Surgery – Endoscope – Having flexible tube structure
Reexamination Certificate
2001-06-26
2004-02-10
Leubecker, John P. (Department: 3739)
Surgery
Endoscope
Having flexible tube structure
C600S139000, C600S130000, C600S144000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06689052
ABSTRACT:
This application claims benefit of Japanese Application No. 2000-199740 filed in Japan on June 30, the contents of which are incorporated by this reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an endoscope having a plurality of built-in components placed in a soft section thereof that is flexible.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, endoscopes for medical use are widely used to observe intracavitary organs or to perform various kinds of cures and treatments. The endoscope includes an elongated insertion member that is inserted into a body cavity. Treatment instruments used to perform cures and treatments are, if required, passed through a treatment instrument channel that is formed in the endoscope.
Endoscopes and treatment instruments employed in the medical field are inserted into body cavities for use. When the endoscope or treatment instrument that is used once must be reused to examine or treat another patient, the endoscope or treatment instrument must be cleaned and sterilized at the completion of each examination or treatment in order to prevent inter-patient infection through the endoscope or treatment instrument.
In recent years, autoclaving, that is, so-called high-pressure steam sterilization has become a mainstream of disinfection and sterilization of a medical instrument. This is attributable to the fact that autoclaving is not labor-intensive, enables use of equipment immediately after sterilization, and requires little running costs.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-285103 has disclosed an endoscopic autoclave that autoclaves an endoscope without affecting the features of the endoscope.
The environment for high-pressure steam sterilization is very severe on an endoscope that is an electronic precision apparatus. For this reason, unlike an endoscope conditioned to undergo ordinary disinfection or sterilization, an endoscope to be sterilized with high-pressure steam is designed to resist high pressure, high temperature, steam, or the like, and is therefore so durable as to withstand severe conditions.
However, even when an endoscope is durable, if the endoscope is repeatedly sterilized with high-pressure steam, a soft section of an insertion member of the endoscope that is inserted into a body cavity is degraded unlike a hard section thereof. The soft section is flexible and resilient and demanded to exhibit a delicate property.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope whose soft section maintains a delicate property, which it exhibits initially, for a prolonged period of time despite repeated sterilization of the endoscope with high-pressure steam.
Briefly, according to the present invention, there is provided an endoscope characterized by a soft section thereof through which built-in components lie. The endoscope consists mainly of a flexible tube and pluralities of metallic and nonmetallic built-in components. The flexible tube is made by sheathing a metallic tubular member with a nonmetallic tubular member. The pluralities of metallic and nonmetallic built-in components lie through the flexible tube. As one property of the flexible tube, the hardness of at least a portion of the flexible tube which discourages bending is determined so that the hardness exhibited by the metallic tubular member that is an integral part of the flexible tube and the metallic built-in components will be higher than the hardness exhibited by the nonmetallic tubular member that is an integral part of the flexible tube and the nonmetallic built-in components. Consequently, despite repeated sterilization with high-pressure steam, the delicate property of the flexible tube hardly deteriorates.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3854473 (1974-12-01), Matsuo
patent: 4329980 (1982-05-01), Terada
patent: 4977887 (1990-12-01), Gouda
patent: 5810715 (1998-09-01), Moriyama
patent: 6179776 (2001-01-01), Adams et al.
patent: 5-285103 (1993-11-01), None
Leubecker John P.
Olympus Corporation
Scully Scott Murphy & Presser
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