Endoscope Optical Module Transparent Housing Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing optical modules for endoscopes face challenges in reducing size and ensuring air-tight sealing to improve reliability, particularly when using high-pixel image pickup devices that require efficient optical signal transmission through optical fibers.
Innovation Solution
The optical module design includes a housing with a transparent insertion hole, a sealing plate bonded using an annular bonding material, and a VCSEL optical element connected via a bonding wire, with a transparent resin for refractive index matching and mechanical reinforcement, ensuring air-tight sealing and efficient optical signal transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the optical module uses a conventional sealing structure, then the assembly process is simple, but the air-tight sealing reliability is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing structure is divided into multiple functional layers: a sealing plate with sealing protrusions, a housing with sealing grooves, and annular bonding material. This segmentation allows each component to contribute specifically to the sealing function, achieving reliable air-tight sealing through the coordinated interaction of these segmented elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing plate is designed with pre-formed sealing protrusions that extend into the housing before final assembly. This preliminary action of creating the sealing interface in advance ensures that when the annular bonding material is applied, the sealing geometry is already established, guaranteeing air-tight sealing reliability.
2Volume of moving object
If the optical module size is reduced, then the endoscope insertion portion diameter is reduced, but the sealing reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing structure utilizes thin-walled housing and sealing plate components with integrated sealing protrusions and grooves. This approach allows effective sealing to be achieved with minimal material thickness, enabling compact optical module design without compromising sealing reliability in the reduced size configuration.
3Reliability
If the optical element is mounted on a substrate with translucency, then the optical signal transmission is improved, but the mechanical strength and positioning precision are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is constructed as a composite structure combining transparent material portions for optical signal transmission with reinforced structural portions for mechanical strength. This composite design allows the optical element to be precisely positioned and securely mounted while maintaining high optical transmission efficiency through the transparent sections.
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 design results in a compact, reliable optical module with enhanced signal transmission efficiency and improved humidity resistance, maintaining high productivity and optical performance.
Implementation Method 1
a sealing plate bonded to the housing, and an optical element stored in a space formed by bonding the housing and the sealing plate using an annular bonding material
Implementation Method 2
an opening of the insertion hole that has a bottom and a bottom surface of which is made of a transparent material being present in the first principal plane
Implementation Method 3
the external terminal and a bonding electrode in the third principal plane are connected using a bonding wire
Data Source
AI summary
An optical module for endoscope includes an optical element including an external terminal, a housing in which an insertion hole into which an optical fiber is inserted is present and has a bottom and a bottom surface made of a transparent material, and a sealing plate that is bonded to the housing. The optical element is stored in an upper recess of the housing, the external terminal and a bonding electrode are connected using a bonding wire, and a wire recess in which a part of the bonding wire is stored is present in a bottom surface of the upper recess.