MXPA94005197A - Instrument carrier dismonta - Google Patents

Abstract

A carrier unit for even a medical instrument having two sections releasably engaged. A section is mounted on a support, while the second section, which contains a means for holding a medical instrument, can easily be separated from the first section without the use of tools, so that the instrument carrier can be sterilized together with the instrument.

Description

X. DETACHABLE INSTRUMENT CARRIER INVENTOR: GREGORY R. VERDERBER, US citizen, resident at: 3713 Home ood Road, Cincinnatl, Ohio 45227 E.U.A.

APPLICANT: GREGG LABORATORIES, INC., American entity, resident at: 4480 Lake Forest Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45242 E.U.A.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A carrier unit for a medical instrument having two sections releasably engaged. A section is mounted on a support, while the second section, which contains a means for holding a medical instrument, can be easily separated from the first section if the use of tools, so that the instrument carrier can be sterilized together with the instrument. instrument.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates in general to a carrier for medical and dental instruments and, in particular, to an instrument carrier that allows easy sterilization of the instrument and the carrier, in the intervals between use.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREVIOUS TECHNIQUE The carriers of instruments that have been used for many years in the fields of medicine and dentistry are well known to medical professionals. These carriers provide a place to place and store the instruments when not in use. Examples of such carriers are shown in U.S. Patent Nos. 3,904,841 and 4,330,281. U.S. Patent No. 3,904,841 is directed to a carrier for a power-operated hand tool, which provides a means for interrupting the power to the hand tool, and also includes a blocking feature to selectively maintain power interruption while the manua tool remains removed from the carrier. U.S. Patent No. 4,330.28 shows a carrier for dental tip hand tools, which holds the hand tool in the region of the clamping portion adjacent to the movable head portion and is provided with a plurality of support surfaces , which are different from conventional carrier receptacles, to improve the use of the instrument. While the aforementioned patents can improve the ease of use of the instrument and its accessibility, there is a major problem that is not mentioned in this or any other of the patents. This problem arises due to the fact that medical and dental instruments become contaminated directly or indirectly with blood and other body fluids during dental processes, causing the instrument carrier to become contaminated. In this way, if the instrument carrier is not properly sterilized between each patient, it is possible to transmit serious diseases from one patient to another, through a contaminated instrument carrier. This can happen if a dental instrument is used on an infected patient and is reused with the instrument carrier. If the instrument carrier becomes contaminated, it can serve as a reservoir of a pathogenic infection. Therefore, if the instrument carrier itself is not sufficiently sterilized between one patient and another, any instrument inserted in the carrier will be contaminated, even if the same instrument has been properly sterilized between the use of patients, and can infect patients Subsequent The awareness of these conditions has recently risen with reports of HIV transmission and dental surgery. Upon discovering that HIV (the virus that causes the deadly AIDS disease) or deadly diseases, which include viral hepatitis and tuberculosis, can be transmitted in the dental office, infection control has become a common issue. important time If both contaminated instruments and instrument carriers are not properly sterilized, diseases can be transmitted from patient to patient in the dental office, with a possible consequence of death. The current instrument carriers, used in dental offices, are not designed to be sterilized between the care of one patient and another. These carriers are typically formed as a single unit that is permanently attached or mounted within the dental operating unit, using screws, bolts, adhesives. In this way, there is no efficient way by which carriers can be removed for proper sterilization.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a medical instrument carrier that can be easily and effectively sterilized in the interval between one patient and another, in order to eliminate the possibility of the transmission of a disease by effect. of the contaminated instrument. It is also an object of the present invention to provide an instrument carrier that can be easily removed from a mounting fork, to be sterilized conveniently and effectively. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an instrument carrier, which can provide a dental instrument, a variety of power source, such as electric and / or pneumatic, together with other desired characteristics, such as water and / or or empty Still another object of the present invention is to provide an instrument carrier that is inexpensively manufactured, and adapted or formed for carrying dental instruments of various external configurations, such as hand tools, vacuum application tips, air syringes. / water, and the like. These and other objects are achieved in the present invention, by means of a novel instrument carrier which is constructed as two easily separable sections. The first section is a mounting fork that is rigidly fixed to a surface inside the operation unit. The second section is an instrument carrier, which is capable of temporarily supporting the instruments, which is detachably attached to the mounting fork section, allowing it to be easily removed from the fork without the use of tools, and to be properly sterilized.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a dental instrument with a carrier in accordance with the present invention. FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary side view of the carrier unit shown in FIGURE 1. FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary side view of the carrier unit shown in FIGURE 1 with its two separate sections. FIGURE 4 is a bottom view, partly in cross section, of the carrier unit of FIGURE 2. FIGURE 5 is a top view of the carrier unit shown in FIGURE 2. FIGURE 6 is a front view of the section d the tool carrier unit shown in FIGURE 2. FIGURE 7 is a rear view of the section d of the tool carrier unit shown in FIGURE 2. FIGURE 8 is a front view of the fork section of FIG. assembly of the unit shown in FIGURE 2. FIGURE 9 is a rear view of the mounting fork section of the unit shown in FIGURE 2. FIGURE 10 is a cross-sectional view of the section of mounting block shown in FIGURE 8. FIGURE 11 is a cross-sectional view of the section of the tool carrying unit shown in FIGURE 6. FIGURE 12 is a cross-sectional view of the unit shown in FIGURE 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITY Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown an instrument carrying unit 10 in accordance with the present invention, mounted on a suitable support 12. The unit 10 consists of an instrument carrying section 14 and the mounting block section 16. A channel 18 is located at along the front of section 14, for releasably attaching an instrument 20. The instrument 20 is preferably an instrument similar to that described in co-pending United States patent application Serial No., which was assigned to the same assignee of the present application. The instrument 20 contains a section of hand tool 22 which is frictionally retained within the channel 18 of the carrier section 14. The sections 14 and 16 are preferably constructed of a heat resistant material, such as plastic. Extending from the bottom of the carrier section 14 is an electrical cable 24 which is connected at its other end to the instrument 20., to supply power to operate the instrument 20. Extending from the bottom of the mounting block section 16 is a second electric cable 26. The cable 26 is connected at its other end to a suitable power source 27 which supplies energy to the tool carrying unit 10 necessary for the operation of the instrument 20. In the preferred embodiment, the energy source 27 is electricity, but could also comprise air, vacuum, water or the like. The structure of unit 10 can be seen more clearly in FIGS. 2 to 9. The mounting block section 16 contains an extended surface or flange 30 having V-shaped edges 32 along any side converging around a rounded portion 33. Also placed on a flange 30 is a tongue. 34. The tongue 34 is placed on a flexible tongue 36 d of the flange 30 so that the tongue 34 is able to move. At the lower end of the mounting block section 16, a cable fastener 38 holds the cable 26 in its proper location within the section 16. Finally, a plurality of fastening screws 40 extend from the lower end of the section 16 towards a cylindrical channel 42 along the back side of the section 16. The support 12 is held firmly in position within the channel 42 by applying pressure to the screws, until the support 12 is firmly engaged by the screws 40. The instrument carrying section 14 contains a cutting section 44 having the same dimensions as the flange 30 in the mounting block section 16. The section 44 contains a V-shaped channel 46 along the length of each side, and ends in a rounded portion 48. The central portion of section 44 also contains a round aperture 50 corresponding to tab 34 of flange 30 d section 16. Channel 18 of port section The instrument 14 ends in an enlarged portion 52 towards the upper end of the section 14. In addition, an electrical switch 54 is located inside the channel 18. Finally, a cable grip 56 placed on the edge of the section 14 holds the cable 24 of the instrument 20 at its proper location within section 14. The sides of the channel 18 can be constructed of a flexible material, so that instruments of varied exterior configurations can be secured within the channel.

The electrical circuitry for operating the instrument 20 can be seen more clearly in FIGS. 10 and 11. Referring first to FIG. 11, the conductors 24a and 24b of the cable 24 extend through the cable holder 56 to the carrier section 14, and are connected to a pair of electrical contacts 60 and 61, respectively. The contact 60 is positioned within the carrier section 14 by a plurality of rivets 62, or any other suitable securing means that provide electrical isolation of the carrier section 14. The contact 61 is comprised of two sections 61a and 61b which are held in place. physical contact, through the action of contact 54 that extends to channel 18, the operation of which will be explained in more detail later. The contact sections 61a and 61b are also secured to the section 14 using a plurality of rivets 62. A section 64 of the contact 60 extends from the carrier section 14, while the contact section 66 also extends from the carrier section 1. on the opposite side of the cutting section 44, as can be seen more clearly in FIG. 7. Referring now to FIG. 10, the conductors 26a and 26b of the cable 26 extend through the cable holder 38 to the mounting block section 16, and s connect to a pair of electrical contacts 70 and 72, respectively. The contacts 70 and 72 are individually secured to section 16, using a plurality of rivets 74. The contact 70 contains a section 76 which extends from the block section 16, and the contact 72 similarly contains a section 78. which extends from the block section 16 on the opposite side of the flange 30, as can be seen more clearly in FIG. 8. The operation of the tool carrier assembly 10 and the instrument 20 will be described below. The mounting block section 18 is first secured to a solid surface, such as a 1 / inch bar, which is the standard assembly in the dental office. The mounting surface is located within the channel 42 of the mounting block section 18 and the fixing screws 40 are tightened until the section 18 is firmly secured in the desired position. The tool carrier section 14x is now secured to the section 1 by sliding the flange 30 of the section 18 to engage with the cutting section 44 of the carrier 14. The V-shaped edges of the section 16 cooperate with the channel in the form of V 4 of the section 14 for securing joints, the assembly sections 10. The tab 34 of the tongue 36 in the flange 3 fits within the opening 50 in the section of cort 44, and of the carrier sections 14 and 16 together , adjusted, by the action of the flexible tongue 36. The cable 26 is then connected to a suitable power source. Electrical contacts 76 and 68 of section 1 are in physical contact with contacts 66 and 64 of section 14 when the two sections are secured together thus providing energy for operating instrument 20. When instrument 20 is placed inside the section 18 of the tool carrying section 14, as shown in FIG. 1, the switch contact 54 is moved away from the section 61b of the contact 61, interrupting the electrical circuit and setting the instrument 20 to condition d off. When it is desired to use the instrument 20, the hand tool section 22 is taken by hand and physically withdrawn from the channel 18. While the instrument 20 is removed, the switch contact 54 slides to a position in contact with the section 61b , allowing the current to flow through cable 26 to instrument 20, enabling instrument 20 to function. After the use of the instrument is finished, the tool carrier section 14 can be easily separated from the mounting block section 18, by pressing the button of section 1 until the force is sufficient to move the tongue 3 out of the opening fifty, and the channel 46 of the section 14 s comes out of the contact coupling with the flange 30 of the section 16. When the sections 14 and 16 of the tool carrier unit 10 have been separated, the instrument 20 and the instrument carrying section 14, which is connected by cable 24, can be sterilized as a unit by any conventional sterilization means. In the above description, and in the claims that follow, the use of words such as "up", "down", "forward", "backward", "vertical", "horizontal", and the like, is related to the drawings for purposes of clarity. It will be understood by a person skilled in the art that the device can assume any orientation during its use, depending on the application to which it is directed. While the present invention has been shown and described in terms of the preferred embodiments, it will be understood that this invention is not limited to a particular mode and that many modifications can be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims. For example, the two sections of unit 1 can be coupled together: by using a set of female receptacles in one section and a corresponding set of male pins in the other section; through u

Claims (18)

1. Coupling of a tongue and groove arrangement in the respective sections; or using an array of magnets to keep the sections together. In addition, a combination of energy sources, such as compressed air, water and / or vacuum, can be provided through the instrument carrying unit of the present invention, using well-known and commonly available techniques and devices, such as switches or fast disconnect joints.
2. NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION Having described the present invention, it was considered as a novelty and, therefore, the content of the following CLAIMS is claimed as property; A carrier unit for a medical instrument, comprising: a first section for firmly fixing the unit to a support; and a second section releasably coupled to the first section, which has a means to support an instrument when the instrument is not in use, whereby the second section can be separated from the first section without the use of tools in order to effect the sterilization of the support medium. The unit according to claim 1, wherein the first section further comprises a channel for receiving support, and a means for maintaining the support in a position within the channel.
3. 3. The unit according to claim 1, wherein the first section includes a flange and the second section includes a corresponding channel for the flange, so that the flange cooperates with the channel for releasably coupling the first section and the second section. section.
4. The unit of claim 3, wherein the tab contains a tab, and the channel contains a corresponding opening for the tab, so that when the first and second sections are coupled together, and the tab cooperates with the opening to maintain the First the second sections together.
5. 5. A carrier unit for a power-operated instrument, comprising: a first section for firmly securing the unit to a support, the first section containing a means for connecting the first section to an energy supply; and a second section, releasably coupled to the first section, for releasably holding an instrument that operates with energy, the second section contains a means for supplying energy to said instrument; whereby, when the first and second sections are coupled together, the power supply energy is transferred by the first second sections to the instrument in order to make it work, and when the first and second sections are separated, the second section that contains the carrier medium d instrument is disconnected from the power supply, and can be sterilized.
6. The unit according to claim 5, wherein the second section includes a means for selectively supplying power from the power supply to and from the instrument.
7. The unit according to claim 6, wherein the selection means is activated when an instrument is carried by the releasable carrier means in order to interrupt the energy to the instrument.
8. The unit according to claim 5, wherein the first section is fixed to the support by the use of screws.
9. 9. The unit of claim 5, wherein the means for releasably carrying the instrument comprises a flexible support capable of carrying instruments of various external configurations.
10. 10. A carrier unit for an energy activated instrument, which can be sterilized, and which comprises: an instrument that can be activated by means of a power supply; an instrument carrying section having a means for releasably supporting the instrument, and power supply means coupling the carrier section with the instrument; and a support section, releasably coupled to the carrier section, for firmly securing the assembly to a base, which has means for coupling the assembly to a power supply, whereby the carrier section of instrument and instrument, can be removed from the support section for purposes of being sterilized.
11. 11. The unit according to claim 10, wherein the instrument carrying section includes a flange and the support section includes a corresponding channel with the flange, so that the flange cooperates with the torque channel to releasably couple the support section to the flange. carrier section.
12. 12. A carrier unit for an energy activated instrument, comprising: a first section for securing the unit to a support, the first section containing means for coupling the first section to at least one power supply; and a second section, releasably coupled to the first section, for carrying an energized instrument, the second section contains a means for supplying energy from at least one power supply to the instrument; Thus, when the first and second sections are coupled together, the energy from the power supply is tferred through the first and second sections to the instrument, and when the first and second sections are separated, the second section containing the Half instrument carrier is disconnected from the power supply, and can be sterilized.
13. The unit according to claim 12, wherein at least one power supply provides electrical power to the instrument.
14. 14. The unit according to claim 12, wherein at least one energy supply provides a vacuum to the instrument. The unit according to claim 12, wherein at least one power supply provides water to the instrument. The unit according to claim 12, wherein a plurality of power supplies provide both electricity and vacuum to the instrument. The unit according to claim 12, wherein a plurality of power supplies provides both electricity and compressed air to the instrument. The unit according to claim 12, wherein the second section contains a means for disconnecting the instrument from the power supply. In testimony of which I sign the present in this City of Mexico, D.F., on July 8, 1994..

    P-1325.94MX