JPS6255859B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an endoscope that is effective for disinfection such as autoclaving.

For example, known methods for disinfecting endoscopes include chemical disinfection and autoclaving.

By the way, the main body of the endoscope has an airtight structure. Therefore, in order to autoclave this endoscope, a pressure that varies from near vacuum to about 2 atmospheres is applied to the body of the endoscope.
The body is damaged by the pressure difference between its interior and exterior.

Therefore, in the past, the pressure between the inside and outside of the body was maintained at the same level when the body was autoclaved by making a hole in the body or providing a hole in the hole, thereby preventing damage to the body. Efforts were being made to prevent this. However, a device in which a through hole is simply formed in the main body has the disadvantage that when the main body is immersed in a chemical liquid when disinfecting the main body, the chemical liquid flows into the main body. On the other hand, if the hole is equipped with a hole, it is possible to prevent the chemical from flowing into the body by closing the hole, but when performing autoclaving, the hole must be opened.
There is the hassle of having to open and close the pot each time, and there is also the risk that the pot may be forgotten to close when disinfecting with a chemical solution, causing the chemical solution to flow into the main body.

This invention was made based on the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a through hole in the main body, provide a valve body in the through hole, and enable the valve body to open the through hole in response to temperature changes. To provide an endoscope that opens and closes to automatically keep the inside of the body at the same pressure as the outside when the body is autoclaved, thereby preventing damage to the body. be.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. In the figure, 1 is the main body of the endoscope. This main body 1 has a curved portion 2 and a tip forming portion 3 at the tip.
a flexible tube 5 in which the operating section 4 is provided at the rear end thereof, and a connector 6 connected to the operating section 4.
It consists of. The operating portion 4 is provided with a through hole 7 that communicates the inside and outside thereof. A protrusion 8 is provided protrudingly on the inner surface of the operating portion 4 near the through hole 7.
This protrusion 8 has a bimetal 9 attached to one end with a screw 1.
0, and the other end is provided facing the through hole 7. This bimetal 9 is made by pasting together a first metal plate 9a and a second metal plate 9b, and the first metal plate 9a located on the through hole 7 side is larger than the second metal plate 9b. Large coefficient of thermal expansion. Therefore,
When this bimetal 9 is heated, it curves and deforms so that its free end moves away from the through hole 7. Also,
One end of a connecting shaft 11 is fixed to the other end of the bimetal 9, and the other end of the connecting shaft 11 closes the through hole 7 when the bimetal 9 is at room temperature.
Valve body 1 made of, for example, an elastic material
2 is provided.

When the endoscope main body 1 having the above-mentioned structure is to be autoclaved, for example, the main body 1 is placed in an airtight container (not shown), the inside of this container is preheated, and then high-pressure steam is introduced into the container. When the main body 1 is disinfected, the pressure inside the container becomes negative and then rises to about 2 atmospheres. Therefore, a pressure difference occurs between the inside and outside of the main body 1, and there is a risk of damage due to this pressure difference.

However, in this invention, a through hole 7 is formed in the operating portion 4 of the main body 1, and this through hole 7 is closed by a valve body 12 attached to a bimetal 9 when the main body 1 is at room temperature. I did it like that. Therefore, when the inside of the container is preheated and the temperature of the main body 1 rises, the bimetal 9 deforms into a curve as shown in FIG. The inside and outside communicate. Therefore, even if the temperature inside the main body 1 rises, the main body 1 will not be damaged due to a pressure difference between the inside and outside of the main body 1. After the above preheating,
After the inside of the container is evacuated to a negative pressure, high-pressure steam is supplied and the pressure is increased to about 2 atmospheres, but at this time as well, the bimetal 9 is in a curved and deformed state as shown in Fig. 3. The pressure inside and outside of the main body 1 is the same, so that the main body 1 is not damaged.

That is, according to the endoscope having the above configuration, the main body 1
Since the internal and external pressures of the main body 1 are automatically adjusted to the same pressure due to temperature changes acting on the main body 1, autoclaving of the main body 1 can be carried out without damaging the main body 1. Moreover, when the main body 1 is at approximately room temperature, the bimetal 9 does not deform,
Since the through hole 7 is closed by the valve body 12, no chemical liquid will flow into the main body 1 from the through hole 7 when disinfecting with a chemical liquid at room temperature or a temperature lower than that.

Note that this invention is not limited to the above embodiment,
For example, a configuration as shown in FIG. 4 may be used. That is, the through hole 13 is located at the free end of the bimetal 9.
A valve body 12' is movably provided in the through hole 13. This valve body 12' has a valve part 15 at the upper end of the shaft part 14 and a flange 16 at the other end.
The shaft portion 14 is inserted into the through hole 13 so that the shaft portion 5 faces the through hole 7.
Insert into. In addition, the valve portion 15 and the bimetal 9
A spring 17 is interposed between the valve body 12' and the valve body 12' to urge the valve body 12' so that the valve portion 5 closes the through hole 7. This configuration has the advantage that the through hole 7 is reliably closed by the valve body 12' when the bimetal 9 is not bent.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the bimetal 9 and the valve body 1
2 are provided on the inner surface of the operating section 4, but the bimetal 9 and the valve body 12 may be provided on the outer surface of the operating section 4. With such a configuration, the bimetal 9 can respond quickly to temperature changes. can do.

Furthermore, the endoscope according to the present invention is also useful for industrial purposes such as inspection inside a boiler.

Further, in the above embodiment, the through hole 7 and the bimetal 9 are provided in the operating section 4 of the main body 1, but they may be provided in a portion other than the operating section 4, such as the connector 6.

As described above, the present invention provides a main body having an airtight structure with a through hole that communicates with the inside thereof, and a bimetal that is connected at one end and deforms due to temperature changes, and the other end of the bimetal is provided with a bimetal that deforms according to the deformation of the bimetal. A valve body was provided to open and close the through hole. Therefore, when the main body is autoclaved, for example, the bimetal is deformed during preheating and the through hole is opened, so negative pressure or positive pressure is applied to the main body after preheating. However, since the inside of the main body can be maintained at the same pressure as the outside through the through hole, the main body will not be damaged. Further, when the main body is disinfected with a chemical solution at approximately room temperature or a temperature lower than that, the bimetal does not deform and the through hole is closed, so that there is no possibility that the chemical solution will flow into the main body. moreover,
It also has the advantage of automatically maintaining the same pressure between the inside and outside of the main body, allowing it to be used without damaging the main body, even for industrial use under high temperatures, such as when observing the inside of a boiler.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention, with Figure 1 being a perspective view showing a schematic configuration, Figure 2 being an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main parts, and Figure 3 showing a bimetal in a deformed state. The explanatory drawing shown in FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a through hole portion showing another embodiment of the present invention. 1...Main body, 7...Through hole, 9...Bimetal, 12,
12'... Valve body.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In an endoscope having a main body with an airtight structure, a through hole communicating with the inside of the main body is bored and one end is connected to provide a bimetal, a valve body is provided at the other end of the bimetal, and the bimetal The endoscope is characterized in that a valve body provided at the distal end of the endoscope closes the passage hole at normal temperature, and when heated, the valve body deforms in a curved manner so as to move away from the passage hole.