Endoscope and method of manufacturing the same

Abstract

An endoscope comprises a front and rear arranged and head to tail connected front end shell and a snake bone tube, the rear side of the front end shell is open, the front part of the front end shell is provided with a lens hole, a light source hole and an instrument channel, the rear part in the front end shell is provided with a first PCB board which is vertically arranged and whose normal direction is front and rear, the front side of the first PCB board is provided with a lens assembly and a plurality of light source assemblies by SMT, the lens assembly and the light source assembly are respectively opposite to the lens hole and the light source hole, the rear side of the first PCB board is provided with a horizontally arranged FPC soft board whose length direction is front and rear, the FPC soft board is located in the snake bone tube, the front side of the FPC soft board is bent by 90 DEG and is connected with the first PCB board, the FPC soft board is close to the rear side and is provided with a second PCB board which is matched with the FPC soft board, the second PCB board is connected with a signal adapter plate through a connector male and female socket. The structure design is reasonable, the reliability is high, the processing and the automatic production are convenient, and the anti-interference ability is strong during use.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to an endoscope and a method for manufacturing the same. Background Technology

[0002] Endoscopes, as cutting-edge technological fusions, integrate advanced technologies such as optics, mechanics, electronics, and software. Their core components include image sensors, high-precision optical lenses, stable light sources, high-efficiency signal transmission lines, and precision mechanical devices. They possess exceptional invasive detection capabilities, easily traversing various cavities or openings to penetrate deep into the body for observation, thus finding widespread application in both medical and industrial fields. In the medical field, endoscopes are crucial auxiliary tools for doctors in disease diagnosis and treatment. Through them, doctors can directly observe the patient's internal condition, leading to more accurate diagnoses. The design of endoscopes fully considers the need for access to confined spaces; their small head and slender insertion section make it easy to penetrate narrow areas for observation, greatly improving the efficiency and accuracy of diagnosis and treatment.

[0003] The design and manufacturing processes commonly used in the current endoscope industry are as follows:

[0004] Industry Solution 1:

[0005] See Figure 1 Structurally, it includes a front shell 1 and a snake-bone tube 3 arranged front to back and connected end to end. The rear side of the front shell 1 is open, and the front of the front shell 1 is provided with a lens hole, a light source hole and an instrument passage. The front shell 1 is provided with a lens assembly 21 and several light source assemblies 22. The lens assembly 21 and the light source assembly 22 are respectively aligned with the lens hole and the light source hole (the light source hole is generally a blind hole, and the light source light passes through the thin wall of the front shell to illuminate the subject). The lens assembly 21 and the light source assembly 22 are directly connected to the signal line 3a by welding. The signal line 3a passes through the snake-bone tube 3 and is welded to the contact point on the rear signal adapter plate 4.

[0006] The disadvantages of this structure are:

[0007] 1. Direct wire bonding of tiny components such as lens assemblies and light source assemblies is difficult and unreliable;

[0008] 2. The installation process inside the front housing is cumbersome;

[0009] 3. Fixing the device inside the front housing requires a surface adhesive process, which can easily cause color distortion of the light source and poor anti-static and voltage resistance effects.

[0010] 4. It is difficult to thread the signal cable inside the snake bone tube;

[0011] 5. Soldering the signal lines to the contacts on the signal adapter board is difficult, unreliable, and results in low overall processing and assembly efficiency.

[0012] Industry solution 2:

[0013] Reference Figure 2 On the basis of the above-mentioned industry solution 1, an improved solution is proposed, and the structures of the first end shell 1, the snake bone pipe 3, the lens assembly 21 and the light source assembly 22 are unchanged. The adapter plate 211 is welded on the back of the image sensor in the lens assembly 21. Although the difficulty of directly welding the signal line 3a to the tiny pad of the chip is reduced, the process of welding the adapter plate 211 is increased, and manual welding is still used, which is complicated and has no substantial improvement on the industry solution 1.

[0014] Industry solution 3:

[0015] Reference Figure 3 On the basis of the above-mentioned industry solution 2, the structures of the first end shell 1, the snake bone pipe 3, the lens assembly 21 and the light source assembly 22 are unchanged. Each tiny device is individually matched with a PCB board, and the signal line is replaced by an FPC soft board 3b. The front side of the FPC soft board 3b is branched 3c as needed, each branch 3c is individually bent and welded with the corresponding PCB board. The FPC soft board 3b protrudes from the hard PCB board after bending, and cannot leave space, which cannot avoid the FPC soft board 3b being crushed at the bending part and easily breaking the internal conductive layer. The bending structure of the FPC soft board 3b at the light source assembly makes it difficult to assemble with the first end shell 1, which makes the light source position inaccurate, resulting in inconsistent light distribution and uniformity.

[0016] Industry solution 4:

[0017] Reference Figure 4 On the basis of the above-mentioned industry solution 3, the structures of the first end shell 1, the snake bone pipe 3, the lens assembly 21 and the light source assembly 22 are unchanged. The FPC soft board is replaced by a soft and hard FPC board 3d, that is, the first and last ends use hard boards and the middle part uses soft boards. In addition, the lens assembly 21 and the light source assembly 22 share a PCB board. The problem is that the plate-to-plate welding between the back of the PCB and the soft and hard FPC board 3d is difficult to position and weld manually, and it is difficult to realize automatic processing.

[0018] In summary, when integrating multiple optoelectronic micro devices inside the existing small endoscope, the following status is faced:

[0019] 1. Challenge of manual welding:

[0020] 1.1. Technical bottleneck: When integrating multiple optoelectronic micro devices inside the small endoscope, due to the extremely limited space, the manual welding operation is difficult, not only the efficiency is low, but also the welding quality is difficult to guarantee, which seriously restricts the performance and reliability of the endoscope.

[0021] 1.2. Reliability issues: The precision and consistency of manual welding are difficult to control, which can easily lead to weak welding points, poor contact, and other problems, thereby affecting the stability and service life of the endoscope.

[0022] 2. Limitations of electrical clearance and creepage distance:

[0023] 2.1. Design limitations: Due to the small size of the endoscope insertion part, the electrical clearance and creepage distance are difficult to meet the strict safety standards, increasing the risk of equipment failure in complex electromagnetic environments.

[0024] 2.2. Electromagnetic interference and damage: The influence of static electric field and external electromagnetic environment on optical and electronic devices is intensified, which can easily cause interference, distortion, and even damage, seriously affecting the imaging quality and diagnostic accuracy of the endoscope.

[0025] 3. Challenges of small size integration:

[0026] 3.1. Space limitations: When integrating multiple optical and electronic devices in a small endoscope, the space is extremely limited. How to achieve efficient and stable integration in a small size range has become a problem to be solved.

[0027] 3.2. Performance balance: How to maximize the performance of optical and electronic devices while maintaining their stability and reliability in a limited space is an important challenge currently faced by technology. SUMMARY

[0028] The first technical problem to be solved by the present application is to provide an endoscope with a reasonable structure design, high reliability, easy processing and automated production, and strong anti-interference ability during use.

[0029] The second technical problem to be solved by the present application is to provide a manufacturing method for the above-mentioned endoscope, which is simple in steps, easy to process, and conducive to the improvement of production efficiency and yield.

[0030] To solve the above-mentioned first technical problem, the present application provides an endoscope, which comprises a tip shell and a snake bone tube arranged front and back and connected head to tail, the tip shell is open at the back side, the front part of the tip shell is provided with a lens hole, a light source hole and an instrument passage, the back part in the tip shell is provided with a first PCB board arranged vertically with the normal direction being front to back, the front side of the first PCB board is provided with a lens assembly and a plurality of light source assemblies by SMT, the lens assembly and the light source assembly are respectively opposite to the lens hole and the light source hole, the back side of the first PCB board is provided with a FPC soft board arranged horizontally with the length direction being front to back, the FPC soft board is located in the snake bone tube, the front side of the FPC soft board is bent by 70°-110° and connected with the first PCB board, the FPC soft board is provided with a second PCB board matched with the FPC soft board close to the back side, and the second PCB board is connected with a signal adapter plate through a connector male and female socket.

[0031] The advantages of the present application are as follows: the present application adopts SMT surface mounting process, and lens assemblies and light source assemblies are mounted on a PCB to realize high-density and high-precision integration, replacing manual welding and reducing human operation errors, thereby greatly improving the reliability of the endoscope as a whole.

[0032] To achieve better use effect of the present application, the preferred scheme is as follows:

[0033] Preferably, the first PCB is provided with a filling strip extending leftward and rightward at the inner corner of the bending of the FPC, the filling strip is in close contact with the inner corner of the bending of the FPC, the left and right ends of the filling strip are flush with the left and right edges of the FPC, and the circumferential side of the filling strip is provided with a circular arc chamfer at the contact position with the inner corner of the bending of the FPC.

[0034] Preferably, the cross section of the filling strip is circular.

[0035] The filling strip is arranged at the inner corner of the bending of the FPC, and the circular arc structure can ensure that the inner corner of the bending of the FPC is kept in a circular arc shape, avoiding the sharp corner of the bending to break the internal conductive layer of the FPC, the filling strip can be made of high-molecular resin forming material (such as PC, ABS, acrylic glue, epoxy glue, organic silicone glue, etc.) or hard metal forming material (such as stainless steel, etc.), and the shape of the filling strip can also be a whole cylinder, so that the contact surface with the FPC is necessarily a circular arc.

[0036] Preferably, a gap between the rear side of the first PCB and the outer corner of the bending of the FPC is provided with a caulking strip.

[0037] The caulking strip can prevent the FPC from being elastically reset, and the bending part of the FPC is clamped between the caulking strip and the filling strip, thereby protecting the structure of the bending part of the FPC.

[0038] Preferably, the FPC is provided with a protective tube on the circumferential outer side.

[0039] The protective tube has the functions of static electricity, voltage resistance, sealing, wear resistance and protection, can reduce the wear of the FPC during use, and ensures the safety in clinic and the stability of image transmission.

[0040] As preferred, the first PCB board is composed of a plurality of signal layers and ground layers, the conductive area of the ground layer covers the whole surface of the first PCB board, and the position of the ground layer is covered by the conductive area corresponding to the circumferential side edge of the first PCB board, the circumferential edge of the first PCB board is in contact with the inner wall of the tip shell, the FPC soft board is provided with a ground wire lead, one end of the ground wire lead is electrically connected with the ground layer, and the other end of the ground wire lead extends to the side of the FPC soft board away from the first PCB board.

[0041] The ground layer extends to the circumferential edge of the first PCB board, since the circumferential edge of the first PCB board is in contact with the inner wall of the tip shell, that is, the ground of the first PCB board is in conduction with the tip shell, and the external electrostatic breakdown thin wall can be directly conducted away through the ground, thereby protecting the internal photoelectric device.

[0042] As preferred, the first PCB board is provided with a recess at the position corresponding to the instrument channel opening of the tip shell, and the depth of the recess matches the uncovering area.

[0043] The recess of the first PCB board plays a role of giving way, leaving enough space for the instrument channel, facilitating clinical operation, and the depth of the recess will not affect the uncovering area, that is, the normal use of the instrument channel will not affect the mechanical strength of the connection between the FPC soft board and the first PCB board.

[0044] As preferred, the front side of the FPC soft board is bent by 90°.

[0045] To solve the above-mentioned second technical problem, the present application provides a manufacturing method of an endoscope, comprising the following steps:

[0046] Connecting the first PCB board and the front end of the FPC soft board;

[0047] Connecting the second PCB board and the rear end of the FPC soft board;

[0048] SMT patching the lens assembly and a plurality of light source assemblies to the first PCB board;

[0049] And bending the front side of the FPC soft board.

[0050] As preferred, it further comprises filling a filling strip in the inner corner of the FPC bending corner.

[0051] The method steps are simple and convenient to process, which is beneficial to the improvement of production efficiency and yield, and the filling strip can protect the internal conductive layer of the FPC. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0052] Figure 1 is a structural schematic diagram of an industry scheme 1 in the prior art.

[0053] Figure 2 is a structural schematic diagram of an industry scheme 2 in the prior art.

[0054] Figure 3 is the structural diagram of the prior art of industry solution 3.

[0055] Figure 4 is the structural diagram of the prior art of industry solution 4.

[0056] Figure 5 is the structural explosion diagram of the endoscope in the present application.

[0057] Figure 6 is the internal structural diagram of the endoscope in the present application (not showing the tip shell, the snake bone tube, the protection tube and the signal adapter plate).

[0058] Figure 7 is the structural section view of the FPC soft board bending part of the endoscope in the present application.

[0059] Figure 8 is another internal structural diagram of the endoscope in the present application (not showing the tip shell, the snake bone tube and the signal adapter plate).

[0060] Figure 9 is the structural principle diagram of the ground wire of the first PCB board in the present application (section view).

[0061] Figure 10 is the structural principle diagram of the ground wire of the first PCB board in the present application (perspective transparent view).

[0062] Figure 11 is the working state principle diagram of the ground wire layer in the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0063] Reference Figures 5-11The utility model provides an endoscope, including the front and rear arrangement and the head and tail joint first end shell 1 and the snake bone pipe 3, the first end shell 1 rear side is open, and the first end shell 1 front part is equipped with the lens hole, the light source hole and the instrument passage, the rear part in the first end shell 1 is equipped with the first PCB board 2 of vertical arrangement and the normal direction is front and rear trend, and the first PCB board 2 front side uses SMT and is equipped with lens assembly 21 and two light source assemblies 22, (lens assembly 21 generally includes lens and image sensor, both are integral structure or split structure, and the appearance has circular, square and various shapes, belong to mature technology, for simple problem, all use lens assembly 21 to describe in the embodiment), and lens assembly 21, light source assembly 22 are opposite with lens hole, light source hole (light source hole is generally blind hole, and light source light ray transmits through the thin wall of first end shell and illuminates the target of being photographed), and the rear side of first PCB board 2 is equipped with the FPC soft board 4 of horizontal arrangement length direction and front and rear trend, and FPC soft board 4 is located in the snake bone pipe 3, and FPC soft board 4 front side is bent 90 and is connected with the first PCB board 2 uncovering, and FPC soft board 4 is close to the side of the rear side and is equipped with the second PCB board 42 matched with FPC soft board 4, and the second PCB board 42 is connected with signal adapter plate 5 through the connector male and female socket, and part 421 in the drawing is connector plug, i.e. male head, and part 51 is connector socket, i.e. female head (need to explain, the snake bone pipe, FPC soft board are all bendable, in the embodiment, adopt horizontal, front and rear trend to describe it, to facilitate the position relation of each component, it can only represent a state).

[0064] The rear side of the first PCB board 2 corresponds to the bend inner corner of the FPC soft board 4 and is provided with a filling strip 24 in a left-right direction.

[0065] A gap between the rear side of the first PCB board 2 and the bend outer corner of the FPC board is provided with a gap-filling adhesive strip 25.

[0066] The FPC soft board 4 is provided with a protective tube 41 on the circumferential outer side.

[0067] The first PCB board 2 is composed of a plurality of signal layers 261 and ground layers 26, the conductive area of the ground layer 26 covers the entire surface of the first PCB board 2, and the conductive area covers the circumferential side of the first PCB board 2, the circumferential edge of the first PCB board 2 is in contact with the inner wall of the first end shell 1, the FPC soft board 4 is provided with a ground lead 43, one end of the ground lead 43 is electrically connected with the ground layer 26, and the other end of the ground lead 43 extends to the side of the FPC soft board 4 away from the first PCB board 2.

[0068] The first PCB board 2 is stacked by a plurality of signal layers and ground layers 26, the conductive area of the ground layer 26 covers the entire surface of the first PCB board 2, and the ground layer 26 is covered by the conductive area at the position corresponding to the circumferential side edge of the first PCB board, the circumferential edge of the first PCB board is in contact with the inner wall of the front end shell, the FPC soft board is provided with a ground wire lead, one end of the ground wire lead is electrically connected with the ground layer, and the other end of the ground wire lead extends to the side of the FPC soft board away from the first PCB board.

[0069] The first PCB board 2 is provided with a recess 23 at the position corresponding to the instrument channel opening of the front end shell 1, and the depth of the recess 23 matches the uncovering area.

[0070] The advantages of the present application are as follows: the SMT surface mounting process is adopted to realize high-density and high-precision integration of the lens assembly 21 and the light source assembly 22 on the PCB board, the manual welding mode is replaced, the human operation error is reduced, the reliability of the endoscope as a whole is greatly improved, the uncovering design is adopted for the connection mode of the FPC soft board 4 and the first PCB board 2, that is, the FPC soft board 4 is bent at the uncovering area, the FPC is hidden in the hard PCB board after being bent, the position is left for the pipeline, the FPC is also avoided from being extruded and broken at the bending part, the connector male and female sockets are connected between the signal adapter plate 5 and the second PCB board 42, so that the front assembly can be performed first, and then the signal adapter plate 5 is connected, and the production and assembly of the endoscope are facilitated.

[0071] The filling strip 24 is arranged at the bending inner corner of the FPC soft board 4, the arc-shaped structure can ensure that the bending inner corner of the FPC soft board 4 is kept in an arc shape, the sharp bending corner is avoided to break the internal conductive layer of the FPC soft board 4, the material of the filling strip 24 can be a high-molecular resin forming material (such as PC, ABS, acrylic glue, epoxy glue, organic silicone glue, etc.) or a hard metal forming material (such as stainless steel, etc.), in addition, the shape of the filling strip 24 can also be a whole cylindrical shape, so that the contact surface of the FPC soft board 4 is necessarily arc-shaped.

[0072] The caulking glue strip 25 can prevent the FPC soft board 4 from being elastically returned, the bending part of the FPC soft board 4 is clamped between the caulking glue strip 25 and the filling strip 24, and the structure of the bending part of the FPC soft board 4 is also protected, the material of the caulking glue strip 25 can be acrylic, such as UV glue, or low-temperature epoxy glue, or organic silicone moisture curing glue.

[0073] The protective tube 41 has the functions of static electricity, voltage resistance, sealing and wear resistance protection, can reduce the wear of the FPC soft board 4 in the use process, and ensure the safety in the clinic and the stability of image transmission.

[0074] The ground layer 26 extends to the circumferential edge of the first PCB board 2. Since the circumferential edge of the first PCB board 2 is in contact with the inner wall of the tip shell 1, the ground of the first PCB board 2 is in conduction with the tip shell 1. The external electrostatic breakdown thin wall can be directly conducted away through the ground, protecting the internal photoelectric device.

[0075] The recess 23 of the first PCB board 2 plays a role of giving way, leaving enough space for the instrument channel, facilitating clinical operation. In addition, the depth of the recess 23 will not affect the uncovering area, that is, the normal use of the instrument channel will not affect the mechanical strength of the connection between the FPC soft board 4 and the first PCB board 2.

[0076] A manufacturing method of an endoscope, comprising the following steps:

[0077] Connecting the front end of the first PCB board 2 and the FPC soft board 4;

[0078] Connecting the rear end of the second PCB board 42 and the FPC soft board 4;

[0079] SMT patching the lens assembly 21 and a plurality of light source assemblies 22 to the first PCB board 2;

[0080] And bending the front side of the FPC soft board 4.

[0081] Further comprising filling the filler strip 24 in the inner corner of the bent corner of the FPC soft board 4.

[0082] In the above embodiment: the snake bone tube and the FPC soft board are all foldable. In this embodiment, the horizontal backward is only convenient for structural description.

Claims

1. An endoscope comprising a tip housing and a snake tube arranged in front and back and connected head to tail, the tip housing being open at the back side, the tip housing being provided with a lens hole, a light source hole and an instrument passage opening, characterized in that: The rear part of the front end shell is provided with a first PCB board arranged vertically and having a normal direction in the front-rear direction, the front side of the first PCB board is provided with a lens assembly and a plurality of light source assemblies by SMT, the lens assembly and the light source assembly are respectively opposite to the lens hole and the light source hole, the rear side of the first PCB board is provided with a FPC soft board arranged horizontally and having a length direction in the front-rear direction, the FPC soft board is located in the snake bone pipe, the front side of the FPC soft board is bent by 70-110 degrees and is connected with the first PCB board, the rear side of the FPC soft board is provided with a second PCB board matched with the FPC soft board, and the second PCB board is connected with a signal adapter plate through a connector.

2. An endoscope according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first PCB board is formed by stacking a plurality of signal layers and ground layers, the conductive area of the ground layer covers the entire surface of the first PCB board, and the position of the ground layer is covered by the conductive area corresponding to the circumferential side of the first PCB board, the circumferential edge of the first PCB board is in contact with the inner wall of the front end shell, the FPC soft board is provided with a ground wire, one end of the ground wire is electrically connected with the ground layer, and the other end of the ground wire extends to the side of the FPC soft board away from the first PCB board.

3. An endoscope according to claim 2, wherein: The first PCB board is formed by stacking a plurality of signal layers and ground layers, the conductive area of the ground layer covers the entire surface of the first PCB board, and the position of the ground layer is covered by the conductive area corresponding to the circumferential side of the first PCB board, the circumferential edge of the first PCB board is in contact with the inner wall of the front end shell, the FPC soft board is provided with a ground wire, one end of the ground wire is electrically connected with the ground layer, and the other end of the ground wire extends to the side of the FPC soft board away from the first PCB board.

4. An endoscope according to claim 1, characterized in that: The gap between the rear side of the first PCB board and the bending outer corner of the FPC board is provided with a caulking strip.

5. An endoscope according to claim 1, wherein: The circumferential outer side of the FPC soft board is provided with a protective tube.

6. An endoscope according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first PCB board is provided with a recess corresponding to the instrument passage of the front end shell.

7. An endoscope according to claim 1, wherein: The front side of the FPC soft board is bent by 90 degrees.

8. A method for manufacturing the endoscope according to any one of claims 1-7, comprising the following steps: connecting the front ends of the first PCB board and the FPC soft board; connecting the rear ends of the second PCB board and the FPC soft board; SMT patching the lens assembly and the plurality of light source assemblies to the first PCB board; and bending the front side of the FPC soft board.

9. The method of manufacturing an endoscope of claim 8, wherein: It also includes filling the filling strip in the inner corner of the FPC bending corner.

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