The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 04, 2018
Filed:
Oct. 17, 2011
Kevin L. Houser, Springboro, OH (US);
Matthew C. Miller, Cincinnati, OH (US);
Cory G. Kimball, Cincinnati, OH (US);
John W. Willis, Cincinnati, OH (US);
Timothy G. Dietz, Terrace Park, OH (US);
Foster B. Stulen, Mason, OH (US);
Kevin L. Houser, Springboro, OH (US);
Matthew C. Miller, Cincinnati, OH (US);
Cory G. Kimball, Cincinnati, OH (US);
John W. Willis, Cincinnati, OH (US);
Timothy G. Dietz, Terrace Park, OH (US);
Foster B. Stulen, Mason, OH (US);
Ethicon LLC, Guaynabo, PR (US);
Abstract
A surgical instrument is separable into a transducer unit and a lower body portion. The lower body portion includes a waveguide and a casing. The transducer unit includes a transducer and a geared mechanism operable to couple the transducer to the waveguide. In some versions the geared mechanism includes bevel gears coupled to a rack and pinion such that linear motion may be used to rotatably couple a transducer to a waveguide. The rack gear may further include a handle extending out of the transducer unit casing to be actuatable by a user. The rack gear may also be flexible or rigid. In other versions, the bevel gears may be coupled to a threaded shaft that is operable to translate the transducer into the waveguide to form an interference fit. The transducer unit may also include a slide lock mechanism to couple to the casing of the lower body portion.