Male connector

Abstract

To provide a male connector that enables connection with reduced operational force.SOLUTION: A male connector connectable to a female connector having an elastic valve body, comprises: a flow path pipe member having an opening; a housing having a housing hooking part; an elastic opening / closing part; and a movable body having a guide surface. In the male connector, a form is changed from a first form in which the opening is closed by the elastic opening / closing part, to a second form in which the opening is opened through a connection operation in which the elastic valve body is pressed against the elastic opening / closing part; the housing hooking part restricts movement of the female connector by engaging with a housing hooked part by the connection operation; the housing hooked part has a hooked surface and a slid surface; and the housing hooking part, in the first form, is pressed radially inward against the guide surface, and, by means of the connection operation, slides on the guide surface and the slid surface in this order, subsequently engaging with the hooked surface.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to male connectors. [Background technology]

[0002] A male connector connectable to a female connector having an elastic valve body, the male connector comprising: a flow path pipe member having an opening at a portion on the axial tip side; a housing having a housing hook portion connected to the flow path pipe member; an elastic opening / closing portion; and a movable body for holding the elastic opening / closing portion. From a first mode in which the opening of the flow path pipe member is closed by the elastic opening / closing portion in an initial position, the elastic valve body is pressed against the tip surface of the elastic opening / closing portion, and the elastic opening / closing portion and the movable body move toward the axial base end side relative to the flow path pipe member, causing the axial tip side portion of the flow path pipe member to protrude toward the axial tip side from the elastic opening / closing portion, thereby closing the flow path pipe member. A male connector is known in which the housing changes its form to a second form in which the opening of the housing is opened, and the housing hooking portion becomes hooked onto the housing hooked portion by the connecting operation, thereby restricting movement of the female connector toward the axial tip side relative to the elastic opening and closing portion, the housing hooked portion having a hooked surface and a sliding surface extending from the radial outer end of the hooked surface toward the axial base end side, and the housing hooking portion slides on the sliding surface toward the axial tip side by the connecting operation, and then is displaced radially inward by a restoring force to become hooked onto the hooked surface (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2022 / 149339 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Conventional male connectors required a large operating force to connect, as it required an operating force to displace the housing hook portion radially outward through elastic deformation when changing from the first form to the second form through the connecting operation.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a male connector that can be connected with a small operating force. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present disclosure is as follows.

[0007] [1] A male connector connectable to a female connector having an elastic valve body, a flow path pipe member defining an axial direction and a radial direction and having an opening at a portion on a tip side in the axial direction; a housing having a housing hook portion and connected to the flow path pipe member; An elastic opening and closing part; a movable body having a guide surface and holding the elastic opening and closing part, a first configuration in which the opening of the flow path pipe member is closed by the elastic opening / closing portion which is in an initial position, is changed to a second configuration in which the elastic valve body is pressed against a tip end surface of the elastic opening / closing portion, causing the elastic opening / closing portion and the movable body to move toward the axial base end side relative to the flow path pipe member, thereby causing a connection operation in which the axial tip end side portion of the flow path pipe member protrudes from the elastic opening / closing portion toward the axial tip end side, thereby opening the opening of the flow path pipe member; the housing hook portion is hooked onto the housing hooked portion by the connecting operation, thereby restricting movement of the female connector toward the axial tip side relative to the elastic open-close portion, the housing hook portion has a hook surface and a sliding surface extending from a radially outer end of the hook surface toward the axial base end, In the first form, the housing hook portion is pressed radially inward against the guide surface by the restoring force from elastic deformation, and by the connecting operation, it slides on the guide surface and the sliding surface in that order toward the axial tip side, and then is displaced radially inward by the restoring force, thereby hooking onto the hooking surface.

[0008] [2] the movable body has a holding portion that holds the elastic opening / closing portion, and a guide wall portion that extends from the holding portion toward the tip end in the axial direction, the guide surface is formed by a radially outer surface of the guide wall portion, The male connector according to [1], wherein the tip surface of the guide wall portion abuts against the female connector during the connecting operation.

[0009] [3] The male connector described in [1] or [2] has a moving body regulating portion that moves radially inward due to the resistance from the housing generated during the connection operation, thereby regulating the movement of the female connector toward the axial tip side relative to the elastic opening and closing portion.

[0010] [4] The male connector according to [3], wherein the movement restricting portion restricts movement of the female connector toward the axial tip side relative to the elastic opening and closing portion by hooking onto the female connector.

[0011] [5] The male connector according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the housing hook portion is provided on the female connector.

[0012] [6] The male connector according to [5], wherein the guide surface has an outer diameter equal to or smaller than the outer diameter of the sliding surface.

[0013] [7] The male connector according to any one of [1] to [6], configured as a medical device.

[0014] [8] A connection structure comprising the male connector according to any one of [1] to [7] and the female connector.

[0015] [9] The connection structure described in [8], wherein the male connector and the female connector are each configured as medical devices. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a male connector that can be connected with a small operating force. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state before connection in a connection structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the state of FIG. 1 at an angle different by 90°. [Figure 3] 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state when the connecting operation is started from the state shown in FIG. 2; [Figure 4] 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state when the connecting operation has progressed further from the state shown in FIG. 3. FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the state of FIG. 4 at an angle different by 90°. [Figure 6] 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state when the connecting operation has progressed further from the state shown in FIG. 4 and is completed. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the state of FIG. 6 at an angle different by 90°. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0019] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 , a male connector 1 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a male connector 1 connectable to a female connector 2 having an elastic valve body 2a, and includes a flow path pipe member 3 that defines axial and radial directions and has an opening 3a in an axially distal end portion, a housing 4 that has a housing hook portion 4a1 and is connected to the flow path pipe member 3, an elastic open-close unit 5, and a movable body 6 that has a guide surface 6a1 and holds the elastic open-close unit 5. From a first mode (see FIGS. 1 and 2 ) in which the opening 3a of the flow path pipe member 3 is closed by the elastic open-close unit 5 that is in an initial position, the elastic valve body 2a is pressed against the distal end surface of the elastic open-close unit 5, and a connecting operation in which the elastic open-close unit 5 and the movable body 6 move toward the axial base end side relative to the flow path pipe member 3 causes the axially distal end portion of the flow path pipe member 3 to protrude toward the axial distal end from the elastic open-close unit 5. The form changes to a second form (see Figures 6 and 7) in which the opening 3a of the flow path pipe member 3 is opened, and the housing hooking portion 4a1 is hooked onto the housing hooked portion 7 by the connecting operation, thereby restricting movement of the female connector 2 toward the axial tip side relative to the elastic open-close portion 5 (see Figure 6). The housing hooked portion 7 has a hooked surface 7a and a sliding surface 7b extending from the radial outer end of the hooked surface 7a toward the axial base end side, and in the first form, the housing hooking portion 4a1 is pressed radially inward against the guide surface 6a1 by the restoring force from elastic deformation, and by the connecting operation, it slides on the guide surface 6a1 and the sliding surface 7b toward the axial tip side in this order, and then is displaced radially inward by the restoring force so that it is hooked onto the hooked surface 7a (see Figure 6).

[0020] According to the above configuration, from the first configuration in which the flow path inside the male connector 1 (male connector flow path C1) is closed by the elastic open-close portion 5 and the flow path inside the female connector 2 (female connector flow path C2) is closed by the elastic valve body 2a, by the connecting operation, the elastic valve body 2a is brought into close contact with the elastic open-close portion 5, and by maintaining this close contact, the configuration is changed to the second configuration, thereby communicating the male connector flow path C1 and the female connector flow path C2 via the opening 3a of the flow path pipe member 3 and allowing the fluid to flow. When the male connector 1 and the female connector 2 are connected in this manner, the housing hook portion 4a1 is already in a state in which it has been displaced radially outward by elastic deformation due to the guide surface 6a1 of the movable body 6 before the connecting operation is performed in the first configuration, so that the housing hook portion 4a1 slides in a state displaced by elastic deformation between the guide surface 6a1 and the sliding surface 7b during the connecting operation, and is displaced radially inward by a restoring force so that it can be hooked on the hooking surface 7a. Therefore, the operating force for displacing the housing hook portion 4a1 radially outward by elastic deformation during the connecting operation can be reduced by the amount of elastic deformation caused by the guide surface 6a1 in advance radially outward.

[0021] The movable body 6 has a holding portion 6b that holds the elastic opening-closing unit 5 and a guide wall portion 6a that extends from the holding portion 6b toward the axial tip, and the guide surface 6a1 is formed by the radially outer surface of the guide wall portion 6a, and the tip surface of the guide wall portion 6a abuts against the female connector 2 during the connecting operation. According to the above configuration, the guide wall portion 6a allows the housing hook portion 4a1 to reliably slide until it contacts the female connector 2 while being displaced by elastic deformation. In this embodiment, the guide wall portion 6a is formed by a pair of guide walls 6a2 that extend from the holding portion 6b toward the axial tip, but is not limited thereto and may be formed by, for example, a cylindrical guide wall 6a2 that extends from the holding portion 6b toward the axial tip and surrounds the elastic opening-closing unit 5.

[0022] The movable body 6 has a movable body restricting portion 6c that restricts movement of the female connector 2 toward the axial tip side relative to the elastic open-close portion 5 by moving radially inward due to a resistance force from the housing 4 that occurs during the connecting operation. According to the above configuration, the movable body restricting portion 6c can effectively maintain the state in which the elastic valve body 2a is pressed against the tip surface of the elastic open-close portion 5 during the connecting operation.

[0023] The moving body restricting portion 6c hooks onto the female connector 2, thereby restricting movement of the female connector 2 toward the axial tip side relative to the elastic open-close portion 5. That is, the moving body restricting portion 6c has a moving body hooking portion 6c1 that hooks onto the moving body hooked portion 2b of the female connector 2. The moving body restricting portion 6c can be released from being hooked onto the female connector 2 by swinging radially outward as it recovers from elastic deformation. The moving body restricting portion 6c has an arm portion 6c2 that extends radially outward and toward the axial tip side, and a protrusion 6c3 that protrudes radially inward from the end of the arm portion 6c2 on the axial tip side and forms the moving body hooking portion 6c1.

[0024] The movable body 6 has, for example, a cylindrical movable body base 6d that connects the retaining portion 6b and the base of the movable body restricting portion 6c that is located axially closer to the base end than the retaining portion 6b. The retaining portion 6b, the movable body restricting portion 6c, and the movable body base 6d form an integrated movable body 6. The movable body 6 has a first movable body restricting portion 6c and a second movable body restricting portion 6c, and the retaining portion 6b is located between the first movable body restricting portion 6c and the second movable body restricting portion 6c, or the first movable body restricting portion 6c and the second movable body restricting portion 6c are arranged to face each other (shifted by 180°).

[0025] The housing hook portion 7 is provided on the female connector 2. The housing hook portion 7 may be provided on another member (for example, the movable body 6 having the movable body restricting portion 6c) that moves integrally with the female connector 2 during the connecting operation.

[0026] The guide surface 6a1 has an outer diameter equal to or smaller than the outer diameter of the sliding surface 7b. According to the above configuration, it is possible to prevent the movable body 6 from being caught on the housing catch portion 4a1 during the disconnection operation, which would prevent the movable body 6 from being prevented from returning to the first form.

[0027] The male connector 1 has a biasing portion 8 that can bias the elastic open-close portion 5 toward the tip end in the axial direction, and changes its form from the first form to the second form by a connecting operation in which the elastic valve body 2a is pressed against the tip face of the elastic open-close portion 5, causing the elastic open-close portion 5 and the moving body 6 to move toward the base end in the axial direction relative to the flow path pipe member 3 against the biasing force of the biasing portion 8. With the above configuration, the elastic valve body 2a can be favorably pressed against the elastic open-close portion 5 by the biasing force during the connecting operation.

[0028] The elastic opening-closing portion 5 and the biasing portion 8 form an integrated elastic member. The elastic opening-closing portion 5 has a slit 5a through which the flow path pipe member 3 passes when the configuration changes from the first configuration to the second configuration. The elastic opening-closing portion 5 and the biasing portion 8 are made of, for example, rubber or elastomer. The movable body 6, the flow path pipe member 3, and the housing 4 are made of, for example, resin.

[0029] The housing 4 has a housing base 4b that is connected to the flow path pipe member 3 and forms a hollow portion S in which the flow path pipe member 3 is located, a housing restriction portion 4a that has a housing hook portion 4a1 on its axial tip end and is connected to the housing base 4b on its axial base end side so as to be able to swing, and an operation portion 4c that extends from the housing restriction portion 4a to the axial base end side. When the operation portion 4c is operated radially inward, the housing restriction portion 4a swings radially outward of the flow path pipe member 3 due to elastic deformation, thereby being able to release the hooking of the housing hooked portion 7.

[0030] The housing 4 has a first housing regulating portion 4a, a first operating portion 4c extending from the first housing regulating portion 4a toward the axial base end, a second housing regulating portion 4a, and a second operating portion 4c extending from the second housing regulating portion 4a toward the axial base end, and the flow path pipe member 3 is positioned between the first housing regulating portion 4a and the second housing regulating portion 4a, or the first housing regulating portion 4a and the second housing regulating portion 4a are arranged to face each other (shifted by 180°).

[0031] The flow path pipe member 3 and the base portion of the housing base 4b form an integral member. The housing restricting portion 4a, the portion of the housing base 4b other than the base portion, and the operating portion 4c form an integral member.

[0032] In this embodiment, the connection structure 9 has a male connector 1 and a female connector 2 .

[0033] The female connector 2 has a connection portion 2c that forms a connection port P in which the elastic valve body 2a is disposed, and an annular step surface 2d that connects the axial tip end of the connection portion 2c and the axial base end of the sliding surface 7b and forms a ring shape that extends circumferentially, and the tip surface of the guide wall portion abuts against the annular step surface 2d by the connection operation.

[0034] The elastic valve body 2a has a top surface 2a1 that is pressed against the tip surface of the elastic open-close part 5 by the connecting operation, and a slit 2a2 through which the flow path pipe member 3 passes from the top surface 2a1 when the configuration changes from the first configuration to the second configuration. The elastic valve body 2a is made of, for example, rubber or elastomer.

[0035] The male connector 1 and the female connector 2 are each configured as a medical device. The male connector 1 and the female connector 2 can form, for example, an infusion set. The infusion set includes, for example, the male connector 1, the female connector 2, an infusion container, a drip tube, and a medical tube. The fluid is not particularly limited and may be, for example, a medicinal solution (infusion solution, nutrients, anticancer drug, etc.), saline solution, etc.

[0036] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the above-described embodiments can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 1 male connector 2 female connectors 2a Elastic valve body 2a1 Top 2a2 slit 2b Moving object hooked part 2c Connection 2d annular step surface 3. Flow path pipe components 3a aperture 4. Housing 4a Housing Regulation Department 4a1 Housing hook 4b Housing base 4c Control section 5 Elastic opening and closing part 5a Slit 6 Mobile 6a Guide wall 6a1 Guide surface 6a2 Guide wall 6b Holding part 6c Mobile Control Unit 6c1 Moving object hook 6c2 arm 6c3 protrusion 6d mobile base 7 Housing hook part 7a Hooked surface 7b Sliding surface 8. Actuating part 9 Connection structure C1 Male connector flow path C2 female connector flow channel S Hollow part P connection port

Claims

1. A male connector connectable to a female connector having an elastic valve body, a flow path pipe member defining an axial direction and a radial direction and having an opening at a portion on a tip side in the axial direction; a housing having a housing hook portion and connected to the flow path pipe member; An elastic opening and closing part; a movable body having a guide surface and holding the elastic opening and closing part, a first configuration in which the opening of the flow path pipe member is closed by the elastic opening / closing portion which is in an initial position, to a second configuration in which the elastic valve body is pressed against a tip end surface of the elastic opening / closing portion, causing the elastic opening / closing portion and the movable body to move toward the axial base end with respect to the flow path pipe member, thereby causing a connection operation in which the axial tip end side portion of the flow path pipe member protrudes from the elastic opening / closing portion toward the axial tip end side, thereby opening the opening of the flow path pipe member; the housing hook portion is hooked onto the housing hooked portion by the connecting operation, thereby restricting movement of the female connector toward the axial tip side relative to the elastic open-close portion, the housing hook portion has a hook surface and a sliding surface extending from a radially outer end of the hook surface toward the axial base end, In the first form, the housing hook portion is pressed radially inward against the guide surface by the restoring force from elastic deformation, and by the connecting operation, it slides on the guide surface and the sliding surface in that order toward the axial tip side, and then is displaced radially inward by the restoring force, thereby hooking onto the hooking surface.

2. the movable body has a holding portion that holds the elastic opening / closing portion, and a guide wall portion that extends from the holding portion toward the tip end in the axial direction, the guide surface is formed by a radially outer surface of the guide wall portion, The male connector according to claim 1 , wherein a tip end surface of the guide wall portion abuts against the female connector during the connecting operation.

3. The male connector of claim 1, wherein the movable body has a movable body regulating portion that restricts movement of the female connector toward the axial tip side relative to the elastic opening / closing portion by moving radially inward due to resistance from the housing generated during the connecting operation.

4. The male connector according to claim 3 , wherein the movement restricting portion restricts movement of the female connector toward the axial tip side relative to the elastic opening / closing portion by being caught on the female connector.

5. The male connector according to claim 1 , wherein the housing hook portion is provided on the female connector.

6. The male connector according to claim 5 , wherein the guide surface has an outer diameter equal to or smaller than an outer diameter of the sliding surface.

7. The male connector of claim 1 configured as a medical device.

8. A connection structure comprising the male connector according to claim 1 and the female connector.

9. The connection structure of claim 8 , wherein the male connector and the female connector are each configured as a medical device.

Images