Patient lift with support legs that spread over two ranges of motion

A lift portable patient comprising:

• a base,
• support legs extending from the base,
• a mast extending from the base,
• a boom extending from the mast, the boom being structured to support a cradle for lifting a patient,
• a mechanical controller operatively connected to the legs to move the legs throughout a first range of motion between a first spread apart position and a second spread apart position, the mechanical controller having an anti-back drive to prevent inadvertent movement of the legs, and
• a disengagement feature operative to disengage the legs from the anti-back drive so as to enable movement of the legs throughout a second range of motion between the second spread apart position and a substantially closed together position,
• wherein the mechanical controller comprises a leg rotation member and the disengagement feature comprises a slideable shaft supporting the leg rotation member for rotational movement in relation to the base and a link supported in fixed relation to the shaft, the link being engageable with the leg rotation member, the legs being pivotally connected to the base and operatively connected to the link by tie rods, the mechanical controller being operatively connected to a foot pedal that is displaceable to effect movement of the leg rotation member, which in turn effects movement of the link and the tie rods to cause the legs to move about a pivot axis throughout the first range of motion, the slideable shaft being axially displaceable to disengage the link from the leg rotation member to in turn disengage the legs from the mechanical controller to permit the legs to move about the pivot axis throughout the second range of motion, and
• wherein the lift is foldable into a compact form for ease of transportation and storage by folding the boom in relation to the mast so that the boom is folded toward the mast and folding the mast in relation to the base so that the mast is folded toward the legs.