JPH08548A - Endoscope system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the same air feed quantity per unit time even if the length and size of an insertion part are varied by a difference in models, etc., by maintaining approximately the same pipeline resistance within air feed pipelines or water feed pipelines from one end to the other end in first and second endoscopes. CONSTITUTION:If the length of the insertion part 15 of the second endoscope is shorter than the length of the insertion part 14 of the first endoscope, the air feed pipeline 18 and water feed pipeline 19 are made shorter by as much as the short-component and the respective pipeline diameters of the air feed pipeline 18 and the water feed pipeline 19 are made finer so as to obtain the same pipeline resistance as the pipeline resistance of the first endoscope having the longer length of the insertion part. The first or second endoscope varying in the length of the insertion part is selectively connected according to cases to a common water feed tank 11 and air feed pump 9 and is used. In such a case, the pipeline resistance of the two air feed pipelines 5, 8 and the pipeline resistance of the two water feed pipelines 6, 19 are made nearly same and, therefore, the same air feed quantity and water feed quantity per unit time with respect to the same air feed and water feed time are obtd.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endoscope system for connecting various kinds of endoscopes of different models to a common air supply means and / or a common water supply means by exchange connection.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An air supply pipe and a water supply pipe arranged in an insertion portion of an endoscope are joined at a tip portion of the endoscope, and air and water are supplied by one nozzle facing an observation window. Endoscopes are well known. Then, again, air or a non-combustible gas is sent into the body cavity through the air feeding conduit. This is to ensure the distance between the observation window provided at the end of the endoscope and the wall of the body cavity by expanding the body cavity.

[0003] In the endoscopic examination, such an insufflation or suction operation itself is a part of the insertion technique, and it is determined whether or not the amount of insufflation can be appropriately controlled. Are involved in That is, excessive air supply may cause patient discomfort and damage to body cavity tissues, and thus control of the air supply amount is very important. That is, it is desirable that the endoscopes used at the same location have the same air supply amount even if the models are different.

Further, as a conventional technique for changing the amount of air supplied, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 58-18884, a part of air is leaked during air supply, and the size of the leak hole is increased. In some cases, the amount of air is adjusted by adjusting the amount of air supplied, but it is very difficult to accurately control the amount of air supplied by the leak. Further, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 59-64101, there is a type in which a pressurizing device including a cylinder and a piston is provided in a part of a pipe or a tank.

[0005]

However, when the endoscope is of a different model or has a different purpose, the length and thickness of its insertion portion are different, and therefore the duct resistance and the like are different. And the amount of water sent is different. No conventional measures have been taken to deal with this.For example, even with the same type of large intestine scope, if the length of the insertion part is different, the amount of air and water supplied will also be different. The insertion length differs between the diameter scope and the ordinary scope.

As described above, in endoscopes having different air supply amounts and water supply amounts, the lengths and thicknesses of the air supply pipes and the water supply pipes differ accordingly, and the conduit resistance and the like also change accordingly. There was a problem that it was very difficult to use because the amount of air sent and the amount of water sent changed per hour. Further, it is conceivable to change the air supply amount and the water supply amount in each endoscope by using the technique as shown in the above-mentioned conventional technique, but in this case, the pipe line for each endoscope is changed. It is necessary to adjust the resistance according to the magnitude of the resistance, and there is a drawback in that the adjustment is very time-consuming and takes time. Therefore, there has been a demand for an endoscope that can obtain the same air supply amount and water supply amount per unit time even if the model is different. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and provide an endoscope system capable of obtaining the same air supply amount per unit time even if the length and the thickness of the insertion portion are different due to the difference in the model. It is in.

[0007] In particular, when used in the same place, in the large intestine, a large intestine scope and a sigmoidoscope (a type of colonoscope, S
In the upper gastrointestinal tract, it is desirable to make the esophageal scope, the stomach scope, the duodenal scope, the small intestine scope, and the general-purpose scope from the esophagus to the duodenum the same. The physician should provide a 1300 ml / min air supply
A difference of 00 ml / min can be discerned. So a 30% difference is unacceptable. Therefore, if the difference in the air supply amount is within 15% of the half, it can be regarded as practically the same.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention replaces the first and second endoscopes of different models with a common air supply means and / or a common water supply means. In the connected endoscope system, the conduit resistance is made substantially the same in the air supply pipe or the water supply pipe from one end to the other end of each endoscope, and the flow rate per unit time is made substantially the same. It is characterized by.

The above-mentioned means for making the same is that the output of the air supply source or the water supply source is fixed and the conduit resistance of the endoscope main body becomes the same, and the connector to the universal cord side air supply conduit or Water supply conduit-air supply / water supply switching valve-insertion side air supply conduit or water supply conduit-increasing or decreasing conduit resistance of at least one part of an air supply conduit or a water supply conduit constituent member including a nozzle It was done like this.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows an endoscope having a long insertion portion, and FIG. 2 shows a endoscope having a short insertion portion. ing. The endoscope main body 1 is provided with an observation window 3 and a nozzle 4 at the distal end portion 2 so as to face the observation window 3. The nozzle 4 communicates with an air supply line 5 and a water supply line 6 that pass through the endoscope main body 1. The air supply line 5 and the water supply line 6 join at the distal end portion 2, and the air supply line 5 is connected to the pump 9 via a vent 8 provided in the connector portion 7 of the endoscope main body 1. It is to be connected. The water supply conduit 6 is provided with a water supply tank 11 via a water supply mouthpiece 10 provided in the connector portion 7.
Is to be connected. An air supply / water supply switching valve 13 (see FIG. 5) is provided in the operation unit 12 in the air supply line 5 and the water supply line 6 in the endoscope main body 1.
It is designed to switch between air supply and water supply.

The endoscope shown in FIG. 1 shows an endoscope in which an insertion portion 14 connected to the main body 1 is long, and FIG. 2 shows an endoscope in which an insertion portion 15 connected to the main body is short. Is shown. In this embodiment, the pipe resistance is made equal by changing the pipe diameter. As shown in FIG. 2, the length of the insertion section 15 of the endoscope is longer than that of the insertion section 14 of the endoscope in FIG. When the length is shorter than that, the air supply line 18 and the water supply line 19 are also shortened by the shorter length, but instead, the diameter of each of the air supply line 8 and the water supply line 19 is reduced, and The path resistance is set to be the same as that of an endoscope having a long insertion portion.

Endoscopes having different insertion lengths as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are exchanged and used for a common water supply tank 11 and air supply pump 9 as necessary. In this case, since the line resistances of the two air supply lines 5 and 18 are the same and the line resistances of the two water supply lines 6 and 19 are the same, for the same air supply and water supply time, Approximately the same amount of air and the same amount of water are obtained per hour. This first
In the embodiment, in the endoscope having a short insertion portion, the diameters of the air supply pipe and the water supply pipe are reduced, so that the diameter of the insertion section 15 can be reduced, and the insertion becomes easier.

In the first embodiment, the diameters of the air supply pipe 18 and the water supply pipe 19 on the insertion section side are reduced over the entire length.
Of course, at least a part of the universal cord or the connector may be thin.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, for example, in the case of an endoscope of ordinary thickness for adults and a small-diameter endoscope for children, in the case of two types of endoscopes having the same insertion portion length, Naturally, with a small-diameter endoscope,
In order to make the insertion portion 14 thin, the air supply line 5 is also made thin. Therefore, in such a case, as shown in FIG. 3, at least a part of the air supply pipe in the universal cord is formed thicker than the other endoscope, so that the air supply amount can be made the same. Further, in this way, in the first and second endoscopes having the same insertion portion length but different conduit thicknesses, the same method as that of the other embodiments is applied in order to make the air supply amount and the water supply amount the same. May be.

It should be noted that instead of thinning the air supply conduit having the short length of the insertion portion, the air supply conduit having the long insertion portion is positively thickened so that the one having a large air supply amount can be unified. You may Furthermore, the universal cord may be lengthened by the shorter length of the insertion portion to make the overall length the same, and in this case, the longer universal cord may be used as the curl cord.

Next, a third embodiment will be described. This embodiment is a case of an endoscope having a shorter insertion portion shown in FIG. 4 than the endoscope having a longer insertion portion shown in FIG. The air supply line 20 and the water supply line 21 of the endoscope of FIG.
Has the same diameter as the air supply conduit 5 and the water supply conduit 6 in FIG. 1, respectively. Therefore, since the length of the insertion portion 15 is shorter than the length of the insertion portion 14, the air supply conduit 2
0 and the water supply line 21 are short. However, the air supply conduit narrowed portion 22 is provided in the air supply conduit 20, and the water supply conduit narrowed portion 23 is provided in the water supply conduit 21. In the example of FIG. 4, the air supply conduit narrowing portion 22 and the water supply conduit narrowing portion 23 are provided on the downstream side of the air supply / water supply switching valve 13, but needless to say, may be provided on the upstream side.

Further, as shown in the sectional view of the air / water switching valve 13 in FIG. 5, the air / air outlet 29 of the air / water switching valve 13 is shown.
And the air supply pipe 20 and the water supply pipe 21 at the water supply outlet 31.
The diameter of the outlet is reduced so as to increase the conduit resistance of the air supply conduit narrowing portion 24 and the water supply conduit narrowing portion 25.
May be formed. That is, the air supply / water supply switching valve 13 has a basic configuration of the cylinder 26 and the piston 27 fitted into the cylinder 26. The cylinder 26 has an air supply inlet 28 connected to the air supply line 20.
And an air supply outlet 29 is provided. Further, a water supply inlet 30 and a water supply outlet 31 connected to the water supply pipe 21 are provided. An air supply line constriction 24 and a water supply line constriction 25 are formed in the air supply outlet 29 and the water supply outlet 31, respectively.

The air / water switching valve 13 allows the air normally sent through the air supply line 20 to leak from the air supply inlet 28 to the atmosphere through the through hole 32 of the piston 27. It has become. When the head of the piston 27 is held with a finger and the through hole 32 is closed, the air sent through the air supply inlet 28 opens the check valve 33 and the air supply outlet 2
It is sent to the distal end portion 2 side of the endoscope through the air supply duct narrowing portion 24 of 9. Further, when the head of the piston 27 is held down with a finger, the piston is pushed down one step against the elasticity of the raising spring 35, and the water is supplied to the water inlet 30 via the circumferential groove 34 formed in the lower portion of the piston 27. The water outlet 31 communicates,
Water is supplied.

FIG. 6 shows a fourth embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an endoscope 1A having a built-in gas supply pipe 38 communicating with the air supply pipe 5 as required. That is, the connector portion 7 is provided with the gas base 40, and the gas tube 37 of the non-combustible gas cylinder 36 is connected, so that the gas from the gas base 40 can be supplied to the gas pipe 38. ing. The gas line 38 communicates with the air supply line 5 via the gas supply valve 39 in the operation section 12 and downstream of the water supply switching valve 13. This gas valve 39
Is a pipeline opening / closing valve, and by pushing this gas feeding valve 39, the gas pipeline 38 and the gas feeding pipeline 5 can communicate with the downstream side of the gas feeding / water feeding switching valve 13 to feed gas into the body cavity. Has become.

Also in the endoscope having the gas supply pipe 38, even if the length of the insertion portion or the thickness of the insertion portion is different, the nonflammable gas cylinder 36 can be obtained by using the same method as in the other embodiments. The amount of gas fed can also be made constant by making the gas feed pressure from the cylinder 36 constant by means of a regulator (not shown) provided in the above. 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, it is possible to make the flow rate at the time of gas supply (at the time of air supply) equal to that at the time of gas supply. In FIG. 6,
If there is a difference between the set pressure of the output gas pressure of the gas cylinder 36 and the output pressure of the pump 9, the pipe resistance is changed by the same means as in the other embodiments so as to match the difference. Unify.

Further, although not shown, the size of the ejection port of the nozzle 4 may be changed to make the conduit resistance the same. That is, an endoscope having a large pipeline resistance (see FIGS. 1 and 6) may have a large inner diameter nozzle, and an endoscope having a small pipeline resistance may have a small internal diameter nozzle. Further, if these nozzles are made detachable with respect to the tip portion 2, various nozzles having different inner diameters are prepared in the manufacturing process, and the air supply amount can be adjusted by appropriately selecting and using these nozzles. . Further, in the case where the air supply amount is adjusted by the air supply conduits 18 and 20, if the air supply conduit fails for some reason, it is difficult to repair it. It can be done easily.

Next, FIGS. 7 and 8 show the water supply cap 10
3 shows a structure of a connection portion of a water supply tank 11 connected to the water supply tank 11. The connection portion of the water supply tank 11 has an opening / closing valve mechanism 50 in the water supply mouthpiece portion 45, and is detachably attached to the water supply mouthpiece 10 of the endoscope main body 1, 1A. I have. That is, FIG. 7 shows a state in which the water supply mouthpiece portion 45 is removed from the water supply mouthpiece 10, and FIG. 8 shows a state in which both are connected.

First, the opening / closing valve mechanism 50 will be described.
In FIGS. 7 and 8, reference numeral 52 denotes a tubular water supply mouthpiece body having a flange portion 53 on the periphery, 54 denotes a plurality of first vent holes formed so as to penetrate the flange portion 53, and 55 denotes The cylinder 56 joined to the tip of the water supply mouthpiece main body 52 is arranged in the cylinder 55 so as to be able to move forward and backward.
Reference characters a denote cylindrical pistons 58, and 58 denotes a coil spring interposed between the spring receiver 57 and the inner bottom surface of the water supply mouthpiece main body 52 facing the spring receiver 57.

The inner end of the water supply mouthpiece main body 52 is connected to the pumping pipe 41 of the water supply tank 11 and communicates with the inside of the air supply mouthpiece main body 52. A ring-shaped first seal member 59 for receiving a flange 57a formed on the peripheral edge of the spring receiver 57 is attached to the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder 55 on the joint side, and is biased by the coil spring 58. The movement of the piston 56 is regulated so that the tip of the piston 56 is slightly projected from the tip of the cylinder 55. Further, by this regulation, the space between the piston 56 and the cylinder 55 can be sealed.

A plurality of water supply holes 60 communicating with the inside of the piston 56 are formed in the peripheral wall of the piston 56 at a position slightly away from the spring receiver 57 on the distal end side. 50. In other words, when the water supply mouth part 45 comes off from the mouthpiece 10, the spring bearing 57
And the first seal member 59 are in close contact with each other, and the piston 56
When the water supply port 45 is connected to the base 10 when the flow path leading to the inside of the water supply base body 52 through the water supply hole 60 is cut off, the piston 56 is retracted as shown in FIG. The flow path to the inside of the piston 56, the water supply hole 60 and the inside of the water supply base body 52 is opened, and the water supply passage 43 can be opened and closed by the movement of the piston 56.

Further, an O-ring 61 is provided on the tip side of the piston 56, and a plurality of lubricating water supply holes 62 for communicating the inside and outside of the piston 56 are provided on the peripheral wall at the rear stage of the O-ring 61. , The O-ring 61 seals between the inner surfaces of the cylinder 55, and the lubrication water supply hole 62 allows the liquid to be sent to the O-ring 61 side when connected.

The flange portion 5 of the water supply mouthpiece main body 52
3, a tube joint 63 is joined to the outer periphery of the water supply mouthpiece main body 52 so as to overlap and cover the rear portion thereof, and a connection ring 64 is rotatably arranged on the outer peripheral side of the tube joint 63. It constitutes the gold portion 45.

The water supply base 10 of the endoscope bodies 1 and 1A is provided.
The chips generated by the attachment and detachment of the connecting male screw 10a of the water supply tank 11 and the female screw 64a of the connection ring 64 of the water supply tank 11 enter the space 47, and increase the friction with the tube joint 63 or change the feeling of attachment and detachment. A slip plate 48 such as Teflon is disposed between the connection ring 64 and the tube joint 63 to prevent the sliding. The outer tube 42 is connected to the rear end of the tube joint 63, and an air supply passage 44 is formed between the outer tube 42 and the pumping pipe 41 to communicate with the first ventilation hole 54. Reference numeral 65 denotes a cylindrical grip portion joined to the rear side of the tube joint 63.

The water supply base 45 is provided with a passage 66 for opening the air supply passage 44 to the atmosphere as the water supply base 45 starts to be removed from the base 10 of the endoscope body. The passage 66 has a structure in which the first ventilation hole 54 is opened to the atmosphere as the connection ring 64 is loosened from the base 10 of the endoscope body. Here, before describing the passage structure, the base 10 of the endoscope bodies 1 and 1A will be described. The base 10 is provided with a substantially cylindrical base 10 having an external thread 10a formed on the outer periphery thereof. Abutting member 69 having, at the base end side of base 10, a tubular portion 69 a that can be inserted into the distal end of piston 56.
Has a structure.

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 abutting member 69 and the base end of the base 10, so that the connection ring 64
Using a female screw 64a formed on the inner peripheral surface on the tip side,
By screwing the base 10 and connecting the two, the water supply passage 43 is opened by the retreating piston 56 as described above. At the same time, the O-ring 70 provided on the outer periphery of the water supply mouthpiece main body 52 at the distal end side of the water supply passage main body 52.
I'm trying to shut it off.

Next, the structure of the passage 66 will be described.
That is, reference numeral 71 denotes a second ventilation hole communicating between the inside and outside of the connection ring 64 formed on the peripheral wall of the connection ring 64 and immediately after the female screw 64a, and reference numeral 72 denotes a position between the flange portion 53 and the tube joint 63. The fixed ring-shaped second sealing member is shown. The second seal member 7
2 has a tip end projecting toward the front side of the water supply mouthpiece main body 52, and when the water supply mouthpiece portion 45 is connected to the mouthpiece 10, it comes into close contact with the end face of the mouthpiece 10 (see FIG. 8). A passage 66 is formed between the first ventilation hole 54 and the second ventilation hole 71 so that the ventilation passage 44 can be communicated with the atmosphere as the water supply mouthpiece 45 starts to be removed from the mouthpiece 10. ing.

In other words, the first ventilation hole 5
4 and the second vent 71 communicate with each other, and the air in the air supply passage 44 escapes to the atmosphere through the communicating portion. After the air in the air supply passage 44 has completely escaped to the atmosphere, the on-off valve mechanism 50 is closed. That is, the on-off valve mechanism 50 described above has the water supply channel 60.
The timing is determined so that the first seal member 59 and the spring receiver 57 are sealed after the air in the air supply passage 44 has completely escaped by setting such as the position. The connecting portion of the water supply tank 11 is configured as described above.

In the above embodiment, two cases, one having a long insertion portion and one having a short insertion portion, have been described. However, the number is not limited to two. However, it goes without saying that the present invention is applied.

FIG. 9 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment as well, the air supply amount of the air supply pump 85 in the electric light source device 83 is controlled for each endoscope model. It was done. That is, the variable orifice 87 is provided in the conduit 5a provided in the connector 86 connected to the endoscope main body 1C, and the variable orifice 87 is adjusted. This adjustment may be made from the outside or may be made beforehand for each model. In addition, the orifice is a fixed orifice, which may be selected and used depending on the model.
It does not need to be inside 6, but may be anywhere inside the operation portion of the endoscope.

The present invention can be applied to an electronic endoscope or a fiberscope as long as it is a normal endoscope.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, the same air supply amount or water supply amount can be obtained even with the first and second endoscopes of different models, and the air supply or the water supply time can be reduced. It is possible to provide a highly safe endoscope system that is unlikely to cause excessive water supply and excessive air supply due to differences. Further, the gas to be sent is not limited to air, and it is needless to say that the same effect can be obtained even if it is a noncombustible gas. Further, in a configuration in which air and nonflammable gas can be selectively supplied by one endoscope, the amount of supplied air and the amount of supplied gas can be made equal. Note that the optimal value of the absolute amount of air supply differs depending on the doctor's procedure. For example, some doctors prefer a relatively low air volume of about 1000 ml / min, that is, some doctors focus on preventing the risk of over-inhalation, while others prefer a relatively large air volume of about 1700 ml / min. Some doctors, that is, doctors attach great importance to shortening examination time. Therefore, it is desirable to change the absolute amount of insufflation by changing the output of the insufflation pump as described above, and since an endoscope for the upper gastrointestinal tract may be used for the large intestine. It is desirable that the insufflation rates for the large intestine and upper digestive tract are also the same.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an air supply pipe and a water supply pipe of an endoscope having a long insertion section.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an air supply pipe and a water supply pipe in an endoscope having a short insertion portion, showing the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view showing an air supply pipe and a water supply pipe in an endoscope having a small diameter insertion portion according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an air supply conduit and a water supply conduit in an endoscope having a short insertion portion according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing an example of an air supply / water supply switching valve.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention and is a diagram in which the present invention is applied to an endoscope capable of supplying gas.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a connecting portion for mounting the water supply tank on the base of the endoscope main body, showing a state before mounting.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a connecting portion for mounting the water supply tank on the mouthpiece of the endoscope body, showing a mounted state.

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic view of an endoscope system showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 5,18,20 Air supply line 6,19,21 Water supply line 9 Pump 11 Water supply tank 14,15 Insertion part

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An endoscope system in which first and second endoscopes of different models are exchange-connected to a common air supply means and / or a common water supply means, wherein one end of each endoscope is Air line at the other end,
Alternatively, the endoscope system is characterized in that the conduit resistance is made substantially the same in the water supply conduit and the flow rate per unit time is made substantially the same.