Gear-Driven Robotic End-Effector for Single-Incision Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Surgical robotic systems face challenges in providing simultaneous access to all parts of a patient's abdominal cavity with multiple instruments, requiring multiple incisions and compromising on motor and gearing compactness, stiffness, and torque transfer.
Innovation Solution
A robotic arm assembly with integrated motors and gear assemblies that allow for orthogonal central axes, enabling flexible instrument movement and access through a single incision, using a first and second motor drive portion with corresponding gear assemblies to rotate the instrument gear relative to different central axes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple incisions are made to access all parts of the abdominal cavity, then instrument access is improved, but patient trauma and procedural complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs orthogonal central axes (first central axis C and second central axis D) that intersect at right angles, enabling instruments to access different spatial dimensions through a single incision. This dimensional approach allows the robotic arm to reach multiple areas of the abdominal cavity by rotating around perpendicular axes rather than requiring multiple incision sites
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic arm assembly with dual orthogonal motors and gear assemblies provides multi-directional movement capability from a single incision site. The system can perform multiple surgical functions (accessing different quadrants, manipulating instruments at various angles) through one access point, making the single incision as versatile as multiple incisions would have been
2Volume of moving object
If motors and gearing are made compact, then device size is reduced, but stiffness and torque transfer may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the first motor (111) and second motor (112) along with their respective gear assemblies (104, 105) into a nested configuration within the robotic arm assembly. The motors and gearings are positioned concentrically or adjacently around the central axes, allowing compact packaging while maintaining structural integrity and torque transmission paths
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic arm is divided into functional segments with dedicated motor-gear assemblies for each degree of freedom. The first motor-gear assembly (111, 104) handles rotation around the first central axis, while the second motor-gear assembly (112, 105) handles rotation around the second central axis. This segmentation allows each compact module to be optimized for its specific function while collectively achieving the overall performance requirements
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3
AI summary
A robotic arm assembly may include an arm segment (101) and an end-effector assembly (102).The arm segment (101) may include an elongated body, a first motor (111), and a second motor (112). The end-effector assembly (102) may be securable to the arm segment (101). The end-effector assembly (102) may include an instrument assembly (103), a first gear assembly (104), and a second gear assembly (105). The instrument assembly (103) may include an instrument (1031) and an instrument gear (1032). The first gear assembly (104) may include a first primary gear (1041) and a protrusion portion (1042). The protrusion portion (1042) may be configurable to drive the instrument assembly (103). The second gear assembly (105) may include a second primary gear (1051) configurable to drive the instrument gear (1032).