Abstract:
A latching assembly on a service column is configured to correspond to a latching assembly on a transport bracket so that the transport bracket may be automatically locked to the service column upon the establishment of a mechanical connection. Furthermore, a safety mechanism maintains the lock until, for instance, the transport bracket is installed on a hospital patient transport vehicle. Additionally, the transport bracket latching assembly is provided with flexibility to connect with the service column latching assembly even in the presence of an offset from an entirely vertical connection. A further element allows a transfer of AC power from the service column to the transport bracket.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present application relates generally to healthcare furniture and, more specifically, to a latching mechanism for use in connecting an equipment transfer system to a service column. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    For very ill hospital patients, such as, for example, cardiac surgery patients, there is a great deal of equipment associated with their treatment. Much of this equipment will comprise infusion pumps and intravenous solutions. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,967, issued Feb. 20, 1990 to Petre (hereinafter “Petre”), a patient equipment transport and support system is disclosed to transport equipment that is in operative use by a patient, along with the patient over long distances through a hospital, across elevator thresholds or around hallway corners. Petre acknowledges that frequently, several nurses are required to handle the transport of the patient and the equipment. Some nurses will be moving the bed containing the patient, other nurses would be pushing IV stands and other equipment support devices. The number of people involved, the instability of some of the equipment support systems during rolling movement and normal path obstacles such as elevator thresholds have all combined to make it troublesome and difficult for the movement of the patient and equipment when moving the patient to and from an operating room or from and to an intensive care unit or a patient holding area. 
         [0003]    As a solution, Petre suggests a selectively transportable equipment support system for operative association with an invalid transport vehicle. The system includes a transport bracket for selective secured association with a hospital bed or a service column. Various patient care items may be secured to the transport bracket. The transport bracket includes a pivot post for reception in a service column latching assembly, which allows pivotable movement of the transport bracket when the transport bracket is secured to a service column support arm. 
         [0004]    The Applicant has recognized room for improvement in the manner in which the equipment support system disclosed in Petre connects to the service column. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    A latching assembly on a service column is configured to correspond to a latching assembly on a transport bracket so that the transport bracket may be automatically locked to the service column upon the establishment of a mechanical connection. 
         [0006]    In accordance with an aspect of the present invention there is provided a latching assembly for automatically locking a transport bracket to a service column. The latching assembly includes a service column latching assembly and a transport bracket latching assembly. The service column latching assembly includes a male coupling depending from the service column, a coupling insert depending from the male coupling, the coupling insert defining an aperture extending from a coupling insert interior to a coupling insert exterior and a retaining element moveably retained within the aperture. The transport bracket latching assembly includes a tubular cage having an interior groove and a latch positioned inside the cage so that the, upon insertion of the latch into the coupling insert interior, the latch forces the retaining element into the interior groove to maintain attachment of the transport bracket latching assembly to the service column latching assembly. 
         [0007]    Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    Reference will now be made to the drawings, which show by way of example, embodiments of the invention, and in which: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  illustrates a service column attached to a transport bracket according to an aspect of the present invention; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  illustrates a hospital bed attached to the transport bracket of  FIG. 1  by way of a bracket support, with the transport bracket attached to service column of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  illustrates the hospital bed of  FIG. 2  attached to the transport bracket of  FIG. 1 , with the transport bracket detached from the service column of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  illustrates an upper portion of the transport bracket of  FIG. 1  detached from a lower portion of the service column of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  illustrates, in section, the upper portion of the transport bracket attached to the lower portion of the service column; 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  illustrates the transport bracket of  FIG. 1  attached to the bracket support of  FIG. 2 , with the bracket support detached from the hospital bed; 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  illustrates the bracket support of  FIG. 2  detached from the hospital bed and the transport bracket of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 8  illustrates, in section, the bracket support of  FIG. 7 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 9  illustrates, in section, the lower portion of the transport bracket attached to the bracket support; and 
           [0018]      FIG. 10  illustrates the section of  FIG. 5  accommodating an offset from vertical. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
       [0019]      FIG. 1  illustrates a service column  102  connected to a transport bracket  104 . The service column  102  is supported by a service arm  106  and the service arm  106  is generally attached to the ceiling (not shown) of a hospital room. The service column  102  includes electrical and gas outlets, an example one of which is indicated with reference numeral  108 . The transport bracket  104  also includes electricity outlets, an example one of which is indicated with reference numeral  110 . 
         [0020]    In  FIG. 2 , a hospital bed  208  is illustrated in conjunction with the components illustrated in  FIG. 1 . In particular, the transport bracket  104  is attached to the hospital bed  208  at a bracket support  210  in addition to being attached to the service column  102 .  FIG. 3  differs from  FIG. 2  in that the transport bracket  104  is detached from the service column  102 . 
         [0021]      FIG. 4  illustrates an upper portion of the transport bracket  104  detached from a lower portion of the service column  102 . A service column latching assembly, depending from the lower portion of the service column  102 , includes a frustoconical male coupling  402 , which receives, into an internally threaded hollow interior, a coupling insert  404 . The coupling insert  404  is hollow and generally cylindrical and includes, in a lower portion a plurality of retaining element cavities  412 . The retaining element cavities  412  retain retaining elements (not shown). The retaining elements may, for example, be ball bearings. 
         [0022]    The upper portion of the transport bracket  104  features a hollow rectangular housing tube  414 , from which depends a central post  416  and two peripheral posts  420 . The central post  416  is attached, at a flanged portion  416 A, to a bearing housing  418 , which is attached, at a flanged portion  418 A, to the housing tube  414 . 
         [0023]    For connection of the transport bracket  104  to the service column  102 , the assembled male coupling  402  and coupling insert  404  are received by a collar  406 . An indicator light  410  is provided for indicating that the connection of the transport bracket  104  to the service column  102  is complete. To facilitate detachment of the assembled male coupling  402  and coupling insert  404  from the collar  406 , the transport bracket  104  includes a release button  408 . 
         [0024]    In view of  FIG. 5 , which illustrates a sectional view of the connection of the transport bracket  104  to the service column  102 , it may be noted that the collar  406  defines a frustoconical top opening corresponding to the shape of the male coupling  402  of the service column  102 . Furthermore, the collar  406  defines a cylindrical lower opening with a diameter smaller that the diameter of the lower end of the frustoconical top opening of the collar  406 , such that a top end of the lower opening in the collar  406  is defined. The collar  406  surrounds a top portion of a transport bracket latching assembly. The collar  406  rests upon a generally cylindrical cage  502 , an upper portion of which is received within the lower opening in the collar  406 . 
         [0025]    The cage  502  is supported by the bearing housing  418 . In fact, the collar  406  does not rest directly upon the cage  502 , instead, the top end of the lower opening in the collar  406  is separated from a top end of the cage  502  by a wave spring  504 . 
         [0026]    The upper portion of the cage  502 , whose outer diameter corresponds to the inner diameter of the lower opening of the collar  406 , also defines a generally cylindrical opening with an inner diameter. The cage  502  also has a lower, hollow and generally cylindrical portion. 
         [0027]    The opening in the upper portion of the cage  502  is sized to receive a generally cylindrical, hollow latch  506 . The interior of an upper portion of the latch  506  supports a female electrical connector  512 . The exterior of the upper portion of the latch  506  is sized to fit inside an opening in the bottom of the coupling insert  404 . A lower portion of the latch  506  surrounds a safety mechanism  508 . The safety mechanism  508  extends down from the interior of the latch  506  into the interior of the lower portion of the cage  502 . Furthermore, the safety mechanism  508  is biased downward by a safety spring  510 . 
         [0028]    The latch  506  includes cavities for ball bearings (not shown). An example cavity is identified in  FIG. 5  by reference numeral  516 . The cage  502  includes a lower annular groove  522  in the interior wall of the upper portion of the cage  502 . Ball bearings (not shown), which are housed in the cavities  516  in the latch  506 , may be forced by the safety mechanism  508  into the lower annular groove  522  in the interior wall of the upper portion of the cage  502  when the safety mechanism  508  is in a LOCKED position. When the safety mechanism  508  is in an UNLOCKED position, the ball bearings may be allowed to be partly in the cavities  516  in the latch  506  and partly in an annular groove  517  on the outer wall of the safety mechanism  508 . 
         [0029]    A generally cylindrical upper opening in the bearing housing  418  is sized to fit the outer diameter of an outer ring  518 A of a self-aligning bearing. The self-aligning bearing also has an inner ring  518 B through which passes the lower portion of the cage  502 . The self-aligning bearing may be, for example, part no. 2204 ETN9 from AB SKF of Göteborg, Sweden. As will be clear to a person of ordinary skill in the art, the self-aligning bearing may be constructed with the inner ring  518 B and a ball assembly (not shown) contained within the outer ring  518 A, where the outer ring  518 A has a spherical raceway. This construction allows the self-aligning bearing to tolerate a small angular misalignment resulting from deflection or improper mounting. 
         [0030]    Within the bearing housing  418 , at the lower end of the cage  502 , a hollow, generally cylindrical movement limiter  520  has an inner diameter sized to fit the outer diameter of the lower portion of the cage  502 . Furthermore, a vertical-alignment spring  523  is installed between the movement limiter  520  and the inside of the bearing housing  418 . 
         [0031]    Extending up though the hollow core of the central post  416  is a central pin  514 . The central pin  514  also passes through the movement limiter  520  and into the inside of the lower portion of the cage  502 . 
         [0032]    The release button  408  is attached to a release plate  524  within the housing tube  414 . 
         [0033]    The release plate  524  extends along the top inside wall of the housing tube  414  to a position on the opposite side of the cage  502 , where a flap  526  downwardly dependent from the release plate  524  allows for a pivoting attachment, by way of a pivot pin  528 , of the release plate  524  to a side wall of the housing tube  414 . 
         [0034]    In close proximity to the portion of the cage  502  passed by the release plate  524 , a release ring  530  surrounds the cage  502 . For reasons that will become apparent hereinafter, at least one screw  533  is installed in the outer wall of the lower portion of the latch  506 , below the release ring  530 . To accommodate the screw  506  protruding from the lower portion of the latch  506 , the cage  502  has a screw-movement aperture  532 . The screw-movement aperture  532  may, for example, be oblong-shaped and allow the latch  506  a predetermined range of up and down movement within the cage  502 . 
         [0035]    The housing tube  414  is illustrated as including a plurality of apertures. Such apertures may, for instance, includes an indicator light aperture  536  through which the indicator light  410  may be visible. Additionally, a plurality of electrical outlet apertures  538  are also provided, to allow the transport bracket electrical outlets  110  to be accessible through the housing tube  414 . 
         [0036]      FIG. 6  illustrates the transport bracket  104  attached to the bracket support  210 , with the bracket support  210  detached from the hospital bed  208 . In  FIG. 7 , the bracket support  210  is illustrated detached both from the hospital bed  208  and from the transport bracket  104 . The bracket support  210  includes a transport bracket support column  702  received within a distal end of a support arm  704 . The proximal end of the support arm  704  receives a tubular bed frame insert  706 . Each end of the bed frame insert  706  is received by a bearing. The upper end of the bed frame insert  706  is received by a support arm bearing  708 , while the lower end of the bed frame insert  706  is received by a bed frame bearing  710 . Protruding from the bottom of the bed frame bearing  710  is a bed frame attachment bolt  712 . Topping the proximal end of the support arm  704  is a cap  714 . 
         [0037]    The structure of the bracket support  210  may be better understood in review of the sectional view in  FIG. 8 . As illustrated in  FIG. 8 , the transport bracket support column  702  is a hollow tube with an inwardly tapered top opening. The bottom end of the transport bracket support column  702  has an external thread for attachment to an internal thread in the distal end of the support arm  704 . The distal end of the support arm  704  defines a passage having two sections. An upper section has the previously mentioned internal thread. A lower section receives a base of an unlocking pin  810 . The unlocking pin  810  has an upstanding extension that extends into the upper section of the distal end of the support arm  704  through an o-ring  812 . An unlocking pin spring  808 , positioned in the lower portion of the distal end of the support arm  704 , biases the unlocking pin  810  toward the upper portion of the distal end of the support arm  704 . A spring retainer  806  maintains the unlocking pin spring  808  within the lower portion of the distal end of the support arm  704 . 
         [0038]    The proximal end of the support arm  704  defines a passage in which is received the support arm bearing  708 . The support arm bearing  708  defines an internally threaded recess at each end. At a top end of the support arm bearing  708 , the internally threaded recess receives a locking screw  804 . The locking screw  804  passes through an aperture in the cap  714  and, when tightened, biases a sealing ring  802  against the proximal end of the support arm  704 . The sealing ring  802  ring may, for instance, be formed of Teflon™. At a bottom end of the support arm bearing  708 , the internally threaded recess receives the bed frame attachment bolt  712 . 
         [0039]      FIG. 5  illustrates a top end of the central post  416  with a corresponding top end of the central pin  514 .  FIG. 9  illustrates a bottom end of the central post  416  with a corresponding bottom end of the central pin  514 . When the central post  416  has been received within the transport bracket support column  702 , the unlocking pin  810  is received within a correspondingly sized and shaped passage within the bottom end of the central post  416 . 
         [0040]    Extending through the central post  416  are several bearings. A central pin spring  906  fits the external dimension of the central pin  514 . At times, the central pin spring  906  biases against a spacer  902  to provide a cushioning when manually attaching the transport bracket  104  to the service column  102 . A linear  908  fits the internal dimension of the central post  416 . An intermediate bearing  904  is positioned between central pin bearing  906  and the central post bearing  908 . 
         [0041]    In overview, the transport bracket  104  may be attached to the service column  102  by arranging the transport bracket  104  so that the assembled male coupling  402  and coupling insert  404  are received within the collar  406 . Through the combined action of the cage  502 , the latch  506  and the coupling insert  404 , the transport bracket  104  automatically locks to the service column  102 , in contrast with known transport brackets for which manual effort is required to lock the transport bracket to a service column. 
         [0042]    In operation, the central post  416  and the two peripheral posts  420  of the transport bracket  104  may support a plurality of patient care equipment. An example of such patient care equipment is an infusion pump with associated fluid bag. An infusion pump may be arranged to provide a patient with a regular, metered dose of a particular fluid or medication. It should be appreciated that the transport bracket  104  is in no way limited to only carrying infusion pumps and related equipment. 
         [0043]    As the coupling insert  404  is received between the cage  502  and the latch  506 , the latch  506  is received in the bottom opening in the coupling insert  404 . The presence of the latch  506  in the bottom opening in the coupling insert  404  forces the ball bearings (not shown), retained in retaining element cavities  412  in the coupling insert  404 , into an upper annular groove  503  in the interior wall of the upper portion of the cage  502  thereby locking the cage  502  to the coupling insert  404  and, accordingly, locking the transport bracket  104  to the service column  102 . The resulting arrangement of the transport bracket  104  locked to the service column  102  is illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0044]    An operator of the equipment transfer system may bring the hospital bed  208  proximate to the arrangement of the transport bracket  104  locked to the service column  102  is illustrated in  FIG. 1 . The bottom of the central post  416  of the transport bracket  104  may then be received by the transport bracket support column  702  of the bracket support  210  attached to the hospital bed  208 . The resulting arrangement of the transport bracket  104  locked to the service column  102  and attached to the hospital bed  208  is illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0045]    Once the transport bracket  104  has been attached to the bracket support  210  attached to the hospital bed  208 , the operator may wish to disconnect the transport bracket  104  from the service column  102  to obtain the arrangement of the transport bracket  104  detached from the service column  102  and attached to the hospital bed  208 , as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . 
         [0046]    To release the cage  502  from the coupling insert  404 , the latch  506  may be removed from the bottom opening in the coupling insert  404 , thereby allowing the ball bearings to retract out of the upper annular groove  503  in the interior wall of the upper portion of the cage  502  and into the coupling insert  404  so that the coupling insert  404  may be removed from the cage  502 . 
         [0047]    However, the latch  506  is not easily removed from the bottom opening in the coupling insert  404 . When the latch  506  is in position in the bottom opening in the coupling insert  404 , the safety mechanism  508 , in the interior of the bottom end of the latch  506 , forces ball bearings, which are housed in the cavities  516  in the latch  506 , into the lower annular groove  522  in the interior wall of the upper portion of the cage  502 . Such a position of the safety mechanism  508  may be called the LOCKED position. 
         [0048]    The safety mechanism  508  may be forced upward by the central pin  514 . Indeed, the safety mechanism  508  may be forced upward to the point at which the ball bearings may be allowed to retract out of the lower annular groove  522  in the interior wall of the upper portion of the cage  502  and into the cavities  516  in the latch  506  and the annular groove  517  on the outer wall of the safety mechanism  508 . Such a position of the safety mechanism  508  may be called the UNLOCKED position. 
         [0049]    The unlocking pin  810  of the bracket support  210  on the hospital bed  208  may be arranged to force the central pin  514  upward, responsive to the bottom of the central post  416  being received within the transport bracket support column  702 , resulting in the safety mechanism  508  being forced upward into the UNLOCKED position. 
         [0050]    Even with the safety mechanism  508  in the UNLOCKED position, the cage  502  remains locked to the coupling insert  404  so long as the latch  506  remains within the coupling insert  404 . 
         [0051]    To remove the latch  506  from the interior of the coupling insert  404 , an operator of the equipment transfer system may depress the release button  408 . Depressing the release button  408  causes the release plate  524  to pivot on the pivot pin  528  and angle downwardly, thereby applying a downward force on the release ring  530 . The downward force on the release ring  530  translates to a downward force on the screw  533 , which, in turn, translates to a downward force on the latch  506 . 
         [0052]    Once the latch  506  has been removed from the interior of the coupling insert  404 , the assembled male coupling  402  and coupling insert  404  may be removed from within the collar  406 . 
         [0053]    The removal, from within the collar  406 , of the assembled male coupling  402  and coupling insert  404  detaches the transport bracket  104  from the service column  102  to obtain the arrangement of the transport bracket  104  detached from the service column  102  and attached to the hospital bed  208 , as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . 
         [0054]    The hospital bed  208 , with attached transport bracket  104  and patient care equipment (not shown) may then be moved from proximity to the service column  102 , for instance, in a patient room, to proximity to another service column, for instance, in a surgical room. 
         [0055]    Upon arrival at the surgical room, the equipment transfer system operator may attempt to insert a service column latching assembly into the collar  406  of the transport bracket  104 . 
         [0056]    The operator may not be entirely accurate with the attempt to insert the service column latching assembly into the collar  406 . However, according to one embodiment, the transport bracket  104  can accommodate small offsets. In particular, the self-aligning bearing  518 A,  518 B allows (see  FIG. 10 ) a displacement from vertical of the cage  502  and, consequently, all of the contents of the cage  502 . The extent to which the cage  502  may be vertically displaced is limited by the movement limiter  520  installed at the bottom of the cage  502 . When the cage  502  has been displaced from vertical, the vertical-alignment spring  523  is compressed, on one side, between the movement limiter  520  and the inside of the bearing housing  418 . As a consequence of this compression, the vertical-alignment spring  523  biases the cage  502  back to vertical. 
         [0057]    Patient care equipment that may be supported by any of the central post  416  and the two peripheral posts  420  of the transport bracket  104  may require alternating current (AC) power traditionally supplied by the service column  102 . 
         [0058]    An advantageous feature of the transport bracket  104  is a provision of AC power much closer to the patient care equipment, that is, the electricity outlets  110  on the housing tube  414 . AC power is supplied to the electricity outlets  110  on the housing tube  414  when the transport bracket  104  is connected to the service column  102 . In particular, a male electrical connector (not shown) is surrounded by the assembled male coupling  402  and coupling insert  404 . The male electrical connector receives power from within the service column  102  and, upon connection to the transport bracket  104 , mates with the female electrical connector  512  to form an electrical connection. From the female electrical connector  512 , electrical cabling (not shown) distributes the AC power to the transport bracket electricity outlets  110 . 
         [0059]    Notably, patient care equipment is often arranged to operate both on AC power and on direct current (DC, i.e., battery) power. The patient care equipment battery generally charges when the patient care equipment is connected to a source of AC power so that the DC power is available to operate the patient care equipment when the transport bracket  104  has been disconnected from the service column  102 , say, for patient transport from a surgical room to a recovery room. 
         [0060]    While, in the foregoing description, the bracket support  210  has been attached to the hospital bed  208 , it will be appreciated that the bracket support  210  may be attached to other structures, according to need. 
         [0061]    The above-described embodiments of the present application are intended to be examples only. Alterations, modifications and variations may be effected to the particular embodiments by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the application, which is defined by the claims appended hereto.