Abstract:
A patient lifting apparatus that includes a front and rear independently controlled cable lowering means so that a patient sitting in a sling suspended from the cables can be assisted out of the sling, or into the sling depending on the situation. This provides great, and safer, control of patient movement that otherwise provided.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The field of the invention relates to apparatus and equipment for lifting and in particular, the lifting of human patients. 
       DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
       [0002]    In hospitals and patient care facilities there is often a need for equipment designed to lift a person from one position to another full stop for example, it is often the case that a patient who is incapacitated may need to be lifted from their bed, in a lying down position, up and into a chair. 
         [0003]    Typically this is often itchy by the use of two and sometimes three orderlies or hospital staff specifically trained to efficiently and safely lift patients. Each staff member has a specific position relative to the patient and it is essential that each member coordinates their lifting efforts with the other staff member to affect a successful lift and transfer. 
         [0004]    However, is quite common for hospital staff to become injured during such lifting efforts due to the weight of the patient as well as the lack of control in actually lifting and moving the patient, which results in muscle strain and other associated injuries. Quite often the patient may also be inadvertently injured if dropped or bumped against furniture during the uncontrolled transition. 
       OBJECT OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a patient lifting apparatus having increased stability. 
         [0006]    It is a further object of the present invention to provide a patient lifting apparatus having increased lifting capability compared to patient lifting apparatus presently available. 
         [0007]    It is a further object of the present invention to provide a patient lifting apparatus capable of controlling the vertical position of the patient support sling. 
         [0008]    It is an object of the present invention to overcome, or at least substantially ameliorate, the disadvantages and shortcomings of the prior art. 
         [0009]    Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, taking in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    According to the present invention, although this should not be seen as limiting the invention in any way, there is provided a patient lifting apparatus including a main frame, a base support section, an upper section having a first and second spaced apart upper members, each upper member including a front and rear spaced apart pulley to provide a front and rear pair of pulleys, each pulley having a cable running there through and each cable terminating in its own sling attachment point to operatively connect to a patient support sling at one end, and each front and rear cable pair connected separately to a pair of cable controlling means such that in use a pair of cables is able to be extended or retracted by cable controlling means as required by an operator so as to control the raising or lowering of the patient support sling. 
         [0011]    The sling thus has a front end and a rear end operatively connected to the front and rear cable pair. 
         [0012]    In preference each pair of pair of pulleys is located within the first and second spaced apart upper members of the upper section. 
         [0013]    In preference, the cable controlling means are capable of being independently controlled on from the other so as to effect an independent raising or lowering of a front or rear section of the patient support sling. 
         [0014]    In preference, the base section includes ground-engaging wheels to allow the apparatus to be moved. 
         [0015]    In preference, the cable controlling means is at least one winch. 
         [0016]    In preference, the upper and lower sections are “U”-shaped. 
         [0017]    A method of operating a patient lifting apparatus, the patient lifting apparatus including a main frame, a base support section, an upper section having a first and second spaced apart upper members, each upper member including a front and rear spaced apart pulley to provide a front and rear pair of pulleys, each pulley having a cable running there through, to form a front and rear set of cables, and each cable terminating in its own sling attachment point to operatively connect to a patient support sling, and each front and rear cable pair connected separately to a pair of cable controlling means: so that by activation of the pair of cable controlling means to effect a lowering or raising of the front and rear set of cables so that a front or rear section of the sling can be raised or lowered as required. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0018]    By way of example, an employment of the invention is described more fully the renown for with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0019]      FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of the invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  is a front perspective view of the invention as shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the invention with a patient positioned in the patent support sling 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0022]    The patient lifting apparatus  5  includes a base support section  7  being in a generally “U”-shaped section, with parallel spaced apart legs  8  and  9  separated by the transverse member  10 . Connected to the transverse member  10 , approximately midway along its length, is the main upright support member  12  that in turn connects to an upper section  14 . 
         [0023]    The upper section  14  includes a transverse upper member  16  with first and second arms,  18  and  19  respectively, each arm having a front section  20  and rear section  22 . 
         [0024]    Each arm  18  and  19  has pulleys located within; for example, the first arm  18  has front pulley  24  and rear pulley  26  and the second arm  19  has a front pulley  28  and a rear pulley  30 , such that there is effectively a front pair of pulleys  32  and a rear pair of pulleys  34 . Each pulley is able to rotate about its axis although other pulley equivalent structures may be used to effect the same result and those skilled in the art would readily appreciate this. 
         [0025]    Each pulley has a cable  36 - 39  that runs through or over it and the cables  36 - 39  are then attached to a cable controlling means, such as a winch or number of winches for controlling the release or uptake of the cable. 
         [0026]    The cables  36 - 39  are arranged in pairs such that there is a front pair  40  of cables  36  and  38  and a rear pair  42  of cables  37  and  39 . Each pair of cables  40  and  42  are then attached operatively their own winch so that front pair  40  is attached to one winch and rear pair  42  are attached to a separate winch. 
         [0027]    Each of the winches are located on the main structure, such as in the winch housing  44 , although the winches could be placed at other suitable for housing such devices. The person skilled in the art would be able to readily appreciate that the location can be varied. The winches are then connected to a controller  46 , allowing an operator to control each pairing of cables  40  and  42  independently or in unison as required. 
         [0028]    Each individual cable is attached to a patient support sling  50  at positions  51 - 54  in a manner that allows the sling  50  to be easily removed and replaced by an operator. 
         [0029]    By being able to control each pairing of cables  40  and  42  is then possible to orientate the patient sling  50  by raising and lowering the appropriate pair of cable. 
         [0030]    For example, it is possible to place the patient support sling  50  under a patient who is seated on a bed, then attach the sling  50  to the cables  36 - 39  and hoist the patient off the bed. The supported patient can then be moved away from the bed by simply controlling the movement of the patient lifter  5  as it is on wheels. 
         [0031]    The patient may, for example, require then assistance in getting into a chair and so after positioning the patient directly over the chair the patient is then lowered slowly, with both pairs of cables being released in a controlled manner. At the appropriate time, just when the patients buttocks have come into contact with the seat of the chair, the operator can stop both cable pairs and elect to allow controlled release of the rear pair of cables  42 , which then allows the patient to gently apply back pressure to the back of the chair, then slowly release the front pair  40  to allow the underside of the legs to, contact the seat of the chair. As can be understood, this very controlled manner of placing a patient is very desirable, especially with patient who are infirm. 
         [0032]    Additionally, if a patient needs assistance to stand, rather then simply have the patient pull themselves up from their set, a patient in the support sling  50  can have their feet gently guided to the touch the ground and which point the patient may take hold of a support frame and begin to shift more of their weight onto their legs and the operator can then elect to activate the winch controlling the rear cable pair  42  to pull the rear of the sling upwards to assist the patient to stand. This can be combined with a very slow lowering of the front of the sling  50  by the front cable pair  40 . 
         [0033]      FIG. 3  shows a patient seated in the support sling  50  facing away from the apparatus  5 , in which case the apparatus  5  would have approached the patient from behind. This particular position may be used if the patient is to be lifted from their seat and transferring them to a walking frame. In this way the apparatus  5  would not hinder the walking frame and allow the patient, once standing to freely move a away without having to necessarily move the apparatus  5 . 
         [0034]    If a patient were to be moved from one seated position to another, then it may be more convenient to have the patient facing in the other direction to that shown in  FIG. 3 , that is facing towards the apparatus  5  although this would be decided by the operator depending on the particular circumstance. 
         [0035]    In addition to moving patients in the manner described, the sling  50  may be replaced with a stretcher, such as a patient stretcher or other suitable device for holding a patient in a horizontal position. 
         [0036]    Such a stretcher would connect onto the cables  36 - 39  using convention attachment means and would orientate the stretcher substantially perpendicular to the first and second arms  18  and  19  respectively. In this manner then a patient lying prone on the stretcher could easily be raised and lowered from one bed to another, or the patient could be assisted of the stretcher and onto another bed, for example an operating table, by lowering the front pair of cables  40  to the point that one side of the stretcher parallel to the patient were touching the bed, then disengaging that side of the stretcher from the front cable pair  40  and gently raising the rear cable pair  42  in a controlled manner to assist movement of the patient from the stretcher onto the bed. This would be particularly useful if shifting patients who are overweight. 
         [0037]    As can now be readily understood, the present invention then allows for a single patient lifting apparatus that is able to provide a multitude of patient lifting task that presently require many different specialized machines 
         [0038]    Although the invention has been herein shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures can be made within the scope of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details described herein but it is to be accorded the full scope of the appended claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices and apparatus.