Instrument Positioning Device Non-Integer Rack Spacing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing adjustment and positioning devices for instruments, such as medical instruments, face challenges in achieving precise positional adjustment due to manual operation tremors and external forces, leading to reduced accuracy and increased operational complexity.
Innovation Solution
An adjustment and positioning device with a bracket and locking mechanism that includes a rack and sliding member with locking plugs, allowing for non-integer spacing between teeth and plugs, enabling stepless adjustment and improved flexibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a gear, rack, or worm locking mechanism is used to engage with the rack, then the locking mechanism can engage with the rack, but the rack can only adjust position in fixed steps (integer multiples of tooth spacing), reducing flexibility
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism is segmented into multiple independent locking plugs (at least two) instead of using a single gear or worm. Each locking plug can independently engage with the rack teeth, allowing the system to achieve locking at non-integer tooth spacings by combining the engagement points of multiple plugs, thereby enabling fine-step and stepless adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a single-point locking approach (one gear/worm engaging the rack) to a multi-point locking approach (multiple locking plugs engaging different teeth). This dimensional change in the locking strategy allows the system to achieve continuous positional adjustment by selectively engaging different combinations of locking plugs with different rack teeth.
2Manufacturing precision
If the locking mechanism uses fixed tooth spacing to engage with the rack, then the locking is reliable, but the instrument cannot be adjusted in fine steps or steplessly
Solution Approach 1:
By dividing the locking function into multiple independent locking plugs, the system can achieve fine positional adjustments through combinatorial engagement. For example, with two locking plugs spaced at specific intervals, the system can lock at positions that are not integer multiples of the basic tooth spacing, effectively achieving sub-tooth precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the spacing parameter between locking plugs to be a non-integer multiple of the rack tooth spacing. This parameter change enables the locking mechanism to engage at non-integer tooth positions, achieving fine-step and stepless adjustment capability while maintaining reliable locking.
3Ease of operation
If manual operation is used to adjust instrument position, then the operator can control the instrument, but hand tremors and external forces cause unintended positional shifts, reducing accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The locking plugs are pre-positioned at specific intervals along the rack, and the operator only needs to activate the locking mechanism at the desired position rather than continuously controlling the instrument. This preliminary positioning of locking points eliminates the need for continuous manual control during the locking phase, preventing hand tremors from causing positional shifts.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism serves itself by using the rack's own teeth as the locking points. The locking plugs engage directly with the rack teeth without requiring additional reference structures or complex control systems, providing inherent positional stability that resists external forces and tremors.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device enhances positional accuracy and flexibility by allowing fine adjustments while limiting movement to a specific degree of freedom, reducing operational errors and complexity.
Implementation Method 1
a first elastic element allows a specified amount of deformation in the extension direction of the locking plug; under an elastic force of the first elastic element, the tip end of the locking plug close to the rack is capable of moving toward the rack and insert itself into a gap
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
An adjustment and positioning device (100) for an instrument, comprising a support (1) and a locking mechanism (3). The support comprises a rack (13), and each tooth in the rack is provided with a tip (130). The locking mechanism is provided with a sliding member (30) and a plurality of locking insertion parts (31, 32), and the locking insertion parts abut against the sliding member by means of first elastic elements (35, 36). A surface tangent to tips of all teeth in the extending direction of the rack is regarded as a reference surface. It is assumed that the corresponding spacing between the centers of every two adjacent tips on the reference surface in the extending direction of the rack, i.e., the pitch, is t1, and the corresponding spacing between the front ends of two adjacent locking insertion parts, which are randomly selected from the plurality of locking insertion parts, close to the rack on the reference surface in the extending direction of the rack, i.e., the insertion part spacing, is t2. t2 is a non-integer multiple of t1. The adjustment and positioning device for an instrument solves the problem of being unable to achieve stepless adjustment of the position of existing instruments, and improves the flexibility of position adjustment and positioning of the instruments.