Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company

Conmedisys, Inc.

Other

Mediglider Corporation

Eastman-kodak Company

Applied Science Fiction, Inc.

Adbm Corp.

Richard A Patterson

Lawrence Randolph Gravell

Roy M Patterson

James B Carpenter

Donald Kent Larson

Ralph M Smucker

Joseph Benjamin Gault

Alexander R Mathews

Kosta S Selinidis

Leland A Lester

Eric C Segerstrom

Ronald Phillip Pepin

Steven Kent Brown

Stacy S Cook

Michael R Thering

Thomas W Seabold

Richard P De Neui

John J Straigis

Homero Saldana

G Gregory Mooty

Patrick W Lea

William D Mapel

Michael Alan Meis

Gordon D Henson

James R Bylander

Donald G Doss

Gordon Wiegand

Charles M Mansfield

Wilfred R Brochman

Mark S Wochner

Haregoppa S Gopalakrishna

Paul N Winberg

Douglas P Hills

Michael C Faust

Laura A Weller-Brophy

Bryan D Blackford

Steven De Leon

Jonathan D Isom

Lawrence R Gravell

A transfer device has a carriage supported on a base, movable between a home position and an extended position. A table assembly includes a lower table fixed to the carriage and an upper table coupled to the lower table, movable between a downward position in forcible contact with the lower table and an upward position having no contact with the lower table. The table assembly moves toward the extended position with the tables in forcible contact to place the table assembly underneath the object to be transferred while keeping the base stationary. The plates are separated to lift the object on the upper table while the lower table remains resting upon the support surface. The table assembly returns to the home position while supporting the object on the upper table and keeping the upper and lower tables separated. The device may operate in a bidirectional manner.

Patient lift and transfer device

A patient transfer device includes a table assembly having upper and lower tables with counter-rotating upper and lower belts. Means are provided to move the table assembly toward an extended position with the upper belt moving at a rotational speed which is greater than a translational speed of the table assembly. Faster movement of the upper belt may be in response to a determination that the patient has a characteristic whose value is within a predetermined range. The patient characteristic may be patient weight, e.g., with the predetermined range being less than 250 pounds. In the illustrative implementation a patient transfer device of the present invention includes a control system having a keyboard for receiving user input indicating that the upper belt should be moved faster, and control logic responsive to the user input which controls speeds of motors that independently drive the upper belt and the table assembly.

Patient transfer device with differential belt-table speed control

A novel underwater noise abatement and deployment system are described. The system uses inverted open-ended resonators (e.g., Helmholtz resonators) to absorb underwater noise. The system includes stackable resonator cavity embodiments arranged to surround a noisy environment or act nearby it. The system can be deployed from a ship or barge or similar structure, and can be stored when not in use.

Underwater noise reduction system using open-ended resonator assembly and deployment apparatus

A lift apparatus has a frame with open sides and a web assembly slidably retained along the sides which extends from one end of the frame to the other. While the web assembly is retracted, the frame moves to pass around a mobility-impaired individual and rest against the surface supporting the individual. The web assembly is then extended to move underneath or behind the individual, providing lifting support. The frame is configurable for orientations ranging continuously between horizontal and upright sitting. The web assembly has an upper web contacting the individual, a lower web contacting the support surface, a strength layer carrying the individual's weight, and a roller nose bar assembly which is pulled to extend the web assembly. A hand-held power tool can drive the web assembly, adjustment of inclinations of the back and leg sections of the frame, and vertical motion of the lift arm.

Lift chair

A table assembly for a patient transfer device has an upper table with side plates that are differentially extended at the ends, and valve control for pneumatic tubing integrated with retraction of the side plates. During patient delivery only the delivery side plate is raised, to avoid catching linens in the nip formed between upper and lower belts. A slide assembly supporting the table assembly includes a fixed plate, an intermediate plate, and a full-motion plate which extend by means of rack-and-pinion drives. Each plate is symmetrical, and pinions are symmetrically located on opposite sides of the fixed or intermediate plate to allow hyperextension to either the left or right. Improved steerage for the device is provided by two centerline wheels which counter-rotate from a straight position to a turning position and further to a lateral position wherein the wheels are orthogonal to the longitudinal centerline of the device.

Table and slide assemblies for patient transfer device

Cam mechanism to raise steering wheel of patient transfer device

A table assembly for a patient transfer device has an upper table with side plates that are differentially extended at the ends, and valve control for pneumatic tubing integrated with refraction of the side plates. During patient delivery only the delivery side plate is raised, to avoid catching linens in the nip formed between upper and lower belts. A slide assembly supporting the table assembly includes a fixed plate, an intermediate plate, and a full-motion plate which extend by means of rack-and-pinion drives. Each plate is symmetrical, and pinions are symmetrically located on opposite sides of the fixed or intermediate plate to allow hyperextension to either the left or right. Improved steerage for the device is provided by two centerline wheels which counter-rotate from a straight position to a turning position and further to a lateral position wherein the wheels are orthogonal to the longitudinal centerline of the device.

Steering system for patient transfer device

A patient transfer device has four casters and two counter-rotating steering wheels. The steering wheels provide a turning path whose center of curvature lies along a transverse centerline of the device. A foot pedal selectively lifts the steering wheels off the floor or brakes them. Another foot pedal at a back end of the device can lock the casters at the front end in a straight direction. The transfer table of the device may be inclined either longitudinally or transversely, and has an upper table whose edge rollers retract to introduce slack in the upper belt so that an air mattress can be inflated. The upper belt selectively disengages from the lower belt using movable, pneumatically-actuated pinch rollers. The outer surface of the upper belt is rough while the outer surface of the lower belt is smooth. The belts are constructed of a material which includes an antimicrobial agent.

A disposable comfort sheet has a waterproof layer and an absorbent layer, with adhesive strips applied to the waterproof layer along side edges. The sheet is adapted for use with a patient transfer device having upper and lower counter-rotating belts, and protects the upper belt against contamination. The patient transfer device may have registration marks for installation of the sheet, and indicator marks can be printed at predetermined locations on the waterproof layer for alignment with the registration marks. The sheet may include various means for indicating prior use by a patient, such as an ink pattern made of a heat-sensitive or moisture-sensitive ink. The sheet may further include a peel-away layer releasably bonded to the absorbent layer, with additional longitudinal adhesive strips applied to the side edges of the peel-away layer. The peel-away layer protects the lower belt against contamination from the sheet after a patient is delivered.

Disposable comfort sheet

Growing community of inventors

Georgetown, TX, United States of America

Richard A Patterson