A circuit structure, front-end component and endoscope

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of endoscope technology, and specifically to a circuit structure, a front-end component and an endoscope. The disclosed circuit structure includes a connecting part and a mounting part connected to the distal end of the connecting part, the mounting part having a camera module mounting area and a lighting module mounting area, the lighting module mounting area being distributed on at least one side of the camera module mounting area, and the connecting part being connected between the camera module mounting area and the lighting module mounting area; in the above scheme, there is a transition area between the camera module mounting area and the lighting module mounting area of ​​the mounting part, and connecting the connecting part to the transition area can prevent the camera module mounting area or the lighting module mounting area from being pulled by the connecting part, thereby preventing the camera module or the lighting module from being separated from the mounting part, and improving the stability of the connection between the camera module and the lighting module and the mounting part. At the same time, this method also optimizes the spatial layout of the circuit structure, which is conducive to the miniaturization development of the front-end component of the endoscope.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of endoscopes, and in particular to a circuit structure, a front-end component and an endoscope. Background Art

[0002] An endoscope is a commonly used medical device, comprising an operating handle and an insertion part. The insertion part can enter the human body through a human cavity or surgical incision. By turning the lever on the operating handle, the active bending section at the distal end of the insertion part can be driven to adjust its posture. The camera module at the distal end of the insertion part can observe the internal tissues of the human body, helping doctors determine the location of lesions in the patient's body and the tissue structure characteristics of the lesion location.

[0003] The distal end of the insertion portion has a front-end assembly, which generally includes a lens mount and a camera module, an illumination module, and a circuit structure installed in the lens mount. The camera module and the illumination module are electrically connected to the circuit structure respectively to ensure the normal use functions of the camera module and the illumination module. The endoscope in the related art is prone to the situation where the camera module or the illumination module is separated from the circuit structure during use, thereby causing the loss of function of the camera module or the illumination module, affecting the stability of the endoscope. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Based on this, the present application provides a circuit structure, a front-end component and an endoscope to solve the technical problem in the related art that the camera module or the lighting module is separated from the circuit structure, which affects the stability of the endoscope.

[0005] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a circuit structure for use in an endoscope, the circuit structure comprising a connecting portion and a mounting portion, wherein the mounting portion is connected to a distal end of the connecting portion; wherein:

[0007] The mounting portion has a camera module mounting area and a lighting module mounting area, the lighting module mounting area is distributed on at least one side of the camera module mounting area, and the connecting portion is connected between the camera module mounting area and the lighting module mounting area.

[0008] Furthermore, the mounting portion is in an arc-shaped sheet structure, so that the mounting portion forms an instrument tube avoidance area on its radial inner side, and the connecting portion is connected to the radial outer side of the mounting portion.

[0009] Furthermore, a slit is provided at the junction of the mounting portion and the connecting portion, so that the projection of the connecting portion in the first direction and the projection of the mounting portion in the first direction have at least an overlapping portion, and the first direction is perpendicular to the mounting surface area of ​​the mounting portion.

[0010] Furthermore, the slit includes a first slit and a second slit, the first slit is adjacent to the camera module installation area, the second slit is adjacent to the lighting module installation area, the length of the first slit is the same as the length of the second slit, or the length of the second slit is greater than the length of the first slit.

[0011] Furthermore, the connecting portion is a flexible circuit board, and the mounting portion is a hard circuit board or a flexible circuit board.

[0012] In the second aspect, the present application provides a front-end component, including a lens mount, a camera module, a lighting module and the aforementioned circuit structure, the mounting portion of the circuit structure is arranged in the lens mount, the camera module is arranged in the camera module mounting area, and the lighting module is arranged in the lighting module mounting area.

[0013] Furthermore, the lens mount is provided with a wire groove corresponding to the connecting portion, and a portion of the connecting portion is located in the wire groove.

[0014] Furthermore, the front-end assembly also includes an active bending section, which is distributed at the proximal end of the lens mount. The active bending section is provided with a traction rope mounting portion, and the portion of the connecting portion located within the active bending section corresponds to the position of the traction rope mounting portion.

[0015] Furthermore, the front-end assembly also includes an intermediate adapter, which is a tubular structure and is connected between the active bending section and the lens mount.

[0016] In a third aspect, the present application provides an endoscope comprising the aforementioned front end assembly.

[0017] The technical solution adopted by the present invention can achieve the following beneficial effects:

[0018] First, there is a transition area between the camera module mounting area and the lighting module mounting area of ​​the mounting portion. Connecting the connecting portion to the transition area can avoid the situation where the camera module mounting area or the lighting module mounting area is directly connected to the connecting portion, and the camera module mounting area or the lighting module mounting area is pulled and deformed by the connecting portion and separated from the corresponding module, thereby ensuring the stability of the connection between the camera module and the lighting module and the mounting portion;

[0019] Second, compared with the design method in which the connecting part of the traditional endoscope is located in the distribution direction of the camera module and the instrument tube, the connecting part is connected in the transition area between the camera module installation area and the lighting module installation area, that is, the connecting part is offset in the distribution direction of the camera module and the instrument tube. This method avoids the need for the front-end component to expand the accommodating area for accommodating the connecting part in the distribution direction of the camera module and the instrument tube, that is, optimizes the spatial layout of the circuit structure, which is conducive to the miniaturization development of the front-end component of the endoscope. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0021] Figure 1 This is one of the schematic diagrams of the circuit structure of an embodiment of the present application;

[0022] Figure 2 This is the second structural diagram of the circuit structure of the embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the connection between the camera module, the lighting module and the circuit structure of the embodiment of the present application;

[0024] Figure 4 This is one of the structural diagrams of the front-end components of an embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 5 This is the second structural diagram of the front-end component of the embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Figure 6 This is the third structural diagram of the front-end component of the embodiment of the present application;

[0027] In the picture:

[0028] 110-connecting part, 111-first extension section, 112-bending section, 113-second extension section; 120-mounting part, 121-slit, 121a-first slit, 121b-second slit; 200-lens mount, 210-wire groove; 300-camera module; 400-illumination module; 500-active bending section; 510-traction rope mounting part; 600-intermediate adapter. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention more apparent, the technical solutions of the present invention will be described in detail below. Obviously, the embodiments described are only some of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other implementations obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0030] The terms "first," "second," and the like in the specification and claims of this application are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not used to describe a specific order or precedence. It should be understood that the terms used in this manner are interchangeable where appropriate, so that the embodiments of this application can be implemented in an order other than that illustrated or described herein, and that the objects distinguished by "first," "second," and the like are generally of the same type, and do not limit the number of objects; for example, the first object can be one or more. In addition, the term "and / or" in the specification and claims refers to at least one of the connected objects, and the character " / " generally indicates that the objects connected are in an "or" relationship.

[0031] In the present invention, "proximal" and "distal" refer to the distance between the structure and the human body in the use environment, so as to facilitate the description of the positional relationship between the components and facilitate understanding; "proximal" and "distal" are relative positional relationships, not absolute.

[0032] The following is combined with Figures 1 to 6 , the circuit structure, front-end components and endoscope provided in the embodiments of the present application are described in detail through specific embodiments and their application scenarios.

[0033] See Figures 1 to 3 The embodiment of the present application discloses a circuit structure for use in an endoscope. The disclosed circuit structure includes a connecting portion 110 and a mounting portion 120. The mounting portion 120 is connected to the distal end of the connecting portion 110, wherein the mounting portion 120 is used to install functional modules at the distal end of the endoscope, such as a camera module 300 and a lighting module 400. The connecting portion 110 is used to electrically connect the aforementioned functional modules to perform functions such as power supply, data transmission, and signal transmission.

[0034] Specifically, the mounting portion 120 has a camera module mounting area and a lighting module mounting area. The camera module 300 is arranged in the camera module mounting area, and the lighting module 400 is arranged in the lighting module mounting area. The mounting portion 120 has a transition area between the camera module mounting area and the lighting module mounting area, and the connecting portion 110 is connected to the transition area.

[0035] In the related art, the circuit structure of an endoscope usually adopts a flexible circuit board, which also includes a connecting portion and a mounting portion connected to the distal end of the connecting portion. The camera module is arranged in the camera module mounting area of ​​the mounting portion, and the lighting module is arranged in the lighting module mounting area of ​​the mounting portion. However, during the research process, the inventor found that the connecting portion in the related art is usually directly connected to the camera module mounting area. When the active bending section of the endoscope bends, the camera module mounting area is pulled by the connecting portion and deformed significantly, resulting in the connection contact between the camera module and the camera module mounting area being broken, that is, the camera module and the camera module mounting area are partially separated, resulting in the loss of function of the camera module and poor stability in use of the endoscope.

[0036] In the embodiment of the present application, the connecting portion 110 is connected to the transition area between the camera module installation area and the lighting module installation area, which can prevent the camera module installation area or the lighting module installation area from being pulled by the connecting portion 110 and causing large deformation, resulting in the camera module 300 and the camera module installation area being peeled off, or the lighting module 400 and the lighting module installation area being peeled off from each other, thereby ensuring the stability of the connection between the camera module 300 and the lighting module 400 and the installation portion 120.

[0037] At the same time, the connecting portion 110 is connected to the transition area between the camera module installation area and the lighting module installation area, so that the connecting portion 110 is biased to one side of the distribution direction of the camera module 300 and the instrument tube. This method avoids the need to expand the accommodating area for accommodating the connecting portion 110 in the distribution direction of the camera module 300 and the instrument tube, optimizes the spatial layout of the circuit structure, and is conducive to the miniaturization development of the front-end components of the endoscope.

[0038] In an embodiment of the present application, the mounting portion 120 is an arc-shaped sheet structure, so that the mounting portion 120 forms an instrument tube avoidance area on its radial inner side, and the connecting portion 110 is connected to the radial outer side of the mounting portion 120. When the circuit structure is placed in the endoscope, the instrument tube of the endoscope can be arranged in the instrument tube mounting area 200. In other words, the mounting portion 120 adopts a setting method of a circumferential portion surrounding the instrument tube, which reduces the space occupied by the two in the radial direction of the endoscope front end assembly, makes the layout of the endoscope front end assembly more compact, and is conducive to the miniaturization development of the endoscope front end assembly.

[0039] It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the connecting portion 110 is a flexible circuit board, and the mounting portion 120 is a hard circuit board or a flexible circuit board. That is, the circuit structure can be a combination of a hard circuit board and a flexible circuit board, or it can be an integrated flexible circuit board. The present application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0040] Please continue to see Figure 1 and Figure 2 A slit 121 is provided at the junction of the mounting portion 120 and the connecting portion 110, so that the projection of the connecting portion 110 in the first direction and the projection of the mounting portion 120 in the first direction have at least an overlapping part, and the first direction is perpendicular to the mounting surface area of ​​the mounting portion 120. In an embodiment of the present application, the aforementioned mounting surface area can be the distal end surface of the mounting portion 120, and the camera module 300 and the lighting module 400 are installed on the distal end surface of the mounting portion 120.

[0041] It is easy to understand that, based on the arrangement of the slits 121, the projection of the connecting portion 110 in the first direction may partially or entirely fall within the projection area of ​​the mounting portion 120 in the first direction. With this arrangement, the connecting portion 110 requires no or only a small amount of additional space in the radial direction of the front-end assembly, which is conducive to the miniaturization of the front-end assembly of the endoscope. At the same time, when the active bending section of the endoscope bends, the presence of the slits 121 can reduce the tensile stress of the connecting portion 110 on the mounting portion 120, thereby reducing or even avoiding the deformation of the camera module mounting area and the lighting module mounting area, and improving the stability of the connection between the corresponding modules and the mounting portion 120.

[0042] In an embodiment of the present application, the slit 121 may include a first slit 121a and a second slit 121b, the first slit 121a is adjacent to the camera module installation area, and the second slit 121b is adjacent to the lighting module installation area. In an optional embodiment, the length of the first slit 121a is the same as the length of the second slit 121b.

[0043] Please continue to see Figure 1 and Figure 2 During the research process, the inventors found that the area of ​​the camera module installation area is usually larger than the area of ​​the lighting module installation area. When the connecting portion 110 bends along with the active bending section 500 and pulls the installation portion 120 to deform, the lighting module installation area is more likely to be disturbed and deflected and deformed. In other words, the lighting module 400 is more likely to detach from the lighting module installation area.

[0044] Based on this situation, in another optional embodiment, the length of the second slit 121b is greater than the length of the first slit 121a. By setting the second slit 121b longer than the first slit 121a, the tensile stress of the connecting portion 110 on the lighting module installation area can be further reduced, thereby reducing the possibility of deformation in the camera module installation area.

[0045] Please continue to see Figure 1In an embodiment of the present application, the connecting portion 110 includes a first extension segment 111, a bending segment 112 and a second extension segment 113 connected in sequence. The extension direction of the first extension segment 111 is parallel to the extension direction of the second extension segment 113, and the entire connecting portion 110 is extended toward the proximal end of the endoscope.

[0046] Among them, the distal end of the first extension section 111 is used to connect to the aforementioned mounting portion 120, the bending section 112 is connected to the proximal end of the first extension section 111, and is used to change the extension position of the connecting portion 110, the distal end of the second extension section 113 is connected to the bending section, and the proximal end of the second extension section 113 is extended toward the proximal end of the endoscope.

[0047] Based on the bending action of the bending section 112, the connecting portion 110 changes from the original extending position where the first extension section 111 is located to the extending position where the second extension section 113 is located. The first extension section 111 and the second extension section 113 are staggered and distributed in the circumferential direction of the mounting portion 120, while the direction in which the entire connecting portion 110 extends toward the proximal end of the endoscope remains unchanged. In this way, when the circuit structure is arranged on the endoscope, the first extension section 111 and the second extension section 113 can be distributed in different positions while having the same extending direction, thereby increasing the flexibility of the circuit structure arrangement.

[0048] At the same time, when the connecting part 110 is a flexible circuit board, the bending direction of the second extension section 113 can be kept consistent with the bending direction of the active bending section 500. During the bending of the active bending section 500, the second extension section 113 can bend synchronously with the active bending section 500, which can effectively avoid damage or even breakage of the connecting part 110, thereby ensuring the stability of the endoscope during use.

[0049] See Figures 4 to 6 The embodiment of the present application also provides a front-end component, including a lens holder 200, a camera module 300, a lighting module 400 and the aforementioned circuit structure, wherein the mounting portion 120 of the circuit structure is arranged in the lens holder 200, the camera module 300 is arranged in the camera module mounting area, and the lighting module 400 is arranged in the lighting module mounting area.

[0050] For further technical solutions, see Figure 5 The lens mount 200 is provided with a wire groove 210 corresponding to the connecting portion 110, and part of the connecting portion 110 is located in the wire groove 210. In the embodiment of the present application, at least part of the first extension section 111 of the connecting portion 110 is located in the wire groove 210. The wire groove 210 can restrain the first extension section 111 and prevent the first extension section 111 from jumping in the circumferential direction of the lens mount 200.

[0051] In a further technical solution, the front-end component also includes an active bending section 500, which is distributed at the proximal end of the lens holder 200. The active bending section 500 is provided with a traction rope mounting portion 510. The traction rope mounting portion 510 is used to install the traction rope. By turning the lever on the endoscope operating handle, the traction rope can be pulled, thereby driving the active bending section 500 to adjust the bending posture. The aforementioned second extension section 113 corresponds to the position of the traction rope mounting portion 510.

[0052] In the embodiment of the present application, the front-end assembly may further include an intermediate adapter 600 , which is a tubular structure, and the lens mount 200 is connected to the active bending section 500 via the intermediate adapter 600 .

[0053] In a further technical solution, the proximal end portion of the first extension section 111 protrudes from the proximal end face of the lens holder 200, and the distal end portion of the second extension section 113 protrudes from the distal end face of the active bending section 500; under such a setting, the bending section 112 extending along the circumference of the front end component can be completely located in the intermediate adapter 600. On the one hand, it can avoid the bending section 112 extending along the circumference of the front end component occupying the accommodation space of the lens holder 200, saving the accommodation space of the lens holder 200. On the other hand, the active bending section 500 completely falls within the extension path of the second extension section 113, that is, the bending of the active bending section 500 can only affect the second extension section 113 and cause it to be passively bent, but cannot affect the first extension section 111 and the bending section 112, which can completely avoid the situation where the connecting part 110 of the circuit structure is damaged or broken.

[0054] An embodiment of the present application also provides an endoscope, comprising the aforementioned front end assembly.

[0055] The endoscope in the embodiment of the present application may be a gastroscope, a colonoscope, a laryngoscope, a fiber bronchoscope, etc. The embodiment of the present application does not impose any specific restrictions on the type of endoscope.

[0056] It should be noted that, in this article, the terms "comprise", "include" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the statement "comprises a ..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device comprising the element. In addition, it should be noted that the scope of the methods and devices in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, and may also include performing functions in a substantially simultaneous manner or in the opposite order according to the functions involved. For example, the described method may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may also be added, omitted, or combined. In addition, the features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

[0057] The above description is only a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with this technical field can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention, which should be covered by the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A circuit structure, characterized in that: The endoscope comprises a connecting portion (110) and a mounting portion (120), wherein the mounting portion (120) is connected to the distal end of the connecting portion (110); wherein: the mounting portion (120) has a camera module mounting area and a lighting module mounting area, the lighting module mounting area is distributed on at least one side of the camera module mounting area, and the connecting portion (110) is connected between the camera module mounting area and the lighting module mounting area; the entire connecting portion (110) is extended toward the proximal end of the endoscope and extends at least into the active bending section of the endoscope; A slit (121) is provided at the junction between the mounting portion (120) and the connecting portion (110).

2. The circuit structure according to claim 1, wherein: The mounting portion (120) is an arc-shaped sheet structure, so that the mounting portion (120) forms an instrument tube avoidance area on its radial inner side, and the connecting portion (110) is connected to the radial outer side of the mounting portion (120).

3. The circuit structure according to claim 1, wherein: The projection of the connecting portion (110) in the first direction and the projection of the mounting portion (120) in the first direction have at least an overlapping portion, and the first direction is perpendicular to the mounting surface of the mounting portion (120).

4. The circuit structure according to claim 3, wherein: The slit (121) includes a first slit (121a) and a second slit (121b), wherein the first slit (121a) is adjacent to the camera module installation area, and the second slit (121b) is adjacent to the lighting module installation area, and the length of the first slit (121a) is the same as the length of the second slit (121b), or the length of the second slit (121b) is greater than the length of the first slit (121a).

5. The circuit structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The connecting portion (110) is a flexible circuit board, and the mounting portion (120) is a hard circuit board or a flexible circuit board.

6. A front-end component, characterized in that: It comprises a lens mount (200), a camera module (300), a lighting module (400) and a circuit structure according to any one of claims 1 to 5; wherein: the mounting portion (120) of the circuit structure is arranged in the lens mount (200), the camera module (300) is arranged in the camera module mounting area, and the lighting module (400) is arranged in the lighting module mounting area.

7. The front end assembly according to claim 6, characterized in that The lens mount (200) is provided with a wire groove (210) corresponding to the connecting portion (110), and a portion of the connecting portion (110) is located in the wire groove (210).

8. The front end assembly according to claim 6, characterized in that The front end assembly further comprises an active bending section (500), the active bending section (500) being distributed at the proximal end of the lens mount (200), the active bending section (500) being provided with a traction rope mounting portion (510), and the portion of the connecting portion (110) located within the active bending section (500) corresponding to the position of the traction rope mounting portion (510).

9. The front end assembly according to claim 8, characterized in that The front-end assembly further comprises an intermediate adapter (600), the intermediate adapter (600) being a tubular structure, and the intermediate adapter (600) being connected between the active bending section (500) and the lens mount (200).

10. An endoscope, characterized in that: The front-end assembly comprises any one of claims 6 to 9.

Images