Patent ID: 7717916
Filing Date: 2010-05-18
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. Apparatus for external fixation of bone fragments, wherein the apparatus comprises: a housing including at least one internal mounting surface and a plurality of apertures; a plurality of pin holders held within the housing, wherein each of the pin holders includes a pin mounting hole, a spherically rounded surface engaging at least one of the at least one internal mounting surfaces within the housing, and at least one deformable portion; a plurality of bone pins, each held within the pin mounting hole in a pin holder within the plurality of pin holders to extend through an aperture in the plurality of apertures, wherein an angle, relative to the housing, at which each of the bone pins extends through the aperture is varied by pivoting the pin holder within the housing; and clamping means holding each pin holder in the plurality of pin holders in place within the housing and deflecting the deformable portion of each pin holder to hold the bone pin in place within the pin holder, wherein the clamping means includes at least one clamping member engaging at least one of the pin holders in the plurality of pin holders to hold the pin holder in place within the housing and simultaneously deflecting the deformable portion of the pin holder to hold the bone pin in place within the pin holder, wherein each of the pin holders is formed with a spherical external surface, wherein the pin mounting hole extends in a straight line through a center of the spherical external surface, wherein each of the pin holders includes a first slot extending in a direction perpendicular to the pin mounting hole across the pin mounting hole and partially across the pin holder, displaced inward from a first end of the pin mounting hole, forming a first deflectable portion of the pin holder between the first slot and the first end of the pin mounting hole wherein each of the pin holders additionally includes a second slot extending in a direction perpendicular to the pin mounting hole across the pin mounting hole and partially across the pin holder, displaced inward from a second end of the pin mounting hole, forming a second deflectable portion of the pin holder between the second slot and the second end of the pin mounting hole, wherein, when the clamping member is driven into engagement with each pin holder, a first deformable portion of the pin holder, extending between the first end of the pin mounting hole and the first slot, and a second deformable portion of the pin holder, extending between the second end of the pin mounting hole and the second slot, are deformed so that a first portion of the pin mounting hole, within the first deformable portion of the pin holder, and a second portion of the pin mounting hole, within the second deformable portion of the pin holder, are deflected into misalignment with a central portion of the pin mounting hole, extending between the first and second slots.