Patent ID: 6986310

Claim:
A transporter to facilitate the movement of a person having impaired or no self-locomotion from a location at a first elevation and location to a laterally spaced-apart location at a higher or lower elevation, comprising: a base having a recessed portion, a horizontal orientation and a vertical axis; wheels enabling said base to be moved in said horizontal orientation in any lateral direction relative to said vertical axis, said wheels being freely rotatable around axes parallel to said vertical axis and spaced therefrom; a platform having an upper surface normal to said axis said surface being planar, smooth, and devoid of any protrusion above said upper surface; a jack mounted to the recessed portion of said base and below said platform, extending between them so as to enable and power the selective raising or lowering of the platform relative to the base, said jack including a threaded screw having a locking characteristic, whereby to prevent lowering of the platform by its weight and by its weight combined with a load on it, except when the screw is positively turned; a power source to activate said jack by turning the screw; a control to enable actuation of said jack by said power source, whereby said transporter can be moved adjacent to a place where a person is supported, raised or lowered so as slidably to receive said person, wheeled to another location, then raised or lowered to permit the person to be slided onto another place.