Finger Operated Forceps Type Surgical Instrument

Abstract

An inexpensive and efficient clamp type surgical instrument which is comfortable to use and eliminates excessive pressure at the jaws of the instrument is produced by incorporating heel and shoulder stops and open finger gripping loops having a return curve portion between the normal finger gripping position and the pivot axis of the instrument's arms. The return curve portion in the finger gripping loops of the instrument prevents the operator's fingers from sliding into the open portion of rhe fingerloops, thereby eliminating pinching the operator's fingers. The heel and shoulder stops assure that the jaws of the surgical instrument cannot have more force applied thereto than the instrument is designed to handle. As a result, these features of the surgical instrument of this invention cooperate to provide an inexpensive instrument having the rigidity and feel of more expensive surgical instruments.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This application relates to surgical instruments and more particularly to shear and clamp type surgical instruments and fingerloops and positive stops therefor.

Most prior art surgical instruments employ fingerloops which are either completely enclosed circles or partially opened loops. The completely circular fingerloops are effective in providing a comfortable gripping surface for the operator. However, the completely enclosed circular handles are extremely expensive to manufacture since they require expensive molding operations.

As a result, manufacturers have attempted to reduce the cost of surgical instruments by employing a fixed length of continuous rod-like material, which is bent into a desired shape, to form one arm of the instrument. As a result, the fingerloops on these types of instruments are not completely circular and have an open end portion. The major failing of these surgical instruments, manufactured from a continuous length of rod-like material, is that the fingerloop construction is such that as the operator applies pressure at the fingerloops to effectuate operation of the instrument, his fingers slip along the fingerloops towards the open end of the loop. This is extremely uncomfortable and in many situations causes pinching of the operator's fingers.

Another common failing in most prior art surgical instruments is the absence of a positive stop to prevent excessive pressure at the jaws of the instrument. The elimination of excessive pressure is extremely important. In an instrument such as a suture, excessive pressure on the blood vessels, which are sealed by the suture, may cause irreparable damage to the vessel necessitating surgical removal of that portion of the vessel. Similarly, with surgical towel clamps, excessive pressure on the clamping jaws may damage these jaws and also may damage the towel, causing undesirable shredding or tearing.

Inspite of the undesirable results caused by excessive pressure being applied at the jaws of the surgical instruments, most surgical instruments do not employ effective stops. To a large extent, the reason for the absence of an effective stop on these instruments is the high additional cost required to produce an instrument with enough precision that the stops will effectively prevent excessive pressure while not interfering with the normal operation of the instrument.

Therefore, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a surgical instrument which is easily handled and comfortable to use.

Another object of this invention is to provide a surgical instrument of the above character, which eliminates excessive pressure at the jaws of the instrument.

Another object of this invention is to provide a surgical instrument of the above character, which eliminates pinching of the operator's fingers during use.

A further object of this invention is to provide a surgical instrument of the above character, which is both economical and reusable.

Another object of this invention is to provide a surgical instrument of the above character, which is both simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A surgical instrument which embodies this invention is inexpensively manufactured from fixed lengths of continuous rod-like material which is bent into shape to form the pivotable arms of the surgical instrument. However, several unique, innovative features are incorporated in order to provide the surgical instrument of this invention. The first of these features is provided in the formation of the fingerloops wherein, as the loop is constructed, a reversed curve is incorporated into the finger loop just prior to reaching the open end portion of the fingerloop, between the normal finger holding position and the pivot axis of the arms. This reverse curve provides a comfortable holding position for the fingers of the operator while also preventing the operator's fingers from slipping into the open portion of the fingerloop, thereby preventing pinching.

Another feature incorporated in the surgical instrument of this invention is the shoulder and heel stop, which prevent the operator from applying excessive pressure on the jaws of the surgical instrument. The heel and shoulder stops are incorporated into the arms of the surgical instrument by flattening a portion of the rod-like material about the point where the arms will be pivotably interconnected. As a result, the side or shoulder of the flattened portion of one arm will come into abutting contact with the heel or raised portion of the terminating edge of the other arm. Consequently, when the heel and shoulder portions are brought into abutting contact, the arms can no longer pivot. This prevents excessive pressure at the jaws of the surgical instrument.

The final feature of the surgical instruments of this invention is found in the construction of the ratchet stop. In most prior art surgical instruments, a ratchet stop is provided with two or more ratchet teeth which allows the surgical instrument to be easily advanced into a clamping position and maintained therein. Virtually all of the prior art ratchet stops are manufactured by incorporating ratchet teeth near both fingerloops which cooperate when the jaws of the surgical instrument are closed. However, these ratchet teeth are formed using the entire diameter of the rod, or extension portion provided for the ratchet teeth. Since the ratchet construction is made so as to allow easy locking engagement of the teeth, the ratchet teeth are both beveled to be easily advanced over each other. However, since the entire diameter of the rod or extension portion is used for the ratchet teeth, application of additional force causes the ratchet teeth to continue to be advanced over each other resulting in excessive force being applied at the jaws and the interconnecting pivot point.

In the construction of the surgical instrument of this invention, a portion of the rod is removed and the ratchet teeth are formed in the remaining portion. This provides a ratchet portion which does not comprise the entire diameter of the rod material while also having a ratchet stop at that point when the full diameter of the rod is reached. As a result, when the ratchet teeth are advanced to their full extent, the initial contacting point between the ratchet teeth abut the remaining full diameter wall of the rod material, forming this positive stop. Therefore, continued camming of the ratchet teeth over each other, as is found with the prior art instruments, is prevented.

The features of the surgical instrument of this invention all cooperate to form an inexpensive, rigid-feeling easily operable, precision instrument. The heel and shoulder stops cooperate with the ratchet stop arrangement to prevent excessive force from being applied to the jaw of the surgical instrument, while the finger slip-preventing portions prevent the operator's fingers from being pinched as the final jaw closing force is applied and the stops are brought into action. Also, the finger slip-preventing portions cooperate with the ratchet stop arrangement to prevent finger pinching when the finger holding portions are stopped from further movement.

The invention accordingly comprises an article of manufacture possessing the features, properties and relation of elements which will be exemplified in the article hereinafter described, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a towel clamp embodying this invention shown in the closed position;

FIG. 2 is a right side view of the towel clamp of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the towel clamp of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is a greatly enlarged detail view of the ratchet lock portion shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the towel clamp of FIG. 1 shown in the open position;

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the towel clamp of FIG. 1 shown in the open position with the operator's fingers shown in phantom; and

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the fingerloop portion of a surgical instrument embodying this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In FIG. 1, a surgical instrument represented by towel clamp 20 is shown embodying the features of this invention. The use of a towel clamp is shown for exemplary purposes only, and as anyone skilled in the art would clearly understand, any clamp and shear-type surgical instrument such as a suture, hemostat, clamp or similar device could also be employed with the features of the invention. Towel clamp 20 comprises cooperating arms 22 and 24 which are pivotably interconnected by rivet 26, the central axis of which serves as the pivot axis for arms 22 and 24.

Arms 22 and 24 are individually formed from a single piece of rod like material into the desired shape exemplified by the towel clamp of FIG. 1. In the preferred manufacturing process, each piece of rod like material is formed in a single operation into identical arm members. In this single operation, one end of the rod like material is bent into the fingerloop configuration of this invention, while the opposite end is cut off with the desired location for rivet 26 punched and flat portions 36 and 37, best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, formed about this location point. Since the rivet location point is punched, while or after the end of the rod material is cut off, the manufacturing process assures complete uniformity of products with each rivet location and flat portions 36 and 37 being substantially identical.

The preferred fingerloop configuration shown in FIGS. 1, 4, 5 and 6, comprises a finger holding portion 32 and a finger slip-preventing portion 34. In the preferred embodiment, slip-preventing portion 34 is formed by bending the rod like material of arms 22 and 24 into a substantially hook-shape form which initially curves towards the main body of the arm member and then reverses itself and curves away from the main arm body, with a substantially straight portion forming the terminating end thereof. As best seen in FIG. 6, finger slip-preventing portion 32 comprises a curved portion 40 having a radius bending toward the main body of the arm member, a reverse curve portion 42, forming the hook of slip-preventing portion 32 and having a radius bending the rod like material away from the main body of the arm member, and a substantially straight terminating end portion 44. As shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, finger holding portion 32 can substantially conform with the radius of curved portion 40 of slip-preventing portion 34, thereby forming a fingerloop, that is substantially circular in appearance; or the finger holding portion can have a substantially different configuration than the radius of portion 40 of slip-preventing portion 34 as shown by finger holding portion 42 in FIG. 6.

By incorporating non-slip portion 34, the user of the surgical instrument is assured of not having his fingers pinched. In FIG. 5, towel clamp 20 is shown in the open position with the movement-controlling fingers shown in phantom about finger holding portion 32. As jaws 28 and 30 are closed, as shown in FIG. 1, the operator's fingers tend to advance along finger holding portion 32 toward the pivot axis of rivet 26. In prior art configurations, this advancement is not hindered and pinching of the operator's fingers may result. However, by incorporating slip-preventing portion 34, comfortable, pinch-free operation of the surgical instrument is assured. As is obvious to one skilled in the art, slip-preventing portion 34 may have various configurations, other than the specific one herein described, without departing from the scope of this invention.

After arms 22 and 24 have been formed in the manner described above, the desired jaw configuration is formed. In the example shown in the accompanying drawings, the jaws of towel clamp 20 are formed by placing arm 22 in a rotary swaging machine which stretches the jaw end of arm 22 into a tapered end, which is then bent into the desired shape, forming towel clamping jaw 28. Similarly, arm 24 is stretched and bent in an opposite direction into a cooperating towel clamp jaw 30. Towel clamp 20 is then finally assembled by pivotably interconnecting arms 22 and 24 by rivet 26. In this final configuration, jaw members 28 and 30 cooperate to firmly clamp a towel therebetween. The jaws of other surgical instruments can be formed in the conventional manner well known in the art.

The second feature of the surgical instrument of this invention is the heel and shoulder stops, best seen by referring to FIGS. 4 and 5. As described above, flat portion 36 of arm 22 and flat portion 37 of arm 24 are formed when the pivot axis of the arm members is located. As a result, both portions 36 and 37 are substantially identical and are substantially identically symmetrical about the pivot axis formed by rivet 26.

As a result of the flattening operation, portion 36 of arm 22 incorporates two side or shoulder stops 50 and 52 and two heel or raised portions 54 and 56. Similarly, portion 37 of arm 24 incorporates two side or shoulder stops 60 and 62 and two heel or raised portions 64 and 66. When arm members 22 and 24 are pivotably interconnected by rivet 26, shoulder 50 comes into abutting contact with heel 66 when the jaws of towel clamp 20 are closed. Similarly, shoulder 52 comes into abutting contact with heel 64, shoulder 60 comes into abutting contact with heel 56, and shoulder 62 comes into abutting contact with heel 54 when the jaws of towel clamp 20 are closed.

As a result, a firm and secure heel and shoulder stop is provided which prevents jaws 28 and 30 from coming into greater cooperating overlapping contact than is desired. This prevents any unwanted, excessive pressure and excessive overlap at the jaws of the surgical instrument. Furthermore, since the heel and shoulder stops are easily manufactured during the formation of the arm members of the surgical instruments without the requirement for expensive measuring of molding operations, the surgical instrument of this invention incorporates these unique features while still providing a surgical instrument that is inexpensive to manufacture.

The final feature of the surgical instrument of this invention is the interlocking ratchet construction, best seen in FIGS. 3 and 3A. Substantially straight portions 44 of arms 22 and 24 incorporate ratchet teeth 70 which are beveled to cooperatingly slide over each other into a locked position and be maintained in this locked position until release. The use of ratchet teeth in surgical instruments is well known in the art, however, virtually all prior art surgical instruments have the tips of the ratchet teeth substantially coinciding with the outer peripheral surface of portion 44. In the ratchet construction of this invention, the tips of ratchet teeth 70 do not coincide with outer surface 72 of portion 44, and instead are spaced substantially inward of outer surface 72.

Substantially straight portion 44 also incorporates leading edge 74 which marks the beginning of ratchet teeth 70 and a substantially flat wall 76 at the end of the ratchet teeth construction. Since the tips of ratchet teeth 70 do not extend to outer surface 72 of portion 44, surface 76 extends from the last required ratchet position to outer surface 72. Preferably, surface 76 is substantially flat and substantially perpendicular to outer surface 72. As a result, when the leading edges 74 of cooperating portions 44 are advanced towards each other, the angled ratchet teeth 70 easily move over one another into the locked position shown in FIGS. 3 and 3A. If excessive interlocking pressure is applied to arms 22 and 24, the leading edges 74 of portions 44 will abut surface 76, thereby preventing unwanted additional pressure from being applied at the jaws of the surgical instrument. Furthermore, the abutting contact between leading edge 74 and surface 76 prevents ratchet teeth 70 from being advanced beyond the desired locking position, which would result in unwanted spreading or bending of portions 44.

Finger slip-preventing portions 34 cooperate with the ratchet stop arrangement to prevent the fingers of the user from being pinched when the ratchet's stop surfaces 76 prevent further advancement of the finger holding portions 32. Also, shoulder stops 50, 52, 60 and 62, and heel stops 54, 56, 64 and 66 cooperate with the ratchet's stop surfaces 76 to prevent excessive pressure from being applied to jaw members 28 and 30 when in the closed position. Similarly, finger slippreventing portions 34 cooperate with shoulder stops 50, 52, 60 and 62 and heel stops 54, 56, 64 and 66 to prevent finger pinching when jaw members 28 and 30 are in the closed position.

As is obvious to one skilled in the art, the finger slip-preventing portion, the heel and shoulder stops, and the ratchet construction described above and exemplified by the towel clamp of the drawings, can be effectively employed in any shear and clamp type surgical instrument including, but not limited to, sutures, hemostats, sponge clamps, etc., as well as in other shear and clamp type instruments not related to the surgical field. Furthermore, these features can be embodied in other instruments individually or in alternate combinations, depending upon the particular application.

It will best be seen that the objects as set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above article without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings, shall be intepreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following Claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Claims

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A hand-operated surgical instrument comprising two cooperating arms pivotally interconnected along a single axis, each of said arms comprising:

A. a jaw member located at one end of said arm; and

B. a finger loop located at the other end of said arm, said loop comprising a means for preventing unwanted finger advancement toward said pivot axis incorporating a finger-restraining section in the portion of the loop nearest said pivot axis, said section defined by a curved portion extending towards the loop and a reverse-curved portion extending away from the loop.

2. An instrument as defined in claim 1, wherein each of said cooperating arms is manufactured from a single piece of rod-like material.

3. An instrument as defined in claim 2, wherein said curved portion of said finger restraining section comprises a concavely curved portion converging smoothly with said finger loop.

4. An instrument as defined in claim 3, wherein said reverse-curved portion of said finger restraining section further comprises a convexly curved portion converging smoothly with said concavely curved portion.

5. An instrument as defined in claim 1, wherein said finger loops further comprise terminating ends incorporting:

c. a ratchet lock section mounted on each arm and substantially adjacent to said finger restraining section.

6. An instrument as defined in claim 5, wherein each of said ratchet lock sections comprises at least two interlocking ratchet teeth, having an effective, extending height less than the cross-sectional height of said ratchet lock section.

7. An instrument as defined in claim 6, wherein said ratchet lock section comprises a substantially flat surface extending from the terminating edge of the last ratchet tooth to the outer peripheral surface of said ratchet lock section, preventing further engaged advancement of interlocked ratchet sections.

8. An instrument as defined in claim 2, wherein each of said arms are further defined as comprising a substantially flat zone peripherally disposed about said pivot axis and incorporating:

a. a heel stop, and

b. a shoulder stop cooperating with the heel stop of the other arm to prevent additional closing force from being applied to said jaw members, once said jaw members are closed.

9. A hand-operated surgical instrument comprising two cooperating arms pivotally interconnected along a single axis, and comprising:

A. cooperating jaw members, each located on one end of said arms, spaced away from said pivot axis in a similar direction;

B. finger loops spaced away from said pivot axis in an opposite direction from said jaw members;

C. a substantially flat zone peripherally disposed about said pivot axis and incorporating:

a. a heel stop, and

b. a shoulder stop cooperating with the heel stop of the other arm to prevent additional closing force from being applied to said jaw members when said jaw members are closed; and

D. means for preventing further engaged advancement of interlocked ratchet sections comprising ratchet lock sections mounted on each arm adjacent said finger loops, each comprising a substantially flat surface extending from the terminating edge of the last ratchet tooth to the outer peripheral surface of said ratchet lock section.

10. An instrument as defined in claim 9, wherein said finger loops are further defined as incorporating

means for preventing unwanted advancement of the finger toward said pivot axis comprising a double reverse-curved finger-restraining section in the portion of the loop nearest said pivot axis.

11. An instrument as defined in claim 9, wherein said shoulder stop is further defined as comprising one of the sides of said arm adjacent to said flat zone.

12. An instrument as defined in claim 9, wherein said heel stop comprises the intermediate raised portion between said substantially flat zone and the outer peripheral surface of said arm.

13. An instrument as defined in claim 9, wherein each of said ratchet lock sections comprises at least two interlocking ratchet teeth having an effective, extending height less than the cross-section height of said ratchet lock section.

14. A hand-operated surgical instrument comprising two cooperating arms pivotally interconnected along a single axis, and comprising:

A. cooperating jaw members, each located on one end of said arms, spaced away from said pivot axis in an identical direction;

B. a finger-loop portion for controlling the movement of said arms and said jaw members spaced away from said pivot axis in an opposite direction from said jaw members; and

C. a ratchet lock section mounted on each arm, interconnected with said finger loop portion, and comprising:

a. at least two interlocking ratchet teeth having a height less than the height of said ratchet lock section, and

b. a substantially flat surface extending from the terminating edge of the last ratchet tooth to the outer peripheral surface of the ratchet lock section comprising a means for preventing further engaged advancement of interlocked ratchet sections.

15. An instrument as defined in claim 14, wherein said handle portion is further defined as comprising:

a. a finger holding portion for controlling the movement of said arms and said jaw members, and

b. a finger slip-preventing portion positioned between said finger holding portion and said pivot axis for preventing unwanted advancement from said finger holding portion toward said pivot axis.

16. An instrument as defined in claim 14, wherein each of said arms is further defined as comprising a substantially flat zone peripherally disposed about said pivot axis and incorporating:

a. a heel stop, and

b. a shoulder stop cooperating with the heel stop of the other arm to prevent additional closing force from being applied to said jaw members, once said jaw members are closed.