Surgical clip applier with reciprocating clip sleeve and dual ratchet mechanism
First Claim
1. A surgical clip applier, comprising:
- a housing comprising a pair of housing sections mounted together for pivotal movement about a pivot axis;
an elongated clip sleeve adapted to receive a plurality of surgical clips arranged front to back in a row, said clip sleeve being mounted for longitudinal reciprocating movement relative to said housing;
a pair of clip retaining jaws mounted on said clip sleeve and located adjacent to an open front end of said clip sleeve;
a pusher mounted on said clip sleeve for engaging the rearmost clip in the row, said pusher being movable one step at a time along said clip sleeve to advance the row of clips toward said open front end of said clip sleeve;
ratchet means operable each time said clip sleeve is reciprocated for advancing said pusher and the row of clips by one-step along said clip sleeve, each step corresponding to the length of one clip in the row; and
cam means operable when said housing sections are pivoted together for reciprocating said clip sleeve longitudinally to retract and advance said clip sleeve relative to said housing, said clip retaining jaws engaging the frontmost clip in the row as said clip sleeve is retracted and advancing the frontmost clip from said housing as said clip sleeve is advanced.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A surgical clip applier includes a pair of pivotal housing sections on which are provided a pair of clip actuating jaws. An elongated clip sleeve which receives a plurality of surgical clips arranged front to back in a row is mounted for longitudinal reciprocating movement between the housing sections. The clip sleeve includes a pair of clip retaining jaws adjacent to its open front to receive and hold a surgical clip advanced from the clip sleeve between the clip actuating jaws on the housing sections. A pusher is mounted on the clip sleeve for engaging the rearmost clip in the row. The surgical clip applier includes a ratchet mechanism which is operable each time the clip sleeve is reciprocated to advance the pusher and the row of clips by one step corresponding to the length of one surgical clip in the row. The ratchet mechanism includes a first ratchet on the clip sleeve and a second ratchet on one of the housing sections which are engaged by pawls on opposite sides of the pusher. The surgical clip applier operates by a double pump action in which the housing sections are twice pivoted together and released. In the first pump action, the clip sleeve is reciprocated to load the frontmost surgical clip between the clip retaining jaws and to advance the surgical clip to a load position between the clip actuating jaws. In the second pump action, the clip actuating jaws are pivoted into engagement with the clip retaining jaws to actuate the surgical clip held by the clip retaining jaws.
425 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A surgical clip applier, comprising:
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a housing comprising a pair of housing sections mounted together for pivotal movement about a pivot axis; an elongated clip sleeve adapted to receive a plurality of surgical clips arranged front to back in a row, said clip sleeve being mounted for longitudinal reciprocating movement relative to said housing; a pair of clip retaining jaws mounted on said clip sleeve and located adjacent to an open front end of said clip sleeve; a pusher mounted on said clip sleeve for engaging the rearmost clip in the row, said pusher being movable one step at a time along said clip sleeve to advance the row of clips toward said open front end of said clip sleeve; ratchet means operable each time said clip sleeve is reciprocated for advancing said pusher and the row of clips by one-step along said clip sleeve, each step corresponding to the length of one clip in the row; and cam means operable when said housing sections are pivoted together for reciprocating said clip sleeve longitudinally to retract and advance said clip sleeve relative to said housing, said clip retaining jaws engaging the frontmost clip in the row as said clip sleeve is retracted and advancing the frontmost clip from said housing as said clip sleeve is advanced. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A surgical clip applier for applying a plurality of surgical clips one at a time from a clip sleeve to a tissue flap, comprising:
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a housing comprising first and second housing sections mounted together for pivotal movement about a pivot axis, each housing section having a front portion extending forwardly beyond the pivot axis to form a clip actuating jaw; an elongated clip sleeve mounted for longitudinal reciprocating movement relative to said housing between a forward position and a retracted position, said clip sleeve being adapted to receive a plurality of surgical clips arranged front to back in a row; each of said surgical clips comprising a tubular body having a pair of tissue clamping jaws defined by an elongated slit extending across the front of said body and a pair of flanges extending rearwardly from opposite sides of said body at positions remote from said slit, said tissue clamping jaws being connected by a flexible bridge at the rear of said body whereby said body may be distended from its original tubular shape by pressure applied to said flanges; said clip sleeve including a pair of clip retaining jaws adjacent to an open front end of said clip sleeve and positioned between said clip actuating jaws with said clip sleeve located in said forward position; a pusher mounted on said clip sleeve for engaging the rearmost clip in the row, said pusher being movable one step at a time along said clip sleeve to advance the row of clips toward said open front end of said clip sleeve; ratchet means operable each time said clip sleeve is reciprocated for advancing said pusher and the row of clips by one step along said clip sleeve, each step corresponding to the length of one surgical clip in the row; and cam means operable when said housing sections are pivoted together for a first time without a surgical clip between said clip retaining jaws for reciprocating said clip sleeve longitudinally relative to said housing between the forward position and the retracted position, said clip retaining jaws engaging the flanges of the frontmost clip in the row as said clip sleeve is moved to its retracted position and advancing the frontmost clip between said clip actuating jaws as said clip sleeve is moved to its forward position, said clip actuating jaws being movable into engagement with said clip retaining jaws when said housing sections are pivoted together for a second time with a surgical clip between said clip retaining jaws to apply pressure to the flanges and open the surgical clip to receive the tissue flap therein. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A surgical clip applier, comprising:
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a housing; an elongated clip sleeve adapted to receive a plurality of surgical clips arranged front to back in a row, said clip sleeve being mounted for longitudinal reciprocating movement relative to said housing; a pusher mounted on said clip sleeve for engaging the rearmost clip in the row, said pusher being movable one step at a time along said clip sleeve to advance the row of clips toward an open front end of said clip sleeve; ratchet means operable each time said clip sleeve is reciprocated for advancing said pusher and the row of clips by one step along said clip sleeve, each step corresponding to the length of one clip in the row, said ratchet means including a first ratchet mechanism operable when said clip sleeve is retracted for advancing said pusher and the row of surgical clips by one step relative to said clip sleeve and a second ratchet mechanism operable when said clip sleeve is advanced for advancing said pusher and the row of surgical clips by one step relative to said housing; and means for reciprocating said clip sleeve relative to said housing to advance the row of clips toward said front end of said clip sleeve and to move the frontmost clip in the row outward from said front end of said clip sleeve. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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Specification