Trocar seal with reduced contact area
First Claim
1. A valve for use in a trocar assembly, comprising:
- a flange having an aperture therethrough;
a sealing wall extending distally from the flange and having an inner surface and a distal end that is movable between a sealed closed position and an open position in which it is configured to receive an instrument therethrough; and
at least two activation extensions formed on the sealing wall, spaced apart from each other when the distal end of the sealing wall is in the closed position, the activation extensions being configured such that the distal end is moved to the open position by an instrument contacting the activation extensions without the instrument contacting the distal end of the sealing wall;
wherein distal-most ends of the activation extensions are closer to a longitudinal axis extending through the flange than the inner surface of the sealing wall when the sealing wall is in the sealed closed position.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Seal assemblies or valves, generally for use in trocar assemblies, are provided for reducing the amount of contact between an instrument being passed into and out of a trocar assembly and an inner surface of a sealing wall of such seal assemblies or valves. In one exemplary embodiment a valve includes an activation extension that is formed on the inner surface of the sealing wall of the valve and is configured such that a distal end of the sealing wall is moved to the open position by an instrument contacting the activation extension. In one embodiment the instrument does not come into contact with the inner surface of the sealing wall during the procedure. In another embodiment a distal-most end of the activation extension can be closer to a longitudinal axis extending through the flange than the inner surface of the sealing wall.
259 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A valve for use in a trocar assembly, comprising:
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a flange having an aperture therethrough; a sealing wall extending distally from the flange and having an inner surface and a distal end that is movable between a sealed closed position and an open position in which it is configured to receive an instrument therethrough; and at least two activation extensions formed on the sealing wall, spaced apart from each other when the distal end of the sealing wall is in the closed position, the activation extensions being configured such that the distal end is moved to the open position by an instrument contacting the activation extensions without the instrument contacting the distal end of the sealing wall; wherein distal-most ends of the activation extensions are closer to a longitudinal axis extending through the flange than the inner surface of the sealing wall when the sealing wall is in the sealed closed position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A trocar assembly, comprising:
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a housing with a proximal instrument seal adapted to form a seal around an instrument inserted therethrough, and a distal zero-closure valve having a seal face and at least two ridges formed on an inner surface thereof, spaced apart from each other in the absence of an instrument inserted through the housing and configured to prevent contact between an instrument inserted therethrough and the seal face of the zero-closure valve; wherein a distal-most end of the at least two ridges is closer to a longitudinal axis extending through the zero-closure valve than the inner surface of the zero-closure valve in the absence of an instrument inserted through the housing. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. A valve for use in a trocar assembly, comprising:
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a flange having an aperture therethrough; a plurality of seal elements extending distally from the flange, each seal element having an inner surface and a distal end that is movable between a sealed closed position and an open position in which it is configured to receive an instrument therethrough; and at least two activation extensions, the activation extensions being formed on separate seal elements and being spaced apart from each other when the distal ends of the seal elements are in the closed position, the activation extensions being configured such that the distal ends are moved to the open position by an instrument contacting the activation extensions without the instrument contacting the distal ends of the seal elements; wherein distal-most ends of the activation extensions are closer to a longitudinal axis extending through the flange than the inner surfaces of the seal elements when the seal elements are in the sealed closed position. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification