Granted Patent B2

US 12,629,008 · App. 18/030,402 · Granted May 19, 2026

Inventors: Anh Minh Do (Munich, DE); Wolfgang Mayer (Friedberg, DE)

Assignee: HOYA CORPORATION

A61B1/0056A61B1/00071A61B1/00078A61B1/0057A61B1/0055

Abstract

Claims (23)

1 . An endoscope comprising:

a flexible insertion tube; and

a bending portion comprising a sleeve and controllable from a proximal side, the bending portion being distally connected to the insertion tube,

wherein in the bending portion at least one pull rope longitudinally extends to provide for a pivoting movement of the bending portion, the at least one pull rope being anchored to a distal end of the bending portion,

wherein a biased bendable divider dividing a cross-section of the sleeve into separate first and second chambers having the same cross sectional size is arranged in a longitudinal direction of the bending portion in parallel to the at least one pull rope, the divider having a predefined bend toward one side of the bending portion such that the bending portion is pre-bent to the one side,

wherein the at least one pull rope is arranged in only the first chamber,

wherein in a pre-bent state of the bending portion, the first chamber is located outside of a radius of the divider, and

wherein the second chamber includes at least one of a camera cable and a light conductor and is inside of the radius of the divider.

2 . The endoscope according to claim 1 , wherein

the divider is anchored on its proximal side to a distal end region of the insertion tube.

3 . The endoscope according to claim 2 , wherein

the insertion tube has an outer cover and, beneath the outer cover, an elastic wire mesh, the proximal side of the divider being anchored to a distal end region of the wire mesh, and

the proximal side of the divider is inserted into, welded to or glued into the distal end region of the wire mesh.

4 . The endoscope according to claim 1 , wherein

the sleeve of the bending portion has an outer diameter of 3 mm or less.

5 . The endoscope according to claim 1 , wherein

the sleeve of the bending portion has an outer diameter of 1 mm or less.

6 . The endoscope according to claim 1 , wherein

the divider is made from spring steel, stainless steel or a bendable plastic material.

7 . The endoscope according to claim 1 , wherein

the sleeve of the bending portion includes a spring element embedded therein.

8 . The endoscope according to claim 1 , wherein

a cross-section of the divider is wider in a first direction and is narrower in a second direction being perpendicular to the first direction.

Assignments (1)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (55)