Patent ID: 7981086

Claim:
A surgical access apparatus, which comprises: a housing; an access member extending from the housing and defining a longitudinal axis, the access member having a longitudinal passageway for passage of an object and defining trailing and leading ends; and an elongated seal mechanism mounted relative to the housing, the elongated seal mechanism including: a trailing hub and a leading hub longitudinally spaced from the trailing hub, the trailing hub and the leading hub adapted for relative rotational movement about the longitudinal axis; a plurality of spokes pivotally connected to the trailing hub and the leading hub, and extending therebetween in a generally linear manner to define a generally straight spoke, the spokes defining a first minimum internal dimension in a first condition thereof in the absence of an object and defining a second minimum internal dimension in a second condition thereof upon insertion of the object and relative rotation of the trailing hub and the leading hub, the second minimum internal dimension being greater than the first minimum internal dimension; and an elongated seal member disposed within the spokes and adapted to establish a sealing relation about the object wherein the elongated seal mechanism includes an outer liner circumferentially disposed about the spokes and fixed from rotational movement relative to the longitudinal axis, the outer liner engageable with one hub of the trailing and leading hubs during insertion and withdrawal of the object to prevent rotational movement of the one hub whereby the other hub is free to rotate to permit transitioning of the spokes between the first and second condition thereof.