Bending structure and method for producing same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2024181658-A1
Application number	US-202218285861-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 28, 2022
Priority date	Apr 30, 2021
Publication date	Jun 6, 2024
Grant date	—

Abstract

A bending structure includes a bending part that is elastically bendable with respect to the axial direction, a movable part serving as an end member that is attached to an end of the bending part in the axial direction, a thin part that is formed at the movable part and is thinner than the movable part in the axial direction, a notch that is provided at the movable part and exposes the thin part in the axial direction in a manner capable of being irradiated with a laser light of laser welding, and a welding part that is formed at the thin part by laser welding and joins the thin part to the bending part.

First claim

1 . A bending structure comprising:
a bending part that is elastically bendable with respect to an axial direction; an end member that is attached to an end of the bending part in the axial direction; a thin part that is formed at the end member and is thinner than the end member in the axial direction; an exposing part that is provided at the end member and exposes the thin part in the axial direction in a manner capable of being irradiated with a laser light of laser welding; and a welding part that is formed at the thin part by the laser welding and joins the thin part to the bending part.

2 . The bending structure according to claim 1 , wherein
the exposing part is a notch that opens the thin part to outside the end member.

3 . The bending structure according to claim 1 , wherein
the thin part is composed of a plate material that is laminated and joined to the end member.

4 . The bending structure according to claim 1 , wherein
the bending part comprises a plurality of wave washers that are laminated in the axial direction and of which a laminated state is maintained by the laser welding, and the thin part is composed of an end wave washer that is laminated on the end member and joined by the laser welding, and the thin part is joined by the welding part to the end wave washer located at an end of the plurality of wave washers to constitute an end of the bending part with the end wave washer forming the thin part.

5 . The bending structure according to claim 4 , wherein
the bending part comprises a flat washer that is laminated in the axial direction on the end of the plurality of wave washers and of which a laminated state is maintained by the laser welding, and the thin part is joined by the laser welding to the flat washer located at the end of the plurality of wave washers.

6 . A method for producing a bending structure, which attaches an end member by laser welding to an end in an axial direction of a bending part that is elastically bendable with respect to the axial direction to produce a bending structure, the method for producing a bending structure comprising:
forming a thin part, which is thinner than the end member in the axial direction, at the end member, and exposing the thin part by an exposing part provided at the end member in a manner capable of being irradiated with a laser light of the laser welding; positioning the end member with respect to the bending part to cause the thin part to be located on a bending part side; and joining the thin part to the bending part by the laser welding via the exposing part.

7 . The method for producing a bending structure according to claim 6 , wherein
the exposing part is a notch or a hole that opens the thin part to outside the main body end member.

8 . The method for producing a bending structure according to claim 6 , wherein
the thin part is formed by laminating and joining a plate material to the end member.

9 . The method for producing a bending structure according to claim 6 , wherein
the bending part is formed by laminating a plurality of wave washers in the axial direction and maintaining a laminated state by the laser welding, the thin part is formed by laminating an end wave washer on the end member and joining by the laser welding, and the thin part is joined by the laser welding to the end wave washer located at an end of the plurality of wave washers, and an end of the bending part is constituted by the end wave washer forming the thin part.

10 . The method for producing a bending structure according to claim 9 , wherein
the bending part comprises a flat washer that is laminated in the axial direction on the end of the plurality of wave washers and of which a laminated state is maintained by the laser welding, and the thin part is joined by the laser welding to the flat washer located at the end of the plurality of wave washers.

Assignees

• Nhk Spring Co Ltd

Inventors

• Hirata Takafumi
• Hotoda Yuki
• Hayakawa Yuki

Classifications

• A61B34/71

  Manipulators operated by drive cable mechanisms · CPC title

• A61B2034/301

  for introducing or steering flexible instruments inserted into the body, e.g. catheters or endoscopes · CPC title

• A61B34/30

  Surgical robots · CPC title

• B25J18/06

  flexible · CPC title

• B25J17/00 Primary

  Joints · CPC title