Patent ID: 6416463
Filing Date: 2002-07-09
Classification: G02B

Abstract:
An electronic endoscope apparatus for observing the interior of a gas turbine engine, comprising:an electronic endoscope having a solid state imaging device with a rectangular effective imaging plane having two sides substantially longer than another two sides, said solid state imaging device being built into the tip of an insertion portion of the endoscope, wherein said tip forms an end plane of said insertion portion and a projection of said rectangular effective imaging plane from said solid state imaging device intersects a portion of said end plane which corresponds in shape to said rectangular effective imaging plane; an endoscope channel extending through the endoscope and having an opening at the end plane of the insertion portion, said opening substantially positioned along one of the longer sides of the portion of the end plane corresponding in shape to said rectangular effective imaging plane; a fixing piece inserted in said endoscope channel so as to be rotatable therein and retractable therefrom for fixing said electronic endoscope to a base of a turbine blade, said fixing piece having a substantially U-shaped bent part bent at the tip for fixing said fixing piece by latching the bent part onto the base of the turbine blade, wherein when said bent part of said fixing piece is fixed to a turbine blade, said endoscope can be guided so that a length of the turbine blade is arranged in the longitudinal direction of the imaging plane with respect to the longer sides thereof for imaging of the turbine blade by said solid state imaging device; and a monitor on which an endoscope image captured with said solid state imaging device is displayed and dimensioned according to a vertical/horizontal measurement ratio which corresponds with the shorter side length/longer side length ratio of said rectangular effective imaging plane of said solid state imaging device the rectangular effective imaging plane being oriented in a direction corresponding with the dimensions of the monitor so as to display the image accordingly thereon.