EP0457246B1 - Mobile patient support system - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a mobile patient support system, comprising a support surface, a support column for supporting the support surface and a transport trolley for transporting the support surface, at least two peg-shaped connecting elements being arranged on the support surface, which can be inserted into complementary peg receptacles on the support column for connection to the same, furthermore, the bearing surface can be transferred from the latter to the transport carriage and vice versa by a relative movement between the transport carriage and the support column, and wherein certain locking means are provided on the bearing surface on the one hand and the support column and the transport carriage on the other hand for mutual engagement.

In a known system of the type described above, the connection of the bearing surface to the support column is usually carried out in such a way that one on the underside the table top located pair of cylindrical pins with a vertical axis direction engages in a correspondingly shaped receiving openings of the support column.

In order to prevent accidental levering out of the bearing surface from the pin receptacle when a vertically upward force acts on the bearing surface, two pawls are provided elsewhere on the bearing surface, one of which engages around a shaped element of the pillar and the other for engagement with a corresponding one Form element on the trolley is determined.

To transfer the storage area to the trolley, it is brought into a suitable position relative to the support column. By moving the height adjustment device of the support column downwards, the storage area is first lowered until it rests on the transport trolley. By further downward movement of the height adjustment device of the support column, it is separated from the bearing surface resting on the trolley, the locking between the support column and the bearing surface having to be released beforehand by additional means.

This patient support system has proven itself in the past. However, it requires great care both in the manufacture of the parts to be joined together and in the handling during the transfer of the storage area. So the positioning of the bearing surface on the trolley for transfer to the support column must be done very precisely in order to produce the required position of the pin relative to the receiving holes. Slight inclinations around the longitudinal and / or transverse axis of the bearing surface, such as due to an asymmetrical load on the bearing surface, there is a risk of a malfunction in the transfer process, since the pins can become jammed in the receiving bores.

Another situation that is unfavorable in terms of production technology also results from the strong division of the connecting means between the bearing surface and the support column on the one hand and the bearing surface and the trolley on the other hand. The connection of the storage area with the support column or with the transport trolley takes place in each case by means of its own connecting and securing elements, which are arranged spatially separate from one another and occupy construction space that can be used in other ways.

The invention has for its object to provide a mobile patient support system of the type mentioned, in which the connecting and securing means require little space and which is easy to use and fault-tolerant in the transfer process.

This object is achieved in that at least two locking elements are movably mounted on each connecting element in such a way that they are adjustable between a locking position and a release position and, during the transfer process, engage simultaneously in a column-side and a carriage-side pin receptacle, and in that in each pin receptacle there is a catch recess are designed to receive one of the locking elements in its locking position and a control surface assigned to the respective other locking element, which control surface has this locking element when the connecting element is inserted transferred into its release position, with each locking element of a connecting element being assigned a latching recess in one pin receptacle (column side, carriage side) and a control surface in the other pin receptacle (carriage side, column side) assigned to the same connecting element.

In the solution according to the invention, the same connecting elements on the bearing surface serve both for connection to the support column and for connection to the transport trolley. If the storage area is correctly connected to the transport trolley or the support column, then it is automatically correctly aligned with the other part, so that there are no more alignment problems when transferring from one part to the other. As a result, the tolerance with regard to the positioning accuracy of the connecting pins with respect to the receptacles on the support column or on the transport carriage is greater. There is no longer any fear of an angular displacement between the connecting pins and the receptacles. The interface between the storage area and the support column as well as the storage area and the transport trolley is limited to a narrow space. Due to the fact that in each pin receptacle there is a notch for a locking element and a control surface for the other locking element and that the arrangement of the notch and control surface in the associated pin receptacle of the other part (support column, trolley) are arranged opposite one another, that an automatic unlocking and locking takes place during the transfer. As long as the connecting elements fully engage in the pin receptacles of the support column and transport trolley at the same time, both locking elements are in their unlocked position. The moment the support column is or separate the trolley from the storage area, one of the locking elements in the pin receptacle of the other part (trolley, support column) becomes effective, so that the storage area is secured to the part that supports it. There is no longer any need to unlock or secure additional funds. For this purpose, it is expedient if the locking elements are prestressed into their locking position so that they do not need to be actuated specifically.

A comfortable insertion of the connecting elements into the pin receptacles can be achieved in that the connecting elements protrude downward from the longitudinal side edges of the bearing surfaces and taper downwards, the pin receptacles having complementarily inclined guide surfaces.

The simultaneous engagement of the connecting elements in the two pin receptacles of the support column and the trolley assigned to them is ensured in a simple manner by the fact that the pin receptacles assigned to the same connecting element only enclose this part of its circumference.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the locking elements are formed by pawls pivotally mounted in the connecting element, which have two sections, one of which engages in the latching recess of a pin receptacle of the support column or of the transport carriage and the other for abutment on the control surface of the pin receptacle of the each other part (trolley, support column) is determined. In order to enable a perfect unlocking even with a less precise manufacture of the parts, before the bearing surface of the one that supports them Part is removed, it may be expedient that the section intended for bearing against the control surface slightly projects beyond the section intended for engagement in the latching recess in the actuating direction of the pawls.

A simple positioning of the trolley relative to the support column can be ensured by the fact that the column-side pin receptacles are arranged on two opposite sides of the column head and the trolley receptacles on the carriage side are arranged on the respective inside of two support arms of the transport cart, which in the transfer position accommodate the support column between them.

If necessary, centering means can be provided on the transport carriage and the support column, which engage in the transfer position with one another in order to bring the column-side and the carriage-side pin receptacles into alignment with one another.

Figur 1a bis g

schematische Skizzen zur Erläuterung der Funktionsweise des mobilen Patientenlagersystems,

Figur 2

eine teilweise schematische perspektivische Teildarstellung eines Verbindungszapfens und der Zapfenaufnahmen an der Stützsäule sowie dem Transportwagen,

Figur 3

eine teilweise geschnitten dargestellte Seitenansicht eines Verbindungselementes,

Figur 4

eine Stirnansicht eines Verbindungselementes in Richtung des Pfeiles A in Figur 3,

Figur 5

eine schematische Schnittzeichnung zur Darstellung eines in der Zapfenaufnahme der Stützsäule verriegelten Verbindungselementes,

Figur 6

eine der Figur 5 entsprechende Darstellung eines Verbindungselementes, das sowohl in die Zapfenaufnahme der Stützsäule als auch die Zapfenaufnahme des Transportwagens eingreift,

Figur 7

eine der Figur 5 entsprechende Darstellung eines in die Zapfenaufnahme am Transportwagen 7 eingreifenden Verbindungselementes,

Figur 8

eine der Figur 1a entsprechende Darstellung des Patientenlagersystems, wobei die Stützsäule zusammen mit der Tischplatte von dem Transportwagen getragen wird und

Figur 9

eine teilweise schematische Draufsicht auf die an Tragearmen des Transportwagens ausgebildeten Zapfenaufnahmen, bei denen die Steuerfläche jeweils an einem verstellbaren Teil ausgebildet ist.

Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, which in connection with the accompanying drawings explains the invention using an exemplary embodiment. Show it:

Figure 1a to g

schematic sketches to explain the functionality of the mobile patient support system,

Figure 2

a partially schematic perspective partial representation of a connecting pin and the pin receptacles on the support column and the trolley,

Figure 3

2 shows a side view of a connecting element, shown in partial section

Figure 4

3 shows an end view of a connecting element in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3,

Figure 5

2 shows a schematic sectional drawing to show a connecting element locked in the pin receptacle of the support column,

Figure 6

5 shows a representation of a connecting element which engages both in the peg receptacle of the support column and in the peg receptacle of the transport carriage,

Figure 7

5 shows a representation of a connecting element engaging in the pin receptacle on the transport carriage 7,

Figure 8

a representation of the patient support system corresponding to Figure 1a, wherein the support column is carried together with the table top by the transport carriage and

Figure 9

a partial schematic plan view of the pin receptacles formed on the support arms of the transport carriage, in which the control surface is each formed on an adjustable part.

In FIG. 1a one can see a support column, generally designated 10, of an operating table with a column base 12 and a column head 14 mounted thereon in a height-adjustable manner. The height adjustment device is not shown. It can be designed in any conventional manner. As a rule, it will be a hydraulic or mechanical lifting device.

To the left of the support column is a trolley, generally designated 16, which carries a bearing surface or table top 18 of the operating table. The transport carriage 16 consists of two side frame parts 20 which are connected to one another by cross bars (FIG. 1d). The cross bars 25, 27 are located in a central area, so that the space between the side frames 20 is freely accessible from the rollers 28 at the right end of the transport carriage in FIG. 1 to the cross bars 25, 27. As a result, the transport carriage 16 can be moved towards the support column 10 such that it lies between the frame parts 20, as can be seen in the schematic plan view of the transport carriage and the support column shown in section in FIG. 1d.

At the upper ends of the somewhat asymmetrically shaped side frame 20 pin receptacles 22 are formed, they are intended for receiving connecting elements 24 which are arranged on the longitudinal side edges of the table top 18 projecting downwards from the latter. The exact shape of the connecting elements and pin receptacles is explained in more detail with reference to the other figures. Pin receptacles 26 are also arranged and aligned on two opposite sides of the column head 14 so that they are in the position of the transport carriage 16 shown in FIG. 1d relative to the support column 10 the pin receptacles 22 on the trolley 16 are opposite.

To transfer the table top or bearing surface 18 from the transport carriage 16 to the support column 10, the transport carriage 16 moves into the position shown in FIG. 1b relative to the support column 10. In this position, the connecting elements 24 are positioned exactly above the pin receptacles 26 on the column head 14 the column head 14 is raised by the column-internal lifting device until the connecting elements 24 on the bearing surface 18 are completely inserted into the pin receptacles 26 on the column head 14. At this time, the connecting elements 24 simultaneously engage in the pin receptacles 22 on the transport carriage 16 and in the pin receptacles 26 on the column head 14.

1e, the column head 14 is then raised further until the bearing surface 18 with its connecting elements 24 has been lifted out of the pin receptacles 22 of the transport carriage 16. This can now be removed (Figure 1f). The operating table can be adjusted in the usual way to the desired working height as required (Figure 1g). When the bearing surface is transferred from the support column 10 to the transport carriage 16, the procedure is reversed.

The bearing surface 18 must be locked both on the support column 10 and on the transport carriage in order to prevent the bearing surface from being unintentionally detached from the respective carrying device. How this locking and unlocking takes place during the transfer of the bearing surface from the support surface to the trolley 16 or vice versa will now be explained in more detail with reference to the other figures.

The connecting elements 24 are shown in more detail in FIGS. 3 and 4. Each connecting element 24 comprises a cuboidal flange part 30 with bores 32, through which bolts for fastening the connecting elements 24 to the bearing surface 18 can be guided. A trapezoidal base body 34 is integrally connected to the flange part 30 and tapers away from the flange part 30 both in the side view and in the end view, as can be seen from a comparison of FIGS. 3 and 4. The base body has on its front or narrow sides two fork-like recesses 36, in each of which a pawl 38 is pivotally mounted about an axis 40. The pawl 38 has on its inner upper edge a stop 42 which prevents the pawl 38 from pivoting out of the fork-shaped recess 36 by hitting a counter stop 44 of the base body 34, as can be seen in FIG. 3. Both pawls 38 are biased into their outer pivot position by a helical compression spring 46 acting between them.

The pin receptacles 22 on the trolley and the pin receptacles 26 on the column head 14 are identical. They are adapted in their shape to the base body 34 of the connecting element 24, but only half enclose the connecting element 24. The two open pin receptacles 22 and 26, with their open sides facing each other, form a receptacle that completely surrounds the respective connecting element 24. It is essential, however, that each pin receptacle has a pawl recess 48 only on one side surface facing the end faces of the connecting element 24, while the other side surface 50 is smooth and forms a control surface.

If the connecting element is inserted into the pin receptacle of the column head (FIGS. 2 and 5), the pawl located on the right in these figures can engage in the associated latching recess 48. The pawl on the left in the figures, on the other hand, is pressed into the base body 34 of the connecting element 24 by the smooth control surface 50 against the force of the helical compression spring 46, as shown in FIG. It should be noted that the pawls 38 are only half in the direction of their axes within the pin receptacle 26 on the column head 14. The axis-normal plane up to which the connecting element lies within the pin receptacle 26 on the column head 14 is denoted by 52 in FIG.

FIG. 7 shows the other state in which the connecting element 24 is inserted into the pin receptacle 22 on the transport carriage 16. Here, the pawl 38 on the left in FIGS. 2 and 7 engages in the provided recess 48, while the right pawl is pressed into the base body 34 of the connecting element 24 by the smooth control surface 50. It can be seen from the illustrations in FIGS. 5 and 7 that the bearing surface 18 is locked both on the column head 14 and on the transport carriage 16 and is thus secured.

On the other hand, during the transfer there is a point at which the connecting element 24 simultaneously engages in the pin receptacle 22 on the transport carriage and in the pin receptacle 26 on the column head 14. This state is shown in Figure 6. Figure 6a shows the state with respect to the column and Figure 6b with respect to the trolley. Since each of the pawls abuts a smooth control surface 50, namely the left pawl on the control surface 50 of the pin receptacle 26 on the column head and the right pawl on the control surface 50 of the pin receptacle 22 on the trolley 16, both pawls are pressed into the base body 34 of the connecting element 24 and thus unlocked. This can be seen on the right side of FIG. 6a and on the left side of FIG. 6b. This release occurs automatically at the moment when the peg receptacles of the column head and the trolley are at the same height. If, starting from this position, the column head 14 is lowered relative to the transport trolley (the transport trolley takes over the storage area), the pawl on the left in FIG. 6b can snap into the provided recess 48 of the pin receptacle 22 on the transport trolley and thus secure the bearing surface 18 on the transport trolley 16. Conversely, if the column head 14 is raised from the position shown in FIG. 6 to take over the bearing surface 18 from the transport carriage 16, the right-hand pawl is released from the control surface 50 and can snap into the right-hand locking recess of the pin receptacle 26 on the column head 14. In this case, too, the bearing surface 18 is automatically locked on the column head 14.

In Figure 2, a special version of the pawls is shown, but this is not absolutely necessary. It shows that the section 54 of a pawl intended for bearing against a control surface projects slightly beyond the section 56 of the same pawl intended for engagement in a latching recess 48. This ensures, even in the case of relatively inaccurate manufacture of the parts intended for engagement with one another, that in any case the one pawl is unlocked before the other pawl enters the latching recess 48 of the other provided for this purpose Part can snap into place. However, this precaution is not necessary if the parts intended for engagement with one another are manufactured with sufficient precision.

With the transport carriage 16, the entire operating table can also be transported in a manner known per se. For this purpose, reference is made to FIGS. 1e and 8. If the lifting mechanism of the support column is actuated in the position shown in FIG. 1e in such a way that the column head 14 is lowered together with the table top 18, the connecting elements 24 are inserted into the pin receptacles 22 of the transport carriage 16 until the transport carriage carries the table top 18 takes over. If the lifting mechanism of the support column 10 is now operated further in the sense of lowering the column head 14, one would normally reach the position shown in FIG. 1b. However, if the lock between the table top and the support column 10 is not released, the column base 12 is raised instead of the column head 14 being lowered. The support column 10 now hangs freely on the table top 18, as shown in FIG.

In order not to have to provide any further locking elements, which then have to be actuated separately in order to be able to distinguish between the states shown in FIGS. 1b and 8, the control surfaces 50 are arranged in the pin receptacles 22 of the transport carriage 16 so that they can be disengaged or adjusted they can be moved into a position in which they cannot disengage the pawls 38, which ensure the connection between the table top 18 and the support column 10, from their locking position if the connecting elements 24 when the table top 18 is lowered from the position shown in FIG engage position shown in the pin receptacles 22 of the trolley 16.

An adjustment mechanism for the control surfaces is shown in FIG. 9. The pin receptacles 22 are formed here on support arms 58 of the trolley. The control surface 50 is in each case formed on a block 60 which is displaceably guided on the support arm 58 by a pin 64 passing through a slot 62. As a rule, a plurality of such pin slot guides will be present in order to prevent the block 60 from rotating on the support arm 58.

The blocks 60 are each connected via a connecting rod 66 to a crankshaft 68, which is mounted in a cross member 70 connecting the two support arms 58. The connection of the connecting rods 66 to the crankshaft 68 is such that when the crankshaft 68 rotates, which can be rotated via knurled knobs 72 connected to it, the blocks 60 on the two journal receptacles 22 can be adjusted in opposite directions. This means that the crankshaft sections connected to the connecting rods 66 are offset from one another by 180 °.

In the position of the blocks 60 shown in FIG. 9, the control surfaces 50 are in their operative position, in which they would pivot the pawl 38 facing them in the connecting elements 24 and would thus release the locking between the pawls 38 and the support column 10.

If this unlocking is not carried out, the crankshaft 70 is turned by means of the knurled knobs 72 in the sense that the upper block 60 in FIG. 9 is moved to the right and the lower block 60 in FIG. 9 to the left. As a result, they are shifted control surfaces 50 so far that they are inserted into the respective pin receptacle when the connecting element 24 is inserted 22 no longer touch the pawl 38 facing them and thus cannot deflect them. The pawls remain in their locking position, in which they rigidly connect the column 10 to the table surface 18. In this position of the blocks 60 and the control surfaces 50 formed on them, the column base can thus be raised in the position shown in FIG. 8 and the entire operating table can thus be moved with the aid of the transport carriage 16.

Claims (10)

1. A mobile patient support system, including a table plate (18), a support column (10) for supporting the table plate (18) and a transport carriage (16) for transporting the table plate (18), with the table plate (18) having associated with it at least two pin-shaped connecting members (24) which are insertable into complementary pin receivers (26) of the support column (10) for connection with the support column, wherein the table plate (18) is further transferrable by means of relative motion between the transport carriage (16) and the support column (10) from the support column to the transport carriage and the reverse, and wherein latching means are provided on the table plate on one hand and the support column and the transport carriage on the other hand for reciprocal engagement with one another, characterized in that at least two latching members (38) are moveably supported on each connecting member (24) so that they are movable between a latching position and a disengaging position, and so that, in the transfer process, they engage simultaneously with a pin receiver of the support column and a pin receiver of the transfer carriage, respectively, and in that in each pin receiver (26; 22) a latch recess (48) is provided for receiving one of the latching members (38) in its latching position and a control surface (50) is provided for the other latching member (38), said control surface (50) transferring said other latching member (38) to its disengaging position upon insertion of the connecting member (24), wherein each of said latching members (38) of each connecting member (24) has associated with it a latch recess (48) in one of said pin receivers (26; 22) (of the column, of the carriage) and a control surface (50) in the other pin receiver (22; 26) (of the carriage, of the column) associated with the same connecting member.
2. A patient support system according to claim 1, character ized in that the latching members (38) are biased to their latching positions.
3. A patient support system according to claims 1 or 2, char acterized in that the connecting members (24) extend downwardly from the longitudinal side edges of the table plate (18) and taper off in proceeding downwardly, with the pin receivers (26; 22) having complementarily tapered guide surfaces.
4. A patient support system according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the pin receivers (26; 22) associated with the same connecting member (24) each surround only a portion of the circumference of that connecting member.
5. A patient support system according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that each latching member (38) is formed by a latch pivotally supported in its connecting member, said latch having two sections (54; 56) one of which is intended for engagement with the latch recess (48) of a pin receiver (26; 22) of the support column (10) or of the support carriage (16) and the other of which is intended for abutment with the control surface (50) of the pin receiver (22; 26) of the respective other part (transport carriage (16); support column (10)).
6. A patient support system according to claim 5, character ized in that the section (54) intended for abutment with the control surface (50) extends slightly further in the direction of engagement of the latches (38) than the section (56) intended for engagement with the latch recess (48).
7. A patient support system according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the pin receivers (26) of the support column are located on two opposite sides of the column head (14), and the pin receivers (22) of the transfer carriage are located on the inner sides of two support arms (20) of the transport carriage (16), said support arms receiving the support column (10) between them in the transfer position.
8. A patient support system according to claim 7, character ized in that centering means are provided on the transport carriage (16) and on the support column (10) which in the transfer position come into engagement with one another to bring the pin receivers (22; 26) of the support column and of the transport carriage into alignment with one another.
9. A patient support system according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the control surface (50) of the pin receivers (26) of the transport carriage (16) is adjustable between a forward control position and a rearward position in which rearward position it cannot come into contact with the associated latch (38) of the connecting member (24).
10. A patient support system according to claim 9, character ized in that each control surface (50) is disposed in a block (60) which is guided on the associated support arm (58) of the transport carriage (16) for horizontal shifting movement, and that each block (60) is connected to a crank shaft (70) via a connecting rod (66) in such a way that upon rotation of the crank shaft (70) the two blocks are adjusted in opposite directions.

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