GB2321185A

GB2321185A - Attachment means for surgical table components

Info

Publication number: GB2321185A
Application number: GB9800273A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Graham David Bannister
Original assignee: Smiths Group PLC
Current assignee: Smiths Group PLC
Priority date: 1997-01-16
Filing date: 1998-01-08
Publication date: 1998-07-22
Anticipated expiration: 2018-01-08
Also published as: GB2321185B; GB9700837D0; GB9800273D0

Abstract

The leg section 4 of a surgical operating table has two pins 44 and 45 projecting from its end face 43, which engage respective sockets 5 and 6 in an end face 3 of the trunk section 1. One pin 44 is fixed and has a step 50 engaged by a locking peg 8 in the socket 5. The pin 44 carries a tapered sleeve 56, which is slidable rearwardly against the action of a spring 55 when it engages the mouth of the socket 5. The other pin 45 is shorter and is itself slidable rearwardly against the action of a spring 59, the pin having a tapered surface 46, which engages the mouth of the other socket 6. Engagement of the slidable tapered surfaces on the two pins 44 and 45 with the mouths of the sockets 5 and 6 prevents lateral displacement of the leg section 4 relative to the trunk section 1.

Description

SURGICAL SUPPORT TABLES This invention relates to surgical support tables and components.

Surgical operating tables and the like often have removable accessories, such as limb supports, which are used for particular procedures. These accessories must be readily attachable and removable yet have a secure and stable attachment with the table. One way of attaching these accessories is by means of a cylindrical pin extending from the accessory, which is inserted in a socket on the table. In order to stabilize the accessory against rotation about the pin, a second, offset pin is usually provided. The pins are generally a relatively loose fit within the sockets, so as to allow for easy insertion and removal. The problem with this, however, is that it tends to allow movement of the accessory relative to the table unless tolerances are very closely controlled.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved surgical support table.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a surgical support table having first and second components removably attachable with one another, the first component having a face surface with two sockets spaced from one another, the second component having a face surface and two pin members projecting forwardly therefrom aligned for insertion in respective ones of said sockets, said pin members both having a tapering surface that tapers from a diameter smaller than the diameter of the respective socket to a diameter larger than the socket, and said tapering surfaces being displaceable rearwardly by engagement with the mouths of the sockets so as to locate the two components against lateral displacement.

One of the pin members and its respective socket is preferably longer than the other of the pin members. One of the pin members may include a slidable sleeve, the tapering surface of the pin member being provided by a surface on the slidable sleeve. The tapering surface on the other of the pin members is preferably provided by a surface of the other pin member itself. The table preferably includes means for resiliently urging the tapering surfaces forwardly of the face surface of the second component. One of the sockets and pin members may include locking means arranged to retain the pin member in the socket when fully inserted. One of the components, such as the first component, is preferably a trunk section and the other component may be a leg section.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a second component for a surgical support table according to the above one aspect of the invention, the second component being a leg section.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a leg section for a surgical support table, said leg section having a face surface adapted to abut a face surface on a trunk section of a table, said leg section having two pin members projecting forwardly from the face surface of said leg section and aligned for insertion in respective ones of two sockets in the face surface of said trunk section, said pin members both having a tapering surface that tapers from a diameter smaller than the diameter of the respective socket to a diameter larger than the socket, and said tapering surfaces being displaceable rearwardly by engagement with the mouths of the sockets so as to locate the leg section on the trunk section against lateral displacement.

A surgical operating table according to the present invention, will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation view of a part of the operating table with a leg section support partly attached; and Figure 2 is a sectional side elevation view of a part of the operating table with the leg section support fully attached.

With reference first to Figure 1, there is shown the right-hand end of a trunk section 1, the upper surface 2 of which supports the mattress (not shown) of the table. The right-hand end of the trunk section 1 has a vertical end face 3 with two sockets 5 and 6 extending perpendicularly of the end face, one above the other, which serve to support the leg section 4.

The upper socket 5 provides the main mechanical support and is about 150 mm long and about 22 mm in diameter. About halfway along its length, a lateral groove 7 extends across the bottom part of the socket 5 and contains locking means in the form of a sprung-loaded locking peg 8, which is resiliently slidable along the groove. The socket 5 has two lining sleeves 9 and 10 of phosphor bronze fixed towards the inner, forward end of the socket and at the mouth of the socket respectively. The other, lower socket 6 is shorter, being only about 12 mm long with a diameter of about 12 mm and serves to stabilize the leg section 4 against rotation about the axis of the upper socket 5.

The leg section 4 has a mount assembly 40 on which a leg support leaf 41 with a mattress 42 is hinged for movement about a horizontal and vertical axis in the usual way. The mount assembly 40 has a vertical face 43 at its left hand end from which project an upper and lower mounting pin 44 and 45 aligned for insertion in the sockets 5 and 6 respectively. The upper pin 44 is the main mounting pin and is about 158 mm long, with a diameter of about 18.75 mm. The forward end 46 of the upper pin 44 is domed and tapered, and has a short cylindrical section 47 of constant diameter located to engage within the forward liner 9. To the rear of the cylindrical section 47 the pin 44 has a reduced diameter section 48 and, located midway along this, there is a flared collar 49 with a rearwardly-facing locking step 50 located to engage a lip 8A projecting upwardly from the locking peg 8. The rear part 51 of the pin 44 has a constant diameter along most of its length and a reduced diameter shank portion 52, about 15 mm in diameter, at its rear end separated from the main part by a step 53 located 31.5 mm forwardly of the end face 43. The shank portion 52 is secured in a bore 54 in the mounting assembly 40, the forward end of the bore having an increased diameter forming a recess 55. The shank portion 52 carries a short sleeve 56 slidable along that part of the shank portion lying between the recess 55 and the step 53. The shank portion 52 also carries a spring 57, such as a Belleville washer or the like, to the rear of the sleeve 56, so that this is urged forwardly against the step 53. The outer surface 58 of the sleeve 56 tapers to an increased diameter rearwardly, the diameter at the forward end of the sleeve being slightly less than the diameter of the mouth of the socket 5, as defined by the internal diameter of the rear liner 10. The diameter of the rear end of the sleeve 56 is larger than that of the mouth of the socket 5.

The entire length of the lower pin 45 projecting from the face 43 of the mount assembly 40 has a tapering surface 46, which increases in diameter rearwardly from about 10.8 mm at its forward end, to 14 mm at the face of the assembly. The forward end of the lower pin 45 is, therefore, slightly smaller than the diameter of the lower socket 6 and its rear end is larger. The forward tip of the pin 45 is flat. The pin 45 is mounted in a stepped recess 45A in the mount assembly 40 by a spring 59, which enables the pin to be pushed into the mount assembly by a limited distance.

In use, the leg section 4 is held up to the rear end of the trunk section 1 with the end faces 3 and 43 parallel and with the main, upper pin 44 aligned with the upper socket 5. The leg section 4 is then moved closer to the trunk section 1 so that the upper pin 44 enters the upper socket 5. The pin 44 may be a relatively loose fit initially to facilitate insertion. Once the main part of the pin 44 has been inserted, the leg section 4 can be rotated about the pin to align the lower pin 45 with the lower socket 6. Further movement of the leg section 4 towards the trunk section 1 causes the forward end of the lower pin 45 to enter the lower socket 6. The tapering surface 46 of the lower pin 45 will engage the mouth of the socket 6 at a location along the pin where its diameter is equal to that of the mouth of the socket, thereby limiting the extent of insertion of the lower pin to about 4 mm. As the two sections 1 and 4 are brought closer together, the lower pin 45 is pushed into the mounting assembly 40 against the resilience of the spring 59. When the major part of the upper pin 44 has been inserted into the socket 5, the sleeve 56 then starts to enter the socket 5. The tapering surface of the sleeve 56 will engage the mouth of the socket 5 at a location along the sleeve where its external diameter is equal to the internal diameter of the lining 10. Further movement of the two sections 1 and 4 towards one another causes the sleeve 56 to be pushed rearwardly into the recess 55 against the resilience of the spring 57, the depth of the recess being sufficient to accommodate the rear part of the sleeve that does not enter the socket 5. The length of the lower pin 45 and its recess 45A are such that the pin cannot be fully pushed into the recess.

This ensures that misalignment of the lower pin 45 with the lower socket 6 prevents the faces 3 and 43 coming into contact, thereby making the misalignment evident.

When the faces 3 and 43 of the two sections 1 and 4 are in contact with one another, the lip 8A on the locking peg 8 prevents withdrawal of the pin 44 from the socket 5, as shown in Figure 2. The engagement made at the mouths of the sockets 5 and 6 by the tapering surfaces 58 and 46 on the two pins 44 and 45 ensures that there can be no movement of the leg section 4 in a vertical plane and no rotation of the leg section about the axis of either pin.

Movement in a horizontal plane is also prevented, in one direction, by engagement of the faces 3 and 43 and, in the opposite direction, by the locking peg 8. This secure fixing is achieved without the need for close tolerances and without making connection or disconnection of the two sections more difficult.

The leg section 4 is released by pushing in a button (not shown) formed at one end of the locking peg 8 projecting from the trunk section 1. This moves the peg along its length so that the lip 8A clears the step 50, allowing the pin 46 to be pulled out of the socket 5.

Claims

1. A surgical support table having first and second components removably attachable with one another, wherein the first component has a face surface with two sockets spaced from one another, wherein the second component has a face surface and two pin members projecting forwardly therefrom aligned for insertion in respective ones of said sockets, wherein said pin members both have a tapering surface that tapers from a diameter smaller than the diameter of the respective socket to a diameter larger than the socket, and wherein said tapering surfaces are displaceable rearwardly by engagement with the mouths of the sockets so as to locate the two components against lateral displacement.

2. A surgical support table according to Claim 1, wherein one of said pin members and its respective socket is longer than the other of said pin members and its respective socket.

3. A surgical support table according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein one of said pin members includes a slidable sleeve, and wherein the said tapering surface of said one pin member is provided by a surface on said slidable sleeve.

4. A surgical support table according to Claim 3, wherein the said tapering surface of the other of said pin members is provided by a surface of the other pin member itself.

5. A surgical support table according to any one of the preceding claims including means for resiliently urging said tapering surfaces forwardly of the face surface of said second component.

6. A surgical support table according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein one of said sockets and pin members includes cooperating locking means arranged to retain said pin member in said socket when fully inserted.

7. A surgical support table according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein one of said components is a trunk section and the other of said components is a leg section.

8. A surgical support table according to Claim 7, wherein said first component is said trunk section and said second component is said leg section.

9. A surgical support table substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

10. A second component for a surgical support table according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said second component is a leg section.

11. A leg section for a surgical support table, said leg section having a face surface adapted to abut a face surface on a trunk section of a table, said leg section having two pin members projecting forwardly from the face surface of said leg section and aligned for insertion in respective ones of two sockets in the face surface of said trunk section, wherein said pin members both have a tapering surface that tapers from a diameter smaller than the diameter of the respective socket to a diameter larger than the socket, and wherein said tapering surfaces are displaceable rearwardly by engagement with the mouths of the sockets so as to locate the leg section on the trunk section against lateral displacement.

12. A leg section for a surgical support table substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

13. Any novel and inventive feature or combination of features as hereinbefore described.