JP5289470B2 - Flexible cable - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a flexible cable used for a remote operation type actuator for medical use, machining, or the like in which the posture of a tool can be changed by remote operation.

  There are remote-operated actuators that are used for bone processing for medical purposes and drilling and cutting for mechanical processing. The remote operation type actuator remotely controls a tool provided at the end of a long and narrow pipe portion having a linear shape or a curved shape. However, since the conventional remote control actuator only controls the rotation of the tool by remote control, in the case of medical use, it was difficult to process a complicated shape or a part that is difficult to see from the outside. Further, in drilling, it is required that not only a straight line but also a curved shape can be processed. Furthermore, in the cutting process, it is required that a deep part inside the groove can be processed. Hereinafter, taking the medical use as an example, the prior art and problems of the remote control type actuator will be described.

  In the field of orthopedics, there is an artificial joint replacement operation in which a joint that has become worn out due to bone aging or the like is replaced with a new artificial one. In this operation, it is necessary to process the patient's living bone so that the artificial joint can be inserted. In order to increase the adhesive strength between the living bone and the artificial joint after the operation, the shape of the artificial joint is required. It is required to process with high accuracy.

  For example, in hip joint replacement surgery, an artificial joint insertion hole is formed in the medullary cavity at the center of the femur bone. In order to maintain the contact strength between the artificial joint and the bone, it is necessary to increase the contact area between them, and the hole for inserting the artificial joint is processed into an elongated shape extending to the back of the bone. As a medical actuator used for such a bone cutting process, a tool is rotatably provided at the distal end of an elongated pipe portion, and by driving a rotational drive source such as a motor provided on the proximal end side of the pipe portion, There exists a thing of the structure which rotates a tool via the rotating shaft arrange | positioned inside (for example, patent document 1). In this type of medical actuator, the rotating part exposed to the outside is only the tool at the tip, so that the tool can be inserted deep into the bone.

  Artificial joint replacement surgery involves skin incision and muscle cutting. That is, the human body must be damaged. In order to minimize the scratches, the pipe part may not be straight but may be appropriately curved. In order to cope with such a situation, there are the following conventional techniques. For example, in Patent Document 2, an intermediate portion of a pipe portion is bent twice, and the axial center position on the distal end side and the axial center position on the proximal end side of the pipe portion are shifted. There are other known cases where the axial position of the pipe portion is shifted between the tip end side and the axial center side. In Patent Document 3, the pipe portion is rotated 180 degrees.

JP 2007-301149 A U.S. Pat. No. 4,466,429 US Pat. No. 4,265,231

  If there is a wide gap between the living bone and the artificial joint with the artificial joint inserted in the artificial bone insertion hole of the living bone, the adhesion time after the operation becomes longer, so the gap is as narrow as possible. desirable. It is also important that the contact surface between the living bone and the artificial joint is smooth, and high accuracy is required for processing the hole for inserting the artificial joint. However, no matter what the shape of the pipe part, the operating range of the tool is limited by the shape of the pipe part. It is difficult to process the artificial joint insertion hole so that the gap is narrow and the contact surface of both is smooth.

  Generally, bones of patients undergoing artificial joint replacement surgery are often weakened due to aging or the like, and the bones themselves may be deformed. Therefore, it is more difficult to process the artificial joint insertion hole than is normally conceivable.

  Therefore, the present applicant tried to make it possible to remotely change the posture of the tool provided at the tip for the purpose of relatively easily and accurately processing the hole for inserting the artificial joint. . This is because, if the posture of the tool can be changed, the tool can be held in an appropriate posture regardless of the shape of the pipe portion. However, since the tool is provided at the tip of the elongated pipe portion, there are many restrictions in providing a mechanism for changing the posture of the tool, and a device for overcoming it is necessary. Further, it is expected that the pipe portion has a curved shape, and it is desired that the posture changing operation can be surely performed even in such a case.

  The present invention provides a flexible cable used for transmission of drive to such a remote control type actuator or the like.

  In the flexible cable of the present invention, a flexible inner wire whose both ends are a rotational input end and an output end, respectively, is rotatably supported by a plurality of rolling bearings at the center of the flexible outer tube and adjacent to each other. A spring element is provided between the rolling bearings to give a preload to the rolling bearings.

Before Symbol spring element, an inner ring spring elements giving a preload to the inner ring of said rolling bearing, and a spring element for the outer ring to give a preload to the outer ring, the length of the spring element for these inner spring element and an outer ring the inner wire It is to place alternately over direction. Thus, the inner wire can be rotated at a high speed by applying the preload by the spring element.

  In the present invention, a drive source for rotating the inner wire may be connected to the input end of the inner wire.

  In this invention, you may provide the mechanism connected with the output end of the said inner wire, and rotating with this inner wire.

  In this invention, you may provide the mechanism connected to the output end of the said inner wire, and converting the rotation output of this inner wire into a linear motion.

In the flexible cable of the present invention, a flexible inner wire whose both ends are a rotational input end and an output end, respectively, is rotatably supported by a plurality of rolling bearings at the center of the flexible outer tube and adjacent to each other. between rolling, only setting the spring elements giving preload to these rolling bearings, the spring element, an inner ring spring elements giving a preload to the inner ring of the rolling bearing, and a spring element for the outer ring to give a preload to the outer ring Since the inner ring spring elements and the outer ring spring elements are alternately arranged along the length of the inner wire , rotation can be transmitted while having flexibility.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the remote control type actuator concerning a reference proposal example. (A) is a sectional view of a tip member and a spindle guide portion of the remote operation type actuator, (B) is a sectional view taken along the line IIB-IIB, and (C) is a diagram showing a connection structure between the tip member and a rotating shaft. (A) is the figure which combined and displayed the control system in the front view of the drive mechanism for tool rotation of this remote control type actuator, and the drive mechanism for attitude | position change, (B) is the III B-III B sectional drawing. It is a figure which shows schematic structure at the time of providing a cooling means in the remote control type actuator. (A) is sectional drawing of the front-end | tip member and spindle guide part of the remote control type actuator concerning other proposals, (B) is the VB-VB sectional drawing. (A) is sectional drawing of the front-end | tip member and spindle guide part of the remote control type actuator concerning further another proposal example, (B) is the VIB-VIB sectional drawing. (A) is sectional drawing of the front-end | tip member and spindle guide part of the remote control type actuator concerning other another proposal example, (B) is the VII B-VII B sectional drawing. FIG. 8 is a cutaway side view of a tool rotation drive mechanism and a posture change drive mechanism of the remote operation type actuator shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the remote control type actuator from which the shape of a spindle guide part differs. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the remote control type actuator using the flexible cable which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the drive mechanism for a tool rotation of the remote control type actuator, and the drive mechanism for attitude | position change. It is sectional drawing of the cable for tool rotation which is a flexible cable of the drive mechanism for the tool rotation. It is sectional drawing of the cable for attitude | position change which is a flexible cable of the drive mechanism for the attitude | position change.

  A remote control type actuator according to a reference proposal example will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 1, the remote control type actuator includes a tip member 2 for holding a rotary tool 1, an elongated spindle guide portion 3 having the tip member 2 attached to the tip so that the posture can be freely changed, and the spindle guide. A drive unit housing 4a to which the base end of the unit 3 is coupled, and a controller 5 for controlling the tool rotation drive mechanism 4b and the attitude change drive mechanism 4c in the drive unit housing 4a are provided. The drive unit housing 4a constitutes the drive unit 4 together with the built-in tool rotation drive mechanism 4b and posture changing drive mechanism 4c.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the tip member 2 has a spindle 13 rotatably supported by a pair of bearings 12 inside a substantially cylindrical housing 11. The spindle 13 has a cylindrical shape with an open end, and the shank 1a of the tool 1 is inserted into the hollow portion in a fitted state, and the shank 1a is non-rotatably coupled by the rotation prevention pin 14. The tip member 2 is attached to the tip of the spindle guide portion 3 via the tip member connecting portion 15. The tip member connecting portion 15 is a means for supporting the tip member 2 so that the posture thereof can be freely changed, and includes a spherical bearing. Specifically, the distal end member connecting portion 15 includes a guided portion 11 a that is a reduced inner diameter portion of the proximal end of the housing 11 and a hook-shaped portion of a retaining member 21 that is fixed to the distal end of the spindle guide portion 3. It is comprised with the guide part 21a. The guide surfaces F1 and F2 that are in contact with each other 11a and 21a are spherical surfaces having a center of curvature O located on the center line CL of the spindle 13 and having a smaller diameter toward the proximal end side. As a result, the tip member 2 is prevented from being detached from the spindle guide portion 3 and is supported so as to be freely changeable in posture. In this example, since the tip member 2 is configured to change the posture around the X axis passing through the center of curvature O, the guide surfaces F1 and F2 may be cylindrical surfaces having the X axis passing through the point O as an axis. .

  The spindle guide portion 3 has a rotating shaft 22 that transmits the rotational force of the tool rotation drive source 41 (FIG. 3) in the drive portion housing 4 a to the spindle 13. In this example, the rotating shaft 22 is a wire and can be elastically deformed to some extent. As the material of the wire, for example, metal, resin, glass fiber or the like is used. The wire may be a single wire or a stranded wire. As shown in FIG. 2C, the spindle 13 and the rotary shaft 22 are connected so as to be able to transmit rotation via a joint 23 such as a universal joint. The joint 23 includes a groove 13 a provided at the closed base end of the spindle 13 and a protrusion 22 a provided at the distal end of the rotating shaft 22 and engaged with the groove 13 a. The center of the connecting portion between the groove 13a and the protrusion 22a is at the same position as the center of curvature O of the guide surfaces F1 and F2.

  The spindle guide section 3 has an outer pipe 25 that is an outer shell of the spindle guide section 3, and the rotation shaft 22 is located at the center of the outer pipe 25. The rotating shaft 22 is rotatably supported by a plurality of rolling bearings 26 that are arranged apart from each other in the axial direction. Between each rolling bearing 26, spring elements 27A and 27B for generating a preload on the rolling bearing 26 are provided. The spring elements 27A and 27B are, for example, compression coil springs. There are an inner ring spring element 27A for generating a preload on the inner ring of the rolling bearing 26 and an outer ring spring element 27B for generating a preload on the outer ring, which are arranged alternately. The retaining member 21 is fixed to the pipe end portion 25a of the outer pipe 25 by a fixing pin 28, and rotatably supports the distal end portion of the rotary shaft 22 via a rolling bearing 29 at the distal end inner peripheral portion thereof. The pipe end portion 25a may be a separate member from the outer pipe 25 and may be joined by welding or the like.

  Between the inner diameter surface of the outer pipe 25 and the rotary shaft 22, one guide pipe 30 penetrating at both ends is provided. The posture operation member 31 composed of the ball 31a and the columnar pins 31b at both ends is inserted in such a manner as to freely advance and retract. The balls 31a and the columnar pins 31b are arranged in a line along the length direction of the guide holes 30a and are arranged without gaps. The distal end of the columnar pin 31 b on the distal end member 2 side is spherical and is in contact with the proximal end surface of the distal end member housing 11. The tip of the columnar pin 31b on the drive unit housing 4a side is also spherical, and is in contact with the side surface of the lever 43b (FIG. 3) described later.

  For example, compression is provided between the proximal end surface of the housing 11 of the distal end member 2 and the distal end surface of the outer pipe 25 of the spindle guide portion 3 at a position 180 degrees relative to the circumferential position where the posture operation member 31 is located. A restoring elastic member 32 made of a coil spring is provided. The restoring elastic member 32 acts to urge the tip member 2 toward a predetermined posture.

  In addition to the guide pipe 30, a plurality of reinforcing shafts 34 are arranged on the same pitch circle C as the guide pipe 30 between the inner diameter surface of the outer pipe 25 and the rotary shaft 22. These reinforcing shafts 34 are for ensuring the rigidity of the spindle guide portion 3. The intervals between the guide pipe 30 and the reinforcing shaft 34 are equal. The guide pipe 30 and the reinforcing shaft 34 are in contact with the inner diameter surface of the outer pipe 25 and the outer diameter surface of the rolling bearing 26. Thereby, the outer diameter surface of the rolling bearing 26 is supported.

  FIG. 3 shows a tool rotation drive mechanism 4b and a posture change drive mechanism 4c in the drive unit housing 4a. The tool rotation drive mechanism 4 b includes a tool rotation drive source 41 controlled by the controller 5. The tool rotation drive source 41 is, for example, an electric motor, and its output shaft 41 a is coupled to the proximal end of the rotation shaft 22. The posture changing drive mechanism 4 c includes a posture changing drive source 42 controlled by the controller 5. The posture changing drive source 42 is, for example, an electric linear actuator, and the movement of the output rod 42 a that moves in the left-right direction in FIG. 3A is transmitted to the posture operating member 31 through the force transmission mechanism 43. The boost transmission mechanism 43 has a lever 43b that is rotatable around a support shaft 43a. The force of the output rod 42a acts on an action point P1 of the lever 43b that is long from the support shaft 43a. The force is applied to the posture operation member 31 at the force point P <b> 2 having a short distance, and the output of the posture changing drive source 42 is increased and transmitted to the posture operation member 31. If the boost transmission mechanism 43 is provided, a large force can be applied to the posture operation member 31 even with a linear actuator having a small output, and thus the linear actuator can be downsized. The rotating shaft 22 penetrates the opening 44 formed in the lever 43b. Instead of providing the posture changing drive source 42 and the like, the posture of the tip member 2 may be remotely operated manually.

  The posture change drive mechanism 4c is provided with an operation amount detector 45 for detecting the operation amount of the posture change drive source 42. The detection value of the movement amount detector 45 is output to the posture detection means 46. The posture detection means 46 detects the tilt posture of the tip member 2 around the X axis (FIG. 2) based on the output of the movement amount detector 45. The posture detection means 46 has relationship setting means (not shown) in which the relationship between the tilt posture and the output signal of the motion amount detector 45 is set by an arithmetic expression or a table, and the relationship is determined from the input output signal. The tilting posture is detected using setting means. This posture detection means 46 may be provided in the controller 5 or may be provided in an external control device.

  The posture changing drive mechanism 4c is provided with a wattmeter 47 that detects the amount of power supplied to the posture changing drive source 42, which is an electric actuator. The detected value of the supplied wattmeter 47 is output to the load detecting means 48. The load detection means 48 detects the load acting on the tip member 2 based on the output of the wattmeter 47. The load detection means 48 has relation setting means (not shown) in which the relation between the load and the output signal of the supplied wattmeter 47 is set by an arithmetic expression or a table, and the relation setting means is determined from the input output signal. The load is detected using. The load detecting means 48 may be provided in the controller 5 or may be provided in an external control device.

  The controller 5 controls the tool rotation drive source 41 and the posture change drive source 42 based on the detected values in the posture detection means 46 and the load detection means 48.

The operation of this remote control type actuator will be described.
When the tool rotation drive source 41 is driven, the rotational force is transmitted to the spindle 13 via the rotation shaft 22, and the tool 1 rotates together with the spindle 13. The load acting on the tip member 2 when the tool 1 is rotated to cut bone or the like is detected by the load detection means 48 from the detection value of the supply wattmeter 47. By controlling the feed amount of the entire remote operation type actuator and the posture change of the distal end member 2 described later according to the load value thus detected, the load acting on the distal end member 2 can be appropriately maintained while maintaining the load. Cutting can be performed.

  At the time of use, the posture changing drive source 42 is driven to change the posture of the tip member 2 by remote control. For example, when the posture operating member 31 is advanced to the distal end side by the posture changing drive source 42, the housing 11 of the distal end member 2 is pushed by the posture operating member 31, and the distal end member 2 is directed downward in FIG. The posture is changed along the guide surfaces F1 and F2 toward the side. On the other hand, when the posture operation member 31 is retracted by the posture changing drive source 42, the housing 11 of the tip member 2 is pushed back by the elastic repulsive force of the restoring elastic member 32, and the tip member 2 is shown in FIG. The posture is changed along the guide surfaces F1 and F2 to the side facing upward. At that time, the pressure of the posture operation member 31, the elastic repulsive force of the restoring elastic member 32, and the reaction force from the retaining member 21 act on the tip member connecting portion 15, and the balance of these acting forces The posture of the tip member 2 is determined. The posture of the tip member 2 is detected by the posture detection means 46 from the detection value of the movement amount detector 45. Therefore, the posture of the tip member 2 can be appropriately controlled by remote operation.

  Since the posture operation member 31 is inserted through the guide hole 30a, the posture operation member 31 does not shift in the direction intersecting the longitudinal direction, and can always act properly on the tip member 2, and the tip member 2 posture change operation is performed accurately. Further, the posture operation member 31 includes a plurality of balls 31a and columnar pins 31b, and has a flexible property as a whole. Therefore, even when the spindle guide portion 3 is curved, the posture change operation of the tip member 2 is reliably performed. Is called. Furthermore, since the center of the connecting portion between the spindle 13 and the rotating shaft 22 is at the same position as the center of curvature O of the guide surfaces F1 and F2, a force for pushing and pulling against the rotating shaft 22 by changing the posture of the tip member 2 is increased. Accordingly, the posture of the tip member 2 can be changed smoothly.

  This remote control type actuator is used, for example, for cutting the medullary cavity of bone in artificial joint replacement surgery. During the operation, all or part of the distal end member 2 is inserted into the patient's body. The For this reason, if the posture of the tip member 2 can be changed by remote control as described above, the bone can be processed while the tool 1 is always held in an appropriate posture, and the artificial joint insertion hole is finished with high accuracy. Can do.

  The elongated spindle guide portion 3 needs to be provided with the rotating shaft 22 and the posture operation member 31 in a protected state. The rotating shaft 22 is provided at the center of the outer pipe 25, and the outer pipe 25, the rotating shaft 22, Since the guide pipe 30 accommodating the posture operation member 31 and the reinforcing shaft 34 are arranged side by side in the circumferential direction, the rotary shaft 22 and the posture operation member 31 are protected and the interior is hollow. It is possible to secure rigidity while reducing the weight. Also, the overall balance is good.

  Since the outer diameter surface of the rolling bearing 26 that supports the rotating shaft 22 is supported by the guide pipe 30 and the reinforcing shaft 34, the outer diameter surface of the rolling bearing 26 can be supported without using extra members. Moreover, since the preload is applied to the rolling bearing 26 by the spring elements 27A and 27B, the rotating shaft 22 made of a wire can be rotated at a high speed. Therefore, machining can be performed by rotating the spindle 13 at a high speed, the machining finish is good, and the cutting resistance acting on the tool 1 can be reduced. Since the spring elements 27A and 27B are provided between the adjacent rolling bearings 26, the spring elements 27A and 27B can be provided without increasing the diameter of the spindle guide portion 3.

  In this proposed example, a tool rotation drive source 41 and a posture change drive source 42 are provided in a common drive unit housing 4a. Therefore, the configuration of the entire remote operation type actuator can be simplified. Only one of the tool rotation drive source 41 and the posture change drive source 42 may be provided in the drive unit housing 4a. Further, as will be described later, the tool rotation drive source 41 and the attitude change drive source 42 may be provided outside the drive unit housing 4a.

  This remote control type actuator can be provided with a cooling means 50 for cooling the tool 1 or the like as shown in FIG. 4 by utilizing the fact that the spindle guide portion 3 is hollow. That is, the cooling means 50 includes a coolant supply device 51 provided outside the remote control type actuator, and a tool that passes from the coolant supply device 51 through the inside of the drive unit housing 4a, the spindle guide portion 3, and the tip member 2. 1 is a coolant supply pipe 52 that guides the coolant to 1, and a portion 52 a of the coolant supply pipe 52 that passes through the spindle guide portion 3 is the outer pipe 25 itself that is the coolant supply pipe 52, and cools the inside of the outer pipe 25. The liquid passes through. The coolant guided to the tool 1 is discharged to the outer periphery of the tool 1. If such a cooling means 50 is provided, the heat generating locations such as the tool 1, the workpiece, the spindle 13, the rotary shaft 22, and the bearings 26 and 29 can be cooled by the coolant. Since the coolant is allowed to pass through the outer pipe 25, it is not necessary to provide a separate coolant supply pipe, and the spindle guide portion 3 can be simplified and reduced in diameter. Further, the cooling liquid may be used for lubricating the rolling bearings 26 and 29. By doing so, it is not necessary to use grease or the like generally used for bearings, and it is not necessary to provide a separate lubricating device. It is also possible to adopt a circulation type configuration in which the coolant guided to the tool 1 is returned to the coolant supply device 51 without being discharged to the outer periphery of the tool 1. However, when the flow rate of the cooling liquid passing through the outer pipe 25 is small, the cooling liquid may be further supplied from the outside to cool the tool 1 or the workpiece.

  The cooling liquid is preferably water or physiological saline. This is because if the coolant is water or physiological saline, the coolant does not adversely affect the living body when the tip member 2 is inserted into the living body to perform processing. When the coolant is water or physiological saline, it is desirable that the material of the parts in contact with the coolant is stainless steel having excellent corrosion resistance. Other parts constituting the remote control type actuator may also be made of stainless steel.

  FIG. 5 shows different proposal examples. This remote control type actuator is provided with two guide pipes 30 at circumferential positions in the outer pipe 25 that are 180 degrees in phase with each other, and in the guide hole 30a that is the inner diameter hole of the guide pipe 30, the same attitude as described above. The operating member 31 is inserted so as to freely advance and retract. Between the two guide pipes 30, a plurality of reinforcing shafts 34 are arranged on the same pitch circle C as the guide pipe 30. The restoring elastic member 32 is not provided. The guide surfaces F1 and F2 are spherical surfaces whose center of curvature is the point O, or cylindrical surfaces whose axis is the X axis passing through the point O.

  The drive unit 4 (not shown) is provided with two posture change drive sources 42 (not shown) for individually moving the two posture operation members 31 forward and backward, and these two posture change drives. The posture of the tip member 2 is changed by driving the sources 42 in opposite directions. For example, when the upper posture operation member 31 in FIG. 5 is advanced to the distal end side and the lower posture operation member 31 is retracted, the housing 11 of the distal end member 2 is pushed by the upper posture operation member 31. The posture of the tip member 2 is changed along the guide surfaces F1 and F2 to the side in which the tip side faces downward in FIG. Conversely, when both posture operation members 31 are moved back and forth, the housing 11 of the tip member 2 is pushed by the lower posture operation member 31, and the tip member 2 is directed upward in FIG. 5A. The posture is changed along the guide surfaces F1 and F2 to the side. At that time, the pressure of the two upper and lower posture operating members 31 and the reaction force from the retaining member 21 are acting on the tip member connecting portion 15, and the posture of the tip member 2 is determined by the balance of these acting forces. Is done. In this configuration, the housing 11 of the tip member 2 is pressurized by the two posture operation members 31, so that the posture stability of the tip member 2 is improved as compared with the above-described proposed example in which pressure is applied by only one posture operation member 31. Can be increased.

  FIG. 6 shows yet another proposed example. This remote control type actuator is provided with three guide pipes 30 at circumferential positions at a phase of 120 degrees in the outer pipe 25, and the same posture as described above in a guide hole 30 a which is an inner diameter hole of the guide pipe 30. The operating member 31 is inserted so as to freely advance and retract. Between the three guide pipes 30, a plurality of reinforcing shafts 34 are arranged on the same pitch circle C as the guide pipes 30. The restoring elastic member 32 is not provided. The guide surfaces F1 and F2 are spherical surfaces whose center of curvature is a point O, and the tip member 2 can tilt in any direction.

The drive unit 4 is provided with three posture change drive sources 42 (42U, 42L, 42R) (FIG. 8) for individually moving the three posture operation members 31 (31U, 31L, 31R) forward and backward. The attitude of the tip member 2 is changed by driving these three attitude changing drive sources 42 in conjunction with each other.
For example, when the upper one posture operation member 31U in FIG. 6 is advanced to the distal end side and the other two posture operation members 31L and 31R are moved backward, the upper posture operation member 31U causes the housing 11 of the distal end member 2 to move. By being pushed, the tip member 2 changes its posture along the guide surfaces F1 and F2 to the side in which the tip side faces downward in FIG. At this time, each posture changing drive source 42 is controlled so that the amount of advance / retreat of each posture operation member 31 is appropriate. When each posture operation member 31 is moved back and forth, the housing 11 of the tip member 2 is pushed by the left and right posture operation members 31L and 31R, so that the tip member 2 moves to the side where the tip side is upward in FIG. The posture is changed along the guide surfaces F1 and F2.
Further, when the left posture operation member 31L is advanced to the distal end side and the right posture operation member 31R is moved backward while the upper posture operation member 31U is stationary, the distal end member 2 is moved by the left posture operation member 31L. When the housing 11 is pushed, the tip member 2 changes its posture along the guide surfaces F1 and F2 to the right, that is, the side facing the back side of the paper surface in FIG. When the left and right posture operation members 31L and 31R are moved back and forth, the housing 11 of the tip member 2 is pushed by the right posture operation member 31R, so that the tip member 2 moves along the guide surfaces F1 and F2 toward the left side. Change the posture.
Thus, by providing the posture operation member 31 at three positions in the circumferential direction, the tip member 2 can be changed in posture in the directions of the upper, lower, left and right axes (X axis, Y axis). At that time, the pressure of the three posture operating members 31 and the reaction force from the retaining member 21 are acting on the tip member connecting portion 15, and the posture of the tip member 2 is determined by the balance of these acting forces. The In this configuration, since the pressure is applied to the housing 11 of the tip member 2 by the three posture operation members 31, the posture stability of the tip member 2 can be further improved. If the number of posture operation members 31 is further increased, the posture stability of the tip member 2 can be further enhanced.

  FIG. 7 shows yet another proposed example. In this remote operation type actuator, the force transmission member of the posture operation member 31 is a columnar body 31c such as a cylinder. The plurality of columnar bodies 31c and the columnar pins 31b at both ends are arranged without gaps along the length direction of the guide hole 30a. In this proposed example, the posture operation member 31 is provided at three circumferential positions at a phase of 120 degrees, but the posture operation member 31 is disposed at two circumferential positions at a phase of 180 degrees. The present invention can also be applied to a configuration in which the posture operation member 31 provided at one place in the circumferential direction and the corresponding elastic member 32 for restoration are combined.

  Even when the force transmission member is the columnar body 31c, the posture operating member 31 is advanced and retracted by driving the posture changing drive source 42 as in the case of the ball 31a, and acts on the tip member 2. Effect. Even if the force transmission member is the columnar body 31c, the posture operation member 31 does not shift in the direction intersecting the longitudinal direction, and can always act properly on the tip member 2. Moreover, even when the spindle guide portion 3 is flexible and curved, the posture changing operation of the tip member 2 is reliably performed. When the force transmission member is the columnar body 31c, there is an advantage that the rigidity of the spindle guide portion 3 can be increased as compared with the case of the ball 31a. You may comprise the attitude | position operation member 31 using both the columnar body 31c and the ball | bowl 31a.

  When the posture operation member 31 is provided in three places in the circumferential direction as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the posture change drive mechanism 4c can be configured as shown in FIG. 8, for example. That is, three posture change drive sources 42 (42U, 42L, 42R) for individually moving the posture operation members 31 (31U, 31L, 31R) forward and backward are arranged in parallel on the left and right sides, and each posture change drive source is provided. A lever 43b (43bU, 43bL, 43bR) corresponding to 42 is provided so as to be rotatable around a common support shaft 43a, and each lever 43b has a long distance from the support shaft 43a at an action point P1 (P1U, P1L, P1R). The force of the output rod 42a (42aU, 42aL, 42aR) of each posture changing drive source 42 is applied, and a force is applied to the posture operating member 31 at a force point P2 (P2U, P2L, P2R) having a short distance from the support shaft 43a. As a configuration. Thereby, the output of each posture change drive source 42 can be increased and transmitted to the corresponding posture operation member 31. The rotary shaft 22 passes through an opening 44 formed in the lever 43bU for the upper posture operation member 31U.

  In each of the above proposal examples, the spindle guide portion 3 has a linear shape. However, in the remote control type actuator according to the present invention, the posture operation member 31 is flexible, and the posture of the tip member 2 is maintained even when the spindle guide portion 3 is curved. Since the changing operation is performed reliably, the spindle guide portion 3 may be curved in the initial state as shown in FIG. Alternatively, only a part of the spindle guide portion 3 may be curved. If the spindle guide portion 3 is curved, it may be possible to insert the distal end member 2 to the back of the bone, which is difficult to reach in the straight shape, so that the hole for artificial joint insertion can be accurately processed in artificial joint replacement surgery. It becomes possible to finish.

  When the spindle guide portion 3 has a curved shape, the outer pipe 25, the guide pipe 30, and the reinforcing shaft 34 need to have a curved shape. The rotating shaft 22 is preferably made of a material that is easily deformed, and for example, a shape memory alloy is suitable. The posture operation member 31 may be composed of a plurality of columnar bodies curved in accordance with the curved shape of the guide pipe 30 in addition to the plurality of balls. In that case, it is preferable that the curved columnar body has a short length and a shape in which corners are dropped by chamfering or the like.

  10 to 13 show an example of a remote control type actuator using a flexible cable according to an embodiment of the present invention. The above-mentioned proposed examples are a tool rotation drive mechanism and a posture change drive mechanism. The configuration is different. In the proposed example, the tool rotation drive source 41 of the tool rotation drive mechanism 4b and the attitude change drive source 42 of the attitude change drive mechanism 4c are provided in the drive unit housing 4a. In the embodiment of FIG. 13, the tool rotation drive source 41 and the attitude change drive source 42 are provided in a drive source housing 60 different from the drive unit housing 4a.

  In this example, the tool rotation drive mechanism 61 rotates the output shaft 41a of the tool rotation drive source 41 provided in the drive source housing 60 to the inner wire 64 of the tool rotation cable 62, which is a flexible cable (FIG. 12). By this, it transmits to the base end of the rotating shaft 22 in the drive part housing 4a. The tool rotation cable 62 has a structure shown in FIG. 12, for example. That is, a flexible inner wire 64 is rotatably supported by a plurality of rolling bearings 66 at the center of the flexible outer tube 63. Both ends of the inner wire 64 are connected to the output shaft 41 a of the tool rotation drive source 41 and the base end of the rotation shaft 22, respectively. Between the rolling bearings 66, spring elements 67A and 67B for generating a preload on the rolling bearings 66 are provided. The spring elements 67A and 67B are, for example, compression coil springs. There are an inner ring spring element 67A for generating a preload on the inner ring of the rolling bearing 66 and an outer ring spring element 67B for generating a preload on the outer ring, which are arranged alternately. Thus, the inner wire 64 can be rotated at a high speed by applying a preload to the rolling bearing 66 by the spring elements 67A and 67B.

  Also, the posture changing drive mechanism 71 of this example allows the posture changing drive source 42 provided in the drive source housing 60 to operate in the drive unit housing 4a via the posture changing cable 72, which is a flexible cable. This is transmitted to the drive mechanism 83. The drive mechanism unit 83 corresponds to the posture change drive mechanism 4c of the proposed example except for the posture change drive source 42, and instead of the output rod 42a of the posture change drive source 42 in the posture change drive mechanism 4c. Further, an advancing / retreating member 75 is provided that advances and retreats with respect to the drive unit housing 4a in a state where the tip is in contact with the lever 43b. The advance / retreat member 75 is moved forward and backward with respect to the drive unit housing 4a by converting a rotational motion into a straight motion by a screw mechanism 75a such as a ball screw. In this case, the posture changing drive source 42 is a rotary actuator, and the rotation of the posture changing drive source 42 is transmitted to the advance / retreat member 75 by the inner wire 74 (FIG. 13) of the posture changing cable 72.

  The posture changing cable 72 has the same structure as the tool rotating cable 62, and has the structure shown in FIG. 13, for example. That is, a flexible inner wire 74 is rotatably supported by a plurality of rolling bearings 76 at the center of the flexible outer tube 73. Both ends of the inner wire 74 are connected to the output shaft 42a and the advance / retreat member 75 of the attitude changing drive source 42, respectively. Between the rolling bearings 76, spring elements 77A and 77B for generating a preload on the rolling bearings 76 are provided. The spring elements 77A and 77B are, for example, compression coil springs. There are an inner ring spring element 77A for generating a preload on the inner ring of the rolling bearing 76 and an outer ring spring element 77B for generating a preload on the outer ring, which are arranged alternately. Thus, the inner wire 74 can be rotated at a high speed by applying a preload to the rolling bearing 76 by the spring elements 77A and 77B.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the controller 5 that controls the tool rotation drive source 41 and the posture change drive source 42 is connected to the drive source housing 60. The tip member 2 and the spindle guide portion 3 have the same configuration as any one of the proposed examples.

  By providing the tool rotation drive source 41 and the posture changing drive source 42 outside the drive unit housing 4a as in this example, the drive unit housing 4a can be reduced in size. Therefore, it is possible to improve the handleability when operating the remote operation type actuator with the drive unit housing 4a.

  The medical remote operation type actuator has been described above, but the present invention can also be applied to remote operation type actuators for other purposes. For example, in the case of machining, drilling of a curved hole or cutting of a deep part inside the groove is possible.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Tool 2 ... Tip member 3 ... Spindle guide part 22 ... Rotating shaft (mechanism rotated by an inner wire)
41... Tool rotation drive source (drive source for rotating the inner wire)
42... Posture changing drive source (drive source for rotating the inner wire)
43 ... Power transmission mechanism 62 ... Tool rotating cable (flexible cable)
63 ... Outer tube 64 ... Inner wire 66 ... Rolling bearing 67A ... Inner ring spring element 67B ... Outer ring spring element 72 ... Posture changing cable (flexible cable)
73 ... Outer tube 74 ... Inner wire 75a ... Screw mechanism (mechanism for converting the rotational output of the inner wire into linear motion)

Claims (4)

At the center of the flexible outer tube, a flexible inner wire whose both ends are the rotation input end and the output end, respectively, is rotatably supported by a plurality of rolling bearings, and these rolling bearings are connected between the adjacent rolling bearings. set only the spring elements giving a preload against, the spring element, an inner ring spring elements giving a preload to the inner ring of said rolling bearing, and a spring element for the outer ring to give a preload to the outer ring, the spring elements for inner ring A flexible cable characterized in that the outer ring spring elements and the outer ring spring elements are alternately arranged along the length of the inner wire. The flexible cable according to claim 1 , wherein a driving source for rotating the inner wire is connected to the input end of the inner wire. 3. The flexible cable according to claim 1 , wherein a mechanism is provided that is connected to an output end of the inner wire and is rotated by the inner wire. The flexible cable according to claim 1 , wherein a mechanism is provided that connects to an output end of the inner wire and converts a rotational output of the inner wire into a linear motion.

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