Forceps device

Abstract

The present invention comprises: a pair of gripping parts; a support which holds the gripping parts; a first pivot shaft which pivotably supports the support; a second pivot shaft which pivotably supports the gripping parts and which is held by the support; a plurality of wires which are linked to the gripping parts and which transmit a drive force for operating the gripping parts; a first guide pulley which is disposed on the same axis as the first pivot shaft and along which the wires pass; and a second guide pulley which is disposed upstream of the first guide pulley and along which the wires that pass along the first guide pulley pass. The plurality of wires include a wire for opening and a wire for closing. The diameter of the first guide pulley and the diameter of the second guide pulley are set in accordance with a gap in the second pivot shaft direction between the wire for opening, which is provided to one of the gripping parts, and the wire for closing, which is provided to the other one of the gripping parts, as seen in a side view of the forceps device.

Description

forceps device

[0001] FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure relates to medical forceps devices.

[0002] In bipolar forceps, wires for transmitting driving force are wound around movable parts such as grippers and joints, and electric wires (hereinafter also referred to as cables) are connected to each of the pair of grippers. The forceps device disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a pulley mechanism that movably constrains the wires. The pulley mechanism is composed of multiple pulleys, and a wire is wound around each pulley. The pulley on the distal end side (upstream side) is offset horizontally in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the forceps device relative to the other pulleys. This allows the wire wound around the distal end pulley to extend into the shaft.

[0003] Special Publication No. 2018-538065

[0004] However, in the forceps device described above, repeated pulling of the wire around the pulley may reduce the durability of the wire. Furthermore, in the forceps device described above, increasing the diameter of the distal pulley to increase the bending radius of the wire may result in a larger diameter forceps device, which may increase the burden on the patient due to the invasive procedure. Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a forceps device that can be made smaller and has improved wire durability.

[0005] a first rotation shaft that rotatably supports the support, a second rotation shaft that rotatably supports the gripping portions and is held by the support, a plurality of wires that are connected to the gripping portions and transmit a driving force that operates the gripping portions, a first guide pulley that is arranged coaxially with the first rotation shaft and around which the wires are wound, and a second guide pulley that is arranged upstream of the first guide pulley and around which the wires wound around the first guide pulley are wound, the plurality of wires including an opening wire and a closing wire, and the diameters of the first guide pulley and the second guide pulley are set according to the distance in the second rotation shaft direction between the opening wire arranged in one of the gripping portions and the closing wire arranged in the other gripping portion when viewed from the side of the forceps device.

[0006] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a forceps device that can be made smaller and that has improved durability of the wires.

[0007] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a forceps device 10 according to an embodiment. Fig. 2 is a front view of the forceps device 10 shown in Fig. 1 as viewed from direction A. Fig. 3 is a side view of the forceps device 10 shown in Fig. 1 as viewed from direction B. Fig. 4 is a rear perspective view of the forceps device 10 shown in Fig. 1 as viewed from direction C. Fig. 5(a) is a perspective view of the support body 14 as viewed from above, and Fig. 5(b) is a perspective view of the support body 14 as viewed from below. Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining the arrangement of a guide pulley 20 and a guide pulley 22 according to an embodiment.

[0008] Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present disclosure will be described in detail. Note that the present disclosure is not limited to these examples, but is defined by the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims. Note that in the description of the specification and drawings relating to each embodiment, components having substantially the same or corresponding functional configurations may be designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant description may be omitted.

[0009] In addition, the drawings may be emphasized, omitted, or adjusted in proportion to facilitate understanding, and may differ from the actual shapes, positional relationships, and proportions. Hatching lines may be omitted in cross-sectional views.

[0010] In the direction of the central axis (hereinafter also referred to as the first axis V) of the forceps device 10, the side of the gripping portion 12 at the tip is the downstream side, and the opposite side is the upstream side. In each figure, "-Y" indicates the upstream direction, and "+Y" indicates the downstream direction. "+X" indicates the right-hand direction when facing upstream from the gripping portion 12 side, and "-X" indicates the left-hand direction when facing upstream from the gripping portion 12 side. "+Z" indicates the front direction, and "-Z" indicates the rear direction. The directions indicated by X, Y, and Z are mutually orthogonal and each represents a three-dimensional coordinate axis. With respect to an object, the +X side may be referred to as the right side, the -X side as the left side, the +Y side as the upper side, the -Y side as the lower side, the +Z side as the front side, and the -Z side as the rear side.

[0011] <Embodiment> <Overall Configuration of Forceps Device 10> First, the overall configuration of the forceps device 10 will be described. The forceps device 10 according to this embodiment is a bipolar forceps, and is applied to a master-slave type surgical robot. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the forceps device according to this embodiment. Fig. 2 is a front view of the forceps device shown in Fig. 1 as seen from direction A. Fig. 3 is a side view of the forceps device shown in Fig. 1 as seen from direction B. Fig. 4 is a rear perspective view of the forceps device shown in Fig. 1 as seen from direction C. The forceps device 10 includes a pair of gripping portions 12, a support 14 that holds the pair of gripping portions 12, a first rotation shaft 16 that rotatably supports the support 14, a base component 18 that holds the first rotation shaft 16, four guide pulleys (first guide pulleys) 20 that are coaxial with the first rotation shaft 16 and around which wires 46, 48, 50, and 52 are hung, a guide pulley 23 that is coaxial with the first rotation shaft 16 and around which cables 60 and 62 are hung, a second rotation shaft 24 that rotatably supports the pair of gripping portions 12 and is held by the support 14, and two jaw pulleys (gripper pulleys) 26 that are held coaxially with the second rotation shaft 24. Note that, hereinafter, the rotation shaft does not necessarily mean a shaft that rotates (turns) itself, but may also be a shaft that serves as an axis around which a supported member rotates, and may be a shaft that is fixed to another member.

[0012] [Guide Pulley 20] The guide pulley 20 is rotatably supported on the first rotating shaft 16. The guide pulleys 20 are arranged adjacent to each other, two on each side of the support body 14. In other words, the guide pulleys 20 are arranged adjacent to each other, two on each side of the left and right ends of the first rotating shaft 16, with the first axis V line being sandwiched between them. The guide pulleys 20 are arranged symmetrically on both sides of the first axis V.

[0013] [Base Component 18] The base component 18 has a pair of arms 18a that hold both ends of the first rotation shaft 16, and a third rotation shaft 28 that is held by the pair of arms 18a and rotatably supports two guide pulleys (second guide pulleys) 22 that are located upstream of the guide pulley 20. The third rotation shaft 28 is provided on each of the pair of arms 18a. In this embodiment, the guide pulleys 22 provided on each arm 18a are arranged so that the axes of the guide pulleys 22 are aligned on the same line. The guide pulleys 22 are also arranged symmetrically with respect to the first axis V.

[0014] 5(a) is a perspective view of the support body 14 seen from above, and Fig. 5(b) is a perspective view of the support body 14 seen from below. The support body 14 has a pair of arms 14a that hold the second rotating shaft 24, a guide portion 14b that is provided between the pair of arms 14a and that guides the cable to the guide pulley 23, and a pulley portion 14c into which the first rotating shaft 16 is inserted.

[0015] (Pair of Arms 14a) The arm 14a has a tip portion that holds the second rotation shaft 24 thinner than a base portion. Guide portions 14b are provided on the inner side of the pair of arms 14a in the direction of the second rotation shaft 24.

[0016] (Pulley portion 14c) The pulley portion 14c has a pulley groove 32 formed along the circumferential direction of the first pivot shaft 16. The pulley portion 14c is disposed below the arm 14a (on the base component 18 side) and shifted to the left with respect to the first axis V. A circular through-hole 29 is formed in the pulley portion 14c, into which a bearing 30 is attached. The first pivot shaft 16, which rotatably supports the support body 14, is inserted into the bearing 30 attached to the pulley portion 14c. Wires 54, 56 that transmit a driving force for rotating the support body 14 around the first pivot shaft 16 are hung on the pulley portion 14c. (Guide portion 14b) The guide portion 14b is sandwiched between the pair of arms 14a and the pulley portion 14c. In addition, the guide portion 14b has a pair of side portions facing each other in the direction of the first rotation axis 16, an upper surface portion that is continuous with the upper edge of the side portion and has a guide hole 38, and a bottom surface portion that is continuous with the lower edge of the side portion and has an outlet hole 42.

[0017] Furthermore, the guide portion 14b is formed with a groove portion 34 that is formed along the circumferential direction of the pulley groove 32 and extends in the direction of the second rotation shaft 24. The groove portion 34 is formed to traverse the guide portion 14b in the direction of the second rotation shaft 24. Therefore, the top surface and the bottom surface are formed with open holes 40 that communicate with the groove portion 34. The top surface has two approximately elliptical guide holes 38 and the open hole 40 formed in the direction of the second rotation shaft 24.

[0018] The two guide holes 38 are arranged adjacent to each other in the direction of the second rotation shaft 24. The two guide holes 38 are also arranged with a left-right offset relative to the first axis V. The peripheries of the guide holes 38 arranged with a left-right offset protrude outward from the side surface in the direction of the first rotation shaft 16. The left end of the guide hole 38 is connected to the open hole 40. In other words, the guide hole 38 and the open hole 40 are continuous.

[0019] The bottom surface portion has two circular outlet holes 42 and an open hole 40 formed along the second rotation axis 24. The two outlet holes 42 are positioned offset to the right with respect to the first axis V. They are also positioned adjacent to each other along the second rotation axis 24. The outlet holes 42 have a smaller diameter than the guide hole 38. The guide hole 38 and the outlet holes 42 are connected along the first axis V. Hereinafter, the rear guide hole 38 will also be referred to as the first guide hole, and the rear outlet hole 42 connected to the first guide hole 38 will also be referred to as the first outlet hole. The front guide hole 38 will also be referred to as the second guide hole, and the front outlet hole 42 connected to the second guide hole 38 will also be referred to as the second outlet hole. Furthermore, the cable insertion space formed by communication between the first guide hole 38 and the first outlet hole 42 is referred to as the first insertion space S1, and the cable insertion space formed by communication between the second guide hole 38 and the second outlet hole 42 is referred to as the second insertion space S2. The first insertion space S1 and the second insertion space S2 are separated by a partition wall 44 formed along the direction of the first rotation axis 16. A cable 62 connected to the rear grip portion 12 is inserted into the first insertion space S1, and a cable connected to the front grip portion 12 is inserted into the second insertion space S2. The cables 60, 62 inserted into the guide portion 14b from the left and right directions across the first axis V are guided into the first insertion space S1 and the second insertion space S2 and then output to the right side of the first axis V via the outlet hole 42.

[0020] (Guide Pulley 23) The guide pulley 23 is rotatably supported on the first rotating shaft 16 and is disposed offset to the right with respect to the first axis V. The guide pulley 23 is also rotatably supported on the first rotating shaft 16, which is inserted into a bearing 30 attached to the support body 14. Two cables 60, 62 led out from the guide portion 14b are hung separately on half portions of the guide pulley 23.

[0021] (Deflection pulley 36) The deflection pulley 36 is attached to the surface of the side portion by, for example, a spindle. The deflection pulley 36 is attached at a predetermined angle with respect to the first rotation shaft 16. The deflection pulley 36 deflects the wires 46, 50 toward the guide pulley 20, which is disposed on the inside in the direction of the first rotation shaft 16.

[0022] (Wires 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56) Each of the wires 46, 48, 50, and 52 transmits a driving force that operates the gripping portion 12 and the joints. Specifically, the wires 46 and 48 are connected to and hooked around the jaw pulley 26 of the front gripping portion 12, such that the front gripping portion 12 moves in an opening direction when the wire 46 is pulled and moves in a closing direction when the wire 48 is pulled. Furthermore, the wires 50 and 52 are connected to and hooked around the jaw pulley 26 of the rear gripping portion 12, such that the left gripping portion 12 moves in an opening direction when the wire 50 is pulled and moves in a closing direction when the wire 52 is pulled. Hereinafter, the wires 46 and 50 will also be referred to as opening wires, and the wires 48 and 52 will also be referred to as closing wires.

[0023] Furthermore, wires 46, 48, 50, and 52 are hung around each of the four guide pulleys 20. The wires pass between the corresponding guide pulleys 20 and 22 and extend to the underside of the guide pulleys 22 (toward the base component 18). Each of the wires 54 and 56 transmits a driving force that rotates the support body 14 about the first rotation shaft 16. Specifically, the wires 54 and 56 are hung around the pulley portion 14c, and the support body 14 rotates about the first rotation shaft 16 when the wires are pulled.

[0024] (Cables 60, 62) Each of the cables 60, 62 is a copper conductor coated with an insulating layer. Connecting the cables 60, 62 to the gripping portion 12 converts the gripping portion 12 into an electrode. Specifically, one end of each of the cables 60, 62 is connected to the gripping portion 12, and the cables 60, 62 are hung adjacent to the occlusion wires 48, 52 on the half-circle of the jaw pulley 26 on which the occlusion wires 48, 52 are hung. When the occlusion wires 48, 52 are pulled to move the gripping portion 12 in the occlusion direction, the gripping portion 12 pulls the cables 60, 62 from the connecting portion as a starting point. As a result, the cables 60, 62 are pushed by the gripping portion 12 and move upstream from the connecting portion as a starting point. The cable 60 is hung around the front half of the guide pulley 23, and the cable 62 is hung around the rear half of the guide pulley 23.

[0025] (How wires are hung on guide pulleys 20, 22) Guide pulley 20, guide pulley 20, pulley portion 14c, guide pulley 23, guide pulley 20, and guide pulley 20 are arranged in this order in the left-right direction on first rotating shaft 16. Furthermore, guide pulley 20, guide pulley 20, and pulley portion 14c are arranged on the left side of first axis V, and guide pulley 23, guide pulley 20, and guide pulley 20 are arranged on the right side of first axis V. Corresponding wires 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56 and cables 60, 62 are hung in the above-mentioned arrangement.

[0026] The wire 48 is looped around the front half of the guide pulley 20 and the rear half of the guide pulley 22, and extends into the shaft (inside the base part 18). The wire 52 is looped around the rear half of the guide pulley 20 and the front half of the guide pulley 22, and extends into the shaft (inside the base part 18). In other words, when the wires 48, 52 move, they are guided into the shaft (inside the base part 18) by the guide pulleys 20, 22.

[0027] (Diameter of Guide Pulleys 20, 22) In this embodiment, the diameters of the guide pulleys 20, 22 are increased to improve the durability of the wires. That is, the bending radii of the wires 46, 48, 50, 52 are increased. The diameters of the guide pulleys 20, 22 are set according to the distance between the opening wire 46 disposed in the front gripping portion 12 and the occluding wire 52 disposed in the rear gripping portion 12 (the distance between the occluding wire 48 disposed in the front gripping portion 12 and the opening wire 50 disposed in the rear gripping portion 12) in the direction of the second rotation axis 24. Note that the distance between the opening wire 46 disposed in the front gripping portion 12 and the occluding wire 52 disposed in the rear gripping portion 12 is assumed to be equal to the distance between the occluding wire 48 disposed in the front gripping portion 12 and the opening wire 50 disposed in the rear gripping portion 12. That is, the diameter of the guide pulleys 20, 22 is set according to the distance in the direction of the second pivot axis 24 between the opening wire 46 (50) arranged in one of the gripping portions 12 and the closing wire 52 (48) arranged in the other gripping portion 12 when the forceps device 10 is viewed from the left or right.

[0028] In this embodiment, when viewed from the left and right, the wires 46 and 52 (wires 48 and 50) are arranged as close as possible to both ends of the second rotating shaft 24. In other words, the wires 46 and 48 are arranged as close as possible to the front side of the second rotating shaft 24, and the wires 50 and 52 are arranged as close as possible to the rear side of the second rotating shaft 24. In this manner, the wires 46, 48, 50, and 52 are arranged near the outer diameter of the base component 18. Furthermore, the cable 60 (62) is hung on the inside of each jaw pulley 26 in the Z axis direction, and the wires 46, 48 (50, 52) are hung on the outside. This increases the spacing between the wires 46 and 52 (wires 48 and 50) connected to each jaw pulley 26, allowing the diameters of the guide pulleys 20 and 22 to be increased. This allows the bending radius of the wires 46, 48, 50, and 52 to be increased, improving the durability of the wires.

[0029] In this embodiment, the diameter of the jaw pulley 26 is set to, for example, 5.5 mm, the diameter of the guide pulley 20 is set to, for example, 3.0 mm, and the diameter of the guide pulley 22 is set to, for example, 3.0 mm. This makes the diameter of the guide pulley 20 and the diameter of the guide pulley 22 the same, thereby reducing manufacturing costs.

[0030] (Arrangement of Guide Pulleys) FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating the arrangement of the guide pulley 20 and the guide pulley 22 according to the embodiment. In this embodiment, the guide pulley 20 and the guide pulley 22 are arranged adjacent to each other on the first axis V. That is, the axis of the guide pulley 20 (the center of the first rotation shaft 16) and the axis of the guide pulley 22 (the center of the third rotation shaft 28) are arranged on the first axis V. This makes it possible to suppress an increase in the outer diameter due to an increase in the guide pulley diameter, compared to when the guide pulleys 20 and 22 are arranged offset from each other. In other words, the guide pulley diameter can be increased while achieving a more compact (thinner) device.

[0031] As described above, the forceps device 10 comprises a pair of gripping sections 12, a support 14 that holds each gripping section 12, a first rotation shaft 16 that rotatably supports the support 14, a second rotation shaft 24 that rotatably supports each gripping section 12 and is held by the support 14, a plurality of wires 46, 48, 50, 52 that are connected to each gripping section 12 and transmit a driving force that operates the gripping section 12, a first guide pulley 20 that is arranged coaxially with the first rotation shaft 16 and around which the wires 46, 48, 50, 52 are hung, and a wire 46, 48, 50, 52 is attached above the first guide pulley 20. and a second guide pulley 22 disposed on the downstream side and around which the wires passed around the first guide pulley 20 are passed, the plurality of wires 46, 48, 50, 52 include opening wires 46, 50 and closing wires 48, 52, and the diameters of the first guide pulley 20 and the second guide pulley 22 are set according to the distance in the second rotation axis direction 24 between the opening wire 46 (50) disposed in one gripping portion 12 and the closing wire 52 (48) disposed in the other gripping portion in a side view of the forceps device 10. This makes it possible to provide a forceps device 10 that is compact and has improved durability of the wires 46, 48, 50, 52.

[0032] Furthermore, by making the guide pulley 20 and the guide pulley 22 have the same pulley diameter, it is possible to reduce manufacturing costs.

[0033] Furthermore, by arranging the guide pulley 20 and the guide pulley 22 adjacent to each other on the first axis V, the diameter of the guide pulley can be increased while the size of the device is reduced (the diameter is made thinner).

[0034] Although the forceps device has been described above using embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications and improvements, such as combinations or substitutions with part or all of other embodiments, are possible within the scope specified in the claims.

[0035] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 forceps device 12 gripping portion 14 support 14a arm 14b guide portion 14c pulley portion 16 first rotation shaft 18 base part 18a arm 20 guide pulley (first guide pulley) 22 guide pulley (second guide pulley) 24 second rotation shaft 26 jaw pulley (gripping portion pulley) 28 third rotation shaft 29 through hole 30 bearing 32 pulley groove 34 groove portion 36 deflection pulley 38 guide hole 40 open hole 42 lead-out hole 44 partition wall portion 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56 wire 60, 62 cable V first shaft S1 first insertion space S2 second insertion space

Claims

a first rotation shaft rotatably supporting the support, a second rotation shaft rotatably supporting each of the gripping parts and held by the support, a plurality of wires connected to each of the gripping parts and transmitting a driving force for operating the gripping parts, a first guide pulley arranged coaxially with the first rotation shaft and around which the wires are wound, and a second guide pulley arranged upstream of the first guide pulley and around which the wires wound on the first guide pulley are wound, wherein the plurality of wires include an opening wire and a closing wire, and wherein the diameters of the first guide pulley and the second guide pulley are set according to the distance in the second rotation shaft direction between the opening wire arranged in one of the gripping parts and the closing wire arranged in the other gripping part when viewed from the side of the forceps device.

2. The forceps device according to claim 1, further comprising a base part that holds the first rotation axis, each of the gripping parts being arranged coaxially with the second rotation axis and further having a gripping part pulley around which the wire is hung, the wire being hung on the outside of each of the gripping part pulleys and being arranged near the outer diameter of the base part.

3. The forceps device according to claim 2, further comprising a cable connected to each of the gripper pulleys and supplying current to each of the grippers, the cable being hung inside each of the gripper pulleys.

4. A forceps device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first guide pulley and the second guide pulley are arranged adjacent to each other on a first axis.

5. The forceps device according to claim 4, wherein the diameter of the first guide pulley is the same as the diameter of the second guide pulley.

6. The forceps device according to claim 5, wherein the diameter of the gripping portion pulley is 5.5 mm, the diameter of the first guide pulley is 3 mm, and the diameter of the second guide pulley is 3 mm.

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