Abstract:
A portable stand (10) is provided for the transport of infusion pumps, intravenous solutions and other associated equipment. The stand consists of a T-shaped base (16) having a base member (18) with a base leg (20) extending perpendicularly therefrom. Large, diameter non-swiveling wheels (28) are located at either end of the base member (18) and the caster wheel (22) is located at the end of the base leg (20). A skid member (46) is provided to assist in the transport of the stand on stairs. A cylinder support platform (23) may be affixed to the T-shaped base (16).

Description:
This is a continuation, of application Ser. No. 875,293, filed June 17, 1986 abandoned. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to mobile equipment stands or racks. Specifically, the present invention is a portable, mobile stand suitable for supporting bottles or other fluid containers, and includes provisions for supporting cylindrical, gas containing vessels. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     For many years, intravenous (I.V.) solutions have been administered in a fairly simple fashion with a bottle or bag of solution hanging from a pole on a simple tripod base stand. Such solutions were traditionally administered in hospitals and there was little, if any, need for transport of such stands and other associated equipment. Recently, several advances in medicine have rendered such equipment obsolete. In particular, the development of infusion pumps has allowed the very precise control of the rate and amounts of administration of I.V. solution to the patient. While such pumps are portable in the broadest sense, they remain heavier than the traditional equipment associated with I.V. administration. In particular, in recent years home parenteral nutrition (HPN) has allowed effective treatment of patients with inadequate digestive systems due to accidents or disease. In particular, HPN is the administration of all required nutrients through a catheter into the bloodstream thereby bypassing the patient&#39;s regular digestive system. HPN, then, has allowed the treatment of a number of patients to be accomplished at home without requiring the institutionalization of such patients as was formerly the case. 
     The spread of the use of I.V. equipment to the home has rendered existing I.V. stands inadequate for several reasons. In the home, the patient is often reasonably ambulatory and thus, it will be highly desirable to transport the infusion pump and/or associated equipment with the patient about the house. Homes typically have various irregular surfaces which are not easily accommodated by conventional I.V. stands. In particular, such surfaces are stairs, carpets and any other surfaces which are not typical in an institutional setting. 
     Mobile equipment stands have numerous applications not related to the supply of intravenous fluids. For example, other medical conditions require the supply of various substances, such as oxygen, to the patient on a more or less continuous basis. Such substances may be typically stored in pressurized containers, usually of a cylindrical design. Due to the unique shape of the containers, and the fact that oxygen users are not likely to also require supplies of intravenous fluid, stands designed to facilitate oxygen transport have necessarily been dedicated to that exclusive use. Thus, the supply of oxygen and the supply of I.V. fluids constitute two separate needs which have not heretofore been merged into a single, covertible mobile equipment stand. 
     Previous stands have not proven effective due to their generally small wheels as well as their extreme susceptibility to tipping, especially when heavier loads such as those of infusion pumps or cylindrical tanks are placed upon a stand. 
     The present invention addresses these problems by providing an I.V. stand which is easily capable of accommodating infusion pumps and other modern I.V. equipment. Another aspect of this invention is to provide an I.V. stand which rolls smoothly, easily and stably over irregular surfaces such as carpet and which is capable also of being stably transported up and down stairs by the patient or others. A removable support platform is provided which easily accommodates the mounting of cylindrical tanks, thereby permitting ready conversion of the stand for multiple applications. This invention provides a device which accomplishes substantial improvements in mobile stand technology using simple materials and manufacturing techniques. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A cart for the transport of intravenous equipment such as infusion pumps, bags, bottles, as well as cylindrical gas storage tanks, is provided with an upstanding pole extending from the junction of a T-shaped base. A horizontal base member which forms part of the T-shaped base has large diameter non-swivelable wheels located at either end thereof while the leg which forms part of the T-shaped base has a castering wheel located at the end. By providing a pole which extends from the junction of the T-shaped base, the infusion pump and other associated equipment may be located at approximately the center of support of the triangular planform defined by the location of the three wheels. The pole extends vertically upward from the junction of the base and is slidably adjustable to vary the height primarily of the I.V. solution. A handle is provided on the pole for ease of maneuvering the stand. A skid extends from the junction of the base opposite the base leg horizontally and angles upwardly and inwardly towards the pole. This skid serves to ease the transport of the stand up and down stairs in conjunction with the large wheels and handle. A removable support platform for the transport of gas cylinders is also provided. 
     These and other features and advantages of the invention will appear more fully from the following description made in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference characters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the several views. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the stand of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1. 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the stand of FIG. 1 as used to transport cylindrical tanks. 
     FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3. 
     FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the stand as depicted in FIG. 3. 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view shown in expanded form of the stand as depicted in FIG. 3. 
     FIG. 7 is an elevation of the longitudinal base member as shown in FIG. 1. 
     FIG. 8 is a bottom plan view of the longitudinal base member as shown in FIG. 1. 
     FIG. 9 is a plan view of the support clip as depicted in FIG. 6. 
     FIG. 10 is an elevation of the support clip as depicted in FIG. 9. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The instant invention, generally designated 10, is designed to carry an infusion pump 12 and one or more I.V. bags 14. Such pumps 12 and bags 14 are well known and hence, will not be described in more detail. The base 16 of stand 10 is generally T-shaped and is comprised of a longitudinal base member 18 joined at a junction to a base leg 20. Base leg 20 is comprised of a main portion 20a extending horizontally from the junction with base member 18, an inclined portion 20b and a wheel mounting portion 20c which is also horizontal and serves as a mount for rotatable and revolvable caster wheel 22. A brake assembly 11 is attached to caster wheel 22 to permit immobilization of the entire stand 10. 
     As best seen in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, a mounting plate 24 is located at the junction of base member 18 and base leg 20 and serves to permit the alignment and attachment of both pole 34 as well as base member 18 to base leg 20. Mounting plate 24 is centrally located on the bottom of base member 18, and is formed in a generally &#34;U&#34; shape, thereby creating a left side 3, a bottom surface 4, and a right side 5. A small orifice 6 is machined near the center of bottom surface 4, the orifice 6 being coaxially aligned with a large orifice 7 passing through the center of base member 18. In order to prevent the undesired rotation of pole 34, a slot 8 radially adjoins the circumference of large orifice 7, the slot 8 accommodating a protrusion 9 located near the base of pole 34. Once pole 34 is placed through large orifice 7, a threaded fastener 26 is inserted through small orifice 6 and rotatably inserted into the compatibly threaded interior of pole 34. Rigid attachment is accomplished by means of fastener 26, which may be tightened or loosened by hand, thereby permitting simple assembly and disassembly which will allow the invention 10 to be transported in a compact, portable configuration. 
     Wheels 28 are located at either end of base member 18 and revolve about axle 30 which is in turn affixed to base member 18 by passing through orifice 1. It is to be noted that axles 30 are fixed and thus, wheels 28 are limited to rotation in a fixed plane relative to one another and to stand 10. 
     As mentioned previously, pole 34 is mounted to base member 18 and secured through mounting plate 24. Pole 34 is comprised of a bottom section 36 and a top section 38 which are slidably connected by telescopic joint 40 of conventional construction. Joint 40 allows the bottom and top sections 36 and 38 to be slidably adjusted relative to one another in order to vary the height of bag 14. A fitting 42 is located at the top of section 38 from which extend hooks 44, the hooks 44 serving to support one or more I.V. bags 14. A cap 13 may also be placed on top of section 38 when fitting 42 is not in use. 
     A support 15 may also be placed over section 38 as needed. As best seen in FIGS. 1, 6, 9 and 10, the support clip 15 contains mounting hole 55 and slides over section 38 and is secured by thumb screw 54. The support clip 15 is formed as a first arm 56 and an opposing second arm 57, the arms being composed of a resilient material tending to resist separation of the arms. The two arms taper to form two sets of opposed planforms, thereby creating a large grip 58 and small grip 59. In operation, grip 58 secures the spike of the I.V. set or the small grip 59 may be used to secure the I.V. line 60. A one-half radius 61a and 61b located on each side of clip 15 allows the index and middle finger of a human hand to grip the support 15 while the thumb snaps the spike site into grip 58. 
     Another aspect of the present invention is handle 17, which may be attached anywhere along pole 34 and adjusted at will, by sliding, along the length of pole 34, the attachment being accomplished by means of pole gripping element 19. Gripping element 19 is a hollow cylinder compatibly sized to encompass pole 34, and is mechanically interconnected to handle 17 such that rotation of handle 17 will permit increasing or decreasing the rigidity of the interconnection between pole 34 and gripping element 19. 
     A skid 46 is utilized to ease the transport of stand 10 over stairways and is comprised generally of an attachment flange 50 which extends horizontally from the junction of base member 18 and base leg 20, and then angles acutely upwardly thereby forming angled portion 48 towards pole 34, as can be seen particularly in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 6, skid 46 is mounted by inserting attachment flange 50 between bottom surface 4 and base member 18. A mounting hole 21 on attachment flange 50 is coaxially aligned with large orifice 7 and small orifice 6, thereby permitting fastener 26 to rigidly secure skid 46 to base member 18. 
     FIGS. 4 and 5 show in particular the outline of the area of support 52. Any substantial weight located outside of that outline will, of course, result in instability of stand 10. By locating pole 34 at the junction of base member 18 and base leg 20, the location of infusion pump 12 is at approximately the center point of the area of support indicated by numeral 52. This results in the maximum stability of stand 10. As seen in FIG. 2, a horizontal force acting against pole 36 will act substantially through the axis 62 of wheel 22. Pole 36 is anchored at the centerline of wheels 28, thus producing no pitching movement upon the application of a horizontal force. The triangular planform therefore allows, in conjunction with this particularwheel and base arrangement, for ease of maneuvering the stand over irregular surfaces, stairs and the like. 
     Another novel feature of the present invention resides in the gas cylinder support mechanism shown generally at 23. The support mechanism includes a support tray 2, the tray being formed generally as three overlapping circular planforms shown in FIG. 6 as first receptacle 2a, second receptacle 2b and third receptacle 2c. In order to preserve the balance of stand 10, a single cylinder should be placed in second receptacle 2b, whereas two cylinders should be placed individually in first receptacle 2a and third receptacle 2c, respectively. The cylinders 25 are of standard shape and dimension and fit snugly into the circular receptacles. 
     The support tray 2 is rigidly attached to a left bracket 27 and a right bracket 29, the two brackets being substantially planar, mirror images of each other. As best seen in FIG. 5, the brackets are mounted on the bottom surface of support tray 2, and are separated substantially symmetrically so as to encompass a distance slightly greater than the width of base leg 20, thereby preventing lateral movement of the tray 2. 
     Each bracket 27 and 29 includes a lip, 27a and 29a, respectively, which forms a substantially perpendicular protrusion from the parent bracket. The lips 27a and 29a are located on the brackets such that the distance between the lip and the rear edge 31 of tray 2 is only slightly greater than the width of base member 18, thereby preventing longitudinal movement of the tray 2. The tray 2 is constructed of a dense material, thereby trending to resist vertical movement of the mounted tray, such tendency being enhanced by the weight of the cylinder(s) 25 which may be mounted in the receptacles. Thus, the tray 2 is constrained in all three axes without the use of any fasteners whatsoever. 
     The mounted cylinder(s) 25 are stabilized by neck brace 33, which is affixed to pole 34 by clamp 35. Neck brace 33 includes a left slot 37 and a right slot 39, the slots corresponding to left tab 41 and right tab 43 of clamp 35. Each tab fits into the corresponding slot. The rotation of clamp handle 45 urges concavity 47 of neck brace 33 toward pole 34, thereby forming a relatively rigid interconnection. 
     The cylinder(s) 25 are secured to neck brace 33 by placing the stem of the cylinder within either first semicircular fillet 49 or second semicircular fillet 51. A hookable tape fastener 53 is used to secure the cylinder stem within each fillet and to permit its easy removal. 
     While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, it should be understood that various changes, adaptions and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.