Tool holder and system

Abstract

A tool holder for use as a surgical assistant, the tool holder including: first and second beam members; a frame; at least one linkage member coupled to the frame and the first and second beam members; a mounting configuration to hold a tool, the mounting configuration being coupled to the first and second beam members; and a drive mechanism mounted with respect to the frame, wherein the at least one linkage member and the mounting configuration are coupled to the first and second beam members in a parallelogram configuration, the drive mechanism is configured to drive a tilt movement of the mounting configuration with respect to the frame by movement of the first beam member with respect to the second beam member to orient the mounting configuration to a tilt angle, and the drive mechanism is configured to drive a pan movement of the tool about a pan axis, the drive mechanism being further configured to orient the pan axis with respect to the frame dependent on the tilt angle.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A tool holder for use as a surgical assistant, the tool holder including:
 a frame;   a mounting configuration coupled to the frame to hold a tool;   a mounting shaft carrying the frame; and   a drive mechanism, wherein the drive mechanism is configured for rotation with the frame and with respect to the mounting shaft, and the drive mechanism is configured to drive both a pan and a tilt operation of the mounting configuration.   
     
     
         2 . The tool holder of  claim 1 , further including:
 first and second beam members, wherein:   the mounting configuration is coupled to the frame by the first and second beam members; and   at least one of the first and second beam members includes a recessed portion configured to accommodate at least part of one or more other parts of the tool holder.   
     
     
         3 . The tool holder of  claim 2 , further including:
 first and second linkage members coupled to the first and second beam members, wherein:   the first and second linkage members are configured to at least one of interleave and overlap with each other.   
     
     
         4 . The tool holder of  claim 1 , further including the tool. 
     
     
         5 . The tool holder according to  claim 4 , wherein the tool is an endoscopic instrument. 
     
     
         6 . The tool holder according to  claim 5 , wherein the endoscopic instrument is an endoscope. 
     
     
         7 . The tool holder according to  claim 1 , wherein the pan and tilt operations are rotational movements about respective axes which are perpendicular to each other. 
     
     
         8 . The tool holder according to  claim 1 , wherein the drive mechanism includes a first motor and a second motor which are both supported by the frame. 
     
     
         9 . The tool holder according to  claim 8 , wherein the drive mechanism further includes:
 a worm screw carried by the second motor;   a worm wheel, the worm screw being configured to mesh with the worm wheel;   a gearbox which includes a drive gear; and   a mounting shaft gear which is configured for rotation with the mounting shaft and which is configured to mesh with the drive gear, wherein rotation of the worm screw causes rotation of the worm wheel, which drive rotation of the drive gear and mounting shaft gear in order to cause the pan operation.   
     
     
         10 . The tool holder according to  claim 9 , wherein the drive mechanism further includes a clutch mechanism and coupling of the worm wheel to the drive gear is via the clutch mechanism and wherein this coupling is decoupled by the clutch mechanism when a force above a threshold force is applied. 
     
     
         11 . A tool holder for use as a surgical assistant, the tool holder including:
 a frame;   a mounting configuration coupled to the frame by first and second beam members, the mounting configuration configured to hold a tool; and   a mounting shaft carrying the frame, wherein:
 the frame is configured to rotate with respect to the mounting shaft, and 
 at least one of the first and second beam members includes a recessed portion configured to accommodate at least part of one or more other parts of the tool holder. 
   
     
     
         12 . The tool holder according to  claim 11 , wherein the recessed portion includes one or more arcuate or curved portions of one or more of the first and second beam members. 
     
     
         13 . The tool holder according to  claim 11 , further including a drive mechanism configured for rotation with the frame and with respect to the mounting shaft, wherein the drive mechanism is configured to drive both a pan and a tilt operation of the mounting configuration. 
     
     
         14 . The tool holder according to  claim 11 , wherein the first and second beam members are part of a parallelogram configuration. 
     
     
         15 . A tool holder for use as a surgical assistant, the tool holder including:
 a frame;   a mounting configuration coupled to the frame by first and second beam members, the mounting configuration configured to hold a tool;   first and second linkage members coupled to the first and second beam members; and   a mounting shaft carrying the frame, wherein:
 the frame is configured to rotate with respect to the mounting shaft, and the first and second linkage members are configured to at least one of interleave and overlap with each other. 
   
     
     
         16 . The tool holder according to  claim 15 , wherein at least one of the first and second linkage members includes at least one of a recess and a groove which is configured to receive at least part of the other of the first and second linkage members. 
     
     
         17 . The tool holder according to  claim 16 , wherein the first linkage member is provided in a first linkage plane and the second linkage member is provided in a second linkage plane, the first and second linkage planes being parallel with each other. 
     
     
         18 . The tool holder according to  claim 15 , wherein at least one of the first and second beam members includes a recessed portion configured to accommodate at least part of one or more other parts of the tool holder. 
     
     
         19 . The tool holder according to  claim 18 , wherein the recessed portion includes one or more arcuate or curved portions of one or more of the first and second beam members. 
     
     
         20 . The tool holder according to  claim 15 , wherein the first and second linkage members are part of a parallelogram configuration.