Soft digestive endoscope multi-robot collaborative intelligent cleaning station and application thereof

Abstract

This invention relates to the field of medical device cleaning technology, specifically to a multi-robot collaborative intelligent cleaning workstation for flexible digestive endoscopes and its application. The workstation includes a loading robot, a wire-clamping robot, a wire-feeding robot, a flexible digestive endoscope clamping system, a vision camera, a worktable, and an enzyme infusion mechanism. All robots and mechanisms are mounted on the worktable and are centrally controlled. This invention decomposes the processes of loading, visual positioning, automatic docking and liquid injection, rotary brushing, and unloading into independent loading, wire-feeding, and wire-clamping robots, allowing these processes to be completed collaboratively by dedicated robots. The wire-clamping robot integrates liquid injection and clamping functions, avoiding frequent tool changes. Compared to existing manual perfusion methods, this invention shortens the cleaning cycle time and provides consistent cleaning results, unaffected by operator experience.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of medical device cleaning technology, specifically to a flexible digestive endoscope multi-robot collaborative intelligent cleaning workstation and its application. Background Technology

[0002] Flexible digestive endoscopes generally refer to gastroscopes and colonoscopes. After use, they adhere to a large amount of bodily fluids and tissue residue. Their interiors contain long, narrow biopsy channels, air and water supply channels, making cleaning extremely difficult. If cleaning is not thorough, biofilms can easily form, leading to sterilization failure and cross-infection.

[0003] Existing endoscope cleaning workstations, such as the technical solution disclosed in patent application CN201721752084.X, mainly employ a perfusion flushing method, that is, pumping cleaning fluid into the endoscope tubing via a quick connector for soaking and flushing. This type of solution has the following technical drawbacks:

[0004] Firstly, the cleaning methods mainly rely on soaking and irrigation, lacking physical scrubbing. For existing biofilms and highly adhesive protein residues, simply soaking and rinsing with enzyme solutions is insufficient for thorough removal.

[0005] Secondly, the level of automation is low, and it relies on manual operation. The existing workstations rely heavily on manual operation for operations such as endoscope transfer, tubing connection, and irrigation start and stop. This is not only inefficient but also results in poor operational consistency, and the cleaning quality is greatly affected by human factors.

[0006] Therefore, there is an urgent need for an intelligent cleaning workstation that can integrate multiple functions such as visual positioning, automatic liquid injection, and brush rotation propulsion through multi-robot collaboration. Summary of the Invention

[0007] In order to overcome the defects in the prior art, the purpose of this invention is to provide a flexible digestive endoscope multi-robot collaborative intelligent cleaning workstation and its application, so as to solve the problems mentioned in the background art.

[0008] To achieve the above objectives, on the one hand, the present invention provides a flexible digestive endoscope multi-robot collaborative intelligent cleaning workstation, including a loading robot, which uses a collaborative robot equipped with three grippers to hold the flexible digestive endoscope to be cleaned and transport it to the worktable.

[0009] The wire-clamping robot, through a collaborative robot, is equipped with dual grippers to hold an elastic lead screw and insert it into the small hole of a flexible digestive endoscope; an infusion tube is provided on one side of the dual grippers.

[0010] The wire feeding robot uses a collaborative robot equipped with a small motor and a wire feeding mechanism to rotate and feed wire to clean holes. The wire feeding mechanism is coaxially connected to the small motor and is integrated with a storage cylinder, a wire feeding motor installed inside the storage cylinder, and a brush. The wire feeding motor is used to drive the brush to push along the axial direction of the storage cylinder.

[0011] A flexible digestive endoscope clamping system is installed on the top surface of the worktable to limit and fix the flexible digestive endoscope.

[0012] The system also includes a vision camera, which uses a vision detection system to identify the position of the small hole in the flexible digestive endoscope and sends the position information to the control system. The control system coordinates the wire feeding robot and the wire clamping robot to first inject cleaning fluid into the small hole through an infusion tube, then guide the brush into the small hole, and simultaneously start a small motor to drive the brush to rotate and move forward to complete the cleaning of the small hole.

[0013] As a further improvement to this technical solution, the execution end of the wire clamping robot is fixedly installed with an execution end with a long strip plate structure. The double grippers and the infusion tube are both installed on the execution end, wherein the infusion tube is an enzyme infusion tube, and the enzyme infusion tube and the enzyme infusion pump constitute an enzyme infusion mechanism.

[0014] As a further improvement to this technical solution, a fixed platform is hinged to one rear end of the dual grippers, a threaded rod is fitted in the center hole of the fixed platform, a movable block is connected to the external thread of the threaded rod, a servo motor coaxially connected to the threaded rod is installed on the inner side of the execution end, and a pull rod is hinged to the other rear end of the dual grippers, and the other end of the pull rod is fixed to the end face of the movable block.

[0015] As a further improvement to this technical solution, the open end of the storage cylinder is provided with a wire storage groove for storing and receiving the elastic screw. The brush is tightly fitted with the outer end of the elastic screw. The open end of the storage cylinder is fixedly connected with a wire feeding plate for closing the storage cylinder. The elastic screw is led out from the central axis of the wire feeding plate along a preset path.

[0016] As a further improvement to this technical solution, a gear is sleeved on the output shaft end of the wire feeding motor, and a roller is embedded in the end face of the wire feeding plate through a pin. The roller and the gear cooperate to clamp the elastic screw to drive the brush to extend and retract.

[0017] As a further improvement to this technical solution, the wire feeding plate has a boss in the middle and a wire clamping hole for placing rollers and gears; a rectangular opening is provided through one side of the inner wall of the wire clamping hole for installing rollers; a wire feeding hole is provided above the inner wall of the wire clamping hole, and the wire feeding hole passes through the middle of the boss of the wire feeding plate.

[0018] As a further improvement to this technical solution, a conductive sleeve is fixed to the end face of the small motor for supplying power to the wire feeding motor.

[0019] As a further improvement to this technical solution, the flexible digestive endoscope clamp system consists of a flexible digestive endoscope clamp for placing the flexible digestive endoscope. The flexible digestive endoscope clamp is a rigid conformal clamp customized by 3D scanning of the shape of the flexible digestive endoscope.

[0020] As a further improvement to this technical solution, the enzyme infusion tube is fixed by passing through a through hole on one side of the execution end.

[0021] On the other hand, the present invention provides an application of a multi-robot collaborative intelligent cleaning workstation for flexible digestive endoscopes. The aforementioned multi-robot collaborative intelligent cleaning workstation for flexible digestive endoscopes is applied to the automated cleaning process in the post-processing of flexible digestive endoscopes, such as gastroscopes and colonoscopes.

[0022] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0023] 1. This flexible digestive endoscope multi-robot collaborative intelligent cleaning workstation and its application, by setting up independent loading robots, wire feeding robots, and wire clamping robots, decomposes the processes of loading, visual positioning, automatic docking and liquid injection, rotary brushing, and unloading, which are then completed collaboratively by dedicated robots. The wire clamping robot integrates liquid injection and clamping functions, avoiding frequent tool changes. Compared with existing manual perfusion methods, the cleaning cycle time of this invention is shortened and the cleaning effect is more consistent, unaffected by the operator's experience.

[0024] 2. The flexible digestive endoscope multi-robot collaborative intelligent cleaning workstation and its application. The present invention uses a wire feeding mechanism to push the brush and it can rotate. Its core design is that the storage cylinder and the wire feeding motor are driven by a small motor to rotate synchronously as a whole, so that the brush rotates and cleans when it is led out from the storage cylinder and pushed into the endoscope orifice, so as to thoroughly clean tissue residues.

[0025] 3. This flexible digestive endoscope multi-robot collaborative intelligent cleaning workstation and its application introduce 3D vision and homogeneous coordinate transformation to achieve high-precision autonomous positioning. The 3D vision system on the camera mount identifies the position of the endoscope orifice, and the three-dimensional position coordinates of the orifice in the vision coordinate system are transformed to the coordinates in the robot base coordinate system or operation coordinate system through a homogeneous transformation matrix, achieving millimeter-level autonomous alignment. This solution enables the workstation to be compatible with different models of flexible digestive endoscopes without the need to change tooling or make manual adjustments. Attached Figure Description

[0026] The accompanying drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention in any way. Furthermore, the shapes and proportions of the components in the drawings are merely illustrative to aid in understanding the invention and do not specifically limit the shapes and proportions of the components. Those skilled in the art, guided by the teachings of this invention, will select various possible shapes and proportions to implement the invention according to specific circumstances.

[0027] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall assembly structure of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the feeding robot structure of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the wire-clamping robot structure of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 4 For the present invention Figure 3 A magnified structural diagram at point A;

[0031] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the wire feeding robot structure of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the internal assembly structure of the wire feeding mechanism of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 7 This is a cross-sectional view of the storage cylinder of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 8 This is a cross-sectional view of the wire feed plate of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the assembly structure of the flexible digestive endoscope clamp system of the present invention;

[0036] The meanings of the labels in the diagram are as follows:

[0037] 100. Feeding robot; 110. Three-jaw gripper;

[0038] 200. Wire clamping robot; 210. End effector; 220. Dual grippers; 221. Fixed platform; 222. Movable block; 223. Threaded rod;

[0039] 300. Wire feeding robot; 310. Small motor; 311. Conductive sleeve; 320. Wire feeding mechanism; 321. Storage cylinder; 3211. Wire storage trough; 322. Brush; 323. Wire feeding motor; 324. Wire feeding plate; 3241. Wire clamping hole; 3242. Wire feeding hole; 325. Gear; 326. Roller;

[0040] 400. Flexible digestive endoscope clamping system; 410. Flexible digestive endoscope clamp;

[0041] 500, Vision Camera;

[0042] 600. Workbench;

[0043] 700. Enzyme delivery mechanism; 710. Enzyme delivery tube; 720. Enzyme delivery pump. Detailed Implementation

[0044] The details of the present invention can be more clearly understood by referring to the accompanying drawings and the description of specific embodiments. However, the specific embodiments of the present invention described herein are for illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as limiting the invention in any way. Under the teachings of this invention, those skilled in the art will conceive of any possible variations of the invention, all of which should be considered within the scope of the invention. The terms "installation" and "connection" should be interpreted broadly, referring to direct connection as well as indirect connection through an intermediate medium.

[0045] The terms "central axis," "vertical," "horizontal," "front," "rear," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "top," "bottom," "inner," and "outer" used herein to indicate orientation or positional relationships are based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are used only for the convenience of describing the invention and simplifying the description, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of the invention. Furthermore, in the description of the invention, "a number" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0046] Please see Figures 1-4 As shown, this invention provides a multi-robot collaborative intelligent cleaning workstation for flexible digestive endoscopes, applied to the automated cleaning process in the post-processing of flexible digestive endoscopes such as gastroscopes and colonoscopes; it includes a loading robot 100, a wire-clamping robot 200, a wire-feeding robot 300, a flexible digestive endoscope clamping system 400, a vision camera 500, a worktable 600, and an enzyme infusion mechanism 700. All robots and mechanisms are mounted on the worktable 600 and are uniformly scheduled by a central control system.

[0047] Specifically, the loading robot 100 uses a collaborative robot equipped with three grippers 110 to hold the flexible digestive endoscope to be cleaned and transport it to the worktable 600; the collaborative robot is existing technology and will not be described in detail here; the wire clamping robot 200 uses another collaborative robot equipped with two grippers 220 to hold the elastic lead screw and feed it into the small hole of the flexible digestive endoscope; an infusion tube is provided on one side of the two grippers 220; the elastic lead screw is made of stainless steel wire to keep it straight during transport.

[0048] The wire-clamping robot 200 has a fixedly installed execution end 210 with a long strip plate structure. The double grippers 220 and the infusion tube are both installed on the execution end 210. The infusion tube is an enzyme infusion tube 710. The enzyme infusion tube 710 and the enzyme infusion pump 720 constitute the enzyme infusion mechanism 700. The enzyme infusion tube 710 passes through a through hole on one side of the execution end 210 and is fixed. This allows the wire-clamping robot 200 to perform both clamping and enzyme infusion operations, thereby reducing the investment cost of collaborative robots.

[0049] Furthermore, a fixed platform 221 is hinged to one rear end of the dual gripper 220. A threaded rod 223 is fitted into the center hole of the fixed platform 221. A movable block 222 is connected to the external thread of the threaded rod 223. A servo motor coaxially connected to the threaded rod 223 is installed inside the actuator end 210. A pull rod is hinged to the other rear end of the dual gripper 220, and the other end of the pull rod is fixed to the end face of the movable block 222. The servo motor drives the threaded rod 223 to rotate, thereby causing the movable block 222 to move axially. In turn, the pull rod pulls the gripper to deflect on the fixed platform 221, forming a clamping and unfolding state. The three grippers 110 have the same composition and working principle as the dual grippers 220, except that they have an additional gripper to stably clamp the flexible digestive endoscope.

[0050] like Figures 5-9 As shown, the wire feeding robot 300 uses a collaborative robot to assemble a small motor 310 and a wire feeding mechanism 320 to rotate and feed wire for cleaning holes. The wire feeding mechanism 320 is coaxially connected to the small motor 310, and a conductive sleeve 311 is fixed to the end face of the small motor 310 to supply power to the wire feeding motor 323. The positive and negative terminals of the wire feeding motor 323 are connected to a conductive ring and rotated with the conductive sleeve 311 to conduct electricity, thus preventing the wire feeding mechanism 320 from malfunctioning due to wire winding when rotating as a whole.

[0051] Specifically, the wire feeding mechanism 320 is an integrated unit consisting of a storage cylinder 321, a wire feeding motor 323 installed inside the storage cylinder 321, and a brush 322. The wire feeding motor 323 is used to drive the brush 322 to push along the axial direction of the storage cylinder 321. The vision camera 500 identifies the position of the small hole of the flexible digestive endoscope through the vision detection system and sends the position information to the control system. The control system coordinates the control of the wire feeding robot 300 and the wire clamping robot 200. First, the cleaning fluid is injected into the small hole through the infusion tube, and then the brush 322 is guided into the small hole. At the same time, the small motor 310 is started to drive the brush 322 to rotate and move to complete the cleaning of the small hole.

[0052] Furthermore, the open end of the storage cylinder 321 is provided with a wire storage groove 3211 for storing and retrieving the elastic screw. The brush 322 is tightly fitted with the outer end of the elastic screw. A wire feeding plate 324 is fixedly connected to the open end of the storage cylinder 321 to close the storage cylinder 321. The elastic screw is led out from the central shaft of the wire feeding plate 324 along a preset path. A gear 325 is fitted onto the output shaft end of the wire feeding motor 323. A roller 326 is embedded in the end face of the wire feeding plate 324 through a pin. The roller 326 and the gear 325 cooperate to clamp the elastic screw to drive the brush 322 to extend and retract.

[0053] Specifically, the wire feeding plate 324 has a boss in the middle and a wire clamping hole 3241 for placing the roller 326 and the gear 325; a rectangular opening is provided through one side of the inner wall of the wire clamping hole 3241 for installing the roller 326; a wire feeding hole 3242 is provided above the inner wall of the wire clamping hole 3241, and the wire feeding hole 3242 passes through the middle of the boss of the wire feeding plate 324; a channel is provided on the end face of the wire feeding plate 324 that passes through the bottom inner wall of the wire clamping hole 3241, so that the elastic screw passes through the bottom of the wire clamping hole 3241, passes through the gear 325 and the roller 326 and is clamped, and finally passes out of the middle of the boss of the wire feeding plate 324 through the wire feeding hole 3242, forming the movement path of the elastic screw.

[0054] Furthermore, the flexible digestive endoscope clamping system 400 is installed on the top surface of the worktable 600 for limiting and fixing the flexible digestive endoscope. The flexible digestive endoscope clamping system 400 consists of a flexible digestive endoscope clamp 410 for placing the flexible digestive endoscope. The flexible digestive endoscope clamp 410 is a rigid contour clamp customized by 3D scanning of the shape of the flexible digestive endoscope.

[0055] The cleaning method of the flexible digestive endoscope multi-robot collaborative intelligent cleaning workstation of the present invention is as follows:

[0056] Step S1 (loading and fixing): The loading robot 100 places the flexible digestive endoscope into the flexible digestive endoscope clamp 410 and locks it in place;

[0057] Step S2 (Visual Positioning): The 3D camera on the vision camera 500 takes a picture and identifies the position P_v of the endoscope aperture, such as the biopsy aperture; the control system uses a homogeneous transformation matrix to transform P_v into coordinates P_r in the robot coordinate system; this coordinate is sent to the wire feeding robot 300 and the wire clamping robot 200.

[0058] Step S3 (Injection): The control system controls the wire clamping robot 200 to move, so that the enzyme infusion tube 710 installed on its execution end 210 is precisely aligned with the biopsy port entrance of the flexible digestive endoscope. The enzyme infusion pump 720 is started to inject a predetermined amount of multi-enzyme cleaning solution into the flexible digestive endoscope channel and let it stand and soak for a period of time, such as 30-60 seconds.

[0059] Step S4 (wire feeding and positioning): The control system controls the wire feeding robot 300 to move, so that the brush 322 is aligned with the biopsy port of the flexible digestive endoscope and held in a preparatory position 5-10 mm away from the entrance of this port.

[0060] Step S5 (Guiding Brush): Start the wire feeding motor 323 to slowly feed the brush 322 out. At the same time, start the wire clamping robot 200 to use the double grippers 220 to clamp the elastic lead screw and put it into the small hole. Then release and remove it to avoid interference with rotation.

[0061] Step S6 (rotational cleaning): Start the small motor 310 to start working, drive the wire feeding mechanism 320 to rotate the entire unit at a speed ω (60-120 rpm), and at the same time push the brush 322 at a speed v (5-10 mm / s); the brush 322 rotates and penetrates into the endoscope channel to clean the tube wall.

[0062] Because the suspended section is extremely short, the brush 322 will not buckle when subjected to axial thrust, but will enter the small hole in a straight line; when the brush 322 has fully entered the channel, the channel wall provides radial support, and the risk of buckling disappears; when the brush 322 advances to the end of the channel, the preset stroke determines that the reverse wire feeding motor 323 will pull it out.

[0063] Step S7 (multiple cycles): The control system repeats steps S3 to S6 according to the flexible digestive endoscope model and preset program (e.g., 2 times for mild contamination, 5 times for severe contamination).

[0064] Step S8 (unloading): After the cleaning cycle is completed, the loading robot 100 removes the cleaned flexible digestive endoscope and sends it to the disinfection station.

[0065] It should be noted that the fixed connection and fixing method of the present invention are achieved by conventional fixing means such as bolt connection, welding, or bonding that are compatible with each other. These are existing technologies and will not be described in detail here. The above embodiments are only for illustrating the technical concept and features of the present invention, and their purpose is to enable those skilled in the art to understand the content of the present invention and implement it accordingly. They should not be used to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. All equivalent changes or modifications made according to the spirit and essence of the present invention should be covered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A flexible digestive endoscope multi-robot collaborative intelligent cleaning workstation, characterized in that: This includes a loading robot, which uses a collaborative robot to assemble a three-grip gripper to hold the flexible digestive endoscope to be cleaned and transport it to the worktable. The wire-clamping robot, through a collaborative robot, is equipped with dual grippers to hold an elastic lead screw and insert it into the small hole of a flexible digestive endoscope; an infusion tube is provided on one side of the dual grippers. The wire feeding robot uses a collaborative robot equipped with a small motor and a wire feeding mechanism to rotate and feed wire to clean holes. The wire feeding mechanism is coaxially connected to the small motor and is integrated with a storage cylinder, a wire feeding motor installed inside the storage cylinder, and a brush. The wire feeding motor is used to drive the brush to push along the axial direction of the storage cylinder. A flexible digestive endoscope clamping system is installed on the top surface of the worktable to limit and fix the flexible digestive endoscope. The system also includes a vision camera, which uses a vision detection system to identify the position of the small hole in the flexible digestive endoscope and sends the position information to the control system. The control system coordinates the wire feeding robot and the wire clamping robot to first inject cleaning fluid into the small hole through an infusion tube, then guide the brush into the small hole, and simultaneously start a small motor to drive the brush to rotate and move forward to complete the cleaning of the small hole.

2. The flexible digestive endoscope multi-robot collaborative intelligent cleaning workstation according to claim 1, characterized in that, The wire-clamping robot has a fixed execution end with a long strip plate structure. The double grippers and the infusion tube are both installed on the execution end, wherein the infusion tube is an enzyme infusion tube, and the enzyme infusion tube and the enzyme infusion pump constitute an enzyme infusion mechanism.

3. The flexible digestive endoscope multi-robot collaborative intelligent cleaning workstation according to claim 2, characterized in that, A fixed platform is hinged to one rear end of the dual grippers. A threaded rod is fitted into the center hole of the fixed platform. A movable block is connected to the external thread of the threaded rod. A servo motor coaxially connected to the threaded rod is installed on the inner side of the actuator end. A pull rod is hinged to the other rear end of the dual grippers, and the other end of the pull rod is fixed to the end face of the movable block.

4. The flexible digestive endoscope multi-robot collaborative intelligent cleaning workstation according to claim 3, characterized in that, The storage cylinder has a wire storage groove at its open end for storing and receiving the elastic screw. The brush is tightly fitted to the outer end of the elastic screw. A wire feeding plate is fixedly connected to the open end of the storage cylinder for closing the storage cylinder. The elastic screw is led out from the central axis of the wire feeding plate along a preset path.

5. The flexible digestive endoscope multi-robot collaborative intelligent cleaning workstation according to claim 4, characterized in that, The output shaft of the wire feeding motor is fitted with a gear, and a roller is embedded in the end face of the wire feeding plate through a pin. The roller and the gear cooperate to clamp the elastic lead screw to drive the brush to extend and retract.

6. The flexible digestive endoscope multi-robot collaborative intelligent cleaning workstation according to claim 5, characterized in that, The wire feeding plate has a boss in the middle and a wire clamping hole for placing rollers and gears; a rectangular opening is opened through one side of the inner wall of the wire clamping hole for installing rollers; a wire feeding hole is opened above the inner wall of the wire clamping hole, and the wire feeding hole passes through the middle of the boss of the wire feeding plate.

7. The flexible digestive endoscope multi-robot collaborative intelligent cleaning workstation according to claim 6, characterized in that, A conductive sleeve is fixed to the end face of the small motor for supplying power to the wire feeding motor.

8. The flexible digestive endoscope multi-robot collaborative intelligent cleaning workstation according to claim 7, characterized in that, The flexible digestive endoscope clamp system consists of a flexible digestive endoscope clamp for placing the flexible digestive endoscope. The flexible digestive endoscope clamp is a rigid conformal clamp customized by 3D scanning of the shape of the flexible digestive endoscope.

9. The flexible digestive endoscope multi-robot collaborative intelligent cleaning workstation according to claim 8, characterized in that, The enzyme infusion tube is fixed by passing through a through-hole on one side of the execution end.

10. An application of a flexible digestive endoscope multi-robot collaborative intelligent cleaning workstation, as described in claim 9, characterized in that: It is used for automated cleaning in the post-processing of flexible digestive endoscopes, such as gastroscopes and colonoscopes.

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