Patent ID: 8753261

Claim:
An endoscope apparatus comprising: an image pickup unit for performing an image pickup; an insertion portion including a tube provided with a hole portion into which the image pickup unit is inserted, the tube having flexibility; a thrust generating portion for generating a thrust by rotation, having a coil shape member wound on an outer-peripheral surface of the tube; a rotation device for rotating the thrust generating portion around a longitudinal axis of the tube; a length calculating portion for calculating a contact length of the thrust generating portion inserted into a subject in contact with the subject in a direction of the longitudinal axis; and a control portion for controlling a rotational speed of the thrust generating portion to be variable according to the contact length calculated by the length calculating portion, so that the rotational speed reduces as the contact length increases, wherein the coil shape member is formed in a solid-wound coil shape by winding a wire having a circular cross section on an outer-peripheral surface of the tube in the direction of the longitudinal axis such that the adjacent windings are in contact with each other, and the thrust generating portion formed by the coil shape member on an entire outer circumferential surface of the insertion portion in the direction of the longitudinal axis except the distal end portion and a connector which is provided at a proximal end of the insertion portion and to which the rotation device is detachably connected.