JP2001091860A - Capsule endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a practicable capsule endoscope which is good in assembly workability and is downsized. SOLUTION: This capsule endoscope has a main block which supports an objective lens and an illumination body, an electric element holding cylinder which is integrally disposed to exist behind the objective lens and the illumination body on the main block, a circuit board which has an image sensor for forming an object image by the objective lens, image sensor control electric parts for controlling the image sensor and signal transmission electric parts for radio transmitting the electric signal outputted from the image sensor and an external case which water-tightly contains a main block including the electric element holding cylinder and the circuit board.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a mechanism structure of a capsule endoscope.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In conventional fiberscopes and electronic endoscopes, a flexible tube is used to connect an operation unit or an image monitor arranged outside a human body to an imaging head introduced into the human body. Configuration. Even if the imaging head unit is reduced in size and diameter to reduce the pain of the subject, the pain that the “tube” passes through the throat of the subject cannot be fundamentally eliminated. Therefore, in recent years, an electronic endoscope apparatus having a capsule-shaped imaging head unit without a tube and an image monitor unit separated from the other has been proposed, but the conventional proposal content is merely an idea, and actual production and use is actually performed. Has not reached the stage of doing.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a compact capsule endoscope with good assembling workability.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a main block for supporting an objective lens and an illuminator; an electric element holding cylinder integrally provided on the main block behind the objective lens and the illuminator; An image sensor that forms an object image, an image sensor control electric component that controls the image sensor, and a transmission electric component that wirelessly transmits an electric signal output from the image sensor, are supported by the electric element holding cylinder. A circuit board; and a main block including the electric element holding cylinder, and an outer case in which the circuit board is built in a watertight manner.

The outer case preferably comprises a substantially hemispherical transparent cover for covering the front of the objective lens and a cylindrical cover for covering the rear and having a hemispherical rear end.

Further, it is preferable that the illuminating body is provided symmetrically with a pair of the illuminating bodies sandwiching the objective lens, because it can illuminate the entire transparent cover.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present capsule endoscope has a main block 10 and a circuit board 10 which are respectively sub-assembled.
0, and an outer case 50. Hereinafter, each of these subassemblies will be described.

FIG. 2 shows the main block 10. The main block 10 has a cylindrical shape as a whole, and includes, in order from the front (left side in FIG. 2), an illuminator support plate 11, a small-diameter objective lens holding cylinder 12, and a large-diameter electric element holding cylinder 13. . The illuminator support plate portion 11 holds illuminating means (light-emitting diodes) 30 located on both radial sides of the objective lens holding tube 12. The lead 31 of the light emitting diode 30 penetrates a wall surface in front of the electric element holding tube 13 and is connected to a circuit board 100 housed in the electric element holding tube 13.
The objective lens barrel 20 holds the objective lens barrel 20. The position of the objective lens barrel 20 can be adjusted in the direction of the optical axis. After the adjustment, the objective lens barrel 20 is fixed with the fixing screw 16. A hemispherical transparent cover 17 is fixed in front of the illuminator support plate 11. The transparent cover 17 also has a role of ensuring a distance from the objective lens 22 to the subject.

FIG. 4 is a development view of the circuit board 100. The circuit board 100 includes three circular circuit boards 110 and 12.
0 and 130 and one rectangular antenna substrate 140 are connected. An image sensor window 112 is formed in the circular circuit board (1) 110, and an image sensor 111 is fixed on the surface. Circular circuit board (2) 12
The image sensor control electric component 121 is fixed to the surface of the “0”. On the surface of the circular circuit board (3) 130, transmission electric components 131 such as a transmission amplifier and a power switch 13 are provided.
2 is fixed, and a battery compression spring 133 for holding down the battery 101 is fixed to the back surface.
These circular circuit boards 110, 120, and 130 are connected by a strip-shaped connection strip board 150, and are connected by a conductive member provided on the back surface. Circular circuit board (3) 13
An antenna board 140 having a transmitting antenna 141 disposed on the surface is further connected to 0. The length L of the antenna substrate 140 is substantially equal to the circumference of the electric element holding cylinder 13 of the main block 10, and a shield is provided on the back surface to prevent noise due to transmission. A circuit board 100 having a shape in which these parts are connected is formed into a circular circuit board (1) 11.
0, circular circuit board (2) 120, circular circuit board (3) 1
When it is bent so that 30 becomes parallel, it becomes a substantially columnar shape,
Each electric component can be efficiently stored in the electric element holding cylinder 13 of the main block 10. FIG. 3 shows the spacer 1
02 and battery 101, main block 10
Is the circuit board 100 in the housed state. The circuit board 100 having such a shape is built in the electric element holding cylinder 13,
As shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 shows an outer case 50. The outer case 50 includes a transparent cover 17 covering the front and a tubular cover 55 having a hemispherical rear end covering the rear. Cylindrical cover 5
5 is provided with a through-hole 52 having an O-ring 53 capable of maintaining watertightness, and a power switch 132 projects from the through-hole 52 to the outside (FIG. 7). Through hole 52
When the power switch 132 protruding from is pressed, the power of the capsule endoscope is turned on.

Since the capsule endoscope is swallowed into a body cavity, it is indispensable to have a rounded shape like the hemispherical portion 51. However, it is difficult to store parts in such a rounded portion conventionally, Space was often wasted. In the present embodiment, when the main block 10 holding the circuit board 100 is housed in the cylindrical cover 55, the transmission electric component 13 provided on the circular circuit board (3) 130 inside the hemispherical portion 51 is provided.
1. The power switch 132 can be arranged without wasting space.

The main block 10 and the circuit board 1 described above
When the circuit board 100 is fixed to the main block 10, the circuit board 100 is housed in the outer case 50, and the transparent cover 17 and the cylindrical cover 55 are bonded to each other in a watertight manner, whereby the capsule endoscope can be obtained. The assembly will be described below.

Circuit board 100 on which each electric component is mounted
Is connected to the sub-assembled main block 10 (electric element holding cylinder 13) as follows. Since the circuit board 100 returns only by bending and the shape is not stable, the circuit board 100 is bonded by sandwiching the cylindrical spacer 102 between the circular circuit board (1) 110 and the circular circuit board (2) 120. The outer diameter of the spacer 102 corresponds to the inner diameter of the electric element holding cylinder 13. This circular circuit board (1) 1
10, circular circuit board (2) 120 and spacer 102
Is stored in the electric element holding cylinder 13 and the battery 10
1 is a circular circuit board (2) 120 and a circular circuit board (3) 1
30 so as to be sandwiched between them. The outer diameter of the battery 101 corresponds to the inner diameter of the electric element holding cylinder 13 and also serves as a spacer between the circular circuit board (2) 120 and the circular circuit board (3) 130. Compression spring 13 for battery
When the caulking projections 14 are tilted down and fixed while holding down 3, the cylindrical circuit board 100 and the electric element holding cylinder 13 are pressed by the battery compression springs 133, and the respective electric contact portions are stably connected. That is,
The light emitting diode 30 and the circular circuit board (1) 110 come into contact with each other, so that power can be supplied to the light emitting diode 30. Further, the image sensor 111 is pressed against the wall surface of the electric element holding cylinder 13 by the compression spring 133 and is fixed vertically to the optical axis. FIG. 5 shows a main block 1 holding a circuit board 100.
Indicates 0. Further, when the antenna block 140 is wound around the outer periphery of the electric element holding tube 13 and the main block 10 and the circuit board 100 are inserted into the outer case 50 (the tubular cover 55), the antenna substrate 140
It is stored by efficiently using a small space between the third cover 3 and the cylindrical cover 55.

The focus adjustment operation of the objective lens barrel 20 is performed as follows.
This is performed before the entire main block 10 is stored and fixed in the outer case 50. As shown in FIG. 6, a transparent cover 17 is fixed in front of the main block 10, and an adjustment jig is inserted from an adjustment hole (jig insertion hole) 15 of the main block 10 (lens holding tube 12), and an objective lens is formed. The objective lens barrel 20 is moved back and forth in the optical axis direction using the groove 21 of the lens barrel 20, and after the focus adjustment is completed, the fixing screw 16 is fully tightened to fix the objective lens barrel 20.

An antenna board 140 is wound around the outer periphery of the circuit board 100 while holding the circuit board 100, and the main block 10 to which the transparent cover 17 is fixed is housed in the tubular cover 55.
When the transparent cover 17 and the transparent cover 17 are bonded to each other in a watertight manner, the transmission electric component 131 and the power switch 132 are built in the hemispherical portion 51 with good space efficiency (FIG. 7). As described above, this capsule endoscope has a structure including three blocks of the circuit board 100, the main block 10, and the outer case 50, so that the assembling work is easy, and the joining of the cylindrical cover 55 and the transparent cover 17 is performed. The watertightness of the entire capsule can be maintained only by making the watertight.

The use of the capsule endoscope will be described with reference to FIG. First, the power of the capsule endoscope is turned on by pressing the power switch 132, and then the subject is caused to swallow the capsule endoscope. Transparent cover 17 in body cavity
The portion pushed into contact with the surface of the transparent cover 17 is the observation range. Fig. 1
As shown in FIG. 7, the light is illuminated by the light emitting diodes 30 provided symmetrically with the objective lens 22 interposed therebetween. The image of the illuminated object is formed on the image sensor 111 by the objective lens 22 and the image sensor control electric component 12
1 is output as an image signal. This image signal is processed by the transmission electrical component 131, transmitted from the transmission antenna 141, received by the receiving means outside the body, and can be observed.

In this embodiment, the circuit board 100 is a single board. However, the circuit board 100 is divided into a plurality of boards as shown in FIG. If the connection is made, the circuit board 100 can be easily assembled. The power switch 132 has a structure that does not return (cannot be turned off) once it is turned on, and is a disposable type in which the components of the outer case 50 are adhered and the battery cannot be replaced. A simple structure is also possible. As in the present embodiment, the transparent cover 17 is
As a member on the 0 side, the transparent cover 17 and the main block 10 may be first adhered. However, the transparent cover 17 is considered as a member on the outer case 50 side, and the cylindrical cover 55 and the transparent cover 17 are assembled at the final stage of assembly. Adhesion has the advantage of requiring only one bonding operation.

[0018]

As described above, since the sub-assembled parts are assembled, a compact capsule endoscope with good assembling workability can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a capsule endoscope showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main block.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing a circuit board housed in an electric element holding cylinder.

FIG. 4 is a development view of a circuit board.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing a main block containing a circuit board.

FIG. 6 is a capsule endoscope before fixing an outer case.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing another section different from that of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along arrow VIII-VIII in FIG. 7;

9 is a sectional view taken along the line IX-IX in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along the line XX in FIG. 7;

FIG. 11 is a development view of a circuit board according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Main block 11 Illumination body support plate part 12 Lens holding tube 13 Electric element holding tube 14 Caulking protrusion 15 Adjusting hole (Jig insertion hole) 16 Fixing screw 17 Transparent cover 20 Objective lens barrel 21 Objective lens groove 22 Objective lens 30 Lighting means (light emitting diode) 31 lead 50 outer case 51 hemispherical part 52 through hole 53 O-ring 55 cylindrical cover 100 circuit board 101 battery 102 spacer 110 circular circuit board (1) 111 image sensor 112 image sensor window 120 circular circuit board (2) 121 Image sensor control electric component 130 Circular circuit board (3) 131 Transmission electric component 132 Power switch 133 Battery compression spring 140 Antenna substrate 141 Transmission antenna 150 Connection strip substrate L Length of antenna substrate

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Tetsuya Nakamura 2-36-9 Maenocho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Asahi Gaku Kogyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masahiro Fushimi 2-36-9 Maenocho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Manabu Asahi Inside Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Taichi Nakanishi 2-36-9 Maeno-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Asahi Gaku Kogyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masaru Eguchi 2-36-9 Maeno-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Manabu Asahi Within Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kenichi Ohara 2-36-9 Maenocho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Asahi Gaku Kogyo Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 2H040 BA24 CA03 CA22 DA00 DA18 GA02 4C061 AA00 BB02 CC06 DD10 FF21 FF40 FF50 JJ13 NN01 NN03 SS01 UU06 5C022 AA09 AC42 AC54 AC61 AC65 AC70 5C054 CA04 CC02 CD01 CE04 HA12

Claims (3)

[Claims] A main block for supporting an objective lens and an illuminator; an electric element holding cylinder integrally provided behind the objective lens and the illuminator; and an object image formed by the objective lens. A circuit board supported by the electric element holding cylinder, comprising: an image sensor for imaging; an image sensor control electric component for controlling the image sensor; and a transmission electric component for wirelessly transmitting an electric signal output from the image sensor. A capsule endoscope comprising: a main block including the electric element holding cylinder; and an exterior case in which a circuit board is built in a watertight manner. 2. The capsule endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the outer case comprises: a substantially hemispherical transparent cover covering the front of the objective lens; and a cylindrical cover covering the rear and having a hemispherical rear end. Capsule endoscope that has become. 3. The capsule endoscope according to claim 1, wherein a pair of illuminators are provided symmetrically with the objective lens interposed therebetween.