Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 23
Claim 1
Independent Claim
188 words
A surgical instrument for applying a purse string suture to tissue, comprising: a pair of staple cartridges having opposed tissue clamping surfaces for clamping the tissue therebetween; a row of staple receiving slots defining an axis formed in each of said cartridges, each slot being able to receive a staple with its legs pointing toward the tissue clamping surface of said cartridge; a central slot extending along said tissue clamping surface of each staple cartridge for receiving a purse string suture connected to the staples in each of said staple receiving slots; a staple pusher bar slidably mounted in each cartridge and able to engage and bend the legs of each staple toward the tissue clamping surface of said cartridge upon movement of said staple pusher bar relative to said cartridge; and actuating means for sliding the pusher bar in each staple cartridge to bend the staple legs and secure the staples and the purse string suture to the tissue clamped between said cartridges wherein: said staple pusher bar is movable relative to said cartridge in a direction parallel to the axis of the row of staples therein.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
188 words
A surgical instrument for applying a purse string suture to tissue, comprising: a pair of staple cartridges having opposed tissue clamping surfaces for clamping the tissue therebetween; a row of staple receiving slots defining an axis formed in each of said cartridges, each slot being able to receive a staple with its legs pointing toward the tissue clamping surface of said cartridge; a central slot extending along said tissue clamping surface of each staple cartridge for receiving a purse string suture connected to the staples in each of said staple receiving slots; a staple pusher bar slidably mounted in each cartridge and able to engage and bend the legs of each staple toward the tissue clamping surface of said cartridge upon movement of said staple pusher bar relative to said cartridge; and actuating means for sliding the pusher bar in each staple cartridge to bend the staple legs and secure the staples and the purse string suture to the tissue clamped between said cartridges wherein: said staple pusher bar is movable relative to said cartridge in a direction parallel to the axis of the row of staples therein.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
21 words
The surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein: said central slot in each cartridge intersects each of said staple receiving slots therein.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
65 words
The surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein: said pusher bar includes a series of opposed pairs of wedge-shaped protrusions corresponding to the staple receiving slots in said cartridge, each pair of wedge-shaped protrusions being adapted to engage and bend the legs of the staple toward the tissue clamping surface into an overlapped configuration when said staple pusher bar is moved longitudinally relative to said cartridge.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
219 words
A surgical instrument of applying a purse string suture to tissue, comprising: a plurality of staples, each said staple having a pair of legs; a pair of elongated handles pivotally connected together, said handles supporting a pair of jaws for receiving the tissue therebetween; a pair of staple cartridges mounted on said jaws, said cartridges having opposed tissue jaws, said cartridges having opposed tissue clamping surfaces for clamping the tissue therebetween; a row of staple receiving slots defining an axis formed in each of said cartridges, each slot being able to receive a staple with its legs pointing toward the tissue clamping surface of said cartridge; a central slot extending along said tissue clamping surface of each staple cartridge for receiving a purse string suture connected to the staples in each of said staple receiving slots; a staple pusher bar slidably mounted in each cartridge and able to engage and bend the legs of each staple toward the tissue clamping surface of said cartridge upon movement of said staple pusher bar in a direction parallel to the axis of said cartridge; and actuating means on one of said handles for sliding the pusher bar in each staple cartridge to bend the staple legs and secure the staples and the purse string suture to the tissue clamped between said cartridges.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
219 words
A surgical instrument of applying a purse string suture to tissue, comprising: a plurality of staples, each said staple having a pair of legs; a pair of elongated handles pivotally connected together, said handles supporting a pair of jaws for receiving the tissue therebetween; a pair of staple cartridges mounted on said jaws, said cartridges having opposed tissue jaws, said cartridges having opposed tissue clamping surfaces for clamping the tissue therebetween; a row of staple receiving slots defining an axis formed in each of said cartridges, each slot being able to receive a staple with its legs pointing toward the tissue clamping surface of said cartridge; a central slot extending along said tissue clamping surface of each staple cartridge for receiving a purse string suture connected to the staples in each of said staple receiving slots; a staple pusher bar slidably mounted in each cartridge and able to engage and bend the legs of each staple toward the tissue clamping surface of said cartridge upon movement of said staple pusher bar in a direction parallel to the axis of said cartridge; and actuating means on one of said handles for sliding the pusher bar in each staple cartridge to bend the staple legs and secure the staples and the purse string suture to the tissue clamped between said cartridges.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
63 words
The surgical instrument of claim 4, wherein said actuating means comprises: a staple actuating lever pivotally mounted on one of said handles; means for connecting said staple actuating lever to the staple pusher bar in each of said cartridges; and said staple actuating lever being manually pivotable to displace said connecting means to move the staple pusher bar in each of said cartridges.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
48 words
The surgical instrument of claim 5, which includes; a locking member pivotally mounted on one of said handles and movable between a first position in which said staple actuating lever is locked against movement and a second position in which said staple actuating lever is unlocked for movement.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
118 words
A staple cartridge, comprising: a plurality of staples, each said staple having a pair of legs; an elongated housing including a tissue engaging surface, a plurality of transverse slots extending into said housing from said tissue engaging surface for receiving said staples therein, and an elongated central slot for receiving a purse string suture attached to each of the staples, said central slot extending longitudinally along said housing and intersecting said transverse slots; and a staple pusher bar slidably mounted for longitudinal movement in said housing, said staple pusher bar being able to engage and bend the legs of each staple toward the tissue clamping surface to secure the staples and the purse string suture to the tissue.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
118 words
A staple cartridge, comprising: a plurality of staples, each said staple having a pair of legs; an elongated housing including a tissue engaging surface, a plurality of transverse slots extending into said housing from said tissue engaging surface for receiving said staples therein, and an elongated central slot for receiving a purse string suture attached to each of the staples, said central slot extending longitudinally along said housing and intersecting said transverse slots; and a staple pusher bar slidably mounted for longitudinal movement in said housing, said staple pusher bar being able to engage and bend the legs of each staple toward the tissue clamping surface to secure the staples and the purse string suture to the tissue.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
66 words
The staple cartridge of claim 7, wherein: said pusher bar includes a series of opposed pairs of wedge-shaped protrusions corresponding to the staple receiving slots formed in said housing, each pair of wedge-shaped protrusions being able to engage and bend the legs of the staple toward the tissue clamping surface into an overlapped configuration when said staple pusher bar is moved longitudinally relative to said housing.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
47 words
The staple cartridge of claim 8, wherein: each wedge-shaped protrusion has a staple forming edge slanted inwardly toward the center of said staple pusher bar for engaging and bending the staple legs inwardly toward each other as said staple pusher bar is moved relative to said cartridge.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
27 words
The staple cartridge of claim 7, wherein: each staple receiving slot is located between a pair of ridges which extend upwardly from the top of the housing.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
23 words
The staple cartridge of claim 10, wherein: each pair of ridges is separated by a depression from the next adjacent pair of ridges.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
39 words
The staple cartridge of claim 10, wherein: said elongated central slot opens into a longitudinal V-shaped groove defined by inclined surfaces which are sloped upwardly and outwardly from the central slot and terminate at the top of said ridges.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
52 words
The staple cartridge of claim 7, wherein: each staple includes an eyelet which extends in the opposite direction from the staple legs for receiving the purse string suture; and said housing includes a plurality of recesses at the bottom of said staple receiving slots for receiving the eyelets of the staples therein.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
60 words
A surgical staple for securing a purse string suture to tissue, comprising: a staple body shaped into a ring to provide an eyelet for receiving a purse string suture, said staple body including two or more legs with barbed ends for anchoring said legs to the tissue wherein: said legs are bent alternately forward and rearward relative to said ring.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
60 words
A surgical staple for securing a purse string suture to tissue, comprising: a staple body shaped into a ring to provide an eyelet for receiving a purse string suture, said staple body including two or more legs with barbed ends for anchoring said legs to the tissue wherein: said legs are bent alternately forward and rearward relative to said ring.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
20 words
The staple of claim 14, which includes: a plurality of legs extending in a fan-like configuration from said staple body.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
76 words
A method for securing a purse string suture to a tubular section of tissue, comprising: positioning a plurality of staples about the periphery of a tubular section of tissue, each of said staples including an eyelet for receiving the purse string suture; threading the purse string suture through the eyelets of said staples to attach the purse string suture to the staples; and driving the staples into the tissue to secure the purse string suture thereto.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
76 words
A method for securing a purse string suture to a tubular section of tissue, comprising: positioning a plurality of staples about the periphery of a tubular section of tissue, each of said staples including an eyelet for receiving the purse string suture; threading the purse string suture through the eyelets of said staples to attach the purse string suture to the staples; and driving the staples into the tissue to secure the purse string suture thereto.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
88 words
A method for securing a purse string suture to a tubular section of tissue, comprising: positioning a plurality of staples about the periphery of a tubular section of tissue, each of said staples including a loop for receiving the purse string suture and a pair of deformable legs; threading the purse string suture through the loops of each staple; and deforming the staple legs into an overlapping configuration to form another loop extending into the tissue to secure the staples and the purse string suture to the tissue.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
88 words
A method for securing a purse string suture to a tubular section of tissue, comprising: positioning a plurality of staples about the periphery of a tubular section of tissue, each of said staples including a loop for receiving the purse string suture and a pair of deformable legs; threading the purse string suture through the loops of each staple; and deforming the staple legs into an overlapping configuration to form another loop extending into the tissue to secure the staples and the purse string suture to the tissue.