Endoscope apparatus having nozzle angularly positioned image sensor

Claim 1

An endoscope apparatus for observing any desired spot in the coeliac cavity, which comprises: an endoscope including an operation section, a flexible insertion section extending from the operation section for insertion into the coeliac cavity, and a universal cord protruding from the operation section; a light source device connected to the universal cord; a drive device; said endoscope including an illumination window set in the distal-end surface of the insertion section, a light guide conducting a light from the light source device to the illumination window to illuminate the observation spot through the illumination window, an observation window set in the distal-end surface of the insertion section, a solid-state image sensor having a light receiving surface, for receiving an optical image passing through the observation window, converting the image into electrical signals, and transferring the signals in both vertical and horizontal directions, and a nozzle set in the distal-end surface of the insertion section to transmit air and water to the observation window for cleaning; said drive device including a video-processing circuit for converting electrical signals issued from the sensor into image signals; and a monitor for displaying an image in accordance with the image signals from the drive device; and wherein the vertical transferring direction of the sensor defines an angle of about 50° to 90° with an imaginary line which extends between the center of said observation window and that of the illumination window and which is projected on the light receiving surface of the sensor.