United States Patent [19]
`Izumi
`
`(cid:9) (cid:9)
`
`[54] HOLDER FOR MEDICAL TUBING
`[75] Inventor: John Izumi, Glen Ellyn, Ill.
`[73] Assignee: DDI Industries, Inc., Bedford Park,
`Ill.
`[21] Appl. No.: 673,379
`Mar. 22, 1991
`[22] Filed: (cid:9)
`[51] Int. CL5
`A61M 15/08; A62B 7/00
` 128/207.18; 128/DIG. 26;
`[52] U.S. Cl.
`128/911; 128/912; 128/207.13; 128/200.26;
`128/204.12
`[58] Field of Search (cid:9)
` 128/911, 912, DIG. 26,
`128/206.18, 207.13, 207.18, 200.24, 200.26.
`204.12; 606/198, 199
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`3,203,421 8/1965 Bialick (cid:9)
` 128/DIG. 25
`3.915,173 10/1975 Brekke (cid:9)
`
`128/207.18
`4,336.806 6/1982 Eldridge, Jr. (cid:9)
`
`128/348
`4,648,398 3/1987 Agdanowski et al. (cid:9)
`
`128/207.18
`4,683.882 8/1987 Laird (cid:9)
`
`128/207.17
`4,707,906 11/1987 Posey (cid:9)
`
`29/453
`4,757,813 7/1988 Haydu (cid:9)
`
`128/201.26
`4,932,943 6/1990 Nowak (cid:9)
` 128/DIG. 26
`4,986,815 1/1991 Schneider (cid:9)
` 128/DIG. 26
`
`[56] (cid:9)
`
`1111111111111111111111111111R1c11 10115 101911112171)J111111111111111111111111111
`
`5,097,827
`[11] Patent Number: (cid:9)
`[45] Date of Patent: Mar. 24, 1992
`
`Primary Examiner—Edgar S. Burr
`Assistant Examiner—Lisa E. Malvaso
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Marshall, O'Toole, Gerstein,
`Murray & Bicknell
`ABSTRACT
`[57] (cid:9)
`A medical tube holder for attachment to a patient's nose
`septum for holding medical tubing inserted into the
`patient's nose. The tube holder includes opposite up-
`standing clamp arms defining an acute included angle
`therebetween for insertion into the nostril and thereby
`into clamp engagement on opposite sides of the patient's
`septum. One of the nasal clamp arms includes a tube
`holder section for substantially surrounding and main-
`taining medical tubing in position. A thumbscrew ad-
`justs the distance between the upstanding clamp arms
`and therefore the clamping pressure on the septum. A
`rotating screw in another embodiment is fixed to one
`clamp arm and threadably mounted on another clamp
`arm to provide threadable adjustment. A locking pin
`and detent configuration in a further embodiment ena-
`bles adjustment of the clamp arms between preset posi-
`tions. An integral unit in a still further embodiment with
`two opposing upstanding clamp arms set at an optimum
`acute included angle therebetween.
`
`20 Claims, 2 Drawing Sheets
`
`45 20
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`U.S. Patent (cid:9)
`
`Mar. 24, 1992 (cid:9)
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`Sheet 1 of 2 (cid:9)
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`5,097,827
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`14
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`I0
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`22
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`45 20
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`16
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`32
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`FIG. 3
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`42
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`10
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`t,"44/113infinipm, I
`OW (cid:9)
`If/ a
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`16
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`22
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`12
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`48
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`40
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`FIG.4
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`4
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`28 3
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`24
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`U.S. Patent (cid:9)
`
`Mar. 24, 1992
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`Sheet 2 of 2
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`5,097,827
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`52
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`FIG 6
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`72
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`FIG. 7
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`FIG.8
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`I
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`5,097,827
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`HOLDER FOR MEDICAL TUBING
`
`This invention relates to a holder for medical tubing
`and in particular to medical tube holding devices for 5
`holding nasal gastric tubing in position on a patient.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`Reference may be made to the following patents of
`interest U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,336,806; 4,707,906; 4,757,813. 10
`In many hospital situations, during a surgical opera-
`tion or in post surgery care, there are requirements for
`various types of medical tubing to be used for supplying
`fluids to a patient or removing fluids from a patient.
`Surgical tape is usually applied to the tubing and to the 15
`patient or the hospital bed to maintain the tubing in
`position.
`As an example, nasal gastric tubing is often inserted
`into a patient's nostril with the tubing end reaching to
`the stomach so as to remove undesired fluids from the 20
`patient's stomach. Typically, segments of surgical tape
`are applied across the tubing and onto a patient's face in
`order to anchor and hold the tubing in position. In
`extended care situations the presence of the tape on the
`patient's face can be irritating and cause discomfiture 25
`while also being a potential source of infection by catch-
`ing food particles, etc. when located near the patient's
`mouth and chin.
`Holding devices for medical tubing have been pro-
`posed for maintaining the tubing in a desired position. 30
`U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,806 shows a medical tube holder
`with a backing strip adhesively connected on a back
`surface to a surgical drape. The backing strip includes
`magnets on the front surface so that the strip may be
`folded around a medical tube and the tubing maintained 35
`within the holder by the magnetic attraction between
`the folded backing strip portions.
`U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,906 shows a medical tube holder
`in the form of a metal strip in which the tubing is held
`by a spring clamping tube portion at one end and 40
`wherein the other end is connected to a spring clip
`which can be fastened to the bed sheets or instruments.
`It is now desirable to provide a medical tube holder
`which can be readily placed into position, particularly
`when the holder is used for holding nasal gastric tubing 45
`inserted into a patient's nostrils and for maintaining the
`tubing in position.
`It is also especially desirable to provide a nasal gastric
`tube holder which can be utilized with infants as well as
`adults, and if desired, may be adjustable in size. (cid:9)
`
`50
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`In accordance with the principles of the present in-
`vention, there is provided a medical tube holder which
`is small in size and easily constructed with a minimum 55
`of components, and yet which can be used for infants as
`well as adults.
`In a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is
`provided a medical tube holder for attachment to a
`patient's nose septum for holding medical tubing, such 60
`as a nasal gastric tube inserted into the patient's nose.
`The tube holder includes opposite upstanding clamp
`arms adapted to be inserted into the nose on opposite
`sides of the septum so as to contactingly engage the
`septum. One of the upstanding nasal clamp arms in- 65
`dudes a tube holding portion for receiving and main-
`taining the medical tubing in position. Connection
`means intermediate the two spacially disposed clamp
`
`2
`arms define and maintain an acute included angle there-
`between so that the clamp arms extend inwardly
`towards each other at their free ends.
`In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the con-
`nection means between the opposite upstanding clamp
`arms includes means for adjusting the spacial dispo-
`sition of the clamp arms. In one embodiment the clamp
`arms are oppositely threaded and connected together
`by a thumbscrew. The thumbscrew includes a central
`adjusting thumbwheel with oppositely threaded screw
`portions on either side for engagement with a respec-
`tive, correspondingly threaded clamp arm. A slotted
`barrel guide member has the thumbscrew mounted in
`the slot to maintain the axial position of the thumb-
`screw. Rotating the thumbscrew enables the opposite
`clamp arms to be guidedly moved within the barrel
`either simultaneously towards each other or simulta-
`neously apart from each other depending upon the rota-
`tional direction of the thumbscrew.
`Accordingly, in the preferred embodiment of the
`invention, the spacial distance between the upstanding
`nasal clamp arms can be adjusted by means of the
`thumbscrew to correspond to the size of the patient's
`septum. After the tubing holder is inserted in position in
`the nostril, the amount of contact engagement of the
`upstanding nasal clamp arms with the septum can be
`adjusted by means of the thumbscrew.
`In another embodiment of the invention, only one of
`the upstanding clamp arms is threaded and the two
`clamp arms are connected by a threaded adjusting
`screw. Turning the adjusting screw enables the
`threaded clamp arm to axially move along the screw
`threads towards or away from the other non-threaded
`clamp arm, depending upon the turning direction of the
`adjusting screw.
`In a further embodiment of the invention, the two
`opposite upstanding nasal clamp arms are connected so
`as to be slidably adjustable in selected positions with
`respect to each other. In addition, there is provided a
`locking pini-detent with several lock detent positions so
`that the two upstanding clamp arms can be adjusted in
`slidable position and then located in a selected lock
`detent position.
`In a still further embodiment of the invention, an
`integral, one-piece medical tube holder is formed with
`oppositely disposed upstanding nasal clamp arm por-
`tions connected by a contiguous connection base por-
`tion. The opposite upstanding nasal clamp arm portions
`are formed with an acute included angle so that the
`clamp arm portions extend inwardly towards each
`other at their free ends. The size of the included angle is
`chosen so that the tube holder may be used for children
`or adults.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`The features of this invention which are believed to
`be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended
`claims. The invention may be best understood by refer-
`ence to the following description taken in conjunction
`with the accompanying drawings, in which like refer-
`ence numerals identify like elements in the several fig-
`ures and in which:
`FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a preferred
`embodiment of a medical tube holder inserted for en-
`gagement with a septum for nasal gastric tubing in ac-
`cordance with the principles of the present invention;
`FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating construction
`details of the embodiment of FIG. 1;
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`3
`FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along section
`lines 3-3 of FIG. 1;
`FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the medical tube holder
`shown in FIG. 1;
`FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating another em-
`bodiment of a medical tube holder in accordance with
`the present invention;
`FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along section lines
`6-6 of FIG. 5;
`FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a further
`embodiment of a medical tube holder according to the
`invention;
`FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along section
`8-8 of FIG. 7;
`FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along section
`9-9 of FIG. 8;
`FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a still further em-
`bodiment of a medical tube holder in accordance with
`the present invention; and
`FIG. 11 is a sectional view
`11-11 of FIG. 10.
`
`lines
`
`4
`are provided with reverse threads so that turning
`thumbwheel 40 in one direction will move arms 16 and
`18 closer together, while turning thumbwheel 40 in the
`opposite direction will move arms 16 and 18 away from
`5 each other.
`Guide barrel 32 is provided with a slot 50 through
`inside surface 33 for receiving thumbwheel 40 and to
`thereby prevent the thumbscrew from moving along
`axis 60 as the thumbscrew is turned in either direction.
`10 Thus, as can be seen from the exploded view of FIG. 4,
`the four components of the preferred embodiment of
`medical tube holder 10 can be readily assembled.
`Thumbscrew 38 is threadably connected with nasal
`clamp arms 16, 18 and the combination is snap-inserted
`lines 15 into guide barrel 32 with thumbwheel 40 inserted into
`slot 50. The upstanding nasal clamp arms respective
`shoulders 24, 26 are in contact with inside surface 33 of
`the guide barrel so that ledges 28, 30 rest on the guide
`surfaces 34. Rotation of thumbwheel 40 enables the
`taken along section lines 20 respective threaded screws 42, 44 to threadably move
`arms 16, 18 closer together or farther apart. A detent
`like barrier 43 is located at each end of the guide barrel
`to prevent inadvertent disassembly of the components
`during operational adjustment.
`As illustrated in the assembled views of FIGS. 2 and
`3, the free ends of nasal clamp arms 16, 18 extend in-
`wardly towards each so that there is an acute included
`angle between the clamp arms sufficient to engage sep-
`tum 20 in an adjustable clamping action. During rota-
`tion of thumbscrew 38 the spacial disposition between
`the clamp arms is varied but the acute included angle
`therebetween stays the same.
`In using medical tube holder 10, nasal gastric tubing
`12 is inserted into tube holder portion 22 and the tubing
`is inserted into the patient's nostril in accordance with
`standard medical practice. Tube holder 10 is then
`moved with respect to tubing 12 so that the nasal clamp
`arms 16, 18 are inserted into the patient's nostril and on
`either side of septum 20. Thumbwheel 40 is then rotated
`in either direction so as to obtain the firm but non-
`irritating clamping contact engagement of the nasal
`clamp arms with the septum, aided by opposite clamp-
`ing pads 45, 47. Removal of holder 10 is easily attained
`by rotating thumbwheel 40 to move arms 16 and 18
`away from each other to disengage them from septum
`20, and pulling holder 10 out of the patient's nostril.
`Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in
`FIGS. 5 and 6. In this embodiment, medical tube holder
`52 includes upstanding nasal clamp arms 54, 56. One of
`the arms, such as arm 54 includes a threaded aperture 58
`for engaging a threaded screw 60.
`The other arm 56 includes means for connecting the
`arm to screw 60 so that as the screw 60 rotates, arm 56
`is maintained in position and does not move axially
`along screw 60. Such connecting means include a pair
`of split rings 62 at opposite ends of an aperture 64 ex-
`tending through shoulder 66. The split rings are
`mounted in respective grooves in screw 60. Arm 56 also
`includes a tube holding portion 22.
`One end of threaded screw 60 has a hex shaped end
`recess 68 for engagement by a similarly hex shaped
`drive shaft 70 extending from knob 72. As shown in the
`assembled view of FIG. 6, when connected together the
`arms 54, 56 form an acute included angle with the free
`arm ends extending inwardly towards each other simi-
`lar to that of tube holder 10.
`Movement of the arms with respect to each other is
`provided by inserting drive shaft 70 into hex shaped end
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`Referring now to the drawings, there are illustrated
`several embodiments of the present invention which 25
`incorporate a pair of opposite upstanding clamp arms
`adapted for clampingly engaging a body part, bedding
`or fabric adjacent a patient. One of the upstanding
`clamp arms includes a tube holding portion for receiv-
`ing and maintaining medical tubing in position. The 30
`primary intended use of a medical tube holder in accor-
`dance with the present invention is to be inserted into
`the nostrils with the upstanding nasal clamp arms en-
`gaging the septum for holding and maintaining nasal
`gastric tubing in position on a patient. (cid:9)
`FIGS. 1-4 illustrate the preferred embodiment of a
`medical tube holder 10 for holding and maintaining the
`position of a nasal gastric tube 12 with respect to a
`patient 14. Medical tube holder 10 includes a pair of
`oppositely disposed upstanding nasal clamp arms 16, 18 40
`formed so that when interconnected there is an acute
`included angle between the arms which enables inser-
`tion into a nostril in clamping contact and engagement
`with a septum 20. One of the arms such as illustrated
`arm 18 includes a tube holding portion 22 formed with 45
`a split cylindrical section. Tube holding portion 22 is
`adapted in dimensions so as to enable tubing 12 to be
`inserted into the split cylinder section while still main-
`taining the tubing in position.
`Each of the upstanding nasal clamp arms 16, 18 in- 50
`eludes a respective shoulder 24, 26 and a respective
`projecting ledge 28, 30. A guide barrel 32 shaped in the
`form of a cylindrical section includes an inside surface
`33 and is adapted in size to enable shoulders 24 and 26
`to be slidably disposed therewithin. Projecting ledges 55
`28, 30 extend on each side of the respective arms 16, 18
`so as to supportingly rest on guide surfaces 34 provided
`by a sufficient width of guide barrel 32.
`Adjustment in the position of arms 16, 18 along the
`longitudinal axis 36 of guide barrel 32 is provided by a 60
`thumbscrew 38. Thumbscrew 38 is formed with a
`thumbwheel 40 and a respective threaded screw 42, 44
`extending on each side of the thumbwheel. Threaded
`screw 42 is provided for threadable engagement with a
`threaded aperture 46 in shoulder 24 of arm 16. Simi- 65
`larly, threaded screw 44 is provided for threadable
`engagement with a threaded aperture 48 in shoulder 26
`of arm 18. Threaded screw 42 and threaded screw 44
`
`35
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`68 of screw 60 and rotating knob 72. Rotating knob 72
`in one direction axially moves clamp arm 54 along
`screw 60 towards stationary arm 56. Rotating knob 72
`in the reverse direction moves arm 54 in the opposite
`direction away from stationary arm 56. The acute in- 5
`cluded angle between the nasal clamp arms is main-
`tained as the spacial disposition between the arms is
`varied.
`The use of tube holder 52 is similar to tube holder 10.
`Thus, tubing 12 is inserted into tube holding section 22 10
`and the clamp arms 54, 56 are inserted into the nostril on
`either side of septum 20. Screw 60 is then rotated with
`shaft 70 so as to comfortably contactingly engage arms
`54 and 56 in a clamping action with septum 20 to main-
`tain tubing 12 in position. (cid:9)
`FIGS. 7-9 illustrate another medical tube holder 74
`in accordance with the present invention. Tube holder
`74 includes upstanding nasal clamp arms 76, 78, with
`arm 78 including a tube holding cylindrical segment
`portion 22. Upstanding arm 78 also includes a shoulder 20
`80 with an elongated rod 82 extending from one end of
`shoulder 80. Rod 82 includes a lever 84 having a pin 86
`projecting downwardly from the outer surface of lever
`84.
`Clamp arm 76 extends upwardly from a shoulder 88, 25
`which shoulder includes a bore 89 for receiving the
`free-end of rod 82 and further includes a series of de-
`tents 90 in the bore inner surface. As shown in FIG. 8,
`locking pin 86 is engaged in a first detent 90 to thereby
`set the spacial distance between connected arms 76, 78. 30
`The distance between the connected arms 76, 78 can be
`changed by adjusting the position of locking pin 86 in
`one of the detents 90. For example, with reference to
`FIG. 8, the distance between arms 76, 78 may be in-
`creased by raising lever 84 to disengage locking pin 86 35
`from the first detent 90, axially sliding arm. 76 with
`respect to 78 and releasing lever 84 to locate locking pin
`86 in a second or third detent 90. The acute included
`angle between the nasal clamp arms 76, 78 is maintained
`as the distance between the arms is varied. (cid:9)
`With reference to FIGS. 10 and 11, there is illustrated
`still another embodiment of the present invention which
`comprises a medical tube holder 92 which principally
`differs from the other embodiments heretofore illus-
`trated in that the spacial distance between opposite 45
`upstanding nasal clamp arms, 94, 96 is not adjustable.
`Each of the clamp arms, 94, 96 extend from a respective
`shoulder 98, 100 interconnected by a contiguous neck
`portion 102. Arm 96 includes a cylindrical tube holder
`portion 22. (cid:9)
`While the embodiment of FIGS. 10 and 11 is not
`adjustable, a significant advantage is afforded by the
`one-piece construction which can reduce the produc-
`tion costs. Integral holder 92 can be provided in at least
`two different sizes, one for children and one for adults. 55
`The difference in the sizes would principally be con-
`cerned with having the acute included angle between
`arms 94 and 96 accommodate a child sized septum in
`one case and an adult sized septum in another case.
`Alternatively, a single sized holder 92 may be provided 60
`with a suitable choice of an optimum acute included
`angle between arms 94, 96 to accommodate children
`and adults and with a suitable choice of material.
`It is desirable that a material used to form any of the
`embodiments illustrated and described in the present 65
`invention should be chosen to have characteristics of
`sufficient strength, resiliency, and lubricity in view of
`the clamping contact engagement between the upstand-
`
`40
`
`6
`ing arms of the tube holder on each side of the patient's
`septum. One material found to be satisfactory is 30/30
`polyurethane, although other types of plastic materials
`and particularly thermosetting polymers may also be
`utilized.
`Tube holder cylindrical segment portion 22 can be
`adapted to conform to standard sized medical tubing.
`Alternatively, a conventional bushing adapter can be
`used for different sized tubing. In such case the bushing
`outer diameter conforms to the size of the cylindrical
`tube holder 22 and the bushing inner diameter conforms
`to the tubing diameter.
`The foregoing detailed description has been given for
`clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary
`limitations should be understood therefrom, as modifi-
`cations will be obvious to those skilled in the art.
`What is claimed is:
`1. A medical tube holder for attachment to a patient's
`nose septum for holding medical tubing inserted into the
`patient's nose, said medical tube holder comprising:
`a first upstanding clamp arm for insertion into the
`patient's nose and into contact engagement only
`with one side of the septum substantially along the
`length of said clamp arm, thereby leaving the nos-
`tril substantially unobstructed;
`a second upstanding clamp arm oppositely spacially
`disposed to said first upstanding clamp arm for
`insertion into the patient's nose and into contact
`engagement only with the other side of the septum
`substantially along the length of said clamp arm,
`said second upstanding clamp arm including a tube
`holder portion for engageably holding said medical
`tubing in position; and
`connection means for connecting said oppositely
`spacially disposed first and second upstanding
`clamp arms at the end of the septum to define and
`maintain an acute included angle between said first
`and second upstanding clamp arms within the pa-
`tient's nose during contact engagement on opposite
`sides of the septum.
`2. A medical tube holder according to claim 1,
`wherein said connection means includes adjustment
`means for varying said spacial disposition of said first
`and second clamp arms to thereby adjust the respective
`contact engagement with said septum while maintaining
`said acute included angle between said first and second
`clamp arms.
`3. A medical tube holder according to claim 2,
`wherein said adjustment means includes a threaded
`member threadably engaging at least one of said clamp
`arms for enabling rotation of said threaded member to
`vary said spacial disposition of said first and second
`clamp arms.
`4. A medical tube holder according to claim 3,
`wherein said threaded member threadably engages each
`of said clamp arms.
`5. A medical tube holder according to claim 4,
`wherein said threaded member includes opposite thread
`directions on respective member ends.
`6. A medical tube holder according to claim 2,
`wherein said adjustment means includes a rod screw
`threadably engageable with one of said clamp arms for
`moving said clamp arm with respect to the other clamp
`arm during rotation of said rod screw.
`7. A medical tube holder according to claim 6, includ-
`ing a rotatable drive member adapted for rotatable en-
`gagement with said rod screw.
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`7
`8. A medical tube holder according to claim 7,
`wherein said rotatable drive member and threaded rod
`screw have matching engagement surfaces.
`9. A medical tube holder according to claim 2,
`wherein said adjustment means includes selectable posi- 5
`tion locking means for selectively adjusting the spacial
`disposition of said first and second clamp arms and for
`locking said clamp arms in said selected positions.
`10. A medical tube holder according to claim 9,
`wherein said selectable position locking means includes 10
`a lever having at least one locking pin thereon formed
`on one of said clamp arms and a series of detent posi-
`tions formed on the other of said clamp arms, wherein
`adjustably positioning of said clamp arms is provided by 15
`engaging the lever to release said locking pin from
`engagement with a detent and reengaging said locking
`pin with another selected detent.
`11. A medical tube holder according to claim 1,
`wherein said connection means comprises an integral
`connection neck portion extending contiguously as an
`extension from and between said first and second clamp
`arms, so that said medical tube holder comprises an
`integral, one-piece unit.
`12. A medical tube holder for attachment to a pa-
`tient's nose septum for holding medical tubing inserted
`into the patient's nose, said medical tube holder com-
`prising:
`a first upstanding clamp arm for insertion into the
`patient's nose and into contact engagement only 30
`with one side of the septum, thereby leaving the
`nostril substantially unobstructed;
`a second upstanding clamp arm oppositely spacially
`disposed to said first upstanding clamp arm for
`insertion into the patient's nose and into contact 35
`engagement only with the other side of the septum,
`said second upstanding clamp arm including a tube
`holder portion for engageably holding said medical
`tubing in position; and
`connection means for connecting said oppositely 40
`spacially disposed first and second upstanding
`clamp arms to define and maintain an acute in-
`cluded angle therebetween;
`said connection means including adjustment means
`for varying said spacial disposition of said first and 45
`second clamp arms to thereby adjust the respective
`contact engagement with said septum;
`said adjustment means including a threaded member
`having opposite thread directions on respective 50
`member ends respectively threadably engaging
`each of said clamp arms for enabling rotation of
`said threaded member to vary said spacial dispo-
`sition of said first and second clamp arms;
`said threaded member including a thumbscrew hay- 55
`ing a thumbwheel with oppositely threaded screw
`members on respective sides of said thumbwheel
`for moving said clamp arms simultaneously
`towards each other or simultaneously away from
`each other in response to the rotational direction of 60
`said thumbwheel.
`13. A medical tube holder according to claim 12,
`wherein said connection means includes a guide mem-
`ber, said first and second upstanding clamp arms slid-
`ably mounted in said guide member for slidable move- 65
`ment in response to rotation of said thumbwheel.
`14. A medical tube holder according to claim 13,
`wherein said guide member includes a slot for mounting
`
`25
`
`8
`said thumbwheel and preventing axial movement of said
`thumbscrew during operation of said thumbwheel.
`15. A medical tube holder according to claim 14,
`wherein said clamp arms each includes a shoulder por-
`tion adapted for slidable movement within said guide
`member during operation of said thumbscrew.
`16. A medical tube holder according to claim 15,
`wherein said guide member comprises a cylindrical
`segment having a width sufficient to form a guide sur-
`face.
`17. A medical tube holder according to claim 16,
`wherein said clamp arms include an overhanging ledge
`portion immediately adjacent said shoulder portion,
`said ledge portion slidably mountable on said guide
`surface.
`18. A medical tube holder for attachment to a pa-
`tient's nose septum for holding medical tubing inserted
`into the patient's nose, said medical tube holder com-
`prising:
`a first upstanding clamp arm for insertion into the
`patient's nose and into contact engagement only
`with one side of the septum substantially along the
`length of said clamp arm, thereby leaving the nos-
`tril substantially unobstructed;
`a second upstanding clamp arm oppositely spacially
`disposed to said first upstanding clamp arm for
`insertion into the patient's nose and into contact
`engagement only with the other side of the septum
`substantially along the length of said clamp arm,
`said second upstanding clamp arm including a tube
`holder portion for engageably holding said medical
`tubing in position; and
`adjustable positioning means for adjustably position-
`ing the spacing between said first and second nasal
`clamp arms to adjust the respective contact en-
`gagement of said first and second nasal clamp arms
`with said septum and thereby adjust for variable
`sized septums.
`19. A medical tube holder for attachment to a pa-
`tient's nose septum for holding medical tubing inserted
`into the patient's nose, said medical tube holder com-
`prising:
`a first upstanding clamp arm for insertion into the
`patient's nose and into contact engagement only
`with one side of the septum substantially along the
`length of said clamp arm, thereby leaving the nos-
`tril substantially unobstructed;
`a second upstanding clamp arm oppositely spacially
`disposed to said first upstanding clamp arm for
`insertion into the patient's nose and into contact
`engagement only with the other side of the septum
`substantially along the length of said clamp arm;
`said second upstanding clamp arm including a tube
`holder portion for engageably holding said medical
`tubing in position; and
`a continuously adjustable connector member inter-
`mediately connected between said first and second
`nasal clamp arms for selected continuous adjust-
`ment of the positions of said first and second nasal
`clamp arms with respect to each other so as to
`adjustably vary the clamping contact engagement
`of said medical tube holder on the septum and
`thereby adjust for variably sized septums.
`20. A medical tube holder according to claim 19,
`wherein said continuously adjustable connector mem-
`ber includes a thumbscrew enabling threadable adjust-
`ment in the relative positions of said first and second
`nasal clamp arms.
`
`CORPAK Ex 1008, Page 7
`
`