Endoscope Bending Lever with Movable Engagement Pin
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing endoscopes with joystick-type bending levers face limitations in providing precise and intuitive control for bending operations, particularly in small-diameter applications, as they require significant operational force and do not allow for seamless direction changes.
Innovation Solution
An endoscope design featuring a bending operation mechanism with a lever that can be tilted in all directions, including up, down, left, and right, combined with a variable fixation mechanism that allows the bending lever to be displaced relative to the operation portion, enabling precise control and reduced operational force through a grasping portion and engagement pin system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a joystick-type bending lever is used for bending operations, then the bending operation can be performed in all directions with simpler operation, but the lever requires significant operational force and does not allow for seamless direction changes
Solution Approach 1:
The lever is designed to be tiltable in all directions (up, down, left, right) rather than being constrained to fixed directions, allowing dynamic adjustment of bending direction. This multi-directional tilting capability enables seamless direction changes during operation without requiring significant force.
2Ease of operation
If a joystick-type bending lever is used for bending operations, then the bending operation can be performed in all directions with simpler operation, but precise and intuitive control is not provided
Solution Approach 1:
The lever incorporates distinct tilting regions corresponding to different bending directions (up, down, left, right). Each region provides optimized control characteristics for its specific direction, enabling precise and intuitive control while maintaining the ability to operate in all directions with simple movements.
3Ease of operation
If the bending operation mechanism is made movable relative to the operation portion, then precise control and reduced operational force are enabled, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The engagement pin and long hole mechanism integrates the movable support function directly into the existing operation portion structure. The engagement pin, guided into the long hole, combines positioning and movement guidance functions in a single simple component, reducing overall device complexity while enabling precise control and reduced operational force.
Data Source
AI summary
To achieve an accurate bending operation in a specific direction on a joystick-type bending lever, an endoscope includes: a bending operation mechanism including a bending lever configured to be tilted in all directions including a first direction, a second direction, a third direction, and a fourth direction corresponding to bending directions in up, down, left, and right directions, respectively, of a bending portion; a long hole provided in the bending operation mechanism; and an engagement pin provided on an operation portion and configured to engage with the long hole. The engagement pin is guided into the long hole and the bending operation mechanism is supported such that the bending operation mechanism is movable relative to the operation portion.