Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
E'IELD O~ INVE~TION
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus
for transferring a patient, and specifically to an
improved mobile apparatus o~ which the receiving surface
of the chair is adapted to directly reach the back of the
patient lying on a horizontal resting surface such as
bed. One lateral side of said apparatus is fully
indented, in~o which the be~ is allowed to fully engage,
permitting the chair to pass over and above the bed
surface, whereby transfer of t'ne patient from a lying
position on the bed surface to the sitting position in
the receiving chair of the apparatus, or vice versa, can
be efEecte~ by simple relatively effortless turn-over
operation by the care personnel.
DI~CUSSION OF P~IOR ART
Heretofore, there have been a number of inventions
for transferring patients from one resting surface to
another, these resting surfaces including beds, operation
tables, chairs, etc.
Lamsonr in U.S. Patent No. 4,737.997, disclosed
rather familiar transferring equipment for invalids,
which incorporates a detachable chair frame that may be
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placed behind an invalid lying on its side. IJ.S~ Patent
No. 2,587,068 issued to Saunders shows a wheelchair that
converts to a flat bed, whereas U.S. Patent No. 3,116,492
to Christensen describes a split sea~ and split back-rest
that may he half-way slid beneath the patient from each
side.
Most of these prior art inventions are adapte~ to
work such that, in the transEer of the patient from the
bed surface for example to the apparatus' receiving
surface, or vice versa, the closest that the said
receiving surface can be brought towards the patient is
only to the edge of the bed. For this reason, one
inevitable drawback is commonly shared among these prior
art inventions, which is that the apparatus' transfer
surface cannot directly reach the patient, whereby it is
necessitated that the patient be manually lifted up and
moved over by the care personnel to be transferred.
Such task of moving the patient over to a transfer
equipment can be accomplished normally with minimal
effort if the patient is at the least mobile being able
to offer some assistance to the care personnel. However,
the same task of transferring the patient requires a
great deal of physical strength and effort on the part
of the care personnel if the patient's incapacitation is
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to the e~tent where the patient can offer little or no
help at all.
OB~E~S OF T~ PRESENT INYENTIO~
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to
provide an apparatus for conveniently transferring a
substantially incapacitated patient from one resting
surface to another with minimum risk o~ having the
attendant strain themselves.
It is another object of this invention to provide
an economic apparatus for transferring an invalid
patient, which may be operated by one care personnel
only.
It is still another object of this invention to
provide a mobile hand-push type geriatric chair for
transferring a patient, of which the height and reclining
angle can be adjusted to facilitate easy pick-up and
discharge of the patient.
Further objects and advantages of this invention
will become apparent from a consideration of th~ drawings
ensuing description thereo~.
2 ~ 3 ~ .~ 8
D~SCRIPTION OF DR~WINGS
Figure 1 is a side elevation of one preferred embodiment
of the claimed apparatus, represented with the chair
assembly in its up-right position. Figure 2 is another
side elevation showing the apparatus in Figure 1 with
the chair in its fully-reclined position to receive or
discharge the patient. Figure 3 is the rear view of the
apparatus illustrating the cantilever-supported nature
of the chair which is intended to keep its one side
indented and open for engagement with the bed just over
and above the bed surface.
D~TAILED D~SCRIPTIOW AND OP~RATION
In the drawings, 1 is the chair assembly of the
apparatus. The frame of said chair assembly, which is
preferably of tubular structural steel construction, is
provided in the back thereof with a handle 10 whereby the
apparatus can be steered and moved by the attendant. The
chair assembly is provided with a padded surface 14
adapted for receiving and supporting the patient in the
sitting position. With the chair suitably padded and
contoured with cushions, the apparatus may also be used
as a geriatric chair whereupon the patient can rest.
Also provided on the chair assembly for the optimum
comfort of the patient are: a pair of armrests g on both
lateral sides of the chair assembly; headrest 15 which
is provided with means to adjust the angle as ~ell as
the height to allow maximum comfort to the resting
patient; and footrest 16 which is provided with a means
to adjust the angle also for optimum comfort of the
patient. At least one of said pair of armrests 9,
however preferably on the side that engages with the bed
surface, is constructed to be detachable to effect non-
interference in the reception into, and the discharge
out of the chair, of the patient. The said chair
assembly 1 is hingedly supported on and through the
cantilever shaft 2 that is disposed horizontally in the
lateral direction relative to the apparatus. One end of
the said cantilever shaft 2 is engaged to the top of the
vertical post 6 in a manner that is firmly fixed in any
horizontal direction but that is slidably adjustable in
the vertical direction by means of a hydraulic actuator
4, which is intended for adjusting the height of the
chair so that optimal engagement of the apparatus'
receiving surface ~ith the bed surface, i.e.
substantially on the level, can be effected for ease in
the in the transfer of the patient. The side that is
opposite to the said vertical post 6 under the said
2S horizontal cantilever shaft 2 is indented and left
unoccupied. This indented open space permits the
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apparatus to come into deep engagement with the receiving
surface such as a bed, provided that the receiving
surface has thereunder a clearance suf~icient to let in
the apparatus' chassis base 13. The apparatus is provided
with another hydraulic actuator 5 which is adapted for
controllably adjustiny the reclining angle of the chair
assembly 1 in reference to the vertical post 6l at any
desired angle between the substantially ~ertical up-right
and the substantially horizontal fully~reclined positions
to facilitate ease in the reception into and out of the
chair, of the patient. For ease in operation, both
hydraulic actuators 4 and 5 are powered by a hand-
operated type hydraulic power means ~ which is provided
with a directional valve 17 adapted for switching the
direction in which the pressurized hydraulic oil is
deliv~red to either of the two hydraulic actuators 4 or
~. Supporting the entire chair assembly 1 thereupon, the
said vertical post 6 is erected fixedly on the chassis
13 which is provided thereunder a set oE castors 11
adapted for ease in moving on the floor.
In order to achieve the transfer of a patient from
the bed to the resting surEace oE the apparatus, an
attendant may perform the procedures as described in the
Eollowing: the patient is laid on its side away from the
direction in which the apparatus is to approach; the
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patient's legs are bent around the knees ~nd withdrawn
towards the abdomen resulting in sitting posture in the
lying position with body joints at substantially right
angle with each other; the chair is fully reclined with
its height adjusted to the level of the bed surface; the
detachable armrest is removed from the chair assembly;
the apparatus is pushed in its lateral direction into
engagement with the bed to the extend that the receiving
surface of the chair comes into direct and clos~ contact
with the patient's back along the bottom; the patient is
grabbed by the bent legs, and is turned over around its
side towards the apparatus while it is seen that the
angles of the bent legs are substantially maintained,
whereby without being lifted up the patient is moved over
onto the receiving surface of the apparatus' chair
assembly; the armrest removed is attached back onto the
chair assembly; the apparatus is pulled out of engage~ent
with the bed; the reclined chair is brought back to its
up-right position by adjusting means provided; and,
finally, the height of the chair may be lowered to a
desired level by means of relieving the pressure in the
hydraulic actuator 4. The transfer of the patient from
the bed surface to the transferring apparatus having been
completed, the apparatus with the patient therein may now
be moved to another desired location by the attendant.
Transferring the patient back to another resting surface
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from the apparatus can be achieved by ~ollowing the
foregoing procedure in reverse.
It is to be pointed out that, in turning the patient
over around its side by the bent legs in the above
procedure, a physics principle of lever and torque is
being utilized, whereby the patient is turned over onto
the chair's receiving surface with only a modest
magnitude of force applied to the bent knees. With the
above approach, the patient does not necessarily have to
be lifted up in order to be moved over into or out of the
transfer apparatus, which is a very important point o~
principle with regard to the operation of the present
invention.
While the above description contains many
specificities, these should not be construed as
limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as
an exemplication of preferred embodiments thereof. Many
other variations are possible such as modification of the
structure, arrangements, proportions, the element
materials and components used in the practice of the
invention to adapt to specific environments and
operation. Accordingly, the scope of the invention
should be determined not by the embodiment illustrated,
but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.
