Portable support for a bed patient

A portable support which can be used to carry a pad with a bed patient thereon and which comprises a wheel-equipped chassis, a supporting surface which normally overlies and is in register with said wheel-equipped chassis, and cantilever-type guiding and supporting means which guide and support said supporting surface while permitting said supporting surface to be moved laterally away from said wheel-equipped chassis and into a cantilever-like position wherein it is disposed beneath said pad with said bed patient thereon, said cantilever-type guiding and supporting means enabling said supporting surface to hold and support said pad with said bed patient thereon when said supporting surface is in said cantilever-like position, said cantilever-type guiding and supporting means also guiding and supporting said supporting surface as said supporting surface is moved laterally toward said wheel-equipped chassis to move said pad with said bed patient thereon above and into register with said wheel-equipped chassis, said pad being an inflatable pad, said inflatable pad being inflatable to a state of rigidity which will enable said supporting surface to hold and support said bed patient even though said supporting surface underlies only a small fraction of the overall area of said inflatable pad, said inflatable pad being inflatable to raise said bed patient relative to said bed, said inflatable pad defining a recess whenever it is inflated that is large enough to accommodate said supporting surface, and said supporting surface holding and supporting said inflatable pad and said bed patient thereon while moving said inflatable pad and said bed patient thereon from a position above said bed to a position above said wheel-equipped chassis and vice-versa.

A portable support which can be used to carry a pad with a bed patient thereon and which comprises a wheel-equipped chassis, a supporting surface which normally overlies and is in register with said wheel-equipped chassis, said supporting surface having a length shorter than said pad and being dimensioned to be moved into position wherein it is disposed beneath said pad and hence is disposed beneath said patient, cantilever-type guiding and supporting means which are mounted on said wheel-equipped chassis and which guide and support said supporting surface while permitting said supporting surface to be moved laterally away from said wheel-equipped chassis and into a cantilever-like position wherein it is disposed beneath said pad with said bed patient thereon, said wheel-equipped chassis and said cantilever-type guiding and supporting means enabling said supporting surface to underlie and thereby hold and support said pad with said bed patient thereon when said supporting surface is in said cantilever-like position, said cantilever-type guiding and supporting means also guiding and supporting said supporting surface as said supporting surface is moved laterally toward said wheel-equipped chassis to move said pad with said bed patient thereon above and into register with said wheel-equipped chassis, said wheel-equipped chassis being shorter than the height of a person of average height, a wing rotatably secured to said wheel-equipped chassis, said wing being movable downwardly from an essentially-horizontal position to an essentially-vertical position to make the total effective horizontal dimension of said wheel-equipped chassis and of said wing just slightly larger than the overall total effective horizontal dimension of said wheel-equipped chassis, and said wing being movable upwardly to said essentially-horizontal position to make the total effective horizontal dimension of said wheel-equipped chassis and of said wing substantially larger than said overall total effective horizontal dimension of said wheel-equipped chassis, said wing being dimensioned so no part thereof can reach the ground when said wing is moved downwardly from said essentially-horizontal position to said essentially-vertical position.

A portable support which can be used to carry a pad with a bed patient thereon and which comprises a wheel-equipped chassis, a supporting surface which normally overlies and is in register with said wheel-equipped chassis, cantilever-type guiding and supporting means which guide and support said supporting surface while permitting said supporting surface to be moved laterally away from said wheel-equipped chassis and into a cantilever-like position wherein it is disposed beneath said pad with said bed patient thereon, said cantilever-type guiding and supporting means enabling said supporting surface to underlie and thereby hold and support said pad with said bed patient thereon when said supporting surface is in said cantilever-like position, said cantilever-type guiding and supporting means also guiding and supporting said supporting surface as said supporting surface is moved laterally toward said wheel-equipped chassis to move said pad with said bed patient thereon above and into register with said wheel-equipped chassis, said wheel-equipped chassis being shorter than the height of a person of average height, a wing rotatably secured to said wheel-equipped chassis, said wing being movable downwardly from an essentially-horizontal position to an essentially-vertical position to make the total effective horizontal dimension of said wheel-equipped chassis and of said wing just slightly larger than the overall total effective horizontal dimension of said wheel-equipped chassis, said wing being movable upwardly to said essentially-horizontal position to make the total effective horizontal dimension of said wheel-equipped chassis and of said wing substantially larger than said overall total effective horizontal dimension of said wheel-equipped chassis, said wing having an arm which is movable to retracted position relative to said wing whenever said wing is in said essentially-horizontal position to keep the total effective horizontal dimension of said wheel-equipped chassis and of said essentially-horizontal wing just slightly larger than the overall total effective horizontal dimension of said wheel-equipped chassis plus said essentially-horizontal wing, and said arm being movable to extended position relative to said wing whenever said wing is in said essentially-horizontal position to make the total effective horizontal dimension of said wheel-equipped chassis and of said essentially-horizontal wing and of said arm substantially larger than said overall total effective horizontal dimension of said wheel-equipped chassis and of said essentially-horizontal wing, said arm being selectively movable to said retracted position or to said extended position to enable said wheel-equipped chassis to support differing lengths of said pad intermediate said supporting surface and the adjacent end of said pad.

A portable support which can be used to carry a bed patient and which comprises a wheel-equipped chassis, a supporting surface which normally overlies and is in register with said wheel-equipped chassis, guiding and supporting means which guide and support said supporting surface while permitting said supporting surface to be moved laterally away from said wheel-equipped chassis and into position beneath said bed patient, said guiding and supporting means also guiding and supporting said supporting surface as said supporting surface is moved laterally toward said wheel-equipped chassis to move said bed patient above and into register with said wheel-equipped chassis, stablizing legs that are movable into engagement with the floor to stabilize said portable support, a motor which is mounted on and movable with said wheel-equipped chassis and which can be energized to drive the ends of said stabilizing legs into direct and enforced engagement with said floor at points which are displaced laterally from said wheel-equipped chassis, and said stabilizing legs responding to energization of said motor to directly and enforcedly engage said floor at a point below said supporting surface and thereby enable said wheel-equipped chassis to solidly support said supporting surface even when said supporting surface has been moved laterally away from said wheel-equipped chassis and into position beneath said bed patient.

A portable support which can be used to carry a bed patient and which comprises a wheel-equipped chassis, a supporting surface which normally overlies and is in register with said wheel-equipped chassis, guiding and supporting means which guide and support said supporting surface while permitting said supporting surface to be moved laterally away from said wheel-equipped chassis and into position beneath said bed patient, said guiding and supporting means also guiding and supporting said supporting surface as said supporting surface is moved laterally toward said wheel-equipped chassis to move said bed patient above and into register with said wheel-equipped chassis, stabilizing legs that are movable into engagement with the floor to stabilize said portable support, said stabilizing legs being engageable with said floor at a point below said supporting surface when said supporting surface has been moved laterally away from said wheel-equipped chassis and into position beneath said bed patient, lifting means that can raise and lower said supporting surface relative to said wheel-equipped chassis and that can thereby raise and lower said bed patient relative to said wheel-equipped chassis, further means that can move said stabilizing legs into engagement with said floor before said lifting means raises said supporting surface, and said further means including a driving member, elongated racks, pinions to drive said elongated racks, and a lost-motion connection between said driving member and said pinions.