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:
Nov. 19, 2002
Filed:
May. 11, 2000
Yuichi Torii, Omiya, JP;
Fuji Photo Optical Co., Ltd., Omiya, JP;
Abstract
A curve control wire, which is inserted in a curved part of an endoscope, is inserted and guided in guide holes of connecting pins, which are rotatably provided inside a plurality of joint rings. A body of the connecting pin is inserted into a hole formed in the joint ring, and the connecting pin body is provided with a flange for preventing the body from falling into the inside of the joint ring and an annular plate for preventing the body from falling to the outside of the joint ring. By such a structure, the curve control wire can be easily inserted into the guide holes. A protection member is attached to the end of the connecting pin. The outer peripheral face of the protection member is made of a material softer than internal members, which are arranged inside the curved part, such as a light guide, a signal cable, a forceps tube, and an air and water supply tube. Thus, the internal members are prevented from being damaged. The joint rings are connected such that intervals between the bodies of the joint rings become gradually larger from the manual control part side of the curved part to the tip component side of the curved part. Thereby, a view area from an objective optical system arranged in the tip component becomes large.