Patent ID: 8480572

Claim:
An adapter-type endoscope apparatus, comprising: a distal end adapter; and an insertion portion, wherein the distal end adapter comprises a light-emitting device substrate on which a light-emitting device is mounted; and an adapter-side electrical connection portion which has a solid column shape and flat surfaces formed respectively at a distal end and a rear end, and is connected to the light-emitting device substrate with the flat surface at the distal end abutting in close surface contact with a rear end surface of the light-emitting device substrate, the flat surfaces being formed to be orthogonal with respect to a central axis of the adapter-side electrical connection portion and to have an area equivalent to a cross-sectional area of the adapter-side electrical connection portion, and the adapter-side electrical connection portion performing both a power supplying function and a heat releasing function, wherein the insertion portion comprises a distal end portion to which the distal end adapter is detachably mounted; and an insertion portion-side electrical connection portion which is provided separately from the adapter-side electrical connection portion, and has a solid column shape and a flat surface formed at a distal end to be orthogonal to a central axis of the insertion portion-side electrical connection portion and to have an area equivalent to a cross-sectional area of the insertion portion-side electrical connection portion, and wherein when the distal end adapter is mounted to the distal end portion, the flat surface at the distal end of the insertion portion-side electrical connection portion is brought into contact with the flat surface at the rear end of the adapter-side electrical connection portion to be in close surface contact with each other, an entire area of one of the flat surface at the distal end of the insertion portion-side electrical connection portion and the flat surface at the rear end of the adapter-side electrical connection portion being in close contact with the other of the flat surface at the distal end of the insertion portion-side electrical connection portion and the flat surface at the rear end of the adapter-side electrical connection portion, so that the insertion portion-side electrical connection portion performs a power supplying function of supplying power to the light-emitting device through the adapter-side electrical connection portion and a heat releasing function of releasing heat from the light-emitting device through the adapter-side electrical connection portion.