Granted Patent B2

US 12,539,157 · App. 17/581,316 · Granted Feb 3, 2026

Inventors: Alexander Slocum (Bow, NH); Nitin Goyal (Mclean, VA)

Assignee: Zimmer, Inc.

A61B17/92A61B2017/00022A61B2017/924A61B2017/928A61F2002/4681

Abstract

Claims (44)

1 . A linear electric surgical hammer impact tool comprising:

a housing defining a cavity extending along a longitudinal axis of the housing;

a slider located inside the cavity and arranged along the longitudinal axis of the housing;

a shuttle located inside the cavity and arranged along the longitudinal axis of the housing, the shuttle comprising a first set of collars and a second set of collars, the shuttle including:

a shuttle flange:

a first rod extending from the shuttle flange, a first collar from the first and second set of collars attached to the first rod; and

a second rod extending from the shuttle flange a second collar from the first and second set of collars attached to the second rod;

a motor configured to drive the slider along the longitudinal axis in a first direction and a second direction; and

a tool holder connected to the shuttle, wherein motion of the slider in the first direction causes the slider to contact the first set of collars and motion of the slider in the second direction causes the slider to contact the second set of collars.

2 . The linear electric surgical hammer impact tool of claim 1 , wherein the slider comprises a slider flange that contacts the first and second set of collars during motion of the slider.

3 . The linear electric surgical hammer impact tool of claim 1 , wherein the motor is a tube motor and a slider shaft passes at least partially through the tube motor.

4 . The linear electric surgical hammer impact tool of claim 1 , wherein the shuttle comprises a biasing element configured to bias the shuttle in the first direction.

5 . The linear electric surgical hammer impact tool of claim 1 , further comprising a sensor arranged to detect a position of the slider within the cavity.

6 . The linear electric surgical hammer impact tool of claim 1 , further comprising a controller operative to perform operations comprising:

determining an estimate of a bone quality; and

increasing or decreasing an impact force generated by the linear electric surgical hammer impact tool based on the estimate of the bone quality.

7 . The linear electric surgical hammer impact tool of claim 1 , further comprising a controller operative to perform operations comprising:

determining a displacement of a tool attached to the tool holder; and

increasing or decreasing an impact force generated by the linear electric surgical hammer impact tool based on the displacement of the tool.

8 . The linear electric surgical hammer impact tool of claim 1 , further comprising a handle that defines a cavity sized to receive electronics and the motor.

9 . The linear electric surgical hammer impact tool of claim 8 , wherein the handle comprises:

a first trigger operative to cause the slider to move in the first direction; and

a second trigger operative to cause the slider to move in the second direction.

10 . A linear electric surgical hammer impact tool comprising:

a housing defining a cavity extending along a longitudinal axis of the housing;

a slider comprising a slider shaft located inside the cavity and arranged along the longitudinal axis of the housing;

a shuttle located inside the cavity and arranged along the longitudinal axis of the housing, the shuttle comprising:

a shuttle flange,

a first rod extending from the shuttle flange, a first collar and a second collar attached to the first rod, and

a second rod extending from the shuttle flange, a third collar and a fourth collar attached to the second rod, the first collar, the second collar, the third collar, and the fourth collar defining a stroke of the slider;

a tube motor defining a through hole sized to receive the slider shaft, the tube motor configured to drive the slider along the longitudinal axis in a first direction and a second direction; and

a tool holder connected to the shuttle, wherein motion of the slider in the first direction causes the slider to contact the first collar and the third collar and motion of the slider in the second direction causes the slider to contact the second collar and the fourth collar.

11 . The linear electric surgical hammer impact tool of claim 10 , wherein the shuttle comprises a biasing element configured to bias the shuttle in the first direction.

12 . The linear electric surgical hammer impact tool of claim 10 , further comprising a sensor arrange to detect a position of the slider within the housing.

13 . The linear electric surgical hammer impact tool of claim 10 , further comprising a controller operative to perform operations comprising:

determining an estimate of a bone quality; and

increasing or decreasing an impact force generated by the linear electric surgical hammer impact tool based on the estimate of the bone quality.

14 . The linear electric surgical hammer impact tool of claim 10 , further comprising a controller operative to perform operations comprising:

determining a displacement of a tool attached to the tool holder; and

increasing or decreasing an impact force generated by the linear electric surgical hammer impact tool based on the displacement of the tool.

15 . The linear electric surgical hammer impact tool of claim 10 , further comprising:

a handle that defines a cavity sized to receive electronics and the motor;

a first trigger operative to cause the slider to move in the first direction; and

a second trigger operative to cause the slider to move in the second direction.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (334)