Abstract:
A bracket for mounting a portable aspirator to a wall. The bracket allows easy securing and removing of the aspirator with one hand in emergency situations. The bracket will also secure the aspirator against a 10 G loading force. Electrical leads on both the aspirator and the bracket allow the aspirator to charge when secured.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
     This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/376,521, filed Feb. 28, 2003, now abandoned, which claimed priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/360,397, filed Feb. 28, 2002, the disclosures of which are incorporated fully herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a bracket for securing a portable aspirator to a wall. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In recent years, portable aspirators have gained popularity, in part due to an increased awareness of the need for sanitary aspiration techniques for avoiding the spread of infectious disease. These aspirators are often used by fire fighters, paramedics, and other rescue and health workers. 
     Ambulances, especially those used in foreign countries, have very small patient compartments which must fit at least a patient, an emergency medical technician, and a multitude of medical equipment. Furthermore, in most countries, any device stored in an ambulance must be capable of withstanding a 10 G loading force without becoming unsecured. Due to the restricted space and the 10 G loading force requirement, in many situations portable aspirators are precluded from being carried in the patient compartment. There exists a need for a bracket which is capable of securing the aspirator against a 10 G loading force, on which a portable aspirator can be mounted without taking up limited floor space, and which takes up very little space in the patient compartment in general. 
     In emergency situations, emergency workers must handle many pieces of equipment simultaneously and they must be able to easily remove equipment from their secured positions in the ambulance. There exists a need for a bracket on which a portable aspirator may be easily secured and from which a portable aspirator may be easily removed using one hand. 
     Typically, after a portable aspirator has been used, the aspirator is plugged into a power source to recharge its batteries. If a portable aspirator finds many continuous uses in one day while out in rescues with an ambulance, its battery may run dead preventing its further use. A system, therefore, that allows the portable aspirator to be recharged while being securely transported within the ambulance can provide a great benefit to the health and rescue industries. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a bracket for mounting a portable aspirator to a wall in an ambulance or the wall of a hospital crash cart. The bracket is designed to allow easy securing and removing of the aspirator with one hand. The aspirator can be secured to the wall by slipping it onto the bracket. Once secured, the portable aspirator can withstand a 10 G loading force without becoming unsecured from the bracket. Nevertheless, the aspirator can be removed with just one hand by activating a squeeze plate with a thumb and lifting the aspirator off of the bracket by an attached handle. The bracket also has two electrical contacts which connect to two matching electrical contacts on the aspirator when it is secured to the wall, charging the aspirator by drawing current from the vehicle, crash cart, or the wall. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of the portable aspirator secured to the bracket on the wall. 
         FIG. 2  is a back view of the portable aspirator secured to the bracket. 
         FIG. 3  is an isometric view of the portable aspirator separated from the bracket. 
         FIG. 4  is an isometric view of the portable aspirator secured to the bracket on the wall. 
         FIG. 5   a  is a back view of the portable aspirator secured to the bracket, with guidelines showing the position of various cross sectional views. 
         FIG. 5   b  is a cross sectional view through the notch in the portable aspirator and the latch in the bracket, showing the latch in its released position. 
         FIG. 5   c  is a cross sectional view through the notch in the portable aspirator and the latch on the bracket, showing the latch in its locked position. 
         FIG. 5   d  is a cross sectional view through the guide plate on the portable aspirator and the ramp on the bracket. 
         FIG. 5   e  is a cross sectional view through the electrical contacts on both the portable aspirator and the bracket. 
         FIG. 6  is an isometric view of the bracket. 
         FIG. 7  is a back view of the portable aspirator and the rigid ring. 
         FIG. 8  is a top view of the portable aspirator and the rigid ring. 
         FIG. 9  is a side view of the portable aspirator secured to the bracket on the wall. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is a bracket  1  ( FIGS. 3 &amp; 6 ) for attaching an aspirator  3  to a wall  5 . Aspirator  3  may be of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,627 or any other commonly known type of aspirator  3 . Wall  5  may be the inside wall of an ambulance, the outside wall of a hospital crash cart, or any other wall to which aspirator  3  may be attached. Bracket  1  holds aspirator  3  firmly and allows for quick and easy release of aspirator  3  using only one hand, as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2 &amp; 3 , the back of aspirator  3  has two “L” shaped risers  7  which serve as upwardly opening pockets and form a space for bracket  1  to attach to aspirator  3 . Risers  7  are positioned symmetrically in the two upper quadrants of the back of aspirator  3 , with the vertical sides in the L&#39;s parallel to the sides of aspirator  3  and with the vertical sides farther from rather than closer to each other. Risers  7  may be formed in the back of aspirator  3  from the material of the casing of aspirator  3 , e.g. plastic. Alternatively, risers  7  may be formed separately and later attached to the back of aspirator  3 . 
     Mounted on top of each riser  7 , parallel to wall  5 , is a guide plate  9 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . Guide plates  9  interact with risers  7  to form two pockets  11  for receiving bracket  1 . Pockets  11  engage aspirator  3  more securely than possible with only one pocket. The opening of pockets  11  face down and toward each other, so they form a sheath for bracket  1 . Guide plates  9  may be attached to risers  7  with screws and guide plates  9  may be made of any strong and light material such as any number of alloys. 
     Bracket  1  may be formed from a generally rectangular piece of strong and light material such as any number of alloys. The shorter ends of bracket  1  are each twice bent at ninety degrees, as shown in  FIG. 6 , to create an outwardly facing flange  15  parallel to a main body  13  of bracket  1 . Two small round holes  17  are formed in each flange  15  for mounting to wall  5 , as shown in  FIGS. 5   b  &amp;  5   c .  FIGS. 5   b - 5   e  are cross sectional views through various parts of bracket  1  and aspirator  3  as shown in  FIG. 5   a . A small rectangular opening  19  is formed in each of the two sections of the bracket  1  which are perpendicular to main body  13  and flange  15 , as shown in  FIGS. 5   d  &amp;  5   e . These openings  19  are aligned with each other and the long edge of opening  19  starts at the right angle connecting to flange  15  and extends toward, but not quite reaches, the right angle connecting to main body  13 . 
     One of the sides of bracket  1  which does not form any part of flange  15  extends away from the rectangle to form a protruding section  21 , as shown in  FIGS. 3 &amp; 6 . Protruding section  21  connects to the rest of bracket  1  only at its bottom edge. On the side of protruding section  21  facing away from aspirator  3  are two ramps  23 , as shown in  FIGS. 3 &amp; 5   d . These ramps  23  are wedge shaped and made of a low friction material. Ramps  23  are mounted on the outside corners of protruding section  21  in a vertical position with the small end of the wedge pointed up and the slanted side facing away from aspirator  3 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 &amp; 5   d , as pockets  11  on aspirator  3  begin to engage protruding section  21  of bracket  1 , the bottoms of guide plates  9  engage the tops of ramps  23 . As aspirator  3  is lowered onto the top of protruding section  21 , the slant of ramps  23  translates some of the downward vertical force exerted by guide plates  9  to a horizontal direction and pulls aspirator  3  toward bracket  1 , eventually closing the space between main body  13  of bracket  1  and aspirator  3  and wall  5 . When aspirator  3  initially engages bracket  1 , the space between guide plate  9  and ramp  23  is larger than when aspirator  1  is fully mounted on bracket  3 . This larger space makes it easier to engage bracket  1  and aspirator  3 . 
     When aspirator  1  is in its final position fully mounted on bracket  3 , aspirator  1  is supported in the vertical direction by the bottom of the horizontal surface of risers  7  final on the tops of protruding section  21  and wedged against ramps  23 , so aspirator  1  does not move. Aspirator  1  is further supported by the bottom of the horizontal surface of guide plate  9  resting on the tops of the two sections of bracket  1  which are perpendicular to main body  13  and flange  15 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , at the far end of protruding section  21  of bracket  1 , along the vertical midline, a “U” shaped yoke  25  is connected to the side of bracket  1  facing away from aspirator  3 . Yoke  25  may be made of the same material of bracket  1  and it may be welded onto bracket  1 . One small round hole is formed in each side of the “U” forming yoke  25 . The holes are aligned with each other, allowing the mounting of a lever  27  in the “U” on a pivot rod  31  inserted through the holes. Yoke  25  is positioned so that lever  27  is mounted in the vertical midline of bracket  1 . 
     Above pivot rod  31 , lever  27  expands to form a squeeze plate  29 . Below pivot rod  31 , lever  27  connects with a perpendicularly disposed latch  33 , having a transverse arm  34  and forming a “T” shape. As illustrated by  FIGS. 5   b ,  5   c  and  5   d , latch  33  is moveable between a position in which aspirator  3  is held by bracket  1  and a position in which aspirator  3  is not held by bracket  1 . As shown in  FIGS. 3 &amp; 4 , the two ends of latch  33  form two vertically positioned locking wedges  39  with the small end of locking wedges  39  pointed upwards and the slanted side of locking wedges  39  facing aspirator  3 . 
     Below latch  33 , mounted on the vertical midline of the side of main body  13  of bracket  1  facing away from aspirator  3 , is a bias arm  35 . This is shown in  FIGS. 3 &amp; 5   d . Bias arm  35  is made from a small rectangular piece of resilient material, such as any number of alloys. The longitudinal ends of the rectangle are bent away from each other, so that when one end of bias arm  35  is mounted to main body  13 , the other end forms a lip which overlaps latch  33 . The bends in bias arm  35  are such that bias arm  35  exerts force on latch  33  tending to urge latch  33  toward aspirator  3 . Lever  27  and latch  33  may be made of any strong and light material such as any number of alloys. Furthermore, lever  27 , squeeze plate  29 , and latch  33  may be made as one piece, forming a “T” shape. 
     At the free ends of the vertical sides of risers  7 , each riser  7  forms an actuating wedge  37 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 &amp; 3 . Each actuating wedge  37  slopes upwardly from the back of aspirator  3 . Referring to  FIG. 5   d , as the interaction of guide plates  9  and ramps  23  pull aspirator  3  toward its final position on bracket  1 , actuating wedges  37  push on locking wedges  39  on latch  33  and push latch  33  away from aspirator  3  and toward wall  5 , thereby increasing the tension in bias arm  35 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 &amp; 3 , on each riser  7 , between guide plate  9  and actuating wedge  37 , there is a rectangular notch  41  formed in the riser  7 . Latch keepers in the form of notches  41  are aligned with each other and the long edge of notch  41  starts at the inside edge of the vertical side of riser  7  and extends toward, but not quite reaches, the outside edge. As aspirator  3  reaches its final position on bracket  1 , latch  33  reaches notches  41  in riser  7 . The tension in bias arm  35  moves locking wedges  39  of latch  33  into notches  41  and secures it there until the bracket is unlatched. 
     With locking wedges  39  of latch  33  in notches  41  on riser  7 , as in  FIG. 5   c , aspirator  3  is in its locked position. When someone tries to remove aspirator  3  by pulling it up, the bottom part of locking wedge  39  abuts the bottom part of notch  41  and prevents vertical translation. When someone tries to remove aspirator  3  by pulling it away from wall  5 , the side of guide plates  9  facing aspirator  3  abuts ramps  23  and prevents horizontal translation. Therefore, with locking wedges  39  of latch  33  in notches  41  on riser  7 , aspirator  3  is securely attached to wall  5 . 
     In order to lock aspirator  3  into bracket  1 , a user would stand in front of bracket  1  mounted on wall  5  holding aspirator  3  by a handle  43 . The user would then position aspirator  3  with its backside facing wall  5  and juxtapose pockets  11  formed by risers  7  and guide plates  9  with protruding section  21  on bracket  1 . After lifting aspirator  3  so that pockets  11  are above protruding section  21  and ramps  23 , the user would lower aspirator  3  onto bracket  1  so that guide plates  9  engage ramps  23 . 
     As aspirator  3  is lowered toward its final position on bracket  1 , actuating wedges  37  on risers  7  push against locking wedges  39  on latch  33 , pushing latch  33  away from aspirator  3  and increasing tension in bias arm  35 . As aspirator  3  reaches its final position on bracket  1 , locking wedges  39  reach notches  41  on risers  7  and bias arm  35  pushes latch  33  and locking wedges  39  into notches  41 , locking aspirator  3  into its final position. Note that aspirator  3  can be mounted on bracket  3  with one hand. 
     In order to remove aspirator  3  from its locked final position from wall  5 , the user would pull squeeze plate  29  of lever  27  toward aspirator  3 , as shown in  FIGS. 5   b  &amp;  5   c , and lift aspirator  3 . This pulling motion is translated via pivot rod  31  to the other end of lever  27  to move locking wedge  39  away from aspirator  3 . As locking wedge  39  moves away from aspirator  3 , it moves out of notches  41  on riser  7  and allows aspirator  3  to be lifted up and out of bracket  1 . 
     Note that aspirator  3  may be removed from bracket  1  with one hand by a user standing near wall  5 . Using either hand in a palm down position, the user grasps handle  43  on top of aspirator  3  with three fingers and a thumb as shown at  200  in  FIG. 9 . Then the user pulls squeeze plate  29  of lever  27  toward aspirator  3  with an index finger, shown at  202 , and lifts aspirator  3  up by handle  43 . Once notch  41  on aspirator  3  has cleared locking wedge  39 , the pressure on squeeze plate  29  may be removed. Then index finger  202 , slides along squeeze plate  29 , which is angled to facilitate transfer of index finger  202  to the handle  43 . Locking wedges  39  will slide along actuating wedges  37  on risers  7  without impeding the vertical translation of aspirator  3 . 
     Alternatively, aspirator  3  may be removed with one hand by a user standing approximately facing a plane normal to wall  5  with bracket  1  and mounted aspirator  3  on non-dominant side of the user&#39;s body. Using the dominant hand the user would grasp handle  43  on top of aspirator  3  with four fingers, shown at  100  in  FIG. 1 , pull squeeze plate  29  of lever  27  toward aspirator  3  with a thumb, shown at  102 , and lift aspirator  3  up by handle  43 . Once notch  41  on aspirator  3  has cleared locking wedge  39 , the pressure on squeeze plate  29  may be removed. Then thumb  102 , slides along squeeze plate  29 , which is angled to facilitate transfer of thumb  102  to the handle  43 . Locking wedges  39  will slide along actuating wedges  37  on risers  7  without impeding the vertical translation of aspirator  3 . 
     Both aspirator  3  and bracket  1  contain reciprocal electrical contacts  45 , positioned to align with each other when aspirator  3  is in the final position, as shown in  FIG. 5   e . When aspirator  3  is locked and mounted to wall  5 , electrical contacts  45  on aspirator  3  make contact with electrical contacts  45  on bracket  1 , allowing aspirator  3  to charge by drawing current from wall  5  on which bracket  1  is mounted. Either sets of electrical contacts  45  may be connected to fuses to prevent current overload of electrical contacts  45  or aspirator  3 . The aforementioned pair of downwardly opening pockets formed by the rises  7  on the aspirator  3 , and the aforementioned pair of upwardly converging wedges  39  at the ends of the transverse arm  34  of the bracket  1  drive a first pair of contacts into engagement with a second pair of contacts as the latch is being locked as shown in  FIG. 5   e.    
     Referring to  FIGS. 7   a  &amp;  8  which are side and top views of one side of aspirator  3 , a rigid ring  47  extends from the side of aspirator  3 . Rigid ring  47  may be formed in the side of aspirator  3  from the material of the casing of aspirator  3 , e.g. plastic. Alternatively, rigid ring  47  may be formed separately and later attached to the side of aspirator  3 . Flexible fingers  49  extend along the inner circumference of rigid ring  47  radially inward. Flexible fingers  49  may be made from any flexible high friction material such as rubber. 
     As a canister  51 , smaller than the diameter of rigid ring  47 , is placed into rigid ring  47 , flexible fingers  49  engage canister  51  and are forced to bend downward. Flexing of fingers  49  increases tension in fingers  49  which exert an inward force against the sides of canister  51 , securing canister  51  to rigid ring  47 . Downward motion of canister  51  is limited by a cross bar  53 . 
     To secure canister  51  into rigid ring  47 , a user pushes canister  51  into rigid ring  47  until canister  51  is either secured by flexible fingers  49  or resting on cross bar  53 . To remove canister  51  from rigid ring  47 , a user either lifts or lifts and twists canister  51  until flexible fingers  49  disengage from canister  51 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 7   b , rigid ring  47  may be slidably and removably mounted, by means of a track, to aspirator  3 . Rigid ring  47  may slide in an up and down direction. Rigid ring  47  may be temporarily secured to aspirator  3  with screws or clips. Slidably and removably mounting rigid ring  47  allows for use of a wider variety of canisters  51 .