Retractable gear meshing joint and arm

A mechanical articulable surgical arm assembly comprising:

• a link movable in space;
• an actuator including a housing secured to the link, the actuator including a cable within the housing, the cable translatable relative to the housing and the link;
• and
• a joint coupled to the link, the joint comprising:
• a main shaft extending along a longitudinal axis, the main shaft coupled to the link;
• a main gear coupled to the main shaft and extending outward from the main shaft, the main gear including a plurality of main gear teeth extending radially outward from a periphery of the main gear;
• a meshing gear in coaxial alignment with the main gear, the meshing gear comprising:
• a meshing gear tooth releasably engageable with the main gear teeth;
• a bore configured to receive the meshing gear tooth therein;
• and
• a biasing element disposable in the bore to engage the meshing gear tooth to bias the meshing gear tooth to extend from the meshing gear;
• and
• a release plate supported by the main shaft and translatable in response to movement of the actuator to engage the meshing gear tooth to disengage the meshing gear tooth from the main gear teeth to allow the meshing gear to rotate relative to the main gear.

A surgical arm assembly comprising:

• a link movable in space;
• an actuator including a housing secured to the link, the actuator including a cable within the housing, the cable translatable relative to the housing and the link, the actuator movable between a locked position and an unlocked position;
• and
• a first joint and a second joint, each movable between locked and unlocked positions, each of the first joint and the second joint comprising:
• a main shaft extending along a longitudinal axis;
• a main gear coupled to the main shaft and extending outward from the main shaft, the main gear including a plurality of main gear teeth extending radially outward from a periphery of the main gear;
• a meshing gear in coaxial alignment with the main gear, the meshing gear comprising:
• a plurality of meshing gear tooth sets engageable with the main gear;
• a plurality of teeth bores, each of the plurality of teeth bores configured to receive one of the plurality of meshing gear tooth sets therein;
• and
• a plurality of biasing elements each disposable in one of the plurality of teeth bores to engage one of the plurality of meshing gear tooth sets to bias the plurality of meshing gear tooth sets to extend from the meshing gear;
• and
• a release plate supported by the main shaft and translatable in response to movement of the actuator toward the unlocked position to engage the plurality of meshing gear tooth sets to disengage the plurality of meshing gear tooth sets from the plurality of main gear teeth to allow the meshing gear to rotate relative to the main gear.