Endoscope with facile bending operation

• US 3,897,775 A
• Filed: 08/19/1974
• Issued: 08/05/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/1973
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hiroyuki Furihata
• Original Assignee: Hiroyuki Furihata
• Inventors: Furihata, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Gaudet, Richard A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Layton, Henry S.
• Application Number:
  US05/498,462
• Time in Patent Office: 351 Days
• Field of Search: 128/4-8,2M,DIG.9 350/69,70 356/241 95/11HC 74/479,491,519,555
• US Class Current: 600/131
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00066 Proximal part of endoscope body, e.g. handles A61B1/0052 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0052 Constructional details of control elements, e.g. handles
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0057 Constructional details of force transmission elements, e.g. control wires
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/015 Control of fluid supply or evacuation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/018 for receiving instruments

Abstract

An endoscope comprises a control unit and a distal end portion which are connected together by a flexible tube including a bending section, through which flexure controlling wires are passed with their one end connected to the distal end portion and their other end connected to pulleys internally housed within the control unit. The terminal portion of the pulley shafts projecting externally of the control unit has flexure controlling levers fixed thereon, which are extended and folded to reach the surface of the control unit which is immediately adjacent to the surface thereof through which the pulley shafts project, with knurled knobs attached to their free ends. The knurled knobs are adapted to be manipulated by the thumb of the hand which is used to grasp the control unit, and adapted to move lengthwise of the control unit to turn the pulleys for oscillating the distal end portion.

Claims

1. An endoscope with facile bending operation comprising a control unit including an eyepiece assembly of an observation optical system;

a distal end portion for housing the objective assembly of the observation optical system;

a flexible tube for connecting the control unit with the distal end portion and including a bending section at its end nearer the distal end portion, said flexible tube internally housing an optical fiber bundle which provides an optical coupling between the eyepiece and objective assemblies of the observation optical system;

a flexure controlling wire having its one end secured to the distal end portion and extending through the flexible tube to the control unit;

a pulley having its axle rotatably mounted within and projecting externally of the control unit, the other end of the flexure controlling wire being secured to the pulley;

a flexure controlling lever having its one end secured to that portion of the axle of the pulley which projects externally of the control unit, the flexure controlling lever being extended and folded so as to have its free end reach a surface adjoining the surface of the control unit through which the axle projects; and

a finger engaging member formed on the free end of the lever and adapted to be operated lengthwise of the control unit to rotate the pulley through the axle.

2. An endoscope according to claim 1 in which the flexible tube internally houses a conduit for passing a processing instrument therethrough, the control unit is provided with an inlet for the processing instrument which communicates with the conduit, and the distal end portion is formed with an outlet for the processing instrument which communicates with the conduit, said inlet being located on a surface of the control unit other than the surface through which the axle of the pulley projects.

3. An endoscope according to claim 1, including a pair of flexure controlling wires in combination with a single pulley and a single flexure controlling lever, thereby allowing a two dimensional oscillating motion of the distal end portion.

4. An endoscope according to claim 1, including two pairs of flexure controlling wires in combination with a pair of pulleys and a pair of flexure controlling levers, thereby allowing a three dimensional oscillating motion of the distal end portion.

5. An endoscope according to claim 1 in which the finger engaging member is provided with means for preventing slippage of an engaging finger.

6. An endoscope according to claim 4 in which the flexure controlling levers have different lengths, and the finger engaging members associated with the respective free end of the levers are located at different positions.

7. An endoscope according to claim 4 in which a pair of pulleys are coaxially located, the axle of one of the pulleys being a hollow shaft fitting over the axle of the other pulley.

8. An endoscope according to claim 1, further including an illumination optical fiber system.

9. An endoscope according to claim 1 in which the conduit is connected with an air supply, a liquid supply and a suction unit to permit each of such functions to be conveyed.

10. A endoscope according to claim 9 in which an air supply, a liquid supply and/or suction unit is disposed on a surface of the control unit other than the surface through which the axle of the pulley projects.

11. An endoscope according to claim 1 in which the control unit is in the form of a quadrangular prism, the axle of the pulley projecting throuGh one of the surfaces, and the flexure controlling lever having its one end secured to the axle having its free end extending and folded at right angles to itself to reach a surface of the control unit which adjoins with the surface through which the axle projects.