Microinvasive Instrument Lever Pivot Design
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Microinvasive medical instruments face challenges in being robust, precise, and easily disassembled while maintaining small dimensions and intuitive handling, as conventional mounting methods complicate miniaturization and assembly.
Innovation Solution
A medical instrument design that uses a lever pivotable about a pivot axis without a shaft, journal, or recess, allowing for simplified production and miniaturization, with a pushbutton mechanism that couples with an effecting device to enable precise movement and retention of components through interlocking clearances and an O-ring for defined positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If conventional mounting methods (shaft, journal, recess and ridge) are used for the lever, then the lever is securely mounted and stable, but the device complexity increases and miniaturization becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the conventional mounting elements (shaft, journal, recess, ridge) from the lever structure. The lever is designed without these traditional mounting features, extracting the unnecessary complexity while maintaining functional stability through alternative means of attachment or support within the device.
Solution Approach 2:
The lever is divided into distinct functional segments: a support area for stable positioning, a pivot area for rotation, and a actuation area for user input. This segmentation allows each area to be optimized independently, enabling miniaturization while maintaining stability and functionality.
2Ease of manufacture
If the lever is miniaturized by removing shaft and journal, then production is simplified and device size is reduced, but the stability and precision of lever positioning may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The lever incorporates locally optimized features at critical positions: a support area with increased structural stability for precise positioning, a pivot area with optimized geometry for accurate rotation, and connection areas with enhanced coupling. This local quality enhancement maintains manufacturing precision while keeping the overall lever miniaturized and easy to produce.
3Reliability
If a shaft or journal is used to define the pivot axis, then the lever pivot is stable and precise, but the device complexity increases and assembly becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the shaft and journal components from the pivot mechanism. Instead of using traditional rotating shafts with bearings, the lever employs a simplified pivot implementation that achieves stable rotation through geometric constraints and friction-based holding, eliminating unnecessary components and reducing overall device complexity.
4Reliability
If conventional mounting structures are used, then the lever is securely retained, but disassembly for cleaning becomes more time-consuming and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The lever and its mounting structure are designed as separable segments that can be easily detached. The connection between the lever and housing employs simple retention features that allow rapid disassembly for cleaning, while maintaining secure retention during operation. This segmentation enables quick breakdown into cleanable components without compromising operational reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A medical instrument (10) comprises an effecting device (40), which is movable in a first direction (48) from a first effecting position into a second effecting position, a pushbutton (60), which is movable manually in a second direction (68) from a first button position into a second button position, and a lever (70), which is pivotable about a pivot axis (78). The lever (70) mechanically couples the pushbutton (60) and the effecting device (40) in such a way that a movement of the pushbutton (60) in the second direction (68) is accompanied by a movement of the effecting device (40) in the first direction (48), which is opposite to the second direction (68). The lever (70) does not have an area that is rotationally symmetrical to the pivot axis (78) in the region of the pivot axis (78).