CA2314596A1 - The wheelchair guirney - Google Patents

Abstract

The Wheelchair Guirney is an apparatus which will allow patients to be moved more comfortably from an otherwise difficult position. Many people in various countries are confined to their beds due to infirmity. Serious spinal, back and other lower torso areas of the human body, once injured, oftentimes confines the patients to their bed permanently.
Psychologically, as well as for circulation and blood flow, it is necessary for these people to move around. Imagine lying in a bed staring at the ceiling twenty-four hours a day for three hundred and sixty-five days of the year. This for many is, unfortunately, a sad reality. The wheelchair guirney allows for a possible respite, at least temporarily, for such people.
This apparatus is wheeled into the room and is positioned alongside the bed of the confined person. Once in position the wheelchair guirney is then locked into a non-movable position by means of a built-in safety brake and also a dual stabilization unit is activated. The two stabilizers are positioned at either side of the guirney and when positioned on the floor, they act as counter weight balances.
Depending on the position of the bed, the patient can be removed from either side depending on the amount of space available. All hydraulic and mechanical movements of the wheelchair guirney are assembled in such a manner as to give the patient plenty of time to adjust from a lying to a sitting position and vice versa. Because many of the users are in a lying position for great lengths of time, a deliberately slow sit up position is a must, so as not to allow dizziness due to blood circulation, etc. Most patients cannot lift with the attendant and, therefore, are a dead weight.
Various forms of injuries have been sustained by a number of caregivers when transferring a bedridden patient to a wheelchair or guirney for medical necessities, such as x-rays and the like.
This new and innovative apparatus is a means by which a person can be transferred from a bed in a safe and painless manner. Not only is the caregiver not at risk by the work involved but also the patient is less bothered by pain from arthritis or stiff joints or post operative pain, etc.

The wheelchair guirney is a dual acting device that acts as a guirney stretcher but also evolves into a sit-up wheelchair. This apparatus consists of two sets of wheels along with three closely separated flat pieces of steel, aluminum, hard plastic or any other material that can be used to comfortably carry an adult person. The mechanical aspects of the device are numerous in that various mechanisms are incorporated in order to allow the set up guirney to work properly.
Hydraulic moving parts along with and/or a ratchett turning mechanism attached to a main shaft and/or various cog wheels with movable rods may be incorporated in the design format in order to help the product deliver the general functions for which it is designed.
As a person lies in his/her bed, the wheelchair guirney is wheeled into the room and placed alongside the user/patient in a flat down length position. This soft covered guirney with adequate padding inside the leather and/or other covering material permits the user comfort in that they lay and eventually sit on a comfortable padded cushion format. Stabilizers are set on either side of the guirney in order to keep the assembly from becoming out of balance as the flat surface is slid across the top of the bed's mattress to help the patient be simply moved in a lying position to the frame of the guirney. In order to explain this more clearly, please follow the sequence of events as described below.
A person is laying in bed (bedridden). The caregiver pushes the wheelchair guirney into the room parallel with the bed. The apparatus is then evenly lined up with the bed and the height mechanism is set to allow the three part flat portion of the guirney to move horizontally straight across the bed while the unit itself, frame and wheels, etc. stay in a locked-in permanent position.
The patient is gently rolled on one side and the guirney bed or flat cushioned surface is easily pushed to the person's laying position now on his/her side. The patient simply rolls onto his/her back and is automatically on the extended full length guirney. The caregiver slowly retracts the guirney back unto the frame with the patient on board the device. This eliminates pain from arthritis on joints or any number of possible problems associated with the patient.

Once in a lying position, now retracted back on the guirney's main body, the patient if desired is then slowly placed into a sitting or upright position by means of the hydraulic apparatus being slowly activated. The back and head portion of the person's torso is lifted via the built-in mechanical system while simultaneously the lower extremities, including the individual's legs and feet are lowered into a sitting position. Picture a sit-up position from a lying position with no effort expected from the patient. As an added safety precaution a seat belt and/or shoulder harness can be used to ensure that the patient does not fall forward and as well, side bars or rails are attached in order for the patient to feel more secure.
Once the user is in a comfortable sitting position, the attendant caregiver can then push or pull the now wheelchair device wherever they wish to go. Thus the same procedure, except in a reverse sequence of events, once again places the wheelchair guirney alongside the bed or parallel with the bed. They then push the hydraulic button or manually winch the device to slowly turn back into a guirney or flat position. The patient is then gently pushed unto the bed with the help of the hydraulically extended built in bars and once sufficiently in place the extended support bed lifting device allows the patient to roll or slide off the guirney and unto the bed.
Once completed the extension is retracted back unto the guirney frame and is once again a one-piece unit. If desired the caregiver can position the unit back into a wheelchair mode and then place it in a nearby closet or storage room until its next usage.

Description

Specifications This invention relates to an a;lectrically operated device for automatically transporting bedridden people from their beds unto this Wheelchair Guirney apparatus.
It is a common practice today to either lift a patient with two or more people using their own energy, or as in some cases to use a cling harness in order to transfer the individual to a wheelchair or some such awaiting device. The difficulty in lifting such a patient is the weight distribution, the awkwardness involved, the loss of dignity for the person being lifted, and the danger of injury either for the person being moved or the caregiver involved due to back or shoulder problems and other possibly vulnerable weak area. In order to alleviate such problems from occurring, the Wheelchair Guirney apparatus is so desil;ned as to allow such movement of patients in a uniform and comfortable manner.
This invention is so designed as to be synchronized with all moving parts performing their various functions in a straightforward manner. The unit itself is made up of various hydraulic pumps, cog wheels and mechanical parts that when operated allow the user full mobility.
Using stainless steel, aluminum, plastic, or any other materials and/or combination of materials this apparatus should be an improvement over any such device now available.
The base of the Wheelchair tiuirney will be approximately 6ft. 2 ins. in length and approximately two and one half feet wide. ether sizes can be utilized if necessary, including child size, etc. The main funtion of this invention is to lessen the risks of the user and the caregivers.
The apparatus itself will have. three separate pieces close together and attached by hinges which will allow the three separate piecc;s to perform as one. Battery power is an additional source of energy and can be used as long as they are fully charged. This can be accomplished whenever the Wheelchair Guirney is not in use.
A sturdy frame along with easy to use wheels allow the frame and body of the unit to move freely from one room to another or wherever the user wishes to go. There may, as well, be an add on feature allowing the user to operate the Wheelchair Guirney alone. This would, however, be a secondary plan since a caregiver is essential in most of these occurrences.
The Wheelchair Guirney, once alongside the patient/user's bed will be so designed as to allow the upper portion consisting of the full frame including cushioned lying and sitting areas to be moved parallel with the patient lying on the bed. A scissors type assembly allows the Wheelchair Guirney to be moved up or down according to the height of the bed. An automatic lock brake system prevents the device from moving while transfernng the patientluser to the Wheelchair Guirney.
Also, a dual stabilizing system is activated from the bottom of the Wheelchair Guirney to the floor to allow better weight balancing when the patient is being moved in a parallel fashion from the bed.

Once the safety straps are in place to secure the patient/user to prevent a fall, the patient's head and back starts to be raised by th.e hydraulically driven pump while simultaneously the legs and feet of the individual are lowered by another hydraulic pump. Once in a comfortable sitting position two portable arm rests are insertE;d unto the frame in order to allow the user added comfort. Also, two handles behind the back of the now raised Wheelchair Guirney are extended allowing the caregiver the opportunity to either push or pull the unit to wherever they decide to go.
This invention offers the userlpatient and caregiver the comfort and security of being easily lifted from the bed and placed in a sitting position, either to be moved from the bedroom area or to perhaps simply look out a window for a short or long period of time.
Once the user/patient is satisfied and wishes to return to the bed, the aforementioned procedures are simply reversed. Whereas the userlpatient is quite easily placed back unto the bed with again no lifting involved.

Claims

Claims The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property are defined as follows:
(1) An apparatus which is so designed as to offer comfort in the transporting of bedridden people, from their bed to wherever they wish to go.
(2) This apparatus is also so designed in order to assist caregivers, being either hospital staff, seniors home staff, convalescent workers, or caregivers at home in the moving of a person from their bed comfortably.
(3) This apparatus is also so designed in order to help alleviate injuries incurred by caregivers of bedridden people, most predominately back pain, which at times becomes so serious as to actually disable the worker/caregiver on a temporary or permanent basis. Other extremities, such as arms, shoulders, neck and so on can be seriously injured by lifting bedridden patients. Also, hernias, stomach muscles, disk problems, etc. have shortened many medical careers due to serious injuries from lifting patients.
(4) This apparatus will also benefit the bedridden patient by means of reducing pressure sores or bed sores. This is accomplished by allowing the person to be removed from their bed for short or extended periods of time. Urine and other soil induced bedsheets have to be changed daily in order to eliminate the chances of infection and to give the bedridden person the dignity of being clean and dry. This is an ongoing necessity and is one of the biggest challenges of the caregivers.
(5) This apparatus is also so designed as to allow the patient/user the freedom to be moved without the usual lifting and pain that can be caused due to severe arthritic problems and/or other joint stiffness.
(6) This apparatus is also so designed as to benefit the patient/user a possible advantage to bloodflow circulation. Once in a sitting position the congestion of fluids on the lungs brought about by being in a prolonged lying position can help diminish this problem somewhat.
(7) This apparatus is also so designed as to, hopefully, give the patient/user a psychological boost since the fact of being out of the bed should help break the boredom and monotony of staring at the ceiling.
(8) This apparatus will also add a feeling of security to both the user and the caregiver since present day apparatus have little or no support by way of comfortable wide security straps that will be used to keep the user from falling forward. Since many of the users of this new apparatus will be paraplegic or quadriplegic it is essential that they be securely belted or strapped in.

(9) This apparatus will be so designed so that the caregiver/attendant will have little or no difficulty in transferring, the user/patient from the bed to the wheelchair guirney by means of a rollout frame which while still being a part of the main frame will allow the use/patient to easily slide over to the main column by simply joining both frames together with the user/patient on board.
(10) An apparatus which is so designed as to allow a series of hydraulic pumps to eliminate the need of ever lifting the patient/user.
(11) An apparatus which is so designed as to allow various built in components, such as mechanized moving parts, such as various cog wheels and ratchett turning parts, which will be so designed as to be fully enclosed so as not to allow contact with the user/patient.
(12) An apparatus which is so designed as to have attached durable and free moving wheels that will allow the wheelchair guirney to be easily manoeuvered through various doors and hallways either in a lying or sit-up position.
(13) An apparatus which is so designed as to be operated by an electrical plug in to any wall or other electrically charged outlet and/or battery powered operation with the unit being recharged when not in use. One or any number of twelve volt batteries can operate the functions of the wheelchair guirney. Heavy duty or industrial strength batteries can also be used if required.
(14) An apparatus which is so designed as to allow three separate units of the main frame close together so as to allow the main frame assembly to use at the back and head area, the middle frame remains as is, while the bottom third of the main assembly frame lowers downward for the user/patient's legs and feet.
(15) An apparatus which is so designed as to allow all the working components to be in conformity with one another while simultaneously completing their tasks as so designed.