A HOIST FOR HANDLING A PATIENT AND A FEET-SUPPORTING PLATE ASSEMBLY TO BE USED IN CONNECTION WITH A HOIST FOR HANDLING A PATIENT

Abstract: A hoist for raising a patient from a sitting to a standing position, or moving a patient to or from a bed or a wheelchair comprises: a supporting frame (16), a lifting lever structure including a vertical mast (32') and a substantially horizontal lever (34'). The lever (34') is connected in a hinge connection (36') to the uppermost end of the mast (32'). A feet-supporting plate assembly is including a substantially horizontal plate (60') and a crush or knee support (80') which is vertically and horizontally adjustable. For shifting the hoist from a first application, in which the patient is raised from a sitting to a standing position or lowered from a standing to a sitting position, in which application the feet-supporting plate assembly is employed, and to a second position in which the patient is freely suspended at the outermost end of the lever, a yoke assembly (44") is connected to the lever (34') through a shiftable linkage system (100).

Description: A hoist for handling a patient and a feet-supporting plate assembly to be used in connection with a hoist for handling a patient. The present invention generally relates to the technical field of nursing disabled patients or persons, and more specifically to a hoist for handling a patient or person, such as raising a patient or person from a sitting position to a standing position or vice versa, or moving the patient or person from a bed, a wheelchair or the like. So-called invalid hoists are known from e.g. US patent No. 4,918,771, EP Patent No. 0 059 141, EP Publication No. 0 547 901, GB Patent No. 2,140,773, GB Patent No. 2 223 477, GB Patent No. 2 267 475, Swedish Patent No. 405 547, Swedish Patent No. 463 347, Swedish Patent No. 467 088, Danish Patent No. 131806, Danish Patent No. 142225, Danish Patent No. 159010, and Danish Patent no. 162503. Reference is made to the above patents, and the above US patent is further incorporated in the present specification by reference. The prior art, invalid hoists generally suffer from a severe drawback in that they are not readily applicable in connection with patients of varying sizes. The major problem in connection with the handling of a patient, such as a disabled patient, relates to the proper supporting of the patient while he or she is e.g. raised from a sitting position to a standing position, without, on the one hand, causing injuries to the patient or person by exposing one or more of his or her body parts, such as the crush, the knees, the thighs, the hips, the back or the arms, to excessive loads which may cause even fractures, and, on the other hand, exposing the patient or person to a risk of slipping or falling. An object of the present invention is to provide a novel hoist for handling a patient or person, which hoist is easily used in various applications, including the application of lifting a patient or person from e.g. a bed or the floor to an elevated position while hanging in a sling, or for moving the patient or person from one location to another while lifted in the sling, and the application of raising a patient or person from a sitting position to an upright position, without necessitating time-consuming modifications of the hoist, such as the removal of one or more structural elements of the hoist and substituting the structural element or elements with different structural elements. A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel hoist for handling a patient or person, which hoist is easily adjustable to any patient or person, irrespective of the size or anatomy of the patient or person, such as the height, the length of the legs, the weight, etc., without exposing the patient or person to loads which might cause injuries such as fractures. A particular advantage of the present invention relates to the fact that an operator, such as a nurse, operating the hoist according to the present invention may easily adjust the hoist to a specific patient or person to be handled by the operator for providing a thorough support of the patient or person, while he or she is being handled by means of the hoist. A feature of the present invention relates to the fact that a feetsupporting plate assembly constituting a component of the hoist according to the present invention may be provided as separate component, which may easily be adapted to conventional hoists for obtaining the advantages characteristic of the present invention. The above objects, advantage and feature, together with numerous o- ther objects, advantages and features, which will be evident from the below detailed description of the invention, are, according to a first aspect of the present invention, obtained by a hoist for handling a patient or person in accordance with the above-described technique, comprising: : a supporting frame defining a substantially horizontal support surface, a lifting lever structure, including a vertical mast, which defines opposite upper and lower ends and is rigidly connected to the supporting frame at the lower end thereof and extends upwardly from the supporting frame, a substantially horizontal lever, which defines opposite first and second ends and is connected at the first end thereof to the upper end of the mast through a hinge connection allowing that the substantially horizontal lever may rotate round the hinge connection for raising or lowering the second end of the lever relative to the support surface of the supporting frame, an actuator for causing the substantially horizontal lever to rotate round the hinge connection, a body strap suspended from the second end of the substantially horizontal lever for supporting the patient or person, and a feet-supporting plate assembly, including a substantially hori zontal plate and a crush or knee support, the feet-supporting plate assembly being supported by the supporting frame, and including an orthogonal adjusting system for adjusting the vertical and horizontal position of the crush or knee support relative to the plate. According to the teachings of the present invention, it has been realized that it is of extreme importance that the crush of the patient or person to be handled by means of the hoist are properly positioned and supported, in order to prevent that the patient or person is exposed to excessive or extreme loads which might cause injuries. Thus, it has been realized that the crush or, alternatively, the knees of the patient or person to be handled by the hoist, on the one hand, have to be positioned anatomically correct, and, on the other hand, properly supported for preventing that the patient or person may alter his or her position during the procedure of handling the patient or person, which alteration might result in that a specific body part of the patient or person is exposed to excessive loads, which might further cause injuries. For providing a proper positioning of the crush or knees of the patient or person to be handled by means of the hoist, it has been realized that it is of the utmost importance that the crush or knees of the patient or person are supported by means of a crush or knee support, which is properly adjustable relative to the supporting plate, on which the feet of the patient or person rest, in order to ensure that the crush and the legs of the patient or person are properly positioned and supported so as to prevent that any body parts of the patient or person is exposed to excessive loads, which might cause injuries, such as fractures. According to the preferred embodiment of the hoist according to the present invention, the orthogonal adjusting system of the feetsupporting plate assembly comprises a first and a second set of tubes, each set comprising an outer tube and an inner tube, which cooperate with one another and are displaceable relative to one another, for providing a vertical and a horizontal displacement, respectively, of the crush or knee support relative to the plate. By providing a first and a second set of tubes, according to the presently preferred embodiment of the hoist according to the present invention, which sets of tubes constitute vertical and horizontal, adjustable sets of tubes, respectively, a highly reliable, yet simple structure of the orthogonal adjusting system is obtained. In accordance with alternative embodiments of the hoist according to the present invention, the crush or knee support of the feet-supporting plate assembly is displaceable along a horizontal and a vertical direction by means of displaceable arms, levers, guidings, etc. The inner and outer tubes of the first and second sets of tubes according to the above-described preferred embodiment of the hoist according to the present invention are preferably arrestable relative to one another by means of locking means, which further, according to the presently preferred embodiment, preferably comprises a bolt extending through the outer tube of the set of tubes for cooperating with and locking against the inner tube of the set of tubes. In accordance with an alternative embodiment of the hoist according to the present invention, the locking means may comprise locking pins, optionally spring-biased locking pins, locking ratchets, etc. In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the hoist according to the present invention, the inner tubes of the sets of tubes comprise sloping countersink surfaces cooperating with the bolt of the locking means in order to provide a highly advantageous structure, according to which the crush or knee support may be easily adjusted and moved from an extreme position towards a stop and thereupon, after the stop has been properly adjusted, locked in the intensional and correct position. In order to prevent that the inner and outer tubes of the sets of tubes may rotate relative to one another and, in some instances, disengage from one another, the tubes of the sets of tubes are preferably constituted by square tubes or, alternatively, by triangular, polygonal or ellipsoid tubes, or by any other configuration of the tube different from the cylindrical configuration. According to different applications of the hoist according to the present invention, the body strap may be suspended in a single suspension arm or, alternatively, suspended in a set of suspension arms. The lifting lever structure of the hoist according to the present invention, is, consequently, preferably adapted to receive a single suspension arm or, alternatively, a yoke comprising two or more suspension arms for the suspension of the body strap. The actuator of the hoist according to the present invention may be constituted by any appropriate, manually operated actuator means or preferably a motor-operated actuator, such as a motor-driven, extendable ejector, including a hydraulic motor, a pneumatic motor or, preferably an electrically powered motor, which may further be constituted by a mains-supplied AC motor or, alternatively and preferably, a battery-supplied DC motor. The present invention also relates to a feet-supporting plate assembly to be used in connection with a hoist for handling a patient or person. The above objects, feature and advantage, together with numerous o- ther objects, advantages and features, which will be evident from the below detailed description of presently preferred embodiments of the hoist and feet-supporting plate assembly according to the present invention, are, in accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, obtained by means of a feet-supporting plate assembly, comprising: a substantially horizontal plate and a crush or knee support, means for supporting the feet-supporting plate assembly by the hoist, and an orthogonal adjusting system for adjusting the vertical and horizontal positions of the crush or knee support relative to the plate. The feet-supporting plate assembly according to the present invention may further preferably comprise any of the above-described features of-the hoist according to the first aspect of the present invention. The above objects, feature and advantage, together with numerous other objects, advantages and features, which will be evident from the below detailed description of presently preferred embodiments of the hoist and feet-supporting plate assembly according to the present invention, are in accordance with a third aspect of the present invention obtained by means of a hoist for handling a patient, such as raising said patient from a sitting position to a standing position or vice versa, or moving said patient to or from a bed, a wheelchair or the like, comprising: : a supporting frame defining a substantially horizontal support surface, a substantially vertical mast defining opposite upper and lower ends, which mast is rigidly connected to said supporting frame at the lower end thereof and extends upwardly from the supporting frame, a substantially horizontal lever defining opposite first and second ends and being connected at the first end thereof to the upper end of the mast through a hinge connection allowing the substantially horizontal lever to rotate round said hinge connection for raising or lowering the second end of the lever relative to the support surface of the supporting frame, a lever arm journalled at the lever at the second end thereof and defining a free end for the suspension of a body strap for supporting the patient, the lever arm being shiftable between a first and a second position, in which first position the free end is shifted towards the hinge connection, and in which second position the free end is shifted away from the hinge connection, an actuator for causing the substantially horizontal lever to rotate round the hinge connection, and a feet-supporting plate assembly, including a substantially horizontal plate and a crush or knee support, the feet-supporting plate assembly being supported by the supporting frame. According to the teachings of the present invention, it has been realized that one and the same hoist including a substantially horizontal lever may be used for the different applications involving the supporting of the feet and the crush or knees of the patient or person for raising the patient or person from a sitting position to a standing position or lowering the patient from a standing position to a sitting position and the application of lowering or raising the patient without causing any part of the patient to interfere with the crush or knee support of the hoist, which applications are somewhat in conflict with one another as the distance from the body strap to the hinge connection has to be fairly short in the first application in order to, on the one hand, position the hoist relative to the patient or person so as to allow the feet and the crush or knees of the patient or person to be supported by the elements of the feet-supporting plate assembly and, on the other hand, raise the patient or person from the sitting position to the standing position without exposing any part of the patient's or person's body to excessive loads which might cause injuries to the patient or person and which process preferably has to resemble the natural process of raising one's body from a sitting position to a standing position by shifting the weight of the chest forward and simultaneously raising one's body by stretching out the legs, as the distance from the body strap to the hinge connection has to be somewhat larger in the second application in order to eliminate any risk of having any body part of the patient or person contacted with the mast of the hoist or the feet-supporting plate assembly, which contact might cause injuries to the patient or person in case the contact is established while the patient or person is hanging freely suspended from the outermost end of the lever of the hoist. According to the teachings of the present invention, the lever of the hoist is, so to speak, constituted by an articulate lever system which may be shortened or elongated for adjusting the lever to the above described different applications, without necessitating the demounting or reassembling of different structural elements of the hoist. According to the presently preferred embodiment of the hoist according to the third aspect of the present invention, the hoist further comprises a yoke structure for the suspension of the strap from the free end of the lever arm. The yoke structure is preferably allowed to be freely suspended in the second position of the lever arm and preferably arrested relative to the lever arm while the lever arm is in the first position. The shifting of the yoke structure from a freely suspended structure to an arrested structure may be established by means of any appropriate locking means, such as manually operable locking pins, bolts, screws, clutches, etc. According to an advantageous embodiment of the hoist according to the third aspect of the present invention, the yoke is freely movable relative to the free end when the lever arm is in the second position and is locked to the free end when the lever arm is in the first position as the shifting of the yoke structure from a freely suspended system to a locked or arrested system is automatically established as the lever arm is shifted from the first position to the second position, and vice versa. The hoist according to the third aspect of the present invention preferably also comprises a feet-supporting assembly according to the second aspect of the present invention and including an orthogonal adjusting system for adjusting the vertical and horizontal position of the crush or knee support relative to the plate of the feet-supporting plate assembly. The hoist according to the present invention may preferably further comprise any of the above-described features of the hoist according to the first aspect of the present invention. In order to obtain an advantageous geometrical position of the hinged connection between the lever and the mast of the hoist according to the third aspect of the present invention relative to the suspension of the patient or person, provided the lever arm is in the first position, the mast preferably defines an angle of 10-300, such as 15-20 , preferably approximately 10120 relative to the vertical direction, as the substantially vertical mast slopes away from the second end of the lever, i.e. slopes away from the point of suspension of the patient or person, preferably the suspension of the patient or person by means of the yoke structure. The present invention will now be further described with reference to the drawings, in which Figs. 1 and 2 are perspective and schematic views of a first embodiment of an invalid hoist according to the present invention, illustrating a first application of the invalid hoist, Fig. 3 is a perspective and schematic view similar to the views of Figs. 1 and 2, illustrating an alternative appl-ication of the first embodiment of the invalid hoist according to the present invention, Figs. 4 and 5 are schematic, perspective top and bottom views, respectively, of a feet-supporting plate assembly constituting a component of the first and presently preferred embodiment of the invalid hoist shown in Figs. 1-3, Figs. 6a-6c are schematic and sectional views of a locking mechanism of the feet-supporting plate assembly shown in Figs. 4 and 5, Figs. 7 and 8 are schematic views of a second, and presently preferred embodiment of an invalid hoist according to the present invention, illustrating a first and a second application, respectively, of the invalid hoist similar to the applications illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, and in Fig. 3, respectively, Fig. 9 is a perspective and schematic view of a detail of a linkage system of a lever of the second embodiment of the invalid hoist according to the present invention shown in Figs. 7 and 8, Figs. 10 and 11 are schematic and partly sectional views of the linkage system shown in Fig. 9 of the second embodiment of the invalid hoist according to the present invention shown in Figs. 7 and 8, Figs. 12 and 13 are perspective, schematic and partly broken away views of a detail of a pivot joint of the lever of the second embodiment of the invalid hoist according to the present invention shown in Figs. 7 and 8, and Fig. 14 is a schematic and partly broken away view of a detail of a junction of a stand of the second embodiment of the invalid hoist according to the present invention shown in Figs. 7 and 8. In Figs. 1-3, a first embodiment of an invalid hoist according to the present invention is shown, designated the reference numeral 10 in its entirety. By means of the invalid hoist 10, a disabled patient or person 12 may be moved from e.g. a standing position, shown in Fig. 1, to a sitting position, shown in Fig. 2, for allowing the patient or person 12 to sit on a chair, such as a wheelchair, or on a bed, not shown in the drawings. The patient or person shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is able to rest on his or her own feet. Contrary to the application shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the invalid hoist 10 may alternatively, as shown in Fig. 3, be used for moving or shifting the patient or person 12, provided the patient or person is not able to rest on his or her own feet, as the patient or person may be shifted in a position supported by a sling, in which the patient or person is sitting and is comfortably supported. The operation of moving or shifting the patient or person 12 by means of the invalid hoist 10 is controlled by a an individual 14, such as a nurse. The invalid hoist 10 comprises a frame 16, including two mutually parallel rails 18 and 20, which are connected to one another in a basically U-shaped structure through a linkage 22, which is further connected to a handle 28, by means of which the nurse 14, as shown in Fig. 2, may move the rails 18 and 20 towards one another or apart relative to one another so as to adapt the width defined between the rails 18 and 20 to a specific application, such as the width between the wheels of a wheelchair in order to allow that the rails 18 and 20 of the supporting frame 16 of the invalid hoist 10 are moved in between the wheels of a wheelchair in which the patient or person 12 is to be raised from or positioned in. The linkage 22 constitutes a mechanical linkage through which the motion of the handle 28 to the right or to the left, as compared to a central, vertical position as shown in Fig. 3, causes an increase or a diminishing, respectively, of the width defined between the rails 18 and 20. The linkage 22 is further rigidly connected to support plates 24 and 26, which together with the outer ends of the rails 18 and 20 define the outer corners of the supporting frame 16, in which corners a total of four wheels 30 are provided. A vertical stand 32 extends upwardly from the supporting frame 16 as the stand 32 is rigidly connected to the linkage 22 and further to the supporting plates 24 and 26. The stand 32 is at its upper end con nected to a bend lever through an articulate joint which is housed within a bellows cover 36. The bend lever 34 defines an angle of approximately 90O and is further connected to the stand 32 through an extendable ejector assembly 38, including an ejector arm 39, which at its upper end is connected to the bend lever 34 through a bracket 42, whereas the extendable ejector assembly 38 is fixated relative to the stand 32 through a bar 40. The extendable ejector assembly 38 includes a motor, which may be constituted by a hydraulic motor, a pneumatic motor or, preferably, an electric motor. The electric motor may be constituted by a mains-supplied AC motor or, preferably, a battery-powered DC motor. The operation of the extendable ejector assembly 38 and further the operation of the invalid hoist 10 is controlled by the nurse 14 through a control apparatus 52, which is mounted on the stand 32. The control apparatus 52 is connected to the extendable ejector assembly 38 through a wire 53 and is further connected to a handheld controller 57 through a coiled wire 56. The handheld controller 57 includes switches, by means of which the nurse 14 may cause an extension or a contraction of the extendable ejector assembly 38, causing a raising and a lowering, respectively, of the lever 34 relative to the supporting frame 16. The bend lever 34 may, in accordance with two alternative applications of the invalid hoist 10, be equipped with a yoke comprising two parallel suspension bars 44 and 45, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, or alternatively be equipped with a single suspension bar 44', as shown in Fig. 3. The suspension bar 44' may be used for suspending a cradle 46', in which a sling 50' is further suspended. The sling 50' serves the purpose of supporting the patient or person in a sitting position while moving or shifting the patient or person from e.g. a wheelchair to a bed or vice versa. During the handling of the patient or person 12, which is supported by the sling 50', the nurse 14 may raise or lower the patient or person 12 by extending or contracting the expendable ejector assembly 38, causing a raising or lowering of the lever 34 relative to the supporting frame 16. For moving the invalid hoist 10 from one position to another by wheeling the invalid hoist 10 on the floor, on which the invalid hoist 10 rests, the hoist is provided with a pair of handle bars 54, which the nurse 14 may grasp for obtaining a firm steering grip, as shown in Fig. 1. In Fig. 1, the yoke comprising the suspension bars 44 and 55 is shown, which bars are provided with eyelets 48 and 49, in which a strap 50 is suspended. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the strap 50 is mounted so as to support the back of the patient or person 12, as the patient or person 12 has the strap 50 positioned below the patient's or person's axillae. The yoke structure shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is further provided with two handles 46 and 47, which are rigidly connected to the suspension bars 44 and 45, respectively, and which are provided for allowing the patient or person 12 to grip the handles. In Figs. 1 and 2, the patient or person 12 is resting on his or her feet on a feet-supporting plate assembly 60, which will be described in greater details below with reference to Figs. 4 and 5: The feet-supporting plate structure comprises a vertically and horizontally adjustable crush or knee support 80, by means of which the crush or knees of the patient or person 12 may be supported during the raising or lowering of the patient or person, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, allowing that the patient or person is comfortably supported in a stable position in which the patient or person may the raised or lowered without any risk of causing injuries, such as fractures of the crush, knees, thighs, hips or the back of the patient or injuries caused by the patient or person slipping on the feet-supporting plate assembly 60. As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the feet-supporting plate assembly 60 comprises a plate 62, which is provided with two non-skid surface coverings 64 and 65, on which the patient or person 12 may have his or her left and right foot positioned, respectively. The plate 62 is rigidly connected to a tripod support structure comprising three bars 66, 67 and 68 and a vertical, square tube 74. The bar 68 is rigidly connected to a U-shaped bracket 70, which is further provided with two recesses 72 provided at opposite sides of the bracket 70. The bracket 70 is adapted to rest on two horizontal pins extending outwardly from the stand 32. The pins are received within the recessesses 72 of the bracket for locking the bracket 70 relative to the stand 32 and consequently locking the feet-supporting plate assembly 60 relative to the stand 32 of the invalid hoist 10. The bars 66 and 67 are also adapted to rest on the linkage 22 for fixating and supporting the feet-supporting plate assembly 60 relative to the supporting frame 16 of the invalid hoist 10. The vertical square tube 74 constitutes a first outer square tube, within which a first inner square tube 76 is received. By a means of a thumbscrew 78, which is provided with a bolt extending through a bushing of the outer square tube into the interior of the first outer square tube 74, the first inner square tube 76 is locked relative to the first outer square tube 74 in a specific position determined by a triangularly machined inner surface of the first inner square tube 76, as will be described in greater details below with reference to Figs. 6a-6c. The first inner square tube 76 is rigidly connected to a second horizontal outer square tube 84, which is provided with a further thumbscrew 88 similar to the thumbscrew 78 of the first outer square tube 74. The second or horizontal outer square tube 84 cooperates with a second or horizontal inner square tube 86 similar to the first square tube 76. As is shown in Fig. 5, the second inner square tube 86 is connected to a plate 82, on which the crush or knee support 80 is fixated. By raising the first inner square tube 76 relative to the first outer square tube 74 and by positioning the first inner square tube 76 relative to the first outer square tube 74 in a specific position by means of the thumbscrew 78, the height of the crush or knee support 80 above the plate 52 may be adjusted. Further, by extracting or contracting the second inner square tube 86 relative to the second outer square tube 84, the horizontal position of the crush or knee support 80 may be adjusted and fixated by means of the thumbscrew 88. As will be understood, the cooperating inner and outer square tubes 76, 74 and 86, 84 constitute an orthogonal, vertical/horizontal positioning system. In Figs. 6a-6c, the second set of square tubes comprising the second outer square tube 74 and the second inner square tube 86 is shown in greater details. In Fig. 6a, the square tubes are viewed from above, illustrating a triangularly shaped countersink of the upper surface of the inner square tube 86 constituted by two triangular countersink surfaces 90 and 92. The countersink surfaces 90 and 92 define an inwardly sloping track, which cooperates with the innermost end of a bolt 94 of the thumbscrew 88. As is shown in Figs. 6b and 6c, the bolt 94 is provided with outer threads cooperating with a bushing 96, which is provided with inner threads and which is fixated to the outer surface of the outer square tube 84. The positioning of the inner square tube 86 relative to the outer square tube 84, and consequently the horizontal positioning of the crush and knee support 80, is established as follows. As is shown in Fig. 6b, the innermost end of the bolt 94 of the thumbscrew 88 contacts the countersink surfaces 90 and 92 of the upper surface of the inner square tube 86. Provided the thumbscrew 88 is turned in the counter-clockwise direction, causing an extraction of the bolt 94 relative to the inner space defined within the outer square tube 84, i.e. a shifting of the bolt 94 from the position shown in Fig. 6b to the position shown in Fig. 6c, the inner square tube 86 may be inserted into the inner space defined within the outer square tube 84. Consequently, the inner end of the bolt 94 defines a stop cooperating with the countersink surfaces 90 and 92, allowing that the inner square tube 86 may be inserted to a specific position within the outer square tube 84 defined by the depth of insertion of the bolt 94 into the inner space defined within the outer square tube 84. Whereas the bolt 94 prevents that the inner square tube 86, and similarly the inner square tube 76 may be inserted further into the outer square tube, within which the inner sqare tube is received, the inner square tube may, unless the bolt 94 is tightened against the countersink surfaces 90 and 92, be extracted from the outer square tube. The countersink surfaces 90 and 92 cooperating with the bolt 94 provide an extremely easily adjustable means for properly positioning the crush and knee support 80 relative to the crush or knee of a specific patient or person to be moved or shifted from a standing position to a sitting position or vice versa by means of the invalid hoist 10. Initially, the crush or knee support 80 is positioned in an arbitrary position, whereafter the crush or knee support 80 is easily adjusted by vertically and horizontally displacing the crush and knee support 80, during which adjustment procedure the countersink surfaces of the inner square tubes 76 and 86 prevent that the crush and knee support 80 is lowered below a specific minimum position determined by the depth of insertion of the bolt of the thumbscrew 88 and shifted beyond a horizontal position determined by the depth of insertion of the bolt 94 of the thumbscrew 88. In Figs. 7 and 8, a second, and presently preferred embodiment of an invalid hoist according to the present invention is shown, designated the reference numeral .10' in its entirety. In Figs. 7 and 8, and also the appending Figs. 9-14, components or elements identical to the components and elements, respectively, described above with reference to Figs. 1-6, are designated the same reference numerals as used in Figs. 1-6, and components or elements shown in Figs. 7-14 serving substantially the same purpose as similar components or elements, respectively, described above with reference to Figs. 1-6, are designated the same reference numeral as used in Figs. 1-6, however added an additional marking '. Thus, the second, and presently preferred embodiment of the invalid hoist 10' shown in Figs. 7 and 8 comprises the frame 16 including the wheel-supporting rails, including the rail 18. The rails of the frame 16 are pivotally connected to a front plate 24' and are actuated by means of a motor, not shown in the drawings, for positioning the rails in a mutual parallel position or an angular position relative to one another for adjusting the distance between the rails relative to a specific application. The plate 24' supports the rear wheels 30 of the frame 16, whereas the rails of the frame 16, including the rail 18, each supports two front wheels 30'. From the rear end of the frame 16, a stand 32' extends upwardly in a slightly angular position relative to the vertical direction defining an angle of approximately 10-12 relative to the vertical direction. The stand 32' is, as will be described in greater detail below with reference to Fig. 14, connected to the frame 16 through a junction allowing the stand 32' to be removed from the supporting frame 16. The stand 32' supports the crush and knee support 80' which is adjustable in an orthogonal, substantially vertical and horizontal adjusting system relative to the stand 32', and also relative to the frame 16 by means of a locking handle 78' and a thumbscrew 88'. The frame 16 also includes a feet-supporting plate assembly 60' similar to the feet-supporting plate assembly 60 described above with reference to Figs. 1, 3, and 4. The stand 32' also supports the handle bars 54 and the hand-held controller 57 which is connected to the power supply and motors of the invalid hoist included in the frame 16. At the uppermost end of the stand 32', a lever 34' is pivotally joined to the stand 32' through a pivot joint 36' allowing that the lever 34' is disconnected from the stand 32'. The lever 34' is acted upon by the extendable ejector assembly 38' constituting the motor serving the purpose of raising the lever 34' from the full-line position shown in Fig. 7 to e.g. the dotted-line position shown in Fig. 7, or alternatively for lowering the lever 34' from the dotted-line position shown in Fig. 7 to the full-line position shown in Fig. 7, or beyond the full-line position shown in Fig. 7. The extendable ejector assembly or motor 38 is at its lowermost end connected to the stand 32' through a latch 40' and at its uppermost end connected to the lever 34' through a pivot 42'. It is to be realized that the latch 40' and the pivot 42' serve the same purposes as the bar 40 and the bracket 42, respectively, described above with reference to Figs. 1 and 2, and further to be realized that the extendable ejector assembly 38 may, in an alternative embodiment, be included within the casing of the stand 32' and consequently be concealed within the interior of the casing of the stand 32'. At its outermost end, i.e. the end opposite to the innermost end connected to the stand 32' through the pivot joint 36', the lever 34' supports a yoke 44" by means of a linkage system 100. The yoke 44" includes eyelets, such as the eyelet 48, and is a dual purpose yoke serving the same purpose as the suspension bars 44 and 44' shown in Figs. 1 and 2 in the application of suspending the strap 50 for supporting the patient or person while raising the patient or person from the sitting position to the standing position, or alternatively for lowering the patient or person from the standing position to the sitting position, and the purpose of suspending the sling 50' for suspending the patient or person, for raising or lowering the patient or person, as shown in Fig. 3, while the patient or person is suspended in the sling. Two particular aspects of the linkage system 100 of the second, and presently preferred embodiment of the invalid hoist 10' according to the present invention, is to be considered. Firstly, the linkage system 100 allows that the yoke 44" may be shifted from the first position shown in Fig. 7 to a second position shown in Fig. 8. In the first position shown in Fig. 7, the linkage system 100 firstly locks the yoke 44" in a specific position and orientation in which the handles of the yoke 44" similar to the handles 46 and 47 of the suspension bars 44 and 45, respectively, shown in Figs. 1 and 2, are locked in fixed positions relative to the lever 34' and consequently raised or lowered in the fixed positions as the lever 34' is raised or lowered, respectively. In the first position, the yoke 44" is also kept in an innermost position in which the strap 50 suspended from the yoke 44' is positioned close to the feet-supporting plate assembly 60' and the crush or knee support 80' of the frame 16 and the stand 32', respectively, allowing that a patient or person supported by the strap 50 may use the feet-supporting plate assembly 60' and the crush or knee support 80' as the patient or person is raised from a sitting position to a standing position. Contrary to the first position of the linkage system 100 shown in Fig. 7, the linkage system 100 shown in Fig. 8 positions in the second position the yoke 44" at a fairly long distance from the feet supporting plate assembly 60' and the crush or knee support 80' of the frame 16 and the stand 32', respectively, allowing that a person suspended in the sling 50' by means of the eyelets, such as the eyelet 48, of the yoke 44" is not interfering with the feet-supporting plate assembly 60' or the crush or knee support 80', which might obstruct the handling of the patient or person in case the yoke 44' was not positioned in the outermost second position shown in Fig. 8. Thus, in Fig. 8, the linkage system 100 serves the main purpose of presenting an extension of the lever 34'. Furthermore, in the second position of the linkage system 100 shown in Fig. 8, the yoke 44'' is freely movable in the suspended position relative to the linkage system as the yoke 44" is connected to the linkage system 100 in a ball-bearing system to be described in greater detail below with reference to Figs. 9, 10, and 11. In Figs. 9, 10, and 11, the linkage system 100 of the lever 34' of the invalid hoist 10' according to the present invention is shown in greater details. Fig. 9 discloses the yoke 44" comprising the handles 46 and 47 and the eyelets 48 and 49, which handles 46 and 47 are interconnected through a transversal bar 43'. From the transversal bar 43', a vertical bar 43" extends upwardly and is fixated to a ball 102 which constitutes a central element of the linkage-system 100 and is provided with opposite bevelled surfaces 104 and 106, which is shown in Figs. 10 and 11. The ball 102 is received between opposite plates 108 and 110 which are rigidly connected to an arm 112 of the linkage system 100. The arm 112 constitutes a hollow element of the linkage system 100 and is connected to a bar 114 constituting a downwardly bent end portion of the lever 34' through a pivot connection, by means of which the arm 112 may be locked in either of the two positions shown in Figs. 7 and 8. Opposite to the plates 108 and 110, the arm 112 is connected to two further circular plates 116 and 120 which sandwich a circular end portion 118 of the bar 114. The circular end portion 118 is provided with recesses 122 and 124 in which a locking element 126 may catch for locking the bar 112 in the position shown in Fig. 7 and the position shown in Fig. 8, respectively. The circular plates 116 and 118 are journalled relative to the circular end portion 120 of the bar 114 by means of a shaft 121 which is received in central apertures of the circular plates 116 and 120 and of the circular end portion 118. The locking element 126 is biased by means of a spring 132 towards its locking position in which the locking element 126 is received in one of the recesses 122 and 124. For disengaging the locking element from its locking engagement with one of the two recesses 122 and 124, two pins 128 and 130 extend out through the walls of the arm 112. The locking element 126 is, as will be readily understood, guided by means of guiding surfaces within the arm 112 for causing the locking element to be moved from its locking position to a free position or disengaged position in which the arm 112 and the entire linkage system 100 may be rotated from its first or its second position to its second or first position, respectively. As stated above, the invalid hoist 10' may be positioned in a first position shown in Fig. 7 or alternatively in a second position shown in Fig. 8. Similarly, the second position of the linkage system 100 of the invalid hoist 10' is disclosed in Fig. 10, and in Fig. 11 the first position of the linkage system 100 is disclosed. In Fig. 10, the ball 102 is freely movable relative to its locking plates 108 and 110 of the arm 112 as the bevelled surfaces 104 and 106 of the ball 102 are positioned in spaced apart relation relative to mutually parallel guiding surfaces 138 and 140 of the plate 110. The rearmost plate 108 is provided with similar mutually parallel guiding surfaces which, however, are not shown in Fig. 10. It is to be realized that the entire yoke 44" is, of course, constantly exposed to the gravitational force which causes the ball 102 to be supported in the position shown in Fig. 10 relative to the plate element 110. As the linkage system 100 is shifted from its second position shown in Fig. 10 to its first position shown in Fig. 11, the arm 112 is rotated approximately 1600 in the clockwise direction through which rotation the guiding surfaces 138 and 140 are positioned above the ball 102. The bevelled surfaces 104 and 106 of the ball 102 are instead contacted with two sets of locking surfaces provided in the circular end plates 108 and 110, of which locking surfaces the locking surfaces of the circular end plate 110 shown in Figs. 10 and 11 are designated the reference numerals 134 and 136. The locking surfaces 134 and 136 define a distance corresponding to the distance between the bevelled surfaces 104 and 106 of the ball 102, allowing the ball 102 to be received between the locking surfaces, however, preventing the ball from rotating relative to the circular end plates 108 and 110 and consequently preventing the entire yoke 44" from rotating freely relative to the lever 34". The self-locking ball arrangement shown in Figs. 9-11 may, of course, be substituted with a manually operable pin-locking system similar to the spring-biased locking system of the arm 112 by means of which spring-biased locking system the arm 112 is locked in either of the two positions relative to the bar 114 as the locking element 126 is received within one of the recesses 122 and 124. The lever 34' may, as mentioned above, be disconnected from the stand 32' as will be described below with reference ot Figs. 12 and 13, and the stand 32' may be disconnected from the supporting frame 16, as will also be described below with reference to Fig. 14, allowing the entire invalid hoist 10' to be disconnected into three minor components constituted by the frame 16, the stand 32', and the lever 34' which, on the one hand, allows an easy storage of the entire invalid hoist 10' and further renders it possible to move the invalid hoist 10' from one location, e.g. from a private domicile to a different location without the need of employing removers or specialized workers for moving the invalid hoist, as the overall weight and also the overall outer dimensions of the individual components of the invalid hoist are far smaller than the weight and outer overall dimensions, respectively of the assembled invalid hoist. The invalid hoist 10', thus, may be stored in the trunk of an automobile and be moved from one location to a different location for personal usage at different locations, etc. In Figs. 12 and 13, the uppermost end of the stand 32' is shown together with the corresponding end of the lever 34' constituting a pivot joint 36'. In Fig. 12, the lever 34' is connected to the stand 32' and in Fig. 13 disconnected from the stand 32'. For allowing the lever 34' to be disconnected from the stand 32', the lever 34' is provided with a forked outer end at which a guiding wheel 35' is mounted. The uppermost end of the stand 32' is provided with a circular aperture 33' for receiving the guiding wheel 35' of the lever 34', which circular aperture is branched off through a horizontal slit 33 providing a through-going aperture through which the lever 34' may be introduced for positioning the guiding wheel 35' within the circular aperture 33'. It is to be realized that the lever 34' may only be disconnected from the stand 32' provided the lever 34' is rotated 1800 relative to its first position shown in Fig. 7, i.e. to the position shown in Fig. 13, in which position the forked outer end of the lever 34' may be moved through the slit 33' causing the guiding wheel 35' to be disconnected from its journalling engagement with the circular aperture 33' of the stand 32'. In the first and second position of the invalid hoist 10' shown in Figs. 7 and 8, respectively, which first position is also shown in Fig. 12, the forked outer end of the lever 34' prevents the lever 34' from being disconnected from the stand 32'. In Fig. 14, the lowermost end of the stand 32' is shown, which end is connected to the frame 16 through a locking junction. Thus, the stand 32' is received within a bushing 17 of the frame 16 and locked relative to the bushing 17 by means of a transversal locking pin 19. The locking pin 19 may, of course, be constituted by a spring-biased self-locking locking pin or any other appropriate arresting means serving the purpose of locking the stand 32' relative to the frame 16 in its intentional position shown in Figs. 7 and 8 and allowing that the stand 32' may be disconnected from the frame 16 in order to render it more easy to move the entire invalid hoist from one position to another position as is discussed above. Although the present invention has been described above with reference to presently preferred embodiments of the invalid hoist and the feet-supporting plate assembly thereof, it is to be understood that numerous modifications are easily deduced by a person having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. These modifications or alternative embodiments are to be considered part of the present invention, as the scope of the present invention is by no means to be construed limited to the above-described embodiments, but rather be considered defined by the scope of the appending claims.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A hoist for handling a patient, such as raising said patient from a sitting position to a standing position or vice versa, or moving said patient to or from a bed, a wheelchair or the like, comprising: a supporting frame defining a substantially horizontal support surface, a lifting lever structure, including a vertical mast, which defines opposite upper and lower ends and is rigidly connected to said supporting frame at said lower end thereof and extends upwardly from said supporting frame, a substantially horizontal lever, which defines opposite first and second ends and is connected at said first end thereof to said upper end of said mast through a hinge connection allowing that said substantially horizontal lever may rotate round said hinge connection for raising or lowering said second end of said lever relative to said support surface of said supporting frame, an actuator for causing said substantially horizontal lever to rotate round said hinge connection, a body strap suspended from said second end of said substantially horizontal lever for supporting said patient, and a feet-supporting plate assembly, including a substantially horizontal plate and a crush or knee support, said feet-supporting plate assembly being supported by said supporting frame, and including an orthogonal adjusting system for adjusting the vertical and horizontal position of said crush or knee support relative to said plate. 2. The hoist according to Claim 1, said orthogonal adjusting system of said feet-supporting plate assembly comprising a first and a second set of tubes, each set comprising an outer tube and an inner tube, which cooperate with one another and are displaceable relative to one another, for providing a vertical and a horizontal displacement, respectively, of said crush or knee support relative to said plate. 3. The hoist according to Claim 2, said inner and outer tubes of said first and second sets of tubes being arrestable relative to one another by means of locking means. 4. The hoist according to Claim 3, said locking means of each of said sets of tubes comprising a bolt extending through said outer tube of said set of tubes for cooperating with and locking against said inner tube of said set of tubes. 5. The hoist according to Claim 4, each of said inner tubes of said sets of tubes comprising a sloping countersink surface for cooperating with said bolt of said locking means. 6. The hoist according to any of the Claims 2-5, said tubes of said sets of tubes being constituted by square tubes. 7. The hoist according to any of the Claims 1-6, said lifting lever structure being adapted to receive a single suspension arm or a yoke comprising two or more suspension arms for the suspension of said body strap. 8. The hoist according to any of the Claims 1-7, said actuator comprising an extendable ejector, including an electrically powered motor, preferably a battery-supplied DC motor. 9. A feet-supporting plate assembly to be used in connection with a hoist for handling a patient, comprising: a substantially horizontal plate and a crush or knee support, means for supporting said feet-supporting plate assembly by said hoist, and an orthogonal adjusting system for adjusting the vertical and horizontal positions of said crush or knee support relative to said plate. 10. The feet-supporting plate assembly according to Claim 9, and further comprising any of the features of the hoist according to any of the Claims 2-8. 11. A hoist for handling a patient, such as raising said patient from a sitting position to a standing position or vice versa, or moving said patient to or from a bed, a wheelchair or the like, comprising: a supporting frame defining a substantially horizontal support surface, a substantially vertical mast defining opposite upper and lower ends, which mast is rigidly connected to said supporting frame at said lower end thereof and extends upwardly from said supporting frame, a substantially horizontal lever defining opposite first and second ends and being connected at said first end thereof to said upper end of said mast through a hinge connection allowing said substantially horizontal lever to rotate round said hinge connection for raising or lowering said second end of said lever relative to said support surface of said supporting frame, a lever arm journalled at said lever at said second end thereof and defining a free end for the suspension of a body strap for supporting said patient, said lever arm being shiftable between a first and a second position, in which first position said free end is shifted towards said hinge connection, and in which second position said free end is shifted away from said hinge connection, an actuator for causing said substantially horizontal lever to rotate round said hinge connection, and a feet-supporting plate assembly, including a substantially horizontal plate and a crush or knee support, said feet-supporting plate assembly being supported by said supporting frame. 12. The hoist according to Claim 11, further comprising a yoke structure for the suspension of said strap from said free end of said lever arm. 13. The hoist according to Claim 12, said yoke being freely movable relative to said free end when said lever arm is in said second position, and being locked to said free end when said lever arm is in said first position. 14. The hoist according to any of the Claims 11-13, said feet supporting assembly including an orthogonal adjusting system for adjusting the vertical and horizontal position of said crush or knee support relative to said plate of said feet-supporting plate assembly. 15. The hoist according to Claim 14, and further comprising any of the features of the hoist according to any of the Claims 2-8. 16. The hoist according to any of the Claims 11-15, said mast defining an angle of 10-30 , such as 15-20 , preferably approximately 10-12 relative to the vertical direction, and said substantially vertical mast sloping away from said second end of said lever.

Inventors: WINTER JENS, WINTER, JENS
Applicants: INTER CARE AS, INTER CARE A/S
Application year: 1995
Main classification: A61G7
IPC codes: A61G7