# US 10,369,707 B2 · Joint of robot arm and surgical instrument > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,369,707 B2 - Document ID: US10369707B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/742,900 - Filed: 2015-07-09 - Published: 2018-07-19 - Granted: 2019-08-06 - Earliest claimed: 2015-07-09 - Assignees: Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha - Applicants: Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha - Inventors: Kazutoshi Kan - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10369707B2 ## CPC - B25J 17/025: {mounted in series} - A61B 34/30: Surgical robots - B25J 9/104: {with cables, chains or ribbons} - A61B 2034/306: {Wrists with multiple vertebrae} - A61B 2034/715: {Cable tensioning mechanisms for removing slack} - Y10S 901/29: Wrist - Y10S 901/30: End effector - B25J: MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES ({manipulators specially adapted for use in surgery A61B34/70; manipulators used in cleaning hollow articles B08B9/04}; manipulators associated with rolling mills B21B39/20; manipulators associated with forging machines B21J13/10; {manipulators associated with picking-up and placing mechanisms B23P19/007}; means for holding wheels or parts thereof B60B30/00; {vehicles with ground-engaging propulsion means, e.g. walking members B62D57/02, B62D57/032; devices for picking-up and depositing articles or materials between conveyors B65G47/90, B65G47/91; manipulators with gripping or holding means for transferring packages B65H67/065}; cranes B66C; {manipulators used in the protection or supervision of pipe-line installations F17D5/00; walking equipment adapted for nuclear steam-generators F22B37/006}; manipulators specially adapted for, or associated with, nuclear reactors G21C; {apparatus used for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor H10P72/50}) - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) - Y10S: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS ## Abstract Joint coupling links of robot arm to each other includes: plurality of plate-shaped segments lined up in plate thickness direction; and operating wires extending through plurality of segments in plate thickness direction. Groove extending in second direction and having partially circular cross section is provided at first-direction middle portion of main surface out of two main surfaces of adjacent segments, two main surfaces facing each other in plate thickness direction. Projection extending in second direction and having partially circular cross section is provided at first-direction middle portion of main surface. Curvature of projection is larger than curvature of groove. Projection is fitted in groove, and bottom portion of groove and top portion of projection contact each other. Dimension of projection in plate thickness direction is larger than dimension of groove in plate thickness direction and smaller than length of line connecting bottom portion of groove and edge portion of groove. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A joint of a robot arm, the joint coupling links of the robot arm to each other, the joint comprising: a plurality of plate-shaped segments lined up in a plate thickness direction, each of the plurality of segments having a first-direction middle portion positioned at a middle of the segment in a first direction perpendicular to the plate thickness direction; and an operating wire extending through the plurality of segments in the plate thickness direction at sides of the first-direction middle portion of each of the plurality of segments, the sides being opposed to each other in the first direction, wherein: a groove having a partially circular cross section and extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction is provided at a main surface of the first-direction middle portion of a first of the plurality of segments; a projection having a partially circular cross section and extending in the second direction is provided at a main surface of the first-direction middle portion of a second of the plurality of segments, the first and second segments being adjacent to each other and the main surfaces facing each other in the plate-thickness direction; a curvature of a cross-sectional shape of the projection is larger than a curvature of a cross-sectional shape of the groove; the projection is fitted in the groove, and a bottom portion of the groove and a top portion of the projection contact each other; and a dimension of the projection in the plate thickness direction is larger than a dimension of the groove in the plate thickness direction and smaller than a length of a line connecting the bottom portion of the groove and an edge portion of the groove. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The joint according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of segments includes a through hole extending through the groove and projection of the segment and penetrating the segment in the plate thickness direction. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The joint according to claim 1, wherein a dimension of the grooves and projections of the plurality of segments in the second direction and a dimension of the plurality of segments in the second direction are substantially equal to each other. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The joint according to claim 1, wherein on at least one of the first-direction sides of the first-direction middle portion of at least one of the plurality of segments, a thickness of the at least one segment decreases from the edge portion of the groove or an edge portion of the projection toward a first-direction end portion of the at least one segment. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The joint according to claim 1, wherein on at least one of the first-direction sides of the first-direction middle portion of at least one of the plurality of segments, a thickness of the at least one segment decreases in a tapered manner from the edge portion of the groove or an edge portion of the projection toward a first-direction end portion of the at least one segment. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) A surgical instrument comprising: a robot arm including the joint according to claim 1; and an end effector provided at a tip end of the robot arm. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The surgical instrument according to claim 6, wherein the robot arm includes: a soft shaft having flexibility and a torque transmitting property; a wrist coupled to the end effector; a plurality of links provided between the soft shaft and the wrist; and the joint coupling the plurality of links to each other.