JPH045452B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an endoscope equipped with a nozzle that sprays cleaning water or air onto the outer surface of an observation window.

Generally, when the insertion section of an endoscope is inserted into a patient's body cavity, dirt such as blood and mucus adheres to the outer surface of the observation window provided at the tip of the insertion section, making clear observation difficult. be hindered. Therefore, it is necessary to clean the outer surface of the observation window during use. Therefore, in conventional endoscopes, a nozzle with an opening facing the outer surface of the observation window is provided at the tip of the insertion section, and cleaning water is first sprayed through this nozzle, and then air is sprayed through the same nozzle. Therefore, remove water droplets remaining on the outer surface of the observation window,
And I try to keep it dry. however,
When cleaning is not performed, such as during observation, dirt in the body cavity may flow back into the nozzle from the opening, remain and stick, and clog the nozzle.

In order to eliminate these drawbacks, a practical application was made in 1983.
As shown in No. 118288, there is a device in which the protrusion at the starting end of the nozzle is curved toward the observation window, and the curved inner portion is removed to enlarge the ejection port. With this configuration, the larger the spout nozzle, the more difficult it is for dirt to become clogged.
Since it is not possible to prevent dirt from flowing back into the nozzle, the nozzle may become clogged due to the dirt flowing back.

This invention was made based on the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to make it possible to prevent dirt from flowing back into the nozzle and clogging the nozzle with a simple structure, so that the nozzle is always in a good condition. An object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope that can secure a field of view for observation.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. Reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1 is an endoscope, and this endoscope 1 is made up of an operating section 2 and an insertion section 3 connected thereto. The operation section 2 is provided with a bending operation knob 4, an eyepiece section 5, an air/water supply switching valve 6, a suction operation valve 7, and a forceps insertion port 8. Furthermore, the operation section 2
A light guide cable 9 is connected to the
A connector 10 that can be attached to a light source device (not shown) is attached to the tip of the light guide cable 9. This connector 10 has a water tank 11
A socket 12 is provided to which is connected. The insertion section 3 is formed by connecting a distal end component 15 to the distal end of a flexible tube 13 via a bending section 14, and the bending section 14 can be remotely controlled to bend using the bending operation knob 4 of the operating section 2. It's becoming like that.

The tip forming portion 15 is configured as shown in FIG. That is, an illumination window 18 and an observation window 19 are provided on the distal end surface 17 of the main body 16, and a nozzle 20 is further provided on the side of the observation window 19. The illumination window 18 is provided with a cover glass 21, and the tip of a light guide 22 made of an optical fiber bundle is arranged inside the cover glass 21. The light guide 22 reaches the guide tube 23 of the connector 10 through the insertion section 3, the operating section 2, and the light guide cable 9. Also,
The observation window 19 has a cover glass 24 forming a lens.
This cover glass 24
The outer surface thereof coincides with the distal end surface 17 of the main body 16 and forms a continuous flat surface. Furthermore, an objective lens 26 is installed inside the cover glass 24, and the objective lens 26 forms a visual field image seen through the observation window 19 on the tip surface of an image guide 27, which will be described later. Above image guide 2
Reference numeral 7 consists of an optical fiber bundle, which is led to the eyepiece 5 through the insertion section 3 and the operating section 2, and is connected to the optical system of the eyepiece 5.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the nozzle 20 is formed into a hollow cylindrical shape with its tip closed by an elastic material such as rubber or soft synthetic resin, and its rear end opened. An outflow portion 28 consisting of a cut forming a fluid ejection port is formed in the peripheral wall and slopes low from the inner surface to the outer surface of the peripheral wall.
This outlet 28 is normally closed, but the nozzle 20
It opens elastically when pressure is applied inside. The nozzle 20 formed in this manner is tightly attached to the attachment hole 29 formed in the main body 16 of the tip component 15 via the attachment ring 30 so that the outflow portion 28 is directed toward and close to the observation window 19. Fixed.

A tube 32 for air and water supply is connected to the rear end opening of the nozzle 20 via a connecting end tube 31. The tube 32 is inserted across the insertion section 3, the operating section 2, and the light guide cable 9, and is connected to the water tank 11 and the air pump (not shown) on the light source device side. . The air/water supply switching valve 6 can be used to switch the air/water supply to the tube 32.

In such a configuration, if dirt such as blood or mucus adheres to the outer surface of the cover glass 24 of the observation window 19 while the endoscope 1 is in use,
By operating the air/water supply switching valve 6 and first supplying water, cleaning water is sprayed onto the outer surface of the cover glass 24 from the outlet 28 of the nozzle 20 to wash away dirt. Next, the air supply is switched to eject air from the outflow portion 28 of the nozzle 20 and is blown onto the cover glass 24 to blow away and remove water droplets remaining on the cover glass 24 and dry it.

Incidentally, the outflow portion 28 of the nozzle 20 elastically opens when water or air is being fed, but is closed at other times. Therefore, during observation, etc., the filth in the body cavity is difficult to flow back into the nozzle 20 from the outflow portion 28, so that the nozzle 20 will not be clogged with filth. That is,
The outflow portion 28 exhibits a function similar to a check valve.
Furthermore, since the nozzle 20 is made of an elastic material, there is no risk of damaging the inner wall of the body cavity, and since elastic materials such as rubber and soft synthetic resin are also electrically insulating materials, treatments such as electrocautery can be performed. Increased safety at times. Furthermore, if dirt adheres to the outflow portion 28, the dirt can be easily removed by pushing the nozzle 20 from the outside and causing it to elastically deform.

Note that this invention is not limited to the above embodiment,
For example, the nozzle 20 may have the configuration shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. That is, the nozzle 20 is made of a rigid material such as metal and has an opening 35 formed in the peripheral wall of the main body 3.
6 and a cover 37 made of an elastic material attached to the main body 36, and an outflow portion 28 consisting of a cut is formed at a location corresponding to the opening 35 on the peripheral wall of the cover. Even in such a configuration, the main body 36 of the nozzle 20 is similar to the above embodiment.
Prevents dirt from flowing back inside.

As described above, the present invention includes a nozzle provided at the distal end of the insertion section that sprays cleaning water and air onto the observation window, at least a part of the peripheral wall of which is made of an elastic material, and a nozzle that sprays cleaning water and air onto the observation window. Alternatively, a fluid spout is formed by opening by air pressure and having a slit inclined from the inner surface to the outer surface. Therefore, during observation, etc., the fluid spout consisting of the above-mentioned cut is closed, so
Since dirt does not flow back into the nozzle, clogging of the nozzle due to dirt can be prevented. Furthermore, since the fluid jet outlet is simply a cut, the structure is not only extremely simple, but also because the cut is slanted to face the observation window, cleaning water and air can be effectively sprayed onto the observation window. can.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an endoscope showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the distal end of the insertion section, Fig. 3 is a side view of the nozzle, and Fig. 4 is a cross-section of the nozzle. FIG. 5 is a side view of a nozzle showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the nozzle. 3...Insertion part, 19...Observation window, 20...Nozzle, 28...Outflow part.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In an endoscope equipped with an observation window at the distal end of the insertion section and a nozzle that projects forward from the distal end and sprays cleaning water and air toward the outer surface of the observation window, the nozzle is installed at least on the peripheral wall of the endoscope. It is formed into a hollow cylindrical shape with a part made of an elastic material, and the peripheral wall made of the elastic material has a cut that is closed by elasticity and is inclined from the inner surface of the peripheral wall to the outer surface so as to be close to the tip end surface of the tip. An endoscope characterized in that a fluid ejection port is formed by providing a fluid ejection port, and the washing water or air is ejected from the cut by the pressure of the washing water or air.