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:
Jan. 15, 2008
Filed:
Apr. 22, 2003
George P. Teitelbaum, Santa Monica, CA (US);
Samuel M. Shaolian, Newport Beach, CA (US);
Thanh Van Nguyen, Irvine, CA (US);
Frank Nguyen, Pomona, CA (US);
To V. Pham, Trabuco Canyon, CA (US);
Vincent Divino, Jr., Mission Viejo, CA (US);
Michael R. Henson, Coto de Caza, CA (US);
George P. Teitelbaum, Santa Monica, CA (US);
Samuel M. Shaolian, Newport Beach, CA (US);
Thanh Van Nguyen, Irvine, CA (US);
Frank Nguyen, Pomona, CA (US);
To V. Pham, Trabuco Canyon, CA (US);
Vincent Divino, Jr., Mission Viejo, CA (US);
Michael R. Henson, Coto de Caza, CA (US);
SDGI Holdings, Inc., Wilmington, DE (US);
Abstract
A flexible drill and method of drilling a material are disclosed. According to one embodiment, a flexible drill includes a lower sub-assembly connected to an upper sub-assembly, where the lower sub-assembly comprises a retainer tube and the upper sub-assembly comprises a guiding tube; a drilling tip, and capable of orienting the drilling tip at a predetermined position after accessing a material to he drilled through a substantially straight passage having a lone axis. The predetermined position is at least 10° off of the lone axis of the substantially straight passage. According to one embodiment, a method of drilling a material includes the steps of (a) providing a flexible drill; (b) advancing the drill through a substantially straight passage until the drilling tip accesses the material to be drilled, thereby orienting the drilling tip at the predetermined position; and (c) actuating the drill.