Patent ID: 7427262

Claim:
An endoscope with deflected distal viewing, the endoscope comprising: a rigid tube containing lighting means and observation means, said lighting means comprising a first single deflector prism mounted at the distal end of the tube and defining a lighting axis, said observation means comprising a second single deflector prism mounted at the distal end of the tube and defining a viewing axis, light guide means extending substantially from a proximal end of the tube to the deflector prism of the lighting means, and image transmission means extending from the deflector prism of the observation means to the proximal end of the tube, wherein the first and second deflector prisms are disposed transversely side by side and are carried by a common cradle configured to pivot about a transverse axis perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the viewing axis or the lighting axis, at least one of the deflector prisms being tilted laterally towards the other prism so that the viewing axis and the lighting axis converge at a certain distance from the endoscope, further comprising a longitudinal tab hinged to said cradle about a hinge axis substantially parallel to said transverse axis at a distal end of said longitudinal tab, wherein a proximal end of said longitudinal tab is secured to an adjusting tube, said adjusting tube being slidably mounted inside said rigid tube, and wherein said distal end of said longitudinal tab comprises a transverse cylindrical finger received in a transverse semi-cylindrical recess in a bottom portion of the cradle.