Large-angle transmission joint and ball gear transmission pair for surgical operation platform

Abstract

The invention relates to a large-angle transmission joint and ball gear transmission pair for a surgical operation platform. The large-angle transmission joint and ball gear transmission pair comprises a driving ball gear part and a driving ball gear part, the driven ball gear part comprises a driven shaft and a driven ball gear; the driving shaft joint is used for mounting the driving ball gear; the driven shaft joint is used for mounting the driven ball gear; the joint connecting piece is used for connecting the driving shaft joint and the driven shaft joint; the driving ball gear and the driven ball gear are provided with a plurality of gear teeth and grooves, the gear teeth and the grooves are arranged in the warp direction from the top end to the bottom end, the spherical surfaces of the driving ball gear and the driven ball gear are tangent, the sphere center distance is equal to the radius of a tangent point passing through the spherical surfaces of the two ball gears, and the tooth thickness direction is distributed in the weft direction. The teeth extend from the top to the bottom of the spherical gear, and the modulus of the teeth is different at different latitudes. While large-angle bending is achieved, stable transmission of torque is ensured, and operation flexibility and reliability of surgical instruments are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of surgical instruments, and in particular to a large-angle transmission joint and a ball gear transmission pair used for minimally invasive surgery. Background Art

[0002] In minimally invasive surgery, the end joint structure of surgical instruments is usually strictly constrained by the external dimensions. Due to size limitations and transmission mode limitations, the end joints of existing surgical instruments can usually only achieve a small range of bending, generally between -60° and +60°. This limited bending range is particularly insufficient in some complex surgical operations, especially in surgical scenarios that require large-angle operations. For example, when using a stapler, the end of the instrument needs to be able to achieve a large-angle bending to better adapt to the complex structure of the surgical site.

[0003] In addition, the existing end joints of surgical instruments also have certain limitations in terms of torque transmission. Due to the limitations of the joint structure, when the joint bends at a large angle, it may cause unstable torque transmission or reduced efficiency, thus affecting the operating accuracy and reliability of the surgical instrument. This is an urgent problem to be solved in surgical operations that require precise control.

[0004] Therefore, the market currently needs a transmission joint structure that can achieve large-angle bending and stable torque transmission to meet the higher requirements for instrument flexibility and operation accuracy in minimally invasive surgery. However, existing technologies have not yet fully met this demand, especially in ensuring the stability and efficiency of torque transmission while ensuring the bending angle of the joint. There are still technical bottlenecks. Summary of the invention

[0005] To this end, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies in the prior art and provide a large-angle transmission joint and a ball gear transmission pair for a surgical platform, which can ensure stable transmission of torque while achieving large-angle bending, thereby improving the operational flexibility and reliability of surgical instruments and meeting the complex needs of minimally invasive surgery.

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a large-angle transmission joint and a ball gear transmission pair for a surgical operating platform, comprising: The driving ball gear part is used to transmit torque and realize large-angle bending; it includes a driving shaft and a driving ball gear arranged on the driving shaft; A driven ball gear part is used to receive torque and achieve large-angle bending; it includes a driven shaft and a driven ball gear arranged on the driven shaft; The driving shaft joint is used to install the driving ball gear, and the driving ball gear can rotate relative to the driving shaft joint; A driven shaft joint, used for mounting the driven ball gear, the driven ball gear being rotatable relative to the driven shaft joint; A joint connector, used to connect the driving shaft joint and the driven shaft joint, so that the ball center positions of the driving ball gear and the driven ball gear are relatively fixed; Among them, the active ball gear and the driven ball gear both include ball gears, and the ball gears have multiple gear teeth and grooves, and the gear teeth and grooves are arranged in the meridian direction from the top to the bottom. The spherical surfaces of the active ball gear and the driven ball gear are tangent, and the distance between the ball centers is equal to the tangent point radius through the spherical surfaces of the two ball gear joints. The tooth thickness direction is distributed along the weft direction, and the teeth extend from the top of the ball gear to the bottom. The module of the teeth is different at different latitudes, which is used to ensure that the change of the intersection angle of the ball gear transmission pair does not affect the transmission of torque.

[0007] In one embodiment of the present invention, the driving shaft is provided with a D-shaft structure connected to the external shaft, a stepped shaft for mounting the bearing, and a retaining ring groove for fixing the bearing.

[0008] In one embodiment of the present invention, the driven shaft is provided with a D-shaped hole structure connected to the actuator, a stepped shaft for mounting the bearing, and a retaining ring groove for fixing the bearing.

[0009] In one embodiment of the present invention, the top end of the active ball gear has a hexagonal boss structure, and the hexagonal boss is a boss with a sloped side surface.

[0010] In one embodiment of the present invention, the top of the driven ball gear has a hexagonal countersunk hole structure, and the hexagonal countersunk hole is a countersunk hole with a beveled side surface. The matching design of the hexagonal boss and the hexagonal countersunk hole further ensures the torque transmission stability at a very small intersection angle, avoiding torque transmission failure caused by insufficient gear height.

[0011] In one embodiment of the present invention, the active shaft joint includes two semi-active shaft joint parts, and the semi-active shaft joint parts are provided with a first joint bending tooth, a first bearing groove, a spring hole, a first connecting hole, and a first transmission wire through hole; a bearing is installed on the active ball gear, and the bearing is fixed by a retaining spring, and the active ball gear is installed in the first bearing groove of the active shaft joint through the bearing.

[0012] In one embodiment of the present invention, the driven shaft joint includes two semi-driven shaft joint parts; the semi-driven shaft joint parts are provided with a second joint curved tooth, a second bearing groove, a second connecting hole, a second transmission wire through hole and a transmission wire fixing structure; the driven ball gear is installed with a bearing, the bearing is fixed by a retaining spring, and the driven ball gear is installed in the second bearing groove of the driven shaft joint through the bearing. This split design not only reduces the difficulty of processing, but also simplifies the assembly process. In addition, the ball gear transmission pair has a compact structure and can realize complex motion transmission in a limited space, which is particularly suitable for minimally invasive surgical instruments, which have strict size requirements.

[0013] In one embodiment of the present invention, two bosses and a third transmission wire through hole are provided on the joint connecting member, the distance between the two bosses is equal to the distance between the centers of the driving ball gear and the driven ball gear, and the diameter of the boss is the same as the diameter of the connecting hole of the driving shaft joint and the driven shaft joint.

[0014] In one embodiment of the present invention, it also includes a transmission wire, which passes through the second transmission wire through hole of the driven shaft joint, the third transmission wire through hole of the joint connector and the first transmission wire through hole of the active shaft joint in sequence, and the end of the transmission wire is fixed to the transmission wire fixing structure of the driven shaft joint, and the proximal end of the transmission wire is connected to a tensile force.

[0015] In one embodiment of the present invention, a preload spring is further included, and the preload spring is arranged between the bearing of the active ball gear and the end face of the spring hole of the active shaft joint, so that the active ball gear can move axially elastically within a limited range. The preload spring allows the active ball gear to move axially elastically within a limited range. This elastic compensation mechanism can smoothly compensate for the change in the distance between the center points of the ball gear pair when the intersection angle changes, thereby further improving the stability and reliability of the transmission system.

[0016] The above technical solution of the present invention has the following beneficial effects compared with the prior art: The large-angle transmission joint and ball gear transmission pair for a surgical operating platform described in the present invention are capable of realizing large-angle bending of ±90° in the transmission joint design, which greatly improves the flexibility of the end of the surgical instrument. This large-angle bending capability enables the surgical instrument to better adapt to different surgical sites in a complex surgical environment, thereby improving the accessibility and operation accuracy of the surgery. The present invention can also maintain stable torque transmission within the full range of joint bending. The tooth thickness of the ball gear is distributed along the latitude, and the module of the tooth is different at different latitudes. This design ensures that the torque transmission will not be affected even when the intersection angle changes. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] In order to make the contents of the present invention more clearly understood, the present invention is further described in detail below based on specific embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0018] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of a large-angle transmission joint and a ball gear transmission pair for a surgical operating platform in a preferred embodiment of the present invention Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of the active ball gear part in the present invention; Figure 3 It is a structural schematic diagram of the driven ball gear part in the present invention; Figure 4 It is a structural schematic diagram of the cross section of the ball gear transmission pair in the present invention; Figure 5 It is a structural schematic diagram of the ball gear transmission pair in the present invention; Figure 6 It is a structural schematic diagram of the semi-active axis joint in the present invention; Figure 7 It is a schematic structural diagram of an active shaft joint equipped with an active ball gear in the present invention; Figure 8 It is a structural schematic diagram of the semi-driven shaft joint in the present invention; Fig. 9 It is a schematic structural diagram of a driven shaft joint equipped with a driven ball gear in the present invention; Fig.10 A half-section diagram of a large-angle transmission joint and a gear transmission pair device in the present invention; Fig.11 Schematic diagram of the bending function of the large-angle transmission joint and the gear transmission pair device in the present invention Fig.12 It is a schematic structural diagram of the joint connection member in the present invention.

[0019] Description of the accompanying drawings: 110, active ball gear; 111, driving shaft; 1111, D-axis structure; 1112, first stepped shaft; 1113, first retaining ring groove; 112, active ball gear; 1121, hexagonal boss; 120, driven ball gear; 121, driven shaft; 1211, D-shaped hole structure; 1212, second stepped shaft; 1213, second retaining ring groove; 122, driven ball gear; 1221, hexagonal countersunk hole; 130, joint connector; 131, boss; 135, third transmission wire through hole; 140, active shaft joint; 1401, semi-active shaft joint; 141, first joint curved tooth; 142, first A bearing groove; 143, a spring hole; 1431, an end face of the spring hole; 144, a first connecting hole; 145, a first transmission wire through hole; 150, a driven shaft joint; 1501, a semi-driven shaft joint; 151, a second joint curved tooth; 152, a second bearing groove; 154, a second connecting hole; 155, a second transmission wire through hole; 156, a transmission wire fixing structure; 160, a preload spring; 170, a transmission wire; 180, a bearing; 190, a retaining spring; 20, an external shaft; SG, a ball gear transmission pair; G, a gear pair; O1, O2, a ball gear center; O1', O2', a joint center; P, a top end of a ball gear; B, a bottom end of a ball gear. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The present invention is 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 embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0021] like Figure 1 As shown, the present invention discloses a large-angle transmission joint and a ball gear transmission pair for a surgical platform, which is used to connect the surgical instrument shaft and the end instrument to each other, and can be bent by ±90° and transmit rotational motion at the same time. The device generally includes an active ball gear 110, a driven ball gear 120, a joint connector 130, an active shaft joint 140, a driven shaft joint 150, a preload spring 160, a transmission wire 170, a bearing 180, and a retaining spring 190. The active shaft joint 140 has a proximal end designed to mechanically engage an external shaft 20, and the driven shaft joint 150 has a distal end designed to mechanically engage an external actuator 30.

[0022] like Figure 2As shown, the driving ball gear part 110 is provided with a driving shaft 111 and a driving ball gear 112, the driving shaft 111 is provided with a D-axis structure 1111 connected to an external shaft, a first stepped shaft 1112 for mounting a bearing, and a first retaining ring groove 1113 for fixing the bearing, and the top of the driving ball gear 112 has a hexagonal boss 1121 structure. In other embodiments, the driving ball gear 112 can also be designed as a split design of two parts, the driving shaft and the ball gear. The split design process is simple, but it is not as stable as the integrated design during operation.

[0023] like Figure 3 As shown, the driven ball gear 120 is provided with a driven shaft 121 and a driven ball gear 122. The driven shaft 121 is provided with a D-shaped hole structure 1211 connected to the actuator, a second stepped shaft 1212 for mounting the bearing, and a second retaining ring groove 1213 for fixing the bearing. The top of the driven ball gear 122 has a hexagonal countersunk hole 1221 structure. In other embodiments, the driven ball gear 122 can also be designed as a split design of two parts, the driven shaft and the ball gear. The split design process is simple, but it is not as stable as the integrated design during operation.

[0024] like Figure 4 As shown, the ball gear transmission pair SG includes a driving ball gear part 110 and a driven ball gear part 120. Figure 4 The cross section shown is a cross section of the ball gear transmission pair SG passing through the axis of the active ball gear part 110 and the driven ball gear part 120 at the same time. The active ball gear 112 of the active ball gear part 110 and the driven ball gear 112 of the driven ball gear part 120 have the same structure, and the active ball gear 112 has a plurality of gear teeth 1122 and grooves 1123, which are arranged in the meridian direction from the top end P to the bottom end B. The dotted center circle C is circular with a radius R from the center point O1 of the spherical main body part 1121, and the center O1 of the sphere becomes the center of the gear teeth 1122 and the grooves 1123. On the basis of the center circle C, the closer to the vertex P, the lower the height H of the tooth 2, and the closer to the bottom B, the higher the height H of the tooth 1122. The height of the tooth 2 is considered to conform to the corresponding latitudinal length cut from the parallel plane PP of the tangent plane of the top P of the spherical main body part 1124, so as to achieve smooth rotation when the spherical contact of the driven ball gear 122 and the driven ball gear 122 changes the intersection angle α. In other embodiments, other forms of tooth arrangement, such as spiral or volute, can also be used; that is, the type of ball gear teeth can be changed according to one's own needs.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 5 , the hexagonal boss 1121 provided at the top of the driven ball gear 122 and the hexagonal countersunk hole 1221 provided at the top of the driven ball gear 122 can cooperate to transmit the torque of the driving ball gear 110 to the driven ball gear 120 when the spherical contact angle α between the driven ball gear 122 and the driven ball gear 122 is very small, replacing the function of the gear teeth 1122 which are insufficient to transmit torque when α is very small and the ball gear height H is too small. The hexagonal boss 1121 is designed as a boss with a beveled side surface, and the hexagonal countersunk hole 1221 is designed as a countersunk hole with a beveled side surface. Such a design ensures that when the spherical contact angle α becomes about 0°, the hexagonal boss 1121 can be inserted into the hexagonal countersunk hole 1221 relatively smoothly.

[0026] like Figure 6 , 7 As shown, the active shaft joint 140 is composed of two semi-active shaft joint parts 1401. Such a design reduces the difficulty of processing and assembly. The semi-active shaft joint part 1401 is provided with a first joint curved tooth 141, a first bearing groove 142, a spring hole 143, a first connecting hole 144, and a first transmission wire through hole 145. A bearing 180 is installed on the active ball gear 110, and the bearing 180 is fixed by a retaining ring 190. The active ball gear 110 is installed in the first bearing groove 142 of the active shaft joint 140 through the bearing 180, and the active ball gear 110 can rotate relative to the active shaft joint 140. The width of the first bearing groove 142 is wider than the width of the bearing 180, which can ensure that the bearing 180 moves axially within a certain range in the active shaft joint 140. A preload spring 160 is provided between the bearing 180 and the end face 1431 of the spring hole 143, so that the active ball gear 110 can move axially elastically within a limited range. When the driven ball gear 122 and the driven ball gear 122 are meshed, and the driven ball gear 122 and the driven ball gear 122 are driven to change the intersection angle α, the change in a certain range of the distance 2R between the center points O1 and O2 can be smoothly compensated.

[0027] like Figure 8 , 9 As shown, the driven shaft joint 150 is composed of two semi-driven shaft joint parts 1501, and the semi-driven shaft joint parts 1501 are provided with a second joint curved tooth 151, a second bearing groove 152, a second connecting hole 154, a second transmission wire through hole 155, and a transmission wire fixing structure 156. The driven ball gear 120 is installed with a bearing 180, and the bearing 180 is fixed by a retaining ring 190. The driven ball gear 120 is installed in the second bearing groove 150 of the driven shaft joint 150 through the bearing 180, and the driven ball gear 120 can rotate relative to the driven shaft joint 150. The width of the second bearing groove 152 is equivalent to the width of the bearing 180, and the driven ball gear 122 has basically no axial movement relative to the driven shaft joint 150.

[0028] In other embodiments, the width of the first bearing groove 142 of the driving ball gear 112 is the same as the width of the bearing 180, and the width of the second bearing groove 152 of the driven ball gear 122 is wider than the width of the bearing 180; or it is designed that the bearing groove widths of both the first bearing groove 142 and the second bearing groove 152 are wider than the bearing 180.

[0029] like Fig.10 , Fig.11 and Fig.12 As shown, the center O1' of the joint curved teeth 141 of the active shaft joint 140 is set at the axis of the first connection hole 144, and the center O2' of the joint curved teeth 151 of the driven shaft joint 150 is set at the axis of the second connection hole 154. The active shaft joint 140 and the driven shaft joint 150 rotate relative to each other through the gear pair G composed of the joint curved teeth 141 and 151, and the spherical contact between the driven ball gear 122 and the driven ball gear 122 changes the intersection angle α, which is also the angle between the driving shaft 111 and the driven shaft 121, and the intersection angle α of the driven shaft 121 relative to the driving shaft 111 varies in a range of at least -90° to +90°.

[0030] The center O1' of the driving shaft joint 140 and the center O1 of the ball gear are both located on the axis O1'O1 of the first connecting hole 144; the center O2' of the driven shaft joint 150 and the center O2 of the ball gear are both located on the axis O2'O2 of the second connecting hole 154. This design ensures the engagement of the ball gear pair SG when the driven shaft joint 150 bends relative to the driving shaft joint 140, and ensures the transmission of torque.

[0031] To ensure the above-mentioned effects, the active shaft joint 140 and the driven shaft joint 150 are connected through the joint connector 130. The joint connector 130 is provided with two bosses 131 and a third transmission wire through hole 135. The distance between the two bosses 131 is the same as the distance between O1 and O2. The diameter of the boss 131 is the same as the diameter of the first connecting hole 144 and the second connecting hole 154. The active shaft joint 140 and the driven shaft joint 150 are connected to the joint connector 130 through a rotating pair.

[0032] In this embodiment, the center of the active ball gear 112 is set at the rotation axis of the active shaft joint 140 and the joint connector 130, and the center of the driven ball gear 122 is set at the rotation axis of the driven shaft joint 150 and the joint connector 130; the joint connector 130 ensures that the center O1' of the active shaft joint 140 and the center O1 of the ball gear are both located on the axis O1'O1 of the first connection hole 144, and the center O2' of the driven shaft joint 150 and the center O2 of the ball gear are both located on the axis O2'O2 of the second connection hole 154. Such a design ensures that the bending of the joint does not affect the torque transmission of the ball gear pair SG.

[0033] The transmission wire 170 passes through the second transmission wire through hole 155 of the driven shaft joint 150, the third transmission wire through hole 135 of the joint connector 130 and the first transmission wire through hole 145 of the driving shaft joint 140 in sequence. The end of the transmission wire 170 is fixed to the transmission wire fixing structure 156 of the driven shaft joint 150. The proximal end of the transmission wire 170 is connected with a tensile force. When the transmission wires a and b apply tensile force, and c and d do not apply tensile force, the driven shaft joint 150 rotates to an angle of -90 degrees around the axis O1'O1 relative to the driving shaft joint 140. When the transmission wires c and d apply tensile force, and a and b do not apply tensile force, the driven shaft joint 150 rotates to an angle of +90 degrees around the axis O1'O1 relative to the driving shaft joint 140.

[0034] Obviously, the above embodiments are merely examples for clear explanation and are not intended to limit the implementation methods. For those skilled in the art, other different forms of changes or modifications can be made based on the above description. It is not necessary and impossible to list all the implementation methods here. The obvious changes or modifications derived from these are still within the protection scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A large-angle transmission joint and ball gear transmission pair for a surgical operating platform, characterized in that: include: The active ball gear part is used to transmit torque and achieve large-angle bending; It includes a driving shaft and a driving ball gear arranged on the driving shaft; A driven ball gear part is used to receive torque and achieve large-angle bending; it includes a driven shaft and a driven ball gear arranged on the driven shaft; The driving shaft joint is used to install the driving ball gear, and the driving ball gear can rotate relative to the driving shaft joint; A driven shaft joint, used for mounting the driven ball gear, the driven ball gear being rotatable relative to the driven shaft joint; A joint connector, used to connect the driving shaft joint and the driven shaft joint, so that the ball center positions of the driving ball gear and the driven ball gear are relatively fixed; Among them, the active ball gear and the driven ball gear both include ball gears, and the ball gears have multiple gear teeth and grooves, and the gear teeth and grooves are arranged in the meridian direction from the top to the bottom. The spherical surfaces of the active ball gear and the driven ball gear are tangent, and the distance between the ball centers is equal to the tangent point radius through the spherical surfaces of the two ball gear joints. The tooth thickness direction is distributed along the weft direction, and the teeth extend from the top of the ball gear to the bottom. The module of the teeth is different at different latitudes, which is used to ensure that the change of the intersection angle of the ball gear transmission pair does not affect the transmission of torque.

2. A large-angle transmission joint and ball gear transmission pair for a surgical operating platform according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving shaft is provided with a D-shaft structure connected to the external shaft, a stepped shaft for installing the bearing and a retaining ring groove for fixing the bearing.

3. A large-angle transmission joint and ball gear transmission pair for a surgical operating platform according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driven shaft is provided with a D-shaped hole structure connected with the actuator, a stepped shaft for installing the bearing, and a retaining ring groove for fixing the bearing.

4. A large-angle transmission joint and ball gear transmission pair for a surgical operating platform according to claim 1, characterized in that: The top end of the active ball gear has a hexagonal boss structure, and the hexagonal boss is a boss with a sloped side surface.

5. A large-angle transmission joint and ball gear transmission pair for a surgical operating platform according to claim 1, characterized in that: The top end of the driven ball gear has a hexagonal countersink structure, and the hexagonal countersink is a countersink with an inclined side surface.

6. A large-angle transmission joint and ball gear transmission pair for a surgical operating platform according to claim 1, characterized in that: The active shaft joint includes two semi-active shaft joint parts, and the semi-active shaft joint parts are provided with a first joint bending tooth, a first bearing groove, a spring hole, a first connecting hole, and a first transmission wire through hole; a bearing is installed on the active ball gear, and the bearing is fixed by a retaining spring, and the active ball gear is installed in the first bearing groove of the active shaft joint through the bearing.

7. A large-angle transmission joint and ball gear transmission pair for a surgical operating platform according to claim 6, characterized in that: The driven shaft joint includes two semi-driven shaft joint parts; the semi-driven shaft joint parts are provided with second joint curved teeth, second bearing grooves, second connecting holes, second transmission wire through holes and transmission wire fixing structures; the driven ball gear is installed with a bearing, the bearing is fixed by a retaining spring, and the driven ball gear is installed in the second bearing groove of the driven shaft joint through the bearing.

8. A large-angle transmission joint and ball gear transmission pair for a surgical operating platform according to claim 7, characterized in that: The joint connector is provided with two bosses and a third transmission wire through hole, the distance between the two bosses is equal to the distance between the ball centers of the driving ball gear and the driven ball gear, and the diameter of the boss is the same as the diameter of the connecting hole of the driving shaft joint and the driven shaft joint.

9. A large-angle transmission joint and ball gear transmission pair for a surgical operating platform according to claim 8, characterized in that: It also includes a transmission wire, which passes through the second transmission wire through hole of the driven shaft joint, the third transmission wire through hole of the joint connector and the first transmission wire through hole of the active shaft joint in sequence. The end of the transmission wire is fixed to the transmission wire fixing structure of the driven shaft joint, and the proximal end of the transmission wire is connected to a tensile force.

10. A large-angle transmission joint and ball gear transmission pair for a surgical operating platform according to claim 9, characterized in that: It also includes a preload spring, which is arranged between the bearing of the active ball gear and the end surface of the spring hole of the active shaft joint, so that the active ball gear can move axially elastically within a limited range.

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