The present invention relates to the surgical lighting arts. It finds particular application in conjunction with mounting an auxiliary second spindle to a single ceiling plate supporting an existing first spindle in an operating room (OR) and will be described with particular reference thereto. It is to be appreciated, however, that the invention also finds application in conjunction with mounting other overhead secondary fixtures or devices to support systems that additionally support primary fixtures or devices and is not limited to the aforementioned OR application.
Typically, in an operating room setting, large, high lumen output lightheads are used to illuminate the surgical site. These rather large lightheads are supported on one or more jointed arms extending from a single central spindle attached to a ceiling plate. Each articulated arm is rotatable relative to the spindle and pivotable to allow independent positioning of the arms and their attached devices. The number of lightheads or other accessories (e.g., video monitors, EKG monitors) that can reasonably be supported in a stacked arrangement is limited by the height of the ceiling. Each additional support arm hub or accessory causes the central spindle to grow so that, the bottom end is lowered relative to the ceiling as additional arms are added. At some point, the length of the spindle presents an obstacle or hazard to those working in the OR.
When additional lightheads or accessories are desired, one option is to remove the existing ceiling plate that supports the central spindle and install a new ceiling plate adapted to support both the original central spindle as well as an auxiliary satellite spindle. This is only possible, however, in rooms with ceiling structures designed in advance for supporting the weight and moment of a two spindle system. In any case, the above procedure involves a major construction job during which time the operating room is removed from service.
The present invention provides a new and improved method and apparatus that overcomes the above referenced problems and others to provide an additional spindle utilizing an existing ceiling support.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a suspension system for suspending a plurality of devices from a support structure is provided. The suspension system includes a ceiling plate configured for attachment to the support structure. A first spindle is carried by the ceiling plate. The first spindle is configured for supporting at least a first device thereon. An adapter plate is configured for mounting to the ceiling plate. A second spindle is carried by the adapter plate. The second spindle is configured for supporting at least a second device thereon.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, an auxiliary assembly is provided. The assembly includes an adapter plate configured for selective attachment to a ceiling plate. The ceiling plate supports a device for use in a surgical procedure. The adapter plate includes an inner surface which defines a hollow shaped to receive a spindle of the ceiling plate therethrough. An articulated arm is operably connected with the adapter plate. A device is mounted to the articulated arm, such that when the adapter plate is attached to the ceiling plate, the device is suspended therefrom.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method of suspending a plurality of devices from a support structure is provided. The method includes suspending a first device from a ceiling plate mounted to the support structure, mounting an adapter plate to the ceiling plate, and suspending a second device from the adapter plate.
One advantage of the present invention is that it enables a plurality of devices to be added to an existing support assembly without increasing the length of the central spindle.
Still further advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.
The invention may take form in various components and arrangements of components, and in various steps and arrangements of steps. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating a preferred embodiment and are not to be construed as limiting the invention.
With reference to
With reference also to
With continued reference to
With particular reference to
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 5–6, when it is desired to add a second spindle 60 to the system, an adapter plate 62 is attached directly to the existing ceiling plate 30. The adapter plate 62 is preferably in the shape of an incomplete circle and preferably has a diameter D substantially equal to a diameter of the ceiling plate 30. The adapter plate 62 defines an outer circumferential surface 64 which is preferably greater than 180° and less than 270° of an imaginary circle C of which it forms a part. This provides for the weight of the second device 14 to be distributed over a large area of the ceiling plate 30, while providing room for the attachment of other devices 66, 68, such as a control board and a fuse block, directly to the ceiling plate (see
As shown in
Preferably, the adapter plate 62 is selectively positionable so that the second spindle 60 is locatable in one of a plurality (four in the illustrated embodiment) of possible positions around the main spindle 40, each position being arcuately spaced (90° in the illustrated embodiment) from the next position around the main spindle 40, as illustrated in
The second spindle 60 is fixedly attached to the adapter plate 62 in a similar manner to the way in which the main spindle 40 is attached to the ceiling plate 30. As best shown in
The spindle may include a cylindrical mounting member 94, which is received in an opposite end of the spindle 60 to the collar 90 and attached thereto by similar securement members 96. A similar cylindrical mounting member (not shown) is optionally also associated with the main spindle. A second adjustable arm 98, analogous to arm 50, is mounted at a proximal end or hub 100 thereof to the spindle 60 via the cylindrical member 94. At least a portion 101 of the hub 100 is rotatable relative to the spindle, as shown by arrow R, about an axis D through the spindle (
The second device 14 is mounted to a distal end of the arm 98. As for the first spindle 40, additional arms (not shown) are optionally mounted to the spindle 60 in a similar manner to that shown in
As will be appreciated, the first device 12 is carried solely by the ceiling plate 30 (i.e., not by the adapter plate 62) while the second device 14 is carried by both the ceiling plate and the adapter plate. When the support system 10 is assembled, the two spindles 40, 60 are arranged generally side-by-side, i.e., the second spindle 60 is positioned generally parallel with and radially spaced from the main spindle 40, such that at least a portion of each spindle 40, 60 lies on the same horizontal plane axially spaced from the ceiling plate 32. In this way, as additional hubs 100 are added to the second spindle 60, the length of the first spindle 40 is not increased and the available working height between the work surface 18 and the lowest hub 100 is maintained (unless several hubs are added to the second spindle, resulting in the second spindle and its associated hubs 100 being lower than that of the first spindle).
As shown in
With reference now to
In order to accommodate for variable ceiling heights, a telescopic transition piece 120 (
As shown in
With reference to
The invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading and understanding the preceding detailed description. It is intended that the invention be construed as including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.
This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/288,149 filed Nov. 5, 2002 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,817,585, which claims priority of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/337,830, filed Nov. 5, 2001.
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Number | Date | Country |
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1 067419 | Jan 2001 | EP |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20040262484 A1 | Dec 2004 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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60337830 | Nov 2001 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10288149 | Nov 2002 | US |
Child | 10899866 | US |