Claims
- 1. An adjustable limb support system for an operating room table, said support system comprising:
- a limb support;
- an adjustable support for orienting said limb support; and
- a vertically adjustable support for positioning said limb support and said adjustable support at one of a range of increasingly advanced fixed positions including a lower subrange of at least two relatively less advanced positions and an upper subrange of at least two relatively more advanced positions, said vertically adjustable support having a proximate end and a distal end and comprising a support arm secured to said adjustable support and extending intermediate said proximate and distal ends, an attachment for securing said vertically adjustable support to the operating room table in the vicinity of said distal end, and a ratchet wheel mechanism to allow said support arm to be rotated upwardly to said at least two positions, said ratchet wheel mechanism including a ratchet wheel having a central axis, a housing rotatable about said central axis of said ratchet wheel and having generally radially extending bore means comprising one or two bores, a lock pin associated with said ratchet wheel, said support arm being removably secured in said one bore or its own one of said two bores, a lock pin carried within said one bore or the other one of said two bores, said lock pin engaging said ratchet wheel, said ratchet wheel being shaped such that such engagement (1) allows rotation of said housing and support arm up to or past but not down from lower angular positions thereof associated with said lower subrange and (2) prevents rotation of said housing and support arm either up or down from higher angular positions thereof associated with said upper subrange, a ratchet release for disengaging said lock pin from said ratchet wheel to allow downward rotation of said housing and support arm from any fixed angular position to a lower one and to allow upward rotation of said housing and support arm from at least one of said higher fixed angular positions to a still higher one, and an attachment fixed to said ratchet wheel for securing said vertically adjustable support to the operating room table.
- 2. The adjustable limb support system according to claim 1 in which said ratchet wheel includes both ratcheting serrations and locking serrations, said serrations coacting with said lock pin such that such ratcheting serrations allow rotation of the support arm in only one direction and said locking serrations do not allow rotation of said support arm in either direction unless said lock pin is disengaged from said ratchet wheel by said ratchet release.
- 3. The adjustable limb support system according to claim 2 in which said lock pin is carried within the same bore in which said support arm is removably secured.
- 4. The adjustable limb support system according to claim 2 in which said lock pin is carried in one bore and said support arm is removably secured in another bore.
- 5. The adjustable limb support system according to claim 2 in which said support arm has an axis of rotation relative to horizontal for automatic abduction.
- 6. The adjustable limb support system according to claim 2 in which said support arm has a horizontal axis of rotation.
- 7. The adjustable support system according to claim 2 in which said attachment fixed to said ratchet wheel has a clamping portion which is adapted to receive a side rail of the operating room table.
- 8. The adjustable support system according to claim 2 in which said attachment fixed to said ratchet wheel is a post adapted to be received and clamped in a socket secured to the operating room table.
- 9. A vertically adjustable support for operably connecting a limb support to an operating room table having a side, said vertically adjustable support comprising:
- a housing;
- a support arm secured at one end to the housing;
- a ratchet wheel having a plurality of serrations and secured within said housing for rotation of said support arm about said ratchet wheel, said serrations of said ratchet wheel including both a succession of at least three ratcheting serrations and a succession of at least two locking serrations;
- a lock pin adapted to engage said ratchet wheel with said ratchet wheel serrations coacting with said locking pin such that said ratcheting serrations allow rotation of the support arm in only one direction and such locking serrations do not allow rotation of said support arm in either direction unless said lock pin is disengaged from said ratchet wheel;
- a ratchet release for effecting such disengagement; and
- an attachment for securing said vertically adjustable support to the operating room table.
- 10. A vertically adjustable support in accordance with claim 9, wherein said ratchet wheel has a succession of at least 6 ratcheting serrations.
- 11. A vertically adjustable support in accordance with claim 10, wherein said locking serrations include substantially radial parallel side edges.
- 12. A vertically adjustable support in accordance with claim 10, wherein said locking serrations include one substantially radial side edge and a second side edge outwardly angled at between about 20 and 40 degrees from the radial direction.
- 13. A vertically adjustable support in accordance with claim 12, wherein said locking pin has a protrusion with an edge angled at substantially the same angle to the radial direction as is said second side edge, whereby said protrusion edge facially engages said second side edge of said locking serrations.
- 14. A vertically adjustable support in accordance with claim 9, wherein said ratchet wheel serrations extend along an angular extent of about 130 degrees.
- 15. A vertically adjustable support in accordance with claim 14, wherein said ratcheting serrations extend along an angular extent of about 91 degrees and said locking serrations extend along an angular extent of about 39 degrees.
- 16. A vertically adjustable support in accordance with claim 15, wherein said serrations are angularly spaced at intervals of about 13 degrees, whereby there are seven ratcheting serrations and three locking serrations.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/023,408, filed Aug. 14, 1996.
US Referenced Citations (18)