Surgical clip applier and method of assembly

• US 8,336,556 B2
• Filed: 09/26/2011
• Issued: 12/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Covidien LP (Medtronic Plc)
• Original Assignee: Covidien LP (Medtronic Plc)
• Inventors: Zergiebel, Earl M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nash, Brian D
• Application Number:
  US13/245,072
• Publication Number:
  US 20120042497A1
• Time in Patent Office: 456 Days
• Field of Search: 227/175.1, 227/19, 294/28, 128/898
• US Class Current: 128/898
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/1285 for minimally invasive surgery
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00115 with audible or visual output with imaging means A61B90/37, A61B34/20
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00407 Ratchet means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00464 for use with different instruments with hole for different instruments A61B2017/22072
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00526 Methods of manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/2923 Toothed members, e.g. rack and pinion
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/038 during shipment
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/0803 Counting the number of times an instrument is used
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/0811 for the position of a particular part of an instrument with respect to the rest of the instrument, e.g. position of the anvil of a stapling instrument
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/0814 Preventing re-use
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/76 Manipulators having means for providing feel, e.g. force or tactile feedback
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49826 Assembling or joining

Abstract

A method of assembling any one of a relatively small, medium and large clip applier for delivering relatively small, medium and large clips includes providing a housing for a handle assembly, selecting a channel assembly, connecting the channel assembly to the housing, providing a pusher bar in the selected channel assembly that extends to the handle assembly, and connecting a motion multiplier system to the pusher bar. The channel assembly is selected from a first channel assembly containing small surgical clips, a second channel assembly containing medium surgical clips, and a third channel assembly containing large surgical clips. Each channel assembly has an associated stroke length. The motion multiplier system varies the stroke of the pusher bar in accordance with the associated stroke length such that, upon firing, the pusher bar is translated the associated stroke length to load one of the clips into jaws of the clip applier.

Claims

1. A method of assembling any one of a relatively small scaled surgical clip applier scaled to deliver relatively small surgical clips, a relatively medium scaled surgical clip applier scaled to deliver relatively medium surgical clips, and a relatively large scaled surgical clip applier scaled to deliver relatively large surgical clips, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a housing for a handle assembly;

selecting a channel assembly from at least a first channel assembly including a plurality of small surgical clips loaded therein, a second channel assembly including a plurality of medium surgical clips loaded therein, and a third channel assembly including a plurality of large surgical clips loaded therein, wherein each of the first, second and third channel assemblies has an associated stroke length required to load one of the respectively scaled clips into jaws of the clip applier upon firing;

connecting the selected channel assembly to the housing;

providing a pusher bar in the selected channel assembly, wherein the pusher bar extends to the handle assembly;

connecting a motion multiplier system to the pusher bar, the motion multiplier system configured to vary a stroke length of the pusher bar in accordance with the associated stroke length such that, upon firing, the pusher bar is translated the associated stroke length to load one of the respectively scaled clips into jaws of the clip applier, the motion multiplier system including an accelerator rack and a bell crank gear;

positioning the accelerator rack for slidable disposition within the housing;

positioning the bell crank gear for pivotable disposition within the housing; and

engaging the bell crank gear with the accelerator rack such that translation of the accelerator rack effects rotation of the bell crank gear.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of selecting a particularly sized pusher bar.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of coupling the pusher bar to the bell crank gear such that rotation of the bell crank gear effects translation of the pusher bar.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the motion multiplier system varies the rotation of the bell crank gear to thereby vary the stroke length of the pusher bar in accordance with the required stroke length.

5. A method of assembling any one of a relatively small scaled surgical clip applier scaled to deliver relatively small surgical clips, a relatively medium scaled surgical clip applier scaled to deliver relatively medium surgical clips, and a relatively large scaled surgical clip applier, scaled to deliver relatively large surgical clips, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a housing for a handle assembly;

selecting a particularly sized channel assembly;

connecting the particularly sized channel assembly to the housing, wherein the channel assembly includes a plurality of respectively scaled surgical clips loaded therein;

providing a pusher bar in the channel assembly, wherein the pusher bar extends to the handle assembly; and

connecting a motion multiplier system to the pusher bar, wherein the motion multiplier system varies a stroke length of the pusher bar upon a firing of one of a relatively small, medium and large scaled clip applier to load the respective small, medium and large clip into jaws of the clip applier.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the channel assembly is selected from a first channel assembly including a plurality of small surgical clips loaded therein, a second channel assembly including a plurality of medium surgical clips loaded therein, and a third channel assembly including a plurality of large surgical clips loaded therein.

7. The method according to claim 5, further comprising the step of selecting a particularly sized housing in accordance with the selected particularly sized channel assembly.

8. The method according to claim 5, further comprising the step of selecting a particularly sized pusher bar in accordance with the selected particularly sized channel assembly.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the motion multiplier system is connected to the pusher bar such that rotation of motion multiplier system effects translation of the pusher bar.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein rotation of the motion multiplier system is varied to thereby vary the stroke length of the pusher bar in accordance with a required stroke length of the selected particularly sized channel assembly.