Beds – Invalid bed or surgical support
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-11
2001-09-11
Trettel, Michael F. (Department: 3628)
Beds
Invalid bed or surgical support
C005S086100, C280S043170, C280S098000, C280S264000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06286165
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a stretcher such as a wheeled stretcher for use in a hospital, and particularly to stretcher controls for the stretcher. More particularly the present invention relates to such a hospital stretcher having stowable push handles, a deployable center wheel to aid in steering the stretcher, foot pedals for tilting and controlling the height of a patient-support deck, and a shroud defining a storage surface underneath the patient-support deck.
Many hospital stretchers include a patient-support deck having a patient-support surface that can be moved upwardly and downwardly and tilted to both a Trendelenburg position having a head end of the patient-support surface lower than a foot end of the patient- support surface and a reverse Trendelenburg position having the head end of the patient-support surface higher than the foot end of the patient-support surface. Hospital stretchers often have foot pedals that a caregiver can engage to adjust the position of the patient-support surface. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,808 to Hines; U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,242 to Schrager; U.S. Pat. No. 4,175,783 to Pioth; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,304,116 to Stryker. Each of these references discloses a stretcher having at least one foot pedal that is used to control the movement of the patient-support surface.
Some conventional stretchers have two foot pedals positioned to lie close together for controlling movement of the patient-support surface. For example, U.S. Patent No. 4,723,808 to Hines discloses a stretcher in which the head end of the patient-support surface is raised by pumping one pedal and the foot end of the patient-support surface is raised by pumping the other pedal. Both ends of the patient-support surface can be raised together by pumping both pedals simultaneously. Each end of the patient-support surface can bc lowered separately by pressing the corresponding pedal to the bottom of its stroke and both ends can be lowered together by pressing both pedals to the bottom of their stroke simultaneously.
Conventional hospital stretchers may also include casters that rotate and swivel as well as a center wheel that can be deployed to contact a floor surface over which the stretcher is being pushed. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,326 to Fullenkamp et al. which is assigned to the assignec of the present invention, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,625 to Bleicher; U.S. Pat. No. 4,164,355 to Eaton et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,304,116 to Stryker; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,599,717 to Menzies. The center wheel is typically free to rotate but is constrained from swiveling in order to facilitate turning the stretcher around corners.
Additionally, some stretchers have center wheels that are yieldably biased downwardly against the floor to permit the center wheel to track differences in elevation of the floor.
Stretchers can also be provided with a shroud that is located underneath the patient-support deck and that provides a top surface on which objects can be carried. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,625 to Bleicher. However, the size of the shroud top surface of conventional stretchers having mechanisms operated by foot pedals is typically limited so that a caregiver has access to the foot pedals.
Finally, some conventional stretchers have push handles mounted to an end of an upper frame of the stretcher that can be conveniently gripped by a caregiver moving the stretcher. Push handles that are pivotable between a use position when the caregiver moves the stretcher and a downward storage position are known as well. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,294 to Reeder, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,465 to Stryker et al. Stretchers having a pair of push handles mounted at the head end of the stretcher and pivotable about a pivot axis extending in a direction parallel to the sides of the stretcher are known in the art. Stretchers having pivotable push handles can also include mechanisms for locking the push handles in the push position.
What is desired is a stretcher having push handles that are movable to a push position extending above the patient-support surface and swingable from the push position to a down-out-of-the-way position below the patient-support deck providing a caregiver with improved access to a patient. The stretcher could include a push handle assembly having a latch mechanism underneath the upper frame of the stretcher for locking the push handles in the push position. In addition, caregivers would welcome such a stretcher having a single foot pedal that controls both the deployable center wheel mechanism and the caster braking mechanism as well as a single foot pedal for simultaneously lowering the two ends of the patient-support deck. Finally, the stretcher could include a shroud having a large storage surface underneath the patient-support deck for carrying articles belonging to the patient, medical equipment, or other articles conveniently stored beneath the patient-support deck while also allowing access to the foot pedals positioned beneath the storage surface.
According to the present invention, a stretcher is provided for transporting a patient. The stretcher includes an elongated frame having an upper frame and a lower frame, a plurality of casters mounted to the lower frame, and a patient-support deck supported by the upper frame. The patient-support deck includes a head end, a foot end, two elongated sides, and an upwardly-facing patient-support surface therebetween. A push bar including a handle post that can be gripped by a caregiver when the caregiver pushes the stretcher is pivotably mounted to the upper frame to pivot about a pivot axis. The push bar can pivot between a push position having the handle post extending above the patient-support surface and a down-out-of-the-way position having a portion of the push bar located underneath the upper frame.
In preferred embodiments, the stretcher includes a push bar that swings between a push position above the head end of the patient-support surface and a down-out-of-the-way position away from the patient-support surface and having a portion of the push bar underneath the patient-support deck. The push bar swings about an angled pivot axis positioned to lie near an elongated first side of the patient-support deck. The angled pivot axis is preferably positioned to lie in a transversely extending plane and preferably angles downwardly away from the center of the stretcher. A second push bar can also be pivotably mounted to the patient-support deck near an elongated second side of the patient-support deck, thus providing a pair of opposing push bars that a caregiver can grip while pushing the stretcher.
The stretcher can be provided with first and second latch plates, each of which engages one of the first and second push bars to lock each respective push bar in the push position. Each latch plate is mounted to the stretcher underneath the upper frame and independently pivots about a pivot axis between a lock position and a release position. Each latch plate includes an edge defining an opening receiving the push bar when the push bar is in the push position and the latch plate is in the lock position, the edge including a locking edge engaging the push bar to lock the push bar in the push position. If desired, the latch plate can be pivoted to a release position away from the push bar and releasing the push bar so that the push bar can swing between the push position and the down-out-of-the-way position.
Each latch plate can also include a cam edge arranged so that the latch plate pivots to the release position when the cam edge is subjected to a contact force.
For example, each latch plate will pivot to its release position upon contact with its respective push bar when the push bar swings from the down-out-of-the-way position to the push position. Once the push bar reaches the push position, the opening in the latch plate is aligned with the push bar and the latch plate automatically swings under the force o
Blyshak William M.
Heimbrock Richard H.
Moore William K.
Smith Donald E.
Turner Joanthan T.
Barnes & Thornburg
Hill-Rom Inc.
Trettel Michael F.
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