Flexible tube insertion apparatus
AssigneeOlympus Corporation
InventorShuji NAKAMURA
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An insertion apparatus includes a flexible tube to be inserted into an insertion target. The flexible tube is divided into segments arranged in series along a central axis. The insertion apparatus also includes a variable stiffness portion that varies a bending stiffness of the flexible tube in units of segments, a detector that detects state information of the flexible tube including velocity information, a calculator that calculates the velocity information of the flexible tube at two portions of the flexible tube based on the state information, and a controller that controls the bending stiffness of the flexible tube in units of segments through the variable stiffness portion based on a velocity ratio calculated based on the velocity information of the two portions.
Claims12
A flexible tube insertion apparatus comprising:
- a flexible tube that is divided into segments arranged in series along a central axis and is to be inserted into an insertion target;
- a variable stiffness portion that varies a bending stiffness of the flexible tube in units of segments;
- a state detector that detects state information related to a state of the flexible tube including at least velocity information of the flexible tube;
- a state calculator that calculates the velocity information of the flexible tube at two portions of the flexible tube based on the state information;
- and
- a stiffness controller that controls the bending stiffness of the flexible tube in units of segments through the variable stiffness portion based on a velocity ratio calculated based on the velocity information of the two portions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.