Endoscope

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11278192-B2
Application number	US-201916384949-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 16, 2019
Priority date	Oct 25, 2016
Publication date	Mar 22, 2022
Grant date	Mar 22, 2022

Abstract

An endoscope includes an image pick-up device at a distal end part of an insertion part capable of being inserted into a body cavity. The image pick-up device includes a lens barrel that holds an imaging lens; an image sensor having a rectangular shape as an outer peripheral shape of the image reception surface on which imaging light incident via the imaging lens; and a sensor holder that holds the image sensor in a state where the image reception surface intersects a longitudinal direction of the insertion part. The sensor holder has a fitting part fitted to the lens barrel, and an extending wall part that extends in the longitudinal direction of the insertion part from the fitting part to cover at least a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the image sensor, and the fitting part and the extending wall part are integrally configured.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An endoscope comprising:
an image pick-up device at a distal end part of an insertion part capable of being inserted into a body cavity,
wherein the image pick-up device includes
a lens barrel that holds an imaging lens;
a solid-state image pick-up element that photoelectrically converts imaging light incident on an image reception surface via the imaging lens and has a rectangular shape as an outer peripheral shape of the image reception surface; and
a holding member that holds the solid-state image pick-up element in a state where the image reception surface intersects a longitudinal axis of the insertion part,
wherein the holding member has a fitting part fitted to the lens barrel, and an extending wall part that extends in the longitudinal axis from the fitting part to cover at least a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the solid-state image pick-up element,
wherein the fitting part and the extending wall part are integrally configured,
wherein the extending wall part includes three wall parts that respectively cover three of four side surfaces that constitute the outer peripheral surface of the solid-state image pick-up element, and
wherein the three wall parts are located inside a circumscribed circle circumscribed on a projection outermost diameter end of the solid-state image pick-up element in a case where the holding member holding the solid-state image pick-up element is projected on a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the insertion part.

2. The endoscope according to claim 1 ,
wherein two of the three wall parts constitute a first wall portion that abuts against the outer peripheral surface of the solid-state image pick-up element, and the two of the three wall parts are orthogonal to each other.

3. The endoscope according to claim 2 ,
wherein one of the three wall parts constitutes a second wall portion that faces one of the four side surfaces of the solid-state image pick-up element, and
wherein the solid-state image pick-up element is fixed to the second wall portion by an adhesive.

4. The endoscope according to claim 3 ,
wherein an adhesive layer including the adhesive is present between the solid-state image pick-up element and the second wall portion.

5. The endoscope according to claim 4 ,
wherein the three wall parts are independent of each other, and
wherein on a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal axis, a gap length, in a first direction on the plane, between adjacent wall parts of the three wall parts, and a gap length, in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction on the plane, between the adjacent wall parts are equal to each other.

6. The endoscope according to claim 3 ,
wherein the three wall parts are independent of each other, and
wherein on a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal axis, a gap length, in a first direction on the plane, between adjacent wall parts of the three wall parts, and a gap length, in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction on the plane, between the adjacent wall parts are equal to each other.

7. The endoscope according to claim 6 ,
wherein a height of each of the three wall parts is 1.5 times to 3 times the gap length.

8. The endoscope according to claim 2 ,
wherein the three wall parts are independent of each other, and
wherein on a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal axis, a gap length, in a first direction on the plane, between adjacent wall parts of the three wall parts, and a gap length, in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction on the plane, between the adjacent wall parts are equal to each other.

9. The endoscope according to claim 8 ,
wherein a height of each of the three wall parts is 1.5 times to 3 times the gap length.

10. The endoscope according to claim 1 ,
wherein one of the three wall parts constitutes a second wall portion that faces one of the four side surfaces of the solid-state image pick-up element, and
wherein the solid-state image pick-up element is fixed to the second wall portion by an adhesive.

11. The endoscope according to claim 10 ,
wherein an adhesive layer including the adhesive is present between the solid-state image pick-up element and the second wall portion.

12. The endoscope according to claim 11 ,
wherein the three wall parts are independent of each other, and
wherein on a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal axis, a gap length, in a first direction on the plane, between adjacent wall parts of the three wall parts, and a gap length, in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction on the plane, between the adjacent wall parts are equal to each other.

13. The endoscope according to claim 10 ,
wherein the three wall parts are independent of each other, and
wherein on a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal axis, a gap length, in a first direction on the plane, between adjacent wall parts of the three wall parts, and a gap length, in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction on the plane, between the adjacent wall parts are equal to each other.

14. The endoscope according to claim 13 ,
wherein a height of each of the three wall parts is 1.5 times to 3 times the gap length.

15. The endoscope according to claim 1 ,
wherein the three wall parts are independent of each other, and
wherein on a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal axis, a gap length, in a first direction on the plane, between adjacent wall parts of the three wall parts, and a gap length, in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction on the plane, between the adjacent wall parts are equal to each other.

16. The endoscope according to claim 15 ,
wherein a height of each of the three wall parts is 1.5 times to 3 times the gap length.

17. The endoscope according to claim 1 ,
wherein a height of the extending wall part is less than a thickness of the solid-state image pick-up element.

18. The endoscope according to claim 17 ,
wherein the height of the extending wall part is equal to or greater than half of the thickness of the solid-state image pick-up element.

19. The endoscope according to claim 1 ,
wherein the lens barrel is located inside the circumscribed circle circumscribed on the projection outermost diameter end of the solid-state image pick-up element and the holding member in a case where the holding member holding the solid-state image pick-up element and the lens barrel are projected on the plane orthogonal to the longitudinal axis.

20. An endoscope comprising:
an image pick-up device at a distal end part of an insertion part capable of being inserted into a body cavity,
wherein the image pick-up device includes
a lens barrel that holds an imaging lens;
a solid-state ick-up e photoelectrically converts imaging light incident on an image reception surface via the imaging lens and has a rectangular shape as an outer peripheral shape of the image reception surface; and
a holding member that holds the solid-state image pick-up element in a state where the image reception surface intersects a longitudinal axis of the insertion part,
wherein the holding member has a fitting part fitted to the lens barrel, and an extending wall part that extends in the longitudinal axis from the fitting part to cover at least a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the solid-state image pick-up element,
wherein the fitting part and the extending wall part are integrally configured,
wherein the extending wall part includes two wall parts that respectively cover two of four side surfac

Assignees

• Fujifilm Corp

Inventors

• Yashiro Takashi
• Suzuki Issei

Classifications

• H04N23/555

  for picking-up images in sites, inaccessible due to their dimensions or hazardous conditions, e.g. endoscopes or borescopes · CPC title

• A61B1/044

  for absorption imaging · CPC title

• A61B1/00096 Primary

  Optical elements · CPC title

• A61B1/05 Primary

  characterised by the image sensor, e.g. camera, being in the distal end portion · CPC title

• A61B1/051

  Details of CCD assembly · CPC title