Patents by Inventor Ray E. Umber

Ray E. Umber has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 7568554
    Abstract: An oiler for supplying lubricant to a pneumatically driven surgical instrument has: a wick chamber; an oil reservoir; and a gas reservoir. The wick chamber is open to the conduit through which gas is supplied to the instrument. A wick is disposed in the wick chamber. An oil-soaked member is disposed in the wick chamber. A lubricant soaked member is disposed in the oil reservoir. The gas reservoir holds a charge of gas. When gas is supplied to the instrument, oil is educed from the wick and oil reservoir and flows with the gas stream to the instrument. Upon the shut off of the gas, the gas charge vents from the of gas reservoir. This gas delivers a charge of oil to the wick. Some of this oil is discharged from the oiler to the supply conduit. This oil lubricates the instrument when it is initially reactuated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2009
    Assignee: Stryker Corporation
    Inventors: Ray E. Umber, Steven C. Grubbs
  • Patent number: 6209886
    Abstract: A resecting tool contains a rotatable chuck inside a base for engaging the drive shaft of a motor. The chuck extends into a tubular casing that has an outer actuator sleeve. The sleeve is limited to rotation relative to the casing and is used to move a pair of locking elements or balls in separate helical slots in the casing. Each ball is seated in a collar that abuts a collet receiver inside the casing. During implement changeover, the collar abuts the collet receiver and acts as a brake to prevent accidental actuation of the chuck of the tool. The collet receiver is spring-biased into contact with a first collet which closely receives a tool implement within the resecting tool. The sleeve is used to manipulate the collet to clamp onto and unclamp the tool implement. A collet coupling is located on the front end of the casing and has a collet nut on its forward end. The collet nut houses a second collet with a serpentine cut for engaging and retaining a guide sleeve for supporting the tool implement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2001
    Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventors: Larry Dale Estes, Ray E. Umber, Gary B. Gage
  • Patent number: 5893851
    Abstract: A coupling device attaches to a surgical resecting instrument with a motorized shaft for rotating surgical implements. The device houses a primary shaft which can be directly attached to the motorized shaft, and a secondary shaft which can be attached to the primary shaft through a hexagonally-shaped drive attachment with a bore. The primary shaft has several apertures with balls that engage an annular recess in the shank of a first implement to restrict its axial movement. The primary shaft also has a torque shoulder for engaging a torque shoulder on the first implement. If the first implement is removed, the secondary shaft can be installed to receive a second implement with a diameter smaller than that of the first implement. The secondary shaft also has several apertures with balls that engage an annular recess in a second implement shaft to restrict axial movement. The secondary shaft has axially spaced apart torque shoulders for engaging a torque shoulder on the second implement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 13, 1999
    Assignee: Midas Rex Pneumatic Tools, Inc.
    Inventors: Ray E. Umber, Larry Dale Estes, Townesend R. Scantlebury
  • Patent number: 5741263
    Abstract: A coupling device attaches to a surgical resecting instrument with a motorized shaft for rotating a surgical implement with at least one torque shoulder. The device houses a tubular shaft with a central bore which attaches to the motorized shaft through a hexagonally-shaped drive attachment with a bore. The tubular shaft has several apertures with balls that engage an annular recess in the implement shaft to restrict axial movement. The tubular shaft has axially spaced apart torque shoulders capable of engaging torque shoulders on implements of different size diameters or multiple diameters. The tubular shaft is also capable of driving an implement with axially spaced apart torque shoulders.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 21, 1998
    Assignee: Midas Rex Pneumatic Tools, Inc.
    Inventors: Ray E. Umber, Larry Dale Estes, Townesend R. Scantlebury
  • Patent number: 5569256
    Abstract: A surgical resection tool of the type having a rotary motor, a dissecting tool and a bearing tube is provided with dual quick releases for quickly releasing and latching dissecting tools and bearing tubes to expedite tooling changes during surgical procedures. The surgical resection tool preferably has a canted centerline in which the centerline for the rotary motor is canted with respect to the centerline for the dissecting tool and the bearing tube to provide an ergonomic shape for holding the resection tool. In a preferred embodiment, the two quick releases are provided by collet type latches having latching balls and slidable sleeves. The slidable sleeves are coupled together for selectively moving to a latching position where latching balls are pressed into grooves formed into dissecting tools and bearing tubes to latch a dissecting tool and a bearing tube into the resection tool.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 1995
    Date of Patent: October 29, 1996
    Assignee: Midas Rex Pneumatic Tools, Inc.
    Inventors: William J. Vaughn, Ray E. Umber, William E. St. Clair, Larry D. Estes, Glenn T. Carlson
  • Patent number: 5569254
    Abstract: A surgical tool for resecting bone includes a pneumatic motor to which a bearing tube is secured for rotatably supporting a resecting tool. The bearing tube is eccentrically disposed within an attachment tube, with a flow channel defined between an interior of the attachment tube and an exterior of the bearing tube. Irrigation fluid is passed through the flow channel to maintain a constant flow of irrigation fluid about a cutting end of the resecting tool. Optical fibers extend within the attachment tube for passing light to lenses disposed at the specimen end of the attachment tube for providing illumination. At least one optical fiber extends from a lens at the specimen end, through the attachment tube, and to an optical viewer for providing a means for inspecting the bone being resected. The attachment tube is slidably adjustable along the bearing tube for selecting a distance between the specimen end of the attachment tube and the cutting end of the resecting tool.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 1995
    Date of Patent: October 29, 1996
    Assignee: Midas Rex Pneumatic Tools, Inc.
    Inventors: Glenn T. Carlson, William J. Vaughn, Ray E. Umber
  • Patent number: 5257995
    Abstract: A dissecting device assists in removing a prosthesis from an embedded engagement within a bone. The device includes a cutting tool having a cutting tip and an elongated shank which has a diameter and length selected so as to allow significant lateral flexing. A motor configured to be gripped by one hand of a user, is connected to the cutting tool shank for providing rotational motion to the cutting tool. A handle configured to gripped by another hand of the user has a bearing carrier having a hole therethrough which rotatably receives the shank. The user will move the motor and the handle to guide the cutting tool around the perimeter of the prosthesis to dissect a thin layer between the prosthesis and the bone to release the prosthesis from the bone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 1992
    Date of Patent: November 2, 1993
    Assignee: Midas Rex Pneumatic Tools, Inc.
    Inventors: Ray E. Umber, William J. Vaughn