Patent US3643851A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3643851A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Skin stapler
Assignee: United States Surgical Corp
•
Filing: 1969-08-25
•
Granted: 1972-02-22
•
Expires: 1989-08-25
Abstract
Abstract A surgical instrument for applying sterilized staples from a disposable staple-carrying cartridge to the disunited skin of a patient in order to effect a joining of the skin. The instrument consists of an anvil adapted to lie flush with the skin, a disposable cartridge housing a plurality of staples which are to be folded around the anvil, and a pusher for bending the staples around the anvil. The pusher is U-shaped with chamfers on the arms thereof to effect the bending with a minimum of force. A gas-powered unit serves to eject and form the staples in a neat and uniform manner. A novel disposable gas cartridge is also disclosed.
Inventors
- 👤 David T Green
- 👤 Graham W Bryan
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 11:33
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61B; A61B17/00; A61B17/068; A61B17/0682; A61B17/0684; A61B2017/00535; A61B2017/00544; A61B2017/00548
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 43
Claim 1
Independent Claim
176 words
A surgical stapling instrument for applying sterilized staples to the disunited skin of a patient for effecting a joining of the skin, the instrument being adapted to accept an elongated staple-carrying cartridge having anvil means at the forwardmost region of said staple-carrying cartridge and being adapted to house a plurality of staples, the crossbars of said staples being transverse to the length of said cartridge and the prongs of said staples facing said anvil means; a pusher element slidably mounted within said cartridge for ejecting staples from said cartridge and for forming said staples around said anvil means; and means for advancing said staples along the length of said cartridge; said surgical stapling instrument comprising a main body portion; means for mounting said staple-carrying cartridge at its region remote from said anvil, on the main body portion; means to activate said staple-advancing means for driving the staples toward said anvil means; and means for driving the pusher element forward to eject a staple from the staple-carrying cartridge and to form said staple around said anvil means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
176 words
A surgical stapling instrument for applying sterilized staples to the disunited skin of a patient for effecting a joining of the skin, the instrument being adapted to accept an elongated staple-carrying cartridge having anvil means at the forwardmost region of said staple-carrying cartridge and being adapted to house a plurality of staples, the crossbars of said staples being transverse to the length of said cartridge and the prongs of said staples facing said anvil means; a pusher element slidably mounted within said cartridge for ejecting staples from said cartridge and for forming said staples around said anvil means; and means for advancing said staples along the length of said cartridge; said surgical stapling instrument comprising a main body portion; means for mounting said staple-carrying cartridge at its region remote from said anvil, on the main body portion; means to activate said staple-advancing means for driving the staples toward said anvil means; and means for driving the pusher element forward to eject a staple from the staple-carrying cartridge and to form said staple around said anvil means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
52 words
The instrument as defined in claim 1, wherein, while the instrument is in its readiness state, all of the staples housed in the staple-carrying cartridge lie in a first plane; and wherein said pusher element lies in a second plane and serves to maintain the staples in position in said first plane.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
36 words
The instrument as defined in claim 2, and further comprising means adjacent said anvil means for conveying the forwardmost staple from its plane into the plane of said pusher element during the advance of said staples.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
34 words
The instrument as described in claim 3, wherein said staple-advancing means comprises at least one threaded screw, and wherein the staples have their crossbars engaged in the threads of said at least one screw.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
61 words
The instrument as defined in claim 4, wherein said staple-carrying cartridge is provided with a ledgelike formation for guiding the staples, wherein the region of the ledgelike formation nearest the anvil is inclined toward the plane of the pusher element, and wherein the threads of the at least one screw decrease to a zero depth at the region adjacent the anvil.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
71 words
The instrument as described in claim 1, wherein said anvil means extends parallel to the crossbars of said staples; wherein said anvil means has a length substantially less than the length of said crossbars; and wherein the forwardmost part of said pusher element comprises a pair of tines which are spaced apart a distance slightly in excess of the length of said anvil means plus twice the diameter of a staple.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
33 words
The instrument as described in claim 6, wherein each tine of said pusher element has a chamfer thereon, the chamfers being positioned at the side of the respective tines nearest the anvil means.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
22 words
The instrument as defined in claim 7, wherein the forwardmost surfaces of the tines and the surfaces of the chamfer are V-shaped.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
22 words
The instrument as defined in claim 1, and further comprising means for indicating the number of staples remaining in said staple-carrying cartridge.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
30 words
The instrument as defined in claim 9, wherein said staple-indicating means comprises at least one element slidably mounted in and adapted to travel along the length of the staple-carrying cartridge.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
41 words
The instrument as described in claim 10, wherein said at least one element is, at all times, adjacent and equally spaced from the rearwardmost staple housed within the cartridge, and wherein said at least one element travels with said rearwardmost staple.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
41 words
The instrument as defined in claim 11, wherein said means for advancing the staples takes the form of at least one threaded screw; and wherein said at least one indicating element is advanced by the means serving to advance the staples.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
30 words
The instrument as defined in claim 12, wherein said at least one indicating element is visible through one of a plurality of bores in the surface of said staple-carrying cartridge.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
75 words
The instrument as defined in claim 13, wherein said means for advancing the staples takes the form of two parallel screws; wherein a pair of staple-indicating elements are provided; wherein each staple-indicating element has a projection thereon adapted to engage the threads of a respective screw; and wherein said staple-carrying cartridge has a plurality of bores running in alignment with each screw, the bores associated with each screw being staggered with respect to each other.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
22 words
The instrument as defined in claim 1, wherein said staple-advancing means and said pusher means are driven by a gas under pressure.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
67 words
The instrument as defined in claim 15, and further comprising means for triggering a gas drive mechanism; and wherein said gas drive mechanism, upon triggering, serves to advance a staple into a position ready to be ejected from the cartridge and formed around the anvil, and further serves to drive the pusher elements forward to eject the readiness staple and to form same around said anvil means.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
65 words
The instrument as defined in claim 16, and further comprising a driving member adapted to be thrust toward said anvil means upon the triggering of said gas drive mechanism; pusher-engaging means mounted on the forward region of said driving member and adapted to engage and control the motion of said pusher element; and means associated with said drive member for initiating the advancement of staples.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
24 words
The instrument as defined in claim 17, wherein said means for initiating the advancement of staples comprises an inclined surface on said driving member.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
71 words
The instrument as defined in claim 18, and further comprising: a plunger having an inclined surface thereon, adapted to engage the inclined surface of said driving member and adapted to reciprocate in response to the action of said driving member; and wherein said means for advancing the staples are associated with said plunger to advance the staples one staple unit each time the plunger is acted upon by said driving member.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
151 words
The instrument as described in claim 1, and further comprising: a driving member slidably mounted in said main body portion; a pusher-engaging extension at the forward region of said driving member; and inclined surface at the midregion of said driving member; a plunger having an inclined surface at one extremity thereof, slidably mounted in said main body portion; biasing means for urging said plunger toward said driving member so that the inclined surface on said plunger is driven toward said inclined surface on the driving member; gear means associated with said plunger and with said staple-advancing means; and power means for moving said driving member so that its inclined surface causes said plunger to move against said biasing means and thus causing said gear means to advance said staples and further causing said pusher to be driven forwardly so as to eject a staple and form same around said anvil means.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
96 words
The instrument as defined in claim 20, wherein said staple-advancing means comprises a pair of threaded screws extending along the length of said cartridge, and staples being carried in the threads of said screws, and further comprising a thin flat extension on the extremity of each screw remote from said anvil means; a pinion gear in said gear means, which pinion gear is rotated when said plunger is acted upon by the inclined surface of said driving member; and a slotlike extension on each pinion gear serving to engage the thin elongated extension on each screw.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
99 words
The instrument as set forth in claim 21, wherein said gear means is adapted to rotate each screw in said staple-carrying cartridge so that each staple but the first is advanced in excess of one staple unit for each forward thrust of said driving member; and further including means in said gear means to reverse the direction of rotation of said screws from the direction in which they rotate during the forward motion of said driving member, the means to reverse the rotation serving to rotate the screws an amount sufficient to ultimately advance each staple one staple unit.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
112 words
A staple-ejecting cartridge adapted to be sterilized, packaged and mounted on a skin-stapling instrument, the cartridge comprising: an elongated body adapted to house a plurality of staples, each staple having its crosspiece transverse to the length of said elongated body and having its prongs facing one end of said body; an anvil secured to the end of said body toward which the staple prongs face; a pusher element in the plane of said anvil for reciprocating along the length of said body, for ejecting said staples singly, and for forming said staples around said anvil; means to guide said staples along said body; and means to advance said staples along said body.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
112 words
A staple-ejecting cartridge adapted to be sterilized, packaged and mounted on a skin-stapling instrument, the cartridge comprising: an elongated body adapted to house a plurality of staples, each staple having its crosspiece transverse to the length of said elongated body and having its prongs facing one end of said body; an anvil secured to the end of said body toward which the staple prongs face; a pusher element in the plane of said anvil for reciprocating along the length of said body, for ejecting said staples singly, and for forming said staples around said anvil; means to guide said staples along said body; and means to advance said staples along said body.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
25 words
The cartridge as defined in claim 23, wherein said staples are housed and guided in a plane removed from the plane of said pusher element.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
37 words
The cartridge as defined in claim 24, and further comprising means to position the staple nearest said anvil into the plane of said pusher element before said pusher element is driven to eject and form a staple.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
46 words
The cartridge of claim 25, wherein the staples are guided by a ledge along the interior of said elongated body and wherein the region of said ledge nearest the anvil is inclined so as to position the nearest staple in the plane of the pusher element.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
50 words
The cartridge as described in claim 26, wherein said means to advance the staples comprises at least one threaded screw and wherein the threads of said screw at the region nearest the anvil diminish in depth so as to position the nearest staple in the plane of the pusher element.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
28 words
The cartridge of claim 23, wherein said means to advance the staples comprises at least one threaded screw whose threads serve to control the positions of said staples.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
33 words
The cartridge of claim 28, wherein each screw is terminated at its end remote from said anvil by a projection adapted to engage an element serving to control the rotation of that screw.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
34 words
The cartridge of claim 23, and further comprising means to effect a mounting of said cartridge on a skin-stapling instrument and means to maintain the alignment of the mounted cartridge with its associated instrument.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
19 words
THe cartridge of claim 23, and further comprising means to indicate the number of staples remaining in said cartridge.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
18 words
The cartridge as recited in claim 31, wherein said indicating means is advanced in unison said said staples.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
41 words
The cartridge as defined in claim 32, wherein said means for advancing the staples advance said staples in the threads of at least one screw and wherein said indicating means are advanced by the threads of said at least one screw.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
51 words
The cartridge of claim 33, wherein said elongated body has a plurality of aligned bores therethrough, wherein said indicating means comprise at least one pad, and wherein said at least one pad is visible through a single bore at a time depending upon the number of staples remaining in the cartridge.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
48 words
The cartridge as recited in claim 23, wherein the region of said pusher element nearest the anvil has a pair of tines thereon and wherein the anvil and the tines are related so that when said pusher element is in its forwardmost position, its tines surround said anvil.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
30 words
The cartridge of claim 35, wherein the spacing between said tines is equal to the length of said anvil plus twice the diameter of a staple plus a small tolerance.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
19 words
The cartridge of claim 36, wherein the surface of each tine nearest the anvil is provided with a chamfer.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
20 words
The cartridge of claim 37, wherein the surfaces of said pusher element which serve to contact the staples are V-shaped.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
27 words
The cartridge as recited in claim 23, and further comprising means for moving the formed staples out of the plane of said anvil after each stapling operation.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
21 words
The cartridge as defined in claim 39, wherein said means for moving the formed staples comprises at least one resilient member.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
32 words
The cartridge of claim 40, wherein the pusher element serves to disable said resilient member during the staple-forming operation and serves to free said resilient member when retracting from a staple-forming operation.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1975-02-21 | 1975-08-23 | 1976-02-22 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1979-02-21 | 1979-08-23 | 1980-02-22 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1983-02-21 | 1983-08-23 | 1984-02-22 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |