Switch for ultrasonic surgical tool
AssigneeSra Developments Limited
InventorsMichael John Radley Young, Stephen Michael Radley Young
Life of this patent
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AssigneeSra Developments Limited
InventorsMichael John Radley Young, Stephen Michael Radley Young
Estimating the term…
A switch unit (40) is mountable to a distal end of a handpiece of an electrically-activatable surgical tool, such as an ultrasonically-vibratable surgical tool. The switch unit (40) has a generally bullet-shaped outer form with an axial bore (42) through which a waveguide of the tool extends. A resiliently deformable band (1) extends around the switch unit (40) above a polygonal-section contact zone (2), such that fingertip pressure on the band (1) may locally depress the band (1) towards a flat area (12) of the contact zone (2). Switch contacts (11) are mounted to an inner surface of the band (1) opposite a plated circuit (10) located on each flat area (12) so as to form a plurality of switches. A switch to activate the tool is thus easily accessible to a user's fingertip in any orientation of the handpiece in the user's hand. The switch contacts (11) may each comprise a body having an electrical resistance dependent on a pressure exerted thereon. A magnitude of a response from the tool may thus be controlled by the pressure exerted by the user's fingertip.
A switch unit so mountable to a distal end of a handpiece of an activatable surgical tool as to be contactable by a finger of a hand manipulating the handpiece, said switch unit being radially symmetrical and having an intermediate waist portion, wherein the waist portion comprises an inner deformable member having in transverse cross-section an outer profile comprising a plurality of flat surfaces and at least one apex and an inner profile defining a channel therethrough and having one or more first switch contacts mounted or affixed thereto such that a first switch contact is mounted or affixed opposite each flat surface;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.