JPH0444539B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a method for using many types of endoscopes of different models.
The present invention relates to an endoscope system that is interchangeably connected to a common air supply means and/or a common water supply means.

[Prior art] An air supply pipe and a water supply pipe arranged in the insertion section of an endoscope are joined at the distal end of the endoscope, and air and water are supplied through a single nozzle facing an observation window. Endoscopes are well known. Air or nonflammable gas is also sent into the body cavity through the air supply pipe. This is to inflate the body cavity and secure a distance between the observation window provided at the tip of the endoscope and the body cavity wall.

In endoscopy, this act of supplying or suctioning air is itself part of the insertion technique, and whether or not the amount of air supplied can be properly controlled is a factor in insertability. ing. That is, excessive air supply may cause pain to the patient and damage to body cavity tissue, so controlling the amount of air supplied is very important. In other words, it is desirable that the amount of air supplied is the same even if the endoscopes used at the same location are of different models.

In addition, as a conventional technique for changing the air supply amount, etc., as shown in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 18884/1984, a part of the air is leaked during air supply, and depending on the size of the leak hole, Although some devices have been designed to adjust the amount of air, it is extremely difficult to accurately control the amount of air supplied due to leaks in this way.
Furthermore, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 59-64101, there is also a system in which a pressure device consisting of a cylinder and a piston is provided in a part of the pipe or in the tank.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, when endoscopes are of different models or used for different purposes, the length and thickness of the insertion portion of the endoscope differs, and therefore the resistance of the duct, etc. The amount of air and water supplied are different.

Conventional colonoscopes do not address this issue at all; for example, even if the length of the insertion tube is different even with the same type of colonoscope, the amount of air and water delivered will be different. The length of insertion is different between a diameter scope and a regular scope.

In endoscopes that have different amounts of air and water, the length and thickness of the air and water pipes vary accordingly, and this changes the resistance of the pipes, so the unit time The problem was that the amount of air and water supplied per unit varied, making it extremely difficult to use. It is also conceivable to change the amount of air and water supplied to each endoscope using the technology shown in the above-mentioned prior art, but in this case, the conduit resistance can be adjusted for each endoscope. It is necessary to make adjustments according to the size of the object, and the disadvantage is that the adjustment is very laborious and time-consuming. Therefore, there has been a desire for an endoscope that can provide the same amount of air and water per unit time even if the model is different.

Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to solve the above problems,
An object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope system in which the same amount of air is delivered per unit time even if the length of the insertion section differs due to differences in models.

In particular, when using the same part of the large intestine, a colonoscope and a sigmoidscope (a type of colonoscope)
For the upper digestive system, it is desirable to equalize the amount of air delivered from the esophagus scope, gastroscope, duodenoscope, small intestine scope, and general-purpose scope from the esophagus to the duodenum.

The doctor uses one with an insufflation rate of 1300ml/min and one with an insufflation rate of 1700ml/min.
You can recognize the difference between min and min. In other words, a difference of 30% is unacceptable. Therefore, we reduced the difference in air supply amount by half of that amount.
If it is within 15%, it can be considered practically identical.

[Means and actions for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an endoscope system in which endoscopes of different models are exchangeably connected to a common air supply means and/or a common water supply means. The present invention is characterized by having means for making substantially the same amount of air and/or gas or water per unit time of the air supply pipe or the water supply pipe.

In principle, the means for making them the same is as follows: (A) The output of the air supply source or the water supply source is fixed, and the conduit resistance of the endoscope body is made to be the same.

(B) Control the output of the air supply source or water supply source according to the conduit resistance of the endoscope body.

There are two ways to adjust the pipe resistance in (A) above: Connector - Universal cord side air supply pipe or water pipe - Air/water supply switching valve - Insertion section side air pipe or water pipe The pipe resistance of at least one or a part of an air supply pipe or a water supply pipe constituting member consisting of a pipe and a nozzle is increased or decreased.

[Examples] The present invention will be described below with reference to illustrated examples.

1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows an endoscope with a long insertion section, and FIG. 2 shows an endoscope with a long insertion section. It shows something short. The endoscope main body 1 is provided with an observation window 3 and a nozzle 4 facing the observation window 3 at the distal end 2 thereof. This nozzle 4 communicates with an air supply pipe 5 and a water supply pipe 6 passing through the endoscope body 1.
The air supply pipe line 5 and the water supply pipe line 6 meet at the distal end part 2, and the air supply pipe line 5 connects to the pump 9 via a vent fitting 8 provided on the connector part 7 of the endoscope body 1. It is becoming connected. The water supply pipe line 6 is connected to the water supply mouthpiece 1 provided in the connector section 7.
It is designed to be connected to a water tank 11 via 0. An air/water supply switching valve 13 (see FIG. 5) is provided in the operating section 12 in the middle of the air supply pipe 5 and water supply pipe 6 in the endoscope body 1.
It is designed to switch between air and water supply.

The endoscope shown in FIG. 1 has a long insertion section 14 connected to the main body 1, and FIG. 2 shows an endoscope with a short insertion section 15 connected to the main body 1. It shows. The air supply line 16 and water supply line 17 of the short endoscope of this insertion portion 15 are made of the same diameter and material as the air line 5 and water line 6 shown in FIG. There is. However, the air supply pipe 16 and the water supply pipe 17 are formed by rounding into a circle in the middle of the pipe to compensate for the shortening of the length of the insertion portion 15. In this embodiment, the air supply line 16 and the water supply line 17 are rounded in the line between the switching valve 13 and the tip 2. It goes without saying that this rounding position may be in the middle of the conduit between the switching valve 13 and the connector 7.

In this way, the increase in pipe resistance due to rounding of the pipe is corrected by changing the pipe length, and the pipe resistance of each of the air supply pipe 16 and water supply pipe 17 is shown in FIG. Air supply line 5 of the endoscope
and the respective pipe resistances of the water supply pipe line 6.

Endoscopes having different lengths of insertion sections as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are used by being connected to a common water tank 11 and air pump 9 in exchange as the case requires. In this case, the pipe resistances of the two air supply pipes 5 and 16 are the same, and the pipe resistances of the two water supply pipes 6 and 17 are the same, so for the same air and water supply time, that is, the unit Almost the same amount of air and water can be obtained per hour.

In this first embodiment, since the same tube (diameter and material) is used in the endoscopes shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, there is no need to prepare tubes with different diameters, and the manufacturing process is simplified. It becomes easier.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, the pipe diameters are made different to equalize the pipe resistance, and as shown in FIG. If the length is shorter than the length, the air supply pipe 18 and the water supply pipe 19 are also shortened by the length, but instead, the air supply pipe 8 and the water supply pipe 19 are
The diameter of each tube is made smaller so that the tube resistance is the same as that of an endoscope with a long insertion section.

In this second embodiment, in an endoscope with a short insertion section, the diameters of the air supply pipe and water supply pipe are reduced, so the diameter of the insertion part 15 can be reduced, and insertion becomes easier.

Further, in this second embodiment, the diameters of the air supply pipe 18 and the water supply pipe 19 near the insertion portion are made thin over the entire length, but it is also possible to make only a part of the pipe diameter thin. Of course, at least a portion of the universal cord or the connector may be made thinner.

For example, if you have a normal-diameter endoscope for adults and a narrow-diameter endoscope for children, the length of the insertion section is the same.
In the case of a small-diameter endoscope, the air supply line 5 is naturally made thin in order to make the insertion portion 14 thin. Therefore, in such a case, the third B
As shown in the figure, by forming at least a portion of the air supply line in the universal cord to be thicker than the other endoscope, the amount of air supplied can be made the same.

In addition, the same method as in the other embodiments is applied to the first and second endoscopes, which have the same insertion section but different pipe diameters, to make the air supply amount and water supply amount the same. It's okay.

Furthermore, instead of narrowing the air supply line with the short length of the insertion part, the air supply line with the long length of the insertion part can be actively made thicker to unify the amount of air delivered to the larger side. good.

Furthermore, the universal cord may be lengthened to account for the short length of the insertion portion so that the overall length remains the same, and in this case, the lengthened universal cord may be made into a curled cord.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
This embodiment is a case of an endoscope having a short insertion section shown in FIG. 4 compared to an endoscope having a long insertion section shown in FIG. 1. The air supply pipe 20 and water supply pipe 21 of the endoscope shown in FIG. 4 have the same diameter as the air supply pipe 5 and the water supply pipe 6 shown in FIG. 1, respectively. Therefore, the length of the insertion section 15 is shorter than the length of the insertion section 14, and the length of the air supply pipe 20 is
And the water supply pipe 21 is shortened. However, an air supply conduit constricted portion 22 is provided in the air conduit 20, and a water conduit constricted portion 23 is provided in the water conduit 21. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the air supply conduit constriction section 22 and the water supply conduit constriction section 23 are provided on the downstream side of the air supply/water supply switching valve 13, but it goes without saying that they may be provided on the upstream side.

In addition, as shown in the cross-sectional view of the air/water switching valve 13 in FIG. The air supply conduit narrowed portion 24 and the water supply conduit narrowed portion 25 may be formed by reducing the diameter of the outlet so as to increase the resistance. That is, the air supply/water supply switching valve 13 basically has a cylinder 26 and a piston 27 fitted into the cylinder 26. This cylinder 26 has an air supply inlet 28 connected to the air supply pipe line 20.
and an air supply outlet 29 are provided. Further, a water supply inlet 30 and a water supply outlet 31 connected to the water supply pipe line 21 are provided. An air supply pipe constriction portion 24 and a water supply pipe constriction portion 25 are formed at the air supply outlet 29 and the water supply outlet 31, respectively.

This air supply/water supply switching valve 13 is configured such that the air normally sent through the air supply pipe line 20 is leaked into the atmosphere from the air supply inlet 28 through the through hole 32 of the piston 27. There is. Furthermore, when the head of the piston 27 is held down with a finger to block the through hole 32, the air sent through the air supply inlet 28 opens the check valve 33, and the air supply pipe narrowed portion 24 of the air supply outlet 29 is opened. and is sent to the distal end 2 side of the endoscope. Furthermore, while holding the head of the piston 27 with a finger, the piston 27 is moved against the elasticity of the rising spring 35.
When the piston 27 is pushed down one step, the water supply inlet 30 and the water supply outlet 31 communicate with each other via a circumferential groove 34 formed in the lower part of the piston 27, and water is supplied.

6 and 7 show a fourth embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an endoscope 1A having a built-in gas supply pipe line 38 which communicates with the air supply pipe line 5 as necessary.

That is, the connector part 7 is provided with a gas mouthpiece 40, and the gas tube 3 of the nonflammable gas cylinder 36 is
7 is connected so that gas from the gas mouthpiece 40 can be supplied to the gas pipe line 38. The gas pipe line 38 supplies air and water to the air supply pipe line 5 via the gas supply valve 39 in the operating section 12 and the water supply switching valve 1.
It communicates with the downstream side of 3. This gas supply valve 3
Reference numeral 9 denotes a pipe opening/closing valve, and by pushing in the gas supply valve 39, the gas pipe 38 and the air supply pipe 5 downstream of the air/water supply switching valve 13 are communicated so that gas can be supplied into the body cavity. It's getting old. Therefore, in this case, as shown in FIG. 7, the air supply pipe 16 and the water supply pipe 17 are rounded in the same way as in the first embodiment and are formed to have the same inner diameter and length and the same pipe resistance. If so, a regulator (not shown) provided on the non-flammable gas cylinder 36 allows the cylinder 36 to
By keeping the pressure of the gas fed constant, the amount of gas fed can also be kept constant. Furthermore, the same method as in the other embodiments may be used to keep the amount of gas fed constant.

Furthermore, by making the discharge pressure of the pump 9 connected to the endoscope main body 1A equal to the gas supply pressure of the gas cylinder 36, the flow rates during air supply (during air supply) and during gas supply can also be made equal. In addition, in FIG. 6, the set pressure of the output gas pressure of the gas cylinder 36,
If there is a difference in the output pressure of the pump 9, the pipe resistance is changed accordingly using the same means as in the other embodiments to unify the gas amount and the air amount.

Further, although not shown, the size of the ejection port of the nozzle 4 may be changed to make the conduit resistance the same. . In other words, endoscopes with large pipe resistance (first and sixth
(see figure), use a nozzle with a large inner diameter, and for an endoscope with low pipe resistance, use a nozzle with a small inner diameter. Furthermore, these nozzles are connected to the tip part 2.
If the nozzle is detachably attached to the nozzle, the amount of air to be blown can be adjusted by preparing various nozzles with different inner diameters during the manufacturing process and selecting and using these as appropriate.
In addition, if the air supply amount is adjusted by the air supply pipes 16, 18, and 20, if the air supply pipe breaks down for some reason, it will be difficult to repair, but the nozzle will adjust the amount of air. It's easy to do if you do this.

Next, FIGS. 8 and 9 show the water supply cap 10.
This figure shows the structure of the connection part of the water tank 11 that is connected to the water supply tank 11.

The connection part of this water tank 11 has an on-off valve mechanism 50 in its water supply cap part 45, and can be detachably attached to the water supply cap 10 of the endoscope main body 1, 1A. There is. That is, FIG. 8 shows a state in which the water supply cap part 45 is removed from the water supply cap 10, and FIG. 9 shows a state in which both are connected. First, the on-off valve mechanism 50 will be described. In FIGS. 8 and 9, reference numeral 52 denotes a cylindrical water supply cap body having a flange portion 53 around the periphery, and 54 is a body formed to pass through the flange portion 53. A plurality of first ventilation holes, 55 is a cylinder joined to the tip of the water supply cap body 52, 56 is disposed in the cylinder 55 so as to be able to move forward and backward, and a lid-shaped spring receiver 57 is integrally formed at the rear of the cylinder 55; O-ring 56
a is a cylindrical piston to which each is attached; 58 is a spring receiver 57 thereof and a water supply mouthpiece main body 5 facing thereto;
This is a coil spring interposed between the inner bottom surface of No. 2 and the inner bottom surface of No. 2. The inner end of the water supply cap body 52 is connected to the water pumping pipe 41 of the water supply tank 11 and communicates with the inside of the air supply cap body 52. In addition, a spring receiver 57 is provided on the inner circumferential surface of the cylinder 55 on the joint side.
A ring-shaped first seal member 59 is attached to receive a flange 57a formed on the periphery of the piston 56, and restricts the movement of the piston 56 biased by the coil spring 58, so that the tip of the piston 56 is connected to the cylinder. 5
It is set so that it slightly protrudes from the tip of 5. Furthermore, due to this regulation, the piston 56
and the cylinder 55 can be sealed. Also, on the peripheral wall of the piston 56, the spring receiver 57
A piston 56 is located at a portion slightly away from the tip side.
A plurality of water supply holes 60 are drilled to communicate with the inside of the valve, and this structure constitutes the on-off valve mechanism 50. That is, when the water supply cap part 45 is removed from the cap 10, the spring receiver 57 and the first seal member 59 are in close contact with each other, so that the inside of the piston 56 and the water supply hole 60 are in close contact with each other.
When the flow path leading to the inside of the water supply mouthpiece body 52 through the water supply mouthpiece body 52 is cut off, and when the water supply mouthpiece part 45 is connected to the mouthpiece 10, the piston 56 retreats as shown in FIG. A flow path leading to the water supply hole 60 and the inside of the water supply cap body 52 is opened, and the movement of the piston 56 allows the water supply channel 43 to be opened and closed. Also, an O-ring 6 is attached to the tip side of the piston 56.
1 is provided, and its O-ring 61
A plurality of water supply holes 62 for lubrication are provided in the peripheral wall of the rear stage to communicate the inside and outside of the piston 56, and in addition to sealing between the inner surfaces of the cylinder 55 with the O-ring 61, the water supply holes 62 for lubrication are used to seal the inner surface of the cylinder 55. The liquid can be sent to the ring 61 side.

A tube joint 63 is joined to the outer circumference of the flange portion 53 of the water supply mouthpiece body 52 so as to overlap and cover the rear part of the water supply mouthpiece body 52, and a connecting ring is attached to the outer circumference side of the tube joint 63. 64
is arranged rotatably and constitutes a water supply cap part 45.

In addition, chips generated when the male connection thread 10a of the water supply mouthpiece 10 of the endoscope main body 1, 1A and the female thread 64a of the connection ring 64 of the water supply tank 11 are screwed together and removed enter the space 47. In order to prevent an increase in friction between the tube joint 63 and a change in the feeling of attachment and detachment, a sliding plate 48 made of Teflon or the like is attached to the connecting ring 64 and the tube joint 63.
It is placed between. And tube joint 6
An outer tube 42 is connected to the rear end of the pump 3, and an air passage 44 is formed between the tube 42 and the pump pipe 41, and communicates with the first ventilation hole 54. Note that the reference numeral 65 is a cylindrical grip portion joined to the rear side of the tube joint 63. Further, the water supply mouthpiece 45 is provided with a passage 66 that opens the air supply path 44 to the atmosphere when the water supply mouthpiece 45 begins to be removed from the mouthpiece 10 of the endoscope body. When the connecting ring 64 is loosened from the base 10 of the endoscope body, a first
A structure is adopted in which the ventilation holes 54 are opened to the atmosphere. Here, before explaining the passage structure, the base 10 of the endoscope main body 1, 1A will be described. In addition to being connected to the base end of the base 10, an abutting member 69 having a cylindrical portion 69a that can be fitted into the tip of the piston 56 is provided.
The water supply pipe 6 is opened at the inner bottom of the cylindrical portion 69a, and the air supply pipe 5 is opened between the abutment member 69 and the base end of the cap 10, and the connecting ring 64 is opened there. Female thread 6 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the tip side
4a, by screwing the base 10 and connecting the two, the retracting piston 56 opens the water supply channel 43.
is opened as described above. At the same time, the air passage 44 is connected to the water supply cap body 5.
The O-ring 70 provided on the outer periphery of the distal end of 2 is used to block the connection.

Next, the structure of the passage 66 will be explained. That is, the reference numeral 71 indicates a connecting ring 64 that is bored on the peripheral wall of the connecting ring 64, immediately after the female thread 64a.
A second ventilation hole 72 communicating between the inside and outside of the tube joint 63 indicates a ring-shaped second sealing member fixed between the flange portion 53 and the tube joint 63. The tip of the second seal member 72 protrudes toward the front side of the water supply mouthpiece body 52, and when the water supply mouth portion 45 is connected to the mouthpiece 10, it comes into close contact with the end surface of the mouthpiece 10 (see FIG. 9). I am doing this,
Thus, a passage 66 is formed above between the first ventilation hole 54 and the second ventilation hole 71, which allows the ventilation passage 44 to communicate with the atmosphere as the water supply mouthpiece 45 begins to be removed from the mouthpiece 10. are doing. In other words, as the removal begins, the first ventilation hole 54 and the second ventilation hole 71
The air passage 4 communicates with the
The air inside 4 is designed to escape to the atmosphere. After the air in the air supply path 44 has completely escaped to the atmosphere, the on-off valve mechanism 50 is closed. That is, the opening/closing valve mechanism 50 described above is configured such that the first seal member 59 and the spring receiver 57 are sealed together after the air in the air passage 44 has completely escaped by setting the position of the water supply hole 60, etc. , the timing is fixed.

The connection portion of the water tank 11 is configured in this manner.

In addition, in the above embodiment, two cases were shown, one with a long insertion part and one with a short length, but this
Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to any number of endoscopes with different lengths of insertion sections.

Furthermore, in each of the embodiments described above, the output of the air supply source or the water supply source is fixed so that the conduit resistance of the endoscope body is the same. The output of the air supply source is controlled according to the pipe resistance.

FIG. 10 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention, which automatically detects the type of endoscope and controls the supply pressure or water supply pressure accordingly. This is what I did. That is, the endoscope body 1
A resistor 82 for detecting the model of the endoscope was placed in a connector 81 of an endoscope having an air supply switch 80 for operating a controller 84 at B, and the connector 81 was connected to an electric light source device 83. By this connection operation, the controller 84 detects the resistance value of the resistor 82, thereby detecting the model of this endoscope, and adjusting the air supply pressure to the air supply pipe 5 of the air supply pump 85. The output is controlled so that the pressure reaches the preset pressure for each model.

In this way, the insertion parts 14 and 15 on the side of the endoscope body
To deal with the difference in pipe resistance of air or water pipes depending on their length, it is possible to control the output of the air or water source instead of unifying them. You can unify your spirit.

FIG. 11 shows a sixth embodiment of the present invention, in which the amount of air supplied by the air pump 85 in the electric light source device 83 is controlled for each model of endoscope. It is. That is, a variable orifice 87 is provided in a conduit 5a disposed in a connector 86 connected to the endoscope main body 1C, and the variable orifice 87 is adjusted. This adjustment may be made externally or may be made in advance for each model.
Furthermore, the orifice may be a fixed orifice and may be selectively used depending on the model, and the orifice may be placed anywhere, such as within the operating section of the endoscope, rather than within the connector 86.

Note that the present invention can of course be applied to any ordinary endoscope, whether it is an electronic endoscope or a fiberscope.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the same amount of air or water can be obtained even with the first and second endoscopes of different models, and the air or water supply time can be changed. It is possible to provide a highly safe endoscope system that is unlikely to cause overflow of water or overflow of air due to differences.

Moreover, it goes without saying that the gas to be supplied is not limited to air, and the same effect can be obtained even if it is a nonflammable gas. Furthermore, in an endoscope that can selectively supply air and nonflammable gas, the amount of air and the amount of gas that can be supplied can be made equal.

Note that the optimum value for the absolute amount of air to be delivered differs depending on the technique of the doctor. For example, some doctors prefer a relatively low insufflation rate of around 1000 ml/min, which focuses on preventing the dangers of over-inflation, while others prefer a relatively high insufflation rate of around 1700 ml/min. Some doctors, ie, doctors place importance on shortening the examination time. Therefore, it is desirable to vary the absolute amount of air supplied by, for example, making the output of the air pump variable as described above, and because an endoscope for the upper gastrointestinal tract is sometimes used for the large intestine. It is also desirable that the amount of air supplied to the large intestine and the upper gastrointestinal tract be the same.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the air supply pipe and water supply pipe of an endoscope with a long insertion part, and FIG. 2 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, with a long insertion part. Diagrams 3A, 3B and 4 respectively showing the air supply pipe and water supply pipe in a short endoscope.
The diagrams are a diagram showing an air supply pipe and a water supply pipe in an endoscope with a short insertion section, respectively, showing a second embodiment and a third embodiment of the present invention.
The figure is a sectional view showing an example of an air supply/water supply switching valve, and Figures 6 and 7 are diagrams showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention, in which the present invention is applied to an endoscope that can perform gas supply. Figures 8 and 9 are cross-sectional views of the connection part for attaching the water tank to the mouthpiece of the endoscope body, with Figure 8 showing the connection before attachment, and Figure 9 the cross-section showing the attachment state. 10 is a diagram of an endoscope system showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 11 is a diagram of an endoscope system showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
It is a diagram of an endoscope system showing an example. 5, 16, 18, 20... Air supply pipe line, 6, 1
7, 19, 21...Water pipeline, 9...Pump, 1
1... Water tank, 14, 15... Insertion part.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In an endoscope system in which first and second endoscopes of different models are exchangeably connected to a common air supply means and/or a common water supply means, in each of the above-mentioned endoscopes: An endoscope system characterized by having means for making substantially the same amount of air and/or gas or water per unit time of an air supply pipe or a water supply pipe.