Mechanism for bending elongated body
AssigneeSumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
InventorsIchiro Sogawa, Nao-omi Maeda, Kazuhiko Hayashi, Masahiko Kanda, Koro Yotsuya
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Abstract
A mechanism for bending an elongated body such as the tube of an endoscope without the use of electric elements, thereby eliminating a shock hazard. A shape-memorizing alloy is inserted into the elongated body at portions to be bent. In some embodiments, heat for causing the shape-memorizing alloy and hence the elongated body to bend is produced by light carried by an optical fiber, while in other embodiments frictional heat produced by a mechanism vibrator is employed. In some embodiments using light, a shutter arrangement is added to control the heating of the shape-memorizing alloy.
Claims25
In a mechanism for bending an elongated body including an optical fiber, the improvement wherein said optical fiber comprises a core for leading a heating light beam and a cladding, a predetermined portion of said cladding is cut away, and a shape-memorizing alloy is inserted in the cut-away portion of the cladding such that said shape-memorizing alloy is heated with light leaking from said core of the optical fiber thereby bending said shape-memorizing alloy and in turn said elongated body.
In a mechanism for bending an elongated body including an optical fiber, the improvement wherein said optical fiber comprises a core for leading a heating light beam and a cladding, a predetermined portion of said cladding is cut away, a shape-memorizing alloy is inserted in the elongated body adjacent the cut-away portion of said cladding, and said optical fiber is inserted in a tube for controlling a condition under which said shape-memorizing alloy is irradiated and thus heated with light leaking from said cut-away portion of said cladding thereby bending said shape-memorizing alloy and in turn said elongated body.
In a mechanism for bending an elongated body including an optical fiber, the improvement wherein said optical fiber comprises a core for leading a light beam and a cladding, a predetermined portion of said cladding being cut away, a shape-memorizing alloy is inserted in the cut-away portion, and a member constituting a bending part of said elongated body in which said shape-memorizing alloy is disposed has an elastic modulus which varies in a longitudinal direction thereof.
A mechanism for bending an elongated body, comprising:
- an exciter, a vibrating member connected to said exciter and slidably contactually disposed in a predetermined portion within said elongated body, and at least one segment of a shape-memorizing alloy disposed in a portion of said elongated body corresponding to a slide-contacting portion of said vibrating member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.