The present invention generally relates to a patient lift apparatus employed for lifting and transferring patients, which apparatus is especially intended to be used in the health care industry.
Patient lift apparatuses are generally known in the art. These apparatuses are an important tool for caregivers and medical staff, which tool greatly helps and facilitates patient handling. These apparatuses prevent personnel injuries, especially back injuries, and ensure dignity in patient handling.
Such patient lift apparatuses are for instance disclosed in International (PCT) Publications Nos. WO 2010/006240 A1 and WO 2011/036140 A1, which publications are incorporated herein by reference. Both publications disclose a patient lift apparatus in accordance with the preamble of independent claims 1 and 7, namely a patient lift apparatus comprising a supporting frame, a boom portion connected to the supporting frame, and a spreader element coupled to the boom portion via a coupling member, the boom portion and coupling member being joined by a pivot joint allowing the coupling member and associated spreader element to pivot with respect to the boom portion about a pivot axis.
In some other instances, the spreader element may be connected to the boom portion via a simple carabiner arrangement, which arrangement facilitates exchange of the spreader element but is however detrimental in that the spreader element may swing in any direction around the connection point to the boom. Such solutions, while simpler in configuration, therefore require great care from the caregiver to avoid injuries to the patient.
According to International (PCT) Publication No. WO 2011/036140 A1, a friction coupling is provided at the pivot joint, which friction coupling is designed to restrict pivoting movement of the coupling member and associated spreader element. In one embodiment, the friction coupling may furthermore comprise a viscous-type rotary damper, which damper acts to dampen rotation of the coupling member (and associated spreader element) with respect to the boom portion.
While this solution is adapted to restrict erratic movement of the coupling member and associated spreader element during handling of the patient lift apparatus, the damping function and efficiency of this solution is somewhat limited, especially with respect to a reduction of patient rocking movement.
Another problem with the solutions disclosed e.g. in International (PCT) Publications Nos. WO 2010/006240 A1 and WO 2011/036140 A1 resides in the coupling of the spreader element to the coupling member, which typically requires tools to allow exchange of the spreader element.
European Patent Publication No. EP 2 862 552 A1 discloses a patient lift apparatus comprising a supporting frame, a boom portion connected to the supporting frame, and a spreader element coupled to the boom portion via a quick-release link and quick-release hook. The quick-release link is specifically designed to be coupled to the boom portion by a lifting strap. The spreader element may accordingly swing in many directions about the lifting strap. The patient lift apparatus of European Patent Publication No. EP 2 862 552 A1 therefore suffers from substantially the same drawback as the known patient lift apparatuses that make use of the aforementioned carabiner arrangement to couple the spreader element to the boom portion.
European Patent Publication No. EP 1 645 260 A1 discloses a patient lift apparatus wherein a linear damper is provided between a boom portion and a mast of the supporting frame. This linear damper is merely exploited for the purpose of damping movement of the boom portion with respect to the mast, the main purpose of the linear damper being to prevent the boom portion from abruptly falling in case of failure of the boom actuator. Furthermore, the linear damper according to European Patent Publication No. EP 1 645 260 A1 is located such that it is exposed within the angle formed between the boom portion and the mast, which is detrimental in that this could potentially cause injuries to the patient and/or to the caregivers and medical staff handling the apparatus.
There is therefore a need for an improved solution.
A general aim of the invention is to provide a patient lift apparatus of the aforementioned type, which improves ease of use and especially reduces patient rocking.
A further aim of the invention is to provide such a patient lift apparatus that allows faster and easier exchange of the spreader element and which does not compromise patient handling.
Yet another aim of the invention is to provide such a solution that guarantees that the spreader element is adequately connected to the boom portion and cannot be inadvertently released.
These aims are achieved thanks to the solutions defined in the claims.
In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, as recited in independent claim 1, there is provided a patient lift apparatus comprising a supporting frame, a boom portion connected to the supporting frame, and a spreader element coupled to the boom portion via a coupling member, the boom portion and coupling member being joined by a pivot joint allowing the coupling member and associated spreader element to pivot with respect to the boom portion about a pivot axis. According to this first aspect of the invention, the patient lift apparatus further comprises a damping element coupled between the boom portion and the coupling member to damp rocking movement of the coupling member and spreader element, which damping element is a linear damper having a first end connected to the boom portion and a second end connected to the coupling member.
The damping element is preferably a pneumatic or hydraulic damper.
According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the damping element is located completely within an inner space of the boom portion. This solution is particularly advantageous in that no part of the damping element projects outside of the boom portion, which considerably reduces the risk of injury.
The patient lift apparatus may further comprises a quick release mechanism to release the spreader element from the boom portion.
In accordance with a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the quick release mechanism is an integral part of the coupling member, which coupling member comprises a first coupling element that is pivotably coupled to the boom portion and a second coupling element that is connected to the spreader element and releasably coupled to the first coupling element, thus forming a releasable coupling section between the first and second coupling elements. In this context, the second end of the damping element may in particular be connected to the first coupling element at a point of attachment that is offset with respect to the pivot axis of the pivot joint.
The aforementioned combination of the damping element and quick release mechanism forming an integral part of the coupling member is particularly advantageous in that a quick release and exchange of the spreader element from the boom portion is made possible, without this compromising or affecting the desired damping function. The known solutions implementing a damping function, as for instance disclosed in International (PCT) Publication No. WO 2011/036140 A1, do not allow to achieve this particularly advantageous result.
It will be appreciated that the aforementioned quick release mechanism is also a valuable improvement over the known solutions, independently of the use of the damping element. Therefore, in accordance with a second aspect of the invention, as recited in independent claim 7, there is also provided a patient lift apparatus comprising a supporting frame, a boom portion connected to the supporting frame, and a spreader element coupled to the boom portion via a coupling member, the boom portion and coupling member being joined by a pivot joint allowing the coupling member and associated spreader element to pivot with respect to the boom portion about a pivot axis. According to this other aspect of the invention, the patient lift apparatus further comprises a quick release mechanism to release the spreader element from the boom portion. This quick release mechanism is an integral part of the coupling member, which coupling member comprises a first coupling element that is pivotably coupled to the boom portion and a second coupling element that is connected to the spreader element and releasably coupled to the first coupling element, thus forming a releasable coupling section between the first and second coupling elements.
The aforementioned releasable coupling section may in particular be designed as a dovetail connection between the first and second coupling elements, in which case the first coupling element may especially comprise a T-shaped extension and the second coupling element a corresponding T-shaped opening adapted to receive the T-shape extension and secure the first coupling element to the second coupling element.
In accordance with this preferred embodiment, the second coupling element can advantageously be releasably translatable with respect to the first coupling element, in which case translation of the second coupling element with respect to the first coupling member preferably takes place along an inclined plane. Furthermore, the releasable coupling section may in particular be designed in such a way that the second coupling element comes to rest against the first coupling element and is supported by the first coupling element when coupled one with the other.
In accordance with a particularly advantageous aspect of the invention, the releasable coupling section may in particular be designed in such a way that complete coupling of the second coupling element onto the first coupling element is ensured by gravity, the second coupling element being automatically locked onto the first coupling element upon complete coupling of the first and second coupling elements.
The quick release mechanism may further comprise a locking-unlocking mechanism adapted to automatically lock and secure the first and second coupling elements one with the other and to manually unlock and release the first and second coupling elements one from the other. In this latter case, the locking-unlocking mechanism can advantageously comprise a movable locking member that is adapted to move alongside a guide portion of the first coupling element between a locking position, in which the movable locking member partly engages into a retaining portion provided in the second coupling element, and an unlocking position, in which the movable locking member is disengaged from the retaining portion. This movable locking member can especially be designed to slide inside a hollow portion of the first coupling element, which hollow portion acts as the guide portion, and to cooperate with a corresponding bore provided in the second coupling element, which bore acts as the retaining portion.
The movable locking member is advantageously moved to the locking position and pressed into engagement with the retaining portion under the action of a spring, the movable locking member being selectively movable to the unlocking position and disengaged from the retaining portion under the action of a manually-actuatable release knob, which knob is preferably positioned along the guide portion and forms and integral part of the movable locking member.
By way of preference, the quick release mechanism is designed to allow toolless release of the spreader element.
Further advantageous embodiments of the invention form the subject-matter of the dependent claims and are discussed below.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will appear more clearly from reading the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention which are presented solely by way of non-restrictive examples and illustrated by the attached drawings in which:
The present invention will be described in relation to various illustrative embodiments. It shall be understood that the scope of the invention encompasses all combinations and sub-combinations of the features of the patient lift apparatus disclosed herein.
As described herein, when two or more parts or components are described as being connected or coupled to one another, they can be so connected or coupled directly to each other or through one or more intermediary parts.
Referring to
A boom portion 18 is connected to the supporting frame 10, namely to mast 12, via a first pivot joint PJ1 thereby allowing the boom portion 18 to pivot with respect to the mast 12 about a pivot axis PA1. Pivot axis PA1 is understood to be parallel to the y-axis of the Cartesian coordinate system x-y-z depicted in
Positioned at a distal end of the boom portion 18, there is provided a spreader element (or spreader bar) 25 which is coupled to the boom portion 18 via a coupling member 20. Coupling member 20 is connected to the boom portion 18 via a second pivot joint PJ2 thereby allowing the coupling member 20 (and associated spread element 25) to pivot with respect to the boom portion about a pivot axis PA2 (which other pivot axis PA2 is likewise understood to be parallel to the y-axis). Reference sign 20A in
By restricting movement along the y-axis and allowing the coupling member 20 and associated spreader element 25 to pivot only in the x-z plane thanks to the pivot joint PJ2, one ensures stability of the spreader element 25 when the patient lift apparatus 1 is moved in an unloaded state, i.e. without any patient. The spreader element 25 is thus held in a stable configuration when approaching a patient, thereby reducing the risk to hit the patient's head.
The spreader element 25 depicted in
In the illustrated embodiment, the quick release mechanism is advantageously an integral part of the coupling member 20, the first coupling element 21 being pivotably coupled to the boom portion 18 at the point of attachment 20A so as to pivot about pivot axis PA2 and form pivot joint PJ2, while the second coupling element 22 is connected to the spreader element 25 (via a point of attachment 22A) and releasably coupled to the first coupling element 21, thus forming a releasable coupling section 200 between the first and second coupling elements 21, 22.
By way of preference, the quick release mechanism of the invention is designed to allow toolless release of the spreader element 25, but modifications could be envisaged to require the use of tools to perform assembly and disassembly of the spreader element 25 from the boom portion 18 should this be necessary or desired.
In the illustrated embodiment, the releasable coupling section 200 is designed as a dovetail connection between the first and second coupling elements 21, 22. Other types of connecting arrangements could however be contemplated to secure the coupling elements 21, 22 one with respect to the other and provide the desired function of quick release mechanism of the invention.
By way of preference, as illustrated in
Tests carried out by the Applicant have in particular demonstrated that the provision of damping element 50 ensures an efficient damping of the patient rocking movement and greatly improves comfort for the patient as a result, which is a considerable improvement over the known solutions. Indeed, the damping arrangement of the invention allows to drastically and quickly reduce the amplitude of movement of the patient after only a few oscillation cycles. Rocking of the patient in a sling attached to the spreader element 25 is extremely reduced thanks to the invention, making the experience for a patient to be transferred a lot easier and causing less anxiety for the patient.
As schematically depicted in
As depicted in
The locking-unlocking mechanism 30 with its movable locking member 300 is provided on the rear side of the coupling member 20. As depicted in
In the illustration of
In the locking position, as depicted in
When the movable locking member 300 is moved manually upwards to an unlocking position by a corresponding actuation on the release knob 305, namely by pushing the movable locking member 300 against the force exerted by the spring 310, the locking element 306 and thus the movable locking member 300 can be disengaged from the retaining portion 226, allowing subsequent release of the lower coupling element 22 from the upper coupling element 21 along plane SP.
In the illustrated embodiment, it will be appreciated that the movable locking member 300 is accordingly designed to slide inside a hollow portion (consisting of longitudinal slit 215 and through-hole 216) of the first coupling element 21, which hollow portion acts as guide portion, and to cooperate with a corresponding bore provided in the second coupling element 22, which bore acts as the retaining portion 226.
Adequate positioning and support of the lower coupling part 220 with respect to the upper coupling part 210 is advantageously ensured by an adequate design of the dovetail connection 211, 212, 221, 222, 223. More precisely, as depicted in
Also visible in
Attachment of the spreader element 25 can be performed single handed thanks to the aforementioned coupling arrangement. In that respect, an advantage of the aforementioned coupling section 200 resides in that gravity will make sure that engagement of the second coupling element 22 onto the first coupling element 21 is complete and that both elements 21, 22 are automatically locked one with respect to the other thanks to mechanism 30, without this requiring any additional measure to secure the coupling. In the context of the aforementioned embodiment, the user actually gets an immediate feedback that mechanical engagement is complete when the locking member 300 automatically gets into engagement in the retaining portion 226 as soon as the second coupling element 22 comes to rest against the first coupling element 21. Detachment requires another hand to unlock the mechanism 30 by actuating the aforementioned release knob 305, which is typically a regulatory demand.
Various modifications and/or improvements may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the annexed claims. For instance, other arrangements could be contemplated in order to implement the releasable coupling section between the first and second coupling elements, the dovetail connection being one possible but particularly advantageous and robust solution.
Furthermore, although the embodiments disclosed herein combine the use of a damping element and of a quick release mechanism, both features constitute independent features of the invention that could be implemented individually. The combination of both aspects however constitutes a particularly preferred solution in the context of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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17208554 | Dec 2017 | EP | regional |
This application is a divisional application of U.S. Ser. No. 16/955,87, filed on Jun. 19, 2020, which is a 371 of PCT Application No. PCT/IB2018/059564 filed on Dec. 3, 2018, which claims priority to European Application No. 17208554.0 filed on Dec. 19, 2017, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if recited in their entirety.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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20100005585 | Spidare | Jan 2010 | A1 |
20120240333 | Niklasson | Sep 2012 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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WO-9415570 | Jul 1994 | WO |
WO-2013034936 | Mar 2013 | WO |
Entry |
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“Integral.” Dicitionary.com, www.dictionary.com/browse/integral (Year: 2017). |
“Knob.” Vocabulary.com, www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/knob (Year: 2016). |
“Dovetail.” Google, www.google.com/search?q=dovetail+joint+definition. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20230255844 A1 | Aug 2023 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 16955887 | US | |
Child | 18306306 | US |