Operating Table Column Layout for Large-Angle Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing operating table columns require a large space and high column height to achieve ergonomic patient positioning for minimally invasive surgeries, with limited adjustment capabilities and a risk of mechanical collisions due to the arrangement of actuating drives.
Innovation Solution
The operating table column design features actuating drives with adjustable elements connected via universal joints, allowing large pivoting angles without mechanical collisions, with the head part supported only by the drives and not directly on the column part, enabling compact arrangement and low column height.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the head part is directly supported on the column part with traditional actuating drive arrangement, then the structure is simple, but the column height becomes large and space requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent repositions the pivot axes of the head part from a vertical arrangement to a horizontal arrangement close to the patient support surface. This dimensional change allows the actuating drives to be arranged compactly around the column part in a radial pattern, reducing the vertical space requirement while maintaining structural integrity and support functionality.
2Adaptability or versatility
If traditional actuating drives are arranged around the guide column at a distance, then the head part can be adjusted, but the adjustment range is limited and mechanical collisions may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the adjustment functions into three independent actuating drives, each responsible for a specific degree of freedom (inclination about transverse axis, inclination about longitudinal axis, and tilting). This segmentation allows each drive to operate within its own spatial zone, enabling large adjustment angles while preventing mechanical collisions through functional separation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs an asymmetric radial arrangement of the three actuating drives around the column part, with each drive positioned at a different angular location and oriented to control a specific rotational degree of freedom. This asymmetric configuration optimizes the adjustment range for each axis while minimizing the risk of mechanical interference between drives during large-angle movements.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the pivot axes are positioned far from the patient support surface, then the structure is stable, but large tipping moments occur during pivoting
Solution Approach 1:
The patent positions the pivot axes of the head part horizontally close to the patient support surface, effectively creating a counterbalancing arrangement where the pivot point is near the center of gravity of the patient-support system. This reduces the lever arm for gravitational forces, minimizing tipping moments during inclination and tilting operations while maintaining structural stability through the rigid connection of the actuating drives to the column part.
Data Source
AI summary
An operating table column has a column part a head part, and a plurality of actuating drives that each comprise a first element and a second element that can be linearly adjusted relative to this first element and that acts upon the head part. The first element of a first actuating drive is connected to the column part, while the head part is pivotably connected to the second element of the first actuating drive. The first element of a second actuating drive is pivotably connected to the column part, whereby, the head part is pivotably connected to the second element of the second actuating drive. The first element of a third actuating drive is connected at a distance from the head part to the second element of the first actuating drive and the second element of the third actuating drive is connected to the head part via respective universal joints.