GB2226004A

GB2226004A - Patient lifting device

Info

Publication number: GB2226004A
Application number: GB8829378A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Lloyd Burgess
Original assignee: KINGUSE IND Ltd
Current assignee: KINGUSE IND Ltd
Priority date: 1988-12-16
Filing date: 1988-12-16
Publication date: 1990-06-20
Also published as: AU4585789A; GB8829378D0; JPH02246974A

Abstract

A patient lifting device is disclosed comprising a base chassis (11) on wheels (16) which has an upstanding post (20) which guides a carriage (23) for vertical movement, the carriage having a mounting plate on which a number of "C" shaped patient support ribs (36) are mounted, each rib (36) being movable in a circumferential direction from one side only of a patient and beneath the patient by compressing the mattress on which the patient lies (if on a bed), or to a position where a patient can be lifted directly from a hard substrate onto the "C" shaped ribs (36). The device may also have a patient support seat swingable on an arm pivoted to support post (20) and movable vertically thereon. <IMAGE>

Description

PATIENT LIFTING DEVICE This invention relates to a patient lifting device which is useful for example in a hospital for lifting a patient from a bed and moving him to an alternative position.

It is known that there are numbers of patient lifting devices available but these are not in general use for a variety of reasons. Firstly, it is desirable that a patient lifting device should be easily controlled and should be movable against a bed which may be situated in a corner of a room, which can lift a patient therefore from one side only, and which does not disturb a patient emotionally when used.

PRIOR ART The closest prior art known to the applicant is German Patent 2460858 in the name of Michael Kraus.

Further prior art includes the U.S. Patents 795524 (Leffmann), 812358 (Oliver), 2466289 (Welin), 2975434 (Butler), 3469269 (Brown), 2125546 (Corr), 2261297 (Seib), 1033277 (Seasnole), 3694829 (Bakker), 2793768 (Schaedler), 3732584 (James), 3356184 (Bidgood), 3940808 (Petrini), 3131404 (Bowers), 3962737 (James), 1620298 (Smith), 832517 (Wilt), 3407413 (James) and 1061715 (Allen), and Australian Patent Application 61302/86 (Burgess).

However it is applicant's belief that no single reference cited above, and no obvious combination of the above references, have the advantage of being able to handle a patient as readily as the device disclosed herein.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly in this invention a patient lifting device comprises a base chassis on wheels which has an upstanding post which guides a carriage for vertical movement, the carriage having a mounting plate on which any one of a number of patient support assemblies can be mounted, the main use however being of a patient support assembly which comprises a number of 'C' shaped ribs each of which is of curved shape in end elevation and can be moved in a circumferential direction from one side only of a patient and beneath the patient by compressing the mattress on which the patient lies (if on a bed), or can be moved to a position where a patient can be lifted directly from a hard substrate onto the 'C' shaped ribs.

Quite often there is a requirement for a patient to be moved for example from a bed to a bath and an alternative patient support assembly can comprise a seat carried on a swivel arm which can be moved through at least 1800, the seat itself being capable of swivelling on the end of that arm so that a patient can for example be lifted from a bed which is adjacent a wall and can be transported to a bath or pool and lowered thereinto.

If a patient is to overhang a base chassis (which is itself desirably small) it is important that there be no overturning moment applied to the chassis and in one embodiment of the invention the chassis is provided with fold-out stabilisers which can effectively increase the support area for the base chassis.

In order to simply position the base chassis with respect to the obstructions which may be encounterd in a hospital, the base chassis should be as low as possible forwardly of the post, and this in turn requires the use of small wheels. However small wheels can result in a "bumpy ride" for a patient, and in an embodiment of the invention the base chassis is supported by two relatively large wheels and four relatively small wheels, two small wheels on each of two dollies which are themselves pivoted to the base chassis intermediate those wheels, so that the amplitude of the bumps negotiated by the small wheels is substantially halved.

The invention may be said to consist of a patient lifting device which comprises a base chassis, wheels supporting the base chassis, a post upstanding from the base chassis, vertically extending tracks on the post, a carriage having means thereon engaging the tracks and guided for vertical movement, mounting means on the carriage, a patient support assembly, securing means thereon releasably securing that support assembly to the mounting means, said support assembly comprising a pluralty of 'C' shaped ribs each of which is of curved shape in end elevation, a plurality of groups of rollers journalled for rotation on the support assembly, each group of rollers guiding a respective said rib for circumferential movement, and locking means releasably locking the ribs against such circumferential movement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Two embodiments of the invention are described hereunder in some detail with reference to and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a patient lifting device utilising a patient support assembly having 'C' shaped ribs; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the lifting device; Fig. 3 is a left hand elevation of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a plan of Fig. 3 but showing not the 'C' shaped rib assembly but a swivelling seat assembly in lieu thereof; Fig. 5 shows a stabiliser retracting device but drawn to a larger scale than Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 2 which shows the rib and roller arrangement of the patient lifting assembly; Fig. 7 is a rear elevation of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 shows a patient lifting device of Fig. 4 drawn to a larger scale; and Fig. 9 is a fragmentary elevation of Fig. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Reference is first made to the embodiment which illustrates the rib lifting device in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7,i wherein a patient lifting device 10 comprises a base chassis 11 of general U shape which has two forwardly projecting arms 12 which project from a cross member assembly 13, the cross member assembly 13 being supported by two castor wheel assemblies 14, the castor wheels of which are relatively large, and each of the arms 12 is supported by a dolly 15 having two relatively small wheels 16, the dolly 15 being pivoted to the arms at 17 so that it can rock in a fore and aft direction.

The cross member assembly 13 has a post 20 upstanding therefrom, the post 20 being a narrow mouth channel which contains guide ribs 21 on its inner surface and these are engaged by rollers 22 on a carriage 23, the carriage 23 having a mounting plate 24 external of the hollow post 20, the mounting plate 24 containing two vertically extending rows of securing apertures 25.

While the preferred patient support assembly which would most commonly be used is of the form shown in the first embodiment, alternative support assemblies can also be used as described below.

However in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7, a patient support assembly 27 comprises a rib support plate 28 the upper end of which has a 'C' shaped hook 29 which hooks over the edges of the mounting plate 24 (see Fig. 8), and facilitates positioning of the rib support plate 28 to the mounting plate 24 of the carriage. The rib support plate 28 in this embodiment is provided with rearwardly extending pins 30 which enter respective apertures 25 in the mounting plate 24.

The ends of the rib support plate 28 have rod mounting flanges 32 thereon between which roller rods 33 extend, there being three roller rods as best seen in Figs. 6 and 7. Each roller rod 33 carries on it a plurality of groups of nylon rollers 34 each having a pair of flanges 35 and these rollers guide spring metal ribs 36 for movement in a circumferential direction.

By this means a patient can be supported by the ribs 36 as shown in Fig. 1 without feeling "enclosed" and the lifting device 10 can then be manoeuvred into areas which are otherwise inaccessible for larger or heavier equipment.

It is important that the ribs 36 remain in the positions in which they have been placed by an operator, and to this end two of the rods 33 support a brake mounting plate 39 which bridges two opposite rollers of each group of rollers 33, and the mounting plate urges the brake pad 40 into engagement with a convex surface of the relevant rib 36 until released by the release trigger 41 which pivots about a rod 33 but the release trigger 41 also carries on it a retention arm 42 having a lip 43 which can engage in a notch 44 in the brake mounting plate 39. A spring 45 co-acts between the plate 39 and the release trigger 41.

The nylon rollers 34 are rotatable and slidable over the rods 33 so that they can perform a secondary function of positioning the ribs 36 along the rods to where they are most usefully applied beneath a patient. The upper ends 47 of the ribs 36 are directed outwardly to limit rotation, while the lower ends 48 are directed downwardly for the same reason.

The support assembly 27 is quickly and easily removable from the mounting plate 24 and can be replaced by alternative devices, and Figs 4, 8 and 9 illustrate a further patient support assembly comprising a support chair 50 which comprises a pair of spaced fingers 51 the ends of which contain slots wherein the ends of straps 52 are engaged and retained by means of spring loaded latches 53. There are two seat straps 52 supporting a sling seat 58, and a third seat back strap, which will support a patient, and the fingers 51 project outwardly from a padded cross-bar 54 which is itself pivoted to an shaped arm 55 carried on a seat support plate 56 also having a 'C' shaped hook 29 but being rigidly secured by means of screw threaded fasteners 57 (Fig 9), or some mechanical equivalent thereto.

The arm mounting means between the arm 55 and the seat support plate 56 is through a sleeve 60 rotatable about a vertical axis and associated with an apertured plate 61, and a plunger 62 selectively engages one of the apertures 63 in the plate 61 so that the arm 55 can be positioned at any desired angle.

In a similar way the cross-bar 54 is carried by the swinging end of arm 55 on a rotatable sleeve 65 which is associated with a circular apertured plate 66 wherein the apertures are selectively engaged by a plunger 67.

With this arrangement a patient can be positioned over a bath or pool without unintentional swinging movement.

The arrangement illustrated utilises an 'L' shaped arm 55 which enables a patient to be rotated around the lifter, but in many instances this facility is not needed, and in those other circumstances the 'L' shaped arm 55 is replaced with a straight arm (not herein illustrated).

The straight arm can terminate in a mounting plate similar to, but smaller than, mounting plate 24, if it is required to support alternative accessories to the sling seat 58.

Since there is a possibility of an overhung weight situation when the seat is located as shown in Fig 4, or when it swings around to that position, there are provided two stabiliser wings 70 which can fold down from the arms 12 and a third wing 71 which folds rearwardly from the cross member assembly 13. Folding is effected by mechanical, electrical or hydraulic means, and Fig 5 shows a spring retention device 72 which is the preferred means for folding. Although not herein illustrated, an electrical linear actuator is used for raising and lowering the carriage 23. Batteries for supplying power to said actuators are conveniently contained in the arms 12.

Claims

The claims defining the invention are as follows: 1. A patient lifting device comprising a base chassis, wheels supporting the base chassis, a post upstanding from the base chassis, vertically extending tracks on the post, a carriage having means thereon engaging the tracks and guided for vertical movement, mounting means on the carriage, a patient support assembly comprising a pluralty of 'C' shaped ribs each of which is of curved shape in end elevation, a plurality of groups of rollers journalled for rotation on the support assembly, each group of rollers guiding a respective said rib for circumferential movement, and locking means releasably locking the ribs against such circumferential movement, and securing means on that patient support assembly which is releasably securable to said carriage mounting means.
2. A patient lifting device according to claim 1 wherein said mounting means comprises a mounting plate on the carriage and said securing means comprises a hook on the patient support assembly which engages a rear surface of the mounting plate.
3. A patient lifting device according to claim 1 wherein said patient support assembly comprises three laterally extending rods, and each said group of rollers comprises three rollers which slidably and rotatably engage respective said rods, two of the rollers bearing against one face of the rib which they guide and the third roller bearing against an opposite face.
4. A patient lifting device according to claim 3 wherein a pair of flanges flank the ends of each of said three rollers and are contiguous with side edges of that said rib.
5. A patient lifting device according to claim 3 comprising a brake mounting plate bridging two rollers of each said group of rollers, a releasable brake carried by the brake mounting plate, and a spring extending between the brake mounting plate and the brake normally retaining the brake in engagement with a said rib face.
6. A patient lifting device according to claim 1 further comprising a linear actuator operatively coupled between the chassis and the carriage to raise or lower carriage.
7. A patient lifting device according to claim 1 wherein said carriage mounting means comprises a mounting plate on the carriage, and a further patient support assembly comprising an arm, arm mounting means supporting the arm from the seat support plate, a patient support seat, suspension means suspending the patient support seat from the arm, and further securing means on the further patient support assembly comprising a seat support plate, and a hook on the seat support plate releasably engaging a rear surface of the mounting plate.
8. A patient lifting device according to claim 7 wherein said arm mounting means comprises a sleeve on the seat support plate rotatable about a vertical axis, said arm being 'L' shape in plan and extending from the sleeve.
9. A patient lifting device according to claim 7 wherein said suspension means comprises a pair of spaced parallel fingers having slots in their ends, and a pair of flexible straps the ends of which are located in respective said slots, said seat being supported by said straps intermediate the ends thereof.
10. A patient lifting device according to claim 1 further comprising stablisers, and-hinge means securing the stabilisers respectively to two sides and a back of the chassis.
11. A patient lifting device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.