Spring-Loaded Bedrail Clamp for Fast Secure Rail Attachment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bedrail clamps are cumbersome and require multiple adjustments to accommodate rails of varying heights and shapes, making them inefficient for rapid installation and use in medical settings.
Innovation Solution
A quick-release bedrail clamp with a body, jaw, and actuating mechanism that uses a biasing member, such as a spring, to automatically adjust and securely attach to rails of different dimensions with minimal user effort, allowing for one-handed operation and secure attachment without the need for screws or latches.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional C-shaped clamps with pivoting jaws are used, then the clamp can securely hold instruments, but it requires multiple motions and adjustments to accommodate varying rail heights and shapes
Solution Approach 1:
The clamp incorporates a spring-loaded jaw that dynamically adjusts to different rail positions and shapes. The biasing member continuously applies force to maintain engagement, allowing the clamp to adapt automatically without manual adjustment for varying rail heights and cross-sections.
Solution Approach 2:
The clamp uses a spring mechanism that automatically adjusts the jaw position and engagement force based on the rail dimensions. The system self-regulates to maintain secure attachment across different rail configurations without requiring user intervention for adjustment.
2Measurement precision
If screw rail clamps with articulating arms are used, then precise placement and positioning is achieved, but the device becomes too cumbersome for fast clamping
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the time-consuming screw adjustment mechanism and complex articulating arms from the clamp design. By extracting these cumbersome elements and replacing them with a spring-loaded system, the patent achieves both precise placement through the compliant jaw and fast clamping through elastic deformation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual screw adjustment mechanism with a spring-based elastic system. This substitution eliminates the need for threaded fasteners and multiple adjustment motions, allowing rapid clamping while maintaining positioning accuracy through the spring's natural compliance.
3Adaptability or versatility
If clamps are designed to accommodate various rail sizes and shapes, then versatility is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spring-loaded jaw mechanism serves multiple functions simultaneously: it accommodates different rail heights, adapts to various cross-sectional shapes, maintains secure engagement, and requires minimal operation. This universal mechanism replaces what would otherwise require multiple specialized clamp designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The clamp uses the spring's elastic properties to change its engagement parameters dynamically. The biasing member's force and the jaw's position automatically adjust based on the rail dimensions, allowing a single simple structure to adapt to varying rail specifications without complex adjustment mechanisms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables rapid and efficient installation of medical accessories on various rail sizes and shapes, increasing efficiency and reducing the need for adjustments, ensuring secure attachment and easy release with a single motion.
Implementation Method 1
a biasing member, such as a spring, having a first portion and a second portion, wherein the first portion of the biasing member is mechanically coupled to the jaw
Data Source
AI summary
A quick lock and release clamp mountable onto the bedrail of an operating table, hospital bed, and the like. The clamp includes a body, a foot, and a mouth having at least three sides defined by the body and foot. A biasing member is coupled to at least one of the body and the foot, wherein an actuating member coupled to the biasing member is configured to transmit a force to the mouth via the biasing member. A protrusion extending from the body and towards the foot engages the bedrail, thereby fixing the clamp onto the bedrail, by moving the actuating member in a first direction.