Patent Publication Number: US-2013232885-A1

Title: Equipment Storage Soffit Assembly

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The subject matter described herein relates to an equipment storage soffit assembly, components of which may be components of a headwall unit for a hospital room. One example application for the storage soffit assembly is for storing a traverse rail. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Hospital rooms may include occupant lift systems for moving patients a short distance, particularly patients with severe mobility impairments. Such systems include ceiling tracks and a traverse rail. When the lift system is not in use it is desirable to conceal the traverse rail in a storage space to improve the aesthetics of the room. The present application discloses a soffit assembly suitable for such equipment storage. 
     SUMMARY 
     An equipment storage soffit assembly comprising 
     a base, and a blocker door which is movable relative to the base between a closed state and a transit state. In the closed state the door cooperates with the base to form a storage space bounded at its bottom by the base and at its front by at least a portion of the blocker door. In the transit state the door is displaced from its closed state to accommodate transit of equipment between a stored position and a deployed position. The stored and deployed positions are on sides of the door that are opposite to each other when the door is in the closed state. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The foregoing and other features of the various embodiments of the equipment storage soffit assembly described herein will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a hospital room showing a headwall unit, a bed, components of a patient lift system including a traverse rail, and an equipment storage soffit including a blocker door for concealing the traverse rail when the rail is not in use. 
         FIGS. 2-4  are side elevation views of the soffit of  FIG. 1  showing the blocker door in a closed state, a transit state and an open state. 
         FIG. 5  is a plan view taken in the direction  5 - 5  of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIGS. 6-11  are perspective and side elevation views of a second variant of the soffit assembly showing a door component thereof in a closed state ( FIGS. 6-7 ) a transit state ( FIGS. 8-9 ) and an open state ( FIGS. 10-11 ). 
         FIGS. 12-18  are perspective and side elevation views of a third variant of the soffit assembly showing a door component thereof in a closed state with a traverse rail stored in a storage space bounded by the soffit ( FIGS. 12-13 ) a transit state corresponding to a traverse rail moving from its stored position to a deployed position ( FIGS. 14-15 ) a closed state with the traverse rail deployed outside the storage space ( FIGS. 16-17 ) and a transit state corresponding to the traverse rail moving from its deployed position to its stored position ( FIG. 18 ). 
         FIG. 19  is a perspective view of a fourth variant of the soffit assembly showing the door component thereof and an actuating mechanism usable to manually move the door between its closed, transit and open states. 
         FIGS. 20-23  are side elevation views of a fifth variant similar to that of  FIGS. 2-4  but in which displacement of the door causes translation of the traverse rail along at least part of its path of longitudinal travel. 
         FIG. 24  is a perspective view of a sixth variant of the soffit assembly showing a door component thereof and a powered actuator commanded by way of a switch to move the door between its closed, transit and open states. 
         FIG. 25  is a perspective view of a seventh variant of the soffit assembly similar to that of  FIG. 24  but employing a proximity sensor for commanding the actuator. 
         FIGS. 26-29  are side elevation views showing an eighth variant of the soffit assembly similar to that of  FIGS. 12-18  with a spring loaded hinge connecting the blocker door to a soffit base. 
         FIGS. 30-33  are side elevation views showing a ninth variant of the soffit assembly in which the blocker door is a flap made of a nonrigid material 
         FIGS. 34-37  are side elevation views showing a tenth variant of the soffit assembly in which the blocker door is located behind a soffit lip ( FIGS. 34-35 ) or in front of a soffit lip ( FIGS. 36-37 ) and translates transversely relative to the soffit base to move between the closed state and the transit state. 
         FIGS. 38-39  are side elevation views showing an eleventh variant of the soffit assembly in which the door and soffit base are first and second bars of a four bar linkage which also includes third and fourth bars extending between the base and the door. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  shows a room in a hospital or other health care facility. The room includes a hospital bed  30  and a headwall unit  32 . A typical headwall unit includes features and components such as electrical outlets, medical gas outlets, cabinets, shelves and equipment bays, not shown in  FIG. 1 . Further description of headwall units can be found in existing literature, including US Patent Application Publication 2010/0095604.  FIG. 1  also shows a set of directional arrows  34 ,  36 ,  38  indicating longitudinal, lateral and vertical directions. 
       FIG. 1  and  FIGS. 2-4  also show a lift system used for moving a patient between, for example, the bed and a stretcher, the bed and another bed or the bed and a chair. Use of the lift system is usually reserved for patients with severe mobility impairments. The lift system includes a pair of longitudinally extending tracks  44  tied to the structure of the facility by appropriate structural connections  46 . The lift system also includes a traverse rail  48  connected to the tracks so that the rail can move along the tracks in the longitudinal direction. The lift system also includes a lift motor  50  inside a motor housing  52  suspended from the traverse rail, a tether or strap  54  extending from the motor and a hook  56  attached to the free end of the strap. A caregiver can move the traverse rail and motor housing in the longitudinal direction by pulling on the strap or hook in a direction having a longitudinal component. The caregiver can move the motor laterally along the traverse rail by pulling on the strap or hook in a direction having a lateral component. The caregiver can use a remote control unit, not shown, to command operation of the motor in order to retract or extend the strap, thus raising or lowering the hook. In a typical operation the caregiver positions the motor housing above a patient occupying the bed, secures the patient to a harness or sling, not shown, hooks the sling to hook  56 , and then uses the control unit to operate the motor and raise the patient off the bed. The caregiver then uses strap  54  or hook  56  to pull the motor housing laterally and/or longitudinally as already describe to position the patient over a destination location, such as a nearby chair. The caregiver then operates the motor again to lower the patient into the chair. 
     The room also includes a lift motor cabinet  60  beneath one of the tracks  44 . Cabinet  60  includes a door  62  and a back wall  64 . When the motor is not in use, the caregiver can improve the overall aesthetics of the room by using the strap or hook to pull the motor housing to a point on traverse rail  48  underneath track  44 , and then using strap  54  or hook  56  to pull the traverse rail longitudinally until the motor housing resides inside cabinet  60 . The caregiver can then close cabinet door  62 . Although the illustration shows only one cabinet, a second cabinet could be provided beneath the other track. 
     The room also includes an equipment storage soffit assembly  70  comprising a base  72 , a blocker door  74  which is movable relative to the base between a closed state ( FIG. 2 ) and a transit state ( FIG. 3 ). The blocker door is also movable to an open state ( FIG. 4 ). A hinge  76  connects the blocker door to a door support structure, such as base  72  of the soffit assembly. The base may be a component of headwall unit  32 . In the closed state door  74  cooperates with base  72  to form a storage space  80  bounded at its bottom by the base  72  and at its front by at least a portion of blocker door  74 . In the illustrated embodiment the storage space is also bounded at its back by wall  82  of the facility and at its top by the ceiling of the facility. In the transit state the door is displaced from its closed state to accommodate transit of equipment, specifically traverse rail  44 , between a stored position  86  inside the storage space and a deployed position  88  outside the storage space. The transit state of the blocker door includes not only the position seen in  FIG. 3  but other transitional positions between the open and closed state. The stored and deployed positions are on sides of the door that are opposite to each other when the door is in the closed state. When the lift motor housing is stored in its storage cabinet  60 , traverse rail  44  is concealed in the storage space  80  behind the blocker door thereby further improving the aesthetics of the room. 
     Illustrated blocker door  74  includes a partition  90  and a lever  92  which extends transversely relative to the partition. The lever may be one or more local angle elements or may be a more laterally continuous component such as the lever seen in  FIG. 5 , which includes cutouts  94  to accommodate recessed light fixtures  96 . In the illustrated embodiment partition  90  and lever  92  are oriented substantially perpendicularly to each other such that with the door in the closed state, partition  90  extends vertically and perpendicularly relative to base  72  and one leg of the lever extends away from the partition toward the back of the storage space. The soffit assembly of  FIGS. 1-4  includes a damper  100  extending between the lever and the base. 
     In operation a caregiver opens door  62  of cabinet  60  and pulls on strap  54  or hook  56  to pull the motor housing  52  longitudinally out of the cabinet. Because the motor housing is suspended from the traverse rail, the traverse rail also travels longitudinally. When the traverse rail contacts the blocker door the rail begins to swing the door open by rotating the door about hinge  76 . With additional longitudinal travel of the traverse rail the door continues to open ( FIG. 3 ) and, in due course, becomes fully open ( FIG. 4 ). The damper  100  prevents the door from slamming open. When the caregiver wishes to store the motor housing and traverse rail he or she pulls the motor housing back toward cabinet  60 . When the traverse rail contacts lever  92  the traverse rail begins to swing the door closed. With additional longitudinal travel of the traverse rail the door continues to close and, in due course, returns to the closed state of  FIG. 2 . Damper  100  prevents the door from slamming closed. 
       FIGS. 6-11  show a soffit assembly  70  which includes a back element  104  which bounds storage space  80  at its back. The soffit assembly also includes a friction reducer for reducing friction between the door and an item of equipment during equipment transit. The friction reducer can take a number of forms, including patches or strips of low friction coating material applied to the door. The illustrated embodiment of the soffit assembly includes a first friction reducer in the form of a first roller  110  for reducing friction between the door and an item of equipment, e.g. traverse rail  48 , during equipment transit out of the storage space, and a second friction reducer in the form of a second roller  112  for reducing friction between the lever and the item of equipment during equipment transit into the storage space. The first roller is spaced from hinge  76  in partition direction P by a first roller offset distance  114  selected such that the first roller intercepts an item of equipment transiting out of the storage space. The second roller is spaced from hinge  76  in lever direction L by a second roller offset distance  116  such that the second roller intercepts the item of equipment transiting into the storage space. 
     The embodiment of  FIGS. 6-11  operates in a manner similar to the embodiment of  FIGS. 2-4 . As a caregiver pull motor housing  52  longitudinally out of storage space  80  the traverse rail contacts the first rollers  110  causing the blocker door to begin to swing open. The rollers rotate about their own axes to accommodate the relative motion between the traverse rail and the blocker door. With additional longitudinal travel of the traverse rail the door continues to open ( FIGS. 8-9 ) and, in due course, becomes fully open ( FIGS. 10-11 ). When the caregiver wishes to store the motor housing and traverse rail the traverse rail contacts the second rollers  112  causing door  74  to begin to swing closed. Once again the rollers rotate about their own axes to accommodate the relative motion between the traverse rail and the blocker door. With additional longitudinal travel of the traverse rail the door continues to close and, in due course, returns to the closed state of  FIGS. 6-7 . 
       FIGS. 12-18  show an embodiment of the soffit assembly in which the door support structure is vertically spaced from soffit base  72 . Specifically the door support structure is the facility ceiling or a suitable support component vertically spaced from the base. The door is a segmented door, with each segment  74 A,  74 B,  74 C laterally offset from its neighboring segment to define intersegment spaces  120  laterally aligned with tracks  44 , and with a hinge or hinges  122  dedicated to each door for connecting the door segments to the ceiling or other door support in such a way that no hinge extends laterally across an interhinge space  120  or track  44 . As a result the portion  124  of traverse rail  48  that extends into the track is able to travel longitudinally past the hinge. 
     In the soffit assembly of  FIGS. 12-18  the door is oriented perpendicularly to the base when the door is in its closed state ( FIGS. 12 ,  13 ,  16 ,  17 ) and nonperpendicularly to the base when the door is in its transit state ( FIGS. 14 ,  15 ,  18 ). As appreciated best from  FIGS. 13 and 18 , the storage space has a depth no less than the depthwise dimension E of the item of equipment to be stored in storage space  80  plus a depthwise projection DP of door height H when the traverse rail is transiting into the storage space and the door is at its maximum displacement. The maximum displacement occurs just before the traverse rail clears the bottom edge of the door as seen in  FIG. 18 . The minimum depth allows the traverse rail to overtravel into space  80  far enough to allow the door to swing shut under the influence of gravity. 
       FIG. 19  shows a variant of the soffit assembly including an actuating lever  130  extending from door  74 , a connecting link  132  having a first end  134  connected to the actuating lever and a second end  136  connected to a handle  138 . Displacement of the door can be effected by transfer of motion from the handle to the actuating lever. Specifically, linear motion of the handle pivots the door on its hinge. A user uses the handle to swing the door open in preparation for transiting the traverse rail from its stored position in storage space  80  to a deployed position outside the storage space. The user uses the handle to swing the door closed after the traverse rail has been returned to the storage space. If desired the user can also close the door during the time the traverse rail is deployed. The mechanism of  FIG. 19  is illustrative; mechanisms other than the linkage of  FIG. 19  can be used. 
     The embodiment of  FIGS. 20-23  is similar to that of  FIGS. 2-4 . In  FIGS. 2-4  the item of equipment transiting between its stored and deployed positions causes displacement of the door. By contrast, in  FIGS. 20-23  displacement of the door causes translation of the equipment along at least part of its path of longitudinal travel. In  FIG. 20  traverse rail  48  is at its stored position  86 . In  FIGS. 21-22  a user, having translated the traverse rail toward the front end of space  80 , uses linkage  142  to pivot door  74  about hinge  76  so that lever portion  92  of the door scoops the traverse rail out of space  80 . In  FIG. 23  the user, having translated the traverse rail to a position just outside space  80  uses linkage  142  to pivot door  74  about hinge  76  so that partition portion  90  of the door scoops the traverse rail back into space  80 . Using the door as a scoop in this fashion may be especially useful when placing the traverse rail back in its stored position  86  because back wall  64  of lift motor cabinet  60  limits the user&#39;s ability to exert a longitudinal force component on tether  54  as the motor housing gets nearer to the back wall  64 . 
       FIGS. 24-25  show a variant of the soffit assembly whose blocker door  74  includes a partition  90  hinged to a base (as in  FIG. 3 , for example)  72 . An actuating lever  130  extends from the door. A powered actuator  150  is connected to the actuating lever and mounted to a mechanical ground such as facility wall  82 . A signal generator commands operation of the actuator. In  FIG. 24  the signal generator is a manually operated switch  152 . A user uses the switch to command the door to open prior to moving the traverse rail out of storage space  80  or to close after having moved the traverse rail back into the space. In  FIG. 25  the signal generator is a proximity sensor  154  for detecting proximity of the equipment and the door. As the user pulls the stored traverse rail toward the front end of space  80 , the proximity sensor senses the proximity of the door and generates a signal to command operation of actuator  150  thereby pivoting the door on its hinge and opening the door. Similar proximity sensing is used to close the door after the traverse rail has been returned to the storage space. If required the proximity readings from sensor  154  can be used to synchronize movement of the door with the position of the traverse rail while the door is in its transit state. 
       FIGS. 26-29  show an embodiment similar to that of  FIGS. 12-18  except that hinge  76  connects blocker door  74  to soffit base  72  rather than to a door support structure vertically spaced from the soffit base. A spring  156  has a neutral or undeflected state in which it holds the door in its closed state, i.e. with door partition  90  in a vertical orientation. When the door is displaced from its closed state by contact with the traverse rail as the rail moves out of or into the storage space ( FIGS. 27-28 ) the spring exerts a counterforce so that once the traverse rail clears the door ( FIG. 29 ) the counterforce urges the door back to its closed state. 
       FIGS. 30-33  shows a variant in which blocker door  74  is a flap  158  made of a nonrigid material. One example, as shown, is a fabric that hangs vertically in the closed state and is pushed aside by the traverse rail during transit. Another example is a material such as a rubber whose modulus of elasticity enables it to be displaced from a closed state (oriented vertically) to a transit state (flexed by contact with the traverse rail as the rail moves out of or into storage space  80 ) and to spring back to the closed state after the traverse rail has cleared the door. 
       FIGS. 34-37  show variants of soffit assembly  70  in which blocker door  74  translates transversely relative to the base to move between the closed state and the transit state. In  FIGS. 34-35  soffit base  72  includes a lip  160 , and door  74  is a vertically slidable panel  162  connected by a sliding connector  164  to the side of the lip facing storage space  80 . A powered actuator  150  is connected to the panel and mounted to a mechanical ground. A signal generator commands operation of the actuator. Signal generators such as the manually operated switch  152  of  FIG. 24  and the proximity sensor  154  of  FIG. 25  are suitable.  FIGS. 36-37  show an arrangement similar to that of  FIG. 34-35  except that vertically slidable panel  162  is connected by a sliding connector  164  to the side of lip  160  facing away from storage space  80  rather than toward storage space  80 . 
       FIGS. 38-39  shows a variant of soffit assembly  70  in which door  74  is a panel  162  and in which the door and soffit base  72  are first and second bars of a four bar linkage. The four bar linkage also includes third and fourth bars  166 ,  168  each extending between the base and the door. In operation the door translates along an arc  170  to move between the closed state and the transit state. Any suitable actuation scheme may be used such as a manual system (e.g. FIGS.  19  and  20 - 23 ) or a powered system (e.g.  FIGS. 24 ,  25 ). 
     Although this disclosure refers to specific embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the subject matter set forth in the accompanying claims.