U.S. patent application number 10/840805 was filed with the patent office on 2005-11-10 for surgical instrument bracket assembly.
Invention is credited to Riley, Edward D..
Application Number | 20050249651 10/840805 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34968669 |
Filed Date | 2005-11-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050249651 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Riley, Edward D. |
November 10, 2005 |
SURGICAL INSTRUMENT BRACKET ASSEMBLY
Abstract
A bracket assembly for supporting medical instruments and the
like. The assembly includes a support member formed with lines of
vent holes, the vent holes in each line being spaced apart a
selected distance. The bracket includes a base strip having a
plurality of feet extending down for the base strip, the feet
having footprints larger than those of the vent holes and being
spaced apart along the base strip a distance substantially equal to
an intregal multiple of the selected distance. This allows the
bracket to be aligned with a line of vent holes in the support
member so that its feet overlie selected ones of the vent holes in
that line. A plurality of anchors is provided for anchoring the
plurality of feet to the support member at the selected vent holes
so that any segment of the base strip between the feet is spaced
above the support member so as not to obstruct any underlying vent
holes in the support member.
Inventors: |
Riley, Edward D.; (Falmouth,
ME) |
Correspondence
Address: |
CESARI AND MCKENNA, LLP
88 BLACK FALCON AVENUE
BOSTON
MA
02210
US
|
Family ID: |
34968669 |
Appl. No.: |
10/840805 |
Filed: |
May 7, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
422/300 ;
206/363; 248/71 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61B 50/20 20160201;
A61L 2202/24 20130101; A61B 50/22 20160201; A61B 50/33 20160201;
A61L 2/26 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
422/300 ;
206/363; 248/071 |
International
Class: |
A61L 002/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A bracket assembly for supporting medical instruments, said
assembly comprising a support member formed with lines of vent
holes, the vent holes in each line being spaced apart a selected
distance; a bracket including a base strip having a longitudinal
centerline and a plurality of feet depending from the base strip so
that said feet extend appreciably below all segments of the base
strip, said feet each having a footprint larger than that of each
of said vent holes and being spaced apart along the base strip a
distance substantially equal to an integral multiple of said
selected distance so that said bracket may be aligned with a line
of vent holes in the support member so that said feet overlie
selected ones of the vent holes in that line, and a corresponding
plurality of anchors for anchoring said plurality of feet to the
support member at said selected vent holes whereby all segments of
the base strip are spaced above the support member so as not to
obstruct any underlying vent holes in the support member.
2. The bracket assembly defined in claim 1 wherein the support
member comprises a sterilization tray bottom wall.
3. The bracket assembly defined in claim 1 wherein the bracket
includes a blade extending from the base strip in the opposite
direction from said feet.
4. The bracket assembly defined in claim 3 wherein the bracket
comprises a unitary part molded of a plastic material able to
withstand sterilization.
5. The bracket assembly defined in claim 1 wherein the plurality of
anchors is offset to one side of said longitudinal centerline of
the base strip.
6. The bracket assembly defined in claim 1 wherein each of the
plurality of anchors includes a fastening hole in the corresponding
foot, and a fastener extending through the selected vent hole
underlying that foot into said fastening hole in that foot.
7. The bracket assembly defined in claim 1 wherein each of the
plurality of anchors includes a post having an end and extending
down from the corresponding foot into the selected vent hole
underlying that foot, and means for securing said post in said
selected underlying vent hole.
8. The bracket assembly defined in claim 7 wherein the securing
means comprise an enlargement on said end of said post and which
engages under an edge of said selected underlying vent hole.
9. The bracket assembly defined in claim 8 and further including a
clip engageable around said post between said enlargement and the
support member.
10. (canceled)
11. (canceled)
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates to a surgical instrument retention
bracket assembly. It relates particularly to a bracket capable of
holding irregularly shaped surgical instruments at fixed positions
in a tray or other container.
[0003] 2. Background Information
[0004] There exists in the prior art various retaining means for
fixing the positions of articles of one kind or another. These
include hooks, pegs, clips, brackets, etc. Such retention means may
be used in a wide variety of different applications. They are
commonly used in the medical field to fix the positions of various
articles such as surgical instruments while those articles are
being transported and processed in one way or another. Accordingly,
we will describe the invention in that context. It should be
understood, however, that the present invention has application in
other fields besides the medical field.
[0005] Surgical instruments are often transported in trays. Prior
to use, the instruments are placed in the tray and subjected to
sterilization. In order to maintain a separation between the
various instruments in the tray, they are supported or retained by
brackets positioned in the tray. Following sterilization, the tray
full of instruments may be transported to an operating room and
placed close to the surgical team whose members may withdraw in the
instruments from the tray as needed for the particular surgical
procedure being performed. Usually, the instruments are selectively
arranged in the tray so that the instruments can be picked from the
tray in the order in which they are needed for the particular
procedure. An example of such a tray is disclosed in my U.S. Pat.
No. 5,681,539.
[0006] As seen from that patent, the known retention means for
fixating instruments in a tray include brackets each comprising a
relatively long blade having a bottom flange which is releasably
secured to the bottom wall of the tray at a selected location
thereat. The bracket blade usually has slots, openings, fingers,
etc. which are adapted to receive surgical instruments so that the
bracket can engage and support the instruments. As shown there, the
flange of each bracket rests on the bottom wall of the tray which
is invariably formed with a multiplicity of vent holes to allow
steam to circulate through the tray during the sterilization
process. The brackets are adjustably anchored to the bottom wall by
utilizing selected vent holes. In other words, flanges are formed
with fastening means which may be aligned with selected vent holes
in the bottom wall of the tray. This allows complementary fastening
means to be installed from the underside of the tray to secure the
flange to the bottom wall at those selected vent holes.
[0007] The fastening means on the flange may simply be holes for
receiving threaded fasteners inserted through the selected vent
holes in the bottom wall of the tray. Alternatively, the fastening
means on the flange may be small diameter cylindrical posts having
reduced diameter necks, the posts being dimensioned and arranged
along the flange so that they can be received in the selected vent
holes and releasably anchored to the bottom wall of the tray, e.g.,
by engaging C-clips around the post necks that project below the
tray bottom wall. By positioning pairs of brackets appropriately in
the tray, the brackets can engage and support the opposite ends of
different length medical instruments.
[0008] While such brackets are satisfactory for many applications,
we have found that when a conventional bracket is installed as
aforesaid in an instrument tray, the bracket blocks all of the
underlying vent holes in the tray bottom wall thereby preventing
the circulation of steam through all of those holes. This is
illustrated in FIG. 4 which shows a conventional bracket B resting
on a tray bottom wall W formed with a rectangular array of vent
holes V. Bracket B is anchored to wall W by screws S inserted
through selected vent holes V and threaded into anchoring holes H
in the flange F at the bottom of the bracket. As seen from FIG. 4,
flange F covers all of the vent holes V under the bracket and
thereby prevents steam from entering or leaving the tray through
those holes. Since a given tray may be fitted with many such
brackets B, the presence of those brackets can materially reduce
the circulation of a sterilizing fluid through the tray. This, in
turn, materially increases the length of time it takes to properly
sterilize the medical instruments supported in the tray by the
brackets.
[0009] The prior brackets are also disadvantaged in that the
anchoring holes H in the underside of the bracket B are formed by a
drilling operation. This extra step in the manufacturing of the
bracket adds to the cost thereof and constitutes a negative factor
in the overall sales of the product.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] Accordingly, the present invention aims to provide a bracket
assembly for releasably supporting a medical instrument or other
article in a perforated tray or container.
[0011] A further object of the invention is to provide a bracket
assembly of this type which does not interfere with the circulation
of sterilization fluid through the tray or container.
[0012] Another object of the invention is to provide an improved
bracket for releasably retaining a medical instrument or other
article in a sterilization tray or container, yet which permits
quick release of the instrument or article when necessary.
[0013] Another object of the invention is to provide such a bracket
which is relatively easy and inexpensive to manufacture in
quantity.
[0014] Other objects will, in part, be obvious and will, in part,
appear hereinafter. The invention accordingly comprises the
features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement
of parts which will be exemplified in the following detailed
description and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the
claims.
[0015] Briefly, my bracket assembly comprises a bracket adjustably
mounted to a perforated support member which may be the bottom wall
of a sterilization tray or other container formed with a
multiplicity of vent holes arranged in lines, e.g. a grid. The
bracket includes a base strip which supports an upstanding blade
which may be formed along its length with cut-outs, slits and the
like shaped and arranged to receive medical instruments of
different sizes and shapes. Formed integrally with the base strip
is a lengthwise series of feet which extend below the base strip
and have a footprint which is larger than that of the vent holes in
the support member.
[0016] In accordance with the invention, the depending feet of each
bracket are spaced apart a distance which is an integral multiple
of the centerline distance between adjacent vent holes in the
support member. In other words, the bracket may be positioned on
the support member so that it is aligned with a given line of vent
holes and so that the bracket feet are positioned above selected
vent holes in that line. The bracket may then be releasably
anchored to the support member by fastening means engageable to the
feet from the underside of the support member at those selected
vent holes. When the bracket is so anchored to the support member,
the segment or segments of the base strip between the feet are
spaced from the support member so that the vent holes below those
segments are not occluded by the base strip. Resultantly, steam or
other fluid is free to circulate through those unobstructed vent
holes in the support member.
[0017] Preferably, the series of feet depending from the base strip
is offset to one side of the longitudinal centerline of the base
strip. This enables the bracket to be anchored to a selected line
of vent holes in the support member in two different orientations,
180.degree. apart. Resultantly, the blade component of the bracket
may be located at two different positions on the support member
offset in a direction perpendicular to that line of vent holes. In
other words, the positions or spacing of the brackets along the
support member can be fine tuned to accommodate the instrument or
instruments supported by the brackets, e.g. to avoid protuberances
on the instrument(s).
[0018] A single bracket may be used to retain relatively short
instruments or other articles. The retention of longer or larger
instruments or articles may require that two or more brackets be
spaced parallel to one another on the support member so that the
brackets can support opposite ends of, or different portions of,
those instruments or articles, the bracket spacing(s) or
position(s) being determined by the lengths or sizes of the
instruments or articles.
[0019] The bracket component of the assembly may be a simple molded
plastic part that can be made in quantity at relatively low cost.
Therefore, the bracket assembly as a whole is relatively economical
to make and should find wide application particularly in the
medical industry where the retention of instruments and other
articles in a container or the like is of some importance.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the
invention, reference should be made to the following detailed
description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in
which:
[0021] FIG. 1 is a perspective view with parts broken away of a
bracket assembly for retaining surgical instruments or the
like;
[0022] FIG. 2 is a sectional view on a larger scale taken along
line 2-2 of FIG. 1;
[0023] FIG. 2A is an end view showing the bracket of FIG. 2 in a
first orientation;
[0024] FIG. 2B is a similar view showing the bracket in a second
orientation;
[0025] FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view from below showing
a second bracket embodiment for use in the FIG. 1 assembly, and
[0026] FIG. 4, already described, is a view similar to FIG. 2
showing a conventional bracket for supporting medical
instruments.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0027] Refer to FIG. 1 of the drawings which illustrates a
generally rectangular medical tray 10 having a bottom wall 10a
containing a rectangular array of small vent holes 12. Positioned
in tray 10 is a pair of spaced-apart brackets shown generally at 16
which are releasably anchored to bottom wall 10a by anchoring means
to be described later. The brackets 16 are spaced parallel to one
another in the tray and are arranged to support and fixate one or
more instruments I in the tray and to readily release the
instrument(s) when needed by a surgeon or other person.
[0028] Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 2A, each bracket 16 is a
unitary article which may be made of a suitable rigid metal or
plastic material. Preferably, the bracket is molded of a suitable
plastic material such as polyetherimide or polyphenylsulfone so
that it is able to withstand sterilization temperatures and can be
made in quantity relatively inexpensively using conventional
molding processes.
[0029] Bracket 16 comprises a generally rectangular base strip 18
which, in the illustrated embodiment, is constituted by the lower
edge or surface 18 of an upstanding blade 22. Extending down from
base strip 18 is a linear series of equally spaced apart feet 24,
each of which preferably extends laterally beyond opposite sides of
base strip 18. The feet 24 should have a footprint which is larger
than that of the vent holes 12 in tray 10 and the feet should be
spaced apart along the base strip 18 a distance which is an
integral multiple of the centerline distance D between adjacent
vent holes 12 in the columns and rows of such holes in the bottom
wall 10a of tray 10. This enables each bracket 16 to be positioned
on the tray bottom wall 10a so that its feet 24 are aligned with
selected vent holes 12 in a given row (or column) of vent holes in
wall 10a.
[0030] Thus, in the bracket embodiment depicted in FIG. 2, feet 24
are spaced apart a distance corresponding to the distance between
the first, seventh, fourteenth, etc. vent holes 12. Resultantly,
when the bracket 16 is resting on wall 10a with feet 22 in
alignment with holes 12, the segment(s) of the base strip 18
between adjacent feet 24 is spaced above wall 10a so that a gap G
exists between base strip 18 and the underlying six vent holes 12
between adjacent feet 12 so that the bracket does not occlude those
vent holes.
[0031] In order to releasably anchor bracket 16 to the tray bottom
wall 12a, threaded fasteners 26 may be inserted through the vent
holes 12 underlying feet 24 and threaded into holes 28 formed in
those feet.
[0032] As best seen in FIGS. 2A and 2B, preferably the series of
feet 24 of each bracket 16 is offset to one side of the
longitudinal centerline of base strip 18 so that the holes 28
formed therein are offset laterally relative to the bracket blade
22. Resultantly, when a bracket 16 is mounted in tray 10 so that
its blade end 22a faces to the left as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 2A,
that bracket will be located at a selected location along the long
dimension of the tray. On the other hand, when that same bracket is
rotated 180.degree. so that the blade end 22a faces toward the
right in FIG. 1, due to the aforementioned lateral offset, that
bracket 16 will be shifted along tray 10, i.e. perpendicular to the
longitudinal axis of the blade, a distance A as shown by a
comparison of FIGS. 2A and 2B. This allows a fine adjustment of the
bracket locations in tray 10 to accommodate the various medical
instruments I to be supported by the brackets. For example, it may
allow various projections on the instruments to be avoided when
seating the instruments on the brackets.
[0033] As best seen in FIGS. 2, 2A and 2B, in order that a threaded
fastener hole 28 may be molded into bracket 16 at the time of
manufacture, the bracket may be provided with an integral nose 32
which extends above each foot 24 adjacent to blade 22. In that
event, the hole 28 in each foot 24 may have an extension 28a which
extends into the corresponding nose 32 and is threaded to receive a
fastener 26.
[0034] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the blades 22 of the brackets may
be formed with various slits, slots or cutouts 34a to 34d shaped
and sized to receive and retain various different medical
instruments I as is well known in the art.
[0035] Refer now to FIG. 3 which shows another bracket embodiment
16'. In this case, the bracket base strip is constituted by a
flange 18' extending along the lower edge of the bracket blade 22'.
Bracket feet 24' extend down from the underside of flange 18'. As
described above in connection with FIG. 2, the feet 24' have
footprints which are larger than those of the vent holes 12 in tray
10 and they are spaced apart a distance corresponding to an
integral multiple of the vent hole spacing in a given column or row
of the hole array in the bottom wall of tray 10 in FIG. 1.
[0036] Instead of using threaded fasteners to anchor bracket 16' to
the tray wall 10a, in this embodiment, each foot 24' is formed with
a depending cylindrical post 42 having a reduced diameter neck 42a.
These posts are dimensioned and disposed along the flange 18' so
that they can be received in selected holes 12 in a given column or
row of holes in the tray bottom wall 10a depicted in FIG. 1. The
posts may be shaped and arranged to snap into the holes 12 or they
may be releasably anchored to the tray bottom wall 10a by engaging
a conventional C-clip 44 around the post necks 42a that project
below the tray bottom wall 10a.
[0037] As described above, the brackets 16 and 16' may be made
quite easily using conventional molding materials and techniques.
Therefore, they should find wide application, particularly in the
medical field.
[0038] It will thus be seen that the objects set for the above
among those made apparent from the preceding description, are
efficiently attained. Also, certain changes may be, instead of
______, made in the above construction without departing from the
scope of the invention. For example, the fasteners 26 may be
expandable or friction fasteners, pivets, etc. Therefore, it is
intended that all matter contained in the above description or
shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as
illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
[0039] It is also to be understood that the following claims are
intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the
invention described herein.
* * * * *