WO1996033687A1

WO1996033687A1 - Translatory securing device

Info

Publication number: WO1996033687A1
Application number: PCT/NO1996/000085
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hans Kasper Andresen
Original assignee: Actuator A/S
Priority date: 1995-04-26
Filing date: 1996-04-15
Publication date: 1996-10-31
Also published as: NO300614B1; NO951590L; AU5660796A; NO951590D0

Abstract

It is disclosed an adjustement device for an elevation/lifting device with a suspension (5) for a lifting sail (7) with securing straps (8), where the suspension (5) comprises at least one leading device, preferably a castor (9) for the straps (8) mounted on at least one arm (10) of the suspension (5), said castor (9) being displaceable along the arm (10) of the suspension (5) from an extreme position to a close position for changing the suspension angle of the lifting sail (7). Such a design of the adjustment device will have as an effect that a patient may be placed in an upright sitting position by the elevation/lifting device.

Description

Transla ory securing device

The present invention concerns an assisting device for a lifting suspension suited for lifting assistance within nursing care, e.g. in assisting medical personnel, in hospitals, care for disabled or elderly persons etc.

Previously there are known lifting devices, e.g from DE 3.643.612, for lifting/handling disabled persons. Such lifting devices may be of a mechanical, hydraulic or electrical nature, and may be mobile or stationary. An additional example of such a lifting device is known under the trade mark " olift Partner" and is shown in figs. 1 and 2. Such a shown lifting device is electrically pow- ered and comprises a frame 1 whereon there is mounted a movable gallows 2 and a substructure 3 with wheels 4. To the gallows there is secured pivotally a suspension 5 for a sling or a sail 7 of a fabric material (not shown in fig. 1) holding the patient during transport. For secur- ing the sail or sling 7 to the suspension 5, the suspen¬ sion is equipped a number of hooks 6 for securing straps 8 mounted on the transporting sail 7. The number of hooks 6 may vary depending on the design of the of the suspension 5, but usually the number of hooks will be from 2 to 4 for fastening the securing straps 8 of the transport sail.

Depending on the design and length of the transport sail 7 and the securing straps 8, the sail may be used for mov¬ ing/transporting persons from a lying position to a sit¬ ting position and vice versa.

However, it has proven difficult when wanting to bring the patient to a sitting position, e.g. when moving to a chair, to a toilet, in a wheel-chair etc., to bring the patient to a natural upright position with the torso since the sail 7 and the straps 8 alone are unsuited to bring the patients torso to a mainly natural sitting position. This problem has previously been attempted to be solved by equipping the transport device with a tilting handle to tilt the sail the last angle degrees from a half ly¬ ing/half sitting position to an upright sitting position, but this has proven to be either too cumbersome or not to work at all, or this has also demanded that the nursing personnel are physically strong to manage this last tilt¬ ing of the transport sail 7. Additionally such a manual tilting may represent a possibility for wear injuries or overexertion of the nursing personnel, especially in nursing homes/hospitals where often heavy persons is to be moved by the nursing personnel up to several times a day.

Thus there has for a long time existed a need for a device associated with such lifting/transporting machines which may bring the patient to a comfortable upright sitting position without the nursing personnel having to be exposed to exertion.

According to the present invention there has now been found a device which produces this function, said device comprising those features which are specified in the characterizing part of the patent claim.

The device according to the present invention will be disclosed infra with reference to the further attached figures, wherein:

Fig. 3 depicts a lifting device with a suspension 5 for a transport sail 7, as disclosed supra, mounted on an ad¬ justment device according to the invention in an original position when lifting a patient,

Fig. 4 depicts a corresponding lifting device as in fig. 3, but where the adjustment device according to the in¬ vention has brought the patient to an upright sitting position, Fig. 5 depicts a detailed picture of the lifting device according to the present invention in the same position as shown in fig. 3,

Fig. 6 depicts a detailed picture of a lifting device according to the invention in the same position as shown in fig. 4,

Fig. 7 depicts the functioning of the lifting device according to the invention when transporting a patient in a lying position, and

Fig. 8 depicts the lifting device according to the in¬ vention regarded from the backside of the patient.

The adjustment device according to the present invention comprises a elevation/lifting device with a suspension 5 for a lifting sail 7 with securing straps 8, where the suspension 5 comprises at least one castor 9 mounted on at least one arm 10 of the suspension 5, said castor 9 being translatorily movable along the arm 10 of the suspension 5 from a distant position to a close position for changing the suspension angle of the lifting sail 7.

As depicted in figs. 3 - 8 it is preferred that the cast¬ ors 9 are mounted slidable on the arms 10 of the suspens¬ ion 5 being directed towards the head of the patient, so that the one extreme position of the castors, correspond¬ ing to the position where the patient preferably is lift- ed/transported, is the position located on the extreme end on the arms 10 of the suspension 5 being directed towards the head of the patient. The second extreme position of the castors, corresponding to the position where the patient has been brought to an upright sitting position, is the position being depicted in figs. 4 and 6, where the castors 9 have been brought to the position located farth¬ est away from the head of the patient and where the cas- tors 9 in this extreme position may abut the vertical posts 12 of the suspension 5.

The castors 9 are preferably rotatable which leading edges 13 for the straps 8. The distance between the leading edges of the wheels 9 corresponds mainly at least to the width of the straps 8. However, the leading devices 9 for the straps 8 may also be designed as something else that castors, e.g. as sliding rails or other per se known leading devices, with the provision that such devices according to the invention are translatorically slidable along the arms 10 for changing the position of the sail 7.

When the leading devices 9 are designed as castors, the castors 9 may also be equipped with further leading devi¬ ces 11 for the straps 8, e.g. guards lying over the edges 13 and preventing the straps 8 from possibly to twist out of their running leads in the castors 9. The guards 11 may optionally be lifted from the castors 9 for con- veniently placing the straps 8 in their respective running leads, and they may optionally be locked to ensure that the straps 8 do not jump or twist out of their leading tracks. The guards 11, of which there may be several per castor 9, may also be located in such a way that they cover the entrance and exit areas for the straps 8.

The castors or leading devices 9 may also be equipped with locking or friction devices for controlling the sliding along the arms 10. The arms 10 may also in their extreme areas be equipped with stopping devices, e.g. edges to prevent the castor 9 from sliding off the arm 10.

The design of the arms 10 may, to produce a better track for the straps 8 in the castors 9, be formed in such a way that the arms 10 are somewhat curved to fit the angle of the track along the castors 9 to the entrance angle of the straps 8 in the track between the edges 13 of the castor 9 .

As an alternative to the design of the device according to the invention as shown in the attached figures, the cas- tors 9 may be located on those arms 10' of the suspension 5 which lead away from the head of the patient. By adjus¬ ting the inclination angle of the arms 10' and equipping these with castors or other leading devices for the straps 8, instead of bringing the patient's torso closer to the vertical posts 12 of the suspension for a natural upright position of the patient, the patient's legs may be lowered by passing such a castor or leading device from a position near the post 12 to a position further away from the post 12. Thereby the relative position of the patient will also become one where the torso is brought to a more natural upright sitting position.

In such an alternative, and when the arms 10 have con¬ ventional hooks 6, it may also be possible to design the suspension 5 with one single arm 10' pointing away from the head of the patient. In such a case, if the castor 9 is located on the arm 10' pointing away for the patient's head, it will be possible to equip the arm 10' with only one castor 9.

In an alternate embodiment of the guard 11 it may be possible to let the guard 11 move along with the castor 9 when this slides along the arm 10. To achieve this the castor 9 may have a rotational bearing allowing the castor to rotate about a casing, where the casing is rotationally stationary with respect to the arm 10. In this embodiment it will be the casing which slides translatorically along the arm 10, and it will then be to this casing that the guard 11 is secured. Additionally, the guard will in this embodiment have the same functions as the ones disclosed supra.

Claims

C l a i s

1. Adjustment device for an elevation/lifting device with a suspension (5) for a lifting sail (7) with securing straps (8), c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the suspension (5) comprises at least one leading device, preferably a castor (9) for the straps (8) mounted on at least one arm (10) of the suspension (5), said leading device (9) being displaceable along the arm (10) of the suspension (5) from an extreme position to a close position for changing the suspension angle of the lifting sail (7).

2. Adjustment device according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the leading device (9) comprises a track for the securing strap (8) between two leading edges (13).

3. Adjustment device according to claim 1 or 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the leading device (9) comprises at least one guard (11) for leading/fast¬ ening the securing strap (8).

4. Adjustment device according to claim 3, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the guard (11) may be secured in such a way that it does not rotate with respect to the arm (10).