Patent Publication Number: US-11019988-B2

Title: Headlamp

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/750,270 which was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Jan. 25, 2013. This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/590,424 which was filed on Jan. 25, 2012 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/700,999 which was filed on Sep. 14, 2012, their subject matter incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention is directed to a headlight and more particularly to a removeable headlamp. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Surgical headlamps or headlights are known that are mounted to a headband. These headlamps typically have a remote light source that is connected to the headlamp via a fiber optic cable. These headlamps are usually adjustable when worn on a user&#39;s head so that the headlamp is positioned at a desired location on the user&#39;s head. 
     Battery powered, headlamps utilizing an incandescent lamp as a light source have also been used. Typically, the high power consumption, relatively low light output, high weight, and short battery life of such devices have made their use unsatisfactory. 
     In modern operating rooms and dental offices, doctors, surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists, technicians, and the like, wear face shields. These face shields, interfere with prior art headlamps. 
     The user is unable to wear both the banded headlamp and the banded face shield. Further, if the headlamp is configured to attach to a pair of eye glasses or is integrally formed in an eye glass frame, glare from the headlamp on the inside of the face shield can interfere with the wearer&#39;s field of view. Additionally, if the headlamp does not have an extremely low profile, the face shield will not sit properly over a user&#39;s face and provide the intended protection to the user. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a surgical headlight is provided that overcomes the problems of headlamps of the prior art. 
     At least one lamp housing is provided. The lamp housing has four mounting points and two magnet attach points on the underside arranged to conform to the contour of the helmet. This or similar such arrangements help maintain uniform contact across the helmet surface. 
     In embodiment, the spot size adjuster and the brightness control are coaxially arranged on the lamp housing and are accessible from all sides. 
     In one embodiment, the disclosed headlamp is sterile, disposable, and delivered to a user in a sterile package. 
     The surgical headlamp can also be mounted to a surgical face shield, helmet, or other type of headgear with dual-sided peel and stick adhesive that allow for various mounting locations. 
     In one embodiment, coaxially located adjustment features allow for a variety of mounting configurations while maintaining symmetry of access to controls of the surgical headlamp with either the left or right hand. A light aiming mechanism comprises of a ball pivot with an integral lens. Spot size adjustment is controlled by varying the distance between a single lens and the LED. A coaxially mounted brightness control is provided. 
     The surgical headlamp is energy efficient using pulse width modulation technique for brightness control. Batteries preferably provide power. 
     Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims. It should be further understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and that, unless otherwise indicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the headlamp; 
         FIG. 2  is a top view of the headlamp; 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of the headlamp; 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of the headlamp; 
         FIG. 5  is a back view of the headlamp; 
         FIGS. 6A and 6B  is a cross section of the headlamp; 
         FIGS. 7A-7C  depict a helmet; 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic depiction of a magnetic mount; 
         FIG. 9  is the headlamp with the lamp mounted; 
         FIGS. 10A and 10B  are another view of the headlamp of  FIG. 9 ; 
         FIG. 11  is a headlamp with a combined adhesive and magnetic mount; 
         FIG. 12  is a top view of a headlamp; and 
         FIG. 13  is a cross section of the headlamp of  FIG. 12 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The disclosed surgical headlamp is preferably a self-contained, disposable, LED light, which is battery powered. The headlamp provides on the spot supplemental lighting for surgery. While the surgical headlamp can be reused, it is intended to be a single use disposable device. Preferably, due to plastic material choice, the headlamp is lightweight. 
     The surgical headlamp features a ball pivot to adjust the focus point or aimpoint of the illuminated field. The surgical headlamp is also lightweight due to its construction. An on/off switch allows the user to turn the surgical headlamp off when it is not needed. A variable brightness control allows the user to adjust the brightness as required, which could be a separate control. A discrete brightness control may also be integrated with the on/off switch, which provides successive brightness settings with each push of the button. For example, the first push turns the lamp on and sets brightness at 25%, the next push sets it to 50%, the next to 75%, the next to 100%, the next cycles back to off. More or less brightness setting selections may also be provided for. 
     Given the variety of face shields, the surgical headlamp may provide a peel and stick adhesive for mounting. Finally, the surgical headlamp is sterile and ready to use out of the box. 
       FIG. 1  is a first embodiment of the inventive surgical headlamp  10 . As shown, a single lamp housing  12  is provided. The lamp housing  12  has a directional aiming portion  14 , preferably provided by a ball pivot  16 . The aiming portion  14  may include a spot size adjuster  18 . Preferably, the spot size adjuster is rotated using integral grips  20 . Rotation of the spot size adjuster moves lens  22  in an axial direction shown by double arrow  24 . In one embodiment, the spot size adjustment moves about 4-8 mm, which varies the spot size from about 5 inches to about 8 inches in diameter at two feet distance from the lamp. In one embodiment, the spot size adjustment  18  incorporates a push switch to turn the headlamp  10  on and off. In another embodiment, as the spot size adjustment  18  is rotated the headlamp  10  first turns on, then the spot size is adjusted from either its maximum or minimum to its other size extreme. 
     It should be noted that lens  22  is a polycarbonate or PMMA plastic lens. An achromatic glass lens is preferably used to limit chromatic and spherical aberration. In one embodiment, an achromatic doublet is used as lens  22 . 
     Lamp housing  12  further comprises a variable brightness control. Like the spot size adjuster  18 , the variable brightness control  28  includes grips  20 . In one embodiment, the variable brightness control is coupled to a variable resistor. The variable resistor is part of a pulse width modulated (PWM) drive for a light emitting diode (LED) arranged in lamp housing  12 . The variable resistor varies the duty cycle of the drive signal thereby varying the brightness. Alternatively, the variable brightness control can control an iris, which varies the opening size. 
     To mount the lamp housing  12  to a surgical faceplate, the lamp housing  12  may be provided with wings, which can pivot to accommodate surgical faceplates having varying arcs. The lamp housing  12  can be affixed using peel and stick tape  30 . In one embodiment, the tape  30  is thick enough to accommodate varying faceplate arcs. 
     A top view of the surgical headlamp  10  is shown in  FIG. 2 . As shown, the ball pivot  16  is configured to have a greater range in a vertical direction than a horizontal direction. It should be noted that the lamp housing  12  can be shaped to provide specific travel tracks for the ball pivot  16  or equal movement in all directions. 
     As is evident from  FIG. 3 , the components are arranged coaxially or on a centerline as described from the front to the rear of the headlamp. In this manner, all of the adjustments can be accessed by either hand and from any direction. 
     In alternative embodiments, the surgical headlamp  10  is mounted using clips. In one embodiment, the wings  26  are hinged or flexible to move about 10°. 
     In use, a sealed package containing the headlamp  10  is opened. The package is pre-sealed and the headlamp  10  is a sterile device. In a preferred embodiment, the headlamp  10  is manufactured from components that can be sterilized using gamma radiation. In one embodiment, the headlamp  10  is removed from its sterile package, coverings from adhesive pads  30  located on the mounting wings are removed. The headlamp  10  is positioned on a face shield and installed. The user then pushes the lens assembly to turn on the headlamp  10  and pushes the lens assembly again to turn off headlamp  10 . 
     The lens housing, which is the spot size adjuster  18 , serves as a beam director and on/off switch. By avoiding a separate switch, this headlamp  10  can be activated by a finger or by pressing, for example, with the back of a hand or wrist. Once on, the headlamp  10  can be pointed to a desired position. The spot size control  18  can be rotated to the desired size and the brightness control  28  can be rotated to achieve the desired brightness. After use, headlamp  10  can be disposed of. 
     In non-sterile environments, and for non-sterile requirements, the headlamp  10  can be reused. In one embodiment, the headlamp  10  is returned for reconditioning including replacing used batteries and undergoing gamma radiation and sterile packaging. While disclosed as a sterile surgical headlamp. The present headlamp can be used in any application when a head-mounted light is required. 
     In one embodiment, multiple LEDs are provided in a single lamp housing  12 . In one embodiment, stereo illumination is provided. 
     In one embodiment, a magnetic attachment method replaces the peel and stick mounting method. The magnetic mounting method is preferred for mounting the headlamp device to a surgical helmet covered with a cloth material. 
     As shown schematically in  FIG. 8 , one or more magnets  82  are located internally to the headlamp, and one or more magnets  84 , which are located inside a helmet, attract each other allowing for secure attachment of the headlamp to the helmet. It should be noted that the helmet can be a strap, hood, or the like. 
     The helmet, to which the headlamp is mounted, has an inner shell  86  and outer shell  88 . The gap between the shells allows for insertion of a second set of magnets in between them by a plastic magnet carrier  83 . Once inserted in the gap between the inner shell  86  and the outer shell  88 , the magnets  84  are not visible to the user. 
     The location of the magnets  84  in the magnet carrier  83  that is inserted into the helmet and the magnets  82  internal to the headlamp are designed to be coaxially aligned so as to position each respective magnet set over the other set to maximize the alignment of magnetic fields for maximum attraction. Once the headlamp is positioned over the magnets internal to the helmet, the magnetic fields naturally align and attract, attaching the headlamp securely to the helmet. In one embodiment, a steel shield is used to help focus the magnetic fields of the respective helmet and headlamp magnets in such as manner to maximize magnetic coupling. 
     In one embodiment, the headlamp has magnets arranged on an underside of the headlamp assembly. A magnet bracket adapted to fit in a helmet is shown. In one embodiment, ridges are provided to hold the magnet bracket between an inner and outer shell of the helmet. In one embodiment, the magnet bracket has aligning elements for aligning the headlamp and bracket. 
     As shown, magnets are under the plastic housing of the headlamp. In one embodiment, the housing is injection molded with the magnets. In another embodiment, the magnets are arranged inside the housing. 
     In one embodiment, the magnets are affixed to an outside surface of the housing using an adhesive. In this embodiment, a user can choose between an adhesive mount and/or a magnetic mount. 
       FIG. 9  is a helmet with the lamp mounted thereon.  FIG. 10  is another view of the headlamp mounted to a helmet. 
       FIG. 11  is another embodiment of the headlamp. An adhesive mount is provided so that the headlamp can be mounted to virtually any surface. The adhesive mount is contoured to mate with the headlamp. Due to the contouring, the headlamp is limited in its lateral movement. The headlamp and the adhesive mount preferably have matching magnetic mounting elements. 
       FIG. 12  is another embodiment of surgical headlamp  100 . As shown a single lamp housing  120  is provided. The lamp housing  120  has a directional aiming portion preferably provided by a ball pivot  160 . The aiming portion includes a spot size adjuster  180 . Preferably, the spot size adjuster is rotated using grips  200 . Rotation of the spot size adjuster moves lens  220  in an axial direction. In a preferred embodiment, the spot sized moves about 4-8 mm, which varies the spot size from about 5 inches to about 8 inches at two feet. In one embodiment, the spot size adjustment  180  is a push switch to turn the headlamp  100  on and off. In another embodiment, as the spot size adjustment  180  is rotated the headlamp  100  first turns on, then the spot size is adjusted from either its maximum or minimum to its other size extreme. 
     It should be noted that lens  220  is preferably a polycarbonate lens. An achromatic lens is preferably used to limit chromatic and spherical aberration. In one embodiment, an achromatic doublet is used as lens  220 . 
     Lamp housing  120  further comprises a variable brightness control  280 . Like the spot size adjuster  180 , the variable brightness control  280  includes grips  200 . In a preferred embodiment, the variable brightness control is coupled to a variable resistor. The variable resistor is part of a pulse width modulated (PWM) drive for a light emitting diode (LED) arranged in lamp housing  120 . The variable resistor varies the duty cycle of the drive signal thereby varying the brightness. Alternatively, the variable brightness control  280  can control an iris. 
     To mount the lamp housing  120  to a surgical face plate, the lamp housing  120  is provided with wings  260 . In a preferred embodiment, the wings  260  can pivot to accommodate surgical face plates having varying arcs. The lamp housing  120  is affixed using peel and stick tape  300 . In one embodiment, the tape  300  is thick enough to accommodate varying face plate arcs. Preferably, the components are arranged coaxially. In this manner, all of the adjustments can be accessed by either hand and from any direction. 
       FIG. 13  is a cross section of the surgical headlamp  100 . As shown, coin batteries  400  are preferably arranged in the mounting wings  260 . The coin batteries  400  are coupled to PC board  420  which includes the potentiometer  440  for the PWM circuit discussed above. As shown, when a force is applied to the spot size adjuster  180 , the entire assembly is able to move towards the mounting wings  260  guided in area  500 . This movement depresses a switch  460  to turn LED  48  on and off. 
     In alternative embodiments, the surgical headlamp  10 ,  100  is mounted using clips. In one embodiment, the wings are hinged or flexible to move about 10°. 
     In one embodiment, the housing containing the magnets is affixed to the outside of the surgical helmet with an adhesive mount. The geometry of the mount and of the matching underside of the headlamp is such that in order to remove the headlamp, the user must pull the headlamp away from the mount along the axis of magnetic attraction thus preventing inadvertent removal by sliding the headlamp sideways. 
     Thus, while there have shown and described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the devices illustrated, and in their operation, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and/or method steps which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention. Moreover, it should be recognized that structures and/or elements and/or method steps shown and/or described in connection with any disclosed form or embodiment of the invention may be incorporated in any other disclosed or described or suggested form or embodiment as a general matter of design choice. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.