JP2016002298A - Connector and insertion apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector of which mold structure to ensure watertightness with the mouth piece is simplified by employing insert molding and which realizes cost reduction by reducing the assembly man-hours and the number of components.SOLUTION: A connector 30 comprises: a connector main body 32; conduit lines 38, 39, 45 which are arranged on a side of the connector main body 32 and to which are connected tubes through which a fluid passes; a cylindrical body 40 which is provided inside the connector main body 32 and into which the conduit lines 38, 39, 45 are inserted through the side; and a resin exterior body which constitutes the outside surface of the connector main body 32 and is formed by insertion mold to cover the outside surface of the cylindrical body including at least the root parts of the conduit lines 38, 39, 45 projecting from the cylindrical body 40.

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector connected to an external device and an insertion device including the connector.

  Conventionally, an endoscope as an insertion device has an endoscope connector for connecting to an external device such as a light source device or a control device. The configuration of such a conventional endoscope connector is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1, and includes an air supply base, a water supply base, and a suction base for connection to an air supply mechanism and a water supply mechanism of an external device. Various bases such as are protruded from the outer case of the connector.

  In such a conventional endoscope connector, a block member is disposed inside an exterior case for fixing various bases to the connector body, and an insertion hole for an air supply base is formed in the exterior case and the block member. Various bases are inserted and fixed to the base.

  Further, in the conventional endoscope connector, O-rings for water-tight (airtight) holding are respectively attached to the outer surfaces of various bases in contact with the insertion holes of the exterior case and the block member.

JP 2000-47120 A

  However, in the configuration of the endoscope connector of the conventional endoscope, in order to assemble various bases into the connector main body, a block member is provided, and various bases are installed between the outer case and the block member in a watertight manner ( (Airtight) Since an O-ring for holding is necessary, there is a problem that the number of parts increases and assembly becomes complicated.

  Furthermore, recent endoscope connectors are required to be downsized, and for the purpose of downsizing, it is necessary that the O-ring line that holds various bases for the connector body to be watertight (airtight) is thin and easily cut. For this reason, the assembly becomes a cause of complexity.

  Therefore, the endoscope connector has to be hollow in order to insert a communication cable or the like, although a watertight holding member such as an O-ring becomes unnecessary if various bases are insert-molded in the outer case. There is a problem that a mold structure for forming the hollow is necessary, and the manufacturing unit cost becomes very high due to a mold cost, a molding cost, and the like.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and can simplify the mold structure that secures watertightness with various bases by insert molding, and can also assemble by reducing the number of assembly steps and the number of parts. It is an object of the present invention to provide a connector that improves the cost and is inexpensive, and an insertion device including the connector.

  The connector according to one aspect of the present invention includes a connector main body, a pipe provided on a side of the connector main body, a tube through which a fluid passes, and a pipe connected to the inside of the connector main body. Comprises a cylindrical body inserted through from the side and an outer surface of the connector main body, and covers the outer surface of the cylindrical body including at least the root portion of the duct protruding from the cylindrical body And a resin exterior body molded by injection molding.

  An insertion device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a connector main body, a pipe line provided in a side portion of the connector main body, to which a tube through which a fluid passes is connected, and provided in the connector main body. A cylindrical body in which a path is inserted from a side part and an outer surface of the connector main body part, and an outer surface of the cylindrical body including at least a root portion of the pipe line protruding from the cylindrical body. And a resin exterior body molded by injection molding so as to cover, and a connector connected to an external device.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to simplify a mold structure that ensures watertightness with various bases by insert molding, and to reduce the number of assembling steps and parts, thereby improving the assembling property and reducing the cost, and this connector Can be provided.

The perspective view which shows the whole structure of the endoscope apparatus of 1 aspect of this invention. The side view of an endoscope connector. The perspective view which shows the structure of the frame of the endoscope connector of the state in which the pipe system, the nozzle | cap | die, etc. were provided The perspective view of the frame of the endoscope connector showing the insertion state of the duct system, etc. Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the pipeline system of an endoscope connector Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the other pipeline system of the endoscope connector

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings used for the following description, the scale of each component is made different in order to make each component recognizable on the drawing. It is not limited only to the quantity of the component described in (1), the shape of the component, the ratio of the size of the component, and the relative positional relationship of each component. Moreover, in the following description, the up-down direction seen toward the paper surface of the figure may be described as the upper part and the lower part of the component.

  1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of an endoscope apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of an endoscope connector, and FIG. 3 is a state in which a conduit system, a base, and the like are provided. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a frame body of an endoscope connector, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a frame body of the endoscope connector showing an insertion state of the pipeline system, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the pipeline system of the endoscope connector. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of another duct system of the endoscope connector.

  An endoscope apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes an endoscope 2 as an insertion device, a video processor 3 as a CCU (camera control unit) as a control device that is an external device, and a monitor 4. The main part is even composed.

  As shown in the figure, an endoscope 2 that is an insertion device is connected to an insertion portion 11 as an elongated hollow long member to be inserted into a site to be observed, and a proximal end portion of the insertion portion 11. An operation unit 12, a universal cord 10 extended from a side surface of the operation unit 12, and an endoscope connector 30 which is a connector of the present embodiment provided at an extended end of the universal cord 10. It is configured.

The insertion portion 11 has a distal end portion 13 as a distal end rigid portion on the distal end side, and a bending portion 14 as a movable portion that can be bent is connected to a rear portion of the distal end portion 13. Further, a long and flexible flexible tube portion 15 formed of a soft tubular member is connected to the rear portion of the bending portion 14.

  The distal end portion 13 is provided with an observation optical system, illumination optical system, air / water supply nozzle and suction port (not shown). Here, the illumination light emitted from the illumination optical system toward the subject is emitted from a light source such as an LED built in the operation unit 12 and passes through a light guide bundle disposed in the insertion unit 11. , And transmitted to the tip portion 13.

  The operation unit 12 is disposed in the vicinity of the operation unit main body 16 constituting the operation gripping unit, the folding unit 17 connected to the proximal end of the flexible tube unit 15 of the insertion unit 11, and the folding unit 17. And a treatment instrument insertion port 18 serving as an opening of an insertion channel in the insertion portion 11.

  A bending operation knob 19 for bending the bending portion 14 of the insertion portion 11 is rotatably disposed in the operation portion main body 16 and switches 21 and 22 for various endoscope functions are provided. ing.

  The bending operation knob 19 includes a UD bending operation knob 23 for bending the bending portion 14 in the vertical direction, and an RL bending operation knob 24 for bending the bending portion 14 in the left-right direction. Are superimposed. In addition, a release knob 25 that is operated when stopping / releasing the rotation of the bending operation knobs 23 and 24 is provided at the center.

  The video processor 3 converts the image data captured by the endoscope 2 into a video signal and displays it on the monitor 4. Further, the video processor 3 receives operation signals from the switches 21 arranged in the operation unit 12 of the endoscope 2, and drives a compressor of an external device (not shown) based on these signals or is not shown. A device for controlling air supply and water supply by supplying air to the water supply tank and controlling the air or water as a cleaning water in the water supply tank, physiological saline, or the like to the distal end portion 13 through the air supply / water supply channel of the insertion portion 11 is also configured. doing. The switches 21 are mechanical switches that are operated by the user during air / water feeding.

  Note that the switches 21 provided in the operation unit 12 are provided with a base part having a suction button connection base and an air / water supply button connection base, and a suction button and an air / water supply which can be freely attached to and detached from these connection bases. The button is attached.

The endoscope 2 here is configured such that the endoscope connector 30 is electrically detachably connected to the video processor 3. A connecting portion between the endoscope connector 30 and the universal cord 10 is provided with a bend preventing portion 26 having a bend preventing function that constitutes a part of the endoscope connector 30 here. Further, a connecting portion between the universal cord 10 and the operation unit 12 is provided with a bend preventing portion 27 having a bend preventing function.

Next, based on FIGS. 2-6, the structure of the endoscope connector 30 of this Embodiment is demonstrated in detail below.
The endoscope connector 30 of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is connected to the video processor 3, is connected to the electrical connector section 31, and is connected to the universal cord 10 and the bend preventing section 26. And a substantially cylindrical connector main body 32 provided continuously.

  The connector main body 32 constitutes a substantially cylindrical first exterior cover body 33 that is a case body integrally formed with the connector case of the electrical connector section 31, and the above-described folding preventing section 26. A substantially cylindrical second exterior cover body 34 which is a case body covering the connection portion, and a base holding section 35 connected between the first and second exterior cover bodies 33, 34. doing.

  Further, on one side portion of the first exterior cover body 33, a vent hole metal 36 for water tightness inspection of the endoscope 2 is provided. The connector main body 32 and the first and second exterior cover bodies 33 and 34 have a continuous outer surface without a step in order to improve the cleaning performance of the endoscope connector 30.

  The base holding part 35 is provided with a suction base 37 as a tube base which is a so-called bamboo shoot type hose nipple on one side, protrudes through the metal base 38a on the other side, and protrudes from the water supply tank to the protruding part. A water supply pipe 38 serving as a tube base (water supply base) to which a water supply tube is connected and a pressure pipe serving as a tube base (air supply base) to which a pressurized tube from a water supply tank is connected to a protruding portion. A tracheal passage 39 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a cylindrical body 40 as a hard frame member made of metal or the like is provided inside the base holding portion 35. The cylindrical body 40 is formed with connection end portions 41 and 42 that are stepped so that both ends thereof are small diameter portions in the inner diameter direction, and is formed so as to be a large diameter portion between the connection end portions 41 and 42. The base holding tube portion 43 is provided. The connection end portions 41 and 42 are formed with a plurality of screw holes (partially not shown).

  The base holding tube portion 43 is formed with insertion holes on one side and the other side, and a suction conduit 45 provided inside the suction base 37 is inserted into the insertion hole on one side, A water supply conduit 38 and an air supply conduit 39 are inserted through the insertion hole on the side portion side.

  In addition, after the suction pipe 45, the water supply pipe 38 and the air supply pipe 39 are inserted into the base holding pipe 43 of the cylindrical body 40, the base holding pipe 43, the suction pipe 45, the water supply pipe 38 and Each of the air supply pipes 39 is fixed.

  As the fixing means, for example, the base holding pipe 43 of the cylindrical body 40, the suction pipe 45, the water supply pipe 38, and the air supply pipe 39 are watertightly held using an adhesive or the like. The base holding pipe 43, the suction pipe 45, the water supply pipe 38 and the air supply pipe 39 may be fixed by brazing, laser welding, spot welding or the like.

  Further, various fixing means such as positioning of the base holding tube portion 43 of the cylindrical body 40, the suction conduit 45, the water supply conduit 38 and the air supply conduit 39 with a resin caulking agent may be used.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the suction pipe 45 is bent in a substantially L shape inside the cylindrical body 40, and a tube connector 47 serving as a suction internal base to which a suction tube 59 (see FIG. 6) is attached. It is connected.

  The water supply pipe 38 is also bent in a substantially L shape inside the cylindrical body 40, and a tube connector 46 serving as a water supply internal base to which a water supply tube 56 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) is attached is connected. .

  The air supply conduit 39 is connected to the joint block 50 inside the cylindrical body 40. A plug side air supply line 49 and a universal cord side air supply line 51 are connected to the joint block 50 in an axial direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the air supply line 39.

  That is, the joint block 50 is a T-shaped joint that connects and communicates the air supply line 39, the plug-side air supply line 49, and the universal cord-side air supply line 51 in a substantially T shape.

  It should be noted that tube connectors 48 as air supply inner caps for attaching air supply tubes 57 and 58 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) to the respective ends of the plug side air supply line 49 and the universal cord side air supply line 51. 52 is connected.

  Thus, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the tubular body 40 provided with the various pipes 38, 39, 45, 49, 51 as fluid pipes is connected to the connection ends 41, 42 at both ends. A resin outer body 60 is formed by insert molding on the entire outer surface of the base holding tube 43 from midway. At this time, the resin is poured into the mold in a state where the connection end portions 41 and 42 of the cylindrical body 40 are supported from both ends by a jig or the like.

  The various pipes 38, 39, and 45 projecting from the side of the cylindrical body 40 have a cylindrical body 40 for facilitating die-cutting of the mold and ensuring watertight (airtight) holding. It is arrange | positioned at the cylindrical body 40 so that it may have a pipe axis in the direction substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal axis direction.

  Furthermore, the outer surface of the tubular body 40 and the root portions of the various pipes 38, 39, 45, 49, 51 protruding from the side portions of the tubular body 40 are compatible with the resin forming the exterior body 60. Surface treatment that improves The various pipes 38, 39, 45, 49, 51 may be subjected to a surface treatment that enhances the affinity with the resin forming the exterior body 60 on the entire outer surface protruding from the side portion of the cylindrical body 40. .

  As the surface treatment, for example, various pipe lines 38, 39, 45, 49, 51 and the outer surface of the cylindrical body 40 are excited by plasma surface treatment, or various pipe lines 38, An uneven pattern is provided on the outer surfaces of 39, 45, 49, 51 and the tubular body 40 to improve wettability with the resin forming the exterior body 60.

  Furthermore, by surface treatments such as coating the outer surface with functional groups that improve the hydrophilicity on the outer surfaces of the various pipes 38, 39, 45, 49, 51 and the cylindrical body 40, for example, the same resin as the exterior body 60, You may make it improve wettability with resin which forms the exterior body 60. FIG.

  As described above, the connector main body 32 of the endoscope connector 30 includes the pipes 38, 39, 45, 49, 51 and the tubular body 40 as insert metal materials, and the connector holding portion 43 of the tubular body 40. The exterior body 60 is insert-molded on the outer surface of the cylindrical body 40 including the root portions of the various pipelines 38, 39, 45, 49, 51 inserted so as to protrude from the side portions, and the various pipelines 38 are formed. , 39, 45, 49, 51 and the base holding tube portion 43 are molded into the outer package 60. As a result, the watertightness (airtightness) of the entire side peripheral portion of the mouthpiece holding portion 35 of the connector main body portion 32 in the endoscope connector 30 is held.

  As described above, the suction base 45, which is a so-called bamboo shoot type hose nipple for attaching a suction tube, is provided on the outer surface of the suction pipe 45 protruding from one side of the base holding pipe 43 of the cylindrical body 40. 37 is integrally formed with the exterior body 60 by insert molding.

  Then, after the exterior body 60 is insert-molded, the metal base 38 a is disposed so as to be extrapolated to the water supply pipe 38 and is fitted and fixed to the base holding pipe portion 43.

  Note that fitting portions 61 and 62 into which the first exterior cover body 33 and the second exterior cover body 34 are respectively fitted are formed at both ends of the exterior body 60 molded on the outer surface of the cylindrical body 40. The peripheral grooves 65 and 66 for attaching the O-rings 63 and 64 are formed in the fitting portions 61 and 62, respectively. Thereby, the exterior body 60 will be in the state hold | maintained watertight (airtight) with the 1st exterior cover body 33 and the 2nd exterior cover body 34 which are connected to both ends.

  The cylindrical body 40 is provided with a fixing plate 55 so as to cover the opening of the connection end 41 on the electric connector portion 31 side. The fixing plate 55 is fixed with a chassis (not shown) of the electrical connector section 31 and screws or the like, so that the tubular body 40 and the chassis of the electrical connector section 31 are connected. Thus, the electrical connector portion 31 and the connector main body portion 32 are fixed.

  The fixing plate 55 has an insertion hole through which a plug-side air supply conduit 49, an imaging cable connected to an imaging unit arranged at the tip, an electric cable connected to an illumination light source arranged in the operation unit, and the like are inserted. A plurality are formed (all not shown).

  The endoscope connector 30 according to the present embodiment configured as described above is insert-molded on the outer surface of the tubular body 40 provided inside the base holding portion 35 of the connector main body portion 32. The hollow required for the longitudinal direction (longitudinal axis direction) of the base holding part 35 is formed by the tubular body 40.

  Thereby, the cap holding part 35 of the connector main body part 32 in the endoscope connector 30 is formed with a hollow part through which various pipes 38, 39, 45, 49, 51, various cables and the like can be inserted. This eliminates the need for a mold for this purpose. That is, the mold for forming the die holding part 35 does not use a slide core or the like, and may be structured to be movable and cracked only in one direction of the hollow and vertical directions, so that the mold structure is simplified.

  Further, at the time of manufacturing the base holding part 35, the suction pipe 45, the water supply pipe 38 and the air supply pipe 39 provided in the suction base 37 protruding from the side part of the base holding part 35 insert-mold the outer body 60. It is fixed to the cylindrical body 40 before, and it is necessary to set a plurality of parts in the mold by integrating the insert metal material by the cylindrical body 40, the suction pipe 45, the water supply pipe 38 and the air supply pipe 39. This eliminates the need for installation work on the mold.

  In the endoscope connector 30, when the electric connector portion 31 and the universal cord 10 are assembled to the base holding portion 35, the outer body 60, the suction conduit 45, the water supply conduit 38, and the air supply conduit 39 are attached to the base retainer 35. Since the water supply tube 56, the air supply tubes 57 and 58, and the suction tube 59 are connected to the tube connectors 47, 48, 52, and 46, respectively, the connection ends 41 and 42 of the cylindrical body 40 are connected. It is only necessary to connect and fix the first exterior cover body 33 of the electrical connector section 31 and the second exterior cover body 34 to be the folding preventing section 26 in a watertight (airtight) manner.

  That is, the endoscope connector 30 does not require a block member for assembling various conduits serving as various caps to the connector main body 32, and between the components between the conduits serving as various caps and the exterior case and the block member. Since an O-ring for watertight (airtight) holding is not necessary, the number of parts is reduced and the cost is reduced, and the assemblability is improved.

  In addition, the endoscope connector 30 is provided with the cylindrical body 40 as an insert metal material of the outer body 60 to be insert-molded, so that a mold structure for forming a hollow is not required, and mold costs, molding costs, etc. Therefore, the manufacturing unit price can be suppressed.

  Therefore, the endoscope connector 30 can be manufactured at low cost by improving the assemblability by reducing the number of assembly steps and the number of parts as well as simplifying the mold structure for ensuring watertightness with various bases by insert molding. Can do. As a result, the endoscope 2 which is an insertion device is also inexpensive because the assemblability is improved.

  From the above description, the endoscope connector 30 and the endoscope 2 including the endoscope connector 30 have a small number of parts, can be easily assembled, and can be reduced in cost by reducing the parts and assembly costs.

  In addition, although the endoscope connector 30 described above exemplifies a configuration in which the electrical connector portion 31 and the connector main body portion 32 are integrated, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the electrical connector and the electrical connector However, the present invention can also be applied to a configuration including a light source connector provided with a separate light guide plug, fluid pipe connection, and the like.

  The invention described in each of the above embodiments is not limited to those embodiments and modifications, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Furthermore, the above embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements.

  For example, even if some constituent requirements are deleted from all the constituent requirements shown in each embodiment, the stated requirements can be deleted if the stated problem can be solved and the stated effect can be obtained. The structure thus constructed can be extracted as an invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Endoscope apparatus 2 ... Endoscope 3 ... Video processor 4 ... Monitor 10 ... Universal cord 11 ... Insertion part 12 ... Operation part 13 ... Tip part 14 ... Bending part 15 ... Flexible pipe part 16 ... Operation part main body 17 , 26, 27 ... bending prevention part 18 ... treatment instrument insertion port 19 ... bending operation knobs 21 and 22 ... switches 23 ... UD bending operation knob 24 ... RL bending operation knob 25 ... release knob 30 ... endoscope connector

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 31 ... Electric connector part 32 ... Connector main-body part 33 ... 1st exterior cover body 34 ... 2nd exterior cover body 35 ... Base holding part 36 ... Vent base 37 ... Suction base 38 ... Water supply pipe line 38a ... Metal base 39 ... Air supply pipe 40 ... cylindrical body 41 ... connection end 41, 42 ... connection end 43 ... mouthpiece holding pipe 45 ... suction pipe 46, 47, 48, 52 ... tube connector 49 ... plug-side air supply pipe 50 ... Joint block 51 ... Universal cord side air supply line 55 ... Fixed plate 56 ... Water supply tube 57, 58 ... Air supply tube 59 ... Suction tube 60 ... Exterior body 61, 62 ... Fitting part 63, 64 ... O-ring 65, 66 ... Circumferential groove

Claims (7)

A connector body,
A pipe line provided on a side of the connector main body, to which a tube through which a fluid passes is connected;
A cylindrical body provided inside the connector main body, and the pipe line is inserted from the side,
A resin exterior body that is formed by insert molding so as to cover the outer surface of the cylindrical body including the at least the root portion of the pipe line that constitutes the outer surface of the connector main body and protrudes from the cylindrical body When,
A connector comprising:   2. The surface treatment for improving the affinity with the resin for molding the exterior body is performed on an outer surface of the cylindrical body and at least the root portion of the conduit. Connector described in.   The connector according to claim 1, further comprising fixing means for fixing the pipe line to the cylindrical body.   2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the portion of the pipe that protrudes from the side of the cylindrical body has a pipe axis that is substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical body.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the pipe is provided with a resin tube connecting portion integrally formed with the exterior body by the insert molding. An exterior case connected to the connector main body while being kept watertight,
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the outer case and the connector main body connected to each other have a continuous outer surface without a step.   An insertion device comprising the connector according to any one of claims 1 to 6, which is connected to an external device.

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