CN114305710A

CN114305710A - Method for connecting surgical instrument and driving device, slave operation device, and surgical robot

Info

Publication number: CN114305710A
Application number: CN202111246824.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王建辰
Original assignee: Shenzhen Edge Medical Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen Edge Medical Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-01-07
Filing date: 2020-01-07
Publication date: 2022-04-12
Anticipated expiration: 2040-01-07
Also published as: CN111134740B; CN111134740A; CN114305710B

Abstract

A method of engaging a surgical instrument with a drive device, the surgical instrument and drive device being surgically engaged by an engagement device, the method comprising: determining whether the engagement device is connected to the drive device; if the engaging means is connected to the drive means, the drive means performs a first traversal of the engaging means; determining whether the surgical instrument is coupled to the engagement device; if the surgical instrument is connected to the engagement device, the drive device drives the engagement device to perform a second traverse motion of the surgical instrument. The invention can automatically judge whether the jointing device and the surgical instrument are connected with the driving device, and then automatically joint and align, so that the jointed surgical instrument can return to the initial position correctly.

Description

Method for connecting surgical instrument and driving device, slave operation device, and surgical robot

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of medical instruments, and more particularly, to a method of engaging a surgical instrument with a driving device, a slave operation apparatus and a surgical robot using the same.

Background

The minimally invasive surgery is a surgery mode for performing surgery in a human body cavity by using modern medical instruments such as a laparoscope, a thoracoscope and the like and related equipment. Compared with the traditional minimally invasive surgery, the minimally invasive surgery has the advantages of small wound, light pain, quick recovery and the like.

With the progress of science and technology, the minimally invasive surgery robot technology is gradually mature and widely applied. The minimally invasive surgery robot generally comprises a main operation table and a slave operation device, wherein the main operation table is used for sending control commands to the slave operation device according to the operation of a doctor so as to control the slave operation device, and the slave operation device is used for responding to the control commands sent by the main operation table and carrying out corresponding surgery operation. Since the surgical instrument is connected to the drive device of the slave manipulator for performing the surgical operation, the surgical instrument needs to be handled aseptically, and the slave manipulator is sterile, there is a need for an engagement device that can isolate the slave manipulator from the surgical instrument in order to avoid contamination of the surgical instrument, and there is currently no good solution for automatically engaging the engagement device with the drive device and the surgical instrument.

Disclosure of Invention

In this regard, the present invention provides a method for automatically engaging a surgical instrument and a drive device.

A method of engaging a surgical instrument with a drive device, wherein the surgical instrument is engaged with the drive device by an engagement device, the method comprising: after the engagement device is connected with the drive device, the drive device performs a first traversal motion of the engagement device;

after the surgical instrument is connected with the engagement device, the driving device drives the engagement device to perform a second traverse motion of the surgical instrument.

Preferably, the first traversal motion and the second traversal motion are moved in different manners.

Preferably, the driving device is in an initial position after the first traversal motion or the second traversal motion is performed.

Preferably, the drive device comprises a plurality of drive couplings, and the first traversal motion is a rotation of the plurality of drive couplings in a first direction by an angle to the initial position.

Preferably, the driving device includes a plurality of driving adapters, and the first traversal motion is that the plurality of driving adapters rotate by a certain angle in a first direction from the initial position and then rotate by the same angle in a second direction opposite to the first direction to return to the initial position.

Preferably, the driving device includes a plurality of driving adapters, and the first traversal motion is performed in such a manner that the plurality of driving adapters rotate in a first direction by a first angle from the initial position, then rotate in a second direction opposite to the first direction by the first angle to return to the initial position, and then rotate in the second direction by a second angle, then rotate in the first direction by the second angle to return to the initial position.

Preferably, the sum of the first angle and the second angle is greater than or equal to 360 degrees.

Preferably, the engagement means comprises a plurality of engagement discs, the surgical instrument comprises a plurality of instrument engagers, the plurality of engagement discs being for engaging the plurality of drive engagers and the plurality of instrument engagers;

the second traverse motion is in a manner such that the plurality of drive couplings drive the plurality of engagement discs to traverse the plurality of instrument couplings, wherein the second traverse motion of the at least one drive coupling is different from the second traverse motions of the other drive couplings.

Preferably, the at least one drive coupling is adapted to drive the surgical instrument in rotation, wherein the second traverse motion of the drive coupling for driving the surgical instrument in rotation is different from the second traverse motions of the other drive couplings.

Preferably, the second traverse motion of at least one of the drive couplers other than the drive coupler for driving the surgical instrument to rotate is that the at least one drive coupler rotates from the initial position by a third angle in a first direction, then rotates by a third angle in a second direction opposite to the first direction, and then returns to the initial position by rotating by a fourth angle in the second direction, and then rotates by a fourth angle in the first direction.

A slave operation device comprises a driving device and a surgical instrument, wherein the driving device is jointed with the surgical instrument through the jointing method.

A surgical robot comprises a master operation device and a slave operation device, wherein the slave operation device is used for executing corresponding operation according to the input of the master operation device, and the slave operation device is the slave operation device with the joint method.

According to the invention, whether the jointing device and the surgical instrument are correctly connected with the driving device is automatically judged, and then the driving device automatically executes the first traversal motion and the second traversal motion so as to automatically complete the jointing and the alignment of the surgical instrument and the driving device, so that the jointed surgical instrument is correctly returned to the initial position.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a surgical robot according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the surgical instrument of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are respective partial schematic views of different embodiments of the distal end of the surgical instrument of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of an engagement portion of a surgical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of an engagement portion of a drive device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are schematic views of a bonding apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is an exploded view of a bonding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an exploded view of a bond pad of one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of an engagement device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a resilient member according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of an engagement device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a bottom view of the lower splice tray in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view at B-B of the lower splice tray of FIG. 13 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a top view of an upper splice tray in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a schematic view of a driving disk of the driving device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a flow chart of a bonding method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 18A-18C are schematic views illustrating the engagement of a drive adapter with a splice tray in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 18D is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 18C at P;

FIGS. 19A-19C are schematic illustrations of the engagement of an engagement disc with an instrument adapter in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 20 and 21 are schematic views of an infinite rotation prevention structure according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view of the surgical instrument, engagement device, and drive device fully coupled in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 23 is a cross-sectional top view at C-C of fig. 22.

Detailed Description

To facilitate an understanding of the invention, the invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown in the drawings. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "disposed on" another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. When an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or intervening elements may also be present. When an element is referred to as being "coupled" to another element, it can be directly coupled to the other element or intervening elements may also be present. The terms "vertical," "horizontal," "left," "right," and the like as used herein are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the only embodiments. As used herein, the terms "distal" and "proximal" are used as terms of orientation that are conventional in the art of interventional medical devices, wherein "distal" refers to the end of the device that is distal from the operator during a procedure, and "proximal" refers to the end of the device that is proximal to the operator during a procedure. As used herein, "fully coupled" may be broadly understood to mean where two or more objects are connected to any event in a manner that allows the objects that are absolutely coupled to operate with each other such that there is no relative movement between the objects in at least one direction, such as a projection and groove coupling, which may be in a radial relative movement but not in an axial relative movement. In the description and claims, the terms "coupled," "engaged," and "coupled" may be used interchangeably.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used herein in the description of the invention is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the surgical robot includes a master operation table 1 and a slave operation device 2. The main console 1 is configured to transmit a control command to the slave operating device 2 according to a doctor's operation to control the slave operating device 2, and is configured to display an image acquired by the slave operating device 2. The slave operation device 2 is used for responding to the control command sent by the master operation table 1 and performing corresponding operation, and the slave operation device 2 is also used for acquiring the images in the body.

The slave manipulator 2 includes a robot arm 21, a power mechanism 22 provided on the robot arm 21, a surgical instrument 100 provided on the power mechanism 22, and a cannula 24 which is fitted over the long shaft 100 of the surgical instrument 100. The robotic arm 21 is used to adjust the position of the surgical instrument 100; the power mechanism 22 is used for driving the surgical instrument 100 to perform corresponding operations, and the end effector 111 of the surgical instrument 100 is used for extending into the body, performing surgical operations through the end instrument located at the distal end thereof, and/or acquiring in-vivo images. Specifically, as shown in fig. 3 and 4, the long shaft 110 of the surgical instrument 100 is inserted through the cannula 23, and the end effector 111 thereof is extended out of the cannula 23 and driven to perform an operation by the power mechanism 22. In fig. 3, the region of the long shaft 110 of the surgical instrument 100 within the cannula 23 is a rigid region; in fig. 4, the region of the long shaft 110 of the surgical instrument 100 within the cannula 23 is a flexible region, and the cannula bends with the flexible region. The sleeve 24 may also be omitted.

In order to provide a satisfactory sterile environment during the surgical robotic surgery, it is necessary to isolate the sterile instruments from the sterile instruments, generally the robotic arm 21 and the power mechanism 22 of the manipulator 2 are sterile, the surgical instrument 100 is sterile, and a sterile coupling device is disposed between the sterile power mechanism 120 and the sterile surgical instrument 100 to isolate the sterile power mechanism 120 from the sterile surgical instrument 100.

The power (e.g., motor power output) of the power mechanism 120 passes through the sterile joint device from the power mechanism 120 to the surgical instrument 100 to drive the surgical instrument to work, but due to the assembly, the power output shaft of the power mechanism and the shaft of the surgical instrument receiving the power driven mechanism inevitably have different shafts, and at this time, the shaft of the driven mechanism of the surgical instrument 100 is driven by the power mechanism 120 to perform eccentric rotation motion, which causes great wear to the surgical instrument 100 and the power mechanism 120 and generates great noise during the working process of the surgical robot, so that the sterile joint device also needs to be designed more reasonably to eliminate the undesirable eccentric motion.

As shown in fig. 5 to 7B, one or more driving devices 300 are disposed in the power mechanism 22, the driving devices 300 are bacteria-carrying, the driving devices 300 drive the surgical instrument 100 to perform corresponding surgical operations, the surgical operations include controlling the distal end of the long shaft 110 to perform deflection, rotation, and tilting, and performing corresponding operations on the end effector 111, the end effector 111 may be a surgical forceps, a cauterization device, a cutting device, an imaging device, and the like, and the driving devices 300 drive the end effector 111 to perform corresponding operations according to the end effector 111 of the surgical instrument. A sterile coupling device 200 is disposed between the drive device 300 and the surgical instrument 100.

Surgical instrument 100 further includes six instrument adapters 120A-120F, although other embodiments may have other numbers of instrument drivers, such as four. Instrument couplers 120A-120F are disposed within housing 130, with proximal ends of instrument couplers 120A-120F coupled to instrument drive 150, instrument drive 150 further including a plurality of drive wheels (not shown) that drive shaft 110 and end effector 111, with instrument couplers 120A-120F receiving a controlled drive force from drive device 300 to drive the drive wheels through drive wires to control movement of shaft 110 and end effector 111, with each instrument coupler 120A-120F moving independently of the other instrument couplers.

The distal ends of instrument adapters 120A-120F have the same structure, and the structure of instrument adapters 120A-120F is illustrated by taking instrument adapter 120A driving long shaft 110 to rotate as an example, instrument adapter 120A has an instrument joint 121 on its instrument adapter disc top surface 122 for engaging with engaging device 200, instrument joint 121 has a first instrument coupling part 121A and a second instrument coupling part 121B for fully coupling with engaging device 200, and the number of instrument coupling parts in other embodiments may be other numbers, such as 4.

The surgical instrument 100 has a first signal transmitter 140, and the first signal transmitter 140 is used to transmit signals to a controller 330 disposed in the power device 22, the signals including a signal for verifying whether the surgical instrument 100 is authentic and a determination signal for determining whether the surgical instrument 100 is connected to the joint device 200, and in other embodiments, the controller may be disposed on one side of the main operating table 1 or other positions of the slave operating device 2, for example, on a base of the slave operating device.

Fig. 6 illustrates a proximal interface perspective view of a drive device 300, the drive device 300 including six drive adapters 320A-320F, a plurality of drive adapters 320A-320F mounted within a drive housing 310, each drive adapter 320A-320F controlled for independent movement by a controller 330. Each driver independently controls and drives the surgical instrument 100, for example, each driving joint controls the rotation, yaw, pitch, and tip instrument opening and closing of the surgical instrument 100, and in other embodiments, the number of drivers is other numbers, for example, four.

The proximal ends of the driving adapters 320A-320F have the same structure as the engaging portion of the engaging device 200, and the driving adapter 320A for controlling the rotation of the long shaft 110 is taken as an example to illustrate the distal structure of the driving adapters 320A-320F, the driver 320A has a driving engaging portion 321 for engaging with the engaging device 200, the driving engaging portion 321 has a first driving coupling component 321A and a second driving coupling component 321B for completely coupling with the engaging device, and the number of the driving coupling components in other embodiments may be other numbers, for example, 4.

The driving device 300 is provided with a third signal transceiver 340, and the third signal transceiver 340 is used for receiving the signal transmitted by the first signal transceiver 140 of the surgical instrument 100 and outputting the signal transmitted by the first signal transceiver 140 to the controller 330, or transmitting the signal transmitted by the controller 330 to the first signal transceiver 140 so as to control the surgical instrument 100.

Fig. 7A to 9 show the structure of the engagement device 200, the engagement device 200 having a housing 210, the housing 210 including a first housing 211 at a distal end of the engagement device and a second housing 212 at a proximal end of the engagement device, the first housing 211 having a plurality of first cavities 231 therein, the second housing having a plurality of second cavities 232 therein corresponding to the cavities 231, the first cavities 231 and the second cavities 232 cooperating to form a plurality of pockets for receiving the engagement discs 220A-220F, the first cavities 231 having first rim portions 2311 for limiting axial distal movement of the engagement discs 220A-220F, the second cavities 232 having second rim portions 2312 for limiting axial proximal movement of the engagement discs 220A-220F.

The housing 210 of the coupling device 200 has a second signal transceiver 240, the second signal transceiver 240 is electrically connected to the first signal transceiver 140 of the surgical instrument 100 and the third signal transceiver 340 of the driving device, respectively, for electrically connecting the first signal transceiver 140 and the third signal transceiver 340 to transmit signals therebetween, and the second signal transceiver 240 may independently transmit a signal to the third signal transceiver 340, where the signal may be a determination signal for determining whether the coupling device is properly connected to the driving device 300, or may be another signal, such as a determination signal for determining whether the coupling device 200 is completely coupled to the driving device 300 or the surgical instrument 100.

The plurality of bond pads 220A-220F are similar in structure, and the bond pad 220A is used as an example to illustrate the structure of the bond pad. As shown in fig. 9 and 13, the splice tray 220A has an upper splice tray 2210 and a lower splice tray 2230 having substantially the same structure, the upper splice tray 2210 and the lower splice tray 2230 being connected therebetween by an elastic member 2220, the upper splice tray 2210 and the lower splice tray 2230 being movable axially independently of each other by the elastic member 2220.

The upper bonding pad 2210 has a first contact surface 2211, the first contact surface 2211 is used for the bonding apparatus 200 to contact with the instrument bonding part 121 of the surgical instrument 100 during bonding with the surgical instrument 100, and the first contact surface 2211 is provided with a first coupling part 223 coupled with the instrument bonding part 121. Accordingly, the lower coupling plate 2230 has a second contact surface 2235, the second contact surface 2235 is used for the engaging device 200 to interfere with the driving engaging portion 321 of the driving device 300 during the engagement with the driving device 300, and the second coupling portion 222 engaging with the driving engaging portion 321 is provided on the second contact surface 2235.

The upper and

lower bonding pads

2210, 2230 each have fan-shaped first and

second projections

225, 226, a fan-shaped recess 229 is provided between the first and

second projections

225, 226, the first and

second projections

225, 226 of the upper bonding pad 2210 are received in the lower bonding pad recess 229, and accordingly, the first and

second projections

225, 226 of the lower bonding pad are received in the upper bonding pad recess 229, and the upper and

lower bonding pads

2210, 2230 each have spring-mounting holes 227 provided thereon. When the upper land 2210 and the lower land 2230 are mounted, a center line a of the first coupling part 223, which passes through a center of the first coupling part 223 and a center of the upper land 2210, and a center line B of the second coupling part 222, which passes through a center of the second coupling part 222 and a center of the lower land 2230, are perpendicular to each other. The first protrusions 225, the second protrusions 226, and the recesses 229 are not limited to fan shapes, and in other embodiments, the first protrusions 225, the second protrusions 226, and the recesses 229 may have other shapes, for example, the first protrusions 225 and the second protrusions 226 are rectangular protrusions, and the recesses 229 have an i-shape.

The first projection 225 of the upper bonding pad 2210 is provided therein with a first coupling part 223A of the first coupling part 223, and the second projection 226 of the upper bonding pad 2210 is provided therein with a second coupling part 223B of the first coupling part 223. The first coupling member 223A is configured to couple with the first instrument coupling member 121A during engagement of the engagement apparatus 200 and the surgical instrument 100, and the second coupling member 223B is configured to couple with the second instrument coupling member 121B during engagement of the engagement apparatus 200 and the surgical instrument 100. It is understood that the first and

second coupling parts

223A and 223B are not limited to being disposed in the first and

second protrusions

225 and 226, and in other embodiments, the first and

second coupling parts

223A and 223B may be disposed in the recess 229.

In one embodiment, the distance from the outer side of the first coupling part 223A to the center of the upper bonding pad 2210 is greater than the distance from the outer side of the second coupling part 223B to the center of the upper bonding pad 2210. To fully couple the first coupling portion 223 with the instrument engagement portion 121 at this time, accordingly, the distance from the outer side of the first instrument coupling member 121A of the instrument engagement portion 121 to the center of the instrument adapter 120A is greater than the distance from the outer side of the second instrument coupling member 121B to the center of the instrument adapter 120A, the outer side being the side radially away from the center of the circle.

In one embodiment, the distance from the inside of the first coupling part 223A to the center of the upper bonding pad 2210 is smaller than the distance from the outside of the second coupling part 223B to the center of the upper bonding pad 2210. To fully couple the first coupling portion 223 with the instrument engagement portion 121 at this time, accordingly, the distance from the inner side of the first instrument coupling member 121A of the instrument engagement portion 121 to the center of the instrument adapter 120A is smaller than the distance from the inner side of the second instrument coupling member 121B to the center of the instrument adapter 120A, which is the side radially closer to the center of the circle.

In one embodiment, the first coupling part 223A and the second coupling part 223B have different shapes, as shown in fig. 9, the first coupling part 223A and the second coupling part 223B have different shapes, and the outer side of the first coupling part 223A has a groove structure, i.e., the first coupling part 223A separates the first projection 225 of the upper bonding pad 2210 into two pieces, i.e., a right projection 225A and a left projection 225B. The outside of the second coupling part 223B does not penetrate the second projection 226 of the upper bonding pad 2210. In this embodiment, not only the first coupling parts 223A are different in shape from the second coupling parts 223B, but also the distance from the outer sides of the first coupling parts 223A to the center of the upper bonding pad 2210 is greater than the distance from the outer sides of the second coupling parts 223B to the center of the upper bonding pad 2210. In order to fully couple the first coupling portion 223 with the instrument engaging portion 121 at this time, accordingly, it is only necessary to keep the distance from the outside of the first instrument coupling member 121A of the instrument engaging portion 121 to the center of the instrument adapter 120A greater than the distance from the outside of the second instrument coupling member 121B to the center of the instrument adapter 120A, and it is not necessary to provide the first instrument coupling member 121A and the second instrument coupling member 121B with different shapes. However, the shapes of the first and second

instrument coupling members

121A and 121B are not limited to that shown in fig. 9, and in other embodiments, the first and second

instrument coupling members

121A and 121B do not have any similarity, e.g., the first instrument coupling member 121A is a cylinder and the second instrument coupling member 121B is a cuboid.

Because the first bonding pad 2210 and the second bonding pad 2230 have substantially the same structure, in order to prevent misloading of the first bonding pad 2210 and the second bonding pad 2230, the first bump 225 and the second bump 226 have

misloading prevention arrangements

228A and 228B, respectively, the misloading prevention arrangement 228B of the first bonding pad mating with the corresponding misloading prevention arrangement 228A of the second bonding pad, and the misloading prevention arrangement 228A of the second bonding pad mating with the corresponding misloading prevention arrangement 228B of the second bonding pad. After the first land 2210 and the second land 2230 are mounted, the first land 2210 and the second land 2230 are movable only axially independently of each other and are not movable radially independently of each other.

In another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 10 to 12, the splice tray 420 has an "i" shape, the upper splice tray 4210 of the splice tray 420 is fixedly connected to the lower splice tray 4230, preferably, the upper splice tray 4210 is integrally formed with the lower splice tray 4230 as one piece, the elastic member 4220 is fixed to the housing 410, and the elastic member 4220 includes an upper elastic portion 4221 facing toward the proximal end and a lower elastic portion 4222 facing toward the distal end. Specifically, the housing 410 includes a first housing 411 and a second housing 412, the engagement disk 420 is mounted in a cavity formed by the first housing 411 and the second housing 412, the first housing 411 has a first rim portion 4311 that limits distal movement of the lower engagement disk 4230, and the second housing 412 has a second rim portion 4312 that limits proximal movement of the upper engagement disk 4210. The first and second housings 411 and 412 further include first and second

inner rings

4111 and 4121, respectively, and the resilient member 4220 is mounted on the first and second

inner rings

4111 and 4121. Thus when the drive adapter of the surgical instrument 100 presses down on the engagement disc 4230, the lower resilient portion 4222 is compressed such that the lower resilient portion 4222 provides a resilient force that can move the engagement disc 420 towards the distal end of the engagement device, and when the instrument driver presses against the upper engagement disc 4210, the upper resilient portion 4221 is compressed such that the upper resilient portion 4221 can provide a resilient force that can move the engagement disc towards the proximal end of the engagement device.

As shown in fig. 11, the elastic member 4220 includes a housing 4225, a base 4223 of the upper elastic portion 4221 and a base 4224 of the lower elastic member 4222 are installed in the housing 4225, and a spring 4222 is installed between the base 4223 of the upper elastic portion 4221 and the base 4224 of the lower elastic member 4222.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 12, in order to mount the joint disk 420 into the housing 410 more efficiently, the first inner ring 4111 and the second inner ring 4121 are respectively incomplete inner rings, specifically, a plurality of resilient members 4220, a first resilient member 4220A is fixed on the first inner ring 4111, and a second resilient member 4222B is fixed on the second inner ring 4112. In other embodiments, the first inner ring 4111 and the second inner ring 4112 may be only one protruding mounting seat for mounting the resilient member 4220.

As shown in fig. 13 and 14, fig. 11 is a sectional view of the lower splice tray 2230 taken along plane B-B, and the second coupling member 222B has the same cross-section as the third coupling member 222A taken along a plane parallel to plane B-B, and is thus illustrated as the third coupling member 222A. The third coupling part 222A has a first guiding arc surface 2231 and a second guiding arc surface 2232 at both sides of an inlet for guiding the first driving coupling part 321A, a distal end of the first guiding arc surface 2231 smoothly transitions to a first inclined surface 2233, a distal end of the second guiding surface 2232 smoothly transitions to a second inclined surface 2234, an angle between the first inclined surface 2233 and an adjacent side surface is θ 1, and an angle between the second inclined surface 2234 and an adjacent side surface is θ 2, where θ 1 is equal to θ 2, however, in other embodiments, θ 1 may not be equal to θ 2. When the third coupling part 222A is completely coupled with the first driving coupling part 321A, the first driving coupling part 321A is tightly caught between the first inclined surface 2233 and the second inclined surface 2234, at which time the lower engaging disk 2230 and the driving engager 320A may not move relatively in the axial direction but may move relatively in the radial direction. In other embodiments, the first and second

inclined surfaces

2233 and 2234 can be formed in other shapes, such as arcs, as long as the condition for fully coupling the third coupling component 222A with the first drive coupling component 321A is satisfied, which will be described in detail below in the process of engaging the driving device 300 and the surgical instrument 100 with the engaging device 200.

As shown in FIG. 15, the second contact surface 2211 of the lower bonding pad 2210 has first coupling members 223A for coupling with the first instrument coupling members 121A of the instrument bonding pad 120A of the procedure 100 and second coupling members 223B for coupling with the second instrument coupling members 121B. Because the upper splice tray 2210 has substantially the same structure as the lower splice tray 2230, further details regarding the specific structure of the upper splice tray 2210 will be omitted, and reference may be made to the structure of the lower splice tray 2230.

Fig. 16 shows a drive coupling 322 of the drive coupling 320A, and the other drive couplings 230B-320F all have the same drive disk, and the structure of the drive disk is illustrated by taking the drive disk 322 of the drive coupling 320A as an example, the drive disk 322 has a drive disk 323, the drive disk 323 has a drive disk top surface 324 facing the surgical instrument 100, the drive disk top surface 324 has a first drive coupling part 321A coupled with the third coupling part 222A of the coupling device 200, and a second drive coupling part 321B coupled with the fourth coupling part 222B of the coupling device 200. The drive disk bottom surface is connected to a drive shaft 325, and the drive shaft 325 is connected to a power output shaft (e.g., a motor output shaft) of the drive adapter 320A.

As shown in fig. 17, the coupling process of the driving device 300, the coupling device 200, and the surgical instrument 100 is divided into two stages, the first stage is that the driving device 300 is coupled with the coupling device 200, and the second stage is that the driving device 300 and the coupling device 200 are coupled with the surgical instrument 100 together.

In one embodiment, prior to the start of the first stage engagement, drive adapters 320A-320F of drive device 300 are in an initial position defined from the initial state of surgical tool 100 and stored in controller 330, and surgical instrument 100 is in an initial state in which long axis 110 of surgical instrument 100 is in a straight state, i.e., the yaw angle, pitch angle, etc. of the distal end of long axis 110 is 0 degrees, rotated in a fixed position, which is a closed state if end effector 111, surgical forceps, cutting equipment, etc. It will be appreciated that the initial position is artificially defined and is not limited to the above-described positions, and in other embodiments, the initial position of the surgical tool 100 may be different, such as a slight angular yaw of the distal end of the long axis 110 relative to a straight state.

In the first engagement stage, that is, the driving device 300 is engaged with the engagement device 200, the driving adapters 320A-320F of the driving device 300 are engaged with the engagement discs 220A-220F of the engagement device 200, respectively, and the engagement process of the driving device 300 and the engagement device 200 will be described by taking the driving adapter 320A and the engagement disc 220A as an example, and the engagement process of the other driving adapters and the engagement disc is the same as the engagement process of the driving adapter 320A and the engagement disc 220A in this embodiment.

The controller 330 of the driving device 300 senses whether the coupling device 200 is connected to the driving device 300 through the third signal receiver 340, if the coupling device 200 is properly connected to the driving device 300, the second signal receiver 240 of the coupling device 200 may transmit a connection signal to the third signal receiver 340, the connection signal including a verification signal for verifying whether the coupling device 200 is authentic and/or a confirmation signal for confirming whether the coupling device 200 is properly connected to the driving device 300, and the controller 330 receives the connection signal to confirm that the coupling device 200 is properly connected to the driving device 300, and performs control of the coupling of the driving couplers 320A-320F with the coupling discs 220A-220F.

Fig. 18A-18D illustrate the process of driving the engager 320A into engagement with the engagement disc 220A. When the jointing device 200 is connected to the driving device 300, the first driving coupling part 321A and the second driving coupling part 321B of the driving jointer 320A abut against the second contact surface 2235 of the jointing disk 220A, the lower jointing disk 2230 of the jointing disk 220A moves axially and proximally under the push of the first driving coupling part 321A and the second driving coupling part 321B and compresses the elastic part 2220, and the upper jointing disk 2210 abuts against the second edge part 2312 of the jointing device housing 210 under the action of the elastic part 2220.

When the driving coupling 320A is rotated in a first direction (e.g., clockwise) from the initial position under the control of the controller 330, and the first driving coupling part 321A is rotated to the second guide arc 2232 of the third coupling part 222A, the lower engaging disc 2230 is moved toward the distal end in the axial direction by the elastic force of the elastic member 2220, gradually introducing the first driving coupling part into the third coupling part 222A. As the drive engager 320A continues to rotate, the first drive coupling member 321 slides further into the third coupling member 222A until the first drive coupling member 321 is fully coupled with the third coupling member 222A. If the guide first and second guide arcs 2231 and 2232 are not provided at the entrance of the third coupling part 222A, the first driving coupling part 321A may directly jump from the entrance of the third coupling part 222A without entering into the third coupling part 222A due to the excessively fast rotation speed of the driving adapter 320A. In this embodiment, the driving coupling member 320A rotates 180 degrees from the initial position along the first direction, then rotates 180 degrees along the second direction opposite to the first direction to return to the initial position, and then rotates 180 degrees along the first direction to return to the initial position after continuing to rotate 180 degrees along the second direction, so that the first driving coupling member 321A and the second driving coupling member 321B complete the traverse movement of the engaging disc 220A, and therefore, a guiding arc needs to be provided on both sides of the entrance of the third coupling member 222A. In other embodiments, drive clutch 320A may rotate 360 degrees in only one direction to engage disk 220 in a traversing motion. After the traverse motion is completed, the driving clutch 320A brings the bonding pad 220A back to the initial position.

Since the third coupling part 222A and the fourth coupling part 222B are different in shape and accordingly the distance from the outer side of the first driving coupling part 321A to the center of the driving disc is different from the distance from the outer side of the second driving coupling part 321A to the center of the driving disc, this arrangement ensures that the third coupling part 222A can only couple with the first driving coupling part 321A and cannot couple with the second driving coupling part 321B; similarly, the fourth coupling member 222B can only couple with the second driving coupling member 321B, but not with the first driving coupling member 321A, and the alignment of the coupling is important to return the surgical instrument 100 to the initial position.

Fig. 18C shows a state where the drive splicer 320A is fully coupled with the splice tray 220A, in which the first drive coupling part 321A of the drive splicer 320A is fully coupled with the third coupling part 222A of the splice tray 220A and the second drive coupling part 321B is fully coupled with the fourth coupling part 222B of the splice tray 220A. In the fully coupled state, the fully coupled state will be described by taking as an example that the first drive coupling member 321A is fully coupled with the third coupling member 222A of the bonding pad 220A. In the fully coupled state, the first and second

inclined surfaces

2233 and 2234 of the lower splice tray 2230 are in close contact with the first driving coupling part 321A, and a close contact point P0 exists at a position where the first and second

inclined surfaces

2233 and 2234 are in close contact with the first driving coupling part 321A, and fig. 18D is an enlarged view at the close contact point P0 of fig. 18C.

In the fully coupled state, the lower splice tray 2230 is not movable in the axial and rotational directions relative to the drive adapter 320A. At this time, the lower splice tray 2230 is subjected to a pushing force Ft1 from the drive adapter 320A toward the lower splice tray 2230, a frictional force Ff1 in the opposite direction to the pushing force Ft1, and a spring force Fs1 from the spring 2220, wherein,

Ft1＝f(μ1,θ,M1)；

Ff1＝g(μ1,θ,M1)；

Fs1＝k(μ1,θ,M1)；

μ 1 is the coefficient of friction between the first drive coupling part 321A and the engagement disc 220A; θ is an angle between the first inclined surface 2233 and the second inclined surface 2234 and the adjacent side surface, where θ 1 — θ 2; m1 is the torque driving the clutch 320A.

It is critical to maintain full coupling of the drive interface disk 320A with the interface disk 220A during operation of the surgical robot, so the angle θ needs to be such that the friction force Ff1 is greater than the thrust force Ft1, or the sum of the friction force Ff1 and the spring force Fs1 is greater than the thrust force Ft 1.

In the fully coupled state, a first gap G1 exists between the second contact surface 2235 of the splice tray 220A and the drive puck top surface 324 of the drive splice tray 320A, the existence of the first gap G1 being critical to maintaining the fully coupled state, and therefore ensuring that the distance h2 from the point of intimate contact P0 to the second contact surface 2235 of the splice tray 220A is less than the distance h1 from the point of intimate contact P0 to the drive puck top surface 324 of the drive splice 320A.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the first traversal motion of the first engagement phase is that the plurality of driving engagers 320A-320F of the driving device 300 are rotated by a certain angle in a first direction from the initial position and then rotated by the same angle in a direction opposite to the first direction to return to the initial position, so that the driving device 300 can complete the traversal of the engagement device 200 by two rotations, wherein the certain angle is preferably 360 degrees.

In another embodiment of the present invention, before the first engagement stage begins, the driving engagers 320A-320F of the driving device 300 are not at the initial position, but at positions different from the initial position by a certain angle, so that the driving device 300 traverses the engagement device 200 by rotating in one direction by a certain angle, and after the traverse is completed, the driving device 300 is just at the initial position, so that the traverse of the engagement device 200 can be completed only by rotating the driving device 300 once, and the movement mode is simpler, and the certain angle different from the initial position is preferably 360 degrees.

The second stage of engagement is when the driving device 300 and the engaging device 200 are engaged together with the surgical instrument 100, and the lower engaging disk 2230 of the engaging device 200 has been fully coupled to the driving device 300 by the first stage of coupling, so that the driving device 300 drives the engaging disks 220A-220F of the engaging device 200 to couple the instrument engagers 120A-120F of the surgical instrument 100 during the second stage of engagement. The engagement process of the drive adapter 320A to bring the engagement plate 220A and the instrument adapter 120A is illustrative of the second stage engagement process, and the engagement process of the other engagement plates and the other instrument adapters is the same.

After the surgical instrument 100 is connected to the coupling device 200, the first signal transceiver 140 of the surgical instrument 100 transmits signals to the controller 330 through the second signal transceiver 240 of the coupling device 200 and the third signal transceiver 340 of the driving device 300, and the controller 330 determines whether the surgical instrument 100 is properly connected to the coupling device 200 through the signals, where the signals include a verification signal for verifying whether the surgical instrument 100 is authentic and a confirmation signal for confirming whether the surgical instrument 100 is properly connected to the coupling device 200. It should be understood that the signals sent by the first signaling unit 330 are not limited to the above two signals, and in other embodiments, the signals may be only acknowledgement signals, or may also include other signals.

As shown in FIG. 19A, when the surgical instrument 100 is connected to the engaging apparatus 200, the first and second

instrument coupling parts

121A and 121B of the instrument adapter 120A abut against the first contact surfaces on the upper land 2210, and the upper land 2210 is urged by the instrument adapter 120A to move axially distally and compress the resilient portion 2220. If the controller 330 confirms that the surgical instrument 100 has been properly connected to the interface device 200 by detecting a signal from the first signaling portion 140, the controller 330 controls the drive interface disk 320A to rotate in a first direction (e.g., clockwise) from an initial position, which is the same as the initial position described above. Because the second stage splice tray 320A has been fully coupled with the lower splice tray 2230, the splice tray 220A will rotate with the drive splice tray 320A in the first direction.

As shown in fig. 19B, when the leading arc surface of the first coupling part 223A gradually comes into contact with the first instrument coupling part 121A, the first bonding disc 2210 starts to gradually move distally in the axial direction by the spring force of the spring portion 2220. With continued rotation of the drive adapter 120A, the first instrument coupling member 121A slides further through the guiding curve into the first coupling member 223A until the first instrument coupling member 121A is fully coupled with the first coupling member 223A.

As shown in FIG. 19C, instrument adapter 120A is fully coupled to engagement disc 220A, with first instrument coupling member 121A fully coupled to first coupling member 223A and second instrument coupling member 121B fully coupled to second coupling member 223B. As with the lower splice disc 220A, in the fully coupled state, the upper splice disc 2210 is not movable in axial and rotational directions relative to the instrument adapter. At this time, the upper splice disc 2210 is subjected to a pushing force Ft2 from the instrument driver 120A directed toward the upper splice disc 2210, a frictional force Ff2 in a direction opposite to the pushing force Ft2, and a spring force Fs2 from the spring 2220, wherein,

Ft2＝y(μ2,α,M2)；

Ff2＝s(μ2,α,M2)；

Fs2＝t(μ2,α,M2)；

μ 2 is the coefficient of friction between the first instrument coupling member 121A and the engagement disc 220A; α is an angle (refer to θ) between the inclined surface of the first coupling part 223A and the side surface adjacent thereto, and M2 is a torque of the splice tray 220A.

Preferably, the angle is 0 ° < θ <10 °, and 0 ° < α <10 °, so that the engagement disc and the engagement disc cannot move axially after being completely coupled to the drive device and the surgical instrument.

Likewise, it is desirable to maintain the splice tray 220A fully coupled to the instrument splicer 120A throughout the operation of the surgical robot, and thus the angle α needs to be such that the frictional force Ff2 is greater than the pushing force Ft2, or the sum of the frictional force Ff2 and the spring force Fs2 is greater than the pushing force Ft 2.

Likewise, a second gap G2 exists between the first contact surface 2211 on the upper engagement disc 2210 and the instrument adapter disc top surface 122 of the instrument adapter 120A in the fully coupled condition, ensuring that the distance from the point of intimate contact of the first instrument coupling member 121A with the first coupling member 223A to the first contact surface 2211 of the engagement disc 220A is less than the distance from the point of intimate contact to the instrument adapter disc top surface 122 of the instrument adapter 120A in order to always maintain the presence of the second gap G2.

The engagement disc 220A is driven by the driving adaptor 320A to rotate 180 degrees in a first direction from an initial position, then rotate 180 degrees in a second direction opposite to the first direction, and then return to the initial position, and then rotate 180 degrees in the first direction, and then return to the initial position 180 degrees in the second direction, so that the first coupling part 223A and the second coupling part 223B of the engagement disc 320A complete the traversal movement of the engagement disc 320A, after the traversal movement is completed, the driving adaptor 320A brings the engagement disc 220A and the instrument driving disc 120A together to return to the initial position, and at this time, the surgical instrument 100 returns to the initial state because the initial position is defined according to the initial state of the surgical instrument 100. Regardless of the state of the surgical instrument 100 before being coupled to the coupling device 200, the surgical instrument 100 can be returned to the original state after being coupled to the coupling device 200 by the above-described coupling method, thereby facilitating the operation by the surgeon. It is important in the present engagement method that engagement disc 220A of engagement device 200 be configured to couple with drive engager 320A and instrument engager 120A in a manner that uniquely corresponds to each other, to return surgical instrument 100 to its initial state after engagement. The prior art engagement devices and drive adapters and instrument adapters do not correspond uniquely, and it is very easy to prevent the surgical instrument from returning to the initial state correctly after engagement.

In one embodiment, to increase the efficiency of the use of the surgical robot, allowing the surgical instrument 100 to return to an initial state within the patient, driver 330 independently controls the manner in which engagement discs 220A-220F traverse instrument engagers 120A-120F during the second engagement stage. In particular, the instrument pads that drive rotation of the long axis 110 of surgical instrument 100 are traversed differently than other instrument pads. Assuming that drive clutch 320A is the drive clutch driving rotation of long shaft 110, and the other drive clutches 320B-320F drive other movements (e.g., yaw, pitch, etc.) of long shaft 110 and end effector 111, controller 330 controls drive clutch 320A to traverse instrument clutch 120A in a manner similar to the first embodiment of the first traversal approach, i.e., clutch 120A is triggered to rotate in a first direction by an angle less than or equal to 180 degrees from the initial position, then rotates in a second direction opposite to the first direction by the same angle back to the initial position, and then rotates in the second direction by an angle less than or equal to 180 degrees and then rotates in the first direction by the same angle back to the initial position, so that clutch 220A returns to the initial position after completing the traverse of instrument clutch 120A. And controller 330 controls some of the other bond pads 220B-220F to traverse the surgical instrument in the following manner: some of the bond pads 220B-220F are triggered from an initial position by a small angle β of rotation in a first direction and then back to the initial position by a small angle β of rotation in a second direction opposite the first direction, and then back to the initial position by a small angle β of rotation in the first direction by a small angle β of rotation in the second direction, preferably less than 13 degrees.

Because this embodiment requires the surgical instrument 100 to return to its initial state within the patient, the distal end of the long shaft 110 of the surgical instrument 100 cannot move significantly within the patient, which could cause damage to the tissue within the patient. It is desirable that the instrument engagers, other than the instrument engagers that drive rotation of long shaft 110, are near the initial position (this position is referred to as near the initial position) before surgical instrument 100 is engaged to engagement apparatus 200, so that the amplitude of motion of surgical instrument 100 in the patient during the second stage of engagement is small, and damage to the tissue in the patient is avoided. In order to allow the surgical instrument 100 to return to the initial position from the adjacent position, the engagement discs 220B-220F need to be rotated through a small angle β greater than the angle through which the surgical instrument 100 needs to be deflected to return to the initial position from the adjacent position.

To ensure that the surgical instrument 100 is in a proximal initial position prior to second stage engagement, a powered mechanism 22 may be provided that only allows passage of the surgical instrument 100 through the cannula 23 in the proximal position. In the second stage of engagement, surgical instrument 100 is first adjusted to the proximal position, for example, by the health care professional simply adjusting the distal end of long shaft 110 of surgical instrument 100 to be substantially straight, and then long shaft 110 is passed through cannula 23 into the patient, and after surgical instrument 100 is coupled to engagement device 200, controller 330 performs the second stage of engagement.

In one embodiment, when the surgical instrument is in the initial position, the first coupling part 223A and the second coupling part 223B of the bonding pad 220A engaged with the driving coupling 320A for driving the rotation of the control shaft 110 are not at the same distance or have the same shape from the center of the bonding pad, the third coupling part 222A and the fourth coupling part 222B of the upper bonding pad 2210 are not at the same distance or have the same shape from the center of the upper bonding pad, and the first to fourth coupling parts of the other bonding pads 220B to 220F are at the same distance or have the same shape from the upper bonding pad or the lower bonding pad. This is because the instrument adapters 220B-220F are in close proximity to the initial position, and coupling members on the same splice tray that are in the same position or shape do not affect their return to the initial position.

In one embodiment, more drive wires are required to prevent problems associated with infinite rotation of an instrument adapter that drives rotation of long shaft 110 of surgical instrument 100, such as infinite rotation. A blocking device is therefore provided in the instrument adapter that drives the rotation of the long shaft to prevent its unlimited rotation. Assuming instrument adapter 120A is a drive adapter for driving rotation of long shaft 110, instrument adapter 120A is disposed on a frame body 151 of instrument drive portion 150, as shown in fig. 20 and 21, frame body 151 has an annular groove 124, a blocking body 125 is disposed in one section of annular groove 124, a sliding post 123 is fixedly connected to a proximal end of instrument adapter 120A, and the other end of sliding post 123 is disposed in annular groove 124.

When the instrument adapter 120A rotates, the sliding post 123 slides within the annular groove 124, and when the sliding post 123 slides to meet the blocking body 125, the blocking body 125 prevents the sliding post 123 from sliding further, thereby preventing rotation of the instrument adapter 120A.

In this embodiment, because instrument adapter 120A cannot rotate 360 degrees due to the presence of blocking body 125, during the second stage of engagement, engagement disc 220A need not traverse instrument adapter 120A 360 degrees, but rather, according to the size of the central angle of annular groove 124, defines engagement disc 220A to traverse instrument adapter 120A. The preferred circular groove 124 has a central angle of 320 degrees, and the splice tray 220A rotates 160 degrees in a first direction from the initial position to encounter the blocking body 125 and then rotates 160 degrees in a second direction opposite to the first direction back to the initial position, and then rotates 160 degrees in the second direction to encounter the blocking body 125 and then rotates 160 degrees in the first direction back to the initial position.

Due to assembly, the axes of drive interface discs 320A-320F are inevitably misaligned with the axes of corresponding instrument drive discs 120A-120F when drive apparatus 300, interface 200, and surgical instrument 100 are fully engaged. As shown in fig. 22 and 23, the driving coupling 320A is coupled to the instrument coupling 120A via the coupling disc 220A, the axial center of the driving coupling 320A is D1, the axial center of the instrument coupling 120A is D2, and the eccentric distance Δ D between D2 and D1, if the driving coupling 320A, the coupling disc 220A and the instrument coupling 120A are hard coupled, the driving coupling 320A drives the coupling 220 to perform eccentric rotation, which causes great damage to the driving device 300 and the surgical instrument 100 and generates large noise during the movement. To eliminate the disadvantages of hard engagement, in one embodiment, there is soft engagement between drive adapter 320A, engagement disc 220A, and instrument adapter 120A.

Specifically, third gap G3 exists radially between instrument interface 121 of instrument adapter 120A and first coupling 223 of engagement disc 220A, third gap G3 exists radially between drive interface 321 of drive adapter 320A and second coupling 222 of engagement disc 220A, and fourth gap G4 exists radially between engagement disc 220A and the inner wall of the receiving cavity of housing 210, the presence of third gap G3 and fourth gap G4 enabling engagement disc 220A to translate radially within the receiving cavity of housing 210 relative to drive adapter 120A and instrument adapter 320A, such translational movement of the engagement disc enabling eccentric movement of drive adapter 220 to be reduced. In order to completely eliminate the adverse effect of the above-described eccentric motion, it is preferable that the width of the fourth gap G4 in the radial direction of the engagement disc is made larger than the width of the third gap G3 in the radial direction of the engagement disc, and the width of the third gap G3 in the radial direction of the engagement disc is made larger than the eccentric distance Δ D, so that soft engagement between the drive engager 320A, the engagement disc 220A and the instrument engager 120A is achieved.

The technical features of the embodiments described above may be arbitrarily combined, and for the sake of brevity, all possible combinations of the technical features in the embodiments described above are not described, but should be considered as being within the scope of the present specification as long as there is no contradiction between the combinations of the technical features.

The above-mentioned embodiments only express several embodiments of the present invention, and the description thereof is more specific and detailed, but not construed as limiting the scope of the invention. It should be noted that, for a person skilled in the art, several variations and modifications can be made without departing from the inventive concept, which falls within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present patent shall be subject to the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method of engaging a surgical instrument with a drive device, wherein the surgical instrument is engaged with the drive device by an engagement device comprising a plurality of engagement discs for engaging a plurality of drive engagers of the drive device and a plurality of instrument engagers of the surgical instrument, the method comprising:

after the engagement device is connected with the drive device, the plurality of drive engagers perform a first traversal motion of the plurality of engagement pads;

after the surgical instrument is connected to the engagement device, the plurality of drive engagers drives the plurality of engagement discs to perform a second traversal motion of the plurality of instrument engagers, wherein a rotation angle of the second traversal motion of at least a portion of the plurality of drive engagers is less than a rotation angle of the first traversal motion of the portion of the drive engagers.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a second traversal motion of a drive clutch used to drive the long axis of the surgical instrument in rotation has a greater angle of rotation than the second traversal motions of the other drive clutches.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the angle of rotation of the second traverse of the partial drive coupling is less than 13 degrees.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the drive means are in an initial position after the first traversal motion and/or the second traversal motion has been performed.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the first traversal motion is an angular rotation of the plurality of drive couplers in a first direction to the initial position.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the first traversal motion is a return of the plurality of drive couplers from the initial position after rotating an angle in a first direction and then rotating the same angle in a second direction opposite the first direction.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the first traversal motion is performed in a manner such that the plurality of drive couplers are rotated from the initial position by a first angle in a first direction and then rotated by the first angle in a second direction opposite to the first direction back to the initial position, and then rotated by the second angle in the second direction and then rotated by the second angle in the first direction back to the initial position.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein a sum of the first angle and the second angle is greater than or equal to 360 degrees.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein a rotation angle of a splice tray used to rotate a long axis of the surgical instrument in the second traversal motion is 160 degrees.

10. The method of claim 4, wherein the second traverse motion of the partial drive coupling is rotated about the initial position.

11. The method of claim 4, wherein the second traversal motion of at least one of the partial drive couplings is such that the at least one drive coupling rotates from the initial position a third angle in a first direction, then rotates a third angle in a second direction opposite the first direction back to the initial position, then rotates in the second direction a fourth angle, then rotates in the first direction a fourth angle, and then returns to the initial position.

12. A drive arrangement for engaging a surgical instrument via an engagement arrangement comprising a plurality of engagement discs for engaging a plurality of drive engagers of the drive arrangement and a plurality of instrument engagers of the surgical instrument, wherein the drive arrangement is configured to engage the surgical instrument by:

13. The drive of claim 12, wherein a second traverse motion of a drive coupling for driving rotation of the long axis of the surgical instrument has a greater angle of rotation than the other drive couplings.

14. The drive of claim 12, wherein the angle of rotation of the second traverse of the partial drive coupling is less than 13 degrees.

15. The drive device as claimed in claim 12, characterized in that the drive device is in an initial position after the first and/or second traversal motion has been performed.

16. The drive of claim 12, wherein the first traversal motions of the plurality of drive couplers are all the same.

17. A slave manipulator apparatus comprising a drive arrangement, a surgical instrument and an engagement arrangement, the drive arrangement being engaged with the surgical instrument by the engagement arrangement, the engagement arrangement comprising a plurality of engagement discs for engaging a plurality of drive engagers of the drive arrangement and a plurality of instrument engagers of the surgical instrument, wherein the drive arrangement is configured to engage the surgical instrument by:

after the surgical instrument is connected to the engagement device, the plurality of drive engagers drives the plurality of engagement discs to perform a second traversal motion of the plurality of instrument engagers, the rotation angle of the second traversal motion of at least some of the plurality of drive engagers being smaller than the rotation angle of the first traversal motion of the some of the drive engagers.

18. A surgical robot comprising a master operation device and the slave operation device of claim 17, the slave operation device being configured to perform a corresponding operation in accordance with an input of the master operation device.