Abstract:
A weight member for demountable placement is provided on the wheeled carriage of an intravenous stand for improving the stability of the stand by lowering the center of gravity thereof. The weight member includes a pair of bodies which are movable toward each other into a closed position with a latch for clamping the bodies in circumscribing engagement with the upstanding pole of the intravenous stand.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     This invention relates generally to intravenous stands and more particularly to a weighted device for demountable attachment to the carriages of mobile intravenous stands to improve the stability thereof by lowering the center of gravity.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     Mobile Intravenous (I.V.) stands are routinely used in hospital settings and patient care facilities to carry medicinal agents, blood products, and medical equipment along with the patients when they are being transported from one place to another. Such stands typically include a wheeled carriage having a pole extending vertically therefrom with radially extending arms at the top of the pole. Numerous types of medical devices are carried on the arms of the I.V. stands and are attached to the patient being transported with such devices, including intravenous pumps for supply medication to the patient and/or equipment for monitoring the patient&#39;s vital signs. The medical devices attached to the arms at the top of the pole will raise the center of gravity of the I.V. stand an amount determined by the weight of the attached medical devices. Raising the center of gravity can make the I.V. stand top heavy to a point where it becomes difficult to safely move it and hazardous under some conditions. The attendant who is transporting the patient and the I.V. stand must be extra careful to navigate the stand around or over any obstacles on the floor. Entering or leaving an elevator is particularly hazardous due to the opening between the floor and the elevator. If an I.V. stand should topple over while being transported along with a patient, serious injury to the patient and/or the medical staff can result and monitoring equipment can be damaged.  
         [0005]     The problem with I.V. stand stability was addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,944 by disclosure of an especially configured carriage having a lowered frame which lowered the center of gravity of the stand. While this approach improved I.V. stand stability somewhat, it is not believed to have completely solved the problem in that the stand could still be unstable if the weight of the equipment carried by the stand were above a medial amount. Also, if this approach were to become a standard, the many I.V. stands already in use would need to be replaced or modified to include the new carriages and this would be costly. Therefore, a need exists for a new and useful weighted device for demountable attachment to existing I.V. stands to improve the stability thereof.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The present invention discloses a weight member configured for detachable mounting on the carriages of I.V. stands to lower the center of gravity thereof to improved stability of the stands so that they can be safely moved from place to place. The weight member is preferably a clamshell structure having two bodies of any suitable configuration such as semi-circular. Preferably, the two bodies are interconnected by a hinge so that they can be swung away from each other into an open position and swung toward each other into a closed position. The two bodies of the weight member each have a mating surface and those surfaces are in co-facing contiguous engagement with each other when the weight member is in the closed position. Preferably, the mating surfaces form a parting line between the two bodies with the hinge being mounted on adjacent ends of the two bodies proximate one end of the parting line, and a latch is provided on the opposite adjacent ends of the two bodies proximate the opposite end of the parting line. When the latch is closed, the two bodies of the weight member will be held in the closed position and opening of the latch allows the two bodies to be swung away from each other into the open position. Preferably, each of the mating surfaces of the two bodies has a notch formed intermediate its opposite ends so that when the weight member is closed and mounted on the I.V. stand, the pole of the stand will extend upwardly through the opening formed by the aligned notches.  
         [0007]     The weight member is mounted on an I.V. stand by having the two bodies thereof swung into the open position so that they can be maneuvered around the upstanding pole of the stand and placed in resting engagement on top of the stand&#39;s carriage. The bodies are then swung toward each other into the closed position and the latch is operated to secure the weight member on the carriage. By reversing this procedure, the weight member is easily removed from the I.V. stand for cleaning and sanitation purposes. A plurality of weight members, or members having different weights, can be provided to adjust the center of gravity as needed.  
         [0008]     It is preferred that the mating surfaces of the two bodies of the weight member and the notches formed in the bodies have a liner of resiliently deformable material such as rubber affixed thereto. Such a liner will take up any slack resulting from manufacturing tolerances and provide a rattle-free tight fit around the pole of the I.V. stand and tight fitting contiguous engagement of the mating surfaces of the two bodies.  
         [0009]     A second embodiment of the weight member of the present invention is disclosed as having two separate bodies of any suitable configuration. As in the preferred embodiment, the two separate bodies are provided with mating surfaces having notches with the surfaces and notches being lined with a resiliently deformable material. Mounting of the two separate bodies on an I.V. stand is accomplished by placing them atop the stand&#39;s carriage on diametrically opposed sides of the upstanding pole and moving them radially toward each other into a closed position. Suitable latches are provided on opposite sides of the two separate bodies to releasably hold them in the close position.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a typical I.V. stand with the preferred embodiment of the weigh member of the present invention mounted thereon.  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is plan sectional view taken along the line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1  and showing the weight member in the open position.  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  is a view similar to  FIG. 2  showing another embodiment of the weight member of the present invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  is a fragmentary side elevational view of the weight member of  FIG. 3 .  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0014]     Referring more particularly to the drawings,  FIG. 1  shows a typical mobile intravenous (I.V.) stand  10  with the weight member  12  of the present invention mounted thereon. The I.V. stand  10  includes a wheeled carriage  14  having legs  16  extending radially from a central hub  18  (not shown, see  FIG. 2 ) with a caster  20  mounted on the extending end of each leg. A pole  22  is mounted in the hub  18  of the wheeled carriage  14  and extends vertically upwardly therefrom. A plurality of radially extending arms  24 , usually four in number, are carried on the upper end of the pole  22  and each arm has a hook  26  mounted on its extending end. As is known, medical devices (not shown) such as intravenous pumps for supplying medication to a patient and/or equipment for monitoring the patient&#39;s vital signs are hung on the hooks  26 . The stand  10  is a mobile stand of the type which is routinely used in hospital settings and patient care facilities to move whatever medical equipment is connected to a patient along with patients when they are being transported from one place to another. The medical devices attached to the arms  24  at the top of the pole  22  will raise the center of gravity of the I.V. stand  10  an amount determined by the weight of the attached medical devices. Raising the center of gravity can make the I.V. stand  10  top heavy to a point where it becomes difficult to safely move it and hazardous under some conditions. The instability problem of I.V. stands is overcome by use of the weighted member  12  as will now be described.  
         [0015]     The weight member  12  is preferably a clamshell structure having two pieces, or bodies  28  and  30  interconnected by a hinge  32  so that the two bodies can be swung away from each other into an open position shown in  FIG. 2  and swung toward each other into a closed position as shown in  FIG. 1 . As seen in  FIG. 2 , the two bodies  28  and  30  of the clamshell structure have mating surfaces  34  and  36  respectively and those surfaces each have a notch  37  formed therein intermediate their opposite ends. The mating surfaces  34  and  36  and the notches  37  formed therein preferably have a liner  38  of resiliently deformable material such as rubber affixed thereto for reasons which will hereinafter be described. When the weight member  12  is in the closed position, the mating surfaces  34  and  36  form a parting line between the two bodies  28  and  30  and the notches  37  are aligned to form an opening through the weight structure  12 . The hinge  32  is mounted on adjacent ends of the two bodies  28  and  30  proximate one end of the parting line and a latch  40  is mounted on the body  30  proximate the other end of the parting line. The latch has a loop  42  which engages a notch  44  formed in the periphery of the other body  28  to releasably clamp the weight member  12  in the closed position.  
         [0016]     To mount the clamshell weight member  12  on the I.V. stand  10 , the latch  40  is opened and the two bodies  28  and  30  are swung away from each other into the open position. When opened, the clamshell weight member  12  is moved into a straddling position about the pole  22  of the stand  10  and is placed in a resting position atop the wheeled carriage  14 . Then the two bodies  28  and  30  are swung toward each other to close the weight member  12  and move the notches  37  into a circumscribing position about the pole  22 . Closing the latch  40  clamps the two bodies  28  and  30  together and holds the weight member  12  in the closed position. The liner  38  affixed to the mating surfaces  34  and  36  and in the notches  37  of the two bodies  28  and  30  will take up any slack resulting from manufacturing tolerances to provide a rattle-free tight fit of the notches  37  around the pole  22  of the I.V. stand  10  and tight fitting contiguous engagement of the mating surfaces of the two bodies.  
         [0017]     The two bodies  28  and  30  of the weight member  12  can be of any suitable configuration, however, it is preferred that they be of the planar semi-circular configuration shown in the drawings. Similarly, the mating surfaces  34  and  36  of the two bodies  28  and  30  are preferably linear and the notches  37  are semi-circular.  
         [0018]     Reference is now made to  FIGS. 3 and 4  which show a second embodiment of the weight member of the present invention that is identified generally by the reference numeral  46 . The weight member  46  is formed of two separate bodies  48  and  50  having mating surfaces  52  and  54  respectively and those surfaces each have a notch  56  formed therein intermediate their opposite ends. The mating surfaces  52  and  54  of the two separate bodies and the notches  56  formed in those surfaces, preferably have a liner  58  of resiliently deformable material, such as rubber, affixed thereto for the reasons discussed above with reference to the previously describe embodiment.  
         [0019]     Mounting of the two separate bodies  48  and  50  on the I.V. stand  10  is accomplished by placing them atop the carriage  14  on diametrically opposed sides of the upstanding pole  22  and moving them radially toward each other into a closed position. Suitable latches, such as the illustrated hook and eye latches  60  are provided on opposite sides of the two separate bodies  48  and  50  to releasably hold them in the closed position.  
         [0020]     While the principles of the invention have now been made clear in illustrated embodiments, many modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art which do not depart from those principles. The appended claims are therefore intended to cover such modifications within the limits only of the true spirit and scope of the invention.