JPS6130574B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present application relates to a connector for connecting a hand-held member and a joint member in a dental treatment instrument operated by pressurized fluid, such as a dental handpiece, syringe, and plaque remover. It is. In recent years, dental treatment instruments that are equipped with a light source in a joint member and a light guide extending toward the distal end in a hand-held member to illuminate the affected area have been developed and have become widely used. However, if a malfunction occurs in the hand-held member of a dental treatment instrument equipped with this lighting mechanism, even if an attempt is made to replace the hand-held member with a conventional hand-held member of a dental treatment instrument that is not equipped with an illumination mechanism, the hand-held member will fail. Since the connection mechanism between the dental treatment instrument and the joint member of the dental treatment instrument equipped with the illumination mechanism is different, there was an inconvenience that the conventional dental treatment instrument could not be used effectively.

Therefore, the present application proposes to replace the hand-held member of a dental treatment instrument without an illumination mechanism with the joint member of a dental treatment instrument equipped with an illumination mechanism without making any improvement or change to the hand-held member or joint member of the conventional dental treatment instrument. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention is intended to make effective use of dental treatment instruments by providing a connector configured to allow connection.

First, a conventionally known dental treatment instrument without an illumination mechanism will be described in detail.As shown in Fig. 3, it consists of a hand-held member _A1 with an actuating part operated by pressurized fluid at its tip and a flexible supply hose. A joint member _B1 is attached to the rear end. The hand-held member A ₁ has a fitting cylinder having several piping systems 1 and 2 for water supply and air supply and exhaust inside the front and a fitting recess 3 communicating with the piping systems 1 and 2 inside the rear. body 4
are respectively provided, and a connection tube 5 constituting the female side of the coupling mechanism P, which can be freely rotated and detached, is provided concentrically at the outer periphery of the rear half of the fitting tube 4. An annular groove 6 is formed on the outer periphery of the rear part 5.

On the other hand, the joint member B ₁ includes an insertion cylinder 8 whose front half is rotatably fitted and connected to the fitting recess 3 of the hand-held member A ₁ via an O-ring 7, and the coupling mechanism P.
and a grip cover 13 that surrounds the rear portion of the external intubation tube 10, and the male side portion is located on the outside of the rear half of the insertion tube 8 and on the outside of the connection tube 5. An external intubation tube 1 having an inner diameter approximately equal to the diameter and having a threaded portion 9 formed on the outer periphery of the rear end.
0, an operating ring 11 that surrounds the front outer periphery of the external intubation tube 10 and is slidable in the axial direction thereof, and a hand-held member A that is located between the insertion cylinder 8 and the external intubation tube 10. The operating ring ₁₁ and the slide ring 1 are made up of a slide ring 12 that has approximately the same diameter as the connecting cylinder 5 of 1 and is slidable in the axial direction.
2 are always elastically biased forward by coil springs 14 and 14', respectively. A plurality of through holes 15 are formed in the distal end of the external tube 10 in the circumferential direction, and steel balls 16 having a diameter larger than the wall thickness of the external tube 10 are fitted into each of the through holes 15, Usually steel ball 16
is the slide ring 1 located inside the external intubation tube 10
2 and is pushed outward. The operating ring 11 located outside the external intubation tube 10 has a large diameter part 17 enlarged to a large diameter on the inner surface of its front end, and this large diameter part 17 is connected to a small diameter part 19 via an inclined stepped part 18. , usually slide ring 1
The inclined stepped portion 18 is attached to the steel ball 16 pushed up by the
are in contact with each other, and due to this contact, the operating ring 11
is prevented from detaching forward from the external intubation tube 10. Further, the rear end of the slide ring 12 has an inner flange 20 that protrudes inward.
0 comes into contact with a stopper ring 21 provided on the outer periphery of the insertion cylinder 8 and is prevented from coming off in the axial direction.
Furthermore, an exhaust hole 22 is opened at the rear of the slide ring 12.

Next, a known dental treatment instrument equipped with an illumination mechanism will be described in detail. As shown in _FIG . It consists of a joint member _B2 with a flexible hose attached to the end. The hand-held member _A2 is formed by a shaft cylinder 35, and the rear end of an optical fiber 31 whose tip extends to the distal end of the hand-held member _A2 is held at the center by a holding member 33. In addition, the piping parts 32, 32 for water supply and air supply are led out to the front, and the rear interior and the piping system 3 are led out to the front.
A fitting cylindrical body 34 having a fitting recess 34a that communicates with the fitting cylinders 2 and 32 is provided. The fitting recess 34a
The optical fiber 31 has a small-diameter through hole 34b extending along the axis at its tip, and the rear end of the optical fiber 31 faces into the through hole 34b.
Further, a thinly formed protrusion ring 34c extends from the rear end of the fitting cylinder 34, and a protrusion ring 34c is provided at the rear end of the fitting cylinder 34 concentrically with the outer periphery of the protrusion ring 34c.
A connection tube 36 is provided that projects slightly rearward and forms the female side of the rotatable and detachable coupling mechanism P. An annular groove 36a is formed around the outer periphery of the connecting tube 36, which is fixed to the tube 35.

On the other hand, the joint member B ₂ has a circumferential groove 38 formed at a suitable location on the outer periphery, and an air-liquid tight O-ring 39 is fitted into the circumferential groove 38 so that the front half of the joint member B 2 is inserted into the fitting recess 34 a of the hand-held member A ₂ . Insertion cylinder 40 rotatably fitted and connected
and a male side part of the coupling mechanism P, and this male side part is provided in a concentric circle on the outer rear half of the insertion cylinder 40, and the hand-held member A ₂ is thinner in front than the male side part. an outer inlet tube 42 having a protruding retaining ring 41 having an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the connecting tube 36;
0, and the front part is located in the gap between the connecting tube 36
a slide ring 53 having approximately the same size as the slide ring 53 whose rear portion slidably fits into the insertion cylinder 40;
and an operating ring 44 which is held in the outer tube 12 so as to be slidable in the axial direction so as to surround the retaining ring 41, and the operating ring 44 is supported by a coil spring 46 and is also attached to the slide ring. 53 are constantly urged forward by coil springs 47 that press the inner ring of the slide ring 53 forward. Further, the tip retaining ring 41 of the external intubation tube 42 has a plurality of through holes 4 in the circumferential direction.
8 are opened, and steel balls 49 having a diameter larger than the wall thickness of the external tube 42 are fitted and held in the through holes 48, and normally these steel balls 49 are inserted into the external tube 42.
The slide ring 53 is pushed outward by contacting the outer peripheral surface of the slide ring 53 located inside the slide ring 53. The operation ring 44 located outside the front half of the external intubation tube 42 is
A large diameter portion 50 with an enlarged inner diameter is formed on the inner circumferential surface of the front end thereof, and this large diameter portion 50 is connected to a small diameter portion 52 via an inclined stepped portion 51 . Normally, the inclined stepped portion 51 is pushed up by the slide ring 53 and comes into contact with the exposed portion of the steel ball 49 received in the large diameter portion 50 due to the elasticity of the coil spring 46, whereby the operating ring 44 is released. This prevents the tube from disengaging forward from the intubation tube 42. Further, the inner ring of the slide ring 53 normally comes into contact with a step 54 provided on the outer periphery of the insertion cylinder 40 to prevent it from coming off forward. A flexible hose for supplying pressurized air is connected to the rear end of the insertion cylinder 40, and an air supply path 55 and a water supply path for chip air are connected to the inside thereof, which communicate with the piping section 32 of the hand-held member _A2 as appropriate. 56 are provided. 57 is equipped with a light bulb 58 inside,
The lamp cartridge 57 is a lamp cartridge whose rear part is threadedly connected to the tip of the insertion tube 40 and projects forward from the tip of the insertion tube 40.
The outer diameter of the light bulb 58 is formed to be approximately equal to the diameter of the small diameter through hole 34b of the fitting cylinder 34, and the filament of the light bulb 58 is connected to the power supply via the contact of the contact holder 59 located at the rear of the lamp cartridge 57. connected to the cord. 60 is a stopper provided at the rear of the small diameter portion 51 of the operating ring 44.

Next, the connector C, which is the object of the present invention, will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. A hand-held member A ₁ (hereinafter referred to as the former hand-held member) of a dental treatment instrument that does not include the illumination mechanism
_A1 ) is rotatably fitted and connected in the fitting recess 3 of
It has an air supply passage 63 and a supply passage 64 that open at its front end inside, and a fitting recess 65 at the center of the rear surface.
An insertion cylinder 66 is fitted therein. Furthermore, the rear end of the front end of the outer cylinder 61 is screwed into the inner peripheral surface to hold the insertion cylinder 66, and has an inner diameter that is approximately equal to the outer diameter of the connecting cylinder 5 of the old hand-held member _A1 . an operating ring 68 that surrounds the front outer periphery of the external intubation tube 67 and is slidable in the axial direction; The old hand-held member A ₁ is provided with a slide ring 69 whose inner diameter and outer diameter are approximately equal to the connecting cylinder 5 and which is slidable in the axial direction. The elasticity is always pushed forward. A plurality of through holes 72 are provided in the distal end of the external tube 67 in the circumferential direction, and steel balls 73 having a diameter larger than the wall thickness of the external tube 67 are fitted into each of the through holes 72, Normally, the steel balls 73 come into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the slide ring 69 located inside the outer tube 67 and are pushed outward. The external intubation tube 6
The operating ring 68 located on the outside of 7 has a large diameter part 74 enlarged to a large diameter on the inner surface of its front end, and this large diameter part 74 is connected to a small diameter part 76 via an inclined stepped part 75. The inclined stepped portion 75 is in contact with the steel ball 73 pushed up by the slide ring 69, and this contact prevents the operating ring 69 from detaching forward from the outer tube 67. The slide ring 69 has an inner flange 77 protruding inwardly at its intermediate portion and an outer flange 78 protruding outwardly at its rear end. It is engaged with a provided locking step 79 to prevent it from coming off in the axial direction, and furthermore, an exhaust hole 80 is opened at the rear of the slide ring 69.
Further, in the rear half of the outer cylindrical body 61, the front surface is joined to the rear end surface of the insertion cylindrical body 66 via a packing 81, and a protrusion ring 82 is provided extending from the rear end, and the fitting recess 65 is connected to the inside. A joint member for a dental treatment instrument, which extends in the axial direction and is provided with the illumination mechanism.
A fitting cylinder 88 having a fitting hole 83 into which the insertion cylinder 40 of B ₂ (hereinafter referred to as new joint member B ₂ ) is rotatably fitted is fitted. This fitting cylinder 88 has a connecting pipe 8 that penetrates through its thick part at the position of the packing 81.
4 and 85, the water supply channel 63 and the air supply channel 64
A fluid passage hole consisting of a water supply hole 86, an air supply hole 87, and an exhaust hole (not shown) that communicate with the fitting cylinder 88 and whose rear end opens in the fitting hole 83 is provided, respectively. The protrusion ring 8 is attached to the outer periphery of the rear end.
It has an annular groove 39 formed concentrically with the coil spring 46, whose rear end protrudes slightly rearward from the protrusion ring 82, and which engages the steel ball 49 of the new joint member B ₂ when connected to the outer periphery. A connecting tube 90 that fits into the outer tube 42 of the new joint member B ₂ against the force is rotatably fitted, and the connecting tube 90 and the fitting tube 88 are connected to the outer tube 61. It is tightened and fixed by a tightening ring 91 screwed onto the inner periphery of the rear end. As is clear from FIG. 6, the insertion cylinder 66 has a horizontal hole 92 extending in the axial direction at the rear end so that the rear end thereof wraps around the distal end of the fitting recess 65.
and a vertical hole 93 that extends radially from the front end of the horizontal hole 92 and whose tip passes through the external tube 67 and opens at the outer surface of the external tube 67. A light guide piece 95 made of, for example, transparent resin or glass fiber is mounted inside the vertical hole 93.

Therefore, when attempting to connect the hand-held member A ₁ of a dental treatment instrument not equipped with an illumination mechanism to the joint member B ₂ of a dental treatment instrument equipped with an illumination mechanism, first connect the connector C of the present invention to the joint member B ₂ . do. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the insertion cylinder 40 of the new joint member _B2 is inserted into the fitting recess 65 of the connector C. Then, the connecting tube 90 presses the slide ring 53 against the coil spring 47, and the steel ball 49 falls into and engages in the annular groove 89 provided in the connecting tube 90.
Since the inclined stepped portion 51 of the operating ring 44 is disengaged from the steel ball 49, the operating ring 44 is moved forward by the coil spring 46, and the small diameter portion 52 presses the outer surface of the steel ball 49, thereby causing the contact between the steel ball 49 and the ring groove 89. The engaged state is ensured, and the stopper 60 comes into contact with the steel ball 49. In this way, the insertion cylinder 40 is inserted into the fitting cylinder 8.
The outer tube 42 is rotatably fitted into the inner tube 8 via an O-ring 39, and is rotatably connected to the connecting tube 90 via a steel ball 49, and is connected to the rear end of the light guide hole 94 at the fitting recess 65. The front end opening surface of the lamp cartridge 57 faces the light bulb 58 from the outside.
You can check whether the is lit or not. Next, the old hand-held parts
Push the insertion cylinder 66 of the connector C into the fitting recess ₃ of A1. Then, the connecting tube 5 connects to the slide ring 6.
9 is pressed inward against the coil spring 70, and the steel ball 73 falls into and engages the annular groove 6 provided in the connecting tube 5. At the same time, the steel ball 73 is pushed down by the small diameter portion 76, and the steel ball 73 The engagement between the ring groove 6 and the annular groove 6 is ensured, and the hand-held member A ₁ is rotatably connected to the connecting tool C. Further, in order to release the mutual connection between the hand-held member A ₁ , the coupling member C, and the joint member B ₂ , the steel balls 73, 49 can be pulled backward against the coil springs 71, 47, respectively.
are opposed to the large diameter portions 74, 50. Therefore, when the insertion cylinders 66, 40 are pulled out from the fitting cylinders 4, 88 in this state, the steel balls 73, 49 are separated from the annular grooves 6, 89 and the slide ring 69 and 43 are moved forward by the coil springs 70 and 46, respectively, and receive the steel balls 73 and 49 on their outer peripheral surfaces, and the operating rings 68 and 44 are placed in a retracted state.

As described above, according to the present application, the hand-held member of the dental treatment instrument equipped with the illumination mechanism and the hand-held member of the dental treatment instrument not equipped with the illumination mechanism, which have different connection mechanisms, can be connected without impairing the function at all, and the hand-held member or the joint member It is extremely economical because it can be connected without any modification or modification, and when connected, the lighting status of the lamp cartridge can be confirmed from the outside through the light guide. When using a hand-held member without a lighting mechanism, when the lamp is on, it can be turned off, thereby eliminating unnecessary electricity consumption.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present application, and FIG. 1 is an overall side view, FIG. 2 is an overall side sectional view, FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of a main part of a dental treatment instrument without an illumination mechanism, and FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of the main parts of a dental treatment instrument equipped with a lighting mechanism, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of the main part showing the state, and is another side sectional view corresponding to FIG. 5 showing the light guide hole. In the figure, 1 and 2 are the piping system, 3 is the fitting recess, 5 is the connection tube, 6 is the ring groove, 40 is the insertion tube, 43 is the slide ring, 49 is the steel ball, 55 is the air supply path, and 56 is the water supply. 61 is an outer cylinder, 63 is an air supply path, 64 is a water supply channel, 66 is an insertion cylinder, 67 is an external tube, 68 is an operation ring, 69 is a slide ring, 72 is a through hole,
73 is a steel ball, 74 is a large diameter portion, 75 is an inclined stepped portion, 7
6 is a small diameter portion, 82 is a protrusion ring, 83 is a fitting hole, 8
6 is a water supply hole, 87 is an air supply hole, 88 is a fitting cylinder, 8
9 is an annular groove, 90 is a connecting tube, 94 is a light guide hole, 95 is a light guide piece, A ₁ is a hand-held member, B ₁ is a joint member, C is a coupling tool, and P is a coupling mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An insertion cylinder that can be fitted into a fitting recess of a hand-held member in a dental treatment instrument that does not include an illumination mechanism, in the front part of the outer cylinder that constitutes the outer shell; and a male side part of a connecting mechanism that is detachably connected, and the rear part of the outer cylinder body has a fitting recess that can fit into an insertion cylinder of a joint member in a dental treatment instrument equipped with an illumination mechanism. and a female side portion of a coupling mechanism that is detachably connected to the coupling member, and a fluid passage communicating with the piping system of the hand-held member is formed in the insertion barrel, and A connector for a dental treatment instrument, characterized in that a fluid passageway communicating with the fluid passageway is formed in the joint cylinder. 2. An external tube in which the male side of the coupling mechanism has a through hole into which a steel ball that engages with the annular groove of the hand-held member is fitted;
It is provided on the inner periphery of this outer tube so as to be slidable in the axial direction, and is constantly pressed forward to push the steel ball outward. When the insertion tube is fitted into the fitting recess of the handheld member, the connecting tube of the handheld member pushes the steel ball backward. a slide ring that is pressed against the outer tube, and a slide ring that is slidable in the axial direction on the outer periphery of the external intubation tube, and has a large diameter portion and a small diameter portion that are connected to each other via an inclined stepped portion on the inner surface of the front end. a connecting cylinder whose female side presses the slide ring of the joint member backward when the insertion cylinder of the joint member is fitted into the fitting part; and a connecting cylinder whose female side engages with the steel ball of the joint member. A connector for a dental treatment instrument according to claim 1, comprising a protruding ring having an annular groove on its outer periphery and protruding rearward from the fitting cylinder. 3. A connector for a dental treatment instrument according to claims 1 and 2, wherein the fluid passage comprises a supply/exhaust path and a water supply channel, and the fluid passage comprises a supply/exhaust hole and a water supply hole. 4. An insertion cylinder that can be fitted into a fitting recess of a hand-held member in a dental treatment instrument that does not include an illumination mechanism at the front of the outer cylinder that constitutes the outer shell, and a connection mechanism that is detachably connected to the hand-held member. and a male side of the
Further, at the rear of the outer cylinder, there is a fitting cylinder which has a fitting recess that can fit into an insertion cylinder of a joint member in a dental treatment instrument equipped with an illumination mechanism, and the fitting cylinder is detachably connected to the joint member. a female side portion of a coupling mechanism, forming a fluid passage in the insertion cylinder that communicates with the piping system of the hand-held member, and forming a fluid passage in the fitting cylinder that communicates with the fluid passage;
A connector for a dental treatment instrument, further comprising: a light guide hole communicating with the outer circumferential surface from the tip of the fitting recess of the fitting cylinder; and a light guide piece embedded in the light guide hole. . 5. An external intubation tube in which the male side of the coupling mechanism has a through hole into which a steel ball that engages with the annular groove of the hand-held member is fitted;
The connecting tube of the hand-held member is provided on the inner periphery of the outer tube so as to be slidable in the axial direction, and is constantly pressed forward to push the steel ball outward and when the insertion cylinder is fitted into the fitting recess of the hand-held member. A slide ring that is pressed rearward by a slide ring is provided on the outer circumference of the external intubation tube so as to be slidable in the axial direction, and a large diameter part and a small diameter part are connected to each other via an inclined stepped part on the inner surface of the front end. a connecting cylinder whose female side presses the slide ring of the joint member backward when the insertion cylinder of the joint member is fitted into the fitting part, and a steel ball of the joint member. 5. A connector for a dental treatment instrument according to claim 4, comprising a protruding ring having an engaging annular groove on its outer periphery and protruding rearward from the fitting cylinder. 6. A connector for a dental treatment instrument according to claims 4 and 5, wherein the fluid passageway consists of an air supply/exhaust path and a water supply waterway, and the fluid passageway consists of an air supply/exhaust hole and a water supply hole. 7. A connector for a dental treatment instrument according to claims 4, 5, and 6, wherein the light guiding piece is made of transparent synthetic resin or glass fiber.