Abstract:
A transfer system for individuals with a partial or total disability is disclosed whereby, the system is configured to be relatively portable. The system comprises a collapsible frame that is configured to be disassembled and stored in a relatively transportable case such that persons suffering from a partial or total disability may travel outside of the confines of his or her home.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/794395 filed on Apr. 24, 2006. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED R &amp; D  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to assist and transfer devices for disabled persons. More specifically, the present invention relates to a portable apparatus for assisting in the transfer of individuals who are partially or totally disabled.  
         [0004]     2. Discussion of the Related Art  
         [0005]     Previously conceived lifting and hoist systems designed for lifting and transferring disabled individuals from place to place suffer from various disadvantages. For example, some systems are principally designed for use in the person&#39;s home or for use in a hospital setting. Such systems are typically fixed in one place and cannot be moved around the person&#39;s home. Some prior systems were designed to be portable so that the system may be moved from place to place within the person&#39;s home. The aforementioned systems, however, have the disadvantage that they cannot be used outside of the home, and thus, the individual further requires additional assistance when traveling outside of his or her home.  
         [0006]     U.S. Pat. No. 5,694,654 to Roy is one example of a lifting and transfer systems known in the art. The system comprises a lifting arm assembly and a support, the lifting arm assembly providing a lifting arm rotatable about a vertical axis. A mounting rotatably mounts the lifting arm to the support so that the lifting arm cantilevers from the mounting. An extendable and retractable lifting cable depends from an outer end of the lifting arm. Two motors are provided for operating the system, and a controller is further provided to operate the two motors. The lifting and transfer system described therein further discloses that the system may be portable, however, the overall design of the system does not break down so that the system may be easily transported in a relatively small storage container by the individual.  
         [0007]     Therefore, what is desired is a lift or hoist system for lifting and transferring a person from one place to another that is designed such that it may easily be used in a variety of different places.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a lift system for a disabled or partially disabled person that may be easily transported outside of the person&#39;s home comprising a single horizontal bar substantially equal in length to a width of a wheelchair to receive the wheelchair beneath the bar, the bar supporting a winch between two ends of the bar. The system further includes first releasable joints at the two ends of the horizontal bar and leg pairs extending downward from the two ends of the horizontal bar from the first releasable joint, each leg pair having a second releasable joint dividing each leg into a first and second portion for transportation. Finally, the system includes a harness coupled to the winch, the harness capable of supporting a disabled person, whereby the system may be disassembled such that the bar and the leg pairs can be stored in parallel in a case.  
         [0009]     It is another object of the present invention that the system be relatively lightweight to facilitate the transportation of the system.  
         [0010]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a portable lift system wherein the legs are generally splayed from a single joint so as to provide a wider base to provide the system with more stability.  
         [0011]     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide stabilizing feet on the ends of the legs so as to further secure the system to prevent tipping or rocking of the system.  
         [0012]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a first releasable joint at the ends of the horizontal bar of the system so that the legs of the system may be detached from the horizontal bar to facilitate disassembly and transportation.  
         [0013]     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a second releasable joints to divide the legs of the system into substantially equal first and second portions; thus, providing a system that is easily disassembled for transport.  
         [0014]     It is another object of the present invention that the first releasable joints are collars configured to receive the ends of the legs configured to provide a secure connection between the legs and bar. In addition, a pin may be provided to extend through the collars and legs to further stabilize the connection between the collars and the legs.  
         [0015]     In accordance with these objectives, a portable transfer system is provided that includes a single horizontal bar having a length substantially equal to the width of a wheelchair. The horizontal bar further includes releasable joints at its two ends for connecting to the ends of the leg pairs of the system. The leg pairs extend downwardly from the joints of the horizontal bar and further include releasable joints that serve to divide the legs into first and second portions. A winch is coupled to the horizontal bar of the system and further includes a harness that is coupled to the winch for supporting a disabled or partially disabled person.  
         [0016]     Various alternative embodiments and modifications to the invention will be made apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art by the following detailed description taken together with the drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]     The drawings illustrate the best mode currently contemplated of practicing the present invention.  
         [0018]     In the drawings:  
         [0019]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the portable transfer system of the present invention positioned above a person to be transferred, the transfer unit providing two opposed A-frames separated by a bar supporting a winch;  
         [0020]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the system of  FIG. 1  and a storage case for transporting the system;  
         [0021]      FIG. 3  is a detailed view of a releasable joint allowing for disassembly of the A-frame of the system for travel;  
         [0022]      FIG. 4  is a detailed view of a front foot of one of the A-frames of the present system;  
         [0023]      FIG. 5  is a view of a harness used for moving the person to be transferred using the transfer unit;  
         [0024]      FIG. 6  is a view of another embodiment of the harness of  FIG. 5  for moving the person to be transferred using the transfer unit; and  
         [0025]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a crossbar used for attaching a winch cable to a hammock-style harness. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0026]     Referring now to the drawings and in particular  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the transfer system  10  comprises a single horizontal bar  12  having a substantially rectangular cross-section. The bar  12  is substantially equal in length to the width of a standard wheelchair so as to be capable of receiving a wheelchair beneath the bar  12 . The bar  12  includes first and second ends  14  and  16 , respectively. At each of the two ends  14  and  16 , the bar  12  includes releasable joints  18  and  20  respectively. The releasable joints  18  and  20  comprise a collar connection for the connection of legs  22  thereto. The joints  18  and  20  may further include pins  21  extending through the legs  22  and into joints  18  and  20  to provide further stability to the connection at the joints  18  and  20 .  
         [0027]     The legs  22  are generally splayed from the releasable joints  18  and  20  along the axis of the bar  12  and perpendicularly from that axis, from a single point, and extend downwardly from the ends  14  and  16  of horizontal bar  12  in mutual separation. The splaying of the legs  22  provides a substantially wide base for providing support to the system  10  such that the weight of a user is safely supported thereon.  
         [0028]     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 3 , the legs  22  further include a second releasable joint  24 . The second releasable joint  24  is located such that the legs  22  are substantially divided into equal upper and lower portions  26  and  28 , respectively, by the second releasable joint  24 . The second releasable joints  24  comprise a collar  27  attached to the upper portion  26  of the leg  22  and sized so to concentrically receive the upper end of the lower potion  28  of the leg  22  so that the upper portion  26  of leg  22  may be releasably attached to the lower portion  28  of legs  22 . The inner diameters of the collars  27  are substantially equal to the outer diameter of the ends of legs  22  so as to create a secure connection when the ends of legs  22  are inserted therein. The second releasable joints  24  may further include a pin  29  for further securing the connection between the ends of legs  22  and the collars  27 , wherein the pin  29  is inserted through the collars  27  and legs  22 . The legs  22  are configured such that upon removing the ends of the legs  22  from the collars  27  of second releasable joints  24 , the legs  22  may be folded and stored in parallel in a case as will be explained in further detail below.  
         [0029]     In addition, the legs  22  of the system  10  may be tubes. The use of tubes allows the legs  22  to remain relatively lightweight so that the user may easily transport them. The tubes should be constructed of a material sufficiently strong enough to support the weight of the intended user of the system  10 .  
         [0030]     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 4 , an optional third releasable joint  30  may further be included at the ends  32  of lower leg portions  28  for the connection of stabilizing feet  33 . Stabilizing feet  33  are preferably attached to two of the legs  22  one side of the axis of the bar  12  to provide further support to system  10 . The feet  33  extend generally outwardly from the end  32  as held by a cantilevered beam  35  along an axis perpendicular to the bar  12  to resist tipping of the legs in a direction generally perpendicular to bar  12 . The third releasable joint  30  may comprise a pin and collar connection of the type described above. The feet  33  are not critical in providing additional stability to system  10 , but may be used, for example, to provide additional stability when the feet  33  can be placed under a bed and the system  10  is used to lift a person to be transferred from his or her bed and ease him or her into, for example, a wheelchair. In addition, the lift can be utilized to lift a person so that the wheelchair can be exchanged for a commode or wheeled shower/commode chair.  
         [0031]     The optional stabilizing feet may be removed or rotated outward when used, for example, in hotel rooms where often the beds include frames that extend to the floor preventing structure from extending under the bed.  
         [0032]     Turning now to  FIGS. 1, 5  and  6 , a winch  34  accomplishes the actual lifting of the user of system  10 . Winch  34  is secured to the horizontal bar  12  and further includes a cable  36  extending generally downwardly from the horizontal bar  12  for connection to a harness  38 . The electric motor provides a steel cable  36  for support. If a hand winch is utilized, the cable  36  may be comprised of a variety of different materials such as, for example, rope, rubber, or similar such material that is substantially strong enough to support the weight of the user that is supported in harness  38 . The winch  34  may be either manually operated or preferably may be an electrically powered winch. In the latter case, the winch  34  comprises a spool around which a cable attached to the cable  36  is wound under the power of an electric motor which may be connected via electrical leads  42  to a portable power unit  44  providing internal rechargeable batteries.  
         [0033]     Referring specifically to  FIG. 1 , a portable carrying case  46  is shown. The case  46  of the present invention is generally equal in height to that of a standard golf bag. In addition, the case  46  may be custom fabricated if so desired. Alternatively, any one of many commercially available golf bag travel covers will accommodate all of the components and provide separate space for storage of the lock pins or other accessories. The height of the case  46  makes it easily portable such that the user of the system  10  may travel with the carrying case  46 . The entire system  10  is configured such that the bar  12 , legs  22  and feet  33  may be collapsed at the respective releasable joints such that the system may be easily stored in parallel in the case  46 . The winch  34  and harness  38  are also capable of storage in the case  46  for easy transportation.  
         [0034]     Turning now to  FIGS. 5 and 7  a first harness  38  for supporting and lifting the person to be transferred is shown wherein the harness  38  comprises a hammock  48 . The hammock  48  is shown having a body portion  50  and two leg supports  52 . When the hammock  48  is used as the harness  38 , a crossbar  62  is attached to the cable  36 , for example, by a spring clip  60  terminating the cable  36 . The crossbar  62  provides two crossing bars that support downwardly extending hooks  64  arranged generally at the vertices of a horizontally oriented rectangle.  
         [0035]     Loops  54  of strapping are attached to the upper corners of the body portion  50  of the hammock  48  and the free ends of the leg supports  52 . Loops  54  of the upper corners of the body portion  50  are received by two adjacent hooks  64  toward a rear of the crossbar  62  while the loops  54  attached to the free end of the leg supports  52  are attached to the remaining two adjacent hooks  64  at the front of the crossbar  62 . The crossbar  62  thus spreads the corners off a hammock  48  which would otherwise naturally be drawn together under the weight of the individual. The subsequent operation of the winch  34  while the person is seated in the hammock  48  advances the cable  36  that is wrapped around the spool of the winch  34  such that the person is raised from, for example, a bed or other location from which he or she needs to be transferred from. It is important to note, in this regard, that the cable  36  allows for rotation of the person being assisted while they are supported by the unit  10  thus facilitating the transfer process, for example, from bed to wheelchair which may be accomplished with a pivoting during the transfer process.  
         [0036]     Referring now to  FIG. 6 , a second method of supporting and lifting the person to be transferred is illustrated. The harness  38  comprises two body straps  56  and  58  that are positioned next to the cable  36 . In use, one of the straps is looped behind the person&#39;s back and under his or her armpits, with its end loops snapped to the cable  36 . The other strap is looped under the person&#39;s knees and the ends of the loops of that strap are also snapped to the rope. Similar to the aforementioned method of supporting and lifting the user, the advancement of the cable  36  by the winch  34  acts to raise the harness  38  and therefore the person is lifted from, rotated, and transferred when moving for example, from his or her bed to the wheelchair. Direct transfers from the wheelchair for example, to a wheeled shower chair, is facilitated by moving the person upward, removing the wheelchair and placement of the wheeled shower chair so that the person can be placed downward directly on the shower chair.  
         [0037]     Various alternatives are contemplated as being within the scope of the following claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter regarded as the invention.