1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a forceps plug of an endoscope for closing an inlet of a channel through which a treatment tool is inserted.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the forceps plug of an endoscope, there is usually provided an elastic seal member. The seal member has an opening structured by a slit or the like. The seal member is normally closed and it can be spread open by inserting a treatment tool into the opening. The seal member can assume many and diverse shapes.
Treatment tools of an endoscope to be inserted into the forceps plug are versatile and include forceps, a snare, a syringe, a basket and a medium injection tube. Such treatment tools are roughly divided into two groups, one using a metallic coil pipe as a shaft and the other using a flexible tube made of a synthetic resin.
The coil pipe has comparatively high stiffness and problems are less likely to occur when it is inserted into or detached from the forceps plug. On the other hand, since the flexible tube does not have high stiffness, the flexible tube will be bent by the resistance developed when the flexible tube is passed through the slit formed in the seal member of the forceps plug, so that the flexible tube become no longer function.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds