Treating instrument

• US 5,372,124 A
• Filed: 04/07/1992
• Issued: 12/13/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Olympus Optical Corporation Limited (Olympus Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Olympus Optical Corporation Limited (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Nakada, Akio, Ueda, Yasuhiro, Takayama, Shuichi, Hayashi, Masaaki, Nakamura, Takeaki, Gotanda, Masakazu, Adachi, Hideyuki, Yamaguchi, Tatsuya, Sakiyama, Katsunori, Tatsumi, Yasukazu, Fujio, Koji
• Primary Examiner(s): Apley, Richard J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Leubecker, John P.
• Application Number:
  US07/864,521
• Time in Patent Office: 980 Days
• Field of Search: 606/205-209, 606/177-178, 606/169-170, 128/4, 128/180, 128/772, 128/657, 128/20, 128/751, 128/749, 604/176-178, 604/180, 901/31, 901/32, 901/36-38, 310/325, 310/328, 310/311, 318/115, 318/116, 318/135, 294/86 H, 294/104, 414/4
• US Class Current: 600/106
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 10/06 Biopsy forceps , e.g. with cup-shaped jaws
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/221 Gripping devices in the form of loops or baskets for gripping calculi or similar types of obstructions surgical snare instruments A61B17/32056
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/320016 Endoscopic cutting instruments, e.g. arthroscopes, resectoscopes A61B10/0233, A61B17/29, A61B17/3207 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/1445 at the distal end of a shaft, e.g. forceps or scissors at the end of a rigid rod
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00243 cardiac
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00398 using powered actuators, e.g. stepper motors, solenoids
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/0237 for heart surgery endoscopic heart surgery A61B2017/00243; endoscopic access devices, i.e. trocars, A61B17/34
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/2215 having an open distal end
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/30 Surgical robots
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/30092 using shape memory or superelastic materials, e.g. nitinol
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2210/0019 operated at only one temperature whilst inside or touching the human body, e.g. constrained in a non-operative shape during surgery, another temperature only occurring before the operation
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 15/0206 comprising articulated grippers

Abstract

A treating instrument for medical treatment, comprises an insertion section to be inserted into a body cavity of a patient, biopsying forceps provided at a distal end of the insertion section, a pair of cups provided at the forceps, a grip member connected to an operator-end side of the insertion section; a drive unit provided on the distal end of the insertion section and generating a drive force for the cups, a conduction circuit for carrying electric current through the drive unit, and an operation switch interposed at lead wires of the conduction circuit.

Claims

1. A treating instrument for at least medical or industrial treatment, comprising:

an insertion section insertable into a cavity to be treated, the insertion section having a distal end and an operator-side end;

a treating unit provided at the distal end of the insertion section;

an operation member provided on the treating unit and movable between a standby position and an operative position to treat a target region in the cavity;

drive means including;

a direct action type actuator means mounted to one of (i) an end portion of the distal end of the insertion section and (ii) the treating unit, for directly applying a linear pushing force to the operation member; and

converting means for converting said linear pushing force to a moving force for moving the operation member between the standby position and the operative position; and

means provided on the operator-side end of the insertion section, for outputting a control signal for controlling an operation of the drive means for thereby controlling said pushing force; and

wherein;

the insertion section includes a flexibly bendable multiarticulated structure, and an end capable of being disposed proximal to the target region in the cavity;

the treating unit comprises one gripper including a flexible sheath having a forward end, a fixed frame secured to the forward end of the sheath and having a forward end, a first gripping member fixed to the forward end of the fixed frame, and a second gripping member having a rotation shaft on the forward end of the fixed frame, rotatably connected to the forward end of the fixed frame and serving as the operation member which is opened or closed relative to the first gripping member;

the direct action type actuator means of the drive means and the means for converting said pushing force move the second gripping member of the treating unit between opened and closed positions relative to the first gripping member;

the direct action type actuator means comprises a pair of piezoelectric units, each piezoelectric unit being formed of a plurality of stacked piezoelectric elements which are stacked in their thickness directions, each of the piezoelectric elements of a stack being displaceable so as to be extended in a thickness direction thereof upon conduction of electrical current;

the converting means comprises a coupling frame formed on a base end of the second gripping member, a friction member fixed to the back end of the coupling frame, the pair of piezoelectric units being fixed at one end side thereof, to a base end of the coupling frame, contacting members extending in an eccentric position toward the friction member and positioned relative to the rotation shaft on another side of the piezoelectric units; and

wherein, when electric current flows through one of the piezoelectric units, the stacked elements thereof extend in their thickness direction such that a corresponding contacting member is pushed against the friction member to close the second gripping member relative to the first gripping member and, when electric current flows through the other of the piezoelectric units, the stacked elements thereof extend in their thickness direction such that a corresponding contacting member is pushed against the friction member to open the second gripping member relative to the first gripping member.

2. The treating instrument according to claim 1, wherein:

the direct action type actuator means is arranged for imparting a pushing force to a position eccentric with the rotation shaft so as to rotate the second gripping member.