WO2018040772A1

WO2018040772A1 - Connector and endoscope system

Info

Publication number: WO2018040772A1
Application number: PCT/CN2017/093475
Authority: WO
Inventors: 高扬; 徐科端; 陈云亮; 吴拱安
Original assignee: 深圳开立生物医疗科技股份有限公司
Priority date: 2016-08-31
Filing date: 2017-07-19
Publication date: 2018-03-08
Also published as: CN106235994A

Abstract

Disclosed are a connector (500) and an endoscope system. The connector (500) is applied to the endoscope system. The endoscope system comprises: an endoscope (100), and a light source device (200) and/or a processor device (300) detachably connected to the endoscope (100), the connector (500) being arranged between the endoscope (100) and the light source device (200) and/or the processor device (300) to establish a connection between the endoscope (100) and the light source device (200) and/or the processor device (300). The connector (500) comprises: a plug (510) arranged at one end of the endoscope (100), and a socket (520) arranged on the light source device (200) and/or the processor device (300) and fitted with the plug (510). A fixed terminal (511) is provided at an end of the plug (510), and a movable terminal (521) fitting with the fixed terminal (511) is provided on the corresponding position of the socket (520). When the plug (510) is in plug-connection with the socket (520), end-face abutting is realized between the fixed terminal (511) and the movable terminal (521). The connector (500) and the endoscope system solve the problem of being unable to transmit control signals and/or image signals between the plug (510) and the socket (520).

Description

Connector and endoscope system

The present application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201610795568.6, entitled "A Connector and Endoscope System", filed on August 31, 2016, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. In the application.

Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of endoscope technology, and in particular, to a connector and an endoscope system.

Background technique

The electronic endoscope is a medical electronic optical instrument that can be inserted into the body cavity and the internal cavity of the organ for direct observation, diagnosis and treatment, and integrates high-precision techniques such as light collection, machine and electricity. It uses a very small size electronic imaging component, Charge Coupled Device (CCD), to image the object to be observed through a tiny objective optical system onto the CCD, and then receive the image through the guided fiber bundle. The signal is sent to the image processing system, and finally the processed image is output on the monitor for observation and diagnosis by the doctor.

As shown in FIG. 1, the prior art electronic endoscope system includes an endoscope 100, and a light source device 200 and/or a processor device 300 detachably coupled to the endoscope 100. The light source device 200 provides a light source for the endoscope 100, and the processor device 300 provides processing of the control signal and/or image signal to the endoscope 100. Generally, the endoscope 100 is independent of the light source device 200 and/or the processor device 300. To implement the connection of the endoscope 100 to the light source device 200 and/or the processor device 300, it is necessary to pass through the connector 400. The endoscope 100 is coupled to the light source device 200 and/or the processor device 300.

The conventional connector 400 includes a split type connector and an integral connector. The so-called split type connector refers to a light source and a control signal and/or an image signal respectively adopting different connectors. The integral connector refers to a light source and a control signal and/or Or the image signal uses the same connector. The connector 400 specifically includes a plug 410 disposed at one end of the endoscope 100, and a socket 420 disposed on the light source device 200 and/or the processor device 300. Shown in Figure 1 is an integral connector, ie light source and control signal and / or image signal The same plug 410 and the connector 400 of the same socket 420 are used for transmission, and the socket 420 of the connector 400 is partially disposed on the light source device 200. Of course, the socket 420 may also be disposed on the processor device 300.

As shown in FIG. 2, for the transmission of control signals and/or image signals, the conventional connector 400 is provided with a stepped boss 411 at the end of the plug, and a plurality of sets of evenly arranged strips are arranged on the side of the stepped boss 411. The electrical contacts 412, correspondingly, are provided with metal domes (not shown) at corresponding locations on the inner wall of the socket 420. When the plug 410 is plugged into the socket 420, the elongated electrical contact 412 reaches a position where a metal dome (not shown) is placed, at which time a metal dome (not shown) and an elongated electrical contact 412 surface are formed. Contact to achieve conduction of control signals and/or image signal transmission lines.

In actual use, the plug 410 and the socket 420 are frequently inserted and removed. However, when the above-mentioned metal dome (not shown) is in contact with the elongated electrical contact 412, a certain frictional force is generated on each other, which inevitably causes friction loss between the two, and the metal dome is prone to occur (in the figure). Not shown) poor contact with the elongated electrical contact 412, resulting in a problem that the control signal and/or image signal cannot be transmitted normally.

Summary of the invention

Embodiments of the present invention provide a connector and an endoscope system, which are directed to solving the problem that control signals and/or image signals between a plug and a socket cannot be normally transmitted.

A first aspect of an embodiment of the present invention provides a connector, the connector being applied to an endoscope system, the endoscope system comprising:

An endoscope, and a light source and/or processor device detachably coupled to the endoscope;

The connector is disposed between the endoscope and the light source and/or processor device for establishing a connection of the endoscope to the light source and/or processor device;

The connector includes:

a plug disposed at one end of the endoscope, and a socket disposed on the light source and/or processor device and adapted to the plug;

The plug end portion is provided with a fixed terminal, and a movable terminal adapted to the fixed terminal is disposed at a corresponding position of the plug;

The fixed terminal and the movable terminal abut the end surface in a state in which the plug is inserted into the socket.

Optionally, the plug end portion is provided with a stepped boss, and the stepped boss comprises:

a first boss disposed at the end of the plug, and a second boss disposed on the first boss, the first boss having a radius larger than the second boss radius;

The fixed terminal is disposed in the first boss, and the fixed terminal end is exposed on the first boss end surface.

Optionally, the first boss is provided with a mounting hole adapted to the fixed terminal, and the fixed terminal is nested in the mounting hole.

Optionally, a sealing ring is disposed between the inner wall of the mounting hole and the outer wall of the fixed terminal.

Optionally, the root of the fixed terminal is provided with an insulation protection portion.

Optionally, the insulation protection portion is a waterproof protrusion portion integrally formed on an end surface of the plug around the root of the fixed terminal.

Optionally, the fixed terminal is disposed in a plurality of axial directions around the first boss.

Optionally, the first boss side portion is provided with a positioning protrusion, and a positioning groove corresponding to the positioning protrusion is disposed at a corresponding position of the socket.

Optionally, the fixed terminal end contact end surface radius dimension is larger than the movable terminal end contact end surface radius dimension.

Optionally, a flange is disposed around the side of the plug, and a ball that can form a press fit with the flange is disposed at a corresponding position of the socket;

a side of the socket is provided with a tapered hole penetrating the inner wall of the socket, and the ball is disposed in the tapered hole;

The socket side portion is further provided with a spring piece abutting the ball for restraining the ball in the tapered hole, and radially pressing the ball from the socket to make the ball part body Exposed to the inner wall surface of the socket;

The plug and the socket form a fixed connection by a press fit of the flange with the ball.

Optionally, the connector is an integral endoscope connector.

A second aspect of an embodiment of the present invention provides an endoscope system comprising: an endoscope, and a light source and/or a processor device detachably coupled to the endoscope, the endoscope and the light source And/or at The device device establishes a connection through a connector that employs the connector of any of the above.

In the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present invention, a fixed terminal is disposed at an end of the plug, and a movable terminal is disposed at a corresponding position of the socket. When the plug and the socket are plugged, the fixed terminal and the movable terminal are abutted, so In the prior art, the embodiment of the invention adopts the connection manner of the fixed terminal and the movable terminal and the two, thereby eliminating the friction loss between the metal elastic piece and the long strip type electrical contact, and solving the problem between the metal elastic piece and the long strip type electrical contact. A problem of poor contact due to frictional loss, which prevents the control signal and/or image signal from being transmitted normally.

DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly described below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only It is a certain embodiment of the present invention, and other drawings can be obtained from those skilled in the art without any creative work.

1 is a perspective view of a prior art endoscope system;

2 is a perspective view of a prior art connector plug;

3 is a perspective view of an endoscope system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a perspective view of a connector plug according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a connector socket according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

Figure 6 is a partially enlarged schematic view showing A in the connector plug of the embodiment of the present invention.

detailed description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are clearly and completely described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. It is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, but not all embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by a person skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts are within the scope of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, an electronic endoscope system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an endoscope 100, and a light source device 200 and/or a processor device 300 detachably coupled to the endoscope 100. In the endoscope 100 with A connector 500 is provided between the light source device 200 and/or the processor device 300 for establishing a connection of the endoscope 100 to the light source device 200 and/or the processor device 300.

1 and 3, the electronic endoscope system of the embodiment of the present invention is different from the conventional electronic endoscope system in that the connectors used by the two are different, as described below.

As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the connector 500 of the embodiment of the present invention includes a plug 510 disposed at one end of the endoscope 100, and a socket 520 disposed on the light source device 200 and/or the processor device 300. A fixed terminal 511 is disposed at an end of the plug 510, and a movable terminal 521 adapted to the fixed terminal 511 is disposed at a corresponding position of the socket 520. The fixed terminal 511 and the movable terminal are inserted in a state where the plug 510 and the socket 520 are plugged. 521 achieves end face abutment.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the connector 500 adopts an integral connector, and the socket 520 is disposed on the light source device 200. Of course, the connector 500 can also be a split connector, or other types of connectors, which are not limited herein.

It should be noted that since the control signal does not have a high requirement on the transmission rate of the transmission cable, the control signal for the endoscope is still transmitted by the cable, that is, the electrical signal is transmitted. With the increasing popularity of high-definition video, high-definition image signals have high requirements on the transmission rate of transmission cables. At present, the image signals for endoscopes are gradually changed from cables to optical cables for transmission, that is, optical fiber signals are transmitted, thereby satisfying Higher transmission rate requirements. The embodiment of the present invention further improves only the transmission line of the control signal, mainly relates to an electrical signal, and does not relate to a fiber optic signal.

As shown in FIG. 4, a step boss 512 is disposed at an end of the plug 510. The step boss 512 includes a first boss 512a disposed at an end of the plug 510, and a second protrusion disposed on the first boss 512a. The stage 512b has a first boss 512a having a larger radius than the second boss 512b. The fixed terminal 511 is disposed in the first boss 512a, and the end of the fixed terminal 511 is exposed on the end surface of the first boss 512a.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the prior art, an elongated electrical contact 412 is disposed on the side of the second boss of the stepped boss 411. When the plug 410 is plugged into the socket 420, the elongated electrical contact is formed. The 412 is adjacent to each other in a horizontal direction with metal domes (not shown) and is in contact with the side surface of the metal dome (not shown) through the side surface of the elongated electrical contact 412. If the plug 410 and the socket 420 are not fully inserted into the position, the plug 410 will continue to penetrate into the socket 420, and the elongated electrical contact 412 will move relative to the metal dome (not shown). There is a certain friction between the side surface of the strip-shaped electrical contact 412 and the side surface of the metal dome (not shown), which inevitably leads to The frictional loss of the side surface of the elongated electrical contact 412 and the side surface of the metal dome (not shown). During the frequent insertion and removal operation of the plug 410 and the socket 420, the frictional loss of the side surface of the elongated electrical contact 412 and the side surface of the metal dome (not shown) is increased, and the metal dome is prone to occur (in the figure) Not shown) poor contact with the elongated electrical contact 412, resulting in a problem that the control signal and/or image signal cannot be transmitted normally.

As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, unlike the prior art, in the embodiment of the present invention, the fixed terminal 511 is disposed on the end surface of the first boss 512a, and the movable terminal 521 is disposed at the corresponding position of the socket 520. When the plug 510 and the socket 520 are plugged in, the fixed terminal 511 and the movable terminal 521 are close to each other in the horizontal direction, and the end surface of the fixed terminal 511 abuts against the end surface of the movable terminal 521. In such a connection manner, frictional loss in relative displacement is not generated between the end surface of the fixed terminal 511 and the end surface of the movable terminal 521, and the problem of poor contact due to friction loss is avoided.

In addition, after the end surface of the fixed terminal 511 abuts against the end surface of the movable terminal 521, if the plug 510 and the socket 520 are not fully inserted into the position, the plug 510 will continue to penetrate into the socket 520, and the fixed terminal 511 will move. The end surface of the terminal 521 is pressed, and accordingly, the movable terminal 521 adjusts its length according to the pressure applied to the outside.

Secondly, in the prior art, after each end of use, the endoscope 100 needs to clean and disinfect the portion of the endoscope 100 including the plug 410, then the plug 410 is required to withstand the conventional immersion sterilization environment. . The existing elongated electrical contact 412 has a large exposed metal area, and in the conventional immersion sterilization, correspondingly, the metal corrosion area is also large. At the same time, due to the structural characteristics of the elongated electrical contact 412 itself and the position of the arrangement, the waterproof sealing structure between the elongated electrical contact 412 and the insulating substrate of the stepped boss 411 becomes extremely complicated, resulting in The plug 410 has an increased production cost.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of mounting holes (not shown) are axially opened around the first boss 512a, and a plurality of fixed terminals 511 are respectively nested in corresponding positions. The mounting hole (not shown) is inside.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the fixed terminal 511 and the movable terminal 521 are thimbles of a thin column shape, but the movable terminal 521 is a spring ejector (for example, a pogo pin) having a telescopic length function. The mounting hole (not shown) may be a circular through hole adapted to the thin cylindrical thimble, the thimble being nested within the circular through hole and exposing the ejector end to the surface of the first boss 512a. Metal during normal immersion sterilization The corroded surface is reduced.

In order to ensure sufficient contact between the fixed terminal 511 and the end surface of the movable terminal 521, the contact end surface radius of the fixed terminal 511 may be larger than the movable terminal end contact end surface radius.

In order to achieve a good waterproof sealing effect between the fixed terminal 511 and the insulating substrate of the plug 510, a sealing ring (not shown) may be disposed between the inner wall of the mounting hole (not shown) and the outer wall of the fixed terminal 511. The waterproof sealing structure has low manufacturing cost and good sealing effect, and can achieve the waterproof level above IPX level.

As shown in FIG. 6, an insulating protection portion, specifically a waterproof boss portion 515, which is higher than the end surface of the first boss 512a is provided around the root of each of the fixed terminals 511.

When the plug 510 is connected to the socket 520 for use, the front end face of the plug 510 is on a vertical plane, and the plug 510 is cleaned and disinfected with the endoscope 100 each time and then with the socket 520, after the plug 510 is cleaned, The end surface of the first boss 512a may have a little residual water. The waterproof protrusion 515 is used to make the residual water on the end surface of the first boss 512a flow along the end surface of the first boss 512a without flowing to the fixed terminal 511. This will not affect the signal transmission.

In order to ensure that the fixed terminal 511 and the movable terminal 521 can be accurately abutted when the plug 510 is inserted into the socket 520, the positioning protrusion 513 can be disposed on the side of the first boss 512a, and the corresponding position of the socket 520 is set and positioned. The protrusion 513 is adapted to the positioning groove 522.

In order to prevent the plug 510 from being plugged together with the socket 520, the two are loosened due to an external force, resulting in poor contact between the fixed terminal 511 and the movable terminal 521. A flange 514 may be disposed around the side of the plug 510, and a ball 523 capable of forming a press fit with the flange 514 is disposed at a corresponding position of the socket 520. The side of the socket 520 is provided with a tapered hole penetrating through the inner wall of the socket 520 (in the figure) Not shown), the ball 523 is disposed in a tapered hole (not shown), and the side of the socket 520 is further provided with a spring piece 524 abutting against the ball 523 for restraining the ball 523 in the tapered hole (in the figure) Not shown, and the ball 523 is pressed radially from the socket 520 so that the ball 523 portion is exposed to the inner wall surface of the socket 520. The plug 510 and the socket 520 form a fixed connection by a press fit of the flange 514 with the ball 523.

The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and are not intended to be limiting; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art will understand that The technical solutions described in the embodiments are modified, or some of the technical features are equivalently replaced; and these modifications or replacements do not detract from the essence of the corresponding technical solutions. The spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

A connector for use in an endoscope system, the endoscope system comprising:

An endoscope, and a light source and/or processor device detachably coupled to the endoscope;

The connector is disposed between the endoscope and the light source and/or processor device for establishing a connection of the endoscope to the light source and/or processor device;

The connector is characterized in that:

a plug disposed at one end of the endoscope, and a socket disposed on the light source and/or processor device and adapted to the plug;

The plug end portion is provided with a fixed terminal, and a movable terminal adapted to the fixed terminal is disposed at a corresponding position of the plug;

The fixed terminal and the movable terminal abut the end surface in a state in which the plug is inserted into the socket.
The connector according to claim 1, wherein said plug end portion is provided with a stepped boss, said stepped boss comprising:

a first boss disposed at the end of the plug, and a second boss disposed on the first boss, the first boss having a radius larger than the second boss radius;

The fixed terminal is disposed in the first boss, and the fixed terminal end is exposed on the first boss end surface.
The connector according to claim 2, wherein the first boss is provided with a mounting hole adapted to the fixed terminal, and the fixed terminal is nested in the mounting hole;

A sealing ring is disposed between the inner wall of the mounting hole and the outer wall of the fixed terminal.
The connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the root of the fixed terminal is provided with an insulation protection portion.
The connector according to claim 4, wherein the insulating protection portion is a waterproof boss portion integrally formed on an end surface of the plug around a root portion of the fixed terminal.
The connector according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that the fixed terminal is provided in plurality in the axial direction around the first boss.
The connector according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the first convex The side portion of the table is provided with a positioning protrusion, and a positioning groove adapted to the positioning protrusion is disposed at a corresponding position of the socket.
The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the fixed terminal end contact end face radius size is larger than the movable terminal end contact end face radius size.
A connector according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a flange is provided around the side of the plug, and a corresponding position at the socket is provided to form a press with the flange Cooperating balls;

a side of the socket is provided with a tapered hole penetrating the inner wall of the socket, and the ball is disposed in the tapered hole;

The socket side portion is further provided with a spring piece abutting the ball for restraining the ball in the tapered hole, and radially pressing the ball from the socket to make the ball part body Exposed to the inner wall surface of the socket;

The plug and the socket form a fixed connection by a press fit of the flange with the ball.
An endoscope system comprising: an endoscope, and a light source and/or processor device detachably coupled to the endoscope, the endoscope being coupled to the light source and/or processor device The connector establishes a connection, characterized in that the connector employs the connector according to any of the preceding claims 1 to 9.