Self-locking closure device for percutaneously sealing punctures

A method of making a closure device for sealing a percutaneous puncture in a wall of a body passageway of a living being, the method comprising:

• coupling a filament to an anchor configured to be brought into engagement with an interior of the body passageway and to a plug such that the filament forms a loop extending through a portion of the anchor and a portion of the plug;
• slidably attaching an embryonic lock to the filament such that movement of the filament relative to the embryonic lock in a first direction reduces an interior diameter of the loop, thereby drawing the anchor closer to at least a portion of the plug;
• and
• crimping the embryonic lock to form a lock such that the lock frictionally engages the filament so that the lock is slidable along the filament only in response to application of a force on the lock that overcomes the frictional engagement.

A method of sealing a percutaneous puncture in a body passageway of a living being, the method comprising:

• inserting an anchor coupled to a filament loop in the body passageway through the percutaneous puncture;
• bringing the anchor into engagement with an interior wall of the body passageway;
• applying a tension force to a portion of the filament so that a force is applied to the loop tending to decrease the circumference of the loop, wherein a lock is frictionally slidably engaged with a portion of the filament extending from the circumference of the loop;
• applying a tamping force to the lock in a direction towards the loop and in a direction away from the direction of the applied tension to the portion of the filament, wherein the tamping force is sufficient to overcome the frictional engagement forces so that the lock slides along the filament in a direction towards the anchor, wherein
• the lock is configured to resist movement along the filament in a direction opposite the direction of the tamping force, thereby preventing the circumference of the loop from expanding relative to the circumference of the loop after application of the tamping force and the tension force.