US4627426A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Tear-away sterile and absorbent sheet for operating table use
Assignee: American Industrial Research Inc
•
Filing: 1985-05-17
•
Granted: 1986-12-09
•
Expires: 2005-05-17
Abstract
Abstract A highly absorbent sheet or pad sized to and placed onto the top of an operating table is weakened longitudinally through the center to form paired separable center-joined sections for lateral removal to respective sides of a patient lying on the sheet and centered longitudinally therewith. After surgery, the absorbent pad carrying a significant mass of blood can be quickly removed from the patient by pulling with sufficient force on the opposites sides of the pad, severing the pad centrally at the weakened portion. The weight of the patient tends to maintain one section of the pad beneath that portion of the patient as the other section is torn laterally away from the one section. The pad may comprise several layers with one or more layers being weakened by thinning the sheet material or perforating the same longitudinally. Velcro material in strip form on the table and on the bottom of the pad may be employed for releasably fixing the pad on the table at a desired position but permitting removal of the pad after severing of the same along the longitudinal center line. Dual, opposite folded sheet sections linked by tabs at the center folds with the fold openings to the outside constitute an alternative pad or sheet for such use.
Inventors
- 👤 Jack Wegener
- 👤 Raynor A. Johnson
- 👤 Robert Weedling
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 04:52
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61B; A61B46/00; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S5/00; Y10S5/922; Y10T; Y10T428/00; Y10T428/15
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim
156 words
A tear-way sterile absorbent material operating table sheet for operating table use, said absorbent material sheet being adapted for placement in an overlying position on the top of an operating table and between a patient centered longitudinally and laterally thereon and the table top, the improvement wherein said sheet is of a length on the order of the length of the patient and is of a width in excess of the width of the patient and comprises: two separable sheet sections joined along a longitudinal centerline underlying and in line with the patient supported thereby by a weakened line extending longitudinally through the longitudinal centerline of said sheet, such that said sheet sections may be removed by tearing of the sheet along the weakened line from one end to the other by lateral pulling of the sections apart to effect separation and removal from beneath the patient, without moving the patient relative to the table top.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
156 words
A tear-way sterile absorbent material operating table sheet for operating table use, said absorbent material sheet being adapted for placement in an overlying position on the top of an operating table and between a patient centered longitudinally and laterally thereon and the table top, the improvement wherein said sheet is of a length on the order of the length of the patient and is of a width in excess of the width of the patient and comprises: two separable sheet sections joined along a longitudinal centerline underlying and in line with the patient supported thereby by a weakened line extending longitudinally through the longitudinal centerline of said sheet, such that said sheet sections may be removed by tearing of the sheet along the weakened line from one end to the other by lateral pulling of the sections apart to effect separation and removal from beneath the patient, without moving the patient relative to the table top.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
57 words
The sterile absorbent material operating table sheet as claimed in claim 1 wherein said sheet includes an underlying liquid impervious layer extending the full width of the sheet, said layer being longitudinally weakened along a centerline thereof, at least one overlying absorbent material layer as separate side-by-side segments of approximately one-half the width of the underlying layer.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
29 words
The sterile abosrbent material operating table sheet as claimed in claim 2, wherein a line of perforations exits along the longitudinal weakened centerline of said underlying liquid impervious layer.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
39 words
The sterile absorbent material operating table sheet as claimed in claim 3, wherein said underlying liquid impervious layer comprises a thin flexible plastic sheet, and a thinned portion of said thin flexible plastic sheet extends along said longitudinal centerline.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
57 words
The sterile absorbent material operating table sheet as claimed in claim 4, comprising, in order, an underlying thin flexible film of a liquid impervious plastic, an intermediate relatively thick porous absorbent material layer, and an upper porous gauze layer, and wherein all three layers of said absorbent sheet are perforated down the longitudinal centerline of the sheet.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
108 words
The sterile abosrbent material operating table sheet as claimed in claim 5, wherein said center joined separable segments comprise a pair of back-to-back folded absorbent sheet sections opening laterally away from each other, and weak connection means exist at said folds of said folded sheet sections such that separation at the center of said sheet may be effected by grasping a free end of each folded sheet material sections remote from the connection at said folds and pulling laterally to separate said sections and cause the one layer of each folded section to slide over the other layer thereof in being pulled laterally outwardly from beneath the patient.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
39 words
The sterile absorbent material operating table sheet as claimed in claim 6, wherein said weak connection means is formed by a plurality of lateral tabs having opposite ends connected, respectively, to the folded sheet sections at the fold thereof.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
35 words
The sterile absorbent material operating table sheet as claimed in claim 7, wherein said folded sections are joined at their folds, and wherein a line of perforations are formed within the joint between the folds.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3030957A
Cited
US3273176A
Cited
US3260260A
Cited
US3380086A
Cited
FR2399824A1
Cited
US4253451A
Cited
US4358865A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1989-12-08 | 1990-06-09 | 1990-12-09 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1993-12-08 | 1994-06-09 | 1994-12-09 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1997-12-08 | 1998-06-09 | 1998-12-09 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |