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AssigneeOlympus Optical Co., Ltd.
InventorHiroki Moriyama
Estimating the term…
An endoscope characterized by a soft section thereof through which built-in components lie has a flexible tube and pluralities of metallic built-in components 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 built-in components and nonmetallic built-in components lie through the flexible tube. As one property of the flexible tube, the hardness of at least a certain 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.
An endoscope having built-in components lying therethrough comprising:
An endoscope capable of being sterilized with high-temperature high-pressure steam comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.