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US 5,288,043 AGranted
Balanced suspension system for surgical microscope
AssigneeNone recorded
InventorGeorge S. Tigliev
Life of this patent
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AssigneeNone recorded
InventorGeorge S. Tigliev
Estimating the term…
A balanced suspension system for a surgical investigative instrument, such as a surgical microscope, is configured so that the amount of force to move the microscope in any direction is approximately equal, and when the suspension system is unlocked to move the microscope no residual forces will spontaneously move the microscope. The suspension system comprises a generally vertical support structure, a levered assembly extending out therefrom, a gimbal mount assembly connected adjacent one end of the levered assembly. The gimbal mount assembly includes a bracket arm having a first joint member at one end thereof and an instrument bracket, for holding the microscope, connected to a second end thereof by a second joint member. The instrument bracket includes a third joint member, so that the center of mass of the microscope lies within the three planes of motion permitted by the first, second and third joint members.
A balanced suspension system for a surgical investigative instrument, comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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No related US applications are recorded in the indexed filing history.
In more than one direction: for tilting and panning
Surgical microscopes characterised by non-optical aspects: supports therefor
Supports for pipes, cables or protective tubing
Allowing pivoting: around a horizontal axis
Term ended 11 Sep 2012 (estimated)
USPTO file history isn’t available for this patent, so only indexed dates are shown.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a suspension system for use with a surgical microscope and, more particularly, to such a suspension system that maintains the surgical microscope in a balanced state for ease of motion.
2. Setting of the Invention
FIG. 1 is an upright, perspective view of a suspension system for a surgical investigative instrument in accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectioned view of a gimbal mount assembly for use in the suspension system of the present invention.
The present invention is a balanced suspension system for a surgical investigative instrument, which for the purposes of this discussion will be assumed to be a surgical microscope. However, it should be understood that any other type of instrument could be used with the present invention, such as eye examination instruments, dental instruments and patient examination instruments. The suspension system of one preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a generally vertical support structure having a levered assembly, such as a pantograph, extending out therefrom, and a gimbal mount assembly connected adjacent one end of the levered assembly.
The gimbal mount assembly comprises a bracket arm having a first joint member at one end thereof and an instrument bracket connected to a second end thereof by a second joint member. The instrument bracket is adapted to receive and hold the surgical microscope and permit rotation thereof by way of a third joint member.
The gimbal mount assembly is configured so that center of mass of the surgical microscope held by the instrument bracket lies with the three planes of motion permitted by the three joint members, i.e. roll, pitch and yaw. By this arrangement the surgical microscope is "balanced", i.e. the forces acting on the microscope are canceled out so that, when the suspension assembly is unlocked to permit movement of the microscope, no residual forces spontaneously move the microscope.