Abstract:
A ceiling mount for a medical light shall positions a light body at different points of a treatment table in a simple manner. A bracket system is fastened to a lifting arm that can be actuated by a motor and which has at its free end a bracket guided in parallel for the mounting flange of the bracket system.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention pertains to a ceiling mount for a medical light as well as a system and process using a ceiling mount and a medical light. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Medical lights are usually arranged on the ceiling of a medical treatment room by means of a multiply articulated arm system. The light or lights can be pivoted by means of the multiply articulated arm system both in height and laterally into a desired position. 
     A medical light of this type has become known from EP 548 589 B1. The suspension of the light body comprises horizontal arms or arms sloped to the horizontal, which are connected to one another by individual hinges. The light body can thus be positioned at a suitable point above a medical treatment table. 
     The drawback of the prior-art light is that due to the length of the arms and the number of hinges, it can be pivoted only over a limited range within the treatment room. In case of the usual fastening of the multiply articulated arm system on the ceiling, only positions of the light body above the treatment table can be normally obtained. For certain forms of treatment, e.g., stereotactic procedures, it must be possible to illuminate a patient from any position. This cannot be achieved with prior-art medical lights designed for mounting on the ceiling. 
     SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     The basic object of the present invention is to improve a ceiling mount for a medical light such that the light body can be positioned on all sides of the medical treatment table in a simple manner. 
     According to the invention, a ceiling mount for a medical light is provided with a bracket system connected by hinges with a mounting flange and with a light body. A lifting arm is provided that can be actuated by a motor on a ceiling bracket. A lifting arm has at its free end a bracket guided in parallel for a mounting flange. 
     The advantage of the present invention is essentially that the mounting flange of the bracket system is fastened at the end of a lifting arm pivotable by means of a motor around an axis and the bracket system can be prepositioned as a result within the medical treatment room such that the final setting of the light body can be performed from the position of the lifting arm. For fastening the bracket system, the lifting arm has a bracket at its end. This bracket is displaced in parallel to itself in the different positions that the lifting arm can assume, so that the bracket system located thereon can also be displaced in parallel to itself. Due to the motor-actuated lifting arm, which can also be blocked by a drive motor in its preselected position, the mounting flange of the bracket system has a fixed reference point, from which the desired position of the light body can be set. The combination of a lifting arm which can be pivoted by means of a motor and can also be blocked with a freely positionable bracket system also offers the advantage that no measures, going beyond the usual amount need to be taken for balancing the weight within the bracket system, are needed. As a result a number of commercially available bracket systems designed for fastening on a ceiling can be used. Even though lifting arms pivotable by means of a motor have generally been known from the state of the art, these had not been used for fastening treatment and monitoring devices before. The combination of a lifting arm that can be pivoted by means of a motor with a bracket system for a light body opens up the possibility of obtaining a new field of use for pivotable light bodies with existing components. This possibility of combination, which is surprising for the person skilled in the art, has not been hitherto recognized, even though it is favorable in terms of costs and can be embodied without appreciable design modification efforts. 
     The bracket system advantageously comprises a horizontal arm with a mounting flange connected to it in an articulated manner, a vertical arm and a pivoting arm. A first hinge is arranged between the horizontal arm and the vertical arm and a second hinge is arranged between the vertical arm and the pivoting arm. A first pivot axis of the first hinge extends flush with the first vertical arm and a second pivot axis of the second hinge is directed at right angles to the first pivot axis. 
     An exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown in the drawing and will be explained in greater detail below. The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the drawings: 
     FIG. 1 is a side view of a longitudinal section of a motor-adjustable ceiling-mounted pivoting system according to the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a detail of the drive of the ceiling-mounted pivoting system in view A according to FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a light body on a bracket system according to the invention; and 
     FIG. 4 is a ceiling mount according to the present invention in a medical treatment room. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to the drawings in particular, FIG. 1 shows the side view of the longitudinal section of a ceiling-mounted pivoting system  1  with a ceiling bracket  2  and a lifting arm  4  pivotable via a first bearing  3  in relation to the ceiling bracket  2 . A bracket  6  is fastened to the free end of the lifting arm  4  by means of a second bearing  5 . A profiled strut  9  extending within the lifting arm  4  is fastened to the ceiling bracket  2  via a third bearing  7  and to the bracket  6  via a fourth bearing  8 . A pivoting lever  10 , which is used for the height adjustment of the lifting arm  4  in conjunction with a lifting drive  11 , is connected to the lifting arm  4  and to the first bearing  3  The pivoting lever  10  is arranged an the lifting arm  4  by means of fastening screws  12 . The lifting drive  11  comprises a bracket  13 , which is arranged on the ceiling bracket  2  pivotably by means of a hinge  14 . A drive motor  15  and a spindle  16  with a spindle bearing  17  are located on the bracket  13 . Via a spindle nut  18  and a coupling bearing  26 , which together form a coupling element between the spindle  16  and the pivoting lever  10 , the pivoting lever  10  is connected to the spindle  16  in an articulated manner. The profiled strut  9  within the lifting arm  4  is used essentially for the parallel guiding of the bracket  6 . The profiled strut  9  is U-shaped, corresponding to the square cross-sectional area of the lifting arm  4 , and is located in the vicinity of an upper inner wall  28  of the lifting arm  4 . Due to the parallelogram-like arrangement of the bearings  3 ,  5 ,  7 ,  8 , a hollow space  19 , which can be used for accommodating supply lines, not shown in FIG. 1, is obtained within the lifting arm  4  between the profiled strut  9  and a lower inner wall  29  of the lifting arm  4 . Because of the U-shaped contour of the profiled strut  9  and the shell-like arrangement of the profiled strut  9  within the lifting arm  4 , the inner cross-sectional area of the lifting arm  4  is not substantially reduced by the profiled strut  9 . An adjusting screw  20  for the parallel alignment of the bracket  6 , with which the effective length of the profiled strut  9  can be essentially changed, is arranged at the fourth bearing  8 . 
     FIG. 2 shows the lifting drive  11  in view A according to FIG.  1 . Identical components are designated with the same reference numbers as in FIG.  1 . The drive shaft  21  of the drive motor  15  is connected to the spindle  16  via a chain drive  22 . The hinge  14  comprises hinge bushings  23  at the bracket  13  and bushings  25  at the ceiling bracket  2 , the ceiling bracket  2  being shown only partly in FIG. 2. A hinge pin  24  is passed through the bushings  23 ,  25 . 
     If the position of the lifting arm is to be changed during the operation, the spindle  16  is rotated with the drive motor  15  and the coupling element  18  moves in the direction of arrow  27 . The spindle nut  18  on the spindle  16  now performs a purely linear translatory movement, while the coupling bearing  26  moves in a circular path in relation to the first bearing  3 . With the drive motor  15  switched off, the spindle nut  18  on the spindle  16  is blocked, so that the lifting arm  4  remains in its position. 
     FIG. 3 illustrates a bracket system  30  for a light body  31 , which comprises a horizontal arm  33  connected to a mounting flange  32  by means of a flange, a vertical arm  34 , a first hinge  35  between the horizontal arm  33  and the vertical arm  34 , a pivoting arm  36 , a second hinge  37  between the vertical arm  34  and the pivoting arm  36 , as well as an articulated arm connection  38  between the pivoting arm  36  and the light body  31 . The first hinge  35  makes possible the rotation of the vertical arm  34  in relation to the horizontal arm  33  around a first pivot axis  39  extending flush with the vertical arm  34 . The movement of the pivot arm  36  takes place, by contrast, around the second pivot axis  40 , which extends at right angles to the first pivot axis  39 . The horizontal arm  33  can be rotated in relation to the mounting flange  32  around a third pivot axis  41 , which extends in parallel to the first pivot axis  39 . 
     FIG. 4 illustrates in combination the ceiling-mounted pivoting system  1  with the lifting arm  4  and the bracket system  30  with the light body  31  in a medical treatment room  42 . Identical components are designated by the same reference numbers as in FIGS. 1 through 3. Various positions of the light body  31  in relation to a treatment table  43  are indicated in FIG. 4 by broken lines. The lifting arm  4  is pivoted out toward the ceiling  44 . If, e.g., a treatment area below the treatment table  43  is to be illuminated, the lifting arm is pivoted downward in the direction of the floor  45 , and the bracket  6  and the mounting flange  32  of the bracket system  30  move on a semicircular arc  46 . When a corresponding working position has been reached for the bracket system  30  with the lifting arm  4 , the lifting arm is blocked and the bracket system  30  can then be brought into the final position together with the light body  31 . 
     While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the principles of the invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.