Patent ID: 8197400

Claim:
A system for rotatably coupling a first segment of an endoscope shaft to a second segment of an endoscope shaft, the system comprising: (i) an endoscope shaft comprising a proximal end and a distal end and one or more internal components of the endoscope passing therethrough; wherein the shaft is formed into a first segment having a first threaded end and a second segment having a second threaded end; and (ii) a joint having a housing with a first end and a second end secured, respectively, to the first threaded end of the first segment and the second threaded end of the second segment, each of the first and second ends of the housing including a threaded bore adapted to rotatably receive a corresponding one of the first threaded end of the first segment and the second threaded end of the second segment, and wherein each of the threaded bores of the first and second ends of the housing includes more threads than present on a corresponding one of the first threaded end of the first segment and the second threaded end of the second segment, wherein the first and second ends of the housing are configured such that they do not rotate relative to each other, and wherein during operation of the system, at least one of the first and second segments of the shaft is rotatable in and with respect to the housing; wherein a first amount of rotation of the second segment in a first direction causes the second segment to move towards the first segment, and wherein further rotation of the second segment in the first direction causes the first segment to move away from the second segment; and wherein a thread of the threaded bore of the first end of the housing extends a distance along the bore such that the thread does not extend to either the first end or the second end of the housing.