Olympus Corporation

Olympus Medical Systems Corporation

Hideyuki Seto

Takashi Nara

Eijiro Sato

Shigeyasu Kishioka

Toshiyuki Kubonoya

Takeru Kondo

In a bending tube for endoscope on which torsion preventing tab mechanisms are provided on the respective middle parts of first and second slots for bending located in an area from the proximal end of a bending tube body to a predetermined position on the distal end side (the torsion suppressing area), and the bending tube body being permitted to bend by the first and second slots for bending, the torsion preventing tab mechanism of at least any one of the first and second slots for bending arranged on the proximal end side of each of arrays (first and second arrays), other than the first and second slots for bending located at the most proximal end, among the first and second slots for bending arrayed in a same line, respectively, along a longitudinal direction of the bending tube body, is removed.

Bending tube for endoscope and endoscope

Included are a bending tube; slits; wire guides; an outer coat member; and hole portions that are formed between particular slits in a distal end region that is forward from a central region on an outer circumference of a cylindrical member, each of the hole portions being communicated with any one of the slits, the wire guides covered by the outer coat member being respectively fixed to the hole portions while being attached to the cylindrical member from an outside thereof.

Bending tube and medical instrument

An inserting portion has, at the proximal end thereof, an operating portion having a bending lever for bending operation. The operating portion has, on the front end side thereof, a grip portion gripped by an operator. The grip portion has therein a plate frame as an internal structure for ensuring predetermined strength. At the notch portion formed by partly notching the frame, an image pick-up unit is mounted to form an optical image transmitted by image guiding fibers to a CCD via a relay optical system. The image pick-up unit is fixed to the frame via an attaching member. Thus, predetermined strength is assured and the image pick-up unit is compactly accommodated with simple structure. A predetermined image pick-up function using the image pick-up unit is held without the action of high tension to the image guiding fibers by mounting a bending portion to the image guiding fibers.

Growing community of inventors

Hino, Japan

Hideyuki Seto