Surgical Table Slide Mechanism with Internal Rotating Gears
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing surgical operation table slide devices face limitations in increasing slide width due to size restraints and strength issues when using a rack and pinion mechanism, and the slide device often interferes with other components during large-angle movements.
Innovation Solution
A medical device with a moving unit that includes a guide unit and rotating gears inside the table, driven by a rotational force transmission mechanism, allowing for increased slide distance without size or strength limitations, and preventing interference with other components by being housed within the table.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a rack and pinion mechanism is used for the slide device, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the slide amount is limited when the rack cannot be disposed to be long due to size restraints
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a linear rack-and-pinion mechanism to a circular gear mechanism where the gear rotates around a fixed center point. This dimensional change from linear to rotational motion allows the table to achieve a larger slide amount (180 degrees or more) without requiring a proportionally longer component, as the circular path provides extended travel within a compact footprint.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotating gear mechanism is disposed inside the table structure, with the gear nested within the table's internal space. The guide unit is integrated into the table's longitudinal direction, allowing the slide mechanism to be contained within the table's overall envelope rather than extending externally, thus achieving large slide amount without increasing external dimensions.
2Length of moving object
If the rack is made longer to increase slide amount, then the slide width increases, but the size and installation space of the slide mechanism increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses rotational motion around a fixed center instead of linear translation along a long rack. The gear's rotation provides extensive slide width (180 degrees or more) while the mechanism occupies a compact circular footprint, eliminating the need for a long linear rack and its associated installation space.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotating gear serves multiple functions: it provides the sliding motion, defines the moving direction through the guide unit, and acts as the primary structural element for the slide mechanism. This multi-functionality consolidates what would otherwise require separate components (rack, pinion, guide) into a more compact integrated system.
3Device complexity
If the slide device is disposed outside the table, then the structure is simple, but the slide device interferes with the column and base when the table is slid while a large angle of lengthwise turning or crosswise turning is taken
Solution Approach 1:
The slide mechanism is nested inside the table structure, with the rotating gear and guide unit disposed within the table's internal space. This internal disposition eliminates interference with external components such as the column and base during large-angle turning operations, while the guide unit's integration into the table's longitudinal direction maintains structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The harmful interference effect is eliminated by extracting the slide mechanism from the external environment and relocating it to the internal space of the table. This separation removes the source of interference from the interaction zone between the table and external components during turning operations.
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 solution enables a larger slide width without increasing the slide mechanism's size or installation space, ensuring stable operation even during tilted movements without interference with other table components.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of rotating bodies (26, 27, 28) that contact the guide unit, and rotate integrally
Implementation Method 2
the slide device performs a slide operation of the table by fixing a rack to a table side and rotating a pinion that is meshed with the rack
Data Source
AI summary
A surgical operation table capable of operating a table with a large slide width without a slide mechanism interfering with other members in a slide operation of the table is provided. A surgical operation table S including a table 10 movable in a horizontal direction to a base 2 includes a slide mechanism 20 that moves the table 10 in the horizontal direction, and the slide mechanism 20 includes a rack 21a extending in a longitudinal direction of the table 10, a driving gear 26, a driven gear 27 and an idler gear 28 that are meshed with the rack 21a and rotate integrally, and an actuator 23 that supplies a rotational driving force to at least one of the gears 26 to 28.