Pipe joints or couplings – Essential catch – With manipulator
Patent
1997-12-26
2000-10-10
Nicholson, Eric K.
Pipe joints or couplings
Essential catch
With manipulator
285316, F16L 3718
Patent
active
06129392&
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
DESCRIPTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to coupler for tubular-shaft instruments, which serves to fasten an instrument or part of an instrument such as an (instrument) handle detachably on a shaft tube.
2. Prior Art
In endoscopic application and particularly in micro-surgery it is often necessary to insert an endoscope, a trocar, forceps, scissors or another instrument into a shaft which may be a universal shaft, a trocar sleeve or the like, for instance. It is necessary in many applications that the instrument inserted into the shaft be securely connected to the shaft in operation and may be detached again whenever this is necessary. Normally a coupler is provided to establish this secure connection. These couplers are manufactured in the most different versions by the individual producers. As a rule, these couplers include bayonet mount elements and a rotating ring which must be rotated in the opposite direction for locking and unlocking.
Independently thereof, there is an ever-increasing demand for instruments and particularly tubular-shaft instruments or endoscopes which may be dismantled with a few manipulations for cleaning and sterilizing the instruments before and/or after a surgical operation, without residues remaining adhered in corners of the instruments which are difficult to reach, e.g. angled corners. In such a case, too, the use of couplers is required which ensure the easy disassembly of instruments and tubular-shaft instruments in particular.
Moreover, it is frequently desirable to use at least those instrument parts only once which come into contact with the patient's body. In order to be able to offer the frequently highly complex instruments yet at the most reasonable price possible it makes sense to design those parts which do not contact the patient's body as non-disposable elements. In such a case, too, it is necessary to provide couplers or the like in order to enable a rapid, simple and reliable exchange of instrument parts.
The German Patent DE 39 34 610 A1 discloses a quick-action coupler for surgical instruments. That quick-action coupler includes a plug-in pin with at least one shoulder in its peripheral surface. A casing of the quick-action coupler is provided with a plug-in opening for the plug-in pin. At least one locking body designed for radial and axial displacement is provided in the wall of the casing, which, when the plug-in pin is inserted, is aligned relative to the shoulder. A sliding piece supported on the casing for displacement between two terminal positions bears against the locking body in a first terminal position, sliding the latter inwardly beyond the inner wall of the plug-in opening into the latter. In the second terminal positions, the sliding piece releases the path for the locking body so that the latter may be radially outwardly displaced until it is no longer inserted into the plug-in opening. However, it is not known from that prior art document that a rotating sleeve disposed around a shaft mount should be provided in a quick-action coupler, which is used to disengage the connection simply by rotation rather than by a sliding movement.
The European Patent EP 0 056 266 A1 discloses a quick-exchange chuck which is suitable for use between driving parts and/or tools having driving jaws for rotational drive and key-way engagement for detachable longitudinal connection, particularly for surgical instruments. There a locking sleeve, which serves as driving element, is provided with a radially displaceable locking element, which sleeve is surrounded by a push-on locking ring which, due to a locking cam, causes locking with the introduced driving element or tool when the locking element is rotated, with an annular spring engaging into the locking ring, on the one hand, which spring engages, on the other hand, into a closing ring which is adapted to be inserted by means of a locking pin at an opening on the locking sleeve, possibly with an annular insert, up to an annular groove and may be locked under spring action relative to the open
REFERENCES:
patent: 1868587 (1932-07-01), Richards
patent: 3032359 (1962-05-01), Cator
patent: 3083042 (1963-03-01), Collar
patent: 3351359 (1967-11-01), Ferrairs
patent: 4403959 (1983-09-01), Hatakeyama
patent: 4444223 (1984-04-01), Maldavs
patent: 4577875 (1986-03-01), Miyakawa
Bacher Uwe
Dittrich Horst
Sauer Michael
Karl Storz GmbH & Co. KG
Nicholson Eric K.
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