Endoscope Image Pickup Unit Adhesive Outflow Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image pickup units in endoscopes face challenges in minimizing the size of clearance between components while maintaining image quality and ensuring the adhesive does not interfere with the movable lens's functionality, particularly in achieving varying focal lengths for zooming and focusing.
Innovation Solution
The image pickup unit incorporates a front group lens frame, a rear group lens frame, a correction frame, a movable lens frame, and a stopper to restrict movement along the optical axis, with adhesive bonding and an adhesive outflow preventing portion to manage excess adhesive and maintain slidability, allowing for precise focal length adjustments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If adhesive is applied to bond the front group lens frame to the rear group lens frame, then bonding strength is improved, but adhesive may flow out toward the movable lens side and interfere with the movable lens's sliding movement
Solution Approach 1:
The rear group lens frame is segmented into multiple functional regions: a bonding region for adhesive application, a movable lens receiving region, and an adhesive outflow preventing portion that acts as a barrier. This segmentation allows the adhesive to be confined to the bonding region while preventing it from flowing into the movable lens receiving region, thus maintaining both bonding strength and sliding movement functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The adhesive outflow preventing portion acts as an intermediary barrier between the bonding region and the movable lens receiving region. This structural element mediates the potential conflict between adhesive flow and movable lens movement by providing a physical stop that prevents adhesive from reaching the movable lens, allowing both bonding and movement functions to coexist.
2Volume of moving object
If clearance between components is minimized to reduce size, then compactness is improved, but assembling workability and adhesive control become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The rear group lens frame is divided into distinct functional zones including a bonding region with controlled clearance for adhesive application and a movable lens receiving region. This segmentation allows for optimized clearance distribution - minimal clearance in the movable lens region for compactness while maintaining adequate clearance in the bonding region for proper adhesive application and assembly workability.
Solution Approach 2:
The adhesive outflow preventing portion is pre-formed as an integral part of the rear group lens frame structure. This preliminary structural feature is built into the component before assembly, providing built-in adhesive control that simplifies the assembly process by eliminating the need for complex adhesive application control techniques during assembly.
3Ease of operation
If adhesive amount is strictly controlled to prevent outflow, then adhesive interference with movable lens is prevented, but assembling workability and bonding reliability decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The adhesive outflow preventing portion serves as a structural intermediary that physically blocks adhesive flow into the movable lens receiving region. This mediator allows assembly personnel to apply adhesive more freely in the bonding region without worrying about excessive adhesive reaching the movable lens, thus improving assembling workability while maintaining movable lens functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The rear group lens frame structure itself provides the adhesive control function through its built-in outflow preventing portion, rather than requiring external control mechanisms or highly skilled manual adhesive application. The structure serves itself by containing the adhesive within the bonding region, improving both reliability and ease of manufacture.
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
This configuration enhances assembling workability, maintains image quality, and prevents adhesive interference with the movable lens, enabling effective focal length adjustments and improved bonding strength without strictly controlling adhesive amounts.
Implementation Method 1
an adhesive bonding the front group lens frame to the rear group lens frame
Data Source
AI summary
An image pickup unit, includes: a front group lens frame holding a front group lens; a rear group lens frame fitted to the front group lens frame and holding a rear group lens; a movable frame disposed to be movable forward and backward in a direction along a photographing optical axis within the rear group lens frame, and holding a movable lens; an adhesive bonding the front group lens frame to the rear group lens frame; and an adhesive outflow preventing portion preventing the adhesive from flowing out toward the movable frame side when the front group lens frame is bonded and fitted to the rear group lens frame.