Universal hospital bracket

Abstract

There is disclosed herein a universal clamp assembly for use in supporting and grasping medical appliances. The assembly includes a housing having means at one end for securing the assembly to a pole or other support. A pair of replaceable opposed arms extend outwardly from the other end of the housing and define a jaw for grasping the appliance. Each of the arms includes pivot means for pivotally securing the arms to the housing and permitting the arms to be moved between open and closed positions. Biasing means are positioned in the housing to cooperate with the arms to resiliently bias the arms toward a closed or grasping position which gives the jaws a snap action. The arms and biasing means are mounted for rotation about the longitudinal axis of the housing so as to permit positioning of the appliances at various attitudes which is desirable in debubbling a dialyzer. Furthermore, each of the arms is replaceable so as to permit use of the assembly with various types of appliances. An interlocking bracket and auxiliary clamp construction is also provided for securing auxiliary appliances to the universal clamp assembly. The bracket includes a pair of outwardly diverging ear-like members having shaped outer surfaces. The clamp includes a connector end having a pair of converging ears which are shaped for mating and releasable engagement with said bracket ears.