Ambulatory care chair

An apparatus for supporting and transporting a patient over a floor, the apparatus comprising

• a base frame,
• a plurality of casters mounted to the base frame and engaging the floor,
• a patient support coupled to the base frame,
• a wheel positioned to lie below the patient support, the wheel being coupled to the base frame for movement relative thereto between a downward brake-steer position engaging the floor and an upward neutral position spaced apart from the floor,
• a brake pedal coupled to the base frame and movable relative to the base frame to move the wheel from the neutral position to the brake-steer position,
• a steer pedal coupled to the base frame and movable relative to the base frame to move the wheel from the neutral position to the brake-steer position, and
• a neutral pedal separate from the brake and steer pedals, the neutral pedal being coupled to the base frame and movable relative to the base frame to move the wheel from the brake-steer position to the neutral position.

A chair for use by a caregiver transporting a patient over a floor, the chair comprising

• a base frame,
• a plurality of casters mounted to the base frame and adapted to engage the floor,
• a patient support coupled to the base frame, the patient support including a seat section having a front edge, a rear edge spaced apart from the front edge, and a back section extending upwardly from the rear edge of the seat section, the back section having a forwardly-facing back-support surface,
• a push bar mounted to the back section and having a grip spaced apart from the back section and positioned to lie behind the back-support surface so that the caregiver positioned behind the chair can grasp the grip when transporting the chair,
• a wheel positioned to lie beneath the patient support and coupled to the base frame for movement relative thereto between a downward brake-steer position, in which the wheel is adapted to yieldably engage the floor to assist with steering the chair during transport of the chair, and an upward neutral position in which the wheel is adapted to be spaced apart from the floor, and
• brake means for braking the casters when the brake means is in a braking position and for allowing rotation of the casters when the brake means is in a releasing position and a brake-steer shaft pivotably coupled to the base frame for rotation about an axis and coupled to the brake means so that movement of the shaft moves the brake means between the braking position and the releasing position, the wheel being coupled to the brake-steer shaft so that rotation of the brake-steer shaft moves the wheel between the brake-steer position and the neutral position.

A chair for use by a caregiver transporting a patient over a floor, the chair comprising

• a base frame,
• a plurality of casters mounted to the base frame and adapted to engage the floor,
• a patient support coupled to the base frame, the patient support including a seat section having a front edge, a rear edge spaced apart from the front edge, and a back section extending upwardly from the rear edge of the seat section, the back section having a forwardly-facing back-support surface,
• a push bar mounted to the back section and having a grip spaced apart from the back section and positioned to lie behind the back-support surface so that the caregiver positioned behind the chair can grasp the grip when transporting the chair,
• a wheel positioned to lie beneath the patient support and coupled to the base frame for movement relative thereto between a downward brake-steer position, in which the wheel is adapted to yieldably engage the floor to assist with steering the chair during transport of the chair, and an upward neutral position in which the wheel is adapted to be spaced apart from the floor, and
• a brake-steer shaft pivotably coupled to the base frame for rotation about a first axis and a neutral pedal coupled to the base frame for rotation about a second axis, the brake-steer shaft being coupled to the wheel so that rotation of the brake-steer shaft moves the wheel between the brake-steer position and the neutral position, and the neutral pedal being coupled to the brake-steer shaft so that movement of the neutral pedal to a neutral position automatically rotates the brake-steer shaft to move the wheel to the neutral position.