US2833587A - Adjustable height gurney - Google Patents

Description

May 6, 1958 H. B. sAUNDERs 2,833,587

ADJUSTABLE HEIGHT GURNEY Enea May 11, 1956 HTTPS.

United States Patent O 2,833,587 ADJUSTABLE HEIGHT GURNEY HarryV Baird Saunders, Woodland, Calif.

Application May 1'1, 1956, Serial'No. `584,324 1y Claim'. (Cl. 296''20)` This invention relates in general to an improved wheeled or mobile stretcher, commonly known as a gurney, which is used for supporting and' transferring an ill or injured person-in a recumbent position-from point to point.

The major object of this invention is to provide a stretcher which is readily adjustable in heigltg, there being a top or mattress supporting frame ofI the stretcher movable betweenv a lowered position relatively close to the tloor or ground, anda raised position at substantially the height of a hospital bed oroperatingtable. When in the lowered position, the stretcher can be conveniently carried in an ambulance :forv use in much the same manner as a conventionalstretcher, andyet at the hospital the stretcher can be adjusted to raise the person thereon to a level'of the hospital bed or operatingtable.

Another important object of the inventionis to prof vide a stretcher, as above', which' includes a novel adjustable mounting structure" between the top or mattressframe and a wheeledl bottom or cam'er frame;such mounting structure incorporatinga lever assembly which effectively supports such top frame for up vor down motion, while maintaining the same horizontal at all times. v

Anadditional object of the invention 4is to provide Ia` stretcher, as in* the preceding paragraph, which includes novel power mechanism' for accomplishing such vertical adjustment of the top frame relative to the bottom frame; such mechanism normally holdingsaid top frame in its selected position of adjustment.`

It is also an`objectof the. invention to provide an adjustable heightlstretcher which isA designed for' ease and simplicity of manufacture and convenience of'us'e.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a practical, reliable, and durable fadjustableheight' gurney, and onewhich will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects are accomplished by means of such stru-cture and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claim.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly broken away and partly in section, of the stretcher; the top or mattress supporting frame being shown in full lines in a raised position and in dotted lines in a lowered position.

Fig. 2 is Ia plan view of the stretcher partly broken away and partly in section.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional elevation taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, the

2,833,587A Patented Matyu 6, 1958 olCC 2. spacedside beams 3, each formed with a drop-center section, as shown, and saidside beams 3 being` of in-` wardly opening, channel form incross section. Theside beams 3 are rigidly/,connected at the ends by lower cross beams, the forward one of which is indicated atk 4, which cross beams are arcuate in a longitudinally inward direction in order to provide for full clearance for the' person walking at the endy of-and manipulating-the stretcher.

BeyondA theV drop-center section 3-i; e. at the ends thereof-each of the side `beams 3 is fitted withv and supported by acaster wheel unit 5. Y

Thetop frame 2 includes side beams 6V of inwardly opening,fchannel form in section, and whichside -b'eams are connected at the ends bycross beams 7; such top frame being provided with a cover plate 8- on which a pad or mattress 9 lis disposed to support the Vperson carried by the stretcher.

The following adjustable mounting structure connects thetop frame 2 with thebottom frame 1 in supported but vertically adjustable relation:

At eaclifside of the gurney there is-a' pair of. intersect.-ing lever arms 10 and 11 disposed in a longitudinal verticalv plane; `such leverarms being relatively elongated with the point of intersectionv substantially centrallyof their ends, and at said point the lever arms 10 -andr11 of each pair are transverselyv pivoted together,'asatv12; ln order to stabilize thev intersecting and pivoted-togetherlever arms 10 and 11 against lateralwobbling, saidV` arms are tted on adjacent faces with intersectingstabilizer plates 13 which engage in face to face relation.

Thepivots 12 of the pairs of lever arms 10- -and'l11 are alined transversely of the stretcher, and-at one end of the mounting structure-the'upper and' lower'ends-Iof the lever arms of each pair are pivoted by bolts 14toblocks 15 fixedv to the adjacent side beams 6- andv 3of the respective frame. At the other end of the mounting structure, the upper ends of the lever arms A1l), which lie inwardly of correspondingleverarms 11, arevv con`= nected by lacross shaft 16 which projects atlthe' ends beyond said arms; the ends of the cross shaft 16'A beingbars 19.

adjustable height stretcher comprises a bottom or carrier With thev above describedlmounting, structure-between thebottom frame 1 and thetopV frame 2, scissors-like movement lof' such" structure causes'vertical adjustment of said top frame; such movement beingattained through the' luse of the' following power mechanism:

Intermediate the ends thereof thetop frame 2 is provided with across shaft 20, and a pair of transversely spaced, relatively small-diameter power cylinders 21 are connected at their rear ends byyokes 22 to said cross shaft 2i), thence extending longitudinally-along but inwardly of the side beams 6-in the direction of thecross shaft 16. At their outer ends thepower cylinders 21 include projectingpiston rods 23, each fitted with ayoke 24 coupled to thecross shaft 16 between thecorresponding lever arm 10 and therelated roller 17.

i It will be recognized that when thepower cylinders 21 are contracted, the mounting structure-comprised of the pairs -of intersectinglever arms 10 and 11-wil1 be verti cally extended, with thetop frame 2 in a raised position. With such vertical extension therollers 17 and 1S travel inwardly in the channels of therelated side beams 6 and 3, as shown in full lines in Fig. l.

Conversely, when thepower cylinders 21 are extended,

thetop frame 2 occupies aA lowered position, as shown in dotted lines in said figure.

Thepower cylinders 21 are actuated and controlled by a fluid pressure conduit system comprising the following: `A` manual type-hydraulic pump 25V is supported by a bracket B `xed to, anddepending from, one of theside beams 6 adjacent but short: of an end offthe `top frame 2; `such pump including Va `longitudinally extending, pump actuated `lever orhandle 26 fitted at the outer end with Aa grip27 which isdisposed below thenear end of thetop frame 1".l y t t By engaging thegrip 27 and working thehandle 26 up and down, thehydraulicpump 25 is actuated, feeding pressure `to thepower cylinders 21 andcausing contrae tion thereof and resultant raising of thetop frame 2; said cylinders being of `a type which shorten in their effective length uponthe application of uid pressure to their outer ends."`

More specifically, thehydraulic'pump 25 has an intake fitting 28 `connected by a'hose 29` with the bottom of ahydraulic fluid reservoir 30 mounted on the` near end beamt7 inwardlythereof; the output fitting of the pump being indicated at 31.

A T 32 is connected totheioutputitting 31, and conduits i I 33 and `34` lead Afromfsuch 'l' to correspondingones ofthevpower cylinders 21 at the outer ends of the latter.;

Intermediate theends thereof the `conduit 33, in a por-` tion' thereof which extends transversely ofthetopframe 2, has another T 3S interposed therein, and the lateral leg of such :Teonnects to avalve 36 whose other end returns to-and is 'in communication withthereservoir 30 at the bottom thereof; saidvvalve 36 having ahand lever 37.

`When `thepump 25 is actuated to feed pressure to the otherconduits ss and -39 lead from'the rear ends of the power cylinders` 21 to corresponding ends of the`reservoir 30; `these last named conduits being merely-,for the purpose of bleeding backto thevreservoir any of the hydraulic uid which may bypass thepistonsin thepower cylinders 21 and gain access to the'rear portions thereof. l For the purpose offmanual1y towing the stretcher, when desired, apull rod 40 is provided; such pull rod being fitted at its rear end` with astop knob 41, and at its forward `endwith a late ral handle 42 Thepull rod 40 normally extends through ahole 43 in`one of the lower cross bearnsA centrally of its ends, with the handle 42 adjacent the front o f saidcrossbeamand depending therefrom; the

rod 40 then being supported intermediate its ends by one of thecross bars 19. See Fig. 1.

In use of thepull rod 40 the handle 42 is grasped and said rod is pulled outwardly until thestop knob 41 abuts the back side of the related cross beam 4; the handle then projecting in a stretcher pulling position from one end thereof, and as shown-in part-in dotted lines in said figure. p t

The described stretcherwhile being relatively simple in its structure--is extremely practical and advantageous, particularly with respect to the ability to adjust such stretcher in its effective height, for the purposes hereinbefore recited.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that there has been produced such a device as will substantially fulfill the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice suchxdeviationsl -from such detail maybe resorted to `as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claim. Y j..

Having `thus described therinvention, the. following `is claimed as new and useful,y and upon which Letters Patent are desired:V s

fAn adjustable-height stretcher comprising an elongated wheel-supported bottom frame which includes inwardly facing channel side beams, an elongated mattress-supporting top frame which includes inwardly facing channel side beams, pairs of intersecting lever arms disposed in transversely spaced longitudinal planes, the lever arms of each pair being pivotally connectedrintermediate. their ends, means transversely pivotingthe corresponding upper and lower ends of the lever arms to the corresponding side beams of the top and bottom frames, rollers Aon the other ends of the arms riding in said beams, hydraulic cylinders parallel to and laterally inward of the side beams of the upper frame, and in al longitudinal position between the upper ends of thepairs of arms, means connecting the 4cylinders at one end to` those arms having the rollers on their upper ends, means connecting the cylinders at their other ends to the corresponding side beams of the upper frame, and a manually operated fluid pressure system mounted on the upper frame adjacent one end and connected to the cylinders to supply power thereto.

' References Cited in the file of this patent l UNITED STATES PATENTS

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