Endoscope Tip Cavity Interposer for Coplanar Camera and LED Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
In endoscopes, the placement of LEDs and chip-type electronic cameras on a single flat substrate at the distal end can result in the cameras shading portions of the field of view due to the thickness difference, where LEDs are thinner than cameras.
Innovation Solution
A cavity interposer is used, allowing for the surface-mounting of a camera with a lens at the same level as adjacent LEDs, with bondpads and feedthroughs to connect them to a cable, enabling the LED and camera to be positioned without obstructing the view, and incorporating a transparent protective window to maintain functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If LEDs and chip-type electronic cameras are surface-mounted on a single flat substrate, then the device structure is simple and manufacturing is easy, but the cameras shade portions of the field of view due to thickness differences
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a two-dimensional flat substrate mounting to a three-dimensional cavity-based mounting structure. The cavity interposer provides vertical depth (z-dimension) allowing the camera to be positioned at a different level than the LED, eliminating the field of view obstruction while maintaining coplanar appearance at the surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The camera is nested within a cavity in the interposer substrate, with the cavity providing a recessed space that accommodates the thicker camera component. This nesting approach allows the camera to be housed within the substrate structure rather than mounted on the surface, solving the height differential problem.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the camera is positioned higher to avoid shading the field of view, then the field of view is unobstructed, but the camera and LED are no longer coplanar and the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cavity interposer acts as an intermediary structure between the camera and the external environment. It provides the cavity for housing the camera at a lower level while presenting a coplanar surface with the LED, mediating between the conflicting requirements of field of view clearance and coplanar appearance.
Solution Approach 2:
The interposer substrate has different local properties: a recessed cavity region for housing the camera and a coplanar surface region for the LED mounting. This local differentiation allows each component to be positioned optimally while maintaining overall coplanarity at the surface level.
Data Source
AI summary
A cavity interposer has a cavity, first bondpads adapted to couple to a chip-type camera cube disposed within a base of the cavity at a first level, the first bondpads coupled through feedthroughs to second bondpads at a base of the interposer at a second level; and third bondpads adapted to couple to a light-emitting diode (LED), the third bondpads at a third level. The third bondpads coupled to fourth bondpads at the base of the interposer at the second level; and the second and fourth bondpads couple to conductors of a cable with the first, second, and third level different. An endoscope optical includes the cavity interposer an LED, and a chip-type camera cube electrically bonded to the first bondpads; the LED is bonded to the third bondpads; and a top of the chip-type camera cube and a top of the LED are at a same level.