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US 10,591,029 B2Granted
Apparatus for advancement along a predetermined curved trajectory and a method for operation thereof
OwnerTzony Siegalinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus for advancement along a predetermined curved trajectory, comprising: a conduit having a conduit distal end; an elongated member having a main axis, at least partially extending within said conduit and movable therein along its length, said elongated member comprising a segmented assembly formed of a plurality of segments hingedly connected with each other, each having an orientation axis perpendicular to the main axis; and a deflecting member extending along said main axis so as to have a first state with a first extension along at least a part of the segmented assembly including its most distal segment, and a second state with a second extension along said part of the segmented assembly, the second extension exceeding the first extension.
Claims9
An apparatus for advancement along a predetermined curved trajectory, comprising:
- a. a conduit having a conduit distal end;
- b. an elongated member having a main axis, at least partially extending within said conduit and movable therein along its length, said elongated member comprising a segmented assembly formed of a plurality of segments hingedly connected with each other, each having an orientation axis perpendicular to the main axis;
- c. a deflecting member extending along said main axis so as to have a first state with a first extension along at least a part of the segmented assembly including its most distal segment, and a second state with a second extension along said part of the segmented assembly, the second extension exceeding the first extension;
- d. a moving mechanism configured for applying a pushing force on the elongated member for moving the elongated member along the conduit and causing the part of the segmented assembly to extend beyond the conduit distal end and to be introduced into the conduit via the conduit distal end;
- and
- e. an actuator being mechanically associated with the deflecting member and configured for moving the deflecting member along said main axis and changing its state between the first and the second states,
- said deflecting member having a distal end mechanically associated at least with said most distal segment of said segmented assembly so as to allow said distal end to exert a pushing force on at least said most distal segment at least when the deflecting member changes its state from the first state to the second state;
- said segmented assembly being configured to change its configuration, at least when said pushing force is exerted, from a straight configuration associated with said first state of the deflecting member, in which all the segments have their orientation axes parallel to each other, into a curved configuration associated with said second state of the deflecting member, in which at least said part of the segmented assembly extends beyond said conduit distal end and the corresponding segments of said pan change their orientation with respect to each other by means of their hinges so that the orientation axes of the corresponding segments form an angle therebetween, and so that said part of the assembly is rendered a curved shape;
- said moving mechanism is mechanically associated with the actuator, so that operation of the moving mechanism to move the elongated member along the conduit entails operation of the actuator to move the deflecting member in the same direction, thereby assisting in the movement of the elongated member in that direction;
- and
- wherein the elongated member further comprises an additional segmented assembly and a movable member having a first end to which the segmented assembly is connected and a second end to which the additional segmented assembly is connected;
- said additional segmented assembly being formed of a plurality of additional segments hingedly connected with each other, each having an orientation axis perpendicular to the main axis;
- said deflecting member extending along said main axis so as to have an additional first state with an additional first extension along at least a part of the additional segmented assembly including its additional segment being most distal to the segmented assembly, and an additional second state with an additional second extension along said part of the additional segmented assembly;
- said additional first extension exceeding the additional second extension;
- said deflecting member having a proximal end mechanically associated at least with said most proximal segment of said additional segmented assembly so as to allow said most proximal segment to exert a pushing force on the proximal end at least when the deflecting member changes its state from the additional first state to the additional second state;
- the additional segmented assembly being configured to change its configuration, at least when said pushing force on the said proximal end is exerted, from an additional curved configuration associated with said additional first state of the deflecting member, in which all the additional segments are disposed in orientation with respect to each other by means of their hinges so that the orientation axes of the corresponding segments form an angle therebetween, into an additional straight configuration associated with said additional second state of the deflecting member, in which the segments of the part of the additional segmented assembly have their orientation axes parallel to each other.
13 more elements
An apparatus for advancement along a predetermined curved trajectory, comprising:
- a. a conduit having a conduit distal end;
- b. an elongated member having a main axis, at least partially extending within said conduit and movable therein along its length, said elongated member comprising a segmented assembly formed of a plurality of segments hingedly connected with each other, each having an orientation axis perpendicular to the main axis;
- and
- c. a deflecting member extending along said main axis so as to have a first state with a first extension along at least a part of the segmented assembly including its most distal segment, and a second state with a second extension along said part of the segmented assembly, the second extension exceeding the first extension;
- said deflecting member having a distal end mechanically associated at least with said most distal segment of said segmented assembly so as to allow said distal end to exert a pushing force on at least said most distal segment at least when the deflecting member changes its state from the first state to the second state;
- said segmented assembly being configured to change its configuration, at least when said pushing force is exerted, from a straight configuration associated with said first state of the deflecting member, in which all the segments have their orientation axes parallel to each other, into a curved configuration associated with said second state of the deflecting member, in which at least said part of the segmented assembly extends beyond said conduit distal end and the corresponding segments of said part change their orientation with respect to each other by means of their hinges so that the orientation axes of the corresponding segments form an angle therebetween, and so that said part of the assembly is rendered a curved shape, when in its curved configuration has a concave side and a convex side;
- at least in a majority of the segments, each pair of adjacent segments having stabilizing portions closer to the convex side than the concave side and being other than the hinged connection therebetween, said stabilizing portions being configured to engage each other in both the straight and the curved configurations of the segmented assembly so as to resist torsion of the adjacent segments with respect to each other.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.