Surgical blade abstract
A cartridge for dispensing and disposing of a single surgical blade.
The cartridge is specially adapted for machine loading of the blade.
The cartridge includes an elongate open-top box with means for receiving
and positioning the blade in a curved position to accept the mating
boss of a scalpel handle. The box also includes means for stripping
a used blade from the scalpel handle and retaining it within the
box for disposal. A cover member for the open top of the box is
provided. The cover member has downwardly projecting positioning
studs which cooperate with mating recesses in the side walls of
the box to position the cover on the open top of the box.
Surgical blade claims
Having described my invention in such terms as to enagle those
skilled in the art to understand and practice it, and having identified
the presently preferred embodiments thereof, I claim:
1. A combination dispenser-disposal cartridge for a surgical blade,
specially adapted for machine-loading of said blade therein, comprising:
(a) means defining an elongate open-topped box portion including
floor, side walls and end walls and having an aperture in one end
wall thereof;
(b) blade-positioning means formed integrally with said box portion,
including
(i) means defining a slot extending upwardly from the floor of
said box along a side of said aperture, said slot being dimensioned
to receive the shank end of a surgical blade, and
(ii) blade tip holding means comprising at least two members extending
upwardly from the floor of said box and spaced apart to receive
and frictionally engage the tip and at least a portion of the cutting
edge of said blade therebetween,
said slot and blade tip holder cooperating to position said blade
such that the shank portion thereof curvingly extends from the tip
rearwardly to the shank portion thereof;
(c) a cover member for the open top of said box portion having
downwardly projecting positioning studs which cooperate with mating
recesses in the side walls of said box member to position said cover
on the open top of said box member;
(d) blade stripping means for separating a used surgical blade
from a scalpel handle, including
(i) a finger member extending upwardly from the floor of said box
portion intermediate the side walls thereof for urging the shank
end of said blade away from said scalpel handle and for stripping
said blade from the boss thereof as said scalpel handle is withdrawn
from said aperture, and
(ii) an abutment shoulder formed in the lower edge of said aperture
for contacting the lower rear edge of said blade as it is stripped
from said scalpel handle boss and for retaining said blade within
said box portion when said scalpel handle is withdrawn therefrom.
Surgical blade description
This invention relates to a combination dispenser-disposal cartridge
for a surgical blade and constitutes an improvement on the invention
described in my issued U.S. Pat. No. 4106620 issued Aug. 15 1978.
In my issued U.S. Pat. No. 4106620 I disclose a dispenser for
storing at least one sharpened surgical blade, dispensing the blade
and, according to a further embodiment, a dispenser which includes
a separate compartment for separating used blades from a scalpel
handle and storing them for disposal. While the invention disclosed
in my issued patent functions efficiently for the purposes described
therein, it has subsequently appeared highly desirable to provide
a cartidge for more efficiently storing and dispensing a single
blade which would also function as a disposal cartridge, specially
adapted to receive and store a single used blade for disposal. Additionally,
it has appeared desirable to provide a blade storage-dispensing
and disposal cartridge which was more amenable to mass production
of the cartridge itself and which is specially configured to permit
machine loading of the new blades into the receptacle and to permit
sealing of the receptacle to maintain sterile conditions therewith.
Accordingly, it is the principal object of the present invention
to provide a combination dispenser-disposal cartridge for a single
surgical blade.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide such a combination
cartridge which is specially adapted for mass production by conventional
plastic marketing techniques.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide such a combination
dispenser-disposal cartridge which is specially adapted for machine
loading of the surgical blade therewith.
These and other, further, and more specific objects and advantages
of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from
the following detailed description thereof, taken in conjunction
with the drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a combination cartridge,
constructed in accordance with the principals of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cartridge of FIG. 1 with the
box and cover components fully assembled;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the box portion of the cartridge
of FIG. 1 taken along section line 3--3 thereof, and showing a surgical
blade positioned therewith;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the box portion of the cartridge
of FIG. 3 taken along section line 4--4 thereof;
FIG. 5 is a plan view of the lower surface of the cover member
of the cartridge of FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is an elevation view of the cover member of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view of the box member of FIG. 3
taken along section line 7--7 thereof;
FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the cover member of FIG. 6 taken
along section line 8--8 thereof;
FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the box member of FIG. 3 taken along
section line 9--9 thereof;
FIGS. 10A-10C are a series of sectional elevation views of the
cartridge of FIG. 2 showing the sequence of steps involved in the
engagement of a surgical blade with a scalpel handle;
FIGS. 11A-11C are a series of sectional plan views corresponding
to the elevation views of FIGS. 10A-10C; and
FIGS. 12A-12B are a series of sectional plan views of the cartridge
of FIG. 2 showing the steps of stripping a used blade from a scalpel
handle for disposal with the cartridge.
At present, disposable surgical scalpel blades are commercially
available in several sizes, produced by various manufacturers. They
can be obtained commercially in sterile or non-sterile packaging.
These blades are adapted to fit conventional metal scalpel handles
of various sizes to form knives used for a variety of purposes in
hospitals (surgery, pathology laboratories, etc.), in research laboratories
and in science departments in various schools and universities.
The typical commercially available surgical blade has a sharpened
tip and cutting edge portion and a shank portion extending rearwardly
therefrom. The shank portion of the blade is provided with an elongate
aperture which is shaped and adapted to receive a mating elongate
boss formed on the forward or attaching tip of a scalpel handle.
The elongate handle-engaging aperture of the blade has a widened
rear portion and a narrowed forward portion. The widened rear portion
of the aperture initially receives the engaging boss of the scalpel
handle and guides the boss forward into the narrowed forward portion
of the aperture. The boss is undercut such that the edges of the
narrowed forward portion of the aperture are engaged between the
scalpel handle and the undercut surface of the boss. When the boss
is completely inserted within the blade aperture, the rear edge
of the blade aperture snaps under the undercut surface at the rear
of the engaging boss, thus achieving locking engagement between
the blade and the scalpel handle.
To remove the blade from the scalpel handle, the rear edge of the
blade is lifted away from the handle to disengage the rear end of
the blade aperture from the rear end of the boss. The blade is then
pushed forward until the undercut boss clears the narrowed forward
portion of the blade aperture, permitting the blade to be lifted
completely clear of the handle.
Briefly, in accordance with the present invention, I provide a
combination dispenser-disposal cartridge for a surgical blade. The
cartridge is specially adapted for machine loading of the blade
and comprises an elongate open-topped box including floor, side
walls and end walls and having an aperture in one end wall. Blade-positioning
means are formed integrally with the box portion and include a slot
extending upwardly from the floor of the box alongside the aperture
which is dimensioned to receive the shank end of a surgical blade
and blade tip holding members extending upwardly from the floor
of the box which are spaced apart to receive and frictionally engage
the tip and at least a portion of the cutting edge of the blade.
The slot and blade tip holder cooperate to position the blade such
that the shank portion thereof curvingly extends from the tip rearwardly
to the shank. A cover member is provided having downwardly projecting
positioning studs which cooperate with mating recesses in the side
walls of the box to position the cover on the open top of the box
member. The cartridge also includes members which cooperate to strip
a used surgical blade from the scalpel handle and retain the blade
within the cartridge for disposal. These blade stipping elements
include a single member extending upwardly from the floor of the
box, intermediate the side walls thereof, for urging the shank end
of the used blade away from the scalpel handle and for stripping
the blade from the boss of the scalpel handle as the handle is withdrawn
from the aperture, and an abutment shoulder formed in the lower
edge of the aperture for contacting the lower rear edge of the blade
as it is stripped from the scalpel handle boss, to retain the blade
within the box when the scalpel handle is withdrawn.
Turning now to the drawings, in which like reference characters
denote the same elements in the several views, FIGS. 1 and 2 depict,
respectively, exploded and assembled views of a combination surgical
blade dispenser-disposal cartridge which includes a lower box portion
generally indicated by reference numeral 10 which includes side
walls 11 and walls 12 and a floor 13. The box portion 10 is provided
with a cover member 14. The cover 14 has integral downwardly extending
positioning studs 15 which cooperate with mating recesses 16 formed
in the side walls 11 of the box 10 to position the cover 14 on the
open top of the box 10 forming the complete enclosure which constitutes
the blade dispensing-disposal cartridge of the invention. If desired,
additional positioning studs such as the stud 15A can be provided
which mate with corresponding recesses such as the recess 16A formed
in an upstanding post 17 which is part of the blade tip holding
means, to be described later. The downwardly projecting studs 15
and 15A of the cover member 14 are preferably of of slightly larger
diameter than the mating recesses 16 and 16A so as to insure a snug
press-fit between the cover 14 and the box portion 10 when the cartridge
is fully assembled. To insure complete sterility of the contents
of the cartridge, the cover 14 and the box portion 10 are preferably
formed of a thermo-plastic material and these components are heat-sealed
during the assembly thereof and a pressure-sensitive foil flap 18
is provided to seal the aperture in the end wall 12A of the box
member 10.
The box member 10 is formed with an open top as shown in FIG. 1
in order to facilitate machine loading of surgical blades into the
cartridge as shown in FIGS. 3-4. The surgical blade 21 is simply
inserted downwardly in the direction of the arrow A in such fashion
that the tip 22 of the shank portion of the blade is received in
a slot 23 formed in the side wall 11A of the box 10 adjacent the
aperture 24 formed in end wall 12A. The tip 25 of the blade 21 is
received between abutments 26 formed in side wall 11A and the pillar
17. The abutments 26 and the pillar 17 are positioned such that
when the shank tip 22 of the shank portion of the blade 21 is received
in the slot 23 the blade curvingly extends from the forward tip
25 toward the shank tip 22 to facilitate insertion of the boss
of a scalpel handle into the slot 27 formed in the blade 21 as
will be described more fully below.
After insertion of the blade 21 into the box portion 10 as shown
in FIGS. 3-4 the cover 14 is affixed to the box portion 10 by aligning
the positioning studs 15 and 15A with the mating recesses 16 and
16A, and pressing the cover 14 into engagement with the tops of
the side walls 11 of the box portion 10. The cover 14 also has a
downwardly projecting member 28 which is received between the abutments
26 and 26A formed in the end wall 12 of the box portion 10 (as shown
in FIG. 9). The purpose of the depending member 28 will be explained
below.
The steps in withdrawing a surgical blade from the cartrige of
FIGS. 1-9 are illustrated in FIGS. 10A-10C and 11A-11C. The scalpel
handle 31 has a narrowed forward portion 32 on which is located
an undercut blade engaging boss 33. The boss 33 is undercut such
that the edges of the narrowed forward portion of the aperture 34
of the blade are engaged between the narrowed portion of the scalpel
handle 32 and the undercut surface of the boss 33. The handle 31
is inserted through the aperture in the end wall 12A of the cartridge
10 and the boss 33 is received within the enlarged rear portion
of the slot 34 in the blade 21. The handle 31 is moved forward within
the cartridge in the direction of the arrows A, as shown in FIGS.
10B and 11B, until the forward narrowed portion of the aperture
34 in the blade 21 is engaged between the boss 33 and the handle
32 as shown in FIGS. 10C and 11C. At this point, the blade 21 has
been moved forward within the cartridge 10 to the point that the
rear edge 22 of the blade 21 is unseated from the vertical slot
23 formed in the side wall of the cartridge 10 next to the aperture
in the end wall 12A. When the rear edge 22 of the blade 21 clears
the edge of the slot 23 the blade snaps into its operative position
on the scalpel handle, as shown in FIGS. 10C and 11C, and the blade
is withdrawn from the cartridge 10 by moving the handle rearwardly
in the direction of the arrows B.
Removal of a used blade from a scalpel handle and storage of the
blade within the cartridge 10 is accomplished as shown in FIGS.
12A and 12B. The scalpel handle 31 with the blade attached is inserted
into the aperture in the end wall 12A of the cartridge 10 until
the tip 25 of the blade 21 is engaged between the downwardly projecting
boss 28 and the rounded internal corner between the end wall 12
and side wall 11 of the box portion, as shown in FIG. 12A. At this
point, the handle 31 is moved to the right, as indicated by the
arrow C, and the rear edge 22 of the blade 21 is stripped away from
the narrowed forward portion 32 of the scalpel handle 31 by engagement
against the upstanding blade disengaging projection 35 formed integrally
with the floor 13 of the box portion 10. Next, movement of the scalpel
handle 31 to the rear, as indicated by the arrow D (FIG. 12B) carries
the blade 21 to the rear until the rear edge 22 of the blade 21
contacts a shoulder 36 formed along the leftmost portion of the
aperture in the end wall 12A and extending upwardly a distance sufficient
to engage the rear edge 22 of the blade 21 and retain the blade
21 within the cartridge. Continued movement of the handle 31 in
the direction of the arrow D disengages the narrowed forward portion
32 from the slot 34 formed in the blade 21 leaving the blade within
the cartridge for disposal.
As will be observed from FIGS. 10 11 and 12 the surgical blade
can be attached to the scalpel handle and then detached therefrom
without the necessity for touching the blade by hand, thereby permitting
the operation to be conducted with increased safety and with less
chance of contaminating the blade, which is particularly important
in surgical operations. |