The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 25, 2024
Filed:
Aug. 13, 2020
Olympus Corporation, Tokyo, JP;
OLYMPUS CORPORATION, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A flexible tube insertion apparatus includes a flexible tube to be inserted into a tract, a shape calculation system configured to calculate a shape of the flexible tube, and a bend detection unit configured to detect formation of first and second bend portions in the flexible tube, based on information of the calculated shape of the flexible tube. The apparatus also includes a positional relationship calculation unit configured to calculate a three-dimensional positional relationship expressed by a crossing angle between first and second imaginary planes respectively passing through the first and second bend portions, and a stiffness control system configured to control a stiffness of the flexible tube, based on the three-dimensional positional relationship.