Abstract:
A scalpel shield system for a scalpel that has a handle and a blade with a sharp cutting edge. The system is mountable on the scalpel and provided with a blade guard member having a pivot component engagable with a pivot component on the blade or the handle. The blade guard member is manually pivotable relative to the scalpel between a guard position for preventing injury by the sharp cutting edge and a retracted position for exposing the sharp cutting edge.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application 60/289,518 filed May 9, 2001. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to scalpels, and particularly to arrangements for preventing accidental contact with the cutting edge of the scalpel blade. 
   A variety of devices of this type, known generally as blade guards, are already known in the art. For example, devices of this type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,676,677 and 5,843,107, as well as in a number of other issued patents. The known devices are generally capable of only limited movement away from the blade edge, thus placing certain limitations on the use of the scalpel. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention provides an improved scalpel shield system for a scalpel that has a handle and a blade with a sharp cutting edge, the system comprising an adapter mountable on the scalpel and provided with a first pivot component; and a blade guard member having a second pivot component engagable with the first pivot component and manually pivotable relative to the adapter between a guard position for preventing injury by the sharp cutting edge and a retracted position for exposing the sharp cutting edge. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a side elevational view illustrating a first embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of one component of the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
       FIG. 4  is a side elevational view of the component shown in  FIG. 3 , taken in the direction opposite to that of  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 5  is a side elevational detail view of a second component of the embodiment of  FIGS. 1-4 . 
       FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional detail view taken along the line  6 - 6  of  FIG. 3 . 
       FIGS. 7A and 7B  are perspective views, from different directions, of a portion of a blade shield according to a second embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view showing the second embodiment of the invention with its blade shield in a locked position. 
       FIGS. 9-12  are perspective views illustrating a third embodiment of the invention in various operating positions. 
       FIGS. 13 and 14  are perspective views showing two components of the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 9-12 . 
       FIG. 15  is cross-sectional view taken along line  15 - 15  of  FIG. 13 . 
       FIG. 16  is cross-sectional view taken along line  16 - 16  of  FIG. 14 . 
       FIG. 17  is a perspective view of one component of the fourth embodiment of the invention. 
       FIGS. 18 and 19  are perspective views of second and third components of the fourth embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 20  is a view similar to that of  FIG. 18 , showing the second and third components assembled together. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIGS. 1 and 2  show a portion of an exemplary scalpel equipped with one preferred embodiment of a scalpel shield system according to the invention. The scalpel is composed of a conventional handle  12 , only the distal end of which is shown, and a conventional blade  14  having a cutting edge  16 . Handle  12  has a blade supporting member  18  and blade  14  has a mating slot into which supporting member  18  is inserted to hold blade  14  in place on handle  12 . 
   The blade guard system according to the invention is composed of two basic parts: an adapter  20  and a blade guard member  22  pivotally mounted on adapter  20 , shown in  FIGS. 3 ,  4  and  5 . In the illustrated embodiment, adapter  20  is molded around the rear end of blade  14 , as shown most clearly in  FIG. 5 . Alternatively, adapter  20  could be bonded to blade  14  or could be provided with a slot into which blade  14  is force-fitted. 
   Since adapter  20  is mounted on blade  14 , the blade guard assembly can be packaged together with blade  14 , with guard member  22  being in the blade guard position shown in  FIG. 1 . This will then prevent injury when blade  14  is first unpacked and placed on handle  12 . 
   Adapter  20  is provided with a through hole  26 , shown in  FIG. 5 , for receiving a pin  30  that is integral with guard member  22 . Guard member  22  is further composed of a blade cover portion  34  and a manually engageable control portion  36  from which pin  30  extends. Pin  30  is slotted along a plane containing the longitudinal axis of the pin. 
   As will become apparent from the detailed description herein, guard member  22  can pivot through a substantial angle, up to 180°, to fully expose blade  14 . Cover portion  34  has a side wall  40 , a lower edge carrying a lip  42  and an upper edge carrying a projecting element, or retaining member  44  that helps to retain guard member  22  adjacent blade  14  when member  22  is in the guard position shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , in which lip  42  is located alongside and slightly below cutting edge  16  to prevent any contact with that cutting edge. 
   The surface of wall  40  that faces blade  14  carries a longitudinally extending, laterally projecting rib  48 . As best seen in  FIG. 2 , blade supporting member  18  and rib  48  cooperate to retain guard member  22  in the guard position. When member  22  is in this position, rib  48  is located directly below a portion of blade supporting member  18  that projects from blade  14  toward side wall  40 . Such a portion of blade supporting member  18  is shown in  FIGS. 2  and, as element  124 , in  FIGS. 10-12 , which illustrate a third embodiment of the invention. When guard member  22  is pivoted away from the guard position, counterclockwise in  FIG. 1 , rib  48  is deflected laterally by supporting member  18  to prevent guard member  22  from ever touching cutting edge  16 . 
   Control portion  36  is fixed to cover portion  34  and the two portions  34  and  36  are preferably formed as a unitary molded component. Each basic part  20 ,  22  of the blade guard system is preferably a molded plastic, the preferred material being polypropylene or polyethylene. 
   Control portion  36  is shaped to extend away from cover portion  34  and has a generally curved form that is concave toward the free end of guard member  22 . The exact shape of control portion  36  can be varied, but should be selected to facilitate the various manipulations to be performed, including moving blade guard member  22  between the guard position shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  and one or more retracted positions, as will be described in greater detail below, and removing guard member  22  completely from adapter  20 . All of these manipulations may conveniently be performed with the index finger of the hand holding the scalpel, thereby causing minimum interference with the surgical procedure. 
   To move guard member  22  away from the guard position, the user, for example a surgeon, can press a surface region  52  of control portion  36 , and to move guard member  22  back to the guard position, the user can press on a surface region  54 . In situations where it is desired to remove guard member  22  completely, the user need only press on a surface region  56  ( FIG. 3 ) in a direction generally parallel to the axis of rotation of pin  30 . Pin  30  and hole  26  are formed, as will be described in greater detail below, to allow pin  30  to snap out of hole  26  in response to pressure applied to surface region  56 . Pin  30  and hole  26  will be configured and dimensioned to allow this action to be performed by a level of force that can easily be applied by the user but that is sufficient to avoid inadvertent removal of guard member  22 . 
   As is particularly apparent from a consideration of  FIG. 2 , adapter  20  can be dimensioned so that the surface thereof that faces control portion  36  is flush with, or projects past, the associated side surface of handle  12 . As a result, control portion  36  can be moved past handle  12  and guard member can be pivoted through an angle of up to 180° from the guard position. 
   The functional relation between pin  30  and hole  26  will be described with reference to  FIGS. 5 and 6 . 
   Hole  26  has two V-shaped indents, or recesses,  70  and  72  that will cooperate with a rib  80  on pin  30  to define detent positions for guard member  22 . Each detent position is defined by engagement of rib  80  in a respective one of indents  70  and  72 . 
   When guard member  22  is in the guard position shown in  FIG. 1 , rib  80  cooperates with indent  70  to define a first detent position. When guard member has been rotated through an angle of about 135° from the guard position, rib  80  comes to cooperate with indent  72  to define a second detent position. However, the interaction between pin  30  and hole  26  are such that guard member  22  can remain in essentially any angular position when no manual force is being applied. The detent positions are somewhat more stable than the other positions and give the user a tactile sense that guard member  22  is in one of the detent positions. 
   The free end of pin  30  has a bifurcated rim, or lip,  82  that helps to retain pin  30  in place in hole  26 . Rim  82  and the slot in pin  30  are dimensioned, along with the other parts of pin  30 , to reliably retain pin  30  in hole  26  while allowing pin  30  to be forced out of hole  26  by the application of an appropriate force to surface region  56 . 
   According to one variation, cover portion  34  can be modified to provide a lock that will hold blade guard member  22  in the guard position. 
   One example of such a lock is shown in  FIGS. 7A ,  7 B and  8 , where element  44  is replaced by an element  90  that is composed of a support portion  92  and a lock portion  94 . Preferably, element  90  is formed as an integral part of blade guard member  22 . 
   Support portion  92  extends from the upper edge of cover portion  34  and performs the same function as element  44 . Support portion  92  has the form of a frame and includes a lower frame strip  96 . 
   Lock portion  94  is joined to frame strip  96  along a reduced thickness line that provides an integral hinge  97 . The end of lock portion  94  that is remote from frame strip  96  is provided with a laterally projecting leg  98  that carries a latch element, or finger,  100 . Lock portion  94  can be manually engaged, at leg  98 , and pivoted about hinge  97  to move leg  98  beneath lip  42  so that latch element  100  engages side wall  40 . Thus, guard member  22  will be locked in the guard position, as shown in  FIG. 8 . 
     FIGS. 7A and 7B  further show cutouts included in side wall  40  and lock portion  94  to permit guard member  22  to be molded in one piece. 
   A third embodiment of a scalpel shield system according to the invention is illustrated in  FIGS. 9-16  and differs from the embodiments previously described in that it has a guard member  102  that is secured to a handle sleeve  104 , rather than to a blade  106 , or blade adapter. 
   Blade  106  is carried by a scalpel handle  110  in the same manner that blade  14  is carried by blade supporting member  18  of handle  12  in the embodiments of  FIGS. 1-8 . Specifically, in the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 9-16 , handle  110  has a blade supporting member with a portion  124  that projects laterally from the blade supporting member and engages a slot in blade  106 . Configurations of the slot in blade  106  and of portion  124  to securely but removably hold blade  106  in place are already well known in the art. Handle sleeve  104  is internally configured to be securely but removably attached to handle  110 , as for example with elements that provide a snap fit therebetween. 
   Guard member  102  is composed of two longitudinally extending side members  112  pivotally mounted at the their ends to the forward end of handle sleeve  104  and connected together at their front ends by a web  116 . 
   To provide the pivotal mounting, each side member  112  of guard member  102  is provided with a pin  117  and these pins engage in pin holes  118  in sleeve  104  (see  FIG. 14 ) 
   Handle sleeve  104  is provided with two protuberances  120 , each located at a respective side of sleeve  104 . Protuberances  120  extend in the longitudinal direction of handle sleeve  104 , starting from a point spaced from the rear end of sleeve  104 . 
   The blade supporting member of handle  110  is provided with a similar pair of protuberances, one of which is constituted by portion  124 , extending from each side of blade  106 . 
   The inner walls of side members  112 , i.e. the walls that face one another, are provided with detent portions  130 ,  132  each located adjacent and upper edge or lower edge of a respective member  112 . Detent portions  130  are separated from detent portions  132  by narrowed wall portions that form a region  134  having an enlarged width. The structure provided by elements  130 ,  132  and  134  is located and dimensioned to engage either protuberances  120  when guard member  102  is in a fully retracted position, or protuberances such as  124  when guard member  102  is in the guard position. When guard member  102  is pivoted to its retracted position, detent portions  132  are moved past protuberances  120  until protuberances  120  come to engage in region  134 . On the other hand, when guard member  102  is moved to its guard position, detent portions  130  are moved passed protuberances  124  until the latter come to engage in region  134 . 
   Guard member  102  is further provided with control elements  140  having operating surfaces that, like surface regions  52  and  54  of the first embodiment, can be manually engaged by the user&#39;s finger to move guard member  102  between its guard position and its retracted position, while the user continues to grasp handle  104 . 
   A fourth embodiment of the invention is illustrated in  FIGS. 17-20 . It will be noted that this embodiment is generally similar to the first embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 1-5 . Therefore, many of the structural features of the fourth embodiment that are identical to those of the first embodiment will not be provided with reference numerals in  FIGS. 17-20 . 
   The fourth embodiment is composed essentially of an adapter  20 ′ ( FIGS. 18 and 20 ), a blade guard member  22 ′ ( FIG. 17 ) and a biasing spring  24 . 
   The fourth embodiment differs from the first embodiment essentially in that the through hole  26 ′ of adapter  20 ′ and the outer surface of pin  30 ′ on guard member  22 ′ are essentially circular. Thus, pin  30 ′ is not provided with a rib, such as rib  80  of the first embodiment, but is provided with a rim  82  that serves to retain pin  30 ′ in place in hole  26 ′. As in the first embodiment, pin  30  is slotted along a plane containing the longitudinal axis the pin. 
   Adapter  20 ′ is provided with a circularly cylindrical sleeve  202 , the outer edge of which will bear against rim  82  when member  22 ′ is assembled to adapter  20 ′. Therefore, pin  30  is made longer than pin  30  of the first embodiment by an amount equal to the height of sleeve  202 . 
   The fourth embodiment is further provided with a biasing element, which is here in the form of a torsion spring  24 . Spring  24  will be seated around sleeve  202  with one end of spring  24  being bent to be seated in a post hole  204  provided in adapter  20 ′. Then, when pin  30 ′ is inserted through hole  26  with an orientation corresponding to the blade guard position, the opposite end of spring  24  will slide into the slot provided in pin  30 ′. During insertion of pin  30  into hole  26 , the two halves of pin  30 ′ will be deflected toward one another to allow passage of rim  82 . When pin  30 ′ has been fully inserted, its two halves will snap outwardly so that rim  82  will bear against the outer edge of sleeve  202 . Rim  82  is also preferably dimensioned to cover spring  24  and thus to retain spring  24  in position. Pin  30 ′, adapter  20 ′, and sleeve  202  will be dimensioned to eliminate any noticeable play between adapter  22  and guard member  22 ′ in the direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of pin  30 ′. In addition, pin  30 ′ is dimensioned to fit snugly in hole  26 ′ to assure that guard member  22 ′ will pivot relative to adapter  20 ′ over a precisely defined path, thereby assuring that when guard member  22 ′ is moved to its blade guard position, it will properly engage the scalpel blade. 
   Spring  24  is configured and dimensioned to bias guard member  22 ′ toward and into the blade guard position. Therefore, guard member  22 ′ must be actively held in its retracted position by the user. When the user releases guard member  22  it will automatically pivot into the guard position. 
   It should be readily apparent that a biasing member can also be incorporated into the other embodiments disclosed herein and that the biasing member can have a form other than a torsion spring. 
   The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without undue experimentation and without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. The means, materials, and steps for carrying out various disclosed functions may take a variety of alternative forms without departing from the invention. Thus the expressions “means to . . . ” and “means for . . . ”, or any method step language, as may be found in the specification above and/or in the claims below, followed by a functional statement, are intended to define and cover whatever structural, physical, chemical or electrical element or structure, or whatever method step, which may now or in the future exist which carries out the recited function, whether or not precisely equivalent to the embodiment or embodiments disclosed in the specification above, i.e., other means or steps for carrying out the same functions can be used; and it is intended that such expressions be given their broadest interpretation.