JPS6250144B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improvement in an air/water supply operating device for an endoscope that can selectively send air, nonflammable gas, or water into a body cavity.

When observing the inside of a body cavity with an endoscope, it is necessary to inflate the inside of the body cavity to some extent, so air is pumped into the body cavity. Furthermore, when observing the inside of a body cavity, mucus and the like adhere to the observation window, making observation impossible, so in such a case, the mucus and the like are washed off with water. moreover,
When a high-frequency treatment instrument is introduced into a body cavity through an endoscope channel and the affected area is treated with high frequency, explosive gas generated from food residue in the large intestine may be generated, especially if the affected area is the large intestine. For example, since there is a risk of methane gas igniting and causing an explosion, it is necessary to send a nonflammable gas such as carbon dioxide into the body cavity to replace the explosive gas in the body cavity with nonflammable gas.

For this reason, conventional endoscopes have a first pipe line that sends normal air to a universal cord, one end of which is connected to the operating section and the other end of which is connected to the supply device, and a first pipe line that sends nonflammable gas. A second pipe line for sending water and a water pipe line for sending water are provided, and the operating section is provided with a first switching valve, a second switching valve, and a third switching valve. By operating the first switching valve, the first channel is connected to the third channel provided in the insertion section of the endoscope, and by operating the second switching valve, the first channel is connected to the third channel provided in the insertion section of the endoscope. The second pipe line is connected to the third pipe line, and by operating the third switching valve, the water supply pipe line is connected to the third pipe line. It was designed to allow selective delivery of gas or water.

By the way, according to such a configuration, the operating section must be provided with relatively large first, second, and third switching valves, which may result in an increase in size and weight of the operating section, or may cause the operating section to be There were problems with operability, such as the presence of three switching valves, which could easily lead to operational errors. Further, by providing the three conduits in the universal cord, the diameter of the universal cord increases, resulting in problems such as difficulty in operating the endoscope while bending the universal cord.

This invention was made based on the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to reduce the size and weight of the operating section without providing many switching valves in the operating section, and to provide a universal cord with two pipe lines. air and water supply operations for endoscopes, which allows one pipe line to be used selectively as a passage for air or nonflammable gas, reducing the diameter of the universal cord and improving operability. The goal is to provide equipment.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. 1 in FIG. 1 is an endoscope. In this endoscope 1, a rear end of an insertion section 3 is connected to an operating section 2, and a curved section 4 and a distal end forming section 5 are sequentially provided at the distal end of the insertion section 3. A universal cord 6 is connected to the operating section 2 at one end, and a plug 7 is installed at the other end of the universal cord 6. The plug 7 has an end tube 8 containing an end portion of a light guide fiber bundle (not shown) and first and second inlet bodies 9, 10 protruding from the plug 7. The plug 7 is detachably connected to the plug receiver 12 of the supply device 11. This plug receiver 12 has a receiving hole 13 into which the end pipe 8 is fitted.
and first and second discharge ports 14 and 15 into which the first and second blow-in ports 9 and 10 are fitted. Furthermore, the supply device 11 is provided with a power switch 16 and a changeover switch 17 for switching the supply of air and nonflammable gas as described later, and is also a nonflammable gas supply source.
_CO2 cylinder 18 and water tank 19 which is a water supply source
is connected thereto, and further includes an air supply pump 20 (shown in FIG. 2) which is an air supply source.

The CO ₂ cylinder 18, water tank 19 and air pump 20 are connected to various devices within the supply device 11 as shown in FIG. That is, a first pipe line 21 is connected to the air pump 20, and a second pipe line 22 is connected to the CO ₂ cylinder 18. A pressurizing pipe 23 is connected from the first pipe line 21.
The pressurizing pipe 23 is connected to the water tank 19. Further, a first water supply pipe line 24 is connected to the water tank 19, and pressurized air is sent into the water tank 19 from the pressurizing pipe 23, so that pressurized air is sent from the first water supply pipe line 24 to the water tank 19. The water inside is now flowing out. The second conduit 22 has an electromagnetic first on-off valve 25 , the first water supply conduit 24 has an electromagnetic second on-off valve 26 , and the first conduit 21 has an electromagnetic second on-off valve 25 . Three on-off valves 27 are provided, respectively. Further, the first pipe line 21 and the second pipe line 22 have first and third on-off valves 25,
An electromagnetic four-port switching valve 28 is installed after the valve 27. That is, the first pipe line 21 is connected to the normally open port of the third on-off valve 27, and the water supply pipe line 24
is connected to the normally closed port of the second on-off valve 26, and the second pipe line 22 is connected to the normally closed port of the first on-off valve 25. Furthermore, the switching valve 28 has a normally open port connected to a first pipe line 21 and a normally closed port connected to a second pipe line 22. This switching valve 2
A leak pipe 29 is connected to the outlet side of the normally closed port 8, and a communication pipe 30 is connected to the outlet side of the normally open port. Therefore, by operating the switching valve 28, the second pipe line 22 is connected to the communication pipe 30, and the first pipe line 22 is connected to the communication pipe 30.
A pipe line 21 is connected to a leak pipe 29.

Further, the end of the communication pipe 30 is connected to the first discharge port 14, and the end of the first water supply pipe 24 is connected to the second discharge port 15. By fitting the first and second inlet bodies 9 and 10 into the first and second discharge ports 14 and 15, the communication pipe 30 is connected to a third pipe built into the universal cord 6. It is connected to a fourth conduit 32 provided in the insertion section 3 of the endoscope 1 via a channel 31, and the first water supply conduit 24 is built-in from the universal cord 6 to the insertion section 3. a second water supply pipe 3 communicating with the fourth pipe 32 at the tip thereof;
It is now connected to 3.

The third conduit 31 and the fourth conduit 32 are connected at the operating section 2 of the endoscope 1, and this section is provided with a switching mechanism 34, which will be described later.
A check valve 35 that restricts the flow of fluid through the conduit 32 only in the direction indicated by the arrow in the figure is interposed.

The switching mechanism 34 is constructed as shown in FIG. That is, an accommodation recess 36 is formed on the inner surface of the operating section 2, and the third
The ends of the conduit 31 are connected. At the end of this third pipe line 31, there is a first pipe body 38 that forms a leak hole 37 that communicates the third pipe line 31 with the atmosphere.
is inserted so that it can slide freely. A flange 39 is formed on the first tube 38 , and the first tube 39 is disposed between one end surface of the flange 39 and the bottom surface of the accommodation recess 36 .
A first spring 40 is provided that biases 8 in the protruding direction. Further, a second tube 41 is slidably fitted into the first tube 38, and the second tube 41 is protruded by a second spring 42 which is weaker than the first spring 40. biased in the direction. Furthermore, a presser body 4 is provided at the opening of the accommodation recess 36 to prevent the first and second tube bodies 38 and 41 from being pulled out.
3 is screwed onto the presser body 43, and the first and second tube bodies 38, 41 protrude from a through hole 44 formed in the presser body 43. Note that, in the protruding end portions of these tubes 38 and 41, the end surface of the first tube 38 is located inside the end surface of the second tube 41. Further, the end surface of the second tube body 41 located within the accommodation recess 36 and the other end surface of the collar 39 are separated by a distance l ₁ . Further, a stepped portion 45 is formed on the inner circumferential surface of the accommodation recess 36 to restrict the amount of movement of the collar 39 to l ₂ .

On the other hand, an actuating rod 46 is provided protruding from the end surface of the second tube 41. This actuating rod 46 projects from the bottom surface of the receiving recess 36, and a first protrusion 47 and a second protrusion 48 are provided at the protruding end. A first microswitch 49 and a second microswitch 50 are arranged opposite these first and second protrusions 47 and 48. And the second
When the actuating rod 46 is displaced by l ₁ by pushing in the tube 41, the first micro switch 49 is turned on by the first protrusion 47, and the first micro switch 49 is turned on together with the second tube 41. 38 is pushed in to displace the actuating rod 46 _{by l2} , the first micro switch 49 is turned off and the second micro switch 50 is turned on.

The first and second micro switches 49, 50
is a control circuit 5 provided in the supply device 11
1 is electrically connected to. This control circuit 51
The first, second and third on-off valves 25, 26,
27 and a third microswitch 52 are connected. This third micro switch 52 is
It turns ON and OFF according to the operation of the switching valve 28. That is, when the changeover switch 17 of the supply device 11 is switched to the nonflammable gas side, the changeover valve 28 is operated, and the operation of the changeover valve 28 turns on the third micro switch 52 on its operating shaft 28a. There is. When this third microswitch 52 and the first microswitch 49 are turned on and these signals are input to the control circuit 51, the first
A signal is output to the first on-off valve 25, and this first on-off valve 25 is activated. Further, when the second micro switch 50 is activated and its signal is input to the control circuit 51, a signal is output to the second and third on-off valves 26 and 27, and these on-off valves 26 and 27 are activated. I'm starting to do that.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained. First, when the power switch 16 is turned on with the changeover switch 17 set to the air side, the air pump 20 is activated and compressed air is discharged into the first pipe line 21. The compressed air discharged into the first pipe line 21 is transferred to the normally open port of the third on-off valve 27 and the switching valve 28.
It reaches the third pipe line 31 through the normally open port and the communication pipe 30, and flows out into the atmosphere from the leak hole 37 communicating with the end of the third pipe line 31. Here, when the operator closes the leak hole 37 with his/her fingers, the compressed air flowing into the third conduit 31 flows into the fourth conduit 32 connected to this third conduit 31, and the The valve 35 is pushed open and the liquid flows out from the distal end portion 5 of the insertion portion 3 where the open end of the fourth conduit 32 is located. Note that when closing the leak hole 37 with fingers, the first tube body 41 may be pressed and the first micro switch 49 may be activated, but even if the first micro switch 49 is activated, the first tube body 41 may be pressed. Since the third micro switch 52 is not operated by the switching valve 28, the first on-off valve 2 is not operated from the control circuit 51.
No signal is output to 5.

On the other hand, if it is desired to replace the inside of the body cavity with CO ₂ gas, the changeover switch 17 is switched to the nonflammable gas side. Simultaneously with the operation of the changeover switch 17, the changeover valve 28 is activated so that the first pipe line 21 is connected to the leak pipe 29.
The second pipe line 22 is connected to the communication pipe 30 and the third micro switch 52 is turned on.
do. Next, when the operator presses the second tube 41 while closing the leak hole 37, this operation causes the first protrusion 47 of the actuating rod 46 to turn on the first micro switch 49. Then, since the signals from the first microswitch 49 and the third microswitch 52 are input to the control circuit 51, the signals from the first on-off valve 2 are inputted from the control circuit 51.
5, the on-off valve 25 operates to release the second pipe line 22 from the blocked state. Therefore, the CO ₂ gas flowing from the CO ₂ cylinder 18 into the second pipe line 22 flows through the switching valve 28 , the communication pipe 30 and the third pipe line 22 .
The gas flows through the pipe 31 into the fourth pipe 32, flows out from the fourth pipe 32 into the body cavity, and replaces the inside of the body cavity with CO ₂ gas. At this time, if you lift a part of your finger from the leak hole 37 and slightly open the leak hole 37 while pressing the second tube 41, CO ₂ gas will flow out from the leak hole 37. From this, the amount of CO ₂ gas delivered into the body cavity can be adjusted.

Next, when water is to be fed, the second tube 41 that has been pushed in by l ₁ is further pushed in, and together with this second tube 41, the first tube 38 is displaced by a distance l ₂ . Since the actuating rod 46 is linked to the displacement of the second tube 41, after the first protrusion 47 is disengaged from the first micro switch 49 and this micro switch 49 is turned off, the second protrusion 48
As a result, the second micro switch 50 is turned on. When this second microswitch 50 is turned on, the signal is input to the control circuit 51, so the control circuit 51 outputs a signal to the second on-off valve 26 and the third on-off valve 27, and these The on-off valves 26 and 27 operate. When the second on-off valve 26 operates, the first water supply pipe line 24 is released from the blocked state, and when the third on-off valve 27 operates, the first pipe line 21 is cut off. Then, the first
The compressed air discharged from the air pump 20 into the pipe 21 flows into the pressurizing pipe 23, so the water tank 19 is pressurized and the water stored in this water tank 19 flows into the first water pipe 24. flows. The water flowing into the first water pipe 24 is then transferred to the second water pipe 33.
The liquid flows into the fourth conduit 32 through the fourth conduit 32, flows out from the tip component 5 where the open end of the fourth conduit 32 is located, and washes an observation window (not shown) provided in the tip component 5. do.

During such air and water supply operations, the switching mechanism 34
The first spring 40 that biased the first tubular body 38 and the second spring 42 that biased the second tubular body 41 have different strengths. When displacing the rod 46, this actuating rod 46
Since the operating force is greatly different when displacing the air by l ₁ and when displacing it further from l ₁ by l ₂ , there is no chance of turning on the second micro switch 50 during the air supply operation. Also, when performing air supply operation, the first micro switch 49 is turned OFF.
Therefore, there is no problem whether the changeover switch 17 of the supply device 11 is placed on the air side or the nonflammable gas side. Furthermore, the second water pipe 33
The water flowing into the fourth pipe line 32 from the check valve 35
Since the flow toward the third pipe line 31 is blocked by the flow, there is no possibility of a backflow to the supply device 11.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. In this embodiment, the first protrusion 47 of the actuating rod 46 is lengthened as shown in FIG.
When turned on, the first micro switch 49
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. Established. The fourth on-off valve 53 has a normally open port and a semi-open port, and is connected to the first conduit 21 via the normally open port. The fourth on-off valve 53 is electrically connected to a control circuit 51, and is activated by inputting a signal from the second microswitch 50 to the control circuit 51.

According to such a configuration, when the changeover switch 17 is set to the air side when performing the water supply operation, the first and second microswitches 49,
50 are both turned on, the fourth on-off valve 53 is operated and its half-open port is connected to the first pipe line 2.
1, the compressed air discharged from the air pump 20 flows from the first pipe line 21 to the fourth pipe line 21.
on-off valve 53, third on-off valve 27, switching valve 28,
The flow is divided into a flow flowing to the fourth pipe line 32 via the communication pipe 30 and the third pipe line 31 and a flow flowing to the pressurizing pipe 23. Therefore, air can be discharged from the fourth pipe line 32 at the same time as water is supplied.

On the other hand, when the changeover switch 17 is switched to the nonflammable gas side and a water supply operation is performed, the changeover valve 28 is actuated by this switching operation, the third micro switch 52 is turned on, and the first and second micro When the switches 49 and 50 are turned on, the first, second, third, and fourth on-off valves 25, 26, 2
7,53 is activated. Then, the CO ₂ gas from the CO ₂ cylinder 18 flows through the first on-off valve 25, the switching valve 28,
The fourth pipe line 3 via the communication pipe 30 and the third pipe line 31
On the other hand, the compressed air discharged from the air supply pump 20 is blocked from flowing through the first pipe line 21 by the third switching valve 27 and flows to the pressurizing pipe 23, so that the water tank 19 is not pressurized. Press. Therefore, the fourth
CO ₂ gas can be discharged from the pipe line 32 at the same time as water is supplied.

That is, according to this second embodiment, it is possible to send air or CO ₂ gas into the body cavity while performing the cleaning operation, which improves the workability.Moreover, since air is sent at the same time as water, the gas is It is possible to effectively remove water droplets adhering to observation windows and the like.

It should be noted that the same parts in the second embodiment as in the first embodiment are given the same symbols and the description thereof will be omitted.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments; for example, air and water may not be fed by one air pump, but may be carried out by separate means. Furthermore, instead of switching the switching valve with the switching switch of the supply device, a switch may be provided in the operating section so that the switching operation of the switching valve can be performed.

As described above, the present invention connects an endoscope and a supply device through a water supply pipe and a third pipe, and a first pipe to which an air supply pump is connected to the third pipe. The second pipe line connected to the nonflammable gas supply source can be selectively communicated with the second pipe line. Therefore, the first conduit and the second conduit can be connected to the endoscope using only one third conduit, instead of two as in the conventional method. Since it is not necessary to incorporate the pipe line into the universal cord, the diameter of the universal cord can be reduced accordingly. Therefore, it becomes easier to operate the endoscope while bending the universal cord. In addition, by closing the leak hole provided in the endoscope operating section, it is possible to switch between sending air, nonflammable gas, or water. There is no need to set up Therefore, the small size of the operating section,
Since the weight can be reduced, this has many practical advantages, such as improving the operability of the endoscope.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a pipeline system showing fluid flow, FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing a switching mechanism, and FIG. 4 and 5 show other embodiments of the invention, with FIG. 4 being an enlarged sectional view of the switching mechanism;
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a pipe system showing fluid flow. 1... Endoscope, 2... Operation section, 3... Insertion section,
6... Universal cord, 11... Supply device,
18... CO ₂ cylinder (nonflammable gas supply source), 19
...Water tank (water supply source), 20 ...Air pump,
21...first pipe line, 22...second pipe line, 24
...First water supply pipeline, 25...First on-off valve, 2
6...Second on-off valve, 28...Switching valve, 31...
Third pipe line, 32...Fourth pipe line, 33...Second pipe line
water supply pipe, 34... switching mechanism, 37... leak hole, 46... operating rod, 49... first micro switch, 50... second micro switch.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A first pipeline connected to an air pump, a second pipeline connected to a nonflammable gas supply source, and a first water pipeline connected to a water supply source. , a first on-off valve provided in the second pipe and normally closed and open when activated; and a second on-off valve provided in the first water pipe and normally closed and opened when activated. an on-off valve, a third on-off valve that is provided in the first conduit and is normally open and closed when activated, and selectively connects either the first or second conduit to the communication pipe. a third pipe line connected to the communication pipe of the fluid supply apparatus; one end connected to the first water supply pipe line and the other end connected to the outside; a second water supply conduit opened to the atmosphere, a leak hole means operable to push the third conduit into communication with the atmosphere by an operating section, and a leak hole means having one end communicated with the third conduit and the other end connected to the atmosphere; It consists of a fourth conduit opening to the outside, a first switch that is turned ON when the leak hole means is closed, and a second switch that is turned ON when the leak hole means is pressed while being closed. and an endoscope connected to a supply device, the first on-off valve is opened when the first switch is turned on, and the first on-off valve is opened when the second switch is turned on.
An air/water supply operating device for an endoscope, wherein the second on-off valve is opened and the third on-off valve is closed.