WO2008090221A1

WO2008090221A1 - Hoist

Info

Publication number: WO2008090221A1
Application number: PCT/EP2008/050897
Authority: WO
Inventors: Henrik SJÖHART LUND; Kwen Hsiao; Chuan-Feng Chen; Hsueh-Yi Chen; Ching-Lung Lee
Original assignee: Shl Medical Ab
Priority date: 2007-01-26
Filing date: 2008-01-25
Publication date: 2008-07-31

Abstract

Hoist, adapted to be in a compactly transportable state and in a user state, comprising wheeled base frame means (10) including a base support (11), a support column (20) upstanding from the base support/ two base legs (12) supported by a first pair of wheels (13) for rolling on a support surface, two fσldable extension legs (14) supported by a second pair of wheels (IS) for rolling on the support surface and a lifting mechanism means (50) including a lifting arm (52) pivotally supported by the support column (20), and an actuator (53) having an extendable end pivofcally attached to the lifting arm (52) and a fixed end pivotally attached to the support column (29) a third pair of wheels (17) pivotally connected to each pivotal locking mechanism (40) by releasing means each third pair of wheels is released to a contact position for stabilising the hoist and for selectively transporting and storing the hoist in a standing or in a lying position when the hoist is in in the compactly transportable state.

Description

HOIST Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates generally to a hoist and more particularly to improvements of a compactly foldable and transportable hoist, which is easy and safe to handle and which is intended primarily, but not exclusively, for rooms or areas that are limited of space. The hoist is adapted to be in a compactly transportable state and in a user state. When the hoist is in a compactly transportable state, said hoist is adapted to be compactly folded, secured and ready to be transported. When the hoist is in a user state, said hoist is adapted to be unfolded and ready to be used.

Background Art

[0002] In the latest years, the number of disable, old and physically challenged persons, hereinafter called the patient, who need assistance of care givers; e.g. therapists, relatives, hospital staff, hereinafter called the user; to transfer them e.g. from a bed and/or a wheelchair; has been increasing.

[0003] Some of these patients live primarily, but not exclusively, in their ordinary homes, where the rooms are limited of space. Even, rehabilitation centres, hospitals, home for old people suffer of storage space.

[0004] In order to solve the above mentioned problems, numerous devices, which assist the patients, have been developed. Nowadays, some of these devices make use of slings, or the like, which hold and secure the patient and hoist mechanisms, which enable the patient to be transferred. Further, said devices have been developed to be capable of being foldable in order to be stored without taking so much space.

[0005] US 5,082,127 discloses a collapsible lift trolley capable of occupying a compact collapsed position and a deployed in-use position. The collapsible lift trolley comprises a base unit having two longitudinal stringers with an end hinged to the base unit, a support rod upraised from the base unit, a lift arm having an end bent to be hinged on top of the support rod and the other end engaging a hook and a jack interconnecting the support rod and the lift arm for swinging the lift arm relative to the support rod. The stringers are secured when they are in a deployed position and in collapsible position by manually connecting/disconnecting a quick disconnect pin which extends through aligned holes. Further, the lift arm can be positioned substantially parallel to the support rod by operating the jack. A drawback of this lift is that the user, who handle the lift, has to take the quick disconnect pin out to insecure the stringers, align the holes and push in the pin to secure the stringers. In this step the user can drop the pin and in the process of looking after said pin, the string(s) are unsecured causing a risk of falling on the user. Another drawback with this lift is that the stingers cannot be moved sideways on a horizontal plane. Yet another drawback with said lift is that the lift arm can be accidentally actuated to its lowest position. Moreover, said lift can only be transported in one position. US 4,334,668 discloses a foldable apparatus for lifting, comprising: a base having a front end and a rear end; a plurality of legs attached to and extending horizontally from said base; a vertical member pivotally connected at its lower end to said base by a permanent pin and by an use pin whereby said vertical member folds down against said base when the user pin is removed, and having: a substantially horizontal extension rigidly attached to the upper end of said vertical member and extending substantially parallel to and in the direction of the rear end of said base; and means for locking said vertical member with respect to said base; a lifting beam pivotally connected at one end to said substantially horizontal extension such that the pivot point is offset from said vertical member toward the rear end of said base, while said lifting beam extends over the top of said vertical member in the direction of the front end of said base, whereby the downward movement of said lifting beam is limited when it comes to rest on said vertical member, and whereby said lifting beam swings over the upper end of said vertical member and folds down against the side of said vertical member closest to the rear end of said base; and a jack unit pivotally connected at one end to said vertical member and having quick disconnect means pivotally connecting the other end to said lifting beam, whereby said jack unit easily attaches to and disconnects from said lifting beam. A drawback with this apparatus is that there are so many steps of manually disconnecting pins. Another drawback with said apparatus is that the lifting arm can be accidentally actuated to its lowest position. Moreover, said apparatus can only be transported in one position.

[0007] US 5,261 ,640 discloses a portable engine hoist comprising: a base having a pair of spaced apart wheels thereon for rolling on a support surface; a pair of elongated feet each connected at one end thereof with said base for pivotal movement between an operating position wherein the feet extend in a generally horizontal orientation and a storage position wherein the feet extend in a generally vertical orientation; wheel means on each foot for rolling on the support surface in the operating position of the feet; means for releaseably locking each foot in the operating position; an upright post extending from said base; an inclined brace having upper and lower ends, said upper end being connected rigidly with said post; a cross arm connected with the lower end of said brace and spanning said feet in the operating position thereof, said releaseable locking means acting to releaseably lock said cross arm to both feet with the brace and cross arm providing a rigid brace structure between the post and feet; means for releaseably latching each foot in the storage position; a lifting arm pivotally connected with said post; and a jack for pivoting said arm relative to said post to raise and lower an engine carried on the lifting arm. A drawback with this hoist is that there are so many steps of manually disconnecting bolts. Another drawback with said hoist is that the lifting arm can be accidentally actuated to its lowest position. Moreover, said hoist can only be transportable in one position.

[0008] While there have been proposed a variety of lifting and/or transferring devices including different types of solutions, such as described above, each have their own shortcomings, some of which have been detailed above, as well as shortcomings being universal for all the above-described systems. Generally, heretofore, there has not been available a single concept which solves the above-mentioned problems.

Summary of the Invention

[0009] One object of the present invention is to provide a relatively simple hoist of the type stated in the preamble, by which a user can easily and safely fold, selectively transport, selectively store and safely unfold when needed. [0010] Another object of the present invention is to overcome other shortcomings and problems of the lifting and/or transferring devices heretofore available in the prior art discussed above.

[0011] These and other objects are obtained according to the present invention by providing a hoist of the type stated in the preamble having the features defined in the independent claim. Additional advantageous developments of the present invention are defined in the dependent claims.

[0012] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hoist, which is adapted to be in a compactly transportable state and in a user state, comprising:

[0013] - wheeled base frame means including a base support, a support column upstanding from the base support, two base legs supported by a first pair of wheels for rolling on a support surface, two foldable extension legs supported by a second pair of wheels for rolling on the support surface, wherein each extension leg is pivotally connected to each base leg and to said base support by a pivotal locking mechanism which is also adapted for unlocking and locking each extension leg to said pivotal locking mechanism and for allowing each extension leg to be pivoted between the user state in which each extension leg extends on a horizontal plane from and in relation to the base support and the compactly transportable state in which each extension leg extends parallel to the support column; and

[0014] - a lifting mechanism means including a lifting arm pivotally supported by the support column, and an actuator having an extendable end pivotally attached to the lifting arm and a fixed end pivotally attached to the support column, wherein said lifting arm comprises a rail to which the extendable end of the actuator is locked by security means when the hoist is in the user state and unlocked for slidably lowering said lifting arm to a folded and secured position when the hoist is to be set in the compactly transportable state wherein said hoist comprises a third pair of wheels pivotally connected to each pivotal locking mechanism by a releasing means and adapted to be in a contact and in a non-contact position with the support surface such that before each foldable extension leg is pivoted between the user state and the compactly transportable state, each third pair of wheels is released to a contact position for stabilizing the hoist and for selectively transporting and storing the hoist in a standing or in a lying position when the hoist is in the compactly transportable state.

[0015] According to another aspect of the present invention, said pivotal locking mechanism comprises a manually actuated member pivotally connected to an intermediate member capable of interacting with a locking member, an accumulating energy member and releasing means coupled to the third pair of wheels.

[0016] According to another aspect of the present invention, said pivotal locking mechanism comprises a male joint assembly fixedly arranged to a base leg and having a splined joint shaft, a female joint assembly fixedly arranged to an extension leg, a first quick release lock having a manually actuated member, and a second quick release lock being couple to the third pair of wheels; wherein the first quick release lock and the second quick release lock are arranged to interact within the female joint assembly with the splined joint shaft via clutch pins.

[0017] Yet according to another aspect of the present invention, said hoist comprises a horizontal plane pivotal mechanism for pivoting the legs on a horizontal plane relative to the base support wherein said horizontal plane pivotal mechanism comprises a hand actuated rod having a lower end and an upper end, a pair of connecting rods having a first end and a second end, and a pivotal element ; wherein the first end of each of the connecting rods is pivotally attached to each base leg and the second end of each of the connecting rods is pivotally attached to the lower end of said hand actuated rod; and wherein the hand actuated rod is further connected at its lower end, between the pivotally connections of said connecting rods, to the column by a pivotal element.

[0018] According to another aspect of the present invention, said support column comprises a handgrip for allowing a user to roll the hoist on a surface when the hoist is in an standing position which is distinguished by that said hoist is supported on the surface by the first and third pair of wheels or when the hoist is in the lying position which is distinguished by that said hoist is supported on the surface by the second and third pair of wheels. [0019] Yet according to another aspect of the present invention, said lifting arm is arranged and designed to be positioned substantially parallel with the support column after said security means has been actuated and secured to a latch means attached to the support column. These security means avoid the risk of accidentally lowering the lifting arm to its lowest position when a patient is being suspended on the lifting arm.

[0020] According to another aspect of the present invention, said hoist further comprises control means attached by suitable means inside the support column and which is electrically connected to a power driven linear actuator and to a remote hand control, wherein said control means is arranged and designed to contain a programmable control means that controls the movement of the power driven linear actuator and a battery pack to be used where there is no access to external power. Further said battery pack is arranged and designed to be charged through the remote hand control.

[0021] These technical features provide a safe hoist that can be compactly folded, secured, transported and stored in two different positions in rooms or areas that are limited of space.

[0022] The features that characterize the invention will be better understood from the following description used in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be expressly understood that the drawings is for the purpose of illustration and description and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. These and other objects attained, and advantages offered, by the present invention will become more fully apparent as the description that now follows is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of Drawings

[0023] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a hoist in a compactly transportable standing position according to the present invention.

[0024] Figure 2 is a side view of the preferred embodiment of a hoist in a user state according to the present invention.

[0025] Figure 3 is a detailed cross sectional view of a first embodiment of a pivotal locking mechanism when locked.

[0026] Figure 4 is a detailed cross sectional view of the pivotal locking mechanism of figure 3

[0027] Figure 5 is a top view of figure 2.

[0028] Figure 6 is a top view of figure 1.

[0029] Figure 7 is a detailed partial cross sectional view of a lifting arm with security means when the hoist is in a user state.

[0030] Figure 8 is a detailed partial cross sectional view of the lifting arm with security means when the hoist is in a compactly transportable state.

[0031] Figure 9 is an exploded view of a second embodiment of the pivotal locking mechanism.

[0032] Figure 10a is a cross sectional view of figure 9 when the hoist is in the user state.

[0033] Figure 10b is a cross sectional view of figure 9 when the pivotal locking mechanism is being actuated.

[0034] Figure 10c is a cross sectional view of figure 9 when the hoist is in the compactly transportable state.

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0035] In the present application, when the term "distal part/end" is used, this refers to the part/end of the hoist, or the parts/ends of the members thereof, which is/are located the right of figure 2. Correspondingly, when the term "proximal part/end" is used, this refers to the part/end of the hoist, or the parts/ends of the members thereof, which, is/are located to the left of figure 2.

[0036] Referring to the Figure 1 the hoist illustrated therein is shown in a compactly transportable state waiting to be transported or to be unfolded to a user state. Said hoist comprises a wheeled base frame means, a support column means, a pivotal locking mechanism, a horizontal plane pivoting mechanism, a lifting mechanism means and a control means.

[0037] In a preferred embodiment, the base frame means 10 comprises a base support 11 , two base legs 12 supported at their proximal end by a first pair of wheels 13 for rolling on a support surface, and two foldable extension legs 14 supported at their distal end by a second pair of wheels 15 for rolling on a support surface. Each extension leg 14 is pivotally connected to each base leg 12 and to said base support 11 by the pivotal locking mechanism, wherein the pivotal locking mechanism is pivotally connected to said base support 11 by means of pivotal elements 16, see figure 3. Further, the hoist comprises a third pair of wheels 17 pivotally connected to each pivotal locking mechanism 40, see figures 1 , 2, 10a-c. Moreover, both wheels 13 and 15 include a braking mechanism (not illustrated) for rotation and swivel.

[0038] The support column means 20 having a lower end and an upper end comprises a slightly inclined column 21 having a lower part wherein said lower part is attached to the base support 11 and said upper part is attached to lower end of the support column 20. Further, the support column means comprises a handgrip 22, which is attached to the support column 20 by suitable attaching means e.g. through a pair of bracket plates, welded, etc. see figure 2. Further, the support column means comprises a latch means 23.

[0039] The horizontal plane pivotal mechanism 30, which is provided to pivot the legs 12, 14 of the base frame on a horizontal plane relative to the base support 11 as seen in figure 5, comprises a hand actuated rod 31 having a lower end and an upper end, a pair of connecting rods 32 having a first end and a second end, and a pivotal element 33, see figure 3. The first end of each of the connecting rods is pivotally attached to each base leg 12 and the second end of each the connecting rods is pivotally attached to the lower end of the hand actuated rod. Further, the hand actuate rod is connected at its lower end, between the pivotally connections of said connecting rods, to the slightly inclined column 21 by the pivotal element 33. Moreover, said hand actuated rod 31 is supported at its upper end on a support means attached to the handgrip 22.

[0040] The pivotal locking mechanism 40, which is provided for unlocking and locking the extension legs 14 to said pivotal locking mechanism and for allowing the pivoting of the extension legs 14 between the user state in which each leg 14 extends on a horizontal plane from and in relation to the base support 11 and the compactly transportable state in which each leg 14 extends parallel to the support column 20 as seen in figures 1 and 2; comprises in a first embodiment a manually actuated member 41 pivotally connected to an intermediate member 42 capable of interacting with a locking member 43 and an accumulating energy member 44 as e.g. a spring, see figures 3 and 4. Further, said pivotal locking mechanism also comprises releasing means (not shown) that are coupled to the third pair of wheels 17 and that interacts with said member 42 and 43 for releasing the wheels 17 from a non-contact position to a contact position by a resilient means (not shown), wherein the contact position is the position when the wheels 17 make contact with the surface on which the support wheels 13 and 15 are making contact with. The pivotal locking mechanism 40 comprises in a second embodiment, as seen in figure 9, a male joint assembly 48 fixedly arranged to a base leg 12, a female joint assembly 49 fixedly arranged to an extension leg 14, a first quick release lock 45 and a second quick release lock 46; wherein the first quick release lock 45 has one of its end pivotally and resiliently connected to said female joint assembly 49 by a resilient means 71 and a pivoting means 73 and its other end being a manually actuated member 41 ; wherein the second quick release 46 has one of its end pivotally and resiliently connected to said female joint assembly 49 by a resilient means 72 and a pivoting means 74 and its other end being connected to the third pair of wheels 17 and wherein said male joint assembly 48 comprises a splined joint shaft 47 adapted to interact within the joint female assembly 49 with said quick release locks 45 and 46 via clutch pins 70 as seen in figure 10a. When the quick release locks 45 and 46 are manually released as seen in figure 10b, the clutch pins 70 comes out of contact with the splined joint shaft 47 and the wheels 17 is resiliently pivoted from a non-contact position to a contact position by the resilient means 71 , wherein the contact position is the position when the wheels 17 make contact with the surface on which the support wheels 13 and 15 are making contact with. The extension legs 14 are pivoted about the joint shaft 47 and the quick release 45 is then closed such that the clutch pins come into contact with the splined joint shaft 47 for locking the wheels 17 in the contact position and the extension legs 14 in the parallel position with respect to the column means 20, as seen in figure 10c.

[0041] The lifting mechanism means 50 comprises a pair of bracket sleeves 51 , a lifting arm 52 having a rail 61 , and an actuator 53 having a fixed end and an extendable end; wherein the actuator is a power driven linear actuator, a hydraulic actuator, pneumatic actuator or a manually driven actuator. The pair of bracket sleeves is attached to the upper end of the support column 20 and to these sleeves the lifting arm is pivotally attached as seen in figures 7 and 8. Further, the actuator is connected at its fixed end to a two guide plates, which are attached to the support column 20, by a pivotal element or bolt as seen in figures 1 and 2. Moreover, the extendable end of the actuator is pivotally connected to the rail 61 of the lifting arm.

[0042] The rail 61 comprises security means including a resilient locking bolt 62, and a locking member 63 positioned in the rail adapted to interact with the resilient locking bolt, and an accumulating energy member 64 as e.g. a spring, having a first end and a second end. The first end of said accumulating energy member 64 is attached to the locking member 63 and the second end of said accumulating energy member 64 is attached to a distal element (not shown) where a hang bar is to be attached.

[0043] The control means, which is electrically connected to a power driven linear actuator, is preferably attached by suitable means inside the support column 20. Further, the control means is also preferably adapted to contain a programmable control means that controls the movement of the power driven linear actuator and a battery pack to be used where there is no access to external power. The battery pack is preferably charged through a remote hand control that is adapted to communicate with the control means. A man skilled in the art is also in this case capable of connecting the battery pack on a charge mode in another suitable known way. Further hand control means are adapted on the top of the support column 20.

[0044] The hoist is intended to function as follows. When the hoist is in a user state, the device is ready for use. If the user, who handles the hoist, wants to adjust the foldable extension legs 14 to fit around e.g. a wheelchair, the user takes the hand actuated rod 31 at its upper end and pivots it around its pivotal element 33, wherein the connection rods 32 pivot the base legs 12 which are connected to the foldable extension legs 14. Further, with the present invention, the user has the freedom of operating said hoist through a remote hand control or through hand control means that are adapted on the top of the support column 20.

[0045] In order to transport and store the hoist in a compactly transportable state, the lifting arm 52 has to be lowered and secured to a folded position and the extending legs 14 have to be folded upwards and locked. When the lifting arm is lowered, the user has to notice that none load is attached to the distal element of the lifting arm, e.g. the hang bar, in order to handle the security means. If a hang bar is hanging from the distal element, the resilient locking bolt 62 is locked to the locking member 63 due to a force that the accumulating energy member 64 exerts on said locking member 63. By pulling said resilient locking bolt 62, the lifting arm can be unlocked from said locking member 63. Thereafter, the extendable part of the actuator can slide towards the proximal end of the lifting arm and thereby lowering said lifting arm to a folded position where the lifting arm is substantially parallel to the support column 20. The user then can secure the distal end of the lifting arm to the latch means 23 of the support column 20. When the first extending leg 14 is to be folded upwards, using the pivotal locking mechanism 40 of the first embodiment the user has to pull out the manually actuated member 41 which this in its turn pushes in the intermediate member 42 and due to the energy accumulated in the accumulating energy member 44, the locking member 43 unlocks the extending leg 14. Moreover, when the manually actuated member 41 is pulled out, the releasing means bring the third pair of wheels 17 of the foldable extension legs into contact with a surface e.g. floors or other support surfaces, on which the hoist will be transported. Thereafter, the user can fold said extending leg upwards and close the manually actuated member 41 in order to secure said extending leg in the folded position. When the first extending leg 14 is to be folded upwards, using the pivotal locking mechanism 40 of the second embodiment the user has to manually release the quick release locks 45 and 46 for unlocking the pivotal locking and allowing the wheels 17 to be resiliently pivoted to make contact with a surface e.g. floors or other support surfaces, on which the hoist will be transported. The extension legs 14 are pivoted about the joint shaft 47 and the quick release 45 is then closed for locking the wheels 17 in the contact position and the extension legs 14 in the parallel position with respect to the column means 20. The same procedure has to be done in order to fold the second extending leg. The handgrip 22 allows the user to transport the hoist rolling smoothly when the hoist is in a standing position on the first and third pair of wheels or when the hoist is in a lying position on the second and third pair of wheels, offering a freedom to move the hoist in two different storable and transportable positions. It is to be understood that the above described and illustrated embodiment of the present invention is to be regarded as a non-limiting example and that it can be modified within the scope of the patent claims.

Claims

1. A hoist, which is adapted to be in a compactly transportable state and in a user state, comprising wheeled base frame means (10) including a base support (11), a support column (20) upstanding from the base support, two base legs (12) supported by a first pair of wheels (13) for rolling on a support surface, two foldable extension legs (14) supported by a second pair of wheels (15) for rolling on the support surface, wherein each extension leg (14) is pivotally connected to each base leg (12) and to said base support (11) by a pivotal locking mechanism which is also adapted for unlocking and locking each extension leg (14) to said pivotal locking mechanism and for allowing each extension leg (14) to be pivoted between the user state in which each extension leg (14) extends on a horizontal plane from and in relation to the base support (11) and the compactly transportable state in which each extension leg extends parallel to the support column (20); and a lifting mechanism means (50) including a lifting arm (52) pivotally supported by the support column, and an actuator (53) having an extendable end pivotally attached to the lifting arm and a fixed end pivotally attached to the support column, wherein said lifting arm comprises a rail (61) to which the extendable end of the actuator (53) is locked by security means (62) when the hoist is in the user state and unlocked for slidably lowering said lifting arm to a folded and secured position when the hoist is to be set in the compactly transportable state c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that said hoist comprises a third pair of wheels (17) pivotally connected to each pivotal locking mechanism (40) by a releasing means (46) and adapted to be in a contact and in a non-contact position with the support surface such that before each foldable extension leg (14) is pivoted between the user state and the compactly transportable state, each third pair of wheels is released to a contact position for stabilizing the hoist and for selectively transporting and storing the hoist in a standing or in a lying position when the hoist is in the compactly transportable state.

2. The hoist according to claim ^ c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the pivotal locking mechanism (40) comprises a manually actuated member (41) pivotally connected to an intermediate member (42) capable of interacting with a locking member (43), an accumulating energy member (44) and releasing means coupled to the third pair of wheels (17).

3. The hoist according to claim ^characterised in that the pivotal locking mechanism (40) comprises a male joint assembly (48) fixedly arranged to a base leg (12) and having a splined joint shaft (47), a female joint assembly (49) fixedly arranged to an extension leg (14), a first quick release lock (45) having a manually actuated member (41), and a second quick release lock (46) being coupled to the third pair of wheels (17); wherein the first quick release lock and the second quick release lock are arranged to interact within the female joint assembly with the splined joint shaft via clutch pins (70).

4. The hoist according to any of the claims 1-3, characterised in that said hoist comprises a horizontal plane pivotal mechanism (30) for pivoting the legs (12, 14) on a horizontal plane relative to the base support (11) wherein said horizontal plane pivotal mechanism (30) comprises a hand actuated rod (31) having a lower end and an upper end, a pair of connecting rods (32) having a first end and a second end, and a pivotal element (33); wherein the first end of each of the connecting rods is pivotally attached to each base leg (12) and the second end of each of the connecting rods is pivotally attached to the lower end of said hand actuated rod; and wherein the hand actuated rod is further connected at its lower end, between the pivotally connections of said connecting rods, to the column (20) by a pivotal element (33).

5. The hoist according to any of the claims 1-4, characterised in that the support column (20) comprises a handgrip (22) for allowing a user to roll the hoist on a surface when the hoist is in an standing position which is distinguished by that said hoist is supported on the surface by the first and third pair of wheels or when the hoist is in the lying position which is distinguished by that said hoist is supported on the surface by the second and third pair of wheels.

6. The hoist according to any of the claims 1-5, characterised in that said lifting arm is arranged and designed to be positioned substantially parallel with the support column (20) after said security means has been actuated and secured to a latch means (23) attached to the support column (20).

7. The hoist according to any of the claims 1-6, characterised in that the security means comprises a resilient locking bolt (62), a locking member (63) positioned in the rail and adapted to interact with the resilient locking bolt, and an accumulating energy member (64) having a first end and a second end wherein the first end of the accumulating energy member (64) is attached to the locking member (63) and the second end of said accumulating energy member (64) is attached to a distal element where a hang bar is to be attached.

8. The hoist according to any of the claims 1-7, characterised in that the actuator (53) is a power driven linear actuator, a hydraulic actuator, pneumatic actuator or a manually driven actuator.

9. The hoist according to claim 8, characterised in that said hoist further comprises control means attached by suitable means inside the support column (20) and which is electrically connected to the power driven linear actuator and to a remote hand control.

10. The hoist according to claim 9, characterised in that the control means is arranged and designed to contain a programmable control means and a battery pack which is arranged and designed to be charged through the remote hand control.