JP2021035507A - Robotic arm - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a robotic system or a robotic assisting system, more specifically, a robotic arm for a robotic surgical system or a robotic surgical assisting system.SOLUTION: The robotic surgical system comprises a robotic arm 500 including: a first segment 510 having a plurality of first links and a plurality of first actuated joint modules providing the robotic arm with at least five degrees of freedom; and a second segment 520 having a proximal end coupled to a distal end of the first segment, and having a plurality of second links and a plurality of second actuated joint modules providing the robotic arm with at least two degrees or freedom. The robotic surgical system further comprises an instrument driver 580 coupled to the second segment and configured to hold a surgical instrument.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5A

Description

Cross-reference to related applications This application claims the priority of US Patent Application No. 62 / 395,704 filed on September 16, 2016, which is incorporated herein by this reference in its entirety. ..

The present disclosure relates generally to robotic systems or robotic support systems, and more specifically to robotic arms for surgical robotic systems or surgical robotic support systems.

Minimally-invasive surgery (MIS), such as laparoscopic surgery, involves techniques intended to reduce tissue damage during surgical procedures. For example, a laparoscopic procedure typically involves making several small incisions in the patient (eg, in the abdomen) and introducing one or more tools and at least one camera into the patient's body through the incisions. .. The surgical procedure is then performed by using the introduced instrument and visual assistance is provided by the camera.

In general, MIS provides multiple benefits such as reduced patient scarring, reduced patient distress, shorter patient recovery time, and lower treatment costs associated with patient recovery. However, standard MIS systems have some drawbacks. For example, non-robot MIS systems impose higher demands on surgeons because they require surgeons to manipulate tissue indirectly through tools in ways that may not be natural. A conventional robot system may include a robot arm for manipulating a tool based on a command from an operator, which may provide many benefits of MIS while reducing the demands on the surgeon. However, such robot arms tend to be large and difficult to set up and manage. In addition, many conventional robot arms have a significantly limited number of arm configurations, limiting access to internal organs. Thus, it is desirable to have a robot arm for a surgical robot assist system that is easier to use and offers more clinical options for a wider range of procedures and patient types.

In general, a surgical robot system may include a robot arm and instrument drive configured to hold the surgical instrument. The robot arm is rotatable in a second plane with a roll link and a first link having a proximal end connected to the distal end of the base link, which is rotatable in the first plane. It may include a second link having a proximal end connected to the distal end of one link. The instrument drive may be connected to the distal end of the second link so that the instrument drive is not parallel to at least one of the first and second planes. In some variants, the robot arm may be foldable into a compact configuration in which the instrument drive is placed between the roll link and the first and / or second link. For example, at least a portion of the roll link may be oriented along the roll axis and at least a portion of the instrument drive may be angularly offset from the roll axis.

The first link and the second link of the robot arm may have different lengths. For example, the first link may be shorter than the second link. The first and second links may be operably linked to the pulley arrangement (eg, as described herein, to operate a parallelogram or other suitable quadruped link mechanism. like).

In some variants, the robot arm may include a first arm segment that includes a first plurality of actuation links that provide the robot arm with at least 5 degrees of freedom. The robot arm may include a second arm segment that includes a second plurality of actuation links that provide the robot arm with at least two degrees of freedom. In some variants, the second working link includes a roll link, a first link, and a second link (eg, the roll link, the first link, and the second link above). But it may be. In some variants, the second arm segment may be configured to move the surgical instrument within a substantially spherical workspace, and the first arm segment may move the position of the spherical workspace. It may be configured as follows.

For example, the degree of freedom of the robot arm (eg, in the second arm segment) may be provided by the rotation of the roll link with respect to the first arm segment. The rotation of the roll link with respect to the first arm segment can cause, for example, the movement of the instrument drive in the roll direction. As another example, the degree of freedom of the robot arm (eg, in the second arm segment) may be provided by the synchronous rotation of the first and second links with respect to the roll link. Synchronous rotation of the first link and the second link can cause, for example, the movement of the instrument drive in the pitch direction.

In some variants, the instrument drive may be configured to rotate the surgical instrument around a remote center of motion. In some of these variants, the second arm segment may be configured to rotate the instrument drive around the roll axis and pitch axis, and at least one of the roll axis and pitch axis. One does not intersect the remote movement center. For example, the roll axis and / or pitch axis may be offset by about 5 cm or less, or about 2 cm or less, from the center of remote motion. In some variants, both the roll axis and the pitch axis do not have to intersect the remote center of motion.

In general, in some variants, the surgical robot system may include a robot arm and an instrument drive. The robot arm has a first arm segment having a first plurality of links that provide the robot arm with at least 5 degrees of freedom and a second having a second plurality of links that provide the robot arm with at least 2 degrees of freedom. It may include an arm segment. The instrument drive is configured to hold the surgical instrument and may be configured to rotate the surgical instrument around a remote center of motion. The second arm segment may be configured to rotate the appliance drive around the roll axis and pitch axis, the roll axis and / or pitch axis not intersecting the remote motion center. For example, in some variants, at least one of the roll and pitch axes may be offset by about 5 centimeters or less, or about 2 centimeters or less, from the center of remote motion.

The second arm segment may be configured to move the surgical instrument by the instrument drive within the substantially spherical workspace, and the first arm segment may move the position of the substantially spherical workspace. Can be configured. In some variants, the second plurality of links may include a roll link, a first pitch link, and a second pitch link. The rotation of the roll link with respect to the first arm segment may cause the instrument drive to move about the roll axis. Synchronous rotation of the first pitch link and the second pitch link can cause the instrument drive to move about the pitch axis. In some variants, the first pitch link and the second pitch link may have different lengths (eg, the first pitch link may be shorter than the second pitch link).

In some variants, the surgical robot system may include a first plurality of actuation links and a plurality of fitting modules configured to actuate a second plurality of actuation links. The controller may be configured to operate at least one fitting module based on at least one of a plurality of control modes. For example, in gravity compensation mode, the controller may determine the gravity acting on at least a portion of the link and activate at least one fitting module to counter the determined gravity. As another example, in friction compensation mode, the controller determines the presence of a user-applied force acting to backdrive at least one fitting module and the user-applied force required to backdrive at least one fitting module. At least one fitting module may be actuated to reduce the force. In friction compensation mode, the controller may operate at least one fitting module based on the dithering signal, for example, until the controller determines the presence of a user-applied force.

In some variants, the surgical robot system allows for relative movement between the first plurality of links in the first arm segment, while at least a portion of the second plurality of links in the second arm segment. It may include a fine positioning clutch configured to substantially limit the relative position. Other suitable manual and / or controller operated features can be used to operate surgical robot systems such as those described herein.

It is a schematic diagram of a variant of a robot arm for a surgical robot assist system. It is a schematic diagram of a variant of a robot arm for a surgical robot assist system. It is a schematic diagram of a variant of a robot arm for a surgical robot assist system. It is a schematic diagram of a variant of a robot arm for a surgical robot assist system. It is a symbol diagram of a variant of a spherical pitch assembly for a robot arm. It is a schematic diagram of a variation of a spherical pitch assembly for a robot arm. FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a spherical pitch assembly depicted in FIG. 2A, moving over a series of configurations to and from a moving remote motion center. It is a schematic diagram of a variation of a spherical pitch assembly for a robot arm. It is a schematic diagram of a variation of a spherical pitch assembly for a robot arm. FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of another variant of a spherical pitch assembly for a robotic arm with an offset spherical roll axis, spherical pitch axis, and instrument rotation axis. It is a side view, a top view, and a front view of another variant of a robot arm for a surgical robot assist system. It is a side view, a top view, and a front view of another variant of a robot arm for a surgical robot assist system. It is a side view, a top view, and a front view of another variant of a robot arm for a surgical robot assist system. It is a schematic diagram of an exemplary folding configuration of a variant of a robotic arm. It is a schematic diagram of an exemplary folding configuration of a variant of a robotic arm. It is a side view and a bottom view of a surgical robot system which is in a foldable configuration and includes a plurality of robot arms connected to a patient table. It is a side view and a bottom view of a surgical robot system which is in a foldable configuration and includes a plurality of robot arms connected to a patient table. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a modified "low" arm configuration and a "jump-up" arm configuration of a robot arm. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a modified "low" arm configuration and a "jump-up" arm configuration of a robot arm. It is a perspective view of an exemplary joint module. It is a perspective view of the high load part of the joint module drawn in FIG. 9A. It is a perspective view of the motor part and the electronic equipment housing in the joint module drawn in FIG. 9A. 9A is a perspective view of the exposed electronic equipment housing in the fitting module depicted in FIG. 9A. It is a schematic diagram of a variation of a secondary actuator for a bistable safety brake. It is a control diagram of the secondary actuator drawn in FIG. 10A. It is the schematic of the secondary actuator for operating a bistable brake in various states. It is the schematic of the secondary actuator for operating a bistable brake in various states. It is the schematic of the secondary actuator for operating a bistable brake in various states. It is the schematic of the secondary actuator for operating a bistable brake in various states. It is the schematic of the secondary actuator for operating a bistable brake in various states. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of an exemplary fitting module having a variant of a bistable safety brake. FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of the various subassemblies within the bistable safety brake depicted in FIG. 11A. FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of the various subassemblies within the bistable safety brake depicted in FIG. 11A. FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of the various subassemblies within the bistable safety brake depicted in FIG. 11A. FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of the various subassemblies within the bistable safety brake depicted in FIG. 11A. FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of the various subassemblies within the bistable safety brake depicted in FIG. 11A. It is the schematic of the brake drawn in FIG. 11A in the "brake off" mode. It is the schematic of the brake drawn in FIG. 11A in the "brake off" mode. It is the schematic of the brake drawn in FIG. 11A in the "brake off" mode. It is the schematic of the brake drawn in FIG. 11A in the "brake on" mode. It is the schematic of the brake drawn in FIG. 11A in the "brake on" mode. It is the schematic of the brake drawn in FIG. 11A in the "brake on" mode. It is the schematic of the brake drawn in FIG. 11A in the "brake on" mode. It is a perspective view and a longitudinal sectional view of another variation of the bistable safety brake, respectively. It is a perspective view and a longitudinal sectional view of another variation of the bistable safety brake, respectively. It is a detailed longitudinal sectional view of the brake drawn in FIGS. 14A and 14B. It is a partial perspective view of another variation of a band brake type safety brake for a joint module. It is a partial perspective view of another variation of a band brake type safety brake for a joint module. It is an exploded perspective view of the brake drawn in FIG. 15A and FIG. 15B. 15A and 15B are perspective views of the band assembly in the brake. It is a side view of the brake drawn in FIG. 15A and FIG. 15B in "brake off" mode and "brake on" mode, respectively. It is a side view of the brake drawn in FIG. 15A and FIG. 15B in "brake off" mode and "brake on" mode, respectively. 15A and 15B are exemplary control diagrams for controlling the brakes depicted in FIGS. 15A and 15B. 15A and 15B are exemplary control diagrams for controlling the brakes depicted in FIGS. 15A and 15B. It is an exemplary variant of a touch point on a robot arm. It is an exemplary variant of a touch point on a robot arm. It is an exemplary variant of a touch point on a robot arm. It is an exemplary variation of the display screen on the robot arm for transmitting information to the user. FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of an optical module assembly in a variant of a robotic arm for transmitting information to a user. It is an exemplary lighting pattern of the optical module assembly depicted in FIG. 17A. It is an exemplary lighting pattern of the optical module assembly depicted in FIG. 17A. FIG. 6 is a schematic circuit diagram of an exemplary control system setup for controlling the operation of a variant joint module of a robotic arm. It is a state diagram summarizing the primitive mode and the user mode for one variation of the control system of the robot arm.

Non-limiting examples of various aspects and variations of the invention are described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Overview of the robot arm

In general, a surgical robot system or a surgical robot assist system (eg, to enable a minimally invasive surgical procedure) includes one or more robot arms for manipulating surgical instruments, such as during minimally invasive surgery. obtain. The robot arm may include a plurality of links and a plurality of actuating joint modules that allow relative movement between adjacent links. For example, as shown in FIG. 1A, the robot arm has a first segment 110 having a proximal end and a distal end, and a proximal end (connected to the distal end of the first segment 110) and a distal end. It may include a second segment 150 having an end. In addition, the instrument drive 180 may be configured to connect to the distal end of the second segment 150 and hold and actuate the surgical instrument passing through the cannula 190.

While using the robot arm 100 for a surgical procedure, the proximal end of the first segment 110 may be used during the surgical procedure to a structure of attachment points near the patient (eg, surgical table, cart, wall, ceiling, etc.) ), Or may be connected in another way. In some variants, the first segment 110 has a mechanical remote center of motion (discussed further below) in three-dimensional space (eg, xyz coordinates) as the attachment point for the first segment 110. The first segment 110 may be referred to as a "Cartesian arm" segment because it can be positioned relative to. Further, since the second segment 150 can move the tip of the surgical instrument held by the instrument drive within the substantially spherical space volume defined by the range of motion of the second segment 150, the second segment 150 Can be called a "spherical arm". The combination of Cartesian arm segments and spherical arm segments can provide a high degree of setup flexibility and dexterity in operating surgical instruments for a variety of procedure and patient types.
Robot arm link

In some variants, as shown in FIG. 1B, the first segment 110 is a first plurality of links and a first plurality of actuating joints for actuating the first plurality of links relative to each other. Can include modules. For example, the first segment 110 may include at least five links, a base link 112, a shoulder pitch link 114, a shoulder roll link 116, an elbow link 118, and a forearm link 120, which are arranged in series. ing. Adjacent links can be connected in such a way that the adjacent links are substantially constrained to movement about one axis with respect to each other. For example, the base link 112 and the shoulder pitch link 114 can be substantially constrained by relative motion about the pitch axis, such as by a clevis joint structure (eg, the longitudinal axis of the base link 112 and the shoulder pitch link 114). The angle between and the longitudinal axis of the can be increased or decreased). The shoulder pitch link 114 and the shoulder roll link 116 can be substantially constrained by relative motion about the roll axis (eg, the longitudinal axis of the shoulder pitch link 114 and the shoulder roll link 116 is substantially constrained). It may be coaxial). For example, the shoulder roll link 116 and the elbow link 118 may be substantially constrained to relative movement around another pitch axis, such as by a clevis joint structure (eg, with the longitudinal axis of the shoulder roll link 116). The angle between the elbow link 118 and the longitudinal axis can be increased or decreased). The elbow link 118 and the forearm link 120 may be substantially constrained by relative movement about another roll axis (eg, the longitudinal axes of the elbow link 118 and the forearm link 120 are substantially coaxial. There may be).

In addition, the first segment 110 is first in at least 5 degrees of freedom (DOF), including at least two redundant DOFs beyond the 3DOF task that positions the mechanical remote center of motion in three-dimensional space. It may include a first plurality of actuating joint modules 132 configured to actuate the segment 110 of the. For example, as shown in FIG. 1C, the first joint module 132a may connect the shoulder pitch link 114 to the base link 112 and pivot the shoulder pitch link 114 with respect to the base link 112 about axis A. It may include at least one actuator configured to allow. The second joint module 132b was configured to connect the shoulder roll link 116 to the shoulder pitch link 114 and rotate the shoulder roll link 116 about the axis B with respect to the shoulder pitch link 114. It may include at least one actuator. The third joint module 132c may connect the elbow link 118 to the shoulder roll link 116 and at least configure the elbow link 118 to pivot about the axis C with respect to the shoulder roll link 116. It may include one actuator. The fourth joint module 132d may connect the forearm link 120 to the elbow link 118 and at least one actuator configured to rotate the forearm link 120 with respect to the elbow link 118 about axis D. May include. A fifth fitting module 132e may connect a second segment of the robot arm (eg, via a spherical base link 152) to the distal end of the first segment (eg, forearm link 120) of the robot arm. It may include at least one actuator configured to pivot the second segment with respect to the forearm link 120 about axis E. An exemplary operation and control scheme of the link is described in more detail below.

The second segment 150 may include a second plurality of links and a second plurality of actuating joint modules for actuating the second plurality of links relative to each other. For example, as shown in FIG. 1B, the second segment 150 includes at least four links forming a spherical pitch assembly 156, a spherical base link 152, a spherical roll link 154, and a first pitch link 156a and a second pitch. Each may include a link 156b. As described above, the spherical base link 152 may be connected to the distal end of the first segment (eg, forearm link 120) so as to connect the first arm segment 110 and the second arm segment 150. .. Similar to the first segment 110, the adjacent links of the second segment 150 can be connected in such a way that the adjacent links are substantially constrained to movement about one axis with respect to each other. For example, as shown in FIG. 1A, the spherical base link 152 may be connected to the forearm link 120 by a clevis joint structure that allows relative movement around the axis E only. In addition, the spherical base link 152 and the spherical roll link 154 can be substantially constrained by relative motion about the roll axis (eg, the longitudinal axes of the spherical base link 152 and the spherical roll link 154 are substantially coaxial. May be).

In addition, the second segment 150 may include a second plurality of working joint modules configured to provide at least two DOFs to the second segment 150. For example, as shown in FIG. 1C, the sixth joint module 134f may connect the spherical roll link 154 to the spherical base link 152 and rotate the spherical roll link 154 with respect to the spherical base link 152 about an axis F. It may include at least one actuator configured as such. The seventh fitting module 134g may connect the spherical pitch assembly to the spherical roll link 154 (via the first pitch link 156a) and center the first pitch link 156 with respect to the spherical roll link 154 about the axis G. It may include at least one actuator configured to pivot as. An exemplary operation and control scheme of the link is described in more detail below.

As shown in FIG. 1D, the second segment 150 may include a spherical pitch assembly 156 that includes a first pitch link 156a and a second pitch link 156b. The instrument drive 180 may be connected to the distal end of the second pitch link 156b. For example, as shown in FIG. 1E, the first pitch link 156a, the second pitch link 156b, and the instrument drive body make a mechanical remote motion of the rotation of the first pitch link 156a about the axis G. Constrained by a 1: 1 ratio drive mechanism (such as those further described below) to replicate in rotation about the axis G'of the instrument drive at the remote center of motion (RCM). It can move as a parallelogram or three links of a four-bar linkage, with axis G'offset from axis G and parallel to axis G. In other words, the seventh fitting module 134g may actuate the first pitch link 156a to pivot about the axis G, which is instrument driven to pivot about the axis G'in the RCM. The body is indirectly actuated through the spherical pitch assembly 156. The pitch assembly 156 can be configured to operate surgical instruments around the RCM with increased ease, speed, and flexibility compared to other conventional pitch assembly mechanisms.

In some variants, the pitch assembly 156 may include a first pitch link and a second pitch link of different lengths, the length being measured between the pivot points at the ends of the pitch links. For example, as shown in FIG. 1D, the first pitch link 156a may be shorter than the second pitch link 156b. For example, in some variants, the first pitch link 156a is about 10% to about 80% of the length of the second pitch link 156b (measured between the pivot points) (the pivot). (Measured between points) can have. In some variants, the first pitch link length may be about 20% to about 70% of the second pitch link length, or about 25% to about 65% of the second pitch link length. .. For example, the first pitch link 156a can rotate with respect to the second pitch link 156b without physical interference, allowing the pitch assembly 156 to be folded or bent into a smaller volume or more compact configuration. In addition, shorter pitch link lengths can reduce the workspace volume required for the pitch assembly to operate, as shorter pitch links will sweep a smaller volume throughout its rotation. Such configurations, for example, for storage, for transportation, to reduce the risk of collision between the pitch assembly and the patient or surgical personnel, and / or with the pitch assembly and other parts of the robotic arm. It can be useful to reduce the risk of collision.

For example, in some variants, the pitch assembly may be part of a quadruped linkage as an incomplete parallelogram. For example, as shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 2A, the distance between the pivot points on the first pitch link 156a may be the distance "A", and the distance between the pivot points on the second pitch link 156b. The distance may be the distance "B" and the distance between the distal end pivot point on the second pitch link 156b and the RCM may be the distance "C" with the RCM along the virtual link. The distance to the proximal end pivot point on the first pitch link 156a may be the distance "D". When the pitch assembly 156 and the instrument drive 180 move, the distance "is not always parallel so that the rotations of the first link 156a with the effective length" A "and the link with the effective length" C "are not always parallel. "A" may be less than the distance "C".

Further, as the pitch assembly 156 shown in FIG. 2A moves, the RCM tends to move slightly. For example, FIG. 2B is the result of a first pitch link 156a rotating about an axis G at its proximal end (eg, as described in FIG. 1D), a series of four exemplary pitch assemblies 156. Illustrate a good posture. When the pitch assembly moves over postures "a" to "d" in FIG. 2B, the RCM does not remain completely stationary due to the imperfections of the parallelogram partially formed by the pitch links. Move forward. In some variants, the movement of the first pitch link 156a around axis G may be limited by the nature of the surgical task being performed. For example, in an exemplary variant, the first pitch link 156a can have a length of about 2 inches to about 4 inches (measured between the pivot points described above as distance "A"). The second pitch link 156b can have a length of about 7 inches to about 9 inches (measured between the pivot points described above as the distance "B"). In this exemplary variant, when the arm and instrument drive perform a typical surgical task, the pitch range of motion at the seventh fitting module 134g is, for example, generally about 10 to about 30 degrees. possible. Under such exemplary conditions, this exemplary variant of RCM may tend to move about 1 cm to about 3 cm. In other variants, the first pitch link 156a and the second pitch link 156b may have other suitable lengths and / or pitch range of motion for the surgical task being performed. Can vary, and it should be understood that this can move the RCM less than about 1 cm or more than about 3 cm. In some variants, the first arm segment close to the pitch assembly (eg, the Cartesian arm segment) can be controlled based on a control algorithm that keeps the RCM points spatially or substantially fixed. It compensates for the movement of the RCM that would otherwise occur. Such a control algorithm or control mode for compensating for the deviation RCM may be similar to that described herein, for example, to maintain a virtual RCM.

In the exemplary variants shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the spherical pitch link mechanism assembly 356 includes a series of pulleys and a series of bands connecting the pulleys that facilitate the movement of the four-bar linkage. The first pitch link 356a is connected to the output shaft of the joint module actuator that drives the rotation of the first pitch link 356a about the axis G, while the second pitch link 356b is attached to the appliance drive body. It is rotatably connected. The first pitch link 356a has a first pulley 310, generally located at a proximal point of the first pitch link 356a, connected to the housing of the fitting module actuator in the interior space of the first pitch link 356a. Including. The first pitch link 356a also includes a second pulley 312, generally located at the distal point of the first pitch link 356a, within the interior space of the first pitch link 356a. The second pulley 312 is firmly fixed to the proximal point of the second pitch link 356b.

In addition, the second pitch link 356b is generally located at the proximal point of the second pitch link 356b so that when the first pitch link 356a rotates, the third pulley 314 rotates correspondingly. It includes a third pulley 314 attached to and firmly fixed to the shaft of the first pitch link 356a extending into the internal volume of the second pitch link 356b. The second pitch link 356b also includes a fourth pulley 316, generally located at the distal point of the second pitch link 356b, within the interior space of the second pitch link 356b. The instrument drive is rotatably coupled to the distal point of the second pitch link 356b and is therefore constrained to move as the fourth pulley 316 rotates.

At least one such that the orientation of the second pitch link 356b remains fixed with respect to the orientation of the housing of the joint module actuator when the fitting module drives the rotation of the first pitch link 356a about the axis G. A band (not shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B) surrounds the first and second pulleys. Similarly, at least one band (not shown) has a third so that the orientation of the instrument drive remains fixed with respect to the orientation of the first pitch link 356a as the second pitch link 356b rotates. Surrounds the pulley and the fourth pulley. In short, the rotation of the first pitch link 356a about the axis G is converted into the rotation of the appliance drive around the axis G'through the system of pitch links, pulleys and bands. In an alternative embodiment, the pulley may engage with cables, belts, and / or other suitable drive members.

The band connecting the first pulley 310 and the second pulley 312, and the third pulley 314 and the fourth pulley 316 should be appropriately tensioned to facilitate the conversion of the rotational movement described above. Is. Therefore, the pitch assembly 356 may further include a tensioning assembly. For example, the tensioning assembly corresponds to a first pulley 310 and a second pulley 312 and at least one tensioning pulley located in-plane with the corresponding band and a third pulley 314 and a fourth pulley 316. It can include a band and at least one tensioning pulley located in-plane. The in-plane position of the tensioning pulley can be adjusted and set (eg, with fasteners) to calibrate the tension of the band. However, the pitch assembly 356 may include a turnbuckle, or any suitable tensioning assembly. The band can be tensioned to a predetermined tension level during assembly of the pitch assembly and monitored and re-tensioned during and during use of the robot arm. Alternatively, at least a portion of the pitch assembly can be replaced to replace a properly tensioned pitch assembly part, such as as part of regular maintenance.

An exemplary variation of the pulley arrangement of the pitch assembly in the robot arm (eg, an assembly for attaching a drive member to a pulley, tensioning mechanism, etc.) was filed at the same time as this application and is "BELT TERMINATION AND TENSIONING IN A PULLEY". It is described in more detail in US Patent Application No. _____ entitled "ARRANGEMENT FOR A ROBOTIC ARM" and having agent reference number VESU-032 / 00US326240-2039, which is here by reference in its entirety. Be incorporated.

The instrument drive 180 may be configured to orient the surgical instrument into the cannula 190 along the axis H shown in FIG. 1C. The appliance drive 180 can, for example, allow rotation of the appliance around the axis H and translation along the axis H, thereby providing two additional DOFs. An alternative way to represent two redundant DOFs is to rotate the instrument shaft around the axis H (DOFs located in the instrument drive) in seven from the first arm segment and the second arm segment. A total of eight robot arms, including the instrument drive, may be included with the DOF, and then the purpose of the robot arm may be considered to position the vector (surgical instrument) in space as six DOF tasks. Therefore, the eight DOFs available to perform these six DOF tasks provide two redundant degrees of freedom. The intersection of the spherical roll axis F, the offset pitch axis G', and the instrument axis H defines the mechanical remote center of motion ("RCM") of the surgical instrument within the cannula 190. In general, the mechanical RCM can closely match the port arrangement of the surgical instrument (eg, the cannula 190 connects to the port).

In other variants, as shown in FIG. 4, at least a portion of the axis of rotation of the second arm segment (spherical arm) does not intersect at common points, in contrast to the variants shown in FIGS. 1D and 1E. .. Rather, the links in the spherical arm are remoted by the shaft F (the spherical roll shaft on which the spherical roll link 454 rotates), the shaft G'(the spherical pitch shaft, the movement around this is the joint module 434 g, and the pitch links 456a and 456b. (Controlled) and axis H (equipment rotating shaft by which the instrument drive body 480 rotates the instrument in the axial direction) generally intersect within a common area but at a predetermined distance (eg, about 1-5 cm, or about 2-2). It may be configured to be offset from each other by 4 centimeters, or about 3 centimeters). In some variants, the instrument axis (axis H) can intersect the RCM, while the roll axis (axis F) and / or the pitch axis (axis G') does not intersect the RCM. For example, the roll axis and / or pitch axis may be offset by about 5 cm or less from the center of remote motion or by about 2 cm or less from the center of remote motion. Various lengths of the arm link can be adjusted to achieve this offset (eg, shortening the first pitch link 456a).

For example, in order to move a surgical instrument around the same point in 3D space as if that point were a mechanical RCM, the arm control algorithm would offset the axis during the commanded movement of the instrument. The suitable operation of some or all of the joints in the arm (including in the first segment, or in the offset arm) is calculated to compensate. For example, in some variants, the offset between the roll axis (axis F) and the instrument axis (axis H) can be about 2 centimeters. As seen in FIG. 4, when the spherical roll link 454 rotates about 90 degrees clockwise around the roll axis, the first segment with joints J1 to J5 (eg, the Cartesian arm above) compensates for the axis offset. To maintain the same effective RCM, the end point can be moved as a whole to translate the spherical roll link 454 along an arc about 2 cm above and about 2 cm to the right (when viewed from the viewpoint of FIG. 4). .. The specific rotational movement of each of the joints J1 to J5 may depend on the specific posture of the robot arm at the time of such movement.

In some areas, the control algorithm for compensating for the offset may be similar to that implemented in the virtual RCM control mode described in more detail below. Therefore, a compact design can be achieved without sacrificing the ability to maintain the desired arcuate range of motion centered on the effective RCM during remote control. One benefit of the robot arm that embodies these offset spherical roll axes, spherical pitch axes, and / or instrument rotation axes is that the robot arm can be configured to be more compactly folded into a bent configuration. Such a compact configuration is such that the robot arm does not interfere with or otherwise limit the range of motion (eg, tilt) of the table and does not block the imaging field of view (eg, medical imaging such as CT scans). For example, it may be desirable for efficient storage under the patient table (or another suitable storage location, such as in a mobile cart). In addition, as mentioned above, in a robot arm arrangement where at least one of the spherical roll axis, spherical pitch axis, and instrument rotation axis is offset, the shorter pitch link sweeps a smaller volume throughout its rotation. Therefore, a reduced workspace volume may be required for the pitch assembly to work.

In some variants, as shown in FIGS. 5A-5C, the robot arm 500 is coupled to a first segment 510 having proximal and distal ends and a distal end of the first segment 510. A second segment 550 with a proximal end and further with a distal end, and a second segment 550 connected to the distal end of the second segment 550, configured to hold and actuate a surgical instrument passing through the cannula. It may include the appliance drive body 580 and the like. The first segment 510 and the second segment 550 may generally be similar to the first segment 110 and the second segment 150 described above, with elements being shown in FIGS. 1A- The numbers are the same as those shown in FIG. 1C. For example, similar to the robot arm described above in connection with FIGS. 1A-1C, the first segment 510 may include multiple links that provide at least 5 degrees of freedom, and the second segment 550 may contain at least 2 degrees of freedom. It may contain multiple links that provide degrees.

The first segment 510 may be configured to move the position of the workspace in which the second segment 520 moves. Further, in the variant shown in FIG. 5A, at least a portion of the longitudinal axis of the first segment 510 may be offset from the joint between adjacent links. For example, the longitudinal axis of the shoulder roll link 516 and / or the longitudinal axis of the elbow link 518 may be laterally offset from the center of the joint J3 (eg, the elbow joint). This lateral offset allows, for example, the shoulder roll link 516 and the elbow link 518 to bend more compactly with respect to each other. A suitable lateral offset may be, for example, a distance of about 1/4 (or about half the radius) of the diameter of the link. Similarly, lateral offsets with respect to adjacent joints (s) of other links within the robot arm may be included to further allow for a compact bending configuration of the robot arm.

As shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C, the second segment of the robot arm 500 is connected to the spherical base link 552, the spherical roll link 554 connected to the spherical base link 552, and the distal end of the spherical roll link 554. It may include a first pitch link 556a having a position end and a second pitch link 556b having a proximal end connected to the distal end of the first pitch link 556a.

The spherical roll link 554 may include a proximal portion 554a and a distal portion 554b connected to the proximal portion 554a. As shown in FIGS. 5A-5C, the proximal portion 554a and the distal portion 554b of the spherical roll link 554 may be substantially cylindrical and aligned along their respective longitudinal axes. Proximal portion 554a and distal portion 554b may have similar diameters. However, in other variants, the proximal portion 554a and the distal portion 554b may have any suitable shape (eg, prismatic, irregular, etc.). The proximal portion 554a and the distal portion 554b may be integrally formed (eg, injection molding, cutting from a common piece, etc.) or separately formed and connected to each other (eg, fasteners, Through welding, or other joints). The bridge portion or connection feature may facilitate translational and / or angular offsets between the proximal portion 554a and the distal portion 554b, as described below.

The proximal portion 554a is such that the rotation of the proximal portion 554a with respect to the spherical base link 552 provides the movement of the instrument drive body 580 about the spherical roll axis (eg, similar to the axis F shown in FIG. 1C). , Can be oriented along the roll axis of the spherical roll link 554. The distal portion 554b of the spherical roll link 554 can be oriented along a remote angled axis (eg, similar to axis G shown in FIG. 1C) that correlates with the pitch axis (eg, similar to axis G') and is angled. The attached shaft is in a plane different from the spherical roll shaft. For example, the remote angled axis may be the axis on which the parallelogram (at least partially formed by the first pitch link 556a and the second pitch link 556b) moves about it. In the robot arm 500 depicted in FIGS. 5A-5C, the distal portion 554b (and its remote angled axis) is neither orthogonal nor parallel to the proximal portion 554a (and its spherical roll axis).

In some variants, the proximal portion 554a and the distal portion 554b may be offset in one or more directions (eg, at least two directions). For example, the distal portion 554b may be translated offset in the first direction from the proximal portion 554a (eg, as shown in the side view viewpoint shown in FIG. 5A). The translational offset in the first direction (eg, measured between the longitudinal axes of the proximal portion 554a and the distal portion 554b) is, for example, about 1 to about the diameter of the proximal portion 554a or the distal portion 554b. It can be twice, about 1 to about 1.75 times the diameter of the proximal portion 554a or the distal portion 554b, or about 1 to about 1.5 times the diameter of the proximal portion 554a or the distal portion 554b.

Additional or alternative, the distal portion 554b may be angularly offset in the second direction from the proximal portion 554a (eg, top perspective view shown in FIG. 5B and front view shown in FIG. 5C). As shown in the viewpoint of). For example, the angular offset between the longitudinal axis of the proximal portion 554a (eg, the spherical roll axis) and the longitudinal axis of the distal portion 554b (eg, the remote angled axis) may be obtuse. When measured from a top view perspective (eg, as shown in FIG. 5B), the angular offsets of the proximal and distal parts of the spherical roll link are, for example, about 90 degrees to about 135 degrees, about 90 degrees to about 125. It may be a degree, or about 90 degrees to about 105 degrees. When measured from a front view perspective (eg, as shown in FIG. 5C), the angular offsets of the proximal and distal parts of the spherical roll link are, for example, about 90 degrees to about 135 degrees, about 90 degrees to about 125. It may be a degree, or about 90 degrees to about 105 degrees. Therefore, in the robot arm 500 depicted in FIGS. 5A-5C, the non-orthogonality between the spherical roll axis and the remote angled axis of the distal portion 554b depends on the translational offset portion and the angular offset portion of the spherical roll link. Achieved.

Alternatively, in some variants, the spherical roll link 554 itself may be oriented only along the spherical roll axis. In these variants, the first pitch link 556a may include lateral angled protrusions connected to a spherical roll link 554 to achieve rotation about an angled remote axis. Additional or alternative, in these variants, the first pitch link 556a can be coupled to the spherical roll link 554 via any suitable angled coupling (eg, the proximal portion of the spherical roll link). Directly to a portion similar to 554a). Thus, in these variants, the non-orthogonality of the spherical roll axis and the remote angled axis can be achieved by the translational offset and angle offset connection between the spherical roll link 554 and the first pitch link 556a. ..

The first pitch link 556a may be rotatable in the first plane and the second pitch link 556b may be rotatable in the second plane. For example, the first plane and the second plane may generally be offset and parallel to each other. The first pitch link 556a and the second pitch link 556b may be generally similar to the pitch assembly 156 described above. The instrument drive is not parallel to at least one of the first and second planes (eg, offset from the parallelogram formed at least partially by the first pitch link and the second pitch link). And / or not parallel to at least a portion of the spherical roll link 554 (eg, offset from the spherical roll axis), the instrument drive 580 is at the distal end of the second pitch link 556b. Can be linked to.

One effect of non-orthogonality between the spherical roll axis (eg, at least proximal portion 554a of the spherical roll link) and the remote angled axis (eg, distal portion 554b of the spherical roll link) is that of the pitch assembly. At least a portion may be angled with respect to at least a portion of the spherical roll link 554 (eg, a parallelogram formed at least partially by the first pitch link and the second pitch link is a roll. It may be angle offset from the axis). Therefore, a space may be provided between the pitch assembly and the spherical roll link 554 that allows another portion of the robot arm and instrument assembly to fit and be further folded into a more compact space. For example, as shown in FIGS. 5A-5C, at least the second segment 550 of the robot arm 500 is an instrument drive, such as when the pitch links 556a and 556b are bent relative to each other and relative to the spherical roll link 554. The 580 may be bendable into a compact configuration positioned between the spherical roll link 554 and at least one of the pitch links 556a and 556b. Therefore, the second segment 550 of the robot arm can have a greater range of motion across the bent and unbent configurations realized without physical interference between adjacent links, thereby providing higher dexterity. provide. In addition, the offset of the spherical roll link, pitch assembly, and instrument drive can increase the general ability of the robot arm to be bent into smaller volumes for storage and / or transport purposes and the like.

In some variants, some or all of the links are other links, other fitting modules, other robot arms, surgical assistants or other users, other surgical equipment (eg, surgical tables), and / Or may include bumpers that can help protect parts of the robot arm from damage in the event of a collision with other nearby obstacles. The bumper may, additionally or alternatively, help protect the robot arm from damage during packaging and transportation. In one embodiment, the bumper may include one or more flexible plates (eg, thin metal plates) covering the links, which bend to absorb energy during impact, thereby the components underneath. Reduces the impact energy transmitted to. In other embodiments, the bumper may include foam, rubber, inflatable sleeves, or other covers. The bumper may cover substantially the entire length of the robot arm, or may cover only selected parts of the robot arm (eg, selected links, fitting modules). For example, one or more bumpers may cover only a part or the whole length of the spherical segment of the arm, only a part or the whole length of the Cartesian segment of the arm, or a part of the Cartesian segment and a part of the spherical segment. As another example, the one or more bumpers may cover only or all of the fitting modules in the robot arm. As yet another example, the bumper may substantially surround a portion of the arm (eg, circumferentially around the arm) or may cover only part of the perimeter of the arm (eg, an arced cross section). Sleeve with). Some or all of the bumpers are connected to sensors (eg, pressure sensors, capacitive sensors, etc.) so that the robot arm can detect the occurrence of collisions and / or approaches to objects in the environment. It may have been done. Upon detecting a collision or imminent collision, the control system automatically adjusts the control of the arm to stop the movement in the current direction and / or move it in a different direction to reverse or avoid the collision. Can be done.

In general, each link may include an internal volume along the length of the robot arm to receive at least one fitting module and / or to pass wiring (eg, for communication or power). For example, the link may have a substantially tubular structure. The link may be made from a metal (eg, aluminum, steel, etc.) or other suitable rigid material and may include parts machined, cast, molded, and / or formed through any suitable manufacturing process. Further, the links may include multiple link parts (eg, shell portions) that are welded to form a substantially tubular structure or otherwise fastened to each other.
Arm configuration

The various links within the robot arm can be arranged in any number of predetermined configurations for different purposes. For example, a robot arm (eg, an offset variant of the spherical roll axis, spherical pitch axis, and instrument rotation axis described above in connection with FIG. 1F) can be stored, stored, and / or under a surgical table. It can be arranged in a compact bent configuration for transportation and the like. The folding arm configuration may also incorporate folding, retracting, or other compact storage of components connected to the robot arm, such as a table adapter that connects the robot arm to a surgical patient table, cart, or other surface. 6A and 6B illustrate exemplary bending configurations of the robot arm in more detail (eg, the spherical roll axis, spherical pitch axis, and instrument rotation axis described above in connection with FIGS. 1A and 1B are offset. Not a variant). The shoulder pitch link 614 and the shoulder roll link 616 are coaxial and form the shoulder limb 615, and the elbow link 618 and the forearm link 620 are coaxial and form the forearm limb 619. In the bent configuration, the shoulder limb 615 and the forearm limb 619 are generally located in the first plane or "layer" and can bend towards each other. The globular base link 652 and globular roll link 654 can bend relative to the forearm limb 619 so that the pitch assemblies (pitch links 656a and 656b) are largely located in the second plane or "layer". The instrument drive body 680 may be tucked between the first "layer" and the second "layer".

7A and 7B show exemplary variants of a robotic arm placed beneath a surgical patient table in an exemplary bent configuration (similar to the robotic arm 500 described above in connection with FIGS. 5A-5C). Illustrate. This exemplary bent configuration can be used, for example, for storage and / or transport purposes. With reference to the robot arm 700A of FIG. 7B, in some variants the robot arm may include a base link 712 configured to be connected to the table T by a pin or other suitable adapter or the like. The base link 712 may be connected, for example, to the stanchions of the table T that ground the table T to the floor. The robot arm may include a shoulder pitch link 714 connected to the base link 712 and a shoulder roll link 716 coaxial with the shoulder pitch link 714 and connected to the shoulder pitch link 714. The forearm portion of the robot arm (including the elbow link 718 and the forearm link 720) can be bent with respect to the shoulder portion of the robot arm (including the shoulder pitch link 714 and the shoulder roll link 716). , Link 718 is pivotally connected to the shoulder pitch link 714. For example, the forearm portion of the robot arm may generally be folded over the shoulder portion of the robot arm, with the shoulder portion and the forearm portion of the robot arm approximately located in the same plane or "layer". As best shown in FIG. 7A, the spherical base link 752, which is connected to the forearm link 720, can be oriented at an out-of-plane angle from the shoulder and forearm portions. At least the rest of the spherical arm segment of the robot arm, including the spherical roll link 754 (which is connected to the spherical base link 752), the first pitch link 756a, and the second pitch link 756b, is the shoulder of the robot arm. It can be placed out of plane from the portion and the forearm portion. For example, at least the proximal portion of the spherical roll link 754 may be coaxial with the spherical base link 752 so that it remains out of plane from the more proximal portion of the robot arm. The first pitch link 756a and the second pitch link 756b may be arranged below the plane of the shoulder portion and the forearm portion of the robot arm. The instrument drive 780 comprises a spherical roll link and at least one of a first pitch link 756a and a second pitch link 756b in a manner similar to the spherical arm segment configuration described above in connection with FIGS. 5A-5C. Can be tucked in or folded between. In some variations, for example, the retractable configuration of the arms shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B is generally about 8 to about 12 inches high (along the vertical height of the table) and about 8 to about 12 inches wide (along the vertical height of the table). It can occupy a volume (along the width of the table) and about 18 to about 22 inches in length (along the longitudinal length of the table). In an exemplary variant, for example, the retractable configuration of the arm may occupy a volume of about 10 inches high, about 10 inches wide, and about 20 inches long.

FIG. 7B depicts four robot arms 700A, 700B, 700C, and 700D arranged in a 2x2 arrangement (ie, therefore each robot arm is therefore utilized in its respective quadrant of table T, or The surgical robot system (connected to it) is less (eg, 1, 2, or 3) or more (4, 5, 6, etc.) robots arranged in any suitable manner. It should be understood that the arm can be included. Further, in some variants, one or more of the robot arms may be permanently attached to the table, in other variants one or more of the robot arms are detachably attached to the table. May be good. For example, at least a portion of the system may be modular and one or more of the robot arms may be selectively removable and / or repositionable. An exemplary variant of the coupling mechanism that connects the robot arm to the patient table was filed at the same time as this application and is entitled "LINKAGE MECHANIMSS FOR MOUNTING ROBOTIC ARMS TO A SURGICAL TABLE" and has the agent reference number VESU-024 / 00US326240. US patent application No. ____ with -2029, and a US patent filed at the same time as this application, entitled "TABLE ADAPTERS FOR MOUNTING ROBOTIC ARMS TO A SURGICAL TABLE", with agent reference number VESU-025 / 01US326240-2116. It is described in more detail in Application No. _____, and each of the applications is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

During use in a surgical procedure, the robotic arm can be configured in various postures to facilitate the instrument's reach of a wide range of workplace areas. For example, the robot arm may be configured in a "low" (or "tuck") arm position, a "high" arm position, and a "jump-up" arm position. The instrument drive is fully armed so that the weight of the instrument drive is supported from different directions by the arm between the "low" arm position (or "high" arm position) and the "jump-up" arm position. Can turn around. For example, as shown in FIG. 8A, in the "low" arm position, the robot arm 800 may support the instrument drive 880 from below the instrument drive (the arm 800 is lateral to the patient table or cart and / /. Or located below, or with at least part of the Cartesian arm located below the base link). Similarly, in the "high" arm position, the robot arm 800 may likewise support the instrument drive from below the instrument drive (provided that the robot arm is approximately located above the patient table or cart. ). In the "low" and "high" arm positions, at least a portion of the robot arm (eg, at least a portion of the Cartesian arm) is bent below the patient's level to position the arm below the instrument drive. / Or can be positioned. As shown in FIG. 8B, in the "jump-up" arm position, the robot arm 800 may support the instrument drive 880 from above the instrument drive. In the "jump-up" arm position, the majority of the robot arm 800 may extend and / or position above the patient's level in order to position the arm above the instrument drive. The robot arm additionally has an additional "low" or "high" arm position and a "jump-up" arm position to position the instrument drive anywhere within a 360-degree turn around the arm. It may be positioned at another intermediate arm position. In addition, at least a portion of the arm link (including, for example, shoulder pitch link, shoulder roll link, elbow link, and forearm link) is curved to improve clearance of the instrument drive to the arm. May be good. For example, as shown in FIG. 1B, at least the elbow link 118 and the forearm link 120 may form a forearm link having a concave surface, which generally faces the workspace of the instrument drive.

In some variants, the robot arm may consist of any of a plurality of template postures correlated with the surgical procedure type. For different types of laparoscopic procedures, different port arrangements (ie, where surgical instruments can enter the patient through the cannula) are generally preferred. For example, a particular surgical procedure may require at least a first port at a particular location in the lower right quadrant of the patient's abdomen and a second port at another particular location in the upper left quadrant of the patient's abdomen. In addition, there may be different positions around the patient as the best position for the surgical assistant to assist during the procedure (eg, operate one or more robotic arms, monitor the patient). The template for this procedure causes the first robot arm to take the "low" arm position, allowing the first robot arm to reach the first port, and the second robot arm to " It may include taking the posture of the "high" arm position and allowing the second robot arm to reach the second port. The base links of the first robot arm and the second robot arm may be attached at a suitable position around the patient table for the convenience of the surgical assistant. In other words, the collective placement and orientation of the robot arm may form a template configuration for a particular surgical procedure, which may be slightly customized for a particular patient, or otherwise. May be adjusted with (eg, adjusted with respect to patient characteristics such as height, waist circumference, weight, gender). In some variants, template postures or other postures (eg, "low" arm position, "high" arm position, and / or "jump-up" arm position), and associated joint angle positions within the arm, etc. May be stored in a memory device (eg, a hard drive) and recalled from the memory device when it is desired to move the arm to the stored posture. In addition, in some variants, a particular posture may be achieved (eg, by actuator control and / or manual movement of the robot arm), and a set of fitting angles within the arm associated with that particular posture. The location may be stored in the memory device at the time of user input of the save command. Such a memorized posture may be recalled to reposition the arm in the future.
Fitting module

As mentioned above, the relative motion between adjacent arm links is generated by one or more fitting modules. In some variations, the fitting module may include a fitting module that includes a servomotor or other suitable motor. In general, each fitting module may include one motor, or multiple motors (eg, with a differential gear drive for combining individual motor outputs). In addition, the actuator assembly may include a gearbox coupled to a motor output such as a harmonic drive, planetary gearbox, cyclodrive, etc. to increase the overall torque output. The fitting module may further include at least one sensor (eg, an encoder) that detects the rotational position of the actuator and provides feedback. In general, fitting modules are designed to be robust, lightweight, and compact to contribute to similarly robust, lightweight, and compact robotic arms, taking into account physical space constraints and medical device requirements. ing. In addition, the fitting module may include at least one circumferential seal centered on the rotor shaft that functions to retain lubrication inside the gearbox. Ideally, such a seal would have a small amount of consistent friction against the rotor shaft so as not to significantly interfere with the operation of the fitting module.

In some variants, at least a portion of the fitting module has a first housing that includes a motor section, a second housing that includes a load (high load) section, and a third housing that includes an electronics section. It may include a module assembly that has. Coupling modules may combine multiple housings in a modular fashion that is easy to build and maintain. For example, as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the joint module 900 includes a first housing having a motor portion 910 and a second housing including a load portion 920 connected to a first end of the motor portion 910. And a third housing including an electronic device unit 930 connected to a second end of the motor unit 910. The third housing may further include a cover 940 configured to enclose the electronic device in the third housing. The various housings are removable fasteners 952 (eg, screws, for example,) to which the coupling feature 954 shown in FIG. 9A is coupled so that the fastener 952 can be removed for maintenance and the like to disassemble the housing of the fitting module. ) May be connected to each other. Alternatively, the housings may be connected to each other by other suitable mechanisms such as mechanical locks or snap locks. Housing assemblies for the load, motor, and electronics may be further encapsulated within the module housing 940, which may be accessible by a removable cover 942.

The motor portion 910 of the fitting module is a stator and rotor (eg, in the case of a servomotor), a safety brake (eg, one of the variants described below, or another suitable fail-safe brake), the rotation position of the motor. It may include various components associated with the motor, such as encoders, bearings, etc. for measuring. In an embodiment in which the gearbox connected to the motor output includes a harmonic drive, the motor unit 910 may include a harmonic drive wave generator. As shown in FIG. 9C, the motor section 910 may be easily removable from the load section 920 (eg, in a modular fashion). In addition, there may be at least one seal in the motor section 910, such as a labyrinth seal that retains lubrication through the meandering passage and is essentially low friction because it is non-contact with the rotor.

As shown in FIG. 9B, the load portion 920 of the fitting module is adjacent to a high load component such as an output bearing, a harmonic drive spline component 922 (eg, circular spline and flex spline) or other part of the gearbox. It may include mechanical joint limits for limiting the range of motion of the working link. Other suitable components following the direct output of the motor section may be included within the load section 920 housing. As described above, the load portion 920 may be easily removable from the rest of the fitting module.

As shown in FIG. 9D, the electronics section 930 of the fitting module may include various electronics associated with and coupled to the motor. For example, the electronic device unit 930 may include a motor driver and / or a signal processing unit on a circuit board 932 located at the rear end of the motor in the housing of the electronic device unit 930. Access to the electronics can be achieved by disassembling at least a portion of the module housing 940, such as by removing the rear cover 942 (eg, removing the fasteners).

The various fitting modules in the robot arm can generally have the same module structure, as shown in FIGS. 9A-9D, but the different fitting modules in the robot arm have space limitations in each fitting in the robot arm. And / or may have different sizes (eg, different ratings and dimensions of the motor) depending on the torque requirements. The fitting module may have a substantially cylindrical profile to a size within a suitable link so that it fits elsewhere in the arm link or robot arm.
Safety brake

One or more of the fitting modules may include a safety brake or fail-safe brake that stops the movement of the fitting module in the event of an actuator failure, and an arm link connected by the fitting module. For example, actuator failure can be caused by power loss (eg, circuit failure, mains failure), or loss of current used to drive the actuator in the fitting module. Another example of failure is a mismatch between multiple encoder sensors used to measure actuator output or joint rotation position in a single fitting module, which can be, for example, idling of mechanical components. May be shown. Since the robot arm requires power to operate, a sudden loss of that force can result in at least a portion of the robot arm collapsing due to gravity or other external force. The collapse of the robot arm can result in injury to the patient, injury to the operator near the surgical robot assist system, damage to the robot arm or surgical instruments, and / or other peripheral equipment and / or other peripheral equipment if the loss occurs during the surgical procedure. It can cause damage to the surrounding environment. Fail-safe braking, which applies braking force to the actuator in the event of a failure, can help reduce the unwanted consequences of actuator failure and / or other system failure.

In some variations, the safety brake may be configured to be manually overridden by the user to allow movement of the robot arm regardless of the activation of the safety brake. For example, in the event of a system failure, the robot arm may have to be removed from the surgical field. However, such removal is not possible due to command control of the robot arm (which may not be possible due to system failure) and / or brute force (this is a fail-safe brake that locks the arm fittings in place). May not be). Therefore, the robot arm may include a mechanism for overriding the safety brake. For example, the safety brake can be overcome by the user's manual force, which may or may not be amplified by a gearbox or a mechanism that increases leverage. In one variant, the robot arm provides access to manually overcome safety brakes (eg, by manually powering the rotor in the fitting module) with special tools or cranks (eg, by manually powering the rotor). Can include (near one or more fitting modules). Additional or alternative, the safety brake may be disengaged, such as by a button or handle, but in some variations the position of such disengagement mechanism allows the user to collapse the arm. It may be limited to locations that are likely to be manually prevented (eg, near the distal end where the user only needs to support the weight of the instrument drive).

Preferably, the safety brake is lightweight and compact and produces relatively little heat (or low temperature) during operation and engagement. In general, a safety brake has a "brake on" mode and a "brake off" mode. In some variants, the brakes are mechanically biased in "brake on" mode and bias brakes that require some force to maintain the brakes in "brake off" mode (eg, spring-applied brakes or permanent). It may be a magnetic brake) and the "brake on" mode is engaged in the event of a power failure. In other variants, the brake may be a bistable brake actuated by a secondary actuator powered by a stored energy source (eg, a capacitor or battery). In the event of a power outage, the stored energy source quickly releases the stored energy to the secondary actuator, which engages in "brake-on" mode. An exemplary variant of the failsafe brake is described in detail below.
Bistable brake

As mentioned above, the bistable brake is actuated by a secondary actuator powered by a stored energy source (eg, a capacitor or battery). An example of the secondary actuator is shown in FIGS. 10A to 10G. As shown in FIG. 10A, an exemplary stepper and coil brake actuator assembly for a bistable brake selectively applies a magnetic field to a magnet 1020 having a magnetic field and a driven element 1030 magnetically attracted to the magnet 1020. It includes a coil 1040 configured to cancel and at least one magnet 1054 configured to activate the coil 1040 to cancel the magnetic field. The magnet 1020 may include, for example, a permanent magnet having features (eg, prongs) that can be preferably inside the coil 1040 so as to cancel the magnetic field when the coil 1040 is activated. The driven element 1030 can be made of a suitable magnetic material such as iron.

In addition, the secondary actuator assembly may include a stepper motor 1010 or other suitable actuator that drives a master screw 1012 having a nut 1014 running on the master screw 1012 and engages a magnet 1020 (eg, a pin). so). PCB1050 or other electronics assembly may be additionally provided to control and trigger the secondary assembly. The PCB 1050 is, for example, a drive for the stepper motor 1010, one or more capacitors 1054 (eg, tantalum capacitors, ceramic capacitors, etc.) or one or more small batteries, at least one switch transistor, state sensors 1056a and / or 1056b. , A status indicator LED, other control elements, and the like may be included. Redundant elements may be provided on a PCB 1050 such as multiple capacitors and / or multiple batteries (including backup batteries).

During normal or typical operation of the fitting module, the secondary actuator is in "brake off" mode, as shown in FIG. 10C. The coil 1040 is not activated, thereby allowing the magnetic field from the magnet 1020 to keep the driven element 1030 close (eg, "parked" or locked by a passive magnetic field). In this state, energy is stored in one or more capacitors 1804. The state sensor 1056a may detect that the driven element is positioned according to the "brake off" mode. As shown in FIG. 10B, the PCB 1050 may continuously monitor the supply power (eg, 24V or 48V) and compare it to the trigger threshold level (eg, 15V). The software may periodically send "brake off" commands or signals at high frequency (eg, every millisecond) while the monitoring power is above the trigger threshold level. Additional or alternative, the status sensors 1056a and / or 1056b may verify the position of the stepper motor and the state of braking. For example, the state sensor 1056a may be a light-reflecting or magnetic sensor that detects whether the magnet 1020 (or nut 1014, etc.) is in a position corresponding to the "brake-off" mode.

A power outage may be indicated when the PCB 1050 does not send a "brake off" command or signal because the system power is below the trigger threshold level. In the event of a power failure indication (or intentional braking command), the circuitry on the PCB1050 should activate the coil 1040, which releases stored energy and normally cancels the magnetic field, such as passively through a switch transistor on the PCB. Automatically trigger one or more capacitors 1054. As shown in FIG. 10D, when the coil 1840 is activated, the driven element 1020 is released from the magnet 1020. The driven element 1020 may travel a predetermined distance (eg, controlled by a spring) to actuate the components of the entire bistable brake.

The secondary actuator assembly may itself be refitted to return to the configuration shown in FIG. 10C. As shown in FIG. 10E, the stepper motor 1010 is driven with the nut 1014, the magnet 1020 (which engages the nut 1014 by a pin or other suitable mounting mechanism), and / or the coil 1040. The main screw 1012 may be rotated so as to drive distally towards the element 1020. At this point, the coil has consumed the energy received from the capacitor and no longer cancels the magnetic field, so the magnetic field of the magnet 1020 can be used to capture the non-driving element 1020 (FIG. 10F). As shown in FIG. 10G, the stepper motor 1010 can then drive the main screw in the opposite direction so that the nut 1014, magnet 1020, driven element 1020, and coil 1040 are returned to the "brake-off" configuration. Alternatively, another suitable mechanical feature (eg, a spring) may be used to return the driven element 1020 to a "brake-off" configuration. When these components return to the "brake off" position, a condition sensor 1056a located near the proximal end of the main screw is present to ensure that the state of the braking system is in the "brake off" position. (And / or a state sensor 1056b located distal to the motor may verify the absence of components).

For example, FIGS. 11 to 13 show a variation of the bistable safety brake that may be paired with the secondary actuator 1000 described above. As shown in FIG. 11A, the ratchet safety brake module 1100 may be disposed in the joint module centered on the rotor 1110, such as between the encoder in the joint module and the control PCB board.

With reference to FIGS. 11B to 11F, the driven element of the secondary actuator 1000 may be connected to one end of the tension spring 1124 and the other end of the tension spring 1124 may be connected to the pin 1122. Pin 1122 is integrated with or connected to a cam wheel or ring 1120 disposed within the safety brake module 1100. The safety brake module 1100 may further include a spring-loaded pivot claw 1130, which has a roller 1132 articulated with the inner surface of the cam wheel 1120. Each of the claws 1130 also includes a tip 1134 configured to engage the ratchet wheel 1140. The ratchet wheel 1140 is arranged around the rotor 1110 via a bearing 1142. As shown in FIG. 11E, the pressure nut 1180 (top plate or disc) screwed onto the rotor 1110 is also arranged around the rotor. The pressurizing nut 1180 works with the ratchet wheel 1140 to compress the stack containing the friction pad 1150, the intermediate pressure plate 1160, and the wave spring 1170. The degree of this compression correlates with the braking force, which can be adjusted during assembly by the position of the top plate 1162 along the rotor shaft. As best shown in FIG. 11F, the pressure plate 1160 includes a key 1162 that engages a longitudinal groove on the rotor shaft.

The safety brake module 1100 in "brake off" mode is shown in FIGS. 12A-12C. Like other bistable brakes, no power is required to maintain this condition. The driven element in the secondary actuator 1000 is magnetically held by the magnet 1020, whereby the pin 1122 (attached to the driven element via the spring 1124) and the cam wheel 1120 maintain the "brake off" position. The secondary actuator 1000 engages with a magnetic latch to enable this. In this position, the roller 1132 of the pivot claw 1130 is articulated with the lobe on the inner surface of the cam wheel 1120, thereby keeping the claw tip 1134 disengaged from the ratchet wheel 1140.

The safety brake module 1100 in "brake on" mode is shown in FIGS. 13A-13D. In the event of a power loss, the secondary actuator 1000 releases the magnetic latch (because the driven element is released) and the spring 1124 is rotating (counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 13B) cam wheel. Suddenly pull 1120. The spring-loaded claw roller 1132 is articulated away from the lobe on the inner surface of the cam wheel 1120, thereby allowing the claw tip 1134 to engage and stop the rotation of the ratchet wheel 1140. When the ratchet wheel 1140 is stopped, the friction pad 1150 (located between the ratchet wheel 1140 and the pressure plate 1160) slowly stops the pressure plate 1160. Since the rotor engages the axial key 1160 on the pressure plate 1162, the rotor stops slowly with the pressure plate 1160, thereby stopping the rotor and all operations provided by the fitting module. In this "brake on" mode, the safety brake assembly acts as a single set clutch. This "brake on" mode does not require power to hold the brakes.

The safety brake module 1100 may then be deactivated and returned to the "brake off" state. As described above with respect to FIGS. 10E-10G, the secondary actuator may be re-equipped to re-engage with the magnetic latch. Re-engagement of the magnetic latch rotates the cam wheel 1120 (clockwise opposite to that shown in FIG. 13B), pivots the claw, and disengages its tip 1134 from the ratchet wheel 1140. Let me. When the claws are disengaged from the ratchet wheel 1140, the ratchet wheel 1140 is free to rotate with the rotor on the bearing 1142. Again, no power is required to hold this "brake off" mode.

For example, another variation of the bistable safety brake that can be paired with one or more instances of the secondary actuator 1000 described above is shown in FIGS. 14A-14C. As shown in FIG. 14A, the joint module 1400 may include a motor portion 1410 having a motor housing 1412 and a brake portion 1420 having a brake housing 1422. As shown in FIG. 14B, the motor section 1410 includes a spinning rotor 1414 and a stator 1416 that remains stationary. Distributed around the rotor 1414 are two instances of a ratchet brake assembly similar to those described above in connection with FIGS. 12A-12C and 13A-13D. The first ratchet brake assembly 1430 may function as a restraint brake with high torque, and the second ratchet brake assembly 1440 is a clutch brake with low torque (lower than the torque of the first ratchet brake assembly 1430). It may function as an assembly.

In the event of a power outage or system failure, the first ratchet brake assembly 1430 may engage the respective friction pads to stop the rotor, as described above. In addition, the second ratchet brake assembly 1440 may further engage its respective friction pads to provide assistive forces (either in cooperation with the first ratchet brake assembly 1430 to stop the rotor or stop the rotor. Or to help maintain the rotor in a stationary position if the rotor is already stopped). If the rotor needs to be movable after the first ratchet brake assembly has stopped the rotor (for example, to manually reposition the robot arm, backdrive, etc.), the first ratchet brake The assembly 1430 may be disengaged from the stopped rotor and the second ratchet brake assembly 1440 may remain engaged. The second ratchet brake assembly 1440 has a lower torque and can be overcome by manual force. Further, FIGS. 14B and 14C depict the second ratchet brake assembly (clutch brake) as being more distal to the rotor than the first ratchet brake assembly (restraint brake), or The first ratchet brake assembly (restraint brake) may be distal to the second ratchet brake assembly (clutch brake).

15A-15F exemplify another variation of the safety brake, which may be a bistable brake. In this variant, the safety brake 1500 may include at least one brake band located around the rotor of the motor. In the event of power loss or other similar failure, the secondary actuator induces tightening of the brake band, thereby putting the brake in "brake on" mode. In "brake on" mode, the brake provides the rotor with a tightening force that prevents the rotor from moving due to friction. In addition, the brake band may be activated by deliberately instructing the secondary actuator to release the brake band and enter "brake on" mode. Alternatively, the brake 1500 may be a bias brake urged towards a "brake on" mode, which actively requires power to keep the brake in the "brake off" mode. ..

As shown in FIG. 15A, the safety brake 1500 includes one or more brake bands 1530 that are wrapped around the rotor 1514 or otherwise surround the rotor 1514. The brake band may be, for example, steel, or preferably another material with high tensile strength (or rubber or other elastomer with high friction). In some variations, the fitting module may include additional brake bands (eg, a third brake band and a fourth brake band). As shown in FIGS. 15C and 15D, the band is wound around the rotor for more than one full circumference, each end is connected to the band connector block 1564a or 1564b, and the band connector blocks 1564a and 1564b are separated. Then, the winding loop around the rotor is tightened. This wrapping configuration allows the brakes to have significant torque to stop the rotor as a result of the "capstan" effect of wrapping, which depends on the full angle of wrapping (even if the band is made from a material with a low friction coefficient). (Even if it is), thereby providing low force and low friction requirements for the secondary actuator. For example, the resulting braking torque can be _{dominated by the Capstan equation T load} = T _hold ^* e ^μφ , where T _load is the tension applied to the band and T _hold can be applied to the other end of the rotor. The force to be applied, μ is the coefficient of friction between the band and the rotor, and φ is the total angle swept by every turn of the band around the rotor (measured in radians).

Switching between the "brake on" mode and the "brake off" mode is controlled by the secondary actuator 1550. For example, the secondary actuator 1550 may include a bipolar stepper motor. The stepper motor can drive the main screw and linearly move the actuator nut 1560 in a direction orthogonal to the planes of the brake bands 1530 and 1540. The actuator nut 1560 is connected to the flexlink 1562, which is configured to pull and push the band connector blocks 1564a and 1564b apart. As shown in FIG. 15E, the secondary actuator 1550 actively advances the actuator nut 1550, pulling the band connector blocks 1564a and 1564b to the flexlink 1562, and the brake band extends radially in "brake off" mode. Will be done. In contrast, as shown in FIG. 15F, when the secondary actuator 1550 pulls back the actuator nut 1550, the flexlink 1562 pushes the band connector block away and the brake band is tightened in "brake on" mode. Further, the secondary actuator assembly may include a torsion spring 1570 configured to urge or slightly bias the actuator nut 1550 towards a "brake-on" mode configuration. Therefore, the energy required to engage the brake is partially provided by the torsion spring 1570 and the stepper motor is lower to engage the brake compared to the torque required to disengage the brake. It can be driven with torque (and faster for a faster response to power loss or system failure).

The secondary actuator 1550 may be controlled by the PCB 1570 as shown in FIG. 15B, which supplies the microprocessor that generates the stepper motor drive signal, the motor drive integrated circuit, and the operating power of the stepper motor in the event of a system failure. It may include at least one backup battery (eg, lithium ion). The backup battery may be automatically charged while the robot arm system is powered on so that the backup battery always has a constant power. The drive signal sent to the stepper motor can rotate the stepper motor in one direction (corresponding to "brake off") or in the opposite direction (corresponding to "brake on"). For example, in one exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 15G and 15H, the PCB 1570 is such that the backup battery powers the secondary actuator in the event of a system power loss (eg, the system power of about 24V suddenly drops to about zero). The supply line may be designed to automatically spike to a threshold power level (eg, about 4.8V to about 5V), thereby automatically triggering the operation of the "brake-on" mode. When the system power is restored (eg, the system power supply is about 24V again), the secondary actuator may disengage the brake. In some variants, the secondary actuator may wait for a delay time (eg, a few milliseconds) before disengaging the brake, which means that the fitting module actuator drive regains control. Can be made possible. Additionally or optionally, the PCB 1570 may have a switch input that activates a "brake on" or "brake off" action on the command. Additionally or optionally, the PCB 1570 may further include an electronic device that monitors the power supply and compares the power with a trigger threshold similar to the trigger threshold described above in connection with the secondary actuator 1000.
Touchpoints and other user interface elements

In some variants, as shown in FIGS. 16A-16C, the robot arm includes several "touch points" that are areas of the arm configured to receive interaction with a particular user. obtain. A touchpoint is a control system that receives commands received at the touchpoint and provides operation (and / or outputs other suitable commands) to one or more fitting modules based on the received touchpoint commands. It may be electrically communicated. Additional or alternative, the touch points may be directly linked to a portion of the robot arm to control one side of the arm (eg, with a fitting module actuator to control the associated fitting). Direct communication). For example, at least one of the robot arm links can be used to control the desired arm movement when the robot arm is operating in repositioning mode (discussed further below). , Cross-shaped D-pad, set of up / down / left / right buttons, etc.). Handles, joysticks, straps, button switches, capacitive sensors (eg, capacitive tilt sensors, capacitive scrolls, etc.), mechanical scrolls, pressure sensors, resistance sensors, and / or other such as cameras. The features may be used, additionally or optionally, to provide a user interaction point for manually manipulating the robot arm. For example, as shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B, the robot arm may include modules 1610 for capacitance sensing, pressure sensing, and / or force sensing. As another example, as shown in FIG. 16C, the robot arm may include an inclined dish cap 1620. In other variants, one or more of the touch points for operating the robot arm may be located elsewhere in the system, such as buttons on the instrument drive.

The one or more touch points may be configured to receive a manual input indicating a user selection for a particular control mode (eg, any of the control modes described further below). In some variants, the resistance sensor may also provide position information so that the control mode can be toggled on / off for the position and / or orientation of the force. Additional or alternative, other force and / or torque sensors may be used to prove information that complements the input to the touchpoint control mechanism. User manipulation of these touchpoints may generate either an analog signal or a digital signal (thresholds may be defined to identify whether the analog signal represents a positive selection or input).

Different timings and combinations of touchpoint operations may be implemented. For example, one or more control modes may be selected after a "long press" interaction (eg, a pressure sensor or capacitance sensor detects sufficient force, or the presence of user contact with the touch point. The control mode persists as long as it is detected). As another example, one or more control modes may be selected and / or subsequently deselected by a single contact or a sufficient force (or a contact that lasts a predetermined threshold duration or a force that exceeds a predetermined threshold force). Good.

Further, the robot arm may include some electronic devices configured to provide the user with information about the robot arm and / or the instrument drive. For example, the robot arm may include a speaker that provides audible indications of the operating state of the arm and / or instrument drive. As another example, the robot arm may include one or more indicator lights (eg, LEDs) in at least one of the robot arm links. The indicator light may convey information through color and / or frequency and / or duration of illumination (eg, blinking frequency). Such information includes, for example, control mode, control state, system failure, reaching or approaching arm joint limit, direction, collision resolution, instrument change, instrument life, instrument type, and the like. For example, the single indicator light may be green to indicate normal operating conditions, or yellow or red to indicate failure or other error. As another example, some or all of the indicator lights may be illuminated with a particular color pattern to indicate the fixture type (eg, FIG. 17B). In addition, the lighting patterns of a set of plurality of indicator lights may carry a code that correlates with a particular type of error (eg, on-off-on-on over four lights, such as those shown in FIG. 17C). The on lighting pattern may convey a particular failure). The indicator light may additionally or optionally convey information about other parts of the surgical robot assist system. In one exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 17A-17C, the indicator light may be part of an optical module that communicates with the user. As shown in FIG. 17A, the light ring module comprises a plurality of LEDs (eg, arranged in a ring, strip, or other suitable pattern on the mount 1710) and a plurality of LEDs so as to uniformly diffuse the light. It may include an optical pipe bezel 1720 disposed above the LEDs and a microcontroller (eg, on a PCB) that controls lighting across the plurality of LEDs. Other illuminating elements (eg, laser diodes, etc.) may be additionally or optionally included in the optical module. The optical pipe bezel may be mounted within the arm link housing 1730, a portion of the instrument drive, or any other suitable location on or near the robot arm. The optical pipe bezel may include, for example, acrylic or any suitable light emitting material or light propagating material. In some variants, touch points such as joysticks or buttons may be positioned near the optical module.

As another example, as shown in FIG. 16D, the robot arm is a display screen 1630 configured to display operating conditions, failures, other errors, and / or other suitable information in text and / or graphics. May include. The indicator electronics may be mounted, for example, on the forearm link (or between the fitting modules 134e and 134f shown in FIG. 1C), which may be mounted on the patient side (eg, next to the surgical table). The indicator electronics can typically be at least partially visible to the standing user. In some variants, the display screen includes a touch screen that accepts user input via a user interface (eg, menus, buttons, sliders, and / or other suitable controls for manipulating the robot arm). It may be. Examples of the display screen include any suitable screen such as an LCD and / or a capacitive touch screen.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1D, the robot arm may include a fine positioning clutch 170, and when the fine positioning clutch 170 is engaged, the joint module of the first arm segment 110 (Descartes arm segment) moves. It is configured to substantially limit or lock at least a portion of the posture of the second arm segment 150 (spherical arm segment) while allowing it. Limiting at least a portion of the posture of the second arm segment 150 maintains, for example, their respective rotational positions even if the entire second arm segment 150 is entirely relocated by resting the first arm segment 110. It can be achieved by sending a current command to some or all of the fitting modules in the second arm segment 150. This functionality is, for example, to provide fine positioning capability (ie, facilitate small movements of the arm in response to user positioning guidance) while docking the robot arm to a cannula located within the patient's port. Can be useful. In one exemplary embodiment, when the micro-positioning clutch 170 engages, only 134 g of the seventh fitting module within the spherical arm is substantially restricted (eg, the corresponding reference lock when the clutch 170 engages). Limited to movements within 10 degrees, 5 degrees, or 2 degrees in one or both directions with respect to the position) or locked (eg, virtually zero movement relative to the reference lock position) On the other hand, other fitting modules in the arm (eg, first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth fitting modules) can be operated to move without limitation. In another exemplary embodiment, when the micropositioning clutch 170 engages, both the sixth fitting module 134f and / or the seventh fitting module 134g are substantially restricted or locked, while the first The fitting module within the arm segment 110 can be operated to move without limitation. Other combinations of limiting and / or locked fitting modules and movable fitting modules may be further possible when engaging the fine positioning clutch. In some variants, the micro-positioning clutch 170 is on the pitch link mechanism assembly 156, or near the instrument drive, where the micro-positioning clutch 170 may be easily accessible by the user standing near the patient's port. It may be located on the second arm segment 150, such as on another suitable position.

The fine positioning clutch 170 may include any suitable mechanism. For example, any of the above touch points may operate as a fine positioning clutch. In some control modes of the robot arm, it is possible to change the default posture of the entire robot arm, and to regulate the movement of the spherical arm only when the micro positioning clutch 170 is engaged. , The fine positioning clutch 170 may be biased towards the "disengagement" mode. Additional or alternative, in some control modes, such as a variant of docking mode, it is possible to change the posture of only the first arm segment 110 unless the micropositioning clutch 170 is disengaged. As such, the fine positioning clutch 170 may be biased towards "engagement" mode. Moreover, in some variants, the robot arm 100 has one or more other clutches that allow relative movement between another set of links while similarly locking one set of links in the current position. It may be contained in any suitable combination.
controller

The surgical robot assist system may include a control system that controls the action of the robot arm (or, if the surgical robot assist system includes two or more robot arms, a plurality of robot arms). As shown in FIG. 18, the control system may include one or more processors 1850 (eg, microprocessors, microcontrollers, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, and / or other logic circuits). A processor 1850, which may be physically located on the robot arm itself, within a cart-carried unit, or within other suitable structures, may be communicably linked to a console (eg, a user interface). .. The control system may further include a set of plurality of motor controllers (eg, 1854a, 1856a, 1858a, 1860a, 1862a, 1864a, and 1866a), each communicatively coupled to a processor 1850 and a robotic arm. Dedicated to controlling and manipulating at least one actuator (eg, 1854b, 1856b, 1858b, 1860b, 1862b, 1864b, and 1866b) within each fitting module within.

The signal from the motor controller may be transmitted to the actuator through a bundled wired connection (eg in a wire harness) and may pass through the arm link of the robot arm and the internal volume of the fitting module. In some variants, the wired connections may be bundled, such as in a wire harness. In addition, the physical layer of network hardware may be configured to reduce electrical interference caused by switching transients or the sudden energy generated by the motor drive when the motor drive activates the fitting module. Good. For example, the physical layer can include RS485 type transceivers, photo-insulated, and / or trans-coupled interfaces to reduce such interference.

In some variants it may be desirable to reduce the total number of wires inside the robot arm, which reduces the profile of the wire bundle or harness and routes the wires through the linking and moving fitting modules. Would simplify. For example, wire connections are reduced in a daisy chainring configuration where the wires for communication with the node (eg, actuators or sensors) are reduced to a pair of wires entering the node and another pair of wires exiting the node. It may be arranged. In addition, the daisy chainring configuration of the wires inside the robot arm may be extended over the rest of the surgical robot assist system (eg, other robot arms). As a result, the extension of the daisy chainring configuration can reduce, for example, the time delay in exchanging data (eg, command and feedback information) between the node and the control system. The daisy chainring configuration may distribute timing information that can be used to phase lock or synchronize all actuator nodes to the control system, which means that feedback information from all actuator nodes is generated simultaneously. Ensures, thereby allowing for a more precise control loop that governs the behavior of one or more robot arms.

As shown in FIG. 19, the control system may be configured to operate at least one fitting module based on one or more control modes. For example, the control mode can be either as a primitive mode (which governs the basic behavior for the operation of at least one fitting module) or as a user mode (which governs a higher level, task-specific behavior). However, one or more primitive modes may be used). In some variants, the user can use the user interface device (eg, select a particular mode from the operating command list) or other, such as a button, touch screen, or the above on the surface of a robotic arm. A particular control mode may be selected by activating the touchpoint surface. When the user engages with a particular touchpoint surface, switching between the various control modes may be handled, for example, by a state machine / controller.
Primitive mode

In some variants, the primitive mode may be the smallest functional block that allows the robot arm to perform a particular task (eg, increasing the angle between the arm links on either side of the fitting module or Operate the fitting module to reduce). As shown in FIG. 19, an example of the primitive control mode is the fitting command mode, in which the user can combine a single fitting module actuator individually and / or a plurality of fitting module actuators together. Allows direct control. In joint command mode, the robot arm may be commanded on a joint-by-joint basis. The command is direct or "pass-through" because the output is the same as the input. For example, control system inputs and outputs include a joint module index (eg, an index that defines which joint module is associated with a command), an indication of the commanded mode (to one or more actuators in the joint module). It defines whether a command should control current or power, the rotational position of one or more actuators in a joint module, etc.), and the display of reference commands (values such as commanded current, position, speed, etc.). .. In some variants, the fitting command mode may include some error handling steps at the fitting module and / or actuator level. For example, the fitting command mode may include ensuring that the fitting command does not cause the fitting module to exceed its physical limits and / or that the fitting command does not exceed the current limits of one or more actuators. In some variants, the fitting command mode may be used, for example, for tuning and testing the system.

As shown in FIG. 19, another example of the primitive control mode is gravity compensation mode, in which the robot arm is not swept downward due to gravity and is itself in a particular posture (ie, ie). , Link and joint module specific position and orientation). In gravity compensation mode, the control system determines the gravity acting on at least a portion of the links in the robot arm. In response, the control system activates at least one fitting module to counter the determined gravity so that the robot arm can maintain its current position. To determine gravity, the controller controls the measured joint angle between adjacent links, known kinematic and / or dynamic properties of the robot arm and instrument drive, and / or known properties of the actuator (eg, eg). The calculation may be performed based on the gear ratio, the motor torque constant, and the like. Further, the robot arm may include at least one accelerometer or other suitable sensor configured to determine the direction of gravity exerted on the arm. Based on these calculations, the controller may algorithmically determine the force required by each fitting module to compensate for the gravity acting on that fitting module. For example, the controller may utilize forward kinematic algorithms, inverse kinematic algorithms, or any suitable algorithm. The controller can then generate a set of commands to provide the actuators in the fitting module with the appropriate current level to keep the robot arm in the same position. The gravity compensation mode may be used, for example, alone or in combination with other modes among the user mode, docking mode, draping mode, setup mode, and / or instrument change mode described below (eg,). , Connecting surgical instruments to instrument holders, replacing existing surgical instruments in instrument holders with new surgical instruments, etc.).

As shown in FIG. 19, another example of the primitive control mode is a friction compensation mode or an active backdrive mode. In many cases, the user may wish to directly operate (eg, pull or push) one or more arm links in order to place the robot arm in a particular position. These actions backdrive the actuator of the robot arm. However, due to the friction caused by mechanical aspects such as high gear ratios in the fitting module, the user needs to apply a considerable amount of force in order to overcome the friction and move the robot arm well. To address this, the friction compensation mode allows the robot arm to be at least a portion of the robot arm by actively backdriving the appropriate fitting module in the direction required to achieve the posture desired by the user. Allows the user to move. As a result, the user can manually operate the robot arm with less perceived friction or with a seemingly "light" feel. In some variations, the controller also distinguishes between accidental movements (eg, short arm collisions) and sudden intentional movements of the arm position, and the arm if the movement is determined to be accidental. Certain parameters (eg, force duration) that help correct or reestablish the position may be incorporated. In friction compensation mode, the control system determines the presence and direction of a user-applied force acting on at least one fitting module and backdrives the actuator in that fitting module (result of the force on one or more arm links). As either directly or indirectly). In response, the control system operates the fitting module in the same direction as the user-applied force to help the user overcome static or dynamic friction. To determine the presence, magnitude, and direction of user-applied force, the control system may monitor the speed and / or position of the joint module or robot link (eg, force sensor or torque sensor, accelerometer, etc.). so). In addition, in friction compensation mode, the control system has a dithering current signal (eg, about 0.5 Hz centered on zero) so that the joint module almost overcomes but does not completely overcome friction in either actuator direction. A sinusoidal or square wave) having a frequency of ~ 1.0 Hz or other suitable frequency and having an amplitude within the friction band in both directions may be transmitted to one or more joint modules. In response to determining the presence and direction of the user-applied force, the control system then more aggressively provides a set of commands to the actuator in the fitting module to provide the appropriate level of current to overcome friction. May be generated. The friction compensation mode may be used alone or in combination with other modes, for example during docking, equipment changes, etc.

As shown in FIG. 19, another example of the primitive control mode is a trajectory tracking mode in which the robot arm can move to follow a sequence of one or more Cartesian trajectory commands. Orbital commands include, for example, velocity commands (framed for linear and / or angular motion) or target attitude commands (template attitudes for certain types of surgical procedures, such as end target positions for link and fitting modules. And framed with respect to orientation). If the command is a target attitude that requires some link motion to transition from the current attitude to the target attitude, the control system may generate a trajectory (defining the required link motion). If the command relates to the same target attitude as the current attitude, the control system may generate trajectory commands that effectively command the "hold" position. For example, the trajectory is the commanded velocity or orientation (eg transformation matrix, rotation matrix, 3D vector, 6D vector, etc.), arm link to be controlled, measured joint parameters (angle, velocity, acceleration, etc.), tools. It may be based on inputs containing parameters (type, weight, size, etc.) and environmental parameters (eg, certain areas where arm links are blocked or prohibited from entering). The control system then produces output to the firmware of the joint parameter commands (position, speed, acceleration, etc.) commanded using one or more algorithms and / or with the commanded motor current as the current supply. Can be sent to firmware. Suitable algorithms for determining these output commands include forward kinematics, inverse kinematics, inverse mechanics, and / or collision avoidance (eg, between arm links, between different instances of robotic arms, between arms and environments, etc.) An algorithm based on collision) can be mentioned. The trajectory tracking mode may be used, for example, alone or in combination with other modes among the user mode, docking table mode, draping mode, setup mode, and / or instrument change mode described below.

As shown in FIG. 19, another example of the primitive control mode is an impedance control mode that allows the robot arm to be compliant with the virtual environment without the use of forces and / or sensors. .. In general, impedance control modulates the mechanical impedance of a mechanical system. The mechanical impedance of a system is defined as the ratio of the force output of the system to the motion input to the system. By controlling the mechanical impedance of the system, it is possible to control the amount of resistance of the system to external movements imposed by the environment. For example, the impedance control mode may use a spring and damper system to model the ambient environment, the spring constant defines the force output of the modeled spring, and the damping constant defines the force output for a given velocity input. Define. In some variants, one application of the impedance control mode is the creation and use of virtual fixtures, or tactile sensations, whereby the robot arm is one or more applied to the environment and / or the robot arm. It is possible to complete operations (ie, actions) that are compliant with a given limit, such as virtual geometric constraints. One exemplary type of virtual fixture is a "prohibited area" virtual fixture that prevents the arm from entering a given space in the environment (eg, for collision avoidance). Another exemplary type of virtual fixture provides a motion guided to the arm by geometrically constraining the range of motion limits of the arm (eg, constraining the relative motion of the arm link). "Induction" virtual fixture. The control technique in the impedance control mode is to frame the joint space as to control the joint space (control the operation of each joint module) and / or to control the Cartesian space (control the arm position in the space). Can be done. Inputs to the control algorithm include the measured joint angle and / or velocity of one or more parts of the robot arm, the configuration of the selected virtual fixture, and the position of the target control point on the robot arm. Can be done. The control system may then use one or more algorithms to generate a compliance state for the commanded fitting actuator parameters (such as required current / torque) and / or the constraints imposed. Suitable algorithms for determining these output commands are forward kinematics, inverse kinematics, inverse kinematics, collision avoidance (eg, collisions between arm links, different instances of robotic arms, between arms and environments, etc.). , And / or algorithms based on virtual force rendering, including the use of virtual models such as geometry, mass, springs and dampers. The impedance control mode may be used alone or in combination with other modes, for example, during instrument changes.

As shown in FIG. 19, another example of the primitive control mode is the admittance control mode, which responds to the user's force sensed by the robot arm according to a virtual model (eg, virtual mass / inertial characteristics). Make it possible. For example, if the user pushes / pulls the virtual arm model in the same way, the actual robot arm will be the virtual arm model in response to one or more force / torque sensors that measure the user's force directed at the robot arm. Can move in the same way as. In some variants, the user's force is measured by torque sensors in at least one fitting module in the arm. In other variants, the user's force is at least six DOM force / torque sensors on one or more links in the robot arm (eg, the six DOM sensors described above) or multiple sensors that detect a total of six DOCs. Measured by (eg, two 3DOF sensors). Control systems include actual force / torque sensor readings, force / torque sensor transformations to map the actual robot arm to a virtual model, virtual model transformations to map parameters to a known reference frame of the robot arm, and more. Virtual model characteristics and / or kinematics of the robot arm and instrument drive can be taken as inputs. The control system then uses one or more algorithms to move the robot arm according to virtual mode, fittings for a particular current, torque, fitting position, and / or other suitable fitting module parameters. Can generate commands to module actuators. Suitable algorithms for determining these output commands include forward kinematics, inverse kinematics, inverse kinematics, collision avoidance, and / or forward kinematics of virtual models. The admittance control mode may be used alone or in combination with other modes, for example, during port docking or equipment modification.
User mode

In some variants, the user mode may be a control mode that is overlaid on top of the primitive mode, as the user mode can incorporate one or more of the primitive modes described above. User mode allows the user to physically interact with the robot arm in several different ways during different phases of the surgical procedure (eg, preoperative setup and testing, surgery, postoperative disassembly and storage). ). For example, one user mode allows the robot arm to react in some way, depending on a particular combination of built-in primitive modes. In addition, one user mode may involve a predetermined sequence of automatic movement steps designed to increase the efficiency of a particular phase of the surgical procedure. Many user modes are mutually exclusive and cannot be selected at the same time, but some user modes (eg, remote control mode and virtual RCM mode) can operate in parallel.

As shown in FIG. 19, an example of the user mode is an idling mode in which the robot arm can pause in the current arm posture or the default arm posture while waiting for further commands or commands. In one variation, the idling mode incorporates the trajectory-following mode described above, defining the same attitude as the current attitude as the target attitude, thereby instructing the "hold" position. In another variant, the idling mode additionally or alternative incorporates the gravity compensation mode described above.

As shown in FIG. 19, another example of the user mode is that the robot arm moves from a first position (eg, a bent configuration for storage and transport) to a default set-up position or a predetermined set-up position for a particular type of surgical procedure. A setup mode that can transition to a default posture (eg, at least partially stretched), such as a template posture. In addition, the robot arm may initialize itself by completing a predetermined checklist of action items (eg, safety and functionality checks). Moving to the default posture and / or completing the checklist may be at least partially automatic or autonomous. The readiness of the robot arm for use may be confirmed by the user or the supervisory control system. While the robot arm is in setup mode, the user may perform various preoperative tasks on the robot arm, such as inspection (eg, visually or manually), cleaning, and draping.

As shown in FIG. 19, another example of the user mode is a wearing mode in which the robot arm is connected to a surgical platform (eg, a surgical table or cart) and / or is initialized for setup. For example, while connected to the surgical platform, the robot arm may rest in its current arm posture (eg, the default posture achieved at the end of the setup mode action sequence). Similar to the idling mode, the trajectory tracking mode in which the "hold position" is commanded may be incorporated, and / or the gravity compensation mode described above may be incorporated.

As shown in FIG. 19, another example of user mode is that the robot arm facilitates the process of connecting the sterile barrier to the robot arm (to maintain a sterile barrier between the robot arm and the surgical instrument). This is the draping mode. For example, in draping mode, the robot arm has a predetermined draping that improves access to areas that require attachment of a sterile barrier (eg, instrument attachment points on the instrument drive), such as away from the patient and closer to the surgical assistant. It may automatically move itself to the posture. The surgical assistant may, for example, walk around the patient table to each of the robotic arms in a draping position and sequentially attach sterile barriers to each individual robotic arm. Alternatively, multiple robot arms may automatically approach the surgical assistant so that the surgical assistant remains stationary, thereby improving setup efficiency. For example, if sterile draping on the first robot arm is complete and the second robot arm is ready to be draped in the same way, the control system (eg, using a sensor to install the sterile barrier fixture). After automatic detection and / or after a user command indicating that draping is complete), move the first robot arm to another position away and move the second robot arm closer to the surgical assistant. You may. In addition, during draping, the user may shape and position the robot arm to suit specific conditions such as room clutter, patient size, and / or the shortness of the surgical assistant performing the draping. May be adjusted. In some variants, the draping mode may incorporate a joint command mode and / or a gravity compensation mode to control the robot arm.

As shown in FIG. 19, another example of the user mode is a docking mode in which the robot arm facilitates the process of the user attaching the robot arm to the patient's port, which has a cannula pre-inserted into the patient's body. Is. To perform minimally invasive surgery, the distal end of the robot arm is generally secured to the port using coarse and fine positioning steps. During rough positioning, the surgical assistant grabs, pushes, pulls, or otherwise (or grabs the handle, or manipulates the joystick, D-pad, or other user interface touchpoint) directly with the arm. , The distal end of the robot arm may be manually guided near the port (eg, within about 6 inches of the port or other suitable distance). During rough positioning, gravity compensation and / or friction compensation may be applied to the arm joint as described above. Moreover, in some variants, the force manually applied by the user is a threshold before the user's force moves the arm, in order to prevent accidental or inadvertent collisions from moving the arm undesirably. It may be required to overcome the virtual spring force. During micropositioning, the surgical assistant may further manually guide the distal end of the robot arm to connect to a cannula inserted into the port. Micropositioning may also be made possible by the use of micropositioning clutches 170 such as triggers, buttons, switches, etc. (eg, located on the spherical arm 150, near the instrument drive as shown in FIG. 1D). .. When the micro-positioning clutch 170 engages, the links of the first arm segment (Descartes arm segment) will have a second arm segment (spherical) so that at least some of the links of the second arm segment do not move relative to each other. It can move under user guidance as well as during rough positioning, while locking at least part of the link joint module of the arm segment). During these steps, the control system may operate the robot arm in the gravity compensation mode and / or friction compensation mode described above.

As shown in FIG. 19, another example of the user mode is a remote control mode in which the robot arm is remotely controlled by a user interface device during a surgical procedure. In remote control mode, the Cartesian arm segment may typically be fixed in space (which preserves the range of motion of the mechanical RCM and the corresponding end effector), and the movement of the end effector is a spherical arm. It may be controlled by a segment and an instrument drive. The remote control mode may incorporate the gravity compensation mode, the trajectory tracking mode, and / or the impedance control mode described above. In some variants, the trajectory tracking mode and / or impedance control mode may focus on collision avoidance (eg, with other robot arms) while the robot arm is in remote control mode.

As shown in FIG. 19, another example of the user mode is a repositioning mode in which the user can move the robot arm in a new position without changing the position and orientation of the end effector device. This type of rearrangement is possible due to the redundant DOF in the robot arm. For example, while moving the robot arm around the instrument drive (eg, switching between either the "low" or "high" arm position described above and the "jump-up" arm position), the distal part of the robot arm. The ends may remain docked to the port (allowing the mechanical RCM and instruments to remain fixed in space). In relocation mode, the control system is aware of where the instrument is located and tracks arm movements as the user rearranges the robot arm to avoid collisions with the robot arm. Alternatively, the robot arm may be disengaged from the instrument while the instrument is still inserted into the patient's body, and the robot arm may be rearranged and then re-engaged with the instrument. After the robot arm has settled in the new position and re-engaged with the appliance, the control system may initiate a check to help ensure that the equipment functions and controls are working properly. The repositioning mode may incorporate the gravity compensation mode, the trajectory tracking mode, and / or the impedance control mode described above.

As an exemplary example, when the robot arm is in repositioning mode, the entire robot arm may operate with gravity compensation. At least a portion of the first segment of the robot arm (eg, at least a portion of the Cartesian arm segment) may be passive and includes a joint module that is passively backdriveable. At least a portion of the second segment of the robot arm (eg, at least a portion of the spherical arm segment) may be active and is active in orbit-following mode to maintain the position / orientation of the RCM and end effector. Includes fitting modules that are locked in the "hold" position. After the robot arm receives the user's force on the robot arm (eg, push or pull), the user's force is propagated to the passive fitting module, with constant constraints (implemented through impedance control), generally according to the user's force. Move the passive fitting. In particular, certain features (eg, the most distal end of the passive arm segment) are generally virtual, such as a spherical surface, so that the passive arm segment can only move within areas not prohibited by the virtual fixture. It may be constrained on the surface of the fixture. While the passive arm segment is moving, the fitting module within the active arm segment is a substantially constant / stable instrument and RCM, even though the passive arm segment is pushed to a new position on the virtual sphere. It may be actively driven to maintain position and angle. As shown in FIG. 19, another example of the user mode is a virtual RCM mode in which the robot arm establishes a virtual remote motion center that does not coincide with the mechanical remote motion center. Virtual remote motion centers are created as a result of software combined with mechanical design. Typically, during the surgical procedure, the mechanical RCM is preserved by fixing the posture of the Cartesian arm segment and moving the spherical arm segment (ie, in remote control mode). However, in virtual RCM mode, the mechanical RCM may move to create a better physical clearance between the robot arm and the patient while maintaining the previous effective range of motion of the end effector in the virtual RCM. it can. Since the Cartesian arm segment creates an offset between the mechanical RCM and the virtual RCM, the virtual RCM is achieved by moving both the Cartesian arm segment and the spherical arm segment. In contrast to mechanical RCM, virtual RCM can change dynamically during or between different surgical procedures. In some variants, the virtual RCM mode may incorporate a gravity compensation mode and a trajectory tracking mode, or may alternate between a gravity compensation mode and an impedance control mode.

In some examples, the virtual RCM is not constrained to a point, but to a plane that is approximately perpendicular to the device shaft axis and intersects the instrument shaft axis at a predetermined height with respect to the mechanical RCM. As good as it can be, the virtual RCM can be compliant. In such cases, the Cartesian arm fittings are in gravity compensation mode, active back, so that the fittings can respond to forces that match the virtual plane, but resist forces perpendicular to the plane. It may operate in drive mode and / or impedance control mode. The fittings of the spherical arms (eg, J6 and J7) and the fittings of the instrument drive are still in orbit-following mode, allowing the user to optionally continue to drive the instrument and perform surgery. To do. This allows the robotic arm to generate a small amount of force on the patient's tissue while preventing the instrument and cannula from being pulled in, pushed in, pulled out, or pushed out into the patient. Can be found naturally. Such modes of motion can be useful, for example, during cases with large instrumental range of motion (eg, multi-quadrant procedures) that may not be ideal with a single fixed pivot point alone. Other cases, such as procedures for operating overweight / obese patients with a thicker panniculus and chest procedures in which the cannula and instrument pass between the ribs, also benefit from such a compliant virtual RCM mode. obtain. The compliant virtual RCM mode may be used in conjunction with the remote control mode and may be selectively and intermittently engaged by the user. This mode also allows the arm to follow the compliant to the patient tissue shift resulting from the table shift (eg, from the trenderenburg position to the reverse trenderenburg position), thus allowing the patient table to follow during the procedure. Can be useful in tilting cases.

As shown in FIG. 19, another example of user mode is that multiple fitting modules of a robot arm cannulate a surgical instrument beyond the range of motion available by activating only the most distal fitting module. A device change or device change mode that acts to move in and out (eg, translation along the device axis H). By further moving the surgical instrument out of the cannula (eg, by an actuating cannula latch mechanism driven by a motor so that the cannula can be removed without direct manual assistance from the user), the robot arm can be cannulated and instrumented. Can be easily docked or modified. In some variants, the instrument change mode, additionally or additionally, the control system command automatically removes the instrument from the cannula, modifies the end effector tip or instrument, and redocks the robot arm to the cannula. It may be possible to change the automatic equipment. The tips of various selected end effectors are placed on a surface (eg, table) in a predetermined order so that the control system can locate and identify the desired end effector tips for automatic instrument change operations. You may. In some variants, the instrument change mode may incorporate a gravity compensation mode and a trajectory tracking mode.

Other user modes may be programmed into a control system that incorporates and combines the various controls modes described above. For example, another example of user mode is with setup mode, except that some steps can occur in a different order (eg, a system check followed by folding the robot arm into a bent configuration for storage). A post-surgery mode that can be similar. Post-surgical mode may also include triggering a complete power-off cycle. Other potential modes include maintenance mode, cleaning mode (eg, moving the robot arm to a fully extended position to increase exposed surface area during cleaning or sterilization), inspection mode, parade or marketing mode (eg, during cleaning or sterilization). , A series of pre-programmed movements for a demonstration posture), a cycle test mode, and / or any other suitable mode.
Software updateability

In some variants, the surgical robot system may further include one or more processors to control the movement of the robot arm and / or other components (eg, instrument drive). For example, a surgical robot system may include one or more computers, or a control console or control tower that includes a suitable computer arrangement. For example, as shown in FIG. 18, the control console 1852 may be communicatively coupled to at least one processor 1850 that controls the motor controllers of one or more robot arms.

The control console 1852 may be modified (eg, upgraded) periodically or intermittently to modify the control of the robot arm and / or other components of the surgical robot system (eg, a handheld user interface device). Software may be included. Advantageously, for example, updating the software that controls the operation of the robot arm may allow different functions and characteristics of the robot arm without replacing the actual hardware of the robot arm. Moreover, in some variants, the software (software in a particular version or in a different version) may be specific to the surgeon or other user operating the surgical robot system and / or can be customized to the user. It may be.

Different versions of the software may provide, for example, newer versions of control modes and / or control algorithms. For example, the new version of the software may provide a new gravity compensation mode that counteracts the gravity acting on the robot arm more accurately or more quickly (such as through a faster computational process). As another example, the new version of the software may provide new schemes (parameters, boundaries, impedance values, etc.) for virtual RCMs and / or virtual fixtures.

As another example, different versions of the software have different sets of templates for the robot arm or different changes in the given posture (eg, "low", "high", and / or "jump-up" arm configurations described above. Form) may be provided.

In other examples, the different versions of the software may be, for example, patient-specific, patient-type-specific, and / or surgical procedure type-specific. For example, one given robot arm posture or configuration may be more optimized for smaller patients (eg, pediatric patients), while other robot arm postures or configurations are more optimized for larger patients. You may.

As another example, different versions of the software provide a newer version of the graphical user interface on displays, touch screens, etc. where users can view the features of the robot arm (eg, control modes, operational errors, or warnings). A newer version of the graphical user interface may include, for example, changes to the layout and content of the menu.

Software updates to the arm may be done over a wired and / or wireless connection, for example, via file transfer from a storage medium (eg, hard drive, flash drive, floppy disk, cloud storage device). Software updates to the console 1852 (or other control computer deployment) are pushed or pulled periodically (eg, daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, bimonthly, semi-annual, yearly, etc.) from existing storage media or other sources. You may. Additional or alternative, software updates may be triggered in response to user input (eg, user selection on the user interface to update the software).
Sterilization

In some variants, sterilization of the robot arm before use in a surgical robot assist system may be desirable to reduce the possibility of inadvertently infecting the patient with bacteria and other pathogens. For example, the robot arm may be sterilized and then covered (eg, with a bag, wrap, or other well-sealed cover) to maintain its sterile condition. As another example, the robot arm may be covered first and then sterilized through the cover, which can then maintain the sterilized state of the robot arm. The sterilized and bagged robotic arm can then be handled with less concern to maintain sterilization throughout packaging, transportation, etc. until it is removed at the sterilization site (eg, operating room). Suitable sterilization procedures may include, for example, treating the robot arm with ultraviolet light, electron beam irradiation, gamma rays, and / or gas. The robot arm may be additionally or optionally sterilized in an autoclave or through another suitable medical grade sterilization process (eg, a re-sterilization process after single use).

In other variants, the robot arm may be processed for general cleanliness rather than sterilization. For example, the robot arm may be wiped with respect to dust, dirt, and / or other visible debris. Following such a cleaning procedure, the robot arm may be bagged to maintain its nearly clean condition. For example, the robot arm may be covered with a bag, drape, tarp, or other cover to help protect the robot arm from splashes and other hazards.

Another example of a system for maintaining the sterility of a robotic arm and other components is US Provisional Patent Application No. 62/436 entitled "STERILE ADAPTERS WITH A SHIFTING PLATE FOR USE IN A ROBOTIC SURGICAL SYSTEM". No. 957, US provisional patent application No. 62 / 436,965, entitled "STERILE ADAPTER DRIVE DISKS FOR USE IN A ROBOTIC SURGICAL SYSTEM", "STERILE ADAPTERS WITH A TOOL SEAT FOR It is described in detail in US provisional patent application No. 62 / 436,974 and US provisional patent application No. 62 / 436,981 entitled "DRAPE ATTACHMENT TO STERILE ADAPPTERS FOR USE IN A ROBOTIC SURGICAL SYSTEM". , Each of the applications was filed on 20 December 2016, the entire of which is incorporated herein by this reference.

The above description for explanatory purposes has used certain terminology to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that no specific details are required to carry out the present invention. Therefore, the above description of a particular embodiment of the invention is presented for purposes of illustration and description. These are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the exact forms disclosed, and many modifications and variations are possible in the light of the above teachings. The embodiments are selected and described to best describe the principles of the invention and its practical use, whereby the embodiments are specific to which one of ordinary skill in the art intends the invention and various embodiments. Allows for best use with various modifications and / or various combinations suitable for use.

Claims (32)

Surgical robot system
It ’s a robot arm,
A first arm segment that includes a first plurality of links that provide at least 5 degrees of freedom for the robot arm.
The robot arm includes a second arm segment that includes a second link that provides at least two degrees of freedom, the second link being rotatable in a roll link and a first plane. Yes, a first link having a proximal end connected to the distal end of the roll link and a proximal end rotatable in a second plane and connected to the distal end of the first link. With a robot arm, including a second link having
An instrument drive that is configured to hold a surgical instrument so that the instrument drive is not parallel to at least one of the first plane and the second plane. A surgical robot system, comprising an instrument drive, which is connected to the distal end of the link. The robot arm is foldable into a compact configuration in which the instrument drive is positioned between the roll link and at least one of the first link and the second link. The system described in. The system of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the roll link is oriented along the roll axis and at least a portion of the instrument drive is angularly offset from the roll axis. The second arm segment is configured to move the surgical instrument within a substantially spherical workspace, and the first arm segment is configured to move the position of the spherical workspace. The system according to claim 1. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first degree of freedom of the robot arm is provided by rotation of the roll link with respect to the first arm segment. The system according to claim 5, wherein the rotation of the roll link with respect to the first arm segment causes the instrument drive to move in the roll direction. The system according to claim 5, wherein the second degree of freedom of the robot arm is provided by synchronous rotation of the first link and the second link with respect to the roll link. The system according to claim 7, wherein the synchronous rotation of the first link and the second link causes the equipment drive body to move in the pitch direction. The system according to claim 1, wherein the instrument drive body is configured to rotate the surgical instrument around a center of remote motion. The second arm segment according to claim 9, wherein the second arm segment is configured to rotate the appliance drive body about a roll axis and a pitch axis, and the roll axis and the pitch axis are offset from each other. system. The system according to claim 10, wherein the roll axis and the pitch axis do not intersect the remote motion center. 10. The system of claim 10, wherein at least one of the roll axis and the pitch axis is offset by about 2 centimeters or less from the remote center of motion. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first link and the second link have different lengths. 13. The system of claim 13, wherein the first link is shorter than the second link. The system of claim 1, wherein the first link and the second link are operably linked to a pulley arrangement. The system of claim 1, wherein the robot arm is coupled to a table. Surgical robot system
A roll link, a first link that is rotatable in a first plane and has a proximal end connected to the distal end of the roll link, and a first link that is rotatable in a second plane and said first. A robot arm and a second link having a proximal end connected to the distal end of the link.
An instrument drive that is configured to hold a surgical instrument so that the instrument drive is not parallel to at least one of the first plane and the second plane. A surgical robot system, comprising an instrument drive, which is connected to the distal end of the link. 17. The robot arm is foldable into a compact configuration in which the instrument drive is positioned between the roll link and at least one of the first link and the second link. The system described in. 17. The system of claim 17, wherein at least a portion of the roll link is oriented along the roll axis and at least a portion of the instrument drive is angularly offset from the roll axis. 17. The system of claim 17, wherein the instrument drive is configured to rotate the surgical instrument around a center of remote motion. The robot arm is configured to rotate the appliance drive body about a roll axis and a pitch axis, and at least one of the roll axis and the pitch axis does not intersect the remote motion center. 20. 21. The system of claim 21, wherein the roll axis and the pitch axis do not intersect the remote motion center. 21. The system of claim 21, wherein at least one of the roll axis and the pitch axis is offset by about 2 centimeters or less from the remote center of motion. 23. The system of claim 23, wherein the robot arm is coupled to a table. Surgical robot system
It ’s a robot arm,
A first arm segment that includes a first plurality of links that provide at least 5 degrees of freedom for the robot arm.
A robot arm comprising a second arm segment comprising a second plurality of links that provide at least two degrees of freedom for the robot arm.
It comprises an instrument drive that is configured to hold the surgical instrument and is configured to rotate the surgical instrument around a remote center of motion.
The second arm segment is configured to rotate the appliance drive body about a roll axis and a pitch axis, and at least one of the roll axis and the pitch axis does not intersect the remote motion center. , Surgical robot system. 25. The system of claim 25, wherein the roll axis and the pitch axis do not intersect the remote motion center. 25. The system of claim 25, wherein at least one of the roll axis and the pitch axis is offset by about 5 centimeters or less from the remote center of motion. 27. The system of claim 27, wherein at least one of the roll axis and the pitch axis is offset by about 2 centimeters or less from the remote center of motion. 27. The system of claim 27, wherein the roll axis and the pitch axis are offset by about 2 centimeters or less from the remote center of motion. The second arm segment is configured to move the surgical instrument within a substantially spherical workspace, and the first arm segment is configured to move the position of the spherical workspace. The system according to claim 25. The second plurality of links include a roll link, a first pitch link, and a second pitch link, and rotation of the roll link with respect to the first arm segment is performed by the instrument about the roll axis. 25. The system of claim 25, wherein the drive body moves, and the synchronous rotation of the first pitch link and the second pitch link causes the device drive body to move about the pitch axis. 31. The system of claim 31, wherein the robot arm is coupled to a table.

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