Spatially Adjustable Arm Balancing Mechanism

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing spatially adjustable arms for medical instruments and devices face issues such as impaired mobility, limited vertical adjustability, increased complexity, and difficulty in adjustment, leading to impaired functional usability and potential health risks due to dirt accumulation in complex structures.

Innovation Solution

A spatially adjustable arm with an outer joint connected to a supporting system via an inner joint, featuring a balancing mechanism with a stabilizer and a compact design that ensures parallelism of joint axes, allowing for easy handling and stable anchoring, reduced weight, and fewer gaps for dirt accumulation, utilizing a sliding rod mechanism with adjustable nuts and compression springs for fine adjustment.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a piston damper is used in the arm, then the arm achieves height balancing capability, but the mobility of the arm deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveheight balancing capabilityVSAvoidmobility
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent removes the piston damper from the arm structure entirely, extracting the element that caused mobility restrictions while preserving height balancing capability through an alternative mechanism design

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The arm is divided into multiple segments with independent rotational joints, allowing each segment to move freely without the constraint of a continuous piston damper, thereby improving mobility while maintaining balancing functionality

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If a spring mechanism is mounted between a supporting ring and a guide, then the arm achieves balancing capability, but the arm lacks stabilizing elements resulting in impaired functional usability

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebalancing capabilityVSAvoidfunctional usability
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines the spring mechanism with stabilizing elements into an integrated assembly, where the spring provides balancing force while the stabilizing elements maintain positional accuracy, resolving the contradiction between balancing capability and functional usability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Adaptability or versatility

If multiple rotary supporting bushings and horizontal arms are used, then the arm achieves versatility in media transfer, but the vertical adjustability is limited

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemedia transfer capabilityVSAvoidvertical adjustability
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSLength of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs dynamic adjustment mechanisms that allow the arm to adapt its vertical position and configuration on demand, enabling both versatile media transfer and full vertical adjustability through movable and reconfigurable components

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

4Stability of the object's composition

If a robust structure with multiple parts is used, then the arm achieves stability, but the structure becomes more complex and heavier, requiring motorized adjustment

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestructural stabilityVSAvoidnumber of parts
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges multiple separate components into integrated assemblies, reducing the total number of parts while maintaining structural stability through carefully designed combined elements that perform multiple functions simultaneously

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

5Stability of the object's composition

If a gas spring is used to dampen the swinging arm movement, then the arm achieves movement control, but the arm becomes difficult to adjust

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemovement controlVSAvoidadjustability
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent removes the gas spring from the system, extracting the element that provided movement control but hindered adjustability, and replaces it with a simpler mechanism that allows easy manual adjustment while maintaining adequate movement control

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The solution enables easy handling, stable anchoring, reduced weight, lower material costs, and improved cleanliness, while maintaining high carrying capacity and ease of assembly/disassembly, addressing the limitations of prior art by providing a robust and reliable, adjustable arm for medical and industrial applications.

Implementation Method 1

The balancing mechanism further contains a rod, on which an adjustable nut is mounted that is engaged with a compression spring

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectCompression spring: Spring

Implementation Method 2

The use of the stabilizer secures the position of the vertical axis of the rotary connection element that is part of the outer joint in the vertical position without deflection

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectMechanical constraint: Mechanical Force

Data Source

PatentEP2668437B1Spatially adjustable arm
Publication Date: 2020.05.27 MZ LIBEREC
  • EP2668437B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2668437B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2668437B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A spatially adjustable arm, especially a spatially adjustable arm (22) of a ceiling stand used to attach and carry suspended accessories as medical instruments, systems, aids and devices that is attached, with the use of an inner joint (1 ) to the supporting system (40) of the ceiling stand (25) and that contains an arm (23) connected to the inner joint (1 ) in a rotary way consisting of a beam (2) at the ends of which the inner head (18) and outer head (19,26) are installed and where the arm (23) contains a balancing mechanism (24).