Invalid Transporter

Abstract

An invalid transporter is provided in which an elongated seat is carried at an adjustable height above a wheeled base. This seat, or straddle and slide board, may be extended over a bed or a water closet. The invalid mounts upon the seat by sliding forward and dismounts by sliding backward.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Completely incapacitated invalids require complex and expensive devices to lift them from a bed. One such device is shown by Herrera in U.S. Pat. No. 3,374,493; wherein a sling is used in conjunction with a portable hoist to lift and to move the invalid.

Wheel chairs are commonly used with patients of varying degrees of disability; but their use requires that the patient be turned while entering the wheel chair and that he be turned while being removed to his bed or to the water closet.

The present invention provides a valuable advance over prior art in that a partially incapacitated individual can assist in the use of an inexpensive transporter which relieves the attendant from the necessity of lifting and turning the invalid.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an invalid transporter in which a partially incapacitated individual, such as a paraplegic, can use his arms to push and/or to pull himself forward, in a straddling position, onto an elongated seat or slide board. After being transported by the attendant, the invalid can push himself backward off of the slide board and onto the bed or water closet.

A first objective is to provide a relatively inexpensive invalid transporter.

A second objective is to provide an invalid transporter where lifting and turning of an invalid by the attendant is obviated.

A third objective is to provide an invalid transporter upon which a partially incapacitated invalid may place himself.

A fourth objective is to provide an invalid transporter that is mounted by forward movement of the patient and dismounted by rearward movement of the invalid.

A fifth objective is to provide an invalid transporter upon which an invalid sits and rides in a seat straddling position.

A sixth objective is to provide an invalid transporter in which the seat can extend over an object such as a bed or a water closet to facilitate the invalid's mounting and dismounting of the carrier.

These and other objectives will appear more clearly from the drawings and detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a preferred configuration of the invalid transporter.

FIG. 1A is a partial view of FIG. 1 showing a variation in construction of the wheeled base.

FIG. 2 is an end view of the invalid transporter taken as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a preferred configuration showing an invalid ready to slide backward onto a water closet.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the base using the alternate construction of FIG. 1A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIG. 1, invalid transporting device 10 includes wheeled base means 12, straddle and slide board 14, board support and adjusting means 16 which comprises a seat support and height adjusting mechanism, and hand grip 18.

Wheeled base means 12 includes a substantially horizontal base 20 having a front end 22 and a back end 24, laterally spaced wheels 26a and 26b being attached near back end 24, and castored front wheel 28.

Straddle and slide board 14 includes slide board 30 and rigidly attached pivot arm 31. Slide board 30 includes a front end 32 and a back end 33. For good stability of transporter 10, back end 33 of slide board 30 should be forward of transverse axis 34 of wheels 26a and 26b.

Board support and adjusting means 16 includes support column 35 which is rigidly attached to base 30 and which is pivotally attached to pivot arm 31 by pin 36. Board support and adjusting means 16 also includes hydraulic device 38 which is mounted onto base 20, which includes a ram or piston 40 that bears upward against straddle and slide board means 14, and which includes handle 42 that may be actuated to adjust the height of piston 40 and slide board 30 to alternate positions as shown by phantom positions 41 and 43.

Hand grip 18 is attached to support column 35 of board support and adjusting means 16 by bolts 44; although the hand grip could just as well be fastened to wheeled base means 12 or to straddle and slide board 14.

Referring now to FIG. 2, separate hand grips 46a and 46b are shown which together comprise hand grip 18.

Base 20 includes an open end straddle recess 48 whose width is shown by vertical lines 50a and 50b, whose general shape is triangular, whose apex is shown by vertical lines 52a and 52b, and whose apex is at some point 54 between hydraulic device 38 and wheels 26 as shown in FIG. 1.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an alternate construction of the base is shown, wherein wheeled base 120 is constructed of bent tube 56, recess brace tube 58, and foot rest support tube 60. Wheels 26a, 26b, and 28 may be attached in any suitable manner and foot rest 62 may be attached to tubes 56, 58, and 60 as desired. Alternately, the foot rest could as well be attached to straddle and slide board 14 or to support and adjusting means 16. Notice in particular, open end recess 148 which extends between wheels 26a and 26b and forward toward front wheel 28.

FIG. 1A shows that tube 56 of FIG. 4 may be bent downward so that transverse axis 34 of wheels 26a and 26b is through tube 56.

An important feature of the present invention is that provision is made to allow back end 33 of slide board 30 to extend over a horizontal object such as a bed or over a vertical object such as a water closet. Since good stability of transporter 10 demands that back end 33 of slide board 30 not overhang transverse axis 34 of the wheels, or at least that back end 33 not extend beyond back end 24 of base 20, an open end straddle recess must be provided to allow at least a portion of wheels 26 to extend under a horizontal object or to straddle a vertical object.

Board support and adjusting means 16 is located forward of both end 33 of board 30 and end 24 of base 20 so that space 63, having a height which is the vertical space between base 20 and board 30 and having a longitudinal length which is the horizontal space between end 24 and board and adjusting means 16, comprises a horizontally oriented open end straddle recess. This recess permits wheels 26 to be moved under a bed and thus allows end 33 of board 30 to extend over the bed.

In like manner, open end recess 48 in base 20, or open end recess 148 in base 120 allows wheels 26 to straddle a vertical object such as a water closet so that end 33 of board 30 can extend over the top of the vertical object.

Referring now to FIG. 3, in operation, the invalid pulls himself forward onto slide board 30 by holding hand grip 18 and/or pushing himself by his hands placed behind him. He pushes himself backward from slide board 30 and onto his bed or onto water closet 64 by pushing against hand grip 18 and/or by pushing against slide board 30.

An attendant can easily transport the invalid and place the transporter at the desired place by pushing, pulling, and by castored steering and then raise or lower the invalid to the correct height by the use of hydraulic device 38. However, it is easily seen that electric propulsion means, a steerable wheel, a brake, and an electrically driven hydraulic pump could be used to obviate the need for the attendant. In like manner, an electrically driven device could be used, for the adjusting of the height of board 30, that does not use hydraulic power.

Having described my invention, many variations will be apparent to one skilled in the art and these should be considered within the scope of my invention, limited only by the claims. Therefore,

Claims

I claim:

1. An invalid transporting device of the type in which an invalid is transported in a sitting position, said device comprising:

a. wheeled base means including a substantially triangular shaped horizontally oriented base having a front end and a back end, a pair of laterally spaced wheels being located on a transverse axis and supporting said back end, and a wheel supporting said front end;

b. column support means attached to the front end of the base;

c. straddle and slide board means having a front end and a back end and a pivot arm portion being oriented above said base means in a substantially horizontal position with said board means pivotally attached to the column means for movement in a vertical plane;

d. jack means mounted on said base, spaced from the column means, the upper end of said jack means being attached to the board means approximate its mid-point, said jack means being effective to support said board means above said base means and being adjustable to vary the height of the back end of the board means above said base means.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which said back end of said board means is located forward of said back end of said base, said jack means is located forward of said back end of said board, and said jack means is attached to said board means forward of said back end of said board and to said base means forward of said back end of said base; whereby said laterally displaced wheels may be rolled under a horizontally oriented object and said back end of said board may be extended over a horizontally oriented object to receive an invalid therefrom and to deliver said invalid thereto.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which said device includes a hand grip being attached to said column support means, the hand grip extending upwardly and rearwardly terminating in a vertically extending portion mid-way along along the board means and being effective to provide hand grip surfaces for both of said hands of an invalid as he slides himself upon said board in a straddle position and as he holds himself in a sitting position.