JP7497561B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to connectors used in connecting parts of medical devices, such as infusion tubes.

Conventionally, connectors that have a taper fitting mechanism and a locking mechanism are known as connectors for connecting various parts in medical devices that form infusion lines such as three-way stopcocks and infusion tubes. Such connectors are composed of a male connector with a cylindrical male luer (fitting portion) whose outer circumferential surface is tapered, and a female connector with a cylindrical female luer (fitting portion) whose inner circumferential surface is tapered, and the connection is made by inserting the male luer into the female luer and fitting them together.

In addition, in such connectors, the male connector has a cylindrical locking member with a female thread on its inner surface on the outer periphery of the male lure as a locking mechanism, and the female connector has a male thread on the outer periphery of the female lure that screws into the female thread of the locking member. Usually, the locking member is loosely fitted on the outer periphery of the male lure and is rotatable relative to the male lure. Therefore, such connectors are connected by inserting the male lure into the female lure, then rotating the locking member and screwing the female thread of the locking member into the male thread of the female connector.

Among such connectors, there is known a connector in which, when the female thread of the locking member and the male thread of the female connector are not mated, a protrusion on the outer peripheral surface of the male lure comes into circumferential contact with a protrusion on the inner peripheral surface of the locking member, allowing the user to rotate the male lure via the locking member, thereby making it easy to release the engagement between the male lure and the female lure (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Since the locking member has a larger diameter than the male lure, if the male lure can be rotated relative to the female lure via the locking member, it becomes possible to easily release the male lure from the female lure even when the engagement between them is tight. In other words, the connection between the male connector and the female connector can be easily released. This is particularly effective when both the male connector and the female connector are provided at the end of a flexible infusion tube, since there are no other parts to which force can be easily applied other than the male connector and the female connector.

Japanese Patent No. 6369040

However, in the connector described in Patent Document 1, when disconnecting the connector, the user must first release the female thread of the locking member from the male thread of the female connector, then move the locking member axially away from the female connector, and then rotate and move it while feeling for it to position the protrusion of the male lure and the protrusion of the locking member, before they can abut against each other. For this reason, the connector described in Patent Document 1 has the problem of poor operability.

In light of these circumstances, the present invention aims to provide a connector that is easy to use.

The connector of the present invention comprises a cylindrical main body having a fitting portion at its tip side that fits with a mating connector, and a cylindrical locking member having a screw that screws into a mating screw of the mating connector and that is loosely fitted around the outer periphery of the main body with the axial direction aligned when the screw and the mating screw are not screwed together , and the outer periphery of the main body has a first abutment portion that, when the main body and the mating connector are engaged and the locking member is released from the screwing of the locking member with the mating screw, abuts against a part of the inner periphery of the locking member in the circumferential direction , thereby restricting relative rotation of the locking member with respect to the main body in the direction in which the screwing of the mating screw is released, and a second abutment portion that, when the locking member is screwed into the mating screw, abuts against a part of the inner periphery of the locking member, thereby guiding the locking member, which is rotating relative to the main body, toward the tip side of the main body in the direction in which the screwing of the mating screw progresses.

By positioning the first abutment portion close to the mating portion at the tip of the main body and abutting a part of the locking member against the first abutment portion at approximately the same time, or immediately before or after, the screw of the locking member is released from the screw of the mating member when the connection with the mating connector is released, the operation of rotating the main body via the locking member to release the mating portion can be performed consecutively with the operation of releasing the screw of the locking member from the screw of the mating member.

However, in this case, when connecting to the mating connector, the protrusion or the like on which the first abutment portion is provided will interfere with part of the locking member when the screw of the locking member begins to screw into the screw of the mating member, resulting in problems such as the locking member being unable to screw into the screw of the mating member or the main body rotating together with the locking member causing the engagement of the engagement portion to be released.

In response to this, according to the present invention, by appropriately positioning the second abutment portion, when the screw of the locking member starts to screw into the mating screw, the rotating locking member can be guided to avoid the protrusion on which the first abutment portion is provided. In other words, according to the present invention, the operation of releasing the engagement of the engagement portion when disconnecting can be performed consecutively with the operation of releasing the engagement with the mating screw without causing any problems when connecting to the mating connector, thereby realizing a connector with excellent operability.

In addition, in the connector of the present invention, it is preferable that the main body has a protrusion that protrudes partially in the circumferential direction from the outer circumferential surface, and the first contact portion and the second contact portion are provided on the protrusion.

With this, since the protrusion with the first and second contact portions is provided partially in the circumferential direction, the locking member can be moved axially away from the main body so as not to interfere with this protrusion. As a result, in cases where a large-diameter locking member would be in the way, such as when the main body or an infusion tube connected to the main body is fixed to the skin surface of the human body with tape or the like, the locking member can be moved along the infusion tube and positioned out of the way. Furthermore, since the locking member that has been temporarily separated from the main body can be easily returned to its original position, the operability of the connector can be further improved.

In addition, in the connector of the present invention, the main body has a third abutment portion that abuts against a part of the locking member to restrict relative movement of the locking member with respect to the main body in a direction toward the rear end side of the main body, and it is preferable that the third abutment portion is located closer to the rear end side of the main body than the first abutment portion.

This allows the user to rotate the main body via the locking member to release the mating portion, and then move the main body axially while still holding the locking member to detach it from the mating connector, further improving the operability of the connector.

In addition, in the connector of the present invention, the main body has a third abutment portion that abuts against a part of the locking member to restrict relative movement of the locking member with respect to the main body in a direction toward the rear end side of the main body, and it is preferable that the first abutment portion and the third abutment portion are provided in a notch portion that is cut out in a stepped shape on the tip side of the main body of the protrusion.

This not only makes it possible to move the locking member axially away from the main body, but also makes it possible to abut a portion of the locking member against the first abutment portion by simply moving the locking member axially, thereby making it possible to abut against the third abutment portion, thereby further improving the operability of the connector.

The connector according to the present invention comprises a cylindrical main body having a fitting portion at a tip end thereof for fitting with a mating connector, and a cylindrical locking member having a screw for screwing into a mating screw of the mating connector, the locking member being loosely fitted on an outer periphery of the main body with the axial direction aligned in a state in which the screw and the mating screw are not screwed into each other ;
The inner circumferential surface of the locking member is such that, in a state where the main body and the mating connector are fitted together,
a first contact portion that, when releasing the screwing of the locking member and the mating screw, contacts a part of an outer circumferential surface of the main body in a circumferential direction to restrict a relative rotation of the locking member with respect to the main body in a direction in which the screwing of the locking member with the mating screw is released;
and a second abutment portion that abuts against a part of the outer peripheral surface of the main body when the locking member and the mating screw are screwed together, thereby guiding the locking member, which is rotating relative to the main body, toward the tip side of the main body in the direction in which the screwing with the mating screw progresses.

Even in this case, the operation of disengaging the mating portion when disconnecting can be performed consecutively with the operation of releasing the mating screw without causing any malfunction when connecting to the mating connector, resulting in a connector with excellent operability.

The connector according to the present invention has the excellent effect of enabling the creation of a connector with excellent operability.

1A is a front view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along line II in FIG. 1A, and FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. 1B. 1A is a front view of the main body, B is a plan view of the main body, and C is a left side view of the main body. 1A is a cross-sectional view of the locking member taken along line II in FIG. 1A, B is a cross-sectional view of the locking member taken along line II-II in FIG. 1B, and C is a left side view of the locking member. 1A and 1B are partial cross-sectional views showing the operation of the connector. 1A and 1B are partial cross-sectional views showing the operation of the connector. 1A and 1B are partial cross-sectional views showing the operation of the connector. 1A and 1B are partial cross-sectional views showing the operation of the connector. 4A to 4C are diagrams showing modified examples of the connector.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings. Fig. 1A is a front view of a connector 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I in Fig. 1A, and Fig. 1C is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in Fig. 1B.

The connector 1 of this embodiment is a male connector that conforms to a specified standard and is provided at the end of the infusion tube 100 to connect the infusion tube 100 to, for example, a three-way stopcock or other infusion tube. As shown in Figures 1A to 1C, the connector 1 comprises a substantially cylindrical main body 10 and a substantially cylindrical locking member 20 that is loosely fitted around the outer periphery of the main body 10 with the axial direction aligned.

2A is a front view of the main body 10, FIG. 2B is a plan view of the main body 10, and FIG. 2C is a left side view of the main body 10. As shown in these figures, the main body 10 has a passage 11 that penetrates in the axial direction (left-right direction in the figure), a fitting portion 12 provided at the tip side (right side of the figure), a tube connection portion 13 provided at the rear end side (left side of the figure), a body portion 14 between the fitting portion 12 and the tube connection portion 13, and a protrusion 15 provided on the body portion 14.

The passage 11 is for passing medicinal liquids and the like, and is provided to connect the fitting portion 12 and the tube connection portion 13. The fitting portion 12 is a male lure that is inserted into and fitted with the mating connector 200 (see Figures 4 to 7). The outer peripheral surface of the fitting portion 12 is configured in a tapered shape that gradually reduces in diameter toward the tip side in accordance with a predetermined standard. The tube connection portion 13 is a portion to which the infusion tube 100 made of a flexible material is connected. In this embodiment, the tube connection portion 13 is composed of an outer tube 13a and an inner tube 13b. The infusion tube 100 is inserted between the outer tube 13a and the inner tube 13b, and fixed to the tube connection portion 13 by adhesive or the like.

The body 14 is the part on whose outer periphery the locking member 20 is loosely fitted. The body 14 is composed of an equal diameter portion 14a at the rear end side, which has a substantially constant outer diameter in the axial direction and is the same diameter as the outer tube 13a of the tube connection part 13, a tapered portion 14b at the tip side of the equal diameter portion 14a, which gradually expands in diameter toward the tip side, and a large diameter portion 14c at the tip side of the tapered portion 14b, which has a diameter larger than the maximum outer diameter of the tapered portion 14b.

The constant diameter portion 14a and the tapered portion 14b are portions into which the locking member 20 is loosely fitted. The fit between the constant diameter portion 14a and the locking member 20 is a clearance fit, whereas the fit between the tapered portion 14b and the locking member 20 is an interference fit. The large diameter portion 14c abuts against the locking member 20 in the axial direction, thereby restricting the movement of the locking member 20 toward the tip side.

The protrusions 15 mainly come into circumferential contact with the locking member 20 when the connector 1 is disconnected, thereby restricting the relative rotation of the locking member 20 around the axis C with respect to the main body 10, thereby allowing the user to rotate the main body 10 around the axis C via the locking member 20.

The protrusions 15 are provided at two locations (opposite positions) on the front and back sides of the outer circumferential surface of the equal diameter portion 14a, protruding toward the front and back, respectively (in opposite directions). The cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the protruding direction of the protrusions 15 is a vertically symmetrical heptagon with a side perpendicular to the axis C on the rear end side in a plan view, with a portion of the tip side cut out in a stepped shape. The two protrusions 15 are also configured symmetrically with respect to the axis C.

More specifically, the tip side of the protrusion 15 is provided with a stepped cutout portion 16 composed of a side surface 15a facing one side in the circumferential direction (clockwise side when viewed from the left side) and a side surface 15b facing the tip side. In this embodiment, the side surface 15a is composed of a plane perpendicular to the circumferential direction, and the side surface 15b is composed of a plane perpendicular to the axial direction.

In addition, on the other circumferential side (counterclockwise side when viewed from the left side) of the notch 16 on the tip side of the protrusion 15, a side surface 15c is provided that is inclined so as to be gradually positioned toward the tip side toward one side in the circumferential direction. In this embodiment, the side surface 15a constitutes the first abutment portion 17 of the present invention, the side surface 15c constitutes the second abutment portion 18 of the present invention, and the side surface 15b constitutes the third abutment portion 19 of the present invention.

In addition, in this embodiment, the axial positions of the rear end 15a1 of the first contact portion 17 (side surface 15a), the rear end 15c1 of the second contact portion 18 (side surface 15c), and the third contact portion 19 (side surface 15b) are made to be approximately aligned. Therefore, the third contact portion 19 is located further rearward than the first contact portion 17 and the second contact portion 18.

The projection 15 also has side surfaces 15d and 15e on the rear end side of side surfaces 15b and 15c that are parallel to the axial direction, and the corner between side surfaces 15b and 15d is more rounded than the other corners. In addition, the rear end side of side surfaces 15d and 15e has side surfaces 15f and 15g that are inclined so as to gradually approach each other toward the rear end side. And the rear end side of side surfaces 15f and 15g has side surfaces 15h that are perpendicular to the axial direction.

The top surface 15i of the protrusion 15 is configured as a curved surface that is approximately parallel to the outer peripheral surface of the constant diameter portion 14a in the region corresponding to the side surfaces 15a-e, and is configured as an inclined curved surface whose protrusion amount gradually decreases toward the rear end side in the region corresponding to the side surfaces 15f-h. The protrusion 15 protrudes partially in the circumferential direction from the constant diameter portion 14a, but in this embodiment, the range that the protrusion 15 occupies in the circumferential direction is set to a relatively wide range of about 100° in the parts corresponding to the side surfaces 15b and 15c.

In this way, by configuring the top surface 15i of the protrusion 15 as a curved surface having an inclined portion and configuring the protrusion 15 to be relatively wide in the circumferential direction, it is possible to reduce pain and discomfort that may occur when it comes into contact with the skin of the human body. In this embodiment, the amount of protrusion of the protrusion 15 is further set to be approximately equal to the outer diameter of the large diameter portion 14c, thereby further reducing pain and discomfort upon contact.

Returning to Figures 1A-C, the locking member 20 is intended to lock the connection by screwing into the male thread 210 of the mating connector 200. The locking member 20 is configured with a larger diameter at the tip end than at the rear end, and is provided with multiple ribs 20a that are continuous in the axial direction so that the user can easily pinch and rotate it with their fingers.

Figure 3A is a cross-sectional view of the locking member 20 taken along line I-I in Figure 1A, Figure 3B is a cross-sectional view of the locking member 20 taken along line II-II in Figure 1B, and Figure 3C is a left side view of the locking member 20. As shown in these figures, the locking member 20 is composed of a screw-in portion 21 on the tip side, a loose-fitting portion 22 on the rear end side, and two protrusions 23 provided on the inside of the loose-fitting portion 22.

The screwing portion 21 is a portion that screws into the male thread 210 of the mating connector 200, and both the inner and outer diameters are configured to be larger than the loose-fitting portion 22. A female thread 21a that conforms to a predetermined standard is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the screwing portion 21. In this embodiment, the female thread 21a is a two-thread trapezoidal thread, and a predetermined play is set for the screwing with the male thread 210 of the mating connector 200 by setting the pitch to be large. In addition, since the female thread 21a is a right-handed thread, the clockwise direction when viewed from the left side is the screwing progression direction (the direction in which the screw is tightened), and the counterclockwise direction when viewed from the left side is the screwing release direction (the direction in which the screw is loosened).

The loose-fitting portion 22 is configured so that the outer diameter on the rear end side is approximately constant in the axial direction, and the outer diameter on the tip end side gradually expands toward the tip side according to the outer diameter of the screw-in portion 21. The inner peripheral surface of the loose-fitting portion 22 is composed of a rear end portion 22a on the rear end side, an intermediate portion 22b on the tip side of the rear end portion 22a, and a tip portion 22c on the tip side of the intermediate portion 22b.

The rear end 22a is configured so that the inner diameter gradually increases toward the rear end. The middle portion 22b is configured so that the inner diameter is the same as the minimum outer diameter of the rear end 22a and is constant in the axial direction. The tip portion 22c is configured so that the inner diameter gradually increases toward the tip side from an inner diameter slightly larger than that of the middle portion 22b to the inner diameter of the screw-on portion 21. The inner diameter of the middle portion 22b is set to a diameter slightly larger than the maximum outer diameter of the protrusion 15 of the main body 10, and the two protrusions 23 are provided so that the middle portion 22b partially protrudes toward the axis C in the circumferential direction.

The protruding portion 23 is a portion that comes into contact with the large diameter portion 14c and the protrusion 15 of the main body 10. As shown in FIG. 3C, the protruding portion 23 is configured to be substantially arc-shaped when viewed from the left side and the right side, and the top surface 23a is provided along a circumference that is slightly larger in diameter than the outer diameter of the constant diameter portion 14a of the main body 10. In addition, the space between the two protruding portions 23 is set to a size that allows the protrusion 15 of the main body 10 to pass through in the axial direction.

Specifically, the end face 23b on one side of the protrusion 23 and the end face 23c on the other side in the circumferential direction are configured to be approximately parallel to the side face 15d or side face 15e of the protrusion 15, respectively, and the linear distance between the end face 23b of one protrusion 23 and the end face 23c of the other protrusion 23 is set to be slightly larger than the linear distance between the side face 15d and side face 15e of the protrusion 15.

The rear end side of the top surface 23a of the protrusion 23 is configured as an inclined curved surface with the amount of protrusion gradually decreasing toward the rear end side. The rear end 22a and the inclined surface 23a1 are provided to allow the locking member 20 to be inclined relative to the main body 10 within a predetermined range. In addition, a thin inner rib 22d that abuts against the top surface 15i of the protrusion 15 is provided axially continuously at the midpoint between the two protrusions 23 in the intermediate portion 22b. This inner rib 22d is intended to prevent the locking member 20 from moving unintentionally in the axial direction by engaging with the top surface 15i of the protrusion 15.

Next, the operation of the connector 1 will be described. Figures 4A and B, 5A and B, 6A and B, and 7A and B are partial cross-sectional views showing the operation of the connector 1. In these figures, the locking member 20 and the mating connector 200 are shown in cross section, and the protruding portion 23 on the front side of the main body 10 is shown by a two-dot chain line. In the following description, the rotation and movement of the locking member 20 is relative to the main body 10 or the mating connector 200, unless otherwise specified.

As shown in these figures, the mating connector 200 of this embodiment is a female connector that conforms to a specified standard. The mating connector 200 is a cylindrical member, and has a mating mating portion 201 on its inner surface into which the mating portion 12 is inserted and mated. In addition, the mating connector 200 has a male thread 210 on its outer surface that screws into the female thread 21a of the locking member 20.

When connecting the connector 1 to the mating connector 200, the user first inserts the mating portion 12 into the mating connector 200 and mates the mating portion 12 with the mating portion 201. Next, the user lightly presses the locking member 20 toward the mating connector 200 (the tip side of the main body 10) while rotating it clockwise (i.e., the direction in which the screwing proceeds) around the axis C as viewed from the left side, to screw the female thread 21a into the male thread 210.

At this time, the protruding portion 23 of the locking member 20 is disposed between the protrusions 15, and is in a state in which it can move axially without interfering with the protrusions 15. Even if the protruding portion 23 is located rearward of the protrusions 15, the protruding portion 23 is guided between the protrusions 15 by the inclined side surface 15f or side surface 15g, so the user can smoothly move the locking member 20 toward the tip side.

Figure 4A shows an example of a state immediately before the female thread 21a and the male thread 210 start to be screwed together. In this embodiment, when the leading ends (respective ends) of the female thread 21a and the male thread 210 are brought into axial contact with each other while the fitting portion 12 and the mating fitting portion 201 are fitted together, the protrusion 15 is positioned so that the protruding portion 23 is located closer to the leading end of the main body 10 than the rear end 15a1 of the first contact portion 17 (side surface 15a), the rear end 15c1 of the second contact portion 18 (side surface 15c), and the third contact portion 19 (side surface 15b).

In this example, the end surface 23b of the protrusion 23 comes into contact with the second abutment portion 18 at approximately the same time as the female thread 21a and the male thread 210 start to screw together. Therefore, when the user rotates the locking member 20 clockwise when viewed from the left side, the locking member 20 is guided by the second abutment portion 18, which is an inclined surface, and moves axially toward the mating connector 200.

Originally, after the start of screwing, the locking member 20 is guided by the male thread 210 and rotates while moving axially toward the mating connector 200. In addition, since an appropriate amount of play is provided between the female thread 21a and the male thread 210, even when the protrusion 23 is in contact with the second contact portion 18, the user can rotate the locking member 20 smoothly without feeling any significant increase in resistance or any catching.

In this example, after the locking member 20 rotates approximately 50° after the start of the screwing, the protrusion 23 comes off the second abutment portion 18, as shown in FIG. 4B. After the protrusion 23 comes off the second abutment portion 18, the user can continue screwing the female thread 21a and the male thread 210 in the same way as with a conventional connector.

Then, as the screwing progresses, the locking member 20 moves toward the mating connector 200, and as shown in FIG. 5A, the top surface 23a of the protrusion 23 comes into contact with the tapered portion 14b. When the protrusion 23 comes into contact with the tapered portion 14b, the main body 10 and the locking member 20 are elastically deformed, and the frictional force generated by the restoring force of this elastic deformation creates an anti-loosening effect on the screwing of the female thread 21a and the male thread 210.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the protrusion 23 comes into contact with the large diameter portion 14c, restricting the axial movement of the locking member 20. As a result, when the locking member 20 is rotated further, the mating connector 200 is drawn toward the main body 10, further strengthening the fit between the mating portion 12 and the mating portion 201. In addition, an axial force of the screw fastening is generated between the connector 1 and the mating connector 200, thereby locking the connection between the connector 1 and the mating connector 200 so that they cannot be easily separated.

Depending on the mating state of the mating portion 12 and the mating portion 201, and the relative circumferential positional relationship between the main body 10 and the mating connector 200, the protrusion 23 may come into contact with the second abutment portion 18 before or after the female thread 21a and the male thread 210 start to be screwed together. In either case, the locking member 20 is guided in the same direction as the axial movement that accompanies the screwing, allowing the user to operate the device without feeling any particular discomfort.

In addition, the notch 16 of the protrusion 15 allows the locking member 20 the freedom to rotate in the opposite direction before the start of screwing, so the user can adjust the circumferential position of the locking member 20 as needed to screw the female thread 21a into the male thread 210.

When disconnecting the connector 1 from the mating connector 200, the user rotates the locking member 20 from the state shown in FIG. 5B around the axis C counterclockwise when viewed from the left side (i.e., in the direction in which the screw engagement is released) to release the screw engagement between the female thread 21a and the male thread 210. As the screw engagement is released, the locking member 20 moves axially toward the opposite side of the mating connector 200.

Figure 6A shows an example of the state immediately after the female screw 21a and the male screw 210 have been completely released from each other (the female screw 21a has come off the male screw 210). If screwing is started from the state shown in Figure 4A, the state immediately after the screwing is completely released will be substantially the same as that shown in Figure 4A. Therefore, in this example, when the user continues to rotate the locking member 20 counterclockwise by approximately 50° as viewed from the left side, the end surface 23c of the protrusion 23 will come into contact with the first contact portion 17 as shown in Figure 6B.

After the protrusion 23 abuts against the first abutment portion 17, the rotation of the locking member 20 around the axis C relative to the main body 10 is restricted, so that the main body 10 rotates together with the locking member 20 around the axis C. Therefore, when the user continues to rotate the locking member 20, the main body 10 rotates around the axis C relative to the mating connector 200, and the mating portion 12 and the mating portion 201 are easily disengaged.

Once the engagement between the mating portion 12 and the mating portion 201 has been released, the user can remove the connector 1 from the mating connector 200 by pinching the locking member 20 and moving it axially away from the mating connector 200. Specifically, since the third abutment portion 19 is located further rearward than the first abutment portion 17, as shown in FIG. 7A, the protrusion 23 abuts against the third abutment portion 19, and this allows the main body 10 to be moved together with the locking member 20 in a direction away from the mating connector.

The user can also rotate the locking member 20 so that the protrusion 23 and the projection 15 are not in contact with each other, and move the locking member 20 axially toward the rear end of the main body 10, thereby retracting the locking member 20 to the infusion tube 100 side, as shown in FIG. 7B. In particular, in this embodiment, a relatively large curve is provided at one end of the third abutment portion 19 in the circumferential direction, so that the user can easily retract the locking member 20 to the infusion tube 100 side by simply rotating the locking member 20 to one side in the circumferential direction while lightly pressing it toward the rear end of the main body 10.

In this way, the connector 1 allows the continuous and easy operation of releasing the female thread 21a of the locking member 20 from the male thread 210 of the mating connector 200, releasing the engagement between the mating portion 12 of the main body 10 and the mating portion 201 of the mating connector 200, and removing the connector 1 from the mating connector 200. Furthermore, while allowing such operations, no problems occur when connecting the connector 1 to the mating connector 200. In other words, the connector 1 has excellent operability.

The inclination angle of the second abutment portion 18 (the angle with respect to the plane perpendicular to the axis C) is not particularly limited, but is preferably 1 to 3 times the lead angle of the female thread 21a, and in this embodiment is set to an angle of approximately 2 times the lead angle of the female thread 21a.

Next, modified examples of the connector 1 will be described. Figures 8A to 8C are diagrams showing modified examples of the connector 1. Note that Figures 8A and 8B are front views of the main body 10 in the modified example, and Figure 8C is a partial cross-sectional view of the modified example.

Figure 8A shows an example in which the third contact portion 19 is omitted. In this way, only the first contact portion 17 and the second contact portion 18 may be provided on the protrusion 15, in which case it is possible to easily retract the locking member 20 to the infusion tube 100 side. Also, as shown by the two-dot chain line in Figure 8A, a protrusion 150 separate from the protrusion 15 may be provided, and the third contact portion 19 may be provided on this protrusion 150.

Figure 8B shows an example in which a side surface 15j perpendicular to the axis C is provided between the first contact portion 17 and the second contact portion 18. In this case, wear of the corner between the first contact portion 17 and the second contact portion 18 can be reduced. In this way, the first contact portion 17 and the second contact portion 18 are not limited to side surfaces adjacent to each other via a corner, but may be provided at a distance from each other. The side surface 15j may be a flat surface or a curved surface. Although not shown, the first contact portion 17 and the second contact portion 18 may each be provided on a different protrusion.

Figure 8C shows an example in which the first contact portion 17, the second contact portion 18, and the third contact portion 19 are provided on the protrusion 23 of the locking member 20. Note that in Figure 8C, a cross section of the locking member 20 is shown, and the protrusion 23 on the front side of the main body 10 is shown by a two-dot chain line. Also, in this example, the tip side of the protrusion 15 that contacts the first contact portion 17, the second contact portion 18, and the third contact portion 19 is configured to be rectangular. In this way, the first contact portion 17, the second contact portion 18, and the third contact portion 19 may be provided on either the main body 10 or the locking member 20.

In addition, although not shown in the figures, the shape of the protrusion 15 is not particularly limited, and any suitable shape can be adopted. For example, the protrusion 15 may be configured so that the rear end 15c1 of the second contact portion 18 is shifted toward the tip or rear end side relative to the third contact portion 19. The first contact portion 17, the second contact portion 18, and the third contact portion 19 may be configured with a curved surface, or may have a suitable uneven shape. The second contact portion 18 may have a variable inclination angle. The first contact portion 17 and the third contact portion 19 may be surfaces inclined with respect to the circumferential or axial direction.

The fitting portion 12 of the main body 10 may be a female luer. The locking member 20 may have a male thread. The tube connection portion 13 may be composed of only one of the outer tube 13a and the inner tube 13b. The shape and arrangement of each part of the connector 1 are not limited to those of this embodiment, and it goes without saying that any appropriate shape and arrangement can be adopted.

The above describes an embodiment of the present invention, but the connector of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Furthermore, the actions and effects shown in the above-mentioned embodiments are merely a list of the most preferable actions and effects resulting from the present invention, and the actions and effects of the present invention are not limited to these.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Connector 10 Main body 12 Fitting portion 15 Protrusion 16 Notch portion 17 First contact portion 18 Second contact portion 19 Third contact portion 20 Locking member 21a Female screw (screw)
200 Mating connector 210 Male screw (mating screw)

Claims (5)

a cylindrical body having a fitting portion at a tip end thereof for fitting with a mating connector;
a cylindrical locking member having a screw that is screwed into a mating screw of a mating connector, and loosely fitted to an outer periphery of the main body with the axial direction aligned in a state where the screw and the mating screw are not screwed into each other ;
The outer circumferential surface of the main body is such that, when the main body and the mating connector are fitted together,
a first abutment portion that, when releasing the screwing of the locking member and the mating screw, abuts against a part of an inner peripheral surface of the locking member in a circumferential direction , thereby restricting a relative rotation of the locking member with respect to the main body in a direction in which the screwing of the locking member with the mating screw is released;
a second abutment portion that abuts against a part of an inner surface of the locking member when the locking member and the mating screw are screwed together , thereby guiding the locking member, which is rotating relative to the main body in the direction in which the screwing with the mating screw progresses, toward the tip side of the main body. 2. The connector according to claim 1,
The main body has a protrusion that protrudes partially in a circumferential direction from an outer circumferential surface,
A connector, characterized in that the first contact portion and the second contact portion are provided on the protrusion. 3. The connector according to claim 1,
the main body has a third abutment portion that abuts against a part of the locking member to restrict relative movement of the locking member with respect to the main body in a direction toward the rear end side of the main body,
The connector, characterized in that the third contact portion is disposed closer to the rear end side of the main body than the first contact portion. 3. The connector according to claim 2,
the main body has a third abutment portion that abuts against a part of the locking member to restrict relative movement of the locking member with respect to the main body in a direction toward the rear end side of the main body,
A connector characterized in that the first contact portion and the third contact portion are provided in a notch portion formed by cutting out a tip side of the main body of the projection in a stepped shape. a cylindrical body having a fitting portion at a tip end thereof for fitting with a mating connector;
a cylindrical locking member having a screw that is screwed into a mating screw of a mating connector, and loosely fitted to an outer periphery of the main body with the axial direction aligned in a state where the screw and the mating screw are not screwed into each other ;
The inner circumferential surface of the locking member is such that, in a state where the main body and the mating connector are fitted together,
a first contact portion that, when releasing the screwing of the locking member and the mating screw, contacts a part of an outer circumferential surface of the main body in a circumferential direction to restrict a relative rotation of the locking member with respect to the main body in a direction in which the screwing of the locking member with the mating screw is released;
a second abutment portion that abuts against a part of the outer peripheral surface of the main body when the locking member and the mating screw are screwed together, thereby guiding the locking member, which is rotating relative to the main body, toward the tip side of the main body in the direction in which the screwing with the mating screw progresses.

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