A retractor (101) for retracting the margins of a wound opening (103) comprises an inner anchoring O-ring (105) attached to a cylindrical sleeve (106) at a distal end and a reinforcing O-ring (109) attached to a proximal end of the sleeve (106). The sleeve (106) is led between an inner ring part (110) and a corresponding recess (116) in an outer ring part (111). The outer ring part (111) has anchor formations (120) over which the proximal end of the sleeve (106) is attached to anchor the sleeve ...

In a retractor with a retractor blade, a handle, a fiber-optical light guide for illuminating the point of engagement of the retractor and a connector for connecting a fiber-optical cable to the fiber-optical light guide, with the fiber-optical light guide comprising a bent, tubular sheath which extends through the handle and along part of the retractor blade and in which a glass fiber bundle is embedded, in order to improve resterilizability, with the retractor being at the same time capable of...

The invention is a sternal retractor comprising a pair of arms with sternum engaging blades thereon and a curved cross bar on which said arms are disposed such that in use the retractor can open the bottom of the sternum more than the top of the sternum to minimize damage and injury to the upper ribs and numbness which sometimes results in the hands of open chest surgery patients. The retractor also has application for other surgical procedures, as well, for the same general purpose of providing...

A surgical retractor of the type having a pair of movable handles pivoted on a common pivot pin or hinge member each handle having an elongated arm extending upwardly therefrom for reciprocal expansion or contraction when the handles are reciprocally moved, the improvement comprising a blade or plate member secured along one end of the first one of the arms opposite a first one of the handles, the plate member being angled inwardly from the elongated arm and directed downwardly approximately nor...

A vehicle safety restraint retractor comprising a spool (2) for storage of belt webbing (1), the spool being mounted for rotation about its axis (3) within the spool housing (4) the retractor comprising a resilient biasing member (10) urging one end of the spool towards a corresponding cover for the side of the retractor, for taking up axial tolerances in the spool mounting. The resilient biasing member (10) is preferably a wave washer spring positioned at the spring side of the spool, between t...

A web locking retractor (20) for a vehicle safety restraint system is described comprising a spool assembly (60) mounted for linear movement with respect to a wedge housing frame (22) such that linear movement of the spool assembly (60), e.g. vertically, pushes against one or more clamping wedges (46a,b) to clamp a seat belt therebetween, characterized in that the spool assembly (60) is operatively coupled to the at least one clamping wedge (46a,b) via a resilient member, such as a coil spring (...

A web-locking retractor comprising a spool (16) about which seat belt webbing is wound, the spool (16) being rotatably mounted on a spindle which is slidably mounted in a frame (12), at least one sensing mechanism (200) responsive to conditions indicative of a crash to cause the spool (16) to lock to prevent further protraction of the seat belt webbing, a web-clamping mechanism (46) operable in response to vertical movement of the spool (16), sensing mechanism (200) and retraction spring (180) r...

A surgical retractor for adjustable mounting on a supported holder includes an elongated stem of cylindrical cross-sectional configuration and blade means attached to one end of the stem, the stem being optionally provided with a plurality of spaced circumferential first means for selective engagement by adjustable complemental second means for restraining longitudinal movement of the stem in one direction, and optionally including an inner section hingedly connected to an outer section, providi...

A retractor for running pipe into and out of a hole is provided with a fluid operating system for opening and closing the several grippers, in which the grippers are opened and closed by pressure responsive members which are subjected to a high- and low-pressure fluid system through a suitable three-way valve to effect opening, closing, and gripping with a minimum volume of high-pressure fluid being utilized.

A retractor (20) for a vehicle safety restraint for use in a rear vehicle seat comprising: seat belt webbing wound on a rotatable spool (2), and a vehicle sensor having an inertial sensor mass (5) supported in a housing and movable relative thereto when vehicle acceleration or deceleration exceeds a predetermined magnitude; a vehicle sensor pawl (7) arranged to be moved, in response to movement of the mass, from a position in which the spool is freely rotatable into a spool locking position; a s...