JPH0254739B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] This invention relates to a laser scalpel device,
In particular, the present invention relates to a laser scalpel device having a so-called manipulator consisting of a bendable joint and an arm with a built-in reflecting mirror.

[Prior Art] Fig. 4 shows a conventional laser scalpel device having a manipulator, where a indicates the manipulator;
The manipulator a includes a first mirror b that reflects a laser beam traveling vertically upward in a horizontal direction;
A second mirror c, which further reflects the reflected laser beam in a direction perpendicular to the reflected laser beam, is placed inside the first and second joints d and e, which are rotatable about the vertical optical axis and horizontal optical axis of the laser beam, respectively. support,
An arm f is attached to the second joint e so as to surround the optical axis of the beam reflected by the second mirror c, and a counterweight g is attached to the opposite side of the arm f to balance the rotational moment of the manipulator a. was designed to be able to stand still in any position. k is the first and second above
This is a connecting pipe that connects joints d and e.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] In the above conventional device, the counterweight g
Since all the weight of the arm f, etc. is applied to the joints d, e, and k, the weight deforms the joints d, e, and k, causing the optical axis to become misaligned, resulting in the disadvantage that the laser beam cannot be transmitted accurately. .

Therefore, as shown in Fig. 5, a parallelogram link h to which a counterweight g is attached is sandwiched between a bearing i rotatably provided on the main body n of the device, and an auxiliary arm with one side of the parallelogram link h extended. There is one in which the tip of j is connected to the main arm m so that the weight of a counterweight g etc. is not applied to the joints d, e, k (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 15739/1982).

However, in this case, when the main arm m is rotated downward, the parallelogram links h collide with each other, or the main arm m collides with the bearing i, and the main arm m collides with the bearing i.
cannot be rotated vertically downward, so when the device is stored when not in use, the main arm m protrudes forward from the device body, making it susceptible to accidental impact, causing the optical axis to become deviated, and manipulator a. There were some drawbacks, such as the product being subject to accidental damage.

This invention eliminates these conventional drawbacks and
To provide a laser scalpel device having a manipulator that does not cause deviation of the optical axis due to the influence of the weight of a counterweight, etc., and does not cause accidental damage due to impact.

[Means for Achieving the Object] In order to achieve the above object, a laser scalpel device having a manipulator of the present invention includes a first mirror that reflects a laser beam traveling vertically upward in a horizontal direction; a second mirror that further reflects the reflected laser beam in a direction perpendicular to the reflected laser beam; and first and second joints that support these mirrors so as to be rotatable about a vertical optical axis and a horizontal optical axis of the laser beam, respectively. and a cylindrical main arm connected to a second joint so as to surround the optical axis of the beam reflected by the second mirror, and one end connected to the main arm and the other end balancing the rotational moment of the manipulator. an auxiliary arm to which a counterweight is attached, and an auxiliary arm that is rotatable about the horizontal optical axis on the main body of the device, supporting the auxiliary arm rotatably about the horizontal optical axis to support the weight of the auxiliary arm; It is characterized in that it includes a holder and is configured such that the main arm can rotate substantially vertically downward.

Further, a second invention related to the present invention is characterized in that, in addition to the above-described structure of the present invention, a storage case for storing the manipulator is formed in the main body of the device below the second joint.

[Operation] The laser beam is reflected by first and second mirrors provided in the first and second joints, respectively, and passes through the manipulator.

In addition, the manipulator is in a so-called moment-free state around the horizontal optical axis due to the counterweight, so only a small amount of force is required for its operation, and the manipulator can be stopped at any position and in any posture. be able to.

Since the weight of the counterweight and the like is supported by a holder provided in the main body of the apparatus, the optical axis of the laser beam is not affected by the weight and does not become distorted.

Furthermore, when the device is not in use, the main arm can be rotated vertically downward to store the manipulator along the side of the device body without protruding from the device body.

[Embodiment] Next, an embodiment of a laser scalpel device having a manipulator according to the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 and 2.

Reference numeral 1 indicates the main body of the laser scalpel device. Inside the device main body 1, for example, a carbon dioxide laser oscillator (not shown) is built vertically, and a laser beam is emitted vertically upward, and the laser beam is transmitted by a bendable manipulator. The light passes through the inside of the hand piece 2 and is emitted from the tip of the hand piece 3 provided at the tip.

The manipulator 2 is made up of four bendable joints 4, 5, 6, 7 with built-in reflecting mirrors, a connecting pipe 8 and arms 9, 10 that connect them. A first mirror 11 is arranged to reflect the emitted laser beam at right angles in the horizontal direction. Reference numeral 12 denotes a first mirror holder constituting a first joint. It is rotatably provided.

The electromagnetic lock 13 is detailed in Japanese Patent Application No. 58-150948 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 60-45342) proposed by the applicant, and is omitted here as it is not the gist of the present invention. When the switch is off when the device is not in use, the electromagnetic lock 13 locks the rotation of the first joint 4, and when the device is in use, when the switch is turned on, the lock is released, allowing the first joint 4 to rotate freely. It's summery. 14 is a vertical optical axis of the laser beam, and 15 is a horizontal optical axis of the laser beam reflected by the first mirror 11.

Inside the second joint 5, a second mirror 1 is provided to further reflect the laser beam reflected in the horizontal direction by the first mirror 11 in a direction perpendicular to the laser beam.
6 are arranged. A second mirror holder 17 constitutes the second joint 5, and the second mirror holder 17 supports the second mirror 16 at a predetermined position and rotates around the horizontal optical axis 15. It is movably connected to the first mirror holder 12 via a connecting pipe 8. Reference numeral 18 denotes an electromagnetic lock interposed therebetween, and its function is similar to that of the electromagnetic lock 13 described above.

Reference numeral 9 indicates a main arm connected to the second mirror holder 17 so as to surround the optical axis 19 of the beam reflected by the second mirror 16, and the laser beam passes through the main arm 9 to the joint 6 and the tip. Arm 1
0, it reaches the handpiece 3 via the joint 7.

Reference numeral 20 denotes an auxiliary arm having a counterweight 21 attached to one end for balancing the rotational moment of the manipulator 2 around the horizontal optical axis 15, and the other end connected to the main arm 9;
Reference numeral 2 denotes a holder rotatably mounted on the apparatus body 1 via a bearing 23 about the vertical optical axis 14, and the auxiliary arm 20 is attached to the holder 22 via a bearing 24 about the horizontal optical axis 15. The auxiliary arm 20 is rotatably supported as
The weight of the counterweight 21, etc. that is applied to the auxiliary arm 20 is all supported by the holder 22, and an elastic body 25 such as rubber or sponge is provided in the gap between the inner surface of the annular portion 20a, which is the center of rotation of the auxiliary arm 20, and the connecting pipe 8. is interposed.

In addition, as shown by the two-dot chain line and solid line in Figure 2,
The holder 22 is arranged so as not to interfere with the main arm 9 and the auxiliary arm 20 so that the main arm 9 can freely rotate from a horizontal position to vertically downward.

Reference numeral 26 denotes a fine adjustment weight for finely adjusting the balance of the rotational moment of the manipulator 2, and is provided so as to be slidable on the auxiliary arm 20 and fixed at any position by a ratchet (not shown).

Further, 27 is composed of a coil spring 27a and a dogleg-shaped steel wire frame 27b, and gently limits the rotation of the front arm 10 so that the front arm 10 does not rotate too far to the opposite side about the optical axis 19. It's a stopper.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained.

When using the device, when the power switch of the device is turned on and the electromagnetic locks 13 and 18 are released, the manipulator 2 moves each joint 4, 5,
6 and 7, the operator can guide the handpiece 3 to any desired position. Since the manipulator 2 is in a so-called moment-free state around the horizontal optical axis 15 by the counterweight 21, only an extremely small force is required for the above-mentioned guiding operation, and the manipulator 2 can be moved at any position. It can be held still in any position.

When handpiece 3 is aimed at the target position,
When the laser beam is oscillated, the beam is reflected by the mirrors 11 and 12 in the manipulator 2, and
The light passes through the arms 9 and 10 and is emitted from the tip of the handpiece 3. Since the weight of the counterweight 21, etc. mentioned above is all supported by the holder 22, no large load is applied to the joints 4, 5 and the connecting pipe 8 that connects them.
Therefore, the optical axis is not deviated, and the laser beam emitted from the oscillator is emitted from the handpiece 3 without being lost on the way.

When the device is not in use, extend the manipulator 2 vertically downward as shown by the solid line in Figure 2.
By turning off the power switch, electromagnetic lock 1
3 and 18 are locked, and the manipulator 2 is stored along the side of the device main body 1 so as not to protrude from the device main body 1. Note that the main arm 9 may be directed vertically downward, and the front arm 10 may be folded approximately 180 degrees and vertically upward for storage.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of an embodiment of the second invention that is related to this invention, and there is no difference in the structure of the manipulator 2.

Reference numeral 28 in FIG. 3 indicates a storage case formed in a portion of the main body of the device below the second joint 5, and when the main arm 9 and the front arm 10 are extended vertically downward in a substantially straight line, they are in the storage case. It is housed in a case 28. Reference numeral 29 denotes a lid hinged to the opening of the storage case 28 so as to be openable and closable.

In this case as well, the main arm 9 and the front arm 10 may be folded back approximately 180 degrees and stored in the storage case 28.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, since the auxiliary arm to which the counterweight is attached is supported by the holder provided on the main body of the device, the optical axis does not shift and the laser beam is accurately transmitted without loss. Along with
Since the main arm of the manipulator can be rotated vertically downward, the manipulator does not protrude from the main body of the device during storage, thereby preventing accidental damage due to impact.

Moreover, according to the second invention linked to the present invention,
Since the manipulator rotated vertically downward is stored in the storage case formed in the main body of the apparatus, accidental damage to the manipulator during storage can be completely prevented.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the entire device of the embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a diagram of an embodiment of the device of the second embodiment of the invention The overall perspective view, FIGS. 4 and 5, are perspective views of a conventional device. 1...Device body, 2...Manipulator, 4...
...First joint, 5...Second joint, 8...Connection pipe, 9...Main arm, 11...First mirror,
12...First mirror holder, 14...Vertical optical axis, 15...Horizontal optical axis, 16... Second mirror,
17...Second mirror holder, 19...Optical axis,
20...Auxiliary arm, 21...Counterweight, 22...Holder, 28...Storage case.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A first mirror that horizontally reflects a laser beam traveling vertically upward; a second mirror that further reflects the laser beam reflected by the first mirror in a direction perpendicular to the first mirror; first and second joints that support these mirrors rotatably around the vertical optical axis and horizontal optical axis of the laser beam, respectively; a cylindrical main arm connected to the joint of the main arm; an auxiliary arm connected at one end to the main arm and having a counterweight attached to the other end to balance the rotational moment of the manipulator; and the vertical optical axis connected to the device body. a holder that is rotatably provided around the horizontal optical axis, supports the auxiliary arm rotatably around the horizontal optical axis, and supports the weight of the auxiliary arm, so that the main arm can rotate approximately vertically downward. A laser scalpel device having a manipulator, comprising: 2. A first mirror that reflects a laser beam traveling vertically upward in a horizontal direction; a second mirror that further reflects a laser beam reflected by the first mirror in a direction perpendicular to the first mirror; first and second joints rotatably supported around the vertical optical axis and horizontal optical axis, respectively, and connected to the second joint so as to surround the optical axis of the beam reflected by the second mirror. A cylindrical main arm, an auxiliary arm that is connected at one end to the main arm and has a counterweight attached to the other end to balance the rotational moment of the manipulator, and is rotatable about the horizontal optical axis on the main body of the device. a holder which is provided on the auxiliary arm and supports the weight of the auxiliary arm by rotatably supporting the auxiliary arm about the horizontal optical axis, and the main arm is configured to be able to rotate substantially vertically downward; A laser scalpel device having a manipulator, characterized in that a storage case for storing the manipulator is formed in the main body of the device below the second joint.