Endoscope Elevator Segmentation for Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Endoscopes with elevators have complex structures around the elevator and elevating wire, making them difficult to clean and requiring significant trouble in maintenance.
Innovation Solution
An endoscope design with a detachable elevator system, featuring a lever pivotally attached to the distal end of the insertion part, a pivot part for lever movement, a first elevating part with a recess, and a second elevating part protruding from the first, allowing easy attachment and detachment, simplifying cleaning and maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the elevator is integrated with a complex structure around the elevating wire, then the elevator can be securely supported and controlled, but the structure becomes difficult to clean and requires significant maintenance trouble
Solution Approach 1:
The elevator assembly is divided into separate components: the elevator body, the elevating wire, and the pivot part. The pivot part is detachably connected to the elevator, allowing the elevator to be separated from the complex wire structure for cleaning purposes while maintaining secure support and control during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The pivot part is extracted as a separate detachable component from the integrated elevator structure. This allows the pivot part to be removed and cleaned independently from the elevating wire and other components, eliminating the cleaning difficulty while preserving the functional integration during use.
2Reliability
If the elevator structure is made complex to ensure proper functionality, then the elevator can be securely attached and controlled, but the maintenance time and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The elevator system is segmented into the elevator body and the pivot part as detachable components. This segmentation allows for quick maintenance by enabling removal and replacement of the pivot part without disassembling the entire elevator structure, significantly reducing maintenance time while ensuring proper functionality through the designed connection interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The pivot part is designed as a replaceable component that can be easily removed and replaced. This allows for rapid maintenance by discarding the worn pivot part and installing a new one, avoiding the need for complex disassembly and recovery operations, thus reducing maintenance time while preserving elevator functionality.
3Device complexity
If the elevator is designed with integrated components, then the structure is compact and functional, but attachment and detachment become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The elevator is segmented into the elevator body and the pivot part with a designed connection interface. This segmentation enables easy attachment and detachment of the pivot part from the elevator body while maintaining structural compactness during operation, as the components fit together seamlessly when assembled.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection between the pivot part and the elevator body is designed to be dynamically attachable and detachable. The pivot part can be easily attached to and detached from the elevator body through a simple operation at the connection interface, providing operational flexibility while maintaining structural integrity when assembled.
Data Source
AI summary
An example elevator, attachable to and detachable from an endoscope including a lever pivotally provided at a distal end of an insertion part of the endoscope and a pivot part causing the lever to pivot, includes: a first elevating part having a recess at one surface thereof; a second elevating part protruding from an edge of the first elevating part; and a lever connection part located at an end of the second elevating part and connected to the lever.