FLUID DISTRIBUTOR FOR A REPROCESSING DEVICE FOR REPROCESSING A SURGICAL INSTRUMENT

Abstract

A fluid distributor for use with a reprocessing device for reprocessing a surgical instrument having a plurality of channels, including: a routing body having a plurality of connections corresponding to the channels; and a switching body movably disposed in the routing body, the switching body having an interior supply line connected to a fluid reservoir for selectively providing a fluid to one or more of the connections. The switching body can be configured such that, in a first position of the switching body relative to the routing body, the connections of the routing body are each in fluid communication with the supply line of the switching body and in at least a second position of the switching body relative to the fluid routing body less than all of the connections of the routing body are in fluid communication with the supply line of the switching body.

Claims

1. A fluid distributor for use with a reprocessing device for reprocessing a surgical instrument having a plurality of channels, the fluid distributor comprising: a fluid routing body having a plurality of connections corresponding to the plurality of channels of the surgical instrument; and a fluid switching body movably disposed in the fluid routing body, wherein the fluid switching body having an interior supply line configured to be connected to a fluid reservoir for selectively providing a fluid to one or more of the plurality of connections.

2. The fluid distributor according to claim 1, wherein the switching body is configured such that, in a first position of the fluid switching body relative to the fluid routing body, the plurality of connections of the fluid routing body are each in fluid communication with the supply line of the fluid switching body and in at least a second position of the fluid switching body relative to the fluid routing body less than all of the plurality of connections of the fluid routing body are in fluid communication with the supply line of the fluid switching body.

3. The fluid distributor according to claim 1, wherein the fluid routing body is positioned radially outside the fluid switching body.

4. The fluid distributor according to claim 2, wherein the fluid switching body is movable in the fluid routing body such that, in the first position all of the plurality of connections of the fluid routing body are in fluid communication of the supply line of the fluid switching body and, in the second position, only one of the plurality of connections of the fluid routing body is individually connected to the supply line of the fluid switching body.

5. The fluid distributor according to claim 1, wherein the fluid switching body is linearly movable relative to the fluid routing body.

6. The fluid distributor according to claim 1, wherein the supply line of the fluid switching body is at least partially configured as a hollow cylindrical tube received in the fluid routing body.

7. The fluid distributor according to claim 6, wherein, in the fluid routing body, the tube of the fluid switching body is sealed off from the inside of the fluid routing body on one of an end face or a front face with a seal.

8. The fluid distributor according to claim 7, wherein the seal is an annular seal.

9. The fluid distributor according to claim 5, wherein the tube has a front-face outlet in the fluid routing body.

10. The fluid distributor according to claim 9, further comprising a sealing cover disposed inside the fluid routing body that interacts with the outlet of the tube.

11. The fluid distributor according to claim 10, wherein the sealing cover is configured to be movable with the fluid switching body.

12. The fluid distributor according to claim 10, wherein the sealing cover is connected to the tube and is arranged at a predetermined distance from the outlet of the tube.

13. The fluid distributor according to claim 10, wherein the sealing cover further comprises a seal for sealing off from the inside of the fluid routing body.

14. The fluid distributor according to claim 13, wherein the seal is provided on a circumferential edge of the sealing cover.

15. The fluid distributor according to claim 1, wherein the fluid routing body has an elongated tube body with an interior for receiving the fluid switching body and at least one flow chamber connected to the tube body for receiving an end of the fluid switching body.

16. The fluid distributor according to claim 15, wherein the tube body is cylindrical and is arranged between first and second flow chambers.

17. The fluid distributor according to claim 15, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of connections are arranged next to each other along a longitudinal direction of the tube body.

18. The fluid distributor according to claim 15, wherein the interior of the tube body of the fluid routing body has a first cross-section and the first and second flow chambers have an interior with a second cross-section, wherein the first cross-section of the interior of the tube body is smaller than the second cross-section of the interior of the first and second flow chambers.

19. The fluid distributor according to claim 1, further comprising a drive for moving the fluid switching body, wherein the drive being one of a mechanical drive, an electric drive, a pneumatic drive, a magnetic drive or a hydraulic drive.

20. The fluid distributor according to claim 1, further comprising a position sensor device for detecting at least one position or a plurality of positions of the fluid switching body relative to the fluid routing body, wherein the position sensor device is one of as an optical sensor, a mechanical sensor or an electrical sensor.

21. A reprocessing device comprising the fluid distributor according to claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] Further features will become evident from the description of embodiments, together with the claims and the appended drawings. Embodiments can fulfill individual features or a combination of several features.

[0038] The embodiments are described below, without restricting the general idea of the invention, based on exemplary embodiments in reference to the drawings, whereby we expressly refer to the drawings with regard to the disclosure of all details that are not explained in greater detail in the text. In the drawings:

[0039] FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic representation of a fluid distributor of a reprocessing device for a surgical instrument;

[0040] FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a cross-section through the fluid distributor and

[0041] FIG. 3 schematically illustrates another representation of the fluid distributor in cross-section,

[0042] FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic representation of a fluid distributor of a drying and storage device for a surgical instrument.

[0043] In the drawings, the same or similar elements and/or parts are, in each case, provided with the same reference numerals such that they are not introduced again in each case.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] FIG. 1 shows a fluid distributor 10 for corresponding fluids, such as liquids or gases. The fluid distributor 10 is a component of a schematically illustrated reprocessing device A for an endoscope 100. The endoscope 100 here has channels which are to be cleaned and disinfected.

[0045] For this purpose, a rinsing fluid is conveyed to the fluid distributor 10 from a rinsing agent reservoir 50 by a pump 52. The fluid distributor 10 has an outer fluid distributing body 12, which on the input side has a first flow chamber 14 that is connected to a tube cylinder 16. On the output side, the tube cylinder 16 is connected to a flow chamber 18. The flow chamber 18 also has a connection 20.8, which is connected to a rinsing line 130 for the endoscope 100.

[0046] The tube cylinder 16 also has connections 20.1 to 20.7 along its longitudinal extension, which are connected to corresponding rinsing lines 130. By way of example for illustration, only four rinsing lines 130 are drawn in FIG. 1. The rinsing lines 130 themselves are provided with corresponding connections to the endoscope 100 in order to clean or respectively to disinfect the corresponding channels (not shown here) in the endoscope 100.

[0047] Inside the fluid distributor 10, a fluid switching body 30 is arranged which is linearly movable within the fluid routing body 12. The fluid switching body 30 is configured as a hollow cylindrical tube so that, inside the fluid switching body 30, a supply line 32 is configured, which is connected on the input side to the rinsing agent reservoir 50 via the pump 52. The fluid switching body 30 is also sealed on the input side of the (first) flow chamber 14.

[0048] A front-face outlet 34 is configured on the output side of the supply line 32 so that the rinsing fluid taken from the rinsing agent reservoir 50 is discharged out of the outlet 34. A collar-shaped seal 36 is arranged on the outside in the region of the front-face outlet 34 so that the outlet 34 of the supply line 32 is configured opposite the interior of the fluid routing body 12 in the region of the tube cylinder 16.

[0049] Furthermore, on the output side of the outlet 34 at a predetermined distance, a sealing cover 38 is arranged which is also configured with a circumferential seal 40 on its outer side. The sealing cover 38 is firmly connected to the front face of the supply line 32 by means of a spacer 48.

[0050] In FIG. 1, the fluid switching body 30 is arranged in an (end) position in the fluid routing body 12 so that the outlet 34 faces the (second) flow chamber 18 and the rinsing fluid conveyed through the supply line 32 is introduced into the flow chamber 18. The flow chamber 18 here is larger in cross-section than the cross-sectional surface of the sealing cover 38. As a result, the rinsing medium flows through the supply line 32 via the outlet 34 into the flow chamber 18, wherein the rinsing medium is supplied on the end side only via the outlet 20.8 of the rinsing line 130 connected thereto, whereby the correspondingly connected channel of the endoscope 100 is rinsed when the fluid switching body 30 is in the position shown in FIG. 1. The rinsing fluid is not applied to the other outlets 20.1 to 20.7 according to the position of the fluid switching body 30 shown in FIG. 1.

[0051] Additional representations of the fluid distributor 10 are shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, wherein the linearly movable fluid switching body 30 is shown in various positions here.

[0052] In the (starting) position of the fluid switching body 30 shown in FIG. 2, the outlet 34 of the supply line 32 is arranged within the first flow chamber 14 so that, when a rinsing fluid is conveyed, the rinsing fluid flows through all outlets 20.1 to 20.8 of the fluid routing body 12 simultaneously so that all channels of the endoscope 100 are rinsed simultaneously.

[0053] If the fluid switching body 30 is then moved linearly in the direction of the second flow chamber 18 by means of a drive 46, the rinsing medium flows successively in corresponding (intermediate) positions only through the individual outlets 20.1 to 20.8 separately in each case. Depending on the placement of the fluid switching body 30 within the fluid routing body 12, the connections 20.1 to 20.8 are activated individually here so that the rinsing fluid is always conducted only to one of the connections 20.1 to 20.8 to be rinsed and the channels lying behind or respectively connected thereto of the endoscope 100 via the individual open connections 20.1 to 20.8.

[0054] In FIG. 3, the fluid switching body 30 is positioned so that the rinsing medium flows through the outlet 20.2 only, while the rinsing medium does not flow through the other outlets 20.1, 20.3 to 20.8.

[0055] To detect the position of the fluid switching body 30, a measuring sensor 42, for example, is arranged in the first flow chamber 14, by means of which the corresponding positioning of the fluid switching body 30 within the fluid routing body 12 is detected. The corresponding measurement data from the measuring sensor 42 is forwarded in this case to a corresponding controller 44 of the reprocessing device.

[0056] The drive 46 for the fluid switching body 30 can be configured as an electric, hydraulic, pneumatic, magnetic or mechanical drive, and can have an actuator, such as a motor, in order to move the fluid switching body 30 back and forth linearly within the fluid routing body 12 along the longitudinal extension of the fluid routing body 12.

[0057] In FIG. 4, a fluid distributor 10 of a drying and storage device B for the endoscope 100 is shown schematically as another exemplary embodiment. In the drying and storage device B in FIG. 4, the fluid distributor 10 is configured accordingly as shown in FIG. 1, such that the previous explanations for the fluid distributor 10 in FIGS. 1 to 3 apply analogously.

[0058] To dry the individual channels 20.1 to 20.8 of the fluid routing body 12 and the channels of the endoscope 100 depending on the position of the fluid switching body with a process fluid, such as air or compressed air, a process fluid reservoir 150 is provided, which is connected to the fluid switching body 30 or respectively its supply line 32. A valve 152 and a sensor 153 are arranged in the connector between the process fluid reservoir 150 and the supply line 32.

[0059] The process fluid is conducted out of the process fluid reservoir 150 to the outlet 20.8 through the opening of the valve 152. The pressure of the process fluid in the line is measured by means of the sensor 153. The sensor 153 is furthermore connected to a leak-tightness tester 151 to test the leak-tightness of the channel, which is connected to the outlet 20.8, of the endoscope 100. The leak-tightness tester 151 can be a component of a control unit of the drying and storage device B.

[0060] When the fluid switching body 30 is positioned in the flow chamber 14 (cf. FIG. 2), the process fluid is applied to all channels of the endoscope 100 connected to the outlets 20.1 to 20.8. Depending on the positioning of the fluid switching body 30 in the tube body 16 (cf. FIG. 3), the process fluid is supplied to the individual channels of the endoscope 100 via the corresponding outlets 20.1 to 20.8.

[0061] While there has been shown and described what is considered to be embodiments of the invention, it will, of course, be understood that various modifications and changes in form or detail could readily be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is therefore intended that the invention be not limited to the exact forms described and illustrated, but should be constructed to cover all modifications that may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0062] 10 Fluid distributor [0063] 12 Fluid routing body [0064] 14 Flow chamber [0065] 16 Tube body [0066] 18 Flow chamber [0067] 20.1, . . . , 20.8 Outlets [0068] 30 Fluid switching body [0069] 32 Supply line [0070] 34 Outlet [0071] 36 Seal [0072] 38 Sealing cover [0073] 40 Seal [0074] 42 Sensor [0075] 44 Controller [0076] 46 Drive [0077] 50 Rinsing agent reservoir [0078] 52 Pump [0079] 100 Endoscope [0080] 130 Rinsing line [0081] 150 Process fluid reservoir [0082] 151 Leak-tightness tester [0083] 152 Valve [0084] 153 Sensor [0085] A Reprocessing device [0086] B Drying and storage device