Acetabular cup inserting instrument

Claim 1

An acetabular cup inserting instrument comprising: a first elongated handle having a proximal end, a distal end and an interconnecting intermediate section therebetween, said handle having means on the distal end thereof for holding an acetabular cup, a second handle extending from the intermediate section and rotatable about said first handle, a ratchet means for yieldably retaining said second handle in a plurality of discrete angular positions as said second handle rotates about said first handle, and wherein said ratchet means includes a housing attached to said second handle, a control knob rotatable within said housing, and a spring biased pawl in said housing biased into engagement with a plurality of notches carried by the first handle, and wherein said pawl is regulated by said control knob, and wherein the housing further includes means for limiting the range of travel of the knob within the housing, thus providing an upper unlocked limit and a lower locked limit, such that when the control knob is rotated to the lower locked limit, the pawl becomes locked to one of said notches, thereby locking said second handle to said first handle at a desired angular position, and when the control knob is rotated to the upper unlocked limit, the pawl remains continuously biased into engagement with the notches of the ratchet means, such that the pawl positively engages the notches of the ratchet means as the second handle is rotated about the first handle, thus enabling the second handle to be yieldably retained at a desired angular position relative to the first handle, yet easily moved when rotation force is applied to the second handle to overcome the mechanical and frictional engagement between the pawl and the notches.