Self-aligning Drive Coupler for Surgical Handpiece Assembly
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical devices face challenges in proper alignment and engagement of drive hubs and couplers, leading to misalignment issues during assembly, which can result in incomplete coupling and difficulties in cleaning due to inaccessible geometry.
Innovation Solution
A self-aligning drive coupler system is introduced, featuring a drive hub and coupler with radial lobes that rotate axially to align and engage properly, even when misaligned, ensuring secure coupling and easy cleaning with a design that includes materials like stainless steel and polymers to accommodate tolerance variations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a traditional drive hub and coupler assembly is used, then the components can be simple in structure, but misalignment occurs during assembly making proper coupling difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The drive coupler employs an asymmetric lobe design where the lobe is offset from the central axis and features a specific geometric profile with varying radial distances. This asymmetric configuration enables the lobe to engage with the drive hub at specific angular positions, providing self-alignment capability that ensures precise coupling without requiring complex alignment mechanisms or procedures.
2Productivity
If the drive coupler requires manual alignment intervention, then manufacturing can be simpler, but assembly time and productivity are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The drive coupler is designed with self-aligning lobes that automatically orient themselves during the assembly process. When the drive hub and coupler are brought together, the lobes engage with the drive hub's corresponding features and self-correct any angular misalignment through their geometric profile. This eliminates the need for manual alignment intervention, reducing assembly time and improving productivity while maintaining ease of operation.
3Manufacturing precision
If the coupling geometry is complex to ensure alignment, then alignment precision improves, but cleaning accessibility deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The drive coupler is segmented into distinct functional features: the lobes for alignment and engagement, and the main body for structural support. The lobes are designed with smooth, continuous surfaces that engage precisely with the drive hub, while the spaces between lobes create natural channels that facilitate cleaning access. This segmentation allows the alignment-critical lobe surfaces to be precisely manufactured while maintaining open geometry for easy cleaning.
Solution Approach 2:
The lobes feature curved, rounded surfaces rather than sharp edges or flat planes. This curvature provides continuous contact surfaces that ensure precise alignment and engagement with the drive hub, while simultaneously creating smooth transitions that prevent crevices and dead zones where debris could accumulate. The rounded geometry maintains cleaning accessibility by eliminating sharp corners and complex interlocking features.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods herein are associated with a handpiece, a drive hub, a drive coupler, and an instrument comprising an elongate shaft and resection member telescoped within the elongate shaft, the resection member coupled to the drive hub. The drive hub comprises an interior surface and an exterior surface, the interior surface defines a cross-sectional shape, and the drive hub is coupled to a drive shaft of a motor of the handpiece. The drive coupler comprises a first lobe extending radially from a central axis of the drive coupler, the drive coupler is telescoped at least partially within the drive hub such that the first lobe that engages with a portion of the cross-sectional shape.