DESC:FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to the medical surgical scalpel. More particularly the invention addresses a disposable (single use) safety scalpel with blade shield and having an ergonomic design configured to prevent injuries suffered by surgical staff during procedures.

BACKBROUND ART
Prior art does not define a clear easy pathway for total and ultimate disposal locking. The methods used are hard for the user to understand and operate. Even when understood, the full lock mechanisms used in prior art tend to have a high rate of failure due to a multitude of reasons.

Other prior art does not provide a familiar design to the surgeon, which is slim, ergonomic and easy to use due to resembling the shape of a regular metal/disposable scalpel. The safety scalpels are thicker and larger in cross section, in comparison to regular scalpels, which make them harder to grip, the way surgeons are familiar with, with regular metallic scalpels.

This is because they use a different functioning method for introducing the safety feature, where in the blade is attached to a mobile part in encased inside a safety cover (which is also the stationary handheld part). This also sometimes causes there to be “play” (undesired side to side movement) in the blade. This kind of erratic movement of blade is especially undesirable for the surgeon since it hampers their ability to perform a clean cut.

In the prior art an US Patent US10779853B2 discloses a sheath type disposable safety scalpel consists of the blade, handle and sheath, and when the sheath slides forward and backward in relation to the handle, the blade shows the extension and retraction states in the sheath.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION
The herein disclosed is a disposable safety scalpel designed to feel as slim and easy to hold as a regular metal scalpel, with the added safety provided by the design, to prevent injuries suffered by surgical staff during procedures. An ergonomic design is presented for opening and closing the scalpel protective sheath, operable with one hand. The safety sheath slides on the handle, for opening and closing at the slight push from the surgeon’s thumb. A novel way is presented for final safety locking, that is more ergonomic and user friendly than all prior arts.

Therefore such as herein described there is provided a 1. A single use sheath type disposable safety scalpel, comprising: a blade with compatible fixed handle; and a locking notch enabled slidable sheath, wherein: the blade is fixed a front end of the handle, and the sheath covers the front end of the handle and is connected with the handle through a sliding mechanism and a positioning mechanism; the positioning mechanism is formed by the matching of a button provided on a top of the sheath and a blade protection locking notch and a blade exposure locking notch at one side of the handle; wherein under condition horizontal force is applied on the sheath, towards the distal end of the scalpel causing the notch to advance further into the track, where there is a step lock which traps the said notch and with it restricts the sheath, and its movement on the handle; and wherein the flexible part of the sheath also changes orientation to allow the advancement of the notch (403) into this one-way step-lock ON THE path and the scalpel is permanently locked and cannot be opened (put into operation) again.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYONG DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 illustrates the closed/non-operational orientation of disposable safety scalpel in accordance with the present invention;
Fig. 2 illustrates the transition position between open and closed position in accordance with the present invention;
Fig 3 illustrates the open (operational) position of the safety scalpel in accordance with the present invention;
Fig. 4 illustrates the final locked position wherein sheath cannot be moved any further and cannot be reused in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Definition
“Scalpel” refers to a surgical knife of the kind used by surgeons for making incisions during surgery.
“Disposable” refers to the feature of this scalpel that it be disposed after one use.
“Safety” refers to additional safety provided to the surgical staff which is an additional feature of this disposable scalpel

Functioning
Disposable Scalpel is composed of 3 major parts/components - 101 - Handle, 102 - Sheath, 103 - Surgical Blade. A grip is provided at the end on the Sheath - 104. This end will now be referred as the proximal end of the sheath. This proximal end of the sheath is flexible. The figure 1 shows the closed/ non- operational orientation of this invention.

When the user applies a slight downward force on the grip, the notch on the inside of sheath (105) which is designed to at all times coincide with the track on the handle (106) moves downward along the track. Thereafter, whenever a force is applied on the same grip towards the proximal end of the handle (102), the notch, along with the entire sheath slides along the given track to assume the position as shown in fig 2.

The transit position is shown in Fig 2, just for reference, it is the transition between open and closed position.

The portion 201, the flexible end of the sheath has changed shape and 202, the notch slides along the track, as described earlier. As the sheath (203) moves towards the proximal end, the notch reaches the end of the defined track (204) and slides into the space (205) provided for locking in the open (operational) position as shown in fig 3. In an embodiment, in case of any movement in opposite direction for movement of sheath in order to cover the scalpel blade, the lock breaks down causing the movement of sheath free and thereby prohibiting any further use of the scalpel blade.

Fig 3 shows the open (operational) position of the safety scalpel. The surgeon can now perform the cut, holding the scalpel at the grip contours (301) provided on the sheath, just like any other scalpel. Unlike most prior arts, the slim design gives the feel of a regular disposable scalpel rather than one with advanced safety features.

Once surgeon is performing the cut, he is pushing the gripper (302) downwards and applying a horizontal force in the distal direction with the thumb will result in the scalpel returning to its original un-operational position. (Fig 1.)

The said disposable safety scalpel is available in various sizes and blade configurations, and therefore said disposable safety scalpel is suitable for a wide range of surgical applications and there is no need to worry about reprocessing and sterilization. Therefore said disposable scalpel streamlines the surgical process, saving valuable time for your medical team by eliminating the costs associated with reprocessing and maintenance of reusable scalpels. The blade size includes 09, 12D, 10, 10A, 11, 11P, 13, 15B, 15C etc for overall better performance.
A Novel method is displayed for final single time locking of the scalpel. Final locking comes in use once all the required operations from this scalpel have been performed and it is time for disposal. After this stage, the scalpel can no longer be put into operational mode, it is only fit for disposal, without significant force and damage to the device, rendering it unusable. This stage is achieved, starting from the orientation in Fig 1,

A horizontal force is applied on the sheath (401), towards the distal end of the scalpel (402). This causes the notch (403) to advance further into the track (404), where there is a step lock (303) (Fig. 3) which traps the notch and with it restricts the sheath (401), and its movement on the handle. The flexible part (405) of the sheath also changes orientation to allow the advancement of the notch (403) into this one-way step-lock ON THE path. Now the scalpel is permanently locked and cannot be opened (put into operation) again. Fig. 4 shows the final locked position where the sheath cannot be moved further and therefore needs to be disposed.

Prior art of this kind of scalpel exists, but it is limited in the following ways -

Advantages of current art over prior art
Here the safety cover is movable on the stationary blade handle, making it more similar to a regular scalpel in use and feel, but with the added fool-proof safety feature. There is no possibility of “play” of the blade since it is perfectly attached to the stationary (handheld) part of the scalpel.

Enhanced Safety Mechanism: The innovative design incorporates a built-in safety mechanism that activates upon completion of the procedure. This ensures that the scalpel is rendered safe and disposed of responsibly, minimizing the risk of accidental injuries during handling.

Ergonomic Design: Our disposable safety scalpel is designed with the comfort of the surgeon in mind. The ergonomic handle provides a secure grip, reducing
fatigue during prolonged surgeries and allowing for precise control. The ergonomic features of safety scalpel are geared towards optimizing performance and minimizing physical strain. By reducing fatigue, our scalpel allows surgeons to focus more on the procedure at hand, ensuring steady and accurate movements. This emphasis on comfort and control underscores our commitment to advancing surgical instruments that enhance both the surgeon’s experience and patient care.

Precision Engineered: The Disposable Safety Scalpel is crafted with utmost precision, ensuring sharpness and accuracy for every incision. Our state-of-the-art manufacturing process guarantees a consistently sharp blade, promoting optimal performance in surgical settings.

The disclosure proposes a solution to this problem by providing a design similar to that of any regular metallic scalpel, with the benefits of an ergonomic, easy to use and understand novel safety feature with easy-to-use final locking for disposal (as described above). The entire operation of the device can be performed with one hand, so the surgeon can keep the other hand free.

While the present invention has been described with reference to a specific preferred embodiment, it will be apparent that various modifications and changes could be made to this embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed. The above-mentioned description are provided to serve the purpose of clarifying the aspects of the invention, and it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that they do not serve to limit the scope of the invention. By way of example, the total arrangement of the different sections of blade is customized and is just one of the many configurations that the mentioned components can take on. All modifications and improvements will be incorporated herein for the sake of conciseness and readability but are properly within the scope of the present invention.
,CLAIMS:
1. A single use sheath type disposable safety scalpel, comprising:
a blade with compatible fixed handle; and
a locking notch enabled slidable sheath,
wherein:
the blade is fixed a front end of the handle, and the sheath covers the front end of the handle and is connected with the handle through a sliding mechanism and a positioning mechanism;
the positioning mechanism is formed by the matching of a button provided on a top of the sheath and a blade protection locking notch and a blade exposure locking notch at one side of the handle;
wherein under condition horizontal force is applied on the sheath, towards the distal end of the scalpel causing the notch to advance further into the track, where there is a step lock which traps the said notch and with it restricts the sheath, and its movement on the handle; and
wherein the flexible part of the sheath also changes orientation to allow the advancement of the notch into this one-way step-lock ON THE path and the scalpel is permanently locked and cannot be opened (put into operation) again.

2. The single use sheath type disposable safety scalpel, as claimed in claim 1, wherein under final locked position the said sheath cannot be moved further and therefore needs to be disposed.

3. The single use sheath type disposable safety scalpel, as claimed in claim 1, wherein during operation the user applies a slight downward force on the grip, the notch on the inside of sheath which is designed to at all times coincide with the track on the handle moves downward along the track.

4. The single use sheath type disposable safety scalpel, as claimed in claim 1, wherein during operation, when force is applied on the said grip towards the proximal end of the handle, the notch, along with the entire sheath slides along the given track to assume the position.

5. The single use sheath type disposable safety scalpel, as claimed in claim 1, wherein a grip is provided at the end on the Sheath.

6. The single use sheath type disposable safety scalpel, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said blade size includes 09, 12D, 10, 10A, 11, 11P, 13, 15B and 15C.

7. The single use sheath type disposable safety scalpel, as claimed in claim 1, wherein under condition of final locking comes in use once all the required operations from the scalpel have been performed and it is time for disposal.

8. The single use sheath type disposable safety scalpel, as claimed in claim 7, wherein after final locking stage, the said scalpel can no longer be put into operational mode and is only fit for disposal, without any additional force and damage to the device, rendering it unusable.