JPS63298212A - Connector device for light guide - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To discriminate whether a connecting part is heated to a high temperature or not, by providing a heat discoloring member on the outside peripheral surface of the connecting part. CONSTITUTION:The titled device is provided with the second cylindrical body 14 whose one end has been screwed to the other end of the first cylindrical body 13, and the third cylindrical body 17 for holding water-proof cover glass 16 which has been joined liquid-tightly through an O-ring 15 to the other end face of the second cylindrical body 14. Also, to the outside peripheral surface of each cylindrical body 13, 14 and 17, a thermopaint 19 being a heat discoloring member whose color is different at the time of a room temperature and at the time of a high temperature is applied. In such a way, by a variation of a color of the heat discoloring member, whether a connecting part is heated to a high temperature or not can be confirmed by a visual observation, and it can be prevented that the hand gets burnt by touching said part at the time of a high temperature immediately after the use, or it is damaged by immersing it into a disinfectant solution, etc.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a connector device that holds a light guide and has a connection portion that is connected to a light source device.

[Prior Art] For example, an endoscope is provided with a light guide made of an optical fiber bundle. One end of this light guide is located at the distal end of the insertion section connected to the operating section, and the other end is held by a connector device at the end of the universal cord connected to the operating section. This connector device includes a gripping portion and a connecting portion protruding from an end surface of the gripping portion. and,
This connection part is connected to a light source device, so that illumination light generated by this light source device enters the light guide,
The light is emitted from one end.

A prior art example of such a connector device is JP-A-59-219715.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, in order to use an endoscope, when the connector device is connected to a light source device and illumination light is made to enter the light guide for a long time, the heat of the illumination light causes The connecting portion of the connector device is heated to a high temperature along with the light guide. However, since it is impossible to judge whether or not the connection part is heated to a high temperature just by looking at it, it is possible to get burned by touching the connection part of the connector device that has been removed from the light source device immediately after use. There was danger. In addition, there have been cases where connector devices have been soaked in cold disinfectant solution for cleaning without realizing that they are at high temperatures, causing them to cool down quickly, damaging the waterproof cover glass provided at the connection section.

This invention was made based on the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to make it possible to determine at a glance whether or not a connection part is at high temperature, thereby reducing the risk of burns or damage caused by rapid cooling. An object of the present invention is to provide a funecta device for a light guide and a light guide which prevents such problems from occurring.

[Means and operations for solving the problems] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a connector device for a light guide having a connection part for holding and fixing a light guide and connected to a light source device. A thermochromic member is provided on at least a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the thermochromic member. Further, it is possible to determine whether or not the connecting portion is heated to a high temperature based on whether or not the thermochromic member has changed color.

[Example] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The endoscope 1 shown in FIG. 3 includes an operating section 2. The endoscope 1 shown in FIG. The operating section 2 is connected to an insertion section 3 and a light guide cable 4, and is also provided with an eyepiece section 5. A connector device 6 is provided at the end of the light guide cable 4, and this connector device 6 is adapted to be detachably connected to a socket 8 provided in a light source device 7.

The connector device 6 is constructed as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. That is, the bending prevention member 9 is attached to the end of the light guide cable 4, and the bending prevention member 9 is covered with one end of the hollow cylindrical grip portion 11. A connecting portion 12 is provided protruding from the other end of the gripping portion 11 . This connecting portion 12 has a first end screwed onto the gripping portion 11.
A cylindrical body 13, a second cylindrical body 14 whose one end is screwed to the other end of the first cylindrical body 13, and a liquid-tight joint to the other end surface of the second cylindrical body 14 via an O-ring 15. and a third cylindrical body 17 holding a waterproof cover glass 16. The outer peripheral surface of each cylinder 13, 14, 17 is coated with thermopaint 19, which is a thermochromic material whose color at normal temperature and color at high temperature are different.

A rod lens 21 is provided in the second cylindrical body 14 with both ends held by O-rings 22, and a rod lens 21 is provided in the second cylindrical body 14.
3, one end portion of a light guide 23 made of an optical fiber bundle is inserted and held. This light guide 23 is guided to the insertion section 3 via the universal cord 4 and the operating section 2, and the other end is located at the tip of the insertion section 3.

When the connection part 12 is connected to the light source device 7 and the illumination lamp 24 housed therein is turned on, this illumination lamp 2
The illumination light output from 4 is focused by a condenser lens 25,
The light enters the light guide 23 via the cover glass 16 and the rod lens 21.

According to the connector device 6 having such a structure, in order to use the endoscope 1, the connecting portion 12 is connected to the socket 8 of the light source device 7, and illumination light from the illumination lamp 24 is input to the light guide 23. As a result, the light guide 23 and the connecting portion 12 are heated to a high temperature by the heat of the illumination light.

When the endoscope 1 is finished using and the connector device 6 is removed from the light source device 7, the thermo paint 19 applied to the outer peripheral surface of the connection portion 12 heated to a high temperature changes from the color at room temperature to the color at high temperature. It has changed color. Therefore, since it can be seen at a glance that the connection part 12 is in a high temperature state, it is possible to prevent burns from touching the connection part 12 or damage to the cover glass 16 by soaking it in disinfectant.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, the thermochromic member may be a tape-like material instead of thermopaint, as long as the temperature change of the connecting portion 12 can be visually confirmed. Furthermore, the thermochromic member may be provided only in a portion of the connecting portion 12.

Furthermore, the thermochromic member may also be provided on the grip portion 11 of the connector device 6. Furthermore, it goes without saying that the connector device of the present invention can be applied not only to endoscopes but also to other connector devices such as a connector device connected to a laser oscillation device for a laser probe.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the present invention provides a thermochromic member on at least a portion of the outer circumferential surface of the connecting portion of the connector device that is connected to the light source device, and the color change of the thermochromic member It is now possible to visually confirm whether or not the connection part is being heated to a high temperature. Therefore, it has the advantage that it is possible to prevent burns caused by touching the device immediately after use when the temperature is high, or damage caused by soaking it in a disinfectant solution.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a connector device, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the same, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an endoscope connected to a light source device. 7... Light source device, 12... Connection portion, 19... Thermopaint (thermochromic member), 23... Light guide. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Jun Tsuboi Figure 2 Figure 1

Claims (1)

[Claims] A light guide connector device having a connection part for holding and fixing a light guide and connected to a light source device, characterized in that a thermochromic member is provided on at least a part of the outer peripheral surface of the connection part. Device.