Speculum
First Claim
1. A speculum, comprising:
- a lower member including a handle and a lower blade extending at an angle from the handle;
an upper blade movably engaged with the lower member by an angular adjustment mechanism so as to allow continuous adjustment of an angle between the upper and lower blades; and
the angular adjustment mechanism comprising;
a guiding arm;
a rotational lever connected to the upper blade and operable by a user to change the angle between the upper and lower blades, the rotational lever being movably engaged with the guiding arm and configured to move relative to the guiding arm to continuously change the angle between the upper and lower blades, anda locking member movable between a locked position to lock a positional relationship between the rotational lever and the guiding arm and an unlocked position to release a locked positional relationship between the rotational lever and the guiding arm,wherein the locking member is configured to;
(1) automatically lock the positional relationship between the rotational lever and the guiding arm along any position on the guiding arm, (2) automatically release the locked positional relationship during operation of the rotational lever in a first direction, and (3) be manually moved to the unlocked position, without requiring moving of the guiding arm, to permit operation of the rotational lever in a second direction opposite to the first direction.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A speculum, comprising a lower member including a handle and a lower blade extending at an angle from the handle, an upper blade movably engaged with the lower member by an angular adjustment mechanism so as to allow continuous adjustment of an angle between the upper and lower blades, and the angular adjustment mechanism comprising: a guiding arm, a rotational lever connected to the upper blade and operable by a user to change the angle between the upper and lower blades, the rotational lever being movably engaged with the guiding arm and configured to move relative to the guiding arm to continuously change the angle between the upper and lower blades, and a locking member movable between a locked position to lock a positional relationship between the rotational lever and the guiding arm and an unlocked position to release a locked positional relationship between the rotational lever and the guiding arm, wherein the locking member is configured to: (1) automatically lock the positional relationship between the rotational lever and the guiding arm along any position on the guiding arm, (2) automatically release the locked positional relationship during operation of the rotational lever in a first direction, and (3) be manually moved to the unlocked position to permit operation of the rotational lever in a second direction opposite to the first direction.
331 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A speculum, comprising:
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a lower member including a handle and a lower blade extending at an angle from the handle; an upper blade movably engaged with the lower member by an angular adjustment mechanism so as to allow continuous adjustment of an angle between the upper and lower blades; and the angular adjustment mechanism comprising; a guiding arm; a rotational lever connected to the upper blade and operable by a user to change the angle between the upper and lower blades, the rotational lever being movably engaged with the guiding arm and configured to move relative to the guiding arm to continuously change the angle between the upper and lower blades, and a locking member movable between a locked position to lock a positional relationship between the rotational lever and the guiding arm and an unlocked position to release a locked positional relationship between the rotational lever and the guiding arm, wherein the locking member is configured to;
(1) automatically lock the positional relationship between the rotational lever and the guiding arm along any position on the guiding arm, (2) automatically release the locked positional relationship during operation of the rotational lever in a first direction, and (3) be manually moved to the unlocked position, without requiring moving of the guiding arm, to permit operation of the rotational lever in a second direction opposite to the first direction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A speculum comprising:
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a lower member including a handle and a lower blade extending at an angle from the handle; an upper blade movably engaged with the lower member by an angular adjustment mechanism for adjustment of an angle between the upper and lower blades; and the angular adjustment mechanism configured to allow continuous adjustment of the angle between the upper and lower blades to any angle within a predetermined range from a closed state to a maximum angle between the upper and lower blades, wherein the angular adjustment mechanism comprises a lever mechanism for continuously adjusting the angle between the upper and lower blades and a rocker pivotably mounted on the lever mechanism, the rocker is configured to be pivotable between a locked position that locks the lever mechanism and a positional relationship between the upper and lower blades and an unlocked position that unlocks the lever mechanism and releases a locked positional relationship between the upper and lower blades, wherein the rocker is configured to;
(1) automatically lock the positional relationship between the upper and lower blades at any selected angle within the predetermined range, (2) automatically release the locked positional relationship between the upper and lower blades when the angular adjustment mechanism is operated to increase the angle between the upper and lower blades, and (3) be manually moved to the unlocked position to permit operation of the angular adjustment mechanism to decrease the angle between the upper and lower blades. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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22. A speculum comprising:
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a lower member including a handle having a proximal end and a distal end and a lower blade extending at an angle from the proximal end of the handle; an upper blade movably engaged with the lower member by an angular adjustment mechanism so as to allow adjustment of an angle between the upper and lower blades; and an illumination assembly including at least one light source, at least one battery provided in the handle and a battery ejection mechanism for removal of the at least one battery from the handle via an opening formed in the handle, wherein the battery ejection mechanism includes an operating member configured to be operated by a user to cause the at least one battery to be released from the handle, wherein the battery ejection mechanism remains attached to the speculum after the at least one battery has been released, wherein the battery ejection mechanism comprises a housing for holding the at least one battery in a retained state and when the operating member is operated by a user, the housing is caused to move from the retained state to an ejected state, wherein the at least one battery is released from the housing in the ejected state for removal from the handle, and wherein at least a portion of the housing is positioned within the handle in the retained state and the ejected state, wherein the housing includes an open side and wherein in the retained state, the at least one battery is retained within the housing by a wall of the handle, and wherein;
the handle includes a main body having an open rear side and a rear faceplate configured to be engaged with the main body and to cover the open rear side of the main body, the battery ejection mechanism is engaged with the rear faceplate of the handle, and the at least one battery is retained within the housing by a front wall of the main body. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25)
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26. A speculum, comprising:
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a lower blade and an upper blade; and an angular adjustment mechanism configured to allow continuous adjustment of an angle between the upper and lower blades, the angular adjustment mechanism comprising; a guiding arm; a rotational lever connected to the upper blade, the rotational lever configured to be operable to adjust the angle between the upper blade and the lower blade and configured to move relative to the guiding arm to continuously change the angle between the upper and lower blades; and a lock configured to be movable between a first position that locks the upper blade and the lower blade at an angle and a second position that unlocks the upper blade and the lower blade from a locked angle, wherein the lock is configured to, in the first position, automatically lock the rotational lever at any point along the guiding arm, and wherein the lock is a distinct component from the rotational lever and the guiding arm. - View Dependent Claims (27)
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Specification