US1031841A - Obstetrical appliance. - Google Patents

Description

W. H. EBLEN.

OBSTETRIOAL APPLIANCE.

APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 6, 1911. 1 ,031,841 g Patented July 9, 1912.

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WILLIAM H. EBLEN, F WINDROCK, TENNESSEE.

OBSTETBIGAL APPLIANCE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 2 1912.

Application filed September 6, 1911. Serial No. 647,998.

, pliances, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing.

My improvement relates to apparatus intended to aid the patient during accouchement.

The apparatus comprises foot-rests and knee-rests and hand holds for the use of the patient in exerting muscular strain.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan of an apparatus embodying my improvement; Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same apparatus; Fig. 3is asection on the line 3-3, of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a section on the line, L-t, of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a section on the line, 55, of Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is a section on the line, 66, of Fig. 2; Fig. 7 is a section on the line, 7-7, of Fig. 1; Fig. 8 is a section on the line, S8, of Fig. 1.

Referring to said drawings, A, A, are base bars forming two opposite sides of a quadrilateral horizontal frame. B, is a footrest bar extending from the rear end of one of the base bars through the rear end of the other base bar and forming the rear side of said quadrilateral frame. G, is a front connecting bar joining the front ends of the bars, A, and forming the front side of said quadrilateral frame.

From the rear end of each base bar, A, rises an oblique member, D, the upper end of which is joined to a similar front oblique member, E, rising from the front end of the adjacent base bar. From the meeting upper ends of one pair of oblique memhere, D and E, a. knee-rest bar, F, extends to the upper meeting ends of the other pair of oblique members, D and E. Thus said knee-rest bar is supported above and forward of the foot-rest bar, according to the height and inclination of said oblique members. To each of the oblique members, E, is secured a hand hold, G, as will be hereinafter described. The foot-rest bar and the knee-rest bar are preferably made rotatable,

in order that the foot-rests and the kneerests borne, respectively, by said bars may automatically tilt in response to the pressure of the foot and the knee in order to make the most extended engagement between said rests and the feet and knees. Provision is also made for adjusting the height of the knee-rest bar and its distance I forward of the foot-rest bar; and portions of the apparatus are made detachable or foldable, or both, in order that the apparatus may be put into compact form when not in use. And the foot-rests are made adjustable lengthwise upon the foot-rest bar; and the knee-rests are similarly made adjustable on the knee-rest bar and removable there? from, as will be hereinafter described.

In the form shown in. the drawings, the

foot-rest bar is four-sided in cross sect-ion and has at its middle a carriage-brace joint, B At each end said bar has a round neck, B with a head, B Said neck rests in ahook, A formed on the end of the base bar, A, said hook opening upward and toward the opposite end of said bar. Said hook forms a bearing for the neck, B The footrest bar may be removed from said hooks when the openings of the latter are unobstructed. But when said apparatus is set up for use, a sleeve, D surrounding and slidable upon each base bar, A, rests across the opening of the adjacent hook, as shown in the lower left hand portion of Fig. 2. Thus the necks or journals, B of the bar, B, are temporarily confined in the bearings formed by said hooks. Each such sleeve 18 secured to its bar, A, by means of a thumb set screw D B are the foot-rests. These may be of any convenient size adapted for engagement by the feet of the patient. On the bottom of each such rest is a sleeve, upon the four-sided bar, B. A set screw, B, extends through said sleeve and bears upon said bar for binding the foot-rest firmly upon said bar. hen said screw is loose, the foot-rest may be shifted along the length of said bar and, if desired, removed from the latter, the heads, B being no larger than the interior of said sleeve.

Each oblique member, D, is composed of B fitting slidably 7 a bar or rod, D and a tube, D into which clamp compresses the upper end of said tube sufliciently to cause the binding of said tube upon the bar, D so as to prevent movement of said bar in said tube. At its lower end, each oblique member, D, is hinged to the sleeve, D by a hinge, D having an axis parallel to the bar, B.

1 The front connecting bar, C, has in its middle a carriage-brace joint, C and at each end said bar is connected to the adjacent base'bar, A, by means of a hinge, G having an upright axis.

The front end of each of the base bars, A, is surrounded by a sleeve, E slidable on said bar. A set screw, E extends through one side of each such sleeve for binding the latter to its bar, A.

Each oblique member, E, is composed of a bar or rod, E and tube, E into-which said rod extends slidably. The upper end of said tube has a slot, E and a strap clamp, E, extends around the upper end of the tube, and a thumb screw, E extends transversely through the ends of said clamp. By tightening said screw, said clamp is made to bind upon said tube sufficiently to compress the latter for binding upon said bar to prevent movement of the latter in the tube. The lower end of each member, E, is joined to the sleeve, E by a hinge, E which is horizontal and parallel to the bar, 0. The upper ends of the oblique member, D, and E, are secured to each other by a knuckle joint the upper end of one of said members being slotted vertically to receive the upright flattened end of the other of said members. In the drawings the member, D, is slotted. At the point of such over-lapping, each member, D, has horizontal bearings, D while the members, E, have similar bearings, E in line with the bearings, D. At each end, the knee-rest bar, F, has a journal, F extending through the bearings, D and E To hold said journals in said bearings, a latch, F is hinged to each end of said bar at, F in proper posit-ion to adapt it to lie flatwise upon said bar and the upper ends of the members, D and E, and have a head, F extend downward over the outer face of the adjacent member, D. At its middle, the knee-rest bar has a carriage-brace joint, F F F are knee rests supported by the knee-rest bar, each knee-rest having a sleeve, F ,slidable upon said bar, and a set-screw, F extending through said sleeve to bear against said bar and bind said sleeve immovably to said bar. After loosening said set-screw, said knee-rest may be moved along the length of said bar.

On each bar or rod, E is a strap ring, G; and on each such ring is a strap, G leading to and connected with a hand hold, G Said straps may be of any desired length. Said ring has an eye, G through which the rod or bar, E extends. The ring may be loose on said bar so that the ring may slide downward and rest upon the clamp, E.

As already pointed out, the foot-rests, B are adjustable along the length of the bar, B; and it is to be noted that said bar may turn on the journals, B to allow the footrests to rock to conform to the sole of the foot of the patient. It has also been indicated that the knee-rests are adjustable along the length of the bar, F, and it is to be observed that the journals, F allow said bar to rock or turn sufliciently to permit the knee-rests to adapt themselves to the surface of the knee of the patient bearing against them.

The distance between the foot-rests and the knee-rests is varied by loosening the clamps, D and moving the rods, D up or down and then again tightening said clamps. During such movement, the oblique members, E, turn on their hinges, E If it is desired to change the inclination of the plane cutting the foot-rests and the kneerests, the members, E, are shortened or lengthened by releasing the clamps, E and moving the rods, E up or down in the tubes, E thus moving the knee-rests in an arc having its axis near the foot-rest bar.

In operation, the patient has six points of engagement with the apparatus or appliance. The legs being partially folded, the feet rest upon the foot-rests, 13*, the knees bear rearward against the knee-rests, F and the hands grip the hand holds, G And those six points are used as points of resistance and the exertion of muscular strain. Strain applied tothe hand holds is resisted by the feet and the knees; and conversely, the strain applied to the foot-rests between the feet and the knee-rests by the knees is resisted by the hands.

For folding and packing the apparatus for storage or convenient carrying when not in use, the latches, F are raised and the oblique members, D and E, sprung sufficiently to free the journals, F from the bearings, D and E thus freeing the said bar from the structure. Then said bar may be folded on its joint, F whereby said bar is reduced to one half its former length. The removal of said bar releases the upper ends of the oblique members, D and E, from each other. The bars, D and E may be moved downward in their respective tubes and said members folded downward against the adjacent bars, A, A. The bars, D and E may be taken out of their tubes, if so desired. By moving the clamps, D forward, the journals, 13 may be moved out of the hook bearings, A And the foot-rests may be removed from said bar, B, and said bar then folded upon the joint, B necting bar, 0, may then be folded upon the joint, G whereby the two sections of said bar are folded against the adjacent base The conbars, A, upon the hinges, C whereby the base bars, A, A, are broughtclose to each other. The straps, G being flexible, they and the hand holds may be folded closely to the other parts. If so desired, the strap rings, straps, and hand holds, may be detached by drawing the rods, E out of the eyes, G of the rings.

The several parts should be made of strong metal and should be designed for the combination of minimum weight and maximum strength. Regarding dimensions, it may be noted that in an apparatus which I have constructed and used, the toot-rest bar and the front connect-ing bar are twenty-one inches long while the base bars are sixteen inches long, the oblique members, I) and E, being set relatively approximately as shown in Fig. 2.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an apparatus of the nature described, the combination of toot-rests, kneerests, and hand holds, and relatively rigid supports for the toot-rests and the kneerests, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus of the nature described, the combination of toot-rests, kneerests, and hand holds, the toot-rests and the knee-rests being rigidly supported and the knee-rests being adjustable relative to the toot-rests, substantially as described.

3. In an apparatus of the nature described, the combination of foot-rests, kneerests, and hand holds, the toot-rests and the knee-rests being rigidly supported and the knee-rests being adjustable with reference to each other and to the foot-rests, substantially as described.

4. In an apparatus of the nature described, the combination of foot-rests, kneerests, and hand holds, the foot-rests and the knee-rests being rigidly supported and the toot-rests being adjustable toward and from each other, substantially as described.

In an apparatus of the nature described, the eombination 0t toot-rests, kneerests, and hand holds, the toot-rests and the knee-rests being rigidly supported and the toot-rests being adjustable toward and from each other and the knee-rests being adjustable toward and from each other, substan tially as described.

rest support, foot-rests on said support, a rigid knee-rest support adjustable relative to said foot-rest support, knee-rests seated on the knee-rest support adjustable toward and "from each other, and hand holds, substantially as described.

9. In an apparatus of the nature described, the combination of a rocking tootrest support, foot-rests seated on said support adjustable toward and from each other, a rigid knee-rest support adjustable relative to said toot-rest support, knee-rests on the knee-rest support, and hand holds, substantially as described.

10. In an apparatus of the nature described, the combination of a rocking tootrest support, foot-rests seated on said sup port adjustable toward and from each other, a rigid knee-rest support, knee-rests seated on said support adjustable toward and from each other, and hand holds, substantially as described.

11. In an apparatus of the nature described, the combination of a rocking footrest support, toot-rests seated on said sup port, a rigid rocking knee-rest support, knee-rests on said support, and hand holds, substantially as described.

12. In an apparatus of the nature de scribed, the combination of toot-rests, kneerests, and hand holds, and relatively fixed supports for the foot-rests and the kneerests, the support for the knee-rests being adjustable in an are having its axis adjacent the foot-rest support, substantially as described.

13. In an apparatus of the nature described, the combination of a foot-rest sup port, toot-rests on said support, oblique members meeting at their upper ends, a knee-rest support supported by said oblique members, knee-rests on said knee-rest support, and hand holds, substantially as de scribed.

1 1-. In an apparatus of the nature described, the combination of a foot-rest support, toot-rests on said support, oblique members meeting at their upper ends, a retatable knee-rest support supported by said oblique members, knee-rests on said kneerest support, and hand holds, substantially as described.

15. In an apparatus of the nature de scribed, the combination of a rotatable footrest support, toot-rests on said support, a knee-rest bar, knee-rests on said bar, relatively fiXed supports for said bar, and hand holds, substantially as described.

16. In an apparatus of the nature described, the combination of a frame comprising front, rear, and end members and oblique members rising from the end members and meeting at their upper ends, and a knee-rest member extending from the meeting ends of one pair of the oblique members to the meeting ends of the other oblique members, kneerests on said kneerest member, foot-rests supported by said rear frame member, and hand holds secured to said frame, substantially as described.

17. In an apparatus of the nature described, the combination of a frame comprising front, rear, and end members and adjustable oblique members rising from the end members and meeting at their upper ends, and a knee-rest member extending from the meeting ends of one pair of adjustable oblique members to the meeting ends of the other oblique members, kneerests on said knee-rest member, foot-rests supported by said rear frame member, and hand holds secured to said frame, substantially as described.

18. In an apparatus of the nature clescribed, the combination of base bars having bearings at their rear ends, a foot-rest bar journaled removably in said bearings, foot-rests on said bar, a knee-rest bar, means for detachablysupporting said bar above said base bars, knee-rests on said knee-rest bar, and hand holds, substantially as described.

20. In an apparatus of the nature described, the combination of framing comprising two base bars having hooks constituting bearings, a foot-rest bar resting in said hooks, an adjustable sleeve surrounding each base bar adjacent the hook of said bar for retaining said foot-rest bar in said bearings, foot-rests on said foot-rest bar, knee rests, and hand holds, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name, in presence of two witnesses, this 29th day of August, in the year one thousand nine hundred and eleven.

WILLIAM H. EBLEN. Witnesses W. G. Soonns, D. F. DIENNA.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G.

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