1. An adjustable support structure for use in combination with a portable ice chest of the type having a bottom, four walls and a top opening with a cover, said support structure comprising:
a horizontal deck for supporting food and ice within the ice chest above the ice chest bottom, a volume for melt water being defined between the ice chest bottom and said horizontal deck;
said horizontal deck including
a generally rectangular main portion having four side edges, and
a pair of adjustable wings extending past two adjacent side edges of said main portion; and
supports under said main portion for positioning said horizontal deck a distance above the ice chest bottom.
2. The support structure of claim 1, wherein said supports are configured so as to provide direct structural support for an intermediate portion of said main portion.
3. The support structure of claim 1, wherein said supports are elongated.
4. The support structure of claim 3, wherein said supports comprise tubing which has a rectangular cross-section.
5. The support structure of claim 1, wherein said horizontal deck is substantially solid with a plurality of drainage apertures to facilitate the flow of melt water into said volume.
6. The support structure of claim 1, wherein said adjustable wings overlap said main portion of said horizontal deck.
7. The support structure of claim 6, wherein said adjustable wings are generally coplanar and have matching rabbets to allow said wings to overlap at one end of each wing.
8. The support structure of claim 1, which further comprises fasteners which selectively clamp said adjustable wings to said main portion at a desired adjustment position.
9. The support structure of claim 8, wherein said adjustable wings include slotted adjustment apertures through which said fasteners pass.
10. The support structure of claim 9, wherein said fasteners comprise either threaded apertures in said horizontal deck main portion or nuts carried by said horizontal deck main portion, and machine screws which pass through said slotted adjustment apertures to engage said threaded apertures or nuts.
11. The support structure of claim 1, which further comprises a drain water suction pick up tube having a lower portion extending downwardly from said horizontal deck into said volume, said lower portion having an end which is spaced above the ice chest bottom during use.
12. The support structure of claim 9, wherein the length of said lower portion of said drain water suction pick up tube is less than the height of said supports under said main portion.
13. The support structure of claim 11, wherein said drain water suction pick up tube has an upper portion which extends upwardly from said horizontal deck.
14. The support structure of claim 13, wherein said upper portion of said drain water suction pick up tube comprises a nipple to which a riser tube can be connected.
15. The support structure of claim 13, wherein:
said upper portion of said drain water suction tube comprises a nipple; and which further comprises
a riser tube connected to said nipple to extend upwardly within the ice chest to facilitate connection to a suction device.
16. The support structure of claim 13, wherein:
said upper portion of said drain water suction tube comprises a nipple; and which further comprises
a drain connection tube extending through one of the walls of the ice chest near the top opening to facilitate connection to a suction device; and
a riser tube connected to said nipple, extending upwardly within the ice chest, and connected to said drain connection tube.
17. A support structure for use in combination with a portable ice chest of the type having a bottom, four walls and a top opening with a cover, said support structure comprising:
a horizontal deck for supporting food and ice within the ice chest above the ice chest bottom, a volume for melt water being defined between the ice chest bottom and said horizontal deck;
supports under said horizontal deck for positioning said horizontal deck a distance above the ice chest bottom; and
a drain water suction pick up tube having a lower portion extending downwardly from said horizontal deck into said volume, said lower portion having an end which is spaced above the ice chest bottom during use.
18. The support structure of claim 17, wherein said drain water suction pick up tube has an upper portion which extends upwardly from said horizontal deck.
19. The support structure of claim 18, wherein said upper portion of said drain water suction pick up tube comprises a nipple to which a riser tube can be connected.
20. In combination:
a portable ice chest having a bottom, four walls and a top opening with a cover; and
an adjustable support structure comprising a horizontal deck for supporting food and ice within said ice chest above said ice chest bottom, a volume for melt water being defined between said ice chest bottom and said horizontal deck;
said horizontal deck including
a generally rectangular main portion having four side edges, and
a pair of adjustable wings extending past two adjacent side edges of said main portion;
supports under said main portion for positioning said horizontal deck a distance above said ice chest bottom;
a drain water suction pick up tube having a lower portion extending downwardly from said horizontal deck into said volume, said lower portion having an end which is spaced above the ice chest bottom during use, and said drain water suction pick up tube having an upper portion which extends upwardly from said horizontal deck;
a drain connection tube extending through one of said side walls of said ice chest near said top opening to facilitate connection to a suction device; and
a riser tube connected to said nipple, extending upwardly within said ice chest, and connected to said drain connection tube.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An implantable interlaminar-interspinous stabilization system comprising:
a U-shaped implantable device comprising an inferior section, a superior section, a midsection extending therebetween, and a pair of lateral walls extending from at least one of the inferior section and superior section for engaging a spinous process of a vertebra, each of the lateral walls including an aperture for receiving a bone fastener; and
a bone fastener comprising a threaded bolt and a threaded nut for securing the implantable device to the spinous process.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein each aperture of the lateral walls includes a countersink.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the pair of lateral walls extends from the superior section and the system further comprises:
a second pair of lateral walls extending from the inferior section, each of the lateral walls of the second pair of lateral walls including an aperture for receiving a bone fastener.
4. The system of claim 3, further comprising a second bone fastener comprising a threaded bolt and a threaded nut.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the midsection is compressible.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the midsection is configured to act as a flexible hinge.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the pair of lateral walls are movable relative to one another.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the pair of lateral walls are movable relative the inferior section or superior section from which the lateral walls extend.
9. An implantable interlaminar-interspinous stabilization system comprising:
a U-shaped implantable device comprising an inferior section, a superior section, a midsection extending therebetween, and a pair of lateral walls extending from at least one of the inferior section and superior section for engaging a spinous process of a vertebra, each of the lateral walls including an aperture for receiving a bone fastener;
a bone fastener for securing the implantable device to the spinous process; and
an insertion tool for inserting the bone fastener through the apertures of the implantable device during implantation of the system.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein the bone fastener comprises a threaded bolt and a threaded nut.
11. The system of claim 9, wherein each aperture of the lateral walls includes a countersink.
12. The system of claim 9, wherein the pair of lateral walls extends from the superior section and the system further comprises:
a second pair of lateral walls extending from the inferior section, each of the lateral walls of the second pair of lateral walls including an aperture for receiving a bone fastener.
13. The system of claim 12, further comprising a second bone fastener comprising a threaded bolt and a threaded nut.
14. The system of claim 12, further including a pair of compression pliers for positioning two spinous processes between the first and second pair of lateral walls, respectively.
15. The system of claim 9, further including a tightening tool configured to cooperate with the insertion tool such that rotation of the tightening tool effects threading of the bolt and nut together.
16. The system of claim 15, further including a hole puncher configured to punch a hole through bony tissue of the spinous process to create a hole configured to receive the bone fastener.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein the hole puncher removes bony tissue excised from the spinous process to produce the hole.
18. The system of claim 9, wherein the midsection is compressible.
19. The system of claim 9, wherein the midsection is configured to act as a flexible hinge.
20. The system of claim 9, wherein the pair of lateral walls are movable relative to one another.
21. The system of claim 9, wherein the pair of lateral walls are movable relative the inferior section or superior section from which the lateral walls extend.
22. A method of stabilizing a spine, comprising:
selecting a vertebral level to be treated;
positioning a U-shaped implant between two adjacent spinous processes of the selected vertebral level, the implant comprising:
an inferior section, a superior section, a midsection extending therebetween, and a first pair of lateral walls extending from at least one of the inferior section and superior section, each of the lateral walls including an aperture for receiving a bone fastener, wherein the pair of lateral walls are positioned on opposite sides of a spinous process of the selected vertebral level; and
securing the implant to at least one of the spinous adjacent processes by passing a bolt through the aperture of one of the lateral walls.
23. The method of claim 22, wherein securing the implant includes aligning a nut with the aperture of the lateral wall located on the opposite side of the spinous process as the bolt such that the nut and bolt pass through the spinous process and are joined at a threaded connection.
24. The method of claim 23, further including tightening the threaded connection between the nut and bolt to prevent movement of the implantable device relative to the vertebral level and promote fusion of the vertebral level.
25. The method of claim 23, further including using an alignment tool to pass the nut and bolt through the apertures of the lateral walls, the alignment tool configured to hold the nut and bolt and align threaded portions of the nut and bolt.
26. The method of claim 25, further including tightening the threaded connection between the nut and bolt by turning a gear mechanism of the alignment tool to rotate the nut relative to the bolt and thread the nut to the bolt.
27. The method of claim 22, further including creating a hole in the spinous process located between the two lateral walls of the implant before passing the bolt and nut through the apertures of the lateral walls.
28. The method of claim 27, wherein creating the hole includes passing a portion of a punching tool through at least one aperture of the lateral walls and through bony tissue of the spinous process.
29. The method of claim 23, wherein the pair of lateral walls extends from the superior section and is positioned on opposite sides of a first spinous process; and
the method further includes positioning a second pair of a second pair of lateral walls on opposite sides of a second spinous process, each of the lateral walls extending from the inferior section and including an aperture for receiving a bone fastener and are positioned.
30. The method of claim 29, wherein the method includes:
securing the implant to the first spinous process by passing a first bolt through the aperture of one of the lateral walls of the first pair of lateral walls; and
securing the implant to the second spinous process by passing a second bolt through the aperture of one of the lateral walls of the second pair of lateral walls.
31. The method of claim 30, wherein securing the implant comprises:
aligning a nut with the aperture of the lateral wall located on the opposite side of the first spinous process as the first bolt such that the nut and first bolt pass through the first spinous process and are joined at a threaded connection; and
aligning a nut with the aperture of the lateral wall located on the opposite side of the second spinous process as the second bolt such that the nut and second bolt pass through the second spinous process and are joined at a threaded connection.
32. The method of claim 30, further including tightening the threaded connections between the nuts and bolts to prevent movement of the implantable device relative to the vertebral level and promote fusion of the vertebral level.
33. The method of claim 32, further including using an alignment tool to pass the nuts and bolts through the apertures of the lateral walls, the alignment tool configured to hold the one of the nuts and one of the bolts and align threaded portions of the nut and bolt.
34. The method of claim 33, further including tightening the threaded connections between the nuts and bolts by turning a gear mechanism of the alignment tool to rotate the one of the nuts relative to one of the bolts and thread the nut to the bolt.
35. The method of claim 30, further including creating a hole in each of the first spinous process and second spinous process before passing the bolts and nuts through the apertures of the lateral walls.
36. The method of claim 35, wherein creating the hole includes passing a portion of a punching tool through at least one aperture of the lateral walls and through bony tissue of the spinous process.
37. The method of claim 30, further including moving the first spinous process and the second spinous process towards one another before securing the implant to the first spinous process and second spinous process.
38. The method of claim 37, wherein moving the first spinous process and the second spinous process towards one another includes engaging a top surface of one of the first and second spinous processes with a first portion of a pair of compression pliers, engaging a bottom surface of the other of the first and second spinous processes with a second portion of a compression pliers, and compressing the first and second portions of the compression pliers.