Conversion bracket for portable microscopes

The invention relates to a portable bracket for holding a microscope, especially a heavy surgical eye-operating microscope. The bracket has an inverted L-shape with an upright column or stand and a horizontal arm member. A hollow tube is located at the outer end of the horizontal arm to receive a vertical support tube or neck of a microscope. The hollow tube is adaptable to receive various sizes of microscopes and render any heavy microscope more portable by eliminating the normally cumbersome attachment mechanisms. The neck of the miroscope is secured in the tube by a side lock knob which clamps the neck within the tube and/or a top lock knob which is attached to the neck of the microscope and abuts against a top face of the tube.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a novel and improved bracket for holding a 
microscope. More particularly, the present invention relates to a bracket 
for supporting a portable, surgical microscope, especially an expensive, 
heavy eye-operating microscope, the bracket rendering the microscope more 
portable and adapting to various sizes of microscopes. 
While performing missionary eye surgery in third world countries, severe 
difficulties have been experienced using conventional microscopes due to 
their weight and size, and the lack of modern laboratory and surgical 
facilities. In particular, while performing eye surgery, it is often 
necessary to use a microscope, preferably a high quality one. However, 
when surgery is not performed in a hospital or an equipped operating room, 
for example when it is performed in the field in third world countries 
under missionary conditions, it is almost impossible to use conventional, 
heavy and expensive surgical microscopes since they are not readily 
portable and cannot be adequately supported on light-weight table clamp 
stands or light-weight floor stands. 
Further, one major disadvantage of using present day microscopes outside of 
hospital facilities is that there is no lightweight, portable bracket 
which is capable of supporting heavy surgical microscopes without the need 
for a support mounted on a ceiling, a wall or a heavy table or floor 
stand. Another disadvantage of present day microscopes is that there is no 
lightweight portable microscope holder which is capable of easily adapting 
to support various sizes of surgical microscopes. 
Thus, there is a need for a bracket which converts any size of the heavy, 
expensive eye-operating microscopes to a more portable microscope, so they 
can be used in less conventional operating facilities. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable, 
lightweight, and relatively inexpensive bracket for converting heavy 
surgical microscopes to light-weight portable microscopes. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel and 
nonobvious microscope bracket which is easy to manufacture and easy to 
assemble. 
A further object of the present invention is to provide a mircroscope 
bracket which is easily adaptable to many sizes of microscopes. 
Still another object of this invention is to provide a bracket for a 
surgical microscope which does not require attachment to a ceiling, wall 
or heavy floor stand. 
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a bracket for supporting 
expensive, heavy surgical microscopes so that they are usable outside of 
standard hospital or operating room facilities. 
To achieve these and other objects, the present invention relates to a 
bracket for holding a microscope having a vertical neck support tube. The 
bracket includes an inverted L-shaped support member having a vertical arm 
and a horizontal arm, one end of said vertical arm having means for 
securing the support member to a foundation such as a light-weight boom 
arm or stand. A vertical support cylinder is attached to the horizontal 
arm, said support cylinder having a minimum diameter sufficient to receive 
the vertical support tube of a microscope. Fastening means are provided 
for securing the vertical support tube of the microscope in the support 
cylinder, the fastening means selectively adjustably changing the diameter 
of said support cylinder to fix said support tube in said support cylinder 
.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
Referring to the drawings, and specifically to Figure 1, there is 
illustrated a surgical microscope bracket generally referred to by 
reference numeral 10. The surgical bracket includes, generally, an 
L-shaped support member 12. The L-shaped support member has a vertical 
support member 14 and horizontal arm member 16. The vertical support 
member 14 is preferably a hollow, cylindrical tube. The lower end of the 
vertical support member 14 is an extension portion 15 which is used to 
mount the bracket on a foundation, such as a table or floor stand or the 
like. In a preferred embodiment, the extension portion 15 is received in a 
clamp or vice attached to a table or floor stand such that the vertical 
support member is securely held in an upright position. 
The upper end of the vertical support arm 14 is secured to one end of the 
horizontal arm member 16 while an opposite end of the horizontal arm 
member 16 supports a tube member 18. The horizontal arm member 16 (FIG. 2) 
may be a plate or cylindrical member, as long as it is able to withstand 
the load created by a microscope M inserted in the tube member 18, as 
discussed below. The microscope M is illustrated schematically in FIGS. 1 
and 3 as a block with a vertical support neck 20 and two lenses 21. 
The tube member 18 is a hollow cylinder oriented generally parallel to the 
vertical support member 14. The tube 18 has an internal diameter ID 
greater than the external diameter ED1 of a top suspending support neck 20 
of several microscopes, for example, the Zeiss Omni One microscope or 
other similar microscopes. In addition, the tube 18 has a length equal to 
or less than the length of the supporting neck 20 for the microscopes. 
The supporting neck 20 of the microscope usually includes a lock member 22 
threadably engaging the neck 20 of the microscope. In most instances, the 
internal diameter ID of the support tube 18 is smaller than the external 
diameter ED2 of the lock member 22. In the event that the internal 
diameter ID of the support tube 18 is larger than the external diameter 
ED2 of the lock member 22, the lock member should be replaced with a 
larger diameter lock member 22 such that its external diameter ED2 is 
larger than the internal diameter ID of the tube 18. 
In addition, a side screw lock member 24 is located on the side of the 
support tube 18 opposite to the side connecting the tube 18 to the 
horizontal am member 16. The side screw-lock member 24 is a threaded bolt 
which passes through the side of the tube 18 and into the internal 
cylinder defined within the tube 18. Rotation of the side screw lock 
member 24 adjusts the internal diameter of the tube 18. In addition, 
rotation of the side screw-lock member 24 when the microscope neck 20 is 
inserted therein moves the threaded bolt into the tube 18 to contact the 
neck 20 or to become inserted within a recess in the neck 20 to hold the 
neck 20 within the tube 18. The side screw lock member 24 also stabilizes 
the microscope within the tube by preventing rotation of the microscope. 
If the recess in the neck 20 surrounds the periphery of the neck 20, and 
the member 24 contacts the recess without pressing against the base of the 
recess, then the microscope is supported in the tube, but can rotate 
without falling from the tube. 
The operation of the bracket is as follows. The bracket 10 is mounted in a 
support such as a boom arm of a table or floor stand by insertion of 
extension portion 15 into the support mechanism such as the clamp or vice. 
The bracket is secured in the upright position with the horizontal arm 16 
over the operating area. The vertical support neck 20 of the microscope is 
then inserted into the support tube 18 by removing the lock member 22 from 
the neck 20 and inserting the neck 20 upwardly through the support tube 
18. Once the vertical support neck 20 has been inserted into tube 18, the 
lock knob member 22 is threaded back onto the support neck 20 of the 
microscope so that the lock member 22 rests against a top face 25 of the 
tube 18. Since the internal diameter ID of the tube 18 is less than the 
external diameter ED2 of the support tube 18, the neck 20 of the 
microscope M cannot fall through the tube 18. The side screw lock knob 
member 24 is then rotated to insert the bolt into the tube 18 such that 
the end of the bolt abuts against the neck 20. In this manner, the heavy, 
surgical microscope is supported without the need for the heavy supports 
used in hospital or operating room facilities. 
Different size microscopes can be supported by the present invention since 
the diameter of the tube 18 accepts microscopes having different sized 
necks. For a larger microscope, knob member 24 would not be screwed as 
tightly to secure the microscope as they would be for a smaller 
microscope. 
In addition, the microscope bracket of the present invention converts many 
sizes of heavy microscopes into a portable microscope. That is, the heavy 
microscope can be transported with and supported by the lightweight 
bracket of the invention, thereby eliminating the normally cumbersome 
attachment mechanisms used to support the microscope on a heavy floor 
stand or a wall or ceiling in conventional medical facilitates. 
Although the microscope bracket of the present invention has been described 
in connection with the preferred embodiment thereof, it will be 
appreciated by those skilled in the art that additions, modifications, 
substitutions and deletions not specifically described may be made without 
departing from the spirit and scope of the invention defined in the 
appended claims. For example, the microscope need not have a top lock 
member 22 because the side lock member 24 can be used by itself to secure 
the microscope in the tube. Similarly, the side lock member 24 could be 
eliminated if the top lock member 22 is utilized.