Spiral unit, insertion apparatus, and manufacturing method of spiral unit

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9538904-B2
Application number	US-201514974752-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 18, 2015
Priority date	Jun 26, 2013
Publication date	Jan 10, 2017
Grant date	Jan 10, 2017

Abstract

A spiral unit includes a base tube extended along a longitudinal axis and made of a first thermoplastic resin, and a fin disposed on an outer peripheral surface of the base tube along a fin axis spirally extended around the longitudinal axis and made of a second thermoplastic resin. The fin includes a strip portion provided in a state of being bonded to the outer peripheral surface of the base tube and spirally extended along the fin axis. The second resin being mixed with a magnetic material in the strip portion.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A spiral unit comprising:
a base tube which is extended along a longitudinal axis, and which is made of a first thermoplastic resin;
a fin which is disposed on an outer peripheral surface of the base tube along a fin axis spirally extended around the longitudinal axis, and which is made of a second thermoplastic resin, the fin including a hollow portion in which a cavity portion is formed along the fin axis;
a strip portion which is provided in a state of being bonded to the outer peripheral surface of the base tube in the fin, and which is spirally extended along the fin axis on an inner peripheral direction side of the cavity portion; and
a magnetic material which is mixed with the second resin in the strip portion, and which is configured to generate heat when vibrated to fuse the second resin.

2. The spiral unit according to claim 1 ,
wherein, in a cross section perpendicular to the fin axis, a strip width dimension of the strip portion in a fin width direction, which is a direction perpendicular to the fin axis and also perpendicular to a radial direction of the base tube, is smaller than a cavity width dimension of the cavity portion in the fin width direction.

3. An insertion apparatus comprising:
the spiral unit according to claim 1 ; and
an inserting section which is extended along the longitudinal axis, and to which the spiral unit is attached in a state of being inserted through the spiral unit.

4. The insertion apparatus according to claim 3 ,
wherein, in a state where the spiral unit is attached to the inserting section, the base tube and the fin are integrally rotatable in a periaxial direction of the longitudinal axis relative to the inserting section.

5. A manufacturing method of a spiral unit, comprising:
forming a base tube along a longitudinal axis from a first thermoplastic resin;
forming a fin along a fin axis from a second thermoplastic resin, the fin being formed in a state where a strip portion in which the second resin is mixed with a magnetic material is extended along the fin axis;
winding the fin on an outer peripheral surface of the base tube in a state where the fin axis is spirally extended around the longitudinal axis, the fin being wound in a state where the strip portion abuts on the outer peripheral surface of the base tube; and
generating heat in the strip portion by applying electromagnetic waves to vibrate the magnetic material, the heat performing at least one of fusing the second resin in the strip portion and fusing the first resin in an abutting portion of the base tube to the strip portion, and thereby bonding the strip portion to the outer peripheral surface of the base tube.

6. The manufacturing method according to claim 5 ,
wherein bonding the strip portion to the outer peripheral surface of the base tube includes cooling the fused first resin and/or the fused second resin to coagulate the first resin and/or the second resin.

Assignees

• Olympus Corp

Inventors

• Ailinger Robert E
• Frassica James J
• Andrews Richard M
• Miyoshi Hiroaki

Classifications

• A61B1/0011 Primary

  Manufacturing of endoscope parts · CPC title

• B29C65/1403

  characterised by the type of electromagnetic or particle radiation (B29C65/1603 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A61M25/01

  Introducing, guiding, advancing, emplacing or holding catheters (A61M25/10 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B29K2101/12

  Thermoplastic materials · CPC title

• A61B1/0016

  using motor drive units · CPC title