Wand-style surgical instrument with lockable throttle

A surgical instrument having a locking throttle mechanism. The throttle is pivotally mounted to a wand-type housing by a hinge, and the housing includes a tool tip and a connecting mechanism. The throttle fits in an indented portion of the housing when it is in an ON position. An actuating switch is placed under the throttle and is controlled by a sliding grip/safety switch located on the throttle. A slidable locking mechanism is placed within a cavity of the throttle and may be moved between a locked position and an unlocked position. In the locked position, a portion of the slidable locking mechanism communicates with a locking cavity proximate to the lip of the housing. A spring is located between the throttle and the housing and urges the throttle into an OFF position and is compressed when the throttle is advanced downward towards the housing.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention generally relates to a locking throttle and, more 
particularly, to a wand-style surgical instrument having a locking 
throttle mechanism. 
BACKGROUND DESCRIPTION 
There are countless medical devices that are currently being used by 
medical professionals, such as surgeons, dentists, etc. These medical 
devices include, amongst others, saws, drills, screw drivers and other 
tools (collectively referred to as "surgical instruments"). These surgical 
instruments typically operate using electrical or pneumatic motors which 
are activated by a trigger or throttle mechanism. 
In order to use these surgical instruments, a medical professional must 
activate the motor by actuating the trigger or throttle or other 
activating mechanism. The activation of the trigger or throttle is 
performed by placing pressure on the activating mechanism such that when a 
maximum amount of pressure is placed on the activating mechanism, the 
electrical or pneumatic motor is "running" at full speed. Thus, for the 
surgical instrument to properly operate during a medical procedure the 
medical professional must constantly place pressure on the activating 
mechanism, such as the trigger, which depending on the surgical procedure, 
may last for an extended period of time (e.g., minutes to hours). 
Placing constant pressure on the activating mechanism of the surgical 
instrument poses several problems for the medical professional, not the 
least of which is fatigue to the medical professional's hand. Of course, 
present activating mechanisms also pose other problems which need to be 
addressed by designers of surgical tools. Specifically, it may be 
difficult for the medical professional at times to both manipulate the 
surgical instrument and simultaneously apply pressure to the activating 
mechanism during use thereof. This not only poses a problem to the medical 
professional, but it also may pose a danger to the patient. For example, 
when using a wand-style surgical instrument, the medical professional may 
have to position the surgical instrument in such a position that constant 
pressure cannot be applied to the activating mechanism at a critical time 
during the medical procedure, thus leading to unacceptable results. 
What is needed is a locking system that is easy to use and provides 
safeguards for both the medical professional using the medical device and 
the patient. Such a system would provide safety features so that the 
locking mechanism cannot be accidently deactivated by the medical 
professional. This locking mechanism would also provide a safety switch so 
that when the trigger is inadvertently activated, the driving motor will 
not engage therein. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is directed to a surgical instrument having a locking 
throttle mechanism. In particular, a throttle is pivotally mounted to a 
wand-type housing by a hinge. A tool tip and a connecting mechanism are 
provided at opposing ends of the surgical instrument. 
The housing can be substantially cylindrical in shape and may include an 
indented portion having a lip near the end of the tool tip. In various 
embodiment, discussed in detail below embodiments, the throttle fits in 
the indented portion when it is in a partially ON position or a fully "ON" 
position when used with surgical tools having variable speed motors, and 
forms an integral part of the housing. The housing may also include a 
contoured portion in order to accommodate a user's hand. An actuating 
switch is placed under the throttle and is controlled by a sliding 
grip/safety switch located on the throttle. 
A slidable locking mechanism is placed within a cavity of the throttle and 
is movable between a locked position and an unlocked position. In the 
locked position, a portion of the slidable locking mechanism communicates 
with a locking cavity proximate to the lip of the housing. A spring is 
located between the throttle and the housing and urges the throttle into 
an "OFF" position and is compressed when the throttle is advanced downward 
towards the housing (i.e., to the ON position).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is directed to a surgical instrument having a locking 
throttle mechanism. In a preferred embodiment, the surgical instrument 
having a locking throttle mechanism is used in medical devices, such as, 
reciprocating liposuction handpiece or drill systems; however, other 
systems, such as, for example, screw drivers, saws and other tools, are 
equally contemplated for use with the present invention. Thus, the present 
invention is not limited to reciprocating liposuction handpiece or drill 
systems, but is equally applicable to other medical and non-medical tools. 
It is also noted that the surgical instrument of the present invention may 
utilize an electric motor or be equally powered by a pneumatic mechanism 
or other well known driving mechanism, all of which are not critical to 
the understanding of the present invention. 
By using the locking throttle mechanism of the present invention, a user 
may operate the surgical tool without applying pressure to an activating 
mechanism, such as a throttle mechanism, during use thereof. This allows 
the user to better manipulate the surgical instrument without the added 
concern of whether the surgical instrument will operate in its intended 
manner (e.g., whether the motor is activated). Also, the surgical 
instrument of the present invention includes a safety mechanism so that 
when the locking mechanism is locked when the throttle is in the ON 
position, a safety switch must still be activated in order to operate the 
surgical instrument of the present invention. 
Referring now to FIG. 1, a side view of the surgical instrument 10 having a 
locking throttle mechanism in an OFF position is shown. In particular, a 
throttle 30 is pivotally mounted to a wand-type housing 20. The throttle 
30 may be mounted to the housing 20, for example, by a hinge 5. A tool tip 
2 is provided at a distal end of the surgical instrument 10 and a 
connecting mechanism 3 is provided at a proximal end of the surgical 
instrument 10. The tool tip 2 may accommodate several different types of 
tools, such as liposuction cannulas, drills, saws and the like, and the 
connecting mechanism 3 may accommodate an electrical or pneumatic 
connection system. It is understood that both the tool tip 2 and 
connecting mechanism 3 are not critical to the understanding of the 
present invention and a detailed discussion of the tool tip 2 and 
connecting mechanism 3 is thus omitted herein. 
As further seen in FIG. 1, the housing 20 is substantially cylindrical in 
shape (although other shapes are equally contemplated for use with the 
present invention, such as, for example, rectangular or square shapes) and 
may include an indented portion 11 having a lip 12 at the distal end of 
the surgical tool 10, proximate the tool tip 2. The housing 20 may also 
include a contoured portion 13 on an underside of the housing 20 so as to 
accommodate a user's hand. The throttle 30 fits in the indented portion 11 
when in a fully ON position (e.g., when the throttle 30 rests on the 
housing 20) (FIG. 2) such that, in embodiments, the throttle 30 forms an 
integral part of the housing 20. In further embodiments, the throttle 30 
rests on an upper surface of the housing 20 when in the ON position. In 
variable speed motors, the throttle 30 need not be fully depressed in 
order to activate the motor. An actuating switch 9 is placed under the 
throttle 30 and is controlled by a sliding grip/safety switch 32 located 
on the throttle 30, and will be discussed with respect to FIG. 4. 
Referring still to FIG. 1, a sidable locking mechanism 40 is placed within 
a cavity 31 of the throttle 30; however, the slidable locking mechanism 40 
may merely be positioned on an upper surface of the throttle 30, and not 
in a cavity. The sidable locking mechanism 40 is movable between a locked 
position "A" and an unlocked position "B". In the locked position "A", a 
portion of the slidable locking mechanism 40 communicates with a locking 
cavity proximate to the lip 12 of the housing 20 (FIG. 4). 
FIG. 2 shows a side view of the surgical instrument 10 with the throttle 30 
in the ON position. In this position, the actuating lever 40 is in the 
locked position "A". Also, the sliding grip/safety switch 32 is in the 
closed position such that the actuating switch 9 is in a non-activated 
position. 
FIG. 3 shows an exploded view of FIG. 1 along the line A--A. Specifically, 
FIG. 3 shows a spring 50 placed between the throttle 30 and surface of the 
housing 20. The spring 50 urges the throttle 30 into the OFF position 
(e.g., when the throttle 30 is fully extended upward with respect to the 
housing 20) and is compressed when the throttle 30 is advanced downward 
towards the housing 20 in the ON position. It is further noted that the 
spring 50 may be located at various positions along the housing 20, and 
other urging mechanisms may be used by the present invention, such as, for 
example, a spring loaded lever or a resilient material. 
As further seen in FIG. 3, the slidable locking mechanism 40 includes a 
leaf spring 42 and a sliding lock portion 41 on the underside of the 
throttle 30. In embodiments, the leaf spring 42 and the sliding lock 
portion 41 oppose one another and are further provided in a cutout 34 on 
the underside of the throttle 30; however the leaf spring 42 and the 
sliding lock portion 41 may be placed on the underside of the throttle and 
not in a cutout. The leaf spring 42 includes a step portion 43 which bears 
against an upper surface of the cutout 34. A locking cavity 15 located on 
the lip 12 of the housing 20 and a notch 33 is provided on the underside 
of the throttle, preferably within the cutout 34. In a locked position, an 
end portion 41A of the sliding lock portion 41 communicates with the 
locking cavity 15 in order to lock the throttle 30 in the locked position 
"A", and the step portion 43 communicates with the notch 33 in order to 
maintain the slidable locking mechanism 40 in the locked position "A". 
FIG. 4 shows an exploded view of FIG. 2 along the line B--B, and more 
specifically, the sliding lock portion 41 communicating with the locking 
cavity 15. As further seen in FIG. 4, when the throttle 30 is in the ON 
position, the spring 50 is compressed between the throttle 30 and the 
housing 20. As clearly seen in FIG. 4, when the locking mechanism 40 
slides into the locked position "A", the end portion 41A of the sliding 
lock portion 41 communicates with the locking cavity 15 in order to lock 
the throttle 30 in an ON position. 
In preferred embodiments, when the sliding grip/safety switch 32 is in a 
first position (e.g., closed position) (shown), the actuating switch 9 
communicates with a bore 35 of the sliding grip/safety switch 32 so that a 
driving motor of the surgical instrument is not activated when the 
throttle 30 is in the ON position. However, when the sliding grip/safety 
switch 32 is in an opposing second position (e.g., opened position) (not 
shown), the actuating switch 9 communicates with a bottom surface 32A of 
the sliding grip/safety switch 32 such that the driving motor of the 
surgical instrument is activated when the throttle 30 is in the ON 
position. The driving motor of the surgical instrument will not be 
activated when the throttle 30 is in the OFF position, but can be 
regulated as the throttle is advanced downward toward the housing 20, as 
seen in FIGS. 1 and 3. 
While the invention has been described in terms of a single preferred 
embodiment, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can 
be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the appended 
claims.