GB2364040A - Invalid hoist with a swivelling carrying bar - Google Patents

Abstract

A patient hoist comprises one or more reel-in type hoists with ties 34, 35 and a carry bar 10 from which a lifting sling is attached. The carrying bar has a swivelling joint 29 allowing rotation in a horizontal plane. Preferably the joint 29 has a bearing (14, fig.2) and is connected to the hoist(s) via a shackle (28, fig.2) and eyelet (26, fig.2). Preferably the carrying bar is of I- shape and has hooks 15-18 for connection to the sling. Preferably two hoists are used and a spacer bar 30 is positioned between the hoist ties 34, 35 and the carrying bar.

Description

2364040 Hoist Arrangement for Lifting Patients The present invention

relates to the field of hoists for lifting patients or other incapacitated persons, for example in hospitals or nursing homes The invention particularly relates to a hoist arrangement suitable for lifting obese or very heavy patients.

Hoists are widely used in the care industry for lifting patients who are unable to raise or move themselves The hoists may be used in a wide range of situations, e g.

to lift patients from a bed to a chair, from a bath to a chair, or from a stretcher to a bed Known hoists are attached to a high mounting and provide a depending lifting strap which may be attached by means of a sling or harness or the like to a person to be lifted A widely used hoist is the "Wispa" (trade name) manufactured by Chiltern Invadex Ltd This is a self contained hoist in which an electric winding mechanism is incorporated in a housing, the winding mechanism being adapted to reel-in or unreel a webbing ribbon to which a harness or strap is attached In certain embodiments the hoist is attached to a ceiling rail which permits transport of the hoist through a living space or treatment area.

A problem arises with particularly heavy patients The hoists are designed to operate safely with a reasonably wide range of patient weights When the hoist is over- loaded a tripping mechanism interrupts the hoisting mechanism and prevents further lifting Occasionally very heavy patients must be lifted, for example the clinically obese In such cases the load may be beyond the capacity of the hoist The natural solution to this problem is to specify higher capacity hoists These are however expensive, more bulky and provide overcapacity for everyday use with most patients In practice people have reverted to block and tackle arrangements in which the carer manually hoists the patient This is inconvenient for the carer and potentially dangerous, if the loaded tackle is accidentally released.

In response to this problem it has been attempted to use two hoists operating in parallel, thereby halving the load carried by each hoist The arrangement which has been trialed involves positioning two hoists side by side and attaching lifting ties depending from the hoists to either end of a horizontally disposed spacer bar The spacer bar has attached at a mid-region thereof a generally horizontal carry bar The carry bar is attached to the spacer bar by means of a swivelling joint which permits rotation of the carry bar through a horizontal plane The carry bar has attachment points at either end thereof which permit attachment of a patient sling or harness.

This method suffers from a number of problems First it is very difficult to ensure that both hoists lift at exactly the same rate Very slight differences in lifting rate will cause one side of the spacer bar to be raised to a greater extent than the other This, because of the swivelling attachment of the carry bar, induces swivelling of the carry bar, or twisting of the lifting ties The former is uncomfortable, unsafe and alarming for the patient and the latter can cause overloading and tripping of the hoist lifting motor.

Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide lifting apparatus which is capable of stable lifting of heavy patients and which does not suffer from the aforementioned problems.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided patient lifting apparatus comprising (i) one or more hoists each adapted to lift by reeling-in of a depending lifting tie and (ii) a carry bar provided with attachment points for a sling or harness at opposite end regions thereof, characterised in that a mechanical connection between the tie or ties and the carry bar comprises a universal joint which permits swivelling of the carry bar through a horizontal plane and which allows the carry bar to suspend freely from the hoist or hoists during lifting.

Preferably there are first and second hoists operating in parallel The load of the patient is thereby divided between the hoists, reducing the load on each as compared with a single hoist.

In another aspect of the invention a first tie from the first hoist is attached to one end of a spacer bar and a second tie from the second hoist is attached to another end of the spacer bar and wherein the universal joint connects the spacer bar to the carry bar.

In this arrangement one end of the universal joint is preferably attached to a mid region of the spacer bar and the other end of the universal joint is preferably attached to a mid region of the carry bar.

The mechanical connection between the tie or ties and the carry bar may further comprise an interlinked shackle and eyelet.

Preferably, the eyelet is provided at a mid region of the spacer bar and the shackle is attached to an upper end of the universal joint.

The carry bar could comprise a simple beam, or a framework In a preferred arrangement the carry bar has a generally I-plan form This form conveniently may provide four attachment points, one at each free end of the bar.

In one embodiment the attachment points comprise hooks or open loops over to which may be attached looped end regions of the patient sling or harness Other common attachment methods may be used.

In a further aspect of the invention there is provided apparatus for lifting a patient comprising a spacer bar provided at opposite ends thereof with means permitting attachment to respective lifting ties from two spaced apart hoists, a carry bar provided with attachment points for attaching a patient sling or harness, and a mechanical connection between the spacer bar and the carry bar, the connection including a universal joint for suspending the carry bar beneath the spacer bar.

Suitable hoists are well known in the art These may be suspended from a ceiling or roof beam or may be free standing hoists Often the hoists are suspended from elongate tracking, which permits transport of a hoisted patient between locations in a building, for example between a bed and a bathroom.

Following is a description by way of example only and with reference to the drawings of one method of putting the present invention into effect.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a patient support structure according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view through the mechanical connection between the a spacer bar and carry bar of the support structure.

In figure 1 an I-plan carry bar is shown as 10 The carry bar comprises a cross bar 11 and two perpendicularly oriented outer bars 12,13 Each outer bar is provide at free ends thereof with a hook 15, 16 17 and 18 respectively These hooks permit attachment of a patient harness, sling or cradle or the like for supporting the patient.

A mid region of the cross bar is provided with a U- section bracket 19 Depending side portions 20,21 of the U-section bracket are welded to the cross bar An upper plate 22 of the bracket is spaced apart form an upper surface of the crossbar, as shown in figure 2 An upper region of the housing is formed with a hole The hole accommodates a screw threaded stub bolt 23 A retaining nut 24 and washer 25 keep the stub bolt in place attached to the bracket and capable of swivelling in the hole via a bearing 14 An upper end of the stub bolt is formed as an annular axle bearing 26 The axle bearing slidably accommodates a shackle pin 27 The shackle pin is attached to shackle body 28 has a generally U-form and at an upper region thereof provides a loop 29 (figure 1).

A spacer bar is shown in figure 1 as 30 The spacer bar is formed at outside ends thereof with cylindrical stub rods 31 and 32 The stub rods are each entered into looped ends 33 of webbing tapes 34 and 35 The two tapes depend from respective hoists (not shown) The hoists are s 15 at the present time available from Chiltern Invadex Limited under the trade name "Wispa" A mid region of the spacer bar is provided with an eyelet 36 The eyelet formes a loop on a lower surface of the spacer bar The shackle body 28 is accommodated in the eyelet to connect the spacer bar to the carry bar The shackle pin/axle bearing pivot and the bracket plate/stub pin pivot together form a universal joint The plate/stub pin connection permits swivelling of the carry bar through a horizontal plane The shackle pin/axle bearing permits pendulous swinging of the carry bar Further freedom of movement is provided by the shackle loop 29 and eyelet connection, therefore permitting safe and reliable operation In use, a patient is located in a harness or sling The harness is attached to the hooks 15,16,17 and 18 to from a stable support for the patient The hoists are operated to reel-in tapes 34 and 35, thereby lifting the patient.

If one hoist winds at a slightly faster rate than the other the spacer bar 30 will become angled from the horizontal The universal joint ensures that the orientation of the loaded carry bar is unaffected This prevents unwanted swinging of the carry bar and ensures that the patient is not tipped unnecessarily during lifting The arrangement prevents twisting of the tapes 34 and 35 during lifting and excess loading of the hoists The swivelling permitted by the universal joint ensures that a carer can easily manoeuvre the suspended patient into the desired orientation once lifting is complete.

Claims (9)

Claims

1 Patient lifting apparatus comprising (i) one or more hoists each adapted to lift by reeling-in of a depending lifting tie and (ii) a carry bar provided with attachment points for a sling or harness at opposite end regions thereof, characterised in that a mechanical connection between the tie or ties and the carry bar comprises a universal joint which permits swivelling of the carry bar through a horizontal plane and which allows the carry bar to suspend freely from the hoists during lifting.

2 Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein there are first and second hoists.

3 Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein a first tie from the first hoist is attached to one end of a spacer bar and a second tie from the second hoist is attached to another end of the spacer bar and wherein the universal joint suspends the carry bar from the spacer bar.

4 Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein one end of the universal joint is attached to a mid region of the spacer bar and the other end of the universal joint is attached to a mid region of the carry bar.

Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the mechanical connection between the tie or ties and the carry bar further comprises an interlinked shackle and eyelet.

6 Apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein the eyelet is provided at a mid region of the spacer bar and the shackle is attached to an upper end of the universal joint.

7 Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the carry bar has a generally I-plan form providing four attachment points, one at each free end of the bar.

8 Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the attachment points comprise hooks or open loops over which may be attached looped end regions of the patient sling or harness.

9 Apparatus for lifting a patient comprising a spacer bar provided at opposite ends thereof with means permitting attachment to respective lifting ties from two hoists, a carry bar provided with attachment points for attaching a patient sling or harness, and a mechanical connection between the spacer bar and the carry bar, the connection including a universal joint for suspending the carry bar beneath the spacer bar.

Apparatus as hereinbefore described with reference to the figures of the drawings.