Endoscopes

Claim 1

AN ENDOSCOPE FOR EXAMINATION OF A REMOTE INNER AREA INSIDE OF A BODY COMPRISING IN COMBINATION AN ELONGATED TUBULAR HOUSING HAVING PROXIMAL AND DISTAL ENDS AND A FLEXIBLE PORTION ADAPTED IN SIZE AND SHAPE FOR INTRODUCING INTO SAID BODY, INCLUDING FLEXIBLE LIGHT CONDUCTING MEANS OPERATING BY INTERNAL REFLECTION OF LIGHT CONNECTED TO SAID HOUSING FOR TRANSMITTING LIGHT FROM AN EXTERNAL SOURCE OF LIGHT FOR ILLUMINATING SAID INNER REMOTE AREA, SAID LIGHT-CONDUCTING FLEXIBLE MEANS COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE ENTIRELY SOLID FIBER, SAID FIBER BEING PROVIDED WITH A CORE OF LIGHT-TRANSPARENT MATERIAL HAVING A HIGH INDEX OF REFRACTION AND A COATING HAVING A LOWER INDEX OF REFRACTION THAN SAID CORE FOR PREVENTING ESCAPE OF LIGHT, A WINDOW IN SAID HOUSING FOR ADMITTING THE IMAGE OF SAID EXAMINED AREA, AN IMAGE-CONDUCTING BUNDLE OF ENTIRELY SOLID FIBERS COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF FIBERS OPERATING BY INTERNAL REFLECTION OF LIGHT AND DISPOSED IN SAID HOUSING FOR RECEIVING AND TRANSPORTING SAID IMAGE, ESSENTIALLY EACH OF SAID PLURALITY OF FIBERS HAVING A CORE OF LIGHT-TRANSPARENT MATERIAL HAVING A HIGH INDEX OF REFRACTION AND ESSENTIALLY EACH OF SAID PLURALITY OF FIBERS COVERED BY A COATING, SAID COATING BEING OF A MATERIAL HAVING A LOWER INDEX OF REFRACTION THAN SAID LIGHT-TRANSPARENT MATERIAL, SAID COATING BEING RELATIVELY THIN IN COMPARISON TO SAID CORE AND SPACING EACH OF SAID FIBERS FROM ADJACENT FIBERS FOR PREVENTING ESCAPE OF LIGHT FROM ONE FIBER TO ANOTHER, SAID FIBERS BEING LONG IN RELATION TO THEIR DIAMETER SO THAT THE LIGHT IS REFLECTED IN SAID FIBERS INTERNALLY A NUMBER OF TIMES WITHOUT APPRECIABLE LOSS OF INTENSITY, SAID FIBERS FURTHERMORE BEING ASSEMBLED SO AS TO PROVIDE AN ENDFACE OF AN APPRECIABLE CROSS-SECTION, SAID IMAGE CONDUCTING BUNDLE COMPRISING IN ADDITION MEANS FOR MAINTAINING ESSENTIALLY ALL SAID FIBERS IN A FIXED RELATIONSHIP TO EACH OTHER, SAID MAINTAINING MEANS BEING PROVIDED ONLY AT EACH END OF SAID BUNDLE.