Work holders – Miscellaneous
Patent
1986-07-16
1989-02-28
Schmidt, Frederick R.
Work holders
Miscellaneous
403 2, 403143, 403353, A61G 1300
Patent
active
048078646
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to a table on which a person's hand can be supported for the purpose of enabling a surgical operation to be carried out on that hand.
Hand surgery tables generally fall into two classes-those which are very simple in construction and those which are complex. The former type do not adequately serve the needs of surgeons because of their inability to support the hand in any of a variety of postures. Examples of that type are disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,746,332 and 4,082,257. The latter type are expensive and in spite of their complexity may not provide an adequate variety of hand support positions. Another problem with some of the latter type is that they are difficult to use.
British Pat. No. 2088216 discloses one form of rather complex hand surgery table which has a series of elongate supports which can be rendered rigid or flexible as required and each of which engages a respective finger of the hand to be operated upon. The construction is expensive and is also difficult to use because of the need to separately adjust each of the flexible finger supports.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a hand surgery table of relatively simple construction which enables a hand to be conveniently supported in any one of a variety of dispositions and postures. It is a further object of the invention in a preferred form to provide such a table having a disposable platform.
A hand surgery table according to the invention is characterized in that it includes a primary support platform which can be secured in a variety of positions to achieve a general disposition for a hand placed over that platform, and at least one column support which can be selectively attached to the platform to hold part of the hand in a particular posture relative to the platform. Preferably, there is a plurality of column supports and they may be of various sizes and forms so as to render the table readily adaptable to a variety of situations. In a preferred form, the platform is disposable so that adequate standards of hygiene can be achieved without the need to carefully clean the platform after each use.
According to the present invention there is provided a hand surgery table including, a platform, mounting means for said platform and which is adjustable to permit variation of the disposition of said platform relative to a support, locking means operable to releasably hold said mounting means in a selected position of adjustment, at least one column support releasably attachable to said platform at any one of a plurality of stations provided across said platform, and locating means provided at each said station and each being cooperable with a part of a said column support so as to hold that column support in an operative disposition at which it projects upwardly from an upper surface of said platform.
Although the preceding and subsequent passages of the specification identify the table as a hand surgery table, :t is to be understood that it may also have uses in other fields of surgery. For example, the table may be used for foot surgery or for urological surgery. The claims at the end of the specification are to be read accordingly.
The essential features of the invention, and further optional features, are described :n detail in the following passages of the specification which refer to the accompanying drawings. The drawings, however, are merely illustrative of how the invention might be put into effect, so that the specific form and arrangement of the features (whether they be essential or optional features) shown is not to be understood as limiting on the invention.
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one form of table in accordance with the invention and showing the platform separated from mounting structure;
FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but showing the platform connected to the mounting structure;
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the mounting structure of the table shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV--IV of FIG. 1 and showing
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patent: 3746332 (1973-07-01), Hakstian
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patent: 4082257 (1978-04-01), Strickland
patent: 4174238 (1979-11-01), Fowles et al.
Australian Biomedical Corporation Limited
Hartman Judy J.
Schmidt Frederick R.
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