Duckbill seal protector
AssigneeEthicon Endo-Surgery, Inc.
InventorPaul Franer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A seal for use in conjunction with a trocar assembly includes a seal body adapted for selectively opening and closing the seal, and a protector adjacent the seal body for protecting the seal body from instruments passing through the seal body. The protector includes at least one flap mounted for pivotal movement, the flap including an inner edge located generally toward a center of the seal and an outer edge mounted to a support member which maintains the flap in a position above the seal body. The flap is shaped and dimensioned such that the majority of the seal body is covered by the outline of the flap.
Claims18
A seal for use in conjunction with a trocar assembly, comprising:
- a seal body adapted for selectively opening and closing;
- a protector adjacent the seal body for protecting the seal body from instruments passing through the seal body;
- the protector including:
- at least one flap mounted for pivotal movement, the flap including an inner edge located generally toward a center of the seal and an outer edge mounted to a support member which maintains the flap in a position above the seal body, wherein the flap is shaped and dimensioned such that the majority of the seal body is covered by the outline of the flap.
A trocar assembly, comprising:
- a trocar cannula including a proximal end and distal end;
- and
- a trocar housing coupled to the proximal end of the trocar cannula for receiving and guiding an obturator through the trocar cannula, the trocar housing includes an open proximal end portion defining an opening provided with a seal assembly, the seal assembly including a protector for protecting a seal body of the seal assembly from instruments passing through the seal body;
- the protector including at least one flap mounted for pivotal movement, the flap including an inner edge located generally toward the center of the seal and an outer edge mounted to a support member which maintains the flap in a position above the seal body, wherein the flap is shaped and dimensioned such that the majority of the seal body is covered by an outline of the flap.
A trocar assembly, comprising:
- a trocar cannula including a proximal end and distal end;
- and
- a trocar housing coupled to the proximal end of the trocar cannula for receiving and guiding an obturator through the trocar cannula, the trocar housing includes an open proximal end portion defining an opening provided with a proximal seal assembly and a distal seal assembly, the distal seal assembly including a protector for protecting a seal body of the distal seal assembly from instruments passing through the seal body;
- the protector including at least one flap mounted for pivotal movement, the flap including an inner edge located generally toward the center of the seal and an outer edge mounted to a support member which maintains the flap in a position above the seal body, wherein the flap is shaped and dimensioned such that the majority of the seal body is covered by an outline of the flap.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.