Sealing device and capsule endoscope

Abstract

The application discloses a sealing device, comprising a front shell and a tail cover, the front shell and the tail cover are respectively provided with a first connecting part and a second connecting part, the first connecting part is provided with a first end face and a first inner side wall, the second connecting part is provided with a second end face, a step face and a second outer side wall, the first connecting part and the second connecting part are connected with each other through threads, a sealing ring is arranged between the first connecting part and the second connecting part, the sealing ring has a first part and a second part, the first part and the second part are integrally formed, the second part extends into the space of the contact part of the first connecting part and the second connecting part, the sealing ring of the application is pressed more and more in the axial and radial directions of the capsule endoscope during assembly, so that the sealing ring is tightly contacted with the end face and the side face of the connecting part, and the double sealing effect is achieved, and the sealing performance is more reliable.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of medical devices, specifically to a sealing device and its capsule endoscope. Background Technology

[0002] Capsule endoscopy is increasingly being used in the clinical diagnosis of digestive tract diseases. It has the advantages of convenient examination, non-invasiveness, painlessness, no cross-infection, and no impact on the normal work of the examinee, providing a good examination experience for the examinee. The capsule endoscope is inserted into the body of the examinee by oral administration. The camera component takes close-up pictures of the internal tissues and transmits the captured image data to an external image receiving device wirelessly. The image receiving device receives the image data and displays it on a display device, which facilitates clinical diagnosis. This overcomes the disadvantage of poor tolerance of traditional invasive endoscopy.

[0003] However, compared to traditional mechanical insertion endoscopy, capsule endoscopy is more expensive, costing significantly more. Most patients cannot afford the consumable costs. Furthermore, wireless capsule endoscopy, which confines various electronic components within a small capsule shell, includes at least a lighting device, camera system, built-in magnet, wireless transmission unit, and battery unit. Placing these components within the narrow space of the capsule increases design complexity and cost, while also requiring consideration of the capsule endoscopy's sealing performance.

[0004] Chinese patent CN 112716431A discloses a capsule endoscope in which the first and second shells are connected by threads to facilitate shell replacement, thereby enabling the reuse of the capsule endoscope's core components. This avoids the waste of a large number of precision instruments and saves costs. The first and second shells are sealed by a threaded structure and a sealing ring to effectively prevent water and liquid infiltration. However, this sealing structure cannot be used on a large scale in the manufacturing process. First, as capsule endoscopes become smaller, the wall thickness of the first and second shells will also become thinner. In the limited space, the volume of the sealing ring will also be smaller, which will greatly reduce the sealing performance of this structure in actual production. Moreover, when the threads are tightened too much, there is a risk of the shell cracking. Second, because the sealing ring is too small, installation is difficult. Due to tolerance, there is a certain gap between the sealing ring and the mounting surface of the shell during installation. During the tightening of the threads, the local stress between the sealing ring and the mounting surface of the shell is too large, causing the sealing ring to be squeezed and deformed. In some cases, part of the sealing ring may even be squeezed out of the shell, thus failing to achieve the sealing effect.

[0005] Therefore, the existing capsule endoscope sealing technology still needs further improvement. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The technical problem to be solved by this invention is to overcome the defects in the prior art, improve the sealing performance of capsule endoscopes, and enhance product competitiveness.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present invention provides a sealing device, including a front shell and a tail cover. The front shell is provided with a first connecting portion, and the tail cover is provided with a second connecting portion. The first connecting portion and the second connecting portion are connected to each other by threads. A sealing ring is also provided in the contact space of the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion. The sealing ring has a first part and a second part. The first part and the second part are integrally formed, and the second part extends into the space of the contact portion of the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion.

[0008] Furthermore, the first connecting portion is provided with a first end face and a first inner sidewall, and the second connecting portion is provided with a second end face, a stepped surface, and a second outer sidewall.

[0009] Furthermore, the sealing ring is disposed between the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion.

[0010] Furthermore, the first part of the sealing ring is provided with an upper surface and a lower surface, the upper surface and the lower surface are in contact with the first end face and the step surface respectively, the upper surface is at an angle β1 with the capsule axis, 90°<β1<180°, the first end face is at an angle β2 with the capsule axis, 90°<β2<180°, β1≥β2.

[0011] Furthermore, the second part of the sealing ring is provided with an inner side and an outer side. The outer side contacts the first inner sidewall, and the outer side forms an angle α1 with the axial direction of the capsule, where 0° < α1 < 90°; the first inner sidewall forms an angle α2 with the axial direction of the capsule, where 0° < α2 < 90°, and α1 ≥ α2.

[0012] Furthermore, the lower surface of the sealing ring forms an angle θ1 with the axial direction of the capsule, where 90°≤θ1<180°.

[0013] Furthermore, the cross-section of the first and second portions of the sealing ring is either L-shaped or V-shaped.

[0014] Furthermore, the sealing ring is composed of any one of the following materials: silicone, thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer rubber, or synthetic rubber.

[0015] Furthermore, the sealing ring and the tail cap are integrally formed by secondary injection molding or double injection molding.

[0016] Furthermore, the lower surface and inner side of the sealing ring are bonded to the stepped surface of the tail cap and the second outer side wall, respectively.

[0017] Furthermore, the outer wall of the front shell is provided with a first scale and a second scale, and the outer wall of the tail cover is provided with a third scale. When the third scale is located between the first scale and the second scale, it indicates that the threaded connection between the front shell and the tail cover is in place.

[0018] In a second aspect, the present invention provides a capsule endoscope, comprising a front shell and a tail cap, wherein the capsule endoscope employs the sealing device described in any one of the first aspects.

[0019] Furthermore, a capsule core is provided within the accommodating cavity formed by the front shell and the tail cap of the capsule endoscope. An elastic washer is provided at the rear end of the capsule core. The elastic washer has a circular structure, and its upper surface is in close contact with the rear end face of the capsule core, while its lower surface is in close contact with the second end face.

[0020] The sealing ring of the present invention can be tightly connected with the front shell and the rear shell. When the threads are tightened, the sealing ring is squeezed more and more in the axial and radial directions of the capsule endoscope, so that the sealing ring is in close contact with the end face and side face of the connection between the front shell and the tail cover, achieving a double sealing effect and making the sealing performance more reliable. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 : Overall cross-sectional view of the capsule endoscope of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 2 : Schematic diagram of the sealing ring structure of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 3 : A magnified view of a portion of the sealing ring structure.

[0024] Figure 4 : A schematic diagram of the assembly of the capsule endoscope of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0026] The serial numbers and their corresponding names are as follows: camera illumination area 101, second end face 102, internal thread 103, external thread 104, first inner sidewall 105, second outer sidewall 106, first end face 107, stepped surface 108, front shell 109, capsule core 110, capsule core rear end face 111, elastic washer 112, first connecting part 113, sealing ring 114, second connecting part 115, tail cap 116, inner side 201, outer side 202, upper surface 203, lower surface 204, sealing ring end 205, first part 206, second part 207, first scale 401, second scale 402, third scale 403.

[0027] Please refer to Figure 1 The capsule endoscope of the present invention is shown in an overall cross-sectional view. The capsule endoscope of the present invention includes a front shell 109 and a tail cap 116. The port of the front shell 109 is provided with a first protrusion extending inward or outward to form a first connecting portion 113. The tail cap 116 is provided with a second protrusion extending outward or inward to form a second connecting portion 115. The first connecting portion 113 and the second connecting portion 115 are connected to each other by threads. The first connecting portion 113 forms a first end face 107 and a first inner sidewall 105. The second connecting portion 115 forms a second end face 102, a stepped surface 108 and a second outer sidewall 106.

[0028] The sealing device of the present invention further includes a sealing ring 114, which is disposed between the first connecting portion 113 and the second connecting portion 115, further referring to... Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the sealing ring structure of the present invention and Figure 3 A partially enlarged view of the sealing ring structure shows that the sealing ring 114 has a sealing ring end 205. The sealing ring 114 comprises two parts. The upper surface 203 and the lower surface 204 of the first part 206 contact the first end face 107 and the stepped surface 108, respectively. The second part 207 extends into the space between the contact portion of the first connecting part 113 and the second connecting part 115. When the front shell 109 and the tail cap 116 are tightened together, the sealing ring 114 is squeezed more and more in the axial and radial directions of the capsule endoscope, thereby achieving a double sealing effect and thus making the sealing performance of the capsule endoscope better.

[0029] In the first embodiment of the present invention, an internal thread 103 is provided on the inner wall 105 of the first connecting portion 113 of the front shell 109, and an external thread 104 is provided on the outer wall 106 of the second connecting portion 115 of the tail cap 116. The internal thread 103 and the external thread 104 cooperate with each other. The first part 206 and the second part 207 of the sealing ring 114 have an L-shaped cross-section. The first part 206 includes an upper surface 203 and a lower surface 204. The upper surface 203 contacts the first end face 107 of the front shell 109, and the lower surface 204 contacts the stepped surface 108 of the tail cap 116. Furthermore, the upper surface 203 can form a certain angle β1 with the axial direction of the capsule, 0° < β1 < 180°, the first end face 107 forms an angle β2 with the capsule axis direction, 0° < β2 < 180°, β1 ≥ β2, thereby forming an inclined surface between the upper surface 203 of the sealing ring 114 and the first end face 107 of the front shell 109. In the first embodiment, when the front shell 109 and the tail cap 116 are tightened by threads, the internal thread 103 and the external thread 104 cooperate with each other, and the internal thread 103 tends to squeeze the external thread 104 inward. At this time, the inclined surface causes the first connecting part 113 of the front shell 109 to be subjected to inward pressure in the radial direction of the capsule, avoiding the first connecting part 113 of the front shell 109 from continuously expanding outward and cracking, thereby ensuring the reliability of the sealing performance of the capsule shell.

[0030] In the second embodiment of the present invention, an internal thread 103 is provided on the inner wall 105 of the first connecting portion 113 of the front shell 109, and an external thread 104 is provided on the outer wall 106 of the second connecting portion 115 of the tail cap 116. The internal thread 103 and the external thread 104 cooperate with each other. The cross-section of the first part 206 and the second part 207 of the sealing ring 114 is V-shaped. The first part 206 includes an upper surface 203 and a lower surface 204. The upper surface 203 contacts the first end face 107 of the front shell 109, and the lower surface 204 contacts the stepped surface 108 of the tail cap 116. Further, the upper surface 203 can form a certain angle β1 with the axial direction of the capsule, 0° < β1 < 180°, and the first end face 107 can form an angle β2 with the axial direction of the capsule, 0° < β2 < 180°, β1 ≥ β2, so that the upper surface 203 of the sealing ring 114 and the first end face 107 of the front shell 109 form an inclined surface. Furthermore, the lower surface 204 of the first portion 206 of the sealing ring 114 forms an angle θ1 with the axial direction of the capsule, 90°≤θ1<180°; the stepped surface 108 is in close contact with the lower surface 204, and the stepped surface 108 also forms an angle θ1 with the axial direction of the capsule. The upper surface 203 and the lower surface 204 can be parallel or non-parallel, so that the upper surface 203 of the sealing ring and the first end face 107 of the front shell 109 form an inclined surface, and the lower surface 204 and the stepped surface 108 of the tail cap 116 form an inclined surface. When the threads are tightened, the inclined surface causes the first connecting portion 113 of the front shell 109 to be subjected to inward pressure in the radial direction of the capsule, preventing the first connecting portion 113 of the front shell 109 from continuously expanding outward and cracking, thereby ensuring the reliability of the sealing performance of the capsule shell.

[0031] The second part 207 of the sealing ring 114 includes an inner side 201 and an outer side 202. The inner side 201 is tightly connected to the second outer side wall 106 of the second connecting part 115 of the tail cap 116. The outer side 202 forms a certain angle α1 with the axial direction of the capsule, 0° < α1 < 90°. Further, the outer side 202 of the second part 207 of the sealing ring 114 contacts the first inner side wall 105 of the first connecting part 113 of the front shell 109. The first inner side wall 105 forms a certain angle α2 with the axial direction of the capsule, 0° < α2 < 90° and α1 ≥ α2. Thus, the end of the first connecting part 113 of the front shell 109 forms a conical opening. When the shell 109 and the tail cap 116 are tightened by threads, the second part 207 of the sealing ring 114 begins to enter the conical opening. Since the size of the conical opening is much larger than the size of the end of the sealing ring 114, the second part 207 of the sealing ring 114 can easily and completely enter the space between the first connecting part 113 and the second connecting part 115. At this time, the entire sealing ring 114 is limited between the front shell 109 and the tail cap 116, and the sealing ring 114 will not be squeezed to the outside of the capsule shell due to excessive local force. As the threads are tightened more and more, the second part 207 of the sealing ring 114 will be squeezed more and more, thereby ensuring the reliability of the sealing performance of the capsule shell.

[0032] The sealing ring 114 is made of polymer materials, such as silicone, thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer rubber, synthetic rubber, etc. Preferably, the sealing ring 114 is integrally formed with the tail cap 116 by secondary injection molding or double injection mold. When assembling the capsule core, it is not necessary to assemble the sealing ring 114 separately, which simplifies the assembly process.

[0033] In another embodiment of the present invention, the sealing ring 114 can also be set separately. During assembly, the sealing ring 114 is first assembled with the tail cap 116, and then the tail cap 116 and the front shell 109 are assembled in place. Furthermore, since the lower surface 204 and the inner surface 201 of the sealing ring 114 are tightly fitted with the stepped surface 108 and the outer wall 106 of the tail cap 116 respectively, during the tightening of the threads, the sealing ring 114 will not be squeezed and deformed due to excessive local force on the sealing ring 114 and the first end face 107, or even a part of the volume of the sealing ring 114 will be squeezed to the outside of the capsule shell, thus failing to achieve the sealing effect.

[0034] The present invention also provides a capsule endoscope using the above-mentioned sealing device. The capsule endoscope has a capsule core 110 disposed in the cavity formed by the front shell and the tail cap. The front end of the capsule core 110 is the camera illumination area 101, and the rear end is the capsule core rear end face 111. The innovation of the present invention does not lie in this, so it will not be described in detail. An elastic washer 112 is disposed at the rear end of the capsule core 110. The elastic washer 112 has a circular structure. Its upper surface is in close contact with the capsule core rear end face 111, and its lower surface is in close contact with the second end face. Before assembly, the capsule core 110 is inserted into the front shell 109, and then the tail cap 116 with the sealing ring 114 is screwed onto the front shell 109. The sealing ring 114 is in close contact with the end face and side wall of the connection part between the front shell 109 and the tail cap 116, thereby achieving a double sealing effect. At this time, the second end face 102 of the second connection part 115 of the tail cap 116 is in close contact with the elastic washer 112. Since the elastic washer 112 is made of high polymer elastic material, this contact surface can be interference-fitted, thereby positioning the capsule core 110 in the axial direction of the capsule endoscope and preventing it from shaking in the shell.

[0035] Please refer to Figure 4 The assembly diagram of the capsule endoscope of the present invention further shows that the outer wall 106 of the front shell 109 is provided with a first scale 401 and a second scale 402, and the outer wall 106 of the tail cap 116 is provided with a third scale 403. After the threads are tightened several times, the upper surface 203 of the sealing ring begins to contact the first end face 107 of the first connecting part 113 of the front shell 109. When the threads are tightened further, the third scale 403 is located between the first scale 401 and the second scale 402, which indicates that the threads have been tightened to the correct position, thereby preventing the capsule endoscope from leaking due to poor sealing caused by the threads not being tightened to the correct position, or preventing the outer shell from breaking due to excessive tightening of the threads.

[0036] The sealing ring of the present invention can be tightly connected to both the front and rear shells. When the threads are tightened, the sealing ring is squeezed more and more in the axial and radial directions of the capsule endoscope, thereby making the sealing ring in close contact with the end face and side face of the connection between the front shell and the tail cover, achieving a double sealing effect and making the sealing performance more reliable.

[0037] In summary, the sealing device of the present invention has more reliable sealing performance and simpler assembly process, thereby enabling the reuse of the capsule core and avoiding the waste of a large number of electronic components.

[0038] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A sealing device comprising a front housing and a rear cover, wherein the front housing is provided with a first connecting portion, and the rear cover is provided with a second connecting portion, the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion being connected to each other by threads, characterized in that, A sealing ring is also provided within the contact space between the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion. The sealing ring has a first part and a second part, the first part and the second part being integrally formed. The second part extends into the space of the contact portion between the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion. The first connecting portion has a first end face and a first inner sidewall, and the second connecting portion has a second end face, a stepped surface, and a second outer sidewall. The sealing ring is disposed between the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion. The first part of the sealing ring has an upper surface and a lower surface, the upper surface and the lower surface respectively contacting the first end face and the stepped surface. The upper surface forms an angle β1 with the capsule axis, where 90° < β1 < 180°; the first end face forms an angle β2 with the capsule axis, where 90° < β2 < 180°, and β1 ≥ β2; the second part of the sealing ring has an inner side and an outer side, the outer side is in contact with the first inner sidewall, and the outer side forms an angle α1 with the capsule axis, where 0° < α1 < 90°; the first inner sidewall forms an angle α2 with the capsule axis, where 0° < α2 < 90°, and α1 ≥ α2; the lower surface of the sealing ring forms an angle θ1 with the capsule axis, where 90° ≤ θ1 < 180°; The first and second portions of the sealing ring have cross-sections that are either L-shaped or V-shaped. The sealing ring is made of synthetic rubber; The sealing ring and the tail cap are integrally formed by secondary injection molding or double injection molding. The outer wall of the front shell is provided with a first scale and a second scale, and the outer wall of the tail cover is provided with a third scale. When the third scale is located between the first scale and the second scale, it indicates that the threaded connection between the front shell and the tail cover is in place.

2. A capsule endoscope, characterized in that, The capsule endoscope uses the sealing device described in claim 1.

3. The capsule endoscope as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The sealing device is further provided with a capsule core in the cavity formed by the front shell and the tail cap. An elastic washer is provided at the rear end of the capsule core. The elastic washer has a circular structure. The upper surface of the elastic washer is in close contact with the rear end face of the capsule core, and the lower surface of the elastic washer is in close contact with the second end face.

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