Tool Manipulator Actuation for Limited-Access Remote Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing robotic manipulators face constraints in accessing limited areas, particularly in applications like laparoscopic surgery, where actuators and drivers need to be positioned outside the restricted space while maintaining a range of motion and control over the tool within the area.
Innovation Solution
A tool apparatus with an elongate manipulator and actuators mounted in a housing, featuring control links and linkages that allow movement in both actuating and transverse directions, along with a drive apparatus that provides drive forces to the actuators, enabling the tool to be manipulated and controlled effectively within the limited access area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If actuators and drivers are disposed outside the limited access area, then the operator can remotely manipulate the tool, but the overall extent of the actuators and drivers is constrained
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into separate components: actuators mounted on the manipulator shaft within the limited access area, and drivers positioned outside the limited access area. This segmentation allows the actuators to be compact while the drivers can be larger and more complex, resolving the contradiction between remote manipulation capability and constrained extent.
Solution Approach 2:
The linkage mechanism transforms motion from one dimension (linear actuator movement) to another dimension (rotational tool manipulation). By using linkages that convert linear actuator displacement into rotational movement of the tool, the system achieves effective remote manipulation with compact actuators, resolving the size constraint.
2Ease of operation
If the control links are made flexible to allow curving through arc, then the linkage can transmit drive forces effectively, but friction between the control link and channel increases
Solution Approach 1:
A pneumatic or hydraulic actuator is used to move the control link along its curved path. The fluid pressure system can efficiently overcome friction losses in the curved channel while providing precise control of the control link position, resolving the contradiction between effective drive force transmission and friction energy loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the physical parameters of the control link by making it flexible rather than rigid, allowing it to curve through the channel. This flexibility enables the control link to follow the curved path with reduced friction compared to a rigid link that would require complex mechanical joints, resolving the contradiction between drive force transmission and friction loss.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the actuator is given a range of travel in transverse direction, then the control link can be actuated effectively, but the actuator housing becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The actuator housing is merged with the manipulator shaft structure, integrating the actuator mounting function into the existing shaft design. This integration provides the necessary transverse travel range for the actuator while avoiding additional complex housing structures, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A tool apparatus and a method for actuating a tool apparatus are disclosed. The tool apparatus includes an actuator housing, and an elongate tool manipulator extending outwardly from the actuator housing and having a plurality of control links extending along a length of the tool manipulator. The control links are operable to cause movement of a distal end of the tool manipulator in response to movement of the control links in an actuating direction generally aligned with the length of the tool manipulator. The apparatus also includes a plurality of actuators, each actuator being associated with at least one of the control links and being mounted in the actuator housing to facilitate a range of travel in a transverse direction substantially orthogonal to the actuating direction, and a plurality of linkages.