Guarded surgical knife handle
View Patent ↗A guarded surgical knife handle includes a handle portion with a blade holder, a chamber within the handle portion, and a slot. The guarded surgical knife handle also includes a guard having an open distal end slidably mounted within the handle portion that can slide longitudinally between an unguarded position and a guarded position. The guard is sized to surround the blade in the guarded position. The guarded surgical knife handle also includes a latch that latches the guard when the guard is slid into the guarded position and a first button that disengages the latch. The guarded surgical knife handle includes a bias member that forces the guard in a proximal direction to an unguarded position when the latch is disengaged along with a second button extending through the slot used to slide the guard in a distal direction into the guarded position.
1. A method for unguarding and guarding a surgical knife, comprising:
providing a guarded surgical knife comprising:
a handle portion comprising a blade holder adapted to hold a blade, a chamber within the handle portion, and detent, and a slot;
a guard having an open distal end slidably mounted within the handle portion and operable to slide longitudinally between an unguarded position and a guarded position, wherein the guard is sized to surround the blade in the guarded position;
a cantilevered latch formed on the guard, the latch operable to engage the detent to latch the guard when the guard is slid into the guarded position;
a first button operable to disengage the latch;
a bias member configured to force the guard in a proximal direction to an unguarded position when the latch is disengaged; and
a second button extending through the slot and operable to slide the guard in a distal direction into the guarded position,
disengaging the latch using the first button to allow the bias member to force the guard in the proximal direction; and
sliding the guard to the guarded position to re-engage the latch.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the guard comprises a transparent material.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the bias member comprises a coil spring.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the distal end of the guard has a relatively greater height such that the distal end is sized to fit around the blade.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the handle comprises a notch, and the notch is sized to receive the portion of the guard with the relatively greater height.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the blade holder is located at a bottom surface of the handle portion.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first button comprises a textured top surface.