LIFTING APPARATUS

Abstract: A lifting system comprising a support for a load (30) and a lift (10), wherein the lift is attached to the support by a pin (20) extending into a vertical bore (38) of a member (34) mounted to either the support or the lift. The engagement between the pin and the member allows the support to pivot only about a vertical axis relative to the lift. A transporter (40) may be prov­ ided to engage the support, to facilitate movement of the load to and from the lift. The support is in one embodiment of a seat (31) for a person.

Description: The present invention relates to a lifting system according to the first part of claim 1. Such a lifting system is disclosed in the US-A-3220 575. In such a system, it is of course important that the chair in which the patient sits is held firmly and cannot rotate about any horizontal axis so as to unbalance the patient. Accordingly, the invention provides a lifting system comprising a lift and support for a load, a member on one of the lift and support having a vertically arranged bore to closely receive a pin of the other of the lift and support and having locking means to lock the pin in the bore. One locking means of the kind is disclosed in the FR-A-2210 563. Preferably the support comprises a seat mounted on a rigid frame. The frame may include means for mounting the seat on a mobile frame for manoeuvering the patient before and after the lifting operation. Preferably the member is on the support and ideally a part of the frame. The locking means may comprise a selectively operable element horizontally slidably disposed in the member and a groove formed on the pin adapted to be engaged by said element when the pin is in the bore. Preferably said element is C-shaped and said groove is annular, the arms of said C-shaped element being arranged to engage the groove on either side of the pin when it is positioned in the bore. Thus in operation a patient seated on the seat carried by the mobile frame is positioned underneath the lift. The lift is lowered such that the pin- engages the bore of the member and the locking means can be engaged to lock the pin in the bore. Rotation of the member relative to a horizontal axis is prevented by the arrangement. Thus the lift can be operated and the patient will be raised on the seat without fear of being tipped out of the seat. Where the pin is mounted on the lift it is preferably arranged rotatable about a vertical axis. Preferably the pin is mounted at the end of a horizontally arranged arm, itself rotatably mounted about a vertical axis on the lift. Thus once the patient has been lifted by the lift, the arm can be rotated to position the patient above a bath and the pin and thus the member, frame and seat connected thereto can be rotated to position the patient squarely over the bath, whereupon the lift can be lowered to lower the patient into the bath. The solution to the problem is disclosed in the second part of the single claim. The invention is further described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a lifting system in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical section through a post and member of a lifting system according to the invention taken along the lines II-II of Fig 3; and Fig. 3 is a section along the lines III-III in Fig 2. In Fig. 1 a lift 10 comprises a base 12 securely fixed to the ground. The lift 10 has a central post 14 on which is telescopically mounted a sleeve 16. The base 12 includes means to raise and lower the sleeve 16 with respect to the post 14 to effect a lifting operation. Said means is well known in the art and requires no further description here. On the top end of the sleeve 16 is rotatably mounted an arm 18 which at a radial distance from the sleeve 16 rotatably mounts a pin 20. Both the pin 20 and arm 18 are rotatable about vertical axes only. A support 30 comprises a seat 31 mounted on a tubular frame 32 provided with a member 34 positioned above and behind the seat 31. The support 30 is a rigid arrangement. A mobile frame 40 has wheels 42 and two angled sections 44, 46 adapted to receive parts 34 and 36 of the frame 32 of the support 30. The member 34 has a bore 38 adapted to receive the pin 20 of the lift 10. The frame 32 is so arranged that the parts 34, 36 thereof seat in the angled sections 44, 46 of the mobile frame 40 such that, when the frame 40 is on a horizontal floor the bore 38 is arranged with its axis vertical. Although it is not shown in the drawings, it is quite feasible that one or both of the angled sections 44, 46 may be rendered adjustable such that where the floor on which the lift 10 is mounted is not horizontal, nevertheless the bore 38 can be arranged substantially vertical when the frame 40 is positioned appropriately. With the support 30 on the mobile frame 40 the frame 40 is positioned underneath the arm 18 of the lift 10 such that the bore 38 is substantially immediately below the pin 20. The lift 10 is then lowered to engage the pin 20 into the bore 38. Turning to Figs. 2 and 3, the pin 20 is provided with a tapered or chamfered end 22 and likewise the bore 38 in the member 34 is provided with a chamfered opening 39. Thus even if the floor should be non-horizontal or not entirely flat, the chamfers on the pin 20 and member 34 will allow the pin 20 to be channeled into the bore 38 working it into a vertical position. In the member 34 there is mounted a C-shaped element 51 which is slidably disposed in a horizontally aligned groove 53 formed in the member 34. The groove 53 is arranged transversely of the bore 38 and the element 51 is urged by springs 55 to a position overlapping the bore 38. The springs 55 operate against an end plate 57 connected to the member 34 by, for instance, screws 59. A lever 60 is pivoted in the member 34 about a pin 62 channeled in the member 34. One end of the lever 60 is provided with a handle 64 operable by a user of the lift and the other end is provided with a pin 66 engaged in a slot 68 in the element 51. Thus when the pin 20 is to be positioned in the bore 38, the operator first pivots the handle 64 in the direction of the arrow A in Fig. 2 to withdraw the element 51 from the region of the bore 38. The pin 20 is then lowered into the bore 38 until an annular groove 17 formed thereon aligns with the arms 54 of the element 51. The handle 64 will have previously been released once the nose of the pin 20 has been worked sufficiently far into the bore 38 to prevent the arms 54 hindering the further passage of the pin 20. Thus once the pin 20 reaches the position shown in Fig. 2 the springs 55 will shoot the element 51 into the position shown where the arms 54 lock around the groove 17. The extent of the engagement between the pin 20 and bore 38 prevents anything other than very slight movement therebetween about a horizontal axis, thus when the lift 10 is operated to raise the sleeve 16 and hence the arm 18 and pin 20 there is no possibility of the seat 31 tipping forward, despite the leverage of the load tending in this direction. In this manner, a patient on the seat 31 can safely and securely be raised and lowered into a bath.

Claims: An apparatus for lifting a patient into and out of a bath, comprising a cantilevered lift arm (18) mounted to a pillar (10) for vertical movement, with a patient support (30) in the form of a seat being detachably mountable to the lift arm (18) and to a wheeled base (40), characterised in that a pin (20) having an annular groove (17) at its lower end extends vertically downwardly from the free end of the lift arm (18) and is detachably engageable with the patient support the patient support including a housing (34) through which a vertical bore (38) capable of closely receiving the pin (20) passes, a single locking element being horizontally slidably mounted in a bore intersecting the vertical bore (38) for movement between a first position clear of the bore (38) and a second position in which a pair of spaced parallel arms (54) of the single locking element obstruct diametrically opposite segments of the bore (38), the arrangement being such that when the pin (20) is positioned in the bore (38), movement of the locking element to its second position causes the parallel arms (54) to enter the bore (38) tangentially to engage the annular groove (17) in the pin (20) and thus prevent relative axial movement between the pin and the bore.

Inventors: MOGER, MICHAEL GEORGE, NEIL-SMITH, CLIVE
Applicants: SOUTH COAST HYDRO BATHS LTD.
Application year: 1986
Main classification: A61G7
IPC codes: A61G7