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US 5,250,063 AGranted
Surgical scalpel with retractable guard
AssigneeLeonard Bloom
InventorsMichael R. Abidin, Steven P. Lehmbeck
Life of this patent
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AssigneeLeonard Bloom
InventorsMichael R. Abidin, Steven P. Lehmbeck
Estimating the term…
A surgical scalpel is provided with a retractable guard for its cutting blade. The scalpel includes a resiliently-biased locking means and a releasing mechanism for, alternatively, selectively locking the guard in an extended position for covering the blade and in a retracted position for exposing the blade. The guard is disposed on the body of the scalpel for sliding movement between its extended and retracted positions--with the use of only one hand--and without requiring the surgeon, nurse and/or assistant to take his or her eyes away from the patient. The locking mechanism produces a auditory sensory warning to signal to the user thereof that the guard is locked into either its extended or retracted position, without the necessity of visually observing the scalpel, and the locking and releasing mechanisms may be tactually located by the user and activated without visually observing the scalpel.
A surgical scalpel, comprised of:
A surgical scalpel, comprised of:
A surgical scalpel, comprised of:
A cutting blade guard for a surgical scalpel of the type having a body and a surgical cutting blade carried by the body of the scalpel, the cutting blade guard comprised of:
In combination, a surgical scalpel, a surgical cutting blade therefore and a surgical cutting blade guard, the combination comprised of:
In combination, a surgical scalpel, a surgical cutting blade therefore and a surgical cutting blade guard, the combination comprised of:
In combination, a surgical scalpel, a surgical cutting blade therefor and a surgical cutting blade guard, the combination comprised of:
A guard for the blade of a surgical scalpel, wherein the scalpel has a main body portion including a forward section upon which the blade is removably mounted, comprising a substantially U-shaped channel including a pair of parallel side walls connected by a bottom wall, such that the guard closely straddles the main body portion of the scalpel and does not interfere with the normal use of the scalpel during a procedure performed in an operating room, means for slidably mounting the guard on the body of the scalpel for limited movement longitudinally of the body of the scalpel to thereby define a first extended position covering the blade and a second retracted position exposing the blade, such that the surgeon, nurse or assistant in the operating room may move the guard from one position to another in a one-handed movement without taking his or her eyes away from the patient, and the blade guard providing a tactile indication of the respective position of the guard on the body of the scalpel, so that either the surgeon or the nurse in the operating room does to have to takehis or her eyes away from the patient while passing the scalpel from one to another during the operating procedure, but rather will know instinctively from the feel of the scalpel itself, thereby preventing the usual cuts or nicks normally encountered in passing a surgical scalpel from the assistant to the surgeon and vice versa during an operating procedure, and thereby substantially reducing the risk of the surgeon, nurse or assistant inadvertently acquiring an infectious disease, such as HIV or HBV, in the operating room or similar medical environment, wherein the scalpel body has a top portion, a bottom portion, and a relatively-thin width, thereby defining a longitudinal vertical center plane for the scalpel body, and wherein a detent means is provided between the guard and the scalpel body, the detent means including a resiliently-biased detent member having a first portion slidably guided within the scalpel body, disposed within the longitudinal vertical center plane thereof, and having a second portion projecting above the top portion of the scalpel body for convenient manual manipulation.
A guard for the blade of a surgical scalpel, wherein the scalpel has a main body portion including a forward section upon which the blade is removably mounted, comprising a substantially U-shaped channel including a pair of parallel side walls connected by a bottom wall, such that the guard closely straddles the main body portion of the scalpel and does not interfere with the normal use of the scalpel during a procedure performed in an operating room, means for slidably mounting the guard on the body of the scalpel for limited movement longitudinally of the body of the scalpel to thereby define a first extended position covering the blade and a second retracted position exposing the blade, such that the surgeon, nurse or assistant in the operating room may move the guard from one position to another in a one-handed movement without taking his or her eyes away from the patient, and the blade guard providing a tactile indication of the respective position of the guard on the body of the scalpel, so that either the surgeon or the nurse in the operating room does not have to take his or her eyes away from the patient while passing the scalpel from one to another during the operating procedure, but rather will know instinctively from the feel of the scalpel itself, thereby preventing the usual cuts or nicks normally encountered in passing a surgical scalpel from the assistant to the surgeon and vice versa during an operating procedure, and thereby substantially reducing the risk of the surgeon, nurse or assistant inadvertently acquiring an infectious disease, such as HIV or HBV, in the operating room or similar medical environment further including a pin carried by the scalpel body and projecting laterally therefrom, and one of the side walls of the guard having a closed slot formed therein for receiving the pin, thereby defining the respective extended and retracted positions of the guard.
A guard for the blade of a surgical scalpel, wherein the scalpel has a main body portion including a forward section upon which the blade is removably mounted, comprising a substantially U-shaped channel including a pair of parallel side walls connected by a bottom wall, such that the guard closely straddles the main body portion of the scalpel and does not interfere with the normal use of the scalpel during a procedure performed in an operating room, means for slidably mounting the guard on the body of the scalpel for limited movement longitudinally of the body of the scalpel to thereby define a first extended position covering the blade and a second retracted position exposing the blade, such that the surgeon, nurse or assistant in the operating room may move the guard from one position to another in a one-handed movement without taking his or her eyes away from the patient, and the blade guard providing a tactile indication of the respective position of the guard on the body of the scalpel, so that either the surgeon or the nurse in the operating room does not have to take his or her eyes away from the patient while passing the scalpel from one to another during the operating procedure, but rather will know instinctively from the feel of the scalpel itself, thereby preventing the usual cuts or nicks normally encountered in passing a surgical scalpel from the assistant to the surgeon and vice versa during an operating procedure, and thereby substantially reducing the risk of the surgeon, nurse or assistant inadvertently acquiring an infectious disease, such as HIV or HBV, in the operating room or similar medical environment, wherein the bottom wall of the guard has a cut-out portion formed therein to facilitate manual movement of the guard.
A guard for the blade of a surgical scalpel, wherein the scalpel has a main body portion including a forward section upon which the blade is removably mounted, comprising a substantially U-shaped channel including a pair of parallel side walls connected by a bottom wall, such that the guard closely straddles the main body portion of the scalpel and does not interfere with the normal use of the scalpel during a procedure performed in an operating room, means for slidably mounting the guard on the body the scalpel for limited movement longitudinally of the body of the scalpel to thereby define a first extended position covering the blade and a second retracted position exposing the blade, such that the surgeon, nurse or assistant in the operating room may move the guard from one position to another in a one-handed movement without taking his or her eyes away from the patient, and the blade guard providing a tactile indication of the respective position of the guard on the body of the scalpel, so that either the surgeon or the nurse in the operating room does not have to takehis or her eyes away from the patient while passing the scalpel from one to another during the operating procedure, but rather will known instinctively from the feel of the scalpel itself, thereby preventing the usual cuts or nicks normally encountered in passing a surgical scalpel from the assistant to the surgeon and vice versa during an operating procedure, and thereby substantially reducing the risk of the surgeon, nurse or assistant inadvertently acquiring an infectious disease, such as HIV or HVB, in the operating room or similar medical environment, further including releasable detented locking means forward between the guard and the body of the scalpel and operative in the first and second positions of the guard, respectively.
A guard for the blade of a surgical scalpel, wherein the scalpel has a main body portion including a forward section upon which the blade is removably mounted, comprising a substantially U-shaped channel including a pair of parallel side walls connected by a bottom wall, such that the guard closely straddles the main body portion of the scalpel and does not interfere with the normal use of the scalpel during a procedure performed in an operating room, mounting means for slidably mounting the guard on the body of the scalpel for limited movement longitudinally of the body of the scalpel, said mounting means including a pin carried by the scalpel body and projecting laterally therefrom, and one of the side walls of the U-shaped channel having a longitudinal closed slot formed therein and receiving the pin, thereby defining a first extended position covering the blade and a second retracted position exposing the blade, releasable detented locking means formed between the guard and the body of the scalpel and operative in the first and second positions of the guard, respectively, such that the surgeon, nurse or assistant in the operating room may move the guard from one position to another in a one-handed movement without taking his or her eyes off of the patient, the releasable detented locking means comprising a spring-loaded manually-accessible detent pin carried by the scalpel body, and the guard having a pair of detent pockets to selectively receive the detent pin, such that the detent pin may be manually depressed to clear the respective detent pocket and allow the guard to be slidably moved, the side walls of the guard each having an inturned flange, and the detent pockets comprising respective longitudinally-spaced respective openings formed in the inturned flanges of the side walls of the guard, the bottom wall of the guard having a thumb cut-out portion formed therein to facilitate the limited longitudinal sliding movement of the guard upon release of the detent means, and wherein the blade guard provides a tactile indication of the respective position of the guard on the body of the scalpel, so that either the surgeon or the nurse in the operating room does not have to take his or her eyes away from the patient while passing the scalpel form one to another during the operating procedure, but rather will know instinctively from the feel of the scalpel itself, thereby preventing the usual cuts or nicks normally encountered in passing a surgical scalpel from the assistant to the surgeon and vice versa during an operating procedure, and thereby substantially reducing the risk of the surgeon, nurse or assistant inadvertently acquiring an infectious disease, such as the HIV virus, in the operating room or similar medical environment.
In combination, a blade for a surgical scalpel, wherein the scalpel has a body including a forward portion provided with a right-angularly disposed shoulder, the blade having a rearward right-angularly disposed edge complementary to, and bearing against, the shoulder on the scalpel body, such that the blade is snugly received on the forward portion of the scalpel body, means for detachably mounting the blade on the scalpel, a manually-movable U-shaped guard means carried by the body of the scalpel and closely approximating the external contours of the scalpel body for selectively covering and exposing the blade, all in a one-handed operation without looking at the scalpel, wherein the scalpel body has a top portion, a bottom portion, and a relatively-thin width, thereby defining a longitudinal vertical center plane for the scalpel body, and wherein a detent means is provided between the guard and the scalpel body, the detent means including a resiliently-biased detent member having a first portion slidably guided within the scalpel body, disposed within the longitudinal vertical center plane thereof, and having a second portion projecting above the top portion of the scalpel body for convenient manual manipulation.
In a guarded scalpel for surgical use, wherein the guarded scalpel includes a relatively-thin handle having a top portion and further having respective side portions defining therebetween a vertical longitudinal center plane, a blade mounted on the handle, and a guard closely mounted on the handle for sliding movement thereon about a longitudinal axis and from an advanced position in which the blade is covered to a retracted position in which the blade is exposed, the improvement comprising a two-position detent means between the guard and the handle and including a resiliently-biased detent member having a first portion slidably guided within the handle substantially along the vertical longitudinal center plane for limited movement with respect to the handle about an axis which is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the guard, the detent member having a second portion projecting above the handle for manual manipulation, thereby maintaining the relatively-thin external contours of the guarded scalpel, and detent pocket means formed on the guard, longitudinally spaced apart thereon, and cooperating with the projecting second portion of the detent member to define the respective advanced and retracted positions of the guard.
In a guarded scalpel for surgical use, wherein the guarded scalpel includes a handle having a top portion, a bottom portion, and respective side portions defining therebetween a vertical longitudinal center plane therebetween, and wherein a guard is slidably mounted on the handle, the guard having an advanced position in which a blade on the handle is covered and further having a retracted position in which the blade is exposed, the improvement comprising a two-position detent means carried by the handle, disposed substantially in the longitudinal vertical center plane of the handle, and operative between the guard and the handle, the detent means including a first manually-manipulatable actuating means projecting above the top portion of the handle, and the guard including a second manually-manipulatable means on the bottom portion thereof for sliding the guard, the first and second manually-manipulatable means having a different tactile feel, whereby, as the guarded scalpel is passed from one health care provider to another in an operating room, the other health care provided receiving the guarded scalpel will known intuitively the orientation of the guarded scalpel as well as the position of the guard without actually looking at the guarded scalpel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.