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US 8,499,673 B2Granted
Microsurgical cutting instruments
AssigneeMynosys Cellular Devices, Inc.
InventorChristopher Guild Keller
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for self-sharpening micro surgical blades, knives and assemblies including those having a cutting edge that is less than 500 angstroms thick where the cutting edge is an exposed section of a thin planar layer or region that is supported on one or both sides by a material having a higher wear rate.
Claims33
A self-sharpening micro-machined knife comprising;
- a planar cutting layer having a thickness of less than 500 angstroms, the cutting layer having a first wear rate;
- a supporting layer on at least one side of the cutting layer, the supporting layer having a second wear rate and mechanically supporting the planar cutting layer, a blade edge formed by a portion of the cuffing layer and a portion of the supporting layer, where the first wear rate is less than the second wear rate such that the supporting layer wears at a faster rate than the cutting layer such that the supporting layer wears away to expose the blade edge.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.