JP2008172693A - Imaging unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact imaging unit for making a distal-end imaging unit to be highly functional without enlarging the diameter of an endoscope particularly. <P>SOLUTION: The present invention relates to an imaging unit 100 comprising a mirror barrel 101 for an optical system, including: electrodes 102a-102d formed in at least two portions among one end portion 110a of the mirror barrel 100, another end portion 110c of the mirror barrel 110 and a body portion 110b of the mirror barrel 100; a wiring part 106 electrically connecting the electrodes 102a-102d with each other; and an imaging element 107 provided near the one end portion 110a of the mirror barrel 101. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging unit, and particularly to a small imaging unit.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an imaging unit, for example, a small imaging unit that is housed at the distal end of an endoscope, there is a need to mount a distal end illumination member and to enhance functions such as a zoom function and an autofocus (AF) function. Yes. On the other hand, since the diameter of an endoscope is limited, it has become difficult to secure a space for a power supply line and a signal line for high functionality.

  As a small imaging device, for example, a configuration proposed in Patent Document 1 is known. FIG. 4 shows a schematic configuration of the imaging apparatus. Here, the lens 2 is installed on the cylindrical body 1 </ b> B of the three-dimensional printed circuit board 1. In addition, the semiconductor image pickup device 4 is arranged by forming a wiring pattern on the leg 1A. An optical filter 3 is provided above the semiconductor element 4.

JP 2001-245186 A

  However, in the configuration of the prior art, only the leg portion side of the three-dimensional printed circuit board can be used as a wiring region. In other words, the part other than the leg part cannot be used as a wiring area. For this reason, when an electric element such as a light emitting element or a driving element is further mounted on the cylindrical body, it is necessary to use a wiring cable or the like separately. As a result, it is difficult to realize a small image sensor.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a small-sized imaging unit for realizing high functionality of the distal-end imaging unit without particularly increasing the diameter of the endoscope. And

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, according to the present invention, there is provided an imaging unit including a lens barrel for an optical system, wherein one end of the lens barrel and the other end of the lens barrel Near the one end or the other end of the lens barrel, the electrode formed on at least two of the body portion and the body of the lens barrel, the wiring portion for electrically connecting the electrodes to each other It is possible to provide an image pickup unit including an image pickup element provided.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the electrode is formed on any part of one end of the lens barrel, the other end of the lens barrel, and the barrel of the lens barrel. desirable.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the lens barrel has a plurality of functional elements, the wiring unit communicates signals between the plurality of functional elements, the electrodes connect the functional elements, and the wiring It is desirable to have the 1st crevice for forming a part, the 2nd crevice for forming an electrode, and the conductor provided in the 1st crevice and the 2nd crevice.

  Moreover, according to the preferable aspect of this invention, it is desirable that the conductor is formed by the inkjet method.

  According to the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to obtain a small-sized imaging unit for realizing high functionality of the tip imaging unit without increasing the diameter of the endoscope, in particular.

  Embodiments of an image pickup unit according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

  FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional configuration of an imaging unit 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a perspective configuration of the imaging unit 100.

  The imaging unit 100 includes a lens barrel 101 for an optical system. A first electrode 102 a and a second electrode 102 b are provided at one end 110 a of the lens barrel 100. A third electrode 102 c is provided at the other end 110 c of the lens barrel 101. A fourth electrode 102d is provided on the body 110b of the lens barrel 101.

  That is, electrodes are formed on at least two portions of one end portion 110a of the lens barrel 101, the other end portion 110c, and the body portion 110b of the lens barrel 101. The first to fourth electrodes 102 a to 102 d are electrically connected by a wiring portion 106 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the lens barrel 101.

  An image sensor 107 such as a CCD is provided in the vicinity of one end 110 a of the lens barrel 101. The image sensor 107 is connected to the first electrode 102a. An electric circuit member 108 is connected to the second electrode 102b. The light emitting element 105 is connected to the third electrode 102c. The light emitting element 105 is, for example, an LED. A drive element 103 is connected to the fourth electrode 102d.

  The drive element 103 is a motor for driving the lens 104 to zoom and a motor for driving an aperture stop (not shown). Note that the driving element 103, the light emitting element 105, and the imaging element 107 correspond to functional elements. The wiring unit 106 communicates signals between a plurality of functional elements.

  The surface of an object (not shown) is illuminated by the light emitted from the light emitting element 105. The light reflected from the object is imaged on the imaging surface of the imaging element 107 by the lens 104. The light emitting element 105, the driving element 103, and the imaging element 107 are driven and controlled by signals from the electric circuit unit.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the wiring portion 106 is formed on the surface of the barrel portion 110b of the lens barrel 101 by a printing technique.

  According to the present embodiment, even when an electrical functional element such as the light emitting element 105 or the driving element 103 is newly mounted on the lens barrel 101 portion of the optical system, in order to transmit and receive power and signals to the functional element, There is no need to use connection members such as cables. For this reason, a small imaging unit can be realized.

(Modification)
Next, a modification of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 shows a part of the lens barrel 101 of the imaging unit according to the modification. Portions other than the lens barrel are the same as those in the first embodiment, and redundant description is omitted.

  On the surface of the lens barrel 101, a recess 201a, a recess 201b, a recess 201c, and a recess 201d are formed. For example, the recess 201 a is formed at the other end 110 c of the lens barrel 101. The recess 201 c is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the body portion 11 b of the lens barrel 101.

  The recesses 201a to 201d can be formed at the same time when the lens barrel 101 is formed of a plastic mold.

  The recesses 201a to 201d are filled and hardened with a conductive paste. The conductive paste (conductor) can be formed in the recess by an ink jet method. The light emitting element 105 is provided in the recess 201a. The concave portion 201c is provided with a driving element 103 such as a lens moving motor or a diaphragm driving motor.

  The recesses 201a and 201c each function as an electrode and correspond to the second recess. The recess 201d functions as a wiring portion and corresponds to the first recess.

  Further, other recesses not shown are also formed. An image sensor and an electric circuit member are provided in the other recesses, respectively.

  Here, the recess 201d electrically connects the recesses 201a to 201c and other recesses (not shown). Electric power and signals are transmitted / received between the electric circuit member 108 and the imaging element 107, the light emitting element 105, and the driving element 103 via the conductive paste filled in the recesses.

  As described above, the recesses 201a to 201d can be easily formed if they are formed when the lens barrel 101 of the optical system is formed. For this reason, it is only necessary to fill and harden the conductive paste, and it is not necessary to use a troublesome conductor forming step such as plating. As a result, cost reduction can be realized.

  According to the present invention, a highly functional and highly integrated imaging unit can be realized particularly in the development of a high-density mounting technology for an endoscope front-end imaging unit. The present invention can take various modifications without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the recesses 201a to 201d are not limited to being formed at the time of plastic molding, and may be formed by cutting in the case of high-mix low-volume production.

  As described above, the imaging unit according to the present invention is suitable for a small imaging unit, particularly, an imaging unit mounted on an endoscope.

It is a figure which shows the cross-sectional structure of the imaging unit concerning Example 1 of this invention. 1 is a diagram illustrating an external perspective configuration of an imaging unit according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an external perspective configuration of an imaging unit according to a modification example of Example 1. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the imaging unit of a prior art.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Imaging unit 101 Lens tube 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d 1st-4th electrode 103 Driving element 104 Lens 105 Light emitting element 106 Wiring part 107 Imaging element 108 Electric circuit member 110a One end part 110b Body part 110c The other end Part 201a, 201b, 201c, 201d Recess 1A Leg 1B Body 2 Lens 3 Optical filter 4 Semiconductor image sensor

Claims (4)

An imaging unit comprising a lens barrel for an optical system,
An electrode formed on at least two portions of one end of the lens barrel, the other end of the lens barrel, and the body of the lens barrel;
A wiring portion for electrically connecting the electrodes;
An image pickup unit comprising: an image sensor provided in the vicinity of one end of the lens barrel or the other end.   The electrode is formed on any one of the one end of the lens barrel, the other end of the lens barrel, and the body of the lens barrel. Item 2. The imaging unit according to Item 1. The lens barrel has a plurality of functional elements,
The wiring unit communicates a signal between the plurality of functional elements,
The electrodes connect the functional elements;
further,
A first recess for forming the wiring portion;
A second recess for forming the electrode;
The imaging unit according to claim 1, further comprising a conductor provided in the first recess and the second recess. The imaging unit according to claim 1, wherein the conductor is formed by an inkjet method.

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