FORCE LIMITING MECHANISM FOR MEDICAL INSTRUMENT

• US 20060235438A1
• Filed: 04/14/2005
• Published: 10/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. (Johnson & Johnson)
• Original Assignee: Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. (Johnson & Johnson)
• Inventors: Huitema, Thomas W., Molitor, Nicholas G., Vitali, Dario, Bertke, Brian D., Koch, Robert L. Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 7,288,098 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 606/142
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/1285 for minimally invasive surgery
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/032 pressure limiting, e.g. hydrostatic
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/034 abutting on parts of the device itself

Abstract

A surgical clip applier and methods for applying surgical clips to a vessel, duct, shunt, etc., during a surgical procedure are provided. In one exemplary embodiment, a surgical clip applier is provided having a housing with a trigger movably coupled thereto and an elongate shaft extending therefrom with opposed jaws formed on a distal end thereof. The trigger is adapted to advance a clip to position the clip between the jaws, and to move the jaws from an open position to a closed position to crimp the clip positioned therebetween.

Claims

1. A surgical device, comprising:

a housing having a trigger movably coupled thereto;

an elongate shaft extending from the housing with opposed jaws formed on a distal end thereof and movable between an open position and a closed position; and

a camming assembly disposed within the housing and the elongate shaft and coupled to the trigger, the camming assembly being adapted to apply a closing force to the jaws upon actuation of the trigger to move the jaws from the open position toward the closed position, and the camming assembly being adapted to transfer the closing force to an overload mechanism disposed within the housing when the closing force is greater than a resistance of the overload mechanism, wherein the resistance of the overload mechanism correlates to a force required to move the jaws from the open position toward the closed position.

2. The surgical device of claim 1, wherein the camming assembly moves relative to a force-receiving surface of the overload mechanism such that the closing force of the camming assembly is applied across the force-receiving surface of the overload mechanism as the trigger is actuated to cause the camming assembly to move the jaws from the open position toward the closed position.

3. The surgical device of claim 2, wherein the resistance increases as the trigger is actuated to cause the camming assembly to move relative to the force-receiving surface and to move the jaws from the open position toward the closed position.

4. The surgical device of claim 2, wherein the camming assembly includes a member that is coupled to the trigger and that is adapted to move across the force-receiving surface of the overload mechanism as the trigger is actuated.

5. The surgical device of claim 4, wherein the overload mechanism includes a housing having a profile link slidably and pivotally disposed therein and having the force-receiving surface formed thereon and positioned adjacent to an opening formed in the housing.

6. The surgical device of claim 5, wherein the force-receiving surface includes a first portion that is adapted to receive a force for pivotally moving the force-receiving member within the housing, and a second portion that is adapted to receive a force for slidably moving the force-receiving member within the housing.

7. The surgical device of claim 5, wherein the overload mechanism includes a biasing assembly that is coupled to the profile link to provide the resistance.

8. The surgical device of claim 7, wherein the biasing assembly is coupled to the profile link by a pivoting assembly, and wherein the pivoting assembly is adapted to pivot upon pivotal movement of the profile link, and the pivoting assembly is adapted to slide upon slidable movement of the profile link to apply a force to the biasing assembly to overcome the resistance.

9. The surgical device of claim 2, wherein the camming assembly is adapted to apply a non-linear closing force to the jaws, and wherein the force-receiving surface is curved to provide a resistance that correlates to the non-linear closing force of the camming assembly.

10. An overload mechanism for use with a surgical device, comprising:

a force-receiving member pivotally and slidably disposed in a housing and having a surface with a first end and an opposed second end; and

a biasing assembly disposed in the housing and adapted to resist movement of the force-receiving member, the resistance increasing from the first end to the second end.

11. The overload mechanism of claim 10, wherein the force-receiving member is disposed adjacent to an opening formed in the housing.

12. The overload mechanism of claim 10, further comprising a pivoting assembly disposed within the housing and coupled between the force-receiving member and the biasing assembly such that pivoting assembly is adapted to transfer a force applied to the force-receiving member to the biasing assembly to overcome the resistance.

13. The overload mechanism of claim 12, wherein the pivoting assembly comprises a toggle link that is pivotally coupled to the force-receiving member, and a pivot link that is pivotally coupled to the toggle link and that is adapted to apply a force to the biasing assembly upon pivotal movement thereof.

14. The overload mechanism of claim 10, wherein the force-receiving member includes a force-receiving surface formed thereon and including a first portion that is adapted to receive a force for pivotally moving the force-receiving member within the housing, and a second portion that is adapted to receive a force for slidably moving the force-receiving member within the housing.

15. The overload mechanism of claim 10, wherein the biasing assembly comprising a spring disposed around a spring post, and a plunger slidably disposed relative to the spring post and having a head formed thereon and adapted to compress the spring upon slidable movement of the plunger toward the spring post.

16. The overload mechanism of claim 14, wherein the force-receiving surface is curved to provide a non-linear resistance.

17. An overload assembly for use with a surgical device, comprising:

an overload mechanism having a force-receiving member that is adapted to resist displacement in response to a force applied thereto, the resistance increasing from a first end to a second opposed end of the force-receiving member; and

an actuation mechanism adapted to actuate jaws formed on a distal end of a surgical device, the actuation mechanism having a portion that is adapted to apply a force to and translate across the force-receiving member from the first to the second end during actuation of the actuation mechanism.

18. The overload assembly of claim 17, wherein the actuation mechanism is adapted to apply a non-linear force to the force-receiving member that increases as the portion of the actuation mechanism translates across the force-receiving member, the resistance of the force-receiving member correlating to the non-linear force of the actuation mechanism.

19. The overload assembly of claim 18, wherein the actuation mechanism includes a camming assembly having a non-linear camming surface that is adapted to produce the non-linear force when the actuation mechanism is actuated.

20. The overload assembly of claim 18, wherein the force-receiving member has a non-linear surface that is adapted to provide the non-linear resistance that correlates to the non-linear closing force of the actuation mechanism.

21. The overload assembly of claim 17, wherein the force-receiving member comprises a rigid member that is slidably and pivotally disposed within a housing.

22. The overload assembly of claim 17, wherein the force-receiving member comprises a flexible band that is adapted to deform when the force applied thereto is greater than the resistance.