CARTRIDGE WITH A PLURALITY OF C-SHAPED LIGATURE CLIPS

• US 20120048759A1
• Filed: 08/26/2011
• Published: 03/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aesculap AG (B. Braun Holding GmbH & Co. KG)
• Original Assignee: Aesculap AG (B. Braun Holding GmbH & Co. KG)
• Inventors: Disch, Alexander, Mayenberger, Rupert
• Granted Patent: US 8,585,718 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 206/339
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/1222 Packages or dispensers therefor clip magazines incorporated in a clip-applying instrument A61B17/128; for surgical articles A61B50/30
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/1285 for minimally invasive surgery

Abstract

In order to simplify the structure of the cartridge and reduce the structural size in a cartridge with a plurality of C-shaped ligature clips, with a housing accommodating ligature clips arranged in a row one behind the other and parallel to one another, with a transport element, which can be slid forward and back relative to the housing in the direction of the row and which when sliding forward and back relative to the housing causes at least one ligature clip to advance towards a discharge end of the cartridge, it is proposed that the ligature clips each have two legs connected by means of a bridge section and are divided by a longitudinal slit into two adjacent sections, which are connected to one another in the region of the free ends of the legs, and that the transport element passes through the ligature clips arranged in a row in the space between the two adjacent sections of the ligature clips.

Claims

1. Cartridge with a plurality of C-shaped ligature clips, comprising a housing accommodating the ligature clips arranged in a row one behind the other and parallel to one another, a transport element, which can be slid forward and back relative to the housing in the direction of the row and which when sliding forward and back relative to the housing causes at least one ligature clip to advance towards a discharge end of the cartridge, wherein the ligature clips each have two legs connected by means of a bridge section and are divided by a longitudinal slit into two adjacent sections, which are connected to one another in the region of the free ends of the legs, and the transport element passes through the ligature clips arranged in a row in the space between the two adjacent sections of the ligature clips.

2. Cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the transport element abuts against the inner sides of the adjacent sections of the ligature clips and there thus results a mutual guidance between the ligature clips and the transport element.

3. Cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the transport element has the form of a flat strip.

4. Cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the ligature clips are supported in the housing to be displaceable in the direction of the row by a guide means.

5. Cartridge according to claim 4, wherein guide members of the guide means are arranged on the housing and the ligature clips are in guiding contact with the guide members.

6. Cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the guide members of the guide means are arranged on the housing, and guide elements arranged on the transport element and passing through the space between adjacent sections of the ligature clips are in guiding contact with the guide members.

7. Cartridge according to claim 6, wherein the guide elements of the transport element are resilient, so that ligature clips can be slid past them, wherein the guide elements are elastically displaceable into the inner space between the legs of the ligature clips.

8. Cartridge according to claim 6, wherein the spacings of adjacent guide elements of the transport element are different from the spacing of adjacent ligature clips in the housing or from a multiple of this spacing.

9. Cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the ligature clips are guided loosely relative to the transport element and/or relative to the housing.

10. Cartridge according to claim 1, wherein holding projections elastically deformable between an abutment position and a release position are arranged on the housing or a part connected thereto and on the transport element, and in the abutment position said holding projections abut against the ligature clips and prevent a displacement of the ligature clips against the direction of advance and are deformed by the ligature clips during their advance into the release position, in which the ligature clips can be moved past them in the direction of advance.

11. Cartridge according to claim 10, wherein the number and spacings of the holding projections, possibly with the exception of the ligature clip furthest forward, are equal to the number and spacings of the ligature clips of the filled cartridge.

12. Cartridge according to claim 10, wherein the spacings of adjacent holding projections are different.

13. Cartridge according to claim 10, wherein only one respective holding projection is provided on the transport element and on the housing or the part connected thereto for each group of a plurality of ligature clips arranged in a row one behind the other.

14. Cartridge according to claim 10, wherein there is arranged adjacent to the transport element in the space between the adjacent sections of the ligature clips, a retaining element, which is connected to the housing and is non-displaceable relative to the housing in the direction of the row, and which comprises the elastically deformable holding projections.

15. Cartridge according to claim 14, wherein the transport element and the retaining element are configured as flat strips abutting flat against one another.

16. Cartridge according to claim 15, wherein the transport element has a longitudinal groove, in which the retaining element is received in a guided manner.

17. Cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a feed member follows the last ligature clip of the row and is displaced in the direction of advance in the same manner as the ligature clips.

18. Cartridge according to claim 17, wherein the feed member advances the last ligature clip and possibly ligature clips arranged in front of this and in contact with the respective following ligature clip in the direction of the discharge end of the cartridge.

19. Cartridge according to claim 18, wherein the feed member is resiliently-biased in the direction of advance.

20. Cartridge according to claim 17, wherein the feed member has an inner space, into which the transport element enters in a guided manner when the feed member advances, so that the feed member guides the transport element in the region in which the transport element had previously been guided by ligature clips.

21. Cartridge according to claim 10, wherein holding projections are arranged on the transport element only for the ligature clip furthest forward adjacent to the discharge end of the cartridge.

22. Cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a first transport element and a second transport element are arranged in the space between the adjacent sections of the ligature clips so that they can be slid forward and back relative to the housing, the second transport element of which effecting the advance of the ligature clip furthest forward and the first transport element effecting the stepwise advance of all following ligature clips.

23. Cartridge according to claim 22, wherein the first transport element and the second transport element are configured as flat strips abutting flat against one another.

24. Cartridge according to claim 23, wherein one of the two transport elements has a longitudinal groove, in which the other transport element is received in a guided manner.

25. Cartridge according to claim 1, wherein for sliding a transport element forward and back, a slide is disposed on the housing so that it can be slid forward and back in the direction of advance, said slide being connected to the transport element by means of intermeshing projections and recesses, so that the slide entrains the transport element at least during a portion of its sliding movement.

26. Cartridge according to claim 25, wherein in the case of a cartridge with a first transport element and with a second transport element in the space between adjacent sections of the ligature clips the slide is in an entrainment connection with both transport elements, whereby the slide entrains the first transport element and the second transport element over different portions of its own sliding movement.

27. Cartridge according to claim 26, wherein the first transport element, which effects the stepwise advance of all ligature clips with the exception of the one furthest forward, is entrained only over a portion of the sliding movement of the slide, whereas the second transport element, which displaces the ligature clip furthest forward to the discharge end of the cartridge and possibly beyond that, is entrained over the entire sliding movement of the slide.

28. Cartridge according to claim 27, wherein the slide engages by means of a projection into a recess of the first transport element, which in displacement direction is longer than the projection and shorter than the sliding movement of the slide.

29. Cartridge according to claim 28, wherein the slide engages by means of a projection into a recess of the second transport element, which in displacement direction is equal in length to the projection.

30. Cartridge according to claim 25, wherein the entrainment connection between slide and transport element is arranged along the transport element so that during the forward and/or return movement the transport element is under tension at least in a portion of its longitudinal extent and not under compression.

31. Cartridge according to claim 30, wherein a first entrainment connection for the advance in the direction of the discharge end of the cartridge and a second entrainment connection for the opposed return movement are provided between the slide and transport element, and the first entrainment connection lies closer to the discharge end than the second entrainment connection.

32. Cartridge according to claim 31, wherein the entrainment connection adjacent to the discharge end of the cartridge comprises an elastically deformable entrainment means, which can slide elastically past a ligature clip located behind the slide during the return movement thereof.

33. Cartridge according to claim 10, wherein the holding projections on the transport element and/or on the retaining element are configured as pivoted-out tongues which are separated out of the plane of the transport element and/or the retaining element by a C-shaped dividing line and which can be pivoted elastically into the plane of the transport element and/or the retaining element.

34. Cartridge according to claim 10, wherein the holding projections on the transport element are arms lying in the plane of the transport element, which protrude upwards and/or downwards from a longitudinal edge and can be pivoted elastically in towards the opposite longitudinal edge of the transport element, and which arms in the pivoted-out state pass from the inside outwards through the space between the adjacent sections of the legs of the ligature clips and in the pivoted-out state abut against the connection of the adjacent sections of the ligature clip at the free end of the legs.

35. Cartridge according to claim 34, wherein in the pivoted-out state the arms are guided outside the legs of the ligature clips in a longitudinal guide means of the housing.

36. Cartridge according to claim 10, wherein in place of elastically deformable holding projections on the transport elements and/or the retaining element, non-deformable holding projections are provided, which lie in the plane of the transport element and/or the retaining element and protrude upwards and/or downwards from a longitudinal edge, and which on one side have a slide surface, on which the ligature clips can slide on approach with elastic expansion and thus can slide past the holding projection, whereas on the opposite side they have an abutment surface, which on approach abuts against the ligature clip and thus prevents the ligature clip from sliding past the holding projection.

37. Cartridge according to claim 36, wherein the holding projection has the form of a saw tooth.

38. Cartridge according to claim 1, wherein in the case of the ligature clip furthest forward in the row, the transport element projects into the space between the sections.

39. Cartridge according to claim 1, wherein there are provided at the discharge end of the cartridge clamping elements, which during discharge and/or after discharge from the cartridge secure the ligature clip furthest forward against displacement along the row.

40. Cartridge according to claim 39, wherein the clamping elements are formed by the clamping jaws, which adjoin the cartridge in the direction of advance, between which the ligature clip furthest forward is inserted after discharging from the cartridge and the spacing of which is dimensioned so that the legs of the ligature clip are bent towards one another.

41. Cartridge according to claim 39, wherein the clamping elements are holding members, which are arranged on the cartridge, penetrate into the feed path of the ligature clip furthest forward, abut against the ligature clip furthest forward when sliding past and are thus elastically removable thereby out of the feed path.