Physician's Examining Table Construction

Abstract

A physician's examining table having an upholstered top and cabinet, wherein the top has head and foot sections at least one of which is pivotable with said one section supported in inclined and horizontal positions. Said one head section has a frame member supported by support means located only at one side of the table and for this purpose is reinforced. A torsion bar having one end secured to said one section and the other end secured to the cabinet counterbalances the weight of said one section. The other section has support means comprising a support link which pivots on the frame of the section and engages the cabinet to hold the foot section in inclined positions.

Description

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a physician's examining table having a top comprising one or more inclinable sections, and more particularly to improved support means and counterbalance for the inclinable section of the top.

A physician's examining table of the type presently in use usually comprises a base member in the form of a cabinet member which rests on the floor, and an upholstered top which is secured to the cabinet. The top is frequently provided in two sections, a head section and a foot section, at least one of which is pivotably secured at the adjacent ends of the sections to the cabinet member. For ease of examination, one or both sections of the top may be pivoted to an inclined position. Supports are provided on the table to maintain the sections of the top in such inclined positions.

Frequently, as shown in the Demack U.S. Pat. No. 2,267,973 and the Kanzelberger U.S. Pat. No. 3,137,493, the head section of the top has been provided with one or two support rods. When two support rods are used, they are pivotally secured to the section and extend downwardly at both sides of the section into the cabinet. When one support rod is used, it is pivotally secured to the section and extends downwardly at the center of the section into the cabinet. The rods or rod engage a locking mechanism in the cabinet member to retain the rods or rod and hold the head section of the top in the inclined position. While such supports located either at both sides of the head section and in both sides of the cabinet member, or at the center of the head section and in the center of the cabinet member have operated satisfactorily, such support means has the disadvantage of greatly reducing the space available in the cabinet member for storage of the physician's equipment and supplies since the support means prevents use of much of the space within the cabinet member for storage.

Frequently, as shown in the Katzfey U.S. Pat. No. 3,348,893, the foot section of the top may be held in an inclined position. For this purpose, two blocks pivotally secured to each side of the top of the cabinet member have been provided. The foot section lies flat with the blocks in one position, and the foot section may be held in an inclined position by pivoting the blocks underneath the foot section into a second position. While such block supports for the foot section have operated satisfactorily, they have the disadvantage of being able to support the foot section in only one inclined position.

Frequently, as shown in the Froelich U.S. Pat. No. 2,314,778 and the Demack Patent, the head section of the top is counterbalanced to assist the physician in moving the section. The counterbalancing force as shown in these patents has been provided by a spring, one end of which is secured to the cabinet and the other end of which engages the section of the top to be counterbalanced. As shown in the Froelich Patent, the end of the spring is secured to the cabinet by a special plate, and the other end of the spring rubs against a special rider plate secured to the top. This construction has the disadvantages of having rubbing surfaces which may wear and of requiring extra parts. As shown in the Demack Patent one end of the spring is secured to a rod extending from the center of the head section, and the other end is secured to the center of the cabinet bottom. This construction has the disadvantage of having the counterbalance spring in the center of the cabinet, thus reducing useful storage space. The springs used in both the Demack and Froelich Patents have the further disadvantage of being coil-shaped and thus difficult to clean.

In accordance with the present invention, the aforementioned disadvantages have been eliminated by providing a physician's examining table comprising a base member, in this instance a cabinet, with a maximum of storage space, and a top having a counterbalanced head section and a foot section, and each section is capable of being supported in various inclined positions. The head and foot sections have frame members which are pivotally secured to the cabinet, and an upholstered covering which is secured to the sections. Support means for one section of the top is positioned at one side of the table and comprises a rod attached to a reinforcement of the frame member and extending downwardly into only one side of the cabinet into a locking mechanism. This side support means utilizes only a small portion of the potential storage space in the cabinet and does not interfere with using the other space in the cabinet for storage. Support means for the other section of the top is at the top of the table and comprises a pivotal link which engages the cabinet member and frame member for said other section. The link is mounted on one of said members and engages notched portions in the other of said members. The support means for both sections are readily adjustable by the physician from either side of the table. The counterbalancing force for the head section has been provided by a compact, easily cleaned, torsion bar having one end attached to the head section and the other end attached to the cabinet member.

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the front side of a physician's examining table embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the foot end of the table shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the table shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlargement of the view shown in FIG. 3, but with the upholstered portion of the top broken away to better show the underlying parts;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the table shown in FIG. 4 with the top in a horizontal position shown in solid lines and in an inclined position in dashed lines;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken on line 6--6 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken on line 7--7 of FIG. 5.

A physician's examining table embodying the invention is shown in FIG. 1 and comprises a base member, in this instance in the form of a cabinet 11, and an upholstered top 12. The cabinet member 11 is supported on the floor by height-adjustable legs 13. The front side of the cabinet as shown in FIG. 1 may contain three drawers 14 for storage of the physician's equipment. Further drawers 16 may be provided in the foot end as shown in FIG. 2. A step stool 17, adjustable stirrups 18, and a treatment pan 21 may also be contained in the cabinet at the foot end for the convenience of the physician in performing certain examinations. Thus, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 nearly all of the space in the cabinet is usable storage space.

The upholstered top 12 is pivotally supported by the cabinet member 11 and comprises a head section 22 and a foot section 23 which are pivotally secured to support brackets 24 and 26 (FIGS. 4 and 5) of the cabinet member 11. The top 12 has a headframe member 27 and a foot frame member 28 to which are secured the one-piece upholstered portion 31 of the top. The upholstered top 12 has mounted at its head end a paper roll 32 and a paper holddown and cutoff strap 33 (FIG. 3) and at the foot end are fastened two wire paper holddown clips 34.

As is best shown in FIG. 4, and in FIG. 5 where the upholstered portion 31 of the top 12 has been removed, the headframe member 27 is preferably made from tubing and the parts thereof are welded together. The headframe member 27 is formed from an outer U-shaped tube 36 which is joined at its open end to a crossbrace 37 of similar tubing. Near each end of this crossbrace a hinge link 38 is secured at a slight angle to the plane of frame member 27. Between the outward and hinged ends of the U-tube 36 is secured a reinforcing box 41 which reinforces the headframe 27 so that it can be supported at only one side and is located as hereinafter described, instead of at both sides or its center. The reinforcing box 41 has four sides 42, 43, 44 and 46, and each side is secured to its adjacent sides and to the tube 36 at both ends. This reinforcing box 41 prevents the head section 22 from becoming distorted under the load imposed by a patient as he reclines on the section and the section is in other than horizontal position.

The foot frame 28 follows the general outline of the upholstered top 12 so as to form an open V-shaped area at its foot end to facilitate certain types of examination. The foot frame member 28 is formed from an outer M-shaped tube 47 having side portions 48 and a center V-shaped portion 51. The open end of the M-shaped tube 47 has a straight crossbrace 52. Hinge links 53 similar to hinge links 38 are secured to the crossbrace 52. In each side portion 48 of the M-shaped tube 47 is located one hole 54 into which a foot support link 55, hereinafter described, is secured.

The support brackets 24 and 26 pivotally support the head and foot frame members 27 and 28 on the cabinet and also assist in maintaining the foot section 28 in an inclined position. To this end, the two support brackets 24 and 26 are located on and are secured to the cabinet in a spaced-apart position near the front and back sides of the cabinet. Both brackets 24 and 26 are similar in shape, being generally channel-shaped at the head end and angle-shaped at the foot end, and have a lower flange 56 for securing the brackets to the cabinet by means such as screws. At about the midpoint of each bracket is a vertically extended portion 57 having a hole 58 to receive a pin 61 for pivotally mounting the head and foot frame members 27 and 28 to the support brackets of the cabinet member 11. The two hinge links 38 of the headframe member 27 fit inside of the two extended portions 57 of the support brackets 24 and 26 and the two hinge links 53 for the foot frame member 28 are located outside the hinge links 38 and fit outside of the extended portions. A hole 62 is provided in each hinge link 38 and 53 so that the headframe hinge links 38, support brackets 24 and 26 and foot frame hinge links 53 may be secured pivotably together by the pins 61 which have snaprings 63 on the respective ends thereof to hold the parts assembled. The brackets 24 and 26 have at their head ends upper flanges 64 on which the reinforcing box 41 of frame 27 of section 22 rests to support the head section when it is in a horizontal position and at their foot ends a raised portion 66 on which a link 55, hereinafter described, rests to support the foot section when it is in a horizontal position.

The foot frame and head sections may be independently supported in various inclined positions. In the present instance, two different means are used to support the sections in an inclined position, but either section could be supported by either means shown, or the support means for both sections could be the same.

The foot section 23 may lie flat on the cabinet member or be held in several inclined positions. Support means for the foot section 23 comprises a support link 55. In this instance, link 55 is pivotally secured to the frame member 28 and engages notches in the support brackets 24 and 26. The support link 55 comprises a rod having a straight portion 71 which engages the holes 54 in the frame member 28 so as to be pivotally secured to the frame. Two L-shaped portions 72 are secured to and extend radially outward from the straight portion 71 near the ends thereof. The straight portion 71 is held in position relative to the frame 28 by snaprings 73 located adjacent the ends of the straight portion 71.

The free end, indicated at 74, of each L-shaped portion 72 extends into a slot 76 provided in each support bracket 24 and 26. The slots 76 in the brackets are elongated generally horizontally and have notches 77 in several locations in their lower margin 78. Knobs 82 may be secured to the free ends 74. The length of the slot 76 is such that when the foot section is horizontal the free ends 74 of the L-shaped portions 72 are adjacent the left ends of the slots as shown in FIG. 5. When the foot section 23 is inclined, the free ends 74 will slide in the slots 76 until they engage a pair of notches 77, one in each support bracket 24 and 26, into which the ends 74 of the link 55 drop so as to support the foot section 23 in an inclined position. A plurality of paired notches 77 are provided so that the section 23 may be held in several positions as well as a horizontal position. This feature greatly assists the physician in performing various examinations which may be facilitated by having the patient inclined at different angles.

The foot section 23 is retained in an inclined position since the angle at which the support link 55 is inclined in relation to the slots 76 is such that the notches 77 retain the link 55 in place. The angle of inclination of the foot section 23 may be easily changed by raising the free ends 74 so that they disengage from one pair of notches 77 and may be slid to another position. Since the L-shaped portions 72 are joined to the straight portion 71 which extend to either side of the table, the physician may easily adjust the angle of inclination from either side of the table without having to move around to the other side as had to be done with tables shown in the prior art. The notches 77 adjacent the right ends of the slots 76, as shown in FIG. 5, are such that the foot section may be inclined to approximately 15.degree., in this instance.

The head section 22 is capable of being held in any position from completely horizontal to generally vertical. The frame member 27 is of sufficient strength to be supported at one side without sagging at the opposite unsupported side. The support means for the head section 22 comprises a support rod 84 secured to the head section 22 at one side, in this instance the back side, and rod-holding means 86 secured to the cabinet 11 at the same side. The frame member 27 is reinforced by the reinforcing box 41, as heretofore described. One end of the support rod 84 is pivoted on a pin 87 in a bracket 88 secured to the underside 44 of the reinforcing box 41. The reinforcing box 41 is located on the frame 27 so that the support rod 84 which is mounted on the reinforcing box can be placed as far from the hinge pins 61 as possible to reduce the load thereon needed to support the head section 22 but yet will be contained within the cabinet and not strike the head end wall of the cabinet in its movement when the head section is pivoted between its horizontal and vertical positions. Also the support rod 84 does not extend below the cabinet member 11 when the section 22 is in the horizontal position. The other end of the rod 84 extends downward through a slot 89 in the top of the cabinet 11 into the back side of the cabinet.

Within the cabinet 11 is the rod-holding means 86 comprising a trip rod 91 which is pivotally secured to the cabinet in the upper part thereof and extends out through openings 92 in the front and back sides of the cabinet. Handles 93 are secured to the ends of the trip rod 91 for manual operation by the physician from either side of the cabinet. The support rod 84 passes downwardly through the slot 89 formed in the top wall of the cabinet 11, through a hole 97 formed in a slid plate 98, and through an opening 94 in a tab 96 secured to the trip rod 91. The slot 89 is elongated in the longitudinal direction, as shown in Fig. 4, to provide clearance for the rod 84 as it swings between the broken-line and full-line positions shown in FIG. 5. The hole 97 in the plate 98 is only slightly larger than the rod 84, and the plate 98 slides in the longitudinal direction with swinging movement of the rod 84. The plate 98 serves both as a cover for the slot 89 to prevent dirt from entering the interior of the cabinet, and as a support for a compression spring 99 which is coiled around the rod 84 between the plate 98 and the tab 96. The weight of the tab 96 and the spring 99 tend to rotate the trip rod 91 and the tab 96 in the clockwise direction as seen in FIG. 5 and cause the sharp margins of the opening 94 to frictionally engage the support rod 84. The frictional engagement may be relieved by movement of the handles 93 in the counterclockwise direction so that the rod 84 slides freely in the opening 94 to permit lowering of the head end section. Releasing the handles 93 results in the spring 99 pivoting the tab 96 downwardly and causing the rod 84 to be held. However, the handles 93 do not have to be turned to permit raising of the head end section because the rod 84 may freely slide upwardly in the opening 94.

To assist the physician in moving at least the head section of the top to an inclined position, a counterbalance is provided. In this instance it is preferable to use a torsion bar 101 to provide the counterbalancing force. The counterbalance torsion bar 101 is elongated and extends from the front side to the back side of the cabinet, with its ends 102 and 103 bent at right angles to its intermediate portion. When the torsion bar 101 is free, one end 102 is bent generally horizontally while the other end 103 is bent generally vertically. The size of the bar is chosen so that the counterbalance force generated by the bar with the head section in a horizontal position is less than the force necessary to pivot the section to an inclined position. The bar 101 has one end 102 secured to the support bracket 24 and the other end 103 is secured to the frame member 27. In this instance the bar 101 is secured at its respective ends by inserting the respective bent ends 102 and 103 of the bar in short tubes 104 secured to the frame member and support bracket. The tube 104 for the support bracket 24 of the back side is located on the inside of the extended portion 57 just below the pivot pin 61. The tube 104 on the frame member 27 is secured to the inside of the hinge link 38 at the front side. The bar 101 may be easily inserted in the tubes 104 by raising the head section 22 to a generally vertical position, and then the bar is installed with its vertical bent end 102 fitting in the tube 104 on the frame member 27, and its horizontal bent end 101 fitting in the tube 104 on the support bracket 24. The counterbalance force is generated as the section 22 is displaced from such vertical position, the counterbalancing force being greatest when the section is in a generally horizontal position. The torsion bar 101 provides a compact and simple to clean means of counterbalancing the pivotable section 22 of the examining table.

It is apparent from the foregoing that a novel and useful physician's examining table having a base member and a top with pivotable head and foot sections has been provided. Support means for one section which has a frame member reinforced to be supported at one side in an inclined position comprises cooperating parts located at only one side of the table. Support means for the other section which has a frame member comprises a support link which engages notches in a portion of the base member, said support link being pivotably secured to one of said frame and base members and engaging said notches. It is also apparent that a novel counterbalance for a pivotable section of an examining table has been provided which comprises a torsion bar having one end secured to the section and the other end secured to the cabinet.

Claims

We claim:

1. A physician's examining table comprising a base, a top, said top having at least one pivotable section including a frame member having side portions, said side portions being connected centrally thereof by reinforcing means, and means for supporting said section in an inclined position, said support means being located directly below and entirely beneath said top and at only one side of said table, and engaging said base and being pivotally connected to said reinforcing means, said reinforcing means preventing distortion of the section with the section supported at only said one side.

2. A physician's examining table comprising a base, a top, said top having at least one pivotable section, and means for supporting said section in an inclined position, said support means being located directly below and entirely beneath said top and at only one side of said table, said section including a frame member having side portions and reinforcing means to prevent distortion of said section, said support means engaging said base and being connected to said reinforcing means, said frame member having an outward end and a hinged end, said reinforcing means being in the form of a box located between said ends of said frame member and being secured to said side portions of said frame member.

3. A physician's examining table as in claim 1, wherein said support means comprises a support rod pivotably secured to said reinforcing means inside said side portions of said frame member, and rod-locking means located within said base and directly below said top.

4. In a physician's examining table including a top, having at least one pivotable section and a base member, the improvement comprising a counterbalance for said section comprising a torsion bar, said torsion bar having means for securing one end of said bar to said section and the other end of said bar to the base member.

5. A physician's examining table as in claim 4, wherein the torsion bar comprises a straight portion, and two bent portions, wherein said means for securing the ends of the torsion bar comprises a pair of short tubes, one being secured to the base member and the other secured to the section.

6. A physician's examining table comprising a base member and a top, said top having at least one section member pivotably secured to the base member, a support rod pivotally secured to one side of said section, rod-locking means located in said base member, said rod extending down into said one side of said base member into said locking means, a torsion bar counterbalance for said section, said torsion bar having one end secured to said base member and the other end secured to said section on the side opposite the said one side.

7. A physician's examining table as in claim 1, wherein said base is in the form of a cabinet and said support means extends downward into only one side of said cabinet, whereby the major portion of said cabinet is useable for storage.

8. A physician's examining table as in claim 1, further comprising counterbalance means connected to the side of said section opposite to the side to which said support means is connected, whereby said counterbalance means and said support means prevent said section from distorting.