GB2310378A - Device for inserting studs into the body with a releasable needle - Google Patents

Abstract

A stock 2 has a trigger 3 which can be operated to advance a bolt 4, either under spring-loading or manual control. The bolt is releasably engaged with a needle 9 which passes through a guide 10 towards a back support 5 to pierce part of the body. The guide 10 can then be slid rearwardly or moved out of engagement with the needle, allowing the needle to be released from the bolt. A special stud is then engaged with the trailing end of the needle and the needle is passed completely through the pierced area to leave the stud in place.

Description

NOSE AND EAR PIERCING GUN TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a gun for use in piercing the nose, ear or other fleshy part of the body, for the purpose of inserting a decorative stud, ring or the like.

BACKGROUND Guns are widely used to quickly fire a stud through the ear lobe with minimum discomfort. Once the stud has been inserted a keeper is placed on the leading end of the stud to hold the stud in place.

Some parts of the body such as the inside of the nose are particularly prone to swelling when pierced. The presence of a keeper on the inside of the nose is therefore very uncomfortable and inconvenient.

The present invention seeks to provide a form of gun which is patentably different from known guns used for a similar purpose.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention proposes a body-piercing device comprising: - a stock portion adapted to be held in the hand and including - manually-operated drive means, and - a projecting back support mounted at the forward end of the stock for placement behind a body part to be pierced; and - a carrier for releasable connection with a needle and operable by the drive mechanism to move said needle towards the back support so as to pierce the said body part.

The invention also provides a stud for insertion into a hollow trailing end of the needle after removal from the device. The stud comprises a head secured to a stem for insertion into the needle. The free end of the stem is tapered.

The stem preferably includes a substantially linear portion adjacent to the head and a further substantially linear portion at the opposite end of the stem, said two portions being disposed substantially perpendicular to each other.

The two linear portions are preferably joined by a curved portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The following description and the accompanying drawings referred to therein are included by way of non-limiting example in order to illustrate how the invention may be put into practice. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a part-sectional side view of a body-piercing gun of the invention, Figure 2 is a stud adapted for use with the gun, and Figures 3 and 4 are modified forms of the gun shown in Fig. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The illustrated guns are formed of stainless steel and/or other materials which will withstand sterilising in an autoclave.

Referring firstly to Fig. 1, the gun comprises a stock portion 1 of generally elongate form. The rear end of the stock portion has a depending handle 2, the front of which is provided with a trigger 3. A spring-loaded bolt 4 is slidably mounted on the stock 1 to move forwardly under the action of a strong spring 6 towards a back support or stop 5 which projects upwardly at the front end of the end of the stock perpendicular to the axis of the bolt.

The rear end of the bolt carries a pullknob 7 by which the bolt can be moved against the action of the spring 6 until it becomes retained by a firing mechanism (not shown) enclosed within the stock 1. (Fig. 1 shows the bolt in such a retained position.) At the front of the bolt 4 there is mounted a needle holder 14 which includes a projecting pin 8, a spring finger or other means of releasable connection with a hollow surgical needle 9, which is mounted on the pin to project towards the stop 5. A needle guide 10 is mounted on the stock 1 for sliding movement parallel to the axis of the needle 9, which passes freely through the guide. An abutment 11 on the front end of the stock, spaced rearwardly from the stop 5, determines the maximum extent of travel of the guide towards the stop 5, the guide being lightly urged against the abutment 11 by a weak spring 12.

The gun is used to insert a stud of the kind shown in Fig. 2, into a fleshy part of the body such as the side of the nose or ear lobe. The stud comprises a decorative head 20 and a metal stem 21. The part of the stem 22 adjacent to the head 20 is straight, but the stem then includes a curved part 23 which bends round in a smooth arc through more than 90" to travel back towards the head. The curved part then joins an end portion 24 which is disposed substantially perpendicular to the straight part 22. The end part 24 is slightly tapered towards its free end.

When it is desired to insert the stud through the nose for example, the bolt is retracted using the knob 7. A needle is inserted through the guide 10 and engaged with the pin 8, drawing the guide back against the action of spring 12 as necessary. After applying a local anaesthetic to the area of the nostril to be pierced, the stop 5 is inserted up the nostril to lie against and support the back of the area to be pierced. When the needle 9 is correctly positioned on the outside of the nose the trigger is pulled to release the bolt causing the needle 9 to instantaneously pierce the nose, being brought to rest against the stop 5. The stop 5 may be recessed to receive the tip of the needle when the bolt 4 is released, to ensure complete piercing in one swift action. The guide 10 remains in contact with the abutment 11 and ensures that the needle travels accurately in a straight line towards the stop 5. The gun is then tilted until the needle is downwardly inclined so that the trailing end of the needle can be fed through the pierced wall of the nose. During this process the guide 10 is slid along the needle against the action of spring 12. When most of the needle has been fed through the nose, the knob 7 is used to retract the bolt sufficiently to release the needle from the pin 8 whilst still inserted in the nose. The tapered end 24 of the stud is then pushed into the externally projecting end of the needle where it becomes secured by a tapered wedging engagement, so that the stem 21 can be fed through the nose following on from the needle 9. Once the head 20 of the stud is against the outside of the nose the needle can be pulled off the stud, which remains in the nose.

The used needle is disposed of and the gun wiped clean and autoclaved to ensure that it is completely sterilised.

The curved part 23 of the stem allows for localised swelling on the inside of the nose whilst the end portion 24 remains against the inside of the nose.

The stud is thus inserted quickly and painlessly, and the part of the stud inside the nose is relatively small.

The gun of Fig. 3 differs from that of Fig. 1 in that a needle guide 15 is pivotally secured at 16 to the forward end of the stock 1, again spaced rearwardly from the stop 5. This enables the guide to be moved against the stock when the needle is engaged with the carrier 14, clear of the needle, following which the guide is moved into engagement with the needle. After firing, the guide 15 is again moved out of engagement with the needle 9 before the needle is passed through the nose.

The stop 5 is mounted in a tube 16 such that the stop can move slightly against spring loading when the gun is fired. The tube 16 is releasably mounted on the underside of the stock, provided with a detent and release button. This allows the stop 5 to be removed after firing, to facilitate separation of the gun from the needle when the needle has been passed through the nose up to the carrier 14.

A light spring 17 acts between the trigger 3 and the needle carrier 14 to allow the needle to be advanced up to the nose on initially squeezing the trigger, but the main firing is again achieved by release of the spring loaded bolt 4 when the trigger 3 is squeezed fully.

The gun of Fig. 4 is modified to allow the needle to be advanced entirely under manual control instead of being fired under spring loading. Such a device is less expensive to manufacture and is preferred by some people since it is virtually silent in operation. Thus, when the trigger 3 is squeezed towards the handle the needle carrier 14 advances the needle along the stock towards the back support 5. In this case the back support 5 does not need to act as a stop since in practice the maximum forward movement of the needle is determined by the limit of movement of the trigger 3. The support 5 can therefore contain a through-aperture 30 to facilitate separation of the needle from the carrier 14 after piercing is complete.

As in Fig. 1, the needle 9 is guided during piercing by a guide 32 which is slidably mounted for movement along the stock 1, the maximum forward movement again being determined by an abutment 11. In this case however, the spring 12 is eliminated so that the guide 32 is free to slide rearwardly during fitting of the needle and, after firing, when the needle is being passed through the nose or other pierced part of the body. When the guide reaches the needle carrier 14 it becomes held by an automatic catch mechanism (not shown) to facilitate separation of the gun from the needle. The guide is freed by means of a release 33.

It will be appreciated that the features disclosed herein may be present in any feasible combination. Whilst the above description lays emphasis on those areas which, in combination, are believed to be new, protection is claimed for any inventive combination of the features disclosed herein.

Claims (22)

1. A body-piercing device comprising: - a stock portion adapted to be held in the hand and including - manually-operated drive means, and - a projecting back support mounted at the forward end of the stock for placement behind a body part to be pierced; and - a carrier for releasable connection with a needle and operable by the drive mechanism to move said needle towards the back support so as to pierce the said body part.

2. A device according to Claim 1, which includes a needle guide mounted on the stock to guide the needle during piercing.

3. A device according to Claim 2, in which the needle guide is mounted to be slid rearwardly along the needle away from the back support after piercing.

4. A device according to Claim 3, which includes bias means for urging the needle guide in the direction of the back support.

5. A device according to Claim 3 or 4, including catch means for holding the needle guide in a rearward position.

6. A device according to Claim 3, 4 or 5, in which the extent of movement of the guide towards the back support is limited by an abutment.

7. A device according to Claim 2, in which the needle guide is mounted to enable it to be moved out of engagement with the needle after piercing.

8. A device according to any preceding claim, in which the drive means is operated by a trigger.

9. A device according to any preceding claim, in which the needle carrier is at least partly advanced under manual control.

10. A device according to Claim 9, in which the needle carrier is advanced entirely under manual control.

11. A device according to Claim 10, in which the back support is apertured to allow the needle to pass through.

12. A device according to any of Claims 1 to 9, in which the drive means is arranged to advance the needle carrier by spring-loading.

13. A device according to Claim 12, in which the needle carrier is advanced under manual control prior to being advanced by spring-loading.

14. A device according to Claim 12 or 13, in which the back support acts as a stop for the leading end of the needle after piercing.

15. A device according to Claim 14, in which the back support is spring- loaded.

16. A device according to any preceding claim, in which the back support is separable from the stock.

1 7. A device according to any preceding claim, in combination with a stud for insertion into a hollow trailing end of the needle after removal from the device.

18. A device according to Claim 17, in which the stud comprises a head secured to a stem for insertion into the needle.

19. A device according to Claim 18, in which the free end of the stem is tapered.

20. A device according to Claim 18 or 19, in which the stem includes a substantially linear portion adjacent to the head and a further substantially linear portion at the opposite end of the stem, said two portions being disposed substantially perpendicular to each other.

21. A device according to Claim 20, in which the two linear portions are joined by a curved portion.

22. A body-piercing device substantially as described with reference to Figures 1, 3 or 4 of the drawings.

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