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US 7,351,248 B2Granted
Surgical instrument with snag free box hinge
AssigneeTri-State Hospital Supply Corporation
InventorsDonald J Propp, Gary A. Gillis
Life of this patent
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AssigneeTri-State Hospital Supply Corporation
InventorsDonald J Propp, Gary A. Gillis
Estimating the term…
A surgical instrument includes a pair of elongated members joined together by a box hinge. The box hinge is formed of a slot in the first member having substantially flat, generally parallel sides and a hinge portion in the second member. The hinge portion of the second member conforms to the generally flat surfaces of the slot and is generally the same width as that of the second member on either side of the box hinge. The width of the first elongated member is larger than the width of the second elongated member at either end of the box hinge portion. The transitional slope of the side surfaces of the second elongated member is nearly flat between the box hinge portion, the handle end portion, and the working tip portion. The unique construction of the box hinge creates a snag-free surface that allows for the use of the instrument for tasks such as suturing without the suturing thread snagging on the instrument.
A surgical instrument comprising:
An improved surgical instrument of the type having two elongated members, each member having a working tip portion, a handle end portion, and a box hinge portion, and a hinge pin, wherein the improvement comprises a box hinge defined by a slot located in the box hinge portion of the first elongated member having flat parallel sides for receiving the box hinge portion of the second elongated member therein, the ends of the second box hinge portion having a width narrower than the width of the ends of the first box hinge portion and a continuous, non-stepped, cross-sectional shape, and the hinge pin hingedly connecting the first and second elongated members, such that the side edges of first elongated member are larger relative to the side edges of the second elongated member at either end of the box hinge;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.