CN114271938A - Flexible mechanical arm - Google Patents

Abstract

A flexible mechanical arm can be mainly applied to digestive endoscopy operations. Each condyle of the mechanical arm is formed with a matching boss (402) and a matching groove (403) which extend along orthogonal radial directions and other slope surfaces which incline towards the other end surface side on two opposite end surfaces, so that the bones can approach each other along the axial direction to be buckled together and swing relatively along the matching boss. The four driving ropes (104) penetrating through the threading holes (401) are driven by the transmission case (600) and the driving unit on the control side to assist the mechanical arm to bend and swing at least towards two directions, the driving ropes (206) can be driven to move straightly and rotate, the opening and closing movement and the rotation of the tail end clamping mechanism (100) can be driven, and therefore the bending movement of the clamping mechanism can be more flexible and controllable.

Description

Flexible mechanical arm

Technical Field

The invention relates to a medical instrument, in particular to a flexible surgical instrument for natural cavity surgery.

Background

The traditional endoscopic mucosa cutting hand (ESD operation) is used for completing resection operation on diseased tissues by a gastroenterologist with the assistance of a digestive endoscope. Most of the endoscopes in the market at present are single-instrument-channel endoscopes, the degree of freedom is insufficient, the operation difficulty is high, only the requirement for cutting a diseased mucous membrane can be met, and the lifting action can not be realized during the cutting, so that the requirements for personal skills and experience of doctors in the whole operation process are high, and the operation complication risk and the operation time are increased. Although a double-mechanical-channel digestive endoscope is used in the market, the coaxiality of the two channels causes inconvenience in pulling and cutting tissues and also causes increased surgical complications.

Patent document CN113017838A discloses a flexible mechanical arm and a surgical device, which can basically satisfy the function of lifting and pulling a target mucosa, however, since two segments of condyle components are adopted to correspond to different swing directions, the condyle part is too long, and the operation of an electrotome is easily affected; a section of the condyle assembly located at the distal end may also have problems with insensitivity to manipulation.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a flexible mechanical arm capable of realizing multiple degrees of freedom, so that the bending motion of a clamping mechanism can be more flexible and controllable.

According to the present invention, there is provided a flexible robot arm comprising: the bone joint component is used for driving the execution tail end to swing and comprises a plurality of bone joint units, each bone joint unit is formed to be provided with a cylindrical unit body part extending along the axial direction, a first end face and a second end face, wherein the first end face and the second end face are respectively positioned on one axial side of the unit body part, a matching boss extending along a first radial direction is convexly formed on the first end face, a matching groove extending along a second radial direction is concavely formed on the second end face, the first radial direction and the second radial direction are orthogonal to each other, and the matching boss and the matching groove are provided with curved surface profiles capable of being overlapped together when two adjacent bone joint units are close to each other along the axial direction so as to enable the two adjacent bone joint units to swing relative to each other along the peripheral side faces of the matching boss.

Preferably, the arc of the cross-sectional profile curve of the mating boss is less than a half circle.

Preferably, the first driving ropes respectively pass through the first holes, and the first driving ropes comprise: the ball-shaped ball head is formed at one end of the wire body.

According to the invention, the flexible mechanical arm can be applied to natural cavity surgery, and the flexibility and controllability of the bending motion of the clamping mechanism are effectively improved. By forming the matching boss and the matching groove which extend orthogonally and the rest slope surface which inclines towards the other end surface side on two opposite end surfaces of each condyle unit, under the traction of the driving rope, the bones can be close to each other along the axial direction to be buckled or lapped together and swing relatively along the matching boss.

Drawings

Fig. 1 schematically shows a flexible robot arm (flexible arm for short) according to the invention.

Fig. 2 schematically shows a side view of a partial connection of the gear box of the flexible arm to the drive unit.

Fig. 3 schematically shows a distal portion of the flexible arm.

Figure 4 schematically illustrates a perspective view of the jawarm assembly of the flexible arm and its surrounding structure.

Figure 5 schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of the jawarm assembly and its surrounding structure.

Fig. 6 schematically shows a partial view from the left side of fig. 5.

Fig. 7-8 schematically illustrate cross-sectional views of distal portions of flexible arms.

Fig. 9-11 schematically illustrate perspective views of the condyle elements.

Fig. 12 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the fastening relationship between two adjacent condyle elements.

Fig. 13 schematically illustrates a perspective view of the assembly principle of the capillary cable and the condyle assembly.

Fig. 14 schematically illustrates a micro-bulb structure of the distal portion of the capillary wire rope.

Fig. 15 schematically shows a partial perspective view of the connection hose of the flexible arm.

Fig. 16 schematically shows an inside perspective view of the transmission case of the flexible arm.

Fig. 17 schematically shows a perspective view of the drive system viewed from obliquely above.

Fig. 18 schematically shows a top view looking at the upper connection layer of the drive system.

Detailed Description

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The exemplary embodiments described below and illustrated in the figures are intended to teach the principles of the present invention and enable one skilled in the art to implement and use the invention in several different environments and for several different applications. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims, and the exemplary embodiments are not intended to, and should not be considered as, limiting the scope of the invention.

For ease of description herein to better understand the present application, the proximal, and proximal sides are used to describe the direction or position of the medical device in use that is closer to the operator along the longitudinal axis of the flexible arm, while the distal, and distal sides correspond to the sides that are further from the operator along the axis in use. The terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "center", "inner", "outer", and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on those shown in the drawings, and are only for convenience of description, but do not indicate or imply that the referred devices or elements must have a specific orientation or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus, should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

The flexible robotic arm shown in fig. 1, including flexible arm 500 and gear box 600, is also referred to as the consumable portion of the surgical device due to its disposable nature.

As shown in fig. 2, the transmission case 600 is snapped to the upper connection layer 601 of the driving unit 610 via a snap 609 or the like. The drive unit 610 and the transmission case 600 constitute a drive system of the flexible arm via a linkage mechanism therebetween, and drive the distal jaw member 100 of the flexible arm to operate.

The distal portion of the flexible arm is used to perform a pulling action during endoscopic surgery, and the flexible arm illustrated in fig. 3 is configured to include: the forceps head part 100 is provided with a forceps head assembly 101 and a forceps head rotating unit 102, a bone joint part 103, a capillary steel wire rope 104, a guide pipe 105, an outer sleeve hose 106 and a steel wire rope 206, and the forceps head part is used for realizing opening and closing of a forceps jaw, rotation of the forceps jaw, integral up-and-down swinging, integral left-and-right swinging and integral front-and-back stretching. The upper and lower, left and right, and front and back are taken as examples to facilitate the description of the different degrees of freedom, but the specific relative directions and orientations are not limited thereto.

As shown in fig. 4 to 5, the quadrangular link structure 200 composed of the forceps head 201A, the forceps head 202B, and the two links 203 is pivotably fixed to the forceps head base 204 and the link base 205 via the forceps head fixing point 209 and the link base fixing point 211, respectively, so that the forceps head unit 101 composed of the forceps head 201A and the forceps head 202B can be opened and closed by the pushing and pulling driving force from the near-side operation transmitted by the wire rope 206, and the tissue can be pulled during the operation.

The binding clip 201A and the binding clip 202B are pivotally fixed to the binding clip base 204 by the binding clip fixing point 209, and the wire rope 206 can move back and forth to drive the connecting rod structure 200 in a pushing or pulling manner to realize opening and closing movements of the binding clip 201A and the binding clip 202B similar to a scissor structure. Wherein the distal end of the cable 206 is directly or indirectly connected to the linkage mount 205, transmitting power from the proximal side through the proximal bottom hole of the jaw mount 204 to the linkage structure 200.

In order to maintain a large clamping force and a proper size of the forceps head, the envelope structure around the mouse teeth is preferably designed to be similar to an ellipse so as to reduce a sharp surface and reduce resistance.

The tong head rotating unit 102 shown in fig. 7 and 8 utilizes the relative rotation between the inner ring and the outer ring of the miniature ball bearing 301 to realize the self-rotation motion of the tong head assembly 101 around the self longitudinal axis.

For example, the collet base 204 is laser welded to the inner race side of the micro ball bearing 301, and the outer race side of the ball bearing 301 is laser welded to the distal flexible arm portion (here, the condyle connector 3022).

When the wire rope 206 receives the torque from the near-side control driving end, the whole of the tong head assembly 101 and the inner ring of the miniature ball bearing 301 can be driven to rotate relative to the outer ring side, and the self-rotation motion of the tong head assembly 101 around the axis of the tong head assembly 101 is realized.

Due to the presence of the micro ball bearings 301, the proximal portion behind the condyle connector 3022 does not have to be rotated to achieve the second degree of freedom, thereby reducing unnecessary resistance and friction with the surrounding environment.

Preferably, the size of the wire rope 206 passing through the bone segments 103 and inside the outer hose 106 is specifically tailored, for example, the cross-sectional diameter of the wire rope 206 is 0.3-0.5mm, so that the degree of bending and flexibility in both directions can be balanced. In addition, the material is not limited to steel, and can also be other suitable biocompatible materials, so that certain torque can be transmitted, and the flexibility is kept without influencing the swing of the flexible arm.

In accordance with the condyle assembly of the present invention, the illustrated condyle portion 103 comprises: the condyle connector 3022 described above, and the plurality of condyle units 400 and the condyle connector 3031, which are sequentially disposed at the distal side thereof.

Outside the condyle connector 3031, a proximally extending outer casing hose 106 is also wrapped, which may be accomplished by bio-flash glue fixation. By selecting the material with smooth surface and moderate elasticity, the endoscope can smoothly pass through the endoscope cavity, and can not excessively deform under the condition of bearing proper tension.

The inner side of the condyle part 103 is provided with a guide tube 105, two ends of the guide tube can be respectively limited in the condyle connecting pieces 3022 and 3031, and the inner side is provided with a steel wire rope 206 to pass through, thereby having a guide function at the inner side and the outer side. Here, the distal and proximal ends of the guide tube 105 preferably terminate and are secured within the condyle connecting elements 3022, 3031.

Preferably, the guide tube 105 has an outer diameter that is the same size as or slightly larger than the inner diameter of the condyle 103, particularly each condyle unit 400, so that a plurality of condyle units 400 may be arranged in order along the outer circumferential axis thereof, and the plurality of condyle units 400 may be connected in series by a plurality of capillary cables 104 to form a row of condyle assemblies adjacent to each other.

Each of the condyle units 400 in a row of the condyle assemblies has the same contour shape at least at the same side end surface in the axial direction, and the axial lengths of the units are not limited to be the same but preferably coincide with each other, so that the respective condyle units may take the completely same structural shape and size, advantageously achieving versatility, and may be assembled by selecting an appropriate number as needed, as long as they are arranged in series in a staggered manner with respect to each other in phase about their own axes.

In this embodiment, there are 7 condyle elements 400: the bone sections 131-137 are connected in series into a row by 4 capillary steel wire ropes 104.

Fig. 9 shows one condyle 131 formed as a block unit extending in the axial direction in the form of a generally cylindrical or prismatic body having an outer cylindrical surface 406 and an inner tubular bore 408.

The outer cylindrical surface 406 has an outer diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the endoscope channel (not shown), e.g., 2.5mm to 3.2mm, and is freely accessible within the endoscope channel.

The tube hole 408 penetrates the center of the unit to allow the guide tube 105 to pass through, and the inner peripheral surface is configured as a spring tube engagement surface 407 that can engage the outer peripheral surface of the guide tube 105 to keep the condyle units 400 from being misaligned.

On the upper surface 404 side shown in fig. 10, between the slope surfaces 4041, 4042 symmetrically formed on both sides of the pipe hole 408, a raised fitting projection 402 is formed in a bridging manner, and the fitting projection 402 has an arc angle α preferably smaller than about a semi-cylinder in cross section and is divided into two fitting projections 4021, 4022 by the pipe hole 408 in the axial direction of the semi-cylinder (radial direction of the corresponding unit). Two through-wire holes 401 are respectively formed on the two upper slope surfaces 4041 and 4042 inclined towards the lower end surface for the capillary steel wire 104 to pass through.

On the lower surface 405 side shown in fig. 11, instead of the raised fitting projection 402 in fig. 10, a fitting groove 403 shaped to fit the fitting projection 402 is formed. Similarly, the mating recess 403 is interrupted by the tube aperture 408 into two mating recesses 4031, 4032. Accordingly, on both lateral sides of the fitting groove 403, slope surfaces 4051, 4052 are formed which are inclined toward the other end surface as being away from the groove.

The upper and lower mating patterns between adjacent condyle elements 400 are shown in fig. 12. The axial projections of the mating bosses 402 of the previous and next units intersect each other, preferably orthogonally. At this time, the respective holes 401 are distributed in four regions of the unit body divided by axial projections of the fitting bosses 402 and the fitting grooves 403.

In other words, when two condyle units 400 formed with the same mating boss 402 (and mating recess 403) are assembled together, one may be axially offset from the other by a phase difference of 90 degrees. The phase difference is an angle of deviation around the axial direction of the condyle element 400 in the axial direction of the imaginary cylinder in which the fitting groove 403 is located with respect to the axial direction of the imaginary cylinder in which the fitting boss 402 is located.

Moreover, only one of the two parts needs to be close to the other part along the axial direction, the matching boss 402 of one part and the matching groove 403 of the other part can be buckled together, and an avoidance space for overall swinging or partial rolling, namely a gap part 409, is formed between the corresponding upper surface 404 and lower surface 405 of the two parts, so that the integral bending of the condyle component is allowed.

Thus, to swing the bone segments 103, the capillary cables 104 can drive the mating projections 402 of one to roll in the mating grooves 403 of the other, and vice versa.

To this end, the angle α of the arc of the cross-sectional profile of the mating boss 402, i.e. the arc between the bridge threads 411, 412 of the two side upwardly sloping surfaces 4041, 4042, is preferably set to less than 180 degrees but not limited thereto, preferably less than 160 degrees but more than 60 degrees. While figure 12 shows that the radian measure beta of the profile line of the contact surface between the two is less than alpha, preferably less than alpha/2 but more than alpha/4.

For example, the groove bottom surface of the mating groove 403 of one condyle element 400 is formed to make surface contact with the convex top surface of the mating boss 402 of another adjacent condyle element 400 at an arc of at least 60 degrees but no greater than 90 degrees.

In addition, between the two slope surfaces 4051, 4052 shown in fig. 11 and the groove bottom surface of the fitting groove 403, a transition curved surface 4033 may be formed to swing more smoothly.

As an example, the arc curvature diameter of the matching boss 402 is preferably 0.6-1.0mm, for example 0.8mm, the arc angle α is not more than 180 °, which allows two adjacent condyle units to be directly mounted and used in an overlapping manner along the axial direction, and the bending angle of the formed condyle assembly is larger, and can reach 30 ° between the condyle units 400.

According to the condyle assembly of this embodiment, the upper surface 404 and the lower surface 405 between the condyle elements 400 initially form an angle of 60 degrees and the maximum angle after bending is 30 degrees. The total number of the bending angles in the two directions is 4, and the total number is 8. Each bend angle is 30 degrees and projects to the capillary 104 control direction, with a cumulative maximum angle of 166 degrees.

Since there is no through hole, e.g., for the threading hole 401, in the solid mating boss 402 and the mating recess 403, a smoother relative deflection between adjacent condylar units 400 is further ensured and disengagement is less likely.

The present invention also relates to a drive unit for controlling the overall forward and backward feed motion of a micro-flexible surgical actuator comprising flexible arms, as described below.

As shown in fig. 13 and 14, a substantially spherical ball 141 is integrally formed at the distal end of the capillary wire 104. The structure shown in fig. 13 can be obtained by passing each capillary wire 104 through the threading holes 401 of the condyles 131 to 137 in sequence from the proximal end.

The body 142 of the capillary wire rope 104 is formed of the same material as the ball 141, such as stainless steel. Preferably, the wire body 142 is made of one or several steel wires, for example, 7 steel wires with a cross section of 1 × 7, or 19 steel wires with a cross section of 1 × 19, or 49 steel wires with a cross section of 7 × 7, and the capillary wire rope 104 with a firm connection between the ball head 141 and the wire body 142 is obtained after cooling by melting one end of the wire body 142 into a ball head.

The outer side of the wire body 142 can be sleeved with a polytetrafluoroethylene sleeve (not shown) with an outer diameter of 0.6mm and an inner diameter of 0.4mm, for example, to reduce resistance and friction, so that friction between the wire body 142 and the threading hole 401 can be reduced, fracture of the wire body 142 due to joint friction can be prevented, and insulation and possible contact between a steel wire rope and an electrified surgical instrument can be achieved.

The steel wire material is exemplified here, but it is needless to say that the steel wire material is not limited to this, and may be an appropriate metal material such as a nickel-titanium alloy material, a non-metal material, or a composite material.

The condyle assembly shown in fig. 8 comprises: a condyle connector 3022, each condyle unit 400 (condyles 131-137), a condyle connector 3031, and a guide tube 105.

The guide tube 105 is preferably made of a material having elasticity and may be formed as a guide spring tube.

A micro hole (not shown) through which the wire 142 passes is formed in each of the condyle connecting element 3022 and the condyle connecting element 3031. At least the diameter of the aperture of the condyle connector 3022 is smaller than the diameter of the ball head 141 to prevent passage of the ball head 141. For example, the diameter of the ball head 141 is less than 1mm, but greater than the pore diameter of the micro-pores by 0.7 mm. Thereby being capable of partially sitting on the micropores and realizing the positioning and limiting of the far end of the capillary wire rope 104 so as to reliably draw the capillary wire rope 104.

After the wire body 142 passes through the micropores of the condyle connecting pieces 3022, the condyles 131 to 137 and the condyle connecting pieces 3031 are sleeved on the capillary steel wire ropes 104. The guide tubes 105 are accordingly inserted through at least the tube apertures 408.

Therefore, the adjacent condyle units 400 can swing along the matching curved surface in the form of a circular arc driven by the capillary steel wire 104 through the lap joint between the matching boss 402 and the matching groove 403 and the gap part 409.

When any two adjacent circumferential members, for example, the capillary cables 1042 and 1043, are pulled back proximally under the driving of the driving member, at least the condyles 131 and 132 are driven to deflect and tilt and swing towards the anterior side (out of the paper) relative to the condyle 133 by means of the relative rolling of the matching boss 402 and the matching groove 403 between the condyles 132 and 133, and finally, the bending type swinging of the condyle assembly towards the side applying the pulling force is realized.

When one, e.g., the capillary cable 1042, is pulled back proximally with only the driving member, it will bring at least the condyle 131 with respect to the condyle 132 into a deflecting, tilting swing to the upper side of the page by means of the relative rolling of the mating boss 402 and the mating recess 403 between the condyles 131, 132, eventually achieving a bending swing of the condyle assembly to the side where the pulling force is applied.

General flexible arm condyle structure adopts two segmentation structures, and one section is carried out the horizontal hunting promptly, and the other section that links up carries out the luffing motion, and both ends combined action makes flexible arm can reach each position, but that section condyle of this structure from the wire rope drive end has the motion inflexibility, and when another section was close to the condyle motion of drive end, the motion flexibility can descend.

In contrast, according to the condyle component disclosed by the invention, the condyles which move left and right and move up and down are arranged in a staggered manner, so that the condyle component can move up and down under the combined pulling of different steel wire ropes, the total size and length are reduced, the condyle component is convenient to practical application, meanwhile, the motions in the other direction cannot be influenced mutually, the condyle component can flexibly move in each direction, and the performance of the condyle component is obviously improved compared with that of a common condyle type structure.

In the past, a steel wire rope is used for driving a condyle, and the steel wire rope generally penetrates through the condyle to reach a motor to be fixed, and the motor pulls the steel wire rope to move so as to drive the condyle to swing. However, the steel wire rope at the end of the bone joint needs to be larger than the hole, otherwise, the steel wire rope is directly pulled by the motor to pass through the wire hole and move by mistake, and the function of pulling the bone joint cannot be achieved. It is common to weld a large weld spot or manually tie a knot, but there are situations where the weld is not strong or where too large a space is not allowed after the knot.

However, when the ball head is welded on the steel wire rope, since half of the welding material is soldering tin, biocompatibility is not necessarily satisfied, and meanwhile, the connection strength between different materials is also a problem. Meanwhile, due to the miniature size of the flexible arm for endoscopic surgery, the convenience of welding seams, stress, fatigue and the like is not good.

In contrast, according to the present invention, the capillary wire rope 104 integrally formed of the same material can obtain a firm connection strength while satisfying biocompatibility, and the problems of the conventional welding, stress, fatigue, and the like are not present or are not present significantly. Thus, the use requirement can be satisfied with a minute size and a special shape.

Because the capillary steel wire rope 104 is provided with the miniature ball head, the steel wire for the ball head can be a fixed product, the ball head 141 can be clamped on a part needing to be pulled, for example, the ball head 141 is partially fixed in the condyle connecting piece 3022, the wire body 142 passes through the channel and can reciprocate to complete transmission, and soldering tin does not need to be additionally welded on the steel wire rope to achieve the same effect. It is also possible to advantageously achieve a small diameter, light weight, and flexibility of the wire body 142.

The condyle connector 3022 may be integrally formed as part of the jaw rotating unit 102 or may be formed separately from the other and fixedly attached together so long as the proximal end of the condyle connector 3022 is formed with the same curved profile as either axial end surface of the condyle unit 400.

If, as illustrated in fig. 3, a mating recess 403 is formed in the proximal end of the condyle connector 3022, then the mating boss 402 side of the condyle 131 may be assembled toward the condyle connector 3022. Finally, the distal end of the condyle connector 3031 may be formed with corresponding mating recesses 403 and mating bosses 402 between the distally adjacent condyles 137. The reverse is true, as well as the mating boss 402 formed at the proximal end of the condyle connector 3022.

That is, the orientation of the 7 condyle units 400, i.e., which of the mating protrusion 402 and the mating recess 403 of each condyle unit 400 is located at the distal side, is not limited as long as the condyle connector 3022 and the condyle connector 3031 are correspondingly provided.

Thus, when assembled, the bottom surface of the fitting groove 403 of one condyle unit 400 may be directly seated on the convex top surface of the fitting boss 402 of another adjacent condyle unit 400, and the body of the condyle portion 103 may be configured by simply stacking the adjacent condyle units on each other, thereby ensuring stability with a large load performance by rolling the fitting boss 402 in the corresponding fitting groove 403 while allowing the respective condyle units 400 to be relatively deflected in the left-right or front-rear direction.

The flexible arm consumable portion as described above in relation to fig. 1, comprising: flexible arm head piece 100, flexible arm 500 and gear box 600. The total length of the jaw part 100 and the flexible arm 500 can be about 1200mm, and the jaw part 100 can pass through an operation auxiliary instrument channel of a double-channel digestive endoscope in the operation process through an endoscope channel by proper material and size design, and can realize the functions of tissue clamping, tissue stripping and the like under the operation of an operator in the endoscope camera visual field.

Fig. 15 shows the outer hose 106 in a view in the direction V-V in fig. 7, with the outermost layer being a polytetrafluoroethylene layer. Four capillary steel cables 104 for controlling swing and a steel cable 206 for controlling opening, closing and rotation are sleeved on the inner side of the device. The capillary steel wire rope 104 is wrapped by a capillary polytetrafluoroethylene tube and used for reducing mutual friction, and the capillary steel wire rope 104 is drawn from the end of the transmission box to control the position change of the tail end of the transmission box so as to enable the tail end surgical instrument to swing. The transmission case 600 stretches the steel wire rope 206 to realize opening and closing of the clamp, and the steel wire rope 206 is rotated to realize rotation of the clamp head.

In the figure, 5 steel wire ropes 104 and 206 are respectively arranged in 5 groups of holes of a row of bone sections in a penetrating manner to form a channel, and the 5 steel wire ropes are mutually separated and do not contact with each other.

Fig. 16 shows a portion of the transmission case 600 provided on the consumable plate 702 after the upper cover is removed and a portion exposed from the plate.

The flexible outer casing hose 106 passes its internal four capillary cables 104 and one cable 206 through the consumable connection 504 to the transmission case 600. The four capillary steel cables 104 are symmetrically divided into two parts after penetrating out of the connecting part 504, penetrate through the guide holes 709, and the tail ends of the four capillary steel cables are respectively connected with the winding and feeding columns 712 of the capillary steel cable winding and feeding unit 710.

The synchronous rotating unit 705 shown in fig. 16 includes: a moving support base 715 constituted by a slide rail (not shown) on the consumable plate 702 and a bearing base slidable along the slide rail, a hollow rotating shaft 612 whose distal end side is supported on the moving support base 715 via the bearing base, and a gear 611' spline-fixed thereto.

Further, the synchronously rotating wire forward-backward moving unit 706 includes: the rack 617 ', the moving support block 621 fixedly connected to the rack 617', and the proximal end side bearing are supported by the rotating shaft 613 of the moving support block 621. Wherein the moving bearing 62 can slide on a predetermined track inside the transmission case 600.

Here, the thickness (i.e., the tooth width) of the gear 611 'corresponds to the length of the rack 617' such that the gear 611 'does not disengage from the rotation gear 611 on the driving unit side during the straight stroke in which the rack 617' moves forward and backward. The rotary shafts 612 and 613 are rotatable in the movable support blocks 715 and 621, respectively, but are not movable in the axial direction relative to each other by an appropriate structure.

The wire rope 206 passes through the synchronous rotation unit 705 in a non-contact manner and is connected to the synchronous rotation wire forward and backward movement unit 706. More specifically, the wire rope 206, after passing through the guide hole 709, continues to pass through the hollow rotating shaft 612 in the moving support block 715 without direct connection, and then is fastened to the rotating shaft 613. The rotating shaft 613 may be hollow, that is, the wire rope 206 may be fixed to the rotating shaft 613 by welding or other fixing means on the way or after passing through the rotating shaft 613 so as to operate together therewith. Here, the rotation shaft 612 and the rotation shaft 613 are preferably integrally formed or at least fixedly connected to form a long shaft having one axis coincident so as to rotate together or move straight forward and backward.

When the unit 706 is moved forward and backward by, for example, a motor on the driving unit side driving the opening gear 617 and the rack 617', the rotating shaft 613 and the wire rope 206 are moved forward and backward together, so as to drive the distal end of the flexible arm distal link structure 200 to perform the opening and closing functions.

When the rotation gear 611 'is driven to rotate by, for example, another motor on the drive unit side, the rotation gear 611' is driven to rotate, the hollow rotation shaft 612 is driven to rotate in a non-contact manner with respect to the wire rope 206 on the inner side thereof, and torque is transmitted to the rotation shaft 613, thereby driving the wire rope 206 to rotate. Because the other end of the steel wire rope 206 is connected with the forceps head at the far side of the flexible arm, the synchronous rotation of the forceps head can be realized.

Alternatively, it may be arranged that the rotation shaft 613 is connected to the gear 611 ' by a cylindrical intermediate transmission shaft (not shown) whose outer periphery is fixed to a central position of the gear 611 ' by, for example, a key connection, and a distal end side of the rotation shaft 613, for example, formed with a square or prismatic cross section, is inserted into the intermediate transmission shaft having a corresponding fitting shape, so that the rotation shaft 613 can be slid within the intermediate transmission shaft by driving of the rack 617 ', the above opening and closing movement is achieved, and the rotation shaft 613 can be driven to rotate together with the gear 611 ' while restricting the rotation of the rotation shaft 613 with respect to the gear 611 ' by a positive connection between the intermediate transmission shaft and the rotation shaft 613 (for example, a groove, rib, key, or the like provided in correspondence with the outer periphery shape of the rotation shaft 613), thereby effecting the jaw rotation described above.

As part of the drive system for a flexible arm surgical instrument, the drive unit 610 shown in fig. 17 has four layers: an upper connection layer 601, a middle connection layer 602, a lower connection layer 603, and a base layer 604. Two drive plates 605,606 are fixedly attached to opposite sides of the drive unit 610.

The driving unit 610 is further provided with 7 motors, which are respectively connected to the two driving boards 605 and 606 located at the two sides of the driving unit 610 and receive electric control signals therefrom, wherein:

the four motors are respectively used for controlling the winding and feeding columns 712 and the capillary steel wire ropes 104 of the capillary steel wire rope winding and feeding unit 710 in the transmission case 600 so as to realize that the tong heads swing towards any direction (corresponding to integral up-down swinging and integral left-right swinging);

a motor controls the synchronous rotating wire forward and backward moving unit 706 (corresponding to the opening and closing of the jaws);

a motor controlling a synchronous rotation wire rotating unit 705 (corresponding to jaw rotation); and

a motor 640 controls the flexible arm to move in and out of the operation cavity (corresponding to the whole body stretching back and forth).

Fig. 18 shows the upper connection layer 601 in a plan view, in which the orientation is reversed from that of fig. 17.

The upper connection layer 601 is mainly responsible for fixing the consumable (the transmission case 600) and transmitting the force. That is, when using, detain transmission case 600 at the consumptive material draw-in groove 619 (see fig. 2) of upper junction layer 601 via buckle 609, can realize the fixed to the consumptive material part to can realize the transmission of operating force via the link gear among the actuating system.

Wherein, four locating pins 607 correspond four locating pin holes 608 on the consumptive material board 702, can make buckle 609 on the consumptive material block in the consumptive material draw-in groove 619 and realize the location and add fixedly after inserting. At this time, the rotation control gear 611 and the opening/closing control gear 617 pass through the upper connection layer 601 from the lower side, and mesh with the rotation gear 611 'and the opening/closing rack 617' in the transmission case 600, respectively. The four motor connecting blocks 618 are connected to the control jaw swing unit (i.e., the four winding columns 712 of the capillary wire rope winding and feeding unit 710 for winding and unwinding the capillary wire rope 104) after passing through the upper connecting layer 601 from the lower side.

In addition, the opening and closing zero position photoelectric element 620 is used for matching with a photoelectric sheet on a control opening and closing unit (corresponding to the synchronous rotation steel wire front-back moving unit 706) in the transmission case 600 to find the opening and closing zero position.

For ease of illustration, the drive plates 605, 606 are omitted from the side view of fig. 2. The columns 615 are provided with 3 columns on each side for connecting and positioning the upper connection layer 601, the middle connection layer 602 and the lower connection layer 603. Four vertically disposed motors (not shown) are secured to the middle connection layer 602, two horizontally disposed motors (not shown) are secured to the upper connection layer 601, and one horizontally disposed motor 640 is secured to the base layer 604. The motor 640 is used for controlling the whole forward and backward movement unit 616 to move so as to drive all the units above the lower connecting layer 603 (the upper connecting layer 601, the middle connecting layer 602 and the lower connecting layer 603) to integrally move forward and backward.

It will be understood by those within the art that the terms "first", "second", etc. in the embodiments of the present invention are used only for distinguishing between different steps, devices or modules, etc., and do not denote any particular technical or logical order therebetween.

Unless expressly stated or indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in this specification and attached claims are approximations that can vary depending upon the desired properties of the dimensions, such as the form, of the objects contemplated by the present disclosure or the specific application. In general, the expression is meant to encompass variations from the specified amount, in some embodiments, of ± 0.5 to 10%, and any numerical range recited herein is intended to include all sub-ranges subsumed therein.

While the invention has been described with reference to various specific embodiments, it should be understood that changes can be made within the spirit and scope of the inventive concepts described. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the described embodiments, but that it will have the full scope defined by the language of the following claims.

Claims (10)

1. A flexible robotic arm comprising: an actuating tip and a condyle assembly for driving the actuating tip to swing, the condyle assembly having a plurality of condyle units (400), each condyle unit (400) being configured to have a cylindrical unit body and a first end surface (404) and a second end surface (405) on the opposite side thereof, the unit body being provided along the axis thereof with a plurality of first holes (401), the condyle assembly being subjected to a pulling force of a first driving rope (104) inserted through the first holes (401),

it is characterized in that the preparation method is characterized in that,

a fitting boss (402) extending in a first radial direction is formed convexly on the first end face (404), a fitting groove (403) extending in a second radial direction is formed concavely on the second end face (405), the first and second radial directions being orthogonal to each other,

the fitting boss (402) and the fitting groove (403) have curved surface profiles that can be lapped together when two adjacent condyle units (400) are brought close to each other in the axial direction of the unit body so as to be swingable relative to each other along the peripheral side surface of the fitting boss (402).

2. The flexible robotic arm of claim 1,

the radian of the cross-sectional profile curve of the matching boss (402) is smaller than a semicircle.

3. The flexible robotic arm of claim 1 or 2,

a first slope surface (4041) and a second slope surface (4042) which are respectively positioned at two sides of the matching boss (402) and incline towards the second end surface (405) along with the distance from the matching boss (402) are further formed on the first end surface (404),

a third slope surface (4051) and a fourth slope surface (4052) which are respectively located on both sides of the fitting groove (403) and are inclined toward the first end surface side as they are separated from the fitting groove (403) are further formed on the second end surface (405),

the first hole (401) is formed on each of the first slope surface (4041), the second slope surface (4042), the third slope surface (4051), and the fourth slope surface (4052) so as to pass through the first hole.

4. The flexible robotic arm of claim 3,

the condyle assembly also has:

a first condyle connector (3022) located at an axial distal end of a condyle portion constituted by a plurality of the condyle units (400) stacked on each other in an axial direction of the unit body; and

a second condyle connector (3031) located axially proximal to the condyle portion,

wherein the proximal end face of the first condyle connector (3022) is provided with the matching boss (402) or the matching groove (403) which is matched with the adjacent condyle unit (400),

the distal end surface of the second condyle connector (3031) is provided with the matching boss (402) or the matching groove (403) matched with the adjacent condyle unit (400).

5. The flexible robotic arm of claim 4,

the first drive rope (104) comprises: a wire body (142) and a spherical ball head (141) positioned at one end of the wire body (142),

the other end of each first driving rope (104) respectively passes through the through hole of the first condyle connector (3022), the first hole (401) and the through hole of the second condyle connector (3031),

the diameter of the ball head (141) is larger than that of the wire body (142) and larger than that of the through hole of the first condyle connecting piece (3022).

6. The flexible robotic arm of claim 1,

further comprising: and a guide tube (105) that passes through a second hole (408) and that guides the condyle unit (400), wherein the second hole (408) is formed through the center of the unit body.

7. The flexible robotic arm of claim 1,

further comprising: a gear box (600) for transmitting a driving force from the proximal to the distal execution tip,

the proximal ends of the four first driving ropes (104) penetrate into the transmission case (600) and are respectively connected with a rolling column (712) of a rolling unit (710) arranged on the transmission case (600), and the rolling column (712) is used for collecting and releasing the first driving ropes (104).

8. The flexible robotic arm of claim 6,

the execution tail end comprises a clamping mechanism (100), the clamping mechanism (100) is provided with a connecting rod structure which is composed of clamp heads (201A, 202B) and a connecting rod (203) and is fixedly connected with a clamp head seat (204), the clamp head seat (204) is fixedly connected with the condyle connecting piece (3022) through a bearing,

a linear moving unit (706) is arranged in the transmission case (600), and the linear moving unit (706) comprises: a rack (617 ') used for moving back and forth, a first moving supporting seat (621) fixedly connected with the rack (617'), and a first shaft (613) bearing-supported on the first moving supporting seat (621), wherein the first moving supporting seat (621) can slide on a preset track in the transmission case (600),

the straight-moving unit (706) is connected with the clamping mechanism (100) through a second driving rope (206), and drives the connecting rod structure through pushing and pulling the second driving rope (206) so as to realize the opening and closing movement of the clamping mechanism (100),

the second driving rope (206) penetrates through the hollow guide tube (105),

the proximal end of the second drive cord (206) is secured to the first shaft (613).

9. The flexible robotic arm of claim 8,

the gearbox (600) further comprises a rotation unit (705), the rotation unit (705) comprising:

a second gear (611') for rotationally driving the first shaft (613), and

a cylindrical intermediate transmission shaft interposed between the first shaft (613) and the second gear (611'),

wherein the periphery of the intermediate transmission shaft is fixed at the central position of the second gear (611'), and the intermediate transmission shaft is sleeved on the first shaft (613) in a shape-locking manner.

10. The flexible robotic arm of claim 9,

the cross section of the matching part of the first shaft (613) and the middle transmission shaft is square.

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