JP2011152368A - Medical device and endoscope apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To highly precisely connect optical fibers to each other in a simple operation and simply mount an optical connector to a receptacle with just a single touch of a plug. <P>SOLUTION: This medical device which connects a plug-side optical fiber 55 to a receptacle-side optical fiber by detachably attaching the plug 95 to the receptacle 93 provided in a device body 91 includes: a floating base material 109 elastically supporting receptacle-side holders 107 in the receptacle in the inserting direction of the plug 95; and a moving-distance changing means 241, after a first step for inserting the plug 95 into the receptacle 93 to a predetermined position, reducing a moving distance in the inserting direction (a) of the floating base material 109 by the inserting operation of the plug 95 to that less than the inserting-directional moving distance of the plug 95 in a second step for inserting the plug further than the predetermined position. A plug-side holder 105 and the receptacle-side holder 107 are fitted while reducing the moving distance of the floating base material 109. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a medical device and an endoscope apparatus.

  An endoscope apparatus having an endoscope including an illumination optical system that emits illumination light from the distal end of an endoscope insertion portion that is inserted into a subject, and a control device to which the endoscope is connected. is there. The control device includes a light source device that generates illumination light, and includes a video processor that performs image processing. A universal cord is connected to the main body of the endoscope. The universal cord includes an illumination optical system, a signal line connected to the observation optical system, a bending operation wire, an air / water feed, a suction pipe, and the like. The universal cord is connected to each control device such as a light source device via a connector portion. An optical connector is provided in a connector portion connected to the light source device, and the optical connector is configured as a pair capable of connecting an endoscope-side plug and a light source device-side receptacle.

  By the way, in recent years, endoscopic diagnosis for capturing fine lesions by special light observation has been performed. Examples of special light observation include narrow-band light observation that highlights surface blood vessels, fluorescence observation that observes autofluorescence of the living body, infrared light observation that extracts blood vessel information in the deep layer by fluorescence from the injected drug, etc. be able to. In normal observation, white light illumination is used, whereas in narrow-band light observation and fluorescence observation, for example, light with a wavelength of 405 nm is used, and in infrared light observation, for example, light with a wavelength of 760 nm is used. In addition, for example, light having a wavelength of 405 nm is used for photodynamic diagnosis (PDD), and light having a wavelength of 630 nm is used for photodynamic therapy (PDT). Accordingly, when any one of the above observations and treatments is used in combination, a plurality of optical fibers are passed through the universal cord. The plug and receptacle for connecting the optical fibers are provided with a plurality of pairs of plug-side holders and receptacle-side holders for connecting the optical fibers. The plug-side holder holds the plug-side optical fiber, and the receptacle-side holder holds the receptacle-side optical fiber.

  However, in order to connect a plurality of pairs of plug-side holders and receptacle-side holders provided in a single operation by simply connecting the plug and the receptacle, the plug and the receptacle, the plug and the plug-side holder, and the receptacle are connected together. In addition, high precision fitting is required for all the receptacle-side holders, which makes manufacturing and handling difficult.

  Further, in the endoscope apparatus, the entire endoscope is cleaned and disinfected by a washing machine at a high temperature, and after disinfection, the endoscope is handled by wearing gloves in order to keep the endoscope clean. When a control device that is not sterilized is operated with this glove worn, there is a risk of secondary infection of the endoscope, and there is a demand to avoid contact with the control device. However, when the plug is attached to the receptacle, an operation such as turning the plug is often required, and it may be difficult to avoid contact with the control device.

JP 2008-278971 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and enables optical fibers to be connected to each other with high accuracy and simple operation, realizes a stable connection with low loss, and allows an optical connector to be easily received by only one-touch operation of a plug. It is an object of the present invention to provide a medical device and an endoscope apparatus that can be attached to a medical device.

The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following configuration.
(1) A plug is detachably attached to a receptacle provided in the apparatus body, so that a plurality of plug-side optical fibers attached to the plug and a receptacle-side optical fiber attached to the receptacle are optically connected to each other. A medical device having an optical connector,
A plurality of pairs of plug-side holders provided on the plug and holding the plug-side optical fiber, and receptacle-side holders provided on the receptacle and holding the receptacle-side optical fiber;
A floating base that elastically supports the plurality of receptacle-side holders in the receptacle in the insertion direction of the plug;
After the first stage in which the plug is inserted into the receptacle to a predetermined position, in the second stage in which the plug is inserted further than the predetermined position, the receptacle side holder is moved in the insertion direction by the insertion operation of the plug. A moving amount changing means for reducing the amount from the moving amount of the plug in the insertion direction;
With
A medical device that advances the fitting between the plug-side holder and the receptacle-side holder while reducing the movement amount of the floating base material in the second stage by the movement amount changing means.
(2) It is configured as a medical device of (1),
An endoscope that irradiates light introduced from the plug from the tip of an endoscope insertion portion that is inserted into a subject; and
A light source device having the receptacle to which the plug of the endoscope is connected;
An endoscopic apparatus comprising:

  According to the medical device and the endoscope apparatus according to the present invention, the receptacle-side holder and the plug can be reduced by reducing the amount of movement of the floating base in which the receptacle-side holder is mounted in the insertion direction from the middle of the plug insertion operation. Engagement with the side holder can proceed slowly. Thereby, alignment of the optical axis of holders can be performed more reliably and with high accuracy. Further, since the optical connector is completely attached by simply inserting the plug, the receptacle is not touched.

It is a figure for describing an embodiment of the present invention, and is an external view as an example of an endoscope apparatus. It is a notional block block diagram of an endoscope apparatus. It is a perspective view of a plug. It is sectional drawing of the direction in alignment with the axis line of a plug. It is a perspective view of a receptacle. It is sectional drawing of the direction in alignment with the axis line of a receptacle. It is sectional drawing of the plug and receptacle which connection was started. (A) is the perspective view which looked at the floating base material to which the receptacle side holder was attached from diagonally forward, (B) is the perspective view which looked at the floating base from diagonally back. It is a perspective view of the holder alignment means shown in FIG. It is a perspective view of the plug side holder and receptacle side holder just before a connection. (A) is sectional drawing which shows the connection structure of the optical fiber before a connection, (B) is sectional drawing which shows the connection structure of the optical fiber after a connection. It is sectional drawing of the plug and receptacle which fitting of the holder front-end | tip parts started. It is the graph which represented the correlation of the axial direction distance and radial direction tolerance in each site | part to which it engages with the principal part schematic diagram. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the plug and the receptacle in a state where the driving protrusion is in contact with the inclined portion. It is a rear view of the floating base material which represented the position after rotation with the broken line. It is explanatory drawing which shows the aligning effect | action by the displacement of a 2nd linear support piece. It is explanatory drawing which shows the alignment effect | action by the displacement of a 1st linear support piece. It is a perspective view showing the displacement direction of the receptacle side holder which is supported and aligned by the holder alignment means. It is sectional drawing of the plug and receptacle which were completed connection. It is the schematic diagram explaining the transmission state of the light which changes with the length of a plug side fiber stub and a receptacle side fiber stub. It is a graph which shows an optical axis direction tolerance. It is a graph which shows an optical axis perpendicular direction tolerance. It is sectional drawing of the movement amount change means which concerns on the modified example comprised using the arm member in the lever shape. (A) is sectional drawing of the plug and receptacle just before the connection of the optical connector provided with the movement amount change means shown in FIG. 22, (B) is sectional drawing after the connection. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the other connection structure of a plug and a receptacle.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an embodiment of the present invention, and is an external view as an example of an endoscope apparatus. FIG. 2 is a conceptual block diagram of the endoscope apparatus.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an endoscope apparatus 100 that is one of medical devices includes an endoscope 11 and a control device 13 to which the endoscope 11 is connected. The control device 13 is connected to a display unit 15 that displays image information and an input unit 17 that receives an input operation. An endoscope 11 that is an electronic endoscope has an imaging optical system that includes an illumination optical system that emits illumination light from the distal end of an endoscope insertion portion 19 that is inserted into a subject, and an imaging element that captures an observation region. System.

  The endoscope 11 also includes an endoscope insertion section 19, an operation section 23 that performs a bending operation and observation operation of the distal end of the endoscope insertion section 19, and the endoscope 11 is attached to and detached from the control device 13. Connector portions 25A and 25B that are freely connected are provided. Although not shown, various channels such as a forceps channel for inserting a tissue collection treatment instrument and the like, a channel for air supply / water supply, and the like are provided inside the operation unit 23 and the endoscope insertion unit 19. .

  The endoscope insertion portion 19 includes a flexible soft portion 31, a bending portion 33, and a tip portion (hereinafter also referred to as an endoscope tip portion) 35. The endoscope distal end 35 has an irradiation port (described later) for irradiating light to the observation region, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor or a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) image for acquiring image information of the observation region. An image sensor 21 (see FIG. 2) such as a sensor is disposed. An objective lens unit is disposed on the light receiving surface side of the image sensor 21.

  The bending portion 33 is provided between the soft portion 31 and the distal end portion 35 and can be bent by a turning operation of the angle knob 22 disposed in the operation portion 23. The bending portion 33 can be bent in an arbitrary direction and an arbitrary angle according to the part of the subject in which the endoscope 11 is used, and the observation direction of the irradiation port of the endoscope distal end portion 35 and the image sensor is changed. , Can be directed to a desired observation site.

  The control device 13 includes a light source device 41 that generates illumination light to be supplied to the irradiation port of the endoscope distal end portion 35, and a processor 43 that performs image processing on an image signal from the imaging device, and via the connector portions 25A and 25B. Connected to the endoscope 11. Further, the display unit 15 and the input unit 17 are connected to the processor 43. The processor 43 performs image processing on the imaging signal transmitted from the endoscope 11 based on an instruction from the operation unit 23 or the input unit 17 of the endoscope 11, generates a display image, and outputs the display image to the display unit 15. Supply.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the light source device 41 includes a plurality of types of laser light sources having different emission wavelengths. In this configuration example, an LD 1 with a central wavelength of 405 nm, an LD 2 with 445 nm, and LD 3 and LD 4 with 405 nm are provided as basic configurations. LD1 is a light source for narrow-band light observation that emits violet laser light, and LD2 is a light source for normal observation that emits blue laser light and generates white illumination light by a phosphor that is a wavelength conversion member described later. . LD3 and LD4 are light sources for fluorescence observation, and light can be emitted toward a region to be observed without going through a phosphor described later.

  In this configuration, the optical paths of LD3 and LD4 may be shared, and a 472 nm LD, a 665 nm LD, a 785 nm LD (all not shown), and the like may be provided. Laser light with a central wavelength of 472 nm emitted from an LD (not shown) that shares the optical paths of LD3 and LD4 is used to extract information on oxygen saturation and blood vessel depth in blood. In addition, the laser beam having a center wavelength of 665 nm is a therapeutic laser beam, and is used to perform photodynamic therapy (PDT) for irradiating the surface of a living tissue with a relatively strong output to treat a tumor such as cancer. Used for. Further, laser light having a central wavelength of 785 nm is used for infrared light observation of ICG (indocyanine green) injected into a blood vessel.

  The LD 1 can also be used as illumination light for performing photodynamic diagnosis (PDD). In PDD, a photosensitive substance that has a tumor affinity and is sensitive to specific excitation light is administered to a living body in advance, and then the surface of the living tissue is irradiated with a laser beam serving as excitation light with a relatively weak output. This is a diagnostic method for observing fluorescence from a site where the concentration of the photosensitive substance is high in the lesion of the tumor. PDT treatment is performed on the lesion identified by the PDD.

  The laser light sources LD1 to LD4 (and LD (not shown) that share the optical paths of LD3 and LD4) are individually dimmed and controlled by the light source controller 49, and each laser beam may be generated individually or simultaneously. it can. Further, the light emission timing and the light quantity ratio of each laser light source can be arbitrarily changed by the operation of the changeover switch 81 of the endoscope 11, the operation from the input unit 17, or the light source device 41.

  As the laser light sources LD1 to LD4, broad area type InGaN-based laser diodes can be used, and InGaNAs-based laser diodes, GaNAs-based laser diodes, and the like can also be used. Note that a semiconductor light emitting element such as a light emitting diode may be used as the light source. In addition to the semiconductor light emitting element, it is also possible to use light obtained by selecting a wavelength of light from a white light source such as a xenon lamp using a color filter.

  Laser light emitted from each of the laser light sources LD1 to LD4 is introduced into an optical fiber by a condenser lens (not shown). Laser beams from LD1 and LD2 are multiplexed by a combiner 51 shown in FIG. 2, demultiplexed by a coupler 53, and then transmitted to a connector unit 25A. As a result, the laser light from LD1 and LD2 is uniformly transmitted to the optical fibers 55B and 55C with reduced variations in emission wavelength and speckle due to individual differences between the laser light sources. Note that the light source device can be simplified if the laser light from each of the laser light sources LD1 and LD2 is sent directly to the connector portion 25A without using the combiner 51 and the coupler 53.

  The optical fibers 55A to 55D are multimode fibers. As an example, a thin fiber cable having a core diameter of 105 μm, a cladding diameter of 125 μm, and a diameter of φ0.3 to 0.5 mm including a protective layer serving as an outer shell can be used. . The endoscope apparatus 100 can also use a single mode fiber that propagates only the fundamental mode.

  Laser light from the laser light sources LD1 to LD4 is introduced into the optical fibers 55A to 55D extending from the connector portion 25A to the endoscope distal end portion 35 at arbitrary timings. Laser light from the LD1 and LD2 is transmitted to the phosphor 57 disposed at the endoscope distal end portion 35, and laser light from the LD3 to LD4 is transmitted to the light deflection / diffusion member 58 for illumination light (or treatment). Light) is emitted toward the observation region via the irradiation ports 37A and 37B.

  Here, the optical fiber 55A and the light deflection / diffusion member 58 constitute a light projection unit 71A, and the optical fiber 55D and the light deflection / diffusion member 58 constitute a light projection unit 71B. The optical fiber 55B and the phosphor 57 constitute a light projecting unit 71C, and the optical fiber 55C and the phosphor 57 constitute a light projecting unit 71D. The pair of the light projecting units 71A and 71C and the pair of the light projecting units 71B and 71D are disposed on both sides of the endoscope distal end portion 35 with the imaging element 21 and the objective lens unit 39 sandwiched therebetween.

The phosphors 57 of the light projecting units 71C and 71D absorb a part of the blue laser light from the laser light source LD2 and emit a plurality of types of phosphor materials (for example, YAG-based phosphors or BAM ( And a phosphor such as BaMgAl ₁₀ O ₁₇ ). Thereby, the green to yellow excitation light emitted from the blue laser light as the excitation light and the blue laser light transmitted without being absorbed by the phosphor 57 are combined to generate white (pseudo white) illumination light.

  The blue laser light is represented by a bright line having a center wavelength of 445 nm, and the excitation light emitted from the phosphor 57 by the blue laser light has a spectral intensity distribution in which the emission intensity increases in a wavelength band of approximately 450 nm to 700 nm. The white light described above is formed by the profile of the excitation light and the blue laser light. If a semiconductor light-emitting element is used as an excitation light source as in this configuration example, high-intensity white light can be obtained with high luminous efficiency, the intensity of white light can be easily adjusted, and the color temperature and chromaticity of white light can be adjusted. Can be kept small.

  Here, the white light referred to in the present specification is not limited to the one that strictly includes all wavelength components of visible light, and examples thereof include R (red), G (green), and B (blue) that are reference colors. As long as it includes light in a specific wavelength band, for example, light including a wavelength component from green to red, light including a wavelength component from blue to green, and the like are broadly included.

  The phosphor 57 described above can prevent noise superimposition that causes an obstacle to imaging or flickering when performing moving image display due to speckles caused by the coherence of laser light. In addition, the phosphor 57 takes into account the difference in refractive index between the phosphor constituting the phosphor and the fixing / solidifying resin serving as the filler, and the particle size of the phosphor itself and the filler is set to the light in the infrared region. In contrast, it is preferable to use a material that has low absorption and high scattering. This enhances the scattering effect without reducing the light intensity for red or infrared light, and reduces the optical loss.

  The light deflecting / diffusing member 58 of the light projecting units 71A and 71B may be any material that transmits laser light from the LD3 and LD4. For example, a light-transmitting resin material or glass is used. Furthermore, the light deflection / diffusion member 58 has a structure in which a light diffusion layer in which fine irregularities or particles (fillers, etc.) having different refractive indexes are mixed on the surface of a resin material or glass, or a translucent material. It is good also as a structure using. Thereby, the transmitted light emitted from the light deflection / diffusion member 58 becomes light of a narrow band wavelength in which the light amount is made uniform within a predetermined irradiation region.

  As described above, the blue laser light and the white light generated by the excitation light emitted from the phosphor 57 and the narrow-band light generated by each laser light are emitted from the distal end portion 35 of the endoscope 11 toward the observation region of the subject. The The state of the observation region irradiated with the illumination light is imaged by the imaging element 21 by forming an object image by the objective lens unit 39.

  An image signal of a captured image output from the image sensor 21 after imaging is transmitted to the A / D converter 61 through the scope cable 59 and converted into a digital signal, and is transmitted to the image processing unit 63 of the processor 43 via the connector unit 25B. Entered. The image processing unit 63 performs various processes such as white balance correction, gamma correction, contour enhancement, and color correction on the captured image signal from the image sensor 21 converted into a digital signal. The captured image signal processed by the image processing unit 63 is converted into an endoscopic observation image together with various information by the control unit 65 and displayed on the display unit 15. Moreover, it is memorize | stored in the memory | storage part 67 which consists of a memory and a storage apparatus as needed.

  In the endoscope apparatus 100, by combining a plurality of light projecting units and irradiating white light and narrow band light, normal observation with white light, narrow band light observation, fluorescence observation, infrared light observation, and the like are performed. Both special light observations can be performed under a good illumination environment. Further, since the narrow band light for special light observation does not pass through the phosphor 57 for generating white light, the narrow band light can be irradiated as it is with high intensity without accompanying unnecessary fluorescent components.

  The light source device 41 can supply the laser beams of LD1 to LD4 simultaneously or alternately, and can also switch and supply the laser beams in synchronization with the imaging frame by the imaging device. When switching in synchronization with the imaging frame, when observing special light, for example, in an even frame, the state of illumination with laser light from LD1 or LD2 or both is imaged, and laser light from LD3 and LD4 is used in odd frames. The state of irradiation is imaged. Then, by displaying these odd frames and even frames as one piece of image information in an overlapping manner, it is possible to simultaneously display an image that is being observed with fluorescence on an observation image during normal observation. According to this, endoscopic diagnosis can be smoothly performed with higher visibility.

  The even frame image and the odd frame image can be displayed at different positions in the display area of the display unit 15 without being superimposed as one piece of image information. In that case, observation and treatment can be performed while comparing both, such as confirming the lesion site and the treatment site, respectively. In this way, by supplying a plurality of types of laser light to the endoscope 11 at an arbitrary timing, it is possible to generate an optimal illumination pattern according to the observation content of the endoscope 11 and to improve the diagnostic accuracy of the endoscope 11. It can be improved.

<Configuration of plug and receptacle>
Next, the configuration of the connector portion 25A will be described in detail.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the plug.
The plug 95 is connected to optical fibers 55A to 55D (hereinafter also referred to as plug-side optical fibers 55) connected to the light projecting units 71A to 71D shown in FIG. It is attached to the end of the. The plug 95 has a rotatable ring handle 155 on the outer peripheral portion. A metal outer cylinder 143 is located inside the ring handle 155, and the metal outer cylinder 143 is fixed to the plug body 165.

  Four plug-side holders 105 project from the circular connection side wall 165a of the plug body 165, and each plug-side holder 105 holds one plug-side optical fiber 55 inside. A guide key 173 projects from the outer periphery of the metal outer cylinder 143 in a direction along the plug insertion direction a. The guide key 173 enters a key groove provided on a later-described receptacle side to which the plug 95 is connected. Note that the number of the plug-side holders 105 is arbitrary, and here, four configurations are shown as an example. Further, the connection side wall 165a of the plug main body 165 is provided with a pipeline (not shown) for supplying air / water to the endoscope 11, a position regulating pin, and the like.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view in the direction along the axis of the plug.
The plug-side holder 105 includes a nipple holder 175, a holding ring 177, a plug-side inner sleeve 137 that houses the plug-side ferrule 135 therein, a cover 181 that covers the proximal end side of the nipple holder 175, and a plug within the cover 181. And a coil spring 183 arranged with the side ferrule 135 as an axis. The nipple holder 175 is fixed to the plug-side rotating plate 261 through. The retaining ring 177 is fitted on the outer periphery of the nipple holder 175 and abuts against the back surface of the plug-side rotating plate 261 to restrict the nipple holder 175 from coming off in the plug insertion direction a. The plug 95 will be described with the plug insertion direction a as the front and the opposite direction as the rear.

  The plug-side rotating plate 261 penetrating and fixing the four plug-side holders 105 is fixed to the back surface of the plug body 165 via a bearing 263 which is a low friction bearing means. The plug-side rotation plate 261 supported by the plug main body 165 via the bearing 263 is rotatable around the rotation center 265. The plug-side holder 105 passes through a restriction hole 267 formed in the plug main body 165, and the tip portion projects. Therefore, the plug-side rotation plate 261 can rotate within a range in which the plug-side holder 105 can move within the restriction hole 267. The plug-side rotation plate 261, the bearing 263, and the plug body 165 constitute a rotation support mechanism 245. The rotation support mechanism 245 supports the plug-side holder 105 so as to be able to rotate by following a rotation operation of a floating base material described later.

  Conical drive protrusions 167a and 167a protrude from the connecting side wall 165a of the plug body 165 on both sides in the diameter direction. The drive protrusions 167a and 167a work to rotationally drive the floating base material 109 that is rotatably provided on the receptacle when the plug 95 is connected to a receptacle described later.

  The cover 181 is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape, the front end opening side is fixed to the rear end of the nipple holder 175, and covers the rear portion of the plug-side ferrule 135. A ferrule lead-out lid 187 is fixed to the rear portion of the cover 181, and the ferrule lead-out lid 187 has a through hole for leading the rear end portion of the plug-side ferrule 135. A plug-side optical fiber 55 is connected to the rear part of the plug-side ferrule 135 led out from the ferrule lead-out lid 187.

  Inside the cover 181, a flange portion 189 is formed near the approximate center of the plug-side ferrule 135 in the axial direction. A coil spring 183 is externally attached to the rear portion of the plug-side ferrule 135 between the flange portion 189 and the ferrule lead-out lid 187. That is, the plug-side ferrule 135 is biased in the plug insertion direction a by the coil spring 183. The plug-side ferrule 135 can be retracted against the urging force of the coil spring 183 by being pressed in the direction opposite to the plug insertion direction a.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the receptacle.
A receptacle 93 connected to the plug 95 is attached to the device main body 91 of the light source device 41 (see FIG. 1). That is, the plug 95 and the receptacle 93 constitute the optical connector 101, and the optical connector 101 detachably connects the endoscope 11 and the light source device 41. With the above configuration, the illumination light for the endoscope 11 can be easily taken out by connecting the plug 95 to the receptacle 93 of the light source device 41 and can be emitted from the distal end of the endoscope insertion portion. The light source device 41 reliably supplies a plurality of types of laser beams having different spectra to the endoscope 11 through the optical connector 101 with a low-loss optical connection.

  The receptacle 93 has a metal housing 191 composed of a flange portion 191a, a conical portion 191b, and a tip tube portion 191c. A key groove 195 is formed on the inner periphery of the distal end cylindrical portion 191c. The keyway 195 receives a guide key 173 provided on the metal outer cylinder 143 of the plug 95.

  The plug 95 and the receptacle 93 are first fitted into the metal outer tube 143 and the tip tube 191c at an axial position of 25 mm before the completion of mutual connection. The metal outer tube 143 and the tip tube portion 191c that have started to be fitted have an initial tolerance (initial tolerance) of 400 μm in the radial direction. Further, the guide key 173 starts to enter the key groove 195 after the metal outer cylinder 143 and the distal end cylinder portion 191c are fitted. The keyway 195 has a tapered taper surface, and has an initial tolerance (initial tolerance) of 300 μm on one side at the approach start position.

  A cylindrical insulating retainer 197 is fixed to the inner periphery of the metal housing 191, and the insulating retainer 197 fixes the insulating plate 199. Four insulating holes 201 are formed in the insulating plate 199, and receptacle-side holders 107 are disposed in the respective loose-fitting holes 201 at positions corresponding to the plug-side holder 105 shown in FIG. A gap is formed between the loose-fitting hole 201 of the insulating plate 199 and the outer periphery of the receptacle-side holder 107. The receptacle-side holder 107 is perpendicular to the plug insertion direction a by holder alignment means described later. It is supported in a freely movable manner and elastically in the plug insertion direction. That is, the annular gap formed between the loose fitting hole 201 serves as a movement space for allowing movement of the receptacle-side holder 107 during alignment.

  In the endoscope apparatus 100, a plurality of sets of plug-side holders 105 and receptacle-side holders 107 are provided in the optical connector 101 (see FIG. 1), and a plurality of plug-side optical fibers 55 and receptacle-side optical fibers are provided. Connect and disconnect at once. The optical connector 101 also has an alignment function (not shown) in the optical connector 101 itself, so that each receptacle-side holder cooperates with a holder alignment means described later by inserting the plug 95 into the receptacle 93. 107 is automatically aligned in an arbitrary direction so that optical connection can be performed collectively.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the axis of the receptacle.
A receptacle through-hole 203 is formed in the device main body 91. The receptacle 93 will be described with the plug insertion direction a as the rear and the opposite direction as the front. A disc-shaped floating base material 109 is provided around the front side of the receptacle through-hole 203 via a bearing 269 so as to be rotatable about a rotation center 271.

  The bearing 269 is supported in a retractable space 301 formed in the device main body 91 so as to be retractable. An urging spring 303 is disposed in the retreat space 301, and the urging spring 303 urges the bearing 269 to the side opposite to the plug insertion direction a. Therefore, when the floating base material 109 is pressed in the plug insertion direction a, the floating base material 109 moves backward in the same direction against the biasing force of the biasing spring 303.

  Engagement protrusions 305 are provided on the outer periphery of the floating base material 109 so as to protrude outward in the radial direction. The engaging protrusion 305 is engaged with a spiral groove 307 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the metal housing 191. A plurality of pairs of engagement protrusions 305 and spiral grooves 307 may be provided. When the floating base material 109 is retracted in the plug insertion direction a, the engaging protrusion 305 is engaged with the spiral groove 307 so that the floating base material 109 is retracted while rotating.

  A base end portion of an insulating cylinder portion 273 that supports the insulating plate 199 at the front end portion is fixed to the front surface of the floating base material 109. A receptacle-side holder 107 is disposed inside the insulating cylinder portion 273.

  The insulating plate 199 has a substantially circular outer shape, and a pair of inclined portions 281 and 281 shown in FIG. 5 are formed at both ends in the diameter direction (details will be described later, but refer to FIG. 15). The inclined portion 281 has an inclined surface 281a that gradually decreases in diameter toward the circumferential direction of the insulating plate 199 (the clockwise direction in FIG. 5). Drive protrusions 167a and 167a projecting from the connection side wall portion 165a of the plug 95 abut on the inclined surface 281a of the inclined portion 281. That is, when the plug 95 is inserted into the receptacle 93, the drive protrusions 167a and 167a press the inclined surface 281a of the inclined portion 281 provided on the outer periphery of the insulating plate 199. The insulating plate 199 in which the inclined surfaces 281a and 281a are pressed against the conical drive protrusions 167a and 167a is rotated in a direction in which the drive protrusions 167a and 167a are relatively lowered on the inclined surface 281a. Actually, since the driving protrusions 167a and 167a are fixed, the floating base material 109 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 5 via the insulating plate 199. This rotation is synchronized with the rotation of the floating base material 109 that rotates by engaging the engaging protrusion 305 with the spiral groove 307. That is, the floating base material 109 moves backward while rotating.

  A guide tube 275 is fixed to the outer periphery of the base end side of the insulating tube portion 273. An annular sliding plate 277 is provided on the outer periphery of the guide cylinder 275 so as to be movable in a direction along the rotation center 271. A biasing spring 279 is provided between the sliding plate 277 and the floating base material 109, and the biasing spring 279 biases the sliding plate 277 forward. The sliding plate 277 is restricted from being removed from the front by a stopper portion provided at the tip of the guide tube 275. When the plug 95 is inserted, the sliding plate 277 is pressed by the metal outer cylinder 143 of the plug 95. The sliding plate 277 pressed by the metal outer cylinder 143 is retracted against the biasing force of the biasing spring 279.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the plug and the receptacle in which the connection is started.
The bearing 269 and the inclined portion 281 constitute a rotation drive mechanism 243 that rotates the floating base material 109 in conjunction with the insertion operation of the plug 95. The rotation drive mechanism 243, the rotation support mechanism 245, the drive protrusions 167 a and 167 a, the retreat space 301, the biasing spring 303, the engagement protrusion 305, and the spiral groove 307 constitute a movement amount changing unit 241. The moving amount changing means is a first stage in which the plug 95 is inserted into the receptacle 93 up to a predetermined position, and then in a second stage in which the plug 95 is inserted further than the predetermined position. The amount of movement in the insertion direction a is made smaller than the amount of movement of the plug 95 in the insertion direction. The “first stage” refers to a first engagement operation between the distal end cylinder portion 191c on the receptacle 93 side and the metal outer cylinder 143 on the plug 95 side, and the “second stage” refers to the plug side holder 105 and the receptacle. The 2nd engagement operation | movement with the side holder 107 is said.

  The endoscope apparatus 100 includes the movement amount changing unit 241, thereby reducing the movement amount of the floating base material 109 in the second stage (second engagement operation), and the plug side holder 105 and the receptacle side holder 107. It is made so that the fitting with can be advanced.

  The moving amount changing means 241 rotates the floating base material 109 when the driving protrusions 167a and 167a press the inclined portion 281 and rotates the plug-side rotating plate 261 accordingly. For this reason, when the plug 95 is removed from the receptacle 93, it is preferable to return to the original rotational position again. Therefore, it is preferable that a return spring 283 is provided between the floating base 109 and the metal housing 191, and a return spring 285 is provided between the plug-side rotation plate 261 and the plug body 165.

FIG. 8A is a perspective view of the floating base material to which the receptacle-side holder is attached as seen obliquely from the front, and FIG. 8B is a perspective view of the floating base material seen from the oblique rear.
As shown in FIGS. 6, 8 </ b> A, and 8 </ b> B, the rear ends of the four receptacle-side holders 107 are inserted into the receptacle through holes 203 of the device main body 91. A large-diameter portion for fixation 209 is formed at the substantially central portion in the axial direction of the receptacle-side holder 107. The large-diameter portion for fixation 209 has a predetermined gap in the holder through-hole 217 of the floating base material 109. Be placed. On the other hand, a cylindrical socket hood 211 having a spring seat large-diameter portion 211a on its outer periphery is extrapolated in the axial direction at the front portion of the receptacle-side holder 107. A coil spring 213 is externally inserted between the spring seat large diameter portion 211a and the fixing large diameter portion 209, and the coil spring 213 biases the socket hood 211 forward. The socket hood 211 is restricted from being detached from the front of the receptacle-side holder 107 by a not-shown removal restricting portion. Thereby, the socket hood 211 can be retracted against the urging force of the coil spring 213 by being pressed in the plug insertion direction a.

  Also, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the floating base material 109 is formed with a holder through-hole 217 in which each circular hole for loosely fitting the four receptacle-side holders 107 is connected. ing. The holder-side holder 107 is provided with holder aligning means 113 whose fixed end is supported by the floating base material 109. That is, the holder aligning means 113 is fixed to the fixing large-diameter portion 209 by the fixing screw 218, and the holder aligning means 113 to which the receptacle-side holder 107 is fixed is inserted through the holder through-hole 217 and is attached to the fixing screw 221. It is fixed to the floating base material 109.

  Since the holder aligning means 113 is installed between the receptacle-side holder 107 and the floating base 109, the receptacle-side holder 107 is perpendicular to the insertion direction a of the plug 95 with the floating base 109. It becomes possible to move to. Thereby, the receptacle side holder 107 is supported so that the optical axes of the receptacle side optical fiber 99 and the plug side optical fiber 55 can be aligned. That is, the holder aligning means 113 is configured such that the plug 95 is detachably attached to the receptacle 93 provided in the apparatus main body 91, so that the plug-side optical fiber 55 fixed to the plug 95 and the receptacle fixed to the receptacle 93 side. When optically connecting the side optical fiber 99, the receptacle-side holder 107 is supported so as to be movable in the direction perpendicular to the connector joining direction so that the optical axis can be aligned.

Here, a specific configuration of the holder alignment means 113 will be described.
9 is a perspective view of the holder alignment means shown in FIG.
The holder aligning means 113 includes a common plate portion 117 and a pair of parallel first linear support pieces 121 and 121 which sandwich a virtual axis 119 perpendicular to the common plate portion 117 and project vertically from the common plate portion 117. A pair of parallel second straight support pieces 123, 123 projecting vertically from the common plate portion 117 at positions where the positions of the pair of first straight support pieces 121, 121 are rotated at right angles around the virtual axis 119. And comprising.

  In the holder aligning means 113, the first tip 125 of the first straight support piece 121 is fixed to the receptacle-side holder 107, and the second tip 127 of the second straight support piece 123 is fixed to the floating base 109. The A fixing hole 125a through which the fixing screw 218 passes is formed in the first tip portion 125, and a fixing hole 127a through which the fixing screw 221 passes is formed in the second tip portion 127. Further, the common plate portion 117 is provided with a through hole 223 through which the receptacle-side optical fiber 99 is inserted.

  The first straight support piece 121 and the second straight support piece 123 are each extended in the same direction from the common plate portion 117. Thereby, the protrusion height from the common board part 117 of the 1st linear support piece 121 and the 2nd linear support piece 123 is suppressed, and the space efficiency for arrangement | positioning is raised.

  Further, the common plate portion 117 is formed with a spring portion 131 that can be elastically deformed in the insertion direction a of the plug 95 at a connection portion 129 with the pair of second straight support pieces 123. The spring part 131 is formed by bending a second straight support piece 123 made of a band plate part into a U-shape. The holder aligning means 113 is elastically deformed in the insertion direction a of the plug 95 by the spring portion 131, thereby improving the adhesion between the joining end portions of the optical joining end surface portion of the plug side ferrule and the receptacle side ferrule. Yes. Further, the spring portion 131 is deformed even when the receptacle-side holder 107 is translated, thereby facilitating the parallel movement of the receptacle-side holder 107.

  Note that the holder aligning means 113 is configured such that at least the first straight support piece 121 and the second straight support piece 123 are formed of the plate material 133, so that the receptacle side holder can be used when the support pieces are elastically deformed. 107 can be displaced in parallel more reliably. Further, by forming the holder aligning means 113 from a single metal plate, the highly accurate holder aligning means 113 can be easily manufactured by press molding, and the number of parts can be minimized.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the plug-side holder and the receptacle-side holder just before connection.
The holder aligning means 113 has a pair of first straight support pieces 121 and a pair of second straight support pieces 123, while keeping the receptacle-side holder 107 parallel to the floating base material 109, in the plug insertion direction a. On the other hand, it is movable in the vertical direction. As described above, when the receptacle 93 and the plug 95 are connected, if the relative position between the receptacle-side holder 107 and the plug-side holder 105 is restricted, the receptacle-side holder 107 is inserted into the plug-side holder 105. The optical axis of the receptacle-side optical fiber 99 is aligned with the plug-side optical fiber 55 by being displaced in a direction perpendicular to the direction a. At this time, the coil spring 213 serves as a cushion in the insertion direction a.

Here, the optical axes of the plug-side holder 105 and the receptacle-side holder 107 are as shown in FIGS. FIG. 11A is a cross-sectional view showing the connection structure of the optical fiber before connection, and FIG. 11B is a cross-sectional view showing the connection structure of the optical fiber after connection.
The receptacle-side holder 107 has a gap inside the socket hood 211 (see FIG. 6) and fixes the outer sleeve 215 coaxially. Further, a receptacle-side inner sleeve 141 is accommodated coaxially and slidably inside the outer sleeve 215. The rear part of the receptacle-side inner sleeve 141 is inserted into a holding cylinder 219 (see FIGS. 8 and 10) fixed to the rear part of the receptacle-side holder 107. A coil spring (not shown) is accommodated in the rear portion of the holding cylinder 219, and this coil spring urges the receptacle-side inner sleeve 141 forward. The receptacle-side inner sleeve 141 can be retracted against the urging force of the coil spring by being pressed in the plug insertion direction a.

  The receptacle-side inner sleeve 141 is a member that covers a receptacle-side ferrule 139 whose details will be described later, and the plug-side inner sleeve 137 is a member that covers the outer periphery of the plug-side ferrule 135 that fixes the plug-side optical fiber 55.

As shown in FIG. 6, the outer periphery of the receptacle-side inner sleeve 141 is covered with an outer sleeve 215, and this outer sleeve 215 engages with the outer periphery of the plug-side inner sleeve 137 shown in FIG. Part 145. In other words, the protrusion 145 that is the receptacle-side outer sleeve 215 and the plug-side inner sleeve 137 that is the engaging portion that engages with this form an engaging pair, and both engage with each other when the optical connector is connected. Aligned with high accuracy.
In this configuration, the protrusion 145 is provided at the tip of the outer sleeve 215 fitted to the outer periphery of the receptacle-side inner sleeve 141. However, the protrusion 145 is disposed on the outer periphery of the plug-side inner sleeve 137 shown in FIG. The provided structure may be sufficient.

  In addition, a receptacle-side cylinder portion 149 that engages with the plug-side cylinder portion 151 at the tip of the plug-side holder 105 shown in FIG. 4 is formed in front of the socket hood 211. That is, when the plug-side holder 105 is inserted into the receptacle-side holder 107, the inner periphery of the receptacle-side cylindrical portion 149 that becomes a protrusion formed on the socket hood 211 of the receptacle-side holder 107, and the plug-side that becomes the engaging portion The insertion positions of the receptacle 93 and the plug 95 can be adjusted by engaging the outer periphery of the plug-side cylinder 151 of the holder 105 with each other. A shaft misalignment perpendicular to the insertion direction a of the plug 95 at the time of engagement is absorbed by the holder aligning means 113.

  The distal ends of the socket hood 211, the outer sleeve 215, and the receptacle-side inner sleeve 141 are arranged at positions gradually retreating from the distal end of the distal end cylindrical portion 191c in this order. Further, in the plug-side holder 105, the respective distal ends of the plug-side holder 105 and the plug-side inner sleeve 137 are arranged at positions that are gradually retracted from the distal end of the metal outer cylinder 143 in this order.

  As described above, in the optical connector 101 of this configuration, with respect to the insertion direction a of the plug 95, the position where the protrusion 145 starts to engage with the plug-side inner sleeve 137, and the receptacle-side cylinder 149 is the plug-side cylinder. The projecting portion 145, the receptacle-side tube portion 149, and the plug-side tube portion 151 are arranged differently from the position in the insertion direction in which the engagement is started. Further, the protrusion 145, the receptacle-side cylinder part 149, and the plug-side cylinder part 151 have a clearance gap (engagement gap) in a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction with the respective mating counterpart, as the plug 95 is inserted. It is set so that it is wider as it starts engaging, and narrower as it starts engaging later.

  Further, when the metal outer tube 143 of the plug 95 shown in FIG. 4 is inserted into the inner periphery of the tip tube portion 191c of the metal housing 191 on the receptacle 93 side shown in FIG. 6, the tip tube portion 191c and the metal outer tube are inserted. The same applies to the engagement with 143 and the engagement between the guide key 173 provided on the metal outer cylinder 143 and the key groove 195 of the distal end cylinder portion 191c. That is, the distal end cylinder portion 191c and the metal outer cylinder 143 that are engaged first are arranged so as to protrude most in the plug insertion direction, and then the guide key 173 provided on the metal outer cylinder 143 is arranged at a position where it protrudes. . And the gap interval in the direction perpendicular to the insertion direction is set to be narrower in the later engagement than in the earlier engagement.

  Thereby, the alignment accuracy can be increased stepwise as the plug 95 is inserted. That is, just by inserting the plug 95 into the receptacle 93, the alignment accuracy is automatically guaranteed in the final connected state. In addition, an optical connector including an optical component such as an optical fiber is configured so that each engagement pair starts to be engaged in stages at different timings, so that the impact due to the insertion operation of the plug 95 can be connected with the highest accuracy. Can be prevented from being strongly propagated to the region (near the optical axis). Therefore, the impact resistance of the optical connector is improved, and the optical connector can be made excellent in handleability.

  Furthermore, the optical connector 101 of the present configuration is further provided by providing a plurality of engagement pairs such as the receptacle-side cylinder portion 149 and the plug-side cylinder portion 151 with different engagement start positions with respect to the engagement partners. High alignment accuracy can be realized.

  Then, the joining operation of the receptacle 93 and the plug 95 includes the first engaging operation of the distal end cylinder portion 191c on the receptacle 93 side and the metal outer cylinder 143 on the plug 95 side, the plug side holder 105, and the receptacle side holder 107. The second engagement operation is performed in two different stages of insertion operation.

  The second engagement operation is inserted at a reduced axial insertion speed by the movement amount changing means 241 having the rotation drive mechanism 243 of the receptacle 93 and the rotation support mechanism 245 of the plug 95. As a result, the plug-side holder 105 and the receptacle-side holder 107 can be connected without receiving an impact when the connector is connected.

  The guide groove 171, the engagement pin 193, the guide key 173, the key groove 195, the protrusion 145, the plug-side inner sleeve 137, the receptacle-side cylinder 149, the plug-side cylinder 151, the tip cylinder 191 c, and the metal outer cylinder 143 constitutes an engaging means 111 for engaging the plug 95 and the receptacle 93 with high accuracy.

<Optical connection in each holder>
Next, an optical connection form between the receptacle holder supported by the holder alignment means and the plug side holder will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, the optical connector 101 of this configuration connects the plug-side holder 105 and the receptacle-side holder 107, and connects the plug-side optical fiber 55 and the receptacle-side optical fiber 99. Connect optically. In the plug-side holder 105, the outer periphery of the plug-side ferrule 135 that fixes the plug-side optical fiber 55 is covered with a plug-side inner sleeve 137. In the receptacle-side holder 107, the outer periphery of the receptacle-side ferrule 139 that fixes the receptacle-side optical fiber 99 is covered with the receptacle-side inner sleeve 141. In the optical connector 101 of this configuration, high-precision optical axis alignment is realized by the engaging means 111 and the holder aligning means 113, and further, a low loss loss connection is ensured even when a slight optical axis deviation occurs. An end face connection structure is provided.

  That is, the receptacle-side holder 107 is provided with a first graded index collimator (first GI collimator) 159 for collimating the beam diameter of the light incident from the receptacle-side optical fiber 99 and optically joining the receptacle-side ferrule 139. It is incorporated in the end surface portion 161b. The plug-side holder 105 has substantially the same core diameter as that of the first GI collimator 159, and converges the beam diameter of the light incident from the first GI collimator 159 so as to enter the plug-side optical fiber 55. A two-graded index collimator (second GI collimator) 163 is incorporated in the optical joining end surface portion 161 a of the plug-side ferrule 135.

  The first GI collimator 159 and the receptacle-side ferrule 139 are detachably connected by a receptacle-side inner sleeve 141. The second GI collimator 163 and the plug-side ferrule 135 are detachably connected by a plug-side inner sleeve 137. The receptacle-side inner sleeve 141 and the plug-side inner sleeve 137 can be made of various materials such as metal or zirconia ceramic.

  The receptacle-side ferrule 139 has a cylindrical shape in which a fiber insertion hole 139a penetrating along the axial direction is provided at the center. In the fiber insertion hole 139a, the receptacle-side optical fiber 99 from which the coating 99a at the tip is peeled off is inserted and fixed with an adhesive. 11A and 11B are simplified to show the outline of the invention. However, in the actual connection between the receptacle-side optical fiber 99 and the receptacle-side ferrule 139, the root of the receptacle-side ferrule 139 is used. A metal flange fixed to the side holds the receptacle-side optical fiber 99. The tip 139b of the receptacle-side ferrule 139 is polished into a convex spherical shape or a planar shape together with the tip of the receptacle-side optical fiber 99 inserted into the fiber insertion hole 139a.

  The incident end face 231a and the outgoing end face 231b of the first GI collimator 159 are polished into a convex spherical shape and a planar shape, respectively. In addition, the incident end face 231a of the first GI collimator 159 is brought into contact with the tip 139b of the receptacle-side ferrule 139, thereby making a PC connection (physical connection) to the receptacle-side optical fiber 99. A seal glass 140 is disposed on the emission end face 231b.

  The first GI collimator 159 collimates by expanding the beam diameter of the laser light transmitted by the receptacle-side optical fiber 99. Therefore, the optical power density at the emission end face 231b is lower than the tip of the receptacle-side optical fiber 99, and it is possible to prevent the connection loss from being reduced due to dust or scratches on the emission end face 231b.

  The second GI collimator 163 has substantially the same configuration as the first GI collimator 159, converges the beam diameter expanded by the first GI collimator 159, and introduces light into the plug-side optical fiber 55. In addition, the incident end surface 233a and the emission end surface 233b are polished into a planar shape and a convex spherical shape, respectively, held by the plug side inner sleeve 137 together with the plug side ferrule 135. A seal glass 142 is disposed on the incident end face 233a.

  Further, the sealing glass 142 on the incident end face 233a faces the sealing glass 140 on the receptacle side with a predetermined gap G therebetween. The emission end face 233b of the second GI collimator 163 is PC-connected to the plug-side optical fiber 55 by contacting the tip of the plug-side ferrule 135.

  The plug-side ferrule 135 is the same component as the receptacle-side ferrule 139, and holds the tip of the plug-side optical fiber 55 as with the receptacle-side ferrule 139. The tip 135b of the plug-side ferrule 135 is polished into a convex spherical shape (or a planar shape) together with the tip of the plug-side optical fiber 55.

  When the receptacle-side holder 107 and the plug-side holder 105 are fitted, the receptacle-side inner sleeve 141 and the plug-side inner sleeve 137 come into contact with each other. The seal glass 140 is disposed so as to recede from the end of the receptacle-side inner sleeve 141, and the seal glass 142 is disposed so as to protrude from the end of the plug-side inner sleeve 137, and the seal glass 142 is sealed when the holders are fitted together. The sleeves 137 and 141 come into contact with each other before contacting with each other. Thereby, the predetermined space | interval G is formed between both.

  In general, it is known that the size of dust adhering to the tip of an optical fiber is about 50 μm at maximum. Accordingly, the gap G needs to be 50 μm or more in order to prevent the attached dust from being pinched and crushed. Considering manufacturing errors and assembly errors of each component of the end face connection structure, the gap G G is preferably about 1.0 to 2.0 mm.

<Operation when connecting the connector>
Next, the operation when the optical connector 101 is connected will be described.
FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the plug and the receptacle before the connection is started, and FIG. 13 is a graph showing the correlation between the axial distance and the radial tolerance at each engaging portion together with a schematic diagram of the main part.
As shown in FIG. 12, the connection of the optical connector 101 is first started by a first engaging operation in which the metal outer cylinder 143 of the plug 95 is inserted into the distal end cylinder portion 191c of the metal housing 191 in the receptacle 93. To do. At this time, the guide key 173 provided on the metal outer cylinder 143 is inserted so as to coincide with the key groove 195 of the distal end cylinder portion 191c. At this time, the initial tolerance between the key groove 143a where the guide key 173 is arranged and the key groove 195 of the distal end cylindrical portion 191c is 400 μm as shown in FIG. Further, the key groove 195 is formed to have a wide insertion side, and the clearance in the rotation direction with the guide key 173 is 300 μm on one side. When the plug 95 is inserted while the guide key 173 and the key groove 195 are fitted, the radial distance of about 70 μm is accommodated when the axial distance for extending the gap G in the insertion direction is about 6 mm. .

  Thus, in order to connect the plug 95 to the receptacle 93, when the plug 95 is inserted into the receptacle 93, first, the first-stage insertion similar to the normal insertion operation is completed, and the insertion up to a predetermined position is continued. Transition to the second stage of insertion.

If the plug 95 is continuously inserted in the second-stage insertion shifted from the state shown in FIG. 12, the state shown in FIG. 14 is obtained. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the plug and the receptacle in a state in which the driving protrusion is in contact with the inclined portion.
When the metal outer cylinder 143 is inserted into the inside of the distal end cylinder portion 191c, the drive protrusions 167a and 167a of the plug 95 abut against the inclined surface 281a of the inclined portion 281. When the plug 95 is further inserted, the drive protrusions 167a and 167a press the inclined surface 281a as described above.

FIG. 15 is a rear view of the floating base material in which the position after rotation is represented by a broken line.
The insulating plate 199 in which the inclined surfaces 281a and 281a are pressed against the conical drive protrusions 167a and 167a is rotated in a direction in which the drive protrusions 167a and 167a are relatively lowered on the inclined surface 281a. Actually, since the driving protrusions 167a and 167a are fixed, the floating base material 109 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 15 via the insulating plate 199. Thus, when the plug 95 is inserted, the floating base member 109 is rotated by the rotation drive mechanism 243, and the receptacle-side holder 107 provided on the floating base member 109 is also rotated accordingly. The floating base material 109 retreats in the plug insertion direction a together with the bearing 269 against the biasing spring 303 by receiving pressure from the drive protrusions 167a and 167a and the metal outer cylinder 143. At this time, the floating base material 109 is retracted in synchronization with the rotation because the engaging protrusion 305 is engaged with the spiral groove 307.

  Further, when the receptacle-side holder 107 rotates, a rotational force is transmitted to the plug-side holder 105 that has been started to be fitted, and the plug-side holder 105 rotates with respect to the plug body 165 by the rotation support mechanism 245. That is, the receptacle-side holder 107 and the plug-side holder 105 rotate integrally.

  When the receptacle-side holder 107 and the plug-side holder 105 rotate, the floating base material 109 is moved in the same direction by the movement amount changing means 241 with a movement amount that is smaller than the plug movement amount. That is, the backward movement amount of the floating base material 109 is smaller than the movement amount of the plug 95. Accordingly, relatively, the plug-side holder 105 gradually approaches the receptacle-side holder 107. The approach speed is slower than the plug insertion speed. As a result, even in the case of a quick insertion operation (one-touch operation) in the linear direction without rotation, the fitting between the plug holders proceeds slowly and a reliable fitting is performed.

  When the plug 95 is further inserted, the plug-side cylinder 151 starts to be engaged inside the receptacle-side cylinder 149. As shown in FIG. 13, the receptacle-side tube portion 149 and the plug-side tube portion 151 have an initial tolerance of 100 μm, but the tapered surfaces come into contact with each other as they enter. When axial misalignment occurs between the two, the receptacle-side cylinder portion 149 receives a reaction force from the plug-side cylinder portion 151. This reaction force becomes an arbitrary direction orthogonal to the central axis of the receptacle-side holder 107 and is propagated to the above-mentioned holder alignment means 113 to align the optical axis.

16 is an explanatory view showing the alignment operation by the displacement of the second linear support piece, FIG. 17 is an explanatory view showing the alignment operation by the displacement of the first linear support piece, and FIG. 18 is the displacement of the first and second linear support pieces. It is a schematic diagram of the holder alignment means explaining the alignment operation by.
As shown in FIG. 16, when a reaction force in the direction perpendicular to the axis acts on the receptacle-side holder 107, the receptacle-side holder 107 tends to move within the holder through-hole 217 of the floating base material 109. This movement is allowed by the deformation of the holder alignment means 113. When the reaction force from the receptacle-side holder 107 is applied to the first linear support piece 121, the direction of the holder aligning means 113 is the separation direction of the second linear support pieces 123, 123 (the left-right direction in FIG. 16). If there exists, a pair of 2nd linear support pieces 123 and 123 which fixed each 2nd front-end | tip part 127 to the floating base material 109 will carry out the inclination deformation | transformation in parallel. That is, it deforms while maintaining the parallelogram. Therefore, the common plate portion 117 is maintained parallel to the second tip portion 127, and the receptacle-side holder 107 fixed to the first straight support pieces 121, 121 is in a direction (denoted by X) orthogonal to the plug insertion direction a. Translation is possible.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 17, when the reaction force direction from the receptacle-side holder 107 is the separating direction of the first straight support pieces 121, 121 (the left-right direction in FIG. 17), the second straight support piece 123 Since the second front end portion 127 is fixed to the floating base material 109, the pair of first straight support pieces 121, 121 is based on the connection portions 235, 235 with the common plate portion 117, and is gently S-shaped or Draw a reverse S-shape and transform. That is, the first tip portions 125, 125 of the first linear support pieces 121, 121 can be displaced in the separating direction (left-right direction in FIG. 17). Therefore, the receptacle-side holder 107 fixed to the first linear support pieces 121 and 121 can be translated in a direction (denoted by Y) orthogonal to the plug insertion direction a.

  In this way, the holder aligning means 113 supports the receptacle holder 107 in the XY directions so as to be movable, as shown in FIG. As a result, the receptacle-side holder 107 can be translated in any direction on the XY plane orthogonal to the plug insertion direction a.

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of the plug and the receptacle that have been connected.
The connection between the plug 95 and the receptacle 93 ends when the ring handle 155 reaches the insertion end. In the final insertion process of the ring handle 155, the protrusion 145 and the plug-side inner sleeve 137 are engaged after the receptacle-side cylinder 149 and the plug-side cylinder 151 are engaged. As shown in FIG. 13, the initial tolerance between the plug-side inner sleeve 137 and the outer sleeve protrusion 145 is 50 μm. This tolerance is narrowed by the plug 95 insertion operation. Thereby, the connection of the plug 95 to the receptacle 93 is completed with high accuracy.

  Further, in the connection between the plug 95 and the receptacle 93, the positional deviation in the direction along the plug insertion direction a is absorbed by the second straight support piece 123, the coil spring 183, and the spring part 131, and the optical joining end face part 161a, the optical joining end face The parts 161b are positioned at a predetermined separation distance G.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the radial tolerance between the key groove 143a and the key groove 195 of the guide key 173 is 400 μm at the position 25 mm before the connection is completed, and the tolerance with respect to the rotation direction is 300 μm. It becomes. Then, at the position of 5 mm before the connection is completed, the receptacle-side cylinder portion 149 and the plug-side cylinder portion 151 are started to be engaged, and the receptacle-side cylinder portion 149 and the plug-side cylinder portion 151 that have been engaged are provided with a radial tolerance. 100 μm. At the position 1 mm before the completion of connection, the first engagement portion 145 and the plug-side inner sleeve 137 start to be fitted, and the radial tolerance is 50 μm. Further, when the connection is completed, the radial tolerance is suppressed to 20 μm or less. .

  The receptacle 93 and the plug 95 aligned by the holder aligning means 113 are further guaranteed to be connected with low loss by the first GI collimator 159 and the second GI collimator 163. FIG. 20 schematically shows a light transmission state by the first GI collimator 159 and the second GI collimator 163. In FIG. 20, the interval G is widely drawn in order to clarify the state of light transmitted between the first GI collimator 159 and the second GI collimator 163. When the axial length L1 of the first GI collimator 159 and the axial length L2 of the second GI collimator 163 are both equal at 1/4 pitch (1 pitch is the light transmitted by the GI collimator). Mode field system minimum value−maximum value−minimum value−length with one maximum period as one cycle), the light collimated by the first GI collimator 159 with the beam diameter expanded without causing a large loss. The light enters the second GI collimator 163, is converged by the second GI collimator 163, and enters the plug-side optical fiber 55.

  21 and 22, when the relative position of the first GI collimator 159 and the second GI collimator 163 is shifted between the optical axis direction Z and the optical axis vertical directions X and Y orthogonal to the optical axis direction Z, the plug The tolerance curve showing the output of the laser beam output from the side optical fiber 55 is shown. In the optical axis direction Z, the plus direction is the direction in which the first GI collimator 159 and the second GI collimator 163 approach each other. The optical axis vertical directions X and Y are states in which the optical axis direction Z is zero. Further, in the tolerance curve described above, the length of the first GI collimator 159 and the second GI collimator 163 is 4.0 to 4.6 mm, the tolerance in the optical axis direction Z is ± 100 μm, and the tolerance in the optical axis vertical directions X and Y. Is a measurement result when. +-. 20 .mu.m.

As can be seen from the graphs of FIGS. 21 and 22, the output drop of the laser beam is relatively small with respect to the amount of relative positional shift between the first GI collimator 159 and the second GI collimator 163. This is because the margin of the alignment accuracy between the plug 95 and the receptacle 93 is improved by increasing the beam diameter of the light emitted from the first GI collimator 159. Therefore, the end face connection structure of the optical connector 101 can maintain the low loss characteristic even when the relative position between the first GI collimator 159 and the second GI collimator 163 is shifted.
As described above, the optical connector 101 of this configuration is improved in alignment accuracy in stages, and can be connected with low loss.

  Therefore, according to the endoscope apparatus 100 having the above-described configuration, the floating base 109 on which the receptacle-side holder 107 is mounted is reduced in the amount of movement in the insertion direction a from the middle of the plug insertion operation. The engagement between 107 and the plug-side holder 105 can be slowly advanced. As a result, the optical axes of the holders 105 and 107 can be more accurately aligned with high accuracy. Further, since the mounting of the optical connector 101 is completed by simply inserting the plug 95, the receptacle 93 is not touched and there is no risk of contamination.

Next, a modified example of the movement amount changing means will be described.
FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view of a moving amount changing means according to a modified example in which a lever is formed using an arm member.
The moving amount changing means 241A according to this modification has a lever-like configuration using an arm member 247. A sliding plate 277 is provided on the receptacle 93 so as to be able to approach and separate. The sliding plate 277 is biased in a direction away from the receptacle 93 by a biasing spring 279. The sliding plate 277 has an opening 291 that receives the metal outer cylinder 143 of the plug 95.

  One end 249 of the arm member 247 is fixed to the metal housing 191 of the receptacle 93 as a fulcrum 251. The other end 253 of the arm member 247 is connected to the sliding plate 277 as a force point 255 that receives the insertion force of the plug 95 via the connecting member 293. Note that the other end 253 may be directly supported by the sliding plate 277. The floating base material 109 is supported by the arm member 247 via the connecting member 295 at an action point 257 close to the fulcrum 251 of the arm member 247. Note that the floating base material 109 may be directly supported by the arm member 247. The arm member 247, the urging spring 279, the sliding plate 277, and the floating base material 109 constitute a moving amount changing unit 241A. In this modification, the insertion operation of the plug 95 is transmitted to the floating base material 109 by the lever-shaped movement amount changing means 241A.

24A is a cross-sectional view of the plug and the receptacle just before connection of the optical connector having the movement amount changing means shown in FIG. 22, and FIG. 24B is a cross-sectional view after the connection.
In this movement amount changing means 241A, as shown in FIG. 24A, when the plug 95 is inserted, the sliding plate 277 approaches the metal housing 191 against the biasing force of the biasing spring 279. Moving. Then, the insertion force of the plug 95 acts on the force point 255 of the arm member 247, and the arm member 247 approaches the metal housing 191 as shown in FIG. 24B with the fulcrum 251 connected to the metal housing 191 as the center. Falls in the direction of

  At this time, since the floating base material 109 is supported at a position close to the fulcrum 251 of the arm member 247, the floating base member 109 floats faster than the speed at which the other end 253 of the arm member 247 (that is, the plug 95) approaches the receptacle 93. The speed at which the substrate 109 approaches the receptacle 93 is slower. Thereby, even in the case of a quick insertion operation (one-touch operation) in a linear direction without rotation, the fitting between the plug holders 105 and 107 proceeds slowly, and the alignment of the optical axes of the holders 105 and 107 is more reliable. Can be performed with high accuracy. Further, since the mounting of the optical connector 101 is completed by simply inserting the plug 95, the receptacle 93 is not touched and there is no risk of contamination.

Here, as a connection structure between the plug 95 and the receptacle 95, in addition to the fitting using the one guide key 173, for example, a connection structure having a schematic cross section shown in FIG. Also good. That is, a plurality of protrusions projecting inward from the inner peripheral surface of the tip tube portion 191c at circumferential positions of different circumferential angles θ ₁ and θ ₂ from the center line CL connecting the pair of engagement pins 193 provided on the tip tube portion 191c. The inner engaging pins 401 and 403 are respectively arranged. Then, straight grooves 405 and 406 along the plug insertion direction are formed at the circumferential positions of the circumferential angles θ ₁ and θ ₂ corresponding to the inner engagement pins 401 and 403 on the outer periphery of the metal outer cylinder 143 of the plug. According to this connection configuration, when each engagement pin 193 is inserted into the guide groove 171 of the plug cam cylinder 169, the inner engagement pins 401, 403 on the receptacle side are the straight grooves 405 of the metal outer cylinder 143 on the plug side. , 407 to be engaged. That is, the plug metal outer tube 143 is inserted into the receptacle-side end tube portion 191c with the shaft core aligned with high accuracy by fitting the inner engagement pins 401 and 403 with the straight grooves 405 and 407. The

  As a result, the axial alignment of the engagement between the metal outer cylinder 143 of the plug and the distal end cylinder portion 191c of the receptacle can be performed with higher accuracy, and the insertion operation can be smoothly connected to the engagement pair to be engaged next. Can do.

  In the above example, the connector that connects the light source device 41 of the endoscope apparatus 100 and the endoscope 11 has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. Modifications and applications by those skilled in the art based on the description and well-known techniques are also within the scope of the present invention, and are intended to be protected. For example, the present invention can be applied to other various medical devices such as a rigid endoscope, a scope endoscope, and various surgical devices.

As described above, the following items are disclosed in this specification.
(1) A plug is detachably attached to a receptacle provided in the apparatus body, so that a plurality of plug-side optical fibers attached to the plug and a receptacle-side optical fiber attached to the receptacle are optically connected to each other. A medical device having an optical connector,
A plurality of pairs of plug-side holders provided on the plug and holding the plug-side optical fiber, and receptacle-side holders provided on the receptacle and holding the receptacle-side optical fiber;
A floating base that elastically supports the plurality of receptacle-side holders in the receptacle in the insertion direction of the plug;
After the first stage in which the plug is inserted into the receptacle to a predetermined position, in the second stage in which the plug is inserted further than the predetermined position, the floating base material is moved in the insertion direction by the plug insertion operation. A moving amount changing means for reducing the amount from the moving amount of the plug in the insertion direction;
With
A medical device that advances the fitting between the plug-side holder and the receptacle-side holder while reducing the movement amount of the floating base material in the second stage by the movement amount changing means.
According to this medical device, in order to connect the plug to the receptacle, when the plug is inserted into the receptacle, the first-stage insertion similar to the normal insertion operation is first completed, the insertion to the predetermined position is performed, and the first Transition to two-stage insertion. From the second stage of insertion, when the plug is moved in the insertion direction, the floating base is moved in the same direction by a movement amount that is smaller than the plug movement amount by the movement amount changing means. Therefore, relatively, the plug-side holder gradually approaches the receptacle-side holder. The approach speed is slower than the plug insertion speed. As a result, even in the case of a quick insertion operation (one-touch operation) in the linear direction without rotation, the fitting between the plug holders proceeds slowly and a reliable fitting is performed.

(2) The medical device of (1),
A rotation drive mechanism for rotating the floating base material in conjunction with the insertion operation of the plug;
A rotation support mechanism that rotatably supports the plug-side holder by following the rotation operation of the floating base;
With medical equipment.
According to this medical device, when the plug is inserted, the floating base is rotated by the rotation drive mechanism, and the receptacle-side holder provided on the floating base is also rotated accordingly. Further, when the receptacle-side holder is rotated, a rotational force is transmitted to the plug-side holder that has started to be fitted, and the plug-side holder is rotated with respect to the plug by the rotation support mechanism. That is, the receptacle side holder and the plug side holder rotate integrally. By this rotation, the amount of movement of the plug-side holder in the insertion direction is reduced, and the reduced amount of movement is fitted and connected to the receptacle-side holder.

(3) The medical device of (1),
The moving amount changing means fixes one end of the arm member to the receptacle as a fulcrum, the other end of the arm member as a force point for receiving the insertion force of the plug, and the floating base material is used as the arm member. A lever-like configuration supported at an action point close to the fulcrum side,
A medical device that transmits an insertion operation of the plug to the floating base by the lever-shaped movement amount changing means.
According to this medical device, when the plug is inserted, the insertion force of the plug acts on the force point of the arm member, and the arm member falls in a direction approaching the receptacle with the fulcrum being one end connected to the receptacle as a center. . At this time, since the floating base material is supported at a position close to the fulcrum of the arm member, the floating base material approaches the receptacle faster than the speed at which the other end portion (that is, the plug) of the arm member approaches the receptacle. The speed is slower. As a result, even in the case of a quick insertion operation (one-touch operation) in the linear direction without rotation, the fitting between the plug holders proceeds slowly and a reliable fitting is performed.

(4) The medical device according to any one of (1) to (3),
Engagement means for engaging the plug and the receptacle with each other when the optical connector is joined;
A holder aligning means provided on the floating base material and supporting the receptacle-side holder so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction of the plug;
With
When the holder aligning means connects the receptacle and the plug, the receptacle-side optical fiber and the plug-side optical fiber of the receptacle-side holder and the plug-side holder that are regulated by the engaging means, respectively. Medical equipment that aligns the shaft.
According to this medical device, when the connection between the plug and the receptacle is started, the positional deviation generated between the plug-side holder and the receptacle-side holder is moved by the holder aligning means with respect to the floating base material. The optical axis of the receptacle side optical fiber is automatically aligned with the plug side optical fiber. Thereby, the optical axes of the optical fibers are aligned with high accuracy, and a low-loss optical fiber connection is possible.

(5) The medical device according to any one of (1) to (4),
A medical device in which the plug-side optical fiber and the receptacle-side optical fiber are single-mode fibers.
According to this medical device, even with a connection structure using a single mode fiber that is optically transmitted in a single mode, reliable alignment can be performed and the cores are connected with high alignment accuracy.

(6) The medical device according to any one of (1) to (5),
A first graded index collimator that collimates by expanding the beam diameter of the light incident from the receptacle-side optical fiber is incorporated in the optical joining end surface of the receptacle-side holder;
A second graded index collimator having substantially the same core diameter as the first graded index collimator, converging the beam diameter of the light incident from the first graded index collimator and entering the plug-side optical fiber; A medical device incorporated in the optical joining end face of the plug-side holder.
According to this medical device, the tolerance of alignment accuracy between the plug and the receptacle can be improved by expanding the beam diameter of the light emitted from the graded index collimator.

(7) The medical device is configured as any one of (1) to (6),
An endoscope that irradiates light introduced from the plug from the tip of an endoscope insertion portion that is inserted into a subject; and
A light source device having the receptacle to which the plug of the endoscope is connected;
An endoscopic apparatus comprising:
According to this endoscope apparatus, the illumination light for the endoscope can be easily taken out by connecting the plug to the receptacle of the light source apparatus.

(8) The endoscope apparatus according to (7),
An endoscope apparatus in which the light source device supplies a plurality of types of laser beams having different spectra to the endoscope.
According to this endoscope apparatus, it is possible to reliably supply a plurality of types of laser light through a low-loss optical fiber connection.

(9) The endoscope apparatus according to (8),
An endoscope apparatus in which the light source device supplies the plurality of types of laser beams to the endoscope simultaneously or alternately.
According to this endoscope apparatus, by supplying a plurality of types of laser light to the endoscope at an arbitrary timing, it is possible to generate an optimal illumination pattern according to the observation contents by the endoscope, and to diagnose the endoscope Accuracy can be improved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Endoscope 19 Endoscope insertion part 41 Light source device 55 Plug side optical fiber 91 Apparatus main body 93 Receptacle 95 Plug 99 Receptacle side optical fiber 100 Endoscope apparatus 101 Optical connector 105 Plug side holder 107 Receptacle side holder 109 Floating base material 111 Engaging means 113 Holder aligning means 159 First graded index collimators 161a and 161b Optical joint end face 163 Second graded index collimator 241 Movement amount changing means 243 Rotation drive mechanism 245 Rotation support mechanism 247 Arm member 249 One end 251 fulcrum 253 other end 255 force point 257 action point

Claims (9)

An optical connector for optically connecting a plurality of plug-side optical fibers attached to the plug and the receptacle-side optical fibers attached to the receptacle by detachably attaching a plug to a receptacle provided in the apparatus body. A medical device comprising
A plurality of pairs of plug-side holders provided on the plug and holding the plug-side optical fiber, and receptacle-side holders provided on the receptacle and holding the receptacle-side optical fiber;
A floating base that elastically supports the plurality of receptacle-side holders in the receptacle in the insertion direction of the plug;
After the first stage in which the plug is inserted into the receptacle to a predetermined position, in the second stage in which the plug is inserted further than the predetermined position, the floating base material is moved in the insertion direction by the plug insertion operation. A moving amount changing means for reducing the amount from the moving amount of the plug in the insertion direction;
With
A medical device that advances the fitting between the plug-side holder and the receptacle-side holder while reducing the movement amount of the floating base material in the second stage by the movement amount changing means. The medical device according to claim 1,
A rotation drive mechanism for rotating the floating base material in conjunction with the insertion operation of the plug;
A rotation support mechanism that rotatably supports the plug-side holder by following the rotation operation of the floating base;
With medical equipment. The medical device according to claim 1,
The moving amount changing means fixes one end of the arm member to the receptacle as a fulcrum, the other end of the arm member as a force point for receiving the insertion force of the plug, and the floating base material is used as the arm member. A lever-like configuration supported at an action point close to the fulcrum side,
A medical device that transmits an insertion operation of the plug to the floating base by the lever-shaped movement amount changing means. The medical device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Engagement means for engaging the plug and the receptacle with each other when the optical connector is joined;
A holder aligning means provided on the floating base material and supporting the receptacle-side holder so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction of the plug;
With
When the holder aligning means connects the receptacle and the plug, the receptacle-side optical fiber and the plug-side optical fiber of the receptacle-side holder and the plug-side holder that are regulated by the engaging means, respectively. Medical equipment that aligns the shaft. The medical device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A medical device in which the plug-side optical fiber and the receptacle-side optical fiber are single-mode fibers. The medical device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A first graded index collimator that collimates by expanding the beam diameter of the light incident from the receptacle-side optical fiber is incorporated in the optical joining end surface of the receptacle-side holder;
A second graded index collimator having substantially the same core diameter as the first graded index collimator, converging the beam diameter of the light incident from the first graded index collimator and entering the plug-side optical fiber; A medical device incorporated in the optical joining end face of the plug-side holder. It is configured as a medical device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
An endoscope that irradiates light introduced from the plug from the tip of an endoscope insertion portion that is inserted into a subject; and
A light source device having the receptacle to which the plug of the endoscope is connected;
An endoscopic apparatus comprising: The endoscope apparatus according to claim 7,
An endoscope apparatus in which the light source device supplies a plurality of types of laser beams having different spectra to the endoscope. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 8, wherein
An endoscope apparatus in which the light source device supplies the plurality of types of laser beams to the endoscope simultaneously or alternately.

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