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Publication Number
US-11957523-B2
Publication Date
2024-04-16
Expiration Date
Abstract
A surgical instrument according to an embodiment may include: a shaft; an end effector provided on a side of one end of the shaft; a housing provided on a side of the other end of the shaft and including a base including an attachment surface to be attached to a robot arm, a lid portion covering the base, and cleaning liquid supply holes to supply a cleaning liquid; and a cleaning tube to supply the cleaning liquid into the shaft. The cleaning liquid supply holes include: a first cleaning liquid supply hole to which the cleaning tube is attached; a second cleaning liquid supply hole communicating with an inside of the housing; and a third cleaning liquid supply hole opening in a direction substantially orthogonal to an opening direction of the second cleaning liquid supply hole and communicating with the inside of the housing.
Core Innovation
The disclosed invention is a surgical instrument that includes a shaft and an end effector provided on a side of one end of the shaft. The instrument further includes a housing having a base and a lid portion that covers the base, where the housing is attached to a robot arm at an attachment surface. The housing includes cleaning liquid supply holes for supplying a cleaning liquid, and a cleaning tube provided in the housing extends from inside the housing to inside the shaft to supply the cleaning liquid to the inside of the shaft.
The cleaning liquid supply holes include a first cleaning liquid supply hole to which the cleaning tube is attached, a second cleaning liquid supply hole communicating with the inside of the housing, and a third cleaning liquid supply hole opening in a direction substantially orthogonal to an opening direction of the second cleaning liquid supply hole. The third cleaning liquid supply hole communicates with the inside of the housing, and the arrangement enables cleaning of the housing to suppress unwashed residue.
The instrument also includes a cleaning-tube structure configured to restrict movement of the cleaning tube in a direction opposite to a direction of supplying the cleaning liquid. The cleaning tube comprises an insertion portion and a movement restriction portion arranged on an outer circumferential surface, where the movement restriction portion has a larger outer diameter than the insertion portion. A flange at the housing-side end of the cleaning tube is arranged so that the first cleaning liquid supply hole is located between the movement restriction portion and the flange.
In a further configuration, the lid portion is formed with the first cleaning liquid supply hole communicating with the cleaning tube, and the first cleaning liquid supply hole includes a large diameter portion and a small diameter portion provided downstream of the large diameter portion in the cleaning liquid supply direction. The lid portion includes a projected portion protruded from an inner circumferential surface of the large diameter portion toward a center of the first cleaning liquid supply hole to form the small diameter portion, and the movement restriction portion and the flange portion sandwich the projected portion in the cleaning liquid supply direction.
Claims Coverage
The partial content provides two independent claims, each describing a robotic surgical instrument with a cleaning-liquid supply-hole layout and a cleaning-tube structure. The inventive features mainly relate to the orthogonal arrangement of first/second/third cleaning liquid supply holes and restricting movement of the cleaning tube using movement restriction and flange features coordinated with the lid portion.
Orthogonal cleaning liquid supply-hole arrangement for housing cleaning
A housing with a base and a lid portion includes cleaning liquid supply holes comprising a first cleaning liquid supply hole to which the cleaning tube is attached, a second cleaning liquid supply hole communicating with the inside of the housing, and a third cleaning liquid supply hole opening in a direction substantially orthogonal to an opening direction of the second cleaning liquid supply hole and communicating with the inside of the housing.
Cleaning tube movement restriction by movement restriction portion and flange
The cleaning tube comprises an insertion portion and a movement restriction portion on an outer circumferential surface, with the movement restriction portion having a larger outer diameter than the insertion portion, and a flange at a housing-side end such that the first cleaning liquid supply hole is arranged between the movement restriction portion and the flange, where the flange prevents movement of the cleaning tube away from the first cleaning liquid supply hole in a direction of supplying the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tube.
Large/small diameter first cleaning liquid supply hole with lid projected portion
The first cleaning liquid supply hole includes a large diameter portion and a small diameter portion provided on a downstream side in a cleaning liquid supply direction, and the lid portion includes a projected portion protruded from an inner circumferential surface of the large diameter portion toward a center of the first cleaning liquid supply hole to form the small diameter portion.
Sandwich arrangement of movement restriction portion and flange with projected lid portion
The cleaning tube includes a flange portion outwardly protruding in a radial direction, and the movement restriction portion and the flange portion are arranged so as to sandwich the projected portion of the lid portion in the cleaning liquid supply direction.
Across the two independent claims, the coverage centers on a surgical instrument whose housing uses a first/second/third cleaning liquid supply-hole arrangement with the third hole opening substantially orthogonal to the second hole, together with a cleaning tube whose movement is restricted using a movement restriction portion and flange features coordinated with the first cleaning liquid supply hole and the lid portion, including a large/small diameter structure and a projected portion that can be sandwiched.
Stated Advantages
Suppress unwashed residue by cleaning of the housing.
Documented Applications
Cleaning of a robotic surgical instrument housing during a cleaning operation to suppress unwashed residue.
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