JP4338464B2 - Endoscope cleaning tool - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope cleaning tool for cleaning an opening that leads to a conduit provided inside a medical endoscope.

  Inside the medical endoscope, there are a treatment instrument insertion channel for inserting the treatment instrument into the distal end portion of the endoscope, a suction conduit for sucking filth in the body cavity from the distal end portion of the endoscope, and the endoscope. Various pipes are provided such as an air / water supply pipe for sending a cleaning liquid or air to an objective lens provided at the mirror tip. A cylinder having an opening serving as an inlet or outlet of the pipe is connected to the end of each pipe, and an operation button, a base, or the like is attached to the opening of the cylinder.

Such an endoscope needs to be kept clean by cleaning the entire endoscope after use for hygiene management. In particular, brushing cleaning is performed by brushing the inner wall of the pipeline and the inside of the cylinder, which are contaminated by the body fluid or chemical solution of the subject, using a cleaning brush (for example, see Patent Document 1). The cleaning brush used for the brushing cleaning can be reused after being subjected to a cleaning process, a disinfection process and a sterilization process after use.
JP-A-11-197093

  However, conventionally, it is difficult to distinguish between used cleaning brushes and unused or sterilized cleaning brushes, and there is a possibility that used cleaning brushes may be used again by mistake. When brushing cleaning is performed with a used cleaning brush, a sufficient cleaning effect cannot be obtained.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to obtain an endoscope cleaning tool that can easily discriminate between an unused portion and a used portion.

  The present invention is a cleaning tool for brushing and cleaning an opening portion that is provided with a plurality of cleaning brush bodies each having a brush portion and a grip portion to which the brush portion is fixed, and that leads to a conduit provided inside the endoscope. The grip portion of each cleaning brush body is provided with a connecting protrusion and a connecting hole for detachably holding the connecting protrusion of another cleaning brush across the axis of the grip portion. The cleaning brush bodies can be connected and separated freely by engaging and disengaging the connecting protrusions.

  The grip portion preferably has a substantially cylindrical shape so that the user can easily grip it. It is preferable that the connection protrusion has a spherical protrusion having a diameter smaller than that of the grip portion, for example, so that the connection protrusion can be easily engaged with and disengaged from the connection hole.

  According to another embodiment of the present invention, there are provided a plurality of cleaning brush bodies each having a brush portion and a grip portion to which the brush portion is fixed, and an opening leading to a conduit provided inside the endoscope is brushed and cleaned. A cleaning tool for cleaning, wherein the grip portion of each cleaning brush body sandwiches the axis of the grip portion and has a connecting protrusion formed long in a direction parallel to the axial direction, and other cleaning brush bodies A connecting groove for slidably holding the connecting protrusion in a direction parallel to the axial direction is provided, and the connection and separation of the cleaning brush body can be freely performed by engaging and disengaging the connecting groove and the connecting protrusion. It is a feature.

  In this aspect, it is preferable that the grip portion has a substantially cylindrical shape so that the user can easily grip the grip portion. The connecting protrusion is preferably formed in a substantially cylindrical shape having a smaller diameter than the grip portion, for example, so as not to increase the size of the grip portion when engaged with the connecting groove portion. More preferably, when a plurality of cleaning brush bodies are connected, all of the connecting protrusions are stored in the connecting groove.

  In each of the above aspects, the connection protrusion can be provided with a second brush portion that is different in size from the brush portion fixed to the grip portion, regarding the connection protrusion as the second grip portion. . The second brush portion preferably has a smaller diameter than the brush portion fixed to the grip portion. That is, when the brush portion fixed to the grip portion is a large-diameter brush used when brushing and cleaning a wide area range such as a cylinder inner wall, the second brush portion is brushing and cleaning a narrow area range such as an operation button or a base. A small-diameter brush used in If two brush portions having different outer sizes are provided as described above, the brush portions can be properly used depending on the cleaning portion, and the opening portions of various pipe lines can be easily covered with a single cleaning brush body. Can be washed.

  In a state where a plurality of cleaning brush bodies are connected, it is preferable that the brush portions of adjacent cleaning brush bodies are non-contact. If the adjacent brush parts are not in contact with each other, when the plurality of cleaning brush bodies are connected and stored, the brush parts do not bend or deform.

  It is preferable that the grip part and the connection protrusion part are formed of an elastic material or a resin, and it is more preferable that the grip part and the connection protrusion part are formed of the same material. If the grip portion and the grip connecting portion are made of the same material, the grip portion and the grip connecting portion can be integrally formed by a molding process, and a plurality of cleaning brush bodies can be formed at a time.

  According to the endoscope cleaning tool of the present invention, since the plurality of cleaning brush bodies can be individually connected and separated, the plurality of previously connected cleaning brush bodies are separated and brushed and cleaned in units of one unit. By using the cleaning brush body, it is possible to easily distinguish between a used cleaning brush body and an unused cleaning brush body. Thereby, it is possible to always perform brushing cleaning using a clean cleaning brush body, and it is possible to keep the opening leading to the conduit provided inside the endoscope clean.

  1 to 3 show an endoscope cleaning tool 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The endoscope cleaning tool 10 includes a plurality of cleaning brush bodies 11 used for cleaning openings (cylinder inner walls and caps) communicating with various pipes provided in the medical endoscope, and each cleaning brush body. 11 can be individually connected and separated. In the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the endoscope cleaning tool 10 includes five cleaning brush bodies 11.

  The cleaning brush body 11 includes a brush portion 12 having an elongated flexible shaft 12a, and a grip portion 13 fixed to the rear end portion of the flexible shaft 12a so that the user can hold the cleaning brush body 11 by hand. It is composed of

  The brush portion 12 includes a brush 12b formed at the tip end portion of the flexible shaft 12a by, for example, arranging flexible thin synthetic resin fibers radially around the axis. The diameter φ3 of the brush 12b is smaller than the diameter φ1 of the grip portion 13, and is appropriately set according to the opening that leads to the endoscope channel to be used. The brush 12b may be formed using various brush materials such as a sponge-like brush material. The flexible shaft 12a is formed by, for example, a synthetic resin tube or a coil pipe formed by closely winding a stainless steel wire in a spiral shape with a certain diameter. The length of the flexible shaft 12a is appropriately set according to the opening that leads to the endoscope channel to be used.

  The grip portion 13 has a substantially cylindrical shape so that the user can easily grip it, and the rear end portion of the flexible shaft 12a of the brush portion 12 is inserted into the front end surface so as to coincide with the central axis of the grip portion 13. It is fixed. The grip portion 13 is made of, for example, a metal material, an elastic material, or a resin. When the grip portion 13 is made of an elastic material or resin, it can be formed by a molding process.

  The grip portion 13 of the cleaning brush body 11 is provided with a connection protrusion 14a and a connection hole 14b for detachably holding the connection protrusion 14a of the other cleaning brush body 11 on both sides of the axis. It has been. The connecting portion 14 including the connecting protrusion 14 a and the connecting hole 14 b is arranged in a straight line in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the cleaning brush body 11. The connection protrusion 14a has a spherical protrusion formed with a diameter φ2 smaller than the diameter φ1 of the grip portion 13, and is engaged with a connection hole 14b formed with substantially the same diameter as the spherical protrusion. Then, it is stored in the grip part 13. Similarly to the grip part 13, the connection protrusion part 14a is formed of a metal material, an elastic material, or a resin. When this connection protrusion part 14a and the grip part 13 are formed with the same elastic material or resin, they can be integrally formed by a molding process.

  Each cleaning brush body 11 is individually connected and separated from the other cleaning brush bodies 11 by the engagement and detachment of the connecting protrusions 14a and the connection holes 14b. Specifically, when the other cleaning brush body 11 is connected to one cleaning brush body 11, the connection protrusion 14 a of the other cleaning brush body 11 is pushed into the connection hole 14 b of the one cleaning brush body 11. That's fine. In the state where a plurality of cleaning brush bodies 11 are connected, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the connecting protrusion 14a of the cleaning brush body 11 on one end side is exposed, and the connecting hole of the cleaning brush body 11 on the other end side is exposed. 14b remains hollow. At this time, since the outer shape of the brush 12b is formed smaller than the grip portion 13 as described above (φ1> φ3), the brush 12b of the adjacent cleaning brush body 11 is non-contact, and the brush 12b is bent and bent. There is no deformation. Conversely, when separating the other cleaning brush body 11 from one cleaning brush body 11, the connection protrusion 14 a of the other cleaning brush body 11 is pulled in the direction of the arrow in the drawing, and the connection hole of the one cleaning brush body 11 is connected. It is sufficient to exit from 14b.

  The endoscope cleaning tool 10 is stored in a state where a plurality of cleaning brush bodies 11 are connected, and when performing brushing cleaning, the cleaning brush body is one by one from the plurality of connected cleaning brush bodies 11. 11 is used separately. After the pipe opening (cylinder inner wall, base, etc.) is washed with the washing brush body 11 taken out, the used washing brush body 11 is discarded or subjected to disinfection and sterilization treatment and reused. In the case of reuse, after each sterilization process, each cleaning brush body 11 is connected again and stored. As described above, in the present embodiment, the cleaning brush body 11 is separated from the plurality of connected cleaning brush bodies 11 in units of one unit, so that the cleaning brush body 11 existing by one is used. Yes, it can be easily determined that the connected cleaning brush body 11 is unused (disinfected and sterilized). Therefore, there is no possibility that the used cleaning brush body 11 will be reused by mistake, and the brushing cleaning can always be performed using the clean cleaning brush body 11.

  Further, in this embodiment, the cleaning brush body 11 can be easily connected and separated by engaging / disengaging the connecting protrusion 14a and the connecting hole 14b provided in each cleaning brush body 11, and an arbitrary number of cleaning brush bodies can be separated. 11 can be connected. Further, if each cleaning brush body 11 can be connected and separated, there is an advantage that it is not complicated when storing a large number of cleaning brush bodies 11.

  In the first embodiment described above, the cleaning brush body 11 may be a disposable type or a reuse type. In the case of a reuse type, disinfection and sterilization treatment is necessary after use as described above, but it can be used over and over again. In the case of the disposable type, as described above, it is disposed of after use, but the cost can be reduced if the grip portion 13 and the connecting projection portion 14a are formed of an inexpensive elastic material or resin. Moreover, if the grip part 13 and the connection protrusion part 14a are formed with the same elastic material and resin, the several washing | cleaning brush body 11 can be easily obtained at once by a formation process, and a manufacturing process will be simplified.

  4 to 6 show an endoscope cleaning tool 20 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, instead of the connecting portion 14 (the connecting protrusion 14 a and the connecting hole 14 b) of the first embodiment, the connecting protrusion 24 a and the connecting protrusion 24 are arranged with respect to the axial direction of the cleaning brush body 11. In this embodiment, a connecting portion 24 having a connecting groove portion 24b that is slidably held in a parallel direction is provided, and the cleaning brush body 11 can be connected and disconnected by engaging and disengaging the connecting groove portion 24b and the connecting protrusion portion 24a. is there. The configuration other than the connecting portion 24 is the same as that of the first embodiment described above. 4 to 6, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 are given to components having substantially the same functions as those in the first embodiment.

  The pair of connecting protrusions 24 a and the connecting groove 24 b are provided on both sides with the axis of the grip portion 13 in between. The connecting protrusion 24 a is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape that is long in a direction parallel to the axial direction of the cleaning brush body 11, and its diameter φ4 is smaller than the diameter φ1 of the grip portion 13. The connecting groove 24b is a slide groove having a space for slidably holding the connecting protrusion 24a, and is formed corresponding to the diameter φ4 and the length of the connecting protrusion 24a. The connecting groove 24b is provided with a restriction groove α that restricts the sliding movement of the connecting protrusion 24a. When the connecting protrusion 24a and the connecting groove 24b are completely engaged with the restriction groove α, the connecting protrusion 24a abuts. In the present embodiment, when the connecting protrusion 24 a and the connecting groove 24 b are completely engaged, the connecting protrusion 24 a is accommodated in the grip portion 13. The connection protrusion 24a is formed of a metal material, an elastic material, or a resin, like the grip portion 13. When this connection protrusion part 24a and the grip part 13 are formed with the same elastic material or resin, they can be integrally formed by a molding process.

  Each cleaning brush body 11 is individually connected and separated from the other cleaning brush bodies 11 by the engagement and detachment of the connecting protrusion 24a and the connecting groove 24b. Specifically, when connecting the other cleaning brush body 11 to one cleaning brush body 11, the connection protrusion 24a of the other cleaning brush body 11 is engaged with the connection groove 24b of one cleaning brush body 11, What is necessary is just to slide the other washing | cleaning brush body 11 to an axial direction to the position where the connection protrusion part 24a contacts the control part (alpha) of the connection groove part 24b with this engagement state. The arrow direction shown in FIG. 6 is the moving direction of the cleaning brush body 11. In a state where the plurality of cleaning brush bodies 11 are connected, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the connecting protrusion 24 a of the cleaning brush body 11 on one end side is exposed, and the cleaning brush body 11 on the other end side is exposed. The connecting groove 24b remains a cavity. At this time, as described above, since the outer shape of the brush 12b is formed smaller than the grip portion 13 (φ1> φ3), the brushes 12b of the adjacent cleaning brush bodies 11 are not in contact with each other, and the brush 12b is bent and bent. There is no deformation. Conversely, when separating the other cleaning brush body 11 from one cleaning brush body 11, the one or other cleaning brush body 11 may be slid in the axial direction thereof.

  Also according to the second embodiment described above, the used cleaning brush body 11 and the unused cleaning brush body 11 can be easily discriminated similarly to the first embodiment. Therefore, there is no possibility that the used cleaning brush body 11 will be reused by mistake, and the brushing cleaning can always be performed using the clean cleaning brush body 11.

  7 and 8 show an endoscope cleaning tool 30 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The third embodiment uses the connecting protrusion 24a as the second grip portion in the second embodiment described above, and the outer shape of the brush portion 12 (referred to as the first brush portion 12 in this embodiment) provided on the grip portion 13 is the third embodiment. It is an embodiment provided with a different second brush portion 32. The configuration other than providing the second brush portion 32 is substantially the same as that of the second embodiment described above. 7 and 8, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 4 are given to components having substantially the same functions as those in the second embodiment.

  The second brush portion 32 is fixed to the end portion in the axial direction of the connecting protruding portion 24b, and is a small-diameter brush used when, for example, a narrow area range such as an operation button or a base attached to the pipe opening is brushed and washed. It is. In the second brush portion 32, the flexible shaft 32 a is shorter than the flexible shaft 12 a of the first brush portion 12, and the outer diameter φ5 of the brush 32 b is smaller than the brush 12 b and the grip portion 13 of the first brush portion 12. ing. On the other hand, the 1st brush part 12 fixed to the grip part 13 is the same structure as 2nd Embodiment mentioned above, for example, is a large diameter brush used when carrying out the brushing washing | cleaning of wide area ranges, such as a cylinder inner wall. The first brush portion 12 and the second brush portion 32 of each cleaning brush body 11 are provided in parallel to the axial direction of the cleaning brush body 11. In contrast to the present embodiment, the first brush portion 12 may be a small-diameter brush and the second brush portion 32 may be a large-diameter brush.

  When the plurality of cleaning brush bodies 11 are connected, the connecting protrusion 24a that fixes the second brush portion 32 is held by the connecting groove 24b, so that the first brush portion 12 and the second brush of the adjacent cleaning brush bodies 11 are retained. The parts 13 are provided at both ends of the grip part 13 in the axial direction. That is, the cleaning brush body 11 is held in a straight line in the axial direction. At this time, since the adjacent first brush portion 12 and the adjacent second brush portion 32 are not in contact with each other, the first brush portion 12 and the second brush portion 32 are not bent or deformed.

  If the first brush portion 12 and the second brush portion 32 are provided as in the third embodiment, the first brush portion 12 and the second brush portion 32 can be used properly depending on the cleaning part. The cleaning brush body 11 can easily clean the openings of various pipelines to every corner. Thereby, the time required for the brushing cleaning can be shortened. In the third embodiment, since the second brush portion 32 is provided on the connecting protrusion 24a for connecting and separating the cleaning brush bodies 11, a grip portion for fixing the second brush portion 32 is newly provided. There is no need to provide it, and cost reduction and space saving can be achieved. Further, when a plurality of cleaning brush bodies 11 are connected, the first brush portion 12 and the second brush portion 32 of the adjacent cleaning brush bodies 11 are arranged in a line in the axial direction of the grip portion 13, so that it is troublesome when storing. Never become.

  Of course, according to the third embodiment, the used cleaning brush body 11 and the unused cleaning brush body 11 can be easily discriminated, and the brushing cleaning can always be performed using the clean cleaning brush body 11.

  According to each of the embodiments described above, since the plurality of cleaning brush bodies 11 can be individually connected and separated, the plurality of cleaning brush bodies 11 are connected during storage, and the connected plurality of cleaning brush bodies 11 are connected. If used separately for brushing cleaning, it can be easily determined that the cleaning brush body 11 existing in one is used, and the connected cleaning brush body 11 is unused. If there is, it can be easily determined. Therefore, there is no possibility that the used cleaning brush body 11 is reused, and it is possible to always perform the brushing cleaning using the clean cleaning brush body 11.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the cleaning brush body 11 is made connectable and separable by using the engagement / disengagement structure of the connection protrusion 14a and the connection hole 14b or the slide structure of the connection protrusion 24a and the connection groove 24b. Accordingly, the cleaning brush body 11 can be easily connected and separated. Moreover, since there is no restriction | limiting in the number of the cleaning brush bodies 11 which can be connected, the cleaning brush bodies 11 can be connected beforehand as many as needed. Furthermore, if many cleaning brush bodies 11 are connected and stored, the advantage that each cleaning brush body 11 will not become complicated will be acquired.

Each of the above embodiments is applicable to both the disposable type and the reuse type. The reusable cleaning brush body 11 requires disinfection and sterilization after use, but can be used over and over again. Although the disposable cleaning brush body 11 is discarded after use, the inexpensive cleaning brush body 11 can be provided by forming the grip portion 13 and the connecting projection portion 14a with an inexpensive elastic material or resin. .

It is a top view which shows the cleaning tool for endoscopes by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the II-II line of FIG. It is a schematic plan view explaining a mode that a cleaning brush body is connected or separated from the cleaning tool for endoscopes of FIG. It is a top view which shows the cleaning tool for endoscopes by 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the VV line of FIG. It is a schematic plan view explaining a mode that a cleaning brush body is connected or separated from the cleaning tool for endoscopes of FIG. It is a top view which shows the cleaning tool for endoscopes by 3rd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the endoscope cleaning tool of FIG. 7 as viewed from below (bottom surface).

Explanation of symbols

10 20 30 Endoscope cleaning tool 11 Cleaning brush body 12 Brush part (first brush part)
12a Flexible shaft 12b Brush 13 Grip part 14 24 Connection part 14a Connection protrusion part 14b Connection hole 24a Connection protrusion part 24b Connection groove part 32 Second brush part 32a Flexible shaft 32b Brush

Claims (10)

A cleaning tool comprising a plurality of cleaning brush bodies each having a brush portion and a grip portion to which the brush portion is fixed, and for brushing and cleaning an opening leading to a conduit provided inside the endoscope,
The grip portion of each cleaning brush body is provided with a connecting protrusion and a connecting hole for detachably holding the connecting protrusion of another cleaning brush across the axis of the grip portion. An endoscope cleaning tool, wherein the cleaning brush bodies can be connected and disconnected freely by engaging and disengaging the connecting protrusions. The endoscope cleaning tool according to claim 1, wherein the grip portion has a substantially cylindrical shape, and the connection protrusion has a spherical protrusion having a smaller diameter than the grip portion. A cleaning tool comprising a plurality of cleaning brush bodies having a brush portion and a grip portion to which the brush portion is fixed, and a brushing cleaning device for cleaning an opening leading to a pipe line provided inside the endoscope,
The grip portion of each cleaning brush body has a connecting protrusion formed long in a direction parallel to the axial direction across the axis of the grip portion, and the connecting protrusion is parallel to the axial direction. An endoscope cleaning tool, characterized in that a connecting groove portion slidably held in a direction is provided, and the cleaning brush body can be connected and separated by engagement / disengagement of the connecting groove portion and the connecting projection portion. . The endoscope cleaning tool according to claim 3, wherein the grip portion has a substantially cylindrical shape, and the connection protrusion is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape having a smaller diameter than the grip portion. . 5. The endoscope cleaning tool according to claim 4, wherein when the plurality of cleaning brush bodies are connected, all of the connection protrusions are stored in the connection groove portion. The endoscope cleaning tool according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a second brush portion having an outer shape different from that of the brush portion fixed to the grip portion is connected to the connection projecting portion. Endoscope cleaning tool comprising: The endoscope cleaning tool according to claim 6, wherein the second brush portion fixed to the connection protrusion has a smaller diameter than the brush portion fixed to the grip portion. The endoscope cleaning tool according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein when the plurality of cleaning brush bodies are connected, the brush portions of the adjacent cleaning brush bodies are not in contact with each other. Cleaning tool. The endoscope cleaning tool according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the grip portion and the connection protrusion are formed of an elastic material or a resin. The endoscope cleaning tool according to claim 9, wherein the grip portion and the connection protrusion are formed of the same material.

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