Biopsy Forceps Clevis Jaw Assembly and Actuation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional biopsy forceps face manufacturing inefficiencies, increased costs, and assembly challenges due to differing jaw configurations, as well as difficulties in maintaining a coiled configuration during storage and use, which affects sample size and handling.
Innovation Solution
The design includes a clevis with spaced arms and a pivot pin, paired with jaws having control arms and an actuator wire maintained by a tang, allowing for pivotal movement and efficient assembly, while also enabling the use of stamped jaw cups with varying thicknesses and materials to optimize jaw performance and packaging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional jaws with different configurations are used, then jaw performance can be optimized for specific functions, but manufacturing efficiency decreases and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing a single jaw configuration that can serve multiple functions through adjustable features. The jaw includes a movable portion that can be positioned at different locations along the jaw body, allowing the same jaw structure to perform various grasping functions with different tissue contact areas, thereby eliminating the need for multiple specialized jaw configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamics by incorporating a movable portion on the jaw that can be adjusted during operation. This dynamic element allows the jaw to adapt its configuration based on the specific tissue being grasped, providing functional versatility without requiring multiple static jaw designs, thus improving manufacturing efficiency while maintaining performance.
2Ease of manufacture
If the clevis and axle pin are inseparably assembled before jaws are installed, then assembly is simplified, but the arms of the clevis must be spread increasing assembly complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the clevis assembly into separable components. The clevis arms are designed to be separable from the axle pin, allowing the jaws to be inserted between the clevis arms before final assembly. This segmentation enables a two-stage assembly process that reduces the complexity of spreading clevis arms while maintaining assembly simplicity.
3Ease of manufacture
If the clevis and axle pin are separate, then assembly is easier, but the jaws must be inserted between clevis arms and aligned with the axle pin increasing assembly difficulty
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary element (such as a positioning feature or guide) that facilitates the alignment between the jaws and axle pin during assembly. This intermediary component helps guide the jaws into proper alignment with the axle pin while allowing the clevis and axle pin to remain separable, thus maintaining assembly ease without compromising precision.
4Quantity of substance
If a large jaw size is used, then tissue sample size increases, but the forceps cannot travel through smaller radius turns
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by implementing a dynamic jaw design where the jaw opening size can be adjusted. The movable portion allows the jaw to change its effective size based on the operational requirement, enabling large jaw opening for tissue sampling while maintaining a compact configuration for navigating through narrow anatomical passages.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by having different portions of the jaw with different characteristics. The jaw body maintains a compact profile for maneuverability, while the movable portion can be positioned to create a larger effective grasping area when needed, thus optimizing both maneuverability and tissue sample capacity through localized functional differentiation.
5Length of moving object
If the instrument is made very long and flexible, then it can reach deep into the body, but packaging and storage become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by incorporating a coiling mechanism that pre-forms the long flexible instrument into a compact coiled configuration before packaging. This pre-coiled state facilitates easy packaging and storage, while the instrument can be easily extended to its full length during use to reach deep anatomical structures.
Data Source
AI summary
A surgical instrument including an elongate member having opposite ends, and a clevis attached to one end of the opposite ends. The clevis has a pair of spaced arms. The instrument includes a pin extending between the spaced arms of the clevis, and a pair of end effectors. Each of the end effectors has a pivot hole adapted for receiving the pin extending between the spaced arms of the clevis for pivotal movement relative to the clevis and a control arm for pivoting the respective end effector about the pin. The control arm includes an actuation hole and a tang adjacent the actuation hole. The instrument includes an actuator wire extending longitudinally to a laterally extending end received within the actuation hole. A portion of the longitudinally extending wire adjacent the laterally extending end and actuation hole is engaged by the tang to maintain the wire in the actuation hole.