Patent ID: 7833241

Claim:
A surgical saw assembly, said assembly including: a housing shaped to receive a motor; a head located forward of said housing, said head having a bore; a drive plate disposed over said head, said drive plate having: at least one feature that connects said drive plate to the motor so that said drive plate oscillates around an axis concentric with the head bore; an outer surface spaced from said head; a plurality of spaced apart prongs that extend upwardly from the drive plate outer surface a first distance, said prongs spaced apart from each other so as to seat in openings formed in a saw blade; and at least one rigid raised member that extends upwardly from the drive plate outer surface a second distance, the second distance being less than the first distance, said raised member positioned so that when said prongs are disposed in the blade openings, said raised member is seated under the saw blade; a pin disposed in the head bore so as to move longitudinally in the bore, said pin having an upper end located above said drive plate; a collar mounted to the upper end of said pin so as to move with said pin, said collar being located above said drive plate and having openings through which said drive plate prongs and said at least one raised member can extend through; a cap mounted to the upper end of said pin to move with said pin so as to be spaced above said collar so as to define a slot between said collar and said cap for receiving a saw blade, said cap shaped to extend radially outwardly beyond the drive plate prongs and having an inner surface that faces said collar and an opening that extend inwardly from the inner surface for receiving the drive plate prongs; and a biasing member that extends between said head and said pin that displaces said pin so that said cap is urged towards said drive plate, wherein said drive plate prongs and said at least one raised member are further dimensioned and said pin, said cap and said collar are further arranged so that: when a saw blade is disposed in the slot and said cap is positioned proximal to said drive plate, said at least one raised members abuts the saw blade so that the saw blade is compressed between said raised member and said cap and said drive plate prongs extend through and above said collar, through the saw blade openings and into the opening in said cap; and said pin can be moved relative to said head so that said collar can be positioned at least partially above said drive plate prongs.