Abstract:
A rongeur is disclosed having a stationary shank and a crossbar slideable relative to the shank with a tongue in crossbar cooperating with a channel in the shank so as to interconnect the shank to the crossbar. At least one gap section is formed in both the shank and the crossbar to gain access to the interior of the rongeur to permit cleaning and lubrication without disassembling and reassembling the rongeur. Multiple gap sections can be placed in the rongeur longitudinally along the shaft and crossbar if desired.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present Application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/835,230, filed Jun. 14, 2013, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/771,522, filed Mar. 1, 2013, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    N/A 
       TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0003]    The present invention relates to a rongeur, and more particularly to a rongeur with access to its interior for cleaning and lubricating. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0004]    A rongeur is a hand held surgical instrument used for removing small amounts of bone, cartilage, or other biomass and tissues from sites within a body. A typical rongeur includes a fixed shank with an anvil or footplate at its distal end and a handle at its proximal end. A cross bar slidably engages the shank and reciprocates thereon by a pivotable second handle. Cutting edges on the distal end of the crossbar engage and contact against the footplate to cut away a small portion of material and hold it between the footplate and cutting edge with each reciprocation of the crossbar. 
         [0005]    As with most medical instruments, very small tolerances between the mating parts are mandated. Such tolerances often make cleaning extremely difficult, particularly the interior of such instruments. Blood and other bodily matter trapped between the shank and crossbar can be very difficult to remove. Failure to remove such matter can lead to incomplete sterilization. Accordingly, it is desirable to allow access to these parts during cleaning and sterilization. 
         [0006]    Another problem with rongeurs is the inability to properly lubricate all of the internal contacting surfaces without completely disassembling the instrument. Lack of proper lubrication makes the instrument difficult, if not impossible, to use and shortens the life of the instrument. Accordingly, it is also desirable to gain access to these parts after sterilization for proper lubrication. 
         [0007]    In sum, to properly clean and lubricate a rongeur, it must be assembled and then reassembled. This can be time consuming. Accordingly there is a desire to both clean and lubricate rongeurs without the need of disassembling and reassembling them. 
         [0008]    It is believed that the rongeur of the present invention alleviates many of these issues. The rongeur includes a shank and crossbar and incorporates gaps without them so as to gain easy access to the interior of the rongeur without disassembly. Significantly, existing rongeurs can be modified with and by the teachings of the present invention so as to make their interiors more accessible for cleaning and lubricating. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0009]    To understand the present invention, it will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  is a side elevation of an embodiment of an assembled rongeur of the present invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a top plan view of the distal end of the rongeur of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a bottom plan view of the crossbar of the rongeur of  FIG. 1  with the shank removed therefrom; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a side elevation view of the crossbar of the rongeur of  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a top plan view of the shank of the rongeur of  FIG. 1  with the crossbar removed therefrom; 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is a side elevation view of the shank of the rongeur of  FIG. 5 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  is an enlarged side elevation view of the shank of the rongeur of  FIG. 10 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 8  is an enlarged side elevation view of the crossbar of the rongeur of  FIG. 10 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 9  is an enlarged top view of the crossbar of the rongeur of  FIG. 10 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 10  is a side elevation of an embodiment of an assembled rongeur of the present invention; and 
           [0020]      FIG. 11  is a top plan view of the crossbar of the rongeur of  FIG. 10 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0021]    The present invention is directed to an improved medical rongeur that is more readily flushed, cleaned, sterilized, dried, and lubricated, than those commonly used. While the present invention is directed generally to rongeurs, it applies to many specific types of rongeurs such as Kerrison, Lempert, Schlesinger, Cushing, Stille-Horsley or Sella Punch Rongeurs. The present invention can be made or modified with rongeurs having a variety of sizes and shapes as are well known in the art. In particular, the present invention is useful with rongeurs having a variety of different cutting surfaces, sizes and shapes as well as different sizes, configurations and shapes for the handles and fixed shanks. The present invention also applies to other types of medical instruments that have inaccessible surfaces that are difficult, if not impossible, to properly flush, clean, sterilize, dry or lubricate. 
         [0022]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 10 , the rongeur  10  of the present invention includes a standard handle  11  with a front grip  12  and rear grip  13  and a biasing mechanism  14  disposed therebetween. The front grip is interconnected to the rear grip  13  by a screw  15  or similar fastener. A fixed shank  20  is integral with the rear grip  13  and a crossbar  40  is interconnected via a screw  16  to the front grip  12 . At the distal end of the crossbar  40 , there is a cutting plane  41  and the end of the distal end of the shank  20  there is a footplate  21 . Movement of the front grip  12  relative to the fixed rear grip  13  by a squeezing motion causes the crossbar  40  to move relative to the shank  20 . Specifically, when the grip  12  is moved in the direction marked as direction A towards the grip  13 , the crossbar  40  moves in the direction marked A relative to the shank  20 . Similarly, movement of the front grip  12  in the direction B results in movement of the crossbar in the direction B relative to the shank. 
         [0023]    With respect to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 7-11 , the crossbar  40  is slidably connected to the shank  20  by means of a tongue  42  projecting downwardly from the head section  53  of the crossbar into a receiving channel  22  in the head section  33  of the shank. Both the tongue  42  and the receiving channel  22  can be keyed for ensuring they stay interconnected. The shank  20  further has a sliding surface  50  abutting the sliding surface  30  of the crossbar  40 . Adjacent the head section  53  of the crossbar  40  is a gap section  70  comprised of a cut-out  51  in the crossbar resulting in a relatively thinner portion  52  formed in the crossbar  40 . Similarly, adjacent the head section  33  of the shank  20 , there is a gap section  60  comprised of a notch or cut-out  31  in the shank resulting in a relatively thinner portion  32  formed in the shank  20 . A hob or channel  55  is also formed in the top surface of the crossbar  40 . The hole/channel  55  may communicate with the gap sections  60 , 70 . 
         [0024]    More particularly, to form the gap section  70  in the crossbar  40 , each side of the crossbar is cut-out towards the top surface of the crossbar so as to leave a relative thin, yet strong, longitudinal section  52  connecting the proximate end of the crossbar to its distal end, that being the section supporting the cutting plane  41 . To form the gap section  60  in the shank  20 , each side of the shank is cut-out towards the bottom surface of the shank so as to leave a relatively thin, yet strong, longitudinal section  32  connecting the proximate end of the shank to its distal end, that being the footplate  21 . 
         [0025]    The two gap sections  60 , 70  basically align with one another when the rongeur  10  is at rest, as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 10 . By being aligned, the two gaps sections  60 , 70  form a single opening into the center of the rongeur in communication with the hole/channel  55 . The outermost surface of the longitudinal sections  52 , 32  can also be shaved or cut so that a space or opening  80  is formed between the two gap section  60 , 70 . 
         [0026]    The set of gap sections  60 , 70  permit access to the inside of the rongeur while it is still assembled ( FIGS. 1 and 10 ) facilitating the cleaning and lubrication thereof. If the crossbar is moved relative to the shank, while assembled, the interior can be further cleaned or lubricated. 
         [0027]    While only one set of the gap sections  60 , 70  is shown, it is recognized that multiple sets of gap sections  60 , 70  can be placed in the rongeur  10  longitudinally along the shaft  20  and crossbar  40  if desired. Multiple channels  55  may also cooperate and communicate the multiple gap sections  60 , 70 . 
         [0028]    In another embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1-6 , the crossbar  40  is slideably connected to the shank  20  by means of a tongue  42  projecting downwardly from the head section  53  of the crossbar into a receiving channel  22  in the head section  33  of the shank. Both the tongue  42  and the receiving channel  22  can be keyed for ensuring they stay interconnected. The shank  20  further has a sliding surface  50  abutting the sliding surface  30  of the crossbar  40 . Adjacent the head section  53  of the crossbar  40  is a gap section  70  comprised of two notches or cut-outs  51  in the crossbar resulting in a relatively thinner portion  52  formed in the crossbar  40 . Similarly, adjacent the head section  33  of the shank  20 , there is a gap section  60  comprised of two notches or cut-outs  31  in the shank resulting in a relatively thinner portion  32  formed in the shank  20 . 
         [0029]    More particularly, to form the gap section  70  in the crossbar  40 , each side of the crossbar is cut-out or shaved inwardly towards the centerline of the crossbar so as to leave a relative thin, yet strong, longitudinal section  52  connecting the proximate end of the crossbar to its distal end, that being the section supporting the cutting plane  41 . To form the gap section  60  in the shank  20 , each side of the shank is cut-out or shaved inwardly towards the centerline of the shank so as to leave a relatively thin, yet strong, longitudinal section  32  connecting the proximate end of the shank to its distal end, that being the footplate  21 . 
         [0030]    The two gap sections  60 , 70  basically align with one another when the rongeur  10  is at rest, as shown in  FIG. 1 . The outermost surface of the longitudinal section  52  can also be shaved or cut so that a space or opening  80  is formed between the two gap sections  60 , 70 . 
         [0031]    The set of gap sections  60 , 70  permit access to the inside of the rongeur while it is still assembled ( FIG. 1 ) facilitating the cleaning and lubrication thereof. If the crossbar is moved relative to the shank, while assembled, the interior can be further cleaned or lubricated. 
         [0032]    While only one set of the gap sections  60 , 70  is shown, it is recognized that multiple sets of gap sections  60 , 70  can be placed in the rongeur  10  longitudinally along the shaft  20  and crossbar  40  if desired. Multiple channels  55  may also cooperate and communicate the multiple gap sections  60 , 70 . 
         [0033]    It should also be noted that the present invention can be made into the rongeur when it is being constructed, or an existing rongeur can be modified so as to have one or more gap sections along she shaft and crossbar. 
         [0034]    The terms “first,” “second,” “upper,” “lower,” “top,” “bottom,” “above,” “below,” etc. are used for illustrative purposes to associate relative positioning of elements to other elements only and are not intended to limit the embodiments in any way. The term “plurality” as used herein is intended to indicate any number greater than one, either disjunctively or conjunctively as necessary, up to an infinite number. The terms “joined” “attached,” and “connected” as used herein are intended to put or bring two elements together so as to form a unit, and any number of elements, devices, fasteners, etc. may be provided between the joined or connected elements unless otherwise specified by the use of the term “directly” and/or supported by the drawings. 
         [0035]    While the specific embodiments have been illustrated and described, numerous modifications come to mind without significantly departing from the spirit of the invention, and the scope of protection is only limited by the scope of the accompanying Claims.