Patent Grant
11612527
Patient transport systems facilitate care of patients in a health care setting. Patient transport systems comprise patient transport apparatuses such as, for example, hospital beds, stretchers, cots, tables, wheelchairs, and chairs to move patients between locations. A conventional patient transport apparatus comprises a base, a patient support surface, and several support wheels, such as four swiveling caster wheels. Often, the patient transport apparatus has an auxiliary wheel system that includes one or more non-swiveling auxiliary wheels, in addition to the four caster wheels. The auxiliary wheel, by virtue of its non-swiveling nature, is employed to help control movement of the patient transport apparatus over a floor surface in certain situations.
When a caregiver wishes to use the auxiliary wheel to help control movement of the patient transport apparatus, such as down long hallways or around corners, the caregiver operates an actuator assembly to selectively move the auxiliary wheel from a stowed position, out of contact with the floor surface, to a deployed position in contact with the floor surface. In addition, at least some known auxiliary wheel systems may include a biasing device that acts upon the auxiliary wheel to bias the auxiliary wheel downwardly toward the floor surface to maintain traction between the auxiliary wheel and the floor surface. In many cases, it's desirable to service the auxiliary wheel system for maintenance and repair. However, a service technician must safely remove the biasing device before performing maintenance on the actuator assembly and/or auxiliary wheel. The safe removal of these biasing devices may be time consuming and labor intensive, thus increasing the cost of maintaining known auxiliary wheel systems.
A patient transport apparatus designed to overcome one or more of the aforementioned challenges is desired.
Referring to
A support structure 22 provides support for the patient. The support structure 22 illustrated in
A mattress, although not shown, may be disposed on the patient support deck 30. The mattress comprises a secondary patient support surface upon which the patient is supported. The base 24, intermediate frame 26, patient support deck 30, and patient support surface 32 each have a head end and a foot end corresponding to designated placement of the patient's head and feet on the patient transport apparatus 20. The construction of the support structure 22 may take on any known or conventional design, and is not limited to that specifically set forth above. In addition, the mattress may be omitted in certain embodiments, such that the patient rests directly on the patient support surface 32.
Side rails 38, 40, 42, 44 are supported by the base 24. A first side rail 38 is positioned at a right head end of the intermediate frame 26. A second side rail 40 is positioned at a right foot end of the intermediate frame 26. A third side rail 42 is positioned at a left head end of the intermediate frame 26. A fourth side rail 44 is positioned at a left foot end of the intermediate frame 26. If the patient transport apparatus 20 is a stretcher, there may be fewer side rails. The side rails 38, 40, 42, 44 are movable between a raised position in which they block ingress and egress into and out of the patient transport apparatus 20 and a lowered position in which they are not an obstacle to such ingress and egress. The side rails 38, 40, 42, 44 may also be movable to one or more intermediate positions between the raised position and the lowered position. In still other configurations, the patient transport apparatus 20 may not comprise any side rails.
A headboard 46 and a footboard 48 are coupled to the intermediate frame 26. In other embodiments, when the headboard 46 and footboard 48 are provided, the headboard 46 and footboard 48 may be coupled to other locations on the patient transport apparatus 20, such as the base 24. In still other embodiments, the patient transport apparatus 20 does not comprise the headboard 46 and/or the footboard 48.
User interfaces 50, such as handles, are shown integrated into the footboard 48 and side rails 38, 40, 42, 44 to facilitate movement of the patient transport apparatus 20 over floor surfaces. Additional user interfaces 50 may be integrated into the headboard 46 and/or other components of the patient transport apparatus 20. The user interfaces 50 are graspable by the user to manipulate the patient transport apparatus 20 for movement.
Other forms of the user interface 50 are also contemplated. The user interface 50 may simply be a surface on the patient transport apparatus 20 upon which the user logically applies force to cause movement of the patient transport apparatus 20 in one or more directions, also referred to as a push location. This may comprise one or more surfaces on the intermediate frame 26 or base 24. This could also comprise one or more surfaces on or adjacent to the headboard 46, footboard 48, and/or side rails 38, 40, 42, 44.
In the embodiment shown, one set of user interfaces 50 comprises a first handle 52 and a second handle 54. The first and second handles 52, 54 are coupled to the intermediate frame 26 proximal to the head end of the intermediate frame 26 and on opposite sides of the intermediate frame 26 so that the user may grasp the first handle 52 with one hand and the second handle 54 with the other. In other embodiments, the user interfaces 50 comprise one or more of a joystick, dial, or knob in place of the first and second handles 52, 54.
Support wheels 56 are coupled to the base 24 to support the base 24 on a floor surface such as a hospital floor. The support wheels 56 allow the patient transport apparatus 20 to move in any direction along the floor surface by swiveling to assume a trailing orientation relative to a desired direction of movement. In the embodiment shown, the support wheels 56 comprise four support wheels each arranged in corners of the base 24. The support wheels 56 shown are caster wheels able to rotate and swivel about swivel axes 58 during transport. Each of the support wheels 56 forms part of a caster assembly 60. Each caster assembly 60 is mounted to the base 24. It should be understood that various configurations of the caster assemblies 60 are contemplated. In addition, in some embodiments, the support wheels 56 are not caster wheels and may be non-steerable, steerable, non-powered, powered, or combinations thereof. Additional support wheels 56 are also contemplated.
Referring to
By deploying the auxiliary wheel 64 on the floor surface, the patient transport apparatus 20 can be easily moved down long, straight hallways or around corners, owing to a non-swiveling nature of the auxiliary wheel 64. When the auxiliary wheel 64 is stowed (see
The auxiliary wheel 64 may be arranged parallel to the longitudinal axis 28 of the base 24. Said differently, the auxiliary wheel 64 rotates about a rotational axis R (see
The auxiliary wheel 64 may be located to be deployed inside a perimeter of the base 24 and/or within a support wheel perimeter defined by the swivel axes 58 of the support wheels 56. In some embodiments, such as those employing a single auxiliary wheel 64, the auxiliary wheel 64 may be located near a center of the support wheel perimeter, or offset from the center. In this case, the auxiliary wheel 64 may also be referred to as a fifth wheel. In other embodiments, the auxiliary wheel 64 may be disposed along the support wheel perimeter or outside of the support wheel perimeter. In the embodiment shown, the auxiliary wheel 64 has a diameter larger than a diameter of the support wheels 56. In other embodiments, the auxiliary wheel 64 may have the same or a smaller diameter than the support wheels 56.
In one embodiment shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
Energy is provided from the power source 104 to energize the motor 102. The motor 102 converts energy from the power source 104 to torque supplied to the gear train 106. The gear train 106 transfers torque to the auxiliary wheel 64 to rotate the auxiliary wheel 64.
In the embodiment shown, the lift actuator 66 is a linear actuator comprising a housing 66a and a drive rod 66b extending from the housing 66a. The drive rod 66b has a proximal end received in the housing 66a and a distal end spaced from the housing 66a. The distal end of the drive rod 66b is configured to be movable relative to the housing 66a to extend and retract an overall length of the lift actuator 66. The housing 66a is pivotally coupled to the second cross-member 72b and the distal end of the drive rod 66b is coupled to the first auxiliary wheel support frame 74a. More specifically, the first auxiliary wheel support frame 74a defines a slot 82 to receive a pin 84 connected to the distal end of the drive rod 66b to permit the drive rod 66b to translate and pivot relative to the first auxiliary wheel support frame 74a.
In the embodiment shown, the auxiliary wheel assembly 62 comprises a biasing device such as a torsion spring 86 to apply a biasing force to bias the first and second auxiliary wheel support frames 74a, 74b toward the floor surface and thus move the auxiliary wheel 64 toward the deployed position 68 (see
In the embodiment shown, in the deployed position 68 of
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Although an exemplary embodiment of an auxiliary wheel assembly 62 is described above and shown in the figures, it should be appreciated that other configurations employing a lift actuator 66 to move the auxiliary wheel 64 between the stowed positions 70a, 70b and deployed position 68 are contemplated.
In some embodiments, the lift actuator 66 is configured to cease application of force against the biasing force of the torsion spring 86 instantly to permit the torsion spring 86 to move the auxiliary wheel 64 to the deployed position 68 expeditiously. In one embodiment, the auxiliary wheel 64 moves from the fully stowed position 70a to the deployed position 68 in less than three seconds. In another embodiment, the auxiliary wheel 64 moves from the fully stowed position 70a to the deployed position 68 in less than two seconds. In still other embodiments, the auxiliary wheel 64 moves from the fully stowed position 70a to the deployed position 68 in less than one second. A suitable actuator for the lift actuator 66 comprises a linear actuator supplied by LINAK A/S located at Smedevenget 8, Guderup, DK-6430, Nordborg, Denmark. It is contemplated that any suitable actuator capable of deploying the auxiliary wheel 64 may be utilized.
Referring to
To solve these problems, the patient transport apparatus 20 includes a biasing load adjustment assembly 110 that is configured to adjust a biasing force being applied by the biasing device. In some embodiments, the biasing load adjustment assembly 110 includes a component that can be moved with a bolt to add or relieve the load on the spring. In addition, the biasing load adjustment assembly 110 may include holes in one or more moving components where a pin, bolt, or tool can be used to hold the moving parts in place while a service technician is working on the sub-assembly or removing components. In some embodiments, the biasing load adjustment assembly 110 includes a bolt/nut that can be adjusted to relieve the load off of the actuator holding the spring force to allow a service technician to remove the actuator from the sub-assembly.
Referring to
Referring to
The biasing load adjustment assembly 110 also includes a positioning bracket 120 and a positioning assembly 122. The positioning bracket 120 is coupled to the first cross-member 72a and extends outwardly from the outer surface 114 of the first cross-member 72a. The positioning assembly 122 is coupled to the positioning bracket 120 and to the slider block 112. The positioning assembly 122 is configured to adjust a position of the slider block 112 relative to the torsion spring 86 to facilitate adjusting the load imparted on the wheel support frame 74a by the torsion spring 86.
The positioning bracket 120 includes a positioning opening 124 that extends through an outer surface of the positioning bracket 120 and is sized and shaped to receive the positioning assembly 122 therethrough. The positioning assembly 122 extends through the positioning opening 124 to contact the slider block 112. The positioning assembly 122 includes a positioning bolt 126 that extends through the positioning opening 124. The positioning bolt 126 is coupled to the slider block 112 such that a linear movement of the positioning bolt 126 causes a movement of the slider block 112 along the outer surface 114 of the first cross-member 72a.
The positioning assembly 122 also includes a positioning nut 128 that is rotatably coupled to the positioning bolt 126 to adjust a position of the positioning bolt 126 with respect to the positioning bracket 120. The positioning bolt 126 includes a threaded outer surface. The positioning nut 128 is threadably coupled to the positioning bolt 126 and is configured to contact the positioning bracket 120 such that a rotation of the positioning bolt 126 causes a linear movement of the positioning bolt 126. For example, a rotation of the positioning nut 128 in a first rotational direction 130 moves the positioning bolt 126 towards the torsion spring 86 and a rotation of the positioning nut 128 in a second rotational direction 132 moves the positioning bolt 126 away from the torsion spring 86. The slider block 112 is movable along the outer surface 114 of the first cross-member 72a in a first linear direction 134 towards the torsion spring 86 and a second opposite linear direction 136 away from the torsion spring 86. The rotation of the positioning nut 128 in the first rotational direction 130 moves the slider block 112 in the first linear direction 134 towards the torsion spring 86. The rotation of the positioning nut 128 in the second rotational direction 132 moves the slider block 112 in the second opposite linear direction 136 away from the torsion spring 86.
During operation, an operator may rotate the positioning nut 128 in the first rotational direction 130 to move the positioning bolt 126 and slider block 112 in the first linear direction 134 to contact the first end 116 of torsion spring 86 and increase a biasing force imparted by the torsion spring 86 onto the wheel support frame 74a and the lift actuator 66. In addition, when the operator desired to perform maintenance of the lift actuator 66, the operator may rotate the positioning nut 128 in the second rotational direction 132 to move the positioning bolt 126 and the slider block 112 in the second opposite linear direction 136 away from the torsion spring 86 to reduce the biasing load of the torsion spring on the wheel support frame 74a and lift actuator 66.
Referring to
Referring to
The positioning nut 128 is rotatably coupled to the positioning bolt 126 to adjust a position of the positioning bolt 126 with respect to the positioning bracket 120. In the illustrated embodiment, the positioning nut 128 is threadably coupled to the threaded outer surface of the positioning bolt 126 such that a rotation of the positioning nut 128 in the first rotational direction 130 moves the wheel support frame 74a in the first linear direction 134 away the first cross-member 72a by virtue of the force from the torsion spring 86, and a rotation of the positioning nut 128 in the second rotational direction 132 moves the wheel support frame 74a in the second opposite linear direction 136 towards the first cross-member 72a, similar to how the wheel support frame 74a moves when stowing the auxiliary wheel 64. The positioning assembly 122 is employed to hold the wheel support frame 74a against movement toward the deployed position that could otherwise be caused by the torsion spring 86. Accordingly, with the positioning bolt 126 being connected to the wheel support frame 74a and the positioning nut 128 being tightened, the wheel support frame 74a can be held in its position shown in
Referring to
Several embodiments have been discussed in the foregoing description. However, the embodiments 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 subject patent application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/690,227, filed on Nov. 21, 2019, which claims priority to and all the benefits of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/770,442 filed on Nov. 21, 2018, the disclosures of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| Parent | 16690227 | Nov 2019 | US |
| Child | 17695132 | US |
