GB2606144A - Lifting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A lifting apparatus for use inside a vehicle has a ceiling track for extending laterally across the ceiling of the vehicle, a dolly 104 slideably mounted on the track, a hoist 106 suspended therefrom and connectable to a load, e.g. a patient in a sling, a winch, a pulley assembly and a driving means. The pulley arrangement has a cable 110 with a portion parallel to the track, and two fairings located on the dolly 104 around which the cable 110 passes to form a bight below the dolly 104. A further fairing is located within the bight and is connected to the hoist 106. Retraction of the winch shortens the bight thereby raising the hoist 106 or vice-versa. The position of the dolly 104 is adjustable and driven by a driving means having a state inhibiting or preventing movement of the dolly 104. The driving means may be a motor-driven screw-threaded rod 520 that engages a complementary part 526 of the dolly 104.

Description

LIFTING DEVICES

This invention relates to lifting devices, and in particular, but without limitation, to lifting devices suitable for use inside vehicles, such as ambulances.

Ambulance crews and paramedics are often required to undertake manual handling tasks, and in particular, transferring patients in to and out of wheelchairs and on to and off stretchers, etc., during their day-to-day activities. It is generally well-accepted that manually lifting the weight of a person either single-handed or in pairs can place unnecessary amounts of strain on the body and can thus lead to musculoskeletal injuries, which account for a great many days of lost work each year. It is estimated that, amongst the paramedic community, that thousands of work days are lost per year in the United Kingdom alone through manual handling-related injuries. It is therefore nowadays considered best practice to avoid manual handling and to use lifting aids, wherever possible.

For example, when lifting a person off the floor, it is possible to use an inflatable mat onto which a person can be rolled or placed when it is deflated, but which can be inflated to elevate the patient off the floor. Other devices include derrick-type winch systems that can be wheeled into position; and which have a motorised cable winch that can be used to assist with a lifting operation, for example when transferring a patient from a bed to a wheelchair -using a sling suspended from the winch hook. The problem with known lifting aids of the aforementioned types is the unreliability of their power supplies, which are generally battery-powered. Failure to maintain the batteries in an optimal charge state can render the lifting aid inoperative and/or lacking sufficient power at the point of use. Moreover, space constraints often prohibit or inhibit the use of these lifting devices, for example inside vehicles and in small rooms, etc. One aspect of manual handling, which is currently very problematic, occurs when a paramedic crew needs to transfer a patient between stretchers or from a wheelchair to a stretcher inside a vehicle, such as when inside an ambulance. It is generally relatively easy to put a patient into a wheelchair initially and to wheel the patient in the wheelchair into the rear of the ambulance. A ramp is often provided at the entrance to the ambulance, up which the wheelchair, or a stretcher, can be rolled to position the patient inside the ambulance. In many cases, a winch can be used to drag a stretcher up the ramp -thereby avoiding the need for the paramedics to do so; and thereby reduce the manual handling requirements during such operations.

However, once the patient sitting in the wheelchair is located inside the ambulance, it can be extremely difficult to then transfer them from the wheelchair onto a stretcher or bed for onward transportation and/or to carry out medical procedures. A further complication is that due to the forward-facing orientation of the wheelchair as it is wheeled up the ramp, versus the rearward-facing configuration of the in-ambulance stretcher/bed, the patient often needs to be turned around through 180 degrees during transfer from the wheelchair to the bed/stretcher.

The obstacle facing ambulance crews is a lack of space: the interior of an ambulance is generally quite cramped and there is often very limited floor space between the stretcher and seating/storage areas within which the ambulance crews are able to stand. Thus, when a wheelchair is placed in the walkway adjacent the stretcher, it is often very difficult, if not impossible, for a pair of ambulance crew members to be able to manoeuvre a patient from the wheelchair onto the stretcher because there is insufficient space at either side of the wheelchair to do so. This more often than not results in a single ambulance crew member having to transfer the patient single-handed, or an assisting ambulance crew member needing to position themselves awkwardly to be able to render assistance to the other one.

A further problem occurring when transferring a patient from a wheelchair to a stretcher is the difference in height between the seat of the wheelchair and the bed surface of the stretcher. This inevitably requires the patient to be elevated when transferring from the wheelchair to the stretcher and vice versa. In addition, there is the arm/wheel of the wheelchair to take into account, which normally projects above the level of the seat of the wheelchair and the bed/stretcher -thus requiring the patient to be lifted "up and over" the armrest/wheel of the wheelchair during transfer from the wheelchair to the stretcher and vice versa. In fact, this results in the patient needing to be at their most elevated position at the most awkward point of the transfer, namely when they are neither supported by the chair, nor by the stretcher; and when the ambulance crews are at "full reach" during the transfer procedure.

To ameliorate this, it is known to use a ceiling-hoist inside an ambulance or other vehicle to assist with manual handling operations. An example of such a ceiling hoist is disclosed in U520120060277A1 [Radzinsky, 15 March 2012], which discloses a pivoting support arm, which is secured to the roof inside the vehicle. The support arm extends radially outwardly from a central hub and thus has a generally part-circular range of movement, which permits transferring the patient across the width of the vehicle. A winch system is used with this device, which deploys a winch cable from the free end of the support arm -thus enabling a patient to be hoisted and transferred within the vehicle. A problem with this known arrangement is that it is mounted to the ceiling of the vehicle and therefore significantly reduces the headroom within the vehicle. This can easily lead to head injuries where the standing room within the vehicle is already limited. In addition, due to the fixed radius of the support arm, when transferring a patient from a wheelchair to the stretcher and vice versa, the locus of movement is arcuate -meaning that the patient swings about an arcuate locus, rather than being transferred linearly from the wheelchair to the stretcher and vice versa. This necessitates additional spare room within the vehicle to carry out the transfer operation, which can also be problematic. One solution to the aforesaid is described in G132002713.2, which discloses an ambulance lifting device which uses a bight to permit lateral sliding of a patient along a track whilst maintaining their height/elevation.

Nevertheless, a problem that still arises, in particular in relation to lifting devices for use in vehicles, is the fact that if the vehicle is not parked perfectly level, there can be a tendency for the load supported on the track or lifting system to slide or move involuntarily within the vehicle. Additionally, if the vehicle is parked on a slant, moving a suspended patient from one side of the vehicle to the other, where this is an "uphill" direction, can be difficult, especially in the case of bariatric patients. Conversely, where the patient needs to be moved in a "downhill" direction, this can often be uncontrolled and result in excessive swinging of the patient when the lifting system hits its lower most end stop. To address this, GB2002713.2 proposes using a releasable lock to lock the position of the dolly relative to the track, but this only partially alleviates one or more of the above problems.

A need therefore clearly exists for a solution to one or more of the aforesaid problems.

Aspects of the invention are set forth in the appended independent claims. Preferred and/or optional features of the invention are set forth in the appended dependent claims.

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a lifting apparatus, suitable for use inside a vehicle, the lifting apparatus comprising: at least one track extending laterally across the ceiling of the vehicle; a dolly slideably mounted on the at least one track and thus being moveable laterally within the vehicle; a hoist suspended from the dolly connectable, in use, to a load to be lifted, lowered and transferred laterally within the vehicle; and a pulley arrangement operatively interconnecting the hoist to the dolly; wherein the pulley arrangement comprises: a cable having at least one cable portion which runs substantially parallel to the at least one track; and the dolly comprises at least two first fairings around which the said cable portion passes to form a bight below the dolly; a second fairing located within the bight to which the hoist is connected; the cable being connected to a winch such that retraction of the winch shortens the bight thereby raising the hoist or vice versa, and wherein the position of the dolly relative to the track is adjustable by a drive means having a driving state in which the dolly is driven along the at least one track, and a static state in which movement of the dolly along the at least one track is inhibited or prevented.

The aforesaid configuration provides a lifting system whereby the distance between the hoist and the at least one track, for a given winch position, is independent of the lateral position of the dolly within the vehicle. This means that a load can be raised using the hoist, and moved laterally within the vehicle without changing height. This is due to the configuration of the at least one cable portion which runs substantially parallel to the at least one track and the dolly comprising a set of fairings around which the cable portion passes to form a bight below the dolly: thus movement of the dolly relative to the track allows the position of the bight relative to the track to be altered (laterally) without changing the length of the bight. However, hoist can be raised or lowered by adjusting the length of the bight, by using the winch. The arrangement thus provides independent control of the height of the hoist, and independent control of the lateral position of the dolly, and hence the load suspended from the lifting apparatus.

The drive means is suitably one which provides a combined driving and locking function. For example, a lead screw or worm gear arrangement acting between the track and the dolly could serve this purpose. Due to the high gear ratio of a worm gear or lead screw arrangement, when the worm or lead screw is not actively driven, it effectively locks the dolly in position on the track. However, rotation of the shaft/lead screw causes movement of the follower and hence the dolly along the track and, as a result of the high gear ratio, does not require an excessively powerful motor to do so -even if the vehicle is parked on a slant and/or a bariatric patient is being transferred.

Suitably, the drive means is detachably connected to the dolly. In a normal state, the drive means is connected to the dolly so as to permit the dolly to be driven along the track as needed.

However, in the event of a power or other failure, being able to disconnect the drive means from the dolly can be useful, to provide manual, or hand operated override. Such detachment could be accomplished, for example, by providing a releasable clutch or clamp between the drive means and the dolly.

A further disadvantage of known lifting aids is a difficulty of installing them in a vehicle. They typically require extensive modification to the structural support system within the vehicle, such as the chassis, or installing dedicated support structures. The present invention, however, proposes a lifting unit, which can simply be bolted in position within the vehicle without having to add additional structure to the vehicle itself. To accomplish this, the present invention proposes, in certain embodiments, to have opposite ends of the track affixed to brackets, which in turn affix to legs or upstands. The lower ends of the legs simply need a flange member into which the lower ends of the uprights/legs are located, which flange members can be bolted down to the floor of the vehicle. By providing such a structure, it is possible to have a unitary, inverted U frame which provides all of the necessary weight bearing capability, stabilisation mechanism and fixing -all without requiring excessive modification to the vehicle.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the supporting structure for the lifting device has a maximum "thickness" of approximately 50 millimetres. This limitation usefully enables the supporting structure to be fitted between the outer skin and the inner skin of a conventional vehicle (and in particular, an ambulance) and this is particularly advantageous from an aesthetic point of view; but also from a cross-infection control perspective. By concealing the device between the two skins of the vehicle, save for a slot through which the dolly/hoist protrudes, it is possible to effectively conceal the lifting device in an aesthetically pleasing manner whilst also facilitating wipe down/cleaning of the interior of the vehicle. Locating the lifting device between the two skins of the vehicle additionally provides the advantage of removing head impact collisions/finger trap points, etc., as well as not impinging on the existing headroom within the vehicle.

The ceiling track system comprises at least one track that extends laterally across the ceiling of the vehicle. However, a pair of parallel tracks are preferred as this can serve to better retain and/or stabilise the dolly. The ceiling track system can be affixed to the ceiling of the vehicle by any suitable means, such as by using bolts and nuts, rivets etc. Spacers may optionally be interposed between the track or tracks and the underside of the ceiling, for example, to obtain a desired track height above the floor and/or to accommodate the shape of non-planar ceiling surfaces.

The dolly is slideably mounted on the at least one track and can thus be moved laterally within the vehicle. This enables a suspended load to be moved from left-right or vice versa within a vehicle, such as to transfer a patient from a wheelchair to a bed and vice versa. The word "laterally" in the context of the present invention is to be construed as meaning permitting movement of a load from towards one side of the vehicle to the other (optionally, but preferably crossing the vehicle's midline in the process), although such movement does not necessarily have to be at right angles to the midline of the vehicle.

Additional locking means may be provided for locking the position of the dolly on the track at one or more pre-set positions. Suitable locking means may comprise one or more detents on the track into which sprung ball bearings of the dolly engage at one or more positions. Additionally or alternatively, a braking or latching system may be provided to secure the dolly at one or more given positions, which braking or latching system preferably requires user intervention (such as pressing a button or lever) to disengage.

The hoist which is suspended from the dolly is connectable, in use, to a load to be lifted. It is envisaged that a hook, clip or karabiner may be used for this purpose, to detachably connect the hoist to, for example, a sling.

The pulley arrangement comprises a cable. However, in the context of the present invention, the word "cable" can be construed broadly to encompass any elongate, flexible tension-bearing device, such as a wire cable, a rope, a strop, a webbing band etc. By having the at least one cable portion run substantially parallel to the at least one track, this means that the elevation of the hoist is not significantly adjusted as the dolly is moved along the track.

The dolly comprises at least two first fairings, which may simply be generally cylindrical parts around which the cable passes, and likewise for the second fairing. However, to reduce friction in the system, and hence improve the user experience and winch loading, the fairings preferably comprise pulley wheels or rollers around which the cable passes.

The winch is connected to the cable by a connector. One purpose of the connector is to permit connection/disconnection of the winch from the cable, at will. This is useful where the winch may have several uses. For example, in an ambulance, a winch is often provided for dragging wheelchairs and stretchers up the ramp leading to the entrance of the ambulance: in the present case, the same which can be re-purposed as a lifting device by connecting the free end of the winch cable or strop to the cable of the lifting apparatus.

The end of the cable of the pulley arrangement may be anchored at one free end and connected to the winch at its other free end. Alternatively, the end of the cable of the pulley arrangement may be anchored at one free end and connected to the winch at a point along its length. In other embodiments, the cable of the pulley arrangement is formed as a continuous loop, and is connected to the winch at a point somewhere along its length.

Preferred embodiments in the invention shall now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of a known ambulance; Figure 2 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of an ambulance fitted with a known lifting device per GB2002713.2; Figure 3 is a schematic cross-sectional plan view of the ambulance shown in Figure 2; Figure 4 is a schematic, perspective view of a known lifting device in accordance with GB2002713.2; Figures 5 and 6 are schematic, perspective views of the lifting device of Figure 4 in different configurations; Figure 7 is a schematic, perspective view of a known alternative embodiment of a lifting device in accordance with GB2002713.2; and Figure 8 is a schematic, perspective view of a known support frame for a lifting device in accordance with GB2002713.2; Figure 9 is a perspective view of part of a lifting device in accordance with the invention; Figure 10 is a plan view from above of the lifting device of Figure 9; Figure 11 is a partial perspective view of a lifting device in accordance with the invention, per Figures 9 and 10; Figure 12 is a schematic perspective view of a lifting device in accordance with the invention; Figure 13 is a close-up detail view of the lifting device of the invention; Figure 14 is a perspective top view of the lifting device of the invention; and Figure 15 is a close-up partial cross-sectional view showing the interior of the lateral track and dolly.

Referring now to Figure 1 of the drawings, a known ambulance 10 is shown schematically inside cross-section and comprises a driver's cab 12 and a saloon cabin 14 mounted on a chassis 16. Inside the saloon cabin 14, there is a bed or stretcher 18 and access to the interior of the saloon cabin 14 is gained via an entrance 20 at the back of the ambulance 10. A ramp 22 can be used to bring a patient on a wheelchair 24 or stretcher 241 into the ambulance 10 by pushing or pulling the wheelchair 24 up the ramp so that the wheelchair 24 is raised from the floor surface 26 to the floor level 28 within the saloon cabin 14 of the ambulance 10.

As it can often be a difficult job to push a stretcher 241 up the ramp 22, a winch 30 is often used, which is permanently wired into the ambulance 10. The winch comprises a winch cable 32, which is typically a "seatbelt webbing" type cable, which connects to the stretcher 241 using a carabiner or a seatbelt type connector 34. By retracting the winch 30, the stretcher 241 can be pulled up the ramp 22 and into the saloon cabin 14 of the ambulance as shown by the solid and dashed lines in Figure 1. In some cases, the winch is misused to drag a wheelchair 24 up the ramp 22, but this is often contraindicated due to the flimsiness of the lightweight wheelchairs 24 that ambulance crews tend to carry.

Once the wheelchair 24 is inside the ambulance 10, it is often necessary to transfer a patient seated in the wheelchair 24 from the wheelchair 24 onto the bed 18 (or in some cases, onto a seat-belted seat (not shown) within the ambulance 10. As can be seen, the height of the seat 36 of the wheelchair 24 is generally lower than the height of the bed surface 38 of the bed 18 (or the seat-belted seat), and this therefore requires the patient to be lifted out of the wheelchair 24, up and over the armrest/wheel and then lowered down onto the surface 38 of the bed 18. Within the confines of a cramped ambulance saloon cabin 14, this can be very difficult for the reasons previously explained.

Referring now to Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings, a lifting device 100 in accordance with the invention has been fitted to the ambulance 10.

The lifting device 100 comprises a lateral track 102, which is formed, in the illustrated embodiment, by a pair of parallel tracks running at approximately 90 degrees to the midline of the ambulance 10 -across the width of the vehicle from side to side. A dolly 104 is suspended from the tracks 102 and a hoisting hook 106 hangs below the dolly 104. The existing winch strop 32 connects, via a connector 108, to a cable system 110 of the lifting device 100. The cable 110 extends up to the roof of the vehicle 14 and passes around a pulley 112 and then extends rearward before passing around a further pulley 114 and then across the width of the vehicle to a termination point 116. The cable 110 passes over pulleys 118 on the dolly 104 and hangs down below the dolly 104 to form a bight 120. A further pulley 122 is located within the bight 120, from which the suspension hook 106 depends. By retracting the winch 30, the cable 110 is pulled down as indicated by arrow 124, which shortens the bight 120 and thereby raising the hook 106. Meanwhile, the dolly 104 can be moved from left to right within the vehicle, as indicated by arrow 126.

The overall arrangement can be seen three-dimensionally in Figures 4, sand 6 of the drawings, although one of the tracks 102 has been omitted for clarity in those drawings. As can be seen, the dolly 104 has a set of rollers 128, which roll within a track part 130 of the tracks 102 and thus enable the dolly 104 to be slid from left to right 126 within the vehicle. It will be appreciated that as the dolly 104 moves (as indicated by arrow 126), the portion of the cable 1102 on one side of the dolly 104 shortens or lengthens, whereas the length of the cable 1104 on the opposite side of the dolly 104 lengthens or shortens, respectively. This means that no matter the position of the dolly 104, the length of the bight 120 remains the same.

This is shown, schematically, in Figure 5 of the drawings where the winch strop 32 is retracted 132 by the winch 30 causing the effective length of the cable 110 to be shortened and thereby shortening the length of the bight 120 by half that amount 134. Another advantage of the bight 120 arrangement is that it provides a mechanical advantage (it doubles the lifting force) at the hook 106 -meaning that the winch 30 can easily be re-purposed as a hoisting device, rather than a dragging device.

As can be seen from Figure 6 of the drawings, regardless of the position of the dolly 104 on the track 102, the elevation 136 of the hook 106 remains unchanged -for a given position of the connector 108.

It will also be seen, from Figures 4)5 and 6 that the connector 108 is a seatbelt type connector, which enables it to readily connect to a complementary buckle 1082 at the end of the winch strop 32.

Referring to Figure 7 of the drawings, a different embodiment of the invention is shown, although functionally equivalent elements are indicated by identical reference signs for ease of cross-referencing. In this case, the aforedescribed cable has been replaced by a webbing type strop, although this is not drawn to scale in Figure 7. In this case, the webbing strop 110 is formed as a continuous loop and a carabiner 150 is used to connect the webbing strop 110 to a secondary cable 1106, which, in turn, connects to the winch (not shown). Here, it can be seen that the afore-described pulleys have been replaced by rollers 152, but the overall functionality of the system is basically the same.

The configuration shown in Figure 7 of the drawings has the advantage over that shown in Figures 4-6 of the drawings of additional mechanical advantage, as well as having a shorter lengthwise dimension within the vehicle 10. The pulling force 1320 can be resolved into lengthwise 1322 and width wise 1324 components depending on the angle 1326 of the webbing strop 110 relative to the direction of pull 1320. This results in a higher width wise 1324 component -thereby amplifying the force of the winch. In addition, there is the 2:1 mechanical advantage afforded by the bight 120, and that means that the power of the winch is easily ample for use as a lifting device.

Although not shown in the drawings specifically, the suspension hook 106 suitably comprises a swivel to permit a patient, suspended therefrom, to be rotated to align with an intended direction, e.g. forward-facing, side-facing or rearward-facing -as the case may be.

Finally, Figure 8 of the drawings shows how the lifting device can be installed in a vehicle using a dedicated support frame 200, that obviates the need to connect the system 100 to the roof of the vehicle 100 directly. The support frame 200 comprises a set of upright tubes 202 with mounting feet 204 at their bases for connection to the floor/sub-frame/chassis of a vehicle (not shown). A set of lateral tubes 206 span the tops of the upright tubes 202, and a longitudinal tube 208 extends between the lateral tubes 206. Towards the front of the support frame 200, i.e. at the bulkhead end thereof, an additional upright tube 210 is provided that aligns with the position of the winch 30 within the vehicle. The additional upright tube 210 resists bending of the forward lateral tube 206 under the force of tension in the vertical part of the winch cable/strop (not shown), whereas the longitudinal tube 208 resists bending of the forward and rearwards lateral tubes 206 towards each other under the tension of the cable. The rearward lateral tube 206 supports the lifting device (not shown for clarity). It can be appreciated that the support frame 200 can be located securely within the vehicle and avoids the need for any weight-or force-bearing components of the lifting device to be connected to any non-structural parts of the vehicle.

Referring now to Figures 9 to 14 of the drawings, an embodiment of the invention is shown. A lifting device 500 in accordance with the invention comprises, in a manner similar to that previously described, a track 102, which extends laterally across the width of a vehicle (not shown), which, in the illustrated embodiment, is a generally C-shaped cross-section extrusion. By using a generally C-shaped extrusion, a slot 502 is formed, through which a lifting point 106 can protrude, with the remainder of the dolly and/or mechanism located within the cross-tube/track 102. As can be seen from Figure 9 and Figure 10, the dolly 104 comprises two pairs of rollers 128 that are mounted on respective axles 504, with a pulley wheel 118 interposed therebetween. The axles 504 are maintained at a fixed separation by apertured plates 506, such that the axles 504 move in unison along the interior of the generally C-shaped track 102.

A wire 110 passes around the pulley wheels 118 so as to form a bight 20, with a further pulley wheel 122 located within the bight 120. The further pulley wheel 122 is also mounted on an axle 506, from which the hoisting point 106 depends.

As can be seen, in particular, from Figure 11 of the drawings, one end of the cable 110 is fixed 510 at one end, whereas the other end of the cable 110 is connected to a winch 30. By rotating the winch motor in one direction or the other, effective length of the cable 110 can be increased or decreased, thus causing the lifting point 106 to move up and down, as indicated by arrow 134. Due to the bight 120, the dolly arrangement 104 is able to move along the track 102 as indicated by arrow 126 without altering the height of the lifting point 106 for a given cable length.

The dolly arrangement 104 is, however, constrained in its movement 126 along the track 102 by virtue of a threaded rod 520, which is supported at one end by a bearing 522, and which is connected, at its other end, to a drive motor 524. The threaded rod 520 passes through a complementarily threaded ferrule 526, which is connected to the linking plates 506 by an extension plate 528. It will be readily apparent to the skilled reader that rotation of the motor 524 causes the threaded rod 520 to rotate about its axis, thereby causing the ferrule 526 to screw/move 126 along parallel to the axis of the rod 520. The dolly 104 can thus be moved 126 in either direction along the track 102 by rotating the motor 524 in one direction or the other. Furthermore, because of the high gear ratio between the threaded rod 520 and the ferrule 526, unless the motor 524 is actively driven by the motor, it is virtually impossible to move the dolly 102 along the track due to the high gear ratio between the threaded rod 520 and the ferrule 526. This effectively locks the dolly 102 in position depending on where the motor 524 is started and stopped.

Referring now to Figures 12, 13 and 14 of the drawings, the physical arrangement of the lifting device 500 is shown in greater detail. Here, it can be seen that the lateral track 102 encloses the dolly within it -with just the hoist 106 protruding, when the lifting point 106 has been moved to its uppermost position. At either end of the track, there are a set of right-angled brackets, into which are affixed the upper ends of a set of upright legs 552. The legs 552 are conveniently of the same general cross-section as the track and the lower ends of the uprights 552 fit into foot flanges 554, which can be bolted to the structure of a vehicle. It will be appreciated that the arrangement 500 can be adjusted in height or width by cutting the lengths of the uprights and track to suit the vehicle, and this gives rise to a deal of flexibility in its installation.

As can be seen from Figure 13 in particular, the thickness 556 of the structure is sufficiently small so as to fit between the outer skin 558 and the inner skin 560 of a vehicle. It will also be seen, from Figures 12 and 14, that the winch motor 30 and drive motor 524 can be incorporated into one of the uprights 552 or the brackets 550 as the case may be.

A remote controller (not shown) is used for independently controlling the winch 30 and the drive motor 524 to effect movement of the lifting point 106 in the vertical 134 and horizontal 126 directions, respectively. The remote controller could be a wired or wireless remote controller, although a wired one is preferred as it is generally more reliable and less likely to be lost. The remote controller suitably has four buttons, arranged as cursors for controlling the winch (up/down) and the drive motor (left/right). An alternative embodiment of the remote control sees it having a joystick which can be moved in the up/down/left/right directions as the case may be to control the winch and drive motor, respectively. Preferably, a safety-shut-off device is provided on the remote controller, such as a key-operated lock to prevent or inhibit the lifting device from being operated inadvertently. However, a simple trigger could be provided which only enables the joystick/cursor buttons to be operated when the trigger is pressed simultaneously.

Finally, referring to Figure 15 of the drawings, a detailed partial cross-sectional view of the lateral track 102 is shown, which comprises a generally C-shaped cross-section extrusion. This has a main linking portion 602 interconnecting portions 604, which in turn connect to return portions 606 leaving a gap 608 therebetween.

The rear surfaces 610 of the returns 606 provide a surface upon which the rollers 128 of the dolly can roll. The gap/slot 608/502 enables the bight 120 of the cable 108 to pass therethrough and this effectively conceals the whole mechanism, including the threaded rod 520 within the interior of the lateral track.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiments, which are merely 25 exemplary.

Claims (20)

1. CLAIMS1. A lifting apparatus, suitable for use inside a vehicle, the lifting apparatus comprising: a ceiling track system comprising at least one track extending laterally across the ceiling of the vehicle; a dolly slideably mounted on the at least one track and thus being moveable laterally within the vehicle; a hoist suspended from the dolly connectable, in use, to a load to be lifted, lowered and transferred laterally within the vehicle; and a pulley arrangement operatively interconnecting the hoist to the dolly; and a winch, wherein the pulley arrangement comprises: a cable having at least one cable portion which runs substantially parallel to the at least one track; and the dolly comprises at least two first fairings around which the said cable portion passes to form a bight below the dolly; a second fairing located within the bight to which the hoist is connected; and a connector for connecting the winch to the cable, such that retraction of the winch shortens the bight thereby raising the hoist or vice-versa, and wherein: the position of the dolly relative to the track is adjustable by a drive means having: a driving state in which the dolly is driven along the at least one track; and a static state in which movement of the dolly along the at least one track is inhibited or prevented.
2. 2. The lifting apparatus of claim 1, wherein drive means comprises a motor-driven, screw-threaded rod, which screw-threadingly engages with a part the dolly, such that rotation of the screw-threaded rod by the motor causes the dolly to move along the track.
3. 3. The lifting apparatus of claim 2, wherein the pitch of the thread and/or the mechanical resistance of the motor is such that rotation of the screw-threaded rod by applying a force to the dolly parallel to the screw-threaded rod is not possible, thereby locking the dolly in position on the track.
4. 4. The lifting apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the track extending laterally across the vehicle has a generally C-shaped cross-section, the generally C-shaped cross-section having a connecting portion, a limb portion extending from opposite side edges of the connecting portion, and a return portion extending from the ends of each limb portion, and a gap between the free ends of each return portion, whereby an interior surface of the return portions providing a respective surface upon located to either side of the gap upon which the dolly can slide within the generally C-shaped cross-section, and whereby a portion of the hoist can protrude through the said gap.
5. 5. The lifting apparatus of claim 4, wherein the length of the limb portions is less than 50mm.
6. 6. The lifting apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the cable is at least partially accommodated within the lateral track.
7. 7. The lifting apparatus of any preceding claim, further comprising support legs affixed at their upper ends to opposite ends of the lateral track, the lower ends of the support legs comprising a mounting plate for affixing the support legs to a structure of the vehicle.
8. 8. The lifting apparatus of any preceding claim, further comprising a human interface device for independently controlling the operation of the winch and the drive means.
9. 9. The lifting apparatus of claim 8, wherein the human interface device comprises a wired or wireless remote control handset.
10. 10. The lifting apparatus of claim 9, wherein the wired or wireless remote control handset comprises an up/down button or buttons, which when pressed, cause the winch to move in one direction or the other; an left/right button or buttons, which when pressed, cause a motor of the drive means to rotate in one direction or the other.
11. 11. The lifting apparatus of claim 9, wherein the wired or wireless remote control handset comprises a joystick, which when moved in one axis causes the winch to move in one direction or the other; and when moved in a second axis perpendicular to the first axis, causes a motor of the drive means to rotate in one direction or the other.
12. 12. The lifting apparatus of any preceding claim, further comprising an additional means for locking the position of the dolly on the track at one or more pre-set positions, the additional locking means comprise any one or more of the group comprising: one or more detents on the track into which sprung ball bearings of the dolly engage at one or more positions; a braking system; a latching system; a braking system that requires user intervention to disengage; and a latching system that requires user intervention to disengage.
13. 13. The lifting apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the hoist comprises a swivel.
14. 14. The lifting apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the cable comprises any one or more of the group comprising: an elongate, flexible tension-bearing device; a wire cable; a rope; a strop; and a webbing band.
15. 15. The lifting apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the at least two first fairings and/or the second fairing comprise pulley wheels or rollers around which the cable passes.
16. 16. The lifting apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein end of the cable of the pulley arrangement is be anchored at one free end and connected to the winch at its other free end.
17. 17. The lifting apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the drive means is detachably connected to the dolly.
18. 18. An ambulance comprising the lifting apparatus of any preceding claim.
19. 19. The ambulance of claim 18, when dependent on claim 5, wherein the lateral track is located between an outer skin and an inner skin of a ceiling of the ambulance.
20. 20. The ambulance of claim 19, when dependent on claim 7, wherein the or each support leg is located between an outer skin and an inner skin of a side wall of the ambulance.