CN212996719U

CN212996719U - Surgical instrument, slave operation device, and surgical robot

Info

Publication number: CN212996719U
Application number: CN202022224170.1U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 吴仲兵; 王建辰
Original assignee: Shenzhen Edge Medical Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen Edge Medical Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-09-30
Filing date: 2020-09-30
Publication date: 2021-04-20
Anticipated expiration: 2030-09-30

Abstract

The utility model provides a surgical instrument, use this surgical instrument from operating device and have this from operating device's surgical robot, surgical instrument includes end effector, drive arrangement and hawser, drive arrangement is configured to through the motion of hawser drive end effector, the hawser includes the first pair of hawser and the second pair of hawser that is used for driving end effector to carry out yawing motion, and be used for driving end effector to carry out pitching motion's third pair of hawser, because pitching motion and yawing motion orthogonal, there is the coupled relation between the third pair of hawser and first pair of hawser, the second pair of hawser on end effector; the driving device comprises a mechanical decoupling mechanism for relieving the coupling relation, and the mechanical mechanism is used for relieving the coupling relation, so that the coupling relation between the driving device and the surgical robot can be relieved very accurately, and the operation of the surgical robot is more stable.

Description

Surgical instrument, slave operation device, and surgical robot

Technical Field

The utility model relates to the field of medical equipment, especially relate to a surgical instrument and use this surgical instrument from operating device and have this operation robot from operating device.

Background

The minimally invasive surgery is a surgery mode for performing surgery in a human body cavity by using modern medical instruments such as a laparoscope, a thoracoscope and the like and related equipment. Compared with the traditional minimally invasive surgery, the minimally invasive surgery has the advantages of small wound, light pain, quick recovery and the like.

With the progress of science and technology, the minimally invasive surgery robot technology is gradually mature and widely applied. The minimally invasive surgical robot generally comprises a master operation console and a slave operation device, wherein the master operation console is used for sending control commands to the slave operation device according to the operation of a doctor so as to control the slave operation device, and the slave operation device is used for responding to the control commands sent by the master operation console and carrying out corresponding surgical operation.

A surgical instrument is detachably connected to the slave operating device, the surgical instrument includes a driving device and an end effector for performing a surgical operation, the driving device is used for connecting the surgical instrument to the slave operating device and receiving a driving force from the slave operating device to drive the end effector to move, the driving device is connected with the end effector through a driving cable, and the driving device is used for controlling the movement of the end effector through the driving cable. The end effector typically includes three degrees of freedom of movement, namely, rotation, pitch movement, and yaw movement, and some end effectors also have rotation movement, wherein yaw movement is controlled by one set of drive cables, and pitch movement of the drive cables is controlled by another set of drive cables, and since the pitch movement and yaw movement of the end effector are orthogonal, there is a coupling between the pitch control drive cables and the yaw control drive cables during pitch movement of the end effector, i.e., the pitch control drive cables are constrained in movement to the yaw control drive cables, and thus it is desirable to decouple the two. In the prior art, a software decoupling method is adopted, but the algorithm of the software decoupling method is complex, the complexity of a system control program is increased, and the software decoupling method has errors in data acquisition, so that the coupling relation between the software decoupling method and the system control program cannot be accurately released.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

Based on this, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the utility model provides a surgical instrument, use this surgical instrument from operating equipment and have this from operating equipment's surgical robot, wherein surgical instrument includes end effector, drive arrangement and hawser, and drive arrangement is configured to pass through hawser drive end effector and moves, and the hawser includes the first pair of hawser and the second pair of hawser that is used for driving end effector to carry out yawing motion, and is used for driving end effector to carry out pitching motion's third pair of hawser, and drive arrangement includes:

one end of the third pair of cables is connected to the driving unit, and the driving unit controls the pitching motion of the end effector through the third pair of cables;

the decoupling mechanism comprises a main decoupling piece and a slave decoupling piece, the main decoupling piece is arranged coaxially with the driving unit, and the main decoupling piece is used for rotating coaxially with the driving unit and driving the slave decoupling piece to move so as to increase the length of one pair of cables in the first pair of cables and the second pair of cables in the driving device and reduce the length of the other pair of cables in the driving device, so that the driving unit drives the end effector to execute pitching motion.

Preferably, the primary decoupling member is adapted to drive the secondary decoupling member in a linear motion to vary the length of the first and second pairs of cables within the drive device.

Preferably, the primary decoupling member is adapted to drive the secondary decoupling member in rotational movement to vary the length of the first and second pairs of cables within the drive device.

Preferably, the drive unit and the primary decoupling member are rotated in a first direction to increase the length of the first pair of cables on the end effector and decrease the length of the second pair of cables on the end effector, and the secondary decoupling member is moved upon actuation of the primary decoupling member to decrease the length of the first pair of cables in the drive device and increase the length of the second pair of cables in the drive device.

Preferably, the drive unit and the primary decoupling member are rotated in a second direction opposite the first direction to decrease the length of the first pair of cables on the end effector and increase the length of the second pair of cables on the end effector, and the secondary decoupling member is moved upon actuation of the primary decoupling member to increase the length of the first pair of cables in the drive device and decrease the length of the second pair of cables in the drive device.

Preferably, the decoupling member has a first guide portion at one end thereof and a second guide portion at the other end thereof, the first pair of cables being guided by the first guide portion and extending to the end effector, and the second pair of cables being guided by the second guide portion and extending to the end effector.

Preferably, the drive unit and the primary decoupling member are rotated in either the first or second direction such that the length of the first and/or second pair of cables on the end effector varies by an amount equal to four times the distance traveled by the secondary decoupling member within the drive device.

Preferably, the driving device further comprises a first guide wheel and a second guide wheel, the first pair of cables is guided by the first guide wheel and then guided by the first guide portion and then connected to the end effector, and the second pair of cables is guided by the second guide wheel and then guided by the second guide portion and then connected to the end effector.

Preferably, the direction of movement of the secondary decoupling member is partially parallel to the first pair of cables between the first guide wheels and the first guides of the secondary decoupling member.

Preferably, the direction of movement of the secondary decoupling member is parallel to the portion of the second pair of cables between the second guide wheel and the second guide of the secondary decoupling member.

Preferably, the drive device further comprises a third guide wheel and a fourth guide wheel, the third guide wheel and the first guide wheel are respectively positioned at two sides of the first guide part of the decoupling part, the fourth guide wheel and the second guide wheel are respectively positioned at two sides of the second guide part of the decoupling part, the part of the first pair of cables between the first guide part and the end effector is guided by the third guide wheel and then extends to the end effector, and the part of the second pair of cables between the second guide part and the end effector is guided by the fourth guide wheel and then extends to the end effector.

Preferably, the direction of movement of the secondary decoupling member is partially parallel to the first pair of cables between the first and third guides of the secondary decoupling member.

Preferably, the direction of movement of the secondary decoupling member is parallel to the portion of the second pair of cables between the second guide portion of the secondary decoupling member and the fourth guide wheel.

Preferably, the slave decoupler further comprises a decoupling cable, the master decoupler and the slave decoupler being connected by the decoupling cable, the master decoupler being configured to drive movement of the slave decoupler by the decoupling cable.

Preferably, the master decoupling member has a driving gear portion, the slave decoupling member has a driven gear portion engaged with the driving gear, and the master decoupling member is configured to rotate so that the driving gear portion drives the driven gear portion to move so as to drive the slave decoupling member to move.

Preferably, the primary decoupling member has a cam formation and the secondary decoupling member has an opening for receiving the cam formation, the primary decoupling member being adapted to rotate to cause the cam formation to abut an edge of the opening to drive movement of the secondary decoupling member.

Preferably, the auxiliary decoupling member is fixedly connected with the main decoupling member or integrally formed with the main decoupling member.

Preferably, the radius of the main decoupling member is smaller than the radius of the driving unit.

Preferably, the first pair of cables comprises a first drive cable and a second drive cable, and the first guide wheel has two side by side guide pulleys for guiding the first drive cable and the second drive cable, respectively.

Preferably, the first and second driving cables are respectively arranged at an equal angle between the first guide part and the third guide wheel and a first plane passing through the center of the third guide wheel and perpendicular to the axis of the third guide wheel.

Preferably, the speed of change of the lengths of the first and second drive cables due to movement of the secondary decoupling member is proportional to the rotational linear speed of the primary decoupling member.

The slave operation equipment comprises a mechanical arm and the surgical instrument, wherein the surgical instrument is mounted on the mechanical arm, and the mechanical arm is used for manipulating the movement of the surgical instrument.

The surgical robot comprises a main operation device and the slave operation device, wherein the slave operation device executes corresponding operation according to the instruction of the main operation device.

The utility model discloses a surgical instruments uses mechanical structure to remove the drive hawser of manipulating end effector luffing motion and the drive hawser of manipulating end effector yaw motion between the coupling relation, can remove the coupling relation between the two very accurate controllably, uses mechanical decoupling zero to reduce whole surgical robot's program algorithm, makes surgical robot's operation more stable.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a slave operation device of a surgical robot according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural view of a main operation console of a surgical robot according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a robotic arm of a slave manipulator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a surgical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5A-5D are schematic structural views of an end effector according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5E is a schematic view of a drive cable positioned within the long shaft according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6A is a perspective view of a first support frame of an end effector in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6B is a top view of a first support frame of an end effector of an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6C is a top view of a first support frame of an end effector in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;

figures 7A-7B are schematic illustrations of the end effector of the embodiment of figure 5A in a pitch state in accordance with the present invention;

fig. 7C is a schematic view of the pitch-yaw-open and close states of the end effector of the embodiment shown in fig. 5A;

fig. 8A is a schematic view of a driving device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 8B and 8C are partial schematic views of the first and second drive cables of the drive arrangement of FIG. 8A being wound on guide wheels;

8D-8E are schematic diagrams of a decoupling process of the drive arrangement of FIG. 8A;

fig. 9A is a schematic view of a driving device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9B is a schematic illustration of the decoupling process of the drive arrangement shown in FIG. 9A;

fig. 10A is a schematic view of a driving device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10B is a schematic illustration of the decoupling process of the drive arrangement shown in FIG. 10A;

fig. 11A is a perspective view of a driving device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11B is a top view of the drive apparatus of FIG. 11A;

FIG. 11C is a perspective view of the driven device shown in FIG. 11A, showing the slave decoupler and the mount;

FIG. 11D is an exploded view of the slave decoupler and the mount shown in FIG. 11C;

fig. 11E is a perspective view of a carriage of the drive device shown in fig. 11A;

fig. 11F is a schematic diagram of the decoupling process of the drive arrangement shown in fig. 11A.

Fig. 12A is a perspective view of a driving device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12B is a top view of fig. 12A in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 12C is an exploded view of the decoupling mechanism and mount of the embodiment shown in FIG. 12A;

FIG. 12D is a top view of a main decoupling member in the embodiment shown in FIG. 12A;

FIG. 12E is a schematic illustration of the decoupling process of the embodiment shown in FIG. 12A;

fig. 13A is a perspective view of a driving device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13B is a top view of the drive device of FIG. 13A;

FIG. 13C is an exploded view of the mount and slave decoupler shown in FIG. 13A;

FIG. 13D is a perspective view of the first decoupling slide;

FIG. 13E is a decoupling process of the drive arrangement shown in FIG. 13B;

fig. 14 is a schematic view of a driving device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, the present invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. The preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown in the drawings. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "disposed on" another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. When an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or intervening elements may also be present. When an element is referred to as being "coupled" to another element, it means that at least one of the elements is constrained by the other element, and the element is "decoupled", i.e., decoupled, meaning that two elements in a coupled relationship are no longer constrained by the other element. The terms "vertical," "horizontal," "left," "right," and the like as used herein are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the only embodiments. As used herein, the terms "distal" and "proximal" are used as terms of orientation that are conventional in the art of interventional medical devices, wherein "distal" refers to the end of the device that is distal from the operator during a procedure, and "proximal" refers to the end of the device that is proximal to the operator during a procedure.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used herein in the description of the invention is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

The minimally invasive surgery robot generally comprises a slave operation device and a master operation console, wherein fig. 1 shows the slave operation device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, fig. 2 shows the master operation console 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention, a surgeon performs related control operations on the slave operation device 100 on the master operation console 200, and the slave operation device 100 performs a surgical operation on a human body according to an input instruction of the master operation console 200. The master operation console 200 and the slave operation device 100 may be disposed in one operation room or in different rooms, and even the master operation console 200 and the slave operation device 100 may be far apart, for example, the master operation console 200 and the slave operation device 100 are respectively located in different cities, the master operation console 200 and the slave operation device 100 may transmit data by wire, or may transmit data by wireless, for example, the master operation console 200 and the slave operation device 100 are located in one operation room and transmit data by wire, or the master operation console 200 and the slave operation device 100 are respectively located in different cities and transmit data by 5G wireless signals.

As shown in fig. 1, the slave manipulator 100 includes a plurality of mechanical arms 110, each of the mechanical arms 110 includes a plurality of joints and a mechanical holding arm 130, the plurality of joints are linked to realize the movement of the mechanical holding arm 130 with a plurality of degrees of freedom, a surgical instrument 120 for performing a surgical operation is mounted on the mechanical holding arm 130, the surgical instrument 120 is inserted into a human body through a trocar 140 fixed to a distal end of the mechanical holding arm 130, and the mechanical arms 110 are used to manipulate the movement of the surgical instrument 120 to perform the surgical operation. Surgical instrument 120 is removably mounted on a manipulator arm 130 so that different types of surgical instruments 120 may be readily replaced or surgical instruments 120 may be removed to wash or sterilize surgical instrument 120. As shown in fig. 3, the arm 130 includes an arm body 131 and an instrument mounting bracket 132, the instrument mounting bracket 132 is used for mounting the surgical instrument 120, and the instrument mounting bracket 132 can slide on the arm body 131 to advance or withdraw the surgical instrument 120 along the arm body 131.

As shown in fig. 4, surgical instrument 120 includes a drive mechanism 170 and a distal end effector 150 disposed at a proximal end and a distal end, respectively, of surgical instrument 120, and a long shaft 160 disposed between drive mechanism 170 and end effector 150, drive mechanism 170 being configured to be coupled to instrument mount 132 of instrument arm 130, and instrument mount 132 having a plurality of actuators (not shown) disposed therein, the plurality of actuators being coupled to drive mechanism 170 to transmit a driving force of the actuators to drive mechanism 170. Long shaft 160 is used to connect drive device 170 and end effector 150, long shaft 160 being hollow for the passage of a drive cable therethrough, and drive device 170 being used to cause end effector 150 to perform an associated surgical procedure by movement of end effector 150 via the drive cable.

Fig. 5A-5D are schematic structural views of an end effector 150 according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the end effector 150 shown in fig. 5A includes a first frame 210 and a second frame 220, a distal end of the first frame 210 includes a first pillar 314 and a second pillar 315, a proximal end of the first frame 210 includes a base frame 316, one end of the base frame 316 is connected to the long shaft 160, the first pillar 314 and the second pillar 315 are formed by extending from the other end of the base frame 316 toward the distal end of the end effector 150, and the first pillar 314, the second pillar 315 and the base frame 316 form a substantially U-shaped clip structure.

A first pin 311 and a second pin 312 are provided between the first support 314 and the second support 315, the first pin 311 is fixedly connected at one end to the first support 314 and at the other end to the second support 315, similarly, the second pin 312 is fixedly connected at one end to the first support 314 and at the other end to the second support 315, the second pin 312 is provided on the first support 314 and the second support 315 side by side with the first pin 311, wherein the first pin 311 is closer to the bottom frame 316 of the first bracket 210 than the second pin 312.

To better illustrate the structure of the proximal end of end effector 150, first support 210 is not shown in figures 5B and 5C, as shown in fig. 5B and 5C, a first pulley block is disposed on the first pin 311, the first pulley block includes a first pulley 211, a second pulley 212, a third pulley 213 and a fourth pulley 214 disposed on the first pin 311 in sequence, a second pulley block is disposed on the second pin 312, the second pulley block includes a fifth pulley 215, a sixth pulley 216, a seventh pulley 217 and an eighth pulley 218 disposed on the second pin 312 in sequence, the first pulley 211 to the eighth pulley 218 are used for guiding the driving cable, since the pulleys for guiding the driving cables are all provided on the first bracket 210, the second bracket 220 has no pulley, the volume of the second cradle 220 can be made smaller, so that the end effector 150 is less bulky and there is no risk of the pulley falling out.

The second bracket 210 is provided with a third support 317, a fourth support 318 and a pitch wheel 319, the third support 317 and the fourth support 318 are formed by extending from the pitch wheel 319 along the distal end of the end effector 150, the third support 317, the fourth support 318 and the pitch wheel 319 form a substantially U-shaped frame, the pitch wheel 319 of the second bracket 220 is mounted on the second pin 312, and the second bracket 220 can rotate around the axis AA' passing through the second pin 312 to realize the pitch motion of the end effector 150.

A third pin 313 is arranged between the third support column 317 and the fourth support column 318 of the second bracket 220, one end of the third pin 313 is fixedly connected to the third support column 317, the other end is fixedly connected to the fourth support column 318, and the third pin 313 is perpendicular to the first pin 311 and the second pin 312. The grip portion of the end effector 150 includes a first grip portion 230 and a second grip portion 240, the first and

second grip portions

230 and 240 are rotatably provided on the second bracket 220 by a third pin 313, the first and

second grip portions

230 and 240 can be rotated about an axis BB' passing through the third pin 313 to achieve opening and closing and/or yaw movement of the end effector 150, and the first and

second grip portions

230 and 240 can be jaws for gripping tissue, or staplers for suturing, or cauterizers for electrocautery, etc.

As shown in fig. 5A-5D, the directional indicators shown in fig. 5A and 5B are for ease of description of the manner in which the drive cables are routed around end effector 150, with distal and proximal indicators referring to the distal and proximal directions of end effector 150, and front, rear, left and right indicators referring to the front, rear, left and right directions of end effector 150 from the perspective of fig. 5A and 5B, and with the remainder of the figures showing no directional indicators, from which the direction of end effector 150 can be readily derived from fig. 5A and 5B, the drive cables provided to end effector 150 include first and second pairs of cables for manipulating the opening and closing and/or yaw of end effector 150, and third pairs of cables for manipulating the pitch of end effector 150, the first pair of cables including first drive cable 151A and second drive cable 151B, wherein the first drive cable 151A and the second drive cable 151B may be coupled at one end or may be separated at one end, as is the case with the second and third pairs of cables. The second pair of cables includes a third drive cable 152A and a fourth drive cable 152B, and the third pair of cables includes a fifth drive cable 153A and a sixth drive cable 153B. As shown in FIG. 5E, each of the drive cables comprises 3 segments, and for example, the first drive cable 151A comprises a first segment 151A1 for coupling to a drive mechanism and a second segment 151A2 for coupling to an end effector, wherein the first segment 151A1 and the second segment 151A2 are coupled by a rigid strip 151A3, which provides a more efficient transfer than a single drive cable, and which also facilitates the entanglement of multiple drive cables within the long shaft 160. It will be appreciated that in other embodiments, the drive cable may be a complete cable rather than a segmented cable.

On the side of the end effector 150, the first pair of cables is wound about the first and second pulley blocks in an opposite manner to the second pair of cables, the first drive cable 151A of the first pair of cables is wound about the first and second pulley blocks in the same manner as the second drive cable 151B is wound about the first and second pulley blocks, and the third drive cable 152A of the second pair of cables is wound about the first and second pulley blocks in the same manner as the fourth drive cable 152B is wound about the first and second pulley blocks. Specifically, the proximal end of the first drive cable 151A is coupled to a drive unit within the drive device 170, and the distal end of the first drive cable 151A is routed over the forward portion of the first pulley 211 and then extends toward the distal end of the end effector 150, and is routed over the rearward portion of the fifth pulley 215 and then continues along the distal end of the end effector 150 and is finally secured to the first clamping portion 230. The second drive cable 151B is routed through the front of the fourth pulley 214 and then extends toward the distal end of the end effector 150, and is routed through the rear of the eighth pulley 218 and then continues toward the distal end of the end effector 150 and finally is secured to the first clamping portion 230. The distal end of third drive cable 152A is routed through the rear of second pulley 212 and then extends toward the distal end of end effector 150, and is routed through the front of sixth pulley 216 and then continues toward the distal end of end instrument 150 and is secured to second grip 240. the distal end of fourth drive cable 152B is routed through the rear of third pulley 213 and then extends toward the distal end of end effector 150 and passes through the front of seventh pulley 217 and then continues toward the distal end of end instrument 150 and transitions over second grip 240.

First drive cable 151A and second drive cable 151B together drive first clamp 230 to rotate about axis BB ', third drive cable 152A and fourth drive cable 152B together drive second clamp 240 to rotate about axis BB', and first drive cable 151A, second drive cable 151B, third drive cable 152A, and fourth drive cable 152B together drive first clamp 230 and second clamp 240 to perform an opening and/or yawing motion.

Proximal ends of fifth drive cable 153A and sixth drive cable 153B of the third pair of cables extend to drive device 170, distal ends of which are received in annular grooves of pitch wheel 319, distal ends of which are fixed to second bracket 220, respectively, and fifth drive cable 153A and sixth drive cable 153B drive second bracket 220 together to rotate along axis AA ', and second bracket 220 drives first clamping portion 230 and second clamping portion 240 together to perform a pitch motion along axis AA'.

The utility model discloses end effector 150's structure and the wire winding mode of drive hawser are all different with current end effector, and current end effector's first assembly pulley sets up on end effector's first support, and the second assembly pulley sets up on the second support, and the second assembly pulley is followed and is carried out luffing motion together of second support. In addition, the winding method of the driving cable of the present invention is different from the prior art, and after the winding method, as shown in fig. 5A-5D, the first driving cable 151A of the first pair of cables has a first part cable 151Aa between the fifth pulley 215 and the first clamping portion 230, the second driving cable 151B of the first pair of cables has a second part cable 151Ba between the eighth pulley 218 and the first clamping portion 230, the third driving cable 152A of the second pair of cables has a third part cable 152Aa between the sixth pulley 216 and the second clamping portion 240, the fourth driving cable 152B of the second pair of cables has a fourth part cable 152Ba between the seventh pulley 217 and the first clamping portion 240, wherein, no matter how the end effector 150 moves in pitch, the first part cable 151Aa and the second part cable 151Ba are always located on the same side of the plane M, the third partial cable 152Aa and the fourth partial cable 152Ba are always located on the same side of the other side of the plane M, which is a plane passing through the axis Aa 'of the second pin 312 and perpendicular to the axis BB' of the third pin 313. The first portion of the cables 151Aa and the second portion of the cables 151Ba are always located on the same side of the plane M, and the third portion of the cables 152Aa and the fourth portion of the cables 152Ba are always located on the same side of the plane M, so that the first pair of cables and the second pair of cables are relatively easy and neat to wind around the end effector 150, and are relatively easy to assemble.

As shown in fig. 5C and 5D, the first drive cable 151A and the second drive cable 151B have a fifth portion of cable 151Ab and a sixth portion of cable 151Bb extending from the first bracket 210 (the first bracket 210 is not shown in fig. 5C and 5D for ease of illustration of the drive cables) to the first pulley 211 and the fourth pulley 214, respectively, the third drive cable 152A and the fourth drive cable 151B have a seventh portion of cable 152Ab and an eighth portion of cable 152Bb extending from the first bracket 210 to the second pulley 212 and the third pulley 213, respectively, the fifth portion of cable 151Ab and the sixth portion of cable 151Bb both being located on the same side of a plane P, the plane P being a plane passing through both the axis of the first pin 311 and the axis of the second pin 312, the seventh portion of cable 152Ab and the eighth portion of cable 152Bb being located on the same side of the other side of the plane P.

As shown in fig. 6A and 6B, the chassis 316 of the first bracket 210 has a plurality of through-holes for the passage of drive cables, including a first through-hole 219a for the passage of a fifth portion of cables 151Ab of the first drive cable 151A, a second through-hole 219B for the passage of a sixth portion of cables 151Bb of the second drive cable 151B, a third through-hole 219c for the passage of a seventh portion of cables 152Ab of the third drive cable 152A, a fourth through-hole 219d for the passage of an eighth portion of cables 152Bb of the fourth drive cable 152B, a fifth through-hole 219e for the passage of the fifth drive cable 153A and a sixth through-hole 219f for the passage of the sixth drive cable 153B. In order to allow the first and

second actuation cables

151A, 151B, and the third and

fourth actuation cables

152A, 152B to simultaneously undergo the same change (e.g., increase or decrease in length) during the pitch motion of the end effector 150, the first and second through holes 219a, 219B are located on the same side of the plane P, the third and fourth through holes 219c, 219B are located on the other side of the plane P, and a straight line passing through the first through hole 219a and the center of the second through hole 219B is parallel to a straight line passing through the center of the third through hole 219c and the center of the fourth through hole 219 d.

As shown in fig. 6B, the first through hole 219a, the second through hole 219B, the third through hole 219c, and the fourth through hole 219d are respectively located at four vertices of the trapezoid, such that the first driving cable 151A and the second driving cable 151B respectively pass through the outer first pulley 211 and the fourth pulley 214, the third driving cable 152A and the fourth driving cable 152B respectively pass through the inner second pulley 212 and the inner third pulley 213, and in order to reduce the loss of driving force of the fifth driving cable 153A and the sixth driving cable 153B when the end effector 150 is driven to perform the pitching motion, the fifth through hole 219e and the sixth through hole 219f are located outside the trapezoid formed by the first through hole 219a, the second through hole 219B, the third through hole 219c, and the fourth through hole 219 d.

Another embodiment is shown in fig. 6C, in which the first through hole 319a, the second through hole 319b, the third through hole 319C, and the fourth through hole 319d in the first bracket 310 are respectively located at four vertices of a parallelogram, and the fifth through hole 319e and the sixth through hole 319f are located outside the parallelogram formed by the first through hole 319a, the second through hole 319b, the third through hole 319C, and the fourth through hole 319 d.

In the prior art, the fifth part of the cables of the first driving cable and the sixth part of the cables of the second driving cable are respectively positioned on different sides of the plane P, the seventh part of the cables of the third driving cable and the eighth part of the cables of the fourth driving cable are also respectively positioned on different sides of the plane P, two through holes for the first driving cable and the second driving cable of the first pair of cables to pass through are respectively positioned on different sides of the plane P in the distribution of the through holes for the driving cables to pass through on the first support, and two through holes for the third driving cable and the fourth driving cable of the second pair of cables to pass through are also respectively positioned on different sides of the plane P. Because the utility model discloses an end effector and current end effector exist the difference of whole structure and wire winding mode, make the utility model discloses an end effector is safer for prior art, and drive hawser and pulley are difficult to drop relative prior art, and the assembly of end apparatus is also easier, and the volume of whole end apparatus is also littleer. Although the utility model discloses an end instrument has above-mentioned advantage for prior art, the utility model discloses an end instrument has also brought new challenge, and current end effector's drive arrangement is unable to drive promptly the utility model discloses an end effector, more specifically, the decoupling zero third that current end-implemented drive arrangement used is no longer applicable to the method of the coupling relation of hawser and first pair of hawser, second pair of hawser the utility model discloses an end effector.

To explain the coupling relationship between the third pair of cables and the first pair of cables and/or the second pair of cables of the end apparatus 150 in detail, as shown in fig. 5, the tangent points of the first portion of cable 151Aa, the second portion of cable 151Ba, the third portion of cable 152Aa, and the fourth portion of cable 152Ba, which leave the fifth pulley 215, the eighth pulley 218, the sixth pulley 216, and the seventh pulley 217, respectively, are all located on a plane a, which is a plane passing through the first axis Aa' and perpendicular to the plane P.

When the end effector 150 is to perform the pitching motion, the driving device 170 is required to pull the fifth driving cable 153A or the sixth driving cable 153B of the third pair of cables, so that the second bracket 220 drives the first clamping portion 230 and the second clamping portion 240 to perform the pitching motion together around the first axis AA ', as shown in fig. 7A and 7B, the driving device 170 pulls the sixth driving cable 153B, so that the second bracket 220, the first clamping portion 230 and the second clamping portion 240 perform the pitching motion around the first axis AA', if the end effector 150 performs only the pitching motion, the lengths of the first partial cable 151AA, the second partial cable 151Ba, the third partial cable 152AA and the fourth partial cable 153Ba are required to be maintained constant, otherwise the end effector 150 may cause the yawing motion or the opening and closing motion.

During rotation of end effector 150 from the straight state shown in figures 5A-5D to the pitch state shown in figures 7A-7B, when drive device 170 pulls in sixth drive cable 153B, if the target pitch angle that end effector 150 needs to be rotated is alpha, then the plane a needs to be rotated also by an angle a from the position in fig. 5D to the position of the plane b in fig. 7A, provided that the radii of the first and second pulley sets are both r1, in order for end effector 150 to successfully rotate the target pitch angle alpha, it is now necessary to increase the wrap angle lengths of first drive cable 151A and second drive cable 151B over fifth pulley 215 and eighth pulley 218, respectively, by length L, where L α r1, and the wrap length of the respective third and

fourth drive cables

152A, 152B over the sixth and

seventh pulleys

216, 217, respectively, are simultaneously reduced by the length L. As shown in FIG. 8A, in the drive unit 170, the first drive cable 151A and the second drive cable 151B are wound around the rotatable first drive unit 171 in opposite directions, the third drive cable 152A and the fourth drive cable 152B are wound around the rotatable second drive unit 172 in opposite directions, and the first drive unit 171 and the second drive unit 172 are rotationally fixed on the rotational axes thereof, so that the first drive unit 171 and the second drive unit 172 are not translatable, and thus the lengths of the first drive cable 151A and the second drive cable 151B cannot be simultaneously increased or decreased by merely rotating the first drive unit 171, and likewise, the lengths of the third drive cable 152A and the fourth drive cable 152B cannot be simultaneously increased or decreased by rotating the second drive unit 172, and, as described above, if the end effector 150 is successfully pitched, the end effector 150 must be tilted such that the end effector performs a pitching motion The length of the actuators 150 must be increased or decreased simultaneously, and the length of the third drive cable 152A and the fourth drive cable 152B must be decreased or increased simultaneously, at the end effector, so that movement of the third pair of cables is limited to the first pair of cables and the second pair of cables.

The relationship in which such a variation of one element is limited by another element is referred to as a coupled relationship, i.e., there is a coupled relationship between one element and another element. Such a restricted relationship for the first, second, and third pairs of cables may be that the third pair of cables is restricted to the first and/or second pairs of cables, thereby causing the third pair of cables to be completely prevented from moving and causing the end effector to be unable to perform a pitch motion, or the third pair of cables may be restricted to the first and/or second pairs of cables, thereby causing any movement of any of the first, second, and third pairs of cables to cause an undesired movement of another cable, thereby causing the end effector to be unable to perform a desired operation, for example, when the third pair of cables is operating the end effector to perform a pitch motion, the movement of the third pair of cables may simultaneously cause movement of the first and/or second pairs of cables due to the coupling relationship between the third pair of cables and the first and/or second pairs of cables, the end effector may cause opening and closing and/or yawing motions simultaneously with the pitching motions, so that the pitching motions and the opening and/or closing and/or yawing motions of the end effector are mutually influenced, and the pitching motions and the opening and/or closing and/or yawing motions of the end effector are mutually independent, so that the end effector 150 cannot correctly perform the surgical operation. It is therefore desirable to decouple the third pair of cables from the first pair of cables and/or the second pair of cables such that the third pair of cables is no longer constrained from movement relative to the first pair of cables and/or the second pair of cables, and such that movement of the third pair of cables is independent of, does not interfere with, or otherwise affect the movement of the first pair of cables and/or the second pair of cables.

With respect to how to decouple the above coupling relationship, a conventional decoupling method is to use a software algorithm for decoupling, and the main console 200 controls the third driving unit to drive the third pair of cables, and at the same time controls the first driving unit and the second driving unit to drive the first pair of cables and the second pair of cables, so that the wrap angle length of the first pair of cables and the second pair of cables on the pulley increases or decreases with the movement of the third pair of cables, but the decoupling method requires that the first partial cable 151Aa and the second partial cable 151Ba of the first pair of cables on the end effector are respectively located on different sides of the plane M, the third partial cable 152Aa and the fourth partial cable 152Ba of the second pair of cables are respectively located on different sides of the plane M, so that the first driving cable 151A and the second driving cable 151B of the first pair of cables form a loop crossing the plane M, and the third driving cable 152A and the fourth driving cable 152B of the second pair of cables also form a loop crossing the plane M, and the third driving cable 152A and the fourth driving cable 152B of the second pair of The decoupling is possible by implementing the movement of the drive unit controlled by software. However, the first part of the cable 151Aa and the second part of the cable 151Ba of the first pair of cables on the end effector of the embodiment shown in fig. 5A of the present invention are located on the same side of the plane M, and the third part of the cable 153Aa and the fourth part of the cable 153Ba of the second pair of cables are also located on the same side of the plane M, so that the existing software decoupling method cannot decouple the end effector of the present invention. In addition, the decoupling method using software algorithm may cause the control program of the surgical robot to be complex and prone to error, and the decoupling method using software algorithm may cause each driving unit of the driving mechanism of the surgical instrument to lose independence, specifically, three driving units respectively driving three pairs of cables are provided in the driving device, and ideally, the control of each driving unit is opposite to each other, however, when the decoupling method using software algorithm is used, the three driving units need to be controlled to move together at the same time, so that the three driving units lose independence and are prone to control error.

The utility model provides a mechanical decoupling scheme sets up a mechanical decoupling mechanism in surgical instruments 120's drive arrangement 170 to avoid the drawback of above-mentioned software algorithm decoupling.

Fig. 8A is a schematic diagram of a driving device 170 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the driving device 170 is suitable for driving the end effector shown in fig. 5A. The driving device 170 includes a first driving unit 171 and a second driving unit 172 for driving the end effector 150 to perform opening and closing and/or yawing motions, a third driving unit 173 for driving the end effector 150 to perform pitching motions, and a fourth driving unit 174 for driving the long shaft 160 to perform a spinning motion. The first and

second drive cables

151A and 151B of the first pair of cables are wound around the first drive unit 171 in opposite windings, the third and

fourth drive cables

152A and 152B of the second pair of cables are wound around the second drive unit 172 in opposite windings, the fifth and

sixth drive cables

153A and 153B of the third pair of cables are wound around the third drive unit 173 in opposite windings, and the seventh and

eighth drive cables

154A and 154B are wound around the fourth drive unit 174 in opposite windings.

When the actuator drive shaft 171A in the instrument mount 132 rotates to rotate the first drive unit 171 about its axis, the first drive unit 171 pulls or releases the first drive cable 151A or the second drive cable 151B to rotate the first grip 230 about its third pin 313, when the actuator in the instrument mount 132 drives the second drive unit 172 to rotate about its axis 172A, the second drive unit 172 pulls or releases the second drive cable 152A or the third drive cable 152B to rotate the second grip 240 about the third pin 313, and the first grip 230 and the second grip 240 move about the third pin 313 to cause the end effector 150 to perform an opening and closing and/or yawing motion. When the actuator drive shaft 173A in the instrument mount 132 rotates to rotate the third drive unit 173, the third drive unit 173 pulls or releases the fifth drive cable 153A or the sixth drive cable 153B to rotate the second bracket 220 about the axis AA' of the second pin 312 to effect the end effector 150 to perform a pitch motion. As the actuator within the implement mounting bracket 132 drives the fourth drive unit 174 to rotate about its axis 174A, the fourth drive unit 174 retracts or releases either the seventh drive cable 154A or the eighth drive cable 154B to effect a spinning motion of the drive shaft 160.

The drive device 170 further includes a decoupling mechanism for decoupling the third pair of cables from the first and second pairs of cables on the end effector 150 side, the decoupling mechanism including a master decoupling member 1761 and a slave decoupling member 176, the slave decoupling member 176 including a carriage 1762 and first and

second guides

1763, 1764 connected at both ends of the carriage 1762, the master decoupling member 1 being connected to the carriage 1762 by first and

second decoupling cables

1767, 1768, and the master decoupling member 1761 operating the slave decoupling member for movement by driving the first and

second decoupling cables

1767, 1768. The first and

second decoupling cables

1767 and 1768 are wound around the main decoupling element 1761 in opposite ways, the main decoupling element 1761 and the third drive unit 173 move at the same angular velocity, and the main decoupling element 1761 and the third drive unit 173 may be disposed on the same axis 173A, so that the main decoupling element 1761 and the third drive unit 173 rotate coaxially with the axis 173A, and in other embodiments, the main decoupling element 1761 and the third drive unit 173 may be disposed on different rotation axes. The main decoupling element 1761 and the third drive unit 173 have different radii, the radius of the main decoupling element 1761 is R2, the radius of the third drive unit 173 is R2, wherein R2< R2, the main decoupling element 1761 effects the movement of the secondary decoupling element by pulling or releasing the first or

second decoupling cables

1767, 1768. The main decoupling element 1761 and the third driving unit 173 may receive the same power source drive, i.e. the actuator in the slave operating device, and in other embodiments, the main decoupling element and the third driving unit are disposed on different rotation axes, but the main decoupling element still receives the same driving force as the third driving unit, for example, the main decoupling element and the third driving unit are respectively connected to and driven by the same actuator in different manners, and the use of the same power source to simultaneously drive the third driving unit and the main decoupling element may make the decoupling control simpler, the decoupling mechanism does not need to separately detect the coupling state, and the main decoupling element and the coupling source (i.e. the third driving unit) receive the same control information, but have different structures on the transmission side.

As shown in fig. 8A, the first driving cable 151A and the second driving cable 151B are guided by the third guide wheel 177A, the first guiding portion 1763 and the third guide wheel 177C, respectively, and then enter the long shaft to be extended and connected to the end effector 150. Third drive cable 152A and fourth drive cable 152B are guided by second guide wheel 177B, second guide 1764, and fourth guide wheel 177D, respectively, into the long axis and extend to end effector 150. The fifth driving cable 153A and the sixth driving cable 153B are guided by the fifth guide wheel 177E and the sixth guide wheel 177F, respectively, and then enter the long shaft to extend and connect to the end effector 150, and as for how the first driving cable 151A to the sixth driving cable 153B are connected to the end effector 150, the above description has been given, and the details are not repeated.

The decoupling process as shown in fig. 8D, when third drive unit 173 rotates counterclockwise (first direction) with its shaft 173A, third drive unit 173 pulls in sixth drive cable 153B and simultaneously releases fifth drive cable 153A, causing second carriage 220 of end effector 150 to rotate about axis AA' of second pin 312 as shown in fig. 7A and 7B, and the entire end effector 150 performs a pitch motion. As described above, the wrap angle lengths of the first and

second drive cables

151A and 151B at the fifth and

eighth pulleys

215 and 218, respectively, need to be increased by L at the same time, and at the same time, the wrap angle lengths of the third and

fourth drive cables

152A and 152B at the sixth and

seventh pulleys

216 and 217 need to be decreased by L at the same time to allow the end effector 150 to smoothly perform the pitch motion. Since the main decoupling element 1761 of the decoupling mechanism rotates coaxially 173 with the third drive unit 173, thus, while the third drive unit 173 rotates counterclockwise about the axis 173A, the main decoupling element 1761 also rotates counterclockwise about the axis 173A, whereupon the main decoupling element 1761 pulls the first decoupling cable 1767 and simultaneously releases the second decoupling cable 1768, provided that the main decoupling element 1761 has rotated through an arc length of L/2, the slave decoupler moves L/2 of the distance in direction a under the pull of the first decoupling cable 1767, at which point due to the slave decoupler's movement, so that the lengths of the first and

second drive cables

151A and 151B within the drive device 170 will be simultaneously reduced by L, i.e. the length of the first pair of cables in the drive unit 170 is decreased by 2L, and correspondingly the length of the third drive cable 152A and the fourth drive cable 152B in the drive unit 170 will be increased by L simultaneously, i.e. the length of the second pair of cables in the drive unit 170 is increased by 2L.

The amount of reduction in the length of the first and

second drive cables

151A and 151B in the drive unit 170 is thus equal to the amount of increase required for the wrap angle lengths of the first and

second drive cables

151A and 151B on the fifth and

eighth pulleys

215 and 218, respectively, and the amount of increase in the length of the third and

fourth drive cables

152A and 152B in the drive unit 170 is equal to the amount of reduction required for the wrap angle lengths of the third and

fourth drive cables

152A and 152B on the sixth and

seventh pulleys

216 and 217. Conversely, as shown in fig. 8E, when third drive unit 173 and main decoupling element 1761 are rotated clockwise (in the second direction), the amount of increase in the length of first and

second drive cables

151A and 151B in drive device 170 is equal to the amount of decrease in the wrap angle length of first and

second drive cables

151A and 151B over fifth and

eighth pulleys

215 and 218, respectively, and the amount of decrease in the length of third and

fourth drive cables

152A and 152B in drive device 170 is equal to the amount of increase in the wrap angle length of third and

fourth drive cables

152A and 152B over sixth and

seventh pulleys

216 and 217. Whereby the amount of length change of the first and second cables on the end effector side due to end effector pitch motion is provided entirely by the change in length of the first and second cables within the drive device, such that movement of the third pair of cables is no longer limited by the first and second pairs of cables, and the decoupling mechanism effects decoupling of the third pair of cables from the first and second pairs of cables.

In order to allow the decoupling mechanism to precisely and controllably decouple the first and second and third pairs of cables, the primary decoupling element 1761 of the decoupling mechanism drives the secondary decoupling element 176 in a linear motion at all times, and the change in length of the first, second, third and

fourth drive cables

151A, 151B, 152A, 152B caused by the movement of the secondary decoupling element 176 is always linear. As shown in FIGS. 9A-9C, the first decoupling cable 1767 is fixed to one end of the secondary decoupling member 176 in the direction of movement of the secondary decoupling member 176 by a seventh guide pulley 1765, and likewise, the second decoupling cable 1768 is fixed to the other end of the secondary decoupling member 176 in the direction of movement of the secondary decoupling member 176 by an eighth guide pulley 1766, so that movement of the primary decoupling member 1761 will cause the secondary decoupling member 176 to move in a straight line. And the portion of the first decoupling cable 1767 between the seventh guide pulley 1765 and the secondary decoupling member 176 and the portion of the second decoupling cable 1768 between the eighth guide pulley 1766 and the secondary decoupling member 176 are both parallel to the direction of movement of the secondary decoupling member 176, the rate of change of the lengths of the first and

second decoupling cables

1767, 1768 is directly proportional to the linear speed of rotation of the primary decoupling member 1761 during decoupling, and therefore the rate of movement of the secondary decoupling member 176 is also directly proportional to the linear speed of rotation of the primary decoupling member 1761 and the third drive unit 173, thereby providing a precisely controllable decoupling process.

As shown in fig. 8B-8C, the first guide pulley 177A, the first guide 1763 and the third guide pulley 177C are all structures having two pulleys side by side for guiding the first drive cable 151A and the second drive cable 151B, respectively, the first drive cable 151A is formed with a first decoupling portion cable 151Ac between the third guide pulley 177C and the first guide 1763, a third decoupling portion cable 151Ad is formed between the first guide 1763 and the first guide pulley 177A, the second drive cable 151B is formed with a second decoupling portion cable 151Bc between the third guide pulley 177C and the first guide 1763, a fourth decoupling portion cable 151Bd is formed between the first guide 1763 and the first guide pulley 177A, and likewise, the second guide pulley 1764, the second guide pulley 177B and the fourth guide pulley 177D are all structures having two pulleys side by side, the third and

fourth drive cables

152A, 152B have, respectively, a fifth and a sixth uncoupling portion cable 152Ac, 152Bc between the fourth and

second guide wheels

177D, 1764 and, respectively, a seventh and an eighth uncoupling portion cable 152Ad, 152Bc between the second and third guide wheels 1764, 1764 (obscured by the seventh uncoupling portion cable 152Ad, not visible in fig. 8A), for a more precise uncoupling it being necessary for the variation in length of the first uncoupling portion cable 151Ac to be equal to that of the second uncoupling portion cable 151Bc during uncoupling, so that the first and second uncoupling portion cables 151Ac, 151Bc respectively form an angle θ equal to that of a plane passing through the axis C1 at the centre of the third guide wheel 177C and perpendicular to the third guide wheel 177C, the fifth and seventh uncoupling portion cables 152Ac, 152Bc also having the same arrangement as the seventh guide wheel 177D, this makes it possible to vary the lengths of the first and second decoupling portion cables 151Ac and 151Bc by the same amount and to vary the lengths of the fifth and seventh decoupling portion cables 152Ac and 152Bc by the same amount during the decoupling process. In addition, since θ is small, the axial distances H1 between the first and second decoupling portion cables 151Ac and 151Bc and the first and fourth guide pulleys 1764 and 177B are substantially equal, and the first and second decoupling portion cables 151Ac and 151Bc are substantially parallel to the moving direction from the decoupling member during the decoupling process, so that the first and second decoupling portion cables 151Ac and 151Bc are less in nonlinear change during the decoupling process due to the first and second decoupling portion cables 151Ac and 151Bc, and more precise decoupling is achieved.

As shown in fig. 8C, the third, fourth, seventh and eighth decoupling portion cables 151Ad, 151Bd, 152Ad and 176 are parallel to the direction of movement of the secondary decoupling member, this allows the speed of the change in length of the third, fourth, seventh and eighth decoupling portion cables 151Ad, 151Bd, 152Ad and 152Ad, which is caused by movement from the decoupling members, to be directly proportional to the speed of movement from the decoupling members 176 during decoupling, so that during decoupling, the speed of change of the length of any one of the first drive cable 151A through the fourth drive cable 152B in the drive device 170 is directly proportional to the speed of movement of the secondary decoupling member 176, which, as described above, is directly proportional to the linear speed of rotation of the primary decoupling member 1761 and the third drive unit 173. During decoupling, the rate of change of the length of any one of first drive cable 151A through fourth drive cable 152B within drive device 170 is also directly proportional to the linear speed of rotation of main decoupling element 1761 and third drive unit 173, such that the amount of change in the length of the first and second pairs of cables in end effector 150 is precisely controlled by main decoupling element 173 and third drive unit 173, resulting in precise and controlled decoupling.

As shown in FIG. 8D for the decoupling process of this embodiment, the primary decoupling member 1761 is rotated counterclockwise by an arc length L/2 relative to the state shown in FIG. 9A, moving a corresponding distance L/2 in the A direction from the decoupling member 176, and the lengths of the first decoupling portion cable 151Ac, the third decoupling portion cable 151Ad, the second decoupling portion cable 151Bc and the fourth decoupling portion cable 151Bd are simultaneously decreased by L/2, such that the first drive cable 151A and the second drive cable 151B are simultaneously decreased by the length L in the drive device 170, i.e., the first pair of cables are decreased by 2L in length in the drive device. Likewise, the lengths of the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth decouplers cables 152Ac, 152Ad, 152Bc are simultaneously increased by L/2, so that the third and

fourth drive cables

152A and 152B are simultaneously increased by the length L in the drive unit 170, i.e., the length of the second pair of cables in the drive unit is increased by 2L.

Returning again to fig. 7A, if the radius of the second pulley set is R1 in this embodiment, the groove bottom radius of the annular groove 319A of the pitch wheel 319 of the second bracket 220 for receiving and guiding the fifth drive cable 153A and the sixth drive cable 153B is R1, and the fifth drive cable 153A or the sixth drive cable 153B can form a wrap angle in the annular groove when the end effector 150 is pitched. During rotation of end effector 150 from the null state shown in fig. 5D to the state shown in fig. 7A, if end effector 150 is pitched at an angle α, the wrap angle length of fifth drive cable 153A in annular groove 319A on pitch wheel 319 is increased by L1, and the wrap angle length of sixth drive cable 153B in annular groove 319A on pitch wheel 319 is simultaneously decreased by L1, where L1 is α R1, since the pitching motion of end effector 150 is driven by third drive unit 173 within drive device 170, as shown in fig. 8D, in which case if third drive unit 173 is such that the angle of the pitching motion of end effector 150 is α, rotated counterclockwise (first direction) by an angle β, third drive unit 173 releases fifth drive cable 153A and simultaneously retracts sixth drive cable 153B, such that the length of fifth drive cable 153A around third drive unit 173 is decreased by L1, the sixth drive cable 153B is wound around the third drive unit 173 with an increased length of L1, where L1 ═ β R2. As the main decoupling element 1761 and the third drive unit 173 rotate coaxially, the main decoupling element 1761 releases the first decoupling cable 1767 and simultaneously pulls the second decoupling cable 1768, so that the length of the first decoupling cable 1767 around the main decoupling element 1761 decreases by L/2, i.e. the first decoupling cable 1767 is released by L/2, the length of the second decoupling cable 1768 around the main decoupling element 1761 increases by L/2, wherein L/2 β r2, so that the carriage 1762 moves in the a direction by L/2, so that the lengths of the first drive cable 151A and the second drive cable 151B in the drive unit 170 decrease by L, respectively, and the lengths of the third drive cable 152A and the fourth drive cable 152B in the drive unit 170 increase by L, respectively, as can be seen from the foregoing, L α r 1. In summary, through the above four equations: l1 ═ α × R1, L1 ═ β R2, L/2 ═ β R2, and L ═ α R1, the following relationships can be obtained:

the above relation shows that the ratio of the radius of the third drive unit 173 to the radius of the main decoupling element 1761 is 2 times the ratio of the groove bottom radius of the annular groove 319A of the pitch wheel 319 to the radius of the second pulley block, which 2 times relationship is caused by the fact that the secondary decoupling element has 2 guides, namely a first guide 1763 and a second guide 1764. In other embodiments, the number of guides of the secondary decoupling member 176 may be other numbers, so that the relationship between the ratio of the radius of the third drive unit to the radius of the primary decoupling member and the ratio of the radius of the pitch wheel to the radius of the second pulley block varies, for example the secondary decoupling member may have N guides, the ratio of the radius of the third drive unit to the radius of the primary decoupling member being N times the ratio of the radius of the groove bottom of the annular groove of the pitch wheel to the radius of the second pulley block, i.e.:

but with an increased number of guides from the decouplerThe volume of the secondary decoupling element is correspondingly increased, and it is preferable to use 2 guides for the secondary decoupling element in the above-described exemplary embodiment. It will be understood that the radius of the drive unit and the radius of the main decoupling element both refer to the radius of the part of the drive cable or decoupling cable wound thereon, for example the radius of the winch, and the radius of the pulley refers to the radius of the bottom of the groove of the pulley, whereby the wrap angle length of the drive cable wound on the pulley can be calculated to the power, although in different documents different explanations are given for the radius of the pulley (for example the radius of the bottom of the groove, the radius of the groove), the radius of the pulley in the present invention is a parameter for measuring the wrap angle length of the drive cable wound on the pulley.

The amount of length change of the first and second pairs of cables on the end effector 150 side required for the end effector 150 to tilt is thus all provided by the decoupling mechanism 176 causing the amount of length change of the first and second pairs of cables within the drive device 170 to be accurately provided so that the movement of the third pair of cables is no longer limited by the first and second pairs of cables, thereby achieving precise decoupling between the third pair of cables and the first and second pairs of cables. The lengths of the first, second, third and fourth partial cables 151Aa, 151Ba, 152Aa, 153Ba can be maintained constant throughout the entire decoupling process, the tension of the entire first and second pairs of cables can be maintained constant throughout the entire decoupling process, and the first and

second drive units

171, 172 are completely independent of the third drive unit 173 since only the shaft 173A of the third drive unit 173 moves throughout the entire decoupling process. In addition, since the main decoupling element 1761 and the coupling source, i.e. the third drive unit 173, causing the coupling relationship to rotate coaxially, so that the main decoupling element 1761 and the coupling source, i.e. the third drive unit 173, move at the same angular velocity, and move completely and synchronously physically, no main operation is required to be provided for the signal control decoupling mechanism, the movement of the decoupling mechanism and the movement of the coupling source operate synchronously, the decoupling mechanism synchronizes the third drive unit for decoupling without any delay, and the length change of the first pair of cables and the second pair of cables on the side of the end effector 150, which is caused by the coupling source, i.e. the third drive unit 173, can be completely and accurately mapped to the length change of the first pair of cables and the second pair of cables on the decoupling mechanism 176, so that the decoupling mechanism 176 can completely and accurately release the coupling relationship between the third pair of cables and the first pair of cables and the second pair of cables, by accurately decoupled is meant how much the third drive unit rotates and how far the driven member moves from the decoupled member, the relationship between which is determined, and the radius ratio equations are given. In addition, because the secondary decoupling member 176 is always driven by the primary decoupling member 1761 to move to a corresponding position, rather than being driven by the first or second pair of cables, the first and second pairs of cables are substantially unstressed by the secondary decoupling member throughout the decoupling process, so that the tension on the first and second pairs of cables is substantially constant during the decoupling process, increasing the useful life of the first and second pairs of cables and the accuracy of control of the end effector 150.

Fig. 9A and 10B show a drive device 270 according to another embodiment of the present invention, the drive device 270B comprising a first drive unit 271, a second drive unit 272, a third drive unit 273, a third drive unit 274, and a decoupling mechanism 276, the first drive unit 271 rotating with its shaft 271A, the first driving unit 271 takes in or releases the first driving cable 151A or the second driving cable 151B to rotate the first clamping part 230 about the third pin 313, as the actuator within the instrument mount 132 drives the second drive unit 272 to rotate with its shaft 272A, the second drive unit 272 pulls or releases the second drive cable 152A or the third drive cable 152B to rotate the second gripper 240 about the third pin 313, and the first gripper 230 and the second gripper 240 move about the third pin 313 such that the end effector 150 performs an opening and closing and/or yaw motion. When the actuator within the instrument mount 132 drives the third drive unit 273 to rotate with its shaft 273A, the third drive unit 173, upon retraction or release of the fifth drive cable 153A or sixth drive cable 153B, rotates the second carriage 220 about the second pin axis AA' to effect the end effector 150 to perform a pitch motion.

The decoupling mechanism 276 includes a master decoupling member 2761 and a slave decoupling member, the master decoupling member 2761 is a gear that rotates coaxially with the third driving unit 273, the slave decoupling member includes a rack 2762 and a first guide 2763 and a second guide 2764 connected to both ends of the rack 2762, the first and

second driving cables

151A and 151B pass through the first guide 2763 of the slave decoupling member and enter the long shaft 160, and the

second driving cables

152A and 152B pass through the second guide 2764 of the slave decoupling member and enter the long shaft 160.

As shown in fig. 9B, when the third driving unit 273 and the main decoupling member 273 rotate together with the shaft 273A counterclockwise, the third driving unit 273 pulls the sixth driving cable 153B while releasing the fifth driving cable 153A, the end effector 150 performs the pitching motion as shown in fig. 7A and 7B, and at the same time, if the main decoupling member 2761 rotates counterclockwise by an arc length of L/2, the length of the movement in the a direction from the decoupling member driven by the main decoupling member 2761 is also L/2, the lengths of the first and

second driving cables

151A and 151B between the first and

second guide portions

2763 and 277A and between the first and

third guide portions

2763 and 277C are all reduced by L/2 at the same time, the lengths of the third and

fourth driving cables

152A and 152B between the second and second guide portions 2764 and 277B and the second guide wheel 277B and the length of the second and fourth guide portions 2764 and 277D are increased by L/277, so that the length of the first and

second drive cables

151A and 151B in the drive unit 270 decreases by L as a whole and the length of the third and

fourth drive cables

152A and 152B in the drive unit 270 increases by L as a whole. Decoupling mechanism 276 in drive device 270 thus provides the amount of change in the length of first drive cables 151A through fourth drive cables 152B on the side of end effector 150 required for the pitch movement of end effector 150, thereby decoupling the third pair of cables from the first and second pairs of cables and freeing the third pair of cables from the first and/or second pairs of cables from limiting movement.

Fig. 10A and 11B show a driving device 370 according to another embodiment of the present invention, and the driving device 270B includes a first driving unit 371, a second driving unit 372, a third driving unit 373, a fourth driving unit 374 and a decoupling mechanism 376, and except that the structure of the decoupling mechanism 376 is different from that of the two embodiments, other components are substantially the same as those of the two embodiments, and are not repeated herein. The decoupling mechanism 376 includes a main decoupling member 3761 coaxially rotating with the third driving unit 373, a decoupling cam 3762 fixedly connected to or integrally formed with the main decoupling member 3761, and a first guide 3763 and a second guide 3764 respectively connected to two ends of the decoupling cam 3762.

As shown in fig. 10B, when primary decoupling element 3761 rotates counterclockwise with shaft 373A with third drive unit 373, third drive unit 373 pulls sixth drive cable 153B and simultaneously releases fifth drive cable 153A, end effector 150 performs a pitch motion as shown in fig. 7A-7C, and at the same time, decoupling cam 3762 also rotates counterclockwise with shaft 373A under the drive of primary decoupling element 3761, thereby decreasing the length of first and

second drive cables

151A and 151B between first and

third guide wheels

377A and 377C by L, while increasing the length of third and

fourth drive cables

152A and 152B between second and

fourth guide wheels

377B and 377D by L, and thus decoupling mechanism 376 within drive device 370 may provide the amount of change in the length of end effector 150 on the side of end effector 150 from first to fourth drive cables 151A through 152B required for a pitch motion, thereby, the coupling relation between the third pair of cables and the first pair of cables and the second pair of cables is released, and the movement of the third pair of cables is not limited by the first pair of cables and/or the second pair of cables.

Fig. 11A-11F show a driving device according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which the driving device 470 includes a body 478, the body 478 is provided with a first driving unit 471, a second driving unit 472, a third driving unit 473 and a fourth driving unit 474, the long shaft 160 is connected with the body 478 by bearings, the decoupling mechanism 476 includes a main decoupling member 4761 and a secondary decoupling member 4762, the main decoupling member 4761 and the third driving unit 473 are both connected to a shaft 476A, the main decoupling member 4761 and the third driving unit 473 rotate coaxially with the shaft 473A, and the main decoupling member 4761 is disposed at the lower part of the third driving unit 473, that is, the main decoupling member 4761 is closer to the distal end of the driving device than the third driving unit 473. The secondary decoupling member 4762 includes a carriage 4765 and first and

second guides

4763 and 4764 provided at both ends of the carriage 4765, the carriage 4765 is slidably attached to a mount 477, the mount 477 is fixedly mounted on the body 478, the mount 477 is provided with first, second, third, and

fourth guide wheels

476A, 476B, 476C, and 476D that cooperate with the carriage 4765, the first, second, third, and

fourth guide wheels

476A, 476B, 476C, 476D form a sliding region in which the carriage 4765 slides, whereby the carriage 4765 can be restricted to slide in the sliding region on the mount 477.

The first and

second drive cables

151A and 151B are wound around the first drive unit 471 in opposite winding manners, and the first and

second drive cables

151A and 151B are guided by the first guide 477A provided in the mounting block 477, guided by the first guide 4763 provided in the carriage 4765, guided by the third guide 477C provided in the mounting block 477, introduced into the long shaft 160, and extended along the distal end of the long shaft 160 and finally fixed to the first clip 230 of the end effector 150. Third drive cable 152A and fourth drive cable 152B are routed around second drive unit 472 in opposite turns, and third drive cable 152A and fourth drive cable 152B are routed through second guide 477B provided on the mount, then through second guide 4764 provided on the carriage 4765, then through fourth guide 477D provided on the mount 477, then into elongated shaft 160, and extend all the way along the distal end of elongated shaft 160 and are finally secured to second gripper 240 of end effector 150. Five drive cables 153A and sixth drive cable 153B are guided by fifth guide wheel 477E and enter long shaft 160, extend all the way along the distal end of long shaft 160 and are finally fixed to second bracket 220. The other ends of the seventh and

eighth drive cables

154A, 154B routed around the fourth drive unit 474 are routed around the proximal end of the elongated shaft 160. As with the previous embodiments, the third pair of cables is also coupled to the first and second pairs of cables on the end effector side.

The mounting 477 includes a first boss 4771, the mounting 477 is fixed to the body 478 by the first boss 4771, and a second boss 4772, a third boss 4773, and a fourth boss 4774 are disposed on the first boss 4771. The second boss 4772 has a first mounting hole 4791 and a second mounting hole 4792 therein, and the second guide pulley 476B and the third guide pulley 476C are mounted to the second boss 4772 through the second mounting hole 4792 and the first mounting hole 4791, respectively. The third bosses 4773 have third and fourth mounting

holes

4793 and 4794, and the first and

second guide wheels

477A and 477B are mounted to the third bosses 4773 through the third and fourth mounting

holes

4793 and 4794, respectively. The fourth boss 4774 has a fifth mounting hole 4795 formed therein, and the first guide wheel 476A and a sixth guide wheel 4769 located below the first guide wheel 4796A are mounted by the same shaft in the sixth mounting hole 4796. the sixth guide wheel 4796 is used to guide the first and

second decoupling cables

4767 and 4768. The fifth boss 4775 has a seventh mounting hole 4797 therein, and the fourth guide wheel 476D is mounted to the fifth boss 4775 through a ninth mounting hole 4799. To maintain the first and

fourth guide wheels

476A, 476D at the same height when mounted to the mount 477, the fourth and

fifth bosses

4774, 4775 have a height differential that is approximately equal to the height of the sixth deflector 4769.

The mounting block 477 further has first and second mounting

posts

4776 and 4777, the first and second mounting

posts

4776 and 4777 are disposed diagonally opposite each other, the first and second mounting

posts

4776 and 4777 are disposed with a sixth mounting hole 4796 and a seventh mounting hole 4797, a fifth guide wheel 477E is mounted to the first and second mounting

posts

4776 and 4777 through the sixth mounting hole 4796, a stopper pin 477F for preventing the fifth and

sixth drive cables

153A and 153B from being detached from the fifth guide wheel 477E is mounted to the first and second mounting

posts

4776 and 4777 through the seventh mounting hole 4797, the first and second mounting

posts

4776 and 4777 are disposed diagonally opposite each other so that the fifth guide wheel 477E can guide the drive cables from the diagonal direction.

Mounting grooves 4798 and a wire passing hole 4775 are formed between the first mounting post 4776 and the second mounting post 4777 and the third boss 4773, third guide wheel 477C and the fourth guide wheel 477D are mounted on the mounting seat 477 through the mounting groove 4795, the wire passing hole 4775 is positioned between the third guide wheel 477C and the fourth guide wheel 477D mounted on the mounting seat 477 at the mounting groove 4798, and the wire passing hole 4775 is communicated with the long shaft 160 for guiding the driving cable into the long shaft 160.

As shown in fig. 11C and 11E, a first slide rail 4766A and a second slide rail 4766B are provided from both sides of a carriage 4765 of the decoupler 4762, and after the carriage 4765 is attached to the mount 477, the first slide rail 4766A and the second slide rail 4766B can slide within a sliding region formed by a first guide wheel 476A, a second guide wheel 476B, a third guide wheel 476C, and a fourth guide wheel 476D, the first slide rail 4766A is slidably provided on the aligned second guide wheel 476B and third guide wheel 476C, and the second slide rail is slidably provided on the aligned first guide wheel 476A and fourth guide wheel 476D. Both ends of the carriage 4765 have a first mounting space 4767 and a second mounting space 4768, respectively, and a first guide portion 4763 and a second guide portion 4764 are mounted into the first mounting space 4767 and the second mounting space 4768, respectively. The carriage 4765 also has a central opening 4781 that receives the first mounting post 4776, the second mounting post 4777, and the third boss 4773 and cooperates with the first mounting post 4776, the second mounting post 4777, and the third boss 4773 to limit the sliding travel of the carriage 4765 within the sliding region on the mounting block 477.

The carriage 4765 has a first guide slot 4684 and a first fixed aperture 4782 at one end and a second guide slot 4685 and a second fixed aperture 4783 at the other end, the first guide slot 4784 for guiding the first decoupling cable 4767 to be fixed in the first fixed aperture 4782 and the second guide slot 4785 for guiding the second decoupling cable 4768 to be fixed in the second fixed aperture 4783. The first and second guide slots 4684 and 4685 are offset from each other in the height direction of the carriage 4765 so that the first and

second decoupling cables

4767 and 4768 can be fixed to the carriage 4765 without interfering with each other.

The decoupling process of this embodiment is illustrated in fig. 11F, when the third drive unit 473 rotates counterclockwise (first direction) with the shaft 473A driven by the actuator, since the main decoupling member 4761 and the third drive unit 473 are connected to the actuator by the same shaft 473A, at which time the main decoupling member 4761 and the third drive unit 473 rotate counterclockwise with the shaft 473A at the same angular velocity, the third drive unit 473 pulls the sixth drive cable 153B and simultaneously releases the fifth drive cable 153A, causing the end effector 150 to perform the pitch motion illustrated in fig. 7A and 7B, at the same time, the main decoupling member 4761 pulls the second decoupling cable 4768 and simultaneously releases the first decoupling cable 4767, causing the slave decoupling member 4762 to move in direction a illustrated in fig. 11F, if the slave decoupling member 4762 in fig. 11F moves in direction a null position by distance L/2 with respect to the slave decoupling member 4762 in direction in fig. 10B, the length of first and

second drive cables

151A and 151B between first guide 4763 and first guide 477A and between first guide 4763 and third guide 477C are both reduced by L/2, thereby reducing the length of first and

second drive cables

151A and 151B within drive 470 by L and the length of the first pair of cables within the drive by 2L. Accordingly, the length of third and

fourth drive cables

152A and 152B between second pilot 4764 and second pilot 477B, and the length between second pilot 4764 and fourth pilot 477D are both increased by L/2, thereby increasing the length of third and

fourth drive cables

152A and 152B, respectively, within the drive by L and the length of the first pair of cables within the drive by 2L. The decoupling mechanism 276 in the drive device 370 thus provides the amount of change in the length of the first drive cable 151A, the second drive cable 151B, the third drive cable 152A, and the fourth drive cable 152B on one side of the end effector 150 required for the end effector 150 to tilt, thereby decoupling the third pair of cables from the first pair of cables and the second pair of cables and allowing the third pair of cables to move without being constrained by the first pair of cables and the second pair of cables, thereby allowing the end effector 150 to successfully perform the tilting operation.

When third drive unit 473 and main decoupling member 4761 are rotated in a second direction (clockwise) opposite the first direction, such that the lengths of first drive cable 151A and second drive cable within drive device 470 are increased by L and the lengths of third drive cable 152A and fourth drive cable 152B, respectively, within the drive device are decreased by L, the detailed process is just opposite the above-described rotation in the first direction and will not be described again here.

Fig. 12A-12E illustrate a drive device 570 according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the drive device 570 includes a body 578, and a first drive unit 571, a second drive unit 572, a third drive unit 573, and a fourth drive unit 774 disposed on the body 778, wherein proximal ends of the first drive cable 151A and the second drive cable 151B are wound around the first drive unit 571 in an opposite manner, proximal ends of the third drive cable 152A and the fourth drive cable 152B are wound around the second drive unit 572 in an opposite manner, and proximal ends of the fifth drive cable 153A and the sixth drive cable 153B are wound around the third drive unit 573 in an opposite manner.

To better illustrate the relationship between the master decoupler 5761 and the slave decoupler 5762, fig. 12B does not show the third drive unit, as shown in fig. 12B, the drive device 570 further comprises a mount 577 and a decoupling mechanism disposed on the mount 577, the decoupling mechanism comprises the master decoupler 5761 and the slave decoupler 5762, the master decoupler 5761 and the third drive unit 5762 are disposed on the same rotational axis 573A, the master decoupler 5761 is a cam that rotates at the same angular velocity as the third drive unit 5762, the slave decoupler 5762 comprises the carriage 5765 and first and

second guides

5763, 5764 mounted on the carriage 5765, and similarly to the previous embodiment, the drive device 570 further comprises first, second, third and

fourth guide wheels

576A, 576B, 576C, 576D disposed on the mount 577. The rotation axis of the first guide wheel 576A is parallel to the rotation axis of the first guide portion 5763, and the rotation axis of the fourth guide wheel 576D is perpendicular to the rotation axis of the first guide wheel 576A and the rotation axis of the first guide portion 5763. The rotation axis of the second guide wheel 576B is parallel to the rotation axis of the second guide portion 5764, and the rotation axis of the third guide wheel 576C is perpendicular to the rotation axis of the second guide wheel 576B and the rotation axis of the second guide portion 5764. First drive cable 151A and second drive cable 151B are redirected by first guide wheel 576A, then directed by first guide 5763 of decoupling member 5762, then directed by third guide 576C, then exit drive device 570 into major axis 160, third drive cable 152A and fourth drive cable 152B are redirected by first guide wheel 576A, then directed by decoupling member 5762, then directed by third guide 576C, then exit drive device 570 into major axis 160, and fifth drive cable 153A and sixth drive cable 153B are redirected by fifth guide wheel 576E, then enter major axis 160.

As shown in fig. 12C, the mount 577 includes a first boss 5771 and a second boss 5772, the mount 577 is mounted to the main body 578 by the first boss 5771, and the first guide wheel 576A, the second guide wheel 576B, the third guide wheel 576C, the fourth guide wheel 576D, and the fifth guide wheel 576E are mounted to the second boss 5772. The slave decoupler 5762 includes a carriage 5765 and first and

second guides

5763, 5764 mounted on the carriage 5765, the first guide 5763 for coupling the first and

second drive cables

151A, 151B to the slave decoupler 5762 and the second guide 5764 for coupling the third and

fourth drive cables

152A, 152B to the slave decoupler 5762. The carriage 5765 includes a first opening 5766 and a second opening 5767, the first opening 5766 is for receiving the main decoupling member 5761, the second opening 5767 is for receiving a second boss 5771 of the mounting base 577, and a sidewall of the second boss 5771 cooperates with a sidewall of the second opening 5767 to restrict movement of the carriage 5765 in a vertical sliding direction.

Referring back to fig. 12B, the sliding frame 5765 has a first protrusion 5768 and a second protrusion 5769 extending into the first opening 5766, the main decoupling member 5761 abuts against the first protrusion 5768 and the second protrusion 5769 in the first opening 5766, and the first protrusion 5768 and the second protrusion 5769 can move on the outer contour of the main decoupling member 5761 when the main decoupling member 5761 rotates, so that the sliding frame 5765 slides on the mounting seat 577. As shown in fig. 12D, the main decoupling member 5761 includes a first cam 5761A and a second cam 5761B fixed to the rotating shaft 573A, each of the first cam 5761A and the second cam 5761B is a half-heart cam, the second cam 5761B and the first cam 4761 have the same outer profile on the plane of the vertical shaft 573A, the outer profile of the first cam 5761A on the plane of the vertical shaft 573A includes a heart-shaped involute S1 and a first arc S2 and a second arc S3 at both ends of the involute S1, the first arc S2 has a different radius from the second arc S3, the distance from the involute S1 to the shaft center of the rotating shaft 473A has a gradually increasing distance from the first arc S2 toward the second arc S3, and the involute S1 has the following curve: that is, the change amount P of the distance from the involute S1 to the axis of the rotating shaft 473A is in a linear relationship with the angle θ 1 by which the first cam 5761A rotates with the shaft 473A, where K1 × θ 1+ K2, where K1 and K2 are constant, so that when the main decoupling member 5761 rotates at an even speed, the distance from the contact point of the first protrusion 5768 with the involute S1 of the first cam 5761 to the rotating shaft 573A and the distance from the contact point of the second protrusion 5768 with the involute S1' of the second cam to the rotating shaft 573A also change linearly at an even speed. The first cam 5761A and the second cam 5761B together form a heart-shaped cam-type main decoupling member 5761, the first cam 5761A and the second cam 5761B are vertically staggered in the axial direction of the cams, the first cam 5761A is in fit movement with the first lug 5768 of the carriage 5761, and the second cam 5761B is in fit movement with the second lug 5768 of the carriage 5761, so that the main decoupling member 5761 drives the movement of the secondary decoupling member 5762 to release the coupling relationship between the first pair of cables and the second and third pairs of cables.

The decoupling of the drive arrangement 570 is illustrated in fig. 12E, with the third drive unit 473 (not shown in fig. 12E) being driven to rotate counterclockwise (first direction) from the null position of fig. 12B to the extreme position of fig. 12E by the actuator, with the third drive unit 473 retracting the sixth drive cable 153B and simultaneously releasing the fifth drive cable 153A, with the end effector 150 undergoing the pitch motion illustrated in fig. 7A and 7B. Since the main decoupling member 4761 is disposed on the same rotation shaft 473A as the third drive unit 473, and therefore the main decoupling member 4761 also moves counterclockwise, the first cam 4761a of the main decoupling member 4761 rotates counterclockwise such that the first convex body 5768 moves on the involute S1 of the first cam 4761a in the direction in which the distance to the rotation shaft 473A on the involute S1 increases, and conversely, the second cam 4761B of the main decoupling member 4761 rotates counterclockwise such that the first convex body 5768 moves on the involute S1 of the second cam 4761B in the direction in which the distance to the rotation shaft 473A on the involute S1 decreases, and since the side wall of the second opening 5767 of the carriage 5765 cooperates with the inner wall of the second opening 5767 to restrict the movement of the carriage 5765 in the direction perpendicular to the a direction, the carriage 5765 is driven by the main decoupling member 4761 to move linearly in the a direction.

The carriage 5765 also has a first guide portion 5763 to which the first pair of cables is attached and a second guide portion 5764 to which the second pair of cables is attached, in order to provide that the change in length of the first and second pairs of cables within the drive device caused by movement of the carriage 5765 is linear, and similarly to the embodiment shown in fig. 8B and 8C, the direction of movement of the carriage 5765 is parallel to the portion of the first pair of cables between the first guide wheel 576A and the first guide portion 5763 and the direction of movement of the carriage 5765 is parallel to the portion of the second pair of cables between the second guide wheel 576B and the second guide portion 5764. The angle of the portion of the first and

second drive cables

151A and 151B between first and

fourth guide portions

5763 and 576D is equal to the angle of the line along direction a, and likewise, the angle of the portion of the third and

fourth drive cables

152A and 152B between second and

third guide portions

5764 and 576C is equal to the angle of the line along direction a, and if carriage 5765 is moved in direction a by the distance L/2 under the drive of main decoupling member 5761 in the position of fig. 12E, the length of first and

second drive cables

151A and 151B between first and

second guide portions

576A and 5763 is reduced by L/2 and the length between first and

fourth guide portions

5763 and 576D is also reduced by L/2, such that the length of first and

second drive cables

151A and 151B within drive unit 570 is reduced by L, i.e., the length of the first pair of cables within the drive device 570 is reduced by 2L. The length of the third and

fourth drive cables

152A, 152B between the second guide wheels 576B and the second guide wheels 576C is increased by L/2, so that the length of the third and

fourth drive cables

152A, 152B within the drive device 570 is increased by L, i.e., the length of the second pair of cables within the drive device 570 is increased by 2L. The decoupling mechanism in drive device 570 thereby provides the amount of change in the length of first drive cable 151A, second drive cable 151B, third drive cable 152A, and fourth drive cable 152B on one side of end effector 150 required for the pitch movement of end effector 150, thereby decoupling the third pair of cables from the first and second pairs of cables and allowing the movement of the third pair of cables to be unrestricted by the first and second drive cables, thereby allowing end effector 150 to smoothly perform the pitch operation.

If the main decoupling element 5761 continues to rotate, so that the carriage 5765 moves into the extreme position, in which case the first projection 5798 leaves the involute S1 of the first cam 5761A and enters the second circular arc S3, and the second projection 5769 leaves the involute S1 'of the second cam 5761B and enters the first circular arc S2', while the distance from the contact point of the first projection 5798 with the first cam 5761A to the rotation axis 573A no longer changes as the first projection 5798 moves over the first circular arc S1 and the second circular arc S2 of the first cam 5761A, and likewise the distance from the contact point of the second projection 5798 with the first cam 5761A to the rotation axis 573A no longer changes as the second projection 5798 moves over the first circular arc S1 'and the second circular arc S2' of the second cam 5761B, so that the carriage 5765 no longer moves in the a direction, and the carriage 5765 is in the extreme position of movement in the a direction, so that there is a decoupling of the first arc S5729S 1 of the main cam 5761B S1 'and second arcs S2, S2' cause the main decoupling 5761 to rotate to the limit position and continue to rotate and move the carriage. In contrast, when the main decoupling member 5761 rotates clockwise, the movement of the first cam 5761A, the second cam 5761B and the carriage is opposite to the counterclockwise movement of the main decoupling member 5761, and thus, the description thereof is omitted.

Fig. 13A-13E illustrate a driving device 670 according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the driving device 670 includes a body 678, and a first driving unit 671, a second driving unit 672, a third driving unit 473 and a fourth driving unit 674 arranged on the body 678, the first driving unit 671 is wound with a first pair of cable ends, proximal ends of the first driving cable 151A and the second driving cable 151B are wound around the first driving unit 671 in an opposite manner, proximal ends of the third driving cable 152A and the fourth driving cable 152B are wound around the second driving unit 672 in an opposite manner, and proximal ends of the fifth driving cable 153A and the sixth driving cable 153B are wound around the third driving unit 673 in an opposite manner.

The drive arrangement 670 further includes a mounting block 677 and a decoupling mechanism 676, the mounting block 677 being mounted on the body 678 and the decoupling mechanism 176 being mounted on the mounting block 677. The decoupling mechanism comprises a master decoupling element 6761 and a slave decoupling element, the master decoupling element 6761 is a gear wheel which rotates coaxially with the third drive unit 673, the slave decoupling element comprises a drive wheel 6762 and a decoupling slider, the decoupling slider comprises a first decoupling slider 6764 and a second decoupling slider 6765, the first decoupling slider 6764 and the second decoupling slider 6765 are separate and move independently of each other, the drive wheel 6762 is connected with the first decoupling slider 6764 by a first decoupling cable 6766, the drive wheel 6762 is connected with the second decoupling slider 6765 by a second decoupling cable 6767, the first decoupling slider 6764 and the second decoupling slider 6765 can move relative to each other, and the direction of movement of the first decoupling slider 6764 and the direction of movement of the second decoupling slider 6765 are greater than ninety degrees. The transmission wheel 6762 comprises a capstan 6762A and a transmission gear 6762B arranged coaxially, the transmission gear 6762B meshes with the main decoupling member 6761 via an intermediate gear 6763, the transmission wheel 6762 is driven by the main decoupling member 6761 and steers the movement of the first and

second decoupling sliders

6764, 6765 via a first and

second decoupling cable

6766, 6767. In other embodiments, no intermediate gear 6763 may be provided between the transmission wheel 6762 and the main decoupling member 6761, and the transmission wheel 6762 is in direct gear engagement with the main decoupling member 6761.

The first driving cable 151A and the second driving cable 151B pass through the first guide wheel 677A, are redirected, pass through the first decoupling sliding block 6764, then pass through the third guide wheel 677C, and then enter the long shaft 160, the third driving cable 152A and the fourth driving cable 152B pass through the second decoupling sliding block 6765, after being redirected by the second guide wheel 677B, pass through the fourth guide wheel 677D, and then enter the long shaft 160, and the fifth driving cable 153A and the sixth driving cable 153B pass through the fifth guide wheel 677E, are redirected, and then directly enter the long shaft 160.

The first decoupling cable 6766 is fixed at one end to the capstan 6762A and at the other end to the first decoupling slider 6764 after being redirected by the sixth guide wheel 6768, the second decoupling cable 6767 is fixed at one end to the capstan 6762A in an opposite winding manner to the first decoupling cable 6776 and at the other end to the second decoupling slider 6765 after being redirected by the seventh guide wheel 6769, the first and

second decoupling cables

6766 and 6764 respectively operate the first and

second decoupling sliders

6764 and 6765 to slide on the mounting block 677 to change the lengths of the first and second pairs of cables within the drive device 670, thereby achieving decoupling of the third pair of cables from the first and second pairs of cables. It will be appreciated that in other embodiments the first and second pairs of cables may be coupled to the first and second decoupling sliders by not passing through guide wheels, but instead using other redirection members, such as curved guide tubes.

Fig. 13C is an exploded view of the mounting block 677 and the secondary decoupler, fig. 13C more clearly showing the mounting relationship between the secondary decoupler and the mounting block 477, the mounting block 477 having a first boss 4771 by which the mounting block 477 is mounted to the body 478, the first boss 4771 having a second boss 6772 and a third boss 6773, the second boss 6772 having a first mounting hole 6781 and a second mounting hole 6782, the rotational axis of the secondary decoupler 6762 being mounted in the first mounting hole 6781, the rotational axis of the idler gear 6763 being mounted in the second mounting hole 6782, the idler gear 6762 being engaged with the idler gear 6763 by the drive gear 6762B to receive the driving force from the primary decoupler 6761. The third boss 6773 has a third mounting hole 6783, a fourth mounting hole 6784, a fifth mounting hole 6785, and a sixth mounting hole 6786, the third mounting hole 6783 is used for mounting the sixth guide wheel 6768 to the third boss 6773, the fourth mounting hole 6784 is used for mounting the seventh guide wheel 6769 to the third boss 6773, the fifth mounting hole 6785 is used for mounting the first guide wheel 677A to the third boss 6773, and the sixth mounting hole 6786 is used for mounting the second guide wheel 677B to the third boss 6773. The third boss 6773 is also provided with a first sliding groove 6791 and a second sliding groove 6792, the first sliding groove 6791 and the second sliding groove 6792 have an acute included angle so as to reduce the volume occupied by the mounting seat 677, the first sliding groove 6791 and the second sliding groove 6792 are respectively used for accommodating the first decoupling sliding block 6764 and the second decoupling sliding block 6795, and the first decoupling sliding block 6764 and the second decoupling sliding block 6795 can slide in the first sliding groove 6791 and the second sliding groove 6792. The third boss 6773 is further provided with a first boss 6775, a second boss 6776 and a third boss 6777, the first boss 6775, the second boss 6776 and the third boss 6777 enclose a guide through hole for guiding the driving rope into the long shaft 160, an installation groove for installing a fifth guide wheel 677E is formed between the boss 6775 and the second boss 6776, an installation groove for installing a fourth guide wheel 677D is formed between the second boss 6776 and the third boss 6777, an installation groove for installing a third guide wheel 677C is formed between the first boss 6775 and the third boss 6777, and the third guide wheel 677C, the fourth guide wheel 677D and the fifth guide wheel 677E are respectively used for guiding the first pair of ropes, the second pair of ropes and the third pair of ropes into the guide through holes.

The first decoupling slider 6764 of the decoupling member comprises a first slider body 6764A and a first guide portion 6764B mounted on the first slider body 6764A for guiding the first drive cable 151A and the second pair of cables 151B, and a first fixing element 6764C for fixing the first decoupling cable 6766 to the first decoupling slider 6764 so that the transmission wheel 6762 can manipulate the first decoupling slider 6764 in its movement by means of the first decoupling cable 6766. The second decoupling slider 6765 comprises a second slider body 6765A and a second guide portion 6765B mounted on the second slider body 6765A and a second fixing element 6764C, the decoupling of the second decoupling slider 6765 and the first decoupling slider 6764 being substantially identical, except for the ninth guide wheel 6764B of the second decoupling slider 6765 for guiding the third drive cable 152A and the fourth drive cable 152B and the second fixing element for fixing the second decoupling cable 6767, fig. 13D shows further details of the first decoupling slider, as shown in fig. 13D the first slider body 6764A of the first decoupling slider 6764 includes a first spur 6793 and a second spur 6794 disposed opposite the first spur 6793, the first guide portion 6764B is mounted between the first spur 6793 and the second spur 6794, as in the above-described embodiment, the first guide portion 6764B also has two pulleys provided side by side for guiding the first and

second driving cables

151A and 151B, respectively. The first de-coupling slide 6764 also has a third protrusion 6795 on the side opposite the first protrusion 6793 and the second protrusion 6794, the third protrusion 6795 is used to mount a first anchor 6764C, and the first de-coupling cable 6766 is secured by the first anchor 6764C intermediate the first anchor 6764C and the third protrusion 6795.

The decoupling process of this embodiment is illustrated in fig. 13E, when the third drive unit 673 is rotated counterclockwise with the shaft 673A driven by the actuator, since the main decoupling member 6761 and the third drive unit 673 are connected to the actuator via the same shaft 673A (the main decoupling member 6761 is obscured from view by the third drive unit 673 in fig. 13E), when the main decoupling member 6761 and the third drive unit 673 are rotated counterclockwise (in the first direction) with the shaft 473A at the same angular velocity, the third drive unit 473 pulls the sixth drive cable 153B and simultaneously releases the fifth drive cable 153A, so that the end effector 150 performs the pitch motion illustrated in fig. 7A and 7B, at the same time, the main decoupling member 6761 drives the transmission wheel 6762 to rotate via the intermediate gear 6763 engaged therewith, so that the driven wheel 6762 releases the first decoupling cable 6767 and simultaneously pulls the second decoupling cable 6768, so that the first decoupling slider 6764 is moved counterclockwise with the null distance L/2 in the a direction with respect to the position illustrated in fig. 13B, likewise, the second decoupling slider 6765 is moved in the direction B by a distance L/2 relative to the zero position. Similar to the previous embodiment, the direction of movement of the first uncoupling slider 676 is parallel to the portion of the first and

second drive cables

151A and 151B between the second guide wheel 677B and the first uncoupling slider 6764, the variation in length of the first and

second drive cables

151A and 151B between the second guide wheel 677B and the first uncoupling slider 6764 is linear with the variation in the distance of movement of the first uncoupling slider 6764, the length of the first drive cable 151A and the second drive cable 151B between the second guide wheel 677B and the first decoupling slider 6764 is thus reduced by L/2 and, likewise, the length between the third guide wheel 677C and the first decoupling slider 6764 is likewise reduced by L/2, so that the length of the first and

second drive cables

151A and 151B in the drive device 670 is reduced by L, i.e. the length of the first pair of cables in the drive device is reduced by 2L. Similarly, the portion of the third and

fourth drive cables

152A, 152B between the first guide wheel 677A and the second decoupling block 6765 runs parallel to the direction of movement of the second decoupling block 6765, and the length of the third and

fourth drive cables

152A, 152B between the first guide wheel 677A and the second decoupling block 6765 is increased by L/2, as is the length between the fourth guide wheel 677D and the second decoupling block 6765, such that the length of the third and

fourth drive cables

152A, 152B within the drive device 670 is increased by L, i.e., the length of the second pair of drive cables within the drive device is increased by 2L. The decoupling mechanism 676 in the drive apparatus 670 thus provides the amount of change in the length of the first drive cable 151A, the second drive cable 151B, the third drive cable 152A, and the fourth drive cable 152B on the side of the end effector 150 required for the pitch movement of the end effector 150, thereby decoupling the third pair of cables from the first pair of cables and the second pair of cables, and allowing the third pair of cables to move without being constrained by the first drive cable and the second drive cable, so that the end effector 150 can smoothly perform the pitch operation.

Fig. 14 shows a drive device 770 of an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the drive device 770 includes a first drive unit 771, a second drive unit 772, a third drive unit 773 and a fourth drive unit 774, wherein the proximal ends of the first drive cable 151A and the second drive cable 151B are wound around the first drive unit 771 in an opposite manner, the proximal ends of the third drive cable 152A and the fourth drive cable 152B are wound around the second drive unit 772 in an opposite manner, and the proximal ends of the fifth drive cable 153A and the sixth drive cable 153B are wound around the third drive unit 773 in an opposite manner.

The decoupling mechanism of the drive device 770 includes a primary decoupling member 7761 and a secondary decoupling member 7762, the primary decoupling member 7761 is used to drive the secondary decoupling member 7762 to move to decouple the coupling. Unlike the previous embodiments, the main decoupling member 7761 in this embodiment is not directly connected to the third driving unit 773, the main decoupling member 7761 is not coaxially disposed with the third driving unit 773, and the main decoupling member 7761 is independently movable from the third driving unit 773, i.e., the main decoupling member 7761 does not receive a driving force from an actuator driving the third driving unit 773 to drive the slave decoupling member 7762 unlike the previous embodiments, and the main decoupling member 7761 drives the slave decoupling member 7762 according to the pitch indication information that can characterize the pitch device of the end effector 150.

The decoupling mechanism further comprises a detection unit and a control unit, wherein the detection unit comprises a first tension sensor TS1, a second tension sensor TS2, a third tension sensor TS3 and a fourth tension sensor TS4 which are respectively arranged on the first driving cable 151A, the second driving cable 152B, the third driving cable 152A and the fourth driving cable 152B and are used for detecting tension changes of the first tension sensor TS1, the second tension sensor TS2, the third tension sensor TS3 and the fourth tension sensor TS 4. The first tension sensor TS1, the second tension sensor TS2, the third tension sensor TS3 and the fourth tension sensor TS4 transmit the detected tension change information to a control unit (not shown), and the control unit receives the signal input of the detection unit, processes the signal and outputs a control signal to control the movement of the main decoupling piece 7761. It will be appreciated that the control unit is not limited to being located within the drive mechanism and may be located within the robot arm or within the main console as long as it is capable of communicating with the detection unit and controlling the movement of the primary decoupling member.

The remainder of the drive arrangement 770 is similar to the embodiment shown in fig. 8A, and in particular, the drive arrangement 770 further includes a first guide wheel 777A, a second guide wheel 777B, a third guide wheel 777C, and a fourth guide wheel 777D, the secondary decoupling member 7762 includes two guide portions, a first guide portion 7767 and a second guide portion 7765, the first guide portion 7767 and the second guide portion 7765 are connected by a carriage 7763 therebetween, and the primary decoupling member 7761 is connected to the secondary decoupling member 7762 by a first decoupling cable 1768 and a second decoupling cable 1769. First and

second drive cables

151A and 151B are redirected by first guide wheel 777A, then guided by first guide 7764 from decoupling member 7762, and finally passed by third guide wheel 777C into long shaft 160, and third and

fourth drive cables

152A and 152B are redirected by second guide wheel 777B, then passed by second guide 7765 from decoupling member 7762, and finally passed by fourth guide wheel 777D into long shaft 160.

The decoupling process of drive device 770 is illustrated in fig. 14, and as third drive unit 773 rotates counterclockwise (in the first direction), third drive cable 773 pulls fourth drive cable 153B and simultaneously releases third drive cable 153A, at which time end effector 150 executes a pitch motion as illustrated in fig. 7A and 7B. Because of the coupling relationship between the third pair of cables and the first and second pairs of cables, the end effector 150 will rapidly increase the tension of the first and

second drive cables

151A and 151B during the pitching motion as shown in fig. 7A and 7B, the control unit receives and processes the input signals from the first and second tension sensors TS1, TS2, TS3 and TS4, and as the tension of the first and

second drive cables

151A and 151B increases and the tension of the third and

fourth drive cables

152A and 152B decreases, the control unit will output a control signal to control the rotation of the primary decoupling member 7761 to balance the tension of the first to fourth drive cables 151A to 152B.

Specifically, the control unit controls the main decoupling member 7761 to rotate counterclockwise, wherein the main decoupling member 7761 will pull the second decoupling cable 7769 and release the first decoupling cable 7768, wherein if the change in tension of the first and second pairs of cables caused by the pitching movement of the end effector 150 is to be balanced, the main decoupling member 7762 will move a distance L/2 in the direction a, and wherein if the main decoupling member 7762 will move a distance L/2 in the direction a, similarly to the above embodiments, because the portion of the first pair of cables between the first guide pulley 777A and the first guide 7764 is parallel to the direction of movement of the second decoupling member 7762, and the portion of the first pair of cables between the first guide pulley 7764 and the third guide pulley 777C is substantially parallel to the direction of movement of the second decoupling member 7762, and similarly, the portion of the second pair of cables between the second guide pulley 777B and the second guide pulley 7765 is parallel to the direction of movement of the second decoupling member 7762, the portion of the second pair of cables between the second guide 7765 and the fourth guide wheel 777D is generally parallel to the direction of movement of the secondary decouplers 7762. Accordingly, the distance between the first and

second drive cables

151A, 151B between the first and

second guide wheels

777A, 7764 and the distance between the first and

third guide wheels

7764, 777C is decreased by L/2, so that the length of the first and

second drive cables

151A, 151B in the drive device is decreased by L, i.e., the length of the first pair of cables in the drive device 770 is decreased by 2L, and conversely, the length of the third and

fourth drive cables

152A, 152B in the drive device is increased by 2L, i.e., the distance of the second pair of cables in the drive device 770 is increased by 2L. The change in length L of the first to fourth drive cables in the drive arrangement is caused by the amount of guides connecting the first and/or second pair of cables from the decoupler 7765, which in this embodiment is 2, resulting in a distance L/2 of movement from the decoupler 7765, and the amount of change in length of the first and/or third drive cables in the drive arrangement is twice the corresponding distance of movement from the decoupler 7765. It will be appreciated that other numbers of guides on the secondary decouplers are possible in other embodiments, and that if the number of guides on the secondary decouplers is N, then the amount of change in the length of the first and/or second pairs of cables in the drive arrangement is the corresponding distance moved from the decouplers 7765.

The decoupling mechanism in the drive device 770 thus provides the amount of change in the length of the first drive cable 151A, the second drive cable 151B, the third drive cable 152A, and the fourth drive cable 152B on one side of the end effector 150 required for the end effector 150 to pitch, thereby decoupling the third pair of cables from the first pair of cables and the second pair of cables, and allowing the third pair of cables to move without being constrained by the first drive cable and the second drive cable, so that the end effector 150 can smoothly perform the pitch operation.

Because the drive cable is worn during use and the tension sensor senses errors, it is possible that the tension of the drive cable may not be accurately decoupled as an indication of the pitch of the end effector 150, for example, it is theoretically necessary to completely decouple the drive cable from the decoupling member 7762 by L/2, but the control unit may control the drive cable to move from the decoupling member 7762 by a distance other than L/2 based on the tension sensor data due to the tension sensor error. Therefore, in an embodiment, the rotation state of the third driving unit 773 is used as the pitch state indication information of the end effector 150. The detecting unit of the driving device 770 is an encoder connected to the third driving unit 773, and the encoder can precisely detect the rotation angle of the third driving unit 773, so that the control unit can precisely obtain the rotation angle of the third driving unit 773 in real time, and further precisely calculate the pitch angle of the end effector 150 to control the movement of the decoupling element 7762, so that, as in the embodiments of fig. 8A to 13E, the decoupling mechanism in the driving device 770 can precisely provide the variation of the lengths of the first driving cable 151A, the second driving cable 151B, the third driving cable 152A and the fourth driving cable 152B on the side of the end effector 150, which are required by the pitch movement of the end effector 150, thereby solving the coupling relationship between the third pair of cables and the first pair of cables and the second pair of cables, the movement of the third pair of cables is not limited by the first driving cable and the second driving cable, so that the end effector 150 can smoothly perform the pitching operation. In other embodiments, the decoupling mechanism does not need to be provided with a detection unit, the control unit of the decoupling mechanism and the third driving unit simultaneously receive a control signal from the main console, the control signal from the main console serves as the pitch state indication information of the end effector 150, and the control unit can control the main decoupling member to operate synchronously with the third driving unit through the control signal from the main console.

The above-mentioned embodiments only represent some embodiments of the present invention, and the description thereof is specific and detailed, but not to be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. It should be noted that, for those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the present invention, several variations and modifications can be made, which are within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be subject to the appended claims.

Claims

1. A surgical instrument comprising an end effector, a drive device configured to drive movement of the end effector via a cable, the cable comprising first and second pairs of cables for driving the end effector to perform a yaw movement, and a third pair of cables for driving the end effector to perform a pitch movement, the drive device comprising:

a drive unit, one end of the third pair of cables connected to the drive unit, the drive unit manipulating the pitch motion of the end effector via the third pair of cables;

a decoupling mechanism including a primary decoupling member and a secondary decoupling member, the primary decoupling member disposed coaxially with the drive unit, the primary decoupling member for rotating coaxially with the drive unit and driving the secondary decoupling member to move to increase a length of one of the first and second pairs of cables within the drive device and decrease a length of the other of the first and second pairs of cables within the drive device such that the drive unit drives the end effector to perform a pitch motion.

2. The surgical instrument of claim 1 wherein said primary decoupling member is adapted to drive said secondary decoupling member in a linear motion to vary the length of said first and second pairs of cables within said drive device.

3. The surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein the primary decoupling member is configured to drive rotational movement of the secondary decoupling member to change the length of the first and second pairs of cables within the drive device.

4. The surgical instrument of claim 2, wherein the drive unit and the primary decoupling member rotate in a first direction to increase the length of the first pair of cables on the end effector and decrease the length of the second pair of cables on the end effector, and the secondary decoupling member moves upon actuation of the primary decoupling member to decrease the length of the first pair of cables in the drive device and increase the length of the second pair of cables in the drive device.

5. The surgical instrument of claim 4, wherein rotation of the drive unit and the primary decoupling member in a second direction opposite the first direction decreases the length of the first pair of cables on the end effector and increases the length of the second pair of cables on the end effector, and wherein the secondary decoupling member moves upon actuation of the primary decoupling member to increase the length of the first pair of cables in the drive device and decrease the length of the second pair of cables in the drive device.

6. The surgical instrument of claim 5 wherein said secondary decoupling member has a first guide portion at one end thereof and a second guide portion at the other end thereof, said first pair of cables extending through said first guide portion to said end effector and said second pair of cables extending through said second guide portion to said end effector.

7. The surgical instrument of claim 6, wherein rotation of the drive unit and the master decoupler in the first direction or the second direction causes the first pair of cables and/or the second pair of cables to change in length on the end effector by an amount equal to four times a distance traveled by the slave decoupler within the drive device.

8. The surgical instrument of claim 6, wherein the drive device further comprises a first guide wheel and a second guide wheel, wherein the first pair of cables is routed through the first guide wheel and then routed through the first guide portion and then connected to the end effector, and wherein the second pair of cables is routed through the second guide wheel and then routed through the second guide portion and then connected to the end effector.

9. The surgical instrument of claim 8 wherein the direction of movement of the slave decoupling member is partially parallel to the first pair of cables between the first guide wheel and the first guide portion of the slave decoupling member.

10. The surgical instrument of claim 8 wherein the direction of movement of the slave decoupling member is parallel to the portion of the second pair of cables between the second guide wheel and the second guide portion of the slave decoupling member.

11. The surgical instrument of claim 8 wherein said drive means further includes third and fourth guide wheels, said third and first guide wheels being positioned on opposite sides of said first guide portion of said slave decoupling member, said fourth and second guide wheels being positioned on opposite sides of said second guide portion of said slave decoupling member, respectively, a portion of said first pair of cables between said first guide portion and said end effector being routed through said third guide wheels and then extending to said end effector, and a portion of said second pair of cables between said second guide portion and said end effector being routed through said fourth guide wheels and then extending to said end effector.

12. The surgical instrument of claim 11 wherein the direction of movement of the slave decoupling member is partially parallel to the first pair of cables between the first and third guides of the slave decoupling member.

13. The surgical instrument of claim 11 wherein the direction of movement of the slave decoupling member is parallel to the portion of the second pair of cables between the second guide portion and the fourth guide wheel of the slave decoupling member.

14. The surgical instrument of claim 2 wherein the slave decoupler further comprises a decoupling cable, the master decoupler and the slave decoupler being connected by a decoupling cable, the master decoupler being for driving movement of the slave decoupler by the decoupling cable.

15. The surgical instrument of claim 2 wherein said master decoupler has a master gear portion and said slave decoupler has a slave gear portion in meshing engagement with said master gear, said master decoupler being adapted to rotate such that said master gear portion moves said slave gear portion to drive said slave decoupler.

16. The surgical instrument of claim 2, wherein the primary decoupling member has a cam structure and the secondary decoupling member has an opening that receives the cam structure, the primary decoupling member being configured to rotate such that the cam structure abuts an edge of the opening to drive movement of the secondary decoupling member.

17. The surgical instrument of claim 3, wherein the slave decoupling member is fixedly attached to or integrally formed with the master decoupling member.

18. The surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein a radius of the primary decoupling member is less than a radius of the drive unit.

19. The surgical instrument of claim 11, wherein the first pair of cables includes a first drive cable and a second drive cable, and wherein the first guide wheel has two side-by-side guide pulleys for guiding the first drive cable and the second drive cable, respectively.

20. The surgical instrument of claim 19, wherein the first and second drive cables are each angled equally between a portion of the first guide and the third guide wheel and a first plane passing through the center of the third guide wheel and perpendicular to the axis of the third guide wheel.

21. The surgical instrument of claim 19, wherein a rate of change of the lengths of the first and second drive cables due to movement of the slave decoupling member is proportional to a linear speed of rotation of the master decoupling member.

22. A slave manipulator apparatus, characterized in that it comprises a robotic arm on which the surgical instrument is mounted and a surgical instrument according to any of claims 1-21 for manipulating the surgical instrument in motion.

23. A surgical robot comprising a master operation device and a slave operation device according to claim 22, the slave operation device performing a corresponding operation according to an instruction of the master operation device.