Patent ID: 8133170

Claim:
An endoscope having an elongated insertion instrument for introduction into a body cavity, said insertion instrument being connected at a proximal end to a manipulating head grip and being composed of an elongated flexible tube section, an articular section and a rigid tip end section in series from said proximal end, said articular section being angularly flexed in a desired direction by way of a manual operation of at least one flexing wire around a flexing pulley comprising of manual flexion control means on said manipulating head grip, wherein a flexible tube straightening means is incorporated into said flexible tube section to straighten up a curved bend in said flexible tube section on the proximal side of said articular section; said straightening means is coupled with said flexion control means via an interlinking mechanism adapted to activate and deactivate said straightening means in interlinked relation with a flexing operation by said flexion control means; said straightening means comprises a traction wire having one end thereof fixedly connected to a joint portion of said flexible tube with said articular section and having other end wrapped around a straightening pulley; and said flexible tube straightening means is arranged to have a play in length in a span between a fixed fore end and a proximal end portion wrapped around said straightening pulley to delay a straightening action relative to a flexing action by said flexion control means.