Sliding-Finger Shaft Retention Assembly for Clean Tool Coupling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional connecting mechanisms for tools with shafts are complex, difficult to assemble, and costly to manufacture, and they often require extensive cleaning and sterilization, increasing the risk of contamination, especially in medical applications.
Innovation Solution
A retention assembly that includes a shaft engagement socket with a shaft receptacle and a retainer with fingers that slidably contact the shaft, allowing for secure engagement and easy removal of the shaft, while also featuring a deformable clip for attachment and a guide for proper orientation of the shaft.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional connecting mechanisms are used, then the shaft can be securely connected to the base, but the device complexity increases and manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functions into a single integrated retainer component that includes fingers for securing the shaft, a body for structural support, and an attachment clip for mounting to the base. This merging of functions reduces the total number of separate components while maintaining secure connection reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The retainer is designed as a multi-functional component that simultaneously performs shaft retention, structural support, and attachment to the base. The fingers provide secure engagement with the shaft while the attachment clip enables mounting to the base, making the retainer a universal solution for connecting tools to bases.
2Reliability
If conventional connecting mechanisms are used, then the shaft can be securely connected to the base, but the ease of manufacture decreases and manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The retainer is designed with distinct functional segments (fingers, body, attachment clip) that can be manufactured separately and then assembled through simple snap-fit or friction-fit connections. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function while simplifying the overall assembly process.
Solution Approach 2:
The retainer incorporates self-aligning and self-securing features where the fingers automatically engage with the shaft and the attachment clip self-attaches to the base without requiring complex assembly tools or procedures. This self-service design reduces assembly difficulty and manufacturing cost.
3Reliability
If conventional connecting mechanisms are used, then the shaft can be retained, but the risk of contamination increases due to extensive cleaning and sterilization requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The retainer is designed as a removable and replaceable component that can be easily detached from the base and shaft. This extraction capability allows the retainer to be removed for cleaning and sterilization, or replaced entirely if contamination is a concern, thereby reducing the risk of contamination while maintaining reliable shaft retention.
Solution Approach 2:
The retainer can be designed as a disposable component that is discarded after a single use or after cleaning, eliminating the need for extensive sterilization procedures. This disposable approach reduces contamination risk while maintaining secure connection during the component's service life.
4Ease of operation
If the retainer is made movable relative to the shaft engagement socket, then the ease of operation improves for shaft insertion and removal, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The retainer is designed with movable fingers that can dynamically adjust their position to accommodate shaft insertion and removal. The fingers are spring-loaded or elastically deformable, allowing them to move outward during insertion and snap inward to secure the shaft, providing ease of operation without complex mechanisms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The retention assembly provides a secure, easy-to-assemble, and cost-effective solution for connecting tools with shafts, while minimizing the risk of contamination by allowing for easy cleaning and replacement of the retainer.
Implementation Method 1
The sliding surface of the at least one finger is configured to slidably contact a ramp on the shaft retainer socket
Implementation Method 2
The protrusion may extend from the at least one finger towards the insertion axis and be configured to be received within a notch on the shaft
Implementation Method 3
The shaft engagement socket may include at least one wall configured to contact a locking surface on a socketing region of the shaft when the socketing region is in the shaft engagement socket
Data Source
AI summary
A retention assembly for connecting a base to a tool having a shaft includes a shaft engagement socket defining a shaft receptacle configured to receive the shaft; a retainer configured to secure the shaft to the shaft engagement socket, the retainer having a body with an opening that can receive the shaft; and at least one finger extending from the body, defining a sliding surface, and being configured to contact the shaft. The sliding surface can contact a ramp on the shaft retainer socket, and the retainer can translate relative to the shaft engagement socket, such that when it is translated toward the shaft engagement socket, the sliding surface slides along the ramp and causes the finger to move away from the shaft, and when the retainer is translated away from the shaft engagement socket, the sliding surface slides along the ramp and causes the finger to move towards the shaft.