Claims
- 1. A method of transferring a person to a sitting position on a seat from a reclined position on a first surface comprising the steps of: positioning said seat in vicinity of an end of said first surface; positioning a second surface over said seat; moving said person with feet first toward and partly onto said second surface by moving said first surface at a velocity horizontally toward said second surface and vertically down in vicinity of said second surface, so that the person's feet and calves move off said first surface and slide onto said second surface; moving and raising the person's knees and thighs over said seat by rotating and moving said second surface horizontally at a velocity substantially equal to the velocity of said first surface until the person's buttocks are over the seat, and rotating a part of said seat to support the buttocks; raising said person to a sitting position on said seat by rotating a part of said first surface to raise the person's back and head to a substantially vertical position, rotating said seat to a substantially horizontal position, and rotating and lowering said second surface to extend downward from said seat to support said person's legs and feet.
- 2. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein said first surface is a sheet pulled and sliding over a mattress to move said person.
- 3. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein said second surface raises said person's knees and supports said person's calves and feet so that knees remain bent substantially 70 degrees as said person is moved to a sitting position on said seat.
- 4. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein said first surface comprises a sheet extending across a bed; said sheet being pulled for moving said sheet and said person reclining thereon across the bed by pulling means on said bed; said sheet and said second surface being mounted on a chair; said sheet and said second surface being movable in different directions and with different rotations; said pulling means differing from moving means used to move said seat and said second surface.
- 5. A method of transferring a person to a sitting position on a seat from a reclined position on a first surface comprising the steps of: positioning said seat in vicinity of an end of said first surface; positioning a second surface over said seat; moving said person with feet first toward and partly onto said second surface by moving said first surface at a velocity horizontally toward said second surface and vertically down in vicinity of said second surface, so that the person's feet and calves move off said first surface and slide onto said second surface; moving and raising the person's knees and thighs over said seat by rotating and moving said second surface horizontally at a velocity substantially equal to the velocity of the first surface until the person's buttocks move onto said seat; raising said person to a sitting position on said seat by rotating a part of said first surface to raise the person's back and head to a substantially vertical position, and rotating and lowering said second surface to extend downward from said seat to support said person's legs and feet.
- 6. A method of moving a person from a reclining position on a horizontal surface to a sitting position on a seat adjacent an end of said surface comprising the steps of: rotating the seat to lower part of the seat adjacent to said surface; moving said reclining person with feet first horizontally so that the feet and calves extend and are supported over said seat; raising said person's legs by lifting under the calves and knees and lower thighs and allowing the knees to bend, and supporting the person's back, while moving said person horizontally to position the buttocks above said seat; rotating said seat to a substantially horizontal position, and supporting the buttocks, and raising and rotating said person's back and head, and rotating and lowering the calves and feet to move said person to a sitting position on said seat.
- 7. A method of moving a person from a reclining position on a bed to a sitting position on a seat adjacent an end of the bed comprising the steps of: rotating the seat to lower part of the seat adjacent to the bed and positioning a support above said seat level with said bed; moving said person with feet first across said bed so that the feet and calves slide onto said support; moving said person and said support horizontally while rotating said support under the person's calves and knees and lower thighs, so as to lift the knees and thighs and allow the knees to bend; moving the person horizontally until the person's buttocks move off the bed and over the seat with the person being supported under the person's back and, under the knees and lower thighs; rotating the person to a sitting position on the seat by rotating to a substantially vertical position part of the bed supporting the person's back and supporting the buttocks, rotating the seat to a substantially level position, and rotating and moving said support so that it extends downward from the seat to support the person's calves and feet.
- 8. The method as defined in claim 7 wherein said part of said seat is raised by rotating said seat about an axis.
- 9. A method of moving a person from a reclining position on a bed to a sitting position on a seat, as defined in claim 7 wherein said person is reclined on a sheet, said person being moved across said bed by moving said sheet on which the person is reclining.
- 10. The method as defined in claim 7 including said steps carried out in reverse sequence for returning said person to a reclined position.
- 11. The method as defined in claim 7 including the step of placing a back support surface between said person's back and said part of the bed which supports the person's back after said person has been raised to said sitting position.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This is a division of application Ser. No. 937,015, filed Dec. 2, 1986, which is a continuation-in-part of the patent application Ser. No. 731,533 filed May 7, 1985 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,047.
The process of transferring an invalid person from a bed to a wheelchair or commode often requires the help of two or more assistants. The task frequently requires considerable strength and is a common source of injury to the person being transferred or to the nurse(s) or attendant(s) doing the transfer. These problems often are the major factors that require a patient to be hospitalized or moved to a nursing home, rather than being cared for at home. They also increase the cost of caring for persons in hospitals and nursing homes.
The parent application describes an arrangement for transferring an invalid person from a bed to a separate horizontal surface by means of a sheet which was pulled over the surface of the mattress by being rolled up on a roller at the foot of the bed and unrolled from a roller at the head of the bed. Accordingly, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide a special wheelchair, which may be a commode or may be convertible to a commode, and a bed equipped with rollers, a transport sheet, and a lifting mechanism, so that a person can be comfortably transported over the bed and partially onto the horizontal seat of the wheelchair and then raised to a normal sitting position thereon, with no effort on the part of the invalid person and requiring minimal physical strength or skill on the part of an attendant.
In many cases invalid persons can easily be injured when they are being transferred between a bed and a wheelchair, due to such causes as stresses placed on weak bones or decubitus ulcers, or as a result of accidental falling. Accordingly, it is another object of this invention to provide a comfortable and safe method of transfer with minimum stress on the person's body and minimum sliding action which could cause or aggravate decubitus ulcers.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide apparatus which can be installed on existing hospital or home-type beds so that a person can be comfortably transported to a seated position on a wheelchair or a commode, or a toilet at the end of the bed, or to a standing position on the floor.
A further object is to pull a semi-reclining person who has slid down in the bed up to a comfortable position. This is a frequent and stressful task for nurses and attendants.
Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will become evident from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
It is to be understood that the term wheelchair, as used herein, includes commodes.
This present invention is also applicable to transfer onto fixed chairs and seating, such as toilets, and there is no intent to limit the present invention to transfer between a bed and a wheelchair.
US Referenced Citations (5)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
| Number |
Date |
Country |
| 172296 |
Feb 1980 |
EPX |
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
| Parent |
937015 |
Dec 1986 |
|
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
| Parent |
731533 |
May 1985 |
|
Patent Grant
4821352
