Patent Application
20240024182
The present invention relates to a patient transfer device.
In hospitals, care facilities, and other settings, certain situations require that patients are transported from one surface to an adjoining surface, such as from one bed to an adjoining bed or to an operating table. This manoeuvre may either be done manually, requiring the cooperation of several nurses or other professionals, or by means of a patient transfer device. Patient transfer devices configured to move a patient from one surface to another are generally known.
Specifically, a patient transfer device for transferring a patient placed on a movable sheet on a first hospital bed to a second, receiving hospital bed is known from US2006/090258. This patient transfer device comprises a base, a motor attached to the base, two straps connected to the motor such that these are retractable by means of the motor, and a clamping assembly releasably attachable to a sheet. Thus, the patient transfer device may be arranged on one side of a receiving hospital bed, opposite the first hospital bed, and connected to a sheet on which a patient lies. The clamping assembly may then be used in connection with the motor and the two straps to pull a sheet on which a patient lies from the first bed to the second, receiving bed.
WO9613239 discloses a patient transport system for transporting a patient from a bed to a stretcher or vice versa, using a bed sheet and a conveyor attached to the bed or the stretcher. The sheet is removably attached to the conveyor by a clip arrangement, where a flexible belt attaches the clip to the conveyor. The conveyor is operated manually by the use of a handle.
However, the use of many of these devices often involve labour intensive, time consuming and/or ergonomically challenging steps. There is therefore a need for an improved sheet holding arrangement.
An object of the invention is therefore to provide an improved sheet holding arrangement. A further object is to provide an improved patient transfer device.
The solution to the problem according to the invention is defined by the sheet holding arrangement according to claim 1 and by the patient transfer device according to claim 11, which contains the sheet holding arrangement according to claim 1. The other claims contain advantageous embodiments and further developments of the sheet holding arrangement and the patient transfer device.
A sheet holding arrangement for attaching to and holding a sheet when moving the sheet and transferring a patient placed on the sheet, said sheet holding arrangement comprising at least two knobs and at least two corresponding holder elements, wherein the holder elements are connectable to the knobs so as to hold the sheet in place between the knobs and holder elements when connected, wherein each knob comprises a head and a stem, wherein the stem has a circular cross section and wherein the head is larger than the stem, wherein the holder element is provided with an opening adapted to allow insertion of the head through the opening and to allow connection of the holder element to the knob, and wherein the sheet holding arrangement is connected or connectable to a pulling arrangement configured to pull the holder elements and thereby move the sheet and thus transfer a patient placed on the sheet, the object of the invention is achieved in that the sheet holding arrangement comprises a connecting member, wherein the at least two knobs are arranged onto the connecting member at a distance from each other in a longitudinal direction of the connecting member, wherein the stem comprises a circumferential extending rounded groove, wherein the opening comprises a first portion that is larger than the head and a second portion that is smaller than the head, wherein the second portion comprises a straight section and a semi-circular end section, wherein the semi-circular end section has a rounded bulging surface with a shape corresponding to that of the rounded shape of the groove of the stem such that, when a sheet is placed above the knob and the corresponding holder element is connected to the knob with the sheet positioned between the knob and the holder element, and when the position of the holder element in relation to the knob is such that the stem is located as close as possible to the semi-circular end section of the second portion of the opening, the sheet is clamped between the rounded bulging surface and the rounded groove along the semi-circular end section.
By this first embodiment of the sheet holding arrangement according to the invention, a sheet holding arrangement that allows for a quick and reliable attachment of a sheet is provided. With such a sheet holding arrangement, a patient laying on a bed can be transferred from a first surface of the bed to a receiving surface by the use of a pulling arrangement. The sheet holding arrangement is easily attached to the sheet when the patient is positioned beside the receiving surface and will hold the sheet in a secure manner during the transfer of the patient. When the patient has been transferred, the sheet holding arrangement can easily be detached from the sheet and from the pulling arrangement. The shape of the contact surface between the holder element and the knob corresponds to each other and will provide a form-fit, which will enlarge the contact surface for the sheet. The larger contact surface will reduce the wear and stress on the sheet, and will prevent the sheet holding arrangement from slipping or tearing the sheet.
The opening of the holder element may further be provided with inner protrusions. The protrusions will help to secure the holder element to the knob and will provide a tactical feedback to an operator attaching a sheet to the sheet holding arrangement. With the protrusions, an operator is able to detect when a holder element is correctly positioned. The connecting member of the sheet holding arrangement may be either a stiff rod-like member or may be a flexible wire or the like.
The holder element is provided with one or more slots adapted to attach the holder element to a knob of the sheet holding arrangement or to the connecting member of the sheet holding arrangement. The holder element is preferably attached with a ribbon or a string such that it does not fall off or disappears. The holder element further comprises a pulling opening to which a pulling wire can be attached with a hook, e.g. a safety hook. The sheet holding arrangement can thus easily be connected to and disconnected from a pulling arrangement. One advantage with this is that the sheet holding arrangement can be removed from the pulling arrangement, e.g. for cleaning, and that it can be used with different pulling arrangements. It is even possible to attach a handle to the sheet holding arrangement, such that a patient can be transferred manually. The pulling arrangement may also be used to pull other items, such as stretcher matrasses, trauma matrasses or other heavy items.
The sheet holding arrangement may be used in a patient transfer device comprising a pulling arrangement. The patient transfer device preferably comprises an electric motor that will transfer a patient from a bed to a receiving surface. The receiving surface may be another bed, or may e.g. be a resting surface in an X-ray, CT or MRI machine.
The invention will be described in greater detail in the following, with reference to the embodiments that are shown in the attached drawings, in which
The embodiments of the invention with further developments described in the following are to be regarded only as examples and are in no way to limit the scope of the protection provided by the patent claims.
The patient transfer device 101 shown in
The shown patient transfer device 101 comprises means for vertically adjusting the position of the pulling arrangement 107. This may for example be an electrical motor (not shown) arranged in the frame 102 that can move the pulling arrangement 107 along a vertical track 106 or groove in the frame 102. This simplifies the use of the patient transfer device 101 in certain situations where the height of the receiving surface 114 may vary.
The motor 103 is coupled to two laterally spaced apart wire bobbins 108 that are used when pulling a patient from a first surface to a receiving surface. The pulling arrangement comprises a wire bobbin 108 provided with a wire 109 wound on the bobbin. The bobbin 108 is mechanically connected to the motor 103, either directly to the motor or to a shaft driven by the motor. The ends of the two wires 109 that are not connected to the bobbin 108 are provided with hooks 110 adapted to be attached to a sheet holding arrangement 1, which is provided with an elongated connecting member 17 and which is adapted to be attached to the respective ends of the wires 109.
The sheet holding arrangement 1 comprises an elongated connecting member 17, a plurality of knobs 14 and a plurality of holder elements 2. The connecting member 17 may be a stiff rod or may be a flexible wire of some kind. In the shown examples, a rod is used as the connecting member. The knobs are mounted on the rod in a spaced apart manner, in the shown example with a distance corresponding to the distance between the wire bobbins of the pulling arrangement 107. This will allow the pulling arrangement 107 to pull the sheet holding arrangement in a straight manner. A rod may be provided with more than two knobs, depending on e.g. the length of the rod or the size of a sheet. The rod allows the load from pulling a sheet on which a patient lies to be distributed to both wires 109. In the shown example, the rod is provided with two knobs arranged at the ends of the rod. A rod or a wire may also simplify the handling of the sheet holding arrangement, e.g. by allowing both wires 109 to be pulled out from the pulling arrangement at the same time. The connecting member will also ensure that the distance between the two knobs corresponds to the distance between the pulling wires of the pulling arrangement.
The width of the second portion, i.e. the distance between the edges of the straight section and also the diameter of the semi-circular section is for this reason slightly larger than the rounded groove of the stem. In one example, the width of the second section is 21 mm and the diameter of the groove is 15 mm. This will allow a sheet to be clamped between the semi-circular end section and the groove in a secure and tight manner, which will reduce the contact load on the sheet. Other measures are possible, but tests has shown that a size difference between the width of the second section and the diameter of the groove in the region between 15-30% gives a secure hold of a sheet for smaller knobs having a diameter of a few centimetres. This will give space for more than one layer of a sheet, since the sheet will not be folded evenly over the knob when it is attached to the sheet holding arrangement.
The knob is preferably made in a stiff material, such as a reinforced plastic. The holder element is preferably somewhat resilient, and may be made from an elastic plastic or rubber. It is of advantage that both the holder element, the knob and the connecting member are all made from a material that is transparent to electromagnetic waves. This will give low to zero disturbance of the applicability, interoperability, and output of radiating machines in hospital environments. In this way, the sheet holding arrangement may not have to be removed when a patient is examined with radiation.
The holder element further comprises one or more strap slots 11 adapted to attach the holder element to the knob or the connecting member. This will prevent the holder element from disappearing and will ensure that a holder element is always at hand. The holder element is in one example attached with a flexible ribbon 13. The ribbon may be fixedly attached to the holder element or may be attached to the holder element in a removable manner, such that the holder element can be replaced if damaged. The ribbon may be attached to the knob or connecting member in a removable manner, such that the ribbon can be replaced. The knob is in one example mounted to a rod with a screw, and the ribbon is mounted between the knob and the rod.
The holder element is adapted to be attached to a pulling arrangement 107. In the shown example, the holder element is provided with a pulling opening 12 arranged at one end of the holder element, the end opposite the semi-circular end section. The pulling opening may e.g. be attached to the pulling arrangement by a hook, e.g. a safety hook. In this way, the attachment and detachment of the holder element to and from the pulling arrangement can be made in a quick manner. The holder element can also be provided with a hook element and the wire of the pulling arrangement can be provided with a loop element. Since the pulling opening 12 is arranged in the same plane as the semi-circular end section, the pulling forces acting on the sheet will be parallel to the pulling wires of the pulling arrangement. There will thus not be any misalignment of the sheet holding arrangement during transfer of a patient.
The straight section 9 of the holder element is in the shown example provided with inner protrusions 8. The protrusions will help to secure the holder element to the knob when holding a sheet and will provide a tactical feedback to an operator attaching a sheet to the sheet holding arrangement. With the protrusions, an operator is able to detect when a holder element is correctly positioned and that a sheet is clamped between the semi-circular end section and the groove. In one example, the distance between the protrusions equals the diameter of the groove. Thus, an empty knob will not give any resistance when the holder element is mounted to the knob. When a sheet is wrapped on the knob, the knob with the sheet will give a tactical feedback to an operator.
In
Wire joiner 19 provides a mechanism for mechanically coupling an attachment to the connecting member 17 with the wire 109 to be able to pull the wire 109 attached to the connecting member 17 towards the pulling arrangement 107. In the simplest version, the wire 109 can loop around and be fused, fastened, adhered, and/or welded to itself to form a loop 20 extending out from the wire joiner 19. The loop 20 can be part of wire 109 or a separate material to connect the connecting member 17 to the wire 109 through the wire joiner 19. In other embodiments, the loop 20 can be a hook, tie, fastener, or other type of attachment that is able to mechanically couple the connecting member 17 to the wire 109 in way that is capable to pull the wire 109 attached to the connecting member 17 with the expected load towards the pulling arrangement 107. It is understood that the attachment areas for the wire pulling force or the sheet pulling force could be in more locations on or off the axis of the connecting member 17 than only the ends of the connecting member 17.
The invention is not to be regarded as being limited to the embodiments described above, a number of additional variants and modifications being possible within the scope of the subsequent patent claims. The sheet holding arrangement may be used to attach and hold any type of thin fabric or cloth.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, some of the features of the sheet holding arrangement and patient transfer device their use herein in order that the detailed description thereof may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the disclosed sheet holding arrangement and patient transfer device, systems, materials, constructions, methods, and components herein. Other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosed inventions. Numerous modifications, changes, variations, substitutions, and equivalents will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of claimed invention. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope being indicated by the claims, as later amended, and their equivalents. The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential features or elements of any or all the claim, unless asserted as such by Applicant's remarks in the record. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the claimed invention. Likewise, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of the description and should not be regarded as limiting.
Regarding additional interpretation and construction of terms and steps herein, method steps are not in any specified order unless dictated by the context or specific wording. In addition, a use of a word in the singular form should be interpreted where the context allows, or does not restrict, so as to enable plurality or an “at least one” construction. Positional and directional terms described in this specification may be understood to be different than shown or described, and should not limit the variations of embodiments possible from the claimed features that a person of ordinary skill in the art would understand from the specification, figures and claims. The term “and/or” in a list means all list items present, some list items present, or one of the list items present, unless such construction is limited by the context. The term “including” means “including, but not limited to.”
Different features, variations and multiple different embodiments have been shown and described with various details. What has been described in this application at times in terms of specific embodiments is done for illustrative purposes only and without the intent to limit or suggest that what has been conceived is only one particular embodiment or specific embodiments. It is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to any single specific embodiments or enumerated variations. Many modifications, variations and other embodiments will come to mind of those skilled in the art, and which are intended to be and are in fact covered by both this disclosure. It is indeed intended that the scope of this disclosure should be determined by a proper legal interpretation and construction of the disclosure, including equivalents, as understood by those of skill in the art relying upon the complete disclosure present at the time of filing.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2150421-2 | Apr 2021 | SE | national |
| PCT/SE2022/050307 | Mar 2022 | WO | international |
The present application is a bypass continuation-in-part under Section 111(a). It claims benefit of PCT Application No. PCT/SE2022/050307 filed Mar. 29, 2022, which claims priority to Swedish Patent Application No. 2150421-2 (SE), filed Apr. 1, 2021, all of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/SE2022/050307 | Mar 2022 | US |
| Child | 18479112 | US |
