JPH0810613B2 - Connector device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a connector device which prevents a temporary excessive current from being generated when connecting or disconnecting electrical contacts.

[Problems to be Solved by Prior Art and Invention] As is well known, for example, endoscopes that have been widely used in recent years are configured to be used by being connected to a control device or the like via a connector device. There is something.

For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-80429, an endoscope is connected to a control device having a built-in light source device via a connector device,
The inside of the body cavity is illuminated by the illumination light of the light source, and a CRT is used to observe an image inside the body cavity obtained by a solid-state imaging device such as a charge imaging device (CCD) or an imaging means such as a video camera.
A technique is disclosed in which the image is displayed on a monitor so that it can be observed.

By the way, the connector device is only configured to mechanically connect or disconnect the male and female contacts, and turns on / off the signal current between the solid-state imaging device or the video camera or the like and the control device. The operation is generally configured to be performed by a main switch provided in this control device.

Therefore, for example, the connector device may be attached or detached when the switch is turned on. If, for example, the connector is erroneously attached / detached even though it is turned on, a temporary excessive current may flow to the solid-state imaging device, the video camera, or the like at the time of attachment / detachment. The elements or the camera may be adversely affected.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a connector device in which a temporary excessive current is prevented from being generated at the time of attachment / detachment.

[Means and Actions for Solving Problems] A connector device according to the present invention includes a pair of connector forming members that are coupled to each other, and a first contact member and a second contact member that are provided on both of the pair of connector forming members. A contact member,
And a coupling state detecting means which is provided on one of the connector forming members and which operates after the first and second contacts are electrically connected when the connectors are coupled.

With this configuration, when the first and second contacts are connected, the switch is turned on after the connection is made to conduct to the first contact, while connecting the contacts. When the switch is released, the switch is turned off to interrupt the conduction before the release.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the connector device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 3 relate to the first embodiment of the present invention.
Figure (A) is a sectional side view of the plug, Figure 1 (B) is a sectional side view of the jack, Figure 2 is a left side view of Figure 1 (B), and third.
The figure is an overall view of an endoscope apparatus which is an example of use of the connector apparatus of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the endoscope device 1 is composed of, for example, an electronic endoscope 2, a light source device 3, a control device 4, and a CRT monitor 5 connected to the control device 4.

The electronic endoscope 2 has a slender and flexible insertion part 2a, for example, and a large-diameter operating part 2b connected to the rear end of the inserting part 2a. However, the first cable 7 in which the light transmitting means, the signal current transmitting means, and the like are provided is extended. An intermediate connector 8 is provided at the tip of the first cable 7, and one end of the light transmitting means is connected to a lighting connector formed on the intermediate connector 8. The illuminating connector of the intermediate connector 8 is configured to be connected to the illuminating device 3, and the illumination light of a light source (not shown) provided in the illuminating device 3 is transmitted through the light transmitting means to the electronic endoscope. 2 is transmitted to.

The intermediate connector 8 is provided with a second cable 9 in which the signal current transmitting means is extended and internally provided. A plug 11 is formed at the tip of the second cable 9 and is fitted into a jack 12 provided on the panel 4a of the control device 4, and a control signal from the control device 4 causes the signal current transmitting means to operate. It is configured to be transmitted to the electronic endoscope 2 via the. In addition, this plug 11 and jack 12
And constitute the connector device 13 according to the present invention.

The plug 11 has a large-diameter portion 11 as shown in FIG.
a and a fitting portion 11c coaxially protruding from the large diameter portion 11a via a step portion 11b, and one side of the fitting portion 11c with respect to the axial center of the plug 11. A positioning pin 11d is provided which projects in a right angle direction.

Further, a hollow portion 11e is formed in the axial direction of the plug 11, and an insulating holding member 14 is fixed to a portion of the hollow portion 11e that is separated from the plug tip surface 11f by a predetermined distance. There is. A plurality of male contacts 15 as second contacts are fixed to the holding member 14 in parallel with the axis of the plug 11, and a conducting wire 15a is connected to each of the male contacts 15.

On the other hand, the jack 12 provided in the control device 4
Is a panel of the control device 4 as shown in FIG. 1 (B).
A fixed frame 17 formed in a cylindrical shape is inserted and fixed to the 4a, and a rotary frame 18 formed to be longer than the fixed frame 17 is the fixed frame.
It is configured to be rotatably engaged in the inside of 17.

A locking portion 17b projecting inward of the fixed frame 17 is annularly provided on a distal end portion 17a of the fixed frame 17 on the side opposite to the panel 4a, and the distal end of the rotary frame 18 is attached to the locking portion 17b. The portion 18a is in sliding contact with the rear end surface 17 of the fixed frame 17 in the panel 4a.
A groove 18b is annularly provided on the outer periphery of the rotary frame 18 corresponding to c, and a retaining plate 19 engaged with the groove 18a is fixed to the rear end surface 17c. Is rotatably positioned by the locking portions 17a and the retaining plate 19.

Further, a hole 18c having substantially the same diameter as the fitting portion 11c of the plug 11 is formed in the axial direction of the rotating frame 18, and the hole 18c is formed to have substantially the same diameter as the hollow portion 11e of the plug 11. The holding member 21 having an insulating property is fixed. A female contact 22 as a first contact, with which the male contact 15 is engaged, is fixed to the holding member 21, and a conducting wire 22a is connected to each of the female contacts 22.

Further, the tip end portion 18a of the rotary frame 18 and the locking portion 17b of the fixed frame 17 are matched only when the rotary frame 18 is rotated to a predetermined position, and the positioning pin 11d of the plug 11 is aligned.
Grooves 17d and 18d for accommodating the above are respectively engraved, and when these grooves 17d and 18d are aligned, the fitting portion 1 of the plug 11 is
1c is fitted into the hole 18c of the rotary frame 18, and the male contact 15 and the female contact 22
And are mechanically connected. And
When the connection between the male and female contacts 15 and 22 is completed, the positioning pin 11d is located rearward of the locking portion 17b of the fixed frame 17, so that the plug 11 and the rotary frame 18 are fixed to each other. When the plug 11 and the rotary frame 18 are rotated, the positioning pin 11 can be freely rotated.
When d contacts the locking portion 17b of the fixed frame 17, the anti-plug 11
The movement in the direction is restricted so that the male and female contacts 15 and 22 are not disconnected.

Further, on the rear end surface 17c of the fixed frame 17, the female contact 22
While the switch 23 for turning on / off the conduction to the conducting wire 22a of the rotary frame 18 is fixed, the rotary frame 18 is rotated at a predetermined angle at a position behind the fixed frame 17 rear end surface 17c at the rear of the rotary frame 18. A dog 24 is fixed to press the switch 23 to turn it on. On the other hand, the rear end surface 17c
, On the opposite side of the switch 23 across the dog 24,
The stopper 26 of this dog 24 is arranged, and the rotation frame 18
Rotation in the direction opposite to the switch pressing direction of this stopper 26
Is configured to be stopped at a portion where the grooves 17d and 18b in which the positioning pin 11d is housed are aligned.

On the other hand, a hole 28 is formed in the axial direction of the fixed frame 18 at the outer peripheral portion of the rotary frame 18 which is slidably contacted with the inner peripheral surface of the fixed frame 18.
a is formed, and a hard ball 28c configured to be freely projectable by the urging force of the elastic body 28b is inserted into the hole 28a. On the other hand, on the inner circumference of the fixed frame 17 corresponding to the hard ball 28c,
A plurality of recesses 17e, 17f with which the hard balls 28c are engaged are formed, and the rotation of the rotary frame 18 is caused by the grooves 17d and the grooves by engaging the hard balls 28c with the recesses 17e, 17f. The portion where 18b matches and the portion where the dog 24 presses the switch 23 are fixed. The hole 28a, the elastic body 28b, the hard sphere 28c, and the recesses 17e, 17f constitute a click mechanism 28.

Next, the operation of the connector device having the above configuration will be described.

Mating the plug 11 and the jack 12 to connect the male and female contacts 1
When connecting 5, 22, the positioning pin 11 provided on the jack 11 is held by a means such as gripping the jack 11.
Set the position of d to the groove 1 engraved in the fixed frame 17 of the jack 12 above.
The fitting portion 11c of the plug 11 is inserted into the hole 18c of the rotary frame 18 in alignment with the groove 7d formed in the tip portion 18a of the rotary frame 18.

Then, the positioning pin 11d passes through the groove 17d of the locking portion 17b and is housed in the groove 18d of the rotary frame 18, and the holding member 21 of the jack 11 is engaged with the hollow portion 11e of the plug 11. , A plurality of male contacts 15 are inserted into the female contact 22, and these male and female contacts 15 and 22 are mechanically connected.However, since the switch 23 is not turned on at this point, for example, a current is applied to the female contact 22. Etc. are not conducted, and contacts 15,22
No temporary excess current is generated between the contacts 15 and 22 when the is connected, and the excess current does not flow to the upstream side and the downstream side of the connector device 13.

Then, by grasping the plug 11 or the like, this plug
Rotate 11 in the specified direction. Then, the male and female contacts 1
The rotary frame 18 of the jack 12 is rotated in the fixed frame 17 in a state where the mechanical parts 5 and 22 are connected. Along with this rotation, the hard ball 28c of the click mechanism 28 is urged to the inner periphery of the fixed frame 17 to be disengaged from the recess 17e on the inner periphery of the fixed frame 17, and resist the urging force of the elastic body 28b. Then, it is stored in the hole 28a. Further, since the positioning pin 11d of the plug 11 is housed in the groove 18d of the rotating frame 18, the positioning pin 11d is not attached to the rotating frame 18d.
The rotation of the rotary frame 18 is prevented even if the rotary pin 18 is rotated slightly, and the positioning pin 11d is fixed to the fixed frame 17.
The plug 11 is prevented from moving in the direction opposite to the jack 17 by coming into contact with the locking portion b.

When the rotary frame 18 is rotated by a predetermined angle in a state where the male and female contacts 15 and 22 are connected, the dog 24 fixed to the rotary frame 18 is arranged on the rear end surface 17c of the fixed frame 17. The switch 23 is pressed to turn it on. By this ON operation, the female contact 22 is conducted through the conducting wire 22a, and a signal current or the like is sent to the illuminating device 3 or the electronic endoscope 2 through the male contact 15 of the plug 11, for example.
The video signal from the electronic endoscope 2 is the male and female contact points 15,2.
It becomes possible to project the observation image obtained by the electronic endoscope 2 to the CRT monitor 5 connected to the control device 4 by being sent via 2 to the control device 4.

When the rotary frame 18 is rotated until the dog 24 turns on the switch 23, the hole of the click mechanism 28 is
28a is opposed to another recess 17f formed on the inner circumference of the fixed frame 17, and the hard ball 28c is projected by the urging force of the elastic body 28b and engaged with the recess 17f. Rotation of the rotary frame 17 is restricted by the click mechanism 28, and even if the grip of the plug 11 is released, the rotary frame 18 is not rotated, and the ON operation of the switch 23 is stopped. There is no.

Next, the case of disconnecting the connection of the connector device 13 will be explained.
Rotate 11 in the opposite direction.

Then, the engagement between the hard ball 28c and the recessed portion 17f is released, and the pressing of the switch 23 by the dog 24 is stopped, and the switch 23 is turned off to conduct the female contact 22 and the male contact 15. Disappear.

When the plug 11 is further rotated, the dog 24 fixed to the rotary frame 18 comes into contact with the stopper 26 arranged on the rear end surface 17c of the fixed frame 17 to rotate the rotary frame 17. Is stopped. Then, the hole 28a of the rotary frame is opposed to the recess 17e on the inner periphery of the fixed frame 17, and the hard ball 28c of the hole 28a is projected by the urging force of the elastic body 28b and engages with the recess 17e to rotate the rotation. Fix the frame 18.

Then, the position of the groove 18d formed in the rotary frame 28 and the position of the groove 17d of the locking portion 17b of the fixed frame 17 are matched, and the plug 11
The positioning pin 11d is not brought into contact with the locking portion 17d, and the plug 11 can be moved in the direction opposite to the jack 12. Then, when the plug 11 is moved, the fitting portion 11c of the plug 11 is pulled out from the hole 18c of the rotary frame 18, and the connection between the male and female contacts 15 and 22 is released. As described above, in this case, since the switch 23 has already been turned off, the conduction to the male and female contacts 15 and 22 via the conducting wire 22a has already been stopped, and at the time of releasing this, No excessive current is generated,
This excessive current does not flow to the electronic endoscope 2 and the like.

In this embodiment, since the click mechanism 28 is provided between the fixed frame 17 and the rotary frame 18, positioning of the rotary frame is easy, and the rotary frame 18 is rotated for some reason to turn on the switch 28. This has the effect of preventing the operation from being canceled.

FIG. 4 relates to the second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 (A) is a sectional side view of the plug, and FIG. 4 (B) is a sectional side view of the jack. The same members as those in the first embodiment and members having the same functions as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, the fitting portion 11c of the plug 11 is formed to extend and the positioning pin 11d of the fitting portion 11c is formed.
An engaging groove 11g is provided in a region farther away from the front end surface 11f than the front end surface 11f, and an elastic member 27 having elasticity such as a C-shape is engaged with the engaging groove 11g, while the jack is used.
A groove 18e with which the elastic member 27 is engaged is annularly provided at a portion of the 12 holes 18c corresponding to the elastic member 27.

Further, the rotary frame 18 engaged in the fixed frame 17 of the jack 12 is configured as a sliding frame 29 slidable in the axial direction of the fixed frame 17, and the sliding frame 29 and A compression spring 31 is arranged between the rear end surface of the fixed frame 17 and a spring retainer 30 fixed to 17c so that the sliding frame 29 is constantly urged toward the plug 11 while the sliding frame 29 Tip surface
The sliding frame 29 is positioned by bringing 29a into contact with the step portion 17g formed on the inner peripheral surface of the fixed frame 17.

A protrusion 29b is formed on one side of the outer peripheral surface of the sliding frame 29, and the protrusion of the inner periphery of the fixed frame 17 is formed.
A sliding groove 17h is formed in a portion facing 29b, and when the sliding frame 29 is slid against the urging force of the compression spring 31, the protruding portion 29b has a sliding groove 17h. Slid inside,
The sliding frame 29 is prevented from rotating with respect to the fixed frame 17.

Further, a dog 24 extending rearward from the spring retainer 30 is fixed to the sliding frame 29, while a switch 23 is arranged in the control device 4, and
The switch 24 is configured to be turned on by the dog 24 when 29 is slid.

When the plug 11 and the jack 12 are fitted with each other with such a configuration, the fitting portion 11c of the plug 11 is fitted with the position of the positioning pin 11d of the plug 11 aligned with the groove 17d of the fixed frame 17.
Insert into jack 12. Then, the male contact 15 of the plug 11 and the female contact 22 of the jack 12 are connected by the same action as described above, and eventually the holding member 14 of the male contact 15 and the female contact
The holding member 21 of 22 is abutted. In this case, the female contact
The holding member 21 to which 22 is fixed does not slide because the sliding frame 29 is biased by the compression spring 31,
The male and female contacts 15 and 22 are smoothly joined.

Then, when the plug 11 is further pressed in the direction of the jack 12, the holding member 21 is pressed by the holding member 14, so that the sliding frame 29 resists the biasing force of the compression spring 31 and the fixed frame 17 is pressed. The dog 24, which is slid with respect to and fixed to the sliding frame 29, presses the switch 23 to turn on the switch 23. At the same time, the elastic member 27 engaged with the fitting portion 11c of the plug 11 is engaged with the groove 18e of the fixed frame 17, and the plug 11 is fixed.

Further, when releasing the fitting between the plug 11 and the jack 12, the holding member 21 of the female contact 22 is compressed by moving the plug 11 in a direction away from the jack 12 by gripping the plug 11 or the like. It is moved by the urging force of the spring 31. Then, the dog 24 is separated from the switch 23 and the switch 23 is turned off, so that the conduction to the male and female contacts 15 and 22 is stopped.

Next, the tip surface 29a of the sliding frame 29 is brought into contact with the step portion 17g, and the sliding frame 29 is stopped. Then, when the plug 11 is further moved, the connection between the male and female contacts 15 and 22 is released.

In these embodiments, the positioning pin 11d is projected from the plug 11 and the positioning pin is located on the jack 12 side.
Since the groove 17d to be engaged with 11d is formed, there is an effect that the relative positioning of the plug 11 and the jack 12 can be easily performed.

It should be noted that in these embodiments, the electronic endoscope 2 is attached to the endoscope device 1.
The example in which the video signal from the electronic endoscope 2 is input to the control device 4 has been described, but the one used in the endoscope device 1 is not limited to the electronic endoscope. It is not necessary to use, for example, an endoscope in which a video camera or the like can be attached to the eyepiece, and a video signal from this video camera is input to the control device 4 via the connector device 13 and the video camera is controlled. Can be configured to be performed by the control device 4.

Further, in these embodiments, the dog 24 is fixed to the rotating frame 18 or the sliding frame 29 arranged in the jack 12, but the member to which the dog 24 is fixed is not limited to these. It is not necessary to provide it. For example, it is possible to provide it on the jack 11 side, and after the male and female contacts 15 and 22 are connected, the plug 11 is further slid with respect to the jack 12 and the switch 24 can be turned on. Also, a dog 24 is provided between the plug 11 and the jack 12, and the dog 24 is
It is also possible to configure the switch 23 to be turned on and off while the male and female contacts 15 and 22 are connected by 24.

Further, although the switch 23 is arranged inside the control device 4 in these embodiments, the installation site of the switch 23 is not limited to the control device 4, and for example, inside the jack 12 or the plug 11 side. It is also possible to distribute to.

Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned configuration, and the male and female contacts 15, 2
It can be anything that turns on or off the conduction to these contacts 15, 22 while the 2 is connected.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the connector device of the present invention,
There is no effect that a temporary excessive current is generated when the first and second contacts are attached and detached, and this excessive current has an effect of preventing the devices connected to this connector device from being adversely affected. .

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 3 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 (A) is a sectional side view of a plug, FIG. 1 (B) is a sectional side view of a jack, and FIG. Third view, left side view of FIG.
FIG. 4 is an overall view of an endoscope apparatus which is a usage example of the connector device of the present invention, FIG. 4 is related to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 (A) is a sectional side view of a plug, FIG. (B) is a cross-sectional side view of the jack. 11 …… Plug 12 …… Jack 15 …… Second contact 13 …… Connector device 22 …… First contact 23 …… Switch 24 …… Dog

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A connector device having a first connector means and a second connector means mechanically connected to the first connector means, wherein an electrical device provided on the first connector means is provided. A first contact and the second connector means are provided and are electrically connected to the first contact before the mechanical connection between the first connector means and the second connector means is completed. Electrical second contact, switch means for connecting and disconnecting a current to the first contact, and the switch means in response to completion of mechanical connection between the first connector means and the second connector means. And a switch actuating means operable to turn on the switch.