as shown in fig1 , in a preferred embodiment , the bending cage ( 1 ) has a front opening ( 20 ) and a rear opening ( 21 ), each dimensioned to allow passage of a bending bar or bending iron ( 30 , 31 ). fig1 shows the front opening ( 20 ) of the bending cage ( 1 ) having two parallel edges separated by a vertical distance ( 3 ) and having a horizontal length ( 2 ). the vertical distance ( 3 ) allows a snug fit for a vertical dimension ( e . g ., thickness ) of a bending bar or bending iron ( 30 , 31 ) while the horizontal length ( 2 ) permits free horizontal motion for the bending bar or being iron ( 30 , 31 ) within the front opening ( 20 ). thus , a range along horizontal length ( 2 ) is provided for moving at least one bending iron ( 30 , 31 ) in a horizontal direction while vertical distance ( 3 ) prevents spinning or rotational movement of the bending bar or bending iron ( 30 , 31 ) and maintains an applied force constrained along an axis directed by the horizontal length ( 2 ) in the bending cage ( 1 ). the bending cage ( 1 ) has a rear opening ( 21 ) that is separated from the front surface ( 20 ) by distance ( 4 ). the front and rear openings ( 20 , 21 ) provide a plane of support to the surface of the bending irons ( 30 , 31 ) by providing two separate parallel and aligned constraints separated by a distance ( 4 ). the separation provided by distance ( 4 ) of the openings ( 20 , 21 ) provides further torsional constraints to the bending irons ( 30 , 31 ) that are passed through the bending cage ( 1 ). in an embodiment shown in fig1 , an empty space ( 100 ) is cut out of the top and bottom surfaces of the bending cage ( 1 ) to further reduce the weight and bulk of the bending cage ( 1 ). in other embodiments not shown , the top and bottom surfaces of the bending cage ( 1 ) are solid and no empty space ( 100 ) is cut out of the top and bottom surfaces of the bending cage ( 1 ). one preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a combination of bending bars or bending irons ( 30 , 31 ) and a bending cage ( 1 ). fig1 , 13 , and 14 show a combination of the bending cage ( 1 ) and first ( 30 ) and second ( 31 ) bending bars or irons for bending a bone plate ( 32 ) horizontally along an axis that is perpendicular to the plane of the plate ( 32 ). the bone plate ( 32 ) is captured by an aperture or slot ( 33 ) in the first bending iron ( 31 ) and by a similar aperture or slot in the second bending iron ( 30 ). as shown in fig1 , in order to bend the bone plate ( 32 ), a user applies opposing forces ( 34 ) and ( 35 ) to the distal ends of the bending irons ( 30 , 31 ) opposite the side of the opening or slot ( 33 ) to impart an angular bending force to the bone plate ( 32 ) around an axis that is parallel to an axis perpendicular to the plane of the plate ( 32 ). the front opening ( 20 ) of the bending cage ( 1 ) is constructed with an upper surface and lower surface that are parallel and separated by a dimension ( 3 ) that is slightly larger than the thickness of bending irons ( 30 , 31 ). as shown in fig1 , this allows free motion along a primary axis ( 200 ) while restricting counterclockwise rotational movement of the bending irons ( 30 , 31 ) according to arrows ( 201 a ) and ( 201 b ) shown in fig1 or clockwise rotational motion in an opposite direction . in this way , the bending cage ( 1 ) simply and effectively limits bending forces to opposite , but coplanar bending loads in the plane of the plate . in a preferred embodiment of the invention , the bending bar or bars are flat with a length of 10 to 50 cm , and more preferably 15 to 40 cm ; a width of 0 . 5 to 4 cm and more preferably 1 to 3 cm ; and a thickness t of 0 . 5 to 4 cm , more preferably 1 to 3 cm . in a preferred embodiment , the opening in the bending cage can be slightly bigger than , the same size as or slightly smaller than the bending irons . for example , a difference between the thickness t of the bending iron or irons and the distance between the upper and lower edges of the opening in the front surface of the bending cage can range from about + 350 um to − 350 um where a negative number would represent a friction fit and a positive number would provide some play . in a preferred embodiment the opening is slightly smaller than the bending irons to purposefully friction fit the bending irons into the bending cage so that it doesn &# 39 ; t easily come apart by mistake . in a preferred embodiment , the distance 4 is about 2 to 10 cm , more preferably 3 to 7 cm in length . the front and rear surfaces preferably have a length of 5 to 25 cm , more preferably about 8 to 18 cm ; and preferably have a width of 2 to 10 cm , more preferably about 2 to 8 cm . the elongate opening in each of the front and rear surfaced of the bending cage is preferably between about 4 and 22 cm in length , more preferably about 6 to 20 cm . in another preferred embodiment , wherein the system comprises first and second bending bars , which can be moved in the direction parallel to the respective primary axes of the respective elongate openings a distance sufficient to increase the angle 36 ( fig1 ) between the first and second bending bars from 0 ° to 45 °. in yet another preferred embodiment , the bending cage is rectangular with a hollow interior to permit the bending bar or bars to pass through the opening in the front surface , through the bending cage and out the opening in the rear surface . the provision of a hollow interior also decreases the weight of the bending cage , which preferably will be within a range of 0 . 1 to 0 . 9 lbs . in this connection , the bending cage will be made of a material that is strong enough to provide for the bending function described herein but light enough that it can be easily handled . preferred materials for the bending cage are plastics such as plastic polymers or fiber reinforced compounds . from the above , it may be appreciated that the systems and methods of the invention can be designed so as to allow bending to occur in a way that each bending iron ( or bending bar ) rotates through the center of attachment where that bar grabs the plate ; thus each bar can rotate on its own center at the far end . this means that the site of connection of each bar with the plate doesn &# 39 ; t slide along the surface of the plate during the bend . this eliminates frictional forces which retard or prevent the bend from occurring , as well as reduces damage to the surface skin of the plate as it is being bent . furthermore , since the applied forces to bend a plate in the plane of the plate create a rotational component of torque along the axis of each bending iron ( which can add an undesired twisting bend to the plate ), the cage independently prevents any such rotation of the bending irons from occurring while the bending moment is applied . moreover , so long as there is no direct connection between the first bending iron and the rest of the device , there is provided free and un - fettered translational motion between the bending iron and the rest of the system . at the same time , all rotational movement along the axis of the bending iron is prevented . this combination makes the device simple to apply , simple to use , and simple to remove . so , in summary , in a preferred system according to the invention , there can be provided a number of basic features : 1 . the two bending irons have no direct connection to each other . 2 . each bending iron has unrestricted movement along the plane of the bend . 3 . each bending iron is prevented from rotating along an axis out of the plane of the bend . 4 . there is no translation of either bending iron during application of the bend at the site of capture of the bending iron and the plate itself . fig1 - 19 show the advantages of having the bending irons rotate around the point where they capture the plate being bent . fig1 shows the initial position before bending . fig1 and 17 show how the pivot point of each bending iron is at the site of engagement with the plate . this allows bending of the plate without causing the bending iron to scrape along the surface of the plate as with a design that uses a pin or pivot point to join the two arms of the instrument together . to show the contrast , fig1 and 19 demonstrate that a ‘ pliers ’ type of apparatus causes a change in length of the plate to occur . this means at least one arm of the apparatus has to scrape along the surface of the plate . although a preferred system of the invention comprises two ( 2 ) bending irons , the invention is not so limited insofar as one may use one bending iron and let the cage provide the other side of bending . moreover , although in a preferred system comprising two ( 2 ) bending irons , each of the two ( 2 ) bending irons can have the ability to slide sideways in the bending cage , the invention is not so limited . one of the two bending bars could simply be placed in a separate slot without the ability to slide sideways and thereby be fixed in relationship to the bending cage . however the second bending bar would still operate as described and thereby allowing for the same functionality . from the above , it can be understood that the present invention can provide one or more of the following advantages over the bending systems of the prior art : 1 . the present invention can provide a means for controlling and imparting an applied direction of a bending force to a plate along a single axis of rotation ; 2 . the present invention can provide a means for preventing two bending tools from twisting away from an orientation of applied loads between the two tools that is along parallel planes and in opposite directions ; 3 . the present invention can provide a means that is simple , relatively inexpensive to manufacture , and of a small size and low weight that can reasonably be included in a tray for implants or other instruments , and is not bulky to package or store , or heavy or complicated to use ; and 4 . the present invention can provide a means that is simple to use and provides a user with the ability to contour a plate along any axis for the purpose of shaping a plate to more optimally fit a complex bone surface . 5 . the present invention provides flexibility insofar as the bending bars and bending cage are not attached to each other whereby the bending bars can be used either separately from or in combination with the bending cage without the need to attach and reattach one to the other . while various embodiments of the present invention have been described above , it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example , and not limitation . it will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art ( s ) that various changes in form and detail can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . thus , the present invention should not be limited by any of the above - described exemplary embodiments , but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents .
a system and method for bending a bone fixation plate in the horizontal plane of the plate . the apparatus and method provide for optimization of applied bending moments by controlling the orientation of a bending tool to prevent deviation from an axis of bending . the system includes a bending bar or bars with an aperture or slot for engaging a plate or rod and a bending cage that can be in the shape of a rectangular box having a front surface separated from a rear surface by a distance . the front surface has a front elongate opening and the rear surface has a rear elongate opening . the front and rear openings are each formed by two parallel edges separated by a vertical distance and having a horizontal length . the relative dimensions of the respective bending bars and openings are such that the bending cage can be used to permit free movement of the bending bars in a direction parallel to the primary axis of the elongate openings but to prevent rotational movement of the bending bars about an axis substantially parallel to the length of the bending bars .