Splayed cable guide for a medical instrument
AssigneeIntuitive Surgical Operations, Inc.
InventorsEdward P. Donlon, Craig Tsuji, Alain Sadaka
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus includes a housing, a cable guide, a first cable, and a second cable. The housing is coupled to a shaft of a medical instrument. The cable guide is coupled to the housing, and defines a shaft opening into a passageway defined by the shaft. A first guide groove and a second guide groove are defined by the cable guide, with each of the first guide groove and the second guide groove being splayed outward from the shaft opening. The first cable is routed within the first guide groove and through the shaft opening, and is configured to slide within the first guide groove. The second cable is routed within the second guide groove and through the shaft opening, and is configured to slide within the second guide groove.
Claims20
A medical device, comprising:
- an instrument shaft, a housing coupled to the instrument shaft, a cable guide, a first cable, and a second cable;
- the instrument shaft comprising a shaft passageway and a shaft center line;
- the cable guide comprising a first guide surface, a second guide surface, one or more protrusions, and an opening;
- the one or more protrusions being engaged with the housing to align the opening of the cable guide with the shaft passageway;
- the first guide surface comprising a first bend portion transitioning into the opening, and the first bend portion being at a first position with reference to the shaft center line;
- the second guide surface comprising a second bend portion transitioning into the opening, the second bend portion being at a second position with reference to the shaft center line, and the second position being different than the first position;
- the first cable being routed along the first guide surface, around the first bend portion, through the opening, and into the shaft passageway;
- and
- the second cable being routed along the second guide surface, around the second bend portion, through the opening, and into the shaft passageway.
A medical device, comprising:
- an instrument shaft comprising a proximal end, a distal end, and a shaft center line extending between the proximal end and the distal end;
- a housing coupled to the instrument shaft;
- a first cable;
- a second cable;
- and
- means for guiding the first cable and the second cable into the proximal end of the instrument shaft,
- the means for guiding comprising a first fixed groove for bending the first cable at a first position relative to the shaft center line,
- the means for guiding comprising a second fixed groove for bending the second cable at a second position relative to the shaft center line different from the first position, and
- the first fixed groove defines a bend angle of more than 60 degrees.
A medical device, comprising:
- an instrument shaft, a cable guide, a first cable, and a second cable;
- the instrument shaft comprising a shaft passageway and a shaft center line;
- the cable guide comprising a first guide surface, a second guide surface, and an opening;
- the first guide surface comprising a first bend portion transitioning into the opening, the first bend portion being at a first position with reference to the shaft center line, and the first bend portion defining a first bend angle of more than 60 degrees;
- the second guide surface comprising a second bend portion transitioning into the opening, the second bend portion being at a second position with reference to the shaft center line, and the second position being different than the first position;
- the first cable being routed along the first guide surface, around the first bend portion, through the opening, and into the shaft passageway;
- and
- the second cable being routed along the second guide surface, around the second bend portion, through the opening, and into the shaft passageway.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.