JP6018794B2 - Electronic endoscope apparatus, imaging module for endoscope, and operation method of electronic endoscope apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic endoscope apparatus in which an imaging element is built in a distal end portion of an endoscope, an imaging module for an endoscope, and a method for preventing condensation thereof.

  Some electronic endoscope apparatuses employ a structure in which incident light from a subject is guided to an image sensor through a prism. In such an electronic endoscope apparatus, dew condensation may occur when the temperature difference between the imaging element that becomes high temperature during operation and the prism placed in the preceding stage becomes large. In order to deteriorate the quality of a captured image when this condensation occurs, for example, in the prior art described in Patent Document 1 below, a heater is attached to the prism so that the prism can be heated. Further, in the prior art described in Patent Document 2 below, an electronic component built in the distal end portion of the endoscope scope is used as a heater, so that the prism can be heated.

JP 2007-260190 A JP 2011-224348 A

  When a prism heating heater or an electronic component is attached to the prism reflection surface with an adhesive, it is necessary not to damage the reflection film such as an aluminum film formed on the prism reflection surface. Since the reflection film is usually formed of a vapor deposition film, it has the property of being easily damaged.

  In addition, in order to increase the thermal conductivity from a heating component such as a heater or an electronic component to the prism reflection surface, there is a demand to use a filler-containing adhesive having a high thermal conductivity as the adhesive. However, since fine particles having a high hardness such as alumina are usually used as fillers, it causes damage to the reflective film. For this reason, providing an intermediate layer between the reflective film and the adhesive is one of the solutions. However, if the intermediate layer is too thin, it does not function to prevent the reflection film from being damaged, and if the intermediate layer is formed too thick, there arises a problem that the thermal conductivity is lowered.

  Endoscopes are in the direction of decreasing the diameter, and a diameter of 9 mm is common at present. Among these, the size of the objective optical lens, the prism, and the imaging device of the imaging system is a fraction of 9 mm, so that the assembly requires precision and is not easy. Moreover, as described above, it is necessary to assemble so that the reflective film is not damaged and the thermal conductivity to the prism is not hindered.

An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic endoscope that can attach a heating part without damaging the reflecting film of the prism and can be easily assembled in the distal end of the scope while maintaining high thermal conductivity to the prism. An object of the present invention is to provide a mirror device , an endoscope imaging module, and an electronic endoscope device operating method .

  An electronic endoscope apparatus and an imaging module for an endoscope of the present invention are housed in a distal end portion of an endoscope scope, and reflect and change a light path of light emitted from an objective lens optical system by a reflecting surface; An imaging device disposed on the light exit surface of the prism; a reflective film formed on the reflective surface of the prism; a protective film of the reflective film; and a carbon-containing adhesive layer laminated on the protective film; A filler-containing adhesive layer laminated on the carbon-containing adhesive layer; and a heating member that is bonded to the filler-containing adhesive layer and heats the prism.

The operation method of the electronic endoscope apparatus of the present invention includes a prism that reflects and changes an optical path of light emitted from an objective lens optical system housed in an endoscope scope distal end portion by a reflecting surface on which a reflecting film is formed, and An operation method of an electronic endoscope apparatus comprising: an imaging device disposed on a light exit surface of the prism; and a processor device connected to the endoscope scope , wherein a protective film is formed on the reflective film and pasted warming member on the carbon-containing adhesive layer and the filler-containing adhesive layer and are stacked in this order Rutotomoni the filler-containing adhesive layer and, the processor unit, the at the time of driving of the imaging device The prism is heated by heating the heating member to prevent condensation between the exit surface of the prism and the image sensor.

  According to the present invention, when the heating member is attached to the prism reflection surface using the filler-containing adhesive, it is attached with the carbon-containing adhesive layer interposed therebetween. This makes it easy to assemble a heating member for preventing condensation within the imaging module or endoscope scope without damaging the reflective film formed on the prism reflection surface, that is, without damaging the optical path of the imaging system. It becomes.

1 is an overall view of an endoscope scope constituting an electronic endoscope apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the front-end | tip part of the endoscope scope shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a development view of the circuit board shown in FIG. 3. It is the arrow line view seen from the arrow C direction of FIG. It is an expansion schematic diagram in the dotted-line circle D of FIG.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an endoscope scope constituting an electronic endoscope apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The endoscope scope 100 includes an operation unit 11 and an endoscope insertion unit 13 connected to the operation unit 11 and inserted into a body cavity. A universal cord 15 is connected to the operation unit 11, and a connector (not shown) is provided at the distal end of the universal cord 15.

  This connector is detachably connected to a light source device (not shown), and illumination light from the light source device is sent to the distal end portion 17 of the endoscope insertion portion 13 through a light guide. A video connector is also connected to this connector, and the video connector is connected to a processor device (not shown) to perform image signal processing and the like. The electronic endoscope apparatus includes an endoscope scope 100, a light source device, and a processor device.

  The endoscope insertion part 13 of the endoscope scope 100 is composed of a flexible part 19, a bending part 21, and a distal end part 17 in order from the operation part 11 side, and the bending part 21 includes an angle knob 23, By turning 25, the bending operation is performed remotely. Thereby, the front-end | tip part 17 is orient | assigned to the desired direction by the operator.

  In addition to the angle knobs 23 and 25 described above, various buttons 27 such as an air / water supply button, a suction button, and a shutter button are provided in the operation unit 11 side by side. The continuous portion 29 extended to the endoscope insertion portion 13 side has a forceps insertion portion 31. The forceps insertion portion 31 guides the treatment tool such as the inserted forceps from a forceps port 33 (see FIG. 2) formed at the distal end portion 17 of the endoscope insertion portion 13.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the distal end portion of the endoscope insertion portion 13, and FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the distal end portion 17, which is the distal end portion of the endoscope insertion portion 13, has an observation window 37 of the imaging optical system on the distal end surface 35 and illumination optics provided on both sides of the observation window 37. The system irradiation ports 39A and 39B are arranged, and the forceps port 33 is arranged in the vicinity thereof. Further, a nozzle 41 that supplies air and supplies water to the observation window 37 is disposed with the ejection port facing the observation window 37.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the endoscope distal end portion 17 is fixed by inserting a lens barrel 45 into a hard distal end portion 43 made of a metal material such as a stainless steel material and a hole 43 a formed in the distal end hard portion 43. The image pickup unit 47 and a metal forceps pipe 49 disposed in the other drilling hole 43b are provided. Furthermore, the endoscope distal end portion 17 accommodates various members such as an air / water supply pipe 51 connected to the nozzle 41 and a light guide for light guide (not shown) connected to the illumination optical system. .

  The imaging unit (imaging module) 47 includes an objective lens group (not shown) composed of a plurality of objective lenses housed in the lens barrel 45, and a triangle that reflects the optical path of light emitted from the objective lens group in a perpendicular direction. A prism 55, an image sensor 59 that receives light reflected by the triangular prism 55, and a circuit board 57 on which the image sensor 59 is mounted are provided. The image signal of the observation image output from the image sensor 59 is output to the processor device through the circuit board 57.

  The imaging module including the objective lens group, the triangular prism 55, and the imaging element 59 is disposed inside the casing of the endoscope distal end portion 17, and functions as an imaging device. An optical member such as a lens disposed at the irradiation ports 39A and 39B (see FIG. 2) and a light guide connected to the optical member (both not shown) constitute an illumination optical system. These are also arranged inside the casing of the endoscope distal end portion 17. Image information output from the image sensor 59 is transmitted to the processor device through the signal cable 61 and processed into a display image.

  A metal sleeve (not shown) is connected to the outer periphery of the distal end hard portion 43 of the endoscope distal end portion 17, and a node ring (not shown) disposed on the bending portion 21 (see FIG. 1) is connected to the metal sleeve. It is connected to bend freely. The outer periphery of the metal sleeve is covered with an outer tube 50, and the tip end side of the tip hard portion 43 is covered with a tip cover 63. The outer tube 50 and the front end cover 63 are joined in close contact with each other so that there is no water immersion inside.

  The lens barrel 45 is connected to the incident side end face 55 a of the triangular prism 55, and a cover glass 65, which is a translucent protective substrate, is bonded to the emission side end face 55 b of the triangular prism 55. On the opposite side of the cover glass 65 from the triangular prism 55, an image sensor 59 is disposed via an air gap 67. The air gap 67 is set to a predetermined volume by the frame body 60 arranged around the image sensor 59.

  The circuit board 57 on which the image sensor 59 is mounted is folded back along the first folding axis B1 in FIG. 3, and further along the second folding axis B2 along the reflecting surface 55c on the outer surface of the prism that becomes the reflecting surface of the triangular prism 55. Thus, it is bent upward from the horizontal plane in the figure. Thereby, the circuit board 57 presses the reflection surface 55 c of the triangular prism 55. Here, the triangular prism 55 is illustrated as an optical member that guides light to the image sensor 59, but the present invention is not limited to this, and an optical path changing member of another shape or another method may be used. Moreover, the cover glass 65 should just have translucency with respect to observation light, and may be other materials, such as not only a glass material but transparent resin.

  Next, the circuit board 57 will be described. 4 is a plan view showing a state in which the circuit board 57 is unfolded, and FIG. 5 is a view in the direction of the arrow C of the imaging device shown in FIG.

  The circuit board 57 shown in FIG. 4 is an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuits). The circuit board 57 has an image sensor mounting portion 69 on which the image sensor 59 is mounted. Further, the circuit board 57 is connected to the image sensor mounting portion 69 via the bending axes B1 and B2, and is mounted to the component mounting portion 71 via the bending shaft B3. Cable connecting portion 73 to be provided. The component mounting portion 71 is divided into a first component mounting portion 71a and a second component mounting portion 71b with the bending axis B2 as a boundary.

  The image sensor 59 is mounted on the image sensor mounting portion 69, and the frame 60 and the cover glass 65 described with reference to FIG. Various electronic components 79 and 80 for driving and controlling the image sensor 59 are mounted on the component mounting portion 71, and a regulator 77 is mounted on the second component mounting portion 71b as an electronic component for heating the triangular prism 55. Implemented. In the cable connection portion 73, each lead wire of the signal cable 61 is connected to a land 81 formed on the back side of FIG. 4 by soldering or the like.

  The circuit board 57 is bent at the bending axis B1 (FIG. 3), so that the electronic component 79 mounted on the component mounting portion 71a extends from the edge on the component mounting portion 71 side in the imaging element mounting portion 69 to the bending axis B1. Facing the area W. At this time, since the surface of the region W of the circuit board 57 is covered with an insulating layer, insulation is ensured even when the electronic component 79 is disposed close to the imaging element mounting portion 69. Further, it is possible to prevent receiving radiant heat from other electronic components close to the electronic component 79 and being affected by radiation noise.

  Further, in the circuit board 57, the component mounting portion 71b is bent at the bending axis B2, and the second component mounting portion 71b is disposed along the reflection surface 55c of the triangular prism 55. As a result, among the electronic components mounted on the component mounting portion 71b, the regulator 77 that generates particularly large heat comes into contact with the reflecting surface 55c of the triangular prism 55.

  At this time, the regulator 77 and the other electronic component 80 mounted on the component mounting part 71b are bent on the reflection surface 55c of the triangular prism 55 by the elastic repulsive force of the circuit board 57 itself by bending the circuit board 57 with the bending axis B2. Pressed. Then, an adhesive is filled between the component mounting portion 71 b and the reflective surface 55 c of the triangular prism 55 to form an adhesive layer 89, and the regulator 77 and other electronic components 80 are connected to the reflective surface 55 c of the triangular prism 55. Hold on. As a result, the regulator 77 and other electronic components 80 are fixed in close contact with the triangular prism 55 without a gap, and do not leave the reflecting surface 55 c of the triangular prism 55.

  The bending rigidity at the bending axis B2 at the boundary between the component mounting portion 71a and the component mounting portion 71b is relatively higher than other portions by densely arranging the wiring patterns of the circuit board 57. Thereby, the component mounting part 71b can press the triangular prism 55 more strongly, and the adhesiveness between the triangular prism 55 and the electronic components 77 and 80 is improved. Further, the adhesiveness between the two can be reliably maintained until the adhesive is solidified, and the occurrence of misalignment can also be prevented.

  The circuit board 57 sandwiches the signal cable 61 between the cable connection portion 73 and the component mounting portion 71a by bending the cable connection portion 73 with a bending axis B3 as shown in FIG. At this time, since the non-component mounting surface (the back surface of the component mounting surface) of the component mounting portion 71a facing the cable connecting portion 73 is covered with the insulating layer, the insulating property of the land 81 to which the signal cable 61 is connected is improved. It can be improved.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the circuit board 57 has an imaging element mounting portion 69 in the lowermost layer, component mounting portions 71a and 71b in the intermediate layer, a cable connecting portion 73 in the uppermost layer, and an imaging element in a folded state. 59 and the triangular prism 55 are fixed. Further, the circuit board 57 has a bending shaft B2 and a cable connecting portion on the image sensor 59 side (lower side in FIG. 3) of the component mounting portion 71b fixed to the triangular prism 55 from the distal end P with respect to the image sensor 59. 73 is arranged. By folding the circuit board 57 until this arrangement relationship is established, the elastic repulsion force of the component mounting portion 71b on the bending axis B2 can be increased, and the installation space can be reduced.

  Power is supplied to the regulator 77 from the processor device (not shown) connected to the endoscope scope 100, and the regulator 77 outputs a drive signal having a predetermined voltage level to the image sensor 59. As a result, the image pickup device 59 starts an image pickup operation, and outputs an image pickup signal of image information taken through the objective lens group and the triangular prism 55 in the lens barrel 45 to the processor device.

  That is, the drive start timing of the regulator 77 coincides with the operation start timing of the image sensor 59, and the heat generation timings of both coincide. For this reason, when the triangular prism 55 is heated by the regulator 77, the temperature difference between the imaging element 59 and the triangular prism 55 does not increase, and condensation is prevented.

  FIG. 6 is an enlarged schematic diagram in the dotted circle D of FIG. Hereinafter, a structure in which the regulator 77 is attached to the outside of the reflection surface 55c of the triangular prism 55 will be described with reference to FIG.

  A reflective film 85 made of metal such as an aluminum film or a silver film having a high reflectance is formed on the inclined reflecting surface 55c of the triangular prism 55. The reflective film 85 is preferably formed by physical vapor deposition (PVD) or the like. However, since the reflective film 85 is easily damaged when made of metal, a protective film 86 having a hardness higher than that of metal, such as a silicon dioxide film, is preferably laminated thereon. The protective film 86 such as a silicon dioxide film can be formed by performing chemical vapor deposition (CVD) following the deposition of the reflective film 85.

  The regulator 77 has been described with reference to FIG. The adhesive layer 89 on the reflection surface 55c has a film thickness of about 50 to 150 μm. As the adhesive 89, an adhesive with a high thermal conductivity filler is used in order to increase the thermal conductivity. As the highly thermally conductive filler, for example, a mixture of small and large alumina fine particles 89a having a particle diameter of 3 μm and 20 μm is used. Thereby, the alumina fine particles 89a are in close contact with each other in the layer of the adhesive 89, and the thermal conductivity is improved.

  Since the filler particles have a high hardness, the reflective film 85 may be damaged through the protective film 86 having a lower hardness than the filler particles 89a. For this reason, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, an adhesive layer serving as the intermediate layer 87 is laminated below the adhesive layer 89. That is, the intermediate layer 87 is laminated on the reflective film 85 and the protective film 86, and the adhesive layer 89 is laminated thereon.

  The thicker the intermediate layer 87, the more the filler particles 89a move in the uncured intermediate layer 87 and damage the reflective film 85 when the regulator 77 is pressed against the reflective surface 55c for adhesion. The fear is reduced. However, as the intermediate layer 87 becomes thicker, the thermal conductivity of the intermediate layer 87 becomes worse, and the curing rate of the intermediate layer 87 and the like is further reduced.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, carbon fine particles or carbon fibers (carbon nanotubes) are mixed into an adhesive having a high thermosetting viscosity (for example, a viscosity of 700 to 1200 cPs at 23 ° C.) used as the intermediate layer 87. Is used.

  Even if the thickness of the intermediate layer 87 is 100 to 150 μm that exceeds the moving distance of the filler particles 89a, carbon has high thermal conductivity, and therefore the intermediate layer 87 has sufficient thermal conductivity. Become. Further, by mixing carbon particles or the like in the intermediate layer 87 densely (high concentration: a concentration capable of blocking the transmission of light), even if the filler particles 89a penetrate in the direction of the reflective film 85, the carbon particles It will function as a cushioning material between the two.

  Moreover, since carbon is soft, the carbon fine particles do not damage the reflective film 85, and the protective film 86 functions as a protective film if it is a carbon counterpart. In addition, no problem occurs even if the carbon particles in the intermediate layer 87 are destroyed by the filler particles 89a.

  By densely mixing carbon into the intermediate layer 87, the intermediate layer 87 can be used as a light shielding layer. That is, the intermediate layer 87 to be applied to the reflecting surface 55c is also applied to the side surface (triangular surface shown in FIG. 3) other than the entrance surface and the exit surface of the triangular prism 55, so that the light enters the triangular prism 55 from the side surface. It becomes possible to block light.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, even when the regulator 77 is attached to the reflecting surface 55c of the prism 55 using the adhesive material 89 containing the filler particles 89a, the reflecting film 85 on the reflecting surface 55c remains the filler particles 89a. Will not hurt you. For this reason, the assemblability of the imaging module and the endoscope scope tip is improved.

  In the above-described embodiment, the regulator 77 is the heating member of the prism 55, but it goes without saying that it may be a heating member such as another heater instead of an electronic component of the imaging system.

  The electronic endoscope apparatus according to the embodiment described above is housed in the distal end portion of the endoscope scope, reflects a light path of light emitted from the objective lens optical system by a reflecting surface, and changes the light emission of the prism. An imaging device disposed on a surface, a reflective film formed on the reflective surface of the prism and a protective film of the reflective film, a carbon-containing adhesive layer laminated on the protective film, and the carbon-containing adhesive A filler-containing adhesive layer laminated on the material layer, and a heating member that is bonded to the filler-containing adhesive layer and heats the prism are provided.

  The electronic endoscope apparatus according to the embodiment is characterized in that the amount of carbon mixed in the carbon-containing adhesive layer is set to an amount by which the carbon-containing adhesive layer blocks light.

  The electronic endoscope apparatus according to the embodiment is characterized in that the carbon-containing adhesive layer is applied to side surfaces other than the light incident surface and the light emitting surface of the prism.

  In the electronic endoscope apparatus according to the embodiment, the carbon-containing adhesive layer has a thickness of 100 μm to 150 μm.

  In the electronic endoscope apparatus according to the embodiment, the heating member is an electronic component that drives the imaging element.

  The endoscope imaging module according to the embodiment is housed in the distal end portion of the endoscope scope, reflects a light path of light emitted from the objective lens optical system by a reflecting surface, and changes the light emission of the prism. An imaging device disposed on a surface, a reflective film formed on the reflective surface of the prism and a protective film of the reflective film, a carbon-containing adhesive layer laminated on the protective film, and the carbon-containing adhesive A filler-containing adhesive layer laminated on the material layer, and a heating member that is bonded to the filler-containing adhesive layer and heats the prism are provided.

  Further, the dew condensation prevention method of the embodiment includes a prism that reflects and changes an optical path of light emitted from an objective lens optical system housed in the distal end portion of the endoscope scope, and a reflection surface of the prism. An anti-condensation method for an electronic endoscope apparatus including an imaging device disposed on a light emitting surface, wherein a protective film, a carbon-containing adhesive layer, and a filler-containing adhesive layer are sequentially laminated on the reflective film At the same time, a heating member is affixed on the filler-containing adhesive layer, the heating member is heated during driving of the imaging element, and the prism is heated, and the emission surface of the prism and the imaging element It is characterized by preventing condensation between them.

  According to the above-described embodiment, the heating member is attached to the reflecting surface of the prism using the filler-containing adhesive through the carbon-containing adhesive layer (intermediate layer), and thus formed on the prism reflecting surface. The reflective film can be prevented from being damaged by the filler particles. For this reason, the assembly of the image sensor module and the assembly of the image sensor, prism and the like to the distal end portion of the endoscope scope are facilitated. Further, since the heating member can be attached to the prism without impairing the function of the imaging system, it is easy to prevent condensation.

  The electronic endoscope apparatus according to the present invention can prevent dew condensation and can assemble the imaging system in the distal end portion of the endoscope scope without damaging the reflective film formed on the prism. It is useful when applied to an endoscope apparatus.

17 Endoscope tip 37 Observation window 47 Imaging unit (imaging module)
55 Triangular prism 55c Reflecting surface 57 Flexible circuit board 59 Imaging element 77 Electronic component (regulator: heating member)
85 Reflective film 86 Protective film 87 Carbon-containing intermediate layer 89 Adhesive 89a with high thermal conductive filler Filler particles

Claims (7)

A prism that is housed in the distal end portion of the endoscope scope and reflects and changes the optical path of light emitted from the objective lens optical system by a reflecting surface;
An image sensor disposed on the light exit surface of the prism;
A reflective film formed on the reflective surface of the prism and a protective film of the reflective film;
A carbon-containing adhesive layer laminated on the protective film;
A filler-containing adhesive layer laminated on the carbon-containing adhesive layer;
An electronic endoscope apparatus comprising: a heating member that is bonded to the filler-containing adhesive layer and heats the prism.   The electronic endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the amount of carbon mixed in the carbon-containing adhesive layer is an amount by which the carbon-containing adhesive layer blocks light.   The electronic endoscope apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the carbon-containing adhesive layer is applied to side surfaces other than the reflecting surface, the light incident surface, and the light emitting surface of the prism. Mirror device.   4. The electronic endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the carbon-containing adhesive layer has a thickness of 100 μm to 150 μm. 5.   5. The electronic endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heating member is an electronic component that drives the imaging element. 6. A prism that is housed in the distal end portion of the endoscope scope and reflects and changes the optical path of light emitted from the objective lens optical system by a reflecting surface;
An image sensor disposed on the light exit surface of the prism;
A reflective film formed on the reflective surface of the prism and a protective film of the reflective film;
A carbon-containing adhesive layer laminated on the protective film;
A filler-containing adhesive layer laminated on the carbon-containing adhesive layer;
An endoscope imaging module comprising: a heating member that is bonded to the filler-containing adhesive layer and that heats the prism. A prism that is housed in the distal end portion of the endoscope scope and that changes the optical path of light emitted from the objective lens optical system by reflecting it on the reflecting surface on which the reflecting film is formed, and an imaging device disposed on the light emitting surface of the prism; a processor device connected to said endoscope, a method of operating an electronic endoscope apparatus comprising, on the reflective layer, a protective film and a carbon-containing adhesive layer and the filler-containing adhesive layer There has been stuck heating member on the Rutotomoni the filler-containing adhesive material layer are laminated in this order, said processor device, said prism by heating the heating member during the driving of the imaging element warmed An operation method of the electronic endoscope apparatus for preventing condensation between the exit surface of the prism and the imaging device.

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