Endoscope Illumination Optical Unit Adhesive Flow Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing endoscope illumination optical units face issues with adhesives flowing into the area where the fluorescent body is located, leading to gaps and potential deterioration of the fluorescent body and reflective film due to moisture and disinfectants, which reduces illumination intensity.
Innovation Solution
An illumination optical unit design that incorporates a sleeve member covering the fluorescent body and a protective cover with an adhesive containing glass beads to prevent adhesive flow, ensuring the adhesive seals the gap between the sleeve member and protective cover, and a silicon-based adhesive with light-scattering glass beads to suppress excessive flow and maintain contact with the fluorescent body.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a low-viscosity adhesive is used to bond the protective cover and sleeve member, then the bonding is easier and more uniform, but the adhesive flows into the fluorescent body position creating gaps and interfering with assembly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the viscosity parameter of the adhesive by adding glass beads to the adhesive composition. This modifies the adhesive's flow characteristics, allowing it to maintain bonding properties while preventing excessive flow into the fluorescent body position during assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite adhesive material by combining regular adhesive with glass beads. This composite formulation provides both the bonding functionality of the adhesive and the flow control properties of the glass beads, preventing the adhesive from flowing into the fluorescent body area while maintaining strong bonding between the protective cover and sleeve member.
2Strength
If the adhesive flows into the fluorescent body position, then the bonding area increases, but gaps are formed and the fluorescent body and reflective film deteriorate due to moisture and disinfectants
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the adhesive's physical parameters by incorporating glass beads, which changes the viscosity and flow characteristics. This ensures the adhesive remains in the bonding area and does not migrate to the fluorescent body position, maintaining both bonding strength and protection reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The glass beads act as an intermediary substance within the adhesive formulation. They mediate between the adhesive's bonding function and its flow control, preventing the adhesive from flowing too far while still providing adequate bonding strength between the protective cover and sleeve member.
3Manufacturing precision
If a high-viscosity adhesive is used to prevent adhesive flow, then the adhesive stays in position, but the bonding quality decreases and gaps may form
Solution Approach 1:
The patent develops a composite adhesive material combining regular adhesive with glass beads. This composite provides the flow control benefits of high-viscosity adhesive while maintaining the bonding strength of low-viscosity adhesive, as the glass beads prevent excessive flow without compromising the adhesive's bonding capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the adhesive's viscosity parameter through glass bead addition, achieving optimal flow control that prevents migration to the fluorescent body position while maintaining sufficient bonding strength for reliable attachment of the protective cover to the sleeve member.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Prevents adhesive flow into the fluorescent body area, maintains the integrity of the fluorescent body and reflective film, and ensures consistent illumination by using glass beads in the adhesive to fill the gap between the sleeve member and protective cover, thereby enhancing the durability and performance of the endoscope.
Implementation Method 1
an adhesive having glass beads mixed thereinto is disposed at a gap between the sleeve member and the protective cover
Implementation Method 2
an adhesive should be disposed between the protective cover and the sleeve member to firmly bond the protective cover and the sleeve member together
Implementation Method 3
a fluorescent body that is excited by the laser beam emitted from the optical fiber to emit florescent light and that forms white light including the fluorescent light and the laser beam
Implementation Method 4
an optical fiber that guides a laser beam supplied from a laser beam source to the distal end of the optical fiber and emits the guided laser beam from the distal end
Implementation Method 5
a reflective film with high reflectivity may be provided around the fluorescent body in order to efficiently use the excitation emission light as the illumination light
Data Source
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AI summary
An adhesive disposed between a protective cover and a sleeve member is prevented from flowing in to a position where a fluorescent body should be originally arranged. An illumination optical unit includes an optical fiber, a fluorescent body, a ferrule as a holding member holding the fluorescent body and the optical fiber, a tubular sleeve member that covers the outer periphery of the fluorescent body, and a protective cover that seals the distal end of the sleeve member. The ferrule holds the fluorescent body and is fitted into a fitting hole of the sleeve member. Since glass beads are mixed into an adhesive that bonds the protective cover to a receiving portion of the sleeve member, excessive flow of the adhesive can be suppressed.