Ball-in-Socket Driver Fixation for Multi-Angle Screw Insertion
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Solution Overview
Problem
In spinal surgery procedures, existing driver devices with u-joints face challenges in maintaining appropriate force during screw insertion due to limited angulation and wear issues with bushings, making it difficult to drive components securely.
Innovation Solution
An articulating driver with a ball-in-socket joint that includes a spherical head with grooves, a retention cap with a domed surface, a spring, and a housing with tapered ends, allowing for stable torque transmission and retention of the driver tip, enabling multi-angle screwing operations with approximately 45-50° angulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a u-joint is provided to allow the driver head to articulate with respect to an input shaft, then the driver can achieve angulation for multi-angle screwing operations, but the range of angulation makes it difficult for a user to maintain appropriate force on the component being driven
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the angulation parameter from a wide range (u-joint) to a limited range (45-50 degrees ball-in-socket joint). This parameter change resolves the contradiction by providing sufficient angulation versatility for multi-angle screwing operations while maintaining stable force control within the optimized angular range, eliminating the difficulty of force maintenance associated with excessive angulation freedom.
2Ease of manufacture
If a bushing within the driver head is used to retain a driver tip, then the driver tip can be retained, but the bushing wears out over time causing the driver tip to move around
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the bushing component from the driver head assembly. By removing this wear-prone element, the design achieves permanent driver tip retention through the spherical head and retention cap mechanism, eliminating the reliability issue of driver tip movement caused by bushing wear while maintaining ease of manufacture through simplified assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the disposable wear-prone bushing with a permanent retention mechanism using a spherical head with grooves and a retention cap with pins. This eliminates the need for periodic replacement or maintenance of wear components, achieving both ease of manufacture and long-term reliability without driver tip movement.
3Ease of operation
If a spring is provided between the retention cap and the spherical head, then the spherical head can be positionally retained, but the spring may compress or expand affecting precision
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the spring compression parameter to a minimal, controlled amount that provides just enough force for positional retention without affecting angular positioning accuracy. The spring is designed with specific stiffness and pre-compression parameters that allow it to maintain the spherical head position while remaining effectively rigid during the 45-50 degree angulation operations, thus resolving the contradiction between retention and precision.
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 articulating driver maintains stable operation and secure screw insertion with improved angulation and reduced wear, ensuring effective transmission of torque and retention of screws within the driver.
Implementation Method 1
a spring disposed in an end of the input shaft and in a recess of the retention cap opposite that of the domed surface
Implementation Method 2
The housing may have a tapered end to positionally retain the spherical head therein
Implementation Method 3
Each of the holes may receive a pin that passes through the housing and is received within a respective groove of the spherical head
Data Source
AI summary
An articulating driver having a ball-in-socket joint. The driver may include a driver tip having a spherical head, a retention cap having a domed surface to mate with the spherical head, an input shaft, a spring disposed in an end of the input shaft and in a recess of the retention cap opposite that of the domed surface, and a housing that receives the input shaft, the spring, the retention cap and the spherical head. The housing may have a tapered end to positionally retain the spherical head therein. In another aspect, the driver may include a driver tip coupled to the input shaft that includes an interface to engage a screw. A bushing may engage the driver tip at one end and receive the screw at the other end to retain the screw within the driver.