Surgical blade abstract
A surgical blade dispenser includes a box for storing blades in
such position that a scalpel handle can be inserted through an aperture
in one wall of the box to lockingly engage one blade and remove
it from the box through the aperture. The blades are individually
positioned and supported within the box such that apertures in the
shank portion of the blade are engagable with a mating boss on the
forward end of the scalpel handle as the handle is inserted through
an aperture in the wall of the box. Further insertion of the handle
causes the boss to fully engage the aperture in the scalpel blade
and, once complete engagement has been attained, the blade is withdrawn
from the box by withdrawal of the handle through the aperture. A
blade disposal section is preferably included in the box. The handle
aperture of the blade disposal section is provided with a metal
edge. When a scalpel handle with a blade mounted thereon is inserted
through the aperture, the rear edge of the blade can be engaged
with the metal edge of the aperture and withdrawal of the handle
strips the blade from the engaging boss, leaving the blade within
the disposal section as the handle is withdrawn through the aperture.
Surgical blade claims
Having described my invention in such clear, concise and exact
terms as to enable those skilled in the art to understand and practice
it, and having described the presently preferred embodiment thereof,
I claim:
1. A surgical blade dispenser for holding at least one surgical
blade until ready for use, and for dispensing and attaching said
blade to a scalpel handle,
said scalpel handle including an elongate handle portion terminating
at its forward end in a narrowed extension forming a blade attaching
tip, said tip having an elongate boss carried thereon,
said surgical blade having a sharpened tip and cutting edge portion
and a shank portion extending rearwardly therefrom, the shank portion
of said blade having an elongate aperture therein shaped and adapted
to receive and lockingly engage with said mating elongate boss carried
by the attaching tip of said scalpel handle,
said dispenser comprising:
(a) enclosure means defining a box for storing at least one of
said surgical blades;
(b) blade positioning means within siad box for frictionally engaging
(i) the tip and at least a portion of the cutting edge of said
blade, and
(ii) the shank portion of said blade to position said blade such
that the shank portion of said blade curvingly extends toward a
wall of said box proximate the shank portion of said blade, said
wall having at least one aperture therein sized and shaped to receive
the attaching tip of said scalpel handle therethrough, a distance
sufficient that the boss of said attaching tip can be inserted and
lockingly engaged with the aperture in the shank portion of said
blade.
2. Surgical blade dispenser of claim 1 including means defining
a used-blade storage receptacle carried by said box, said receptacle
having an aperture in a wall thereof shaped and dimensioned to receive
therethrough a scalpel handle tip and surgical blade attached thereto,
said aperture having an edge thereof shaped to engage the shank
end of said surgical blade and separate it from the scalpel handle
when said scalpel handle is withdrawn, to detach said blade from
said handle and retain said blade in said disposal receptacle.
Surgical blade description
This invention relates to dispensers for surgical blades.
In another respect, the invention pertains to a surgical blade
dispenser for storing a plurality of sharpened surgical blades.
In still another aspect, the invention concerns a surgical blade
dispenser for storing a plurality of pre-sterilized surgical blades
until ready for use and maintaining them in individually sterile
condition until each is withdrawn from the dispenser.
In a further aspect, the invention concerns a dispenser for surgical
blades which is adapted to permit an individual blade to be attached
to a scalpel handle without manual handling of the blade by the
surgeon or surgical assistant, thereby insuring that the blade can
be lockingly engaged with the scalpel handle with complete safety
and without contaminating the blade with germs or bacteria.
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 at 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 scalepl 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.
According to present practice, the above-described manipulative
steps are performed by hand. This presents at least two problems,
namely, the possibility that the very sharp cutting edge of the
blade will contact and cut the fingers of the person performing
the operation and, secondly, the blade may be contaminated by germs
or bacteria carried on the manipulator's hands.
It would be highly desirable to provide a dispenser for surgical
blades which would permit the blade to be completely engaged with
the handle without touching the blade so as to avoid possible safety
or contamination problems. It would further be desirable to confine
the blade within a suitable enclosure which cna be conveniently
held in one's hand during the blade attaching operation to avoid
the above-described problems.
It would also be highly desirable to provide means for disengaging
the blade from the scalpel handle without touching the blade and
to provide means for storing the used blades so that they do not
present a further safety hazard and for possible resharpening, sterilization
and reuse.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention
to provide a dispenser for surgical blades.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a surgical
blade dispenser for holding at least one, preferably a plurality
of surgical blades, and for dispensing them individually just prior
to use thereof.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a surgical
blade dispenser for storing and individually dispensing pre-sterilized
surgical blades.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a surgical
blade dispenser of the type described above, specially adapted to
permit the blade to be attached to a scalpel handle while confined
within the dispenser, so as to avoid the necessity or possibilty
of the blade cutting the manipulator's hands or being contaminated
by germs or bacteria carried by the hands.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a surgical
blade dispenser having an integral blade disposal section, adapted
to permit the used blade to be disengaged from the scalpel handle
without manually contacting the blade and which provides convenient
means for storing the used blades to avoid safety hazards and for
possible resharpening, sterilization and reuse.
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 surgical blade dispenser
embodying the principles of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of the dispenser of FIG. 1
taken along section line 2--2 thereof, illustrating the position
in which surgical blades are disposed within the dispenser prior
to use and further illustrating the forward end of a conventional
scalpel handle to which the blades are later attached, as described
below;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the dispenser of FIG. 1 taken along
section line 3--3 thereof, showing further details of the manner
in which the blades are positioned within the dispenser before use;
FIGS. 4A-4D and FIGS. 5A-5D are sectional views illustrating the
steps involved in attaching a surgical blade contained within the
dispenser of FIG. 1 to a conventional scalpel handle as illustrated
in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4E is a sectional view showing the removal of the blade after
attachment to the handle;
FIGS. 6A-6B are sectional views of the dispenser of FIG. 1 taken
along section line 6--6 thereof, showing the means including a metal
insert and the method of detaching the surgical blade from the scalpel
handle in the disposal portion of the blade dispenser of FIG. 1;
and
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing in greater detail the metal
insert using in the disposal section of FIGS. 6A-6B.
Briefly, in accordance with my invention, I provide a surgical
blade dispenser for holding at least one surgical blade until ready
for use and for dispensing and attaching the blade to a conventional
scalpel handle.
The conventional scalpel handle includes an elongate handle portion
terminating at its forward end in a narrowed extension forming a
blade attaching tip, having an elongate boss formed thereon.
The conventional surgical blade dispensed in accordance with the
invention has a sharpened forward tip and cutting edge portion extending
rearwardly therefrom along one side thereof and a shank portion
extending rearwardly from the tip. The shank portion of the blade
has an elongate aperture therein shaped and adapted to receive and
lockingly engage with the mating elongate boss carried by the attaching
tip of the scalpel handle.
The dispenser of the present invention comprises enclosure means
defining a box for storing at least one of the surgical blades.
The blade is positioned within the box by blade-positioning means
for frictionally engaging the tip and at least a portion of the
cutting edge of the blade and for supporting the rear edge of the
shank portion of the blade in such fashion that the blade is slightly
curvingly deformed from the rear end to the forward end thereof.
A wall of the box proximate the shank end of the blade is provided
with an aperture sized and shaped to receive the attaching tip of
the scalpel therethrough a distance sufficient that the boss of
the attaching tip can be inserted and lockingly engaged with the
aperture in the shank portion of the blade.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the surgical blade
dispenser described above includes means defining a used blade storage
receptacle. The receptacle has an aperture in a wall thereof shaped
and dimensioned to receive a scalpel handle tip therethrough with
the surgical blade attached to it. The aperture has an edge thereof
shaped to engage the shank end of the surgical blade and separated
from the scalpel handle when the scalpel handle is withdrawn from
the aperture, to detach the blade from the handle and retain it
within the disposal receptacle.
Turning now to the drawings, FIGS. 1-3 illustrate the blade dispenser
of the invention which comprises a box 10 formed of plastic, metal
or other suitable material, having a cover 11. The cover 11 is separately
formed and attached to the box 10 after the dispenser is loaded
with blades, as described below. The cover 11 may be permanently
secured to the box 10 or may be detachably secured thereto, according
to the presently preferred embodiment of the invention.
The box 10 is generally divided by the rear wall thereof 12 into
two separate compartments, a blade storage and dispensing compartment
13 and a used blade removal and storage receptacle 14.
A plurality of surgical blades 15 are positioned within the storage
and dispensing compartment 13 by means of a blade-positioning block
16 and slots formed in the forward wall 17 of the box 10. The block
16 which positions the forward ends 15a of the blades 15 is formed
of a relatively soft plastic which will frictionally engage the
forward ends 15a of the blades 15 without dulling the cutting edge
formed on the tip and underside thereof.
The forward ends 15a of the blades 15 are frictionally engaged
with the block 16 in slots 18 formed therein. The rear ends 15b
of the blades 15 are received and held within angularly disposed
slots 19 formed in the forward wall of the box 10. The slots 19
and their respective mating slots 18 are offset in such fashion
that the blade 15 is slightly deformed so as to curve laterally
as shown away from apertures 21 formed in the front wall 17 of the
box 10. The purpose for deforming the blade so as to curve, as shown,
will be explained below.
If desired, each of the blades 15 in the storage and dispensing
compartment 13 can be separated by partitions 22 formed integrally
with the front wall 17 of the box 10 and extending to and received
within notches 22a formed in the blade-positioning block 16. A piece
of adhesive-backed puncturable tape 23 formed of thin metal foil,
plastic or the like, can be used to seal the openings 21 in the
box 10. The partitions 22 and the puncturable tape 23 cooperate
to maintain each of the blades 15 in a separate compartment, sealed
from the ambient atmosphere until ready for use. In this manner,
pre-sterilized blades can be maintained in a completely sterile
environment until the puncture tape sealing the aperture 21 leading
to the compartment in which the blade 15 is stored is broken by
insertion of the scalpel handle.
The method of attaching a blade to the scalpel handle and withdrawing
it from the dispenser will now be described. Referring first to
FIG. 2 the surgical blade is formed of thin, high-quality metal
and includes a sharpened tip and cutting edge portion 31 extending
rearwardly from the forward end 15a of the blade. A shank portion
32 extends rearwardly from the tip 15a and sharpened cutting edge
31 of the blade. The blade is provided with an elongate aperture
33 which is wider at the rear end thereof and which converges to
a narrowed forward portion 34. As the blade is held in the dispenser,
the tip portion 15a thereof is received and frictionally engaged
in the blade-positioning block 16 in such manner that force exerted
on the blade in the direction of the arrow A can cause the blade
to move forward in its slot 18 to the position shown by the dashed
lines 35 at which point the rear end 15b of the shank portion of
the blade will just clear the slot 19 formed in the front wall 17
of the box 10.
The forward end of a conventional scalpel handle is also illustrated
in FIG. 2. The handle portion 36 of the scalpel handle terminates
at its forward end in a narrowed extension 37 forming a blade-attaching
tip. The tip has an elongate boss 38 formed thereon which is undercut
as shown by the dashed lines 39.
Referring now to FIGS. 4A-4D and 5A-5D, as the scalpel blade handle
36 is inserted in the direction of the arrow B through one of the
openings 21 in the forward wall 17 of the box 10 the forward end
of the boss 38 contacts the curvingly extending blade 15 and is
received within the wider portion 33 of the slot formed in the blade
15 all as shown in FIGS. 4A and 5A. As shown in FIGS. 4B and 5B,
further movement of the scalpel handle 36 in the direction of the
arrow B causes the boss 38 to move forward into the narrowed portion
34 of the aperture in the blade 15 at which point the blade 15
is held between the tip portion 37 of the scalpel handle 36 and
the undercut side of the boss 38. The rear end of the boss 38 has
not yet cleared the rear end of the aperture 33.
Still further movement of the handle 36 in the direction of the
arrow B, as shown in FIGS. 4C and 5C, causes the rear end of the
boss 38 to clear the rear edge 33 of the slot in the blade 15 all
the while causing the forward end 15a of the blade 15 to move further
into the blade retaining slots 18 formed in the blade-positioning
block 16 bringing the rear edge 15b of the blade 15 just clear
of the slot 19 formed in the front wall 17 of the box portion of
the dispenser. At this point, as shown in FIGS. 4D and 5D, the rear
end 15b of the blade 15 is free to snap arcuately in the direction
of the arrow C toward the blade-engaging tip 37 of the handle 36
at which point the rear end of the slot 33 snaps over the rear end
of the boss 38 completing engagement of the blade 15 with the handle
36.
The assembled blade 15/handle 36 combination is then withdrawn
through the aperture 21 in the direction of the arrow D, as an integral
ssembly.
Removal of the blade from the scalpel handle is illustrated in
FIGS. 6A, 6B and 7. The blade 15 attached to the tip portion 37
of the handle 36 is inserted within an aperture 39 in a wall of
the used blade storage receptacle 6. One edge of the aperture 39
is provided with a metal insert 41 having outwardly projecting ears
42 which slip under the rear end 15b of the blade 15. When the handle
36 is moved laterally in the direction of the arrow C, the rear
edge 15b of the blade 15 is separated from the rear end of the boss
38 such that the handle 36 can then be withdrawn through the aperture
39 in the direction of the arrow D, leaving the blade 15 within
the used blade storage receptacle 6.
As will be observed by those skilled in the art, the dispenser
herein disclosed provides a quick, positive, safe and sanitary method
of storing, attaching and detaching surgical blades from scalpel
handles, to overcome the problems described above associated with
manually attaching and detaching surgical blades from scalpel handles. |