US1995196A - Instrument for examining tubes and cavities in the human and other bodies - Google Patents

Description

G. WOLF March 19, 1935.

DIES

INSTRUMENT FOR EXAMINING TUBES AND CAVITIE IN THE HUMAN AND OTHER BO Filed June 29, 1953 Patented Mar. 19, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE OTHER BODIES Georg Wolf, Berlin,

Georg Wolf G. in.

TUBES T AND Germany, assignor to firm b. H., Berlin, Germany Application June 29, 1933, Serial No.

In Germany July 6, 1932 3 Claims.

I have filed an application in 1932.

The present invention relates to instruments according to the copending application Ser. No.

Germany, July 6,

5 549,369 and aims at considerably increasing their eificiency. Instruments of this kind have proved to be specially suitable when not all, but only part of their length is flexible and when the remaining part, viz. the part between eye-piece and approximately the middle is rigid. This kind of flexibility is just suflicient to provide for the desired facile introduction into a body and, on the other hand, the instrument not only ofiers the advantage of an improved image quality but also provides the possibility of a better control during the introduction and examination.

The image quality obtained in an instrument according to the parent patent may be further improved by making the lenses in the flexible part displaceable along the interior of the hose and by providing that an elastic pressure pushes these lenses against the one end of the flexible hose. Not only is there obtained in this manner a better elasticity of the instrument, but also the possibility of adjusting the lenses relatively to each other is largely improved as compared to that in the. constructional form according to the parent patent, in which the different lenses are tightly screwed to the hose.

Further, the construction of the instruments according to the parent patent, in which the hose containing the optical parts is enveloped in a hose of elastic material, for instance rubber, proved that the air or the like to be introduced into the cavity to be examined may preferably flow through the space between the two hoses. This is explained in the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawmg.

The accompanying drawing represents the constructional example of a gastroscope according to the invention in longitudinal sectionon a comparatively large scale (Figure 1) and in view (Figure 2).

The gastroscope represented in the drawing consists of a rigid part a and a flexible part a these two parts being interconnected by anintermediate piece 03. The rigid part alcontains an eye-piece a. In the flexible part a of the instrument, the mounts of the'lenses designated 1) are loosely disposed next to each other and held in position bymeans of a cylindrical spiral spring c pressing them against the intermediate piece (1 The flexible part a of the instrument is enveloped in a rubber hose d (which is represented in Figure 1 only). With the exception of its ends, which are cemented to the instrument, the hose d lies loosely against the tube a. The wall of the rigid part a of the instrument has a canal e for the supply of air, this canal leading to where the rubber hose dis beginning to be loose. In the other end of the loose part of the rubber hose d, near the objective, is disposed an aperture d Air pressed into the canal e direct, enters at a: the space between the rubber hose d and the flexible-tube a? and passes by way of the aperture d into the stomach.

I claim:

1. An instrument for examining the interior of tubes and cavities in the human and other bodies, comprising a metal tube, an objective, and an eye piece, the objective and the eye-piece being disposed in the front and the rearend of the said tube, respectively, that part of the said tube which extends from.the objective to approximately the middle of the tube being flexible, and the remaining part of the tube being rigid, and a comparatively great number of converging lenses disposed at short intervals within the flexible part of the tube, these lenses receiving the beam of light which emanates from the objective and directingthis beam to the eye-piece.

2. An instrument for examining the interior of tubes and cavities in the human and other bodies, comprising a metal tube, an objective, and an eye-piece, the objective and the eye-piece being disposed in the front and the rear said tube, respectively, at least part of the said tube being flexible, a comparatively great number of converging lenses disposed in such a manner in the flexible part as to be freely displaceable in the direction of the axis of this part, and resilient means adapted to press these lenses against the one end of the said tube.

3. An instrument for examining the interior of tubes and cavities in the human and other bodies, comprising a metal tube, an objective, and an eye-piece, the objective and the eye-piece being disposed in the front and the rear end of the said tube, respectively, lenses so placed in the tube and between the objective and the eyepiece as to direct to the eye-piece the beam of light emanating from 'the objective, an elastic hose enveloping the said tube, and means disposed in the instrument and adapted to introduce air between the tube andthe hose into the cavities or tubes to be examined.

GEoRG WOLF.

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