Slotted Contact Body Assembly for Electrosurgical Handpieces

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Solution Overview

Problem

The complex manufacturing and maintenance of electrosurgical hand devices, particularly the contact bodies, are cumbersome due to the permanent attachment of the reinforcement tube, requiring extensive disassembly for repair or replacement.

Innovation Solution

A contact body design featuring a slot parallel to the bore allows for easy assembly and disassembly by enabling the optical guide to be inserted through or pressed into the bore, simplifying handling and maintenance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Stability of the object's composition

If the reinforcement tube is permanently attached to the transporter main body, then the structural stability is improved, but the manufacturing complexity and maintenance difficulty increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestructural stabilityVSAvoidmanufacturing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The device is divided into separable modules: the contact body with bore, the reinforcement tube, and the transporter main body. The reinforcement tube can be independently inserted through the slot and bore, allowing separate manufacturing and assembly of each component, thereby reducing overall manufacturing complexity while maintaining structural integrity through their connected configuration

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If the reinforcement tube is permanently attached to the transporter main body, then the structural integrity is improved, but the maintenance time and disassembly effort increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestructural integrityVSAvoidmaintenance ease
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of repair

Solution Approach 1:

The contact body and reinforcement tube are designed as separable components that can be easily detached from each other through the slot and bore configuration. This allows the contact body to be quickly replaced during maintenance without affecting the reinforcement tube or requiring disassembly of the entire transporter, thus maintaining structural integrity during operation while enabling rapid maintenance

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The contact body can be extracted from the reinforcement tube through the slot opening, allowing independent replacement of the contact body component. This extraction capability enables maintenance personnel to quickly remove and replace the contact body without disassembling the reinforcement tube or transporter main body, significantly reducing maintenance time and effort

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

3Ease of manufacture

If the contact body is designed with a slot parallel to the bore, then the ease of assembly is improved, but the structural complexity of the contact body increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveease of assemblyVSAvoidcontact body complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The contact body incorporates a slot feature that divides the assembly process into simple sequential steps: first inserting the reinforcement tube through the slot, then inserting it through the bore. This segmentation of the assembly path simplifies the manufacturing process despite adding a geometric feature to the contact body, as each step involves simple linear insertion rather than complex alignment

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The slot in the contact body serves multiple functions: it guides the reinforcement tube during assembly, provides structural support, and enables easy disassembly by allowing the reinforcement tube to be removed. This multi-functionality justifies the additional geometric complexity of the slot, as it consolidates several functions into a single feature rather than requiring separate components

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentEP4046583B1Electrosurgical instrument and contact body for electrosurgical instrument
Publication Date: 2026.03.25 OLYMPUS WINTER & IBE GMBH
  • EP4046583B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP4046583B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP4046583B1 patent drawingFigure 5

AI summary

In known electrosurgical hand devices, a booster tube is rigidly connected to a transporter (11) or a main body (13). Before connecting the booster tube to the main body, a contact body (17) must be slid over the booster tube. For this purpose, the contact body (17) has a corresponding bore (19). For maintenance-related or defect-related replacement of the contact body (17), the booster tube must be laboriously removed from the main body in order to detach the contact body (17). The invention provides an electrosurgical hand device and a contact body (17) that are particularly easy and time-efficient to handle and maintain. This is achieved by providing a contact body (17) for an electrosurgical hand device with a slot (32) parallel to a through bore (19) and parallel to a longitudinal axis of the hand device.