Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US5005558?ie=ISO-8859-1&dq=5,815,794
Timestamp: 2014-07-10 10:50:46
Document Index: 39893199

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 6', 'art 5', 'art 6', 'art 5', 'art 7', 'art 6']

Patent US5005558 - Endoscope - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign in<nobr>Advanced Patent Search</nobr>PatentsAn endoscope includes an operating body having a knob, a flexible insertion tube having a bending tube part, to be inserted into an object to be observed, and wires for bending the bending tube part by operating the knob. The bending tube part includes ring link members having a tubular form, and flexible...http://www.google.com/patents/US5005558?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US5005558 - EndoscopeAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS5005558 APublication typeGrantApplication numberUS 07/352,311Publication dateApr 9, 1991Filing dateMay 16, 1989Priority dateMay 16, 1988Fee statusPaidPublication number07352311, 352311, US 5005558 A, US 5005558A, US-A-5005558, US5005558 A, US5005558AInventorsKohkichi AomoriOriginal AssigneeKabushiki Kaisha ToshibaExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (11), Non-Patent Citations (2), Referenced by (60), Classifications (5), Legal Events (4) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetEndoscopeUS 5005558 AAbstract An endoscope includes an operating body having a knob, a flexible insertion tube having a bending tube part, to be inserted into an object to be observed, and wires for bending the bending tube part by operating the knob. The bending tube part includes ring link members having a tubular form, and flexible connection members for coupling adjacent two ring link members at upper and lower or left and right sides thereof, alternately, to connect the ring link members with one another in series.
What is claimed is: 1. An endoscope comprising:an operating body having an operating knob thereon; a flexible insertion tube connected to the operating body, including a flexible tube part, a bending tube part and an end part, in series; and wires for bending the bending tube part of the flexible insertion tube by operating the operating knob, the bending tube part comprising: ring link members having peripheral holes, the wires passing through the peripheral holes; and flexible connection members for coupling two adjacent ring link members at alternate pairs of sides to connect the ring link members with one another in series, each connection member being composed of a single flexible elongate member which is flexible in a direction approximately perpendicular to its longitudinal direction, the opposite ends of each flexible connection member being secured to the ring link members. 2. The endoscope of claim 1, wherein each link ring member includes four peripheral holes at four sides, and each flexible connection member has a tubular form and includes a through-hole, and wherein each flexible connection member is secured at the peripheral holes of the two adjacent ring link members, and the wires pass through the holes of the flexible tubular connection members.
11. A bending tube part comprising:ring link members having peripheral holes, the wires passing through the peripheral holes; and flexible connection members for coupling two adjacent ring link members at alternate pairs of sides to connect the ring link members with one another in series, each flexible connection member being composed of a single flexible elongate member which is flexible in a direction approximately perpendicular to a longitudinal direction thereof, opposite ends of each flexible connection member being secured to the ring link members. 12. The endoscope of claim 11, wherein each link ring member includes four peripheral holes at four sides, each flexible connection member having a tubular form includes a through-hole, and wherein each flexible connection member is secured at the peripheral holes of the two adjacent ring link members, and the wires pass through the holes of the flexible tubular connection members.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an endoscope having a bending tube part, free from the aforementioned defects and disadvantages of the prior art, which is capable of elongating the life of the bending tube part and positioning an end part of a flexible insertion tube to a proper position even after a part of the bending tube part is contacted with an inside wall of an object to be observed, and which has a simple structure and is fabricated in a simple manner.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will be more apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments thereof in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 3 the first embodiment of a bending tube part 6 of an endoscope 1 according to the present invention, which comprises an operating body 2, a flexible insertion tube 3 and an electric cord 4 to be connection to an electrical plug, the flexible insertion tube 3 including a flexible tube part 5, the bending tube part 6 connected to the end of the flexible tube part 5, and an end part 7 connected to the end of the bending tube part 6, as shown in FIG. 1. The bending tube part comprises a plurality of ring link members 21 having a tubular form, connected with one another in series through flexible connection members 25. In the ring link members 21, a light guide, electric leads for an image guide, the CCD and the like, tubes for feeding air and water and sucking air, a forceps channel and the like are passed. Usually, the ring link members 21 are covered by a braid and an outer cover.
TABLE 1______________________________________material            G: kgf/mm2 (N/mm2)______________________________________Spring steel material               8 � 103                        (78 � 103)Hard steel wire     8 � 103                        (78 � 103)Piano wire          8 � 103                        (78 � 103)Oil-tempered wire   8 � 103                        (78 � 103)Stainless  AISI 302     7 � 103                            (69 � 103)steel wire AISI 304      AISI 316      AISI 631 J1  7.5 � 103                            (74 � 103)Brass wire          4 � 103                        (39 � 103)Nickel silver wire  4 � 103                        (39 � 103)Phosphor bronze wire               4.3 � 103                        (42 � 103)Beryllium copper wire               4.5 � 103                        (44 � 103)______________________________________ G: Modulus of transverse elasticity (As G decreases, flexibility increases)
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paymentYear of fee payment: 12Sep 29, 1998FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 8Sep 19, 1994FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Jul 11, 1989ASAssignmentOwner name: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA, JAPANFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST.;ASSIGNOR:AOMORI, KOHKICHI;REEL/FRAME:005155/0723Effective date: 19890701RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services©2012 Google