WO2023102897A1

WO2023102897A1 - Flexible connecting member and end effector assembly

Info

Publication number: WO2023102897A1
Application number: PCT/CN2021/137118
Authority: WO
Inventors: 朱军辉; 李璐; 孟思源
Original assignee: 美科特医疗科技(苏州)有限公司
Priority date: 2021-12-10
Filing date: 2021-12-10
Publication date: 2023-06-15

Abstract

A flexible connecting member (2) and an end effector assembly. The flexible connecting member (2) comprises a braking force transmission channel (4), a braking force member (6), a posture force transmission channel (5) and a posture force member (7), wherein the braking force member (6) axially moves in the braking force transmission channel (4) to transmit pushing force and pulling force; the braking force member (6) is bent in multiple degrees of freedom along with the flexible connecting member (2); the posture force member (7) passes through the posture force transmission channel (5); one end of the posture force member (7) is connected to one end of the flexible connecting member (2); and axial pulling force is transmitted through the posture force member (7) to drive the flexible connecting member (2) to be bent in multiple degrees of freedom. The end effector assembly comprises the flexible connecting member (2); two ends of the flexible connecting member (2) are respectively connected to a support member (1) and an effector (3); the effector (3) is connected to the braking force member (6); and the effector (3) receives the pushing force or pulling force transmitted by the braking force member (6) in an axial direction. Pulling force and pushing force are transmitted in the axial direction of bending, while multi-direction bending is achieved, and a side wall is not subjected to significant squeezing. Thus, the flexibility of the end effector is improved, while normal working of the end effector is guaranteed.

Description

A flexible connector and end effector assembly

technical field

The invention relates to the technical field of surgical end effectors, in particular to a flexible connector and an end effector assembly.

Background technique

Many surgical instruments transmit the axial braking force from the handle to the end effector to achieve a predetermined instrument action. For example, linear staplers require axial braking force to push the blade, thus relying on the contact between the blade and the anvil and the staple cartridge seat. The slide rail structure completes the grasping, cutting and anastomosis of tissues. Surgical instruments such as surgical forceps and surgical scissors need axial braking force to pull/push the connecting rod mechanism at the end of the instrument to achieve the closed state and closed state of the instrument. Switch between them, so as to complete the grabbing and cutting of tissues.

Most of the existing surgical instruments that need to transmit axial braking force are rigid structures, and the ends of a few instruments can only be bent with one degree of freedom in the axial vertical plane. In the known surgical instruments of this type, no two degrees of freedom (pitch, yaw) are available at the tip. The main reason is that, in order to realize the bending of the end of the instrument, a part of the transmission chain of the axial braking force must be flexible and bendable. However, the existing axial braking force transmission scheme of this type of equipment can only realize the rotation of one degree of freedom at most. In addition, the existing axial braking force transmission schemes that can realize two degrees of freedom rotation can only be used for small forces (such as digestive tract endoscopic biopsy forceps), and when these schemes are used for large forces, they will cause damage to the transmission shaft. Creates a strong squeeze against the sidewall of the braking force, thereby stressing the flexible and bendable part so that it cannot maintain the initial bend. Surgical instruments using these schemes have low stiffness and poor stability.

Contents of the invention

Therefore, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to overcome the limitations of the bending freedom of the end effector used for surgery in the prior art and the difficulty of transmitting the axial force when bending, and to provide a flexible connector and the The end effector assembly of the flexible connector, while realizing multi-directional bending, can transmit pulling force and pushing force along the bending axis without affecting the bending, and will not transmit a large braking force along the axis in the bending state. The side wall is greatly squeezed, and the flexibility of the end effector is improved while ensuring the normal operation of the end effector.

In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a flexible connector capable of bending with multiple degrees of freedom, including:

The braking force transmission channel is arranged inside the flexible connecting piece and runs through the flexible connecting piece along the axial extension direction of the flexible connecting piece;

The brake force member is installed in the brake force transmission channel, the brake force member moves axially in the brake force transmission channel to transmit thrust and pull force, and the brake force member bends with multiple degrees of freedom of the flexible connector;

The posture force transmission channel is arranged inside the flexible connector, runs through the flexible connector along the axial extension direction of the flexible connector, and at least three posture force transmission channels are arranged in the flexible connector. force transmission channels are evenly distributed around said braking force transmission channel;

The posture force piece is installed in the posture force transmission channel, and one end of the posture force piece is connected to one end of the flexible connecting piece, and the axial pulling force is transmitted through the posture force piece to drive the flexible connecting piece to bend with multiple degrees of freedom.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the flexible connector includes a plurality of joints connected end-to-end in order to form a chain structure, and the contact surfaces on both sides of the joints are spherical concave surfaces and spherical convex surfaces that can be matched respectively, adjacent to each other. The two joint parts can be relatively rotated through the cooperation of the spherical concave surface and the spherical convex surface.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the brake force member includes a plurality of rotating members connected end to end in sequence to form a chain structure, and the contact surfaces on both sides of the rotating member are respectively provided with matching rotating end faces, and two adjacent The rotating parts can be relatively rotated through the cooperation of the rotating end faces, and a fastening structure is also provided between two adjacent rotating parts.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the fastening structure is formed by the self-shape matching and fastening of the rotating end surface of the rotating member or by connecting the rotating members in series by an external connecting member.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the posture force member is a steel wire, a steel wire rope or a chain structure.

In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention also provides an end effector assembly, which includes the above-mentioned flexible connector, and the two ends of the flexible connector are respectively connected with a support member and an actuator;

The actuator is arranged at one end close to the connection between the posture force member and the flexible connecting member, and the support member is arranged at the other end;

The support member includes a braking force extension channel communicated with the braking force transmission channel and an attitude force extension channel communicated with the attitude force transmission channel, the braking force member is passed through the braking force extension channel, and the attitude The force piece is passed through the attitude force extension channel;

The actuator is connected with the brake force member, and the actuator receives the thrust or pull force transmitted axially by the brake force member.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the two ends of the flexible connector are respectively provided with a support member connection seat and an actuator connection seat.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a force application assembly is provided at the end of the support member away from the flexible connection piece, the force application assembly acts on the braking force member and the posture force member, and the force application assembly The pulling force and pushing force in the axial direction are transmitted to the actuator through the braking force member, and the pulling force in the axial direction is transmitted by the force application component through the posture force member, so as to drive the flexible connecting member to bend with multiple degrees of freedom.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the actuator has a clamping portion that can be opened and closed, and when the actuator receives a pulling force or a pushing force transmitted by the brake force member, it can switch the opening and closing state of the clamping portion.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the actuator includes a surgical linear stapler, surgical forceps, surgical scissors, titanium clips, and clip appliers.

The above technical solution of the present invention has the following advantages compared with the prior art:

In the flexible connector of the present invention, a posture force transmission channel is opened in the flexible connector, and a posture force member with one end fixed on the flexible connector is arranged along the posture force transmission channel, and the flexible connection is driven by applying a pulling force to one end of the posture force member. Parts are bent, and at least three posture force transmission channels and posture force parts are provided to realize multi-directional bending of the flexible connection part; a braking force transmission channel is set in the flexible connection part, and braking force parts are arranged along the braking force transmission channel. It can be bent with multiple degrees of freedom with the flexible connector, and in the process of bending, without affecting the bending, it can also slide axially in the braking force transmission channel to transmit thrust and pull, and transmit a large force along the axis in the bending state The braking force will not cause a large squeeze on the side wall.

The end effector assembly of the present invention uses the above-mentioned flexible connector to connect the force applying component and the actuator together, and is suitable for the end effector of a surgical instrument, and the force applying component transmits axial force to the actuator through the flexible connector and bending force, the force application component bends the flexible connecting piece in multiple directions by pulling the attitude force piece at different positions, thereby driving the actuator to bend and move in multiple directions, and the force application component pushes and pulls the brake force piece to make the brake force piece move toward the actuator The actuator transmits axial thrust and pull to provide a power source for the actuator.

Description of drawings

In order to make the content of the present invention more easily understood, the present invention will be described in further detail below according to specific embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein

1 is a side sectional view of an embodiment of an end effector assembly and a flexible connector within the assembly of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side sectional view of the flexible connector

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a flexible connector;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a flexible connector;

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of the flexible connector completing the pitching action;

Fig. 6 is an embodiment of the brake force member, Fig. 6 (a) is a cross-sectional view of the brake force member in a bending state in the side view direction, and Fig. 6 (b) is a cross-section in the side view direction of the rotating member of its basic constituent unit picture;

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the brake force member, Fig. 7 (a) is a sectional view of the side view direction of the brake force member in a bending state, and Fig. 7 (b) is a side view of the rotating part of its basic constituent unit cross-sectional view of the direction;

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the brake force member, Fig. 8 (a) is a sectional view of the side view direction of the brake force member in a bending state, and Fig. 8 (b) is a side view of the rotating part of its basic constituent unit cross-sectional view of the direction;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the appearance of the surgical instrument composed of the embodiment of the end effector assembly shown in Fig. 1 and the force application assembly;

Fig. 10 is a state view of a surgical forceps end assembly used in conjunction with the end effector assembly of the present invention, Fig. 10(a) is a side view in a closed state, and Fig. 10(b) is a side view in an open state.

Explanation of reference numerals in the manual: 1. Support member; 2. Flexible connector; 21. Support member connection seat; 211. Support member contact surface; 22. Joint member; 221. Joint member first contact surface; 222. Joint member second Two contact surfaces; 23, actuator connection seat; 231, actuator contact surface; 3, actuator; 31, base; 32, bracket; 33, linkage mechanism; 34, jaw; 35, push-pull rod; 4, system Power transmission channel; 5. Attitude force channel; 6. Braking force member; 61. Rotating member; 611. First rotating end; 612. Second rotating end; 613. Fastening structure; 614. Outer surface; 615. Through hole ; 7. Attitude force piece; 8. Force application component; 81. Shell; 82. Press trigger; 83. First runner; 84. Second runner.

Detailed ways

The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments, so that those skilled in the art can better understand the present invention and implement it, but the examples given are not intended to limit the present invention.

In this specification, the term "proximal" is generally used to refer to the portion of the device that is close to the clinician, while the term "distal" is generally used to refer to the portion of the device that is remote from the clinician.

Referring to Figure 1, an embodiment of the end effector assembly of the present invention, the end effector assembly includes a support 1, a flexible connection 2, an actuator 3, and the flexible connection 2 is provided with a braking force transmission Channel 4, attitude force channel 5, braking force 6 and attitude force 7;

The braking force transmission channel 4 is arranged inside the flexible connecting member 2, and runs through the flexible connecting member 2 along the axial extension direction of the flexible connecting member 2;

The braking force member 6 is passed through the braking force transmission passage 4, and the braking force member 6 moves axially in the braking force transmission passage 4 to transmit thrust and pulling force. The braking force member 6 follows the flexible connecting member 2 Multi-degree-of-freedom bending;

The attitude force transmission channel 5 is arranged inside the flexible connecting piece 2, runs through the flexible connecting piece 2 along the axial extension direction of the flexible connecting piece 2, and at least three attitude force lines are arranged in the flexible connecting piece 2. Transmission channels 5, the attitude force transmission channels 5 are evenly distributed around the braking force transmission channel 4;

The posture force member 7 is penetrated in the posture force transmission channel 5, and one end of the posture force member 7 is connected to one end of the flexible connecting member 2, and the axial pulling force is transmitted through the posture force member 7 to drive the flexible connection. Part 2 multi-degree-of-freedom bending;

The actuator 3 is arranged near the end of the posture force member 7 connected to the flexible connecting member 2, and the support member 1 is arranged at the other end of the flexible connecting member 2;

The support member 1 includes a braking force extension channel communicated with the braking force transmission channel 4 and an attitude force extension channel communicated with the attitude force transmission channel 5 , and the braking force member 6 is passed through the braking force extension channel 4 Among them, the posture force member 7 is penetrated in the posture force extension channel 5;

The actuator 3 is connected to the brake force member 6, and the actuator 3 receives the thrust or pull force transmitted axially by the brake force member 6; the actuator 3 has a clamping part that can be opened and closed, and the actuator 3. When receiving the pulling force or pushing force transmitted by the brake force member 6, the opening and closing state of the clamping part can be switched. The actuator 3 includes linear staplers for surgery, surgical forceps, surgical scissors, titanium clamps, and clip appliers and other surgical instruments.

In the end effector assembly of this embodiment, a posture force transmission channel 5 is opened in the flexible connector 2, and a posture force member 7 with one end fixed on the flexible connector 2 is arranged along the posture force transmission channel 5. Applying a pulling force at one end drives the flexible connector 2 to bend, and at least three posture force transmission channels 5 and posture force members 7 are provided to realize multi-directional bending of the flexible connector 2; a braking force transmission channel 4 is provided in the flexible connector 2, The braking force transmission channel 4 is provided with a braking force member 6, which can be bent with multiple degrees of freedom with the flexible connecting member 2, and can also be in the braking force transmission channel 6 during the bending process without affecting the bending. Axial sliding transmits thrust and pull, and does not cause a large squeeze on the side wall when transmitting a large braking force along the axis in a bent state;

The end effector assembly of this embodiment is connected with the force application assembly 8, which is suitable for the end effector of surgical instruments. The force application assembly 8 transmits axial force and bending force to the actuator 3 through the flexible connector 2, and applies The force assembly 8 makes the flexible connecting piece 2 bend in multiple directions by pulling the posture force piece 7 at different positions, thereby driving the actuator 3 to bend and move in multiple directions. The axial thrust and pull are transmitted to the actuator 3 to provide a power source for the actuator 3 .

Referring to Fig. 2, the two ends of the flexible connector 2 are respectively provided with a support connector 21 connected with the support 1 and an actuator connector 23 connected with the actuator 3, and the flexible connector 2 is formed by It consists of a plurality of joint parts 22, the number of which is mainly determined by the bending angle of the end of the surgical instrument. The proximal end and the distal end of the joint parts 22 are sequentially connected in a chain shape, and the support connecting seat 21 is set At the proximal end of the chain composed of joint parts 22, and its proximal end is fixedly connected with the distal end of the support part 1, the actuator connecting seat 23 is arranged at the distal end of the chain composed of joint parts 22 , and its distal end is fixedly connected with the proximal end of the actuator 3 .

As shown in FIG. 3 , a braking force transmission channel 4 at the center and attitude force transmission channels 5 arranged around the braking force transmission channel 4 in four directions on its periphery are arranged in the flexible connector 2 Attitude force members 7 are arranged in the attitude force transmission channels 5 in four directions, and the flexible connecting member 2 can be moved in four directions by pulling the four attitude force members 7 respectively, thereby realizing the pitching of the flexible connecting member 2 and deflection; in other embodiments, in order to enable the flexible connector 2 to move in more directions, more posture force transmission passages 5 and posture force members 7 can also be set around the braking force transmission passage 4 on its periphery;

Specifically, the diameter of the posture piece transmission channel 5 is slightly larger than the diameter of the posture piece 7, the diameter of the braking force transmission channel 4 is slightly larger than the diameter of the braking force piece 6, between the posture force piece 7 and When the braking force member 6 moves in the corresponding passage, the passage can play a role of limiting, and at the same time, the attitude force member 7 and the braking force member 6 do not interfere with the passage.

Specifically, the openings on both sides of the braking force transmission channel 4 and the openings on both sides of the attitude force transmission channel 5 are trumpet-shaped openings that expand outwards, so that the braking force member 6 and the attitude force member 7 are located in the braking force transmission channel 4. When they fit and rotate with the attitude force channel 5, the brake force member 6 and the attitude force member 7 can pass through it smoothly and move smoothly.

Referring to Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, the distal end of the support connecting seat 21 is the support contact surface 211, and the proximal end and the distal end of the joint 22 are respectively the first contact surface 221 of the joint and the second contact surface of the joint. Two contact surfaces 222, the proximal end of the actuator connection seat 23 is the actuator contact surface 231, all contact surfaces are part of a spherical surface, and their corresponding spherical surfaces have the same diameter, so the mating contact surfaces can be smoothly opposed Rotate, and realize multi-degree-of-freedom rotation in the axial direction, and all contact surfaces follow the connection sequence of the support member connection seat 21, the joint member 22 and the actuator connection seat 231 as a cycle between the convex surface and the concave surface;

In the illustrated embodiment, the contact surface 211 of the support member is a convex surface, the first contact surface 221 of the joint member matched with it is a concave surface, and the second contact surface 222 of the joint member is a convex surface, followed by a plurality of joint members 22, joints The joint component first contact surface 221 and the joint component second contact surface 222 on the component 22 itself can cooperate with each other until the final actuator contact surface 231 is a concave surface; in other embodiments, the support component contact surface 211 is also It can be a concave surface, followed by the first contact surface 221 of the joint, the second contact surface 222 of the joint, and the contact surface 231 of the actuator, which are convex, concave and convex in sequence;

Specifically, when all the posture force members 7 are tensioned, the contact surfaces of the support member connection seat 21, the joint member 22 and the actuator connection seat 23 are squeezed against each other, relying on the friction between the contact surfaces, the flexibility After the space attitude of the connecting member 2 changes due to pitch and deflection, the space attitude can be maintained; in addition, since the contact surface is a surface contact and is a spherical surface, the stability of maintaining any space attitude is high.

Specifically, the brake force member 6 includes a plurality of rotating members 61 connected end to end in a chain-like structure, and the contact surfaces on both sides of the rotating members 61 are respectively provided with matching rotating end faces, and two adjacent rotating members 61 They can be rotated relative to each other through the cooperation of the rotating end faces, and a buckling structure 613 is also provided between two adjacent rotating parts 61. The external connecting parts form the rotating parts 61 in series. According to the actual usage, referring to FIG. 6-FIG. 8 , this application lists three commonly used braking force parts 6 .

Referring to Fig. 6, the braking force member in this embodiment includes a rotating force member 61, and the near side and the far side of the rotating member 61 are respectively provided with a first rotating end 611 and a second rotating end 612. The rotating end 611 and the second rotating end 612 can cooperate with each other so that a plurality of rotating parts 61 are connected end-to-end to form a chain-shaped braking force part 6, and any two adjacent rotating parts 61 can achieve relative axial contact. Rotation with multiple degrees of freedom;

In this embodiment, the first rotating end 611 and the second rotating end 612 are the concave surface and the convex surface of the spherical joint respectively, and vice versa. Therefore, when multiple rotating parts 61 jointly transmit axial thrust/pull force, the second rotating end 612 is still limited to the inner movement of the first rotating end 611 and will not come out of it. In other words, because the first rotating end 611 is designed As a superior arc structure, the spherical joint formed by the first rotating end 611 and the second rotating end 612 also acts as a fastening structure 613 that makes the rotating member 61 closely connected, so that the braking force member 6 can transmit thrust/pull force in the axial direction The rotating member 61 can still maintain the connected state. The main body of the outer surface 614 of the rotating member 61 is an arc surface, which is the main contact surface between the braking force member 6 and the braking force transmission channel 4 when transmitting the braking force, which can effectively reduce the flexible connection of the braking force member 6 during the process of transmitting the braking force. The force exerted by the piece 2 makes it easier to maintain the bending posture of the flexible connecting piece 2.

Referring to FIG. 7 , parts corresponding to the functions of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 use the same numerals, and the near side and the far side of the rotating member 61 are respectively provided with a first rotating end 611 and a second rotating end. 612, the first rotating end 611 and the second rotating end 612 can cooperate with each other so that a plurality of rotating parts 61 are connected end to end to form a chain-shaped braking force part 6, and any adjacent two rotating parts 61 can be connected Realize multi-degree-of-freedom rotation relative to the axial direction;

In this embodiment, the first rotating end 611 and the second rotating end 612 are respectively the concave surface and the convex surface of the spherical joint, and vice versa. end 612 so that it does not come out, and a through hole 615 is arranged in the axial direction of the rotating member 61, through which a buckling structure 613 passes, and the buckling structure 613 is a rigid structure such as a steel wire, a steel wire rope, a hinge, etc. Flexible structures such as ropes, as long as the fastening structure 613 can keep the rotating parts 61 in contact with each other, and then the second rotating end 612 will not come out of the first rotating end 611, so that the braking force member 6 can realize the rotation of the shaft. transmission to the braking force. The main body of the outer surface 614 of the rotating member 61 is an arc surface, which is the main contact surface between the braking force member 6 and the braking force transmission channel 4 when transmitting the braking force, which can effectively reduce the flexible connection of the braking force member 6 during the process of transmitting the braking force. The force exerted by the piece 2 makes it easier to maintain the bending posture of the flexible connecting piece 2.

Referring to FIG. 8 , parts corresponding to the functions of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 use the same numerals, and the proximal and distal sides of the rotating member 61 are respectively provided with a first rotating end 611 and a second rotating end. 612, the first rotating end 611 and the second rotating end 612 can cooperate with each other so that a plurality of rotating parts 61 are connected end to end to form a chain-shaped braking force part 6, and any adjacent two rotating parts 61 can be connected Realize multi-degree-of-freedom rotation relative to the axial direction;

In this embodiment, the first rotating end 611 and the second rotating end 612 are planes perpendicular to the axial direction, and the relative rotation between them is a point contact, and the axial direction of the rotating member 61 is provided with a through hole 615, The fastening structure 613 passes therethrough, and the fastening structure 613 is a rigid structure such as a steel wire, a steel wire rope, a hinge, etc. contact, and then the rotating end 612 will not disengage from the rotating end 611, so that the braking force member 6 can realize the transmission of the axial braking force; the relative rotation between the rotating ends 611 and 612 in this embodiment is basically a point The contact is not stable enough compared with the surface contact rotation of the embodiment in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, but under the condition that the buckle structure 613 is tensed and cooperates with the limitation of the overall posture of the braking force member 6 by the braking force transmission channel 4, the axial The braking force can still be effectively transmitted. The main body of the outer surface 614 of the rotating member 61 is an arc surface, which is the main contact surface between the braking force member 6 and the braking force transmission channel 4 when transmitting the braking force, which can effectively reduce the flexible connection of the braking force member 6 during the process of transmitting the braking force. The force exerted by the piece 2 makes it easier to maintain the bending posture of the flexible connecting piece 2.

Referring to FIG. 9, the embodiment of the surgical instrument is composed of the end effector assembly and the force application assembly 8 shown in FIG. 1. This description only describes the main functional components related to the power input of the end effector, so The force application assembly 8 includes a housing 81 , a push trigger 82 arranged on the housing 81 , a first wheel 83 and a second wheel 84 ′, and the support member 1 is arranged on the far side of the housing 81 of the force application assembly 8 . At the end, the shell 81 plays a role of supporting the support member 1, and the force application assembly 8 needs to input braking force and posture force to the end effector. In this embodiment, the medical staff using the surgical instrument presses the trigger 82, and then The braking force is applied to the end effector through the transmission chain inside the force application assembly 8 , and the attitude force is applied to the end effector assembly by rotating the first rotating wheel 85 and the second rotating wheel 86 .

In this embodiment, there are four posture force pieces 7 for transmitting posture force. The posture force pieces 7 are steel wires, steel wire ropes or chain structures. By pulling different posture force pieces 7, the end of the surgical instrument can have two degrees of freedom relative to the axial direction. Bending, which are respectively pitch and deflection, the first runner 83 is connected with the upper and lower attitude force members 7, and controls the end of the surgical instrument to bend in the pitch direction. The end of the instrument shown in Figure 7 is in an upward bending state in the pitch direction ; The second rotating wheel 84 is connected with the left and right attitude force members 7 to control the end of the surgical instrument to bend in the deflection direction;

In this embodiment, the hand movement of the user of the actuator is used as the power source, and a motor-driven manner can also be used.

Referring to FIG. 10 , the actuator 3 of this embodiment adopts a surgical forceps assembly, and the actuator 3 is composed of a base 31 , a bracket 32 , a link mechanism 33 , jaws 34 and a push-pull rod 35 . The proximal end of the base 31 is fixedly connected to the distal end of the actuator connection seat 23 in the flexible connector 2; inside the base 31 there is a cylindrical channel parallel to the axis, namely the above-mentioned braking force transmission channel 4; The distal end of the base 31 is fixedly connected with the proximal end of the bracket 32, and the distal end of the bracket 32 has a shaft hole for accommodating the shaft of the distal end of the linkage mechanism 33; the linkage mechanism 33 is arranged symmetrically by two groups. The slider four-bar mechanism is composed of two groups of slider four-bar mechanisms. The rotation pairs at the proximal end of the two groups of slider four-bar mechanisms are coaxial, and share the moving pair at the far end; the distal end of the linkage mechanism 33 is fixedly provided with a pair of jaws 34, The rotation pair at the proximal end of the rod mechanism 33 is pivotally connected to the distal end of the push-pull rod 35; the proximal end of the push-pull rod 35 is connected to the braking force member 6, and can realize multi-degree-of-freedom rotation relative to the axial direction; The push-pull rod 35 is placed in the braking force transmission channel 4 and can move in the axial direction.

The braking force is transmitted to the push-pull rod 35 via the braking force member 6 . When the braking force is toward the far side (that is, the braking force is a thrust), the push-pull rod 35 moves axially far away, and the rotating pair at the proximal end of the link mechanism 33 also moves axially far away thereupon. The angle of the connecting rod connected with the moving pair increases relative to the axial direction, and the included angle of the jaws 34 also increases accordingly, and the actuator 3 is in an open state at this moment; , the push-pull rod 35 moves axially to the proximal side, and the rotation pair at the proximal end of the link mechanism 33 also moves axially to the proximal side, and the angle of the connecting rod connected to the moving pair of the link mechanism 33 with respect to the axial direction decreases. Small, the included angle of the jaws 34 also decreases correspondingly until the two jaws touch, at this time the actuator 3 returns to the closed state.

Apparently, the above-mentioned embodiments are only examples for clear description, and are not intended to limit the implementation. For those of ordinary skill in the art, on the basis of the above description, other changes or changes in various forms can also be made. It is not necessary and impossible to exhaustively list all the implementation manners here. And the obvious changes or changes derived therefrom are still within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

A flexible connector capable of bending with multiple degrees of freedom, characterized in that it includes:

The braking force transmission channel is arranged inside the flexible connecting piece and runs through the flexible connecting piece along the axial extension direction of the flexible connecting piece;

The brake force member is installed in the brake force transmission channel, the brake force member moves axially in the brake force transmission channel to transmit thrust and pull force, and the brake force member bends with multiple degrees of freedom of the flexible connector;

The posture force transmission channel is arranged inside the flexible connector, runs through the flexible connector along the axial extension direction of the flexible connector, and at least three posture force transmission channels are arranged in the flexible connector. force transmission channels are evenly distributed around said braking force transmission channel;

The posture force piece is installed in the posture force transmission channel, and one end of the posture force piece is connected to one end of the flexible connecting piece, and the circumferential pulling force is transmitted through the posture force piece to drive the flexible connecting piece to bend with multiple degrees of freedom.
The flexible connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: the flexible connector comprises a plurality of joints connected end-to-end in order to form a chain structure, and the contact surfaces on both sides of the joints are spherical concave surfaces that can be matched respectively and the spherical convex surface, the two adjacent joint parts can be relatively rotated through the cooperation of the spherical concave surface and the spherical convex surface.
The flexible connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: the brake force member includes a plurality of rotating parts connected end to end in a chain-like structure, and the contact surfaces on both sides of the rotating parts are respectively provided with matching rotating parts. The end faces and the two adjacent rotating parts can be relatively rotated through the cooperation of the rotating end faces, and a fastening structure is also provided between the two adjacent rotating parts.
The flexible connector according to claim 3, characterized in that: the fastening structure is formed by the self-shape matching and fastening of the rotating end surface of the rotating member or by connecting the rotating members in series by an external connecting member.
The flexible connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: the posture force member is a steel wire, a steel wire rope or a chain structure.
An end effector assembly, characterized in that it includes the flexible connector according to any one of claims 1-5 above, and the two ends of the flexible connector are respectively connected with a support member and an actuator;

The actuator is arranged at one end close to the connection between the posture force member and the flexible connecting member, and the support member is arranged at the other end;

The support member includes a braking force extension channel communicated with the braking force transmission channel and an attitude force extension channel communicated with the attitude force transmission channel, the braking force member is passed through the braking force extension channel, and the attitude The force piece is passed through the attitude force extension channel;

The actuator is connected with the brake force member, and the actuator receives the thrust or pull force transmitted axially by the brake force member.
The end effector assembly according to claim 6, characterized in that: the two ends of the flexible connector are respectively provided with a support member connecting seat and an actuator connecting seat.
The end effector assembly according to claim 6, characterized in that: a force application assembly is provided at the end of the support member away from the flexible connecting member, and the force application assembly acts on the braking force member and the attitude force member Above, the force applying component transmits the pulling force and pushing force in the axial direction to the executive component through the braking force component, and the force applying component transmits the pulling force in the axial direction through the posture force component, driving the flexible connecting piece more Freedom to bend.
The end effector assembly according to claim 6, wherein the actuator has a clamping part that can be opened and closed, and the clamping part can be switched when the actuator receives the pulling force or the pushing force transmitted by the brake force member. open and close state.
The end effector assembly according to claim 6, wherein the actuator comprises a linear stapler for surgery, surgical forceps, surgical scissors, titanium clamps, and a clip applier.