Patient puller

An apparatus for pulling a patient horizontally on a bed, the apparatus comprising:

• a slide sheet on the bed for the patient to lie on having a low friction coating on an underside of the slide sheet;
• the slide sheet having a plurality of loops on sides of the sheet;
• two or more pull-straps having a first end and a second end, with clips attached to the first end;
• the clips configured for attaching each of the first end of the pull-straps to one of the plurality of loops;
• a rod with a pulley system, located substantially at a level of the patient on the bed;
• a pull rod attached to a motor system configured to rotate the pull rod in a pull direction when a pull-release switch is turned to a pull position;
• a push on release off safety switch for further controlling the operation of the motor system configured to provide additional safety to the patient on the bed during patient puller operation;
• the second end of the pull-straps attached to the pull rod after passing under tho pulleys of the pulley system;
• wherein the pull rod and the motor system are attached above the pulley system to any one of:
• a bed post at a head of the bed, a wall at the head of the bed or a ceiling above the head of the bed;
• wherein the pull rod is configured to roll and pull the slide sheet and the patient horizontally on the bed when the pull-release switch is turned on to the pull position, and the safety switch is depressed, by pulling and rolling up the pull-straps attached to the pull rod;
• and
• wherein the rolling pull rod pulls and rolls up the pull-straps to exert the necessary pull force on the slide sheet via the connected pull-straps rolling under the pulleys of the pulley system to move the patient horizontally on the bed.

A fixed patient puller apparatus for pulling a patient horizontally on a bed, the apparatus comprising:

• a slide sheet on the bed for the patient to lie on having a low friction coating on an underside of the slide sheet;
• the slide sheet having a plurality of loops on sides of the sheet;
• two or more pull-straps having a first end and a second end, with clips attached to the first end;
• the clips configured for attaching each of the first end of the pull-straps to one of the plurality of loops;
• a pull rod attached to a motor system attached to the bed, or a wall at a head of the bed, at the level of the patient on the bed;
• the motor system configured to rotate the pull rod in a pull direction when a pull-release switch is turned to a pull position;
• the motor system configured to rotate the pull rod in a direction that is reverse of the pull direction when a pull-release switch is turned to a release position;
• a safety switch that is push on release off switch for further controlling the motor operation configured to provide additional safety to the patient on the bed during patient puller operation;
• wherein the motor system is configured to operate in a pull or release direction only when the safety switch is pushed on;
• the second ends of the pull-straps attached to the pull rod;
• wherein the pull rod is configured to roll and pull the slide sheet on the bed when the pull-release switch is turned on to the pull position by pulling and rolling up the pull-straps attached to the pull rod;
• wherein the pull rod is configured to roll in an opposite direction from the pull direction and release the pull on the slide sheet when the pull-release switch is turned on to the release position;
• and
• wherein the pull rod pulls and rolls up the pull-straps to exert the necessary pull force on the slide sheet via the connected pull-straps to move the patient horizontally on the bed when the pull release switch is turned on to the pull position.