Automatic laparoscopic ligation clip applicator
First Claim
1. A ligation clip applicator for applying each of a plurality of sequentially fed two-piece ligation clips, comprising:
- a handle assembly having an actuator;
an elongated shaft having a proximal end connected to said handle assembly, said shaft housing a plurality of two-piece ligation clips, with a distal-most ligation clip in said shaft disposed in a feed position; and
actuating means, disposed within said shaft, for assembling and sequentially feeding the ligation clips, said actuating means including a clamp for engaging a first piece of the ligation clip disposed in the feed position, a slidable driver for driving a second piece of the ligation clip disposed in the feed position, and a slidable cam operably engaged with said clamp and said driver and operable by actuating said actuator, wherein upon actuation of said cam in a cam-forward stroke said clamp engages the first piece of the ligation clip and holds it stationary and said driver drives the second piece in a forward direction to compress the first piece and close the ligation clip,said actuating means further comprises holding means having retaining springs for preventing movement of the ligation clips in a rearward direction, and an advancer operably connected to said cam and slidable relative to the ligation clips for sequentially advancing the ligation clips in the forward direction and positioning a next-to-distal-most ligation clip in the feed position in said shaft.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A laparoscopic ligation clip applicator for automatically applying a plurality of ligation clips includes a handle assembly having an actuator, an elongated shaft connected to the handle assembly, and an actuating mechanism disposed within the shaft. The actuating mechanism includes a clamp for engaging a first piece of the ligation clip and a slidable driver for driving a second piece of the ligation clip relative to the first piece. The actuating mechanism also includes a hold for preventing rearward movement of the ligation clips, and an advancer for sequentially feeding the ligation clips. A slidable cam, operably connected to the handle assembly, actuates the clamp, the driver and the advancer.
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Citations
50 Claims
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1. A ligation clip applicator for applying each of a plurality of sequentially fed two-piece ligation clips, comprising:
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a handle assembly having an actuator; an elongated shaft having a proximal end connected to said handle assembly, said shaft housing a plurality of two-piece ligation clips, with a distal-most ligation clip in said shaft disposed in a feed position; and actuating means, disposed within said shaft, for assembling and sequentially feeding the ligation clips, said actuating means including a clamp for engaging a first piece of the ligation clip disposed in the feed position, a slidable driver for driving a second piece of the ligation clip disposed in the feed position, and a slidable cam operably engaged with said clamp and said driver and operable by actuating said actuator, wherein upon actuation of said cam in a cam-forward stroke said clamp engages the first piece of the ligation clip and holds it stationary and said driver drives the second piece in a forward direction to compress the first piece and close the ligation clip, said actuating means further comprises holding means having retaining springs for preventing movement of the ligation clips in a rearward direction, and an advancer operably connected to said cam and slidable relative to the ligation clips for sequentially advancing the ligation clips in the forward direction and positioning a next-to-distal-most ligation clip in the feed position in said shaft. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A ligation clip applicator for applying a two-piece ligation clip, comprising:
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a handle assembly having an actuator; an elongated shaft having a proximal end connected to said handle assembly and housing a plurality of two piece ligation clips, with a distal-most ligation clip in said shaft disposed in a feed position at a distal end of said shaft; ligation clip assembling means, disposed within said shaft, for assembling and closing a designated two piece ligation clip disposed in the feed position; ligation clip feeding means, disposed within said shaft, for advancing the ligation clips in a forward direction within said shaft and positioning a next-to-distal-most ligation clip in the feed position; a slidable cam operably connected to said handle assembly for movement in a forward direction in a cam-forward stroke and in a rearward direction in a cam-return stroke, wherein in the cam-forward stroke said slidable cam operably engages said ligation clip assembly means to assemble and close the designated ligation clip, and in the cam-return stroke said cam actuates said ligation clip feeding means to advance the ligation clips; and a cam spring connected to said cam and supported in said shaft, wherein said cam spring is charged during the cam-forward stroke and discharges to initiate the cam-return stroke and retract said cam in the rearward direction.
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7. An automatic laparoscopic ligation clip applicator for applying two-piece ligation clips, comprising:
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a handle having a squeezable trigger; an elongated shaft assembly having a proximal end connected to said handle and housing a plurality of two-piece ligation clips arranged in an array, with a distal-most ligation clip in said shaft assembly disposed in a feed position; a clamp disposed in shaft assembly for engaging a first piece of a designated ligation clip disposed in the feed position and holding the first piece stationary; a driver slidably disposed in said shaft assembly for driving a second piece of the designated ligation clip in the forward direction to compress the stationary first piece and close the designated ligation clip; a holding means disposed in said shaft assembly and having engaging portions for preventing the array of ligation clips from moving in a rearward direction in said shaft; an advancer slidably disposed in said shaft assembly for engaging the array of ligation clips and advancing them in a forward direction; a slidable cam disposed in said shaft assembly and actuated by said handle to slide in a forward direction in a cam-forward stroke and in a rearward direction in a cam-return stroke, said cam operably connected to said driver and said advancer; and a cam spring connected to said cam and supported in said shaft, wherein said cam spring is charged during the cam-forward stroke and discharges to initiate the cam-return stroke and retract said cam in the rearward direction. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A ligation clip applicator for applying two-piece ligation clips, comprising:
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a handle having a squeezable trigger; an elongated shaft assembly having a proximal end connected to said handle and housing a plurality of two-piece ligation clips arranged in an array, with a distal-most ligation clip in said shaft assembly disposed in a feed position; a clamp disposed in said shaft assembly for engaging a first piece of a designated ligation clip disposed in the feed position and holding the first piece stationary; a driver slidably disposed in said shaft assembly for driving a second piece of the designated ligation clip in the forward direction to compress the stationary first piece and close the designated ligation clip; a holding means disposed in said shaft assembly and having engaging portions for preventing the array of ligation clips from moving in a rearward direction in said shaft; an advancer slidably disposed in said shaft assembly for engaging the array of ligation clips and advancing them in a forward direction; and a slidable cam disposed in said shaft assembly and actuated by said handle to slide in a forward direction in a cam-forward stroke and in a rearward direction in a cam-return stroke, said cam operably connected to said driver and said advancer, wherein in the cam-forward stroke said cam actuates said clamp to engage the first piece of the designated ligation clip and actuates said driver to slide in the forward direction and engage the second piece of the designated ligation clip to assemble and close the designated ligation clip. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. A ligation clip applicator for applying each of a plurality of sequentially fed two-piece ligation clips, comprising:
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a handle assembly having an actuator; an elongated shaft extending in a longitudinal direction and having a proximal end connected to said handle assembly, said shaft housing a plurality of two-piece ligation clips, with a distal-most ligation clip in said shaft disposed in a feed position; and actuating means, disposed within said shaft, for assembling and sequentially feeding the ligation clips, said actuating means including a latch for engaging a first piece of the ligation clip disposed in the feed position, a slidable pusher for driving a second piece of the ligation clip disposed in the feed position substantially along the longitudinal direction, and a slidable push rod operably engaged with said pusher and operable by actuating said actuator, wherein upon actuation of said push rod in a push rod forward stroke said latch engages the first piece of the ligation clips and holds it stationary and said pusher drives the second piece in a forward direction to compress the first piece and close the ligation clip. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A ligation clip applicator for applying a two-piece ligation clip, comprising:
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a handle assembly having an actuator; an elongated shaft extending in a longitudinal direction and having a proximal end connected to said handle assembly and housing a plurality of ligation clips, with a distal-most ligation clip in said shaft disposed in a feed position at a distal end of said shaft; ligation clip assembling means, disposed within said shaft, for assembling and closing a designated ligation clip disposed in the feed position; ligation clip feeding means, disposed within said shaft, for advancing the ligation clips in a forward direction within said shaft and positioning a next-to-distal-most ligation clip in the feed position; and a slidable push rod operably connected to said handle assembly for movement in a forward direction in a push rod forward stroke and in a rearward direction in a push rod return stroke, wherein in the push rod forward stroke said slidable push rod operably engages said ligation clip assembly means to assemble and close the designated ligation clip, and in the push rod return stroke said push rod actuates said ligation clip feeding means to advance the ligation clips, wherein said ligation clip assembling means includes a latch for holding stationary a first piece of the designated ligation clip and a slidable pusher for driving a second piece of the designated ligation clip in the forward direction to compress the first piece and close the designated ligation clip. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. An automatic laparoscopic ligation clip applicator for applying two-piece ligation clips, comprising:
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a handle having a squeezable trigger; an elongated shaft assembly having a proximal end connected to said handle and housing a plurality of two-piece ligation clips arranged in an array, with a distal-most ligation clip in said shaft assembly disposed in a feed position; a latch disposed in said shaft assembly for engaging a first piece of a designated ligation clip disposed in the feed position and holding the first piece stationary; a pusher slidably disposed in said shaft assembly for driving a second piece of the designated ligation clip in the forward direction to compress the stationary first piece and close the designated ligation clip; a hold disposed in said shaft assembly and having engaging portions for preventing the array of ligation clips from moving in a rearward direction in said shaft; an advancer slidably disposed in said shaft assembly for engaging the array of ligation clips and advancing them in a forward direction; a rotatable sprocket gear mounted in said shaft and engagable with said advancer; and a slidable push rod disposed in said shaft assembly and actuated by said handle to slide in a forward direction in a push rod forward stroke and in a rearward direction in a push rod return stroke, said push rod connected at its distal end to said pusher and engagable with said sprocket gear to slide said advancer. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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50. A ligation clip applicator for applying each of a plurality of two-piece ligation clips, each ligation clip including a clamp and a clip body movable relative to the clamp to close it about a vessel, said clip applicator comprising:
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means for storing a plurality of the ligation clips in an array with a distal-most ligation clip in an application position, with the array extending in a longitudinal direction of the clip applicator; means, provided at a distal end of the applicator, for releasably holding the clamp of the distal-most ligation clip at the application position; means for moving the clip body in substantially the longitudinal direction of the clip applicator and relative to the clamp, held at the application position, thereby to close the clamp, with said moving means moving relative to said holding means and said moving means and holding means housed in said storing means; means for releasing said holding means to free the now closed distal-most ligation clip from the application position; and means for advancing another ligation clip from the array to the application position, with said advancing means housed with said releasing means in said storing means and operably engaged with said releasing means such that the closed ligation clip is released as the another ligation clip is being advanced.
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Specification