Flushing and aspirating device

A flushing and aspirating device includes a device housing with an aspirating channel, a flushing channel, a flushing and aspirating channel and a valve chamber in which the channels empty or emerge therefrom, respectively. A manually operable valve push button is movably guided in the valve chamber against the force of a reset spring and which has at least one sealing section for controlling the connection of the flushing and aspirating channel to the aspirating channel and/or the flushing channel. The valve push button including the at least one sealing section is formed as a single piece of an elastic rubber material, such as silicone.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to European Patent Application EP 18 169 257.5 filed Apr. 25, 2018, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated in full by this reference.

DESCRIPTION

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a flushing and aspirating device, comprising a device housing with an aspirating channel, a flushing channel and a flushing and aspirating channel and with a valve chamber in which the channels empty or emerge therefrom, respectively, and comprising a manually operable valve push button which is movably guided in the valve chamber against the force of a reset spring and which has at least one sealing section for controlling the connection of the flushing and aspirating channel to the aspirating channel and/or the flushing channel.

Background of the Invention

Such a flushing and aspirating device is known for example from DE 33 09 916 C2, DE 33 09 917 C2 or DE 33 09 916 C2.

Such flushing and aspirating devices are used, for example, for medical purposes, such as for the cleaning of wounds in surgery operations. During an operation, either fluid is to be aspirated herein or flushing liquid is to be supplied. By means of a valve, the flushing liquid and the aspiration capacity are switched on and off respectively. Such a flushing and aspirating device is to be cheap and made of a plastic material, since it is disposed of after a single use.

In the flushing and aspirating device known from DE 33 09 916 C2, DE 33 09 917 C2 or DE 33 09 916 C2, the valve push button is made from a stiff plastic and it has three elastic sealing rings made from an elastomer material mounted on it, being in contact with the wall of the valve chamber. The reset spring is braced on the one hand against the bottom of the valve chamber and on the other hand against the underside of the valve push button.

Accordingly, the problem which the present invention proposes to solve is to reduce the number of individual parts in a flushing and aspirating device of the kind mentioned above and to thereby simplify the assembly and to lower the manufacturing costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This problem is solved according to the invention in that the valve push button including the at least one sealing section is formed as a single piece of an elastic rubber material, especially of silicone (e.g., silicone rubber or silicone elastomers).

In an especially preferred embodiment, the valve push button comprises a bore, which is open towards the housing bottom of the valve chamber, with a shoulder, especially a base of the bore, against which the reset spring is braced.

In another embodiment, a guiding projection rises up from a housing bottom of the valve chamber, on which both the valve push button and the reset spring are guided. In this case, the valve push button may comprise a stepped blind bore, which is open towards the housing bottom of the valve chamber, having a smaller and a larger bore diameter and having a shoulder, especially an annular shoulder, against which the reset spring is braced, the smaller bore diameter corresponding to the diameter of the guiding projection and the larger bore diameter corresponding at least to the outer diameter of the reset spring.

In both embodiments, for reasons of stability it is advantageous for the shoulder to be situated in a broad middle or actuating section of the valve push button, so that the valve push button is deformed as little as possible at its sealing end.

The valve push button preferably comprises an actuating section protruding from the device housing, a cylindrical shaft and a cylindrical middle section in between, relative to which the actuating section and the shaft are respectively set back radially inwards. For example, on the shaft, a sealing section is formed as a single piece, in the form of a radially outwardly protruding annular sealing lip, which blocks the connection of the the flushing and aspirating channel to the flushing channel in a first valve position of the valve push button and releases it in a second valve position of the valve push button. For example, on the middle section, a sealing section is formed as a single piece, in the form of a radially outwardly protruding annular sealing lip, which releases the connection of the flushing and aspirating channel to the aspirating channel in the first valve position of the valve push button and blocks it in the second valve position.

Preferably, the valve chamber is configured stepped, with a first valve chamber having a larger diameter, in which the aspirating channel and the flushing and aspirating channel empty or emerge therefrom, and with a second valve chamber having a smaller diameter, in which the flushing channel empties. The diameter of the shaft is preferably smaller than the diameter of the second valve chamber, and the sealing section formed on the shaft in the first valve position of the valve push button is situated at the side facing the first valve chamber of the flushing channel emptying the second valve chamber and in the second valve position it is situated at the side facing away from the first valve chamber of the flushing channel emptying into the second valve chamber.

Especially preferably, the aspirating channel comprises an outwardly open aspiration regulating opening, which is situated advantageously on the same side of the housing as the valve push button. The aspiration regulating opening is opened to varying width by the operator, depending on the desired aspiration capacity.

Further advantages of the invention will emerge from the description, the claims, and the drawing. Likewise, the features mentioned above and those indicated below may each find use individually or in any desired combinations of them. The embodiments indicated and described should not be taken as a definite listing, but instead have an exemplary nature for the description of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The flushing and aspirating device1shown inFIGS.1a, lb serves for either aspirating fluid or supplying flushing liquid during a medical operation.

The flushing and aspirating device1comprises a single-piece plastic injection moulded device housing2with an aspirating channel3, a flushing channel4and a flushing and aspirating channel5and with a valve chamber6in which the channels3-5empty or emerge therefrom, respectively, and comprises a manually operable valve push button8which is movably guided in the valve chamber6against the force of a helical reset spring (compression spring)7, which controls the connection of the flushing and aspirating channel5to the aspirating channel3and/or the flushing channel4.

The device housing2is divided by the valve chamber6into a distal housing end2a, in which the aspirating channel3and the flushing channel4run parallel to each other, and a proximal housing end2b, in which the flushing and aspirating channel5runs. The valve chamber6is formed by a stepped bore open at one end (the top inFIGS.1a,1b), having a lower valve chamber6awith a smaller diameter and an upper valve chamber6bwith a larger diameter. In each case on the right side of the valve chamber6, the aspirating channel3emerges from the upper valve chamber6band the flushing channel4empties into the lower valve chamber6a. Between the aspirating channel and the flushing channel3,4, but on the left side of the valve chamber6, the flushing and aspirating channel5empties into the upper valve chamber6b. The valve push button8formed as a single piece of silicone (such as silicone rubber or silicone elastomer) is inserted from above into the valve chamber6and secured therein by means of an annular plastic cover9, which after the assembly of the valve push button8and the reset spring7is joined to the device housing2, especially by ultrasound welding.

As shown inFIGS.2a,2b, the valve push button8has on top a cylindrical actuating section8a, a cylindrical middle section8bwith two radially outwardly projecting annular sealing lips10,11and at the bottom a cylindrical shaft8cwith a radially outwardly projecting annular sealing lip12. The three sealing lips10,11,12are formed as a single piece on the valve push button8. The outside of the sealing lip12extends slightly conically downwards. The outer diameter of the sealing lips10,11formed on the middle section8bis larger than the outer diameter of the actuating section8a, which in turn is larger than the outer diameter of the sealing lip12formed on the shaft8c. In the valve push button8there runs a stepped blind bore, which is open at the bottom and has a lower bore section13awith larger bore diameter, an upper bore section13bwith a smaller bore diameter, and between them an annular shoulder14in the middle section8b.

A cylindrical guiding projection16rises up from the housing bottom15of the valve chamber6, on which both the reset spring7and the valve push button8are movably guided. For this, the smaller bore diameter of the upper bore section13bcorresponds to the diameter of the guiding projection16and the larger bore diameter of the lower bore section13acorresponds to the outer diameter of the reset spring7. The reset spring7is braced at one end against the housing bottom15and at the other end against the annular shoulder14of the valve push button8. Thanks to the cylindrical or rotationally symmetrical form of the valve push button8, the force can be optimally divided by the actuation and by the reset spring7. Furthermore, no direction of turning during installation needs to be heeded when installing the valve push button8.

The reset spring7biases the valve push button8upwards into the valve starting position shown inFIG.1a, in which the sealing edge10formed on the middle section8brests against the cover9.

In the valve starting position, the connection of the flushing and aspirating channel5to the aspirating channel3is opened up by the annular chamber, formed by the shaft8cwhich is set back radially inwardly, and the connection of the flushing channel4to the flushing and aspirating channel5is blocked by the sealing lip12formed at the bottom on the shaft8c, which blocks off the lower valve chamber6afrom the upper valve chamber6babove the flushing channel4. The diameter of the shaft should be as small as possible so that the annular chamber is as large as possible and therefore presents no obstacle which might possibly result in clogging. The flushing water under pressure in the lower valve chamber6aon the one hand presses from below against the sealing lip12, which is thereby curved upwards elastically until its originally conical exterior is now pressed flat against the wall of the lower valve chamber6a, and on the other hand it also fills the lower bore section13aof the valve push button8, so that the shaft8cis spread apart and the sealing lip12is pressed against the wall of the lower valve chamber6a.

Depending on the desired aspiration capacity, the operator opens up an outwardly open aspiration regulating opening17of the aspirating channel3to different widths. The operator holds the flushing and aspirating device1in his or her hand and can use their thumb or index finger to operate the valve push button8and/or to cover the aspiration regulating opening17to different widths.

By pressing down on the actuating section8awhich projects from the device housing2, the valve push button8can be moved from the valve starting position to the valve end position shown inFIG.1b, in which the sealing lip11formed on the middle section8brests against a shoulder19of the valve chamber6. In the valve end position, the sealing lip12formed on the bottom of the shaft8cis moved beneath the flushing channel4which empties into the lower valve chamber6a, so that the connection of the flushing channel4to the flushing and aspirating channel5is opened up by the annular chamber formed by the shaft8c, which is set back radially inwardly, and the connection of the flushing and aspirating channel5to the aspirating channel3is either totally blocked by the sealing lip11formed on the middle section8b, as shown inFIG.1b, or throttled if the actuation is slight. In the exemplary embodiment shown, either flushing or aspirating can be done in the valve end positions.

After being released, the valve push button8is again forced by the reset spring7back to the valve starting position and in this way the connection between the flushing channel4and the flushing and aspirating channel5is again closed.

Due to the fact that the annular shoulder14against which the reset spring7is braced is situated in the wider middle region8b, the shaft8cis not deformed by the spring force of the reset spring7and thus the sealing action of the sealing lip12is not adversely affected. The diameter of the shaft is chosen such that the shaft wall has enough stability and does not present any obstacle during the aspiration.

In each position of the valve push button8, the sealing lip10formed on the middle section8bat the top seals off the middle section8bagainst the upper valve chamber6b, so that no secretion or flushing water can outwardly escape from the upper valve chamber6band get onto the hands of the operator.

The flushing and aspirating device1′ shown inFIGS.3a,3bdiffers from the flushing and aspirating device1in that here no guiding projection for the valve push button8′ rises up from the housing bottom15and the valve push button8′ shown inFIGS.4a,4bhas a bore13which is open towards the housing bottom15of the valve chamber6, with a base of the bore14against which the reset spring7is braced. The other end of the reset spring7is secured in position against a small projection20of the housing bottom15.