Endoscope apparatus

An endoscope apparatus comprising:

• an endoscope including an insertion section;
• a sheath attached thereto covering at least said insertion section of the endoscope, wherein an insertion-section gap portion is formed between an inner surface of said sheath and an outer surface of said insertion section of the endoscope, wherein a forward end gap portion which communicates with said insertion-section gap portion is formed between an inner surface of an edge portion formed in a forward end portion of said sheath and an outer surface of a forward end portion of said insertion section of the endoscope, and wherein a fluid passage for passing a cleaning fluid or a sucked object is provided in said insertion-section gap portion;
• a tubular cleaning channel arranged within said fluid passage for transporting cleaning fluid toward said forward end portion of said insertion section of said endoscope;
• and
• a nozzle section communicating with said tubular cleaning channel for spraying said cleaning fluid onto an observation window portion formed in the forward end portion of said insertion section of the endoscope is provided in said forward end gap portion.

An endoscope comprising:

• an outer tube covering an insertion section;
• an optical unit for observation arranged inside said insertion section;
• a gap portion which is formed between an insertion-section body, including said optical unit, and said outer tube and which extends along the axial dimension of said insertion section, wherein a fluid passage for effecting at least one of liquid feeding, suction and air feeding is provided in said gap portion;
• and
• a tubular cleaning channel arranged within said fluid passage for transporting cleaning fluid toward said forward end portion of said insertion section of the endoscope.

An endoscope apparatus comprising:

• an insertion-section body including an observation means;
• a covering means for covering said insertion-section body;
• a gap portion which is formed between said insertion-section body and an inner surface of said covering means and which extends along the axial dimension of the insertion section, wherein a fluid passage for performing at least one of liquid feeding, suction and air feeding is provided in said gap portion;
• and
• a tubular cleaning channel arranged within said fluid passage for transporting cleaning fluid toward said forward end portion of said insertion section of the endoscope.