Patent · US Expired

Constant width, adjustable grip, staple apparatus and method

US5715987A · kind A · utility

2,238Cited by
21References
4Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMay 2, 1996
Grant dateFeb 10, 1998
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 2, 2016

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
  • CPC primaryA61B17/0644
  • WIPO fieldMedical technology
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A staple and stapler for injecting the staple in a manner so that the staple maintains a near constant width upon penetration of material to be joined and during staple closure/forming such that material perturbation and staple to staple spacing may be minimized. The staple has a rectilinear bridge part from which depend oppositely positioned side parts and from the side parts a pair of straight legs. In a preferred embodiment, the oppositely positioned side parts consist of a proximal arcuate section attached to the bridge part and an oppositely directed distal arcuate section attached to the legs. The legs may have sharpened points. Also disclosed is a stapler adapted to force the oppositely directed distal arcuate sections outward, in one embodiment, thereby forcing a reaction of the legs of the staple to face each other in linear alignment and form a closed staple. The unpreloaded fully-formed staple may be deformed in situ by means of a preload part on a cam slide so as to create a U-shaped central portion for the compression of captured material. Alternatively, a preformed staple with the U-shaped central portion may also be used.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.