Patent ID: 7062805

Claim:
A wheeled carriage for supporting a patient in a substantially horizontal position, comprising: a patient support having a length, opposing ends of the length comprising a head end and a foot end of said patient support, said patient support having a pair of lateral sides intermediate the head and foot ends; a wheeled base having a length and supporting said patient support and enabling movement of said patient support, said wheeled base including at least four floor surface engaging and castered wheels spaced from one another; an auxiliary wheel support structure secured to said wheeled base and supporting at least one auxiliary wheel about an axis transverse to the length of said wheeled base, wherein said auxiliary wheel support structure is configured to enable movement of said at least one auxiliary wheel and to support said at least one auxiliary wheel in a first deployed position and in a second stowed position; and a control apparatus for controlling said auxiliary wheel support structure to move said at least one auxiliary wheel between at least the first deployed position whereat said at least one auxiliary wheel is in contact with a floor surface, and the second stowed position whereat said at least one auxiliary wheel is out of engagement with the floor surface, said control apparatus including at least one manipulative member connected to a transverse control shaft, the transverse control shaft being connected to said auxiliary wheel support structure, said transverse control shaft being lowered relative to the wheeled base during lowering movement of said at least one auxiliary wheel to the deployed position and moved relative to the wheeled base during upward movement of said at least one auxiliary wheel to the stowed position.