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:
Feb. 07, 2017
Filed:
Aug. 27, 2012
Conor James Walsh, Dublin, IE;
Ajith Thomas, Brookline, MA (US);
Samuel Benjamin Kesner, Arlington, MA (US);
Hao Pei, Maanshan, CN;
Kechao Xiao, Guangzhou, CN;
Paul Loschak, Sunrise, FL (US);
Kevin C. Galloway, Somerville, MA (US);
Conor James Walsh, Dublin, IE;
Ajith Thomas, Brookline, MA (US);
Samuel Benjamin Kesner, Arlington, MA (US);
Hao Pei, Maanshan, CN;
Kechao Xiao, Guangzhou, CN;
Paul Loschak, Sunrise, FL (US);
Kevin C. Galloway, Somerville, MA (US);
BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER, INC., Boston, MA (US);
PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE, Cambridge, MA (US);
Abstract
The present invention is directed to a bi-stable coupling for controlling the depth of a tool insertion, such as drilling, and similar processes. The bi-stable coupling can be used to penetrate (e.g., drill or push) through a material layer of unknown thickness without plunging the tool into the adjacent layer. In accordance with the invention, in a first state, force is applied to the tool to initiate penetration and a reactive force maintains the device in the first state during penetration and when tool penetrates the material, the reactive force is diminished enabling the device to transition to a second state in which the tool becomes retracted. In medical applications, the invention allows for drilling through bone of unknown thickness without plunging into the adjacent soft tissue.