Claims
- 1. A surgical instrument comprising:
a handle assembly comprising a stationary handle and a movable handle pivotally connected to said stationary handle; an end effector assembly comprising a first member movably connected to a second member and a third member deployable between said first and second members and wherein said movable handle is operably connected to said end effector assembly thereby effectuating motion of said second end effector member relative to said first end effector member; and a trigger operably connected to said third end effector member and being adapted to effectuate deployment of said third end effector member only when a distance between said first and second end effector members is below a maximum allowable distance.
- 2. The surgical instrument of claim 1 wherein said movable handle comprises a first handle segment, said trigger comprises a first trigger segment, and wherein said first trigger segment interlocks with said first handle segment when said distance between said first and second end effector members is larger than said maximum allowable distance thereby preventing activation of said trigger and accordingly deployment of said third end effector member.
- 3. The surgical instrument of claim 1 wherein said first and second end effector members comprise first and second jaws, respectively.
- 4. The surgical instrument of claim 1 wherein said third end effector member comprises a needle.
- 5. The surgical instrument of claim 4 wherein said needle further comprises a suture.
- 6. The surgical instrument of claim 5 further comprising a suture cartridge.
- 7. The surgical instrument of claim 1 further comprising first actuation means for operably connecting said movable handle to said end effector assembly thereby translating motion of said movable handle to motion of said second end effector member relative to said first end effector member.
- 8. The surgical instrument of claim 1 further comprising second actuation means for operably connecting said trigger to said third end effector member thereby translating trigger activation to deployment of said third end effector member.
- 9. The surgical instrument of claim 1 wherein said handle assembly further comprises a ratchet mechanism adapted to secure said movable handle relative to said stationary handle.
- 10. The surgical instrument of claim 2 wherein said movable handle further comprises an elongated handle segment extending from said first handle segment and wherein an operator uses said elongated handle segment to move said movable handle relative to said stationary handle.
- 11. The surgical instrument of claim 2 wherein said trigger further comprises an elongated trigger segment extending from said first trigger segment and wherein an operator uses said elongated trigger segment to activate said trigger.
- 12. The surgical instrument of claim 1 further comprising a position indicator adapted to confirm that said distance between said first and second end effector members is below the maximum allowable distance.
- 13. The surgical instrument of claim 12 wherein said position indicator comprises a signal selected from a group consisting of audible signals, optical signals, mechanical signals, vibration signals, and tactile feel.
- 14. The surgical instrument of claim 1 wherein said maximum allowable distance is in the range between 0.5 and 0.01 inch.
- 15. The surgical instrument of claim 1 wherein said maximum allowable distance is 0.145 inch.
- 16. The surgical instrument of claim 1 wherein said end effector assembly is partially or entirely disposable.
- 17. A handle for a surgical instrument comprising:
a stationary handle; a movable handle pivotally connected to said stationary handle and comprising a first handle segment; and a trigger being operably connected to an end effector member and comprising a first trigger segment and wherein said first trigger segment interlocks with said first handle segment thereby preventing activation of said trigger and deployment of said end effector member when a distance between said movable handle and said stationary handle is larger than a maximum allowable distance.
- 18. In a surgical instrument comprising an end effector assembly, a method for controlling deployment of a first end effector member of said end effector assembly, said method comprising:
providing a stationary handle; providing a movable handle pivotally connected to said stationary handle and operably connected to said end effector assembly thereby translating motion of said movable handle to motion of a second end effector member of said end effector assembly relative to a third end effector member of said end effector assembly; and providing a trigger being operably connected to said first end effector member and comprising a first trigger segment and wherein said first trigger segment interlocks with a first handle segment of said movable handle thereby preventing activation of said trigger and deployment of said first end effector member when a distance between said second end effector member and said third end effector member is larger than a maximum allowable distance.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED CO-PENDING APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/478,670 filed on Jun. 13th, 2003 and entitled INTERLOCKING TRIGGER ASSEMBLY FOR A SUTURING DEVICE which is commonly assigned and the contents of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60478670 |
Jun 2003 |
US |