Stretcher having a motorized wheel
AssigneeHill-Rom Services, Inc.
InventorsRichard H. Heimbrock, Matt Webster, John Vogel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A stretcher for transporting a patient along a floor includes a frame, a plurality of casters coupled to the frame, a wheel supported relative to the frame and engaging the floor, and a drive assembly drivingly couplable to the wheel. The drive assembly has a first mode of operation decoupled from the wheel so that the wheel is free to rotate in response to movement of the stretcher along the floor, and a second mode of operation coupled to the wheel to drive the wheel and propel the stretcher along the floor.
Claims41
A patient support apparatus for transporting a patient along a floor comprising:
- a frame,
- a plurality of casters rotatably mounted to the frame and engaging the floor,
- a wheel,
- a first assembly coupled to the frame to rotatably support the wheel between a raised position spaced above the floor and a lowered position engaging the floor,
- a drive motor mounted to the frame, and
- a remotely activated clutch configured to selectively couple and decouple the drive motor to and from the floor-engaging wheel to permit driving of the wheel or free rotation of the wheel when the wheel is engaging the floor.
A patient support apparatus for transporting a patient along a floor comprising:
- an elongated frame,
- a plurality of casters rotatably mounted to the frame and engaging the floor,
- a wheel,
- a first assembly coupled to the frame for rotatably supporting the wheel between a first position spaced above the floor and a second lowered position engaging the floor,
- a drive motor mounted to the frame, and
- means for selectively coupling and decoupling the drive motor to and from the floor-engaging wheel to permit driving of the wheel or free rotation of the wheel when the wheel is engaging the floor.
A patient support apparatus for transporting a patient along a floor, the patient support apparatus comprising:
- a frame,
- a plurality of casters coupled to the frame,
- a wheel supported relative to the Same and engaging the floor, and
- a drive assembly drivingly couplable to the floor-engaging wheel, the drive assembly having a first manual drive mode of operation decoupled from the floor-engaging wheel so that the floor-engaging wheel is free to rotate in response to movement of the patient support apparatus along the floor and the drive assembly having a second power drive mode of operation coupled to the floor-engaging wheel to drive the floor-engaging wheel and propel the patient support apparatus along the floor.
A patient support apparatus for transporting a patient along a floor, the patient support apparatus comprising:
- a frame,
- a plurality of casters coupled to the frame,
- a wheel,
- a wheel-mounting bracket coupled to the frame to rotatably support the wheel between a raised position spaced above the floor and a lowered position engaging the floor,
- a push handle coupled to the frame and having a distal end, the push handle being gripable to maneuver the patient support apparatus along the floor,
- a clutch supportingly coupled to the wheel-mounting bracket,
- a drive assembly coupled to the floor-engaging wheel and being selectively operable by the clutch to either drive the floor-engaging wheel and propel the patient support apparatus along the floor or to decouple the drive assembly and allow free rotation of the wheel when the wheel is engaging the floor, in a power drive mode, the clutch being configured to decouple the drive assembly from the floor-engaging wheel in a manual drive mode so that the floor-engaging wheel is free to rotate in response to movement of the patient support apparatus along the floor, and
- a control coupled to the distal end of the push handle, the control being engagable to operate the drive assembly.
A patient support apparatus for transporting a patient along a floor comprising:
- a frame,
- a plurality of casters rotatably mounted to the frame and engaging the floor,
- a wheel,
- a wheel-mounting bracket coupled to the frame to rotatably support the wheel between a raised position spaced above the floor and a lowered position engaging the floor, and
- a drive motor including a rotor having a rim portion and a stator coupled to the wheel-mounting bracket, and wherein the wheel is directly mounted on the rim portion of the rotor of the drive motor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.