Video endoscope
AssigneeOlympus Winter & Ibe GmbH
InventorsMartin Wieters, Annika Goehring
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A video endoscope including: an elongated shaft having an inner shaft tube and an outer shaft tube; and an electrical connecting element extending in a longitudinal direction of the shaft between the inner shaft tube and the outer shaft tube. Wherein the electrical connecting element is configured as a flexible printed circuit board with at least one conducting path which is routed substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the shaft, and the electrical connecting element is routed at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shaft at at least one location of the shaft.
Claims11
A video endoscope comprising:
- an elongated shaft having an inner shaft tube and an outer shaft tube;
- and
- an electrical connecting element extending in a longitudinal direction of the shaft between the inner shaft tube and the outer shaft tube;
- wherein the electrical connecting element is configured as a flexible printed circuit board with at least one conducting path which is routed substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the shaft, and
- the electrical connecting element is routed at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shaft at at least one location of the shaft;
- wherein the electrical connecting element comprises a distal section, a proximal section, and a transition section disposed between the distal section and the proximal section, the electrical connecting element being routed parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shaft at the distal section and at the proximal section, and is routed at least partially at the angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shaft at the transition section;
- and
- an annular space between the inner and outer shaft tubes is widened in a region of the shaft corresponding to the transition section of the connecting element as compared to an annular space between the inner and outer shaft tubes in regions corresponding to the distal section and the proximal section of the connecting element.
A video endoscope comprising:
- an elongated shaft having an inner shaft tube and an outer shaft tube;
- and
- an electrical connecting element extending in a longitudinal direction of the shaft between the inner shaft tube and the outer shaft tube;
- wherein the electrical connecting element is configured as a flexible printed circuit board with at least one conducting path which is routed substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the shaft, and
- the electrical connecting element is routed at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shaft at at least one location of the shaft;
- wherein the connecting element is fixed to the inner shaft tube in one or more of a proximal end of the connecting element or a distal end of the connecting element;
- the connecting element is fixed on the inner shaft tube by one or more electrically insulating heat-shrink tubings;
- the video endoscope further comprising a guide for guiding the connecting element, the guide being disposed at the at least one location;
- wherein the one or more heat shrinking tubings comprise a first heat shrink tubing and a second heat shrink tubing;
- the first heat shrink tubing having a distal end which fixes the distal end of the connecting element and the first heat shrink tubing having a proximal end that is overlapped by the guide;
- and
- the second heat-shrink tubing having a proximal end which fixes the proximal end of the connecting element and the second heat shrink tubing having a distal end that overlaps the guide.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.