Endoscope for ultrasonic echography
First Claim
1. An endoscope comprising:
- an ultrasound echography probe having a base and a strip of ultrasound transducers carried out by said base;
a manual control housing and manual adjustment members carried by said housing;
a tube fixed to said housing and projecting in a distal direction from said housing;
a mechanical coupler connecting said tube to said base of said probe and controllable by means of said adjustment members, said mechanical coupler comprising a plurality of ring-shaped links mounted in series, of such a shape as to enable each said link to tilt in at least one direction with respect to the adjacent said link, starting from a position in which the coupler is substantially straight;
a plurality of cables connecting said adjustment members and said base, located along and within said tube and said mechanical coupler, said links being held in mutual engagement solely by said cables and some of said cables being put under tension by resilient means in said housing; and
a plurality of electrical conductors connected to said strip to feed excitation signals to said transducers and to return echo signals therefrom, said electrical conductors being connected to electronic means for delivering said excitation signals of such a nature to cause ultrasonic scanning electronically, wherein each of said links has a flat face and another face made up of two segments parallel to the flat face and interconnected via shoulders parallel to the axis, the segment corresponding to the greater thickness occupying more than half of said another face, successive adjacent links being mounted head to tail.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
The endoscope comprises a probe for ultrasound echography, a manual control housing (12) carrying adjustment members that are connected by cables to the base, a tube (50) fixed to the housing and having cables passing therealong, and a mechanical coupler enabling the base to be given a position that is angularly adjustable. The mechanical coupler has a plurality of links connected in series that are capable of tilting relative to one another. The links are maintained pressed mutually against one another solely by cables for putting them under resilient tension from the housing. They are all of the same shape and the shape is such as to allow each link to tilt in at least one direction from a position in which the coupler is essentially straight.
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Citations
8 Claims
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1. An endoscope comprising:
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an ultrasound echography probe having a base and a strip of ultrasound transducers carried out by said base; a manual control housing and manual adjustment members carried by said housing; a tube fixed to said housing and projecting in a distal direction from said housing; a mechanical coupler connecting said tube to said base of said probe and controllable by means of said adjustment members, said mechanical coupler comprising a plurality of ring-shaped links mounted in series, of such a shape as to enable each said link to tilt in at least one direction with respect to the adjacent said link, starting from a position in which the coupler is substantially straight; a plurality of cables connecting said adjustment members and said base, located along and within said tube and said mechanical coupler, said links being held in mutual engagement solely by said cables and some of said cables being put under tension by resilient means in said housing; and a plurality of electrical conductors connected to said strip to feed excitation signals to said transducers and to return echo signals therefrom, said electrical conductors being connected to electronic means for delivering said excitation signals of such a nature to cause ultrasonic scanning electronically, wherein each of said links has a flat face and another face made up of two segments parallel to the flat face and interconnected via shoulders parallel to the axis, the segment corresponding to the greater thickness occupying more than half of said another face, successive adjacent links being mounted head to tail. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. An endoscope comprising:
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an ultrasound echography probe having a base and a strip of ultrasound transducers carried by said base; a manual control housing and manual adjustment members carried by said housing; a tube fixed to said housing and projecting in a distal direction from said housing; a mechanical coupler connecting said tube to said base of said probe and controllable by means of the adjustment members, said mechanical coupler comprising a plurality of ring-shaped links mounted in series, of such a shape as to enable each said link to tilt in only one direction with respect to the adjacent said link, starting from a position in which the coupler is substantially straight; a plurality of cables connecting said adjustment members and said base, located along and within said tube and said mechanical coupler, said links being held in mutual engagement solely by some of said cables which are put under tension by resilient means in said housing; and a plurality of electrical conductors connected to said strip to feed excitation signals to said transducers and to return echo signals therefrom, said electrical conductors being connected to electronic means for delivering said excitation signal of such a nature to cause ultrasonic scanning electronically; wherein each of said links has a flat face and another face made up of two segments parallel to the flat face and interconnected via a shoulder parallel to the axis, the segment corresponding to the greater thickness occupying more than half of said another face, successive adjacent links being mounted head to tail. - View Dependent Claims (6)
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7. An endoscope comprising:
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an ultrasound echography probe having a base and a strip of ultrasound transducer carried by said base; a manual control housing and manual adjustment members carried by said housing; a tube fixed to said housing and projecting in a distal direction from said housing; a mechanical coupler connecting said tube to said base of said probe and controllable by means of the adjustment members, said mechanical coupler comprising a plurality of ring-shaped links mounted in series, of such a shape as to enable each said link to tilt in at least one direction with respect to an adjacent said link, starting from a position in which the coupler is substantially straight; a plurality of cables connecting said adjustment members and said base, located along and within said tube and said mechanical coupler, said links being held in mutual engagement solely by said cables and at least some of said cables being put under tension by resilient means in said housing; a plurality of electrical conductors connected to said strip to feed excitation signals to said transducers and to return echo signals therefrom, said electrical conductors being connected to electronic means for delivering said excitation signal of such a nature to cause ultrasonic scanning electronically; and a tubular sleeve of liquid-proof flexible material having one end secured to said base of the probe and another end secured to said housing, said sleeve surrounding said tube and said coupler and being slidably received thereon said sleeve being secured to said base and said housing such that said sleeve is under longitudinal tension when said coupler is substantially straight. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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Specification