Abstract:
A lifting device for sick or motion-handicapped persons is disclosed. In the lifting device (1), both ends of the lifting belt (7a,7b) are fixed onto the central shaft of a belt wheel (5), and thus when a lifting motor (3) rotates the belt reel (5) via a reduction gear, both ends of the belt (7a,7b) are spirally wound on the belt reel (5), and, respectively, when the belt reel (5) rotates in the opposite direction, the belt (7a,7b) is freed from the belt reel (5). Hence, as the lifting is carried out supported at two points by means of the belt, the lifting will take place very smoothly and the lifting device will not twist.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a device for lifting a sick or motion-handicapped person, comprising a housing, a lifting motor disposed within the housing, a belt reel connected for rotation by the lifting motor, coupling means controlling the direction of rotation of the lifting motor, and a belt. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Previously known are for instance combined devices facilitating moving and lifting, which support the patient&#39;s walk and have handles which can be moved up and down, thus aiding the ascent and descent of the patient. Such walking supports provided with several wheels are known in electrically driven models wherein charged batteries serve as the energy source, or in pneumatically driven models wherein compressed-air batteries serve as the energy source. Further, lifting devices fixed to the ceiling, a rail or a jib, wherein the lifting movement is performed with one belt are known. Other devices further have a transverse bearer bar at the lower end of the belt. A device fixed to a jib located above the bed and supporting the patient or a frame with four belts is also known. However, the above-stated device does not perform the actual lifting movement, which is performed by the bed. Further, lifting devices on wheels are known, wherein one belt, a jib, or a rigid frame performs the lifting movement. In devices of this kind, the person can indeed be supported at four points, but the actual lifting is carried out with one belt, jib or frame. 
     The above devices are in fact suitable for lifting the patient at the location of said devices, but they have not been designed as devices that are transported and portable. Moreover, the lifting construction will easily become rather heavy, and the use thereof often requires that the user is well familiar with the device. With the aid of such a walking support, one can get out of bed from a sitting posture, but one cannot get up in bed from a recumbent posture to a sitting posture. 
     Norwegian publication No. 160 176 discloses an apparatus wherewith the lifting of a wheelchair patient and his moving from one location to another can be facilitated. The apparatus comprises a jib enabling displacement of the lifting machinery in the vertical direction, and fixing means connected to the other end of said jib wherewith the entire apparatus can be fixed for example onto the roof of a car similarly as a roof rack. Further, rails along which the jib can also move in the horizontal direction are fitted to the roof fasteners. The actual unit is connected through connecting means to a carriage mounted in connection with the jib and enabling a vertical movement, and control means for the unit are fitted at one end thereof and a seat suspended on a belt at the other end thereof. Thus, in a lateral view the actual unit is an elongated rectangular device. A horizontally disposed screw is provided within a housing, and therewith the first roll in a pair of rolls is moved in the horizontal plane, while the other roll serves as a diverter roll. The horizontal movement of the first roll is duplicated at the ends of the lifting belt, since the other end of the belt is fixed at the locus of the roll that serves as a diverter roll. 
     Even though the device has been constructed to be portable, it is difficult or even practically impossible for a handicapped person to use, since the device must be fixed separately onto the roof of a car or to some other corresponding location, which is impossible for a sick or handicapped person. Further, a screw as a solution is difficult to adjust, and such a screw requires a considerable space, which will necessarily make the lifting device unreasonably large, thus making it impossible for a motion-handicapped person to handle by himself. Since in the solution of said Norwegian publication the lifting is performed with one belt, the lifting and lowering operation is very unstable from the point of view of the patient. Further, it is to be noted that said device is intended almost solely for use in connection with cars to facilitate the patient&#39;moving out from the car or into the car, respectively, and therefore it is very difficult to use for instance in the interiors of a hospital where it requires a separate system for fastening to the ceiling or a wall. Also, said solution will be very expensive. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of this invention is to facilitate the moving of sick or motion-handicapped person and simultaneously to make it possible for the person to move independently with the aid of said lifting device. This invention is characterized in that the belt comprises a pair of belts fixed onto the same belt reel in such a way that the pair of belts is wound on the belt reel smoothly and spirally, one belt on top of the other. 
     The essential idea of the invention is that the lifting belt of the lifting device is fixed onto the belt reel in such a way that when the lifting belts are wound on the reel, they are wound one on top of the other simultaneously spirally and, respectively, when the lifting belts are unwound from the belt reel, they are let spirally loose from the superimposed arrangement. Further, the essential idea of the invention is that at least a pair of belts is employed for the lifting, whereby the lifting and lowering operation will be made very stable. An essential feature is also that with said arrangement the lifting device can be reduced to a very small size, as a result of which it will be very light, thus enabling the lifting device to be carried by. Further, an essential idea is that as the lifting device is made sufficiently light, a battery drive facility can be connected thereto, and thus the use of the lifting device is not tied to any certain location for the supply of energy to the lifting device, but it may be used at any location, the batteries serving as a source of energy. 
     The essential advantage of the invention is that by means of a common belt reel, two lifting belts can be moved simultaneously, whereby the lifting operation is made very stable while the person to be lifted feels safe. Further, with the belt reel arrangement it is possible to reduce the size of the lifting device considerably, which will make the device easy to carry by. A small size also enables the use of batteries as an energy source. Further, the lifting device is made very light and thereby easy to carry by. It is also very simple to use, as a result of which it is easy for the patient to learn the use of the device himself. Since the lifting device is light, the patient or motion-handicapped person can use it by himself and place it in suitable lifting locations as he chooses. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will be explained more closely in the accompanying drawings, in which 
     FIG. 1 shows a portable lifting device according to the invention in a partial cut-away view. 
     FIG. 2 shows another preferred portable lifting device according to the invention in a partial cut-away view, 
     FIG. 3 shows a attachable lifting device according to the invention in a partial cut-away view, and 
     FIG. 4 shows another attachable lifting device according to the invention in a partial cut-away view. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1 shows in a partial cut-away view a lifting device 1 comprising a housing member 2 constituting the body of the device, a motor 3 disposed within the housing 2, said motor most preferably being a DC motor, a battery set 4 serving as an energy source, preferably comprising several small discrete battery cells, a belt reel 5 connected to the motor 3 via a reduction gear, and a diverter pulley 6 guiding the belt. A belt 7a and 7b is connected to the belt reel 5 in such a way that the belts 7a and 7b are wound simultaneously on the body of the belt reel 5 spirally one on top of the other, guided by the walls 8a and 8b of the belt reel 5. The belts 7a and 7b most preferably constitute a unity, and thus when the belts 7a and 7b are wound on the belt reel 5 by means of the motor 3, a convenient carrying handle is provided by the unitary belt, which in itself facilitates the carrying of the device. Further, fixing means 9a and 9b can be attached to the unitary belt, wherewith the lifting device 1 can be suspended for instance from the ceiling. Since the suspension is at two points, the lifting device cannot twist and is therefore much more stable to handle. Arms 10a and 10b for a lifting seat are provided in the lower part of the housing 2, and the length of said arms can be adjusted in a dependence of the width of the patient or the motion-handicapped person. The lifting seat is connected to the arms 10a and 10b by means of lifting seat belts 11a and 11b. The direction of rotation of the lifting motor 3 and thereby the lifting motions of the lifting device can be regulated by means of control knobs 12a and 12b. When the lifting device 1 has been suspended by means of fixing means 9a and 9b for instance from the ceiling, the person sitting in the lifting seat may regulate his lifting or lowering movement easily by means of control knobs 12a and 12b, since the distance to the lifting device 1 does not change. 
     FIG. 2 shows another advantageous embodiment of the lifting device of the invention. The numbering of FIG. 2 corresponds for its part to the numbering of FIG. 1. The lifting device 1 comprises a housing 2 which simultaneously constitutes the body of the lifting device 1. Further, within the housing 2 are placed a motor 3, a battery 4, a belt reel 5, and diverter pulleys 6a and 6b wherethrough the lifting belt 7 which is shown by way of example as a unity in FIG. 2 is wound on the belt reel 5. The belt 7 further has fixing means 9a and 9b for fixing the lifting device to rails or similar for suspension. The belt reel 5 is connected to the motor 3 via a reduction gear. As the motor rotates the belt reel 5, the belt 7 is wound with its both ends on the belt reel 5 spirally in layers, and thus the winding is very smooth and the belt 7 can be wound by means of one belt reel 5 from both ends smoothly into the lifting device 1. The bottom of the housing 2 has apertured plates 13a and 13b bored for a fixing hook, replacing the arms 10a and 10b shown in FIG. 1; from these plates the corresponding lifting seat belts 11a and 11b can be suspended. Further, FIG. 2 shows control knobs 12a and 12b made flush with the surface of the housing 2, on account of which it is impossible to inadvertently push the lifting motor 3 on and thereby cause running down of the batteries 4 when the lifting device 1 is being transported. It is to be noted that the diverter pulleys 6a and 6b are placed with the housing 2 in such a way that when the lifting device 1 is fixed to the ceiling or the jib by means of fixing means 9a and 9b, the downright pulling force is changed, by means of the diverter pulleys 6a and 6b, into a force pressing the housing 2 in the longitudinal direction, and further when the apertured plates 13a and 13b are on the imaginary extension of belt 7, only a downright pulling force is produced in the apertured plates 13a and 13b, and thus no bending force is exerted on the housing 2. Further, such placing of the diverter pulleys 6a and 6b substantially diminishes stress on the bearings on the secondary side of the reduction gear, since the forces exerted on the belt reel 5 have substantially the direction of its tangent. Thus the housing can be manufactured of a fairly thin material and thereby made very light. 
     FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the lifting device according to the invention wherein the lifting device 14 can preferably be mounted for instance to a jib 15 on a hospital bed to be pivoted about a hinge pivot 16. A lifting motor 3 and reels 5a and 5b interconnected with a shaft 18 are placed within the housing 17 of the lifting device 14, as above. The shaft 18 may be connected to the motor 3 directly by means of a belt drive or via a reduction gear, in which case the shaft 18 can be rotated in the desired manner. Belts 19a and 19b as well as 19c and 19d, wound by means of belt reels 5a and 5b as set forth above spirally in layers, are further connected to the belt reels 5a and 5b. The walls of the belt reels 5a and 5b guide the setting of the belts on the belt reels. The motor 3 may be driven directly by mains current or, if desired, a battery arrangement as set forth above, in which case particular care will be taken of the safety of the patient. By means of belts 19a and 19b as well as 19c and 19d, a person positioned in a lifting bag, in a harness or in a lifting frame can be lifted. In this situation, the lifting operation is very smooth and takes place simultaneously at the head and feet of the person, thus giving no feeling of insecurity to the person or patient. 
     FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the lifting device of the invention, wherein diverter pulleys 20a-20d fitted at each end of the device are utilized. In other respects, the numbering of FIG. 4 corresponds to that of FIG. 3. The lifting device 14 is intended for use particularly in situations where it is impossible to employ a high lifting elevation, but the patient must be lifted very near the lifting device 14. In such a situation, the lifting takes place perpendicularly against the lifting frame. 
     The figures and the description pertaining thereto are intended only to illustrate the idea of the invention. The invention may vary within the scope of the claims, and thus the connection of the lifting means for instance to a patient bed is possible to realize by several different means. Further, the control of the lifting device can be realized in a variety of ways. For example, it is possible to mount an infrared receiver in place of the control knobs 12a and 12b, in which case the person controlling the lifting device has a corresponding infrared remote control, thus making the lifting device easier to control. A corresponding possibility for remote control can easily be provided for with a wired remote control.