Under-driven endoscope flexible arm conveying device

Abstract

The under-driven endoscope flexible arm conveying device comprises a rack, and the rack is used for installing a driving conveying assembly and a driven conveying assembly; the driven conveying assembly further comprises a movable pulley type wire pulling mechanism, an elastic element and a flexible push-pull part, and the movable pulley type wire pulling mechanism and the elastic element are matched so that the flexible push-pull part can conduct push-pull movement in the first direction. The flexible push-and-pull part moves in a push-and-pull mode in the first direction to drive the driven conveying part to be provided with a first position spaced from the driving conveying part and a second position matched with the driving conveying part. A movable pulley type wire pulling mechanism, an elastic element and a flexible push-pull part are designed for a driven conveying assembly, controllable clamping of a driving conveying part and a driven conveying part is achieved, and high conveying precision and controllability of the flexible arm of the endoscope are achieved; and meanwhile, a shaft system structure formed by the three racks can ensure that two degrees of freedom of circumferential rotation and axial conveying do not interfere with each other.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a sub-drive flexible endoscope delivery device, belonging to the field of endoscope delivery technology for digestive endoscopic surgeries (such as endoscopic submucosal dissection: ESD). Background Technology

[0002] Against the backdrop of a high incidence of gastrointestinal malignancies, continuously increasing surgical demands, and uneven distribution of medical resources, the emergence of surgical robots has significantly improved the challenges faced by the medical field. For example, in performing procedures such as endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), surgeons can remotely control the actuators inside the endoscope to perform precise tissue cutting and clamping, effectively improving surgical efficiency and reducing intraoperative risks. However, current endoscopic surgical robot systems still require medical staff to assist in adjusting the position of the flexible endoscope during surgery, including advancing and retracting it along the axis of the flexible arm, to continuously adapt to changes in the field of vision of lesions caused by gastrointestinal peristalsis. This human intervention severely limits the autonomy and stability of endoscopic robotic technology, becoming a key technological bottleneck restricting the further development of this field.

[0003] Taking ESD (Extracorporeal Shock Dissection) surgery as an example, medical staff need to manually insert the endoscope through the patient's mouth into the target location in the digestive tract, and then perform delicate surgical operations by controlling the endoscope and its actuators. These delicate operations are also the common technical requirements for various endoscopic surgeries. The small size and high flexibility required of the endoscope mean that its drive system mainly relies on the rear-mounted main unit shipped as an integral part of the endoscope body. This is the practice of almost all finished endoscopes on the market. These products achieve the pitch and yaw degrees of freedom of the endoscope body by rotating two dials on the rear-mounted drive main unit. In almost all endoscopic surgeries, the axial transport degree of freedom and the circumferential rotation degree of freedom (rotation direction around the flexible arm axis, i.e., the Roll axis) of the endoscope's flexible arm are also indispensable. These are degrees of freedom that the endoscope itself cannot achieve on its own and require external devices or other methods to achieve. For these two degrees of freedom, traditional endoscopic surgery mainly relies on medical staff to manually push and move the endoscope. In recent years, some surgical research teams have proposed using electrically driven methods to automatically control the transport and circumferential rotation of the endoscope's flexible arm. These methods further improve the convenience and effectiveness of controlling the movement and posture of the endoscope, thereby optimizing the stability and reliability of the surgical procedure. However, most transport devices cannot effectively detect or correct slippage during transport, and most transport methods are based on horizontally mounted endoscopes. This method relies on the translational movement of the entire endoscope, requiring a large transport stroke, resulting in an excessively large footprint and cumbersome robotic system. Furthermore, many methods require reducing the clamping force of the transport friction wheels to achieve circumferential rotation, leading to unavoidable slippage. Additionally, the circumferential rotation and axial transport degrees of freedom cannot be seamlessly integrated. Some designs suffer from functional redundancy or lack consideration for the compactness of the robotic system's modules, resulting in an excessively long endoscope flexible arm, limiting the effective travel of the telescopic degree of freedom and the types of endoscopes that can be used in the procedure, thus hindering the performance of basic surgical procedures. These problems result in insufficient controllability and reliability of the endoscope delivery device and even the entire endoscope drive system, which in turn makes the operation convenience and control precision of endoscopic surgery fall short of expectations. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This invention provides a sub-driven flexible endoscope arm transport device. By designing a movable pulley-type cable pulling mechanism, elastic elements, and flexible push-pull parts for the driven transport component, the device achieves controllable clamping of the active transport part and the driven transport part, and has high endoscope flexible arm transport accuracy and controllability. At the same time, the shaft system structure formed by the three frames of this invention can ensure that the two degrees of freedom of circumferential rotation and axial transport do not interfere with each other.

[0005] The technical solution of this invention is:

[0006] A sub-driven endoscopic flexible arm transport device includes an active transport assembly 200 and a driven transport assembly 300. The active transport assembly 200 includes an active transport section rotatably disposed along direction A. The driven transport assembly 300 includes a driven transport section having a first position spaced apart from the active transport section and a second position cooperating with the active transport section. When the driven transport section is in the first position, it is used to insert / remove the endoscopic flexible arm 100. When the driven transport section is in the second position, the active rotational movement of the active transport section along direction A interacts with the driven transport section along direction A. The passive rotational motion in direction B is used to clamp and transport the flexible endoscope arm 100 between the active transport unit and the driven transport unit; it also includes a frame for mounting the active transport assembly 200 and the driven transport assembly 300; the driven transport assembly 300 further includes a movable pulley-type cable pulling mechanism, an elastic element, and a flexible push-pull part, the movable pulley-type cable pulling mechanism and the elastic element cooperate to cause the flexible push-pull part to perform a push-pull motion in a first direction; the push-pull motion of the flexible push-pull part along the first direction causes the driven transport unit to have a first position spaced apart from the active transport unit and a second position that cooperates with the active transport unit.

[0007] Furthermore, the movable pulley type cable pulling mechanism includes a pulley 312, a pulley wire 313, a first tension spring 315, a wire reel 316, and a servo motor 317; one end of the first tension spring 315 is mounted on the frame through a first connector, the servo motor 317 is fixed on the frame through a second connector 318, the wire reel 316 is mounted on the output shaft of the servo motor 317, and pulls the pulley wire 313 to pass around the two pulleys 312 fixed on the pulley base 314 in the flexible push-pull part, and then to the other end of the first tension spring 315.

[0008] Furthermore, the flexible push-pull portion includes:

[0009] Driven wheel base 304, the driven conveying part is mounted on the driven wheel base 304 via a shaft;

[0010] A pulley base 314 is installed on the side of the driven wheel base 304 away from the active conveying assembly 200 along a first direction and is spaced apart from the driven wheel base 304.

[0011] The first guide rail 311, two parallel first guide rails 311 are installed on one side of the driven wheel base 304, and the first guide rail 311 extends along the first direction away from the active conveying component 200.

[0012] The first slider 310 is mounted on the pulley base 314; each first guide rail 311 is slidably engaged with the corresponding first slider 310 mounted on the pulley base 314 so as to guide the movement of the pulley base 314 along the first direction through the first guide rail 311.

[0013] The second slider 322 is installed on the other side of the driven wheel base 304. The second slider 322 is slidably engaged with the second slide rail 321 installed on the frame so as to guide the movement of the driven wheel base 304 in the first direction through the second slide rail 321.

[0014] An internal threaded optical shaft 308 is fitted with a compression spring 309. The two ends of the compression spring 309 press against the driven wheel base 304 and the pulley base 314, respectively. The two ends of the internal threaded optical shaft 308 extend out from the coaxial circular holes opened on the driven wheel base 304 and the pulley base 314, respectively, and are screwed on.

[0015] Furthermore, the second slide rail 321 is fixedly mounted on the frame by a third connector 320; the third connector 320 is provided with an extension extending in a second direction, and an elastic element extending in a first direction is installed between the extension and the driven wheel base 304, and the extension is used to limit the movement of the pulley base 314 in the first direction.

[0016] Furthermore, the frame includes a first fixed frame 400, a rotating frame 500, and a second fixed frame 600;

[0017] The first fixed frame 400 includes an open cylinder 401, a first bearing inner ring fixing assembly 402, and a second bolt assembly 403;

[0018] The rotating frame 500 includes a first bearing 501, a first bearing outer ring fixing assembly 502, a second bearing outer ring fixing assembly 503, a second bearing 504, and a fourth connecting member 505;

[0019] The second fixed frame 600 includes a second bearing inner ring fixing assembly 601 and a third bolt assembly 602;

[0020] The second bolt group 403 passes through the closed end of the open cylinder 401 in sequence and the first bearing inner ring fixing assembly 402 that cooperates with the inner ring of the first bearing 501 to fix the first bearing 501; the first bearing outer ring fixing assembly 502 that cooperates with the outer ring of the first bearing 501 is fixed on the first bearing 501 by fasteners.

[0021] Multiple fasteners are sequentially passed through the second bearing outer ring fixing assembly 503, which mates with the outer ring of the second bearing 504, and then fixed to one end of the corresponding fourth connector 505. The other end of the multiple fourth connectors 505 is fixed to the first bearing outer ring fixing assembly 502. The second bearing inner ring fixing assembly 601, which mates with the inner ring of the second bearing 504, is fixed to the second bearing 504 by the third bolt group 602.

[0022] Furthermore, the first bearing inner ring fixing assembly 402 includes two first stepped cavity discs arranged opposite each other; the sum of the axial lengths of the thin ends of the two first stepped cavity discs is less than the thickness of the first bearing 501, the circumferential surfaces of the thin ends of the two first stepped cavity discs are in contact with the circumferential surface of the inner ring of the first bearing 501, and the end faces of the thick ends of the two first stepped cavity discs are in contact with the end face of the inner ring, and the first bearing 501 is fixed by the second bolt group 403 passing through the open cylinder 401 and the first bearing inner ring fixing assembly 402.

[0023] Furthermore, the first bearing outer ring fixing assembly 502 includes two second stepped cavity disks arranged opposite to each other: second stepped cavity disk I and second stepped cavity disk II. The side of second stepped cavity disk I away from second stepped cavity disk II is provided with a support platform extending along the second direction, and the side of second stepped cavity disk I away from second stepped cavity disk II is used to fix the second slide rail 321 in the flexible push-pull part and the movable pulley type wire mechanism. The servo motor 317 in the middle, the support platform is used to fix the first tension spring 315 in the movable pulley type cable mechanism; the sum of the axial lengths of the thin ends of the two second stepped cavity disks is less than the thickness of the first bearing 501, the circumferential surfaces of the thin ends of the two second stepped cavity disks are in contact with the circumferential surfaces of the outer ring of the first bearing 501, and the end faces of the thick ends of the two second stepped cavity disks are in contact with the end faces of the outer ring of the first bearing 501, and the two second stepped cavity disks are fixed on the first bearing 501 by bolts.

[0024] Furthermore, the second bearing outer ring fixing assembly 503 includes a disc body and a third stepped cavity disc; the axial length of the thin end of the third stepped cavity disc is equal to the thickness of the second bearing 504, the circumferential surface of the thin end of the third stepped cavity disc is in contact with the circumferential surface of the outer ring of the second bearing 504, and the end face of the thick end of the third stepped cavity disc is in contact with the end face of the outer ring of the second bearing 504. After multiple bolts pass through the third stepped cavity disc and the disc body in contact with the third stepped cavity disc in sequence, they are fixed to one end of the corresponding fourth connector 505. The other end of the multiple fourth connectors 505 is fixed to the bolts on the second stepped cavity disc I.

[0025] Furthermore, the second bearing inner ring fixing assembly 601 includes two fourth-step hollow disks arranged opposite each other: fourth-step hollow disk I and fourth-step hollow disk II. The side closer to the first bearing outer ring fixing assembly 502 is designated as fourth-step hollow disk I, and the side farther away from the first bearing outer ring fixing assembly 502 is designated as fourth-step hollow disk II. The side of fourth-step hollow disk II away from the first bearing outer ring fixing assembly 502 is provided with a cover. The sum of the axial lengths of the thin ends of the two fourth-step hollow disks is less than the thickness of the second bearing 504. The circumferential surfaces of the thin ends of the two fourth-step hollow disks are attached to the circumferential surface of the outer ring of the second bearing 504, and the end faces of the thick ends of the two fourth-step hollow disks are attached to the end faces of the outer ring of the second bearing 504. The cover and the two fourth-step hollow disks are fixed to the second bearing 504 by the third bolt group 602.

[0026] The beneficial effects of this invention are:

[0027] The driven delivery component design of this invention achieves controllable clamping of both the active and driven delivery units, providing high precision and maneuverability in delivering the flexible endoscopic arm. Simultaneously, the device's shaft system design allows seamless compatibility between clamping and delivery functions and the flexible arm's 360° circumferential rotation (without brushes or slip rings), enabling completely independent axial and circumferential motions that can be simultaneously synchronized. The device is easy to assemble and disassemble, offers excellent housing protection, and its modular design allows for integration with other components in surgical robot systems, enhancing the degree-of-freedom control capabilities of existing solutions. Furthermore, the device's uniform center of gravity around the Roll axis and low moment of inertia facilitate driven rotation. When integrated with other robot drive units lacking rotation control, active rotation control can be easily achieved by adding a belt drive stage. Additionally, the device occupies a smaller length of the flexible endoscopic arm, allowing for greater axial extension and retraction control within the robot system. These features significantly improve the overall ease of control and clinical applicability of the endoscopic surgical robot system. Attached Figure Description

[0028] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram showing the axial cross-section comparison of the structure of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the driven conveyor of the present invention. Figure 1 .

[0031] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the driven conveyor of the present invention. Figure 2 .

[0032] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the driven conveyor of the present invention. Figure 3 .

[0033] Figure 6 This is an example diagram illustrating the modular combination of the present invention with other robot drive devices.

[0034] The labels in the diagram are as follows: 100-Endoscope flexible arm, 200-Active transport assembly, 300-Driven transport assembly, 400-First fixed frame, 500-Rotating frame, 600-Second fixed frame, 201-Active friction wheel, 202-Active wheel motor, 203-Active wheel encoder, 301-Driven friction wheel, 302-Flange, 303-Flange bearing, 304-Driven wheel base, 305-Driven wheel encoder, 306-First bolt group, 307-Gasket group, 308-Internal thread optical shaft, 309-Compression spring, 310-First slider, 311-First guide rail, 312-Pulley, 31 3-Pulley wire, 314-Pulley base, 315-First tension spring, 316-Wire reel, 317-Steering motor, 318-Second connecting piece, 319-Six-sided nut, 320-Third connecting piece, 321-Second slide rail, 322-Second slider, 323-Driven shaft, 401-Semi-enclosed cylinder, 402-First bearing inner ring assembly, 403-Second bolt group, 501-First bearing, 502-First bearing outer ring assembly, 503-Second bearing outer ring assembly, 504-Second bearing, 505-Fourth connecting piece, 506-Electrical control hardware, 601-Second bearing inner ring assembly, 602-Third bolt group. Detailed Implementation

[0035] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features in the embodiments of this application can be arbitrarily combined with each other.

[0036] Example 1: As Figures 1-6As shown, a sub-driven endoscopic flexible arm transport device includes: an active transport assembly 200 and a driven transport assembly 300. The active transport assembly 200 includes an active transport section rotatably disposed along direction A. The driven transport assembly 300 includes a driven transport section having a first position spaced apart from the active transport section and a second position cooperating with the active transport section. When the driven transport section is in the first position, it is used to insert / remove the endoscopic flexible arm 100. When the driven transport section is in the second position, it is used to interact with the driven transport section through the active rotational movement of the active transport section along direction A. The passive rotational movement of the part along direction B clamps and transports the flexible endoscope arm 100 between the active transport part and the driven transport part; it also includes a frame for mounting the active transport assembly 200 and the driven transport assembly 300; the driven transport assembly 300 further includes a movable pulley-type cable mechanism, an elastic element, and a flexible push-pull part, the movable pulley-type cable mechanism and the elastic element cooperating to cause the flexible push-pull part to perform a push-pull movement in a first direction; the push-pull movement of the flexible push-pull part along the first direction drives the driven transport part to have a first position spaced apart from the active transport part and a second position cooperating with the active transport part. In the above, direction A and direction B represent two opposite directions (e.g., if direction A is clockwise, then direction B is counterclockwise); the first direction is the radial direction of the flexible endoscope arm 100.

[0037] Furthermore, the active conveying unit adopts an active friction wheel 201; the driven conveying unit adopts a driven friction wheel 301.

[0038] Furthermore, the movable pulley-type cable pulling mechanism includes a pulley 312, a pulley wire 313, a first tension spring 315, a wire reel 316, and a servo motor 317. One end of the first tension spring 315 is mounted on the frame via a first connector, and the servo motor 317 is fixed to the frame via a second connector 318. The wire reel 316 is mounted on the output shaft of the servo motor 317 and pulls the pulley wire 313 around two pulleys 312 fixed on the pulley base 314 in the flexible push-pull section before being tied to the other end of the first tension spring 315. Applying the above technical solution, it can be seen that the first tension spring 315 flexibly pulls the pulley wire 313, keeping the pulley wire 313 close to the pulley 312, preventing the pulley wire 313 from falling off and failing, thereby ensuring the stable movement control of the entire flexible push-pull section.

[0039] Furthermore, the flexible push-pull portion includes:

[0040] Driven wheel base 304, the driven conveying part is mounted on the driven wheel base 304 via a shaft;

[0041] A pulley base 314 is installed on the side of the driven wheel base 304 away from the active conveying assembly 200 along a first direction and is spaced apart from the driven wheel base 304.

[0042] The first guide rail 311, two parallel first guide rails 311 are installed on one side of the driven wheel base 304, and the first guide rail 311 extends along the first direction away from the active conveying component 200.

[0043] The first slider 310 is mounted on the pulley base 314; each first guide rail 311 is slidably engaged with the corresponding first slider 310 mounted on the pulley base 314 so as to guide the movement of the pulley base 314 along the first direction through the first guide rail 311.

[0044] The second slider 322 is installed on the other side of the driven wheel base 304. The second slider 322 is slidably engaged with the second slide rail 321 installed on the frame so as to guide the movement of the driven wheel base 304 in the first direction through the second slide rail 321.

[0045] An internal threaded optical shaft 308 is fitted with a compression spring 309. The two ends of the compression spring 309 press against the driven wheel base 304 and the pulley base 314, respectively. The two ends of the internal threaded optical shaft 308 extend out from the coaxial circular holes opened on the driven wheel base 304 and the pulley base 314, respectively, and are screwed on.

[0046] Furthermore, the second slide rail 321 is fixedly mounted on the frame via a third connector 320; the third connector 320 has an extension extending in a second direction, and an elastic element extending in a first direction is installed between the extension and the driven wheel base 304, and the extension is used to limit the movement of the pulley base 314 in the first direction. In the above description, the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction, i.e., the transport direction of the endoscope flexible arm 100.

[0047] Further, the frame includes a first fixed frame 400, a rotating frame 500, and a second fixed frame 600; the first fixed frame 400 includes an open cylinder 401, a first bearing inner ring fixing assembly 402, and a second bolt group 403; the rotating frame 500 includes a first bearing 501, a first bearing outer ring fixing assembly 502, a second bearing outer ring fixing assembly 503, a second bearing 504, and a fourth connecting member 505; the second fixed frame 600 includes a second bearing inner ring fixing assembly 601 and a third bolt group 602; the second bolt group 403 passes through the closed end of the open cylinder 401 and is connected to the first shaft. The first bearing 501 is fixed by the inner ring fixing assembly 402 that mates with the inner ring of the bearing 501; the first bearing 501 is fixed by fasteners to the outer ring fixing assembly 502 that mates with the outer ring of the bearing 501; multiple fasteners pass through the second bearing 504 outer ring fixing assembly 503 that mates with the outer ring of the bearing 504 and are fixed to one end of the corresponding fourth connector 505, and the other end of the multiple fourth connectors 505 is fixed to the first bearing outer ring fixing assembly 502; the second bearing 504 inner ring fixing assembly 601 that mates with the inner ring of the bearing 504 is fixed to the second bearing 504 by the third bolt group 602.

[0048] As can be seen from the above technical solution, the inner ring of the first bearing 501 is limited and fixed on the first bearing inner ring fixing assembly 402, that is, the outer ring of the first bearing can rotate stably on the first fixed frame 400. Furthermore, after the outer ring of the first bearing 501 is fixed by the first bearing outer ring fixing assembly 502 based on the same principle, the first bearing outer ring fixing assembly 502 can rotate stably relative to the first fixed frame 400. This rotation, through the connection of the fourth connector 505, can be synchronously transmitted to the second bearing outer ring fixing assembly 503. The second bearing 504, based on the same fixing principle, has its inner and outer rings respectively clamped and fixed by the second bearing inner ring fixing assembly 601 and the second bearing outer ring fixing assembly 503 with bolts, ultimately forming three relatively rotating rigid bodies: "first fixed frame 400 + inner ring of first bearing 501", "rotating frame 500 excluding the inner ring of first bearing 501 and the inner ring of second bearing 504", and "second fixed frame 600 + inner ring of second bearing 504". In practical applications, the second bolt group 403 can achieve cantilever beam installation of the entire invention on the fixed plate by tightening the open cylinder 401 onto a fixed plate with the same holes as the open cylinder 401. Similarly, the third bolt group 602 can achieve another cantilever beam installation of the entire invention on the fixed plate by tightening the two bearing inner ring fixing assembly 601 onto a fixed plate with the same holes as the two bearing inner ring fixing assembly 601.

[0049] This invention adopts a modular structure, which is convenient to install. The cantilever beam installation formed by the second bolt group 403 or the third bolt group 602, or the double-arm installation formed by both, can realize the relative rotation of the rotating frame 500 relative to the first fixed frame 400 and the second fixed frame 600. The active conveying component 200 and the driven conveying component 300 are installed on the rotating frame 500 by angle brackets, etc., so that the circumferential movement and axial conveying movement of the endoscope flexible arm 100 can be synchronously compatible during use. All the movement of the mechanism is isolated in the open cylinder 401 and the second bearing inner ring fixing component 601, effectively avoiding the hidden dangers caused by personnel accidentally touching the moving mechanism. The movable pulley-type cable-stayed mechanism, composed of pulley 312, pulley wire 313, first tension spring 315, wire reel 316, and servo motor 317, allows the power source servo motor 317 to be mounted on one side of the active friction wheel 101, reducing the space occupied by the flexible push-pull section. It also helps maintain the balance of the center of gravity of the active conveying component 200 and the driven conveying component 300 on the rotating frame 500 axis, reducing the moment of inertia. This provides a foundation for a lower-cost and more stable driven flexible arm rotational movement. When different types of endoscopic flexible arms are installed due to different surgical procedures, or because of their compatibility with the present invention… When other endoscope drive devices cannot provide sufficient rotational control, a drive motor can be installed in the square groove on the surface of the open cylinder 401. The coarse end profile of the second stepped cavity disk I on the side of the first bearing outer ring fixing assembly 502 near the second fixed frame 600 can be changed to a gear or synchronous wheel profile, etc., to add the active control function of the rotational degree of freedom of the present invention with a small modification cost. Considering the requirements of industrialization, two types of the second fixed frame 600 can be produced simultaneously or two products of the present invention with active control capabilities different from rotation can be produced directly, so as to facilitate matching for different surgical procedures and robot system requirements.

[0050] Further, the optional embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0051] by Figure 3As shown, the active conveying assembly 200 mainly includes an active friction wheel 201, an active wheel motor 202, and an active wheel encoder 203. The active wheel motor 202 adopts a built-in or external active wheel encoder 203, and the active friction wheel 201 is installed in the shaft or rotor end hole of the active wheel motor 202. The tangential friction force provided by the active friction wheel 201 is the only driving force for controlling the axial conveying of the endoscope flexible arm. The driven friction wheel in the driven conveying assembly 300 is smaller than the active friction wheel (which can increase the angular velocity of the driven friction wheel), and the two friction wheels are concave in the radial direction. The concave depth is slightly larger than the radius of the endoscope flexible arm (for example, taking the commonly available endoscope flexible arm size as an example, the radius of the endoscope flexible arm is 6mm, then the upper limit of the concave depth is 8mm). This allows the deformation of the endoscope flexible arm surface when the active friction wheel and the driven friction wheel are radially clamped to transform the contact between the endoscope flexible arm and the friction wheel surface from point contact to full-fit surface contact, achieving a better clamping effect. Preferably, the drive wheel motor 202 adopts an external drive wheel encoder 203.

[0052] by Figures 3-4As shown, the driven conveying assembly 300 includes a driven friction wheel 301, a flange 302, a flange bearing 303, a driven wheel base 304, a driven wheel encoder 305, a first bolt group 306, a gasket group 307, an internally threaded optical shaft 308, a compression spring 309, a first slider 310, a first guide rail 311, a pulley 312, a pulley wire 313, a pulley base 314, a first tension spring 315, a wire reel 316, a servo motor 317, and a second connecting piece 318. The components include a six-sided nut 319, a third connecting piece 320, a second slide rail 321, a second slider 322, and a driven shaft 323. The driven friction wheel 301 is fixedly installed in the middle of the driven shaft 323. The two ends of the driven shaft 323 are sequentially mounted on the driven wheel base 304 via flanges 302 and flange bearings 303. (The driven friction wheel 301 is placed between the two flanges, and the end of the flange 302 closest to the driven friction wheel 301 is pre-tightened to the driven friction wheel 301 with screws.) The end of flange 302 away from driven friction wheel 301 is fastened to driven shaft 323 by means of set screws, and the end is in contact with the inner ring end face of flange bearing 303. Driven shaft 323 and inner ring of flange bearing 303 mounted on driven wheel base 304 are interference fit. The end of driven shaft 323 extending out of driven wheel base 304 is equipped with magnet of driven wheel encoder 305. PCB board of driven wheel encoder 305 is connected to driven wheel base 304 through copper pillars. (Through driven wheel encoder 305, the rotation angle and speed of driven shaft 323 can be sensed, and then converted into the real-time actual conveying speed and conveyed distance of endoscope flexible arm. After real-time comparison with encoder data of drive wheel encoder 203, it can be determined in real time whether endoscope flexible arm has slipped during conveying, how much slippage distance, etc. Then, when slippage occurs, the rotation angle of servo motor 317 is adjusted in real time, and the compression amount of compression spring 309 is controlled to increase friction to overcome slippage.)

[0053] Two parallel first guide rails 311 are mounted on one side of the driven wheel base 304, and the first guide rails 311 extend away from the active conveying component 200 along a first direction. Each first guide rail 311 slides in cooperation with a corresponding first slider 310 mounted on the pulley base 314 to guide the movement of the pulley base 314 along the first direction through the first guide rails 311. On the other side of the driven wheel base 304, a second slider 322 is fixedly mounted by a hexagonal nut 319 (the hexagonal nut 319 is drilled with a smooth hole along the second direction and directly screwed onto the second slider 322 through a bolt; the hexagonal nut 319 is fixed to the driven wheel base 304 in the first direction by a bolt and its own internal thread hole). The second slider 322 is connected to the driven wheel base 304 by a third connector 320. The second slide rail 321, which is fixedly mounted on the rotating frame 500, is slidably engaged to guide the movement of the driven wheel base 304 along the first direction. A compression spring 309 is fitted on the internal thread optical shaft 308. The two ends of the compression spring 309 press against the driven wheel base 304 and the pulley base 314, respectively. The two ends of the internal thread optical shaft 308 extend from the coaxial circular holes opened on the driven wheel base 304 and the pulley base 314, respectively, and are tightened by the first bolt group 306 and the washer group 307 (the diameter of the coaxial circular hole is larger than the diameter of the internal thread optical shaft 308 and smaller than the diameter of the compression spring 309 and the washer group 307). Thus, a flexible pushing relationship along the radial clamping direction of the endoscope is formed between the driven wheel base 304 and the pulley base 314 by a compression spring 309.

[0054] One end of the first tension spring 315 is mounted on the rotating frame 500 via a connector. The servo motor 317 is fixed on the rotating frame 500 via a second connector 318. The wire spool 316 is mounted on the output shaft of the servo motor 317 and pulls the pulley wire 313 around two pulleys 312 fixed on the pulley base 314 and then tied to the other end of the first tension spring 315, forming a movable pulley type wire pulling mechanism, so that the driven conveying part is subjected to clamping pressure along the first direction.

[0055] The first direction mentioned above is the radial direction of the flexible endoscope arm (i.e., the clamping direction of the friction wheel), so the pulley base 314 can be controlled to move radially along the flexible endoscope arm by the servo motor 317.

[0056] Furthermore, the third connector 320 is provided with an extension extending in a second direction, and an elastic element extending in a first direction is installed between the extension and the driven wheel base 304, and the extension is used to limit the movement of the pulley base 314 in the first direction.

[0057] As can be seen from the above technical solution, under the rotation of the servo motor 317, the pulley base 314 slides flexibly toward the driven wheel base 304 (achieved by the first tension spring 315), generating a flexible compression on the driven wheel base 304 (achieved by the first tension spring 315 and the compression spring 309). This causes the driven friction wheel mounted on the driven wheel base 304 to press the endoscope flexible arm against the surface of the active friction wheel, and under the controllable compression of the compression spring 309, the clamping force on the endoscope flexible arm increases almost linearly, thereby increasing the maximum static friction force that needs to be overcome to prevent axial transport slippage. For example, with... Figure 3 As shown, when the pulley base 314 moves to the left, the driven wheel base 304 moves synchronously due to the compression spring 309 supported on the right side surface pressing it to the left. This achieves a flexible push by the pressure of the spring 309, causing the moving driven friction wheel and the fixed active friction wheel to flexibly clamp the endoscope flexible arm 100. Considering that the pulley wire 313 can only provide unidirectional tension, when the servo motor 317 releases the pulley wire 313, the driven wheel base 304 cannot move controllably away from the endoscope flexible arm 100 in the first direction. Therefore, a relaxation tension is provided between the third connecting member 320 and the driven wheel base 304 through an elastic element (a second tension spring or rubber band). During the relaxation process of the driven friction wheel 301, the second tension spring or rubber band will pull the driven wheel base 304 away from the endoscope flexible arm 100. The third connecting member 320 can also limit the pulley base 314 to prevent the pulley base 314 from derailing.

[0058] like Figure 2 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 As shown, the first fixed frame 400 includes an open cylinder 401, a first bearing inner ring fixing assembly 402, and a second bolt group 403; the first bearing inner ring fixing assembly 402 includes two first stepped cavity discs arranged opposite to each other.

[0059] The rotating frame 500 includes a first bearing 501, a first bearing outer ring fixing assembly 502, a second bearing outer ring fixing assembly 503, a second bearing 504, a fourth connector 505, and electrical control hardware 506. The first bearing outer ring fixing assembly 502 includes two second stepped cavity disks arranged opposite each other: second stepped cavity disk I and second stepped cavity disk II. The side of second stepped cavity disk I away from second stepped cavity disk II is provided with a support platform extending along a second direction, and the side of second stepped cavity disk I away from second stepped cavity disk II is used to fix the second slide rail 321 in the flexible push-pull part and the servo motor 317 in the movable pulley type cable pulling mechanism. The support platform is used to fix the first tension spring 315 in the movable pulley type cable pulling mechanism. The second bearing outer ring fixing assembly 503 includes a disk body and a third stepped cavity disk.

[0060] The sum of the axial lengths of the thin ends of the two first stepped hollow disks is less than the thickness of the first bearing 501. The circumferential surfaces of the thin ends of the two first stepped hollow disks are in contact with the circumferential surfaces of the inner ring of the first bearing 501 (there is a gap between the thin end faces of the two first stepped hollow disks), and the thick end faces of the two first stepped hollow disks are in contact with the inner ring end faces. The first bearing 501 is fixed by the second bolt group 403 passing through the open cylinder 401 and the first bearing inner ring fixing assembly 402.

[0061] The sum of the axial lengths of the thin ends of the two second-step hollow cavity disks is less than the thickness of the first bearing 501. The circumferential surfaces of the thin ends of the two second-step hollow cavity disks are in contact with the circumferential surfaces of the outer ring of the first bearing 501, and the end faces of the thick ends of the two second-step hollow cavity disks are in contact with the end faces of the outer ring of the first bearing 501. The two second-step hollow cavity disks are fixed to the first bearing 501 by bolts.

[0062] The axial length of the thin end of the third stepped hollow disk is equal to the thickness of the second bearing 504. The circumferential surface of the thin end of the third stepped hollow disk is in contact with the circumferential surface of the outer ring of the second bearing 504, and the end face of the thick end of the third stepped hollow disk is in contact with the end face of the outer ring of the second bearing 504. After the bolt passes through the third stepped hollow disk and the disk body in contact with the third stepped hollow disk in sequence, it is fixed to one end of the fourth connector 505. The other end of the fourth connector 505 is fixed to the bolt on the second stepped hollow disk I.

[0063] The support platform is also used to install the drive wheel motor 202 or the drive wheel encoder 203 (if the drive wheel motor with a built-in encoder is used, the support platform is used to directly install the drive wheel motor; if an external encoder is used, the support platform can be connected to the drive wheel motor via a copper column or the like as a connector, and the space between the connector and the support platform is used to assemble the external encoder); it is also used to fix the connector connected to the first tension spring 315.

[0064] The second fixed frame 600 includes a second bearing inner ring fixing assembly 601 and a third bolt group 602; the second bearing inner ring fixing assembly 601 includes two fourth-step hollow disks arranged opposite each other: fourth-step hollow disk I and fourth-step hollow disk II, with the side closer to the first bearing outer ring fixing assembly 502 designated as fourth-step hollow disk I and the side farther from the first bearing outer ring fixing assembly 502 designated as fourth-step hollow disk II. A cover is provided on the side of the hollow disc II away from the outer ring fixing assembly 502 of the first bearing. The sum of the axial lengths of the thin ends of the two fourth-step hollow discs is less than the thickness of the second bearing 504. The circumferential surfaces of the thin ends of the two fourth-step hollow discs are in contact with the circumferential surfaces of the outer ring of the second bearing 504, and the end faces of the thick ends of the two fourth-step hollow discs are in contact with the end faces of the outer ring of the second bearing 504. The cover and the two fourth-step hollow discs are fixed to the second bearing 504 by the third bolt group 602. A permeable area is provided between the cover and the open side of the open cylinder 401 for equipment maintenance (such as wire connection through the permeable area to realize program debugging and power supply maintenance, which can realize equipment maintenance to a certain extent (such as steel wire rope adjustment)).

[0065] Furthermore, the two first-step hollow disks and the two second-step hollow disks are in clearance fit (the gap is greater than 1 mm); the second bearing outer ring fixing assembly 503 is in clearance fit with the two fourth-step hollow disks (the gap is greater than 1 mm).

[0066] The hollow cavity of the first stepped hollow disk, the hollow cavity of the fourth stepped hollow disk, and the through hole in the middle of the cover are used for the flexible arm to pass through (the inner diameter of the hollow cavity and the first bearing is larger than the diameter of the flexible arm).

[0067] In terms of the control hardware of the present invention, an electronic control hardware 506 is provided. The electronic control hardware 506 includes a main control board (for burning programs), a communication adapter module, and a power supply. The three are roughly distributed and installed on the end face of the first bearing outer ring fixing assembly 502 according to the center of gravity balance requirements. This helps to reduce the rotational inertia of the present invention during rotational movement. At the same time, the main control board should adopt inexpensive and stable wireless technologies such as WiFi communication. The power supply works independently from inside the present invention to complete functions such as driving the motor. Thus, it is not necessary to install brushes and slip rings to complete all control requirements of the present invention, including 360° rotation. This further reduces the complexity of the mechanism and the manufacturing and maintenance costs.

[0068] As can be seen from the above technical solution, the inner rings of the first bearing 501 and the second bearing 504 are respectively clamped by the first bearing inner ring fixing component 402 and the second bearing inner ring fixing component 601 with bolts to form a limiting and fixing. The outer ring of the bearing is the same, and finally a shaft system structure is formed with the first bearing 501 and the second bearing 504 as the interval, and the first fixed frame 400, the rotating frame 500 and the second fixed frame 600 rotating relative to each other.

[0069] The second bolt group 403 and the third bolt group 602 can be as follows: Figure 2 , Figure 6 The invention is fixed in its desired position by passing through a plate-like part with matching holes. The active conveying assembly 200, the driven conveying assembly 300, and the electrical control hardware 506 mounted on the rotating frame 500 are balanced along the axis and at the center of gravity, allowing the invention to have a roll-shaft-less motor (around the flexible arm axis, i.e., the roll axis) with a small moment of rotational inertia, thus providing a basis for following the rotation. If there is a need for active rotation, a motor is added to the outside of the open cylinder 401, and the first bearing outer ring fixing assembly 502 is modified. Figure 2 The coarse end profile of the second-step hollow disk I on the right side is used to arrange gears or belt drives, so as to realize the active rotation drive of the second-step hollow disk I. Two products can also be designed to meet the needs of whether there is active rotation capability. The electrical control hardware of the present invention is completely installed inside the open cylinder 401, and can achieve 360° rotation effect through the simple structure and low cost of brushless slip ring.

[0070] The application scenarios of this invention are described in detail below:

[0071] Taking a common dual-channel electronic endoscope with a flexible endoscope arm having an outer diameter of 12mm as an example, this invention belongs to a complete endoscopic surgical robot system. It is a sub-device near the working end of the flexible endoscope arm and is mainly responsible for transport control. Its main working objective is to enable the flexible endoscope arm to be quickly installed onto or quickly disassembled from the flexible endoscope arm transport robot of this invention. It can control the transport of the flexible endoscope arm along the Roll axis by rotating the servo motor and servo motor of the device, while being fully compatible (either actively or passively) with the degree of freedom of rotation around the Roll axis. It can also effectively handle or avoid the problem of slippage and loss of control of the flexible endoscope arm during the operation of the device by comparing the data of two encoders and achieving a flexible clamping effect based on the pulley-type cable mechanism and compression spring.

[0072] by Figure 6 For example, after the endoscope has been assembled with other control devices such as the endoscope body drive unit, the flexible endoscope arm 100 is moved from... Figure 2The invention extends into the left side and then extends out from the right side of the second fixed frame 600 to complete the quick installation. Then, the necessary preoperative human preparation work for the endoscopic surgery is carried out, such as manually sending the flexible endoscope arm 100 into the corresponding position of the patient. The preparation for the operation of the invention during the operation is then completed.

[0073] Before initiating transport control, the servo motor 317 must be driven to apply a basic compressive force to the endoscope's flexible arm 100. The electronic control program typically records an empirical scale and initially uses the clamping force at that scale. However, based on deviations in actual working conditions (distribution of lubricating fluid and body fluids, insertion angle, etc.), the slippage should be monitored promptly after the encoder detects slippage. Formal transport control should only commence after confirming feasibility. Therefore, the drive wheel motor 202 should generally be reversed in direction B (i.e., the direction of retracting the flexible arm) to avoid operational errors and secondary injury to the patient. During subsequent transport, slippage should be continuously monitored, and automatic clamping compensation or manual compensation adjustments should be made promptly.

[0074] When operating the robot system for rotational control, due to the targeted shaft system design, the operator does not need to worry about the working state of the invention and can control the flexible arm to rotate at any time and at any angle. During the operation, the degree of freedom of the conveying controlled by the invention will not be affected at all. If the robot system itself does not have the ability to control the circumferential direction, it is necessary to replace it with a second stepped cavity disk I with an external motor installed on the open cylinder 401 and transmitted to the first bearing outer ring fixing component 502 through a synchronous belt, etc., thereby forming an active rotational control version of the flexible arm conveying device, which can then be integrated into the robot system for surgery.

[0075] After the surgery, the lubricant and bodily fluids on the surface of the flexible arm are wiped away, and the flexible endoscope arm 100 is retracted through the delivery control function.

[0076] The specific embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Within the scope of knowledge possessed by those skilled in the art, various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. An under-actuated endoscope flexible arm delivery device, comprising an active delivery assembly (200) and a passive delivery assembly (300), the active delivery assembly (200) comprising an active delivery part rotatably arranged along an A direction; the passive delivery assembly (300) comprising a passive delivery part having a first position arranged spaced apart from the active delivery part and a second position cooperating with the active delivery part; when the passive delivery part is at the first position, the endoscope flexible arm 100 is placed into or taken out; when the passive delivery part is at the second position, through the cooperation of the active rotation movement of the active delivery part along the A direction and the passive rotation movement of the passive delivery part along a B direction, the endoscope flexible arm 100 between the active delivery part and the passive delivery part is clamped and delivered; characterized in that, Also include the rack, the rack is used to install the main drive assembly (200), driven conveying assembly (300); The driven conveying assembly (300) further includes a dynamic pulley type stay wire mechanism, elastic element, flexible push-pull part, the dynamic pulley type stay wire mechanism, elastic element cooperation, make the flexible push-pull part carry out the first direction push-pull movement;The flexible push-pull part along the first direction push-pull movement drive the driven conveying part has with the main drive part is spaced apart and arranged the first position, has with the main drive part is matched the second position.

2. The underactuated endoscope flexible arm delivery device of claim 1, wherein, The dynamic pulley type stay wire mechanism includes pulley (312), pulley steel wire (313), first tension spring (315), wire reel (316), rudder (317);The first tension spring (315) one end is installed on the rack through the first connecting piece, and the rudder (317) is fixed on the rack through the second connecting piece (318), and the wire reel (316) is installed on the output shaft of the rudder (317), and the pulley steel wire (313) is tied at the other end of the first tension spring (315) after being pulled around the two pulleys (312) fixed on the pulley base (314) in the flexible push-pull part.

3. The underactuated endoscope flexible arm delivery device of claim 1, wherein, The flexible push-pull part includes: Driven wheel base (304), the driven conveying part is installed on the driven wheel base (304) through the shaft; Pulley base (314), the pulley base (314) is installed on the driven wheel base (304) and is spaced apart from the driven wheel base (304) on the side away from the main drive assembly (200) along the first direction; First guide rail (311), two parallelly arranged first guide rails (311) are installed on the side of the driven wheel base (304), and the first guide rail (311) extends away from the main drive assembly (200) along the first direction; First sliding block (310), the first sliding block (310) is installed on the pulley base (314);Each first guide rail (311) and the first sliding block (310) corresponding installed on the pulley base (314) are slidingly matched, so that the movement of the pulley base (314) along the first direction is guided by the first guide rail (311); Second sliding block (322), the second sliding block (322) is installed on the other side of the driven wheel base (304), and the second sliding block (322) and the second sliding rail (321) installed on the rack are slidingly matched, so that the movement of the driven wheel base (304) along the first direction is guided by the second sliding rail (321); Internal thread optical shaft (308), the internal thread optical shaft (308) is provided with a compression spring (309), and the two ends of the compression spring (309) are pressed on the driven wheel base (304) and the pulley base (314) respectively, and the two ends of the internal thread optical shaft (308) are respectively extended from the coaxial circular holes in the driven wheel base (304) and the pulley base (314) and are screwed.

4. The underactuated endoscope flexible arm delivery device of claim 3, wherein, The second slide rail (321) is fixedly installed on the rack through a third connecting piece (320); the third connecting piece (320) is provided with an extension part extending along the second direction, an elastic element extending along the first direction is installed between the extension part and the driven wheel base (304), and the extension part is used for limiting the movement of the pulley base (314) along the first direction.

5. The underactuated endoscope flexible arm delivery device of claim 1, wherein, The rack comprises a first fixed rack (400), a rotating rack (500) and a second fixed rack (600). The first fixed rack (400) comprises an open cylinder (401), a first bearing inner ring fixing assembly (402) and a second bolt group (403). The rotating rack (500) comprises a first bearing (501), a first bearing outer ring fixing assembly (502), a second bearing outer ring fixing assembly (503), a second bearing (504) and a fourth connecting piece (505). The second fixed rack (600) comprises a second bearing inner ring fixing assembly (601) and a third bolt group (602). The second bolt group (403) passes through the closed end of the open cylinder (401), the first bearing inner ring fixing assembly (402) matched with the inner ring of the first bearing (501) in sequence to fix the first bearing (501); the first bearing outer ring fixing assembly (502) matched with the outer ring of the first bearing (501) is fixed on the first bearing (501) through a fastener; After a plurality of fasteners pass through the second bearing outer ring fixing assembly (503) matched with the outer ring of the second bearing (504) in sequence, the plurality of fourth connecting pieces (505) are fixed at one end of the corresponding fourth connecting piece (505), and the other end of the plurality of fourth connecting pieces (505) is fixed with the first bearing outer ring fixing assembly (502); the second bearing inner ring fixing assembly (601) matched with the inner ring of the second bearing (504) is fixed on the second bearing (504) through the third bolt group (602).

6. The underactuated endoscope flexible arm delivery device of claim 5, wherein, The first bearing inner ring fixing assembly (402) comprises two first stepped cavity discs arranged oppositely; the sum of the axial lengths of the thin ends of the two first stepped cavity discs is less than the thickness of the first bearing (501), the circumferential faces of the thin ends of the two first stepped cavity discs are attached to the circumferential face of the inner ring of the first bearing (501), and the end faces of the thick ends of the two first stepped cavity discs are attached to the end faces of the inner ring, and the first bearing (501) is fixed through the second bolt group (403) passing through the open cylinder (401) and the first bearing inner ring fixing assembly (402).

7. The underactuated endoscope flexible arm delivery device of claim 5, wherein, The first bearing outer ring fixing assembly (502) comprises two second stepped cavity discs arranged oppositely: a second stepped cavity disc I and a second stepped cavity disc II, the side of the second stepped cavity disc I away from the second stepped cavity disc II is provided with a support table extending in the second direction, and the side of the second stepped cavity disc I away from the second stepped cavity disc II is used for fixing a second sliding rail (321) in the flexible push-pull part and a steering wheel (317) in the movable pulley type stay wire mechanism, and the support table is used for fixing a first tension spring (315) in the movable pulley type stay wire mechanism; the sum of the axial lengths of the thin ends of the two second stepped cavity discs is less than the thickness of the first bearing (501), the circumferential faces of the thin ends of the two second stepped cavity discs are attached to the circumferential face of the outer ring of the first bearing (501), and the thick end faces of the two second stepped cavity discs are attached to the end face of the outer ring of the first bearing (501), and the two second stepped cavity discs are fixed on the first bearing (501) by bolts.

8. The underactuated endoscope flexible arm delivery device of claim 5, wherein, The second bearing outer ring fixing assembly (503) comprises a disc body and a third stepped cavity disc; the axial length of the thin end of the third stepped cavity disc is equal to the thickness of the second bearing (504), the circumferential face of the thin end of the third stepped cavity disc is attached to the circumferential face of the outer ring of the second bearing (504), and the thick end face of the third stepped cavity disc is attached to the end face of the outer ring of the second bearing (504), a plurality of bolts sequentially pass through the third stepped cavity disc, the disc body attached to the third stepped cavity disc, and are fixed at one end of the corresponding fourth connecting piece (505), and the other end of the plurality of fourth connecting pieces (505) is fixed with the bolt on the second stepped cavity disc I.

9. The underactuated endoscope flexible arm delivery device of claim 5, wherein, The second bearing inner ring fixing assembly (601) comprises two fourth stepped cavity discs arranged oppositely: a fourth stepped cavity disc I and a fourth stepped cavity disc II, the side close to the first bearing outer ring fixing assembly (502) is taken as the fourth stepped cavity disc I, and the side away from the first bearing outer ring fixing assembly (502) is taken as the fourth stepped cavity disc II, the side of the fourth stepped cavity disc II away from the first bearing outer ring fixing assembly (502) is provided with a cover body; the sum of the axial lengths of the thin ends of the two fourth stepped cavity discs is less than the thickness of the second bearing (504), the circumferential faces of the thin ends of the two fourth stepped cavity discs are attached to the circumferential face of the outer ring of the second bearing (504), and the thick end faces of the two fourth stepped cavity discs are attached to the end face of the outer ring of the second bearing (504), and the cover body and the two fourth stepped cavity discs are fixed on the second bearing (504) by the third bolt group (602).

Images