Endoscopic Manipulator Sealing Member Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional endoscopic surgical forceps with multiple joints in the distal-end working unit face challenges in cleaning and sterilization due to blood and body fluids flowing into the manipulator's shaft and drive mechanism, making the process tedious and time-consuming.
Innovation Solution
A manipulator with a sealing member that divides the hollow shaft into compartments near the distal-end working unit and the drive mechanism, using a flexible and rigid power transmitting member arrangement to minimize gaps and prevent fluid flow, along with a cleaning tube and check valve system for easy cleaning and maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the distal-end working unit has multiple joints to increase operational flexibility, then the degree of freedom and applicability are improved, but the complexity of cleaning and sterilization deteriorates due to fluid infiltration into joints and shaft
Solution Approach 1:
The hollow shaft is divided into multiple compartments by sealing members positioned at specific locations. This segmentation prevents fluid from flowing freely through the entire shaft length, isolating contamination to specific segments and enabling targeted cleaning procedures rather than requiring complete disassembly and cleaning of the entire manipulator.
Solution Approach 2:
Sealing members are introduced as intermediary elements between the drive mechanism and the distal-end working unit. These sealing members specifically prevent fluid infiltration into the shaft while still allowing the manipulator to maintain its multi-joint structure and operational flexibility, thus resolving the contradiction between versatility and ease of cleaning.
2Ease of repair
If the sealing member is added to prevent fluid flow into the shaft, then the ease of cleaning is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional components
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing members utilize flexible sealing structures that can be integrated into the existing shaft design. These flexible sealing elements prevent fluid infiltration without requiring complex rigid barriers, maintaining a relatively simple overall structure while achieving the cleaning ease benefit.
3Reliability
If the power transmitting member has both flexible and rigid portions to minimize gaps, then the sealing effectiveness is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The power transmitting member employs an asymmetric structure with both flexible and rigid portions. The rigid portions minimize gaps and improve sealing effectiveness, while the flexible portions accommodate movement and deformation. This asymmetric design achieves superior sealing without requiring overly complex manufacturing processes.
Data Source
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AI summary
A manipulator (10) includes a hollow joint shaft (48), wires (54a, 54b, 54c) extending through the joint shaft (48), pulleys (50a, 50b, 50c) mounted on an end of the joint shaft (48), for imparting a drive force to the wires (54a, 54b, 54c), a distal-end working unit (12) mounted on another end of the joint shaft (48), for being actuated by the wires (54a, 54b, 54c), and a sealing member (64) for preventing liquid such as blood from flowing from the distal-end working unit (12) through the joint shaft (48) to a connector (15). The sealing member (64) has holes (66a, 67a, 66b, 67b, 66c, 67c) defined therein, and the wires (54a, 54b, 54c) are slidably inserted through the holes (66a, 67a, 66b, 67b, 66c, 67c).