Sterile drape for use in making surgical slush

• US 5,502,980 A
• Filed: 03/07/1995
• Issued: 04/02/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microtek Medical Incorporated (Ecolab, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Medical Company, Inc. (Ecolab, Inc.)
• Inventors: Faries, Durward I. Jr., Heymann, Bruce R., Licata, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Tapolcai, William E.
• Application Number:
  US08/399,976
• Time in Patent Office: 392 Days
• Field of Search: 62/66, 62/340, 62/342, 62/68, 128/846, 128/849, 4/DIG. 18, 4/452, 4/484, 4/580, 4/655
• US Class Current: 62/342
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 46/10 specially adapted for instruments, e.g. microscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 7/0085 Devices for generating hot or cold treatment fluids
• CPC Class Codes: F25C 1/125 on flexible surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: F25C 2301/002 Producing ice slurries
• CPC Class Codes: F25C 5/06 by deforming bodies with which the ice is in contact, e.g. using inflatable members

Abstract

A sterile drape assembly includes a sheet of sterile drape material bonded to a disk-like member. The drape establishes a sterile field atop a surgical slush machine and is conformable to a cooling basin to provide a drape container impervious to the sterile slush medium. The disk-like member is preferably bonded to the bottom of the drape container and is engageable by a movable member projecting into the basin. The movable member (e.g., a longitudinally reciprocable vertical shaft) moves the member and the drape to dislodge frozen pieces of the sterile medium that attach to the sides of the drape container.

Claims

1. A surgical drape assembly for use as a sterile container of sterile medium in a surgical slush machine having a cooled basin recessed in the top surface of the machine, said machine including a longitudinally reciprocal vertically oriented shaft, said drape assembly comprising:

a sterile conformable sheet having a top side adapted to face away from said machine and an underside adapted to face said machine, said sheet being of sufficient size to cover and hang down from the top surface of said machine, said sheet having a container portion adapted to be substantially conformed to said basin; and

a disk-like member secured to the underside of said container portion of said sheet, said disk-like member including a resilient lipped wall comprising a series of spaced wall increments configured to removably engage said disk-like member to said shaft.

2. A drape assembly for use with a surgical slush machine, said slush machine having a cooled basin recessed in the top surface of the machine, said machine includes a rotating shaft projecting vertically into said basin from below said basin, said drape assembly providing a sterile drape container conformable to said basin to contain sterile slush medium formed by the cooling of the basin, said drape assembly comprising:

a sheet of material having a top side and an underside, said sheet being impervious to said medium, said sheet being sized to overlie and hang down from said machine while forming a drape container substantially conformed to said cooling basin;

a disk-like member having a top surface and a bottom surface and having said top surface bonded to the underside of said sheet below said drape container, said disk-like member being sufficiently rigid to support said sterile medium without substantial bending or flexing;

support means for supporting said bottom surface of said disk-like member at an angle tilted with respect to said vertical rotating shaft; and

means for attaching said tilted support means to said vertical rotating shaft.

3. The drape assembly of claim 2 further comprising freely rotatable rollers disposed between said support means and said disk-like member bottom surface.

4. The drape assembly of claim 2 wherein said support means is a plate extending radially in at least one direction to the edge of said disk-like member.

5. The drape assembly of claim 4 further comprising an annular lip extending from said disk-like member bottom surface and wheels attached to said support plate disposed to freely rotate in said annular lip.

6. The drape assembly of claim 5 wherein said support plate comprises a plurality of radially extending equally angularly spaced arms, each of said arms having a wheel attached thereto, said wheels freely rotatable in said annular lip.

7. The drape assembly of claim 6 having four equally spaced arms.

8. The drape assembly of claim 7 further comprising four equally spaced freely rotatable rollers disposed between said support plate and said disk-like member bottom surface.

9. The drape assembly of claim 2 wherein said attachment means comprises an annular collar attached to said support means and fastened to said vertical shaft by an angled set-screw.

10. The drape assembly of claim 2 wherein said disk-like member has an annular shape.