Endoscope and endoscope apparatus

• US 8,208,015 B2
• Filed: 10/15/2007
• Issued: 06/26/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Medical Systems Corporation (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Iwasaki, Seiji, Nagamizu, Hiroyuki, Kagawa, Hiroaki, Ishii, Hiroshi, Unsai, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Backer, Firmin
• Assistant Examiner(s): BUI, JONATHAN A
• Application Number:
  US11/974,590
• Publication Number:
  US 20080088701A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,716 Days
• Field of Search: 348/65, 348/72
• US Class Current: 348/65
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00096 Optical elements
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/051 Details of CCD assembly
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/51 Housings
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/555 for picking-up images in sites, inaccessible due to their dimensions or hazardous conditions, e.g. endoscopes or borescopes

Abstract

An endoscope in accordance with the present invention provides an endoscope having an image pickup apparatus and including a first connection portion provided on one side surface of a first solid-state image pickup device to connect the first solid-state image pickup device to a first circuit board, and a second connection portion provided on one side surface of a second solid-state image pickup device to connect the second solid-state image pickup device to a second circuit board, the first solid-state image pickup device and the second solid-state image pickup device being arranged in proximity to each other so that a side surface of the first solid-state image pickup device which does not have the first connection portion lies opposite to a side surface of the second solid-state image pickup device which does not have the second connection portion.

Claims

1. An endoscope including a prism having a first prism and a second prism that are joined together so as to divide and emit incident light having passed through an objective optical system into two optical paths, a first solid-state image pickup device that is provided along an optical axis direction of the objective optical system and receives light emitted by the prism in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction after being reflected by an interface between the first prism and the second prism, and a second solid-state image pickup device that is provided along the direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction and receives light emitted by the prism along the optical axis direction after passing through the first and second prisms, the endoscope comprising:

a first connection portion provided on a first side surface of the first solid-state image pickup device, the first side surface located on a side of the first solid-state image pickup device which is closer to the objective optical system and parallel to the direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction, and the first connection portion connecting the first solid-state image pickup device to a first circuit board; and

a second connection portion provided on a second side surface of the second solid-state image pickup device, the second side surface located at a position in the second solid-state image pickup device that is furthest from the first connection portion in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction and parallel to the optical axis direction, and the second connection portion connecting the second solid-state image pickup device to a second circuit board,

wherein the first solid-state image pickup device and the second solid-state image pickup device are arranged so that a third side surface of the first solid-state image pickup device that is opposite to the first side surface in the optical axis direction faces toward and in proximity to a fourth side surface of the second solid-state image pickup device which is opposite to the second side surface in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction.

2. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the third side surface of the first solid-state image pickup device is provided at a position such that a distance from an effective pixel area in the first solid-state image pickup device to an outer peripheral end in the first solid-state image pickup device is minimized in a surface including the effective pixel area and the fourth side surface of the second solid-state image pickup device is provided at a position such that a distance from an effective pixel area in the second solid-state image pickup device to an outer circumference of the second solid-state image pickup device is minimized in a surface including the effective pixel area.

3. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the first solid-state image pickup device and the second solid-state image pickup device are arranged surface-symmetrically with respect to the interface between the first prism and the second prism.

4. The endoscope according to claim 2, wherein the first solid-state image pickup device and the second solid-state image pickup device are arranged surface-symmetrically with respect to the interface between the first prism and the second prism.

5. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein a center of the effective pixel area in at least one of the first solid-state image pickup device and the second solid-state image pickup device is offset from an optical axis of the objective optical system.

6. The endoscope according to claim 2, wherein a center of the effective pixel area in at least one of the first solid-state image pickup device and the second solid-state image pickup device is offset from an optical axis of the objective optical system.

7. The endoscope according to claim 3, wherein a center of the effective pixel area in at least one of the first solid-state image pickup device and the second solid-state image pickup device is offset from an optical axis of the objective optical system.

8. The endoscope according to claim 4, wherein a center of the effective pixel area in at least one of the first solid-state image pickup device and the second solid-state image pickup device is offset from an optical axis of the objective optical system.

9. An endoscope apparatus comprising an endoscope including a prism having a first prism and a second prism that are joined together so as to divide and emit incident light having passed through an objective optical system into two optical paths, a first solid-state image pickup device that is provided along an optical axis direction of the objective optical system and receives light emitted by the prism in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction after being reflected by an interface between the first prism and the second prism, and a second solid-state image pickup device that is provided along the direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction and receives light emitted by the prism after passing through the first and second prisms, the endoscope apparatus comprising:

a first connection portion provided on a first side surface of the first solid-state image pickup device, the first side surface located on a side of the first solid-state image pickup device that is closer to the objective optical system and parallel to the direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction, and the first connection portion connecting to connect the first solid-state image pickup device to a first circuit board; and

a second connection portion provided on a second side surface of the second solid-state image pickup device, the second side surface located at a position in the second solid-state image pickup device that is furthest from the first connection portion in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction and parallel to the optical axis direction, and the second connection portion connecting the second solid-state image pickup device to a second circuit board,

wherein the first solid-state image pickup device and the second solid-state image pickup device are arranged so that a third side surface of the first solid-state image pickup device, that is opposite to the first side surface in the optical axis direction, faces toward and in proximity to a fourth side surface of the second solid-state image pickup device which is opposite to the second side surface in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction.