US3784145A

US3784145A - Hanger for intravenous bottles

Info

Publication number: US3784145A
Application number: US00239997A
Authority: US
Inventors: R Lawrie
Original assignee: CAPITAL CUBICLE Inc
Current assignee: CAPITAL CUBICLE Inc
Priority date: 1972-03-31
Filing date: 1972-03-31
Publication date: 1974-01-08
Anticipated expiration: 1991-01-08

Abstract

An adjustable intravenous bottle pendant assembly permitting heightwise and translatory adjustment of feeding units supported thereby by one hand operation by a nurse or hospital attendant.

Description

nit tates atent 1 l 1 3,784,145

Lawrie Jan. 8, 1974 Inventor! Raymond William Lawrie, 251,945 8/1926 Great Britain 248/330 Brooklyn, NY.

2 l I) l I B kl [73] Asslgnee g g Cu K we yn Primary ExaminerW1ll1am H. Schultz Attorney-Mark T. Basseches et al. [22] Filed: Mar. 31, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 239,997"

[57] ABSTRACT [52] U.S. Cl. 248/334 [51] Int. Cl. F16! 13/00 An adjustable intravenous bottle pendant assembly [58] Field of Search 248/318, 320, 322, p rmitting heightwise and translatory adjustment of 211/117 feeding units supported thereby by one hand operation by a nurse or hospital attendant. [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 11 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures 222,771 4/l973 Clark et al. 248/334 ll HANGER IFOR INTRAVENOUS BOTTLES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION tient to develop a desired static pressure head to I achieve optimum feed rates of the dispensed fluid, be it nutriments, blood plasma, whole blood, etc. Holders for the i.v. bottles may comprise simple portable stands which may be readily located adjacent the bed of a patient requiring treatment.

In modern hospital usage there is desirably provided a track member set into the ceiling, incorporating some form of depending hanger adapted to support i.v. bottles. A hanger mounting desirably permits translatory movement so that the mounting member may be disposed at any selected position along thetrack. In installations heretofore known, means are additionally provided for vertically adjusting the height of the hanger and hence, the pressure head.

The systems heretofore employed have evidenced multiple drawbacks which interfere with their facile usage and/or upkeep and, in some instances, require two or more persons to perfect adjustment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention may be summarized as directed to an improved i.v. hanger assembly which will enable a nurse or hospital attendant to effect both heightwise and translatory adjustment of an i.v. bottle support member with the use of only one hand. The hanger apparatus comprises telescoping upper and lower tubular members, the uppermost end of the upper member being connected to a roller carriage mounted for translatory movement along an overhead track. Telescoping tubes are preferably keyed together so that rotation about a vertical axis imparted to the lower tube will be communicated to the upper tube. A threaded element is actuated responsive to such rotation, selectively to clamp or unclamp the roller carriage relative to the track, whereby the carriage may be freed for movement along the track or fixed in position relative thereto.

' The lower tubular member carries one or more hangers for supporting the i.v. bottles and, in addition, carriesa control box including an operating knob. The knob adjustably controls a constant force spring assembly having a rotatable coiled component or components disposed within the control box and an extending free end portion which passes upwardly internally from the lower nested section into the upper nested section, being fixed near an upper end of the last' mentioned section. The knob maybe shifted between adjusting and locking positions of the rotatable coils to control the amount of spring which is payed out and the amount remaining coiled, thus to control the amount of overlap of the tubes and, hence, the effective height of the i.v. bottles. When the knob is shifted to the adjusting position, the coil is unclamped and upward or downward movement of the knob (which movement is counter-balanced by the tendency of the spring to achieve the coiled position) will result, respectively, in coiling or uncoiling of the spring.

After a selected amount-of telescoping is achieved, subsequent tightening of the knob will clamp the coiled portion, thereby fixing the tubular members in the selected nested condition. Since the same knob which is used to clamp or unclamp the coiled spring is also desirably employed to effect rotation of the hanger about its vertical axis, it will be evident that all necessary adjustments may be accomplished merely by gripping the operator knob.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an adjustable i.v. pendant assembly.

A further object of the invention is to provide an i.v. assembly of the type described wherein the unit may be released for adjustment or locked in a predetermined heightwise and longitudinally shifted position by a one hand operation.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a device of the type described which incorporates vertically directed telescoping tubular members which may be locked in a selected overlapping position without the provision of clamping means extending between the tubular members, such clamping means having been found undesirable in view of the marring and defacing of one or both of the tubular members, resulting ultimately in a binding of the parts.

Still a further object of the invention is the provision of a simplified assembly of the type described wherein the heightwise adjustment mechanism functions additionally to relieve the effort required to shift the parts in a vertical direction.

To attain these objects and such further objects as may appear herein or be hereinafter pointed out, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an i.v. assembly in accordance with the invention, hung from a track section representing a short fragment of an extended track;

FIG. 2 is a magnified vertical section taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a vertical section taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are horizontal sections taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 5, showing the position of the parts in the heightwise adjusting and locking conditions, respectively.

Reference will now be made to the drawings wherein 10 is a short section of an extended horizontal track assembly fixed to or recessed within the ceiling of a hospital room. Typically, the track 10 will be mounted above the level of the ceiling, access thereto being provided by a slot formed in the ceiling.

A roller carriage l 1 is mounted to the track assembly for translatory movement therealong, the carriage including a depending support loop 12.

The pendant mechanism 13 includes at its upper end 14 a support hook 15, which may be readily mounted upon and decoupled from the loop 12.

The pendant mechanism 13 includes an upper tubular section 16 and a telescoping lower tubular section 17, the lower section 17 having fixed thereto, by welding or the like, two or more i.v. bottle support

arms

18, 19.

It will be appreciated that, in known manner, the i.v. bottle includes a lower distribution end 21, the bottle, at its upper end including a hanger bail 22 adapted to be supported on an open support ring 23 of the

arms

18, 19. A control box 24 is fixed to the lower end 25 of the lower section 17.

The roller assembly 11 includes a roller support yoke 26, which is generally U-shaped in vertical section, as can best be seen from an inspection of FIG. 3. The yoke 26 includes

vertical support arms

27, 28 and horizontal linking branch 29. A pair of rollers 30 are fixed to arm support 28, a comparable pair of rollers 31 being fixed to the other arm 27. The sets of

rollers

30, 31 ride in spaced

grooves

32, 33, respectively, formed in the track assembly 10, whereby translatory movement of the assembly 11 along the track is permitted when an appropriate shifting force is applied to the assembly 11 via the pendant assembly.

Mechanism is provided for locking the roller assembly 11 at a selected adjusted position along the track. For this purpose, the support loop 12 includes a vertically directed threaded section 34, received in a complementally threaded adjustment nut member 35, welded or otherwise non-rotatably fixed to the branch 29 of the yoke 26. A clamp nut 36 is fixed in position at the upper end 37 of the threaded section 34 of the loop 12. The clamp nut 36 may initially be threaded over the end 37 and locked against further rotation by welding, or by destruction of the threads of the portion 34 surrounding the clamp nut. As best seen in FIG. 3, the upper surface of the clamp nut 36 is positioned immediately adjacent the lowermost surface of the under surface of

flanges

38, 39 of the track section.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that rotation of the hook 12 will, by reason of the threaded engagement of the hook with adjustment nut 35, result in an upward or downward movement of the clamp nut 36 toward or away from the

flanges

38, 39.

It will be readily recognized that when the clamp nut 36 is pressed against the flanges, the roller carriage will be locked to thetrack against translatory movement, rotation to clear the nut 36 from the track freeing the carriage for subsequent movement.

The lower end 40 of the support hook 15 is fixedly threadedly connected into a block 41 disposed at the upper end 14 of the upper tubular member 16.

The control box 24 includes a side wall perimeter 42, face plate 43 and a removable back wall 44. A bearing support plate 45 is fixed to the face plate 43 interiorly of the box 24, the bearing support plate including a parallel pair of

trunnion members

46, 47. Each of the trunnion members or bearing means 46, 47 forms a rotatable support bearing for

spring mounting bushings

48, 49, respectively.

A constant force coil spring 50 is tightly convoluted about the bushing 48, the inner terminal end 51 of the constant force spring being non-rotatably fixed to the bushing by a mounting pin 52. In similar fashion, a second constant force coil spring 53 is tightly convoluted about bushing 49, the end 54 of the spring being fastened to the bushing 49 by pin 55.

It will be noted that the

springs

50 and 53 are wound in opposite directions, the extending band portions 56, 57 of the

springs

50 and 53, respectively, paying out from a central, juxtaposed position closely adjacent the vertical axis of the tubular members l6, 17.

The uppermost wall 58 of the control box is provided with a central cutout 59, the lower end 60 of the lower tubular member 17 passing through cutout 59 and being welded into connection with the control box.

The uppermost ends 61, 62 (see FIG. 3) of the band portions 56, 57 of the

spring assemblies

50, 53 are fixed, as by clamp bolt 63, to the block 41 at the upper end of the upper tubular member 16. The

spring assemblies

50, 53 are so formed as to exert a continuous force tending to urge the springs toward the fully convoluted position which, as will be readily understood from the illustrated embodiment, corresponds to the position of maximum overlapping of the lower tubular member 17 over the upper tubular member 16. Such overlapping position represents the highest adjusted position of the i.v. bottle supports.

It will be further appreciated that when the lower section is moved downwardly from the completely overlapping position, increased amounts of the

coiled spring assemblies

50, 53 are unreeled, such unreeling being effected against the tension in the springs, it being evident that such unreeling is accompanied by rotation of the

bushings

48, 49 about their support trunnions or

bearings

46, 47.

The

tubular members

16, 17 are locked in a selected overlapping relationship to achieve a desired heightwise positioning of the i.v. bottles by the height control mechanism 64 next to be described.

The control mechanism includes a threaded lock bolt 65, extending generally horizontally into the interior of the control box 24 through the front wall 43 thereof. The outer end 66 of the lock bolt is non-rotatably connected to an operating knob 67 by a set screw 68. The threaded body portion of the bolt 65 passes through a complementally threaded bore 69 in the trunnion support plate 45 mounted to the front wall 43.

The inner end 70 of the lock bolt 65 is of a reduced cylindrical cross section as contrasted with the major body portion, a shoulder 71 being defined at the interface between the reduced portion 70 and the main body portion 65. The reduced portion 70 extends through

apertures

72 and 73 formed in a clamping plate 74, and restrainer plate 75, respectively. The clamping plate and

restrainer plate

74 and 75 are preferably formed of yieldable spring steel.

The reduced portion 70, at the inner end of the locking bolt 65, is formed with a transverse aperture 76, within which aperture a transversely directed clamp pin 77 is fixedly mounted. As best seen from FIG. 5, the axial extent of the

bushings

48, 49 is preferably slightly greater than the transverse dimension of the

spring members

50 and 53.

From the foregoing description it will be appreciated that rotation of the operator knob 67 in one direction will shift the clamp plate 74 toward the front wall 43, whereby the

bushings

48, 49 will be tightly sandwiched between the plate 74 and the bearing support plate 45. Due to the resilience of the plate 74 and the fact that the bolt 65 extends centrally between the two

spring assemblies

50 and 53, it will be perceived that the clamping force exerted by the yieldable plate 74 against the

bushings

48 and 49 will be substantially identical since, if the plate should engage one bushing prior to the other, no substantial pressure can be exerted against either bushing until the plate is canted to a slight degree and engages the other bushing, further tightening efforts resulting in the application of essentially equal pressure against both bushings.

Upon counter-rotation of the locking bolt 65, it will be understood that the plate 74 will be shifted away from the locked position shown in FIG. 7, to the release position shown in FIG. 6.

It will be appreciated that in the heightwise locked position of the assembly (FIG. 7) resulting from the clamping of the bushings against rotation, the normal upward movement of the lower tubular member 17 over the upper tubular member 16 will be prevented.

Desirably, to effect facile adjustment of the height of the apparatus, only a minimum amount of turning of the knob 67 should be needed to shift the operating mechanism between the releasing and the locking positions of the

tubular members

16, 17. To this end, and as seen best in FIGS. 6 and 7, the restrainer plate 75 includes a pair of rearwardly extending

wings

78, 79, terminating in laterally outwardly directed

foot portions

80, 81, respectively. The

wings

78, 79 tend yieldingly to come together and normally bias the plate 74 toward the front wall. By reason of the resilient forces exerted by the

wing portions

78, 79 of the plate 75, it will be noted that releasing forces exerted on the knob 67 are not free-wheeling forces but, rather, are exerted against the pressure applied by the plate 75. The net result of such structure is to prevent an over-releasing or undue amount of rotation of the knob in the course of unclamping, since such unclamping forces applied to the knob meet with immediate resistance.

A further beneificial effect of the resilient forces exerted by the plate 75 is that the clamp plate 74, when clamping pressure is just released by appropriate rotation of the knob, is still lightly pressed against the

bushings

48, 49, exerting a braking or dragging influence against the bushings, thereby to prevent unchecked rotation of the bushings. Thus, the construction will act as a brake so that when the knob is operated in an unclamping direction, the lower tubular member 17 will not snap upwardly but, instead, will move upwardly at a gradual rate due to the frictional forces exerted against the bushings. Also, the operator is able, by reason of the described construction, immediately to sense when clamping forces are released, at which point further releasing rotation may be avoided. As a result, only a minimum amount of rotation in an opposite direction need be effected in order to reclamp the tubular members at a desired overlapped or telescoped position.

The operation of the apparatus will be evident from the preceding description. As an initial step, thependant assembly should be adjusted along thetrack into a proper position adjacent the patient. Such adjustment is effected by grasping the knob 67 and, through the use of the knob, bodily rotating the

tubular members

16, 17 about the vertical axis thereof, whereby the clamping nut 63 is released from engagement with the

flanges

38, 39, the pitch of the clamping nut being preferably selected to permit adjustment with a rotation of the tubular member of less than 360. The unit may then be slid to the desired position and tightened by retro rotation of the assembly about the noted vertical axis.

After the entire assembly is adjusted relative to the track, heightwise adjustment is effected by operating the knob 67 to rotate the bolt 65 in the manner previously discussed in detail. In the released position of the bushing clamp assembly, the tubular sections l6, 17 may be slid upwardly and downwardly, the strength of the

springs

50, 53 preferably being such as to require a downward pulling force to effect reduced overlapping of the tubular members, upward sliding movement being accomplished by the force of the springs. The unit is locked against heightwise variation by counterrotating the knob 67 to clamp the

bushings

48 and 49.

It will thus be seen that the spring assemblies in the present apparatus serve a double function of affording a counter-balancing force and, by adjustment of the unreeled length of the springs, a clamping function.

By effecting clamping against the bushings concealed within the control box 24, there is no tendency toward marring, defacing or otherwise degrading the appearance of the sliding tubular members, with possible attendant binding of the parts, such as would be the case, for instance, if heightwise adjustment were effected by driving a set screw fixed in one sleeved section against an external face of the other section.

The i.v. hanger assembly of the present invention is inexpensive to manufacture, simple and reliable in use, and permits facile one hand adjustment.

It will be evident that mechanical variations incorporating the principles of the invention hereof will suggest themselves to the skilled artisan familiar with the instant disclosure and, accordingly, the present invention is not to be limited to the specific constructions illustrated but is to be broadly construed within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An adjustable intravenous bottle pendant assembly for providing heightwise adjustment of a bottle hanger relative to a ceiling support, comprising a first tubular, vertically directed guide member mounted to the ceiling structure, a second tubular, vertically directed guide member below said first guide member, said second guide member slidably telescoping with said first member to provide vertical adjustment thereof, bearing means comprising a pair of horizontally disposed trunnions mounted in a casing on said second guide member, a band spring assembly including a pair of band spring members each having a free end portion fixed to said first guide member, and a coiled portion rotatably mounted on a different one of said trunnions, said spring assembly being tensioned yieldingly to urge said guide members toward the telescoped position thereof, and manually operable clamp means on said casing for locking said coiled portions of said spring members against rotation thereby to fix said guide members in a selected telescoped condition, the portions of said spring members between said free ends and said coiled portions being concealed within said tubular members.

2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the terminal ends of said coiled portions of said spring members are fixed to collars rotatably mounted on said trunnions, and said clamp means is actuatable to engage and prevent rotation of said collars.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein said free ends of said springs are anchored adjacent the upper end of said first tubular member.

4. The device of claim 2 wherein said clamp means comprises a knob, a threaded member operatively associated with said knob, and yieldable spring pressure plate means shiftable into clamping and releasing posi- 7 tions of said collar responsive to operation of said knob.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said threaded member is engaged in a complementally threaded aperture in a first wall of said casing and said pressure plate means is mounted to said member and disposed adjacent a second wall of said casing parallel to and spaced from said first wall, said plate means including resilient portions adapted to engage said second wall when said knob is rotated to shift said plate away from said clamping position, whereby to provide resistance to said rotation and thus signal that said plate is clear of said clamping position.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said ceiling support includes a horizontal track member, roller means on said first tubular guide member engaging said track member for supporting said pendant for translatory movement along said track member, and locking means interposed between said track member and said roller means adapted to be shifted into engagement with said track for locking said pendant assembly against movement along said track responsive to rotation of said guide means about a vertical axis.

7. The device of claim 6 wherein said locking means includes a threaded member shiftable toward and away from said track responsive to the direction of rotation of said guide means.

8. An intravenous bottle pendant assembly adjustably mounted for movement along a horizontal track and for heightwise adjustment relative thereto, comprising a roller assembly adapted to be supported on said track for translatory movement, first and second telescoping vertical guide members slidingly and non-rotatably connected together, said first guide member being secured to said roller assembly, bottle hanger means on said second guide member, lock means interposed between said roller and said track shiftable into clamping engagement of said track responsive to rotation of said guide means about the vertical axis thereof, a control assembly on said second guide means including a band spring assembly having a coiled portion and an extending portion, bearing means in said control assembly rotatably supporting the coiled portion of said spring assembly, the extending portion of said spring assembly passing upwardly through and being concealed within said tubular members with the free end of said extending portion being anchored to said first guide member adjacent an upper portion thereof, said spring assembly being tensioned normally to urge said guide members toward the telescoped condition thereof, and control means for fixing said guide members in a preselected telescoped condition, including an operator portion, and a clamp portion shiftable to clamping and releasing positions of said coiled portion of said spring, whereby said coiled portion is respectively prevented from rotating and free to rotate relative to said bearing means.

9. The device of claim 8 wherein said clamping means comprises a clamp plate shiftable toward and away from said coil portion of said spring assembly, and said operator means includes a threaded member rotatably mounted in said casing and adapted, in said clamping position, to sandwich said coil against a first wall of said casing.

10. The device of claim 9 wherein said plate includes resilient portions adapted to engage a second wall portion of said casing when said operator means is rotated to shift said plate away from said clamping position. thereby to provide resistance to said reverse rotation and exert a drag force against free rotation of said coil.

11. The device of claim 10 wherein said band spring assembly includes two spring members rotatable about parallel axes, the extending portions of said spring members lying substantially coincident with the vertical axes of said guide members.

Claims

4. The device of claim 2 wherein said clamp means comprises a knob, a threaded member operatively associated with said knob, and yieldable spring pressure plate means shiftable into clamping and releasing positions of said collar responsive to operation of said knob.

10. The device of claim 9 wherein said plate includes resilient portions adapted to engage a second wall portion of said casing when said operator means is rotated to shift said plate away from said clamping position, thereby to provide resistance to said reverse rotation and exert a drag force against free rotation of said coil.