US57505A - Improvement in uterine and abdominal supporters - Google Patents

Description

AM. PHOTO-LITHO. C0. NX (USBORNES PROCESS.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIOE.

JOSEPH S. HAVENS, T. M. JOHNSON, AND O. W. .HOVVE, OF BUFFALO, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN UTERINE ANDGABDOMINAL SUPPORTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 57,505, dated August 28, 1866.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, JOSEPH S. HAVENS, THOMAS M. JOHNSON, and CAREY W. HOWE,

of Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of m New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Uterine and Abdominal Supporters; and we do hereby declare that the following is a clear and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The nature of our invention consists in, first, the combination of the uterine and abdominal supporter, when both are so constructed as to be capable of adjustment, so that they may be made to fit any form desired without the necessity of using difterentsized instruments; second, in providing the lower joint of the uterine supporter with a rack and segment of a pinion and a set-screw, by means of which it may be locked firmly in place at any angle or position required; third, in making the tube and frame which holds the ring for supporting the uterus capable of a vertical adjustment by means of an additional tube and setscrew; fourth, in the combinatiom'with said ring and instrument, of one or more additional rings of similar form, but of different metals, for the purpose of making a galvanic instrument of it when necessary.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use our invention, we will proceed to describe its construct-ion and operation.

We construct our instrument of the usual materia-ls. Thepad for supporting the abdomen is made of sheet metal. lt is padded with cotton or wool on the inside, and'covered with silk or cotton velvet or other soft material. The outside may be covered either with ine leather or velvet, as desired. The elastic band which surrounds the waist is made inthe usual way and of the same materials, suoli as silk or cotton interwoven with india-rubber. The uterine supporter is made of gold, silver, platina, or any other suitable material; but for the ring for supporting the uterus ivory may, in some cases, be preferred.

Figure l in the accompanying drawings is a perspective view, showing the instrument in about the position it would occupy if placed 0n the person and adjusted. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the ring for supporting the uterus. Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the rings, the body, and joint of the uterine supporter. Fig. et is a section of a fragment of the abdominal supporter through line l 2 in Fig. l. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the rack which forms part of the joint. Fig. 6 isa plan ofthe lower frame of the uterine supporter, also an end view of the tubes which form part of the frame for the rings, a similar view'of the rack for locking the joint, and a part of the stem by which it is attached to the abdominal supporter. Fig. 7 represents a side elevation of the joint, showing the position of the rack when it is desired to have the joint work loose Fig. Sis also a side view, representing the rack in the position for locking the joint, and set-screw which holds it in place, and at the some time fastens in position the frame for supporting the uterus. Fig. 9 is a side view of one of the galvanic rings.

In Fig. l, A represent-s the belt or elastic band for holding the abdominal supporterin place. Itis buttoned on the supporter by means of the buttons B and O, which are fastened firmly to the supporter, and the straps E E, which are made of leather and stitched or otherwise fastened to the elastic band. Each strap contains a number of button-holes, for the purpose of adjusting it to different sizes, as shown.' D D and D D are loops, under which the ends of said straps are slipped when buttoned on and in place.

F is the pad forming the support for the abdomen. It is made of sheet metal, and is stamped slightly concave, to iit the parts, and is covered with the usual materials, velvet.,

&c. On the inside of the pad is an oblong tube. It is shown by the dotted lines in Fig.

l, and marked G G. An end View of this tube is shown in Fig. 4.

The dotted lines between the lines G G represent a continuation of the'stem K of the uterine supporter. This stem is made to tit the tube and to slip easilyr up or down through it. It contains a number of holes, as shown in Fig. l, and marked I I I I. The set-screw J passes through the concave plate and screws into either of these holes, thus holding the stem firmly in place.

L is the ring for supporting the uterus. It

, lipS projects inward from the tube P.

lat the same time holds the tube P in its proper is made as smooth as possible and swings upon two joints, N N. It is adjusted to the position desired by the rod O, which is jointed to it at the point O', and passes down through the tube P, and terminates in an -ivory ball or thumb-piece, R. R and It are notches in said rod, which spring over the lip S, for the purpose of holding the ring L in position. The

Pis a tube, through which the tube P passes. It is fastened to a short .tube, U, running at right angles to it. The rod U, which is fastened at each end to the frame T, passes through the tube U, thus forming a fulcrum upon which it moves, together with the tubesP and Pf.

V and V are two segments of a circle, with teeth on the circumference of each to tit the rack W, as shown in Fig. 8. The segments V and V are fastened to the rod U, and thetubes U and P vibrate between them.

X X are two ledges or projections between which the rackWis placed. When it is desired to have the tube P', or the uterus-supporting frame, to vibrate or move easily upon the rod U', the rack W is placed between ledges X X as shown in Fig. 7, so that the teeth in the rack will not interlock with the teeth in the segments V V, as shown. The screw Q, passes through the rack, which it holds in place, and

position within the tube P. When it is desired to lock the joint the position of the rack is reversed, as shown in Fig. 8, the set-screw Q being used as before to hold it in place, together with the tube P.

rlhe ring M is used to give a galvanic action tothe instrument. It is pressed into the ring L, as shown in section in Fig. 3. It is made ot' a different metal from the ring L.

The instrument is adjusted to the person as follows: The ring L is brought into the position shown in Fig. 3 by drawing vdown the rod O by the thumb-piece R. It is then introduced into the proper position for supporting the uterus. The rod O is then pressed upward until either of the notches R R catch over the lip S, when the ring Lis in place. It is now adjusted vertically by bringing the tube PY either up or down to the point desired, and fastening it with the set-screw Q. The joint may be allowed to run loose or be locked when required, as before mentioned. The abdominal supporter is now adjusted vertically, as hereinbeiore mentioned, by means of the set'- screw J, and up to the abdomen by means'of the elastic band A, the straps E E, and buttons B and O, as before described.

We do not claim the ring L, the tube P, which branches off and supports the ring L at the joints N N, and swings upon ajoint near the point U', or the lip S, near the bottom of said tube; neither do we claim the rod O, with the notches R R', the frame T, or simply the stem K; nor do we claim a supporter-pad when .fastened immovably to said stem; but

What we do claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. 1n providing the joint of the uterine supporter with a rack, a set-screw, and a segment of a pinion, as described, by means of which it may beeither locked in position or swing loosely uponthe rod U', as desired. v

2. In making the tube P, with the supporting-ring L, adjustable vertically by means of the set-screw Q and the tube P', as described.

3. The, combination of the ring M with the ring L of said supporter, when constructed as and for the purposes set forth.

JOSEPH S. HAVENS. THOS. M. JOHNSON. CAREY W. HOWE.

Witnesses:

R. M. CRooK, W. G. REA.

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