, so while looking inside, first insert the brush 32 from the first connecting tube 17 to the first tube 9 side, and insert the bristles 35 into the insertion section 2. After protruding from the distal end surface 2a, the distal end of the insertion section 2 is placed in the disinfectant solution. Here, the suction pump is activated again, and the brush 32 is pulled while sucking the disinfectant, thereby disinfecting the first tube 9 while brushing it. At this time, since the cover 33 is attached to the first cylinder 13 and the wire 34 of the brush 32 and the through hole 37 of the cover 33 are in an almost airtight state, disinfectant, dirt, etc. are scattered outside. There's nothing to do. Then, the user brushes the inside of the first tube 9 while observing the color of the disinfectant flowing inside the first cylinder 13 through the transparent cover 33.

After brushing the inside of the first tube 9 in this way, pull out the bristles 35 of the brush 32 from the first tube 9 and move it to the second tube 1.
Put it in 0. At this time, since the length of the bristles 35 of the brush 32 is shorter than the height of the space formed by the first cylinder 13 and the cover 33, the bristles 35 of the brush 32 can be removed without removing the cover 33. It can be transferred from the first tube 9 to the second tube 10 and is hygienic. Once the brush 32 has passed through the second tube 10 in this manner, the second tube 10 is brushed in the same manner as the first tube 9 while the disinfectant is flowing. When brushing the second tube 10, if the base 4a of the connector 4 and the suction pump are connected with a transparent hose, when the brush 32 is passed through the second tube 10, the bristles 35 of the connector 4 are connected to the base 4a. It is possible to check whether it has protruded from the tube, and also to check the color of the disinfectant flowing through the second tube 10.

That is, according to the suction switching valve 11 configured as described above, one end portion of the first and second tubes 9 and 10 forming the upstream side and the downstream side of the suction pipe line 8 is opened at the bottom of the first cylinder 13. Therefore, when the brush 32 is inserted from the first cylinder 13 into each of the tubes 9 and 10, the tip of the brush 32 can be easily inserted without bending.

Note that when brushing the suction conduit 8 without using the cover 33, it is sufficient to stop the suction pump and perform only brushing without flowing the disinfectant.

Furthermore, since the piston 23 and the second cylinder 20 can be removed from the first cylinder 13, the sliding parts and the communication hole 25 formed in the piston 23 can be easily and reliably cleaned and disinfected. By the way, in the suction switching valve 11, the first tube 9 and the second tube 10 forming the suction conduit 8 are connected to the first cylinder 13, and the piston 23 is slidably fitted. The first and second tubes 9 and 10 do not need to be connected to the combined second cylinder 20. That is, the second
The first and second tubes 9, 10 are attached to the cylinder 20 of
Since this configuration eliminates the need to drill a lateral hole for connecting the second cylinder 20, there is no possibility that burrs or burrs will form on the inner surface of the second cylinder 20. Therefore,
Not only does it save you the trouble of removing burrs and burrs, but
This prevents damage to the piston 23 due to incomplete removal.

Also, by operating the piston 23, the upstream tube 9 and the downstream tube 1 of the suction pipe line 8 can be connected.
0, it is necessary to drill a communication hole 25 (horizontal hole) in the piston 23.
As a result, it is inevitable that burrs or burrs will occur at the mouth of the communication hole 25. However, even if burrs or burrs occur at the mouth of the communication hole 25 formed in the piston 23, it is difficult to easily and reliably remove the burrs or burrs from the outer circumferential surface that makes sliding contact with the inner circumferential surface of the second cylinder 20. can. Therefore, even if the communication hole 25 is formed in the piston 23, the burrs and burrs that are generated at that time may be difficult to remove like the burrs and burrs that are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder, and the piston 23 may be difficult to remove.
3 and the second cylinder 20 will not be caused.

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, which differs from the first embodiment in the structure of the suction switching valve 11.

That is, in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the insertion hole 22 of the second cylinder 20, into which the piston 23 is inserted, is bored at an eccentric position of the second cylinder 20. Then, an annular flange 28 for holding the piston 23 formed on the biasing member 27 is made eccentric so as to correspond to the insertion hole 22, and a second connecting tube is connected to one end of the second tube 10. 18 was also connected to the bottom of the first cylinder 13 at an eccentric position corresponding to the piston 23 . Furthermore, the first connecting pipe 17 to which one end of the first tube 9 is connected was connected to the bottom of the first cylinder 13 at an angle with respect to the axis of the first cylinder 13.

According to such a configuration, the second cylinder 20 on which the piston 23 slides, similar to the first embodiment described above.
Since it is not necessary to connect the first and second tubes 9 and 10 of the suction conduit 8 to the cylinder 20, there is no possibility that burrs or burrs will occur on the inner circumferential surface of the second cylinder 20.

Furthermore, by eccentrically connecting the second connecting pipe 18 to the bottom of the first cylinder 13, the first connecting pipe 17 is moved closer to the central axis of the bottom of the first cylinder 13 than in the first embodiment. Since the connection can be made by shifting in the direction, from this first connecting pipe 17 to the first
The brush 32 can be easily inserted into the tube 9, and also because the first connecting pipe 17 is inclined, the brush 32 can be inserted easily.

(Effect of the invention) As described above, the suction device of the present invention has the first
The structure has two cylinders, a cylinder and a second cylinder, and the second cylinder is slidably provided with a piston for communicating or disconnecting the upstream tube and the downstream tube of the suction pipe. I made it.

Therefore, the second part on which the piston slides
It is possible to configure such a structure that it is not necessary to connect each tube of the suction conduit to the cylinder. In other words, since there is no need to drill a horizontal hole to connect each tube to the second cylinder, burrs and burrs do not occur on the inner surface of the cylinder where the piston slides as in the conventional case.
It takes a lot of effort to remove it, the inner surface of the cylinder is damaged during processing, impairing its airtightness and sliding properties, and furthermore, removal is incomplete and the piston and cylinder may be damaged during piston pushing operation. can be eliminated.

Furthermore, since the second cylinder and piston can be removed from the first cylinder, there is an advantage that cleaning and disinfection of these can be easily performed.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an endoscope, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a suction switching valve, and FIG. 3 is also in a suction state. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view when cleaning the suction pipe line, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a suction switching valve showing a second embodiment of the present invention. 8... Suction pipe line, 9... First tube (upstream side), 10... Second tube (downstream side), 13...
...First cylinder, 13a...Airtight chamber, 20...
Second cylinder, 23... piston, 25... communicating hole.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A first cylinder having an internal space opened toward the outside of the endoscope, and a cylinder having an inner diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the first cylinder and detachably fitting into the inner surface of the inner space of the first cylinder. a second cylinder which is fitted together to form a separate airtight chamber in the inner space; a hollow piston which is slidably fitted in the second cylinder in an airtight manner; and a hollow piston which is in continuous communication with the inside of the piston. Either one of the tubes on the upstream side or the downstream side of the suction pipe line, the other tube of the suction line connected to the airtight chamber, and the tube that is bored on the outer periphery of the piston, and when the piston slides, A suction device for an endoscope, comprising a communication hole that moves between a closed position facing the second cylinder and an open position facing the airtight chamber.