US5697939A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Apparatus for holding a medical instrument in place
Assignee: Olympus Corp
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Filing: 1995-04-18
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Granted: 1997-12-16
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Expires: 2015-04-18
Abstract
Abstract An apparatus for holding a medical instrument, such as an endoscope, in place without exerting an undue force on an insertion hole in an abdominal cavity of a subject even when the arm of a scope-holding section is unlocked, includes a four-link parallelogram mechanism. The four-link parallelogram mechanism includes a support arm for supporting a treating tool, an arm section parallel to the support arm and upper and lower arm sections connected to the upper and lower end sides of the support arm and arm section in a parallel relation. A support mechanism supports the arm sections of the four-link parallelogram mechanism to allow the arm sections to be moved in left/right and up/down directions, while being rotated, so that a straight line connecting an intersecting point P of a center line of the treating instrument inserted into an insertion hole in an abdominal wall of a subject and the center of the insertion hole to spherical bearings of the arm is set parallel to the upper and lower arm sections.
Inventors
- 👤 Tatsuya Kubota
- 👤 Takashi Fukaya
- 👤 Koji Yasunaga
- 👤 Masanori Kaneda
- 👤 Hitoshi Karasawa
- 👤 Kyo Imagawa
- 👤 Tetsumaru Kubota
- 👤 Hideyuki Adachi
- 👤 Yoshinao Oaki
- 👤 Kenji Yoshino
- 👤 Masaya Yoshihara
- 👤 Hitoshi Mizuno
- 👤 Akihiro Taguchi
- 👤 Yoshihiro Kosaka
- 👤 Masaaki Hayashi
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 18:32
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61B; A61B90/00; A61B90/10; A61B90/11; A61B90/50; A61B2090/506
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
188 words
An apparatus for holding a medical instrument in place when a medical operation is to be performed on a subject at an operation field in the subject, with the medical instrument inserted into an insertion hole of a body wall of the subject, which insertion hole provides access to said operation field, the apparatus comprising: holding means for holding the medical instrument in place; a fixing device defining a fixing position which is located separate and apart from the subject; and locating means coupled between the holding means and said fixing device defining said fixing position, for locating the holding means at a position near the subject and significantly separate from the operation field; said locating means including a rotating mechanism which rotatably supports the holding means adjacent the operation field such that the medical instrument which is held by the holding means is rotatable about a fixed, non-movable, pivot point which is located near the insertion hole of the body wall, with the medical instrument, through the holding means, being rotatable about the fixed, non-movable, pivot point, without applying reaction forces to the body of the subject.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
188 words
An apparatus for holding a medical instrument in place when a medical operation is to be performed on a subject at an operation field in the subject, with the medical instrument inserted into an insertion hole of a body wall of the subject, which insertion hole provides access to said operation field, the apparatus comprising: holding means for holding the medical instrument in place; a fixing device defining a fixing position which is located separate and apart from the subject; and locating means coupled between the holding means and said fixing device defining said fixing position, for locating the holding means at a position near the subject and significantly separate from the operation field; said locating means including a rotating mechanism which rotatably supports the holding means adjacent the operation field such that the medical instrument which is held by the holding means is rotatable about a fixed, non-movable, pivot point which is located near the insertion hole of the body wall, with the medical instrument, through the holding means, being rotatable about the fixed, non-movable, pivot point, without applying reaction forces to the body of the subject.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
15 words
The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotating mechanism comprises a parallel link mechanism.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
45 words
The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a locking mechanism coupled to said parallel link mechanism for restricting displacement of the parallel link mechanism with the holding means held in a locked state, and for setting the parallel link mechanism in a locked state.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
34 words
The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the parallel link mechanism comprises link arms for holding the medical instrument at a non-movable point, said link arms corresponding to links of the parallel link mechanism.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
46 words
The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: operation means coupled to said parallel link mechanism for adjusting a diagonal length defined by arms in the parallel link mechanism to displace the parallel link mechanism so that the medical instrument is rotated to a set position.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
23 words
The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said parallel link mechanism comprises four links interconnected to form a parallelogram in a single plane.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
37 words
The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a balance mechanism coupled to said rotating mechanism for stably maintaining the rotating mechanism at any stopped position so that the medical instrument is held at the stopped position.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
23 words
The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said parallel link mechanism comprises four links interconnected to form a parallelogram in a single plane.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
51 words
The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said balance mechanism comprises an extension of one of said four links of said parallel link mechanism, and a weight member mounted on said extension such that a position of said weight member on said extension is variable along a length of said extension.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
55 words
The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotating mechanism comprises: a rotation member which supports said holding means so as to locate the medical instrument at a position near the insertion hole; and a bearing member for supporting the rotation member such that the rotation member is rotatable about the fixed non-movable pivot point.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
54 words
The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an illumination device coupled to the holding means, said illuminating device projecting a plurality of index marks at corresponding different positions, and which indicates the fixed, non-movable, pivot point with the index marks projected on the body wall of the subject, thereby indicating a set position.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
30 words
The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a handle coupled to the rotating mechanism for performing a displacing operation on the rotating mechanism, for thereby rotating the medical instrument.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
41 words
The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the rotating mechanism includes an arcuate guide arm with said fixed, non-movable, pivot point as a center; and said holding means is movable along the arcuate guide arm, whereby the medical instrument is rotated.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
53 words
The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said rotating means comprises first and second parallel link mechanisms coupled to each other, each of said parallel link mechanisms comprising four links arranged in the form of a parallelogram, at least one of said links being common to said first and second parallel link mechanisms.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
245 words
An apparatus for holding a medical instrument in place when a medical operation is to be performed on a subject at an operation field in the subject, with the medical instrument inserted into an insertion hole of a body wall of a subject, which insertion hole provides access to said operation field, the apparatus comprising: holding means for holding the medical instrument in place; a fixing device defining a fixing position which is located separate and apart from the subject; and locating means coupled between the holding means and said fixing device defining said fixing position, for locating the holding means at a position near the subject and significantly separate from the operation field; said locating means including: a parallel link mechanism supporting the holding means such that the medical instrument which is held by the holding means is rotatable about a fixed, non-movable pivot point which is located near the insertion hole, the medical instrument being rotatable through the holding means about the fixed, non-movable, pivot point in a plane passing through the fixed, non-movable, pivot point which substantially corresponds to a rotation center of the medical instrument; a rotating mechanism supporting the parallel link mechanism for rotating a plane of the parallel link mechanism about a line passing through the fixed, non-movable, pivot point; and means for setting the parallel link mechanism and the rotating mechanism so that the fixed, non-movable, pivot point is set at a predetermined position near the insertion hole.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
245 words
An apparatus for holding a medical instrument in place when a medical operation is to be performed on a subject at an operation field in the subject, with the medical instrument inserted into an insertion hole of a body wall of a subject, which insertion hole provides access to said operation field, the apparatus comprising: holding means for holding the medical instrument in place; a fixing device defining a fixing position which is located separate and apart from the subject; and locating means coupled between the holding means and said fixing device defining said fixing position, for locating the holding means at a position near the subject and significantly separate from the operation field; said locating means including: a parallel link mechanism supporting the holding means such that the medical instrument which is held by the holding means is rotatable about a fixed, non-movable pivot point which is located near the insertion hole, the medical instrument being rotatable through the holding means about the fixed, non-movable, pivot point in a plane passing through the fixed, non-movable, pivot point which substantially corresponds to a rotation center of the medical instrument; a rotating mechanism supporting the parallel link mechanism for rotating a plane of the parallel link mechanism about a line passing through the fixed, non-movable, pivot point; and means for setting the parallel link mechanism and the rotating mechanism so that the fixed, non-movable, pivot point is set at a predetermined position near the insertion hole.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the rotating mechanism comprises at least one spherical bearing supported by the setting means and rotatably supporting the parallel link mechanism.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
72 words
The apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising: a first locking mechanism coupled to said parallel link mechanism for restricting displacement of the parallel link mechanism with the holding means held at a stopped position, and for setting the rotating mechanism in a locked state; and a second locking mechanism for suppressing displacement of the setting means at any free position, and for setting the setting means to a given locked position.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
23 words
The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said parallel link mechanism comprises four links interconnected to form a parallelogram in a single plane.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2000-12-15 | 2001-06-16 | 2001-12-16 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2004-12-15 | 2005-06-16 | 2005-12-16 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2008-12-15 | 2009-06-16 | 2009-12-16 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |