Ratcheting strut
AssigneeBiomet Manufacturing, LLC
InventorsJeffery T. Cresina, Mark Lester
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A ratcheting strut comprising: (a) a ratchet box including a through passage; (b) a first tube sized to extend at least partially through the passage, the first tube including teeth that engage corresponding teeth of the ratchet box; (c) a second tube mounted to the ratchet box in parallel with the first tube, the second tube operatively coupled to a second fixation adapter; and, (d) a threaded rod operatively coupled to a nut and a first fixation adapter, the threaded rod repositionably mounted to the first tube, where the nut is operatively coupled and repositionable with respect to the first tube.
Claims44
A ratcheting strut comprising:
- a ratchet box including a through passage;
- a first tube sized to extend at least partially through the passage, the first tube including teeth that engage corresponding teeth associated with the ratchet box;
- a second tube mounted to the ratchet box in parallel with the first tube, the second tube operatively coupled to a second fixation adapter;
- and,
- a threaded rod operatively coupled to a nut and a first fixation adapter, the threaded rod repositionably mounted to the first tube;
- wherein the nut is operatively coupled and repositionable with respect to the first tube.
A bone fracture fixation device comprising:
- a first tube being repositionable with respect to a second tube in predetermined longitudinal increments, wherein the first tube is associated with a gear configured to engage the second tube to reposition the first tube with respect to the second tube in a first direction or a second direction opposite the first direction;
- wherein at least one of the first tube and the second tube includes an extension operatively coupled thereto that is repositionable to increase an aggregate length of at least one of the first tube and the second tube, wherein the extension is repositionable in longitudinal increments smaller than the predetermined longitudinal increments.
A method of using a fracture fixation device that includes opposing longitudinal tubes that are repositionable with respect to one another to increase or decrease a total distance between opposing ends of the longitudinal tubes, the method comprising:
- repositioning a first of the longitudinal tubes with respect to a second of the longitudinal tubes in a first direction by using a gear, where a first series of teeth associated with the first longitudinal tube engages the gear, and where a first blocking actuator concurrently engages the first series of teeth;
- wherein opposite ends of the longitudinal tubes are each mounted to a fracture fixation adapter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.