Retractable surgical scalpel
First Claim
1. A surgical instrument comprising:
- a hollow handle having an end slot and a side slot;
retraction means for securably moving a scalpel blade between first and second positions relative to the handle, one of which is an extended, in-use position wherein the scalpel blade extends out of the handle through the end slot, and the other of which is a retracted, non-use position wherein the scalpel blade is wholly disposed within the handle;
the retraction means including a first sliding element securable to a scalpel blade and having at least one finger extending therefrom, the finger having a first contoured portion engageable, when the retraction means is in the first position, with a second contoured portion of the handle, wherein the first and second contoured portions are substantially complementary such that the finger must deflect to permit disengagement of the first contoured portion of the finger from the second contoured portion of the handle so that the retraction means can be moved from the first position toward the second position; and
locking means for locking the retraction means in one of the first and second positions;
the locking means including a second sliding element moveable between a locked position and an unlocked position and having a cam that permits deflection of the finger of the first sliding element when the second sliding element is in the unlocked position and substantially inhibits deflection of the finger of the first sliding element when the second sliding element is in the locked position.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A surgical instrument includes a hollow handle having an end slot and a side slot and a blade carrier securable to a scalpel blade and moveable between first and second positions relative to the handle. One of the first and second positions is an extended, in-use position wherein the scalpel blade extends out of the handle through the end slot. The other position is a retracted, non-use position wherein the scalpel blade is wholly disposed within the handle. At least one finger extends from the blade carrier and has a first contoured portion engageable, when the blade carrier is in the first position, with a second contoured portion of the handle. The first and second contoured portions are substantially complementary such that the finger must deflect to permit disengagement of the first contoured portion of the finger from the second contoured portion of the handle so that the blade carrier can be moved from the first position toward the second position. A locking cam is moveable between a locked position wherein the locking cam substantially inhibits deflection of the finger of the blade carrier and an unlocked position wherein the locking cam permits deflection of the finger of the blade carrier. A method of using this surgical instrument includes the steps of moving the locking cam to the unlocked position if the locking cam is in the locked position, moving the blade carrier from the first position to the second position or from the second position to the first position, and moving the locking cam to the locked position.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A surgical instrument comprising:
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a hollow handle having an end slot and a side slot; retraction means for securably moving a scalpel blade between first and second positions relative to the handle, one of which is an extended, in-use position wherein the scalpel blade extends out of the handle through the end slot, and the other of which is a retracted, non-use position wherein the scalpel blade is wholly disposed within the handle; the retraction means including a first sliding element securable to a scalpel blade and having at least one finger extending therefrom, the finger having a first contoured portion engageable, when the retraction means is in the first position, with a second contoured portion of the handle, wherein the first and second contoured portions are substantially complementary such that the finger must deflect to permit disengagement of the first contoured portion of the finger from the second contoured portion of the handle so that the retraction means can be moved from the first position toward the second position; and locking means for locking the retraction means in one of the first and second positions; the locking means including a second sliding element moveable between a locked position and an unlocked position and having a cam that permits deflection of the finger of the first sliding element when the second sliding element is in the unlocked position and substantially inhibits deflection of the finger of the first sliding element when the second sliding element is in the locked position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A surgical instrument comprising:
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a hollow handle having an end slot and a side slot; and a blade carrier securable to a scalpel blade and moveable between first and second positions relative to the handle, one of said first and second positions being an extended, in-use position wherein the scalpel blade extends out of the handle through the end slot, and the other of said first and second positions being a retracted, non-use position wherein the scalpel blade is wholly disposed within the handle; the blade carrier having at least one finger extending therefrom, the finger having a first contoured portion engageable, when the blade carrier is in the first position, with a second contoured portion of the handle, wherein the first and second contoured portions are substantially complementary such that the finger must deflect to permit disengagement of the first contoured portion of the finger from the second contoured portion of the handle so that the blade carrier can be moved from the first position toward the second position; and a locking cam moveable between a locked position wherein the locking cam substantially inhibits deflection of the finger of the blade carrier and an unlocked position wherein the locking cam permits deflection of the finger of the blade carrier. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of locking a scalpel blade of a surgical instrument having a hollow handle with an end slot and a slide slot, a retraction means for securably moving a scalpel blade between first and second positions, one of which is an extended, in-use position wherein the scalpel blade extends out of the handle through the end slot, and the other of which is a retracted, non-use position wherein the scalpel blade is wholly disposed within the handle, said retraction means including a first sliding element securable to a scalpel blade and having at least one finger extending therefrom, the finger having a first contoured portion engageable, when the retraction means is in the first position, with a second contoured portion of the handle, wherein the first and second contoured portions are substantially complementary such that the finger must deflect to permit disengagement of the first contoured portion of the finger from the second contoured portion of the handle so that the retraction means can be moved from the first position toward the second position, and a locking means including a second sliding element moveable between a locked position and an unlocked position and having a cam that permits deflection of the finger of the first sliding element when the second sliding element is in the unlocked position and substantially inhibits deflection of the finger of the first sliding element when the second sliding element is in the locked position, the method comprising the steps of:
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moving the retraction means to one of the first and second positions relative to the handle; and locking the retraction means in one of the first and second positions with the locking means.
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20. A method of using a retractable surgical scalpel including a hollow handle having an end slot and a side slot, a blade carrier securable to a scalpel blade and moveable between first and second positions relative to the handle and having a finger having a first contoured portion engageable with a substantially complementary second contoured portion of the handle when the blade carrier is in the first position and with a substantially complementary third contoured portion of the handle when the blade carrier is in the second position, and a locking cam moveable between a locked position wherein deflection of the finger is substantially inhibited and an unlocked position wherein deflection of the finger is permitted, the method comprising the steps of:
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moving the locking cam to the unlocked position if the locking cam is in the locked position; moving the blade carrier from one of the first and second positions to the other of the first and second positions; and moving the locking cam to the locked position.
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Specification