JPH05269081A - Photographing unit for endoscope and assembling method for endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To achieve higher mechanical strength by miniaturizing a video unit section to make a tip part of an inserting part finer in diameter. CONSTITUTION:A hard tip part body 31 provided at the tip of a slender inserting part has a video unit 12 inserted into a video unit mounting part from an objective lens frame 25 to be assembled integral. A frame body 36 is fitted between the tip part body 31 and the video unit 12 to protect the video unit 12 and a sealing is made inside the frame body 36 and between the frame body 36 and the tip part body 31 and between the frame body 36 and the video unit 12 with an adhesive 37 to fix.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endoscope image pickup unit which is provided at the distal end portion of an insertion portion of an endoscope and which includes a solid-state image pickup device for picking up a subject image, and the image pickup unit for endoscope. And an assembling method of the endoscope.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, endoscopes have been widely used which are capable of observing a region to be examined and performing various treatments by inserting an elongated insertion portion into a body cavity or the like. In particular, in recent years, various electronic endoscopes have been proposed, which include an objective lens, a solid-state image sensor such as a CCD, and a video unit including a circuit board connected to the solid-state image sensor at the tip of the insertion section.

As a video unit provided in the endoscope, a small one incorporated in the distal end portion of the insertion portion has been proposed, as disclosed in JP-A-60-208726. This video unit is provided with an elongated housing, in which the objective lens, the solid-state image sensor, and the circuit board are arranged from the front end side, and the transmission cable connected to the circuit board extends from the rear end, Both ends of the housing are sealed with sealing members. With this configuration, the video unit can be downsized, the distal end portion of the endoscope can be reduced in diameter, and the video unit can be arranged in a small space.

[0004]

However, in the endoscope provided with the image unit as described above, the lens frame and the housing are exposed only with the image unit, and when the endoscope is arranged at the distal end portion of the insertion portion, the endoscope is rotated. Since there is no strong protective member, the mechanical strength of the image unit is weak and there is a risk of damage to the image unit if it hits it.

The present invention has been made in view of these circumstances, and the image unit portion including the objective lens, the solid-state image pickup device, and the like is downsized to reduce the diameter of the distal end portion of the insertion portion, and further, in this state, It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of assembling an endoscope imaging unit and an endoscope capable of improving the physical strength.

[0006]

An endoscope imaging unit according to the present invention is provided with a rigid distal end body provided at the distal end of an elongated insertion portion and a distal end side of the image unit mounting portion of the distal end body. And an objective lens, a solid-state image pickup device disposed on the rear end side of the image unit mounting portion of the tip end main body, with its image pickup surface positioned at the focal position of the objective lens, and connected to the solid-state image pickup device. And a signal cable connected to at least one of the solid-state imaging device and the circuit board. The method of assembling an endoscope according to the present invention includes an objective lens and a focus of the objective lens. A solid-state imaging device with its imaging surface positioned at a position, a circuit board connected to the solid-state imaging device, and a signal cable connected to at least one of the solid-state imaging device and the circuit board Assembling the video unit by assembling, and a step of fixing a tip end constituent member other than the video unit to a rigid tip main body provided at the tip of the elongated insertion portion, and the video unit of the video unit of the tip main body. And a step of fitting the video unit protective member between the video unit mounting portion of the distal end portion main body and the video unit, and sealing the inside of the video unit protective member with a seal member. It is a waste.

[0007]

With the above construction, the image unit is assembled to the rigid tip body and protected by the image unit protection member.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 5 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a sectional explanatory view showing a state after a first step in assembling a distal end portion of an insertion portion of an endoscope, and FIG. 2 is a distal end portion of the insertion portion. 4 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a state after completion of the second step in assembling the parts, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a state after completion of the third step in assembling the distal end of the insertion portion, and FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing the configuration at the end of assembly, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of the endoscope.

As shown in FIG. 5, the endoscope 1 has an elongated insertion portion 2 that can be inserted into a body cavity or the like, and has a rigid tip portion 3 from the tip side, a bendable bending portion 4, A flexible tube portion 5 having flexibility is provided. On the rear end side of the insertion section, an operation section 6 also serving as a grip section is continuously provided, and a universal cord 7 having a signal cable, a light guide fiber and the like therein is extended from the side of the operation section 6. .. The universal cord 7 is adapted to be connected to the video processor 9 via a connector 8 provided at the end. The video processor 9 is connected to a monitor 11 via a signal cable 10, and an image signal of a subject captured by a video unit, which will be described later, provided on the tip portion 3 is subjected to signal processing by the video processor 9 to monitor the subject image. 11 is displayed.

Next, the structure and assembly process of the distal end portion 3 of the insertion portion 2 of the endoscope 1 will be described.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, a video unit 1
Assemble the two main parts. The image unit 12 includes an objective lens 13, a solid-state imaging device 14, circuit boards 15 and 16, and signal cables 17 and 18. First, the solid-state imaging device 14 including the solid-state imaging device chip 19 such as CCD is assembled. The solid-state imaging device chip 19 has a quadrangular shape when viewed from the optical axis direction, is disposed in the recess 20 a of the substrate 20, and is bonded by the bonding wire 21 to the substrate 2.
It is connected to 0. A terminal 22 extends on the surface of the substrate 20 opposite to the concave portion 20a and is electrically connected to the connection portion with the bonding wire 21 in the substrate 20, so that the solid-state imaging element chip 19 and the terminal 22 are electrically connected. ing. A cover glass 23 is provided in front of the solid-state imaging element chip 19, and a space between the solid-state imaging element chip 19 and the cover glass 23 is sealed with a transparent sealing resin 24.

After the solid-state image pickup device 14 is assembled, the objective lens 13 is attached to the front end side of the objective lens frame 25, and the solid-state image pickup device 14 is attached and fixed to the rear end side of the solid-state image pickup device with an adhesive so that the solid-state image pickup device is airtight. Circuit board 15, 16 to the terminal 22 of 14
Are opposed to each other and are connected by soldering or the like. The circuit board 15 is a double-sided circuit board in which the IC chip 26 and the electronic component 27 are arranged and connected on both sides of the board body 15a, and is a so-called chip-on-board hybrid board. Further, the circuit board 16 includes the terminal 22 of the solid-state imaging device 14 and the signal cable 1
It is used as a jumper board for connecting to 8 and.
The IC chip 26 is sealed with a sealing resin 28. Further, a spacer 29 is sandwiched between the circuit boards 15 and 16 and fixed, and a sealing resin 28 on the circuit board 15 is fixed.
A heat radiation resin 30 is filled between the circuit board 16 and the circuit board 16, and the circuit boards 15 and 16 are fixed so as not to move with respect to the solid-state imaging device 14. Then, the signal cable 1 is attached to the circuit board 15.
7, the signal cable 18 is connected to the circuit board 16 by soldering or the like.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, a tip end body 31 made of stainless steel or the like provided on the tip end portion 3 of the insertion portion 2.
A connection pipe 32 as a tip end constituent member and a forceps channel tube 33 are bonded and fixed to the connection pipe attachment portion 31a of FIG. 1 and the objective lens frame 25 of the image unit 12 is inserted into the image unit attachment portion 31b. Then, the screw 35 is screwed into the tip end main body 31 to position the video unit 12, and the adhesive is poured to the tip end main body 31.
Airtightly, and the tip cover 34 is adhesively fixed to the tip.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3, a frame as a video unit protection member for protecting the video unit 12 between the outside of the objective lens frame 25 of the video unit 12 and the video unit mounting portion 31b of the tip end main body 31. The body 36 is fitted, and the inside of the frame 36, the space between the frame 36 and the video unit 12, and the space between the frame 36 and the tip portion main body 31 are filled with an adhesive 37 made of resin or the like as a sealing means. And hermetically seal. The frame 36 has a function as a shield member of the video unit 12, and when insulation is required, the frame 36 is covered with a heat shrinkable tube or the like for insulation. As a result, the video unit 12 and the frame 36 are integrally formed with the tip end main body 31 and cannot be removed. That is, it is in a state of a sealed image pickup unit with a tip body. Here, this unit includes components of another function that is not related to the image function, such as the forceps channel tube 33, and the tip cover 34 portion is not visible when the entire assembly of the endoscope 1 is completed. It forms part of the outer surface of the mirror 1.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 4, after the bending tube 38 is fixed to the rear end side of the tip body 31 by adhesion or welding, a covering rubber 39 is provided on the tip body 31 so as to cover the bending tube 38. Fix with an adhesive.

As described above, the assembly of the distal end portion 3 of the insertion portion 2 is completed.

As described above, in this embodiment, the video unit 12 which is not completely sealed is first assembled, and then the video unit 12 is assembled to the tip end main body 31 and integrated with the tip end main body 31. Since it is hermetically sealed, it becomes a hermetically sealed image pickup unit with the tip portion main body 31 and the frame body 36, the mechanical strength is remarkably improved, and the reliability as the repairing group is improved. Further, even when the integrated image pickup unit is hit against something at the time of assembly, it is not damaged.

Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size of the image unit portion to reduce the diameter of the distal end portion of the insertion portion and to improve the mechanical strength.

FIGS. 6 and 7 relate to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a second view in assembling the distal end portion of the insertion portion of the endoscope.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a state after completion of the step of FIG. 7, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a state after completion of the third step in assembling the distal end portion of the insertion portion.

The second embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment and is different in the assembly process procedure. The structure of the insertion portion distal end portion after assembly is similar to that of the first embodiment,
6 and 7, the same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals.

First, similarly to the first embodiment shown in FIG.
Assemble the main part of the video unit 12. Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the objective lens frame 25 of the video unit 12 is inserted into the video unit mounting portion 31b. Then, the screw 35 is screwed into the tip end main body 31 to position the video unit 12, and an adhesive is poured in and fixed to the tip end main body 31 in an airtight manner.

After the video unit 12 is fixed to the tip main body 31, a frame body is provided between the outside of the objective lens frame 25 of the video unit 12 and the video unit mounting portion 31b of the tip main body 31, as shown in FIG. 36 is inserted into the frame body 36, between the frame body 36 and the video unit 12, and the frame body 36.
An adhesive 37 made of resin or the like is filled between the end portion and the tip portion main body 31 to hermetically seal. As a result, the video unit 1
2 and the frame 36 are integrally formed with the tip end main body 31,
It becomes impossible. That is, it is in a state of a sealed image pickup unit with a tip body. Where this unit is
It includes a tip body 31 which is a main constituent member of the tip 3 of the insertion portion, and the body 31 is a component which is not related to the image function. Further, in this unit, the opening of the connection pipe mounting portion 31 a forms a part of the outer surface of the endoscope 1.

Next, as in the first embodiment, the tip portion main body 3
The connection pipe 32 and the forceps channel tube 33 are attached to the connection pipe attachment portion 31a of No. 1 and the tip cover 34 is attached to the tip of the tip end portion main body 31 and fixed by adhesion to obtain the state shown in FIG.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 4, after the bending tube 38 is fixed to the rear end side of the tip body 31 by adhesion or welding, a covering rubber 39 is attached to the tip body 31 so as to cover the bending tube 38. After fixing with an adhesive or the like, the assembly of the distal end portion 3 of the insertion portion 2 is completed.

As described above, also in this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, it is possible to downsize the image unit portion to make the diameter of the distal end portion of the insertion portion small and to improve the mechanical strength. .. In the second embodiment, the video unit 1
After assembling 2 into the tip portion main body 31 and sealing it, the other tip end component members are attached, so that damage to the video unit during assembly can be prevented as much as possible.

By the way, in the video unit 12, the connecting portion between the terminal 22 of the solid-state image pickup device 14 and the circuit board 15 can be constructed as shown in FIG.

FIG. 8A shows the terminal 22 and the substrate body 15a.
The electronic component 27 is sandwiched between the terminal 22 and the electronic component 2
7 shows an example in which the circuit patterns of the substrate body 15a are electrically connected. Further, FIG. 8B shows the substrate body 15a.
The terminal 22 between the electronic component 27 and the electronic component 27,
This is an example in which the circuit patterns of the electronic component 27 and the substrate body 15a are electrically connected.

As described above, by mounting a plurality of electric circuit elements such as terminals of the solid-state image pickup device, electronic parts, and signal cables on the same portion of the circuit board and electrically coupling them, the mounting density is improved. Since the circuit board can be moved up and the size of the circuit board can be reduced, the length of the rigid portion at the distal end portion of the insertion portion can be shortened and the endoscope insertion portion can be downsized.

In the video unit 12, the terminals 22 of the solid-state image pickup device 14 and the board body 15 of the circuit board 15A.
a'and the connecting portion with the coaxial cable are shown in FIGS.
It can also be configured as shown in. FIG. 12 shows an example of a circuit relating to electrical connection with the solid-state imaging device 14, the substrate body 15a ', and a plurality of coaxial cables.
The solid-state imaging device 14 is shown in FIG.
2, φS (serial transfer) terminal, φAB
(Anti-blooming) terminal, φP (vertical transfer) terminal,
VDD (power supply) terminal, SUB (ground) terminal, and Vout
It has an (output) terminal. In addition, the circuit board 15A
Is a circuit board in which electronic parts and IC chips, which will be described later, are arranged and connected on the board body 15a '.

9 and 10, an electronic component such as a capacitor 41 is interposed between the terminal 22 and the substrate body 15a ', and the terminal 22 and the substrate body 15a' are inserted via the capacitor 41. As shown in FIG. Are electrically connected. Further, in the substrate body 15a ', the IC chip 42 and the coaxial cable shown in FIG. 12 are connected to the surface to which the capacitor 41 is connected. The capacitor 41 has both ends,
In FIG. 11, it has electrodes shown by diagonal lines.

As shown in FIG. 12, the coaxial cable 43 is connected to the φS, φAB, and φP terminals of the solid-state image pickup device 14.
a, 43b, 43c are electrically connected to each other.

As shown in FIG. 12, the condenser 41 is connected in parallel to each of the VDD and SUB terminals of the solid-state image pickup device 14, and the coaxial cable 43d is connected to the VDD terminal and the SUB terminal. A shield portion 46 shown in FIG. 10 formed at the end portion of the coaxial cable is electrically connected to each. Furthermore, the solid-state imaging device 1
The VDD terminal and the SUB terminal of No. 4 are connected to the power input terminal of the IC chip 42 and the ground terminal, respectively. The specific wiring surroundings are as follows.

Each electrode of the capacitor 41 is connected and fixed to the two patterns 44a and 44b of the substrate body 15a 'by soldering. Further, as described above, each electrode of the capacitor 41 has the solid-state imaging device 14
Are connected and fixed by soldering to the VDD terminal and the SUB terminal, respectively. The coaxial cable 43d is soldered and fixed to the VDD terminal of the solid-state imaging device 14. Further, the SUB terminal of the solid-state imaging device 14 is connected to the shield part 46 via the jumper wire 46.
It is connected to the.

The Vout terminal of the solid-state image pickup device 14 is
As shown in FIG. 12, it is connected to the input terminal of the IC chip 42. About the specific wiring, V of the solid-state imaging device 14
The out terminal is connected via a jumper wire 45 whose one end is soldered, and a pattern 44c formed on the substrate body 15a '. The jumper wire 45 passes through the notch of the board body 15a 'along the surface of the board body 15a' on which the capacitor 41 is not arranged, and the other end thereof is soldered to the pattern 44c.

The IC chip 42 has an amplifier circuit and a protection circuit formed therein, and is composed of diodes D1 to D4, transistors Q1 and Q2, resistors R1 to R3 and the like. The diodes D3 and D4 as a protection circuit may be provided at the point a in FIG. The output terminal of the IC chip 42 is connected to the coaxial cable 43f via the pattern 44d. This coaxial cable 43f is adapted to transmit the amplified video signal of the solid-state imaging device 14.

In the configuration shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the terminal 22 (SUB, Vout) and the signal line are connected to the substrate body 1 through the electrode of the electronic component, for example, the electrode of the capacitor 41.
5a 'can be electrically coupled in common on the same part, that is, on the same pattern. In the case of not adopting such a configuration, the land of the connection terminal for the terminal 22, the land of the signal line, and the land of the capacitor must be provided on the board body 15a ', and the circuit board correspondingly has to be provided. growing. On the other hand, in the configuration shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, since only one land is required, the mounting density is increased and the circuit board can be shortened, so that the length of the rigid portion at the tip of the insertion portion can be shortened. At the same time, the endoscope insertion portion can be downsized.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the video unit is provided so as to be integrated with the tip end main body, the video unit including the objective lens, the solid-state image sensor, etc. can be downsized and the insertion section can be made smaller. It is possible to reduce the diameter of the tip portion and further improve the mechanical strength in this state.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 5 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a state after the first step in assembling the distal end portion of the insertion portion of the endoscope.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing a state after the completion of the second step in assembling the distal end of the insertion portion.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a state after completion of a third step in assembling the distal end portion of the insertion portion.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing the configuration at the end of assembly of the insertion portion distal end portion.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of the endoscope.

6 and 7 relate to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a state after completion of the second step in assembling the distal end portion of the insertion portion of the endoscope.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a state after the third step in assembling the distal end portion of the insertion portion is completed.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a modified example of the configuration of the connection portion between the terminal of the solid-state imaging device and the circuit board.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a modified example of the configuration of the connection portion between the terminal of the solid-state imaging device, the circuit board, and the signal line.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a modified example of the configuration of the connection portion between the terminal of the solid-state imaging device, the circuit board, and the signal line.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a capacitor

FIG. 12 is a circuit diagram of an image pickup unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Endoscope 2 ... Insertion part 3 ... Tip part 12 ... Image unit 13 ... Objective lens 14 ... Solid-state imaging device 15, 16 ... Circuit board 17, 18 ... Signal cable 25 ... Objective lens frame 31 ... Tip part main body 31a ... Connection pipe attachment part 31b ... Image unit attachment part 32 ... Connection pipe 33 ... Forceps channel tube 36 ... Frame 37 ... Adhesive

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Mikio Utsugi 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Inside Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Koji Takamura 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yoshinao Daimei 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Hisao Yabe 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A rigid distal end body provided at the distal end of the elongated insertion portion, an objective lens disposed at the distal end side of the video unit mounting portion of the distal end body, and a rear of the video unit mounting portion of the distal end body. At least one of a solid-state imaging device, which is disposed on the end side and whose imaging surface is located at the focal position of the objective lens, a circuit board connected to the solid-state imaging device, the solid-state imaging device, and the circuit board. An image pickup unit for an endoscope, comprising: a signal cable connected to one end of the image pickup unit. 2. The image pickup unit for an endoscope according to claim 1, further comprising sealing means for sealing the solid-state image pickup device and the circuit board. 3. An objective lens, a solid-state image pickup device having an image pickup surface located at a focal position of the objective lens, a circuit board connected to the solid-state image pickup device, the solid-state image pickup device, and A step of assembling a video unit by assembling a signal cable connected to at least one of the circuit boards, and a step of fixing a tip end component member other than the video unit to a rigid tip end body provided at the tip of the elongated insertion portion. A step of fitting the video unit to a video unit mounting portion of the tip body, and a video unit protection member fitted between the video unit mounting portion of the tip body and the video unit to protect the video unit. And a step of sealing the inside of a member with a seal member. 4. An objective lens, a solid-state imaging device provided with its imaging surface positioned at a focal position of the objective lens, a circuit board connected to the solid-state imaging device, the solid-state imaging device, and A step of assembling a video unit by assembling a signal cable connected to at least one of the circuit boards; and a step of fitting the video unit in a video unit mounting portion of a rigid tip body provided at the tip of the elongated insertion portion. A step of fitting a video unit protection member between the video unit mounting portion of the tip body and the video unit, and sealing the inside of the video unit protection member with a seal member; and the tip portion after the sealing step. And a step of fixing a tip end constituent member other than the image unit to the main body, the assembly method of the endoscope.