Virtual reality wrist assembly
Inventors
WENTWORTH, Marshall • Kline, Eric • Eilenberg, Michael • KHALIFA, Sammy
Assignees
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Publication Number
US-11576732-B2
Publication Date
2023-02-14
Expiration Date
Abstract
A surgical apparatus system for minimally invasive surgery (MIS) which includes a wrist assembly. The wrist assembly includes a first jaw, a first actuation hub, and a cable redirecting hub operably coupled to the first actuation hub, a second jaw, a second actuation hub, a housing for the first and second jaws, a first cable, a second cable, a third cable, rotational position sensors, and a control system. The first and second jaws of the wrist assembly are movably opposed, and the cables are configured such that applying tensions upon them cables produces rotation about a jaw axis. The wrist assembly may further include a hinge-rotary assembly to configured to provide rotation about a pitch axis and/or a roll axis. The wrist assembly may further include a fourth cable configured such that applying tensions upon the fourth cable and the opposing cable produces rotation about a pitch axis.
Core Innovation
The invention provides a virtual-reality-enabled surgical system that includes a wrist assembly for minimally invasive surgery. The wrist assembly includes a jaw assembly having a first jaw and a second jaw that are movably opposed and configured to rotate about a jaw axis, and the jaw assembly further includes a first actuation hub and a second actuation hub with cable passageway and cable raceway structures for routing cables relative to the jaws.
The wrist assembly is actuated by three cables whose applied tensions generate torques along the jaw axis to rotate one or more jaws. When a first tension is greater than a second tension, a first torque is generated along the jaw axis that causes the second jaw to rotate toward the first jaw, and when the second tension is greater than the first tension, a second torque is generated that causes the second jaw to rotate away from the first jaw.
Further tension comparisons among the first, second, and third cables generate a third torque or a fourth torque that rotate the first jaw toward or away from the second jaw. At least one rotational position sensor is disposed proximate to the jaw axis and configured to detect rotation of one or more of the first or second jaws about the jaw axis, and a control system is configured to rotate one or more of the first or second jaws about the jaw axis based on the sensed rotational position.
The disclosed configuration is also extendable to a hinge-rotary assembly that provides pitch-axis rotation and rotary motion about a roll axis, with cable routing through a cable conduit and an idler raceway and with decoupling surfaces intended to reduce cable length change during pitch motion.
Claims Coverage
The provided excerpt contains one independent claim (clm-00001). It defines a wrist assembly with three-cable jaw-axis torque generation, rotational position sensing, and a control system that commands jaw rotation; dependent features further include pitch/roll mechanisms, optional additional cable torque logic, cable-routing raceway/protrusion structures, electrical communication components, and cable wrap-angle constraints.
Three-cable jaw-axis opposed-jaw torque generation
A wrist assembly where a first jaw and a second jaw are movably opposed and configured to rotate about a jaw axis, and where the wrist assembly includes a first cable, a second cable, and a third cable such that a first tension, second tension, and third tension generate a first torque, a second torque, a third torque, and a fourth torque along the jaw axis to rotate the second jaw and rotate the first jaw toward or away from each other in response to comparative tension conditions.
Cable raceway and actuation-hub coupling for fixed cable routing relative to hubs
A jaw assembly with a first jaw that includes a first actuation hub comprising a cable passageway and an outer perimeter, and a cable redirecting hub comprising a redirecting hub cable raceway adjacent to the outer perimeter, with a second jaw having a second actuation hub including a first cable raceway disposed along an outer perimeter, and a housing configured to allow the first jaw and the second jaw to rotate about the jaw axis while maintaining the cable routing relationships to the actuation hubs.
Rotational position sensing proximate to the jaw axis
At least one first rotational position sensor disposed proximate to the jaw axis and configured to detect rotation of one or more of the first or second jaws about the jaw axis.
Control system for commanding jaw rotation
A control system configured to rotate one or more of the first or second jaws about the jaw axis.
Hinge-rotary pitch/roll assembly with cable conduit and idler raceway
The wrist assembly further including a hinge-rotary assembly coupled to the jaw assembly such that the jaw assembly provides pitch-axis rotation and the hinge-rotary assembly rotates about a roll axis, with a female rotary body cavity and a hinge-rotary body having a cable conduit and a hinge cover, and including an idler pulley with an idler raceway carrying at least a portion of the second cable about the pitch axis.
Fourth cable tension logic for opposite pitch-axis torque directions
The wrist assembly including a fourth cable so that, depending on whether a fourth tension is greater than or less than an opposing tension associated with an opposing cable, different pitch-axis torques are generated to rotate the jaw assembly in a first pitch direction or an opposite second pitch direction.
Cable routing protrusion providing a surface for second cable ride during jaw rotation
A first actuation hub including a first cable routing protrusion that provides a surface for a second cable to ride along as the first jaw rotates about the jaw axis in a first direction.
Electrical communication via flexible printed circuit board (FPCB)
An electrical communication component implemented as a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB).
Cable wrap-angle constraints around first and second cable pulleys
A configuration where the second cable wraps around a first cable pulley at about 240 to 300 degrees and wraps around a second cable pulley at less than about 110 degrees.
Across the independent claim and the identified dependent refinements, the coverage centers on three-cable jaw-axis torque generation using comparative cable tensions to rotate opposed jaws, hub and raceway structures to route cables relative to the actuation hubs, and rotational position sensing and a control system to command jaw rotation, with optional extensions for pitch/roll via a hinge-rotary assembly, an optional fourth cable for opposite pitch-axis torque directions, additional cable-routing structural features, an FPCB electrical communication component, and defined cable wrap-angle constraints.
Stated Advantages
Documented Applications
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