WO1990011059A1

WO1990011059A1 - Connecting device

Info

Publication number: WO1990011059A1
Application number: PCT/SE1990/000175
Authority: WO
Inventors: Magnus Sendel; Stig Wennberg
Original assignee: Toupema AB
Current assignee: Toupema AB
Priority date: 1989-03-20
Filing date: 1990-03-20
Publication date: 1990-10-04
Anticipated expiration: 1991-09-20
Also published as: SE466731B; SE8900969D0; SE8900969L

Abstract

The present invention relates to a connecting device for the application of prothesis close to the skin on preferably humans, whereby the connecting device comprises a male member (3) which is securable in bone tissue (7) on the human, and a female member (4) which is fastened to the prothesis and applicable onto said male member (3). In order to provide a connecting device as defined above with a small structural height and with a securing point for the prothesis close to the skin without pressing thereon, and prevent unintentional loosening of the members from each other and from their anchoring points, the male member (3) has a threaded portion (5) for self-tapping in the bone tissue (7) as well as a connecting ball (9) extending above the skin (2) outside the bone tissue (7) and formed integrally with the threaded portion (5), while the female member (4) has a snap portion (16) provided in an inner, elastically resilient rise (15) and permitting snapping onto said connecting ball (9) of said male member (3), as well as an outer anchoring portion (19) with holes (20) for fixing means for securing said female member (4) in the prothesis.

Description

Connecting device.

The present invention relates to a connecting device for the application of protheses close to the skin on preferably humans, hereby the connecting device comprises a male member, which is securable in bone tissue on the human, and a female member which is fastened to the prothesis and applicable onto said male member.

The protheses for the application of which the connecting device according to the present invention is of current interest are wigs, toupees, etc., but the connecting device may also be used for e.g. artificial noses, eyes and ears.

Hitherto, wigs and toupees have been fastened by means of one or more of many different arrangements and methods. Thus, tape or glue may be used, as well as clips, micro-wave and steel rings. The drawbacks with tape are that the wig or toupee never- sit on the same place, that it is insanitary and that e.g. a pair of scissors is required for cutting the tape. Furthermore, the tape does not allow bathing, showering or that one takes a sauna. The tape must in all circumstances be exchanged every two or three days. Glue has substantially the same drawbacks as the tape, It may be added that glue, when used for a longer period, negatively affects the skin under the wig. Clips must always be combined with tape or glue and give rise to the same problems. Micro-wave, which is a thin thread that is sewn onto existing hair and the base member of the wig or toupee, is highly insani tary since no access for washing under the wig or toupee is obtainable. After about 6 or 7 weeks, the toupee must be remade since the existing hair grows. Also, tape or glue can not be completely avoided. Steel rings that are fastened to the skin and onto which the base member is subsequently clamped by means of a thin thread are also highly insanitary and even injurious. Accessories such as tape are required,

Recently, one has begun to use connecting devices for securing wigs or toupees in the bone tissue in the head. These con necting devices generally comprise an anchor element such as a screw, a skin penetrating spacer, a retaining screw and a connecting detail on the wig or toupee. When the wig or toupee is applied, the connecting detail is applied onto the retaining screw, whereby all components are brought together to a unit. The many components add height to the connecting device and there is a risk that the various components in time loosen from each other, since they are held together with movable elements such as screws.

The object of the present invention is to eliminate the abovementioned drawbacks in prior art and provide a connecting device of the aforesaid type which, at protheses such as wigs and toupees, always hold them in position with the smallest possible securing surface, which permits use of the wig also when showering, taking a sauna or at sleep, etc., which requires no accessories for the application and no adjustments, which makes it easy to take off the wig and to put it on, which is hygienic and has no negative effect on the skin under the wig or toupee and which is very durable. Furthermore, the connecting device according to the invention has a smaller structural height with a securing point for the wig or toupee close to the skin without pressing thereon, and unintentional loosening of the members from each other and from their anchoring points is avoided.

The connecting device according to the invention is hereby characterized by the facts that the male member has a threaded portion for self-tapping in the bone tissue as well as a connecting ball extending above the skin outside the bone tissue and formed integrally with the threaded portion, and that the female member has a snap portion provided in an inner, elastically resilient rise and permitting snapping onto said connecting ball of said male member, as well as an outer anchoring portion with holes for fixing means for securing said female member in the prothesis.

The above and other characterizing features of the present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein

fig. 1 is a perspective view of an example of how the connecting device may be used;

fig. 2 is a side view of the male member of the connecting device;

fig, 3 is a side view of the female member of the

connecting device; and

fig. 4 is a section through the male and female members of the connecting device when assembled.

Thus, the present invention relates to a connecting device for the application of protheses 1, preferably wigs, toupees, etc. (see fig. 1) close to the skin 2, i.e. close to the scalp, but not in direct engagement therewith. The connecting device comprises a male member 3, which is securable in bone tissue on a human, i.e. with regard to wigs and toupees 1 in the cranium, and a female member 4 which is fastened to the prothesis 1 (the wig) and applicable onto the male member 3.

According to the invention, the male member 3 has (see preferably fig. 2) a threaded portion 5 with preferably especially designed cutting edges 6 for self-tapping in a predrilled hole in the bone tissue 7 for said threaded portion. This self- capping in the bone tissue 7 provides for a quicker and better healing process because the wound is not irritated thereby as with rough cutting. The male member 3 further includes a connecting ball 9 which extends up above the skin 2 outside the bone tissue 7 and which is formed integrally with the threaded portion 5 such that the components do not loosen from each other. The threaded portion 5 terminates in a flange 10, the underside 11 of which engages the bone tissue while the upper side 12 transfers into the connecting ball 9 via a connecting portion 13 of reduced diameter which extends through the skin 2 outside the bone tissue 7 wherein the male member 3 is secured. The connecting ball 9 preferably has a hexagon hole 14 for a hexagon spanner (not shown) for securing the male member 3 in the bone tissue 7. The male member 3 is preferably made of metal, preferably titanium which is compatible with the bone tissue. The female member 4 has, according to the invention (see figs. 3 and 4), an inner elastically resilient rise 15 wherein a snap portion 16 is provided for snapping onto the connecting ball 9 of the male member 3. The rise 15 is preferably round and has a surface with the shape of a frustum of a cone or an evenly curved surface, inside which the often more rugged snap portion 16 is disposed centrally, so that it is surrounded and covered by said rise. The rise 15 is also provided with radially

directed slits 17, which pass through the centre 18 of said rise and which extend through the snap portion 16, The slits 17 allow, along with the fact that the female member is preferably made of a plastics material, that the rise 15 and snap portion 16 get such an elasticity that said snap portion is easy to snap onto the connecting ball 9 of the male member 3 without causing any pain, that the prothesis is properly secured (a certain force must be overcome for loosening thereof) and that the prothesis can be loosened without pain. The female member 4 further includes an outer anchoring portion 19 with holes 20 for fixing means (not shown), e.g. thin nylone thread, for securing said female member in the prothesis 1. The anchoring portion 19 annularly surrounds the inner rise 15 and the holes 20 for fixing means are uniformly distributed along the periphery of the anchoring portion. For distributing eventual outer pressure against the prothesis 1, the underside 21 of the anchoring portion 19 lies in a plane beneath the underside 22 of the snap portion 16. In order to permit airing of the skin and not negatively affect the same, the underside 21 of the anchoring portion 19 however, lies so close to the snap portion 16 that said underside when providing said snap portion onto the connecting ball 9 of the male member 3, will not engage the skin around the connecting ball.

The securing of the male member 3 in bone tissue 7 may occur as follows:

Suitable anchoring points are selected with regard to type of prothesis and the size thereof (see fig. 1). A cut shaped as a half-moon is made around each anchoring point and the skin and fat tissue 2 are moved aside such that the bone tissue 7 is exposed. With a round drill and a cylinder drill a hole is drilled in the bone tissue 7. The depth of the hole is about 3 mm. By means of a hexagon spanner the threaded portion 5 of the male member 3 is screwed into the hole while cutting threads therein until the underside 11 of the flange 10 engages the bone tissue 7. The lap of skin and fat tissue is folded back and sewn and the male member 3 may heal for 3-4 months. Thereafter, a hole is punched in said skin and fat tissue lap such that the connecting ball 9 of the male member 3 is exposed. Eventually, the skin 2 around the connecting ball 9 is thinned out by cutting away portions of the fat tissue therearound. A healing hood is disposed over the connecting ball 9 and the wound is allowed to heal. After the healing process, the prothesis 1 may be placed in position by applying (snapping) the snap portions 16 provided on the female members 4 onto the connecting ball 9 of each male member 3 secured as described above.

Alternatively, the hole punching in the skin and fat tissue may be carried out directly at each anchoring point and holes may be drilled and the male member screwed into the bone tissue thus exposed. This is namely a less complicated and quicker securing procedure.

It is obvious for a skilled person that the present invention, beyond what is defined above, may be modified and altered within the scope of the following claims without departing from the idea and purpose of the present invention.

Claims

Claims:

1. Connecting device for the application of protheses close to the skin on preferably humans, whereby the connecting device comprises a male member which is securable in bone tissue on the human, and a female member which is fastened to the prothesis and applicable onto said male member, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the male member (3) has a threaded portion (5) for self-tapping in the bone tissue (7) as well as a connecting ball (9) extending above the skin (2) outside the bone tissue (7) and formed integrally with the threaded portion (5), and that the female member (4) has a snap portion (16) provided in an inner, elastically resilient rise (15) and permitting snapping onto said connecting ball (9) of said male member (3), as well as an outer anchoring portion (19) with holes (20) for fixing means for securing said female member (4) in the

prothesis (1).

2. Connecting device according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the threaded portion (5) of the male member (3) has cutting edges (6) for self-tapping.

3. Connecting device according to claim 1 or 2, c h ar a c t e r i z e d i n that the threaded portion terminates in a flange (10), the underside (11) of which is adapted to engage the bone tissue (7).

4. Connecting device according to claim 3, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the upper side (12) of the flange (10) transforms into the connecting ball (9) via a connecting portion (13) of reduced diameter and extending through the skin (2) outside the bone tissue (7) in which the male member (3) is secured.

5. Connecting device according to any of claims 1-4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the connecting ball (9) has a hexagon hole (14) for a hexagon snapper for securing the male member (3) in the bone tissue (7).

6. Connecting device according to any of claims 1-5, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the male member (3) is made of metal, preferably titanium.

7. Connecting device according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the inner, elastically resilient rise (15) of the female member (4) is round and has a surface of frustoconical shape or an evenly curved surface, and that the snap portion (16) is disposed centrally in said rise (15).

8. Connecting device according to claim 7, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the rise (15) is provided with

radially directed slits (17) which pass through the centre (18) of said rise and which extend through the snap portion (16).

9. Connecting device according to claim 7 or 8, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the underside (21) of the outer anchoring portion (19) of the female member (4) is in a plane beneath the underside (22) of the snap portion (16), but so close to said snap portion that said underside (21) of said anchoring portion (19), when providing said snap portion onto the connecting ball (9), will not engage the skin (2) around said connecting ball.

10. Connecting device according to claim 9, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the outer anchoring portion (19) annularly surrounds the inner rise (15) and that the holes (20) for fixing means in said anchoring portion are uniformly distributed along the periphery of the anchoring portion.