Patent Publication Number: US-11395781-B2

Title: Transfer assist pivot board

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is related to and claims priority from and the benefit of U.S. provisional patent of the title, application Ser. No. 62/978,088 filed Feb. 18, 2020, the disclosure of which application is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This disclosure relates generally to a mechanical apparatus to help a care giver transfer a patient from one place to another place, and more particularly to a transfer assist board apparatus that has a pivoting upper plate to facilitate the transfer of a patient from a bed to a chair, for example. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A care giver may have to help a patient with mobility challenges such as paraplegia, obesity, or cardiovascular disease to move from a wheel chair to a bed, for example, or vice verse. During such transfers of location, there is always a risk that the patient will fall. Prior solutions provide a lazy susan type of apparatus with a foot plate substantially larger than the base plate and the pivot point in the center. These solutions were typically too small for a physically challenged person to maintain proper body alignment. The circular shape of prior devices prevents a care giver from being close to the person to lend adequate assistance because there no space provided for a care giver&#39;s feet to stand close to the apparatus. The lazy susan circular rotation provides no stop feature, which can result in over rotation that complicates the transfer and increases the chances of a fall. 
     There is an unmet need, therefore, for a solution to reduce the risk of patient harm during a transfer and to enhance a care giver&#39;s effectiveness. This problem is sought to be solved here with an apparatus to facilitate the transfer of a patient with a transfer board that has an upper foot plate that pivots on a base plate from an off-center point to rotate the patient to from a first position to a second position, and which provides a stop feature to prevent over rotation. These features reduce the risk of a patient fall and enhance care giver effectiveness. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore an aim of the present invention to provide a transfer assist board to reduce the risk of harm to a patient during a transfer. The transfer assist board has a base plate with a non-skid under-layer and a pivoting foot plate rotatably mounted to the base plate. The top surface of the foot plate is also provided with a non-skid surface to inhibit the patient&#39;s feet from slipping. Recessed wheels mounted to the under-side of the foot plate allow the the foot plate to smoothly swivel or pivot around a pivot point and along the upper surface of the base plate. Stops are provided to constrain the swivel of the foot plate so that it the swivel is limited to a first position and a second position. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure, and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a vertical isometric side view diagrammatic illustration of an exemplary embodiment of a transfer assist apparatus of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a top view diagrammatic illustration of an exemplary embodiment of a foot plate of the transfer assist apparatus of  FIG. 1   
         FIG. 3  is a top view diagrammatic illustration of an exemplary embodiment of a base plate of the transfer assist apparatus of of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a bottom view diagrammatic illustration of an exemplary embodiment of the foot plate of the transfer assist apparatus of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded side view of an exemplary embodiment of a barrel and screw assembly to connect the top plate and base plate of a transfer assist board of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded front view of an exemplary embodiment of a wheel assembly of a transfer assist board of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is an exploded side perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the wheel assembly of a transfer assist board of  FIG. 6 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following discussion is directed to various embodiments of the invention. The term “invention” is not intended to refer to any particular embodiment or otherwise limit the scope of the disclosure. Although one or more of these embodiments may be preferred, the embodiments disclosed should not be interpreted, or otherwise used, as limiting the scope of the disclosure, including the claims. In addition, one skilled in the art will understand that the following description has broad application, and the discussion of any embodiment is meant only to be exemplary of that embodiment, and not intended to intimate that the scope of the disclosure, including the claims, is limited to that embodiment. Drawings are not necessarily to scale or in proportion where needed to clearly illustrate a feature. 
     In the following discussion and in the claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to.” Also, the term “connect” or “connected” where used if at all is intended to mean either an indirect or direct connection. Thus, if a first component connects to a second component, that connection may be through a direct connection or through an indirect connection via other components and connections. 
     Certain terms are used throughout the following description and claims to refer to particular system components and method steps. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, different companies may refer to a component by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function. 
     Refer now to  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 1  is a vertical isometric side view diagrammatic illustration of an exemplary embodiment of a transfer assist apparatus of the present disclosure. A transfer assist board  100  consists of a base plate  110 , preferably made of steel, with a rubber or other suitable non-skid material underlay  310 . Base plate  110  has raised edging  115  that lines the top portion  120  of base plate  110  to act as a stopper during rotation of foot plate  130 . Base plate  110  is shaped to provide a concave indentation with edges that form an angle A, preferably of 90°, around which angle foot plate  130  swivels during operation of the apparatus. 
     Foot plate  130  rests on top of base plate  110  and is secured in place by a barrel  140  that is affixed to the top of base plate  110  to create a pivot point. A hole  145 , preferably having a bearing (not shown), through foot plate  130  is disposed around the circumference of barrel  140  on base plate  110 . A screw  510  is threaded through hole  145  on foot plate  130  to pivotally secure foot plate  130  to base plate  110 . Accordingly, foot plate is able to pivot, rotate or swivel easily around the pivot point on roller wheels which roll on the top surface of base plate  110 . 
       FIG. 2  is a top view diagrammatic illustration of an exemplary embodiment of a foot plate of the transfer assist apparatus of  FIG. 1 . Foot plate  130  is preferably made of aluminum, has a rubber or other suitable nonskid lining  135  on the top of the plate, and has raised edging  154  around the top and sides of the plate, which acts to keep one&#39;s feet from slipping off of the foot plate  130 . The edging also has an opening  152  on each side of foot plate  130  to act as handles, to lift the device. Barrel  140  is threadedly disposed in hole  145 . 
       FIG. 3  is a top view diagrammatic illustration of an exemplary embodiment of a base plate of transfer assist apparatus of of  FIG. 1 . The edging  115  on the base plate  110  acts to stop the circular rotation of the foot plate to a total of 90 degrees, preferably, from one end of the rotation to the other. At least a portion of the bottom surface of base plate  110  has a non-skid layer  310  to reduce inadvertent skidding of the base plate during operation of the apparatus. Barrel  140  is threadedly disposed in hole  145  to pivotally connect base plate  110  to foot plate  130 . 
     Certain alternative exemplary embodiments provide a base plate  110  that is larger than foot plate  130 . That is, it&#39;s perimeter extends beyond the perimeter of the footplate  130 . The larger perimeter endows enhanced stability to the apparatus, particularly in comparison to prior lazy susan type devices where the base plate and the foot plate are circular with essentially the same circumference. 
     While the base plate  110  is made preferably of steel, exemplary alternative embodiments may have a base plate of some other suitably strong material such as of aluminum or plastic, for example. 
       FIG. 4  is a bottom view diagrammatic illustration of an exemplary embodiment of the foot plate of the transfer assist apparatus of  FIG. 3 . The foot plate  130  has an array of partially recessed roller wheels  410  on the underside. Partially recessing the wheels advantageously gives the wheels a relatively low profile. Pockets  415  in the same shape of the wheel  410 , are present under each wheel  410  to allow the wheels to be partially recessed. Each of the roller wheels  410  are attached to the underside of the foot plate via two small screws  610   a / 610   b . The wheels  410  are aligned in an arced shape on the underside bottom of the foot plate to allow the foot plate to rotate about the base plate in a arcuate motion. 
     The pivot point of the foot plate is at top of the foot and base plate, at the location of the barrel  140  and hole  145 . There are three additional stabilizing wheels  420 , one in the center of the base plate, and two at the top on either side of the barrel. 
     The wheels  410  are preferably made of steel or some other suitably metal. Exemplary alternative embodiments, however, provide wheels of durable plastic, teflon, resin, composites, and the like, provided that the material is suitable to withstand the forces to which the wheels are subjected. 
       FIG. 5  is an exploded side view of an exemplary embodiment of a barrel and screw assembly to connect the foot plate and base plate of a transfer assist board of the present invention. Barrel  140  consists of collar portion  520 , axel portion  530  and base portion  540 . Threaded hole  515  traverses collar  520 , axel  530  and base  540 . Screw  512  has a threaded stem  510  which threadedly mates with barrel hole  515 . 
       FIG. 6  is an exploded front view of an exemplary embodiment of a wheel assembly  605  of a transfer assist board of the present invention. Wheel  140  has two terminal sides  625   a / 625   b  opposite of each other and is rotatably disposed around axel  620 . Axel  620  extends for a length beyond each of the terminal sides  625   a / 625   b  of wheel  140 . Threaded holes  615   a  and  615   b  receive screws  610   a / 610   b  via threaded stem portions  612   a / 612   b , respectively to fasten wheel assembly  605  to the underside of base plate  110 . 
       FIG. 7  is an exploded side perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the wheel assembly of a transfer assist board of  FIG. 6 . Wheel  140  has two terminal sides  625   a / 625   b  opposite of each other and is rotatably disposed around axel  620 . Axel  620  extends for a length beyond each of the terminal sides  625   a / 625   b  of wheel  140 . Threaded holes  615   a  and  615   b  receive screws  610   a / 610   b  via threaded stem portions  612   a / 612   b , respectively to fasten wheel assembly  605  to the underside of base plate  110 . 
     The transfer assist board described herein reduces friction under a physically dependent person&#39;s feet during a standing or squat pivot transfer. The person is able to maintain proper alignment with their feet under their knees during the transfer process. A care giver is able to be close to the person to provide physical support and assist with the swivel. A stop feature is provided to prevent over rotation. The indented shape of the apparatus provides a space where a care giver can put their feet or a foot so that the care giver can step in close to the patient to lend aid and stability during the transfer. 
     Many modifications and other embodiments of the transfer assist board described herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.