JPH0219777Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] This invention relates to an endoscope connection device for connecting an endoscope connector and a power supply socket.

A connection device is known that connects a connector provided on a light guide cable of an endoscope and a socket of a power supply device to establish electrical and optical continuity, and also enables mechanical connection of an air and water supply system. There is.

The connector constituting this connection device includes a light guide tube, an air supply tube, and a plurality of contact pins, which are protruded into a recess formed at the tip of the connector body. That is, the base end portions of the light guide tube, the air supply tube, and the contact pin are surrounded by the fitting tube that forms the recessed portion.

On the other hand, in recent years, due to advances in endoscope cleaning technology, the entire endoscope has been made waterproof, and the entire endoscope has been immersed in a chemical solution for disinfection and cleaning. However, as mentioned above, there is a concave part at the tip of the connector body, and the light guide tube, air supply tube, and multiple contact pins are protruded from the concave part, so even if it is pulled out of the cleaning liquid, the cleaning liquid will not flow. It accumulates in the small gaps between the tubes and pins at the bottom of the recess, and cannot be wiped off.

Therefore, we completely changed the structure of the connector, making the tip of the connector body a flat surface, with the light guide tube and air supply tube protruding from this flat surface, and multiple contact pins protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the connector body. A connector has been developed. This connector has no recesses in the connector body, and the light guide tube, air supply tube, and contact pin protrude from the outer circumferential surface of the connector body, making it easy to wipe off cleaning liquid adhering to the surface after cleaning. It has the advantage of being possible.

However, if the structure of the connector is completely changed, the structure of the socket of the power supply device to which this connector is connected must also be changed to match the socket. However, since power supplies are expensive, it is uneconomical to prepare multiple power supplies with different sockets.

Therefore, an adapter has been developed and put into practical use in the socket of a power supply device, so that the above-mentioned connector can be connected without changing the structure of the socket. However, since it is necessary to removably attach the adapter to the socket, the adapter is fastened and fixed to the socket using a fastener. Therefore, the adapter may rotate or tilt relative to the socket due to external force applied when the connector is inserted or removed. In order to avoid this, a pressing member that can freely move forward and backward with respect to the front panel is provided at a portion of the adapter main body facing the front panel of the power supply device, and this pressing member is pressed against the front panel to support the adapter main body. A method was considered that did the following (Utility Application No. 32272, 1983). However, with this type of structure, the rotation of the adapter body is restricted only by the frictional resistance between the pressing member and the front panel, so it may rotate due to unexpected external force, making it impossible to attach or detach the endoscope connector. There was a problem. Furthermore, if the pressing member is strongly pressed against the front panel in order to increase frictional resistance, the adapter body will become eccentric with respect to the central axis of the socket, and the endoscope connector will not smoothly fit into the power supply socket via the adapter body. There was also a problem where it became impossible to put on and take off.

This idea was devised by focusing on the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to provide an adapter holder on the front panel of the power supply device with a locking part that locks with the adapter main body side. To provide an endoscope connection device which allows the adapter body to be smoothly attached and detached without rotating or tilting even if an external force is applied to the adapter body during insertion and detachment.

This invention will be explained below based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. In FIG. 1, 1 is a conventional type of endoscope (hereinafter referred to as a first endoscope), and 2 is a new type of endoscope (hereinafter referred to as a second endoscope). The basic structure of these first and second endoscopes 1 and 2 is the same except for a connector which will be described later. is connected. A light guide 7 made of an optical fiber bundle is inserted into the light guide cable 6, and is connected to the illumination window 9 of the distal end portion 8 of the insertion portion 5 through the operation portion 4 and the insertion portion 5. has been done. Further, an image guide (not shown) is inserted into the insertion section 5 and has one end connected to the eyepiece section 3 and the other end connected to the observation window 10 of the tip structure section 8.

Further, a connector 11 is attached to the distal end of the light guide cable 6 of the first endoscope 1. This connector 11 has its connector body 12
is formed into a cylindrical shape, and a fitting tube 13 consisting of a concave portion is provided at the tip. and,
A light guide tube 14 housing the light guide 7 therein, an air supply tube 15, and a plurality of contact pins 1 are provided at the inner bottom of the recessed portion surrounded by the fitting tube 13.
6... is provided protrudingly. Furthermore, the connector body 1
An air/water supply cap 17, a carbon dioxide gas supply cap 18, a suction cap 19, and a high-frequency ground cap 20 are protruded from the outer peripheral surface of the connector body 1.
An engagement ring 21 is fitted onto the outer circumferential surface of the distal end of 2.

On the other hand, the connector 22 attached to the distal end of the light guide cable 6 of the second endoscope 2 is constructed as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.
That is, 23 is a connector body formed in a cylindrical shape, and an opening 24 is provided at the tip thereof. An annular groove 25 is provided along the edge of the opening 24, and a protruding edge 27 of an end plate 26 that closes the opening 24 is fitted and fixed into the annular groove 25. Therefore, this end plate 26 is formed to have a slightly smaller diameter than the connector main body 23, and a stepped portion 28 is formed at the connecting portion thereof.
Further, an annular groove 29 having a U-shaped cross section is carved on the outer peripheral surface of the end plate 26.
An elastic engagement member, for example, an engagement ring 30 formed of NBR rubber, is fitted into the holder. Furthermore, a light guide tube 31 and an air supply tube 32, which house the light guide 7 therein, are provided on the end plate 26 so as to protrude forward. Furthermore, a plurality of through holes 33 are provided on the outer circumferential surface of the distal end side of the connector main body 23 with a predetermined gap in the circumferential direction, and insulating bushes 34 are inserted into these through holes 33. Contact pins 35 are fixed therebetween. The tip ends of these contact pins 35 protrude from the outer peripheral surface of the connector main body 23,
The terminal end is electrically connected to an endoscope camera, and is adapted to transmit and receive photographing drive signals and control signals. Furthermore, an annular projection 36 is integrally provided on the outer peripheral surface of the connector main body 23 located slightly rearward of the contact pins 35 . The annular protrusion 36 has a larger protruding height than the contact pins 35, and protects the contact pins 35 by preventing the contact pins 35 from coming into contact with the desk even when the connector 22 is placed horizontally on a desk or the like. It's working.

Further, on the outer peripheral surface of the connector main body 23, an air/water supply cap 37, a carbon dioxide gas supply cap 38, a suction cap 39, etc.
And a high frequency ground cap 40 is provided protrudingly.

In addition, a second endoscope 2 configured as described above
An endoscope side adapter 60 is detachably attached to the connector 22. This endoscope side adapter 6
0 is constructed as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. That is, 61 is a cylindrical body with openings at both ends, one end of which is formed into a large diameter portion 62 and the other end formed into a small diameter portion 64 via a stepped portion 63 . An insulating wall 65 is provided at the axially intermediate portion of this cylindrical body 61 so as to close the opening.
6. The small diameter portion 64 side is formed as a socket side fitting cylinder 67. The connector-side fitting tube 66 is adapted to fit into the end plate 26 of the connector 22, and has the engagement ring 30 on its inner peripheral surface.
An annular groove 68 is formed that can be freely engaged with and detached from the groove. Furthermore, a pair of engagement pins 67a, 67a are provided protruding from the outer circumference of the socket-side fitting cylinder 67. Also,
The insulating wall 65 has a through hole 69 through which the light guide tube 31 and the air supply tube 32 of the connector 22 pass.
70 is bored so that when the connector-side fitting tube 66 is fitted into the connector 22, the front end surface of the end plate 26 is joined to the insulating wall 65. Furthermore, the socket side fitting cylinder 67 of the insulating wall 65
A plurality of terminal pins 71 are provided protruding from the side in the axial direction. Further, the large diameter portion 6 of the cylindrical body 61
Through holes 72 are bored at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction on the outer circumferential surface of No. 2. Contact pins 74 are fixed to these through holes 72 through insulating pushers 73.
... are electrically connected to the terminal pins 71 in a one-to-one relationship.

The endoscope side adapter 60 is also detachably connected to a power source side adapter 75. Next, the power supply side adapter 75 will be explained. It is constructed as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6. That is, 76 is an adapter main body, which is composed of a front case 77 and a rear case 78 that are divided into two parts at the front and rear. The front case 77 and the rear case 78 have an engaging stepped portion 79,
80 and are engaged with each other by
Openings 83 and 84 are provided in the front wall 81 of the front case 77 and the rear wall 82 of the rear case 78, respectively. Furthermore, the opening 8 of the rear case 78
A small arcuate portion 85 is integrally provided on the upper edge forming the 4, and a large arcuate portion 86 is integrally provided on the lower edge, and notch openings 87, 87 are provided on both sides between these. The inner edges of the small arcuate portion 85 and the large arcuate portion 86 have cutout grooves 88 corresponding to the spacing between the contact pins 35 and 74 of the connector 22 and the endoscope adapter 60, into which these are inserted. is provided. Further, insulating terminal blocks 89, 89 are provided in the small arc-shaped portion 85 and the large arc-shaped portion 86 between the front case 77 and the rear case 78, which are formed in an arc shape along the curvature. These insulated terminal blocks 89, 89 each include an intermediate member 90 and end members 91, 92 provided at both ends thereof.
It is divided into three parts, and these are the case 77 mentioned above.
The front wall 81 of the rear case 78 and the rear wall 82 of the rear case 78 are interposed in a sandwich state. These intermediate member 90 and end members 91 and 92 are tightened and fixed together with the front case 77 and rear case 78 by fixing bolts 93 that pass through them. Further, an intermediate member 90, an end member 9
A plurality of guide grooves 94 corresponding to the notched grooves 88 are cut in the front-rear direction on the inner circumferential surfaces of each of the grooves 1 and 92. Further, a terminal plate 95 is interposed between the intermediate member 90 and the end member 91 and between the intermediate member 90 and the end member 92 when these are assembled between the front case 77 and the rear case 78. …,96…
is installed. And these terminal boards 95
..., 96... consist of leaf springs, one end of which is curved in an arc shape and housed in the guide groove 94..., and the other end protrudes outside of the insulating terminal blocks 89, 89. Further, a space 97 surrounded by a front case 77 and a rear case 78 is provided on the outside of the insulated terminal block 89 provided in the large arc-shaped portion 86,
An electric circuit 98 is fixed in this space 97.

A connecting cylinder 99 protruding forward is provided on the front wall 81 of the front case 77 of the power supply side adapter 75 configured as described above. This connecting cylindrical body 99 consists of a cylindrical part 100 and a mounting collar part 101, and the mounting collar part 101 is fixed to the front case 77 by fixing bolts 93 that fix the front case 77 and the rear case 78. There is. Further, the cylindrical portion 100 is formed to have an inner diameter that can be fitted into the socket-side fitting cylinder 67 of the endoscope-side adapter 60 described above, and has an annular groove 1 that can be freely engaged with and detached from the engagement ring 21.
00a, and a stopper 102 is integrally provided at the distal end thereof to abut against the distal end of the socket-side fitting cylinder 67 to restrict its insertion length.
Further, a threaded portion 1 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the tip end of the cylindrical portion 100.
03 is provided, and a mounting ring body 104 is screwed onto this threaded portion 103. An annular recess 106 is formed between the attachment ring 104 and the stepped portion 105 of the cylindrical portion 100, and a tightening operation ring 107 is rotatably fitted into the annular recess 106. Furthermore, a tightening ring 108 is integrally attached to the front portion of this tightening operation ring 107. The tightening ring 108 is provided at the front of the connecting cylinder 99 so as to enclose the tip of the cylindrical part 100 and the attachment ring 104, and has a female threaded part 109 on its inner peripheral surface.
is engraved.

Further, a locking mechanism 110 is provided on the outside of the connecting cylinder 99. This locking mechanism 110
To explain this, it is constructed as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. That is, 111 is a movable member formed by bending a metal plate member into an inverted U shape, and both legs 112, 112 are connected to the connecting cylinder 9.
Slide grooves 113, 113 carved on both side walls of 9
It is inserted inside so that it can be slid vertically. Further, elongated holes 114, 114 are vertically bored in the lower ends of both leg parts 112, 112, and guide pins 115, 115 protruding from the connecting cylinder 99 are inserted into these elongated holes 114, 14. has been done. Further, engaging portions 116, 116 are provided in the middle portions of both leg portions 112, 112, that is, portions corresponding to the notch openings 87, 87 of the power supply side adapter 75. These engaging parts 116, 116 are approximately L-shaped, and have an inclined surface 116a at the lower part of the opening and a depressed part 116b at the inner part, and are connected to the engaging pins 67a, 67a of the endoscope side adapter 60. It is now possible to connect and disconnect. Furthermore, the movable member 11
A lock release lever 118 that protrudes upward is attached to the head 117 of 1. Also, head 11
A compression spring 119 is interposed between the movable member 11 and a recess provided in the upper part of the connecting cylinder 99.
1 is always urged upward, that is, in a direction in which the engaging pins 67a, 67a engage with the depressed portions 116b of the engaging portions 116, 116.

On the other hand, a pair of locking pins 120, 120 as locking portions integrally protrude from the lower part of the front case 77 of the adapter body 76 of the power supply side adapter 75, facing the front panel 125 of the power supply device 124, which will be described later. It is formed. Further, an adapter holder 122 is attached and fixed to the front panel 125 via an attachment member such as double-sided tape 121. This adapter holder 122 is made of a plate-like body having a hole 122a, into which the locking pins 120, 120 are inserted tightly and removably, facing each other. A pair of locking holes 123, 123 are provided for locking. Then, each locking pin 120, 120 is inserted into the locking hole 1.
23 and 123, the position of the power supply side adapter 75 is regulated to prevent it from rotating, shifting, or tilting.

On the other hand, numeral 124 in the figure is a power supply device, which includes a driving power supply circuit for photographing, an exposure control circuit, and an illumination lamp (none of which are shown). A socket 126 is provided on the front panel 125 of this power supply device 124. This socket 1
No. 26 socket bodies 127 are attached so as to protrude forward from the front panel 125 by attachment rings 128 having male threads 128a. Further, the socket main body 127 is provided with the light guide tube insertion hole 129, the air supply tube insertion hole 130, and the contact pin insertion hole 131. An illumination lamp faces the light guide tube insertion hole 129, an air pipe 132 is inserted into the air pipe insertion hole 130, and an electrical connection terminal 133 is inserted into the contact pin insertion hole 131. has been done.

Next, the operation of the endoscope connection device configured as described above will be explained. First, the power supply device 12
Power supply side adapter 75 for socket 126 of 4
When attaching, the tightening ring 108 of the power supply side adapter 75 is fitted into the attachment ring 128 of the socket body 127. In this state, when the tightening operation ring 107 is rotated in one direction, the tightening ring 108 rotates as a unit.
The female threaded portion 109 of the tightening ring 108 is screwed into the male thread 128a of the mounting ring 128. Therefore, the connecting cylinder 99 is fitted to the outside of the socket main body 127 with a gap through the mounting ring 104 that engages with the tightening operation ring 107, and the power supply side adapter 75 is connected to the socket 126. Fixed. In this state, the locking pins 120, 120 are inserted and locked into the locking holes 123, 123 of the adapter holder 122.

In this way, socket 126 of power supply 124
With the power supply side adapter 75 attached to the
First, when using the first endoscope 1, its connector 11 is inserted through the opening 84 of the adapter body 76. At this time, the adapter body 76 has an air/water supply cap 17, a carbon dioxide gas supply cap 18, a suction cap 19, and a high-frequency ground cap 20 protruding from the adapter body 76.
7, these act as relief portions and do not interfere with the adapter body 76. Therefore, the connector 11 passes through the adapter body 76, the light guide tube 14 is inserted into the light guide tube insertion hole 129 of the socket body 127, the air tube 15 is inserted into the air tube insertion hole 130, and the contact pin 16...
are inserted into the contact pin insertion holes 131. Then, the air pipe 15 is connected to the air pipe 132,
The contact pins 16 are electrically connected to the electrical connection terminals 133. That is, the engagement ring 21 is mechanically held by engaging with the annular groove 100a formed on the inner peripheral surface of the circumferential portion 100, and the first endoscope 1 is electrically and electrically connected to the power supply device 124. They are now optically connected.

Next, when using the second endoscope 2,
First, connect the endoscope side adapter 60 to the connector 22.
Attach. That is, the end plate 2 of the connector 22
Light guide pipe 31 and air supply pipe 32 protruding from 6
are inserted into the through holes 69 and 70 of the endoscope side adapter 60, and then the end plate 26 is inserted into the connector side fitting tube 6.
Press fit into 6. Then, when the connector-side fitting cylinder 66 is press-fitted until the end surface contacts the stepped portion 28 of the socket main body 23, the engagement ring 30 is elastically engaged with the annular groove 68, and the connector 22 and the endoscope-side adapter 60 are and are integrally combined.

In this state, when the connector 22 is inserted together with the endoscope side adapter 60 into the power supply side adapter 75 attached to the socket 126, the light guide tube 31 that protrudes through the endoscope side adapter 60 first penetrates into the socket 126. The air pipe 32 is inserted into the light guide pipe insertion hole 129, and the air pipe 32 is inserted into the air pipe insertion hole 1.
30 respectively. Further, the contact pins 74 of the endoscope side adapter 60 and the contact pins 35 of the connector 22 pass through the notch grooves 88 and are inserted into the guide grooves 94. Therefore, the contact pins 74 are connected to the terminal plates 95, and the contact pins 35 are connected to the terminal plates 96, respectively, so that they are electrically connected.
At the same time, the socket side fitting tube 67 of the endoscope side adapter 60 is fitted into the socket main body 127, and the insulating wall 65 is joined to the front end surface of the socket main body 127.
The light guide tube 31 is the light guide tube insertion hole 1
29, the air pipe 32 is inserted into the air pipe insertion hole 130,
Furthermore, the contact pins 71... are inserted into the contact pin insertion holes 131.
... will be inserted. The air pipe 32 is connected to the air pipe 132, and the contact pins 71 are electrically connected to the electrical connection terminals 133. Therefore,
The second endoscope 2 is electrically and optically connected to the power supply device 124. In addition, the connector 22
into the socket 126 together with the endoscope side adapter 60.
When inserted into the endoscope side adapter 60, the engaging pins 67a, 67a protruding from the endoscope side adapter 60 face the engaging portions 116, 116 of the locking mechanism 110. Then, as the connector 22 is inserted, the engaging pins 67a, 67a
When the engagement pins 67a, 67a contact the inclined surfaces 116a, 116a and are pushed further, the engagement pins 67a, 67a touch the inclined surfaces 116a, 116a.
6a, 116a. Therefore, the movable member 111 is pushed down against the restoring force of the compression spring 119, and when the engagement pins 67a, 67a fall into the depressions 116b, 116b, they are raised by the restoring force of the compression spring 119, and are engaged. The pins 67a, 67a are engaged with the engaging portions 116, 116. Therefore, the endoscope side adapter 60 is locked to the power source side adapter 75 through the engagement pins 67a, 67a so that it cannot be removed. Therefore, after using the second endoscope 2, the connector 22 is connected to the power supply device 12.
4, when pulling out the connector 22 from the socket 126, pull out only the connector 22.
Separate it from the endoscope side adapter 60 and connect it to the socket 1.
It can be extracted from 26. At this time, the endoscope side adapter 60 is locked to the power supply side adapter 75 by the locking mechanism 110, so it will not be pulled out and the power supply side adapter 75 will not be pulled out.
held within. Therefore, when the second endoscope 2 is used again, the connector 22 is inserted into the endoscope side adapter 60 in the power supply side adapter 75, and the electrical and optical connection is established in the same manner as described above. be done. In addition, when removing the endoscope side adapter 60 from the power supply side adapter 75 together with the connector 22, the lock release lever 118 is pushed down and the movable member 111 is pushed down against the restoring force of the compression spring 119 to engage the endoscope side adapter 60. pin 6
7a, 67a and depressed portions 116b, 116b are released, the lock release lever 11
By pulling out the connector 22 while pressing down the connector 8, the endoscope side adapter 60 can be pulled out together with the connector 22.

In this way, socket 126 of power supply 124
By attaching the power supply side adapter 75 to
The connector 11 of the first endoscope 1 can be connected, and when the second endoscope 2 is used, it can be connected by inserting the connector 22 of the second endoscope 2 through the endoscope side adapter 60. In addition, the connector 22 of the second endoscope 2 has a flat distal end, a light guide tube 31 and an air supply tube 32 are protruded from the flat surface, and contact pins 35 are protruded from the outer peripheral surface. Because of its structure, it can be immersed in a cleaning solution for cleaning, and even after it is removed from the cleaning solution, there is no recess due to the connector 11 of the first endoscope 1, so the cleaning solution does not accumulate and can be easily wiped off. can.

By the way, when connecting and disconnecting the connector 22 and the endoscope side adapter 60, there is a tendency to twist it. Since the adapter 75 is inserted and locked into the locking holes 123, 123 of the adapter holder 122 provided on the front panel 125 of the adapter, the adapter 75 does not twist, shift, or tilt, and maintains its correct state. Therefore, the above-mentioned attachment/detachment operation can be performed easily and smoothly, and there is no possibility that the attachment/detachment becomes impossible.

As explained above, this invention provides an adapter holder on the front panel side of the power supply device, and supports the adapter body by locking the locking part provided on the adapter body to this adapter holder. This is what I did. Therefore, when attaching or detaching an endoscope connector, even if an external force such as twisting is applied to the connector, the rotation of the adapter body is reliably regulated and there is no slippage or tilting, and the endoscope The connector can be smoothly attached to and detached from the socket. Also, compared to a pressing member that uses frictional force, it does not damage the front panel or the like.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing two different endoscopes showing one embodiment of this invention, Fig. 2 is a side view showing the connector and endoscope side adapter of the second endoscope, and Fig. 3 4 is a sectional view showing the socket, power supply side adapter and endoscope side adapter, FIG. 5 is a front view of the power supply side adapter, and FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway side view of the power adapter, and FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line shown in FIG. 7. 2... Second endoscope (endoscope), 22... Connector, 35... Contact pin, 60... Endoscope side adapter, 71... Terminal pin, 74... Contact pin, 7
5...Power supply side adapter, 76...Adapter body,
120... Locking pin, 122... Adapter holder, 123... Locking hole, 124... Power supply device, 1
25...Front panel, 126...Socket.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In an endoscope connection device having an adapter that is removably attached to a socket of a power supply device and for connecting an endoscope connector and the socket via the adapter, the front panel of the power supply device of the adapter body A locking part is provided at a part facing the
An endoscope connection device characterized in that an adapter holder for locking the locking portion is provided on the front panel opposite to the locking portion to support the adapter main body.