Interlocking collet system for a surgical device

1 . An interlocking collet system of a robotic surgical system, the collet system comprising:

a surgical tool comprising first and second attachment surfaces spaced from one another; and

a collet for selectively coupling the surgical tool to an end effector, the collet comprising:

a housing configured to extend along an axis between first and second ends and defining a bore along the axis for selectively disposing and retaining the surgical tool therein in an installed position;

first and second locking members disposed within the bore of the housing and each being moveable along the axis within the housing; and

at least one bias member disposed within the bore of the housing, with the at least one bias member arranged to position the first locking member along the axis in a first position relative to the housing in which the first locking member is configured to contact the first attachment surface of the surgical tool and with the at least one bias member arranged to position the second locking member along the axis in a second position relative to the housing in which the second locking member is configured to contact the second attachment surface of the surgical tool, and wherein the first and second locking members in the first and second positions, respectively, are configured to exert opposing axial forces on the surgical tool; and

wherein in response to the collet selectively retaining the surgical tool, the first and second attachment surfaces of the surgical tool are symmetrically oriented relative to each other with respect to a plane that is orthogonal to the axis.

2 . The interlocking collet system of claim 1 , wherein the first and second attachment surfaces are skewed to face opposing directions along the axis or skewed to face toward one another relative to the axis to facilitate the opposing axial forces on the surgical tool to retain the surgical tool.

3 . The interlocking collet system of claim 2 , wherein each of the first and second locking members comprises a sphere, the sphere configured to move along the skewed first and second attachment surfaces of the surgical tool and/or first and second housing surfaces of the housing as the first and second locking members move along the axis.

4 . The interlocking collet system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one bias member has a stiffness that is configured to exert the opposing axial forces on the surgical tool through the first and second locking members to retain the surgical tool in the installed position.

5 . The interlocking collet system of claim 4 , wherein the stiffness of the at least one bias member maintains the first locking member in the first position and the second locking member in the second position to prevent removal of the surgical tool from the bore.

6 . The interlocking collet system of claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises first and second housing surfaces spaced from one another and disposed at least partially within the bore, with the first locking member configured to contact both of the first attachment surface and the first housing surface in the first position and the second locking member configured to contact both of the second attachment surface and the second housing surface in the second position.

7 . The interlocking collet system of claim 6 , wherein the first housing surface is proximate to the first end of the housing and the second housing surface is proximate to the second end of the housing.

8 . The interlocking collet system of claim 7 , wherein the first housing surface and the first attachment surface define a first orthogonal distance therebetween perpendicular to the axis and the second housing surface and the second attachment surface define a second orthogonal distance therebetween perpendicular to the axis, with a first skewed configuration of at least one of the first housing surface and the first attachment surface configured to facilitate a reduction in the first orthogonal distance when the surgical tool moves from the installed position in a first direction along the axis and wedges the first locking member between the housing and the surgical tool to prevent removal of the surgical tool from the bore in the first direction, and with a second skewed configuration of at least one of the second housing surface and the second attachment surface configured to facilitate a reduction in the second orthogonal distance when the surgical tool moves from the installed position in a second direction along the axis, opposite the first direction, and wedges the second locking member between the housing and the surgical tool to prevent removal of the surgical tool from the bore in the second direction.

9 . The interlocking collet system of claim 8 , wherein the first housing surface and the first attachment surface define a first axial distance therebetween parallel to the axis, with the first skewed configuration of both of the first housing surface and the first attachment surface configured to facilitate a reduction in the first axial distance when the surgical tool moves from the installed position in the first direction along the axis and wedges the first locking member between the housing and the surgical tool to prevent removal of the surgical tool from the bore in the first direction.

10 . The interlocking collet system of claim 8 , wherein the second housing surface and the second attachment surface define a second axial distance therebetween parallel to the axis, with the second skewed configuration of both of the second housing surface and the second attachment surface configured to facilitate a reduction in the second axial distance when the surgical tool moves from the installed position in the second direction along the axis and wedges the second locking member between the housing and the surgical tool to prevent removal of the surgical tool from the bore in the second direction.

11 . The interlocking collet system of claim 6 , wherein the surgical tool comprises at least one attachment unlock surface adjacent the first and second attachment surfaces and the housing comprises at least one housing unlock surface adjacent the first and second housing surfaces, with the at least one attachment unlock surface and the at least one housing unlock surface concentrically spaced from one another and configured to dispose the first and second locking members therebetween to facilitate movement of the surgical tool, independent of the housing, along the axis.

12 . The interlocking collet system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one attachment unlock surface is disposed between the first and second attachment surfaces and the at least one housing unlock surface is disposed between the first and second housing surfaces.

13 . The interlocking collet system of claim 1 , wherein the first and second attachment surfaces face opposing directions along the axis, with the first locking member disposed along the axis between the first attachment surface and one of the first and second ends of the housing, and with the second locking member configured to be disposed along the axis between the second attachment surface and the other one of the first and second ends of the housing.

14 . The interlocking collet system of claim 1 , wherein the first attachment surface extends inwardly toward the axis such that the first attachment surface defines a first recess configured to receive the first locking member therein.

15 . The interlocking collet system of claim 14 , wherein the second attachment surface extends inwardly toward the axis such that the second attachment surface defines a second recess configured to receive the second locking member therein.

16 . The interlocking collet system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one bias member is a single bias member disposed between the first and second locking members and configured to bias the locking members away from one another.

17 . The interlocking collet system of claim 1 , further comprising a slide disposed along the housing and movable along the axis, with the slide configured to engage and move the first and second locking members along the axis against the bias of the at least one bias member.

18 . The interlocking collet system of claim 17 , wherein the housing defines at least one slot extending longitudinally along the axis and opening into the bore and an exterior of the housing, with each of the first and second locking members comprising a projection extending through the at least one slot and disposed in the exterior, and with the slide configured to engage the projections to move the first and second locking members along the axis against the bias of the at least one bias member.

19 . The interlocking collet system of claim 18 , wherein the at least one bias member biases the first and second locking members away from one another, with the slide defining first and second abutment surfaces spaced from and facing one another along the axis and with the projections of the first and second locking members disposed between the abutment surfaces, with the first abutment surface configured to engage and move the projection of the first locking member when the slide moves in one direction along the axis and with the second abutment surface configured to engage and move the projection of the second locking member when the slide moves in another direction along the axis.

20 . The interlocking collet system of claim 17 , wherein the slide is further configured to move the first and second locking members in a first direction and an opposed second direction along the axis against the bias of the at least one bias member such that:

when the second locking member is moved in the first direction, the surgical tool may move in the second direction; and

when the first locking member is moved in the second direction, the surgical tool may move in the first direction to provide bidirectional disassembly of the surgical tool from the collet.

21 . The interlocking collet system of claim 17 , wherein the slide at least partially encircles an outer surface of the housing.

22 . The interlocking collet system of claim 1 , wherein the first and second locking members, that respectively correspond with at least one of the first and second attachment surfaces that extend outwardly away from the axis, have an annular configuration around the axis and define an inner diameter, with the at least one of the first and second attachment surfaces that extend outwardly away from the axis having an outer diameter that increases as the at least one of the first and second attachment surfaces extend outwardly further from the axis such that first and second locking members move up the at least one of the first and second attachment surfaces until the inner and outer diameters equal one another.

23 . The interlocking collet system of claim 1 , further comprising a first surgical component and a second surgical component, wherein the collet is coupled to the first surgical component and the surgical tool is coupled to the second surgical component; and

wherein the first surgical component is 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 passive arm component, a surgical table component, and an imaging device component, and the second surgical component is 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 passive arm component, a surgical table component, and an imaging device component.

24 . An interlocking collet system comprising:

an attachment comprising first and second attachment surfaces spaced from one another; and

a collet for selectively retaining the attachment, the collet comprising:

a housing configured to extend along an axis between first and second ends and defining a bore along the axis for selectively disposing and retaining the attachment therein in an installed position;

first and second locking members disposed within the bore of the housing and each being moveable along the axis within the housing; and

at least one bias member disposed within the bore of the housing, with the at least one bias member arranged to position the first locking member along the axis in a first position relative to the housing in which the first locking member is configured to contact the first attachment surface of the attachment and with the at least one bias member arranged to position the second locking member along the axis in a second position relative to the housing in which the second locking member is configured to contact the second attachment surface of the attachment, and wherein the first and second locking members in the first and second positions, respectively, are configured to exert opposing axial forces on the attachment; and

wherein the first and second attachment surfaces are skewed such that the first locking member exerts a force on the first attachment surface that is at least partially directed toward the second locking member and the second locking member simultaneously exerts a force on the second attachment surface that is at least partially directed toward the first locking member.

25 . An interlocking collet system comprising:

an attachment comprising first and second attachment surfaces spaced from one another and a longitudinal axis, the first and second attachment surfaces skewed relative to the longitudinal axis and exhibit mirror symmetry relative to a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the attachment; and

a collet for selectively retaining the attachment, the collet comprising:

a housing configured to extend along an axis between first and second ends and defining a bore along the axis for selectively disposing and retaining the attachment therein in an installed position;

first and second locking members disposed within the bore of the housing and each being moveable along the axis within the housing; and

at least one bias member disposed within the bore of the housing, with the at least one bias member arranged to position the first locking member along the axis in a first position relative to the housing in which the first locking member is configured to contact the first attachment surface of the attachment and with the at least one bias member arranged to position the second locking member along the axis in a second position relative to the housing in which the second locking member is configured to contact the second attachment surface of the attachment, and wherein the first and second locking members in the first and second positions, respectively, are configured to simultaneously exert opposing axial forces on the first and second attachment surfaces of the attachment.