Patent ID: 8790250

Claim:
An endoscope having a distal end being arranged to be inserted into a body cavity of a patient to be examined and a proximal end which is arranged to be held by a user of the endoscope, said endoscope comprising: a. a handle arranged at the proximal end of the endoscope, b. an insertion portion arranged at the distal end of the handle, c. a bending portion arranged at the distal end of the insertion portion, and d. two control wires arranged between the handle and the bending portion, said control wires being used to control the bending of the bending portion via control inputs made at the handle, wherein the handle comprises at least one lever member supported within a housing of the handle via an axle and arranged to be pivotable about a pivot axis arranged coaxially with said axle, a pulley element located between the proximal end of the handle and the pivot axis of the lever member, wherein said two control wires are attached to said at least one lever member, a first of said control wires being arranged such that the first control wire travels from the at least one lever member in a direction towards the bending portion and the second of said two control wires being arranged such that the second control wire travels from the at least one lever member in a direction towards the pulley element, the second control wire then travels around the pulley element and then travels towards the bending portion, wherein the handle comprises a first spring member connected to the at least one lever member and arranged to return the at least one lever member to a neutral position, wherein the first spring member is in the form of a leaf spring comprising at least one leaf and that the leaf spring is formed with an attachment portion in the middle of the leaf spring, which fits into a corresponding recess in the ends of the axle, the ends of the leaf spring being fixedly supported within the handle, said ends of the leaf spring are sandwiched between a top cover portion of the housing of the handle and a bottom cover portion of the housing of the handle.