MEDICAL ENDOSCOPE WITH A COOLING DEVICE FOR MOUNTED ELECTRIC COMPONENTS
First Claim
1. An endoscope, comprising:
- a flexible endoscope shaft;
an endoscope head, arranged at a distal end of the endoscope shaft, comprising;
a sleeve, open at, at least, one end face thereof; and
functional units accommodated in the sleeve, the functional units comprising an optical system, a working channel, an illumination and a cooling means at least for the illumination, the cooling means comprising a heat exchanger integrally formed in the sleeve with a cooling chamber formed together with the sleeve for generating a coolant flow.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An endoscope with a flexible endoscope shaft has an endoscope head arranged at its distal end. The endoscope head is a sleeve, open at both end faces. Functional units, such as an optical system, a working channel, an illumination and a cooling system for the illumination are accommodated in the endoscope head. The cooling system has a heat exchanger integrally formed with the sleeve in the latter which forms a closed cooling chamber for generating a coolant flow. The illumination, which is in the form of an external conductor plate supporting an illumination means, is arranged adjacent to the distal end wall of the heat exchanger, to discharge thermal energy via the end wall of the heat exchanger to the coolant flow. The external conductor plate is mechanically supported on, or has only a minimum distance from, the heat exchanger end wall.
23 Citations
18 Claims
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1. An endoscope, comprising:
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a flexible endoscope shaft; an endoscope head, arranged at a distal end of the endoscope shaft, comprising; a sleeve, open at, at least, one end face thereof; and functional units accommodated in the sleeve, the functional units comprising an optical system, a working channel, an illumination and a cooling means at least for the illumination, the cooling means comprising a heat exchanger integrally formed in the sleeve with a cooling chamber formed together with the sleeve for generating a coolant flow. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification