Endoscope Handle Frame Integration for Assembly Simplification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing endoscope handles are complex to manufacture and assemble, making it difficult to inspect, test, and validate their functions, especially in disposable endoscopes, which can lead to defects going undetected and resulting in the entire device being discarded.
Innovation Solution
An endoscope handle with a frame formed as a single component, incorporating a liquid-tight chamber for the circuit and ergonomic shell parts, allowing for simplified manufacturing and assembly, with features like integrated channels for steering wires and liquid-sealed ports for cables, enabling pre-assembly testing of steering wires and improved assembly processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the endoscope handle uses multiple separate components for the frame and shell parts, then the assembly can accommodate functional components, but the manufacturing and assembly process becomes complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the frame and shell parts into a single integrated component formed as one piece. This eliminates the need for separate assembly operations between frame and shell, reducing assembly complexity while maintaining the ability to accommodate functional components like circuits, steering wires, and control devices within the unified structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The single integrated component serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides structural support as a frame, forms the outer protective shell, creates liquid-tight chambers for electronics, and incorporates channels for wiring. This multi-functionality reduces the number of parts needed while addressing all structural requirements.
2Ease of manufacture
If the endoscope handle is designed as a single integrated component, then manufacturing and assembly are simplified, but inspection and testing of functional components becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the single integrated component into distinct functional zones with accessible openings and chambers. The liquid-tight chamber for the circuit board is separable from the shell, and channels for steering wires are accessible, allowing inspection and testing of individual functional components while maintaining the overall integrated structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The design allows preliminary assembly and testing of functional components (circuits, steering wires, control devices) within the integrated structure before final encapsulation. The accessible channels and chambers enable pre-assembly testing to detect defects early, reducing the need to discard the entire endoscope handle.
3Reliability
If functional components are enclosed within shell parts, then the endoscope handle is protected, but defects in these components become difficult or impossible to remedy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables preliminary testing and validation of functional components (circuits, steering wires, control devices) within the integrated structure before final encapsulation. This allows defects to be detected and remedied early in the assembly process while components are still accessible, rather than after encapsulation when remediation would be difficult or impossible.
Solution Approach 2:
The liquid-tight chamber for the circuit is designed as a separable component from the shell, allowing the circuit to be accessed, inspected, and replaced if defective. The channels for steering wires are also accessible, enabling inspection and remediation of wiring issues without compromising the overall protected structure.
Data Source
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AI summary
An endoscope handle for an endoscope for visually inspecting inaccessible places, such as human body cavities, the endoscope handle comprising: a frame (70) comprising a first wall portion (101) formed as an integral portion of the frame, the frame being formed as a single component; a liquid-tight chamber (100) accommodating a circuit (25), preferably a printed circuit board, of the endoscope handle, wherein the liquid-tight chamber is at least partly defined by the first wall portion of the frame; and a first shell part (60) and a second shell part (60') together enclosing a cavity (63), the shell parts accommodating and securing the frame within the cavity, the shell parts forming an exterior surface (68) shaped to form an ergonomic grip for an operator, wherein the shell parts and the frame each are formed as separate components.