Rotatable Multi-Groove Fixation Clamp for Mixed Pin and Rod Sizes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fixation clamps for external fixation systems require multiple clamps or additional inserts to accommodate differently sized rods, pins, and wires, leading to bulky systems and potential mismatching issues that affect connecting strength.
Innovation Solution
A versatile fixation clamp with multiple clamping assemblies and a central locking shaft, featuring jaws with multiple grooves of varying sizes to accommodate various diameters, allowing for secure clamping of rods, pins, and wires without the need for multiple clamps or inserts, and enabling easy adjustment by rotating the clamping assemblies to align larger cavities with thicker rods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple clamps or additional inserts are used to accommodate differently sized rods, pins, and wires, then secure clamping is achieved, but the system becomes bulky and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The clamp body is designed with multiple reception cavities of different diameters, allowing a single clamp to securely hold various sizes of rods, pins, and wires. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for multiple different clamps or additional inserts, achieving secure clamping while maintaining system compactness
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple reception cavities with different diameters are integrated into a single clamp body structure. By combining multiple clamping functions into one unified component, the system avoids the bulkiness and complexity that would result from using separate clamps or inserts for each element size
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple clamps are used to accommodate differently sized fixation elements, then proper fitting is achieved, but the number of components increases
Solution Approach 1:
The clamp body incorporates multiple reception cavities with precisely engineered different diameters, enabling a single clamp to properly fit various sizes of rods, pins, and wires. This eliminates the need for multiple different clamp types or additional inserts, maintaining proper fitting while reducing component quantity
Solution Approach 2:
The reception cavities are designed with varying diameter parameters to match different fixation element sizes. By changing the dimensional parameters of the cavities within a single clamp body, the system achieves proper fitting for multiple element sizes without increasing the number of components
3Strength
If additional inserts are used to reduce cavity diameter for secure fixing, then fixation strength is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Different reception cavities within the clamp body have locally optimized diameters matched to specific fixation element sizes. This local quality variation in the cavity dimensions provides secure fixing for each element type without requiring additional inserts, thereby maintaining strength while avoiding increased complexity
Data Source
AI summary
A fixation clamp for use in an external fixation system for holding bone fragments adjacent to each other with the help of fixation elements has at least one clamping assembly having a pair of jaws with at least two different size grooves to accommodate a bone fixation element such as a pin or rod. An alternate clamping assembly has at least three grooves wherein at least two of the grooves have a different size adapted to accommodate a correspondingly sized bone fixation element such as a bone pin. The longitudinal axes of the grooves define a polygon. The jaw pairs can be rotated about a central longitudinal axis to present different size reception cavities towards the pins or rocks depending on their diameter.