JP2000287913A - Endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an endoscope a which can keep sufficient air tightness of a unit arranged inside. SOLUTION: In an optical system of an imaging unit, layers of chromium, nickel and gold are arranged sequentially from the lower layer on each outer circumferential surface of cover glasses 13 and 19. Layers of nickel and gold are arranged sequentially from the lower layer separately on the surfaces of a tip frame 14 and a CCD frame 20. Layers of nickel and gold are arranged sequentially from the lower layer on the outer circumferential surface of an insulated frame 17. Members are fitted and the outer circumferential surfaces at the fitted positions undergo a laser irradiation from a side thereof (positions of A-D arrows). Gold at the fitted parts is melted to weld the members.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus suitable for high-temperature, high-pressure steam sterilization.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, endoscopes capable of observing a deep part or the like in a body cavity by inserting the body into a body cavity or the like and performing a medical treatment or the like by using a treatment tool as necessary have been developed in the medical field. Widely used. In such medical endoscopes, it is essential to surely disinfect and sterilize the used endoscope in order to prevent infectious diseases and the like.

Conventionally, this disinfection sterilization treatment has relied on a gas such as ethylene oxide or a disinfectant solution. However,
As is well known, sterilizing gases are very poisonous, and the operation becomes complicated to ensure safety during sterilization. In addition, endoscopes that have been disinfected and sterilized take a long time to aerate to remove gas attached to the equipment after sterilization,
There is a problem that it cannot be used immediately after sterilization. Also,
The adverse effect of the gas on the environment has been regarded as a problem. Further, there is a problem that the running cost is high. Further, in the case of performing disinfection sterilization treatment using a disinfectant, there are disadvantages in that management of the disinfectant is complicated, and disposal of the disinfectant requires a great deal of cost.

[0004] Therefore, recently, in the disinfection and sterilization treatment of endoscope equipment, autoclave sterilization (high-pressure steam sterilization) which can be used immediately after sterilization without complicated work and has a low running cost is becoming mainstream. is there. In such autoclave sterilization, high pressure (about 120
(135 ° C. to 135 ° C.) to permeate the object to be sterilized.

However, high-pressure steam permeates most polymer materials (resin, rubber, resin adhesive). As a result, water vapor from the autoclave sterilization enters the endoscope, and water vapor that has passed through the adhesive of the lens system enters the lens system, leaving water droplets on the lens surface. The agent may be degraded and obstruct the visual field.

[0006] Further, the epoxy resin generally used conventionally is easily deteriorated by high-temperature steam, and there is a concern that steam may easily enter the inside of the lens system due to peeling of the adhesive. In addition, since autoclave sterilization is performed at a high temperature, when stress is applied between components due to a difference in coefficient of thermal expansion of each material, there is a concern that water vapor may enter the inside of the lens system due to peeling of the adhesive.

Therefore, conventionally, in an endoscope device,
2. Description of the Related Art A technique for bonding an air-tight unit such as an imaging system or an observation system using solder instead of bonding with an adhesive is widely used.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-265046 discloses a technique in which metallization of a glass peripheral surface is subjected to a plating process after a vacuum process, and a solder layer is used as an outermost layer.

[0009] Further, German Published Patent Application DE 1964472.
9A1 discloses a technique in which an outer periphery of an observation window is bonded to a metal tube, and a part of the surface of the observation window is subjected to solderable metallization to be soldered to the metal tube.

[0010]

However, in the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-265046, it is necessary to use a flux in order to improve the wettability of the solder. When using a flux, it is necessary to wash after soldering, and it is difficult to wash after components such as a lens and a CCD are assembled inside the airtight structure. In addition, solder generally contains components that are toxic to the human body, and cannot be applied to parts that come into contact with the human body.

[0011] In addition, German published gazette DE1964472.
In the technique described in 9A1, it is expected that the solder has the same problem as described above and that the flow of the adhesive to the metallized surface makes the soldering work difficult. In addition, when joining a small observation window with solder, it is difficult to work so that the solder does not flow toward the center of the observation window, and even if possible, it has skill.

As described above, conventionally, when members such as a lens of a unit provided inside an endoscope are bonded using an adhesive, the airtightness is insufficient with respect to high-temperature and high-pressure steam and the like. When the above-mentioned bonding is performed by soldering, airtightness is maintained, but there are problems such as the influence of the solder on the human body and workability.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide an endoscope apparatus in which the airtightness of a unit provided therein is sufficiently maintained.

[0014]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an endoscope apparatus according to the present invention comprises a first member constituting a part of a unit provided therein and a part of the unit. And a second member joined to the first member.
In the endoscope apparatus having a member of the above, a layer made of gold or a gold alloy is arranged on the joint surface between the first member and the second member, and the layer made of the gold or the gold alloy is irradiated with a laser. The first member and the second member are joined by melting.

In the endoscope apparatus according to the present invention, a layer made of gold or a gold alloy is arranged on a joint surface between a first member and a second member constituting a unit provided therein, and the gold or gold alloy is provided. By melting the layer made of laser by laser irradiation, the first member and the second member are joined in an airtight manner that can withstand high-temperature and high-pressure steam.

[0016]

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 an overall configuration diagram of an endoscope, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of an imaging unit in a distal end configuration portion, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view showing the appearance of the insulating frame, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view mainly showing a lens system of the imaging unit.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an electronic endoscope constituting an endoscope apparatus. The electronic endoscope 1 has an elongated insertion portion 2 having flexibility, and the insertion portion 2 is provided at a hard distal end portion 3 provided at a distal end and at a rear end of the distal end portion 3. And a long flexible portion 5 provided at the rear end of the curved portion 4.

An operation section 6 is provided at the rear end of the insertion section 2. The operation section 6 is provided with an angle lever 6 a for remotely operating the bending section 4.

A flexible cord 7 extends from a rear end of the operation section 6, and a connector 8 which can be connected to a light source device (not shown) is connected to an end of the flexible cord 7. Is connected to a connector 9 that can be connected to a video system center (not shown).

On the side of the connector 8, there is provided an on-off valve 11 which communicates with the internal space of the electronic endoscope 1 and which can be opened and closed by an adapter (not shown). The on-off valve 11 may have a check valve structure that communicates when the internal space of the electronic endoscope 1 becomes higher than the external pressure by a predetermined pressure, or a check valve adapter (not shown) may be attached to the on-off valve 11. You may comprise. The connector 9 is provided with a detachable waterproof cap 10 capable of making the electrical contact portion watertight. That is, such an electronic endoscope 1 is configured to have a watertight structure in which water does not enter inside.

An image pickup unit 12 (see FIG. 2) is mounted inside the distal end portion 3 of the insertion section 2 of the electronic endoscope 1. This imaging unit 12 has a sapphire cover glass 13 (not shown) exposed from the distal end surface of the insertion section 2 to the outside. The cover glass 13 is an inner peripheral portion of a distal end frame 14 made of a metal. And are joined in an airtight manner.

Here, in the present embodiment, an example in which the cover glass 13 is made of sapphire is shown, but glass may be used as long as the material has high heat resistance and steam resistance.

The material used for the end frame 14 is preferably stainless steel, particularly SUS304 or SUS304.
Those containing only a small amount of components (phosphorus, sulfur, carbon, etc.) which are liable to cause cracking by heating, such as L, are preferred.

An insulating frame 17 made of ceramic or the like is fitted on the inner periphery of the rear end side of the front end frame 14, and is joined in an airtight manner. Here, the ceramic constituting the insulating frame 17 is preferably made of a material having high thermal conductivity such as aluminum nitride which is not easily cracked by extreme heating, or a material resistant to thermal shock such as sialon.

A lens frame 16 is adhesively fixed to the inner periphery of the distal end of the insulating frame 17, and an objective lens group 15 is fixed to the inner periphery of the lens frame 16 so as to face the cover glass 13. A diaphragm 22 is bonded and fixed to the inner periphery of the rear end side of the insulating frame 17.

On the outer periphery of the rear end side of the insulating frame 17, a CCD
The frame 20 is fitted and airtightly joined. Where C
It is preferable to use SUS304 or SUS304L, which is unlikely to cause cracks due to heating, as the CD frame 20 as in the case of the end frame 14 described above.

A cover glass 19 made of sapphire is fitted on the inner periphery of the rear end of the CCD frame 20 and is hermetically bonded. Here, in the present embodiment, an example in which sapphire is used as the cover glass 19 is shown. However, as in the case of the cover glass 13, a glass having high heat resistance and high steam resistance is used. May be.

On the front surface of the cover glass 19, an optical member 21 such as an optical filter or a lens is positioned and adhesively fixed. On the rear surface of the cover glass 19, a solid-state imaging device 18 is positioned and fixed by a reticle or the like.

The solid-state imaging device 18 has a cable 24
Are electrically connected via a substrate 23 by soldering or the like. Here, ICs, capacitors, and the like are mounted on the substrate 23, and these ICs, capacitors, and the like are sealed with an adhesive having an insulating property.

Further, a shield frame 25 is provided on the outer periphery of the solid-state imaging device 18, and the shield frame 25 is
0 is attached by bonding or welding. Further, a space between the shield frame 25 and the solid-state imaging device 18 is filled with a sealing agent or a potting agent having a low water vapor permeability (for example, a fluorine rubber sealing agent is a potting agent).

Here, in the imaging unit 12,
Each member constituting the lens system is subjected to the following surface treatment. The surface of the tip frame 14 is subjected to a coating process of a plurality of layers by plating, and the lower layer is subjected to electroplating of nickel, and the outermost layer is subjected to electroplating of gold. in this case,
The thickness of each layer is 2 to 4 μm for nickel and 0.3 to 0.1 μm for gold.
Preferably it is 5 μm.

The surface of the CCD frame 20 is coated with a plurality of layers by plating, and the lower layer is electroplated with nickel, and the outermost layer is electroplated with gold. in this case,
The thickness of each layer is 2 to 4 μm for nickel and 0.3 to 0.1 μm for gold.
Preferably it is 5 μm.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the outer peripheral surfaces 13a and 19a of the cover glasses 13 and 19 are coated with a plurality of layers. In this case, the lowermost layer (metallized layer) is provided with a chromium film having high adhesion to sapphire and glass. The chromium layer is formed by vacuum deposition or vacuum sputtering.

The outermost layer is provided with a gold film. The gold layer may be formed by vacuum evaporation or vacuum sputtering, but is preferably electroplated because a relatively thick film can be formed.

In order to improve the adhesion between the chromium layer and the gold layer, a nickel layer is provided between them as an intermediate layer. The nickel layer is deposited by vacuum evaporation, vacuum sputtering, or electroplating.

Here, the thickness of each layer is 0.1 mm for the chromium layer.
μm, 0.2 μm when nickel layer is formed by vacuum evaporation or sputtering, 2 to 4 μm when plated, 0.05 μm when gold layer is formed by vacuum evaporation or sputtering
m, and preferably 0.3 μm when plated.

In the case of performing electroplating on the cover glasses 13 and 19, it is difficult to provide electrodes on each cover glass. Therefore, plating or sputtering is performed after performing vapor deposition or sputtering in the state of a rod bar. Cut or
Work efficiency can be improved by taking measures such as overlapping the cover glass in a rod shape and plating similarly. Also, in the case of vapor deposition and sputtering, working efficiency can be improved by making similar contrivances.

The outer peripheral surfaces 1 of the cover glasses 13 and 19
A chromium layer as a metallization layer and a nickel layer as an intermediate layer were applied to 3a and 19a. These layers are provided to improve the adhesion between the outermost gold layer and the cover glasses 13 and 19. If the adhesion between the cover glasses 13 and 19 and the gold is good, the metallized layer and the intermediate layer may be omitted. Further, the materials of the metallized layer and the intermediate layer are not limited to the above-mentioned materials, but when the metallized layer and the intermediate layer are formed, a material having a higher melting point than gold is used.

As shown in FIG. 4, the insulating frame 17 has an outer peripheral surface 17a at a portion where the tip frame 14 is fitted, and a CCD frame 20.
A surface treatment is performed on the outer peripheral surface 17b of the portion where it fits. In this insulating frame 17, the outer peripheral surface 17a and the outer peripheral surface 17
b is not subjected to a surface treatment with a conductive material. The same applies to the inner peripheral surface. Therefore, the outer peripheral surface 17a
The front end frame 14 after fitting and assembling, and the CCD frame 20 after fitting and assembling on the outer peripheral surface 17b are electrically insulated.

The surface treatment of the outer peripheral surfaces 17a and 17b is performed by vacuum deposition or vacuum sputtering or a gold layer by plating on the outermost layer via a nickel layer by electroless plating applied to a lower layer (metallized layer). Is provided.

The thickness of each layer is 0.05 μm when the nickel layer is formed by vacuum deposition or sputtering, 2 to 4 μm when plated, 0.05 μm when gold is formed by vacuum deposition or sputtering, and 0.3 μm when plated by gold. It is preferred that

Next, a method of assembling the lens system of the image pickup unit 12 will be described. First, the cover glass 13 is fitted to the front end frame 14, and the outer peripheral surface of the front end frame 14 corresponding to this fitting position is irradiated with a laser from the side (position of arrow A in FIG. 5). As a result, the gold layer provided on the outer peripheral surface 13a of the cover glass 13 and the gold layer provided on the front end frame 14 are welded. By performing the laser irradiation over the entire circumference of the end frame 14, the cover glass 13 and the end frame 14 are joined with high airtightness.

Similarly, the cover frame 19 is mounted on the CCD frame 20.
And a laser is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the CCD frame 20 corresponding to this fitting position from the side (the position indicated by the arrow B in FIG. 5) over the entire circumference, so that the cover glass 19 and the CCD are
The frame 20 is welded with gold.

Next, the solid-state image pickup device 18 to which the substrate 23 and the cable are attached is positioned and adhered to the rear surface of the cover glass 19, and the optical member 21 is positioned to the front surface of the cover glass 19. Glue.

Next, the diaphragm 22 is attached to the insulating frame 17 by bonding, and the insulating frame 17 is fitted to the CCD frame 20. Then, the CCD corresponding to the fitting position with the insulating frame 17
Laser is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the frame 20 from the side (the position indicated by the arrow C in FIG. 5). Thereby, the outer peripheral surface 17b of the insulating frame 17
Are welded to the gold layer provided on the CCD frame 20. By performing the laser irradiation over the entire circumference of the CCD frame 20, the insulating frame 17 and the CCD frame 20 are coupled with high airtightness. At the time of such bonding, the temperature of the bonding portion becomes 1000 ° C. or higher, but since the bonding is performed instantaneously locally, the insulating frame 1
There is no effect on the joint between the diaphragm 7 and the stop 22.

Next, the objective lens group 15 is mounted on the lens frame 16, the lens frame 16 is mounted on the insulating frame 17, the focus is set, and then the adhesive is fixed.

Next, the front end frame 14 is fitted to the insulating frame 17,
Laser is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the end frame 14 corresponding to the fitting position from the side (the position indicated by the arrow D in FIG. 5). Thus, the gold layer provided on the end frame 14 and the gold layer provided on the outer peripheral surface 17a of the insulating frame 17 are welded. By performing this laser irradiation over the entire circumference of the front end frame 14, the front end frame 14 and the insulating frame 17 are joined with high airtightness.
Although the temperature rises to 0 ° C. or higher, since it is performed locally and instantaneously, there is no effect on the bonding portion between the insulating frame 17 and the lens frame 16 or the objective lens group 15.

As described above, an optical system unit having high airtightness is completed. Here, the laser device used for the laser irradiation is a Y device capable of fine adjustment at low output.
AG lasers are preferred. In the case where the laser irradiation is performed by a pulse wave laser, a reliable airtightness can be secured by setting the overlap with the adjacent laser irradiation part to 80% or more.

An imaging unit 1 having such an optical system
When performing autoclave sterilization on the electronic endoscope 1 having the built-in 2, the electronic endoscope 1 is first put into a chamber (not shown) of an autoclave sterilizer, and the inside of the chamber is evacuated as a pre-sterilization process. Pull. Next, the chamber is filled with high-temperature and high-pressure steam to perform a sterilization process. Next, the inside of the chamber is evacuated to perform a drying step.

In such autoclave sterilization,
During the sterilization process, high-temperature and high-pressure steam enters the inside of the electronic endoscope 1 and the humidity increases, and the steam is not sufficiently dried during the drying process. Therefore, the optical system having the objective lens group 15 is exposed to water vapor. However, since the above-mentioned optical system is air-tightly formed by welding gold, no water vapor enters.

According to such an endoscope apparatus, the joints of the optical members such as the objective lens and the cover glass are not deteriorated by the high-temperature steam, and the optical members are fogged by the dew condensation caused by the invasion of the steam. No autoclave sterilization can be performed repeatedly.

Further, since solder is not used for joining optical members and the like, there is no need to consider the influence of flux (rust and fogging). Further, since there is no need to perform flux cleaning work or the like after assembly, bonding can be performed even in a state where a component (electronic component) that cannot be cleaned is attached to a member constituting the optical system.

Further, since the heating by the laser at the time of joining is performed locally and instantaneously, the joining process can be performed even after a component (glass material, electronic component, adhesive) having low high temperature resistance is assembled near the joint. You can do it.

When a gold layer is provided on a metal frame, a cover glass, an insulating frame or the like, an intermediate layer or a metallized layer may be provided below the gold layer as necessary, so that each member of the gold layer can be provided. The adhesion strength to the substrate can be improved.

Further, since the joining between the components such as the joining between the metal frame and the cover glass or the insulating frame is performed by welding the golds strongly adhered to the respective components, the joining is performed at the time of processing or autoclave sterilization. No peeling due to thermal expansion. Therefore, autoclave sterilization can be repeatedly performed.

Since the intermediate layer and the metallized layer provided as necessary under the gold are made of a material having a higher melting point than gold, they do not dissolve when the gold is welded by laser irradiation.

Further, such a welding can be used for a portion which comes into contact with a living mucous membrane because the material to be melted and joined is gold.

Further, since gold does not rust due to steam, the durability can be improved.

Further, since the insulating frame is made of aluminum nitride or the like which has high thermal conductivity and is resistant to thermal shock, it does not break even at the time of joining by laser irradiation.

In the present embodiment, for example, a gold layer is formed on each of the end frame 14 and the cover glass 13, but this may be formed only on the end frame 14, for example. Also, a foil made of gold or a gold alloy is inserted between the tip frame 14 and the cover glass 13 (that is, the foil is sandwiched between the tip frame 14 and the cover glass 13), and this is melted by laser irradiation. You may do it.

Next, FIGS. 6 to 8 relate to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a main part of the objective optical system, and FIG. 8 is a side view showing the appearance of a fiberscope and an objective lens group.

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 19 denotes a fiberscope constituting the endoscope apparatus. This fiberscope 29 has a soft insertion portion 30 to be inserted into the body,
The insertion portion 30 is provided with a hard tip portion 31 provided at the tip.
And a bendable portion 32 provided at the rear end of the front end portion 31 and a long flexible portion 33 provided at the rear end of the bent portion 32. At the rear end of the insertion section 30, an operation section 34 is provided.
4 has an eyepiece 35 at the base end. Here, the fiber scope 29 has a watertight structure in which water does not enter.

The tip 31 of the fiber scope 29
Has a built-in objective optical system 36, and the distal end of the objective optical system 36 is exposed outside the distal end portion 31. An optical fiber bundle 38 for transmitting an optical image from the objective optical system 36 to the eyepiece 35 is connected to the objective optical system 36, and the optical fiber bundle 38 is covered with a flexible protective tube 42.

More specifically, as shown in FIG.
The objective optical system 36 includes a metal lens frame 39, a first lens 40 air-tightly joined and held at a tip of the lens frame 39, and a second lens 41 disposed behind the first lens 40. It is comprised including.

The front end of the optical fiber bundle 38 exposed from the protective tube 42 is fitted to the lens frame 39 from the rear and is air-tightly joined.

The surface of the lens frame 39 is coated with a plurality of layers by plating, and the lower layer is electroplated with nickel and the outermost layer is electroplated with gold. In this case, the thickness of each layer is preferably 2 to 4 μm for nickel and 0.3 to 0.5 μm for gold.

The first lens 40 is made of sapphire or glass having high temperature and water vapor resistance (about 135 ° C. or higher). As shown in FIG.
Chromium, nickel, and gold layers are formed in order from the lower layer. In this case, the thickness of each layer is 0.1 μm for the chromium layer,
The thickness is preferably 0.2 μm when the nickel layer is formed by vacuum deposition or sputtering, 2 to 4 μm when plated with nickel, 0.05 μm when the gold layer is formed by vacuum deposition or sputtering, and 0.3 μm when plated.

The outer peripheral surface 38a of the tip of the optical fiber bundle 38
Similarly, a chromium, nickel, and gold layer are sequentially formed from the lower layer. In this case, since there is a possibility that the optical fiber bundle 38 is deteriorated by a plating pretreatment liquid or a plating liquid, it is necessary to form each layer by vacuum evaporation or sputtering. In addition, the thickness of each layer is set at 0.
1 μm, nickel layer 0.2 μm, gold layer 0.05 μm
It is preferred that

Next, the objective optical system 36 and a method of assembling the optical fiber bundle 38 to the objective optical system 36 will be described.
First, the first lens 40 is fitted to the tip of the lens frame 39,
Laser is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the lens frame 39 corresponding to this fitting position from the side (position E in FIG. 7). Thus, the gold layer provided on the outer peripheral surface 40a of the first lens 40 and the gold layer provided on the lens frame 39 are welded. By performing this laser irradiation over the entire circumference, the lens frame 39 and the first lens 40 are coupled with high airtightness.

Next, the second lens 41 is adhered to the end face of the optical fiber bundle 38 while the second lens 41 is positioned.

Next, the optical fiber bundle 38 to which the second lens 41 is assembled is inserted into the lens frame 39, and after focusing, the outer peripheral surface of the lens frame corresponding to the insertion position of the optical fiber bundle 38 (The F position in FIG. 7). Thus, the gold layer provided on the outer peripheral surface 38a of the optical fiber bundle 38 and the gold layer provided on the lens frame 39 are welded. By performing this laser irradiation over the entire circumference, the lens frame 39 and the optical fiber bundle 38 are bonded with high airtightness. At this time, in order to further improve the bonding strength, the outer periphery of the lens frame 39 may be subjected to laser irradiation at a plurality of locations in a ring shape.

As described above, the space surrounded by the first lens 40 and the optical fiber bundle 38 is formed airtight. Although not shown, a similar laser hermetic bonding technique may be used for the lens system inside the eyepiece 35.

When performing autoclave sterilization on the fiberscope 29 having such an objective optical system 36,
First, the fiberscope 29 is put into a chamber (not shown) of an autoclave sterilizer, and the inside of the chamber is evacuated as a pre-sterilization process. Next, the chamber is filled with high-temperature and high-pressure steam to perform a sterilization process. Next, the inside of the chamber is evacuated to perform a drying step.

In such autoclave sterilization,
During the sterilization process, high-temperature and high-pressure steam enters the inside of the fiber scope 29 and the humidity increases, and the steam is not sufficiently dried during the drying process. Therefore, the objective optical system 3
6 is exposed to water vapor, but since the objective optical system 36 is airtightly formed by welding gold, no water vapor enters.

According to such an endoscope apparatus, substantially the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained.
In particular, the following effects can be obtained. Further, since solder is not used for joining the optical members and the like, it is not necessary to consider the influence of the flux (rust and fogging). Further, since it is not necessary to perform a cleaning operation of the flux or the like after the assembling, the bonding process can be performed even after a component (an optical fiber bundle) that cannot be cleaned is attached to the optical system constituent member.

Further, since the heating by the laser at the time of joining is locally performed instantaneously, it can be used for assembling parts (glass materials) having relatively low high-temperature resistance.

Further, since the first lens is used at the forefront without using a cover glass for the objective optical system, the outer diameter of the distal end of the insertion portion does not increase even if an optical system having a wide angle of view is used.

Also, in the airtight joining of the minute lens and the lens frame, in the present invention, the airtight joining can be performed without variation. That is, since no failure occurs due to the flow out of the solder or the like, the hermetic joining can be surely performed without skill.

In the first and second embodiments described above, examples of the flexible endoscope having a curved portion in the endoscope insertion portion have been described. However, a rigid endoscope or an endoscope external camera using the present technology may be used. It goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to optical systems of various endoscope apparatuses.

[Supplementary Note] (Supplementary Note 1) A first member constituting a part of a unit provided therein, and a part constituting the unit,
In an endoscope apparatus having a second member joined to the first member, a layer made of gold or a gold alloy is arranged on a joint surface between the first member and the second member, An endoscope apparatus wherein the first member and the second member are joined by melting a layer made of gold or a gold alloy by laser irradiation.

(Supplementary Note 2) The endoscope apparatus according to supplementary note 1, wherein the unit is a lens unit.

(Supplementary Note 3) The endoscope apparatus according to supplementary note 1, wherein the first member and the second member form an outer wall of the unit.

(Supplementary Note 4) The endoscope apparatus according to supplementary note 1, wherein at least one of the first member and the second member is a metal part.

(Supplementary Note 5) In the above-mentioned metal component, a joint surface with another member is covered with a plating layer which forms a layer made of gold or a gold alloy with a base layer formed by nickel plating. 5. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

(Supplementary Note 6) The endoscope apparatus according to supplementary note 1, wherein at least one of the first member and the second member is a non-metal part.

(Supplementary note 7) The endoscope apparatus according to supplementary note 6, wherein the non-metallic component is an optical component.

(Supplementary Note 8) The optical component has a base layer formed by vacuum deposition of chromium, an intermediate layer formed by vacuum deposition or plating of nickel, and an outermost layer formed by vacuum deposition or plating of gold or a gold alloy. An endoscope device according to attachment 7.

(Supplementary note 9) The endoscope apparatus according to supplementary note 6, wherein the non-metal is an insulating part made of ceramic.

(Supplementary note 10) The endoscope apparatus according to supplementary note 9, wherein the insulating component has a base layer formed by electroless plating of nickel and an outermost layer formed by vacuum deposition or plating of gold or a gold alloy. .

(Supplementary Note 11) The layer according to Supplementary Note 1, wherein the layer made of gold or a gold alloy is formed on a joining surface of at least one of the first member and the second member. Endoscope apparatus (Supplementary Note 12) The layer made of gold or gold alloy is a foil made of gold or gold alloy inserted between the joining surfaces of the first member and the second member. Appendix 1
An endoscope apparatus according to claim 1.

[0091]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an endoscope apparatus in which the airtightness of a unit provided therein is sufficiently maintained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 1 to 5 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an endoscope.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of an imaging unit in a distal end configuration unit.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing an appearance of a cover glass.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing the appearance of the insulating frame.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view mainly showing a lens system of the imaging unit;

FIGS. 6 to 8 relate to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is an external view of a fiberscope.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a main part of the objective optical system.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing the appearance of a fiberscope and an objective lens group.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electronic endoscope 12 ... Imaging unit 13 ... Cover glass 13a ... Outer peripheral surface 14 ... Tip frame 15 ... Objective lens group 16 ... Lens frame 17 ... Insulating frame 17a ... Outer peripheral surface 17b ... Outer peripheral surface 19 ... Cover glass 20 ... CCD Frame 29: Fiberscope 36: Objective optical system 38: Optical fiber bundle 38a: Outer peripheral surface 39: Lens frame 40: First lens

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An endoscope comprising: a first member constituting a part of a unit provided therein; and a second member constituting a part of the unit and joined to the first member. In the mirror device, a layer made of gold or a gold alloy is arranged on a joint surface between the first member and the second member, and the layer made of gold or a gold alloy is melted by laser irradiation, whereby An endoscope apparatus comprising: joining a first member and a second member. 2. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the unit is a lens unit in an endoscope. 3. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first member and the second member form an outer wall of the unit.