Scalpel blade container
AssigneeSmartstream Pty Ltd.
InventorMichael Sinnott
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The invention resides in a scalpel blade container for containing removed scalpel blades. The container has a hollow body having an internal space with a first section in which a scalpel blade remover is able to be positioned and a second section in which removed scalpel blades can be contained. A backflow preventer is provided that separates the first section and the second section and allows removed scalpel blades to pass from the first section to the second section but prevents removed scalpel blades from passing from the second section back into the first section.
Claims25
A scalpel blade container for containing removed scalpel blades, the scalpel blade container comprising:
- a hollow body having an internal space;
- a first section of the internal space of the hollow body in which an automatically operated scalpel blade remover is able to be positioned;
- a second section of the internal space of the hollow body in which removed scalpel blades are able to be contained;
- and
- a backflow preventer mounted in the hollow body separating the first section of the internal space of the body and the second section of the internal space of the body;
- wherein the backflow preventer allows scalpel blades removed by the automatically operated scalpel blade remover to pass from the first section of the internal space to the second section of the internal space but prevents the removed scalpel blades from passing from the second section of the internal space back into the first section of the internal space and, consequently prevents a removed scalpel blade from interfering with the automatically operated scalpel blade remover, including any ancillary functions of the automatically operated scalpel blade remover including a counting device and/or a shut-off mechanism, or escaping the scalpel blade container.
A scalpel blade remover able to be positioned within a scalpel blade removal container, the scalpel blade remover including:
- a mechanism to automatically remove a scalpel blade from a scalpel handle of a scalpel;
- and
- a backflow preventer attached to the mechanism;
- wherein the backflow preventer is configured to separate an internal space of the removal container into a first section in which the scalpel blade remover is able to be positioned and a second section in which removed scalpel blades are able to be collected and allows the removed scalpel blades from the mechanism to pass from a first side of the backflow preventer to a second side of the backflow preventer but prevent the removed scalpel blades from passing from the second side of the backflow preventer to the first side of the backflow preventer, and consequently prevents a removed scalpel blade from interfering with the mechanism, including any ancillary functions such as a counting device and/or a shut-off mechanism, or escaping the scalpel blade removal container.
A method of preventing removed scalpel blades from interfering with a mechanism of an automatic scalpel removal device, the method comprising:
- inserting a scalpel blade of a scalpel into an automatic scalpel blade remover of a scalpel blade container;
- removing the scalpel blade from a scalpel handle of the scalpel using a mechanism of the automatic scalpel blade remover;
- and
- passing a removed scalpel blade from the mechanism of the automatic scalpel blade remover through a backflow preventer;
- wherein the backflow preventer allows removed scalpel blades from the mechanism of the automatic scalpel blade remover to pass from a first side of the backflow preventer to a second side of the backflow preventer but prevent the removed scalpel blades from passing from the second side of the backflow preventer to the first side of the backflow preventer, and consequently prevents the removed scalpel blade from interfering with the mechanism of the automatic scalpel blade remover, including any ancillary functions of the automatic scalpel blade remover including a counting device and/or a shut-off mechanism, or escaping the scalpel blade container.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.