Patent ID: 8832874

Claim:
A person moving device (patient mover) for moving a patient of limited mobility, the device having a patient side and a user side and comprising: a lower floor engaging frame part, upper patient carrying part adapted to carry a patient by engaging the patient's torso from the front, mounted to the lower frame part for movement between a patient load-unload position and a patient transport position in which the patient's buttocks are elevated relative to the load-unload position, the upper patient carrying part being mounted to the lower frame part by a 4-bar linkage that is configured to enable curvilinear movement of a point on the upper patient carrying part that abuts the top of the patient's sternum through a curvilinear path about virtual axis extending across the patient and positioned such that it passes through the center ⅓ rd of the distance between the two vertical planes coincident with the knee and hip joints of the patient when the patient is in the load-unload position so that the patient's torso moves substantially by rolling about an axis across the device and the patient and substantially about a center of mass of the patient such that any vertical movement of the center of mass of the patient when moving from the load-unload position to the transport position, or vice versa, is less than approximately 5% of the height of the patient, and a handle by which a user can cause the upper patient carrying part to move from the load-unload position to the transport position, and wherein the 4-bar linkage comprises links that are pivotably connected by pivotable connections such that all the pivotable connections are located forward, in the direction extending from the patient side to the user side of the device, of a vertical plane extending across the device through the virtual axis, throughout all movement positions of the upper patient carrying part along the curvilinear path between the patient load-unload position and the patient transport position.