US2314778A - Physician's examining table or the like - Google Patents

Description

March 23, 1943. e. E. FROELICH' PHYSICIANS EXI KMINING TA BLE OR THE LIKE Filed Aug. 20, 1941 fizz/an er" Geo/:96 EEoeZicA Patented Mar. 23, 1943 PHYSIOIANS EXAMINING TABLE OR THE LIKE,

George E. Froelich, Two Rivers, Wis., assignor to Hamilton Manufacturing Company,

Two

Rivers, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application August 20, 1941, Serial No. 407,555

6 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in physicians examining tables or the like and aims to provide a simplified structure which may be produced with a minimum number of parts and at a reduced cost of manufacture.

The invention will be understood by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is an elevational view of a table embodying the present invention, partially shown in section for clearness of description;

Figure 2 is a partial perspective view of the structure of Figure 1 in an alternative position;

Figure 3 is another partial perspective view of parts shown in Figure 1 somewhat enlarged;

Referring in detail to the illustrative construction shown in the drawing, the numeral l indicates as a whole a form of examining table with which the present invention is here shown associated. The table has a foot H and a base part l2, which is advantageously of the cabinet type, having a number of compartments, two such being indicated suggestively at [3 and I4, which may be used for purposes of storage of instruments, utensils, or other physicians equipment. The compartment l3 may have drawers therein for this use, not here shown, and the compartment l4 may have a' door [5 at the head of the table openable by means of a handle l6.

Supported on the base [2 are rest members H and I3, having'the usual padded surfaces for contacting the human body when a person is reclined thereon, for examination or treatment, as the case may be. The rest member l8 has advantageously an integral head rest portion l9. In this instance, the rest member I1 is fixed to the table top or base [2 and the rest member l8 from the base.

In accordance with the present invention, the rest member I8 is held in selectively adjusted position with respect to the base by means of a single, centrally located lifter rod 2!. The rod may b articulated with the rest member l8 as by being pivoted at its upper end at 2la, on the bracket 22 secured to the under side of the rest member, the rod being thus arranged to move in a vertical plane extending medially longitudinally of the base and rest member, the lower end of the radii being freely received within the base for such movement.

To hold the rod from vertical movement when desired and consequently to retain the rest member 18 temporarily in adjusted position, the rod intermediate portion passes through a frictional gripping member 23, which may be fixedly caris hinged thereto as at 29 to move toward and a ried by a shaft 24 suitably mounted for partial rotation in the side walls of the base 12 and terminating in the handles 25 at each side of the table. It will be understood that the lifter rod passes loosely through a hole in the member 23, which may be in the form of a casting having an ear 26 to which is attached one end of an extension coil spring 21 anchored as at 28 within the compartment [4. The spring 21 tends to pull the casting 23 downwardly so that th rod 2| is somewhat jammed therein and is thus held from downward movement until the casting 23 is rotated to be normal to the rod, at which time the rod will move freely therethrough. This may be done by manual operation of either one of the handles 25 to actuate the casting 23 as described against the pull of the spring 21. It will be understood that to move the rest member I8 upwardly it is not necessary to operate the handle since the frictional drag of the rod will actuate the casting 23.

Sinc the rest member is thus supported by a single rod, it is important that lateral canting of the rod be prevented, and to this end the invention contemplates that the intermediate portion of the lifter rod be supported against lateral movement by means arranged at a plurality of relatively far apart vertically spaced points in the table base. For this purpose the upper surface 29 of the base, having an opening 30 therein through which the rod passes, carries a guide plate 3| having a laterally restricted slot 32 therein for slidably but snugly passing the rod therethrough; The slot 32 is elongated longitudinally of the table for accommodating the angular positions of the rod, which is thus in efiect articulated both to the rest member andto the base;

Again, following this invention, at another place in the bas the rod is further supported laterally. In this instance the lower end of the rod is guarded by a box-like structure having side walls 33 and 34 and the end wall 35. The side walls 33 and 34 may be secured as exemplified at 33 to the partition 31 which separates the compartments l3 and M and the end wall 35 may be secured as exemplified at 38 to the top surface 39 of the table foot ll. Thus, there is provided a chamber 40 which receives the lower end of the rod and guards against interference with the rod by utensils or other articles stored in the compartment I4. Disposed in the upper otherwise open end of the chamber 40 are guiding means for the rod 2| here shown as a pair of channel members 4! having depending spaced apart flanges 42 between which the rod 2i slidingly passes, the channel members thus defining a longitudinally elongated but laterally restricted slot 43 for the lifter rod similar to and desirably supplementing the function of the slotted plate 3! previously described.

The channel members 4| may be secured by their outer flanges to the side walls 33 and 34 of the chamber '46 as exemplified at 44 and may be secured together at their ends as by riveted cross pieces 45, the latter serving also to close the ends of the slot at. In one form of the application of this invention, the spring 27 may be secured as shown to one of the channel member 4 l.

A stop pin 46 on the lower extremity of the rod .form of a somewhat heavy wire loop having its otherwise free ends 43 clamped by a clamping ,plate 49 secured as at 56 to the upper surface 29 of the base I2. The clamping plate 49 may have inverted troughed margins which are of internal diameter suitable to tightly receive the spring ends 48 and clamp them against the table top 29. It will be understood that the under face of the rest member I8 is upwardly recessed as at 52 so as to afford room for the coils 53 of the spring 47 when the rest member is parallel to the table top 29, at which time the spring ends 43 and bight 54 of the spring are in substantially the same plane horizontal with the base top 29 and within the recess 52.

The bight 54 of the spring loop is desirably of right angular formation and slidably presses against the rest member is through the intermediation of a rider plate 55 secured as at 56 to the under surface 18a of the rest member l8, which rider plate by reducing friction both minimizes wear and enhances the effectiveness of the camming action of the spring.

Thus, the spring 41 tends to separate the rest member and base, making it relatively easy to raise the rest member even when a patient is reclining thereon, with a minimum and economy of .parts and constructionior this purpose, this being further contributed to by the single lifter rod, the

use of which is madepossible by the combination of expedients here disclosed.

It is not intended that the invention should be understood to be limited to details of construction here shown and described in connection with the example here given. Furthermore, it is not intended that it be supposed that all features of the invention here disclosed must be used conjointly,

as it is intended to be understood that under cer- =tain circumstances various combinations or subcombinations may be advantageously employed.

What is claimed is: 1. In a physicians examining table or the like having a cabinet base and a padded rest member hinged thereto to move toward and from the base, that improvement therein which comprises a single centrally located lifter rod having its upper end articulated'with the rest :member and having its lower end freely received in the base, means operatively associated with the base and therlifter -r0d forfrictionally gripping an intermediate pcr- ,75

tion of the rod to retain the rest member in selectively adjusted positions with respect to the base and a restricted chamber having walls within and distinct from the walls of the base receiving the lower end of the lifter rod, said chamber having a longitudinally elongated laterally restricted slot in its upper wall passing an intermediate portion of the rod snugly but slidably therethrough.

2. In a physicians examining table or the like embodying a cabinet base having a flat top and a padded rest member hinged thereto to move in a vertical plane toward and from the base, that improvement therein which comprises a compression torsion spring disposed between the rest member and base top adjacent the place where the rest member is hinged to the base and tending to separate the rest member and base, wherein the torsion spring is of loop formation having a pair of ends, the rest member having a recess in its under face, a clamping plate securing the said ends to the base and a rider plate secured .to the under face of the ,rest member within the recess in the vicinity of the bight of the loop'and against which the latter slidably presses during movement of the rest member, said spring ends and the bight of the loop being in substantially the same plane horizontally with the basetopand within the recess when the rest member is moved to horizontal position parallel with the base top whereby said spring is concealed within the recess, a single centrally located lifter rod articulated at its upper end with the rest member and having itslower free end received within the base, and releasable means for frictionally gripping the lifter rod to retain the rest member in selected positions in said plane.

3. In a physicians examining table or the like embodying a cabinet base having a flat top and a rest member hinged thereto to move in a vertical plane toward and from the base, that im- .provement therein which comprises a compression spring disposed between the rest memberand base top adjacent the place where the rest member is hinged to the base and tending to separate the rest member and base, the rest member having a recess in its under face, said spring being received within the recess when the rest member is moved to horizontal position parallel with the base top whereby saidlspring is concealed in said last mentioned position, and manually releasable means for retaining the rest member in selected positions in said plane.

4. In a physicians examining tableor the like having a base and a rest member hinged there to -to move toward and from the base, that improvement therein which comprises a single centrally located lifter rod movable in a vertical plane extending medially longitudinally of the base, said rod being articulated at its upper end with the rest member and having its lower free end received in the base, lateral supporting means carried by the base passing an intermediate portion of the lifter rod therethrough, saidmeans having a laterally restricted slot therein through which the rod passes and said slot being elongated longitudinally of the base for accommodating difierent angular positions of the rod with respect to the base, said slotted means having a pair of vertical walls extending in the direction of said plane and laterally spaced apart for slidably but snugly passing the rod therethrough whereby to guard against lateral canting of the rod, .means carried by the base for adjustably gripping 101' releasing the .rod for said movement, and a compression spring between the base and rest member urging the rest member upwardly.

5. In a physicians examining table or the like having a base and a rest member hinged thereto to move toward and from the base, that improvement therein which comprises a single centrally located lifter rod movable in a vertical plane extending medially longitudinally of the base, said rod being articulated at its upper end with the rest member and having its lower free end re ceived in the base, lateral supporting means carried by the base passing an intermediate portion of the lifter rod therethrough, said means having a laterally restricted slot therein through which the rod passes and saidslot being elongated longitudinally of the base for accommodating different angular positions of the rod with respect to the base, said slotted means having a pair of vertical Walls extending in the direction of said plane and laterally spaced apart for slidably but snugly passing the rod therethrough whereby to guard against lateral canting of the rod, and means carried by the base for adjustably gripping or releasing the rod for said movement.

6. In a physicians examining table or the like having a base and a rest member hinged thereto to move toward and from the base, that improvement therein which comprises a single centrally located lifter rod movable in a vertical plane extending medially longitudinally of the base, said rod being articulated at its upper end with the rest member and having a lower free end received in the base, lateral supporting means carried by the base passing the intermediate portion of the lifter rod therethrough, said means having a laterally restricted slot therein through which the rod passes and said slot being elongated longitudinally of the base for accommodating different angular positions of the rod with respect to the base, said slotted means having a pair of vertically spaced apart wall portions extending in the direction of said plane and laterally spaced apart for slidably but snugly passing the rod therethrough whereby to guard against lateral canting of the rod, and means carried by the base for adjustably gripping or releasing the rod for said movement.

GEORGE E. FROELICH.

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