Patently Speaking highlights the technological achievements of Fort Wayne area residents.
Provisional bone plate
•U.S. Patent No. 7,736,365
•Invented by: Krishnakant K. Merchant, Fort Wayne; Mark Phillips, Warsaw; Mark Bryant, Auburn; and Bradley T. Durcholz, Warsaw
•Assigned to Zimmer Technology Inc., Warsaw
This patent describes what is essentially a large bone ruler.
Osteosynthesis is a surgical procedure for reattaching fractured halves of a bone. This is often done using a metal plate. This plate fits over the fracture and is fastened to each half of the bone using screws or bolts.
A problem, however, is that until the fractured bone is exposed, the precise size of the metal plate needed is not determinable.
A conventional way of getting the right size plate is through simple trial and error. Plates of different sizes are purchased and laid over the bone until the right size is found. Obviously, this results in greater expense.
This patent describes a plastic bone plate that can be used to determine the needed size for the permanent bone plate.
Such a plate can be configured for any bone in the body and is sized at the longest possible length. Along the length of this plastic plate are a series of drilled holes that essentially create weak spots along the plate length.
During the operation, the surgeon can lay the plastic plate alongside the bone and measure for the size needed for the final bone plate. The surgeon can then snap off portions of this plastic bone plate to determine the precise size of the final bone plate needed.
Production of UHMWPE sheet materials
•U.S. Patent No. 7,736,579
•Invented by: Joseph V. Gregg, Fort Wayne; Wesley Allen Kohler, Ossian; and Lyle D. Berning, Monroeville
•Assigned to Quadrant EPP AG, Lenzburg, China
UHMWPE is a long acronym for “ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene.” This is a high-strength durable plastic.
The consequence of these characteristics is that this type of plastic typically cannot be melt extruded into a shape. Rather, it is either compression-molded or ram-extruded.
Compression molding is simply pressing the plastic into a molded shape. Ram extrusion uses a ram to push the plastic through a metal die, extruding the plastic into a shape. Typically these shapes are round shafts or thick boards.
A problem with the ram process is that the plastic cannot be formed into wide thin sheets. The plastic causes the ram to buckle and damage the die. Trying to make wide plastic sheets out of UHMWPE results in warped, irregular surfaces that are prone to fracture.
This patent describes a new ram extrusion manufacturing process for UHMWPE that can make thin wide panels. The process uses a ram that pushes the plastic through a slit die.
This is done while the plastic is in a partially crystalline solid state. After the plastic is pushed through the die, it is sandwiched in a press, producing the desired flat, thin, wide plastic material.
The preceding are lay descriptions of patents obtained from the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s public records and are provided for general information purposes only. Nothing contained herein is a legal description of any claimed invention, identification of novelty, or offer of legal advice. Because issued patents are based on applications often filed years earlier, the subject matter of some patents may have been available on the market for some time prior to the issuance of the patent. Additional information on these patents is available at www.uspto.gov.
