Abstract:
A modular air-handling plenum for capable of supporting surgical apparatus or other objects is disclosed. The plenum is usually rectangular, may be formed of sheet metal, and features a truss spanning the width of the plenum to carry the weight of the apparatus. The plenum itself is attached to the ceiling of a room. An air handling component may be included to provide filtered and/or conditioned air in the vicinity of the suspended apparatus, or the plenum may be used strictly as an apparatus support, with no air-conditioning function. An ordinary suspended ceiling may also be mounted in the plenum for continuity with the remainder of the room.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    Certain interior environments, such as clean rooms and hospital like operating rooms, radiology rooms, and dental suites, require unusually clean air for the protection of the work that takes place in them. Such rooms may also have disparate heating or cooling needs at different points in the room. For instance, electronic equipment may produce excess heat, therefore requiring that cooled air be concentrated in its vicinity. Surgeons may also find it prudent to have available additional heated or cooled air in the immediate vicinity of an operating table, to hold a patient at a stable temperature or dissipate the excess heat created by bright lamps or a team of doctors and nurses surrounding the patient. However, the needs of a given room can change over time, as new technology replaces what was originally installed or the room is converted to uses or configurations other than the original. For these reasons, it is undesirable to have air conditioning and ventilation permanently installed as part of the structure of the building. Additionally, when multiple parties provide equipment for these spaces, there is significant coordination required during the design and construction phase to avoid conflicts and interferences in product and schedule. Instead, modular systems which may be installed or removed with only minor structural alterations are desirable. 
         [0002]    Modular installation has the additional advantage of making construction less expensive and more convenient. Ventilation structures need not be custom fabricated on-site, nor incorporated into the structure during construction. Instead, modular units may be mass-produced at a factory off-site and shipped to the building when it is ready to receive them. On-site fabrication is then limited to such fabrication and alterations as are necessary to attach the modular units to the building&#39;s frame. 
         [0003]    In modern operating rooms equipment such as robotic surgical aids are becoming more and more prevalent. These devices make surgery more precise and less prone to errors caused by the inherent fallibility of human hands. Additionally, even in more conventional clean environments, there is a significant requirement for overhead-supported equipment such as light and equipment booms, automated material handling systems, etc. Typically, such equipment is hung from the building structure and descends through the ceiling in order to preserve valuable floor space. However, this arrangement is subject to the similar problems as hard-wired ventilation: it is expensive, requires a custom installation during building construction, and may limit the possible room configurations based on the nature of the underlying building frame. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The present invention solves the problems of the prior art and permits the convenient, cost-effective, and easily alterable installation of surgical aids, or any other form of apparatus, from the ceiling of a room, including an operating or clean room. This is accomplished by providing a truss connected to a modular ventilation plenum, the truss being capable of supporting the apparatus to be hung. The truss&#39;s position within the plenum may be selected to allow some flexibility relative to the building&#39;s underlying frame, and the plenum itself, being of a modular design, may be mounted in a variety of locations. Both truss and plenum may be assembled off-site, installed after the majority of building construction is complete, and repositioned much more easily than systems tied directly to the underlying structure. In addition, the present invention allows the convenient co-location of two items both required directly over the operating area, with neither interfering with the other: ventilation and equipment support. It also allows installation of a modular equipment support without ventilation, if preferred. 
         [0005]    The present design also includes a suspended grid system of the type commonly found in commercial ceilings within the plenum itself, to preserve the continuity of the ceiling in the room. This grid is designed to accommodate a smaller equipment support attached to a suspended grid system, allowing the placement of smaller and lighter surgical apparatus, illumination, or similar necessities. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL DRAWINGS 
         [0006]      FIG. 1  is a perspective of the plenum from below, as it would appear when installed, including the truss, suspended grid, and grid-based equipment support. 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is a section taken along line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1 , showing the truss with an appended surgical device. 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  is a section taken along line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 1 , showing the equipment support with an appended surgical device. 
           [0009]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the truss in isolation. 
           [0010]      FIG. 5  is an elevation view of the truss from one end. 
           [0011]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the top of the equipment support, as it would appear from above the suspended grid. 
           [0012]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the bottom of the equipment support, as it would appear from below the suspended grid. 
           [0013]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the top of the plenum, showing a hole in the center through which air may pass as part of a ventilation system. 
           [0014]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the top of the plenum, showing holes in two sides through which air may pass as part of a ventilation system. 
           [0015]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the top of the plenum, showing an air handling component, such as a fan/filter unit, mounted to the suspended grid system. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0016]    Turning now to  FIG. 1 , a modular unit embodying the present invention is depicted. A plenum  10  may be suspended from hangars  12 , which are in turn attached directly to the I-beams or other frame of the building. The hangars  12  may also be attached to a secondary structure (not shown) which in turn attaches to the building&#39;s frame. This arrangement permits the placement of plenum  10  in locations other than directly below the building&#39;s structural beams. Alternatively, plenum  10  may also be bolted directly to part of the building or an adapter rather than suspended from hangars  12 . Hangars  12  are shown at the corners of plenum  10 , but may be placed in other locations, or with greater spatial frequency than is shown. 
         [0017]    The plenum  10  is formed from a perimeter  14  of material, conventionally sheet steel although any sufficiently rigid material will do, using methods well known in the art. The plenum  10  is typically a rectangle or square, and is built in a size chosen to accommodate the heating and cooling needs of the building as well as to accommodate the structure to which it is to be attached. The perimeter  14  is given enhanced rigidity by the presence of lower lip  16  and upper rail  18 . The upper rail  18  provides is the primary structural member of the plenum  10 . The rail is typically constructed of steel 0.188 inches thick, formed into a rectangular tube about 3″×4″. The upper raill 8  is welded to sheet steel wall  15 , and lower rail  16  is formed by bending wall  15 . Grid members  20  may be attached to lower lip  16 , forming a grid of supports for the ordinary parts of a suspended ceiling, such as ceiling tiles, lights, and vents for air passage (not shown). Alternatively, grid members may be attached to the sheet steel wall  15  with directly. Grid members  20  are conventionally constructed as rectangular tubes or U-shaped channels of stainless steel, or extruded aluminum, but may be constructed of other materials and in other shapes as well. The grid members  20  are sufficiently rigid that that they span the plenum  10  without additional support, easing attachment of the plenum  10  to the building structure and installation of the grid members  20 . Grid members  20  may also be attached to the building structure, for instance by the use of additional hangars  12 , for greater load-bearing capacity. 
         [0018]    The plenum  10  may be sealed at the top to control airflow by plenum roof  22 , best shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 . This roof is usually sheet metal similar to that found in perimeter  14 , but need not be. A hole  24  may appear in the plenum roof  22  to permit air to enter or leave the plenum  10 , and therefore the room, or holes  26  may be found in perimeter  14  for the same purpose. An air handling component (not shown) may be mounted adjacent holes  24  or  26 , or a duct (not show) may lead to them. Alternatively, the plenum may have an air handling component  28  mounted directly to the grid members  20 , as best shown in  FIG. 10 , such that the plenum itself does not control airflow. The air handling component may comprise a fan, a filter, air conditioning coils, heating elements, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, or any combination of these or similar elements, all of which are well known in the art. 
         [0019]    A truss  30 , best shown in  FIGS. 2 and 4 , spans the plenum  10  and is firmly attached to the upper rail  18 . In a rectangular plenum  10 , the truss  30  preferably spans the shorter dimension, so as to maximize its weight-bearing capacity. In the figures, truss  30  is attached by bolts  32 , which allows for easy installation and removal. Any other suitably rigid form of attachment, such as rivets or welding, may be used, although these may not be as convenient. The truss  30  is composed of upper spars  34 , lower spars  36 , and various cross members  38 , which link the spars together and provide rigidity. Diagonal cross members  40  provide resistance to twisting. The truss  30  may be constructed of steel or aluminum that has been cast, extruded, forged, or otherwise formed into structural shapes, such as tubes, I-beams, or U-channels. The truss  30  may also be made of composite materials such as fiberglass or carbon fiber, formed sheet steel, or any other suitably sturdy material. The truss  30  may even employ several different types of material in its construction. The spars  34 ,  36  and cross members  38 ,  40  are preferably welded together if metal, and glued or molded as a single piece if composite, but they may also be joined by bolts, rivets, or other means known in the art. The precise choice of materials and design for the truss  30  will be determined by such factors as the required strength, the need to minimize weight, and the manufacturing cost. These considerations are well understood in the art. It will be understood that no particular configuration of spars and cross members, nor any particular material choice, is required to practice the spirit of the invention. 
         [0020]    The truss  30  may also be installed as part of the perimeter  14  of a plenum, or even between two neighboring plenums  10 , forming a part of the perimeter  14  of each. In this configuration, the truss  30  may be open to airflow. The truss  30  may also be closed to airflow, for instance by attachment of a sheet of metal across one or both sides of the truss  30 . 
         [0021]    The truss  30  may incorporate dedicated passageways for routing of electrical conduits or lines supplying such things as natural gas, refrigerant, water, gases such as oxygen or nitrogen, or vacuum. 
         [0022]    An equipment interface plate  42  is mounted to the truss  30  between the lower spars, and provides a mounting location for heavy equipment  44 , such as robotic surgical aids. This plate is most commonly metal, but may be any material of suitable strength. Preferably, the equipment interface plate  42  has a bolt-hole pattern  43  which matches that of heavy equipment  44  to permit convenient installation and removal without the need for adapters or jigs. The holes may be threaded or clearance holes. The equipment interface plate  42  may be welded to truss  30 , or bolted for easier installation and removal. Other attachment methods, such as riveting, are also possible. It may be manufactured “blank,” without any bolt-hole pattern  43 , and then machined to match whatever heavy equipment  44  is ultimately selected. 
         [0023]    The weight of the heavy equipment  44  is transferred by the truss  30  to the upper rail  18  (and to some degree, to the remainder of perimeter  14 ), and thence to the hangars  12  and into the building&#39;s structure. The truss  30  may be independent of the grid members  20 , so that any movement in the truss  30  is not directly transferred to the grid members  20 , and vice versa. This may be advantageous when, for instance, a light (not shown) attached to grid members  20  is manually adjusted; the movement of the light will have a minimal effect on the heavy equipment  44  suspended from the truss  30 . When the truss  30  and grid members  20  are structurally independent, they may be loaded independently of each other, with reference only to the total load that the plenum  10  and hangars  12  can support. On the other hand, the truss  30  and grid members  20  may be linked together. This configuration provides maximum load-bearing capacity and maximum lateral stability for the heavy equipment  44  mounted on the truss  30 . 
         [0024]    The truss  30  shown in the drawings, when constructed out of welded tube steel and connected to the plenum  10 , can support at least 900 lbs of heavy equipment  44  and can bear at least 8000 ft-lbs of torque about an axis running parallel to the spars  34 ,  36 . 
         [0025]    Lighter apparatus  46  may also be attached to the plenum  10  at the grid members  20 , either on the top or bottom of these members, by the use of apparatus mount  48 . The grid members are obviously not capable of supporting the same amount of weight as the truss  30  due to their flatter construction, and in addition, they must bear the weight of multiple other items, such as lighting. However, apparatus mount  48  is also more versatile than truss  30 . It allows the positioning of lighter apparatus  46  in more places, including some not reachable by truss  30 , and also permits the repositioning of lighter apparatus  46  much more conveniently. Similar to the operation of truss  30 , apparatus mount  48  transfers the weight of lighter apparatus  46  to the grid members  20 , which then transfer it to the lower rail  16 , then through perimeter  14  and into hangars  12 . When used unreinforced, the grid can bear around 300 lbs. in weight. This amount may be raised considerably by hanging a stud  12  from the building&#39;s structure and attaching it to the grid members  20  directly for additional support. 
         [0026]    Apparatus mount  48  is comprised of frame  50  and support plate  52 . As with the other components of the plenum  10 , these advantages are best achieved if apparatus mount  48  is bolted to the grid members  20 , but it may also be attached in other ways. Similar to equipment interface plate  42 , the support plate  52  may be welded to frame  50 , but it may also be bolted, riveted, or otherwise attached. 
         [0027]    It is also possible for the plenum to be installed with no air-conditioning function at all, purely as a hanger for ceiling-mounted equipment. In that case, the truss  30  or apparatus mount  48  can be mounted within the plenum  10 , but without any air-handling component  28 , plenum roof  22 , or holes  26 . This system is modular, convenient, and inexpensive, and may be employed anywhere, whether in a clean room, operating room, or ordinary office or industrial environment that requires equipment to be hung from above.