Patent Application
20060118444
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to surgical instrument cases, and, more particularly, to handle assemblies for such cases.
2. Description of the Related Art
Surgical instrument containers are known that provide organization, storage and sterilization functionality for surgical instruments and devices. Surgical procedures are regularly performed using “sets” of pre-selected surgical instruments, each set being a collection of instruments established from experience or design to be useful in a given surgical procedure. The surgical instruments expected to be used in a particular procedure are grouped together to form a set, and, as a set, are arranged in a tray or case, sterilized, and transported to the operating room for subsequent use. Complex procedures typically involve a substantial number of instruments. Thus, typically, several instrument trays may be necessary to accommodate all of the required surgical instruments. Accordingly, sterilizing cases often are designed to accommodate a plurality of trays with the instruments arranged on the trays in such a manner that the trays may be accessed as the surgical procedure advances, often in a preset sequence.
To assist in transport and use, the trays and/or cases may include one or more handles which are grasped by a user. The handles may be located on the sides or top of the tray and/or case. Such handles may be in the form of, e.g., a simple wire handle allowing a user to open, move and/or transport the tray and/or case. Although such handles are functional, they tend not to be particularly ergonomic and/or easy to use.
What is needed in the art is a handle assembly for a surgical container which is easier to use, non-obtrusive, and ergonomically designed.
The present invention provides a handle assembly for a surgical instrument container with an elliptical softgrip handle which is ergonomically designed and folds flat against the container for stacking.
The invention comprises, in one form thereof, a surgical instrument container assembly, including a container and a handle assembly. The handle assembly includes at least one wire handle pivotally coupled with the container. A handle grip has a longitudinally extending opening. A portion of the wire handle is positioned radially within the opening. The handle grip has an outer surface with an elliptical cross sectional shape, and a plurality of laterally spaced and longitudinally extending ribs on the outer surface. The handle grip is preferably formed of an elastomeric material.
An advantage of the present invention is that the handle is formed from an elastomeric material providing comfortable and slip free gripping.
Another advantage is that the longitudinally extending ribs on the outer surface provide further increased comfort and slip free gripping.
Yet another advantage is that the elliptical shape of the handle provides ergonomic gripping when in use, and allows the handle grip to be folded flat against the container when not in use.
Still another advantage is that the ribs at the inner longitudinally extending opening in the handle grip allow the handle grip to be simply slid over the inner tube during manufacture, and frictionally engage the tube.
Yet another advantage is that the handle grip can be manufactured using a simple extrusion or injection molding process.
Still another advantage is that the wire handle can be manufactured with a one piece or two piece design.
The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention will be better understood by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplification set out herein illustrates one preferred embodiment of the invention, in one form, and such exemplification is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.
Referring now to the drawings, there is shown an embodiment of a surgical instrument container assembly 10, which generally includes a handle assembly 12 which is attached to a container 14 (
Handle assembly 12 includes a wire handle 16 and handle grip 18. Wire handle 16 is pivotally coupled with container 14. Although shown as a single wire design, wire handle 16 may also be configured as a split wire rather than a single wire.
Handle grip 18 has a longitudinally extending opening 20 (
Handle grip 18 has an outer surface 26 with an elliptical cross sectional shape, and a plurality of laterally spaced and longitudinally extending ribs 28 on outer surface 26. Handle grip 18 is preferably formed from an elastomeric material, which in conjunction with ribs 28 provides ergonomically comfortable and slip free gripping.
During manufacture, handle grip 18 may be formed from an elastomeric material using an extrusion or injection molding process. Handle grip 18 is then slid over tube 24 and inner ribs 22 frictionally engage tube 24. Wire handle 16 is placed within tube 24 and freely rotates within tube 24. Wire handle 24 then is pivotally coupled with container 14.
During use, handle grip 18 is grasped by a user and pivoted such that wire handle 16 is approximately perpendicular to an attached wall of container 14 (provided by the bent, right angle stops at each end of wire handle 16). The elliptical cross sectional shape of handle grip 18 provides comfortable and secure gripping. When not in use, handle grip 18 is folded against the attached wall of container 14. The long cross sectional axis of handle grip 18 is placed generally parallel to the attached wall of container 14 (
While this invention has been described as having a preferred design, the present invention can be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims.
This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Design patent application Ser. No. 29/218,413, entitled “ELLIPTICAL SOFT GRIP HANDLE”, filed Dec. 2, 2004.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 29218413 | Dec 2004 | US |
| Child | 11103875 | Apr 2005 | US |
