Flexible continuum joint, flexible robotic arm, and minimally invasive surgical robot for tem

Abstract

The present invention relates to a flexible continuum joint, a flexible robotic arm, and a minimally invasive surgical robot for TEM. The flexible continuum joint comprises a double-helix structure formed by two helical springs, wherein a central channel is provided inside the double-helix structure, a hollow tube arranged coaxially with the double-helix structure is provided in the central channel, and a plurality of notches are formed on the hollow tube. The flexible robotic arm is composed of a linkage joint formed by an active section and a passive section, and an end joint, wherein the active section and the end joint are both driven by a drive wire, and the passive section is driven by a nickel-titanium alloy rod. The minimally invasive surgical robot comprises an endoscopic arm and two robotic arms, and has 19 degrees of freedom overall. In addition, the provision of the linkage joint in the flexible robotic arm and the application of a hybrid drive mode combining a drive wire and a nickel-titanium alloy rod not only reduces the number of drives, but also avoids the problem of motion coupling between joints, thus effectively overcoming the problems of insufficient degrees of freedom and poor motion accuracy in existing minimally invasive surgical robots for TEM.

Description

Flexible continuum joints, flexible robotic arms, and minimally invasive surgical robots for TEM Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of medical surgical instruments, and in particular to a flexible continuum joint based on a double helix structure, a flexible robotic arm based on multiple flexible continuum joints, and a TEM minimally invasive surgical robot using the flexible robotic arm. Background Art

[0002] Transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) is a minimally invasive procedure for effective local resection of early-stage rectal tumors. Performed through a transanal port, TEM offers the advantages of minimal surgical trauma, high treatment efficiency, a short recovery period, and a low risk of complications. However, due to the rectum's location within the narrow pelvic cavity, lack of good lighting, and proximity to pelvic organs, achieving effective tumor resection is challenging. Furthermore, traditional TEM procedures currently suffer from issues such as poor instrument flexibility, unintuitive operation, and a steep learning curve for clinicians, limiting their further development and wider application.

[0003] Compared with traditional minimally invasive surgery, minimally invasive surgical robots have introduced a variety of technologies such as robotics and microsurgery. They have the advantages of high precision and good stability. They can assist doctors in completing delicate surgical operations in a small space during surgery, improve the doctor's dexterity and perception, and thus achieve the goal of improving surgical quality and reducing surgical risks. At present, the robotic systems developed by domestic and foreign research institutions can be divided into two categories: one is a general-purpose single-port minimally invasive surgical robot for abdominal operations, which has been widely studied and commercialized; the other is a special-purpose surgical robot for TEM surgical environments. The research and commercialization of this type of robot are in the exploratory stage both at home and abroad. Among them:

[0004] Universal single-port surgical robotic systems are typically designed based on highly articulated joints or flexible continuum structures. Their instrument arms are inserted parallel to the port and deployed in a Y-shaped configuration, providing stereoscopic vision and triangulation. However, because these robots are designed for abdominal surgery within a large workspace, they are typically relatively large and therefore lack adaptability to the narrow and confined environment of the rectal cavity.

[0005] In the development of specialized surgical robots for TEM surgery, a research team at Imperial College London developed the micro-IGES system, which has a 36mm port diameter, two 7-DOF articulated instrument arms, and a 3D endoscope (Olympus EndoEye Flex). This system can perform TEM surgeries and has been evaluated in animal studies. However, because the flexible instrument arms are constructed with articulated joints, they suffer from high friction and discontinuous bending. Furthermore, the nonlinear transmission issues caused by high friction and discontinuous bending make it difficult to achieve high motion accuracy, resulting in poor operational precision and stability, necessitating additional software compensation. Furthermore, the lack of adjustable structure in commercial endoscopes forces the endoscope to approach the instrument axis, severely obstructing the surgical field of view. To address the issues caused by articulated joints, Hu et al. developed a TEM surgical robot system consisting of two 6mm diameter 5-DOF manipulators and a 4-DOF endoscope. The manipulators consist of two continuous flexible joints and an automatic suturing device, capable of performing positioning, suturing, and knotting operations within the rectal cavity. However, since each continuum joint has only one degree of freedom, the system needs further improvement to increase operational flexibility.

[0006] By analyzing the above research status and development trends at home and abroad, it can be found that the TEM minimally invasive surgical robot system is a difficulty and commanding height in the research and development of surgical robots. Technologies in areas such as flexible continuum joint design, flexible robotic arm construction, and modular system integration still need further in-depth research. Summary of the Invention

[0007] Based on the above-mentioned defects and shortcomings of the existing TEM minimally invasive surgical robot, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a flexible continuum joint with good bending compliance, high resistance to axial compression and torsional resistance; and based on the flexible continuum joint, a flexible robotic arm with four bending degrees of freedom, S-shaped bending, a small number of overall drives required and the ability to overcome the problem of motion coupling between joints is constructed; finally, a minimally invasive surgical robot for TEM is integrated and designed based on the flexible robotic arm. The surgical robot can achieve high-precision bending motion control and has strong operational flexibility.

[0008] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve the above technical problems is: a flexible continuum joint, including a double helix structure composed of two coil springs, wherein there is a central channel inside the double helix structure, and a hollow tube connected to the double helix structure and coaxially arranged is provided in the central channel, and a plurality of slots are opened on the hollow tube.

[0009] Preferably, the plurality of notches are arranged on the hollow tube in a spiral shape.

[0010] The present invention also provides a flexible robotic arm, comprising an active segment, a passive segment, an end joint, an active segment drive wire, a nickel-titanium alloy rod, and an end joint drive wire; wherein:

[0011] The active segment, passive segment and end joint are all the flexible continuum joints mentioned above, and the active segment is connected to the passive segment, and the passive segment is connected to the end joint, and the passive segment and the active segment have the same structural arrangement;

[0012] One end of the active segment driving wire passes through the active segment and is fixed to the top of the active segment. The active segment driving wire is provided with multiple pieces and can enable the active segment to perform two-degree-of-freedom bending motion;

[0013] The nickel-titanium alloy rod passes through the active section and the passive section in sequence, with one end fixed to the bottom of the active section and the other end fixed to the top of the passive section. The number of the nickel-titanium alloy rods is the same as the number of the active section drive wires.

[0014] One end of the terminal joint drive wire passes through the active section, the passive section and the terminal joint in sequence and is fixed to the top of the terminal joint. There are multiple terminal joint drive wires, which can enable the terminal joint to perform two-degree-of-freedom bending motion.

[0015] Preferably, four active segment drive wires and four terminal joint drive wires are provided, and the other ends of the four active segment drive wires and the four terminal joint drive wires are connected to the wire drive devices respectively;

[0016] The wire drive device includes four groups of wire drive components, four drive motors and a drive module mounting frame; the four groups of wire drive components are respectively rotatably assembled on the drive module mounting frame, and the wire drive components include two drive wire winding wheels and a drive motor connecting shaft; of the two drive wire winding wheels, one is provided with a forward thread segment, and the other is provided with a reverse thread segment; the two drive wire winding wheels are respectively fixed to the drive motor connecting shaft by a top screw, and the drive motor connecting shaft is driven to rotate by the drive motor;

[0017] The four active segment drive wires and the four end joint drive wires are grouped in pairs. Each group of active segment drive wires and each group of end joint drive wires are respectively wound on each group of wire drive components, and one of the two drive wires in each group is wound on the drive wire winding wheel with the forward thread segment, and the other is wound on the drive wire winding wheel with the reverse thread segment.

[0018] The present invention also provides a flexible endoscope arm, comprising the above-mentioned flexible robotic arm, wherein an end joint of the flexible robotic arm is provided with an endoscope imaging module.

[0019] The present invention also provides a flexible instrument arm, including the above-mentioned flexible robotic arm, wherein a clamp is provided on the end joint of the flexible robotic arm, and a steel wire flexible shaft is provided in the active section, passive section and central channel of the end joint of the flexible robotic arm. The steel wire flexible shaft is connected to the clamp and can be driven by a flexible shaft driving unit to drive the clamp to rotate and open and close.

[0020] Furthermore, the clamp includes a rotating support, a flexible shaft fixing block, a push-pull shaft, a first clamp body, a second clamp body and a clamp body rotating pin; wherein:

[0021] The rotating support is rotatably connected to the support sleeve, and two push-pull tracks are arranged in parallel on the rotating support, and the support sleeve is fixed to the end joint;

[0022] The flexible shaft fixing block is connected to the steel wire flexible shaft;

[0023] The push-pull shaft is arranged on the flexible shaft fixing block;

[0024] The first and second caliper bodies are mirror images of each other and are connected to the rotating support via caliper body rotating pins respectively;

[0025] The first and second clamp bodies are respectively provided with push-pull slots, and the push-pull shafts respectively fall into the two push-pull tracks on the rotating support through the two push-pull slots;

[0026] The flexible shaft drive unit includes an integrated push-pull drive unit and a rotation drive unit; wherein:

[0027] The push-pull drive unit includes a linear guide rail, a linear slider, a flexible shaft mounting slot, a passive rack, a driving gear, a push-pull drive motor and a push-pull slider;

[0028] The linear slider is slidably fitted on the linear guide rail, the flexible shaft mounting groove is provided on the linear slider, the passive rack is fixed on the flexible shaft mounting groove, the passive rack is meshed with the active gear, and the active gear is driven to rotate by the push-pull drive motor;

[0029] The push-pull slider is columnar; protrusions are provided on both sides of the flexible shaft mounting groove, and an arc-shaped groove corresponding to the columnar push-pull slider is provided at the bottom, and the push-pull slider is loosely fitted in the arc-shaped groove;

[0030] The rotation drive unit includes an active rotating part, a passive rotating part, a transmission part, a flexible shaft assembly shaft, a rotary slider and a rotary drive motor; wherein: the active rotating part is driven to rotate by the rotary drive motor, the passive rotating part and the active rotating part are connected through a transmission part, the flexible shaft assembly shaft is fixed in the passive rotating part, a rectangular cross-section channel is provided inside the flexible shaft assembly shaft, the outer cross-section of the rotary slider is rectangular, and the rotary slider is loosely fitted in the rectangular cross-section channel of the flexible shaft assembly shaft; the steel wire flexible shaft is connected to the rotary slider, passes through the rotary slider, and is fixed to the push-pull slider.

[0031] The present invention also provides a minimally invasive surgical robot for TEM, comprising the flexible endoscope arm and at least one flexible instrument arm, wherein the flexible endoscope arm and the flexible instrument arm are respectively provided with an integral feed drive device, the integral feed drive device comprising a rotating screw, a screw nut, a feed frame, and a feed drive motor; wherein: the rotating screw is rotatably disposed on the feed frame and connected to the feed drive motor; the screw nut is threadedly engaged with the rotating screw;

[0032] In the flexible endoscope arm, the wire drive device is integrally assembled on the screw nut via a drive module mounting frame;

[0033] In the flexible instrument arm, the drive unit composed of the wire drive device and the soft shaft drive unit is integrally assembled on the screw nut.

[0034] Preferably, the minimally invasive surgical robot is provided with two flexible instrument arms; in the flexible endoscopic arm and each flexible instrument arm, the active sections of the flexible robotic arms are respectively connected to rigid tubes, and the rigid tubes are respectively connected to the drive module mounting frames, and the three rigid tubes are parallel to each other, and the axes of the three rigid tubes are respectively located at the three vertices of the same triangle.

[0035] Preferably, the minimally invasive surgical robot also includes a transanal port, on which three channels are arranged in parallel; wherein: the upper channel is used to guide the rigid tube and the flexible robotic arm in the flexible endoscope arm; the lower two channels are used to guide the rigid tube, the flexible robotic arm and the clamp in the flexible instrument arm.

[0036] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages and effects:

[0037] 1. The flexible continuum joint provided by the present invention is mainly composed of a double helix structure and a slotted hollow tube arranged coaxially. Among them, the double helix structure, as the main structure of the continuum joint, has better bending flexibility and higher torsional stiffness compared with the standard single helix structure. At the same time, the internal channel of the double helix structure is provided with a hollow tube connected to it, which is beneficial to further improve the axial compression resistance and torsional resistance of the continuum joint body. In addition, the provision of several notches on the hollow tube can further reduce stress distribution and improve the compliance and bending flexibility of the continuum joint.

[0038] 2. The flexible robotic arm described in the present invention is composed of three flexible continuum joints, namely an active segment, a passive segment, and an end joint. The active segment and the end joint are respectively driven by a drive wire, and the passive segment is driven by a nickel-titanium alloy rod. When the active segment bends, the length of the nickel-titanium alloy rod in the active segment increases or decreases. Since the nickel-titanium alloy rod can be considered non-stretchable, the portion of the nickel-titanium alloy rod in the passive segment will produce an equal and opposite increase or decrease. That is, the nickel-titanium alloy rod drives the passive segment of the flexible robotic arm to produce a bending motion equal to or opposite to that of the active segment, and ensures that the end of the passive segment always remains parallel to the bottom of the active segment (always maintaining an "S" shape). Therefore, the active segment + passive segment can be referred to as a "linked joint". This structural arrangement not only enables the flexible robotic arm to bend in an S-shape, providing an operating triangle for easy operation, but also avoids the need for a drive device corresponding to the passive segment, thereby effectively reducing the complexity of the drive equipment connected to the flexible robotic arm. At the same time, the introduction of the nickel-titanium alloy rod in the passive segment can also enhance the overall load capacity of the flexible robotic arm, thereby improving its operational safety when used in minimally invasive surgery.

[0039] 3. In the flexible robotic arm described in the present invention, one end of the end joint drive wire is fixed to the active segment, and the other end is fixed to the top of the end joint; when the active segment bends, the elongation / shortening of the end joint drive wire in the active segment is offset by the shortening / elongation of the end joint drive wire in the passive segment; therefore, the bending movement of the linkage joint does not affect the total length of the end joint drive wire; therefore, this structural setting can also avoid the motion coupling problem of the linkage joint and the end joint, thereby simplifying the robot motion control algorithm, reducing the control difficulty, and achieving high-precision bending motion control.

[0040] 4. The present invention constructs a flexible endoscope arm by arranging an endoscope on the end joint of a flexible robotic arm. The flexible endoscope arm can be used in a minimally invasive surgical robot. The endoscope can provide clinicians with real-time dynamic internal images and has the function of assisting diagnosis and treatment. At the same time, due to the arrangement of the flexible continuum joint, the flexible endoscope arm of the present invention also has higher motion accuracy, good bending flexibility and stronger anti-torsion and anti-compression capabilities.

[0041] 5. The present invention constructs a flexible instrument arm by arranging a clamp on the end joint of the flexible robotic arm; wherein: the clamp is connected to the steel wire flexible shaft, and the steel wire flexible shaft can drive the clamp to open, close and rotate under the drive of the flexible shaft driving unit, thereby making the flexible instrument arm have 6 degrees of freedom, which can more flexibly meet the operational requirements of minimally invasive surgery; wherein the 6 degrees of freedom are specifically the clamp rotation freedom, the clamp opening and closing freedom, the bending freedom of the end joint in two directions and the bending freedom of the active segment in two directions.

[0042] 6. The present invention also provides a minimally invasive surgical robot for TEM, comprising a flexible endoscopic arm and at least one flexible instrument arm; wherein: the driving devices in the flexible endoscopic arm and the flexible instrument arm are respectively connected to the overall feed driving device; therefore, the flexible endoscopic arm of the present invention has 5 degrees of freedom as a whole, and the flexible instrument arm has 7 degrees of freedom as a whole, which overcomes the shortcomings of existing traditional TEM surgical robots, such as insufficient degrees of freedom and poor operational flexibility.

[0043] 7. The TEM-oriented minimally invasive surgical robot described in the present invention includes a flexible endoscopic arm and two flexible instrument arms, and in the flexible endoscopic arm and each flexible instrument arm, the active sections of the flexible robotic arms are respectively connected to rigid tubes, the three rigid tubes are parallel to each other, and the axes of the three rigid tubes are respectively located at the three vertices of the same triangle; thereby, the two instrument arms and the flexible endoscopic arm are arranged in a triangular deployment configuration, which can provide stereoscopic vision and triangular positioning, thereby overcoming the shortcomings of limited surgical field of view and limited surgical instruments in traditional TEM minimally invasive surgery. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0044] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0045] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the flexible continuum joint according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0046] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a partial cross-sectional structure of the flexible continuum joint according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0047] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a partial cross-sectional structure of a hollow tube in the flexible continuum joint according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0048] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the flexible robotic arm according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0049] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the linkage joints in the flexible robotic arm according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0050] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the split structure of the wire driving device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0051] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of the distal structure of the flexible endoscope arm according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0052] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the flexible endoscope arm according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0053] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of the distal structure of the flexible instrument arm according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0054] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of the split structure of the clamp in the flexible instrument arm according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0055] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the clamp in the flexible instrument arm according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0056] FIG12 is a schematic diagram showing the decomposition structure of the flexible shaft drive unit in the flexible instrument arm according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0057] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the flexible instrument arm according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0058] FIG14 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the TEM-oriented minimally invasive surgical robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0059] FIG15 is a schematic diagram of a partial structure of a minimally invasive surgical robot for TEM according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0060] FIG16 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the TEM-oriented minimally invasive surgical robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0061] FIG17 is a schematic structural diagram of the overall feed drive device in the TEM-oriented minimally invasive surgical robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0062] FIG18 is a schematic diagram of the integrated assembly of the drive motor module in the wire driving device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0063] FIG19 is a schematic diagram of the integrated assembly of the drive motor module in the overall drive device consisting of the wire drive device and the flexible shaft drive unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0064] FIG20 is a schematic diagram of the decomposition structure of the drive motor module in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0065] Description of labels:

[0066] 1. Flexible continuum joint; 11. Double helix structure; 111. Coil spring; 112. Central channel; 12. Hollow tube; 121. Slot; 13. Joint connector; 2. Flexible robotic arm; 21. Active segment; 211. Active segment drive wire; 22. Passive segment; 221. Passive segment drive wire; 23. End joint; 231. End joint drive wire; 3. Wire drive device; 31. Drive module mounting bracket; 32. Wire drive component ;321, driving wire winding wheel; 322, driving motor connecting shaft; 33, driving wire guide column; 34, transmission base interface; 4, endoscope imaging module; 5, clamp; 51, rotating support; 511, push-pull track; 52, flexible shaft fixing block; 53, push-pull shaft; 54, push-pull slide; 55, clamp body 1; 56, clamp body 2; 57, clamp body rotating pin; 58, support sleeve; 6, rigid tube; 7, steel wire flexible shaft; 8, flexible shaft driving unit ; 801, driving gear; 802, passive rack; 803, flexible shaft mounting groove; 804, raised portion; 805, arc groove; 806, push-pull slider; 807, linear guide rail; 808, linear slider; 809, winding wheel fixing seat; 810, rotating slider; 811, flexible shaft assembly shaft; 812, passive winding wheel; 813, active winding wheel; 9, transanal port; 10, overall frame; 14, overall feed drive device; 14 1. Feed connecting plate; 142. Feed frame; 143. Optical axis; 144. Rotating screw; 145. Screw nut; 146. Feed drive motor; 16. Electrical connection plate; 17. Drive motor module; 171. Reamed hole bolt; 172. Floating output interface; 1721. Interface boss; 173. Reamed hole bolt fixing ring; 174. Motor fixing bolt; 175. Output interface reset spring; 176. Reducer servo motor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0067] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the examples. The following examples are intended to explain the present invention but the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

[0068] Example 1: As shown in Figures 1 to 3, a flexible continuum joint includes a double helix structure 11 composed of two cross-wound coil springs 111, wherein the double helix structure 11 has a central channel 112 inside, and the central channel 112 is provided with a hollow tube 12 connected to the double helix structure 11 and coaxially arranged, and the hollow tube 12 is provided with a plurality of slots 121.

[0069] In the flexible continuum joint of this embodiment, as shown in FIG3 , the notch 121 is provided on the portion of the hollow tube 12 that is not connected to the double helix structure 11. The cross-sectional shape of the notch 121 is preferably, but not limited to, triangular. Furthermore, as a further preferred embodiment, a plurality of notches 121 are evenly arranged in a spiral pattern on the hollow tube 12 to even out stress distribution and enhance the bending compliance of the flexible continuum joint.

[0070] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, joint connection seats 13 are respectively provided at both ends of the double helix structure 11. The joint connection seats 13 can be used to connect with other flexible continuum joints, and can also be used to connect with a proximal drive device or to connect with a distal surgical instrument; there is no limit to the number of joint plates between the two joint connection seats 13, and the more joint plates there are, the longer the overall flexible continuum joint; at the same time, after a large number of simulation optimizations and experiments, it was determined that when the pitch (pitch) of the double helix structure 11 is set to 6mm, the flexible continuum joint has good comprehensive performance.

[0071] The flexible continuum joint described in the embodiment of the present invention can be prepared by an integrated processing and molding method, specifically by a 3D printing process, and the material can be selected from nylon or metal; wherein: as shown in Figure 2, the cross-section of the coil spring 111 can be rectangular or circular; however, after testing, when the cross-section of the coil spring 111 is rectangular, it is easier to print than the traditional circular cross-section, and the printing success rate and accuracy are higher.

[0072] The flexible continuum joint provided in Example 1 of the present invention is mainly composed of a double helix structure 11 with a rectangular cross-section and a slotted hollow tube 12 arranged coaxially. Its characteristics and reasons for setting are as follows:

[0073] (1) The helical spring structure is suitable as the main structure of the continuum joint due to its good flexibility and constant curvature bending performance; however, the standard single helical structure has relatively poor torsional stiffness and anti-compression stiffness performance. Therefore, the present invention selects a double helical structure as the main configuration, so that the continuum joint with a double helical structure has good bending flexibility and can also improve torsional stiffness;

[0074] (2) The central channel 112 inside the double helix structure 11 is provided with a hollow tube 12 connected thereto and arranged coaxially therewith. The provision of the hollow tube 12 is conducive to further improving the axial compression resistance and torsion resistance of the continuum joint body. However, if the hollow tube 12 is not slotted, it will affect the overall bending flexibility of the continuum joint. Therefore, the present invention can effectively ensure the flexibility and bending flexibility of the continuum by providing a plurality of slots 121 on the tube body of the hollow tube 12 that is not connected to the helical structure.

[0075] In summary, the double-helix structure-based continuum joint provided in this embodiment has excellent flexibility and constant curvature bending performance, and can achieve two-degree-of-freedom bending motion; at the same time, the continuum joint has uniform stress distribution, less stress concentration, and good constant bending curvature characteristics. In addition, compared with the standard single-helix structure, the proposed double-helix structure continuum joint can improve torsional stiffness. Furthermore, the introduction of slotted hollow tubes can further improve the continuum joint's torsional resistance and axial compression resistance.

[0076] Example 2: As shown in Figures 4 to 6, this example provides a flexible robotic arm based on the flexible continuum joint described in Example 1, including an active segment 21, a passive segment 22, an end joint 23, an active segment drive wire 211, a nickel-titanium alloy rod 221, and an end joint drive wire 231; wherein:

[0077] The active segment 21, the passive segment 22 and the terminal joint 23 are all the flexible continuum joints described in Example 1, and the active segment 21 is connected to the passive segment 22, and the passive segment 22 is connected to the terminal joint 23. The passive segment 22 and the active segment 21 have the same structural configuration (i.e., the number of joint segments in the passive segment and the active segment is the same);

[0078] One end of the active segment driving wire 211 passes through the active segment 21 and is fixed to the top of the active segment 21. The active segment driving wire 211 is provided with multiple pieces and can enable the active segment 21 to perform two-degree-of-freedom bending motion;

[0079] The nickel-titanium alloy rod 221 passes through the active section 21 and the passive section 22 in sequence, with one end fixed to the bottom of the active section 21 and the other end fixed to the top of the passive section 22. The number of the nickel-titanium alloy rods 221 is the same as the number of the active section drive wires 221.

[0080] One end of the terminal joint driving wire 231 passes through the active section 21, the passive section 22 and the terminal joint 23 in sequence and is fixed to the top of the terminal joint 23. There are multiple terminal joint driving wires 231, and the terminal joint 23 can perform two-degree-of-freedom bending motion.

[0081] In the flexible robotic arm described in this embodiment, the end joint 23 can be defined as the distal end of the flexible robotic arm 2, which is used to connect to a surgical instrument or an endoscope; the active segment 21 can be defined as the proximal end of the flexible robotic arm 2, which can be connected to a driving device; the spiral length of the double helix structure 11 in the end joint 23 can be the same as that of the active segment 21 or the passive segment 22, or it can be different, and can be set according to actual needs.

[0082] The flexible robotic arm of this embodiment has four bending degrees of freedom, including two bending degrees of freedom at the distal end joint and two bending degrees of freedom at the proximal active segment. Specifically, as one embodiment, the flexible robotic arm:

[0083] The active segment 21 is provided with four active segment drive wires 211 (with an outer diameter of 0.45 mm), which are evenly arranged along the circumference of the active segment. The four drive wires are grouped in pairs, and the two drive wires in each group move in antagonistic fashion (i.e., one drive wire extends while the other shortens), thereby controlling the bending motion of the active segment in one direction.

[0084] Four nickel-titanium alloy rods 221 (0.5 mm in diameter) are provided. The four nickel-titanium alloy rods are evenly distributed along the circumference of the active section 21 and the passive section 22. The four nickel-titanium alloy rods 221 enable the passive section to perform two-degree-of-freedom passive bending driven by the active section.

[0085] There are four terminal joint drive wires 231, which are evenly arranged along the circumferential direction of the active segment 21, the passive segment 22 and the terminal joint 23. The four drive wires are grouped in pairs, and two groups of drive wires can drive the terminal joint 23 to perform two-degree-of-freedom bending motion.

[0086] Furthermore, as shown in FIG6 , in the flexible robotic arm of this embodiment, each group of active segment drive wires 211 and each group of terminal joint drive wires 231 are driven by a wire drive device 3 to achieve mutually antagonistic motion of the two drive wires. The structure of the wire drive device 3 is set as follows:

[0087] The wire driving device 3 includes four sets of wire driving components 32, four driving motors and a driving module mounting frame 31; wherein:

[0088] The four sets of wire driving components 32 are rotatably mounted on the drive module mounting frame 31. The wire driving components 32 include two drive wire winding wheels 321 and a drive motor connecting shaft 322. One of the two drive wire winding wheels 321 is provided with a forward thread segment, and the other is provided with a reverse thread segment. The two drive wire winding wheels 321 are respectively fixed to the drive motor connecting shaft 322 by a jackscrew. The drive motor connecting shaft 322 is driven to rotate by a drive motor (not shown in the drawings).

[0089] The other ends of each group of active segment drive wires 211 and each group of terminal joint drive wires 231 are respectively wound on each group of wire drive components 32, and one of the two drive wires in each group is wound on the drive wire winding wheel with the forward thread segment, and the other is wound on the drive wire winding wheel with the reverse thread segment.

[0090] In the flexible robotic arm described in this embodiment, the specific working principle of the wire driving device 3 is as follows:

[0091] Since one of the active segment drive wires 211 and the terminal joint drive wires 231 is wound on the drive wire winding wheel with the forward thread segment, and the other is wound on the drive wire winding wheel with the reverse thread segment; when the drive motor in each group of wire driving components 32 is started, the drive motor connecting shaft 322 rotates and drives the two drive wire winding wheels 321 fixed on the drive motor connecting shaft 322 to rotate, thereby causing the drive wires on the two winding wheels to perform antagonistic movements in the forward and reverse directions, thereby controlling the bending freedom of the active segment 21 / terminal joint 23 in one direction; when the four groups of wire driving components 32 are started at the same time, the bending freedom of the flexible robotic arm in four directions can be controlled, including the bending freedom of the distal terminal joint 23 in two directions and the bending freedom of the proximal active segment 21 in two directions.

[0092] Furthermore, in the flexible robotic arm described in Example 2, the “active segment + passive segment” can be referred to as a “linked joint”, and has the following characteristics:

[0093] (1) As shown in Figures 4 and 5, when the four active segment driving wires 211 generate push-pull motion under the drive of the wire driving device 3, the active segment 21 can be driven to perform two-degree-of-freedom bending motion; the four nickel-titanium alloy rods 221 are evenly arranged in the passive segment 22 and the active segment 21 along the circumferential direction, and the two ends of each nickel-titanium alloy rod are fixed at the bottom of the active segment and the top of the passive segment respectively; when the active segment is bent, the length of the nickel-titanium alloy rod 221 in the active segment will increase or decrease. Since it can be considered as non-stretchable, the part of the nickel-titanium alloy rod 221 in the passive segment 22 will produce an equal and opposite increase or decrease; therefore, the nickel-titanium alloy rod 221 will drive the passive segment 22 of the flexible robotic arm to generate a bending motion equal to or opposite to that of the active segment 21, and make the end of the passive segment 22 always remain parallel to the bottom of the active segment 21 (always maintain an "S" shape). Therefore, the "active segment + passive segment" can be called a "linked joint". This structural setting not only allows the flexible robotic arm to bend in an S shape and have an operating triangle for easy operation; at the same time, it avoids the setting of a driving device corresponding to the passive segment, thereby effectively reducing the complexity of the driving device connected to the flexible robotic arm; at the same time, the introduction of the nickel-titanium alloy rod in the passive segment can also enhance the overall load capacity of the flexible robotic arm, thereby improving its operational safety when used in minimally invasive surgery.

[0094] (2) As shown in Figures 4 and 5, one end of the terminal joint drive wire 231 is fixed to the active segment 21, and the other end is fixed to the top of the terminal joint 23. Multiple terminal joint drive wires 231 are evenly distributed in the active segment 21, the passive segment 22 and the terminal joint 23 along the circumferential direction; similar to the running path of the nickel-titanium alloy rod 221, the elongation / shortening of the terminal joint drive wire 231 in the active segment 21 and the shortening / elongation thereof in the passive segment 22 are offset; therefore, the bending movement of the linkage joint does not affect the total length of the terminal joint drive wire 231; therefore, this design can avoid the motion coupling problem of the linkage joint and the terminal joint, thereby realizing the posture decoupling of the terminal joint and the active segment, thereby simplifying the motion control algorithm, reducing the control difficulty, and improving the motion control accuracy of the terminal joint.

[0095] In summary, the flexible robotic arm described in this embodiment utilizes a hybrid drive system consisting of drive wires and nickel-titanium alloy rods, reducing the number of actuators required for a multi-DOF instrument arm. Furthermore, the introduction of the nickel-titanium alloy rods further enhances proximal load capacity. Furthermore, due to the S-shaped structure of the linkage joint, the length of the drive wire at the end joint remains unchanged within the linkage joint. This structure effectively decouples the kinematics of the end joint from the linkage joint, simplifies the kinematic solution algorithm, and reduces control complexity.

[0096] Example 3: As shown in Figures 7 and 8, this embodiment provides a flexible endoscope arm, including the flexible robotic arm described in Example 2; wherein: an end joint 23 of the flexible robotic arm is provided with an endoscope imaging module 4, the active section 21 of the flexible robotic arm is connected to the rigid tube 6, and the rigid tube 6 is fixed on the drive module mounting frame 31.

[0097] In the flexible endoscope arm described in this embodiment, one end of the two sets of active segment driving wires 211 and the two sets of terminal joint driving wires 231 are fixed on the driving wire winding wheel 321 in the wire driving device 3, and the other end passes through the rigid tube 6 and is connected to the corresponding active segment 21 / terminal joint 23.

[0098] The flexible endoscope arm described in this embodiment comprises a wire drive device 3, a rigid tube 6, a flexible robotic arm 2 (linked joint + terminal joint), and an endoscopic imaging module 4. The wire drive device 3 causes the drive wire to produce antagonistic motion, which, through transmission from the rigid tube 6, drives the bending of the linked joint and terminal joint, thereby changing the position and posture of the endoscopic imaging module 4 and acquiring imaging information at different locations of the lesion. Furthermore, due to the provision of flexible continuum joints, the flexible endoscope arm described in this embodiment also features high motion precision, excellent bending flexibility, and strong torsional and compression resistance.

[0099] Example 4: As shown in Figures 9 to 13, this embodiment provides a flexible instrument arm, including the flexible robotic arm described in Example 2, a clamp 5 is provided on the end joint 23 of the flexible robotic arm, the active section 21 of the flexible robotic arm is connected to the rigid tube 6, and the rigid tube 6 is fixed on the drive module mounting frame 31; a steel wire flexible shaft 7 is provided in the central channel of the active section 21, the passive section 22 and the end joint 23 of the flexible robotic arm, the steel wire flexible shaft 7 is connected to the clamp 5, and can drive the clamp 5 to rotate and open and close under the drive of the flexible shaft drive unit 8.

[0100] The flexible instrument arm described in this embodiment is composed of a wire drive device 3, a soft shaft drive unit 8, a rigid tube 6, a flexible robotic arm 2 and a clamp 5; the instrument arm has four bending degrees of freedom and two end clamp degrees of freedom (rotation and opening and closing), with a total of 8 active drive wires, 4 passive nickel-titanium alloy rods, and a steel wire flexible shaft; wherein: the drive wires are grouped in pairs, and a group of two antagonistic drive wires controls the bending degree of freedom in one direction.

[0101] Specifically, as shown in Figures 10 and 11, the structure of the clamp 5 is as follows:

[0102] The clamp 5 includes a rotating support 51, a flexible shaft fixing block 52, a push-pull shaft 53, a clamp body 1 55, a clamp body 2 56 and a clamp body rotating pin 57; wherein:

[0103] The rotating support 51 is rotatably connected to the support sleeve 58. Two push-pull rails 511 are arranged in parallel on the rotating support 51. The support sleeve 58 is fixed to the end joint 23 of the flexible robotic arm.

[0104] The flexible shaft fixing block 52 is connected to the flexible steel wire shaft 7;

[0105] The push-pull shaft 53 is arranged on the flexible shaft fixing block 52;

[0106] The first clamp body 55 and the second clamp body 56 are mirror images of each other and are connected to the rotating support 51 through the clamp body rotating pin 57 respectively;

[0107] The first clamp body 55 and the second clamp body 56 are respectively provided with push-pull slots 54 , and the push-pull shaft 53 respectively falls into the two push-pull tracks 511 on the rotating support 51 through the two push-pull slots 54 .

[0108] In the instrument arm described in this embodiment, the principles for achieving the clamp opening and closing degrees of freedom and the rotational degrees of freedom are as follows:

[0109] As shown in Figure 10, the steel wire flexible shaft 7 is driven by the flexible shaft driving unit 8 to generate rotation and push-pull movement; the steel wire flexible shaft 7 is fixedly connected to the flexible shaft fixing block 52 and the push-pull shaft 53, and the clamp body 1 55 and the clamp body 2 56 rotate around the clamp body rotating pin 57; the push-pull shaft 53 can slide up and down in the push-pull track 511 of the rotating support, and can slide in the push-pull slide groove 54 of the clamp body 1 55 and the clamp body 2 56; therefore, when the steel wire flexible shaft 7 performs push-pull movement, the up and down sliding of the push-pull shaft will cause the clamp body 1 55 and the clamp body 2 56 to open and close around the clamp body rotating pin 57; at the same time, since the rotating support 51 is rotatably connected to the support shaft sleeve 58, when the steel wire flexible shaft 7 is driven by the flexible shaft driving unit 8 to rotate, it will drive the entire rotating support 51 to rotate around the support shaft sleeve 58, thereby realizing the self-rotation of the clamp.

[0110] Furthermore, as shown in FIG12 , in this embodiment, the flexible shaft drive unit 8 includes an integrated push-pull drive unit and a rotation drive unit; wherein:

[0111] Preferably, the push-pull drive unit includes a linear guide rail 807, a linear slider 808, a flexible shaft mounting groove 803, a passive rack 802, a driving gear 801, a push-pull drive motor (not shown in the drawings) and a push-pull slider 806; wherein: the linear slider 808 is slidably fitted on the linear guide rail 807, the flexible shaft mounting groove 803 is provided on the linear slider 808, the passive rack 802 is fixed on the flexible shaft mounting groove 803, the passive rack 802 is meshed with the driving gear 801, and the driving gear 801 is driven to rotate by the push-pull drive motor; further, the push-pull slider 806 is columnar; protrusions 804 are provided on both sides of the flexible shaft mounting groove 803, and an arcuate groove 805 corresponding to the columnar push-pull slider 806 is provided at the bottom, and the push-pull slider 806 is clearance-fitted in the arcuate groove 805;

[0112] Preferably, the rotation drive unit includes an active rotating part, a passive rotating part, a transmission part, a flexible shaft assembly shaft 811, a rotating slider 810 and a rotation drive motor (not shown in the drawings); wherein: the active rotating part is driven to rotate by the rotation drive motor, the passive rotating part is connected to the active rotating part through a transmission part, the flexible shaft assembly shaft 811 is fixed in the passive rotating part, and a rectangular cross-section channel is provided inside the flexible shaft assembly shaft 811, the outer cross-section of the rotating slider 810 is a rounded rectangle, and the rotating slider 810 is clearance-fitted in the rectangular cross-section channel of the flexible shaft assembly shaft 811; the steel wire flexible shaft 7 is connected to the rotating slider 810, and passes through the rotating slider 810 and is fixed to the push-pull slider 806.

[0113] Among them: As a further preference, the rotating slider 810 and the push-pull slider 806 can be set on the same axial position to ensure that the steel wire flexible shaft 7 can push and pull movement along the straight direction.

[0114] Furthermore, in the flexible shaft drive unit 8 of this embodiment, the rotation drive unit can be a gear transmission mechanism or a wire transmission mechanism; as shown in FIG12 , this embodiment specifically takes wire transmission as an example:

[0115] In the rotary drive unit, the active rotary portion includes two active winding wheels 813, one of which is provided with a forward spiral segment and the other with a reverse spiral segment; and the two active winding wheels 813 are respectively fixed to a rotary drive shaft by means of a jackscrew, and the rotary drive shaft is connected to a rotary drive motor (not shown in the figure);

[0116] The passive rotating part includes two passive winding wheels 812 fixed to the flexible shaft assembly shaft 811 by a top screw, one of the two passive winding wheels is provided with a forward spiral section, and the other is provided with a reverse thread section; and the two passive winding wheels are rotatably assembled on the winding wheel fixing seat 809;

[0117] The transmission parts are two driving wires; one of the two driving wires is wound sequentially on the active winding wheel and the passive winding wheel with the forward thread segment, and the other is wound sequentially on the active winding wheel and the passive winding wheel with the reverse thread segment; the other ends of the two driving wires are respectively fixed to the active segments of the flexible robotic arm.

[0118] Furthermore, in order to reduce the volume of the driving device, the various driving units are arranged reasonably; as shown in Figure 13, in this embodiment, the flexible shaft driving unit 8 (rotation driving unit + push-pull driving unit) is integrated on the driving module mounting frame 31 in the wire driving device 3, thereby forming an overall driving unit of the flexible instrument arm.

[0119] Furthermore, in the wire driving device 3 and the flexible shaft driving unit 8 described in this embodiment, a plurality of driving wire guide columns 33 are provided. The driving wire guide columns 33 can provide a guiding function for the transmission of the driving wire and avoid interference and entanglement between the multiple driving wires.

[0120] The flexible shaft drive unit 8 described in this embodiment has the following characteristics:

[0121] The flexible steel shaft 7 is connected to the rotation drive unit and the push-pull drive unit respectively, and the rotation drive unit has no effect on the push-pull motion of the flexible steel shaft, and the push-pull drive unit has no effect on the rotation motion of the flexible steel shaft. That is, the flexible shaft drive unit structure of this embodiment is reasonably compact and can realize the decoupling of the self-rotation and push-pull motion of the flexible steel shaft. The analysis is as follows:

[0122] First, the steel wire flexible shaft 7 extends to the rear through the small hole of the rotating slider 810 and is connected to the rotating slider 810 as a whole by gluing or welding; the outer cross-section of the flexible shaft assembly shaft 811 can be set to be circular, and after being inserted into the inner holes of the two passive winding wheels 812, it is fixed to the passive winding wheels 812 by tightening bolts; wherein: the outer cross-section of the rotating slider 810 and the inner channel cross-section of the flexible shaft assembly shaft 811 are both rectangular or rounded rectangular, the size of the inner hole of the flexible shaft assembly shaft 811 is slightly larger than the outer cross-section of the rotating slider 810, and the two are connected by a clearance fit; therefore, the rotating slider 810 and the flexible shaft assembly shaft 811 can slide relative to each other but cannot rotate relative to each other;

[0123] Secondly, in the soft shaft push-pull drive unit, the driving gear 801 is engaged with the passive rack 802, converting the rotational motion into the linear motion of the passive rack; the passive rack 802 is fixed to the soft shaft mounting groove 803 by a fixing bolt, and the push-pull slider 806 is columnar and placed in the arc groove 805 at the bottom of the soft shaft mounting groove; the steel wire soft shaft is connected to the push-pull slider 806, and when the soft shaft mounting groove 803 performs a linear push-pull motion, the protrusions 804 at both ends drive the push-pull slider 806 and the steel wire soft shaft to perform push-pull motion, and the setting of the arc groove at the bottom does not affect the rotational motion; therefore, the soft shaft drive unit can realize the decoupling of the self-rotation and push-pull motion of the steel wire soft shaft.

[0124] Example 5: In view of the problems of poor operating accuracy and stability, insufficient instrument operating force, poor flexibility, limited intraoperative field of view, large postoperative trauma, and high probability of complications in traditional TEM surgery and existing TEM minimally invasive surgical robots, as shown in Figures 14 to 17, the present invention provides a minimally invasive surgical robot for TEM, which includes a flexible endoscopic arm as described in Example 3 and at least one flexible instrument arm as described in Example 4; wherein:

[0125] As shown in FIG16 , the flexible endoscope arm and the flexible instrument arm are further provided with an integral feed drive device 14 ;

[0126] As shown in FIG17 , the overall feed drive device 14 includes a rotating screw 144, a screw nut 145, a feed frame 142, and a feed drive motor 146; wherein: the rotating screw 144 is rotatably mounted on the feed frame 142 and connected to the feed drive motor 146; the screw nut 145 is threadedly engaged with the rotating screw 144;

[0127] As shown in FIG16 , in the flexible endoscope arm, the wire drive device 3 is integrally assembled on the feed connecting plate 141 through the drive module mounting frame 31 , and the feed connecting plate 141 is connected to the screw nut 145 ;

[0128] In the flexible instrument arm, the drive unit composed of the wire drive device 3 and the flexible shaft drive unit 8 is assembled on the feed connecting plate 141 through the drive module mounting frame 31, and the feed connecting plate 141 is connected and fixed to the screw nut 145.

[0129] Among them: when the feed drive motor 146 is started, the rotating screw 144 rotates, and the screw nut 145 threadedly engaged with the rotating screw 144 drives the feed connecting plate 14 fixedly connected to it to move linearly, and then drives the flexible endoscope arm / flexible instrument arm connected to the feed connecting plate 141 to move linearly; further, in order to improve the stability of linear motion, two optical axes 143 parallel to the rotating screw 144 can be set on the feed frame 142; the two optical axes are respectively located on both sides of the rotating screw 144, and are connected to the screw nut 145 through the shaft hole clearance.

[0130] In summary, the TEM minimally invasive surgical robot described in this embodiment includes an endoscopic arm and at least one instrument arm. The endoscopic arm can be used for image guidance in the rectal cavity and has 5 degrees of freedom; the instrument arm can be used for clinical diagnosis and treatment and has 7 degrees of freedom, including overall feeding, two-degree-of-freedom bending of the proximal active segment, two-degree-of-freedom bending of the distal end joint, and self-rotation and opening and closing freedom of the end clamp; at the same time, the setting of the linkage joint in the flexible robotic arm and the application of the hybrid drive mode of the drive wire combined with the nickel-titanium alloy rod can make the flexible robotic arm bend in an S shape, while avoiding the problem of motion coupling between joints, improving the motion control accuracy, and effectively overcoming the problems of insufficient degrees of freedom, poor operational flexibility and poor motion accuracy of the existing TEM minimally invasive surgical robots.

[0131] Example 6: As shown in Figures 14 to 16, this embodiment is based on the minimally invasive surgical robot described in Example 5, and is further defined as follows:

[0132] The minimally invasive surgical robot includes two flexible instrument arms, an endoscopic arm and a transanal port 9 (with a diameter of 32 mm); further, in the two flexible instrument arms and one flexible endoscopic arm, the three rigid tubes 6 are parallel to each other, and the axes of the three rigid tubes 6 are respectively located at the three vertices of the same triangle; the transanal port 9 is provided with three parallel channels, the two lower channels are used to guide the passage of the rigid tubes, flexible robotic arms and clamps in the flexible instrument arms and unfold them into a double-arm working configuration, and the upper channel is used to guide the passage of the rigid tubes and flexible robotic arms in the endoscopic arm.

[0133] As shown in FIG15 , the minimally invasive surgical robot of this embodiment further includes an overall frame 10 , the driving devices in the flexible instrument arm and the endoscope arm are respectively arranged in the overall frame 10 , and the transanal port 9 is arranged on the overall frame 10 .

[0134] In addition, as a preference, the active section 21 of the flexible robotic arm is detachably mounted on the rigid tube 6 to facilitate disassembly and installation of the robotic arm.

[0135] In the TEM-oriented minimally invasive surgical robot described in this embodiment, the two flexible instrument arms and the flexible endoscope arm are deployed in a triangular configuration, which can overcome the shortcomings of limited surgical field of view and limited surgical instruments in traditional TEM minimally invasive surgery.

[0136] Furthermore, as shown in FIG18 , in the minimally invasive surgical robot described in Examples 5 and 6 of the present invention: (1) the flexible endoscope arm mid-wire drive device 3 has four drive motor modules 17, and the drive module mounting frame 31 is provided with transmission base interfaces 34 corresponding to the four drive motor modules 17, and the transmission base interfaces 34 are fixedly connected to the drive motor connecting shaft 322; the drive motor modules 17 and the transmission base interfaces 34 are assembled and connected in a quick-disconnect and quick-release manner;

[0137] Specifically, as shown in FIG19 , the drive motor module 17 includes three hinged hole bolts 171, a floating output interface 172, a hinged hole bolt fixing ring 173, a motor fixing bolt 174, an output interface reset spring 175, and a drive motor (a reduction servo motor 176 in this embodiment); wherein: the two motor fixing bolts 174 are responsible for fixing the reduction servo motor 176; the end of the reduction servo motor 176 has a harmonic reducer flange; the three hinged hole bolts 171 pass through the floating output interface 172 and are connected to the hinged hole bolt fixing ring 173 and the harmonic reducer flange, so that the rotational motion of the reduction servo motor 176 can be converted into the rotational motion of the floating output interface 172, and the floating output interface 172 can float along the circumferential surface of the hinged hole bolts. The output interface reset spring 175 is arranged between the floating output interface 172 and the harmonic reducer flange to reset the floating output interface 172;

[0138] Furthermore, the floating output interface 172 is provided with a plurality of interface protrusions 1721, and the transmission base interface 34 is provided with a corresponding plurality of grooves. The drive motor module 17 cooperates with the interface protrusions 1721 on the floating output interface 172 and the grooves on the transmission base interface 34 to achieve quick disassembly and quick assembly.

[0139] (2) As shown in FIG19 , in the flexible instrument arm, the drive unit composed of the soft shaft drive unit + the wire drive device has a total of six drive motor modules 17. The drive module mounting frame 31 is provided with a transmission base interface 34 corresponding to the six drive motor modules 17. The specific setting and assembly method of the drive motor module are the same as those described above and will not be repeated in this embodiment.

[0140] (3) The minimally invasive surgical robot is further provided with an electrical connection board 16 , which is used to switch the circuits of the feed drive motors in the three integral feed drive devices 14 .

[0141] The TEM-oriented minimally invasive surgical robot provided by the present invention adopts a modular design concept and innovatively designs compact six-degree-of-freedom and four-degree-of-freedom drive units; at the same time, the instrument arm and endoscope arm drive devices have 6 and 4 transmission base interfaces respectively, and the transmission base interfaces are provided with grooves; accordingly, the drive motor module is provided with a floating output interface, and the floating output interface is provided with a protrusion, and the groove on the transmission base interface cooperates with the protrusion on the floating output interface to achieve rapid replacement during surgery.

[0142] In the TEM-oriented minimally invasive surgical robot provided by the present invention, the surgical instrument is driven by a steel wire flexible shaft, which can achieve a large range of end clamp rotation and opening and closing movement, and the decoupling of the rotation and push-pull movement of the steel wire flexible shaft is achieved through the innovative design of the flexible shaft drive unit.

[0143] Furthermore, it should be noted that the specific embodiments described in this specification may vary in the shapes and names of their components. Any equivalent or simple variations based on the structure, features, and principles described in the patented concept of this invention are included within the scope of protection of this patent. Persons skilled in the art may make various modifications, additions, or substitutions to the described specific embodiments, and these modifications, as long as they do not deviate from the structure of the invention or exceed the scope defined by the claims, shall fall within the scope of protection of this invention.

Claims

1. A flexible continuum joint, characterized in that: The invention comprises a double helix structure composed of two helical springs, wherein the double helix structure has a central hole inside, a hollow tube connected with the double helix structure and arranged coaxially is arranged in the central hole, and a plurality of notches are opened on the hollow tube.

2. The flexible continuum joint according to claim 1, characterized in that: A plurality of the notches are arranged on the hollow tube in a spiral shape.

3. A flexible robotic arm, characterized in that: It includes an active segment, a passive segment, a terminal joint, an active segment drive wire, a nickel-titanium alloy rod, and a terminal joint drive wire; wherein: The active segment, passive segment and terminal joint are all the flexible continuum joints as described in claim 1 or 2, and the active segment is connected to the passive segment, the passive segment is connected to the terminal joint, and the passive segment and the active segment have the same structural arrangement; One end of the active segment driving wire passes through the active segment and is fixed to the top of the active segment. The active segment driving wire is provided with a plurality of wires, and can enable the active segment to perform two-degree-of-freedom bending motion; The nickel-titanium alloy rod passes through the active section and the passive section in sequence, and one end is fixed at the bottom of the active section, and the other end is fixed at the top of the passive section. The number of the nickel-titanium alloy rods is the same as the number of the driving wires of the active section; One end of the terminal joint driving wire passes through the active section, the passive section and the terminal joint in sequence and is fixed at the top of the terminal joint. There are multiple terminal joint driving wires, and the terminal joint can perform two-degree-of-freedom bending motion.

4. The flexible robotic arm according to claim 3, characterized in that: The active segment drive wires and the terminal joint drive wires are respectively provided with four wires, and the other ends of the four active segment drive wires and the four terminal joint drive wires are respectively connected to the wire drive device; The wire driving device comprises four groups of wire driving components, four driving motors and a driving module mounting frame; The four groups of wire driving components are respectively rotatably mounted on the driving module mounting frame, and the wire driving components include two driving wire winding wheels and a driving motor connecting shaft; one of the two driving wire winding wheels is provided with a forward thread segment, and the other is provided with a reverse thread segment; the two driving wire winding wheels are respectively fixed to the driving motor connecting shaft by a top screw, and the driving motor connecting shaft is driven to rotate by the driving motor; The four active segment drive wires and the four terminal joint drive wires are grouped in pairs, and each group of active segment drive wires and each group of terminal joint drive wires are respectively wound on each group of wire drive components, and one of the two drive wires in each group is wound on the drive wire winding wheel with the forward thread segment, and the other is wound on the drive wire winding wheel with the reverse thread segment.

5. A flexible endoscope arm, characterized in that: It comprises the flexible robotic arm as described in claim 4, wherein an endoscopic imaging module is arranged on the end joint of the flexible robotic arm.

6. A flexible instrument arm, characterized in that: It includes the flexible robotic arm as described in claim 4, wherein a clamp is provided on the end joint of the flexible robotic arm, and a steel wire flexible shaft is provided in the central hole of the active section, passive section and end joint of the flexible robotic arm, the steel wire flexible shaft is connected to the clamp, and can drive the clamp to rotate and open and close under the drive of the flexible shaft driving unit.

7. The flexible instrument arm according to claim 6, characterized in that: The clamp comprises a rotating support, a flexible shaft fixing block, a push-pull shaft, a clamp body 1, a clamp body 2 and a clamp body rotating pin; wherein: The rotating support is rotatably connected to the support sleeve, and two push-pull tracks are arranged in parallel on the rotating support, and the support sleeve is fixed to the end joint; The flexible shaft fixing block is connected to the steel wire flexible shaft; The push-pull shaft is arranged on the flexible shaft fixing block; The first clamp body and the second clamp body are mirror images of each other and are respectively connected to the rotating support through the clamp body rotating pins; The first clamp body and the second clamp body are respectively provided with push-pull slide grooves, and the push-pull shafts respectively fall into the two push-pull tracks on the rotating support through the two push-pull slide grooves; The flexible shaft drive unit includes an integrated push-pull drive unit and a rotation drive unit; wherein: The push-pull drive unit includes a linear guide rail, a linear slider, a flexible shaft mounting groove, a passive rack, a driving gear, a push-pull drive motor and a push-pull slider; The linear slider is slidably matched on the linear guide rail, the flexible shaft installation groove is set on the linear slider, the passive rack is fixed on the flexible shaft installation groove, the passive rack is meshed with the active gear, and the active gear is driven to rotate by the push-pull drive motor; The push-pull slider is columnar; protrusions are arranged on both sides of the flexible shaft installation groove, and an arc groove corresponding to the columnar push-pull slider is arranged at the bottom, and the push-pull slider is loosely fitted in the arc groove; The rotary drive unit comprises an active rotary part, a passive rotary part, a transmission part, a flexible shaft assembly shaft, a rotary slider and a rotary drive motor; wherein: the active rotary part is driven to rotate by the rotary drive motor, the passive rotary part is connected to the active rotary part through a transmission part, the flexible shaft assembly shaft is fixed in the passive rotary part, a rectangular cross-section channel is provided inside the flexible shaft assembly shaft, the rotary slider has a rectangular outer cross-section, and the rotary slider is gap-fitted in the rectangular cross-section channel of the flexible shaft assembly shaft; the steel wire flexible shaft is connected to the rotary slider, and passes through the rotary slider to be fixed to the push-pull slider.

8. A minimally invasive surgical robot for TEM, characterized in that: The invention comprises a flexible endoscope arm as claimed in claim 5 and at least one flexible instrument arm as claimed in claim 7, wherein the flexible endoscope arm and the flexible instrument arm are respectively provided with an integral feed drive device, and the integral feed drive device comprises a rotating screw, a screw nut, a feed frame and a feed drive motor; wherein: the rotating screw is rotatably arranged on the feed frame and connected to the feed drive motor; the screw nut is threadably matched with the rotating screw; In the flexible endoscope arm, the wire drive device is integrally assembled on the screw nut through the drive module mounting frame; In the flexible instrument arm, a drive unit consisting of a wire drive device and a flexible shaft drive unit is integrally assembled on the lead screw nut.

9. The minimally invasive surgical robot for TEM according to claim 8, characterized in that: The minimally invasive surgical robot is provided with two flexible instrument arms; in the flexible endoscopic arm and each flexible instrument arm, the active sections of the flexible robotic arms are respectively connected to rigid tubes, and the rigid tubes are respectively connected to drive module mounting frames, the three rigid tubes are parallel to each other, and the axes of the three rigid tubes are respectively located at the three vertices of the same triangle.

10. The minimally invasive surgical robot for TEM according to claim 9, characterized in that: The minimally invasive surgical robot further comprises a transanal port, on which three channels respectively used for guiding the rigid tubes are arranged in parallel.

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