US2890801A - Support means for a group of relatively small similarly shaped articles - Google Patents

Description

ErAL 2,890,801 P oF RELATIVELY En ARTICLES June 16, 1959 J. w. B. LADD SUPPORT MEANS FOR A GRoU L sIMI 4 a 2 .d Wnj a n w WMM fo 3 m 2 5 H.. 9 l m B mlm June 16, 1959 J. w. B. LADD AL 2,890,801

SUPPORT MEANS FOR A GROUP RELATIVELY SMALL SIMILARLY SHAPED ARTICLES Filed July 30, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 haar dttorffx June 16, 1959 1 SUPPORT MEAN F R Filed July 50, 1953 United States Patent SUPPORT MEANS FOR A GROUP OF RELATIVELY SMALL SIMILARLY SHAPED ARTICLES .lohn W. B. Ladd, Ridgefield, and Thomas R. Arden, New Fairfield, Conn., assignors to Bard-Parker Company, luc., Danbury, Conn., a corporation of New York Application July 30, 1953, Serial No. 371,377

9 Claims. (Cl. 211-177) This invention relates to support means for a group of relatively small, similarly shaped apertured articles. More particularly it relates to support means for such articles having specially prepared surfaces, edges or other characteristics which it is necessary to protect, particularly where it is important that the articles may be safely shipped by commercial transportation in a condition reducing to a minimum the amount of subsequent unpacking or other preparation necessary prior to actual use of the articles by the ultimate consumer. The invention finds particular application in the provision of support means for detachable surgical knife or scalpel blades of the type adapted to be used with a handle member with which they are assembled in actual use. While the invention in its broader aspects contemplates, generally, apparatus for and methods of supporting or carrying articles of the broad character first indicated above, the description which follows illustrates by way of example application of the inventive concept specifically to sup'- porting surgical knife blades of the type just mentioned, inasmuch as this particular application of the invention has already found very extensive commercial use. It is to be understood at the outset, however, that the invention is not thus limited but comprises all similar applications which properly fall within the scope dened in the appended claims.

Surgical knife blades, of the type designed to be secured in a holder or handle when used for making an incision and which are simply thrown away after each use without any attempt to reclaim or resharpen them, have long been Widely used by surgeons and others in the medical profession. One of the chief problems encountered to date in the use of such detachable blades has been the fact that since the blades must be carefully protected during shipment to prevent damage to their nely prepared edges and also since the blades may remain in storage either at a supply house or at the point of ultimate use for a very substantial period of time during which they must be protected against lust or other corrosion, fairly elaborate packaging means have heretofore been adopted. This in turn has made it necessary for a nurse or other attendant preparing a group of blades for use each day to spend considerable time in unpacking the blades and preparing them for placement in a sterilizer. In one of the better packaging arrangements employed up to now, the blades have been inserted transversely in a strip or web of paper having cooperating pairs of slits provided therein for the purpose, the web and inserted blades being rolled up subsequently to provide a package containing a predetermined number of blades, each isolated from adjacent blades by a portion or portions of the web intermediate adjacent blades. When it is later necessary to use the blades, they must be unwrapped and individually withdrawn from the slits of the web for placement in a germicidal solution or other antiseptic medium prior to surgical use. While it is possible simply to place the blades individually into a sterilizer tray, the subsequent diihculty incurred in trying to pick up an individual sterilized blade with forceps to mount it in a handle has made it common practice to assemble the blades in groups on an arm or arms permanently secured to a standard. The blades are generally suspended from the arms by passage of the latter through an aperture which is provided in each shank portion, this being provided primarily as part of the means for securing a blade to a detachable handle. Since it is not at all uncommon for many hospitals to use as many as a gross of scalpel blades during an operating day, the nurse or other attendant preparing the blades must spend between one-half to three-quarters of an hour simply removing them from their web wrapper and placing them on the arms of a standard. When a sufficient number of the blades has been assembled on arms of the standard, the whole assembly is then placed in a sterilizer. And since it is common for many of the larger hospitals to use two hundred or more gross of the blades each year, the substantial amount of time expended by nurses in preparing the blades becomes a matter of real expense, not to mention the fact that it takes them away from other more important Work for which they are needed. Furthermore since each blade has had to be handled individually heretofore, the possibility of dropping one or otherwise injuring its cutting edge is readily apparent. Also the person who prepared the blades for use had to be extremely cautious in handling them, not only to preserve their razor sharp edges, but to avoid getting cut himself. Considering the tediousness of the job and the general necessity for haste, the liability to painful accidents is manifest.

It is accordingly a purpose of the present invention to eliminate the foregoing difficulties associated with the detachable type of surgical knife blade. To this end there is provided a mandrel or carrier for supporting a group of the blades by insertion through the apertures thereof, which carrier or mandrel serves a dual purpose. The first of these is to support a group of the blades in a shipping package. This package is adapted to receive and hold the mandrel in lixed position so that the blades are held in a closely grouped unit to prevent contact of their sharpened edges with any adjacent surface and thus properly preserve these edges during shipment. The mandrel also serves the further purpose of providing a carrier by which the whole group of blades can be simultaneously removed from the shipping container and by which their placement in a germicidal solution is facilitated. This latter feature is particularly enhanced Where provision is made for securing the mandrel itself to a sterilizer rack or standard.

A novel feature of the invention accordingly is the provision of a mandrel of the foregoing type and a standard or rack to which the mandrel and its associated group of blades may be quickly and easily attached so as to support the blades in depending fashion from the mandrel and to permit free access to all parts of the blades of a germicidal solution when the mandrel is assembled with the standard and the entire assembly placed in a sterilizer.

The article group supporting mandrel of the type mentioned above is not only highly effective for the foregoing purposes but at the same time is of such relatively simple construction as to make it economically possible to discard the mandrel once the group of instruments with which it was originally supplied has been used up.

By a supporting arrangement of this type designed speciiically for surgical blades not only is it possible to reduce very materially the amount of time required to prepare the blades for operative use, but also to reduce 3 substantially the cost to the manufacturer of packaging the blades in the first instance. Because of the arrangement proposed herein, pre-packaging of surgical blades 1n Va condition in which they may be simply removed as a group and placed as such on a sterilizing rack or standard .is vnow possible. The particular arrangement of such pre- ,packaging itself in a shipping and storing container or ,carton is disclosed in a copending application of John `W. B. Ladd, Serial No. 488,915, led February 17, 1955,

and reference is made thereto for further disclosure in that connection. The operations of removing a pre-arranged group of blades from the shipping container, assembling them with thestandard and placing the entire assembly in a sterilizer, if this is required, can be accomplished in a matter of seconds, even for as many as a full gross of surgical blades. The great saving in time, as well as the elimination of substantially all liability to injury during the steps just described, is accordingly obvious. Due to the shortage of nurses, the saving in time alone is of the utmost importance today.

Further advantages of the arrangement and construction of the blade supporting means here disclosed will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating several particular forms of blade mandrels or brackets and cooperating standards embodying the principles of this invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a perspective view in elevation of an assembled rack comprising a base or standard having demountably attached thereto four groups of surgical knife blades supported upon mandrels or brackets;

Fig. 2. is a front elevational view ofthe assembled rack shown in Fig. l, the outline of a sterilizing jar being shown in dotted lines to indicate how the rack would be positioned therein for sterilization of the blades;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the assembly shown in Fig. l, one of the brackets and its associated group of blades being removed to show details of the socket means for attachment of the brackets;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary View in cross section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3, showing details of the bracket supporting arrangement;

Fig. 5 is a further fragmentary view, partly in section, on line S-S of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of one of the mandrel or bracket members;

Fig. 7 is a view, from the opposite side, of the bracket shown in Fig. 6, a group of blades being supported thereon in position ready for use;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a modified rack construction similar to that of Fig. l;

Fig. 9 is a view of a double ended bracket of the type adapted for use with the standard shown in Fig. 8;

Fig. l0 is a sectional view taken on line 10-10 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 1l is a fragmentary view of another type of rack arrangement;

Fig. l2 illustrates a bracket of the type adapted for use in the rack shown in Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a top plan view taken on line 13-13 of Fig. 1l to show details of the socket member for the reception and support of a mandrel such as that shown in Fig. 11; and Y Fig. 14 is a fragmentary perspectivesview of another form of socket arrangement for a standard which is adapted to receive brackets of the type illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7.

The rack assembly 20 shown more especially in Figs. 4l vthrough 3 comprises a standard consisting of horizontally extending legs 21 of sheet metal or the like forming aV base to support an upright post 22 provided with a block-.like socket member V23 secured adjacent its upper end 24. The knurled portion of this end of the post is designed `to facilitate picking up the assembled rack in plane of the bracket.

4 moving it to and from a sterilizer, for example. In this instance socket member 23 is a solid metal block provided with four vertically extending, keyhole-shaped apertures 25 which form sockets for the reception of the inner ends of blade-supporting mandrels or brackets 26, as shown more particularly in Figs. l and 3. A plurality of detachable scalpel blades B are in this instance shown supported on the brackets by the passage of the latter through the elongated apertures provided in the blades. As seen in Fig. 2, the whole assembly is adapted to tit in a sterilizer jar J, of glass or the like, having a closely fitting cover C.

The supporting mandrels or brackets 26 are substantially flat, plate-like members terminating at their inner end in an enlargement comprising a cylindrically bent portion 27 formed by bending the inner end of the bracket transversely of its length. The sockets 25 which are adapted to receive this end of the bracket and to support it, together with its associated group of blades B, from the standard, open upon both the horizontal and lateral surfaces of socket member 23. As seen best in Fig. 3, opposed walls 25a define a narrow or restricted channel 25b communicating between the main body 25e of each socket and the adjacent lateral surface upon which it opens. The brackets are assembled with the standard by sliding them vertically downward into the socket member 23 so that the cylindrical portion 27 of each bracket ts into the main body 2SC of a socket, While the adjacent portion 26a of the bracket passes through the slot 25b constituting the aforesaid restricted channel. This locks the bracket in place and prevents any horizontal swinging movement about the upright post 22. In order to prevent the bracket from passing completely through the socket member when assembled therewith, a tab 28 `extending tangentially from the cylindrical portion 27 of the bracket at the upper edge thereof abuts against the upper face of the socket member alongside the slot 25b when the bracket is fully inserted in a socket, as best shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, thus preventing further downward movement of the bracket. The bracket is thus caused to project outwardly from the standard in cantilever manner. As shown in Fig. l particularly, blades B are punched out in their shank or root portions to provide the aforesaid elongated apertures, this being done primarily to provide a means for attaching the blades to a scalpel handle when in use. In this instance this aperture is also employed to support the blade from the bracket by inserting the outer, free end of the latter through the aperture of the blade, the width and thickness of the bracket being proportioned accordingly to permit an easy, sliding fit of the blades along the bracket. That is, the cross-sectional shape of the bracket is so formed as to cause the bracket to coact with the sides of the blade apertures to prevent any substantial turning or twisting of the blades about the axis of the bracket.

As seen more especially in Fig. 7, blades B are adapted to be removed by sliding them one at a time over the outer, free ends 29 of the brackets as they are required for use. As here shown, brackets 26 are provided with a detent arrangement adjacent their free ends to prevent the blades from falling or being knocked off accidentally, as well as to facilitate the separation of the outer blade of a group from the rest of such group to a position from which it can be readily picked up and removed frorn the bracket without interference from the remaining Iblades.

In order to prevent interference by the inner blades of a group on a bracket when the vbracket is being assembled to the standard, each bracket is provided with upper and lower angular tabs 30 and 31, respectively, which extend laterally in opposite directions from the Y The outer surfaces of these tabs are vertically aligned and are disposed somewhat away from thelateral surface of the socket member 23 when the brackets are assembled therewith. The tabs thus provide an inner abutment beyond which a blade or blades on the bracket cannot pass. This insures that the blades are kept in substantially parallel planes transversely of the axis of the bracket and thus are held out of the way when the inner end of the bracket is being inserted into a socket on the standard. The inner abutment thus afforded by tabs 30 and 31 is also used in connection with the pre-packaging arrangement of a group of blades on a bracket. In order to hold the group of blades in a compact group on the bracket during shipment so that they do not twist and turn into such position that their cutting edges come in contact either with adjacent blades or with portions of the shipping container, a spring clip is employed to rmly press the group of blades against these tabs. This spring clip, however, forms a part of the packaging arrangement disclosed in the previously mentioned copending application of Ladd.

Various modifications inthe specific structural arrangement described above will be apparent. One such modication is shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 10 in which a pair of double-ended brackets or mandrels are employed. In this instance rack 40 comprises a standard consisting of legs 41 and an upright post 42 supported thereby, the post being in this instance substantially square in cross section. About midway up on the post there is a pin 43 which passes through and is secured to the post so as to project horizontally therefrom on at least one face a short distance. The upper end of post 42 is threaded and is provided with a removable nut 44 which engages the threaded portion of the post. The -blade-supporting mandrels or brackets 45 each extend on opposite sides of the post 42, being secured to the post at an intermediate point by passage of the latter through apertures 46, 47, of flanges 48, 49, respectively, which project horizontally from the upper and lower edges of bracket 45 in overlying relation. The lower bracket 45 when slid over the upper end of the post 4Z comes to rest against the projecting pin 43, and the upper bracket 45 then rests upon the upper face of the lower bracket, after which nut 44 is screwed onto the top of the post to secure the brackets to the stand. To assist in picking up a bracket and its complement of blades, the upper ilange 48 is provided at its outer extremities with a pair of ears 50 by which the bracket can be easily grasped with the fingers. Each of the brackets has shoulders 51, one on each side of the central portion 52 formed by two, substantially right angle bends in the extending arms ot the bracket. Flanges 48 and 49 are also provided with shoulders 53, 54, respectively, as best seen in Fig. 9, which together with shoulders 51 constitute inner abutments against which blades B strike and are thus prevented from further inward movement.

In Figs. 11 through 13 a still further modification is illustrated. A post 60, similar to those of the standards previously described, is provided with a socket member 61 secured to it by welding or other suitable means. As seen best in Fig. 13, socket 61 comprises a loop formed by bending a strip of sheet metal into a substantially U- shape, when viewed from above, having projecting lugs 63, 64, extending laterally from each leg 62 forming the main body of the socket. It is by means of these lugs 63, 64, that the socket 61 is secured to its post. Socket 61 is notched to provide a lip 65 at its upper outer edge for a purpose to be described presently. The bracket 66 which is adapted in this instance to engage socket 61 comprises a ilat metal strip having at its inner end a downwardly extending tongue 67 separated from the adjacent main body portion of the bracket by a narrow channel 68 cut out of the plate. Bracket 66 is assembled with its standard by inserting the tongue 67 into socket 61 and lowering the bracket until the upper edge 69 of channel 68 comes to rest on the lip 65 of socket 61. In the particular form of bracket illustrated in the drawings, there is also provided a tab 70 'which extends substantially horizontally from the upper edge of the inner end of bracket 66 which also comes to rest upon the upper edges of cheeks 71 of socket member 61 in the fully engaged position. Bracket 66 is likewise provided with a lug 72 adjacent tlab 70 and extending in substantially the same plane, which acts as an inner abutment for the blades when supported on the arm. Only one socket member on post 60 has been illustrated here but it is obvious of course that any convenient number of such members can be positioned around the post to accommodate any desired number of brackets.

The socket construction illustrated in Fig. 14 is of a type adapted to receive brackets such as those shown in Figs. 6 and 7. 'Ihis clip-like arrangement oers some advantage with regard to greater ease of sterilizing and economy of manufacture over the solid, powdered metal block type such as that shown in Figs. 1 through 5. In this case a strip of metal is formed with a double bend or bow and is joined to the post 81 of a standard by welding at a point intermediate the bows. Other similar strips are then secured to the post at points spaced circumferentially around the post to provide four clips or sockets 82, as shown. Thus each strip 80 forms one-half of each of two sockets in the iinal arrangement. As in the case of the sockets shown in Figs. 1 through 5, sockets 82 open laterally between the guide lips 83 to receive the inner portion 26u of brackets 26 and thus hold the brackets in radially extending direction from the upright post.

Many other modifications of the specific mechanical constructions illustrated and described hereinabove are of course possible. For example instead of attaching to a post any one of the several bracket supporting socket members suggested heretofore, they may be secured to or provided on a longitudinal rack member. Such an arrangement is particularly suitable where a very large number of blades is needed and the rack member is adapted to lit into and be supported within a conventional rectangular sterilizer of well known type. A rack of this latter type has also found commercial application as a convenient means of holding a large number of brackets during the placement of blades thereon by the manufacturer in preparation for shipment.

As mentioned previously, the foregoing specific examples are merely illustrative, it being Within the contemplation of the invention broadly to provide a supporting arrangement for articles which are grouped on a mandrel or bracket so as to temporarily support them as a compact unit in condition to provide maximum protection from injury to the articles but to allow their rapid and easy removal, either individually or a number at a time, from the supporting mandrel when the articles are to be used. It is to be understood, therefore, that the following claims are to be construed in such light in delining the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. The combination with surgical knife blades having noncircular apertures in their shank portions, of a bracket having at least one outer free end which is passed through said blade apertures, said bracket having a cross-sectional shape ittedly received in said apertures and engaging the margins thereof to prevent swinging movement of said blades about said bracket while permitting them to be slid therealong, said bracket having attachment means spaced from said at least one outer free end for detachably securing the bracket in substantially horizontal position to a standard to cause said blades to depend freely, and a transverse abutment on said bracket spaced outwardly from said attachment means to engage said blades and limit sliding movement thereof toward said means.

2. The combination as defined in claim l, wherein said bracket is provided with two outer free ends and a transverse abutment spaced inwardly, respectively, from each of said ends, said attachment means being disposed between said transverse abutments on said bracket.

3. The combination with surgical knife-blades having a long narrow aperture in their respective shank portions, of a flat bracket slightly smaller in cross-section than the blade apertures, said bracket having an outer free end which is passed through said blade apertures and which engages the margins of the latter to prevent substantial swinging movement of the blades about the bracket while permitting them to be slid therealong; said bracket also having attachment means spaced from said free end for detachably mounting it in horizontal position on a support to cause said blades to depend freely therefrom; a transverse abutment on said bracket spaced outwardly from said attachment means and a detent in the upper edge of said bracket adjacent its free end, said abutment and detent being engagable by said blades and positively and releasably, respectively, restraining them against further sliding movement inwardly and outwardly, respectively, along said bracket.

4. The combination as dened in claim 3, wherein said attachment means comprises a cylindrical enlargement on said bracket.

5. The combination as defined in claim 4, wherein said cylindrical enlargement is a loop formed by bending the inner end of said bracket back upon itself.

6. The combination as defined in claim 3, wherein said abutment comprises a lateral tab bent outwardly from the plane of said bracket at substantially right angles thereto.

7. The combination as defined in claim 3, wherein said detent comprises an upwardly directed linger-like projection formed in the upper edge of the bracket at its free end.

8. The combination with surgical knife blades having noncircular apertures in their shank portions, of a standard, and a bracket detachably secured to said standard and having an outer free end projecting substantially horizontally therefrom, said bracket being shaped in cross-section for fitted reception within said blade apertures and being inserted therein to suspend the blades therefrom and to engage the margins of their apertures and prevent swinging movement about the bracket while permitting sliding movement therealong, said bracket having attachment means spaced from said free end and said standard having complementary means within which said bracket means is removably engaged, said bracket being provided also with an abutment spaced outwardly from said attachment means and a detent adjacent its outer free end, which abutment and detent positively and releasably, respectively, engage said blades to limit sliding movement thereon.

9. The combination with surgical knife blades having elongated apertures in their shank portions, of a standard comprising a base and an upright extending vertically from said base, a bracket detachably secured to said upright and having an outer free end projecting substantially horizontally therefrom, said blades being supported on said bracket by the passage of its free end through said blade apertures; said bracket having a crosssectional shape fittedly received in said apertures and engaging the margins thereof to prevent swinging of the blades about said bracket while permitting them to be slid therealong, a member on said upright having an upwardly open socket and a narrower channel extending inwardly from a lateral edge of said member and intersecting said socket, said bracket having a portion fittedly received in said socket and an adjacent portion received in said channel, and a transverse abutment on said bracket spaced outwardly thereon with respect to said socket engaging portion, said abutment defining a plane surface substantially perpendicular to said projecting free end of said bracket which is engaged by said blades and positively limits movement thereof toward said upright.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 617,342 Kurz Jan. 10, 1899 724,875 Johnson Apr. 7, 1903 745,873 Mancha Dec. 1, 1903 832,086 Schweitzer Oct. 2, 1906 1,125,064 Connell Jan. 19, 1915 1,280,567 Siebring Oct. 1, 1918 1,409,609 Stockle Mar. 14, 1922 1,413,016 Cook Nov. 6, 1923 1,562,369 Schmidt Nov. 17, 1925 1,611,582 Davis Dec. 2l, 1926 1,747,951 Reichert Feb. 18, 1930 1,923,664 Craig Aug. 22, 1933 1,938,370 Bodkin Dec. 5, 1933 2,029,535 Langel Feb. 4, 1936 2,477,735 Gentile Aug. 2, 1949 2,716,533 Freeman Aug. 30, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 497,146 France Sept. 2, 1919 183,985 Great Britain Aug. 10, 1922 652,745 France Mar. l2, 1923 628,537 Great Britain Aug. 3l, 1949

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