ES2364042T3 - SCALPEL OF A SINGLE USE, WITH RETRACTABLE BLADE. - Google Patents

Abstract

Scalpel having a handle (1) with a cavity (3) that extends longitudinally therein, a support (2) of the blade inside the cavity and movable longitudinally in relation to the handle, between an operative position in the that a blade supported by it is exposed for use at an open end (11) of the cavity at a front end (8) of the handle and a non-operative position in which a blade thus supported is retracted in the inside the cavity in the handle, and a manually operated cursor (4) associated with the blade holder and passing through a slot (6) in a wall of the handle at one edge thereof, in the that the handle is molded in one piece with an integral groove (10) that defines an endless open end (11) to the cavity at said front end of the handle, and in which the blade holder is shaped in section tran sversal to be introduced into the cavity by said open end, the scalpel being characterized in that the cursor is formed as a separate piece that presses into the blade holder after its introduction through the open end of the cavity to form a blade and cursor support assembly, because the cursor and, at least, a longitudinally extending groove edge are provided with associated tooth (19, 20) and notch (23) formations, which cooperate to hold releasable shape of the blade and cursor support assembly in a "click stop" manner in the operative and non-operative positions, and because the blade and cursor support assembly has a locked, more interior terminal position defined by cooperative formations (25, 18, 20) on the cursor and the edges of the groove, said terminal position being locked, one in which the blade holder is located farther inside in a normal non-operative position and from which it is substantially impossible to unlock the blade holder, at least for practical purposes.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a single-use scalpel having a retractable blade and, more particularly, to a single-use scalpel in which the movement of the blade in relation to a scalpel support handle between an operating position extended and a non-operative position retracted, is achieved by moving the blade holder by means of a cursor manageable by the attached thumb, generally by means of a slot through the wall of the handle, to the blade holder.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Single-use scalpels with retractable blades of many different shapes have been proposed and manufactured. For the present purposes, the various different shapes can be considered to fall into two different categories: the first being those scalpels in which the cursor manageable by the thumb protrudes through a side wall of the scalpel grip, and the second in the that the cursor protrudes through a groove in an edge that can be considered the upper edge of the scalpel grip.

It is considered that the first type of scalpel that has the cursor that protrudes through a side wall of the handle accuses a series of disadvantages, not being the smallest of them the one that a scalpel designed to be used by a right-handed person, cannot be easily used by a left-handed person and vice versa. US Patent No. 6,254,621 describes a typical scalpel of this type.

The second type of scalpel having the cursor protruding through the upper edge of the scalpel handle has, in general, the disadvantage that the scalpel handle is made in two parts which are then fixed together with the support of the blade inside the handle and the associated cursor protruding through a groove in the upper edge of the composite handle. Typical of this type of construction are the scalpels described in US patents 5 330 493, 5 556 409 and 5 571 127. The applicant considers that the construction in two parts of the handle is undesirable for a number of reasons, not the least of them being the fact that the handle can possibly be removed.

US-B-6314646 shows a construction of a piece, of a utility knife.

There are a number of factors that are independent of the type of construction, which are considered desirable and are present to a greater or lesser extent in existing scalpels, these factors contributing to the scalpel blade being firmly held in its operational position: being really held in its retracted non-operative position; and also a capacity aimed at preventing the reuse of a scalpel in an effort to avoid so-called percutaneous injuries to personnel who may come into contact with used medical equipment.

OBJECTIVE OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is an objective of this invention to disclose a scalpel with a retractable blade having a

or several improved features on prior art scalpels known to the applicant.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INVENTION

According to this invention, a scalpel is disclosed having a handle with a longitudinally extending cavity, a blade support inside the cavity and longitudinally movable in relation to the handle between an operating position in which a blade supported in this way is exposed for use at an open end of the cavity at a leading end of the handle and a non-operative position in which a blade supported by it is retracted inside the cavity in the handle, and a manually manageable cursor associated with the blade holder and passing through a groove in the wall of the handle on one edge thereof, in which the handle is molded into a single piece with an integral bridge defining an Endless open end to the cavity at said front end of the handle, and in which the blade holder is formed in cross section to be introduced into the cavity by said open end with the cursor being formed as a separate piece that presses into the blade holder after insertion, through the open end of the cavity, to form a support assembly of the blade and cursor, the scalpel being characterized in that the cursor and, at least, a longitudinally extending groove edge are provided with cooperative tooth and notch formations that cooperate to releasably hold the blade support assembly and cursor as a "stop with click" in the operative and non-operative positions, and because the blade and cursor support assembly has a more internal terminal locked position, defined by cooperative formations in the cursor and in the

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groove edges, said terminal position being locked one in which the blade holder is positioned in the normal non-operative position and from which it is substantially impossible to unlock the blade holder, at least for practical purposes.

Other features of the invention provide a series of notches to be associated with the operative and non-operative positions of the blade and cursor support assembly, such that a series of at least two and optionally three or more "click stops "they are associated with each of the operative and non-operative positions, so that a person who is handling the scalpel will know exactly, by touch, and optionally also by ear, the position of the blade holder in the handle; and they have the tooth and notch formations to adapt, so that an audible "click" is generated when a tooth engages with a notch.

Another feature of the invention provides that the cursor has a pair of transverse tabs with secure formations at its inner ends to cooperate with cooperative transverse housings formed in the blade holder. The tabs are preferably coplanar and are spatially separated in the longitudinal direction of the cursor.

Preferably, the blade holder is configured so that it can accept a series of blades of different designs, thereby making it more versatile than prior art scalpels.

In order for the invention to be more fully understood, an embodiment thereof will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view with the parts removed, in perspective, from the side of a scalpel, according to the invention, but offset, so that the upper edge of the handle;

Figure 2 is a similar view, but more from above, and showing the partially mounted scalpel;

Figure 3 is a cross section taken through the scalpel grip;

Figure 4 is an inverted plan view of the cursor, showing the tooth and block formations Sliding integrally formed with it;

Figure 5 is a detail of the cursor in its disassembled position in relation to the support, and such as the shown in figure 2;

Figure 6 is a detail, partially sectioned, and showing the cooperation between the formations of tooth and notch of the groove and the cursor, with the last one in the operative position;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the scalpel from a side of the upper part thereof, which shows the partially sectioned cursor in its fully locked position;

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 6 showing the cooperation between tooth formations and groove notch and cursor, with the last in the non-operative position; Y,

Figure 9 is a detail similar to Figure 8 but showing the tooth and notch formations in the final locked position of the cursor in relation to the scalpel handle (in position shown in figure 7).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION MAKING REFERENCE TO DRAWINGS

In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, a scalpel comprises an injection-molded plastic handle -1-in one piece, a support -2-of the longitudinally sliding blade in a longitudinal cavity -3-inside the plastic handle, a manually operated -4-cursor that combines with the blade holder to form a blade holder assembly in the assembled state and, for use, a blade -5-of the scalpel that is mounted on the blade holder.

The handle has a slot -6-which extends longitudinally, extending along its upper operating edge -7-from a leading end -8-of the handle towards a rear end -9-thereof and communicating with the inside of the cavity. An integral bridge -10-at the leading end of the upper edge forms an endless open end -11-to the cavity and provides dimensional stability to this end, to firmly hold the blade holder in its operative position.

The blade holder is elongated and has a groove -12- that is received in an associated slot -13- (see Figure 3) in a side wall of the cavity. The blade holder is configured to slide longitudinally inside the cavity and to receive and support a series of different types of scalpel blades. The blade holder is clearly shaped, in cross section, to be introduced through the open end -11-into the cavity.

The blade holder also has a pair of transverse housings -14-configured to receive a pair of transverse tabs -15-that extend from the cursor, each of the tabs having a claw formation -16-at its free end , which locks onto the blade holder irreversibly when the tabs are inserted into the housings, with the blade holder in the cavity. Once this has been achieved, the blade holder is held captive inside the cavity and can be slid back and forth by manually operating the cursor, usually by a person holding the scalpel grip and using the thumb to get this.

The cursor has, on its upper surface, a longitudinally -17-grooved groove that cooperates with the groove to correctly align the cursor in relation to it. Extending laterally outward from the groove at each end thereof, there is an integral miniature sliding block -18-which cooperates with said groove edge and, on the other side of the groove, there is a -19-arranged front tooth inwards from the nearest end of the groove and a posterior tooth -20- arranged in opposition to the posterior sliding edge -18-.

The teeth -19-and -20-are substantially identical and trapezoidal or triangular in order to provide inclined faces -21-to cooperate with the inclined edges -22-in the notches -23-formed in the associated edge of the groove , at the front and back ends of it. In the case of the front and rear ends of the groove, a series of four juxtaposed notches are arranged to cooperate respectively with the front tooth -19- and the rear tooth -20-, when the cursor is at the front or rear ends of slot.

The arrangement is such that, when the cursor is moved to any of the operative or non-operative positions, the respective tooth will be sequentially coupled with the notches of the series of four and will form a "click stop" at each position. A person who is handling the cursor can perceive these sequential "click stops" and, with the appropriate design, can also hear them. Therefore, the exact position of the blade in relation to the handle will be immediately apparent.

In addition to the above, the rear end of the groove is also provided with a ramp -24-on the opposite side of the notches, communicating the ramp with a neck -25-which, in turn, communicates with a rectangular terminal opening - 26-forming the inner end of the groove. This arrangement is such that, when an additional force is applied to the cursor in the direction of the rear end of the handle, the sliding block -18- and the opposite rear tooth -20-are pressed together through the neck and into the opening of irreversibly, so that the cursor is permanently locked in the retracted position. This final position is clearly shown in the figure

9.

It will be understood that, during use, the scalpel can be stored and transported with the blade holder and the associated blade in the retracted position, with the cursor held in one of the retracted "stop with click" positions. This position can also be used during operations, between times when the use of the scalpel is required. As necessary, the blade holder can be moved to present the scalpel blade in its operative position, the blade holder being stopped in a forward "click stop" position. The position of the blade in relation to the handle can be detected extremely easily by a person using the scalpel. It is also noted that the different "stop with click" positions can be used for depth control purposes.

Once the scalpel has served its purpose and has to be discarded, the cursor moves to its locked end position so that it is impossible, for all intents and purposes, to reuse the scalpel. Therefore, the scalpel blade is kept in a locked non-operative position, extremely safe for removal, thus avoiding the possibility of any of the so-called percutaneous lesions.

It will be understood that numerous variations can be made to the embodiment of the invention described above without departing from the scope thereof.

Claims (6)

1. Scalpel having a handle (1) with a cavity (3) that extends longitudinally therein, a support (2) of the blade inside the cavity and movable longitudinally in relation to the handle, between an operative position wherein a blade supported by it is exposed for use at an open end (11) of the cavity at a front end (8) of the handle and a non-operative position in which a blade thus supported is retracted inside the cavity in the handle, and a cursor (4) manually operated associated with the blade holder and passing through a groove (6) in a wall of the handle on one edge thereof, in which the handle is molded in one piece with a integral groove (10) defining an endless open end (11) to the cavity at said front end of the handle, and in which the blade holder is formed in cross section to be introduced into the cavity by said open end , the scalpel being characterized in that the cursor is formed as a separate piece that snap into the blade holder after its introduction through the open end of the cavity to form a blade and cursor support assembly, because the cursor and, at least, a longitudinally extending groove edge are provided with associated tooth (19, 20) and notch (23) formations, which cooperate to releasably hold the support assembly d e the blade and cursor in a "click stop" manner in the operative and non-operative positions, and because the blade and cursor support assembly has a locked, more internal terminal position, defined by cooperative formations (25, 18 , 20) on the cursor and the edges of the groove, said terminal position being locked, one in which the blade holder is located more in the normal non-operative position and from which it is substantially impossible to unlock the holder of the blade, at least for practical purposes.

2.

Scalpel according to claim 1, wherein a series of notches are associated with the operative and non-operative positions of the blade and cursor support assembly, such that a series of at least two, and optionally three or more "click stops" are associated with each of the operational and non-operational positions.

3.

Scalpel, according to any one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the "click stops" are configured to create an audible sound after the engagement of a tooth with a notch.

Four.

Scalpel, according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cursor has a pair of transverse tabs (15) with claw formations (16) directed in opposition at their inner ends, to cooperate with cooperative transverse housings (14) formed in the blade holder.

5.

Scalpel according to claim 4, wherein the tabs are coplanar and are spatially separated in the longitudinal direction of the cursor.

6.

Scalpel, according to any of the preceding claims, in which the blade holder is configured, so that it can accept a series of blades of different designs.