Endoscope Bending Mechanism with 60-Degree Passive Rivets
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Solution Overview
Problem
Endoscopes with two-axis bending configurations experience significant differences in maximum bending angles across directions, leading to inefficiencies in navigating body cavities and industrial applications, as the active and passive bending portions do not maintain consistent bending angles, causing issues like excessive bending and twisting.
Innovation Solution
An endoscope design incorporating an active bending portion with two-axis bending capability and a passive bending portion with a three-axis bending configuration, where the active bending portion is connected via rivets at 90° and the passive bending portion via rivets at 60°, allowing for consistent maximum bending angles across 360°, reducing angle gaps and maintaining structural strength.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If two-axis bending configuration is used in active and passive bending portions, then structural simplicity is maintained, but significant differences in maximum bending angles across directions occur, leading to navigation inefficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different bending configurations to different parts of the endoscope: the active bending portion uses two-axis bending while the passive bending portion uses three-axis bending. This local differentiation allows the passive portion to maintain consistent maximum bending angles (60°) in all directions, while the active portion provides controlled two-axis movement, resolving the contradiction between structural simplicity and navigational efficiency.
2Ease of operation
If rivets are positioned at 90° in the active bending portion, then two-axis bending control is achieved, but angle gaps and twisting occur due to inconsistent bending angles across directions
Solution Approach 1:
The passive bending portion with three-axis bending configuration acts as an intermediary between the active bending portion and the surrounding environment. It compensates for the angle gaps and twisting caused by the two-axis active portion by providing consistent 60° bending angles in all directions, thereby stabilizing the overall bending performance of the endoscope.
3Adaptability or versatility
If passive bending portion has greater radius of curvature than active bending portion, then flexibility is improved, but excessive bending and twisting occur due to angle gaps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the key parameter of rivet positioning from the conventional 90° arrangement to a 60° arrangement in the passive bending portion. This parameter change enables three-axis bending capability, which provides consistent maximum bending angles in all directions, thereby maintaining flexibility while preventing excessive bending and twisting.
Data Source
AI summary
An endoscope includes an active bending portion provided in an insertion portion and bendable according to a bending operation, the active bending portion including bending pieces adjacent to each other and pivotably connected together via a plurality of rotation shafts, the rotation shafts being located at positions differing by 90° in a circumferential direction J of the bending pieces, and a passive bending portion provided closer to the proximal end side than the active bending portion and passively bendable when an external force is applied thereto, the passive bending portion including bending pieces adjacent to each other and pivotably connected together via a plurality of rotation shafts, the rotation shafts being located at positions differing by 60° in the circumferential direction J.