Endoscope Camera Head Mounting Unit Friction Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing endoscope and camera head configurations experience high friction resistance due to a large contact area, which degrades operability when rotating around the central axis, making it difficult to maintain precise alignment and image quality, especially with high-pixel image sensors.
Innovation Solution
The camera head features a mounting unit with a facing surface and pressing portions that project towards an abutting surface, forming a smaller contact area, allowing for relative rotation with reduced friction and improved alignment by using projecting portions that abut the eyepiece unit, thereby reducing friction resistance and enhancing operability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the eyepiece unit and mounting unit have large contact area for stable connection, then connection stability is improved, but friction resistance increases and operability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The contact interface is segmented into multiple discrete pressing portions (first, second, third pressing portions) distributed around the circumference, rather than a continuous large contact area. This segmentation reduces total friction while maintaining stable connection through distributed contact points.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressing portions are strategically positioned at specific locations (e.g., 120 degrees apart) to provide localized contact points that ensure stable connection. The local quality of contact is optimized by concentrating pressure at specific points rather than distributing it uniformly across a large area.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the eyepiece unit and mounting unit have large contact area, then connection stability is improved, but friction resistance increases causing image blurring
Solution Approach 1:
The contact interface is divided into multiple discrete pressing portions that minimize total contact area and friction. This segmentation allows the endoscope to rotate smoothly during alignment while maintaining stable connection, preventing image blurring during the alignment process.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressing portions are designed to maintain stable connection during dynamic alignment operations. The distributed contact points allow for smooth rotation and adjustment while keeping the endoscope firmly connected, enabling precise alignment without friction-induced blurring.
3Reliability
If pressing force is increased to improve connection stability, then connection reliability is improved, but friction resistance increases and operability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The total pressing force is distributed across multiple discrete pressing portions (first, second, third pressing portions) around the circumference. This segmentation allows for high connection reliability through cumulative pressing force while maintaining low friction at each individual contact point, enabling smooth rotation during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressing force is applied locally at specific discrete points rather than uniformly across a large area. This local quality approach concentrates force at specific pressing portions to ensure reliable connection while minimizing total friction, as each localized contact point generates less friction than a continuous large-area contact.
Data Source
AI summary
A camera head includes a mounting unit detachably connected to an eyepiece unit of an endoscope, the camera head capturing an object image emitted from the eyepiece unit. The eyepiece unit includes an abutting surface that is orthogonal to a central axis along an insertion direction of the endoscope into a subject, and the abutting surface extending over an entire circumference in a circumferential direction around the central axis. The mounting unit is connected to the eyepiece unit and is configured to relatively rotate the endoscope and the camera head around the central axis. The mounting unit includes a facing surface that faces the abutting surface, and a pressing portion that abuts the eyepiece unit and presses the eyepiece unit toward the facing surface along the central axis. The facing surface includes a projecting portion that projects toward the abutting surface and abuts the abutting surface.