Patent Application
20240180761
Patient support systems facilitate care of patients in a health care setting. Patient support systems comprise patient transport apparatuses such as, for example, hospital beds, stretchers, cots, tables, wheelchairs, chairs, stair chairs, and the like. Many conventional patient transport apparatuses, such as for example cots, generally include a base arranged for movement about floor surfaces, and a litter upon which a patient can be positioned or otherwise supported. Here, one or types of lift mechanisms may be employed to facilitate adjusting a vertical position of the litter relative to the base to, among other things, promote patient care, load the patient transport apparatus into an ambulance, and the like.
Conventional stair chairs (or “evacuation chairs”) are configured to facilitate transporting a seated patient up or down a flight of stairs, such as by employing tracks that allow for controlled descent down a staircase. Those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that, when used in connection with certain emergency medical services, stair chairs are typically realized as separate patient transport apparatuses from cots. Further, many conventional ambulances are configured to facilitate loading, securing, and transporting cots, but typically only employ storage space for stair chairs. Thus, in scenarios where a patient being transported via an ambulance on a cot must be transported up or down stairs using a stair chair, the patient sometimes has to be transferred between different patient transport apparatuses, such as from a stair chair to a cot which may subsequently be loaded into an ambulance.
It will be appreciated that transporting patients in stair chairs generally necessitates that portions of the stair chair extend, articulate, and the like to facilitate handling by caregivers. By way of example, handles may be provided on various portions of the stair chair to enable caregivers to support and move the stair chair. Certain types of handles may be arranged for telescoping movement after being unlocked, and can be maintained in extended or retracted positions. Adjustment of these types of handles may be difficult to achieve under certain conditions, such as where a caregiver supporting the stair chair wants to extend or retract a handle while also supporting the stair chair at a different location.
A patient support system designed to overcome one or more of the aforementioned challenges is desired.
The present disclosure provides a patient transport apparatus for supporting a patient. The patient transport apparatus includes: a seat assembly having a front end and a rear end with a seat frame and defining a patient support surface for supporting the patient; a fowler assembly having a fowler frame coupled to a rear end of the seat frame and being moveable relative to the seat assembly, the fowler assembly further defining the patient support surface for supporting the patient, and the fowler assembly including a guide extending along a telescoping axis, and the fowler assembly having a lower handle having a grasping portion spaced from the fowler frame; a telescoping handle assembly coupled to the fowler frame, the telescoping handle assembly including, a spine arranged for movement along the telescoping axis and moveable relative to the guide along the telescoping axis between a plurality of spine positions including an extended position and a retracted position, the spine defining one or more receivers, an upper handle coupled to the spine and moveable with the spine between the extended and retracted positions, the upper handle being spaced farther from the seat assembly in the extended position than in the retracted position; and a release linkage coupled to the lower handle and having a retainer arranged for engagement with the one or more receivers of the spine to retain the spine in one of the plurality of spine positions relative to the guide, and the release linkage including a release interface arranged for user engagement and operably attached to the retainer to selectively move the retainer out of engagement with the receiver in response to user engagement.
Advantages of the present disclosure will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
In some versions, the patient transport apparatus 102 may comprise a reconfigurable patient support as described in U.S. Patent No. 9,486,373, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. In some versions, the patient transport apparatus 102 may comprise a reconfigurable transport apparatus as described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,510,981, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. In some versions, the patient transport apparatus 102 may comprise a person support apparatus system as described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0028383, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. In some versions, the patient transport apparatus 102 may comprise a patient transfer apparatus with integrated tracks as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/854,943, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. In some versions, the patient transport apparatus 102 may comprise a variable speed patient transfer apparatus as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/854,199, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. In some versions, the patient transport apparatus 102 may comprise a patient transfer apparatus as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/855,161, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. In some versions, the patient transport apparatus 102 may comprise an ambulance cot as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,398,571, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
With continued reference to
As will be described in greater detail below in connection with
In the illustrated versions, the fowler assembly 128 pivots relative to the seat assembly 122 about a fowler axis XW (shown in
Caregiver interfaces 148, such as upper and lower handles 148a, 148b, help facilitate movement of the patient transport apparatus 102 over floor surfaces. Here, caregiver interfaces 148 may be coupled to the fowler assembly 128, the front assembly 134 (not shown), the intermediate frame 118 (not shown), and the like. Additional caregiver interfaces may be integrated into other components of the patient transport apparatus 102. The upper and lower handles 148a, 148b and other optional caregiver interfaces 148 are graspable by the caregiver to manipulate the patient transport apparatus 102 for movement.
Base wheels 150 are coupled to the base frame 116 to facilitate transport over floor surfaces, and facilitate supporting the base. The base wheels 150 are arranged in each of four quadrants of the base 110 adjacent to corners of the base frame 116. In the illustrated versions, the base wheels 150 are caster wheels, which are able to rotate and swivel relative to the base frame 116 during transport. Each of the base wheels 150 forms part of a base caster assembly 152. Each base caster assembly 152 is mounted to the base frame 116. It should be understood that various configurations of base caster assemblies 152 are contemplated. In addition, in some configurations, the base wheels 150 are not caster wheels and may be non-steerable, steerable, non-powered, powered, or combinations thereof. Additional base wheels 150 are also contemplated. For example, the patient transport apparatus 102 may comprise four non-powered, non-steerable wheels, along with one or more powered wheels. In some cases, the patient transport apparatus 102 may not include any wheels. In other configurations, one or more auxiliary wheels (powered or non-powered), which are movable between stowed positions and deployed positions, may be coupled to the base frame 116. In some cases, when these auxiliary wheels are located between caster assemblies and contact the floor surface FS in the deployed position, they cause two of the base caster assemblies 152 to be lifted off the floor surface thereby shortening a wheel base 110 of the patient transport apparatus 102. A fifth wheel may also be arranged substantially in a center of the base 110. Other configurations are contemplated.
It should be noted that in many of the drawings described herein, certain components of the patient transport apparatus 102 have been omitted from view for convenience of description and case of illustration.
A control system (not shown) of the patient transport apparatus may generally comprise one or more powered devices operated by a controller in response to actuation of one or more user interfaces and optionally in response to state signals from a sensing system (not shown). One suitable example of a patient transport apparatus 102 having such a control system is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0369036, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The litter 112 of the present disclosure is configured to be removably attached to the intermediate frame 118 of the base 110, as noted above and as is described in greater detail below, and is generally operable between: an undocked mode MU (see
In some configurations, the litter 112 is configured to serve as a mobile chair to transport the patient along floor surfaces FS as well as up and down stairs ST. Mobile chairs (sometimes called “stair chairs”) are used to evacuate patients from buildings where patient accessibility is limited, such as buildings having more than one floor. As noted above, the patient support surface 114 of the litter 112 of the illustrated patient transport apparatus 102 is generally defined by the fowler section 132, the seat section 126, and the front section 138. Here, the seat section 126 is supported by the seat frame 124, and the fowler section 132 is supported by the fowler frame 130 that is coupled to the seat frame 124 such that the fowler frame 130 may pivot or otherwise articulate relative to the seat frame 124. The front section 138 is supported by the front frame 136 which is coupled to the seat frame 124 such that the front frame 136 may pivot or otherwise articulate relative to the seat frame 124. Here too, the rear assembly 140 is coupled to the seat frame 124 such that the rear frame 142 may pivot or otherwise articulate relative to the seat frame 124.
In some configurations, the seat frame 124 may include seat frame members 170 spaced laterally apart from and fixed relative to each other. Similarly, the fowler frame 130 may include fowler frame members 172 spaced laterally apart and fixed relative to each other. The front frame 136 may include front legs 174 spaced laterally apart and fixed relative to each other, and the rear frame 142 may include rear legs 176 spaced laterally apart and fixed relative to each other. In the illustrated version, the litter 112 comprises a fowler actuator 178, a front actuator 180, and a rear actuator 182 which are each driven by the controller (e.g., by a litter controller) and are operatively attached to the seat assembly 122 to facilitate respectively pivoting or otherwise articulating the fowler assembly 128, the front assembly 134, and the rear assembly 140 relative to the seat assembly 122.
In the illustrated versions, the fowler assembly 128 is movable via the fowler actuator 178 between a fowler raised position, a fowler lowered position, and one or more intermediate fowler positions between the fowler raised position and the fowler lowered position.
As noted above, the illustrated patient transport apparatus 102 employs the track driving device 164, which is configured to assist users in traversing a flight of stairs by mitigating the load users (e.g., caregivers) would otherwise be required to lift via caregiver interfaces 148. In some configurations, the track driving device 164 may be configured to move the litter 112 across the floor surface. The track driving device 164 is formed as a part of the rear legs 176 of the rear assembly 140. Here, each rear leg 176 includes a respective track frame member 184 coupled to the seat frame 124 for pivoting movement about the rear axis XR. The track driving device 164 also includes track actuators 186 which drive continuous leg tracks 188 rotatably coupled to the respective leg track frame members 184. The track actuators 186 are coupled to the track frame members 184 and are coupled to (or otherwise disposed in communication with) the controller to drive the leg tracks 188 for ascending and descending stairs. The track driving device 164 may be configured to operate in the same manner or a similar manner as those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,398,571, 9,486,373, 9,510,981. U.S. 2018/0369036 and/or U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0028383, previously referenced.
The rear assembly 140 also includes rear wheels 190 rotatably coupled to each of the track frame members 184 that are configured to be disposed in contact with the floor surface FS, such as to support the litter 112 for movement in the chair configuration CC. In the illustrated versions, the rear wheels 190 are freely rotatable. In alternative versions, the rear wheels 190 may be powered drive wheels coupled to the controller. Other configurations are contemplated. The components of the track driving device 164 are arranged such that the leg track frame members 184, the leg tracks 188, and the rear wheels 190 move together with the rear assembly 140 which, as noted above, is arranged to selectively pivot about the rear axis XR to facilitate changing between the various configurations of the litter 112 as well as to facilitate docking and undocking from the base 110.
In some versions, the ski assemblies 144 serve as extensions to the track driving device 164 and likewise help facilitate engagement with stairs ST. To this end, in the illustrated versions, the ski assemblies 144 each include respective ski track frame members 192 operatively attached to the seat frame 124 for pivoting movement about the rear axis XR (or another axis). Here too, the track actuators 186 drive continuous ski tracks 194 rotatably coupled to the respective ski track frame members 192.
The front legs 174 of the front assembly 134 support respective front wheels 196, which are realized as part of respective front caster assemblies 198 arranged to facilitate movement of the litter 112 on the floor surface, as well as to facilitate transitioning between various litter 112 configurations. In the illustrated versions, the front wheels 196 are freely rotatable, but could be motorized, braked, and the like in some versions. As noted above, in some versions, the front section 138 may be translatable along the front frame 136. To this end, the front assembly 134 may include an extension mechanism, generally indicated at 200, configured to longitudinally position the front section 138 relative to the front legs 174. While not depicted in detail herein, the extension mechanism 200 may be similar to as is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/705,878, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
A litter lift device 162 is coupled to the litter 112 and is configured to raise and lower the patient between minimum and maximum heights of the litter 112, and to generally facilitate movement between litter 112 configurations when the litter 112 is separated from the base 110. To this end, the illustrated litter lift device 162 generally includes the front actuator 180 and the rear actuator 182. The base lift device 120 is coupled to the base 110 and is configured to raise and lower the patient between a plurality of vertical configurations including a maximum raised configuration 110R (see
In the representative version illustrated in
The base 110 of the patient transport apparatus 102 also generally includes a docking subassembly 206 operatively coupled to the intermediate frame 118. Here, the docking subassembly 206 includes intermediate rails 208 which support a trolley 210 for translation between a trolley forward position 210F where the trolley 210 is arranged at the head end HE of the base 110, and a trolley docking position 210D where the trolley 210 is arranged at the foot end FE of the base 110. The trolley 210 includes or otherwise defines upper and lower pin stops 212, 214 which are arranged to engage against respective upper and lower pins 216, 218 of the litter 112 in order to support the litter 112 in a cantilevered position CP during the process of docking the litter 112 to the base 110, as well as to support the litter 112 to the base 110 when operating in the docked mode MD. The docking subassembly 206 also generally includes a forward trolley lock mechanism 220 to inhibit movement of the trolley 210 away from the trolley forward position 210F, and a dock trolley lock mechanism 222 to inhibit movement of the trolley 210 away from the trolley docking position 210D, in order to facilitate transitioning between the undocked mode MU and the docked mode MD.
As noted above, evacuation of the patient is often accomplished outside the confines of a patient care facility. In these circumstances, caregivers may need to bring patient treatment devices 230 necessary to facilitate evacuation with them inside the building and keep the patient treatment devices close to the patient during evacuation. The patient treatment device 230 is realized as an Oxygen tank in this disclosure. However, it is contemplated that other patient treatment devices 230 may be employed. Requiring a caregiver to carry the patient treatment device 230 while simultaneously operating the litter 112 to evacuate the patient from the building can be cumbersome. To case this burden, the patient treatment apparatus 102 may include a support frame assembly 232 to secure the patient treatment device 230 to the litter 112.
As shown in
The support frame assembly 232 may also include first and second mounting members 236a, 236b coupled to the lower handle 148b adjacent the grasping portion 234 of the lower handle 148b. The mounting members 236a, 236b may extend toward the fowler assembly 128. The mounting members 236a, 236b may define a brace surface 238 shaped for supporting the patient treatment device (e.g., the oxygen tank). The brace surface 238 is spaced from the grasping portion 234 of the lower handle 148b for permitting the caregiver to grab the grasping portion 234 while supporting the patient treatment device (
The grasping portion 234 of the lower handle 148b may extend along a grasping axis XG. The grasping axis XG may be parallel to the fowler axis XW. The mounting members 236a, 236b may extend perpendicularly relative to the grasping axis XG such that the patient treatment device 230 may be disposed across the mounting members 236a, 236b, parallel to the grasping portion 234.
As noted above, caregivers may use the litter 112 to evacuate patients from buildings where patient accessibility is limited, such as buildings having more than one floor. In these circumstances, caregivers may need to operate the litter 112 on stairs to move the patient between floors. While the caregiver and patient are ascending or descending stairs, it may be advantageous to the caregiver to provide easy adjustment of a position or orientation of caregiver interfaces 148, such as the upper handle 148a, to maintain proper grip and allow for better caregiver posture. To facilitate a change in position of the upper handle 148a, the patient transport apparatus 102 includes a telescoping handle assembly 256.
The telescoping handle assembly 256 is coupled to the fowler frame 130. The telescoping handle assembly 256 includes a spine 258 arranged for movement along a telescoping axis XT. The fowler assembly 128 includes a guide 260 coupled to the fowler frame 130 and extending along the telescoping axis XT. The spine 258 is moveable relative to the guide 260 along the telescoping axis XT between a plurality of spine positions including an extended position PE (see
The telescoping handle assembly 256 also includes a release linkage 262 coupled to the lower handle 148b. The release linkage 262 has a retainer 264 arranged for engagement with one or more receivers 266 defined in the spine 258 to retain the spine 258 in one of the plurality of spine positions relative to the guide 260. The release linkage 262 includes a release interface 268 arranged for user engagement and operably attached to the retainer 264 to selectively move the retainer 264 out of engagement with the receiver 266 in response to user engagement.
As shown in
The release interface 268 may include a pivot member 272 that is pivotable about a pivot axis XP perpendicular to the retainer axis XN. The pivot member 272 may be pivotably coupled to the release linkage housing 270. The release linkage 262 may include a cross-pin 274 coupled to the retainer 264 and the pivot member 272. The release linkage housing 270 may define a housing slot 276 extending parallel to the retainer axis XN for receiving the cross-pin 274. The pivot member 272 may define a pivot slot 278 for receiving the cross-pin 274. The pivot member 272, the cross-pin 274, and the retainer 264 may collectively form or otherwise define a slotted link mechanism 277 (sometimes referred to as a scotch yoke mechanism) to convert rotational movement of the pivot member 272 into linear movement of the retainer 264. More specifically, the housing slot 276 and the pivot slot 278 provide necessary degrees of freedom to the cross-pin 274 to permit rotational movement of the pivot member 272 to translate into linear movement of the retainer 264. A biasing member 280 may be coupled to the release linkage 262 to urge the retainer 264 into engagement with the spine 258 and/or receivers 266. It is contemplated that other release linkages or release mechanisms could be employed to retain the spine 258 in the one or more of the plurality of spine positions PE, PR.
The pivot member 272 may be positioned adjacent the grasping portion 234 of the lower handle 148b to permit a user to simultaneously engage the pivot member 272 while grabbing the grasping portion 234 of the lower handle 148b. This configuration allows the caregiver to keep one hand on the lower handle 148b while adjusting the height of the upper handle 148a as desired with the other hand. The pivot member 272 may comprise a curved body 281 to at least partially surround the grasping portion 234 of the lower handle 148b. The pivot member 272 may be disposed beneath the grasping portion 234 of the lower handle 148b. The illustrated version of the pivot member 272 partially surrounding the lower handle 148b beneath the lower handle 148b supports the caregiver being able to wrap their fingers around the grasping portion 234 of the lower handle 148b while engaging the pivot member 272 with their thumb. In addition to facilitating simple, single-handed operation from different positions, it will be appreciated that this configuration also gives the caregiver greater visibility to the release interface 268 when objects (e.g., the patient treatment device 230) are disposed between the lower handle 148b and the fowler frame 130.
The spine 258 may comprise an elongated tube 283 having a hollow interior and extending along the telescoping axis XT. The spine 258 may employ an elongated tube 283 with a non-circular cross-section, such as with a rounded rectangular profile, which is slidably disposed in or otherwise supported for movement along a correspondingly-shaped slide bearing 285. Here, it will be appreciated that a rounded rectangular profile affords rigidity to the spine 258 from a single, central location. In some versions, the spine 258 may comprise a solid body. The one or more receivers 266 may comprise a notch or an aperture formed in the spine 258. In other words, the one or more receivers 266 may extend through a wall of the spine 258 or the one or more receivers 266 may not extend through the wall of the spine 258.
In some configurations, a spine stop 282 may be coupled the spine 258, such as at the end of the spine 258 opposite the upper handle 148a, to limit movement of the spine 258 relative to the guide 260. In some configurations, the spine stop 282 abuts the guide 260 to limit movement of the spine 258 relative to the guide 260. In other configurations, the spine stop 282 abuts another portion of the litter 112, e.g., the fowler frame 130, to limit movement of the spine 258 relative to the guide 260. In some configurations, the spine stop 282 abuts the guide 260 when the spine 258 is in the extended position (see
It will be further appreciated that the terms “include.” “includes,” and “including” have the same meaning as the terms “comprise,” “comprises,” and “comprising.” Moreover, it will be appreciated that terms such as “first,” “second.” “third.” and the like are used herein to differentiate certain structural features and components for the non-limiting, illustrative purposes of clarity and consistency.
Several configurations have been discussed in the foregoing description. However, the configurations discussed herein are not intended to be exhaustive or limit the invention to any particular form. The terminology which has been used is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings and the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.
The present disclosure also comprises the following clauses, with specific features laid out in dependent clauses, that may specifically be implemented as described in greater detail with reference to the configurations and drawings above.
a spine arranged for movement along the telescoping axis and moveable relative to the guide along the telescoping axis between a plurality of spine positions including an extended position and a retracted position, the spine defining one or more receivers, an upper handle coupled to the spine and moveable with the spine between the extended and retracted positions, the upper handle being spaced farther from the seat assembly in the extended position than in the retracted position; and
XIX. The patient transport apparatus of clause XVIII, further comprising:
The subject patent application claims priority to, and all the benefits of, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/294,175, filed on Dec. 28, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2022/035058 | 6/27/2022 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63294175 | Dec 2021 | US |
