JP2011000346A - Heat radiation structure for insertion part of electronic endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heat radiation structure for the insertion part of an electronic endoscope providing sufficient heat radiation effect with a simple heat radiation structure even in a case where the insertion part is in thin diameter.SOLUTION: The heat radiation structure includes a cylindrical shield frame 25 of a metal, disposed in an inner conduit 23 of the insertion part 12, with an imaging element 31 located inside, and both front and rear ends open; a silicon agent S filled in the shield frame to fix the shield frame and the imaging element; a cylindrical coating member 38 comprising a flexible material bundling a plurality of signal lines 34 rearward extended from the imaging element; and a metal coil 40 wound around an outer periphery of the cylindrical coating member, with a front end part embedded in the silicon agent.

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat dissipation structure for an electronic endoscope insertion portion.

In general, an electronic endoscope is provided with a cylindrical shield frame in an internal conduit formed in the distal end of the insertion portion, an image sensor is arranged inside the shield frame, and the heat dissipation is filled in the shield frame. The shield frame and the image sensor are fixed by a silicon agent (adhesive). Filling the tip of the insertion portion with a silicone agent not only improves the durability and strength of the image sensor and the shield frame, but also the heat generated in the image sensor is transmitted to the heat-dissipating silicon agent. The heat is exhausted to a part away from the image sensor via the. Therefore, the exhaust heat generated from the image sensor does not accumulate around the image sensor in the insertion portion, and the image sensor can capture a good image.
However, when the image pickup device is continuously driven for a long time or when an image pickup device with a large amount of exhaust heat is employed, such heat dissipation structure cannot sufficiently dissipate the exhaust heat of the image pickup device.
Therefore, in the electronic endoscope of Patent Document 1, a heat-dissipating silicone agent (adhesive) is provided in which a heat-shrinkable tube is placed on the outer peripheral surface of the shield frame and both are fixed in a gap between the heat-shrinkable tube and the inner surface of the inner conduit. Agent).

JP-A-6-327626

  In recent years, the insertion portion of an endoscope has a tendency to be reduced in diameter, and it is difficult to secure a large gap between the shield frame (heat-shrinkable tube) and the internal conduit of the insertion portion. Therefore, in the heat dissipation structure as in Patent Document 1, it is difficult to fill a large amount of heat dissipating silicon agent between the shield frame (heat-shrinkable tube) and the internal conduit, and therefore it is difficult to obtain a sufficient heat dissipation effect.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a heat dissipation structure for an electronic endoscope insertion portion that has a simple heat dissipation structure and can obtain a sufficient heat dissipation effect even when the insertion portion has a small diameter.

  The heat dissipating structure of the electronic endoscope insertion portion according to the present invention includes an imaging element provided in an internal conduit of the insertion portion that captures an observation image transmitted through an objective lens group provided at a distal end portion of the insertion portion, and the internal A cylindrical shield frame made of metal with the image sensor located inside and open at both front and rear ends, and the shield frame and the image sensor filled in the shield frame. A silicon agent to be fixed, a cylindrical covering material made of a flexible material for bundling a plurality of signal lines extending rearward from the imaging device through the rear end opening of the shield frame, and a front end portion inside the silicon agent And a metal coil wound around the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical covering material embedded therein.

  The front end portion fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical covering material has a metal shield member that extends forward from the cylindrical covering material and contacts the shield frame, and the front end portion of the coil is the shield member. You may make it contact the said front-end part.

  A metal member that contacts the front end of the coil may be embedded in the silicon agent, and the front end of the coil may be in contact with the metal member.

According to the present invention, a part of the heat exhausted from the imaging device is dissipated from the silicon agent, and another exhaust heat is transmitted to the coil via the silicon agent and the shield frame and is dissipated from the coil. Therefore, the exhaust heat of the image sensor can be efficiently radiated to a place away from the image sensor while having a simple heat dissipation structure.
Furthermore, since the coil is not inserted into the gap between the internal pipe line of the insertion portion and the shield frame, the present invention can be applied even when the insertion portion has a small diameter.

  If comprised like Claim 2, since the exhaust heat of the image pick-up element transmitted to the shield frame can be transmitted to a coil via the front-end part of a shield member, the thermal radiation effect improves further.

  If comprised like Claim 3, since the exhaust heat of the image pick-up element transmitted from the silicon agent to the metal member is transmitted from the metal member to the coil, the heat dissipation effect is further improved.

1 is an overall view of an endoscope according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is an expansion vertical side view of the front-end | tip part of an insertion part. It is sectional drawing which follows the III-III arrow line of FIG. It is an expansion vertical side view similar to FIG. 2 of a modification. It is sectional drawing which follows the VV arrow line of FIG.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, the front-rear direction defines the front end side of the insertion portion 12 of the electronic endoscope 10 as “front” and the connector portion 14 side as “rear”.
The electronic endoscope 10 is fixed to the operation unit 11, the insertion unit 12 that extends forward from the operation unit 11, the universal tube 13 that extends from the operation unit 11 to the opposite side of the insertion unit 12, and the rear end of the universal tube 13. And a connector unit 14 connected to a processor (light source device / image processing device) (not shown). A portion excluding the distal end portion of the insertion portion 12 is flexible, and a portion connected to the distal end portion is a bending portion 16 that bends in response to a rotation operation of the bending operation lever 15 provided in the operation portion 11. The distal end portion of the insertion portion 12 is composed of a distal end hard portion 17 made of a hard material and not deformable. Further, the entire outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion 12 is covered with a cylindrical skin material 18 made of a soft flexible material.

The distal end hard portion 17 is formed with a plurality of through passages that penetrate the distal end hard portion 17 in the front-rear direction.
The penetration path 20 shown in FIG. 2 is a treatment instrument insertion path. The penetration path 20 extends forward from a treatment instrument insertion projection 19 projecting from the front end of the operation section 11 through the internal space of the insertion section 12. The front end of the treatment instrument insertion tube 21 having flexibility is connected. In addition, an illumination lens, an air supply nozzle, and a water supply nozzle are provided at the front end portions of another plurality of through passages that are not shown.
An observation window L1a is fitted and fixed to the front end portion of the through passage 23 (inner conduit) shown in FIG. The cross-sectional shape of the front part of the through-passage 23 is circular, and the cross-sectional shape of the rear part is substantially square. Further, two lenses L1b, L1c, and L1d positioned behind the observation window L1a are fixed in the through passage 23, and an objective lens group is configured by the observation window L1a and the lenses L1b, L1c, and L1d.
Further, a shield frame 25 made of a metal that extends in the front-rear direction and has good thermal conductivity is disposed in a portion (a rear portion of the through-passage 23) located immediately after the lens L1d in the through-passage 23. The shield frame 25 is a cylindrical member having a substantially square cross section formed by weaving a large number of metal wires (for example, brass), and both front and rear ends are open. A resin insulating frame 27 having openings at both front and rear ends is fixed (adhered by a silicon agent S described later) to the outer peripheral surface of the shield frame 25, and the insulating frame 27 is fixed to the inner surface of the through-passage 23.
An image sensor unit 30 is disposed in the internal space of the shield frame 25. The image sensor unit 30 includes an image sensor 31, an image sensor drive circuit board 32 that is electrically connected to the image sensor 31 in a state of being separated rearward from the image sensor 31, and the image sensor 31 and the image sensor drive circuit board 32. And a plurality of signal lines 34 extending rearward from the image sensor driving circuit board 32 and a spacer 33 for fixing the relative position between the image sensor 31 and the image sensor driving circuit board 32. ing.
Each signal line 34 extends rearward in the insertion portion 12 through the rear end openings of the shield frame 25 and the insulating frame 27, and the rear end portion passes through the operation portion 11 and the universal tube 13 to form a connector. It reaches the inside of the part 14. Further, the portions other than the front end portion and the rear end portion (portions located in the connector portion 14) of each signal line 34 are bundled together, and the periphery thereof is a metal having flexibility and good thermal conductivity. A cylindrical shield member 36 made of (for example, copper or aluminum) is covered, and a cylindrical covering member 38 which is a cylindrical member made of a rubber flexible material is covered around the shield member 36. . As shown in FIG. 2, the front end portion of the cylindrical covering material 38 is located inside the shield frame 25, and the front end portion 37 of the shield member 36 projects in front of the cylindrical covering material 38 in a twisted state. It is connected to the inner surface of the frame 25.
Further, a coil 40 in which adjacent windings are in contact with each other is wound around the front portion of the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical covering material 38. The coil 40 is made of a metal (for example, copper) having good thermal conductivity (better than the silicon agent S). The rear end of the coil 40 is located at the intermediate portion of the insertion portion 12 (see FIG. 1), and the front end is in contact with the front end portion 37 of the shield member 36.
The internal space of the shield frame 25 is filled with a silicon agent S having good thermal conductivity (heat dissipation). The filling range of the silicon agent S is a range between the rear portion of the image sensor 31 (portion located behind the imaging surface) and the front end portion of the coil 40 (tubular covering material 38). The silicon agent S fixes (adheres) the imaging element unit 30, the shield member 36 (front end portion 37), the cylindrical covering material 38, and the coil 40 to the shield frame 25, and is a signal located inside the shield frame 25. The line 34 is protected, and the image sensor 31 and the image sensor drive circuit board 32 are insulated from the shield frame 25. Further, a part of the silicon agent 25 protrudes from the mesh of the shield frame 25 to the periphery, and the shield frame 25 and the insulating frame 27 are bonded to each other.

Next, the operation of the electronic endoscope 10 will be described.
The insertion portion 12 is inserted into the body cavity of the patient, and is obtained through the observation window L1a and the lenses L1b, L1c, and L1d in a state where the illumination light emitted from the illumination lens is irradiated onto the observation target (for example, the affected area of the patient). When the observed image is picked up by the image pickup device 31, the image data converted into an electric signal by the image pickup device 31 is sent to the image processing device built in the processor via the image pickup device driving circuit board 32 and the signal line. The image processing apparatus performs image processing. The processed image is displayed on a television monitor (not shown) connected to the processor.
When the image pickup device unit 30 takes an image, heat is generated from the image pickup device 31, the image pickup device driving circuit board 32, and the signal line 34. However, since the silicon agent S has thermal conductivity, a part of the heat is generated. Is radiated from the rear end of the silicon agent S to the internal space of the insertion portion 12.
Further, a part of the heat transferred to the silicon agent S is transferred to the front end portion of the coil 40 embedded in the silicon agent S, and the heat transferred from the silicon agent S to the shield frame 25 is transferred to the front end portion of the shield member 36. It is transmitted to the front end portion of the coil 40 through 37. These heats move from the front end portion of the coil 40 to the rear portion, and are radiated from the rear portion of the coil 40 to the internal space of the insertion portion 12.
As described above, in the electronic endoscope 10 according to the present embodiment, the exhaust heat of the image sensor unit 30 is separated rearward from the image sensor unit 30 while having a simple heat dissipation structure in which the coil 40 is wound around the cylindrical covering material 38. Since heat is efficiently radiated to the internal space of the insertion portion 12, heat does not accumulate around the image sensor unit 30 (internal space of the shield frame 25). Therefore, even when the heat generation amount of the image pickup device 31 is large or when the image pickup device 31 is continuously driven for a long time, the image pickup device 31 can continue to pick up a good image.
Further, since the coil 40 is not inserted into the gap between the through-passage 23 of the insertion portion 12 and the shield frame 25, the present invention can be applied even when the insertion portion 12 has a small diameter.
Furthermore, since the surface of the soft cylindrical covering material 38 is covered with a coil 40 that is harder than the cylindrical covering material 38, the surface of the cylindrical covering material 38 can be protected by the coil 40.
In order to enhance the heat dissipation function of the coil 40, the entire length of the coil 40 may be increased. However, since the coil 40 can be bent (deformed), the bending portion 16 (and the insertion portion) can be formed even if the coil 40 is lengthened in this way. 12) The bending operation does not become unsmooth.
Further, since the coil 40 does not affect the entire length of the hard tip portion 17, the hard tip portion 17 does not become long even when the coil 40 is lengthened.

As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on the said embodiment, this invention can be implemented, giving various changes.
For example, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a pair of metal members (for example, copper and aluminum) 45 having good thermal conductivity are disposed at the rear end of the inner space of the shield frame 25, and the pair of metal members 45, the front end portion 37 of the shield member 36 and the front end portion of the coil 40 are sandwiched (contacted), and the rear portion of the image sensor 31 (the portion located behind the image pickup surface) and the coil 40 (cylinder) are placed inside the shield frame 25. The silicon agent S is filled in a range between the front end portions of the covering material 38), and the imaging device unit 30, the shield member 36 (front end portion 37), the cylindrical covering material 38, the coil 40, and the silicon agent S are filled with the silicon agent S. The metal member 45 may be fixed to the shield frame 25.
Since the metal member 45 is superior in thermal conductivity to the silicon agent S, the heat transferred to the silicon agent S from the image sensor 31, the image sensor driving circuit board 32, and the signal line 34 is efficient from the rear end portion of the metal member 45. The heat is often exhausted to the rear of the shield frame 25. Further, the heat of the silicon agent S is efficiently transmitted to the coil 40 through the metal member 45, and the heat transmitted from the shield frame 25 to the front end portion 37 is efficiently transmitted to the coil 40 through the metal member 45. Therefore, a better heat dissipation effect can be obtained compared to the above embodiment.

4 and 5, the front end portion 37 of the shield member 36 may be separated from the shield frame 25.
Although not shown, an electrical insulating coating may be applied to the entire surface of the coil 40 to prevent electrical leakage trouble of the coil 40.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Electronic endoscope 11 Operation part 12 Insertion part 13 Universal tube 14 Connector part 15 Bending operation lever 16 Bending part 17 Hard end part 18 Skin material 19 Treatment tool insertion protrusion 20 Through path 21 Treatment tool insertion pipe 23 Through path ( Internal conduit)
25 Shield frame 27 Insulation frame 30 Image sensor unit 31 Image sensor 32 Image sensor drive circuit board 33 Spacer 34 Signal line 36 Shield member 37 Front end portion 38 of shield member Cylindrical covering material 40 Coil 45 Metal member L1a Observation window (objective lens) group)
L1b L1c L1d lens (objective lens group)
S Silicone agent

Claims (3)

An image sensor provided in an internal conduit of the insertion unit that captures an observation image transmitted through an objective lens group provided at a distal end of the insertion unit;
A cylindrical shield frame made of a metal disposed in the internal conduit, in which the imaging element is located and both front and rear ends are open;
A silicon agent for fixing the shield frame and the imaging element, filled in the shield frame;
A cylindrical covering material made of a flexible material for bundling a plurality of signal lines extending rearward from the imaging element through the rear end opening of the shield frame;
A metal coil wound around the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical covering material, the front end portion being embedded in the silicon agent;
A heat dissipation structure for an electronic endoscope insertion portion. In the heat dissipation structure of the electronic endoscope insertion portion according to claim 1,
The front end portion fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical covering material has a metal shield member that extends forward from the cylindrical covering material and contacts the shield frame;
A heat dissipation structure for an electronic endoscope insertion portion in which a front end portion of the coil is brought into contact with the front end portion of the shield member. In the heat dissipation structure of the electronic endoscope insertion part according to claim 1 or 2,
A metal member that contacts the front end of the coil is embedded in the silicon agent,
A heat dissipation structure for an electronic endoscope insertion portion in which the front end portion of the coil is brought into contact with the metal member.

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