Floating Drive Mechanism for Low-Backlash Medical Robot Force Transmission
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical robots face issues with accuracy and controllability due to backlash and sliding resistance in the transmission of driving force from the actuator to the surgical tool, which affects force sense estimation and treatment precision.
Innovation Solution
A floating drive mechanism for medical robots that includes an actuator, manipulation member, and a transmission member, where the transmission member is restricted in movement orthogonal to the primary direction, absorbing forces in other directions to minimize sliding resistance and improve force transmission accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a transmission member is used to connect the actuator rod and manipulation member, then force transmission is enabled, but sliding resistance and backlash occur reducing accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical transmission system (with sliding contacts and backlash) with a magnetic field-based transmission system. The actuator rod and manipulation member are magnetically coupled through a non-contact magnetic field, eliminating physical sliding resistance and backlash while maintaining reliable force transmission. This substitution of mechanical contact with magnetic field interaction directly resolves the contradiction between reliable force transmission and treatment accuracy.
2Manufacturing precision
If the transmission member is constrained in orthogonal directions, then unwanted force transmission is reduced, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the physical transmission member from the system, replacing it with a magnetic field coupling mechanism. By taking out the mechanical transmission component that would require complex constraints, the system achieves accurate force transmission in the desired direction while naturally rejecting forces in orthogonal directions through the directional properties of the magnetic field, thereby reducing structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The magnetic field serves as an intermediary between the actuator rod and manipulation member, enabling force transmission without direct mechanical contact. This intermediary magnetic field naturally filters and directs forces along the intended axis while automatically rejecting orthogonal forces, achieving precise force transmission control without requiring additional constraint structures.
Data Source
AI summary
A floating drive for a medical robot includes an actuator that drives a rod forward and backward in a first direction, a manipulation member that operates with driving force of the actuator, and a transmission member that is located between the actuator and the manipulation member and that is engaged with the rod to transmit an operation of the rod to the manipulation member. The transmission member is restricted in its displacement having a component in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and the transmission member is separated from the rod in the second direction and transmitting force in the first direction from the rod to the manipulation member.