Surgery – Means for introducing or removing material from body for... – Treating material introduced into or removed from body...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-10
2001-07-10
Seidel, Richard K. (Department: 3763)
Surgery
Means for introducing or removing material from body for...
Treating material introduced into or removed from body...
C604S110000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06258056
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, generally, to apparatus and methods for implanting objects beneath membranes. More particularly, the invention relates to implanters for depositing electronic tracing devices, hormone pellets or other objects or pellets beneath a membrane.
2. Background Information
The state of the art in general includes various devices and methods for implanting objects beneath a membrane using a device that has a rod which travels through a hollow needle to deposit the object through the needle and beneath the punctured membrane. For example, the objects or pellets may comprise electronic tracing devices or transponders which are used to tag an animal, or the pellets may comprise hormone pellets which are used in the domestic livestock fattening industry to promote growth of the animal. The pellets are often injected into the ears of the animals to prevent the pellets from entering food products for human or animal consumption as the ears are commonly discarded in slaughtering. Typically, the ear is grabbed with one hand while the other hand operates the implanter. The pellets should be carefully, properly and accurately implanted to reduce the probability for infection and increase the effectiveness of the deposited pellets. Further, because of the movements of the animals, it is desirable for the pellets to be quickly implanted into the animal.
These devices and methods are believed to have significant limitations and shortcomings. One of the shortcomings is that implanter devices may spread blood-borne diseases among the animals if the needle is not replaced for each animal. In recognition of this problem, Turley (U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,554) disclosed a device that uses a shroud or covering that moves and locks in an extended position to partially cover the needle, and thus encourages a user to replace the needle after each use. Another shortcoming of the known art is the inability to automatically, quickly, consistently and powerfully implant multiple pellets. Turley (U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,239) disclosed that the link between the drive pin and the trigger actuator in the known art devices tended to buckle, and further disclosed that the speed or velocity of the drive pin was limited because the known art devices employed a 1:1 ratio between the drive pin and the trigger/actuator. In recognition of these problems, Turley ('231) disclosed a device that uses a flexible belt or link to achieve a velocity ratio other than 1:1. Other devices have achieved a velocity ratio other than 1:1 by attaching spur gears to the trigger and a rack gear to the drive pin.
Applicants' invention provide an implanter apparatus which is believed to constitute an improvement over existing technology.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an implanter which generally comprises a housing or housing assembly, a hollow needle connected to the housing assembly through a quick attachment mechanism, a drive pin positioned within the housing assembly and aligned with the hollow needle, and a trigger assembly operably connected to both the housing assembly and the drive pin. The drive pin has a distal end, and further has a retracted position in which the distal end of the drive pin is in the housing assembly and an extended position in which the distal end of the drive pin extends out of the housing assembly. A pellet is positioned between the needle and the distal end of the drive pin when the drive pin is in the retracted position. The drive pin expels the pellet through the hollow needle as it moves from the retracted position to the extended position.
The trigger assembly includes a trigger that has a relaxed position and an actuated position. The drive pin moves from the retracted position to the extended position to expel the pellet when the trigger moves from the relaxed position to the actuated position. The trigger assembly is adapted to provide a mechanical advantage for increasing the velocity of the drive pin with respect to the velocity of the trigger. The trigger assembly includes a trigger lever having a fulcrum point, a trigger end operably contacting the trigger, and a shuttle end operably connected to a drive pin shuttle that slides along at least one shuttle guide groove to move the drive pin between the retracted position and the extended position. The fulcrum point is preferably closer to the trigger end than to the shuttle end to provide the mechanical advantage for increasing the velocity ratio between the drive pin and the trigger assembly.
The housing assembly includes a magazine housing attached to a body housing. The magazine housing has a magazine passage sized to receive a pellet magazine and contains a magazine advancement mechanism. The magazine advancement mechanism indexes the pellet magazine through a number of predetermined index positions within the magazine passage. The drive pin is adapted to extend through the pellet magazine, i.e. one of the plurality of tubes, and into the hollow needle at each one of the predetermined index positions. The magazine advancement mechanism preferably has an opening or window for viewing the index positions of the pellet magazine. The magazine advancement mechanism has at least one fixed clip for engaging one side of the pellet magazine, at least one movable clip for engaging the other side of the pellet magazine, and an index actuator for indexing the at least one movable clip within the magazine passage. The clips are adapted to prevent the pellet magazine from moving in a first direction within the magazine passage and to allow the pellet magazine to move in a second direction upon the application of an index force, which moves the movable clip in an index motion. The movable clip has a bias spring to move the movable clip from one groove, over a ridge, and to an adjacent groove upon release of an index force.
In a manual index actuator embodiment, the index force is manually applied to the index actuator to index the movable clip within the magazine passage. A bias spring provides the return motion. In an automatic index actuator embodiment, the index force is generated by an actuation force applied to the trigger. The automatic index actuator includes a cam lever pivotally attached at a fulcrum point to the housing assembly. The cam lever has a cam end in operable contact with a cam follower mounted on the drive pin shuttle. The cam lever further has a magazine advancement mechanism end in operable contact with the at least one movable clip. The magazine advancement end has an index motion and a return motion. The cam lever pivots and moves the magazine advancement end in an index motion to index the pellet magazine when the cam follower moves with the drive pin into the retracted position, and the cam lever pivots and moves the magazine advancement end in a return motion as the cam follower moves with the drive pin from the retracted position toward the extended position. A latch mechanism prevents the magazine advancement end from undergoing an index motion until the drive pin is fully retracted out of the magazine.
Each one of the tubes in the pellet magazine may include both a pellet and a plug. The pellet is positioned in front of the plug. When the drive pin extends, the pellet is expelled from the needle and the plug remains in the needle to discourage the use of the needle in another animal. The quick attachment mechanism allows the needle to be quickly replaced. Preferably, the quick attachment mechanism includes a threaded collect. The hollow needle extends through the threaded collect, and a threaded nut screws around the collect to quickly attach and detach the hollow needle from the housing assembly. The collect preferably has two or more circumferencially spaced slots that enable the collet to securely tighten around a range of needle diameters.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4077406 (1978-03-01), Sandhage et al.
patent: 4105030 (1978-08-01), Kercso
patent: 4154239 (1979-05-01), Turley
patent: 4400170 (1983-08-01), McNaughton
Anderson Mark L.
Turley Roger W.
Anderson Mark L.
Maynard Jennifer
Seidel Richard K.
Skinner and Associates
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