Scissor sleeve assembly protection
AssigneeEthicon, Inc.
InventorBarry Christian Worrell
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A sleeve insertion assembly includes a sleeve inserter defining an inner chamber and having a distal end and a proximal end opposite the distal end, a sleeve receivable within the inner chamber, and a blade guard receivable within the sleeve and having a cylindrical body that defines an interior and an open end. The open end is sized to receive jaw members of an end effector into the interior but prevent the end effector from entering the interior, and the blade guard is forced out of the sleeve when the sleeve is installed on the end effector.
Claims20
A sleeve insertion assembly, comprising:
- a sleeve inserter defining an inner chamber and having a distal end and a proximal end opposite the distal end;
- a sleeve receivable within the inner chamber;
- and
- a blade guard receivable within the sleeve and having a cylindrical body that defines an interior and an open end,
- wherein the open end is sized to receive jaw members of an end effector into the interior but prevent the end effector from entering the interior, and
- wherein the blade guard is forced out of the sleeve when the sleeve is installed on the end effector.
A method of installing a sleeve on an end effector of a surgical tool, comprising:
- bringing a sleeve insertion assembly into proximity of the end effector, the sleeve insertion assembly having a sleeve inserter, the sleeve positioned within the sleeve inserter, and a blade guard received within the sleeve;
- inserting jaw members of the end effector into an interior of the blade guard;
- advancing the sleeve inserter proximally relative to the end effector and thereby advancing the sleeve over the end effector;
- engaging the end effector on the blade guard and thereby displacing the blade guard out of the sleeve as the sleeve inserter advances proximally;
- and
- preventing the jaw members from contacting the sleeve with the blade guard as the sleeve inserter advances proximally.
A sleeve extractor, comprising:
- a cylindrical body having a distal end and a proximal end;
- one or more longitudinally-extending fingers defined in the body;
- and
- a tab provided on an end of each finger and receivable within a notch defined in a shaft adapter or a shaft of a surgical tool, the notch being located proximal to a proximal end of a sleeve,
- wherein the sleeve is removed by locating the tab of each finger in a corresponding notch and retracting the body and the sleeve distally relative to the shaft adapter or the shaft.
A method of removing a sleeve from an end effector, comprising:
- extending a sleeve extractor over the sleeve, the sleeve extension device including a cylindrical body having a distal end and a proximal end, and one or more longitudinally-extending fingers defined in the body;
- axially and angularly aligning the one or more longitudinally-extending fingers with a corresponding one or more notches defined in the shaft adapter or the shaft;
- applying a radial load on the longitudinally-extending fingers and thereby receiving a tab defined on each finger into the corresponding one or more notches;
- and
- moving the sleeve extractor distally relative to the end effector and thereby removing the sleeve from the end effector and the shaft adapter or the shaft.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.