For certain surgical systems, there is often a need to mount different components together to one another to promote accuracy and predictability of the position of the components relative to one another. One example of such a system is a robotic system, which is used to perform surgical procedures and typically includes a robotic arm and an end effector and/or tool that need to be coupled to the robotic arm. In some conventional systems, the end effector is coupled to the robotic arm using a sequence of multiple steps that require excessive installation time or that require the assistance of multiple individuals. The same problems occur when uncoupling the two components. For example, one conventional system requires installation of one or more fasteners to rigidly secure the end effector to the robotic arm. While the fasteners do permit coupling, they often require supplemental tools for attaching and detaching the end effector from the robotic arm. The requirement of installation tools further introduces inefficiency in securing the mounting components to one another.
As such, there is a need in the art for a mounting system that address at least the aforementioned problems.
This Summary introduces a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described in the Detailed Description below. This Summary is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter and does not necessarily identify each and every key or essential feature of the claimed subject matter.
According to a first aspect, a mounting system is provided. The mounting system includes a first mounting portion. The first mounting portion has a first body. A lip extends from the first body. A push pin extends from the first body and is spaced from the lip. The mounting system also includes a second mounting portion. The second mounting portion is configured to be coupled with the first mounting portion. The second mounting portion has a second body extending along an axis. The second body has an outer surface and an inner surface. The inner surface defines a bore that extends along the axis. The second body defines a plurality of openings through the inner and outer surfaces. Each retainer of a plurality of retainers is moveable within one of the openings relative to the second body in a direction perpendicular to the axis. A loading assembly is disposed within the bore of the second body. The loading assembly is moveable along the axis to a first state in response to the push pin interfacing the loading assembly when the first mounting portion is coupled to the second mounting portion. In the first state, the loading assembly is configured to move the plurality of retainers to a coupling position. In the coupling position, each retainer extends through one of the openings beyond the outer surface of the second body. Each retainer extends beyond the outer surface of the second body to abut the lip of the first mounting portion in the coupling position to secure the first mounting portion to the second mounting portion.
According to a second aspect, a mounting portion is provided for facilitating coupling in a surgical system, the mounting portion comprising: a body extending along an axis, the body having an outer surface and an inner surface, the inner surface defining a bore that extends along the axis, and the body defining a plurality of openings through the inner and outer surfaces; a plurality of retainers, each retainer sized to fit within one of the openings; and a loading assembly disposed within the bore of the body, the loading assembly having a loading shaft sized to fit within the bore of the body.
According to a third aspect, a mounting portion is provided for facilitating coupling in a surgical system, the mounting portion comprising: a body; a lip extending from the body; and a push pin extending from the body and spaced from the lip; wherein the body and the lip collectively define a cavity.
According to a fourth aspect, a method is provided of coupling a first mounting portion with a second mounting portion, wherein the first mounting portion includes a push pin, a first body, and a lip extending from the first body, and wherein the second mounting portion includes a second body, a plurality of retainers, and a loading assembly to unlock the loading assembly, the method comprising the steps of: moving a push rod of the loading assembly within a loading shaft of the loading assembly; moving the loading shaft along an axis to abut the retainers; moving the plurality of retainers through openings in the second body to a coupling position; and abutting the lip of the first mounting portion with the plurality of retainers to secure the first mounting portion to the second mounting portion.
According to a fifth aspect, a mounting system is provided. The mounting system includes a first mounting portion. The first mounting portion has a first body. A lip extends from the first body. A push pin extends from the first body and is spaced from the lip. The mounting system also includes a second mounting portion. The second mounting portion is configured to be coupled with the first mounting portion. The second mounting portion has a second body. The second body has an outer surface and an inner surface. The inner surface defines a bore. The second body supports a plurality of retainers that are moveable relative to the second body. A loading assembly is disposed within the bore of the second body. The loading assembly is moveable within the bore to a first state in response to the push pin interfacing the loading assembly when the first mounting portion is coupled to the second mounting portion. In the first state, the loading assembly is configured to move the plurality of retainers to a coupling position. In the coupling position, one or more of the retainers extend beyond the outer surface of the second body to abut the lip of the first mounting portion in the coupling position to secure the first mounting portion to the second mounting portion.
Any of the aspects above can be combined in part, or in whole.
Any of the aspects above can be combined, in part, or in whole, with any of the following implementations:
In one implementation, the loading assembly is moveable along the axis to a second state, and wherein the loading assembly in the second state permits the plurality of retainers to move to a decoupling position whereby the first mounting portion is permitted to separate from the second mounting portion. In one implementation, the bore is straight. In another implementation, the bore is angled, curved, or irregularly shaped.
In one implementation, each retainer in the coupling position extends through one of the openings beyond the outer surface of the second body. In one implementation, each retainer in the decoupling position is closer to the axis than in the coupling position. In one implementation, the plurality of retainers in the decoupling position are disposed within the bore and no part of each retainer projects outwardly beyond the outer surface of the second body. In one implementation, each retainer in the coupling position extends through one of the openings beyond the inner surface of the second body. In one implementation, each retainer in the decoupling position is farther away from the axis than in the coupling position. In one implementation, the plurality of retainers in the decoupling position are disposed outside of the bore and no part of each retainer projects inwardly of the inner surface of the second body. In one implementation, the loading assembly comprises a loading shaft disposed within the bore of the second body. In one implementation, the loading shaft is moveable along the axis to a first load position in the first state of the loading assembly where the loading shaft abuts the plurality of retainers to move the plurality of retainers to the coupling position. In one implementation, the loading shaft is moveable along the axis to a second load position in the second state of the loading assembly where the loading shaft permits each retainer to move to the decoupling position.
In one implementation, the loading assembly comprises a stopper and a push rod. In one implementation, the push rod being moveable along the axis. In one implementation, the push rod defines a recess configured to receive the stopper. In one implementation, the stopper and the push rod are configured to permit the loading shaft to move relative to the second body when the push rod receives the stopper in the recess.
In one implementation, the loading shaft defines a channel extending along the axis. In one implementation, the push rod is moveable along the axis within the channel. In one implementation, the push rod is sized to fit within the channel. In one implementation, the loading shaft defines an aperture configured to receive the stopper. In one implementation, the second body defines a groove configured to receive the stopper. In one implementation, the push rod is moveable along the axis relative to the loading shaft to a locked position where the stopper is received in the aperture of the loading shaft and in the groove of the second body to retain the loading shaft in the second load position. In one implementation, the push rod is moveable along the axis relative to the loading shaft to an unlocked position where the stopper is received in the aperture of the loading shaft and in the recess of the push rod to permit the loading shaft to move relative to the second body. In one implementation, the push rod is in the locked position in the second state of the loading assembly. In one implementation, the push rod is in the unlocked position in the first state of the loading assembly. In one implementation, the push pin interfaces the push rod to move the push rod from the locked position to the unlocked position. In one implementation, the loading assembly further comprises a push rod biasing member configured to bias the push rod to the locked position.
In one implementation, the second body defines a slot extending about and along the axis. In one implementation, the loading assembly comprises a pin being attached to the loading shaft and extending through the bore and the loading shaft. In one implementation, the pin is received by the slot to limit range of motion of the loading shaft relative to the second body.
In one implementation, the second mounting portion comprises a release assembly coupled to the loading shaft of the loading assembly. In one implementation, the release assembly is configured to move the loading shaft from the first load position to the second load position to permit the first mounting portion to separate from the second mounting portion. In one implementation, the release assembly comprises a head being attached to the loading shaft. In one implementation, the head is configured to be grasped by a user to move the loading shaft from the first load position to the second load position. In one implementation, the release assembly comprises a locking tab rotatably coupled to the head. In one implementation, the locking tab is moveable to a first locking tab position where the locking tab abuts the second body to prevent movement of the loading shaft relative to the second body. In one implementation, the locking tab is moveable to a second locking tab position different from the first locking tab position where movement of the loading shaft relative to the second body is permitted. In one implementation, the release assembly comprises a locking tab biasing member to bias the locking tab to the first locking tab position.
In one implementation, the loading assembly comprises a loading shaft biasing member to bias the loading shaft to the first load position.
In one implementation, the plurality of openings are defined about the axis. In one implementation, the one or more of the plurality of openings are sized to prevent movement of one or more of the plurality of retainers to pass through the one or more of the openings.
In one implementation, one or more of the plurality of retainers moves relative to the second body in a direction radial to the axis. In one implementation, each retainer of the plurality of retainers is disposed radially inward of the lip to permit separation of the first mounting portion from the second mounting portion. In one implementation, the one or more of the plurality of retainers comprises a spherical shape.
In one implementation, the first body and the lip collectively define a cavity. In one implementation, the push pin is disposed within the cavity.
In one implementation, a plurality of kinematic couplers are coupled to one of the first and second mounting portions. In one implementation, the kinematic couplers are configured to engage the other of the first and second mounting portions to provide a kinematic coupling between the first and second mounting portions. In one implementation, the kinematic couplers constrain six degrees of freedom of movement between the first and second mounting portions. In one implementation, the plurality of retainers of the second mounting portion abut the lip of the first mounting portion.
In one implementation, the first mounting portion is coupled to a first surgical or medical component. In one implementation, the second mounting portion is coupled to a second surgical or medical component. In one implementation, either the first or second mounting portion is coupled to a non-surgical component and the other mounting portion is coupled to a surgical or medical component. In one implementation, both the first and second mounting portions are coupled to a non-surgical component. In one implementation, the first and/or second surgical component are any one or more of: a surgical navigation tracker, a surgical guide component, a powered surgical instrument component, a surgical hand tool component, a surgical robot component, a robotic link or joint, a robot link interface, a surgical cart, a sterile interface plate, an end effector, a passive arm component, a surgical table component, a limb holder, an imaging device, a localizer, a surgical monitor, or the like.
Any of the implementations above can be combined in part, or in whole.
I. Overview of Example Systems Usable with Mounting System
Referring to
The system 10 includes a manipulator 14. The manipulator 14 has a base 16 and plurality of links 18. A manipulator cart 20 can support the manipulator 14 such that the manipulator 14 is fixed to the manipulator cart 20. In other examples, the manipulator 14 can be mounted to a surgical patient table. The links 18 collectively form one or more arms or linkages of the manipulator 14 with adjacent links being connected by joints. The manipulator 14 may have a serial, robotic arm configuration (as shown in
In the example shown in
The manipulator 14 need not require joint encoders 22 but may alternatively, or additionally, utilize motor encoders present on motors at each joint J. Also, the manipulator 14 need not require rotary joints, but may alternatively, or additionally, utilize one or more prismatic joints. Any suitable combination of joint types is contemplated.
The base 16 of the manipulator 14 is generally a portion of the manipulator 14 that provides a fixed reference coordinate system for other components of the manipulator 14 or the system 10 in general. Generally, the origin of a manipulator coordinate system is defined at the fixed reference of the base 16. The base 16 may be defined with respect to any suitable portion of the manipulator 14, such as one or more of the links 18. Alternatively, or additionally, the base 16 may be defined with respect to the manipulator cart 20, such as where the manipulator 14 is physically attached to the cart 20. In one example, the base 16 is defined at an intersection of the axes of joints J1 and J2. Thus, although joints J1 and J2 are moving components in reality, the intersection of the axes of joints J1 and J2 is nevertheless a virtual fixed reference pose, which provides both a fixed position and orientation reference and which does not move relative to the manipulator 14 and/or manipulator cart 20.
In other examples, the manipulator 14 can be a hand-held manipulator where the base 16 is a base portion of a tool (e.g., a portion held free-hand by the user) and the tool tip is movable relative to the base portion. The base portion has a reference coordinate system that is tracked and the tool tip has a tool tip coordinate system that is tracked relative to the reference coordinate system. In some instances, the hand-held manipulator can be mounted to a robotic arm of the system 10 or to any other passive or active linkage assembly that may be mounted to the surgical table and/or to the patient 12.
The manipulator 14 and/or manipulator cart 20 house a manipulator controller 24, or other type of control unit. The manipulator controller 24 may comprise one or more computers, or any other suitable form of controller that directs the motion of the manipulator 14. The manipulator controller 24 may have a central processing unit (CPU) and/or other processors, memory (not shown), and storage (not shown). The manipulator controller 24 is loaded with software as described below. The processors could include one or more processors to control operation of the manipulator 14. The processors can be any type of microprocessor, multi-processor, and/or multi-core processing system. The manipulator controller 24 may additionally, or alternatively, comprise one or more microcontrollers, field programmable gate arrays, systems on a chip, discrete circuitry, and/or other suitable hardware, software, or firmware that is capable of carrying out the functions described herein. The term processor is not intended to limit any configuration to a single processor. The manipulator 14 may also comprise a user interface with one or more displays and/or input devices (e.g., push buttons, keyboard, mouse, microphone (voice-activation), gesture control devices, touchscreens, etc.).
A surgical tool 26 couples to the manipulator 14 and is movable relative to the base 16 to interact with the anatomy. The tool 26 is or forms part of an end effector supported by the manipulator 14 in certain configurations. The tool 26 may be grasped by the user. One possible arrangement of the manipulator 14 and the tool 26 is described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,119,655, entitled, “Surgical Manipulator Capable Of Controlling A Surgical Tool In Multiple Modes,” filed on Aug. 2, 2013, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. The manipulator 14 and the tool 26 may be arranged in alternative configurations. The tool 26 can be like that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 9,566,121, entitled, “End Effector Of A Surgical Robotic Manipulator,” filed on Mar. 15, 2014, hereby incorporated herein by reference.
The tool 26 includes an energy applicator EA designed to contact and remove the tissue of the patient 12 at the surgical site. In one example, the energy applicator EA is a saw blade. Alternatively, the energy applicator EA may be a drill bit, a bur, an ultrasonic vibrating tip, or the like. In other examples, the tool 26 can be a laser cutter, a machine vision camera, an ultrasound scanner, an arthroscope, or the like. In some versions, the tool 26 includes non-motorized accessories such as a probe, a retractor, a cutting guide, or the like. The tool 26 and/or energy applicator EA/accessory may comprise any geometric feature, e.g., perimeter, circumference, radius, diameter, width, length, volume, area, surface/plane, range of motion envelope (along any one or more axes), etc. The geometric feature may be considered to determine how to locate the tool 26 relative to the tissue at the surgical site to perform the desired treatment. In the version shown, the tool 26 comprises a tool driver 26a (see
The tool 26 may comprise a tool controller 28 to control operation of the tool 26, such as to control power to the tool (e.g., to a rotary, driving motor of the tool 26), control movement of the tool 26, control irrigation/aspiration of the tool 26, and/or the like. The tool controller 28 may be in communication with the manipulator controller 24 or other components. The tool 26 may also comprise a user interface UI with one or more displays and/or input devices (e.g., push buttons, keyboard, mouse, microphone (voice-activation), gesture control devices, touchscreens, etc.). The manipulator controller 24 controls a state (e.g., position and/or orientation) of the tool 26 (e.g., the TCP) with respect to a coordinate system, such as the manipulator coordinate system. The manipulator controller 24 can control (linear or angular) velocity, acceleration, or other derivatives of motion of the tool 26.
The tool center point (TCP), in one example, is a predetermined reference point or coordinate system defined at the energy applicator EA. The TCP has a known, or able to be calculated (i.e., not necessarily static), pose relative to other coordinate systems. The geometry of the energy applicator EA is known in or defined relative to a TCP coordinate system. The TCP may be located at the spherical center of the burr of the tool 26 such that only one point is tracked. The TCP may be defined in various ways depending on the configuration of the energy applicator EA. The manipulator 14 could employ the joint/motor encoders, or any other non-encoder position sensing method, to enable a pose of the TCP to be determined. The manipulator 14 may use joint measurements to determine TCP pose and/or could employ techniques to measure TCP pose directly. The control of the tool 26 is not limited to a center point. For example, any suitable primitives, meshes, etc., can be used to represent the tool 26.
The system 10 may further include a navigation system 32. One example of the navigation system 32 is described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,008,757, filed on Sep. 24, 2013, entitled, “Navigation System Including Optical And Non-Optical Sensors,” hereby incorporated herein by reference. The navigation system 32 tracks movement of various objects. Such objects include, for example, the manipulator 14, the tool 26 and the anatomy, e.g., the femur F and tibula T. The navigation system 32 tracks these objects to gather state information of each object with respect to a (navigation) localizer coordinate system. Coordinates in the localizer coordinate system may be transformed to the manipulator coordinate system, and/or vice-versa, using transformations.
The navigation system 32 includes a cart assembly 34 that houses a navigation controller 36, and/or other types of control units. A navigation user interface UI is in operative communication with the navigation controller 36. The navigation user interface includes one or more displays 38. The navigation system 32 is capable of displaying a graphical representation of the relative states of the tracked objects to the user using the one or more displays 38. The navigation user interface UI further comprises one or more input devices to input information into the navigation controller 36 or otherwise to select/control certain aspects of the navigation controller 36. Such input devices include interactive touchscreen displays. However, the input devices may include any one or more of push buttons, a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone (voice-activation), gesture control devices, and the like.
The navigation system 32 also includes a navigation localizer 44 coupled to the navigation controller 36. In one example, the localizer 44 is an optical localizer and includes a camera unit 46. The camera unit 46 has an outer casing 48 that houses one or more optical sensors 50. The localizer 44 may include its own localizer controller 52 and may further or alternatively include one or more video cameras VC. The localizer 44 can utilize any one or combination of the following tracking modalities: optical, electromagnetic, radio frequency, machine vision, and/or ultrasound tracking. These modalities may or may not require individual trackers.
In the implementation shown in
In the illustrated configuration, the trackers 52A, 52B, 54, 56, PT are passive trackers. Accordingly, each tracker 52A, 52B, 54, 56, PT has at least three passive tracking elements or markers M, such as reflectors, for reflecting light from the localizer 44 back to the optical sensors 50. In other configurations, the trackers 52A, 52B, 54, 54, PT are active trackers and may have light emitting diodes or LEDs transmitting light, such as infrared light to the optical sensors 50. Based on the received optical signals, navigation controller 36 generates data indicating the relative positions and orientations of the trackers 52A, 52B, 54, 56, PT relative to the localizer 44 using conventional triangulation techniques. In some cases, more or fewer markers may be employed. For instance, in cases in which the object being tracked is rotatable about a line, two markers can be used to determine an orientation of the line by measuring positions of the markers at various locations about the line. It should be appreciated that the localizer 44 and trackers 52A, 52B, 54, 56, PT, although described above as utilizing optical tracking techniques, could alternatively, or additionally, utilize other tracking modalities to track the objects, such as electromagnetic tracking, radio frequency tracking, inertial tracking, ultrasound-based tracking, fiber-optic tracking, machine-vision tracking, combinations thereof, and the like.
The localizer 44 tracks the trackers 52A, 52B, 54, 56, PT to determine a state of each of the trackers 52A, 52B, 54, 56, PT, which correspond respectively to the state of the object respectively attached thereto. The localizer 44 provides the state of the trackers 52A, 52B, 54, 56, PT to the navigation controller 36. In one example, the navigation controller 36 determines and communicates the state of the trackers 52A, 52B, 54, 56, PT to the manipulator controller 24. As used herein, the state of an object includes, but is not limited to, data that defines the position and/or orientation of the tracked object or equivalents/derivatives of the position and/or orientation. For example, the state may be a pose of the object, and may include linear velocity data, and/or angular velocity data, and the like.
The navigation controller 36 may comprise one or more computers, or any other suitable form of controller. Navigation controller 36 has a central processing unit (CPU) and/or other processors, memory (not shown), and storage (not shown). The processors can be any type of processor, microprocessor or multi-processor system. The navigation controller 36 is loaded with software. The software, for example, converts the signals received from the localizer 44 into data representative of the position and orientation of the objects being tracked. The navigation controller 36 may additionally, or alternatively, comprise one or more microcontrollers, field programmable gate arrays, systems on a chip, discrete circuitry, and/or other suitable hardware, software, or firmware that is capable of carrying out the functions described herein. The term processor is not intended to limit any configuration to a single processor.
In operation, for certain surgical tasks, the user can manipulate (e.g., apply force to or cause movement of) the tool 26 to perform the surgical procedure on the patient, such as drilling, cutting, sawing, reaming, implant installation, and the like. As the user manipulates the tool 26, the navigation system 32 tracks the location of the tool 26 and/or the manipulator 14 and provides haptic feedback (e.g., force feedback) to the user to limit the user's ability to move (or cause movement of) the tool 26 beyond one or more predefined virtual boundaries that are registered (or mapped) to the patient's anatomy, which results in highly accurate and repeatable drilling, cutting, sawing, reaming, and/or implant placement.
In some configurations, the manipulator 14 operates in a passive manner and provides haptic feedback when the surgeon attempts to move the tool 26 beyond the virtual boundary. The haptic feedback (e.g., a form of stereotactic feedback) is generated by one or more actuators (e.g., joint motors) of the manipulator 14 and transmitted to the user via a flexible transmission, such as a cable drive transmission. When the manipulator 14 is not providing haptic feedback, the manipulator 14 is freely moveable by the user. In some configurations, like that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 9,566,122, incorporated herein by reference, the manipulator 14 is manipulated by the user in a similar manner, but the manipulator 14 operates in an active manner. For instance, the user applies force to the tool 26, which is measured by a force/torque sensor S (see
Referring to
The control system 60 may comprise any suitable configuration of input, output, and processing devices suitable for carrying out the functions and methods described herein. The control system 60 may comprise the manipulator controller 24, the navigation controller 36, or the tool controller 28, or any combination thereof, or may comprise only one of these controllers. These controllers may communicate wirelessly, via a bus as shown in
The manipulator controller 24 and/or the navigation controller 36 track the state of the tool 26 relative to the anatomy and the virtual boundaries. In one example, the state of the TCP is measured relative to the virtual boundaries for purposes of determining haptic forces to be applied to a virtual rigid body model via a virtual simulation so that the tool 26 remains in a desired positional relationship to the virtual boundaries (e.g., not moved beyond them, kept within them, etc.). The results of the virtual simulation are commanded to the manipulator 14.
In some configurations, using the navigation system 32, the pose of the tool 26 can be determined by tracking the location of the base 16 and the associated manipulator coordinate system via the manipulator tracker 52B and calculating the pose of the tool 26 based on joint encoder data from the joint encoders 22 (and/or motor encoders) at the joints J1-J6 (using kinematic data) and based on a known geometric relationship between the tool 26 and the manipulator 14. Ultimately, the localizer 44 and the trackers 52A, 52B, 54, 56, PT enable the determination of the pose of the tool 26 and the patient's anatomy so the navigation system 32 knows the relative relationship between the tool 26 and the patient's anatomy. However, in some cases, the manipulator tracker 52B may be out of view of the localizer 44, or the manipulator tracker 52B may not be used. Line-of-sight between one or more of the sensors 50 and the manipulator tracker 52B may be obstructed such that movement of the tool 26 cannot be reliably tracked solely using the manipulator tracker 52B and encoder data. In this case, the tool tracker 52A can be employed to track movement of the tool 26, i.e., the tool tracker 52A is detected by the localizer 44 to determine a pose of the tool 26 (e.g., of the TCP coordinate system of the tool 26).
II. Mounting System Configuration
As shown in one non-limiting example of
Although an implementation of using the mounting system 70 with a robotic system has been described above, it is contemplated that each of the first and second mounting portions 72, 74 may be attached to any suitable surgical components of any surgical system. For instance, the first mounting portion 72 may be coupled to any first surgical component and the second mounting portion 74 may be coupled to any second surgical component.
The first and/or second surgical component may include, but not limited to, any one of a surgical navigation tracker, a surgical guide component, a powered surgical instrument component, a surgical hand tool component, a surgical robot component, a robotic link, a robotic joint, a robot link interface, a surgical cart, a sterile interface plate, an end effector, a passive adjustable (locking) arm component, a surgical table component, a limb holder, an imaging device, a localizer, a surgical monitor, or the like. Therefore, although the description below refers to using the mounting system 70 with the tool 26 and the robotic system 10, this implementation is for illustrative purposes and does not limit the spirit of the invention exclusively to this implementation.
Additionally, the first mounting portion 72 may be coupled to non-surgical components, including but not limited to components of any one or more of the following examples: non-surgical tools, non-surgical equipment, non-surgical robots, cameras, stands, monitors, adjustable arms, docking stations, and the like.
Furthermore, any description herein regarding what components or features are provided on the first mounting portion 72 or second mounting portion 74 may be interchangeable. In other words, the first and second mounting portions 72, 74 may be swapped with respect to what features they include or with respect to which component these mounting portions couple.
As shown in
As shown in
The second mounting portion 74 includes a plurality of retainers 90 that may be at least partially disposed within the bore 86. In many configurations, one or more of the retainers 90 comprises a spherical body. It is contemplated that the retainers 90 may comprise other shapes or include features capable of engaging the lip 78 of the first mounting portion 72 to couple the first mounting portion 72 to the second mounting portion 74. For instance, one or more of the retainers 90 may comprise a conical or cylindrical configuration. In other examples, the one or more of the retainers 90 may comprise a cam pivotably coupled to the second body 84 and moveable relative to the second body 84 to secure the first mounting portion 72 to the second mounting portion 74. In another example, one or more of the retainers 90 may comprise a latch, catch, or hook pivotably coupled to the second body 84 and moveable within relative to the second body 84 to secure the first mounting portion 72 to the second mounting portion 74. Each retainer 90 is moveable within one of the openings 88 relative to the second body 84 in a direction perpendicular to the axis A. In many configurations, each retainer 90 is moveable within one of the openings 88 relative to the second body 84 in a radial direction to the axis A. One or more of the openings 88 may be sized to prevent movement of one or more of the retainers 90 to pass through the opening 88. In other words, one or more of the openings 88 may be sized large enough to permit a retainer 90 to extend radially outward beyond the outer surface of the second body 84, and small enough to prevent a retainer 90 from exiting the bore 86 through the opening 88.
As shown in
The loading assembly 92 may include a loading shaft 94 disposed within the bore 86 of the second body 84. The loading shaft 94 may be moveable along the axis A to a first load position (see
Referring to
As shown in
The second body 84 may define a stopping groove 114 in communication with the bore 86 configured to receive the stopper 110. The push rod 108 is moveable along the axis A relative to the loading shaft 94 to a locked position (see
The push rod 108 is in the locked position in the second state of the loading assembly 92. The push rod 108 is in the unlocked position in the first state of the loading assembly 92. A push rod biasing member 116 may be disposed within the channel 104 and configured to bias the push rod 108 to the locked position. The push rod biasing member 116 can be any suitable biasing member, including, but not limited to: a compression spring, an extension spring, a coil spring, a helical spring, a leaf spring, a washer spring, a disc spring (e.g., Belleville disc spring), a piston (e.g., hydraulic, mechanical, or pneumatic), or the like. The push pin 82 interfaces the push rod 108 to move the push rod 108 from the locked position to the unlocked position. More specifically, as the first mounting portion 72 is being coupled to the second mounting portion 74, the push pin 82 abuts the push rod 108 to move the push rod 108 in opposition to the push rod biasing member 116 to the unlocked position. The push rod 108 may define a slot 118 for receiving a push rod pin 120 that is attached to the loading shaft 94 and extends through the channel 104 and the slot 118 to limit axial movement of the push rod 108 relative to the loading shaft 94.
An alternative implementation of the first and second mounting portions 172, 174 is illustrated in
As opposed to the preceding illustrated configurations, the loading assembly 192 of
The second body 184 may define an aperture 206 in communication with the bore 186 of the second body 184. The loading assembly 192 may include a push rod 208 disposed within the bore 186 and moveable along the axis A. The loading assembly 192 may further include a stopper 210 that may be at least partially received by the aperture 206. The push rod 208 and the stopper 210 cooperate to prevent movement of the loading shaft 194 along the axis A within the bore 186 of the second body 184. The push rod 208 may define a recess 212 configured to receive the stopper 210. The stopper 210 and the push rod 208 are configured to permit the loading shaft 194 to move relative to the second body 184 when the recess 212 of the push rod 208 receives the stopper 210.
The loading shaft 194 may define a stopping groove 214 in communication with the bore 186 configured to receive the stopper 210. The push rod 208 is moveable along the axis A relative to the second body 184 to a locked position (see
The push rod 208 is in the locked position in the second state of the loading assembly 192. The push rod 208 is in the unlocked position in the first state of the loading assembly 192. A push rod biasing member (not shown) may be disposed within the bore 186 and configured to bias the push rod 208 to the locked position. The push pin 182 interfaces the push rod 208 to move the push rod 208 from the locked position to the unlocked position. More specifically, as the first mounting portion 172 is being coupled to the second mounting portion 174, the push pin 182 abuts the push rod 208 to move the push rod 208 in opposition to the push rod biasing member to the unlocked position.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
III. Mounting System Installation Examples
A sample configuration of coupling between the first and second mounting portions 72, 74 is shown in
As shown in
To separate the first mounting portion 72 from the second mounting portion 74, the user first squeezes the locking tabs 128 to oppose the locking tab biasing members 130 and move the locking tabs 128 to the second locking tab position shown in
The structure of the second mounting portion 74, particularly the biasing members 96, 116, 130, assist in establishing a “quick-connect” coupling between the first mounting portion 72 and the second mounting portion 74. More specifically, coupling of the first mounting portion 72 to the second mounting portion 74 may be achieved with only alignment and axial movement of the first mounting portion 72 to the second mounting portion 74. In contrast, separating the first mounting portion 72 from the second mounting portion 74 requires more deliberate action (e.g., squeezing the locking tabs 128, rotating the loading shaft 94 against the loading shaft biasing members 96, etc.). In this manner, the risk of unintentionally decoupling the first mounting portion 72 from the second mounting portion 74 is mitigated.
Several configurations have been discussed in the foregoing description. However, the configurations discussed herein are not intended to be exhaustive or limit the invention to any particular form. The terminology which has been used is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings and the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.
It will be further appreciated that the terms “include,” “includes,” and “including” have the same meaning as the terms “comprise,” “comprises,” and “comprising.” Moreover, it will be appreciated that terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” and the like are used herein to differentiate certain structural features and components for the non-limiting, illustrative purposes of clarity and consistency.
The present application claims priority to and all the benefits of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/305,781 filed on Feb. 2, 2022, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63305781 | Feb 2022 | US |