US2707137A - Table with adjustable top - Google Patents

Description

April 26, 1955 o. c. HoLLs'rElN 2,707,137

TABLE WITH ADJUSTABLE ToP Filed Feb. 26, 1952 She'etS-Sheet l |NVENTOR Q C ol/fein ATTORNEY April 26, 1955 o. c. HoLLsTElN TABLE WITH ADJUSTABLE TOP 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 26, 1952 ATTORNEY April 26, 1955 o. C. HoLLfsTElN TABLE WITH ADJUSTABLE TOP 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 26, 1952 RA om Te V/ C. 0

ATTORNEY April 26, 1955 o. c. HoLLsTElN TABLE WITH ADJUSTABLE TOP 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 26, 1952 faa/Mgd,

ATTORNEY April 26, 1955 o. c. HoLLsTElN TABLE WITH ADJUSTABLE TOP 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 26, 1952 L v 0 W m v m ATTORNEY -Aprll 26, 1955 o. c. HoLLsTElN TABLE WITH ADJUSTABLE TOP 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Feb. 26, 1952 vPA .alf-1 in! mgl United States Patent O TABLE WITH ADJUSTABLE TOP Oswald Conrad Hollstein, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to F-R Machine Works, Long Island City, N. Y., a firm Application February 26, 1952, Serial No. 273,390

Claims. (Cl. 3116) This invention relates to tables and more particularly to mobile tables nding use especially in hospitals.

In one of its more specific aspects this invention is directed to mobile X-ray tables which may be used for a number of different purposes in a hospital. These novel tables permit the ready and easy placing of a patient thereon, transportation to the X-ray room, then to the operating room and finally to the bedroom, thus requiring handling of the patient only twice, onto the table and then to the bed because these tables may serve not only as supports during transportation, but also during the taking of the X-rays and also during operation. These tables are especially useful in those cases where excessive handling is to be avoided.

In addition, they are particularly useful in those cases where in addition to transportation, the patient may have to be moved back or forth without moving the entire table, or up or down to locate the patient in a particular horizontal plane, or to tilt the patient at a particular angle to the vertical. All of the foregoing may be accomplished without removing the patient from the table.

These, as well as other, advantages and objects of the invention will be readily apparent from the following description and drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a novel table embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is taken on line II-II of Fig. 4.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the table shown in Fig. l, but with the top and the top operating mechanism omitted.

Fig. 4 is a side view of the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 and illustrates varlous angulations of the table top.

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view taken on line VI-Vl of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view taken on line VII-VII of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view taken on line VIII-VIII of Fig. 4.

Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view taken on line IX-lX of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a cross sectional view taken on line X-X of Fig. 6.

Fig. ll is a cross sectional view taken on line Xl--Xl of Fig. 12.

Fig. 12 is a cross sectional view taken on line XII-XII of Fig. l1.

As shown in the drawings, one form of X-ray table embodying the invention, comprises abase 10 which is of generally U shape, having an elongatedhollow side 11 and a pair ofhollow ends 12 and 13 which are shorter thanside 11 and are parallel to each other. Secured tobase 10 are fourlarge caster rollers 8. Mounted on thebase 10 is acasting 15 rigidly secured thereto at one end ofside 11. Casting 15 has abearing 16 for a two piece shaft 17 which is also carried by a bearing 18 mounted in theside 11. The shaft 17 consists of two permanently interlockcdparts 19 and 20 so that the length of shaft 17 may be varied at will. Theshaft part 19 has adouble flange collar 21 keyed thereto. Located between the flanges ofcollar 21 in acam roller 23 eccentrically carried by a rotatable pin 24, having ashort handle 25 and carried by thecasting 15. Secured to the short part of the shaft 17 is abevel gear 26, and secured to theother part 19 of shaft 17 are a pair of spaced oppositely disposedbevel gears 27 and 28. Thehandle 26 may be rotated to swing 2,707,137 Patented Apr. 26, 1955rice cam roller 23 to either the left or right to slide theshaft part 19 to dispose eithergear 27 or 28 in operative position. Thebevel gear 26 meshes with abevel gear 29 secured to one end of ashaft 30 carried bybearings 31 inside 13. The other end ofshaft 30 has abevel gear 32 secured thereto. Secured to theside 13 is anotherbracket 33. Thebrackets 15 and 33 are rigidly secured tobase 10. Secured tobrackets 15 and 33 and extending upwardly therefrom and at an angle thereto arehollow columns 34 and 35 respectively.

Thesecolumns 34 and 35 are rigidly `and fixedly connected to therespective brackets 15 and 33 and are always maintained in the same position with respect to thebase 10. Thecolumns 34 and 35 serve as supports and guides and have respective telescopic supportingcolumns 36 and 37 therein. Thesecolumns 36 and 37 are threaded at their lower ends and make threaded connections with respective threadedshafts 38 and 39. Saidshafts 38 and 39 are journalled in bearings at the lower ends ofcolumns 34 and 35 respectively, and carrybevel gears 40 and 41 respectively. Saidgears 40 and 41 respectively mesh withbevel gears 29 and 32 so that upon rotation of theshaft 30 in one direction thescrews 38 and 39 are rotated to cause thecolumns 36 and 37 to move upwardly. When rotation ofshaft 30 is in the opposite direction,columns 36 and 37 are caused to be moved downwardly. The direction of rotation ofshaft 30 is determined by which of theparticular bevel gears 27 and 28 is in operative position or meshing engagement with gear 26.` Also mounted on theshaft 30 is a sprocket 42 over which is mounted adrive chain 43 which is also coupled to a drive sprocket 44, actuatable by acrank wheel 9 carried at the end of an extension of the supportingbracket 15.

Mounted in theside 12 is arotatable shaft 45 havingbevel gears 46 and 47 secured to the ends thereof. Theshaft 45 is mounted inbearings 48 and 49 carried in theside 12 and one end of the shaft is also mounted in abearing 50 carried by theside 12. Supportingbrackets 51 and 52 are swingably supported on thebase 10. Thebracket 51 is mounted on a bearing carried by ashort stud shaft 53 secured toside 11 and also on a bearing carried by and freely mounted on theshaft 45 at one end thereof, Thebracket 52 is mounted on bearings carried by and freely mounted on theshaft 45 at the other end thereof.Columns 54 and 55 are rigidly secured tobrackets 51 and 52 and respectively carry telescopic supportingcolumns 56 and 57. The lower ends ofcolumns 56 and 57 are threaded and make threaded engagement withscrews 58 and 59 whose plain lower ends are journalled in the lower portions ofcolumns 54 and 5S respectively. Saidscrews 58 and 59 at their lower ends respectively carrybevel gears 60 and 61 which respectively mesh with thebevel gears 46 and 47, which upon rotation serve to move thecolumns 56 and 57 up or down depending upon the direction of rotation ofshaft 45. Fxedly secured to the upper end of each of thecolumns 37 and 57 is aU-shaped bearing bracket 60 and fixedly secured to thecolumns 36 and 56 respectively aresimilar U-shaped brackets 61 and 62.

Tabletop supporting strips 63 and 64, disposed parallel to each other, are respectively connected to columns 36-56 and columns 37-57. Each end of thestrip 63 carries a bracket bearing 65. One of saidbrackets 65 is pivotally coupled with thebracket 60, carried by column 37, through ashort stud shaft 66. Theother bracket 65, as shown in Fig. 6, is coupled with theother bracket 60, carried bycolumn 57, through ashaft 67 which extends in the space between one end of supporting strips orplates 63 and 64 to couple theplates 63 and 64. One end ofstrip 64 carries ahousing bracket 68 which is coupled with thebracket 62 through theshaft 67. Theshaft 67 carries, withinbracket 68, asprocket wheel 69 which is freely rotatable thereon. The other end ofstrip 64 carries ahousing bracket 70 which is coupled withbracket 61 through a stud shaft 71. Located within the bights of thebrackets 66', 61 and 62 and freely rotatable on theshafts 66, 67 and 71, are table top supportingrollers 72. Resting on saidrollers 72 is atable top 73.

Thetable top 73 has elongatedguide flanges 74 extending the length thereof and saidflanges 74 are disposed outside of thestrips 63 and 64. Thetable top 73 haslower guide flanges 75 located close to and below the inner lower marginal faces ofplates 63 and 64. Depending from thetable top 73 are a pair ofhousings 76, each carrying a pair of shafts 77 on which are rotatably mountedsprockets 78. Communicating with thehousings 76 is anelongated tube housing 79.

The shaft 71 has freely mounted thereon acombination sprocket 80 andworm wheel 81 xedly coupled to each other and freely movable in unison on shaft 71. Meshing with theworm wheel 81 is aworm gear 82 carried at one end of ashaft 83 journalled inbracket 70. The other end of theshaft 83 has a handle or crank 84 connected thereto. Theworm gear 82 meshing with theworm wheel 81 serves as a drive forgear 82 and also as a lock therefor. One end of achain 85 is anchored to one of thehousings 76 and this chain passes therefrom aroundsprockets 69, a pair ofsprockets 78, throughtube 79 around the other pair ofsprockets 78 aroundsprocket 80 and its other end is anchored to the other housing 76 (see Fig. ll). Upon actuation of thehandle 84 it drives the worm gear, which in turn drives thechain 85 so that the table top may be moved lengthwise back and forth on the guide and supportingstrips 63 and 64. By the employment of theworm gear 82 andwheel 81, an automatic lock is acquired whenworm gear 82 is stationary.

The operation of this unique table is as follows: If it is desired to move thetable top 73 in the righthand direction and to the dotted line position as shown in Fig. 4, this may be easily and readily accomplished by merely actuating thehandle 84 in the appropriate direction. Thus by rotation of thehandle 84 the position oftable top 73 with respect tobase 10 may be varied as required. When it is desired to raise or lower thetable top 73 to vary its horizontal position with respect to the floor, for example, this may be done by shifting thehandle 25 towards the right as shown in Fig. 4 to shift theshaft part 19 towards the right whereupon gear 27 is moved to and locked in inoperative position andgear 28 is moved to and locked in operative position, wherebygear 28 is in meshing engagement withgear 46. Then thewheel 9 is rotated to rotateshaft 30, which in turn rotates thescrews 38 and 39 and also rotates shaft 17 which in turn rotatesshaft 45 which in turn rotatesscrews 58 and 59. In this manner,columns 36, 37, 56 and 57 may be simultaneously raised or lowered in unison. When it is desired to tilt the table from horizontal position as shown in Fig. 4 to the tilted position as shown in full lines of Fig. 5, thehandle 25 is turned to the left whereupongear 28 is disengaged 'and gear 27 is engaged withgear 26. Then thewheel 9 is rotated causing rotation ofshaft 30 causing rotation of thescrews 38 and 39 in one direction and also rotation of shaft 17 in turn causing rotation of theshaft 45 which in turn causes rotation of thescrews 58 and 59 in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of thescrews 36 and 37, whereupon the vertical movement of thecolumns 36 and 37 is in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of thecolumns 56 and 57. In this general manner tilting the table to the positions either shown in full or dotted lines of Fig. 5, depending what is required at the moment, may be readily accomplished without disturbing the patient.

Since certain changes may be made in the above construction and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

l. A table comprising a base, a top, means carried by said base and extending upwardly therefrom, said top supported by said means, means for moving said top back and forth along its longitudinal axis while said base is stationary, and means for moving said top vertically with respect to said base while maintaining said top at substantially the same angle to the horizontal and also for tilting said top while the base is stationary, said last mentioned means including a variable length drive shaft a bevel gear secured to one end of said shaft and a pair of oppositely disposed bevel gears at the other end of said shaft, said tirst mentioned bevel gear always being located in the same position and the position of said oppositely disposed bevel gears being variable while that of said first mentioned bevel gear remains unchanged when the length of said drive shaft is varied.

2. A table comprising a base, a pair of extensible supports rigidly secured to said base at one end thereof and extending upwardly therefrom, a pair of extensible supports pivotally secured to said base at the other end thereof, a top, said top carried by said supports, all of said supports being pivotally coupled with said top, means for simultaneously increasing the length of both pairs of supports and to increase the length of one pair of said supports while decreasing the length of the other pair of said supports, said means including a variable length shaft and a pair of oppositely disposed bevel gears at one end thereof.

3. A table comprising a base, a pair of extensible supports rigidly secured to said base at one end thereof and extending upwardly therefrom, a pair of extensible supports pivotally secured to said base at the other end thereof, a top, said top carried by said supports, all of said supports being pivotally coupled with said top means for simultaneously increasing the length of both pairs of supports and to increase the length of one pair of said supports while decreasing the length of the other pair of said supports, a screw operatively coupled with each of said extensible supports to vary the length thereof upon rotation of said screw, a shaft operatively connected to the screws of said tirst pair of supports, a shaft operatively connected to the screws of said other pair of supports, a shaft operatively connected to said first mentioned shaft and adapted to be operatively variably connected to said second shaft to actuate all the screws in one direction and one set of screws in one direction and the other set in the opposite direction.

4. A table comprising a base, a pair of extensible supports rigidly secured to said base at one end thereof and extending upwardly therefrom, a pair of extensible supports pivotally secured to said base at the other end thereof, a top, said top carried by said supports, all of said supports being pivotally coupled with said top means for simultaneously increasing the length of both pairs of supports and to increase the length of one pair of said supports while decreasing the length of the other pair of said supports, a screw operatively coupled with each of said extensible supports to vary the length thereof upon rotation of said screw, a bevel gear secured to each of said screws, a shaft, a bevel gear carried by each end of said shaft and meshing with the gears of the screws operatively coupled with said first pair of supports, an-

other shaft, bevel gears carried by said other shaft and meshing with the gears of the screws operatively coupled with said other pair of supports and a variable length shaft, a gear secured to said variable length shaft and meshing with one of the gears carried by said rst mentioned shaft, a pair of bevel gears carried by said variable length shaft at the other end thereof and being oppositely disposed and means for varying the length of said variable length shaft to operatively connect either of said aforementioned gears with a gear carried by said second mentioned shaft.

5. A table comprising a base, a pair of supporting columns rigidly secured to said base and extending upwardly therefrom, a screw carried by each of said columns and a bevel gear secured to each of said screws, another pair of supporting columns secured to said base at the other end thereof and being swingable with respect to said base, a screw carried by each of said swingable supporting columns and a bevel gear carried by each of said last mentioned screws, a supporting element operatively connected to each of said screws and being vertically movable with respect to said base upon rotation of said screws, a shaft carried by said base, a pair 0f bevel gears secured to said shaft and meshing with the bevel gears secured to said first mentioned screws, a shaft carried by said base, a pair of bevel gears connected to said second mentioned shaft and meshing with said bevel gears secured to said second mentioned pair of screws, a variable length shaft, a bevel gear secured to one end thereof and meshing with one of the bevel gears on said first mentioned shaft and another pair of bevel gears disposed in opposing relationship, means for driving one of said shafts and means for locking in meshing relationship with one of the bevel gears of said second mentioned shaft or either of the said oppositely disposed gears.

(References on following page) UNITED STATES PATENTS Von Eschen Nov, 14, 1905 Flanders Apr. 16, 1907 5 Ashby et a1. Nov. 18, 1913 Rickard Aug. 16, 1938 6 Bell Oct. 15, 1940 Morey et a1 2- May 20, 1941 Koenigkramer June 20, 1950 Lindquist Sept. 19, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Apr. 20, 1922

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